“The Gospel.” The Evening and the Morning Star (Independence, Missouri) 1, no. 11 (April1833): [81–83].
BY a reference to the last number of the Star, it will be seen that the plan of salvation, was revealed to Adam, after he was driven out of the garden of Eden. To show further concerning this subject, we make an extract from a revelation concerning him, after he had been driven out:
For after that he had been driven out, he began to till the earth and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of the brow, as the Lord had commanded him; and Eve also, his wife, did labor with him, and he knew her, and she bare unto him sons and daughters, and they began to multiply and to replenish the earth. And from that time forth, the sons and daughters of Adam began to divide two and two in the land, and to till the land and to tend flocks; and they also begat sons and daughters.
And Adam called upon the name of the Lord, and Eve also his wife, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way towards the garden of Eden, speaking unto them and they saw him not, for they were shut out from his presence.—And he gave unto them commandment, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.
And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying, why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him, I know not, save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake saying, this thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forever more.
And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which bore record of the Father and the Son, saying, I am Jesus Christ from the beginning, hence forth and forever; that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed; and all mankind, even as many as will.
And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying, blessed be the name of God for my transgression, for in this life I shall have joy, and again in my flesh I shall see God.
And Eve his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying, were it not for our transgression we should never had seed, and should never had known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.
And Adam and Eve, blessed the name of God; and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters. And satan came also among them, saying, I am also a son of God, and he commanded them saying, believe it not: and they believed it not, and loved satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual and devilish.
And the Lord God called upon men by the Holy Ghost every where, and commanded them that they should repent; and as many as believed in the Son and repented of their sins, should be saved; and as many as believed not and repented not, should be damned: and the words went forth out of the mouth of God in a firm decree; wherefore they must be fulfilled.
And Adam ceased not to call upon God, and Eve also, his wife. And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words.
Thus we have the assurance, and so also may all the world of mankind, that Adam had the gospel preached unto him, and he believed, and was baptized, and became a son of God, and was ordained unto the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to preach repentance unto his seed, and teach them the things of the kingdom.
From this time till Enoch, from Enoch till Noah, from Noah till Melchizedek, and Abraham, and from Abraham till Moses, the order of the high priesthood, on earth, continued, and the gospel was preached.
Adam, according to the commandment, taught his children the plan of salvation, and some of them believed, for Abel was righteous and the Lord had respect unto his offering.
Enoch, after he had gathered the people of the Lord, continued his preaching in righteousness, and they builded a city, even Zion.
For one proof that the order of the high priesthood was on earth between the days of Adam of Moses, we refer to the time when Abraham returned from the slaughter of the kings: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
It cannot be authentically disputed, that Moses was not a high priest after this same order, for Peter said, when speaking of the Savior, This is he of whom Moses spake, saying, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things, whatsoever he shall say unto you. Moses also says, the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.
The Lord also said by Moses: I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
Moses preached the gospel, and sought diligently to sanctify the children of Israel, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord: even the same good tidings that Adam taught his children; for Paul said, in his letter to his Hebrew brethren, while speaking of the children of Israel: For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
The gospel, according to the best knowledge we have, means good, or glad tidings, and is the power of God unto salvation to all that believe; for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; and it is held forth, the gift of God to all men, who are transgressors of his law; and is in the plan of redemption laid from the foundation of the world for all who embrace it, that they may have hope through the atonement of Christ and the power of the resurrection, to be raised unto life eternal; and this because of their faith in him according to his promise.
The gospel, then, according to sacred history contained in the scriptures, and also the revelations which we have given us by the power of the Holy Ghost, has always been given, or preached to men, that they must repent, and become better, by obeying the commandments of the Lord, that hey might be saved in the celestial kingdom.
The gospel to Adam, was: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized even by water, in the name of mine only begotten Son, which is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men: and ye shall ask all things in his name; and whatever ye shall ask, it shall be given.
The gospel that Enoch preached was the same, for he called upon the people to repent, and he received a commandment to baptize, &c.; and when men repented and were brought into the kingdom of God, he continued his preaching in righteousness, that the saints might know the mysteries of the kingdom; even see and know for themselves, and through the power and manifestation of the Spirit, while in the flesh, they might be able to bear the presence of God in the world of glory; for Enoch and all his people walked with God, and were translated, even taken up into the bosom of God.
The gospel that Noah preached to the inhabitants before the flood, was the same that had been preached to his fathers before him; for he was a just man, and perfect in his generations, and walked with God. To show still further, and more plain respecting the calling and preaching of Noah, we give an extract from his history, as it has been given of him in these last days: And it came to pass, that Noah and his sons hearkened unto the Lord, and gave heed, and they were called the sons of God. And when these men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of men saw that their daughters were fair, they took them wives even as they chose. And the Lord said unto Noah, the daughters of thy sons have sold themselves; for behold mine anger is kindled against the sons of men, for they will not hearken to my voice.
