Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1896-12-28
The DIVINITY OF CHRIST.

1t Is O pecunaflty OF LOIS ia''eA t'"'N'
We believe, that from pulpits proiesseu'
Iv Christian the divinity and atoning
work OF our Savior are being denied.
The commission given to Ills ambas'
ssdors on earth was to proclaim in HIS
name salvation to every creature.
Infldels always have denied this ae an
absurdi,y, but now 1t has come TO this
that proiessedIy Christian ministers
offer their hearers alleged demonstra-
tions of iufldel propOsiticnt--and this
as suitable worship on the Lora's day.
Only last Sunday O congregation In
this city was told that there ia no rea'
son, with the evidence we have, Why
any intelligent mind should consider
Jesus Christ as God" and the state
ment WAS brought to thousands oil
homes by one OF the daily papers.
The fact s that there is every reason
why an intelligent mind should con-
slider cur Savior rs Gou, and the chiei
of these reasons is TINT He himself
claimed divine honor and attributes
When He was brought before thelgreat
Sanhedrim and every other charge
made against Him failed TO furnish an
excuse for pronouncing the death
sentence, He was solemDly urged to
confess whether He claimed uivin-
ity. tart thou the Son OF Coup He was
asked by the presiding officer. And
there, fully aware of the consequences
OF a confession, He as aolemnly asserted
that He was, and He added: "From
hepcetorth ehall the Son OF man be
seated ut the right hand OF the power
OF God"
In the same way, when taken bsiore
Plato IS dangerous rival to the impe.
rial power, He stated that to Him were
due royal honoTs, although His kingdom
was not OF this world but of the domain
OF truth.
After the resurrection he further
claimed that all authority or power in
heaven and on earth had been given
Christians for the Masters cause rests
on this fact. II not true, Christianity
in all it's qualifications is a deception
and Christ Himself the chief OF de.
ceivers.
The first followers OF Jesus, who
had received instructions OF Him, and
txhn or in at pf
the apostolic age, saw in the Master a
person OF the Godhead. They describe
Him as the express image OF the
Father, a creator, the fret born before
the creatures, the reslorer OF fallen
man and the object OF angelic wOr.
ship. The immediate followers OF the
Apostles understood these teachings,
and they made distinction between
the worship they rendered Jesus and
the honor they paid other mar
tyrs. In q letter drawn up by the
Christians Of Smyrna 10 which
IN account Is given oil the mar
tyTtOm of PolycRrp. they reply to an
accusation that they woTshiped Poly
carp: "This is impossible, Tor Christ
only lie, or can be, the object Of wOr.
ship: to Him alone We offer alteration,
and the martyrs are objects of gratitude
and love-" 1t lie therefore not true
that the adding OF divine attributes to
Christ is an alter-thought, born in tho
ages Of theological decay. Truly Gays
Eusebius that the faithful from the
frat attributed divinity to Christ.
And how could It be otherwise? II
the followers OF Jesus verify believed
Him to be the promised Messiah, they
found divinity attributed TO Him In
the Old Testament. The "stone OF
stumbling" on which Israel fell is By
Isaiah said to be Jehovah, and the
same Prophet says every knee is TO
bow to Jehovah, an expression which
Paul applies TO Christ. The vision in
Iss.,6: 3-Ie John speaks Of as the sight
OF Chtisl's glory, ana numerous other
passages ers explained in the same
way. 1t "a !n1isputable that the Ola
Testament writer's claim divinity for
MessiRh; that Jesus Elmself taught
that He was this Messiah, amt that
His true followers In the first age, as
ever afterwards, have accepted Him
as such. This is testimony no intelll.
gent mind can re use to sccept.
The revelations in this age c5rrobor.
ateit. Through Joseph the Prophet,
the Lord ssys:
Hearken and listen to the voice Of Him
who is from eternity TO all eternity. tho
great ~ ann jehovah oven Jesus
Christ, he lgh; and the lie of the world.
doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 80: !, ..
There is no uncertainty in this test!.
mony.
There are at present two dis.
unst forces at work agains
the authority of JesuE They botl