PETER'S TESTIMONY.
The World:—Were you called of the Lord and ordained to take part in His ministry?
Peter:—I was. You will find an account of my call and ordination, as well as that of the other eleven apostles, in the third chapter of Mark's Gospel. It is as follows: "And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom He would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach." (Mark 3: 13, 14.) "Ye have not chosen me," said Jesus, "but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you." (John 15: 16.)
The World:—Must a man be called of God and ordained by Divine authority before he can hold an office in the Church of Christ?
Peter:—He must. The death of Judas left a vacancy in the quorum of Apostles. In choosing his successor we appealed to the Lord to manifest to us His mind and will in the selection of a man to fill the vacancy. There were two men. Barnabas and Matthias, whom we considered equally worthy of the honor. We presented these two men before the Lord in prayer and said, "Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show which of these two thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." (Acts 1: 24, 25.) It was revealed to us that Matthias was the Lord's choice, and he was appointed by unanimous vote.
The World:—Are we to understand from what you have said that it was the desire of the Lord that Apostles and Prophets and all the other officers should continue in the Church?
Peter:—Such, indeed, was the desire of the Lord. If it had not been, He would not have appointed a successor to Judas.
The World:—Our ministers have told us that Apostles and Prophets are not necessary in these days; that they were placed in the Church to establish Christianity, and that when Christianity was established they were no longer needed.
Peter:—There is nothing in the Scriptures to warrant such an assertion. On the contrary, it is most positively stated that the Lord put these officers in the Church "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." And they were to remain in the church "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ; that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." (Eph. 4: 12-14.)
The World:—How was the primitive Christian Church organized?
Peter:—It was "built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone." (Eph. 2: 20.) The Lord placed in the Church Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers, etc. (Eph. 4: 11.)
The World:—The churches of the world are not organized after that pattern?
Peter:—They are not. They were not established by Christ. Had Christ established them, He would have put in them the same officers that He put in the early Christian Church. The Churches of the world were established by men. They are named after men. There is Saint Paul's Church, Saint Peter's Church, Saint Mark's Church, Saint Luke's Church, Saint John's Church, etc.
The World:—There seems, therefore, to have been an apostasy from the primitive Christian Church?
Peter:—There has. The Scriptures are replete with prophecies concerning the great apostasy which was to take place after the death of the apostles. Permit me to call your attention to a few of them. Have you a Bible at hand?
Peter:—Turn to the fourth chapter of Paul's second epistle to Timothy and read what he prophesied concerning the apostasy that was to take place.
The World:—Paul prophesied as follows: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap unto themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (II Tim. 4: 3,4.)
Peter:—Now turn to the 29th chapter of Isaiah and read what the prophet said concerning the state of the world in the last days.
The World:—Isaiah prophesied as follows: "Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. Wherefore the Lord said, forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid." (Isaiah 29: 9, 10, 13, 14.)
Peter:—How perfectly did Paul describe the condition of the world at the present time! Instead of having inspired Apostles and Prophets to reveal to them the mind and will of the Lord, and to teach to them the true plan of salvation, the people have heaped to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they have turned their ears away from the truth and turned them unto fables. When you think of the multitude of jarring and contending sects that are in the world today, you can see how literally the prophecies of Paul and Isaiah have been fulfilled.
The World:—Were Paul and Isaiah the only ones who prophesied concerning an apostasy?
Peter:—They were not. There were many others who uttered similar predictions. But I ask you to read what Isaiah further said concerning the apostasy; you will find it in the twenty-fourth chapter of his book.
The World:—Isaiah says: "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." (Isaiah 24: 5, 6).
Peter:—Notice the similarity in these prophecies: Isaiah prophesied that the day would come when the people would transgress the laws, change the ordinance, and break the everlasting covenant. Paul declared that the time would come when they would not endure sound doctrine, but would heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears, who would turn their ears away from the truth and turn them unto fables. On another occasion Paul prophesied as follows: "For I know this, that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." (Acts 20: 29, 30.) Paul lived to see the beginning of the terrible apostasy of which he spoke. "I marvel," said he, writing to the Galatians, "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 you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ." (Gal. 1: 6, 7.) I myself prophesied concerning the apostasy. Here is what I said: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you." (II Peter 2: 1-3.)
The World:—The prophets and apostles truly foretold an apostasy, and the divided state of Christendom—the hundreds of different sects and denominations, the numerous, conflicting theories which are being advocated by men for the Gospel of Jesus Christ—bear incontrovertible testimony that such an apostasy has taken place. Must this condition continue, or will there be a restitution?
Peter:—There will be a restitution of all things spoken of by the mouth of the holy prophets.
The World:—Do you think the Lord will ever send us Apostles and Prophets to teach us the true Gospel of Christ as it was taught by Him and His inspired servants in ancient days?
Peter:—He will, for so He has declared. Here is the Apostle John; I pray you, hear what he has to say concerning the restoration of the Gospel in the latter days.