And it came to pass, that Noah prophesied and taught the things of God, even as it was in the beginning. And the Lord said unto Noah, my Spirit shall not always strive with man, for he shall know that all flesh shall die; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years; and if men do not repent, I will send in the floods upon them.
And in those days there were giants on the earth, and they sought Noah to take away his life; but the Lord was with Noah, and the power of the Lord was upon him.
And the Lord ordained Noah after his own order, and commanded him that he should go forth and declare his gospel unto the children of men, even as it was given unto Enoch.
And it came to pass, that Noah called upon men, that they should repent: but they hearkened not unto his words; and also, after they had heard him, they came up before him, saying, behold, we are the sons of God: have we not taken unto ourselves the daughters of men? and are we not eating and drinking, and marrying and given in marriage? Our wives bear unto us children, and the same are mighty men, which are like unto them of old, men of great renown.
And they hearkened not to the words of Noah.
And God saw that the wickedness of men had become great in the earth; and every man was lifted up in the immagination of the thoughts of his heart, being only evil continually.
And it came to pass, that Noah continued his preaching unto the people, saying, hearken, and give heed unto my words, believe and repent of your sins, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of God, even as our fathers did, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, that ye may have all things made manifest; and if you do not do this, the floods will come in upon you.
Nevertheless they hearkened not, and it repented Noah, and his heart was pained that the Lord had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.—And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air: for it repenteth Noah that I have created them, and that I have made them; and he hath called upon me; and they have sought his life. [81]
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord: and Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God, and also his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japeth. The earth was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence through them, and behold I will destroy them from off the earth.
The gospel that Moses preached, was the same that was preached by Adam, Enoch and Noah; and also the same that was preached to Abraham: for God is the same yesterday, today and forever. And it was as necessary, that men should have the gospel preached unto them before the death and resurrection of Christ, that they might know of the plan of redemption, as after he came.
To name the precise words that might constitute the term gospel, we shall not attempt to do. When the Savior came in the flesh, the gospel was the same, and it if the same now, and will continue the same forever.
The Lord said, while instructing his twelve disciples whom he had called and chosen to build up his church among the Nephites: Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you: that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me; and my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, I might draw all men unto me; that as I have been lifted up by men, even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil; and for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father, I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works.
And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name, shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father, at that day when I shall stand to judge the world. And he that endureth not unto the end, the same is he that is also hewn down and cast into the fire, from whence they can no more return, because of the justice of the Father; and this is the word which he hath given unto the children of men. And for this cause he fulfilleth the words which he hath given, and he lieth not, but fulfilleth all his words; and no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest, save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end.
Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day. Verily, verily I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do, even that shall ye do; therefore if ye do these things, blessed are ye, for ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
One important point relative to the gospel, is, whose duty was it to preach? Christ preached the gospel, and gave authority to his disciples to do likewise; he even said, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel. Paul had authority to preach the gospel: for the voice to him was: Rise and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness, both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee; delivering thee from the people, and the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee; to open their eyes; to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God; that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified, by faith that is in me.
In Paul’s first epistle to his Corinthian brethren, he says: I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand. He says further: I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures; and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve; after that of above five hundred brethren at once; after that he was even seen of me.
He also says in his epistle to his Galatian brethren, that the gospel that was preached by him, was not after man. For he neither received it of man, neither was he taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. And while writing to Timothy, he says: The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Taking for example the calling of all the ancient servants of the Lord, we know that none have authority to build up his church, except they are called, and commissioned of him. We say nothing here, about the various modes of worship, as they are called, of the different denominations, for all men are agents unto themselves, and can worship as they please; but we are sure, that the time is not far distant, when the works of all men will be proven, and the secrets of all hearts be revealed; the wheat gathered into the garner of the Most High, and the chaff burned with unquenchable fire!
Nor do we aim to meddle with the different sects that are continually contending, lo, this is the right way! and, lo, this is the right way! The apostle declared many hundred years ago, that there was but one Lord, one faith and one baptism, and the Lord has said by his own voice in these last days, that the church of Christ, is the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which he is well pleased, speaking, as he has said, unto the church collectively, and not individually, because he can not look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.
Before we proceed further on this subject, we take another extract from the book of Mormon. Although but few, or a small portion of our fellow men believe this book: some in consequence of the cunning craftiness of those who seek the praise and glory of this world, and are thus willingly blinded, and thousands have never come to a knowledge of it, yet we know, that it contains the fulness of the gospel of Christ in plainness, and that all things necessary to instruct men to repent of their sins, and of the manner of baptism, and of the gift of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands, and of the plan of salvation, is set forth in that clear and easy style, that all men who are endowed with a common understanding, may receive light and intelligence in the things of God, if prejudice does not interfere; and that by obeying its precepts, all men, if they will, may have eternal life.
