Professed teachers of God's word must proclaim truth only

Professed teachers of God's word must proclaim truth only. — The Church desires its doctrines judged by the Bible.— Proof that angels have been mortal men. — Misrepresentation the usual weapon used against the Church. ¶

There shall be false teachers among you * * and many shall follow their pernicious ways : by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. ¶

Elder Roberts, in the course of his very brief remarks—and only brief remarks can be made in the limited time which is allotted to us, this morning—stated that the fundamental doctrines of the Church, to which he referred, are true. It is upon these doctrines that the structure which we have builded rests ; if they are not true, our hope is vain. He said unequivocally that these doctrines are true. I know that this statement of his is not sufficient evidence ; I know that it is not proof of his assertion ; because other men, stating it is not true, might regard, their evidence and the declarations which they make as equally in force, unless our state- ¶

ments can be sustained by proof. We are living in a time of misrepresentation, a time when, it seems to me, that the words quoted, which the Apostle Peter spoke to the Church of Christ in which he administered, are exemplified in the fullest degree. I believe that I sense the responsibility which rests upon me when I stand up here, professing to be a teacher of the word of the Lord, to speak the truth. I do not believe that it is my prerogative, either, in advocating my own faith, or in criticizing the faith of another, to speak that which is not true. I must not be a false teacher, and it must not be by reason of my words that the truth is evil spoken of. It is not often that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints pays attention to misrepresentations, but, when their doctrines are ridiculed, when they are misrepresented, when they are spoken of with contempt, and when these things are published and sent broadcast to the world, by which men and women follow after the falsehoods which are told, it becomes necessary, sometimes, to correct them, and expose the false basis upon which men reached conclusions in regard to the faith of the Latter-day Saints. ¶

From one of the local papers, I clipped this report of a sermon which was preached in this city, only a short time ago, by a reverend gentleman. This report appeared in a paper having a wide circulation, and I thought to myself, wherever that shall go, among people who are not acquainted with the Latter-day Saints, who know nothing of their doctrines, impressions that are very wrongful must, necessarily, result. This man pretends to be a teacher of the word ¶

of the Lord, as it is contained in the Bible; and one of the charges which he makes against the Latter-day Saints is that they do not like to have their faith compared with the doctrines of Christ, as they are contained in the Bible ; that they do not like to be held up against it. I will read, so that I may not be accused of misquoting his words : "I know that the Mormon church does not like to be stood up by the side of the Bible and compared with it." Then follows a tirade against the church. I wish to say to that man and to the world, and to my brethren and sisters, that there is nothing which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints more desires than that they may be stood up alongside of the Bible. It is the one thing which they are endeavoring, in their missionary work, to bring to the attention of the world. It is their one great desire that the doctrines of the Church may be judged by the word of God, as it is contained in this holy book. The man who says to the contrary misrepresents the fact, and if he is acquainted with the subject which he discusses, he knows that he misrepresents the facts ; and if he is not acquainted with the subject, he is, nevertheless, guilty, for he has no right to discuss that which he does not understand. I want to say, as Brother Roberts does, that every one of the doctrines of this Church, its articles of faith, as promulgated to the world by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the revelations of God, which are contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, are absolutely impregnable from a Biblical standpoint. There isn't one of them that can be successfully assailed ; and this man ought to know it whether he does or not. ¶

I have read this discourse over and over again, in the hope that I might find in it something to indicate sincerity, something to indicate intelligent investigation, but I have not found it. He assails the Prophet Joseph Smith; he ridicules and scorns the thought of modern prophecy. He ridicules the Book of Mormon and, particularly, the manner in which it was brought into existence. Let me read just a few words here, which will illustrate this point. Quoting from the Prophet Isaiah, he says: "To the law and the testimony; for if they speak not according to these, it is because there is no truth in them." I am glad he quoted that scripture, because I want — just for a moment, if I have time — to apply the law and the testimony to him. "Take the origin of the Book of Mormon, to begin with— I am just going to give you a sample — it is said that Moroni, an angel, once a man, directed Smith to the gold plates from which it is claimed the book was translated. Now, the unreasonableness of this is quickly shown. First, while men may become equal to the angels, they never become angels. Angels are an order of beings greater than and created before man." Upon this he bases his argument that the Book of Mormon must be an imposture, that it could not be true, because Joseph Smith claimed that Moroni, the man who visited him, the man who instructed him, the man who outlined to him the great mission which God had for him to perform, and the man — for I call him a man— who delivered into his hands the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated, is called an angel, and because he had once been a man. Now, my brethren and sis- ¶

ters, the Lord uses men to accomplish His purposes here in the earth. This earth was created for man, and he was placed upon it that he might here work out his salvation, that he might live this life of probation and prove himself worthy, or unworthy, of everlasting life. There has never been a dispensation, there has never been a word of revelation given, by which mankind is to be governed, so far as I am aware, that has not come through some man, from God, through His servants. This is our world. We are in it, and we are interested in it. Whatever we shall accomplish will be through our own effort; and God will manifest His will to us, through men, as He always has done. It may come by His own voice to His servants ; He may send ministering spirits to administer to them ; but it comes to the people through the voice of men chosen of God. ¶

Now, I just want to quote one passage of scripture — and the Bible is full of just such things as I am about to refer to here — to show you the inconsistency of this man's argument, and to show you the way of the Lord. The Lord has His own way of doing these things. Unfortunately, men too often place their own private interpretation upon them. The Lord once gave a revelation to John, His loved disciple, who was, at the time, upon the Isle of Patmos, in which he reveals to us some of the most important things that ever have been given to man ; and this is the way He did it : "The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass ; and he sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John." ¶

