--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Whitney, Orson F. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 28 number: 3 published: 1925-01 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: "Orson F. Whitney, “The Welding Link,” *Improvement Era 28, no. 3 (January 1925)*: 187–196." source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2803unse 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: improvementera2803unse start_page: 187 end_page: 196 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1925-01) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera2803unse publication_year: 1925 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 1925, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Welding Link Improvement Era Vol. XXVIII JANUARY, 1925 NO. 3 THE WELDING LINK By Orson F. Whitney, of the Council of the Twelve An Epistle from Exile It was September, 1842, and the Prophet Joseph Smith was in retirement, prudently concealing himself from enemies who had designs upon his liberty and his life. But though in exile, he could not be idle. His thoughts ran upon a theme that had engrossed his mind for years, and which he declared to be the "most glorious subject belong- ing to the everlasting gospel." This subject he brought to the atten- tion of the Church by means of an epistle dated at Nauvoo, Illinois, during the month and year above mentioned. In that epistle, which constitutes Section 128 of the book of Doctrine and Covenants, he quotes the fifth and sixth verses of the fourth chapter of Malachi, reading as follows: Malachi 's Prediction "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." The Prophet's Comment Joseph then makes this comment upon the prophecy: "I might have rendered a plainer translation to this, but it is sufficiently plain to suit my purposes as it stands. It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse, unless there is a welding link of some kind or other, between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other, and behold, what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also." Entered at the Post Office, Salt Lake City, Utah, as second class matter. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized on July 2, 1918, $2 per annum. Address Room 4 06, Church Office Building, Salt Lake City, Utah. 188 IMPROVEMENT ERA Something else he said, of still greater import, which I reserve for later consideration. Moroni's Message Malachi's prophecy, uttered about 400 B. C, had been cited by the Angel Moroni, when he appeared to Joseph Smith, on the night of September 21, 1823. The angel, however, worded it "with a little variation from the way it reads in our Bibles"; and this is probably what Joseph had in mind when he said: "I might have rendered a plainer translation." Moroni's message, including the first verse of the fourth chapter of Malachi, was in these words: "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. "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. "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." — Pearl of Great Price, page 90, edition of 1913. The Keys of Elijah This same prophecy had been mentioned when the keys of Elijah were conferred upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, in April, 1836. Following is the record of that wonderful event: "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." — Doctrine and Covenants 110:12-16. Forerunner and Finisher Elias, considered as a name, is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Elijah. Compared references in the New and Old Testaments clearly establish the verbal identity. But Joseph Smith distinguished between "the spirit of Elias" and "the spirit of Elijah"; the former a forerunner to prepare the way of the Lord, the latter holding the sealing powers necessary to complete the work of preparation for Messiah's advent. Many Eliases Elijah, therefore, is not to be confounded with Elias — that is to THE WELDING LINK 189 say, with the Elias who committed the keys of the Abrahamic dis- pensation. There are many Eliases, Joseph says, in the sense of the lesser preparing the way before the greater; and by one of them the keys of that dispensation were restored on the occasion described, so that the blessings anciently pronounced upon the Father of the Faithful might, through two of his descendants, be extended to his posterity, in modern times. For this purpose, among others, Joseph and Oliver had been divinely ordained. A Timely Admonition "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." That sounds like a threat. But is it so? Is the Lord coming to curse the earth? Is that the purpose of his intended visit? I think not. On the contrary, the Lord is coming to bless the earth, to crown it with his glorious presence, to sanctify it for celestial exaltation; and the prediction concerning the messenger who would be sent to prepare the way before him, is not a threat, but a timely and kindly admonition. Preparation Necessary The way must be prepared, so that the Lord can come with safety — with safety to the earth and its inhabitants; and those prophetic words are simply a warning of what would inevitably result from the sudden appearing of the Messiah, without due preparation being made to receive him. His glory would consume the earth. This solid globe would melt, or vanish like paper in a flame, if a people were not prepared and the way made ready for the advent of the King of kings. Instead of a blessing, as designed, it would be as a consuming curse, and Malachi so describes it. This work of preparation might be compared to a breakwater, which receives the dashing waves of the ocean, lest they overwhelm and waste the land lying along the shore. Something of that character, though of a spiritual nature, is necessary, in order to meet the over- whelming tide of God's glory, which otherwise would sweep all before it. And the Saints, when they rear holy temples and officiate therein, or when obedient to any other behest of the Almighty, are building that spiritual breakwater. It is only a comparison, of