The Project Gutenberg EBook of Saturday Night Thoughts, by Orson F. Whitney This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: Saturday Night Thoughts A Series of Dissertations on Spiritual, Historical, and Philosophic Themes Author: Orson F. Whitney Release Date: March 6, 2018 [EBook #56691] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SATURDAY NIGHT THOUGHTS *** Produced by the Mormon Texts Project (http://mormontextsproject.org), with thanks to Jenna Dilts and Villate Brown McKitrick SATURDAY NIGHT THOUGHTS A Series of Dissertations on Spiritual, Historical and Philosophic Themes BY ORSON F. WHITNEY Of the Council of the Twelve, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH: THE DESERET NEWS 1921 FOREWORD Most of the contents of this volume appeared originally as a series of articles in Saturday issues of the Deseret Evening News, beginning October 26, 1918, and ending May 31, 1919. As stated by the News, these articles "were designed to fill in some degree a spiritual void and meet a special need of those who were in the habit of attending Sunday services, but were denied that privilege by the prevalence of the influenza epidemic." That epidemic caused a suspension of public gatherings for several months, and even made necessary the postponement of one General Conference of the Church. It was during this period of suspension that these contributions to the Church organ began. They were given place on the editorial page, and subsequently the News said of them: "These 'Thoughts' have subserved a far more than temporary and passing purpose—they have stimulated study and deep reflection, and they have been greatly enjoyed and prized by the thoughtful reader everywhere." Among those who uttered similar sentiments was President George H. Brimhall, of the Brigham Young University, who, in a letter to the author, expressed the hope that provision would be made for publication of the essays in book form, "thus adding one more choice volume to Latter-day Saint literature, especially suited to the needs of students at home and missionaries abroad." Like expressions came from President Heber J. Grant, Senator Reed Smoot, President John A. Widtsoe, of the University of Utah, and many other prominent people. In response to this cordial, widespread sentiment of appreciation, and under the sanction of the General Authorities of the Church, the "Saturday Night Thoughts" were compiled for republication, and the result is here presented. May, 1921 THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS Part One—Our Place In History Article One: The Saturday Evening of Time Article Two: The Watch On The Tower Article Three: Concerning Names and Vocations Article Four: The Choice Seer Article Five: The Land of Zion Part Two—Seership and Prophecy Article Six: What Joseph Beheld Article Seven: What Joseph Foretold Article Eight: Looking Westward Article Nine: The Place of Safety Part Three.—A Marvel and a Wonder Article Ten: The Wisdom That Perishes Article Eleven: The God Story Article Twelve: The Great Vicissitudes Article Thirteen: The Gospel Dispensations Part Four.—A Glance Down the Ages Article Fourteen: The Adamic Age Article Fifteen: Enoch and His City Article Sixteen: Noah and the Deluge Article Seventeen: Abraham and the House of Israel Article Eighteen: Moses and Aaron Article Nineteen: To the Ends of the Earth Part Five.—In Time's Meridian Article Twenty: The Lamb of God Article Twenty-one: The Special Witnesses Part Six.—The Era of Restitution Article Twenty-two: The Call of the Shepherd Article Twenty-three: The Zion of Latter Days Article Twenty-four: Redemption by Power Article Twenty-five: Clearing the Way Article Twenty-six: God's Hand Upon the Nations Article Twenty-seven: The Consummation Part Seven.—Powers and Principles Article Twenty-eight: The Priesthood Article Twenty-nine: Church Government Article Thirty: The Law of Obedience Article Thirty-one: The Divine Doorway Article Thirty-two: The Second Birth Article Thirty-three: Meaning and Mode of Baptism Article Thirty-four: The Gospel's Accessories Article Thirty-five: What Are Miracles? Article Thirty-six: The Mainspring of Power Part Eight.—Beyond the Horizon Article Thirty-seven: The Spirit World Article Thirty-eight: Spirit Promptings Article Thirty-nine: Do the Dead Return? Article Forty: The Goal Eternal NAMES AND ABBREVIATIONS The usual Bible abbreviations are retained. Hist. Ch. stands for History of the Church. D. & C. for Doctrine and Covenants. Nephi, Jacob, Omni, Mormon, Mosiah, Alma and Ether, will be recognized as names belonging to the Book of Mormon. The Book of Moses, shortened to Moses, and the Book of Abraham, abbreviated to Abr., will be found within the lids of the Pearl of Great Price. Other abbreviations, such as vol. for volume, p. or pp. for page or pages, v. or vv. for verse or verses and ib. for ibid (the same) are in such common use as scarcely to require mention. PART ONE OUR PLACE IN HISTORY Saturday Night Thoughts ARTICLE ONE. The Saturday Evening of Time. The Sixth Day.—Saturday, in Christian lands, is a day set apart for house-cleaning, a time for "putting things to rights," in preparation for the Sabbath, the sacred day of rest. Preliminary to the condition of purity, order and quietness especially desirable on that day, the house, in domestic parlance, is "upset"—"turned topsy-turvy." Furniture is moved and dusted, floors are scrubbed, windows cleaned, and stoves polished; the body is bathed, all rubbish burned, and everything done that ought to be done, so that when night is past and glorious morning dawns, the rising sun can smile approvingly on a renovated, sweet and wholesome scene, and the Lord's Day be kept, as He intended it should be, in cleanliness, which is "next to godliness." Is there not something symbolical in all this—something suggestive of things higher? All Things Symbolical.—"All things are in a scale," says Plato; "and begin where we will, ascend and ascend. All things are symbolical; and what we call results are beginnings."