As wickedness increased among men "God cursed the earth with a sore curse and was angry with the wicked, with all the sons of men whom He had made. For they would not hearken unto His voice, nor believe on His Only Begotten Son, even Him whom He declared should come in the meridian of time, who was prepared from before the foundation of the world. And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels sent forth from the presence of God, and by His own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost." (p. 26.)
The prophet Enoch testified further: "But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent. And He called upon our father Adam by His own voice, saying: . . . If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (p. 33).
Enoch taught the same Gospel and administered baptism to repentant believers, and Noah, duly ordained, labored in similar ministry: "And it came to pass that Noah continued his preaching unto the people, saying: Hearken, and give heed unto my words. Believe and repent of your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, even as our fathers, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost, that ye may have all things made manifest; and if ye do not this, the floods will come in upon you; nevertheless they hearkened not." (p. 48).
So, from Adam to the Deluge, which came because of the unbelief and apostasy of the race, the ordinances of the Gospel were known and administered. Reverting to Biblical Scripture we read that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham, with the assurance that all who would abide therein should be accounted as Abraham's children. See Gal. 3:6-18. Through the prophet Joseph Smith a fuller account of Jehovah's promise to Abraham is given us, the Lord saying: "I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father"; and the particularity of the blessing wherein all families of the earth might share through the lineage of Abraham was to be "the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal." (Pearl of Great Price, p. 58).
As Abraham's posterity became sinful, the lesser law, which when codified came to be known as the Law of Moses, was prescribed instead of the Gospel, which had been preached aforetime and which was later taught by the Lord Jesus Christ. Following the apostolic administration apostasy again darkened the world; and now, in the current or last dispensation, the Gospel has been restored anew with all its ancient authority, power, and blessings. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims these glad tidings to the world. This Gospel is new only in the fact of its restoration to earth according to prophecy. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was preached to and by Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and a host of other men of God who ministered anciently; it is the Gospel that was taught by the Savior Himself and by His Apostles; it is the Eternal Gospel brought again to earth in preparation for the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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THE ORIGIN OF SACRIFICE
Coeval with the Race
THAT the offering of material things as sacrifices to Deity dates from Adamic days is attested in Genesis 4:3-5, wherein we read that both Cain and Abel made offerings unto the Lord. The Biblical record shows that the practise continued to and beyond the Deluge, and throughout the patriarchal and Mosaic dispensations among the Semitic peoples, who were distinguished as Jehovah worshipers. Non-scriptural history is no less definite in making the sacrifice of animals an essential feature of pagan ceremonial, even in the earliest times of which we have account. That Noah, Abraham, Jacob and other patriarchs and prophets builded altars and sacrificed thereon is admitted by all to whom the Holy Bible is authentic; and the Mosaic code regulated the ordinance of sacrifice while silent as to its origin or even its establishment in Israel.