Post-diluvian Dispensations.
LESSON XVII.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE ABRAHAMIC DISPENSATION.
ANALYSIS.
I. Melchizedek and Abraham--Relationship of.
II. The "Call" of Abraham.
III. The Gospel Given to Abraham.
REFERENCES.
Gen. xi-xxv.
Heb. v. and vii. Psalms cx. Also Doc. and Cov Sec. cvii:1-4. Alma
(Book of Mormon) ch. xiii. Notes 1, 2, 3, 4; also Art. Melchizedek and
Abraham in Smith's Bible Dictionary and Kitto's Biblical Literature.
Seventy's Year Book I, pp. 37-39. Notes 4, 5 and 1.
Gen. xii:1-4 Book of Abraham ch. i:15-19; ch. ii:6-11. Note 6.
Gal. iii:6-8, 19. Book of Abraham (P. G. P.) chs. i-v. Note 7. "The
Gospel," (3rd Ed.) ch. xxiii.
NOTES.
_1. Melchizedek (king of Righteousness):_ "Melchisedek, king of
Salem and priest of the Most High God, who met Abram in the Valley of
Shaveh (or, the level valley), which is the king's valley, brought out
bread and wine, blessed Abram, and received tithes from him (Gen. xiv.
18-20). The other places in which Melchizedek is mentioned are Ps. cx.
4, where Messiah is described as a priest forever, "after the order of
Melchizedek," and Heb. v., vi., vii., where these two passages of the
O. T. are quoted, and the typical relation of Melchizedek to our Lord
is stated at great length."
_2. Melchizedek in History:_ "There is something surprising
and mysterious in the first appearance of Melchizedek, and in the
subsequent references to him. Bearing a title which Jews in after ages
would recognize as designating their own sovereign, bearing gifts
which recall to Christians the Lord's Supper, this Canaanite crosses
for a moment the path of Abram, and is unhesitatingly recognized as a
person of higher spiritual rank than the friend of God. Disappearing
as suddenly as he came in, he is lost to the sacred writings for a
thousand years; and then a few emphatic words for another moment bring
him into sight as a type of the joining Lord of David. (Psalms cx).
Once more, after another thousand years, the Hebrew Christians are
taught to see in him a proof that it was the consistent purpose of God
to abolish the Levitical priesthood.[A] (Heb. vii.) His person, his
office, his relation to Christ, and the seat of his sovereignty, have
given rise to innumerable discussions, which even now can scarcely be
considered as settled.
[Footnote A: No; not "abolish" the Levitical priesthood, but supercede
it as the dominating power by restoring the Melchizedek Priesthood
which holds precedence of it in power and authority; but both may exist
together as in the Mosaic dispensation before Moses and the Melchizedek
Priesthood was taken from Israel, (cf. Doc. & Cov. Sec. lxxxiv:19-23
and Heb. vii. whole chapter but especially verse 12.)]
_3. Conjectures Concerning Melchizedek:_ "The faith of early
ages ventured to invest his person with superstitious awe. Perhaps
it would be too much to ascribe to mere national jealousy the fact
that Jewish tradition, as recorded in the Targums of Pseudo-Jonathan
and Jerusalem, and in Rashi on Gen. xiv in some cabalistic writers,
pronounces Melchizedek to be a survivor of the Deluge, the patriarch
Shem, authorized by the superior dignity of old age to bless even the
father of the faithful, and entitled, as the paramount lord of Canaan
(Gen. ix. 26) to convey (xiv. 19) his right to Abram. Jerome in his
Ep. lxxiii. (ad Evangelum Opp. i. 438), which is entirely devoted to a
consideration of the person and dwelling place of Melchizedek, states
that this was the prevailing opinion of the Jews in his time; and it is
ascribed to the Samaritans by Epiphanius, (Hae. Iv. 6, p. 472.) It was
afterwards embraced by Luther and Melanchthon, by our own countrymen,
H. Broughson, Selden, Lightfoot, Jackson, and by many others. It
should be noted that this supposition does not appear in the Targum of
Onkelos,--a presumption that it was not received by the Jews till after
the Christian era--nor has it found favor with the Fathers." (Smith's
Bible Dictionary, Hackett Edition, p. 1876.)
_4. The Mystery About Melchizedek:_ Much of mystery is connected
with the life and character of Melchizedek. "The Jews," says Kitto,
in admitting Melchizedek's official superiority to Abraham, "sought
to account for it by alleging that the royal priest was no other than
Shem, the most pious of Noah's sons, who according to the shorter
chronology might have lived to the time of Abraham." (Biblical
Literature, Vol. II, Art. Melchizedek). Others have seen in him
Canaan the son of Ham: Ham himself, or even Enoch; while others have
held that Melchizedek was no other than the son of God himself under
human appearance, and still others take him to have been an angel,
the latter being among the wild notions of Origen and his school.
(Ibid, as above.) All this of course is conjecture, although it is not
unreasonable that he may have been Shem the son of Noah. The Book of
Mormon gives this important information concerning him.
"Now this Melchizedek was a king over the land of Salem; and his people
had waxed strong in iniquity and abominations; yea, they had all gone
astray; they were full of all manner of wickedness: But Melchizedek
having exercised mighty faith, and received the office of the High
Priesthood, according to the holy order of God, did preach repentance
unto his people. And behold, they did repent; and Melchizedek did
establish peace in the land in his days; therefore he was called the
prince of peace, for he was the king of Salem; and he did reign under
his father. Now, there were many before him, and also there were many
afterwards, but none were greater; therefore, of him they have more
particularly made mention." (Alma xiii.)
From the Doctrine and Covenants we learn this important fact; namely,
that the priesthood which Melchizedek held was formally called "the
Priesthood after the order of the Son of God;" but in order to avoid
a too frequent repetition of the name of Deity "this Holy Priesthood"
was called Melchizedek, or Melchizedek Priesthood. (Doc. & Cov., Sec.
