Honest-hearted people who profess a belief in the Bible cannot and do not deny that a true Church of Christ must necessarily enjoy the fruits of the Spirit. These are the gifts enumerated by Paul in the 12th chapter of Corinthians. How can a belief in such things be repudiated when they existed in the primitive Church, which was the genuine Church of Christ, established by Himself? If the true Church is extant now, its peculiarities and blessings must be the same.[[3]]
It surely will be admitted that the Church will not only be the same in doctrine, ordinances, spirit, gifts and authority, but also in organization and officers. Hence, as in primitive times, it will incorporate apostles, prophets, and other inspired men, who were given to the Church to edify its members until they "all come to a unity of the faith." It may be well to ask how a Church could be the Church of Christ denuded of some of its most conspicuous doctrines, ordinances, spirit, gifts, officers and organization.[[4]]
In fact so wide is the gulf that separates the true Church—that described in the Scriptures—from the repudiative, revelationless, spiritless, disjointed churches of the day that it is difficult to discover even a remote resemblance. But these things are very plain and clear. They must be obvious to fair, candid truth-lovers. And as that is the only class whom the glorious light of revealed Gospel truth will be likely to impress with its beauty, it is to such that we, in the present writing, appeal.
How clear is the wide discrepancy between the primitive Church, the true Church, and the sects of "Christendom" in every feature. How often we have listened to exclamations of astonishment from the lips of persons when this remarkable difference was first explained to them by the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have wondered that so potent a fact did not strike them before. This amazement has been increased when their attention has been called to the predictions of the inspired apostles and prophets regarding the apostasy from the ancient faith of the Saints. In fact Paul positively declares, in the 2nd chapter of 2nd Thessalonians that "That day (meaning the second coming of Christ) shall not come except there come a falling away first." But it is not our purpose to elaborate upon this subject, preferring that our readers should peruse the Scriptures relating to it, guided by the passages to which their attention is directed by note.[[5]]
The seeker after religious truth turns to the glorious promise of a restoration of the ancient order of the Church of Christ, as to a ray of sunshine penetrating the surrounding gloom. Jesus Christ, teaching his disciples upon the signs of his coming, predicted, as among the indications of the approach of the great event, the preaching of "This Gospel of the Kingdom" for a witness. John the Revelator, while gazing down the flowing stream of time, saw not only the restoration of the Gospel, but the manner of its being committed to man, (by a holy angel). The angel who showed him these things was not an imaginative being, depicted according to the fancy of an artist. He was one of the prophets who had kept the faith and gone into the presence of God, at whose command he visited the Revelator. But let the reader search the Scriptures upon these points, for we speak according to the "law and the testimony." The foregoing truths have been frequently and ably set forth in various writings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and are constantly laid before the public in plainness by the elders in their preaching of the word of God. This being the case it is not our present purpose to enter upon an elaboration of them. Our position, thus far, being established upon a sound scriptural basis, we will undertake to answer some objections which leap into the minds of some inquirers in opposition to the claims of the Latter-day Saints to being in possession of the pure Gospel restored.
From what we have already shown it cannot be truthfully denied that the Scriptures faithfully describe the doctrines, principles, ordinances, powers, gifts, organization and authority enjoyed by the Church established by Christ and his ancient apostles.
All Bible believers must admit that that Church was a true one, having been set up under the personal supervision and by direction of the Divine Master himself.
The fact also stares all people broadly in the face that between that true and ancient Church and the sects of so-called Christendom, now existing, there is an irreconcilable difference in almost every respect.
The only logical conclusion that can be reached in reasoning upon such a condition is, that the primitive Church being the true one, having divine sanction and approval, all churches differing from it must necessarily be spurious. However unpalatable so evident a situation may be to professing Christians, it should be accepted by them with becoming grace and composure that they may be prepared for the revelation to come. God is consistent and truthful in all his ways, and what he says he will do, whether by his own voice or by the utterances of his inspired servants, he will fulfil. Our readers, if they be consistent Bible believers, are constrained to accept of the fact presented in the sacred record, that the Lord did purpose, subsequent to a great apostasy, to reveal from heaven the true order of the Gospel. This belief being established in their minds, probably the chief difference in their position and ours is that while they merely admit the existence of such a precious prophetic promise we advance a step further, taking the ground that it has been fulfilled. The message we declare is that God raised up the Prophet Joseph Smith, to whom and to others he sent angels who conferred upon them the authority of the Holy Priesthood, enabling them to legally officiate in the ordinances of the Gospel. We announce that God has set up, in this age, by revelation, the true Church of Christ, to prepare the way for his second coming, which is near at hand.[[6]]
A prominent objection urged against the Latter-day Saints is that they are exclusive in their views. They are charged with being contracted in their opinions. This arises from their claim to being the only people having the true plan of salvation. If our readers will calmly weigh the matter, they will be free to admit that as in all other respects they resemble the ancient Church of Christ, so they do in this. The disciples of the Lord held that they were right and, as a logical sequence, all others were wrong, because all systems differing from one that is correct must necessarily be spurious. The ancient Saints were correct in this position, for as they presented the light to the world, the existing sects had no longer an excuse for remaining in darkness. If the Latter-day Saints are in possession of the same saving principles, their position in regard to the sects of this day is the same.