The Seventy's Course in Theology

FIRST YEAR.

Outline History of the Seventy

AND

A Survey of the Books of Holy Scripture

COMPILED AND EDITED BY

ELDER B. H. ROBERTS

Of the First Council of the Seventy

To become a Seventy means mental activity, intellectual development, and the attainment of spiritual power

Salt Lake City

1907

INTRODUCTION.

To become a Seventy means mental activity, intellectual development, and the attainment of spiritual power.

The first three opening lessons of this year's course of study are devoted to the history, organization and duties of the Seventy. They should be thoroughly mastered by the present membership of the quorums, and as fast as new members are brought in their attention should be called to these lessons, and they be required to master them also that all our Seventies may have a proper understanding of the dignity and importance and the responsibility of this office in the Holy Priesthood.

The body of the present year's course of study deals with the four books of the scriptures, recognized by the Church as the only authoritative written embodiment of the doctrines of the Church; namely, the Bible, comprising the Old and New Testament, the American volume of scripture, the Book of Mormon, modern revelation, contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. The year's course of study is intended to be a rapid survey, not an exhaustive treatment, of these books; and this in order that all our Seventies may as soon as possible be made acquainted in a general, even if only in a superficial way, for the present, with this body of sacred literature; that they may know something of its history and character. The dominating idea of the whole course being,

A Workman Should Know His Tools.

In the past, a too exclusive adherence to merely "text methods" of work has been followed. That is to say, there has been a selection of separate and disconnected texts marshalled together in support of a given subject without sufficient care being taken to know the context and historical association of the scriptural utterances, often attended with great danger of forming misconceptions of such texts, resulting in wrong deductions and conclusions. The present aim is to make our Seventies familiar with the spirit of the scriptures, learning something of the individual books, as a whole, something of their general import and their relationship one to another; that from this general acquaintance with the whole volume of scripture, the Seventies may become more competent to use separate passages more intelligently and effectively, and with less likelihood of making mistakes.

The fear has been expressed that since so many lessons are devoted to the Bible, nearly half the years' course, there will be some danger of the work becoming monotonous; but that fear is based upon the common misconception that the Bible is one book, instead of a collection of books, thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New of our common English Bibles. Since the books are so many and the time period covered so great—about 2500 years, from Moses to St. John—and the books being composed by many writers—there is promise of plenty of variety, both as to books and subject matter. It is the rapid survey of a whole library of books that is contemplated, rather than the study of one book, albeit the many books are bound together in one volume. The consideration of the American volume of scripture, the Book of Mormon, and of modern revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price, in the latter part of the course, together with the suggested lectures and the special lessons on present day subjects, scripture reading exercises, etc., etc., will unquestionably give ample variety to the year's work.

THE CLASS TEACHERS.

The First Council in its circular letter on the subject of the new order of things in relation to Seventies' meetings, course of study, etc., has already suggested that the new plans of Seventies' work would make it necessary for the quorums to find the most efficient teachers for their classes. "Where the most efficient teachers are to be found among the presidents of quorums," says the circular letter, "of course they will be given preference; but where more efficient men can be found in the quorum membership they should be selected as teachers and perform their duties under the direction of the Council of the Quorum, which, of course, will always be the presiding authority in all quorum and class meetings, and conduct all the exercises except the class work. It might be well to select the most proficient man for teacher, and appoint one or more assistants who should prepare for the class work, and in the event of the teacher's absence, and even occasionally when he is present, they could conduct the exercises.

MANNER OF LESSON TREATMENT.

It is not desired that there shall be a too slavish adherence to the letter of the lessons. The lesson forms are merely suggestive. Nor is it the intention to set forth a stereotyped method of treatment of what is given. Much will depend upon the teachers. Some will prefer to assign the whole lesson to the quorum in general and conduct the exercises as a class; others may prefer to make special assignments of topics from the subject matter of the lessons and have brief formal lectures devoted to them, followed by review questions, formulated either in advance or in the course of the lesson exercises, or at its close by the one conducting the class. Either of these methods can be made satisfactory, or a combination of them might be adopted. It is desirable that the quorums and class teachers exercise their freedom in these matters, only let them throw life and individuality into the work and they will succeed.

The class meetings of the quorums can continue throughout the year practically without interruption. Interruption will only be necessary in order to attend the Stake Quarterly Conferences, and the ward conferences where the respective quorums are located, and these occasions will not exceed five in number. There will be no occasion for postponing class exercises in order to attend to the business affairs of the quorum, since half an hour of any regular session of the quorum will be sufficient for the transaction of any business it may have to do if prompt and business-like methods are employed. If not, a special meeting could be called. It is expected, of course, that the council will continue to hold its council meetings apart from the quorum and class meetings, but these, too, could be held on the Sunday morning either before or after the regular meeting.

HOME READING AND PREPARATION.

Home reading and preparation outside of class hours should be insisted upon. It is not intended that the only mental work in connection with our course of study shall be the two or three hours devoted to the work on Sunday morning. There must be reading through the week. For example, during the weeks that the Pentateuch constitutes the lessons—three in number and hence extending over three weeks of time—it is expected that members will read the five books of Moses through, not a difficult task; and so on throughout all the lessons. By reading about one hour a day an average reader may complete in one year the reading of the four books of scripture covered by the present year's lessons. Necessarily, this will be rapid reading, but it should be remembered that we are only reading the scriptures this time to get a general idea of their contents, and the relation of the parts to the whole. The object now is not to ponder deeply over texts and combine them subjectively, or work out doctrinal or historical themes, hence we can read rapidly in this first survey of the scriptures proposed in these lessons. In addition to reading the books of scripture themselves, members should consult as far as possible the references given on the various books and topics in the lesson analysis. These references are quite numerous and varied, made so purposely, so that if the members do not happen to have access to one of the Dictionaries or Helps or other works of reference, they might possibly have another—one at least out of the many, and the notes are given that all may be assured of some assistance in making lesson preparations by consulting the utterances of those who are recognized as authorities upon the subjects on which they are quoted. If this is thought to be a rather heavy course of work let it be remembered that it is to become a settled conviction with all that, To be a Seventy means mental activity, intellectual development, and the attainment of spiritual power, and this may be done only by hard persistent work.

SCRIPTURE READING AND SPECIAL TEXTS.

At Lesson XIV, Part II, it will be observed that "scripture reading" is introduced as an exercise to be rendered immediately after the opening exercises and before taking up the lesson proper. The purpose of this exercise is as follows: It is well known that in some Christian families in the world, it is the custom to make the reading of the scriptures a part of the family worship, and our Elders when visiting in such families are called upon to read the scripture lesson before engaging in prayer—an example that could be followed with profit in our own family worship. The desirability of our Elders being prepared to acquit themselves well on such occasions as named above, is obvious, and to do that each one should have in mind a number of suitable chapters or parts of chapters of the scriptures with which he is familiar, which are appropriate for inspiring the true spirit of worship, and which he can read effectively. It is, therefore, urged that class teachers direct the members of the class, when this exercise begins, to select each for himself, such scriptures and practise the reading of them, that when called upon to read before the class he may be prepared. Both the reading and the appropriateness of the scriptures chosen should be subject to the criticism of the teacher at the time. Correct pronunciation should be taught and insisted upon and practiced until it shall become habitual. From the selections read before the class, and the suggestions from the teachers the readings will elicit, each member in time will be able to build up a fine list of chapters or parts of chapters that will be suitable for family worship and special reading. It is not expected that this exercise will occupy more than ten minutes, and usually should not occupy more than five. An example of such reading exercise is given in Lesson XIV, Part II.

The object of publishing a special text with each lesson, is to bring before the members of the class passages of striking beauty, doctrinal value, or of spiritual power; both that our Seventies may in this way gradually build up a collection of striking texts, and also that they themselves may form the habit while reading, of noting such passages and making them their own. They will find the noting of such passages a very fruitful and successful means of enriching their own language and enlarging their powers of expression.

LECTURES.

Occasionally special lectures and papers are outlined in the lesson. Teachers should make assignments of these exercises two or three weeks before the time for them to be rendered, that there may be ample time for thorough preparation, with the view of making the lectures and papers an intellectual treat to the quorums.

SUBJECTS OF PRESENT DAY INTEREST.

In the latter half of the course for the present year, subjects of present day interest are introduced to give variety to, and increase the interest in the lessons. It is suggested that these subjects be treated by having extemporaneous speaking upon the various topics in them. That is to say, let the subject be announced a week in advance for general consideration by all the members of the quorum. Then when assembled, the teacher conducting the exercise should call upon the members without previous notice or warning to speak on some subdivision or special topic associated with the subject matter of the lesson. The notes in these lessons comprise suggestions as to the construction of speeches or lectures, and these should be considered and enlarged upon, as the notes are only hints in the direction of helpfulness to the young and inexperienced members of the class. The purpose of introducing these subjects of present day interest is that the members of the quorums may be trained a little in applying the revealed principles of the Gospel to our present day problems, which to know how to do, and to do it well, is a matter of first rate importance.

Neither in these extemporaneous exercises nor in any other of the lessons should excuses or hesitancy be tolerated. No member should be allowed to refuse to make the effort to speak. Strict class discipline should be maintained all along the line. We are dealing with men, not children; and, moreover, with men who of their own volition and desire have accepted the office of Seventy, and are under the deepest moral obligation to bend every energy to qualify themselves for the high duties pertaining to their office, and therefore should be thoroughly in earnest in these class exercises, and in home study and preparation. No foolish pride that shrinks from revealing one's ignorance or lack of training or ability should stand in the way of taking an active part in class work. He who would make progress in knowledge and the training of mind faculties and polite and graceful deportment, must know that a humble attitude of mind that submits to correction and suggestion, are conditions precedent to that progress. We assemble in quorum capacity for this training. Our quorums are to become our workshops for the education of men, and each should manifest the willingness to try, and no matter how complete the failure or how often it is repeated there should be promptness and thoroughness and earnestness of effort and willingness to try again whenever a member is called upon to take part in class work.

CLASS CRITICS.

Class critics may be appointed to criticize in kindness and in fairness, but frankly and honestly, the class exercises; not necessarily confining their criticism to defects alone. Excellence may be noted and moderately praised, but benefits will naturally arise chiefly from having defects in matter and manner pointed out to the member rendering an exercise, such as awkwardness in bearing, unsuitableness of phraseology, wrong use of words, errors in grammar, mispronunciation of words, misconceptions in ideas, defects in logical treatment, inappropriateness of illustration—let all such things be subjects for fair but frank criticism, and submitted to willingly and in good part, for purposes of improvement, and beyond a doubt such criticism would be very helpful.

If the suggestion of the appointment of the critic be acted upon, a different one should be appointed, say every month, or not less seldom than every two months.

OPENING EXERCISES.

It will be observed that no suggestions are made in the lessons in relation to opening exercises. It was thought unnecessary to make any since that can be easily managed as each quorum deems proper. We do suggest, however, that singing be made part of such exercise; both on account of its being a very beautiful and appropriate exercise for such meetings as we propose our quorum class meetings to become, and also for the reason that singing is a training that our Elders very much need to equip them for their mission work. All, therefore, should be induced to participate in this exercise to the extent of their abilities. Occasionally ten or fifteen minutes could be devoted to practice in singing—right good earnest work, until each quorum builds up a repertoire of suitable hymns and spiritual songs. It is quite possible, too, for nearly every quorum to have a fine quartette or male chorus, and occasionally these could render special pieces to enliven the meetings and make glad the hearts of the brethren, but not to the displacement of congregational or quorum singing.

And in the selection of hymns and songs, and choruses, appropriateness should be carefully considered. Let the strong, stalwart hymns of the present dispensation be practiced in the quorums, and not the namby, pamby, childish hymns that sometimes find their way into the repertoire of songs sung by our Elders in the mission field. Let us have such hymns as,

"The morning breaks, the shadows flee;
Lo! Zion's standard is unfurled!
The dawning of a brighter day
Majestic rises on the world."

A trumpet blast within itself. Such hymns as,

"An angel from on high,
The long, long silence broke," etc.

Also,

"Israel, Israel, God is calling,
Calling thee from lands of woe," etc.

Also,

"If you could hie to Kolob.
In the twinkling of an eye," etc.

Also,

"O say, what is Truth? 'Tis the fairest gem," etc.

Also,

"Israel, awake from your long silent slumber!
Shake off the fetters that bound thee so long," etc.

These few indicate a class of our hymns that are peculiarly ours—peculiarly Mormon hymns that are vibrant with the spirit of the latter-day work because it produced them—inspired them, and they are more appropriate, at least for Seventies, for missionaries, than the half sectarian songs many of our youth are learning to cultivate a taste for. Let us learn to sing Mormonism as well as to preach it. Every Elder who can sing at all should carefully select a set of hymns that have the missionary spirit in them and learn to sing them.

PRAYER.

A word on prayer. If singing be considered important, both in the opening and closing exercises of our meetings, and as an accomplishment of our Seventies, praying must be regarded as of far more importance. As gold to brass; as diamonds to pebbles; so is prayer to singing, even, so much more important is it. Yet how little attention is given to prayer! I mean to the cultivation of the gift of it; to nourishing the spirit of it. After an elapse of two thousand years we still have need of going to the Master and saying, "Lord teach us how to pray." To attempt any extended suggestions on the subject here, however, would be beyond the scope of this introduction; all that can be done is to call attention to the need of good taste being observed when addressing the All Father; appropriateness of our petitions to the occasion, respectfulness and reverence in the manner of our address; avoiding a frequent repetition of the divine name or titles; and, above all, right feeling towards the Good Father when speaking to him.

THE ORGAN OF THE SEVENTIES.

The Seventies are to be congratulated upon now having an organ through which the First Council can communicate with them from time to time without the inconvenience and expense of special circulars. That the Seventies have an organ may be matter of surprise to them, since this is the first announcement of the fact, and there has been but little agitation of the matter though it has been the proverbial "long felt want." It came about in the following manner: The First Council suggested to President Joseph F. Smith that the "Improvement Era," now the organ of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, could easily be extended in its scope so as to become also the organ of the Seventies. Its general literature is already, in the main, of the class our Seventies would do well to read. The Era has been the vehicle through which very many important doctrinal articles have been published; and having become the organ of the Seventies, as well as of the Young Men's association, is a guarantee that it will continue that line of work, and perhaps more abundantly in the future than in the past. There will be a Seventies' department opened in the magazine, of several pages, in which will be published each month suggestions and directions relative to Seventies' class work, quorum discipline and general management. Of the advantages of such an arrangement little need be urged since they must be obvious to all. Hereafter, then, the Improvement Era will be known as the "ORGAN OF THE SEVENTIES AND THE YOUNG MEN'S MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS."

