Part 2 (1/2)
34. John, who is called the Revelator, saw in vision the state of the world in the days then future. Describing the spirit of unrighteousness as a hideous beast, and its author, Satan, as the dragon, he says: ”And they wors.h.i.+ped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they wors.h.i.+ped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? * * * And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against G.o.d, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall wors.h.i.+p him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. If any man have an ear, let him hear.”--(Rev. 13:4,6-9.)
35. Note another prophecy based on the vision of John the Revelator.
Again referring to latter-day conditions he declares: ”And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear G.o.d, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and wors.h.i.+p him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water.”--(Rev. 14:6, 7.)
36. While it is true that the scripture last quoted does not specifically predict the apostasy, the breaking up of the Church is treated as an event actually accomplished. The Revelator looked beyond the period of disruption and saw the brighter day of the restoration of the gospel,--a re-establishment of the Church through the ministry of an angel. It is illogical to a.s.sume that the gospel was to be brought to earth by a heavenly messenger if that gospel was still extant upon the earth. Equally unreasonable is it to say that a restoration or re-establishment of the Church of Christ would be necessary or possible had the Church continued with rightful succession of priesthood and power. If the gospel had to be brought again from the heavens, the gospel must have been taken from the earth. Thus the prophecy of a restoration is proof of an apostasy general and complete.
**Apostasy on the Western Hemisphere Predicted**.
37. In the preceding chapter it was shown that the Church of Christ was established by the Risen Lord among the Nephites of the western world. It was foreseen that the powers of evil would be permitted to prevail in the west as in the east. Consider the fateful words of the prophet Alma addressed to his son Helaman: ”Behold, I perceive that this very people, the Nephites, according to the spirit of revelation which is in me, in four hundred years from the time that Jesus Christ shall manifest himself unto them, shall dwindle in unbelief; Yea, and then shall they see wars and pestilence, yea, famines and bloodshed, even until the people of Nephi shall become extinct; Yea, and this because they shall dwindle in unbelief, and fall into the works of darkness, and lasciviousness, and all manner of iniquities; yea, I say unto you, that because they shall sin against so great light and knowledge; yea, I say unto you, that from that day, even the fourth generation shall not pa.s.s away, before this great iniquity shall come.”--(Alma 45:10-12.)
38. An earlier prophecy relating to the degradation of the surviving remnant of Lehi's descendants, was uttered by Nephi, as a result of a revelation communicated to him through angelic visitation. He thus describes his vision of the future: ”I beheld and saw that the seed of my brethren did contend against my seed, according to the word of the angel; and because of the pride of my seed, and the temptations of the devil, I beheld that the seed of my brethren did overpower the people of my seed. And it came to pa.s.s that I beheld and saw the people of the seed of my brethren, that they had overcome my seed; and they went forth in mult.i.tudes upon the face of the land. And I saw them gathered together in mult.i.tudes; and I saw wars and rumors of wars among them; and in wars and rumors of wars, I saw many generations pa.s.s away. And the angel said unto me, Behold these shall dwindle in unbelief. And it came to pa.s.s that I beheld after they had dwindled in unbelief, they became a dark, and loathsome, and filthy people, full of idleness and all manner of abominations.”--(I Nephi 12:19-23. For other Book of Mormon predictions of spiritual decline on the western continent, see II Nephi 27:1; read also II Nephi 26:19-22, and chapter 29.) The degraded state of the North American Indians,--descendants of a prophet-father--is a striking realization of this prophetic declaration.
39. The scriptures cited are sufficient to show that widespread apostasy from the Church was foreseen; that the corruption of the Church itself was likewise foreknown; and that on both hemispheres a general apostasy was foretold.
NOTES.
1. _The Church, Primitive and Restored_. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints declares by its name a distinction from the Primitive Church as established by Christ and His early apostles. The essential designation of the restored Church is the Church of Jesus Christ; its authorized name is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the final phrase being added to distinguish the Church as established in the present dispensation from the Church as organized by the Savior during the period of His earthly ministry.
This distinction is shown in one of our Articles of Faith: ”We (the Church of today) believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church.”
2. _Man's Free Agency_. The teachings of the restored Church respecting individual freedom of action are thus summarized: ”The Church holds and teaches as a strictly scriptural doctrine, that man has inherited among the inalienable rights conferred upon him by his divine Father, absolute freedom to choose the good or the evil in life as he may elect. This right cannot be guarded with more jealous care than is bestowed upon it by G.o.d Himself; for in all His dealings with man, He has left the mortal creature free to choose and to act, with no semblance of compulsion or restraint, beyond the influences of paternal counsel and loving direction. True, He has given commandments, and has established statutes, with promises of blessings for compliance and dire penalties for infraction; but in the choice of these, G.o.d's children are untrammeled. In this respect, man is no less free than are the angels and the G.o.ds, except as he has fettered himself with the bonds of sin, and forfeited his power of will and force of soul. The individual has a full measure of liberty to violate the laws of health, the requirements of nature, and the commandments of G.o.d in matters both temporal and spiritual, as he has to obey all such; in the one case he brings upon himself the sure penalties that belong to the broken law; as in the other he inherits the specific blessings and the added freedom that attend a law-abiding life.
