FAITH.--REVELATION.
The evidence of tradition, confirmed by the works of nature, created
the assurance or faith in the minds of men that God existed; and that
faith led them to the performance of works of righteousness that
they might win his approbation; for doubtless, side by side with
the tradition of his existence, came also the idea that he loved
righteousness and truth, and those who wrought them. In other words,
it is but reasonable to suppose that Adam brought from the period of
his life on the other side of the Fall, some recollection of God's
character and attributes, as well as of his being: And so well pleased
was the Lord with the faith and works of some of these men, that he
revealed himself to them, made them acquainted with his laws, purposes
and designs, and conferred upon them authority to act in his name, as
his messengers to the children of men who had not sufficient faith to
seek for and enter into his presence. Such men have lived in various
ages of the world, and have ever been (or would have been, had the
people only received them) a blessing unto their generation.
Such a character was Enoch, whom we are told walked with God,[A] and
received a revelation from the Lord in which was made known to him
events to take place even down to the glorious coming of the Son of God
to execute judgment on the wicked.[B]
[Footnote A: Gen. v: 24.]
[Footnote B: Jude, 14, 15. For a more detailed account of the
revelations of God to Enoch, and the mighty work which that patriarch
did, the reader is referred to the Pearl of Great Price, pp. 18 to 29
inclusive.]
Noah also, the tenth from Adam, received a revelation from God, and was
made a messenger to the people of his generation, but they refused to
receive his testimony, and perished in their sins.
After Noah comes Abraham. He received special revelations from God,
being visited by him in the plains of Mamre as the patriarch dwelt
in a tent. It was at that time he received the promise of a son, and
was told of the intention of the Lord to destroy the wicked cities
of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah; whereupon Abraham pleaded for the
righteous that might be in the cities.[C] The Lord also gave him other
revelations concerning the organization of the heavens and the laws by
which they are governed; the order which was followed in the creation
of this earth, and some things pertaining to the redemption of man.[D]
[Footnote C: Gen. xviii.]
[Footnote D: Pearl of Great Price--Book of Abraham, pp. 33-47.]
The Lord also appeared unto Jacob in dreams and visions, and sent
angels unto him, and to his son Joseph also, but we pass by these and
come to the prophet Moses.
The first revelation the Lord gave to Moses, that we have any account
of, was at the burning bush, in Mount Horeb. There the Lord said to
him: "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to
look upon God."[E] Then and there the Lord commissioned him to go and
deliver Israel, in the performance of which labor he received many
manifestations that God was with him.
[Footnote E: Exodus iii: 6.]
In Exodus[F] we have an account of God's glorious descent upon Sinai in
the presence of all Israel, and the revelations that he gave to them
by his own voice: "And God spake all these words, saying, I am the
Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out
of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me."[G]
Then follow nine other commandments: "And all the people saw the
thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the
mountain smoking: And when the people saw it, they removed and stood
afar off. And they said unto Moses, speak thou with us, and we will
hear; but let not God speak with us lest we die. * * * And the Lord
said unto Moses, thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, ye
have seen that I have talked with you from heaven."[H]
[Footnote F: Exodus xix, xx.]
[Footnote G: Exodus xx: 1-3.]
[Footnote H: Exodus xx: 18, 19-22.]
Subsequently to this there was another grand revelation which the Lord
gave to a number of the leading Elders of Israel. Moses thus records
it: "Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of
the Elders of Israel: and they saw the God of Israel: and there was
under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it
were the body of heaven in its clearness, and upon the nobles of the
children of Israel, he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did
eat and drink."[I]
[Footnote I: Exodus xxiv: 9-11.]
Moses after this left the other Elders and went into the mount, where
he received the law of the Lord written by the hand of God on tables
of stone, and also was instructed how to build a tabernacle and the
ark of the covenant. Indeed, throughout the lifetime of Moses the
manifestations of God's power, and the revelations of his existence
were frequent, and came in so direct a manner that there is left no
room for doubt; for the Lord knew Moses face to face, so also knew
Moses the Lord, and left his testimony on record.
Time would fail me to tell of the revelations which God gave of himself
to Joshua, and the judges whom he raised up to rule in Israel; to
Samuel, and David and Solomon, and the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Daniel and the rest. I pass by all these and come to the
dispensation opened by the preaching of John the Baptist.
The first direct revelation of God's existence after the opening
of that dispensation was at the baptism of Jesus, the Son of God.
Matthew's testimony respecting this revelation is as follows: "And
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water:
and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he [John][J] saw the
Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him; and lo, a
voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well
pleased."[K] With this also agrees the testimony of both Mark and John.
