From Martin Luther to Joseph Smith

FROM MARTIN LUTHER TO JOSEPH SMITH By L. Valess Dewey, M. A. It seems that in God's economy all truly great events are heralded by a period of preparation. Sometimes these periods are of short duration, as in the case of the heralding of the Messiah by John the Baptist. At other times, longer periods of preparation seem to be necessary. The Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, or more particularly the restoration of the gospel in these latter times, seems to have required, a very gradual period of heraldry or introduction. For God chooses to work through human agencies. Thus, more than three hundred years passed in the slow, but none the less sure, re- generation of the so-called Christian world from the twilight of the early Reformation to the noon-day of the restoration of the primitive gospel and Church. The writer desires to point out four steps in the preparation for the restored gospel — a preparation the beginning of which is commonly known to the world at large as the Reformation. That some kind of preparation was absolutely necessary, no thinking person can doubt. And that great leaders should have arisen just at the right time, with just the proper religious thinking to guide the people, is a phenomenon which philosophers try in vain to explain, and for a solution of which only theologians meekly point to the Providence of God. But the leaders came; and the steps were marked: — that the promise of God might be vindicated in the restoring of Christ's gospel in its fulness. THE FIRST STEP THE WORK OF MARTIN LUTHER (1517-1546) Martin Luther was fortunate in having a mother who had taught him from early childhood something of the power of God directly exercised in the lives of men. Hence it was that from the beginning Luther came to think of God as working directly with men and not necessarily only through the Roman Catholic Pope. He, of course, believed in and subscribed to the power of the Pope in his early life. But this adhering to Roman Catholic control was never as blind and as unintelligent, in the case of the future reformer, as was the manner in which most Catholics of Luther's time gave them- selves body and soul to the power and influence of the Church at Rome. It is true that Luther did not at first wish to leave or be excommunicated from the Roman Catholic church. The posting of his ninety-five theses was not an act of militant rebellion. He simply wished the people to know that there was a question in his mind as to whether some of the actions of the Pope and his agents could be justified by scripture and reason. But before the Reformation had advanced very far, the great German reformer gave evidence that he

322 IMPROVEMENT ERA had a very fair working knowledge of what the church needed. Thus we read: "The Church of Christ requires an honest ministry, diligently and loyally instructed in the Holy WorcT of God after a pure Christian intelli- gence, and without the addition of any false traditions." (From "Luther's Idea of the Church" — Luther and the German Reformation, by Principal T. M. Lindsay, D. D.) For practical purposes, however, we may distinguish in the work of Martin Luther three very definite contributions, as follow: Cl) the freedom of the mind; (2) faith in God; (3) the democracy of the Lord's table. A few words regarding these contributions will be sufficient for the purpose of this article. Without freedom of mind there can be no rational religion. Luther saw this at the beginning of the reformation controversy. The mind must be free tc think and act for itself. Once free, the mind and soul of the re- ligious follower may seek after God for himself, uninfluenced by the creeds, dogmas, and traditions of men. Hence, faith in God as a direct agency and help may over-ride, if necessary, any interference on the part of popes or other men. Having secured this enjoyment, the individual is now ready, according to Luther, to appreciate and understand something of the sacrifice of Christ for sinful man. He therefore has a right to partake, with individual freedom and purity, of both emblems of the Lord's Supper and be personally strengthened thereby. All this was unusual and even radical thinking for the time in which Martin Luther lived. And the expression of such thinking was punishable by burning at the stake. Yet every well-informed Latter-day Saint will recognize the foregoing contributions as direct stepping stones to a restoration of the full gospel of Jesus Christ. THE CONTRIBUTION OF JOHN CALVIN (1536-1564) John Calvin was a very different type of reformer from Martin Luther. Like Luther, he was a great scholar and thinker; but unlike the German reformer, he possessed a legally trained and very logical mind. Luther was a popular hero, with ideas and ideals which ap- pealed to the people in their varied walks of life. Calvin, on the other hand, was exclusive in his highly intellectual life. We think of Calvin as the author of that highly intellectual and wonderfully logical system of predestination philosophy. It is not, however, the intri- cate working out of this philosophy with which we are concerned in this article. Let the reader, in passing, be reminded of the principle which lay back of the doctrine — a principle which is highly important as a pre-restoration contribution. In brief, Calvin emphasized strongly the direct pre-determining influence of God in the lives of men. It was God, and not the Pope at Rome, who exerted the real and lasting power and influence over the affairs of life, both here and hereafter. This conclusion would take Luther's first contribution a step further.

