The author has chosen for his work the title, "A NEW WITNESS FOR GOD," because that is the relation Joseph Smith, the great modern prophet, sustains to this generation; and it is the author's purpose to prove, first, that the world stands in need of such a witness; and, second, that Joseph Smith is that witness.
The subject is treated under four THESES.
I.
The world needs a New Witness for God.
II.
The Church of Christ was destroyed; there has been an apostasy from the Christian religion so complete and universal as to make necessary a New Dispensation of the Gospel;
III.
The Scriptures declare that the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the last days—in the hour of God's judgment—will be restored to the earth by a re-opening of the heavens, and giving a New Dispensation thereof to the children of men.
IV.
Joseph Smith is the New Witness for God; a prophet divinely authorized to preach the Gospel and re-establish the Church of Jesus Christ on earth.