Persecution the Heritage of the Saints

PERSECUTION THE HERITAGE OF THE SAINTS, BY THOMAS HULL, GENERAL SECRETARY Y. M. M. L A.

The righteous people of God have, in all ages, suffered per- secution at the hands of the ungodly; the followers of Jesus in particular have passed through tribulation and sorrow; and this, by direct promise of the Savior, was to be the portion of his dis- ciples upon the earth. "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." (II Tim. 3: 12.) In these portentous words the Apostle Paul announces to all

saints that persecution is the heritage, in this world, of the fol- lowers of Jesus. In the morning of the race, when righteous Abel offered ac- ceptable sacrifice to the Father, did not his wicked and rebellious brother slay him? The first murder, therefore, was an act of per- secution, and Abel, the first martyr, suffered death for righteous- ness sake. How many since his day, have given up their lives, victims of the jealous hatred of the rebellious and stubborn, who have mocked God and derided his servants. Noah preached righteousness for a hundred and twenty years, proclaiming unto the people temporal, as well as spiritual salva- tion, receiving nothing but scoffs and scorns for his faithful labors in behalf of his fellow-men. The children of Israel were hated of the heathen nations around them, not because they sought to bring injury upon their neighbors, but because they served the living God. Not only were the righteous persecuted by alien peoples, but

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the ancient prophets and servants of God were persecuted by their own nation. "Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One." (Acts 7: 52.) When the Lord sent his apostles out'into the world, he said to them: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves.

• • • But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues: and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. * * * And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake." (Matthew 10: 16-22.) The life of our Lord fully exemplifies this condition. His his- tory is replete with incidents showing that though all his days on earth were spent in doing good to men, they were filled with per-

secution and sorrow. "A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," we see him an infant in the care of his mother and Joseph, fieeing into Egypt by night to escape the persecution of a jealous and murderous king. As soon as Christ entered his ministry, we discover Satan seek- ing to lead him, by tempting bribes and taunting sneers, from the path of faithfulness, humility, and obedience in which he had chosen to walk. Failing in this, Satan filled the hearts of men with hatred and murder. We see the chief priests and rabbis, the scribes and Pharisees, devising plans to overthrow and destroy the Son of God, not by argument and persuasion, but by force, injustice and false- hood ; following him from city to city, from synagogue to syna- gogue, persecuting, driving, and inflicting sorrow, not only upon him, but upon his followers, until their wickedness, hatred and per- secution culminate in the awful tragedy on Calvary's hill, when the Son of God is put to death a victim of the world's hatred for righteousness and godly life. After the death of the Master, we see his apostles perse- cuted in all the lands where they carried the gospel. Although their message was "peace on earth, good will to men," yet blood- shed and death followed them till the last suffered martyrdom for the name of Christ. The humble disciples, too, were made to feel

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the wrath of the ungodly. Thousands gave up their lives for the truth and sealed their testimonies with their blood. Witness the awful scenes in ancient Rome, when the early saints were burned as torches to light up the orgies of a libertine; were fed to savage beasts, to gratify the desire of a besotted nation for scenes of carnage and cruelty; and in a hundred horrible ways were made to know that the "heritage of the Saints" was theirs. This continued until, weakened by constant affliction, their strong men and brave women all destroyed, and only the weaklings and changelings left, a compromise was made, and what had been the Church of Christ took on some of the forms of heathen worship, corrupting herself in order to escape the persecution promised to those who "will live godly in Christ Jesus." Then, having "transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, and broken the everlasting covenant," that which called itself the Church of Christ, enjoyed a season of ease and immunity from persecution. Becoming wealthy, corruption crept, little by little, into the church until hardly a vestige of the original "kingdom" remained. No persecution now came to the professed followers of Jesus Christ, because Satan, who is ever the author of the afflic- tions of the saints, knew that they had departed from the way of life. But, presently the time arrives when the Lord begins the preparation of the world for the coming forth of the gospel in its primitive purity and although centuries are to pass before that glori- ;

ous day, Satan, realizing that the work is begun, sets the engines of persecution in motion. Now we see men rise up against the errors and false doctrines being taught by the church. Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, Wyck- liffe and a host of others, though they saw not the truth in its

fulness, yet caught glimpses of go bravely forward, struggling it,

for the light, blazing the way towards religious truth and liberty. No sooner, however, do they appear than persecution rears its ghastly head, and, once more, torture and death become the lot of those who seek after righteousness. The great work of prepar- ation goes on, however, until the world is filled with a new light, a great uplifting. Inventions multiply, liberty increases,and at last the boast of the world is that all men are free to worship God accord- ing to the dictates of their consciences. But, after all, the re-