The following is taken from the teachings of the Savior, after his resurrection from the dead, when he appeared to the Nephites: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you. Verily I say unto, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them: behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.
And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water. And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name, for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one. And according as I have commanded you, thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there hath hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there hath hitherto been; for verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention, is not of me, but is of the devil, which is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such thing should be done away.—Behold, verily, verily, verily I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine. And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me, and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, every where, to repent and believe in me; and whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they which shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.
Verily, verily I say unto you, that this is my doctrine; and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me, believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me; for he will visit him with fire, and with the Holy Ghost; and thus will the Father bear record of me; and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me: for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost, are one.
And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in no wise receive these things. And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in no wise inherit the kingdom of God. Verily, verily I say unto you, that this is my doctrine; and whoso buildeth upon this, buildeth upon my rock; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock, but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell standeth open to receive such, when the floods come, and the winds beat upon them.
Having this plain teaching set forth before us in this generation, the question might arise, whose duty is it now to preach? Were we to consult many of our fellow men for an answer, without any assistance from the revelations of the Lord, the most probable answer would be, such as have been qualified and fitted for the ministry; but taking the word of the Lord for a guide, the answer is: Those whom he has called and chosen: As for instance, those who come forth in the resurrection of the just, are they who receive the testimony of Jesus, and believe on his name, and are baptized after the manner of his buriel, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which has given, that by keeping the commandment, they might be washed and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power. Therefore, we say as we have said before: Taking for example the calling of all the ancient servants of the Lord, we know that none have authority to build up his church, except those who are called and commissioned of him.
Hence we begin with Adam, for he was called and chosen of the Lord. Abel was called and chosen of the Lord, and offered an acceptable offering, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. Enoch was called and chosen of the Lord, and the Lord blessed him, and even took him and his city into his own bosom. Noah was called and chosen of the Lord, and he by faith was warned of God and prepared an ark, and he and his household were saved. Melchizedek was called and chosen, for he even had power to bless Abraham. And Paul said: Without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. Melchizedek was a priest of the most high God, as is said of him in the bible; that is, he was a high priest after the holy order of God, which order holds the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, even the keys of the knowledge of God, and has power to pronounce blessings according to the will and commandment of the Lord. [82]
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were called and chosen of the Lord. Joseph, the son of Jacob was called and chosen of the Lord, and while speaking to his brethren says: God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and save your lives by a great deliverance. Nephi, the son of Lehi, thus writes of the prophecies of Joseph: Behold he truly prophecied concerning all his seed; and the prophecies which he wrote, there are not many greater.
Moses was called and chosen to do the work of the Lord, and the evidence is, that he did it. When Aaron and Miriam spake against Moses, the Lord said unto them: My servant Moses is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold. The historian at the close of the book of Deuteronomy, setting forth the character of Moses, says: And there arose not a prophet since Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel. Paul says in his epistle to Hebrews, that Moses verily was faithful in all the house of the Lord, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after.
From the days of Moses, taking all the prophets that spake the word of the Lord, as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, till John began to cry in the wilderness of Judea, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths strait, they are called and chosen; and INSPIRED to do the work of the Lord.
When the Savior come to the Jews he called and chose twelve, (Judas excepted) to them he gave authority to build up his church; and they, by his authority, commissioned others and so the gospel was preached to men, that they might turn unto the Lord. This state of order in the church of Christ, lasted for some time; perhaps till the Nicean council, and from that time till the book of Mormon came forth, the fulness of the gospel of our Lord and Savior to the Gentiles, and also to the house of Israel, there were many sects, that had a form, in some degree, of godliness.
But none declared, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that they were inspired by the Lord to move on his cause, although they would admit that the Lord was unchangeable, the same yesterday, today and forever; and that he gave revelations the first thousand years; in the second thousand years; in the third thousand years; in the fourth thousand years, and in the fifth thousand years; but in the sixth thousand years, he ceased to give his precious word to fallen man, to guide them in the way to eternal life, as in olden times.
The only name given under heaven, whereby man can be saved, is Jesus Christ. Men in days of old heard the glad tidings, that the Son of Man would come in the fulness of his own time, to make intercession for the children of men, and suffer, the just, for the unjust, and rise from the dead, that the bands of the temporal death might be broken, that the resurrection might pass upon all men, that they might stand in the presence of God to be judged according to their works.—These glad tidings were communicated from heaven to earth, by the ministering of holy angels and by the voice of the living God. Thousands have looked forward with an eye of faith, and a confidence unshaken in the promises of God, to the time when the great and last sacrifice should be made for fallen man. Many have rejoiced to see the day of the Son of Man, have seen it, and were glad; and have fallen asleep after obtaining the promise, that they should see God in the flesh and should reign with him on the earth a thousand years.
