Essentials in Church History
A History of the Church from the Birth of Joseph Smith to the Present
Time (1922), with Introductory Chapters on the Antiquity of the Gospel
and the "Falling Away"
By Joseph Fielding Smith of the Council of the Twelve, and Church
Historian
Published by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Salt Lake City, Utah Deseret News Press 1922
Copyright 1922, by Heber J. Grant, Trustee-in-Trust for the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Electronic edition produced by the Mormon Texts Project.
Volunteers who helped with this book: Eric Heaps, Meridith Crowder,
Byron Clark, Jean-Michel Carter, Tod Robbins, Ben Crowder, Stephen
Bruington, Benjamin Bytheway.
Version 1.0
Preface
The need of a history of the Church in one volume that can be used
for general reading, and at the same time meet the requirements of
a text-book in the priesthood quorums, Church schools and auxiliary
organizations, for a long time has been recognized. In the preparation
of this volume, all these requirements have been given thoughtful
consideration. As the title of the book, _Essentials in Church
History_, implies, the vital and essential points of history and
doctrine have been selected, and as far as possible, arranged in
chronological order. The doctrines and revelations given to the Prophet
Joseph Smith have been interwoven with the main story of the history
in a manner, it is hoped, that will prove to be both interesting
and instructive to the casual reader, as well as to the careful
student. Moreover, the work has been prepared with the desire that
the arrangement of the material will stimulate in the reader a zeal
for further research and study of other and more extensive histories,
particularly the _Documentary History of the Church_, in six volumes,
which covers the period of the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith.
It is impossible to give, in one volume, in detail all the important
incidents in the history of the Church. However, this volume is sent
forth on its mission with the hope that it will answer fully the
purpose for which it was written.
Grateful appreciation is hereby acknowledged for invaluable assistance
given by Dr. John A. Widtsoe, of the council of the twelve, in the
preparation of the manuscript. I also desire to express sincere thanks
to Elders Edward H. Anderson, J. M. Sjodahl, Andrew Jenson, August
William Lund and others, who have so willingly and cheerfully assisted
in the preparation of the work.
Joseph Fielding Smith
Table of Contents
Part One -- Introductory: The Gospel in Ancient and Mediaeval Times
Chapter 1. Antiquity of the Gospel
Chapter 2. The Falling Away
Chapter 3. The Protestant Revolution
Part Two -- Opening of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times
Chapter 4. Necessity for a Restoration
Chapter 5. The Ancestry of Joseph Smith
Chapter 6. Boyhood of Joseph Smith
Chapter 7. The Vision
Chapter 8. The Visitation of Moroni
Chapter 9. Joseph Smith Receives the Record--The Priesthood Restored
Chapter 10. The Witnesses of the Book of Mormon
Chapter 11. Revelation on Doctrine and Church Government
Chapter 12. Organization of the Church
Chapter 13. Beginning of the Public Ministry of the Church
Chapter 14. The Public Ministry of the Church (2)
Part Three -- The Ohio and Missouri Period
Chapter 15. Removal of the Church in New York to Ohio
Chapter 16. The Land of Zion--Its Dedication
Chapter 17. The Book of Commandments--The Vision of the Glories--The
Hiram Mobbing
Chapter 18. Organization of the First Presidency--Important Revelations
Chapter 19. Expulsion from Jackson County
Chapter 20. The Patriarchal Priesthood--Zion's Camp
Chapter 21. Choosing of the Twelve and Seventy--Dedication of the
Kirtland Temple
Chapter 22. Clay County Rejects the Saints--Apostasy and Sorrow
Chapter 23. The Presidency Move to Missouri--Excommunication of Oliver
Cowdery and Others
Chapter 24. Difficulties in Missouri--Governor Boggs' Order of
Extermination
Chapter 25. Persecutions of the Saints
Chapter 26. The Expulsion from Missouri
Part Four -- The Nauvoo Period
Chapter 27. The Founding of Nauvoo
Chapter 28. Foreign Missionary Labors
Chapter 29. Appeal to Washington for Redress--Further Missouri
Persecutions
Chapter 30. The Nauvoo Temple and Ordinances Therein--Important Events
Chapter 31. Joseph Smith Accused as Accessory to Assault on Boggs
Chapter 32. Doctrinal Development and Prophecy
Chapter 33. Missouri's Third Attempt to Capture Joseph Smith
Chapter 34. Joseph Smith's Candidacy for President--Nauvoo Conspiracy
Chapter 35. The Martyrdom
Chapter 36. The Succession of the Twelve Apostles--Preparation to Leave
Nauvoo
Part Five -- The Settlement in the Rocky Mountains
Chapter 37. The Exodus from Nauvoo
Chapter 38. The Mormon Battalion
Chapter 39. The Pioneers
