This appreciation of the necessity of divine authority was not peculiar to Jesus and His apostles. Holy men of God have felt it in every age. Only those who have been divinely called have been qualified to speak in the name of the Lord. This statement is as true for the modern Prophet as it is for the prophets of old. For it may be said with truth, that few things about Joseph Smith are more striking or unquestionable than his sense of the necessity of authority. He had seen the Father and the Son in vision; he had been visited repeatedly by an angel of heaven; he had translated a sacred record by the power of God,--yet, he did not presume to promulgate the restored Gospel, or to send others to do so, or to organize a Church. He felt that he had not yet divine authority to do these things. He waited till authority should be given him. Was he an impostor? Had he been so he might easily have assumed authority. He might have proclaimed to the world that he had received authority, and trusted that the world would believe his statement. Certainly, had he been an impostor, he would have called in no man to witness the imposture he was foisting upon the world. What did Joseph Smith do? In the previous chapter, we have learned how the opening visions of the New Dispensation--the revelations that form the foundation stone of the Church--are attested by the testimony of witnesses. It has been said that the Latter-day Saints lay claim to so much, and that there are so many impostures in the world, that it is more than fortunate to have the mission of the American prophet attested, not only by the marvelous results of his work, but also by the words of witnesses. It will be interesting now to recall the way in which Joseph Smith received authority from heaven. It will be interesting further to learn whether or not there were witnesses to the fact. It will not be too much again to assert that not a single important step in the progress of the Restoration was taken without corroborative testimony or the presence of witnesses. The Prophet Joseph Smith, teaches that there are two divisions of the priesthood of God; and he asserts that he received the authority of both divisions by the direct ministration of heavenly beings. He does more than assert that he received the Holy Priesthood by divine ordination. An impostor might do so much. Joseph Smith describes the manner in which the priesthood was conferred upon him; and he provides a witness who, after many years confirms by his solemn testimony the words of the Prophet. Such a procedure is contrary to the methods of an impostor.