{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_60491/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_60491","id":"gutenberg_60491","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60491","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines","Latter Day Saints"],"text":"The Seventy's Course in Theology\n\nFourth Year\n\nThe Atonement\n\nBY B. H. ROBERTS\n\nOf the First Council of the Seventy\n\n\"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the\nSon of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not\nperish, but have eternal life.\"--Jesus.\n\nSalt Lake City\n\n1911\n\n\n\nIntroduction\n\nPOINTS OF DIFFERENCE.\n\nThe Seventy's Year Book No. IV, differs from the other numbers in two\nparticulars:\n\nFirst, in that there are no special lessons suggested as in the three\nprevious numbers; nor are there any suggestions as to the manner of\ntreating a subject. In the three preceding numbers of the Year Book\nsuggestions on \"discourse building\" were made; for gathering the\nmaterials, arranging a plan, beginning the discourse, conducting it,\nand completing it, (see Year Book No. III Lesson XXXI), together with\nsuch side suggestions on \"clearness\" and \"strength\"--the two great\nessentials in the expression of thought--as were considered necessary.\nIt is now concluded that the manner of thought expression, so far as\nour Year Books for the present are concerned, might be allowed to rest\nthere; leaving it to the student to refer to those suggestions--to\nwhich the class teachers at need should direct his attention--and to\nthe consultation of such special works as treat exclusively upon the\nmanner of expression to be found in the current _text books_ on\ncomposition and rhetoric, used in our high schools, and academies. I\nwould also suggest in this line Pittenger's little work on \"Extempore\nSpeech, How to acquire and practice it;\" and also the admirable work of\nProfessor Nelson of the Brigham Young University, Provo, on \"Preaching\nand Public Speaking,\" a new and revised edition of which has been\nrecently issued by the Deseret News Publishing Company.\n\nSecond. Instead of giving an Analysis of each lesson followed by\nunconnected _Notes_ bearing upon the subjects compiled from a wide\nrange of authorities--a method largely followed in the Year Book No.\nIII--the author has written a connected treatise upon the Atonement,\nand for that reason has substituted the word _\"Discussion\"_ for\nthe word _\"Notes\"_ as being more appropriate to the method of\ntreatment. Other than this the general plan of the work is the same as\nthat followed in the previous Year Books.\n\nA PRELIMINARY READING SUGGESTED.\n\nIt is suggested to all the classes that the first step in dealing\nwith the present Year Book, should be to require every member to read\nthe entire treatise through. This should be done rapidly, not with\nthe thought that such reading will yield a complete and thorough\nunderstanding of, or mastery of the subject, but just to get acquainted\nsomewhat with the spirit of the treatise, the scope of the inquiry, the\nlargeness of it, the majesty and glory of the subject. All which will\nenable the student to be somewhat conscious, as he seeks to master the\nseparate lessons, of the conclusions to which he is being led. Without\nsuch preliminary reading, except where students already have clear\nviews of the Atonement, each lesson will be something of a groping\nforward without always appreciating to what culmination the movement of\nthe respective lessons is tending.\n\nThe preliminary reading need not occupy more than one week. No more\ntime than that should be allowed for it. It is supposed that this Year\nBook will be completed by the first of January, 1912.\n\nTHE THEME OF YEAR BOOK IV.\n\nThe doctrine of the Atonement through the expiatory suffering and\ndeath of Christ, can only be rightly understood when considered in its\nrelationship to the Intelligences--i. e., men--that are affected by\nit. Hence this treatise opens with a consideration of Intelligences as\nrelated to the Atonement. Necessarily this will involve the restatement\nof some of the matter of the Seventy's Year Book No. II, dealing with\nthe \"Outline History of the Dispensations of the Gospel, Part I--,\n\"Prelude to the Dispensations\" where such subjects as \"Intelligences\nand Spirits,\" \"The Relationship of the Intelligences;\" \"The Purposes of\nGod in Relation to Man;\" \"The Free Agency of Intelligences,\" and the\nlike are discussed. But as the present use of the principles there set\nforth will be different from the former use of them, the repetition\nnecessary to a clear understanding of the great theme to be developed\nmay not be amiss, but, on the contrary, positively helpful to a\nfuller appreciation of the principles them selves, as well as a right\nappreciation of the bearing they have upon the subject of the Atonement.\n\nThe writer has approached his theme from a new standpoint. Instead of\nbeginning with the work of the Christ when he appeared on earth as the\nson of Mary, he has begun with those eternal Intelligences that were\nto be affected by this earth-life, by the \"fall\" and the \"Atonement,\"\nand by \"Hope of eternal life which God that cannot lie promised before\nthe world began.\" (Paul to Titus.) This is followed by consideration of\nthe council in heaven, wherein the order of earth-life for the spirits\nof men is considered, what shall accrue to them from it; necessarily\nthe fall and plan of man's redemption; the war in heaven, the advent\nof man on earth; the fall; revelation of the plan for man's salvation;\nthe Atonement in ancient times, through all the ages in fact, and so\nfinally to the consideration of the various elements that enter into\nthe great theme, making up the philosophy of the Atonement.\n\nAs to the importance of the subject, need anything be said? It is the\nvery heart of the Gospel from whose pulsations the streams of both\nspiritual and eternal physical life proceed. It is the fact which gives\nvitality to all things else in the Gospel. If the Atonement be not a\nreality then our preaching is vain; our baptisms and confirmations\nmeaningless; the eucharist a mere mummery of words; our hope of eternal\nlife without foundation; we are still in our sins, and we Christian\nmen, of all men, are the most miserable. A theme that affects all\nthis cannot fail of being important. And yet, how our writers upon\ntheology have neglected this subject! Save for the treatise of the late\nPresident John Taylor on the \"Mediation and Atonement of Our Lord and\nSavior Jesus Christ,\" we have no work devoted wholly to the subject.\nPresident Taylor's treatise was published twenty-nine years ago (1882);\nthere was but a very limited edition published at the time, and that\nis not yet sold out! Aside from this treatise--and even that is quite\nlimited in its scope, chiefly a compilation of scripture texts upon the\nfact of the Atonement--our speakers and writers have treated the theme\nmerely incidentally. It is time, then, that our Seventies--the special\nwitnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ, including as a central fact of\ntheir testimony the Atonement, should give special and extended study\nto this theme of themes.\n\nDIFFICULTY OF THE SUBJECT.\n\nIs the subject difficult? Certainly. But \"To Become a Seventy, Means\nMental Activity, Intellectual Development, and the Attainment of\nSpiritual Power.\" Such men will not be daunted because the subject is\ndifficult, but rather will rejoice at it, even as a strong man rejoices\nto run a race, or fight a battle, or undertake hard tasks wherein lies\nadventure and danger and great glory. Such men will remember that as\nall great things are attended with risk, so the hard is the good; and\n\"truth's a gem that loves the deep.\" Go and search for it.\n\nTHE APPENDIX.\n\nIn an appendix there will be found a statement of \"Other Views of the\nAtonement\" than those set forth in the body of the treatise. These are\nthe views of the Roman Catholic church, the great Protestant divisions\nof modern Christendom, and of so-called liberal Christendom, the\nlatter comprised of those who accept--speaking broadly--the theory of\nevolution and higher criticism.\n\nNo lessons have been formulated in this division of the work, but the\nclass teachers can readily make lesson formula from the divisions and\nsubdivisions of the matter there presented if they so elect; if not\nthen it may be left for the student's private perusal; or out of the\nmatter may be formulated special lectures, and much advantage gained by\nputting the views there expounded in comparison and contrast with the\ndoctrines of the regular text of the Year Book.\n\nBOOKS OF REFERENCE.\n\nIt is difficult to name books of reference for this subject; such as\nare available are named repeatedly in the table references given with\neach lesson, and in the body of the work. Attention should be called to\nthe necessity of each Seventy possessing what in previous Year Books\nhas been called the \"Seventy's Indispensable Library.\" This library is\nmade up of the standard books of the Church on Doctrine, viz.:\n\n_The Bible,_\n\n_The Book of Mormon,_\n\n_The Doctrine and Covenants,_\n\n_The Pearl of Great Price,_ containing _the Book of Moses, the\nBook of Abraham,_ and some of the _Writings of Joseph Smith._\n\nThe above books are certainly indispensable to every Seventy, and\nshould be owned by every member of our quorums. The First Council,\nin their recommendations, added to the above list, _\"Richards and\nLittle's Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel,\"_ and called\nthe set the \"Seventy's Indispensable Library.\" Arrangements were\nmade by the First Council to hav these books in suitable sizes and\nuniform bindings, and obtainable in sets at special prices, and they\nare still to be had in this form. It is also suggested that to these\nbooks be added a good standard dictionary, say either the _Students'\nStandard Dictionary_, Funk and Wagnall's; price, $2.50, cloth;\nor _Webster's College Dictionary_; price, $3.00. These books\nare recommended in cases where the unabridged dictionaries of these\npublishers are considered too expensive; when the unabridged editions\ncan be afforded, they are all the more desirable.\n\nThe four books of Scripture referred to above are very frequently\nquoted in the text of this treatise, and are the main authorities used.\nBesides these it is recommended that the student obtains\n\n_\"Mediation and Atonement of Our Lord Jesus Christ,\"_ by John\nTaylor;\n\n_\"The Articles of Faith,\"_ Talmage.\n\n_Orson Pratt's Works, Remarkable Visions and the Kingdom of God._\n(These works are cited for the benefit of those who have them. We\nregret to say that the Works of this great apostle have been allowed to\ngo out of print.)\n\n_\"The Gospel,\"_ Roberts.\n\nThe _Improvement Era_ of January, 1909, Vol. XII, containing the\n\"King Follett Sermon,\" with explanatory notes by this writer; also the\n_Improvement Era_ for April, 1907, for Article on Immortality.\nSame author.\n\nThe Seventies should also remember that the _Improvement Era_\nis the organ of the Priesthood quorums, and that from time to time\nsupplemental articles will appear bearing upon our current work, and\nfor this reason Seventies should subscribe, if it is possible, for this\nmagazine in order to keep in touch with our work.\n\nTHE SEVENTY'S YEAR BOOK.\n\nThe importance of Seventies having a complete set of the Seventy's Year\nBooks cannot be over-emphasized. There is constant reference made in\nthe present Number to previous Numbers; and the student who is not in\npossession of those books is by so much deprived of the opportunity\nto complete his inquiry on the division of the subject he may have in\nhand. As there are now four of the Year Books issued, they could be\nbound together; or in more convenient form, two numbers can be bound\ntogether at a cost of seventy-five cents, postage prepaid, and those\ndesirous of preserving the set would do well to order them in that form.\n\nSCRIPTURE READING EXERCISE.\n\nThis exercise is continued in the present Year Book as being too\nvaluable to be omitted from our lessons; and by this time it is our\npresumption that had it been omitted, instead of continued as a\nsuggestion at the head of each lesson, our class teachers and the\nmembers of the classes themselves, would have continued the practice\nthat has now been an interesting feature of the Seventy's lessons\nthrough three successful years. The purpose for which this feature of\nour class exercise was introduced, and the manner of conducting it, the\nnew teachers and students will find explanations of in the Introduction\nof Year Book No. I, to which attention is hereby directed.\n\nTo the Seventies we now commend the great theme of this present Year\nBook, with the prayer that they may be impressed with its beauty, its\neffectiveness, and its glory.\n\n\n\nThe Seventy's Course in Theology.\n\nFOURTH YEAR.\n\nThe Atonement.\n\n\n\nPART I.\n\nEternal Intelligences and Progress.\n\n\n\nLESSON I.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nINTELLIGENCE, INTELLIGENCES.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. Intelligence Defined.\n\nII. Qualities and Powers of Intelligences.\n\n1. Consciousness.\n\n2. Generalization.\n\n3. Perception of a priori principles.\n\n4. Reason.\n\n5. Imagination.\n\n6. Volition.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nSeventy's Year Book, Second Year, Part I. Lessons i and iv; The Truth\nof Thought, Ch. iv.[A] Psychology, Prof. William James of Harvard, Chs.\nxi, xii,[B] dealing with \"The Stream of Consciousness\" and \"The Self.\"\nJoseph Smith's \"King Follett Sermon,\" Improvement Era, Vol. XII, Jan.,\n1909.[C] \"Immortality,\" article in Improvement Era, April, 1907; Doc. &\n& Cov., Sec. 93.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"Intelligence is eternal, and exists upon a\nself-existing principle. It is a spirit[D] from age to age and there\nis no creation about it.\" (Joseph Smith, \"King Follett Sermon,\" April,\n1844.)_\n\n[Footnote A: This little work (206 pages) is by William Pollard, some\nyears Professor of Rational Philosophy in St. Louis University. It is a\nshort treatise on the \"Initial Philosophy,\" the ground work necessary\nfor the consistent pursuit of knowledge, (1896).]\n\n[Footnote B: I cite the abridged (teachers') edition of the\nProfessor's, \"Principles of Psychology.\"]\n\n[Footnote C: This sermon as published in the \"Era\" is accompanied by\nexplanatory notes, hence the \"Era\" is cited. It is also published in\n\"Journal of Discourses,\" Vol. VI.]\n\n[Footnote D: \"A spirit from age to age\"--not \"Spirit from age to\nage:\" but a \"spirit\"; that is an entity, a person, an individual. The\nProphet's statement here could well be taken as an interpretation of\nDoc. & Cov. Sec. 93:29. See Lesson II.]\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. Intelligence Defined:_ The sense in which the term\n\"Intelligence\" is to be used in this discussion is that of a mind, or\nan intelligent being, Milton make's such use of the term as the latter\nwhen he represents Adam as saying to the angel Raphael, who has given\nhim a lesson on human limitations:\n\n  \"How fully hast thou satisfied me, pure\n  Intelligence of heaven, angel serene!\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: \"Paradise Lost,\" viii:181.]\n\nAnd so Alfred Tennyson:\n\n  \"The great _Intelligences_ fair\n  That range above our mortal state.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: \"In Memoriam,\" lxxxv.]\n\nGod is also sometimes referred to as the \"Supreme Intelligence.\" It is\nin this sense, then, that I use the term Intelligence; a being that is\nintelligent, capable of apprehending facts or ideas; possessed of power\nto think.\n\n_2. Intelligence: Consciousness:_ In other words the term\nIntelligence is descriptive of the thing to which it is applied.\nTherefore Intelligence (mind) or Intelligences (minds), thus conceived\nare conscious. Conscious of _self_ and of _not self_; of the _me_\nand the _not me_. \"Intelligence is that which sees itself, or is at\nonce both subject and object.\" It knows itself as thinking, that is,\nas a subject; thinking of its self, it knows itself as an object of\nthought--of its own thought. And it knows itself as distinct from a\nvast universe of things which are not self; itself the while remaining\nconstant as a distinct individuality amid the great universe of things\n_not self_. Fiske calls Consciousness \"the soul's fundamental fact;\"\nand \"the most fundamental of facts.\"[A] It may be defined as the\npower by which Intelligence knows its own acts and states. It is an\nawareness of the mind. By reason of it an Intelligence, when dwelling\nin a body--as we best know it (man)--knows itself as seeing, hearing,\nsmelling, tasting, touching; also as searching, and finding; as\ninquiring and answering; as active or at rest; as loving or hating; as\ncontented or restless; as advancing or receding; as gaining or loosing,\nand so following in all the activities in which Intelligences, as men,\nengage.\n\n[Footnote A: \"Studies in Religion,\" p. 245.]\n\n_3. Generalization:_ By another power or faculty of Intelligence\n(mind) it can perceive, as connected with the things that sense\nperceives, something that cannot be taken in by sense perception;\nthat is to say, Intelligence can generalize. Sense can get at the\nindividual, concrete thing only: \"this triangle,\" \"this orange\"\n\"that triangle,\" \"those oranges,\" etc. By the consideration of the\nindividual, concrete object, however, the mind can form an idea, a\nconcept, a general notion--\"triangle,\" \"orange\"--which does not specify\nthis or that individual object, but \"fits to any individual triangle\nor orange past, present, or future, and even the possible oranges that\nnever shall be grown.\"[A] In other words Intelligence can rise from\nconsideration of the particular to the general.\n\n[Footnote A: \"The Truth of Thought,\" p. 41.]\n\n_4. Perception of a priori[A] Principles:_ Again there are a\npriori principles, which the mind can perceive to be incontrovertible\nand of universal application, by mere reflection upon the signification\nof the principles and without going into the applications.[B] Such\nfor example as that one and one make two. That two and one make\nthree. Also, to continue the illustration above, borrowed from the\nlate Professor Wm. James, for some time Professor of Psychology in\nHarvard University.--\"White differs less from gray than it does from\nblack; that when the cause begins to act the effect also commences.\nSuch propositions hold of all possible 'ones,' of all conceivable\n'whites' and 'grays' and 'causes.' The objects here are mental\nobjects. Their relations are perceptually obvious at a glance, and no\nsense-verification is necessary. Moreover, once true, always true, of\nthose same mental objects. Truth here has an 'eternal' character. If\nyou can find a concrete thing anywhere that is 'one' or 'white' or\n'gray' or an 'effect' then your principles will everlastingly apply to\nit. It is but a case of ascertaining the kind, and then applying the\nlaw of its kind to the particular object. You are sure to get truth if\nyou can name the kind rightly, for your mental relations hold good of\neverything of that kind without exception.\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: A priori, from something prior or going before, hence from\nantecedent to consequent; from cause to effect. See illustrations in\nthe text quoted from James.]\n\n[Footnote B: \"Truth of Thought,\" p. 41.]\n\n[Footnote C: \"Pragmatism\"--James--(1908), pp. 209, 210.]\n\n_5. Imagination:_ By a mind-power known as imagination, or\nimaginative memory, Intelligences, as known to us through men, can hold\nbefore consciousness, in picture, what has been perceived by an outward\nsense, and this even when the outward sense has been shut off from\nthe outward world of matter. I once saw an orange tree with a number\nof ripe oranges scattered through its branches, but on other branches\nwere orange blossoms. What the outward senses then perceived, when I\nwas standing before the tree, has been shut off, but at will I can call\nbefore the vision of my mind and hold in consciousness the picture\nof that tree with its mixture of ripe fruit and fruit blossoms. This\npower of imagination, is also constructive. Intelligences (men) can put\nbefore themselves in mental picture, combinations which are fashioned\nfrom the varied stores of memory.[A] As I have elsewhere said: I am this\nmoment sitting at my desk, and am enclosed by the four walls of my\nroom--limited as to my personal presence to this spot. But by the mere\nact of my will, I find I have the power to project myself in thought to\nany part of the world. Instantly I can be in the crowded streets of the\nworld's metropolis. I walk through its well remembered thoroughfares, I\nhear the rush and roar of its busy multitudes, the rumble of vehicles,\nthe huckster's cries, the cab-men's calls, sharp exclamations and quick\nretorts in the jostling throngs, the beggar's piping cry, the sailor's\nsong, fragments of conversation, broken strains of music, the blare of\ntrumpets, the neighing of horses, ear-piercing whistles, ringing of\nbells, shouts, responses, rushing trains and all that mingled din and\nsoul-stirring roar that rises in clamor above the great town's traffic.\n\n[Footnote A: \"Sensations, once experienced, modify the nervous\norganism, so that copies of them arise again in the mind after the\noriginal outward stimulus is gone. No mental copy, however, can arise\nin the mind, of any kind of sensation which has never been directly\nexcited from without.\n\n\"The blind may dream of sights, the deaf of sounds, for years after\nthey have lost their vision or hearing; but the man born deaf can never\nbe made to imagine what sound is like, nor can the man born blind\never have a mental vision. In Locke's words, already quoted, 'the\nmind can frame unto itself no one new simple idea.' The originals of\nthem all must have been given from without. Fantasy, or Imagination,\nare the names given to the faculty of reproducing copies of originals\nonce left. The imagination is called 'reproductive' when the copies\nare literal; 'productive' when elements from different originals are\nrecombined so as to make new wholes\" (Wm. James: \"Psychology,\" p. 302).]\n\nAt will, I leave all this and stand alone on mountain tops in Syria,\nIndia, or overlooking old Nile's valley, wrapped in the awful grandeur\nof solemn silence. Here I may bid fallen empires rise and pass in\ngrand procession before my mental vision and live again their little\nlives; fight once more their battles; begin again each petty struggle\nfor place, for power, for control of the world's affairs; revive their\ncustoms; live again their loves and hates, and preach once more their\nreligions and their philosophies--all this the mind may do, and that\nas easily and as quickly as in thought it may leave this room, cross\nthe street to a neighbor's home, and there take note of the familiar\nobjects within his habitation.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: \"Mormon Doctrine of Deity,\" p. 132.]\n\n_6. Ratiocination:_[A] \"The mind (Intelligence) can combine\nvarious general principles or individual facts and principles; and in\nthe combination and comparison of them, it can perceive other facts and\nprinciples.[B] In other words, Intelligence is capable of reasoning;\nof building up conclusions from the data of its knowledge. It has the\npower of deliberation and of judgment; by which it may determine that\nthis state or condition is better than another state or condition. That\nthis, tending to good, should be encouraged; and that, tending to evil,\nshould be discouraged, or, if possible, destroyed.\n\n[Footnote A: The process of deducing conclusions from premises.]\n\n[Footnote B: \"The Truth of Thought,\" p. 40.]\n\n_7. Power of Volition:_ Intelligence, as embodied in man, is also\nconscious of the power, within certain limitations, to will, and to\nperform what he wills to do: To rise up, to sit down; to raise his\narm, to let it fall; to walk, to run, to stand; to go to Paris, to\nBerlin, or to Egypt; to write a book, to build a house, to found a\nhospital; to control largely his actions, physical and moral; he can\nbe sober or drunken; chaste, or a libertine; benevolent or selfish;\nhonest or a rogue. Having deliberated upon this and that and having\nformed a judgment that one thing is better than another, or that one\ncondition is better than another, he has power to choose between\nthem and can determine to give his aid to this and withhold it from\nthat. So that volition, within certain limitations at least, seems\nalso to be a quality of Intelligence.[A] It is of course possible to\nconceive of Intelligence and its necessarily attendant consciousness,\nexisting without volition; but Intelligence so conceived is shorn of\nits glory, since under such conditions it can make no use whatsoever\nof its powers. Its very thinking would be chaotic; its consciousness\ndistressing. If active at all its actions would be without purpose and\nas chaotic as its thinking would be, unless it could be thought of as\nboth thinking and acting as directed by an intelligent, purposeful\nwill external to itself: which would still leave the Intelligence a\nmere automaton, without dignity or moral quality, or even intellectual\nvalue.[B] I therefore conclude that while it is possible to conceive of\nIntelligence with its necessarily attendant consciousness as without\nvolition, still, so far as we are acquainted with Intelligence, as\nmanifested through men, volition--sometimes named soul-freedom or\nfree-agency is a quality that within certain limitations, attends\nupon Intelligences and may be an inherent quality of Intelligence, a\nnecessary attribute of its very essence, as much so as is consciousness\nitself.\n\n[Footnote A: Seventy's Second Year Book, Lesson I and IV.]\n\n[Footnote B:\n\n  \"Freedom and reason make us men,\n  Take these away, what are we then?\n  Mere animals, and just as well\n  The beasts may think of heaven or hell.\"\n       --\"Latter-day Saints' Hymn Book,\" p. 263.]\n\n_8. Recapitulation:_ We have found, then,\n\n1. That Intelligences are eternal--self-existing intelligent entities;\n\n2. That they are called Intelligences because intelligence is their\nchief characteristic;\n\n3. That being intelligent consciousness is in them a necessary quality;\n\n4. That they are both self-conscious, and conscious of an external\nuniverse not self;\n\n5. That Intelligences have the power to generalize--to rise from the\ncontemplation of the particular to the general, from the individual to\nuniversal;\n\n6. That Intelligences can perceive the existence of certain a priori\nprinciples that are incontrovertible--necessary truths--which form a\nbasis of knowledge;\n\n7. That Intelligences as known through men possess a power of\nimagination or imaginative memory by which they hold pictures of sense\nperceptions before the mind and may form from them new combinations of\nthought and consciousness;\n\n8. That Intelligences have power to reason (ratiocination), to\ndeliberate, to form judgments;\n\n9. That Intelligences have volition, physical, mental and moral, within\ncertain limitations--a power both to will and to do; in other words\nthey are free, or free agents.\n\nIt should be understood that these brief remarks respecting\nIntelligence and Intelligences are in no sense a treatise, even brief\nand cursory, on psychology; they are made merely to indicate some of\nthe chief qualities that are inseparably connected with Intelligence\nand Intelligences so that when the words are used in this treatise,\nsome definite idea may be had as to what is meant.\n\n\n\nLESSON II.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nETERNITY OF INTELLIGENCES.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. Eternal Existence of the Word--the Christ.\n\nII. Eternal Existence of All Intelligences.\n\nIII. Proofs of Eternity.\n\n1. Book of Abraham.\n\n2. Joseph Smith's Writings.\n\nIV. Of Words Used Interchangeably.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nDoc. & Cov., Sec. 93; Seventy's Year Book II, Lesson i and iv; Book of\nAbraham, Ch. iii; Joseph Smith, \"King Follett's Sermon,\" Improvement\nEra, Jan. 1909; Art. \"Immortality,\" Ibid., April, 1907.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence,\nor the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.\"\n(Doc. & Cov., Sec. 93:29.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. Eternity of Intelligence:_ In the preface of St. John's Gospel\nit is written: \"I. the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with\nGod, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All\nthings were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was\nmade. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. * * And the\nWord was made flesh and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the\nglory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth\"\n(John 1:1-4, 14). This is in plain allusion to the Christ, and bears\nwitness, as all are agreed,[A] to the co-eternity of the Word of Christ\nwith God, the Father.\n\n[Footnote A: See \"Commentary,\" Jamieson,--Fauset-Brown on St. John\n1:1-4. Also \"International Revision Commentary,\" Schaff--on St.\nJohn 1:1-4. The latter contrasting Gen. 1:1 with St. John's \"in the\nbeginning,\" says that the sacred historian (Moses) starts from the\nbeginning and comes downwards, thus keeping us in the course of time.\nJohn starts from the same point, but goes upwards, thus taking us into\nthe eternity preceding time. In Gen. 1:1, we are told that God \"in the\nbeginning created,\"--an act done in time. Here (John 1:1) we are told\nthat \"in the beginning the Word was,\" a very strongly antithetical\nto \"come into being\" (verses 3, 14, comp. 8:58), and implying an\nabsolute existence preceding, the point referred to. As that which is\nabsolute self-existent, not created--that which is--is eternal, so\nthe predication of eternity is involved in the clause before us taken\nas a whole. He who thus \"was in the beginning,\" who, as we afterwards\nread, \"was with God,\" and \"was God,\" here bears the name of the \"Word,\"\nLogos, which means both reason--[intelligence?] and word [expression?]\nFor justification of the interpolated words in brackets, I refer to\nDummelow's Commentary on the same passage: \"Logos has two meanings in\nGreek: (1) Reason or intelligence as it exists inwardly in the mind;\nand (2) reason or intelligence as it is expressed outwardly in speech\nand both these meanings are to be understood when Christ is called the\n\"Word of God.\" Commentary on John 1:1-4.]\n\nIn the Doctrine and Covenants this doctrine of the co-eternity of the\n\"Word\" with God is reaffirmed, and also is expressed more explicitly.\n\"John,\" the Christ is represented as saying, \"saw and bore record of\nthe fullness of my glory. * * * And he bore record saying, 'I saw his\nglory that he was in the beginning before the world was. Therefore in\nthe beginning the Word was, for he was the Word, even the messenger of\nsalvation, the light and the Redeemer of the World'\" (Doc. & Cov. Sec.\n93:6-9).\n\n_2. Extension of the Doctrine of Co-eternity:_ But not only is the\ndoctrine of the co-eternity of the Christ with God the Father affirmed\nin this revelation, but that co-eternity is extended to the spirits\n(Intelligences--of which more later) of men. \"Verily I say unto you,\"\nthe Christ is represented as saying, \"I was in the beginning with\nthe Father, and am the first born. * * * Ye, [addressing the brethren\npresent when the revelation was given]--Ye were also in the beginning\nwith the Father; that which is spirit [that is, that part of you which\nis spirit--i. e., Intelligence--that was in the beginning with God],\neven the spirit of truth.