Chapter 40. In "the Land of Promise"
Chapter 41. Organization of the Presidency--Church Activities
Chapter 42. Church Activities
Chapter 43. "The Utah War"
Chapter 44. The Mountain Meadows Massacre
Chapter 45. The Army in Utah
Chapter 46. A Period of Strife and Bitterness
Chapter 47. The Mission of Governor Shaffer and Judge McKean
Chapter 48. Church Colonization and Progress
Part Six -- Recent Development
Chapter 49. The Second Period of Apostolic Presidency
Chapter 50. The Administration of President John Taylor
Chapter 51. The Administration of President Wilford Woodruff
Chapter 52. The Administration of President Lorenzo Snow
Chapter 53. The Administration of President Joseph F. Smith
Chapter 54. The Administration of President Heber J. Grant
Appendix
The Auxiliary Organizations of the Church
General Authorities of the Church
Stakes of Zion
Church Publications
List of Authorities and Books of Reference
Part One
Introductory: The Gospel in Ancient and Mediaeval Times
Chapter 1
Antiquity of the Gospel
The Gospel Older than the Law
From the time of the exodus from Egypt until the advent of Jesus Christ
the Israelites were subject to the laws given to Moses. The belief is
held by many that when the Savior supplanted these laws with the Gospel
it was the first appearance among men of that great plan of salvation.
The Gospel is much older than the law of Moses; it existed before the
foundation of the world. Its principles are eternal, and were made
known to the spirits of men in that antemortal day when Jesus Christ
was chosen to be the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." All
necessary preparations were made in the spirit life for the peopling of
this earth in a mortal existence. It was there decided that Adam should
come to this earth and stand as the progenitor of the race.
The Fall of Man and His Redemption
That Adam and his posterity might gain the experience that can only be
obtained in mortality, it was necessary that he should break the law
by which he was governed in the Garden of Eden, and thereby subject
himself and his posterity to death. To gain an exaltation man must have
experience and must exercise his free will. Then, knowing both good
and evil, by obeying the will of the Father he will receive a reward
for the good deeds done while in the flesh. The fall of man brought
temptation, sin and death. It was therefore essential that a Redeemer
be provided through whose atonement for the fall, all men, without
regard to their belief, race, or color, are entitled to come forth in
the resurrection of the dead, to be judged according to their works.
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of
the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive" (1 Cor. 15:21-22).
Individual Salvation Taught to Adam
Individual salvation requires that a man must repent and accept the
fulness of the Gospel if he would be exalted in the kingdom of God.
This plan of salvation was taught to Adam after his expulsion from the
Garden of Eden. He was baptized in water for the remission of his sins,
in the name of the only Begotten of the Father, and received the Holy
Ghost. He and his wife, Eve, were commanded to teach their children the
Gospel, that they also "might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the
words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to
come, even immortal glory" (Moses ch. 6).
In obedience to this commandment Adam and Eve made all these things
known to their sons and daughters. Thus the Gospel was taught in the
beginning and was declared from generation to generation. Adam received
the Holy Priesthood, which was also conferred upon the patriarchs who
followed after him. They were "preachers of righteousness, and spake
and prophesied, and called upon all men, everywhere, to repent, and
faith was taught unto the children of men" (Moses 6:22).
The Gospel Rejected in Days of Noah
In the days of Noah the Gospel was universally rejected, save by
Noah and his immediate family--in all eight souls. Noah had labored
diligently and long to bring mankind to repentance, but without avail,
"for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth" (Moses 8:29).
After the destruction of the wicked in the flood, the Gospel continued
to be taught by Noah and the later patriarchs, but quite generally it
was not received. Melchizedek, king of Salem, through his faithfulness,
became a great high priest, and the people of the Church in his day
honored him by calling the "Holy Priesthood after the order of the Son
of God," by his name, "out of respect or reverence to the name of the
Supreme Being" (D. & C. 107:4). From Melchizedek, Abraham received the
Priesthood, and to Melchizedek, as the properly authorized servant of
the Lord, Abraham paid tithes of all he possessed (Gen. 14:20).