107, 1-4.) The mystery connected with Melchizedek arises doubtless
from the language of Paul in Hebrew vii, where misapprehension of the
language of the Apostle seemingly represents Melchizedek as being
"without father, without mother, without descent, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God,
abideth a priest continually." The commentators generally interpret
this as meaning that Melchizedek was without a recorded genealogy. The
mystery, however, disappears when these descriptive words are applied,
not to the man Melchizedek, but to the priesthood which he held, which
priesthood is without beginning of days or end of years, that is, it is
an eternal thing--"without father, without mother, and without descent,
having neither beginning of days nor end of life," but endureth as a
power eternally, even as God from whom said power emanates is eternal.
With this interpretation of the language of Paul the necessity for wild
conjectures concerning the personality of Melchizedek disappears, and
it will be enough if we fix this in the mind concerning him; namely,
he was a great High Priest, co-temporary with Abraham, and the one
doubtless from whom Abraham received his ordination to the patriarchal
office in the priesthood, to which he had a right by reason of his
descent from the patriarchs. (See Book of Abraham, chap. I:1-4.)
_5. The Book of Abraham:_ The Book of Abraham, to which reference
is made in the analysis, consisting of five chapters, is but a fragment
of Abraham's writings and history, and in it is found no reference to
his meeting the Melchizedek, but reference is made of his receiving
the priesthood. It was conferred upon him, he tells us, "from the
fathers; it came down from the fathers from the beginning of time, yea,
even from the beginning or before the foundations of the earth to the
present time, even the right of the first born, on the first man, who
is Adam, our first father, through the fathers, unto me. I sought for
mine appointment unto the Priesthood according to the appointment of
God unto the fathers concerning the seed." (Book of Abraham, chap, i;
3-4.)
This has reference doubtless to the patriarchal office in the
Priesthood, since in the subsequent verses he says, "But the records of
the fathers, even the patriarchs, concerning the right of Priesthood
the Lord my God preserved in mine own hands; therefore a knowledge of
the beginning of the creation, and also of the planets, and of the
stars, as they were made known unto the fathers, have I kept even unto
this day, and I shall endeavor to write some of these things upon this
record for the benefit of my posterity that shall come after me." The
manner in which this sacred record "The Book of Abraham" came into the
hands of the Prophet Joseph Smith, is to be found in the History of the
Church, Vol. II, p. 236, 348-350 and foot note.
_6. The "Call" of Abraham:_ "In that course of God's dealing with
man which is traced in the sacred narrative, a new step was taken by
the choice of a Family from which the promised seed of the woman was to
spring, and which should meanwhile preserve the knowledge and worship
of the true God. Jehovah, in the revelation of himself to man, retires,
so to speak, from the whole compass of the race of Noah into the inner
circle of the family of Abraham. It was a step required by the state of
the world, which had relapsed into idolatry and profaneness before the
death of Noah. This is clear from the story of the building of Babel,
and it is implied in the subsequent history. Joshua expressly says that
the family of Terah were idolaters. * * * * * The patriarch whom God
made the head of his chosen family was born only two years after the
death of Noah. * * * * * He was now seventy-five years old; and this
is the period usually assigned to the 'Call' of Abraham; though it
was, in fact, the second step of his career. In tracing these stages,
it is important to observe the special form of promise and blessing of
which each was the occasion. The first of these involves the germ of
all the rest, though as yet but vaguely stated:--"I will make of thee
a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and,
thou shalt be a blessing (to others): and I will bless them that bless
thee, and curse him that curseth thee, and in thee shall all families
of the earth be blessed." The last words already involve the crowning
blessing of the Old Covenant, the Promise of the Messiah, and that to
the Gentiles, "all families of the earth." (Dr. Smith's Old Testament
History, p. 67 and 70.)
_7. The Things Which God Revealed to Abraham:_ First his design
to make of Abraham and his posterity in the earth the witness for
himself and the truth of the Gospel unto all nations. (Gen. 12:193,
Book of Abraham I:16-19, Book of Abraham 2:6-11). "I will bless
them that bless thee, and curse them that curse thee," said the Lord;
"and in thee (that is in thy priesthood) and in thy seed (that is,
thy priesthood) for I give unto thee a promise that this right shall
continue in thee and in thy seed after thee (that is to say the literal
seed or the seed of the body) shall all the families be blessed, even
with the blessings" of the Gospel which are the blessings of salvation
even of life eternal.
Second, in the dispensation to Abraham he revealed the great doctrine
of the eternal existence of intelligences. (Book of Abraham 3:16-23).
Third, he made known to Abraham the covenant of eternal life to man,
"which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began," (Titus
1:2). God, according to Abraham's record, standing among the spirits
in existence before the world began, said: "We will go down, for there
is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make
an earth whereon 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 kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep
their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever
and ever. And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like
unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said:
Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the
second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many
followed after him." (Book of Abraham, p. 66). From which it appears
that the whole Gospel scheme of salvation was revealed to Abraham.
Fourth, he revealed to Abraham, through Urim and Thummin great
knowledge of the Universe, its planetary systems and their movements
and relations (Book of Abraham, chap. 3); and also gave him an account
of the preparation of the earth for man's abode, and the knowledge also
of the advent of Adam upon it. (Book of Abraham, chaps. 4 and 5).
LESSON XVIII.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE MOSAIC DISPENSATION.
ANALYSIS.
I. Interim Between Abraham and Moses.
II. Birth and Call of Moses.
III. The Gospel Given to Israel Before The Law. (i. e. the Law of
Moses.)
REFERENCES.
Gen. xxiv-l; and Exodus i. Josephus' Antiquities, Bk. I chs.
xviii-xxii. Bk II, chs. i-x.
Note 1, 2 and 3.
