CHAPTER 41 PERSONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD THE ETERNAL FATHER/PRIESTHOOD CLAIMS (OPEN) LDS

CHAPTER 41 PERSONAL MANIFESTATIONS OF GOD THE ETERNAL FATHER AND
OF HIS SON JESUS CHRIST IN MODERN TIMES

A NEW DISPENSATION

In the year of our Lord 1820 there lived at Manchester, Ontario County,
state of New York, a worthy citizen named Joseph Smith. His household
comprised his wife and their nine children. The third Son and fourth child of
the family was Joseph Smith Jr., who at the time of which we speak was in his
fifteenth year. In the year Specified, New York and adjacent states were swept
by a wave of intense agitation in religious matters; and unusual zeal was put
forth by ministers of the numerous rival sects to win converts to their
respective folds. The boy Joseph was profoundly affected by this intense
excitement, and was particularly puzzled and troubled over the spirit of
confusion and contention manifest through it all. As our present subject has
to do with him specifically, and in view of the transcendent importance of his
testimony to the world, his own account of what ensued is given herewith.

Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was
in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion.
It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects
in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed
affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different
religious parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the
people, some crying, `Lo, here!' and others, `Lo, there!' Some were contending
for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist.

For notwithstanding the great love which the converts to these different
faiths expressed at the time of their conversion, and the great zeal
manifested by the respective clergy, who were active in getting up and
promoting this extraordinary scene of religious feeling, in order to have
everybody converted, as they were pleased to call it, let them join what sect
they pleased -- yet when the converts began to file off, some to one party and
some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good feelings of both the
priests and the converts were more pretended than real; for a scene of great
confusion and bad feeling ensued; priest contending against priest, and
convert against convert; so that all their good feelings one for another, if
they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about
opinions.

I was at this time in my fifteenth year. My father's family was
proselyted to the Presbyterian faith, and four of them joined that church,
namely -- my mother Lucy; my brothers Hyrum and Samuel Harrison; and my sister
Sophronia.

During this time of great excitement, my mind was called up to serious
reflection and great uneasiness; but though my feelings were deep and often
poignant, still I kept myself aloof from all these parties, though I attended
their several meetings as often as occasion would permit. In process of time
my mind became somewhat partial to the Methodist sect, and I felt some desire
to be united with them; but so great were the confusion and strife among the
different denominations, that it was impossible for a person young as I was,
and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who
was right and who was wrong.

My mind at times was greatly excited, the cry and tumult were so great
and incessant. The Presbyterians were most decided against the Baptists and
Methodists, and used all the powers of either reason or sophistry to prove
their errors, or, at least, to make the people think they were in error. On
the other hand, the Baptists and Methodists in their turn were equally zealous
in endeavoring to establish their own tenets and disprove all others.

In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to
myself, What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they
all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I
know it?

While I was laboring under the extreme difficulties caused by the
contests of these parties of religionists, I was one day reading the Epistle
of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth
not; and it shall be given him.

Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of
man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force
into every feeling of my heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing
that if any person needed wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not
know, and unless I could get more wisdom than I then had, I would never know;
for the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same
passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling
the question by an appeal to the Bible.

At length I came to the conclusion that I must either remain in darkness
and confusion, or else I must do as James directs, that is, ask of God. I at
length came to the determination to `ask of God,' concluding that if He gave
wisdom to them that lacked wisdom, and would give liberally, and not upbraid,
I might venture.

So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to
the woods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a beautiful, clear
day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time
in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had
never as yet made the attempt to pray vocally.

After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go,
having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to
offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when
immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and
had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could
not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time
as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.

But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the
power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I
was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction -- not to an
imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world,
who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being -- just
at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head,
above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon
me.

It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which
held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose
brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One
of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other --
This is my beloved Son, hear him!

My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the
sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I
get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the
personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right
-- and which I should join.

