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(Continued From First Page) Mormon
Beliefs (Continued) Priesthood Called of God
Joseph wrote, “We believe
that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by
those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the
ordinances thereof.” Not
even Jesus was exempt from this law. Jesus
was ordained an Apostle, Prophet, and Lawgiver under the hands of the Father
before He began His ministry (Matt. The Catholic
Church claims their divine authority comes through a succession of popes
beginning with Peter. Peter was an
Apostle and not a pope. The
successor of an Apostle is an Apostle. History
attests the first Pope in “The pope is of so great dignity and excellence,
that he is not merely man, but as if God. The
pope alone is called most holy, divine monarch, and supreme emperor, and King of
Kings. The pope is of so great dignity and power, and he constitutes one and the
same tribunal with Christ, so that whatever the pope does seems to proceed from
the mouth of God. The pope is as God
on earth.” (Guiness, Romanism and the Reformation, pp. 25, 26) Martin Luther
broke with the Catholic Church in the sixteenth century.
Had the Catholic Church held divine authority, they used it to
excommunicate him. As they held no
such authority, Luther had no fountain of authority to draw from.
His resolution of this dilemma was to form a new gospel:
man can be saved by faith alone. “But
though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” (Gal. 1:8)
Again, without the Melchisedec Priesthood none can enter the If there is one
thing more than faith that is required to enter the “11
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe
a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thess. 2)
“19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils
also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without
works is dead? …26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also.” (James 2) Some modern
preachers have thought to take upon themselves authority to preach the gospel on
the basis of the commission given to eleven Apostles.
They call it the Great Commission. They
vainly attempt to apply a specific ordinance to everyone; and in so doing
violate a basic law of God, “Thou
shalt not take the name [authority] of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD
will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” (Ex. 20:7)
Jesus did not give some great commission to all who would take the
name of God upon themselves. This
commission was specifically given to the eleven Apostles who remained.
“Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them
with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which
had seen him after he was risen. And he said
unto them [the eleven], Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to
every creature.” (Mark No man can
assume authority on the basis of another holding such authority.
Jesus was ordained to the same royal priesthood as Moses; yet the
ordination of Moses had no effect on the ordination of Jesus.
“Beginning from the
baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be
[individually] ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.” (Acts Joseph Smith
was called by revelation of God and ordained an Apostle, Prophet, and Lawgiver
by angelic administration—the same as Moses and Jesus before him.
He restored all of the offices of the Melchisedec and Levitical
Priesthoods. Before his death, he
wrote James J. Strang, told him of his impending death, and appointed him
(according to the law, Doctrine and
Covenants, Sec. 43) to stand at the head of the people.
At the same hour Joseph was martyred, James J. Strang (400 miles away)
was ordained under the hands of angels, the same as Joseph, to stand in the same
office at the head. Officers of the Kingdom of God Joseph Smith taught the same as Jesus, that the There are only two orders of the priesthood noted in the Bible. The Melchisedec Priesthood is a priesthood of an endless life and administers to the spiritual affairs of the people. It existed as the priesthood of the Sons of God from Adam to Melchisedec. In honor of Melchisedec—and to reduce the use of the name of God—it was changed to the Melchisedec Priesthood (see Heb. 7). The Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood was instituted in the days of Moses to administer the added temporal law. The Melchisedec Priesthood was lost about 400 years before Jesus. Jesus restored all of the offices; and taught of the importance of this priesthood. “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists [High Priests]; and some, pastors [Elders] and teachers.” (Eph. 4:11) We find this
evident when Jesus began His ministry. Jesus
had to obey the law of God. “Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of
the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Jesus had to
hold a higher office in the priesthood than John the Baptist to baptize with the
Spirit. He could not take the honor
of the priesthood upon Himself. After
His baptism and forty days in the wilderness, “angels
came and ministered unto him.” (Matt. 4:11).
What did they minister? “4
And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was
Aaron. 5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he
that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. … 10 Called
of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” (Heb. 5)
Jesus was an Apostle, Prophet, and Lawgiver like unto Moses (Acts The Apostles
maintained the same organization. Peter
was called to stand at the head as Apostle,
Prophet, and Lawgiver after Jesus (John Satan began his
attack on the Joseph restored
the Melchisedec Priesthood with the same offices that Jesus had organized the
kingdom almost two thousand years earlier. “And
he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets;
and some, evangelists [High Priests];
and some, pastors [Elders] and
teachers; For the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till
we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”
(Eph. 4:11-13) Have we all
“come in the unity of the faith”?