Exodus ii and iii. Josephus' Antiquities, Bk. II, chs. ix, xii.
Heb. iii:13-19 in connection with Heb. iv:1, 2 and I Cor. x:1-4.
Doc. and Cov. Sec. 84; vers. 20-22. Gal. i:5-8, 16-19, 24. The Gospel,
ch. xxiii.
NOTES.
_1. From Abraham to Moses:_ The Bible History of the period
intervening between Abraham and Moses has little that indicates
specifically the existence of the Gospel among the Patriarchs. Yet the
communion of the Patriarchs Isaac, and Jacob as also Joseph, with the
Lord, would argue the existence of a knowledge of the means by which
such communion could be secured. Also the offering of sacrifices by
these patriarchs, by which was figured forth the great Atonement of the
future Messiah, bears witness to the same effect--they had the Gospel.
The evident existence of the High Priesthood among them undoubtedly
argues the existence of the Gospel also as a necessary concomitant
of that Priesthood, since said priesthood exists for the purpose of
"administering the Gospel," and holds the keys of the "mysteries of
the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God; therefore, in the
ordinances thereof, the power of Godliness is manifest; and without
the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the Priesthood, the
power of Godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; for without
this no man can see the face of God and live." (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 84;
16-22.) Therefore where ever this priesthood is found there also will a
knowledge of the Gospel be had. If, then, the Patriarchs after Abraham
had the Priesthood they undoubtedly had also the Gospel.
_2. The Patriarch Joseph's Knowledge of the Covenant of
Salvation--the Gospel:_ It is evident that Joseph, the son of Jacob,
had larger knowledge of the covenant of eternal life "which God that
cannot lie promised before the world began, but hath in due times
manifested his word through preaching" (Titus i:2)--than appears in the
Bible history of that patriarch. From the last chapter of Genesis it is
evident that God had revealed unto Joseph the fact that he would visit
his people Israel, in Egypt, and deliver them from that land, and bring
them unto the land which he promised to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, as
the land of their inheritance. The Book of Mormon enlarges that view
of Joseph's knowledge of the purposes of God, by representing that
God not only revealed the fact of a future deliverer of Israel from
Egypt, but also promised him "that out of the fruit of his (Joseph's)
loins, the Lord would raise up a righteous branch unto the House of
Israel. _Not the Messiah_ but a branch which was to be broken off,
nevertheless to be remembered in the covenants of the Lord, _that
the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the latter days,_
in the Spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness unto
light; yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom.
* * * * * For Joseph truly testified, saying: A seer shall the Lord my
God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins. *
* * * * Thus saith the Lord unto me: A choice seer will I raise up out
of the fruit of thy loins; and he shall be esteemed highly among the
fruit of thy loins. And unto him will I give commandment, that he shall
do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren, which shall be of
great worth unto them, even to the bringing of them to the knowledge
of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers. * * * * * And he
shall be great like unto Moses, whom I have said I would raise up unto
you, to deliver my people, O house of Israel. And Moses will I raise
up, to deliver thy people out of the land of Egypt. But a seer will I
raise up out of the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give power
to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins; * * * * * Wherefore,
the fruit of thy loins shall write; and the fruit of the loins of
Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy
loins, and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins
of Judah, shall grow together, unto the confounding of false doctrines,
and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit
of thy loins, and bringing them to the knowledge of their fathers in
the latter days; and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith
the Lord." (II Nephi, chap. 3). The thing which the Lord promised to
bring forth by this future Seer, the patriarch Joseph saw would bring
salvation unto his people. (II Nephi, chap, iii:15). "And great were
the covenants of the Lord which he made unto Joseph." (II Nephi iii:4.)
_3. Effect of Israel's Bondage in Egypt:_ What may have been the
effect of Israel's captivity in Egypt in the matter of perpetuating
the Priesthood of their fathers and a knowledge of the Gospel cannot
be as certained with any degree of certainty from what is written. It
would appear, however, that God's chosen people were not without some
knowledge of God and of Christ during the period of their captivity;
for the Hebrew mid-wives "feared God" and forebore to commit the acts
of murder upon the male infants born in Israel as commanded by the
Egyptian King (Exodus i:15-22): "Therefore God dealt well with the
mid-wives; and the people multiplied and waxed very mighty." (Ibid,
verse 20). Moreover Paul says:
"By faith Moses, when he was bom, was hid three months of his parents,
because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the
King's commandment. By faith Moses, when he, was come to years, refused
to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin
for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than
the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the
reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king:
for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." (Heb. xi:23-27.)
"Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches," etc. Query.--How
could Moses "esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the
treasures in Egypt" if he knew nothing of Christ? Evidently, whatever
may have been the status of the Israelites in respect of the Gospel and
its administration among them during the period of their captivity,
they at least preserved among themselves some knowledge of the Gospel
and of Christ who is ever the central figure of it; and this even
before the call of Moses.
_4. The High Priesthood Held by Others Than the Direct Descendants
of Abraham:_ We learn from the Doctrine and Covenants that the
Priesthood existed with others than with Abraham and his direct
descendants. For instance, one Esaias is named as being contemporary
with Abraham and blessed of Abraham, but that Esaias himself received
the Priesthood "under the hand of God." That he (Esaias) conferred
it upon Gad; Gad upon Jeremy, and Jeremy upon Elihu, and Elihu upon
Caleb, and Caleb, upon Jethro, Jethro, who was the priest of Median
with whom Moses sojourned forty years after his flight from Egypt,
and whose daughter he married--Jethro conferred the priesthood upon
Moses. (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 84, 6-13.) So that Moses himself received
the priesthood from a line of men holding it who were not descendants
of Abraham. If what we have said in Note I of this lesson holds good;
namely, that the Melchizedek priesthood and the Gospel are concomitants
of each other, and that the High Priesthood exists for the purpose of
administering the Gospel, which conclusion is based on the quotation
in that note from the Doctrine and Covenants, (Sec. 84. 17:21), then
the existence of the priesthood with this line of men above named,
argues also that the existence of the Gospel of Jesus Christ among
them: and therefore we have knowledge of the Gospel existing not only
with Abraham and his successors, but with this independent line of
men also. All of which tends to the conclusion that there was a wider
dissemination of the Gospel in those ancient times than has generally
been conceded.
