Gospel Doctrine: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. Smith. Joseph F. Smith

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СКАЧАТЬ it never will be so. The direction of this work among the people of the world will never be left to men. It is God's work, let me tell you, and I hope you will put it down in your memoranda, and do not forget that it is the Almighty that is going to do this work, and consummate it, and not man. No man shall have the honor of doing it, nor has any man ever had the power to do it of himself. It is God's work. If it had been the work of man, we would have been like the rest of the world, and it would not have been true of us that God has chosen us out of the world, but we would be a part of it, and "Hail fellow, well met," with it; but it is true that God has chosen us out of the world; therefore we are not of it; therefore they hate us and they will fight us and say all manner of evil against us falsely, as they have ever done from the beginning. And they will continue to seek the destruction of the Latter-day Saints, and to feel towards us in the future, as they have felt in the past. Now, don't you forget it, my brothers and sisters. When you go home, if you have not been in the habit of doing it, or if you have neglected your duty, when you go home today or to your homes in distant settlements, carry this injunction with you: Go into your secret chambers—go into your prayer-rooms—and there by yourselves, or with your family gathered around you, bow your knees before God Almighty in praise and in thanksgiving to him for his merciful providence that has been over you and over all his people from the inception of this work down to the present: Remember that it is the gift of God to man, that it is his power and his guiding influence that have accomplished what we see has been accomplished. It has not been done by the wisdom of men. It is proper we should give honor to those who have been instrumental in bringing to pass much righteousness. They are instruments in God's hands, and we should not ignore that they are such instruments, and we should honor them as such; but when we undertake to give them the honor for accomplishing this work and take the honor from God who qualified the men to do the work, we are doing injustice to God. We are robbing him of the honor that rightfully belongs to him, and giving it to men who are only instrumental in the hands of God in accomplishing his purposes.—Apr. C. R., 1905, pp. 5, 6.

      THE PROGRESS OF GOD'S WORK CANNOT BE STOPPED. Now, we are thankful to the Lord that we are counted worthy to be taken notice of by the devil. I would fear very much for our safety if we had fallen into a condition where the devil ceased to be concerned about us. So long as the Spirit of the Lord is enjoyed by you, so long as you are living your religion, and keeping the commandments of the Lord, walking uprightly before him, I assure you that the adversary of souls will not rest easy; he will be discontented with you, will find fault with you, and he will arraign you before his bar; but that will not hurt you very much if you will just keep on doing right. You do not need to worry in the least, the Lord will take care of you and bless you, he will also take care of his servants, and will bless them and help them to accomplish his purposes; and all the powers of darkness combined on earth and in hell cannot prevent it. They may take men's lives; they may slay and destroy, if they will; but they cannot destroy the purposes of God nor stop the progress of his work. He has stretched forth his hand to accomplish his purposes, and the arm of flesh cannot stay it. He will cut his work short in righteousness, and will hasten his purposes in his own time. It is only necessary to try with our might to keep pace with the onward progress of the work of the Lord, then God will preserve and protect us, and will prepare the way before us, that we shall live and multiply and replenish the earth, and always do his will; which may God grant.—Oct. C. R., 1905, pp. 5, 6.

      DIVINITY OF THE GOSPEL. Somewhat unexpectedly I am called to stand before you, but I do so with pleasure, as I have a testimony to bear to the work we are engaged in; and it gives me pleasure when an opportunity is afforded to give expression to my feelings in relation to that work. That we have the gospel and have enjoyed its blessings, and that the ordinances of the gospel have been administered to us as Latter-day Saints, there are thousands of witnesses in this territory and in many places in the world can testify. The testimony of the truth of this work is not confined to one or to a few; but there are thousands who can declare that they know it is true, because it has been revealed to them.

      We as a people are increasing in numbers, and the Lord Almighty is increasing his blessings upon us, and the people are expanding in their understanding and in the knowledge of the truth. I feel grateful to my heavenly Father that I have been permitted to live in this generation, and have been permitted to become acquainted, somewhat, with the principles of the gospel. I am thankful that I have had the privilege of having a testimony of its truth, and that I am permitted to stand here and elsewhere to bear my testimony to the truth that the gospel has been restored to man.

      I have traveled somewhat among the nations preaching the gospel, and have seen something of the conditions of the world, and to a certain extent have become acquainted with the feelings of men, and with the religions of the world. I am aware that the gospel, as revealed in the Bible, cannot be found in the world; the ordinances of that gospel are not administered in any church except the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If we make ourselves acquainted with the tenets of the religious world we shall find that they have not the gospel nor its ordinances; they have a form of godliness, and I have no doubt, are as sincere as we who have obeyed the gospel as revealed from heaven in these days. But they are devoid of the knowledge which we possess, and it is from the fact that they deny the source by which they might receive this knowledge—namely, revelation from Jesus Christ. In their minds they have closed up the heavens; they declare that God has revealed all that is necessary, that the canon of scripture is full, and that no more will be revealed. Believing thus, they close up the avenue of light and intelligence from heaven; and this will continue so long as they continue in their present course of unbelief. They will not listen to the testimony of men who tell them that the Lord lives and that he is able to reveal his will to man today, as ever. They will not heed this testimony, consequently they close the door of light and revelation. They cannot advance, nor learn the ways of God nor walk in his paths.

      We testify that the barriers which separated man from God have been overcome, that the Lord has again communicated his will to man. "But," says one, "how shall we become acquainted with these things? How can we know that you are not deceived?" To all such we say, repent of your sins in all sincerity, then go forth and be baptized, and have hands laid upon you for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit will bear record to you of the truth of our testimony, and you will become witnesses of it as we are, and will be able to stand forth boldly and testify to the world as we do. This was the path pointed out by Peter and the apostles on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of the Lord Almighty rested upon them with great power to the convincing of the hearts of the people who cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" And Peter said unto them, "Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." This was the counsel given them, and inasmuch as they obeyed it, they were entitled to the testimony of the Holy Spirit which would bring peace and happiness, reveal to them their duties, and enable them to understand their relationship to God.

      If we look at the condition of the world today, we must come to the conclusion that peace is not likely soon to be established on the earth. There is nothing among the nations that tends to peace. Even among the religious societies the tendency is not to peace and union. They do not bring men to a knowledge of God; they do not possess the "one Lord, one faith, one baptism," and "one hope of their calling" that are spoken of in the Scripture. Every man has gone according to his own notions, independent of revelations, and hence, confusion and division exist; their churches are broken up, and they are quarreling and contending with one another. And as it is in the religious, so it is in the political world; they are all divided, and the more energy they put forth to make proselytes, the greater are their contentions, and the further they go from the mark. This is the condition they have been in, and the course they have been pursuing for almost eighteen hundred years, until today they have become so divided that I think it would puzzle anyone to tell how many religious denominations there are in Christendom. There are thousands, too, who, in consequence of the strife and contention among the religious sects, have become entirely skeptical respecting religion of every kind, and they have concluded that there is no God; at any rate, that there is no God among "Christians"—that all religionists are fanatics and are deceived. The sectarian systems of religion are СКАЧАТЬ