The First Council bespeak for our organ the hearty support of all the Seventies. Its success has depended heretofore on the love and loyalty of the Young Men's Association; hereafter that will be supplemented by the love and loyalty of the Seventies' quorums. The attention of the members of the quorums should at once be called to this new adjunct in our work and they be invited to become subscribers to our magazine. We suggest that one or two members in each quorum be appointed to solicit subscriptions within the quorum, that each member be given the direct opportunity to become a subscriber. The Era, it will be understood, has no other agents except those appointed by the Young Men's Association in the respective wards and branches of the Church, and now, of course, those who will be appointed by our quorums. The service is to be given without remuneration—soliciting subscriptions within our quorums is to be a work of love and interest. The price is two dollars per year, paid in advance, and subscriptions should be sent by the quorum agent to the manager of the Era, Elder Alpha J. Higgs, Era office, 214 Templeton Building, Salt Lake City. Promptness and efficiency in dealing with this matter is expected.

It is a fortunate circumstance that this inauguration of better working conditions for the quorums of Seventies, and the beginning of the volume of the Era—volume XI—should start off together, viz., in the month of November. But is it not a co-ordination of circumstances brought about by the operation of the Spirit of the Lord upon the minds of the brethren rather than a matter of good fortune? So many things have conjoined for this new movement among the Seventies to augur success that those of us who have been watching its development cannot doubt but that

"God Wills It!"

CONCLUSION.

And now, brethren of the Seventies, in conclusion: Be earnest in this work. Be thorough, patient, self-denying. A great opportunity has come to us—let us make the most of it, and be grateful that it has come. Let no difficulties appall us. We can overcome them. Let us say of difficulties, what Napoleon said of the Alps, when the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of crossing them with an army was suggested, he answered:

"There Shall Be No Alps!"

REMEMBER! To become a Seventy means mental activity, intellectual development, and the attainment of spiritual power.

A SUGGESTED LIST OF BOOKS OF REFERENCE.

The following named books of reference will be especially useful in the present year's course of study. It is not expected, of course, that all our Seventies will be able to secure the entire collection suggested, but it would be well for our members to purchase so many of them as they can afford to buy as the beginning of a small personal library. The books recommended will not only be useful for the present year's lessons, but are standard books that will be useful in all the courses of study yet to be prescribed. Inasmuch as individuals may not be able to purchase these books, we suggest that it would be well for each quorum to take under consideration the propriety of the quorum as a body obtaining this complete list as the foundation of a quorum reference library, that might be available to all for preparation.

1. "The Seventy's Indispensible Library:" This consists of the Cambridge Bible, the Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, (bound in one volume) and the Richards-Little Compendium; price, post-paid, $9.00.

Webster's New Standard Dictionary of the English Language, adapted for High School, Academic and Collegiate Courses; price, $1.50.

The Works of Flavius-Josephus, in one volume, by William Whiston, A. M., David McKay, Publisher, 23 South Ninth Street, Philadelphia, $1.50.

Dictionary of the Bible (Dr. William Smith's). The most desirable edition of this work is the four volume edition of Prof. H. B. Hackett, D. D., published by Houghton-Mifflin & Co., Boston. It is a very valuable work and contains, "by universal consent, the fruit of the ripest biblical scholarship of England, and constitutes a library of itself, superceding the use of many books otherwise necessary." The price in leather binding, $25.00. The Seventies individually may not be able to purchase this edition, but where quorums unite for the purchase of books this is the edition that should be secured.

There is, however, a one volume edition of this work, known as

Smith's Smaller Dictionary of the Bible, published by Fleming H. Revell Co., New York and Chicago, $1.25, post-paid.

Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature, edited by John Kitto, two volumes, S. W. Green's Son, Publishers, 74, 76 Beekmen St., New York. If Smith's Dictionary is not secured then the work next in value is the one here named.

"A Commentary Critical and Explanatory of the Old and New Testament," Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, S. S. Scranton & Co., Hartford, Publishers. This is a very excellent work, and frequently quoted in the references and also in the notes of the present year's course of study. As remarked in one of the notes, the Elders who make up our ministry may not accept the doctrinal interpretation of this or any other commentary, yet its historical and critical treatises are among the most recent and valuable.

The Old Testament History, by William Smith, Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York; price, $2.00. This work is designed by the compiler and editor as a manual in relation to Hebrew history and on a par with the histories of Greece and Rome, generally used in our best schools. As a digest of Biblical History, it is a most valuable work.

Dr. Smith's New Testament History, with introduction, connecting the history of the Old Testament with the New, Harper Brothers, New York. This work stands in the same relationship to the New Testament History that the previously mentioned work does to the Old.

"Illustrated Bible Treasury," edited by William Wright, D. D. To those who may have neither Cambridge or Oxford or Nelson Bible Helps, we recommend this as a very valuable collection of material, including a Concordance, a Dictionary and Maps, and upwards of 350 illustrations, on Bible subjects; price, post-paid, seventy-five cents.

As helps in the study of the Book of Mormon we recommend:

Reynolds' Dictionary of the Book of Mormon.

Y. M. M. I. A. Manuals, Nos. 7, 8 and 9, containing Elder Roberts' treatise on the Book of Mormon, including a consideration of External and Internal Evidences, price twenty-five cents per number.

Defense of the Faith and the Saints (just out from the press), price $1.50.

Y. M. M. I. A. Manual, No. 10; subject, Modern Revelation, especially valuable in the study of the Doctrine and Covenants; price twenty-five cents. Manuals can be obtained from the Era office, Templeton Building, Salt Lake City.

The Book of Abraham. Its Authenticity as a Divine and Ancient Record, (Elder George Reynolds).

The Improvement Era, organ of the Seventies and Y. M. M. I. Associations, for current literature, comment and special articles on subjects of first year's Seventies' work, price $2.00 per year, in advance.

The Seventy's Course in Theology.

FIRST YEAR.

PART I.

Outline History of the Seventy.

LESSON I.

THE SEVENTY IN THREE DISPENSATIONS.

SPECIAL TEXT: "God could not organize His kingdom with twelve men to open the gospel door to the nations of the earth, and with seventy men under their direction to follow in their tracks, unless he took them from a body of men who had offered their lives, and who had made as great a sacrifice as did Abraham. Now the Lord has got his Twelve and his Seventy, and there will be other quorums of Seventies called, who will make the sacrifice, and those who have not made their sacrifices and their offerings now, will make them hereafter."—JOSEPH SMITH.

NOTES.

1. The Seventy of the Mosaic Dispensation: It is difficult to determine just what the relationship of the Seventy Elders of Exodus xxiv and 1, and Numb. xi: 16, 25, occupied in the Mosaic polity. Commenting on the passage in Exodus, a somewhat celebrated authority (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown's Commentary) says:

"An order of Seventy was to be created, either by a selection from the existing staff of Elders, or by the appointment of new ones, empowered to assist him [Moses] by their collective wisdom and experience in the onerous cares of government. The Jewish writers say that this was the origin of the Sanhedrim, or supreme appellate court of their nation. But there is every reason to believe that it was only a temporary expedient, adopted to meet a trying exigency."

Catholic commentators, however, positively assert that this appointment of the Seventy Elders "was the first institution of the Council or Senate, called the Sanhedrim, consisting of seventy or seventy-two Senators, or Counselors." (Douay Bible, foot-note, Numb. xi: 16-25.)

But Dr. William Smith, in his Old Testament History, says:

"The appointment of the Seventy Elders has often been regarded as the germ of the Sanhedrim. They seem rather to have been a Senate, whose office was confined to assisting Moses in the government, and ceased with the cessation of his leadership. No trace of the Sanhedrim is found till the return from the Babylonish captivity. It is more certain that the manner of their consecration prefigured the order of the Prophets." (Old Testament History, p. 185.)

From all this it will be seen that much confusion exists among the learned with reference to the exact nature of the office of the Seventy. From the revelations of the Lord, however, to the Prophet Joseph Smith, we learn that the Priesthood existed in Israel in the days of Moses, but that "he took Moses out of their midst and the Holy Priesthood also," but that "the lesser Priesthood continued, which Priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel" only. With this as a key, that is, with the knowledge that the "Holy Priesthood," meaning by that the higher, or Melchisedek Priesthood, existed in Israel in the days of Moses, it is fairly safe to conclude that the Seventy Elders of the two passages in question were really a quorum of the Seventy as we know it, and that perhaps the princes at the head of the twelve tribes of Israel may have occupied a position somewhat analogous to, if not identical with, that of the Twelve Apostles in the later Church, though it must be admitted that the latter suggestion, especially is merely conjecture. The conclusion with reference to the Seventy, however, takes on increased probability when the spiritual powers exercised by the Seventy described in Numb. xi: 24, 29, is taken into account; powers that are so nearly akin to those of the Seventy in the Meridian and later dispensations of the gospel.

2. The Seventy of the New Testament: The opinions of ecclesiastical writers with reference to the Seventy mentioned in Luke x, seem to be as hopelessly inconclusive as those held with reference to the Seventy in the Mosaic polity.. Some, for instance, hold that "no power or authority was formally conferred upon the Seventy, their mission being only temporary, and indeed for one divine purpose; its primary object was to prepare for the coming of the Master in the places to which they were sent; and their selection was from a wider circle of disciples, the number being now seventy instead of twelve." So says Edersheim (Jesus the Messiah, Vol. II, p. 136), from which it appears that he does not regard the Seventy as permanent officers in the Church, because, as he assumes, their mission was temporary.

Whereas, on the other hand, Dr. Smith holds that "their office did not cease with the fulfillment of their immediate and temporary mission, but was to continue." (Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. IV, Article, Seventy Disciples.)

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown's Commentary, on the passage, says:

"The mission [i. e., of the Seventy], unlike that of the Twelve, was evidently quite temporary. All the instructions are in keeping with a brief and hasty pioneering mission, intended to supply what of general preparation for coming events, the Lord's own visit afterwards to the same "cities and places" would not from want of time, now suffice to accomplish; whereas the instructions to the Twelve, besides embracing all those of the Seventy, contemplate world-wide and permanent effects. Accordingly, after their return from this single missionary tour, we never again read of the Seventy."

"We never again read of the Seventy" should be limited, however, to the books of the New Testament, for in the ecclesiastical writers which succeed the New Testament authors, mention is made of individual members of this body of Seventy, and of their labors. For instance, Eusebius has the following passage with reference to them.

"The names of our Savior's Apostles are sufficiently obvious to every one, from his gospels; but of the seventy disciples, no catalogue is given anywhere. Barnabas, indeed, is said to have been one of them, of whom there is distinguished notice in the Acts of the Apostles; and also in St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians. Sosthenes, who sent letters with Paul to the Corinthians, is said to have been one of these. Clement, in the fifth of his Hypotyposes or Institutions, in which he also mentions Cephas, of whom Paul also says, that he came to Antioch, and "that he withstood him to his face;"^[3]—says, that one who had the same name with Peter the Apostle, was one of the Seventy; and that Matthias, who was numbered with the Apostles in place of Judas, and he who had been honored to be a candidate with him, are also said to have been deemed worthy of the same calling with the Seventy. They also say that Thaddeus was one of them; concerning whom I shall presently relate a narrative that has come down to us. Moreover, if any one observe with attention, he will find more disciples of our Savior than the Seventy, on the testimony of Paul, who says, that "he appeared after his resurrection, first to Cephas, then to the Twelve, and after these to five hundred brethren at once." Of whom, he says, "some are fallen asleep," but the greater part were living at the time he wrote." (Eccl. Hist. Eusebius, Chap. xii.)

In the chapter following the one from which the foregoing quotation is taken, Eusebius refers to Thaddeus in the most positive manner as being one of the Seventy, and that he was sent by Thomas, the Apostle, to visit King Agbarus. (See Eusebius' Eccl. History, Chap. xiii.)

3. Of Their Being More Than One Quorum of Seventy in the Meridian Dispensation: In all comments upon the Seventy mentioned in St. Luke, chapter x, one thing seems to have been strangely overlooked; namely, that Jesus had appointed other quorums of Seventy before those mentioned by the third Evangelist. Such is the plain implication of the first verse in said chapter, to-wit:

"After these things the Lord appointed other Seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face," etc. Undoubtedly, it is in their collective capacity that they are referred to here, since the term "Seventy" is used in the singular; and before the appointment of this Seventy mentioned in Luke, Jesus had appointed "other Seventy," or quorums of Seventy, how many may not be determined. In I Cor.: xv, where Paul described the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection, it is said "that he was seen of Cephas (Peter), then of the Twelve, after that he was seen of about five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep." Now, taking the close relationship between the Twelve and the Seventy, the similarity of their mission and commission, (compare Luke x with Matthew x), and the fact that in the above quoted passage from Paul the appearances of Jesus is spoken of as being associated with Peter, then with the Twelve, and then of five hundred brethren at once, may it not be that those 500 brethren were those who held similar authority with the Twelve Apostles, namely, the Seventy, which would make, allowing for slight discrepancy and perhaps the attendance of the Twelve Apostles, among the five hundred, seven quorums of Seventy. (See Doc. & Cov. Sec. cvii: 95.) This is admittedly conjecture, and yet conjecture upon which strong probability attends.

4. The Prophet's Vision of the Order in Church Government: It is evident from the account given in the history of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that the organization of the Twelve and the Seventy grew out of a vision he had concerning the order of Church organization, since both in his history and also in the revelation contained in the Doc. & Cov. Sec. 107, he repeatedly makes mention of that vision. In the minutes of the meeting at which the organization of the Twelve began, it is written that "President Smith then stated that the meeting had been called because God had commanded it; and it was made known to him by vision and by the Holy Spirit." (History of the Church, Vol. II, p. 182, also note.)

