Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-06-08

| fearful apostasy, that every sincere
| believer must be watching for It's rise
with anxious interest, and SO clear are
| thu assurances and the proofs. That
from the days of the Apostles. the
mystery OF lniquity was already at
work, that the most melancholy re-
cords OF its Advancement in each sub
sequont ago serve hut To convince us
that. though "all flesh IS grass the
word OF the Lord ondurcth for ever"
Theology ~ the Early Christian
church, p. $50.
Perhaps no clearer historical evi-
dcnce of the apostasy predicted by the
Apostle exists than the record OF the
great council at Nice, a. y. 395. Con
stantine had Just succeeded In estab
fishing himself upon the throne.
through intrigues and assassinations,
and. wicked though he was. decided to
Interfere in church matters and har-
moni2e the various interests The
Christians whose favor he sought. he
found divided and hating each other,
on account OF differences of opinion,
aud this was detrimental to the sue
cess OF his policy. For political rea-
sons he convened that council, hoping
~ '''e We, w. ,'''
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tives of the bishop Of Rome, Arius
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VVHS'"' 81 l''o o's'''pS ,"ous" wa"
not uh'i'''''o"SI me "o'N Va W. an"
received II with reverence declaring
that AL persons should De pahiSheu'
VINO refused To suinplt /" H. an"
making the i'@,hihs Oh AiluS eaP'-
lal o1ense.
Here then the church stood race to
face with the secular ruler. and the
representatives of the church crawled
in the dust before the worldly power.
Here question of doctrine that con-
cernod the church alone was discussed
at the command OF pagan ruler. for
political purp oses entirely, Here
hcresy was made an onense against
the state. and the hereto liable to
punishment accordingly. Here, then
the church as FAR as represented at
Nice. formally abdicated its power
and authority to a representative Of
cruel autoCrary and paganism. That
was a long step toward the universal
apostasy.
When we state our belief that uni
vcrsaI apostasy took place in the early
ages. we find ourselves on Scripture
ground. and fully sustained by eeclesl-
astical history, 1t IS necessary to re-
member. however. that we do not claim
that by this apostasy every truth was
taken away from tho children Of men,
as wen as ali righteousness. on the
contrary, we fully recognize that there
have been good and noble men and wo-
men in all ages and among all nations
as there are such today every
where who have had the light of many
precious truth, and who have lived
lives Of righteousness and passed away
to receive their glorious reward. What
we claim is, that the church organiza-
ton, as instituted by the inspired
servants of the Lord, was discontinued
The church is the Lords form of spirit
ual government. and this form was
overthrow by the hostile forces, just as
the government of Poland-to use an
ilustration--was abolished when the
country was divided between the ag-
gressiVe neighbors. When we say that
government has been overthrown.
that does not mean that all the people
under The government are annihilat-
ed, on that they are totally changed in
their characteristics. 1t means that
they are placed under new
regime and have become sub
jet to new conditions, That
is what happened In the ecclesiasti-
cal world through the universal apos-
tasy IT was a revolution by which
Gods form Of spiritual government
through inspired Apostles Prophets,
etc, was done away with and world
~ form substituted Now If that is
not an historical fact, there is no such
thing as history.
As through the universal apostasy
the Church organization of the New
Testament was Overthruwn. restoration