Mormonism and the Apostolic Fathers D. B. Timmins LDS theology gives great importance to the concepts of apostasy and restoration, teaching that there have been seven distinct dispensations of the one "true and everlasting gospel": the first to Father Adam; the second, after nearly a thousand years of gradual alienation of Adam's children from his teachings, to Enoch, the seventh from Adam, whose influence and teachings were so successful that he and his people were translated, awaiting the coming of the Millennium; the third to Noah; the fourth to Abraham, the "Father of the faithful" whose role it was to beget an elect lineage to preserve the essentials of the Plan of Salvation and prepare the way for the coming of the Savior; the fifth to Moses, to whom the Gospel was restored following a period of bondage in Egypt (who however found the fullness of the gospel too difficult to accept, having been contaminated by a hundred years of bondage. The Lord therefore was compelled to substitute the Mosaic law as a "schoolmaster to bring them unto Christ"). The sixth dispensation was to John the Baptist -- who prepared the path for the coming of the Savior himself. And the seventh dispensation was ushered in by Joseph Smith who accomplished the great "Restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouths of all his holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:21) -- the so-called Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, preparing for the coming of the Millennium when the Savior will come to rule directly on the earth. LDS scholars have given considerable attention to the first, said what little can be said about the second and third, written extensively about the fourth, fifth, and sixth, and prepared detailed histories and doctrinal analyses about the seventh -- the present era. Some of our brightest scholars have written extensively concerning the ancient world as this may have affected the Book of Mormon Patriarchs. But other than Gospel Doctrine lesson materials based largely on the New Testament and a couple of scholarly works on the Great Apostasy by James Barker and J. Reuben Clark, little has been produced by contemporary Church scholars regarding the early days of Christianity -- almost as if the apostasy had occurred simultaneously with the death of the Apostle John following his return from exile on the Isle of Patmos ca. 90 A.D. Yet Clark and Barker, and most other LDS scholars, agree that the apostasy was not complete until well after the adoption of Christianity as the state religion of Rome by Constantine about 300 A.D. Indeed, there is every reason to believe that there were faithful branches of the Church and valid bishops and priesthood well into the third century, faithful members having withstood the inroads of heresy and apostasy until sound doctrine was swamped as a result of the emperor's insistence on doctrinal unity at any price, in the interest of using the (by then) apostate church as an instrument of state policy to hold Rome together as it began to crumble from internal weakness and external attacks from the barbarian north. Indeed, it was the very steadfastness and determination of the early Christian martyrs, holding out -- often to the death -- against the unreasonable demands of the Roman state, which convinced Constantine (whose mother was a Christian) that the Church was the solution he was looking for to reinforce the State against internal erosion and external attack. The Church today finds itself living in conditions surprisingly parallel to those of the Primitive Church at the end of a hundred and fifty years: there is growing respect for the Church and its burgeoning membership; it has members in high place in government; professors at great universities under pressure to conform to current theories in the several sciences and professions; successful member businessmen sorely tempted to elevate professional and commercial success to a rank only slightly inferior to devotion to God and family (Hugh Nibley has written critically of this). And learned non-LDS scholars speculating that the Mormon Church will be a world religion challenging Buddhism, Taoism, and Islam in numbers by the middle of the next century. In LDS study of New Testament times, a persuasive case can be made that we should look a few years beyond the Book of Revelation and the disappearance of the Apostles, giving at least some attention to the writings of the faithful second generation bishops, missionaries, and martyrs -- not only for the lessons they can teach us in courage and fortitude -- but for the example they have to teach regarding their experience in withstanding (and sometimes not withstanding) the encroachments which worldly success and acclaim can have on righteous living and doctrinal soundness. In the early Primitive Church, the writings of these second generation converts, some of whom were disciples of the apostles themselves, were looked upon as authoritative embodiments of Church beliefs and traditions, and little distinction was made between some of their writings and those now included in the New Testament. Scholars familiar with the way in which the current canon of New Testament scripture was eventually