In Olden Days and Now

IN OLDEN DAYS AND NOW1

Elder James E. Talmage

OF THE COUNCIL OF THE TWELVE

A WEEK AGO we had pleasure, and I trust spiritual profit, in considering some of the important episodes connected with the beginning of the Apostolic Ministry, or, in other words, some of the opening scenes in the Primitive Church, under the administration of the Apostles, subsequent to the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. Reference was made to the close parallelism between that ancient Church, or the Church of Christ in those olden days, and the Church of Jesus Christ as it is now existent upon the earth.

It is of the utmost importance to remember in our further consideration of the Church in the days of the ancient Apostles—and what it came to be after their passing—and in further comparison between the Church of old and that of these present times, that while in organization, doctrine and all essential features the two are in reality one—The Church of Jesus Christ—the former-day Church has not continued in unbroken existence, by descent or succession, down to these modern days.

To the contrary, in strict accordance with divine predictions, and in fulfilment of the plain and unambiguous prophecies of the Apostles themselves, there came a great “falling away” from the Church, through the operation of destructive agencies both within and outside the organization. But even worse than this forsaking of the Church by individuals, whether in numbers great or small, we are confronted with the predicted and all too fully demonstrated fact of the apostasy of the Church itself. A rational interpretation of history, even though we say nothing of the literal fulfilment of prophecy, shows that the Church sank to the degraded level of a human institution, of false profession, with plan of organization and mode of administration foreign to the constitution of the original, without Priesthood or authority to officiate in spiritual ordinances, and devoid of the gifts and graces with which the Saviour endowed His Church at the time of its establishment. In short, we find the institution still calling itself the Church, but wholly recreant to the organic law of Christ’s Church as it has been, boasting of temporal power, making its own laws, imposing its dogmas largely by compulsion and Violence, denying to man his God-given rights of freedom and agency, preserving but a form of godliness while denying the power thereof.

The awful truth, thoroughly demonstrable, is that the Primitive Church ceased to exist on earth, having forfeited, and therefore lost, the power of the Holy Priesthood, and that it degenerated into a thing of tinseled splendour, the while growing more and more arrogant in its claims and demands, yet in fact a thing of shreds and tatters, of earth earthy.

THE PROMISED RESTORATION

If the Church of Jesus Christ is to be found upon the earth to-day it must have been reestablished by divine authority; and the holy Priesthood must have been restored to the world, from which it had been taken away through the gradual decline and eventual cessation of the Primitive Church among men.

Inspired predictions of the restoration, whereby the holy Priesthood would be brought again to earth and the Church of Jesus Christ be established anew—never again to be suspended nor driven into the wilderness in the scriptural sense—are as numerous and definite as were those of the world-embracing apostasy; and the literal fulfilment of both are written with true pen on the pages of history.

As shall be shown, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presents in all detail the realization of the word of the Lord respecting the restoration of the Gospel, including the authority of the holy Priesthood, particularized by John the Revelator as a distinguishing feature of the times called in scripture the last days; for it is now an accomplished fact that the promised angel lias come—“having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Rev. 14:6, 7).

In the olden days in the Church as it was under apostolic administration, great care was exercised in the selection of men to hold positions of trust and responsibility as bearers of the Priesthood, to call only the worthy, upright and righteous, as the Holy Ghost directed and guided. Strict observance of the laws and ordinances of the Gospel was required of all the shepherds, under-shepherds, and assistants, in caring for the Lord’s sheep. They were to be men in whom and through whom the Holy Ghost could function without the hindrance which the resistance caused by defiling sin interposes to the current of divine power exemplified in the Priesthood.

As to this requirement, consider a single instance, that of Paul’s words to Titus, and through him to the Church—“For a bishop must be blameless as the steward of God,” and such a state of worthiness was required of every officer in the Church. The members likewise were exhorted to lives of righteousness; and to all, both the members and their presiding servants—the Deacons, Priests, Elders, Bishops, and all the rest—was the truth made plain, that the body of man is as a holy temple, as witness the words of Paul to the Corinthians: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Cor. 3:16, 17).

CORRUPTION HAS NO PART IN CHRIST

One of the most ominous signs of the decline in the Primitive Church was the perfidy and corruption of its leaders after the withdrawal of the Apostles. As in those days so in these, men who bear the vessels of the Lord must be clean; and again, be it known that then, now and for all time, the Spirit of the Lord will not dwell in unclean tabernacles. Without the Spirit of the Lord no man, whatever his rank or station, whatever titular name he bears, can officiate worthily in sacred ordinances. The thought that ecclesiastical titles may cover or can condone personal sins is pernicious; it is no part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but the doctrine of Satan.

The Lord has spoken, both in ancient and latter days, saying: “For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.” By one means only can any mail, priest or layman, rid himself of the disability incurred by sin, as is attested by the further word of the Lord Jesus Christ: “Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven; And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.” (Doc. and Cov. 1:31-33).

