8. The patriarchs who succeeded Adam were blessed with the gift of revelation in varying degrees; Enoch, the seventh in the line of descent, was particularly endowed. We learn from the Old Testament that Enoch "walked with God," and that when he had reached the age of 365 years "he was not, for God took him."[865] From the New Testament we learn something more regarding his ministry;[866] and the Pearl of Great Price gives us a fuller account of the Lord's dealings with this chosen Seer.[867] Unto him were made known the plan of redemption, and the prospective history of the race down to the meridian of time, thence to the millennium and the final judgment. Unto Noah, the Lord revealed His intentions regarding the impending deluge; by this prophetic voice the people were warned and urged to repent; disregarding it and rejecting the message, they were destroyed in their iniquity. With Abraham, God's covenant was established; unto him was revealed the course of the creative events.[868] And this covenant was confirmed unto Isaac and Jacob.
9. Through revelation, God commissioned Moses to lead Israel from bondage. From the burning bush on Horeb, the Lord declared to the man thus chosen, "I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."[869] In all the troublous scenes between Moses and Pharaoh, the Lord continued His communications unto His servant, who appeared amidst the glory of the Divine endowment, a veritable God unto the heathen king.[870] And throughout the wearisome forty years' journeying in the wilderness, the Lord ceased not to honor His chosen prophet. So may we trace the line of revelators,—men who have stood, each in his time, as the medium between God and the people, receiving instruction from the source Divine, and transmitting it to the masses,—from Moses to Joshua, and on through the Judges to David and Solomon, thence to John, who was the immediate fore-runner of the Messiah.
10. Christ Himself was a Revelator.—Notwithstanding His personal authority, God though He had been and was, while the Christ lived as a man among men, He declared His work to be that of One greater than Himself, by whom He had been sent, and from whom He received instructions. Note His words:—"For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak."[871] Further: "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."[872] And again, "The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.... And as the Father gave me commandment, even so do I."[873]
11. The Apostles likewise, left to bear the burden of the Church after the departure of the Master, looked to heaven for guidance, expected and received the word of revelation to direct them in their exalted ministry. Paul writing to the Corinthians said:—"But God hath revealed them [divine truths] unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God."[874]
12. John, also, declares that the book which is known specifically as the Revelation was not written of his own wisdom, but that it is:—"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John."[875]
13. Continual Revelation Necessary.—The scriptures are conclusive as to the fact that, from Adam to John the Revelator, God directed the affairs of His people by personal communication through chosen servants. As the written word—the record of revelation previously given—grew with time, that became a law unto the people; but in no period was that deemed sufficient. While the revelations of the past have ever been indispensable as guides to the people, showing forth, as they do, the plan and purpose of God's dealings under particular conditions, they may not be universally and directly applicable to the circumstances of succeeding times. Many of the revealed laws are of general application to all men in all ages; e.g., the commandments "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not bear false witness," and other injunctions regarding the duty of man toward his fellows, most of which are so plainly just as to be approved by the human conscience, even without the direct word of Divine command. Other laws may be equally general in application, yet they derive their validity as Divine ordinances from the fact that they have been authoritatively instituted as such; as examples of this class, we may consider the requirements concerning the sanctity of the Sabbath; the necessity of baptism as a means of securing forgiveness of sins; the ordinances of confirmation, the sacrament, etc. Revelations of yet another kind are on record, such as have been given to meet the conditions of particular times; these may be regarded as special, or circumstantial revelations; e.g., the instructions to Noah regarding the building of the ark and the warning of the people; the requirement made of Abraham that he leave the land of his nativity and sojourn in a strange country; the command to Moses, and through him to Israel, relative to the exodus from Egypt; the revelations given to Lehi directing the departure of his company from Jerusalem, their journeying in the wilderness, the building of a ship, and their voyage on the great waters to another hemisphere.
14. It is at once unreasonable, and directly contrary to our conception of the unchangeable justice of God, to believe that He will bless the Church in one dispensation with a present living revelation of His will, and in another leave the Church, to which He gives His name, to live as best it may according to the laws of a by-gone age. True, through apostasy, the authority of the priesthood may have been taken from the earth for a season, leaving the people in a condition of darkness, with the windows of heaven shut against them; but at such times, God has recognized no earthly Church as His own, nor any prophet to declare with authority "Thus saith the Lord."
15. In support of the doctrine that revelation specially adapted to existing conditions is characteristic of God's dealings with His people, we have the fact of laws having been ordained and subsequently repealed, when a more advanced stage of the Divine plan had been reached. Thus, the law of Moses[876] was strictly binding upon Israel from the time of the exodus to that of Christ's ministry; but its repeal was declared by the Savior Himself,[877] and a higher law than that "of carnal commandments," which had been given "because of transgression," was instituted in its stead.
16. From the scriptures cited, and from numerous other assurances of holy writ, it is evident that continual revelation has ever been characteristic of the living Church. It is equally plain that revelation is essential to the existence of the Church in an organized state on the earth. If to have authority to preach the Gospel, and administer in the ordinances of the same, a man must be called of God, "by prophecy"[878] it is evident that in the absence of direct revelation, the Church would be left without authorized officers, and would, in consequence, become extinct. The prophets and patriarchs of old, the judges, the priests, and every authorized servant from Adam to Malachi, were called by direct revelation manifested through the special word of prophecy. This was true also of John the Baptist,[879] of Christ Himself, and of the apostles,[880] and lesser officers[881] of the Church, as long as an organization recognized of God remained on the earth. Without the gift of continual revelation there can be no authorized ministry on the earth; and without officers duly commissioned there can be no Church of Christ.
17. Revelation is essential to the Church, not only for the proper calling and ordination of its ministers, but also that the officers so chosen may be guided in their ministrations:—to teach with authority the doctrines of salvation; to admonish, to encourage, and if necessary to reprove the people; and to declare unto them by prophecy the purposes and will of God respecting the Church, present and future. The promise of salvation is not limited by time, place, or persons. So taught Peter on Pentecost day, assuring the multitude of their eligibility to blessing:—"For the promise is unto you," said he, "and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."[882] Salvation, with all the gifts of God, was of old for Jew and Greek alike;[883] the same Lord over all, rich unto those that call upon Him, without difference.[884]