Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-04-13

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acts which have been pefpetialeu
against the Church have many times
come from the hands OF religious Peo-
pie. and mobs have been aroused ana
led by religious ministers, which mas
resulted IN the shedding OF the niood
OF innocent young men who, ike Eldgr
Clayton. have gone forth TO bear lhelf
testimony to the world ana 10 point
out the fact that II Is not unscflptural
to believe that such a dlspensatlon OF
the Gospel as this should be established
upon the earth preceding the coming
of the Messiah.
BARRIERS IN THE WAY,
The question is frequently asked by
those who listen 20 this testimony that
line Gospel has been restored, and that
Joseph Smith was a Prophet OF Coo,
yhy has there been such a long period
Of darkness intervening between the
martyrdom OF the ancient Apostles and
the restoration of the Gospel through
,Joseph Smith? The reason Is simple,and
IL ia not only answered IN the scrip
lures, but Il Is answered In the history
which has been made by mankind our
ing the last eighteen centuries. Con
sidering the condition Of men from the
time the Apostles fell asleep, II Is high
iy improbable that the Son OF God could
have established and maintained Ills
Church upon the earth, unless He had
operated contrary to the way in when
He usually does. Men are left to the
exercise OF their own agency, You re-
member that on one occasion the Apos-
ties proposed to defend the Savior by
force, and the Apostle Peter drew
sword and smote of the ear OF hypo-
critical servant Of the high priest but
Jesus said: Put up again thy sword
into Us place. for all they that take
the SWORD shall perish with the
sword, Thinkest thou that | cannot
now pray to my Father, and He shan
presently give me more than twelve
legons Of angels?' 1t has not been in
the purposes Of God to prevent the
martyrdom OF His Apostles and Proph-
cts. It is a philosophical fact that the
more a principle has the stamp OF d.
yinity upon II the more intensely Is II
opposed by the world simply because
the adversary Of all righteousness I'M
derstanas something Of the truth. He
was cast out from the presence of God
for reDellng against Him. and he has
not forgotten all the principles which
he understood In his pre-existent state,
He was present when the plan of sal
walton was devised, and perhaps in the
councils Of eternity, and he has not
forgotten all h. learned. He under
stands to very great extent the ef-
feet OF principle upon the human mind,
Of ar
science. lie understood fun well that
no matter what the philosophers Of the
Jews were, as long as they did not pos
sess divine authority and had not been
sent Of God TO declare the plan Of
in its fulness, he need
not oppose them particularly, nor
destroy their teachers, divided and
split asunder as they were into so
many sects But when the Son of God
came, mark the contrast In the course
pursued by Lucfer. Under the Roman
empire all kinds of religion We're toler-
ated but when the Son of God estab-
lished the truth in It's purity and power
Lucifer changed his tactics. You re-
the incident related by
OF the two men possessed
with devils coming out of the tombs
and they cried out what have we to
10 with thee Jesus, thou Son of God?
art thou come hlther 10 torment US be-
fore the time?" They knew that He
was the Son OF God, Satan had not
forgotten his meek and lowly brother
against whom he had risen UP in re-
bellion. You also remember the expert
ance Of the Savior when Lueifer tempt
"a Him. The Savior had been fasting
and was "a hungered," and the tempter
said, III thou be the Son OF God, COM
nand that these stones be made bread
Iesus answered 1T Is written. Man
shall not live by bread alone. but by
Every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth OF God" Lucifer was a scrip
-orlan. He had associated with Job; he
what Moses had written;
and when the Savior was taken to the
pinnacle OF the temple, Lucifer said to
Him. IF thou be the Son Of God, cast
Myself down: for It IS written. He
shall give his angels charge concerning
hee and In their hands they shall bear
hee up. lest az any time thou dash thy
DOT against a stone" He was quoting
rom the Psalms Of David. Then he
ook Him up on an exceeding high
and showed Him all the
kingdoms of the world in all their
wealth and grandeur, and said, "All
hese things will | give thee. II thou
Wilt fall down and worship me-" He
would not have made such a PROPOSE
ion had he not known that Jesus was
he Son OF God and that through Him
would come the redemption of man, the
oosenlng OF the grasp OF Satan and the
breaking of the bands OF death.
Now, after the Savior had delv-
red the truth In purity and
power, lie was cruclfed. According
o His Injunction, the Apostles
arried at Jerusalem until they were
with power from on high, ana
then they stood up and declared the
plan OF salvation and answered with
the question. What shall we
10 to be saved? But the same treat
nent was accorded to them as had been
10 their Master, and persecution fol-
owed until the Apostles were slain and
The Saints of God. as distinct body.
were obliterated from the face OF the
earth. Moreover, the New Testament
Is full Of testimony that there should he
4 falling away before the second coming
- WV ~ Noot"iis Il aul Slfdhh OF " IN
the second chapter OF ri Thessalonlans.
Some had evidently been trying 10 i'm
press the people with the false idea that
the coming Of Christ was close at hand.
and Paul, In correcting this. said:
Now we beseech you, brethren. by
the coming Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
and by our gathering together unto
Him,
That ye be not soon shaken in mind.
or be troubled, neither by spirit nor
by word, nor by letter as from us. as
that the day OF Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you bv any
means; for that day shall not come, ex-
cept there come falling away first."-
vs. l-3.
What is "a falling away" unless IL
be a departure from that which God
has established as indispensable TO SAL
walton? And decidedly there has been
a departure. / could quote many pas-
sagcs from both the OLD and New fres-
taments respecting the apostasy from
the Church, the overthrow OF right
eousness, and the prevalence Of the pow
er represented by the Roman empire
backed up by the dragon. According 10
the Apostle John. as recorded In the
thirteenth chapter OF Revelation. the
beast was TO receive its power from the
dragon and he should make war with
the Saints and overcome them and