I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong;
and the personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an
abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that "they
draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; they teach
for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they
deny the power thereof."

He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did
he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself
again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven.

Some few days after I had this vision, I happened to be in company with
one of the Methodist preachers, who was very active in the before mentioned
religious excitement; and, conversing with him on the subject of religion, I
took occasion to give him an account of the vision which I had had. I was
greatly surprised at his behavior; he treated my communication not only
lightly, but with great contempt, saying, it was all of the devil, that there
were no such things as visions or revelations in these days; that all such
things had ceased with the apostles, and that there would never be any more of
them.

I soon found, however, that my telling the story had excited a great deal
of prejudice against me among professors of religion, and was the cause of
great persecution, which continued to increase; and though I was an obscure
boy, only between fourteen and fifteen years of age, and my circumstances in
life such as to make a boy of no consequence in the world, yet men of high
standing would take notice sufficient to excite the public mind against me,
and create a bitter persecution; and this was common among all the sects --
all united to persecute me.

It caused me serious reflection then, and often has since, how very
strange it was that an obscure boy, of a little over fourteen years of age,
and one, too, who was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty
maintenance by his daily labor, should be thought a character of sufficient
importance to attract the attention of the great ones of the most popular
sects of the day, and in a manner to create in them a spirit of the most
bitter persecution and reviling. But strange or not, so it was, and it was
often the cause of great sorrow to myself.

However, it was nevertheless a fact that I had beheld a vision. I have
thought since, that I felt much like Paul, when he made his defense before
King Agrippa, and related the account of the vision he had when he saw a
light, and heard a voice; but still there were but few who believed him; some
said he was dishonest, others said he was mad; and he was ridiculed and
reviled. But all this did not destroy the reality of his vision. He had seen a
vision, he knew he had, and all the persecution under heaven could not make it
otherwise; and though they should persecute him unto death, yet he knew, and
would know to his latest breath, that he had both seen a light, and heard a
voice speaking unto him, and all the world could not make him think or believe
otherwise.

So it was with me. I had actually seen a light, and in the midst of that
light I saw two personages, and they did in reality speak to me; and though I
was hated and persecuted for saying that I had seen a vision, yet it was true;
and while they were persecuting me, reviling me, and speaking all manner of
evil against me falsely for so saying, I was led to say in my heart: Why
persecute me for telling the truth? I have actually seen a vision, and who am
I that I can withstand God, or why does the world think to make me deny what I
have actually seen? For I had seen a vision; I knew it, and I knew that God
knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it, at least I knew that
by so doing I would offend God, and come under condemnation.

I had now got my mind satisfied so far as the sectarian world was
concerned; that it was not my duty to join with any of them, but to continue
as I was until further directed. I had found the testimony of James to be
true, that a man who lacked wisdom might ask of God, and obtain, and not be
upbraided.

In this wise was ushered in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times.
The darkness of the long night of apostasy was dispelled; the glory of the
heavens once more illumined the world; the silence of centuries was broken;
the voice of God was heard again upon the earth. In the Spring of A.D. 1820
there was one mortal, a boy not quite fifteen years old, who knew as well as
that he lived, that the current human conception of Deity as an incorporeal
essence of something possessing neither definite shape nor tangible substance
was as devoid of truth in respect to both the Father and the Son as its
statement in formulated creeds was incomprehensible. The boy Joseph knew that
both the Eternal Father and His glorified Son, Jesus Christ, were in form and
stature, perfect Men; and that in Their physical likeness mankind had been
created in the flesh. He knew further that the Father and the Son were
individual Personages, each distinct from the other -- a truth fully attested
by the Lord Jesus during His mortal existence, but which had been obscured if
not buried by the sophistries of human unbelief. He realized that the unity of
the Godhead was a oneness of perfection in purpose, plan, and action, as the
scriptures declare it to be, and not an impossible union of personalities, as
generations of false teachers had tried to impress. This resplendent theophany
confirmed the fact of a universal apostasy, with the inevitable corollary --
that the Church of Christ was nowhere existent upon the earth. It effectively
dissipated the delusion that direct revelation from the heavens had forever
ceased; and affirmatively proved the actuality of personal communication
between God and mortals.

