Old Believers

“ Almost any Elder in this Church can preach the Gospel, if he is humble before God; he can tell all that the wicked would need to hear from the Old and New Testament. Many of the Elders are scholars, and when they preach we expect to hear almost a Bible and a half preached before they get through ”

“ Old persons who seemed the living and fearful images of death, men, women, and tender little children, of all ages, have in this way become acquainted with gospel truth; and as they see that we act disinterestedly in all things, even aiding them in our poverty, they are attracted to us, and soon are ranked in the number of the faithful. ”

“ It is no time for despair. I notice that our friends, especially the clergymen who spoke to us, reexamined, somewhat, the foundations of our religious faith in their speeches, as if they thought that science or unbelief had shaken a little the strength of the old faith in the minds of men. ”

“ Believing in God, they have put their trust in him. They have trusted him for their food and for their raiment in travelling to the ends of the earth without purse of scrip, to proclaim to a fallen world the great principles that have been revealed from heaven for the salvation of the human family. There is not, to-day, on this wide world, an example of disinterestedness and self-abnegation equal to that which has been exhibited by the Elders of this Church for the last thirty-five years, and not only by the Elders, but by their wives. ”

“ Do you think that a man is renewed by God’s Spirit, when except for a few religious phrases, and a little more outside respectability, he is just the old man, the same character at heart he ever was? ”

“ The old intolerance of regular, intelligent, continuous prayer, the old willingness to find a rest in this world, must be purged out as leaven which will alter the whole character of our life. Are our holy days holidays, or do we endure holiness of thought and feeling mainly on the consideration that holiness is but for a season? Patiently and believingly resist the stirrings of the old nature. Measure all that rises in you and all that quickens your blood and stirs your appetite by the death and spirit of Christ. ”

“ They do not know the difference, neither do they understand the day of their visitation. They possess not the Spirit of God; they are wallowing in the mire of sin and groping in the darkness of unbelief and death. ”

“ Hence it not infrequently occurs, that when the Elders of this Church preach to the inhabitants of the world, that if they obey the Gospel they shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, that the people expect to see some wonderful manifestation, some great display of power, or some extraordinary miracle performed; and it is often the case that young members of this Church for want of better information, carry along with them their old notions of things, and sometimes fall into egregious errors. ”

“ They who were weak in the faith required to have much before their eyes that living witness of the power of faith—the old man, who through so many years, even from his youth, had fought a most excellent fight.
During the loneliness of his exile, the marvelous Revelation was delivered to the veteran apostle. In a dreary island, uncheered by the sound of human voices, those aged eyes beheld the glory of the Lord revealed—saw the heavenly angel, heard the wondrous voice. It was there those mysterious shadowings of things to come, were given him to spread before all men. ”

“ The old men, who elsewhere are usually obdurate and stubborn, and answer that they are now too old to learn the doctrine and begin a new manner of life, here used this very same argument to induce me to baptize them, saying: 'Father, consider that we are already old, and soon shall end our lives; do not let us die without baptism, since we are so anxious to be Christians.' With this good disposition on their part, I began to preach to them, and our Lord was pleased that they should all become Christians. ”

“ We have already noticed what is meant by the old man; namely, pride, covetousness, lasciviousness, unrighteousness, wrath, enmity, hatred, etc.; all of which must die in the Christian, if ever the new man arise in him again, and is day by day renewed. ”

“ He then continues, vaguely confusing faith and humility: “The old man is to be put to death by faith in the Word of God. But God’s Word is not only that which sounds from heaven, but everything that comes from the mouth of a good man, more particularly from our ecclesiastical superiors. That is why the quarrelsome will hear nothing of this faith and take offence at the word of faith. Instead of believing they demand proofs and always think their own ideas right, and those of others false. ”

“ Now to return to those teachings by the Elders, in such cases I would say to my dear brethren, to those who are of the household of faith, try to get a little confidence in yourselves, and then try to live so as to have confidence in your God. Ask even an infidel whether he believes that the wonder workings of nature, the strange phenomena which he sees and cannot account for, are produced, and he will answer, "Yes, I know they are." Do you know that men, women, and children are healed? ”

“ They teach the necessity of faith. Thanks be to the God of heaven and earth, that He who spake these words is so worthy of the faith He requires! The disciple of old could not always understand his Lord; no more can we. ”

“ Because we realize the truth of the gospel as proclaimed by the Elders. We have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, which has revealed to us this knowledge; and it is because of this knowledge that we are here to-day. Where in all the world can you find a class of ministers that dare take the position our elders do? Where is the man or the set of men that can be found that dare to present themselves before the world and say that they have been authorized of God to administer certain ordinances to the people through which they may receive revelation from God? ”

“ If this Gospel of the kingdom had been preached in its simplicity by all the Elders, there would have been a thousand in the Church now where there is one. But the Elders preach everything to the world but what they are sent to preach. ”

“ And though it is not reckoned any reflection upon great wits, when they hit upon the same thought, yet it may seem some disparagement of that reason and philosophy, which teaches old men to think the same of religion, that passion and extravagance teach the young. ”

“ I mean that the Elders can, by their faith, their energy and their life, instil into the minds of the people a perseverance and a determination to press forward such as is not likely to be, unless an influence is used for that purpose. ”

“ And I think that to have known one good old man—one man who, through the chances and rubs of a long life, has carried his heart in his hand, like a palm branch, waving all discords into peace, helps our faith in God, in ourselves, and in each other, more than many sermons. ”