[1] If this be true, then is there a symbolism in small things as well as in great, in endings as well as beginnings, including the ending and beginning of the week. Saturday and Sunday are both symbolical, each suggesting and pointing to something above and beyond. The World's Sabbath.—Who among men first recognized in the seventh day a symbol of Christ's Millennial reign, I know not. The reign itself was the theme of a revelation as early as the days of Enoch.[2] But it is obvious that the symbolism of the seventh day does not stand alone. The idea of a greater Sunday carries with it the idea of a greater Saturday, of which all lesser Saturdays are typical; a time of agitation, of strenuous toil and strife, during which all will be made ready for the blest sabbatic era, the period of universal peace. The World's Saturday Night must necessarily precede the World's Sunday Morning.[3] The Apocalyptic Book.—The symbolism of the Sabbath, and the symbolism of other days as well, is plainly indicated in the writings of Joseph Smith. In one place he says—or the Lord says through him: "All things have their likeness, and are made to bear record of Me."[4] We need not be surprised, therefore, to find among the Prophet's teachings this—I quote now from his Key to the Apocalypse: "What are we to understand by the book which John saw, which was sealed on the back with seven seals?[5] "We are to understand that it contains the revealed will, mysteries, and works of God; the hidden things of his economy concerning this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence. "What are we to understand by the sounding of the trumpets, mentioned in the 8th chapter of Revelations? "We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth; even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man, and judge all things—unto the end of all things; and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work in the beginning of the seventh thousand years—the preparing of the way before the time of his coming."[6] Seven Great Days.—The "days" here referred to were not ordinary days of twenty-four hours each, based upon earth's diurnal revolutions. He who "made the world" before placing man upon it, had not then appointed unto Adam his reckoning.[7] They were not man's days, but God's days, each having a duration of a thousand years. "The book which John saw" represented the real history of the world—what the eye of God has seen, what the recording angel has written; and the seven thousand years, corresponding to the seven seals of the Apocalyptic volume, are as seven great days during which Mother Earth will fulfill her mortal mission, laboring six days and resting upon the seventh, her period of sanctification. These seven days do not include the period of our planet's creation and preparation as a dwelling place for man. They are limited to Earth's "temporal existence," that is, to Time, considered as distinct from Eternity. According to Kolob.—The Prophet's translation of the Book of Abraham explains that these greater days are "after the time" or according to the reckoning of Kolob, a mighty governing planet nearest the Celestial Throne, a planet revolving once in a thousand years.[8] This period, then, is a day upon Kolob. One might well suppose such a day to have figured in the warning given to Adam: "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die;"[9] for Adam, after eating of the forbidden fruit, lived on to the age of nine hundred and thirty years.[10] St. Peter may have had the same thing in mind when he wrote: "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day."[11] At the Week's End.—According to received chronology—admittedly imperfect, yet approximately correct—four thousand years, or four of the seven great days given to this planet as the period of its "temporal existence," had passed before Christ was crucified; while nearly two thousand years have gone by since. Consequently, Earth's long week is now drawing to a close, and we stand at the present moment in the Saturday Evening of Time, at or near the end of the sixth day of human history. Is it not a time for thought, a season for solemn meditation? Morning will break upon the Millennium, the thousand years of peace, the Sabbath of the World! House-Cleaning in Progress.—Marvel not, therefore, that all things are in commotion. War, famine, pestilence, earthquake, tempest and tidal wave—these are among the predicted signs of the Savior's second coming.[12] Tyranny and wickedness must be overthrown, and the way prepared for Him who, though gracious and merciful to all, and forgiving to sinners who repent, "cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance."[13] Earth must be freed from oppression and cleansed from all iniquity. It is God's House; and He is coming to live in it, and to make of it a glorified mansion. House-cleaning is in progress, and Saturday's work must be done and out of the way, before the Lord of the Sabbath appears. Footnotes 1. "Plato," Emerson's "Representative Men," Altemus edition, 1895, p. 71. 2. Moses 7:48, 61, 64. 3. "Rabbinical commentators have expressed the opinion that after six millenniums of years, there will come a seventh, with rest and peace. Paul (2 Thess. 1:7) points to the coming of Christ as the time when the Saints would find 'rest;' and he also argues (Heb. 4:1-11) that there remaineth a 'rest' to the people of God. The word he uses means a 'sabbathism' or sabbath observance, and he refers to the coming of the Lord."—J. M. Sjodahl. 4. Moses 6:63. 5. Rev. 5 and 6. 6. D. and C. 77:6, 12. 7. Abr. 5:13. 8. Abr. 3:4. 9. Gen. 2:17. 10. Ib. 5:5. This, of course, refers to the temporal life. Adam died spiritually as soon as he had transgressed the divine command. Shut out from the Heavenly Presence, he was dead as to the things of the Spirit. (D. and C. 29:40, 41.) 11. 2 Peter 3:8. 12. Matt. 24; D. and C. 87, 88. 13. D. and C. 1:31, 32. ARTICLE TWO. The Watch on the Tower. "Haunted Houses."