Summary.
It may be well to consider what, in the foregoing pages, we have been successful in establishing. The points which have been the most conspicuously and clearly defined may be stated as follows:
Firstly.—That the true Church of Christ is, in the nature of its doctrines, principles, authority, gifts, power and organization, peculiar and distinct from all other systems.
Secondly.—That the sects claiming to be Christian widely differ in numerous essential vital particulars from the true Church as described in the Scriptures, this discrepancy being sufficient to invalidate their claim to being the Churches of Christ. It would be illogical and unscriptural to assume that anything that differs from that which is true can possibly be in itself correct.
Thirdly.—That apostasy from the original and pure order of the Gospel as established by Christ and His divinely commissioned servants, is clearly foretold in Holy Writ; and that the discrepant condition of professing Christian Churches is an existing proof of the genuine character of those predictions.
Fourthly.—That a latter day restoration of the true Gospel is prophetically promised in the Scriptures. The setting up, by revelation, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, after the ancient pattern, sustains the validity of the prophecies given to that effect.
Fifthly.—That the comprehensive and far-reaching nature of the Gospel renders it applicable to the whole human race; that, consistent with its intrinsically liberal character, it provides for the correct teaching, improvement and ultimate salvation of the dead as well as the living. This fact alone should cause a sentiment of adoration to ascend to God from the heart of every human being to whom it is communicated.
Sixthly.—That the sectarian dogma of one universal heaven and hell, making but two distinct ultimate abodes for the multifarious grades of human intelligences, is an unscriptural fallacy, inconsistent with the just decree that men shall be rewarded according to their works.
Seventhly.—That the Scriptures promise a visit, before the end of the rule of wickedness, from Elijah the Prophet, to restore the keys and powers pertaining to the turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers, etc. In verification of the claim put forth by the Saints that that prediction has been fulfilled, the feelings of the children are being strongly inclined to their progenitors.
Eighthly.—That the propositions advanced are not only sustained by appeals to reason, but are so markedly scriptural that we are surely not claiming too much in assuming that the professed believer in Holy Writ is left with but two alternatives to choose from. He must either discard the sacred record as unworthy of his retention, or accept of the doctrines and principles herein set forth and clearly established.