“ Nothing short of the actual realization of the blessings would satisfy the yearnings of their soul. And they stand today as a living protest against religious intolerance, and in favor of the old faith that existed upon the earth thousands of years ago, seeking for the old paths, teaching their children that God is the same today that he ever was, and that they must seek unto him as they did in ancient days to obtain knowledge of him and from him. ”

“ From first to last the message carried to us by the lives and actions of the faithful is this, that they took their Lord at His word, simply as His word, and in the power of that reliance found themselves able to act as if the unseen were seen and the hoped-for were present. "The elders" (ver. 2) are in view from the first—that is to say, the pre-Christian saints, who were in that sense distinctively men who proved the power of faith, that they all lived and died before the visible fulfilment of the great promise of salvation. ”

“ A faith has been begotten, a faith been born that will continue to live and increase and spread abroad, from the very fact that it is true, and truth always finds a lodgement in the hearts of the honest. ”

“ One good old lady I knew who had spent a life doing good works and had always attended church said, in answer to this question, that she had been so occupied in active services that she had never found time to think much about theology but in her heart doubted all doctrines, was not at all sure that she believed in either God or immortality, and was convinced only that whatever happened would be all right. Old clergymen seem particularly prone to suffer from doubts, sometimes of the most radical nature, and even wonder if after a life of zealous propaganda they may, after all, have been wrong. ”

“ We have Elders who are fine speakers, fine orators, and who wish to talk very properly after the manner of the world. They did so in Europe, and they want to do so here; they want to preach those old sermons over, those that they have been accustomed to preach in the old world. ”

“ If we send an Elder to preach the Gospel and he travels the earth over, when he returns we know where he has been and what he has been doing, and if he has been guilty of that crime to which the world is so much addicted he can not keep it ”

“ You must labor for faith: and when any thing troubles you that you can not understand or believe, come to me, and do not express doubts to any of the brethren.' The Elder then put on my eyes a pair of spiritual golden spectacles, to make me see spiritual things. ”

“ Two saintly old men watch by it, and ask the comers whether they are Christians, or are about to become Christians, then whether they desire healing with all their hearts. If they have answered well, they are bidden to lay aside their clothes, and to step into the mussel. ”

“ Whatever we bring with us from the womb of our mother is the old man; whatever we receive by the grace of the Holy Spirit is the new. In the great spiritual transformation experienced by every believer there is a twofold and coincident operation—the putting off of the old and the putting on of the new ”

“ The Elders can bear testimony, for I know that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that God has revealed it to us for our salvation; and our covetousness, and disposition to make a display in the world should not interfere in any way whatever, with us in devoting our time, talents, energies and our all to the upbuilding of his kingdom, for that is the greatest interest and glory, and the grandest speculation there is on the face of the earth. ”

“ These should be the feelings of every Elder that goes forth to preach the Gospel to the nations.
Put it down in your memories, let it be written on the tablets of your hearts that, outside of the religion we have embraced, there is nothing but death, hell and the grave. Every excellency, blessing, comfort, happiness and light, and everything that can be enjoyed by an intelligent being, is for us, if we live for it. ”

“ I beheld that the faithful Elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel.... among those who are in darkness and under bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead. ”

“ The elder now states to us verbally, that he was well received by the brethren where there were any, and that it is due to all where he travelled to say, that he was kindly received and hospitably entertained. Truth and reason are the best weapons to combat prejudice and error. Time, patience and perseverance on the part of the saints are necessary to overcome these, and all other opposing barrier to the truth. The elder has had full congregations of hearers, has preached in a great many places, and baptized five sine he wrote us, making 29 in all since he left home in April last. ”

“ I rise to explain one principle to Elders who are in the habit of preaching the Gospel to the world. Not but what their views coincide with mine, not but what they fully comprehend the matter, but all have not the power and faculty to develop what is in them; some are at a loss to explain that which they understand. ”

“ Sundry old men were also in distress for their souls; so that they could not refrain from weeping and crying out aloud, and their bitter groans were the most convincing, as well as affecting evidence of the depth of their inward anguish.—God is powerfully at work among them! True and genuine convictions of sin are daily promoted in many instances, and some are newly awakened from time to time. ”

“ And so would I too, if a Monk's Hood carried in it as much Piety as it does Warmth.
Er. There is an old Saying, a young Saint and an old Devil.
Ga. But I believe that old Saying came from old Satan: I can hardly think an old Man to be truly religious, that has not been so in his young Days. Nothing is learn'd to greater Advantage, than what we learn in our youngest Years.
Er. What is that which is call'd Religion? ”

“ This is another point of difference between our religion and that of the world. Our elders go forth with boldness, because they are not sent by men. They are not called to preach for hire. They are called of God to bear the holy priesthood and carry forth this message of glad tidings wherever they may be sent. It is their duty to proclaim this Gospel to the uttermost bounds of the earth, and their testimony is similar to that I have borne here to-day, and our witnesses are the Latter-day Saints—gathered from the nations—who dwell in the valleys of the mountains. ”

“ The first Elders had to argue with the people, and show them from the Scriptures that if they were complied with according to the letter and spirit, there would be Prophets and revelations on the earth. ”

“ Meanwhile, a youth possessed of a spirit is brought to be healed, and he is shown writhing with contortions caused by the malignant spirit. An old man, with a face of apprehension and open eyes, watches the Apostles, as if anxious to know if there was hope. ”

“ The Bereans of old did not scornfully reject the, to them, strange teachings of the Apostle Paul, but searched the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Now, forsooth, the Scriptures themselves are called in question, and the very foundations of Christian faith are abandoned by men who would fain be looked upon as the apostles of modern thought. May GOD preserve His people from abandoning the faith once for all delivered to the saints, for the baseless ephemeral fancies of the present day! ”