This seems very clear ; he sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John, just as He has a habit of doing ; and that angel outlined to John things which were to occur in the earth, from the beginning to the very end thereof, that wonderful book, the last book of the Bible, which we call Revelation, or the Apocalypse, gives this account : ¶

And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true ; [so testified the angel unto John]. ¶

And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. [Now, what follows?] ¶

Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not; [Why?] for I am thy fellow servant, [this angel of God whom He had sent] I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book. ¶

So, it seems that Moroni was not the first angel whom God had sent with a message to the inhabitants of the earth. It seems that he was not the first angel who had had a similar commission, and who had been a prophet, for this messenger bears witness to John that he himself was his fellow servant of the prophets and of those who keep the sayings of this book. But, yet, this man would undertake to make people believe that because of the fact that Joseph Smith thus received the word of God, he was an impostor. ¶

He follows this up by making another erroneous statement: "Joseph Smith and his successors also teach the continuation of an Aaronic priesthood since the cross ; that Mormonism holds it. That, too, is in direct conflict with the holy scriptures." Has any one ever heard the doctrine by an elder of this Church that the Aaronic priesthood had continued since the cross? ¶

I would like to read here again, just a short extract from Joseph Smith's statement : ¶

We still continued in the work of translation, being the 7th of April. I commenced to translate the Book of Mormon, and he began to write. [Referring to Oliver Cowdery]. We still continued the work of translation when, in the ensuing month of May, 1829, we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light. Having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us saying: ¶

Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of the Messiah, I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. ¶

He said that this Aaronic priesthood had not the power of laying on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, but that this should be conferred upon us hereafter. He commanded us to go and be baptized; gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and afterwards that he should baptize me. ¶

So, my brethren and sisters, the Latter-day Saints do not claim the continuation of the Aaronic priesthood from the cross, but that in the year 1829, as stated in this brief account which is given by the Prophet, it was restored to the earth by John the Baptist, another angel who had been a man, the same man that had been beheaded by Herod of Jerusalem, because he bore witness against his iniquity, the same man who held the keys of the Aaronic priesthood in the meridian of time, the same man who baptized the Savior of the world in the river Jordan. Who had a better right? ¶

Who more logically, who more naturally, who more reasonably should have restored the keys of that priesthood in this dispensation than John the Baptist? He bears witness here that he was that John who was called John the Baptist. ¶

I shall not continue to discuss this sermon ; but I call your attention to the fact that just such sermons as this are being sent broadcast, in which the faith of the Latter-day Saints is misrepresented, in which it is held up to ridicule. Boys and girls do not like to have the finger of scorn pointed at them, or the faith of their fathers held up to derision ; and there is nothing else in this sermon from beginning to end. Not in one single instance has this man attempted to prove that the faith of the Latter-day Saints is not based upon the doctrines of Christ, as they are taught in the Bible, except the one that I have quoted. That is the only scripture that he quotes to sustain his contention, and I have shown you how ridiculous that contention is. Do not be influenced, neither saint nor sinner, Latter-day Saint nor unbeliever, by such sophistry. Before you reach conclusions, investigate this question. There may be some excuse for men who reason from their own philosophy; there may be some excuse for men who do not profess to be believers in the Bible ; but for these professed teachers of Christianity, these men who profess to make the Bible the basis of their faith, I say that they are inconsistent; I say that they are either insincere and wilfully wrong, or else they are woefully ignorant of the subjects which they treat. The Latter-day Saints stand before the world today with the Bible as the basis of their faith. Nothing would make them happier than that we ¶

all come together and, making that the basis of our faith, be governed by it. We are willing to be judged by that rule, by the law and the testimony. "If they speak not according to that, it is because there is no light in them." ¶

That is just exactly what is the matter with the world. They do not accept the Bible as the word of God, notwithstanding the fact that they profess faith in it. They teach for doctrines the commandments of men; they divine for hire; they preach for money ; and their stock in trade, particularly, just at the present time, seems to be to belittle the Church of Christ and the Latter-day Saints. They will fail just as ignominiously as have every other people failed who have raised up their voices against the kingdom of God. They will be just as greatly disappointed as is a hungry man who, in his sleep, dreams that he eats, and thinks that he is satisfied ; but when he wakes, he finds that he is still hungry. Or a thirsty man who, in imagination, drinks in his sleep, and thinks that his thirst is quenched ; but when he arises his soul still has appetite. A man remarked, only a few days ago, so I was informed by a friend, that it was only a question of a little time till the Mormon Church would fall of its own weight. Take the advice of Gamaliel then, and just let the Church alone, let it fall of its own weight. It is not injuring anybody; it is only seeking to establish righteousness, preaching only the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is only holding up to the world the word of the Lord as it is contained in the Bible ; and if we do, also, contend that the Book of Mormon contains the word of God, it is a very easy matter to prove it by comparing it with ¶

the doctrines in the Bible, and we are vindicated there, just as we are upon every other point. ¶

Now, my brethren and sisters, remember this ; do not forget it : You are a thoughtful lot of men and women. Think of yourselves ; act for yourselves ; know for yourselves, right from wrong; do what God shall manifest to you is your duty, every day of your life. The Lord will take care of this work ; He will magnify it ; and it will never fall of its own weight, but it will continue to grow stronger every day, from this day henceforth, until it shall prevail in all the world. I bear this testimony to you, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