{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_54292/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_54292","id":"gutenberg_54292","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54292","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Teaching & Education","Jesus Christ -- Teachings","Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines","Latter Day Saints"],"text":"PICTURE: LIGHT OF THE WORLD, Hunt\n\n\n\nWHAT JESUS\n\nTAUGHT\n\n\nWritten for The Deseret Sunday School Union\n\nby\n\nOSBORNE J. P. WIDTSOE\n\nAuthor of\n\n\"The Restoration of the Gospel,\" Etc.\n\n\nPublished by\n\nTHE DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION\n\nSALT LAKE CITY, UTAH\n\n{4}\n\n\n\nFOREWORD\n\nNo other teacher in the history of the world has wielded so profound an\ninfluence upon humanity as has Jesus the Christ. Practically the whole\nworld has been Christianized. His doctrines have entered not only into\nhouseholds but also into governments and nations. But the Christianity\nthat prevails generally, is the doctrine of Jesus highly merged with\nthe opinions of men. Indeed, the world's Christianity is often more\nlargely man-made than Christ-made. A perfect knowledge of Jesus cannot\nbe gained, however, until men learn more about what He Himself taught,\nand less about what scholars have said about His doctrine.\n\nThis little book is an attempt modestly to present in popular form the\nteachings of Jesus. It is intended for boys and girls of high-school\nage. It is to be understood, then, that there is here no exhaustive\ntreatise of the teachings of Jesus; nor is there conducted a study and\ninvestigation of profound scholarship. Such a work from the Mormon\npoint of view must be deferred, if desirable at all. But it is hoped\nthat what Jesus taught--in part at least--is here presented simply\nand plainly and truly, so that anyone who reads may understand. It is\nfurther hoped that the writing of these lessons has been \"moved by\nthe Holy Ghost,\" so that those who read them may learn to love the\nteachings of Jesus, and to know and to love God, and His Son, Jesus,\nwhom He sent to redeem the world. \"Worship God: for the testimony of\nJesus is the spirit of prophecy.\" O. J. P. W.\n\nSalt Lake City, December 12, 1917.\n\n{5}\n\n\n\nThe Illustrations\n\nLight of the World.\n\n1. Christ and the Doctors.\n\n2. Nazareth, Palestine.\n\n3. Simeon Blessing the Lord.\n\n4. Jesus and the Woman of Samaria.\n\n5. Jesus and Nicodemus.\n\n6. Christ Healing the Blind Man.\n\n7. The Sower.\n\n8. The Temptation of Christ.\n\n9. Market Scene at Bethlehem.\n\n10. The Forgiving Father.\n\n11. The Consoling Christ.\n\n12. Jesus Praying.\n\n13. The River Jordan, Palestine.\n\n14. \"Lord, Help Me.\"\n\n15. Raising the Dead.\n\n16. The Garden of Gethsemane.\n\n17. Baptism of Jesus.\n\n18. None.\n\n19. Jesus and the Fishermen.\n\n20. Christ's Charge to Peter.\n\n21. Christ Teaching from a Boat.\n\n22. \"Consider the Lilies.\"\n\n23. Christ and the Rich Young Ruler.\n\n24. Lazarus at the Rich Man's House.\n\n25. The Sermon on the Mount.\n\n26. None.\n\n27. Jesus Blessing Little Children.\n\n28. Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.\n\n29. The Good Samaritan.\n\n30. Christ in the Home of Mary and Martha.\n\n31. Jesus Washing Peter's Feet.\n\n32. The Wise and the Foolish Virgins.\n\n33. Christ Driving Out the Money-Changers.\n\n34. Jesus Healing the Sick.\n\n35. Christ before Pilate.\n\n36. Touch Me Not.\n\n37. The Good Shepherd.\n\n38. Come Unto Me All Ye That Labor.\n\n39. The Ascension.\n\n40. Angel Moroni.\n\n{6}\n\n\n\nTable of Contents\n\nI\n\nHis Father's Business\n\nTestimony of Napoleon--Universal worship of Jesus--Purpose of this\nbook--Duties of Jesus at age of twelve--Jesus in the temple--His\nFather's business--What is eternal life?--Special mission of Jesus.\n\nII\n\nWhat It Means to Know God\n\nAbraham's determination to serve God--God Himself--God of Abraham and\nof Isaac and of Jacob--First Commandment--What does it mean to know\nJesus Christ?--Necessary to understand God's plan--Divine mission of\nJesus--What we would do if we had learned to know God and Jesus--The\ncondition of eternal life.\n\nIII\n\nThe God of Israel\n\nA very important question--The truth is simple and easy--Jesus's\nexplanation of God--The testimony of Paul--God is our Father--A real\njoy to know the true God.\n\nIV\n\nWhat Jesus Said of Himself\n\nJesus's testimony to the woman of Samaria--The testimony of the people\nof Sychar--Jesus taught always that He is the Christ--The answer\nto John--The confessions at the trials of Jesus--And on the way to\nEmmaus--How shall we find out Christ?\n\nV\n\nThe Special Witness of Jesus\n\nThe end of the period of preparation--The testimony at the\nbaptism--John's testimony--Who the Comforter is--The mission of the\nHoly Ghost--The Holy Ghost in Jesus and the apostles--The Holy Ghost\namongst the Nephites--How to confer the Holy Ghost--Nature of the Holy\nGhost--Importance of the Holy Ghost.\n\nVI\n\nBefore There Was An Earth\n\nA remarkable vision--The pre-existence of Jesus--The spirits of all men\neternal--The man born blind--Conclusion.\n\nVII\n\nThe Presence of Evil\n\nA review--The problem of evil--The parable of the sower--The\nmeaning--The devil the power of evil--A council of the spirits--Jesus\nvolunteers--Lucifer volunteers--Lucifer rebels--The declaration of\nJesus.\n\n{7}\n\nVIII\n\nWhy Evil is in the World\n\nThe devil's desperate hope--The temptation of Jesus--The\napplication--Guard against suggestions of the devil--Why there is\nevil--The trial of man--A state of probation--The free agency of man.\n\nIX\n\nThe Crown of Creation\n\nA wonder-rousing sacrifice--Why should God be mindful of man?--The\nparable of the lost sheep--Man's soul without price--Man the offspring\nof God--The questions answered--Reverence for God--Reverence for\npersonal honor--Reverence for personal purity.\n\nX\n\nThe Forgiving Father\n\nThe parable of the prodigal--The forgiving father--Condemnation of the\nself-righteous--The publican and the Pharisee.\n\nXI\n\nSincerity in Worship\n\nFinding and losing one's life--The necessity of harmony--Three forms of\ntemptation--Instruction in praying and alms-giving--The real value of\nworship--Humility and sincerity.\n\nXII\n\nHow to Pray\n\nThe Lord's prayer--Jesus had found God--The prayers of the Jews--The\nprayer of Jesus--The Lord's prayer analyzed--Teach us to pray.\n\nXIII\n\nPersistence in Prayer\n\nThe Lord will answer--Pray often and persistently--The importunate\nfriend--The unrighteous judge--An urgent desire necessary--Implicit\ntrust necessary--Seek first the Kingdom of God--Labor and confidence\nhand in hand--The sin of worry--God knows best--Thy will be done.\n\nXIV\n\nThe Power of Faith\n\nConfidence vs. faith--The incident of the fig tree--Forgiveness\naccompanies prayer--Reason for concrete examples--The\ninterpretation--Jesus's own interpretation--Examples of the power of\nfaith--The dispensation of the fulness of times, the wonderful example.\n\n{8}\n\nXV\n\nThe Handmaid of Faith\n\nThe case of Mr. Baldwin--Words added to faith--The principle of\nworks--A parable--The works of Jesus--The works of man--Conclusion.\n\nXVI\n\nThe Meaning of Repentance\n\nThe irreverence and ruthlessness of Pilate--The necessity of\nrepentance--The barren fig tree--Repentance a fundamental\ndoctrine--Jesus's exclamation against the wicked--Repentance a\nuniversal principle--Things of which to repent--The service principle\nof the Gospel.\n\nXVII\n\nBaptism by Immersion\n\nThe first principles and ordinances--Baptism essential to\nsalvation--Humility and obedience the psychology of baptism--The law\nof obedience in daily life--The example set by Jesus--The purpose of\nbaptism--The door of the sheep-fold.\n\nXVIII\n\nThe Gift of the Holy Ghost\n\nWhat Jesus told Nicodemus--The laying on of hands--The teaching and\npractice of Paul--The practice of the apostles--The teaching and\npractice of the apostles derived from Jesus--What is the gift of the\nHoly Ghost?--The conditions and the source of intelligence.\n\nXIX\n\nThe Foundation Stone\n\nA few questions--Parables by the sea--The meaning of the parables--The\nChurch and the Kingdom--The testimony of Peter--The testimony of\nJesus--Its significance.\n\nXX\n\nThe Test of Authority\n\nThe figure of the architect--The application--One mark not\nsufficient--The submission of Jesus--The submission of the\napostles--The second mark--Two orders of priesthood.\n\nXXI\n\nThe Third Mark\n\nThe horror of darkness--The speech of the Indian Chief--The figure\nof the architect again--The plan of eternal life--The necessity of\nplans--The application--The principles of the Gospel--Men judged by the\nGospel--The three marks.\n\n{9}\n\nXXII\n\nSingle Minded Loyalty\n\nA supreme privilege--The true worth of membership--Conditions of\nmembership--Single minded loyalty--No man can serve two masters--A\nsimple application--A parable in point--The light of the body--A\nsummary--A paraphrase.\n\nXXIII\n\nRiches and the Kingdom of God\n\nA liberal man--An unnatural doubt--The case of the rich young\nruler--The difficulty of the sacrifice--The conclusion of Jesus--The\namazement of the disciples--The power of God--A promise of worldly\nblessings--The object of the world's desire--The parable of the unjust\nsteward.\n\nXXIV\n\nSucceeding With What One Has\n\nThe rich man and Lazarus--Wanted, a chance--The parable of the\ntalents--A general law--The water boy--Intellectual endeavor--Spiritual\ngrowth--The lesson applied.\n\nXXV\n\nThink Right\n\nThe great commandment--The beatitudes--A high ideal of life--The great\nbeatitude--The pure in heart--Things that defile--Vulgarity in thought,\nword and deed--Plain teaching.\n\nXXVI\n\nThe Ugliness of Anger\n\nThe story of Cain--The occupation of Abel--The brothers'\nsacrifices--The anger of Cain--The murder of Abel--The lesson at\nhome--The power of the mind--The teachings of Jesus--Jesus an\nexample--The strength of self-control.\n\nXXVII\n\nWith What Measure Ye Mete\n\nThe two school girls--The theft--The suspicion--The discovery--The\ntables turned--An every day occurrence--The mote and the beam--What\nJesus said.\n\nXXVIII\n\nThe Golden Rule\n\nPositive instruction--The doctrine of reconciliation--The attitude of\na citizen of the Kingdom--The doctrine of forgiveness--The parable of\nthe unforgiving servant--The meaning--The right attitude towards our\nenemies--The golden rule.\n\n{10}\n\nXXIX\n\nThe Good Samaritan\n\nThe law of love--The reward of brotherly love--Questions of the\ntempting lawyer--The parable of the good Samaritan--A discussion--The\nreal neighbor--The fulness of the answer--The lesson clinched--The\ncommand renewed.\n\nXXX\n\nNo One Can Live to Himself\n\nThe fable of the body and its members--The time of Aesop--The growth\nof society--A football squad--The teachings of Jesus--The family--The\nfamily sacred--The state--The state divinely instituted--The\nChurch--Duties of membership--The teachings of our own Church.\n\nXXXI\n\nHe That Exalteth Himself\n\nThe old law and the new--The teaching of Jesus psychological--A\nconcrete example--The motive all important--Jesus's doctrine of\nrewards--A parable in point--A sound psychological principle--A further\nillustration--Peter and the question of recompense--The reward worth\nwhile--Conclusion.\n\nXXXII\n\nExtra Service\n\nThe parable of the laborers--The value of service in the\nworld's work--The value of service in the Church--The test of\nprofitableness--The application to the day's work--The application to\nthe Church service--An exclamation against mere formal--performance of\nduty.\n\nXXXIII\n\nA Prophet in His Own Country\n\nA perfect man and an exemplary leader--A work full of wonder--A healer\nand worker of miracles--The conditions in Palestine--A mission of\nlove--The centurion's servant--Stilling the tempest--The raising of\nLazarus--In His own country.\n\nXXXIV\n\nThe Meaning of Miracles\n\nThe explanation of the scribes--The universal presence of law--The\nmiracle of the telephone--Other miracles of science--The power of the\nPriesthood--The purpose of miracles--The privilege of the sick.\n\n{11}\n\nXXXV\n\nAn Atoning Sacrifice\n\nAn incredible thought--Jesus's foreknowledge of His death--The\nnecessity of Jesus's death--The significance of the death of\nJesus--Worldly views of how Jesus's death can save--The real\nsignificance of the death of Jesus--The Nephite explanation--Why Jesus\nsubmitted to His enemies--The new testimony of Jesus.\n\nXXXVI\n\nThe Place Called Paradise\n\nA well established fact--The five appearances of the risen Christ--Five\nmore appearances of the Christ and the ascension--The value of the\ntestimony--Where had Jesus been?--Today in Paradise--The Gospel to the\ndead--A plain explanation--Every knee and every tongue.\n\nXXXVII\n\nOther Sheep\n\nThe first commission to the twelve--The leaven of the Gospel--The\nKingdom of the Gentiles--The case of Cornelius--The preaching of\nBarnabas and Paul--\"Other sheep\"--A puzzling question--Forty days--In\nthe land of the Nephites--The appearance of Jesus to the Nephites.\n\nXXXVIII\n\nOur Advocate With The Father\n\nThe householder and the husbandmen--God the great householder, Jesus\nthe Son--The exaltation of Jesus--Our advocate with the Father--Many\nmansions in the Father's house--Lord of Lords and King of Kings--Jesus\nto come again--The nearness of Jesus.\n\nXXXIX\n\nThe Living Christ\n\nJesus the living Christ--The testimony of Napoleon--The conviction of\nan English philosopher--Declarations of Emerson and Webster--Additional\ntestimony--Reasons for strong testimonies in the Church--Evidences of\ntestimony in the Church--\"The testimony last of all.\"\n\nXL\n\nA Religion Worth While\n\nThe feeding of the five thousand--The meat that endures to everlasting\nlife--What Jesus taught--The acts of the apostles--The great\napostasy--The restoration of the Gospel--A religion that satisfies--A\ncomprehensive religion--A Church of authority--The bread of life.\n\n{12} PICTURE: CHRIST AND THE DOCTORS, Hofmann\n\n{13}\n\n\n\nWhat Jesus Taught\n\n\n\nI\n\nHIS FATHER'S BUSINESS\n\n[Sidenote: The testimony of Napoleon.]\n\nWhen the great military hero and world conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte,\nlived in exile on the island of St. Helena, he declared that Jesus was\nso supremely great that it is impossible to make comparisons between\nHim and any other being in the world. \"I know men,\" said Napoleon, \"and\nI tell you that Jesus is not a man. Everything in Him amazes me. His\nspirit outreaches mine, and His will confounds me.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The universal worship of Jesus.]\n\nIt is wonderful that a man like Napoleon, whose natural arms were fire\nand the sword, should be so deeply impressed by the life and teachings\nof the lowly Nazarene. But Napoleon is not alone in his admiration\nand love. Throughout the nineteen centuries that have passed since\nthe Master lived upon the earth, men of every clime have learned to\nknow Him and to worship Him. Today there are but few peoples known\nto mankind that do not acknowledge Jesus the Christ. The wonderful\nstory of His life has thrilled both the young and the old the world\nover since first it was told. The wisdom, the justice, and the loving\nkindness of all His teachings, have inspired the nations to make them\nbetter. No other man in all the history of the world has exerted so\nprofound an influence on the lives of his fellowmen, and on the laws\nthat govern them.\n\n{14} [Sidenote: The purpose of this book.]\n\nNow, you have read in other books the story of the life of Jesus. You\nknow when and where He was born; how God the Father protected His Son;\nhow he grew to manhood, waxing strong in spirit; how He taught, and\nwrought miracles amongst His own people; how they rejected Him and\ncrucified Him; and how He rose from death and returned to His Father\nin heaven. It is a strangely beautiful story. But we do not want to\nretell it here. It must be our purpose, in this little book, to tell\nas interestingly as may be what Jesus taught. Certainly, it must be\ninteresting to know something of the teachings of the Man who has made\nso profound an impression upon the history of the world. We want to\nknow what the life-work of Jesus means to us and to our fellowmen. And\nto begin, we must try to find out what Jesus Himself thought about His\nmission on the earth.\n\n[Sidenote: The new duties of Jesus at the age of twelve.]\n\nWhen Jesus reached the age of twelve years, He entered--according to\nJewish custom--upon a new and important period in His life. You may be\nused to thinking of Jesus as a very wonderful boy, altogether different\nfrom other boys. That is not quite true. Jesus was a perfectly natural\nand normal boy. He liked to run and jump and play the games that other\nboys played. He had to go to school as other Jewish boys did--first\nat His mother's knee, then at the village synagogue. Jesus was unlike\nother boys in that He began early to understand something of the nature\nof His mission upon the earth. This made Him like serious things, and\noften to think about the teachings of {15} God; for it was the aim of\nall Jewish education to learn about God and His commands, and how to\nkeep them. Now, when Jesus became twelve years of age, there came to\nHim many new duties. The Jewish law required that He should assume all\nthe religious responsibilities that devolved naturally upon a faithful\nJew. Amongst other things, Jesus must hereafter go to the temple three\ntimes a year, to fulfill the demands of the law. Accordingly, when\nJoseph and Mary set out for Jerusalem, to observe the Feast of the\nPassover, soon after their eldest son's twelfth birthday, they took Him\nwith them.\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus in the temple.]\n\nIt is needless here to follow in detail the journey of the pilgrims\nover the great highway, across the Plain of Jezreel to Bethshean,\ndown the western side of the Jordan Valley to Jericho, and then\nfour thousand feet upward over the barren, robber-infested hills of\nthe wilderness of Judea to Jerusalem. Jesus seems to have been much\nimpressed by the road, for He referred to it later in the parable of\nthe Good Samaritan.\n\nWhen the celebration of the feast of the Passover was accomplished,\nJoseph and Mary set out to return to Nazareth. They had complete\nconfidence in Jesus, so they did not look for Him till they reached\nBethany. Jesus was not there to be found. Anxious at heart the parents\nreturned to Jerusalem; and there, after three days, they found Him\ndiscoursing in the temple with Shammai and the learned teachers of the\ntemple. The boy's zeal for knowledge had caused Him to remain at the\ntemple even after the feast was over. \"And all that {16} heard Him were\nastonished at His understanding and answers.\"\n\nWhen Mary saw her son in the midst of the learned men of Israel, she\ncried to Him, \"Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy\nfather and I have sought thee sorrowing.\"\n\n\"And He said unto them. How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I\nmust be about my Father's business?\"\n\n\"And they understood not the saying which He spake unto them.\"\n\n[Sidenote: His Father's Business.]\n\nIt was, indeed, a strange saying to understand. Not Joseph and Mary\nalone, but countless thousands of people have failed to understand\nit. Do you think you know what the boy Jesus meant? Of course, to\nunderstand, one must know what the Father's business is. Then we can\nunderstand what Jesus thought about His mission on the earth. \"For,\"\nJesus said many years later when He had grown to manhood, \"I came down\nfrom heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.\"\n\nWhat, then, is the will of God? What is His Father's business? Once,\nmany hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God gave to a man named\nMoses a marvelous revelation. Moses saw how the earth had been formed,\nand how living things were put upon it. He saw how man was shaped in\nthe image of God and placed upon the earth to have dominion over it.\nThen God said to Moses, \"Behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring\nto pass the immortality and eternal life of man.\"\n\n{17} This, then, is the Father's business; this is His will. It is\nexactly what Jesus told Joseph Smith, the great American Prophet, in\nour own dispensation: \"And if you keep my commandments and endure to\nthe end, you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of\nall the gifts of God.\" And it is also exactly what Jesus taught while\nHe dwelt among men. Said He, \"And this is the will of Him that sent\nme, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have\neverlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.\"\n\n[Sidenote: What is eternal life?]\n\nBut perhaps it is not quite clear yet what the Father's will is.\nPerhaps you are asking yourself, What is eternal life? Of course,\neternal, or everlasting life, is a condition of being--or of living--in\nwhich there is no death. When we gain the gift of eternal life, we\nshall go on living for ever and ever. Jesus gave once an excellent\ndefinition of the conditions of eternal life. He had spent considerable\ntime exhorting His disciples, and instructing them in things that were\nyet to come. Then He raised his eyes to heaven and prayed; and in the\ncourse of that prayer, He said, \"This is life eternal, that they might\nknow Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The special mission of Jesus.]\n\nNow we may begin to understand fully what Jesus thought about His\nmission on the earth. God did not put men on the earth to destroy them.\nHe put them here to save them, if they would be saved. It is the glory\nof God to save men, to bring to pass their salvation and everlasting\nexaltation. This is the Father's business. But to gain the gift of\neternal life men must learn to know {18} God. Here then we discover\nthe nature of Jesus's mission. As child and boy and man, Jesus devoted\nHis life to learning to know God and to the teaching of His brethren\nalso to know Him. Through the love and sacrifice of Jesus, we may gain\neternal life. In the temple, the boy of twelve was about His Father's\nbusiness, learning and explaining. As a man, He fulfilled the will of\nHis Father, making it possible for men to know God. In His death. He\naccomplished the general salvation of mankind, making it possible for\nthem to gain eternal life.\n\nIt is small wonder that Napoleon revered the Man who thus unselfishly\ndevoted His life to the good of His fellowmen, and finally laid it down\nfor their salvation. We shall be glad to study the teachings of this\nMan. But first, we must understand what it means to know God and Jesus\nChrist whom He hath sent.\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nLuke 2:42-52. Moses 1:39.\n\nJohn 6:38-40. Doc. and Cov. 14:7.\n\nJohn 17:1-3.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What, in your opinion, is the value of Napoleon's testimony of Jesus?\n\n2. What does Napoleon admit in his testimony?\n\n3. What peoples in the world today do not acknowledge Jesus the Christ?\n\n4. Name some points in which the world has been affected by the\nteachings of Jesus.\n\n5. Outline briefly the story of the life of Jesus.\n\n6. Why should it be more important to know the teachings of Jesus than\nmerely to know the story of His life?\n\n7. What new responsibilities came to Jesus when He reached the age of\ntwelve years?\n\n{19} 8. Why did Jesus remain at the temple in Jerusalem when the feast\nof the Passover was accomplished?\n\n9. What was the answer that puzzled His mother?\n\n10. Why were men placed upon the earth?\n\n11. What are the conditions of eternal life?\n\n12. In what sense has Jesus always been about His Father's business?\n\n13. What should be our attitude toward the Father's business?\n\n{20} PICTURE: NAZARETH, PASESTINE\n\n{21}\n\n\n\nII\n\nWHAT IT MEANS TO KNOW GOD\n\n[Sidenote: Abraham's determination to serve God.]\n\nWhat does it mean to know God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent?\nAbout two thousand years before Jesus was born, there lived in a land\ncalled Ur of the Chaldees, a young man whose name was Abram. Abram\nseems to have been a very intelligent and serious-minded person. Like\nmany another good man in ancient and modern times, he strove to find\nout the true and living God. But it was very difficult to do so in\nAbram's time, for most of Abram's people had forsaken the worship of\nJehovah, and had turned to the worship of idols and graven images. This\ngrieved Abram very much. He determined that he would serve the true\nGod; and that if necessary, he would move away from his father's house\nto a strange place, in order that he might worship as his conscience\ndemanded. The priests who served the strange gods worshipped by Abram's\nkindred, heard of Abram's righteousness, and his refusal to worship the\nimages of wood and stone and metal they had set up. They determined,\ntherefore, to seize Abram and to sacrifice him on the altar of Elkanah.\n\n[Sidenote: God Himself.]\n\nBut Abram had found a true friend. It was the true and living God\nHimself. He delivered Abram from the hands of the false priests, and\nthe Lord God said to Abram, \"I am the Lord thy God; I dwell in heaven,\nthe earth is my footstool; I stretch my hand over the sea, and it obeys\nmy voice; I cause the wind and the fire to be my chariot; I say {22}\nto the mountains, Depart hence, and behold, they are taken away by a\nwhirlwind, in an instant, suddenly.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.]\n\nThis was the true and living God, the God Almighty, creator of the\nheavens and the earth and all that lives therein. In the midst of the\nworship of idols and graven images and strange gods of many lands,\nAbram had learned to know God--that is, he had learned to recognize\nthe true God, the living God of power. He was not confused. He did not\nmistake an image of stone for the true God.\n\nAfterwards Abram's name was changed to Abraham. He became the father\nof Isaac, and the grandfather of Jacob. These three men all served the\ntrue God. From them sprang the Children of Israel, all of whom learned\nalso to worship the true God of heaven and earth. That is why He is\noften spoken of as the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob.\n\n[Sidenote: The first commandment.]\n\nIn the days of Moses, God gave a commandment in these words, \"Thou\nshalt have no other gods before me.\" That commandment was still in\nforce at the time of Jesus, and is still in force today. Of course,\nthere are not many idols or graven images held up to worship today;\nbut there are still many different kinds of God worshipped even in the\nChristian world. To some, God is merely a spirit; to others, He is\nmerely an influence, or a power; to others still, there is no real God,\nbut the name is used merely to designate the forces of nature--and so\non. Naturally, we cannot gain eternal life through any such conceptions\nas these. Like Abraham we must learn to recognize the true and living\nGod. We must not be deceived by false {23} doctrine. This is life\neternal, to know--to recognize and to worship--the true God, the living\nGod--of heaven and earth.\n\nWe know now the meaning of the first part of Jesus's statement. We know\nwhat it means to know God. But what does it mean to know Jesus Christ,\nwhom God sent?\n\n[Sidenote: What does it mean to know Jesus Christ?]\n\nTwo young men were sitting at luncheon one day in the dining-room of\na students' club house. One of them was registered in the School of\nDivinity of one of the oldest and largest universities in America, and\nwas studying to become a minister. The other was preparing to become a\nteacher.\n\n\"Do you believe that Jesus was really the Son of God, and the Savior of\nthe world?\" asked the young teacher.\n\n\"I believe,\" replied the preacher--the would-be representative of\nJesus--deliberately, \"that Jesus was a great leader, a great teacher, a\ngreat philosopher--in every way a great man. But I do not believe that\nhe was really the Son of God, nor really the Redeemer in the usually\naccepted sense.\"\n\n[Sidenote: It is necessary to understand God's plan.]\n\nHad this young minister, who was preparing to preach the Gospel of\nJesus Christ, learned to know Him? Surely not. It is not enough merely\nto recognize the true and living God, and to distinguish Him from the\nmany false gods of the world. One must learn also to understand God's\nplan for the salvation of mankind, The first man, Adam, was just like\nus. He did not {24} understand the plan of salvation until it was\ntaught to him. One day, when he was offering sacrifice outside of the\nGarden of Eden, an angel appeared to him. The angel told Adam many\nthings about the Fall, and sin, and death. These things we shall learn\nmore about later. The important thing to learn now is this: Because of\nthe fall of Adam and Eve, it became necessary to send Someone to the\nearth to lay down His life for the salvation of men.\n\n[Sidenote: The divine mission of Jesus.]\n\nGod selected our Elder Brother Jesus, to perform this noble mission.\nHe came to the earth--the Only Begotten of the Father--and taught\nmen, took their sins upon Himself, and finally allowed His life to be\ntaken to redeem mankind from the effects of the fall in the Garden of\nEden. Was Jesus, then, merely a great leader, a great teacher, a great\nphilosopher? He was all that, to be sure. But He was also more than\nthat. He was--He is--the Only Begotten Son of the Father, the Savior of\nthe world. To know Jesus Christ whom God hath sent, is to accept the\ndivine mission of Jesus, to believe that He is really the Christ. This\nis life eternal, to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom He\nhath sent.\n\n[Sidenote: A third step.]\n\nNow we understand, in part, what it means to know God and Jesus Christ.\nBut a third step is necessary before one can claim complete knowledge.\nIf a man should claim to know the principles of the telephone, then\nshould try to talk to someone at a distance without connecting the\nwires with the transmitting instrument, should you believe that he\nreally knew what he claimed to know? Would you not {25} rather think,\n\"If this man understood and recognized the principles of the telephone,\nhe would do what they require?\"\n\n[Sidenote: What we would do if we had learned to know God and Jesus.]\n\nIt is just so in knowing God and Jesus Christ, His Son. If we have\nreally found the true God, and sincerely believe in the mission of\nJesus Christ, we will surely do the things that They command us to do.\nIndeed, we cannot claim a complete knowledge without doing God's will.\nOnce, when John the Beloved was writing to some members of the Church,\nhe said to them, \"Hereby we do know that we know Him (Jesus Christ), if\nwe keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not\nHis commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso\nkeepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby\nknow we that we are in Him.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The condition of eternal life.]\n\nNow we may claim to have learned the conditions of eternal life. To\nknow the true God is to recognize the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and\nof Jacob--the God of Israel, and not to confuse Him with any one of the\nmany false gods worshipped in the world. To know Jesus Christ is to\nrecognize Him, and to accept Him and believe in Him as the Savior of\nthe world. To know God and Jesus Christ, is to keep the commandments\nThey have given to man. It was the whole aim of Jewish education to\nlearn to know God and His commands, and how to keep them. It should\nbe the aim of all education. Only by knowing the true God and Jesus\nChrist, can we hope to enter the kingdom of God.\n\n{26} \"To us, there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things,\nand we in Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and\nwe by Him.\"\n\nIt shall be our pleasure from now on to learn what Jesus Himself\ntaught, that we may learn the better to know Him and the Father, and\nthus gain eternal life.\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nAbraham Chs. 1,2. Moses 5:1-11.\n\nExodus 20:3. 1 John 2:3-5.\n\n1 Cor. 8:6.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What was the real problem that confronted Abram in his search for\nGod?\n\n2. Why is the true God called the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of\nJacob?\n\n3. What is the first of the ten commandments?\n\n4. How does it apply in this age?\n\n5. What does it mean to know God?\n\n6. What do men of the world often think of Jesus?\n\n7. Why was Jesus necessary in the plan of salvation?\n\n8. What does it mean to know Jesus Christ?\n\n9. What does it mean in full to know God and Jesus Christ whom He sent?\n\n10. What should be an aim of all true education?\n\n{27}\n\n{28} PICTURE: SIMEON BLESSING THE LORD.\n\n{29}\n\n\n\nIII\n\nTHE GOD OF ISRAEL.\n\n[Sidenote: A very important question.]\n\nWhat kind of being is God, the Father, of whom are all things? If you\nshould be sent into the missionary field to preach the Gospel, you\nwould find this one of the most difficult questions you would have to\nanswer. For God is somewhat of a mysterious being in the opinions of\nmost men. Very few men have ever claimed to have seen God, or to have\nheld converse with Him. And for that which seems mysterious, men like\nto find hard, complicated answers. The simple truth does not satisfy\nthem.\n\n[Sidenote: The truth is simple and easy.]\n\nYet, the simple answer is nearly always the right one. A missionary\nto the South Sea Islands found himself one day trying to explain to\nthe natives the nature of hail. There is neither hail nor snow nor\nsleet on the islands. There are really but two seasons--the dry and\nthe wet. When it is wet it rains. The missionary tried by many various\nroundabout ways to make the natives understand that hail is frozen\nraindrops. The natives knew nothing about frost. They had no previous\nknowledge with which to associate his explanation. And, as you know, we\ncannot understand anything new unless we can tie it up with something\nthat we already know.\n\nThe missionary became desperate. Finally, he thrust his hand into a\nbowl of rice standing on the floor, lifted a handful, and allowed it to\nfall again in a shower to the ground. \"Hail,\" he said, \"is like that.\"\nInstantly {30} the natives got the picture. They saw the raindrops\nturned white and hard, and pelting the earth in their fall. The simple\nexplanation went home.\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus's explanation of God.]\n\nNow, Jesus's explanation of what kind of being God is, is even more\nsimple and clear than is this illustration of what hail is like. But\nmen have strayed into the worshipping of many different kinds of God,\nbecause they have refused to accept the simple truth.\n\nNear the close of His mortal life on the earth, Jesus delivered a very\nexcellent farewell discourse to His disciples. It is full of words of\ncheer and comfort. Amongst other things Jesus said:\n\n\"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,\nbut by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and\nfrom henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.\n\n\"Philip saith unto Him, Lord shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.\n\n\"Jesus saith unto him. Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast\nthou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father;\nand how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?\"\n\n[Sidenote: The meaning of Jesus's answer.]\n\nIs not this answer very simple and very clear? Is there any good reason\nfor mistaking this answer? You hear it said very often of a young man\nthat he is the very image of his father. If you should some day say to\na young man, \"I should like very much to see your father,\" what should\nyou think the father looked like, if the young man were to answer, \"He\nthat has seen me has seen my father\"? {31} Could you possibly in reason\nhelp thinking that the father and the son were alike?\n\nWe know what manner of man Jesus was. Jesus possessed a body of flesh\nand bones; or, as John the Beloved, said, \"The Word was made flesh\nand dwelt among us.\" Besides, Jesus was so much like other men that\nHis own people could not see anything different in Him. When Jesus\nwent into His own country and taught in the synagogue, the people were\nastonished. \"Whence hath this man this wisdom,\" they asked, \"and these\nmighty words? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called\nMary? and his brethren, James and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?\" To His\nown people Jesus was but an ordinary man.\n\n[Sidenote: The testimony of Paul.]\n\nBut the disciples of Jesus learned to understand what Jesus meant by\nHis teaching about God. Said Paul, \"God, who at sundry times and in\ndivers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,\nhath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath\nappointed Heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who\nbeing the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person,\nand upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by\nHimself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on\nhigh.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The truth about God.]\n\nIt is not necessary, then, to go a round-about way to find out the\nnature of God. The simple explanation is the true one. The God of\nAbraham and of Isaac and of Jacob--the supreme God of this world--is a\nperson. He possesses a body of flesh and bones. His Son is so much like\nHim that {32} He could say in truth, \"He that hath seen me hath seen\nthe Father.\" Jesus was the express image of God's person.\n\n[Sidenote: God is our Father.]\n\nJesus's favorite name for God was Father. This beautiful word means\nmany things to us in the teaching of Jesus. First, Jesus was really the\nSon of God, and could rightfully speak of Him as \"My Father.\" But Jesus\ntaught us more than that. Not only is Jesus the Son of God--the Only\nBegotten in the flesh--but we are all the children of God. He is the\nFather of our spirits, so that we may also rightfully pray to Him as\n\"Our Father who art in heaven.\" Then, if God is really our Father, He\nmust have the same kind of feelings for us that fathers always have for\ntheir children. Indeed, since He is God, His feelings must be deeper\nand truer than those of any earthly father. Jesus put it thus:\n\n\"What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him\na stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then,\nbeing evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much\nmore shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that\nask him?\"\n\n[Sidenote: A real joy to know the true God.]\n\nIt is a matter of comfort and joy to know the true God--to worship a\nGod whom we can understand, whom we may recognize. It is no wonder that\npeople everywhere become confused when they try to pray to a God who is\nsomething yet nothing, who is everywhere yet nowhere, who sits on the\ntop of a topless throne, and so forth. It is no wonder that people are\nlooking for the true God.\n\n{33} \"We know that there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and\neternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God,\nthe framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them--that\nHe created man, male and female, after His own image and in His own\nlikeness, created He them, and gave unto them commandments that they\nshould love and serve Him, the only living and true God, and that He\nshould be the only being whom they should worship.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nJohn 14:6-9. Heb. 1:1-3.\n\nJohn 12:45. John 1:14.\n\nMatt. 13:35. Doc. and Cov. 130:22.\n\nCol. 1:15. Matt. 7:9-12.\n\nPhil. 2:6. Doc. and Cov. 20:17-19.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. How do we learn to know things?\n\n2. Why have men strayed from the true conception of God?\n\n3. What kind of being is God?\n\n4. What did Jesus say God is like?\n\n5. What did His disciples understand Jesus to mean?\n\n6. In what sense is God the Father?\n\n7. How is He like other fathers?\n\n8. Why could you not worship any other God than a personal God?\n\n9. What did Jesus teach Joseph Smith concerning God?\n\n{34} PICTURE: JESUS AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA, Hofmann\n\n{35}\n\n\n\nIV\n\nWHAT JESUS SAID OF HIMSELF\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus's testimony to the woman of Samaria.]\n\nOne day, early in His ministry among the Jews, Jesus \"left Judea, and\ndeparted again into Galilee. And He must needs go through Samaria. Then\ncometh He to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the\nparcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well\nwas there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on\nthe well; and it was about the sixth hour.\n\n\"There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her.\nGive me to drink. . . . Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Him, How\nis it that thou being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of\nSamaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.\n\n\"Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and\nwho it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldst have asked\nof Him, and He would have given thee living water. The woman saith\nunto Him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep:\nfrom whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than\nour father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself,\nand his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her,\nWhosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever\ndrinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst: but\nthe water that I {36} shall give him shall be in him a well of water\nspringing up into everlasting life. . . .\n\n\"The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our\nfathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is\nthe place where men ought to worship.\n\n\"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye\nshall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the\nFather. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for\nsalvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the\ntrue worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for\nthe Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that\nworship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.\n\n\"The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called\nChrist: when He is come. He will tell us all things.\n\n[Sidenote: The testimony of the people of Sychar.]\n\n\"Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He.\" When she heard\nthis remarkable declaration, the woman ran back to the city of Sychar\nand told the people what Jesus had said to her, asking them, \"Can this\nbe the Christ?\" The people of Sychar went out themselves to see Jesus,\nand invited Him to stay with them. Jesus stayed there for two days, and\nmany believed in Him because of His teachings. And when He left them\nto continue His journey to Galilee, the people said to the woman who\nhad first met Jesus, \"Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we\nhave heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the\nSavior of the World.\"\n\n{37} [Sidenote: Jesus taught always that He is the Christ.]\n\nThis experience of Jesus with the people of Sychar is full of interest\nand rich in meaning. We might spend much time in discussing it. But it\nis not necessary now to consider more than the fact that from the very\nbeginning of His ministry, Jesus taught that He was really the Christ,\nthe Savior of the world. He was not always so successful in getting the\npeople to recognize Him--in getting them to know God and Jesus Christ\nwhom He had sent--as He was here at Sychar. When at one time He bore\nthe same testimony in the Temple, the priests and the people took up\nstones and would have stoned Him to death, had He not miraculously\nwalked out of their midst. But always Jesus taught of Himself that He\nis the Christ.\n\n[Sidenote: The answer to John.]\n\nWhen the messengers of John the Baptist came to Him and asked, \"Art\nthou He that should come, or do we look for another?\" Jesus answered\npromptly, \"Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and\nsee: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are\ncleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have\nthe gospel preached to them.\" These things were all signs of the coming\nof the Christ, and the answer was the same as if Jesus had said, \"Yes,\nI am He that should come; ye need not look for another.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The confessions at the trials of Jesus.]\n\nIt was thus plainly and fearlessly that Jesus, at the end of His\nearthly life too, taught that He was the Redeemer of the world. When\nJesus was haled before the high priest. {38} the high priest demanded,\n\"Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?\" Jesus answered boldly,\n\"I am: and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of\npower, and coming in the clouds of heaven.\" And to Pilate's question,\n\"Art thou the King of the Jews?\" Jesus replied, \"Thou sayest.\"\n\n[Sidenote: And on the way to Emmaus.]\n\nThese answers and explanations are so clear to us now that it seems\nhardly possible the disciples of Jesus did not also understand them.\nYet it was so; the disciples looked apparently for a powerful, earthly\nking. When Jesus was crucified, they were overwhelmed. For a while\nthey did not know what to make of it. But Jesus Himself made all\nthings clear. One day, after the crucifixion, two of the disciples\nwere journeying toward Emmaus, talking about the strange things that\nhad happened. Suddenly, the resurrected Savior joined them. Because\nthese disciples had failed to understand the meaning of His mission on\nthe earth, Jesus said to them, \"O fools, and slow of heart to believe\nall that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered\nthese things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and\nall the prophets. He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the\nthings concerning Himself.\" Thus did Jesus after His resurrection bear\ntestimony to His teaching that He is verily the Christ, the Son of God.\n\n[Sidenote: How shall we find out Christ?]\n\nThe knowledge that Jesus is the Christ, is, as we have already learned,\nnecessary to gain eternal life, the greatest of all gifts. But how\nshall we come into possession of that knowledge? Shortly before His\n{39} death, Jesus taught His disciples thus: \"I will pray the Father,\nand He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you\nforever.\" And a little later, \"When the Comforter is come, whom I will\nsend you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth, which proceedeth\nfrom the Father, He shall testify of me.\" So, then, we may gain the\nknowledge, the testimony, that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the\nworld, through the inspiration of the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth.\nAnd to be influenced by the Spirit of Truth, we must ourselves worship\nin spirit and in truth. Sooner or later the testimony must be obtained,\nfor it is decreed that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess\nthat Jesus is the Christ.\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nJohn 4:1-42. Matt. 27:11.\n\nJohn 10:24, 25. Luke 24:25-27.\n\nMatt. 11:3-6. John 14:16.\n\nMark 14:61, 62. John 15:26.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What is the meaning of the Christ?\n\n2. What is the significance of Christ's ministry at Sychar?\n\n3. On what other occasions did Jesus publicly declare Himself the\nChrist?\n\n4. Of what particular value is His testimony to the disciples on the\nroad to Emmaus?\n\n5. How is a testimony of the Christ to be obtained?\n\n{40} PICTURE: JESUS AND NICODEMUS, Artist Unknown\n\n{41}\n\n\n\nV\n\nTHE SPECIAL WITNESS OF JESUS\n\n[Sidenote: The end of the period of preparation.]\n\nIt was the day of the baptism. Jesus had completed the years of\npreparation for His ministry of service. We know very little of what\nHe did during the eighteen years from the time of His first visit to\nthe temple to the time of His baptism. The historian Luke tells us that\nJesus went down to Nazareth with His parents and was subject to them.\n\"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and\nman.\" The day of the baptism was momentous, however; for it was the day\non which the special witness of Jesus made special recognition of Him\nas the Christ.\n\n[Sidenote: The testimony at the baptism.]\n\nJohn the Baptizer was performing the ordinance of baptism in the river\nJordan for all those who requested it. Thither, then Jesus went; for\nHe, too, wished to be baptized. But when Jesus approached, John felt\nthat in Him was One greater than he; just such a One as he had himself\npredicted, whose shoestrings he was unworthy to untie. When, therefore,\nJesus asked for baptism, John replied, \"I have need to be baptized of\nThee, and comest Thou to me?\"\n\n\"And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now; for thus it\nbecometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered Him.\n\n\"And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straight-way out of the\nwater: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and he (John) saw\nthe Spirit of God {42} descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him.\nAnd, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my Son, in whom I am well\npleased.\"\n\n[Sidenote: John's testimony.]\n\nA little later, John bore testimony to those assembled about him, thus:\n\"I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and It abode upon\nHim. And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the\nsame said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and\nremaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.\nAnd I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Who the Comforter is.]\n\nNow, this Spirit that John saw descending like a dove and lighting upon\nJesus was the same Spirit that Jesus later promised--as we learned in\nthe preceding chapter--and that was to testify of Him. Concerning this\nSpirit Jesus said also just before His crucifixion, \"I tell you the\ntruth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away,\nthe Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him\nunto you.\"\n\nWho, then, is this Spirit, this Comforter? Jesus tells plainly: \"The\nComforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my\nname. He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your\nremembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.\" The Holy Ghost, then,\nis a special witness to Jesus; and the Holy Ghost is a member of the\nGodhead in heaven. When Jesus commissioned the apostles after His\nresurrection to preach the Gospel, He said to them, \"Go ye therefore,\nand teach all nations, baptizing {43} them in the name of the Father,\nand of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.\" It is further clear that, as a\nmember of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost is a member separate and distinct\nfrom God and the Son; for at the baptism of the Son, all three were\nindividually and separately present.\n\n[Sidenote: The mission of the Holy Ghost.]