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Source: Church History Vol. 3 Chapter 34 Page: 652 (~1872)

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652 "We are not dependent, therefore, for the fulfillment of the promises contained in the gospel, upon the men who have been the agents through whose instrumentality these promises have come to us. They are but the channels through which the streams of mercy have reached us, not the streams themselves; nor yet the fountain from which those streams have taken their rise. Whoever then has rested his faith upon the human agent through whom the offer of life has been made to him, has leaned upon the arm of flesh; and a failure of this arm of flesh has broken his faith reposed in it, and only too frequently it has resulted in breaking the faith of the one reposing it in God from whom the blessing was to come. When the agents, who were intrusted with the messages of salvation, conveyed that intelligence in keeping with the command authorizing its promulgation, so far they are within the line of obedience; in which line there could only come the salvation proffered; but whenever and wherever any of those agents transcended the limits of the promise, then and there did they cease to represent the power making the promise, and certain defeat and disgrace awaited them. This was the case in Christ's day; it was the case in the days of the disciples immediately succeeding him; and need we say it has been the case with the disciples on this land in former and latter times.

"While the promises of the gospel were taught, as commanded, there ensued among those availing themselves of the means through which those promises were to be realized, a universality of knowledge respecting Jesus, that made them one in the acceptation of the Messiahship. This came to different persons in different forms, but always with like result; the same Spirit, the same power, the same Lord, but different manifestations; tongues, prophecy, interpretations, faith, knowledge, wisdom, healings, miracles, helps, and governments, all working to the same end-and all the testimony of Jesus-the bond of their unity; without it they could not be one; with it, oneness was possible.

"Much has been said and written upon this subject of unity, or oneness in the church, or among the churches

(page 652)

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