—Several years since, a learned gentleman was lecturing in some of our Utah towns, taking for his theme "Haunted Houses." That was his way of describing the situation of those who put faith in prophets, visions and revelations, as among the means whereby God communicates with man. He invited all such to come out of their "haunted houses," and build for their souls "more stately mansions," founded upon the rock of reason and scientific truth. The lecturer had special reference, of course, to the followers of the Prophet Joseph Smith. A Fundamental Belief.—A belief in prophets and in spiritual gifts, whereby come visions, revelations, and miraculous "signs," following and confirming full and true belief,[1] is fundamental with the Latter-day Saints. We regard the founding of our Church as a fulfillment of prophecy,[2] and recognize in the decadence of long established systems of religion, a result of failure to be guided and governed by the teachings and warnings of men divinely inspired. "Where there is no vision, the people perish."[3] Where there is no revelation, spiritual darkness reigns. Not a Chance World.—We are not living in a world of chance. Things do not occur haphazardly, without the care or cognizance of the omniscient and omnipotent Ruler. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without his notice. Design, not accident, governs the universe. Neither man nor Satan, though exercising to the full his free agency, can possibly thwart the Divine Will. With all their schemings and strivings, they are powerless to destroy or disarrange God's Plan, or to hinder the fulfillment of prophecy. All things, both the evil and the good, are overruled in a way to subserve one and the same great end—What Eternal Wisdom decreed before the foundation of the world. The Function of Prophecy.—The need for prophecy must be evident to any pious and reflective mind. Prophets are as watchmen on the tower, noting the time of night, telling of the approaching dawn. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets."[4] This means, as I interpret it, that the all-wise Dispenser of human affairs will neither cause nor permit any event to take place, concerning which the world need to have fore-knowledge, until he has communicated with his chosen servants, his oracles among men, and has given them due notice of its approach. To warn mankind of impending judgments; to prepare His people, and through them the world at large, for changes that must come in the carrying out of the divine program—changes necessary to human progress—is the function of those who see into the future and make known the word and will of the Universal Father. Time for Preparation.—Even without the Prophet Amos and his inspired utterance, we have every reason to feel assured, from what we know of the divine attributes, that God, in his dealings with man, harbors no intent to take what is known as "a snap judgment." His object being to save, not to destroy, it is very far from his design that the world shall be caught unawares, that men or nations shall be involved in trouble of which they have had no warning, and for which, consequently, they could make no preparation. The promised sending of Elijah the Prophet "before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord," was in order that certain things might be done which, if left undone, would cause that "coming" to "smite the earth with a curse."[5] Not that the Lord wishes to curse. His object, even in chastisement, is to bless.[6] But a want of preparedness can change a blessing into a curse. Messiah's glorious appearing will be a wonderful blessing to the earth and its inhabitants, provided they are made ready for it. But a lack of readiness on their part would convert the boon into a calamity. Hence the need of preparation and of previous notice. Whether weal or woe is wending its way earthward, it is only fair that men should be told of it in advance. The Supernatural Discredited.—But there is a proneness in human nature to discredit the Heaven-sent messenger. Almost invariably the supernatural is discounted, if not derided, by ultra-practical minds. All miracles are myths to the agnostic intellect. "The natural man is an enemy to God." Dead Prophets Preferred.—Even those who revere the prophets of the past are tempted to ignore the prophets of the present. It seems natural to turn from What Is and bow down to What Has Been. Not only prophets, but poets, philosophers, and other wise and worthy teachers have been treated in this manner. "Seven cities claimed the birth of Homer, dead, Through which the living Homer begged for bread." The Savior reproved the pious unbelievers of his generation for "garnishing the sepulchres of the righteous," the dead seers and revelators, and at the same time rejecting the living worthies, as their fathers had done before them.[7] A professed reverence for Moses and the old-time prophets was a prominent characteristic of those who spurned the greatest of all prophets, the very Son of God, concerning whom Moses and other seers had testified. And this same spirit, the spirit that crucified the Christ, has caused the martyrdom of His servants in all ages. Counterfeit and Genuine.—For the widely prevalent distrust felt toward men who come burdened with a message from on High, false prophets and the mischief they have wrought are largely responsible. But distrust, no less than credulity, can be overdone. Caution against imposition is commendable, but doubt that rejects truth is to be deprecated and condemned. All prophets are not false. There can be no counterfeit without a genuine; and to proclaim against the one is virtually to concede the existence of the other. A Test of Prophecy.—A simple and sure test of prophecy is furnished in the following passage of Holy Writ: "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously."[8] By this standard of judgment can be tested all that prophetic inspiration has ever uttered. Given enough time, "the thing" will clearly demonstrate whether or not it was "spoken presumptuously." A Serious Situation.