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ligions of the world are but man-made systems —broken cisterns which can hold no water, and Satan again is satisfied because the

doctrines of men contain not the germ of life eternal. And so, all is peace between the professed followers of God and the servants of Baal, and persecution ceases. So far we have seen that the promises of the Savior and of Paul, quoted in the beginning, have been fulfilled. The godly have suffered persecution; the followers of Jesus have gone forth as sheep among wolves, being delivered up to councils, scourged in the synagogues, brought before governors and kings, and hated of all men for the name of Christ. This, then, was the heritage of the saints in former times. Now let us see if the Saints in latter days can "read their title clear" to the same inheritance. I have briefly shown that

the Lord had commenced, the preparation of the world for the com- ing forth of the perfect gospel of Jesus Christ. In the dawn of the nineteenth century the car of progress starts on a marvelous career. Intellectual development is greater than the world has ever seen. Wonderful inventions astonish the nations; steam lo- comotion revolutionizes the world; science makes such strides that men become almost godlike in their power to do. Commerce reaches out, and civilization is carried to every people under the sun. The greatest nation ever seen on earth, just born, arises and stretches itself, and becomes a giant; and mankind receives, under the government of the United States, the greatest civil liberty ever vouchsafed to humanity. The pride of our nation and its boast was, that here. ALL men were free to worship God as they pleased, and that religious persecution was forever at an end. But the decree is still in force, "Yea all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution," and the lull is but an in- dication that the godliness of Jesus is not known on earth. While all is apparent peace among so-called Christians, the appointed hour arrives when the heavens are opened and the glorious light of truth again bursts forth upon the earth. In the midst of religious excitement, an innocent boy, con- fused by the "war of words and conflict of opinions" raging around him, goes to the Lord for light, and, while pleading for guidance,

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is visited by the Father and the Son. The living God is revealed to Joseph Smith, and light supernal fills the world with its glory. Strange though it appears to every reasonable being, the first oatward effect upon the youth, when he tells the story of his mar- velous vision is persecution, and it is to be noted that the men most interested in proving that God lives, and Jesus is the Christ, — — the Son of God the ministers of religion lead out in this early persecution. From this day forth, persecution was the common lot of the believers in the message of life and salvation given to the world by the prophet of the last dispensation. When the angel first showed to Joseph Smith the plates of the Book of Mormon resting in their hiding place, he made the same promise to him that Jesus had made to his apostles of old. He said, speaking of the coming forth of the record:

When these things begin to be known, that is, when it is known that the Lord has shown you these things, the workers of iniquity will seek your overthrow: they will circulate falehoods to destroy your reputation, and also will seek to take your life: but remember this, if you are faithful, and shall hereafter continue to keep the commandments of the Lord, you shall be preserved to bring these things forth; for in due time he will again give you a commandment to come and take them. When they are interpreted, the Lord will give the Holy Priesthood to some, and they shall begin to proclaim this gospel and baptize by water, and after that they shall have power to give the Holy Ghost by the lay- ing on of their hands. Then will persecution rage more and more; for the iniquities of men shall be revealed, and those who are not built upon the rock will seek to overthrow this Church; but it will increase the more opposed, and spread farther and farther, increasing in knowledge till they shall be sanctified and receive an inheritance where the glory

of God shall rest upon them; and when this takes place, and all things are prepared, the ten tribes of Israel will be revealed in the north country, whither they have been for a long season; and when this is fulfilled will be brought to pass that saying of the prophet — "And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord." But, notwithstanding the workers of iniquity shall seek your destruction, the arm of the Lord will be extended, and you will be borne off conqueror, if you keep all his commandments. Your name shall be known among the nations, for the work which the Lord will perform by

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your hands shall cause the righteous to rejoice and the wicked to rage: with one it shall be had in honor, and the other in reproach; yet, with these it shall be a terror because of the great and marvelous work which shall follow the coming forth of this fullness of the Gospel.

