i^fensation of the Gospel. The Lord, fully under- standing the result of such bitter persecution, said to His apostles : "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you ; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name- sake" (Matt, xxiv :9.) The vile treatment to which the ancient apostle.s were subjected and the martyrdom of many of them, ds known to all acquainted with the history of those inspired men ; and scriptural evidence as to their having been informed thereof in advance is quite abundant. The Savior says in Mark, thirteenth chapter, ninth verse : "But take heed to yourselves-; for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten; and APOSTASY. y ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them." Another witness to this testimony of our Savior has also left us the following : "And ye shall be be- trayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends, and some of you shall they cause to be' put to death." It is a remarkable fact that, in every age of the world when the Lord has committed a disipensation of the Gospel to men upon the" earth, the heavenly message has been rejectd by the great majority of the human family, and the envy and hatred of many have been such as to instigate measures of violence against the humble servants of the Lord. Especially is this true when applied to the professedly religious element, and more directly to those who aim to be public instructors of the people. Notice the action taken by the Pharisees, Sad- ducees and other religious classes regarding the ancient Saints ; whiile the devotees of these sects were divided on points of doctrine and disagreed upon the writings of the prophets, they combined their efforts to overthrow the Lord's chosen l>eople. The Savior, indicating the class who would imbrue their hands in the blood of the prophets, said: "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should net be offended. They diall put you out of the synagogues ; yea, the' time Cometh, that whosoever killeth you will thmk that he doeth Grod's service." (John xvi : 1, 2.) This could not apply to the' atheistic world, for it denies the existence of God. It could not mean the infidel class, for while they may not deny the existence of a Supreme Being, they disavow all forms of worship. The Savior's prediction was directed to the religious world, and from the facts of the case, it seems especially appli- cable to that portion of it which cladmed to believe in the writings of the' ancient prophets. Immediate revelation from heaven has always come in contact with the vain traditions and religious crafts of men, so that the str^ictest professors of religion anciently were, and are now, among the? foremost in persecuting the Saints and seeking to deprive them of the rights and privileges which other men enjoy. In connection with the evidence found in the Holy Scriptures on this part of the subject, the thousands of Latter-day Saints who have suf- fered by the hand of oppression in this dispensation of the Gospel, are living witnesses. 10 Cowley's talks on doctrine. While the revelator John, who was the last remaiiMn^ member of the quorum of the Twflve Apostles on the Eastern Hemisphere, was in banishment upon the Isle of Patmos, he saw the image of a beast, representing a power that should arisef in the earth, make war upon the Saints and overcome them. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the Saints, and to overcome them ; and power was given Him over all kin- dreds, and tongues, and nations." This declaration of the Scriptures is very broad, indicating clearly that the Saints should be overcome, and the power of th€f beast should be so extensive as to cover all "kindred, tongues and nations," thus leaving the people destitute of divine authority and bereft of the glorious plan of redemption. By turning to the second chapter of Daniel, we learn some- thing with regard to the' period of time when this power which made war with the Saints and overcame them should flourish in the earth. The metallic image which Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream consisted of gold, silvefr, brass, iron and clay, so we are told in the interpretation given by Daniel thef prophet. It represented several kingdoms, beginning with Babylon, which we learn from history flourished in the fifth and sixth centuries before Christ ; and second, the Medio-Persian govern- ment, from about 530 to 331 B. C. ; third, the Macedonian kingdom, founded by Alexander the Great, from 331 B. C., to 161 B. C. ; fourth, the Roman Empire, efstablished in 161 B. C, and which flourished until 483 A. D. This last named government w^as represented in the metallic image by the two legs of iron, which resembled very much the two divisions of the Roman Empire, the one having its seat of government at Rome, the other at Constantinople. These subsequently sub- divided into the petty governments of modern Europe, having in them the elements of strength and weakness, as indicated by the feet and toes of the image, which were part of iron and part of clay. It will be observed by the dates given above that it was during the time of the Roman Empire that our APOSTASY. 11 Lord and Savior was born into the world. As early as the banishment of the apostle John, about 96 A. D., we dL^over that n»early all apostles forming the chief quorum of officers in the Church of Christ had been martyred. We are informed in Mosheim's Ecclesiastical Institutes that the year 70 A. D. Vespasian and Tiis son Titus besieged the city of Jerusalem with an army, destroyefd the city and the temple and slew many of the inhabitants, this event having been predicted by the Savior, and recorded in Matthew, twenty-fourth chapter. In speaking of this powefr that should destroy the Saints, Daniel the prophet, says, "And he shall speak great words against the Most Hdgh and shall wear out the Saints of the Most High." We might illustrate how literally thesef prophecies were verified by the following example : Previous to the late Civil War in the American Union, the South organized a re- publican form of government with the requisite officers to con- stitute such a government. In a short time, however, the Northern States engaged in war with the South and overcame them, so that the confederacy of that section ceased to ex?ist. Suppose a stranger should visit the South at the present time and inquire of some? person in that region of country if they have a republic entirely independent of the North, and on being answered "We have," the visitor quefies, "Where is your president?" "Well, he is done away with, because no longer needed." He is asked, "Where is your vice-presiident?" "Oh, we have nonef." "Where is your congress?" "Well, that was dissolved long ago and has not existed since." "Pray, then," siays the stranger, "What havef you left?" "Well, we have a judge, and a policefman, besildes the book which gives a history of the officers you inquire about." Such answers, however absurd and inconsistent, are very similar to those offered by the religious world of today who claim to havef the Church of Christ ; but when asked where are their apostles, they answer, "We have none, they are done away with." "Have you prophets?" "Oh, no! They are no longer needed." "Do the members of your church enjoy thef gifts of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised should follow believers?" "Certainly not, they have passed away centuries ago, and we have? no occasion for them now." "Well, then, what have you left?" "Why, we have a pastor and a deacon, and then we have the good 1 2 COWLEY *S TALKS ON DOCTRINE. Book, the Holy Bible, that describes the oflBcers you mention." It is very clear, from the condition of affairs, that \Ye have briefly described, that at gome period in the past, the Church of Jesus Christ was taken from the earth and the human family left without the direct and authorized administration of the plan of salvation. The prophecies we have quoted show, first, that such an event was to transpire some time in the future; second, about the period of time in which many of these predictions were verified, and, third, the means of power by which the Saints were overcome'. There are other prophecies in the Bible which plainly show that the extent of the ancient apostasy would be universal and conli nue in the earth until a certain period )in the history of the human family, which will, with other items, form the subject matter for our next consideration. As the predictions of the prophets relating to the pasit have been so laterally veri- fied, this fact should promote, in the hearts of the i)eople', great faith in the words of the Lord, as these are given in the Bible. We have shown that the Church established by the Savior in all its pristine beauty and purity was taken from the earth. As none of the religious denominations, existing between the time of J;he ancient apostles and the nineteenth century have received a new commission from heaven, that fact is proof that the effect of the primitive apostasy has extended without inter- ruption to the present age of the world. Dr. Mosheim is the author of four large volumes of religious history comprehending about eighteen centuries of the Christian era. This work has been translated by Dr. Murdock with copious notes, or extracts, from the writers who lived con- temporary with the times of which he writes. From the translation of Mosheim's Ecclesiastical Institutes we make a few quotations. In si)eaking of the second century of the Christian era, Mosheim says (Vol. 1, p. 142) : "For the noble simplicity ana*" the majestic digmlty of the Christian religion were lost, or at least impaired, when these philosophers presumed to asso- ciate their dogmas with it and to bring faith and piety under the dominion of human reason." On pages 182 and 183 of the APOSTASY. 18 same volume we are informed that, to conform to the customs of Jews and Pagan priests, rites and ceremonies were added to the simplicity of correct worship, and a "large part there- fore of the Christi^an observances and institutions even in this century had the asi)ect of Pagan mysteries." Passing on to the third century on page 257, we have the following: "All the monuments of this century which have come down to us, show that there was a great increase of ceremonies." Page 259 : "Baptism w^as publicly administered twice a year to can- didates who had gone through a long preparation and trial." Of the fourth century we learn from p. 845 that the regard for Platonic philosophy was embraced and mingled with the doctrine of the Savior : "Hence it is that we see on every hand evident traces of excessive veneration for Saints in heaven ; of belief in a fire to purify souls on leaving the body ; of partialiity for priestly celebacy ; the worship of images and relies, and for many other opinions whic'h, in the process of time, almost banished the true religion or at least very much obscured and corrupted it." Of the fifth century, an account is given of impostors perpetrating artifices to make people think they were miracles and thereby induce them to embrace Christianity. Religious teachings, we are informed, "were sub- stantiated, not so much by the declarations of the Holy Scrip- tures, as by the authority and logical reasonings of the ancient doctors." Page 455 : "The whole Christian Church was in this century overwhelmed with these disgraceful fictions." We might proceed with similar quotations rdative to subse- quent centuries intervening between the fifth and the time of the Reformation, but the foregoing will sufiicd to show that religiious matters grew worse from one age to another, pre- \ senting to the world a mass of religious confusion. Although there may have been honorable men who protested against these evils, it is evident that genuine authority and the princi- ples of the Gospel in their purity could not be derived from such a corrupt source?. We are informed in the Scriptures that an evil tree will not produce good fruit nor a bitter foun- tain send forth sweet waters. A&' neither Luther, Melancthon, Huss, Zwingli, Calvin nor any of the reformers of that age received revelation from heaven authorizing them to establish the Church, we find that the world was still without the plan 14 Cowley's talks on doctrine. of salvation, and that the products of the Reformation, as religious bodies, are the offspring of the motherr church, de- scribed in the Scriptures as the "mother of harlots and abomination of the earth." This unnatural mother, like some of the fashionable women of modern times (whose husbands and illicit patrons are zealously opposing the Latter-day Saints), endeavored to procure abortion, but failing in this, she tried to destroy her children after birth. Both attempts being futile, the children grew to years of maturity and in turn gave birth to other children, and so on until now there are sev- eral generations of them living. These offspring, being without natural affection, have been and still are quarreling with e'ach other and casting missiles at their mothers and grandmothers as the case may be. In the midst of this religious spectacle, however, there are and have been many honorable people who have realized the fallen condition of the world and were honest enough to ac- knowledge the same. From Elder John Morgan's Tract No. 1, we make the following exti-acts : "Roger Williams refused to continue as pastor over the' oldest Baptist church in America on the grounds that there was no regularly constituted church on earth nor any x)ersion authorized to administer church ordi- nances, nor can there be until new apostles aref sent by the Great Head of the Church for whose coming I am seeking." (See Picturesque America, pagef 502.) Smith's Bible Dic- tionary also says : "We must not expect to see the Church of Holy Scriptures actually existing in its perfection on the earth. It is not to be found thus perfect either in the collected fragments of Christendom or still less dn any one of these frag- ments." The names of sixty-five learned divines and biblical scholars are on the preface page as contributors to and en- dorsers of this book. Mr. Wesley states that the reason the gifts are no longer in the church, is because the love of many waxed cold and the Christians had turned heathens again and had only a dead form left. (See volume 1, sermon 94.) ^ The situation of the religious world is beJautifuUy depicted in poetic verse on page forty-one of the Latter-day Saints' Hymn Book, in a hymn from Wesley's collection. In speaking of the APOSTASY. 15 golden age of the apostles and prophets, when the Saints were endowed with spiritual gifts and graces, the writer says : "Where shall we wander now to find Successors they have left behind? The faithful whom we seek in vaiin Are 'minished from the sons of men. Ye different sects who all declare : 'Lo! here is Olirisit' or 'Christ is there!' Your stronger proofs divinely give, And show me where true Christians live." I will now quote from the Bible to illustrate how plainly the prophets foretold what the writers from whom I have quoted clearly show to have been verified : "Behold the days come, saith the Lord Cod, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of rhe Lord : And they shall wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it." (Amos viii: 11, 12.) We learn from this that the time was coming when men should seek to the four points of the compass, and in all directions, and yet fail to find the word of God ; but we find the Bible in every direction, and that is said to contain the word of the Lord. Very true, but that word was directed to past gen- erations and is a record of the dealings of our Heavenly Father with His children in bygone days. The sacred record states : "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secrets unto His servants the Prophets." (Amos iii : 7.) From this we learn that if there are no prophets of the Lord, then our Heavenly Father is doing nothing in a religious sense among the people of ths earth ; but if He is doing a work among them for their redemption, then there must be prophets. By this it will be easy to ascer- tain whether the prediction of Amos has been verifiefd or not. Who, previous to the year' 1827, for many centuries has found in his researches an inspired propheft who could stand in the midst of the? people and say, "Thus saith the Lord?" Have not the people denied the prophets and visions of heaven? We learn from the nineteenth chapter of Revelations that "the testimony of Jesus is 'the spirit of prophecy." Therefore, if any 16 Cowley's talks on doctrine. have had this testimony they have bcfeu inspired with the spirit of prophecy. And again, we are informed by the Savior, as written in the sixteenth chapter of John, that the "Spirit of truth shall guide into all truth," and "show you things to come." Who has seein things to come? And where is the word of the Lord? Surely not with those who deny prophets and apostles. Wef learn from the twenty-fourth chapter of Isaiah that the effects of this ancient apostasy would be so universal as to cover all classes of society, affecting not only the religious and social circles, but the business transactions of the human fam- ily. In the second verse he says: "And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest ; as with the servajnt, so with his master ; as with the maid, so with her mistress ; as with the buyer, so with the seller ; as with the lender so with the bor- rower ; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him." By reading the fifth verse of the same chapter we' learn that even the earth upon which we dwell is seriously effected. Isaiah says: "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant." As a testimony to the fulfillment of this prophecy, thousands of people in the American Union are witnesses to the fact, that in many parts thef land will not produce such prolific crops as it would several years ago, but is gradually growing weaker and losing its virtue. Many places once fruitful are now turned aside as being too poor to cultivate, and are occupied by hedge? grass, Fersecuted Him to the death. The sons of Levi wefre not purged. Many centuries have elapsed since they offered an acceptable? offering unto the Lord, so far as we are informed in sacred or other history. The Messiah did not come suddenly ; He came as other infants came, only under humbler circum- sftances, being borm in a stable and cradled in a manger. Truly does the Scripture say : "He descended below all things that He might rise above all things." He did not oome to His temple, for He £iaid that "the foxes had holes and birds of the air had nests, but the Son of Man had not where to lay His head ;" and again that the temple' occupied by money changers, rather than being a house of prayer, had become a "den of thieves." When He comes in verification of Malachi's prophecy, He will come suddenly and in power and grmt glory. He will find a temple to come to. " To do this, there must be a people called of God, instructed by revelation direct, in order to know Where?, when and how to erect, in keeping with divine approval, such a. sacred edifice. Such information cannot be found in the writ- ten word of bygone age?s, much less in the writings and com- mentaries of learned divines who deny the necessity of new and continuous revelation. Nothing short of a new Gospel digpen- sation, ushered in and perpetuated by direct revelation from the Lord, can fulfill the provisions of Malachi's prediction- 22 Cowley's talks on doctrine. Passing on to chapter four of Malachi's prophecy, we find the inspired utterances respecting the judgments of God, the burning find overthrow of the wicked and the rising of the Son of Right- eousness to those who fear His holy name. In the fifth verse it is said: "Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord." This is so definite that comments are imnecesS'ary. The prophet Elijah who was taken to heaven in a ch-ariot of fire without tasting death is doubtless referred to. In the verse following the one quoted, the mission of Elijah is specified to "turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers." How consistent and glorious s-uch a mission ! The children receiving the Gospel in a new dispensation naturally inquire what has become of their fathers who died without the Gospel. In other pages of this vol- ume, referring to the redemption of the dead, we notice more fully this prophecy and testify that Elijah has come and also restored the keys of salvation for the dead. Zechariah saw the time when Jerusalem should be rebuilt, and ^aid: "Behold, the angel that talked with me went forth and another angel went out to meet him, and said unto him, run, speak with the young man, saying, Jerusalem shall be in- habited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein." ( Zech. ii: 3, 4.) Continuing, the prophet speaks of Israel coming from the North, and from Babylon, and being gathered to their inheritances, and that God Himself "shall dwell in the midst of thee." The Scriptures are replete with similar prophecies pointing to the gathering of Israel to Zion and Jeru- salem, the coming of the Lord, and other important evemts. How any one could believe that these glorious prophecies could be verified without more revelation and the establishment of a new dispen&ation of the Gospel, is more of a marvel to a true be- liever in the Bible than is believing in prophecy, revelations, visions, miracles, etc. In Revelations, chapter xiv, verses 6 and 7, we have the fol- lowing very clear prophecy on this important subject : "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the ever-^ lastng Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice. Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL. 23 of His judgment is come ; and worsMp Him that made heaven, and earth, and sea, and the fountains of waters." The inspired utterance cannot have reference to an event in the age" in which it was uttered for two reasons at least: iBrst, the people had the Gospel at the time, and John's mission was to declare the same; second, the v.oice from heaven as recorded in Rev. iv: 1, 2, called to Joihn saying, "Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.'' "What is prophecy but history reversed?" Tlius the bock of Revelation is olie unbroken chain of prophetic history from firsl to last. The declaration that an angel should come with the Grosipel is proof that the Gospel would be taken aw^ay. Again, the angel was to come in the "hour of God's judgment," a day not at all fulfilled during the earthly ministry of our Savior. One of the most remarkable features of the prophecy is that the inhabitants of the earth, without exception (every nation, kin- dred, tongue and people, is included in the glorious message), are called upon to worship Him who made the heaven, and earth and the sea and the fountains of water. When we come to the subject of personality of Grod, it will be our purpose to show that the "God without body, parts, and pas- sions" is not the God who made the heaven and the earth, and hence the necessity of just such an injunction as that quoted from the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, being given to the world in the last days. The specifications of the prophecy are plain. The question whicli logically follows is, "Has that angel come?" If he has not, then he mu3t do so, or the word of God is null and void, and this is impossible. "Not one jot or tittle shall fall unfulfilled." "Though heaven and eartli shall pass away, my word shall never pass/ away." Certainly the angel has not come to any Catholic or Protestant ministers, for they dispute the necessity of angels. The only claim to the reception of the heavenly message isi made by Joseph Smith, the prophet, and his followers, who testify that the angel came to the young man Joseph. It will not do to dism'iss this claim by saying that "false prophets shall come," for false proph- ets, counterfeit coin, and every spurious imitation exists as a counterfeit to the true article, so that the existence of false prophets is usually a very fair indication that true prophets are not far away. 24 Cowley's talks on doctrine. Following the coming of the angel having the Gospel to restore was to be another, urging the Saints to come out of Babylon : "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, come out of her, my people, that ye receive not of her plagues." (Rev. xviii :4.) Thus it is a gathe^rlng dispensation, as stated by Paul in the first chapter of Ephesians. The Savior, in speaking of the' signs asso- ciated with His second coming and the consummation of His Father's work un the last days, says : "And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." tv.latt. xxiv:14. ) This prophecy was uttered in connection with the stating of other signs given by the Savior resi>ecting His second advent, and in answer to a question by the disciples : "Tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming and of the end of the world?" "This Gospl of the kingdom ;" "Tlie Everlasting Gospel ;" The Gospel of aipositles, prophets, revelations, visions, miracles and all the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Tliis only true Gospel could not be preached for a witness unto all nations unless restored to earth by modern revelations, for the religious world, so far as enjoying the true Gospel is concerned, comes under the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter ix : 2 : "For behold darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people;" and again, chapter xxiv: 5: "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; beeauf^e they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant," all this going to prove the necessity of a Gospel restoration. When Jesus taught His diaiciples how to pray He instructed them to say, among other things, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as dt is in heaven." (Matt, vi :10.) If the king- dom referred to by Him had come, He would not have instructed them to pray for what they already possessed. They were look- ing for a future day. On one occasion after His resurrection, the apostles ask^d the Savior this question : "Wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?" And He said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in Hi® own ix)wer." (Acts i: 7.) Tliis indicates plainly the establish- ment of God's kingdom at a future period of time. We may connect with these inspired sayings of the Savior the prophecy of RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL. 25 Daniel, recorded in the second chapter of his prophetic utter- ances. By reading from the second chapter of his book we learn that the king of Babylon had received a dream which, having gone from his mind, he demanded to know of the wise men ; and not only the interpretation, but the dream itself. They, of course, failed. Daniel, the prophet, was called in, and in the spirit of a true prophet and Saint of God acknowledged that it was not in man to reveal sfuch things, '*But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and make'th known to the King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days." The image seen in the dream is next described by Daniel as being in form like a man, with a head of fine gold, his breast and arms of sil- ver, his belly and thighs of brass, hisi legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. The interpretation made known that this image represented the kingdoms of the world, beginning with Babylon, the head of gold; next came the Medio- Persian, under Alexander the Great; then arose the Roman empire, out of which grew the modem kingdoms of Europe, represented by the feet and toes. Here comes the important feature of the? proph- ecy which was to take place in the "latter days," of which the prophet Daniel says, ''And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed ; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but dt shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." The language of this prophecy shows: first, that unlike the preceding kingdoms, this last named kingdom was to be set up by God Himself, in other words, the kingdom of God, not of man. Second, unlike the? other kingdoms, it