decided are, in fact, convinced that had some events been just a bit different, some of these writings might today be considered Holy Scripture. (See Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic Fathers. Staniforth, Dorset Press: N.Y., 1968). Certainly, Latter-day Saints, whose canon of scripture is not yet closed (our most recent addenda of scripture being the revelation on priesthood dated September 30, 1978), who are fascinated by history and have been reading recently published pioneer diaries of LDS women, should have great interest in the epistles of Polycarp, a probable convert of John (and appointed by John to succeed as bishop of Smyrna -- today Ismir), Clement, a possible convert of Peter and third bishop of the church at Rome; and Ignatius, saintly bishop of Antioch, who presided over the largest group of church members during his era. For their nearness in time to the Savior (though none were themselves witnesses to his mission or death), and their first-hand acquaintance with the Apostles, later generations came to call this group of men "The Apostolic Fathers". None of them -- with the exception of Barnabas -- were however actually called to the apostolate themselves. While the bishops and "clergy " (which seems to have been a generic term which included bishops' counselors, branch presidents and other priesthood members holding specific administrative callings [perhaps akin to contemporary use of the term Elder, to avoid calling everyone from quorum leader to Stake President to Regional Leaders to the Head of the Church, President]) -- met together as frequently as possible, exchanged letters, and sent emissaries to each other to exchange counsel, warnings, and good tidings, the Primitive Church did not seem to have the same understanding of the need for a single authoritative voice as we do today -- perhaps because of the difficulty of travel and the slowness and uncertainty of communication by letter.. As a result of these difficulties, compounded by the passing of the Apostles, who were the only ones with universal authority over all the churches (nothing in the writings of the Primitive Church about the Seventies stepping forward to fill in for the Apostles, nor indeed much about the Seventy at all, though Eusebius confirms their existence (see Eusebius: History of the Church, as well as the appropriate article in this compendium), plus the intense harassment and persecution which prevented the Elders (sacerdotes) from organizing themselves, the church broke apart into separate dioceses The diocese was a Roman unit of government more or less equivalent to a modern conurbation (for major cities), or county (for more rural areas) with each bishop nominally equivalent to all others. But with some, by reason of the importance of the town or region the presided over (Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Alexandria, Rome), or by reason of their personal wisdom or worthiness (Polycarp in Smyrna) being accorded special dignity. Indeed, during this time of flux, the distinction between Sacerdotes (Melchizedek Priesthood, as understood and taught by Eusebius, ibid.) , and Presbyteros (Priests, or Aaronic Priesthood) was entirely lost by the apostatizing church of the time.. CLEMENT Some historians consider Clement (or Clemens) to have been Titus Flavius Clemens a member of an influential Roman family, perhaps even a nephew of the Emperor Vespasian, who held the consulship in 95 A.D. This would not be impossible, since it was probably the policy of the Church to choose leadership from among those of its members who could put a good foot forward in representing the Church in society -- and it is known that members of the noble Roman families were already associating themselves with the Church. The choice of a person of special reputation in the community is a not unknown consideration in choosing bishops and stake presidents today, given basic compliance with the fundamental requisites of personal righteousness, doctrinal soundness, tithe-paying, and temple attendance. Others have argued that Bishop Clement was the same Clement mentioned by St. Paul as his companion in Philippi. But most scholars consider it more likely that he was a convert of the household of the noble Clemens family who, as was the custom of the day, had taken the name of the family he served. New Testament scholar Maxwell Staniforth argues that his writings demonstrate no first-hand knowledge of Hebrew and that his Latin is sufficiently unpolished that he was probably a Greek. Clemens is said to have been martyred about 100 A.D., i.e. less than seventy years following the crucifixion -- equivalent in Mormon history to about 1914, that is while some members of the modern apostolate called under the hands of the Three Witnesses had been dead less than twenty years. He was clearly a contemporary of Paul and John, if not of other of the original apostles. Bishops are Actually Priests While Eusebius usefully distinguished sacerdotes from presbyteros , i.e . the Greater from the Lesser Priesthood, a significant contribution of Clement to our understanding of church operations in his day is his speaking of Bishops and Presbyters as being essentially the