For the fourth time since the Savior's birth in the flesh, the voice of
the Father had attested the Son's authority in matters pertaining to earth and
man. In this latter-day revelation of Himself, as on the earlier occasions,
the Father did no more than affirm the fact of the Son's identity, and command
that He be obeyed.

"A MESSENGER SENT FROM THE PRESENCE OF GOD"

For about three and a half years following the glorious appearing of the
Father and the Son to Joseph Smith, the youthful revelator was left to
himself, so far as further manifestations from heaven were concerned. The
period was one of probation. He was subjected to the sneers of youths of his
age, and to aggressive persecution on the part of older men, "who," as he very
justly and somewhat accusingly remarks, "ought to have been my friends and to
have treated me kindly, and if they supposed me to be deluded to have
endeavored in a proper and affectionate manner to have reclaimed me." He
pursued his usual vocation, that of farm work in association with his father
and brothers, from whom he received kindness, consideration, and sympathy;
and in spite of raillery, abuse, and denunciation from the community at large
he remained firm and faithful in his solemn avouchment that he had seen and
heard both the Eternal Father and Jesus the Christ, and that he had been
instructed to join none of the contending sects or churches because they were
all fundamentally wrong.

On the night of the 21st of September 1823, while engaged in fervent
prayer to God in the solitude of his chamber, Joseph observed the room become
illuminated until the light exceeded that of a cloudless noon. A glorious
personage appeared within the room, standing a little space above the floor.
Both the body of the visitant and the loose robe he wore were of exquisite
whiteness. Calling Joseph by name he announced himself as Moroni, "a messenger
sent from the presence of God"; and informed the young man that the Lord had a
work for him to do, and that his name should come to be spoken of both for
good and for evil among all nations, kindreds, and tongues. The angel told of
a record engraven on plates of gold, which contained an account of the former
inhabitants of the American continent, and the fulness of the everlasting
gospel as delivered by the Savior to those ancient people; and furthermore,
that with the record were a breastplate, and the Urim and Thummim, which had
been prepared by divine instrumentality for use in translating the book. The
place at which the plate and the other sacred things were deposited was shown
to Joseph in vision, and so clear was the demonstration that he readily
recognized the spot when he visited it next day.

The angel quoted several passages from the Old and one from the New
Testament, some verbatim, and Some with small variations from the Biblical
version. Joseph's statement concerning the scriptures cited by Moroni is as
follows:

He first quoted part of the third chapter of Malachi, and he quoted also
the fourth or last chapter of the same prophecy, though with a little
variation from the way it reads in our Bibles. Instead of quoting the first
verse as it reads in our books, he quoted it thus:

For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the Proud,
yea, and all that do wickedly, shall burn as stubble; for they that come shall
burn them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
branch.

And again, he quoted the fifth verse thus: Behold, I will reveal unto you
the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord.

He also quoted the next verse differently: And he shall plant in the
hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the
children shall turn to their fathers; if it were not so, the whole earth would
be utterly wasted at his coming.

In addition to these, he quoted the eleventh chapter of Isaiah, saying
that it was about to be fulfilled. He quoted also the third chapter of Acts,
twenty-second and twenty-third verses, precisely as they stand in our New
Testament. He said that that prophet was Christ; but the day had not yet come
when they who would not hear his voice should be cut off from among the
people, but soon would come.

He also quoted the second chapter of Joel, from the twenty-eighth verse
to the last. He also said that this was not yet fulfilled but was soon to be.
And he further stated that the fulness of the Gentiles was soon to come in.

