George A. Smith

“ And in connection with the ordinances to which I have referred, their religion consisted in the observance of a strict moral code. When a man entered the church by the door, that is by faith, repentance, baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands, he was required to live in strict obedience to the principles laid down in the teachings of our Savior, to sustain and uphold the truth and to lead a pure and upright life, and "to do to others as he would that others should do unto him." ”

“ Now, this is calculated to make men reflect upon the position of a church without an inspired leader, without a man at its head who can ask the Lord for guidance and obtain an answer. The Church of England made no pretensions to inspiration. It had protested against the Church of Rome as being the "beast," the "false prophet," the "mother of harlots and abominations of the earth," and everything that was corrupt, and had inaugurated a reformation, and established the Protestant Church of England, with the King for its head; but it had no inspiration. ”

“ Paul, in warning the members of the church of this, says: "beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ.
The religion of the Pagan world was made up in a great measure of ostentatious display. Offerings and sacrifices of various kinds were made in temples of great magnificence, some of which were kept constantly open for this purpose. A great number of persons devoted their lives to the service of these gods. ”

“ Thousands and thousands of Pagans—men dedicated to the Pagan service, now found it to their interest to seek employment under the new religion; and in order to make it permanent and to give it the appearance of consequence it was deemed necessary to incorporate into it some of the Pagan rites and ostentatious display. Degeneracy, almost universal degeneracy was the result. In a few centuries the religious power had grown almost equal to the former civil power of Rome. ”

“ You will remember that not one among this body of learned divines even professed to have the inspiration of God upon him. They were learned in the languages, sciences and the opinions of men, and their vote was the only test by which they decided which of these books were given by revelation and which were not. ”

“ However, divisions arose, and the northern nations of Europe became Protestant under Calvin and Luther. Scotland became Protestant under the lead of certain very devout divines. England became Protestant under Henry VIII, who first wrote a work in defence of the Catholic faith, which caused the Pope to confer upon him the title of "defender of the faith." He put many to death for not strictly observing the Catholic religion. ”

“ But the spirit to redeem the Holy Sepulchre was thoroughly awakened among the western nations of Europe, and a number of princes, warriors and men of wealth and great renown espoused the holy cause. They led magnificent armies; and hundreds of thousands bled and died on the plains of Palestine around Jerusalem. In 1099 Godfrey de Bouillion, succeeded in taking the city of Jerusalem, and the Mosque of Omar was dedicated as a Christian Church. ”

“ This made the nations a great deal acquainted with each other. The knights of England, France, Spain, Germany and Italy were side by side in those campaigns, which were repeated about 150 years—costing the lives of two millions of men. They fought in the common cause, and it had a tendency to make them acquainted with each other, and probably perpetuated, to some extent, that universality of sentiment which existed for so many years in regard to the Catholic faith. ”

“ A stream cannot rise higher than its fountain, and the result is there was no authority among any of them. Not one of these Reformers even professed to have inspiration from the Lord, and that is the condition of the religious world to-day. ”

“ They worshipped the images of almost every creature that could be imagined, and the planets, which were generally represented by collossal statues of exquisite workmanship. The influence of these deities over the people was universal. ”