These officers are required “for
the work of the ministry” and “for
the perfecting of the saints.” None
can enter the Joseph Smith taught the same gospel
as Jesus and the Apostles. “16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power
of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and
also to the Greek.” ( Joseph wrote, “We
believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for
the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy
Ghost.” “5 Jesus answered,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom
of Jesus and the Apostles declared that it is necessary to repent, to be born of water and the spirit, to partake of the Eucharist, and to live faithfully and obedient to the law of God to the end of life to be saved. “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” (Matt. 10:22) “19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? … 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2) “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” (Matt. 10:22) The Apostle
Paul wrote, “If by any
means I might attain unto the [first] resurrection of the dead. Not as though I
had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I
may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I
count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus.” (Phil. 3:11-14) Other Christian
churches would have us believe the wondrous gifts given to the former day saints
have been done away. Lacking
revelation they were done away for them. But,
they were restored to the latter day saints.
“And these signs
shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they
shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they
shall recover.” (Mark Joseph wrote, “We
believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing,
interpretation of tongues, and so forth.”
“1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you
ignorant. …7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to
profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word
of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working
of miracles; to another prophecy;
to another discerning of spirits; to
another divers kinds of tongues; to
another the interpretation of tongues.”
(1 Cor. 12) “Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.” (1 Cor. 14:1) Joseph and James both taught of the necessity of knowing God, honoring Jesus, obeying the gospel, and remaining faithful and obedient to the laws of God. “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.” (1 John 2:6, 7) James
J. Strang, in his Pastoral Letter of January 21, 1847, wrote,
“I desire, therefore, that all the saints, individually, may participate in
the bonds of union, the fellowship with the Father, and his Son Jesus Christ,
and may not rest satisfied, without knowing for yourselves the things that
pertain to the kingdom of God, and that you be no longer conformed to the world,
but transformed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the renewing of your
minds, and turned from darkness to light. Wait
for and patiently receive the word of God, which shall be as a shining light
unto you; then will you be enabled to see and to walk in the path of duty. “I
charge you that you steadfastly seek to commend your profession of faith by
keeping ALL THE COMMANDMENTS of God, and truly following him who was meek
and lowly in heart. In the exercise
of a tender and enlightened conscience, maintain an upright testimony to the
purity and intellectuality of his religion, though it be through suffering.
Be careful, that neither for the sake of worldly reputation, from a love
of ease, nor from a fear of being plundered of your possessions, you incur the
condemnation conveyed in the words, "He that loveth father or mother more
than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me,
is not worthy of me; and he that taketh not up his cross and followeth after me
is not worthy of me." Joseph Smith taught the principle that the people of God are a gathered
people. “And what agreement hath the Abraham, whom
God covenanted that out of his loins would come the elect people of God, was
commanded to take his family, leave his home, journey in the wilderness, and be
separate from the Gentiles. After The people were
not only to be gathered; but, were to have all things in common; even as was
commanded under Jesus. Remember the
story of the rich man? “21
Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor [actually to the common property], and thou shalt have treasure
in heaven: and come and follow me.” (Matt. 19:21) “Nevertheless, in your
temporal things you shall be equal, and this not grudgingly, otherwise the
abundance of the manifestations of the Spirit shall be withheld.” (Doctrine and Covenants, Section 70:14, November, 1831) The people were
first gathered to A new gathering
place was established by God through Joseph Smith in his Letter of Appointment
to James J. Strang. The saints
were to gather to Voree (near The people failed; and the gathering was moved to Joseph Smith taught the literal gathering
of Jesus is not
returning to What is to
happen to all the Gentile Christians who believe they are God’s own?
“Many will say to me
in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils?
and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto
them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matt.
7:22-23) In 70 AD the Gentile
army of The Gentiles
had been given the Melchisedec Priesthood after the crucifixion of Jesus; and
again under Joseph Smith and James J. Strang.
“For if God spared
not the natural branches [ Jesus
prophesied of when the times of the Gentiles would be fulfilled (ended).
“24 And they [Jews]
shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all
nations: and James
J. Strang wrote,
“22. The whole course of
prophecy indicates that the nations of the earth will not be converted to
Godliness; but that they will increase in wickedness, and be destroyed.
The day has not yet come, but is in the future, which ‘shall burn as an
oven; and all the proud, and all that do wickedly, shall
be stubble,’ and shall be burnt up, leaving neither root nor branch;
when they that fear the Lord shall tread down the wicked, as ashes beneath their
feet. (Mal. iv, 1, 3.) “23.
Paul assures us that the coming of Christ shall be ‘in flaming fire, taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord.’ (2d Thess. i, 8, 9.)
Isaiah says, the earth shall be made empty, and few men left. (Isa. xxiv,
1, 3, 6.) Those days are days of
vengeance, when Christ shall tread the wine press of the wrath of God, and the
blood shall flow unto the horses’ bridles. (Rev. xiv, 20.)
As those times are approaching, the judgment is pronounced on The A very small
remnant of the final Gentile dispensation of the gospel will remain to be united
with the house of “And
it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Joseph Smith taught the people of God should live by the law of God. “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.” If there is any
single message that is repeated throughout the Bible, it is that man must live
by the will and law of God. It would
require a volume to include all of the references in the Bible that command men
to remain faithful and obedient to the law of God.