should never be destroyed. Third, it should not, like the kingdoms of men, pass from one people to another, but should not be left to other peo- ple. Fourth, that dt should have power to break in pieces and consume all other kingdoms. The terms of this prophecy, and the history of God's dealings with men since it was uttered, are such that no thoughtful, well- informed man can suppose that this event took place at the first coming and ministry of the Savior, for the? following reasons : first, the kingdoms represented by the toes and feet, contem- porary with which the kingdom of God was to be set up, did not exist; the Roman empire, symbolized by the legs of iron, 26 Cowley's talks on doctrine. was that part of the image then extant. Second, the kingJcm spoken of by Daniel was not to be left to other people, whereas the Savior Himself said to tlie diisciples., as recorded in Mat- theiw xxi: 43, "Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to the nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." To this the testimony of Paul agrees in Acts xiii: 46. "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yonr- selves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles." These statements taken together, as well as many other condi- tions referred to, prove clearly that the kingdom spoken of by Daniel was not established in the days of our Savior. We are thus forced to the adm'ission that if thef kingdom of God has not come in this age, it is yet to come. There are, however, many other prophecies relating to the restoration of the last days, which show not merely that a restoration has been predicted, but that the Gospel veritably has been restored to man in this dispensation, with all the gifts and blessings which characterized the same in the days of the 'Messiah ; and more, that a pefople are being prepared for the coming and reign of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We have proved from the Bible prophecies that a restoration of the Grospel in its fullness, by modern revelation, would take place in the last days. We now desire to show that this restor- ation has taken place, and that Joseph iSmith, the Prophet, was the man through whom God has established anew His Church upon the earth, after the ancient pattern, with apostles, proph- ets, gifts and blessings, visions and revelations. Joseph Smith announced to the world that hef had received the visitation of heavenly messengers, also that they conferred upon him authority to speak and oflBciate in the name of the Lord with the same powe^r and authority received and exercised by .lohii the Baptist and the aiwstle Peter in ancient times. Now, the propliecies quoted here could not be verified unless some one should come to the world bearing just such a testimony as that borne by Joseph Smith. Furthermore?, when we ask Catholic and Protestant ministers if an angel has come to any of them with the everlasting Gospel, they answer in the negative, and deride the ddea of new refvela- RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL. 27 tiou. Ask tliem if Elijah the Prophet has come to them, to plant in the hearts of the children the promise made to the fathers. They say no. Has the messenger spoken of by Malachi come to you and taught you how to build a temple to the Lord, that He may "suddenly come to His temple?" Thef very question itself is treated with utter astonishment, and the man who asks it is regarded as being erratic. We must therefore turn from sects having forms of godliness "but denying the power thereof," to other sources to find some one who has received, or shall re- ceive, the revelations of the Almighty in the last day®. One thing is certain, if the claims of thef Latter-day Saints are net true, then some one must come in the future with just such claims. We ask the question, will the world be any better pre- pared to receive a message of this character in the future than it is today? Certainly the hearts of the people are not being prepared for such testmonies by the influence and teachings of modern ministers. Come?, dear readers, let us reason together ; let us divest our minds of all prejudice. "Prove all things, hold fast that which is good," and ask the question, what cons:ti- tutes complete evidence that a man is a prophet of God? To be a reliable! witness in a human court, an individual must be a person of veracity, whose honor cannot be impeached. Such a man was Joseph Smith, the Prophet. His parents were hard- working farmers. They had a standing in the community of virtue?, honesty, industry and sincerity in relig^lous devotion, un- excelled by any. His forefathers were among the early founders of New England,- who came from the "motlier country" to enjoy the greater liberty of worshiping God without molestation and according to the dictates of conscience. His progenitors were soldierg of the Revolution. They offered their lives freely upon the altar of liberty, for the freedom of the American colonies and their descendants for all generations to come. From such a line of ancestors came the Prophet Joseph Smith. If they were not popular, nor great, nor afii'uent, in the eyes of the world, neither were the immediate ancestry of Jesus and His apostles. If Joseph was poor and earned his bread by the sweat of his brow, so did most all of the prophets since the world began. He enjoyed the reputation, among those who knew him best, in every state in which he lived throughout life, of being an honest, industrious, virtuous, patriotic man. On trumped-up 28 COWLEY^S TALKS ON DOCTRINE. charges by the euemies of truth, he was arrested and tried thirty-nine times in courts not conducted by men of his awn faith, and thirty-nine times he was honorably acquitted. The last time he was arrested, his enemies said, "If the law cannot reach him, powder and lead shall." How like the exi)erience of Jesus before Pilate ! Honorably acquitted by the judges, they cried cut, "Let His blood be upon us and our children!" And so it has been; the same is true of those who shed the blood of the Prophet and Patriarch in these last clays. In view of the unpopularity of believing in angels and revela- tions in this age, what purpose could a man have in view, to make such a declaration, unless it was true? Joseph Smith gained no popularity or honors of men by it ; he made no wealth of a worldly character by such a course. On the other hand, he suffered ignominy, scorn, and persecution in almost every form, including hunger, fatigue, exile, imprisonment and death at the hands of assassins. If it could be urged with the least propriety that when he announ he asked the leading men of Richmond, Mo., if they could honestly give an affidavit before an officer that, from their acquaintance and dealings with him, he was a man of honesty and truth. This they did, and published it. They were men not of Mr. Whitmer's religious; views. With that affidavit signed by about twelve leading business men of the town, and the testimony of his physician that his mind was i)erfectly sound, he published again to the world his testimony that he had seen the angel, had handled the plates, and that the Book of Mormon wag the divinely translated record. In connection with the coming forth of the Bock of Mormon, a remarkable prophecy of Isaiah has been strikingly verified : "And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed : and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, say- ing. Read this, I pray thee : and he saith, I am not learned." (Isaiaih xxix: 11, 12.) When Joseph obtained the plates he dis- covered that a portion of them were? sealed and learned from the angel that the time had not come to publish that part of the volume, but from the unsealed plates he copied some characters and sent them by Martin Harris to a learned linguist in New- York — Prof. Anthon. The learned man examined them and gave Mr. Harris a certificate? testifying that they were true characters of Hebrew and reformed Egyptian. Before leaving, the learned man asked Mr. Harris to bring him the plates and he would translate them. Mr. Harris answered that he was forbidden to do that, and also that a portion of the' plates were sealed. He replied, "I cannot read a sealed book," and asked where Joseph Smith obtained them. When answered that an angel revealed them, he asked to see the certificate he had given of their genu- ineness. It was handed him and he tore it up in a rage, saying, "Angels do not appear nowadays." The words of the book, not the book itself, were delivered to the learned man, as Isaiah said they would be. He said he could not read a sealed book, as Isaiah said he would say. The book itself was delivered to Joseph, the unlettered youth, and in his humility he said, I am not learned ; but God gave the gift of translation, that it should RESTORATION OF THE GOSPEL. 33 be done; not by the wisdom and learning- of men, but by the power of God. Other Bible prophecies might be quoted referring to the Book of Mormon, but our purpose at prefsent is not to treat upon that sacred record, but incidentally to show that its com- ing forth furnishes strong evidence that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. How it would be possible for an unsophisti- cated youth to devise a scheme that would answer in its work- ings so minutely the details of anciefnt prophecy, unless God inspired him, should require far more credulity to believe, than it would that he was sent of God, and thus attribute to the Al- mighty the honor for the great work. With this array of corroborating witnefsses, and the practical character of Joseph Smith, we do not see the possibility of his being mistaken any more than were Paul, Stephen, Moses, Peter, James and John and all the ancient prophets. It should be re- membered that God has His own way and does not show Himself openly to all the people, but to chosen witnesses. "Him God raised up the third day, and sihowed Him openly, not to all the! people, but to witnesses chosen before God." (Acts x : 40, 41.) We come now to another phase of evidence that the Gospel has beefn restored, namely, that the organization of the Church as established by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and also the doc- trines taught by him, are in perfect accord with the teachings of the Bible. The proof of this is given in other chap- ters of this volume. The evidence there given of the divine mis- sion of Joseph Smith is all the stronger when we take into con- sideration the fact that for seventeen centuries learned men have been organizing churches) and teaching what they esteemed to be the essentials of salvation, without being able from the fragmentary teachings of the apostles to organize a church with apostles, prophets, seventies, etc. The force? of this condition is also enhanced when we recall that each generation of reformers has possessed the advantages arising from the experience and conclusions of each generation preceding them. Neither has been able to unite upon the principles essential for mankind to obey in order to secure salvation. Joseph Smith presents to the world a system which is a mon- ument of inspiration, both as to the scriptural evidence that the organization is divine and in the fact that the practical workings 2 34 COWIiEY's TALKS ON DOCTRINE. thereof are perfect. He does not stop at this. He says to his followers that on condition of their acceptance of faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, repentance? from all sin, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands by Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they shall receive the Holy Ghost, and that the fruits thereof are the samef as in olden times; they shall prophesy, speak in tongues, have dreams, visions, revelations, healings and miracles. There are in the Church today 310,000 souls. Of this number many are children, but the thousands who have arrivefd at the years of accountability have put the promise to the test, and the universal testimony of these people is that they have received knowledge of God for themselves. The tens of thou- sands, also, who have? passed from life, since the date of the organization of the Church (1830), received the same testimony. During the troubles of the Saints in Illinois, judge Stephen A. Douglas was an acquaintance of Josefph Smith and his people. He knew the injustice heaped upon them by his personal ac- quainrt:ance with the facts. While in the presence of judge Douglas and others, the judge requested the Prophet to give him a history of the persecutions in Missouri, which he did. While addressing the judge the Prophet said : "Judge, you will as- pire to the presidency of the United States ; and if you ever turn your hand against me or the Latter-day Saints, you will feel the weight of the hand of the Almighty upon you ; and you will live to see and know that I have testified thef truth to you ; for the conversation of this day will stick to you through life." {Deseret News, Sept. 24th, 1856.) Judge Douglas aspired, as stated, to the Presidency of the United States, and was nominatefd for that position on June 23d, 1860, at the Democratic convention) held in Charleston. When he thus aspired he was a popular man, eloquent and gifted, and no one seemed to have brighter hopes of success. However, in his mistaken effort to win popular approval, in a speech delivered in Springfield, Illinois, June 12th, 1857, he, in defiance of his own knowledge of the Latter-day Saints and their character, said : "The knife must be applied to this i^estiferous, body politic. It must be cut out by thef roots and seared over by the red-hot iron of stem and unflinching law." Much more he uttered against the Latter-day Saints, in harmony with miaguid- RESTORATION OP THE GOSPEL. 35 ed public sentiment. Wiien the election came Douglas was badly defeated. Of the electoral votes he had but twelve. He carried but one state. Feeling "the weight of the hand of the Almighty upon him," he died a disappointed, heart-broken man, in less than a year, in the prime of life, being but forty-eight years of age. Thus the word of the Lord was fulfilled with ter- rible accuracy. Again Joseph said : "I prophesied that the Saints would con- tinue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Mountains; many would apostatize, others would be put to death by our persecutors or lose their lives in consequence of exposure and disease ; and some of you will live to go and assist in making settlements and build cities and see the Saints become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains." {Mill. Slav, Vol. xix., page 630.) The Saints did continue to suffer much pefrsecu- tion, some did apostatize, others did (die of exposure, disease and privation. Others were put to death by persecutors ; some lived to go to the Rocky Mountains. Thefy have assisted there in building cities, towns and temples, in making a great common- wealth, and the Saints have become a mighty people in the midst of these mountains. They attract the attention of the world. "A city set on a hill cannot be hid." Thefse prophecies, uttered by Joseph Smith, have come to pass, as have many others, and that, too, contrary to all human prospects. All his prophecies not yet verified relate to future times, and will come to pass as literally and exactly as those of the? past or those of any other prophet since the world began, for God inspired and Joseph spoke. Having finished his mission, accomplished all in the flesh the Lord gave him to do, the Prophet Joseph Smith suffered the! shedding of his blood at the hands of a wicked mob, June 27th, 1844, in Carthage, Illinois. Why was he slain? His doctrine, his promises, his life, his prophecies, all proved him to be a prophet of God before? he died a martyr. Let the Scriptures answer the question : "For where a testament is, there must also of a necefssity be the death of the testator." (Heb. ix : 16.) God gave to the world through Josefph Smith a new testament of the plan; of salvation. He gave the Book of Mormon, a record of the Gospel to the ancient inhabitants of America. He gave the Doctrine and Covenants, containing the revelations of 36 Cowley's talks on doctrine. God to the Saints of thef last days. These do not supplant tlie Bible. They prove it true, and all agree in one. "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established." Through Joseph, to this generation, camef the witness of the Holy Ghost and the authority of the Holy Priesthood. By the continuation of that authority the Church exists today, with the Prophet Joseph F. Smith as its earthly living head. Every Elder of the Church can trace his authority back directly to Joseph Smith, who was ordained by the apostles Peter, James and John, who received it from the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith's testimony is weighty. It efifefcts the whole world. The evidence must also be weighty, and it can now be said that no class of evidence was withheld. He gave all that any Prophet ever gave, including life itself. He sealed his testi- mony with his blcod and his testimony is in force upon all the world. The sealing of his testimony with his blood also accords with ancient prophecy. John the Revelator was called into a high mountain to see the visions of the future. Read (Rev. iv :1). Also, among other things, the apostle says : "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the* altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held : And they cried with a loud voice, saying : How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were. given cinto every one of them ; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be! fulfilled." (Rev. vi:9-ll.) Joseph Smith, the great Prophet of the last days, and his mar- tyred brother, the Patriarch Hyrum Smith, were among these fellow servants who were to be slain. They have fulfilled this hist requirement of their earthly existence. Their testimony is true, attested by every evidence that man could give or the world "e^iuire. That testimony is binding upon all the world. The Gospel has been restored to man, through Joseph Smith, in all its fullness. Will men obey the divine message? A proper answer by every individual is of the greatest importance. THE CHURCH. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the organ- ization through which the Lord is accomplishing the declaration of the Gospel in the last days, gathering Israel, administering the ordinances of salvation, and, in short, is accomplishing the work of redemption— that accomplisihment which has been pre- dicted by the mouths of all His holy prophets since the world began. The Church is called the Church of Jesus Christ because it is His'. He directed how and when to organize it, pointing out by direct revelation the manner of Churcli government; the principles and ordinances of the Gospel; the blessings to be en- joyed by those who obey Him, and also the respective duties of each quorum or council of the Holy priesthjood. The words "Lattea--day Saints" are used to distinguish it from the former- day dispensation, or from the Church of Jesus Christ of Former- day Siaints. The authority of God delegated to man is! called the Holy priesthood. This priesthood is arranged under two great heads. The lesser branch is called the Levitical or Aaronic, because it was conferred upon Aaron and his posterity. It holds th^ keys of the administration of angels, administering the outward ordinances of the Gospel, such as "baptism by immersion for the remission of sins,'* the sacrament of the Lord's supper, the receiving and distribution of tithefs and offerings', all subject to the direction of the high priesthood. The officers in the Aaronic priesthood consist of Bishops, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. There is a presiding Bishop, who holds the keys of this priest- hood, also other Bishops, who preside over the interests of the lesser priesthood in Wiards of Branches, looking after the tem- poral interests of the Saints. The Priests are standing minis- ters, organized into quorums of forty-eight in each. The duty of the Priest is to visit the home of eiach member, expound the Scripture, invite all to come unto Christ and exhort the Saints to perform every duty enjoined by the Gospel. Teachers are organized into quorums of twefnty-four each. dO COWLEY'S TALKS ON DOCTBINE. The duty of those bearing this office is to see that the Saints dc their duty and entertain no ill-feelings toward their fellow- beings, and that no iniquity exists in the Church. Thefse general duties, common to all Saints, consist in living a chaste, honest, upright, temperate and industrious life, attending to secret and fiimily prayers, attendance at meetings of worship, partaking of the sacrament, the paymefnt of tithes and offerings, observing the Sabbath day, and kindred obligations, all made plain in the revelations of God to the Church. The Deacons are organized into quorums of twelve each, and are to assist the Teacher in all the duties of his calling, as occa- sion may require, but their especial duty is to look after the houses of worship, keep them clean, see to the arrangement of seats and the seating of the people in public assemblies of wor- ship, and f^nch other Labors under the direction of the Bishop as may conduce to the welfare of the Church. The Meldiisedek or higher pxiesthoo'd holds the keys to the kingdom of heaven. It has the power to seal on earth, and what is done is sealed in heaven ; to loose on earth and it is loosed in heaven ; to receive the revelations of God ; to guide the Church in all things, and to understand thef mysteries of godliness as far as they are revealed to men in the flesh. In ancient times these keys and fullness of authority were given to Petfifr when the Savior said to him : "And I give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." (Matt, xvi: 19.) The offices of this priesthood consist of the First Presidency, a quorum of three, bearing the holy apostleship, and as the or- ganization of the Church on earth typifies the heavenly, these three symibolize the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and hold the keys of authority over all departments of the Ghurch, on all matters, spiritual and temporal, even as the Godhead is thef great ruling power of the universe, the heavens and the earth and all that in them is. Next come the Twelve Apostles, Who hold the keys of opening the door of salvation to all nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples. The reason that this quorum numbers twelve is in honor of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus said to tiie '^IVelve at Jerusalem : "Thou shalt sit upon twelve thrones, judging the whole house of Israel ;" and again, upon the foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem were to be the names of the "T\velve THE CHURCH. 39 Apostles of the Lamb." The Church in governmient is "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone." (Eph. ii :19, 20.) ^The duty of the Twelve is to carry the Gospel to all nationis and to send the same by their associates, the Seventies. The Seventies are organized into quorums of seventy in each, presided over by seven of their number. Their especial calling is, like that of the Twelve, to be witnesses of the truth in all the world, and they are the ones especially appointed to asso- ciate with (the Twelve in conveying the Gospel message to all mankind. The oflSce of High Priest is one of presidency. The High Priests are not limited to any especial number to constitute a quorum, but any number existing in a Stake of Zion is a quorum, presided over by three of their members. High Priests are chosen to preside over Stakes of Zion, to act as High Coun- selors, preside over temples, officiate in the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and, where the literal deiscendants of Aaron are not found, the Hig6. Joseph Smith, the Proph.et, translated by inspiration the New Testament, completing the work Feb. 2, 1833. Five months later he finishefd the transition of the Old Testament, so far as the Lord indicated the necessity of so doing. The Latter-day Saints' Messenger and Advocate was published in Kirtland. The Church, though organized by the authority of the apostlefship, did not contain snflScient adherents at first to organize the councils of the priesthood, so as time went on and numbers increased, the Lord would indicate when and (how to organize these quorums. The quorum of High Priests was organized in Kirtland, Miarch 18, 1833. The Presi- dency and High Council of the Church were organized Feb. 17, 183^. That of the Seventies commenced Feb. 28, 1835. Thus from time to time, as the Church grew and developed, the Lord made plain by revelation how to organize every quorum, and finally Stakes of Zion and brandhes thereof and branches scat- tered abroad. On Aug. 17, 1835, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, con- taining the revelations of the- Lord to the Church up to that date, was accepted as a rule of faith and practice. Between that date and the martyrdom of the Prophet many revelations THE CHURCH. 