Sister Petersen And I Bring To You...

Sister Petersen and I bring to you the love and greetings of the many thousands of faithful Saints and missionaries in the West European Mission area. ¶

They look forward to these conferences quite as much as we do here. They look forward with much anticipation to the messages given here. They receive them sometimes in printed word and by radio and otherwise. They are uplifted by the conference. Their hearts are with us here today together with their faith and prayers. ¶

We bring special greetings to you, President and Sister McKay, as you look in on this conference. The many wonderful Saints, the lovely people of Europe, love you and honor you; and they would have us bring their greeting to you. And in the words of one of our loveliest songs they would have us say: ¶

"We ever pray for thee, our Prophet dear, That Cod will give to thee comfort and cheer; As the advancing years furrow thy brow, Still may the light within shine bright as now." ¶

— Evan Stephens, Hymns, 386. ¶

We give you, President and Sister McKay, our love and blessing from the West European Mission. ¶

I would like to talk with you today about a subject which is very important to the missionaries of the Church as well as to ourselves and address my remarks very largely to those who are investigating our great Church and studying with our missionaries. ¶

The Bible— the Word of God We Latter-day Saints believe the Bible to be the word of God. We love it, and we use it continuously. We also believe the Book of Mormon and other modern scriptures to be the word of God. Some people who study the gospel with us are concerned by this latter fact because they are of the opinion that the Bible contains all of the word of God and that there can be no more scripture. They turn to the last chapter of the book of Revelation, which is also the concluding part of the Bible, and say that it proves that there should be no scripture other than the Bible. The words of John the Revelator to which they refer read as follows: ¶

"For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:" ¶

(Rev. 22:18.) John's Order Follows Precedent of Moses Of course a careful reading of this text shows very clearly that John the Revelator was speaking only of the book of Revelation and not of any collection of other sacred writings. Moses used a similar expression in speaking to ancient Israel when he said: "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, . . ." This is found in the fourth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy (verse 2). ¶

In the 12th chapter of the same book Moses said this: "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it." (Verse 32.) Can anyone suppose that in these words Moses laid down a prohibition against all subsequent revelations and against all books which might be called scripture in years to come? Did he have the power to silence all future prophets and forbid them to speak or write as God intended that they should? Of course not, or we would be without most of the Old Testament and would have none of the New Testament at all. ¶

It was the same with John the Revelator. In warning against additions to the book of Revelation he spoke of that book only, insisting that no one attempt to change or corrupt what he had said. ¶

The Bible was not compiled when John wrote the book of Revelation, so he could not possibly have referred to it. ¶

Furthermore, scholars tell us that the Gospel of John was written after the book of Revelation, and if this be true it becomes another indication that John had no thought of precluding other writings but only of protecting this particular book of Revelation from change or corruption. ¶

Then what about subsequent revelation? What about additional scripture? ¶

Should earnest readers of the Bible look for additional scriptures? Or should they be content with what they now have? ¶

All students of Holy Writ know that the Bible itself refers to a number of other books which the compilers did not include in it, either because they did not have access to them or because they did not consider them to be canonical. ¶

No one who understands the facts believes that the Bible contains all that God has ever revealed to human beings, and the Bible itself confirms this stand. ¶

It is interesting to ask ourselves how we obtained the Bible, how it was written originally, and by what means it was handed on down to us. ¶

Scriptures After Moses The Bible is a record of the work and writings of the prophets of God throughout the ages, together with a history of their time. It begins with the writings of the Prophet Moses, who is the accepted author of the first five books of the Old Testament. When Joshua was called to lead Israel, he received revelations also, and they were recorded with the history of his time. This record became known as the book of Joshua. It was new scripture for that day and was placed with the writings of Moses. The book of Judges came next. It was new scripture also and was added to the existing volume. Then came the Prophet Samuel. He received many revelations and wrote much history. His record was new scripture for his day and was added to the existing and now fast-growing volume of God's word. ¶