FROM MARTIN LUTHER TO JOSEPH SMITH 323 Not only must the mind be free — free from the Pope, free in itself — but it must also be free in God; that is, it must be free in God's law. So much for Calvin's contribution in theory. In practice, there was another very important contribution. Luther had been tolerant as a reformer. Not so this leader of the French reformation. Calvin said v/hat he thought; and carried the thought into action, if he could. We read of him: "Calvin was implacable in his determination to purify the worship of God of all needless adjuncts. All that was calculated to charm and affect the senses was abolished; spiritual worship should be independent of all earthly things, jand should consist of edification by the word, and simple spiritual songs. Ail the traditional externals that Luther had retained — altars, pictures, ceremonials, and decorations of every kind — were dispensed with." (From The Period of the Reformation, by Hausser, p. 249.) It is not difficult for a Latter-day Saints to see how this change served to assist in the work of the restoration of the gospel nearly three centuries later. WESLEY TAKES OTHER STEPS TO OPEN THE WAY (1739-1791) The reader should bear in mind that nearly two centuries went by after the work of Calvin closed before the contribution of John Wesley was given to the world. Many changes had taken place, both in Europe and in the New World. Much had been accomplished in the way of political revolution and development. The masses of the people were, in general, considerably more able to think and act for themselves. Burnings at the stake had ceased. And, save for occasional charges of witchcraft, heresy was not punishable by death, or even imprisonment. In England, a break with the Roman Catholic church had occurred; the Church of England had been formed, and other sects and denominations of various types had arisen and were still arising. England seemed to be, just now, the logical place for further religious awakening. Certainly there was need for such an awakening. For, though the Reformation proper had ended, there was still a crying need for reforming and awakening. And it was here, indeed, that the next outstanding religious reformer arose and made his con- tribution to the world. Although the son of a minister of the church in England, John Wesley was not educated and designed for the ministry as was Luther. He was graduated from a college of his own choosing, and was con- verted to church activity, in the true protestant sense, after he had finished his college course. Accordingly, we may say that Wesley represents, not so much a breaking away from existing churches or orders of religion, as a revival type. That is to say, the great English reformer sponsored and championed a spiritual awakening in religion already generally existing, rather than the founding of a new religion; and this, in spite of the fact that he did become the father, so-called,

3 24 IMPROVEMENT ERA of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a great preacher, a successful organizer, and an efficient leader. His theological contribution is tied up with what he calls the "new birth." This new birth or regener- ation is largely "the working of the Spirit," as Wesley himself puts it. But there are also intellectual interpretations. Wesley was inclined to put repentance first, then faith, after which came baptism or the new birth. Regarding baptism, he has this to say: "Baptism is a sacrament, wherein Christ hath ordained the washing with water, to be a sign and seal of regeneration by his Spirit." (Wesley's Doctrinal Standards, by Burwash, p. 453.) Wesley favored immersion as the correct mode of baptism enjoined by the New Testament. He permitted sprinkling, however, and also allowed and accepted the baptism of infants. It may be well to add that Wesley's teaching of baptism by immersion was reinforced by the Baptist movements, though none of these latter movements produced an outstanding leader or reformer. CAMPBELL AS A REMINDER OF OTHER TRUTHS (1812-1866) It remained for Alexander Campbell to remind the world of the first three fundamentals of gospel thought, giving their proper relationships and approximate meanings. This remarkable leader of religious thought was of Scotch-Irish descent. He came to America to work with his father, who was already a minister of the gospel, in Pennsylvania. Young Campbell and his father left the Presbyterian church because of their mode of baptism. In 1812 they were immersed and began to preach for the Baptist church. Soon, however, Alexander Campbell disagreed with Baptist doctrine, insisting that faith should and does come before repentance. He also taught the Trinity or God- head as three distinct and definite personalities. It became necessary, therefore, to organize a new group or body of religious believers who became known successively as "Christian-Baptists," "Campbellites," and "Christians," or "Disciples." Campbell contended that his move- ment was not the founding of a new sect, but a "restoration move- ment;" i. e., getting back to the primitive church and its practices, by observing and living the teachings of Christ and the apostles, as they are found in the New Testament. Particularly, the contribution of Alexander Campbell may be summed up in the following extract, taken from the New International Encyclopedia, under the heading, "Disciples of Christ:" "The Disciples accept * * * the tripersonality of the Father. Son, and Holy Ghost * * * the divine excellency of Jesus Christ as the Son of God * * * the personal mission of the Holy Ghost * * * the necessity of faith and repentance to salvation * * * and the im- portance of baptism and the Lord's Supper as divine ordinances." Regarding baptism and the Lord's Supper, it may be added that

FROM MARTIN LUTHER TO JOSEPH SMITH 325 Campbell taught that baptism was for the remission of sins, and that the Lord's Supper should be observed often — at least once a week. •It is especially interesting to Latter-day Saints to know that the followers of Alexander Campbell were quite numerous in the vicinity of Kirtland, Ohio, when the Prophet Joseph Smith established the headquarters of the Restored Church in that place. Also that a con- siderable percentage of the earthly converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in those days were first followers of Campbell. A CLOSING PARAGRAPH Thus was the way opened and the field prepared for the ushering in of the gospel in its fulness. Truly, "God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform." The darkness of the middle ages was too pronounced and consuming for a sudden ushering in of the full light of the gospel from heaven. The mind of man was too far removed from truth to comprehend at once the Fulness of Truth. But God, in never-failing wisdom, always prepares the way, working on natural principle and according to natural law. Little by little the seed of reformation was sown. Line and precept were added as they were needed and could be comprehended. Slowly and surely the beliefs of men were moulded by prophets of a minor order. And many reformers and leaders labored in as many lines of activity that the way might be prepared for the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times. In all these activities, political, industrial, and religious revolutions played their part. Not only must the fulness of the gospel be given from heaven and received by a few — it must also be carried abroad with rapidity and accepted gladly, because minds in many climes and nations had been prepared politically, socially, and psychologically to receive it. Hence, let it not be supposed that the theological field alone needed to be ploughed or the doctrinal vineyard pruned. But after all else has been said, the world needed a Luther, a Calvin, a Wesley, and a Campbell. For without their efforts — 'humanly speak- ing— the mighty work wrought by Joseph Smith in the restoration of the Restored Church could not have been accomplished. Tucson. Arizona. Living A few simple things I must learn to do, If I would make my life happy and true: Work with increasing skill and cheerful wijl, Play with merry glee that gives a thrill. Think with clearness the thoughts that are best, Pray with fervency and faith of the blest. Love my neighbor and gladly take his part, And serve my God with hand, and head, and heart. Nephi Jensen.