\n\nThe duties of the Holy Ghost are many. When Nicodemus came by night\nto be instructed by Jesus, Jesus assured him that, \"except a man be\nborn of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of\nGod;\" for, said He, \"that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.\" This\nmeans, of course, that when one receives the gift of the Holy Ghost,\none enters upon a new spiritual life. And in bringing about such a new\nspiritual life, the Holy Ghost convinces the sinner of his evil deeds,\nand leads him to the truth, testifying as we have already learned of\nthe Christ.\n\n[Sidenote: The Holy Ghost in Jesus and the apostles.]\n\nJesus, himself, was \"full of the Holy Ghost.\" After the ascension. His\npromise of a Comforter was literally fulfilled to the Apostles. On the\nday of Pentecost, they \"were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began\nto speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The Holy Ghost amongst the Nephites.]\n\nOn the American continent, too, as you must remember, Jesus chose\ntwelve apostles. The Holy Ghost rested mightily upon them, and the\nway in which Jesus conferred the Holy Ghost on them is interesting.\nThe third Nephi records the incident in these words: \"It came to pass\nthat when Jesus had made an end of these sayings, {44} He touched with\nHis hand the disciples whom He had chosen, one by one, even until He\nhad touched them all, and spake unto them as He touched them.\" Moroni\ndescribes the incident more fully: \"The words of Christ, which He spake\nunto His disciples, the twelve whom He had chosen, as He laid His hands\nupon them. And He called them by name, saying, ye shall call on the\nFather, in my name, in mighty prayer; and after ye have done this, ye\nshall have power that on him whom ye shall lay your hands, ye shall\ngive the Holy Ghost; and in my name shall ye give it, for thus do mine\napostles.\"\n\n[Sidenote: How to confer the Holy Ghost.]\n\nAs Jesus Himself did, then, amongst the Nephites, and as He instructed\nthe Nephite apostles to do, so also did the Jewish apostles. They\nconferred the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. It\nis the proper way. When the Church was re-established by the great\nAmerican, Joseph Smith, the ordinance of the laying on of hands was\nrestored with it.\n\n[Sidenote: Nature of the Holy Ghost.]\n\nNow, you may be wondering, what kind of being is the Holy Ghost,\nthat it may be conferred by the laying on of hands? Many people have\nwondered about the same thing. Indeed, even learned men have wondered\nso much that they have become utterly confused. Yet, here again, the\ntruth is very simple. Jesus said to Joseph Smith, \"The Father has a\nbody of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the\nHoly Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of\nSpirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.\"\n\n{45} [Sidenote: Importance of the Holy Ghost.]\n\nYou can readily see that the Holy Ghost is a very important personage.\nFirst, He is a member of the Godhead. Then, through His influence we\nare led from darkness into light, and are thus enabled to recognize\nthe truth. Then He testifies of Jesus Christ, and of God who sent\nHim. Indeed, so important is the testimony of the Holy Ghost that\nJesus Christ Himself asserted that all sins may be forgiven except\nthe sin against the Holy Ghost. And to Joseph Smith, Jesus said that\nthe blasphemy against the Holy Ghost consisted in the denying of the\ntestimony that Jesus is the Christ, after having once received that\ntestimony, and thus approving of His death. The denial of such a\ntestimony would be the denial of the Holy Ghost also; for \"no man can\nknow that Jesus is the Christ, but by the Holy Ghost.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 3:13-16. John 3:34.\n\nJohn 1:32-35. Acts 2:1-4.\n\nJohn 16:7, 8, 13. 3 Nephi 18:36, 37.\n\nJohn 14:26. Moroni 2:1,2.\n\nMatt. 28:19. Doc. and Cov. 33:15.\n\nJohn 6:53. Doc. and Cov. 130:22.\n\nLuke 4:1-20. Doc. and Cov. 132:27.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. How old was Jesus when He went to John to be baptized?\n\n2. Why was Jesus baptized?\n\n3. How did John recognize Jesus as the Son of God?\n\n4. Who is the Comforter?\n\n5. What is His relation to God and to Jesus?\n\n6. What is the mission of the Holy Ghost?\n\n7. How is the Holy Ghost conferred?\n\n8. What kind of being is the Holy Ghost?\n\n9. Why is the Holy Ghost of special importance?\n\n{46} PICTURE: CHRIST HEALING THE BLIND MAN, Bida\n\n{47}\n\n\n\nVI\n\nBEFORE THERE WAS AN EARTH\n\n[Sidenote: A remarkable vision.]\n\nThe brother of Jared had cut from Mount Shelem sixteen small stones,\nclear and transparent as glass. The barges in which his people were to\ncross the ocean were prepared; but he had been unable to devise a means\nof lighting them. So, with childlike faith and complete confidence he\ncalled upon the Father.\n\n\"I know, O Lord,\" said the brother of Jared, \"that Thou hast all power,\nand can do whatsoever Thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch\nthese stones, O Lord, with Thy finger, and prepare them that they may\nshine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the\nvessels which we have prepared, that we may have light when we shall\ncross the sea . . . .\n\n\"And it came to pass that when the brother of Jared had said these\nwords, behold, the Lord stretched forth His hand and touched the\nstones, one by one with His finger; and the veil was taken from off\nthe eyes of the brother of Jared, and he saw the finger of the Lord;\nand it was like the finger of a man, like unto flesh and blood; and\nthe brother of Jared fell down before the Lord, for he was struck with\nfear.\"\n\nYou may easily imagine that such a vision would amaze any man. And the\nbrother of Jared, though he was a very good and righteous man, and a\nprophet of God, seems not to have suspected before this time that God\nand Jesus Christ had bodies of flesh as material {48} and tangible as\nman's. What the brother of Jared thought God to be, we do not know. But\nwhen the Lord saw that he had fallen to the ground in amazement, He\nsaid, \"Arise, why hast thou fallen?\"\n\n\"And he saith unto the Lord, I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared\nlest He should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and\nblood.\"\n\nBut much as the brother of Jared was astonished at this marvelous\nrevelation, there remained for him yet greater wonders. The Lord\ncommended him for his great faith, which had made it possible for him\nto see the finger of the Lord. Then the Lord asked, \"Sawest thou more\nthan this? And he answered Nay; Lord, show Thyself unto me.\"\n\n\"Behold, the Lord showed Himself unto him, and said....Behold, I am He\nwho was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people.\nBehold, I am Jesus Christ. I am the Father and the Son. In me shall all\nmankind have light, and that eternally, even they who shall believe\non my name; and they shall become my sons and my daughters. And never\nhave I shown myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man\nbelieved in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine\nown image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning, after mine\nown image.\n\n\"Behold, this body which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit, and\nman have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear\nunto thee to be in the spirit, will I appear unto my people in the\nflesh.\"\n\n{49} [Sidenote: The pre-existence of Jesus.]\n\nThis marvelous vision, the brother of Jared beheld many hundreds of\nyears before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Do you think you understand\nthe great truths that Jesus here revealed to the Jaredite prophet?\nFirst, it must be evident to everyone that Jesus had existence--that\nHe lived and worked--before He was born in the flesh upon the earth.\nBut what kind of existence was this pre-existence? It was an existence\nin the spirit state. And the spirit body of Jesus is in form and shape\njust like the mortal body; so that, when Jesus helped to form man. He\nformed him after the image of His own body. This is the second great\ntruth we learn from the remarkable vision. And a third is, that Jesus\nwas appointed \"from the foundation of the world\" to redeem mankind. In\nthe pre-existence He labored for us; there He was chosen to redeem us.\nHis mission upon the earth, and the sacrifice of His noble life, were\nbut the completion of a plan formulated long before He was born.\n\n[Sidenote: The spirits of all men eternal.]\n\nNow, you may say, \"Of course, we know that Jesus lived before He was\nborn in the flesh, and that He had a spirit of the same form and shape\nas His mortal body, and that He was chosen in that pre-existent life to\nredeem the world from sin. But it may not be so with man.\"\n\nThat is one of the wonderful things about life. We are here passing\nthrough only one small stage of it. Jesus taught that the spirits of\nall men are eternal just like His own. For Jesus truly recognized and\nunderstood His own pre-existence. Said He, once, as He prayed, \"And\nnow, O Father, glorify Thou me with {50} Thine own self with the glory\nwhich I had with Thee before the world was.\" And at another time He\nasked, \"What and if Ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where He\nwas before? I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world:\nagain, I leave the world, and go to the Father.\" Thus, with complete\nassurance He spoke of the time that had been before; and with the same\nassurance He accepted the teaching that man, too, existed before he was\nborn in the flesh.\n\n[Sidenote: The man born blind.]\n\nOne day, in the temple, Jesus had taught this very doctrine to the\nJews. In answer to one of their questions. He had replied, \"Verily,\nverily, I say unto you. Before Abraham was I am.\" The answer provoked\nthe Jews, and they took up stones to stone Him. \"But Jesus hid Himself,\nand went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so\npassed by.\"\n\nThen follows a remarkable little story, touching the doctrine He had\njust presented in the temple, and here discussed in this chapter. \"As\nJesus passed by, He saw a man which was blind from his birth. And His\ndisciples asked Him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his\nparents, that he was born blind?\"\n\nNow, we must remember that in those days people believed affliction to\nbe always a punishment for some sin or other. We can easily understand\nthat the parents of the man might have sinned; and through their sin,\nthey might have brought blindness upon their son. But since he was born\nblind, how could the affliction have come as the result of his own sin?\nIn only one way. If the man had had an existence before he was {51}\nborn in the flesh, he might there have sinned. The Lord might then have\npunished him for his sin by causing him to be born blind.\n\nEvidently, the disciples understood that there is a pre-existent state.\nBut were they right? If they were not, surely Jesus would correct them.\nListen. Jesus answered, \"Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents:\nbut that the works of God should be made manifest in him.\" Jesus, then,\ndid not rebuke them. He, too, accepted the doctrine. At least, the\naffliction of blindness was not because of sin committed in the spirit\nworld. And the works of God were truly made manifest in the miracle\nwhich Jesus then performed.\n\n[Sidenote: Conclusion.]\n\nFrom the teachings of Jesus, in the spirit and in the flesh, it is\nclear, then, that the spirits of all men existed in the spirit world\nlong before they were born into bodies of flesh in this world; that the\nbody of the spirit is like the mortal body in form; and that Jesus was\nchosen before the earth was organized to redeem mankind from sin.\n\n\"We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them\nreverence: Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of\nSpirits, and live?\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nEther 3:4-16. John 17:28.\n\nJohn 17:5. John 9:1-7.\n\nJohn 6:62. Heb. 12:9.\n\n{52} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. Relate the story of the vision of the brother of Jared?\n\n2. What was it that enabled the brother of Jared to behold so\nremarkable a vision?\n\n3. What three important points are taught in the vision?\n\n4. How did Jesus show in His teachings in the flesh that He believed in\na pre-existence?\n\n5. What lesson do you derive from the story of the healing of the man\nborn blind?\n\n6. What is the teaching of Jesus brought out in this lesson?\n\n7. How should this knowledge of a spirit existence affect our lives on\nthe earth?\n\n{53}\n\n{54} PICTURE: THE SOWER, Millet\n\n{55}\n\n\n\nVII\n\nTHE PRESENCE OF EVIL\n\n[Sidenote: A review.]\n\nLet us stop now for a moment and think before we proceed to the special\nsubject of this chapter. It is clear, from what we have learned, that\nJesus had a very specific mission to perform on the earth. He did not\ncome merely to display miraculous power. He came to save mankind--to\nteach them to know God and His commands, and to show them, further,\nhow to keep the commands. And the wonderful thing about the mission\nof Jesus is that He was willing to suffer as no other man has ever\nsuffered and finally to lay down His life in order to bring about the\npurpose of God.\n\nAnd the great purpose of God in this world is to bring to pass the\nimmortality and eternal life of man. For just as Jesus did not come\nmerely to show how He could perform wonders, so God did not organize\nthe earth and put living things upon it only to display His power.\nHe had a far greater and higher purpose. That the purpose may be\naccomplished, man must learn to know God and Jesus Christ whom He hath\nsent.\n\n[Sidenote: The problem of evil.]\n\nNow, it may seem to you that, if God were so desirous of saving mankind\nthat He was willing to give His only Begotten Son to accomplish the\ndesire, He could have made it very easy for men to keep His commands.\nIndeed, He might have made His will the only possible thing to do. But\nit is not so. It is not ever really difficult to keep the commands of\nGod if one sets his mind to keep them; but there are always so many\nother things {56} possible to do that one is tempted to neglect the\nword of God. Evil is always in the way. We wonder why there should be\nevil in the way, and how evil came to be. Men have wondered about the\nsame thing for many ages. It would be so much easier to be good if\nthere were no wrong. In this lesson, therefore, we want to learn how\nevil came into the world; in the next one, we shall learn why it is\nhere.\n\n[Sidenote: The parable of the sower.]\n\nOne day, when a great multitude of people had assembled about Him,\nJesus related the parable of the sower. Said He, \"A sower went out to\nsow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was\ntrodden down and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon\na rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it\nlacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up\nwith it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up,\nand bare fruit an hundredfold....\n\n[Sidenote: The meaning.]\n\n\"Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the\nwayside are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the\nword out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They\non the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with\njoy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of\ntemptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which,\nwhen they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches\nand pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that\non the good ground are they, which in an honest and good {57} heart,\nhaving heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The devil the power of evil.]\n\nIt is the devil, then, who, in this world, is the power of evil.\nDirectly or indirectly he gets between man and the path of duty.\nAlthough a man may know the way of righteousness, the devil tempts him\nto neglect it, or even to depart from it and to walk in the way of\nevil. But who is the devil? Whence did he get such power? How came he\nto be the devil?\n\n[Sidenote: A council of the spirits.]\n\nIn the pre-existent state, of which we learned in the preceding lesson,\nall the spirits of men lived together in a world of spirits. It was\nthere that they first heard of the plan of salvation--the Gospel. The\nplan was explained at a great meeting, or council, of the spirits. God\nHimself presented the plan to them, and showed them how, in order to\ncarry out the plan, there would be needed a Savior--someone to perform\nthe very mission that Jesus has actually performed for us. Then, when\nhe had fully presented the Gospel plan, God asked, \"Whom shall I send?\"\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus Volunteers.]\n\nThere was present at the council a spirit of supreme intelligence and\nhumility. He was Immanuel, the Son of God. This spirit stepped forward\nand volunteered unselfishly, \"Father, here am I, send me. Thy will be\ndone, and the glory be Thine forever.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Lucifer volunteers.]\n\nBut there was present at the assembly a proud and haughty spirit\nnamed Lucifer, the Light-bringer, a Son of the Morning. Lucifer also\nvolunteered, saying, \"Behold--here am I, {58} send me, I will be Thy\nson and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and\nsurely I will do it; wherefore give me Thine honor.\"\n\nOne can easily imagine that not only God, but the whole multitude of\nspirits also, must have been astounded at the selfishness and the\narrogance of Lucifer. He was willing to try to save mankind--to force\ntheir salvation, in fact--but as reward he would thrust God from His\nthrone, and claim for himself the honor and glory of God. It was as if\nhe had said in his heart, \"I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my\nthrone above the stars of God.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Lucifer rebels.]\n\nIt is no wonder, then, that God said simply, \"I will send the first.\"\nNaturally, Lucifer became angry, and rebelled against God, carrying\nwith him one-third of the spirits of heaven. But in the war which\nfollowed, Lucifer and his host were defeated, and were cast out of\nheaven. \"And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of lies,\nto deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even\nas many as would not hearken unto (God's) voice.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The declaration of Jesus.]\n\nThat is how evil came into the world; and that is why Jesus said once\nto the Jews who rejected Him, \"If God were your Father, ye would\nlove me: for I proceeded forth and am come from God: neither came I\nof myself, but He sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even\nbecause ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil,\nand the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the\nbeginning, and abode {59} not in the truth, because there is no truth\nin him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a\nliar, and the father of it.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nLuke 8:4-15. Isa. 14:12, 13.\n\nMoses 4:1-4. Doc. and Cov. 29:36-38.\n\nAbraham 3:27, 28. Doc. and Cov. 76:25-27.\n\nJohn 8:42-44.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. Why is one tempted to neglect the word of God?\n\n2. What is the lesson of the parable of the sower?\n\n3. Who is the sower of evil in the world?\n\n4. How did Satan come to be the devil?\n\n5. What is the devil's mission on the earth?\n\n6. How did Jesus characterize the devil?\n\n{60} PICTURE: TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, Scheffer\n\n{61}\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nWHY EVIL IS IN THE WORLD\n\n[Sidenote: The devil's desperate hope.]\n\nNo better illustration of the mission of the devil on the earth can be\nfound than the story of the temptation of Jesus. You remember, that,\nwhen Jesus was grown to manhood He went to the river Jordan and was\nbaptized by John. \"Then,\" we are told, \"was Jesus led up of the Spirit\ninto the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted\nforty days and forty nights, He was afterward an hungered.\"\n\nThis was a very important and a critical moment in the history of the\nworld. Jesus was about to begin the splendid ministry which was to\nculminate in His death on the cross for the redemption of the world. If\nHe should succeed in His mission, the power of evil would be broken,\nand it would become possible for man to return to the presence of God.\nOf course, Satan was much disturbed at such a thought. He had gained\nsuch power on the earth that he had come to be called the prince of\nthis world. It angered him to think that he might lose that power.\nIn desperation, he determined to try his strength with Jesus. If he\ncould but bring about the downfall of the Son of God, God's plan would\ncertainly be thwarted, and Satan might hope utterly to possess the\nearth. It was a wicked ambition; but it was in fulfillment of his\nmission among men. So Satan set about to tempt even the Only Begotten\nof the Father.\n\n[Sidenote: The temptation of Jesus.]\n\n\"And when the tempter came to Him (Jesus), he said, If thou be the\nSon of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He (Jesus)\nanswered and {62} said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread\nalone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.\nThen the devil taketh Him up into the holy city, and setteth Him on a\npinnacle of the temple, and saith unto Him, If Thou be the Son of God,\ncast Thyself down: for it is written. He shall give His angels charge\nconcerning Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at\nany time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is\nwritten again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil\ntaketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth Him all the\nkingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto Him, All\nthese things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me.\nThen saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written.\nThou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.\nThen the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, angels came and ministered\nunto Him.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The application.]\n\nThis impressive story of the strength and ultimate victory of innocence\nand purity is full of significance. In the performing of his mission of\nevil, Satan never stops with one kind of temptation alone. He attacks\nman at every point where weakness may lie. First he appealed to the\nappetites of the flesh. But though Jesus had fasted forty days and\nforty nights, and was hungry, yet He resisted the evil suggestion of\nthe tempter. Then Satan appealed to the love of glory and the praise of\nmen. But Jesus was content to wait, knowing that the glory and praise\nwhich would come to Him, from {63} honest and worthy endeavor, would\nbe greater and far more lasting than that which might come from mere\ndisplay. Finally, Satan appealed to the love of riches and power. But\nJesus had the will and the strength to command him to depart; for the\nriches and the power gained through evil are necessarily but fleeting,\nwhereas the blessings derived through the service of God endure\nforever. Thus did Jesus overcome the great temptation, and show all men\nhow to resist evil.\n\n[Sidenote: Guard against suggestions of the devil.]\n\nYou may readily understand, that because of His own experience, Jesus\nappreciated fully the tempting power of the devil. In the parable\nof the sower, you remember, Jesus urges men to guard against the\nsuggestions of the devil. It is because of the hearkening to those\nsuggestions that so much of the seed fails to bear fruit. And not only\ndo those suggestions withhold men from good deeds, but they inspire\nevil thoughts and draw men into sin. There are in history many examples\nof this truth; but there is none more shocking than the example of\nJudas Iscariot, who betrayed the Christ to His enemies. \"When He\n(Jesus) had dipped the sop,\" we read in the Gospel of St. John, \"He\ngave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop (the\ndevil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son,\nto betray Him) Satan entered into him.\" Judas had not the strength to\nresist the suggestions of the devil, and thus brought condemnation upon\nhimself.\n\n[Sidenote: Why there is evil.]\n\nBut you are still wondering why there is evil in the world. Why should\neven Jesus, the Christ, be subjected to temptation by the devil? Let us\nconsider the source of our love and adoration of Jesus. If God had made\nit no trial {64} or task at all, but altogether pleasant, to redeem\nmankind, should we experience the affection and the worship that we now\nfeel for Jesus? If He had not suffered; if He had experienced no pain;\nif He had passed through no agony of body nor anguish of heart, could\nwe feel indebted to Him as we do now? If He had suffered no temptation,\nif it had never been a struggle for Him to do the right--as it was in\nGethsemane--could we admire His strength, and profit by His teaching?\nIn short, could the atoning death of Jesus be called a sacrifice, if\nthere had been no suffering, no overcoming of temptation and evil? It\nwas through overcoming that Jesus proved Himself worthy to be the Son\nof God.\n\n[Sidenote: The trial of man.]\n\nIn just the same way, evil is put before man to tempt him, that he too\nmay show his worthiness or unworthiness. We admire the boy who has the\nThe trial of courage and the will-power to say No to the suggestion\nof evil. We recognize in him strength of character. We see in him a\npillar of strength for the future. We are likely to despise the boy\nwho always yields to temptation, who allows his character to be broken\ndown by evil, and who finally becomes a slave to Satan. Such a boy is a\nweakling; he will be of little or of no service to the world.\n\n[Sidenote: A state of probation.]\n\nWith these facts in mind, it is easy to understand the words of Jesus\nin the Spirit world. At the great council of the spirits--about which\nwe have already learned--Jesus said to those around Him, \"We will go\ndown, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials,\nand we will make an earth whereon these (spirits) may {65} dwell;\nand we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things\nwhatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.\" And in our own\ndispensation, Jesus said to the Prophet, Joseph Smith, \"It must needs\nbe that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not\nbe agents unto themselves, for if they never should have bitter, they\ncould not know the sweet.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The free agency of man.]\n\nHere of course lies the secret of the matter. God has endowed us with\nfree agency. He does not try to force us to be good, but we may do good\nor evil as we ourselves please. And as we gain strength to overcome\nevil, we grow in character and in power, and become more nearly worthy\nto return to the presence of God. It was partly because he wanted\nto destroy the God-given free agency of man, that Lucifer was cast\nout of heaven. Only the person who sturdily and persistently resists\ntemptation retains his free agency. He who yields to temptation becomes\nsoon a servant to the devil, and loses the free agency with which God\nendowed him.\n\nThrough overcoming temptation and evil Jesus triumphed over the devil\nand redeemed the world. Through overcoming temptation and evil, man,\ntoo, may triumph over the devil, and have glory added upon his head for\never and ever. \"Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all\nthings are given unto them which are expedient unto man. And they are\nfree to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of\nall men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity\nand power of the devil.\"\n\n{66} THE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 4:1-11. Abraham 3:24,25.\n\nMatt. 13:19. Doc. and Cov. 29:39.\n\nJohn 13:2-26, 27. 2 Nephi 2:27.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. Why should the devil be concerned after the baptism of Jesus?\n\n2. Discuss the temptation of Jesus.\n\n3. To what do the suggestions of the devil lead?\n\n4. How did Jesus prove Himself worthy to be the Son of God?\n\n5. How may man prove himself worthy to be a son of God?\n\n6. Why was man placed upon the earth?\n\n7. What is the meaning of free agency?\n\n8. Why is evil upon the earth?\n\n{67}\n\n{68} PICTURE: MARKET SCENE AT BETHLEHEM.\n\n{69}\n\n\n\nIX\n\nTHE CROWN OF CREATION\n\nHave you ever felt the wonder of the poet as he sings,\n\n  \"I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,\n  Confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me;\n  I tremble to know that for me He was crucified,\n  That for me, a sinner, He suffered, He bled and died.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A wonder-rousing sacrifice.]\n\nIt is truly the most wonderfully unselfish sacrifice, and the sincerest\ndemonstration of love, you will find anywhere recorded. As He\napproached the day of the awful sacrifice, Jesus Himself declared to\nHis followers, \"This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I\nhave loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down\nhis life for his friends.\" And as God the Son manifested thus His great\nlove, so also did God the Father. \"For God so loved the world, that He\ngave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not\nperish, but have everlasting life.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Why should God be mindful of man?]\n\nNow, it is only natural that one should ask, as did the great psalmist,\n\"What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that\nThou visitest him? Why should there be devised in the heavens a\ngracious and liberal plan of salvation? Why, because of man, should the\nhosts of heaven be plunged into the horrors of civil war? What is man,\nthat the noblest of the spirits of heaven should lay down His life for\nman's redemption? It is an answer to these questions that we want now\nto find in the teachings of Jesus.\n\n[Sidenote: The parable of the lost sheep.]\n\n{70} One day when the publicans and the sinners drew near to Jesus\nto hear Him, \"the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man\nreceiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And He spake this parable unto\nthem, saying, \"What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one\nof them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go\nafter that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it,\nhe layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he\ncalleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice\nwith me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that\nlikewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more\nthan over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Man's soul without price.]\n\nJesus could hardly have told a better story to show what great value\nGod places upon man. It is in perfect accord with many other sayings of\nHis, some of which you should know, Said He, at one time, \"What shall\nit profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own\nsoul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul.\" At another\ntime He said, \"Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of\nthem shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very\nhairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of\nmore value than many sparrows.\" In the teaching of Jesus, then, the\nsoul of man--his true life--is beyond any earthly price. Indeed, its\nvalue is far beyond the worth of the whole material world.\n\n{71} And Jesus did not place this high value on the soul of any\nparticular man. To Him the souls of all men are priceless. He is no\nrespecter of persons. The Father \"maketh His sun to shine on the evil\nand on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.\" There\nis none so humble that he is beyond the reach of the love of God, nor\nnone so worldly great that he does not need it. Said Jesus, \"Whosoever\nshall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better\nfor him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast\ninto the sea.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Man, the offspring of God.]\n\nIt is because Jesus knew and recognized the divine possibilities\nof every man, great or small, that He thus valued him so highly.\nJesus taught always that God is the Father in heaven--and that not\nfiguratively. We are indeed the offspring of God; and being the\noffspring of God, there resides in all of us the possibility to become\ngods. Indeed, in the dispensation of the fulness of times, in which we\nlive, it has been revealed that God is Himself an exalted man; that He\nhas Himself passed through such a probationary state as that in which\nman now lives; and that it is possible for man to become like God.\nJesus, likewise, taught this truth to those who heard Him. When the\nJews were about to stone Him because He declared Himself the Son of\nGod, Jesus said, \"Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are Gods?\"\nWhen exhorting the people to live righteous lives, He urged, \"Be ye\ntherefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.\"\nAnd the disciples caught the meaning of {72} the doctrine; for, wrote\nJohn, \"Beloved, now are we the sons of God.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The questions answered.]\n\nSince, then, the soul of man is of such divine origin, and therefore\nof such surpassing value, we need seek no further for the answer to\nour questions. The heavenly Father feels the loss of a child even\nmore keenly than does an earthly father. Man is a son of God, and may\nhimself become a god; therefore, God is mindful of him.\n\n[Sidenote: Reverence for God.]\n\nNow, since he is the offspring of the Almighty Father, man owes certain\nduties both to God and to himself. In the first place, as a faithful\nand devoted son, he should hold the Father in reverence. \"Ye have heard\nthat it hath been said by them of old time,\" said Jesus, \"Thou shalt\nnot forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.\nBut I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is\nGod's throne: nor by the earth; for it is His footstool: neither by\nJerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.\" The Father of us all\nis to be held in awe. \"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God\nin vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name\nin vain.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Reverence for personal honor.]\n\nIn like manner, the value and dignity of man require that he should\nhold his own personal honor in reverence. His word should be as good as\nhis bond. It should not be necessary to bind a bargain with an oath.\nSuch practice leads easily to profanity. Jesus said also, \"Neither\nshalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not {73} make one hair\nwhite or black. But let your communications be Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for\nwhatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Reverence for personal purity.]\n\nAgain, the divine possibilities in him, demand that every man should\nbe willing to make any worldly sacrifice rather than defile his soul\nwith evil. As Jesus put it, The light-of-the body is the eye: if\ntherefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.\nBut if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.\nIf therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that\ndarkness!\" \"If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for\nthee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two\neyes to be cast into hell fire.\"\n\nThus we learn, that, in the teachings of Jesus, man is the crown\nof creation. He is the noblest work of God. He has in him the\npossibilities of Godhood. He is indeed the son of God. That is why\nthere has been manifested such unstinted love for him. And that is why\nman should cultivate sincere reverence for God, and reverence for his\nown personal honor, and reverence for his own personal purity.\n\n\"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God\ndwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God\ndestroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.\"\n\n(See Shakespeare's Apostrophe to Man in \"Hamlet.\")\n\n{74} THE REFERENCES\n\nJohn 3:16. Mark 9:42.\n\nJohn 15:12-13. Matt. 10:29, 31.\n\nPs. 8:4. Matt. 5:33-37, 45, 48.\n\nLuke 15:2-7. Matt. 6:22, 23.\n\nMark 8:36, 37. Luke 9:47.\n\n1 Cor. 3:16, 17.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What does the parable of the lost sheep illustrate?\n\n2. What value did Jesus place on a man's soul?\n\n3. What difference did a man's station in life make to the love of\nJesus?\n\n4. Why did Jesus place so high a value on the soul of man?\n\n5. What duty does man owe God?\n\n6. What duties does man owe himself?\n\n7. How is the body of man the temple of God?\n\n{75}\n\n{76} PICTURE: THE FORGIVING FATHER, Molitor\n\n{77}\n\n\n\nX\n\nTHE FORGIVING FATHER\n\n[Sidenote: The parable of the prodigal.]\n\n\"A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his\nfather, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And\nhe divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger\nson gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country,\nand there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had\nspent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be\nin want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country;\nand he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have\nfilled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man\ngave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said. How many hired\nservants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish\nwith hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him,\nFather, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more\nworthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.\n\n\"And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way\noff, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his\nneck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned\nagainst heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called\nthy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best\nrobe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his\nfeet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat.\nand be merry: for this my son was dead {78} and is alive again; he was\nlost and is found. And they began to be merry.\n\n\"Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh\nto the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the\nservants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy\nbrother is come: and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he\nhath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go\nin: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.\n\n\"And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve\nthee, neither transgress I at any time thy commandment and yet thou\nnever gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but\nas soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with\nharlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.\n\n\"And he said unto him. Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have\nis thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this\nthy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The forgiving Father.]\n\nOf this beautiful parable, the great Dickens said very truly, \"It is\nthe most touching passage in all literature.\" Most people think of\nit and speak of it as the story of the prodigal son. It is really,\nhowever, the story of the forgiving Father. Jesus wanted the Jews\nto learn to know God as the Father of all men--great and small--and\ntherefore interested in the welfare of all of them. Jesus knew only\ntoo well that sin held possession of the lives of the people of His\nday. He {79} saw plenty of evidence of it. Men were living corrupt\nlives. Corruption had defiled their minds as well as their bodies.\nThey crowded about the Master to be healed of both mental and physical\ndiseases, that, in many cases, had come upon them because of their\nsins. Jesus knew, too, that no hope was held out to the sinner in the\nperverted doctrines of the rabbis. These doctrines made it impossible\nfor the sinner ever to return to the presence of God. But Jesus\nwanted men to think of God not as a stern, severe, and relentless\nbeing, but as a loving and forgiving Father to all men. So, when the\nyounger son of the parable had recognized his sins, had sorrowfully\nrepented of them, and had returned and had confessed them freely, the\nfather forgave them freely, and received him again joyfully into the\nhousehold. Of course, the prodigal son, though forgiven, would never\nbe able wholly to efface from his soul the marks of his offenses, any\nmore than you would be able to remove from a post the hole made by a\nnail you had driven in. You may be sorry and pull out the nail, but the\nhole remains; and even though you fill the hole with putty, and cover\nall with paint, yet in the post remains the mark made by that nail.\nHowever, that the Father will fully forgive the penitent sinner without\nupbraiding is indeed a consolation worth knowing. It was without doubt\nthe desire of Jesus to illustrate God's intense love even for the\nsinner and His eagerness to reclaim him.\n\n[Sidenote: Condemnation of the self-righteous.]\n\nNow there were present, when Jesus related the parable of the forgiving\nfather and other parables teaching the same comforting lesson, a number\nof the scribes {80} and Pharisees. These self-righteous men derided\nHim, and found fault with Him because He treated sinners as if they too\nwere men with souls. To these self-righteous ones, Jesus spoke after\nthis wise: You scribes and Pharisees, you justify yourselves before\nmen. You think yourselves so righteous that you need no repentance. But\nGod knows your hearts; and often that which is highly esteemed among\nmen is abomination before the Lord. The great brotherhood of man are\nall children of God; when one who has sinned repents and returns to\nFather's home, there is more joy over his return, than over ninety and\nnine like you who think they need no repentance. To illustrate your\ncase, I may tell you this parable:\n\n[Sidenote: The publican and the Pharisee.]\n\n\"Two men went up into the temple to pray: the one a Pharisee, and the\nother a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God,\nI thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust,\nadulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give\ntithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off,\nwould not lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his\nbreast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man\nwent down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one\nthat exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself\nshall be exalted.\"\n\nFortunately, then, God the Father is ready, nay, eager, to forgive the\nsins of the wrongdoer who repents. Likewise, He is ready, eager, to\nanswer the prayer that is spoken in sincere humility. But there is no\njustification for him who thinks he has no need {81} of repentance, or\nwho self-righteously exalts himself above his fellowmen. Said Jesus\nto our own great Prophet, \"I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the\nleast degree of allowance, nevertheless, he that repents and does the\ncommandments of the Lord shall be forgiven.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nLuke 15:11 ff. Doc. and Cov. 1:31.\n\nLuke 18:9-14.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. Retell the story of the Forgiving Father.\n\n2. Justify Dickens's statement that this is the most touching passage\nin literature.\n\n3. What was Jesus's purpose in telling the story?\n\n4. What views did the Jews generally hold concerning sinners?\n\n5. What did Jesus say about the self-righteous?\n\n6. What lesson do you get from the prayer of the publican?\n\n7. What is God's attitude toward sin?\n\n{82} PICTURE: THE CONSOLING CHRIST, Plockhorst\n\n{83}\n\n\n\nXI.\n\nSINCERITY IN WORSHIP\n\n[Sidenote: Finding and losing one's life.]\n\nOne day Jesus called to Him the twelve disciples whom He had chosen to\nbe His special witnesses and instructed them in the business of their\nmission. Amongst other things, Jesus said to them, \"He that findeth his\nlife, shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake, shall\nfind it.\"\n\nPerhaps you may be surprised to know that this little saying has caused\nmany people to wonder. Or, perhaps, you may wonder yourself what Jesus\nmeant. Why should a man who has found his life lose it? Indeed, how can\na man both find and lose his life at the same time? And how can a man\nwho has lost his life find it? What does it mean to lose one's life,\nand to find one's life? Undoubtedly, the answer to these questions must\nbe of great importance to men.\n\nIn seeking for that answer, we must recall the fundamental purpose of\nthe mission of Jesus, and of His loving sacrifice for the salvation of\nthe rest of Father's children. Jesus strove to teach men to know God,\nand, through His cruel death, to bring men back into the presence of\nGod. All of Jesus's teaching, therefore, was based upon the fact that\nthe chief thing in a man's life is to recognize his divine right as a\nson of God, and to come into close, real, and constant touch with the\nFather in heaven. But how shall a man come into such close touch with\nthe Almighty Being who rules the universe?\n\n[Sidenote: The necessity of harmony.]\n\n{84} Our lives upon the earth are full of illustrations of how\nnecessary it is for us to put ourselves into perfect harmony with our\nenvironments when we wish to attain certain ends. If we wish to mingle\nwith so-called society, we must conform to the artificial standards\nof society in dress, and manners, and speech, and many other things;\notherwise, we become outcasts from society and are despised. Or again,\nif we set up an apparatus for wireless telegraphy, we must, whether\nwe like it or not, make all connections close and in proper way, and\nwe must use the right kind of materials in both the transmitting and\nthe receiving instruments; otherwise, we can neither send nor receive\nmessages. If in the society of men, and in the application of the\nprinciples of science, it is so urgently necessary to observe the rules\nof society and the laws of science, it is very easy to understand\nthat, if we would come into close and constant touch with God, we must\nobserve also the laws of such divine communion. Anything at all that\nmight come between one and real communion with God would be disastrous.\nIndeed, in the teaching of Jesus, it would constitute the greatest\nsorrow, the greatest tragedy in human existence. Since it is life\neternal to know God, not to know Him, not to find Him, is loss eternal.\nAlthough a man may prosper, then, in this life--although he may find\nhis life, as it were, in this world--yet shall he lose it eternally,\nif he has not found God. If we stop now, and think this out clearly,\nwe may understand very easily what Jesus meant when He said to His\ndisciples, \"He {85} that findeth his life, shall lose it; and he that\nloseth his life for my sake, shall find it.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Three forms of temptation.]\n\nWe may now ask ourselves, What is likely to come between us and close\ntouch with God, to prevent us from finding God, and thus to prevent us\nfrom gaining life eternal? You will recall what we have already learned\nabout the temptation of Jesus. The devil tempted Jesus first through\nthe physical, the bodily, appetites; then through the desire, the love\nof wordly praise; and lastly, through the love of worldly power and\nriches. It was these very forms of temptation that Jesus feared might\ncome between man and God. Especially did He fear that the love of the\npraise of men might tempt people and bring about their destruction. So,\nas He taught one time those who followed Him, He explained to them the\nright attitude in worship.\n\n[Sidenote: Instruction in praying and alms-giving.]\n\n\"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men,\" said Jesus, \"to be\nseen of them; otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in\nheaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet\nbefore thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets,\nthat they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their\nreward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy\nright hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father\nwhich seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.\n\n\"And when thou prayest,\" said Jesus further, \"thou shalt not be as the\nhypocrites are: for they love to {86} pray standing in the synagogues\nand in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily\nI say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,\nenter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy\nFather which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall\nreward thee openly.\"\n\n\"Moreover,\" continued Jesus, touching the third conventional form\nof worship, \"when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad\ncountenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto\nmen to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou,\nwhen thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou\nappear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret:\nand thy Father which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The real value of worship.]\n\nNow, it is not necessary to think that these sayings of Jesus are to\nbe taken literally. It is not absolutely necessary that, in order to\npray in secret, one should retire to his chamber and shut the door,\nthen pray; nor is it absolutely necessary that, in fasting, one should\nanoint one's head and wash one's face. Jesus used these figures merely\nto portray a condition opposite to that assumed by the hypocrites. But\nJesus wanted to teach that the value of worship depends upon the motive\nthat inspires it. If one gives alms to be seen of men and to be praised\ntherefore, one's reward lies there in the praise one receives. God will\nbestow no other favor. Likewise, those who pray and fast to be praised\nof men, get their reward in the worldly praise they receive. They\nhave not found God. They {87} are not in real, vital touch with Him.\nWorldly ambitions have come between them and Him. In gaining the life\nof this world they have lost life eternal. They have yielded to the\ntemptation of mere ostentation and display. And this spirit has entered\nunfortunately, into the service of many churches. \"Obviously,\" says a\nnoted student of the Bible, \"many of the elaborate forms and ceremonies\nwhich have developed in connection with the worship of the Christian\nChurch are contrary to His (Jesus's) spirit and teachings. Only in so\nfar as they lead the individual into closer personal touch with God are\nthey justifiable or of real value.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Humility and sincerity.]\n\nWhat then is the right attitude in worship? God Himself has declared,\nyou remember, that those who worship Him must do so in spirit and in\ntruth. The motive of worship is of more importance than the form.