Calum Dhu

RELIGIOUS FAITHS. 675 II. By the effect of what are generally considered the prosperous events in the history of the church, those events which culminated in making the "Christian religion" the established religion of the Roman Empire; which led to the elevation of the leading orders of the ministry of the church to the estate of princes and temporal governors, resulting in pride and its attendant evils—rivalries and contentions, which but too truly reveal the absence of all true Christian princi- ple and spirit, as soon as this change was affected: — III. By the changes that were made in the forms of worship in the church, the multiplication of rites and cere- monies by which the religion of Jesus, with its few and sim- ple rites and ceremonies, distinguished for its lack of ostenta- tion and formulas—was converted by compromises with pagan- ism into the gorgeous ceremonies and worldly splendid ritual of the Roman Catholic Church, but by which both as to form and spirit Christianity was thoroughly paganized: — IV. Lastly, the position of The Church is proven by the numerous predictions of the Old and New Testament writers, who clearly prophecy the apostasy of men from the gospel, and the destruction of the church in the earth as in their time being established. Among the more notable of which pro- phecies are the twenty-fourth chapter of Isaiah; the second chapter of second Thessalonians; the thirteenth chapter of Revelations. In the fourteenth chapter of Revelations (sixth and seventh verses), both the apostasy and the restoration are predicted. The former by implication, the latter by di- rect assertion. It has already been stated that the logical position of the Protestant churches is that there was an apostasy in early times from true Christianity—as asserted by Mr. Wesley and the au- thoritative declaration of the Church of England already quoted —or else why their separation from the Roman Church? But if there has been such an apostasy as their position asserts, and as by some of them specifically declared, how could there possibly be a return to primitive Christianity and a regaining of divine authority without a new dispensation of the gospel — a new revelation from God? The usual method of meeting this perplexing point on the part of Protestants is to affirm

676 IMPROVEMENT ERA. the existence of a line of Christian men through all genera- tions since Christ, and in all sects, and lands where Christian- ity obtained, who constitute the "invisible church of Christ." The device, however—one can call it nothing short of that — is worthless. The church of Christ is visible. It does not consist merely of good men separately existing here and there, without organization, without union of purpose, agreement in doctrine and a fullness of the truth. The church of Christ is an institution, with regularly appointed officers, with laws and rites to which its members must subscribe and prac- tice. It consists of prophets, apostles, elders, teachers, deacons. Its members are united in the bond of one coven- ant, accept the doctrine of Christ whole and entire, and its parts beautifully blended together form a complete whole (see I Cor. XII.) So that the "invisible church" argument may be dismissed without further consideration and with it the whole Protestant position. At first glance the Catholic claim presents a more diffi- cult proposition, but a brief examination of the basic princi- ples on which it rests dispells that impression. The Catholic exposition of their position begins with the following scrip- ture: Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, * * * * And lol I am with you to the end of the world.* On this, as I have said elsewhere,f Catholic writers re- mark: "Now the event has proved * * * that the apostles them- selves were only to live the ordinary term of man's life; therefore the com- mission of preaching and ministering, together with the promise of the divine assistance, regards the successors of the apostles, no less than the apos- tles themselves. This proves that there must have been an uninterrupted series of such successors of the apostles, in every age since their time; that is to say, successors to their doctrines, to their jurisdiction, to their or- ders, and to their mission. "\ Cardinal Gibbons, commenting on the same passage says: *Matt. XXVIII: 19, 20. fThe paragraphs which follow are from the writer's work "New Wit- ness for God" Ch. VII., where the subject is more extensively treated. fEnd of Religious Controversy (Rev. John Milner), p. 281.

RELIGIOUS FAITHS. 677 "This sentence contains three important declarations: ist, the pre- sence of Christ with his Church, 'behold, I am with you;' 2nd, his con- stant presence without an interval of one day's absence, 'I am with you all days;' 3rd, his perpetual presence to the end of the world, and conse- quently the perpetual duration of the church, 'even to the consummation of the world.' Hence it follows that the true church must have existed from the beginning; it must have had not one day's interval of suspended anima- tion, or separation from Christ, and must live to the end of time."* Of the conclusion here arrived at, it is only necessary to say that it is founded upon an assumption. Look again at the passage upon which the argument is based, in connection with its context: "Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations; * * * and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world, "f It will be seen that the promise was to the eleven apos- tles, not to the church. To say that this promise "regards the successors of the apostles no less than the apostles them- selves," is an assumption unwarranted by the text; and it is upon that assumption that the Rev. John Milner and other Catholic writers, base their conclusions that the word of Jesus is pledged to an uninterrupted continuation of his church in the earth. The argument of Cardinal Gibbons is still worse than that of Dr. Milner. He says the promise of Jesus to the apostles contains three important declarations, the first of which is: "The presence of Christ with his church." This is worse than assumption. The learned Cardinal has written "church," where he should have written "apostles;" and therefore the conclusion he reached, namely, the perpetual duration of the church, is based upon a misstatement; and as the premises upon which the argument is based are untrue, the conclusion is false. The1 argument 'by Catholics is thought to be invuln'er- *Faith of Our Fathers, p. .72. fMatt. XXVIII-16-20.

