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

APOSTNSN AND RESTORATION.
As the readers of the News" are
aware. the Ministerial association Of
this city, few days ago published a
Review Of the Address TO the World
issued by the April conference Of the
! church OF Jesus Christ Of Latter-day
Saints.
The document OF the clcrgymen COM
| mcnCos by ntimating that the Address
of the Church. While processing to he
a declaration OF doctrines. omits much
that is essential to "a correct under
standing of "Mormonism.' and which
is Of horrible and shocking nature,
and that this concealment calls for the
Review.
IT seems to be the fate Of the mem
beers of the Church in this ace, as it
was the fate OF the first followers Of
the Redeemer, to be everywhere spok-
en- against" If they state, as correctly
as their command of human language
VIII permit. their views and give reason
for the hope within them, someone Is
sure to contradict them and tell them
they are insinccre. or ignorant and do
rot know what they believe, but must
take the word Of the opponents for
what their views are. II they endeavor
| to do right and give offense to no man.
! still someone Is there TO speak against
them, and tell them that they are hypo-
! critics and criminals. In short. they
/
| no matter. Truth will prevail even
| through contradiction, and to the au-
| thors Of the Review 1t is only neces-
sary to say at this time, that the Nor
mons" have nothing 70 conceal but
! that they desire all the world to know
what their doctrines are: also that they
themselves know what they believe and
do not believe. No one who has stu
| died "Mormonism' caly through spec
tacles highly colored by prejudices, is a
competent witness on that subject;
much less authority.
What are the alleged shocking doc
trines that the authors Of the Review
insnuate the Address does not set
forth. and that they undertake 10 ex-
pose?
One is this. that the Church claims
| to be the only divlnely authorised
church Of Jesus Christ on the earth,
that universal apostasy took place
| i'm the early ages, and that the Prophet
Joseph was a new witness for God.
whom no one can reject except to his
eternal peril.
Can Protestant students OF ecclesias-
| teal history sincerely doubt uni
versal apostasy of the church" Do
not the Scriptures predict such an apos-
tasy eliminating in THE man of sin
/ sitting I'm the temple of God-that is in
| the church-claiming divine attributes
| and powers? And do not the same
| Scriptures toll US of the beginning of
| this apostasy? Paul warned the bish
| ops OF Ephcsus, that from among
| themselves men would arise speaking
! perverse things" and the later books Of
! the New Testament contain intimatlons
of the presence of antichrsts among
/ the churches. The picture drawn Of
the seven branches Of the church in
! Asia shows the condition as early as
the latter part Of the apostolic age.
Ephesus was threatened with the re-
naval of the candlcsuck. Iaodicca was
mkcwarm and about TO be rejected
Could Paul Of samosata have been rec
ognized as a Christian bishop by any
church but one In an apostate condi-
ton. when he marched through the
streets IN secular pomp and had wom-
en sing his praise? Would the churches
of Asia Minor. Greece, Africa and else
whore have been swept away by the
! Alohammedan hordes. n they had not
,,.., h, .,r1iti,p tbst coued for
Fr"Nldenu"' interference
Is II not true that tho city that
claimed domination and was generally
...r.,,,l ~, ,s p,hylo, by III, ,,r,,,
''
Fathers corrupted the morals as wen
as the doctrines? Torullian exclaim-
,d. "rhc bishur NJ bIshops has he
.. - aa,,,,,.,.,m ?.