same, i.e . both being of the Lesser Priesthood. This has been very puzzling to traditional church scholars and students of the bible, deprived as they are of modern revelation which has restored many "plain and precious teachings" lost from tradition or corrupted by medieval attitudes to Bishops as equivalent to secular Lords or Princes. Latter-day Saints understand that a Bishop is, in fact, an office of the Lesser, or Aaronic Priesthood. In addition to his duties as a Judge in Israel and President of his Ward, a Bishop is above all (a job he cannot delegate) President of his quorum of forty-eight priests. So the Bishop is essentially a Presiding Priest! And Clement is correct in asserting that bishops and priests have effectively the same calling It was President Brigham Young who first replaced Ward Presidents, who were High Priests (the presiding office of the Melchizedek priesthood) with Bishops (an Aaronic Priest, who, however, in the absence of a literal descendant of Aaron must also be ordained a High Priest) so that the multiple tasks of presiding over a ward, a priests quorum, care of widows and orphans, and service as a common judge in Israel, could all be combined in one individual. Putting together the teachings of the early church historian Eusebius with those of Clement, we learn that Bishops of the Primitive Church had precisely the same responsibilities as modern bishops, even to presiding, in addition to the other responsibilities enumerated, over a group of 46 priests (it is not clear whether Eusebius specifically did not include the bishop and his counselor(s) in numbering the members of Priests Quorums or why the exact number of priests in a quorum is two less than at present). Be that as it may, it is clear that Clement was a good and righteous man and a worthy and effective bishop. He lived during a period of rapid growth of church membership, and while he confronted both heresy and apostasy, he clearly held fast to the faith and lived and died a faithful servant of the Lord. He is customarily listed as third successor to Peter as First Bishop of Rome. (I have written elsewhere my views regarding the tradition of Peter as Bishop of Rome, James as Bishop of Jerusalem, and John as First Bishop of Ephesus). Clement's epistle to the Church at Corinth is the earliest extant Christian writing outside those canonized in the New Testament. IGNATIUS According to Eusebius, in 69 A.D. Ignatius succeeded Euodius (who was ordained bishop by Peter himself) as Bishop of Antioch. Ignatius was a learned and persuasive teacher and writer, whose writing pursues three themes with special intensity: loyalty to priesthood leadership to avoid contamination from heresies and the false prophets and teachings of his day; warnings against spurious doctrines, which he knew from Paul's teachings would spread among the flock like raging wolves -- and which he already saw coming to pass all around him; and the preferability of a martyr's death to the compromise of practice and doctrine which he also understood would mean the end of the saving role of the Church should it accommodate itself to Roman rule and Greek philosophy. Finally, he emphasized that the office of Bishop is a calling not to be coveted or actively sought by members of the priesthood. Bishops are selected by God Himself through direct inspiration (op. cit. p. 120). Ignatius, in his letter to the Magnesians, was the first known writer to refer to the members of the Primitive Church as Christians (Staniforth, op. cit. p. 90). The Godhead Ignatius, like Eusebius and other faithful priesthood leadership of his day, had a firm and clear understanding of the relationship of Jesus and the Father, and that they were indeed separate personages, though united in will and determination (op. cit. p. 120). He similarly understood the physical reality of the resurrection, quoting the meal of fishes and honey and the experience of Thomas thrusting his hand into Jesus' side, much as would an LDS missionary today. Combating the Donetist heresy that all was illusory or "spiritual", Ignatius concludes, "If everything the Lord did was only illusion, then these chains of mine must be illusory too!" (At this time Ignatius was under arrest and on his way to the fiery stake of martyrdom). Priesthood Must Operate Under Direction of Bishop Demonstrating his clear understanding of priesthood authority and the necessity to combat schism and factionalism, Ignatius cautions the Philadelphians in his epistle to them (they had appealed to him because of factionalism at home and his renown as a spiritual leader -- though he is careful in his opening words to say he has no authority to instruct them, but is writing only out of a sense of duty and because he was invited to do so) that they should cease their division and hold fast to the authority of their constituted bishop. The sacrament ("eucharist") must never be offered without the bishop's approval and supervision (standard practice among LDS but not in many other denominations), nor should baptisms be performed without the bishop's oversight (ditto, where infant baptism is not infrequently performed even by women in case of immanent infant death, all concept of the innocence of