Gospel Themes

Commission of the Twelve Apostles.—"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

"And these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

"They shall take up serpents: and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."—(Mark 16:15-18.)

"All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."—(Matt. 28:18-20.)

Such was the commission given by the Savior to the chosen Twelve, after his resurrection, and prior to his ascension into heaven.

Knowledge and Belief.—The Twelve Apostles were the special witnesses of the risen Redeemer. They knew that he had risen, for they had seen and heard him. They had even been permitted to feel of him, that they might know beyond all question that he was indeed the Resurrection and the Life. This was their privilege, but not the privilege of all men. The world at large was required to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that salvation might come to them; they were to believe what the apostles told them regarding his resurrection, and the principles he had taught. They were to receive in faith from his servants the message he had commanded them to deliver.

The Case of Thomas.—Thomas, one of the Twelve, believed because he had seen (John 20:29) and as a special witness, he had the right to see, in order that he might know, not merely believe, whereof he and his brethren testified. "But blessed are they," said the Savior, "who have believed and have not seen." Why? For the reason, no doubt, that this life was instituted for the exercise of faith. Mortal man must "walk by faith." "The just shall live by faith," reaching after God, as a flower after the sunlight. Exercise of faith brings spiritual development—a factor, and the most important one, in man's eternal progress. Knowledge swallows up faith, removing the opportunity for its exercise, thus hindering the process of advancement. Therefore, until faith shall have done its perfect work, it is better to believe than to know. Premature knowledge is fatal to joy, and fetters progress.

A Message Simple and Sublime.—Obedient to their Lord's behest, the apostles and their fellow laborers, having been endued with power from on high (Acts 2), went forth to preach the gospel to every creature. "Christ and him crucified," was the slogan they sounded; faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, the principles they proclaimed. A simple message, plain enough for a child to comprehend. And behold in this one proof of its divinity! Christ died for all men, and his gospel is for all men, not merely for a clique, a cult, a school, or a coterie, learned or otherwise. It had to be plain, that the common people might understand it, that the poor and lowly, as well as the high and mighty, might be attracted to it, and be saved by it. It is at once simple and sublime, capable of making men godlike, and of lifting them to the highest heaven, if they will receive it and live it "as a little child."

On Both Hemispheres.—The plan of salvation was proclaimed, and the Church of Christ organized, on both hemispheres; the risen Savior, after confirming the faith of his Jewish disciples, visiting the Nephites for a similar purpose, and departing thence to pay like visits to other branches of the house of Israel, whose whereabouts were as unknown to the descendants of Lehi as was the existence of the latter to their brethren in and around Jerusalem.—(III Ne. 15, 16.)

Unto His Own.—Jesus Christ is the Savior of the whole world, but not to every people in the world are vouchsafed his personal ministrations. The God of Israel "came unto his own"—that is, unto the house of Israel, and through Israel he ministers for the salvation of mankind. That is why he appeared to the Jews, to the Nephites, and to the "other sheep" not of those folds; while the Gentiles were visited by the Holy Ghost, which the Son of God had promised to his disciples, and which came, first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles, after he had re-ascended into heaven.

The Lord's Supper.—Both in Judea and in the Land Bountiful, the Savior instituted, among those who had received his gospel, the Lord's Supper, superseding the Passover, as a memorial of his sacrifice, once prospective, now retrospective, once a prophecy, and now a fulfilment. It was while eating the Passover, just before his crucifixion, that Jesus instituted the Supper. Concerning this incident the New Testament says:

"As they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

"And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."—(Matthew 26:26-28.)

The institution of the Sacrament among the Nephites, unlike its institution among the Jews, was after the Redeemer's resurrection. It is thus described in the Book of Mormon:

"And it came to pass that Jesus commanded his disciples that they should bring forth some bread and wine unto him.

"And while they were gone for bread and wine, he commanded the multitude that they should sit themselves down upon the earth.

"And when the disciples had come with bread and wine, he took of the bread, and brake and blessed it; and he gave unto the disciples, and commanded that they should eat.

"And when they had eaten and were filled, he commanded that they should give unto the multitude.

"And when the multitude had eaten and were filled, he said unto the disciples, behold there shall one be ordained among you, and to him will I give power that he shall break bread, and bless it, and give it unto the people of my church, unto all those who shall believe and be baptized in my name.

"And this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread, and blessed it, and gave it unto you.

