President Anthon H. Lund

A Perfect Organization-Permanent and Indispensable.

I will read a few words from the 4th chapter of Ephesians:

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

"For the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

"Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:

"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."

I have been very much interested in the remarks of our President this morning. In contemplating the organization of the Priesthood which God has placed in His Church, it seems to me that it is a perfect institution. It is not an organization that has been devised by man, or evolved for the first time in our system of Church government: but it is like the one which Christ gave to His people formerly. It is necessary that apostles and prophets and all these different officers of the Priesthood should be in the Church. The Church cannot do without them. They were not placed in the Church temporarily, as many of our Christian friends claim. Most of the denominations of the day affirm that Apostles were to be special witnesses of Christ in the early days only, and that after their death the Apostleship was no longer needed. But that was not the view of Paul. He understood what the Lord meant by His organization of the Church. There are those who claim that Jesus had no system of Church government; that He had no officers in the Church, but left it entirely to the people. We are told here, however, that He gave unto the Church three different officers in the Priesthood. Nor is it said that it was to be only a temporary organization. We read that these officers were given for certain purposes, viz., "for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."

These things are as necessary in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as they were in the first century. If the body of Christ shall be edified, these men are necessary in the Church. If the Saints shall be perfected, if the work of the ministry shall be performed, these officers must be in the Church. Besides, Paul tells us that they should remain in the church "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God. unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." If men have been placed in the Church for a certain purpose, as long as they are there and fulfill their duty, that purpose will be accomplished. When any divisions or contentions arose in the Church formerly, they were referred to the Apostles; for they were placed in the Church to lead the people into the unity of the faith. They were the living oracles, to whom could be referred all matters of dispute; and the Saints who lived out in the world, when they did not understand certain matters, would send to the head and have these points of doubt cleared up and the true doctrine explained. They were for the work of the ministry. How could the ministry of an Apostle be performed unless an Apostle were in the Church to perform it? They were for the edifying of the body of Christ-meaning the whole Church. How could the Church be edified without these officers whom the Lord had authorized to give His word unto the people? If these are not found in the Church, I hold that the objects for which they were placed in the Church by Christ cannot be accomplished. As an evidence of this, you will find that when those authorized servants of God were martyred, the Church failed in accomplishing these objects. Instead of union in the Church, there was disunion. Men differed in their opinions so strongly that dissensions arose, and the Church was split up into many different factions. Apostasy was the result. Paul had foreseen this, and had warned the people that the day of Christ would not come until "there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." We have seen this taking place. The Church in losing its officers, failed to carry out the purposes for which they were placed in it.

When the time came to which the prophets had looked, when God would again restore His Church and Priesthood to the earth and usher in the dispensation of the fullness of times, we find the same organization again in the Church. It is true that for a few years after the Church was organized in this day there were no Apostles and no Seventies; but their appointment had been indicated. It was not a gradually growing system in which it was taught that we would imitate the Church established formerly; but the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph in the beginning what the organization of His Church should be. In June, 1829-a year before the Church was organized the Lord revealed to the Three Witnesses, through the Prophet, that they were called upon to choose the Twelve Apostles of this last dispensation. Remember, there was no Church then; but the Lord knew what He was going to establish. Before the Church was organized He told the people that a marvelous work was about to be established in the earth. When the Church was organized on the 6th day of April, 1830, as far as we can learn there were but nine persons in the Church. Of course, with nine persons it was impossible to establish this perfect organization of the Priesthood. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery were called and ordained Apostles; but there could not be Twelve Apostles, there could not be Seventy, for at that time the Church was too small. It took time for the work to grow; but the Lord had given revelation upon the subject, and when the proper time came the Presidency of the Church was organized, with the Prophet Joseph as President and Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams as his counselors. Afterwards the Twelve Apostles were chosen, and then the Seventies. But in the beginning, when there were not enough to form these different quorums, the Elders presided, because they held the Melchisedek Priesthood. The Lord, however, had a perfect organization for His Church, and He gave it unto them when they were ready to receive it.

We have found by experience that the Lord is able to perform His work through these men. When the first exigency arose in regard to who should succeed in the Presidency, the people were not prepared for it; but see how naturally the succession came. As we read in the revelations, given in the early years of the Church, the Apostles form a quorum equal in authority to the First Presidency, when the First Presidency is not, and upon their shoulders falls the authority of governing the Church until the First Presidency shall be organized again. And this was the procedure at that time, and it has been the procedure in such cases ever since. The Lord has done nothing in vain; there is an object in all He does; and we have seen the blessing it is to the Church to have a First Presidency. I was glad this morning to hear President Smith state to us the necessity of having this quorum organized, that there should not be an interregnum, only as far as was necessary. How broad the platform is upon which the Lord has built His Church. There is no room for doubt or uncertainty. If the First Presidency is dissolved through the death of the Prophet, then the Twelve Apostles have the authority to take the reins of government. Should there ever arise such a case as the Apostles' quorum also being dissolved (which I do not think will ever happen), the Lord has further provided that a quorum of Seventy can hold and exercise the same power. I see a beautiful illustration here of the Lord's providence, in providing that His Church shall not be left in doubt. This is not a new thing, either. When Jesus was crucified and ascended on high, the Twelve took hold of the work. He certainly presided while He was upon the earth, for He was the founder and the head of the Church. He called Twelve Apostles to His aid, and when He left, the authority fell upon them. While we are not told in express words that there was a Presidency of three, we find that three among the Twelve became the prominent ones, and to them were referred Church matters. I refer to Peter James and John. I have no doubt that they were the presiding quorum of the Church, that they held the presidency of the higher Priesthood, and that the Lord revealed to them His will; for we know that they came in our day and transferred these keys unto the Prophet Joseph-the keys of presidency over the Melchisedek Priesthood. How long they continued to fill up the vacancies occurring in the quorum, I cannot say; we have so little in the New Testament concerning it. You will remember that the history of the Church given us in the inspired writings covers a period of less than thirty-three years-if we accept the year 66 as that in which Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom. But during those years we have indications that men were chosen to be Apostles. The place of Judas, who became a traitor, was filled by the vote of the Apostles, Matthiss being chosen. Then we read in the New Testament of there being four other Apostles-Paul, Barnabas, Junia and Andronicus. Of the latter two, Paul says in our English version of the Bible that they were of note among the Apostles, and in Luther's translation they are called famous Apostles. Hence they did have more than the original Twelve. As long as the true Priesthood remained upon the earth these officers were found in the Church, fulfilling the purpose for which they were placed there.

I rejoice that we live in a day when the Lord has revealed His will unto men and has given us His Priesthood. He has also given us many promises, which we know will be fulfilled. It is for us to live so as to show the Lord that we appreciate what He has done for us; to do the best we can in the places which God has called us to occupy, and to make ourselves better men and women. May God bless us, and bless His work upon the earth, that it may prosper, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.