Reverting now to what may be called the early history of the Primitive Church, we may profitably consider certain incidents which embody or exemplify principles or facts illustrative of the development of the Lord’s plan with respect to His people. As the labours of the ministry increased in the rapidly growing Church, the Apostles found it necessary to divest themselves of certain responsibilities, pertaining especially to temporal affairs, which could be attended to by others under their supervision. They laid the matter before the Church as a body, and in accordance with the spirit of unity manifest in the assembly, “seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom,” were chosen and duly set apart under the hands of the Apostles. Here again we have a striking instance of the unquestioned authority of the Apostles, exercised through counsel and advice by the sustaining vote and common consent of the Church at large.

STEPHEN THE MARTYR

First among the seven was Stephen, who is especially described as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost.” He was zealous in service, aggressive in doctrine, and fearless as a minister of Christ. Some of the foreign Jews, who maintained a synagogue in Jerusalem, engaged him in disputation, and being unable “to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake,” conspired to have him charged with heresy and blasphemy. He was brought before the council, or senate, on the word of men suborned to witness against him; and these averred that they had “heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.” The Lord honoured His worthy servant, for when the rulers sitting as his judges looked upon him, his face was illumined, and they saw it “as it had been the face of an angel.” In answer to the charge, he delivered an address, which it is plain to be seen was not one of vindication, and far from a plea in his own defense; it was a proclamation of the word and prophecies of God by a devoted servant who had no thought for personal consequences. Please read in the sixth and seventh chapters of Acts. In forceful arraignment he addressed his judges: “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers.”

Maddened at this direct accusation, the Sanhedrists “gnashed on him with their teeth.” He knew that they thirsted for his blood; but, energized by the Holy Ghost, he looked steadfastly upward, and exclaimed in rapture: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing oil the right hand of God.” This is the first New Testament record of a manifestation of Christ to mortal eyes, by vision or otherwise, subsequent to His ascension. The priestly rulers cried aloud, and stopped their ears to what they chose to regard as blasphemous utterance; then, rushing upon the prisoner they hurried him outside the city walls and stoned him to death. True to his Master, he prayed: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;” and then, crushed to earth, he cried with a loud voice: “ Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”

So died, as far as scriptural record shows, the first martyr for the testimony of the risen Christ. He was slain by a mob comprising priests, scribes, and elders of the people. Members of the Clmrch were scattered near and far; they preached the Gospel and won many to the Lord. The blood of Stephen the martyr proved to be rich and virile seed, from which sprang a great harvest of souls.

PERSECUTION THE HERITAGE OF THE CHURCH

At this stage the Church as such, and its members individually, were subjected to cruel and relentless persecution. So has it been.with the Church of Jesus Christ whenever it has been upon the earth. Indeed, it has been truthfully said, that persecution is the heritage of the Church. During the centuries of the apostasy, when the degenerate church of man boasted of its material wealth and autocratic power, that church developed into the greatest, crudest, most persistent and relentless persecutor for conscience sake known to history. It is wholly incompatible with reason or defensible assumption that the Church of Jesus Christ ever was or can be an instrument of persecution or tyranny. To conceive of the authority comprised in the holy Priesthood being used as a means of persecution is rationally impossible. It follows that any organization calling itself a church and laying- wordy claim to the possession of the Priesthood of God, which is guilty of oppression and persecution, proves beyond all question the falsity of its own claims. Precisely such was the perverted institution, falsely calling itself the Church of Christ, during the long night of the great apostasy.

In relation to the exercise of the authority and power of the holy Priesthood, which is always present in the true Church of Christ, for without it there can be no Church of Christ, the Lord has spoken plainly in the present dispensation:

“Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honours of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man. Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God. We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. Hence many are called, but few are chosen. No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned.” (Doc. and Cov. 121:34-41).

SAUL OF TARSUS

Another circumstance of unusual significance in the early Church, demonstrating the continuation of direct and personal revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ, with visible manifestation, is found in the conversion of Saul. Among the disputants who, when defeated in disenssion, conspired against Stephen and brought about his death, were Jews from Cilicia. Associated with them was a young man named Saul, a native of the Cilician city of Tarsus. This man was an able scholar, a forceful controversialist, an ardent defender of what he regained as the law and therefore the right, and vigorous assailant of what to him was wrong. Though born in Tarsus he had been brought to Jerusalem in early youth and had there grown up a striet Pharisee and an aggressive supporter of Judaism. He was a student of the law under the tutelage of Gamaliel, one of the most eminent masters of the time ; and, moreover, he had the confidence of the high priest. His father, or perhaps an earlier progenitor, had acquired the rank of Roman citizenship, and Saul was born heir to that distinction. He was a violent opponent of the Apostles and the Church, and had made himself an accessory to the death of Steplien by openly assenting thereto, and by holding in eustody the garments of the false witnesses while they stoned the martyr.