\nThe value of worship lies in humility, in laying aside all worldly\nambitions, in approaching close to God for the sole purpose of\ncommuning with Him. It is better to lose one's worldly life in the\nservice of God, than to gain that worldly life and fail to find God;\nfor he who thus loses the worldly life, shall find life eternal.\n\n\"I give unto you these sayings,\" said Jesus once to Joseph the Prophet,\n\"that ye may understand and know how to worship, and know what you\nworship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time\nreceive of His fulness; for if you keep my commandments you shall\nreceive of His fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father;\ntherefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.\"\n\n{88} THE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 10:39. Matt. 6:5, 6.\n\nMatt. 6:1-4. Matt. 6:16-18.\n\nDoc. and Cov. 93:19, 20.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What did Jesus mean by the saying \"He that findeth his life shall\nlose it?\"\n\n2. What is the chief thing in a man's life?\n\n3. Show how it is necessary to put ourselves in harmony with our\nenvironments.\n\n4. What is likely to come between us and close communion with God?\n\n5. What is right attitude in worship?\n\n6. Wherein lies the value of worship?\n\n{89}\n\n{90} PICTURE: JESUS PRAYING, Liska\n\n{91}\n\n\n\nXII\n\nHOW TO PRAY\n\n\"And it came to pass, that, as (Jesus) was praying in a certain place,\nwhen He ceased, one of His disciples said unto Him, Lord teach us to\npray, as John also taught his disciples.\n\n\"And He said unto them, When ye pray, say,\n\n[Sidenote: The Lord's prayer.]\n\n\"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom\ncome. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day\nour daily bread. And forgive us our sins: for we also forgive everyone\nthat is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us\nfrom evil.\"\n\nThis is the wonderfully simple prayer uttered by the Lord Himself--a\nprayer that has guided the faith of Christians since first it was\nspoken. You may have learned it as the disciple Matthew has recorded\nit. Matthew's version is just a little different from Luke's, which is\nhere given. But Luke's version makes two or three points just a little\nclearer, perhaps, than does Matthew's; so, we shall use it for our text\nin this lesson.\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus had found God.]\n\nAccording to St. Luke, Jesus gave this prayer to His disciples in\nresponse to the request, \"Lord, teach us to pray.\" You have observed,\nof course, that Jesus prayed often. He lived in close communion with\nthe Father in heaven. He Himself had found God; and He knew that God\nwill answer the prayer of the righteous. He knew, too, that only\nthrough the prayer of faith can a man come close to God, and obtain in\nfull the blessings that {92} belong to him as a son of God. Therefore,\nJesus prayed often, and as no other man has prayed.\n\n[Sidenote: The prayers of the Jews.]\n\nBut if you will study carefully the prayers of Jesus, and compare them\nwith other prayers preserved in the records of the Jews, you will find\nHis prayers quite different from those other prayers. The prayers used\nanciently--and still used--in the Jewish service are very beautiful,\nnoble in their faith and devotion. But they were distinctly the prayers\nof a special people, inspired by the thought that this special people\nwas also a chosen, a select people. The type prayer which Jesus gave,\non the other hand, while individual is yet universal in its appeal, and\nin its application; it is concrete and practical, yet it is profoundly\nspiritual. Of course, it was not intended by Jesus that all men should\nrepeat this prayer only and no other. He gave it merely as a type,\na model. Certainly, then, if we wish to know how to frame our own\nprayers, it will be well to analyze this one.\n\nFirst, then, you will observe that this prayer possesses the\ncharacteristics that distinguish most of Jesus's prayers.\n\n[Sidenote: The prayer of Jesus.]\n\nIt is brief.\n\nIt is direct.\n\nIt is sincere.\n\nIt is unselfish.\n\nIt expresses a simple, unshakable confidence in the goodness of God.\n\nJesus addresses God as Father. So should man address God. Man should\nlearn to think of God as the Father of our spirits, and go to Him with\nthe same simple trust and confidence manifested by a little child {93}\nwhen it runs with outstretched arms to its earthly father. Jesus felt\nand manifested that perfect unity between father and son.\n\n[Sidenote: The Lord's prayer analyzed.]\n\n\"Hallowed be Thy name.\" In this phrase, Jesus taught that we should\nrecognize the sanctity of the name of Jehovah, and at the same time\nthat we should show our reverence and devotion. This is a personal,\nindividual and profound emotion on the part of him who prays sincerely.\n\nThen Jesus prayed, \"Thy kingdom come.\" Perhaps you do not fully realize\nwhat this petition means when you repeat it in your prayers. What is\nthe use of praying for the kingdom of God to come to earth if we do\nnot help in its establishment? When we utter this petition, then, we\nvirtually promise that we ourselves will do all in our power to help.\nOnly then can God's will be done, \"as in heaven, so in earth.\" And the\ndoing of the will of God is, throughout the teachings of Jesus, the\nessential element in the establishment of God's reign.\n\nThese petitions, you will notice, are of universal interest. Now, Jesus\nasks for that which will meet and satisfy personal needs. \"Give us day\nby day our daily bread.\" But even here, the petition is an expression\nof implicit confidence in God's power to provide, and in His unlimited\nlove, rather than merely a request for some specific gift. Its meaning\nhas been interpreted in these words: \"Provide for us each day that\nwhich Thou, in Thy Fatherly care and wisdom, seeth is needful for us.\"\n\nThe fourth petition is also full of meaning. \"Forgive us our sins; for\nwe also forgive everyone that is indebted to us.\" Jesus emphasized\ntime and again in His ministry the necessity of forgiving others, if\nwe would ourselves be {94} forgiven. Only in a spirit of humility and\nsincere worship can we approach the throne of God.\n\nThe last petition has been often misunderstood. \"Lead us not into\ntemptation, but deliver us from evil.\" Certainly the words as they\nare here recorded do not clearly represent the meaning of Jesus. Yet,\nperhaps, even in the days of the apostles some people had failed to\nunderstand. For James wrote once, \"Let no man, who is being tempted,\nsay, 'my temptation is from God,' for God is not to be tempted Himself\nby evil and He tempts no man, but each man is tempted with evil when\nhe is drawn away by his own lusts and enticed.\" The petition in the\nLord's prayer is, therefore, a petition for strength to overcome. Its\nmeaning is, \"Deliver us from temptations which we can not withstand.\"\nOr, as our own Prophet has phrased it, \"Leave us not in temptation, but\ndeliver us from evil.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Teach us to pray.]\n\nThese general points in the type prayer given by Jesus, it is well to\nremember. God is not to be reached by many words. It is the broken\nspirit and the contrite heart that call down the love of the Father.\nNeither will the hollow, selfish prayer please the Father of us all.\nBut as we pray, finding our own words in which to express the desires\nof our hearts, let us remember the characteristics of the prayer that\nJesus gave.\n\nIt is brief.\n\nIt is direct.\n\nIt is sincere.\n\nIt is unselfish.\n\nIt expresses a simple, unshakable confidence in the providence of God.\n\n{95} Moreover, Jesus prayed often. So should we all. Only then may we\nhope to live in the presence of God.\n\n  \"O Thou by whom we come to God,\n  The Life, the Truth, the Way!\n  The path of prayer Thyself hath trod;\n  Lord, teach us how to pray.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nLuke 11:1-4.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. Repeat the Lord's prayer.\n\n2. What prompted Jesus to utter this prayer?\n\n3. What is the difference between the Lord's prayer, and the prayers of\nthe Jews in general?\n\n4. What are the characteristics of Jesus's prayers?\n\n5. Analyze the Lord's prayer.\n\n6. What do we learn to guide us in our own prayers?\n\n{96} PICTURE: RIVER JORDAN, PALESTINE\n\n{97}\n\n\n\nXIII\n\nPERSISTENCE IN PRAYER\n\n[Sidenote: The Lord will answer.]\n\nEveryone who has prayed devoutly and sincerely has undoubtedly\nexperienced at times the keenest kind of disappointment because he\nhas not received an immediate answer to his prayer, Perhaps you have\nyourself prayed sometimes for something that you wanted badly. It was\nan insistent, an urgent desire. You felt that you could hardly wait\neven to utter the prayer. Yet, your prayer has remained apparently\nunanswered. At such times you may have found comfort in this beautiful\nSunday School hymn:\n\n  \"Unanswered yet? Tho' when you first presented\n  This one petition at the Father's throne,\n  It seemed you could not wait the time of asking,\n  So urgent was your heart to make it known.\n  Tho' years have passed since then, do not despair;\n  The Lord will answer you, sometime, somewhere.\"\n\nThis is a beautiful hope, a sublime faith; and every one of us should\ncultivate such hope, such faith. Moreover, everyone of us should\npractice such persistency in prayer as is described by the poet in this\nhymn.\n\n  \"The prayer your lips have pleaded\n  In agony of tears these many years?\"\n\nFor very often, without question, our prayers fail to move the Father,\nbecause they are not urged upon Him, nor are they upheld by that\nhopeful trust which knows no wavering. Jesus emphasized two points in\nthis connection that we should grapple to our hearts.\n\n[Sidenote: Pray often and persistently.]\n\nAs we have already learned, Jesus condemned long. {98} repetitious\nprayers. He despised also the hypocrite, and the hollow prayer of\nthe hypocrite. But Jesus did not mean by such condemnation that we\nshould not appear often before the persistently. Father, and press the\ncase for which we are pleading. On the contrary, as you will readily\nsee from the following parables, Jesus emphasized the importance of\npersistency in prayer.\n\n[Sidenote: The importunate friend.]\n\n\"And (Jesus) said unto them. Which of you shall have a friend, and\nshall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three\nloaves; for a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have\nnothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say,\nTrouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me\nin bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will\nnot rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his\nimportunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The unrighteous judge.]\n\n\"And (again) He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought\nalways to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge,\nwhich feared not God, neither regarded man: and there was a widow in\nthat city: and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.\nAnd he would not for awhile: but afterward he said within himself.\nThough I fear not God, nor regard man; yet because this widow troubleth\nme, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And\nthe Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God\navenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear\n{99} long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.\"\n\n[Sidenote: An urgent desire necessary.]\n\nThese parables speak sufficiently for themselves. The lesson that\nJesus wanted to impart is clear. It is important that we persist in\nthe prayer that we want urgently to be fulfilled. However, it was not\nJesus's purpose to teach His disciples merely to repeat constantly an\nurgent prayer. Merely repeating a prayer is really of no more worth\nthan uttering a long prayer full of repetitions. Jesus taught that\nFather gives His best and choicest gifts only to those who desire them\nintensely. We keep on praying for those things that we truly want,\nbecause the desire for them is urgent, intense and insistent; and we\nkeep on keeping on.\n\n[Sidenote: Implicit trust necessary.]\n\nBut there is a second element that must necessarily enter into the\nright attitude in prayer to God. Not only should our prayers express\nour intense desires, and be spoken frequently, but they should be\naccompanied by a simple, childlike trust and confidence in God.\n\n[Sidenote: Seek first the kingdom of God.]\n\n\"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall\ndrink,\" taught Jesus; \"Nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.\nIs not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the\nfowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather\ninto barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much\nbetter than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto\nhis stature.\n\n\"And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field,\nhow they grow; they toil not, {100} neither do they spin: and yet I say\nunto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one\nof these. Wherefore, If God so clothe the grass of the field, which\ntoday is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more\nclothe you, O ye of little faith? . . . .\n\n\"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these\nthings shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the\nmorrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.\nSufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Labor and confidence hand in hand.]\n\nNow, Jesus did not mean by this splendid teaching that we should not\nplan for the future; nor that we should not be industrious and spin\nand weave and harvest. His illustrations impress the thought that we\nshould not allow ourselves to fret over the petty worries and anxieties\nof life. God knows our needs before we utter them. We should rely\nimplicitly then upon His providence, knowing that if we serve Him and\ndo our best, He will care for us as well as for the birds of the air\nand the lilies of the field.\n\n[Sidenote: The sin of worry.]\n\nUndue anxiety may be called almost a sin. It preys upon the peace of\nmind and happiness of untold thousands of men and women. The most\nlearned and efficient men in the world have devoted much of their time\nto the study of worry; but no one of them has found a cure for it. Many\nbooks have, however, been written advising this or that course of life\nto overcome the evil, and all these books possess value. But it is to\nbe noted that the cause of worry in any man is {101} usually something\nover which man has no control. Neither worry, nor any other thing that\nman may do, can change the nature of things. We are forced therefore to\nadmit that the only cure for worry known to man is that presented by\nJesus. His cure consists of a childlike faith and trust in the goodness\nof God--a trust so simple and strong that anxious care can find no\nplace in the mind. It consists of such a confidence in the providence\nof God as Abraham displayed when he was commanded to offer his dearly\nbeloved son Isaac on the altar of sacrifice. Abraham wavered not; he\nworried not; and God provided the sacrifice that was meet. Of course,\nit requires courage, patience, and persistent effort to cultivate so\nsupreme a degree of faith. Yet, one who has it not can hardly say with\ntruth that he has learned fully to know God. Indeed, such sublime faith\nalone marks the truly converted and nobly devoted soul; whereas the\nlack of such faith reveals a lack of fulness of trust in God--almost a\ndisloyalty to God. One cannot in this world attain to real peace and\nhappiness without implicit faith in God. Without it, one can not keep\non keeping on in fervent prayer to God.\n\n[Sidenote: God knows best.]\n\nFinally, it must be remembered that another phase of this childlike\ntrust may affect the answer to our prayers. If they remain unanswered,\nit may be because it is best for us so. No other man has ever suffered\nas did Jesus in Gethsemane. No other man has ever prayed as Jesus did\nthere. Yet, recall the spirit of that prayer. \"O my Father, if it be\npossible, let this cup pass from {102} me: nevertheless not as I will\nbut as Thou wilt.\" This is the true spirit of faith-inspired prayer.\n\n[Sidenote: Thy will be done.]\n\nSuch petitions Jesus would have us utter. He would have us pray\nconstantly for those things that we desire intensely. He would have us\nrepose implicit childlike trust in the Heavenly Father. He would have\neach one of us feel always, \"Nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be\ndone.\" And in this spirit He would have us always keep on keeping on.\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nLuke 11:5-8. Matt. 6:25-30.\n\nLuke 18:1-8. Matt. 6:33-34.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What should be the feeling of one whose prayer is not immediately\nanswered?\n\n2. What is the lesson conveyed in the Sunday School hymn \"Unanswered\nYet?\"\n\n3. Why are our prayers often unanswered?\n\n4. What is the difference between long repetitious prayers and frequent\nprayers?\n\n5. What is the meaning of the parable of the importunate friend?\n\n6. What is the lesson of the parable of the unrighteous judge?\n\n7. Why is childlike trust and confidence in God necessary in prayer?\n\n8. What did Jesus mean by teaching \"Take no thought for your life?\"\n\n9. How can anxiety or worry be called almost a sin?\n\n10. What lesson do we derive from the attitude of Jesus in the\nwonderful prayer in Gethsemane?\n\n{103}\n\n{104} PICTURE: \"LORD HELP ME.\" Plockhorst\n\n{105}\n\n\n\nXIV\n\nTHE POWER OF FAITH\n\n[Sidenote: Confidence vs. Faith]\n\nIt is, of course, evident to you now that the two essentials of\nacceptable prayer are implicit reliance on the wisdom and the goodness\nof God, and the spirit of forgiveness. The first is the only attitude\nthat can be rightly assumed toward God; and the second is the attitude\nthat we should all assume toward our fellowmen. There is certainly no\nuse in praying to God if we do not trust Him; and as certainly, God\nwill not forgive us and answer our prayers, if we are unwilling to\nforgive our fellowmen and help them. But this attitude of unwavering\ntrust in God is really more than merely an essential of prayer. It is a\nprinciple of power in both the spiritual and the temporal life of man.\nIn this lesson we shall consider the power of faith--the invincible\npower of childlike confidence.\n\n[Sidenote: The incident of the fig tree.]\n\nIt is recorded that Jesus cursed one morning a certain fig tree that it\nshould no more bear fruit. The next morning, as Jesus and the disciples\npassed by from Bethany to Jerusalem, they saw that the fig tree was\ndried up from the roots. \"And Peter, calling to remembrance, saith unto\n(Jesus), Master, behold, the fig tree which Thou cursedst is withered\naway!\n\n\"And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily\nI say unto you. That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou\nremoved, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his\nheart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to\npass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.\n\n{106} [Sidenote: Forgiveness accompanies prayer.]\n\n\"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray,\nbelieve that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye\nstand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father\nalso which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do\nnot forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your\ntrespasses.\"\n\nLike the other sayings of Jesus, this one, too, is full of meaning and\ninterest. But as with the other sayings, too, the meaning of this one\nis easy to find. If we try to remember what we have learned in the\npreceding lessons, we shall be able easily to understand this one.\n\n[Sidenote: Reason for concrete examples.]\n\nMany people have stumbled because of this forceful saying of Jesus. How\ncan a man by the exercise alone of faith remove mountains? But such\npeople have failed to understand Jesus's method of teaching. Whenever\nHe could, Jesus emphasized His doctrine with concrete example. Because\nJesus did not teach abstractly, even little children may understand\nHim. And the people whom He taught during His earthly life, were almost\nlike little children. He had to make everything very clear to them. So,\nnow, He wanted to impress them with the unlimited power of faith. He\nused, therefore, the vigorous and startling figure of moving a mountain\ninto the sea: or as St. Luke has worded it, \"If ye had faith as a grain\nof mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree (mulberry tree),\nBe thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it\nshould obey you.\"\n\n{107} [Sidenote: The interpretation.]\n\nYou will remember, however, that nowhere did Jesus ever teach His\ndisciples to pray for material things, except to supply their daily\nneeds. Neither did He ever teach them to ask for things impossible or\nimpracticable for God to give. It is to be understood, then, that Jesus\ndid not intend to encourage men to try to move mountains by the mere\nexercise of faith. He intended a larger, a spiritual meaning. Faith\nis so powerful a principle, that, through the exercise of it, one may\nremove obstacles to sublime spiritual blessings, as difficult to be\nmoved as a mountain. By such a striking figure did Jesus impress upon\nHis disciples that nothing is impossible to faith.\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus's own interpretation.]\n\nThat this was what Jesus wanted to impart, is apparent from His own\napplication of the concrete illustration. \"What things soever ye\ndesire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have\nthem.\" Or, as the statement is worded in a modern translation, \"Believe\nthat you shall receive all things for which you pray and ask and you\nshall have them.\" And this invincible power of faith in prayer is\nsupported by the words of Jesus to the Prophet, Joseph Smith. \"All\nvictory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your diligence,\nfaithfulness, and prayers of faith.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Examples of the power of faith.]\n\nIn the story of the ministry of Jesus, there are many examples of the\nnecessity of cultivating unlimited faith. Do you remember what happened\nwhen Jesus walked to the boat one evening on the sea of Galilee? Most\nof the disciples became afraid when they saw Him, and cried {108} out,\n\"It is a spirit.\" But when they became assured that it was really\nJesus, Peter said, \"Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the\nwater.\"\n\n\"And (Jesus) said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship,\nhe walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind\nboisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying,\nLord save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and\ncaught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst\nthou doubt?\"\n\nAt another time, we are told, \"there came to (Jesus) a certain man,\nkneeling down to Him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is\nlunatick and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft\ninto the water. And I brought him to Thy disciples and they could not\ncure him.\n\n\"Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how\nlong shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither\nto me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the\nchild was cured from that very hour.\n\n\"Then came the disciples to Jesus apart and said. Why could not we cast\nhim out? And Jesus said unto them. Because of your unbelief: for verily\nI say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall\nsay unto this mountain. Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall\nremove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.\"\n\nSuch examples as these might be cited indefinitely. These are enough,\nhowever, to show how profoundly Jesus impressed upon the minds of His\ndisciples the necessity of cultivating the gift of unfaltering {109}\nfaith--faith, the one great principle of power, without which, as the\nlearned Paul later said, it is impossible to please God.\n\n[Sidenote: The dispensation of the fulness of times, the wonderful\nexample.]\n\nBut perhaps the greatest wonder that has ever been accomplished, in all\nthe history of the world, through the invincible power of unhesitating\nfaith, is that which we ourselves experience every day of our lives.\nContinuing the doctrine he had learned from Jesus, \"James, a servant of\nGod and of the Lord Jesus Christ,\" wrote thus to the scattered twelve\ntribes: \"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth\nto all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.\nBut let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.\" When he was perturbed in\nspirit, not knowing whither to go to find God, Joseph Smith heard these\nwords, and pondered them. He had implicit faith in God. He did not\nwaver. He prayed earnestly. In response to his simple, faith-provoked\nprayer, God revealed Himself to Joseph Smith, and through him,\nestablished the Church of Christ anew.\n\nAre not the things that have been accomplished through faith,\nwonderful? Must it not be a joy, a comfort, to possess the gift of\nunlimited faith? Like the apostles of old, we feel to pray, \"Lord,\nincrease our faith.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nLuke 17:5, 6. Doc. and Cov. 103:36.\n\nMark 11:21-26. Matt. 14:24-31.\n\nMatt. 21:21, 22. Matt. 17:14-21.\n\nJames 1:5, 6.\n\n{110} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What principle did Jesus teach in the incident of the fig tree?\n\n2. What is faith?\n\n3. Why must forgiveness accompany prayer?\n\n4. Why did Jesus use concrete examples in His teaching?\n\n5. What did Jesus mean by saying that mountains might be removed by\nfaith?\n\n6. What did the Prophet Joseph Smith teach concerning the power of\nfaith?\n\n7. Recite some examples of the power of faith.\n\n8. Show how the establishing of the dispensation of the fulness of\ntimes is one of the most wonderful examples of the power of faith.\n\n{111}\n\n{112} PICTURE: RAISING THE DEAD, Hofmann\n\n{113}\n\n\n\nXV\n\nTHE HANDMAID OF FAITH\n\n[Sidenote: The case of Mr. Baldwin.]\n\nNearly a hundred years ago was built in America the first locomotive\nengine of American design. Everybody knows nowadays what a locomotive\nis. Nearly every boy and girl in the world has seen one; many boys,\nparticularly, can tell you how the locomotive engine operates; and more\nthan one boy can even operate the locomotive himself. But it was not so\none hundred years ago. The locomotive was a rare machine. And all the\nlocomotives that people saw then in America had been made in England.\nBut in 1831, the officers of the Germantown and Norristown Railway\ncommissioned a young mechanical engineer, named Matthias Baldwin, to\nbuild for them a locomotive engine. The Germantown and Norristown\nRailway operated a horse-power line six miles long.\n\nThe Cambden and Amboy Railroad Company had only recently imported a\nlocomotive from England. When Mr. Baldwin received his commission,\nhe went immediately to Cambden, where were the parts of the English\nengine not yet assembled. There he \"carefully observed the various\nparts of the machine, made a few measurements and at last crept under\nthe ponderous boiler. Here he remained in absorbed study for nearly\nhalf an hour. As he emerged from his retreat, his face was glowing with\nenthusiasm, and he exclaimed 'I can do it.'\"\n\n{114} [Sidenote: Words added to faith.]\n\nSo far so good. Mr. Baldwin was inspired by a sublime faith in his\npower to build a locomotive engine. But had he stopped there, he would\nnever have become the builder of the first American locomotive. Mr.\nBaldwin set determinedly and industriously to work to accomplish the\ntask he had faith he could do. He met countless difficulties; his\ntrials and disappointments were many, and often discouraging. But\nhe kept bravely, manfully on. He did much of the work with his own\nhands, and personally trained the workmen who assisted him. At length,\nafter six months of unremitting industry and painstaking labor, \"Old\nIronsides,\" the first American locomotive was completed. Matthias\nBaldwin had vindicated his enthusiastic exclamation born of faith, \"I\ncan do it.\"\n\nNow it was the observance of the principle that enabled Matthias\nBaldwin to make good, which Jesus urged upon the multitudes assembled\nto hear Him teach during His ministry on the earth. \"Not everyone that\nsaith unto me, Lord, Lord,\" declared Jesus, \"shall enter into the\nkingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in\nheaven.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The principle of works.]\n\nThis teaching is so simple that anyone may understand it. And it is\ntrue everywhere in life, in every kind of calling. Would you not\nthink Mr. Baldwin foolish, if after exclaiming \"I can do it\" he had\nremained inactive and had not tried to build \"Old Ironsides?\" Can you\nimagine that a carpenter might ever enjoy the fame of master-builder\nif he never practiced the trade he had learned? Do you think it\nwould be possible for a sinking ship {115} to send out the signal of\ndistress, if the operator on the ship did not put into practice the\nlaws governing wireless telegraphy? In other words, knowing how to\nbuild a locomotive will never construct one; knowing how to build a\nhouse will never erect even the smallest structure; knowing how to\noperate the telegraphic instrument will never send a message. It is\nonly by actually putting into operation the principles underlying these\nactivities, and working in obedience to them, that one can accomplish\nthe desired end. And if this is true of material, earthly things, how\nmuch more ought it to be true of spiritual, heavenly things. Without\nfaith it is impossible to please God. But faith is of no avail without\nworks. Works constitute the handmaid of faith, and one is not without\nthe other in the Lord. \"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so\nfaith without works is dead also.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A parable.]\n\n\"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,\"\ntaught Jesus, \"I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house\nupon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds\nblew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded\nupon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and\ndoeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his\nhouse upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and\nthe winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was\nthe fall of it.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The works of Jesus.]\n\nJesus manifested great power during His earthly ministry. He healed\nthe sick; He made the lame to walk and the blind to see; He rebuked\nevil and cast out {116} devils; He raised the dead to life again; and\nHe spoke with authority as no other man has ever spoken, either before\nor since His time. Without question every boy and girl would like to\nbe able to do the things that Jesus did. Every boy and girl in the\nChurch of Jesus Christ believes in Jesus--knows indeed, that He is the\nSon of God, the Redeemer of the world. Why, then, should not everyone\nlong to emulate Him. But notice what Jesus declared: \"Verily, verily,\nI say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall\nhe do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go\nunto my Father. If ye love me keep my commandments. He that hath my\ncommandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that\nloveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will\nmanifest myself to him.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The works of man.]\n\nIt is not impossible, then, for man to possess the power to do the\nworks that Jesus did. Indeed, man may do even greater works than those\nJesus performed. But to gain the power so to do, one must not only\nbelieve in Jesus, one must also keep His commandments. In short, one\nmust add works to faith. Mere belief will save no man, just as mere\nconfidence in one's own ability will never build a locomotive. But when\nour works make practical our faith, and prove it really true and worth\nwhile, then we may claim a realization--a fulfillment--of all that is\npromised through our diligence.\n\n{117} [Sidenote: Conclusion.]\n\nNow, it is no more difficult to prepare a mansion in the kingdom of\nour Father, than it is to build a locomotive. Should not every boy and\ngirl, after having learned Christ's teaching, exclaim as Baldwin did,\n\"I can do it?\" Then go to undauntedly and do it.\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 7:21. James 2:26.\n\nMatt. 7:24-27. John 14:12, 15, 21.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What element of character did Baldwin display in the building of the\nfirst American locomotive?\n\n2. What principle of life and action made it possible for him to\naccomplish his work?\n\n3. What did he have to add to this principle in order to make good?\n\n4. Why will not everyone who crieth \"Lord, Lord,\" be admitted into the\nkingdom of heaven?\n\n5. Explain the Lord's parable of the wise and the foolish man.\n\n6. Under what conditions may we be enabled to do works as great as\nthose Jesus did?\n\n7. What is the duty of every member of the Church?\n\n{118} PICTURE: THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE\n\n{119}\n\n\n\nXVI\n\nTHE MEANING OF REPENTANCE\n\n[Sidenote: The irreverence and ruthlessness of Pilate.]\n\nSome time before the close of the ministry of Jesus, there occurred\nat Jerusalem two unfortunate incidents, both of which served to give\nJesus an opportunity to preach one of the fundamental doctrines of the\nGospel. Pilate, the Roman governor had undertaken to construct some\ngreat conduits to supply Jerusalem with a better and a larger supply of\nsweet water. The venture was apparently both difficult and costly; and\nhe derived no support from the people, whom he hated, and who hated him\nand all pagan rule in return.\n\nOne day a serious accident happened. Connected with Pilate's\nundertaking, apparently, was a large tower on the top of Ophel,\nopposite Siloam. This tower fell, without warning, and buried in the\nruins eighteen men who had been working on it. Of course, the people\nheld the accident to be the judgment of God upon the men who had helped\nin the sacrilegious labor. Then Pilate fell short of funds. To defray\nthe expenses of the enterprise, the irreverent Pilate resorted to the\ntemple, and ruthlessly appropriated a part of the treasures of the\ntemple. These treasures amounted to vast sums derived from the temple\ndues voluntarily paid by Jews all over the world. Naturally, the people\nbecame enraged, and rose in rebellious demonstration against the\ngovernor. Incited by their priests and rabbis, the mob stormed Pilate's\nresidence, and demanded that the work on the water system be abandoned.\nThey railed against him, the Roman {120} governor, and hinted at\nsedition. Pilate became in his turn indignant. He sent a large number\nof soldiers, dressed in plain clothes and armed only with heavy clubs,\nwho surrounded the mob, and beat them so remorselessly that great\nnumbers of them were killed. The soldiers pressed the mob to the very\ntemple, then entered the holy precincts of the temple itself, and there\nslew many of the poor pilgrims who were killing their own sacrifices.\nTheir blood was mingled with the blood of the beasts they were\npreparing for sacrifice, and thus, according to the law, the House of\nGod was polluted. The news of this outrage spread throughout Palestine.\nThe country was filled with indignation. In Galilee, the feeling was\nparticularly strong, for the men who had been slain were Galileans.\n\n[Sidenote: The necessity of repentance.]\n\nJesus was journeying at this time in the province of Perea, expounding\nHis teachings to great multitudes that followed Him. When news of the\ndisasters in Jerusalem reached them, these multitudes were stirred by\nthe wildest kind of excitement. They were particularly indignant at the\nmurders in the temple. As for the eighteen men buried under the tower,\nand the Galileans slain in the tumult, the people accepted their death,\nin characteristic Jewish fashion, as the judgment of God for sins\ncommitted. But the pollution of the temple could not be overlooked. So\nthere grew up a strong feeling for a national uprising to avenge the\nunprecedented evil.\n\nBut Jesus did not approve of their sentiment; neither did He believe\nthat those who had suffered in these two calamities were especially\nsinful. He seized the {121} opportunity, therefore to preach to the\nmultitude the necessity of repentance on the part of everyone, and\nto correct the notion that a calamity of any kind is necessarily the\njudgment of God. \"There were present at that season,\" writes the\nhistorian Luke, \"some that told Him of the Galileans, whose blood\nPilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said\nunto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the\nGalileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but,\nexcept ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon\nwhom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were\nsinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but,\nexcept ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The barren fig tree.]\n\n\"He spake also this parable: a certain man had a fig tree planted in\nhis vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.\nThen said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three\nyears I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it\ndown: why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto Him,\nLord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, . . . .\nand if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that Thou shalt cut\nit down.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Repentance a fundamental doctrine.]\n\nAs always, Jesus presented very clearly the doctrine He wished the\npeople to learn to understand. For nearly three years. He had Himself\nministered to His people. Yet, He could find no fruits of repentance.\nIn the long-suffering of God, the people would be spared yet a little\nwhile. But their end was inevitable. Unless they should {122} repent,\nthey should all perish, even as did the Galileans, and the eighteen men\nburied under the tower at Siloam. And this doctrine of repentance was\nfundamental in the ministry of Jesus. First, John had come, crying in\nthe wilderness of Judea, \"Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at\nhand.\" Then Jesus Himself had gone to Galilee, after John had been put\ninto prison, and had preached, \"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom\nof God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.\" And when He\nsent out the twelve apostles two and two. He instructed them to preach\neverywhere that men should repent.\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus's exclamation against the wicked.]\n\nThat the people did not observe the word of Jesus is, however, very\nevident from the way in which He upbraided them, and pointed out to\nthem that the lot of the wrongdoers who repented would in the end be\nbetter than that of the selfrighteous who repented not. \"But whereunto\nshall I liken this generation?\" exclaimed Jesus one day. \"It is like\nunto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,\nand saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have\nmourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither\neating nor drinking, and they say, he hath a devil. The Son of Man\ncame eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a\nwinebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. . . . Then began He to\nupbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because\nthey repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!\nfor if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre\nand Sidon, they would have {123} repented long ago in sackcloth and\nashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and\nSidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which\nart exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the\nmighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it\nwould have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall\nbe more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than\nfor thee.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Repentance a universal principle.]\n\nIt is evident, then, that in the teaching of Jesus, repentance from\nevil is absolutely necessary if one would enjoy the blessings of the\nLord. This is so self-evident a truth that it should not be necessary\nto state it. In all the affairs of life--in business, in politics, in\nthe industries, in science, in art, in war, in what not--repentance\nis a fundamental principle of true success. In our daily work we are\naccustomed to calling our wrongdoings mistakes; but we have to correct\nthose mistakes before we can achieve the end for which we are working.\nSometimes the mistakes we make are of such a nature that we cannot\ncorrect them. Then we have to begin over again, and have to try to\navoid those serious mistakes; but the memory of those mistakes remains\nwith us forever, and the waste, or loss, or suffering, caused by them\ncan never be made right. In the great world war now raging, many costly\nmistakes have been made. Officers and men have often been forced to\nrepent; and many men, because they have violated their orders, have\nlost their lives. For them, repentance in this life has been made\nimpossible. So it will be also with those who persist in evil. The\nday {124} will come when they will be taken away suddenly. Then the\nopportunity to repent in this life will be lost. Jesus would have us\nrepent here and now, and devote ourselves to works of righteousness\nthat we may gain eternal life.\n\n[Sidenote: Things of which to repent.]\n\nBut of what would Jesus have us repent? The learned apostle, Paul, who,\nit seems, understood perfectly the spirit of Christ's teachings, which\nto wrote certain instructions to the Ephesians which reveal exactly\nwhat kind of men Jesus would have us be. Malice, dishonesty, immorality\nin thought or word or deed--these things unfit a man for an inheritance\nin the kingdom of God. Paul expresses the doctrine, in part as follows:\n\n\"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk\nnot as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the\nunderstanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through\nthe ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:\nWho being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness,\nto work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned\nChrist; if so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by\nHim, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former\nconversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful\nlusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on\nthe new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true\nholiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his\nneighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not;\nlet not the sun go down upon your wrath: {125} Neither give place to\nthe devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour,\nworking with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to\ngive to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of\nyour mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may\nminister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,\nwhereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness,\nand wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from\nyou, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,\nforgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The service principle of the Gospel.]\n\nThis is the true spirit of the Gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Those\nwho would hold membership in His Church, and receive the blessing of\nHis love and redeeming sacrifice, must have faith in Him, then they\nmust add to their faith works. And the first bit of work to be done is\nto repent of all evil--repent \"after a godly manner,\" as Paul says,\nwhich will lead to salvation. Thus repentance becomes the second\nfundamental principle of the Gospel. And \"by this,\" said Jesus to the\ngreat American prophet, \"ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins.\nBehold, he will confess them and forsake them.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nLuke 13:1-9. Mark 6:7, 8.\n\nMatt. 5:1-2. Matt. 11:16-24.\n\nMark 1:14, 15. Eph. 4:17-32.\n\nDoc. and Cov. 58:43.\n\n{126} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. How did the Jews explain suffering of any kind, and calamity?\n\n2. What did Jesus say about the death of the men under the tower, and\nof the Galileans?\n\n3. Interpret the parable of the barren fig tree.\n\n4. What did both John and Jesus say to the people?\n\n5. What do we learn from Jesus's exclamation against the cities where\nHis greatest works had been done?\n\n6. How is repentance a fundamental principle in our daily work?\n\n7. Of what does Jesus want people to repent?\n\n8. How is repentance the second principle of the Gospel?\n\n9. Of what does true repentance consist?\n\n{127}\n\n{128} PICTURE: BAPTISM OF JESUS, Weberg\n\n{129}\n\n\n\nXVII\n\nBAPTISM BY IMMERSION\n\n[Sidenote: The first principles and ordinances.]\n\nWhen the Prophet Joseph Smith was asked to make a statement of the\nprincipal doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,\nhe prepared what we know now as the Articles of Faith. The Articles of\nFaith are very plain, and touch the fundamental tenets of the Church.\nThe third article of faith states that \"we believe that through the\natonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws\nand ordinances of the Gospel;\" and the fourth article declares that,\n\"we believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel\nare: first, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, repentance; third,\nbaptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, the laying on\nof hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.\" Those who profess faith in\nJesus must forsake the way of evil, and learn to take delight in the\nlaw of the Lord. This, we have learned, constitutes the requirement of\nthe first two principles of the Gospel.\n\n  Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the\n  ungodly,\n  Nor standeth in the way of sinners,\n  Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.\n  But his delight is in the law of the Lord;\n  And in His law doth he meditate day and night.\n\n  And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,\n  That bringeth forth his fruit in his season;\n  His leaf also shall not wither;\n  And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.\n  The ungodly are not so;\n  But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.\n\n  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,\n  Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.\n  For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous;\n  But the way of the ungodly shall perish.\n\n{130} [Sidenote: Baptism essential to salvation.]\n\nIt is not enough, however, that the man who professes faith in Jesus,\nshall merely forsake the way of the ungodly. Jesus fulfilled in His\ncoming the law of carnal commandments--a law which Paul asserts was\nbut a sort of schoolmaster to train the people and prepare them for\nthe coming of Jesus--and established through His ministry \"the more\nperfect law\" of the Gospel, the power of God unto salvation. And that\nlaw requires that those who believe in Jesus, and repent of their evil\ndoings, shall further take upon them His name in the ordinance of\nbaptism. One night, there came to Jesus a Pharisee named Nicodemus,\na ruler of the Jews. \"Rabbi,\" said Nicodemus, recognizing in Jesus a\npower greater than his own, \"We know that Thou art a teacher come from\nGod: for no man can do these miracles that Thou doest, except God be\nwith him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto\nthee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.\"\nNicodemus was puzzled; for he thought, of course, only of a physical\nrebirth, and could not understand how such a remarkable thing could\nhappen. So he asked, \"How can a man be born when he is old?\" Then Jesus\nanswered, \"Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Except a man be born of\nwater and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.\" This\nJesus said, of course, of the ordinance of baptism and of the Holy\nGhost. Not only, then, must one believe and repent, but one must also\nbe baptized in water in fulfillment of the requirement of the law.\nWithout such a renewal of the spiritual life, a man may not even see\nthe kingdom of God.\n\n{131} [Sidenote: Humility and obedience the psychology of baptism.]\n\nThere are some people who pretend not to see any value in the ordinance\nof baptism. How can baptism make one any better, they ask, or have any\neffect on one's subsequent life? These people do not understand the\ntrue nature of the ordinance. There was once a Syrian captain named\nNaaman who became afflicted with the loathsome and infectious disease\nof leprosy. At the suggestion of an Israelitish captive, Naaman sought\nout the Prophet Elisha in the land of Israel, that the affliction might\nbe rebuked. Elisha did not even come forth to see Naaman, but sent a\nmessenger to him with this word: \"Go and wash in Jordan seven times,\nand thy flesh shall come again to thee and thou shalt be clean.\" Then\nNaaman became angry, because he did not understand the principle of\nobedience. Why should he wash in Jordan? Were not the waters of the\nrivers of Damascus better than the water of Jordan? But his servants\nprevailed upon him, saying, \"If the prophet had bid thee do some great\nthing, wouldst thou not have done it? How much rather then, when he\nsaith to thee, Wash, and be clean.\" Here was sound reasoning, Naaman\nlistened; he went down to the Jordan and dipped himself seven times;\nhe came forth with his flesh as clean as that of a little child, and\nwas healed. What was it that healed Naaman? Was it the water of Jordan,\nwith curative powers greater than those of the rivers of Damascus?\nCertainly not. Naaman bowed his haughty and powerful will to that of\nGod. He humbled himself; he was humiliated. He learned the lesson of\nobedience, which is better than sacrifice. And the Lord God has chosen\nthe ordinance of baptism as the means whereby men may show their\nhumility, {132} their complete acceptance of the mission of Jesus,\ntheir sincere repentance, and whereby further they may become initiated\ninto the Church of Jesus Christ. Here the Lord makes use of a wonderful\npsychology, and baptism literally washes away sin.\n\n[Sidenote: The law of obedience in daily life.]