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
"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they
cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up
serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them;
they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." [5] "Go ye
therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you;
and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." [6]
The Promised Signs.--Thus we see that certain miraculous "signs" were
promised to "them that believe." But these signs were intended to
comfort the Saints, not to encourage the sign-seeker; and they were to
"follow," not precede, belief. It is not the sign, but the seeking,
that the Lord deprecates, the motive being evil. [7]
Apostolic Activities.--Obedient to the divine mandate, the Apostles at
Jerusalem, having been "endued with power from on high" [8] went forth
with their fellows, preaching. "Christ and him crucified," calling upon
men to believe, to repent, and have their sins remitted by baptism,
that they might receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Great power
accompanied their ministrations. Within the next half century the glad
tidings borne by them had spread over the whole Roman Empire and into
barbarian realms beyond.
Equality and Unity.--The Apostles must have known of Enoch's wonderful
work. Jude refers to Enoch's prophecy of the Lord's coming "with ten
thousand of his saints." [9] Possibly the Twelve had access to the Book
of Enoch, [10] one of the lost books of Scripture. At all events, they
sought to introduce, among the earliest proselytes to the Christian
faith, a similar order to that established in Enoch's day. Concerning
the later attempt to "bring forth Zion." it is written:
"And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of
one soul; neither said any of them that aught of the things which he
possessed was his own; but they had all things common. . . . .
"Neither was there any among them that lacked; for as many as were
possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the prices of the
things that were sold,
"And laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made
unto every man according as he had need." [11]
How long this condition lasted with the Jewish Saints, we are not
told. Among their contemporaries, the Nephite followers of Christ, the
splendid results flowing from the practice of the Law of Consecration
are thus portrayed:
"The people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of
the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions
and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly, one with
another;
"And they had all things common among them, therefore they were
not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and
partakers of the heavenly gift." [12]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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