The faith of visions, miracles, angels, revelations, and prophets, is the only religion of the Bible. With what contempt would Abraham look upon the religion that immediately preceded the days of Moses? With what indignation would Moses and Elijah look upon the religion that immediately preceded John, and denied any further revelation!
How abhorrent to apostles must be the conduct of those who, having persecuted and slain the defenders of the faith of miracles, then turned round and said, "We need no more such faith,—miracles are done away." Their posterity approve their sayings, and teach the same theology. Blush, O, thou foul prince of darkness, at the consummate folly and credulity of thy followers! What would the revelator John say, to a grave assembly or synod of divines, that should meet together in solemn council to devise means how to check the doctrine of new revelation and miracles? After showing them that he was identified with the self same obnoxious advocates of such a doctrine, and that his banishment, and the martyrdom of his fellow apostles, had sprung from the same spirit of anti-revelation and anti-miracles, that now convenes this grave council of bishops; with mingled pity and indignation he concludes a most touching remonstrance against their unhallowed opposition to prophets, by pointing the assembly to the tragic scenes of Calvary, where anti-revelation had matured a full cup. When men come to the knowledge of God through the principles of immediate revelation, and the power of the Holy Ghost, nothing can separate them from the love of God but their own transgressions; neither sword, nor famine, nor peril, nor principalities, nor powers, can separate them from the gospel. They know in whom they believe. Who could convince Jacob of the fallacy of visions, after what he experienced at Bethel? Who could dissuade Peter from the faith of miracles, after witnessing the lame man healed at the gate of the temple? Would David or his mighty men doubt the power of God, after a single individual had lifted up his spear and slew eight hundred at one time? Would mobbing and imprisonment force Sampson to abandon his supposed delusion, after he had put to flight an army of thousands? No; vain hope of all the adversaries to miracles!
How long shall men wage a war of scandal, extermination, and massacre against the advocates of miracles? Yet the nineteenth century—blush to hear the undeniable charge!—yea, the christendom of the nineteenth century has espoused the old persecutor's warfare, as keenly as the persecutors of Stephen, Daniel, and Moses. Are they so forgetful of all sacred and profane history as not to know that they are fighting the battles of Cain, Esau, Jannes and Jambes, Judas and Herod, over again. The former persecutors fought against new revelations, and latter persecutors do the same—the former Saints were called lying, blasphemous impostors, and the Latter-day Saints are called the same. There always was an attempt to crush former saints by scandalizing their character, robbing and slaying them—the same luckless attempt is again renewed in the nineteenth century.
Almost anything can be tolerated sooner than the admission that the God of miracles and angels reigns again on the earth. Bible saints never lived in any other age than an age of miracles, visions, and angels. They knew that true saints never would live in any other age. They knew that the gospel could not be communicated to any people of any age without revelation; for therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. A gospel without revelation is no gospel. A gospel without the gifts and power of the Holy Ghost, and the ministry of angels, is no gospel. There cannot be found the first instance of a true minister of God, throughout the whole record of inspiration, who did not possess the gift of inspiration and the spirit of prophecy. No man can say that Jesus is the Christ, but by the Holy Ghost; and the Holy Ghost leads every man, who is loyal to his dictates, into all truth sooner or later. The deep things of God, and the keys of divine power, are available to him. By obedience he is sure to reach the measure of the power and wisdom attained by Christ himself—the manifold wisdom of GOD, even, is to be possessed and shown forth by the Church.
Bible saints were always familiar with the ministration of angels. And it is only such as are wholly unlike Bible saints who are not familiar with the ministration of angels. Those who are unlike Bible saints have always, in all ages, denied the ministry of angels, and gift of prophecy and healing, in their own day. And it is a certain test and evidence, that a man is not born of the spirit when he denies these things; for no man that has the Spirit of God can speak lightly of God; but he will extol his power for himself, and not for another. Men that have not the Spirit of God may tell what great things faith wrought in former ages, but can tell nothing from their own experience of the same power. It is, indeed, a marvellous thing, that men should affect to regard "Bible piety" as a standard or copy, which all are bound to imitate, and at the same time adopt an inferior rule of piety that discards and abrogates all the more conspicuous and powerful features of primitive piety! How they can have the temerity and effrontery to impose upon community a system of religion, that is the counterpart of Bible piety, I am at a loss to conceive. A gospel without immediate and accompanying revelation! Who ever heard such a thing, except from transgressors sitting in the region and shadow of death? No Bible saint ever saw such a thing in his day. Neither Abel or Enoch, Abraham or Moses, David or Peter, ever saw such a gospel in their day. The only gospel that these men ever knew of or fellowshipped, was a gospel distinguished by revelations, visions, and angels. Such a gospel rejoiced their hearts, because it was the power of God, and wisdom of God. It nerved the arm of Sampson, so that scores and hundreds of men could no more stand before his might than before a volcanic eruption, or an avalanche from the mountain. It gave elasticity to David, so that he could leap a wall, or rush through a troop. It struck with blindness the mobbers of Sodom; opened prison gates to Peter; cursed Elymas with blindness; enabled men to walk unsinged through the fiery burning of the furnace, heated sevenfold hotter than usual! This, sir, is the gospel, and the only gospel. It exhibits the power of God and the wisdom and might of God. Any other gospel is a curse to men, and a stink in the nose of God. Angels have once tried to preach another gospel; and what has been the result of their efforts? They have been hurled down and are even now reserved in chains under darkness, to the judgment of the great day; and those who first began to preach modern christianity have doubtless shared a doom scarcely less awful.
