THE PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCH CONTINUED.
-HE HAD TWO COUNSELORS, MOST LIKELY JUDE AND SILAS, OR JUDAS.
-JAMES, THE SON OF ZEBEDEE, PETER, AND JOHN WERE NOT CONSTITUTED A FIRST PRESIDENCY OVER THE ENTIRE CHURCH.
-PETER THE PRESIDENT OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES.
-THE CARDINAL PRINCIPLES OF THEE FAITH.
-THE LAWS OF INITIATION INTO THE CHURCH.

Accepting that James was made president of the church, it would be reasonable to conclude that he was aided by counselors, -any way, by as many as two. This would be the least number that could properly constitute a committee or quorum in order to obtain a majority decision in the transaction of business. Following in the line and order of an ascending authority, from the body of elders to that of the seventy, and thence to the twelve apostles, it would be natural to conclude that a quorum of not more than three would be appointed to constitute a presidency. Upon questions to be considered and decided this would give a majority of one, and it would be unreasonable to conclude that there were no arduous labor to be performed and important transactions to be considered in connection with this high and responsible position that would demand aid, counsel, and decision. For this number we have a type or example given in the time of Moses, as follows:-

"But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."-Ex. xvii.12 ; xxiv.14.

This was before Aaron was consecrated to the "priest's office," or the order of things under the Levitical priesthood, over which Aaron presided, was set up. Again, the church on earth was after the pattern of the heavenly; three presiding on earth the likeness of the three presiding in heaven,-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Now, that this is the order of the kingdom of God, was well understood by the wife of Zebedee, who was instructed personally by the Saviour in the order of the church. Hence her ambition led her to take her two sons, James and John, to the Saviour, and ask of him that they might "sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom." (Matt.xx.21.) Mark says, as expressed by the two sons, "in thy glory." (Mark x.37.) This was to be in the future, when the kingdom of Christ would bear rule over all the earth, when he comes in the glory of his Father. (Mark viii.38; Matt. xxiv.30; xvi.27; Mark xii.26.) "Then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory." (Matt. xxv.31.)

At this time, the twelve apostles had already received the promise to "sit upon twelve thrones" when Christ should "sit in the throne of his glory." (Matt. xix.28; Luke xxii.29; Rev. xx.4.)

These two sons were included with the other ten apostles, heirs to the same promise of sitting upon thrones. But it did not quite satisfy the ambition of this proud Jewess; she craved that her two sons should sit, the one on his right hand, and the other on his left, in his kingdom. This simply meant that she wished them placed in the two seats of honor or power,-those nearest his person.

Unwise as this request may have been, the Saviour never informed the woman that there were no such positions to be filled in his kingdom as these two sons seem to have aspired to; but he rather confirmed her opinion of the matter by Saying, "To sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father." (Matt. xx.23.)

The order of the kingdom of God, and its future prevalence on the earth, were such common topics of conversation and discourse in those days, and were so well understood, that the thief on the cross was informed regarding it, and while expiring craved that Christ would remember him when He should come in His kingdom. " Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." (Luke xxiii.42.) This thief was, doubtless, a baptized disciple of Christ, but while under temptation had sinned, and Christ here forgave him. (1 John ii.1.)

The angel said to Mary, "The Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David." (Luke i.32.)

As to the two persons who were associated with the Apostle James in the presidency of the church, it should be no surprise if their names are not mentioned in the history of the church; for James, the president, even, is lost sight of for a period of ten years, and some of the most important things relating to him were but incidentally mentioned, as it were, by the historian. Indeed, we have but a scrap of the history of those times. Persecution, war, conflict, and destruction were the common order. Peter's name even is not mentioned for a period of six years,-one of the first and most popular of the apostles.

The best evidence obtainable, however, points to the Apostle Jude as being one that was associated with the president of the church. (1.) It is conceded that he was an apostle. (2.) It is agreed that he was the brother of James; hence the prestige of family that would be likely to secure respect and confidence. (3.) The manner in which he addressed his Epistle shows him to have been in high standing, influential, and well known by all of the church. He had but to say that he was the "brother of James" to indicate his standing and secure regard for his Epistle throughout the entire church.(4.) His letter is addressed to the church at large. This he would not have done have he not been occupying one of the highest seats in the church,-one near the president. It reads: "To them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ." Not to one church, but to them all. Again: "When I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation." . . . "For there are certain men crept in unawares." This shows him to have been a chief watchman, and well informed in church matters. (5.) In the seventeenth verse he disclaims a standing, it would seem, with the twelve apostles, hence the proper place to assign him is with his brother James in the presidency of the church.