43 were given, but owing to the poverty and unsettled condition of the Church all of them were not published until subsequent to the decease of thei Prophet. During the troubles in Missouri, a body of men called "Zion's Camp" left Kirtland May 5, 1834, to carry supplies and relieve the distress of their co-religionists, who had been exiled from their homes in Indefpendence, Mis- souri. They performed the arduous journey on foot, througli the wildernesses of Indiana, Illinois and Missouri, accomplished their mission and returned to Ohio. " Early in the year 1836 the" ordinances of blessing and anoint- ing were attended to in the Kirtland temple, and that sacred edifice was dedicated to the Lord March 27, 1836. In the tem- ple the gifts of the Holy Ghost weref poured out in abundance. Many saw visions. The Savior, Moses, Elias and ElijaTi ap- peared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Previous to this, Joseph's first visit was a personal visit of the Father and the Son. Again on Feb. 16, 1832, the Savior appeared to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, and revealed to them the glories of the celestial, terrestrial and telestial worlds, and the suffering and condemnation of those? who are unworthy a kingdom of glory. In 1837, during the financial panic, a great apostasy took place in Kirtland, which involved the standing of several of the Twelve Apostles. Persecution raged in Missouri. Elders Kimball, Hyde and Richards introduced the Gospel into England and performed their first baptism July 30th, 1837, in the river Ribble. From that time until the present date a prosperous mission has been conducted in Great Britain. Thousands have joined the Church in that land and gathered to Zion. Subsequently John Taylor introducefd the Gospel into France, and with others, into Germany; Erastus Snow into Scandinavia, and Lorenzo Snow into Italy ; and from these countries, especially Germany and Scandinavia, thousands have come to swell the ranks of the Latter-day Saints. Into each of these tonguefs, and others, the Book of Mormon has been translated in fulfillment of prophecy. The Gospel continued to spread in Canada, where it had been introduced by Parley P. Pratt, also in the United States and Europe. Persecution raged in Ohio and Missouri. The Saints as a body left Kirtland July 6th, 1838, for Missouri, chiefly lo- cating at Par West, Caldwell county. In the fall of that year, 44 Cowley's talks on doctrine. Apostle David W. Patten fell a martyr at the hands of a mob on Crooked river ; Joseph, Hyrum and others had been sent to prison without trial or conviction ; yet thef work prospered and spread abroad. During these sore trials, when death to the Prophet and others appeared inevitable, he prophesied their safe deliverance? from the mob in Missouri. While Joseph and Hyrum were yet in prison, Presidents Young and Kimball led the suffering Saints to Illinois, where they established the famed city of Nauvoo. To that point Joseph and his brethren made their escape and enjoyed a brief respite from mobocracy. The Prophet predicted, however, that Nauvoo would not be a resting place of the Saints for a great length of time. In keeping with this inspiration, he prophesied OIL Aug. 6th, 1842, of thefir coming location and greatness in the Rocky Mountains. He also prepared an expedition to ex- plore the AVest, but died a martyr before its consummation. Although Nauvoo was a sickly place, the industry of the Saintg was attended with the blessings of divine Providefnce, and the city grew with magic speed. A temple was soon com- menced. A charter was obtained from the State Lregislature to establish a university, and prospefrity almost unparalleled char- acterized the labors of the people. However, the combination of political intrigue and religious bigotry on the part of reli- gious professors, coupled with transgressing apostates, soon conspired to spread defath and destruction among the Saints. In Missouri, at Haun's mill and elsewhere, many had been shot down in cold blood, property was burned, and the whole people exiled from the state In Illinois further trouble was inaugurated by Missourians. They sought on one occasion to kidnap the Projyhet, but failed. Fabricated charges were made against the Prophet. He was tried as before, and every time acquitted. When his last trial was being conducted, the mob (like the rabblef in the halls of Pilate) said that if the law could not touch him, powder and lead should. Their nefarious purposes were permitted to be carried out, and on June 27th, 1844, Joseph and Hyrum, wTiile under the pledged protection of Gov. Ford, were assassinated by a howling mob in Carthage jail, Hancock county, Illinois. Previous to his martyrdom, the Prophet Joseph had received more than one hundred revelations, had been instrumental in THE CHURCH. ^ 45 organizing the Church in its fullness, and bestowing the keys of the kingdom of God upon the Twelve Ajpostles. To Nauvoo were gathered thousands of people from the several states, Canada and Great Britain. At the time of the Prophet's mar- tyrdom the Twelve were abroad on missions, with the exception of Elders John Taylor and Willard Richards, who were with the Prophet and Patriarch at the time of the martyrdom. Elder Taylor himself being wounded with four bullets. While the Saints weref in Missouri the Lord commanded that they should importune the officers of the law in the districts where the trouble occurred, and not being heeded, should appeal to the governor, thencef to the president of the United States. All this was done, without avail. The president answered their appeal by saying, "Gentlemen, your cause is just, but I can do nothing for you." Governors of states weref written to, to use their influence to avert the wrongs heaped upon the Saints, but from one or two only came a favorable response. On the failure of the states and nation to protefct their own citizens against mob violence and plunder, the Lord promisied to vex the nation with a soref vexation. This was done in the hun- dreds of thousands of lives 'and the millions in treasure lost in the Civil War. The outbrefak of this war was revealed by the Lord to Joseph twenty-eight years before it came to passi, and published to the world as early as 1851. The Church was not founded by men, nor did it depend upon any particular man or set of men for strength, growth or progress. God has foundeid and protected and is perpetuating His Church on the earth, so that when the Propthet passed to the life beyond, the work continued and grew with great rapid- ity. It is said, and truly, that "the blood of the martyr is the seed o^ the Churc'h." President Brigham Young and his associates of the Twelve, according to the voice of the Spirit and the order of the Holy Priesthood, succeeded to the Presidency of the Church. The work of the Lord continued to prosper, contrary to the predic- tion of its enemies that ^^%en the Prophet Joseph was out of the way the work would come to naug'ht. The foundation of a temple had been laid which was pushed to completion, dedi- cated to the Lord, and ordinances performed therein. Mobo- cratic hostilities were refnewed, however, with determined vigor. 46 Cowley's talks on doctrine. Nauvoo was besieged. The temple was burned and Elder Wil- liam Anderson and his son killed. The Saints were expelled at the point of the bayonet. They had a flourishing city in an in- credibly short time. They were quiet, peaceable, law-abiding, industrious citizens. The killing of their leading men, the burn- ing of their homes, the numerous indignities heaped upon them, were as dastardly and cold-blooded as any persecution chron- icled in the annals of history, especially when we consider that it occurred in a free country, where libel-ty for every race and religion is the proud boast of its people. Many of the people left Nauvoo in the dead of winter, 1845-6, crossing the Missis- sippi river on the ice. The day aftel* the general exodus, nine children were born in the camp of the exiled people. Under the leadership of President Young and his associates, the Saints movefd westward across the state of Iowa and built up a settle- ment called Winter Quarters, where the people remained to re- cruit until 1847. While there the government called on the Saints for five hundred men to engage in the war with Mexico. These were promptly supplied, and the most able-bodied men were sent to defend their country. In the spring of 1847, President Young and a small company numbering 143, including three? women, started from the Mis- souri river to find beyond the Rocky Mountains a place of rest, where they might build and inhabit homes and worship God "free from the furious rage of mobs." After an interesting and trying journey of about three months this noble? band of pioneers entered Salt Lake valley July 24th, 1847, over a thousand miles from the Mississippi river. As they emerged from the mouth of wliat was afterwards named Emigration Canyon, they stood upon a plateau facing westward. To the north and south a great valley extended, bordered on the west by mountains and a great inland sea of salt water, the Great Salt Lake. The islands in the lake are mountains almost destitute? of timber, but supplied with grass suitable for the grazing of horses and cattle. The valley was poorly watered, and dry and sterile was the apearance of the country before them. But God was their leader. He had shown to President Young beforehand the Salt Lake Valley. When the pioneer band entered the valley the Prophet said, 'This is the place. Here we will build a city." When they came upon the ground where the templef now stands, THE CHURCH. 47 President Young, thrusting his cane into the ground, said in substance, "Here we will stay, and upon this ground we will build a temple." All the evefnts conducing to the gi'owth and development of the valleys prove that President Brigham Young knew whereof he spoke, and God has confirmed his words by the many bless- ings of divine Providence showered upon the pefople in building up a commonwealth in what was in those days a great barren waste. The soil upon which the Saints then stood belonged to Mexico. Those pioneers were? as truly exiles from their country as were the Puritans who sailed the trackless ocean and planted their feet upon Plymouth Rock. And yet the Latter-day Saints then had five hundrefd men in the American army, in the con- test with Mexico. Upon a prominent mountain peak, called Etnsign, the ''Mormon" pioneers planted the Stars and Stripes^ the flag of their country, and possessed the land as citizens of the United Statefs. Upon the arrival of this first company the work of plowing and building immediately commenced. It would take volumes to tell the history of the growth and pro- gress of the Saints from that time till now ; but this wondrous recital is written upon the mountains! and in the valleys, which are open' to the inspection of all people. In the fall of 1847 a large company of Saints crossed the plains, led by President John Taylor and other prominent men. The companies continued to pour into Salt Lake? valley and spread into the valleys north and south each year from 1847 to 1900, coming as Latter-day Saints, under the regulations of the Ohurch. The leading brethren had made covenant that they v/ould not cease? their energies until all the Saints who would remain faithful should be gathered to the place appointed. Before the death of Prophet Joseph many had apostatized. The skints were not so well established in doctrine? as they are today, and some were led astray by the pretensions of promi- nent men who were disposed to leave the Church and follow the^ir own course. The TVelve Apostles stood next in authority to the Presidency of the Church by the order pointed out in the revelations of God and at the time when Sidney Rigdon was asserting his claims to the guardianship of the Church, Presi- dent Young stood up to address the Saints. A re?markable man- ifestation of God's power took place. President Young was 48 Cowley's talks on doctrine. transfigured before the people. He appeared to Increase in height and in form of his face and body to thef exact personal a.ppeiarance of the Prophet Josei)h Smith. When he spoke his voice was as that of the martyred Prophet. People who were present on that occasion say that if their efyes had been closed when he arose from his seat they would have believed the speaker to be none other than the Martyr. Truly the mantle of Josefph had fallen upon Brigham, and while Joseph had received all the keys of the priesthood, he had bestowed them uipon the Twelve, also the revelations upon which to build the Church of Christ. President Young truly built upon these revelations during his entire administration. In 1849, at Winter Quarters, he was susitained as President of the Church by the unanimous voice of the priesthood, Heber C. Kimball and Williard Rich- ards then being chosen Counselors and so endorsed by the voice of the Church thereafter at general conferences during the re- mainder of their lifetimes. President Young presided over the Church as the senior Apostle for thirty-three years, five years in conneiction with the Twelve and twenty-eight years in the Presidency. Soon after the settlement of the Saints in Salt Lakef valley, other valleys were explored north and south, and settlements established wherever water could be obtained, as rapidly as the strength and numbers of the Saints would justify. As early as 1860 settlements were founded and the Saints organized in Wards and quorums of the priesthood, from Cache valley to St. George, a distance of over 400 miles from north to south. Wherever the Saints locate in settlements of a few families, or more, they are organized with a Bishop and counselors to prer side over them, with Priests, Teachers and Deacons, as before explained, for a local ministry. As helps in government they had in those early days the Relief Society to relieve the poor and afflicted. The society is composed of women, and was first organized March 17, 1842, by the Prophet Joseph Smith, in Nauvoo. In 1849 the first Sunday school was established in. the Church by Richard Ballantyne, in the Fourteenth Ward, Salt liake City. Later, and during the administration of Prefsident Young, the Young Men and Young Ladies' Mutual Improve- ment Associations were inaugurated. Still later, by suggestion of Sister Aurelia Spencer Rogers, under the administration of THE CHURCH. 49 President John Taylor, th^ Primary Associations, presided over and conducted by capable sisters, were established for the es- pecial benefit of little children. All these are helpful regula- tions to meet the growing requirements of the Saints in mat- ters of religious, moral and intellectual training and develop- ment. One of these organizations exists in every Bishop's Ward, uuless the number of any class who properly belong to one of the associations named is too limitefd to make the organization profitable. In such cases those who would take part in such associations are not unprovided for because the Sunday school, more than any other association in the Church, takes in all ages of both sexes. Our Sunday schools now have a member- ship of nefarly 125,000. Where there are a sufficient number of Wards, in any section of the country, these Wards are presided over by a President and two counselors, witti a High Council, who have certain jurisdiction over matters pertaining to the Church in this group of Wards. Tlhe associations, Sunday schools, societies, etc., have a general superintendency of three, with assistants. This organization, composed of the Wards, is called a Stake of Zion. For convenience sake, thef geographical boundaries of the Stake are usually the same? as those of the county, but not always, or necessarily so. Sometimes the population of two or three counties is not too great to be one Stake?, where the settle- ments are close together, or not separated by mountains, which would render the attendance of the people at Stake confefr- ences, especially in the winter season, very laborious, and in some instances almosit impossible. We? have now fifty Stakes of Zion. They extend from Canada to Mexico. They exist in Utah, ^Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, Canada and Mexico. Many of them were organized just prior to the decease of President Young, the? remiainder under his suc- cessors, respectively : Presidents Taylor, Woodruff, Snow and Smith. April 6th, 1853, the Temple in ;Salt Lake City was) com- menced It is constructed of granite. The rock was hauled, the? first fifteen years, with ox teams, a distance of sixteen miles, two yoke of oxen frequently being required to draw one huge stone. But many years before the completion of the Temple, the locomotive?, with many car loads of stone at a 60 Cowley's talks on doctrine. time, rolled into the Temple block and left its cargo by the side of the growing edifice. The capstone of this magnifi- cent house of the Lord was laid by dectricity. The current was applied by the finger of God's Prophet, Wilford Woodruff, then eighty-four years of age, and one of that noble band of one hundred forty-three who entered Salt Lake valley July 24th, 1847. President Young was instrumental in laying the foundation of four temples in Utah, at Salt Lake, St. George, Logan and Manti. All have been, years ago, completed; the Salt Lake Temple being dedicated April 6th, 1893, by President Wilford Woodruff. The ordinances of salvation for the liv- ing and the dead are performed in the tefmples, and tens of thousands have been oflBciated for since their completion. Subsequent to the exodus of the Church from Nauvoo to Salt Lake valley, the Go9i)el was introduced to the Pacific Isles by President George Q. Cannon and other Elders in 1853. In the work of preaching the Gospel many countries have? not yet accorded perfect religious freedom, and to penetrate these the Churdh awaits only the provinces of the Almighty to break down the barriers and make it feasible to promulgate the Gospel in those countries. In other lands, where frefedom reigns, the Elders have carried the glorious message. The Book of Mormon has been translated into German, Danisih, Swedisli, French, Spanish, Italian, Hawaiian, Maori and other tongues, and will continue to be given to the world until the truths of the Gosjyel upon its sacred pages shall be read by every nation, kindred, tongue and i>eople. The thousands who have embraced the work with honest motives have received the witness of the Holy Spirit to their own satisfaction. Gifts and blessings which the ancient saints enjoyed have been ref- newed in this glorious dispensation. The external history of the Church has been the same as in other times. "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own ; but because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you." "And they that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," Prophecy has been and is being fulfilled. "What is proptiecy but history reversed?" History repeats itself. When Joseph Smith promulgated a new revdation, religious and irreligious fought against such an idea. Professional religionists seek to prove by the Scrip- THE CHURCH. 61 tures that revelations are not for our day. In this they fail, because the Old and New Testaments abound in predic- tions of future' revelations and events which cannot be filled without revelation. The wicked have resorted to slander, ridi- cule and falsehood, then to violence, resulting in the destruction of property and human life. All this being futile, they movefd the nation by the falsehoods of Judge Drummond to send an army to Utalw. But when the army came they found that this United States officer had ba^sely deceived thef president of the nation, by telling that the Mormons wore in a state of re- bellion and had burned the court records, these being found unharmed. The Mormons were at peace with God and ell mankind, quietly minding their owd business, pursuing their vocations of life and building up the country for the benefit and blessing of all who should come within their gatefs. The army came to Utah in 1857, and subsequently returned East, going chiefly to the South, their leading officer, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, taking part with the Confederate army in the great rebellion. He fell upon the? battlefild of Shiloh, April 6th, 1862, thirty-two years to the day after the Church was born in this dispensation. The army sold to the Mor- mons mules, wagons, harness and other materials much needed, at a mere nominal figure, and thus befing a blessing, proved the words of Isaiah true, "I will make the wrath of man to praise me." As the Saints grew in prosperity and importance, avarice and prejudice seized political demagogues, adventurers and religious bigots, to stir the nation to a systemiatic effort to crush out "Mormonism." Special legislation was enacted and enforced beyond the severity of its own provisions. About eight hundred men went to prison ; a few women were incar- cerated because they would not testify against their husbands ; heavy fines were paid and hundreds went into exile rather than prove untrue to the solemn covena'nts and obligations they had entered into under their religious convictions. Finally confiscation of Church property took place, but most of it was afterwards restored. In 1890 President Woodruff issued his manifesto regarding plural marriagef, feeling that the courts of the country had abused justice in denying the Saints 52 Cowley's talks on doctrine. the liberty of religious worslhip granted by the American Constitution. In this form of opposition to the Church, a prophecy of Joseph Smith is fulfilled, in which he said, in substance, that persecution against thef Saints would extend from township to county, from county to state, and from state to nation. His words have been literally fulfilled. The Saints, in en- during persecution, did so with patience and forbearance. . They have no spirit of revengef. They understand that much of the popular sentiment against them is based upon mis- understanding, founded in the falsehood of wicked and de- signing men. The spirit of the Gospel teadhesi them that it is better to suffer wfong than to do wrong, and that patience and charity are as necessary as a testimony of the truth ; for without the approval of the Lord they could not endure thef trials and temptations which beset them. From the commencement the Church had taught the utmost freedom . of mankind to worship as they chose, such liberty being curtailed only wlien it runs into license and infringes upon the rights of others. In thef early inception of the Church, God commanded His people to study and learn from the best of books, to acquire an understanding of the laws of God and the governments of men, to become acquainted with the heavens and thef earth. Thus the Saints are the friends of all true education. Joseph Smith established a school in Kirtland for thef study of Hebrew and other branches of knowl- edge. For Nauvoo he obtained a charter for a university. Brigham Young and his associates founded the Deseret Uni- versity, now called the University of Utah. They have also established church schools, the Brigham Young Academy in Provo, the Brigliam Young* College in Logan, Stake academies and other schools. The sons of Latter-day Saints have grad- uated with honor in tlie Military Academy at West Point. In Ann Arbor, 'Michigan, they have a record unsurpassed in the law school and in ofher branches taught by that noted institution. The same is true of their record at Harvard and elsewhere ; also are there numerous graduate's of medicine, dentistry, civil engineering, etc., as taught in the great schools of Chicago, Philadelphia and other places. Mission conferences are establisfhed in almost every state of the American Union, THE CHURCH. 53 also in England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, Germany, Holland, Palestine, New Zealand, Aus- tralia, the Hawaiian and many other islands of the Pacific ocean, including Japan. The present living membership of the Church, men, women and children, is not less than 310,000 souls. While there has been steady progress in numerical strength, it is not in numbers altogether that strength consists. We fully realize that "Straight is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto , life, and few there be? that find it." The greatest strength conaists in the purity of the principle and the impossibility of the wicked and corrupt to remain long in the Ohurch. God is its founder and builder. He established the Ohurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will stand always, for '•whatsoever thef Lord doeth, He doeth it forever." CHURCH ORGANIZATION. We have treated briefly upon the subject of Divine Author- ity, merely pointing out the absolute necessity of such authori- ty in order to obtain complete salvation, and how it was be- stowed and perpetuated whenever a Gospel dispensation existed upon the earth. It will not 'be amiss to deal briefly with tJie subject of Qhurch Organization, as this specifies the dis- tribution of divine authority to the various oflices in tlie Church of Christ, each having specific duties to perform. In the' beginning we wish it distinctly understood that we accept of the New Testament as the rcord of this organization, and that nowhere within that sacred record is even an inti- mation that, by divine appointment, the offices established in the Church of Christ by the Savior of mankind would be donef away. On the other hand, neither do we claim that the New Testament contains a full ajid explicit statement of every office in fhe Church, with the several duties of each officer and the relationship which each council or order of authority bears to efvery other council. The New Testament is fragmentary and has been translated and re-translated many times since it was first written by inspired apostles and prophets ; those translations were by men not claiming the inspiration which characterized the men of God who wrotef it. In this connection we must not forget the statement of Holy Writ: "ThTie9t" are used in a more general sense in some instances, such as in Hebrews, third chapter, first verse, whert^ the Savior is called both the "Apostle and High Priest of our profession," it appears evident from the above quotation and other passages that theref 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 veise, 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 ehurch, 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 ejjers which were at Je- rusalem." (Acts xvi:4.) "And^rom 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 Scrip- ^^ CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 57 ture. In some instances the apostle is callefd ^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 mefn as brethren, tJie eider 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 organiza- tion 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 de- sireth a good work. A bishop tUefn 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, temiyerate." These passages show clearly the office of Bishop to be a department in the govern- ment of thie 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 Zadiarias, 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 re;pentance, but not to officiate in the higher ordinances of the Gospel which secure-i 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 func- tions of that office. Paul to Timothy, in the third chapter of his letter, refers to the Deacons, and enumeraties some of the qualifications essen- 58 ^ Cowley's talks on DOCTRiife. tial 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 apostje declares: "And God hath set some in the church, first ai)ostles, 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 ( patri- archs) ; and some pastors and teachers." (Eph. iv :11.) "Now there were in the church * * * certain prophets and teach- ers." (Acts xiii: 1.) Peter and Paul, in thefir writings, make reference to the ancient patriarchs, and although no definite statement is made, as to soich an office existing in their time, it is moref than probable that it existed in the Church of Christ whenever that Churcli had an existence on the earth. The quotations give us the names of, at least, the following ofiices as departments of the Holy Priesthood and essentials to the work of the Lrord: 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 weref 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 hi® calling enjoined upon him. For instance, a pastor is one who has charge of a flock, a shepherd ; applied religiously, one who has thef over- sight 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 ovefr branches of the Church in different i>arts 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 sur- prising, either, as undoubtedly each man in his order understood his duties from the instructions of the living oracles of God. CHURCH ORGANIZATIOK. 59 Furthermore, they had writings, which are refferred 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, exhorta- tions, warnings and testimonies of tihe apostles to the Church and to the world, and does not claim to be a complete exposi- tion 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 lefarning 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 casef forever, we need the God- given officers Avhich 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, chaptefr 4: "And He gave some apostlesi ; 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 mian, 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 Churc'li Organization, as given us by modern revelation. DIVINE AUTHORITY. A very remarkable feature in the religious sentiment of Tnodefrn "CJiristianity" 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 mercantilef 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 gr'own up in the hearts of the people a feeling that mere belief and intellectual assent to the theories sf 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 be- lie vest 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 ajso." (St James ii: 17,19, 20 and 26.) We have shown from the Scriptures that baptism and con- firmation 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.) Oan anyone refasonably 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 siecurel DIVINE AUTHORITY. 61 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 thef 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 condefmnation of the Lord will rest upon all who speak presumptuously and who wilfully 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 spokefn to them, yet they prophesied." (Jer. xxiii:21.) The whole history of the dealings of God wdth His people as it is recorded in the Bible, proves the constant necessity of living, divinef 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 leiad them out, and which may bring them in ; that the congregation of the Lord be not as sheep which have no shepherd." (iNum. xxvii : 16-17.) In Romans x., 14 to 17, we have the following : "How then shall they call on Him in whom thefy have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how siiall 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 Hef siaid to them, "And that repent- ance 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: ibut 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 callefd and ordained as recorded 62 COWLEY^S TALKS ON DOCTRINE. in Mark iii :14, and notwitlistancling 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 spakef." Tlie 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. Moseai and Elias had ministered unto them. These T'welve 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 iK>wer. Are men in modern times as particular to avoid speaking in the name of the? Lord before they are truly called? Let us avscertain how men are called of God and His authori- ty perpetuated in the earth. In speaking of the honor and au- thority 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 gen- eration, 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 LoM 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 DIVINE AUTHORITY. 