—Ponder upon this, ye who hear the testimonies of the Elders of Israel, preaching the restored Gospel of the Kingdom as a final witness to the nations. And when you see coming to pass, in these days of war, pestilence and calamity, the predictions of ancient and modern seers, give a thought, a serious thought to the situation. Ask yourselves if you can afford to be classed, either with those who look upon believers in spiritual gifts as deluded dupes living in "haunted houses," or with those who extol the prophets of former ages, and persecute or ignore the prophets of the present time. Footnotes 1. Mark 16:17. 2. Isa. 29:14. 3. Prov. 29:18. 4. Amos 3:7. 5. Mal. 4:5, 6. 6. Prov. 3:11, 12. 7. Matt. 23:29. 8. Deut. 18:22. ARTICLE THREE. Concerning Names and Vocations. Is Not This The Farmer's Son?—Some such paraphrase was probably in the mind, possibly upon the lips, of more than one opponent of the religion termed "Mormonism," when its supposed author, Joseph Smith, started out upon his remarkable career. And it was deemed by them, no doubt, a sufficient answer to his extraordinary claims. True and False Standards.—"A tree is known by its fruit." This proverb, accepted by the wise and just almost as a truism, seems to have no place in the philosophy of some people, especially when a servant of the Lord is the object of their critical contemplation. "What do men say of him?" is frequently the only criterion by which such a character is judged. And is it not manifestly unfair? When a prophet comes from God with a message for mankind, what matters the name given to that message, or to that messenger, by those unfriendly to the cause he represents? "The Carpenter's Son."—Those who rejected the Man of Nazareth when he proclaimed himself the Son of God, doubtless thought they had disposed of him effectually by referring to him sneeringly as "The carpenter's son;" this slight, with others put upon him by his neighbors, causing Jesus to remark: "A prophet is not without honor save in his own country and in his own house."[1] Effect of Nearness.—His nearness was against him. There was no "distance" to "lend enchantment to the view." His name and humble vocation made his marvelous claims seem impossible. It could not be that God would make a prophet out of a carpenter's son—a prophet mightier than Moses or any of the ancient seers—and give to him such a common name as Jesus, another form of Joshua.[2] It was unbelievable, absurd, to most. Therefore were they justified, as they supposed, in withholding from him recognition and honor. "And He did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief." History Repeats.—As with the carpenter's, so with the farmer's son—each was objected to upon similar grounds. Nor was it a new thing in human experience. That which called forth criticism had occurred many times in other ages when God had raised up prophets and seers. Probably most of them were selected from among the plain people, and were comparatively unknown to men when the Lord called them. Moses an Exception.—Moses was a signal exception. He had been reared as a prince in the palace of the king of Egypt; but that was because Pharaoh's daughter, having found the homeless infant at the water's edge, thenceforth had charge of him and his education. Prince he was, regardless of that princely training; but he was not the only prince in Israel. They were "a nation of kings and priests," though most of them walked in ways that were lowly. A Herdsman Prophet.—Prophets are not chosen for their worldly culture or their social position. A plain-going farmer, no less than a college professor, may be gifted with prophetic power and be called to exercise it for the good of his fellows. Amos, according to his own statement, "was no prophet," nor "a prophet's son." That is to say, he had not been trained in any school of the prophets, such as existed in Old Testament times.[3] He was not, like Jeremiah, the son of a priest.[4] He was a herdsman and a fruit-gatherer when the word of the Lord came to him: "Go, prophesy unto my people Israel."[5] Prophets Foreordained.—A prophet's name, his place of birth, and the character of his everyday calling, are matters of little moment compared with other things pertaining to him. What of his state and standing before he came on earth? This is a far more important consideration. God's prophets are chosen before they are born,[6] and are sent into the world as He needs them. Their aims are high and holy. They desire the welfare and happiness of the race. Yet almost invariably their motives are misunderstood, and they and their followers are opposed and persecuted. The Vital Question.—Does this man come from God? That is the only question worthy of immediate attention, when a prophet, or one professing to be such appears. And his word alone need not be taken as conclusive. There are ways and means of testing a prophet's claim—and that, too, without awaiting the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of some prediction by or concerning him. Honest, prayerful men and women, with even moderate discernment, need not be deceived by any pious or impious pretender. God would not leave his children at the mercy of imposters. The sheep have a right to be protected from the wolves. "Try the Spirits."—"Many false prophets are gone out into the world."[7] But there is a Spirit that discerns between true and false, between spurious and genuine, and anyone who seeks it aright may have "the inspiration of the Almighty," which giveth to the spirit of man "understanding."[8] Moreover, the Letter as well as the Spirit is a guide. What has been revealed in times past helps to interpret what is now revealed. Truth is always consistent with itself. Heaven-inspired men do not contradict one another. Their teachings harmonize and are dependable. The spirit of contention is essentially evil.[9] "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them."[10] "Old Joe Smith."