The Protestant Revolution
The "Dark Ages"
Not content with absolute dominion over the spiritual and temporal
affairs of the people, this papal kingdom attempted the exercise of
authority also over the consciences of men. Especially was this so
during the dark ages, when this power was at the zenith of its glory.
This exercise of authority extended also far into the day when the
light of religious freedom commenced to break forth, during the period
known as the revival of learning. Previous to this revival, as we
have seen, the language of learning was the Latin tongue. The people
were helplessly dependent upon their priests for all instruction
in scientific as well as religious thought. The few copies of the
Bible extant were guarded by the clergy, and the scriptures were not
accessible to the common people, and since they could neither read nor
write, and in very few instances understood Latin, they would have been
helpless even with the Bible in their hands. Under these conditions
it is not to be wondered at that the poor people of those benighted
countries of Europe, credulous and filled with superstitious fear,
were ready to accept almost anything that was made known to them, in
doctrine or deed, by unscrupulous priests.
The Revival of Learning
Neither is it to be wondered at that priests attempted to use force
and coercion during the revival of learning to check the opportunities
of the people in obtaining light and truth. It was due to the exercise
of greater knowledge on the part of the priests and their performance
of mystic ceremonies, that over-awed the people and enabled the clergy
to keep them shackled by the chains of ignorance and superstition.
Ignorance was a ready tool in the hands of the priests by which they
shaped and moulded the masses into vessels to their liking. The
increase of learning among the people, aided by the discoveries and
inventions of the times, would change all this; for the people would
not be so ready to accept every wind of doctrine without some mental
cogitation and desire to have a reason given why things were thus and
so. Moreover, the revival of learning meant the end of many practices
and blasphemous doctrines advanced in the name of Jesus Christ, such
as the exercise of force over the consciences of men and the sale of
indulgences for the pardon of sin--if not the end, at least a wonderful
modification of such an evil system.
Early Translations of the Bible
Evidently this ruling ecclesiastical power realized that enlightened
conditions would bring rebellion against its authority. For that reason
stringent laws were framed to enforce the edicts and regulations of the
church of Rome. During the "Reformation" and before, there were several
translations of the Bible made in the languages which the common
people understood. Wycliffe's Bible appeared in 1380 and was followed
by translations at a later date, both in English and other tongues.
At first there was an attempt to destroy these copies which were
prepared without authority or sanction from the Catholic Church. With
the invention of printing in the fifteenth century, however, the cause
of religious freedom received a wonderful impetus, and Bibles were
distributed all over Europe. Before the time of printing a Bible cost
five hundred crowns, and such copies as were in existence were in the
keeping of the clergy, who guarded them with the utmost zeal. Through
the aid of printing, the price of Bibles was reduced to five crowns,
which made it possible for the people not only to have the privilege of
hearing the scriptures read in their own tongue, but also to acquire
the understanding by which they could read them for themselves.
Scripture-Reading Forbidden
An English chronicler, Henry Kneighton, many years before the
"Reformation" expressed the prevailing notion about the reading of
the scriptures when he denounced the general reading of the Bible,
lamenting "lest the jewel of the Church, hitherto the exclusive
property of the clergy and divines, should be made common to the
laity." Archbishop Arundel in England had issued an enactment that
"no part of the scriptures in English should be read, either in
public or in private, or be thereafter translated, under pain of the
greater excommunication." The New Testament translation of Erasmus was
forbidden at Cambridge, and the Vicar of Croyden said from his pulpit:
"We must root out printing, or printing will root us out." In the reign
of Henry VIII the reading of the Bible by the common people, or those
who were not of the privileged class, had been prohibited by act of
Parliament, and men were burned at the stake in England as well as in
the Netherlands and other parts of Europe for having even fragments of
the scriptures in their hands.
For those who were considered derelict in church duties or heretical in
doctrine, edicts were declared, forbidding them to gather in private
assemblies for devotion, in various parts of Europe. All reading of the
scriptures; all discussion within one's own doors concerning faith,
the sacraments, the papal authority, or other religious matter, was
forbidden "under penalty of death. The edicts were no dead letter.
The fires were kept constantly supplied with human fuel by monks who
knew the act of burning reformers better than of arguing with them.
The scaffold was the most conclusive of syllogisms, and used upon all
occasions" (_The Rise of the Dutch Republic_, Motley).
The Inquisition
Continuing this woeful account of conditions in the rebellious
Netherlands and other countries under Spanish rule, the author of _The
Rise of the Dutch Republic_ says: "Charles V introduced and organized a
papal institution, side by side with those horrible 'Placards' of his
invention, which constituted a masked inquisition even more cruel than
that of Spain. . . . The execution of the system was never permitted
to languish. The number of Netherlanders who were burned, strangled,
beheaded, or buried alive, in obedience to his edicts, and for the
offense of reading the scriptures, of looking askance at a graven
image, or of ridiculing the actual presence of the body and blood of
Christ in a wafer, have been placed as high as one hundred thousand by
distinguished authorities, and have never been put at a lower mark than
fifty thousand."
Dawning of a Better Day
Conditions like these could not go on forever. The dawn of a better day
began to break over the nations. The Spirit of the Lord was striving
with men and preparations commenced for the introduction into the world
of the re-established Gospel at a later day. It was necessary that the
shackles of superstitious fear and illiteracy, which bound the world
so completely, should be broken, that men might exercise their right
of free agency before the fulness of Gospel light should break forth.