\"\n\n_3. Extension of the Doctrine of Co-Eternity to all\nIntelligences:_ In a subsequent verse this doctrine of co-eternity\nis extended to the whole race of men; \"man [the race] was also in\nthe beginning with God.\" And that statement is immediately followed\nwith this: \"Intelligence, or the light of truth [that which perceives\ntruth], was not created or made, neither indeed can be\" (Doc. & Cov.\nSec. 93:29). Let us recapitulate: The co-eternity of the Christ and\nGod the Father \"in the beginning before the world was,\" is affirmed.\nThen the like co-eternity of the spirits of the men present when the\nrevelation was given is affirmed. After which the like co-eternity\nof \"Man\"--used in the generic sense, meaning the race, is affirmed;\nfollowed by the declaration that \"Intelligence, or the light of truth,\nwas not created or made, neither indeed can be,\" then of course, it\nfollows that Intelligences are eternal, self-existing things.\n\nIt may be urged, however, that the word \"Intelligence\" in the\nrevelation quoted above is used in the singular, not in the plural\nform. And hence may refer to \"Intelligence\" in general, as being\nuncreated and unbeatable, and not to the eternity of individual\nIntelligences. But the passage immediately preceding the declaration\n\"Man also was in the beginning with God,\" stands as an explanation\nof that declaration. The word Intelligence in the passage quoted is\ngoverned as to its meaning by \"Man\" in the sentence--\"Man was also in\nthe beginning with God:\" and now, \"Intelligence,\" [the intelligent\nentity in man, in the race--and surely the Intelligence in each man\nis a complete and separate entity] \"was not created or made, neither\nindeed can be.\" In other words, these Intelligences are as eternal as\nGod is, or as the Christ is, or the Holy Spirit. This becomes more\napparent when we learn in a subsequent verse of the revelation that\n\"man is spirit\" (verse 33). That is, in the inner fact of him, in the\npower and glory of him, man is not so many pounds avoirdupois of bone,\nmuscle, lime, phosphate, water and the like; but in the great fact of\nhim he is spirit--spirit substance and Intelligence.[A] And so far as\nhuman or revealed knowledge can aid one in forming a conclusion, there\nis no \"Intelligence\" existing separate and apart from persons, from\nintelligent entities, from individuals. Either it exists as persons, or\nas preceding from them, as a power or force, but never separated from\nthem, any more than a ray of light is separated from the luminous body\nwhence it proceeds. So that if any affirm a \"universal Intelligence,\"\nor \"Cosmic Mind,\" or \"Over Soul,\" in the universe, it is an influence,\na power proceeding either from an individual Intelligence or from\nharmonized individual Intelligences, a mind atmosphere proceeding from\nthem--a projection of their mind power into the universe, as the sun\nand all suns, project light and warmth into the universe.[B]\n\n[Footnote A: \"That is the more real part of a man in which his\ncharacteristics and his qualities are. All the facts and phenomena of\nlife confirm the doctrine that the soul is the real man. What makes the\nquality of a man? What gives him character as good or bad, small or\ngreat, lovable or detestable? Do these qualities pertain to the body?\nEvery one knows that they do not. But they are qualities of the mind.\nThen the real man is not the body, but the living soul\" (Samuel M.\nWarren, \"World's Parliament of Religions,\" Vol. I, p. 480).]\n\n[Footnote B: \"Mormon Doctrine of Deity,\" p. 166-169, where the subject\nis discussed at some length under the title, \"Of God, the Spirit of the\nGods.\"]\n\n_4. Proof of the Co-eternity of all Intelligences:_ In further\nevidence of the eternal existence of individual Intelligences I quote\nfrom the Book of Abraham:\n\n    \"If two things exist and there be one above the other, there shall\n    be greater things above them. * * * If there be two spirits,\n    and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two\n    spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent than the other,\n    have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end,\n    they shall exist after, for they are gnolaum, or eternal\" (Book of\n    Abraham, Chs. 3, 16, 18).\n\nTo this may be added the teaching of the Prophet Joseph Smith who, in\nthe closing days of his earthly ministry, dwelt much upon this subject\nand treated it with great emphasis. At the conference of the Church at\nNauvoo in April, 1844, in a sermon, he said.\n\n    \"The soul--the mind of man--the immortal spirit--where did it come\n    from? All learned men and doctors of divinity say that God created\n    it in the beginning, but it is not so; the very idea lessens man\n    in my estimation. I do not believe the doctrine. I know better.\n    Hear it, all ye ends of the world, for God has told me so, if you\n    don't believe me, it will not make the truth without effect We say\n    that God himself is a self-existent being. Who told you so? It is\n    correct enough, but how did it get into your head? Who told you\n    that man did not exists in like manner, upon the same principles?\n    Man does exist upon the same principles. * * * The mind or the\n    intelligence which man possess is co-equal, [co-eternal][A] with\n    God himself. I know my testimony is true. * * * I am dwelling on\n    the immorality of the spirit of man. Is it logical to say that the\n    intelligence of spirits is immortal, and yet that it (i. e., the\n    intelligence) had a beginning? The intelligence of spirits had no\n    beginning, neither will it have an end. That is good logic. That\n    which has a beginning may have an end. There never was a time when\n    there were no spirits, for they are co-equal [co-eternal] with our\n    Father in heaven. * * * Intelligence is eternal and exists upon a\n    self-existent principle. It is a spirit from age to age and there\n    is no creation about it. * * * The first principles of a man are\n    self-existent with God.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: The Prophet could not have intended to teach that the\nintelligence in man was \"co-equal with God,\" except as to being\nco-equal in eternity with God, since the Book of Abraham teaches that\nGod is more intelligent than all other intelligences (Ch. iii:19), and\nthe Prophet himself taught the same truth. Hence the insertion of the\nword above in brackets. It must be remembered that the report of this\ndiscourse was not stenographic and this was doubtless a verbal error,\ndue to imperfect reporting.]\n\n[Footnote B: King Follett Sermon, April, 1844, \"Improvement Era,\" Vol.\nXII, Jan. 1909. Also \"Journal of Discourses,\" Vol. VI.]\n\n_5. Words used Interchangeably:_ Here it is necessary to repeat\nwith some additions, what was said in Year Book II, on the use of words\ninterchangeably: It is often the case that misconceptions arise through\na careless use of words, and through using words interchangeably,\nwithout regard to shades of differences that attach to them; and this\nin the scriptures as in other writings. Indeed, this fault is more\nfrequent in the scriptures perhaps than in any other writings for\nthe reason that, for the most part, they are composed by men who did\nnot aim at scientific exactness in the use of words. They were not\nin most cases equal to such precision in the use of language, in the\nfirst place; and in the second, they depended more upon the general\ntenor of what they wrote for making truth apparent than upon technical\nprecision in a choice of words; ideas, not niceness of expression,\nwas the burden of their souls; thought, not its dress. Hence, in\nscripture, and I might say especially in modern scripture, a lack\nof careful or precise choice of words, a large dependence upon the\ngeneral tenor of what is written to convey the truth, a wide range in\nusing words interchangeably that are not always exact equivalents,\nare characteristics. Thus the expression, \"Kingdom of God,\" \"Kingdom\nof Heaven,\" \"the Whole Family in Heaven,\" \"the Church of Christ,\"\n\"the Church of God,\" are often used interchangeably for the Church of\nChrist when they are not always equivalents; so, too, are used the\nterms \"Spirit of God,\" and \"Holy Ghost;\" \"Spirit of Christ,\" and \"the\nHoly Ghost;\" \"Spirit,\" and \"Soul;\" \"intelligences,\" and \"spirits,\" and\n\"angels.\" I mention this in passing, because I believe many of the\ndifferences of opinion and much of the confusion of ideas that exist\narise out of our not recognizing, or our not remembering these facts.\nHereafter let the student be on his guard in relation to the use of the\nwords \"intelligences,\" \"spirits,\" \"soul,\" \"mind,\" etc.; and he will\nfind his way out of many a difficulty.\n\nLet the closing part of the quotation from the Prophet's discourse\nabove be considered in the light of the suggestions made here\nrespecting the use of words interchangeably. It is observed that he\nuses the words \"Intelligence\" and \"spirit\" interchangeably--one for\nthe other; and yet we can discern that it is the \"intelligence of\nspirits,\" not \"spirits\" entire (see next subdivision) that is the\nsubject of his thought. It is the \"Intelligence of Spirits\" that\nhe declares uncreated and uncreatable--eternal as God is. The same\ninterchangeable use of the terms is to be observed in the Book of\nAbraham (Ch. iii:16-28) and in other scriptures.\n\n\n\nLESSON III.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nINTELLIGENCES AND SPIRITS.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. The Differences Between Uncreated Intelligences and Spirits.\n\nII. Men and Jesus of the Same Order of Intelligences.\n\nIII. Jesus but the First Born of Many Brethren.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nImprovement Era, Art. \"Immortality,\" April, 1907.\n\nSeventy's Second Year Book, Lessons i and ii.\n\nBook of Abraham, Ch. iii; \"King Follett Sermon,\" Improvement Era, Jan.,\n1909.\n\nDoc. & Cov., Sec. 93.\n\n\"Joseph Smith's Doctrines Vindicated,\" Improvement Era, March and\nApril, 1910.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my\nFather, and to your Father; to my God and your God.\" (Jesus Christ: St.\nJohn xx:19.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. Uncreated \"Intelligences\" and \"Spirits\":_ In the Book of\nMormon we have the revelation which gives the most light upon the\nspiritexistence of Jesus, and, through his spirit-existence, light upon\nthe spiritexistence of all men. The light is given in that complete\nrevelation of the pre-existent, personal spirit of Jesus Christ, made\nto the brother of Jared, ages before the spirit of Jesus tabernacled in\nthe flesh. The essential part of the passage follows:\n\n    \"Behold, I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world\n    to redeem my people. Behold, I am Jesus Christ And never have\n    I showed myself to man whom I have created, for never has man\n    believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after\n    mine own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning\n    after mine own image. Behold this body which ye now behold, is the\n    body of my spirit, and man have I created after the body of my\n    spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit, will I\n    appear unto my people in the flesh.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Ether, Ch. iii:14-16.]\n\nWhat do we learn from all this? First, let it be re-called that\naccording to the express word of God \"intelligences\" are not created,\nneither indeed can they be. Now, with the above revelation from the\nBook of Mormon concerning the spirit-body of Jesus, before us, we\nare face to face with a something that was begotten, and in that\nsense a \"creation,\" a spirit, the \"first born of many brethren;\" the\n\"beginning of the creations of God.\" The spirit is in human form--for\nwe are told that as Christ's spirit-body looked to Jared's brother, so\nwould the Christ look to men when he came among them in the flesh; the\nbody of flesh conforming to the appearance of the spirit, the earthly\nto the heavenly. \"This body which ye now behold is the body of my\nspirit\"--the house, the tenement of that uncreated intelligence which\nhad been begotten of the Father a spirit, as later that spirit-body\nwith the intelligent, uncreated entity inhabiting it, will be begotten\na man. \"This body which you now behold is the body of my spirit,\"\nor spirit-body. There can be no doubt but what here \"spirit\" as in\nthe Book of Abraham, and in the passages quoted from the Prophet's\nKing Follet's Sermon, is used interchangeably with \"intelligence,\"\nand refers to the uncreated entity; as if the passage stood: \"This\nis the body inhabited by an intelligence.\" The intelligent entity\ninhabiting a spirit-body make up the spiritual personage. It is\nthis spirit life we have so often thought about, and sang about. In\nthis state of existence occurred the spirit's \"primevil childhood;\"\nhere spirits were \"nurtured\" near the side of the heavenly Father,\nin his \"high and glorious place;\" thence spirits were sent to earth\nto unite spirit-elements with earth-elements--in some way essential\nto a fullness of glory and happiness. \"Man is Spirit. The elements\nare eternal, and Spirit and Element inseparably connected receive a\nfullness of joy; and when separated man cannot receive a fullness of\njoy. The elements are the tabernacle of God; Yea, man is the tabernacle\nof God even temples.\"[A] Hence spirits are sent to earth, to take on\nits elements, and to learn the lessons earth-life has to teach. The\nhalf awakened recollections of the human mind may be chiefly engaged\nwith scenes, incidents and impressions of that former spirit life; but\nthat does not argue the non-existence of the uncreated intelligences\nwho preceded the begotten spiritual personages as so plainly set forth\nin the revelations of God.\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 93:32-35.]\n\nThe difference, then, between \"spirits\" and \"intelligences,\" as here\nused, is this: Spirits are uncreated intelligences inhabiting spiritual\nbodies; while \"intelligences,\" pure and simple, are intelligent\nentities, but unembodied in either spirit bodies or bodies of flesh\nand bone. They are uncreated, self-existent entities; but let it be\nobserved, in passing, that nothing is here said in relation to the\nform of these intelligent entities, nor anything as to their mode of\nexistence. Indeed, so far as I know, nothing has been revealed in\nrelation to their form or mode of existence; nothing beyond the fact\nof existence, their eternity and the qualities necessary to them as\nIntelligences.\n\n_2. Jesus and Men of the same Order of Intelligences:_ The\nscriptures teach that Jesus Christ and men are of the same order of\nbeings; that men are of the same race with Jesus, of the same nature\nand essence; that he is indeed our elder brother. \"For it became\nhim, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing\nmany sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect\nthrough suffering. _For both he that sanctifieth and they who are\nsanctified are all of one:_ [i. e., essence or nature; or, regarding\nmen's spirits, of one Father] for which cause he is not ashamed to\ncall them brethren.\"[A] Hence, though the Christ is more perfect in\nrighteousness, and more highly developed in intellectual and spiritual\npowers than men, yet these differences are of degree, not of kind; so\nthat what is revealed concerning Jesus, the Christ, may be of infinite\nhelpfulness in throwing light upon the nature of man and the several\nestates he has occupied and will occupy hereafter. The coeternity of\nJesus Christ with God, the Father, and the extension of the principle\nof co-eternity of the Intelligences in men with Jesus Christ and God\nhas been already pointed out.[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Heb. ii:10, 11.]\n\n[Footnote B: Lesson II, this treatise.]\n\nAgain at the resurrection of the Christ, according to the testimony\nof St. John, the Master said to Mary of Magdala: \"Go to my brethren\n[the apostles] and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your\nFather, and to my God, and your God\" (St. John 20:17). Hence we have\nJesus and the apostles with the same Father, the same God, and the\nfact of brotherhood proclaimed. If such relation exists between Jesus\nand the apostles, then it exists between Jesus and all men, since\nthe apostles were men of like nature with other men. In his great\ndiscourse in Mars Hill, Paul not only declares that God \"hath made of\none blood all nations of men\"--but he also quoted with approval the\nGreek poet Aratus, where the latter says: \"For we are also his (God's)\noffspring;\" and to this the apostle adds: \"For as much, then, as we\nare the offspring of God [hence of the same race and nature], we ought\nnot to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone,\ngraven by art after man's device.\"[A] Our own nature, one might add,\nin continuation of the apostle's reasoning, should teach those who\nrecognize men as the offspring of God, better than to think of the\nGodhead as of gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art after man's\ndevice, since the nature of the offspring partakes of the nature of the\nparent; and our own nature teaches us that men are not as stocks and\nstones, though the latter be graven by art after the devices of men.\n\n[Footnote A: Acts xvii:26-30.]\n\nPaul might also have quoted the great Hebrew poet: \"God standeth in the\ncongregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the Gods. * * * * I have\nsaid ye are Gods; and all of you are children of the Most High.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Psalms lxxxii:1, 6, 7.]\n\nThe matter is clear then, men and Gods are of the same race; Jesus is\nthe Son of God, and so, too, are all men the offspring of God, and\nJesus but the first born of many brethren. Eternal Intelligences are\nbegotten of God, spirits; and hence are sons of God--a dignity that\nnever leaves them. \"Behold,\" said one of old, \"now are we the sons of\nGod, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when\nhe shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: I John iii:2. I am not unmindful of the array of evidence\nthat may be massed to prove that it is chiefly through adoption,\nthrough obedience to the Gospel of Christ, that man in the scripture is\nspoken of as being a son of God. But this does not weaken the evidence\nfor the fact for which I am contending, viz., that man is by nature\nthe son of God. He becomes alienated from his Father and the Father's\nkingdom through sin, through the transgression of the law of God; hence\nthe need of adoption into the heavenly kingdom, and into son-ship with\nGod. But though alienated from God through sin, man is nevertheless by\nnature the son of God.]\n\n_3. Jesus the First Born of Many Brethren:_ Sure it is that God,\nthe Father, is the Father of the spirits of men. \"We,\" says Paul,\n\"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?\" (Heb. 12:9).\n\nAccording to this, then there is a \"Father of Spirits.\" It follows, of\ncourse, that \"spirits,\" have a father--they are begotten. It should be\nremarked that the term, \"spirits\" in the above passage cannot refer to\nself-existent, unbegotten intelligences of the revelations, considered\nin the foregoing lessons; and certainly this relationship of father\nto spirits is not one brought about in connection with generation of\nhuman life in this world. Paul makes a very sharp distinction between\n\"Fathers of our flesh\" and the \"Father of spirits\" in the above. Father\nto spirits is manifestly a relationship established independent of\nman's earth-existence; and, of course, is an existence which preceded\nearth-life, and where the uncreated Intelligences are begotten spirits.\nHence, the phrase \"shall we not be subject to the Father of spirits and\nlive?\"\n\nChrist is referred to by the writer of the epistle to the Colossians,\nas the \"first born of every creature\" (i:15); and the Revelator speaks\nof him as \"the beginning of the creation of God\" (Rev. 3:14); and in\nthe revelation already quoted so often (Doc. & Cov. Sec. xciii) Jesus\nrepresents himself as being in the \"beginning with the Father;\" and as\n\"the first born.\"\n\nThe reference to Jesus as the \"first born of every creature\" cannot\nrefer to his birth into earth-life, for he was not the first-born into\nthis world; therefore, his birth here referred to must have reference\nto the birth of his spirit before his earth life.\n\nThe reference to Jesus as the \"beginning of the creation of God,\"\ncannot refer to his creation or generation in earth-life; for\nmanifestly he was not the beginning of the creations of God in this\nworld; therefore, he must have been the \"beginning\" of God's creation\nelsewhere, viz., in the spirit world, where he was begotten a spiritual\npersonage; a son of God.\n\nThe reference to Jesus as the \"first born\"--and hence the justification\nfor our calling him \"our Elder Brother\" cannot refer to any\nrelationship that he established in his earth-life, since as to the\nflesh he is not our \"elder brother\" any more than he is the \"first\nborn\" in the flesh; there were many born in the flesh before he was,\nand older brothers to us, in the flesh, than he was. The relationship\nof \"elder brother\" cannot have reference to that estate where all\nwere self-existent, uncreated and unbegotten, eternal Intelligences;\nfor that estate admits of no such relation as \"elder,\" or \"younger;\"\nfor as to succession in time, the fact on which \"younger\" or \"elder\"\ndepend, the Intelligences are equal, that is,--equal as to their\neternity. Therefore, since the relationship of \"elder brother\" was\nnot established by any circumstance in the earth-life of Jesus, and\ncould not be established by any possible fact in that estate where all\nwere self-existing Intelligences, it must have been established in the\nspirit life, where Jesus, with reference to the hosts of Intelligences\ndesigned to our earth, was the \"first born spirit,\" and by that fact\nbecame our \"Elder Brother,\" the \"first born of every creature,\" \"the\nbeginning of the creations of God,\".as pertaining to our order of\nexistence.\n\n_4. Views of Sir Oliver Lodge on the Eternity of Mind:_ Some\nscientists also bear testimony to the truth of the principle here\ncontended for. Sir Oliver Lodge, when arguing for the reality of that\nmysterious, vital \"something\" which builds up from earth elements an\noak, an eagle or a man, closes with the question, \"Is it something\nwhich is really nothing, and soon shall it be manifestly nothing?\"\n\"Not so,\" he answers, \"nor is it so with intellect and consciousness\nand will, nor with memory and love and adoration, nor all the manifold\nactivities which at present strangely interact with matter and appeal\nto our bodily senses and terrestrial knowledge; they are not nothing,\nnor shall they ever vanish into nothingness or cease to be. They did\nnot arise with us; _they never did spring into being; they are as\neternal as the Godhead itself,_ and in the eternal Being they shall\nendure for ever. * * * And surely in this respect there is a unity\nrunning through the universe, and a kinship between the human and the\nDivine; witness the eloquent ejaculation of Carlyle:[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Of Paul, too, and of David before him. See Hebrews ii:6,\nand Psalms viii:4.]\n\n'What then, is man! What, then, is man!\n\n'He endures but for an hour, and is crushed before the moth. Yet\nin the being and in the working of a faithful man is there already\n(as all faith from the beginning, gives assurance) a something that\npertains not to this wild death-element of Time; that triumphs over\nTime, and is, and will be, when Time shall be no more.\"--\"Science and\nImmortality,\" pp. 160, 161.\n\n\n\nLESSON IV.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nINTELLIGENCES AND PROGRESS.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. Intelligences Differ in Degree of--\n\n1. Intelligence.\n\n2. Nobility.\n\n3. Greatness.\n\n4. Moral quality.\n\nII. The \"One\" \"Greater than All\"--God.\n\n1. Where Intelligences differ in degree there must be One Most\nIntelligent of all.\n\n2. His greatness immeasurable.\n\nIII. Capacity of Intelligences for Progress.\n\n1. Inherent Powers of,\n\n2. Led and helped in Progress by Higher Intelligences.\n\nIV. Union of Spirit and Earth-Elements Essential to Progress of\nIntelligences.\n\nREFERENCES\n\nBook of Abraham, Ch. iii; Book of Moses (in Pearl of Great Price), Ch.\ni:25-38.\n\nNew Witnesses for God, Vol. III, pp. 198-207.\n\nKing Follett Sermon, Improvement Era, January, 1909.\n\n\"Immortality of Man,\" Improvement Era, April 1907. Doc. & Cov., Sec. 93\nand Sec. 88.\n\nSeventy's Year Book II, Lessons II and III.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"They who keep their first estate shall be added upon;\nand they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the\nsame kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep\ntheir second estate, shall have glory added upon their heads for ever\nand ever.\" (Book of Abraham, Ch. iii:24-26.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. The Varying Degrees of Intelligence Among Intelligences:_ We\nare already made aware of the fact in the preceding lessons that though\nIntelligences are equal in eternity of existence, it does not follow\nthat they are equal in degree of intelligence. (Lesson II. Subdivision\n4.) \"If two things exist,\" said the Lord to Abraham, and there be\none above the other, there shall be greater things above them. * * *\nThese two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more\nintelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent\nthan they.\"[A]\n\nNot only do intelligences differ in regard to the degree of\nintelligence, but they differ also in moral quality and greatness and\nnobility.\n\n    \"Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the Intelligences that\n    were organized before the world was; and among all these there\n    were many of the _noble_ and _great ones_; And God saw these souls\n    that they _were good_, and he stood in the midst of them, and he\n    said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that\n    were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me:\n    Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast\n    born.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Abraham, Ch. iii.]\n\nThe \"among all these were many of the noble and great ones;\" and \"he\nsaw that they were good,\" clearly manifests that reference is made to\ncapacity, to largeness of mind-power, and to moral quality; and from\namong these \"noble and great ones,\" shall the \"rulers\" come. Abraham\nwas a type of the \"noble and great ones,\" and was chosen before he was\nborn, and assigned to the part he took in his earth life, and is known\npreeminently as the \"friend of God,\" the \"Father of the faithful.\"\nSimilarly was Jeremiah foreknown and foreordained to be a Prophet\n(Jeremiah i:5); so, too, was St. John, the friend of Jesus, (I Nephi,\nxiv:18-27). So also the Christ was chosen and his mission appointed--he\nwas \"the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the World\" (Rev.\nxiii:8). And in his great prayer, before his passion, he said: \"And\nnow, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory\nwhich I had with thee before the world was.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: St. John xvii:5.]\n\nVarying degrees of intelligence, then, among the Intelligences, as also\nvarying degrees of greatness and nobility of soul and of moral quality\nare established; and doubtless the variation in the pre-earth existence\nis as great as it is in earth life.\n\n_2. The \"One\" More Intelligent Than All--God:_ When it is conceded\nthat among Intelligences there are varying degrees of intelligence,\nand greatness and nobility and moral quality, then it follows that\nthere may be _One_ who is the most intelligent of all, greatest,\nnoblest, best; most wise and most powerful. And how far this greatest\nand best may arise above the other Intelligences, who may say? There\nare no terms of comparison for the superlative. It rises above all\ncomparisons, and how far above that to which it stands next--how far\nabove the \"better\" the \"best\" rises--none may say. The same holds as\nto the \"greatest\" and the \"noblest\"--how far \"greatest\" rises above\n\"great;\" how far \"noblest\" rises above \"noble,\" or \"best\" above\n\"good,\" none may say. It may be that the \"most intelligent,\" may\nmean not only more intelligent than any other one out of the mass\nof Intelligences, but more intelligent than all combined; and this\nindeed is the interpretation I place upon the following passage in\nthe Book of Abraham: \"These two facts do exist, that there are two\nspirits, one being more intelligent than the other, there shall be\nanother more intelligent than they; _I am the Lord thy God, I am\nmore intelligent than them All._\" That is, than \"All\" combined, and\nfor that reason is He God. \"I dwell in the midst of them all,\" says\nthe Lord to Abraham. \"I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to\ndeliver (i. e., _reveal_, see verses 1-15, Ch. iii) unto thee the works\nwhich my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for\nI rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom\nand prudence, over all the Intelligences thou hast seen\" (Book of\nAbraham, Ch. iii:19-21). And to this agrees the following doctrine of\nthe Prophet: \"In knowledge there is power. God has more power than all\nother beings, because he has greater knowledge; hence he knows how to\nsubject all other beings to himself. He has power over all\" (Sermon\nat Nauvoo, April 8th, 1843, Hist, of the Church, Vol. V, p. 340.) And\nas I have said elsewhere: This Mighty Intelligence, who is \"more\nintelligent than All\" is also the All-Wise One; the All-Powerful One!\nWhat he tells other Intelligences to do must be precisely the wisest,\nfittest thing that they could anywhere or anyhow learn--the thing\nwhich it will in all ways behoove them with right loyal thankfulness,\nand nothing doubting, to do. There goes with this, too, the thought\nthat this All-Wise One is the Un-Selfish One, the All-Loving One,\nthe One who desires that which is highest, and best; not for Himself\nalone, but for all; and that, too, will be best for Him. His glory,\nHis power, His joy will be enhanced by the uplifting of all, by\nenlarging them; by increasing their joy, power, and glory. And because\nthis Most-Intelligent One is all this, and does all this, the other\nIntelligencies worship Him, submit their judgments and their will to\nHis judgment and His will. He knows, and can do that which is best; and\nthis submission of the mind to the most Intelligent, Wisest--wiser than\nAll--is worship. This is the whole meaning of the doctrine and the life\nof the Christ expressed in--\"Father, not my will but Thy will, be done.\"\n\n_3. The Capacity of Intelligences for Progress:_ If what has\nbeen set forth as to the qualities, or attributes of Intelligences\nbe true--that they are conscious of self and of not self; that they\nhave powers of perception, comparison, deliberation, reason, judgment,\nimagination and volition, (See Lesson I, this treatise) then they have\nin them the inherent elements of progress. All they need with this\ninherent equipment for progress is proper environment and action, and\nthe guidance of the Highest Intelligence; at least it must be admitted,\nas to the last, that progress would be more sure, more rapid when so\nguided.