\n\nMoreover, obedience and humility of the kind required by the ordinance\nof baptism is demanded also in the daily walk of life. A young man in\na chemical obedience in laboratory attempted one day, by a process\nof electro-plating, to put a new covering of yellow gold over his\nwatch case. He prepared very carefully the solution of gold-leaf in\naqua regia; he built up an excellent voltaic battery; he made all\nthe connections close and secure; and he cleaned carefully the old\nwatchcase that the new gold might be deposited upon it evenly and\nsmoothly. Then in the evening, when everything was in readiness, he\nsuspended the case properly in the gold solution, closed the circuit,\nand went home, hoping to find his watch case in the morning with a\nbeautiful new coating of yellow gold ready to polish. But when he\nentered the laboratory the next morning, and went to examine his\nelectro-plating, he found to his horror that his watch case was as\nblack as coal. What had happened? Everything was as he had left it the\nevening before. So far as he could tell there was no reason why his\nexperiment should not have been successful. Then he resorted to his\nbooks again. After patient searching, in the volumes on his desk, he\narose a wiser and a more careful man. He had overlooked one requirement\nof the law. In the process of electro-plating, he remembered now, the\ngold is deposited in its usual yellow form only when the gold solution\nis warm. When the electric current is {133} passed through a cold\nsolution, the gold is deposited in an unusual black form. The young\nchemist had learned that obedience is better than sacrifice.\n\n[Sidenote: The example set by Jesus.]\n\nAs always, Jesus Himself practiced the doctrine that He presented to\nHis people. Jesus was baptized. Moreover, in His own baptism, Jesus\ntaught both the necessity and the proper mode of baptism. John was\nbaptizing in the river Jordan. Apparently, he selected places where\nthe water was deep; for, later in the ministry of Jesus we read, that,\nJohn was baptizing in Aenon, near to Salim, \"because there was much\nwater there.\" When He was ready to begin His ministry, Jesus went to\nJohn to be baptized. But John forbade Him, saying, \"I have need to\nbe baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me? And Jesus answering said\nunto him, suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill\nall righteousness. Then he suffered Him. And Jesus, when He was\nbaptized, went up straightway out of the water.\" From this record, it\nis clear that Jesus recognized the ordinance of baptism as essential\nto salvation, and therefore set the example Himself. Then Jesus was\nbaptized correctly; He went down into the water; He was immersed;\nHe came up out of the water. For it is now an accepted fact that\nJohn baptized by immersion. In Stanley's _Eastern Church_ occurs the\nfollowing passage, which Dr. Geikie considers of such authority that\nhe quotes it in his excellent _Life and Words of Christ_: \"The mode of\nJohn's baptism has been and still is much discussed, but the practice\nof the Eastern Church, and the very meaning of the word, leave no\nsufficient grounds for questioning that the original form of baptism\nwas complete immersion in the deep baptismal {134} water.\" This form of\nbaptism it was certainly that the apostles themselves practiced, else\nthere could be no meaning to the favorite figure of Paul, \"Know ye not,\nthat so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized\ninto His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death:\nthat like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the\nFather, even so we should walk in newness of life. For if we have been\nplanted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the\nlikeness of His resurrection.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The purpose of baptism.]\n\nDo you ask what is the purpose of baptism? As has been already\nsuggested baptism serves to wash away sin, and to initiate the\nrepentant believer into the Church of Christ. John's baptism was for\n\"the remission of sins.\" Peter, the chief apostle, called to the people\non the day of Pentecost, \"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in\nthe name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.\" And it follows\nthat since baptism is for remission of sins, those who have not reached\nthe age of sinning have no need of baptism. There has grown up in\nthe world a vicious habit of baptizing infants and little children.\nSuch a practice is wrong. Jesus Himself said of little children, \"Of\nsuch is the kingdom of heaven.\" Infants and little children have not\nlearned to know the difference between good and evil. They cannot sin.\nBaptism should not be administered to them till they reach the age of\ndiscretion. \"Little children need no repentance,\" wrote the Nephite\nprophet, \"neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the\nfulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.\"\n\n{135} [Sidenote: The door of the sheepfold.]\n\nThis then did Jesus teach: Baptism is essential; it is correctly\nperformed by complete immersion in water; it is for the remission of\nsins; it should be administered only to those who have reached the\nage of accountability; only by obedience to the law can one enter the\nkingdom of God. \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth\nnot by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way,\nthe same is a thief and a robber. . . . I am the door: by Me if any\nman enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find\npasture.\" Only through Jesus, you see, can one enter the sheepfold, and\nbecome a member of it. And the way to enter by Jesus was thus stated in\nHis final commission to the eleven apostles, just before He ascended to\nheaven. \"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the\nname of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.\" \"He that\nbelieveth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not\nshall be dammed.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nPsalm 1. Acts 2:38.\n\nJohn 3:1-5. Moroni 8:8-14.\n\n2 Kings 5:1-14. John 10:1-18.\n\nMatt. 3:13-16. Matt. 28:19-20.\n\nRom. 6:3-5. Mark 16:15, 16.\n\n{136} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What are the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel?\n\n2. Show that baptism is required by the teaching of Jesus.\n\n3. By what process does baptism wash away sin?\n\n4. How does the law of obedience operate in the daily affairs of life?\n\n5. How did Jesus show in His own acts that baptism is essential to\nsalvation?\n\n6. What is the proper mode of baptism?\n\n7. What is the purpose of baptism?\n\n8. To whom should baptism be administered?\n\n9. Summarize the teachings of Jesus concerning baptism.\n\n10. What is the teaching of our own Church concerning baptism?\n\n{137}\n\n\n\nXVIII\n\nTHE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST\n\n[Sidenote: What Jesus told Nicodemus.]\n\nJesus said to Nicodemus, \"Except a man be born of water and of the\nspirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.\" We have just learned\nwhat it means to be born of water. When a man has gained the gift of\nfaith and believes sincerely in the saving mission of Jesus Christ;\nwhen he has added to his faith works, and has learned to walk in the\nway of the righteous--then he must be baptized by immersion in order\nto fulfill all righteousness. As we have learned, such a man is then\nborn of water: for, by obeying the law, he has laid aside his sins,\nand comes forth out of the water spiritually a new man, reborn. There\nare some people in the world who hold that when a man has done all\nthis, he has fulfilled all the requirements, and may therefore hope to\ngain admittance into the kingdom of God without observing any further\nceremony. But Jesus said, \"Except a man be born of water and of the\nspirit.\" Evidently, then, to enter the kingdom of God, one must be born\nnot only of water, but also of the spirit. And to be born of the spirit\nmeans to be born of the Holy Ghost. But, by what means may one be born\nof the spirit?\n\n[Sidenote: The laying on of hands.]\n\nThis question is a very important one, since a man may not hope to\nenter the kingdom of God if he has not been born--or quickened--by\nthe spirit. In the preceding lesson, it was stated that the Prophet,\nJoseph Smith, once stated the principal doctrines of the Church of\nJesus {138} Christ of Latter-day Saints in a sort of creed, known as\nthe Articles of Faith; and that the fourth article, in enumerating the\nfirst principles and ordinances of the Gospel, names the ordinance of\nthe laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost as the fourth\nessential step in becoming a member of the Church of Christ. According\nto this statement, then, one may be born, or quickened, of the\nspirit--after having been baptized--through the ordinance of the laying\non of hands. But was this the teaching of the primitive church and of\nthe Lord Jesus Himself?\n\n[Sidenote: The teaching and practice of Paul.]\n\nAnxious that the saints to whom he ministered should grow in the\nknowledge of God, and should not stand still merely rehearsing the\nfirst and practice principles of the Gospel, the Apostle Paul wrote\nto the Hebrews as follows: \"Therefore leaving the principles of the\ndoctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again\nthe foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward\nGod, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands.\" It is\nvery interesting to note that Paul lists here as one of the first\nfour principles the ordinance of the laying on of hands. But what use\ndid Paul make of the ordinance? It happened once that Paul, in his\nmissionary travels, came, to the city of Ephesus, and found there\ncertain disciples who had been baptized, apparently, by the followers\nof John the Baptist. Paul asked of these disciples, \"Have ye received\nthe Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him. We have\nnot so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said\nunto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, {139} Unto\nJohn's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism\nof repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on\nHim which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they\nheard this they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when\nPaul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and\nthey spake with tongues and prophesied.\" This use, then, did Paul make\nof the ordinance of the laying on of hands: Upon those who had been\nbaptized unto Jesus, Paul laid his hands, and he confirmed them, and\nthe Holy Ghost then came upon them, endowing them with spiritual gifts.\nMoreover, this practice was not limited to the missionary labors of\nPaul alone; all the apostles likewise confirmed those who had been\nbaptized and conferred thus the gift of the Holy Ghost upon them.\n\n[Sidenote: The practice of the apostles.]\n\nFurthermore, it was understood that only such men as possessed the\nnecessary delegated authority from God might presume to confer the\ngift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. It is recorded in\nthe history of the doings of the apostles that Philip, a deacon, went\ndown to Samaria and preached the Gospel to the Samaritans. Many of the\nSamaritans believed, and were baptized by Philip, among them a certain\nman named Simon, \"which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and\nbewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great\none.\" But Philip, apparently did not hold the necessary authority to\nconfer the gift of the Holy Ghost, and he was too wise and righteous a\nman to attempt to do what he had no right to do. So, \"when the apostles\nwhich were at Jerusalem heard {140} that Samaria had received the word\nof God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come\ndown, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: . . .\n. then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy\nGhost.\" Naturally, Simon the sorcerer was very much interested in this\nwonderful ceremony. Such power he had never seen manifested before. He\nlonged himself to possess such authority. Therefore, he offered money\nto the apostles, saying, \"Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I\nlay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him. Thy\nmoney perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God\nmay be purchased with money.\" The lesson here is perfect. The authority\nto lay on hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost may not be merely\nassumed--not even by a man of such enduring faith as Philip's--neither\nmay it be purchased with wordly goods.\n\n[Sidenote: The teaching and practice of the apostles derived from\nJesus.]\n\nOf course, the apostles did nothing but what they had seen their Master\ndo, or had been instructed by Him to do. In this they were wholly\nlike Him; for He also declared, \"The Son can do nothing of Himself,\nbut what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth,\nthese also doeth the Son likewise.\" There can be no question, then,\nthat Jesus taught that the gift of the Holy Ghost should be conferred\nby the laying on of hands by men holding the proper authority. Jesus\nHimself practiced laying on of hands to confer blessings, to heal the\nsick, to ordain, to authorize, and for other purposes. And He taught\nvery distinctly that God would not recognize any usurped authority.\n\"Ye {141} have not chosen me,\" said Jesus to the apostles, \"but I have\nchosen you and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit,\nand that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the\nFather in my name, He may give you.\"\n\n[Sidenote: What is the gift of the Holy Ghost?]\n\nBut what is the gift of the Holy Ghost which is conferred upon the\nrepentant and baptized believer by the laying on of hands? To His\napostles Jesus made this promise, \"I will pray the Father, and He\nshall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever;\neven the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it\nseeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth\nwith you, and shall be in you.\" Again, Jesus said to them, further\nexplaining His promise, \"The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom\nthe Father will send in my name. He shall teach you all things, and\nbring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.\"\nAnd still continuing His instructions to these beloved disciples,\nJesus said again, \"Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He\nwill guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but\nwhatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you\nthings to come.\" Now, we have already learned what the Holy Ghost is.\nThe Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead, and is a personage\nof spirit. But it appears that the special gift derived, through\nobedience, from the Holy Ghost is the gift of mental and spiritual\ninsight--the gift of intelligence. The Comforter, said Jesus, is the\nSpirit of truth; it shall teach all things, and bring to remembrance\n{142} whatsoever has been heard; it shall guide into all truth, and\nspeak only such things as it shall itself hear; it shall show things\nyet to come. To receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, is then to receive\nthe gift of light, and truth, and intelligence. Of this gift of the\nHoly Ghost, the great Joseph Smith has said many important things.\nAmong others we find recorded this: \"The first Comforter or Holy Ghost\nhas no other effect than pure intelligence. It is . . . powerful in\nexpanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing the\nintellect with present knowledge.\" In another place, is recorded the\nfollowing: \"We believe that the holy men of old spoke as they were\nmoved by the Holy Ghost, and that holy men in these days speak by the\nsame principle; we believe in its being a comforter and a witness\nbearer, that it brings things past to our remembrance, leads us into\nall truth, and shows us of things to come; we believe that 'no man can\nknow that Jesus is the Christ, but by the Holy Ghost.'\"\n\n[Sidenote: The conditions and the source of intelligence.]\n\nIn studying about faith, and repentance, and baptism, we learned that\nthe same principles operate in the daily affairs of life, and underlie\nall material success. So it is also with the source of principle of\nthe gift of the Holy Ghost. The young chemist who tried to cover his\nwatchcase with gold, learned to understand the spirit of truth, and\ngained greater intelligence, when he obeyed fully the requirements\ngoing before. And as he learned further the principle of obedience, he\ngrew steadily in scientific intelligence. So it is then with us. We are\nrequired to exercise faith in God, and in His Son, Jesus Christ; we are\nrequired to repent {143} of our sins, and to learn to live righteously:\nwe are required to be baptized by complete immersion in water for\nthe remission of sins; and then we are required to submit ourselves\nto the ordinance of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy\nGhost. When we have done all this we have fulfilled the requirements\nof the law. Then our minds will be opened, and our understandings\nquickened; for then the Holy Ghost can act upon us to give us light and\nintelligence. This is being born of the Spirit; and therefore should\neveryone obey the commandment of the Lord, \"Repent and be baptized,\nevery one of you, for a remission of yours sins; yea, be baptized even\nby water, and then Cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nJohn 3:5. John 14:16, 17, 26.\n\nHeb. 6:1, 2. John 16:13,14.\n\nActs 19:1-7. Hist. of the Church, vol. 3, page 380.\n\nActs 8:5-24. Hist. of the Church, vol. 5, page 26.\n\nJohn 15:16. Doc. and Cov. 33:11.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What twofold requirement is contained in the teaching of Jesus to\nNicodemus?\n\n2. How may one be born of the Spirit?\n\n3. What was the teaching and practice of Paul concerning the laying on\nof hands?\n\n4. What was the practice of the apostles in the matter of laying on\nhands?\n\n5. Whence did the apostles derive their knowledge of the ordinance of\nlaying on hands?\n\n6. What is the gift of the Holy Ghost?\n\n7. What parallel may be found in the work of the world?\n\n8. What is the source of intelligence?\n\n{144} PICTURE: JESUS AND THE FISHERMEN, Zimmermann\n\n{145}\n\n\n\nXIX\n\nTHE FOUNDATION STONE\n\n[Sidenote: A Resume.]\n\nIt is only natural that you should want to pause now, and review some\nof the teachings that have been considered in these pages. Jesus\ncame to the earth to attend to His Father's business. That business\nconsisted of learning, Himself, to know God the Father, of teaching\nall other men to know Him, and of bringing about the salvation of the\nchildren of God. To accomplish His wonderful mission, Jesus taught\nclearly what men should know about the Father and about Himself and\nabout the Holy Ghost; what men should know about the pre-existent life,\nand why they are now upon the earth; and how they should worship God,\ncultivate childlike faith in Him, and do the things that success in\nworship requires. All these teachings, as we have seen, and all the\nrequirements, too, are in perfect harmony with natural law. To succeed\nin any kind of endeavor one must follow just such steps as are outlined\nby Jesus for attaining success in the struggle for exaltation. And,\ncertainly, we cannot rightfully hope to drift into the success of\neternal life, any more than we can hope to drift into the presidency of\nthe United States of America. Successful achievement is the crown of\npersistent effort.\n\n[Sidenote: A few questions.]\n\nNow, as it is natural that you should want to pause at this point and\nreview these teachings, so it is natural that you should ask yourselves\nsuch questions as these: Did Jesus intend that His disciples should\nassociate themselves in an organized community? Did He have in mind\nthe {146} organizing of a Church? Did He organize a Church? How did He\nexpect those who accepted His teachings to retain their devotion, and\nto grow in their knowledge of God and His requirements of the faithful?\nIf He did establish a Church, how shall we recognize it? In this lesson\nwe shall discover what Jesus taught in answer to these questions.\n\n[Sidenote: Parables by the sea.]\n\nOne day Jesus went \"out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And\ngreat multitudes were gathered unto Him, so that He went into a ship,\nand sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.\"\n\nTeaching the multitude in parables, Jesus said, \"The kingdom of heaven\nis likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men\nslept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his\nway. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then\nappeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and\nsaid unto him. Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from\nwhence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this.\nThe servants said unto him. Wilt thou then that we go and gather them\nup? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up\nalso the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and\nin the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together\nfirst the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the\nwheat into my barn.\"\n\n\"Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and His\ndisciples came unto Him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the\ntares of the field.\n\n{147} \"He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is\nthe Son of Man: the field is the world; the good seed are the children\nof the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the\nenemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the\nworld; and the reapers are the angels.\n\n\"As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall\nit be in the end of this world. The Son of Man shall send forth His\nangels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that\noffend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace\nof fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the\nrighteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who\nhath ears to hear, let him hear.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The meaning of the parables.]\n\nThus clearly did Jesus Himself see the condition of the world, and\nthus plainly did He teach it to His disciples. Now, for the purpose\nof this study, certain points appear. First, it is very evident that\nJesus had in mind a distinct community life for those who followed\nHim. The kingdom of heaven, sometimes called the kingdom of God, is\nthe organization in which dwells the righteous. Of course, all kinds\nof people gain access at times into the kingdom. In another parable,\nJesus likens the kingdom to a net cast into the sea, which gathered\nof every kind of fish. When the net was drawn ashore, the fishermen\nplaced the good fish in vessels, but the bad they cast away. Again,\nyou see, the intent is that the followers of Jesus, or the righteous,\nare the children of the kingdom, and that the unrighteous have no\nplace therein. The righteous in {148} their community--the believing\ncommunity--shall shine forth as the sun. They constitute the kingdom of\ntheir Father.\n\n[Sidenote: The church and the kingdom.]\n\nYou may object that this kingdom does not mean the organized Church,\nbut the glorious kingdom embracing the whole world, over which Jesus is\nto reign as King. Perhaps you are right; but it makes no difference to\nthe argument. For, in the first place, that kingdom must be organized.\nWe are sure, then, that Jesus had in mind the assembling and organizing\nof His people. But, in the second place, that larger kingdom can never\nbe accomplished without a smaller one from which it may grow. While\nthe faithful number but a handful, they, too, must be organized and\nprovision must be made for common worship, fellowship, and service.\nThis smaller institution--included in the larger--is the Church. The\nwheat and the tares are even now growing side by side in the Church of\nChrist--in the kingdom of God--and will continue to do so until the day\nof the great harvest.\n\n[Sidenote: The testimony of Peter.]\n\nBut there is recorded stronger evidence even than this that the\ndisciples of Jesus are to be organized in a Church community. When\nJesus asked testimony of His disciples, \"Whom do men say that I the\nSon of Man am?\" the disciples answered, you remember, \"Some say that\nThou art John the Baptist: some Elias; and others Jeremias, or one of\nthe prophets.\" Then, when Jesus put the question to them, \"Whom say ye\nthat I am?\" Simon Peter declared, \"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the\nliving God.\"\n\n{149} [Sidenote: The testimony of Jesus.]\n\nThis declaration is wonderful in its simplicity and unfaltering faith.\nBut the answer of Jesus to it is even of greater significance: \"Blessed\nart thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto\nthee, but My Father which is in heaven . . . . and upon this rock I\nwill build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against\nit.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Its significance.]\n\nHere, then, is found the final answer to our questions. Jesus appointed\nand ordained twelve apostles, He called other seventy, because it\nwas significance. His purpose to organize His Church. The disciples\nappointed and ordained elders, and priests, and teachers, and deacons,\nand other officers, because they, too, were building up the Church\nof Christ. Moreover, these words of Jesus point the test of the true\nChurch. Not every Church assembly that cries, Lo, here is Christ, is\nnecessarily the authorized Church. That only can be the true Church\nwhich is founded on the rock of revelation. An organized Church there\nmust be--without the worship of the disciples would dwindle away. But\nthe foundation stone of that Church must be revelation; for where there\nis no revelation the people perish.\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 13:24-30. Matt. 13:47-49.\n\nMatt. 13:36-43. Prov. 29:18.\n\n{150} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. Review the foregoing lessons.\n\n2. What questions are aroused by what Jesus has taught to his people?\n\n3. Explain the parable of the tares.\n\n4. How does it answer the question, Did Jesus intend to organize His\ndisciples?\n\n5. What is the difference between the kingdom of God and the Church of\nChrist?\n\n6. What is the principal evidence that Jesus intended to organize a\nChurch?\n\n7. What is the first test of the Church of Jesus Christ?\n\n{151}\n\n{152} PICTURE: CHRIST'S CHARGE TO PETER, Raphael\n\n{153}\n\n\n\nXX\n\nTHE TEST OF AUTHORITY\n\n[Sidenote: The figure of the architect.]\n\nWe have just learned that Jesus built His church upon the principle\nof revelation. It is the foundation stone. And it is only reasonable\nand natural that it should be so. You know very well that when an\narchitect is directing the construction of a large building like a\nstate capitol, employing hundreds of men, he has to be constantly on\nthe watch to keep things going right. If he goes away, or neglects his\nduty, some foreman or other misinterprets the plans, or misunderstands\nthe specifications; or some unscrupulous contractor or other tries to\nenlarge his own profits by using inferior materials and thus corrupts\nthe structure. How necessary it is then that the architect shall watch\nover his building, by day and by night, until it is finished according\nto specifications.\n\n[Sidenote: The application.]\n\nNow, if men can so easily misinterpret, or misunderstand, the concrete\ninstructions of their fellowmen, or if some men are so evil that\nthey will try to corrupt the materials of an earthly structure, it\nrequires no argument to prove that men may easily misunderstand or\nmisinterpret--quite innocently, too--the word of God, if left to\nthemselves. And there may even be men so wicked that they would\nmaliciously corrupt the word for their own evil ends. It is even more\nnecessary, therefore, that The Architect of eternal life--the Savior\nof mankind--shall be in constant communion with His workmen, than it\nis that the architect {154} of an earthly structure shall personally\nsuperintend, its erection. No man can be absolutely sure of the\nmeaning of the teachings of Jesus without the spirit of inspiration,\nor revelation from Him. That is why the people drift away and perish\nwhen there is no vision. That is why Jesus founded His church upon the\nrock of revelation. That is why we may rest assured that the Church of\nChrist will always teach the necessity of continual revelation--the\nnecessity of keeping constantly in touch with the Divine Architect.\n\n[Sidenote: One mark not sufficient.]\n\nBut it would be strange, indeed, if there were but one mark by which we\nmight recognize the Church of Christ. An apostate Church might claim to\nbelieve in revelation, and might even teach the necessity of it. Yet,\nit would of course never receive revelation; for God would not speak to\nsuch a Church. Still, because it teaches the necessity of revelation\npeople might be deceived, and be led to become members of an apostate\nChurch. For what other mark should we look, then, when trying to\ndetermine which is the Church of Christ?\n\n[Sidenote: The submission of Jesus.]\n\nJesus has made the matter very plain in His life and teachings. One\nof the remarkable things about Jesus was His utter humility, and His\ncomplete submission subjection to authority. Although He was greater\nthan the civil law, yet He submitted always to the requirements of that\nlaw. Nay, more, In His own labors. He recognized always the authority\nof a Superior Power under whose direction He worked. When we think\nof Jesus as a member of the Godhead, endowed with omnipotence, does\nit not seem strange to hear Him say, \"I am not come of {155} myself,\nbut He that sent me is true;\" \"my doctrine is not mine, but His that\nsent me;\" \"the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the\nFather do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son\nlikewise?\" Yet, these sayings express the reverence of Jesus for\nauthority. It must be plain to everyone who reads the life of Jesus\nthat He recognized the fact that He held no authority of Himself, that\nHe was not self-appointed; but that His influence, His power, His very\nMessiahship were conferred upon Him by the Father.\n\n[Sidenote: The submission of the apostles.]\n\nThis same recognition of the necessity of authority, Jesus impressed\nupon His disciples. \"Ye have not chosen me,\" he declared one day to\nthem, \"but I have chosen you, and ordained you.\" And we learn that\nJesus did call and ordain apostles and seventies; and that it was the\ncustom in the early Christian Church to ordain by laying on hands\nother officers, such as, high priests, elders, priests, teachers, and\ndeacons, and bishops. Indeed, it must be clear to everyone, that only\nby such special call and ordination could the apostles rightfully go\ninto the world to do the works that Jesus did. When the disciples of\nJohn the Baptist wondered that Jesus should surpass their master,\ndo you recall what John answered them? Said he, \"A man can receive\n(or take unto himself) nothing except it be given him from heaven.\"\nThat is the point. No man can assume to act as a servant of God, in\nofficial position, unless He is called of God. Hence, Jesus said to His\napostles, when He had finished His own lifework, \"As my Father hath\nsent me, even so send I you.\"\n\n{156} [Sidenote: The second mark.]\n\nFrom these teachings of Jesus, we learn, then, the second mark of the\nChurch of Christ. Not only will that Church believe in the necessity of\ncontinual revelation and actually receive it, but it will recognize the\nnecessity of specially delegated divine authority to officiate in the\nname of God, and will provide in its Church organization for all the\nofficers belonging to the priesthood of God.\n\n[Sidenote: Two orders of priesthood.]\n\nThe Scriptures are full of evidences that there are two divisions of\ndivine priesthood--the Order of Aaron, and the Order of Melchizedek.\nJesus Himself, was a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.\nWithout these orders of Priesthood, man can not legally officiate in\nthe things of God, any more than superintendents, formen and workmen\ncan rightfully proceed to erect a state capitol without official\nauthorization from the commission in charge.\n\nDo you know any Church that holds these two orders of priesthood in its\norganization? Does this Church recognize the fact that a man must be\ncalled and appointed of God to act in His name? Are the authority and\npower of the priesthood manifest in its operations? Does this Church\nalso believe in and receive continual revelation from God? If so, it\nis possibly the Church of Christ. A third mark remains. That we shall\nconsider in the next lesson.\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nJohn 7:28, 29. John 15:16.\n\nJohn 9:4. John 3:27.\n\nJohn 5:19. John 20:21.\n\n{157} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What would probably happen if the architect in charge of the\nconstruction of a large building should go away for a long time?\n\n2. What would happen if God should cease to speak to His people?\n\n3. What was the attitude of Jesus toward authority?\n\n4. Whence did He derive His authority?\n\n5. What did He impress upon His disciples concerning authority?\n\n6. What did John the Baptist say about authority?\n\n7. How many orders of divine priesthood are there?\n\n8. What then, is the second mark of the true Church?\n\n{158} PICTURE: JESUS TEACHING FROM A BOAT, Hofmann\n\n{159}\n\n\n\nXXI\n\nTHE THIRD MARK\n\n[Sidenote: The horror of darkness.]\n\nHave you ever stopped to think how terrible it would be if we had no\nGuide to show us the way of eternal life? Do you think you can imagine\nthe bitter disappointment of those who have sought a guide and have\nfailed to find it? We may now pass over lightly some of the more\nserious questions of life; we may even at times reject the teachings\nof our instructors as unnecessary. But there is a fixed fact which all\nthe world has come to recognize--one that sooner or later confronts\nevery individual. It is that the greatest thing in life after all is\nthe knowledge of God and the satisfaction of having found the way of\neternal life. The disappointment that follows the failure to find that\nway is expressed in words of beauty and childlike simplicity by an\nIndian. In 1832 a chief of the Flatheads, with some of his associates\nsought the wigwams of the white man in quest of the Way of life. This\nis what the chief of the Flatheads said when he turned to go back to\nhis people:\n\n[Sidenote: The speech of an Indian chief.]\n\n\"I came to you over a trail of many moons, from the setting sun. You\nwere the friends of my fathers, who have all gone the long way, I came\nwith an Indian an eye partly open for my people, who sit in darkness.\nI go back with both eyes closed. How can I go back blind to my blind\npeople? I made my way to you, with strong arms, through my enemies,\nand strange lands, that I might carry back much to them. I go back\nwith both arms broken and {160} empty. Two fathers came with us. They\nwere the braves of many winters and wars. We leave them asleep here\nby your great water and wigwams. They were tired with many moons (of\njourneying) and their moccasins were worn out (on the trail).\n\n\"My people sent me to get the 'White Man's Book of Heaven.' You took\nme to where you allow your women to dance as we do not ours, and the\nbook was not there. You took me to where they worship the Great Spirit\nwith candles, and the book was not there. You showed me images of the\ngreat spirits and pictures of the good land beyond, but the book was\nnot among them to show us the way. I am going back the long, sad trail\nto my people, in the dark land. You make my feet heavy with gifts and\nmy moccasins will grow old in carrying them, yet the book is not among\nthem. When I tell my poor, blind people after one more snow, in the big\ncouncil, that I did not bring the book, no word will be spoken by our\nold men, or by our young braves. One by one they will rise up and go\nout in silence. My people will die in darkness, and they will go a long\npath to other hunting grounds. No white man will go with them, and no\nWhite Man's Book to make the way plain. I have no more words.\"\n\nIt will be difficult to find in modern literature words more pathetic\nthan these. Yet, how vividly and impressively they describe the\ncondition that exists in the Christian world. The Indian came out of\na land of darkness to seek Light, and finds only a world of darkness.\nHe seeks a guide, a book that shall point the way to heaven; he finds\ngrossness, and a worship of the {161} flesh-pots of Egypt. He must\nof necessity enter alone upon the long journey to the happy hunting\ngrounds. It will be his great adventure.\n\n[Sidenote: The figure of the architect again.]\n\nAnd so it should be with all of us, were it not for the fact that to\nus God has revealed the \"Book of Heaven.\" In the preceding lesson we\nused the figure of the architect superintending the erection of a large\nbuilding. Let us continue that figure briefly. Naturally, the architect\ncannot be in every part of the building at the same time. While he is\ndirecting workmen in the basement, men laying up the wall of the second\nstory must get along without him. But how shall they know, in the\narchitect's absence, that they are doing the work right?\n\nThe answer is not hard to find. The foremen and the workmen have\naccess to plans and specifications. The plans are minute, and the\nspecifications in detail. The workmen may then see for themselves how\nthe building is to be erected. If only they read right, and interpret\ncorrectly, they may go ahead indefinitely. It is because they are prone\nto misinterpret, and sometimes tempted to defraud the owners, that the\narchitect has to make his regular rounds and watch carefully.\n\n[Sidenote: The plan of eternal life.]\n\nIt is just so with those who are building life eternal. The Indian\nchief was right. He was looking for the plans and specifications of\neternal life, furnished by the Great Architect. The Indian chief did\nnot find them. He did not enquire at the right wigwam. The plans and\nspecifications of eternal life constitute the Gospel of the Lord Jesus\nChrist. The presence and the practice of that Gospel--in fulness and in\nsimplicity--in the {162} Church of Christ, form the third mark of its\ndivine authority.\n\n[Sidenote: The necessity of plans.]\n\nWhy are plans and specifications necessary? Ordinary plans and\nspecifications accomplish three very important things. First, they\ndirect what is to be done and how it is to be done. Secondly, they\nfurnish a basis of judgment whereby to determine whether or not the\nwork of the contractors fulfills the terms of agreement. Thirdly, they\nfurnish a standard of judgment whereby to determine whether or not the\nmaterials used, the proportions mixed, the measurements taken, and\nall else, are of the quality and fulness required by the builder, and\nagreed to by the contractor.\n\n[Sidenote: The application.]\n\nSo also, the teachings of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ are\nnecessary to man for very important reasons. It is through the Gospel,\nthat we learn of God and His work--to bring to pass the immortality and\neternal life of man. It is through the Gospel that we learn of Christ's\nwonderful atoning sacrifice. It is through the Gospel that we learn to\nknow what is man's duty to God, and man's duty to man. The Gospel, too,\nthen directs men what to do and how to do it. It furnishes a basis of\njudgment whereby to determine whether a man's actions are good or bad.\nIt furnishes a standard of judgment whereby to determine the true and\nexact quality of the structure of eternal life which he has built up.\n\n[Sidenote: The principles of the Gospel.]\n\nIt is not the purpose of this lesson to review all the principles of\nthe Gospel. Faith, repentance, baptism by immersion, by one holding\nauthority from God, the {163} conferring of the Holy Ghost by the\nlaying on of hands of men holding authority, are fundamental principles\nand initiatory rites. All the teachings contained in this little book,\nand many more besides, belong to the Gospel of Jesus. The true Church\nof Christ must hold strictly to all that Jesus taught. \"After that John\nwas put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the\nkingdom of God.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Men judged by the Gospel.]\n\nOf the Gospel--the plan of eternal life--the Great Architect was\njealous. \"He that rejecteth me,\" asserted Jesus, \"and receiveth not\nmy words, hath One that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the\nsame shall judge him in the last day,\" And the end can not come till\nall have heard the plans and specifications of eternal life. Said Jesus\nagain, \"This Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world\nfor a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The three marks.]\n\nLike the chieftain of the Flatheads, others, too, may come over a trail\nof many moons, from the setting sun. They may come from a land of\ndarkness, in search of Light. They may need the Book of Heaven to make\nthe way of eternal life plain. Surely, the scroll may be found in only\none place--The Church of Jesus Christ. It is founded upon the rock of\nrevelation; it is ribbed by the quorums of the priesthood of Aaron and\nof Melchizedek; and it is clothed in the teachings of Jesus--the Gospel\nof the Son of God.\n\nThese are the three never-failing marks of the Church of Christ.\n\n{164} THE REFERENCES\n\nMark 1:14, 15. John 12:48-50.\n\nMatt. 24:14.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What is the significance of the speech of the Flathead chief?\n\n2. Why does an architect prepare plans and specifications for a\nproposed building?\n\n3. How is the Gospel like such plans and specifications?\n\n4. What is the Gospel?\n\n5. How did Jesus show His great concern for the Gospel?\n\n6. What are the three never-failing marks of the Church of Christ?\n\n{165}\n\n{166} PICTURE: CONSIDER THE LILIES, Lejenno\n\n{167}\n\n\n\nXXII\n\nSINGLE MINDED LOYALTY\n\n[Sidenote: A supreme privilege.]\n\nIt is indeed a privilege beyond measure to belong to a Church founded\nupon divine revelation, presided over by the Lord Jesus Himself and\nconducted by a divinely appointed priesthood, and regulated by the\nGospel of Jesus Christ--the divine plan of salvation. Not many people\nappreciate fully what a priceless blessing is within their reach.\nThey clamor and struggle, sometimes, for membership in some secret\nbrotherhood or other, which will avail them nothing when they shall\npass into that other world; and they neglect--nay, ignore--membership\nin the open brotherhood of Jesus the Christ, which might be made to\nprofit them much upon the earth, and which would give them hereafter\nfree access into the larger kingdom of God. Is not the vision of man\nimperfect?\n\n[Sidenote: The true worth of membership.]\n\nJesus, however, recognized the true worth of membership in the kingdom\nof heaven. \"The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a\nfield,\" He declared; \"the which when a man hath found, he hideth,\nand for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth\nthat field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man,\nseeking goodly pearls: who when he had found one pearl of great price,\nwent and sold all that he had, and bought it.\"\n\nThese are pretty parables, but what do they mean? Why, simply, that\na man who has found the Church of Christ should be willing, if\nnecessary--indeed, he {168} will be willing, if necessary--to give up\nevery material possession in order to attain membership therein. It is\na blessing, of course, to possess sufficient of this world's goods; but\nit is far better to have secure one's place in the kingdom of God.\n\n[Sidenote: Conditions of membership.]\n\nThis lesson Jesus taught always. To gain entrance into the kingdom, one\nmust forsake all personal, unworthy ambitions. \"The time is fulfilled,\"\nJesus cried on His preaching tours, \"and the kingdom of God is at hand:\nrepent ye, and believe the gospel.\" And when the disciples of Jesus\nwould stop the parents from bringing their children to the Master,\nJesus said, \"Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid\nthem not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you,\nWhosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he\nshall not enter therein.\" This all teaches that to secure the coveted\nmembership, we must not only renounce all the evils of our past, but we\nmust put ourselves in the attitude of little children, eager to receive\nthe divine word of God, and to help in its establishment upon the earth.\n\n[Sidenote: Single-minded loyalty.]\n\nNow, it needs no long explanation to show that those who have succeeded\nin placing themselves in the attitude of little children, are also\nin an attitude of single-minded loyalty to God. Jesus insisted that\nmen must be loyal to God, and that, too, with singleness of purpose\nand singleness of thought. You have learned in your daily lives which\nassociates you can trust and which you cannot trust. You know very\nwell that if a boy's thoughts are always good, he is not very likely\nto become guilty {169} of any seriously wrong act. You know that if a\ngirl's motives are good, she is not likely to become guilty of evil.\nJesus knew these truths, too. He was anxious, therefore, that the minds\nof men should become filled with thoughts of God--that the dominating\nmotive in their minds should be to serve God. For He knew very well\nthat a man dominated by the motive of Godly service would be arrayed\nagainst sin; whereas, one not so dominated might easily be overcome by\nthe wily suggestions of the tempter.\n\n[Sidenote: No man can serve two masters.]\n\n\"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust\ndoth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up\nfor yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth\ncorrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where\nyour treasure is there will your heart be also.\"\n\nWhen we learn that, in the Jewish belief, the heart was the seat of\nthought and intelligence, then this saying of the Teacher becomes\nplain indeed. It is impossible for anyone to have two chief centers of\ninterest. If a man devote his thought and intelligence to the laying up\nof wealth, he will of course neglect his duty to God. For, said Jesus,\n\"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and\nlove the other, or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye\ncannot serve God and Mammon.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A simple application.]\n\nEveryone knows how true this saying is. Let us apply it to some of\nour own likes. All boys and most girls like baseball. Every boy and\nevery girl should like {170} to keep the Sabbath holy. Now, if a boy\nbegins to yield to the temptation to play baseball on Sunday, it is not\nlong, ordinarily, before his surrender is complete, and the playing\nof baseball on Sunday becomes for him a regular practice. What has\nthen happened to his attendance at the Sunday School and the sacrament\nservice? The boy is scarcely if ever seen there. Do you ask why? This\nboy started by trying to serve both God and Mammon. But the things of\nGod are displeasing to Mammon; and the things of Mammon are displeasing\nto God. Oil and water, you know, will not mix. As the boy grew in his\nlove for baseball on the Sabbath, he grew also in his hatred for the\nduties he owed to his God. As he held tenaciously to his baseball on\nthe Sabbath, he despised the service of the great King. Truly, one\ncannot have two chief centers of interest. \"Ye cannot serve God and\nMammon.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A parable in point.]\n\nAnd the folly of the worship of Mammon is so clear, that it is\nsurprising that men will ever fall into error. Jesus illustrated this\ntruth with an excellent parable. \"The ground of a certain rich man\nbrought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself saying, What\nshall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he\nsaid, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater;\nand there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to\nmy soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine\nease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him. Thou fool, this\nnight thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things\n{171} be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure\nfor himself, and is not rich toward God.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The light of the body.]\n\nAgain, Jesus said when speaking of laying up treasure in heaven,\nand serving God and Mammon, \"The light of the body is the eye: if\ntherefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.\nBut if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.\nIf therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that\ndarkness!\" In the Old Testament, the evil eye stands for avarice and\ngreed, the good eye for generosity. Is there anyone, then, who does not\nsee that if a man fosters thoughts of selfishness and greed, he blinds\nhimself, to all the better and higher things, and gropes in darkness.\n\n[Sidenote: A summary.]\n\nIn this way, then, Jesus taught that men should serve God with\nsingle-minded loyalty. In His sayings and parables, He presents four\nreasons: (1) The life of man is in the hands of God. He gave it and\nHe will take it away. No one is sure how long he may be privileged to\nenjoy worldly pleasures. But the life of the spirit is everlasting.\nIts joys shall never end. (2) Worldly goods and pleasures are\nperishable and fleeting. We may lose them when we think we have them\nmost securely. The things of the spirit are eternal. They can not be\ntaken from us, so long as we worship in spirit and in truth. (3) It is\nimpossible for man to hold two equally important and equally cherished\nobjects of interest. One of the two will inevitably be neglected. (4)\nIf a man's motives are selfish and worldly, his soul becomes darkened\nto truth, and to spiritual things.\n\n{172} [Sidenote: A paraphrase.]\n\nFor these excellent and sufficient reasons, man should cultivate an\nattitude of single-minded loyalty to God. Instead of toiling and\nsweating for things of passing value only, man should strive for the\nthings of permanent joy and satisfaction. Jesus's message, as has been\naptly said, may be paraphrased thus:\n\n\"Look up. Get a goal before you that is worth while. Let the one\npassion of your life be loyalty to God. Then your joys will be\nwholesome and permanent, and you shall walk in the light, not in\ndarkness.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 13:44-46. Matt. 6:13-21.\n\nMark 1:13, 14. Matt. 6:24.\n\nMark 10:13-16. Luke 12:13-15.\n\nMatt. 6:22-23.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. How does man show himself short-sighted when considering the things\nof God?\n\n2. What is the significance of the parable of the treasure and the\npearl of great price?\n\n3. What do we learn from Jesus's attitude toward little children?\n\n4. Name and discuss the first two reasons given by Jesus why we should\ncultivate single-minded loyalty to God.\n\n5. Name and discuss the second two reasons why we should cultivate\nsingle-minded loyalty to God.