The messenger departed, and the light disappeared with him. Twice during
the same night, however, the angel returned, each time repeating what had been
said at his first appearing and adding words of instruction and caution. On
the next day Moroni appeared to the young man again, and directed him to
inform his father of the visitations and commandments he had received.
Joseph's father instructed him to obey the messenger's instructions and
testified that they were given of God. Joseph then went to the locality
specified by the angel, on the side of a hill called in the record Cumorah,
and immediately identified the Spot that had been shown him in vision. By the
aid of a lever he removed a large stone, which proved to be the cover of a
stone box wherein lay the plates and other articles described by Moroni. The
angel appeared at the place, and forbade Joseph to remove the contents of the
box at that time. The young man replaced the massive stone lid and left the
Spot.

Four years later, the plates, the Urim and Thummim, and the breastplate
were delivered into Joseph's keeping by the angel Moroni. This Moroni, who now
came as a resurrected being, was the last survivor of the Nephite nation; he
had completed the record, and then shortly before his death had hidden away
the same in the hill Cumorah, whence it was brought forth through his
instrumentality and delivered to the modern prophet and seer, Joseph Smith,
September 22, 1827. That record, or, strictly speaking a part thereof, is now
accessible to all; it has been translated through divine instrumentality and
is now published in many languages as the Book of Mormon.

THE AARONIC PRIESTHOOD CONFERRED BY JOHN THE BAPTIST

On the 15th of May, 1829, Joseph Smith and his scribe in the work of
translating the Nephite record, Oliver Cowdery, retired to a secluded glade to
pray. Their special purpose was to inquire of the Lord concerning the
ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins, some account of which they had
found on the plates. Joseph writes:

While we were thus employed, praying and calling upon the Lord, a
messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands
upon us, he ordained us, saying:

Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of 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.

The angelic visitor stated that his name was John, the same who is
designated in the New Testament, John the Baptist; and that he had acted in
ordaining the two under the direction of Peter, James, and John, who held the
keys of the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. He explained that the Aaronic
Priesthood did not comprise "the power of laying on hands for the gift of the
Holy Ghost"; but he predicted that the Higher Priesthood, having this power,
would be conferred later. By his express direction, Joseph baptized Oliver,
and the latter in turn baptized Joseph, by immersion in water.

THE MELCHIZEDEK PRIESTHOOD CONFERRED BY PETER, JAMES, AND JOHN

Shortly after their ordination to the Lesser or Aaronic Priesthood,
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were visited by the presiding apostles of old,
Peter, James, and John, who conferred upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood and
ordained them to the Holy Apostleship. In a later revelation the Lord Jesus
thus specifically acknowledges the respective ordinations as having been done
by His will and commandment:

Which John I have sent unto you, my servants, Joseph Smith, Jun., and
Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto this first priesthood which you have
received, that you might be called and ordained even as Aaron.... And also
with Peter, and james, and john, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have
ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my
name, and bear the keys of your ministry, and of the same things which I
revealed unto them: Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a
dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fulness of times,
in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in
heaven, and which are on the earth.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

On the sixth day of April A.D. 1830, the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints was formally organized, at Fayette, Seneca County, New York,
in accordance with the secular law governing the establishment of religious
associations. The persons actually participating in the organization numbered
but six, such being the minimum required by law in such an undertaking; many
others were present however, some of whom had already received the ordinance
of baptism for the remission of sins. By revelation to Joseph Smith, the Lord
had previously specified the day on which the organization was to be effected,
and had made known His plan of Church government -- with detailed instructions
as to the requisite conditions for membership; the indispensability of
baptism by immersion, and the precise manner in which the initiatory ordinance
was to be administered; the manner of confirming baptized believers as members
of the Church; the duties of elders, priests, teachers, and deacons in the
Church; the exact procedure to be followed in the administration of the
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper; the order of Church discipline, and the method
of transferring members from one branch to another. The baptized converts
present at the organization were called upon to express their acceptance or
rejection of Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery as elders in the Church; and in
accordance with the unanimous vote in the affirmative the ordination or
setting apart of these two men as respectively first and second elder in the
new organization was performed.

