Orson Pratt

“ If we should come and tell you that you Protestants, and you Methodists, and you Baptists, and you Campbellites, and you Church of England members, and you Roman Catholics, that if you are only sincere you would all get to heaven we should have no charity for you; but when we come and tell you that if you do not repent of your sins—you Catholics, Protestants, and all other denominations—and receive the message that God has commissioned his servants to declare in your hearing that every one will be damned. ”

“ It is one thing to hear the Gospel as recorded in the New Testament, and another thing to enjoy the blessings of it. It is one thing to read about people receiving the Holy Ghost, and it is another thing for you to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. It is one thing to be baptized by a man holding authority from God who has the right to baptize, and another thing to be baptized by one holding no authority from God, and no right to baptize. Do you suppose that the signs would follow those that had the ordinance of baptism administered by a man that had no authority? ”

“ God only had one message for the people to receive, and all that received it were to be blessed, and all that, would not receive it were to be damned. That is our charity, that is the charity of the ancient Apostles and servants of God, that is true charity. ”

“ For instance there is the Methodist baptizer, the Presbyterian baptizer, and the baptizers of the various religious denominations—most of them baptize, some of them for the remission of sins, and some because they suppose their converts have already received a remission of sins. Perhaps they may perform the ordinance by immersion—the true mode of baptism; but can an unauthorized man baptize his neighbor and that be called baptism in the sight of heaven? ”

“ An imposter would take very good care to so word his language in the promises that there would be a double meaning to them, and if they were not fulfilled in one sense they might perhaps be fulfilled according to a second interpretation, and thus he would escape the obloquy of being an imposter. ”

“ He has sent forth angels in glory from his holy presence, and they have administered the authority of the apostleship, and bestowed it upon the heads of men to administer again among the children of men in all the ordinances of the Gospel. ”

“ We say that among all people, nations, kindreds and tongues, Christians, heathens, Mahommedans, and the savages upon the islands of the sea —that among all these nations there is no authority, not one person among all their denominations that has the least particle of right to baptize you, or to administer the sacrament, or to lay on hands that you may be baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, according to the ancient pattern and order of things ”