\n\n6. Name as many instances as you can in which we might practice\nsingle-minded loyalty in our own lives.\n\n{173}\n\n{174} PICTURE: CHRIST AND THE RICH YOUNG RULER, Hofmann\n\n{175}\n\n\n\nXXIII\n\nRICHES AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD\n\n[Sidenote: A liberal man.]\n\nWhen Matthias Baldwin, who built the first American locomotive, had\nmade good and had accumulated a fortune, he was wont to distribute\nliberal gifts freely among those who had been less prosperous than he.\nSo generous, indeed, was he that when he had not the cash by him he\nwould give personal notes instead. \"Nobody hesitates to sign promises\nto pay in the future in order to get capital for business,\" he would\nsay. \"Are we to trust the Lord to take care of our affairs, and not His\nown?\" Sometimes, it is said, this practice would get Mr. Baldwin into\nsmall difficulties; but on the other hand it often helped him when he\nneeded business notes for himself. Said one bank president to another,\nonce, \"You refuse to help him because he does not know what to do with\nhis money. We will stand by him because he is determined to do good\nwith his money. His collaterals are God's promises.\" And that bank\npresident was right.\n\n[Sidenote: An unnatural doubt.]\n\nNow, the teachings of the previous lesson may have aroused some\nquestions in your minds as to whether or not there will be found a\nplace in the kingdom of heaven for the rich man--for him who has\ndevoted much time apparently to the service of mammon. Perhaps you\nhave heard from some one that \"it is easier for a camel to go through\nthe eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of\nGod;\" and you have therefore concluded that heaven is for only the\npoor. There are some people who hold {176} so narrow a notion. In this\nlesson, however, we shall learn how riches should be used; and that\npoverty is no larger guarantee of salvation than are riches.\n\n[Sidenote: The case of the rich young ruler.]\n\nOne day, not long after Jesus had blessed the little children brought\nto Him, there came to Him a rich young ruler, who said, \"Good Master,\nwhat good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?\"\n\n\"And He said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good\nbut One, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the\ncommandments.\n\n\"He saith unto Him, Which?\n\n\"Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery,\nThou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honour thy\nfather and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.\n\n\"The young man saith unto Him, All these things have I kept from my\nyouth up: what lack I yet?\n\n\"Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou\nhast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and\ncome and follow me.\n\n\"But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for\nhe had great possessions.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The difficulty of sacrifice.]\n\nThis simple little story reveals to us the truth. The rich young ruler\nwas essentially a good young man. From his youth up he had striven\nto observe the law of Moses. He had committed no gross offense; he\nwas guilty of no heinous sin; as he understood the law, he loved his\nneighbor as himself. But the more perfect law of the Gospel, which\nJesus taught, called for sacrifice. The things the young man had done\nhad been easy. He had {177} refrained from evil, because he loved not\nevil. But when he was bidden to part with his wealth, and to give it to\nothers more needy than he, the center of his affection was touched. For\nhe loved his riches. It was not the riches, then, that stood between\nhim and eternal life. It was the love of those riches. The thing he\nloved he could with difficulty give up.\n\n[Sidenote: The conclusion of Jesus.]\n\nTherefore did Jesus say to His disciples, \"Verily I say unto you.\nThat a rich man shall hardly (with difficulty) enter into the kingdom\nof heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go\nthrough the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the\nkingdom of God.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The amazement of the disciples.]\n\nNaturally, such a statement puzzled the disciples just as it has\npuzzled men from that time to this. So the disciples asked, \"Who then\ncan be saved?\" But Jesus answered only, \"With men this is impossible;\nbut with God all things are possible.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The power of God.]\n\nWhile this answer may seem evasive, yet one can readily see in it the\npossibility implied. Of course, with God all things are possible.\nHe can touch the heart of man so that it shall not be centered on\nwealth--so that the chief affection of man shall not be, Midas-like,\nthe love of gold. Riches in themselves are of no value; but riches as\na means of service may be righteously desired. And the Lord Jesus has\nHimself promised the blessings of the earth to those who honestly seek\nHim.\n\n[Sidenote: A promise of worldly blessings.]\n\n\"Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink,\" urged Jesus,\n\"Neither be ye of doubtful mind. {178} For all these things do the\nnations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have\nneed of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all\nthese things shall be added unto you.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The object of the world's desire.]\n\nRiches, then, should be righteously acquired; and the acquiring of them\nshould be made secondary to the learning to know God and Jesus Christ\nwhom He hath sent. It is natural that every boy and girl should plan\nfor the future, and that the plans should include the accumulation, if\npossible, of some of this world's goods. But Jesus would not have those\nwho know him to be like the nations of the world. They seek after the\nriches of the world merely for the sake of the riches themselves. They\nlove money--and Paul said, you know, that, \"the love of money is the\nroot of all evil.\" The disciples of Jesus will never serve mammon; they\nwill make mammon serve them, and use riches for good. Money itself will\nnot be the object of their love, but the service that money can be made\nto render. Jesus taught this lesson in a parable often misunderstood.\n\n[Sidenote: The parable of the unjust steward.]\n\n\"There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was\naccused unto him that he had wasted his goods, and he called him, and\nsaid unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of\nthy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward\nsaid within himself. What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from\nme the stewardship. I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved\nwhat to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may {179}\nreceive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord's\ndebtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my\nlord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him.\nTake thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to\nanother. And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of\nwheat. And he said unto him. Take thy bill, and write four score. And\nthe lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely:\nfor the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the\nchildren of light. And I say unto you. Make to yourselves friends of\nthe mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you\ninto everlasting habitations.\"\n\nNow, Jesus did not approve of the actions of the steward. They were\ndecidedly dishonest, and Jesus calls him an unjust steward. But from\nthe conduct of this steward, Jesus draws a profitable lesson. The\nsteward was a man of the world. The children of the world are wise in\ntheir generation. When, therefore, the steward was in trouble, he made\nthe mammon of unrighteousness his servant, and secured for himself a\ncomfortable living when he should be put out of the stewardship. A\nsomewhat similar use should the children of light make of such wealth\nas they are appointed stewards over. They should look after the poor,\ncare for the needy, shed comfort and cheer, and make for themselves\nfriends by means of their wealth. First must come obedience to the\ncommandments of God, and a diligent seeking after Him. Then worldly\ngoods must be made to serve in helping to prepare a habitation in the\neternal home.\n\n{180} Paul, again, who seemed always clearly to comprehend the\nteachings of the Master, put it thus: \"Charge them that are rich in\nthis world, that they be not high minded nor trust in uncertain riches,\nbut in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that\nthey do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute,\nwilling to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good\nfoundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal\nlife.\"\n\nIn the teaching of Jesus, then, riches are not a bar to eternal life.\nThe terms of salvation are the same to the rich and the poor alike. It\nis not poverty that saves a man, but humility of spirit and obedience.\nSo it is not riches that condemn a man; but love of riches, and\ndisobedience. Many there are who, like the rich young ruler, turn and\ngo their way because they have great possessions. Many others there\nare who, like Matthias Baldwin, exclaim, \"I feel more thankful for the\ndisposition to give largely than for the ability to give largely; for I\nknow that immense wealth can be acquired a great deal easier than the\nheart to use it well. My money without a new heart would have been a\ncurse to me.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 19:16-22. Luke 12:29-31.\n\nLuke 18:22. 1 Tim. 6:10, 17-19.\n\nLuke 16:1-10.\n\n{181} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What disposition did Matthias Baldwin develop with the accumulation\nof riches?\n\n2. Why do some people think that heaven is not for the rich man?\n\n3. Why could not the rich young ruler follow Jesus?\n\n4. What did Jesus mean by the statement concerning the rich man and the\ncamel?\n\n5. What use should be made of riches?\n\n6. What is the root of all evil?\n\n7. What lesson did Jesus teach in the parable of the Unjust Steward?\n\n8. Why have the poor no greater assurance of salvation than have the\nrich?\n\n9. Which is the great gift, wealth or the disposition to give?\n\n{182} PICTURE: LAZARUS AT THE RICH MAN'S HOUSE, Dore\n\n{183}\n\n\n\nXXIV\n\nSUCCEEDING WITH WHAT ONE HAS\n\n[Sidenote: The rich man and Lazarus.]\n\nIn the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Lazarus lies sick and\nhungry at the door of the Rich Man who only the crumbs that fall from\nthe rich man's table. The Rich Man failed to recognize his opportunity;\nand when these two passed beyond, Lazarus was taken into the bosom\nof Abraham, while the Rich Man was consigned to the torments of\neverlasting punishment.\n\n[Sidenote: Wanted: a chance.]\n\nThe story of the Rich Man and Lazarus must cause each one of us to\nreflect, that, undoubtedly, he has himself many opportunities lying\nunnoticed at his door. Indeed, while nearly every boy is prone to say\nwhen he sees a successful man, \"If only I had his chance,\" the fact\nremains that he probably had as good a chance as the successful man but\nfailed to make the most of it. Jesus understood well the weakness in\nmen that makes for failure, both temporal and spiritual, and as was his\nwont illustrated his point by means of a significant parable.\n\n[Sidenote: The parable of the talents.]\n\n\"The kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who\ncalled his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto\none he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every\nman according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.\nThen he that had received the five talents went and traded with the\nsame, and made them other five {184} talents. And likewise he that had\nreceived two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one\nwent and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.\n\n\"After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth\nwith them. And so he that had received five talents came and brought\nother five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five\ntalents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His\nlord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou\nhas been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many\nthings: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. He also that had received\ntwo talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents:\nbehold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto\nhim, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over\na few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into\nthe joy of thy lord.\n\n\"Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew\nthee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and\ngathering where thou hast not strawed: and I was afraid, and went and\nhid my talent in the earth: lo, here thou hast that is thine. His\nlord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant,\nthou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have\nnot strawed: thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the\nexchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with\nusury. Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which\nhath ten talents. For unto everyone that hath shall be given, and he\nshall have abundance: but from {185} him that hath not shall be taken\naway even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into\nouter darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A general law.]\n\nIn this parable, Jesus has stated a far-reaching law of truth. It\napplies to every boy and to every girl, to every man and to every\nwoman. And it operates in every field of endeavor--in the temporal\nworld, in the mental world, in the spiritual world. Perhaps everyone\nknows someone else who is waiting for an opportunity. Perhaps, you\nyourselves, like the snail in Hans Christian Andersen's tale of \"The\nSnail and the Rose Bush,\" think that you have a great deal in you,\nand say to yourselves as did the snail, \"Wait till my time comes, I\nshall do a great deal more than to yield roses, or to bear nuts, or\nto give milk as cows do.\" But in thinking so and saying so you forget\nthe eternal truth taught by Jesus in the parable of the talents. The\nbig opportunity can come only if every day, like the rose bush, you\nmake the most of that day's chance, and contribute the roses and the\nfragrance of your life to the world.\n\n[Sidenote: The water boy.]\n\nLet us consider a concrete case. Not so very long ago, there was\nemployed in one of the great American steel works, a young boy to carry\nwater. You all know what that means. And it must be admitted that\nthere is but small opportunity in the humble calling of water-carrier.\nHis master had entrusted the boy with a single talent. But as the\nmaster went the rounds of inspection, he observed that the water boy\nwas always on the job. No matter how early the master came, the boy\nwas there {186} before him; no matter how late the master stayed, the\nboy stayed later than he. He worked, he observed, he studied; he was\nmaking his talent grow. By and by, a vacancy occurred higher up. The\nmaster did not hesitate. He called to him the water boy, and gave to\nhim the work of greater responsibility. That was but the beginning.\nToday the water boy is one of the most highly honored and trusted men\nin the great steel industry of America. No place, you see, is so humble\nbut that it has its own opportunity for service. And that opportunity\nimproved, there lie always greater chances ahead. That opportunity\nneglected, failure only can follow. One can become ruler of many things\nonly if one has proved oneself faithful in few.\n\n[Sidenote: Intellectual endeavor.]\n\nExamples might be multiplied to prove the truth of the law taught by\nJesus. When boys and girls go to school, it is those who make the most\nof that opportunity that grow in intelligence and power. They progress\nsteadily until they become leaders of men. Knowledge is added to\nknowledge, until they master the field in which they are working. On\nthe other hand, those who neglect the opportunity afforded by school\nattendance, become relatively more and more ignorant. The world forges\nahead in knowledge and wisdom. Their industrious associates go forward\nby strides. But they, themselves, lag ever farther and farther behind.\nVerily, to him who hath is given, until he possesses in abundance;\nwhereas from him who hath not, is taken even that he had.\n\n[Sidenote: Spiritual growth.]\n\nBut it was not to temporal and mental things only that Jesus meant to\napply the law illustrated in the {187} parable of the talents. Perhaps\nHis chief purpose was to apply it to the spiritual life. There, as in\nthe physical life, one must serve, and do one's utmost, in whatever\ncalling God may have placed one. According to one's courage and\nfaithfulness will one's reward be. And that reward, you must note,\ndoes not consist of a commission in money. It consists of a larger\nresponsibility, a larger opportunity to serve, a place of greater honor\nin the kingdom of God. Such a reward--whether in the physical or in the\nspiritual life--is after all the only reward worth while.\n\n[Sidenote: The lesson applied.]\n\nLet us grapple to our souls, then, the lesson of this parable. The\nlasting reward of effort of any kind is not the material gain derived\ntherefrom, but the effect upon one's character--ability developed to\ndo bigger and nobler things; the confidence inspired to carry larger\ntrusts. So, two of the servants of the lord developed in efficiency\nand ability to do. The other feared. He feared failure--he dared not\nattempt--he dreaded to venture. His ability, such as it was, became\nparalyzed. As a result he inspired no confidence--nay, he lost the\nconfidence his lord had reposed in him. Moreover, through his failure\nto make use of his little opportunity, the slothful servant lost\nconfidence in himself, and thereby squandered his native power to\nachieve, however small it may have been.\n\nGod requires of all of us that we shall serve Him diligently. And\nservice of Godly kind means that we give ourselves wholly to the Lord,\nall that we have and all that we are. Time, and means, and life,\nare His, {188} and every word, every thought, every act, should be\nprompted by loyalty to God and His kingdom. Then are we profitable\nservants; and then are we multiplying the talents God has entrusted to\nour care. \"Thou shalt not idle away thy time,\" said Jesus in our own\ndispensation, \"neither shalt thou bury thy talent that it may not be\nknown.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 25:14-30. Doc. and Cov. 60:13.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What is meant by a \"chance?\"\n\n2. How much smaller opportunity had the servant with one talent than\nthe servant with five?\n\n3. What does the story of the water-boy illustrate?\n\n4. How does the parable of the talents apply to the school life of boys\nand girls?\n\n5. How does the parable apply to one's spiritual life?\n\n6. What is man's duty to God?\n\n{189}\n\n{190} PICTURE: THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, Hofmann\n\n{191}\n\n\n\nXXV\n\nTHINK RIGHT\n\n[Sidenote: The great commandment.]\n\nOnce when a lawyer asked Him temptingly which is the great commandment\nin the law, Jesus answered unhesitatingly, \"Thou shalt love the Lord\nthy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy\nmind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is\nlike unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two\ncommandments hang all the law and the prophets.\" Divinely inspired,\nJesus returned a very wise answer. The tempter was unable to catch Him.\nAnd now we all understand that answer is in very truth the sum of the\nlaw and the prophets. For if a man truly loves God, and also loves his\nneighbor as himself, there is no offense he will--or can--commit. All\nsin consists of evil done to oneself, or to one's neighbor, or to one's\nGod. True love such as Jesus defined makes sin impossible.\n\n[Sidenote: The beatitudes.]\n\nAt another time, when a great multitude followed Him from almost every\npart of the Holy Land, Jesus went up into a mountain and preached to\nthe disciples that assembled near Him. It was at this time that He\nuttered the wonderful sayings commonly known as the Beatitudes. In\nthese rich and beautiful sayings, Jesus describes the moral character\nthat He requires in those who are to constitute His kingdom. In other\nwords, everyone who would belong in full faith and fellowship to the\nkingdom of God must possess the qualities here named.\n\n{192} \"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of\nheaven.\n\n\"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.\n\n\"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.\n\n\"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for\nthey shall be filled.\n\n\"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.\n\n\"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.\n\n\"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of\nGod.\n\n\"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for\ntheirs is the kingdom of heaven.\n\n\"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and\nshall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice\nand be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so\npersecuted they the prophets which were before you.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A high ideal of life.]\n\nHere, indeed, is an ideal toward which to train one's life. To be\npoor in spirit, to mourn over imperfection, to be meek, to hunger and\nthirst after righteousness, to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to\nmake peace amongst the quarrelsome, to be strong in persecution for\nrighteousness' sake, to rejoice when men do us evil wrongfully, for\nJesus's sake--these are goals worth while. Every man should keep the\nbeatitudes in mind, and should try so to order his life that he may not\nfail to obtain {193} any one of the promises associated with a good,\nmoral life.\n\n[Sidenote: The great beatitude.]\n\nYet, as one reads the beatitudes, one wonders what the great Master\nwould answer if someone should ask Him--as did the lawyer about the\ncommandments--which is the great beatitude. As you read them over,\ndo you feel that any one is greater than the rest? Do you feel that\nthe attaining of a certain one of them would comprehend the rest? Of\ncourse, we may not assume to say what Jesus would answer. But let\nus think the beatitudes over ourselves and try to pick out one very\nimportant one; one that expresses a moral quality the attainment of\nwhich will at least help in the attainment of all the rest; one that\nexpresses a moral quality more often trampled under foot than any\nother; one that expresses a moral quality the neglect of which leads\nalways to iniquity.\n\n[Sidenote: The pure in heart.]\n\nHave you found it? The sixth saying reads thus: \"Blessed are the pure\nin heart: for they shall see God.\" Here is a condition with a promise\nindeed! To see God! To associate with Him! And what must one be to see\nGod? One must be pure in heart. When we remember that in the Jewish\nbelief the heart was the seat of thought and intelligence, then we\nunderstand this saying better. To be pure in heart is to be pure in\nthought, to be pure in mind. To be pure in heart is to entertain no\nevil thought, to hold no impure desire. To be pure in heart is to weed\nout of the mind every evil or sinful suggestion, and to plant instead\nthoughts of righteousness. The wise man of old appreciated the full\nvalue {194} of purity of heart. Said he, As a man \"thinketh in his\nheart so is he.\" And to the Prophet Joseph Smith Jesus said, \"Let\nvirtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly, then shall thy confidence wax\nstrong in the presence of God, and the doctrine of the Priesthood shall\ndistill upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.\" May we not hope, then,\nsince God is a God of purity, that we have found here the great, the\ncomprehensive beatitude? If one is truly pure in heart, one can not but\npossess the other moral virtues also.\n\n[Sidenote: Things that defile.]\n\nJesus was very forceful in His teaching of the necessity of purity of\nheart. At one time, He called the people to Him and taught them thus:\n\"Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand. There is nothing\nfrom without a man, that entering into him, can defile him: But the\nthings which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If\nany man have ears to hear, let him hear.\n\n\"And when He was entered into the house from the people. His disciples\nasked Him concerning the parable. And He saith unto them. Are ye so\nwithout understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing\nfrom without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; because it\nentereth not into his heart, . . . . And He said, That which cometh out\nof the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of\nmen, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts,\ncovetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye (greed),\nblasphemy, pride, foolishness: all {195} these evil things come from\nwithin, and defile the man.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Vulgarity in thought, word and deed.]\n\nIt is very apparent, then, that vulgar stories of the kind that\nboys often tell each other on street corners, are begotten of an\nimpure mind. The telling of vulgar, or \"smutty\" jokes, the reading\nof lascivious literature, the taking delight in obscene pictures and\nsuggestive plays, the practising of secret abuses--all these are born\nof an evil mind. Surely, it must be plain to every boy and girl that\nthose who indulge such thoughts and practices of evil are not pure in\nheart. They shall not see God.\n\n[Sidenote: The good tree and the corrupt.]\n\nTeaching again on the same subject, Jesus said at another time, \"A good\ntree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree\nbring forth good fruit. For every tree is known by his own fruit: for\nof thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they\ngrapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth\nforth that which is good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of\nhis heart, bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of\nthe heart his mouth speaketh.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Plain teaching.]\n\nHas ever any man taught more plainly? The kingdom of God is to be made\nup of men and women rich in moral virtues. And the chief of those\nvirtues is purity of heart. The vulgar, the profane, the lascivious,\nand all those who foster evil thoughts will find no place near God.\nOnly the pure in heart shall see Him. Remember, then, the great\ncommandment. Remember the great {196} beatitude. Remember that as a man\nthinketh in heart so is he. Therefore, think right.\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 22:34-40. Doc. and Cov. 121:45.\n\nMatt. 5:1-13. Mark 7:14-24.\n\nProv. 23:7. Luke 6:43-45.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What is the great commandment in the law?\n\n2. Show that the answer of Jesus does really cover the law and the\nprophets.\n\n3. What are the beatitudes?\n\n4. What kind of people do they describe?\n\n5. Which is the great beatitude?\n\n6. Show how this beatitude may possibly cover all the rest.\n\n7. What did Jesus teach of things that defile?\n\n8. How may a tree be known?\n\n9. Apply these teachings to your own lives.\n\n10. Explain the saying, As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.\n\n{197}\n\n\n\nXXVI\n\nTHE UGLINESS OF ANGER\n\n[Sidenote: The story of Cain.]\n\nThere is no more pitifully tragic story in all the world than that\nof Cain, the fratricide. Cain was the first son of Adam and Eve of\nwhom the Scriptures make specific mention. Cain was a tiller of the\nsoil. The riches of the earth were his, and the fulness thereof. With\njoyful heart, he might have plowed and tilled and garnered, and, at\nthe last, ended a well-spent life in ease and comfort; with praise and\nthanksgiving, he might have worshipped God, acknowledging gifts already\nbestowed, and receiving daily more as he pursued his honest toil; with\ncontented mind, he might have mingled with his brothers and sisters,\nand given unstintingly of his prosperous help in the establishing\nof man's dominion on earth. But Cain was of a jealous and envious\ndisposition. His mind was darkened with thoughts of avarice and greed\nand hatred of others who prospered in the new world.\n\n[Sidenote: The occupation of Abel.]\n\nCain had a brother named Abel. He was the second son of Adam and Eve\nmentioned by name in the Scriptures. Abel was a shepherd, a tender of\nflocks. Abel prospered, too, in his occupation. True, Abel was not\nso independent of his fellows as was his brother Cain, the tiller of\nthe soil. Abel's calling produced him only meat to eat and wool to\nwear. He grew no fruits, nor grains, nor vegetables, nor other foods\nin variety produced by the soil. But Abel was happy and contented. He\nwas unselfish. He loved his brothers and sisters, {198} and rejoiced\nin their successes. He loved God. And as he tended his flocks, Abel\nworshipped God who had placed his father and mother, and their\nchildren, upon the earth to subdue it.\n\n[Sidenote: The brothers' sacrifices.]\n\nOne day Cain and Abel carried sacrifices to offer to the Lord. Cain\nbrought grudgingly of the fruits of the field. Abel brought of the\nfirstlings of his flock and the fat thereof without thought of\nwithholding anything from the Lord. When the sacrifices were presented,\n\"the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain\nand to his offering He had not respect.\" Now, this difference was not\nbecause Abel's offering was better or more desirable than Cain's.\nThe Lord pays not respect to worldly things. The widow's mite is as\nacceptable to Him as the rich man's millions, if offered in the spirit\nof truth. For it is the spirit in which a sacrifice is made that\ncounts with the Lord. And Cain did not come in the spirit of love, and\nthanksgiving, and worship. He gave grudgingly. Perhaps, even, he did\nnot give of the best of his crops. Therefore the Lord did not accept\nhis offering.\n\n[Sidenote: The anger of Cain.]\n\nThen, when he saw that his own offering was rejected, while Abel's\nwas accepted, Cain became filled with anger, and his countenance\nfell. The Lord in His mercy spoke to Cain, and declared to him one\nof the great fundamental truths of life. \"Why art thou wroth?\" asked\nthe Lord, \"and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well thou\nshalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door,\nand Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my\n{199} commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee\naccording to his desire.\" But the anger and the envy of Cain were not\nappeased.\n\n[Sidenote: The murder of Abel.]\n\nNot long thereafter, Cain and Abel were together in the field. Cain\nhad brooded over the incident of the offerings. His anger had waxed\nhot, till it was ready to burst into furious flame. Satan had gained\npossession of his mind, had filled him with envy, and had inspired him\nto hate his brother. So, as he talked with his brother in the field,\nCain suddenly arose in ungovernable rage and struck his brother down\nand killed him. It was a day of horror in man's history. It was a day\nof blackness and blood. Cain was a brother-murderer--a fratricide. And\nit had come about because he had yielded to anger and envy and hate.\nSatan had gained possession utterly of his soul. Therefore, Cain was\ncursed by the Lord and cast out from His presence. In the story of Cain\nis illustrated wonderfully the truth of the saying of the Wise Man of\nIsrael: \"Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to\nstand before envy?\"\n\n[Sidenote: The lesson at home.]\n\nThe story of Cain is a story of long ago. But we all know many\ninstances of the ugliness of anger in our own day. In every prison\nhouse in the world are confined men who have committed crime in fits of\nanger. \"An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in\ntransgression,\" said the Man of Wisdom. When a man is angry, he loses\ncontrol of the good that is in him. He returns to the state of the\nbeast. He speaks words of which afterward he is ashamed. He does things\nfor which afterward he sorrows. Anger is an {200} infernal poison,\nadministered by the father of lies himself, which courses through the\nblood, makes the heart pound, and creates delirium in the mind. There\nare many ugly sights in the world; but there is perhaps none uglier,\nmore repulsive, than a man furiously angry. Therefore is it said, \"Make\nno friendship with an angry man and with a furious man thou shalt not\ngo: lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The power of the mind.]\n\nEveryone knows how unpleasant is the company of a quarrelsome boy, or\nof a quarrelsome girl. The best of sport and the choicest of company\ncan be spoiled by one angry countenance. The truth taught in the\npreceding lesson may here be emphasized. \"As a man thinketh in his\nheart so is he.\" According to your habits of thought, you are agreeable\nor disagreeable. According to your habits of thought, you find quarrel\nin a straw, or peace and serenity in turmoil. According to your habits\nof thought you may become a strife-breeder or a peacemaker. \"A wrathful\nman stirreth up strife: but he that is slow to anger appeaseth anger.\"\nAnd since it rests with yourself, is it not deplorable that you should\nfollow in the footsteps of Cain?\n\n  \"The human will, that force unseen,\n  The offspring of a deathless Soul,\n  Can hew a way to any goal,\n  Though walls of granite intervene.\"\n\nAs a boy wills to be pleasant and cheerful, or to be disagreeable and\nquarrelsome, so then will he be. We know now that we may all be masters\nof ourselves, and hewers of our own fates.\n\n{201} All these things Jesus taught plainly. Said He, \"Ye have heard\nit said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall\nkill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, That\nwhosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of\nthe judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in\ndanger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in\ndanger of hell fire.\n\n\"Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and then rememberest\nthat thy brother hath aught against thee; leave then thy gift before\nthe altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then\ncome and offer thy gift.\n\n\"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with\nhim; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the\njudge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily\nI say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast\npaid the uttermost farthing.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus an example.]\n\nThere is in history no finer example of serene calm and self-control\nthan that manifested in the earth life of the Savior of the world.\nWhen James and John, \"the Sons of Thunder,\" asked permission to call\ndown fire from heaven upon the Samaritan village that had refused to\nentertain Jesus, the Lord rebuked them, saying, \"Ye know not what\nmanner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy\nmen's lives, but to save them.\" And when during the days of trial and\nsuffering, men insulted Him and did Him physical injury, Jesus went\nlike a lamb to the slaughter.\n\n{202} [Sidenote: The strength of self-control.]\n\nAll examples and precepts, then, admonish us to acquire self-control,\nto be slow to anger, to banish hatred, and to eschew envy. \"For the\nwrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God;\" and \"he that is\nslow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit\nthan he that taketh a city.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMoses 5:16-41. Matt. 5:21-26.\n\nProv. 27:4. Luke 9:51-56.\n\nProv. 29:22. James 1:20.\n\nProv. 22:24. Prov. 16:32.\n\nProv. 15:18.\n\n\"Angry Words, Oh Let Them Never,\" S. S. Song Book.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What caused the downfall of Cain?\n\n2. What effect does anger have upon the mind?\n\n3. Why does not anger work for righteousness?\n\n4. What do you think of a quarrelsome boy with a grouch?\n\n5. What did Jesus teach about anger?\n\n6. How does self-control make for strength?\n\n{203}\n\n{204} PICTURE: JESUS BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN, Plockhorst\n\n{205}\n\n\n\nXXVII\n\nWITH WHAT MEASURE YE METE\n\n[Sidenote: The two school girls.]\n\nTwo little girls came home from school one day carrying on a very\nlively discussion. Their animation, and their complete absorption in\nthe subject were very inspiring to see. One could not help but thrill\nat the manifestation of buoyant, interested, and healthful youth. But\nwhen they came into the house, and their mother overheard the nature\nof their conversation, she was woefully disappointed. These girls were\nnot discussing the problems raised by their lessons; neither were they\nrejoicing at the prospect of the coming girls' hike to the canyon. In\nfact, the subject of their animated discussion was neither uplifting\nnor invigorating. On the contrary, it was disgusting--so thought\ntheir mother; and she was sorry to hear her girls indulge in such\nconversation. For the girls were gossiping; nay--they were slandering.\n\n[Sidenote: The theft.]\n\nIt appears that someone had lost some money that day at school. The\nloser declared, however, that she had not merely lost the money. It\nhad been stolen! The principal had called the pupils together, and\nhad stated the case plainly to them. He had said that if anyone had\nactually stolen the money, it would be much better for the thief to\nconfess than to be discovered, or even successfully to conceal the\ndishonest act. Such a thing would leave a scar upon one's character for\nlife. But no one confessed. The lost coin was not found.\n\n{206} [Sidenote: The suspicion.]\n\nOur two little friends, however, had observed that Mary Jones, who sat\nnot far away, acted very suspiciously when the principal came into the\nroom. She turned quite pale, and looked afraid. When the principal\nappealed to the offender to make a clean breast of his guilt, Mary\nhad hung her head. Was it not proof positive that Mary had stolen the\nmoney; or that, at least, she knew where it was? At recess, and after\nschool was out, the girls had talked it over. They had confided their\nsuspicions to a few intimate friends; these in turn had confided in\nother intimate friends; soon the whole school was in possession of what\nwas assumed to be a fact, that Mary Jones had stolen the money, but\nthat she would not confess. The two little girls who first suspected\nMary had grown firmly to believe their suspicions, and assured their\nmother that they knew that Mary was the thief.\n\n[Sidenote: The discovery.]\n\nThe developments of the next few days, however, proved to these little\ngirls how much truth there really is in the little bit of doggerel\nverse their mother had taught them.\n\n  \"There is so much that is bad in the best of us,\n  And so much that is good in the worst of us,\n  That it doesn't behoove any of us\n  To talk about the rest of us.\"\n\nPoor Mary Jones suffered keenly for three days. Both the boys and the\ngirls shunned her as if she were a leper. The girls huddled together\nand whispered when she passed. Once a rude, unfeeling boy called after\nher, \"Why don't you 'fess up, Mary?\" But Mary had really nothing to\n\"'fess up,\" and on the third day {207} the truth came to light. Out in\nthe hallway, the janitor noticed something shining in a little crack\nbetween the boards of the floor. It was in the afternoon, and the\nlight coming through the transom of the west door fell just then upon\nthe spot. The janitor stooped to see what the shining object was. It\nwas money! He pried it out with his pocket knife. It was of the same\ndenomination as that which had been reported stolen. Immediately, the\njanitor returned it to the teacher with a full explanation.\n\n[Sidenote: The tables turned.]\n\nIt is strange how things turn and turn about. When the money was\nreturned to the girl who had lost it, with the janitor's story, she\nremembered that she had been skipping there in the hallway, and that\nshe had thought she had heard something strike the floor; but since\nshe had seen nothing she had forgotten it. The girls who had suspected\nMary and had shunned her, now flocked about her and assured her that\nthey had never believed her guilty. The two who had started the slander\nstood shame-facedly apart. The school turned on them, and for many days\nthey were avoided, and were shut out of the school games, as Mary had\nbeen. They were mischief-makers, said the pupils. It was only after\nMary herself had pleaded for them, that a complete reconciliation was\neffected, and the school society moved harmoniously forward as before.\n\n[Sidenote: An everyday occurrence.]\n\nYou think that this is a story? Yes, it is a story; but it is a true\nstory. And the sorrowful thing about it is that just such unkind and\nunfounded judgments as that formed by the little school girls are\npassed every day upon {208} innocent men and women. You yourselves pass\njudgment, without any evidence on which to base that judgment. You\ncondemn your playmates for this or for that. You find fault with what\nyour parents do, not knowing the many problems they have to solve. You\ncriticize the bishop of your ward, or the president of your stake, or\neven the president of the Church, without knowledge of a single item\nof the vast amount of information which he has and which compelled him\nto do as he did. It may be that some of your associates have faults.\nThose faults stand out glaringly enlarged to you. You are offended by\nthem. You are prompted to criticize, or to try to correct the defects.\nBut you forget that you may have faults as glaringly apparent to your\nassociates as theirs are to you. You do not stop to think that the\nlittle girls who suspected Mary Jones were also guilty of a grievous\noffense in judging and condemning without cause. You forget what\nthe Lord Jesus taught, \"Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy\nbrother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?\nOr how wilt thou say to thy brother. Let me pluck out the mote out of\nthine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye. Thou hypocrite,\nfirst cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see\nclearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The mote and the beam.]\n\nIs it not simple and common sense? How can a man see clearly to\ncorrect the faults of others, when his vision is distorted by his own\nfaults? Have you ever set a stick into a pool of clear water? Have\nyou noticed how the stick has been distorted in size and shape? The\nlight {209} waves passing from water to air, or from air to water, are\nrefracted, bent, so that you do not get a correct image of the object\nimmersed. Just so is it when we, who are immersed in our own faults\nand weaknesses, attempt to pluck the mote from a brother's eye. Our\nvision is defective; the image is distorted; we are ourselves in worse\ncondition than our brother.\n\n[Sidenote: What Jesus said.]\n\nJesus set Himself strongly against such unkind judgment as that passed\nby the two little school girls, and as that we are tempted every day to\nJesus pass upon our neighbors. \"Judge not,\" He taught, \"that ye be not\njudged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with\nwhat measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.\"\n\nHere is sound philosophy, of which few men stop to think. It is easy\nto pass judgment on others. It is easy to think that one is the center\nof the universe and that all things else revolve about that center. It\nis easy to think that one's own opinion is always right, and that the\nopinions of others are wrong. But one should not forget that others\nalso hold opinions. It is almost certain that one will be judged as\none judges; and that one will have measured to one as one measures to\nothers.\n\nNow, what Jesus points out is that the spirit of fault-finding and\ncriticism is to be condemned. One cannot correct the faults of others\nuntil one has corrected one's own faults. One cannot even get a good\nhold on one's self, and find the right estimate of one's self, until\none learns to see only good in others, and to {210} struggle with one's\nself to overcome faults. Moreover, fault-finding and criticism, like\nanger, hate, and envy, destroy one's peace of mind. One who judges and\ncondemns cannot possibly maintain mental and spiritual health. Harsh\njudgment is far more hurtful to the man who exercises it than to the\nman whom he judges.\n\n  \"Judge not!--thou canst not tell how soon the look of\n  bitter scorn\n  May rest on thee, though pure thy heart as dewdrops\n  in the morn.\n  Thou dost not know what freak of fate may place\n  upon thy brow\n  A cloud of shame to kill the joy that rests upon it now.\n  Judge not!\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 7:1-5.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What was wrong in the action of the two little school girls?\n\n2. Why is it wrong to find fault, and to criticize?\n\n3. What did Jesus say about the mote and the beam?\n\n4. Explain Jesus's saying, \"Judge not that ye be not judged.\"\n\n5. Show that it is the spirit of fault finding that is sinful, rather\nthan the act.\n\n6. Who is most injured: the man who criticizes or the man who is\ncriticized?\n\n{211}\n\n{212} PICTURE: JERUSALEM FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, From a Photograph\n\n{213}\n\n\n\nXXVIII\n\nTHE GOLDEN RULE\n\n[Sidenote: Positive instruction.]\n\nJesus was not content to teach merely \"Judge not, that ye be not\njudged.\" In a way, that is only negative teaching. It exhorts men to\nwithhold judgment, but does not exhort to positive action. But the\nnature of the teaching of Jesus is generally constructive. His \"don'ts\"\nare always directed against prevailing evil, and are almost immediately\nfollowed up with constructive directions as to what to do. So now He\ncontinues, \"first cast out the beam out of thine own eye\"; and further,\nfrom place to place. He instructs men how they shall deal with their\nfellowmen. One's duty is not fully done when one merely withholds\njudgment; there remains yet to be done some positive act of good--a\nkind word, a charitable deed, an effort at reconciliation with one of\nill-will if such a one there be.\n\n[Sidenote: The doctrine of reconciliation.]\n\nIn the matter of friendly association, good-will, and forgiveness,\nJesus spoke very definitely. \"If thy brother shall trespass against\nthee,\" said He, \"go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone:\nif he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not\nhear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of\ntwo or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall\nneglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to\nhear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.\"\n\n{214} [Sidenote: The attitude of a citizen of the kingdom.]\n\nLong suffering, slow to anger, not vengeful, and without condemnation,\nshould the citizen of the kingdom be. How many of us follow the course\nhere outlined, when an associate \"trespasses\" against us? How many\nof us go to him first and talk it over? If the matter is not settled\nthen, how many of us try again, and take two or three friends along to\nhelp arbitrate the difficulty? And if still a reconciliation is not\neffected, how many of us appeal in a spirit of love to the church--the\ncourt of last appeal in matters spiritual? Unfortunately, most of us\nare prone to cast off the brother who has done us wrong without looking\ninto the causes that prompted him to act as he did. If we take steps\nto settle the difficulty, it is too often not through the mediation\nof friends or the spiritual influence of the Church, but through the\ncold procedure of the civil court. And worst of all, we yield not\ninfrequently to the temptation to talk. We gossip; we slander; we start\nscandal; we wrong much more than we have been wronged. Jesus would not\nhave it so. Agree with thine adversary quickly.\n\n[Sidenote: The doctrine of forgiveness.]\n\nSometimes it happens that a brother offends more than once. How many\ntimes shall he then be forgiven? This question troubled Peter. He of\ncame therefore to Jesus and asked, \"Lord, how oft shall my brother sin\nagainst me, and I forgive him? till seven times?\"\n\n\"Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee. Until seven times: but\nuntil seventy times seven.\" Of course, Jesus did not mean that one\nshould forgive an offender exactly seventy-seven times, no more, no\nless. He {215} meant that there is no limit to the number of times that\nwe should exercise the gift of forgiveness; but that we should forgive\nfreely and cheerfully as often as the offender repents. Then, in order\nthat there might be no question as to the meaning of His teaching,\nJesus told the parable of the unforgiving servant.\n\n[Sidenote: The parable of the unforgiving servant.]\n\n\"Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which\nwould take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon,\none was brought unto him which owed him ten thousand talents (or about\n$10,000,000). But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded\nhim to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and\npayment be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him,\nsaying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the\nlord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and\nforgave him the debt.\n\n\"But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants,\nwho owed him an hundred pence (or about $20): and he laid hands on him,\nand took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what thou owest. And his\nfellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have\npatience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went\nand cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.\n\n\"So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry,\nand came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord,\nafter that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I\nforgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: shouldst not\nthou also have had compassion on thy {216} fellowservant, even as I\nhad pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the\ntormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.\n\n\"So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your\nhearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The Meaning.]\n\nAbout the meaning of this dramatic story there can be no question.\nOur indebtedness to God the heavenly Father is incalculable; our\ndependence upon Him is infinite. God recognizes our helplessness, and\nour inability to pay, and He forgives us our shortcomings, even as\nwe pray, \"Forgive us our debts.\" The indebtedness of our fellowmen\nto us is slight in comparison; their dependence upon us is nil. Yet,\nwe are likely to render harsh judgment against them, and to withhold\nforgiveness from our hearts, even though we utter in prayer the words,\n\"as we forgive our debtors.