—Were these tests applied to Joseph Smith in the early part of the nineteenth century? Yes, by some; and they received the promised testimony of the Truth, the absolute evidence of the divinity of this Prophet's mission. But by far the greater number of those to whom he fain would have ministered, rejected him summarily and without investigation. To them he was only "Joe Smith"—"Old Joe Smith"—old indeed in wisdom, though young in earthly years, yielding up his life as a martyr at the early age of thirty-eight. His claim to being an oracle of God was deemed preposterous, blasphemous; and his religion, the pure Gospel of Christ, was denounced as the world's worst delusion and snare. Badges of Honor.—But bad names, wrongly bestowed, hurt the giver, rather than the receiver. Blame and ridicule, when applied to the righteous, are badges of honor, worn by true prophets and true principles in all ages. It does not do away with a man of God to pelt him with nicknames and opprobrious epithets. Persecution may end his earthly career, but it cannot confute his claim nor invalidate his testimony. The name of the martyred modern Seer, despite the clouds of calumny enveloping it, shines out from amidst the darkness that comprehended him not. His glorious Lord and Master, crucified as an imposter, put to death for maintaining that he was more than the world believed him to be, gave the only Name given under heaven whereby men can be saved. Footnotes 1. Matt. 13:55-57. 2. "Jesus" is the Greek form of the Hebrew "Joshua," frequently met with in Ezra and Nehemiah. It was pronounced "Joshua" by the early Jews. Other forms of the name are "Hosea" or "Hoshea," "Oshea" and "Jehoshua." 3. 1 Sam. 10:10; 19:20. 2 Kings 2:3; 4:38; 6:1. 4. Jer. 1:1. 5. Amos 7:14, 15. 6. Abr. 3:23; Jer. 1:5. 7. 1 John 4:1 8. Job 32:8. 9. 3 Nephi 11:29, 30. 10. Isa. 8:20. ARTICLE FOUR. The Choice Seer. A Prenatal Naming.—Let us now take a closer view of this marvelous man, Joseph Smith, the most extraordinary character that has appeared upon our planet in the past two thousand years. His coming into the world fulfilled a prophecy uttered many centuries before his birth—a prophecy concerning "a choice seer," to be raised up "out of the loins" of Joseph who was sold into Egypt. The seer's name was likewise to be Joseph, and this also was to be the name of his father.[1] That prophecy was fulfilled in Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Joseph the Seer"—so is he designated by divine revelation.[2] Like great Cyrus, who liberated the Jews from their captivity in Babylon,[3] the Lord's anointed in modern times, raised up to begin the work of Israel's final and complete redemption, was named and his mission outlined long before he had tabernacled in the flesh. Why he came gifted with the power of seership, was made manifest at the very beginning of his career. Birth and Parentage.—Joseph the Seer was born at Sharon, Vermont, two days before Christmas, in the year 1805. When only a lad, living with his parents, Joseph and Lucy Smith, honest farm folk in the backwoods of Western New York, his career as a prophet began. In Quest of Wisdom.—Partly from the effects of a religious revival held in his neighborhood, he became much concerned upon the subject of his soul's salvation, but was bewildered and unable to make choice of a church or creed, owing to the diverse and conflicting claims of the various Christian sects. While in this mood, he chanced upon the following passage of scripture: "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."[4] Deeply impressed with the sacred words, he forthwith resolved to ask from God the wisdom of which he stood in need. The First Vision.—Retiring to a grove near his father's home, he knelt in prayer to the Most High; but had scarcely begun his humble and earnest petition, when he was seized upon by a power that filled his soul with horror and paralyzed his tongue so that he could no longer speak. So terrible was the visitation, that he almost gave way to despair. Yet he continued to pray—in thought, with "the soul's sincere desire"—and just at the moment when he feared he must abandon himself to destruction, he saw, directly over his head, a light more brilliant than the noonday sun. In the midst of a pillar of glory he beheld two beings in human form, one of whom, pointing to the other, said: "This is my beloved Son, hear Him."[5] All Churches Astray.—With the appearance of the Light, the boy found himself delivered from the fettering power of the Evil One. As soon as he could again command utterance, he inquired of his heavenly visitants which of all the religious denominations was right—which one was the true Church of Christ? To his astonishment, he was told that none of them was right; that they had all gone out of the way. Their creeds were an abomination, and their professors corrupt. "They draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they teach for doctrine the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof." So spake the Son of God concerning the churches.[6] He declared that he did not recognize any of them; but was about to restore the Everlasting Gospel, with the powers of the Eternal Priesthood, and establish his Church once more in the midst of mankind. Such was Joseph Smith's first vision and revelation. It came in the spring of 1820, when he was but a few months over fourteen years of age. The Divine Personality.—The greater part of this wonderful manifestation was the part that did not speak—the silent revealing of the personality of God; a truth plainly taught in the Scriptures, but ignored or denied by modern Christianity. The object worshiped by the sects was defined in their theology as a being "without body, parts or passions."[7] That was the popular concept of Deity throughout Christendom when Joseph Smith and "Mormonism" came forth. In line with this tenet and teaching, an English poet of the eighteenth century had represented God as a "Mind" or "Soul" that Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees, Lives through all life, extends through all extent, Spreads undivided, operates unspent.