_Early Proclamation and Wide Diffusion of the Gospel:_ "The tardy
appearance and partial distribution of moral and religious knowledge in
the world,". (Mansel, Limits of Religious Thought, Preface) has ever
been regarded as one of the great religious difficulties, a difficulty
considerably lessened when the view presented in this Outline History
of the Dispensations of the Gospel is accepted; for herein it is proven
that there has neither a tardy appearance or even partial distribution
of moral and religious knowledge in the world, but an early and
widespread proclamation of the Gospel from the beginning and in nearly
all ages there has been preached that "hope of eternal life, which God,
that cannot lie, promised before the world began." Commenting upon the
supposed long interval between the fall of man and the proclamation of
his redemption (generally supposed to have been withheld from the world
until the coming of Christ in the flesh), even a Roman Pope (Leo the
Great, A. D. 440-461) said:
"Let those who with impious murmurings find fault with the Divine
dispensations, and who complain about the lateness of Our Lord's
nativity, cease from their grievances, as if what was carried out in
this last age of the world had not been impending in time past. * * * *
What the apostles preached, the prophets had announced before, and what
has always been believed cannot be said to have fulfilled too late. By
this delay of his work of Salvation the wisdom and love of God have
only made us more fitted for his call; so that, what had been announced
before by many signs and words and mysteries during so many centuries,
should not be doubtful or uncertain in the days of the gospel God has
not provided for the interests of men by a new counsel or by a late
compassion; but He had instituted from the beginning for all men one
and the same path of salvation." (Science of Religion, Muller, p. 107.)
LESSON XIX.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
FROM MOSES TO THE MERIDIAN DISPENSATION.
ANALYSIS.
I. There Arose not a Prophet since in Israel like unto Moses.
II. The Promise of a Future Prophet.
III. What Remained with Israel.
REFERENCES.
Deut. xxxiv:10-12. The Gospel, ch. xxiii. Note 1.
Deut. xviii:15-19 Acts, iii:22-23; Acts vii:37. History of the
Church, Vol. I, p. 13; also Pearl of Great Price, p. 90. Note 2.
Doc. and Cov., Sec. lxxxviv:17-28. The Gospel, ch. xxiii; pp. 234-5.
Notes 3, 4, 5.
NOTES.
_1. There Arose Not a Prophet Since:_ In whatever light we view
this extraordinary man, the eulogy pronounced in these inspired words
will appear just. No Hebrew prophet or ruler equalled him in character,
official dignity, as well as knowledge of God's will and opportunities
of announcing it. (Commentary--Jameson-Fausset-Brown.)
_2. The Lord Thy God Will Raise up Unto Thee a Prophet:_
"The insertion of this promise, in connection with the preceding
prohibition, (not to harken to soothsayers, verse 9-14) might warrant
the application which some make of it, to that order of true prophets
whom God commissioned in unbroken succession to instruct, to direct,
and warn His people; and in this view the purport of it is, 'There is
no need to consult with diviners and soothsayers, as I shall afford
you the benefit of divinely-appointed prophets, for judging of whose
credentials a sure criterion is given.' (vs. 20-22). But the prophet
here promised was preeminently the Messiah, for He alone was 'like unto
Moses (see on ch. 34. 10) in his mediatorial character; in the peculiar
excellence of his ministry; in the number, variety, and magnitude of
his miracles; in his close and familiar communion with God; and in his
being the author of a new dispensation of religion.' This prediction
was fulfilled 1500 years afterwards, and was expressly applied to
Jesus Christ by Peter (Acts 3, 22, 23), and by Stephen (Acts 7, 37)."
(Commentary--as above.)
_3. The Gospel Plus the Law:_ After making the statement that the
Gospel was preached to Abraham, Paul asks the question, "Wherefore
then serveth the law?" That is, if the Gospel was preached to Abraham
how came the law of Moses into existence: why was it given to ancient
Israel and binding on them? To which the apostle replies:
"It was added because of transgression, till the seed should come to
whom the promise was made. * * * * * Wherefore the law was our school
master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith."
The matter is still more plainly set forth in the Doctrine and
Covenants. In speaking of the priesthood and the ordinances belonging
thereto--through which ordinances "the power of godliness is
manifest; and without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of
the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in
the flesh; for without this"--that is without the priesthood and its
ordinances--"no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and
live" (Doc. & Cov. Sec. lxxxiv:20, 21, 22.)--the Lord says: "Now this
Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and
sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the
face of God; But they hardened their hearts, and could not endure his
presence; therefore the Lord in his wrath (for his anger was kindled
against them) swore that they should not enter into his rest while in
the wilderness, which rest is the fullness of his glory. Therefore he
took Moses out of their midst, and the holy priesthood also; And the
lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the key of the
ministering of angels and the preparatory Gospel; Which Gospel is the
Gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and
the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in his wrath caused to
continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until
John." (Doc. & Cov. Sec. lxxxiv:23-27.)
The above is confirmed by the Jewish scriptures also; for it is written
in the concluding chapter of Deuteronomy--
"There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the
Lord knew face to face.
"In all the signs and the wonders, which the Lord sent him to do in the
land of Egypt." (Deut. xxiv:10-12.)
