"Now, my friends, the Bible says, in the place I have quoted, that baptism is for the remission of sins. Do we believe this? If we do, you know, we must also come to the conclusion necessarily that we cannot have a remission of sins without it. If God has placed the ordinance of baptism in His Church, as part of His divine system for a certain purpose, the object cannot be obtained without it. The means which God reveals for certain purposes must be used. We cannot say, and it would be unreasonable in us to say, that when God speaks from heaven in regard to any particular thing, we can ignore His advice when we please and accept something that suits us. It is wrong, and it is this disposition that has led to the present deplorable state of things.
"'Well,' says one, 'I have thought that baptism was for an outward sign of an inward grace, or of membership in the Church.' Another error, you see! The Bible does not say anything about that. Of course the act of a person embracing the principles of the gospel and becoming a member of the Church, may be a sign, but baptism was not set in the Church for that purpose. It was taught in the Church and administered for the remission of sins and nothing else. And no man or woman can obtain a place in God's kingdom, or enjoy His presence here or hereafter, unless their sins are washed away in baptism, as Paul's were washed away when he accepted the advice of the good and inspired man, Ananias, who instructed him.
"When I think of the importance of this offer which God has made, my heart is filled with thankfulness instead of a disposition to discard what He has taught. It is strange, and we can only account for it on the ground of the waywardness of men naturally, to think that we would attempt to do things in opposition to the will of God. Is there a more important blessing offered to mankind than the remission of sins? Have we any hope of enjoying the glory of God in our present sinful condition? Surely not, for nothing sinful or unholy can enter the courts of glory. Then if God has so put in His Church an ordinance for the purpose of enabling us, like Saul, to wash away our sins, why not be prepared to receive it with joy instead of cultivating or encouraging a disposition to ignore it?
"Baptism for the remission of sins is the third principle of the gospel of Christ. Then comes the ordinance of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Peter says, on the day of Pentecost, to which we have directed your attention, 'And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.' What did that consist of? The gift of God's Spirit. The reception of God's power, a portion of His power. The reception of an influence which leads those who possess it near to God in their feelings and in their faith. A feeling which produces not only that inward consciousness of acceptance with God as His son or daughter, but a power which gives outward manifestations of its divinity. Jesus did promise to the apostles when he sent them out first, that 'These signs shall follow them that believe.' Here are His words, 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be damned, and these signs shall follow them that believe.' The words of Christ, in the last chapter of Mark, 15th and following verses.
"'Well,' says one, 'you know we do not believe in miracles now. These signs were miracles, but we do not believe in them now.' That may be, my friends. This is the very reason why we are here, because there is such a great disbelief in the Bible; because there is a disposition to ignore the Bible; because there is a disposition to ignore the promises of Christ; and we wish to show you the things that are denied; we wish to point out to you the doctrines our fathers have denied; that our teachers have denied, and we wish to show you that they are in the Bible, the word of God, in the book which some have gone so far as to assert that we do not believe in. But is it true that the promises of God were fulfilled anciently in regard to this matter? Yes! In the 19th chapter and 7th verse of the Acts of the Apostles, you will find an instance related of the Apostles laying their hands on some that had been baptized, and they spake with tongues. This was one of the gifts that was manifested, in consequence of their receiving that spirit which produced them. See also Mark 16th and 20th.
You must not consider that, in teaching these doctrines, we are advancing something of ourselves, something new. If we were teaching new doctrine you would have a right to call us to account and ask us for the proof. We are teaching old doctrine. We are teaching the New Testament doctrines, instead of those of our Christian friends. We have no spirit of enmity in the least degree, towards any living soul, and when we refer to the faith of our Christian friends remember, it is simply to make the difference between their views and ours more distinct to you. I say instead of our friends calling us to account, it is the Latter-day Saints who have the right to come out and say to their Christian friends, 'See here, why do you deny signs which Christ said should follow believers? What believers did Christ speak about? Why believers in His gospel, He taught us that these signs should follow believers. Well then, if our Christian friends deny that, we have the right to call them to account. If Christ said that these miracles manifestations of Almighty power should follow the believers, I say what reason have you to deny it? The question is not now whether the Latter-day Saints possess the power or not. The question at issue at present is not whether the teachers of the Church of England have the power or not. The question is, Does Christ promise that power to believers in the gospel? I say He does, and I say that those who deny that such powers should follow believers, teach that which is contrary to the word of Christ and contrary to the facts that appeared in connection with the teachings and administration of the doctrines of Christ. So that it is not the Latter-day Saints that introduce a new doctrine, and we say to our friends, Hear us, we beseech you. Hear the message we have to deliver, for God has sent us to teach the old religion, the religion of Jesus, the simple plan which was revealed from heaven in ancient days, to save the children of men.
"Peter said, on the day of Pentecost, speaking of the gospel and its attendant blessings, 'for this promise is unto you.' That is, to the people who stood before him, 'to your children and unto all that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call.'
"You see it was not confined to the members of the church in the first place, as some would have us believe. The promise of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost was made to the children of those who heard Peter, and to all who were afar off, even as many as the Lord our God should call. And if it be true that God is calling sinners to repentance now, we should see the same power manifested today, that is, if we have the true gospel. There can be no doubt of this.
"Which will you have, my friends, the doctrine of the Bible or the doctrines of men? If you accept the doctrines of the Bible you will have to become Latter-day Saints, and of course that would be out of the question for a good many. But we cannot find these doctrines anywhere else, and that is a perplexity. What shall we do about them? When I am speaking to you I think of the position I occupied myself, when I heard the Latter-day Saints first. I went to their meeting, not expecting to hear anything that would interest me by any means, but I heard the Bible doctrine taught. I could not deny it. I found I had been mistaken. I did not incline in my heart to fight against God, but considerations came up. If I become a Latter-day Saint, people will call me a Mormon. If I embrace these doctrines, my friends will point at me the finger of scorn. If I become a Latter-day Saint my good neighbors will say I am deceived and led astray, and that I have embraced a doctrine that is in opposition to the teachings of Christ. Of course these things flashed through my mind when I considered and read the Bible to ascertain positively whether these Mormons taught the truth or not. I thought this—well! I have been religious for the purpose of making my peace with God, but I have been mistaken and led astray by men whom God had not sent to preach the gospel; but now I have found the truth, the old promises relating to God's power, all things as at the beginning, have been restored, and I have the promise of obtaining a place with the righteous, according to the mind and will of my Heavenly Father. Let friends say what they please, let them say I am deceived, but I believe this Bible is true. Let them say whatever they may in regard to my faith; no matter. I thought of the time of Christ. They called Christ hard names; and of the Apostles they spake a great deal of evil. In fact the Bible says they called them all manner of evil, and although I expected my friends would denounce me, still when I thought of what Christ had suffered, I was reconciled and instead of fighting against God, I was willing to accept His doctrine, in order to obtain His blessings.
"I state to you my friends that since the day I entered this Church I have rejoiced exceedingly. I have found proofs upon proofs. I have had reason to rejoice in consequence of the manifestations of God's power, confirmatory of the doctrines, and I can say that the Church of Christ is set up, its doctrines are taught, its practices are practiced, its promises are fulfilled, and the evidences of its divine power are manifested in the midst of this people.