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

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СКАЧАТЬ in Israel, either; and, when you seek to save either the living or the dead, bear it in mind that you can only do it on the principle of their repentance and acceptation of the plan of life. That is the only way in which you can succeed.—Oct. C. R., 1907, pp. 6, 7.

      FALLACY OF DEATH-BED REPENTANCE. I do not believe in the ideas that we hear sometimes advanced in the world, that it matters but little what men do in this life, if they will but confess Christ at the end of their journey in life, and that is all-sufficient, and that by so doing they will receive their passport into heaven. I denounce this doctrine. It is unscriptural, it is unreasonable, it is untrue, and it will not avail any man, no matter by whom this idea may be advocated; it will prove an utter failure unto men. As reasonable beings, as men and women of intelligence, we cannot help but admire and honor the doctrine of Jesus Christ, which is the doctrine of God, and which requires of every man and woman righteousness in their lives, purity in their thoughts, uprightness in their daily walk and conversation, devotion to the Lord, love of truth, love of their fellowman, and above all things in the world the love of God. These were the precepts that were inculcated by the Son of God when he walked among his brethren in the meridian of time. He taught these precepts; he exemplified them in his life, and advocated continually the doing of the will of him that sent him.—Oct. C. R., 1907, p. 3.

      THE CHANGE THAT COMES WITH REPENTANCE AND BAPTISM. That change comes today to every son and daughter of God who repents of his or her sins, who humble themselves before the Lord, and who seek forgiveness and remission of sin by baptism by immersion, by one having authority to administer this sacred ordinance of the gospel of Jesus Christ. For it is this new birth that was spoken of by Christ to Nicodemus as absolutely essential that men might see the kingdom of God, and without which no man could enter into the kingdom. Each of us can remember, perhaps, the change that came into our hearts when we were baptized for the remission of our sins. Perhaps it is not proper for one to speak of himself or of his own experiences, because there may be those within the sound of my voice who object to a man speaking of himself, and especially when he shall say any good of himself; yet I speak not of myself, I speak of the influence and power of the Holy Spirit that I experienced when I had been baptized for the remission of my sins. The feeling that came upon me was that of pure peace, of love and of light. I felt in my soul that if I had sinned—and surely I was not without sin—that it had been forgiven me; that I was indeed cleansed from sin; my heart was touched, and I felt that I would not injure the smallest insect beneath my feet. I felt as if I wanted to do good everywhere to everybody and to everything. I felt a newness of life, a newness of desire to do that which was right. There was not one particle of desire for evil left in my soul. I was but a little boy, it is true, when I was baptized; but this was the influence that came upon me, and I know that it was from God, and was and ever has been a living witness to me of my acceptance of the Lord.

      Oh! that I could have kept that same spirit and that same earnest desire in my heart every moment of my life from that day to this. Yet many of us who have received that witness, that new birth, that change of heart, while we may have erred in judgment or have made many mistakes, and often perhaps come short of the true standard in our lives, we have repented of the evil, and we have sought from time to time forgiveness at the hand of the Lord; so that until this day the same desire and purpose which pervaded our souls when we were baptized and received a remission of our sins, still holds possession of our hearts, and is still the ruling sentiment and passion of our souls. Though at times we may be stirred to anger, and our wrath move us to say and do things which are not pleasing in the sight of God, yet instantly on regaining our sober senses and recovering from our lapse into the power of darkness, we feel humble, repentant, and to ask forgiveness for the wrong that we have done to ourselves, and perchance to others. The great, earnest, overwhelming desire, which is born of the truth and of the witness of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of the people who obey the truth, assumes sway and again takes possession of our souls, to lead us on in the path of duty. This is my testimony and I know it is true.—Apr. C. R., 1898, pp. 65, 66.

      THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISM. "The Light has come to the world, and he who will not see it shall be condemned." The truth is here, and shall men living now be heard to complain hereafter that they have not the truth in their hearts? Certainly not. It is here for all who will seek it, and it shall be to their undoing if they do not obtain it.

      The Savior said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God," and that is true today. A man must be born from ignorance into truth, today, before he can expect to see any difference between a Latter-day Saint and another not of the faith. If he is not so born, he is more blind than the one whom Christ healed, for having eyes he sees not, and having ears, hears not.

      Is there any difference between the baptized and the unbaptized man? All the difference in the world, I tell you, but it is only discernible through the Spirit. It is a vast difference too great for one not in possession of the Spirit to comprehend. Take two men, they may be equals in point of goodness, they may be equally moral, charitable, honest and just, but one is baptized and the other is not. There is a mighty difference between them, for one is the son of God redeemed by compliance with his laws, and the other remains in darkness.

      The Scriptures say that a rich man would hardly enter the kingdom of heaven, but it does not mean that riches will condemn a man, not at all. God is pleased to see us acquire riches, for he intends ultimately to give to us the whole earth as an eternal inheritance, but it is the love of riches that kills. A great gulf separates those who enter the house of the Lord and take wives, and those who do not thus marry—a tremendous gulf, but to the unspiritual eye no difference is apparent.

      I thank God for "Mormonism," so-called; it is the power of God unto salvation. It is the duty of every Latter-day Saint to know of its truth and to exemplify it. Its destiny is to overwhelm error and supplant it with righteousness and peace.—From a sermon, given in Logan, Feb. 2, 1909.

       WHEN TO BAPTIZE CHILDREN. We confess to having been considerably surprised when attending one of our latest Sunday School conventions on learning that in some wards in the Church only once or twice in each year are opportunities given to the children of the Saints to be baptized. We hold the opinion that in every stake of Zion there should be opportunity for baptism every day of every month and every month in every year, for we believe that it is an admirable practice where parents, in conformity with the revelations of God, have taught their children in the first principles of the gospel—faith, repentance and baptism, to have them baptized on their birthdays, when they arrive at the age of eight years. This practice has many advantages. In the first place, when a child is baptized on his birthday, he has no difficulty in remembering the day when that sacred ordinance was performed in his case. Again, it prevents the tendency manifested by some people to delay and postpone duties that are always best performed in their proper time and season. When once a child has passed the eight-year mark, there appears no particular necessity for the immediate performance of the ordinance, and the parents are apt to put it off from day to day and from week to week, until months have passed over, and the matter is not attended to. Should it so happen that in this interval the child is taken by the Lord, then this rite has to be performed in his behalf after his departure from our midst. How much better it is that the child have the opportunity of doing this all-important work for himself or herself!—Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 40, p. 337, June 1, 1905.

      THROUGH ATONEMENT SINS ARE WASHED AWAY. When we commit sin, it is necessary that we repent of it and make restitution as far as lies in our power. When we cannot make restitution for the wrong we have done, then we must apply for the grace and mercy of God to cleanse us from that iniquity.

       Men cannot forgive their own sins; they cannot cleanse themselves from the consequences of their sins. Men can stop sinning and can do right in the future, and so far their acts are acceptable before the Lord and worthy of consideration. But who shall repair the wrongs they have done to themselves and to others, which it seems impossible for them to repair themselves? By the atonement of Jesus Christ the sins of the repentant shall be washed away; though they be crimson they shall be made СКАЧАТЬ