[8] These beautiful couplets admirably describe the Spirit of the Lord—that all-pervading energy or essence which proceeds from the Divine Presence, fills the immensity of space, is everywhere present, and is immanent in all creation. But they give no adequate idea of the Great Creator, "the father of the spirits" of men,[9] who sent into the world his Beloved Son, "the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person",[10] that men might see in him the Father and worship God aright. The Son of God, walking as a man upon the earth, plainly indicated what kind of a being God is; and when his disciple, Philip, said to him, "Lord, show us the Father," Jesus replied: "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."[11] Could anything be plainer? But these teachings were lost upon the modern Christian world. They had turned from the truth "unto fables",[12] forsaking the God of their fathers, and substituting for him as an object of worship, an ideal of their own creation. And it devolved upon Joseph Smith to shatter the false doctrine of a bodiless, passionless deity, and bring back the lost knowledge of the true and living God. The True and Living God.—What is meant by that? Who is "the true and living God?" He is the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Adam, of Enoch, of Noah, of the patriarchs and prophets and apostles of old—the God described by Moses in the first chapter of Genesis, where it is written: "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female, created he them." This is equivalent to saying that God is in the form of man, and that we have a Mother as well as a Father in Heaven, in whose image or likeness we are, male and female. Of the divine Three who hold supreme power and preside over the universe—three distinct personalities, yet one God or Godhead, one in will, wisdom, power and authority—of these, the Father and the Son, according to Joseph Smith, are personages of tabernacle. They have bodies "as tangible as man's;" while the Holy Ghost "is a personage of spirit."[13] The Idol of the Sects.—Proceeding forth from them, is that all-pervading essence or influence which is immanent in all things—the light of the sun, moon and stars, the light also of the human understanding, quickening and illumining, in greater or less degree, "every man that cometh into the world." In it we live, move and have our being; for it is the principle of life throughout creation. This is what the poet was describing, when he portrayed Deity as a "Soul" that "warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze," etc. And this is what the Christian sects were worshiping at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Not God, but a spirit sent forth from God; not Divinity, but an emanation from Divinity. In a word, they were practicing idolatry—or something dangerously akin to it. What Constitutes Idolatry?—"Idolatry is every worship that stops short of the Supreme."[14] It is "the paying of divine homage to false gods or images; also, adoration of created or imaginary beings or natural objects or forces."[15] This is precisely what the ancient world was doing when the book of Genesis was written. The Canaanites worshiped the sun and moon—Baal and Ashtoreth—ascribing to them the powers of creation. The Egyptians adored the crocodile, the bull, the goat and the beetle (scarabeus). Among the Hindus the seasons were deified—spring, summer, autumn, winter; as were also the passions—love, hate, fear, anger and revenge. All these were revered as deities. Then came Moses, who had seen the living and true God, and had conversed with him face to face, receiving from him the Decalogue or Ten Commandments unto Israel. The first commandment reads: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Modern Christendom's Position.—The world in Joseph Smith's day—the Christian world at least—did not worship the heavenly bodies; did not deify beasts and reptiles, did not regard the seasons and passions as divine. Yet it had turned from the true God, ignoring or misinterpreting what Moses and the prophets had written concerning him. According to its dictum, the age of miracles was past; prophets were out of date, and angel messengers obsolete; the heavens were sealed, the canon of scripture was full, and God would never again communicate with mortals. Then came the vision of the Father and the Son—two glorious beings in the form of man—and from the hour that the boy Joseph beheld them, there was at least one person upon this planet who knew what kind of a being God is. It was a virtual reassertion of the first commandment in the Decalogue: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." To worship anything that God has made and given, in lieu of the Maker and Giver, is to worship an idol. They who turn from the Creator to the creature, who forsake God and adore a gift or an emanation from God, are idolaters, almost as much as if they worshiped the sun and moon, or bowed down to goats and crocodiles. Like to Elijah.—To restore the acceptable worship of Jehovah, and begin a work that would sweep away idolatry and all things connected therewith, was the mission of Joseph the Seer. Against him, as against Elijah of old, the priests of Baal raged in impotent fury. Despite their tongues of slander and their weapons of violence, he accomplished all that had been given him to do. This time, however, the All-Wise permitted his servant to be sacrificed—to the end, no doubt, that his innocent blood, affixing to his testimony the red seal of martyrdom, might give added power to the great propaganda then and still in progress for Israel's redemption—the gathering of the scattered sheep preparatory to the Shepherd's coming. Footnotes 1. 2 Nephi 3:6-15. 2. D. and C. 21:1. See also headings to most of the sections in this book. 3. Isa. 44:28; 45:1-5. 4. James 1:5. 5. Hist. Ch., Vol. 1, Chap. 1, p. 5. 6. Compare Isa. 29:13. 7. Church of England Articles of Religion, Presbyterian Confession of Faith, etc. 8. Pope's "Essay on Man," Epistle 1, lines 271-274. 