63 by revelation^, and when any person prefsumed to oflSciate 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 w^s called Niger, and Lucius of Oyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Heirod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said. Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work where- unto I have called them. And when they had fastefd and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away." (Acts xiii: 1, 2, 3.) "And when they had rdained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commendefd 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 oflSciate in His name ; and their acts aref valid, binding in time and eternity. When Paul found a number of disciples at E^phesus 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 ordi- nance 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 bap- tisim, 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 con- ditions of today as it was in the New Testament dispensation. All ceremonies, ordinances, rites, etc., administered witthout 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 64 cowley's talks on doctkine. have visited the earth and restored authority to act in the name of Jesus as in days of old. Tliis authority has been transmitted from the Prophet Joseph Smith to others, as des- ignated by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and by the laying on of haiMis. In this manner the authority of the Holy Priest- hood will be perpetuated without interruptir/n until the "king- doms 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 pos- sessing an actual tabemaclef of flesh and bones (not blood), and that in Hds 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 un- derstood as a moral image. There is, however, nothing to jus- tify such a view, either in the statement quoted or any other passagef 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 ap- peared 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 efyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and wheai 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 ser- vant: 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 api)earing of the; Lord, and alsio that He has a tangible being, composed of various parts of the body, as real as those which characterize His off- 66 Cowley's talks on doctrine. &;pring. This instance is only one out of many in which the Lord appeared to Abraham. Read the sefventeenth 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 Almig'hty Grod; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And I will makef ray 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 thef faithful." How such an event should occur between a real hu- man 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 con- fusion 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 rheir language, that they may not understand one another's speech." It is evident from this that the Lord was in onef place, the tower of Babel in another ; that He was surrounded by asso- ciates, 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 individu- ality 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 wasi 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 liOrd 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 PERSONALITY OF GOD. 67 bless t'hee, 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 fruiitful, and multiply thee, and I will make' of thee a tnul- titude of people ; and will give thisi land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession." (Gen. xlviii: 3, 4.) Abraham was designated "the father of the faithful, the friend of God." Of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob the Lord has said, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." To them He made glorious promises and entered into everlasting cove- nants extending into eternity. He promised that their seed should be as numerous as the stars of heaven and as countless as the sands upon the seashore. To the thoughtful person who reads the Scriptures in the spirit of truth, it must be? apparent that our Heavenly Father foreknew the unchanging integrity of these men, and because of this gave them such great promises and made them, by His visits to them, living witnesses of His existence and personality. Moses is another witness to the personality of God. "And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look uponi^od." (Ex. iii:6.) On another occasion there were over seventy witnesees that God is a personal being. "Then went up Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel ; And they saw the God of Israel ; and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in His clearness." (Ex. xxiv: 9, 10.) He said to the prophet Moses: "Thou canst not see my face; for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord said. Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock; and it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by; and I will take away my hand, and thou shalt see my back parts; but my face shall not be seen." (Ex. xxxiii: 20-23.) Again it is written: ""My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even ap- 68 COWLEY^S TAI.KS ON DOCTRINE. parently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold." (Num. xii :7, 8.) These quotations respecting the prophet Moses show that on some occasions he had personal visits from the Lord. In one instance he was accompanied by over seventy associates, and once he was permitted to see the back parts only. These state- ments are so much in detail and in such direct language that they are not susceptible of any private interpretation, but must be taken in a literal sense. How any one can profess to believ** in the Bible and read these statements, yet deny the personalit> of God, is a matter of wonder and astonishment, and can only be accounted for in the fact that people have been taught to accept the precepts of men without taking the natural and reasonable conclusions which a personal reading of the Scrip- tures would establish in their own minds. When Hezekiah, king of Judah, was beset by the Assyrians he offered the following prayer to the Lord: "Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear; open, Lord, thine eyes, and see; and hear the word of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God. (II Ivings xix: 16.) And again it is written: "Now mine eye3 shall be open, and my ears attend unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sancti- fied this house, that my name may be there forever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall bef there perx)etually." (II Chron. vii :15, 16.) The Psalmist David expressed himself, saying: "I have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, O God; incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. As for me, I will behold thy face in rig^hteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake with Thy likeness." (Psalms xvii: 6, 15.) These expressions in the prayers of righteous men ix)int to the manifest trutli that God has eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart with which to love, a mouth to speak ; and taken with other statements of Holy Writ, show beyond the possibility of a reasonable doubt, that our Heavenly Father is possessed of a body composed of the various parts which go to constitute the several members of a human body, and that He is susceptible of anger, love and hatred. He hates iniquity and loves righteousness. He is angry with the wicked every day. Such are the statements of Holy Writ. He, therefore, cannot be without body, parts or passions. The Lord was also seen by the prophet Isaiah. "In the year PEl;SONALnY OF GOD. GO that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting ui>on a throne, high and Ufted up, and His train filled the temple." (Isa. vi: 1.) To cormborate these testimonies of the Old Testa- ment we call the attention of tlie reader to several passages in the New. When Stephen was being martyred he saw God : "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of Gcd, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opemed, aiid the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God." (Acts vii: 55, 56.) Nothing could be plaimer and more convincing from the written Scriptures than that Stephen actually saw God, and that He and His Son were in the heavens in the presence of each other. Paul wrote to the Philippians as follows : "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus ; who, being in the forr.i of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." (Phillip, ii: 5, C.) And again in Col. i: 15, Paul said respcicting the Savior: "Who is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature." To the Hebrews the same apcstle says, concerning Jesus : "Who being the" brightness of his glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the rig*ht hand of the Majesty on high." (Heb. i: 3.) These writings of Paul, though not relating to a personal appear- ance of God, fully corroborate in doctrine all the quotations on the subject made from the Old and New Testaments. The Scriptures referred to show conclusively the personality of the Father, and a portion of the quotations presented, point to the fact that He is a separate personage, and entirely distinct in person from His Son Jesus Christ. We now call the attention of the reader to a few passages of Scripture, show^ing the personality of the Savior, not only in reference to His individuality before His crucifixion, but showing that in His resurrected and immortal state, He will continue a separate and distinct personality from all other beings. Sufl)se(iuent to His resurrection He appeareose that even the world it- self could not contain the books that should be written." With such a statement, it is to be wondered at tbat the world who believed in the Redeemer should rest contented with the narrow view^ that we have all that is important. We have? in the New Testament what is called I Cor. and II Cor., written to the Saints in Corinth by the apostle Paul. In I Cor,, chapter v :9, we have this : "I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators." This must have been previous to the one in which this occurs, and yet such an epistle is not found in our New Testament. In Col. iv :16, Paul says : "And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans ; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea." This refers to an epistle from Paul to the Colossians, written from Laodicea, but which is not found in the canon of Scripture as we have it. in II Tim., chapter iv: 13, Paul requests Timothy to bring him certain parchments ; what they contained we know not. Jude says : "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these things, saying : 'Behold the Lord cometh with ten thousand of His saints.' " Hew delightful it would be to read the predictions and teachings of that great prophet Enoch, the man who walked and talked with God 365 years, "and was not, for God took him." Only a few verses in the Old and New KEVELATION. 81 Testament are all we have in the canon of Scripture respecting Enoch and his city. What a glorious flood of light will dawn upon the world when the writings of Enoch ai*e revealed! In thef Old Testament may be found references to about th'.rty hooksi written by the Jewish scribes and prophets, but which have been lost to the world, rejected and cast aside by unin- spired, unauthorized councils of men. Suppose that all that is necessary so far as explanation of doctrine is concerned is contained in the iNew Testament, we are then confronted with man's inability to understand what has been revealed without the light of revelation to guide the hu- man mind in understanding and applying the truth. As proof of this I will cite the testimony cf Paul : "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. * * * But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually dis- cerned." (I Cor. ii:ll, 14.) Jesus said to Nicodemus : "Ex- cept a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." (^t. John iii:3.) "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost." (I Oor. xii:3.) The truth of these sacred sayings is verified by the history of the world, which has languished in darkness without revelation, as shown by previous quotations. Another very important feature of this subject con'sists in the fact, that there always liave been in e^very gosipel dispensia- lion labors to perform of a practical character, such as the building of temples, the gathering of Israel out of Egypt, the building of the Ark of the Covenant, etc., none of which could be accomplished except by direct revelation from God. We may therefore conclude that while the ordinances and doc- trines of the gospel are eternal and unchangeaible, the circum- stances associated with the people in every dispensation of the gosi)el are constantly changing. The emergencies of this situation must be met, not by the dead letter of ancient Scrip- ture, but by present inspiration and revelation given through living oracles of God. "By a prophet the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a proptiet was he preserved." (Hosea xii: 13.) The proph 82 COWLEY^S TALKS ON DOCTKTNE. ecies of the Jewish prophets in the Old Testament, poincing to the advent of the Messiah, are clear and explicit. Read the seventh chapter of Isiaiah, fourteenth verse; the ninth chapter and sixth verse; the fifty-third chapter of the same book; the fiftii chapter of Micah, second verse; and many other passages of the Old Testameait. In these we find plain predictions which were verified in the birth, ministry and crucifixion of the Savior, which were read by the Jews but not understood by them, because the light of revelation from God was not the source of their information. This was rather the wisdom of their own learning, which led them to reject the Messiah and discard the great message of life which He brought unto them. As there were many plain prophecies relating to the first coming of the Savior and the great work associated with His advent, so there are pointed predictions referring to His second coming and a work of great magnitude to precede that great event. I will call attention to a few as proof that more revela- tion will be given, and that without it these prophecies could never be fulfilled: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold. He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a re- finers* fire, and like fuller's sope. * * * And He shall purify the sons of Levi," etc. (Mai. iii: 1-3.) This prophecy must refer to His seears more consistent with the latter clause in the passage, which says, "the evi- dence of things not seen," not the substance itself, for that would amount to knowledge or 'the actual possession of the object hoped for. This assurance of things hoped for must come through some evidence^ either of a character which can be demonstrated in a tangible manner, or throug'h some im- pression which gives an assurance to the mind of the individual possessing it, if to no .other. This faith prompts to action all intelligent beings. Without the assurance of reaping, the farmer would not sow; the laborer would not commence his daily task unless he believed he would accomplish it; and so it is in religious matters. Upon the day of Pentecost the multitude never would have appealed to the apostles to know what they should do to be saved unless they first believed in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ — ^so recently crucified in their midst — and also in the authority of the apostles to teach and administer in the ordi- FAITH. 85 nances of eternal life. This faith was based upon the evi- dence presented by Peter that Jesus was the Christ, sealed upon their hearts by the Spirit of God, and not by the wusdom or ability of man. The result was obedience, and a knowledge of the truth-for themselyes; for the promise is: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (St. John vii: 17.) If Peter had been an impostor, deceiving the people, he might, l>erchance, have persuaded some to accept his theories; but what would have been the result? The evidence being false, the faith or assurance would have a false foundation to act upon, and disappointment would have been the result. When the evidence is true, the faith resulting and acted upon will bring knowledge. When Columbus discovered America, and the use of gun- pov/der was displayed to the astonishment and fear of the Indians, some of the Europeans told the natives that all they had to do was to procure some powder and sow it like grain, and it would grow. The poor natives believed the lie, acted upon their belief, and disappointment was the result, to the destruction of their confidence in the white m'an. This illus- trates that belief m>ay be built upon false evidence, and no matter how sincere the believer, the laws of sincerity cannot be changed to vindicate the dishonesty of the deceiver nor to avoid disappointment befalling the deceived. Why should it be otherwise regarding the law of God? Sincerity is not evi- dence that the believer will obtain the good for which he se-eks, for if his religious devotion is based upon his confidence in the preaching or teaching of false guides, God will not change His laws and ordinances, neither will He acknowledge the authority of impostors, and thus become accessory to the deception, in order to satisfy those who allow themselves to be led astray. It is a maxim of skeptics that "We doubt all things in order to prove all things"; and, thus doubting, they reject the means which God has designated as the way to become acquainted with and prove for themselves the truth of the promise: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine." The history of the world proves that in the advancement made in science, in arts, in human government, the leaders and promoters of all that is good, in the majority of instances. 86 Cowley's tali^s on doctrike. have been believers in God; and their faith in Him and the ultimate success of their enterprises have prompted them to action. In the language of Paul on this subject of faith: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of ihe righteousness, which is by faith": "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out imto a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." (Heb. xi: 7, 8.) I might add numerous testimonies from the ►Scriptures that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the principle which prompts to action all intelligent 'l)eings, and that when based upon tlie promises of the T^ord, unmixed with the theories of men, and acted upon, it has never failed to bring knowledge and rest to the weary mind in that security which comes from a pure knowledge of God. Having shown something of the nature of faith in a general way, as a principle existing in the human mind and as direct- ing all human action, whether religioiis or secular, let us noAV draw the line of distinction between faith in its general sense, and faith as a principle of i)ower as enjoyed and exercised by those who are truly the people of God. Let us first remember that it is one thing to believe in the power of God as manifested by revelation, prophecy, healing, etc., when presented to us merely as the events of history, and altogether another thing to be confronted with the testimony of living apostles, presenting to the world doctrines that are unpopular and with which the cherished creeds of men have never failed to conflict — apostles who ask us to believe them to be servants of God, called by new revelation, and testing our faith by the promise that "if you will repent and be baptized" with honest hearts, you shall know for yourselves the truth, and need not depend upon the assertions of any other man for your knowledge concerning it. It is tan undeniable fact of history that God has never sent a prophet to warn the world but He found thousands professing belief in the dead prophets, yet ready to reject and slay the living. It cannot be said that this generation is an exception, for the religious education they receive from tbe 'so-called ""Christian pulpit is tliat FAITH. 87 apostles and prophets, together with the ancient gifts and powers of the gospel, are no longer needed; and if any come professing the ancient apostleship^ ifchey may reject them with- out investigation as ''false prophets." They apparently forget that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to produce a coun- terfeit coin unless the genuine existed. In speaking of faith as a principle of power, the apostle Paul said to the Hebrews: "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. '■''^ * * And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jeph- thae, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith su'bdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, ob- tained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched tho violence of fire, escaped tho edge of the sword, out of weak- ness were made strong, w^axed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again," etc. (Heb. xi: 3, 32-35.) Besides these, innumerable other events have been brought about through faith exercised by men having authority to speak and act in the name , of God. Jesus promised that "these signs shall, follow them that believe." In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall take up serpents, and if they, drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hanids on the sick and they shall recover." These are only a few of the characteristics associated with true faith, the "faith that was once delivered to the saints," and so much in striking contrast to the weak yet high-sounding pretensions of modern professors who have a form of godliness, yet deny the power thereof. As a contrast to the wisdom and learning of men, we are promised, as the result of acting upon 'true faith, that to one is given the word of wisdom, to another knowledge. Tongues, prophecy, eitc, all are characteristic of that faith which eman- ates from God. These gifts are not merely to satisfy curi- osity or to convince skeptics. As a principle of eternal truth it is a necessity that not only must the administrator have faith, but the one who is the re- cipiemt of the blessings also must exercise it so far as he is 88 Cowley's talks on doctrine. capable. Therefore, as a rule, when Jesus healed the sick and opened the ej^es of the blind, He said to the individual: "Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole." As a further testimony of this He told unbelievers when they soug:h(t a sign: "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas; for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whnle/'s belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matt, xii: 39, 40.) Yet be it remembered that this sign of Christ's three days' rest in the tomb was not given to convince skeptics, for it was an event ordained of God before the foundation of the world, in the plan of human redemption, and would have occurred if all the world had received Him gladly. But they did mot receive Him even when He was resurrected, for the same class who sought a sign circulated the fa)brica?tion that the body of Christ was not risen from the dead, but that His disciples had come in the night and stolen Him away. There are sign-seeker« today, even among those who profess Christ, and may we not say the same of them as Jesus said of the ancient sign-seekers, from the fact that what was true then is true now, and what is true of a generation is true of the individuals which compose it. Further, the Savior said to His apostles when they failed to cast out the devils and sought Him to know the reason: "Because of your unbelief, for verilj I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mus- tard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, 'Remove hence to yonder place,' and it shall remove; and nothing shall be im- possible unto you." (Matt, xvii: 20.) To these quotations might be added many others, but this will suffice 'to show the effects of faith, that it is a principle of power. We ask, has God changed? Is not faith, being a principle emanating from Deity, as unchangeable as God Him- self? Who, professing to believe in Christ, will say, if we believe and are baptized by rightful authority in this age, that Jesus will fail in His part of the contract to bestow the prom- ised blessings? In view of all that is written in the Bible concerning this true faith and the effects which flow therefrom, and the re- FAITH. verse of that pure faith of the Bible which charaeterizes the "Christianity'* of today, is it wonderful that the Savior ex- claimed: "When the Son of Man eometh, shall He find faith on earth?" (Luke xviii: 8.) REPENTANCE. Repentance follows faith as a natural sequence ; for when the human mind has sufficient faith in God, based upon the perfection of His attributes, to desire His guidance and a final return to His presence, the thought is foremost that no un- clean thing can enter his presence. Rep€fntance from all sin, not merely an expression of sorrow but a discontinuance of sin- ful practices, amounting to a reformation- of life, therefore sug- gests itself as a matter of course?. This philosophical view of the subject is in perfect accord with Holy Writ. Hence it was, upon the day of Pentecost, when the sin-convicted multitude cried out : "Men and brethren, what shall we do ?" that Peter commanded them to repent as the first step following the man- ifestation of their faith in Christ and His atonement. (Acts ii: 37.) That repentance is an indispensablef condition of salvation has been taught in all ages of the world by men of God, the only exception being that which applies to all other requirements of the Gospel. That exception is in the case of persons incapable of knowing good from evil, such as children who cannot believe, or disbelieve, and are exempt from the law until they arrive at the years of accountability. Hence thef saying of the Savior : "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. xix:14.) Ezekiel said to ancient Israel, in his 18th chapter and 30th verse, "Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgres- sions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin." Israel did not rei>ent as a nation, and their sad history proves that iniquity caused their ruin. The olive branch of peace was offered them without money and without price. They rejected the means of escape, and in consequence they have verified the words of Moses, their great lawgiver : "And I will scatter you among the heathen and will draw out a sword after you ; and your land shall be desolate and your cities waste." (Ix;v. xxvi: 33.) It was supposed by those in Palestine that the Galileans, whose REPENTANCE. 