Obedience to law is the habit of the free man; 'tis the transgressor who fears the law, for he brings upon himself deprivation and restraint, not because of the law, which would have protected him in his freedom, but because of his rejection of law. The predominant attribute of justice, recognized as part of Divine nature, forbids the thought that man should receive promises of reward for righteousness, and threats of punishment of evil deeds, if he possessed no power of independent action. It is no more a part of G.o.d's plan to compel men to work righteousness, than it is His purpose to permit evil powers to force His children into sin. In the days of Eden, the first man had placed before him commandment and law, with an explanation of the penalty which would follow a violation of that law. No law could have been given him in righteousness, had he not been free to act for himself. 'Nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but remember that I forbid it,' said the Lord G.o.d to Adam. Concerning His dealings with the first patriarch of the race, G.o.d has declared in this day, 'Behold I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself.'” (The Author, ”Articles of Faith,” Lecture 3:1, 2.)
3. _The Testimony of Prophecy to the Apostasy_. ”What is prophecy but history reversed? Nothing. Prophecy is a record of things before they transpire. History is a record of them after they have occurred; and of the two prophecy is more to be trusted for its accuracy than history: for the reason that it has for its source the unerring inspiration of Almighty G.o.d; while history,--except in the case of inspired historians--is colored by the favor or prejudice of the writer, depends for its exactness upon the point of view from which he looks upon the events; and is likely to be marred in a thousand ways by the influences surrounding him,--party considerations, national interest or prejudice; supposed influence upon present conditions and future prospects--all these things may interfere with history; but prophecy is free from such influences. Historians are self-const.i.tuted, or appointed by men; but prophets are chosen of G.o.d.
Selected by divine wisdom, and illuminated by that Spirit which shows things that are to come, prophets have revealed to them so much of the future as G.o.d would have men to know, and the inspired writers record it for the enlightenment or warning of mankind, without the coloring or distortion so liable to mar the work of the historian. Thus Moses recorded what the history of Israel would be on condition of their obedience to G.o.d: and what it would be if they were disobedient.
Israel was disobedient, and historians have exhausted their art in attempts to tell of their disobedience and suffering; but neither in vividness nor accuracy do the histories compare with the prophecy. So with the prophecy of Daniel in respect to the rise and succession of the great political powers that should dominate the earth, and the final triumph of the Kingdom of G.o.d. So with well-nigh all of the prophecies.”--(B. H. Roberts, ”A New Witness for G.o.d,” pp. 113, 114.)
4. _Christ's Prediction of the Apostasy_. The forceful prophecy, couched in terms of vivid description, uttered by our Lord in response to inquiries by His disciples, has been the subject of diverse opinion and varied comment, particularly as regard the time to which the prediction refers. As recorded in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, a significant sign of the progress of events to precede the second coming of Christ was stated as follows: ”And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Verse 14.) It is claimed by many that the ”end” referred to in the pa.s.sage quoted is not necessarily the close of the final dispensation, not what is commonly spoken of as the end of the world, but the closing up of the gospel dispensation then current; and in support of this interpretation it is urged that following the utterance quoted Christ proceeded to predict the calamities then awaiting Jerusalem. That during the period covered by the earthly ministry of the apostles, the gospel was preached in all the civilized nations of the Eastern hemisphere, is evident alike from scripture and from the uncanonical writings of repute relating to that period. Paul speaks of the Gospel as having been carried in his day to the world, and as having been preached to every creature under heaven (see Colos. 1:6, 23; compare Romans 10:18; see also Note 3, following chapter I of this work, page 15.)
In Joseph Smith's version of the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew the paragraph relating to the preaching of the gospel in all the world as one of the signs specified by Jesus Christ, is transposed so as to apply more directly to the modern or last dispensation. (See Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Joseph Smith, 1.) The scripture under consideration has direct application to the conditions characteristic of present times--the period now current and immediately precedent to the second advent of the Christ. This fact, however, does not necessarily nullify its application to the earlier period as well.
History repeats itself in many instances in this, ”the dispensation of the fulness of times;” indeed, the very name is expressive of a summarizing or gathering together of things past, and this involves recurrence of earlier conditions and re-enactment of laws. The prediction of world-wide evangelization is not the only instance of a general prophecy having more than a single limited horizon of fulfillment. In the apostolic period the gospel was carried to all nations known to the Lord's ministers; a similar work is in progress today, on a scale greatly exceeding that of the past, for the world, as measured by human occupancy, is vastly greater than of old.
5. _Scriptures Relating to the Apostasy_. That the application of the scriptures cited in the text is proof of the predicted apostasy is not peculiar to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is shown by the fact that these predictions are similarly interpreted by theologians of other churches. Thus, in his ”Bible Commentary,” Dr.
Adam Clarke annotates Paul's admonition to Timothy as below. First note the pa.s.sage: ”Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy;” etc.
Dr. Clarke says:
”_In the latter times_: This does not necessarily imply the last ages of the world; but any times consequent (subsequent) to those in which the church then lived.”
”_Depart from the faith_: They will apostatize from the faith, i. e.
from Christianity, renouncing the whole system in effect by bringing in doctrines which render its essential truths null and void; or denying and denouncing such doctrines as are essential to Christianity as a system of salvation. A man may hold all the truths of Christianity, and yet render them of none effect, by holding other doctrines, which counteract their influence; or he may apostatize by denying some essential doctrine, though he bring in nothing heterodox.”
”_Speaking lies in hypocrisy_: Persons pretending not only to divine inspiration, but also to extraordinary degrees of holiness, self-denial, mortification, etc., in order to credit the lies and false doctrines which they taught. Mult.i.tudes of lies were framed concerning miracles wrought by the relics of departed saints as they were termed.”
CHAPTER III.
**Early Stages of the Apostasy**.