While the Book of Mormon had been in course of translation, particularly
during the two years immediately preceding the organization of the Church,
several revelations had been given through Joseph the prophet and seer,
relating to the work of translation and to the preparatory labor necessary to
the establishment of the Church as an institution among men. The Author of
these several revelations declared Himself definitely to be Jesus Christ, God,
the Son of God, the Redeemer, the Light and Life of the World,

Alpha and Omega, Christ the Lord, the Lord and Savior. As early as A.D.
1829, the calling of the Twelve Apostles was indicated, and appointment was
made for the searching out of the Twelve who should stand before the world as
special witnesses of the Christ; these were subsequently ordained to the Holy
Apostleship, and the council or quorum of the Twelve has been recognized, and
instructions concerning their exalted duties have been given, in numerous
revelations of later dates.

In such manner has the Church of Jesus Christ been reestablished upon the
earth, with all the powers and authority pertaining to the Holy Priesthood as
committed by the Lord Jesus to His apostles in the period of His personal
ministry. The inauguration of a new dispensation of the gospel, with a
restoration of the Priesthood, was absolutely necessary; since through the
apostasy of the Primitive Church there lived not a man empowered to speak or
administer in the name of God or His Christ. John the Revelator saw in his
vision of the last days an angel bringing anew "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 God, and give glory to
him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven,
and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

Such an angelic embassage would have been but a needless and empty
display, and therefore an impossibility, had the everlasting gospel remained
upon the earth with its powers of priesthood perpetuated by succession. The
scriptural assurances of a restoration in the last days through direct
bestowal from the heavens is conclusive proof of the actuality of the
universal apostasy. Moroni came to Joseph Smith as "a messenger sent from the
presence of God," and delivered a record containing "the fulness of the
everlasting gospel," as it had been imparted to the Lord's people in ancient
times; and the worldwide distribution of the Mormon, and of other publications
embodying the revealed word in modern times, and the ministry of thousands who
labor in the authority of the Holy Priesthood combine as the loud voice
addressed to every nation, crying: "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the
hour of his judgment is come."

FURTHER COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE HEAVENS TO MAN

Following the organization of the Church as heretofore described, direct
communication between the Lord Jesus Christ and His prophet Joseph was
frequent, as the needs of the Church required. Numerous revelations were
given, and these are accessible to all who will read. A marvelous
manifestation was granted to the prophet and his associate in the presidency
of the Church, Sidney Rigdon, the record of which appears as follows:

We, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit on the
sixteenth of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and
thirty-two, by the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our
understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God
-- even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which
were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the
bosom of the Father, even from the beginning, of whom we bear record, and the
record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the
Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision; For while
we were doing the work of translation, which the Lord had appointed unto us,
we came to the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth chapter of John, which was
given unto us as follows. Speaking of the resurrection of the dead, concerning
those who shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth; they
who have done good in the resurrection of the just, and they who have done
evil in the resurrection of the unjust. Now this caused us to marvel, for it
was given unto us of the Spirit; and while we meditated upon these things, the
Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened, and the
glory of the Lord shone round about; and we beheld the glory of the Son, on
the right hand of the Father, and received of his fulness; and saw the holy
angels, and they who are sanctified before his throne, worshiping God, and the
Lamb, who worship him for ever and ever. And now, after the many testimonies
which have been given of him, this is the testimony last of all, which we give
of him, that he lives; for we saw him, even on the right hand of God, and we
heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father --
that by him and through him, and of him the worlds are and were created, and
the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.

The vision was followed by further revelation both through sight and
hearing; and the Lord showed unto His servants and proclaimed aloud the fate
of the wicked and the characteristic features of the varied degrees of glory
provided for the souls of mankind in the hereafter. The several states of
graded honor and exaltation pertaining to the telestial, the terrestrial, and
the celestial kingdoms were revealed, and the ancient scriptures relating
thereto were illumined with the new light of simplicity and literalness.

