The people looked upward, "And behold they saw a Man descending out of heaven; and He was clothed in a white robe, and He came down and stood in the midst of them, and the eyes of the whole multitude were turned upon Him, and they durst not open their mouths, even one to another, and wist not what it meant, for they thought it was an angel that had appeared unto them. And it came to pass that He stretched forth His hand and spake unto the people, saying, Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall come into the world; And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." He permitted them to see and feel the wounds of the cross in His hands, feet, and side; and they worshiped Him. The Book of Mormon is a new and independent witness of the divinity of Jesus Christ and His Gospel, by which all mankind may be saved through obedience, and without which no man can have place in the Kingdom of God. -- 39 -- WHEN CHRIST STOOD ON AMERICAN SOIL His Church Established Among the Ancient Americans DURING His brief period of mortal ministry our Lord the Christ established His Church, with Apostles empowered and directed to administer the ordinances essential to membership and to build up the institution. This was done in Palestine; and from that land the message of salvation was carried into every country known to the inhabitants of the Eastern Continent. In the period immediately following the Lord's departure, the Apostles prosecuted the work of the ministry with such zeal and effectiveness that we read of them: "And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following." (Mark 16:20). We are expressly informed of the rapid growth of the Church in apostolic times. Paul, writing approximately thirty years after the Ascension, declared that the Gospel had been made known to every nation--"preached to every creature under heaven," by which comprehensive statement the Apostle doubtless meant that the Gospel had been so generally proclaimed in known lands that all who would might have learned of it. The Apostles had been instructed to go into all the world and to preach the Gospel to every creature, with the assurance that such as accepted their message and were baptized as the Lord had commanded would be saved, while such as rejected the Gospel would be damned.