course, and comparisons are never perfect; but it may serve to suggest the idea that I wish to convey. Let us now inquire where, when, and under what circumstances this sacred work began. Ancient Vicarious Baptisms We have no record of baptisms for the dead earlier than the Meridian Dispensation — the days of Jesus and the original Apostles. The practice would have been premature before Christ introduced the Gospel in the Spirit World. The principle is one that pertains more 190 IMPROVEMENT ERA particularly to the dispensation of the fulness of times, with which the meridian dispensation is closely connected. That the Saints of former days practiced vicarious baptism, is evident from Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians (15:29), wherein the Apostle reproves backsliding doubters of the resurrection in these words: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" It is perfectly clear that Paul was referring to a practice then prevalent in the Church of Christ. An Integral Part of the Gospel Baptism for the dead is an integral part of the Everlasting Gospel, as much so as baptism for the living. John the Baptist, as an Elias, prepared the Lord's way anciently, by preaching repentance and bap- tism for the remission of sins. He performed a similar office in modern times, when he conferred the Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, who forthwith proclaimed repentance and bap- tism to their generation. John the Baptist, as his name implies, is the great herald and exponent of baptism — water baptism — applicable to the dead as well as to the living. John baptized with water; Jesus with fire and the Holy Ghost. Baptism for the dead, which is of water and of the Spirit, must have been authorized by Jesus and by John; and that is why the ancient Saints practiced it, as indicated by Paul in his first Corinthian epistle. The Beneficiaries In whose behalf was it practiced? Who were the beneficiaries? They were those who had died without a knowledge of the Gospel; those who were disobedient in the days of Noah, while the ark was prepar- ing (I Peter 3:18-20): those whom the Son of God visited in the Spirit World, while his crucified body was lying in the tomb; in short, the dead to whom the gospel was preached, "that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (Ibid 4:6.) The dead here spoken of doubtless included those who were disobedient before the days of Noah. And now as to the history of this sacred principle in our own dispensation. In Latter Days Baptism for the dead was first mentioned in public by the Prophet Joseph Smith, at the funeral of Elder Seymour Brunson, on the 10th of August, 1840. He again referred to it on October 19, of that year, in a letter to the twelve apostles, most of whom were then absent in Europe. The Prophet stated in this letter that he had "given general instruction in the Church on the subject." (Essentials in Church History, page 304.) The character of those instructions may be gleaned from the following excerpts of an editorial article, written THE WELDING LINK 191 by President Joseph Smith, and published in the Times and Seasons, at Nauvoo: , Editorial Instruction "It is an opinion which is generally received, that the destiny of man is irretrievably fixed at his death; and that he is made either eternally happy, or eternally miserable: — that if a man dies without a knowledge of God, he must be eternally damned, without any mitigation of his punishment, alle- viation of his pain, or the most latent hope of deliverance, while endless ages shall roll along. "However orthodox this principle may be, we shall find that it is at variance with the testimony of holy writ; for our Savior says that all man- ner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven * * * but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven — neither in this world, nor in the world to come, evidently showing that there are sins which may be forgiven in the world to come." "We have an account of our Savior preaching to the spirits in prison; to spirits that had been imprisoned from the days of Noah, and what did he preach to them? that they were to stay there? Certainly not; let his own declaration testify: 'He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised.' Luke 4:18. Isaiah has it: 'To bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.' Is. 42:7. It is very evident from this that he not only went to preach to them, but to deliver, or bring them out of the prison house. "Isaiah, in testifying concerning the calamities that will overtake the inhabitants of the earth says: 'The earth shall reel to and fr6 like a drunk- ard; and * * * it shall fall and not rise again. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the hosts of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in prison, and after* many days shall they be visited.' "Thus we find that God will deal with all the human family equally; and that as the antediluvians had their day of visitation, so will those char- acters referred to by Isaiah, have their time of visitation and deliverance, after having been many days in prison." The Nauvoo Temple On the 19th of January, 1841, came a revelation urging upon the Saints the imperative necessity for the erection of a temple at Nauvoo. In that revelation the Lord says: "For a baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they, my saints, may be baptized for those who are dead." (Doc. and Cov. 124:29.) The temple at Portland, Ohio, which was built several years before the date of this revelation, had no baptismal font, the time not having then arrived for this kind of work to begin. It was in the Kirtland temple, however, that the keys of Elijah were restored, by virtue of which the work for the dead was afterwards inaugurated. River Baptisms When the revelation of January 19 was given, baptisms for the dead were being performed in the Mississippi river; the Lord 192 IMPROVEMENT ERA permitting it for a season, with the understanding that after the Saints had had sufficient time to build a temple and place a baptismal font