91 blood Pilate had mingled with the sacrifices, were greater sin- ners than others because such agonies had come upcn them. ''And Jesut? answering said unto them, 'Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because' they suffered such things? I tell you nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.' " The foregoing contains the divine lesson that suffering isi not a substitute for repentance : that while He did not justify the agonies brought upon them by per- secution, He did not intimate' that the suffering would bef ac- ceptable instead of repentance, or that these sufferings were any evidnce of the sins of the sufferers as to the height or depth of their transgressions. The weight of responsibility is meas- ured either by the light men possess or the light which oppor- tundties afford them to possess. As Paul said to thef Athenians (Acts xvii: 30.), "And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent"; and again the Savior enunciated this doctrine: "And this is the con- demnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (St. John iii: 19.) No matter how strict the individual may be in living a life of moral rectitude, it is very plainly taught in the Scriptures that rejecting further light from God constitutes a sin. We" cite the case of the young man told of in Matthew, chapter 19, who came to the Savior for instructions, but who, when he was commanded by the Redeemer to sell all that hef had, give to the poor, and follow Him, went away sorrowful, rejecting the in- junction of the Savior, and yet he had kept the commandments from his youth up, and probably was as righteous as any mod- ern Christians, who, if commanded by the Savior to give their possesions to the poor, would go away sorrowful. There were "devout" people assembled en the day of Pentecost, and yet Peter made no exception when he commanded the multitude to repent. If they had done the best they could prefviously with the light they had, greater light had come to them and they must receive it or be condemned. This truth applies to every gospel dispensation, not excepting the "dispensation of the fullness of times," the greatest of all. God promised to send a holy angel and make a restitution of all things as predicted by the ancient prophets, preceding thef sec- 92 Cowley's talks on doctrine. Olid advent of the Messiah. Tlie light has come. A new dispen- sation has been ushered in. The Everlasting Gospel has been restored with its ancient gifts and blessings, and "God com- mandeth all men everywhere to repent," whether they be so- called Christians or infidels. Repentance is a principle and not merely an expression of penitent grief. It involves, as before stated, a reformation of life. In II Cor, vii :9,10, Paul says : "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sor- rowed to repentance. * * * Pq^ godly sorrow worketh re- pentance to salvation not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death." The sorrow of the world may be illustrated by the conduct of the inebriate, wha, when intox- icated, commits acts of violence which mantle his brow with shame and fill him with remorge in his sober moments. He ex- presses sorrow, perhaps weeps in his agony, but again gives away to tbe tempter and repeats his acts of dishonor instead of "fleeing temptation." This kind of sorrow does not work re- pentance to salvation. We find religious people sorrowing and sometimes confessing their sins, only to repeat sin. This is the sorrow of the world and needs to be repented of because it sav- ors so mucb of hypocrisy, and consequently worketh death." On the contrary, true repentance consists, not in the outward ex- pression of grief, but in forsaking sin. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him re- turn unto the Ix)rd, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isa. Iv: 7.) Repent- ance is required not only of the evil deed, but of the unrighteous thought. Every wicked deed is first concdved in the mind, henee the need of casting away the evil thought before it ger- minates into actual crime, which leads to prison, the gallows and to spiritual death. Of the ruin caused by the talented, but corrupt Aaron Burr it was truly said : "His brain conceived it, his hand brought it into action." Let us now examine a passage of Scripture which is fre- quently quoted to substantiate the erroneous doctrine that God is pleased to save men in their sins, or that death-bed repent- ance is all-sufficient. The passage is found in Luke xxiii :42, 43, and reads thus: "And he (the penitent malefactor) said unto Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when Thou come^st into Thy king- dom.' And Jesus said unto him, 'Verily I say unto thee, today REPENTANCE. 93 Shalt thou be with me in Paradise.' " From this statement thousands in the Christian world have taken it for ji:ranted that the thief on the cross received full and complete salvation. With this unwarranted perversion of a sacred passage, the min- ister has taught the murderer in the felon's cell to confess Christ and all would be well with him; and as the hiangman drew the bolt and let the culprit swing into eternity, the minister has stood close by and said, "The Lord Jesus receive thy soul." On the other hand, the poor victim of the assassin has been cut off without time to confess Christ, and the same doctrine which wafts the murderer to the" courtsi of glory consigns the victim to the flames of hell. Is it possible that Christ ever taught such a heinous doctrine? A doctrine so inconsistent, so revolting to reason, so repugnant to justice ! We answer emphatically "No," nor did He* utter a syllable from which such an inference can be drawn or establish the idea that the malefactor went to heaven. The question is, then, where did he go? If not to heaven, then the paradise named and heaven are two different places. Let the Scriptures answer for themselves. Three dayvs after the crucifixion the Savior came forth a resurrefcted being, and as Mary met Him at the tomb. He said to her, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father." Thus we have from His own lips, in which there was never guile?, that He had not ascended to the Father ; and if He had not, neither had the thief. If no further light than this could be found in the sacred volume, this would be sufficient to show that the? malefactor did not go to heaven, for where Jesus went the thief went, for that was the promise. Where, then, did the Lord go? Turn to I Peter iii: 18-21, and the question is answered: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit : By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometimes were disobedient when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah." This) makes it plain that the paradise referred to was the prison house, to which place Jesus went and opened up a dis- pensation of the Gospel to the dead. The next chapter, Gth verse, says: "For for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to 94 Cowley's talks on doctbine. men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." The thief therefore went to a place of confinement to remain until the justice of God should be satisfied and mercy step in and claim her own. The difference between the penitent malefactor, who appears to have? repented before death, and the antidilu- vians was that the former immediately went to a place where Christ would present to him the plan of lifef, that day, while the latter had waited hundreds of years for that privilege. This shows that repentence brings its blessings even upon the death- straight to the abode of the Father and remained there in glory, bed; but to say that, after a life of sin, the malefactor went is in conflict with the teachings of Christ and Peter. The statements of Peter relative! to the mission of Christ to the spirits in prison throws light upon the saying of the Savior in St. John v: 25, ''Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is com- ing and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." Thus we seef the privileges of the penitent malefactor. He went to the prison house and heard the Gospel, but how long he remained there before receiving all the saving benefits of the Gospel, we are not told. One thing is certain — he did not come back with the Messiah, nor have we ever heard of him sitting down with Christ on the right hand of the Father. The Scrip- ture being true which says, "The murderer hath not eternal life abiding in him," it ia safe to say that thef prayers of all the ministers on earth cannot carry the souls of the assassin to the presence and glory of God. As there are different degrees of glory, so are there various grades of crimes to which are at- tached the different degrees of punishment, all of which clearly maintain the justice and mercy of God." In Galatians v: 19-21, we read as follows: "Now the works of the flesh are manifefst, which are these : adultery, fornica- tion, uncleanness, lasciviousness. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envy- ings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." lu conclusion, as a true definition of repentance, let us quote the words of Paul to the Ephesians, iv: 25, 30: "Wherefore BEPENTANCE. 95 putting away lying speak every man truth with his neighbor. * * * Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole, steal no more. * * * Let no corrupt communica- tion proceed out of your mouth. * * *" This is the only re- pentance taught in Holy Writ, and simply means to forsake all sin and accomplish a reformation of life. BAPTISM. We come now to considering the necessity of the ordinance of baptism. When men have repented of their sins it is natural for them to desire a forgiveness of those sins. How shall this boon be obtained? That repentance alone does not blot out the sins of the past may be illustrated in part by a comparison betwe^^n the temporal and the spiritual. A man acquires a debt by purchasing goods on credit, and finding it a ruinous policy, resolves, for the future, to pay as he goes. This changes his course and constitutes in his business life a reformation, but it does not pay the debt already incurred. He must liquidate the obligation, or be forgiven the debt by the creditor. Some may say that this is the difference be- tween the earthly transaction of men and the dealings of God with His children. God forgives, it is true, but every blessing is predicated upon a condition, and the condition is laid down by the Lord; hence it is written in Mark i: 4: "John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." From this scripture it is evident that baptism is to follow repentance, and that at least one object of baptism is the remission of sins. Let us now examine some statements of Holy Writ which point out clearly the necessity of this ordiuiance. "Then cometh Jesus from Gallilee to Jordan unto John to be bap- tized of him. But John forbade Him, saying, 'I have need to be baptized of l^ee, and comest Thou to me?' And Jesus, answering, said unto him, 'Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness.' Then he suffered Him." (Matt, iii: 13-15.) Every thoug-htful. God-fearing person must be impressed with the feeling that if it was essen- tial for the "Only Begotten of the Father," "who is full of grace and truth," to be baptized, none can be exempt who have arrived at the years of accountability. It appears also from the language used in the quotation that without being bap- tized he could not fulfill "all righteousness." After teaching BAPTISM. 97 His disciples for three years, being crucified and risen from the dead, He gave to 'them this commission: "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shiall be saved; but be that believetlf not shall be damned." (Mark xvi : 15, 16.) Alao in 'Matthew xxviii: 19: *'Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"; and in Luke xxiv: 45-47: "Then opened He their understanding that they might understand the Scrip- tures, And said unto them. Thus it is written, and thus it be- hooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusa- lem.." Tn the latter quotation the word baptism is not used, but the same writer sajs in Luke iii:3, regarding the mission of John: "And he came into all tlie country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins," thus enunciating the doctrine that remission of sins is obtained through baptism. The &ame writer gives us the following (Luke vii: 29, 30): "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of Him." From this it is manifested that by receiving baptism they honored and obeyed God, and that the rejection of this simple yet divine institution amounted to rejecting the counsel of God, with all the terrible consequences attendant upon such disobedience. We reiad in the eighth chapter of Acts that Philip baptized the Samaritans and the Ethiopian. In the same book is re- lated the baptism of Saul, of Lydia, of the Philippian jailor, and of Corlielius. It is not necessary to multiply quotations to show that baptism was taught and practiced all through the apostolic dispensation, as being essential to salvation. As a direct statement of Jesus Himself, to close this part of the subject, we luote His w^ords to Nicodemus, 'St. John iii: 5: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Grod." The 'birth of the water can only be accomplished by baptism, and if an accountable being cannot enter into the kingdom of 98 Cowley's talks on doctrine. Gk)d without baptism, then that ordinance must be esisential to salvation. Let us next consider the object of this sacred rite. It is evident that inasmuch as a man oannot enter into the kingdom of God without the baptism of water, then his sins must neces- sarily be remitted through faith, repentance and baptism from the fact that **no unclean person * * * hath any inheri- tance in the kingdom of Christ and of Grod." In Mark i:4 and Imke iii:3 we read that ".Toihn did baptize in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.'' On the day of Pentecost, when the mighty power of God rested upon the apostles and the Spirit bore witness to the multitude that they were in sin, notwith- standing their devoutnesis, they cried out, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?" To this Peter answered, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the i-emission of sins." (Acts ii: 38.) Paul narrates before King Agrippa his conversion, in Acts xxii: 16, and says that Ananias, to whom he had been com- manded to 'apply, said: "And now, why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." The foregoing quotations will suffice to show that God instituted baptism for the remission of sins, but from other passages already quoted. Mark i: 4, also xvi: 15-16, and the account of Simon, the sorcerer, in the eighth chapter of Acts, it is very evident that the result — forgiveness— is not secured unless baptism is accompanied on the part of the can- didate by faith and a genuine repentance in turning aside from sin. Otherwise there would be the solemn mockery of ad- ministering a sacred ordinance to a hypoerite. Hence the apostles said to Simon, "Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thonght that the gift of God may be purchased with money." (Acts viii: 20.) Notwithstanding he had been bap- tized he was still in his sins, because his heart was not pure, and he had not repented. For this reason the aiwstles said to him, "Repent therefore of this wickedness. * * * For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." (Acts viii: 22-28.) This should 'be a warning to those modem professors whose religion is in many instances a cloak, hidden beneath which is the depraved heart that gar- BAPTISM. 99 nishes the sepulchres of the dead prophets but is ready to slay the living ones. We now oome to that part of the subject wihich formerly caused so much dissension among the Christian sects, but which latterly is smoothed over with the assertion that it makes no difference which mode — sprinkling, pouring, or im- mersion — is used; ^'either will do," "let the candidate take his choice; it is immaterial." To these unwarranted assertions we reply: First, that if either mode will do, none will do, for still otheir forms may be added by the whims of men. Christ establish'ed but one true mode, "One Lord, one faith, one haptism" and if one is right, the others are wrong. This is a plain proposition. Again, the dissension and condiot on this' point is proof agains-t the inspiration of the sectarian world, if they have any, for the reasoni that the Spirit of God will not lie nor contradict itself. If, therefore, the Spirit of the Lord teaches me that immersion is right, it will not teach another sprinkling, and yet another pouring. This division, then, is because men are guided by opinion' and preference and not by the spirit of revelation from Cod, which guides into all truth and brings those who possess it to a unity of faith. Now as concerning the baptism of Jesus, who is the pat- tern, we have Matt, iii: 16, which says, "And Jesus when He was baptized went up straightway out of the water." It is not likely that John would be baptizing in Jordan and that Jesus would have gone down into the water if anything less than immersion would have fulfilled the law. This also agrees with the account of the Ethiopian's baptism by Philip (Acts vlii : 38) : "And they went down both into the water, hoth Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him." As making still plainer this using a river of water and going *^down into the water'^ to receive the sacred rite, we quote from St. John iii : 23 : "And John also was baptizing in Enon, near to Salim, because there was much water there.'' A statement so plain as the foregoing needs no comment. It speaks for itself. He was baptizing not only in Enon, but at a certain point in the stream "because there was much water there." Such a rea- son could not have been given if sprinkling or pouring had been a proper mode. 100 Cowley's talks on doctkine. We refer farther to the New Tes-tament statements where not only the in ode of baptism is indicated by the language, but the fact that baptism sym'bolizes the birth into the world, the death, and the resurrection of the body. To Nicodemus, Jesus saidt "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be bom of wa/ter, and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the king- dom of God." (St. John iii: 5.) When man comes forth into the world, he is bom or brought out from the watery element, being first buried in it, and this constitutes his birth. To be '''born of water" as a sacred ordinance would be impossible if the lite of sprinkling or pouring be the mode employed. Only complete immersion will answer the ordinance indicated in the language of Jesus to Nicodemns. Paul also said to the Romans, "Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with him by bai)iti&Tn into death; that like as Christ was raised up frona the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrec- tion." (Rom. vi: 3^5.) The foregoing shows that baptism is a likeness of burial. When the body is laid lifeless in the tomb it is covered completely; it is not left partly buried and partly uncovered; and as the body comes fOrth in the resur- rection, immortal, and free from the conditions of mortality, thus walking in "newness of life," so by the remission of sins through faith, i-epentance and baptism, the obedient candidate comes forth free from sin, and walkvs in a new life, prepared for the birth of the spirit, thus symbolizing in beautiful simi- larity the death and resurrection of the body. This is still farther emphasized by the language, "For if we have been planted," etc., thus using a word which implies a complete burial as in planting seeds in the earth. Again, we quote the words of Paul to the Colossiaus, ii: 12: "Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him fix)m the dead." This corresponds with the state- ment before quoted from Horn an s, and also the teachings of Christ to Nicodemus. BAPTISM. 101 From the Scriptures already quoted on the necessity, object and mode of baptism, we may deduce the conclusion that the ordinance established to follow and go with faith and repent- ance, and. which constitues the third principle of the gospel, is baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. RECEPTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Having shown that faith, repentance and baptism are essen- tial to the remission of sins, left us now consider the reception of the Holy Spirit. That this should follow, and not precede, the birth of the water must be evident to every thoughtful person. It is cleiar that a man is not prepared for the indwelling of the Holy Ghost unless he repents of his sins and becomes freed fi*om them by obedience to the laws of God. Some people may contend that, because Jesus stated that man must be born again, in order to see the kingdom of hefaven, such a birth pre- cedes baptism, and is synonymous with the birth of the Spirit mentioned by the Savior in the third chapter of St. John ; but being born again, in order to see the kingdom, evidently shows that a man must have somef light above the natural senses, snf- ficient of the light of Christ to make him see the kingdom of God. In other words, to secure, and we may say, consistently constitute his conversion. This light which guides him to the truth dees not, however, forego the absolutef necessity of obeying the laws and ordi- nances of the Gospel. As proof of this we cite the convei'sion of Paul. He received a pei^onal manifestation of the Savior's power, even hearing his voice and witnefssing a light from heaven. Notwithstanding this, Jesus commanded him to go to Ananias, an authorized servant of Christ, who should instruct him regarding his salvation. He was therefore required to be born of water and of the Spirit. Cornelius, also, as related in the tenth chapter of Acts, saw an angel and received a manifes- tation * of the Holy Ghost previous to baptism. Yet both men were required to obey the ordinances enjoined by the Gospel of Christ. If they rejected these requirements, undoubtedly the light they had received would have departed from them and this would liave added to their condemnation. The historical fact of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost is not, in every instance, recorded in the Scriptures, and it is not necessary that it should be, in order to RECEPTION OP THE HOLY SPIRIT. 103 prove that the ordinance was established by the Messiah. In the matter of baptism He said to John, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." He made no exception of Himself, but gave the example by his own obedi- ence. How can others be excused? To show that the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, by those having divine authority was practiced by the ancient apostles, we refer to Acts viii: 14, 17: "Now, when the apostles which were at Jeru- salem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (for as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptised in the! name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost." Philip did not have the authority to lay on hands for this gift, hence Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem for the expresis purpose? of performing this higher ordinance of the Gospel. In the nineteenth chapter of Acts is an account of Paul's visit to the city of Ephesus, where he found about twelve men who claimed to have received the samef form of baptism as administered by John the Baptist. But in answer to Paul's question, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost aince ye beliefved?" they told him they had not so much as heard of it, and his ac- tion in re-baptizing them would strongly indicate that some imposter had counterfeited in form the true baptism. This being performed without legitimate authority, their sins were not remitted, and they were not in a condition to reoeivef the Holy Ghost. Hence Paul baptized them ; and the sixth verse says : And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon them and they spake with tonguefs and prophe- sied." An imposter can baptize in water by physical force, imitate the true form at the submission of the candidate, but the gift of the Holy Ghost cannot be given without authority from God ; and while the water baptism is equally destitute of its legitimate results when not performed by authority, the im- posture is not so readily detected because not usually accompa- nied by the same manifestation of divine powefr ; therefore de- signing or ignorant men have taken pains either to deny the gift of the Holy Ghost as being essential with its ancient spir- 101 Cowley's talks on doctrine. itiial powers, or to tell tlie people that no outward ordinance v»'as essential to confer it, thus endeavoring to dispense with this sacred ordinance. The following references also indicate the laying on of hands as a sacred rite which would not have been adopted by the ai>ostles unless commanded of God to do so : I Tim. iv :14 — "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with tlie laying on of the hands of the presbytery.'' IT Tim. i: 6 — "AVberefore I put thee in reme.mbrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." Also showing that this ordinance was laid down as a positive doctrine, we call attention to the sixth chapter of He- brews, first and second verses: "Therefore leaving (another translation, that of the prophet Joseph Smith, reads 'not leav- ing') the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands." That man might duplicate in form this divine ceremony with- out authority and without effect, we do not deny; but we con- fidently assert that without this ordinance being administered by an acknowledged authority from God, the operation would be of non-effect. The undeniable facts of religious history for seventeen centuries prove that men did not receive the Holy Ghost. Where the tree is, there will the fruit be produced, unless the tree is dead; and no one will contend that the Holy Spirit is dead. The following quotations will point out the fruits of the Holy Spirit: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Gbost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (St. John xiv :26.) "Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of Truth, isi come. He will guide you into all truth : for Hef shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that sball He speak, and He shall show you things to come." (St. John xvi: 13.) "As tbey ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them.' " (Acts xiii: 2.) "Where- fore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say RECEPTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 105 that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Grhost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. * * * For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom ; to another, the word of laiowledge by the same Spirit; To another, faith by the same Spirit ; to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit ; to another, the working of miracles ; to another, prophecy ; to an- other discerning of Spirits ; to another, divers kinds of tongues." (I Cor. xii: 3, 4, 8, 9, 10.) "But the fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. (Oal. v: 22-23.) The same cause will ever produce the same effefct ; a tree is known by its fruits, and to be convinced that we need such gifts today it is only necessary to look at the spectacle of jar- ring "Clhristianity" witli its many creeds. Where is the Spirit that guides into all truth, which does not contradict itself, but teaches the "common salvation" of "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all?" That brings us "to a unity of faith," and makes us one in Christ, as He prayed that His disciples and all whom the Father should give Him out of the world might be one even as I am one in the Father and the Father in me, that they may be one in us, "that the world may believe that thou hast sent me?" Where is the Spirit of prophecy? "The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophe'cy," the gifts of revelation, healings and all the glorious powers enumerated in the Scripture quotations made. Well did Isaiah say, "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances and broken the everlasting covenant." (Isa. xxiv: 5.) Without further comment on the gifts of the" Spirit, we will introduce quotations to show that the laying on of hands was practiced also for ordination to office in the Church of Christ, and for the healing of the sick, as well as to confer the gift of the Holj Ghost: "Whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them." (Acts vi: 6.) This refers) to the ordination of Stephen and six others. "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 their hands on them they sent them away." (Acts xiii : 2, 3.) The same ordinance was also had in ancient times before the 106 Cowley's talks on doctrine. coming of the Savior. Paul informs us in Gal. iii, that the Gospel was preached before? unto Abraham. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hands upon him. And ho 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." (Defut. xxxiv:9.) It is most reasonable to conclude from the evidence presented that this practice came down from the beginning, and was before and after Christ a divine ordinance. That it was prac- ticed for thef healing of the sick is evident from the following historical and doctrinal statements made in the New Testament by the Messiah and His apostles: "They shall lay bands on the sick and they shall recover." (Mark xvi: 18.) "And He could there do no mighty work siave that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk and healed them." (Mark vi;5.) "Now whem the sun wasi setting, all they that had any sick with divei-s dis- eases brought them unto Him ; and He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them." (Luke iv:40.) "And putting his hands on him, said Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appefared unto thee in the way as thou earnest, hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight," etc. (Acts ix:17.) "And it came to pass that the father of Publius lay sick 01 a fever, and of a bloody flux; to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him." (Acts xxviii:8.) "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him v;ith oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up," etc. (Jsmes v: 14, 15.) Although the laying on of hands is not expressly mentioned in the last quotation, it is readily seen that the sick could not bef anointed without the imposition of hands. The foregoing should be suflEicient to convince all Bible believ- ers that the laying on of hands is a sacred ordinance for the purposes specified in Holy writ, that it follows the baptism of water, and occupies its relationship in the plan of salvation as the fourth essential principle to fully establish men in the Church of Christ ; the order is, faith, repentance, baptism by RECEPTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 107 Immersion for the remission of sfins, and the laying on of hands for thef gift of the Holy Ghost. This is the door into th« sheepfold ; '*he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." (St. John x: 1.) PRE-EXISTENCE. As T.atter-day Saints we believe that all creation existed spiritually before the i>hysical organism was brought into ex- istence; "And every plant of the field before it was in the eai th, and every herb of the fiem Paul's writings that the time of man's coming to ihis world is not mere chance, neither is it regulated by the arrangements of human philosophy in this world: "God that made the world * * * hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth: and hath deter- mined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habi- tations." (Acts xvii:24, 26.) In other words, the Father of our spirits determined when we should come and those portions of the earth whexe should be set the Ixjunds of our habitation. It was no chance-work, then, that Abraham, 'Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, the Savior, Joseph Smith, and the founders of liberty in this and other lands came to the earth in their respective times and to those countries where they played their great parts in the purposes of God and the drama of life. "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again I leave the world and go to the Father." (St. John xvi: 28.) And now, O Father, glorify Thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." (St. John xvii: 5.) Jesus dwelt with the Father before He came here, so did we. Entering our temples of mortality we forget all that has passed before in our spiritual existence. This mortal state is a veil which hides the eternal past, from our recollection, and shuts off the visions of the eternal future, only as from time to time the revelations of the Holy Ghost bring "things past to our remembrance and shows us things to come." It is probable, from some references in the Scriptures, that if our spirits were sent here unembodied, the remembrance of the past would come with us. At least, this was doubtless the case with Lucifer and his rebel host. When he tried to tempt the 'Savior, as recorded in Matthew, fourth chapter, he knew Him undoubtedly from their acquaintance in a pre- PRE-EXISTENCE. Ill existent state.' When the man with evil spirits met the Savior in the synagogue, the spirits cried out, "saying, let us alone. What have we to do with Thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who thou art, the Holy One of Grod." (Luke iv:84.) A similar testimony was borne by evil spirits possessing the men coming out of the tombs, as recorded in Matthew, viii : 29. "And behold they cried out, sayinjg. What have we to do with Thee? Jesus, thou Son of God? art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?" "And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried, saying. Thou art the Son of God." (Mark iii:ll.) Im Luke, viii:28, we have the testimony of the historian that the devils possessing a certain man cried out, "and with a loud voice" said, "Jesus, Thou Son of God." It is not probable that these evil spirits knew Jesus because of a testimony from above, while all Judea failed to recognize in Him the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Many likely knew Him because they had been associated and acquainted with Him before the world was. John the Revelator in Revelations, twelfth chapter, describes the war in heaven, which took place between Satan and his followers on the one hand and Michael and his angels on the other. This description refers to their spiritual existence, as do the foregoing quotations from Holy Writ. These show us clearly that man did not begin with this world, nor does he end with this earthly life. Man is etemial, and will have no end. He lived and reigned with God in the heavens. His course there largely affects his condition here, as our conduct in this life will have all to do with the glory we attain to in the world to come. Man will live on forever. He dies as to the body, lives in the spirit world, and will again take up his body, a resurrected, glorified being, prepared on certain con- ditions to dwell with God throughout the countless ages of eternity, to become like unto Him. Possessing all things, even as Jeisus, being in the image of His Father, "thought it not robbery to be made equal with him." "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the Son of Man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hiands; thou hast put all things under his feet." (Psalms viii:4-6.) SALVATION FOR THE DEAD. ''I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto Salvation to every one that believeth." We must not infer from this quotation that mere conviction of the mind to religious truths will secure salvation ; for pure belief would lead men to actual works, thus constituting a living, active faith. The Apostle James declares that "faith without works is dead." The Savior taught in His sermon oH' the mount 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." From these and other passages of Scripture wd learn that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe, obey and remain faithful to the end. This gives us a general definition of what is meant by the term Gospel. To understand the principles which constitute the Gospel, we may remind our readers that mankind find themselves under the necessity of a redemption which is two-fold in its character. First, by the act of our first parents, all creation is subject to the death of the mortal body. Second, by individual sins man becomes unworthy to dwell in the presence of the Eternal Father. The Gospel, then, consists of the atonement of Christ, by which all are entitled to a resurrection of the body ; in the language of Paul, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." It also consists of laws and ordi- nances for man's obedience, by which he is redeemed from his own sins, placed in' communication with God, and led back into His presence. In the justice of the Almighty the plan of salvation must be so comprehensive and general that the human family, without distinction, shall have the opportunity of receiving it. We learn from the Pearl of Great Price that before Adam departed to the life beyond, God revealed to him the plan of SALVATION FOR THE DEAD. 113 salvation. He obeyed it and communicated this knowledge to his posterity during the seven generations that lived con- tomijorary with him. With the Gospel, necessarily came the authority of God to administer in the ordinances thereof. This authority is called the Holy Priesthood. In a revelation given the prophet Josieph Smith, September 22d and 23d, 1832, and contained in Sec. 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants, we learn that the priesthood was conferred through Father Adam by the laying on of hands upon Abel, and from Abel or Seth w^as conferred through the lineage of their descendants to Enoch, and from Enoch to Noah down to iMelchisedek, who conferred it ui>on Abraham. In the days of Abraham lived the great prophet Esaias, who, the revelation informs us, re- ceived the priesthood under the hand of God. Prom Esaias it was handed down through an unbroken chain to the prophet Moses, but because of the unbelief and hardnefss of the people, "He took Moses out of their midst and the Holy Priesthood also, and the lesser priesthood continued." (Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 84.) Tliis record shows an unbroken succession of the Holy Priest- hood and the Gospel of Christ from Adam to Moses, a period of £(bout 2,500 years. Then began those periods of the world's history when the fullness of the Gospel was not to be had among the children of men, periods when the spirit of darkness en- grossed the human family and left mankind, in a great degree, as a blind man groping for the wall. The first of these periods continued from Moses until the Savior came and restored the higher priesthood, established His church upon the earth, and sent his apostles to preach the Gospel in all the world. An- other similar period was from the time thef Gospel became corrupted, in the first two or three centuries of the Christian era, to its restoration in this dispensation through the prophet Joseph Smith. The Christian dispensiation of tlie Gospel continued to a greater length upon the American continent, extending to nearly 400 years after Christ. What success attended the (rospel among the ten lost tribes w^hom the Messiah visited and how long it was maintained among them is not yet revealed, but will be in the due time of the Lord. The Elders in preaching the Gospel abroad are often con- fronted with an objection to this claim of apostasy from the 114 Cowley's talks on doctrine. truth, that such periods of spiritual darkness do not harmonize with the mercy and justice of God. The objefctors, therefore, incline to the belief that the Christian world has enjoyed the Gospel ever since the coming of the Messiah. The query then arises, what is the cause of such apparent difference in the opportunities of human beings? Some are born in the church, heirs to the Holy Priesthood; others, in a Gosi>el dispen- sation, not in the church, but under conditions favorable to their accepting it; still another class in the same dispensation is under such adverse circumstances that believing and obeying are rendered very difficult ; and yet a larger number, counted by millions, live and die where no voice from God comes to their relief. In the absence of refvelation giving any detailed information on this question, we may rest contented with the reflection that God is just, and that a just cause exists for that whidi appears inconsistent in the eyes of mortal man, but that reflection is not satisfying ; we are' in absolute need of revelation to enable us to comprehend the cause and to justify in our minds the condi- tions which exist. Our works in this life are known to God, and our rewards and punishments are meted out according to the deeds done in the body. Our. pre-existe'nt merits and demerits are equally well known to our Heavenly Father. As proof that God knew before this life with all the exactness that we are known here, I here introduce thef following from page 41, Pearl of Great Price : "Now the Lord bad shown unto me, Abraham, the in- telligences that were organized before the world was ; and among all these there were? many of the noble and great ones ; and God saw these sculs that they were good, and He stood in the midst of them ; and He said, 'These I will make my rulers,' for He stood among those that were? spirits ; and He saw they were good ; and there stood one among them like unto God, and He said unto those that were with Him, *We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth, wherefon these may dwell'; and we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them ; and they who keep their first estate? shall be added upon ; and they who keep not their first estate, shall not have glory in the same SALVATION FOR THE DEAD. 116 kingdom with those who keep their first estate ; and they who keep their second estate sliall have glory added upon their heads forever and ever." In the first chapter fourth and fifth verses of Jeremiah, we have the following : "Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee I knew thee, and before thou camest forth, I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." From these plain teachings of the prophet, it is readily seen that the measure of integrity attached to our pre-existence was fully understood by our Father ; and as our future condition is based upon our works in this life, is it not a reasonable conclusion that our siituationj in this world is largely due to our conduct in a pre-existent state? That God has a distinct hand in the appointment of the time for His children to come upon the earth is very clearly stated by the Apostle Paul. In the seventeenth chapter of Acts he says : "God that made the world and all things therein, giveth to all life, and breath, and all things ; and hath made of one blood all nation^s of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitations." Thus we learn that this great emigration of souls from the presence of the Lord to this earth is controlled and directed by the Almighty. That He designed them all at some time to learn of Him is stated in the verse fol- lowing the above quotation, which reads, "That they should seek the Lord and find Him." We are compelled from these facts to believe that, as God Himself sent millions into the world when the Grospel was not had among the inhabitants of the earth, then His saving plan, to be compatible with His attributes of mercy and justice, must be of such a character as to reach these people after they leave this world. We may add here that this vast host of humanity who lived when the Gospel was not extant is greatly augmented by the unnumbered millions of people who live during the dis- pensation of the Gospel, but who never see or hear an authorized servant of the Lord. In connection with this branch of the subject it may be well to refer to the belief of many that, at death the wicked are consiigned to their final doom and the righteous to full and com- plete exaltation in the presence of God. We can explode this 116 cowley's talks on doctrine. fallacy by quotations from Holy Writ. In line with this mis- taken t>elief we find ministers attending the culprit at the gal- laws, urging him to confess Christ, and tellimg him thiat by such confession he will be savefd in the kingdom of heaven. In the face of such doctrine the Scriptures plainly declare that, ''Tlie murderer hath not eternal life abiding in him." We who live in thig dispensation are forbidden by the living oracles of God to receive temple ordinances for even the suicide. To exhibit the error of many in the religious world on this point read the forty -second and forty-third verses of the twenty-third chapter of Luke. The thief on the cross is recorded as saying to the Savior, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy king- dom." Jesus then said to him, "Today sihalt thou be with me in Paradise." ' The claim is made that such a promise amountefd to salvation, taking the malefactor to a condition of eternal glory. In the face of this mistaken interpretation of the Scripture, we have the assertion of Christ Himself, made three days later to Mary : "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended unto my father." (John xx : 17.). This is conclusive evidence th^t the paradise spoken of was not the enjoyment of the presence and glory of God. But we are not left in ignorance of where He did go. He had previously said to His apostles, as refcorded in John v : 25, "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." The object of this preaching is stated in the fourth chapter, sixth verse, of I Peter, to be, "For, for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live! according to God in the spirit." This Scripture establishes the truth beyond doubt that death does not perfect people, and dying without obedience to the Gospel does not relieve them of the impartial obligation placed upon all men to believe and obey. It also maintains the doc- trine of man's free agency by showing that salvation is only realized when man exercises his own volition to refceive the Gospel, and by education in the knowledge of God, step by step, becomes prepared to dwell in the glorious presencef of the Father and the Son. With this testimony of the Savior and the Jewish apostles, the teachings of the Book of Mormon and of the 'Prophet Joseph Smith are in pefrfect harmony. SALVATION FOR THE DEAD. 117 The sacred record of the Nephites informs us that the spirit which possesses a man who dies in his sins will have power to possess him in a future state. The Prophet Joseph, spefaking upon this subject, also said, on April 10, 1842 : "If you wish to go where God is, you must be like God, or possess the prin- cii)les which God posses.s4's, for, if we are not drawing towards Go ' in principles, we are going from Him and drawing towards the devil. A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, for, if he' does not get knowledge, he will be brought into cap- tivity by some evil power in the other world, as evil spirits will have more knowledge and consequently more power than many men who vie on the earth. Hence, it needs revelation to as- sist and give u? knowledge of the things of God." To show still more definitely Christ's mission in the spirit world, we lead from Peter, third chapter, eighteenth verse, as follows^ "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit ; by which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison ; which sometimes were disobedient, when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah." We may infer safely that thef penitent thief had the privi- lege of going to the prison house with the Savior and hearing the Gospel; the distin-ction between his situation and that of tiie antediluvians being that they had remained in purgatory for hundreds of years, while the penitent man, who had shown some repentance in the last hour of his Iffe, may have heard, with but little delay, the Gospel. Whether he had heard it in life and rejected it we are not informed, and how long he would remain in the spirit w^orld without realizing its full benefits we do not know, but the above quotations are ample to disprove the fallacy of the position tajjen by those in thef religious world who deny salvation after death. One objection made by the world to this doctrine is, tliat offering salvation after this life destroys the incentive to em- brace the? Gospel here and holds out the inducement to indulge in the pleasures of sin, through people believing that they might be redeemed in a future state where the pleasures of sin would be less delusive. If we admit, for the sake of argu- ment, this theory, the evil results following are incomparably 118 COWLEY'S TALKS OMT DOCTRINE. less than would be those which offer salvation to some and deny it to others, for this amounts virtually to a destruction of the attributes of justice and mercy which dwell in the bosom of a wise Creator; but there is another side to this pait of the question. We may illustrate by comparison. If a man obey the law of the land simply because he fearsi the penalty of violating the law, you have at once an individual devoid of love for right and of no strength of character, a man who is a mere slave to th6 influences which surround him ; or if you find a being who is willing to pay the penalty of stealing or com- mitting other crimes, for the pleasure he finds in them, with the knowledge that when he has served his term in prison he may be liberated only to steal again, you have a man devoid of character, and to say that this would be the course of man- kind relative to the boon of eternal life is only to belittle the character of the human family and strip them of those at- tributes which come from God their Father. This mission of the Savior was contemplated by the ancient Jewish prophets. They, knowing that the atonement of Christ and the principles of ihe Gospel must apply to those who lived before His com- ing as well as to all who came after, understood that the millions who died without the Gospel in this life must hear and obey in the life to come. Isaiah prophesied concefrning the mis- sion of the Son of God : "I, the Lord, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give theel for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles ; to open the blind eyes ; to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house." ( Isaiah xlii : 6, 7. ) Thus salvation lov the dead is a scriptural doctrine. The Gospel is preached to the spirits in prison. At the same time, it is evident from all that we learn upon this subject that the ordinances of baptism, confirmations, sealings, etc., are received by those living in the flesh, in behalf of those who die? without the Gospel in this world, but receive it in the next. Paul, in the fifteenth chapter of I. Corinthiana, speaking of the resurrection, says : "Else what shall they do which are bap- tised for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for thef dead?" While Paul's argument is not upon the subject of baptism for the dead, why does he thus SALVATION FOR THE DEAD. 119 forcibly allude to this subject if no such an ordinance belongs to the Gospel? The theologians of sectarianism have exhausted their ingenuity in a fruitless effort to mystify or explain away the true meaning of this passage, for the evident reason that it strikes a deadly blow at their unjust dogmas respecting the eternal damnation of those who die without the truth. The plain meaning of the above statement of Paul is that a living person receives baptism in behalf of those who are dead. This simple interpretation was adopted by the early writers on Chris- tianity. Scaliger, Meyer, Erasmus, Calixtus, De Witt, Grotius and others, counted as good authority, adoptefd the same view. Epiphanius, in the fourth century, writing of the Marcionites, miikes use of this language :"A traditional fact concerning them has reached us, that when any of them had died without baptism, they used to baptize others in their name, lefst in the resurrection they ehould suffer punishmenlt als ubbap- tized." Another very emphatic evidence that this ordinance was practiced by thef ancient followers of Christ is that the council of Carthage, A. D., 397, in Canon No. 6, forbids the ordinance of baptism for the dead. Why would such a decree be issued against this ordinance if it had no existence in the Church? Having shown that salvation for the dead is scriptural doc- trine, adopted in theory and practice! by the Former-day Saints, let us turn' now to the dispensation of the fullness of times. We have seen that the mission of Christ to the dead was spoken of by Isaiah in the forty-second chapter. The samd great prophet utters a prediction in the twenty-fourth chapter as follows : "The earth is also defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because! they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant." The context shows clearly that this prophecy refers to the last days, because it predicts that "the inhabitants of the efarth are burned and but few men left." The term "everlasting covenant" cannot refer to the Mosaic law, which existed under the lesser priest- hood. This law consistefd in the rites and ceremonies of the offering of sacrifice, pointing to the great sacrifice of the Mes- siah, and of tlie law of carnal commandments, which served, Paul says, as a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ. The Mosaic law was done away in Him, because he fulfilled the law. 120 Cowley's talks on doctrine. It was not eveTlasting. Breaking the everlasting covenant must, therefore, refer to an apostasy from the fullness of the Gospel as instituted by the Savior. In connection with this apostasy Isaiah tella us in the same chapter : "And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall punish the host of the high onefs that are on high and the kings of the earth upon the earth." And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited." In other words, we might say that they have rejected the Gospel during the Christian era, as the antediluvians rejected it in the days of Noah; the judgments of God destroyed them in the flesh, and their spirits were consigned to the prison house and could not be visited until after many days. Whether the Gospel dispennstions in the spirit would correspond in their divisions of time to those delivered to men in the flesh, we do not know so far as preaching to the spirits in prison is con- cerned ; but this much is evident, that when no Gospel dis- pensation exists upon the earth, those in the spirit world, whatever their opportunities to hear, cannot enjoy the blessings of the Gosi>el, because no one in the flesh has authority to receive the ordinances in their behalf. It, therefore, follows that the haughty ones spoken of bj^ Isaiah could not receive the Gosi)el until it should be revealed again from heaven in the latter days ; and to fulfill this prophecy such a revelation must come, comprehending the keys of a dispensation of the Gospel to the? dead as well as to the living. Malachi, w^hose prophecies are the lasit of those of Jewish prophets recorded in the Old Testament, in speaking of the great day of the Lord's second coming and the judgments of God which would precedef, utters the following prediction (Mal- achi iv : 5, 6) : "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord ; and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." This prophecy is in beautiful ac- cord with that of the apostle Pc-ter recorded in the twentieth and tw^enty-first verses of the third chapter of Acts: "And He shall send Jesus Christ which before was preached unto you ; SALVATION FOR THE DEAD. 121 whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began." How different these joyful words to those of an apostate" Christianity which denies the necessity of revelation and tells us that the canon of Scripture is full! John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of the Messiah at His first coming, w^as also the forerunner of the higher ' priesthood in these! last days. On the 15th of May, 1829, he appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and ordained them to the Aaronic priesthood, the authority to preach unto and baptize those living in the flesli. Afterwards came Peter, James and John, with the keys of the Melchisedek priest- hood, embodying authority to administer all the ordinances of the Gospel to men in the flesh. But the prophecy of Malachi, chapter iv., was yet to be fulfilled. On the 3d of April, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple^ the Prophet Joseph testified that "Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us and said : 'Behold the time has fully come which was spoken of by Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the Lord come to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by ihis ye m.ay know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at tlie doors.' " In connection with the restoration of the keys