In the revelation above referred to, describing the order of the Seventy, the Prophet says: "It is according to the vision, showing the order of the Seventy, that there shall be seven presidents to preside over them, chosen out of the number of the Seventy."

5. The First Quorums of Seventy Chosen from Zion's Camp: The first and second quorum of Seventy was made up, in the main, from that band of men who constituted Zion's camp, the camp, it will be remembered, that went up to the deliverance of the Saints who had been expelled from Jackson county in 1833. In the meeting referred to in the foregoing note, at which the Twelve were organized, it is stated that the Prophet related some of the circumstances attendant upon the journey of Zion's camp; its trials, sufferings, etc., and said, "God had not designed all this for nothing, but he had it in remembrance yet; and it was the will of God that those who went to Zion (i. e., Missouri) with the determination to lay down their lives if necessary, should be ordained to the ministry and go forth to prune the vineyard for the last time." (History of the Church, Vol. ii, p. 182.) In an address to certain Elders assembled in Kirtland soon after the Seventy were organized, the Prophet said:

"Brethren, some of you are angry with me, because you did not fight in Missouri; but let me tell you, God did not want you to fight. He could not organize his kingdom with twelve men to open the gospel door to the nations of the earth, and with seventy men under their direction to follow in their tracks, unless he took them from a body of men who had offered their lives, and who had made as great a sacrifice as did Abraham. Now the Lord has got his Twelve and his Seventy, and there will be other quorums of Seventies called, who will make the sacrifice, and those who have not made their sacrifices and their offerings now, will make them hereafter." (History of the Church, Vol.. II, p. 182 in note.)

From this, it appears, that the character of men who attain unto this high station in the Priesthood of God should be men who have made sacrifices for the work of God, or who are perfectly willing to make such sacrifices, even to laying down their lives for the cause.

Organization of the Seventy in Dispensation of the Fullness of Times: The organization of the Seventies in the dispensation of the fulness of times began on the 28th of February, 1835, when, according to the History of the Prophet Joseph, "The Church in council assembled, commenced selecting certain individuals to be Seventies from the number of those who went up to Zion with me in the camp (i. e., Zion's camp); and the following are the names of those who were ordained and blessed at that time (names omitted), to begin the organization of the first quorum of Seventies, according to the visions and revelations which I have received. The Seventies are to constitute traveling quorums, to go into all the earth, whithersoever the Twelve Apostles shall call them." (History of the Church, Vol. II, p. 201-302. See also notes on the text of those two pages.)

7. President Joseph Young's Account of the Organization of the First Quorums of Seventy: The account of the organization of the Seventy given by the late Joseph Young, brother of President Brigham Young, who became the First President of the Seventy in this dispensation, is too important to be omitted, and therefore is given here in extenso:

"On the 8th of February, in the year of our Lord 1835, the Prophet Joseph Smith called Elders Brigham and Joseph Young to the chamber of his residence, in Kirtland, Ohio; it being on the Sabbath day. After they were seated, and he had made some preliminaries, he proceeded to relate a vision to these brethren, of the state and condition of those men who died in Zion's Camp, in Missouri. He said, "Brethren, I have seen those men who died of the cholera in our camp; and the Lord knows, if I get a mansion as bright as theirs, I ask no more." At this relation he wept, and for some time could not speak. When he had relieved himself of his feelings, in describing the vision, he resumed the conversation, and addressed himself to Brother Brigham Young. Said he to him, "I wish you to notify all the brethren living in the branches, within a reasonable distance from this place, to meet at a General Conference on Saturday next. I shall then and there appoint twelve special witnesses, to open the door of the gospel to foreign nations, and you," said he (speaking to Brother Brigham), "will be one of them."

He then proceeded to enlarge upon the duties of their calling. The interest that was taken on the occasion of this announcement, produced in the minds of the two Elders present a great sensation, and many reflections; having previously notified Brother Brigham Young that he would be one of the witnesses, but said nothing to Joseph until he had exhausted much of his feelings in regard to the Twelve, which took up some little time.

"He then turned to Elder Joseph Young with quite an earnestness, as though the vision of his mind was extended still further, and addressing him, said: "Brother Joseph, the Lord has made you President of the Seventies."

"They had heard of Moses and seventy Elders of Israel, and of Jesus appointing other Seventies, but had never heard of Twelve Apostles and of Seventies being called in this Church before. It was a strange saying, "The Lord has made you president of the Seventies," as though it had already taken place, and it caused these brethren to marvel.

"The Prophet did not say that any others would be called to be the bearers of this message abroad, but the inference might be clearly drawn, that this was his meaning, from the language he used at the time.

"Agreeable to his request to Elder Brigham Young, the branches were all notified, and a meeting of the brethren in General Conference was held in Kirtland, in the new school house, under the printing office, on the following Saturday, February 14th, when the Twelve were appointed and ordained, and the Conference adjourned for two weeks.

"Pursuant to this adjournment, the Conference convened on Saturday, the 28th of that month, when the first quorum of Seventies were appointed and ordained, under the hands of the Prophet, his Counselors, and others.

"Adjourned meetings were held from time to time, and the second quorum of Seventies were appointed and ordained."

8. The First Report of the Seventy: The first report that the Seventies made of their labors seems to have given very great satisfaction to the Prophet. Under date of December 28, 1835, (less than a year after their organization) the Prophet says:

"This day the Council of the Seventy met to render an account of their travels and ministry, since they were ordained to that Apostleship. The meeting was interesting, indeed, and my heart was made glad while listening to the relation of those that had been laboring in the vineyard of the Lord, with such marvelous success. And I pray God to bless them with an increase of faith and power, and keep them all, with the endurance of faith in the name of Jesus Christ to the end." (History of the Church, Vol. II, p. 346.)

9. The Anointing of the Seventy: The Seventies were privileged to receive their washings and anointings in the Kirtland Temple preparatory to its public dedication. The Presidency of the Seventy received their anointing and blessing under the hands of the Twelve Apostles on the 22nd of January, 1836; and had sealed "upon their heads power and authority to anoint their brethren"—the members of their quorums. (History of the Church, Vol. II, p. 383.) Under date of the 30th of January, 1836, members of the quorums were anointed and blessed, of which circumstance the Prophet says:

"In the evening, went to the upper room of the Lord's house, and set the different quorums in order. Instructed the presidents of the Seventy concerning the order of their anointing, and requested them to proceed and anoint the Seventy." (History of the Church, Vol. II, p. 388.)

10. The Seventy Sustained as Apostles: During the dedicatory services in the Kirtland Temple, March 27, 1836, when the various officers of the Church were sustained, the Seventies were sustained as "Apostles and special witnesses to the nations to assist the Twelve," etc. I quote the passage in full.

"I then called upon the quorums and congregation of Saints to acknowledge the Twelve Apostles, who were present, as Prophets, Seers, Revelators, and special witnesses to all the nations of the earth, holding the keys of the kingdom, to unlock it, or cause it to be done, among them, and uphold them by their prayers, which they assented to by rising. I next called upon the quorums and congregation of Saints to acknowledge the presidents of Seventies who act as their representatives, as Apostles and special witnesses to the nations, to assist the Twelve in opening the gospel kingdom among all people, and to uphold them by their prayers, which they did by rising." (History of the Church, Vol. II, p. 417-18.)

11. The First Council of Seventy Lead Kirtland Camp to Missouri: Perhaps the greatest work achieved by the First Council of the Seventies in their organized capacity, was the organization of the Kirtland Camp, and leading it from Kirtland, Ohio, to Adam-ondi-Ahman, Missouri, a distance of 860 miles. The camp numbered 105 families, 529 souls in all. They left the vicinity of Kirtland on the 6th day of July, 1838, and arriving at Adam-ondi-Ahman on the 4th of October, of the same year. A full history of the organization of this camp and its journey is to be found in the History of the Church, Vol. III, p.. 87 to 148.

12. Increase of Quorums at Nauvoo: At the October Conference, 1844, the number of the Seventy was greatly increased. On the third day of the conference, "Elder George A. Smith moved that all in the Elders' quorum under the age of thirty-five should be ordained into the Seventies', if they are in good standing, and worthy, and will accept it. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously." Enough members were added to make in all eleven quorums, and forty more were ordained to be part of the twelfth quorum. (See minutes of Conference, "Times and Seasons," Vol. V, p. 695-696.) By the first of January, 1845, the number of quorums had increased to fourteen, and a Seventies' library was started, which caused the editor of the "Times and Seasons" to exclaim:

"Ten years ago but one Seventy, and now fourteen [quorums of] Seventies, and the foundation for the best library in the world. It looks like old times when they had 'Kirjath Sapher,' the City of Books." (Times and Seasons, Vol. V, p. 762-3.)

Meantime the Seventies had built a large brick hall in Nauvoo, known as the "Seventies' Hall," and on the 26th of December, 1844, this building was dedicated with imposing ceremonies extending through an entire week. Most of the members of the Council of the Apostles participated in the dedicatory services. It may be of interest for the Seventies to know that the heroic hymn, "The Seer, the Seer, Joseph the Seer," by the late President John Taylor, was written for these services though dedicated by the author to President Brigham Young. (Times and Seasons, Vol. V, p. 767.) The arrangement was made for two quorums to be in attendance at the dedication each day with their wives and children and a number of invited guests. By this time there were fifteen quorums in existence. By the 19th of January, 1846, the number of quorums had increased to thirty. (Times and Seasons, Vol. VI, p. 1096.) Whether or not any more quorums than these were organized in Nauvoo we do not know.

13. Status of the Quorums Since Nauvoo Times: For some time after the settlement of the Church in Utah some confusion existed in relation to the quorums of Seventy, and the members of the respective quorums were so badly scattered that they convened in what were known as "mass quorums," consisting of all the Seventies living in a stake or ward, without regard to the particular quorum to which they belonged. In the year 1883, however, a movement was set on foot to put the quorums in order, and the Presidency of the Church issued the following instructions on the subject of

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SEVENTY.

SALT LAKE CITY, U. T., April 13, 1883.

In the organization of these quorums in October, 1844, there were ten quorums, each provided with seven presidents, which presidents constituted the First Quorum of Seventies, and of which the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies were members, and over which they presided. But as the Seventies have greatly increased, these regulations will not apply to the present circumstances; and furthermore, the First Quorum, according to the present organization, has not acted in a quorum capacity, but it would seem there are duties devolving upon its members, as a quorum, that may require their official action.

The First Quorum of Seventies may be composed of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies, and the senior president of the first sixty-four quorums. These may form the Seventy referred to in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, and may act in an official capacity as the First Quorum of Seventies.

The senior presidents of the other quorums, over and above the sixty-four, may meet with the First Quorum in their assemblies in any other than an official capacity; but in case of the absence of any of the members of the First Quorum, they can act, in the place of such members with the First Quorum during such absence, in any cases of importance that may arise.

The headquarters of the different quorums, and the records thereof, may be distributed throughout the various Wards and Stakes, under the direction of the First Seven Presidents, as the number of the Priesthood residing in such localities may seem to justify and any vacancies that exist, either in the presidency or membership of the different quorums may be filled by the ordination of persons residing in the locality in which the respective quorums are organized.

Any of the members or presidents of other quorums who are in good standing may have the privilege of joining the quorum located in the district in which they reside; but in such cases they should first obtain a certificate as to their standing in the quorum from which they desire to withdraw; to obtain which it would only be necessary to procure a certificate of their good standing from the Bishop of the Ward to which they belong, provided their names are found upon the record of their quorum as in good standing.

The presidents of the quorums residing in the district where their respective quorums are organized shall have a general supervision of all the Seventies residing in their district.

In all cases where members of quorums are called in question, a majority of their respective quorums will have jurisdiction in all cases involving their standing in the quorum, but in case there is not a majority residing in the district where the quorum is organized, or in the case of scattered members, the members present should investigate the matter and report their findings to the First Seven Presidents. Any complaints regarding the presidents of quorums should be made to the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies, who may suspend such presidents, if their conduct seem to justify it, pending the action of the First Quorum. Any presidents or members from whom fellowship has been withdrawn by the quorums, should be reported to the High Council having jurisdiction.

The Seventies, when abroad, if anything should occur requiring their supervision, in the absence of other authorities, may act upon the case of any delinquent belonging to the Seventies, and should report their decisions to the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies.

Your Brethren in the gospel,
JOHN TAYLOR,
GEORGE Q. CANNON,
JOSEPH F. SMITH,
First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A revelation given through President John Taylor, at Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, on Saturday, April 14th, 1883, in answer to the question: "Show unto us thy will, O Lord, concerning the organization of the Seventies."

What ye have written is my will, and is acceptable unto me: and furthermore,

Thus saith the Lord unto the First Presidency, unto the Twelve, unto the Seventies and unto all my holy Priesthood, let not your hearts be troubled, neither be ye concerned about the management and organization of my Church and Priesthood and the accomplishment of my work. Fear me and observe my laws and I will reveal unto you, from time to time, through the channels that I have appointed, everything that shall be necessary for the future development and perfection of my Church, for the adjustment and rolling forth of my kingdom, and for the building up and the establishment of my Zion. For ye are my Priesthood and I am your God. Even so. Amen.

Under the instructions given in the foregoing communication and revelation, the First Council of the Seventy have proceeded with the work of increasing the quorums and managing their affairs. The quorums now number 151, giving to the foreign ministry of the Church a body of men numbering about ten thousand.

Footnotes

[1]. Hackett edition, in four volumes, now and always quoted.

[2]. I take occasion here to remark that by making reference to works such as Edersheim's Life of Jesus, Bible Dictionaries Ecclesiastical Histories, etc., it must not be understood that in making such references I approve the works, or even accept the correctness of the passages indicated. Such references are made that the student may consult the literature on a given point. He must make his own deductions as to the correctness of the statements and arguments of such authors. As for instance, in this very passage cited from Edersheim's really great work, I think him, in the main, wrong in his treatment of this subject of the Seventy, but our Seventies should know what so high an authority, as Edersheim is generally accepted to be, has said upon the subject.

[3]. It will be observed from this statement that the "Cephas," or "Peter" whom Paul "withstood to his face" at Antioch, was not the chief Apostle Peter, but another "Cephas" or "Peter," one of the Seventy. I fear, however, that the testimony in Galatians ii, as to its being Peter, the chief Apostle, with whom Paul had his unfortunate controversy, is too strong to be overturned by this inference in Eusebius.