"And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shewn unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father, that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me, ye shall have my Spirit to be with you."—(III Ne. 18:1-7.)

"The Real Presence."—Uninspired "private interpretation" has maintained, and still maintains, that when Jesus said, "Eat, this is my body; drink, this is my blood," he intended his words to be taken literally; and from this has sprung the doctrine of transubstantiation, with its twin heresy, consubstantiation, the former a Roman Catholic, the latter an unorthodox Protestant, tenet relating to the Eucharist. Men and women have been condemned as heretics, and put to death, in ages past, for denying "the real presence"—the actual flesh and blood of Christ—in the elements of the Lord's Supper.

Figurative, not Literal.—But no Latter-day Saint need go astray as pertaining to this matter; for the Spirit that inspired the writing of the Scriptures is present in the Church of Christ to interpret them; and by that Spirit, the source of all divine revelation, we know that the language of Jesus, when he instituted the Lord's Supper at Jerusalem, was not literal, but figurative. When he said, of the bread and wine, This is my body and my blood, he simply meant, These are the emblems of my body and my blood.

To Illustrate.—In elucidation of this subject, I have known the following comparison to be used. Suppose one were to go into an art gallery, and the attendant in charge, pointing to a statue of Julius Caesar, should remark, This is Caesar; or, indicating a portrait of George Washington, should say, That is Washington; would the visitor be apt to conclude that Caesar and Washington were actually there before him? Would he be under any obligation to think so, even if a priest were to tell him it was true? Instead of that, would he not infer, and would it not be his right and duty to maintain, if need be, that the statue and the painting were merely representations of those august personages? Then why strain the simple metaphor, "This is my body," in an ineffectual attempt to make it mean more or less than the Savior intended it should mean?

Water Instead of Wine.—In ancient days wine was used in the Sacrament, though some of the early Christians used water instead. The Savior authorized the use of wine, both among the Jews and among the Nephites. But the Latter-day Saints have been commanded of God not to use wine under present conditions; water is used instead.

"It mattereth not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory; remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins;

"Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, that you shall not purchase wine, neither strong drink, of your enemies;

"Wherefore, you shall partake of none, except it is made new among you; yea, in this my Father's kingdom which shall be built up on the earth.

"Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth."—(D. and C. 27:2-5.)

Meanwhile the use of water, and the disuse of wine, must continue, until the change predicted in this revelation shall have been divinely ordered; for that is the law governing the Latter-day Saints in this matter—not the law given to other peoples in former dispensations.

Signs of the Second Coming.—Jesus prophesied to the Nephites, as he had prophesied to the Jews, concerning the last days and the signs of his second coming. Those who would be wise upon this subject, or who desire to refresh their memories in relation thereto, should read the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, especially Joseph Smith's rendering, as it appears in the Pearl of Great Price. Read also the fifteenth, sixteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first chapters of Third Nephi.

Consecration.—The Savior having ascended into heaven, his servants, bearing the priesthood, and filled with the Holy Ghost, carried forward the mighty work he had inaugurated. The Gospel was preached, and the Church built up, as he had commanded, upon both hemispheres. Among Jews and among Nephites was introduced and practiced the law of consecration, the permanent establishment of which, in the days of Enoch, had resulted so gloriously. The Jewish record tells us:

"And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. * * *

"Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

"And laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."—(Acts 4: 32, 34, 35).

The Book of Mormon thus testifies:

"And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another;

"And they had all things common among them, therefore they were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift."—(IV Ne. 1:2, 3.)

The Apostasy.—Then came the universal apostasy—a departure from the pure, primitive faith, as general and as worldwide as the known promulgation of its principles; and the Gospel and the Priesthood were taken back to heaven, to await the decreed time of their final restoration. This apostasy, foretold by Paul and other apostles, is represented symbolically in the Revelation of St. John, the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of which are particularly pertinent in this connection.