PERSONAL APPEARING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IN THE KIRTLAND TEMPLE

In less than three and a half years after its organization the Church
began the erection of the first temple of modern times at Kirtland, Ohio. The
work was undertaken in compliance with a revelation from the Lord requiring
this labor at the hands of His people. The Church membership was small; the
people were in poverty; the period was one of determined opposition and
relentless persecution. Be it understood that to the Latter-day Saints a
temple is more than chapel, church, tabernacle, or cathedral; it is no place
of common assembly even for purposes of congregational worship, but an edifice
sacred to the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood -- distinctively and
essentially a House of the Lord. The temple at Kirtland stands today, a
substantial and stately building; but it is no longer in possession of the
people who reared it by unmeasured sacrifice of time, substance, and effort
extending through years of self-denial and suffering. Its cornerstones were
laid July 23, 1833, and the completed structure was dedicated March 27, 1836.
The dedicatory service was made ever memorable by a Pentecostal outpouring of
the Spirit of the Lord accompanied by the visible presence of angels. In the
evening of the same day the several quorums of priesthood assembled in the
house, and a yet greater manifestation of divine power and glory was
witnessed. On the succeeding Sunday -- April 3, 1836 -- after a service of
solemn worship, including the administration of the Lord's Supper, the prophet
Joseph and his counselor, Oliver Cowdery, retired for prayer within the veils
enclosing the platform and pulpit reserved for the presiding authorities of
the Melchizedek Priesthood. They bear this solemn testimony to the personal
appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ at that time and place:

The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were
opened. We saw the Lord standing upon the breast work of the pulpit, before
us, and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber. His
eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of his head was white like the pure
snow, his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and his voice was
as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying
-- I am the first and the last, I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain, I
am your advocate with the Father. Behold, your sins are forgiven you, you are
clean before me, therefore lift up your heads and rejoice, let the hearts of
your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have,
with their might, built this house to my name. For behold, I have accepted
this house, and my name shall be here, and I will manifest myself to my people
in mercy in this house, Yea I will appear unto my servants, and speak unto
them with mine own voice, if my people will keep my commandments, and do not
pollute this holy house, Yea the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands
shall greatly rejoice in consequence of the blessings which shall be poured
out, and the endowment with which my servants have been endowed in this house;
and the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands, and this is the
beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my
people. Even so. Amen.

After the Savior's withdrawal, the two mortal prophets were visited by
glorified beings, each of whom had officiated on earth as a specially
commissioned servant of Jehovah, and now came to confer the authority of his
particular office upon Joseph and Oliver, thus uniting all the powers and
authorities of olden dispensations in the restored Church of Christ, which
characterizes the last and greatest dispensation of history. This is the
record:

After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us, and
Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of
Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes
from the land of the north. After this, Elias appeared, and committed the
dispensation of the gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all
generations after us should be blessed. After this vision had closed, another
great and glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah the prophet, who was taken
to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said -- Behold, the time
has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that
he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come,
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the
fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of
this dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know that
the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.

