--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 6 number: 4 published: 1903-02 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations, "Answers to Questions," *Improvement Era* 6, no. 4 (February 1903): 308–312.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0604unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera0604unse start_page: 308 end_page: 312 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1903-02) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0604unse publication_year: 1903 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1903, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Answers to Questions 308 IMPROVEMENT ERA. This is the testimony of those who have joined and who have later withdrawn. Nothing can be permitted in the members that is calculated to bring division and weakness to the Church, yet those who have been led to join other institutions should not be dealt with harshly, but should be made to understand the position of the Church, and where it is so understood, they should shape their affairs for withdrawal, in humility and repentance, from that which threatens their standing. Joseph F. Smith. ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS. Joining Secret Societies. I would like to have an answer to the question: Is there anything wrong in members of the Church joining secret societies? A number of our young men are joining, because they say it protects their families. This question has often been answered in the affirmative, and with good reasons. The reader is referred to an editorial in this issue of the Era, and also Era vol. 6, page 149, fi om which it is learned: "No members of the Church should be led away by men who under any pretext seek to induce them to become mem- bers of any organization, secret, social, or otherwise, outside the control of the Church." On the eighth of last August, in reply to an inquiry from Organizer W. S. Montgomery, of the Fraternal Brotherhood, President Joseph F. Smith said that "the policy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is and always has been against its members allying themselves with any of the secret or fraternal orders." Raffling and Gambling. Is it proper to raffle property for the benefit of missionaries? No; raffling is a game of chance, and hence leads to gamb- ling; for that reason, if for no other, it should not be encouraged among the young men of the Church. President Young declared raffling to be a modified name of gambling; said that "as Latter- day Saints we cannot afford to sacrifice moral principles to finan- cial gain," and advised the sisters through the Woman's Exponent EDITOR'S TABLE. 309 not to raffle. President Lorenzo Snow endorsed and approved of these sentiments; President Joseph F.Smith has also'expressed his unqualified disapproval of raffling; the General Sunday School Board have declared against it; and finally the state law makes it unlawful to raffle with dice; and if it is unlawful with dice, in principle, is it not just as injurious with any other device? With all these objections, should it not be clear to anyone that raffling horses, quilts, bicycles and other property is not sanctioned by the moral law nor approved by the general Church authorities. But it continues just the same, and if you do not believe in it, you should refuse to patronize it, so helping the cause. Now, how shall we aid the missionary who wishes to sell a horse, or what not? Let everybody give a dollar, and let the donors decide, by vote, to what worthy man, not of their number, the horse shall be given. No chance about that—it is pure decision, and it helps the people who wish to buy chances solely for the benefit of the missionary, to discourage the gambling propensities of their natures. How- ever, here is an additional thought: The element of chance enters very largely into everything we undertake,and it should be remem- bered that the spirit in which we do things decides very largely whether we are gambling or are entering into legitimate business enterprises. The Gospel Embraces Both Plan and Power. What is the Gospel? In a general way, the gospel is the plan of salvation promul- gated by Jesus Christ for the redemption of mankind. It is also "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." (Rom. 1: 16.) The plan may be called the law,—the command- ments of God; the power,—the Spirit of God. Salvation is obtained by combining in one's life and practice the plan and the power— the word and the spirit. Choosing a Patriarch. In case he who should hold the office of General Patriarch in the Church is not worthy, who has the authority to choose another? The Lord, through the President of the Church, would reveal the name in such a case, and then the name of the person so nomi- 310 IMPROVEMENT ERA. nated would be presented to the Church for reception and approval. "And, again, the duty of the President of the office of the High Priesthood is to preside over the whole Church, and to be like unto Moses. Behold, here is wisdom; yea, to be a seer, a reve- lator, a translator, and a prophet, hiving all the gifts of God which he bestows upon the Church." (Doc. & Cov. section 107: 91, 92.) "No person is to be ordained to any office in this Church, where there is a regularly organized branch of the same, without the vote of that Church." (Ibid, section 20: 65.) "And all things shall be done by common consent in the Church, by much prayer and faith." (Ibid, section 26: 2.) Authority of John the Baptist. Where did John the Baptist get his authority to baptize? "The word of