9. Heb. 12:9. 10. Ib. 1:3; Gen. 1:26, 27; Philipp. 2:6; Col. 1:15, etc. 11. John 14:9. 12. 2 Tim. 4:4. 13. D. and C. 130:22. Compare 1 Nephi 11:11. 14. F. H. Hedge, "Ways of the Spirit," Essay 8, p. 215. 15. F. W. Standard Dictionary. ARTICLE FIVE. The Land of Zion. The Angel Moroni.—Three years after that wonderful vision in the Grove, the youthful Seer received a visitation from an angel, a messenger from the presence of the Lord. This Angel gave his name as Moroni, and declared that while in mortal life he had ministered as a prophet to an ancient people called Nephites, a branch of the house of Israel—not the Lost Tribes, as is frequently asserted by the uninformed, but a portion of the tribe of Joseph, mixed with a remnant of the tribe of Judah. The former had crossed over from Jerusalem about the year 600 B. C.; the others a few years later. These blended colonies had inhabited the Americas down to about the beginning of the fourth century of the Christian era, when the civilized though degenerate Nephites were destroyed by a savage faction known as Lamanites, ancestors of the American Indians. The Book of Mormon.—The Angel further stated that a record of the Nephites would be found in a hill not far from Joseph's home—a hill anciently called Cumorah; and upon that spot, four years afterward, Moroni delivered the record into his hands. It was a book of metallic plates "having the appearance of gold," and covered with strange characters, "small and beautifully engraved"—characters known to the Nephites as "the reformed Egyptian."[1] By means of "interpreters," discovered with the plates, and consisting of "two stones in silver bows," the youth translated the unsealed portion of the record and, with the assistance of a few friends, published to the world the Book of Mormon. It was so named for its compiler, the Nephite prophet Mormon, whose son and survivor, Moroni, had buried the plates where Joseph Smith found them. The date of discovery was September 22nd, 1823.[2] The Hill Cumorah is situated between Palmyra and Manchester, in the State of New York. For their belief in the Book of Mormon, the Latter-day Saints were termed "Mormons," and their religion "Mormonism." It proclaims itself the restored fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. History and Prophecy.—The Book of Mormon is a sacred history of pre-historic America, and a prophecy of the wondrous future of this chosen land. It tells not only of the Nephites and Lamanites, but also of a more ancient people, the Jaredites, who came from the Tower of Babel at the time of the confusion of tongues. Becoming extinct, the Jaredites were succeeded by the Israelitish colony, led from Jerusalem by a prophet named Lehi, whose sons Nephi and Laman became, respectively, the heads of the two nations that sprang from him and were called after their names. The Jewish remnant that mixt with the descendants of Lehi was headed by Mulek, one of the sons of King Zedekiah, whom the Babylonian conqueror, Nebuchadnezzar, overthrew. The New Jerusalem.—The Jaredites, as well as the Nephites, had a knowledge of the Christ and of the principles of his Gospel, revealed to them prior to his coming. To both these nations it was made known that America is the Land of Zion, the place for the New Jerusalem, a holy city to be built "unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph."[3] Likewise was it shown to them that the Old Jerusalem would be rebuilt "unto the house of Israel" in the last days. All this before the Savior's second advent—the glorious mornbreak of the Millennium. A Nursing Mother.—Among the many interesting features of the Book of Mormon, is an ancient prophecy of the discovery of America by Columbus; the migration of the Pilgrim Fathers and others to these western shores; the war for American Independence, and the founding of the republic of the United States, a nation destined long before its birth to play the part of a nursing mother to the restored Church of Christ.[4] And let me interject, that whatever may be said of the persecutions suffered by the Latter-day Saints under the Stars and Stripes in various States of the Union—persecutions inflicted, not because of the Flag, nor of the Constitution, nor of the genius of the American Government, but in spite of them—persecutions inflicted by lawless force, by mob violence, ever to be execrated and condemned by every true patriot—whatever may be said of such deplorable happenings, still must our noble Nation be credited with what it has done in the direction of fulfilling its God-given mission. It is extremely doubtful that in any other land, or in any other nation upon this land, would the Lord's people have been treated with the same degree of consideration. In no other country on earth, without special divine interposition in its behalf, would this great and marvelous work have been permitted to come forth. A Land of Liberty.—America, according to Nephite prophecy, is to be a land of liberty to the Gentiles—modern peoples, not of Israel, now possessing it—provided they serve the God of the Land, who is Jesus Christ. So long as they shall follow righteousness, and maintain the pure principles upon which this Government was founded, just so long will they prosper and enjoy the favor of Heaven. America, if true to her mission, is promised divine protection, and will be invulnerable to every foe. God "will fortify this land against all other nations," and they who "fight against Zion shall perish."[5] The Alternative.—If, however, the Gentiles, lifted up in pride, shall harden their hearts and reject the fulness of Christ's Gospel, Liberty's perfect law, another destiny, and a sad one, awaits them. No king but Christ shall reign upon Zion's Land. No people occupying this choice ground can practice evil with impunity. The nation founded here must be a righteous nation, or like the Jaredites and the Nephites, who perished because of their wickedness, it will be swept from the face of the land when the cup of its iniquity is full. So the God of Heaven hath decreed.