[Footnote J: I supposed that John the Baptist was the only one who was
a witness of the Holy Ghost resting upon Jesus in the form of a dove.
In all the accounts given of this event, except by Luke, the pronoun
"he" referring to John, as in Matthew, is used. While in Luke it is
not said that anyone else saw it, but the fact is merely stated that
"the Holy Ghost descended in bodily shape like a dove and rested upon
him." John's own testimony is as follows: And John bore record saying,
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon
him. And I knew him not; but he that sent me to baptize with water, the
same said unto me, upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and
remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
(John i: 32, 33.)]
[Footnote K: Matt. iii: 16, 17.]
Then next in order, that is the next direct revelation, is on the
occasion of the transfiguration of Christ on the Mount, thus related
by Matthew: "After six days he taketh Peter, James and John, his
brother, and bringeth them up unto the high mountain apart, and was
transfigured before them: And his face did shine as the sun, and his
raiment was white as the light. And behold there appeared unto them
Moses and Elias, talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto
Jesus, it is good for us to be here, if thou wilt, let us build three
tabernacles; one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elias. While he
yet spake a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out
of the cloud, which said: This is my beloved son in whom I am well
pleased; hear ye him."[L] This same circumstance is also related by
Mark and Luke.
[Footnote L: Matt. xvii: 1-5.]
The New Testament is replete with testimonies of the existence of God,
both direct and indirect, but I shall here notice but one more; it will
be found recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.[M] It is given at the
martyrdom of Stephen. The Jews were so stung by Stephen's reproofs for
their hardness of heart, that they rushed upon him, "But he, being full
of the Holy Ghost, looked steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said. Behold I
see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand
of God."
[Footnote M: Chapter vii.]
As before stated, the testimonies in the New Testament to the existence
of God and his Son Jesus Christ are numerous. Indeed, I may say it is
the one grand truth which the writers in that volume of revelation
testify to; and around this primary fact, and dependent upon it for
their existence and importance, are arranged all the other facts
pertaining to man's redemption and future existence.
But I wish to turn from the witnesses in the Jewish scriptures to
others; for, numerous as those witnesses for God and Christ are among
the Jews, they are not the only ones.
In the Book of Mormon is an abridgment of the record of Ether, called
the Book of Ether. It gives a brief account of a colony which the
Lord led from the tower of Babel, where he confounded the language of
the people, to the Western hemisphere. The prophet who, under God's
direction, led this people in their journey, was the brother of one
Jared. At the command of God he had built eight barges or vessels in
which his company was to cross the mighty deep; and the brother of
Jared prayed to the Lord that he would provide a means whereby they
might have light in the barges, and he presented to the Lord sixteen
small stones and asked that he would touch them with his finger and
make them luminous, that they might give them light. And as the Lord,
in answer to the earnest prayer of his servant stretched forth his hand
to touch the stones, the brother of Jared saw the finger of the Lord,
and he was struck with fear. Yet receiving encouragement from God, he
asked the Lord to show himself to him, a petition which the Lord, in
consequence of the great faith of the man, granted him, and testified
to the redemption that he was yet to work out for the salvation of man.
The testimony of the brother of Jared was placed upon record and was
abridged by Moroni, and now comes to us in the sacred pages of the Book
of Mormon[N] as a witness for God.
[Footnote N: See Book of Ether in Book of Mormon, ch. iii.]
In the account given An the Book of Mormon of that colony which was led
from Jerusalem, about six hundred B. C., by Lehi; and in the history of
the nations that grew out of that colony, and flourished on the Western
hemisphere, are many testimonies as to the existence of God; too many,
in fact, to be enumerated here. All I can say is, that their prophets
were visited by angels from heaven, and they were instructed by dreams
and visions, in which were shown to them, in remarkable plainness, the
coming and mission of Messiah; the object to be attained by, and the
power of the Gospel of Christ. In all these things they were taught by
the inspiration of heaven, accompanied by wonderful demonstrations of
the presence and power of the Lord.
Then, in III Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, is an account of two
visits of the risen Redeemer to the Nephites (descendants of the
aforementioned Lehi), and of his labors among that people. Here, as
in Jerusalem, Jesus announced himself as the Son of God, and bore
testimony to the existence of his Father. The multitude, to whom he
first revealed himself, had the satisfaction of beholding the wounds in
his hands and in his feet and in his side; and this, that they might
know in very deed, that he was the one who had been slain in Jerusalem
by the Jews, for the sins of the world--that he was the one of whom
their prophets from the beginning had testified.