JESUS THE CHRIST IS WITH HIS CHURCH TODAY

Right gloriously has the Lord brought about a fulfilment of the promises
uttered through the mouths of His holy prophets in by-gone ages -- to restore
the gospel with all its former blessings and privileges; to bestow anew the
Holy Priesthood with authority to administer in the name of God; to
reestablish the Church bearing His name and founded upon the rock of divine
revelation; and to proclaim the message of salvation to all nations, kindreds,
tongues, and peoples. In spite of persecution both mobocratic and judicially
sanctioned, in spite of assaults, drivings, and slaughter, the Church has
developed with marvelous rapidity and strength since the day of its
organization. Joseph, the prophet, and his brother Hyrum, the patriarch of the
Church, were brutally slain as martyrs to the truth at Carthage, Illinois,
June 27, 1844. But the Lord raised up others to succeed them; and the world
learned in part and yet shall know beyond all question that the Church so
miraculously established in the last days is not the church of Joseph Smith
nor of any other man, but in literal verity, the Church of Jesus Christ. The
Lord has continued to make known His mind and will through prophets, seers,
and revelators whom He has successively chosen and appointed to lead His
people; and the voice of divine revelation is heard in the Church today. As
provided for in its revealed plan and constitution, the Church is blessed by
the ministry of prophets, apostles, high priests, patriarchs, seventies,
elders, bishops, priests, teachers, and deacons. The spiritual gifts and
blessings of old are again enjoyed in rich abundance. New scriptures,
primarily directed to present duties and current developments in the purposes
of God, yet which illuminate and make plain in simplicity the scriptures of
old, have been given to the world through the channel of the restored
priesthood; and other scriptures shall yet be written. The united membership
of the Church proclaims:

We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we
believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to
the Kingdom of God.

The predicted gathering of Israel from their long dispersion is in
progress under the commission given by the Lord through Moses. The "mountain
of the Lord's house" is already established in the top of the mountains, and
all peoples flow unto it; while the elders of the Church go forth among the
nations, saying: "Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to
the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will
walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem."

Within sacred temples, the living are officiating vicariously in behalf
of the dead; and the hearts of mortal children are turned with affectionate
concern toward their departed ancestors, while disembodied hosts are praying
for the success of their posterity, yet in the flesh, in the service of
Salvation. The saving gospel is offered freely to all, for so hath its Author
commanded. Through the medium of the press, and by the personal ministrations
of men invested with the Holy Priesthood whom the Church sends out by
thousands, this Gospel of the Kingdom is today preached throughout the world.
When such witness among the nations is made complete, "then shall the end
come"; and the nations "shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of
heaven, with power and great glory."

NOTES TO CHAPTER 41

1. The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. -- "Now the thing to be
known is, what the fulness of times means, or the extent and authority
thereof. It means this, that the dispensation of the fulness of times is made
up of all the dispensations that ever have been given since the world began,
until this time. Unto Adam first was given a dispensation. It is well known
that God spake to him with His own voice in the garden, and gave him the
promise of the Messiah. And unto Noah also was a dispensation given; for Jesus
said, `As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the
coming of the Son of Man'; and as the righteous were saved then, and the
wicked destroyed, so it will be now. And from Noah to Abraham, and from
Abraham to Moses, and from Moses to Elias, and from Elias to John the Baptist,
and from then to Jesus Christ, and from Jesus Christ to Peter, James, and
John, the Apostles all having received in their dispensation by revelation
from God, to accomplish the great scheme of restitution, spoken by all the
holy Prophets since the world began; the end of which is, the dispensation of
the fulness of times, in which all things shall be fulfilled that have been
spoken of since the earth was made." -- See Millennial Star, vol. 16, p. 220.

2. Limitations of the Aaronic Priesthood. -- After conferring the Lesser
or Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, the officiating
angel, who had been known while a mortal being as John the Baptist, explained
that the authority he had imparted did not extend to the laying-on of hands
for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, the latter ordinance being a function of
the Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood. Consider the instance of Philip, (not
the apostle Philip), whose ordination empowered him to baptize, though a
higher authority than his was requisite for the conferring of the Holy Ghost;
and consequently the apostles Peter and John went down to Samaria to officiate
in the case of Philip's baptized converts (Acts 8:5, 12-17). See D&C 20:41,
46.

