A BAPTISM AND A CONVERSATION ON MARRIAGE.
It will be remembered that on the evening of Mr. Durant's speech in the
Town Hall at Westminster, an old lady came to him at the close of the
meeting and whispered a "God bless you" to him. The truths uttered by
him had made a deep impression upon her and were working to bear fruit.
She had now made application to be baptized, convinced, as she was, of
the truths of the gospel, and that this servant of God was authorized,
by direct calling from Him through revelation, to perform the solemn
ceremony. It was agreed, therefore, that the baptism should take place
on an afternoon some time before the day of his departure to his home
in the West.
He made it a point to obtain a conversation with the lady, and show
to her the importance of the step she was about to take. It is no
simple or indifferent affair. It is a contract with God, fraught with
wonderful results, to the person who makes it, that will either lead to
rich blessings or to condemnation. When one man makes a contract with
another, the breaker of such a contract must be willing to suffer the
ignominy attending his deceit. In baptism, the subject makes a solemn
vow with his Creator, and, rising from the waters in which he is buried
in the likeness of the death of Christ, he should thenceforth walk in
newness of life, and should not serve sin. He is made free from sin,
and becomes a servant to God, he has his fruit unto holiness and the
end is everlasting life. (Romans vi.)
The earnestness of the new convert's faith and repentance was inquired
into, and it was pointed out to her that she should prepare herself to
receive the testimony of the Spirit, which is made known to different
individuals in different ways not always by unusual manifestations, but
frequently by the calm self-consciousness of peace that comes from a
performance of righteous acts, in which the Spirit bears witness with
our spirit that we are the children of God, heirs and joint heirs with
Christ. We must not look for approval from friends, relatives or people
of the world, in taking this step, but be prepared to suffer with
Christ that we may be also glorified with Him, and exclaim with Paul:
"I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to
be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." (Rom. viii:
18.) Like Christ, one must bear the cross upon the lone way, full of
hope, confidence and zeal, knowing that the end is everlasting life.
Having said this much, and given many other incidental instructions,
that would thoroughly impress the new convert with the sacredness and
importance of the step about to be taken, Mr. Durant, members of the
Marshall family, and a number of strangers, anxious to witness the
ceremony, made their way, on a pleasant afternoon, to a beautiful wood
where a stream wound its clear, slow waters in fantastic forms to empty
into one of the large rivers. The autumn tints, the sun casting its
warm influence to the earth through the gray atmosphere, the rustle of
the wind in the falling leaves, and the beauty of nature all around,
made the scene grand and romantic. Some who had gone along to make
sport of the "Mormon baptism," were awed into strange silence by the
beauty of the scene, and by the solemnity and scripture-like simplicity
of the ceremony. After a word of prayer had been offered, in which Mr.
Durant invoked the blessings of God upon the ordinance about to be
performed, and asked that all disturbing spirits might be banished, he
took the lady by the hand and waded with her out into the water, and,
in the stillness which followed (those upon the shore unconsciously
remaining uncovered), he was heard to say, as he held the old lady's
hands in his left, and raised his right hand into the air: "Julia
Howard, having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the
name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
Then he immersed her in the water, and both came forth again out of the
water.
The company soon dispersed, and upon arrival at her home, the new
convert was confirmed, she preferring this to having that ordinance
performed upon the water's edge, which is frequently done. Mr. Durant
placed his hands upon her head, and by virtue of his calling and
authority, confirmed her a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, and, in the manner of the apostles of old, bestowed
upon her the gift of the Holy Ghost which he promised should be a light
to her all her days.
The Elder was about to leave, having welcomed the new member and
congratulated her upon the step she had taken, when he was somewhat
surprised by a remark she made in which she expressed a desire to
gather with the Saints.
The spirit of gathering had already rested upon her, and he explained
to her the importance of this principle of the gospel. The Father
desires that His children shall be gathered in unto one place where
their hearts shall be prepared against the day when tribulation and
desolation shall come upon the wicked. The Psalmist referred to this
subject and exclaimed: "Gather my Saints together who have made a
covenant with me by sacrifice." (Ps. 1: 5.) Isaiah, looking to the
future, saw that in the last days the mountain of the Lord's house
should be established in the tops of the mountains to which all nations
should go. (Isaiah ii: 2.) Here the Lord was to give them one heart,
and make an everlasting covenant with them. (Isaiah xxxii: 37-44.)
