Course 1, Chapter 51: Unity of Religion and of the Church

Q What conclusion must we draw from this first part of the Catechism?

,4. From this first part of the Catechism we must draw this conclusion: that religion, whose children we are, goes bick to th3 beginning of the world, and that it has always been one and the same, although not at all tim»s as fully taujjht as at later periods.

1. II >w do yo-.i show in a few words that religion has alw lys been one and the same?

Rjlijjion has always been one and the same in its Author, wh:3 is the Messiah. Whether expected, or alrea ly come, Jesus Christ has ever been the foundation of religion; eternal salvation was never at any tini3 p^sible except through him.

2. Has religion been always one and the same in her doctrine?

.1. She has always been one and the same in her doctrine. With respect to Gnrf, she has always believed and taught from the beginning of the world, that

132 CATECHISM OF PERSEVERANCE.

there is but one only God, infinitely perfect, the Creator and Preserver of all things; that a Redeemer would save the world, and that the Spirit of the Lord would sanctify us by his grace; only these truths are more clearly known to Christians than they were to the Jews.

3. What has she always believed and taught concerning man?

Concerning man, religion has always believed and taught that he was created to the likeness of God; that he is composed of a body, and a soul which is spiritual, free and immortal; that man is fallen, through his own fault; that all men are born in a state of sin and degradation; that they will all rise at the last day, and that there will be eternal rewards for the just, and eternal punishments for the wicked.

4. With regard to the world, what has she always believed and taught?

With regard to the world, she has always believed and. taught that it was created out of nothing; that it is governed by a God all-powerful, infinitely wise, and infinitely good; that it will be purified by fire, and that there will be a new heaven and a new earth.

5. Has religion been always the same in her morality and in her worship?

Yes. Religion has always been the same in her morality, and in her worship. She has always admitted the same distinction between good and evil; always commended the same virtues and condemned the same vices. In her worship she has never failed to practice the two essential acts of worship, viz: prayer and sacrifice.

6. And in her object?

.4. Her object has always been to destroy sin in the world, and to lead men to happiness.

7. In her means?

In her means she has always believed that man

has need of grace, whereby to be saved; she has always taught the manner and furnished the means of obtaining it. Only, the Christian religion, that is to say, religion as taught by Christ, is more perfect and is richer in graces, than it was before the coming of the Messiah.

8. Can it be said that the church has always been one and the same?

Yes, it can be said that the church has always been one and the same. In order to protect religion, and to teach it to mankind, an exterior, visible, and perpetual society was necessary; this society il the church It, therefore, commenced with religion, and has always kept pace with it.

Q How do you explain this truth?

A. We find the church existing at every period, from the beginning of the world. Under the Patriarch? it was restricted, like religion, to the family; under Moses, it expanded, like religion, into a national state; and finally, under the gospel, it extended, like religion, to all people, of whom it has made but one family.

9. How do you show that the church, like religion, is the same since Christ as it was before the coming of the Messiah?

The church, since Jesus Christ, is the same as before the coming of the Messiah; first, in its founder, who is God; and second, in her object, which has always been the preservation and teaching of religion; she recognizes the same holy books; she has a tribunal to explain them; a sovereign pontiff, and different orders of sacred ministers; she has her day of rest, consecrated to the Lord; she has her grand solemni ties and feasts.

10. Continue.

Since Jesus Christ, as before him, the church

has always been attacked, sometimes by strangers,

sometimes by her own children; she has had her great

Bchism, which separated many of her children from

134 CATECHISM or PERSEVERANCE.

her; but all her afflictions redound to her glory. As formerly, all revolutions of empires and other events aided her to attain her end, the establishment of the gospel, so also do they now combine for its preservation and diffusion; as formerly nothing could destroy her, so now neither hell nor the world shall prevail against her.