therein, the river baptisms should be discontinued. The cornerstones of the Nauvoo temple were laid on the 6th of April, 1841, and in the ensuing October the building was so far ad- vanced that it could be used for baptismal purposes; a font having been put in the basement, and the incomplete structure boarded over. This signalized the discontinuance of the river baptisms. First Baptisms in the Temple A month later, or on the 8th of November, Brigham Young, who was then president of the twelve apostles, dedicated the baptismal font, and on the 21st of that month, the first baptisms for the dead were performed in the Nauvoo temple. This labor went on there as long as the Saints remained in Illinois, and it has been continued in all the temples since erected by them. Eight Temples Built So far, eight temples have been built by the Latter-day Saints — one in Ohio, one in Illinois, four in Utah, one in Hawaii, and one in Canada. Also, there is one in course of erection in Arizona. Others have been projected, but not finished owing to the persecutions and drivings of our people. The greatest of these temples is in Salt Lake City. It cost over three million dollars, and was forty years in building. The Utah Genealogical Society The erection of such structures has been accompanied by a con- stantly growing interest in genealogical work — the gathering of names, dates and facts pertaining to the departed, who have had or are yet to have temple work done for them by their living kindred or friends. On November 13, 1894, the Utah Genealogical Society was organized at Salt Lake City; its founder and first president being Franklin D. Richards, Apostle and Church Historian. The purpose of this society is "to collect, compile, establish and maintain a gen- ealogical library for the use of its members, and also to be educational in disseminating information regarding all such matters." The Gen- ealogical Library, consisting of more than eight thousand volumes, in- cluding nearly every nationality, occupies commodious rooms on the top floor of the magnificent Church Building in Salt Lake City. As stated in the recently published Life ,of Franklin D. Richards: "Large numbers of people are availing themselves of the valuable in- formation to be procured through this channel, and thus the work for the dead has been given a great impetus." Outside Interest Awakened Almost a world-wide interest in matters genealogical has been awakened outside the pale of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- THE WELDING LINK 1$5 day Saints. Men and women of wealth have devoted large Sums of money for the collection and compilation of data pertaining to their ancestors, and societies have been formed in this and in other nations for the preparation and publication of family histories. And the end is not yet; the work is still going on, and increasing year after year With unabated enthusiasm. Those engaged in compiling these genealogies — those in the outside world, I mean — admit that they do not know why they have been moved upon to put forth such efforts, and go to so much expense, as this labor entails. Having done the work, they confess their surprise that they should ever have undertaken it, having no particular use for the records after they are made. The Reason Why But the Latter-day Saints comprehend the why and wherefore; for the Lord has revealed it to them. They know that the widespread interest in such matters has sprung up since the third day of April, 1836, when Elijah the Prophet appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland temple, and conferred upon them the keys "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers." And they gratefully recognize the hand of the Lord in the invaluable assistance rendered from outside sources, without which the task of gathering their genealogies would have proved exceedingly difficult, if not absolutely impossible. Greatness and Glory of Elijah's Mission In order to fully comprehend the mission of Elijah — if indeed the finite mind can comprehend it in its fulness — one must take a higher and broader view than is ordinarily taken of this sublime subject. It is a glorious thing to go into the House of the Lord and redeem one's departed ancestors; but there is something more glorious still connected therewith, and the Prophet Joseph presented it in that wonderful epistle of September 6, 1842. Speaking first of the im- portance of records and record-keeping, he says: "Whatsoever you record on earth shall be recorded in heaven, and what- soever you do not record on earth shall not be recorded in heaven; for out of the books shall your dead be judged, according to their own works, whether they themselves have attended to the ordinances in their own propria persona, or by means of their own agents, according to the ordinance which God has prepared for their salvation from before the foundation of the world, according to the records which they have kept concerning their dead." (Doc. and Cov. 128:8.) He also quotes the words of Malachi — repeatedly referred to in the course of this article; mentions the "welding link" between the living and the dead, and then adds: 194 IMPROVEMENT ERA All In One "It is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and com- plete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time. And not only this, but those things which never have been revealed from the foundation of the world, but have been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this, the dispensation of the fulness of times." (Doc. and Cov. 128:18.) There it is — there is the greatness and the glory of Elijah's mission — the binding of the gospel dispensations, and the bringing together of all things in Christ, both in heaven and on earth; in short, the uni- versal restitutipn promised by the mouths of holy prophets since the world began. "Why send Elijah?" asks the Prophet, and answers his own question thus: "Because he holds the keys of the authority to admin- ister in all the ordinances of the Priesthood; and without the authority is given, the ordinances