Show EVIDENCES OF THE GOSPEL peculiarities OF THE MESSAGE when christianity was introduced into the world it was brought in contact with many different religious and philosophical systems the amans were proud of their mili tary ary glory the greeks of their superior wisdom among the jews a Phara spirit prevailed and the whole nation was divided into factious factions they mutually hated bated each other and all agreed in hating their aman OD oppressors and the gentile world at large A mere human eacher it has been justly said would under such circumstances nave have become either a partisan or have flattered each sect by exposing the faults of the rest or he would have ave endeavored to gain i u the favor of 01 the nation by bolwa condemning 1 m ning their Con conqueror queron instances of this kind of 01 are not unheard of in our time among the christian world when all stress is ili often laid on one PAn principle ciple at the sacrifice of the rest but christ did not follow this his course he stood up as an independent Tea teacher cheri rebuking all error condemning all the sects and yet taught principles contrary to tile e inclinations of the h human u man heart hence Ete yace christianity has several peculiarities of its 0 own wn in opposition ta w 9 an it empty ritualism it teaches personal holiness as the condition of eternal happiness all men are alike brought before the bar of god even those who have been apostles and worked fair miracles acles will fall condemned if they be workers of iniquity it bids men return good for evil not to get even with everybody it instructs men to love their enemies to be humble and forgiving qualities which philosophers considered weaknesses instead of virtues it places every race and every station as on a level before god except for the free mercy of God whose cloice choice lias has fallen upon one individual or one section in preference to another such doctrines were acceptable cep table to none and yet they are again and again repeated and enforced in the teachings of christianity Christi arity moreover sin is always spoken of as transgression against god a contrast to the idea prevalent among the greek philosophers who taught according to cicero that the deity is never displeased nor does he in flicht injury onman de off iii if 28 god is traced everywhere in nature in history in revelation and as for mens acts they are traced to their very source in the human heart and thereof there if evil condemned christianity does not content itself with condemning sin when already committed like every human law but it condemns the thought the feeling if not pure pup thus striking at the very root of sin well may we when we rightly understand these facts with the theologians exclaim it must be felt that the morality of the gos gospel I 1 1 is not of man bad men could not have taught such truths and good men wo would uld not have deceived the people but when we apply this great truth to the subject under consideration aaion n we reach the same conclusion the message delivered by joseph the prophet like christianity in its primitive purity has peculiarities of its own all of wb which leb prove it to be from god first of all let us consider the importance which this message sage attaches to faith while theologians of the world either give the preeminence pre eminence to works like the catholics or like protestants give to faith only a secondary place in their system here comes a young man an and do de clares faith is the first principle of revealed religion and the foundation of all righteousness he gives the faith its A right ht place as the very beginning of tte the new life the foundation of the structure where had he learnt this there is not a theological school within the sphere of our knowledge which has discovered this great truth men had for centuries been exhorted to repent first and then try to believe as if it were possible to produce repentance pen tance without faith or men were instructed to do good as if works could be meritorious without faith not only is faith placed in its right place but the definition of it is given strictly in harmony with ancient revelations faith is declared to be the only principle from which obedience and success can flow in relation to god faith is indeed a confession of our weakness and utter inability for everything that is good and yet as to success in all things pertaining to our exaltation and glorification it is omnipotent see doe and cov lectures on faith now where had the youthful Prophet ro het this discovery taught in t the e bible but not understood by the world who had pointed this great dhilo philosophical truth out to him who but god nor is this all in the message delivered through joseph the prophet faith has been established on the only sure foundation ever given the word of god revelation this was done at a time when almost everybody thought thoua revelation a thing of the past IN no 0 theologian in the whole wide world had discovered the great secret that faith must be based on a commini cation from god given not only to peo people I 1 e who belong to antiquity but to ake the individual who is required to believe let everybody honestly investigate the real cause of 6 the e weakness of faith as it exists amo ig men how it that notwithstanding all powerful