Revelation Essential

Revelation Essential

BY WILLIAM HALLS

If a man should say that the Constitution of the United

States and the laws passed, up to a certain date, were sufficient

for the government of the nation without further legislation for

all time to come, he would be considered lacking in judgment.

Yet many Christians believe that the Bible, which contains but a

very small part of the word of God given up to nearly two thou-

sand years ago, is all that is needed to govern the Church for all

time. If, as time passes and conditions change, it is necessary to

pass new laws for the nation, why is it not necessary to receive

new revelation for the Church?

Every institution has a board of directors to make by-laws to

meet emergencies such constant supervision is essential to its

;

permanency. Every institution receives its direction from the

source of its creation, whether human or divine. If the Church is

a divine institution, organized by revelation from heaven, it must

be directed by heavenly revelation.

In looking back over divine history, as contained in the Bi-

ble, we find that the revelations given in any one dispensation

were never sufficient for a subsequent dispensation. The word

of the Lord to Enoch contained no instruction to Noah to build

an ark to save himself and family. The revelations to Noah and

Enoch did not command Abraham to leave his kindred and go to

a strange land. Moses was called by direct revelation to go to

Egypt and deliver Israel from bondage. The Lord spake to

Joshua and gave him directions in leading Israel across the Jor-

dan and settling them in the promised land. From Joshua to

Malachi, every prophet received revelations to guide him in his

ministrv as a messenger to make known the will of God to Israel.

From Malachi to John the Baptist, for about four hundred years,

there was no revelation, no vision "the prophets and seers were

;

covered." The Jews became divided into sects, and while claim-

ing Abraham as their father, and a reverence for the revelations

given to Moses and the dead prophets, they crucified Jesus and

brought on themselves destruction. In opening the Messianic

dispensation, John the Baptist was called by revelation, ordained

bv an angel, and sent to prepare the way of the Lord. Following

all the truths that Jesus gave to his disciples, we find that after his

ascension revelation was still necessary. An angel came to Cor-

nelius and told him to send for Peter vision was given to Peter

;

REVELATION ESSENTIAL 811

by which he was led to go to Cornelius and minister to him and

open the gospel dispensation to the Gentiles.

Saul, of Tarsus was well acquainted with the scriptures, and

the perdictions of the prophets of the coming of Christ yet he

;

thought he was doing right in persecuting the Saints, and nothing

short of a revelation from Jesus saved him from staining his

hands in innocent blood and bringing upon himself destruction.

Here was a great transformation as a product of revelation. In-

stead of a persecutor of the Saints, he became the great Apostle

to the Gentiles, and gave his life for the testimony of Jesus.

After the death of the apostles, when revelation ceased, there was

no divine standard to determine doctrine and discipline, no court

of appeal one man's opinion was as good, and no better, than

;

another's ; every man was a law to himself, and went his way

with those who would follow him. Sects multiplied, all. having

the Bible, the dead letter, and a form of godliness without the

power there were no spiritual gifts nor manifestations of God's

;

approval of their ministry. All drifted without chart or compass

on the agnostic ocean of uncertainty and thus followed the

;

longest night of spiritual darkness since the creation.

Joseph Smith desired to know which of the Christian

churches was right and which to join to be saved. There is no

answer to this question in the Bible none of the sects are named

;

there. The answer must come by revelation there is no other

;

way. In all the revelations given in former dispensations, there

is no command to him to go to Cumorah and get the plates and

translate them and bring forth the Book of Mormon no power in

;

the scriptures to confer upon him the Priesthood, and instruct

him how to organize the Church of Christ; or to call, ordain and.

set in order the quorums of the priesthood, preach the gospel

to the world, gather Israel, and lay the foundation of Zion.

All these things came to him by revelations, and by the ministry

of angels. Without revelation he would have known nothing

a^out the manner of building temples and the endowments to be

eiven in them. No saviors would have come to stand upon Mount

Zion. In vain the hearts of the fathers would turn to the children,

and the hearts of the children to their fathers, as no vicarious

work would have been done.

Revelation is the light of the Church of Christ. Jesus, speak-

ing to Peter on the subject of revelation, said: "On this rock I

will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail

against it." In opening a dispensation, the Lord will, appear and

call a man as his prophet and make himself known and introduce

his Son, Jesus, in whose name all things must be done, after which

he will send angels with the keys of the Priesthood to confer di-

vine authority on the pronhets. and instruct them on the doctrine

and government of the Church. To some he will give dreams,

812 IMPROVEMENT ERA

to some visions, and to each member of the Churcn, priests and

people, the Holy Spirit. Jesus said to his disciples, "When he,

the Spirit of Truth, is come he will guide you into all truth."

