14. The Church Established in America.--After these things, Jesus proceeded to teach them his gospel and establish his church among them. It will be sufficient to say here that the Messiah taught the people on the western continent the same great moral truths that he taught the Jews; that he established the same ordinances for the salvation of the people; that he chose Twelve Apostles to whom he committed power to preach his gospel, and administer in its ordinances; that a church was organized which was called the Church of Christ; that Jesus bore record of the great truth of the resurrection of the dead; that the Saints enjoyed the same spiritual graces and powers that the church in Palestine did, only more abundantly because of their greater faith; that two years after the appearance of Messiah all the people on the continent accepted the gospel and were baptized; that they had all things common and were a blessed and prosperous people among whom were no strifes or jealousies or contentions, and every man did deal justly one with another. 15. They increased rapidly in numbers and went forth and built up the waste places, and rebuilded many of the cities which had been ruined by the earthquakes and by fires. They walked no more after the ordinances of the law of Moses, but {65} they practiced the principles of the doctrines of the gospel of Christ, and thus the first century of the Christian era passed away. 16. All the members of the first quorum of the twelve whom Jesus called on the western hemisphere died within the first century of the Christian era, except the three to whom he had granted the privilege, as he did unto John the beloved disciple,[81] of remaining on the earth until he should come in his glory. The places of those who died were filled by ordaining others, and thus the quorum of apostles was perpetuated.[82] NOTES.