The Covenant with Abraham
Unto Abraham also was the Gospel preached and the Lord made covenant
with him that through him and his posterity should all nations of the
earth be blessed (Gen. 22:18). This same Gospel was also declared to
the children of Israel in its simple truth; but they proved unworthy
to receive it in its fulness, due to their long sojourn in Egypt,
where they had partaken of the customs, traditions and theology of the
Egyptians, and therefore "the word preached did not profit them, not
being mixed with faith in them that heard it" (Heb. 4:2). The Lord
endeavored to establish the fulness of his Gospel and authority among
them, which Moses plainly taught, and he sought to sanctify the 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 fulness of his
glory" (D. & C. 84:23-24).
The Higher Priesthood and the Carnal Law
It became necessary, therefore, for the Lord to take Moses and the
Higher Priesthood out of their midst, but the Lesser Priesthood,
which holds the keys of the ministering of angels and the preparatory
Gospel--faith, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins--he
permitted to remain. To this he added the carnal law, known as the
law of Moses, which was added, so Paul informs us, as a schoolmaster
to prepare them to receive the fulness of the Gospel when restored by
Jesus Christ.
The Israelites, from the time they entered the promised land to the
coming of the Son of God, were living under the law of Moses, which
laid upon them severe and exacting restrictions because of their
refusal to receive the fulness of the Gospel when it was offered in the
wilderness. When the Savior came, it was to complete and fulfil the
ends of this law, of which he said not one jot or title should pass
until all was fulfilled.
Dispensation of the Meridian of Time
In the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time, when the Savior ministered
among the Jews, he restored the Gospel with the Higher Priesthood.
He called and ordained Twelve Apostles and gave them power, before
his ascension into heaven, to complete the church organization, and
commissioned them to carry the message of divine salvation into all the
world. In restoring that which had been taken away, he annulled the
carnal law, which had been added in the place of the higher law, for it
had filled the measure of its creation.
Commission of the Apostles
Under the commission Jesus gave the apostles to carry the Gospel
message into all the world and preach it to every creature, they
commenced their active ministry on the day of Pentecost, preaching in
power to the convincing of many souls. As the work of the ministry
grew, and the assistance of other laborers was required to carry on the
work, men were divinely called and ordained to specific offices in the
Church. The Lord, himself, had called and ordained, besides the twelve,
seventies, and sent them forth throughout Judea bearing the message
of truth. When they returned from that missionary journey it was with
much rejoicing because even the devils were subject unto them. What
other officers the Lord ordained and set apart, the scriptures do not
reveal. That the Twelve Apostles were empowered to set in order all
things pertaining to the Church, is, nevertheless, beyond dispute. We
learn that under their direction and ministry, as branches were formed
and the work of the ministry required it, high priests, evangelists,
patriarchs, elders, bishops, deacons, priests, pastors and teachers
were called into the service of the Church. The organization was in
this manner effected during the days of the apostles. The Church was
also blessed with the divine gifts and blessings of the Spirit of the
Lord in those early days, just as it was during the Savior's ministry.
There were in the Church many prophets who uttered, by the gift of the
Holy Ghost, many remarkable predictions.
Essential Offices in the Church
All of these offices in the Church, are essential to the advancement
of the members and cannot be discarded with impunity. Paul said, the
Lord "gave some apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and
some pastors and teachers; for the perfection of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." These
were not merely to remain in the Church during the formative period, or
for a brief season in order to start the work, and then to be replaced
by other officers of another kind. Men were ordained to these callings
"for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect
man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Eph.
4:12-13). Evidently, then, as long as there is imperfection in the
Church among the members, in doctrine, knowledge, or love, they fall
short of "the stature of the fulness of Christ."
These officers are all needed and cannot justly be removed, for the
Lord never so intended. The writer of the epistle to the Ephesians
also further compares all these officers to the various parts of the
human body and says: "From whom the whole body fitly joined together
and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the
effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of
the body unto the edifying of itself in love." This same apostle also
likens the spiritual gifts to the physical body, declaring each to
be essential in the Church, just as the parts of the body are each
necessary and one part cannot say to another, "I have no need of you,"
for all are necessary that all men may "profit withal."