Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-08-22
HIERARCHS.

"hierarchy" II is done for the pur-
nose of creating prejudices, as when
anti Catholics speak Of the Pope as
anti Christ. or when anarchists REFER
10 the President of the United states
ss an autocrat, or Gar. There Is
no justification for IT,
In every church there is somebody
appointed to look after the affairs OF
the church, temporal and spiritual ana
therefore every church has "hier-
archy," that is, guardians of holy
things" But anti" Mormons' do not
employ the term in that sense. They
use 1t as term of opprobrium. They
mean to imply by it that certain Of
ficers Of the church Of Jesus Christ OF
I.atter-day Saints are autocratic rulers
over the Saints; Irresponsible tyrants
and arbitrary dictators. Nothing is
further from the truth. 1t would be
lust as reasonable to designate the
popular Pastor of the First Congrega-
tional church as a pope as to refer TO
the humble, amicable. and liberal
minded President of the Church Of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a
"hierarch.'
The Christian church, as first organ
lied had no hierarchy" The mem
hers themselves constituted IA holy
priesthood TO offer up spiritual sacri-
fees" ana in a community where the
priesthood is generally held there can
.4t.s A 6 -
form of government of the primitive
church 1t was patterned, we may say
after the Hebrew synagogue. or the
Greek ecclesia
The synagogue was an assembly that
met on stated days to worship, and to
hear the Scriptures read and explain
ed II had officers whose duty it was
10 see that the worship was conducted
properly, and that the building, books,
furniture etc, We're taken care of. 1t
had other officers TO look after the
poor, and to maintain discipline ac-
cordlng to the ideas of the age, but it
had no hierarchy"
The ecclesia OF the Greeks was itself
u select assembly of citizens called to-
gether for consultation on public ques-
lions. 1t was n representative assem-
bly,. II had its presiding and other
necessary officers. but no Hierarchy"
So. whether we regard the church, as
first instituted, as following In its form
of government the Hebrew or the Greek
pattern. there can be no question of
hierarohal rule in the church
Llghtfoot says that in the Synagogue
there were three chief officers whose
duty ii was to be judges and to take
care of all matters relating to the con-
gregatIon. Besides these there was the
public minister who was called the
angel of the church" and "Chazan," or
overseer. Every Sabbath he called on
seven men. members of the synagogue
TO read the Scriptures He stood by
the reader and corrected him, II neces-
sary, and took care that nothing was
read falsely, or Improperly, There were
also deacons, or almoners. who looked
after the poor
Archbishop Whately maintains that,
whenever a Jewish synagogue existed
which was brought, the whole or the
chief part of it, To embrace the gospel.
the Apostles did not there so much
form Christian church COR congrega-
tion, ecclesia), as make an existing con-
gregation Christian, by introducing the
Christian sacraments and worship and
establishing whatever regulations were
required for the newly adopted faith.
having the machinery df so may
speak) of goyernmont urch,,cod ,,,.
ruler. of svnagop,,os o,dcrs ana ',,,.,
officer, Oybot,o,.' sn,r,,,,.,I ~ -.
tical ~, hotb, holm. .,rr,oa,. -,
In tine oxisti,,, t,,gtl,,,,i,,m
II is ,ngt .s ,..,, ~, -, 49,.
.,t,. .,,l-,...,,.... ',''.,''''', ma
-, ~ ,,'' wa, go ,''' ''''s'ouS
~. mn, ''''''','.' O. '' ,'''' ~
,1'''''' '''''e "", tue ''"'p'e an"
''''p'' S''''e'' ana 'nele was 'he
'S'''e"A" Il" "'' 'r"'ple 'he WORK OF
''oheI''l'' OF Saheuhcatlor' OF resen~
'iauoh through the Messiah was typi-
heH. lh tine synagogue we see con-
gresallon of devout Worshipers as
sembled 10 be instructed and edited.
Someone has rontpstcd the two thus:
TN the Temple there was no pulpit;
an tho synagoEue there was no altar"
This rs true. I'm the synagogue there
was mo- sacerdotarsm. nor was there
any IN The first Christian church.
THE carlo writer's of the Church rec