Not only was advancement made in the art of printing, but there came a
revival of learning and research in all directions and in all parts of
Europe. It was not confined to one land or to one people, but the whole
of Europe took on a new life. The discovery of the telescope, the law
of gravitation, the invention of gunpowder and many other wonderful
things, were revolutionizing the thoughts of men.
The Mission of Columbus
With the discovery of the mariner's compass navigators became more
bold and daring, and gradually extended their explorations until they
discovered the way to India around the Cape of Good Hope. Near the
close of the fifteenth century the belief prevailed that the earth was
flat and inhabited only on the upper side. Beyond the shores of lands
then known it was thought there hung a pall of fog and darkness. The
sea was referred to as the "Sea of Darkness" beyond the boundaries
known to man. Far off in or beyond the ocean it was believed great
dragons had their lair, and if any man should be so unfortunate as to
drift among them he would return no more. Mariners had been afraid to
traverse the seas far beyond the sight of land. Shortly before the end
of this century there came one navigator more daring than his fellows,
who proposed to cross the sea. After many pleadings and attempts to
interest some one with means in the venture, he finally succeeded and
the remarkable feat was done. In accomplishing this he made discoveries
that the Lord, in his wisdom, had kept hid from the nations of the east
all down through the ages, until in his own due time he desired them
to be revealed. Columbus was moved upon by the Spirit of the Lord and
crossed the waters in fulfilment of predictions made by a prophet, who
lived on this continent, five hundred years before the birth of Christ.
The "Reformation"
All these things played an important part in the establishment of
individual and religious freedom. The most important agency of all in
this great work was doubtless the so-called "Reformation," which was
in fact a revolution from the bondage of the church of Rome. Great
men of intellectual power began to undermine the thraldom of the
religious world. This rebellion against the dominion of Rome was almost
simultaneous in the various lands. In England, Scandinavia, France,
Switzerland, the Netherlands and Germany, many "reformers" arose near
the end of the fifteenth and during the sixteenth century. They were of
varying degrees of enthusiasm and opposition to the teachings of that
time. In the beginning their only desire was to correct evils within
the Catholic Church, but failing in this many of them openly rebelled
and set up independent churches of their own.
Martin Luther
The greatest of these "reformers" was Martin Luther in Germany, who
did more than any other individual in casting off the yoke of bondage
placed upon the people by the papacy. Powerful princes came to his
aid, but there was not in Germany at that time the cohesion of the
people, or the centralization of power, that existed in England under
Henry VIII, or in Sweden, where Gustavus Vasa reigned. Luther's task,
therefore, was a heavy one, but he nobly carried it through to the
bitter end.
The Protestant Revolution a Preparatory Work
Their mission was not, however, to set up the Church or Christ, for
the time was not ripe, and that important event was reserved for
another generation. They were called to be forerunners of that eventful
day, and did much to prepare the world for the ushering in of the
Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. The Lord did not call them to
their great work by an opening of the heavens; by visitation of angel,
or direct communication, as in times of old; neither did any of them
claim that in this manner they had been called. Nevertheless it was
the Spirit of the Lord which rested upon them and inspired them to
fight against the abominations and practices of their times committed
in the name of religion. Such, at least, was the case with most of
them. The motive of Henry VIII of England, was a selfish one; yet the
Lord brought good out of it in behalf of religious freedom. At first
Henry opposed the rebellion of Luther and others most vigorously, even
writing in defense of the pope of Rome, for which service he received
the benediction of the pope and the title of "Defender of the Faith."
Afterwards, when his own interests where in conflict with the policy
of the Catholic Church and in no wise he could prevail, he became
rebellious, with the result that he was excommunicated by the pope. In
defense he established an independent church, known today as the Church
of England, of which he became the head. Parliament and the people were
back of him and thus the great state church of England was brought into
being.
Disagreement Among "Reformers"
The pity of it all is that these "reformers" when they established
their religious freedom, could not agree among themselves. They were
constantly in turmoil, contending one with another on points of
doctrine, which led to considerable bitterness and the establishing
of various and conflicting sects. Moreover, they had not learned the
lesson themselves, through all the persecutions they were forced to
suffer, that toleration was a fundamental principle of freedom. Because
this great lesson had not been learned the persecuted became the
persecutors in many cases, and were just as intolerant where they had
the power with those who disagreed with them as their enemies had been
with them.
America a Land of Freedom
Nevertheless the seeds of toleration had been sown, but they were of
slow growth. Toleration was a matter of education and therefore came by
degrees and could not burst forth in full fruition at once. Not until
there had been much shedding of blood in Europe, and more particularly
in America during the war for independence, were the people fully
awakened to this truth. It required a planting in new soil in a choice
land above all other lands. Here in America freedom and religious
toleration became a fundamental part of our great government. Our land
became a land of refuge for the afflicted, the downtrodden, and the
oppressed of other nations, who found in the United States a haven of
rest; for this land had been dedicated to liberty by the shedding of
blood.
Praise be to the great souls who conducted the Protestant Revolution.
They helped to make it possible for the establishment of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the early part of the nineteenth
century, preparatory to the second coming of the Son of God. For all
the good they did we honor them, and they shall receive their reward
which shall be great. They were not restorers, but were sent to prepare
the way for one who was yet to come with a mission of restoration and
everlasting power.
Part Two
Opening of the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times