The first step stone to modern christianity was laid on the smoking ruins of primitive christianity. The christian enemies to new revelations and miracles, actually waded through the blood of apostles and prophets, in order to establish the system of anti-revelation. And did their descendants and abettors realise the bloody and accursed origin of that system that wars against new regulations and prophets, and angels, many of them would shudder at their blind zeal and self-righteousness! God winks at the conduct of the latter, because they know not what they do; but He commands all men every where to repent, else He will hold them guilty of all the blood that has been shed from the days of righteous Abel till now. God is my witness that I speak the truth in Christ Jesus and lie not.
The history of modern christianity, from the day when the first martyr fell under its bloody hatred, is a history of contention, persecution, and massacre, that causes all heaven to weep. Rivers of blood have flowed in its wake. Crimination and re-crimination from the pulpit and the press, have agitated the people, from the throne down to the otherwise peaceful cottage. The battle field has been soaked with the blood of its victims, and it is difficult to tell whether Catholic or Protestant domination can count the most victims, except as one may have held a longer and stronger ascendency than the other. The first two or three centuries were bloody beyond description. All denominations recoil at the history of their pedigree during this early and bloody period. The links in the chain of supposed apostolic succession are so bloody, that even the "dark ages" cannot conceal their crimson hue. The period when this famous chain of succession has not been coloured with human gore, is short. The records of the suffering Waldenses, in the valleys of Piedmont, will always tell a tale of wo, at which humanity must blush. The history of the protestant reformation in Germany and England, including the massacre of sixty thousand protestants in France, at one time, is a serious comment on the pseudo apostolic line of priesthood. But when protestantism came into power, under Henry and Elizabeth, it proved to a demonstration that the protestants had the same priesthood handed down through seas of human gore; excommunicating, torturing and killing catholic heretics in like manner as the catholics had previously done to others.[A]
[Footnote A 1. It was death to make a new Catholic priest within the kingdom. 2. It was death for a Catholic priest to come into the kingdom from abroad. 3. It was death to harbour a Catholic priest coming from abroad. 4. It was death to confess to such a priest. 5. It was death for any priest to say mass. 6. It was death for any one to hear mass. 7. It was death for any one to deny or not to swear, if called on, that this woman (Elizabeth) was the head of the church of Christ. 8. It was an offence punishable by heavy fine not to go to the Protestant church, £250, equal to £3,250 of present English money.—Penal Statutes passed in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.]
The United States of America were first settled by fugitives from the intolerance and bigoted persecution of the mother country; and it now becomes no wonder that after all this tragic drama of inhuman and brutal outrages for near eighteen hundred years, that the children of them that slew the prophets, should deny the need of any further revelation, and also of any more apostles and miracles! But, sir, the Heavens are more compassionate. The Heavens feel the need to give further revelation, lest the whole earth be speedily destroyed through the abomination of this mother of harlots and her numerous progeny.
There are thousands of honest hearted people that deserve a better destiny than to be made the deluded prey and spoil of such abominations, under the flattering name of christianity. It is to such these letters are designed to be a benefit. It is in vain for Protestants to charge the bloody axe of persecution against the Catholics, or for one sect of Protestants to charge and vilify another sect. Knox and Calvin were relentless, if not actually murderous enemies of the Catholics: and there is scarcely a consequential Protestant sect in England, or the United States of America, that has not proven out their shameful and bloody pedigree by acts of banishment, hanging, confiscation of property, or proscription of cast.