“He that saith he
abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. Brethren, I
write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the
beginning. The old commandment is
the word which ye have heard from the beginning.” (1 John 2:6, 7)
“He that overcometh shall
inherit all things [is sanctified by the law]; and I will be his God, and he
shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and
murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall
have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death.” (Rev. 21:7, 8) James J.
Strang, in his Pastoral Letter of
February 3, 1848, wrote, “For
as much as it hath pleased God to reserve unto himself a people to serve him in
these times, when the whole world is sunk in wickedness, and the fullness of the
Gentiles is very nearly come in, and the time is near that God will pour out his
wrath on them without pleasure, it behooves us that we commune oft with one
another, and communicate spiritual treasures, such as God bestows upon us: and
especially that we gather together and strengthen one another’s hand, lest we
be overcome of Satan and perish in the destruction of the ungodly.” “This we offer to the saints as the home of the poor
and the asylum of the oppressed. Here
we propose to share each others joys, and each others sorrows; each others
toils, and each others possessions: and to teach mankind that LOVE and
TRUTH WINS WITH peace and sweetness, what FORCE and FRAUD labors
in vain to COMPEL. Here we intend to
gather a COMMUNITY WHO SHALL BE EQUAL IN THEIR TEMPORAL THINGS: WHO SHALL DO TO
OTHERS AS THEY WOULD BE DONE BY: AND WHO SHALL LOVE THEIR NEIGHBORS AS
THEMSELVES. HERE SALVATION SHALL BE
PRESENT, and the GOSPEL A PRACTICED REALITY.
HERE PEACE SHALL REIGN. “The Lord and His saints say come.
Let him that heareth say come. He
that is poor and needy, let him come. Yea,
come buy food, raiment and habitation, a perpetual inheritance in The latter day saints were
persecuted everywhere they gathered because their devout life style conflicted
with that of the lower moral class that also settled on the western frontier. James J. Strang
translated an ancient copy of the Book of
the Law that was included with the plates recovered by Joseph Smith.
The Bible prophesied of two latter day works.
“Say unto them, Thus
saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph [Book
of Mormon], which is in the hand of Ephraim [Joseph Smith], and the tribes
of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah
[Book of the Law], and make them one
stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.” (Ezek. 37:19) The Book
of the Law of the Lord was the single most important book of Scripture.
It is noted by name over twenty times; and as the law of God hundreds of
more times. It was written by the
finger of God and kept in the This Book of the Law includes the only extant copy of the Ten Commandments given to Moses. Christian churches divide the nine commandments found in Exodus and Deuteronomy to make ten. They fail to understand that Jesus identified their missing commandment. “And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt. 22:39) The Book of the Law requires, “Ye shall, therefore, read in it all the days of your lives.” God commanded, “Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD.” (Lev. 22:31) Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) The third
commandment is to “Remember
the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…
the Lord thy God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it: thou shalt keep it
holy unto him, that thou forget not the Law.” (Book of the Law, p. 22)
The seventh day Sabbath was kept from Adam to Jesus, by the
Apostles after Him, and by the early Christians.
It remained until the unbaptized, pagan Roman Emperor Constantine, in the
early fourth century, changed it by the power of The Sabbath was
commanded by God to be kept as a perpetual law.
It is a sign between God and His people.
There are some Christian churches which understand the importance of the
Sabbath. Only true latter day saints
keep the Sabbath and all other laws of God.
“Wherefore the
children of Joseph Smith restored a true knowledge of
life, death, and eternity. Jesus
was the beginning of this creation. He
was the only spirit begotten by the Father.
He was the morning star (spirit). “These
things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” (Rev. 3:14)
“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the
offspring of David, and the bright and
morning star.” (Rev. 22:16) All of the rest
of this creation was through Jesus in liaison with the Father.
“And God said, Let
us [God and Jesus] make man in our image, after our
likeness.” (Gen. 1:26) “In the
beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God
[of this creation]. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made
that was made.” (John 1:1-3) The
Lord told Jeremiah, “Before
I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of
the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”
(Jer. 1:5) We were created as spirits by Jesus before the foundation of the earth. “Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars [the first created spirits] sang together, and all the sons of God [spiritual saints] shouted for joy?” (Job 38:6, 7) Adam and all mankind were first created spiritually. The spirit of every person is eternal. Lucifer was
among the first spirits created. “How
art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son
of the morning! how art thou cut
down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!” (Isa. 14:12)
A third of all the spirits followed him; and was cast down never
to receive a physical body. After
the resurrection of Jesus, Lucifer was cast down to the earth with his
followers. (Rev. 12:7-9)
“And his tail drew
the third part of the stars [spirits]
of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.” (Rev. 12:4) The second
creation of Adam and all mankind is physical; when our spirits are united with a
physical body at birth. “And
the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life [his spirit]; and man became a living soul.” (Gen.
