The following are excerpts from:
Elias Smith, The Age of
Enquiry, Christian’s Pocket Companion And Daily Assistant; Calculated Also For
The Benefit of the Rising Generation, in Leading Them Into Truth (Exeter,
N.H.: Abel Brows, 1825):
Jesus called “the everlasting Father”
(Elias was not a Modalist):
To
Saints of every denomination.—Beloved brethren, of the great family of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the everlasting Father; . . . (6)
On Matt 16:18 and Jesus being the
“Rock” (πετρος):
By
the Rock mentioned is meant Jesus Christ, the stone laid in Zion for a
foundation, that whosoever believeth on him should not be ashamed. Christ is a
foundation of his church as a sacrifice for sin, and as king and lawgiver. This
foundation remains unmoved, and will throughout all ages, world without end.
The church built on this rock, means the same as his kingdom. (111)
On Baptism:
Elias Smith believes baptism is not
regenerative, but something one does after they are saved as an external sign
of their new status:
The
first law given to a person born again, is baptism. (112-13)
Related to this, his interpretation
of 1 Pet 3:21:
This
figure mentioned, has reference to the ark in which Noah and his family were
saved from the flood, “wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”
The water did not save them, but the ark which was in the water; so baptism
does not save the believer, but Christ the ark which was in the water of
Jordan; the believer being baptized or immersed in water, is to shew that he is
in him who was baptized, even Christ. Noah and his family left the old world to
go into the ark, and in the ark discovered the new one: so the believer leaves
his old company, is “buried by baptism,” and rises to newness of life. The
Apostle says, baptism does not put away the filth of the flesh, but answers a
good conscience, because he does it knowing that Christ has commanded it, and
is happy in manifesting his love to him by obeying his commands. Baptism saves
by the resurrection of Christ; when the believer is raised up from the water,
he shews that his salvation depends on him who was raised from the dead, of
which baptism is a figure. (108-9)
The following is reminiscent of 2
Nephi 29:3-10:
But
you have heard formerly, and some of you may still hear strange and uncommon
surmises, wild conjectures and most dismal insinuations. But if you would know
the truth at once, if you would be fully informed by one that best knows what
religion I am of, I will tell you (with Mr. Baxter) ‘I am a chrisitan, a mere
christian; of no other religion: my church is the christian church.’ The Bible!
the Bible! is my religion; and if I am a dissenter, I dissent only from modes
and forms of religion which I cannot find in my Bible; and which therefore I
conclude have nothing to do with religion, much less should they be made terms
of christian communion, since Christ, the only lawgiver of his church, has not
made them such. Let this congregation be that of a chrisitan society, and I
little care what other name it wears. (135-36)