need demanded. On December 18, 1833, Joseph Smith, Sr., father of the
Prophet, was ordained patriarch of the Church, by the Prophet Joseph,
Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams. And less than
two years later it was decreed in a special revelation on Priesthood
that--"It is the duty of the Twelve, in all large branches of the
church, to ordain evangelical ministers (patriarchs) as they shall be
designated unto them by revelation. The order of this Priesthood was
confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to
the literal descendants of the chosen seed, to whom the promises were
made."[E]
[Footnote E: Doc. and Cov. 107:39, 40.]
Little less than two years after the organization of the Presidency
of the Church, the promise that there would be appointed a quorum of
twelve apostles was fulfilled. It was Sunday, February 8, 1835. Brigham
and Joseph Young had come to visit the Prophet. They sang to him, and
worshiped together. The Spirit of God was poured out upon them, and the
Prophet declared that he wanted to see together the brethren who had
gone to Missouri the summer before in Zion's Camp.[F] He had a blessing
for them, he said. Accordingly, a meeting was appointed for Saturday,
February 14, 1835. When the men of Zion's Camp were assembled, the
Prophet addressed them at length. He declared that there was a divine
purpose in the trials and hardships endured in the march to Zion and
return. In the afternoon session of the meeting, the Prophet directed
that the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon should proceed to select
twelve men to be ordained apostles of the Lord Jesus. Accordingly,
Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris were blessed by the
presidency of the Church. Then they proceeded to select from among
the men of Zion's Camp twelve men to be ordained apostles of the Lord
Jesus. The twelve men were named in the following order: Lyman E.
Johnson, Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, David W. Patten,
Luke S. Johnson, William E. M'Lellin, John F. Boynton, Orson Pratt,
William Smith, Thomas B. Marsh, and Parley P. Pratt. The first three
named were then ordained to the apostleship that same day, February 14,
1835. The next six were ordained the following day, Sunday, February
15. Parley P. Pratt was ordained on February 21. And Orson Pratt and
Thomas B. Marsh, who were absent on missions, were ordained in April,
1835. Thus was the quorum of Twelve apostles--like that appointed
by the Savior during His personal ministry--again organized in this
dispensation.[G]
[Footnote F: Zion's Camp was the name given to a company of volunteers
who set out from the Eastern States to carry assistance to the Saints
in Missouri. In the fall of the year 1833, the Saints who lived in
Jackson county, Missouri, were driven from that county by a lawless
mob, and all their lands were confiscated. The exiles found refuge in
Clay county. From there, Parley P. Pratt and Lyman Wight were sent
to Kirtland to report to the Prophet the condition of the Saints in
the West. The Prophet was distracted by the news. He enquired of the
Lord to learn how Zion might be redeemed, and received a revelation
in which he was instructed to call for volunteers from the strength
of the Church--young men and middle-aged--to march to Zion to redeem
it. This band of volunteers was not to exceed five hundred, nor was it
to consist of fewer than one hundred (Doc. and Cov. 103). Immediately
the brethren in Kirtland began to prepare for the work of redemption.
Recruiting officers and solicitors were sent to all the branches of
the Church. By the latter part of April, 1834, volunteers began to
assemble in Kirtland. On May first, the first advance was made in the
eventful thousand-miles march. A little more than twenty men, with four
baggage wagons, proceeded from Kirtland to New Portage. Not many days
later, the Prophet with the rest of the recruits at Kirtland, joined
the camp at New Portage. There the now famous Zion's Camp was organized
into companies of twelve, with a suitable division of responsibility
for a long march. From there the march proceeded through the states
of Indiana and Illinois, picking up recruits on the way, until there
were in the company two hundred five strong and faithful men, with
twenty-five baggage wagons. Naturally, such a march of a thousand miles
was full of trial and hardship. It was a march well designed to test
the faith and the characters of those who made it. Some were found
wanting in the sterling qualities necessary for the leaders of a Chosen
People. Others never lost sight of the noble purpose of their mission,
and therefore retained their spirits unruffled till the last. It was
fitting that such men as theses should be chosen later to lead Zion.