\" But if we deal harshly with our fellowmen\nwho owe us so little, can we expect God, whom we owe so much, to deal\ngently with us? If we want the Great Creditor to forgive us our large\nindebtedness, should not we--small creditors that we are--forgive\nwithout the asking, and from our hearts, the little debts of our\nfellowmen?\n\n[Sidenote: The right attitude toward our enemies.]\n\nSuch was the teaching of Jesus concerning our association with\nour friends and fellowservants. But Jesus's teaching of love and\nreconciliation did not stop there. It is our duty--since we all want\nGod to bless and favor us--to love even our enemies, and those whom\nwe are by nature prompted to hate. For, said Jesus, \"Ye have heard\nthat it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy {217} neighbour, and hate\nthine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that\ncurse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which\ndespitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of\nyour Father which is in heaven; for He maketh His sun to rise on the\nevil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.\nFor if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even\nthe publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do\nye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore\nperfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The Golden Rule.]\n\nSo, then, it appears that the practicing of the Golden Rule makes a\nlarge stride toward perfection. We should do good to all, forgive all,\nlove all. Then can we come in strength before the Lord and plead for\npatience and forgiveness.\n\n  \"He prayeth best, who loveth best\n  All things both great and small;\n  For the dear God who loveth us,\n  He made and loveth all.\"\n\nJesus put it thus: \"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men\nshould do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the\nprophets.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 18:15-17. Matt. 5:43-48.\n\nMatt. 18:21-35. Matt. 7:12.\n\n{218} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. Why could not Jesus be content to teach merely \"don't\"?\n\n2. Of what does the doctrine of reconciliation consist?\n\n3. What is the proper attitude of a citizen of the kingdom toward his\nfellow-citizens?\n\n4. How often should one forgive an offender?\n\n5. How does the parable of the unforgiving servant show why we should\nforgive our fellowmen?\n\n6. What should be the attitude of a citizen of the kingdom toward his\nenemies?\n\n7. What is the meaning of tolerance?\n\n8. Show how the Golden Rule may be made to enrich your own lives and\nmake them happier.\n\n{219}\n\n{220} PICTURE: THE GOOD SAMARITAN, Van Diepenbeek\n\n{221}\n\n\n\nXXIX\n\nTHE GOOD SAMARITAN\n\n[Sidenote: The law of love.]\n\nThere is, perhaps, no principle of conduct that Jesus emphasized\nmore in His teachings than the law of brotherly love. As we have\nalready learned, the first great commandment requires that we love\nGod; and the second requires that we love our neighbor as ourselves.\nIt is not enough, then, that we withhold judgment and condemnation;\nnor that we do unto others--even unto our enemies--as we would have\nothers do unto us. We must forget self; bury self, as it were; and\ncultivate for others a real affection--such an affection as God has\nfor us, for God is love. The reward of such a God-like love of our\nfellowmen is beautifully expressed in a poem--oft but never too often\nquoted--written by the English poet Leigh Hunt.\n\n[Sidenote: The reward of brotherly love.]\n\n  \"Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase)\n  Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,\n  And saw, within the moonlight in his room,\n  Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,\n  An angel writing in a book of gold:--\n  Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,\n  And to the presence in the room he said,\n  'What writest thou?'--the vision rais'd its head,\n  And with a look made of all sweet accord,\n  Answered, The names of those who love the\n  Lord.'\n  'And is mine one?' said Abou. 'Nay, not so,'\n  Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,\n  But cheery still; and said, 'I pray thee then.\n  Write me as one that loves his fellow-men.'\n\n  The angel wrote and vanish'd. The next night\n  It came again with a great wakening light,\n  And show'd the names whom love of God had\n  bless'd\n  And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.\"\n\n{222} [Sidenote: Questions of the tempting lawyer.]\n\nThere came a lawyer to Jesus one day and asked Him what to do to\ninherit eternal life. Jesus, knowing that the lawyer came only to make\ntrial of Him, answered, \"What is written in the law? how readest thou?\"\nThe lawyer--who knew well the law--was forced then to reply, \"Thou\nshalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,\nand with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy neighbour as\nthyself.\"\n\n\"Thou hast answered right,\" said Jesus: \"this do and thou shalt live.\"\n\nBut the lawyer was not satisfied; and desiring further to justify\nhimself, he asked, \"And who is my neighbour?\"\n\n[Sidenote: The parable of the good Samaritan.]\n\n\"And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to\nJericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of all his raiment,\nand wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance\nthere came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him he\npassed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the\nplace, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But\na certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he\nsaw him, he had compassion on him, and went to him, and bound up his\nwounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and\nbrought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he\ndeparted, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said\nunto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I\ncome again, I will repay thee.\n\n{223} \"Which now of these three thinkest thou,\" asked Jesus, \"was\nneighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?\"\n\nThe lawyer answered, \"He that shewed mercy on him.\"\n\n\"Then said Jesus unto him. Go, and do thou likewise.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A discussion.]\n\nThe priest, who was the specially appointed servant of God among his\npeople, and the Levite, who was closely associated with the priest\nin his ecclesiastical duties, ought to have had compassion upon the\nunfortunate traveller. It is to be assumed that he was a Jew. He was\ntherefore of the chosen people. He might lay claim to the services of\nthe priest and the Levite who officiated in the temple of his God.\nMoreover, these men above all others should have known the passage\nquoted by the lawyer in answer to Jesus's question, \"What is written in\nthe law?\"--a passage repeated by every Jew in each morning and evening\nprayer. But these men had seen only the letter of the law; they had\nnever felt the spirit of it. At the most, the love of neighbor meant\nonly the Jewish interpretation of the passage, \"Thou shalt not avenge,\nnor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt\nlove thy neighbour as thyself.\" Of the broad interpretation placed by\nJesus on the meaning of the word \"neighbor,\" these men of the temple\nservice knew nothing.\n\n[Sidenote: The real neighbor.]\n\nThe Samaritan however who was an outcast in the eyes of the Jew, for\nwhom God Himself could hold no love; an apostate and a degenerate\nfrom the rich blood of Israel as unclean in {224} the opinion of the\northodox Jew as the loathsome leper--the Samaritan felt the thrill of\nthe spirit of the great commandment \"Thou shalt love thy neighour as\nthyself.\" He manifested that divine love--and that to one from whom\nhe was an alien--which Jesus enjoined when He said, \"Be ye therefore\nperfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The fulness of the answer.]\n\nJesus could not have answered the lawyer more completely; neither could\nHe have silenced more quickly the man who came to make trial of Him.\nThe story of tender love and sympathy was of such compelling nature\nthat the lawyer himself was forced to admit that the good Samaritan was\nthe real neighbor. And that conclusion forced upon the lawyer the plain\nanswer to his question, \"Who is my neighbor\" Why, he is my neighbor\nwhom it is within my power to help, no matter what may be his creed, or\nhis nationality, or his color. There was no room here for the splitting\nof hairs. The lawyer was used to the refined arguments of the learned\nrabbis as to the meaning of the word neighbor. Here it was plainly set\nforth in a simple little story. There was no more to say.\n\n[Sidenote: The lesson clinched.]\n\nBut as He concluded his story, and received the lawyer's answer, Jesus\ndrove home the lesson. \"Go,\" said He, \"and do thou likewise.\" It was as\nif He had reverted to the opening question, \"Master, what shall I do\nto inherit eternal life?\" If you would inherit eternal life love your\nneighbor as yourself; consider him your neighbor whom you can help;\nhold no class distinction; despise no man for his creed or his color;\nbut hold yourself always in {225} readiness to do good, to serve, and\nto help those who need your help. Remember the Good Samaritan. Do not\npass by on the other side, but show your love in deeds of love. Then\nshall you inherit eternal life.\n\n[Sidenote: The command renewed.]\n\nThe Savior's law of love is a principle of divine beauty. And so\nimportant is it in the Gospel plan of salvation, that it has been\nspecially renewed in our own dispensation. Said Jesus to Joseph Smith,\n\"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy\nmight, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt\nserve Him.\n\n\"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.\"\n\n\"Every man (shall seek) the interest of his neighbor and (do) all\nthings with an eye single to the glory of God.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nLuke 10:25-37. Doc. and Cov. 59:5, 6.\n\nLev. 19:18. Doc. and Cov. 82:19.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What more must men do besides withholding judgment and observing the\ngolden rule?\n\n2. Explain the lesson of Abou Ben Adhem.\n\n3. What did the lawyer seek of Jesus?\n\n4. What conclusion was forced, upon the lawyer by the story of the Good\nSamaritan?\n\n5. How was this story a complete answer?\n\n6. Why did it silence further questioning?\n\n7. What does Jesus's admonition, \"Go, and do thou likewise,\" imply?\n\n8. How do these commandments affect us in the dispensation of the\nfulness of times?\n\n{226} PICTURE: CHRIST IN THE HOME OF MARY AND MARTHA, Hofmann\n\n{227}\n\n\n\nXXX.\n\nNO ONE CAN LIVE TO HIMSELF.\n\n[Sidenote: The fable of the body and its members.]\n\nIn the ancient book of wisdom ascribed to Aesop, there may be found the\nfollowing fable with its moral: \"The Members of the Body once rebelled\nagainst him. They said he led an idle, lazy life at their expense. The\nHands declared that they would not again lift a crust even to keep him\nfrom starving, the Mouth that it would not take a bit more food, the\nLegs that they would carry him about no longer, and so on with the\nothers.\n\n\"The Body quietly allowed them to follow their own courses, well\nknowing that they would all soon come to their senses, as indeed they\ndid, when, for want of the blood and nourishment supplied from the\nstomach, they found themselves fast becoming mere skin and bone.\n\n\"No one can live to himself.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The time of Aesop.]\n\nAesop lived in the long ago. Tradition declares that he was born five\nhundred and fifty years before the time of Jesus. But already in that\nremote age men had learned to appreciate the value of organizing\nthemselves into communities and churches and governments. Already, men\nhad discovered that to live to oneself was to fight alone a losing\nfight against all the forces of the world.\n\n[Sidenote: The growth of society.]\n\nFrom the time that Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden,\nand their children began to settle two and two in the land to till it\nand to cultivate it, man has understood the advantages of friendly\nassociation. First it was the family. The family has always been, {228}\nand is still the actual basis of society. The members of the family\nclung together, and each one worked for the interest of the whole.\nThen, when the families increased they became associated in clans and\ntribes. Then, with the increase of population, came the organization of\ncommunities, religious association, governments. For protection, for\nworship, for education, for commerce and trade, for civilization, men\nhave banded themselves together, and have worked for larger units, of\nwhich the individuals were but members. Only by such banding together\ncan a community become socially efficient.\n\n[Sidenote: A football squad.]\n\nNow, we may easily understand what this means if we apply the principle\nto the organization of a football squad. There are eleven men, you\nknow, in the \"team.\" One of them is the captain. When the squad is\nin action, playing hard against an opposing team, no single man can\nhope alone to win the game. The strength of the squad depends upon its\nteam work. While each individual must put forth the best that is in\nhim, whether in bucking the line or in playing the open field, that\nbest must be so directed as to add to the sum total of the strength\nand efficiency of the united eleven. No member of that team may live\nor play to himself. And the orders of the captain must be obeyed.\nSome player in the line may think the orders poor--wholly wrong in\nfact--yet he must obey those orders. If he does not, he will go down\nto ruin himself, and he may possibly drag his team with him to shame\nand disaster. For, as is clearly evident, when he neglects to follow\nthe command of the captain, he stands alone; the other ten obey\norders. {229} Alone he can accomplish nothing. Nor is that the worst;\nby disobeying orders, he may spoil the premeditated play and lose the\ngame. The football man is required to learn, therefore, that he is only\na member of a body; that he must act with the body; that if he attempts\nto act in opposition to the body calamity is sure to follow; that\nsuccess can come only through concerted effort. The football squad is\nan organization of society for efficiency.\n\n[Sidenote: The teachings of Jesus.]\n\nAs it is with the football squad so it is with society in the large.\nMen and women are organized into communities and associations of\nvarious kinds for greater efficiency, and are subject to the laws\ngoverning organized society. Now, since Jesus was not primarily a\nsocial reformer, nor a social teacher, we should not be surprised if He\nhad little to say about man's duties to organized society. Yet since He\ntouches in His teachings nearly all phases of temporal and spiritual\nlife, we might expect that somewhere He has something to say about the\nlarger aspects of society. And we do really find it so. The three chief\nsocial institutions in the world are the family, the state, and the\nchurch. About man's duties to each one of these Jesus has something\nsignificant to say. Let us consider briefly the most important sayings\nof Jesus concerning these three fundamental institutions.\n\n[Sidenote: The family.]\n\nIn the teaching of Jesus, marriage is presented as a divinely appointed\nsacrament, and the family as a sacred institution One day the Pharisees\ncame to Jesus to test Him, and asked, \"Is it lawful for man to put\naway his wife? And {230} He answered and said unto them, What did\nMoses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of\ndivorcement, and to put her away.\n\n\"And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart\nhe wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God\nmade them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father\nand mother and cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh;\nso then they are no more twain but one flesh. What therefore God hath\njoined together let no man put asunder.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The family sacred.]\n\nThus emphatically did Jesus teach that the marriage relation was\nordained of God. And in doing so He declared also that the family is\na sacred institution and its claims should never be put aside. The\ncrying shame of the world today is the common practice of divorce. Boys\nand girls who become acquainted with the teachings of Jesus, should\ngrow up with a horror of the divorce court. They should learn to look\nupon marriage as one of the highest privileges accorded to them by\nthe heavenly Father. And boys and girls in the Church of Jesus Christ\nof Latter-day Saints should rejoice in the thought, that, when the\nproper time comes, they may go into the House of the Lord and have\nthere performed the divine sacrament of marriage for time and for all\neternity. For the Lord has said in this generation, \"Whoso forbiddeth\nto marry is not ordained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto\nman.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The state.]\n\nJesus was equally emphatic in His teachings of man's duty to the\nstate--to organized civil government. Certain of the Pharisees {231}\nand of the Herodians were sent one day to try to catch Jesus in his\nwords. \"And when they were come they say unto Him, Master, we know\nthat Thou art true, and carest for no man: for Thou regardest not the\nperson of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to\ngive tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give?\nBut He, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them. Why tempt ye me? bring\nme a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And He saith unto\nthem, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto Him,\nCaesar's. And Jesus answering said unto them. Render to Caesar the\nthings that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And\nthey marvelled at Him.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The state divinely instituted.]\n\nThey had good cause, indeed, to marvel at Him; for, not only had He\nquieted them with a sufficient answer, but He had also declared a\nfundamental principle of the state. A government cannot exist without\nrevenue to maintain its organization and to enforce the laws enacted\nfor the protection and the welfare of its citizens. Caesar was doing\nmuch for Palestine. It was not only right, therefore, but just that\nthe Jews should pay taxes to Rome. And so it is in our own day. \"We\nbelieve,\" asserted Joseph Smith, \"that governments were instituted of\nGod for the benefit of man.\" It becomes therefore the duty of every\nhonest citizen to do his utmost to uphold the righteous laws of the\ngovernment, and to help in the maintaining of peace and order. And\nit is not only right, but just, that we should pay the taxes imposed\nby the government. We all enjoy the benefits derived from civil\norganization--protection, liberty, {232} illumination, trade, good\nroads, and all. The man who tries, then, to evade the taxes and the\nresponsibilities of the government is dishonest.\n\n[Sidenote: The Church.]\n\nBut in declaring that it is right to render to Caesar the things that\nare Caesar's, Jesus also taught that man owes likewise certain duties\nto his The Church, religious organization. Render, said He, \"to God the\nthings that are God's.\" In line with this thought we are instructed by\nanother experience of the Lord's. When Jesus and His disciples came\none day in their journeyings to Capernaum, \"they that received tribute\nmoney came to Peter, and said, Doth not your Master pay tribute (the\ntemple tax)? He saith Yes, And when He was come into the house Jesus\nprevented (anticipated) him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon, of whom\ndo the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children\nor of strangers? Peter saith unto Him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto\nhim, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend\nthem, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that\nfirst cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a\npiece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.\"\n\nThese gatherers of tribute money, were, it appears, those who collected\nthe taxes for the support and maintenance of the temple at Jerusalem.\nJesus was Himself the son of God. He was the Master of the temple. He\nmight have been free from the tax. But Jesus recognized the fact that\nthe principle was right; therefore, He paid the tax. And in doing so,\nHe taught the lesson {233} that it is right and just for every citizen\nin the kingdom of God to pay the taxes imposed for the maintenance of\nthe kingdom. As with the state, so with the kingdom of God, he who\ntries to evade the temple tax is dishonest. \"Behold,\" declared Jesus\nto the great modern Prophet, \"now it is called today (until the coming\nof the Son of man), and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for\nthe tithing of my people, for he that is tithed shall not burn at His\ncoming.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The teachings of our own Church.]\n\nThe children of the Latter-day Saints have much for which to be\nthankful. Here we are reared in the sanctity of the home, in love and\nin the fear of God. Our family relations are established to continue\nthroughout the eternities. Here we are taught to yield honor and\nobedience to established government, and to deserve the benefits\nprovided by it. Here we are taught to revere the priesthood of God,\nto pay ungrudgingly our tithes and our offerings, and to do our best\nfrom day to day in the upbuilding of righteousness. And this we do that\nwe may live and profit and prosper together; for no one can live to\nhimself alone.\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMark 12:13-17. Doc. and Cov. 49:15.\n\nMatt. 17:24-27. Doc. and Cov. 134:1.\n\nDoc. and Cov. 64:23.\n\n{234} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What is the meaning of Aesop's fable?\n\n2. Explain by means of the football squad how man can not live to\nhimself.\n\n3. What did Jesus teach concerning man's duty to the family?\n\n4. What are a man's obligations to the state in which he lives?\n\n5. What does a man owe to the church to which he belongs?\n\n6. Why should the children of the Latter-day Saints be grateful above\nall other children?\n\n{235}\n\n{236} PICTURE: JESUS WASHING PETER'S FEET, Brown\n\n{237}\n\n\n\nXXXI\n\nHE THAT EXALTETH HIMSELF\n\n[Sidenote: The old law and the new.]\n\nEveryone who has compared the teachings of the law of Moses with\nthose of Jesus must have been impressed with the essential difference\nbetween those teaching's. The old law always emphasized the actual, or\nmaterial, elements of life, and provided punishment for deeds actually\ncommitted. Thus the law of Moses exhorted, Thou shalt not kill, thou\nshalt not steal, thou shalt not do this or that. And if one violated\nthis material law, he became liable to the penalty--but only if he\nactually committed a deed in violation of law. Jesus, on the other\nhand, went back of the act to the state of mind that prompted the act.\nIn other words, the essential thing in the philosophy of Jesus was not\nthe act itself, but the motive back of it. Instead of \"Thou shalt not\nkill,\" Jesus said, \"Whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in\ndanger of the judgment.\" Jesus did not say. Thou shalt not commit acts\nof immorality, but, He that entertains an impure thought is already\nguilty of the immoral act.\n\n[Sidenote: The teaching of Jesus psychological.]\n\nJesus was not a psychologist in the modern sense, yet this teaching of\nJesus is psychologically true. Our acts are but the fruits of thoughts\nthat have found lodgment, care, and nourishment in our minds. Our\nminds, indeed, are but gardens. Seed-thoughts are blown into them by\nthis wind and by that. Involuntarily as well as voluntarily suggestions\ncome into the mind. Now, if the seed-thoughts that are waited into the\nmind-garden are good, and are carefully tended and nurtured, the garden\n{238} will bear good fruit--the acts performed will be charitable and\nclean. But if the seed-thoughts that find lodgment in the mind are\nnoxious, and if these noxious seeds--these destructive weeds of the\nmind--be tended and nurtured, then the acts resulting therefrom will\nnecessarily be evil.\n\n[Sidenote: A concrete example.]\n\nLet us turn from this abstract discussion to the concrete example. Do\nyou know why a good boy, who has been taught all his life to keep his\nbody clean from the loathsome poison of tobacco, sometimes takes to\nsmoking cigarettes in spite of his teaching? The reason is perfectly\nclear. The boy has been tempted. A noxious seed-thought has found\nlodgment in the boy's mind. Now, had the boy been really strong, had\nhe gone to like a good gardener, hoe in hand, and cleaned out the\nweeds, the noxious plants could never have bloomed nor borne fruit. But\nbecause the boy entertained the evil thought, gave it nourishment and\ntended it, it grew and spread until the good seed and fruitage of his\nconscience were crowded out of the mind. One thought, then, remained\nin power; and on that thought the boy acted. He became a smoker of\ncigarettes.\n\n[Sidenote: The motive all important.]\n\nSuch examples as this might be multiplied without limit. If you will\nexamine your own acts, you will find that every act of yours is the\nresult of a preconceived thought, entertained and fed. Is it not clear,\nthen, that the teaching of Jesus is far better than the teaching of\nthe Old Law? It is more important to train the mind and to guard the\nmotives, than merely to guard one's acts. If one's {239} motives are\npure, wholesome, and sound, one's acts cannot but be so also.\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus's doctrine of rewards.]\n\nNow, just as Jesus differed in His teaching of the ultimate basis of\nthe moral life from the teaching of the Old Law, so He differed from\nthe Old Law in His teachings about rewards. Amongst the Jews of the\ntime of Jesus, the fear of punishment or the hope of immediate good\nfortune constituted the primary motive of a good life. In other words,\nrewards--more or less material and immediate--were in the Old Law the\ninspiration to action. Jesus would do away with such an attitude toward\ncharitable living. He would have people do good for the good's sake;\nHe would have people live right for the sake of right living, He would\nhave people work righteousness for the sake of righteousness. And He\nemphasized and drove home the thought that if any one worked merely\nto increase his own honor and to exalt himself in the eyes of men, he\nshould fail, and should be humiliated in the attempt.\n\n[Sidenote: A parable in point.]\n\n\"It came to pass,\" says the New Testament narrative, \"as (Jesus) went\ninto the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the\nsabbath day, that they watched Him. . . . \"And He put forth a parable\nto those which were bidden, when He marked how they chose out the chief\nrooms; saying unto them. When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding,\nsit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou\nbe bidden of him; and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee.\nGive this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.\nBut when thou {240} art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room;\nthat when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up\nhigher: then thou shalt have worship in the presence of them that sit\nat meat with thee.\n\n\"For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth\nhimself shall be exalted.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A sound psychological principle.]\n\nHere again Jesus announces a sound, psychological principle. Men who\ncrowd and push themselves forward always arouse the ill will and\nantagonism of their fellowmen; whereas those who are humble and meek\nstir the admiration of their fellowmen and are advanced by them. All\nour acts should be inspired, not by the desire for honor or for worldly\nreward, but by the desire to work righteousness.\n\n[Sidenote: A further illustration.]\n\nThis principle Jesus illustrated further by a direct address to the\nPharisee who had invited Him. \"When thou makest a dinner or a supper;\ncall not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy\nrich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be\nmade thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the\nlame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense\nthee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Peter and the question of recompense.]\n\nThe question of recompense has disturbed many people; unfortunately,\nit is still uppermost in the minds of some. It was undoubtedly the\nquestion of recompense that troubled Peter when he said to Jesus, \"Lo,\nwe have left all, and have followed Thee.\" We may imagine that the rest\nof his thought ran somewhat like this: What shall be {241} our reward?\nJesus very promptly answered, \"Verily I say unto you, There is no man\nthat hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children,\nfor the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in\nthis present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.\"\n\n\"But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The reward worth while.]\n\nJesus did not discourage entirely, then, the idea of rewards. But He\nemphasized the necessity of the pure and upright motive, and service\nfor the sake of service. Then, those who serve shall receive a\nreward--not material, perhaps, but spiritual--which shall fill their\nlives here, and assure life everlasting hereafter. What does it matter,\nafter all, if one lose one's worldly possessions but gain contentment\nof soul and an assurance of eternal exaltation? There are men who are\npossessed of untold material wealth who would give all to gain the\nsimple testimony of Jesus possessed by the simplest and humblest member\nin the Church of Christ. Indeed, true contentment--which is the chief\nreward of a well-spent life--can come only as the result of service\nunselfishly rendered. Neither wealth nor poverty can bring about the\nworth-while, spiritual reward of an act prompted by a worthy motive.\nAnd without question, many that are first, in this world, shall be last\nin the day of judgment.\n\n[Sidenote: Conclusion.]\n\nThis we have, then, to let sink deep into our hearts: Jesus would have\nus guard the motives of our acts; He would have us understand that our\nacts are but the outward fruits of our inner {242} thoughts; with our\nmotives pure, He would have us perform good deeds without thought of\nreward; He would have us do good where no recompense can be had; He\nwould have us remain meek and humble in thought, in word, and in deed,\ninnocent of any selfish act. Then will He recompense us with a reward,\nindeed: satisfaction, contentment, spiritual light, the goods of this\nworld as we shall need them, and life everlasting, the greatest gift of\nGod.\n\n  \"Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled,\n  And he who humbles himself shall be exalted.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nLuke 14:1, 7-14. Luke 18:28-30.\n\nMark 10:31.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What is the difference between the Old Law and the New in the\nteaching about acts and motives?\n\n2. Show that the teaching of Jesus is psychologically correct.\n\n3. Illustrate the process of the action growing from the thought by\nsome instance other than that of the cigarette smoker.\n\n4. What was the attitude of Jesus toward the doctrine of material\nrewards?\n\n5. How does the question of motive affect this doctrine?\n\n6. Discuss the parable of the Wedding Feast.\n\n7. Why is it well to do good where there can be no hope of recompense?\n\n8. Explain the answer of Jesus to Peter.\n\n9. What is the nature of the reward worth while?\n\n10. How shall we gain the reward worth while?\n\n{243}\n\n{244} PICTURE: THE WISE AND THE FOOLISH VIRGINS, Wainwright\n\n{245}\n\n\n\nXXXII\n\nEXTRA SERVICE\n\nTeaching further the nature of service, and what kind of service is\npleasing to God, Jesus told His disciples the parable of the laborers\nin the vineyard.\n\n[Sidenote: The parable of the laborers.]\n\n\"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which\nwent out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. And\nwhen he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them\ninto his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour, and saw others\nstanding idle in the market place, and said unto them: Go ye also into\nthe vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went\ntheir way. Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did\nlikewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others\nstanding idle, and saith unto them, Why stand you here all the day\nidle? They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto\nthem. Go ye also into the vineyard: and whatsoever is right, that shall\nye receive.\n\n\"So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his\nsteward. Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from\nthe last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the\neleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first\ncame, they supposed that they should have received more; and they\nlikewise received every man a penny. And when they had received it,\nthey murmured against the goodman of the house, saying. These last have\nwrought but one hour, and thou hast {246} made them equal unto us,\nwhich have borne the burden and heat of the day.\n\n\"But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong:\ndidst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go\nthy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not\nlawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil,\nbecause I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last: for\nmany be called but few chosen.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The value of service in the world's work.]\n\nIn the world's work, there are many today who become offended for\nthe same reason that the laborers, who had borne the burden and the\nheat of the day, became offended. But that is because they do not\nunderstand the principle of service and wages. In every industrial or\ncommercial institution rewards in the way of salary or promotion are\nmade dependent, not upon the length of service, but upon the quality of\nservice and the spirit put into the service. In a certain mercantile\ninstitution, for example--an institution with which you are perhaps\nall acquainted--there was employed not many years ago a young man of\nunusual ambition and energy. There were then in the department in which\nhe was placed, men who had been in the employ of the institution for\nfifteen or twenty years. This young man gave value received in return\nfor the compensation he was given. He put quality into his service; he\nput spirit into his service; he threw himself into his work body and\nsoul. Before long, he was made head of the department. Those who had\nserved for many years were offended, and murmured against the manager.\nBut the reward came, as rewards worth while must {247} always come, for\nquality and spirit of service. The young man has continued to give to\nthe institution the best that it was in him to give; he has continued,\ntoo, to advance; today he stands next to the superintendent, with the\noutlook that ere long, when the superintendent retires, he may become\nhimself the superintendent. In the meantime, men of long years of\nservice are still in the same positions that they held when this young\nman entered the employ of the institution. Promotion and reward are\nbased on merit.\n\n[Sidenote: The value of service in the Church.]\n\nIf we turn now to the spiritual life, we shall find that the same\nprinciple obtains. Length of membership, or service, in the Church\ndoes not assure exaltation. Indeed, there are many men in the Church\nwho have belonged to it from childhood to a ripe old age, who may\nnevertheless receive a very meager compensation. Theirs has been a\nlife of membership only. They have rendered little or no service; and\nsuch service as they have rendered has been of inferior quality and\nquestionable spirit. In reward, they will receive whatsoever is right.\nOn the other hand, men who have had the privilege of belonging to the\nChurch in this life for only a short time may receive as large a reward\nas the others, or even a larger reward than theirs. For again, these\nmembers of few years, have in those few years rendered service of a\nquality far superior to that of those of long years of membership. In\nthe spiritual life or in the temporal life it is true that one may hope\nto get in return only as much as one gives. It is a law of physics\nthat action and reaction are equal and opposite. An adaptation of that\nlaw may be applied here. {248} When we enter into service, temporal or\nspiritual, our lord will give us whatsoever is right.\n\n[Sidenote: The test of profitableness.]\n\nA question like this may now arise in your minds: How shall we know\nwhether or not our service is sufficient and adequate? Another parable\nof the Lord's will help us find the answer to the question. \"Which of\nyou, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by\nand by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And\nwill not rather say unto him. Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird\nthyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward\nthou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the\nthings that were commanded him? I trow (believe) not. So likewise ye,\nwhen ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say,\nWe are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to\ndo.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The application to the day's work.]\n\nIn any position in life, there are certain duties which we are required\nto do. The cash-boy in the department store, the elevator boy, the\nclerk behind the counter, the stenographer in the manager's office,\nthe bookkeeper, the what not, has each one a specified kind of work\nto do. But if each one does only that which he is required to do, no\nmore, he is in a sense an unprofitable servant. He can lay claim to\nno special consideration, no special reward. But if one of them does\nmore than merely what is required of him; if he comes early and stays\nlate; if he plans and toils to make the business more attractive, more\nefficient; if he promotes business, then is he indeed a profitable\nservant. When we enter into {249} the employ of others, it is our duty\nto do faithfully all that is required of us; it is our privilege to\ngive extra service, to make ourselves thoroughly useful and wholly\nefficient, to merit special consideration.\n\n[Sidenote: The application to Church service.]\n\nSo is it also in the Church of Jesus Christ. There are many things\nwe are required as members to do. It is our duty--and a duty full of\npleasure it should be--to attend the regular services of the Church, to\npartake of the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, to magnify one's calling\nin the priesthood, to give offerings cheerfully to help the poor, to\npay tithing, and so forth. But if we do these things only, the duties\nrequired by virtue of membership, we do only the things commanded us to\ndo. We may count ourselves unprofitable servants. To become profitable\nservants, we should look after the thousand and one other opportunities\nthat lie about us. It is our privilege to perform extra service.\n\n[Sidenote: An Exclamation against mere formal performance of duty.]\n\nOne day when Jesus was apparently wrought up by the hypocrisy of the\nscribes and the Pharisees, He exclaimed against them thus: \"Woe unto\nyou, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and\nanise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law,\njudgment, mercy and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to\nleave the other undone.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A privilege to give extra service.]\n\nIt is right that we should pay our tithes and offerings, and attend\nto the duties of our membership. These ought we to do. But in doing\nthem we ought not to leave undone other things that may possibly be\nof even greater weight in {250} the estimation of God. Reward cannot\ncome merely because of length of service, but must come because of the\nquality and the spirit of the service. And to become truly profitable\nservants, we must seize every opportunity for extra service.\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 20:1-16. Luke 17:7-11.\n\nMatt. 23:23.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. On what terms were the laborers of the parable employed in the\nvineyard?\n\n2. How can you justify the paying of the same wage to the laborers who\nwere employed at the eleventh hour as to those who worked all day?\n\n3. What is the application of the lesson of this parable to man's daily\nwork?\n\n4. What is its application to Church service?\n\n5. How shall we know when our service is sufficient and adequate?\n\n6. Why did Jesus condemn the scribes and the Pharisees?\n\n7. Show that extra service is a privilege.\n\n{251}\n\n{252} PICTURE: CHRIST DRIVING OUT THE MONEY CHANGERS, Hofmann\n\n{253}\n\n\n\nXXXIII\n\nA PROPHET IN HIS OWN COUNTRY\n\n[Sidenote: A perfect man and an exemplary leader.]\n\nIn all the history of the world there has never been another man like\nJesus, nor another mission like that which He performed. We have\nheard so much of the meekness and humility of Jesus, of His suffering\nall things and resenting nothing, of His going like a lamb to the\nslaughter, that many people have formed a picture of Jesus that is\nwholly unworthy of Him. Some of you, even, may possibly think of\nJesus as a weak sort of man who takes all kinds of abuse. But such a\nconception of Jesus considers only one of the virtues in the man, and\ndoes not consider the whole man. Jesus was just such a man as every boy\nand girl delights to see. In body He was strong, robust, physically\nperfect, with a wholesomeness of body quite unequalled by any other\nman. No trial or hardship deterred Him from pushing forward to the\ngoal on which He had fixed His mind. No danger daunted Him. For His\nspirit was as wholesome and as perfect as was His body. When He was\naroused by righteous indignation. His fearlessness knew no bounds.\nPicture Him, for example, alone and unafraid, with a scourge in His\nhand, driving the money changers and the petty merchants out of His\nFather's house! In body and in spirit, Jesus was perfect--of the purest\nathletic type. But Jesus was also a perfect leader. Hence, He had\nHimself in perfect control. While He suffered pain as {254} do other\nmen; while He experienced the thrill of affection and love as do other\nmen; while He could become angry, and possessed the passions that other\nmen do--yet He had so subdued the mortal in Him to the divine, that the\nbaser nature never once gained power over the Son of God. In this He\nset us an example of how we should live. It was because of His perfect\nself-control that He appeared always as the meek and lowly Nazarene. It\nis not difficult to understand that such a man aroused the wonder and\nadmiration of the people to whom He ministered. Such a man we ourselves\ndelight to worship.\n\n[Sidenote: A work full of wonder.]\n\nThe daily work of Jesus aroused as much wonder as did the physical and\nspiritual characteristics. His enemies even were constrained to admit\nthat no other man ever spoke with such power and authority as did\nJesus. And certainly, no other man has ever displayed such divine power\nas did Jesus. Throughout Judea, Samaria and Galilee, Jesus demonstrated\nHis marvelous power and authority in healing the sick, in restoring the\nhalt and the maimed, in quieting the storm, and even in raising the\ndead. It was, indeed, a marvelous work and a wonder. It reads almost\nlike a fairy tale. And yet these things Jesus, the Son of God, actually\ndid. In this lesson, we shall consider briefly some of the statements\nof the strange miracles Jesus performed.\n\n[Sidenote: A healer and worker of miracles.]\n\nWhile laboring in Galilee, Jesus performed an untold number of\nmiracles. Mark tells us how the fame of Jesus as a miracle worker had\nspread abroad, {255} and how the afflicted flocked to Him. One day,\nwhen the offended Pharisees and Herodians were taking counsel against\nHim, Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea: and a\ngreat multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea, and from\nJerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about\nTyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great\nthings He did, came unto Him. And He spake to His disciples, that a\nsmall ship should wait on Him because of the multitude, lest they\nshould throng Him. For He had healed many; insomuch that they pressed\nupon Him for to touch Him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits,\nwhen they saw Him, fell down before Him, and cried, saying, Thou art\nthe Son of God. And He straitly charged them that they should not make\nHim known.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The conditions in Palestine.]\n\nWith a little exercise of the imagination, you can easily visualize the\nremarkable scene described thus vividly by St. Mark. But in order to\nunderstand how such a condition could be possible it becomes necessary\nto know something about Galilee in the time of Jesus. Historians agree\nin telling us that ever since the days of Alexander the Great, all the\nvice and the wickedness of both the East and the West had literally\npoured into Palestine. The land of the chosen people had become\ncorrupt, as had the chosen people themselves. Their bodies had become\nafflicted and their minds diseased through habits of wrong living and\nwrong thinking. Beggars were as common as the turns in the roadway; and\nnearly every beggar was distorted by some {256} terrible and loathsome\ndisease. The insane, and those possessed of evil spirits, were almost\nwithout number. Their condition, too, was pitiable. In all the land\nthat was blessed by God to become the home of His own people, there was\nno one to help the unfortunates. Instead of a land flowing with milk\nand honey, it had become a land poisoned with vice and corruption.\n\n[Sidenote: A mission of love.]\n\nIt was into such a land, and amongst such a people, that the physically\nand spiritually perfect Jesus came to minister. Devoted to a mission\nof love. Jesus turned the strength of His own perfection and the power\nof His divine authority to the healing of the sick and afflicted, to\nthe assuaging of the sufferings of the poor, and to the saving of\nthe ignorant. It was a manifestation of divine power and compassion,\nwithout thought of reward or honor, for He always charged those to whom\nHe ministered, \"See that thou tell no man.\"\n\nWe have neither time nor space to consider the miracles of Jesus in\ndetail. Let us read only three. The first exhibits the power of Jesus\nover physical illness; the second, His power over nature and the\nelements; the third. His power over death itself.\n\n[Sidenote: The centurion's servant.]\n\n\"When Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a\ncenturion, beseeching Him, and saying. Lord, my servant lieth at home\nsick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I\nwill come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not\nworthy that Thou shouldst come under my roof: but speak the word only,\nand my servant shall be {257} healed. For I am a man under authority,\nhaving soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth;\nand to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and\nhe doeth it. When Jesus heard it, He marvelled, and said to them that\nfollowed. Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no,\nnot in Israel.... And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as\nthou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed\nin the selfsame hour.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Stilling the tempest.]\n\n\"When the even was come. He saith unto them. Let us pass over unto the\nother side. And when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him\neven as He was in the ship: and there were also with Him other little\nships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into\nthe ship, so that it was now full. And He was in the hinder part of the\nship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master,\ncarest Thou not that we perish? And He arose, and rebuked the wind,\nand said unto the sea. Peace be still. And the wind ceased, and there\nwas a great calm. And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is\nit that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to\nanother. What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea\nobey Him?\"\n\n[Sidenote: The raising of Lazarus.]\n\n\"Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead; and I am glad\nfor your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe;\nnevertheless let us go unto him. . . . Then when Jesus came, He found\nthat he had lain in the grave four days already. . . . Then when Mary\nwas {258} come where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at his feet,\nsaying unto Him, Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not\ndied. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping\nwhich came with her, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and\nsaid, Where have ye laid him? They said unto Him, Lord, come and see.\nJesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how He loved him! And some of\nthem said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have\ncaused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again\ngroaning in Himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay\nupon it. Jesus said. Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him\nthat was dead, saith unto Him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he\nhath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her. Said I not unto thee,\nthat, if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the glory of God?\nThen they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid.\nAnd Jesus lifted up His eyes, and said. Father, I thank Thee that Thou\nhast heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest me always: but because of\nthe people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou\nhast sent me. And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice,\nLazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and\nfoot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin.\nJesus saith unto them. Loose him, and let him go.\"\n\nMore marvelous power than that recorded in these three instances cannot\nbe imagined. Our admiration is wrought up to the highest point; and in\nimagination {259} we see the strong, pure, healthy and wholesome Man,\ngiving freely of His strength and life-force to those who come to Him,\nministering to them, and saving them from their own evil lives and\nevil habits of thought. We wonder that there could be anyone who would\nreject such a Leader.\n\n[Sidenote: In His own country.]