1st. The belief in one great father God.
2d, The expectation of the coming of His Son to dwell in the flesh and redeem mankind.
3d. The belief in a resurrection, and in future rewards and punishments for acts done in this life.
4th. The observance of the rite of sacrifice.
5th. The doctrine of repentance, and in certain cases the ordinance of baptism.
We ask, when it is proved that all these principles were taught by the duly appointed servants of God in the earliest ages, where else but from them could the ancient Gentile races have obtained their knowledge thereof?
Men have been ever prone to apostacy; our fallen nature is at enmity with a godly life; sometimes in one way, sometimes in another, Satan led men from the right path and under the influences of a false or diabolic inspiration many errors were introduced; as well as through the natural corrupt ambition of men who sought to obtain power over their fellows by promulgating new theories in the name of God and under the auspices of religion. The "ologies" of to-day would have been impossible in the days of Pharaoh and Nimrod. The style of apostacy was necessarily fashioned by the condition of men's minds, their advance in civilization, and their understanding of physical laws. In the rudimentary condition of the nations who scattered at Babel, the easiest thing for them to do was to worship their dead ancestors and the heavenly orbs. In due course naturally followed the framing of idols, which at first only represented the being or thing worshiped, but which were afterwards regarded as gods themselves, and as such reverenced. The idea of God's anger at men's sins, associated with the law of sacrifice, led mankind to believe that the more precious and beloved was the offering to him who offered it, the more acceptable would it be to heaven. As a result, men soon began to offer up their sons and their daughters to appease the wrath of their gods. Abraham informs us:
"Now, at this time it was the custom of the priest of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to offer up upon the altar which was built in the land of Chaldea, for the offering unto these strange gods, men, women and children. And it came to pass that the priest made an offering unto the god of Pharaoh, and also unto the god of Shagreel, even after the manner of the Egyptians. Now the god of Shagreel was the Sun. Even the thank-offering of a child did the priest of Pharaoh offer upon the altar which stood by the hill called Potiphar's Hill, at the head of the plain of Olishem. Now, this priest had offered upon this altar three virgins at one time, who were the daughters of Onitah, one of the royal descent directly from the loins of Ham. These virgins were offered up because of their virtue; they would not bow down to worship gods of wood or of stone, therefore they were killed upon this altar, and it was done after the manner of the Egyptians."—Book of Abraham.
This practice of offering human sacrifices had become very general on the eastern continent in Abraham's day.
One peculiar phase of false doctrine with regard to the atonement had grown strong in the days of this Patriarch. It was "that the blood of the righteous Abel was shed for sins."[A] This was a very natural mental outgrowth among people who believed in the consequences of the fall of Adam and had been taught the necessity of a redeemer. It was a very easy thing to fall into the error that as Adam had transgressed, so his immediate son atoned by his blood for his father's act. And in the spread of this incorrect idea of Abel's atonement amongst the early peoples, may be found the origin of the many diversified legends of a sacrificed redeemer. This theory was taught at a day so early in the world's history, that it spread with the migrating races in every direction, so that traces of it can be found from Hindostan to Spain, from the Baltic to Ethiopia. Of course, every people in their own language had their peculiar name for this savior, and each race claimed him as theirs, as Abel certainly belonged as much to one as the other, having no posterity; and by degrees they wove many fanciful and mythical legends round his life and death, varying according to the tastes, imaginative power and environment of the different races. This, to a very great extent, explains that enigma to Christians, who believe that Gospel truths were first taught by Jesus when in the flesh, how the knowledge of the principle of the atonement and the tradition of a Savior was so wide spread throughout the world before His actual coming.