Zion's Camp was disbanded June twenty-fifth, 1834, at Rush Creek, Clay
county, Missouri.]
[Footnote G: At a grand council held May second, 1835, the newly
chosen apostles were arranged according to seniority. The official
organization of the first quorum of apostles was then as follows: 1
Thomas B. Marsh 7 Parley P. Pratt 2 David w. Patten 8 Luke S. Johnson 3
Brigham Young 9 William Smith 4 Heber C. Kimball 10 Orson Pratt 5 Orson
Hyde 11 John F. Boynton 6 William E. McLellin 12 Lyman E. Johnson]
At some time before the calling of the Twelve, the Prophet had seen in
vision, not only the organization of the quorum of apostles, but also
the organization of the quorums of seventies.[H] The Church had made
such phenomenal progress, and the missionary labor was so extensive,
that more busy workers were needed even after the calling of the
Twelve. Therefore, on the 28th of February, 1835, the Church assembled
in council, began to select from the faithful ones left from the Zion's
Camp expedition, certain men to become Seventies. Seven men were
ordained presidents of the quorum, and sixty-three others, members.
These Seventies, said the Prophet, "are to constitute traveling
quorums, to go into all the earth whithersoever the Twelve Apostles
shall send them."[I]
[Footnote H: "History of the Church," Vol. II, pp. 202, 182.]
[Footnote I: "History of the Church," Vol. II, p. 202.]
The quorums of authority thus far re-established may be considered, in
a way, as dealing primarily with the spiritual affairs of the Church.
Even the First Presidency, while they may advise in temporal matters,
and take active part in them, seem to have it as their first duty to
stand between God and the Church, administering in spiritual things.
It was not the intention of the Lord, however, to provide only for the
spiritual welfare of His people. The temporal welfare of the people
was also necessary to the satisfactory fulfillment of their missions
upon the earth. Therefore, the Lord restored also the authorities whose
principal duty it is to take care of temporal affairs. In a revelation
given February 4, 1831, while the Prophet was visiting in Kirtland,
Ohio, the Lord said:
"I have called my servant Edward Partridge, and give a commandment,
that he should be appointed by the voice of the church, and ordained a
bishop unto the church, to leave his merchandise and to spend all his
time in the labors of the church: to see to all things as it shall be
appointed unto him, in my laws in the day that I shall give them."[J]
[Footnote J: Doc. and Cov. 41:9, 10.]
Edward Partridge was a prosperous merchant of Kirtland. The Prophet
said of him, "He was a pattern of piety, and one of the Lord's great
men, known by his steadfastness and patient endurance to the end."[K]
Elder Partridge accepted the call of the Lord, forsook his merchandise,
and was ordained on the very day of the revelation, the first bishop
of the Church. And in the following November, several elders came to
the Prophet seeking to know the will of the Lord concerning them.
The Prophet received for them a revelation, containing not only
instructions to them, but also "certain items * * in addition to the
covenants and commandments." There, among other things, the Lord says:
"There remaineth hereafter, in the due time of the Lord, other bishops
to be set apart unto the church, to minister even according to the
first."[L]
[Footnote K: Quoted by Roberts in "Outlines of Ecclesiastical History,"
p. 316.]
[Footnote L: Doc. and Cov. 68:14.]
The following month, Newel K. Whitney was called by revelation to be
bishop over the Church in Kirtland.[M] Since that day, other bishops
have been called as need has arisen, until there are in the Church at
the present writing more than seven hundred acting bishops.
[Footnote M: Doc. and Cov. 72:8.]
Thus the quorums of authority and presidency in the Church were
restored as the growth of the Church demanded. Each one in turn was
appointed by special revelation, until the organization was completed.
Besides the important revelations on Church government already noted,
two other revelations were given dealing particularly with the history
and duties of priesthood.[N] From these we learn that twelve deacons
constitute a quorum of deacons; twenty-four teachers a quorum of
teachers; and forty-eight priests a quorum of priests; that the bishop,
besides presiding in a general way over the district where he is
appointed, presides particularly over the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood.
From these, also, we learn that ninety-six elders constitute a quorum
of elders; seventy seventies, a quorum of seventies; and all the
high-priests of a district the quorum of high-priests in that district.