3. Priesthood and Office Therein. -- It is important to know that
although Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had been ordained to the Holy
Apostleship, and therefore to a fulness of the Melchizedek Priesthood, by
Peter, James, and John, it was necessary that they be ordained as elders in
the Church. When they received the Melchizedek Priesthood from the three
ancient apostles, there was no organized Church of Jesus Christ, and
consequently no need of Church officers, such as elders, priests, teachers, or
deacons. As soon as the Church was established, officers were chosen therein
and these were ordained to the requisite office or grade in the Priesthood.
Moreover, the principle of common consent in the conduct of Church affairs was
observed in this early action of the members in voting to sustain the men
nominated for official positions, and has continued to be the rule of the
Church to this day. It is pertinent to point out further that in conferring
upon Joseph and Oliver the Aaronic Priesthood, John the Baptist did not ordain
them to the office of priest, teacher, or deacon. These three offices are
included in the Aaronic, as are the offices of elder, seventy, high priest,
etc., in the Melchizedek Priesthood. Read D&C 20:38-67; The Articles of Faith,
chap. 11.

4. Modern Temples. -- The Lord's gracious promise given in the Kirtland
Temple -- to appear unto His servants at times then future, and to speak unto
them with His own voice, provided the people would keep His commandments and
not pollute that holy house -- has been in no wise abrogated nor forfeited
through the enforced relinquishment of the Kirtland Temple by the Latter-day
Saints. The people were compelled to flee before the fury of mobocratic
persecution; but they hastened to erect another and yet more splendid
sanctuary at Nauvoo, Illinois, and were again dispossessed by lawless mobs. In
the valleys of Utah the Church has erected four great temples, each more
stately than the last; and in these holy houses the sacred ordinances
pertaining to salvation and exaltation of both the living and the dead are in
uninterrupted progress. The temples of the present dispensation, in the order
of their completion, and designated according to location, are those of
Kirtland, Ohio; Nauvoo, Illinois; St. George, Logan, Manti, and Salt Lake
City, Utah; Cardston, Canada; and Laie, Hawaii. See The House of the Lord.

5. Consistency of the Church's Claim to Authority. -- The proofs of order
and system in the restoration of authority to officiate in particular
functions pertaining to the priesthood are striking, and go to prove the
continued validity, beyond the grave, of authoritative ordination on earth.
The keys of the Aaronic order, comprizing authority to baptize for the
remission of sins, were brought by John the Baptist, who had been especially
commissioned in that order of priesthood in the time of Christ. The
apostleship, comprizing all powers inherent in the Melchizedek Priesthood, was
restored by the presiding apostles of old, Peter, James, and John. Then, as
has been seen, Moses conferred the authority to prosecute the work of
gathering; and Elijah, who, not having tasted death, held a peculiar relation
to both the living and the dead, delivered the authority of vicarious ministry
for the departed. To these appointments by heavenly authority should be added
that given by Elias, who appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and
"committed the dispensation of the gospel of Abraham." It is evident, then,
that the claims made by the Church with respect to its authority are complete
and consistent as to the source of the powers professed and the channels
through which such have been delivered again to earth. Scripture and
revelation, both ancient and modern, support as unalterable law the principle
that no one can delegate to another an authority which the giver does not
possess.

6. Cessation of the Melchizedek Administration in Ancient Times. -- The
Higher or Melchizedek Priesthood was held by the patriarchs from Adam to
Moses. Aaron was ordained to the priest's office, as were his sons; but that
Moses held superior authority is abundantly shown (Num. 12:1-8). After Aaron's
death his son Eleazar officiated in the authority of the Lesser Priesthood;
and even Joshua had to take counsel and authority from him (Num. 27:18-23).
From the ministry of Moses to that of Jesus Christ, the Lesser Priesthood
alone was operative upon the earth, excepting only the instances of specially
delegated authority of the higher order such as is manifest in the
ministrations of certain chosen prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
others. It is evident that these prophets, seers, and revelators were
individually and specially commissioned; but it appears that they had not
authority to call and ordain successors, for in their time the Higher
Priesthood was not existent on earth in an organized state with duly officered
quorums. Not so with the Aaronic and Levitical Priesthood, however. The matter
is made particularly plain through latter-day revelation. See D&C 84:23-28;
read the entire section; also The House of the Lord, pp. 235-238.

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