preaching faith is almost extinct on earth it is this that people are required to believe only that which god said anciently this is the real cause we are so BO constructed that we cannot by any force of will take the same lively interest in what happened thousands of years ago as what happens today nor can we realize in the same way what happens h to others as that which immediately lately concerns our selves hence naturally all the preaching about what god revealed formerly nas has only a weak impression comparatively and it does not take the effect that it should the faith it produces is something as powerless as faith possibly can be I 1 id a order to produce this preachers are under the necessity of resorting to all sorts of sentimental anecdotes death scenes war scenes hoenes dreams etc or even to drums and tambour ines Reviva revivalists lists know the effects of these arti artificial flegal methods and prefer them to the simple tale of him who died on golgotha a proof of the poverty spiritually of the prevalent systems now how is this changed changed by the simple announcement ic god has spoken this at once stirs the whole world and the whole hell and something definitive comes out of that it produces either faith or condemnation where faith is the result it is a strong faith what gave the former day saints power to endure all for their religion fht gave the prophet and his fellow martyrs power to endure all hardships and death at the hands of enemies this assur assurance anoe god has spoken god has revealed his win will such faith this assurance will always produce how had jose joseph h n the prophet come to discover yi this fundamental truth no catholic no lutheran no episcopalian no presbyterian no methodist odist no baptist was in the position of teaching joseph this truth none but god lot let us further consider the great truth revealed in these test last days concerning god while all the world as far as the influence of christianity is felt knows how to repeat the words of the prayers which our lord taught his dia chiples our father which art ln heaven yet who has understood und erswood this one word father Fat herll in its full mealing meau mea ing urn upon every honest believing aou in n the whole world to inquire into his own mind and sev see whether tha beautiful prayer before the dabin joseph jose the prophet had any more signi significance leance than being a beautiful figure of speech or r was there one single t theologian eol oglan who bad understood that god really is what he teaches us to call him father if there be we are not aware of it but here comes a young man educated in no school formed according to no exist ant religious religions system and opens up to us an infinite view of eternities past and eternities to come by declaring that god is in reality our father that we are his children and that we are here for certain purposes which accomplished w win bring us baek back to an eternal home in a circle of real brothers and sisters ray bay 0 ye inhabitants of the world can this glorious truth emanate from anybody but god another peculiarity which marks this message is the importance it attaches to obedience to god by the prayer baw of yo your u r faith ye shall receive my law 1 1 doe doc and cov we sec xa ali 3 none shall be exempt lih 32 from the justice and the laws of god ubald ibid evil 84 verily I 1 say unto you that in time ye shall have no king or ruler for 1 will be your king and watch bover over you wherefore hear my voice and follow me and ye shall be a free people and ye shall have no laws but my laws when I 1 come for I 1 am your lawgiver law giver ibid 2122 21 22 had joseph the prophet received his instructions from men he be would have appointed a pope a bishop a presbyterian a or something similar as the highest authority of the church but he did not fot for god alone obedience is demanded a proof that he was a ni messenger uger of acl this will be still better appreciated when it is considered that although obedience is require yet the liberty of man to is fully preserved obedience is required but not from feax fear not from servitude but from free choice in looking over the history of the world we find that it has always been the great trouble of mankind to 0 find the proper way in this respect nations have had bad their liberty but it has not been possible to regulate this so as to give us room for abuses liberty has been perverted into lawlessness lawless nes the people have been the victims of unbridled agitators who under the cover of patriotism seduced and robbed the masses until the people tired of this liberty after many sufferings rose and laid the power down into the hands of a few or even of one preferring the chance of having one or as a few public robbers to many thousands but as anciently y scylla avoided was near so here what was once done as a safeguard against spoliation and lawlessness became in course of time a curse it developed into despotism the people suffered for centuries perhaps but finally the oppression beco becoming MID I 1 too great the burdens too he heavy ay ke ane people rose and crushed the ty tyrants ants under its weight freedom was again established and the progress in the circle again commenced for these two ex extremes bremes equally dangerous despotism