Having shown conclusively that the Church of Christ in its purity
and entirety was taken from the earth, we find the world without
divine authority, without ordinances of the Gospel, having a "form of
godliness but denying the power thereof." "From such turn away."
This would be truly a sad picture to gaze upon and contemplate, were it
not that the Lord also revealed to the apostles and prophets anciently
that in the last days there would be a restoration of all that had been
enjoyed in previous dispensations. The apostle Peter, speaking of the
second advent of the Messiah, prophesied as follows: "And He shall send
Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven 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."
(Acts iii:20, 21). This prediction is so plain that a "wayfaring man,
though a fool, need not err therein."
A restitution means bringing back that which was lost; even if God had
not spoken by the mouth of many prophets since the beginning, giving
in detail various conditions which would be restored to the earth,
this prophecy would be sufficient in itself in assuring "a restitution
of all things" to justify mankind in looking for a new dispensation
containing all the gifts and powers of the apostolic age.
These gifts and powers do not exist in the Catholic church, nor in any
Protestant denomination of modern Christendom. Nothing short of new
revelation from God will fulfill the prediction of the apostle Peter.
The twenty-second and twenty-third verses of the same prophecy read:
"For Moses truly said unto the fathers" (his prophecy here quoted
by Peter is found in Deuteronomy, 18th chapter, commencing with the
fifteenth verse), "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto
you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things,
whatsoever He shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every
soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among
the people." This prophecy undoubtedly refers to the Savior, but the
conditions specified were never verified at His first coming. Those
who would not hear Him were not destroyed from among the people. It
is plain therefore that the prediction must allude to His second
advent. In this connection, we refer our readers to the third chapter
of Malachi, 1 to 3, inclusive: "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, said 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 refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap, and He shall sit
as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He shall purify the sons of
Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the
Lord an offering in righteousness."
These conditions did not exist when Jesus came as the Babe of
Bethlehem. The people then abode His coming. They despised Him, and
persecuted Him to the death. The sons of Levi were 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 circumstances, being born 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 come to His temple,
for He said 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 great 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 written word of bygone ages, much less in the
writings and commentaries of learned divines who deny the necessity
of new and continuous revelation. Nothing short of a new Gospel
dispensation, ushered in and perpetuated by direct revelation from the
Lord, can fulfill the provisions of Malachi's prediction.
Passing on to chapter four of Malachi's prophecy, we find the inspired
utterances respecting the judgments of God, the burning and overthrow
of the wicked and the rising of the Son of Righteousness 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 unnecessary.
The prophet Elijah who was taken to heaven in a chariot 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
such 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 volume, 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 said:
"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 inhabited 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 Jerusalem,
the coming of the Lord, and other important events. How any one could
believe that these glorious prophecies could be verified without more
revelation and the establishment of a new dispensation of the Gospel,
is more of a marvel to a true believer in the Bible than is believing
in prophecy, revelations, visions, miracles, etc.
In Revelations, chapter xiv, verses 6 and 7, we have the following very
clear prophecy on this important subject: "And I saw another angel fly
in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting 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 of His judgment is come; and worship 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: first, the people had the Gospel at
the time, and John's mission was to declare the same; second, the voice
from heaven as recorded in Rev. iv:1, 2, called to John saying, "Come
up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter."
"What is prophecy but history reversed?" Thus the book of Revelation
is one unbroken chain of prophetic history from first to last. The
declaration that an angel should come with the Gospel is proof that
the Gospel would be taken away. 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, kindred, 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 God, it will be our
purpose to show that the "God without body, parts, and passions"
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 which logically
follows is, "Has that angel come?" If he has not, then he must 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 earth 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 is 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 dismiss this claim by saying that
"false prophets shall come," for false prophets, 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.
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 gathering
dispensation, as stated by Paul in the first chapter of Ephesians. The
Savior, in speaking of the signs associated with His second coming and
the consummation of His Father's work in 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." (Matt. xxiv:14. ) This
prophecy was uttered in connection with the stating of other signs
given by the Savior respecting 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 Gospel of the kingdom;" "The Everlasting Gospel;" The Gospel
of apostles, prophets, revelations, visions, miracles and all the
gifts of the Holy Ghost. This 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; because 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 disciples how to pray He instructed them to say,
among other things, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it
is in heaven." (Matt. vi:10.) If the kingdom referred to by Him had
come, He would not have instructed them to pray for what they already
possessed. They were looking for a future day.
On one occasion after His resurrection, the apostles asked 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 His own power." (Acts i:7.)
This indicates plainly the establishment of God's kingdom at a future
period of time. We may connect with these inspired sayings of the
Savior the prophecy of Daniel, recorded in the second chapter of his
prophetic utterances. 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 such things,
"But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh 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 silver, his belly
and thighs of brass, his 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 modern kingdoms of Europe, represented
by the feet and toes. Here comes the important feature of the prophecy
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 it 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 people. Fourth, that it 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, contemporary with which the kingdom
of God was to be set up, did not exist; the Roman empire, symbolized by
the legs of iron, was that part of the image then extant. Second, the
kingdom spoken of by Daniel was not to be left to other people, whereas
the Savior Himself said to the disciples, as recorded in Matthew
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 yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the
Gentiles."