the Lord came unto John the son of Zecharias in the wilderness." (Luke 3: 2.) "Behold, I [God] send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee," (Mark 1: 2.) "This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messen- ger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." (Luke 7: 27. Jesus speaking of John.) "For he [Joha] was baptized while he was yet in his child- hood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face of his people, to prepare them for the coming of the Lord." (Doc. & Cov. section 84: 28.) "John [at the time of Christ] was the only legal administra- tor holding the keys of power there was on earth. The keys of the kingdom, the power, the glory, had departed from the Jews; and John, the son of Zechariah, by the anointing and decree of heaven, held the keys of power at that time." (Compendium, Gems, page 277.) New Dispensation of the Gospel. In order to bring about a new dispensation, is it necessary for the gospel to be taken from the earth? If so, at what time between Adam and Noah was it taken away? EDITOR'S TABLE. 311 In order that a new dispensation may be rendered necessary, it is not essential that all the priesthood and authority of the old dispensation be taken from the earth. Each dispensation is char- acterized by its own peculiar powers and labors; and a new one is sometimes rendered necessary when the old one has long since accomplished its work, and new labors are called for. This may be the case, even if some of the authority and principles of the old dispensation still remain on earth. For example, the priesthood held by Adam is traced without interruption down to Noah (Doc. & Cov. section 107: 40-54); and doubtless the principles of faith, and of repentance, and the ordinances of baptism and the bestow- ing the Holy Ghost were preached and practised during the entire time. But a partial departure from the principles and duties of the Adamic dispensation, and the necessity of a special labor, ren- dered a new dispensation essential. The keys of this dispensation, and the performance of its distinctive duties, were entrusted to Noah. The Noachian dispensation included the preaching previous to the flood, and the renewal of the covenant; and the repeopling of the earth, and other essential labors after the flood. The authority of the Melchizedek priesthood is also traced uninterruptedly from Noah to Abraham, and also from Esaias, who lived in the time of Abraham, to Moses, (Doc. & Cov. sec- tion 84: 6-17.) Yet during this period three dispensatijns—the Noachian, the Abrahamic and the Mosaic—were instituted; each being rendered necessary by special conditions, and the need of particular labors. Hence, it is not necessary that all the powers of one dispensation be removed from the earth before another is instituted. Did the Prophets Hold the Melchizedek Priesthood? Was the Melchizedek priesthood taken from the earth with Moses? If so, what priesthood did Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah and Isaiah hold; and how was this priesthood conferred upon these men? In considering this question, the distinction between the priesthood and its keys should be carefully drawn. Priesthood is authority in general, but this generic term does not necessarily include the call to preside over a dispensation, bestowing the 312 IMPROVEMENT ERA. priesthood on one's fellows, and organizing the work of God in its various ramifications. This calling and power is exercised by virtue of the keys of the priesthood. The keys of the Melchizedek priesthood were held and exercised by Moses, but they were taken from the earth with him, because of the unworthiness of the Is- raelites. (Doc. & Cov. section 84:19-25; Psalm 81: 11,12.) So far as we know, the keys of this high priesthood were not held in their fulness by any one between Moses and Messiah; but it does not follow that the general authority and power of the Melchizedek priesthood was not held by individuals who lived during that inter- val. It would seem impossible for the great works performed by Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Samuel, and others of the prophets to have been done with lesser power than that priesthood; but these men could have held this power and authority without possessing and exercising its keys in their ful- ness; indeed, we think that this was the case, and that these men held, by special appointment, the power and authority of the Mel- chizedek priesthood without exercising a fulness of its keys. The Prophet Joseph Smith says: "All the prophets held the Melchiz- edek priesthood, and were ordained by God himself." (See Com- pendium, Gems, page 287. Also "Spirit of Elijah," Compendium, pages 281-2.) Appendages to the Melchizedek Priesthood. Doc. & Cov. 84: 29, "Again, the offices of elder and bishop are necessary appendages belonging to the higher priesthood." Does this mean that an elder does not hold the high priesthood? If so, why not? It does not mean that an elder does not hold the high priest- hood; on the contrary, an elder holds the Melchizedek priesthood, (Doc. & Cov. section 107: 7) just as does a seventy, high priest or an apostle. (See Era vol. 4, page 394.) The elder's au- thority is specifically defined in section 107:10, 11,12 Doc.& Cov., but the title is also a general one, applying to all who hold the high priesthood, in which latter case the regular offices, such as apostle, high priest, seventy, define the specific duties. The office of bishop is an appendage to the high priesthood, because no one but a literal descendant of Aaron can act as a