Under the heading of the "Epistle of Jude" we have the following:-

"The writer of the Epistle styles himself (verse one) 'Jude, the . . . brother of James,' and has been usually identified with the Apostle Judas Lebbaeus, or Thaddeus. But there are strong reasons for rendering the words, 'Judas, the . . . son of James'; and inasmuch as the author appears (verse seventeen) to distinguish himself from thee apostles, we may agree with eminent critics in attributing the Epistle to another author. The most probable conclusion is that the author was Jude, one of the brethren of Jesus; not the apostle, the son of Alphaeus, but the bishop of Jerusalem."-Pictorial Bible, published by D. Cook & Co., Chicago, Ill., page 47.*

As to who the other assistant or counsellor [counselor] was, it is yet more doubtful. It is highly probable, however, that it was Silas; possibly "Judas, surnamed Barsabas." (Acts xv.22 27, 32.) More than likely, as these were times of fierce persecution, and many of the chief Christian workers lost their lives, these counsellors [counselors], or aids, were frequently removed by death and others assigned to their places. None ever exerted the influence over the Jews, as such, as did James. He was highly esteemed by all classes by reason of his well-known great piety. The Jews hoped, or sought, until the last, the day of his martyrdom, to reclaim him from the Christian cause. By reason of the popular regard had for him, it appears that he was protected in Jerusalem when the twelve apostles were scattered abroad, together with many of the church.

*Appendix C.

It is believed by some that, after the crucifixion of the Saviour, Peter, James, and John were advanced to the presidency of the church; that their authority henceforth transcended that of the other apostles. But unfortunately for this theory, there seems to be little or nothing to support, it.

(1.) All the facts go to show that it was James, the "Lord's brother," and not James, the son of Zebedee, that was made president of the church it Jerusalem. (2.) There is no evidence showing that either Peter or John ever acted in that capacity, but rather that they continued in the very offices and authority to which they were appointed when they were first called to the apostleship by the Master.

It is argued, however, that the Saviour said unto Peter: "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matt. xvi.19), and that this was virtually his appointment to the leadership or presidency of the church.

But there is nothing conferred in this statement that is not essential to the carrying out of the great commission given to Peter and co-laborers, to go and "teach all nations, baptizing them," etc. (Matt. xxviii.19.) From the very choosing of the twelve apostles Peter seems to have been constituted their leader. The reason is not assigned, but he does not appear to have been any more so after than before the crucifixion.

Dr. Smith says of him:-

"From this time [the time of the choosing of the apostles] there can be no doubt that Peter held the first place among the apostles, to whatever cause his precedence is to be attributed. He is named first in every list of the apostles; he is generally addressed by our Lord as their representative; and on the most solemn occasions he speaks in their name." (See John vi.66-49; Matt. xvi.16, 18)

"The early church regarded St. Peter generally . . . as the representative of the apostolic body; a very distinct theory from that which makes him their head or governor in Christ's stead. Peter held no distinct office, and certainly never claimed any distinct powers which did not belong equally to all his fellow-apostles. Bible Dictionary, page 427.

The evidence points to Peter as the chairman or president of the college of apostles, rather than any thing else; and this it is most likely he was, both before and after the ascension of the Saviour. There was nothing in the "keys" of authority conferred upon him that was not essential to the office which he held both before and after the crucifixion; indeed, belongs to it.

Peter exercised this authority on Pentecost, and at the house of Cornelius. He received from heaven, and unlocked to men on earth. It was essential to his ministry as a chief apostle in all the world. It belongs the office of an apostle, most especially to the chief of that body or quorum. Had Peter been regarded in the light of the president of the church, the church at Jerusalem would not have brought him up so summarily for his conduct at the house of Cornelius, neither would Paul have likely found out more of the truth of the divine will than he, and so contend against him "because be was to be blamed." (Gal. ii.11.) Upon this point it is but necessary to call the attention of those who believe as does the writer, to the authorization of the ministry in this Latter-day Dispensation, in order to convince them of this position; for an equal authority-seems to have been the exact one-was conferred upon Thomas B. Marsh, the president of the twelve, as follows:-

"Verily I say unto you, my servant Thomas, thou art the man whom I have chosen to hold the keys of my kingdom (as pertaining to the twelve) abroad among all nations, that thou mayest be my servant to unlock the door of the kingdom in all places," etc.

"For unto you (the twelve), and those (the first presidency) who are appointed with you to be your counsellors [counselors] and leaders, is the power of this priesthood given for the last days and the last time."-Covenants and Commandments, Section 105, paragraphs 7 and 12.