\n\n_4. Purpose in the Earth-Life of Man:_ To provide the means and\nopportunity for progress the earth-life of man was planned. As God\nstood among the Intelligences, he said to those that were with him:\n\n    \"We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of\n    these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;\n    and we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things\n    whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them; and they who keep\n    their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their\n    first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those\n    who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate\n    shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Abraham, Ch. iii:24-26.]\n\nThat is, interpreting the closing declaration, they shall have the\nblessings of eternal progress. Progress, then, is the purpose for which\nthe earth life of man was planned--that Intelligences might be \"added\nupon,\" and that eternally.\n\n\"This is my work and my glory,\" says the Lord, \"to bring to pass the\nimmortality and eternal life of man;\" (Book of Moses, Ch. i:39, Pearl\nof Great Price). That is of man _as_ man. Not the immortality of the\npersonal Intelligence or spirit of man, for that is already assured;\nbut the immortality of the spirit and body in their united condition,\nand which together constitute \"man;\" or the soul, for, in the\nrevelations of God in this last dispensation, the spirit and the body\nare said to be the \"soul:\" \"Through the redemption which is made for\nyou is brought to pass the resurrection from the dead. And the spirit\nand the body is the soul of man. And the resurrection from the dead is\nthe redemption of the soul\" (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 88:14-16).\n\nAgain, \"Men are that they might have joy,\" said the Prophet Lehi.[A]\n\"Men are that they might have joy!\" Have we here the reappearance of\nthe old Epicurean doctrine, \"pleasure is the supreme good, and chief\nend of life?\" No, verily! Nor any other form of old \"hedonism\"--the\nGreek ethics of gross self-interest. For mark, in the first place,\nthe different words \"joy\" and \"pleasure.\" They are not synonymous.\nThe first does not necessarily arise from the second, \"joy\" may arise\nfrom quite other sources than \"pleasure;\" from pain, even, when the\nendurance of pain is to eventuate in the achievement of some good:\nsuch as the travail of a mother in bringing forth her offspring;\nthe weariness and pain and danger of toil by a father, to secure\ncomforts for loved ones. Nor is the \"joy\" here contemplated the \"joy\"\nof mere innocence--mere innocence, which say what you will of it,\nis but a negative sort of virtue. A virtue that is colorless, never\nquite sure of itself, always more or less uncertain, because untried.\nSuch a virtue--if mere absence of vice may be called virtue--would\nbe unproductive of that \"joy\" the attainment of which is set forth\nin the Book of Mormon as the purpose of man's existence; for in the\ncontext it is written, \"They [Adam and Eve] would have remained in a\nstate of 'innocence.' Having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing\nno good, for they knew no sin.\" From which it appears that the \"joy\"\ncontemplated in our Book of Mormon passage is to arise from something\nmore than mere innocence, which is, impliedly, unproductive of \"joy.\"\nThe \"joy\" contemplated in the Book of Mormon passage is to arise out\nof man's knowledge of evil, of sin; through knowing misery, sorrow,\npain and suffering; through seeing good and evil locked in awful\nconflict; through a consciousness of having chosen in that conflict\nthe better part, the good; and not only in having chosen it, but in\nhaving wedded it by eternal compact; made it his by right of conquest\nover evil. It is a \"joy\" that will arise from a consciousness of having\n\"fought the good fight,\" of having \"kept the faith.\" It will arises\nfrom a consciousness of moral, spiritual and physical strength. Of\nstrength gained in conflict. The strength that comes from experience;\nfrom having sounded the depths of the soul; from experiencing all\nemotions of which mind is susceptible; from testing all the qualities\nand strength of the intellect. A \"joy\" that will come to man from\na contemplation of the universe, and a consciousness that he is an\nheir to all that is--a joint heir with Jesus Christ and God; from\nknowing that he is an essential part of all that is. It is a joy that\nwill be born of the consciousness of existence itself--that will\nrevel in existence--in thoughts of and realizations of existence's\nlimitless possibilities. A \"joy\" born of the consciousness of the\npower of eternal increase. A \"joy\" arising from association with the\nIntelligences of innumerable heavens--the Gods of all eternities. A\n\"joy\" born of a consciousness of being, of intelligence, of faith,\nknowledge, light, truth, mercy, justice, love, glory, dominion, wisdom,\npower; all feelings, affections, emotions, passions; all heights and\nall depths! \"Men are that they might have joy;\" and that \"joy\" is based\nupon and contemplates all that is here set down. (New Witnesses, Vol.\nIII, pp. 199-120.)\n\n[Footnote A: II Nephi ii:25.]\n\nThe foregoing considerations discover the purpose of God in the\nearth-life of man to be the progress and joy of men, kindred\nIntelligences with God; and with that progress and joy of kindred\nIntelligences, there must be an ever widening manifestation of the\nglory of God. \"The glory of God is Intelligence, or, in other words,\nlight and truth\" (Doc. & Cov. Sec. 93:36); but not \"Intelligence\"\nonly as it inheres in Himself; but also as it finds expression and\ndevelopment in others.\n\n_5. A Union of Spirit and Element Essential to a Fulness of Joy:_\nIn this progress of Intelligences there must be movement, action, new\nenvironment, estates, experiences through which they pass.--Hence\nIntelligences are begotten spirits, and spirits are begotten men--the\n\"deathless element\"--Intelligence--must be united with earth-element,\nto learn what earth-life has to teach, and get itself expressed through\nearth-elements; which also--so far as such elements shall be essential\nto an added dignity and power to the spirit of man--will be made\nimmortal, become an indissoluble part of the spiritual personage, the\nspirit and the body thus inseparably united constituting the \"_soul_\nof man.\"[A] \"Man is spirit.\"[B] \"The elements\"--earth elements--\"are\neternal; and spirit and element, inseparably connected receive a\nfullness of joy; and when separated man cannot receive a fullness of\njoy.\" Hence for man, earth-existence became a necessity to progress,\nand therefore it was provided.\n\n[Footnote A: \"Now, verily I say unto you, that through the redemption\nwhich is made for you is brought to pass the resurrection from\nthe dead. And the spirit and the body is the soul of man. And the\nresurrection from the dead is the redemption of the soul;\" (Doc. & Cov.\nSec. 88, verses 14, 15, 16).]\n\n[Footnote B: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 93:33, 34.]\n\n\n\nLESSON V.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE WAR IN HEAVEN.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. The War Vaguely Alluded to in Hebrew Scriptures.\n\nII. The War More Definitely Described.\n\nIII. The Causes of the War.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nLuke x:17, 18 and John viii:44.\n\nRev. xii:7-12; Jude 6.\n\nBook of Abraham, Ch. iii:27-28; Book of Moses (Pearl of Great Price),\nCh. iv:4.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: As side reading, I suggest \"Milton's Paradise Lost,\" and\nElder Orson F. Whitney's \"Elias,\" Canto III.]\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"And there was war in heaven: Michael and, his angels\nfought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and\nprevailed not; neither was there place found any more in heaven. And\nthe great dragon was cast out. He was cast out into the earth, and his\nangels were cast out with him.\" (Rev. xii.7-9.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. Recapitulatory:_ The fact of the Eternity of Intelligences,\ntheir essential qualities, their capacity for progress, the necessity\nfor union with earth-elements in order to attain a fulness of joy, the\npurpose of God with reference to man's earth-life--all these subjects\nhaving been treated in the preceding lessons; we are now prepared to\nconsider the several steps taken with reference to bringing to pass the\nearth-life of the spirits of men.\n\nRunning throughout the Hebrew scriptures, but more or less vague, there\nare traces of the pre-earth existence of intelligences, and of strife\nand struggle in that existence; rebellion and war; failure of certain\nones to keep first estates, their being cast out and reserved in chains\nof darkness to some future day of judgment; some reference also to\neternal life that was promised of God before the world was made. Though\nthese lack somewhat in clearness, let me, if they may not be set forth\nin anything like order, at least mass them, that they may be before us\nin one view.\n\n_2. The Hebrew Scriptures on the War in Heaven:_ In the very\nbeginning of the Hebrew scripture God, in the creation, is represented\nas addressing others engaged with him in the creation work: \"And God\nsaid let us make man in _our_ image, after _our_ likeness.\"[A] Then\nafter the Fall: \"And the Lord God said: Behold the man has become as\none of us to know good and evil.\"[B] Perfectly blending with this idea\nof a plurality of divine Intelligences engaging in the work of creation\nis the Lord's question to Job: \"Gird up now thy loins like a man, for\nI will demand of thee, and answer thou me: Where wast thou when I laid\nthe foundations of the earth? declare if thou hast understanding. Who\nhath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched\nthe line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened?\nor who laid the corner stone thereof, _when the morning stars sang\ntogether, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?\"_[C]\n\n[Footnote A: Gen. i:26.]\n\n[Footnote B: Gen. iii:22.]\n\n[Footnote C: Job xxxviii:4-7.]\n\nIt seems, then, that there were sons of God before the foundations of\nthe earth were laid, or even the measuring line was stretched upon it.\nAnd may it not have been these Sons of God, whom God addressed in the\ncreation work, saying to them: \"Let us make man in our image\"--\"The man\nhas become as one of us?\"\n\nOn the return of the Seventy whom Jesus sent out on a special mission\ninto every city and place where he himself proposed to go, they said:\n\"Lord, even the devils are subject to us in thy name.\" To which Jesus\nanswered: \"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven\" (Luke x:17,\n18). As if he would say, \"Your victory over evil spirits in my name, is\nnot the first I have won over Satan. I saw him as lightning fall from\nheaven.\"[A] One other reference to Lucifer in this same connection is\nmade by the Christ; when addressing contentious Jews, he said: \"Ye are\nof your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He\nwas a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because\nthere is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his\nown; for he is a liar, and the father of it.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: There is much confusion among the commentators on this\npassage c. f. Jamieson--Fausset-Brown with the International Revision\nCommentary on the passage. Dummelow's Commentary, however, says: \"Our\nLord poetically compares Satan's discomfiture at the successful mission\nof the Seventy, to his original fall from heaven.\" He also regards John\nviii:44, as referring to the same event.]\n\n[Footnote B: St. John viii:44.]\n\nIn the Book of Revelation, however, and also in Jude, this \"war in\nheaven\" is more minutely described. In the former it is said:\n\n    \"And there was a war in heaven; Michael and his angels fought\n    against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and\n    prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.\n    And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the\n    Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out\n    into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard\n    a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength,\n    and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ; for the\n    accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our\n    God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,\n    and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives\n    unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in\n    them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the\n    devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth\n    that he hath but a short time.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Rev. xii:7-12.]\n\nAnd this from Jude: \"And the angels which kept not their first estate,\nbut left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains\nunder darkness unto the judgment of the great day\" (Jude 6). Peter also\nalludes to this event when he says: \"God spared not the angels that\nsinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of\ndarkness, to be reserved unto judgment\" (II Peter ii:4).[A]\n\n[Footnote A: It is upon these declarations of Scripture that Milton has\nbased his gorgeous epic, \"Paradise Lost.\"]\n\n_2. Modern Scriptures on the War in Heaven:_ These are the\nscripture passages which I said in a vague way represent both the\npre-earth existence of Intelligences, and a state of strife, struggle,\nrebellion, war; attended with the loss of \"first estate,\" and place\nin heaven, being thrust out into outer darkness. But what the point\nof controversy, the cause of difference upon which the \"war\" was\nbased--all this we are left in ignorance of in these scriptures;\nand even in those other scriptures yet to be quoted, the brevity is\npainful, and yet they shed great light upon conditions that one feels\nmust have existed in heaven, from the passages of Hebrew scripture\nmassed above. In the Doctrine and Covenants occurs the following\npassage:\n\n    \"Behold, the Devil was before Adam [speaking of Adam in the Garden\n    of Eden, and of his temptation], for he rebelled against me, saying\n    give me thine honor, which is my power; also a third part of the\n    hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency;\n    and they were thrust down and became the Devil and his angels. And\n    behold there is a place prepared for them from the beginning, which\n    place is hell.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 29:36-38.]\n\nAgain, in the revelation called the \"Vision,\" or \"Vision of the Three\nGlories,\" the Prophet says:\n\n    \"And this we saw also, and bear record, that an angel of God who\n    was in authority in the presence of God, who rebelled against the\n    Only Begotten Son, whom the Father loved, and who was in the bosom\n    of the Father--was thrust down from the presence of God and the\n    Son. And was called Perdition, for the heavens wept over him--he\n    was Lucifer, a son of the morning. And we beheld and lo, he is\n    fallen! is fallen! even a son of the morning. And while we were\n    yet in the Spirit, the Lord commanded us that we should write the\n    vision, for we beheld Satan, that old serpent--even the Devil--who\n    rebelled against God, and sought to take the kingdom of our God,\n    and his Christ.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 76:25-38.]\n\nThe Book of Abraham, after representing God's purpose to create an\nearth in order that the Intelligences in the midst of whom he dwelt\nmight have earth-existence, and be put in the way of eternal progress\n(Ch. iii:24, 26), then asks: \"Whom shall I send? And one answered like\nunto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said:\nHere am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first. And the\nsecond was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many\nfollowed after him\" (Book of Abraham, Ch. iii:27-28).\n\nAgain in the Book of Moses (Pearl of Great Price), after detailing an\nexperience which Moses had with Satan, the Lord said to him:\n\n    \"That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only\n    Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came\n    before me, saying: Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son,\n    and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and\n    surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor. But, behold, my\n    beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning,\n    said unto me, Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine\n    forever. Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and\n    sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had\n    given him, and also that I should give unto him mine own power; by\n    the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast\n    down; and he became Satan, yea, even the Devil, the father of all\n    lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his\n    will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Moses iv:1-4.]\n\nThis last passage from the Book of Abraham discloses the important\ntruth that this war in heaven was connected with a controversy\nconcerning the redemption of man from conditions in which, apparently,\nthe contemplated earth-life would involve him. The controversy\nconcerned also the choice of One to perform this work of redemption.\nTwo offered themselves, but the terms of one involved at least the\nsacrifice of two mighty principles; one, the agency of man; the other,\nthe honor and glory of God. \"Here am I, Father, send me,\" said the\nChrist. Then Lucifer--the Light Bearer, and \"one in authority in the\npresence of God\"--said: \"Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy\nSon, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost,\nand surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.\" But the first\nspake again, saying,[A] \"Father, thy will be done, and the glory be\nthine forever.\" Whereupon the election fell upon the Christ, and\nLucifer rebelled.\n\n[Footnote A: I am presenting the order of events here as they may be\nimplied from the two accounts here presented, one from the Book of\nAbraham, the other from the Book of Moses. The former is a very brief\nstatement, the latter, more elaborate.]\n\n\n\nLESSON VI.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE BATTLE FOR MAN'S MORAL FREEDOM IN MAN'S EARTH-LIFE.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. Free Agency of Intelligences.\n\n1. The moral freedom of Intelligences did not begin with earth-life.\n\n2. Freedom, an inherent quality of Intelligences.\n\n3. Freedom follows them through all estates, and in all spheres in\nwhich they are placed by God.\n\nII. Transfer of the Honor and Glory of God Demanded.\n\n1. The spirit of Lucifer.\n\n2. The spirit of Christ.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nPearl of Great Price, Book of Moses, Chs. i-iv.\n\nDoc. & Cov., Sec. 29:36-38.\n\nSeventy's Course in Theology, Year Book II, Lesson iv.\n\nBook of Mormon, Alma xxix:4; II Nephi ii:27.\n\nNew Witnesses for God, Vol. III, pp. 207-214.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"All truth is independent in that sphere in which God\nhas placed it, to act for itself, as all Intelligence also. Otherwise\nthere is no existence.\" (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 93.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. Of the Nature of Moral Freedom:_ The controversy in the\nheavenly council between Christ and Lucifer, gives emphasis to the\nimportance of man's agency--his freedom to will and to do as he shall\nelect. The choice of the Christ as the Redeemer of the world cannot\nbe regarded as being connected with any event by which the agency or\nmoral freedom of Intelligences was then created. It was the maintenance\nof that which already existed rather than the creation of any new\nthing which was involved. Indeed the moral freedom of Intelligences\nis something which is as eternal as they are. Freedom is an attribute\nof Intelligences and may not be taken from them without robbing them\nof all joy and glory and dignity of existence. \"Intelligence, or the\nlight of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. All\ntruth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act\nfor itself, as all Intelligence also, otherwise there is no existence.\nBehold, here is the agency of man and here is the condemnation of man,\nbecause that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto\nthem, and they receive not the light. And every man who receiveth not\nthe light is under condemnation, for man is spirit.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 93:30-33.]\n\nWhenever God, therefore, speaks of the agency or moral freedom\nof man,[A] reference is had to the spirit or Intelligence which\nconstitutes the real man, \"for man is spirit,\" that is, mind,\nIntelligence is the real fact of him. All truth and all Intelligences\nare independent in that sphere in which God has placed them, to act\nfor themselves, otherwise there is no existence (see above quotation).\nThat is to say, there is no existence where this fact of the freedom of\ntruth and of Intelligences does not obtain. Freedom of man, then, means\nfreedom of the Intelligence which is the chief fact of man; freedom in\nall estates through which he shall be called to pass, in all spheres in\nwhich God shall place him to act, the quality of freedom never leaves\nhim. In obedience or in rebellion against God, it is his freedom that\nkeeps him in either condition, and ministers to his joy or his misery\nrespectively.\n\n[Footnote A: It will be observed that these terms are used\ninterchangeably.]\n\n\"I know,\" says the Nephite Prophet Alma, \"that he [God] granteth unto\nmen according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life;\nyea, I know that he alloteth unto men, according to their wills;\nwhether they be unto salvation or unto destruction\" (xxix:4).\n\nThe second Nephi says: \"The Lord God gave unto man that he should act\nfor himself. Men are free according to the flesh; and all things are\ngiven them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose\nliberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men, or\nto choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of\nthe devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto\nhimself.\"[A] Upon these principles it is manifest that God designed\nthat freedom should follow Intelligences into their earth-life.\n\n[Footnote A: II Nephi ii:27.]\n\n_2. Moral Freedom to Follow Man in all Estates:_ When the\nearthlife was proposed, Intelligences were about to exercise that\nfreedom in a new sphere of existence; in a new environment, under new,\nand to them, doubtless, strange conditions. The plan Lucifer proposed\ninvolved the destruction of his freedom. \"Satan rebelled against\nme, and sought to destroy the agency of man,\" says the Lord. \"Here\nam I,\" said Lucifer, \"send me. I will be thy son, and I will redeem\nall mankind that not one soul shall be lost.\"[A] Under this plan,\nIntelligences were to have an earth-life in which there would be no\nlosses; a world where there was nothing adventurous and dangerous, a\n\"game\" in which there are no real stakes; all that was \"hazarded\" would\nbe given back. All must be saved; and no price is to be paid in the\nwork of salvation. The last word is to be sweet. All is to be \"yes,\"\n\"yes\" in the universe.[B] The fact of \"no\" was nowhere to stand at the\ncore of things. There could be no seriousness attributed to life under\nsuch a plan, since there were to be no insuperable \"noes\" and \"losses;\"\nno genuine sacrifices anywhere; nothing permanently drastic and bitter\nto remain at the bottom of the cup. \"I will redeem all mankind, that\nnot one soul shall be lost,\" said Lucifer; \"and surely I will do\nit.\" Man was to have nothing to do in the achievement, all was to be\ndone for him. He was to be passive, merely. Not a thing to act, but\nsomething to be acted upon. Such only could be the outcome of a world\nwhere all mankind would be saved, \"that not one soul should be lost.\"\nIt would be an utterly meaningless world. Without heroism; listless\nindifference would claim it. Passage through such an estate would add\nnothing to Intelligences. And yet, beyond question, there were natures\namong the Intelligences of heaven that longed for such a scheme of\nthings, so much they dreaded danger, adventure and the stress of life\nthat comes from individual struggle and individual responsibility.\n\"Give us ease, let us have things done for us without our concern and\nthe pain of striving,\" is their cry. And a third part of the hosts of\nheaven Lucifer turned away from the Lord in that day, because they made\nthis election, and they became the devil and his angels (Doc. & Cov.,\nSec. xxix).\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Moses, Ch. iv:4.]\n\n[Footnote B: The expressions here used are a paraphrase of a passage\nin a lecture of the late Prof. Wm. James, on \"Pragmatism\" (page 295),\non the thought, \"May not the notion of a world already saved in toto\nanyhow, be too saccharine to stand.\"]\n\n_3. The Thoughts of a Modern Philosopher:_ Mr. Wm. James, in his\n\"Pragmatism,\" has a very wonderful passage bearing upon the whole\nthought here dwelt upon; and it is so pregnant with suggestion relative\nto our theme, so supported by philosophical thought and analysis of\nhuman nature, both strong and weak, that one marvels at the idea and\nthought in it which so parallels our own doctrines advanced in the Book\nof Moses--the doctrines above considered and given to the Church, in\nlarge part, in the very first years of her existence.[A] The following\nis the passage from Mr. James:\n\n[Footnote A: For full account of the Book of Moses, see Seventy's\nYear Book. No. I, Lessons v and vi. It was published in full by F. D.\nRichards in the Pearl of Great Price, 1851, Liverpool, England.]\n\n    \"Suppose that the world's Author put the case to you before\n    creation, saying: 'I am going to make a world not certain to be\n    saved, a world the perfection of which shall be conditional merely,\n    the condition being that each several agent does its own \"level\n    best.\" I offer you the chance of taking part in such a world.\n    Its safety, you see, is unwarranted. It is a real adventure,\n    with real danger, yet it may win through. It is a social scheme\n    of co-operative work genuinely to be done. Will you join the\n    procession? Will you trust yourself and trust the other agents\n    enough to face the risk?\n\n    \"Should you, in all seriousness, if participation in such a\n    world were proposed to you, feel bound to reject it as not safe\n    enough? Would you say that, rather than be part and parcel of so\n    fundamentally pluralistic and irrational a universe, you preferred\n    to relapse into the slumber of nonentity from which you had been\n    momentarily aroused by the tempter's voice?[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Of course this proposition of relapsing into \"nonentity\"\nis no part of the \"Mormon\" scheme of thought, since the actual\nproposition of our revelations was made to Intelligences alike\nuncreated and uncreatable, and alike indestructible; so that while\nin the exercise of their freedom these Intelligences might decline\nparticipation in the scheme of things proposed, they could not sink\nback into nonentities.]\n\n    \"Of course, if you are normally constituted, you would do nothing\n    of the sort. There is a healthy-minded buoyancy in most of us which\n    such a universe would exactly fit. We would therefore accept the\n    offer--'Top! and schlag auf schlag!\" It would be just like the\n    world we practically live in; and loyalty to our old nurse Nature\n    would forbid us to say no. The world proposed would seem 'rational'\n    to us in the most living way.\n\n    \"Most of us, I say, would therefore welcome the proposition and add\n    our fiat to the fiat of the creator. Yet perhaps some would not;\n    for there are morbid minds in every human collection, and to them\n    the prospect of a universe with only a fighting chance of safety\n    would probably make no appeal. There are moments of discouragement\n    in us all, when we are sick of self and tired of vainly striving.\n    Our own life breaks down, and we fall into the attitude of the\n    prodigal son. We mistrust the chances of things. We want a universe\n    where we can just give up, fall on our father's neck, and be\n    absorbed into the absolute life as a drop of water melts into the\n    river or the sea.\n\n    \"The peace and rest, the security desiderated at such moments\n    is security against the bewildering accidents of so much finite\n    experience. Nirvana means safety from this everlasting round of\n    adventures of which the world of sense consists. The Hindo and\n    the Buddhist, for this is essentially their attitude, are simply\n    afraid, afraid of more experience, afraid of life!\n\n    \"And to men of this complexion, religious monism comes with its\n    consoling words: 'All is needed and essential--even you and your\n    sick soul and heart. All are one with God, and with God all is\n    well. The everlasting arms are beneath, whether in the world of\n    finite appearance you seem to fail or to succeed.' There can be\n    no doubt that when men are reduced to their last sick extremity,\n    absolutism is the only saving scheme. Pluralistic moralism simply\n    makes their teeth chatter, it refrigerates the very heart within\n    their breast. * * *\n\n    \"I find myself willing to take the universe to be really dangerous\n    and adventurous, without therefore backing out and crying, no play.\n    I am willing to think that the prodigal son attitude, open to us\n    as it is in many vicissitudes, is not the right and final attitude\n    towards the whole of life. I am willing that there should be real\n    losses and real losers, and no total preservation of all that is. I\n    can believe in the ideal as an ultimate, not as an origin, and as\n    an extract, not the whole. When the cup is poured off, the dregs\n    are left behind forever, but the possibility of what is poured off\n    is sweet enough to accept.\n\n    \"As a matter of fact, countless human imaginations live in this\n    moralistic and epic kind of a universe, and find its disseminated\n    and strung along successes sufficient for their rational needs.\n    There is a finely translated epigram in the Greek anthology which\n    admirably expresses this state of mind, this acceptance of loss as\n    unatoned for, even though the lost element might be one's self:\n\n  \"A shipwrecked sailor, buried on this coast,\n      Bids you set sail.\n  Full many a gallant bark, when we were lost,\n      Weathered the gale.\"\n\n    \"It is, then, perfectly possible to accept sincerely a drastic kind\n    of a universe from which the element of 'seriousness' is not to be\n    expelled. Whoso does so is, it seems to me, a genuine pragmatist.\n    He is willing to live on a scheme of uncertified possibilities\n    which he trusts; willing to pay with his own person, if need be,\n    for the realization of the ideals which he frames.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: \"Pragmatism\" (1908), Wm. James, pp. 290-297.]