All men who were willing to be instructed in the plan of salvation, before the Lord came in the flesh, if they were obedient to his commandments, have had a knowledge of his gospel, and knew how to look forward on the Son of Man by faith, for a remission of their sins. The gospel was preached to the children of Israel, and the law was added because of transgression; which law was fulfilled in Christ. Nephi while speaking of Christ some hundred years before he came in the flesh, says: Notwithstanding we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses, and look forward with steadfastness unto Christ until the law shall be fulfilled; for, for this end was the law given: wherefore, the law hath become dead unto us, and we are made alive in Christ because of our faith; yet we keep the law because of the commandments; and we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins. Wherefore we speak concerning the law, that our children may know the deadness of the law, and they, by knowing the deadness of the law, may look forward unto that life which is in Christ, and know for what end the law was given.
When the time was fulfilled, & the Savior had made his appearance in the flesh, the gospel was preached by himself and his disciples. The disciples of John, as they were called, whom he sent to Christ, to inquire if he was the true Messiah, he answered thus: Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the leapers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them. When the twelve were first sent forth to preach, the Lord said: Go not to the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Many, and precious, were the instructions which the disciples received from the mouth of their Lord, before he was lifted up upon the cross. He said to them at one time, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. In another place it is said, that he expounded all things unto his disciples, when they were alone.
Again it is said: The Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said unto you; And after he had risen from the dead, he gave them their great commission to preach his gospel to their fellow men, and says: Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations.
With this authority, they proclaimed the gospel on the day of pentecost; some marveled; some mocked, many were pricked in the heart, and three thousand were baptized and added to the church. The language of Peter, at the time the lame man was healed at the beautiful gate of the temple, is very plain. He said to the Jews: But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. But these things, said he, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the heavens must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, since the world began.
In this positive manner spake the apostle the truth, and in this plain language he preached the gospel and bore record of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and about five thousand more believed the word. He declares before the high priest, being filled with the Holy Ghost, that there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby they must be saved. The language of the Lord to Adam was also positive, when he said, that Jesus Christ was the only name which should be given under heaven, whereby salvation should come unto the children of men.
When the Galatians had been troubled by some who preached a false doctrine, and pretended to have another gospel, Paul says: I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel; which is not another; but there be some that trouble and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached, let him be accursed.—The gospel that the apostle preached, was, as he said to his Corinthian brethren, the glorious gospel of Christ. It was even that by which men might be saved.
Paul was an instrument, no doubt, by the blessing of the Lord, in building up the church of Christ very extensively in many places, as well as the other apostles and those who were ordained by them. But yet very little of their preaching to those who were out of the kingdom, is to be found in the New Testament.—How much was contained in the Acts of the apostles written by Luke, before it fell into the hands of those who robbed the scriptures of their plainness; and how much was contained upon the parchments which Paul desired Timothy to bring from Troas, which were left with Carpus; and how much was written by others, we shall not here attempt to show. The epistles were written by the apostles to churches and not to the unbelieving world; consequently, the manner of instruction to them was different in general from their discourses to the wicked who had never heard the gospel. Yet all their writings will show but one gospel, and but one manner of building up the church of Christ. And Paul declares with much plainness, that as he said before, so he now says again, if any preach any other gospel than that which they had received, let him be accursed. Truly, because there never was, nor never will be, but one gospel.
Having proceeded far enough with the subject, to show that here is but one gospel, and that the same in all ages; and that the Lord calls and chooses his own servants to labor in his vineyard, we shall next proceed to bring some scripture to show how the gospel has been preached and how the church of Christ has been established in days of old. In the beginning the Lord said unto Adam: I give unto you a commandment to teach these things freely unto your children, saying, that inasmuch as they were born into the world by the fall, which bringeth death; by water and blood and the Spirit which I have made, and so become of dust a living soul; even so ye must be born again of water and the Spirit, and cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine only Begotten, into the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, that ye may be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come; even immortal glory.—For by the water ye know the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified, that in you is given the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment.
This plain teaching was to Adam after he was driven out from the garden of Eden, and points out the way for his seed to be saved. From time to time were the children of men called upon to repent in days of old, by those who were chosen of the Lord to preach his gospel. From time to time were the inhabitants of the earth warned of approaching destructions and sore calamities, which were sent to scourge them because of their iniquities, by those who were called and commanded of the Lord.
The Lord is just, and he gave the gospel, after man had transgressed, that he might be brought back into his presence. By obeying the gospel and keeping the commandment men are sanctified and prepared for the Celestial kingdom where God and Christ is the Judge of all. The gospel, then, is the power of God unto salvation. It is the good news of heaven, and calls upon the children of men every where to repent.
The news that the gospel brought in days of old, was, that Jesus Christ would come into the world; that he would suffer according to the flesh; that he would rise from the dead, and thereby redeem his people from the power of the grave.
TO BE CONTINUED.