infants having been lost). Op. cit. p. 120. Ignatius, as Eusebius, also takes for granted a married priesthood (p. 121). And distinguished between the "spiritual" and "temporal" duties of the Bishop, calling upon the Deacons of Smyrna to be diligent in assisting their bishop Polycarp (see below) to care for the widows and orphans, a standard duty of deacons even today. Temple Ordinances As Latter-day Saints are aware, little is said or written about the ordinances of the temple outside the temple itself. It has been the custom of our day (with the exception of the forty years during which the construction of the Salt Lake Temple was underway, when certain ordinances were permitted to be accomplished in the so-called Endowment House which stood in the northwest corner of what is today Temple Square), for ordinances to be performed only in specially erected Houses of the Lord. For convenience, there are today about 50 of these spotted about the globe. This is a convenience of monumental proportions compared to the practice of Ancient Israel which recognized but one temple in the entire world -- that of Jerusalem. For a time the Brethren were reported to be considering the possibility of opening special "endowment rooms" in selected stake centers, extending access to ordinance work to areas not yet favored with temples. There is reason to believe that this was the practice in the Primitive Church, with certain churches especially constructed to provide for endowment work. This is all but confirmed in Eusebius' History (op. cit) and more than hinted at in Ignatius' Epistle to the Ephesians. Ephesus was not only the center of a vigorous Christian community founded by Paul and Timothy, and presided over by John, who is generally accepted as having been the town's first bishop; but it was also the site of the Temple of Diana, mentioned by St. Paul, which was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. by Herodotus. Ignatius, writing to the Ephesians, cautioned them about allowing themselves to be led astray by the false gods and false doctrines which surrounded them. Ignatius Distinguishes Between Salvation and Exaltation Ignatius distinguished carefully between the concepts of immortality and that of eternal life , a distinction familiar to LDS who recognize the first as being an attribute of universal salvation from death through the unearned grace of Christ, and the second the reward of exaltation achieved through faithfulness and good works. Appealing to the Ephesians' familiarity with the initiatory rites of the Cult of Diana, he wrote -- apparently referring to the higher and more sacred endowment ceremony not yet lost from the Primitive Church, if conferred only on the most worthy, select, and tried Christians -- not to forget that "you are initiates of the same mysteries as our saintly and renowned Paul" (op. cit p. 79). Regrettably, the abuses of the Gnostic heresy, an attempt by non-initiates to imitate the temple ceremony which they were not worthy to participate in, but which they recognized as essential to exaltation (like the Fundamentalists of our day?), plus erosion of the knowledge of these sacred rites as the church became given over to the trappings of Roman state religion and Greek philosophy, soon led to the total loss of the temple ceremony. (But see BYU Studies for a highly informative analysis drawing parallels between little understood usages of the "high mass" of the Catholic Church and residual elements of cathedral architecture and elements of Mormon temple ritual). Organization of Bishoprics When a Latter-day Saint speaks of "the bishopric", he immediately thinks of the Presidency of his ward -- the bishop and his two counselors. To the gentile Christian, however, "bishopric" refers to the office and calling of the bishop. But Ignatius, writing to the Magnesians sometime after 69 A.D. when he was ordained, comments that he had been visited by their "Bishop Damas and his two clergy " (op. cit. p. 87). As we have seen, the term clergy was used generically to refer to priesthood holders having one or another administrative office in the Church. It is highly suggestive that Bishop Damas' companions were identified neither as presbyters nor sacederdotes nor brethren , but as "his two clergy ". It is entirely likely that these were counselors in the bishopric of Magnesian, especially since both Clement and Ignatius emphasize that bishops were not monarchs acting with sole authority in the Primitive Church -- no less than they are today --precisely why every presiding office in the Church, including the Presidency of Heaven, is composed of a President and two Counselors to provide additional wisdom and balance. Regrettably, the role model of the Roman state with its sole emperor soon superseded the practice of the early Church, with resultant excesses and at times outright tyranny on the part of both individual bishops and the papacy. Hints of Stake Organization In traditional Christian thought, the diocese, being based on Roman usage, was the largest unit of church government. Even today, when the Roman Catholic church meets in conclave, thousands of bishops are called to meet together with extraordinary congestion and confusion. As