Thus, from the First Presidency to the deacon, the organization of the
Priesthood is complete and perfect in its operation.
[Footnote N: Doc. and Cov. secs. 84, 107.]
Besides this perfect organization of the Priesthood, there are other
helpful divisions and organizations that have been called forth by the
growth of the Church. The most we can do with them here, however, is
merely to mention them in closing. First is the territorial division
of the Church. For convenience in government, the Church is divided
territorially into stakes, wards, branches, missions, and conferences.
Kirtland was undoubtedly the first stake of Zion to be appointed in the
history of the Church. Concerning Kirtland, the Lord said in 1832:
"For I have consecrated the land of Shinehah (Kirtland) in mine own due
time for the benefit of the saints of the Most High, and for a stake of
Zion."[O]
[Footnote O: Doc. and Cov. 82:13.]
In the dedicatory prayer offered in the Kirtland Temple, 1836, the
Prophet Joseph Smith said:
"We ask thee to appoint unto Zion other Stakes, besides this one
which thou hast appointed, that the gathering of thy people may roll
on in great power and majesty, that thy work may be cut short in
righteousness."[P]
[Footnote P: Doc. and Cov. 109:59.]
Other stakes were appointed. Today, the Church numbers more than sixty
stakes, each presided over by a presidency of three high priests, and
a high council of twelve high priests, with several alternate high
councilmen.
As the Church is divided into stakes, so the stakes are divided into
wards, each presided over by a bishop and two counselors. And the world
at large, not included in the boundaries of the organized stakes, is
divided into missions, each presided over by a president. The missions
in turn are divided into conferences, presided over by conference
presidents, and the conferences are divided into branches, likewise
presided over by branch presidents.
The Church grew rapidly to such dimensions, however, that it needed
even more assistance than these organizations and divisions could
render. There has grown up in the Church, therefore, a number of
auxiliary associations. The Relief Society, an organization of women,
was organized under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1842.
The Sunday School was organized under the patronage of Brigham Young in
1849. The Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association was organized
as a retrenchment society, under the supervision of President Brigham
Young in 1869. A similar organization of the young men was effected in
1875, though there had been such an organization in Nauvoo. The Primary
Association for children was organized in 1878. The Religion Class was
organized in 1890. All these auxiliary organizations serve to lighten
the labors of the priesthood, and of the home, in instructing the
children of the saints.
Gradually, then, another act in the great drama of the Restoration was
accomplished--an act of many scenes. But the achievements of the act
have aroused, and continue to arouse, the wonder and the admiration
of the civilized world. In the Church organization every point is
carefully wrought out, from the highest and most important office
to the lowest and least. Indeed, the perfection of the institution
precludes the thought that it was devised by man alone. Not another so
nearly perfect organization is to be found in the history of the world.
XII.
THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS.
Less than a month after the organization of the Church in 1830,
there happened at Colesville, New York, one of the most remarkable
manifestations in the history of the modern world. Joseph Smith had
gone to Colesville to visit at the home of Joseph Knight. The Knights
were Universalists. They were interested, however, in the message
of the young prophet. One of them, particularly--a son named Newel
Knight--seemed to be much affected by the Prophet's teachings. Says the
Prophet in his simple narrative:
"He and I had many serious conversations on the important subject of
man's eternal salvation. We got into the habit of praying much at our
meetings, and Newel had said that he would try and take up his cross,
and pray vocally during meeting; but when we again met together, he
rather excused himself. I tried to prevail upon him. * * * He replied
that * * * he would wait until he could get into the woods by himself,
and there he would pray. Accordingly, he deferred praying until next
morning, when he retired into the woods; where, according to his
own account afterwards, he made several attempts to pray, but could
scarcely do so, feeling that he had not done his duty, in refusing
to pray in the presence of others. He began to feel uneasy, and
continued to feel worse both in mind and body, until, upon reaching
his own house, his appearance was such as to alarm his wife very much.
He requested her to go and bring me to him. I went, and found him
suffering very much in his mind, and his body acted upon in a very
strange manner; his visage and limbs distorted and twisted in every
shape and appearance possible to imagine; and finally he was caught up
off the floor of the apartment, and tossed about most fearfully.