Of the things we have spoken respecting the Gospel being presented
to ancient Israel, this is the sum: the Lord gave them the Gospel,
but because they would not observe its sacred requirements, he took
it, that is in its fullness, from among them, and also the higher
or Melchizedek Priesthood; but left with them the lesser or Aaronic
Priesthood; which holds "the key of the ministering of angels and the
preparatory Gospel" (see above), "to minister in outward ordinances,
the letter of the Gospel--the baptism of repentance for the remission
of sins," (Doc. & Cov. Sec. cvii, 20.) and to the part of the Gospel
which remained, viz., faith in God, repentance and baptism for the
remission of sins, was added the law of carnal commandments, which was
to educate Israel for the fullness of the Gospel when Messiah should
come with it. (The Gospel, pp. 233, 234, 235.)
_4. Gospel Rites Among the Jews:_ In addition to the evidence
supplied by the Scriptures in the above argumentative note, in the
Article on baptism in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, it is said:
"There is an universal agreement among later Jewish writers that all
the Israelites were brought into covenant with God by circumcision,
baptism, and sacrifice, and that the same ceremonies were necessary in
admitting proselytes. Thus Malmonides (Issure Biah, cap. 13); "Israel
was admitted into covenant by three things, namely, by circumcision,
baptism, and sacrifice. Circumcision was in Egypt, as it is said, 'None
uncircumcised shall eat of the passover.' Baptism was in the wilderness
before the giving of the Law, as it is said, 'Thou shalt sanctify them
today and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments.'" And he adds,
"So, whenever a Gentile desires to enter into the covenant of Israel,
and place himself under the wings of the Divine Majesty, and take the
yoke of the Law upon him, he must be circumcised, and baptized and
bring a sacrifice; or if it be a woman, she must be baptized and bring
a sacrifice." The same is abundantly testified by earlier writers,
as by the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmud, although no reference to
this custom can be found in Philo, Josephus, or the Targum of Onkelos.
Its earliest mention appears to be in the Targum of Jonathan on Ex.
xii. 44. "Thou shalt circumcise him and baptize him." It should be
added, that men, women, and children, were all baptized, and either
two or three witnesses were required to be present. Some modern
writers--Lardner, Ernesti, De Wette, Meyer, Paulus, and others--have
doubted or denied that this baptism of proselytes had been in use among
the Jews from times so early as those of the Gospel; but it is highly
improbable that, after the rise of Christianity, the Jews should have
adopted a rite so distinctively Christian as baptism had then become."
(Smith's Bible Dictionary, Art. "Baptism," Vol. I, p. 233, 234.)
In addition to the evidence cited in Smith's Dictionary, we may add
as a convincing fact that before the advent of Jesus as a religious
teacher, John the Baptist came to Israel crying repentance, and both
teaching and administering baptism for the remission of sins. (See
Matt, iii; Mark i; Luke iii; John i.) Which established the fact that
this Gospel rite of baptism, was a well established institution among
the Jews under the law of Moses and existed in connection with those
ceremonies and sacrifices which figured forth the redemption to be
wrought out by the Christ. Jesus also bears witness to the same effect
in his conversation with Nicodemus, [John iii] where he teaches to that
worthy man the mysteries of the second birth, saying that, "except a
man be born of water [i. e. baptized] and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God." And when Nicodemus could not Comprehend
this doctrine "Jesus answered and said unto him. Art thou a Master of
Israel and knowest not these things?" Clearly proving that Jesus was
not advancing any new doctrine, but referring to the 'well established
Gospel doctrine in Israel.
_5. The Book of Mormon Testimony:_ The Book of Mormon bears most
important testimony upon the subject of the Mosaic rites and ceremonies
figuring forth the atonement to be made by Messiah and of the existence
of the knowledge both of the coming and the mission of that Messiah.
Also a knowledge that the law of Moses was of no efficiency in securing
salvation for man only as it was associated with, and finally would be
completed in, the coming and atonement of the Christ.
The late President John Taylor in his work "Mediation and Atonement,"
has grouped in small compass the facts that are set forth in the Book
of Mormon, bearing on this subject as follows:
"From the Bible we turn to the Book of Mormon wih a view to discover to
what extent the law of sacrifice, as a type of the offering up of the
promised of Israel which God planted on this continent. In perusing the
pages of this sacred record, we shall find several important facts and
ideas, in connection with this subject, presented very prominently by
the ancient Nephite historians: among them--
First, that the law of Moses, with all its rites, ordinances and
sacrifices was strictly observed by the faithful Nephites from the time
of their arrival on the promised land until it was fulfilled in Christ,
and by his command ceased to be observed.
Second, that when the Nephites brought any of the Lamanites to the
knowledge and worship of the true God, they taught them to observe this
law.
Third, that those who apostatized from the Nephites, as a general
thing, ceased to observe this law.
Fourth, that the true import of the law of Moses, and of its ceremonies
and sacrifices, as typical of the atonement yet to be made by our Lord
and Savior was thoroughly taught by the Priesthood among that people
and very generally understood by them.
Fifth, that associated with the observance of this law, there were
continued admonitions given that salvation was in Christ and not in
the law, which was but the shadow and type of that of which he was the
prototype and reality.
Sixth, that temples were erected of the same pattern as that of Solomon
at Jerusalem, evidently for the reason that they were to be used for
the same purposes.
Seventh, that the Gospel was preached in connection with the law,
and churches were established and organized according to the Gospel
requirements, and that the higher Priesthood, although not fully
organized in all its parts, ministered to the Nephites as well as the
lesser.
Eighth, it appears indubitable from the two records, the Bible and the
Book of Mormon, that the intent and true meaning of the law of Moses,
of its sacrifices, etc., were far better understood and comprehended by
the Nephites than by the Jews. But in this connection, it must not be
forgotten, that a great many most plain and precious things as the Book
of Mormon states, have been taken from the Bible, through the ignorance
of uninspired translators or the design and cunning of wicked men."