2:7) “And no
man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the
Son of man [Jesus] which is in heaven.” (John 3:13) Few men are afforded the great blessing of understanding God, Jesus, and the gospel during this mortal life. These were the morning stars and sons of God who were found worthy and for-ordained to this blessing. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” (Matt. 7:13, 14) “4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated [for-ordained] us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” (Eph. 1) When man dies, His spirit, being eternal, lives on; and is taken back to Jesus for judgment. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” (Ecc. 12:7) The spirits of man then reside either in the bosom of Abraham (with saints of God), or with the spirits in prison (inappropriately termed hell) to await their resurrection. “23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. …26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” (Luke 16) Those who did not live by the good in life must suffer the mental anxiety of knowing what could have been theirs. This life is like a snap of the fingers compared with eternity. The seven commandments which hang on loving your neighbor are known by all mankind. The first doctrine of the new Catholic Church was, “This is the Catholic Faith; which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.” (Creed of St. Athanasius) Not so! All men who suffer through this mortal existence will receive an immortal, physical body. They will share in the grace of God. “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.” (1 Tim. 4:10) All men will come forth either in the resurrection of the just, or a thousand years later in the resurrection of the unjust. What about all the men that have died without an opportunity to even hear of God and the gospel? After Jesus died, as a spirit He went to the spirits in prison (hell); where He opened a dispensation of the gospel and preached for three days. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison.” (1 Pet. 3:18, 19) Why did He preach the gospel to them? “For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” (1 Pet. 4:6) How can they live when they have not been baptized? After Jesus opened the gospel to the spirits in prison, Peter opened a dispensation for baptism of the dead. “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” (1 Cor. 15:29) Those who have obeyed the gospel either in the flesh or in the spirit will come forth in the first resurrection. They will live with Jesus for a thousand years on an earth restored to its original paradisiacal glory. “But the rest of the dead [that obeyed not the gospel] lived not again [physically] until the thousand years were finished.” (Rev. 20:5) In our
spiritual estate we live as one being spirits for eternity, in death we live as
two (bosom of Abraham or hell) awaiting the resurrection, and in eternity we
live as three (celestial, terrestrial, and telestial glories).
After the Sabbath of Creation and mortal man comes to an end, we enter
eternity. Joseph Smith
was given a vision in which he was given an understanding of the condition of
man in eternity. He was told those
who obey the gospel and endure faithful and obedient to the will of God during
life will receive bodies in the celestial
glory. The glory of the
celestial is one, like the glory of the sun.
The honorable men of the earth that accept the gospel in the spirit
inherit the terrestrial glory. The
glory of the terrestrial is one, like the glory of the moon.
All others inherit a glory in the telestial
glory. The glory of the
telestial is as numerous as stars; as men are judged without the forgiving
grace found through obedience to the gospel.
“And I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book
was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those
things which were written in the books, according to their works.” (Rev.
20:12) The sons of perdition
will be disembodied, suffer a second death, and spend eternity with Satan and
his followers without any association with the rest of creation.
“And death and hell
were cast into the lake of fire. This
is the second death.” (Rev. 20:14) This is not a new doctrine. “There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun [celestial], and another glory of the moon [terrestrial], and another glory of the stars [telestial]: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead.” (1 Cor. 15:40-42) In eternity the
earth will enter its celestial glory; and will become the inheritance of saints
of God who endured faithful and obedient to the end of life.
Read Revelation 21 and 22. Heaven
will be here on the earth in its celestial glory.
“7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and
I will be his God, and he shall be my son. …22 And I saw no temple therein:
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.” (Rev. 21) Truly, the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that was taught by Joseph Smith and James J. Strang
is not a respecter of person; but, is loving, merciful, gracious, and abundant
in goodness. He is also a God of
justice and judgment. Although God
built His law upon the foundation of love, we cannot imagine for a moment that
He can either look upon sin with the least degree of allowance, or that He will
not punish the disobedient. A great evidence of the truth of any person lies in the willingness of that person to be martyred for what he believes. It is not perfect evidence of truth; but, it is a companion with truth. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Tim. 3:12) “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.” (Heb. 12:6-8) Jesus said of
John the Baptist, “For I
say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet
[preacher] than John the Baptist.” (Luke 7:28)
The man who baptized Jesus with water was martyred in 27 AD, after
admonishing King Herod Antipas of his great sin in killing his own wife and
marrying Philip’s wife. James the Greater was the first Apostle to be martyred
by Exactly forty
years after the Jews had Jesus martyred by Roman law; the Roman Army under the
leadership of Titus fell upon After Joseph received his first vision advising him about Christian religions of the world, the greatest persecution fell upon him. He wrote, “I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me, and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects--all united to persecute me.” (History of the Church, Vol. 1, p. 7) The devout life
style of the latter day saints and their Biblical beliefs caused them the most
severe persecutions. They were
persecuted everywhere they tried to settle.
