Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-10-25
THE MIRACULOUS IN RELIGION.


panied by miracles of various kinds.
In the very earliest dispensations Of
which We have any knowledge, the
miraculous is prominent feature.
Adam, our father, converses with
God. Enoch is removed from this
earth without tasting death. Noah
is miraculouSly saved from the
waters Of the flood aud can throagh
the gift OF prophecy outline the
history Of his descendants to the re-
hottest future. Abraham is visited
by God and by angels. The Mosaic
dispensation isushered in by a series
ofmiracles and has almost through.
out its entire existence men who
are endowed with supernatural gifts.
And the Christian era was ushered
in with miracles, which continued
as long as the gift Of the Holy Spirit
was recognized among the follow
ers Of our Lord. There never was
a dispensation in which God did not
through His faithful servants mani
fest His power in a miraculous man
ner.
The remuneration Of miraculous
gifts is therefore a reputation Of
true religion. The two appear al
ways TO have emlnated from the
same source, as light and heat from
the same sun. To contend that a
religion is true although void o. the
miraculous power is no more sensi-
BILE than TO contend for the exist
ence Of lightgiving, burning sun
incapable nf producing heat.
The so called Christian church,
es Of our age each take a different
attitude IN regard to miracles. All
admit that formerly a number Of
miracles were performed. The
Catholic Church even holds that
miracles may still be performed, but
only within that church. And
when anything extraordinary &C.
ours, 1t must be examined and ap-
proved by bishops and other eccles-
iastical diguitaries before it can be
accepted asa miracle. Everything
else Of n mystic nature is considered
the work Of diseased imagination,
fraud, or perhaps the work
Of the devil. Particular
" strongly has that church
denounced as leading 10 infiIelity
and immortality tue inexplicable
phenomena Of magnetism. The
Protestant churches in modern
times boldly deny all miracles
since the days CT the Bible. They
declare that the miracles were nee
essary in order to establish the Cos.
pei, but when the Gospel had been
established, they were no longer
needed. They could be "put out''
as n candle when the sun is up, to
use a modern smile. And, cOnse-
quently, the PrOtestants are apt to
declare every modern wynder to be
the work of the devil, or at least
fraud.
a certain advanced class of theo-
lOgiaus have gone a step farther and
deny the miracles of the Old Tesla
ment, while they profess 20
retain those Of the New. De
Welte belongs TO this class. In his
introduction to the old and New
Testament he says that it is clear to
the cultivated intellect that 'such
miracles never took place in real
ity, 4" and he asks if it eau be sup
posed that the eyewitness perhaps
were deceived as to the nature CT the
alleged miracles, but also this sup
position, he thinks, must he aban-
doned and the related miracles can
be nothing but the imlginations OF
later authors. Strauss and the
whole Tubingen school have applied
this doctrine also to the New Tesla
ment, and thereby opened the way
for the RltiOnalists and AgnUstics
and skeptics to deny everything
that is miraculous. And there is
where the world now stands.
Christianity" apOstatizsd from
the truth, has, through the various
stages OF Catholicism aud Protes-
tantism, evolved into skepticism
or agnosticism.
The modern sciences, it has been
said, have No room for anything
miraculous, Bat in spite OF this, |
people who do not claim to be
philosophers, very often meet with |
facts which all the sciences fail to
satisfactorily explain. Many Incl
dents Of the history Of Swedenborg |
belong to this class.
The Church OF Jesus Christ OF
Latter-day Saints has in this point
been Led to the acceptance Of the /
truth. Thsy alone seem to fully
the question in its vari-
Gus theoretical AMI practical bear
ings.
When Joseph, the Prophet, was
caliei upon to 90 as a messenger to
the world with the everlasting Cos
pei, he was not sent like a power
less talker OF sweet, popular doc
trines, but like 4 man who had di-
vine authority. The Lord says:
at shall come to pass that there
shall be a great work in the land.
'or I am God, and mine arm is not
and I will show miracles,
Signs, and wonders unto all those who
believe in my name. And who So shall
lsk it in my name in faith, they shall
'ast out devils; they shall heal the
,ick; they shall cause the bind to re-
,eive their sight, and the deaf to hear,
md the dumb to speak, and the lame
o walk. Doc. and Gov. XIV, 20.
Not only miraculous power but
llso miraculous knowledge was i'm.
'arted to the Prophets Of this last
As the ancient seers,
though the power Of God, could
oretell the destiny Of the ancient Z
srael AMI OF surrounding nations, 5
0 this mighty man OF God was /.
nabied to unseal both the mysteries
{ the past and OF the future, and L