LESSON II.

THE ORGANIZATION AND DUTIES OF THE SEVENTY.

SPECIAL TEXT: "Wherefore now, let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence." Doc. and Cov., Sec. 107.

NOTES.

1. Priesthood. Priesthood is authority which God gives to man, by which man is made an agent of God, authorized to speak, act, and administer in the divine name, and have his words and administrations of binding effect as if done by the Lord himself; provided, of course, said administrations are in accordance with the divine directions or instructions, within the limits of the authority confirmed upon the agent, performed in righteousness and relate to the matters for which the divine authority was given to man.

Necessarily this delegated authority is one in kind;^[5] it is simply authority given of God to man by which man is authorized to act in God's stead in relation to certain things; but its powers are grouped in various ways for the purpose of facilitating the administration of its government. First, its powers are grouped with reference to temporal and spiritual affairs; the division of the Priesthood which has charge more especially of spiritual affairs is called the Melchisedek Priesthood; that which has charge more especially of temporal affairs, the Aaronic Priesthood. The officers of the Melchisedek Priesthood are, Apostles, Prophets, Patriarchs, High Priests, Seventies, Elders; of the Aaronic Priesthood: Bishops (who are High Priests, ordained to be Bishops and constitute the Presidency of the Aaronic Priesthood), Priests, Teachers, Deacons.

While this division of the Priesthood, or this grouping of its officers with reference to spiritual and temporal labors, assigns one to spiritual and the other to temporal concerns, it must not be thought that there is anything rigid in said division of labor; that the Aaronic Priesthood is excluded from participation in spiritual labors; or that the Melchisedek Priesthood is excluded from dealing with temporal affairs. The line of demarkation,^[6] as a matter of fact, is crossed by each division; some of the duties of the Aaronic Priesthood are spiritual, and some of the duties of the Melchisedek, temporal. This division then rests upon the fact that the duties assigned the Aaronic priesthood are chiefly temporal, and the duties of the Melchisedek chiefly spiritual.

Another division of the Priesthood may be said to exist within the Melchisedek Priesthood, which is also a division with reference to its labors, viz., the foreign ministry and the home ministry, of which more is to be said later.

2. The Church. The Church may be said to arise from the Priesthood. Comprehensively defined it may be said to be an organization of people—including all officers and members—who believe in and endeavor to incorporate in their lives God's Truth; who have obeyed the ordinances or sacraments appointed of God for salvation and admission into his Church; whose officers are of divine appointment and commission, (that is, possessed of divine authority, the Priesthood) guided by an ever present inspiration from God, and walking within reach of an ever present and continuous source of immediate revelation.

The Church is the depository of God's revealed truth. Man may be able by searching to find out many truths. What he has learned by study, by investigation, aided by the inspiration of the Lord—for "there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding"—amounts to very much; but there are some things which even by searching man may not learn. "Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?"^[7] The inference in the scripture is, and the fact is, that the answer must be, no. God can not be perfectly known, only as he reveals himself to man; man can know his relationship to God only as God is pleased to reveal it; man can only know the terms and means of his salvation as the Lord reveals it; and these revelations, when he has one in the earth, God gives to his Church; these truths which man by searching, by his own wisdom, may not find out in their perfection—God deposits with his Church—hence the Church is the depository of God's revealed truth—she receives and is the custodian of the Gospel.

And not only is the Church the depository of revealed truth; but she is also the depository of the divine authority; she, in organized capacity, holds as content the Holy Priesthood; and she has commission and agency to dispense the truth and administer through her instrumentalities all the ordinances of the gospel.

3. The Mission of the Church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was brought into existence for the accomplishment of two great things: first, the proclamation of the truth concerning man's salvation to all the world: and second, the perfecting of those who accept that truth. The Church is organized with reference to the accomplishment of these two purposes, and has, for the accomplishment of those purposes, a foreign ministry and a home ministry. In defining the duties of a Seventy it is with the foreign ministry that we have to deal.

4. The Foreign Ministry. The business of the foreign ministry is to make proclamation of the gospel in all the world, and gather, as soon as wisdom dictates, those who accept it into the organized stakes of Zion. This foreign ministry, strictly speaking, is composed of the Twelve Apostles and the quorums of the Seventy.

5. The Twelve: "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. * * * * The Twelve are a traveling presiding High Council, to officiate in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Presidency of the Church, agreeable to the institution of heaven; to build up the Church, and regulate all the affairs of the same in all nations; first unto the Gentiles, and secondly unto the Jews. * * * * The Twelve being sent out, holding the keys to open the door by the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ—and first unto the Gentiles and then unto the Jews." (Doc & Cov., Sec. cvii.) This is the special calling of the Twelve Apostles, and the calling of the Seventy is like unto it.

6. The Seventy: "The Seventy are also called to preach the gospel, and to be especial witnesses unto the Gentiles and in all the world. Thus differing from other officers in the Church in the duties of their calling. * * * * The Seventy are to act in the name of the Lord, under the direction of the Twelve or the traveling High Council, in building up the Church and regulating all the affairs of the same in all nations—first unto the Gentiles and then to the Jews. * * * * It is the duty of the traveling High Council to call upon the Seventy, when they need assistance, to fill the several calls for preaching and administering the gospel, instead of any others. * * * * And these Seventy (the reference is to the whole body of that Priesthood) are to be traveling ministers unto the Gentiles first, and also unto the Jews. * * * * Whereas other officers of the Church, who belong not unto the Twelve, neither to the Seventy, are not under the responsibility to travel among all nations, but are to travel as their circumstances shall allow, notwithstanding they may hold as high and responsible offices in the Church." (Doc. & Cov., Sec. cvii.)

When the Church was set in order at Nauvoo, in 1841, by direction of a revelation (Doc. & Cov.; Sec. cxxiv.) after naming the First Seven Presidents, who were to preside over the quorums of Seventies, the Lord said: "Which quorum is instituted for traveling Elders to bear record of my name in all the world, whenever the traveling High Council, my Apostles, shall send them to prepare a way before my face. The difference between this quorum and the quorum of Elders is, that one is to travel continually, and the other is to preside over the churches from time to time: the one has the responsibility of presiding from time to time, and the other has no responsibility of presiding, saith the Lord your God."

In these passages the special calling and duties of the Seventies are so clearly set forth that neither comment nor amplification is necessary, since these foregoing quotations are the word of the Lord, and evidence the fact that the Twelve, with the Seventy, constitute the foreign ministry of the Church. They are special witnesses of God and Christ to the truth of the gospel, and that is their special and peculiar calling in the Church. Not that the whole responsibility of preaching the gospel rests upon the Twelve and the Seventy alone. That responsibility rests upon the whole body of the Church. These quorums, the Twelve and Seventy, are merely the instrumentality through which the Church discharges its obligations to the people of the world in making known to them the truth.

7. President Joseph F. Smith on the Calling of the Seventy: We have also in the Church today, I am informed, 146 quorums of Seventy [the number in 1904]. These constitute a body of Elders of somewhere in the neighborhood of 10,000 men, whose special duty it is to respond to the call of the Apostles to preach the gospel, without purse or scrip, to all the nations of the earth. They are minute men. It is expected that they will be ready, whenever they are called, to go out in the world, or to go out to the various organizations of the Church to fulfill missions and to perform such duties as shall be required of them, in order that the work of the Lord and the work of the ministry may be upheld and sustained and carried on in the Church and throughout the world. These councils or quorums of Seventy are not always full, a full council being 70 Elders. But there are approximately 10,000 Elders who now hold that position in the Church. They are called to an apostolic calling. They are required to be special witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is expected of this body of men that they will have burning in their souls the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the spirit of prophecy; that they will be full of light and of the knowledge of the truth; that they will be enthusiastic in their calling, and in the cause of Zion, and that they will be ready at any moment, when required, to go out into the world, or anywhere throughout the Church and bear testimony of the truth, preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and set examples before the world of purity, love, honesty, uprightness and integrity to the truth. (The General Conference Reports, October 6th, 1904, p. 3.)

Footnotes

[1]. Richards and Little's, of "The Seventy's Indispensible Library," always meant.

[2]. Third edition always quoted.

[3]. "After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel."—Joseph Smith.

[4]. Third edition always quoted.

[5]. "There are two Priesthoods spoken of in the Scriptures, viz., the Melchisedek and the Aaronic or Levitical. Although there are two Priesthoods, yet the Melchisedec Priesthood comprehends the Aaronic or Levitical Priesthood, and is the grand head, and holds the highest authority which pertains to the Priesthood, and the keys of the Kingdom of God in all ages of the world to the latest posterity on the earth, and is the channel through which all knowledge, doctrine, the plan of salvation, and every important matter is revealed from heaven." (History of the Church, Vol. IV, pp. 207, et. seq.)

"Therefore, in viewing the Church as a whole, we may strictly denominate it one Priesthood." (History of the Church, Vol. II, p. 478.)

[6]. The distinction in the terms "temporal" and "spiritual" are used in connection with this subject that man may understand; that is, God adapts himself to man's terms, but with God there is no such distinction as temporal and spiritual, but all things are spiritual. (See Doc. & Cov., Sec. 29:31-35.)

[7]. Job xi: 7.

LESSON III.

THE ORGANIZATION AND DUTIES OF THE SEVENTY. (Continued.)

SPECIAL TEXT: Let it become a special conviction with all, that to become a Seventy means mental activity, intellectual development, and finally spiritual power.

"All are to preach the gospel by the power and influence of the Holy Ghost; and no man can preach the gospel without the Holy Ghost."—JOSEPH SMITH.

NOTES.

1. Of Labors Other than Special that Seventies May Perform: While preaching the gospel unto all nations is the special business of the Twelve and Seventy, it must not be thought that that is the only function which the Seventy may discharge. As on occasion the High Priests and Elders and members of the lesser Priesthood can be used to assist in the work of the foreign ministry (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 84:106-111), so also, when at home, and not engaged in the special work of their calling, the Seventy may be employed in the home ministry, and assist the standing ministry in the wards and stakes of Zion in perfecting the Saints and edifying the body of Christ until they shall all come unto a unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, "unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Paul, in his most excellent description of the Church organization, likens it unto the body of a man. Accepting his illustration it may be said that the foreign ministry may be regarded as the right arm of the Church, and the home ministry as the left arm. Now, because one is the right arm and one the left, shall either refuse to assist the other at need? Or shall this organization (the Church), which is said to be the "body of Christ," be as effectual in the performance of its functions as the natural body of man is, and in every case of need have the right hand come to the assistance of the left, and vise versa? Right reason will approve an affirmative answer.

2. Power of the Melchisedek Priesthood: The Melchisedek Priesthood holds the right of Presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the Church in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things. The Presidency of the High Priesthood, after the order of Melchisedek, have a right to officiate in all the offices in the Church. High Priests after the order of the Melchisedek Priesthood, have a right to officiate in their own standing, under the direction of the Presidency, in administering spiritual things; and also in the office of an Elder, Priest, (of the Levitical order), Teacher, Deacon, and member. (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 106:8-10.)

While the statements here made about the higher officers of the Church administering in the lower offices—a High Priest officiating in the office of Elder, Priest, Teacher or Deacon—are limited to High Priests, yet the principle holds good as to Seventies also. Besides note the statement, "The Melchisedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency and has power and authority over all the offices in the Church, in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things;" and as the Seventy holds this Melchisedek Priesthood, he may, under the direction of the presidency (See Ibid verse 10), administer in any of the offices of the Church; also this has always been the practice of the Church; and the practice of the Church, generally speaking, is the best interpretation of the scripture.

3. Organization of the Seventy. The quorums of Seventy are organized with special reference to their calling as the foreign ministry of the Church. It will be observed that their organization is different from that of every other quorum in the Church, for whereas in all other quorums of the higher Priesthood the presidency consists of one president and two counselors, in the quorum of the Seventy there are seven presidents of equal power and authority. That is to say, there is not one president and six counselors, but each of the seven is a president and in power and authority is equal with his fellow-presidents; but for the sake of order the right of presidency is recognized as being vested in the senior president by ordination. "And it is according to the vision, showing the order of the Seventy, that they should have seven presidents to preside over them, chosen out of the number of the Seventy. And the seventh president (counting from the one last ordained) of these presidents is to preside over the six." In the absence of the senior president the next senior in ordination becomes the acting president. By this simple arrangement all confusion as to the right of presiding is obviated, for no sooner does the council of a quorum or any part thereof convene, than each president knows at once upon whom the responsibility of presiding rests, let them meet where they may.

By virtue of having seven presidents a quorum of Seventy is not easily disorganized, and this doubtless was one of the objects in view in this arrangement. One, two, three, or even six of the presidents could be sent abroad upon missions (although that is not likely to be the case at any one time) and yet the quorum would have a president left, who, with the quorum, would be competent to transact whatever of business might be necessary for that quorum.

Other duties and advantages growing out of this organization are apparent on a little reflection. Suppose, for instance, that a quorum of Seventy should be sent out bodily to preach the gospel, as the quorum of the Twelve at times have been. You would then have an organization which could be broken up into seven groups of ten men each, with a president for each group. These groups could be broken up into five pairs, and the Elders travel two and two, as the law of the gospel requires. It can be readily seen that such a quorum could be a flying column, capable of being broken up, first into groups and sent into different districts; and the groups again broken up into pairs and spread out over a wide area of country. The pairs could be called together in groups of ten for conference, for adjustment and rearrangement of traveling companions, and the groups occasionally brought together in quorum conference, report, or transact whatever business might be necessary, and again be scattered into fields of labor. In all of which there appears the very finest adaptation of means to an end; and also there appears more than mere human wisdom displayed in this organization of the quorums of the foreign ministry.

4. Of the First Quorum of the Seventy: In the revelation before quoted it is said: "And it is according to the vision, showing the order of the Seventy, that they should have seven presidents to preside over them, chosen out of the number of the seventy. * * * And these seven presidents are to choose other Seventy besides the first Seventy, to whom they belong, and are to preside over them; and also other Seventy, until seven times seventy, if the labor in the vineyard of necessity requires it."