\n\n4. The Startling Parallel Between the Reflections of the Philosopher\nand the Doctrines of the Book of Moses: Such the voice of a modern,\nand, without disparagement of others, I think I may venture to say,\nour greatest American, philosopher. In this statement, as I said\nin introducing it, Professor James puts the case of the proposed\nearth-existence of man, as set forth in the early revelations to\nthe Church, in a way that is startling. The proposition put to\nIntelligences before the earth was made, in each case; an earth-life\nfull of adventure and danger, safety not guaranteed,[A] in each case;\nthe counter plan proposed that would guarantee safety rejected; and\nyet the existence of some \"morbid minds\" among the spirits--found \"in\nevery human collection,\" to whom \"the prospect of a universe with only\na fighting chance\" made no appeal, and accordingly their rejection\nof it, and their rebellion. But, thank God, the Christ in that great\ncouncil prevailed, as also he prevailed in the war of the Rebellion\nin Heaven, which followed upon that Council's decision. The Christ's\nspirit stood for the freedom of man in that great controversy. He stood\nfor a serious earth-life for Intelligences, in which though there would\nbe some losses, many losses, in fact, yet also there would be much\ngain and glory. Gain, however, that could not be obtained but through\ngreat strivings; the exercise of all the great virtues, of trust and\npatience, endurance and courage, wisdom and temperance, together with\nfaith and hope and charity. Thank God, I say, that Jesus the Christ,\nin the pre-existence, stood for all those things which make earth-life\nworth while and existence itself endurable--for the moral freedom of\nman.\n\n[Footnote A: \"We will go down, for there is space there, and we will\ntake of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these\n[Intelligences] may dwell; and we will prove them herewith, to see if\nthey will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command\nthem; and they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and\nthey who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same\nkingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their\nsecond estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and\never\" (Book of Abraham, Ch. iii:24-26).]\n\n_5. The Spirit of Lucifer:_ In the closing paragraph of Lesson V\nit is stated that two mighty principles were involved in the plan of\nearth-life for Intelligences. One the agency of man; the other, the\nhonor and glory of God. The first has been considered; the second must\nnow receive attention:\n\n\"I will redeem all mankind that one soul shall not be lost; and surely\nI will do it; _wherefore give me thine honor_.\" To this the Christ\nis said to have replied: \"Father, thy will be done, and the glory be\nthine forever\" (Book of Moses, Ch. iv:1, 2). These two propositions\nrepresent the spirit of the two characters here in contention. The\none, self-seeking, vainglorious, selfish--willing that the agency\nof man shall be destroyed if only he may be exalted. Willing that\nIntelligences shall be bereft of freedom--if only he can be Lord.\n\"And surely I will do it,\" self sufficiency. \"Wherefore give me thine\nhonor!\" With which would go also the power of God and the glory! (See\nBook of Moses, Ch. iv:3.) Hence this scheme of Lucifer's contemplated\nnot only the despoliation of man, but the dishonoring of God. Truly the\nambition of Lucifer was boundless, as his selfishness was fathomless.\nWell might the poet make lord Wolsey say:\n\n  \"I charge thee, fling away ambition;\n  By this sin fell the angels.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: King Henry VIII.]\n\n_6. The Christ Spirit:_ In contrast with Lucifer's characteristics\nrevealed in this controversy, contemplate the plan and character of the\nChrist. Standing as it does in antithesis to the agency-destroying plan\nof Lucifer, it must be held to be agency-preserving, hence offers not\nsalvation to all so \"that one soul shall not be lost,\" but predicates\nsalvation upon compliance with some conditions, on obedience, say,\nto God. Under this agency-preserving plan, then, the Christ said:\n\"Father, thy will be done.\" Equivalent to saying, Father, let thy\nfreedom-preserving plan obtain, and be carried into effect--\"Thy will\nbe done, and the glory be thine forever!\" And it was in this spirit\nthat the work of the atonement was wrought out in the earth-life of the\nChrist. \"I came down from heaven,\" said he, \"not to do my own will, but\nthe will of him that sent me\" (St. John vi:38). \"I seek not mine own\nwill, but the will of the Father which sent me\" (St. John v:30). Thrice\nin that hour when the shadows and sorrows due to a world's sin were\nfalling upon him, the Christ prayed, \"O, my Father, if this cup may not\npass away from me: except I drink it, thy will be done\" (Matt. xxvi).\nAnd when the betrayer came, and with him the agents of the earthly\ngovernment, and one drew the sword to resist them, the Christ chided\nhim, and told him to put up his sword, and gave his impulsive follower\nto understand that his course in submitting to the world's forces was\nvoluntary on his part. \"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my\nFather, and he shall presently give more than twelve legions of angels?\nBut how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?\"\n(Matt. 26:53, 54.) And so \"he humbled himself, and became obedient unto\ndeath, even the death of the cross\" (Phil. ii:8). Such the spirit of\nthe Christ--humble submissiveness--\n\n  \"Thy will, O God, not mine be done,\n  Adorned his mortal life.\"\n\n\n\nLESSON VII.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE FALL OF MAN.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. The Fall and Its Relation to the Purposes of God.\n\nII. The Nobility of Adam Manifested in the Fall.\n\nIII. The Effects of the Fall Physical and Moral.\n\nIV. The Relation of the Fall to Man's Life as Man.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nBook of Moses (Pearl of Great Price), Ch. v:1-2; also Ch. vi:43-68.\n\nBook of Mormon, II Nephi ii; Alma, Chs. xii, xiii and xlii.\n\nRichards and Little's Compendium, Art. \"Fall of Adam,\" pp. 3-5, and all\ntheir references.\n\nSeventy's Year Book II, Lesson viii.\n\nNew Witnesses for God, Vol. III, Ch. xl, pp. 180-192, 214-218; 227-230.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"Adam fell that man might be; men are that they might\nhave joy.\" (II Nephi ii:25.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. A Suggested Review:_ It is suggested to the student that he at\nthis point review, either in class or by private reading, the following\nlessons in Seventy's Course in Theology, Second Year Book:\n\nLesson V.--Preparation of the Earth for the Abode of Man.\n\nLesson VII.--The Adamic Dispensation I.\n\nLesson VIII.--The Adamic Dispensation II.\n\nLesson IX.--The Adamic Dispensation III.\n\nI refer the student to those lessons in order that the necessity might\nbe avoided of entering again into detail on those subjects; for here\nI shall only say respecting the \"fall\" so much as may be necessary to\nkeep up the continuity of the theme.\n\n_2. The \"Fall\" of Man as Related to the Purposes of God:_ From\nwhat is set forth in Part I of this treatise, it is evident that the\n\"fall of Adam\" did not surprise the purposes of God with reference\nto man's earth life. Nor is it thinkable that it was an accident, or\nthat it in any way thwarted the original purposes of God in respect\nof man. Indeed the subject as developed up to this point brings us to\nthe fall of man as the next step in the sequence of the purposes of\nGod in regard to man's earth life. There must be a transition from\na spirit-existence to a man-existence for those Intelligences in\nheaven designed for habitation on our earth. There must be brought\nto pass a change from heavenly conditions to earth conditions if the\nIntelligences designed for habitation on our earth are to have the\nexperiences that earth life can impart; a life where evil is manifest\nand active; where the moral harmony is broken; where men must walk\nby faith, and not by sight. This transition from spirit-existence to\nman-existence; from a state of moral harmony to one where moral harmony\nis broken and evil is active is called \"the fall;\" and was essential to\nthe accomplishment of God's purposes. Of its details, and its processes\nit becomes one to speak cautiously, for but little is revealed, and\nbeyond what is revealed upon the subject, we have no knowledge.\n\n_3. \"Adam Fell that Men Might Be:_\" I think it cannot be doubted\nwhen the whole story of man's fall is taken into account that in some\nway--however hidden it may be under allegory--his fall was closely\nassociated with the propagation of the race. Before the fall we are\ntold that Adam and Eve were in a state of innocence; but after the fall\n\"The eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked,\nand they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons,\" and\nalso hid from the presence of the Lord.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Gen. iii:7-9.]\n\nIn an incidental way Paul gives us to understand that Adam in the\nmatter of this first transgression \"was not deceived,\" but that\nthe woman was.[A] It therefore follows that Adam must have sinned\nknowingly, and perhaps deliberately; making choice of obedience between\ntwo laws pressing upon him. With his spouse Eve, he had received a\ncommandment from God to be fruitful, to perpetuate his race in the\nearth. He had also been told not to partake of a certain fruit of\nthe Garden of Eden; but according to the story of Genesis, as also\naccording to the assertion of Paul, Eve, who with Adam received\nthe commandment to multiply in the earth, was deceived, and by the\npersuasion of Lucifer, induced to partake of the forbidden fruit. She,\ntherefore, was in transgression, and subject to the penalty of that\nlaw, which from the scriptures, we learn included banishment from Eden,\nbanishment from the presence of God, and also the death of the body.\nThis meant, if Eve were permitted to stand alone in her transgression,\nthat she must be alone also in suffering the penalty thereof. In that\nevent she would have been separated from Adam, which necessarily would\nhave prevented obedience to the commandment given to them conjointly,\nto multiply in the earth. In the presence of this situation, therefore,\nit is to be believed that Adam was not deceived, either by the cunning\nof Lucifer or the blandishments of the woman, deliberately, and with a\nfull knowledge of his act and its consequences, and in order to carry\nout the purpose of God in the existence of man in the earth, he shared\nalike the woman's transgression and its effects, and this in order that\nthe first great commandment he had received from God, viz--\"Be fruitful\nand multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it\"--might not fail of\nfulfillment. Hence \"Adam fell that men might be.\"\n\n[Footnote A: \"Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being deceived, was\nin the transgression\" III Tim. ii:14.]\n\n_4. The Nobility of Adam in the Fall:_ The effect of this doctrine\nupon the ideas of men concerning the great Patriarch of our race will\nbe revolutionary. It seems to be the fashion of those who assume to\nteach the Christian religion to denounce Adam in unmeasured terms; as\nif the fall of man had surprised, if, indeed, it did altogether thwart,\nthe original plan of God respecting the existence of man in the earth.\nThe creeds of the churches generally fail to consider the \"fall\" as\npart of God's purpose regarding this world, and, in its way, just as\nessential to the accomplishment of that purpose as the \"redemption\"\nthrough Jesus Christ. Certainly there would have been no occasion for\nAtonement and redemption had there been no fall; and hence no occasion\nfor the display of all that wealth of grace and mercy and justice and\nlove--all that richness of experience involved in man's earth life,\nand the Atonement of Jesus Christ, had there been no fall. It cannot\nbe but that it was part of God's purpose to give man these experiences\nand display the above named qualities in their true relation, for the\nbenefit and blessing and enlargement and ultimate uplifting of man;\nand since there would have been no occasion for displaying them but\nfor the fall, it logically follows that the fall, no less than the\nAtonement and redemption, must have been part of God's original plan\nrespecting the earth probation of man. The fall, undoubtedly, was a\nfact as much present to the foreknowledge of God as was the atonement,\nand the act which encompassed it must be regarded as more praise-worthy\nthan blame-worthy, since it was essential to the accomplishment of\nthe divine purpose. Yet, as I say, those who assume to teach the\nChristian religion roundly denounce Adam for his transgression[A] and\nespecially for the recital of the circumstances of his fall, \"The woman\nthou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.\"\nIn which they seem to find an attempt to shift responsibility for the\nfall upon woman instead of a plain statement of fact. The truth is,\nthat nothing could be more courageous, sympathetic, or nobly honorable\nthan the course of our world's great Patriarch in his relations to his\nwife Eve and the fall. The woman by deception of Lucifer is led into\ntransgression, and stands under the penalty of a broken law. Banishment\nfrom the presence of God; banishment from Eden and the presence of her\nhusband, if he partakes not with her in the transgression; dissolution\nof spirit and body--physical death--all await her, and her alone!\nThereupon the man, not deceived, but knowingly (as we are assured by\nPaul), also transgressed. Why? In one aspect of the case in order\nthat he might share the woman's banishment from the dear presence of\nGod, and with her to die--than which no higher proof of love could\nbe given--no nobler act of chivalry performed. But primarily he\ntransgressed that \"Man might be.\" He transgressed a less important law\nthat he might comply with one more important, if one may so speak of\nany of God's laws.\n\n[Footnote A: See Seventy's Year Book No. II, Lesson VIII.]\n\n_5. The Purpose and Effect of the Fall:_ Adam transgressed, or\nfell, \"that man might be,\" as the Book of Mormon states it.[D] That is\nto say, that man might \"be\" (i. e., exist), in earth life; and not only\n\"be\" but \"be\" as man; an eternal Intelligence begotten a spirit in the\nheavenly kingdom, and now on earth taking on through painful process\nand at much hazard eternal elements of matter as a covering, a body,\nthat there might be a fullness of joy, and power, and without which\nunion of spirit and element there could be no fullness of joy or power\n(Doc. & Cov. Sec. 93).\n\nAlso Adam fell that man might \"be\" in the environment of earthlife;\nin the midst of broken harmonies, where good and evil are seen in\nconflict; in a life of adventure and danger; in a life where real\nlosses may have to be sustained; and sorrows as well as joys are\nrealities; where death as well as life is encountered; and where\nspiritual deaths may be as endless, as spiritual lives may be eternal.\nTo bring to pass these conditions essential to man's earth-experiences,\non which is to be builded his future progress, the \"fall\" must be;\nwhich is only another way of saying that the transition from heaven\nconditions to earth must be made. In no way else could this earth\ndepartment of God's great university for Intelligences be established.\nMay it not, however, from some points of view be regarded as a\nmisnomer, this \"fall?\" Certainly it is but an incident in the process\nof rising to greater heights. It is but the crouch for the spring;\nthe steps backward in order to gain momentum for the rush forward; a\ndescending below all things only that there might be a rising above all\nthings. Such the benefits to arise from the fall; at least to some,\nand doubtless to the benefit ultimately, of most of the Intelligences\nthat participate in earth-life, though there will be real losses\nin the adventure.[B] The fall is to eventuate in the advantage of\nGod's children, then, in the main. Adam did not sin because deceived\nby another. He did not sin maliciously, or with evil intent; or to\ngratify an inclination to rebellion against God, or to thwart the\nDivine purposes, or to manifest his own pride. Had his act of sin\ninvolved the taking of life rather than eating a forbidden fruit, it\nwould be regarded as a \"sacrifice\" rather than as a \"murder.\" This is\nto show the nature of Adam's transgression. It was a transgression of\nthe law--\"for sin is the transgression of the law\"--that conditions\ndeemed necessary to the progress of eternal Intelligences might obtain.\nBut Adam did sin. He did break the law, which is sin, and violation\nof law involves the violator in its penalties, as surely as effect\nfollows cause. Upon this principle depends the dignity and majesty of\nlaw. Take this fact away from moral government and your moral laws\nbecome mere nullities. Therefore, notwithstanding Adam fell that men\nmight be, and that in his transgression there was at bottom a really\nexalted motive--a motive that contemplated nothing less than bringing\nto pass the highly necessary purposes of God with respect to man's\nexistence in the earth--yet his transgression of law was real; he did\nbrave the conditions that would be brought into existence by his sin;\nit was followed by certain moral effects in the nature of men and in\nthe world. The harmony of things was broken; discord ruled; changed\nrelations between God and men took place; moral and intellectual\ndarkness, sin and death--death, the wages of sin--stalked through the\nworld, and made necessary the Atonement for man, and his redemption.\n\n[Footnote A: Elsewhere of this Book of Mormon passage I have said: In\nthe second book of Nephi, chapter ii, occurs the following direct,\nexplicit statement: _Adam fell that men might be; and men are that they\nmight have joy._\n\nThis sentence is the summing up of a somewhat lengthy discussion\non the Atonement, by the Prophet Lehi. It is a most excellent and\nimportant generalization, and is worthy to be classed with the\ngreat generalizations of the Jewish scriptures, such for instance\nas that in the closing chapter of Ecclesiastes, \"Fear God and keep\nhis commandments, for this is the whole duty of man;\" Paul's famous\ngeneralization: \"As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be\nmade alive;\" or the Apostle James' summing up of religion: \"Pure\nreligion and undefiled before God and the Father, is this: To visit\nthe fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to kep one's self\nunspotted from the world.\" Or the Messiah's great summing up of the\nwhole law and gospel: \"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all they\nheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first\nand great commandment, and the second is like unto it, Thou shalt\nlove thy neighbor as thy self. On these two commandments hang all the\nlaw and all the prophets.\" I care not whether you regard the literary\nexcellence of this Book of Mormon generalization or the importance of\nthe great truths which it announces, I repeat it, it is worthy in every\nway to stand with the great generalizations quoted above.]\n\n[Footnote B: A question presses on the optimists, * * * Are the\nrebellious and the sinful not also on the up grade? Ultimately and in\nthe last resort will not they, too, put themselves in time with the\nharmony of existence? Who is to say? Time is infinite, Eternity is\nbefore us as well as behind us, and the end is not yet. There is no\n\"ultimately\" in the matter, for there is no end; There is room for an\neternity of rebellion and degradation and misery as well as of hope and\nlove\" (\"Science and Immortality,\" Sir Oliver Lodge, p. 291)--and hence,\ndoubtless, real losses to be sustained.]\n\n\n\nLESSON VIII.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE FALL OF MAN.--(Continued.)\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nV. The Importance of Life--Be Fruitful and Replenish the Earth.\n\nVI. The Fall Beneficent.\n\nVII. The Book of Mormon View of the Fall.--Necessary to the Purposes of\nGod.\n\nVIII. Summary of the Subjects of Lessons VII and VIII.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nSame references as in Lesson VII.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"And now behold, if Adam had not transgressed, he would\nnot have fallen; but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And\nall things which were created must have remained in the same state\nwhich they were [in], after they were created; and they must have\nremained for ever, and had no end. And they would have had no children;\nwherefore, they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no\njoy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. But\nbehold, all things have been done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all\nthings.\"_\n\nNOTES.\n\n_1. Be Fruitful.--Importance of Life:_ The purpose of God in the\nearth-life of man already has been considered (Lesson IV, Subdivision\n4), and it was found to bring to pass the immortality and eternal\nlife of man as man; and to bring to him an increase of joy, by\nenlargement of capacity to enjoy; by adding upon him new powers of\nself expression; by adding an earth-body to a heavenly born spirit;\n\"for man is spirit:\" but \"spirit\" in order to receive \"a fullness of\njoy\" must be inseparably connected with element (Doc. & Cov. Sec.\nxciii:32-35, also note 2, Year Book II, Lesson II); hence the earth\nlife of Intelligences; hence the advent of Adam and his wife Eve upon\nour earth; hence the commandment \"Be fruitful;\" hence the importance of\nman obtaining his body (Lesson II, note 2); hence the resurrection from\nthe dead, which brings to pass the eternal union of spirit and body\n(element), to be sanctified as a \"soul;\" for the \"spirit and the body\nis the soul of man\" (Doc. & Cov., Sec. xxxviii:15). These principles\nenlarge the view of the importance of the earth-life of man, and give\nthe idea of sanctity to the commandment, \"Be fruitful.\" Undoubtedly\nthe most important thing in life is life itself, since there flows\nfrom life all other things--experiences, joys, sorrows, sympathies,\nachievements, righteousness, honor, power--it is the root, the base of\nall. To protect and preserve life, whence spring all things else, God\nhas issued his decree. \"Thou shalt not kill\"--the Everlasting's cannon,\nfixed alike against self-slaughter and the killing of others; and on\nthe crime of murder is placed the heaviest of all penalties--\"whoso\nsheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed\" (Gen. ix:6); \"No\nmurderer hath eternal abiding in him\" (I John iii:15).\n\nAnd on the other hand, for the promotion of life, what encouragement\nhas God not given? First, this commandment, \"Be fruitful and multiply\nand replenish (refill) the earth;\" second, in making sex desire and\nlove of offspring the strongest of passions, refining both, however, by\nthe sentiment of love, and confining by his law the exercise of these\nlife-functions to the limits of wedlock relations. \"Lo, children are\nan heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As\narrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.\nHappy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be\nashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate\" (Psalms\n127:3-5). And when the Lord would give his highest blessing to Abraham,\nhis friend, for his supreme act of obedience, he could but say: \"In\nblessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy\nseed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea\nshore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy\nseed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast\nobeyed my voice\" (Genesis, xxii:17-18). And to Jacob the Lord also\nsaid: \"Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will\nmake of thee a multitude of people\" (Gen. xlviii:4).\n\n_2. Nature's Testimony to the Value of Life:_ In nature, too,\nthis law of life is written, until our philosophers who treat on life\nin its various forms, declare that the very \"object of nature is\nfunction\"--i. e., life, (Lester F. Ward, Outlines of Sociology, 1904,\nCh. V). So superabundant is the fertility of all forms of life, animal\nand vegetable, that if it were not limited by destructive agencies\nthe earth would soon be overwhelmed. \"Every being,\" says Mr. Darwin,\n\"which during its natural life time produces several eggs or seeds,\nmust suffer destruction during some period of its life, and during some\nseason or occasional year, otherwise, on the principle of geometrical\nincrease, its numbers would quickly become so inordinately great that\nno country could support the product. * * * There is no exception\nto the rule that every organic being naturally increases at so high\na rate, that, if not destroyed, the earth would soon be covered by\nthe progeny of a single pair. Even slow-breeding man has doubled in\ntwenty-five years, and at this rate, in less than a thousand years,\nthere would literally not be standing room for his progeny. * * * In\na state of nature almost every full-grown plant annually produces\nseed, and amongst animals there are very few which do not annually\npair. Hence we may confidently assert, that all plants and animals are\ntending to increase at a geometrical ratio,--that all would rapidly\nstock every station in which they could any how exist--and that this\ngeometrical tendency to increase must be checked by destruction at some\nperiod of life\" (\"The Origin of Species,\" p. 50, 51, 52).\n\nWhat is the significance of this rich endowment with the power of\nreproduction in all forms of life, animal and vegetable, until it\nassumes the appearance of actual redundancy? Is it not nature's\ntestimony to the fact of the desirability of life? And hence she\nhas equipped the various species with power to perpetuate life,\nnotwithstanding the destructive forces with which life in its great\nvariety of forms has to contend. Is life--especially human life--worth\nliving? Undoubtedly, since nature has so abundantly provided the means\nfor its perpetuation, and God has given the commandment, \"Be fruitful\nand replenish the earth.\"\n\n_3. \"The Fall\" Regarded as Beneficent by Adam and Eve:_ Much that\nis remarked in the foregoing paragraphs of this lesson on the nature\nof the fall finds its warrant in the Book of Moses, (Pearl of Great\nPrice) and in the Book of Mormon, in what is said of Adam and Eve,\nand what is said by them when the fact of the Atonement was expounded\nto them; for one of the effects the fall seems to have had upon Adam\nand his spouse--the effect of transition from heaven conditions to\nearth conditions--was to veil their knowledge, to some extent, as to\npre-earth life conditions and purposes of God;[A] hence they lost their\nknowledge apparently of the earth-life scheme of things, and had to\nbe instructed anew as to the plan of \"eternal life, which God, that\ncannot lie, promised before the world began.\"[B] And after Adam had been\nre-instated in a knowledge of the things of God, and made to understand\nthat notwithstanding he had fallen yet could he be redeemed, \"and all\nmankind, even as many as will\"--\"In that day Adam blessed God and\nwas filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the\nearth: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my\neyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the\nflesh I shall see God. And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and\nwas glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should\nhave had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy\nof our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the\nobedient. And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all\nthings known unto their sons and their daughters.\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: It will be observed that in speaking of Adam and Eve and\ntheir part in the affairs of our earth and the beginning of the human\nrace upon it. I am passing by the evident allegory of Genesis as to\nthe earth origin of Adam and Eve. Our doctrine regard these first\nparents of the human race as simply coming from another sphere upon a\nmission to this earth to perform the work assigned them in peopling\nthe earth as prepared for them at their advent. The account in Genesis\nof man's earth origin, of his being made of the dust of the earth, and\nwoman manufactured from man's rib gives in allegory the process of\nthe generation of human life. But human life is but a continuation of\npre-earth existing life which has no beginning and which will have no\nend, being of the eternal things. So that in the system of philosophic\nthought that is born of the revelations in which the New Dispensation\nof the gospel has its origin, man was not moulded from the earth as\na brick nor woman manufactured from a rib; but, as well stated by\nElder Parley P. Pratt, the earth having been prepared and made ready\nfor the human race, \"A royal planter now descends from yonder world\nof older date, and bearing in his hand the choice seeds of the older\nParadise, he plants them in the virgin soil of our new born earth. They\ngrow and flourish there, and, bearing seed, replant themselves, and\nthus clothed the naked earth with scenes of beauty, and-the air with\nfragrant incense. Ripening fruits and herbs at length abound. When lo!\nfrom yonder world is transferred every species of animal life. Male\nand female, they come, with blessings on their heads, and a voice is\nheard again, \"Be fruitful and multiply.\" Earth, its mineral, vegetable\nand animal wealth, its Paradise prepared, down comes from yonder world\non high a son of God, with his beloved spouse. And thus a colony from\nheaven * * * is transplanted on our soil. The blessings of their Father\nare upon them, and the first great law of heaven and earth is again\nrepeated, \"Be fruitful and multiply.\" Hence, the nations which have\nswarmed our earth.\" \"Key to Theology,\" Ch. vi.]\n\n[Footnote B: Titus i:2. Also Book of Moses, Ch. v:1-12. For a fuller\nconsideration of the facts of the text see Seventy's Year Book II,\nLesson XI. Notes 5 and 6.]\n\n[Footnote C: Book of Moses (Pearl of Great Price) Ch. v. 10-12.]\n\n_4. Book of Mormon View of the Fall--Necessary to the Purposes of\nGod:_ After a most remarkable process of reasoning upon the fact of\nopposite existences, good and evil, sin and righteousness, and reaching\nthe conclusion that there \"must needs be an opposition in all things,\"\nthe Nephite prophet applies his principles to the fall of Adam in the\nfollowing passage:\n\n    \"To bring about his [God's] eternal purposes in the end of man,\n    after he had created our first parents. * * * It must needs be that\n    there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition\n    to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter;\n    wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for\n    himself. Wherefore man could not act for himself, save it should be\n    that he was enticed by the one or the other. And I, Lehi, according\n    to the things which I have read, must needs suppose, that an angel\n    of God, according to that which is written, had fallen from heaven;\n    wherefore he became a devil, having sought that which was evil\n    before God, and because he had fallen from heaven, and had become\n    miserable for ever he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent,\n    who is the devil, who is the father of all lies, wherefore he\n    said, Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye\n    shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And after Adam and Eve had\n    partaken of the forbidden fruit, they were driven out of the garden\n    of Eden, to till the earth. And they have brought forth children;\n    yea, even the family of all the earth. And the days of the children\n    of men were prolonged, according to the will of God, that they\n    might repent while in the flesh: wherefore, their state became a\n    state of probation, and their time was lengthened, according to\n    the commandments which the Lord God gave unto the children of men.