of temple ordi- nances by Elijah, let us contemplate for a few moments a pre- diction by the Prophet Joseph Smith. He stated that the Gospel as preached by the? elders would yet revolutionize the religious world. Without going into detail regarding the application of this prophecy to several principles Of the Gospel, the subject in hand, salvation for the dead, will clearly prove the prophecy correct. When Joseph first taught the redemp- tion of the dead, it was not believed, but was ridiculed by every denomination of Christendom, so far as we know, and by nearly all The religious world individually; yet during the past fifteen years this doctrine! has been growing in favor in the minds of prominent men. Dr. Thomas, of the Methodist church in Illinois, was brought in question a few years ago by his 122 Cowley's talks on doctrine. diurch for teaching unorthodox doctrine, which consisted in claiming that those who did not hear the Gospel in this world would hear it in the spirit world. There is now a vast number in the various denominations that believe there is hope for the dead such as was never thought of before the words of the Prophet Joseph were spoken. Since the glorious visitation of Elijah, the Lord has revealed definitely how to conduct thef ordinance for the dead. He has fulfilled the words of Jere- miah that He would take "one of a city and two of a family and bring them to Zion." It required "two of a family," or at least a malef and a female representative of the dead, to receive. the ordinances of salvation for the dead of their respective sexes. It has been related of Henry Ward Beecher that he said, if a literal rendering of the Scriptures was to be accepted, then "Mormonism" was correct. In line with his sentiments on this subject, it has been reported that he delivered a lecture in Nashville, Tennessee, his subject being, "What Christianity Has Done to Civilize the World," in w^hich he said: "What has Africa done for the world? She has never produced a sage, a philosopher, a poet nor a prophet, and why not? Be- cause the name of Christ and the influence of Christianity are scarcely known in her dark regions. Millions of her children have lived and passed away without hearing the truth. What will become of them? Will they be forever damned? No, not if my God reigns, for they will hear the gospel in the spirit world." He then proceeded to show by irrefutable evidence that salvation for the dead is a scriptural doctrine. The writer was not present at the lecture, but another Lat- ter-day Saint elder was present, and, at the conclusion of the lecture, stepped up to the platform and said: "Mr. Beecher, I have been much interested in your lecture and would like to ask you a question. Jesus said to Nicodemus, 'Except a man be bom of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' Now, how is it possible for a man to be baptized in water when his body has already crumbled in the earth?" The great preacher looked at the interrogator for a moment and then said: "Young man, where do you hail from?" "From the West." "From what part of the West?" "From Salt Lake City," answered the Elder. "Oh," said Mr. Beecher, "you may answer your own question. Grood even- SALVATION FOR THE DEAD. 123 img," and walked away. Mr. Beecher probably had read enough on the subject of baptism for the dead to know that such a doctrine must be coupled with preaching to deimrted spirits, but he did not wish to be accused of teaching "Mor- monism," so he stopped ^ort of that. He said enough, how- ever, to verify the words of Joseph Smith, and also those of the Savior, wheal He said that if men put new wine into old bottles it would break them to pieces; in other words, new doc- trine into old systems. Other instances might be cited, but this will suffice to illus- trate how the influence of the Gospel is working among the children of men. We now come to one of the most important, interesting and extensive branches of this great subject, namely, that of secur- ing the names, births, marriages and deaths of our ancestors, a class of information essential for record in order to prosecute this great work of salvation for the dead. The genealogical research must be an arduous one and ofttimes attended with great difliiculty. Nathaniel H. Morg-an, author of a geneialogical history en- titled "Jameis' Morgan and His Descendants," makes this ob- servation in the introduction of his work: "The task of the genealogist, in groping his way amid the dusty records of the past, is much like that of the African Indians in pursuing an obscure trail through a tangled widerness. An acute faculty of perception and a keen and practiced eye must note and scrutinize every obscure footprint, every rustled leaf, every bent twig; now, progressing rapidly, under a clear light, and guided by sure tokens; and anon, sudde.nly arrested by a total absence of all further signs, and forced hopelessly to abandon the trail long and patiently pursued until, perchance, again some new and unexpected waymark greets his eye, inspiring fresh pursuit." While thero have been isolated instances of genealogical works in America since the year 1771, it is a noteworthy fact (and one showing the hand of God plainly manifest in moving upon the Gentiles to do this work) that since the coming of Elijah to the Kirtland Temple, this spirit of writing genealo- gies has rapidly increased in the United States. 124 COWLEY^S TALKS ON DOCTRINE. I cannot do better at this juncture than to include as a part of our article a letter written to the writer by Elder Franklin D. Richards on this important subject. Eider Richards, through his researches, has been instrumental in furnishing printed genealogies to many families of Latter-day Saints. He says, under date of Nov. 29th, 1895: "In answer to your question when the first genealogical history was pu'blished, either in this country or in foreign nations, I must siay it is impossible for me to answer, as 1 have not searched the libraries of Europe or of any foreign countries to learn when their first genealogies were published; but, narrowing your question down to this country, I may* say that the first tha. J27 made manifest to promote the great work of salvation for the dead ? In eoniclusion, let us heed the voice of God to the Prophet Joseph, saying, "Therefore renounce war and proclaim peace and seek diligently to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children;" and the exhortaition to us of the prophet who received this command- ment, "Brethren, shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren and on, on to victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immaimel, who hath ordained before the world was, that which would en'able us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free." THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. This subject is of great moment. It should interest all people, Jew and Gentile, especially those who profess Judaism and Christianity. It involves several features which affect the claims made by the Latter-day Saints that more revelation has been given and that the gospel has been restored in these, the last days. The solution of this question involves the fulfillment of many prophecies in the Old and New Testaments. The trend of the teachings of modern Christianity is such as to keep, from the human mind, the idea that the Lord is a prac- tical being and has anything whatever to do with the temporal affairs of the children of men. Yet by a careful reading of thef Scriptures it is readily seen that God designated various por- tions of the earth to be occupied by different bodies of His children. He gave' Palestine to the seed of Abraham, and designated where the children of Esau and other races should dwell. This truth is beautifully expressed by the apostle Paul in Acts xvii : 26, as follows : "And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all thef face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation." To make this subject clear to the reader, we will first show that the seed of Abraham were promised certain countries, that they once occupied those promised lands, and were driven and scattered from them. Hence, in order to receive the fulfill- ment of thef promise regarding their inheritance, they must of necessity be gathered home from their long dispersion. In Genesis xiii: 14, 15, we have the following: "And the Lord said unto Abraham after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and lock from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward ; for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever." This promise was renewed to his son Isaac, as recorded in Genesis xxvi: 2, 3: ''And the Lord appeared unto him and said, Go not down into Egypt ; dwell in the land which THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 125 I shall tell thee of ; sojourn in this land, and 1 will be with thee?, and will bless thee ; for unto thee and unto thy seed I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham, thy father." And again, the promise was made to Jacob, the father of the twelve tribe?s of Israel. In Gen. xlviii : 3, 4, it is said : "And Jacob siaid unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz, in the land of Canaan, 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." It is not necessary to make special quotations to prove to Bible readers that the tribes of Israel were led into the land of Palestine in the days of the prophet Joshua, and under his ad- ministration received their respective inheritances in the prom- ised land. On reading the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis we find a brief statement of the blessings pronounced by the great patriarch upon his twelve sons. In blessing Joseph it is plainly indicatefd that his seed was "a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall;" in other words, his posterity should re- ceive a land beyond the limits which bound the country occupied by the other tribes of Israel. This view is corroborated by the thirty-third chapter of Deuteronomy, in the blessing and proph- ecy of Moses upon the head of the tribe of Joseph. The descriptions of the land of Joseph, given in these two chapters, together with the other passages of Holy Writ, show that the land of Joseph was no less than the Western Hemi- sphere, known to us as North and South America. It is well known that the tribes of Israel occupied the promised land from generation to generation, until through apostasy and trans- gressiion nearly all the tribes were carried into captivity long before the advent of the Messiah. When He came the land was occupied chiefly by the tribe of Judah, which was subsequently scattered among the various nations of the earth. The Lord plainly warned the house of Israel that, to enjoy His blessings and to remain unmolested in the land of their fathers, they must keefp His commandments. If they did not, this was to follow : "And I will bring the land into desola- tion ; and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished 5 T30 Cowley's talks on doctrine. at it. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you, and your land shall be desolate and your cities Waste." (Lev. xxvi : 32, 33.) Very much like this prophecy are the sacred words of the Messiah, spoken 1500 years later : "For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles bef fulfilled." (Luke xxi : '23, 24.) It is also stated in Deut. xxviii: 63-G5: "And ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to pos- sess it. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the onef end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy feet havef rest ; but the Lord sihall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind." History records beyond the? possibility of a doubt how literally and terribly the various clauses in these predictions have been fulfilled. Israel has been scattered, and Judah has been perse- cuted and oppressed and become a hiss and a byword in the mouths of all the Gentile nations. With the sacred promises before us, that Israel should receive those countries and the histcfry which proves that they were scattered and are still unreturned to their promised land, we must be convinced, if notliing were said in the Scriptures of the restoration, that Israel must be gathered and re-established in the land of their fathers or the promises of thef Almighty would come to naught. We are not left, however, without predictions which specify, in considerable detail, that the chosen people shall be gathered and the circumstances and signs of the times associated with the gathering of Israel in the last days. Four hundred and forty-six years before Christ, the prophet Neliemiali, bowing down in sorrow because of this scattering and destruction cf his peopl-e, besought the Lord in humble sup- plication, thus : "Remember, I beseech thee, thef word that thou commandest thy servant Moses, saying. If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad mong the nations ; but if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments and do them ; though the^re THE GATHERING OF ISBABL. 131 were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosefn to set my name there." (Neh. i : 8, 9.) The psalmist David said (Psalms 1:5): "Gather my saints together unto me ; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." The context of this psalm shows plainly that the fulfillment of the words quoted should take place in thef last days, near the time of the coming of the Son of God. Those who sihould be called saints would be required to sacrifice the associations of their native lands as Abraham was when callefd upon to turn aside from the false religion of his fathers and go to a land into which the Lord should lead him. The Latter-day Saints have made a covenant with God, and through self-denial are gathering together in fulfillmefnt of the words of David the psalmist. Another prophecy from the same book is as follows : "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good ; for His mercy en- dureth forever. Let the redeemefd of the Lord say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy ; and gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way ; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted in them. Thefy cried unto the Lord in their trouble and He delivered them out of their distresses." \ The provisions of this prophecy have been and are being verified in the gathering of the Saints to the Rocky Mountains. In Isaiah ii : 2, 3, we have the following prediction : "And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come? ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob ; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths ; for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." Tliis prediction isi too plain to be mistaken when it is fulfilled. This prophecy was not ful- filled at the coming of the Messiah, neither before nor since His time, but it is being fulfilled in the gathering of the Latter-day Saints. They have established the house of the Lord in a 132 Cowley's talks on doctrine. mountainous country ; many people are gathering to it, their object being to learn the waysi of the Lord that they may more perfectly walk in His paths. This prediction should be verified at a time near which people should beat their swords into plow- shares and their spears into pruning hooks ; "neither shall they learn war any more," as shown by the verse following those we have quoted. Micah, fifty years after this, uttered a similar prophecy, in almost the same language, as will be found in the first and sec- ond verses of his fourth chapter. Another prophecy of Isaiah on this subject will be found in chaptefr five, twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh verses. It reads as follows : "And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from afar, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth ; and behold, they shall come with speed swiftly ; none siiall be weary nor stumble among them ; none shall slumber nor slee^) ; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed nor the latchet of their shoes be broken." The wording of this, in connection with verses which follow, seems plainly to have its fulfillment in the manner of travel by which the Saints are being and shall be gathered to the place appointed. They come by railroad, "with speed swiftly," which prevents them, in a grefat measure, from stumbling or becoming weary by the way. Notice that the words of this prediction, that the ensign was to be set up from afar, undoubtedly indicate a far distant land from the place where Isaiah stood whefn he uttered the prophecy. He stood upon the Eastern Hemisphere ; America was far distant, and upon this land the ensign has been lifted up. Is it not an ensign to the nations? The authority of God, the house of the Lord, where thef nations of the earth are invited to repent of their sins and freely partake of the blessings to be obtained where the ensign is established, surely are such. A prediction very similar to thef foregoing in its provisions was uttered by the same prophet and is contained in the eleventh chapter of his book, the eleventh and twelfth verses : "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Oush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He shall THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 133 set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble thef out- casts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." These prophecies could not be? fulfilled short of bestowing more revelation upon the children of men to show them how, where and when these great events should be accomplishefd. We have quoted from the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, in the twelfth ve:^sef of which this language is used : "And ^all assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dis- persed of Judah." It will be noticed that the word outcasts applies to Israel, whidh means that Israel was cast out from the knowledge of the Gentile nations, while the seed of Judah wag scattered among the nations of the earth. The reason dis-. tinction is made between Israel and Judah, when Judali was one of the tribes of Israel, is that in the days of David and Solomon the Lord divided the? kingdom of Israel, making Judah one dis- tinct nation and the remaining tribes another distinct nation, having two separate kings. The tribes of Israel were led away into the north country, and became lost to the knowledge of the? world, while Judah and a portion of Ephraim remained in Pales"- tine, and were scattered among the nations. This is why the prophet applies the word "outcast" to Israefl and the word "dis- persed" to the tribes of Judah. Zechariah the prophet says : "Ho, ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north." (Zech. ii : 6.) This return of the tribes of Israel from the? land of the north will be attended with much miraculous power. The miracles wrought in the days of Moses will not be the reference made by Israel to show the power of God in their behalf, but this prophecy will be ful- filled : "Therefore, behold the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, the Lord liveth that brought up the chiklren of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But the Lord liveth that brought up the Children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither He had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers." (Jer. xvi : 14, 15.) One very interesting feature associated with the gathering of Israel in the last days is expressed in the sixteenth verse of the same chapter, as follows : "Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them ; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every 134 COWIiEY'S TALKS ON DOCTRINE. mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks." When men engage in fishing they cast their lines into - the water, and know not until drawn to shore whether the fish caught be of one kind or another ; but when they go hunting they know exactly the game thefy shoot at, whether it is a lion or a tiger, a buffalo or a deer. This Scripture is fulfilled in the preaching of the Gospel among the Grentile nations by the elders of Israel ; it is not known by them whether the pefrson who em- braces the Gospel and gathers to Zion is of the blood of Israel, a Gentile or otherwise, until it is madef known by the light of revelation. This, then, is as casting the Gospel net into the sea, which gathers of all kinds, who remain together until the bad are separated from thef good and cast back into the sea. Isaiah says, in chapter xxvii : 12, "Ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel." This is corroborated in the third chapter of Jeremiah, fourteenth and fiftefen verses, which read : "I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion; .and I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and under- standing." How strikingly true it is that in this dispensation only one or two, in many instances, of a numerous family, receive the truth. And frequently but one, or very few, in a whole city. But these, when they receive the? Holy Spirit through embracing the Gospel, at the hands of inspired and divinely authorized men, are filled with a desire to gather to Zion, and there are' taught by pastors "called of God as was Aaron." A prophcy very like the foregoing is found in the eighteenth chapter of Revelations, fourth and fifth versefs : "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Coiae out of her, my people, th.at ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God Jiath remembered her iniquities." Tbat they are out of Babylon is made clear by the verses preceding the ones quoted. Babylon signifies confusion, and is shown in the preceding chapter of Revelation to apply to "people and multitudes, and nations and tongues." Should there be among the nations of the earth any class of i>eople professing to be the Saints of God, yet who have no desire to gather from Babylon in order to avoid her sins and thus escape her plagues, it would be proof that they had not re- THE GATHERING OF ISRAEIi. 135 ceived, in spirit and truth, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Another prophecy bearing upon the return of the tribes from the north, as well as those scattered among the nations, is found in Jer. xxxi : 8, 9, 10 : "Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child, and her that travaileth with child together: A great company shall return thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by thef rivers of waters in a straiglit way, wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first bom. Hear tlie word of the Lord, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar oft', and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doefs his flock." In the twelfth verse it says, "Therefore they shall come and sing m the height of Zion." This latter clause in the prophecy shows that the place of their gathering shall be an elevated region of coun- try. In some instances the term Zion is used with reference to a place or land, as shown in the sixty-second chapter of Isaiah, which the reader can refer to at lefisure. And in other instances the word applies .to a people. Modern revelation through the prophet Joseph Smith says : "This is Zion, the pure in heart." Using the word in this sensef, light is thrown upon the foregoing prophecy of Jeremiah by one found in Isaiah xl : 9 : "O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain." This would not have been verified if the Saints of latter days had remained in a scattered condition among the nations, or even in the lower regions first occupied by them in the United States, for America is the land of Zion. The great events which go to make up the history of thef Latter-day Saints fur- nish indisputable evidence that they were led there by the hand of God, and that, too, in fulfillment of ancient and modern prophecy. In reference to the saints being led by the rivers of water in a straight way, Isaiah has a similar prophecy, contained in the thirty-second chapter, eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth verses : "And my i)eople shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places ; when it shall hail, coming down on the forests ; and the* city shall be low in a low place. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that 136 Cowley's talks on doctrine. send forth thither the feet of the ox, and the ass." The prophets foresaw that the' gathering place of the saints should be in a section of the country where the rains should not be abundant, and for that reason they would plant beside all waters, that the system of irrigation might be employed to water the crops of the earth, and through this also that grasses and other vegetation might be provided for their domestic animals. It is also an in- teresting fact that the cities built by the Saints in the valleys, in comparison with the summit of the snow-capped mountains around them, are situated in low places, so that many times wlien the hail comes down in fury upon the mountain forests above, the city is free from storm. One feature of the pleasantnessi which characterizes the Saints of God is their custom, in their mountain homes, of com- ing together in a social capacity and joining in thcf dance. In this capacity, as in gatherings of more weighty importance, the old and the young, male and female, mingle together, that par- ents may rejoice in the innocent recreation of their children and that the children may be under the guiding influence of their parents. Strange as it may seem to the world, even to those professing Christianity and a consequent b^ief in the Bible, such a condition is in fulfillment of sacred prophecy found in the thirteenth verse of the thirty-first chapter of Jeremiah, which reads as follows : "Tlien shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together ; for I will turn their mourn- ing into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow." This was to be at the time of their getting up into the high mountains, and ^.xpressing their praises to the Almighty in the heights of Zion. Closely connected with the foregoing prophecies is one found ill Isaiah, thirty-fifth chapter, first and tenth verses : "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them ; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. And the ran- somed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Almost the entire chapter has a bearing upon this subject. The Lord has so abundantly blessied the labors of His people in that once barren region that truly the desert does rejoice and blossom as the rose. That Salt Lake valley was a most forbid- THE GATHERING OF ISRAEL. 