678 IMPROVEMENT ERA. able, because the promise of Jesus to be with the apostles to the end of the world is impossible of fulfillment, unless it "regarded the successors of the apostles no less than the apostles themselves." But to be with their successors is not being with the apostles. Hence the device arranged by Catholics for the fulfillment of this promise of the Lord, misses its purpose altogether. Moreover, there is no need of such device to explain how the promise of Jesus could be fulfilled. "In my Father's house," said he, addressing these same men, "are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, * * * that where I am there ye may be a/so;"* And there they are with Jesus in the place he prepared for them, and they will continue to be with him even unto the end of the world. No less erroneous is the Catholic argument for the un- interrupted continuation of the church of Christ on earth, based on the passage in the sixteenth chapter of Matthew, when Jesus in the course of a conversation with Peter says to him: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. "By this promise," says a foot-note on this passage in the Douay Bible—the version accepted by the Catholic Church, —"we are fully assured that neither idolatry, heresy, nor any pernicious error, whatever, shall at any time prevail over the church of Christ." "Our blessed Lord clearly intimates here," says Cardinal Gibbons, "that the church is destined to be assailed always but to be overcome never, "f The argument of Catholics is, that if the great apostasy took place which is clearly predicted in the scriptures, and, as I believe, confirmed by the facts already alluded to in this writing, then the express promise of Jesus Christ that the gates of hell should not pre- vail against his church has failed. "If the prediction of our Savior about the preservation of his church from error be false, then Jesus Christ is not God, since God cannot lie. He is not even a prophet, since he predicted falsehood. Nays *JohnXIV: 2. fFaith of Our Fathers, p. 72.

RELIGIOUS FAITHS. 679 he is an imposter, and all Christianity is a miserable failure, and a huge deception, since it rests on a false prophet."* This argument and its conclusion is based upon too narrow a conception of the church of Christ. That church exists not only on earth, but in heaven; not only in time, but in eternity. It has not been prevailed against, because men on earth have departed from it; corrupted its doctrines, changed its ordinances, transgressed its laws. The church of Christ in heaven, consisting of an innumerable company of angels—the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven—"f the church there has been far beyond the reach of the powers of hell; and ultimately here on earth it shall be triumphant. Truth may lose a single battle, it may lose two or three, and yet be victorious in the war. So with the church of Christ: many of those en- rolled as its members may be stricken down by cruel perse- cution; those remaining may capitulate with the enemy, and by compromises betray the cause of Christ, and put him to an open shame. Repose and luxury, the reward of the above perfidy, may bring in such floods of wickedness that virtue can scarce be found among men, and no abiding place found on earth for the church of the Redeemer. That church, how- ever, still exists in heaven, in all the glory of the general as- sembly of the firstborn; and from time to time dispensation after dispensation of the gospel will be sent from thence to the children of men, until a people shall be found who will remain true to all its doctrines, accept its ordinances, obey its precepts, preserve its institutions, and the church of Christ everywhere become triumphant as well on earth as in heaven. The promise of the Lord Jesus will not fail—the gates of hell will not finally prevail against his church. It might be further argued that the whole Catholic conten- tion concerning Peter being the rock on which Messiah pro- mised to build his church, is astray. The context clearly proves it to be so. Let the passage in which the quotation occurs be read from the 13th to the 20th verses inclusive, and it will be seen that the principle of revelation and not *Faith of Our Fathers, p. 87. fHeb. XII: 22, 23.

680 IMPROVEMENT ERA. Peter is the "Rock" on which Christ promises to build his church, but as this involves a controversy not necessarily germane to the argument concerning the continuous exist- ence of the church, it is passed with this remark. THE MOTHER'S ALARM. [Th« following story of a mother's heroism is from the Greek.] With gaudy flowers the cliff was gay, Whither a child had crept to play, And o'er the brink was bending: The mother came—she saw her boy, Her only care, her only joy, One crag his fall suspending! He stretch'd to reach the flowers below — Ah! should she now to seize him go, Some start or hasty action Might plunge him headlong in the flood! That thought with horror chill 'd her blood ! 'Twas anguish! 'twas distraction! As none but mothers feel, she felt! In trembling silence down she knelt, And pray'd to heaven for pity: Then from her breast the gauze remov'd, And softly sang the tune he loved, Some lullabying ditty. He knew the song, which oft to rest Had charm'd his eyes; he knew the breast Which food so oft had brought him: And still she sang—and still she wept — And near—and nearer—crept and crept — Till to her heart she caught him.

A WORD FROM THE FAR EAST. BY ANTHON H. LUND, ONE OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES. [When Elder Anthon H. Lund started upon his very interesting mission to Palestine, arrangements were made with him to write some articles from the Holy Land for the Era, and we are expecting to hear from him soon. Meantime the following letter written to his fellow apostle, Elder Franklin D. Richards, by whose courtesy we are permitted to publish it, is full of interest and will be acceptable, we feel sure, to our readers —Editors.] Haifa, April 20th, 1898 President F. D. Richards, Ogden, Utah. Dear Brother: You were the last of the brethren that I had the privilege of shaking hands with before leaving our beloved mountain home. You asked me to write you a few lines from some point in the Holy Land. Brother Hintze and I have now re- turned from our visit among the Saints in Aintab and Aleppo. We had a very interesting visit with them. We were glad to find them so well grounded in the faith as they were. They had been left without the Elders in Aintab for years. It is not to be wondered at that strange things were taught and done there. The presiding priest there seems to have been raised up of the Lord to fill that place. He is a leader among men. When bad reports came from home and many turned away he stood firm as a rock and gradually won them back again. He had baptized some five or six persons, but not being an elder he could not confirm them. And he had a number more ready for baptism. While we were at Aintab we had the pleasure of adding twenty-five members to the church, and more were ready. We organized them and