These statements taken together, as well as many other conditions
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
admission that if the 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
people 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
Gospel in its fullness, by modern revelation, would take place in the
last days. We now desire to show that this restoration has taken place,
and that Joseph Smith, the Prophet, was the man through whom God has
established anew His Church upon the earth, after the ancient pattern,
with apostles, prophets, gifts and blessings, visions and revelations.
Joseph Smith announced to the world that he had received the visitation
of heavenly messengers, also that they conferred upon him authority to
speak and officiate in the name of the Lord with the same power and
authority received and exercised by John the Baptist and the apostle
Peter in ancient times.
Now, the prophecies 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 idea of new revelation. Ask them 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?" The 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 receive, the revelations of
the Almighty in the last days.
One thing is certain, if the claims of the Latter-day Saints are not
true, then some one must come in the future with just such claims. We
ask the question, will the world be any better prepared 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
constitutes 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 religious devotion, unexcelled by any. His forefathers
were among the early founders of New England, who came from the
"mother country" to enjoy the greater liberty of worshiping God
without molestation and according to the dictates of conscience. His
progenitors were soldiers 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 affluent, 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 charges by the enemies of truth, he was arrested and tried
thirty-nine times in courts not conducted by men of his own 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 experience of Jesus before Pilate! Honorably
acquitted by the judges, they cried out, "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 days.
In view of the unpopularity of believing in angels and revelations
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 announced his first vision he was
so young--only about fifteen years of age (not much older than Samuel
the prophet when God called him)--that he did not realize the terrible
consequences of such a testimony, he certainly realized in a very short
time and had every opportunity to correct his assertions had they been
false.
Human nature is not such as to maintain known errors with such
unwavering integrity and consistency against the bitter opposition of
the world from boyhood to the grave. Yet with all his increasing trials
and persecutions, which rolled upon him all his life like the angry
waves of the ocean, driven by the winds against the peaceful shore,
he never faltered. His testimony never wavered. He testified that he
saw God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, and received of the
ministrations of John the Baptist, Peter, James and John, Elijah and
other prophets who lived in bygone ages. With an understanding of these
circumstances and a knowledge of his character, the charge of fraud and
dishonesty cannot be laid against him. If so, every prophet since the
world began can be counted a dishonest man.
The question which naturally follows in this place is: Could Joseph
Smith be mistaken? In answer we say: He was not a religious zealot. He
was a young man of a practical turn of mind. While not a skeptic, he
was reasonable, and thought that men professing to be the servants of
the Lord should give proof of their calling similar to that given by
the ancient prophets. If they had the true Gospel, with the gifts of
the Holy Ghost, they should not be full of contradictions on doctrine,
at least. This feature shows that Joseph was of a disposition not
easily deluded by the unfounded theories of men. He belonged to no
church, and like the ancient apostles, was free from preconceived
dogmas and theories. He had no system to bolster up nor pet theory to
maintain. His mind was free and of an order most likely to be selected
for the great work which the Lord assigned him.
The circumstances which led to Joseph Smith's prayer offered in the
grove near Palmyra, New York, in the spring of 1820, were these:
A great religious revival had been in progress. He attended. It
consisted of people who were Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, etc.,
represented in the pulpit by their respective ministers. When a convert
joined the Baptists the other ministers would say: "This is the way;
walk ye in it." And another: "This is right; follow this way." Yet
their doctrines were in conflict. He could get no light from them. In
this frame of mind he commenced to read the Scriptures. He came to the
first chapter of James, fifth and sixth verses. This reads as follows:
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him
ask in faith, nothing wavering, for he that wavereth is like a wave
of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For, let not that man
think that he shall receive anything from the Lord." Joseph believed
the promise. He put it to the test. He knelt in a grove of timber, and
asked God which denomination was right. While thus engaged an unseen
power seized him, tied his tongue, as it were, and apparently would
have destroyed his life. Here are Joseph's words, quoted from the
"Pearl of Great Price," page 59: "Just at this moment of great alarm
I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness
of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no
sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held
me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose
brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the
air. One of them spoke unto me, calling me by name, and said (pointing
to the other), 'This is my beloved Son, Hear Him.' In answer to my
question, which of the sects were right, He answered that none of them
were, and I was forbidden of the Lord to join any of them."
This prayer was offered by an honest boy, seeking after truth, unable
to get the whole truth from men. Would the Lord suffer such a prayer to
go unanswered, or suffer this boy to be deceived by Satan? All reason,
all Scripture answers, no. "Ask and ye shall receive; knock and it
shall be opened unto you." If a son ask his father for bread "will he
give him a stone?" "If he ask for fish will he give him a serpent?" The
Savior answers, no. If it is argued that Joseph was alone and no one
else present to corroborate his testimony, we have two answers: One is
that those determined to reject such revelations will deny the veracity
of two or three men as readily as the assertion of one; the other is
that those who believe the Bible, to be consistent, if they doubt the
testimony of Joseph because he was alone, must also doubt the testimony
of Moses, who was alone when God spoke to him from the burning bush,
and again when he stood in His presence on the mount and received the
Ten Commandments. Will they doubt that Isaiah saw the Lord in the days
of King Uzziah? (Isa. vi.). Because Stephen alone saw God and His Son
in the last moments of His life, is his testimony false? Paul saw the
Savior, but the men who were with him saw Him not. Yet the Christian
world believes that Paul saw the Lord, even though other men in the
presence of Paul did not see him.
