| Show RIDICULE OUT OF PLACE I 1 K 1 tan springfield OP ringfield illinois journal ot of a recent date gives particulars of ft A 00 paid to this city by a number representing spring aaa ocleta oc lety among other inci U drobs is an inspection out W 1 on temple L wa we cup this paragraph from the mor ave naw nsw n his visit to the assembly anto S mr 11 wilson the inno indo of the writer wite was again W b t ag opa prominence bythe by the I 1 in jae manifested ap among M pd in the panels on gna of to this building was one in ahn represent beut peter james A john JS 00 SoI dia irk to th the act of baptizing as a priest of the 01 the query w ae 0 W did peter j ames hn ana S bior ml the get there the answer came down from ig tsi 0 9 furth tr r question fuestion tou U F th the believe 1 they were M MP reply came promptly ifan t they were there 2 itis it is f edwark re rk that the amuse ue 1 party was greatly heightened by this interesting colloquy though held in till afterwards we can readily understand the amusement of the par party tyl of Christian gentlemen who thought it the very hight of absurdity to believe that peter james and john could come down from heaven heavens and minister to a mortal man it is astonishing that they were able to restrain their hilarity so that they chead held it in till afterwards doubtless the explosion of merriment caf afterwards ter wards ay was P proportioned portioned ro to the time they held it in and the force of the fun thus bottled up it was enuch much more polite and commendable than to let it out while in the presence of the believing guide who courteously answered their queries the amused and incredulous gentleman from illinois was so 80 tickled over the simple faith of his informant that he did not use his eyes or ears to good advantage the panel painting to which he refers does not and is not intended to represent peter james and john in the act of baptizing joseph but of ordaining him to the authority which they held that is the apostleship and after all what is there so very humorous in the belief that three persons who once lived on earth and held divine authority have come here as ministering spirits and conferred that authority upon a chosen man in the present age of course it is unusual but it its not without precedent if these christian ge gentlemen tiemen believe the mui bible they muot a be as credulous in relation to such occurrences in former times as the guide in the assembly hall was in relation to the same kind hind of event in these lat 1 ter times and if so why should the antiquated story of a return to earth of former inhabitants printed in a book be received with gravity and faith and the testimony of a living person to a similar event told orally excite ridicule and be rejected as preposterous if it is true that peter james and john went up on a mount and saw moses and elias ministering to jesus of nazareth palestine why must it be untrue that peter james and john came to earth in their turn and ministered to joseph of sharon vermont did these hilarious christian gentlemen ever reflect upon the statement of john one of these three heavenly visitants tants recorded in the last chapter of the apocalypse I 1 after receiving the vision and revelation I 1 accepted now by the chris tian world as divine he says he fell at the feet of the being who showed him these things and was informed that his instructor was not to be worshiped for he was as only his cc fellow servant and one of the prophets there are other instances of the return to earth of blodys servants for special purposes after they had departed from mortal existence so there to is nothing very funny in the event portra portrayed yet by the artist and explained by the guide neither does it require greater credulity to believe the testimony of living persons to an currance occurrence oc of the nature described in our own age than to accept without question statements said to have been made by men long since dead and gone of similar occurrences ages upon ages ago that which has been may be again in the language of the ww wise man of scripture I 1 the thing that hath been it is that which shall be and that which to is done is that which shall be done or to use a hackneyed modern phrase tc history repeats itself the position is this christ ordained peter james and john to the authority which he had re cleved from the father he was an apostle and great high priest it is presumable that he received his ordination from moms and ellas elias on the mount of transfiguration but whether this were so or not he conferred the apostleship OR on these three disciples and gave them the keys after performing their missions they departed from this mortal sphere and all who held similar authority died and ana the me world was left without the apostleship for centuries the new testament teaches that apostles pos tle a are n necessary in christs church for the work of the ministry and the perfecting fact ng of the saints and that they are first in authority the only legitimate way by which that apostleship could be actually received in the nineteenth century was by its restoration through those who formerly held and exercised it who were more proper persons to bestow it upon living men than the apostles who held the keys of this ministry its bestowal upon joseph smith by this means welds welda the broken chain of divine authority on earth and makes it complete from age to age own to this dispensation of the falness of times no amount of ridicule will turn asinethe asi aside dethe the force of the evidence in regard to this restoration of the apostleship in the manner bribed in addition to the testimony of joseph smith and oliver cowdery who received it under the hands 6 of the heavenly messengers there is the witness of thousands andson of persons who have obtained divine manifestations in corroboration thereof all the powers and gifts of that divine calling have been and are exercised by others who have been ordained to this authority andoche gift of the holy ghost which has been imparted to hosts of people in various nations through their admi administration ni is the sign and seal and power of their authority we recommend to all visitors and others who hear bear of this restoration to earth of the apostleship of the christian church and who are excited by the news to excessive hilarity that they hold it lal in long enough to use a little it logic and enquire into the grounds for what belief they have and pursue their investigations into the evidences existing of the momentous event which prove hed the merriment and incredulity of the gentlemen from springfield illinois for it is of more importance to the inhabitants of theearta the earth than all the material inventions and discoveries co of modern times and will have an effect upon the earth that will reach from time into eternity |
