Letter from Ephraim H. Nye, 31 May 1897
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Letter from Ephraim H. Nye, 31 May 1897
People & Places
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Excerpt:-:CALIFORNIA MISSION:- 508 Fulton St. San Francisco, Calif. May, 31st, 1897. President Wilford Woodruff, Salt Lake City, Utah. Dear Brother; Here with I send you material that I have prepared for a Tract subject to your approval. The Tracts we now have in this missn sion are unsatisfactory, and if this meets your approval I should like very much to have the privelege of getting it published, as I think it will be suitable for our work in this mission. Our Tracts obtained ... -
Excerpt:In the meridian of ^at the appointed^ time the Savior came and dwelt among the chil- dren of men. Having been born in the stable, and cradled in the manger the days and years of His childhood and youth were spent with His par- ents in the ordinary walks and avocations of life. Though there were some wonderful things occured in relation to His immaculate conception and birth: Angelic choirs from the upper deep descended chanting glad tidings of great joy, peace on earth, good will to man; Herod's cunning plans were baffled; his boundless rage, his ... -
Excerpt:Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear. Therefore let all the House of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ". Now when they heard this they were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles "Men and Brethren what shall we do?" Not until this moment did they believe in Christ as the Savior of the world. Though all His wonderful works had been ... -
Excerpt:and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin." [Ezekiel 18:30] Nor does it appear that conditions had at all changed in the days of the Apostle Paul for we find him declaring in the most emphatic terms (Acts 17, 30th) "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." This then, is the first grand step of preparatory work in securing salvation in the Kingdom of God. But ... -
Excerpt:one will have the audacity to assert that He who gave His life and shed His blood that we may obtain eternal life, has not the right to estab- lish the conditions upon which we may secure the benefits of that aton- ing blood. His promise is plain, and in language unmistakable, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved" and let us not forget that the declaration is equally positive that "He that believeth not shall be damned." [Mark 16:16] Nor is John the Beloved less im^ex^plicit in ... -
Excerpt:mission of sins." Also Acts 22, 16, "And now why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins." Here the grand question arises what does sin consist of? Is it not the violation of law or the break- ing of a command, and is not the sin of ommission as great as the sin of commission? Surely the commandment "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy" is just as binding as the one that precedes it "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord they God ... -
Excerpt:not apply. But what is more important than all, he that believes in and declares it necessary for the little child to be baptized, and bap- tizes it, is committing a most grievous sin in the sight of God. For if it were true, as claimed by many Christians, that the little infant that dies without baptism is shut out from the presence of God, that hell is paved with little unbaptized children, they are erecting a barrier to those little infants in the form of the ordinance of baptism and "for- bidding" all such to come unto Christ, thus ... -
Excerpt:wicked ways and walk in newness of life. This brings repentance, a for- saking of sin, a reverence for Almighty God and an earnest desire to search after and serve Him in spirit and in truth. We resolve to tread the path our Savior walked, down into the waters of baptism, thus follow ing Him down through the door into the Kingdom of God, that where He is we may be also. Sufficient mental capacity to be taught, to believe, to repent and to voluntarily offer ones self for obedience to the suc- ceeding principle of the Gospel are ... -
Excerpt:to it in these detracting terms: "He (Novatian) fell into a griev- ous distemper, and it beigng supposed that he would die immediately he received baptism (being sprinkled with water) on the bed where he lay, (if that can be termed baptism) neither when he had escaped that sick- ness, did he afterwards receive the other things which the canon of the Church enjoined should be received." (Ecclesiastical History, (Eusebius) p. 113) Even down to the close of the thirteenth century baptism by immersion was the rule, and sprinkling and pouring the exception. Yet the ... -
Excerpt:they heard this they were baptized in thename of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied. [Acts 2] The Blood of Christ. We have now pointed out to the penitent believer the path that leads to eternal life, the straight and narrow way, and carefull noted the inscriptions along the line, down into the water through the door into the kingdom of God. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance of all ... -
Excerpt:iate in the sacred ordinances of the Gospel of Christ? or to initiate men into the kingdom of God? The average merchant in conducting his regular business, when waited upon by one claiming to be an agent of a manufacturer, places his order with that agent fully expecting to re- ceive the goods. As the time rolls on the goods come according. to the sample shown and the order given. This fact alone is proof to the mer- chant that the agent was in touch with his principal and was a duly authorized agent. But if the good^s^ come not ... -
Excerpt:most important features have been eliminated. Signs and wonders and miraculous gifts, together with the fruits of the Spirit, set forth by the Apostle Paul in first Cor. 12th have disappeared, and but the empty powerless form is found to-day among the children of men. The shadow alone remains; the substance has departed. And why? Because mankind have departed from the faith of the ancients. The rights, powers and privileges of the Apostolic Priesthood have long since been withdrawn from man, and all who officiate in religious rites do so without ... -
Excerpt:A glance at Exodus 4, 14-16 and 27-28 will show us how Aaron was called: "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and Hs said, Is n not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well, and also behold he cometh forth to meet thee, and when he seeth thee he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him and put words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and ... -
Excerpt:but to the priests, the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn in- cense. Go out of the sanctuary for though hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honor from the Lord God. Then Uzziah was wroth and had a censor in his hand to burn incense. And while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked upon him ... -
Excerpt:method we are willing that all might be judged. Opinuions of men are not the words of God, nor is the word of God to receive a private inter- pretation as is clearly shown by the following: "Knowing this first that no prophecy of the Scriptures is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." [2 Peter 1:20-21] Opinions of men shall not then prevail, but we will take ... -
Excerpt:great Judge, "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into the place prepared for the devil and his angels, because you never confessed My name." [Matthew 25:41] Would not that heathen be justified in saying, "Who are thou? I never heard of Jesus Christ. When I was on the earth I worshipped Joss and served him faithfully." To punish the heathen for not confessing Christ when in fact he had never heard of him, is contrary to the justice of an all- wise Creator. But God has provided a better way. All who have ... -
Excerpt:and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle." (Psalm 24, 7-8). What was the subject of the vision thus portrayed by the prophet and where was it to take place? He saw the Savior making His triumpjhial entry into the infernal regions, and with irresistable power the gates and doors are made to fly open, and the immortal King stands in the midst of the prisoners of the spirit world. Thus the full import of that beautiful passage of the psalmist David would read: List up your heads, oh ye gates ... -
Excerpt:[sideways text] E. H. Nye MSS. [end of sideways text] [upside-down text] Referred to the church Historian and his aids for examination and such ammendments or changes, or recommenda- tions as they, in their wisdom, [may] feel to be proper. Jos F. Smith June 10th 1897 [end of upside-down text] ...