Stephen's testimony.
The World:—What is your name?
Stephen:—My name is Stephen.
The World:—What position did you hold in the Christian Church?
Stephen:—I was one of the seven men who were set apart by the Apostles to look after the temporal needs of the widows in the church. (Acts 6.)
The World:—Did you also proclaim publicly the Gospel, and bear testimony to the divinity of Jesus?
Stephen:—I did.
The World:—How was your testimony received by the people?
Stephen:—They denounced me as a blasphemer. On one occasion when I was preaching to them they gnashed on me with their teeth. (Acts 7: 54.)
The World:—What happened at that time?
Stephen:—The Lord filled me with the Holy Ghost and opened the heavens to me.
The World:—What did you behold when the heavens were opened?
Stephen:—I beheld God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. (Acts 7: 55.)
The World:—You say that you saw God, and Jesus standing on His right hand. Then, God and Jesus must be two separate Beings?
Stephen:—Certainly. Jesus was not standing at His own right hand.
The World:—You bore testimony to what you saw?
Stephen:—I did.
The World:—How did the people receive your testimony?
Stephen:—It cost me my life. They stoned me to death. (Acts 7: 59, 60.)
The World:—That is all.
Latter-day Saints:—It is not necessary to call any more witnesses. We have proved, most conclusively, that God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct Personages. John proved that, when he testified that he saw Jesus standing on the bank of the Jordan; then he beheld the Spirit of God descend from heaven like a dove and rest upon the Messiah, and at the same time he heard the voice of God testify that Jesus was His Only Begotten Son. Peter testified that when James and John and himself were on the mount with Jesus they heard the voice of God testify that Jesus was His Beloved Son. James and John corroborated his testimony. Stephen testified that he, being filled with the Holy Ghost, had the heavens opened to him, and he saw God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of His Father.
The World:—The evidence which you have produced is, indeed, incontrovertible. It is, to be sure, contrary to the teachings which we have received in the churches and from our fathers. But we now call to mind the words of the Prophet Jeremiah, "O Lord, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit." (Jeremiah 16: 19.)