From the pages of the Juvenile Instructor 1903. I’m not sure I’ve seen a set of questions and answers that shows greater differences between “then” and “now.”

Question: What is “Higher Criticism”?

Answer: The words “higher criticism are used with reference to another kind of criticism which is the lesser or inferior criticism. As for example, the criticism of the use of words by Shakespeare, his illustrations, or his philosophy belongs to the lower criticism. Whether Shakespeare wrote the books attributed to him, or whether it was Bacon, would be classed as higher criticism. One has to do rather with interpretation and literary laws; the other, a higher criticism, has to do with the source or authorship.

Higher criticism used with reference to the Bible discards Moses as the author of the books attributed to him, and it denies that John wrote the “Gospel according to St. John.” Higher criticism assumes to deal with the Bible the same as with any literary production, and thus eliminate the authority in which the book has been so long held among the Christian world. Among the advocates of this new cult the book is regarded in an entirely new light. With them the old time reverence for the book is gone. In some measure the book is to be used as a code of morals, nothing more.

Question: Is it intended by the general Board that the “Concert Recitation” shall form a part of every Sunday’s exercise?

Answer: The General Board requests that a concert recitation, not always the same one, be made a part of the exercises in the Sunday school every Sunday morning.

Question: What became of the sacred plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated after the Prophet Joseph Smith had finished the translation?

Answer: They were returned to the custody of the angel Moroni, who, so far as we know, still has charge of them.

Question: What routes were traveled by the various colonies mentioned in the Book of Mormon, that migrated from Asia, and at what points did they land on this, the American continent?

Answer: The answer regarding Lehi’s colony is easily given, as the Lord revealed it to the Prophet Joseph Smith. He (the Prophet) says: “They traveled nearly a south, south-east direction until they came to the 19th degree of north latitude; then, nearly east to the Sea of Arabia, then sailed in a south-east direction, and landed on the continent of South America, in Chili, 30 degrees south latitude.” This would bring them not far from where the City of Valparaiso now stands.

Regarding Jared’s and Mulek’s colonies, the information is not so definite. One thing is certain, that they both landed on the northern continent, most probably in that portion known to us as Central America. It is written in the Book of Helaman (6:10), “Now the land south was called Lehi and the land north was called Mulek, which was after the sons of Zedekiah; for the Lord did bring Mulek into the land north, and Lehi into the land south.” How long the people of Mulek remained near the place of their first landing before they traveled south tot he region watered by the River Sidon, where the people of Mosiah found them, is not recorded.

The Jaredites called the region where they first landed the land of Moron, this was near the country known to the Nephites as the land Desolation. The latter extended south to the Isthmus of Darian. Immediately south of the Isthmus was the land bountiful. How far the land Desolation extended north is uncertain; its northern boundary probably changed from time to time as new political divisions of the country came into existence. So with Moron in the days of the Jaredites. Both Desolation and Moron, as far as we can judge, were included in the region known to us as Central America, possibly extending as far north as Mexico.

There is nothing in the Book of Mormon to indicate which route either of these companies traveled; the general idea, however, is that the Mulekites journeyed westward, crossing the Atlantic Ocean and landing on the Eastern coast; while the Jaredites traveled north from the valley of Nimrod, possibly to the neighborhood of the Caspian sea, thence east over the vast Asian Plateau, and down some one of the great rivers that empty into the North Pacific Ocean, and then across those wide waters to the west shores of Central America.

Question: After persons pass from this stage of existence, do they have a recollection of what has transpired during their mortal existence before they appear before their Maker to receive final judgment, and can they see what is going on among their relatives on this earth?

Answer: to the first portion of the above question we answer unhesitatingly, “Yes.” This doctrine is clearly set forth in the teachings of the younger Alma to his son Corianton. He states that he had inquired diligently of the Lord concerning the condition of the souls of men between death and the resurrection, and an answer to his prayers had been sent hi through an angel [which is recorded in Alma 40:11-14, 21].