a consequence of modern revelation, the Restored Church is served by intermediary Stakes, Regions, and Areas. There is some evidence in the writings of Ignatius that, at least initially, the practice existed of having a level of organization paralleling that of the Stakes of today. Ignatius addresses his letter to the Romans "to the Church holding chief place in the territories of the district of Rome" (op. cit. p. 103) -- implying oversight of the several churches in the Rome area by an individual of superior rank. He was presumably addressing himself to the equivalent of the Stake President in the Rome Stake of his day, not having at hand the name of the authority in question because of the constraints of time and distance then prevailing. Indeed, this was perhaps one of the elements in the evolution of the papacy, which eventually displaced the competing Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and other major cities (who may themselves have been "Stake Presidents" of the surrounding territories), becoming sole Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic world following the Great Schism of 1054 A.D. which separated the Orthodox east with its co-equal Patriarchs from that of Roman Catholicism with its monarchical Supreme Pontiff. Indeed, even today Orthodoxy is prepared to acknowledge the role of the Pope as Patriarch of the Churches of he West, but give him no predominancy regarding what they consider their co-equal patriarchies of the East. Polycarp of Smyrna Polycarp (a "baptismal name" based on a custom still extant in many Christian churches in which the name of a saint or special virtue is adopted in addition to the civil registry name -- perhaps a vestige of the practice of endowing the most faithful of the early Christians with a "new name" at the time of their initiation into the higher ordinances of the Gospel) means "very fruitful", or perhaps, "bountiful". It is thought that Polycarp was born of Christian parents, probably about 69-70 A.D. If so, he could easily have known several of the apostles. According to his own writings, he did personally know the Apostle John and several other early Church leaders among those who fled Jerusalem prior to its destruction in 70 A.D. and who had come to Asia (now Turkey) for safety. His own student Ireneus wrote a biography of Polycarp from which we know that he later became Bishop of Smyrna (today's Ismir), a church founded by Paul during his first missionary journey. The Church at Smyrna during the administration of Polycarp underwent severe persecution not only from the adherents of Mithraism, but by Jewish fanatics, as recorded in Revelation 11:8. Smyrna became a center of apostasy and heresy by reason of its being the center of several oriental mystery cults as well as of several Greek schools of philosophy. This made Polycarp's task as Bishop most difficult. He was martyred, following his betrayal and arrest, probably in 155 A.D. at the age of 86. Shortly before being burned at the stake, Polycarp wrote to the Bishop of Rome, at which time both churches were still holding fast against apostasy (op. cit. p. 136). Unlike Ignatius, Polycarp was neither especially imaginative in his teaching nor gifted as a writer. Indeed, he seems to have been rather straight forward and, if anything, simple mindedly stubborn in his understanding and teaching, which made him an ideal defender of the faith in the circumstances in which he found himself. It at least makes him an interesting window on the beliefs and teaching of the Christians of the first century following the crucifixion. He relays to us with minimal corruption the teachings of the Apostle John as he understood them. And in a time of heresy and apostasy this was of enormous importance to his flock, helping to hold the Church together for almost another century and a half. A parallel in our times might be Brigham Young's close adherence to the teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith against the re-interpretations of such as Sidney Rigdon, James Strang, and the founders of the "Re-Organization". Mission Branches Polycarp confirms the existence in the Primitive Church of two levels of organization, as in the Church today: Fully organized bishoprics (possibly including a superior "stake" level [see above]), and less fully organized Branches in which there were not yet bishops. Writing to the Philippians, for example, he makes no mention of a bishop, while he is careful to do so in all his other letters (op. cit. p. 142). With Ignatius, Polycarp observed the emergence of apostate and false doctrines, as well as the rampant immorality of the society of his day. To the Philippians he wrote, "Make a clean break with all (your) carnal desires . . . because no fornicator, pervert, or sodomite will inherit the Kingdom of God. " (Op. cit. p. 142). Polycarp warned against another prevailing evil of his times, which is again rampant in our day. I have called it elsewhere "The Sam Brannan heresy", i.e. that we should seek first wealth and its accouterments so that we'll be in a better position to serve God and his Church. Of course the Savior warned against this, saying, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." But