They gathered to When the saints
gathered to These were
black and bloody pages in the history of a government that pretended equal
protection under the law. An
abridged account of these persecutions was published in the official church
newspaper, The Northern Islander, on “The
6th day of April, 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints was organized at the town of Fayette, in the State of New York,
consisting of only six members, two of whom, Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery,
were Elders; being the only true and living Church existing by the commandment
of God on earth. “The
members of this Church, guided by revelations of God, have always sought to come
out from among unbelievers, and be separate. Knowing that others were offended
with their religion, they endeavored to avoid giving offence by removing from
among them, keeping the commandment, ‘Come out from among them, that ye be not
partakers of their sins, and receive not of their plagues.’ “Almost
immediately after the organization of the Church, the Saints commenced
assembling at Kirtland, Ohio, for a temporary rendezvous; but at the same time a
few went up to Missouri, to locate a permanent residence, and selected the site
of Independence, Jackson county, as their future home, and commenced a
settlement there. “Agreeable
to a commandment which God gave them, they purchased large quantities of lands
of the government of the “At
the time of which we speak no one among them was accused of any violation of the
law, or of a want of attachment to the constitution and government of the “Notwithstanding
these facts, and the legal rights of our brethren, a numerous meeting of citizens
of “In
giving these reasons they stated that our religious sentiments and domestic
habits were incongruous with theirs, and that it was necessary for their
happiness that our brethren should leave; and as the grievances of which they
complained were not recognized by the laws, and the saints had not violated any
existing law whereby they were subject to regular prosecution in the courts,
therefore they would take redress into their own hands, and compel us to leave
the country, peaceably if they could, forcibly if they must. This decree was
carried out by the expulsion of the saints from Jackson Co., “They
then settled in various counties on the north side of the Missouri river, but
continual collisions took place, till finally they were banished from the State
by authority of a mandate guilty issued by Lillburn W. Boggs, acting
Governor, distinctly commanding that the saints (in derision called Mormons)
be banished from the State, or exterminated. We are perfectly aware that this
mandate of the acting Governor was unauthorized by the law, and in violation of
the constitution of the State of “But
the Legislature of that State, in failing to impeach the Governor, and by
appropriating the money to pay the
expense of executing his order, has affirmed and adopted the act
as the crime of the State. In accomplishing this expulsion ten
thousand persons, men, women and children, were plundered of their
possessions, exiled from their homes, and driven in destitution, hunger, and
want, in mid winter, to a distant land, passing much of the way in the midst of
hostile foes, who not only refused them shelter and food, but kept them in
continual danger. “Many
were separated from their families and incarcerated in prison, whence, after
long detention, they escaped only by paying large sums of money to
prison keepers, judges and lawyers, as the price of their enlargement. Besides a
feeble few, who, after learning that their persecutors were without
compassion, were slain while defending their wives, their children and their
firesides; eighteen persons, unarmed, and engaged in the worship of God, were
murdered unresisting, and in cold blood, in the early part of these
persecutions; one of them a mere child, who died mixing together the words of
his prayer to God, and his supplication for mercy from his murderers; another,
an old man, bowed down with suffering and sorrow, scarred with the wounds he had
received fifty-seven years before in defense of American liberty and American
independence; all yielding up their lives for the name of Jesus, and the witness
of the gospel. Others, at different times, shared the same fate; how many, we
know not. “Subsequently
the saints settled in great numbers in the State of Illinois, and built up,
besides many villages, the city of Nauvoo, at one time the most populous city in
that State. At their first settlement they were kindly received; but after
building up flourishing towns, becoming numerous as a religious people, and
strong in their political influence, religious prejudice, political interests
and commercial rivalry combined together to destroy them. “On
this occasion our persecutors sought to justify their violence by accusing the
saints of enormous crimes, and the most astounding corruptions. That these
accusations were utterly unfounded is clearly shown by the fact that with
courts, jurors and prosecuting officers constantly and assiduously selected
from among our persecutors, few of the saints were ever prosecuted on criminal
charges, and very few indeed ever convicted. “That
the best informed and most intelligent men of the nation are fully aware of
their entire innocence, is shown in the fact that territorial government has