From the above it is evident: that the souls of all men, whether good or evil, are taken home to God immediately after death; that a partial judgment is then passed upon them – the righteous are received into a state of peace and rest, called paradise, and the wicked are consigned to a place of misery – they are cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth; in this condition of happiness or misery they remain until they are resurrected; that this happiness or this misery is the result of the conduct of the individuals while in the flesh, and consequently they must have a remembrance of what their mortal lives were or they would not be affected as the prophet describes; in other words, the wicked, if they had no recollection of the past, would have no “awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them” in the future. It is the recollection of their sins that brings the torment of their fearful anticipations.

Regarding the second question, the testimony is not as conclusive. Personally we feel sure that to some of the righteous dead a knowledge of what is going on on earth is permitted. But this does not give them the sorrow that some suppose. Their wider experience and broadened views cause them to look upon earthly struggles from a higher standpoint; to an extent they know the end from the beginning, and they regard the sorrows of mortals very much as we look upon the baby troubles of our very little ones. In all things they see the hand of God, in all they recognize His wisdom and mercy, and in all they see preparation and development for the future happiness and exaltation of His children, sorrowful and heart-breaking as those experiences, for the moment, ofttimes may be.

Question: Are the words: “By virtue and authority of the Holy Priesthood vested in me,” essential in administering to the sick? They are almost invariably used, yet I have listened to confirmations by brethren high in authority, where they have been omitted.

Answer: From the fact that all the Elders administer, if at all, by virtue of the authority of the Holy Priesthood vested in them, it does not seem necessary to use those words, and yet there can be no valid reason why they should not be used if an Elder feels like using them.

Question: The eight of the “Articles of Faith” says, “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.” Please say which part is translated correctly.

Answer: So far as our knowledge goes no one part of the bible is translated more correctly than the rest. From all parts many plain and precious truths have been left out and inaccuracies have crept in. But the Lord has not permitted those errors to be of such a nature as to mislead those who are inspired with the same Spirit as that by which the ancient prophets wrote. All scripture is valuable for instruction and edification, and to those who possess the Holy Spirit its perusal brings knowledge, joy and comfort.

Question: What is the difference between the Gospel of Moses and the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

Answer: There is no Gospel of Moses. There is but one true Gospel – the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Whatever Gospel Moses, or any other servant of God taught, was the same unchangeable, everlasting Gospel, revealed by God to Adam, taught by His Son, our Savior, restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith in these latter days and preached by all the servants of God whom He so authorized, in every dispensation of His providence since Adam fell.

Question: Has a Bishop’s court authority to try cases involving land disputes?

Answer: Before our lands were surveyed by the government, settlements had been formed and boundaries clearly established. After the survey was made it was found that, as a general thing, the lines of a quarter section would run through the lands of more than one settler; and in order that every man might have title to that which belonged to him, one of the interested parties would comply with the provisions of the law and obtain the title, and after doing this he would deed to the others such portions of the homestead entry as belonged to them; and it was not an uncommon thing for our Church courts to settle disputes arising under these circumstances.

But since the government survey it has not been customary for Church courts to entertain complaints involving the title to lands, and the same may be said with respect to water. All disputes involving legal titles must be adjudicated by courts of competent jurisdiction. The point is this, Church courts must not undertake to interfere with the legal rights of any member.

President Young held that when any person secures title to land from the government, part of which has been occupied and cultivated by others, he or she should respect the rights of such persons by being willing to deed to them the land they have improved, provided that they pay their share of the expenses incurred in securing the government title, and also a fair remuneration to the pre-emptor or homesteader, for the loss of his or her pre-emption or homestead right in proportion to the amount of land which the various parties received.

Question: Where is the Isle of Patmos to which John the Revelator was banished?

Answer: Patmos is an island in a group or archipelago situated in the eastern portion of the Mediterranean Sea, and about thirty miles west of the coast of Asia Minor. It is an irregular mass of barren rock, about twenty-eight miles in circumference. It is now called Patmo and is subject to the Turks, though the inhabitants, who number a few thousand, are Greeks.

Question: Of what nationalities were the one hundred and forty-three brethren who came to Utah in 1847, and who are known as the Pioneers?

Answer: Nine were Englishmen, five came from Canada, and one each from Germany and Denmark; the rest are understood to have all been born in the United States, though in the case of six this is not absolutely certain.