\n\nAnd yet, when He left the seashore and returned to Nazareth and His\nown country, Jesus was rejected by His own. \"When the sabbath day was\ncome, He began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing Him were\nastonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what\nwisdom is this which is given unto Him, that even such mighty works are\nwrought by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the\nbrother of James and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not His\nsisters here with us? And they were offended at Him.\n\n\"But Jesus said unto them, A Prophet is not without honour, but in his\nown country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And He could\nthere do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick\nfolk, and healed them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMark 3:7-12 Matt. 8:5-10, 13.\n\nMark 4:33-41. John 11:1-44.\n\nMark 6:1-6.\n\n{260} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What kind of man was Jesus physically?\n\n2. What kind of man was Jesus spiritually?\n\n3. What quality made Jesus a great leader?\n\n4. What was the condition of Galilee--and all Palestine--at the time of\nJesus?\n\n5. How did Jesus manifest His divine power?\n\n6. Describe some miracles wrought by Jesus.\n\n7. Why is it surprising that all Palestine did not believe in Him, and\naccept Him?\n\n8. What principle did Jesus teach concerning a prophet in his own\ncountry?\n\n9. Why could Jesus do no mighty work in His own country?\n\n{261}\n\n{262} PICTURE: JESUS HEALING THE SICK, Schoenherr\n\n{263}\n\n\n\nXXXIV\n\nTHE MEANING OF MIRACLES\n\nAfter reading of the wonderful miracles that Jesus performed in\nGalilee, one begins to wonder what a miracle really is. One begins to\nwonder by what power a miracle is performed. The miracles of Jesus are\nin the main so unusual, so extraordinary, so apparently in violation of\nall known laws of nature, that one begins almost to wonder how Jesus\ncould upset the laws of nature.\n\n[Sidenote: The explanation of the scribes.]\n\nApparently, Jesus's marvelous miracle-working power puzzled the people\nof His own generation. They knew little of the laws of nature, of\ncourse. They had been taught to believe in the possibility of miracles.\nBut they were loath to grant any degree of divine power to Jesus.\nHence, on one occasion, \"the scribes which came down from Jerusalem\nsaid, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out\ndevils.\" Of course, such a suggestion was absurd. Jesus Himself said\nto His disciples, \"How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be\ndivided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be\ndivided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up\nagainst himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.\" To\nthis argument, there is, of course, no answer. It proves conclusively,\nthat Jesus did not perform miracles through the power of Beelzebub.\nWhat a miracle is, by what power it is performed and why miracles are\npermitted, are questions that we shall consider in this lesson.\n\n{264} [Sidenote: The universal presence of law.]\n\nLet us consider first, then, what a miracle really is. As a matter of\nfact, a miracle is never an act accomplished in violation of law. You\nmust understand that the universe is ruled by law. Everything that\nhappens, happens through the operation of law. If we live wisely--eat\nright and think right--then it follows by the law of nature that we\nshall have strong, wholesome bodies like the Christ's, and clear,\nactive minds like His. But if we violate the rules of right living,\nthen come certain laws of retribution, and we are made to pay the\npenalty of our wrongdoing And so it is throughout the universe The\nheavenly bodies are directed and governed by law; God's creatures\neverywhere are subject to law; the earth on which we dwell, with the\nstrange and marvelous and mighty phenomena which we here daily observe,\nis a product of law. Would it not be inconsistent, then, to think that\nJesus--who is Himself the God of law--should work in violation of law?\nHis own words in refutation of the statement of the scribes that He was\nin league with Beelzebub, is a sufficient answer to such a supposition.\n\"If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.\" We\nmust conclude, therefore, that a miracle, no matter how unnatural it\nmay seem, is accomplished through the operation of some law of the\nuniverse. Yet, how can this be true, when some miracles that are well\nauthenticated seem to be so utterly in violation of the laws of nature\nknown to us?\n\n[Sidenote: The miracle of the telephone.]\n\nThere was a time--and that not so very long ago--when it was thought\nimpossible that a man should ever be able to speak clearly and\ndistinctly to a friend a {265} hundred miles away, and hear in return,\nas clearly and as distinctly, the voice of his friend. Certain men,\nhowever, who were prying into the secrets of nature discovered\nsome things about sound. They learned that sound travels through\nsome medium, like the air, by means of waves--waves of alternate\ncondensation and rarefaction of the air, for example. Then these men\nstudied the human ear, and they learned that as these sound waves\nstruck the ear, the drum of the ear was made to vibrate back and forth\nas a condensed part of the air or a rarefied part of the air struck\nit. The men became interested; further study revealed the fact that\nalmost any disk, like the drum of the ear, could be made to vibrate to\nsound waves. It was found that these sound waves could be transmitted\nthrough string, or wire. It was discovered that a small current of\nelectricity flowing through a wire aided in the conducting of the\nsound wave. Little by little science progressed, until by and by\nthere appeared a telephone. It was crude, and it reproduced the human\nvoice with a terrible roar. But the men of science worked at it; they\nperfected first one part of it, then another, as they learned better\nto understand the laws governing the reproduction of sound. Finally\ncame the perfect telephone. Today it is possible to telephone--not a\nhundred miles merely--but from New York to San Francisco, clear across\na continent, a distance of several thousand miles. Such an achievement,\nif it had been shown suddenly, would have been considered a miracle.\nIt would have been in violation of all the known laws of nature. But\nnow we know that this {266} miracle has been accomplished through\nthe harnessing of natural laws not known to our forefathers. The\nachievement is the result of neither violation of law, nor co-operation\nwith Beelzebub.\n\n[Sidenote: Other miracles of science.]\n\nThe story of the achievements of science is full of wonders like that\nof the telephone. Any one of them, if it had been revealed suddenly,\nwould have seemed as unusual, as extraordinary, certainly in violation\nof natural law, as the turning of water into wine, or as any of the\nmiracles of healing performed by Jesus. Think of the achievement of\nthe telegraph which covers with a network of wires every land area in\nthe world; think of the huge cable slung undersea tying together the\nnations; think of the Marconigraph making it possible to send messages\nthe world over without the medium of wires; think of the X-ray and the\nwonderful photography made possible by it; think of the innumerable\nachievements of modern medicine, relieving pain, effecting cures\nof ills that were once thought incurable, correcting deformities,\nrestoring sight and hearing, almost giving new life to the dead. These\nand countless other wonders of modern life should teach us what a\nmiracle is. Man performs every day wonders that may almost be called\nmiracles only--since he possesses very limited power--it takes him a\nlong time to get his results. Jesus, acting with divine power, called\ninto play the laws of life, and accomplished in a moment what it would\ntake the man of science an indefinite period to do. In other words,\njust as the wonderful achievements of science have been made possible\nthrough the discovering and the harnessing of the laws of the {267}\nuniverse, so a miracle such as Jesus performed is made possible through\nthe rapid assembly and harnessing of the natural laws that govern the\ncase in hand.\n\n[Sidenote: The power of the Priesthood.]\n\nBut by what power did Jesus marshal the laws of nature, and direct them\nto His own desires? By the power of the priesthood of God. No man can\nhope to perform miracles who does not possess the authority of that\npriesthood. Jesus Himself was the Son of God, and held the authority\nof His own priesthood. And any man upon whom Jesus has conferred that\npriesthood may go forth likewise, and heal the sick and do other mighty\nworks in His name. Men holding the priesthood of the Son of God need\nonly to go out in the strength of their manhood, in the cleanness and\npurity of their lives, and in the fearlessness of their convictions.\nIn the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and\nin the power of their priesthood, they, too, may command the higher,\nyet unknown laws of the universe, and effect cures and restorations\nas marvelous as those recorded in the ministry of Jesus and the first\napostles. \"I came unto my own,\" said Jesus to the Prophet of the\ndispensation of the Fulness of Times, \"and my own received me not; but\nunto as many as received me, gave I power to do many miracles, and to\nbecome the sons of God, and even unto them that believed on my name\ngave I power to obtain eternal life.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The purpose of miracles.]\n\nFor what purpose are miracles wrought? In all generations there have\nbeen people who have sought signs, by which they might be converted.\nBut miracles are not given for the {268} purpose of converting the\nunbelieving. The scribes and the Pharisees came to Jesus, saying,\n\"Master, we would have a sign from Thee. But He answered and said\nunto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign.\"\nWhat then is the purpose of miracles? Miracles come as the result of\nfaith; they do not come to create faith. In His own country, Jesus even\ncould perform no mighty work because the people had not faith in Him.\nMiracles are a kind of reward of faith, and serve to strengthen faith\nalready born. \"It shall come to pass,\" said Jesus in modern times,\n\"that he that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto\ndeath, shall be healed; he who hath faith to see shall see; he who hath\nfaith to hear shall hear; the lame who hath faith to leap shall leap.\"\nAll these good things come by faith to increase our faith.\n\n[Sidenote: The privilege of the sick.]\n\nSo, in the providence of God, it is given to the authority of the\npriesthood, through faith, to do mighty works--to command forces of\nnature not yet understood by man, and thereby to perform miracles, for\nthe increasing of faith and the perfecting of the saints. Said James\nthe apostle, \"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of\nthe church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the\nname of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the\nLord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be\nforgiven him.\"\n\n{269}\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMark 3:22-26. Matt. 12:38, 39.\n\nDoc. and Cov. 45:8. Doc. and Cov. 42:48-52.\n\nJames 5:14, 15.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What questions are aroused by the reading of the miracles performed\nby Jesus?\n\n2. How did the scribes explain Jesus's miracle-working power?\n\n3. What was the answer of Jesus?\n\n4. How can it be shown that the universe is ruled by law?\n\n5. Explain the miracle of the telephone?\n\n6. What other miraculous achievements have been made by science?\n\n7. How does a miracle differ from one of these achievements of science?\n\n8. Show that it is no more difficult to believe in one of the miracles\nthan in one of the achievements of science.\n\n9. By what power are miracles performed?\n\n10. What is the purpose of miracles?\n\n11. What privilege does everyone of us enjoy when he is sick?\n\n{270} PICTURE: CHRIST BEFORE PILATE, Hofmann\n\n{271}\n\n\n\nXXXV\n\nAN ATONING SACRIFICE\n\n[Sidenote: An incredible thought.]\n\nAs He went about His Father's business teaching the means of eternal\nlife, Jesus presented many principles that it was difficult for His\nfollowers to understand, but you may readily imagine that He presented\nno other thought so hard for them to comprehend as the thought that\nHe must lay down His own life. To His disciples, Jesus was the Mighty\nKing come to establish His reign on earth. They thought that He would\nestablish an earthly kingdom; that He would overthrow the dominion of\nRome in Palestine; that He would restore the independence of the Jewish\nnation. It did not occur to them that His was more largely a spiritual\nkingdom, than a material kingdom. The thought that He should lose His\nlife seemed impossible to them; indeed, it was abhorrent to them. Many\nof them did not learn to understand Jesus's sayings about His death\nuntil after He was actually laid away in the tomb.\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus's foreknowledge of His death.]\n\nBut the knowledge of His approaching and inevitable death, seems\nto have been always present with Jesus Himself. Very early in His\nministry, Jesus foreshadowed the coming end. \"The days will come,\" He\ndeclared to those assembling about Him, \"when the bridegroom shall be\ntaken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.\" Somewhat\nlater. He spoke of His death as a \"baptism,\" and asserted that it\nwould become a kind of test to determine, who was for him and who was\nagainst Him.\" \"I am come to send fire on the earth,\" declared He; \"and\nwhat {272} will I if it be already kindled? But I have a baptism to be\nbaptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose\nye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you Nay; but rather\ndivision; for from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided,\nthree against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided\nagainst the son, and the son against the father; the mother against\nthe daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law\nagainst her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her\nmother-in-law.\" The division in the family would be caused, of course,\nbecause some members would accept Jesus, whereas others would reject\nHim; some would find in His sinless death reason for worship, whereas\nothers would find in His sufferings sufficient reason for rejection.\n\nAfter Peter's confession, \"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living\nGod,\" at Caesarea Phillipi, Jesus began more definitely to proclaim a\nviolent death. Immediately, \"He began to teach them, that the Son of\nman must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the\nchief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise\nagain. And He spake that saying openly,\" we read. \"And Peter took Him\nand began to rebuke Him.\" Or, as Matthew expresses it, Peter rebuked\nHim, saying, \"Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee.\"\nIt is evident then that even though Peter was inspired to know that\nJesus was the Christ, he had not yet received an understanding of\nthe fact that Jesus must suffer death at the hands of His enemies in\norder to fulfill His great mission to the earth. And if Peter did not\nunderstand this truth, you may easily believe, that the thought of it\n{273} was intolerable to the rest of the disciples. They could not\nconceive of their divine leader's failing to establish the kingdom of\nGod as an earthly dominion. Then further to impress upon His disciples\nthe fact that His death was required by the law of sacrifice, He told\nthem that they must themselves not expect to profit in a worldly or\npolitical way through their association with Him; but rather must they\nexpect to suffer persecution and to sacrifice themselves. For sacrifice\nand service are demanded in the kingdom of God. \"Whosoever will come\nafter me,\" said Jesus to the awe-stricken disciples, \"let him deny\nhimself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save\nhis life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake\nand the gospel's, the same shall save it.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The significance of the death of Jesus.]\n\nIt is not necessary here to quote further in detail the sayings of\nJesus which indicate that He foreknew the violent death which He was\ndestined to suffer. He assured James and John, when they sought places\nof honor and power in His Kingdom, that they were not able to drink\nthe cup that He had to drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with\nwhich He was to be baptized. And at the last supper, when He instituted\nthe ordinance we call now the sacrament. He said of the broken bread,\n\"Take, eat; this is my body;\" and of the cup, \"Drink ye all of it; for\nthis is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the\nremission of sins.\" From these statements, it is apparent that certain\nfacts were clearly understood by Jesus, and that He endeavored as\nclearly to teach them to His disciples. These points are four, and you\nshould try to remember them. First, Jesus foreknew and {274} proclaimed\nthat the hatred of His enemies--the scribes and the Pharisees and the\nrulers in general--would finally bring about His death. Then, He knew\nequally well, and asserted with the same assurance, that His death\nwas divinely appointed. Again, He assured His disciples that if they\nwould gain places of honor in His kingdom, they too must be prepared\nto practice self-denial, to humble themselves and render service, and\neven, if necessary, to lay down their own lives for the Gospel's sake.\nFinally, Jesus announced that, through His death, mankind would be\nredeemed from sin, and that His death was therefore not a defeat but a\nglorious victory.\n\n[Sidenote: Worldly views of how Jesus's death can save.]\n\nThese teachings are certainly inspiring and hopeful. The last one is\nparticularly consoling. But, of course, it is only natural to ask,\nFrom what does the death of Christ actually deliver us? How can His\ndeath deliver us from sin? These questions have been asked by men ever\nsince the crucifixion. It is almost amusing what strange notions people\nhave held--and do still hold--in answer to these questions. Thus, some\npeople believe that the death of Jesus represented the price paid to\nSatan to prevail upon him to release man from his power. Others believe\nthat when Jesus gave His life for many, it was to protect them, or\ndeliver them, from the fear of death. Still others hold that through\nHis death Jesus broke the bonds that held His disciples to the belief\nand understanding that God's kingdom, was an earthly and temporal\nkingdom, and that the salvation which Jesus taught was earthly. Of\ncourse, no one of these theories--nor any one of several others not\nhere mentioned--satisfies the conditions of the sacrifice made by\nJesus. It does not really reveal from what {275} His death rescues us,\nnor how it is possible for His death to rescue us at all.\n\n[Sidenote: The real significance of the death of Jesus.]\n\nIt is strange that there should be so much confusion about the nature\nand purpose of Jesus's atoning sacrifice. It is well known that through\nthe sin of Adam, death came into the world. That death was not only\nphysical but spiritual; for man was driven out from the presence of\nGod. Adam broke a divine law. Necessarily, punishment, came to him.\nNow, in accordance with the law of justice, Adam and his children could\nbe redeemed from death, and restored to the presence of God, only by\nsatisfying in some way the broken law. How could that be done? We have\nlearned, you remember, that there was a council in heaven before the\nearth was formed. There the whole plan of salvation was revealed. Jesus\nwas appointed to become the Christ. His mission was to teach men to\nknow God, that they might be prepared to return to Him, and through\nHis own death to satisfy the demands of justice and thus to break the\nbands of physical death. This may, perhaps, be a little difficult to\nunderstand, but it is certainly what Jesus taught; for the learned Paul\nwrote, \"If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all\nmen most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become\nthe first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by\nman came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die,\neven so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own\norder: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at\nHis coming.\" This, too, is the testimony of John the Baptizer, who\nexclaimed when he saw Jesus approaching from the distance, \"Behold\n{276} the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world;\" and\nalso of John the Beloved, who wrote in his Book of Revelation, \"All\nthat dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names are not\nwritten in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of\nthe world.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The Nephite explanation.]\n\nTo the Nephites, the nature and purpose of the atoning sacrifice was\nmade particularly plain. We read thus: \"Now, behold, if Adam had not\ntransgressed, he would not have fallen; but he would have remained\nin the garden of Eden. And all things which were created, must have\nremained in the same state which they were after they were created; and\nthey must have remained forever and had no end. And they would have\nhad no children; wherefore, they would have remained in a state of\ninnocence; having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for\nthey knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom\nof Him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are\nthat they might have joy.\n\n\"And the Messiah cometh in the fulness of time, that He may redeem the\nchildren of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from\nthe fall, they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act\nfor themselves, and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment\nof the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments\nwhich God hath given.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Why Jesus submitted to His enemies.]\n\nIt was, then, in fulfillment of the divine plan that Jesus allowed\nHimself to be taken prisoner in the garden of Gethsemane; that He\nendured trial before His enemies; and that He suffered untold agony on\nthe cross. With His death, {277} the world itself became canvulsed. The\nheavens became shrouded in darkness; and the earth was torn, and shaken\nand distressed. But at that awful moment, the bands of death were\nbroken; the original sin was expiated; and the way was opened whereby\nman might return to his Maker.\n\n[Sidenote: The new testimony of Jesus.]\n\n\"Behold,\" said Jesus to our own Prophet, \"I, God, have suffered these\nthings for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent,\nbut if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which\nsuffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble\nbecause of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both\nbody and spirit: and would that I might not drink the bitter cup\nand shrink--Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and\nfinished my preparations unto the children of men.\"\n\nTruly, \"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his\nlife for his friends.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMark 2:20. 1 Cor. 15:19-23.\n\nLuke 12:49-53. John 1:29.\n\nMark 8:31-35. Rev. 13:8.\n\nMark 10:38-41. 2 Nephi 2:22-26.\n\nMatt. 16:28. Doc. and Cov. 19:16-19.\n\n{278} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. Why could not the disciples think that Jesus would be killed?\n\n2. Show how Jesus foreknew His death.\n\n3. How was Jesus's death necessary to satisfy the law of sacrifice?\n\n4. What was the real significance of the death of Jesus?\n\n5. From what does the death of Jesus save the world?\n\n6. How does the death of Jesus save?\n\n7. Discuss the explanation given in 2nd Nephi.\n\n8. Explain the attitude of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and after.\n\n9. How did Jesus describe His sufferings to the Prophet Joseph Smith?\n\n10. What do we owe to Jesus?\n\n{279}\n\n{280} PICTURE: TOUCH ME NOT, Plockhorst\n\n{281}\n\n\n\nXXXVI\n\nTHE PLACE CALLED PARADISE\n\n[Sidenote: A well-established fact.]\n\nOf all the many well-attested incidents in the life of Jesus, there\nis none more firmly established than the fact that Jesus rose from\ndeath to a newness of life. His resurrection was an actual uprising\nof the physical body which He had laid down, and a renewal of all the\nlife forces. Jesus had plainly foretold that He would rise from the\ntomb on the third day after His death; but such a performance was so\nforeign to the experience of His disciples, that they failed to grasp\nthe full significance of His sayings. You can appreciate yourselves how\ndifficult it would be for you, even with your present knowledge, to get\nthe full meaning of such a saying as this: \"Destroy this temple, and in\nthree days I will raise it up.\" But it is never safe to question a fact\nmerely because we have not experienced it ourselves. We walk by faith,\nand by faith is accomplished all the world's work. Our faith in the\nresurrection of Jesus is doubly assured by our faith in the testimonies\nof those who knew Him and saw Him.\n\n[Sidenote: The first five appearances of the risen Christ.]\n\nTen separate and distinct appearances of the risen Redeemer are\nrecorded in the New Testament. First, on the morning of the\nresurrection, He appeared to Mary Magdalene, who had come early in the\nmorning with Mary, the mother of Jesus, Salome and Joanna to anoint\nthe body of Jesus with spices. When Mary recognized Him, she said to\nHim in Hebrew, {282} \"Rabboni.\" Jesus answered, \"Touch me not, for I\nam not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto\nthem, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God and your\nGod.\" Soon thereafter, Jesus appeared to the other three women and\ncalled to them, \"All hail. And they came and took hold of His feet,\nand worshipped Him.\" Then, in the afternoon of the resurrection day,\nJesus appeared to Cleopas and another of the disciples as they were\njourneying to Emmaus, and interpreted to them the scriptures concerning\nHimself. The fourth appearance of the risen Christ was to Peter; but\nwhen or where we do not know. At the fifth appearance, Jesus appeared\nsuddenly to ten of His disciples, and said, \"Peace be unto you. But\nthey were terrified and affrighted and supposed that they had seen a\nspirit. And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts\narise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself;\nhandle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see\nme have. And when He had thus spoken. He shewed them His hands and\nHis feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He\nsaid unto them. Have ye here any meat? And they gave Him a piece of a\nbroiled fish, and of a honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before\nthem.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Five more appearances of the Christ and the ascension.]\n\nWhen Jesus appeared thus suddenly and partook of the broiled fish,\nThomas was not present. Eight days later, when the disciples were\nagain behind closed doors, Jesus stood again suddenly amongst them\nand said, \"Peace be unto you.\" This time Thomas was present. Jesus\nsaid to him, \"Reach hither thy finger, and {283} behold my hands;\nand reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not\nfaithless, but believing.\" When next Jesus appeared, there were only\nseven of the apostles present. They were at the sea of Tiberias, and\nhad gone fishing. Jesus appeared before them, and directed them where\nto cast their nets. Then the apostles recognized Him. It was at this\nappearance that Jesus charged Peter as the leader of His apostles to\nfeed His sheep. At the next appearance, Jesus showed Himself to the\neleven apostles and probably more than five hundred brethren, who\nhad assembled on a mount in Galilee appointed by Jesus. Here Jesus\ncommissioned His apostles to preach the Gospel to all the nations,\nbaptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy\nGhost. The ninth appearance was to James, the Lord's brother. Of this\nwe know only the recorded fact. At the last appearance, Jesus came to\nthe eleven apostles somewhere in Jerusalem. After He had instructed\nthem at some length, He led them out of Jerusalem toward Bethany. Then,\n\"He lifted up His hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He\nblessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The value of the testimonies.]\n\nThese testimonies, you see, are of such a nature that they cannot be\ndoubted. Altogether more than five hundred persons saw Jesus after His\nresurrection. And His appearance in many instances was accompanied by\nsuch evidence that there can be no doubt that the resurrected body\nof Jesus was an actual body of flesh and bones, as material and as\ntangible as was the body before death. {284} And with this material\nbody Jesus ascended into heaven before the adoring eyes of His devoted\nfollowers.\n\n[Sidenote: Where had Jesus been?]\n\nBut there remains a statement made by Jesus during the first recorded\nappearance after His resurrection, which needs to be explained. When\nMary Magdalene would have touched Him, you recall, Jesus prevented her,\nsaying, \"Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father.\" Now,\nthe common belief of the world is, that, at death, the spirit of the\nrighteous departed ascends immediately to heaven, into the kingdom of\nGod. Jesus had been nearly three days dead; still, at His resurrection.\nHe had not yet been in the presence of His Father. Where had He been?\nWhat had He been doing? Do the scriptures give us any information in\nanswer to these questions?\n\n[Sidenote: Today in Paradise.]\n\nEvidently, Jesus had been in a place called Paradise. When Jesus was\nput to death, two thieves were crucified with Him. \"And one of the\nmalefactors which were hanged railed on Him, it is recorded, \"saying,\nIf thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering\nrebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the\nsame condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward\nof our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto\nJesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. And Jesus\nsaid unto him, Verily I say unto thee. Today shalt thou be with me in\nparadise.\" Can there be any doubt that Jesus went at His death to the\nplace called Paradise and abode there? But where is Paradise, or what\nkind of place is Paradise?\n\n{285} [Sidenote: The Gospel to the dead.]\n\nWhere Paradise is we may not be able to determine; but what kind of\nplace it is, it should not be difficult to discover. Teaching at\nJerusalem one day, Jesus said, \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The\nhour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the\nSon of God: and they that hear shall live.\" But how could the dead hear\nthe voice of the Son of God, unless He should minister also in the\nplace of the dead? This undoubtedly is what Jesus meant; this, too,\nmust be what He meant when He said to the malefactor, \"Today shalt thou\nbe with me in Paradise.\" And this is what the apostles learned to know\nto be the meaning of these sayings of Jesus. Peter, writing to the\nscattered churches, declared the truth in these words: \"For Christ also\nhath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might\nbring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the\nSpirit: by which also He went and preached to the spirits in prison;\nwhich sometime were disobedient, when once the long suffering of God\nwaited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few,\nthat is, eight souls, were saved by water.\" And again, in the same\nepistle, Peter said, \"For, for this reason was the Gospel preached\nalso to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men\nin the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.\" This makes it\nclear to us, then, that Jesus's promise to the malefactor, meant that\nJesus would meet him that day in the abode of spirits. For thither\ndid Jesus go that the dead also might hear His voice. His mission to\nthe living was accomplished; He had yet to minister to the dead. Only\n{286} when that ministry was finished could He return to His Father and\nreport His labor accomplished. We may not know where Paradise is; but\nwe know that the place called Paradise is the abode of the spirits of\nthose who have lived in the flesh and have not yet been resurrected.\n\n[Sidenote: A plain explanation.]\n\nAs usual, modern revelation makes plain to us things that are somewhat\nobscure in the Jewish Scriptures. The great Nephite prophet and\nphilosopher, Alma, writing under the direction of an angel and the\ninspiration of Jesus Christ, explains very clearly the state of the\nspirit during the time between death and the resurrection. Says he,\n\"Now there must needs be a space betwixt the time of death, and the\ntime of the resurrection. And now I would inquire what becometh of the\nsouls of men from this time of death, to the time appointed for the\nresurrection? Now concerning the state of the soul between death and\nthe resurrection. Behold, it has been made known unto me, by an angel,\nthat the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this\nmortal body; yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil,\nare taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come\nto pass that the spirits of those who are righteous, are received into\na state of happiness, which is called 'Paradise'; a state of rest; a\nstate of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from\nall care, and sorrow, etc. And then shall it come to pass, that the\nspirits of the wicked, yea, who are evil; for behold, they have no part\nnor portion of the Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil\nworks rather than good; therefore the spirit of the devil did {287}\nenter into them, and take possession of their house; and these shall be\ncast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and\ngnashing of teeth; and this because of their own iniquity; being led\ncaptive by the will of the devil. Now this is the state of the souls of\nthe wicked; yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful, looking\nfor the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they\nremain in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the\ntime of their resurrection.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Every knee and every tongue.]\n\nNot only in His life, but in the spirit ministry and in His\nresurrection, Jesus taught truths of vital importance to man in his\nsearch after God and eternal life. Resurrection is an actual uprising\nof a tangible physical body. In the resurrection we shall be as Jesus\nwas. And the privileges of the divine plan of salvation are extended to\nthe dead as well as to the living. That is why we perform the saving\nordinances for the dead in the House of the Lord. \"At the name of Jesus\nevery knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and\nthings under earth; and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ\nis Lord, to the glory of God the Father.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 28:1-20. 1 Cor. 15:5-7.\n\nMark 16:1-20. John 5:25.\n\nLuke 23:56-24:53. 1 Peter 3:18-20.\n\nJohn 20:1-21:25. 1 Peter 4:6.\n\nPhilip 2:9-11. Alma 40:6-14.\n\n{288} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What was the nature of Christ's resurrection?\n\n2. What evidence can you adduce to prove that Jesus was actually\nresurrected?\n\n3. How can you prove that the resurrected body of Jesus was a tangible\nbody of flesh and bones?\n\n4. Where was the Spirit of Jesus while His body lay in the tomb?\n\n5. What kind of place is paradise?\n\n6. What Gospel privileges are extended to the dead?\n\n7. What does the resurrection of Jesus mean to us?\n\n{289}\n\n{290} PICTURE: THE GOOD SHEPHERD, Plockhorst\n\n{291}\n\n\n\nXXXVII\n\nOTHER SHEEP\n\n[Sidenote: The first commission to the twelve.]\n\nWhen Jesus called the twelve apostles and sent them out to preach\nHis word, He gave them these instructions, \"Go not in the way of the\nGentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go\nrather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go preach,\nsaying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.\" Evidently, then, the\napostles were not to trouble to deliver the glad message of the Gospel\nto any who were not purely of the house of Israel. They were to \"heal\nthe sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils;\" but\nnone of these good works were they to do amongst the Gentiles, nor in\nthe land of the Samaritans. It seemed almost that Jesus did not want\nthose not of Israel to enjoy the privileges and blessings of His great\nredemption.\n\n[Sidenote: The leaven of the Gospel.]\n\nBut such an intention was only apparent; it was not real. All men, of\nwhatever race or color, are the children of God; and the great atoning\nsacrifice was made for the Gentiles as well as for the Jews. Said Jesus\nonce in a parable, \"The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which\na woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was\nleavened.\" The whole world is to be leavened with the Gospel of Jesus\nChrist; indeed, the Savior's last charge to His apostles was that they\nshould go into all the world, and preach the word of God. Only when the\nGospel has been heard by every nation, tongue, and people, will the end\ncome.\n\n{292} [Sidenote: The kingdom to the Gentiles.]\n\nThe apostles were slow, however, to understand this truth, though\nJesus taught it to them plainly. It was right, of course, that they\nshould minister first to the children of Israel. Israel constituted\nthe chosen people. From them, and through them, had come to the world\nthe knowledge of the one great God--the God of Abraham, of Isaac,\nand of Jacob. From them, too, had come now the Messiah, by whom was\nto be wrought the salvation of the world. What the apostles did not\nappreciate, however, was that the Jews would prove themselves unworthy\nof their Savior. Yet, Jesus taught this, too; and in teaching this\ntruth, He declared further that the Gospel would be given to others.\nTo the woman of Samaria, Jesus declared, \"Woman, believe me, the hour\ncometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem,\nworship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we\nworship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now\nis, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and\nin truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.\" No longer,\nafter the ministry of Jesus, should Jerusalem be the center of divine\nworship. The world over, men should learn to worship God in spirit and\nin truth. Not only so; but Jesus asserted also that because of the\nunbelief of the Jews, the privileges of His Church should be taken away\nfrom them and given to others. \"Did ye never read in the scriptures,\"\nJesus asked of the Jews, \"The stone which the builders rejected, the\nsame has become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing,\nand it is marvelous in our eyes? {293} Therefore say I unto you, The\nkingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing\nforth the fruits thereof.\" And, indeed, such a transfer of privilege\nand responsibility was almost necessary to fulfill the ancient\nprophecy, \"Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom\nmy soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon Him, and He shall\nshew judgment to the Gentiles. . . . And in His name shall the Gentiles\ntrust.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The case of Cornelius.]\n\nWhen the apostles were left to themselves, however, they continued\nstill to minister only to the Jews. It required a special revelation\nfrom heaven, to arouse them to the fact that the Gospel was for\nthe Gentiles also. There lived in Caesarea a Roman centurion named\nCornelius. Cornelius was a devout and God-fearing man, though a\nGentile, and prayed much that he might learn what to do to gain eternal\nlife. One day an angel appeared to him, and instructed him to send\nmessengers to Joppa for one Simon, surnamed Peter, who should tell\nCornelius what to do. Cornelius sent two of his men immediately to\nseek out Peter. Meanwhile, Peter, at Joppa, \"went up upon the housetop\nto pray about the sixth hour: and he became very hungry, and would\nhave eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, and saw\nheaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been\na great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:\nwherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild\nbeasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came a\nvoice to him. Rise, Peter, kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord;\nfor I have {294} never eaten anything that is common or unclean. And\nthe voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed,\nthat call not thou common.\" This vision appeared to Peter three times;\nand while he was pondering on the meaning of it the messengers of\nCornelius arrived. Peter hurried to Caesarea to minister to Cornelius;\nand when he saw that God had blessed Cornelius, Peter understood the\nmeaning of the vision. \"Of a truth,\" said he, \"I perceive that God is\nno respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth Him, and\nworketh righteousness, is accepted with Him.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The preaching of Barnabas and Paul.]\n\nThenceforth, the apostles preached to the Gentiles as well as to\nthe Jews. Paul and Barnabas told the truth fearlessly to the Jews\nthemselves. \"It was necessary that the word of God should first have\nbeen spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves\nunworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. For so hath\nthe Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the\nGentiles, that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the\nearth. And when the Gentiles heard this they were glad, and glorified\nthe word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life were\nsaved.\"\n\n[Sidenote: \"Other sheep.\"]\n\nThus was the word of God carried to the Gentiles. But Jesus did not\nHimself minister to them during his earth-life. While yet ministering\nto those who followed Him in the Holy Land, however, Jesus uttered a\nstrange declaration. He said, \"I am the good shepherd, and know my\nsheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth {295} me, even so\nknow I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other\nsheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring,\nand they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one\nshepherd.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A puzzling question.]\n\nFrom the time that Jesus made this statement until the restoration of\nthe Gospel in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, it has never\nbeen fully understood by men. That Jesus is the Good Shepherd is clear\nenough. He has earned the undisputed right to that title by the devoted\nsacrifice He made for His sheep. But what did He mean by \"other sheep\"\nnot of the fold of Palestine, who must also hear His voice, that there\nmight be one fold, as there was one shepherd? Where else did Jesus\npersonally minister besides the Holy Land and Paradise? These questions\nhave puzzled many; and because of failure to find any other adequate\nanswer, the \"other sheep\" have been usually interpreted to mean, the\nGentiles. But how the Gospel came to the Gentiles has been pointed out.\nThey could not have been the \"other sheep,\" who were to hear the voice\nof Jesus. Who, then, were the \"other sheep.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Forty days.]\n\nYou will remember that after His resurrection Jesus appeared at ten\ndifferent times to His disciples in Palestine. It seems, however, that\nbetween the resurrection and the ascension there elapsed a period of\nabout forty days. What did Jesus do during those forty days? Of course,\nwe cannot hope to be able ever to account for all those days, nor\nwould it help us much perhaps to do so. {296} But it was during that\ninteresting but shrouded period of forty days that Jesus visited the\nother sheep.\n\n[Sidenote: In the land of the Nephites.]\n\nFar over the waters, in another and then unknown land, lived the\nNephites. They had been taught to look forward to the coming of the\nLord. When He was born a babe in Bethlehem, the star of promise shone\nbrilliantly in the land of the Nephites. For three days there was\nlight, and no darkness at all. Again, after thirty-three years, the\nland of the Nephites became shrouded in darkness when the Lord was\ncrucified. The earth was shaken and torn asunder. Cities were sunk into\nthe sea, and places that had been sea were made dry land. Mountains\nwere levelled and valleys were upheaved. And countless numbers of the\nwicked were destroyed. When the terrible convulsions and the darkness\nhad passed, there was a multitude of the people of Nephi assembled near\nthe temple in the land Bountiful. Suddenly, a voice spoke to them out\nof heaven. It was the voice of God declaring, \"Behold my beloved Son,\nin whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name: hear ye\nHim.\" The people cast their eyes upward; and lo! they saw a man clothed\nin a white robe descending out of heaven.\n\n[Sidenote: The appearance of Jesus to the Nephites.]\n\nIt was Jesus. He came and stood in the midst of His people, the\nNephites; and He showed them the prints in His hands and in His feet,\nand the wound in His side. Then He proceeded to teach them as He had\ntaught His disciples in Palestine, and to choose twelve apostles, and\nto organize His church, so that the people might enjoy the privileges\nof the priesthood and of a {297} holy worship. Jesus appeared to\nthese people more than once; and on one occasion, He said, \"Ye are my\ndisciples; and ye are a light unto this people, who are a remnant of\nthe house of Joseph. And behold, this is the land of your inheritance;\nand the Father hath given it unto you. And not at any time hath the\nFather given me commandment that I should tell it unto your brethren at\nJerusalem; Neither at any time hath the Father given me commandment,\nthat I should tell unto them concerning the other tribes of the house\nof Israel, whom the Father hath led away out of the land. This much did\nthe Father command me, that I should tell unto them. That other sheep\nI have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they\nshall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. And\nnow because of stiffneckedness and unbelief, they understood not my\nword: therefore I was commanded to say no more of the Father concerning\nthis thing unto them. But, verily, I say unto you, that the Father\nhath commanded me, and I tell it unto you, that ye were separated from\namong them because of their iniquity; therefore it is because of their\niniquity, that they know not of you. And verily, I say unto you again,\nthat the other tribes hath the Father separated from them; and it is\nbecause of their iniquity, that they know not of them. And verily, I\nsay unto you, that ye are they of whom I said, other sheep I have which\nare not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my\nvoice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.\"\n\nIn the unselfish ministry of Jesus Christ there is no one forgotten.\nAll the children of Israel are ministered {298} to; the dead hear the\nvoice of Jesus; and the Gentiles have the Gospel preached to them.\nThe Jewish Scriptures are united with the Nephite Scriptures in the\npersonal ministry of Jesus to His \"other sheep.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A promise to us.]\n\n\"I am in your midst,\" said Jesus to the Prophet Joseph Smith, \"and I am\nthe good Shepherd, and the Stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this\nrock shall never fall, and the day cometh that you shall hear my voice\nand see me, and know that I am, watch, therefore, that ye may be ready.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 10:5-7. Acts 10:1-48.\n\nMatt. 13:23. Acts 13:44-49.\n\nJohn 4:21-23. John 10:14-16.\n\nMatt. 21:41-44. 3 Nephi 15:12-21.\n\nMatt. 12:14-21. Doc. and Cov. 50:44-46.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What was the nature of the first commission to the twelve apostles?\n\n2. What is the meaning of the parable of the leaven?\n\n3. What did Jesus teach concerning the kingdom of God and the Gentiles?\n\n4. What do we learn from the case of Cornelius?\n\n5. What did Jesus say about \"other sheep\"?\n\n6. What did the Nephites know about the coming of Jesus?\n\n8. What promise has Jesus made to us?\n\n7. What did Jesus tell the Nephites?\n\n{299}\n\n{300} PICTURE: COME UNTO ME ALL YE THAT LABOR, Bloch\n\n{301}\n\n\n\nXXXVIII\n\nOUR ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER\n\n[Sidenote: The house-holder and the husbandmen.]\n\nA parable Jesus related to the chief priests and elders of the\nJews while He was yet with them in the flesh: \"There was a certain\nhouseholder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about,\nand digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to\nhusbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit\ndrew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might\nreceive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and\nbeat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other\nservants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But,\nlast of all, he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my\nson. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves,\nThis is the heir: come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his\ninheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and\nslew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he\ndo unto those husbandmen? They say unto him. He will miserably destroy\nthose wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen,\nwhich shall render him the fruits in their seasons.\"\n\n[Sidenote: God the great householder, Jesus the Son.]\n\nJust so is it with the kingdom of God; for just as the wicked\nhusbandmen did with the servants and with the son of householder, so\ndid the stiff-necked children of Israel with the prophets, and with\nthe Son of God. {302} Therefore was the kingdom taken from them, as we\nhave already learned, and given to the Gentiles. And therefore will\nthe Great Householder miserably destroy the wicked who persecute His\nservants, kill His prophets, and reject His Only Begotten Son. But\nthe righteous will He bless, and all those who serve Him; and even\nthough we should fall into error, yet need we not despair. For if we\nrepent, God will forgive our sins, so only we do not as did the wicked\nhusbandmen of the vineyard. \"My little children,\" wrote the Beloved\nJohn in a letter to the saints, \"these things write I unto you, that ye\nsin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus\nChrist the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not\nfor ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The exaltation of Jesus.]