This prediction was literally fulfilled. Joseph, from the day he announced his vision, is hounded, driven, whipped and scourged; forced to flee from city to city, from county to county, and from state to state. Cruelly and unjustly dragged from place to place, his body bruised and wounded by his malicious foes; torn from his people time after time, and again returning to comfort and guide them, his life is one continual scene of sorrow and affliction. He is dragged before governors and magistrates, menaced with false accusations, spit upon, imprisoned. Forty-eight times he is accused of crime and forty-eight times discharged as innocent. No charge was ever proved against him. All courts before whom he was taken, although in every instance his bitter enemies, were obliged to acquit him of crime. But, hated of men for the gospel's sake and betrayed by false brethren, he, like his Master for whose name's sake he suffered, gave up his life and sealed his testimony with his blood. All this because he testified: "I know that my Redeemer lives, for I have seen him." The story of Joseph is but a part of the history of his people. The Saints were ever a gathering people, and in the year 1831, began to settle in Missouri, going there in the most peaceable manner to begin the establishment of the City of Zion — the gathering place of the Saints —where they should dwell in righteousness and peace. For a brief period, all goes happily, but their enemies soon become jealous of the growing influence of the Saints,and political aspirants, demagogues, priests and bigots, begin to stir up strife. Satan is again at work in the hearts of the children of men, urging them on to deeds of violence against the Saints of God. Lies are circulated, mobs are formed, outrages perpetrated, and in November, 1838, the most awful flood of persecution yet endured by the Latter-day Saints is let loose upon them. Their houses are sacked and burned, their crops destroyed, their men shot down, their children murdered, their women ravished, and they are expelled from the state, and robbed of the lands they had purchased from the government. Then comes the settlement of Nauvoo, with its peaceful growth

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and prosperity, until the arch enemy of the Saints again stirs up the hearts of the ungodly against them. The Prophet is slain, and the Saints are again driven, this time beyond the confines of civil- ization. All this persecution upon a people far above the average of mankind in intelligence, virtue, and righteousness; simple in their lives, industrious in their habits, God-fearing and pure. All this, too, in free America. The Church had been driven from city to city, from county to county and from state to state, and at last we find the nation ar- rayed against it, wrought to frenzy by the lies of the currupt and the vicious — the haters of God and godliness; led on by the hypo- critical whose craft was put in danger. Oh hireling priests, what a travesty on religious freedom and liberty! In this age of boasted tolerance, in this land of boasted liberty and justice in this nineteenth century with its civilization, progress and sci- ence. Even to this day all who will live godly in Christ Jesus, suffer persecution; the message of God to the people is rejected treated — with scorn and derision. Not satisfied with this, they fall like demons upon those who accept it; floods of abuse are poured upon their heads, their houses are burned, their goods destroyed, their little children murdered in the most cruel manner; their wives and fair daughters bound upon benches torn from houses of worship, and ravished to death. Oh God! what shall overtake the perpe- trators of these awful crimes? And so we see that to the Latter- day as well as to the primitive Saints, the heritage is persecution. Now let us enquire. Why does the Lord permit this persecu- tion? What is its object? Jesus, in his statement to his apostles, already quoted, says: "They will deliver you up to the councils and they will scourge you in their synagogues, and ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles." By this means the gospel is brought before all the world, and the attention of all men is drawn to the controversy between God and Satan; their excuse is taken away, and in the day of judgment, this will stand as a "testimony against them." In order that righteous judgment may pass upon the ungodly, they must be given opportunity to condemn them- selves and fill up the cup of their iniquity. Again, the Lord said: "If ye were of the world, the world