[6] Joseph's Blessing.—Another name for America, authorized by the Book of Mormon, is the Land of Joseph, referred to by the Patriarch Jacob in blessing his twelve sons,[7] and by the Prophet Moses in his farewell benediction upon the twelve tribes of Israel.[8] Jacob's allusion to Joseph as "a fruitful bough by a well, whose branches run over the wall," was fulfilled in the migration of Lehi and his companions from Asia to America over the Pacific Ocean. It is hardly necessary to add, in further exegetical comment, that one of the main features of these western continents are those mighty mountain ranges, the Andes and the Rockies, well termed by the Hebrew Patriarch "the everlasting hills," nature's depositories for "the precious things of the earth"—gold, silver, and other minerals—and for "the precious things of heaven"—the sacred records that have already been discovered, and others that are yet to come forth. Joseph and Judah.—The Book of Mormon has a divine mission in connection with the Hebrew Scriptures, "unto the confounding of false doctrines and laying down of contentions."[9] It is "The Stick of Joseph," referred to by the Prophet Ezekiel, that was to be one with "The Stick of Judah" (The Bible) "in the hand of Ephraim." They were also to be one in the hand of Jehovah, symbolizing the reunion of the two great branches of the Israelitish race, after many centuries of separation. "And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel," saith the Lord, "and David my servant shall be king over them."[10] Zion and Jerusalem.—David's ancient empire, which parted in twain, forming the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel, may it not have been a foreshadowing of God's greater empire of the last days, which will consist of two grand divisions—two in one? Here upon the Land of Zion, "a land choice above all other lands,"[11] the children of Joseph, the descendants of Ephraim, are even now assembling to make preparation for Messiah's advent. The Jews will greet him at Jerusalem. Christ's Kingdom will have two capitals, one in the Old World, one in the New; one in America, the other in Palestine. "For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."[12] Footnotes 1. Mormon 9:32. 2. Hist. Church, Vol. 1, p. 15. 3. 3 Nephi 21:23, 24; Ether 13:3-8. 4. 1 Nephi 13:10-19; 22:7, 8. 5. 2 Nephi 10:11-13. 6. Ether 2:8-12. 7. Gen. 49:22-26. 8. Deut. 33:13-15. 9. 2 Nephi 3:12. 10. Ezek. 37:16-24. The king here mentioned is not David, son of Jesse, but "another by the name of David" who is to be "raised up out of his lineage."—Hist. Ch., Vol. 6, p. 253. 11. Ether 2:10. 12. Isa. 2:3. PART TWO SEERSHIP AND PROPHECY. ARTICLE SIX. What Joseph Beheld. Seer and Prophet.—"Seer" and "Prophet" are interchangeable terms, supposed by many to signify one and the same thing. Strictly speaking, however, this is not correct. A seer is greater than a prophet.[1] One may be a prophet without being a seer; but a seer is essentially a prophet—if by "prophet" is meant not only a spokesman, but likewise a foreteller. Joseph Smith was both prophet and seer.[2] Like Unto Moses.—A seer is one who sees. But it is not the ordinary sight that is meant. The seeric gift is a supernatural endowment. Joseph was "like unto Moses;" and Moses, who saw God face to face, explains how he saw him in these words: "Now mine own eyes have beheld God; yet not my natural, but my spiritual eyes; for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him." Such is the testimony of the ancient Seer, as brought to light by the Seer of Latter-days.[3] Spirit Eyes.—Let it not be supposed, however, that to see spiritually is not to see literally. Vision is not fancy, not imagination. The object is actually beheld, though not with the natural eye. We all have spirit eyes, of which our natural or outward eyes are the counterpart. All man's organs and faculties are firstly spiritual, the body being but the clothing of the spirit. In our first estate, the spirit life, we "walked by sight." Therefore we had eyes. But they were not our natural eyes, for these are not given until the spirit tabernacles in mortality. All men have a spirit sight, but all are not permitted to use it under existing conditions. Even those thus privileged can only use it when quickened by the Spirit of the Lord.[4] Without that, no man can know the things of God, "because they are spiritually discerned."[5] Much less can he look upon the Highest unspiritually, with carnal mind or with natural vision. "No man"—no natural man—"hath seen God at any time."[6] But men at divers times have seen him as Moses saw him—not with the natural but with the spiritual eye, quickened by the power that seeth and knoweth all things. By the Holy Ghost.—The seeric faculty, possessed in greater degree by some than by others, is the original spirit sight reinforced or moved upon by the power of the Holy Ghost. By this means certain persons, peculiarly gifted and sent into the world for that purpose, are able, even while in the flesh, to see out of obscurity, "out of hidden darkness," and behold the things of God pertaining both to time and to eternity. Joseph Smith possessed this ability—this gift, but it was the Spirit of the Lord that enabled him to use it. By that Spirit he beheld the Father and the Son; and by that Spirit, operating through the same marvelous gift, he translated the cryptic contents of the Book of Mormon. How the Book of Mormon was Translated.—The reputed method of translation was as follows: The Seer, scanning through the "interpreters" (Urim and Thummim) the golden pages, saw appear, in connection with the strange characters engraved thereon, their equivalent in English words. These he repeated to his scribe—Oliver Cowdery most of the time —and the latter wrote them. It was a peculiarity of the process that, until the writing was correct in every particular, the words last given would not disappear; but on the necessary correction being made, they would immediately pass away an...