Who among us would discard the writings of Samuel because in earlier years Moses had said, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, . . ."? It is obvious that Moses spoke only of his own writings and not of anything written in subsequent times by men called to be prophets like unto himself. ¶

When Ezra and Nehemiah came on the scene, they received revelations which were recorded as scripture and placed with what Moses, Joshua, and Samuel had written. This became a pattern by which we obtained the entire Old Testament. Whenever God had a people on the earth, he raised up prophets who spoke in his name. Their writings became our scriptures. New scripture came with each new prophet, and each of these new books was included with the scripture already in hand. ¶

This pattern held true for the New Testament also. As the sacred word of the Christian era was written, it became scripture. Even the letters of Peter, James, John, Paul, and little-known Jude became scripture, new scripture. ¶

And they were so accepted by the people of that day and added to the final volume of scripture as it was at last compiled. ¶

Divine Guidance Through Continuous Revelation That is the way in which the Bible was prepared originally. It came out of a well-ordered procedure of the Lord. ¶

It was always the purpose of God to guide his people and not let them drift, but that guidance constituted new revelation every time it was given. Prophets were there to receive it, and as they wrote, their record became new scripture. ¶

Don't you see that one of the greatest marks of identification of the true Church of God in all the ages has been that it constantly produced new scripture? When there was no new scripture, it was a sign that there was no new revelation, and when there was no new revelation, there was no divine guidance. And when there was no divine guidance, the people drifted into error and darkness. Continuous revelation was essential to the life and survival of the true Church. So were the records of those new revelations, and each new record became new scripture. ¶

New Scripture Evidence of True Church The true Church must always produce new scripture according to this pattern. ¶

If it does not, we must admit that it has drifted from the path of truth and right. It was Isaiah who explained such a situation which existed anciently when he said: ¶

". . . the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: ¶

"For your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, . . ." ¶

(Isa. 59:1-2.) To say that there can be no new scripture is itself unscriptural and contrary to the teachings of the Bible. If we truly believe the Bible, we must expect additional scripture from time to time, and to do so we must look for living prophets to receive the revelations which are to become that new scripture. We cannot escape this conclusion. It is a well-established pattern of God's handdealings with men all down through the ages. ¶

New Volumes of Scripture The Latter-day Saints offer to the world three new volumes of scripture: ¶

the Book of Mormon, which is a sacred record of the ancient Americans, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price, which contain many of the revelations to the Prophet Joseph Smith. They are books of priceless value. ¶

They sustain the truthfulness of the Bible and give testimony of the divinity of Mormonism. They declare in no uncertain terms that God has spoken in our day and has made many of his gospel principles clear and understandable through these modern revelations. ¶

Would you like to hear a message from God as given in our day? What E. PETERSEN 123 would you give to hear his word as revealed in modern times, fully supporting and sustaining what was given anciently? It is here. We have it. We offer it freely to all mankind, and what we offer is fully authentic as were the writings of Joshua and the other prophets when added to those of Moses, and as was the New Testament when added to the Old. The teachings of these new scriptures will bring you divine strength and heavenly light. They will dissipate the doubts and fears that have arisen in honest minds for centuries and will answer gospel questions which have caused many misunderstandings about God's word. ¶

Baptism is Essential to Salvation Some have wondered, for example, about the necessity of baptism. Is baptism really essential to salvation, and if so, how should it be administered? ¶

If the Bible leaves you in doubt on these points let the modern scriptures help you. A Book of Mormon prophet, in discussing baptism, said at one time: ¶

". . . if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by waterl ". . . he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments." (2 Nephi 31:5, 7.) After hearing these words can anyone doubt the necessity of baptism? And would you like to know how baptism should be performed? By what method? ¶

In the Book of Mormon the Savior himself explained this as he instructed the men whom he authorized to perform baptisms in ancient America. Said he: ¶

". . . ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. ¶

"And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: ¶

"Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. ¶