spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day will not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." (II Thes. ii:1-4.)

It is evident from the foregoing that some were likely to be deceived with regard to the time of His second coming. Paul, to prevent their being misled by false teachers who were likely predicting the Savior's advent, testified that there should come a "falling away first." The language is so pointed that one can readily see that nothing but a departure from the unchangeable plan of salvation could fulfill this prediction. We read in the Scriptures that "God hath set some in the Church, first apostles; secondarily, prophets," and other officers; all of whom were divinely inspired "for the work of the ministry," with spiritual gifts following the baptized believers. Only a short time elapsed, however, before these officers, principles, gifts and blessings, mentioned in the New Testament, were not to be found on the earth: and when we examine the religious institutions of the present time, these things, which God set in the Church, are not found, save with the Latter-day Saints. The present generation then, as those of many centuries past have been, are witnesses to the verification of the words we have quoted.

When Paul was about to depart from Miletus, he called to him the Elders of the Church from the city of Ephesus, and in his farewell address warned them, as appears in the following words: "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them?" (Acts xx:29, 30.) As an evidence that this prophecy was being verified as early as the time of the apostle John's banishment on the Isle of Patmos, this appears in the second chapter of Revelations, first and fifth verses: "Unto the angel of the Church of Ephesus write: These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of this place, except thou repent." By reading the second verse we discover that false teachers had arisen among the people, professing to be apostles, thus verifying the words of Paul. Following closely the context, we discover that similar reproofs were meted out to most of the branches of the Church in Asia, because they were departing from the truth.

Peter, the presiding apostle, also has spoken very plainly regarding the apostasy. Beginning with the first verse of the second chapter of his second epistle, we read: "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not." From this we learn not only that false teachers should arise among the people, but that they should succeed in deceiving the people, causing them to follow pernicious ways. In connection with this part of the subject, Paul says to Timothy: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (II Timothy iv:3, 4.) Thus it is clearly stated, not only that men should arise "speaking perverse things," and by their evil designs succeed in making innovations upon the teachings of the apostles, but that the people themselves would be so allured from the way of life, as to heap unto themselves these false teachers, and many would adhere to their spurious doctrines. The terms "heap" and "many" do not signify a few but a great number.

These quotations from the Holy Scriptures bear especially upon the internal eruptions that occurred in the Church, causing many to depart from the straight and narrow path which leadeth unto life eternal. Those causes which create internal division and discord in the midst of the Saints are the worst of all, for "a house divided against itself cannot stand."

Having shown that many of the ancient Saints departed from the plan of salvation, we will now proceed to examine another branch of the subject, namely: The External Events in Connection with the History of the Church which Conspired to Overthrow the People of God. From the quotations here given, stating that "the love of many waxed cold; many shall follow their pernicious ways," etc., it may be asked, "What shall become of the few who were faithful? Did not they confer the authority upon a people in some remote corner of the earth? And from thence has it not continued, as the true Church, down to the present time?" In answer to these queries we shall refer to declarations of Holy Writ.

When the Savior made His appearance in the flesh there were many religious denominations extant, some of which professed a firm belief in the Bible—the Old Testament—and notwithstanding the ancient prophets plainly foretold the birth and ministry of the Savior, the religious element bitterly opposed Him and denounced new revelation, as manifested through the Redeemer. This peculiar perversity of the human family has been displayed prominently whenever the Almighty has introduced a new dispensation of the Gospel. The Lord, fully understanding the result of such bitter persecution, said to His apostles: "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my namesake." (Matt. xxiv:9.)

The vile treatment to which the ancient apostles were subjected and the martyrdom of many of them, is known to all acquainted with the history of those inspired men; and scriptural evidence as to their having been informed thereof in advance is quite abundant. The Savior says in Mark, thirteenth chapter, ninth verse: "But take heed to yourselves; for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten; and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them." Another witness to this testimony of our Savior has also left us the following: "And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends, and some of you shall they cause to be put to death."

It is a remarkable fact that, in every age of the world when the Lord has committed a dispensation of the Gospel to men upon the earth, the heavenly message has been rejected by the great majority of the human family, and the envy and hatred of many have been such as to instigate measures of violence against the humble servants of the Lord. Especially is this true when applied to the professedly religious element, and more directly to those who aim to be public instructors of the people. Notice the action taken by the Pharisees, Sadducees and other religious classes regarding the ancient Saints; while the devotees of these sects were divided on points of doctrine and disagreed upon the writings of the prophets, they combined their efforts to overthrow the Lord's chosen people. The Savior, indicating the class who would imbrue their hands in the blood of the prophets, said: "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God's service." (John xvi:1, 2.) This could not apply to the atheistic world, for it denies the existence of God. It could not mean the infidel class, for while they may not deny the existence of a Supreme