It must not be understood that this passage limits the number of quorums to seven times seventy, for the Prophet, at the time the quorums were being organized, stated that "If the first Seventy are all employed and there is a call for more laborers, it will be the duty of the seven presidents of the first Seventy to call and ordain other Seventy, and send them forth to labor in the vineyard, until if needs be, they set apart seven times seventy, and even until there are 144,000 thus set apart for the ministry." (See Church History, Vol. II: 221 and Notes.)

It will be observed in the quotation from the Doctrine & Covenants above that provision is made that the presidents of Seventy are to be "chosen out of the number of the Seventy." It is because of this special provision that when inadvertently High Priests have been selected for presidents of Seventy they have taken their place again in the quorum of High Priests and others from among the Seventy, as provided by the law of God, chosen to fill their place. It will also be observed that the council of the First Seventy, in addition to presiding over their own quorum (the first), have a general presidency over all the quorums of the Church. It is this first quorum, members and presidents together, which constitutes what, by way of explanation, we may call the quorum of Seventy, the quorum of which it is said that they are equal in authority to the quorum of the twelve special witnesses, or Apostles.

5. Summary. It may be said by way of recapitulation that the Seventy hold the Melchisedek Priesthood; that with the Twelve, under whose directions they labor, they constitute the foreign ministry of the Church: that their special calling is to travel and preach the gospel in all nations, first to the Gentiles and then to the Jews; that they can, on occasion be employed in the work of the ministry at home, because their Priesthood authorizes them to do good and bring to pass righteousness wherever they may be, and when acting in order and under the direction of the Twelve Apostles they may do whatever is necessary to be done in order to accomplish the purposes of God, whose ministers they are; but their organization has particular reference to their special work of preaching the Gospel in all the world.

6. An Intelligent and Informed Ministry Contemplated in the Church: After this brief review of the organization and duties of the Seventies, it must be clearly manifest that it is the imperative duty of those holding this office in the Priesthood to make careful and thorough preparation to discharge the responsibilities of their high calling as the ambassadors of the Lord Jesus. Being special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world, preachers (i. e., teachers) of the gospel, and authorized under the direction of the Twelve Apostles to act in the name of the Lord in "building up the Church and regulating all the affairs of the same in all nations" (Doc. & Cov. Sec. cvii), it behooves them to become witnesses who understand the truth of which they testify, skilled workman, ambassadors of whom the Master need not be ashamed. It is evident that the Lord never designed that his ministry should be an ignorant ministry; for to the early Elders of his Church, in this last dispensation, when instructing a number of them to prepare for labor in the vineyard, he said:

"And I give unto you a commandment that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom; teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand. Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land, and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms. That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you. * * * Therefore, verily, I say unto you, my friends, call your solemn assembly, as I have commanded you; and as all have not faith, seek, ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning even by study, and also by faith." (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 88:77, 78, 80 and 117, 118.)

The instructions then given to the Elders of the Church are still applicable to men engaged in the same ministry, and charged with like responsibility.

Elsewhere I have said, on the foregoing passage from the Doctrine and Covenants:

"I think I may safely challenge any one to point out a broader field of knowledge than is here indicated. It includes all spiritual truth, all scientific truth, all secular knowledge—knowledge of the past, of the present, of the future; of the heavens, and of the earth. A knowledge of all countries, their geography, languages, history, customs, laws and governments—everything in fact that pertains to them. There is nothing in the heights above or the depths below that is not included in this field of knowledge into which the commandment of God directs his servants to enter. I may claim for it that it includes the whole realm of man's intellectual activities. And the doctrine that whatever principles of intelligence man attains unto in this life will rise with him in the morning of the resurrection—this doctrine that nothing acquired in respect of knowledge is ever lost, must forever form the most powerful incentive to intellectual effort that possibly can be conjured up by the wit of man. So that, referring to the acquirement of knowledge, and intellectual development, Mormonism at once both indicates the broadest field and furnishes the grandest incentive to intellectual effort." ("The Mormon Point of View in Education," Improvement Era, Vol. II, p. 119.)

Commenting once upon the above passages from the Doctrine and Covenants, the writer remarked:

"I trust no one will receive the impression that I leave out of consideration, or have not attached proper importance to the part which the Spirit of God takes in these things (the preaching of the gospel). I think there is no one with whom I am acquainted that believes more fervently than I do that in order to succeed in preaching the gospel one must do so by the gift and by the power of the Holy Ghost. I know that the Lord has given instruction to the Elders of the Church that separates their methods of work, as wide as day is separated from the night, from those methods of preaching adopted by the world—I know that he has said: "Think not what ye shall say, but in the very hour that it is needed it shall be given to you that which you shall say." But while I remember that, I remember also the admonition which he has given to the Elders in the self same passage, to the effect that they should "treasure up continually the words of life," a part of the instruction that I have sometimes thought is too much neglected. I believe we shall best succeed if, when treasuring up the words of life, we do it systematically; that instead of being like an unwise builder who throws into one promiscuous heap lime, sand, bricks and frames, together with a hundred and one other materials that enter into the construction of his building, that each be placed by itself, carefully stored away where the workmen can readily find it and bring each part to the building as the builder has need. So, I say, systematize your efforts in reading, in thought, in speech, and after you have done all that, I believe that you will have all the more claim upon the Spirit and blessing of God. After you have made the attempt to carry out the instructions which our Father in heaven has given in respect of storing your minds with the words of life, you can then go to him saying: "Father, I have done all I can with the powers thou hast placed at my command, now help me by thy grace; and bless all that I have done, and the honor and praise and the glory shall be thine." Under these circumstances, if your efforts be accompanied by secret prayer before God, who hears in secret and rewards openly, he will bless your ministry beyond all your expectation." ("Preparation for the Ministry," a discourse delivered in Salt Lake Tabernacle, Oct. 28, 1894.)

Footnotes

[1]. Compare verse 33 with verse 32: also verses 25 and 26, with verses 23 and 24, Doc. & Cov., Sec. 107.

PART II.

A Study of the Hebrew Scriptures.—-The Old Testament.

LESSON I.

THE ANTIQUITY, CLASSIFICATION AND CHARACTER OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.

SPECIAL TEXT: "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."—JESUS.

NOTES.

1. Antiquity of the Hebrew Sacred Books: Josephus in his first book against Apion ascribes the most ancient books of the Hebrew race—the Pentateuch, the five books—to Moses, and in contrasting the Hebrew literature with that of the Greeks, he says:

"We, therefore, (who are Jews) must yield to the Grecian writers as to language and eloquence of composition; but then we shall give them no such preference as to the verity of ancient history, and least of all as to that part which concerns the affairs of our several countries. As to the care of writing down the records from the earliest antiquity among the Egyptians and Babylonians; that the priests were intrusted therewith, and employed a philosophical concern about it; that they were the Chaldean priests that did so among the Babylonians, and that the Phoenicians, who were mingled among the Greeks, did especially make use of their letters both for the common affairs of life and for the delivering down the history of common transactions, I think I may omit any proof, because all men allow it so to be. But now as to our forefathers, that they took no less care about writing such records, (for I will not say they took greater care than the others I spoke of,) and that they committed that matter to their high priests and to their prophets, and that these records have been written all along down to our own times with the utmost accuracy. * * * * * For our forefathers did not only appoint the best of these priests, and those that attended upon the divine worship, for that design from the beginning, but made provision that the stock of the priests should continue unmixed and pure; for he who is partaker of the Priesthood must propagate of a wife of the same nation, without having regard to money, or any other dignities: but he is to make a scrutiny, and take his wife's genealogy from the ancient tables, and procure many witnesses to it. And this is our practice not only in Judea, but wheresoever any body of men of our nation do live; and even there an exact catalogue of our priests' marriages is kept; I mean at Egypt and at Babylon, or in any other place of the rest of the habitable earth, whithersoever our priests are scattered; for they send to Jerusalem the ancient names of their parents in writing, as well as those of their remoter ancestors, and signify who are the witnesses also. * * * But what is the strongest argument of our exact management in this matter is what I am now going to say. That we have the names of our high priests from father to son set down in our records, for the interval of two thousand years; and if any of these have been transgressors of these rules, they are prohibited to present themselves at the altar, or to be partakers of any other of our purifications; and this is justly, or rather necessarily done, because every one is not permitted of his own accord to be a writer, nor is there any disagreement in what is written; they being only prophets that have written the original and earliest accounts of things, as they learned them of God himself by inspiration; and others have written what hath happened in their own time, and that in a very distinct manner also: For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another, (as the Greeks have,) but only twenty-two books, which contain the records of all the past times, which are justly believed to be divine. And of them, five belong to Moses, which contain his laws and the traditions of the origin of mankind till his death. This interval of time was little short of three thousand years; but as to the time from the death of Moses till the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, who reigned after Xerxes; the prophets, who were after Moses, wrote down what was done in their times in thirteen books. The remaining four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the conduct of human life. It is true, our history hath been written since Artaxerxes very particularly, but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with the former by our forefathers, because there hath not been an exact succession of prophets since that time; and how firmly we have given credit to these books of our own nation, is evident by what we do; for during so many ages as have already passed, no one hath been so bold as either to add anything to them, to take anything from them, or to make any change in them; but it is become natural to all Jews, immediately and from their very birth, to esteem these books to contain divine doctrines, and to persist in them, and, if occasion be, willingly to die for them. For it is no new thing for our captives, many of them in number, and frequently in time, to be seen to endure racks and deaths of all kinds upon the theatres, that they may not be obliged to say one word against our laws and the records that contain them." (Antiquity of the Jews, Flavius Josephus Against Apion, Book 1, pp. 582-583.)

2. The Effect of Recent Discoveries in Chaldea and Egypt on the Authorship of the Five Books in the Bible Ascribed to Moses:

"The Assyrian inscriptions which have been recently recovered and given to the English-speaking peoples by Layard, George Smith, Sayce, and others, show that in the ancient religions of Chaldea and Babylonia there was elaborated a narrative of the creation which, in its most important features, must have been the source of that in our own sacred books. It has now become perfectly clear that from the same sources which inspired the accounts of the creation of the universe among the Chaldee-Babylonian, the Assyrian, the Phoenician, and other ancient civilizations came the ideas which hold so prominent a place in the sacred books of the Hebrews. * * * * From this idea of creation was evolved in time a somewhat nobler view. Ancient thinkers, and especially, as is now found, in Egypt, suggested that the main agency in creation was not the hands and fingers of the Creator, but his voice. Hence was mingled with the earlier, cruder belief regarding the origin of the earth and heavenly bodies by the Almighty the more impressive idea that "he spake and they were made"—that they were brought into existence by his word." (A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, Vol. 1, pp. 2-3).

Referring again to the work of the noted Archaeologists mentioned above, with others, Mr. White goes on to say that they "have deciphered a multitude of ancient texts, especially the inscriptions found in the great library of Assurbanipal at Nineveh, and have discovered therein an account of the origin of the world identical in its most important features with the later accounts in our own book of Genesis. These men have had the courage to point out these facts and to connect them with the truth that these Chaldean and Babylonian myths, legends, and theories were far earlier than those of the Hebrews, which so strikingly resemble them, and which we have in our sacred books; and they have also shown us how natural it was that the Jewish accounts of the creation should have been obtained at that remote period when the earliest Hebrews were among the Chaldeans, and how the great Hebrew poetic accounts of creation were drawn either from the sacred traditions of these earlier peoples or from antecedent sources common to various ancient nations." (A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, Vol. 1, p. 20.)

There can be no doubt but what the accounts of creation found in these Assyrian and Egyptian sources are earlier than those written by Moses, or that they are similar in import, but because of these facts is it necessary to discredit either the Mosaic authorship of the five books of the Bible accredited to that Prophet, or doubt the inspiration of these accounts? And yet this has been the result of these discoveries on many minds. The truth is, that the outlined facts of the creation have been known by our race from earliest times, from the days of Adam in fact. They were matters of common knowledge among the antediluvian patriarchs, and through the family of Noah were preserved for the families and races of men subsequent to the flood; and variously distorted these creation facts were preserved by all people. But all this did not prevent the Lord from revealing the creation history to Moses, nor does it require us to doubt the inspiration which rested upon him and that enabled him to weave into splendid coherent form the fragmentary truths held among the ancient Egyptians and Assyrian peoples. That there were pre-Mosaic documents containing accounts of creation and the history of God's hand-dealings with ancient peoples, we have abundant proof of in the Book of Abraham, which so strangely came into the possession of the Prophet Joseph Smith (See Church History, Vol. II, pp. 235-6, 348-350). Also that the Lord revealed the creation facts, and also the early history of our race to Moses, is confirmed by revelation to the Prophet of the nineteenth century, Joseph Smith (See Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses, pp. 1-48, also History of the Church, Vol. I, 98 et seq.)

The student will find a well written article by Professor A. H. Sayce, in "The Bible Treasury," pp. 37-42, that bears upon this subject. The matter is also discussed at some length in Young Men's Manual for 1903-4 (No. 7)., chap. I.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the writers of the New Testament bear emphatic testimony to the authenticity and divine authority of the Old Testament, since these writers so frequently quoted it as a work of divine authority. "Indeed," says an accepted authority in this class of literature, "the references are so numerous, and the testimonies so distinctly borne to the existence of the Mosaic books throughout the whole history of the Jewish nation, and the unity of character, design and style pervading these books is so clearly perceptible, notwithstanding the rationalistic assertions of their forming a series of separate and unconnected fragments, that it may with all safety be said, there is immensely stronger and more varied evidence in proof of their being the authorship of Moses than of any of the Greek or Roman classics being the productions of the authors whose names they bear." (Commentary on the Old and New Testaments, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, preface.)

3. Hagiographa: Hagiographa—the Greek name of the last of the three Jewish divisions of the Old Testament. They are variously reckoned, but usually comprise the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles. (The Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia, Vol. IX.)