And in that day the Lord should set His hand again the second time
to recover the remnants of His people. (Isaiah xi: 11-16.) John, the
revelator, saw this time, and heard a voice from heaven saying: "Come
out of her [Babylon] my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins
and that ye receive not of her plagues." (Rev. xviii: 4.) It was,
therefore, in strict accordance with the scriptures that she should
have the desire to gather, as well as that the Saints should have an
assembling place where they might learn to walk in the paths of God
more strictly than in the world. There are ordinances, too, to be
performed in the holy temples, for the living and the dead, that cannot
be done elsewhere. It is not well, however, that this act of gathering
should be considered thoughtlessly and in haste, but rather with
deliberation and careful forethought.
In the conversation, Elder Durant had incidentally remarked, that
marriage was not only for time but also for all eternity. The newly
wedded couple, Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland, who had remained to witness the
confirmation, were naturally interested in this, and the subject was
further inquired into by them.
"What is the belief of the Latter-day Saints in relation to marriage?"
said Mr. Sutherland.
"We believe," said Durant, "that marriage is ordained of God, and is
binding for eternity, when properly performed by a servant of God
having authority."
"Then it would appear that you believe in the family relation
continuing throughout eternity?"
"Certainly, why not? Everything that is done by the Lord receives the
impress of eternity. That being the case, marriage, being sanctioned
and ordained of Him, is also eternal if performed by one having power
as the ancient apostles had, to bind on earth and it should be bound in
heaven. It then becomes a work of God, and, as the Preacher exclaims:
'I know that whatsoever God doeth it shall be forever; nothing can be
put to it, nor anything taken from it.' (Eccles. iii: 14.) Can you
think of anything more comforting than that the loving ties formed in
this world are to endure through out the ages of eternity?"
"It is certainly more pleasant than to dwell upon a union that shall
last only 'till death do you part;' but what proofs have you that your
view of the matter is correct?"
"In the first marriage that was ever performed, when the Creator joined
together Adam and Eve as the parents of the human race, we have no
record of its being done to last only 'till death do you part,' and
we do not learn that He set any limit to the continuance of their
marriage relations. Why should we doubt that the gift of Eve to Adam,
was designed to be eternal? They were married before the Fall, before
death came into the world. They were eternal beings not subject to
death; death was not considered when God gave her to be his companion
and helpmeet. Why then should we conclude that death should void the
contract or separate them any more than that it should destroy the
spirit? If their spirits could be restored with resurrected bodies,
why should not the eternal work of God in joining them as one remain
unbroken? The whole second chapter of Genesis breathes the spirit of
everlasting union between Adam and Eve. In the eighteenth verse we are
told by the Lord that, 'it is not good that the man should be alone.'
Adam, the man, was created an eternal being, and when God said that
it was not good for him to be alone, we must conclude it was not good
that he should be alone in immortality; so the Lord gave him Eve for
no particular period of his life, but evidently, as she was also an
eternal being, to be his wife forever the union to last as long as they
should last eternally."
"That seems reasonable, and it is a pleasant hope you have," said
Claire.
"With us it is more than a hope; it is knowledge. There are other
passages of scripture which bear upon the inseparable connection
between man and wife, in marriage as ordained of God. Paul (Eph. v: 22)
says: 'The husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head
of the Church.' Christ remains forever the head of the Church, and even
so the husband remains the head of the wife eternally."
"What do you mean by saying 'in marriage as ordained of God?' Is not
all marriage ordained of Him?" said Mr. Sutherland.
"By marriage as ordained of God, I mean marriage performed in the
way He has appointed, by a man whom He has authorized to act in His
stead. What man does of himself, without authority from God, must be
like him limited to this life. Now, like the authority to baptize,
this authority to marry in the way God has ordained, must come by
revelation from Him, for no man can take these honors to himself. To
find this authority, we must look for it among a people who believe in
revelation, and not among churches who declare that the heavens are
sealed, and that no further revelation is necessary."