Saul wrought havoe in the Chureli even to the extent of entering private houses and summoning thenee men and women suspected of belief in the Christ, and these he caused to be cast into prison. The persecution in which he took so prominent a part eaused a further scattering of the disciples throughout Judaea, Samaria, and other lands; though the Apostles remained and continued their ministry in Jerusalem. Not content with local activity against the Church, “Saul, yet breathing out tlireaten- ings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.” Please observe that the word “way” here used for the first time to connote the Gospel or religion of Christ, oceurs frequently in later chapters, and should not fail to bring to our minds the declaration of the Lord Jesus while in the flesh: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

As Saul and his attendants neared Damascus, they were halted by an occurrence of awe-inspiring grandeur. At noontide there suddenly appeared a light far exceeding the brightness of the sun, and in this dazzling splendour the whole company was enveloped and fell to the ground in terror. In the midst of the unearthly glory, a sound was heard, which to Saul alone was intelligible as an articulate voice; he heard and understood the reproving question spoken in the Hebrew tongue: “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” In trepidation he inquired: “Who art thou, Lord?” The reply touched the heart of Saul to its depths: “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” The enormity of his hostility and enmity against the Lord and His people filled the man’s soul with horror, and in trembling contrition he asked: “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” The answer was: “Arise, and go into the eity, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

PAUL A BLESSING TO THE GENTILES

The brilliancy of the heavenly light had blinded Saul. His companions led him into Damascus, where, at the house of Judas, in the street called Straight, he sat in darkness for three days, during which he neither ate nor drank. In that city lived a faithful disciple named Ananias, to whom the Lord spake, instructing him to visit Saul and minister unto him that he might be relieved of his blindness. It is interesting to read that Ananias was surprised at this eommission, and ventured to remind the Lord that Saul was a notorious persecutor of the Saints, and had come at that time to Damascus to arrest and put in bonds all believers. But the Lord answered: “Go thy way: for he is a ehosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.” Ananias did as he had been commanded, and under his ministering hands Saul received his sight. Without delay or hesitation he was baptized. When strengthened by food he communed with the disciples at Damascus and straightway began to preach in the synagogues, declaring Jesus to be the Son of God.

When Saul returned to Jerusalem, the disciples were doubtful of his sincerity, they having known of him as a violent persecutor; but Barnabas, a trusted disciple, brought Saul to the Apostles, told of his miraculous conversion and testified of his valiant service in preaching the word of God. He was received into fellowship, and afterward was ordained under the hands of the Apostles. His Hebrew name, Saul, was in time substituted by the Latin Paulus, or as to us, Paul.

It not part of our present purpose to follow even in outline the labours of the man thus peremptorily and miraculously called into the ministry; the fact of Chirist’s personal manifestation to him is the sole subject of present consideration. While in Jerusalem, Paul was blessed with a visual manifestation of the Lord Jesus, accompanied by the giving of specific instructions. In explanation of his rejection by the people, Paul confessed his misled past, saying: “Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.” To this the Lord replied: “Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.” Once again, as he lay a prisoner in the Roman castle, the Lord stood by him in the night, and said: “Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.” Paul’s personal testimony that he had seen the resurrected Christ is explicit and emphatic.

PAUL FIRM IN HIS BELIEF

Many have wondered over the coming of the divine call to Said the persecutor; and the query suggests itself as to whether his opposition to the Church of Christ—and to all who were of that way—made of him a grievous sinner. Let it be remembered that he stood for the traditional law in straitness and strictness; but in the very moment of the Lord’s word coining to him he saw that he had been wrong and thereupon turned without hesitation to the right. His faith in Jesus Christ was unbounded; his repentance was genuine, his contrition bitter. Before his admission to the Church, as we have seen, Paul had been a vigorous opponent of all who believed in Christ as the Messiah. As a member of the Church he was no persecutor but an ardent advocate of toleration, patience, love. Notwithstanding the fact that he had been the subject of personal visitation and manifestation by the Lord, it was required of him that he be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. He was ordained under the hands of the Apostles, and presents to ns a life of glorious achievement, and a martyr’s death as Paul the Apostle.

We are without record of any direct or personal appearing of Christ to mortals between the manifestations to Paul and the revelation to John on the Isle of Patmos. Tradition confirms John’s implication that he had been banished thither “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

In connection with this very general survey of the Primitive Church under direct ministration by the Apostles, we may profitably make comparison with the Latter-day Church now among men. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only organization extant corresponding in essential features with the Lord’s Church, founded by Himself in the period of the meridian of time. In further presentation it shall be shown that the profession and claim of the Latter-day Church are thoroughly attested, not alone by its history as to the circumstances of its establishment by divine command and bestowal of authority, but by its works whereby the actuality of its possession of the holy Priesthood is beyond disproof. It is the living Church, showing forth not alone the form, but also the power of godliness. It has no contention with other churches nor with religious sects, societies, cults, or organizations of any name or mature. It is no twig, branch, or offshoot of any other institution among men. It recognizes no “Mother Church” as having given it birth. It came into existence as did the Primitive Church, under the personal command and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose name it bears. It is the Church of olden days, come again! Amen.

• 1.Address delivered over Radio Station KSL, at Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A., on Sunday evening, January 13th, 1929.