Here the presidency and twelve are associated together in holding "the power of this priesthood given for the last time." The " keys" of the kingdom abroad among all nations were conferred upon the president of the twelve, and this did not interfere in the least with the high authority, prerogatives, and "keys" conferred upon the president of the church and associates, who not only preside over the whole church, but become the leaders and counsellors [counselors] of the quorum of apostles in their specific work to all nations. The following sets forth the high and distinguishing prerogatives, in contradistinction to all others, of the first president:-

"And, again, the duty of the president of the office of the high priesthood is to preside over the whole church, and to be like unto Moses. Behold, here is wisdom: yea, to be a seer, a revelator, a translator, and a prophet, having all the gifts of God which he bestows upon the head of the church."-Covenants and Commandments Section 64, paragraph 42.

The duties and privileges of the counsellors [counselors] are very similar to those of the president; i. e., to aid and assist in any matters connected with his high office.

This, too, is in harmony with what is written in the "Book of Covenants and Commandments," Section 6, as follows:-

"I will make him [John] as a flame of fire and a ministering angel; he shall minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth; and I will make thee [Peter] to minister for him and thy brother James; and unto you three I will give this power and, the keys of this ministry until I come."

"Unto you three I will give this power and the keys of this ministry until I come." What ministry? To preside over the whole church? No. It was the ministry for the proclamation of the gospel to "all the world." John's especial request was that "power over death" should be given him, to the end that he might continue in "this ministry" and "bring souls unto" Christ. His request was granted, and it was said to him: "Thou shalt tarry until I come in myglory, and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues, and people." Imbued with a proper love of mankind, and a true missionary spirit, his appointment abroad to the great world is here confirmed, not to a seat or presidency at a centre, but to all nations. (Rev. x.11.)

Peter desired that he "might speedily come" into Christ's kingdom. Both of their requests were granted. James, it appears, made no request. The three were united in the work of the ministry, and it was to them that it was said : "Unto you three I will give this power and the keys of this ministry until I come"; that is, to go and teach to all the nations.

"I will make thee [Peter] to minister for him [John] and thy brother James."

There is nothing in this specific statement concerning Peter not to be found in substance in the Gospels. As it is well expressed by Dr. Smith, that, from the choosing of the apostles, "Peter held the first place among them." "He is generally addressed by our Lord as their representative." "He speaks in their name." He is here confirmed in his old station, not only as chief or spokesman among the twelve apostles, but also of the three. "I will make thee to minister for him [John] and thy brother James." This recognized leadership of Peter in the quorum of apostles is acknowledged both before the crucifixion and after,-on the day of Pentecost, at the house of Cornelius, down at Samaria, at the conference at Jerusalem, and is here confirmed for all tune.

The sending of Peter with an especial message to Cornelius was not because he was the president of the church, as is virtually confessed by Peter himself at the council at Jerusalem. Said he:-

"Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel and believe."- Acts xv.7.

This shows that the Almighty made a special "choice" of Peter from among others to go on this mission, and it argues nothing for the claim that he was sent because he was the president of the church, and that it was his right because of his holding the "keys" of the highest office or that he was the only one who held "keys" and authority.

But the James spoken of and included with Peter and John in the above, is not James, the Lord's brother, who presided at Jerusalem, but James, the son of Zebedee. The keys and authority for proclaiming the gospel to the, nations were conferred upon these until Christ should. But James, the Lord's brother, was appointed, to preside at Jerusalem. So that, in the opening of this dispensation.-the "dispensation of the fulness [fullness] of times"-Peter, James, and John-the council to whom was committed the authority to preach the gospel to all nations-appeared and conferred the priesthood, and the keys thereof, in order properly to qualify a ministry to declare the restored gospel-the great-day-latter message. This was James, the son of Zebedee, John, and Peter,-Peter still continuing the chief minister of the three.

This is in accord with the statement:-

"Verily I say unto you, my servant Thomas, thou art the man whom I have chosen to hold the keys of my kingdom (as pertaining to the twelve) abroad among all nations."-Covenants and Commandments, Section 105, paragraphs 6, 7; Section 104, paragraphs 11, 12, and 42.

Again, it could scarcely be consistently held by a people who believe that the Melchisedec priesthood is a lineal priesthood, descending from father to son, that on the ascension of the Saviour into heaven the priesthood was transferred from the house of Joseph to the house of Zebedee, and that, too, when it is known that the kindred of Jesus were in the faith and devoted to the great cause which he established. Of right, it belonged to the house of Joseph, and James being the eldest, after Jesus, of that family, save only for transgression Jehovah even could not bar him of his right, for God cannot do unjustly.