The above are the opening paragraphs of chapter XIV of President
Taylor's work. The remainder of the chapter is devoted to elaborate
quotations from the Book of Mormon bearing out the several propositions
in the above quotation. One admirable passage bearing upon the subject,
argumentative, too, in its nature, is not quoted by President Taylor,
and I herewith supply it. It is from the Nephite prophet Alma's
instruction to his son Corianton:
"And now, my son, I would say somewhat unto you concerning the coming
of Christ. Behold I say, that he cometh to declare glad tidings of
salvation unto his people. And now my son, this was the ministry unto
which you were called, to declare these glad tidings unto this people,
to prepare their minds; or rather that salvation might come unto them,
that they may prepare the minds of their children to hear the word at
the time of his coming. * * * Behold, you marvel why these things should
be known so long beforehand. Behold, I say unto you, Is not a soul as
precious unto God, as a soul will be at the time of his coming? Is it
not as necessary that the plan of redemption should be made known unto
this people, as well as unto their children? Is it not as easy at this
time, for the Lord to send his angel to declare these glad tidings unto
us, as unto our children; or as after the time of his coming?" (Alma
ch. 39:15-19.)
LESSON XX.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE ANTIQUITY OF THE GOSPEL.[A]
(An Argumentative Discourse.)
TEXT: "In hope of Eternal Life, which God that cannot lie, promised
before the world began; but hath in due times manifested his word
through preaching." (Titus i:2, 3.)
ANALYSIS.
I. Numerous Dispensations.
II. The Gospel Revealed to Adam.
III. Establishment of the Ancient Church.
IV. The Gospel Plus the Law.
V. From Moses to John the Baptist.
VI. Of the Origin of the Gospel.
REFERENCES.
Peter i:18-25. Rev xiii:8, xv:8. Job xxxviii:4-6.
Titus i:1, 2. Book of Moses (P. G. P.) ch. v:6-8. Ibid, 56-59.
Book of Moses, ch. vi:48-52. Gen. v:24. Heb. xi:5. Alma ch. xiii.
Book of Moses ch. vii:69.
Heb. vii. I Cor. x:1-4. Heb. iii:14-19 and Heb. iv:1, 2,[B] and
Gal. iii.
Doc. and Cov., Sec. lxxxiv:19-29.
[Footnote A: Such is the importance of this subject--a subject which
perhaps more than any other differentiates the view-point of Latter-Day
Saints as to the Gospel of Jesus Christ from that of sectarian
Christendom, that I here depart from the usual lesson formula to
introduce in place of detached notes an unbroken presentation of the
subject. This lesson may be regarded as a review of those that have
preceded it in the present rear Book, also as an illustration of
argumentative discourse The reference opposite the Analysis are those
on which the argument is based.]
[Footnote B: This cites the close of one chapter and the opening verses
of an other, but it should be remembered that Paul did not divide his
epistle into chapters and verses; and this awkward division is but one
of many that exist in the Scriptures.]
NOTES.
_1. Numerous Dispensations of the Gospel Given:_ That there have
been many dispensations of the Gospel, many times that divine authority
has been conferred upon men, is apparent from the Scripture narratives
of such events. And yet, strange as it may seem, in the face of such
Scripture narratives, there are those among professing Christians who
hold that the Gospel had no earlier origin than the time of Messiah's
ministry in the flesh. As a matter of fact, however, the Gospel of
Jesus Christ has existed from the very earliest ages of the world.
There are, indeed, certain passages of Scripture which lead us to
believe that even before the earth was made or ever man was placed upon
it the Gospel had been formulated and was understood by the spirits
which inhabited the kingdom of the Father; and who, in course of time,
would be blessed with a probation on the earth--an earth-life. If
this be not true, of what significance is the Scripture which speaks
of Jesus as the Lamb ordained before the foundation of the world, but
revealed in this day for the salvation of men. What of the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world? And further: "They that dwell on the
earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the Book of Life
from the foundation of the world." "Where wast thou," asked the Lord
of Job, "when I laid the foundations of the earth? * * * * * When the
morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
There is evidence in these expressions found in Scripture that before
the foundations of the earth were laid the sacrifice necessary to the
redemption of men was understood, and the "Lamb" for the sacrifice was
chosen, Jesus, the Messiah. There is evidence in these expressions
from Scripture of the pre-existence of the spirits of men, and the
names of some of them at least were written in the "Book of Life" from
the foundation of the world, and it is not unlikely that the shouting
of all the sons of God for joy, at the creation of the earth was in
consequence of the prospects which opened before them because of the
earth-life and the salvation that would come to them through the
Gospel--even in the prospects of that "eternal life, which God that
cannot lie, promised before the world began." (See the text of this
discourse.)
The Gospel, then, is of great antiquity. Older than the hills, older
than the earth; for in the heavenly kingdom was it formulated before
the foundations of the earth were laid.
_2. The Gospel Revealed to Adam:_ Nor were men left in ignorance
of the plan of their redemption until the coming of the Messiah in the
flesh. From the first that plan was known. Our annals are imperfect on
that head, doubtless, but enough exists even in the Jewish scriptures
to indicate the existence of a knowledge of the fact of the Atonement
and of the redemption of man through that means. Abel, the son cf
Adam, is the first we read of in the Jewish scriptures as offering
"the firstlings of his flock" as a sacrifice unto God. How came he
to offer sacrifice of the firstlings of his flock? Doubtless behind
Abel's sacrifice, as behind similar offerings in subsequent ages, stood
the fact of the Christ's Atonement. In it was figured forth the means
of man's redemption--through a sacrifice, and that the sacrifice of
the first-born. But where learned Abel to offer sacrifice if not from
his father, Adam? It is reasonably certain that Adam as well as Abel
offered sacrifices, in like manner and for the same intent; and to
Adam, though the Jewish scriptures are silent respecting it, God must
have revealed both the necessity of offering sacrifice and the great
thing of which it was but the symbol. And here, to some advantage,
may be quoted a passage from the writings of Moses, as revealed to
Joseph Smith, in December, 1830. From what was then made known to the
great Latter-Day Prophet of the writings of Moses, it appears that
our book of Genesis does not contain all that was revealed to Moses
respecting the revelations of God to Adam and his children of the first
generation. According to this more complete account of the revelation
to Moses, after Adam was driven from Eden, God gave commandments both
to him and his wife, that they should worship the Lord their God, and
should offer the firstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the
Lord, and Adam was obedient unto the commandment:
"And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying:
Why doest thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him:
I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And the angel spake, saying:
This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the
Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all
that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call
upon God in the name of the Son for evermore."