4. The Subdivisions of the Old Testament—Its Dignity and Authority: The student will observe that the classification of the books in the several authorities cited, all vary somewhat in the grouping and subdivisions of them; but I believe it will be found that the grouping in the analysis of the Seventies' Bible Dictionary will be found most complete and satisfactory. One thing should be borne in mind with reference to this whole volume of ancient Hebrew scripture, and that is, whatever the sub-division may be, history, legislation, poetry, prophecy, biography, or proverbs, it is written under the inspiration of God. That does not mean that human elements are not to be found in it, but rather that a divine spirit is present in the midst of those human elements giving forth light and truth and wisdom such as is to be found in no merely human production. There is a divine spirit always present in these scripture narratives, prophecies and poetry that make the whole to contain a revelation of God, and an account of his methods of doing things among men, all of which gives to those writings an authority that does not pertain to the ordinary writings of men.

Footnotes

[1]. It will be understood that by "Seventies' Bible," is meant throughout the Bible selected for the "Seventies' Indispensible Library," "The Teacher's Bible," Cambridge edition.

[2]. Hackett edition always quoted.

[3]. Third edition always quoted.

[4]. This work will always be so quoted, it is a recent work produced in collaboration by Robert Jamieson, D. D., St. Paul's, Glasgow, Scotland; A. R. Fausset, D.D., St. Cuthberts, York, England; and David Brown, D.D., Professor of Theology, Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of the best works of its kind, and represents the latest orthodox interpretations of the Scriptures, and while the Elders which make up our ministry may not accept the doctrinal interpretation of this or any other commentary, its historical and critical treatise are among the most recent and valuable.

LESSON II—LECTURES.^[1]

THE HEBREW SACRED BOOKS—THE OLD TESTAMENT.

SPECIAL TEXT: "He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat, saith the Lord?"—JEREMIAH.

NOTES.

1. The Apocrypha. "The collection of books to which this term is popularly applied includes the following. The order given is that in which they stand in the English version. I. Esdras. II. Esdras. Tobit. Judith. The rest of the chapters of the Book of Esther, which are found neither in the Hebrew nor in the Chaldee. The Wisdom of Solomon. The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach, or Ecclesiasticus. Baruch. The Song of the Three Holy Children. The History of Susanna. The History of the Destruction of Bel and the Dragon. The Prayer of Manasseh, King of Judah. I. Maccabees. II. Maccabees."^[3]

A brief treatise on each of the foregoing books of the Apocrypha will be found in the Seventy's Bible Dictionary, Art. Apocrypha, also in "Bible Treasury," pp. 351, 353; Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, I and II Macabees will be found in the Roman Catholic English version, known as the Douay Bible, the Roman Church regarding them as of equal authority with other books of the Old Testament.

2. Definition of Apocrypha: "The word Apocrypha means "secret" or "hidden," and is applied to a class of writings which have been definitely rejected from the books of the Old and New Testaments; but the reason why they were called secret books, rather than private or secondary books, is not clear. * * * * Probably every attempt to define the limits of canonical or inspired books will result in the distinction of three classes of books: (1) the Canonical Scriptures, about which every one is agreed; (2) the disputed books, about which there is no general agreement; (3) the books which are universally rejected. It is to the third class that the term Apocrypha properly applies, the intermediate class being more correctly known as Antilegomena, or disputed books. * * * * * It is commonly stated that the reason for the rejection of the books referred to from the Old Testament [the Apocrypha] was that they were not found current in Hebrew, but only in Greek. It is quite possible that in some cases the reason why the books were not extant in Hebrew was that they had been previously judged uncanonical. A book soon disappears when it has been condemned. Even the Greek text of some parts of the Apocrypha has perished—(e. g. II Esdras). We must not be surprised, therefore, if some of the apocryphal books should turn out to have been at one time extant in Hebrew." (Bible Treasury, p. 351.)

3. Attitude of the Roman Catholic Church Respecting the Apocrypha: Some Catholic theologians previous to the Council of Trent, 1545-1563, were in doubt as to the inspiration of some of the books of the Apocrypha admitted into the Catholic Canon; but Dr. Smith, in his Bible Dictionary, says: "The Council of Trent closed the question which had been left open, and deprived its theologians of the liberty they had hitherto enjoyed—extending the Canon of Scripture so as to include all the hitherto doubtful or deutero-canonical books, with the exception of the two books of Esdras and the Prayer of Manasseh, the evidence against which seemed too strong to be resisted (Sess. IV. de Can. Script). In accordance with this decree, the editions of the Vulgate, published by authority, contained the books which the Council had pronounced canonical, as standing on the same footing as those which had never been questioned, while the three which had been rejected were printed commonly in smaller type and stood after the New Testament." (Dictionary p, 122.)

Catholics, however, insisted that the list of canonical books agreeing "in substance with the list of divinely inspired books, held by Catholics to the present day," was authorized by the twenty-sixth statute of the Council of Hippo, held in Africa in the year 393, and the third Council of Carthage 397, A.. D., and the sixth Council of Carthage 419, A. D., give the same list or canon of books as the Council of Hippo. "Although the inspiration of some of these books was held to be doubtful by a few of the Fathers, previous to these two Councils, the same Fathers ceased to have any doubt upon it after the decision of these Councils; so that, while some of the Apocrypha have been considered uninspired, as the third and fourth of Esdras, and third and fourth of Macabees, some other of these books have been recognized as inspired, and are called by Catholics Deutero-canonical. These have, therefore, the very same sanction and authority that all the books of the New Testament have, in addition to the long-standing veneration of the Jewish Church for them." (Catholic Belief, Bruno, pp. 13-14.)

Catholics will be compelled, however, to admit that several books of the Apocrypha now accepted by them and published in the Douay Bible, are not in the list given by the three Councils above mentioned. Moreover, in the list of General Councils published in Bruno's work, in enumerating the achievement of the Council of Trent, he says: "The Catholic doctrine regarding the Holy Scripture, Tradition, Original Sin, Justification, and the Seven Sacraments, was clearly explained." (Catholic Belief, Bruno, p. 130.) So that it was not until the Council of Trent, 1545-1563, that the final word respecting the Catholic canon was spoken.

4. The Protestant Attitude Toward the Apocrypha: "The Reformers of Germany and England * * * influenced in part by the revival of the study of Hebrew and the consequent recognition of the authority of the Hebrew canon, and subsequently by the reaction against this stretch of authority, [exercised by the Council of Trent], maintained the opinion of Jerome and pushed it to its legitimate results [which led to the rejection of the books of the Apocrypha as scripture]. "Luther spoke of individual books among those in question with a freedom as great as that of Jerome, judging each on its own merits, praising Tobit as a "pleasant comedy" and the Prayer of Manasseh as a "good model for penitents," and rejecting the two books of Esdras as containing worthless fables. The example of collecting the doubtful books in a separate group had been set in the Strasburg edition of the Septuagint, 1526. In Luther's complete edition of the German Bible * * * (1534) the books (Judith, Wisdom, Tobias, Sirach, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Additions to Esther and Daniel, and the Prayer of Manasseh) were grouped together under the general title of "Apocrypha, i. e. 'Books which are not of like worth with Holy Scripture,' yet are good and useful to be read. In the history of the English Church, Wicliffe showed himself in this as in other points the forerunner of the Reformation, and applied the term 'Apocrypha' to all but the 'twenty-five' Canonical books of the Old Testament. The judgment of Jerome was formally asserted in the sixth Article. The disputed books were collected and described in the same way in the printed English Bible of 1539 (Cranmer's), and since then there has been no fluctuation as to the application of the word. The books to which the term is ascribed are in popular speech not merely apocryphal, but the Apocrypha."

6. Attitude of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the Apocrypha: See Doctrine and Covenants, sec. xci.

7. Definition of the Term Canon: "The word Canon in classical Greek signifies properly a straight rod, as a carpenter's rule; and hence is applied metaphorically to a testing rule in ethics or in art, or in language (e. g. the canons of Grammar.) As applied to Scripture, the word indicates the rule by which the contents of the Bible must be determined, and thus, secondarily, an index of the constituent books. The canon of Scripture may be generally described as "the collection of books which forms the original and authoritative written rule of the faith and practice of the Church." (Dr. Smith's Old Testament History, p. 645.)

8. Arrangement of the Canon Ascribed to Ezra: "Among the achievements ascribed to Ezra is the collection, editing, and arrangement of the whole Jewish Scriptures in one canon, under the threefold division of the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa. In performing this work, he is assumed to have added those passages which can not have been written by the authors whose names the books bear; such as the allusion to kings of Israel in Gen. xxxvi: 31; the account of the death and burial of Moses in the last chapter of Deuteronomy; and the many references to the state of 'things at this day.' * * * * * But the main question is, whether the present canon of the Old Testament was, in substance, the work of Ezra. It must be remembered that such a work involved much more than the collection into one volume of books already existing in a separate form; it included the selection from the whole number of those which bore, and were to bear forever, the stamp of divine authority: for no one imagines that the Scriptures of the Old Testament form a complete collection of the ancient Hebrew literature. That such a work, having such authority, had been completed before the Christian era, is clear from the allusions to the Holy Scriptures in the New Testament; and it was most probably accomplished during the Persian domination, which ended B. C. 323. There is every reason for its having been performed at as early a period as possible. Ezra's care to make the people well acquainted with the word of God is as conspicuous as his own knowledge of it. No man could be more qualified, as no time could be more fit, for a work which was most needful to establish the people in their faith. That the work must have been performed by an inspired man, is an axiom lying at the foundation of the whole question, unless we believe, on the one hand, that the Church is endowed in every age with power to decide what Scriptures are canonical, or unless, on the other hand, we give up a canon, in the proper sense of the word, and reduce the authority of Scripture to that which literary criticism can establish for its separate books. On this ground, none but Ezra can be the author of the canon; for no one has ever thought of ascribing the work to Nehemiah, the civil governor and man of action; and the only claim made for Malachi is the addition of his own prophecy to the canon already framed by Ezra, and even this supposition we have seen to be unnecessary, as Ezra may have been the survivor. The attempt to ascribe the work to some unknown inspired person later than Malachi is an example of the argumentum ab ignorantia, which has no weight against the evidence of what is known." (Dr. Smith's Old Testament History, pp. 645-646.)

9. The Authorized Version: The treatise on the Authorized Version in Smith's Bible Dictionary is full, and perhaps the best one extant; and while praising highly the work of the English translators of the A. V., exhibits quite clearly some of its defects, and points out the necessity for a new version. How far the "Revised Version" of 1870-1885 corrected the defects of the A. V. may be known only to Hebrew and Greek scholars; but the fact that the work was undertaken and carried to a conclusion at the expense of so much time, and scholarly effort, justifies the qualified acceptance of our English Bible set forth in one of our Articles of Faith, viz., "We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly."

Footnotes

[1]. It has already been suggested in our Introduction to these lessons that excuses for non-preparation should not be tolerated; and we again call attention of the quorums to this necessary attitude respecting thorough preparation of lessons; and now emphasize our suggestions by applying them to these lectures. Those who are assigned to deliver the lectures can receive their appointment two or three weeks before they are called upon to deliver them, and it should be a matter of pride with those so appointed to come to their tasks thoroughly prepared. The lecturer is supposed to occupy about thirty minutes, and the assignments should be made with due regard to the difficulties of the subject.

[2]. No better mental exercise exists than that of writing. It leads to very definite thinking, and to exactness of expression, and is an art that should be cultivated by the Seventies. It is suggested, therefore, that at least one of the lectures, when the quorum session is devoted to such exercises, should be given in the form of a paper, a written treatise. The subject for the paper will be indicated as above.

[3]. Smith's Bible Dictionary.

LESSON III.

THE PENTATEUCH.

SPECIAL TEXT: "I will raise up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and I will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass that whosoever will not harken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him."—THE LORD TO MOSES.

NOTES.

1. The Pentateuch: Definition:—"The Pentateuch is the Greek name given to the five books—commonly called the Five Books of Moses. In the time of Ezra and Nehemiah it was called "the Law of Moses," or "the Book of the Law of Moses," or simply "the Book of Moses." This was beyond all reasonable doubt our existing pentateuch. The book which was discovered in the Temple in the reign of Josiah, and which is entitled "the Book of the Law of Jehovah by the hand of Moses," was substantially, it would seem, the same volume, though it may afterward have undergone some revision by Ezra. The present Jews, as we have already seen, usually call the whole by the name of Torah, i. e., "the Law," or Torath Mosheh, "the Law of Moses." (Smith's Old Testament History, p.. 654.)

2. Greek Titles of the Books: "The division of the whole work into five parts was probably made by the Greek translators, for the titles of the several books are not of Hebrew, but of Greek origin. The Hebrew names are merely taken from the first words of each book, and in the first instance only designated particular sections, and not whole books." (Dr. Smith's Old Testament History, p. 654.)

3. The Question of Authorship: "Till the middle of the last century (eighteenth) it was the general opinion of both Jews and Christians that the whole of the Pentateuch was written by Moses, with the exception of a few manifestly later additions—such as the thirty-fourth chapter of Deuteronomy, which gives the account of Moses' death. The first attempt to call in question the popular belief was made by Astruc, doctor and professor of medicine in the Royal College at Paris, and court physician to Louis XIV. He had observed that throughout the Book of Genesis, and as far as the sixth chapter of Exodus, traces were to be found of two original documents, each characterized by a distinct use of the names of God; the one by the name Elohim, and the other by the name Jehovah. Besides these two principal documents, he supposed Moses to have made use of ten others in the composition of the earlier part of his work. The path traced by Astruc has been followed by numerous German writers. * * * * * It is sufficient here to state that there is sufficient evidence for believing that the main bulk of the Pentateuch, at any rate, was written by Moses, though he probably availed himself of existing documents in the composition of the earlier part of the work. Some detached portions would appear to be of later origin; and when we remember how entirely during some periods of Jewish history, the Law seems to have been forgotten, and again how necessary it would be after the seventy years of exile to explain some of its archaisms, and to add here and there short notes to make it more intelligible to the people, nothing can be more natural than to suppose that such later additions were made by Ezra and Nehemiah." (Dr. Smith's Old Testament History, pp. 653-655.)

The same conclusion is reached by James Robertson, D.D., in the Bible Treasury; and also by Prof. Samuel Colcord Bartlett, D.D., of the Theological Seminary, Chicago, in Smith's Bible Dictionary, Vol. IV, p. 243. The question is considered at some length in the Young Men's Manual, 1903-4 (No. 7), chap. I.