man has a hard time getting his priorities and his time horizons straight. And Polycarp is forced to remind the Philippians that true wealth is eternal life, which is to be gained by being merciful, non-judgmental, and forgiving. "We brought nothing into this world, and we can carry nothing out. We must gird on the armor of integrity . . . and school ourselves into conformity with the Divine commandments." (op. cit. p. 125). Our contemporary Voice in the Wilderness Hugh Nibley has written much the same thing about the "wealth detour" which seems to have seduced so many young LDS from the quest to become rich through making themselves "heirs and joint heirs with Christ" in all that the Father possesses of the riches of the universe, in return for the few paltry bucks one can temporarily acquire during our few moments of earth life. Death of Polycarp Nothing is more telling with respect to the faith and courage of this saintly follower of the Apostle John than his manner of death. As recorded by Marceon, this became a model for all future martyrologies, as Polycarp's courage became the paradigm for hundreds of others of the faithful confronted with the choice of equivocation or death. Knowing that the Procurator was seeking him, and against his own preferences, Polycarp allowed himself to be persuaded by his followers to move into seclusion at a country estate. Betrayed by a houseboy who had been tortured to reveal his whereabouts, Polycarp was wakened at midnight by soldiers, armed as if they were seeking a criminal. He was courteously invited by his arresters to take food and drink while he prayed for two hours for his flock, for all the churches in the world, and for courage to confront his fate. As witnessed by Marceon and recorded by Ireneus: . . . They mounted him on an ass and took him to the city . . . and addressed him persuasively. "Come now", they said, "where is the harm in saying 'Caesar is Lord', and offering incense when it will save your life". . . . Then after their efforts at persuasion had failed, they took to uttering threats, and turned him out of the carriage so impatiently that he barked his shins. . . Inside the circus there was now such an uproar that nobody could make himself heard. As Polycarp stepped into the arena there came a voice from heaven, "Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man". No one caught sight of the speaker, but those of our friends who were there heard the voice. . . . The Governor [then] pressed him saying "Take the oath and I will let you go. . . Revile your Christ". Polycarp's answer was, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How can I then blaspheme my King and my Savior?" . . . . The other said, "I have wild beasts here. Unless you change your mind, I shall have you thrown to them". "Why not then call them up," said Polycarp, "for it is out of the question for us to exchange a good way of thinking for a bad one." . . . The other said, "If you do not recant, I will have you burnt to death, since you think so highly of wild beasts." Polycarp replied, "The fire you threaten me with cannot go on burning for very long; after awhile it goes out. But what you are unaware of are the flames of future judgment and everlasting torment which are in store for the ungodly. Why do you go on wasting time? Bring out whatever you have a mind to." And all the time he was saying this and much else besides, he was overflowing with courage and joy. . . . It was the governor who, on his part, found himself now completely at a loss. . . . Whereupon [the people] set up a unanimous outcry that he should be burnt alive. (Thus it was assured the fulfillment of the vision he had had upon his pillow. . . and turned to his friends with the prophetic words, 'I must be going to be burnt alive.') It was all done in less time than it takes to tell. In a moment the crowd had gathered faggots and kindled them. . . When the pile was ready, he took off his outer garments and undid his girdle, and even tried to unfasten his shoes. . . . The irons with which the pyre was equipped were fastened around him: but when they proposed to nail him to the well, he said, 'let me be: He who gives me strength to endure the flames will give me strength not to flinch at the stake' . . . . Then he cast his eyes up to heaven and said: 'O Lord God Almighty, Father of the blessed and beloved Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have been given knowledge of Thyself: Thou art the God of angels and powers, of the whole creation, and of all generations of the righteous who live in thy sight. I bless thee for granting me this day and hour, that I may be numbered amongst the martyrs, to share the cup of thy Anointed and so to rise again unto life everlasting, both in body and soul, in the immortality of the Holy Spirit . . . For this and all else besides I praise thee, I bless thee, I glorify thee, through our eternal High Priest in heaven, the beloved Son Jesus Christ, by whom and with whom be glory to thee and the Holy Ghost, now and for all ages to come. Amen.' . . . The fire [was] on the shape of a hollow chamber, like a ship's sail . . . and formed a wall round about the martyr's figure; and there was in the center of