While Joseph was alone on the occasion above related, he was not alone
in all the manifestations which the Lord gave him. We have other
honest witnesses who corroborate the testimony of the Prophet Joseph
Smith, and their testimony has not been impeached. They were men of
good repute. On the 5th day of May, 1829, John the Baptist appeared
to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, laid his hands upon their heads
and conferred upon them the Aaronic Priesthood, which holds authority
to preach the principles of the Gospel and baptize in water for the
remission of sins, but not authority to administer in the laying on of
hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. This Aaronic Priesthood was held
by John the Baptist, by Philip, who baptized the Samaritans, and by
others in the times of the apostles. Subsequent to this Peter, James
and John presented themselves to the same men, Joseph and Oliver,
conferring upon them the holy apostleship, which included authority to
organize the Church in its fullness and to open the door of the Gospel
to all nations.
Passing over the many remarkable manifestations given to the Prophet
and others, we will conclude this part of the subject by reference to
the statements of the three witnesses respecting the Book of Mormon.
Their testimony will be found in the title pages of every copy of
that sacred volume, signed with their names--Oliver Cowdery, David
Whitmer and Martin Harris. They assert that an angel appeared before
them, held in his hands the metallic plates, giving an account of the
ancient inhabitants of America; their origin, history and destiny; the
dealings of God with them; and the fullness of the Gospel as taught
by the Savior and ancient prophets on this land, from which sacred
plates the Book of Mormon is translated into English. The witnesses saw
and handled the plates, and gave their solemn testimony to the world.
Under all circumstances the witnesses maintained their testimony to
the end in private and public; to all who came to ask of them, they
told the same unchanging story. Another feature of this evidence of
these three witnesses is this: In the course of time they transgressed
the rules and regulations of the Church, and of necessity had to be
excommunicated. Having thus fallen away from their adherence to the
Church, from their association and fellowship with the Prophet Joseph
Smith, they were placed in a condition where every inducement was
presented them to deny their testimony and in this way frustrate the
scheme, if it had been false. If such a procedure had been possible
they could thereby gain the fellowship and applause of the world for
exposing to ridicule and shame the man who came to the world with a
New Dispensation. But they did not do this. Being outside the pale
of the Church, may they not be called truly disinterested witnesses,
witnesses stronger in that sense than can be produced to substantiate
the divinity of ancient Jewish Scriptures?
The writer once sat in the presence of David Whitmer and can testify
from personal contact with him that he was firm and unshaken in the
testimony which he bore to the divine authenticity of the Book of
Mormon. In David Whitmer's dying hours, when enemies of this work
may have had some hopes of his recanting, 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 perfectly 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 was the divinely translated record.
In connection with the coming forth of the Book 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 seated 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, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I
am not learned." (Isaiah xxix:11, 12.) When Joseph obtained the plates
he discovered 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 genuineness. 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 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 present is not to treat upon that sacred record, but
incidentally to show that its coming forth furnishes strong evidence
that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. How it would be possible for
an unsophisticated youth to devise a scheme that would answer in its
workings so minutely the details of ancient 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 Almighty the
honor for the great work.
With this array of corroborating witnesses, 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 remembered 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 showed 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 been
restored, namely, that the organization of the Church as established
by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and also the doctrines taught by him, are
in perfect accord with the teachings of the Bible. The proof of this
is given in other chapters of this volume. The evidence there given of
the divine mission of Joseph Smith is all the stronger when we take
into consideration 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 monument of
inspiration, both as to the scriptural evidence that the organization
is divine and in the fact that the practical workings 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 same 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 arrived
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 thousands, 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 Joseph Smith and his people. He knew the
injustice heaped upon them by his personal acquaintance 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 aspire 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 the 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 nominated 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
pestiferous, body politic. It must be cut out by the roots and seared
over by the red-hot iron of stern and unflinching law." Much more
he uttered against the Latter-day Saints, in harmony with misguided
public sentiment. When 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 terrible accuracy.
Again Joseph said: "I prophesied that the Saints would continue 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. Star_, Vol. xix., page 630.) The Saints
did continue to suffer much persecution, 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. They have
assisted there in building cities, towns and temples, in making a
great commonwealth, 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." These 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 necessity be the death of the testator." (Heb.
ix:16.) God gave to the world through Joseph 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 God to the Saints of the
last days. These do not supplant the 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, came 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 effects 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 testimony with his blood 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 unto 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:9-11.)
Joseph Smith, the great Prophet of the last days, and his martyred
brother, the Patriarch Hyrum Smith, were among these fellow servants
who were to be slain. They have fulfilled this last requirement of
their earthly existence. Their testimony is true, attested by every
evidence that man could give or the world require. 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.