CHAPTER VIII

Dawn of the Last DispensationTHE MESSENGER OF MORNWake, slumbering world! Vain dreamer, dream no more!The shadows lift, and o'er night's dusky beachRipple the white waves of morn. Awake! Arise!Ocean of dispensations—rivers, rills,Roll to your source! End, to thine origin!And Israel, to the rock whence ye were hewn!For He that scattered, gathereth his flock,His ancient flock, and plants their pilgrim feetOn Joseph's mountain top and Judah's plains;Recalls the Children of the CovenantFrom long dispersion o'er the Gentile world,Mingling their spirits with the mystic seaWhich sent them forth as freshening showers to saveThe parched and withered wastes of unbelief.Japheth! thy planet pales, it sinks, it sets;Henceforth 't is Jacob's star must rise and reign.* * * * * * * * *Time, mighty daughter of Eternity!Mother of centuries—seventy, seven-crowned!Assemble now thy children at thy side,And ere thou diest teach them to be one.Link to its link rebind the broken chainOf dispensations, glories, keys, and powers,From Adam's fall unto Messiah's reign;A thousand years of rest, a day with God,While Shiloh reigns and Kolob once revolves!Six days thou, Earth, hast labored; and the seventh,Thy Sabbath, comes apace!—Night's sceptre wanes,And in the East the silvery MessengerGives silent token of the golden dawn.* * * * * * * * *A living Prophet unto dying Time,Heralding the Dispensation of the End,When Christ once more his vineyard comes to prune,When potent weak confound the puny strong,Threshing the nations by the Spirit's power,Rending the kingdoms with a word of flame;That here the Father's work may crown the Son's,And Earth be joined a holy bride to Heaven,A queen 'mid queens, crowned, throned, and glorified.Wherefore a Noble of the Skies came down,In strength divine, a stirring role to playIn Time's tense tragedy, whose acts are seven.His part to fell the false, replant the true,To clear away the debris of the past,The ashes of its dead and dying creeds,And kindle newly on earth's ancient shrineThe Light that points to Life unerringly;Crowning what has been with what now must be,A mighty still bespeaking Mightier.Earth rose from wintry sleep, baptized and cleansed,And on her tranquil brow, that seemed to feelThe holy and confirming hand of Heaven,The warm light in a wealth of glory streamed;Nature's great floor green-carpeting anewFor some glad change, some joyful happening,Told in the countless carolling of birds,Gilding the foliage, brightening the flowers,Mirroring mingled hues of earth and sky.Glad happening, in sooth, for ne'er before,Since burst the heavens when Judah's star-lit hillsHeard angel choristers peal joy's refrainAbove the mangered Babe of Bethlehem,Had earth such scene beheld, as now withinThe bosom of a sylvan solitude,Hard by the borders of a humble home,Upon that fair and fateful morn was played.Players, immortal Twain, and mortal one,Standing but fourteen steps upon life's stair;Boy and yet man, thinker of thoughts profound,Boy and yet man, dreamer of lofty dreams.Not solemn, save betimes, when hovered nearSome winged inspiration from far worlds,Some great idea's all-subduing spell;Not melancholy—mirthful, loving life,And brimming o'er with health and wholesome glee.A stalwart spirit in a sturdy frame,Maturing unto future mightiness.Bowing to God, yet bending to no creed,Adoring not a loveless deity,That saved or damned regardless of desert,Ne'er reckoning the good or evil done;Loving and worshiping the God of love,The gracious God of reason and of right,Long-suffering and just and merciful,Meting to every work fit recompense,Yet giving more, far more, than merit's claim;Bowing to Him, but not to man-made gods,And shunning shameful strife where peace should dwell,He holds aloof from those degenerate sects,Bewildering Babel of conflicting creeds,And pondering the apostolic line,"Let any lacking wisdom, wisdom ask,"In childlike faith, godlike humility,Resolves to prove the promise by the test.What pen can paint the marvel that befell?What tongue the wondrous miracle portray?Than theirs, the Vision's own, what voice proclaimWhose dual presence dimmed the noonday beam,Communing with him there, as friend with friend,And giving to that prayer reply of peace?Tell how, as Moses on the unknown Mount,From whom in rage fled baffled Lucifer,Who fain had guised him as the Son of God,And won the worship of that prophet pure;—Tell how with gloom he strove ere glory dawned,And black despair met bright deliverance.Tell how, in heart of that sweet solitude,Within the silent grove, sequestered shade,While spirit hosts unseen spectators stood,Watching the simple scene's sublimity,Eternity high converse held with Time.Time, parent of the hovering centuries,Mother of dispensations, travailing,And bringing forth her last and mightiest child;Heaven's awful Sire, through him both Sire and Son,There blazoning the beginning of the End.* * * * * * * * *"'Twas from below!" Thus Bigotry in rage."Nay, from above," Faith's simple, firm reply."No vision is there now—the time is past.""But I have seen," affirms the youthful Seer."God is a mystery, unknowable.""God is a man—I saw Him, talked with Him.""Man?" "Ay, of holiness—Exalted Man."A strife of words, of warring tongues, now waged,And weapons vied with words the truth to slay;Nor truth alone, but her brave oracle,A boy, by men, by neighborhoods, oppressed.The wrangling sects forgave—well nigh forgotTheir former feuds and fears and jealousies;And, joining hands, as Pilate Herod joined,One guilty day when God stood man-condemned,In friendly reconcilement's cordial clasp,They doomed to death and hell "this heresy."None sought, from "Satan's wile," a soul's reclaim,But all were bent his humble name to blast;And pious, would-be murder led the vanOf common hatred and hostility.But Truth, thou mother of the living thought,The deathless word, the everduring deed!What puny hand thy giant arm can stay?When crushed, or backward held, thine hour beyond?Can bigot frown or tyrant fetter quellThy high revolt, O light omnipotent!When God would speak with man, who tells him nay?Can hell prevent, when heaven and earth would join?Still through his soul the solemn warning rang;Still from his mouth the startling message flamed:"No church the Christ's! None, therefore, can I join.All sects and creeds have wandered from the way.Priestcraft, in lieu of Priesthood, sits enthroned,Dead forms deny the power of godliness.Men worship with their lips, their hearts afar.None serve acceptably in sight of heaven.Wherefore a work of wonder shall be wrought,And perish all the wisdom of the wise."—("Elias," Canto V.)