"His situation was soon made known to his neighbors and relatives,
and in a short time as many as eight or nine grown persons had got
together to witness the scene. After he had thus suffered for a time, I
succeeded in getting hold of him by the hand, when almost immediately
he spoke to me, and with great earnestness requested me to cast the
devil out of him, saying that he knew he was in him, and that he also
knew I could cast him out.
"I replied, 'If you know that I can, it shall be done;' and then almost
unconsciously I rebuked the devil, and commanded him in the name of
Jesus Christ to depart from him; when immediately Newel spoke out and
said that he saw the devil leave him and vanish from his sight. This
was the first miracle which was done in the Church, or by any member
of it, and it was done not by man, nor by the power of man, but it was
done by God, and by the power of godliness; therefore, let the honor
and the praise, the dominion and the glory, be ascribed to the Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen."[A]
[Footnote A: "History of the Church," Vol. I, pp. 82, 83.]
Concerning the truth of this ungarnished account there can be no doubt.
It has appeared in print for many years, and has never been called in
question. Moreover, the miracle was witnessed by several adult persons,
and was strongly attested by Newel Knight himself. Without question,
then, with the very beginning of the Church, the gifts of healing, so
common with Jesus and His disciples, were restored to those holding the
Holy Priesthood.
Not more than a year and a half after the performance of this
remarkable miracle, there was performed another which the Prophet
passed over in his narrative with scarcely a notice. He says, "About
this time" (September 12, 1831), "Ezra Booth came out as an apostate.
He came into the Church upon seeing a person healed of an infirmity of
many years' standing."[B] That is all. Fortunately, however, there is
preserved for us an account of this case of healing; and it is the more
valuable because it is written by a Campbellite historian, who did not
accept the message of the Prophet Joseph Smith. The historian says:
[Footnote B: "History of the Church," Vol. I, p. 215.]
"Ezra Booth, of Mantua, a Methodist preacher of much more than ordinary
culture, and with strong natural abilities, in company with his wife,
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, and some other citizens of this place [Hiram,
Ohio] visited Smith at his home in Kirtland, in 1831. Mrs. Johnson had
been afflicted for some time with a lame arm, and was not at the time
of the visit able to lift her hand to her head. The party visited Smith
partly out of curiosity, and partly to see for themselves what there
might be in the new doctrine. During the interview the conversation
turned on the subject of supernatural gifts, such as were conferred
in the days of the apostles. Some one said, 'Here is Mrs. Johnson
with a lame arm; has God given any power to men now on earth to cure
her?' A few moments later, when the conversation had turned in another
direction. Smith rose, and walking across the room, taking Mrs. Johnson
by the hand, said in the most solemn and impressive manner: 'Woman,
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command thee to be whole,'
and immediately left the room. The company were awe-stricken at the
infinite presumption of the man, and the calm assurance with which he
spoke. The sudden mental and moral shock--I know not how better to
explain the well-attested fact--electrified the rheumatic arm--Mrs.
Johnson at once lifted it up with ease, and on her return home the next
day she was able to do her washing without difficulty or pain."[C]
[Footnote C: Hayden's "History of the Disciples," pp. 250, 251; quoted
in "History of the Church," Vol. I, pp. 215, 216, footnote.]
We can easily believe that the company was amazed at the manifestation
of such power. It was not the will of God, however, that the great
Prophet alone should possess the gift to heal the sick. On the
contrary, it was bestowed through faith upon many others. From the
first the elders had practiced the order of anointing the sick and
praying for them. But in 1832, a little more than two years after the
organization of the Church, the Lord gave a revelation in which He
declared to the elders that certain signs should follow the operation
of faith. The words of the Lord are these:
"As I said unto mine apostles I say unto you again that every soul who
believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of
sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost; and these signs shall follow them
that believe:
"In my name they shall do many wonderful works:
"In my name they shall cast out devils;
"In my name they shall heal the sick;
"In my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears
of the deaf;
"And the tongue of the dumb shall speak;
"And if any man shall administer poison unto them it shall not hurt
them;
"And the poison of a serpent shall not have power to hurt them."[D]
[Footnote D: Doc. and Cov. 84:63-72.]