it, not like a human being in flames, but like a loaf baking in the oven, or like a gold or silver ingot being refined in the furnace. And we became aware of a delicious fragrance, like the odor of incense or other precious gems. Finally, when they realized that his body could not be destroyed by fire, the ruffians ordered one of the dagger-men to go up and stab him with his weapon. As he did so, there flew out a dove, together with such a copious rush of blood that the flames were extinguished; and this filled all the spectators with awe, to see the greatness of the difference that separates unbelievers from the elect of God. Of these last, the wondrous martyr Polycarp was most surely one; bishop of the Church at Smyrna, and a teacher in our own day who combined both apostle and prophet in his own person. For indeed, every word that ever fell from his lips either has had, or will have, its fulfillment. Epistle to Diogenes This work is actually a treatise, rather than an epistle. Written by an anonymous author in the first quarter of the second century (ca. 124 A.D.) it is directed to a senior Roman official who had apparently been expressing interest in Christianity and was evidently intended to educate him about true Christian beliefs in hopes of eliminating some of the persecution based on maliciously false reports of Christian worship, including charges of atheism (since Christians would not recognize either Greek or Roman gods) and cannibalism (based on distorted accounts of the Sacrament). The author's most significant contributions to LDS understanding of the doctrines of the Primitive Church are his comments on man's relationship to Deity and how the true Christian is to worship Him through personal righteousness and service to his fellow man, rather than through animal sacrifice. A peculiarly Mormon doctrine, and one which traditional Christianity has always considered a major heresy, is the concept of eternal progression: that man is a literal offspring of deity and is destined, if he lives according to the principles of the Gospel, to become like the Father of Spirits. In the words of the fifth President of the Church Lorenzo Snow, "As God is, man may become." As an astonishing confirmation that this doctrine was known and taught in the Primitive Church, our anonymous author informs the Roman official to whom he is writing, "Do not be surprised that a man should imitate God . . . . If a man shoulder his neighbor's burdens; if he supplies another from his own abundance; if he shares the blessings he has received with those who are in want, he himself becomes a god. . . . Such a man is an imitator of God." (Op, cit. p. 181). Or, as an LDS might say, he becomes a "partaker of the divine nature". Epistle of Barnabas The Epistle of Barnabas was for long (and by many still is) believed to have been written by the Barnabas who was Paul's missionary companion, and who, though not one of the original Twelve, was counted an apostle. For this reason, this epistle was often included with the other scriptures which later were canonized in the New Testament. Whoever the true author was, he wrote very early in the Christian experience, was evidently close to some of the first missionaries of the Church, and many significant teachings lost to traditional Christianity until the Restoration are mentioned in his writings. Perhaps the most significant among these is his assertion that there is only one True and Everlasting Gospel that has been transmitted, lost, and restored through several dispensations; was known to Adam, restored to Abraham, and that Moses, too, brought down with him from Mt. Sinai the Fulness of the Gospel to bestow on the Children of Israel. But finding them worshiping the golden calf, he broke the tablets containing the fullness and returned to Sinai where the Lord gave him instead the Ten Commandments, a simpler carnal law as "schoolmaster to bring them to Christ". Barnabas writes, "Some claim that the Jews' Covenant is for us as well. Indeed it is. But Moses had hardly received it when they forfeited it forever (emphasis supplied). What scripture tells us is, Moses was in the mount forty days . . . and he received the covenant from the Lord. . . . But because they turned aside after idols, they lost it . . . . Moses threw down the two tablets he was holding and that Covenant was smashed to pieces." (op. cit p. 196-197). Barnabas also taught, as does the modern Church, that much of the blood of Israel had been scattered among the Gentiles and that it was from among this blood that many Christian converts had come. "See, Abraham, I have appointed you to be the ancestor of Gentile nations who believe in God, but without being circumcised." (Op. cit. p. 212). The Way of Light and the Way of Darkness: Teaching Against Abortion In his admirable homily The Way of Light and the Way of Darkness , Barnabas combines the teachings of the Ten Commandments with those of the Sermon on the Mount, producing a summary of doctrine which could profitably be studied in any Priesthood Quorum, Relief Society, or Sunday School class. If Apostle Barnabas was indeed the author of this epistle and was transmitting the teachings of Jesus, as he had learned them, we have