4. Prophecy of Moses: "And when Moses had recapitulated whatsoever he had done for the preservation of the people, both in their wars and in peace, and had composed them a body of laws, and procured them an excellent form of government, he foretold, as God had declared to him, That if they transgressed that institution for the worship of God, they should experience the following miseries: their land should be full of weapons of war from their enemies, and their cities should be overthrown, and their temple should be burnt; that they should be sold for slaves to such men as would have no pity on them in their afflictions: that they would then repent, when that repentance would no way profit them under their sufferings. Yet (said he) will that God who founded your nation, restore your cities to your citizens, with their temple also, and you shall lose these advantages not once only, but often." (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, p. 97.)

5. Suggested Readings: It is expected, of course, that the student will read all the books of the Pentateuch during the weeks which the lessons upon it will occupy; and in addition to that, so far as he may have access to them, read also the references given in the lesson analysis, which, in the main, give summaries, analyses, literary criticism, estimate theological and prophetical values of the separate books, etc. All the Bibles having "Helps," published in connection with the sacred text have analyses and comments upon the books of the Pentateuch; and these as far as possible should be read and compared. For their historical value the first four books of Josephus' Antiquities should also be read.

LESSON IV.

THE PENTATEUCH.

SPECIAL TEXT: "I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's."—MOSES.

NOTES.

1. The Nature of Government Established by Moses: "Then came the law from Mount Sinai. God became the God of Israel, everything done to establish religion, tabernacle made for his residence. Defection from religion high treason. Hence complete separation from all nations. Moses was but a mediator between God and his people; proper title legislator of the Israelites and their deliverer from the Egyptians. * * * * For administration of justice Moses divided people in tens, fifties, hundreds, thousands, and placed judges over each. Mode taken from Egypt. Amongst the higher of these judges there was much political power likewise. * * * * Each tribe had a sort of independent government, with its own magistrates and representatives; sometimes acted without aid or sanction of others, (e. g., tribe of Benjamin protected criminals of Gibeah and fought against others.) * * * * * Sometimes several tribes acted together without others. * * * * * What the influence of such a government? Exceedingly favorable to development of character and individual energies. Not favorable for harmony or tranquility." (Ancient and Modern Nations, Dew, pp. 13-14.)

2. The Law of Moses: "Though new in its general conception, it was probably not wholly new in its materials. Neither in his material nor his spiritual providence does God proceed per saltum. There must necessarily have been, before the Law, commandments and revelations of a fragmentary character, under which Israel had hitherto grown up. Indications of such are easily found, both of a ceremonial and moral nature; as, for example, in the penalties against murder, adultery, and fornication (Gen. ix. 6; xxxviii. 8), in the distinction of clean and unclean animals (Gen. viii. 20), and probably in the observance of the Sabbath (Ex. xvi. 23, 27, 29.) But, even without such indications, our knowledge of the existence of Israel as a distinct community in Egypt would necessitate the conclusion, that it must have been guided by some laws of its own, growing out of the old patriarchal customs, which would be preserved with oriental tenacity, and gradually becoming methodized by the progress of circumstances. Nor would it be possible for the Israelites to be in contact with an elaborate system of ritual and law, such as that which existed in Egypt, without being influenced by its general principles, and, in less degree, by its minuter details. As they approached nearer to the condition of a nation they would be more and more likely to modify their patriarchal customs by the adoption from Egypt of laws which were fitted for national existence. This being so, it is hardly conceivable that the Mosaic legislation should have embodied none of these earlier materials. It is clear, even to human wisdom, that the only constitution, which can be efficient and permanent, is one which has grown up slowly, and so been assimilated to the character of a people. It is the peculiar mark of legislative genius to mold by fundamental principles, and animate by a higher inspiration, materials previously existing in a cruder state. The necessity for this lies in the nature, not of the legislator, but of the subjects; and the argument therefore is but strengthened by the acknowledgement in the case of Moses of a divine and special inspiration. So far, therefore, as they were consistent with the objects of the Jewish law, the customs of Palestine and the laws of Egypt would doubtless be traceable in the Mosaic system." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 1602.)

3. Basic Principle of the Law of Moses: "The basis of human society is ordinarily sought, by law or philosophy, either in the rights of the individual, and the partial delegation of them to political authorities; or in the mutual needs of men, and the relations which spring from them; or in the actual existence of power of man over man, whether arising from natural relationship, or from benefits conferred, or from physical or intellectual ascendency. The maintenance of society is supposed to depend on a "social compact" between governors and subjects; a compact, true as an abstract idea, but untrue if supposed to have been a historical reality. The Mosaic Law seeks the basis of its polity, first, in the absolute sovereignty of God, next in the relationship of each individual to God, and through God to his countrymen. It is clear that such a doctrine, while it contradicts none of the common theories, yet lies beneath them all, and shows why each of them, being only a secondary deduction from an ultimate truth, cannot be in itself sufficient; and, if it claims to be the whole truth, will become an absurdity. It is the doctrine which is insisted upon and developed in the whole series of prophecy; and which is brought to its perfection only when applied to that universal and spiritual kingdom for which the Mosaic system was a preparation." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 1607).

4. Israel and the Law: "It was indeed often neglected [the Law] and even forgotten. Its fundamental assertion of the Theocracy was violated by the natural course of human selfishness (Jer. xxxiv. 12-17); till at last, in the reign of Josiah, its very existence was unknown, and its discovery was to the king and the people as a second publication; yet still it formed the standard from which they knowingly departed, and to which they constantly returned; and to it, therefore, all which was peculiar in their national and individual character was due. Its direct influence was probably greatest in the periods before the establishment of the kingdom, and after the Babylonish captivity. The last act of Joshua was to bind the Israelites to it as the charter of their occupation of the conquered land (Josh. xxiv. 24-27); and, in the semi-anarchical period of the judges, the Law and the Tabernacle were the only centers of anything like national unity. The establishment of the kingdom was due to an impatience of this position, and a desire for a visible and personal center of authority, much the same in nature as that which plunged them so often in idolatry. The people were warned (I Sam. xii. 6-25) that it involved much danger of their forgetting and rejecting the main principle of the Law—that "Jehovah their God was their King." The truth of the prediction was soon shown. Even under Solomon, as soon as the monarchy became one of great splendor and power, it assumed a heathenish and polytheistic character, breaking the Law, both by its dishonor towards God, and its forbidden tyranny over man." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 1609.)

5. The Gospel and the Law: "Abraham received the Priesthood from Melchisedek, who received it through the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah; * * * * This greater Priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest; and without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the Priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; for without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live. Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; but they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence, therefore the Lord in his wrath (for his anger was kindled against them) swore that they should not enter into his rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory. Therefore he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also; and the lesser Priesthood continued, which Priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel." (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 84.)

The above quotation from the 84th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants throws much light, not only upon the Pentateuch, but upon the whole of the Old Testament, the law of Moses, and the whole polity and history of Israel. In the light of the truth the said quotation reveals, it is to be seen that "when the Lord took the children of Israel from the land of Egypt to make of them a people for himself, he presented them first with the gospel of Christ, with all its mercy and inspiring love and gentleness; but they would not live in accordance with its high moral precepts, nor reflect in their lives its spiritual excellence. Accordingly, a less perfect law was given to Israel; a law which in the New Testament is called "the law of carnal commandments;" a law more in keeping with the status of their moral development; a law which breathed less of mercy, forgiveness and love, and more of exacting, relentless justice; demanding an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth—and this was to be their schoolmaster, to prepare them for the more excellent law of the gospel of Christ. Many things in that law of the Old Testament are confessedly imperfect, and must not be taken as reflecting the full glory and excellence of the Divine wisdom or goodness. On the contrary it is plainly stated, and that too by the voice of inspiration in the New Testament, that it was a law carnal and imperfect, and yet, withal, demanding a higher excellence than the people of those days seemed able to attain.

In proof that the gospel was first offered to ancient Israel, and then because of transgression the law of carnal commandments, I invite the reader's attention to the following Scriptures: Heb., latter part of chap. iii, in connection with Heb. iv: 1, 2; I Cor. x. 1-4; and Gal. iii; also Doc. & Cov., sec. 84; see also the chapter on "History of the Gospel" in The Gospel (Roberts), pp. 86, 87.

6. The Song of Moses: "This song is some hundred years the oldest poem in the world. There is a sublimity and beauty in the language that is unexampled. But its unrivalled superiority arises not solely from the splendor of the diction. Its poetical excellencies have often drawn forth the admiration of the best judges, while the character of the event commemorated, and its being prompted by divine inspiration, contribute to give to it an interest and sublimity peculiar to itself." (Commentary, Explanatory and Critical, p. 59.)

LESSON V.

SPECIAL TEXT: "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, in all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharoah, and to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel."—EZRA (supposedly).

NOTES.

1. Abraham: "He was a person of great sagacity, both for understanding all things, and persuading his hearers, and not mistaken in his opinions; for which reason he began to have higher notions of virtue than others had, and he determined to renew and to change the opinion all men happened then to have concerning God; for he was the first that ventured to publish this notion, that there was but One God, the Creator of the universe; and that as to other (gods), if they contributed anything to the happiness of men, that each of them afforded it only according to his appointment, and not by their own power. This his opinion was derived from the irregular phenomena that were visible both at land and sea, as well as those that happen to the sun, and moon, and all the heavenly bodies; thus, "if (said he) these bodies had power of their own, they would certainly take care of their own regular motions; but since they do not preserve such regularity, they make it plain that so far as they co-operate to our advantage, they do it not of their own abilities, but as they are subservient to him that commands them, to whom alone we ought justly to offer our honor and thanksgiving." For which doctrines, when the Chaldeans, and other people of Mesopotamia, raised a tumult against him, he thought fit to leave that country; and at the command, and by the assistance of God, he came and lived in the land of Canaan. And when he was there settled, he built an altar, and performed a sacrifice to God. Berosus mentions our father Abram without naming him, when he says thus: "In the tenth generation after the flood, there was among the Chaldeans a man, righteous and great, and skilful in the celestial science." But Hecataeus does more than mention him; for he composed, and left behind him, a book concerning him. And Nicolaus of Damascus, in the fourth book of his history, says thus: 'Abram reigned at Damascus, being a foreigner, who came with an army out of the land above Babylon, called the land of the Chaldeans; but, after a long time, he got him up, and removed from that country also, with his people, and went into the land then called the land of Canaan, but now the land of Judea, and this when his posterity were become a multitude; as to which posterity of his, we relate their history in another work. Now the name of Abram is even still famous in the country of Damascus; and there is showed a village named from him, 'The habitation of Abram.'" (Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus, pp. 31-32.)

2. The Restoration of Lands Made by Joseph: "However, the famine increased among the Egyptians; * * * * But when their money failed them, they bought corn with their cattle, and their slaves, and if any of them had a small piece of land, they gave up that to purchase them food, by which means the king became the owner of all their substance; and they were removed some to one place, and some to another, that so the possession of their country might be firmly afforded to the king; excepting the lands of the priests for their country continued still in their own possession. And indeed this sore famine made their minds, as well as their bodies, slaves: and at length compelled them to procure a sufficiency of food by such dishonorable means. But when this misery ceased, and the river overflowed the ground, and the ground brought forth its fruits plentifully, Joseph came to every city, and gathered the people thereto belonging together, and gave them back entirely the land which, by their own consent, the king might have possessed alone, and alone enjoyed the fruits of it. He also exhorted them to look on it as every one's own possession; and to fall to their husbandry with cheerfulness; and to pay as a tribute to the king, the fifth part of the fruits for the land which the king when it was his own restored to them. These men rejoiced upon their becoming unexpectedly owners of their lands, and diligently observed what was enjoined them. And by this means Joseph procured to himself a greater authority among the Egyptians, and greater love to the king from them. Now this law, that they should pay the fifth part of their fruits as tribute, continued until their latter kings." (Josephus, Antiquities, p. 52.)

3. Character of Moses. "Now Moses lived in all one hundred and twenty years; a third part of which time, abating one month, he was the people's ruler; and he died on the last month of the year, which is called by the Macedonians 'Dystrus,' but by us 'Adar,' on the first day of the month. He was one that exceeded all men that ever were, in understanding, and made the best use of what that understanding suggested to him. He had a very graceful way of speaking, in addressing the multitude, and as to his other qualifications, he had such a full command of his passions, as if he hardly had any such in his soul, and only knew them by their names, as rather perceiving them in other men than in himself. He was also such a general of an army as is seldom seen, as well as such a prophet as was never known, and this to such a degree, that whatsoever he pronounced you would think you heard the voice of God himself. So the people mourned for him thirty days: nor did ever any grief so deeply affect the Hebrews as did this upon the death of Moses; nor were those that had experienced his conduct the only persons that desired him, but those also that perused the laws he left behind him, had a strong desire after him, and by them gathered the extraordinary virtue he was master of. And this shall suffice for the declaration of the manner of the death of Moses." (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, p. 98.)

4. The Greatness and Influence of Moses. "Where shall we find one that combines in his personality so many greatnesses as Moses, if I may say so? He was the liberator of his people, but he spurned crowns and scepters, and did not, as many others after him did, put a new yoke on the neck from which he had taken the old one. * * * * * And his republic was not of short duration. It lasted through all the storms of barbaric wars and revolutions—hundreds of years, down to the days of Samuel, that all-stout-hearted republican who could endure no kings. * * * * But the republic he founded stands unique in the history of the world, for it was altogether based upon an idea—the idea of the unity of God and the righteousness of his will. Think of it! Among a nation escaped from bondage, too degraded even to be led to war, that needed the education, the hammering, as it were, into a people for forty years, to go among them with the sublimest truth that the human mind ever can conceive and to say of them: 'Though you are now benighted and enslaved, any truth that I know is not too good for you nor any child of God." * * * * As a teacher of morality why need I praise him? As a teacher of statecraft in the highest and best sense, who surpassed him? The great wonder is that that man speaks the language of today. The problems which we have not yet succeeded in solving were already present to his mind, and he founded a nation in which the difference between the poor and the rich was almost abolished. The laborer was not only worthy but sure of his hire. No aristocrat could rule over his subjects and no priesthood could ever assume the government which, alas! according to history, means the opposition of the nation. How did that man of that vast mind, how did he combine all these great talents? And yet that man, how tender his heart was! Why, friends, it is a thousand pities that you cannot hear the deep sorrow, the sadness that is to be heard in his original words. When an over-zealous disciple came to him and told that they were prophesying in his name, and they said: 'Hinder them, master, hinder them. Why, if they prophesy what will become of thine own authority?' I fancy I see his venerable head sink upon his breast and he saying: 'Indeed art thou zealous for me? Would that all the people of God were prophets, and that God gave his Spirit to them.'" (Rabbi Gottheil, The World's Parliament of Religions, (Barrows), pp. 674-5.)

