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

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СКАЧАТЬ to lead men of reflection and intelligence into skepticism, to cause them to deny all interference of God with men and their affairs, and to deny even his right to interfere.

      The Lord Almighty is the Creator of the earth, he is the Father of all our spirits. He has the right to dictate what we should do, and it is our duty to obey, and to walk according to his requirements. This is natural, and perfectly easy to be comprehended. The gospel has been restored to the earth, and the priesthood again established, and both are enjoyed by this people; but those unacquainted with the working of the gospel and the priesthood look upon us with wonder, and are astonished at the union that exists in our midst. We move as a man, almost; we hearken to the voice of our leader; we are united in our faith and in our work. The world can not understand this, and they behold it with wonder.

      Let me tell my brethren and friends that this is one of the effects of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have become united in our faith by one baptism; we know that Jesus Christ lives, we know that he is our Savior and Redeemer; we have a testimony of this, independent of any written books, and we testify of these things to the world. This unison in the midst of the people called Latter-day Saints, and their prosperity, are hard for a great many to understand. I have, however, heard it said, that we boast that we are not so wealthy as our neighbors. But when our circumstances, and the condition of our country when we came here, are considered, I think this statement cannot be sustained. When we came here we were penniless, and we have not had the advantages of wealth or commerce to help to enrich us, but all we possess is the result of our own physical labor and the blessing of God. We have labored under great disadvantages in freighting our goods and machinery over these vast plains, and besides this we have had a barren soil and drouth to contend with, and when all these things are considered, I think we have been prospered more than any other people. And as it has been in the past so will it be in the future—we will increase, and extend our borders, for this is the work of God; we are his people, and he will continue to bless us as he has done hitherto.

      Our business is to learn our duties one towards another and towards our leaders. This is a lesson that we seem rather slow to learn. But it should be with us: when our leaders speak, it is for us to obey; when they direct, we should go; when they call, we should follow. Not as beings who are enslaved or in thraldom; we should not obey blindly, as instruments or tools. No Latter-day Saint acts in this manner; no man or woman who has embraced the gospel has ever acted in this way; but on the contrary men and women have felt to listen cheerfully to the counsels of the servants of God, as far as they were able to comprehend them. The difficulty is not in getting the Latter-day Saints to do right, but in getting them to comprehend what is right. We have obeyed the counsels of our leaders because we have known they have been inspired by the Holy Spirit and because we positively have known that their counsels have been given for our good. We do know and have always known that our leaders have been inspired with wisdom superior to that which we possess. For this reason we take hold of everything they present to us for the good of Zion.

      We are engaged in the great latter-day work of preaching the gospel to the nations, gathering the poor, and building up Zion upon the earth. We are working for the triumph of righteousness, for the subjugation of sin and the errors of the age in which we live. It is a great and glorious work. We believe it is right to love God with all our hearts, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. We believe it is wrong to lie, steal, commit adultery, or do any act forbidden by the gospel of Christ. We believe in all the teachings of the Savior and in everything that is good and moral, and calculated to exalt mankind or to ameliorate their condition, to unite them in doing good. These are among the principles of the gospel, and these principles have been taught to us from the commencement of our career as members of this Church. These principles are carried out among us to an extent not to be found among any other people. We do not believe in worshiping God or being religious on the Sabbath day only; but we believe it is as necessary to be religious on Monday, Tuesday and every day in the week, as it is on the Sabbath day; we believe that it is necessary to do to our neighbors as we would they should do unto us, during the week as it is on the Sabbath. In short, we believe it is necessary to live our religion every day in the week every hour in the day, and every moment. Believing and acting thus, we become strengthened in our faith, the Spirit of God increases within us, we advance in knowledge, and we are better able to defend the cause we are engaged in.

      To be a true representative of this cause a man must live faithful to the light that he has; he must be pure, virtuous and upright. If he comes short of this he is not a fair representative of this work. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the perfect law of liberty. It is calculated to lead man to the highest state of glory, and to exalt him in the presence of our heavenly Father, "with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." If there is any folly to be seen in the midst of this people, it is the folly and weakness of man, and is not because of any failing or lack in the plan of salvation. The gospel is perfect in its organization. It is for us to learn the gospel, and to become acquainted with the principles of truth, to humble ourselves before God that we may bring ourselves into subjection to his laws, and be continually willing to listen to the counsels of those whom the Lord has appointed to guide us.

       We know that God has spoken; we testify of this. We stand as witnesses to the world that this is true. We ask no odds of any man, community or nation on the face of the earth in relation to these things. We bear a fearless testimony that they are true. We also bear testimony that Brigham Young is a prophet of the living God, and that he has the revelations of Jesus Christ; that he has guided this people by the power of revelation from the time he became their leader until the present, and he has never failed in his duty or mission. He has been faithful before God, and faithful to this people. We bear this testimony to the world. We fear not, neither do we heed their scorn, contempt, or sneers. We are used to it. We have seen it and heard it, and have become inured to it. We know that the One in whom we trust is God, for it has been revealed to us. We are not in the dark, neither have we obtained our knowledge from any man, synod or collection of men, but through the revelation of Jesus. If there be any who doubt us, let them repent of their sins. Is there any harm in your forsaking your follies and evils, and in bowing in humility before God for his Spirit, and in obedience to the words of the Savior, being baptized for the remission of sins, and having hands laid upon you for the gift of the Holy Ghost, that you may have a witness for yourselves of the truth of the words we speak to you? Do this humbly and honestly, and as sure as the Lord lives, I promise you that you will receive the testimony of this work for yourselves, and will know it as all the Latter-day Saints know it. This is the promise; it is sure and steadfast. It is something tangible; it is in the power of every man to prove for himself whether we speak the truth or whether we lie. We do not come as deceivers or impostors before the world; we do not come with the intention to deceive, but we come with the plain simple truth, and leave it to the world to test it and get a knowledge for themselves. It is the right of every soul that lives—the high, low, rich, poor, great and small, to have this testimony for themselves inasmuch as they will obey the gospel.

      Jesus in ancient times sent his disciples forth to preach the gospel to every creature, saying they that believed and were baptized should be saved, but they that believed not should be damned. And said he, "These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." These are the promises made anciently, and there are thousands in this territory and in this congregation who can bear testimony that they have realized the fulfilment of these promises in this day. The healing of the sick among us has become so common that it is apparently but little thought of. We have also seen the lame made to walk, and the blind to receive their sight, the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. These things we have seen done by the power of God and not by the cunning or wisdom of men; we know that these signs do follow the preaching of the gospel. Yet these testimonies of its truth are but poor and weak when compared with the whisperings of the still small voice of the Spirit of God. The latter is a testimony that none who enjoy it can deny; it cannot be overcome, for it brings conviction to the heart that cannot be reasoned away or disproved, whether it can be accounted for on philosophical principles СКАЧАТЬ