Excerpt from The Latter-Day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 68: September 27, 1906

The volume which, by way Of eminence, has the general name of The Bible is well known to be a collection of books of various authors, written at dis tant intervals and on different occasions; but all supposed to teach, either directly or figuratively, the practice of piety, and the means of man's accept ance with his Creator.

There is a general division of these writings into two parts, namely, those which relate to the old covenant, and those which relate to the new, commonly called the Old and the New Testament. It may be best to begin the survey of these writings with the New Testament.

Before any book, professing to relate facts, can be entitled to credit, the authenticity and veracity must be established. N ow there is no book in the world Of equal age, whose authenticity is established upon firmer ground than the New Testament; so that if a sceptic, unable to withstand the arguments which it affords in favor Of Christianity, should be disposed to reject it, he must be driven to the absurdity Of rejecting all the historians of the same age; a piece of folly which would disgrace a school-boy.

The apostles and evangelists were competent witnesses, and could not be deceived in'the facts which they recorded. They do not pretend to give us an account of the transactions done in remote countries, or which had hap pened in ages before their time, but Of those which they had themselves witnessed with their eyes and with their ears. They had lived with Christ during His ministry; they had heard His discourses; they had seen His wonderful works, and consequently received them on the testimony of their own senses. If Plato has been deemed a competent witness, and in every respect qualified to compose the biographical account Of his master Socrates, and of his discourses in prison, because he was present on these occasions, surely the evangelical writers are competent witnesses of the facts which they relate. For they were neither enthusiasts nor fanatics. And as they could not be deceived themselves, so they neither would nor did deceive others. They were men Of probity and piety, who abominated a lie. They could Ob tain neither pleasure, honor, nor profit in this world, by obtruding falsehoods on mankind; but on the contrary, they were exposed to the loss of all these, and even Of life itself, for being preachers Of the doctrine of the Cross, and bearing witness to the truth of Christianity.

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