In the Book of Mormon, then, as in the Bible, is found a volume of
testimony of God's existence; indeed, I may say the accumulated
testimony of all the prophets of the Western hemisphere.
I now turn to the testimony of the prophet of our own day.
Joseph Smith, in giving an account of how he came to seek the Lord,
informs us that he read that passage in James which says: "If any of
you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."[O] In obedience to that
injunction, he retired to the woods to call upon the Lord, to learn
from him which of all the religious sects he should join, for their
division and contentions had perplexed his mind. For what occurred on
that occasion I quote his own words:
[Footnote O: James i: 5.]
"After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to
go, having looked around me and finding myself alone, I kneeled down
and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely
done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which
entirely overcame me, and had such astonishing influence over me as
to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered
round me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden
destruction. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me
out of the power of this enemy, which had seized upon me, and at the
very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to
destruction, not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual
being from the unseen world, who had such a marvelous power as I had
never before felt in any being--just at this moment of great alarm,
I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness
of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no
sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which
held me bound. When the light rested upon me, I saw two personages,
whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in
the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by my name and said
(pointing to the other), _this is my beloved son, hear him_."[P]
[Footnote P: Pearl of Great Price, pp. 87, 88.]
Such is the testimony that Joseph Smith bears to the existence of God
and his Son Jesus Christ; but there are other testimonies to follow.
In a revelation called "A Vision,"[Q] is found the testimony of both
Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, from which I make the following extract:
"We, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit on the
sixteenth of February in the year of the Lord 1832, by the power of the
Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened,
so as to see and understand the things of God--even those things which
were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of
the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of
the Father, even from the beginning, of whom we bear record, and the
record which we bear is the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who
is the Son, whom we saw, and with whom we conversed in the heavenly
vision. * * * And while we meditated upon these things, the Lord
touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the
glory of God shone round about; and we beheld the glory of the Son, on
the right hand of the Father, and received of his fullness; and saw the
holy angels, and they who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping
God and the Lamb, who worship him forever and ever. And now, after the
many testimonies which have been, given of him, this is the testimony
last of all which we give of him, that he lives; for we saw him, even
on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that he
is the Only Begotten of the Father--that by him and through him, and
of him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof
begotten sons and daughters unto God."
[Footnote Q: Doc. and Cov., sec. lxxvi.]
Surely their testimony lacks nothing to be desired either as to
directness or plainness.
In the Kirtland Temple, on the third of April, 1836, another revelation
of the existence of the Son of God was given, and another witness
was added to the list of those who in this dispensation have beheld
the Lord--this was Oliver Cowdery. I quote the following from the
revelation:
"The vail was taken from our [the prophet Joseph's and Oliver's] minds
and the eyes of our understanding were opened. We saw the Lord standing
upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us, and under his feet was
a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber. His eyes were as a
flame of fire, the hair of his head was white like the pure snow, his
countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and his voice was as
the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah,
saying--I am the first and the last, I am he who liveth, I am he who
was slain, I am your advocate with the Father. Behold, your sins are
forgiven you, you are clean before me, therefore lift up your heads
and rejoice; let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the
hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this
house[R] to my name, for behold I have accepted this house, and my name
shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people in mercy in this
house."[S]
[Footnote R: The Kirtland Temple.]
[Footnote S: Doc. and Cov., sec. ex, 1-7.]
Such, in brief, are some of the direct testimonies we have from the
Jewish and Nephite scriptures, and from the writings of inspired men in
our own day concerning the existence of God and his Son Jesus Christ.
And surely if human testimony can establish anything--any matter of
fact, then the fact of God's existence is so established. The testimony
comes from such a variety of sources, is delivered in so many different
ages, from the first to the present, yet all blending so harmoniously,
that it leaves nothing to be desired in point of consistency or
harmony, quality or quantity.
Let me here observe, in concluding this chapter, that God is no
respecter of persons; but they who will approach him in faith, as these
characters did, whose testimonies we have been examining, may have
a knowledge of his existence also. But--adapting to my purpose the
language of the Doctrine and Covenants[T]--after any portion of the
human family are made acquainted--either through tradition, or the
testimony of those who have sought and found him--with the important
fact that there is a God who has created and does uphold all things,
the extent of their personal knowledge respecting his character and
glory, will depend upon their diligence and faithfulness in seeking
after him; until, like Enoch, the brother of Jared, Moses, Joseph
Smith, and Oliver Cowdery, they shall obtain faith in God, and power to
behold him face to face.
[Footnote T: Lecture II, on Faith, verse 55.]