been organized under an act of Congress, possessing as full powers as any other
territorial government can, organized under the jurisdiction of the United
States; giving its entire executive and legislative power to the same people
then exiled; and the men among them who exercised most influence and control in
their affairs, and who if they were criminal were most guilty, have received the
offices of Governor, Marshall and Secretary of a Territory, as well as numerous
minor appointments under the United States government both Whig and Democratic
administrations. “The
very high character given them by Senator Douglass who presided over the
criminal courts of the Mormon District of Illinois, during the period of their
sojourn there; by Col. Kane of the
United States army; who witnessed their expulsion; and Captains Stansbury and
Gunnison, of the Topographical Engineers, who spent a year with a large body of
them in their new mountain home, have dissipated all suspicion in the minds of
intelligent men that they had given any occasion for the harsh treatment which
they received at the hands of the people of the State of Illinois. “The
unequivocal testimony of Thos. Ford, Governor of Illinois, at the time of their
expulsion, who was present most of the time at the scene of action, is that
their character and conduct were far better than those arrayed against them. “Nevertheless
this persecution was carried on until our fellow servants, the prophets, Joseph
and Hyrum Smith, were martyred; the houses of hundreds of the saints burned down
before their eyes; the entire community amounting to 25,000 banished from that
section of the State, and four millions of dollars worth of property
sacrificed. “After
the banishment of the Saints from Illinois, a few of them came into Michigan,
and commenced settlements on the Islands of the Great Lakes, then uninhabited,
but occasionally occupied by roving borderers, engaged in fishing and selling
liquor to the Indians, in violation of law, and in criminal courses still more
reprehensible. “The
attempt to build up permanent and populous communities in the midst of these
valuable lake fisheries, especially at Beaver Island, where there is an
excellent harbor, and every facility for an extensive and prosperous commerce,
excited the jealousy of those who at Mackinac had for a long time monopolized
the entire Indian and fishing trade. “The
wretched men of the borderers who had sought a home beyond the haunts of
civilization, that they might indulge in unrestrained debauchery and enjoy
impunity in crime, could only regard settlers who sought good order and legal
government as invaders and enemies. They early exhibited a hostile disposition,
and a determination to prevent the establishment of legal government. “As
early as 1849 we were subjected to numerous injuries, for which it was
impossible to obtain redress. Women were insulted, and men assaulted with
impunity. At the same time a concerted effort was made throughout the lake
country to render us infamous, by telling false tales upon us. The numerous
whiskey dealers on the fishing grounds, whose entire income was derived through
criminal means, joined by most of the merchants at Mackinac, who were most
seriously alarmed at the growing up of a commercial rival at Saint James,
engaged in the undertaking and enlisted the officers and men on nearly all the
boats and vessels in the upper lake trade, by means of their acquaintance with
them. Every manner of false tale was thus continually put afloat, and no matter
by what falsehood originated, was circulated through respectable newspapers, on
what was taken for good authority. “By
such means, in a short time the mass of the public were persuaded that the
Saints at “Under
these circumstances, with no means of becoming generally known to the public,
except through the representations of those thoroughly enlisted against us, in
1850, extensive preparations were made throughout the fishing region for an
armed assault upon us, by a force more than four times as numerous as we could
furnish for defense. The Saints were thoroughly schooled in the practice of
nonresistance, and were unarmed. “But
by the prophecies and commandments, it appeared that having three times fled
before their persecutors, it was now our duty to withstand them, and that in
doing so God would give us the victory. We resolved to repel force with force,
and return blow for blow, and stroke for stroke, publicly announced one
determination and prepared for the issue; and our enemies gave way without
bloodshed. “In
1851 they succeeded in enlisting the United States government in a violent and
lawless crusade against us, in the course of which immense quantities of private
property was seized, and taken from us; numerous individuals were arrested on
charge of felonies and misdemeanor of almost every manner, and carried prejudged
and foredoomed, to distant places for trial, in the courts of their enemies; the
United States military and naval force was put in requisition to awe our
families in the absence of nearly all the men, while numerous armed bands of our
persecutors were left to roam undisturbed through our settlements, taking and
destroying what they pleased, and insulting and assaulting when they would. “From
all these perils God delivered us. Every one of the accused were acquitted.
Though numerous persons were assaulted and cruelly beaten, every one recovered.