\n    For he gave commandment that all men must repent; for he showed\n    unto all men that they were lost, because of the transgression of\n    their parents. And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed, he\n    would not have fallen; but he would have remained in the garden of\n    Eden. And all things which were created, must have remained in the\n    same state in which they were, after they were created; and they\n    must have remained forever, and had no end. _And they would have\n    had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of\n    innocence,_ having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good,\n    for they knew no sin. But behold, all things have been done in the\n    wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be;\n    and men are that they might have joy.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: II Nephi ii:15-25. For a treatise on \"Opposite\nExistences,\" see \"New Witnesses for God,\" Vol. III, pp. 219-227.]\n\n_5. Summary of Views of the Fall:_ I shall depend on the two\nforegoing passages, to sustain, in large measure, the views of this\nlesson, viz., that the fall of Adam was not an accident; that it did\nnot surprise the purposes of God with reference to man's earth-life,\nmuch less thwart them; that the fall was as much embraced in the\nsovereign purposes of God with reference to the earth-life of man as\nwas the Atonement; that without the first the second could not be; that\nthe transition from heaven conditions to earth conditions, the fall,\nin some way was connected with the propagation of the earth-life of\nman: \"Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed\"\nis the declaration of Eve, allowed to stand in the Book of Moses as\nan undoubted truth. But for the transgression of Adam, as the Prophet\nLehi tells us, in the above passage, \"all things which were created,\nmust have remained in the same state which they were [in] after they\nwere created; and they must have remained forever and had no end. _And\nthey_ [Adam and Eve] _would have had no children_: Wherefore they\nwould have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they\nknew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin.\" But Adam made\nthe necessary transition from a state of mere innocence, he fell that\nman might be, and that the experiences of earth-life might follow, and\neventuate in something better and greater than mere innocence, _viz._,\nin virtue; which is goodness, and strength, acquired by conquest of\nevil.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: See Seventy's Year Book No. II, Part II, Lesson IX, p. 50.\nOn this distinction between mere innocence and virtue, Professor Joseph\nLe Conte of the University of California says: \"It will, I think,\nbe admitted by all that innocence and virtue are two very different\nthings. Innocence is a pre-established, virtue a self-established,\nharmony of spiritual activities. The course of human development,\nwhether individual or racial, is from innocence through more or less\ndiscord and conflict to virtue. And virtue completed, regarded as a\ncondition, is holiness, as an activity, it is spiritual freedom. Not\nhappiness nor innocence but virtue is the goal of humanity. Happiness\nwill surely come in the train of virtue, but if we seek primarily\nhappiness we miss both. Two things must be borne steadily in mind;\nvirtue is the goal of humanity; virtue can not be given, it must be\nself-acquired. * * * Why could not man have been made a perfectly\npure, innocent, happy being, unplagued by evil and incapable of sin? I\nanswer: The thing is impossible even to Omnipotence, because it is a\ncontradiction in terms. Such a being would also be incapable of virtue,\nwould not be a moral being at all, would not in fact be man. We can not\neven conceive of a moral being without freedom to choose. We can not\neven conceive of virtue without successful conflict with solicitations\nto debasement. But these solicitations are so strong and so often\novercome us, that we are prone to regard the solicitations themselves\nas essential evil, instead of our weak surrender to them.\" (Evolution\nand Its Relation to Religious Thought--1902--pp. 372-3.)]\n\n\n\nLESSON IX.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE DOCTRINE OF THE ATONEMENT IN ANCIENT TIMES--THE OLD TESTAMENT.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. The First Promise of an Atonement.\n\nII. Adam's Sacrifices and the Atonement.\n\nIII. The Mosaic Sacrifices:\n\n1. The Sin Offering.\n\n2. The Day of Atonement.\n\nIV. The Christian Fathers on the Significance of Ancient Sacrifices.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nGenesis iii; Book of Moses (P. of G. P.), Chs. v and vi.\n\nHebrews Chs. ix and x. Dr. William Smith's Old Testament History, Chs.\nii and Appendix to Book III, Sec. iv--\"Sacrifices and Oblations.\"\n\nSmith's Bible Dictionary (Hackett Edition), Vol. IV, Art. \"Sacrifices.\"\nAlso Kitto's Biblical Literature, Art. \"Sacrifices.\"\n\n\"Mediation and Atonement\" (Pres. John Taylor), Ch. xvi.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"When Moses had spoken every precept to all the people\naccording to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with\nwater, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book and\nall the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God\nhath enjoined unto you. Moreover, he sprinkled with blood both the\ntabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost all things\nare by the law purged with blood and without shedding of blood is no\nremission.\" (Heb. ix:19-22.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. The Idea of an Atonement of Ancient Origin:_ From the earliest\ntimes the fact of an Atonement for man is foreshadowed. \"The serpent\nbeguiled me, and I did eat,\" said Eve, to the Lord. \"And the Lord God\nsaid unto the serpent * * * I will put enmity between thee and the\nwoman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and\nthou shalt bruise his heel.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Gen. iii:13, 15.]\n\nIn this passage Christians with justice have always seen the\nproclamation of the good tidings of the final victory over sin. \"It is\nin Christ that the seed of the woman crushes the serpent.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Dummelow's Commentary on Gen. iii.]\n\n_2. Atonement Foreshadowed in Ancient Sacrifices:_ The Atonement\nis also foreshadowed in the sacrifices of burnt offerings of Adam, his\nson Abel and the early Bible patriarchs. So meagre is the Bible account\nof the origin of sacrifices that some have doubted if they bore any\nrelation to the sacrifice to be offered by the Christ, or were at all\nof divine origin.[A] Our scripture, however, the Book, of Moses, sets\nthe matter at rest for Latter-day Saints; for there it is written:\n\n[Footnote A: \"In tracing the history of sacrifice, from its first\nbeginning to its perfect development in the Mosaic ritual, we are at\nonce met by the long-disputed question, as to the origin of sacrifice;\nwhether it arose from a natural instinct of man, sanctioned and guided\nby God, or whether it was the subject of some distinct primeval\nrevelation. * * * The great difficulty in the theory which refers it to\na distinct command of God, is the total silence of Holy Scriptures--a\nsilence the more remarkable, when contrasted with the distinct\nreference made in Gen. ii to the origin of the Sabbath. Sacrifice,\nwhen first mentioned, in the case of Cain and Abel, is referred to as\na thing of course; it is said to have been 'brought' by men; there is\nno hint of any command given by God. This consideration, the strength\nof which no ingenuity has been able to impair, although it does not\nactually disprove the formal revelation of sacrifice; yet at least\nforbids the assertion of it, as of a positive and important doctrine.\"\n(Smith's \"Bible Dictionary\"--Hackett ed.--Art. \"Sacrifice,\" Vol. IV, p.\n2770).\n\nWas sacrifice in its origin \"a human invention or a divine institution;\nand whether any of the sacrifices before the law, or under the law,\nwere sacrifices of expiation. Eminent and numerous are the authorities\non both sides of these questions; but the balance of theological\nopinion preponderated greatly for the affirmative in each of them. On\nthe lower point, however, (viz., were the sacrifices sacrifices of\nexpiation) most of those who deny that there was an expiatory sacrifice\nbefore the law, admit its existence under the law; and on the first,\nthose who hold that sacrifice was of divine origin, but became much\ncorrupted, and was restored by the Mosaic law, do not in substance\ndiffer much from those who hold it to have been a human invention,\nformally recognized, and remodelled by the law of Moses.\" Kitto's\n\"Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature,\" Art. \"Sacrifices.\" The difficulty\nand doubt in respect of both questions presented by these authorities\nis overcome by the passage which follows in the text from the Book of\nMoses.]\n\n    \"And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and\n    they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden\n    of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were\n    shut out from his presence. And he gave unto them commandments,\n    that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the\n    firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord.[A] And\n    Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord. And after many\n    days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou\n    offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him, I know not,\n    save the Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake saying: This\n    thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the\n    Father, which is full of grace and truth. Wherefore, thou shalt do\n    all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent\n    and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore. And in that\n    day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the\n    Father and the Son, saying: I am the only begotten of the Father\n    from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast\n    fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as\n    will.\"\n\n[Footnote A: This doubtless gives the ground of explanation for the\nacceptance of Abel's offering for a sacrifice, the firstlings of his\nflock; and the rejection of Cain's offering, the fruits of the ground\n(Gen. iv:3-7). The one was brought in compliance with the appointment\nof God, the other was not of divine appointment, but was an unwarranted\ndeviation from the commandment, hence, \"the Lord had respect unto\nAbel and his offering,\" but not unto Cain's. In Kitto's article on\n\"Sacrifices\" there is another very great reason urged as to why Abel's\nsacrifice was acceptable and why Cain's was not. It is reasonable, and\nin harmony with the importance of the whole doctrine of the Atonement,\nand I have nowhere else found the idea so well expressed. \"It amounts\nthen to this--that Cain, by bringing an eucharistic (expressing thanks\nmerely) offering, when his brother brought one which was expiatory,\ndenied virtually that his sins deserved death, or that he needed the\nblood of Atonement. Some go further, and allege that in the text\nitself, God actually commanded Cain to offer a piacular [expiatory,\natoning] sacrifice. The argument does not require this additional\ncircumstance; but it is certainly strengthened by it. When Cain became\nangry that Abel's offering was regarded with divine complacency, and\nhis own refused, God said to him, 'Why art thou wroth; and why is thy\ncountenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?\nAnd if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.' Now the word\n'chattah,' translated 'sin' denotes in the law a 'sin-offering' and the\nword translated 'lieth' is usually applied to the recumbency of the\nbeast. It is therefore proposed to translate the clause, 'sin-offering\ncoucheth at the door; which by paraphrase would mean, 'an animal fit\nfor a sin-offering is here, couching at the door, which thou mayest\noffer in sacrifice, and thereby render to me an offering as acceptable\nas that which Abel has presented.\" (Kitto's \"Bible Literature,\" Art.\n\"Sacrifice.\")]\n\nThis clearly establishes the divine origin of sacrifices among the\nantediluvian patriarchs; and, indeed, of all antiquity;[A] and also the\nfact, that they but foreshadowed the great sacrifice to be made in due\ntime by the Son of God himself. Doctor Wm. Smith, the author of the\n\"Old Testament History,\" says:\n\n[Footnote A: A strong moral argument in favor of the divine institution\nof sacrifice, somewhat feebly put by Hallet (Comment, on Heb. xi:4,\ncited by Magee, \"On the Atonement\"), has been reproduced with increased\nforce by Faber (\"Prim. Sacrifice,\" p. 183). It amounts to this:\n\n\"Sacrifice, when uncommanded by God, is a mere act of gratuitous\nsuperstition. Whence, on the principle of St. Paul's reprobation of\nwhat he denominates will-worship, it is neither acceptable nor pleasing\nto God.\n\n\"But sacrifice, during the patriarchal ages, was accepted by God, and\nwas plainly honored with his approbation.\n\n\"Therefore sacrifice, during the patriarchal age, could not have been\nan act of superstition uncommanded by God.\n\n\"If, then, such was the character of primitive sacrifice; that is to\nsay, if primitive sacrifice was uncommanded by God,--it must, in that\ncase indubitably have been a divine, and not a human institution.\"\n(Kitto's \"Cyclopedia Biblical Knowledge,\" Vol. II, Art. \"Sacrifice.\")]\n\n    \"The curse upon the serpent and promise to the woman point clearly\n    to a Redeemer, who should be born of a woman, and by his own\n    suffering, should destroy the power of the devil; and here we have\n    the first prophecy of the Messiah. * * * There can be no reasonable\n    doubt that the sacrifice of living animals was now instituted as a\n    prophetic figure of the great sacrifice which should fulfill this\n    promise. Animals must have been slain to provide the skins that\n    clothed Adam and Eve; and wherefore slain, except in sacrifice?\n    This might not seem conclusive in itself; but the whole reason for\n    sacrifice began to exist now; its use is taken for granted in the\n    next chapter (Gen. iv); and it continues throughout the patriarchal\n    age without the record of any other beginning. Thus early, then,\n    man learned that, \"without shedding of blood, there is no remission\n    of sin;\" that his own forfeited life was redeemed, and to be\n    restored by the sacrifice of the coming \"seed of the woman;\" and\n    that he was placed by God under a new dispensation of mercy. Nay,\n    even his punishment was a mercy; for his suffering was a discipline\n    to train him in submission to God's will. The repentance of our\n    first parents is nowhere expressly stated; but it is implied here\n    and in the subsequent narrative.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: We must not omit to notice the traces of these truths,\nwhich are found among many nations. The Greek legend of Pandora traces\nthe entrance of evil to a woman; the Buddhist and Chinese traditions\nrefer the beginning of sin to eating forbidden fruit and desiring\nforbidden knowledge; and most systems of mythology make the serpent\na type of the power of evil, and a divine personage his destroyer.\nDelitzch well says, \"The story of the Fall, like that of the Creation,\nhas wandered over the world. Heathen nations have transplanted and\nmixed it up with their geography, their history, their mythology,\nalthough it has never so completely changed form, and color, and\nspirit, that you can not recognize it. Here, however, in the Law,\nit preserves the character of a universal, human, world-wide fact;\nand the groans of Creation, the Redemption that is in Christ Jesus,\nand the heart of every man, conspire in their testimony to the most\nliteral truth of the narrative.\" The recollection of the tree of life\nis preserved in the sacred tree of the Assyrians and Hindoos, and in\nthe other Eastern systems of mythology (\"Old Testament History\"--Wm.\nSmith--p. 29.)]\n\nThe fact of Adam's repentance, however, is clearly set forth in the\nBook of Moses, and his acceptance of the whole scheme of salvation\nthrough the atonement of Christ.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: See Book of Moses (P. of G. P.), Ch. v:4-16 and Ch.\nvi:48-68.]\n\n_3. The Atonement of Christ Foreshadowed in the Mosaic\nSacrifices:_ It is very generally conceded that the sacrifices\nand oblations of the Mosaic ritual have a direct relationship to the\ngreat atoning sacrifice to be made by the Christ. From the ninth and\ntenth chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews it is evident that \"the\nlaw\" was \"a shadow of good things to come;\" the law's sacrifices for\nsin and reconciliation with God but figured forth the greater and\nmore efficient sacrifice to be made by the Son of God; nay, whatever\nof virtue there was in the sacrifices of the law were dependent upon\nthe great sacrifice to follow. Of themselves, the sacrifices of the\nlaw had no virtue at all unconnected with the sacrifice to be made by\nthe Christ;[A] they were but symbols figuring forth that sacrifice in\nwhich the virtue was, the sacrifice of the Christ himself. \"For it\nis expedient,\" says the Nephite Prophet Alma--\"It is expedient that\nan Atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the\neternal God, there must be an Atonement made, or else all mankind must\nunavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and\nare lost, and must perish except it be through the Atonement which it\nis expedient should be made. Therefore, it is expedient that there\nshould be a great and last sacrifice; and then shall there be, or it is\nexpedient there should be, a stop to the shedding of blood; then shall\nthe law of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled; every\njot and tittle, and none shall have passed away. And behold, this is\nthe whole meaning of the law; every whit pointing to that great and\nlast sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of\nGod; yea, infinite and eternal.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Hebrews x:1-10.]\n\n[Footnote B: Alma xxxiv:9, 13, 14.]\n\nThe late President John Taylor upon this subject said:\n\n    \"These sacrifices, which were offered up from the days of Adam\n    until the time of our Savior's advent, were typical of the great\n    expiatory sacrifice which He was to make by the sacrifice of\n    himself. They were so many types, shadows and forms of which he\n    was the great prototype--the substance, the reality prefigured and\n    foreshadowed by the other sacrifices which had been offered up from\n    the beginning.\n\n    \"When the law was given to Moses, all the forms pertaining to\n    the sacrificial ceremonies were revealed in detail, and the\n    instructions in relation thereto were not simply of a general\n    nature, but they entered into minute particulars in relation to all\n    things connected with those who officiated, the form and pattern\n    of the sacred utensils and of the vestments of the Priesthood,\n    the creatures to be sacrificed, the order of the proceedings, and\n    indeed of all matters associated with the observance of these\n    rites. Almost the whole of the book of Leviticus, and considerable\n    of the book of Numbers, is occupied with these instructions and\n    kindred matters. This Mosaic law, with all its duties, observances,\n    ceremonies and sacrifices, continued in force until Christ's\n    death.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: \"Mediation and Atonement\" (1882), p. 124.]\n\n_4. The Sin Offering of the Mosaic Law:_ The Author of the Article\non \"Sacrifices,\" in Smith's \"Bible Dictionary\" (Hackett edition),\nVol. IV--Rev. Alfred Barry, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in\ndescribing the \"Sin Offering of the Mosaic law,\" says:\n\n\"The nature and meaning of the various kinds of sacrifice is partly\ngathered from the form of their institution and ceremonial, partly\nfrom the teaching of the prophets, and partly from the New Testament,\nespecially the Epistle to the Hebrews. All had relation, under\ndifferent aspects, to a covenant between God and man.\n\n\"The sin offering represented that covenant as broken by man, and as\nknit together again, by God's appointment, through the 'shedding of\nblood.' Its characteristic ceremony was the sprinkling of the blood\nbefore the veil of the sanctuary, the putting some of it on the horns\nof the altar, incense, and the pouring out of all the rest at the foot\nof the altar of burnt offering. The flesh was in no case touched by\nthe offerer; either it was consumed by fire without the camp, or it\nwas eaten by the priest alone in the holy place, and everything that\ntouched it was holy. This latter point marked the distinction from\nthe peace-offering, and showed that the sacrificer had been rendered\nunworthy of communion with God. The shedding of blood, the symbol of\nlife, signified that the death of the offender was deserved for sin,\nbut that the death of the victim was accepted for his death by the\nordinance of God's mercy.\"\n\n_5. The Ceremonial of the Day of Atonement:_ \"This [the truth of\nthe preceding paragraph] is seen most clearly in the ceremonial of\nthe 'Day of Atonement,' when, after the sacrifice of the one goat,[A]\nthe high priest's hand was laid on the head of the scape-goat--which\nwas the other part of the sin-offering--with confession of the sins\nof the people, that it might visibly bear them away, and so bring out\nexplicitly, what in other sin-offerings was but implied. Accordingly we\nfind that, in all cases, it was the custom for the offerer to lay his\nhand on the head of the sin-offering, to confess generally or specially\nhis sins, and to say, 'Let this be my expiation.' Beyond all doubt, the\nsin-offering distinctly witnessed that sin existed in man, that the\n'wages of that sin was death,' and that God had provided an Atonement\nby the vicarious suffering of an appointed victim. The reference of the\nBaptist to a 'Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world,' was\none understood and hailed at once by a 'true Israelite.'\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Two goats were used in this ceremonial, one of which\nwas killed and made a \"sin offering\" and the other a scape-goat to\nfiguratively bear off the sins of the people.\n\n\"And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at\nthe door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast\nlots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for\nthe scape-goat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord's\nlot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the\nlot fell to be the scape-goat, shall be presented alive before the\nLord, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scape-goat\ninto the wilderness\" (Lev. xvi:7-10).]\n\n[Footnote B: Smith \"Dictionary,\" Vol. IV, p. 2774.]\n\n_6. The Paschal Sacrifice or Passover:_ In some respects the\nPaschal Sacrifice more perfectly than any other, perhaps, foreshadowed\nthe future sacrifice of the Son of God for the deliverance of his\npeople--those who would trust the sign of deliverance in his blood. The\ninstitution of the sacrifice and feast was as follows. When all other\njudgments upon Pharaoh failed to persuade him to let God's people go,\nthen said the Lord to Moses:\n\n    \"About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the\n    first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of\n    Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the\n    maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts.\n    And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such\n    as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against\n    any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against\n    man or beast; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference\n    between the Egyptians and Israel.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Exodus xi:4-7.]\n\nWhen this terrible judgment was about to be executed the Lord provided\nthe following means of deliverance for his people: Each family in\nIsrael were commanded at a given time to take a lamb without blemish,\na male of the first year, for a Passover Offering, and it was to be\nkilled in the evening.\n\n\"And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side-posts,\nand on the upper doorpost of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And\nthey shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened\nbread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. * * * And ye shall eat\nit in haste; it is the Lord's passover. For I will pass through the\nland of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the\nland of Egypt, both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt,\nI will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you\nfor a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I\nwill pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy\nyou, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for\na memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your\ngenerations: ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Exodus xii.]\n\nThus was the Passover established. Of it the late President Taylor said:\n\n    \"It appears, that when the destroying angel passed by the houses\n    of the children of Israel he found the blood of a lamb sprinkled\n    on the doorpost; which was a type of the blood of Christ, the\n    lamb of God. The angel who was the executor of justice could not\n    touch those who were protected by that sacred symbol; because that\n    prefigured the sacrifice of the Son of God, which was provided at\n    the beginning of creation for the redemption of the human family,\n    and which was strictly in accordance with provisions then made by\n    the Almighty for that purpose--'the Lamb slain from before the\n    foundation of the world'--and accepted in full as an atonement for\n    the transgressions of mankind, according to the requirements of\n    eternal justice and agreed to by the Savior and his Father.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: \"Mediation and Atonement,\" p. 106.]\n\nOf course it cannot be doubted that this festival of the Passover\nwas instituted as a great memorial of the deliverance from Egyptian\nbondage, and the birth of the nation of Israel; and there are not\nwanting those who maintain that this was its primary significance.\nBut the leading feature in the festival, the Paschal Lamb, \"a male,\nwithout blemish;\" the killing of it; the blood sprinkled upon the door\npost, the sign of safety to God's people; the eating of the lamb in\npreparation of the journey; the subsequent honoring of this feast by\nthe Christ with his disciples; the substitution of the Sacrament of\nthe Lord's Supper for the Passover festival at the very time and on\nthe very occasion of celebrating the feast of the passover among the\nJews;[A] together with the subsequent inspired reference to Christ\nas the Paschal Lamb of the Christians,[B] are circumstances too\nnumerous and too nearly related to doubt of the significance of the\nPassover festival having reference to the great sacrifice to be made\nby the Son of God through the shedding of his blood in atonement for\nthe deliverance of his people. Of the Passover being a symbol of the\nsacrifice of the Son of God, the writer upon that theme in Smith's\n\"Bible Dictionary\" says:\n\n[Footnote A: Matt. xxvi and Luke xxii.]\n\n[Footnote B: I Cor. v:7.]\n\n    \"No other 'shadow of good things to come' contained in the law\n    can vie with the festival of the passover in expressiveness and\n    completeness. Hence we are so often reminded of it, more or less\n    distinctly, in the ritual and language of the Church. Its outline,\n    considered in reference to the great deliverance of the Israelites\n    which it commemorated, and many of its minute details, have been\n    appropriated as current expressions of the truths which God has\n    revealed to us in the fullness of times in sending his Son upon\n    earth.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Smith's \"Dictionary of the Bible\" (Hackett's edition),\nVol. IV, p. 2355.]\n\n_7. The Testimony of Some \"Christian Fathers:_\" Certain of the\nsocalled Christian Fathers agree with this view of the Old Testament\nsacrifices figuring forth the sacrifice to be made by the Christ, both\nas to sacrifices in the early patriarchal times and under the law of\nMoses. Of these, first, is\n\n(a) _Eusebius of Caesarea:_ Born 264 A. D. (about); died 349 (about).\n\n\"Eusebius of Caesarea, in a passage too long for quotation, alleges,\nthat animal sacrifice was first of all practiced by the ancient lovers\nof God (the patriarchs) and that not by accident, but through a certain\ndivine contrivance, under which, as taught by the divine spirit, it\nbecame their duty thus to shadow forth the great and venerable victim,\nreally acceptable to God, which was, in time then future, destined to\nbe offered in behalf of the whole human race (\"Demonst. Evang.\" i:8,\npp. 24,25).\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Kitto, Vol. II, p. 661.]\n\n(b) _Athanasius:_ Born 296 A. D.; died 373.\n\n\"Next we come to Athanasius, who, speaking of the consent of the Old\nTestament to the fundamental doctrines of the New, says: 'What Moses\ntaught, these things his predecessor Abraham had preserved; and what\nAbraham had preserved, with those things Enoch and Noah were well\nacquainted; for they made a distinction between the clean and the\nunclean [animals], and were acceptable to God. Thus also in like manner\nAbel bore testimony; for he knew what he had learned from Adam, and\nAdam himself taught only what he had previously learned from the Lord\"\n(Synod. Nicen. contr. Haer, Arian, Decret., Opp. i, 403).[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Ibid.]\n\n(c) _Augustine_: Bp. of Hippo. Born 354 A. D.; died 430.\n\n\"Augustine, after expressly referring the origin of sacrifice to the\ndivine command, more distinctly evolves his meaning by saying: 'The\nprophetic immolation of blood, testifying from the very commencement of\nthe human race the future passion of the Mediator, is a matter of deep\nantiquity inasmuch as Abel is found in Holy Scripture to have been the\nfirst who offered up his prophetic immolation (Cont. Faust. Manich.\nOnp. vi:145). These testimonies certainly vindicate the opinion of the\ndivine origin of primitive sacrifice from the charge of being a modern\ninnovation, with no voice of antiquity in its favor.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Kitto, Vol. II, p. 661.]\n\n\n\nLESSON X.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE FACT OF THE ATONEMENT IN NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES.[A]\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. The Atonement Considered as a Fact.\n\nII. The Testimony to the Fact.\n\n1. Gabriel;\n\n2. John the Baptist;\n\n3. The Christ;\n\n4. The Judean Apostles:\n\n(a) Paul,\n\n(b) Peter,\n\n(c) John.