in this sermon the earliest and most direct injunction against abortion and infanticide in scripture, or near-scripture. There could be no better way of ending this resume' of the writings of the Apostolic Fathers than to conclude with these moving words, which but for some accident of history, might have been included in the New Testament between the epistles of Paul and the Revelation of John, and which were, in any event, held by the early Church to be just short of the authority of Holy Scripture itself. The Way of Light First, then, for the Way of Light; and here a man who would make the pilgrimage to his appointed home must put his whole heart into his work. To aid our steps on the road, illumination has been given to us then -- Love your Maker; fear your Creator; give glory to Him who redeemed you from death. Practice singleness of heart, and a richness of the spirit. Shun the company of those who walk in the Way of Death. Abhor anything that is displeasing to God, and hold every form of hypocrisy in detestation. Be sure that you never depart from the commandments of God. Do not exaggerate your own importance, but be modest at all points, and never claim credit for yourself. Cherish no ill-natured designs upon your neighbor. Forbid yourself any appearance of presumption. Commit no fornication, adultery, or unnatural vice. Never take the name of God on your lips in loose company. If you have to rebuke anyone for a fault, do it without fear or favor. Keep calm and mild; reverence the words you have heard, and bear no resentment towards a brother. Never be in two minds as to whether something is or is not to be. Never make free with the Name of the Lord. Never do away with an unborn child, or destroy it after its birth. Do not withhold your hand from your son or daughter, but bring them up in the fear of God from their childhood. Do not cast covetous eyes on a neighbor's possessions. Do not be greedy for gain. Do not set your heart on being intimate with the great, but look for the company of people who are humble and virtuous. Whatever experience comes your way, accept it as a blessing, in the certainty that nothing can happen without God. Never equivocate, either in thought or in speech. Obey your masters with respectfulness and fear, as the representatives of God. Do not speak sharply when you are giving orders to servants, whether men or women, if their trust is in the same God as yours; else they may lose their fear of Him who is over you both. The Lord did not come to call people according to their rank; He came for those who were already prepared by the Spirit. Give your neighbor a share of all you have, and do not call anything your own. If you and he participate together in things immortal, how much more so in things that are mortal? Never be in a hurry to speak, for the tongue is a fatal snare. For your soul's sake, be as pure as you can. Do not be one of those who stretch out their hands to take, but draw back when the time comes for giving. Cherish as the apple of your eye anyone who expounds the word of the Lord to you. Day and night keep the Day of Judgment in mind. Seek the company of God's people every day; either laboring by word of mouth -- that is to say, be going among them for purposes of exhortation, and striving to save souls by the power of speech -- or else working with your hands, to earn a ransom for your own sins. Never hesitate to give; and when you are giving, do it without grumbling; you will soon find out Who can be generous with His rewards. Keep the traditions you have received without making any additions or deductions of your own. Never cease to detest evil. Make your decisions fairly and uprightly. Do nothing to encourage dissensions. Bring the disputants together and compose their quarrel. And make confession of your own faults; you are not to come to prayer with a bad conscience. That is the way of Light. The Way of Darkness The Way of the Dark Lord is devious and fraught with damnation. It is the way to death and eternal punishment. In it is found all that destroys the souls of men: idol-worship, brazen self-assertion, and the arrogance of power; cant and duplicity; adultery, manslaughter, and robbery; vanity, rascality, sharp practice, spitefulness and contumacy; sorcery and black magic; greed and defiance of God. They persecute the virtuous; they hate truth and love falsehood; they know nothing of the rewards of righteousness, or of devotion to goodness and just judgment. The widow and the orphan are nothing to them; and their sleepless nights are spent, not in fearing God, but in the pursuit of vice. Gentleness and patience are altogether alien to them; all they care for is paltry and worthless, all they look for is their own advantage. They have no pity for the poor, not ever trouble their heads about any poor soul in distress. They are always ready with malicious rumors, for the knowledge of their Creator is not in them. They make away with infants, destroying the image of God; they turn the needy away from their doors, and deal harshly with the afflicted; while they aid and abet the rich, they are brutal in their judgment of the poor. In a word, they are utterly and altogether sunk in sin. Op. cit. pp 217-18