Only a small portion of the property which had been taken from us was ever
restored; but the justice of our cause was vindicated by the decision of the
proper officers that we were entitled to all of it, and the actual loss was by
the outright stealing of public officers. “While
these acts were going on, a few people from Mackinac, and a numerous horde of
border ruffians, sometimes under pretence of legal process, but oftenest by mere
force of arms, seized nearly all the movables of value possessed by our
population. For these acts we pursued many of them at law to final judgment, who
have abundance of executable property, but in very few of these cases have we
been allowed to make collections on executions. “This
persecution resulted in separating our enemies from among us, and leaving us the
undisturbed occupancy of a territory sufficient for our use for many years to
come; and at the next session of the Legislature acts were passed for
establishing the necessary municipal authorities in that territory, organizing
town and county government, and a regular judiciary. “Irritated
at this, and suffering a great loss of trade by our growing prosperity, the
people of Mackinac set on foot an armed invasion, for the avowed purpose of
resisting all legal government in the “A
conflict ensued in which several of the Saints were wounded, and several
thousand dollars of property destroyed; but the invasion failed, and the
invaders fled as the wicked often do, when no man pursued. The criminals engaged
in this invasion were duly indicted, but by the connivance of officers and
citizens they were able to escape a trial and have gone unpunished. But their
flight from this region left us in the enjoyment of peace and undisturbed order. “But
the action of the State Legislature, at its next session in cutting up the “For all these wrongs the laws and institutions of the country offer
us no redress. It is
vain to answer that such acts are contrary to law, and that the courts are open
to us. There is a law in the land
stronger than statutes--more potent than the usages of courts. The will
of the masses, however vicious and partial, no matter by what influences
produced, has been able to trample on all precedent, and ride down all law. It
has done more. It has produced legislation according to its wishes, in violation
of all constitutional securities; and not merely contrary to precedent, but
destructive of natural right. “This
unrecognized law, found only in the will of the masses, has been enforced in
destroying houses, offices and valuable papers of some of the most
distinguished citizens of the country, public buildings of various kinds,
printing presses and rail roads owned by wealthy companies, churches and
convents of the most ancient and numerous religious denomination in the country,
and to overthrow contracts which had stood the vicissitudes of two hundred
years, the ordeal of civil war and national revolution, though defended by the
sanctity of constitutional and statute law; usages older than the language we
speak; the power of a great State; the wealth that seven generations of thrift
had accumulated; and backed by an aristocracy made honorable by deeds of
benevolence, justice, patriotism and valor as boundless as the sources of its
greatness. “If
these cannot resist the power of this new element of national and state
government mob law, how shall we? We are aware that our name is cast out as
evil, as a kind of apology for the uncounted injuries which have been heaped
upon us. But you will not forget that in early times among all the most
polished nations the name christian was looked on as a name for fanaticism and
debauchery; that the learned Greeks and victorious Romans held them cannibals,
and that, even now, in half the civilized and christian nations democracy is
considered synonymous with anarchy and lawlessness--how justly, you can judge. “And
if the sanctity of the ancient christian faith, and the greatness of your nation
have not protected them from these aspersions, what shall protect us from equal
wrongs? We protest against this nearly universal practice of assuming that we
are guilty of great crimes, as an excuse for denying us the regular protection
of the government in our legal rights. But when we examine the evidence of the
truth of these assumptions, they are most conclusively falsified. “Joseph,
the martyred prophet, whose blood stains on the jail at “The
only offence of which he was ever convicted is that of unlawful banking--an
offence committed with impunity by other men in nearly every State in the union.
Nor did he escape conviction by the testimony of his brethren. Such men would
stop their ears against it. If this is not a sufficient vindication of him as a
law-abiding man, no array of facts could be. “That
the charge on which he was finally arrested and imprisoned was merely trumped up
for the purpose of seizing upon him and detaining him till a convenient time for
his destruction, is as clearly proved as any fact whatever in the history of the
country. “And
when we add that his murderers were indicted, arraigned and acquitted at the
instance of their own friends, without any attempt to introduce the necessary
evidence against them, and merely for the purpose of interposing a
legal bar to their punishment, in some more healthy period of the
public mind, we think it will not require argument to convince all mankind that,
the State of Illinois has adopted that murder as its own. “In
this place, during the persecutions of 1851, ninety-nine men were arrested on
false charges, taken to distant places and tried in the courts of their
accusers, and though prejudged and foredoomed, were every one of them acquitted. “For
all these wrongs we are denied redress. We have not forgotten that there are
tribunals in which causes partially similar in kind, immeasurably less in
aggravation, are sometimes examined, perhaps occasionally righted. But these
tribunals are closed against us by the law now, and at all times by the power of
that law already referred to, which is above statute, precedent and right. “If
a period cannot be put to these wrongs, then there is presented to the world the
melancholy spectacle of the greatest republic on earth, a christian nation,
acknowledging itself powerless to judge; unable to protect the right; a nation
on whose righteousness half the earth rest the hopes of man, confessing that
there is a power above the law, riding down the constitution, which stalks
abroad to plunder and banish the citizens, and none to rebuke; murders the
unoffending innocent, and none to say, "why do ye so?" which sanctifies
its deeds of violence, even in the eyes of religious men, by blackening the fame
of the glorious dead, with the name of crimes which in their life time it dared
not attempt to prove, even in its own tribunals. “The
administrators of the government have been appealed to in vain. Unless the
wrongs redressed, they must rest on the nation forever, and bring down the wrath
of God on those who have done, and those who have permitted them? If you fear