Q and licentiousness have always been the trouble with mankind now here comes a young youn man main joseph the prophet who baa had studied no polities no history and who teaches us a system by which both these extremes both these dangers are avoided how to obey without being serfs or becoming serfs and at the same time to enjoy en joy the fullest personal liberty the doctrine or of common oon consent senk without placing us in duer of licentiousness if god dag had ader not taught the prophet this who had who was his teacher another peculiarity not less jew marked is found in what might be called the rites observed in this last dispensation almost the entire world had lost the right form of baptism for instance and all had forgotten the true signification and use of that rite A man who had only human wisdom for guidance would under such circumstances probably have either disregarded the act altogether as a mere outward form or would have attached very little importance to it both these tendencies are found abend antly among christian professors but here comes a young man and teaches us not only the right form of baptism although this was the most unpopular one but also its true signification and aad its ito use both for living and dead looking at baptism the doctrine of gathering the temple services all the rites revealed through joseph the prophet as a god acceptable cep table worship we must m ask I 1 Is it possible that all this thi is from men Is it likely that a deceiver would have taught doctrines so unpopular so little calculated to gain public favor we think not when a man wants to deceive he must follow popular roads flatter the vanity of the masses yield to their prejudices and establish himself on the very ground of their ignorance advanced truth truth trampled under the feet of men always come from god people who know the religious observances ser vances here spoken of only from representations givah by a hostile press where everything is ridiculed cannot of course ap appreciate prelate the force of the proof they convey but avery every one who is fai familiar nillar with these to the latter day saints peculiar rites rit and who understand that their sole object is to teach the people holiness to the lord any one who will consider that similar means were adopted under the grand mosaic dispensation in order to impress the people then living with this same lesson holiness to the lord and any one who perceives how wonderfully well weh these rites in every detail are calculated to impress this very idea that without holiness no one can see the lord he will feel in the contemplation of all this that here surely is the wisdom of god revealed to man no analysis however can do full justice to this subject it must be felt and realized in the experience of man main in order to be appreciated in conclusion like scripture itself the message of joseph the prophet begins its work with a recognition 0 tion an itt of our fall our total ruin rui it then hen brings the soul into harmony with god and with itself it enlightens and educates the conscience quickens and purifies the feelings subjects instinct to reason reason to love and all to god it provides with ample means of reaching ha happiness never dreamt of in worlds without end he hence nee the conclusion necessarily follows that the man who taught us this must himself have been a scholar of god EFFECTS OF THE DOCTRINES when investigating the claims of a religious system it becomes necessary also to consider the effects which such a system produces in the lives and characters of those who embrace it as well as its general influence if yi a tree is known by its fruits so are also doctrines those that produce good fruits cannot be evil it is therefore customary to refer to the effect of the gospel in the first PH part of our era as an evidence of the truth of its claims these effects are well known and worth worthy 0 f consider tion paul points out that s t some of the corinthians had been domica tors adulterers thieves drunkards previous to the their r embracing the gospee pel but now they sanctified and justified 1 I 1 cor vl vi 11 peter speaks of some of the converts con verts as having once been I 1 walking I 1 ag in lasciviousness lusts excess of wine and abominable idolatries Idol atries I 1 peter iv 3 but these sinners who lived in a dissolute age and under the worst of governments became converted because beaufie of being eminent in virtue above their fellow men this eminence to Is acknowledged byall by all unprejudiced writers of the age clement of rome A D says who did ever live among you that did not admire your sober and moderate piety and declare the greatness of your hospitality you are humble and not proud content with the dally daily bread which god supplies hearing diligently his word and enlarged in charity justin martyr AD formerly a platonic philosopher says we who formerly delighted in adultery now observe the strictest chastity we who used the charms of magic have devoted ourselves to the true god and we who valued money and gain above all things now east cast what we have in common and distribute to every man according to his necessities it has been supposed that the united order of which we read and which was founded in jerusalem at the commencement men cement |