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nSt. Luke, Ch. i; also Heb. ix and x, and all the New Testament\ncitations in the text of this lesson--the context of these passages\nshould also be considered.\n\nRichard-Little Compendium, Art. \"Atonement,\" pp. 8-13, and all its\nreferences.\n\nMediation and Atonement (Taylor), Chs. iii, iv, v and vi.\n\nThe Gospel (Roberts), Ch. ii (3rd Edition).\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood\nand without shedding of blood is no remission.\" (Heb. ix:22.)_\n\n[Footnote A: \"New Testament Scriptures,\" as here used means more than\nthe New Testament of the Bible. It means that New Testament of course,\nbut that plus the Book of Mormon books written after the birth of\nMessiah, beginning with III Nephi, and also the immediate scriptures of\nthe New Dispensation, viz., the Doctrine and Covenants.]\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. The Fact of the Atonement:_ The important thing to be\nestablished in the mind of man concerning the atonement is the fact\nof it. While it is not the intention of this treatise to avoid the\ndiscussion of the philosophy of the Atonement[A]--by which is meant\nonly a discussion of the reasonableness of it--and rest in the mere\nfact of it as proved from the Scriptures, still I repeat that the fact\nof it and man's acceptance of it as a fact, is of first importance.[B]\nThis and the following lesson of Part II, therefore, are devoted to\ngrouping the scriptural texts for the fact of the Atonement from \"New\nTestament Scriptures.\"\n\n[Footnote A: Part III is wholly devoted to that division of the\nsubject.]\n\n[Footnote B: Elsewhere on this theme I have said: How is it that\nthrough the sacrifice of one who is innocent salvation may be purchased\nfor those under the dominion of death? I will observe, in passing, that\nwhat should most concern us is, not so much how it is that such is the\ncase, but is it a fact? Is it true that God has established such a\nscheme of redemption, is what should concern us most.\n\nTo that question the blood sprinkled upon a thousand Jewish altars,\nand the smoke that darkened the heavens for ages from burnt offerings,\nanswer yes. For those sacrifices, and that sprinkled blood were but\ntypical of the great sacrifice to be made by the Messiah.\n\nEven the mythology of the heathen nations retains the idea of an\nAtonement that either has been, or is to be made for mankind.\nFantastic, distorted, confused; buried under the rubbish of savage\nsuperstition it may be, but it nevertheless exists. So easily traced,\nso distinct is this feature of heathen mythology, that some writers\nhave endeavored to prove that the gospel plan of redemption was derived\nfrom heathen mythology. Whereas the fact is that the gospel was\nunderstood and extensively preached in the earliest ages; men retained\nin their tradition a knowledge of those principles or parts of them,\nand however much they may have been distorted, traces of them may still\nbe found in nearly all the mythologies of the world.\n\nThe prophets of the Jewish scriptures answer the foregoing question\nin the affirmative. The writers of the New Testament make Christ's\nAtonement the principal theme of their discourses and epistles. The\nBook of Mormon, speaking as the voice of an entire continent of people,\nwhose prophets and righteous men sought and found God, testifies to\nthe same great fact, and the revelations of God as given through the\nProphet Joseph Smith are replete with passages confirming this doctrine.\n* * * The evidence here indicated is more than sufficient, it seems to\nme, to establish the _fact_ of the Atonement beyond the possibility of\na doubt: and if there are some things in it not yet within the scope\nof our comprehension, still there is sufficient foundation for our\nglorious hope and faith of eternal life through its power: for the\nevidence proving the fact of that Atonement is sufficient, wanting\nnothing, either in quality or quantity\" \"(The Gospel,\" Ch. ii.)]\n\n_2. The Angel's Testimony to the Atonement of Christ:_ \"Joseph,\nthou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: * * * She\nshall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he\nshall save his people from their sins.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Matt. i:18, 23.]\n\nSuch were the words of the angel to Joseph, the betrothed husband of\nMary, the Mother of Christ.\n\n_3. John the Baptist's Testimony:_ \"Behold, the Lamb of God, that\ntaketh away the sins of the world * * * and I saw and bear record that\nthis is the Son of God.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: St. John, Ch. i:29, 34.]\n\nSuch John's testimony concerning Jesus of Nazareth, as he saw that more\nthan Prophet coming to his baptism.\n\n_4. The Christ's Testimony to the Atonement:_ \"And as Moses lifted\nup the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted\nup: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal\nlife. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,\nthat whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting\nlife. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but\nthat the world through him might be saved.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: St. John iii:15-17.]\n\nSuch the Christ's testimony of himself. And again the Christ:\n\n\"When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am\nhe[A] [i. e., the one that taketh away the sins of men].\"[B] \"And I, if\nI be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.\" This he\nsaid signifying by what death he should die.\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: Ibid viii:28.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ibid, verse 24.]\n\n[Footnote C: St. John xii:32, 33.]\n\nWhen instituting the sacrament, at the passover supper, celebrated upon\nthe night of his betrayal, as the disciples were eating, \"Jesus took\nbread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples,\nand said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave\nthanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it, for this is my\nblood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission\nof sins.\"[A] Mark and Luke practically give the same account of the\nincident.\n\n[Footnote A: Matt. xxvi:26-28.]\n\nAfter the resurrection, Jesus, overtaking two of the disciples on their\nway to Emmaus, engaged them in conversation respecting the crucifixion\nof Jesus. And in course of their narrative of the missing body of the\nChrist, the resurrected Messiah interrupted them, saying:\n\n    \"O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have\n    spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to\n    enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets\n    he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning\n    himself.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: St. Luke xxiv:25-27.]\n\nSubsequently, he was known of these two disciples by the breaking of\nbread. And after these two astonished disciples returned to Jerusalem\nand were detailing their experience to the eleven Apostles, and those\nthat were with them, Jesus entered the room where they were gathered:\n\n    \"And he said unto them: These are the words which I spake unto\n    you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled\n    which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and\n    in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding,\n    that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus\n    it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise\n    from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of\n    sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at\n    Jerusalem.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: St. Luke xxiv:44-47.]\n\n_5. Testimony of the Judean Apostles:_ Turning now to the\ndisciples after the departure of the resurrected Christ from their\nmidst, and the endowment of the apostles with the Holy Ghost, they\nteach: \"Neither is there salvation in any other [name than the\nChrist's]: for there is none other name under heaven given among men,\nwhereby we must be saved.\"[A] \"Feed the church of God which he hath\npurchased with his own blood.\"[B] \"For all have sinned, and come short\nof the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace, through the\nredemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a\npropitiation, through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness\nfor the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of\nGod.\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: Acts iv:10-12.]\n\n[Footnote B: Acts xx:28.]\n\n[Footnote C: Rom. iii:23-25.]\n\n\"If we believe on him that raiseth up Jesus our Lord from the dead;\nwho was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our\njustification.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Rom. iv:24, 25.]\n\n_6. Paul's Testimony to the Atonement:_ An extended passage in\nhis letter to the Romans, Paul reasons upon the atonement made by the\nChrist in the following manner:\n\n    \"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for\n    the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet\n    peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God\n    commandeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,\n    Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his\n    blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we\n    were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,\n    much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not\n    only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by\n    whom we have now received the Atonement. Wherefore, as by one man\n    sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed\n    upon all men, for that all have sinned. But not as the offense, so\n    also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be\n    dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is\n    by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Romans v:6-12, 15. See also Ch. vii.]\n\nAll will remember Paul's passage in the first letter to the\nCorinthians: \"Since by man [Adam] came death, by man [the man Christ\nJesus] came also the resurrection from the dead. For as in Adam all\ndie; even so in Christ shall all be made alive.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: I Cor. xv:21, 22.]\n\n\"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how\nthat Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that\nhe was buried, and that he arose again the third day according to the\nscriptures.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: I. Cor. xv:3-4.]\n\n\"To the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us\naccepted in the beloved: in whom we have redemption through his blood,\nthe forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Eph. i:6,7.]\n\n\"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers\nof the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from\nthe power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of\nhis dear Son: in whom we have redemption through his blood; even the\nforgiveness of sins.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Col. i:12-14.]\n\n\"For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man\nChrist Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified of in\ndue time.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: I Tim. ii:5, 6.]\n\n\"We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels[A] for the\nsuffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that by the grace\nof God should taste death for every man.\"[B] \"Who needeth not daily\nas those high priests [i. e., of the Mosaic law] to offer sacrifices,\nfirst for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he [the\nChrist] did once, when he offered up himself.\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: \"A little while inferior to\" is the marginal rendering of\nthe passage. See also \"Mormon Doctrine of Deity,\" p. 163--Note--for a\ndiscussion of the passage.]\n\n[Footnote B: Heb. ii:8-10.]\n\n[Footnote C: Hebrews vii.]\n\n\"But Christ * * * by his own blood * * * entered in once into the holy\nplace, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood\nof the bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the\nunclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh: _how much more shall\nthe blood of Christ_ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself\nwithout spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve\nthe living God. * * * And almost all things are by the law purged with\nblood; _and without shedding of blood is no remission_.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Heb. ix:12-14. 22.]\n\n_7. The Testimony of the Apostle Peter to the Atonement:_ The\nApostle Peter is equally emphatic with Paul in testifying of the virtue\nof the Atonement of Christ in bringing to pass the redemption of man\nthrough his death, as witness the following:\n\n    \"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through\n    sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the\n    blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. * * *\n    Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible\n    things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received\n    by tradition from your fathers; _but with the precious blood of\n    Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:_ who verily\n    was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was\n    manifest in these last times for you.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: I Peter i:2, 18-20.]\n\nAgain: \"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the\nunjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh,\nbut quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto\nthe spirits in prison.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: I Peter iii:18-19.]\n\n_8. The Testimony of John, the Beloved Disciple, to the\nAtonement:_ So also John, the beloved disciple, testifies to the\nsame effect: \"If we walk in the light as he [God] is in the light, we\nhave fellowships one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his\nSon cleanseth us from all sin.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: I John i:5-7.]\n\n    \"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin\n    not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus\n    Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and\n    not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.\"[A]\n\n    \"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the\n    book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast\n    redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue,\n    and people and nation: and hast made us unto our God kings and\n    priests; and we shall reign on the earth.\"[B]\n\n    \"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the\n    dragon--Satan], whose names are not written in the book of life of\n    the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: I John ii:1.2.]\n\n[Footnote B: Rev. v:9, 10.]\n\n[Footnote C: Rev. xiii:8.]\n\n\n\nLESSON XI.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE FACT OF THE ATONEMENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES--(Continued).\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nIII. The Testimony to the fact of the Atonement (Continued).\n\n5. The Book of Mormon as a Witness:\n\n(a) The Testimony of the Christ to the Nephites.\n\n(b) The Testimony of Christian Institutions.\n\n(1) The Ordinance of Baptism.\n\n(2) The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.\n\nIV. Testimony of the New Dispensation Scriptures--Doctrine and\nCovenants.\n\nV. The Only Adequate Gospel Sermon--Jesus Christ.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nReferences same as those in Lesson X, with the citations in the body\nof this Lesson, and the contexts of the texts, which should be fully\nconsidered.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. * * * I have\ncome into the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the\nworld from sin.\" (The Christ to the Nephites: III Nephi ix:15, 21.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. The Testimony of the Book of Mormon to the Atonement:_ The\nthird book of Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, may well be called the\n\"Fifth Gospel,\"[A] the beginning of the New Testament of the Nephite\nscriptures. In it is detailed the account of the Christ's visit to\nthe western hemisphere and the circumstances attendant upon the\nestablishment of his Church among the Nephites. The voice of God, which\nwas heard after the great destruction which swept over the land during\nthe entombment of the Christ, said:\n\n[Footnote A: The term was first used by Dr. Paden of Salt Lake. See\n\"Defense of the Faith and the Saints,\" Vol. 1, pp. 371-399, for full\ntreatment of the subject.]\n\n    \"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I created the heavens\n    and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the\n    Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in\n    me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name. I came unto my\n    own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures concerning my\n    coming are fulfilled. And as many as have received me, to them have\n    I given to become the Sons of God; and even so will I to as many as\n    shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and\n    in me is the law of Moses fulfilled. * * * For behold, I have come unto\n    the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world\n    from sin.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: III Nephi ix:15-17.]\n\n_2. The Testimony of the Resurrected Christ:_ Then again, upon\nhis appearing among the Nephites after his resurrection and his\npost-resurrection ministry in Palestine, the Christ said:\n\n    \"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified should come\n    into the world: and behold, I am the light and the life of the\n    world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father\n    hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the\n    sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the\n    Father in all things from the beginning. * * * And it came to pass\n    that the Lord spake unto them saying: Arise and come forth unto\n    me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye\n    may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that\n    ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole\n    earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: III Nephi xi:10-14.]\n\n_3. Evidence of the Atonement in the Symbol of Baptism:_\nConvincing as testimony to the fact of the Atonement is the Christian\ninstitution of baptism, the formula of which is given in the Book of\nMormon. In it is shown the authority of the Christ in this ordinance\nof salvation, since in addition to the Holy Trinity being named as\nauthorizing the ordinance, the administrator specifically declares that\nhe has authority from Jesus Christ for performing it. The ordinance\nitself, providing as it does for the immersion of the candidate,\nsymbolizes the Christ's death and burial for the sinner; and also in\nbringing forth the baptized from the watery grave, symbolizes the\nresurrection--all which is done that forgiveness of sin might be\ngranted to those who thus palpably manifest that they do most solemnly\naccept the Atonement of the Christ of which his baptism is a most\nbeautiful symbol--of his death, burial and resurrection.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: III Nephi xi:10-14. The matter is treated somewhat more in\ndetail in Lesson XXI.]\n\n_4. Evidence of the Atonement in the Symbol of the Lord's Supper:_\nThe Christ also established the sacrament of the Lord's Supper among\nthe Nephites and constituted it the symbol of the Atonement. After\nbreaking bread and blessing it, he gave it to his Nephite disciples\nand said: \"This shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have\nshown unto you, and it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do\nalways remember me, and if you do always remember me, ye shall have my\nspirit to be with you.\"[A] So also with the wine which he blessed and\ngave them to drink, adding, \"Ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood,\nwhich I have shed for you, that you may witness unto the Father that ye\ndo always remember me.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: III Nephi xviii.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ibid.]\n\nWhat may be called the \"New Testament\"[A] part of the Book of Mormon,\nthen, no less than the New Testament of the Bible testifies to the fact\nof the Atonement. The same may be said of the immediate scriptures of\nthe New Dispensation, the Doctrine and Covenants.\n\n[Footnote A: Referring to those parts of the Book of Mormon which were\nwritten after the birth of the Christ, beginning with the III Nephi.]\n\n_6. Testimony of the New Dispensation Scriptures--Doctrine and\nCovenants:_ In a revelation to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery,\ngiven in June, 1829, the Lord said: \"Remember the worth of souls is\ngreat in the sight of God: For behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered\ndeath in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that\nall men might repent and come unto him. And he hath risen again from\nthe dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of\nrepentance.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 18:10-12.]\n\nAgain, in a revelation to Martin Harris, given through Joseph the\nProphet, in March, 1830, the Lord said: \"Therefore I command you to\nrepent--repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my\nwrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore--how sore you know\nnot! how exquisite you know not! yea, how hard to bear you know not!\nFor behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all that they\nmight not suffer if they would repent, but if they would not repent,\nthey must suffer even as I. Which suffering caused myself, even God,\nthe greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every\npore, and to suffer both body and spirit: and would that I might not\ndrink the bitter cup and shrink--Nevertheless, glory be to the Father,\nand I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 19:15-19.]\n\nThe declaration that Jesus Christ made an atonement for man is\nfrequently repeated as follows:\n\n    \"I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins\n    of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they\n    may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am in the Father,\n    as the Father is one in me, that we may be one.\"[A]\n\n    \"I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood\n    which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them; but\n    behold, the residue of the wicked have I kept in chains of darkness\n    until the judgment of the great day; which shall come at the end of\n    the earth.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. xxxv:1, 2.]\n\n[Footnote B: Doc. & Cov., Sec. xxxviii:4, 5.]\n\nAgain:\n\n    \"Listen to him who is the Advocate with the Father, who is pleading\n    your cause before him, saying, Father, behold the sufferings and\n    death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold\n    the blood of thy Son which was shed--the blood of him whom thou\n    gavest that thyself might be glorified; wherefore, Father, spare\n    these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto\n    me and have everlasting life.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. xlv:3-5.]\n\n_7. The One Adequate Gospel Discourse (Brigham Young):_ Perhaps\nthis branch of our treatise--the fact of the atonement--cannot be more\nfittingly closed than by quoting a passage from one of the discourses\nof Brigham Young, setting forth the impossibility of a man adequately\npreaching a gospel discourse in this our mortal life; and holding that\nChrist alone, in his creative work under the Fathers direction, in his\nearth-life, death, resurrection, and the final presentation of the\nfinished work to his Father--this alone is the adequate gospel sermon:\n\n    \"There is but one discourse to be preached to all the children of\n    Adam; and that discourse should be believed by them, and lived up\n    to. To commence, continue, and finish this gospel sermon, will\n    require all the time that is alloted to man, to the earth, and\n    all things upon it, in their mortal state; that is my idea with\n    regard to preaching. No man is able to set before a congregation\n    all the items of the gospel, in this life, and continue these\n    items to their termination, for this mortal life is too short.\n    It is inseparably connected, one part with the other, in all the\n    doctrines that have been revealed to man, which are now called the\n    various doctrines of Christianity, of which all the professors of\n    religion believe a portion; but severally reject, or desire to\n    reject, other portions of the truth: each sect or individual taking\n    to themselves portions of the Bible, portions of the doctrine of\n    salvation, that are the most pleasing to them, rejecting all the\n    rest, and mingling these doctrines with the tenets of men.\n\n    \"But let a gospel sermon be preached, wherein all the principles\n    of salvation are embodied, and we will acknowledge, at the end of\n    the mortality of this earth, and all things created upon it--at\n    the closing up scene, at the final consummation of all things that\n    have been from the commencement of the creation of the world, and\n    the peopling of it, unto the latest generation of Adam and Eve,\n    and the final finishing up of the work of Christ--I say, we shall\n    acknowledge that there is the gospel sermon, and that it could not\n    be preached to finite beings in one short life.\n\n    \"Christ is the author of this gospel, of this earth, of men and\n    women, of all the posterity of Adam and Eve, and of every living\n    creature that lives upon the face of the earth, that flies in the\n    heavens, that swims in the waters, or dwells in the field. Christ\n    is the author of salvation to all this creation; to all things\n    pertaining to this terrestrial globe we occupy.\n\n    \"He has redeemed the earth; he has redeemed mankind and every\n    living thing that moves upon it; and he will finish his gospel\n    discourse when he overcomes his enemies and puts his last enemy\n    under his feet--when he destroys death, and him that hath the power\n    of it--when he has raised up this kingdom, and finished his work\n    which the Father gave him to do, and presents it to his Father,\n    saying, 'I have done the work, I have finished it; I have not only\n    created the world, but I have redeemed it; I have watched over it,\n    and I have given to those intelligent beings, that you have created\n    by me, their agency, and it has been held with perfection to\n    every creature of intelligence, to every grade of mankind; I have\n    preserved inviolate their agency; I have watched over them, and\n    overruled all their actions, and held in my hand the destinies of\n    men; and I have finished up my gospel sermon,' as he presents the\n    finished work to his Father.\n\n    \"It takes just such a character as the Savior, to preach one gospel\n    discourse; and this was commenced with the commencement of all men\n    upon this earth or any other; and it will never close until the\n    winding up scene, and all is finished, and the kingdom is presented\n    to the Father.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, pp. 80, 81.]\n\n\n\nLESSON XII.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD RELATED TO THE ATONEMENT.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. Attributes[A] Ascribed to God--First Group.\n\n1. Eternity;\n\n2. Immutability;\n\n3. Omnipotence;\n\n4. Omniscience;\n\n5. Omnipresence.\n\nII. The Attributes Expounded--Limitations.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nDoc. & Cov.: \"Lectures on Faith,\" Lectures III and IV. Catechism (John\nJaques), Ch. v; Doc. & Cov. Sec. 20:17-28.\n\nRichards and Little's Compendium: \"True and Living God,\" pp. 187-193.\n\nAlso collection of passages in Oxford or Cambridge \"Bible Helps,\" or\n\"Bible Treasury,\" under captions, \"God\" and \"Attributes.\" Also the\nscripture passages quoted and cited in the body of this lesson.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever\nthou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to\neverlasting, thou art God.\" (Psalms xc:2.)_\n\n[Footnote A: Attribute: A characteristic or distinguishing mark,\nespecially an excellent or lofty quality or trait (Cent. Diet.).\n\"By this word 'attribute' is meant something which is immovable and\ninseparable from the essence of its subject, as that which constitutes\nit (Descartes). Attribute is considered a word of lofty significance:\nThus, for example, it would be felt as indecorous to speak of the\n'qualities' of God, and as ridiculous to talk of the 'attributes' of\nmatter.\"--Hamilton.]\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. The Attributes Ascribed to God:_ As the attributes of God are\nnecessarily involved in the philosophy of the Atonement, I think it\nproper here to make brief allusion to them, especially to those more\nimmediately involved in the Atonement. The attributes usually assigned\nto God, either upon the ground of scripture or the supposed necessity\nof his nature are: Eternity, Immutability, Omnipotence, Omniscience,\nOmnipresence, Wisdom, Holiness, Truth, Justice, Mercy, Love.\n\n_2. Eternity:_ By \"Eternity,\" spoken of as an attribute of God, is\nmeant God's eternal existence. We may not in rational thought assume\na time when God was not--or when He did not exist. God's eternity\nis sustained by such scripture as David's 90th Psalm, \"Before the\nmountains were brought forth, or thou hadst formed the earth and the\nworld, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.\" Also Paul\nbears the same witness: \"And thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid\nthe foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine\nhands. They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax\nold as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and\nthey shall be changed; but thou art the same and thy years shall not\nfail.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Heb. i:10-12.]\n\n_3. Immutability:_ God's \"Immutability,\" his unchangeableness,\nis sustained in such passages of both ancient and modern scriptures\nas follow: \"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and\ncometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,\nneither shadow of turning.\"[A] \"For I am the Lord, I change not;\ntherefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.\"[B] \"For God does not\nwalk in crooked paths, neither does he turn to the right hand nor to\nthe left, or vary from that which he has said; therefore his paths\nare straight, and his course is one eternal round,\"[C] \"Listen to the\nvoice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the\nend, whose course is one eternal round, the same yesterday, today and\nforever.\"[D]\n\n[Footnote A: James i:17.]\n\n[Footnote B: Malachi iii:6.]\n\n[Footnote C: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 3, v. 2.]\n\n[Footnote D: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 35, v. 1.]\n\n_4. Omnipotence:_ By \"Omnipotence\" is meant all-powerfulness. This\nattribute is essential to all rational thinking upon God. We may not\nthink upon God and then think upon him as being overruled by a higher\npower, and still have him remain to our thought as God. The Scriptures\nin their whole spirit present this view of the Omnipotence of Deity.