not God, how will you answer to mankind and to posterity, for such a
desecration of republicanism, in a christian country. “For
all these wrongs we do not ask a grant of lands, nor a State or Territorial
government--We acknowledge that we have had enough of these. We shall never sell
the lands of our brethren and ourselves, the inheritance of the martyred and of
their children, for new grants of which we are equally liable to be deprived by
some new act of violence. “There
is now in the States of Missouri and Illinois four millions of dollars worth of
houses and lands purchased with the money and produced with the skill and
industry of our brethren the saints, which they are not permitted to occupy. “Courts,
State Legislatures, and State executives are deaf to us. When we speak, they
cannot hear. When we ask justice, their faces are turned from us. True, when
they do speak, their voice is for us. But it comes after the deed is done, or it
is so faintly heard that the lawless do not think it earnest. The forms of law
hold us as victims, and the power that is above law overwhelms us. Thus have two
of our prophets died in the hands of public officers, and under the destroying
protection of a State Governor, personally superintending the proceedings, and
no one act of public indignation has rebuked the deed. By every form of .judicial
proceeding known to the laws of the land, the perpetrators have been legally
shielded from the punishment which the law itself denounces against such crimes. “The
fact that our brethren are the owners of large tracts of land, purchased of the
United States, and secured to us by the name and seat of the President, which
they have never sold, and which they are not permitted to occupy, by
the powers actually existing, and that our brethren have been banished and
murdered, and their persecutors are unrebuked, and positively and legally
screened from punishment, is as indelibly stamped on the history of the country
as the declaration of independence, or the victory of Buena Vista. “We
do not ask compensation in money or land for the blood of the dead, or the
persecutions of the living. The lands we have been robbed of, we shall continue
to claim for the banished, and for the widows and orphans that murders
have made, till the day when the judgment of God shall be revealed on the
nation, and his wrath no longer slumbers; and they shall go up and possess it,
though the nation ceases. “But
these things admonish us that we are not to expect peace or protection in the
midst of the people who have done us this iniquity. Both by the commandment of
God and from the necessity of our situation, we are seeking a home in a land
where religious sects and political parties are far removed from us, a land
uninhabited. “We
have not been suffered to live with other men. Shall we not be permitted to live
alone? God made the earth for all men. Of the vast all he has given us a few
little islands. They are the work of his hands; not man's. Why should man sell
God's work? “For
nine years our communities have dwelt here in peace among themselves. The few
small schisms which have arisen, have yielded to the ordinary course of
discipline, and the wrong doers have either amended or departed from among us,
doing us very little injury, except as they were abetted by public officers,
religious boobies, the newspaper press, and bands of lawless men. Yet we are
pursued from day to day with continual threatening. An effort is continually
made to convince us that we are to have no rest forever. “Three
times have we fled before our persecutors, because we would not repel injuries
by force. We understand by the word of God that it is our duty to flee no
further. We do not learn from the divine writings that it is our duty never to
resist evil deeds.—The time has come when forbearance is no longer a virtue. “While
men around us have for years threatened us with fire and blood, and we only
asked legal justice, they have been continually commended for the forbearance,
and we continually menaced with invasions, expatiation and death. “We
have ceased to take to ourselves any trouble about these matters. We have known
for years what our persecutors seem so anxious to impress upon us, that, when
the public vengeance is waked up the law will not protect us and that among an
angry people innocence is no shield. “We
do not expect Governor or President to protect us against mobs. We live in the
continual assurance that any one of us might be murdered in a neighboring
county, and not a magistrate could be induced to issue process against the
murderer. “Yet
we trust in God. We walk in conscious security. We laugh in bitter scorn at all
these threats. And we tell these wolf hounds, marshal your myrmidons, and send
them along, to make a spoil of beauty and booty, as soon as you please. We bid
them a bloody welcome to hospitable graves; over which, each year, we will pile
stones, with a muttered curse, against the day of the resurrection of damnation. “We
will neither purchase temporary peace and future calamities by dishonorable
trafficking with political jugglers, nor will we yield our homes to enemies. If
we live, here will we live. If we die, here will we die, and here shall our
bones be buried, expecting in the resurrection of the just to possess the land
forever, and dwell with the righteous during the lifetime of the Eternal. During the many
days that I have spent taking the gospel door to door, there is one sentiment
that appears dominant. People are
contended. That admit they do not
know what is going to happen; but, they feel by following many others they must
be safe. The very fact there are
many others with the same beliefs should serve as a great warning.
Only a few are to survive. I
have watched swarms of fish gather together only to be all consumed.
“Enter ye in at the
strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to
destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the
gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find
it.” (Matt. 7:13) Without
the Melchisedec Priesthood, none can enter the The gate is still open. James J. Strang ordained L. D. Hickey one of the twelve Apostles, who ordained Samuel Martin a High Priest, who ordained Lloyd Flanders a High Priest, who ordained me an Elder. You’re
invited to walk on the path of light and know the living God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. Discover the truth
about the real Jesus and His sacrifice. Obey
the gospel of Christ; and become a member
of the Here
is a truly special invitation. The
kingdom of heaven is at hand (within your reach).
Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins; and you will be born of the Spirit, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost,
and enjoy all the blessings prepared for saints of God. Apostle W. W. Phelps wrote Joseph Smith in January, 1843: Go with me, will you go to the saints that have died,-
Go with me where there is no destruction or war;
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