TESTIMONY OF THOMAS.
The World:—Were you acquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ when He was on the earth?
Thomas:—I was.
The World:—What position did you hold in the Church of Christ?
Thomas:—I was an Apostle.
The World:—Did you see the Savior after His resurrection?
Thomas:—I did. I at first considered the news too good to be true. When the other Apostles told me that they had seen the risen Lord, I said, "Except I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe."
The World:—Did Christ show Himself to you after that?
Thomas:—He did. Eight days later I was with the Apostles in a house in Jerusalem when the Savior appeared in our midst. As soon as He entered the room He said, "Peace be unto you." Then turning to me, He said, "Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." (John 20: 26, 27.) I recognized Him at once, and I exclaimed, "My Lord and my God!"
The World:—You saw the print of the nails in His hands, and the mark of the spear in His side?
Thomas:—I did.
The World:—Then, He must have appeared to you in the same body in which He was crucified?
Thomas:—He did, in the very same body of flesh and bones, but quickened by Spirit. (Luke 24: 39.)
The World:—Did you see Him after that!
Thomas:—I did, a number of times. One evening Simon Peter, Nathaniel of Cana, the sons of Zebedee, two other disciples and I went out fishing. We fished the entire night, but caught nothing. As we were returning in the morning, we saw a "man," as we supposed, standing on the shore. He asked us if we had any meat, and we answered that we had not. He told us to cast our net on the right side of the ship. We did so, and to our astonishment we caught one hundred and fifty-three fishes. John was the first to recognize the "man" on the shore, and as soon as he saw who He was, he exclaimed, "It is the Lord!" On hearing that, Peter jumped into the sea and swam to the shore. We were delighted to meet our beloved Redeemer once again. The Lord had prepared a fire of coals, and had some fish cooked. He invited us to come and dine with Him, which we did, and ate heartily of bread and fish. That was the third time that Jesus showed Himself to us after His resurrection. (John 21.)
The World:—Were you present at the ascension of Christ?
Thomas:—I was.
The World:—Tell us what took place on that occasion.
Thomas:—Just before His ascension He said to us, "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1: 8.) As soon as He had finished speaking He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of our sight. As we stood gazing after Him, two men dressed in white apparel appeared, and, addressing us, said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." (Acts 1st chap.)
The World:—That is all, Thomas.
Latter-day Saints (to the World):—We have proved by the last witness, an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, that Christ arose from the grave in the same body which was nailed to the cross, but immortalized; in that body He appeared to His disciples; in that same body He made a fire of coals on the shore and prepared food, which He ate with His disciples; in that same body He ascended into heaven; in that same body He shall come again to the earth.
The World:—What evidence have you that Christ shall come again in His crucified body?
Latter-day Saints:—We have the testimony of the Prophet Zechariah.
The World:—We will hear what he has to say.