Again:
"The Twelve traveling counselors are called to be the Twelve Apostles, or special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world; thus differing from other officers in the church in the duties of their calling. And they form a quorum, equal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned." (Doc. & Cov., sec. 107:23-24; Reorganized edition, sec. 104:11.)
Further:
"The seventy are called to preach the gospel and be especial witnesses unto the Gentiles in all the world, etc. And they form a quorum equal in authority to that of the Twelve special witnesses or apostles just named." (Doc. & Cov., sec. 107:25-26; Reorganized edition, sec. 104:11.)
Ah! the important provision has been made. Not in one man's hands alone does full authority reside. Three great quorums possess it; the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles, and the First Quorum of Seventy. In the latter two it is but latent during the life of the Presidency, for there is order in God's house, but being latent makes it none the less real. The result is obvious. Evil may abound in man's heart. The emissaries of Satan may incite them to bloodshed and drivings. They may martyr the Prophet, but we have the Twelve left. They may destroy the Twelve, but the Seventies remain. Surely, a blind man can perceive a strength from within which sets destruction at defiance. But this is not all. Not only is the power and authority in safe keeping, but the Lord has designated a special quorum to build up the Church whenever any of its offices become vacant, through death or otherwise. The revelation of March, 1835, says:
"It is the duty of the Twelve, also, to ordain and set in order ALL THE OTHER OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH, etc." (Doc.& Cov., sec. 107:58; Reorganized edition, sec. 104:30-31.)
Twice blind is he who cannot see that so long as such a quorum is in existence the Church will continue to live.
Now, then, what have we before us? A tottering edifice of a day! Surely, NO, but an organization the equal of which the world has never seen; one which required a visit from the Father and the Son and the assistance of Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James and John, Moses, Elias, Elijah, and others, to bring about. It was not Joseph Smith's church. He was but an instrument through which a great divine institution began to take root in the earth. And yet, in view of all this, we are told by the Reorganization that the Kingdom thus founded was so frail, so weak, that it collapsed at the death of one man. Without strength, without stability, it fell in its beginning to rise no more for sixteen years.
We do not so understand this great latter-day work. Nay, nothing could be further removed from our conception of it. To that man whose mind has been lit up by its spirit and who understands its mission in the world, such a view is impossible. If we examine ancient prophets, they contradict it. If we go to modern revelation, the answer is no less plain. If we consult common sense, it likewise says no. For divinely founded it was; and for the last time was it restored. Neither again to be taken away nor given to another people.
Not only has there been no rejection of the Church, but there has been no cause for one. From the beginning, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has always stood for that which is true and good. No people on earth can point to a better record. The bleak plains, the silent graves, the barren desert, the magnificent temples, the self-sacrificing elders, all bear testimony to its integrity and stability. What would the Lord reject them for? Has he ever had as loyal or as firm a people? Examine their history. Feel of the spirit they carry with them. Follow their tracts. Notice the solid ruins of their forsaken cities. Wherever they have planted their feet, there have they builded to remain. The spirit of permanency has surely rested upon them. The old Mormon homes in Nauvoo are among the most substantial in the place to-day. The temple there would have been a credit to the nation now had it remained unmolested. This same spirit they carried with them into the barren desert, and there on its thirsty soil, amid untold difficulties and hardships, reared yet more beautiful and substantial commonwealths. Magnificent temples towering in the now fruitful valleys proclaim the people busily engaged in preparing themselves for yet greater things to come. Truly,