Thus wonderfully did the Lord repeat the promise made to the apostles
of old;[E] and the promise has been fulfilled in an equally wonderful
manner. The number of miraculous healings since 1832 is far too large
to bear detailing here. But from that day to the present, there have
been wonderful healings, wherever the Church has been established.
And hundreds of thousands testify that the gift of healing is indeed
operative among the Latter-day Saints.
[Footnote E: See Mark 16:16-18.]
The gift of healing is not the only divine gift, however, that has been
restored in latter days: "About the 8th of November," writes Joseph
Smith, "I received a visit from Elders Joseph Young, Brigham Young, and
Heber C. Kimball of Mendon, Monroe county, New York. They spent four or
five days in Kirtland, during which we had many interesting moments. At
one of our interviews, Brother Brigham Young and John P. Greene spoke
in tongues, which was the first time I had heard this gift among the
brethren: others also spoke, and I received the gift myself."[F]
[Footnote F: "History of the Church," Vol. I, pp. 296, 97.]
So briefly does the Prophet mention the reappearance of the strange
gift of tongues. Fortunately, however, we have again another and fuller
account. Writing of the same incident, President Brigham Young says,
"A few weeks after my baptism I was at Brother Kimball's house one
morning, and while family prayer was being offered up, Brother Alpheus
Gifford commenced speaking in tongues. Soon the Spirit came on me, and
I spoke in tongues, and we thought only of the day of Pentecost, when
the apostles were clothed upon with cloven tongues of fire.
"In September, 1832, Brother Heber C. Kimball took his horse and wagon.
Brother Joseph Young and myself accompanying him, and started for
Kirtland to see the Prophet Joseph. We visited many friends on the way,
and some branches of the Church. We exhorted them and prayed with them,
and I spoke in tongues. Some pronounced it genuine and from the Lord,
and others pronounced it from the devil.
"We proceeded to Kirtland and stopped at John P. Greene's, who had
just arrived there with his family. We rested a few minutes, took some
refreshment, and started to see the prophet. * * *
"In the evening a few of the brethren came in, and we conversed
together upon the things of the kingdom. He called upon me to pray; in
my prayer I spoke in tongues. As soon as we arose from our knees the
brethren flocked around him, and asked his opinion concerning the gift
of tongues that was upon me. He told them that it was the pure Adamic
language. Some said to him they expected he would condemn the gift
Brother Brigham had, but he said, 'No, it is of God.'"[G]
[Footnote G: "Millennial Star," Vol. 25, p. 439; also quoted in part in
"History of the Church," Vol. I, p. 297, footnote.]
Since the incident here related, many hundreds of the Saints of God
have been blessed with this divine gift. Some are given to speak in
tongues and others to interpret. The miracle comes to those who have
faith, to strengthen their faith. Again, however, the number of these
miraculous manifestations is far too large to be considered here.
Hundreds of thousands bear witness to the restoration of the marvelous
gift. And it is the fact of restoration about which we are most
concerned.
Besides the gift of performing miracles and of healing, and the gift of
speaking in tongues and of interpreting tongues, there are yet other
divine gifts restored in this dispensation. To Joseph Smith was given
very early the gift of prophecy. In the book of Doctrine and Covenants
may be found many remarkable predictions made by him. All these
predictions have been literally fulfilled, in so far as the time has
come for their fulfillment; and the fulfillment happened in many cases
long after the martyrdom of the great Prophet. Not only Joseph Smith,
however, but many others in the Church have been blessed with the same
gift of prophecy. All the presidents of the Church have displayed the
divine gift. Many men in exalted position, and many men of low degree,
have likewise manifested the prophetic inspiration of the Holy Ghost.
The gift of prophecy is common among the restored gifts of the Church.
So also is the gift of discernment, and the gift of wisdom, and the
gift of knowledge, and the gift of faith. Indeed, through the ministry
of the Prophet Joseph Smith have been restored to man all the spiritual
gifts known to the saints of old. To the great modern Church of Christ
have been given the things enumerated by the Apostle Paul.