"The order of this priesthood was confirmed to be handed down from father to son, and rightly belongs to the literal descendants of the chosen seed to whom the promises were made. This order was instituted in the days of Adam, and came down by lineage in the following manner: From Adam to Seth, etc."-Covenants and Commandments, Section 104, paragraph 18; Section 83, paragraph 2.

"The language of the New Testament writers, in relation to the priesthood," says Dr. Smith, "ought not to be passed over. They rocognize [recognize?] in Christ the first-born the king, the anointed, the representative of the true primeval priesthood after the order of Melchisedec."-Bible Dictionary, page 446.

In this opinion, the lineage-right of the first-born-is recognized, indicating that the house of Joseph was in the true lineal line which had been "hid with Christ in God."

This lineal right was recognized after the ascension of the Saviour, and the chief authority remained in the house of Joseph, and hence James and associates presided over the whole church, while Peter held "the keys" of the kingdom (as pertaining to the twelve), and presided in that council or quorum, and these two quorums jointly held the chief authority, and governed the church at home and abroad.

The twelve apostles, then, were true to the commission given them. They went into all the world, Peter included. James presided at Jerusalem.

"For nothing is plainer," says Rev. J. W. Harding, D. D., "than that St. James, the apostle (whom St. Paul calls 'our Lord's brother,' and reckons with Peter and John one of the pillars of the church) was the same who presided among the apostles, doubtless by virtue of his episcopal office, and determined the cause in the synod of Jerusalem. He was preferred before all the rest for his near relationship to Christ.-Sacred Biography and History, page 522.

As further evidence upon the question as to who was constituted the president of the church at Jerusalem, the following is submitted:-

"James, the Lord's brother, was bishop of Jerusalem (compare Gal. xix. with Gal. ii.9-12), and was president of the church in its earliest days. (Acts xii.13; xv.18.) Such a position required him to be a resident of Jerusalem. . . . He simply styles himself in the introduction thereto [of his Epistle] 'a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.' He who could thus write with the certainty of being identified must have been the most famous person of his name in the church; must have been what St. Paul, a passage (Gal. ii. 9) where he places James both before Peter and John, calls him 'a pillar' of the Christian society. And, again, Jude, when commencing his Epistle, calls himself the brother of James, with no other mark of distinction. Here, too, the same James must be intended; and when we read St. Jude's Epistle (17, 18) we find him distinguishing himself from the apostles, and as it were disclaiming apostolic dignity [one of the twelve]. This is as it would be if James and Jude were both brethren of the Lord, and were not apostles; but we should certainly expect one or the other would have left some indication in their letters had they been of the number of the twelve and most surely neither of them would have been likely to give us reason to believe that he was not an apostle. . . . Once more: The brethren of the Lord are expressly said (John vii.5) not to have believed on Jesus at a period much later in his ministry than the appointment of the twelve, while in the mention of them in Acts i.14, there is given first a list of the eleven who are said to have continued in prayer with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren. Such a studied severance of the brethren of the Lord from the number of the apostles is very significant, while the position that they held in the list may well be due to the fact that it was only at a late period that they had become disciples of Jesus. The change in their opinions has been thought by many to be sufficiently accounted for by the statement of St. Paul (1 Cor. xv.7), that after his resurrection Jesus 'was seen of James.'"-Encyclopedia Britannica, page 562.

Eusebius, in the second book of his "Ecclesiastical History," page 1, writes of the course that was pursued by the apostles after the ascension of the Saviour, as follows:-

"First, in the place of Judas, the traitor, Matthias was chosen by lot. . . . Then were appointed, with prayer and imposition of hands, approved men unto the office of deacons. Then James, called the brother of our Lord. . . . whom the ancients, on account of the excellence of his virtue, surnamed 'the Just,' was the first to receive the episcopate of the church at Jerusalem. But Clement (who was the companion of St. Paul), in the sixth book of his 'Institutions,' represents it thus: 'Peter and James and John, after the ascension of our Saviour, though they had been preferred by our Lord, did not contend for the honor as to who should occupy the highest seat, but chose James the Just as bishop of Jerusalem."

The same author, in the seventh book of the same work, writes:-

"The Lord imparted the gift of knowledge to James the Just, to John and Peter, after his resurrection; these delivered it to the rest of the apostles, and they to the seventy, of whom Barnabas was one.

"But James, the brother of the Lord, who, as there were many of his name, was surnamed the Just by all from the days of our Lord until now, received the government of the church with the apostles."-History, by EUSEBIUS, page 76.

First, they slew Stephen by stoning; next James, the brother of John and son of Zebedee, by beheading; and, finally, James, who first obtained the episcopal seat at Jerusalem, after the ascension of our Saviour."-EUSEBIUS, page 86.