A Decreed Consummation.—The Gospel dispensation introduced by the Prophet Joseph Smith was rendered necessary by the apostasy of the Christian world from the ancient Faith, as delivered to the Saints in the Meridian of Time. Nevertheless, according to the foreknowledge of God, and in consonance with his all-wise purposes, this great, all-comprehending dispensation had been preordained from the beginning, as the "winding up scene," or final development, in the divine plan, having for its object the salvation of the sons and daughters of Adam.

"It is necessary, in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times; which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories, should take place and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time; and not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this the dispensation of the fulness of times."—(D. and C. 128:18.)

Joseph Smith's Work.—So wrote the Prophet, in the month of September, 1842, less than two years prior to his martyrdom. He had looked upon the face of God, as did Enoch, Moses, and other seers, in times of old. He had communed with angels, and received the Everlasting Gospel, as taught in the Book of Mormon, as well as in the Bible and in other ancient records of God's dealings with man. Empowered by the Priesthood, he had organized, after the heavenly pattern, the Church of Christ, the forerunner of the Kingdom never to be thrown down nor given to another people. He had gazed upon the glories of eternity, and portrayed in burning eloquence the final destiny of the human race, setting forth at the same time the conditions of salvation and exaltation in worlds to come. He had preached, and caused to be promulgated, in the two greatest nations of modern times, the United States and Great Britain, the Gospel message, for the gathering of Israel, the redemption of Zion, the building of the New Jerusalem, and the preparation of a people to greet the coming of the Lord. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." So declared the Savior of mankind. "Zion is the pure in heart," said Joseph Smith—"every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God." He had written concerning the ultimate goal of all righteous endeavor:

"This is why Adam blessed his posterity; he wanted to bring them into the presence of God. * * * Moses sought to bring the children of Israel into the presence of God, through the power of the Priesthood, but he could not. In the first ages of the world they tried to establish the same thing; and there were Eliases raised up who tried to restore these very glories, but did not obtain them; but they prophesied of a day when this glory would be revealed. Paul spoke of the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God would gather together all things in one, etc.; and those men to whom these keys have been given, will have to be there; and they without us cannot be made perfect. * * * All these authoritative characters will come down and join hand in hand in bringing about this work."—("History of the Church," Vol. III, pp. 388, 389.)

Keys Committed.—Already, when the Prophet wrote those words, had this phase of the Latter-day work begun; he having received, under the hands of heavenly messengers, the keys held by them as presiding authorities over past dispensations. The following record of visions manifested to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in the Kirtland Temple, April 3, 1836, tells its own wonderful story:

"The vail was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened.

"We saw the Lord standing upon the breast work of the pulpit, before us, and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber.

"His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of his head was white like the pure snow, his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying—

"I am the first and the last, I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain, I am your advocate with the Father.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"After this vision closed, the 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.

"After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all generations after us should be blessed.

"After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for 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 the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of 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 this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors."—(D. and C. 110:1-4, 11-16.)