\n\"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. * * * And God\nsaid, Let there be light, and there was light. * * * And God said. Let\nthe waters be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land\nappear: and it was so.\" In this manner the work proceeds throughout the\ncreation periods.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Gen. i-iii.]\n\nOf this attribute David sings: \"The heavens shall praise thy wonders,\nO Lord: * * * for who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who\namong the sons of the Mighty can be likened unto the Lord? * * * O Lord\nGod of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? Thou rulest the\nraging of the sea: when the waves arise thou stillest them. * * * The\nheavens they are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and\nthe fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. * * * Thou hast a mighty\narm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.\"[A] To the same\neffect sang Isaiah (Ch. xl:10-15); also Jeremiah (Ch. xxvii:17), and\nDaniel (Ch. iv:35).\n\n[Footnote A: Psalms lxxxix.]\n\nIn the New Testament, the Christ teaches that \"with God all things\nare possible;\"[A] and negatively, \"with God nothing shall be\nimpossible.\"[B] The Revelation uses the term \"omnipotent\" direct: \"And\nI heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of\nmany waters, and the voice of the mighty thunderings, saying Alleluia:\nfor the Lord God _omnipotent_ reigneth.\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: Matt. xix:26.]\n\n[Footnote B: Luke i:37.]\n\n[Footnote C: Rev. xix:6. Also \"Lectures on Faith,\" Doc. & Cov., Lecture\nIII. So, too, in Mosiah iii:17, 18, 21.]\n\n_5. Omniscience:_ By \"Omniscience\" is meant all-knowing. \"Known\nunto God are all his works from the beginning of the world,\"[A] said\nthe Holy Spirit-inspired council of the apostles and elders of the\nearly Christian church. \"Remember the former things of old. * * * I am\nGod and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning,\nand from ancient time the things that are not yet done, saying my\ncounsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.\"[B] A sparrow\nfalls not to the ground without the Father's notice.[C] In reasoning\nwith Abraham upon the Intelligences in heaven and the fact that they\nvaried in degree of intelligence, the Lord said that where there were\ntwo intelligences and the one was more intelligent than the other,\n\"there shall be another more intelligent than they: I am the Lord, thy\nGod, _I am more intelligent than them all_.\"[D] By which is meant, as\nI think, not that God is more intelligent than any other one of the\nIntelligences, but more intelligent than all of them together.\n\n[Footnote A: Acts xv:18.]\n\n[Footnote B: Isaiah xlvi:9, 10.]\n\n[Footnote C: Matt. x:29.]\n\n[Footnote D: Book of Abraham iii:17-19.]\n\n_6. Omnipresence:_ \"Omnipresence\" means everywhere present; and\nperhaps the best description of this attribute of God is in David's\npassage--\"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee\nfrom thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I\nmake my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of\nthe morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there\nshall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say\nsurely darkness shall cover me: even the night shall be light about\nme. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee: but the night shineth as\nthe day: the darkness and the light are both alike to these.\"[A] \"Will\nGod indeed dwell on the earth,\" asked Solomon, in dedicating the first\ntemple, \"Behold the heaven, and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee;\nhow much less this house that I have builded.\"[B] And Paul, in teaching\nthe nearness of God to men, said that God had made of one blood all\nnations of men: and had given to all the privilege of seeking the Lord,\nif happily they might feel after him, and find him, \"though he be not\nfar removed from every one of us, for in him we live and move and have\nour being.\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: Psalms cxxxix:27.]\n\n[Footnote B: I Kings viii:27.]\n\n[Footnote C: Acts xvii:26-28.]\n\nUnder the attribute of \"Omnipotence\"--all-powerful--I include \"Power,\"\nwhich is sometimes, and usually, treated separately as an attribute\nof God: and under \"Omniscience\" I include \"Knowledge,\" which is also\nusually regarded separately as an attribute of Deity; but both these\nterms--\"Power\" and \"Knowledge\"--may very appropriately fall under the\nlarger terms--\"Omnipotence\" and \"Omniscience\"--which, respectively,\ninclude them.\n\n_7. Limitation in the Attributes of God:_ W. may now consider\nsomewhat the limitations of the attributes so far named. The Eternity\nof God may be regarded as absolute. \"I am that I am,\" the Eternal One,\nthe Self-existent, admits of no modification as to his Eternity.\n\nHis Immutability should be regarded as stability, adherence to\nprinciple. What stands among men under the name of \"constitutional\nmorality,\" fixed devotion to law; and working through law to the\nachievement of his divine purposes, rather than by caprice, or by\narbitrary, personal action. But God's immutability should not be\nso understood as to exclude the idea of advancement or progress of\nGod. Thus, for example: God's kingdom and glory may be enlarged, as\nmore and more redeemed souls are added to his kingdom: as worlds and\nworld-systems are multiplied and redeemed and enrolled with celestial\nspheres, so God's kingdom is enlarged and his glory increased. So that\nin this sense there may come change and progress even for God. Hence we\ncould not say of God's immutability as we do of his eternity that it is\nabsolute, since there may come change through progress even for God:\nbut an absolute immutability would require eternal immobility--which\nwould reduce God to a condition eternally static, which, from the\nnature of things, would bar him from participation in that enlargement\nof kingdom and increasing glory that comes from redemption and\nthe progress of men. And is it too bold a thought, that with this\nprogress, even for the Mightiest, new thoughts, and new vistas may\nappear, inviting to new adventures and enterprises that will yield new\nexperiences, advancement, and enlargement even for the Most High?[A]\nIt ought to be constantly remembered that terms absolute to man may be\nrelative terms to God, so far above our thinking is his thinking; and\nhis ways above our ways.\n\n[Footnote A: On this point Sir Oliver Lodge has a passage at once\nadvanced and bold, and yet for which he claims Christian warrant.\nIt is, however, far removed from modern Christian orthodoxy, though\nsplendidly true: \"The universe is not a 'being,' but a 'becoming'--an\nancient but light bringing doctrine when realized,--it is in change,\nin development, in movement upward and downward, that activity\nconsist. A stationary condition, or stagnation, would be to us simple\nnon-existence: the element of progression, of change, of activity,\nmust be as durable as the universe itself. Monotony, in the sense of\nabsolute immobility, is unthinkable, unreal, and cannot anywhere exist:\nsave where things have ceased to be.\n\n\"Such ideas, the ideas of development and progress, extend even up to\nGod himself, according to the Christian conception. So we return to\nthat with which we started: The Christian idea of God is not that of a\nbeing outside the universe, above its struggles, and taking no part in\nthe process, solely exalted, beneficent, self-determined and complete;\nno, it is also that of a God who loves, who yearns, who suffers, who\nkeenly laments the rebellious and misguided activity of the free agents\nbrought into being by himself as part of himself, who enters into the\nstorm and conflict, and is subject to condition as the Soul of it all:\nconditions not artificial and transitory, but inherent in the process\nof producing free and conscious beings, and essential to the full\nself-development even of Deity.\n\n\"It is a marvelous and bewildering thought, but whatever its value, and\nwhether it be an ultimate revelation or not, it is the revelation of\nChrist.\" (\"Science and Immortality,\" p. 292.)]\n\nThe attribute \"Omnipotence\" must needs be thought upon also as\nsomewhat limited. Even God, notwithstanding the ascription to him of\nall-powerfulness in such scripture phrases as \"With God all things are\npossible,\" \"Nothing shall be impossible with God\"--notwithstanding all\nthis, I say, not even God may have two mountain ranges without a valley\nbetween. Not even God may place himself beyond the boundary of space:\nnor on the outside of duration. Nor is it conceivable to human thought\nthat he can create space, or annihilate matter. These are things that\nlimit even God's Omnipotence. What then, is meant by the ascription of\nthe attribute Omnipotence to God? Simply that all that may or can be\ndone by power conditioned by other eternal existences--duration, space,\nmatter, truth, justice--God can do. But even he may not act out of\nharmony with the other eternal existences which condition or limit even\nhim.\n\nSo with the All-knowing attribute, Omniscience: that must be understood\nsomewhat in the same light as the other attributes considered: not that\nGod is Omniscient up to the point that further progress in knowledge is\nimpossible to him; but that all knowledge that is, all that exists, God\nknows. He is Universal Consciousness, and Mind--he is the All-knowing\nOne, because he knows all that is known.\n\nSo the attribute \"Omnipresence\"--the Everywhere Present attribute. This\nmust be so far limited as to be ascribed to God's Spirit, or Influence,\nor Power: but not of God as a Person or Individual; for in these\nlatter respects even God is limited by the law that one body cannot\noccupy two places at one and the same time. But radiating from his\npresence, as beams of light and warmth radiate from our sun, is God's\nSpirit, penetrating and permeating space, making space and all worlds\nin space vibrate with his life and thought and presence: holding all\nforces--dynamic and static--under control, making them to subserve his\nwill and purposes.\n\nGod also uses other agencies to reflect himself, his power or\nauthority: also his Wisdom, Goodness, Justice and Mercy--angels and\narch-angels, both in heaven and on earth; and in the earth prophets,\napostles, teachers--all that make for up-lift, for righteousness; all\nthat catch some ray of the Divine Spirit in poem, music, painting,\nsculpture, state-craft or mechanical arts--all these but reflect God\nand are a means of multiplying and expressing him, the Divine. And in a\nspecial way, as witness for God, and under very special conditions, the\nHoly Ghost, that Being accounted the Third Person of the Godhead--he\nreflects and stands for God, his Power, and Wisdom; his Justice, Truth\nand Mercy--for all that can be, or is, called God, or is God. All these\nmeans, direct and indirect, convey God into the universe, and keep him\neverywhere present in all his essentials of Wisdom, Power and Goodness,\nwhile his bodily presence remains at the center of it all.\n\n\n\nLESSON XIII.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD RELATED TO THE ATONEMENT (Continued).\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nIII. Attributes Ascribed to God--Second Group.\n\n1. Wisdom:\n\n2. Holiness;\n\n3. Truth;\n\n4. Justice;\n\n5. Mercy;\n\n6. Love.\n\nIV. The Attributes of God Constitute a Harmony--This Relates Them to\nthe Atonement.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nReferences same as in Lesson XII. Also Scriptures quoted and cited in\nthe body of this lesson.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"God does not walk in crooked paths, neither does he\nturn to the right hand nor to the left, or vary from that which he has\nsaid; therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal\nround.\" (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 2:2.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\nThere is yet to be considered the attributes of Wisdom, Holiness,\nTruth, Justice, Mercy, Love; and these are the attributes referred to\nwhich are more immediately involved in the doctrine of Atonement.\n\n_1. Wisdom:_ Wisdom that arises from knowledge seems essentially\nan attribute of Deity; as well from the nature of the attribute as\nfrom the declaration of scripture. God as un-wise is unthinkable;\nunpossessed of this attribute, he could not appeal to the consciousness\nof man as God at all. Therefore it is agreeable to think with Elihu in\nJob, that God \"is mighty in strength and wisdom.\"[A] Also with David:\n\"O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom thou hast made them\nall: the earth is full of thy riches.\"[B] And again David: \"Great is\nour Lord, and great of power; his understanding is infinite.\"[C] So\nPaul: \"To God, only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever;\"[D]\n\"The wisdom of the world is foolishness with God;\"[E] He says, so high\nabove the wisdom of men does he esteem the wisdom of God; and even\n\"the foolishness of God is wiser than men.\"[F] We may fittingly close\nhis testimony with his prayer: \"Now, unto the King Eternal, immortal,\ninvisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever, and ever.\nAmen.\"[G]\n\n[Footnote A: Job xxvi:5.]\n\n[Footnote B: Psalms cxv:24.]\n\n[Footnote C: Psalms cxvii:5.]\n\n[Footnote D: Rom. xvi:27.]\n\n[Footnote E: I Cor. i:25.]\n\n[Footnote F: I Cor. i:26.]\n\n[Footnote G: I Tim. i:17.]\n\nWorthy to go with this testimony is that of Joseph Smith, in which is\nfound the same spiritual music: \"The Lord is God, and beside him there\nis no Savior; great is his Wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the\nextent of his doings none can find out; his purposes fail not, neither\nare there any who can stay his hand.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 76:1-3.]\n\n_2. Holiness:_ \"Holiness,\" as an attribute of God, is equally\nindispensable as Wisdom. Equally unthinkable is it that Deity should\nnot possess it. No marvel that Moses sang, \"Who is like unto thee, O\nLord, among the gods, glorious in holiness?\"[A] \"I am the Lord your\nGod; * * * ye shall be holy: for I am holy,\"[B] was God's word to\nancient Israel. Throughout the scriptures God is spoken of as the\n\"Holy One of Israel.\" \"Thou art Holy, O thou that inhabitest the\npraises in Israel.\"[C] \"Sing unto the Lord * * * at the remembrance\nof his Holiness.\"[D] \"God that is Holy shall be sanctified in\nrighteousness.\"[E] \"And one cried unto another, and said: Holy, holy,\nholy is the Lord God of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.\"\nSuch Isaiah's vision.[F] Both the Old and the New Testaments are\nreplete with the doctrine. In one of the prophets it is written: \"O\nLord, * * * thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not\nlook on iniquity.\"[G] And again in the scripture: \"I the Lord cannot\nlook upon sin with the least degree of allowance;\"[H] which perhaps\nmore than any other utterance of holy writ, asserts the Holiness of God.\n\n[Footnote A: Ex. xv:11.]\n\n[Footnote B: Lev. xi:44.]\n\n[Footnote C: Psalms xxii:3.]\n\n[Footnote D: Psalms xxx:4.]\n\n[Footnote E: Isaiah v:16.]\n\n[Footnote F: Isaiah vi:3.]\n\n[Footnote G: Hab. i:12,-13.]\n\n[Footnote H: Doc. & Cov., Sec. i:31: \"Nevertheless,\" continues the\npassage, \"he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall\nbe forgiven.\" Showing that while God may not compromise with sin by\nlooking upon it with any degree of allowance, yet he has compassion\nupon the sinner who repents.]\n\n_3. Truth:_ The attribute of \"Truth\" is ascribed to God; and\nhere we again come in touch with the absolute, as when speaking of\nGod's Eternity. God can be no other than absolute in this quality. An\nuntruthful God! the thought is blasphemy. \"God is not a man that he\nshould lie, neither the son of man that he should repent.\"[A] \"Mercy\nand Truth shall go before thy face.\"[B] \"A God of truth and without\niniquity, just and right is he.\"[C] \"Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord\nGod of Truth.\"[D] \"Abundant in goodness and Truth.\"[E] So our modern\nscriptures: \"God does not walk in crooked paths, neither does he\nturn to the right hand nor the left, or vary from that which he has\nsaid, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal\nround.\"[F] It cannot be emphasized too strongly--God is a God of Truth;\nand does not, and cannot lie without ceasing to be God. It would wreck\nthe moral universe for God to lie. He must _be_, he is TRUTH! \"A God of\ntruth, without iniquity, just and right is he.\"[G]\n\n[Footnote A: Numbers xxiii:19.]\n\n[Footnote B: Psalms lxxxix:14.]\n\n[Footnote C: Deut. xxxii:4.]\n\n[Footnote D: Psalms xxxi:5.]\n\n[Footnote E: Ex. xxxiv:6.]\n\n[Footnote F: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 3:2.]\n\n[Footnote G: Deut. xxxii:4.]\n\n_4. Justice:_ \"Justice,\" as an attribute, is of the same quality\nas the attribute of Truth--it must be conceived as absolute in Deity.\nGod not just! The thought would be blasphemous. Of course we have\nscripture warrant for the doctrine: \"Justice and judgment are the\nhabitation of thy throne.\"[A] \"There is no God beside me: a Just God\nand a Savior.\"[B] \"The Just God is in the midst thereof.\"[C] \"Behold\nthy King cometh unto thee: he is Just and having salvation.\"[D]\n\n[Footnote A: Psalms lxxxix:14.]\n\n[Footnote B: Isaiah xv:21.]\n\n[Footnote C: Zech. iii:5.]\n\n[Footnote D: Zech. ix:9.]\n\n_5. Mercy:_ \"Mercy\" as an attribute of God is in a class with\nTruth and Justice and Holiness. A God without compassion--only another\nname for mercy--would be a monstrosity. No, God must be Merciful! Else\nwhat shall become of man? God not merciful! It is unthinkable, that is\nall. The quality of Mercy as an attribute of God is not strained;\n\n  \"It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven\n  Upon the place beneath; it is twice blest;\n  It blesses him that gives, and him that takes;\n  'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes\n  The throned monarch better than his crown;\n  * * * It is an attribute to God himself!\"\n\n\"Mercy and truth shall go before his face,\" is the testimony of the\nPsalmist.[A] \"And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The\nLord, the Lord God, Merciful and gracious.\"[B] \"But thou art a God\nready to pardon, gracious and merciful.\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: Psalms lxxxix:14.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ex. xxxiv:6.]\n\n[Footnote C: Neh. ix:17.]\n\n_6. Love:_ Love! the crowning glory of all the attributes of\nGod! We may revel in this attribute. \"He that loveth not, knoweth not\nGod; for God is Love!\"[A] \"God is Love, and he that dwelleth in love\ndwelleth in God, and God in him.\"[B] \"Every one that loveth is born of\nGod.\"[C] \"In this was manifested the Love of God towards us, because\nthat God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live\nthrough him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved\nus, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.\"[D]\n\n[Footnote A: I John iv:8.]\n\n[Footnote B: I John iv:16.]\n\n[Footnote C: St. John iii:16.]\n\n[Footnote D: I John iv:9,10.]\n\n\"God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that\nwhosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting\nlife.\"[A] More perfect evidence than this of love, even God cannot give.\n\n[Footnote A: St. John iii:16.]\n\n_7. The Harmony of God's Attributes:_ These attributes as well as\nthose considered in lesson XII, must be thought upon as constituting a\nharmony; those with the existences as real and eternal as themselves;\nthese with reference to harmony within or among themselves. Thus\nJustice may not deny the claims of Mercy. Mercy may not rob Justice.\nEven Love may not allow God to intrude upon Justice, or Wisdom or\nTruth. At the same time it must be remembered that Mercy and Love, no\nless than Justice, are attributes of God and somehow and somewhere must\nfind entrance into the divine economy, must get themselves expressed\nand that worthily; worthy of their intrinsic nature, and worthy of God\nin whom they inhere. And while \"all must be law\" or at least in harmony\nwith law; all \"must be love,\" in harmony with love--for God, from first\nto last, is Love.\n\nThe attributes of God must be preserved in perfect accord if the moral\nharmony of the universe is to be maintained. It is these considerations\nwhich unite the attributes of God with the subject of Atonement.\nIf God's moral government of the universe is, like his physical\ngovernment, one of law, then Law, not personal, arbitrary, capricious\nWill must rule.\n\n\n\nLESSON XIV.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE REIGN OF LAW.[A]\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. The Government of the Universe--Two Methods Conceived of:\n\n1. By Unvarying Law;\n\n2. By Special Providence.\n\nII. Harmonization of Government by Unvarying Law, and the Existence of\nSpecial Providence.\n\n1. Misconception of Unvarying Law; Laws Have Their Limitations.\n\n2. Misconception of \"Miracles.\"\n\nIII. The New Dispensation--Its Prophet and Doctrine Committed to the\nReign of Law in Both the Physical and the Spiritual World.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nDoc. & Cov., Sec. 88; also Sec. 130.\n\nA History of the Warfare of Science with Theology (White); Conflict\nBetween Religion and Science (Draper); Natural Law in the Spiritual\nWorld (Drummond).\n\nJoseph Smith, the Prophet-Teacher (Roberts), pp. 42-49.\n\nStudies in Religion (Fiske), pp. 158-169, 337, 338.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"There are many kingdoms, and to every kingdom is given\na law; and to every law there are certain bounds also, and conditions.\nAll beings who abide not in those conditions [i. e., laws] are not\njustified.\" (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 88:37-39.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. Government of the Universe--(A) By Unvarying Law:_ \"Two\ninterpretations may be given of the mode of government of the world,\"\nsays Professor John W. Draper.\n\n[Footnote A: \"The fundamental conception of law is an ascertained\nworking sequence or constant order among the phenomena of nature.\n\n* * \"The laws of nature are simply statements of the orderly condition\nof things in nature, what is found in nature by a sufficient number of\ncompetent observers.\n\n\"And despite the limitations of its sphere on every side, Law is still\nthe largest, richest, and surest source of human knowledge.\" (Henry\nDrummond: Natural Law in the Spiritual World, Introduction, pp. 4, 5.)]\n\n\"It may be by incessant, divine interventions, or by the operation of\nunvarying law.\" The former view is held by Draper to be the view of\nthe Roman religion (pre-Christian); and later of the Roman Christian\nreligion. A priesthood, he holds, will always incline to the theory\nof \"divine interventions,\" \"since it must desire to be considered as\nstanding between the prayer of the votary and the providential act.\"\n\"Not without reason, therefore,\" he continues, \"did they [the priests]\nlook upon the doctrine of government by 'unvarying law' with disfavor.\"\nAnd then continues in the following manner:\n\n_2. Draper's View--Unvarying Law:_ \"The orderly movement of\nthe heavens could not fail in all ages to make a deep impression on\nthoughtful observers--the rising and setting of the sun; the increasing\nor diminishing light of the day; the waxing and waning of the moon; the\nreturn of the seasons in their proper course; the measured march of the\nwandering planets in the sky--what are all these and a thousand such,\nbut manifestations of an orderly and unchanging procession of events?\nThe faith of early observers in this interpretation may perhaps have\nbeen shaken by the occurrence of such a phenomenon as an eclipse, a\nsudden and mysterious breach of the ordinary course of events; but it\nwould be resumed in tenfold strength as soon as the discovery was made\nthat eclipses themselves recur, and may be predicted.\n\n\"Astronomical predictions of all kinds depend upon the admission of\nthis fact--that there never has been and never will be any intervention\nin the operation of natural laws. The scientific philosopher affirms\nthat the condition of the world at any given moment is the direct\nresult of its condition in the preceding moment, and the direct cause\nof its condition in the subsequent moment.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Conflict Between Religion and Science, p. 229.]\n\nIn the remainder of the chapter here quoted, Draper traces the struggle\nbetween the idea of government by special Providence and government\nby \"unvarying law.\" until the latter triumphs in modern thought and\nscience.\n\n_3. White's View--Unvarying Law:_ To the same purpose, Andrew D.\nWhite, once professor of History at Cornell University, and President\nof the University for twenty-five years, published his great work, \"A\nHistory of the Warfare of Science with Theology,\"[A] The title of a few\nof the chapters will show the drift of the thought: \"From Creation to\nEvolution,\" \"From 'Signs and Wonders' to Law in Heaven,\" \"From Genesis\nto Geology,\" \"From Magic to Chemistry and Physics,\" \"From Miracles to\nMedicine,\" and so following.\n\n[Footnote A: The Work is in Two Volumes, Appleton and Co., 1903.]\n\n_4. John Fiske's View--Unvarying Law:_ Of course John Fiske (and\nthe same may be said practically of all our modern scientists and\nphilosophers) inclines to the same view--government of the universe by\n\"unvarying law.\" Fiske describes the effect of the modern intellectual\nmovement to be \"to discredit more than ever before the Latin idea\nof God as a power outside of the course of nature and occasionally\ninterfering with it. In all directions the process of evolution has\nbeen discovered, working after similar methods, and this has forced\nupon us the belief in the Unity of Nature. We are thus driven to the\nGreek conception of God as the power working in and through nature,\nwithout interference or infraction of law. We have so far spelled out\nthe history of creation as to see that all has been done in strict\naccordance with law. * * * So beautiful is all this orderly coherence, so\nsatisfying to some of our intellectual needs, that many minds are\ninclined to doubt if anything more can be said of the universe than\nthat it is a Reign of Law, an endless aggregate of coexistences and\nsequences.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Studies in Religion, pp. 337-8.]\n\n_5. Henry Drummond's View--Unvarying Law:_ Drummond, in 1893,\npublished his \"Natural Law in the Spiritual World,\" with a view, as\nthe title suggests, of bringing the phenomena of the spirit-world into\nharmony with the modern scientific conceptions that obtain respecting\nthe natural world. His self-imposed task was to \"demonstrate the\nnaturalness of the supernatural;\" that the natural and the spiritual\nworld are one. Drummond's conception was a noble one, and resulted in\nthe production of a very notable and convincing work, though meeting in\nsome quarters with the impatience that attaches to works of its class,\nviz., the class that attempts to work out harmony between science and\nreligion; or between the natural and the spiritual world.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Thus Andrew D. White, in his \"Warfare of Science\nwith Theology,\" speaking of the phases of theological attack upon\nscience, represents the third and the last--as \"an attempt\" at\ncompromise--\"compromise by means of far-fetched reconciliations of\ntextual statements with ascertained fact\" (Warfare, Vol. I, p. 218).\nThat Drummond himself was aware that these \"attempts at compromise\"\nof the differences between science and religion, or the \"natural and\nspiritual world,\" is evident from his preface, where he says: \"No class\nof works is received with more suspicion, I had almost said derision,\nthan those which deal with Science and Religion. Science is tired\nof reconciliations between two things which never should have been\ncontrasted. Religion is offended by the patronage of an ally which it\nprofesses not to need; and the critics have rightly discovered that,\nin most cases where Science is either pitted against Religion or fused\nwith it, there is some fatal misconception to begin with as to the\nscope and province of either.\"]\n\n_6. Difficulties in the Way of Government by Unvarying Law; (1)\nLimitations of Laws:_ The difficulties between the conception of\ngovernment of the world by \"unvarying law,\" and the facts of man's\nspiritual or religious experiences, which seems at times to be in\ncontravention of law, answers to prayer, healing the sick through\nfaith, foreknowledge of coming events, and the like, would disappear\nif only men would recognize the fact that laws have their limitations;\nand that laws in nature known to us may have their force broken or\ncounteracted by the operation of other forces. For example: the power\nof ocean currents and the winds to carry objects with them in the\ndirection of their movement is overcome by another force, though no\nless operating under law, viz., the force found in steam; the force\nof gravitation by the levitating power of gas; the natural tendency\nof water to seek its level by evaporation and the absorbing power of\nthe atmosphere, are examples. This principle of \"law being governed\nby law,\" was taught by Joseph Smith as early as 1832, in a revelation\nreceived in that year, and in which it was said: \"Unto every kingdom\nis given a law; _and unto every law there are certain bounds also and\nconditions_.\" The context of the passage makes it clear that \"kingdoms\"\nhere are not groups of men or nations over which a monarch reigns; but\nsubstances, matter; worlds and world-systems, and their inhabitants\nunder the dominion of law; the universe considered in its divisions\nand subdivisions. \"Verily I say unto you,\" continues the revelation,\n\"he [God] hath given a law unto all things by which they move in their\ntimes and their seasons; and their courses are fixed; even the courses\nof the heavens and the earth, which comprehend the earth and all the\nplanets.\"[A] And yet these laws have their metes and bounds, their\nlimitations; fixed, however, by the operation of other laws, not by the\narbitrary will of an absolute monarch.\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 88:42, 43.]\n\n_(2) \"Miracles\" Part of the Divine Economy:_ The criticism of\nreligionists on the conception of the government of the universe by\nthe operation of \"unvarying law,\" is that it bars out of the economy\nof things any place for the special providences of God; destroys all\nvalue in prayer; and eliminates miracles. To which the answer is \"Not\nat all!\" The whole seeming difficulty arises from a misconception of\nthe means by which the providences of God are wrought; and the means\nby which socalled \"miracles\" are brought to pass. This subdivision\nof the subject may be treated under a brief discussion of \"Miracles\"\nusually defined to be an \"event in derogation of the laws of nature.\"\nWhat I have said elsewhere upon this subject will answer my purpose\nhere.[A] There is a general misapprehension of the term miracle.\nIt is usually understood as \"an event or effect contrary to the\nestablished constitution and course of things, or a deviation from\nthe known laws of nature.\" Renan defines a miracle to be, \"not simply\nthe inexplicable, it is a formal derogation from recognized laws in\nthe name of a particular desire.