"For the church at Jerusalem, it is unanimously delivered by all ancient writers, that James, the Lord's brother, was the first bishop thereof."-BINGHAM.*

"He was ordained by the apostles immediately after our Lord's crucifixion."-ST. JEROME.

These witnesses all unite in giving a like testimony, showing that there was a president in the church at Jerusalem, who was not of the number of the twelve apostles, and that it was "James, the Lord's brother."

As a second step in the order of succession, the following occurs in the writings of Clemens, who was one of the most ancient of writers of church history:

"That this was designed as a peculiar honor to St. James, in regard that he was the brother of Christ. . . . Some time after his death, as Eusebius relates from ancient tradition, the apostles and disciples of our Lord, as many as were yet in being, met together with our Saviour's kinsmen (several of whom were yet alive) to consult about choosing a successor in St. James's room, and they unanimously agreed upon Simeon, son of Cleopas, our Saviour's cousin according to the flesh, thinking him the most fit and worthy person."-Antiquities of Christianity, page 58.(See also "Christian Antiquities," by Bingham, Vol. l., page 16.)

Again

"There were yet living (A. D. 100) of the family of our Lord, the grandchildren of Judas (Jude), called the brother of our Lord *Appendix D.

according to the flesh. . . . They ruled the churches, both as witnesses and relatives of the Lord."-EUSEBIUS, Ecclesiastical History, XX.1.

These citations of history from the writings of the early Fathers, some of whom were contemporaneous with the apostles themselves, confirm the position taken, that James, "the Lord's brother," succeeded Jesus in the high office of chief "apostle and high priest" in the Melchisedec priesthood on earth, and that, too, by agreement had between the apostles themselves. That, notwithstanding the contention had by the twelve previous to the crucifixion as to who should be the greatest when the Saviour should be taken away, James was appointed to the office of "chief steward," and presided over the entire church. That the apostles sustained him in that position. They "contended not as to who should occupy the highest seat, but chose James."

There is an office, therefore, in the order of the church established by Christ higher than those of the twelve apostles, which they respected, and by unanimous consent appointed a most fit person to occupy that position.

We have, then, as set out in the institution of Moses,-

(1.) The Melchisedec and the Aaronic priesthoods, Moses being the chief apostle and high priest and prophet or president, supported by two aids,-Aaron and Hur.

(2.) Twelve princes, chiefs of the tribes.

(3.) The seventy elders.

(4.) Aaron, officiating in "the priest's office," as the high priest of the Levitical order.

(5.) The lesser priests and Levites, etc.

Under Christ, as set out in the New Testament, there were committed the Melchisedec and the Aaronic priesthoods, with-

(1.) Jesus as "the apostle and high priest"' and prophet.

(2.) He was succeeded in office, in the church militant, by James, "the Lord's brother," who was aided by two assistants, who were, in all probability, Jude and Silas.

(3.) The quorum of the twelve apostles.

(4.) The seventy elders.

(5.) The elders.

(6.) Bishops.

(7.) Priests.

(8.) Teachers.

(9.) Deacons.

(10.) High priests, evangelists, and pastors, set in their respective places, whose exact positions, in point of preferment, are not definitely set forth in the Bible.

The fundamental doctrines believed in and taught by this Jerusalem church were: (1.) Faith in God. (2.) Faith in Jesus Christ. (3.) In the Holy Ghost. (4.) Belief in the doctrine of repentance. (5.) In baptism. (6.) In the laying on of hands. (7.) In the resurrection of the dead; and (8.) Eternal judgment. (9.) The Lord's supper. (10.) The washing of feet. These, together with an humble and godly walk, including all of the excellences set out in the moral code, with the endowment of the Holy Ghost as realized and enjoyed in the testimony of Jesus,-such as faith, wisdom, knowledge, dreams, prophecies, tongues, interpretations, visions, healings, etc.,-were some of the chief or cardinal things belonging to the "house of God," as set up by Christ, and made the "light of the world," the "pillar and ground of the truth." This was the heritage bequeathed by Christ and the apostles and saints to the world in their day, and which was to be perpetuated so long as a proper faith and commendable purity should attach to those professing a belief therein.

The laws of initiation into this church fold were beautifully set out on the day of Pentecost by the Apostle Peter while addressing a congregation of Jews, who became convicted of their transgressions,-"pricked in their heart,"-and cried, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" "Repent," said the apostle, "and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." (Acts ii.38, 39.) (See also Chap. viii.12; xxii.16; x.47, 48: xvi.15; viii.38 ; xix.5, 6; Heb. vi.2.)