Footnotes

[1]. See note b, p. 27.

LESSON VI.

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS.

SPECIAL TEXT: And Joshua, the Son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him; and the children of Israel harkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses."—EZRA (supposedly.)

NOTES.

1. The Hexateuch: The Book of Joshua is sometimes associated with the five books of Moses and the collection is then called the Hexateuch, a term meaning "the six books." The union is made on the ground that the Book of Joshua is the proper continuation and consummation of the former five books as recording the Conquest of the Land of Canaan, in fulfillment of the promise contained in the Pentateuch; the subject of the whole six books being "the election of Israel as a people to the service of Jehovah, and their settlement for this purpose in the Land of Promise."

2. Israel Under Joshua: "Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua." The high and commanding character of this eminent leader had given so decided a tone to the sentiments and manners of his contemporaries, and the memory of his fervent piety and many virtues continued so vividly impressed on the memories of the people, that the sacred historian has recorded it to his immortal honor, 'Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua.'" (Commentary, Explanatory and Critical, p. 158.)

3. Contemporaneous Notices of Joshua: There occurs some references to the deeds of Joshua in other historians besides those of the Bible. Procopius mentions a Phoenecian inscription near the city of Tingis in Mauritania, the sense of which in Greek was: "We are those who fled before the face of Joshua the robber, the son of Nun." Again Suidas says: "We are the Canaanites whom Joshua the robber persecuted." In a letter of Shaubech, king of Armenia Minor, in the Samaritan book of Joshua (chapter 26), styles Joshua "the murderous wolf; or, according to another reading, "the evening wolf." (Condensed from Kitto's Biblical Literature, Vol. II, p. 154.)

4. Authorship of the Book of Joshua: "Viewing all the circumstances together, we consider it highly probable that the whole book of Joshua was composed by himself up to the twenty-eighth verse of the last chapter; to which a friendly hand subjoined some brief notices, contained in verses 29-33, concerning the death, age, and burial of Joshua; the continuance of his influence upon the people; the interment, in Shechem, of the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had brought from Egypt; and the death and burial of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, whom his son Phinehas interred in his allotment on Mount Ephraim." (Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature, Kitto, Vol. II, p. 156.)

5. Roman Catholic View of Authorship: "This book is called Josue, because it contains the history of what passed under him, and according to the common opinion was written by him. The Greeks call him Jesus; for Josue and Jesus in the Hebrew are the same name, and have the same signification, viz., a savior." (Introduction to the Book of Josue.)

6. Character of Joshua: "So Joshua, when he had thus discoursed to them [upon their obligations and duty to God], died, having lived a hundred and ten years; forty of which he lived with Moses, in order to learn what might be for his advantage afterward. He also became their commander after his death for twenty-five years. He was a man that wanted not wisdom nor eloquence to declare his intentions to the people, but very eminent on both accounts. He was of great courage and magnanimity, in action and in dangers; and very sagacious in procuring the peace of the people, and of great virtue at all proper seasons. He was buried in the city of Timnah, of the tribe of Ephraim. About the same time died Eleazar, the high priest, leaving the high priesthood to his son Phineas. His monument also and sepulchre are in the city of Gabbatha." (Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews, p. 104.)

7. Literature of Power: By "literature of power" is here meant that class of utterance that rests upon its own inherent strength for its influence or acceptance as truth. An American popular writer (Hubbard) in giving an illustration of this class of literature quoted this passage from the Bible:

"The Lord is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him."

Explanation, comment upon such a passage, he argues, would but mar it. One feels a force, a strength in it that admits of no doubt about its power, or truth. A still better example of the literature of power is Psalms xix, also Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. lxxxiv: 99-102. It is such a passage in Joshua that the student is directed to find.

8. Book of Ruth: "The Book is called Ruth, from the name of the person, whose history is here recorded: who being a Gentile, became a convert to the true faith, and marrying Boaz, the great-grandfather of David, was one of those from whom Christ sprung, according to the flesh, and an illustrious figure of the Gentile church. It is thought this book was written by the prophet Samuel." (Douay Bible, Introduction to the Book of Ruth, p. 303.)

Footnotes

[1]. The Pentateuch Historically has already been considered in Lesson III of Part II; and its historical character considered under subdivision II. (a) Anti-diluvian History. (b) Postdiluvian History, bringing its historical events down to the death of Moses. It is here written into the analysis only that the student may be reminded that the Pentateuch is recognized as being classed with the historical books of the Bible.

LESSON VII.

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS.—(Continued.)

SPECIAL TEXT: "And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."—I. Samuel xv: 22.

NOTES.

1. The Historic Period Covered by the Books of Samuel: "The story embraces a period of over one hundred years, and extends from the end of the time of the Judges to the close of the reign of David, 1015 B. C., the connecting link being found in the civil judgeship of Eli and Samuel. The object of the narrative is to exhibit the kingdom as it realized itself in view of a divine ideal; and the prominence given to the lives of Samuel and David would seem to be due to a design to portray the one as the type of the prophetic, and the other as the type of the kingly character—the king's counselor, in this case, selecting the king, and not, as was the rule afterwards, the king his counselor." (Cambridge Teacher's Bible Helps, p. 19.)

2. Books of Samuel, I and II. Protestant View: "The two were, by the ancient Jews, conjoined, so as to make one book, and in that form could be called the Book of Samuel with more propriety than now, the second being wholly occupied with the relation of transactions that did not take place till after the death of that eminent judge. Accordingly, in the Septuagint and the Vulgate, it is called the First and Second Book of Kings. The early portion of the First Book, down to the end of the twenty-fourth chapter, was probably written by Samuel; while the rest of it, and the whole of the Second, are commonly ascribed to Nathan and Gad, founding the opinion on I Chronicles xxix: 29.. Commentators, however, are divided about this, some supposing that the statements in I Samuel ii: 26; iii: 1, indicate the hand of the judge himself, or a contemporary; while some think, from I Samuel vi: 18; xii: 5; xxvii: 6, that the composition must be referred to a later age. It is probable, however, that these supposed marks of an after period were interpolations of Ezra. This uncertainty, however, as to the authorship does not affect the inspired authority of the book, which is indisputable, being quoted in the New Testament (Acts xiii: 22; Hebrews i: 5) as well as in many of the Psalms." (Commentary, Explanatory and Critical, p. 8.)

3. Catholic View of the Books of Samuel: "This [I Samuel] and the following book [II Samuel] are called by the Hebrews the books of Samuel, because they contain the history of Samuel, and of the two kings, Saul and David, whom he anointed. They are more commonly named by the Fathers the first and second book of kings. As to the writer of them, the common opinion is that Samuel composed the first book as far as the twenty-fifth chapter; and that the prophets Nathan and Gad finished the first, and wrote the second book. See I Chronicles xxix: 29." (Introduction to the First Book of Samuel, Douay Bible, p. 308.)

4. The First and Second Books of Kings. Protestant View: "In the ancient copies of the Hebrew Bible, First and Second Kings constitute one book. Various titles have been given to them; in the Septuagint and the Vulgate they are called the Third and Fourth Books of Kings. The authorship of these books is unknown; but the prevailing opinion is that they were compiled by Ezra, or one of the later prophets, from the ancient documents that are so frequently referred to in the course of the history as of public and established authority. Their inspired character was acknowledged by the Jewish church, which ranked them in the sacred canon; and, besides, is attested by our Lord, who frequently quotes from them (cf. I Kings xvii: 9; II Kings v: 14 with Luke iv: 24-27; I Kings x: 1 with Matthew xii: 42)." (Commentary, Explanatory and Critical, p. 8.)

5. Catholic View of Books of Kings: "This [the first Book of Kings] and the following [the second Book of Kings] book are called by the holy fathers the third and fourth book of Kings; but by the Hebrews the first and second Malachim, that is Kings. They contain the history of the kingdoms of Israel and Juda, from the beginning of the reign of Solomon, to the captivity. As to the writer of these books, it seems most probable they were not writen by one man, nor at one time; but as there was all along a succession of prophets in Israel, who recorded, by divine inspiration, the most remarkable things that happened in their days, these books seem to have been written by these prophets." (Douay Bible, pp. 381-2.)

6. Historical Period of the Books of Kings: "The Books of Kings narrate the history from the rebellion of Adonijah to the final captivity of Judah, including the whole history of the northern kingdom from the separation till its disappearance in B. C. 721. The succession of events will be found under Chronology. The books were compiled by some unknown writer from a variety of written documents, including the state chronicles." (Seventies' Bible Dictionary, p 94.)

7. Literary Features of the Books of Samuel and of Kings: "The literary form of the books of Kings is quite different from that of the books of Samuel. There is an almost stereotyped framework, resembling that of the book of Judges, within which the events of the successive reigns are placed. When the name of a new king is introduced, it is stated how old he was when he came to the throne, how many years he reigned, and, in regard to the kings of Judah, what was his mother's name. Then a general character is pronounced upon his reign, the events are recorded at greater or less length, and at the close a reference is usually given to another authority for fuller details. When the divided monarchy is to be treated, the usual proceeding is to give the record of the northern kingdom first, and then the corresponding record for the southern, the history thus falling into periods longer or shorter. And this course is followed so closely that sometimes the same event is twice related, if it concerns the two kingdoms. These features make it probable that the book is composed from other written materials, or at least largely based upon them. And the frequent references to books of chronicles of the kings of Judah or of Israel favor the inference that state records of the respective kingdoms, containing lists of officials, statistical matters, and memoranda of events in the different reigns were available for the purpose. There were also, in all probability, narratives of the doings of Elijah, Elisha, and other prophets, preserved in the prophetic circles, which would furnish information of another kind. A work extending over so long a period could not be the expression of the direct personal knowledge of any one writer, and could only be composed in the way indicated." (Cambridge Bible, p. 63.)

LESSON VIII.

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS.—(Continued.)

SPECIAL TEXT: "Now the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright [i. e. of the first born, Reuben]. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's)". I Chronicles v: 1, 2.

NOTES.

1. Books of Chronicles: "The two Books of Chronicles counted as one in the Hebrew canon. They give a short history of events from the creation down to the proclamation of Cyrus, allowing the Jews to return to Palestine. The books contain several references to the sources whence information was derived, e. g., "the book of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the visions of Iddo the seer," (II Chron. ix: 29; cf. also II Chron. xii: 15; xiii: 22; xx: 34; xxvi: 22; xxxii: 32; xxxiii: 18.) These passages make it clear that, from the earliest times of the kingdom, writers living amid the events described, and generally of the prophetic order, recorded the history of their own times. These records along with Samuel and Kings, formed the materials out of which our Books of Chronicles were compiled, the compilers choosing such portions as suited the purpose of their composition. Though secular events are not excluded from the compilations thus formed, the writers dwell with most satisfaction upon the ecclesiastical and religious aspects of the history, and the progress of temple worship in Jerusalem. The date of composition cannot be fixed with certainty; it was probably between 300 and 250 B. C." (Cambridge Bible Helps, p. 32.)

2. Catholic View of Chronicles: "These books are called by the Greek interpreters Paralipomenon, that is, 'of things left out, or omitted,' because they are a kind of a supplement of such things as were passed over in the book of the Kings. The Hebrews call them Dibre Hajamim, that is, 'The words of the days,' or The Chronicles. Not that they are the books which are so often quoted in Kings, under the title of the 'Words of the Days of the Kings of Israel, and of the Kings of Juda;' for the Books of Paralipomenon were written after the Books of Kings; but because in all probability they have been abridged from those ancient 'Words of the Days,' by Esdras or some other sacred writer." (Introduction to Chronicles, Douay Bible.)

3. Controversial Value of the Books of Chronicles: "The constant tradition of the Jews, in which they have been followed by the great mass of Christian commentators, is that these books were for the most part compiled by Ezra; and the one genealogy, that of Zerubbabel, which comes down to a later time, is no objection to this statement, without recurring to the strange notion broached by the old commentators, and even sanctioned by Dr. Davidson (in Kitto's Cyclo. of Bibl. Lit., art. Chronicles), that the knowledge of these generations was communicated to Ezra by inspiration. In fact, the internal evidence as to the time when the book of Chronicles was compiled, seems to tally remarkably with the tradition concerning its authorship. Notwithstanding this agreement, however, the authenticity of Chronicles has been vehemently impugned by De Wette and other German critics, whose arguments have been successfully refuted by Dahler, Keil, Movers, and others. It has been clearly shown that the attack was grounded not upon any real marks of spuriousness in the books themselves, but solely upon the desire of the critics in question to remove a witness whose evidence was fatal to their favorite theory as to the post-Babylonian origin of the books of Moses. If the accounts in the books of Chronicles of the courses of priests and Levites, and the ordinances of divine service as arranged by David, and restored by Hezekiah and Josiah, are genuine, it necessarily follows that the Levitical law, as set forth in the Pentateuch, was not invented after the return from the captivity. Hence the successful vindication of the authenticity of Chronicles has a very important bearing upon many of the very gravest theological questions." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 429.)

4. Compilation and Spirit of the Books of Chronicles: "Though the latest of all the canonical writings, it represents the workmanship of many generations. It resembles the structure of an ancient cathedral, with fragments of every style worked into the building as it proceeded,—here a piece of the most hoary antiquity, there a precious relic of a lost hymn or genealogy of some renowned psalmist or warrior,—but all preserved, and wrought together, as by the workmen of mediaeval times, under the guidance of the same sacerdotal mind, with the spirit of the same priestly order. Far below the prophetic books of the Kings in interest and solidity, it yet furnishes a useful counterpart by filling up the voids with materials which none but the peculiar traditions and feelings of the Levitical caste could have supplied. It is the culminating point of the purely Levitical system, both in what it relates, in what it omits, and the manner of its relations and omissions." (Dean Stanley, quoted in Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 432.)