\n\nIt is, indeed, a joyful thought that, even though Jesus was slain by\nthe husbandmen. He was not and Mark assures us that when He ascended\ninto heaven, Jesus assumed the place of honor at the right hand of the\nFather. \"So then after the Lord had spoken unto them. He was received\nup into heaven and sat on the right hand of God.\" There Stephen was\nprivileged to see Him in vision some time later. Stephen is described\nas a man full of faith and power, who did great wonders and miracles\namong the people. Stephen preached fearlessly to the Jews the fact\nthat Christ had risen. The Jews became enraged, and stoned him; but\nbefore his death, Stephen, \"being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up\nsteadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, {303} and Jesus\nstanding on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens\nopened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.\" To Jesus\nhad come the deserved glory for which He had wrought. In His exaltation\nwas fulfilled literally the sayings He had taught to His disciples,\n\"Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth\nhimself shall be exalted.\" \"Whosoever would be great among you, let him\nbe your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be\nyour servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto,\nbut to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Our advocate with the Father.]\n\nNow, it is perfectly plain that the great mission of Jesus was not\nentirely finished during His sojourn upon the earth. That for which He\ncame was accomplished, it is true. But just as we needed a Savior--one\nwho would unselfishly lay down His own sinless life for the sins of\nothers--so we need even now, when that sacrifice has been made, a\nmediator, an advocate, to intercede for us with the Father. For we are\nall sinful at the best; weaknesses of various kinds beset us, and if we\nwere to be rewarded strictly according to our merits, many of us would\nget but little in the way of blessing. Jesus continues then to be our\nRedeemer, pleading our cause before the Father. \"Wherefore He is able\nalso to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He\never liveth to make intercession for them.\" So did Paul, the Apostle to\nthe Gentiles, express to the Hebrews his faith in the mediating power\nof Jesus; and to the Romans he wrote, \"Who is He that condemneth? It is\nChrist that died, yea rather, that is {304} risen again, who is even\nat the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.\" Jesus\ncontinues, then, His great redeeming labor, bringing salvation and\nexaltation to those who accept Him and diligently seek Him.\n\n[Sidenote: Many mansions in the Father's house.]\n\nAnd He prepares a place also for His own, that they may be\nappropriately received when they shall go to their eternal reward. One\nday when Jesus was talking to the apostles about His coming sacrifice,\nand the apostles were sorrowful because they thought that He intended\nto go away, He said to them, \"Let not your heart be troubled: ye\nbelieve in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many\nmansions: if it were not so, I would have told you; I go to prepare a\nplace for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come\nagain, and receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be\nalso.\" Even as He promised His disciples that He would prepare a place\nfor them, so is there a place prepared for each one of us. For in many\nrespects the future life will be ordered like the present. In this\nlife we are generally able to achieve such advancement as we work for.\nIf we honestly and conscientiously make the most of the opportunities\nthat lie about us; if we strive to make the most of what we have, never\nhiding the God-given talent in the earth--we are bound to progress and\nto succeed. But there are in the world many degrees of diligence, and\ntherefore many degrees of success. So will it be in the kingdom of God.\nThere, there are many mansions; and such a one will be prepared for us\nas will satisfy fully the degree of diligence with {305} which we have\nserved. The risen Christ is not only our advocate with the Father, but\nalso our judge.\n\n[Sidenote: Lord of lords and Kings of kings.]\n\nTo this judge all power is given. So declared Jesus Himself when He\nappeared after His resurrection to the apostles and the five hundred\nbrethren who had assembled on a mountain in Galilee. \"Jesus came and\nspake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and\nin earth.\" Moreover, Jesus, to whom all power is given, is the sole\nmediator between man and God. Said Paul to Timothy, his own son in\nfaith, \"There is one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man\nJesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all.\" And in this exalted position\nas Lord of lords, and King of kings, Jesus shall reign forever. \"The\nkingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His\nChrist; and He shall reign forever and ever.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus to come again.]\n\nYou see, then, what a wonderful hope is prepared for those who serve\nJesus. This earth is to come to an end. It is to be purified and\nsanctified; then there will appear a new earth as an abode for the\nblessed. But before that time shall come Jesus, Himself, is to come\nagain to minister to His people upon the earth. When the apostles stood\ngazing up into heaven, whither Jesus had ascended, there appeared\nbefore them suddenly two men in white apparel. These men said, \"Ye men\nof Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which\nis taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye\nhave seen Him go into heaven.\" This truth Jesus Himself declared in\n{306} the trial before the high priest. When the perjured witnesses\ntestified against Him, Jesus made no reply. Then, \"the high priest\nasked Him, and said unto Him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the\nBlessed? And Jesus said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting\non the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.\" When\nthis wonderful occurrence shall take place, no one knows; it has never\nbeen revealed, but is known to the Father alone. But it appears that it\nis to take place at a time when the earth is troubled, and the end is\nnot far off. \"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the\nsun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars\nshall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:\nand then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then\nshall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of\nman coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.\" If we\nare to be worthy of the ministry of Jesus when He shall come again, we\nmust learn to know Him, and to live according to His teachings; for He\nhas declared that He will be ashamed at His coming of those who are\nashamed of Him. \"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my\nwords in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the\nSon of man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with\nthe holy angels.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The nearness of Jesus.]\n\nEven in His coming He will be our advocate and our judge. How close\nthen Jesus stands to us. He came into the world to enlighten the world,\nthat they might learn to know God and Jesus Christ {307} whom God sent;\nHe laid down His life as a voluntary sacrifice to redeem the world from\nthe original sin; now He sits at the right hand of God the Father and\nintercedes for those who believe in Him; and ere long He shall come\nagain in clouds of glory, again to minister to men, that they may have\nthe better chance to gain eternal life. The love and anxious sympathy\nof Jesus know no bounds.\n\n\"Listen to Him who is the advocate with the Father, who is pleading\nyour cause before Him, saying, Father, behold the sufferings and death\nof Him who did no sin, in whom Thou wast well pleased; behold the\nblood of the Son which was shed--the blood of Him whom Thou gavest\nthat Thyself might be glorified; wherefore, Father, spare these my\nbrethren that believe in my name, that they may come unto me and have\neverlasting life.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMatt. 21:33-41. 1 Tim. 2:5, 6.\n\n1 John 2:1.2. Rev. 11:15.\n\nMark 16:19. John 14:1-3.\n\nActs 7:56. Acts 1:11.\n\nHeb. 7:25. Mark 14:62.\n\nRev. 8:34. Matt. 24:29,30.\n\nMark 28:18. Mark 8:38.\n\nDoc. and Cov. 45:3-5.\n\n{308} THE QUESTIONS\n\n1. Interpret the parable of the householder and the wicked husbandmen.\n\n2. What is the position of Jesus in heaven?\n\n3. In what sense is Jesus our advocate with the Father?\n\n4. What did Jesus mean by many mansions in His Father's house?\n\n5. What power is given to Jesus?\n\n6. How do we know that Jesus is to come again?\n\n7. What is to happen when Jesus comes again?\n\n8. In what way may we sense the nearness of Jesus?\n\n{309}\n\n{310} PICTURE: THE ASCENSION, Biermann\n\n{311}\n\n\n\nXXXIX\n\nTHE LIVING CHRIST\n\n[Sidenote: Jesus the living Christ.]\n\nFrom what we have learned in the preceding lesson, it is plain that\nJesus, the son of Mary of Nazareth, is in truth the Living Christ.\nJesus was from before the beginning of this world, and will continue in\npower and glory throughout the endless eternities. In the great council\nin heaven, He volunteered to become the Christ and to save the children\nof God without force. He fulfilled His noble but agony-filled mission\nwithout faltering. He gave up His life with a prayer on His lips for\nthose who brutally persecuted Him and killed Him. He was approved of\nthe Father, and exalted to sit on the right hand of the throne of\npower. He is worshipped by untold millions, to whom He has brought\nconsolation, hope, and love. And it is not only on the so-called common\npeople of the earth that Jesus has made so wonderful an impression that\nHe is worshipped as the very Son of God, but also over the greatest\nintellects in the world has He wielded so powerful an influence\nthat they bow in admiring adoration. Poets, artists, philosophers,\nscientists, and statesmen alike acknowledge Jesus, the Living Christ\nand Advocate with the Father.\n\n[Sidenote: The testimony of Napoleon.]\n\nAs we learned at the beginning of this book, Napoleon avowed his\nadmiration of Jesus, while living an exile on the island of St. Helena.\nNapoleon's further testimony is interesting. \"Superficial minds see a\nresemblance,\" said {312} Napoleon, \"between Christ and the founders\nof empires and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not\nexist. There is between Christianity and other religions the distance\nof infinity. Everything in Christ astonishes me. Here I see nothing\nhuman. The nearer I approach everything is above me. Alexander, Caesar,\nCharlemagne and myself founded empires. But on what did we rest the\ncreations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded His\nempire upon love, and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.\nChrist proved that He was the Son of the Eternal.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The conviction of an English philosopher.]\n\nOther great men, too, have been as profoundly impressed by the divinity\nof Jesus as was Napoleon. The great English philosopher, John Locke,\nexpressed his convictions in these words: \"Before our Savior's time,\nthe doctrine of a future state, though it were not wholly hid, yet it\nwas not clearly known in the world? He brought life and immortality to\nlight. And that not only in the clear revelation of it and in instances\nshown of men raised from the dead; but He has given an unquestionable\nassurance and pledge of it, in His own resurrection and ascension\ninto heaven. How has this one truth changed the nature of things?\nThe philosophers, indeed show the beauty of nature, but leaving her\nunendowed, very few are willing to espouse her. It has another relish\nand efficiency to persuade men that if they live well here, they shall\nbe happy hereafter. Upon this foundation, and upon this only, morality\nstands firm; and this is the gospel Jesus Christ has delivered to us.\"\n\n{313} [Sidenote: Declarations of Emerson and Webster.]\n\nTwo notable Americans may be here cited also to show the influence of\nthe work of Jesus upon men of great intellect. Ralph Waldo Emerson,\nphilosopher and poet, wrote, \"Jesus is the most perfect of all men that\nhave yet appeared. The unique impressions of Jesus upon mankind are not\nso much written as ploughed into the history of this world. He saw with\nopen eye the mystery of the soul. Alone in all history, He estimated\nthe greatness of man.\" And Daniel Webster declared in his argument in\nthe Girard Will Case, \"I believe Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. The\nmiracles which He wrought establish in my mind His personal authority\nand render it proper for me to believe what He asserts.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Additional testimony.]\n\nTestimonies of this kind might be added upon without limit. Of course,\nthere may be found also many men who reject the testimony of Jesus.\nBut the interesting fact about the influence of Jesus is that the\nfarther we become removed from the time of His earth-ministry, the more\nstrongly is His influence felt, and the closer does the world really\ncome to Him. In spite of the war that Satan has waged in the world\nagainst Him, Jesus is dearer to men today than He has ever been before.\nEven the great world war now raging is turning the hearts of men to\nJesus; and many more men of learning and leadership are expressing\ntheir faith in the teachings of Jesus the Christ. It is to be hoped\nthat all men will soon come to the conviction of the great German\nphilosopher, Kant: \"In the life and the divine doctrine of Christ,\nexample and precept conspire to call men to the regular discharge of\nevery moral duty for its own {314} sake. Christ is the founder of\nthe first true Church; that is, that Church which exhibits the moral\nkingdom of God upon earth.\"\n\n[Sidenote: Reasons for strong testimonies in the Church.]\n\nNow, if the men of the world can get such testimonies and can feel so\nstrongly that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, surely the children of\nthe Latter-day Saints ought easily to learn to know this sublime truth.\nJesus came to earth, as He Himself declared, when He was twelve years\nold, to attend to His Father's business. That business, we learned,\nis to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. And we\nhave learned also that it is life eternal to know God and Jesus Christ\nwhom He sent. Jesus devoted His life to expounding the principles\nof eternal life. He showed in His own person what kind of being God\nis. He explained His own relationship to God the Father. He revealed\nthe nature and the office of the Holy Ghost. He taught the essential\nprinciples of the Gospel, which Paul called the power of God unto\nsalvation. He emphasized the necessity of divine authority in order\nto act officially in the things of God. He explained by parable and\nby teaching the duties that man owes to God. He made perfectly clear,\ntoo, the duties that man owes to his fellowmen. He established by His\nwonderful life and work His own divinity as the Son of God. He overcame\ndeath, the barrier between God and man, by laying down His own life.\nHe proved the actuality of the resurrection and the life after death\nby arising Himself from the tomb. He continues as the Living Christ,\ninterceding with the Father for us. All this the children of the\nLatter-day Saints have had taught to them as clearly as it has been\n{315} taught to the children of the world. In addition, the children\nof the Latter-day Saints have membership in the true Church of Jesus\nChrist. The Holy Priesthood is here established. The Gospel in its\nfulness has been restored. The Church believes in continual revelation,\nand is favored with the living word of God. These are the marks of the\nChurch of Christ. The inspiration of the Holy Ghost ought, therefore,\nto cause the testimony of Jesus to burn brightly in the bosom of\nevery Latterday Saint. To us also Jesus has revealed the means of\nsalvation, by His teaching, by His personal example and influence, by\nHis death and resurrection. And to us He has delivered the keys of the\nDispensation of the Fulness of Times.\n\n[Sidenote: Evidences of testimony in the Church.]\n\nThe members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do know\nthat Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. They recognize\nthe fact that the object of Christ's life-work was to reveal God,\nto teach men to know God as their Father, to persuade them to live\nlives of righteousness, and to redeem them from the sin of the garden\nof Eden. And as intellectual, men of the world have avowed their\nconviction that Jesus is the Christ, so also have the leaders of\n\"Mormon\" thought and life. Almost every meeting held in the Church\nis a meeting of declaration of faith in Jesus. The monthly testimony\nmeetings, particularly, are filled with assurances of faith in Him.\nThe Presidency of the Church, the twelve apostles, and all the members\nof the quorums of general authority, devote their lives as special\nwitnesses of Jesus to the testifying to His divine Sonship. And of all\nthe testimonies of Jesus as the true and living Christ, {316} the ever\npresent and ever active advocate with the Father, there is no other\nso strong and effective as that of the Prophet, Joseph Smith, and his\nassociate Sidney Rigdon.\n\n[Sidenote: \"The testimony last of all.\"]\n\n\"We, Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit on the\nsixteenth of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight\nhundred and thirty-two. By the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened\nand our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand\nthe things of God--Even those things which were from the beginning\nbefore the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through His\nOnly Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the\nbeginning, of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear is the\nfullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and\nwith whom we conversed in the heavenly vision.\n\n\"For while we were doing the work of translation, which the Lord had\nappointed unto us, we came to the twenty-ninth verse of the fifth\nchapter of John, which was given unto us as follows. Speaking of the\nresurrection of the dead, concerning those who shall hear the voice\nof the Son of Man, and shall come forth; They who have done good in\nthe resurrection of the just, and they who have done evil in the\nresurrection of the unjust. Now this caused us to marvel, for it was\ngiven unto us of the Spirit; and while we meditated upon these things,\nthe Lord touched the eyes of our understandings and they were opened,\nand the glory of the Lord shone round about; and we beheld the glory\nof the Son, on the right hand of the Father, and received of {317} His\nfullness; and saw the holy angels, and they who are sanctified before\nHis throne, worshipping God, and the Lamb, who worship Him for ever and\never. And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of Him,\nthis is the testimony last of all, which we give of Him, that He lives;\nfor we saw Him, even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice\nbearing record that He is the Only Begotten of the Father--That by Him\nand through Him, and of Him the worlds are and were created, and the\ninhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.\"\n\nTo us, then, removed nearly two thousand years from the time of the\nbirth of Jesus, comes with a new significance the chorus of the angels.\n\"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which\nshall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of\nDavid a Savior, which is Christ the Lord . . . . Glory to God in the\nhighest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.\"\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nDoc. and Cov. 76:11-24. Luke 2:10, 11, 14.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. In what sense is Jesus the Living Christ?\n\n2. To what does Napoleon testify?\n\n3. Upon what is John Locke's conviction based?\n\n4. What did Emerson and Webster say of Jesus?\n\n5. What truth does Kant derive from the life of Jesus?\n\n6. Why should the Latter-day Saints have exceptional testimonies of\nJesus?\n\n7. How can you show that the Latter-day Saints do have exceptionally\nstrong testimonies of Jesus?\n\n8. What is the powerful \"Testimony last of all\"?\n\n9. What do the teachings of Jesus mean to us?\n\n10. Explain what it means to know God and Jesus Christ.\n\n{318} PICTURE: ANGEL MORONI\n\n{319}\n\n\n\nXL\n\nA RELIGION WORTH WHILE\n\n[Sidenote: The feeding of the five thousand.]\n\nIn a desert place in Galilee, Jesus performed one of the most\nimpressive and awe inspiring miracles recorded in His whole career.\nA multitude of the five of approximately five thousand people had\ngathered to hear Him teach. All the day He had instructed them, and\nexplained to them the law of the Gospel of salvation. Then the evening\ndrew near. The people were tired and hungry; but there was no adequate\nsupply of food available. The apostles would have had Jesus send the\nmultitude away. But He asked how much bread was to be found amongst\nthem. The apostles reported five loaves and two fishes. Jesus took the\nfive loaves and the two fishes, \"looked up to heaven, and blessed, and\nbrake the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set before them;\nand the two fishes divided He among them all. And they did eat and\nwere filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments,\nand of the fishes. And they that did eat of the loaves were about five\nthousand men.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The meat that endures unto everlasting life.]\n\nThis wonder-rousing miracle Jesus performed just before He left Galilee\nforever, and while His popularity was at its height. One can easily\nimagine how the people marvelled at what Jesus had done. And yet, a\nmiracle of feeding, more wonderful even than this, has Jesus performed\nin turning the hearts of men toward Him. It is really not so very\nstrange that this Man, who could change water into wine, and open the\neyes of the blind, and cast out devils, and still the {320} tempest,\nand raise the dead to life again, should be able also to multiply\nfive loaves and two fishes so as to feed a multitude of men. He who\nis endowed with infinite power might easily be able thus to collect\nthe elements and to increase the quantity of available food. This was\na miracle of the physical world, calling into action some natural law\nwith which we are not yet acquainted. But in His ministry and death and\nresurrection, Jesus has performed a spiritual miracle more wonderful\neven than this. Jesus Himself considered the spiritual conversion much\nmore significant than the physical achievement. John records the fact\nthat the people sought Jesus again after this great miracle; and when\nthey found Him, He said to them, \"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye\nseek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the\nloaves, and were filled. Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but\nfor that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of\nMan shall give unto you: for Him hath God the Father sealed. . . . I am\nthe bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that\nbelieveth on me shall never thirst.\" It may be said now that the whole\nworld has heard of Jesus, and that most of it has learned to look to\nHim as its Savior. New life and spiritual light has Jesus given to the\nworld. But while the world has learned to recognize Jesus, the teachers\nof the world have perverted His doctrine so much that the people hardly\nknow which way to turn. They hunger still, and they thirst for the\ntrue teachings of Jesus; they are looking still for the true Church of\nChrist, with a religion worth while.\n\n{321} [Sidenote: What Jesus taught.]\n\nThe history of the growth and spread of Christianity in the world reads\nalmost like fiction. Jesus Himself established His Church upon the\nearth. We have learned that He called and ordained twelve apostles, and\nothers whom He called \"seventy.\" He taught the fundamental principles\nof the Gospel--faith, repentance, baptism, the laying on of hands for\nthe gift of the Holy Ghost, and the many duties that devolve upon\nfaithful Church membership. Jesus revealed in His own person the\npersonality of God the Father, and taught clearly the true relationship\nexisting between the Father and His children. Jesus taught plainly,\ntoo, the duties that men owe both to the heavenly Father and to their\nfellowmen. In short, Jesus revealed and taught to His apostles, and\nto the peoples of the Holy Land, all the principles of the Gospel\nnecessary for a life of righteousness upon the earth. And when He\nascended to heaven, He left with the apostles the authority of the Holy\nPriesthood, an organized church, and the Gospel, the plan of salvation.\nThe Church of the apostles possessed the three essential marks of the\ntrue Church of Christ.\n\n[Sidenote: The acts of the apostles.]\n\nAfter the departure of Jesus, the apostles began strenuous missionary\nlabors. On the day of Pentecost the Holy Ghost came upon them, and\nthrough their testimony of Christ risen, many who heard them believed\nand were baptized. From that day forth, the apostles traveled and\npreached and baptized and confirmed. Many miracles, too, did these\napostles perform, in literal fulfillment of the promise of Jesus\nthat they should be {322} able to do the works that He had done. And\neverywhere in their missionary travels, the apostles organized branches\nof the Church--or Churches as they were called. To carry on the work\nof the churches the apostles ordained high priests, seventies, elders,\nbishops, priests, teachers, deacons,--the regular officers of the\npriesthood--and left these officers in charge of the local ministry\nwhile they themselves continued their larger service. But it must not\nbe imagined that the apostles met with no opposition. On the contrary,\nwherever they went, the apostles found enemies, and were maligned and\npersecuted. Often they were haled before magistrates and governors, and\nnot infrequently they were imprisoned. But they persisted in preaching,\nand in bearing their profound testimonies. Finally most of the apostles\nwere done to death by their enemies. Peter, it is said, was crucified\nat Rome. James was beheaded. John was banished to the isle of Patmos.\nAndrew was bound to a cross and thus slain. Philip was crucified.\nBartholomew was flayed alive. Thomas was pierced by a lance, Matthew\nwas killed with a battleax. James, the Less, was beaten to death.\nThaddeus was shot to death with arrows. Simon was crucified. Mark\nwas dragged to death in the streets of Alexandria. Paul was beheaded\nby order of Nero. Barnabas was stoned to death by the Jews. Thus\nthe apostles and the chief leaders of the apostolic church were all\ntortured to death--save one--and sealed their testimonies with their\nlife's blood. The various churches scattered here and there in the land\nwere left with only their local leaders.\n\n{323} [Sidenote: The great apostasy.]\n\nAfter the passing of the apostles, troubles arose among the local\nchurches, and it was not long before a complete apostasy had taken\nplace. Strangely enough, while the apostles organized all the local\nchurches in full, they did not perpetuate the quorum of apostles.\nDissension therefore arose among the churches themselves as to\nwhich one was the chief and leader of all. Then, after some years\nof unpopularity and persecution, the Christian church was suddenly\nraised to favor by an edict of Constantine the Great. To satisfy now\nthe desires of the heathens, many pagan customs were taken into the\nChristian service. The doctrines of the church were corrupted; the\nordinances and ceremonies were perverted; the church organization was\ndistorted. In a relatively short time, the accepted Christian church\nof the world was no longer like the church that Jesus Himself had\ninstituted. It lacked all three marks of the true church. It denied\ncontinual revelation. It had lost the authority of the priesthood. It\npreached a corrupted Gospel.\n\n[Sidenote: The restoration of the Gospel.]\n\nAfter many years of spiritual darkness and of strife, the Lord again\nrevealed His will to man. A boy was chosen to become an inspired\nprophet, an authorized leader, and a divinely instructed teacher. To\nJoseph Smith appeared the risen Redeemer as He had appeared nearly two\nthousand years before to the apostles at Jerusalem. To Joseph Smith\nwere revealed anew all the sublime teachings that Jesus had presented\nduring His own ministry upon the earth. Upon Joseph Smith was conferred\nthe Holy Priesthood, with all its keys {324} and authorities, and\nthrough him was established anew the Church of Jesus Christ. It is\nfounded upon the doctrine of revelation; it is fortified and directed\nby the complete organization of the priesthood of God; it is guided by\nwhat Jesus Himself taught--by the Gospel in its fulness, omitting not a\nsingle detail that Jesus made a part of the God-shaped plan. To us is\ngiven the religion worth while, the bread of life.\n\n[Sidenote: A religion that satisfies.]\n\nAnd the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ--commonly called Mormonism--is\ndestined to conquer the world, for it meets and satisfies all the\nneeds of human kind. In the first place, Mormonism is the Gospel of\nJesus Christ. It is the perfect presentation of what Jesus taught. We\nhave learned in the preceding lessons many of the truths that He gave\nto His followers. The world has considered these truths, too, but has\nnot comprehended them. This truth, however, nearly the whole world\nhas learned to accept: Jesus is the Christ, the bread of life. His\nteachings are true. Any religion that would aspire to conquer the world\nmust, then, be based at least upon what Jesus taught. But Mormonism is\nthat very truth itself, restored with power and authority, and favored\nwith the living presence of \"the bread of God . . . . which . . . .\ngiveth life unto the world.\"\n\n[Sidenote: A comprehensive religion.]\n\nThen, Mormonism is comprehensive; it accepts and includes all truth,\nno matter whence the knowledge of that truth may come. It renews the\nteachings of Jesus concerning right living and right thinking. It {325}\nemphasizes the necessity of acquiring a full knowledge of truth--the\nnecessity of reading and studying, and of gaining intellectual power.\nIt outlines what Jesus taught of man's duties in life--his duties\ntoward God: his duties toward his fellowmen; his duties to himself. It\nprescribes anew man's obligations and responsibilities in the family,\nin the state, and in the Church. In short, Mormonism meets every need\nin physical life, in mental life, in economic life, in social life, in\nspiritual life. You have heard people speak of a one-day religion--of\na religion remembered on Sunday and forgotten on the other six days\nof the week. Mormonism is not such a religion, for the doctrine of\nJesus is not such a doctrine. Mormonism--or what Jesus taught--is a\npractical religion that enters into the work of every day--into every\ncalling and profession no matter how humble or exalted that calling or\nprofession may be. It teaches that every day should be a Christ-like\nday. It teaches that we should partake freely every day of the bread\nand water of life everlasting, and take less thought of the loaves\nand fishes that fill but satisfy not. Mormonism is both a system of\nreligion and a system of ethics; for so are the teachings of Jesus. The\nwhole man must be saved. Mormonism--or what Jesus taught--holds forth\nsuch ideals and such standards of life--physical and spiritual--that\nthe noble, unselfish aim of Jesus may be accomplished. Only a religion\nthus enwarped and enwoofed in what Jesus Himself has taught, can hope\nto conquer the world.\n\n[Sidenote: A Church of authority.]\n\nIt is the duty of everyone to learn to know God, and His Son, Jesus\nChrist. To teach men to know {326} God was in part the mission of\nJesus to this earth. But such knowledge will not come through the mere\nsatisfying of the bodily appetites. That religion is not worth while\nwhich feeds only loaves and fishes. The hunger which must be satisfied\nis the hunger of the spirit. That religion only is worth while which\nguides and directs in temporal life, and affords complete satisfaction\nand contentment in the intellectual and spiritual life. Mormonism does\nthis; for it is what Jesus taught. In no other church than the Church\nof Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may one find today the uncorrupted\nteachings of Jesus and the authority of His priesthood. Mormonism is\ndistinctly, then, the religion worth while.\n\n[Sidenote: The bread of life.]\n\nThe stone which the builders rejected has become the Christ, the Savior\nof the world. He is the Keystone, of our salvation. He is our Master,\nour Teacher, our Friend. He has restored His Gospel to us with all its\nblessings and privileges. Him will we follow, and His commandments will\nwe keep; for it was He Himself who said, \"I am the bread of life: he\nthat cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall\nnever thirst.\"\n\n{327}\n\nTHE REFERENCES\n\nMark 6:30-44. John 6:22-35.\n\nTHE QUESTIONS\n\n1. What is the bread that endures unto everlasting life?\n\n2. What did Jesus leave with the apostles?\n\n3. How did the apostles carry on the work of Jesus?\n\n4. What happened to the Church after the apostles had passed away?\n\n5. How was the Gospel of Jesus Christ restored to the earth?\n\n6. Why will Mormonism ultimately conquer the world?\n\n7. In what sense is Mormonism a comprehensive religion?\n\n8. Show that Mormonism is what Jesus taught.\n\n{328} Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and\nkeep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.--Eccl. 12:13.\n\n{329}\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\nA\n\nAbel, occupation, 197; offering accepted, 198; slain by Cain, 199.\n\nAbou Ben Adhem, 221.\n\nAbram, Abraham, 21; strove to find God, 21; seized by idolatrous\npriests, 21; God delivered and spoke to him, 21; learns to know God;\nfather of Isaac and grandfather of Jacob who served God; from them\nsprang the Children of Israel, 22; wavered not, 101.\n\nAdam was like us, 23; taught by an angel, 24.\n\nAesop, fable of, 227.\n\nAlms should be given in secret, 85.\n\nAnger, fruits of, 199-200.\n\nApostasy, 323.\n\nApostles sent to preach, 291; slow to understand that the Gospel was\nfor all mankind, 292; their acts, 321; their deaths, 322;\n\nArchitect, figure of, illustrating Church of Christ, 153-4; 161; plans\nand specifications of, 161; necessary, 162.\n\nArticles of Faith, 129.\n\nAscension, 283.\n\nAtonement of Jesus not understood by His disciples, 271; necessary,\n272; theories regarding, 274; true theory, 275; Nephite explanation of,\n276.\n\nAuthority, divine, test of true Church, 153; Jesus bowed to His\nFather's; must be conferred, cannot be assumed, 155.\n\nB\n\nBaldwin, Matthias, an illustration of faith, 113-5; a liberal man, 175.\n\nBaptism of Jesus, 41; essential; taught by Jesus to Nicodemus; a\nrebirth, 130; necessity for it; case of Naaman; proof of obedience and\nhumility, 131-2; illustrated by chemical experiment, 132; Jesus taught\nbaptism and its proper mode; immersion, 133; purpose of; should follow\nrepentance; baptism of infants wrong, 134; summary of Jesus's teachings\nregarding, 135; baptism of the Spirit, 137.\n\nBeatitudes; high ideal of life, 192; great beatitude, 193. {318}\nBeelzebub, Jesus's miracles attributed to, 263.\n\nBook of heaven, 163.\n\nBread of Life, 326.\n\nBrother of Jared cut sixteen small stones; asked God to touch them and\nmake them shine; saw the finger of the Lord; struck with fear, 45; the\nLord commends him for his faith; sees the Lord who was in the form of a\nman; saw the body of God's spirit, 48.\n\nC\n\nCain, story of, 197; offering not accepted; angry, 198; controlled by\nSatan, slew Abel, 199.\n\nCenturion's servant healed, 256-7.\n\nChurch organization necessary, 145-6; shown by parable of wheat and\ntares, 146-7; meaning of the parable, 147; Church and Kingdom of God,\n148; Church to be built on rock of revelation, 148-9; Church officers,\n149; Jesus architect of His Church, 154; one test of true Church is\nprinciple of revelation, 154; another is divine authority, 156; two\npriesthoods, 156; architect's plans and specifications, 161; a third\ntest is presence and practice of the Gospel, 161; the three marks,\n163; membership in the Church a supreme privilege, 167; conditions of\nmembership, 168; what it teaches, 233; established anew through the\nProphet Joseph Smith, 323-4; Church of authority, 326.\n\nComforter promised, 39; is the Spirit of truth, 39, 42; is the Holy\nGhost, a member of the Godhead, 42; came to disciples on day of\nPentecost, 43.\n\nCommandment, great, 191.\n\nCommunities must exist, 228; must be organized, 228-9.\n\nCornelius, case of, 293.\n\nD\n\nDarkness covers the earth, 160.\n\nDead, gospel preached to, 285.\n\nDefile, things that, 194.\n\nDevil, power of evil; who is he? Lucifer the Lightbringer; volunteered\nto be a Savior, 57; his plan rejected; he rebelled and became Satan,\nthe father of lies; a murderer from the beginning, 58; tempts Jesus,\n61-2; entered into Judas Iscariot, 63; necessary that the devil should\ntempt men, 65.\n\n{329} Dickens, comment on parable of the prodigal son, 78.\n\nDisciples learned about God, 31; overwhelmed when Jesus was crucified,\n38; received Holy Ghost on day of Pentecost, 43; knew they were sons of\nGod, 72; why they could not cast out a devil, 108; regarded Jesus as\nearthly King; could not understand atonement, 271; told by Him of his\ncoming death, 271-2.\n\nDivorce, Jesus's teachings on, 230.\n\nDuty to the state, 231; the Church, 232.\n\nE\n\nEmerson on Christ, 313.\n\nEnemies, right attitude toward, 216.\n\nEternal life, greatest gift, 17; what is eternal life, 17; defined\nagain, 23; again, 24; conditions of, 25.\n\nEternal loss is to fail to find God, 84.\n\nEvil always present, 56; how evil came into the world, 56; 58; devil is\npower of evil, 57; why evil is in the world, 63-5.\n\nF\n\nFaith, power of; fig tree withered by faith; mountains may be removed\nby faith, 105-6; interpretation of this saying; victory comes by faith,\n107; Jesus walking on the water, 107-8; Peter failed for lack of faith,\n108; impossible to please God without faith, 109; Matthias Baldwin, an\nillustration, 113-5.\n\nFall of Adam made savior necessary, 24.\n\nFamily basis of society. 227-8; sacred, 229.\n\nFast, how to, 86.\n\nFaults in others, 208-9.\n\nFault-finding wrong, 209-10.\n\nFeast, call the poor to, 240.\n\nFinding and losing one's life, Jesus's strange saying, 83.\n\nForgiveness should accompany prayer; unless we forgive God will not\nforgive us, 106; law of, 214-15; must forgive to be forgiven, 216-17.\n\nFree agency of man, 65.\n\nFundamental principles, 321.\n\nG\n\nGirls, two, story of, 205-7. God, work and glory of, \"to bring to pass\nthe immortality and eternal life of man,\" 16; what it means to know Him\nand Jesus Christ, 21; God speaks to {330} Abraham, 21; worshiped by\nChildren of Israel, 22; first commandment forbids idolatry, 22; false\nconceptions of God, 22; what it means to know God, 23; what kind of a\nbeing is God? 29; Jesus's explanation, \"he that hath seen me hath seen\nthe Father,\" 30; God is a person, 31; called \"Father\" by Jesus, 31;\nmankind are His children and He loves them, 32; to know God gives joy\nand comfort, 32; what Saints know of God, 33; God is a spirit, 36; His\nlove for the world, 69; notes the sparrow, 70; no respecter of persons,\n71; an exalted man, 71; reason for His love for man, 73; willing to\nforgive, 80.\n\nGospel, possession of, test of true Church, 161; through it we learn of\nGod, and our duty, 162; fundamental principles of it, 162-3; men judged\nby it, 163; was for the Gentiles, 292.\n\nH\n\nHail used as illustration, 29.\n\nHarmony with our environment, 84.\n\nHoly Ghost, member of the Godhead, the Comforter and a special witness,\n42; duties are many, 43; rested on the twelve in America, 43; conferred\nby laying on of hands, 129-138-40; baptism of necessary, 137-9; what is\nthe gift of the Holy Ghost? 141-2; conditions on which it is obtained,\n142-3.\n\nHouse divided, cannot stand, 263.\n\nHumility taught by Jesus, 168; necessary, 239-40.\n\nI\n\nIndian's speech, 159.\n\nImpurity, causes of, 194.\n\nJ\n\nJerusalem, place to worship, 36.\n\nJesus, almost universally acknowledged, 13; no other man has exerted so\nprofound an influence, 13; twelve years old, 14-5; a normal boy, 14;\nattended school, 14; was serious, 14; duties, 15; goes with parents\nto Jerusalem, 15; route, 15; missed by parents, 15; found in temple\nwith doctors, 15; zeal for knowledge, 15; astonishes His hearers, 16;\nreproved by His mother He says, \"I must be about my Father's business\",\n16; strange {331} saying not understood, 16; came to do His Father's\nwill, not His own, 16; His \"Father's business\" explained, 17; defines\neternal life, 17; nature of His mission, 17; a preacher's view of Him,\n23; had not learned to know Him, 23; our Elder Brother, 24; chosen to\nbe the Savior, 24; assumed the sins of mankind, 24; gave His life to\nredeem them, 24; was more than a great leader, teacher and philosopher,\n24; was the Only Begotten of the Father, 24; to know Him, is to accept\nHis mission, 24; like the Father, 30; called \"The Word\", 31; like\nordinary men, 31; people astonished who knew His family, 31; image\nof His Father's person, 31; called God \"Father\", 32; goes to Sychar\nin Samaria, 35; talks with Samaritan woman, 35; able to give living\nwater, 35; declares Himself the Christ 36-7; answers messengers of John\nthe Baptist, 37; tells the high priest He is the Christ, 38; tells\nPilate He is King of the Jews, 38; after being crucified He appears\nto disciples on the way to Emmaus, 38; will send the Comforter, 39;\nsubject to His parents, 41; increased in wisdom and stature, 41;\nbaptized by John the Baptizer, \"to fulfill all righteousness\", 41;\nfull of the Holy Ghost, 43; showed the body of His spirit to brother\nof Jared, 48; His pre-existence, 49-50; chosen to be the Savior, 58;\nfasted 40 days, 61; tempted by the devil, and resists, 61-2; triumphed\nby overcoming evil, 65; commands us to love one another, 69; combatted\nsin, 79; pictured God as a forgiving Father, 79; derided by scribes and\nPharisees; rebuked them, 80; strange saying about finding and losing\none's life, 83; tells how to give alms, pray and fast, 85-6; gives the\nLord's prayer, 91; analyzed 91-4; door to the sheep fold, 135; taught\nbaptism and its proper mode, 133; taught persistency in prayer, 99;\nand to pray for the things of the Kingdom, 99-100; and resignation,\n102; cursed the fig tree; taught that faith would remove mountains,\n105; His meaning, 106-17; we should pray believing; walked on water;\nsaved Peter from sinking; {332} cast out a devil; why the disciples\ncould not cast it out, 108; wrought miracles, 115; promised same power\non condition, 116; comments on those killed when tower fell, and those\nkilled in temple by Pilate, 121; taught repentance, 121-4; bowed to\nHis Father's authority, 154-5; called little children to Him, 168;\nteachings about riches, 175-8; all should improve their talents, 185;\nwhat defiles, 194; forbade anger, 201; judge not, 209; with the lawyer,\n222; marriage, 229-30; new law, 237; a perfect man in every way, 253-4;\ndivine power and marvelous works; unnumbered miracles, 254-5; environed\nby wickedness and poverty, 255; His a mission of love; three miracles,\n256-8; not honored in Nazereth; His own home, 259; scribes attribute\nHis miracles to Beelzebub; He refutes them, 263; foretold His own\ndeath, 271-3; came to cause division in families, 272; significance of\nHis death, 273-5; institutes sacrament, 273; why He submitted to His\nenemies, 276; new testimony concerning Him, 277; His resurrection and\nmany appearances after it, 281-3; evidence, 283; had been in Paradise,\n284; preaching to the spirits in prison, 285; sends apostles to preach,\n291; visited Nephites, 296-7; exalted, seen by Stephen on right hand of\nGod, 302-3; mission not finished on earth, 303; our advocate in heaven\nwith the Father, 303; is King of Kings and Lord of Lords; will come\nagain, 305; is the Living Christ; worshiped by untold millions, 311;\ninfluence grows stronger with lapse of time, 313; what He has done, 314.\n\nJohn the Baptist sends messengers to Jesus, 37; baptizes Jesus, 41; saw\nSpirit of God like a dove rest on Jesus 41-2; bore his testimony, 42.\n\nJones, Mary, story of victim of slander, 206-7.\n\nJoseph goes with Mary and Jesus to Jerusalem, 15; route 15; Joseph\nand Mary start to return, 15; miss Jesus, 15; find Him in temple with\ndoctors, 15; Mary reproves Him, 16; His reply, \"I must be about my\nFather's business\", 16; parents did not understand Him, 16.\n\n{333} Judas Iscariot, Satan entered into him, 63.\n\nJudge not, 209-213.\n\nK\n\nKnowledge of Christ, how gained, 39.\n\nKnowing God and Jesus Christ, 17, 22, 24, 25; how to know God, 25;\nshould be aim of all education, 25.\n\nL\n\nLatter-day Saints have strong testimonies, 314-5; they have the Holy\nPriesthood and fulness of the Gospel; they know that Jesus is the\nChrist and the object of His life-work, 315.\n\nLaw and Gospel compared, 237.\n\nLawyer and Jesus, 222.\n\nLazarus raised, 257.\n\nLilies of the field, 99-100.\n\nLiving alone impracticable, 227.\n\nLiving water given by Jesus, 35.\n\nLocke, John, on the Savior, 312.\n\nLord's prayer, 91.\n\nLove, law of, 221-2-5.\n\nLoyalty taught by Jesus, 168-9; 171; four reasons why men should be\nloyal to Him. 171-2.\n\nM\n\nMan, what is he? 69; God values man, 70; divine possibilities of;\noffspring of God, 71; may become a god; owes duties to God and himself,\n72; must make sacrifices; man the crown of creation; should reverence\nGod; is the temple of God, 73.\n\nMammon, cannot serve God and, 169; what is serving Mammon, 170.\n\nMarconigraph, 266.\n\nMarriage a sacrament, 229; should be solemnized in a temple, 230.\n\nMansions, many, or degrees of glory in heaven, 304-5.\n\nMiracles, many, performed by Jesus, 254-5; attributed to Beelzebub\nby scribes, 263; what a miracle is, 264; telephone, 265; miracles of\nscience, 266; power of the priesthood; purpose of miracles, 267; they\ncome by faith; privilege of sick to be healed, 268; feeding of 5000\npeople; spiritual food more wonderful, 319-20.\n\nMoses, revelation to, 16.\n\nN\n\nNaaman healed of leprosy, 131.\n\n{334} Napoleon's Testimony of Christ, 13; revered Him, 18; further\ntestimony, 311.\n\nNeighbor, who is my? 223.\n\nNicodemus comes to Jesus, what Jesus told him, 43; taught baptism by\nJesus, 130.\n\nO\n\nOpinions of great men on Christ, 312-3.\n\nOpportunity should be improved, 183-5-6.\n\nP\n\nPalestine, condition of, in Jesus's time, 255-6.\n\nParable of the sower, 56; the lost sheep, 70; the prodigal son or the\nforgiving father, 77-8; the Pharisee and the publican, 80; borrowing\nthree loaves; the judge and the widow, 98; the house built on a\nrock, 115; barren fig tree, 121; wheat and tares, 146-7; treasure\nhid in a field; pearl of great price, 167; earthly treasures, 170;\nlight of the body, 171; unjust steward, 178-9; rich man and Lazarus,\n183; the talents, 183-4; unforgiving servant, 215; good Samaritan,\n222; humility, 239-40; laborers in the vineyard, 245-6; leaven, 291;\nhouseholder and husbandmen, 300.\n\nParadise, Jesus in, 284; what it is, 286-7; Paul says Jesus was image\nof His Father, 31.\n\nPaul and Barnabas traveled and preached to the Gentiles, 294.\n\nPeter's vision, 293; taught him Gospel, was for Gentiles, 294.\n\nPilate constructs conduit; tower falls killing 18 men; seizes temple\ntreasures; attacked by mob, 119; killed many in the temple; excitement,\n120.\n\nPolitical duty, 231.\n\nPraise, love of, 85.\n\nPray, how to, 86; 94.\n\nPrayer, should be persistent; hymns quoted, 97-8; urgent desire and\nimplicit trust necessary in, 99; things of God's Kingdom should be\nprayed for, 99-100; God's will be done, 101-2; implicit reliance in God\nand spirit of forgiveness essential in prayer, 105-6; prayer of faith\nefficacious, 107; wisdom obtained by prayer, 109.\n\nPre-existent state; pre-existence of Jesus and mankind, 49-50; proved\nin man blind from birth, 50-1; gospel taught there; council of the\nspirits; Savior called for; {335} Jesus and Lucifer volunteer, 57;\nLucifer's plan rejected; he rebelled and became Satan, the father of\nlies, 58.\n\nPsalm, 1, quoted, 129.\n\nPure in heart, to see and associate with God, 193.\n\nR\n\nRabbis did not teach forgiveness of sin, 79.\n\nReconciliation, law of, 213.\n\nReligion that satisfies, 324; comprehensive, 325.\n\nRepentance taught by Jesus, 121-2; He upbraided certain cities for not\nrepenting; universal principle, 123; things to be repented of, 124-5.\n\nRewards, Jesus's doctrine of, 239-41; promised, 241; spiritual, 241-2.\n\nRich man, entering Kingdom of Heaven, easier to pass through eye of\nneedle, 175-7; and Lazarus, 183.\n\nRiches, Jesus's teaching about, 175-8; should be righteously acquired,\n178; how used; not riches but love of them is evil, 180.\n\nRich young ruler and Jesus; unwilling to give up riches, 176-7.\n\nRestoration of the Gospel and Priesthood to the Prophet Joseph Smith,\n323.\n\nS\n\nSabbath should be kept, 170.\n\nSacrament instituted, 273.\n\nSacrifice required, 176.\n\nSamaritan, good, 222-4; lesson of, 224-5.\n\nSecond coming of Christ foretold, 305.\n\nSelf control shown by Jesus, 201; strength of, 202.\n\nService, what it means. 187; service pleasing to god, 245; compensation\nfor, 246; value of in the Church. 247; rewarded justly, 247-8; always\nsecular duties to perform, 248; some in the Church; formal performance\nwrong; extra service a privilege, 249; quality and kind of service\ndetermines reward, 259.\n\nSheep, other, meaning Nephites, 294-5; Jesus visited them, 296-7.\n\nSheepfold, Jesus is door to, 135.\n\nSlander, sin of, 205-7.\n\nSmith, Prophet Joseph, prepared Articles of Faith, 129; Gospel and\nPriesthood restored to, 323.\n\nSparrow, God notes it, 70.\n\nSpirit of Truth the Comforter, 39; like a dove rested on Jesus, 42.\n\nSpirits in prison, Gospel preached to, 285.\n\n{336} Stolen money, story of, 205-7. Suspicion caused by slander, 206.\n\nSwearing forbidden, 72.\n\nSychar, Jesus goes to, 35; people of believe, 36.\n\nT\n\nTalents should be improved, 184-5-6-8.\n\nTelephone used as illustration, 24-5; miracle of, 265.\n\nTempest stilled, 257.\n\nTestimony of Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, 316-17.\n\nTheft, story of, 205-7.\n\nTheories of salvation through Jesus's death, 274; true theory, 275.\n\nTithes and offerings should be paid, 249.\n\nTobacco, why a boy uses it, 238.\n\nTreasures in heaven, not on earth, 169.\n\nTree known by its fruit, 195.\n\nTrespasses, how dealt with, 213-4.\n\nV\n\nVulgarity condemned, 195.\n\nW\n\nWater carrier, 185-6.\n\nWebster on Christ, 313.\n\nWord, Jesus called the, 31: made flesh, 31.\n\nWorry almost a sin; no cure for it, found by men, 100; Jesus's cure,\n101.\n\nWorship, right attitude in; how to worship; what and why we worship, 87.\n\nX\n\nX-ray, 266.","title":"What Jesus Taught","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":72205}