could not be administered in righteousness." In the same connection he states that "Elijah was the last prophet that held the keys of the priesthood." (History of the Church, vol. 6, pp. 249-254.) Elijah, whose name stands for the completeness of preparation for the coming of the Lord, had to be sent in the last days, in order that the gospel dispensations, extending like a mighty chain through all the centuries of time, might be bound together, prior to Messiah's glorious advent. The Gospel Dispensations What is meant by the term "dispensation"? In the sense that I am now using it, it means the opening of the heavens and the dispensing or giving forth of the principles of the Everlasting Gospel, with the powers of the Eternal Priesthood, for purposes of salvation. It also signifies the period of time during which those saving principles and powers remain operative after being restored to man. Earth has had more than one dispensation of the gospel. It did not originate in the days of the ancient apostles. It was a restored religion then, as it is a restored religion now. Framed in the heavens, before this earth was organized, it has been revealed to man again and again in a series of dispensations, reaching from the days of Adam down to the days of Joseph Smith. God's Covenant with Adam God covenanted with Adam that the gospel should be in the world from the beginning to the end thereof, and it has been kept in the world by repeated restorations or dispensations, the keys of which were conferred upon the prophet presiding over this dispensation, THE WELDING LINK 195 so that the work of binding all together might be consummated and the work of the Lord wound up as pertaining to this planet. Elias — Elijah — Messiah Says Joseph, in the discourse from which I have just quoted: "The spirit of Elias is first, Elijah second, and Messiah last. Elias is a forerunner to prepare the way, and the spirit and power of Elijah is to come after, holding the keys of power, building the temple to the capstone, placing the seals of the Melchizedek priesthood upon the house of Israel; and making all things ready; then Messiah comes to his temple; which is last of all." "Divers Angels" Earlier in the same discourse is found this notable utterance: "I saw an angel, and he laid his hands upon my head, and ordained me to a priest after the order of Aaron, and to hold the keys of his priesthood, which office was to preach repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, and also to baptize. But I was informed that this office did not extend to the laying on of hands for the giving of the Holy Ghost; that that office was a greater work, and was to be given afterward; but that my ordination was a preparatory work, or a going before, which was the spirit of Elias." But the spirit of Elijah rested upon him later. Following the visitation of the Father and the Son, proclaiming the opening of a new gospel dispensation, came "divers angels" — first Moroni, revealing the Book of Mormon and the gospel as contained therein; then, in suc- cession, John the Baptist, restoring the Aaronic priesthood; Peter, James, and John, restoring the Melchizedek priesthood and "declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom and of the dispen- sation of the fulness of times;" then Moses, Elias, and Elijah, con- ferring their respective keys and powers. Other angels, such as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, are likewise mentioned by the Prophet in this con- nection. All these ministrations were for the purpose of bringing about a condition of unity and completeness absolutely essential to the per- fection of the Lord's work. Perfection the Object Perfection is the great end in view. Nothing imperfect, nothing incomplete, can inherit the fulness of God's glory. It would be out of place there and could not endure. Jesus said to his disciples: "Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." Eternal mar- riage helps to illustrate the point. "The man is not without the woman nor the woman without the man, in the Lord." United, they represent completeness, each being the complement of the other. Apart, they are incomplete, and cannot pass on to exaltation. The same is true of parent and child, typifying past and present. 196 IMPROVEMENT ERA Neither is complete without the other. What Has Been must be joined to What Is, in order that perfection may reign. The keys of Moses were given, that there might be a gathering of scattered Israel. But a greater gathering was also in prospect, and the keys of Elijah were restored, that a welding link might be forged to unite the present and the past, and that all things in Christ, whether on earth or in heaven, might eventually be brought together and the separate and discordant parts attuned and blended in one harmonious whole. "Brethren," says the Prophet, in that marvelous outburst of inspira- tion with which the subject closes, "shall we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage, brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to the King Immanuel, who hath ordained before the world was, that which would enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free!" Obstacles The test of the strength of the cable Is e'er in the fiercest of storms; The test of each man is in trial In all of its various forms. Each time we meet sorrow superbly Makes the life more grand and sublime, For sorrow refines and enobles, If met with a faith that's divine. The brightest of lightning comes ever From clouds that are most dark and drear, From hottest of furnaces, also, The purest of ore will appear. The man who will smile through his trouble. O'er coming and rising above, Each obstacle which may assail him, Will grow strong, and gain people's love. Let failures prove stepping stones only To later and greater success; Brave storms of life ever with courage, Then real growth our efforts will bless. Oh, be not discouraged and downcast, No matter what obstacles rise, Go onward and forward and conquer, And they'll prove a help in disguise. Mesa, Arizona. ETHEL R. LlLLYWHITE.