Saturday Night Thoughts: A Series of Dissertations on Spiritual, Historical, and Philosophic ThemesWhitney, Orson F. (Orson Ferguson)
Religion
Saturday Night Thoughts: A Series of Dissertations on Spiritual, Historical, and Philosophic Themes
Whitney, Orson F. (Orson Ferguson)
Latter Day Saint churches
On Both Hemispheres.--Christ died for all; but all are not entitled
to his personal ministrations. The sheep, however, have the right
to see their Shepherd and to hear his voice. Accordingly, after he
had confirmed the faith of his Jewish disciples, had chosen twelve
apostles, and sent them forth to preach the Gospel in the power and
demonstration of the Holy Spirit, he visited the Nephites, in America,
for a similar purpose. They, in common with all Israel, had been warned
by prophets to prepare for his coming; and the righteous were ready to
receive him. Already they had the Gospel and the Priesthood, and now
the Savior organized his Church among them. This done, He visited other
broken-off branches of the "tame olive tree," [9] their whereabouts
as unknown to Lehi's descendants in the Land Bountiful, as was the
existence of the Nephites to the inhabitants of Judea.
The "Other Sheep."--Jesus had said to his Jewish followers: "Other
sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring,
and they shall hear my voice." [10] They inferred that He meant the
Gentiles; but such was not his meaning. His direct, special errand was
to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel." [11] The Gentiles were to
be converted through the preaching of Jewish-Christian evangels. [12]
The "other sheep" were the Nephites, to whom the Savior explained his
half-veiled utterance; [13] also declaring that He had still "other
sheep," not of the Nephite fold nor of the Jewish fold, and that they
likewise should see him and hear his voice. [14] Undoubtedly this
allusion was to the "Lost Tribes;" but not to them alone. It included
other Hebrew remnants, unknown to man, but known to Jehovah, "keeping
watch above his own" in the mystical and remote regions whither his
judgments had driven them.
In Remembrance of Him.--Both in Judea and in the Land Bountiful,
the Savior instituted, among those who had received the Gospel, the
sacrament of the Lord's Supper, that memorial of his sacrifice, once
prospective, now retrospective; once a prophecy, now a fulfillment. But
its institution among the Nephites, unlike its introduction among the
Jews, was after his resurrection. Concerning the earlier incident, the
New Testament says:
"As they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed it, and brake it,
and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
"And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
Drink ye all of it:
"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for
the remission of sins." [15]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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