The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1907-01-25
ANSWERS To MAHUKA
BY JAMES c. bE|SSEL

there not twelve apostles?
Ans.-Yes, sir.
(2) When vacancies occurred were
not other men called to fill the vacan-
cies?
Ans.-Yes, sir.
go Did not Christ say that He did
all things to please His Father that
sent Him; and was not, therefore, the
Church as established by Christ, with
twelve apostles in it, pleasing to God?
Ans.-Yes, sir.
az II Church with twelve apostles
in 1t was pleasing to God. then will a
Church that has not twelve apostles in
it be pleasing to Him today, for do not
the Scriptures say, II am God, change
not?
Ans.-God did not change by creating
in the beginning, nor when He made
men, nor when they die. nor even
when He created and called apostles,
never mind their number.
90 Does not the Bible say that God
set lights in the armament of heaven
to give light upon the earth
and that God set apostles in the
Church for the perfecting of the saints
and for the work of the ministry?
Ans.-Yes.
co. Can the Church of God get along
without the twelve apostles whom God
set there, any more than the earth can
get along without the lights that He
set in the armament?
Ans.-If you mean the Mormon apos-
ties, the Church can, indeed, got along
very well without them. Did not she
get along for 1900 years before anybody
in the world ever heard that name?
If you mean the true apostles of
Christ. they are the columns Of the
Church, her light and her guide from
the beginning till today, and for ever
in the future to the end of times.
Cd Was Peter the only apostle to
whom Christ promised the keys of the
kingdom of God?
Ans.-Chrst promised them to all the
apostles, and, no exception being made
you have no right to make an eXcep-
ton. Therefore, Peter received his
share of the power with all the other
apostles. But when Christ addressed
him alone in special and particular
manner, what He did to nobody else
of the apostles, Christ made him their
chief in the use of the power all had
received, and all recognized in him
their chief who had to feed the sheep
and lambs, apostles and faithful.
50 Did not Christ and the apostles
teach that the Gospel was the power of
God unto salvation, and were not the
first principles of that Gospel faith,
repentance, baptism in water for the
remission of sins, and the laying on OF
hands for the baptism of fire and the
Holy Ghost?
Ans.-Yes, sir.
(9 Did not Christ teach that they
that are whole need for a physician,
but they that are sick, and that He
came not to call. the righteous, but the
sinners, to repentance?
Ans.-Yes, sir.
(1Ol Can little children who are not
capable of committing sin believe and
repent?
Ans.-No; they can not and need not.
Q0) Why, then, do we baptize In
fants?
Ans.-Because Christ, in enjoining
people to be baptized in the water and
the Holy Ghost, under penalty of not
being admitted into the kingdom of
heaven, did make no exception of in
fants. Consequently, it does not belong
to you. with all the smartness you be-
lieve to have, to establish here an ex-
ception, because in doing so You will
exclude the poor infants from the
kingdom of heaven.
qD Why have not we a quorum of
twelve apostles?
Ans.-Because we are no Mormons.
Q.-Where in the Bible does it say
that the Office of apostle was to be done
away with?
Ans.-This is said nowhere, and 1t
has never been done, either. The word
apostles means messengers. They We're
named thus because Christ sent them
to preach the Gospel. AS the whole
world was given them as their field of
labor, and as no prohibition Is ever
known to be given them to go beyond
this number of twelve, therefore the
apostles multiplied their numbers by
admitting more men to this office, for
greater convenience of their work.
You are so very smart, my friend; did
not st. Matthias take the place of the
Apostate Judas? And now comes st.
Paul and is appointed by supernatural
ways 10 be the THIRTEENTH So you
are left with your strict number of
twelve.
AS to the name of apostles or mes
sengers. as they were no longer sent
as the first lot was. by Christ in per-
son. therefore the name of overseers.
or superintendent, has been introduced
little by little instead of that of apos-
tie, and this is the meaning of the
word bishop, which is today in common
use. Consequently the apostles are
alive today in the bishops of the holy
universal Church. As to the word
pope. its meaning is father, which is
certainly not a bad name, and he is
among the bishops what st. Peter was
among the other apostles.
Q2). Did not Christ and the apostles
teach and practise baptism by INNER
sion?
Ans.-There is no evidence that bap- |
tism was always administered by i'm
mersion. We baptize by ablution, and |
you can find no authority in Scripture |
to prohibit It. 1t is unlawful for you
and anybody else TO smuggle your own |
opinions into the Scripture by making |
distinctions or prohibitions which Il
does not positively give.
u3) Why do not certain signs follow |
the believers in Him?
Ans-'rhe gift of miracles very fire.