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would love his own, but because ye are not of the world, but 1 have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." It is, therefore, but the fulfilling of a natural law. The evil, in the very nature of things, wars against the good, and the pure are scourged and driven as long as they maintain their purity. Now what are the effects of persecution? We will glance at this phase of the subject, from two points of view. First, as to

its effectsupon the persecuted, and then upon the persecutor. Persecution has ever had a purifying effect upon the righteous. Reformers and saints in every age have lived nearer to their pro- fessions when subjected to the fires of affliction. Paul says to the Hebrews, "Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance." So through all the history of the early saints; while rejoicing in trib- ulation, they served the Lord. This is also exemplified in the his- tory of the Latter-day Saints. On the other hand, during seasons of ease, wealth and luxury, the people constantly forget the Lord and become first indif- ferent, and finally, too often, depart from the faith. Then it is that the Lord, in his love for his chosen ones, permits persecution and affliction to come upon them to bring them back to him. So affliction and trial purge out the dross, leaving the gold refined and pure, and those who suffer these things patiently, will be the chosen of the Lord. John the Revelator records that when the question was asked: *'What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?" the answer was: "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in his temple. [(Rev. 7: 13, 14.) While the Prophet Joseph lay in Liberty jail, the word of the Lord came unto him, and after showing him some things which were in store for him, the Lord says: And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death be passed upon thee ;]if thou be cast into the deep;if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce

winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the

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elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shallbefor thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all; art thou greater than he? (Doc. and Gov., sec. 122: 7, 8.) In brief, then, the effect upon the persecuted is to purify and exalt them. Now as to the effect upon the persecutor. Glance at the history of the nations which have risen up against the people of God. See the fate of Pharaoh, of the Canaanitish peoples, and of the Babylonians, See the spirits of those who scoffed at Noah and spurned his message, lying in prison until Jesus gains the victory over death and hell, and goes to them with the message of life and salvation. See the Jews, wandering over the face of the earth for nearly two thousand years; their temple in ruins, and Jerusalem a desert place, destroyed in only seventy-three years after the birth of the Christ whom they persecuted and crucified. See the mighty Roman empire without a place among the nations of the earth; gone, and nothing but a memory left. And what about persecutors in our nation? What need we say? The fate of those who persecute the Saints is foreshadowed, as in the handwriting on the wall, in the history of those who have gone before. And this is no more true, of nations than of individuals. My readers are f amilar with the fate of Stephen A. Douglas who, thinking to gain popularity by malign- ing an innocent people, brought upon himself the anger of the Lord, and utterly failed in his ambitious desires, as was predicted by the Prophet Joseph. A similar record has been made by a host of petty persecutors in our day, and we see them sink into oblivioiS unsung, unknown, unwept. Now hear what the Lord said to his people upon this conti- nent when he visited them after his crucifixion

And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you at that 4ay when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth,and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and ^horedoms,and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all these things and shall reject the fullness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fullness of my gospel from among them; and then I will

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remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them; and I will show unto thee, house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you, but I will remember my covenant unto you, house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fullness of my gospel. But if the Gentiles will repent, and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they shall be numbered among my people, house of Israel; and my people, who are of the house of Israel, to go through 1 will not suffer

among them, and tread them down, saith the Father. But if they will not turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will suffer my people, house of Israel, that they shall go through among them, and shall tread them down, and they shall be as salt that has lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of my people, house of Israel. (Ill Nephi 16: 10-15.)

Oh that this nation, and all the nations of the earth, would hearken unto the warning voice of the servants of God, and repent and turn unto the Lord and be saved from the fate of those who fight against the truth And so persecution is the principle upon which the saints of God are purified and refined and made fit to dwell in the presence of the Creator, and to become like him. It is the refiner's fire which purges out the dross and develops the pure gold. It is the Lord's school through which all must pass whom he loves, and from which the faithful student will graduate with white robes, washed clean in the blood of the persecuted Lamb, and pass to his place before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple. Therefore let none of us, with cowardly heart, seek to escape the "heritage of the Saints," to shirk this responsibility of mem- bership in the Church of Christ; but let all go bravely forward de- termined to keep the faith no matter what afliiction may lie in the path; counting ourselves blessed that we are called to suffer with our Lord and Master, and knowing that "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."