After some time elapsed and men multiplied in the earth and wickedness
increased; after Abel, the righteous, was slain and Cain was a vagabond
in the earth for the murder; after Lamech had also become a murderer
and Satan had great power among the disobedient--then, it is written:
"And God cursed the earth with a sore curse, and was angry with the
wicked, with all the sons of men whom he had made; for they would not
hearken unto his voice, nor believe on His Only Begotten Son, even Him
whom He declared should come in the meridian of time, who was prepared
from before the foundation of the world. And thus the Gospel began to
be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels sent
forth from the presence of God, and by His own voice, and by the gift
of the Holy Ghost. And thus all things were confirmed unto Adam, by an
holy ordinance, and the Gospel preached, and a decree sent forth, that
it should be in the world, until the end thereof."
_Establishment of the Ancient Church:_
As the Gospel was thus preached there were those among the children
of Adam who obeyed it, and a record of those men was kept, and they
constituted the ancient Church of God. Enoch was of the number of
righteous ones, and a preacher of righteousness. In these revealed
writings of Moses he is represented in the course of his ministry as
referring to the manner in which the Gospel was taught to Adam:
"And he said unto them: Because that Adam fell, we are and by his fall
came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe. Behold Satan
hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him;
and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out
from the presence of God. But God hath made known unto our fathers
that all men must repent. And He called upon our father Adam by His
own voice saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they
were in the flesh. And He also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto
me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy
transgressions, and be baptized even in water in the name of mine Only
Begotten Son who is full of grace and truth which is Jesus Christ, the
only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall
come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost, asking all things in His name and whatsoever ye shall ask, it
shall be given you."
Adam was obedient to the commandments of the Lord, and taught them to
his children, any of whom believed them obeyed, and became the sons of
God.
Enoch, we are told, "walked with God; and he was not; for God took
him." Paul, in speaking of him, says: "By faith Enoch was translated
that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had
translated him." But the writings of Moses, as revealed to Joseph
Smith, and from which I have been quoting, give information that not
only was Enoch translated but the Saints inhabiting his city, into
which he had gathered his people, and this city was called Zion; "And
it came to pass that Zion was not, for God received it up into His own
bosom; and from thence went forth the saying, Zion is fled."
_The Gospel Plus the Law:_
Thus the Gospel was taught to the ancients. Noah was a preacher of it
as well as Enoch. So, too, was Melchizedek, priest of the Most High
God, King of Salem, who met Abraham in his day and blessed him. Paul,
the Apostle of the Gentiles, bears unmistakable testimony to the fact
that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham; and also that it was offered
to Israel under Moses before "the law of carnal commandments" was
given. "I would not that ye should be ignorant," he says, "how that
all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did
all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual
drink; _for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them; and
that Rock was Christ."_
Referring again to the fact of the presentation of the Gospel to
ancient Israel, Paul says that the Gospel was preached unto ancient
Israel, as well as unto Israel in his day; but the preaching of the
Gospel to ancient Israel was not profitable to them, because they
received it not in faith, and as a result displeased God by their
unbelief, and the rebellious perished in the wilderness.
Paul's great controversy with the Christian Jews was in relation to the
superiority of the Gospel to the law of Moses. Many of the Christian
Jews, while accepting Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah, still
held to the law with something like superstitious reverence, and could
not be persuaded that the Gospel superceded the law, and was, in fact,
a fulfillment of all its types and symbols. This controversy culminated
in Paul's now celebrated letter to the Galatians, wherein he says:
"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the
children of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would
justify the heathen through faith, _preached before the gospel
unto Abraham,_ saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He sayeth not and
to seeds, as of many; but as one. And to thy seed, which is Christ.
And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God
in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after,
cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. * * *
Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions,
till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was
ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. * * Wherefore the law
was our school-master that faith is come, we are no longer under a
school-master. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ
Jesus."
_From Moses to John the Baptist:_
In greater clearness, however, than in these sayings of Paul gathered
up from his writings like scattered rays of light from a prism's
reflection, the antiquity of the Gospel, as far as it concerns ancient
Israel, is stated in a revelation of God to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
And not only the antiquity of the Gospel, but in greater clearness
also is stated the reasons why, after the Gospel was first preached
to ancient Israel, the law of carnal commandments was "added" to the
Gospel, or given in its place to act as a school-master to bring Israel
unto Christ. And by the knowledge imparted in that revelation the time
between the Mosaic dispensation and the coming of John the Baptist, to
prepare the way for the coming of the Christ, is spanned by a statement
so rational, that the truth of it cannot be reasonably questioned.
Speaking of the Melchizedek Priesthood and its powers in administering
the ordinances of the Gospel, and how it came to disappear as an
organization in Israel, the passage in question says:
"This greater Priesthood administereth the Gospel and holdeth the key
of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of
God; therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is
manifest; and without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of
the Priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in
the flesh; for without this no man can see the face of God, even the
Father, and live. Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of
Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people
that they might behold the face of God; but they hardened their hearts
and could not endure his presence, therefore the Lord in His wrath (for
His anger was kindled against them) sware that they should not enter
into His rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fullness of
His glory. Therefore He took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy
Priesthood also; and the lesser Priesthood continued, which Priesthood
holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory
Gospel; which Gospel is the Gospel of repentance and of baptism, and
the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the
Lord in His wrath, caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the
children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with
the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb; for he was baptized while he was
yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time
he was eight days old unto this power to overthrow the kingdom of the
Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord, before the face of his
people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord, in whose hand is
given all power."