137 ding place cannot be denied. James Bridges, an old trapper who had seen Salt Lake valley before the Pioneers, was so confi- dent of the perpetual sterility of the soil, rendered so by having little or no water, scarcely any rain, and frost nearly every month in the year, that he said to President Brigham Young : "I will give you a thousand dollars for the first ear of corn that can be produced in Salt Lake valley." Our geographies desig- nated that country as the Great American Desiert. Daniel Webster, the great statesman and orator, earnestly opposed the annexation of that section of the country to the United States on the ground of its almost utter worthlessness, claiming it would be a financial burden to the government. Notwithstanding these forbidding aspects, the Prophet Joseph Smith predicted on the 6th of August, 1842, that the Latter-day Saints would become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains. This prophecy will be found readily in a work en- titled "A New Witness for God," by Elder B. H. Roberts, which work also contains many other predictions of the prophet Joseph Smith, and shows their fulfillment. The following in the proph- ecy of Isaiah, chapter thirty-five, "For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in thef desert, and the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty lands springs of water," has been fulfilled in the settlement of the Rocky Moun- tain region by the Latter-day Saints. As the judgments of God come upon the earth the gathering of Israel will be accelerated, and the words of the prophet Isiaiah will be fulfilled wherein he asks the question, "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?" (Isa. Ix; 8.) As they come together from their long dispersion, and from the north country, in times of famine, pestilence and blood- shed, the Lord will strengthen them by saying, "Fear not; for I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the east and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, give up; and to the south, keep not back ; bring my sons from afar, and my daugh- ters from the ends of the earth ; even every one that is called by my name." (Isa. xliii: 5, G.) How universal will be this gathering from all points of the compass, and which will apply to all Who are truly called by the name of the Lord ! This gathering will be attended by greater power than here- tofore, and no power will be ablef to impede the progress of the 138 Cowley's talks on doctrine. great work. Hear what Ezekiel says: "And I will bring you out from the people, and will gather yon ont of the countries Avherein ye arc scattered, with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face." (Ezekiel xx: 34, 35.) The same prophet also predicts the gathering of Israel in unmistakable terms, in chapter xxxvi: 24: "For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you into your own land." The foregoing predictions' are chiefly from the Old Testament, but the New Testament also contains many very definite fore- casts upon this glorious subject ; indeed, in th€f last days, when the Gospel should be restored to earth by divine revelation, the dispensation thus established was to be designated as a gatheTing dispensation, as stated by Paul in Ephesians, chapter i: 9, 10: "Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself ; that in the dispensation of the fullness of times. He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on the earth; even in Him." This is in perfect accord with the prophecy of Isaiah before quoted, that all who are* called by the name of the Lord should be gathered together. Jesus offered the gathering to the house of Judah in His day, but they rejected it. He said unto them, "O, Je- rusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee ; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not ! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate; and verily I say unto you, ye shall not S€fe me, until the time come when ye shall say, blessed is he that Cometh in the name of the Lord. ( Luke xiii : 34, 35. ) How terribly have these words been fulfilled upon the Jews through their having rejected the Messiah and the principle of gathering which He offered to them. By reading the bock of Zechariah we lefarn that when the Jews have gathered to their promised land, in the last days, and the armies of the Gentiles surround them, the Messiah will THE GATHEKING OF ISRAEL. 189 appear unto them on the Mount of Olives. Looking to the fulfillment of the great predictions the feeling now pervades the hearts of the Jews, to a very great extent, to furnish means for the purchase of thef land of Palestine, that they may return and rebuild the city of Jerusalem. When the Twelve Apostles at Jerusalem requested of the Savior to know thef signs of His second coming, He gave various evidences, among which was the preaching of the Gospel of the kingdom and consequently its restoration to the earth, and the raising up of prophets to warn the people, without which the comparison of the' days of Noah and the days of the second coming of the Messiah would not be complete. To counterfeit the work of God through prophets that sihould be raised up, false prophets and teachers should also arise; kingdom should arise against kingdom; war, pestilence and bloodshed should desolate the nations of the earth; the gath- ering of Israel should be going on, as proved by the prophecies heretofore quoted, and when the signs of His ^pearing should appear in the heavens, "He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from thef four winds, from one end of heaven to the other." (Matt, xxiv: 31; see also Mark xiii: 27.) This is the dispensation of the fullness of times in which all the keys, power and authority enjoyed by all previous dis- pensations have been restored to thef earth, and this includes the keys of the gathering. Under date of April 3d, 1836, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were the recipients of many splendid visions and revelations at Kirtland, Ohio, in the Temple of the Lord. They solemnly testify as follows : "After this vision closed, thef heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north." (Doc- trine and Covenants, Sec. 110: 11.) From that time the spirit of gathering has rested richly upon the saints of the Most High, and tens of thousands have gath- ered from many nations of the earth. Thef Saints will continue until they are assembled in the places designated for them to occupy. Since the date mentioned, the spirit of the gathering also has been working among the Jews, and when all things are 140 Cowley's talks on doctrine. revealed it will undoubtedly be found that tlie spirit of gath- ering is working among thef ten lost tribes of Israel, looking to the restoration promised to them in the predictions of their fathers. Thus in the purpose of God will be accomplished the gathering together in one, all who will serve Him and keep His commandments, that they may * 'learn of His ways and walk in His paths," that the earth may be "filled with the knowledge of the Lord as thef waters cover the mighty deep, when no man shall say to his neighbor, ''know ye the Lord," for all shall know Him, from the least to the greatest. TITHING. Unlike other religious sects professing Christianity, the Lia/tter-day Saints do not ohseiTe the law of tithing, the ordi- nances of baptism, confirmation or any other sacred rite merely because the Bible records that such observances were had among the ancient saints, but for the reason that in this age of the world, G-od has commanded us to receive these laws and ordinances. The law of tithing was given in the early history of God's dealings with the children of men. Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedek, according to the statement of Paul to the He- brews. The apostle also refers to the fact that the tribe of Levi had been selected from all the sons of Israel to officiate in that order of the priesthood which has to do with the out- ward ordinances of tithes and sacrifice, and notwithstanding there was a nigher order, of which Melchisedek was the great High Priest, those bearing the higher priesthood were not ex- empt from the law of tithing. (Heb. vii: 4-5.) Jacob also paid one-tenth to the Lord. (Gen. xxviii: 20-22.) During the administration of Moses as the leader and law- giver under the Almighty to Israel, tithing was enjoined as a universal law to the people of God. "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy unto the Lord. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. He shall not search whether it be good or bad." (Lev. xxvii: 30, 32, 33.) This did not require a selection of the very choicest product of the flock, the herd or the soil, neither did it justify a man in of- fering for his tithes the poorest or least valuable of his in- come. Of the flocks, each one "that passeth under the rod" was to be tithed. The custom was to pen the flocks in a corral, with a gateway too small for the passage of more than one animal at a time; and as they passed out, a man stood at the gateway with a rod in his hand, and as the tenth one of the 142 COWLEY*S TALKS ON DOCTRINE. flock went out, the man at the gate marked the animal with his rod. Thus every tenth one, whether it was good, poor or medium, was sanctified to the Lord as tithing; any disposition to olfer as a. tithe an inferior article was disapproved of by tbe Lord. In matters of sacrifice upon the altar, pointing to the sacrifice of the Great Redeemer who should be offered in the meridian, of time to redeem a fallen world, Israel was positively forbidden to offer the blind, the lame or the bruised. "Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats. But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer; for it shall mot be acceptable for you. * * * Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them ujvon the altar unto the Lord." (Lev. xxii: 19, 22.) The aitonement symbolized by the sacrifices was one (the Lamb of God) free from blemish in every particular — "a pure and perfect being without spot or blemish." Not only was the offering upon the altar a reminder of the atonement as a fact, by the shedding of blood, but the character and quality of the offering musit symbolize the perfect purity of the Son of God. While tithing was not so directly pointing to the atonement, nor was it designed for that purpose, it is yet an offering to the Lord required by Him, to be used for righteous purposes and to i>repare the heart of the tithe-payer to give his all to God, to consecrate all in the interest of human redemption. The Lord, in tithing, does not demand the best nor justify His people in offering that of the least value in any substance tithed. How penurious, mean and small-soul ed on the part of any saint it would be to offer for tithing that of the poorest value to himself, especially in the light of the fact that God is the Giver of all we enjoy, whether of a spiritual or physical nature, and in the face of His great liberality in not demanding a selection of the very best of any product which is tithed. If any man is tempted to pay the poorest calf, the poorest ton of hay, or a scabby sheep to rid himself of it, let him remem- ber the word of the Lord to ancient Israel and the condemna- tion that followed when they robbed God in tithes and offer- ings. These injunctions continued throughout all the history of TITHING. 143 Israel, from Moses to the Savior. Malachi says ''And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?" (Mai. i: 8.) It should be considered evil to offer such for tithing in our day. When Israel turned from their observance of this law, as from all others enjoined by the Almighty, the people were reprimanded severely, and were followed by the withering hand of Grod's displeasure. "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the store- house, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the L-ord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts, and all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts." (^lal. iii: 8-12.) Thus was the law of tithing given to Israel; thus were they to be blessed in its (Observance and cursed if they transgressed it. As the law was given anciently for the same purposes as in this dispensation, it would naturally agree in the blessings following its observances and the curses for its disobedience. When the Savior chastised the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, He evidently approved the law of tithing, for He said, "But woe unto you Pharisees! For ye tiche mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God; these ought ye to liave done, and not to leave the other undone." (Luke xi: 42.) It is erroneously supi)Osed by many that the laws ob- served by Israel previous to Christ's atonement were almost entirely obliterated, being, as many think, all fulfilled in His mission on earth. A little reflection upon this subject will cor- rect this error in the minds of all who are diligefntly and hon- estly seeking for the truth. The Ten Commandments them- selves are pre-eminently a part of the Gospel of Christ. When the! young man came to the Messiah to learn the way of salva- tion,- he was enjoined to observe the commandments, "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery," etc. (Matt. 144 Cowley's talks on doctrine. xix : 16-21. ) Whatever was discontinued after the atonement was that which had been established to symbolize and teach the great atonement to come. The offerings of lambs and bullocks in sacrifice was dispensed with, as it had pointed to the coming atonement now fulfilled in the Messiah. It was replaced by the sacrament, the broken bread and the wine, both blessed and administered to the disciples and enjoinefd as a continuous ordinance to keep bright in memory the sufferings, atonement and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The only time when thef law of tithing was not enjoined upon the people of God, so far as the Scriptures indicate, is when they not only consecrated one-tenth to the Lord, but all they had. This law of consecration, we learned, was obse"rved in the city of Enoch. It was carried out in a measure by the ancient Saints in Palestine after the day of Pentecost: "And the multitude of them that believefd were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things w^hich he possessed was his own ; but they all had things in common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus ; and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked ; for as many a.s were possessors of lands or houses, sold them, and brought the prices of the things which were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet ; and distribution was made unto every nian as he had need." (Acts iv: 32-35.) This law of consecration, which comprehended the law of tithing and much more, was also observed for some 200 years upon the American continent subsequent to the visit of the Savior to and the establishment of His Church among the Nephites upon this land. The law of consecration was re- vealed to the Latter-day Saints through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and will be established and carried out fully in the re- demption of Zion; without it Zion cannot be redeemed. This is the disi)ensation of the fullness of times, the one containing in its revelations all the keys, powers, prerogatives, authorities and blessings, enjoyed by any and all previous dispemsation/S combined — a day of the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all His holy Prophets since the world began. (Acts iii: 20-21; Eph. i: 9-10.) Consequently the law of tithing, with other grand doctrines, has been restored to TITHING. 145 the earth. The revelation on this subject is found in the Doc- trine and Covenants, Sec. 119, and was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith July 8, 1838. It shows what constitutes tithing, the purpose thereof and the blessings to be i-^ceived as a re- ward of obedience thereto. The law specifies one-tenth of all our interests annually. This means what it says, "one-tenth of our interests;" in other words, whatever comes to us as the result of our labors in any and every vocation of life. If we lend money, what- ever the interest on the loan amounts to, one-tenth of this interest is tithing. If the money is invested in any enterprise and brings a dividend, one-tenth of the dividend is the tithing. If a man is a carpenter, a blacksmith or a school teacher, and earns a salary, one-tenth of that salary should be conse- crated to the Lord as tithing; and the tithe-payer has the other nine-tenths to meet his expenses and to use as a means of livelihood. Wliatever the occupation, whether farmer, mechanic, professor, miner or whatever, one-tenth of his in- terest annually is the tithing. If questions arise, as they sometimes do, especiallj' with the farmer regarding legitimate expenses used in producing what is left to us as a profit on our laJbors, the LratteT-day Saint, if in doubt as to the amount to pay, is usually certain of this— that between two propositions one of which he knows is right, and the other may be but he is not sure, he is always safe to act upon that side of the question which extends to the law of the Ix)rd the greater liberality. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver," and "He that deviseth liberal means, shall stand by his liberality," while the man wno com- plies grudgingly or studies how little he can do, and at the same time have the name and record of doing, is not the man who loves the Lord with all his heart, mind and strength, and should not anticipate a full measure of blessing attached to His law. By an honest compliance, the individual is blessed in spirit and in temporal substance. The testimonies of thousiands, and even of the widow who has paid her full tithing, is that God has increased their substance in some instances in a most remarkable manner, even as He increased in the. barrel the 146 Cowley's talks on doctrine. meal of the poor widow who fed the prophet Elijah. He also has given testimony of His goodness and power and the in- crease of His Holy Spirit to the honest tithe-payer, who receives blessings greatly exceeding in value the increase of gold, silver or any physical substance. In tithing is strongly exemplified the eternal law that what is giv/eoi as God directs increases the substance of the giver. When men exert the intellectual talents with which they are endowed in imparting knowledge to others, their own knowl- edge does not decre-ase but is enhanced, while the active in- tellect grows strongly and the talents are more quickly de- veloped and increased. When our young Elders go forth and preach the Gospel as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, the Spirit they employ does not grow less nor the gifts thereof diminish because they are constantly imparting to others, but these increase abundantly. It is just as easy for the Lord to increase physical substance as to add to spiritual blessings and powers. When we sow the grain upon the earth, it would seem thrown away, but, by the law of the Great Creator, the seed germinates in it and produces again, sometimes thirty and forty fold. So it is with tithing. We may not under- stand fully the process, but the result is plain. God increases the faith and substance of him who freely pays his tithing. Among the conditions associated with this law is, "those who are not tithed shall not be worthy the blessings of the house of the Lord;" and again, '*He that is tithed shall not be burned" (at His coming). (Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 64: 23.) It is predicted by Malachi and other prophets, as well as by the words of the Lord in the last days to the prophet Joseph Smith, that the days of God's judgment are coming upon the earth, and that the wicked, proud and rebellious shall be- comef as stubble, "and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts." (Malachi iii. Doctrine and Cov- enants, Sec. 64.) In the revelations on tithing the Lord also says, "Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather into the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you. And I say unto you, if my people observe not- this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land TITHING. 147 of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thei'eon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not bef a land of Zion unto you. And this shall be an ensample unto all the Stakes of Zion. Even so. Amen." (Doc. and Gov., Sec. 119.) The perfection and benefits of the law of tithing could not be comprehended by men of this age of the world prior to the refvel- ations given from the Lord. This divine instruction was neces- sary, and its demonstration in the lives of the people is a fur- ther witnes>s of the propheftic calling of Joseph Smith ; the facts connected therewith are within easy reach of those who will in- vestigate among the people who have actual experience and knowlefdge of the divine blessings that attend obedience to the law of tithing and are unimpeachable testimonies of the truth of God's word. ETERNAL REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS. There is nothing more strikingly plain and explicit in all thef Holy Scriptures than that God is just and His paths are "mercy and truth." Justice is an essential attribute of Deity ; it is as necessary in government as love and mercy ; it demands that man shall acquiefsce in divine law, without which all were confusion, utterly devoid of order and method, and the learned essayist has informed us that "Heaven's first law is order." Justice should govern law, and when the law is violated or its statutes are broken, justice calls for a penalty therefor. It is by law that penalties are affixed, and we find in Deuteronomy, the 28th chapter, beginning with the 15th verse, "If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to obsierve to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee." In Mark xvi : 16, we read, "He that beliefveth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Here we find a penalty affixed for the violation of the laws of God. We' find it verily true that in all God does and in all that He orders, He manifests goodness and love, maintains justice and equity and exercises mercy and long-sufiPering. Notwith- standing His compassion and mercy. He is nevertheless just and truef, therefore a full assurance that He will bestow rewards and inflict punishments, as He has aforetime decreed, must take root in the mind of every considering, inquiring, honest soul. As the apostle said : "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie', promised before the world began." (Titus i : 2.) Mercy shall ever season justice, but never be permitted to rob her of her inexorable demands Love will never ceas€f to be a ruling attribute in all God's dealings, but not to mitigate or lessen punishment, unless repentance be manifest and for- giveness granted ; goodness, kindness, forbearance and gentle- ness, while they are forevefr and always exercised in Deity, will ETERNAL REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS. 149 not stand to thwart or forestall the judgments of God, or remove deserving penalties, only as provision is made in the plan of redemption. There are' numerous instances recorded upon the pages of Holy AVrit which go to prove that God is just, and that His decrees will be fulfilled to the letter. Perhaps none are so convincingly clear as that portrayed in the atonement of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He? became pre-eminently the "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Not for His own sins, for He was the one person free from sin, but He bore affliction and suffering beyond our finite comprehension before a remission of that penalty, which justicef demanded for Adam's sin, could be procured. When we consider the agonies of the garden, the scoffings of the council and the torture of the crucifixion, we begin to realize the efxaction of punishment ere the sons of Adam could be freed from the original transgression enacted in Eden. Christ, in His vicarious work of interposition for fallen man, humbled Himself before His Father, befing subject to pain, scorn, ignominy and death, that justice might be satisfied. Herein, then, is plainly discerned the justice of the Almighty — a jU'Sitice as strict in its works as it is stern in its words, yet seasoned with mercy and dealt kindly with love ; requiring of that Just One a full and complete atonement, unsparingly and unflinchingly, for thus did justice demand We are asisured, then, of the justice of God ; the debt must be paid before the burden is liftefd, but when the requirements of the law are righteously met and kept, the load is removed, for our Father is not only just, but merciful and true. In the minds of many there exists a vague and erroneous idea as to what is really meant by the term "eternal rewards" and "eternal punishments." A misunderstandinig of these expressions has doubtless caused many to be skeptical and infidelic. The word "eternal" does not reffer to the length or duration of the blessings endowed or penalties inflicted, but to the everlasting nature of the Great God, under whose right- eousness and justice the faithful are exalted and the wicked punished. Through Moses, that ancient seer, the Lord spoke thus : "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deut. xxxiii : 27.) God, then, befing eternal, His 150 COWIiEY'S TALKS ON DOCTRINE. rewards are "eternal rewards," His punishments "eternal pun- ishments." If the United States were an eternal government, its justice would be eternal ; if it were unchangeable, it always would punish violators of the law, and if justice were meted out to all, they' would be punished in proportion to the crime committed, and when the demands of justice were satisfied they would bef released, but the punishment would still continue to exist, and being eternal, all who fell under its ban would taste of eternal punishment. The punishment will always en- dure, although criminals may serve their penalties and come out from the prison house; it is even so in the kingdom of God. God is the highest tyi)e of justice. He is eternal, everlasting, unchangeable, and always will punish sin. His punishment is eternal, because He is eternal. Eternal is one of His names, and eternal punishment is used in the sense of God's punish- ment, and not to designate it as everlasting in its duration upon the offender of the law. He will beat with many stripes all who commit sins worthy of the same, and with few stripes those guilty of less venal crimes. This will be determined according to the light and knowledge one may possess For example, three men commit murder, an African in the jungles of Africa, a negro who was formerly a slave?, and a white man. Other things being equal, the white man, with his advanced intelligence, will suffer most, for he has had the most light and by far the best opportunity to advance. There are degrees of punishment, as well as degrees of reward. Here is a tender, moral girl, who dies without accepting Christ as her Savior, and here is an old man, eighty years old, who dies in his sins ; dare any one assert that a just and holy God is going to punish those two alike? And yet many, very many, look upon hell as a place where all suffer alike, and heaven an ethereal, uncertain abode, where all enjoy like blessings. Our salvation from death depends entirely upon Christ, but our exaltation is upon our acts of obedience, and our condemnation upon our sins and transgressions How plain and simple are the words of the apostle Paul, "Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor." (I. Cor. iii: 8.) God rewards according to our faithfulness to all opportuni- ties. He does not require a quart from a pint vessel. "Where ETERNAL REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS. 151 much is given much is required." "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." As with rewards, so likewise with punishments. When justice is satisfied, the sinner has paid the debt. How beautiful and holy is this plan of eternal justice ! How consistent with the words of the Messiah, "Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." Paul informs us that after the resurrection and eternal judgment, . we are to go on unto perfection," and not until then, will thef measure of our creation be filled. Let all ponder the simple truth that God is just, holy and righteous, wondrously tender, loving, gentle and kind. Eternal rewards are the blessings we receive from God for our faith- fulness and fealty to His laws. Eternal punishments are the inflictions which He imposes for our violation of His righteous commands. Our rewards we merit ; our punishments we justly deserve. Tlie Lord has said, "I will never leave thee ; I will never forsake thee," therefore, we are assured that "His mercy endureth forever." OBEDIENCE. "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." (I. Samuel xv : 22.) In an age of the world when independence is the proud boast of the nations, obedience is, by mistaken ideas of freedom, considered a mark of humilia- tion. To the reader I will say, in reality, true obedience to the Lord's commands is an indication of moral courage, union and power. It is not blind obedience that is referred to and maintainefd, but that type which characterized the ancient seers and saints, who, like the Messiah, were ready to say by word and deed, "I came not to do mine own will, but the will of my Father who sent me." The Latter-day Saints are credited with being obedient and submissive to authority, this fact being often used by their op- ponents as the occasion of reproach. Those who so use it surely must forget that God re