The Lord does not wish any of his children to walk in darkness.

"There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty

giveth them understanding." This inspiration is made available

by the new birth. Jesus said "Verily, verily, I say unto you,

:

except a man is born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter

into the kingdom of God."

In the first birth, the spirit of life enters the infant's body, and

the child becomes a living soul and enters into the natural world.

In the second, or new birth, baptism, being born of the water, is in

likeness of the natural birth, and also a symbol of the death, burial

and resurrection of Christ. Then comes the birth of the Spirit,

by which the man becomes a living soul, and enters into the

spiritual world and as the infant body without the spirit of life

;

would be a dead body, so the birth of the water without the birth

of the Spirit would be of no effect. Jesus said : "If I be lifted up,

I will lift up all men unto me."

The higher orders of intelligence must lift up the lower or-

ders. By our observation, experience and reason, we conceive

this as a natural and universal law. "Every good and perfect gift

correth from above." Jesus said to Pilate, "Thou couldst have no

power at all against me, except it were given thee from heaven."

No thought, light or truth originates in the human mind inde-

pendent of an external medium. Where there is no sound there

is no hearing; no light, no seeing; no touch, no feeling. Nothing

exists independentlv all the elements, whether spiritual or phy-

;

sical, are correlated. The earth detached from the solar system

would be a dead planet, and man and beast, fowl and fish, insects

and all vegetation, would die. There is no life and growth in

isolation. Spiritual growth involves harmonious relation with

the spirit world. The same is true of physical growth, in relation

to the natural world.

Those who, through faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance,

and bantism by immersion for the remission of sins, receive the

Holv Ghost by the laying on of hands, are brought into harmony

with the spirit world, and are impressed with truths they can

neither see nor hear with the natural senses. Jesus told Peter

to go and catch a fish, and he would find in its mouth money to

pay tribute.

We

find in the Book of Mormon that Nephi, when reproving

the people for their sins and warning them of the dangers await-

ing them, in order to impress them with the truth of his word, told

them that their chief judge was murdered by his brother, and was

lving in his blood bv the judgment seat. It is not at all uncom-

REVELATION ESSENTIAL 813

mon for an elder, when on a mission, to be impressed to go to a

certain place and visit certain people. He is warned not to go

on a certain vessel or train, and afterward learns of that vessel or

train being wrecked. A man may receive an impression that

changes the whole course of his life. Jesus told his disciples to

take no thought what they should say when brought before their

accusers, that it should be given them in the very hour what

they should say.

When a man speaks under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,

truths he has learned are brought to his remembrance, and truths

he never learned, are impresed upon his mind and carried to the

hearts of those who hear and those who listen, and hear the

;

voice of the Spirit, receive faith in their hearts, while those who

harden their hearts against it, remain in darkness and thus re-

ceive their condemnation.

The Lord works upon the hearts of men by his Spirit, ac-

cording to their faith, and reveals to them all the truth they will

accept. Whether these truths are arbitarily assigned to the do-

main of religion, philosophy or science, it matters not. They are

all from the same source. Some men have no faith in spiritual

things, but have a clear conception of natural philosophy. To

them the Lord reveals through the Holy Spirit the mysteries of

nature, and though they may take the honor to themselves, their

achievements are of inestimable value. To them we are indebted

for modern improvements in transportation, communication, heat-

ing, lighting, surgery and inventions, too numerous to mention, all

for the benefit of mankind. The difference between the spiritual-

minded and the carnal-minded is that all truth pertaining to spirit-

ual and natural philosophy is accepted by the former, and the lat-

ter reject all truth except that which pertains to natu: 1 1 phil-

osophy.

An important spiritual gift is prophecy. By experience, his-

tory and tradition, a man may know the past and present, but a

knowledge of the future is only known by revelation. A

knowledge of the flood saved Noah and his family. A fore-

knowledge of a seven years' famine, through Joseph, saved mil-

lions of the Egyptians and others from starvation. The fulfil-

ment of their predictions is the greatest external evidence of the

divine calling of the prophets, and the truth of the scriptures.

The Lord speaks to his prophets by his own voice, and sends

angels to ordain them to the priesthood, giving them authority

to preach the gospel and administer its ordinances, and to or-

dain others to the same authority. But that kind of revelation

is merely incidental, as angels come to earth only when it is nec-

essary. Through the Holy Ghost men may receive a testimonv

that God lives, that he is our Father, that Jesus is the Son of God,

the Redeemer of the world, and learn of the divine mission of his