As before remarked, this passage spans the interval of time between
Moses and John the Baptist, and gives a fuller explanation than can
be found in the writings of Paul or elsewhere, for the reason why and
in what manner the law was added to the Gospel; and what measure of
the Priesthood remained with Israel unto the coming of John; in what
the mission of John consisted, and in what manner he was qualified to
fulfill that mission.
_6. Of Origin:_ It is a question that has been much discussed
whether Christianity has been derived from the mythologies of heathen
nations, or the mythologies of heathen nations--wherein they seem
to be related to Christian Gospel ideas,--derived from a very early
revelation of the Gospel, say in the patriarchal age. Dr. John W.
Draper at the conclusion of an exhaustive review of the conclusions of
Greek and Oriental philosophies, says: "On this point we may therefore
accept as correct the general impression entertained by philosophers,
Greek, Alexandrian, and Roman after the Christian era, that, at the
bottom, the Greek and Oriental philosophies were alike, not only as
respects the questions they proposed for solution, but also in the
decisions they arrived at. _As we have said, this impression led to
the belief that there must have been in the remote past a revelation
common to both,_ though subsequently obscured and vitiated by the
infirmities and wickedness of man." (Intellectual Development of
Europe, p. 224.)
Later the Dr. remarks: "Indeed, so complete is the parallel between the
course of mental evolution in Asia and Europe, that it is difficult to
designate a matter of minor detail in the philosophy of the one which
cannot be pointed out in that of the other. It was not without reason,
therefore, that the Alexandrian philosophers, who were profoundly
initiated in the detail of both systems, time to the conclusion that
such surprising coincidences could only be accounted for upon the
admission that there had been an ancient revelation, the vestiges of
which had descended to their time." (Ibid, p. 237.. )
The author of the "Intellectual Development of Europe," however,
does not acquiesce in this conclusion, but offers the following as
an explanation: "In this, however, they judged erroneously: the true
explanation consisting in the fact that the process of development of
the intellect of man, and the final results to which he arrives in
examining similar problems, are in all countries the same." (p. 237.)
Which is a most lame and impotent conclusion, and one not borne out
by the facts of the history of ideas. Much juster is the conclusion
presented by the late President John Taylor, who, at the end of a
some what extended review of traditions respecting the mythologies of
various races, wherein seemed to be reflected essential Christian facts
and ideas, says:
"The fact is clearly proved, instead of Christianity, deriving
its existence and acts from the ideas and practices of heathen
mythologists, and from various false systems that had been introduced
by apostacy, unrecognized pretensions and fraud, that those very
systems themselves were obtained from the true Priesthood, and founded
on its teachings from the earliest ages to the advent of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ: that those holy principles were taught to Adam,
and by him to his posterity; that Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and the various
Prophets had all borne testimony of this grand and important event,
wherein the interest and happiness of the whole world was concerned,
pertaining to time and to eternity. The Gospel is a system, great,
grand and comprehensive commencing in eternity, extending through all
time, and then reaching into [Transcriber's note: break in text here
appears to be a printer's error in the original.]
_Concluding Reflections:_
The view here presented of the antiquity of the Gospel, as remarked
in the foot note at page 100, differentiates the viewpoint of the
Latter-day Saints from that of sectarian Christendom, concerning
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It presents that Gospel as "The hope of
eternal life, which God that cannot lie, promised before the world
began." Jesus is "the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the
world." The sons of God shouted for joy when "the foundations of the
earth were laid," in prospect of that eternal life promised through
the Gospel of the Christ. It is of greater antiquity than the earth
itself, then. Older than the hills, or the mountains, or the sea. Is
it not older than the stars, since it comes of the love of God, also
the Christ love for man; answered by the love of man for God, and or
Christ, and or fellow man? In all worlds and in all world-systems does
not the same Gospel prevail? Is not eternal law maintained by its
constant and eternal vindication, what some call the maintenance of
Justice? Does not violation of law involve intelligences in suffering
in all worlds? Everywhere, as here in this world, may not one suffer
for another, because bound together in that mysterious sympathy, which
proclaims the universal kinship of intelligences, and emphasises the
truth that no man lives unto himself alone? If the implied answer to
these questions be true, will there not in some form be an expression
of the Christ-love that will offer itself a ransome for others that
the element of mercy may be brought into God's economy of things, even
as it was brought into the moral economy of this our world by such an
offering? And out of these fundamental realities and universalities
will there not grow up all those relations of Redeemer and redeemed;
Teacher and the taught; penitent and Forgiver? Will not God be in such
worlds reconciling them to himself through the Christ and the Christ
spirit that shall be made every where to abound?
To all this I answer undoubtedly. And as in the last analysis of things
there is one God-nature into which Intelligences who are sons of God
arise, and in which they live; for there is one Justice and one Mercy
and one Love and one Plan of Salvation which saves all worlds--one
Gospel and that is from eternity. I say nothing of the forms through
which that one Gospel may receive its manifestations in other worlds.
I only know the forms through which it is expressed in this world, and
that only because of the revelations that God has given in the various
dispensations granted to this world, and that is enough. But I am sure
that in the last analysis of things the essential principles of the
Gospel that are ordained to save our world is the Gospel that will
redeem all worlds; for the principle of our Gospel stripped of local
coloring are in their nature permanent and universal and hence, not
only of great antiquity, but eternal, it is the "Ever Lasting Gospel."