\" What is especially faulty in these\ndefinitions is this: Miracles are held to be events outside or contrary\nto the laws of nature. Let us examine this:\n\n[Footnote A: \"New Witnesses for God,\" Vol. I, p. 252.]\n\nTwo hundred years ago the only motive powers known to ocean navigators\nwere wind and the ocean currents. Suppose at that time those old\nmariners had seen one of our modern ocean steamers running against\nboth ocean currents and the wind, and, withal, making better speed, in\nspite of both wind and tide than the old sailing vessel could match\neven when running before the wind and the ocean currents in her favor.\nWhat would have been the effect on the mind of the old-time sailor? \"It\nis a miracle!\" he would have exclaimed; that is, it would have been an\n\"effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things,\"\n\"a derogation from recognized laws.\" But is such an effect to us who\nknow something of the force of steam contrary to the laws of nature?\nNo; it is simply the employment of forces in nature of which the\nold-time mariner was ignorant; and while it would have been a miracle\nto him, to us it is merely the application of a newly-discovered force\nof nature, and it is now so common that we cease to look upon it with\nwonder. So with the things that we in our ignorance call miracles--such\nas healing the sick, restoring the blind to sight, making the lame\nto walk, through exercise of faith; and the resurrection of the\ndead--instead of these things being in \"derogation from recognized\nlaws, we shall yet learn that they are done simply by the application\nof laws of which we are as yet in ignorance.\"[A] With man's limited\nknowledge of the laws of nature, how presumptuous it is in him to say\nthat the healing of the sick or even the resurrection of the dead are\nin \"derogation of the laws of nature,\" or that deviation from those\nfew laws of nature with which he is acquainted will never happen, or\nis impossible! Better reasoners are they who, like George Rawlinson,\nsay: \"Miraculous interpositions on fitting occasions may be as much a\nregular, fixed, and established rule of his [God's] government, as the\nworking ordinarily by what are called natural laws.\" In other words,\nwhat we in our ignorance call miracles, are to God merely the results\nof the application of higher laws or forces of nature not yet learned\nby man. Miracles are to be viewed as a part of the divine economy.\n\n[Footnote A: \"In the progress of science, all phenomena have been\nshown, by indisputable evidence, to be amenable to law, and even in the\ncases in which those laws have not yet been exactly ascertained, delay\nin ascertaining them is fully accounted for by the special difficulties\nof the subject; the defenders of miracles have adapted their argument\nto this altered state of things, by maintaining that a miracle need\nnot necessarily be a violation of law. It may, they say, take place in\nfulfilment of a more recondite law, to us unknown.\n\n\"If by this it be only meant that the Divine Being, in the exercise\nof his power of interfering with and suspending his own laws, guides\nhimself by some general principle or rule of action, this, of course,\ncannot be disproved, and is in itself the most probable supposition.\"\n(\"Theism,\" in \"Three Essays on Religion\"--Mill,--pp. 223-4.)\n\nShedd treats upon the same theme and much in the same spirit; \"The\nmiracle is not contrary to all nature but only to nature as known to\nus,\" he represents the Apologists of early Christianity as saying, and\nthen quotes a long and admirable passage from Augustine. (\"History of\nChristian Doctrine,\" Vol. I, pp. 167-169.)]\n\n_3. The New Dispensation Committed to the Reign of Law:_ The\nProphet of the New Dispensation, as we have seen, taught the doctrine\nof the reign of law in God's universe; and not alone in the physical or\nnatural universe, but as well in the spiritual and moral phases of that\nuniverse.\n\nIn the revelation already quoted for the reign of law in the physical\nuniverse, he also says: \"And again, verily I say unto you, that\nwhich is governed by law is also preserved by law, and perfected and\nsanctified by the same. That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by\nlaw, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide\nin sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law,\nneither by mercy, justice nor judgment. Therefore they must remain\nfilthy still.\" And again he said: \"There is a law irrevocably decreed\nin heaven before the foundations of this world upon which all blessings\nare predicated; and when we obtain any blessing from God it is by\nobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.\"[A] The Prophet\nof the New Dispensation, then, the gospel of that dispensation, its\nTheology, stand committed to the sublime doctrine that the universe\nin every way is under the reign of law; and hence, in some way, the\nAtonement, by and through which man is redeemed; the necessity,--the\nabsolute necessity--for it; the reason why that means, and that means\nalone, could bring redemption and put man in the way of salvation--all\nthis must be by reason of the existence of some law by which the facts\nin the case are governed. These laws and an understanding of them are\nthe object of our research.\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 130:21,22.]\n\n\n\nLESSON XV.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE EXORABLENESS[A] OF LAW.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. The Effective Quality in Law--Inexorableness.\n\nII. Reign of Law vs. Government by \"Arbitrary Will.\"\n\nIII. Mercy and Special Providence in a Reign of Law.\n\nIV. Law and Destructive and Constructive Forces.\n\nV. God No Respector of Persons; Mercy and Special Providence Under\nDominion of Law.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nDoc. & Cov., Sec. 88: also Sec. 130.\n\nDrummond's Natural Law in the Spiritual World--Introduction.\n\nFiske's Studies in Religion, pp. 337-340; and the works and passages\nquoted in the body of this lesson.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXTS: \"Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come\nout thence [from prison] till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.\"\n(The Christ: Matt, v.26.)_\n\n_\"Think not I am come to destroy the law I a. not come to destroy,\nbut to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass\none jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be\nfulfilled.\" (Matt, v.17, 18.)_\n\n[Footnote A: \"Inexorable\"--literally not to be moved or changed by\npetition or prayer. Immovable, relentless. See Cent. Dict.]\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. The Essence of Law:_ Inexorableness is of the essence of law.\nThere can be no force in law only as it is inexorable. What effect is\nto cause, in the physical world, that penalty must be to violation of\nlaw in the moral and spiritual kingdom. This is what is meant by the\ninexorableness of law.\n\nThe inexorableness of law is at once both its majesty and glory;\nwithout it neither majesty nor glory could exist; neither respect nor\nsense of security, nor safety, nor rational faith. If the idea of the\n\"reign of law\" be set aside and there be substituted for it the reign\nof God by his sovereign will, independent of law, even then we must\npostulate such conception of the attributes of God that regularity will\nresult from his personal government, not capriciousness, today one\nthing, tomorrow another. Hence one of old viewing God's government from\nthe side of its being a direct, personal reign of God rather than a\nreign of God through law, wrote his message from God as follows:\n\n\"I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not\nconsumed.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Malachi iii:6. For the notion expressed in the text that\nMalachi viewed God's government from the side of a personal reign, see\nthe preceding verses of the chapter cited.]\n\nAnd another occupying the same point of view, said:\n\n\"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down\nfrom the Father of light--\"\n\nAnd then he adds immediately, \"With whom is no variableness, neither\nshadow of turning.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: James i:17.]\n\n_2. The Quality of Regularity of Law--How Secured:_ View the\nmatter, then, from which standpoint you may, government of the world by\nthe personal, sovereign will of God, or the government of God through\nthe reign of law, the quality of regularity, that can only come of\ninexorableness--arising either from the quality of God's attributes,\nor the inherent nature of law--is necessary to a sense of security,\nto right mental attitude, to rational thinking and right conduct. All\nthis becomes apparent if the matter is thought upon conversely. If a\nreign of law is supposed to exist and the law is not inexorable, but\nmay be set aside, suspended, abridged, enlarged, or its penalties\nannulled; and these changes affected not by the operation of any fixed\nprinciple, or by some controlling higher law, but capriciously, through\nthe interposition of some sovereign will, call it special providence\nor what not, then, of course, you have no reign of law at all; but the\nreign of a sovereign will that operates independent of law. Under such\ngovernment--if, indeed, it could be called government--all would be\nconfusion, uncertainty, perplexity, doubt, despair. Happily no such\nconditions exist; but instead there exists a divine government in the\nworld, operating through a reign of law; and the virtue and value of\nthat government arises from the inexorableness of law.\n\n_3. Where, Then, is Mercy?_ If, however, the exorableness of\nlaw is to be insisted upon up to this degree of emphasis, where then\ndoes mercy, which is supposed to mitigate somewhat the severity and\ninexorableness of law; and, furthermore, is supposed in some way to\nrepresent the direct and gracious act of God when mitigating the law's\nseverity--where does Mercy appear? At what point does she enter into\nthe moral and spiritual economy? A large question, this, and one not to\nbe considered just yet, except to say that the entrance of Mercy into\nthe economy of the moral and spiritual kingdom, is not in violation of\nlaw, but in harmony with it. In fact, as we shall see somewhat later,\nMercy takes her part in the economy of the moral and spiritual kingdoms\nbecause of the existence of a reign of law, rather than in derogation\nof it.\n\n_4. Destructive Forces Under the Dominion of Law:_ When a reign\nof law is conceived as governing in the physical world, then the\nconception must include the destructive, or disintegrating forces as\noperating under law as well as the constructive or integrating forces,\nelse your reign of law is not universal.\n\nMoses stood with God and beheld the multitude of his creations: \"And\nthe Lord God said unto Moses, For mine own purpose have I made these\nthings; * * * and by the word of my power, have I created them. * * *\nAnd worlds without number have I created; and I have created them for\nmine own purpose. * * * Behold there are many worlds that have passed\naway by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and\ninnumerable are they with man. * * * And as one earth shall pass away,\nand the heavens thereof, even so shall another come, and there is no\nend to my works, neither to my words.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Moses (P. of G. P.) i:31-38.]\n\nThis passage implies constant movement in the universe. The statement,\n\"As one earth shall pass away and the heavens thereof, even so shall\nanother come,\" corresponds somewhat to the modern scientist's notion\nof \"evolution and devolution;\"[A] but the thing to be noted here is\nthat not only is God represented as having created these worlds and\nworld-systems \"by the word of his power;\" but also that \"there are many\nworlds that have passed away by the word of his power.\" By which we\nare to understand that destructive as well as creating forces in the\nphysical world operate under law. So also should we understand that in\nthe moral and spiritual world, where there appears to be a modification\nof the inexorableness of law, such as comes in a manifestation of Mercy\nin the modification, or suspension, or the obliteration of the penalty\nof a law by the forgiveness of sin--for \"sin is the transgression of\nthe law\"[B]--all this must not be thought upon as capriciousness, the\narbitrary act of Deity in the interests of special favorites. No; the\nmanifestation of mercy which seems to set aside the severity of the\nlaw, which seems to soften its inexorableness by allowing an escape\nfrom its penalty, by forgiveness of sins--this is the result of the\noperation of law, as much so as when the law proceeds to the utmost of\nits severity, to the extreme manifestation of its inexorableness in the\nexaction of the utmost farthing of its penalty. It is not by special\nand personal favor that men shall have forgiveness of sins, and find\nshelter under the wings of Mercy. That must be obtained, if obtained at\nall, under the operation of law governing the application of Mercy in\nthe economy of the moral and spiritual world; by law that operates upon\nall alike. Forgiveness of sins, like other blessings, is predicated\nupon the obedience to law, and is not based upon personal favor. \"There\nis a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of the\nworld, upon which all blessings are predicated; and when we obtain\nany blessing from God it is by obedience to that law upon which it\nis predicated\"[C]--forgiveness of sins with the rest. It is because\nwe live under this reign of law that the scriptures teach that God\nis no respector of persons. God \"regardeth not persons, nor taketh\nreward.\"[D] \"Neither doth God respect any person; yet doth he devise\nmeans, that his banished be not expelled from him.\"[E] \"Peace to every\nman that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile; for\nthere is no respect of persons with God.\"[F] \"Call on the Father, who\nwithout respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work.\"[G]\n\n[Footnote A: \"While new cosmic bodies arise and develop out of rotating\nmasses of nebula in some parts of the universe, in other parts old,\nextinct, frigid suns come into collision, and are once more reduced\nby the heat generated to the condition of nebulae. * * * While minute\nand then larger bodies are being formed by this pyknotic [condensing]\nprocess in one part of space, and the intermediate ether increases\nits strain, the opposite process--the destruction of cosmic bodies by\ncollision--is taking place in another quarter. The immense quantity of\nheat which is generated in this mechanical process of the collision\nof swiftly moving bodies represents the new kinetic energy which\neffects the movement of the resultant nebulae and the construction of\nnew rotating bodies. The eternal drama begins afresh. Even our mother\nearth, which was formed of part of the gyrating solar system millions\nof ages ago, will grow cold and lifeless after the lapse of further\nmillions, and, gradually narrowing its orbit, will fall eventually into\nthe sun.\" (Ernest Haeckel: \"Riddle of the Universe\"--1900,--pp. 240,\n243).]\n\n[Footnote B: I John iii:4.]\n\n[Footnote C: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 130.]\n\n[Footnote D: Deut. xiv:17.]\n\n[Footnote E: II Sam. xiv:14.]\n\n[Footnote F: Rom. ii:10, 11.]\n\n[Footnote G: I Peter i:17.]\n\n\"The collision of suns may have produced nebulae and these nebulae\nin turn may gradually develop themselves into suns again. It seems\nreasonably certain that nebulae are the stuff from which the stars are\nmade\" (\"Science-History of the Universe,\" Vol. I; \"Astronomy,\" p. 318).]\n\n_5. Sense of Security Under a Reign of Law:_ So here men stand\nunder the reign of Law, before God. No one may hope to escape the\npenalty due to violation of law through favor; no one will fall under\nthe condemnation of the law-through lack of favor with God, by reason\nof capriciousness in him, much less through vindictiveness, which is\nunthinkable in God. God will make no infraction of the law, in the\ninterests of supposed favorites; such \"blessings,\" whether in the\nproviding of permanent opportunities for individuals, families, or\nraces, as may reach through the apparent complexity of things to men;\nor occasional blessings such as seem to come to some individuals as\nspecial acts of providence; all will come in accordance with the laws\nupon which such blessings were predicated before the foundations of the\nworld were laid; and this notwithstanding inequalities and diversity\nof fortunes and misfortunes that exist among individuals, families,\nnations, races of men. Underneath all the diversities and equalities\nthat exist, so difficult to account for in some of their aspects, there\nlaw is operating despite all seeming incongruities; and out of all\nthese diversities and complexities of experiences, at the last will\ncome justice--God's justice; and men will be satisfied that it is so.\n\nMeanwhile this reign of law, with all its inexorableness--nay, rather\nbecause of it--present and operating as well in disintegrating as in\nintegrating processes; present in the manifestations of mercy and\n\"special acts of providence,\" as in manifestations of severity in the\nmoral and spiritual world; how splendid it all is! How satisfying!\nWhat assurance, what confidence it gives! No wonder that John Fiske,\nremarking upon the idea of the reign of law, said: \"So beautiful is\nall this orderly coherence, so satisfying to some of our intellectual\nneeds, that many minds are inclined to doubt if anything more can be\nsaid of the universe than that it is a 'Reign of Law,' an endless\naggregate of coexistences and sequences.\"\n\nBut the deeper and truer view of things will be, not to accept this\n\"reign of law\" as God; nor mistake it for Deity--for mistake it would\nbe if confounded with God. Let the reign of law be conceived rather\nas the means through which God is working to the achievement of his\nhigh purposes--God in the world, and working through law;[A] God, the\nadministrative Power in the reign of law.\n\n[Footnote A: It is only just to John Fiske to say that such is his\nconception of the matter; for, commenting upon the effect upon the\nthinker who has this conception of the reign of law in the world, he\nsays: \"The thinker in whose mind divine action is thus identified\nwith orderly action and reign of law, and to whom a really irregular\nphenomenon would seem like a manifestation of sheer diabolism, foresees\nin every possible extension of knowledge a fresh confirmation of\nhis faith in God. From his point of view there can be no antagonism\nbetween our duty as inquirers and our duty as worshipers. To him\nno part of the universe is godless. In the swaying to and fro of\nmolecules and ceaseless pulsations of ether, in the secular shifting\nof planetary orbits, in the busy work of frost and raindrop, in the\nmysterious sprouting of the seed, in the everlasting tale of death and\nlife renewed, in the dawning of babe's intelligence, in the varied\ndeeds of men from age to age, he finds that which awakens the soul to\nreverential awe: and each act of scientific explanation but reveals\nan opening through which shines the glory of the Eternal Majesty\"\n(\"Studies in Religion,\" pp. 167-8).]\n\nIt is this quality of exorableness in law, excellent and essential as\nit is, that made the Atonement of the Christ necessary to the salvation\nof man.\n\n\n\nLESSON XVI.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES--(A) ARBITRARY ACTION EXCLUDED IN MAN'S\nREDEMPTION.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. Recapitulation of Principles.\n\nII. The Commandment Given--Violated--Effects\n\nIII. The Commandment Given as to an Immortal Person--The Penalty\nEternal.\n\nIV. The Problem Propounded--\n\n1. What can man do?\n\n2. What can God do?\n\nV. Redemption by the Sovereign Act of God--Arbitrary Action Under Reign\nof Law, Inadmissable.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nDoc. & Cov., Sec. 29; Gen. ii and iii.\n\nHebrews ix and x.\n\nAlma xxxiv and the works and passages cited in the body of this lesson.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"And thus we see that all mankind were fallen, and they\nwere in the grasp of justice yea the justice of God, which consigned\nthem forever to be cut off from his presence.\" (Book of Alma xlii:14.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. Recapitulation:_ Let us now begin the application of our\nprinciples to the Atonement. But first a brief recapitulation of them.\n\nWe have seen in preceding lessons--\n\nThat Intelligences, though differing in degree of intelligence are all\neternal; and are begotten spirits in a heavenly kingdom; and God is\ntheir Father;\n\nThat the purpose of God with reference to his spirit-offspring is to\nbring to pass their eternal life and progress and joy;\n\nThat to bring to pass possible progress and happiness to the spirits\nof men, union of the spirits with earth elements is necessary, hence\nearth-birth and earth-life are provided for man;\n\nThat to get an environment bringing man in contact with sin and\nsuffering and death, all which shall give him the experience\nessential to his progress--the harmony in the \"reign of law\" must be\nbroken--there must be violation of law, there must be a fall of man;\n\nThat the fall of man did not surprise the purposes of God, but\nfurthered them;\n\nThat violations of law, however ignorantly done or designedly planned,\nand that even for right ends, involves destruction nevertheless of the\nharmony of things, and relations, and also involves the transgressor\nin the penalties inseparably connected with law, and without which law\nwould be of no force at all;\n\nThat the attributes of God, each complete and perfect, must exist in\nharmony with each other, no one supplanting another or intruding upon\nits domain;\n\nThat a reign of law subsists throughout the universe as well in the\nmoral and spiritual kingdom as in the physical world;\n\nThat any manifestations of mercy, or special providence prompted by\nlove must not violate the harmony subsisting in the attributes of God,\nor be contrary to the conception of the universal reign of law;\n\nThat Love and Mercy, however, must enter into the economy of the\nearth-order of things; they must get themselves in some way worthily\nexpressed; no divine economy can exist without them, and without such\nexpression; even justice crys aloud for their presence.\n\nTo get Love and Mercy adequately expressed in the earth-order of\nthings, and in harmony with law, is the burden and mission of the\nChrist through the Atonement.\n\nThis is the point to which our previous lessons have led us; and now to\nthe working out of the application of our principles.\n\n_2. The Commandment Given and Violated.--Effects:_ The commandment\nis given, saying: \"O. every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat;\nbut of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat\nof it; for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Gen. ii:16, 17.]\n\nWe need not speculate upon the nature of the thing forbidden. It is\nenough to know here that partaking of the thing forbidden by the\ncommandment led to the knowledge of evil, as well as of good--to\nknowledge that comes of experience; and though, as I have before\nargued, the transgression so far from surprising the purposes of God\nwas essential to them, yet when law is transgressed, in the nature of\nthings, penalties must follow, else laws are but a mockery and the\nreign of law a myth.\n\nAdam transgressed the law, as already detailed;[A] the penalties\nfollowed. The nature of those penalties must be found in the events\nfollowing the \"fall\" as consequences as well as in the penalty\npronounced--\"In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.\"\nThe harmony of things was broken: innocence fled; union with God was\nsevered; God banished man from his presence--spiritual death;[B]\nphysical death also followed; for as to his body, dust man is, and unto\ndust shall he return, was the decree of God,[C] and all the woes that\nmake up the sum of evil in man's earth life followed.\n\n[Footnote A: Lessons VII and VIII.]\n\n[Footnote B: \"The task we have set ourselves is to investigate the\nessential nature of Spiritual Death. And we have found it to consist of\na want of communion with God\" (Drummond's \"Natural Law in the Spiritual\nWorld,\" p. 158). So that spiritual life consists in a union with God;\ndestroy that union--and sinning against God destroys it--and spiritual\ndeath ensues. For this doctrine we have the warrant of revelation:\n\n\"Adam * * * partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the\ncommandment; * * * whereupon I, the Lord God, caused that he should\nbe cast out from the Garden of Eden, from my presence, because of\nhis transgression, wherein he became spiritually dead, which is the\nfirst death, even that same death which is the last death, which is\nspiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say,\n'Depart ye cursed'\" (Doc. & Cov., Sec. xxix:40, 41). \"The fall had\nbrought upon all mankind a spiritual death as well as a temporal; that\nis, they were cut off from the presence of the Lord\" (Alma xlii:9).]\n\n[Footnote C: Gen. iii:19. The several sentences of this chapter\npronounced upon man and woman should be included as penalties affixed\nto the commandment, \"Thou shalt not eat of it,\" as well as \"Thou shalt\nsurely die.\"]\n\n_3. The Commandment is Given as to An Immortal Being:_ This is now\nthe situation: The law is broken. The penalty is incurred. The law is\ninexorable. The law was addressed to one provisionally immortal--had\nnot man sinned his life would have been eternal. The law was not\ntemporal, but eternal. \"Not at any time,\" said the Lord to Joseph\nSmith and six elders, in Fayette, September, 1830--\"not at any time\nhave I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither Adam your\nfather whom I created. Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an\nagent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandment, but no temporal\ncommandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they\nare not natural, nor temporal, neither carnal nor sensual.\"[A] The\nProphet Joseph also said: \"All things whatsoever God in his infinite\nwisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are dwelling\nin mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revealed to us in the\nabstract, and independent of affinity with this mortal tabernacle; but\nare revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at\nall; and those revelations which will save our spirits will save our\nbodies. God reveals them to us in view of no eternal dissolution of the\nbody, or tabernacle.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. xxix:34, 35.]\n\n[Footnote B: Sermon of April Conference, 1844--the \"King Follett\nSermon,\" \"Improvement Era\" for January, 1909; published also in\n\"History of the Church,\" Vol. VI, with notes by the Editor.]\n\n_4. The Problem:_ What, Then, Can Man or God Do? The commandment,\nthen, is given to Adam as to an eternal being, and by violating the\nlaw, and doubtless an eternal law, he and the race he shall beget is\nunder an eternal penalty.[A] Under these circumstances what shall man\ndo? Nay, rather, what can he do? What shall God do? Nay, what can he\ndo? Forgive man his transgression out of hand as becomes the true\nsovereign of the universe? An ancient and, I might say, a time-honored\nsuggestion. Origen the theologian of the third Christian century, and\nheld to be \"the greatest Christian mind of the ante-nicene age,\" at\nleast held forth the possibility of such procedure. For in his views\n\"the remission of sin is made to depend upon arbitrary will, without\nreference to retributive justice, as is evidenced by his assertion that\nGod might have chosen milder means to save man than he did; e. g.,\nthat he might by a sovereign act of his will have made the sacrifices\nof the Old Testament to suffice for man's sin.\"[B] \"But logic,\" as\nShedd subsequently remarked, \"could not stop at this point;\" for\nif the provision for ratifying the broken law is resolved into an\noptional act on the part of God, it follows that an Atonement might be\ndispensed with altogether. \"For the tribitrary and almighty will that\nwas competent to declare the claims of justice to be satisfied by the\nfinite sacrifice of bulls and goats would be competent also to declare\nthat those claims should receive no satisfaction at all.\"\n\n[Footnote A: On this particular point the late Elder Orson Pratt\nwrote: \"We believe that all mankind, by the transgression of their\nfirst parents, and not by their own sins, were brought under the curse\nand penalty of that transgression, which consigned them to an eternal\nbanishment from the presence of God, and their bodies to an endless\nsleep in the dust, never more to rise, and their spirits to endless\nmisery under the power of Satan; and that, in this awful condition,\nthey were utterly lost and fallen and had no power of their own to\nextricate themselves therefrom\" (Pratt's Works, \"Remarkable Visions).\"\nAlso the Book of Mormon: \"Wherefore the first judgment which came upon\nman [the judgment of death] must needs have remained to an endless\nduration\" (II Nephi ix:7).]\n\n[Footnote A: Shedd, \"History of Christian Doctrine,\" Vol. II, p. 234.\nHe cites Redepenning; Origines II, 409, for his authority.\n\nThe views of Origen are all the more surprising from the fact that the\nEpistle to the Hebrews makes clear the inadequacy of the sacrifices\nof animals for the satisfaction of the claims of justice for man's\ntransgression of the law (Chs. ix and x). On this point the Prophet\nAlma is very clear: \"Behold. I say unto you, that I do know that\nChrist shall come among the children of men, to take upon himself the\ntransgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of\nthe world; for the Lord God hath spoken it; for it is expedient that\nan Atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the\neternal God, there must be an Atonement made or else all mankind must\nunavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and\nare lost, and must perish except it be through the Atonement which it\nis expedient should be made; for it is expedient that there should\nbe a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither\nof beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human\nsacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice. * * * *\nAnd behold, this is the whole meaning of the law; every whit pointing\nto that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice\nwill be the Son of God; yea, infinite and eternal.\"]\n\nAbelard (twelfth century) also held that there was \"nothing in the\nDivine nature which necessitates a satisfaction for past transgression\nantecedently to remission of penalty; like creating out of nothing,\nredemption may and does take place by a _fiat_, by which sin is\nabolished by a word, and the sinner is received into favor. * * *\nAbelard denies the doctrine of satisfaction and contends that God may\nremit penalty by a sovereign act of will.[A] Even Augustine, according\nto Neander, declared that if considered from the point of view of the\ndivine omnipotence\" he believed the answer must be in the affirmative;\nthat is, that choice of other means for man's redemption than the\nAtonement could have been made. \"But no other way,\" Augustine supposed,\n\"would have been so well adapted for man's recovery from his wretched\ncondition,\" as the one that was adopted in the Atonement of Christ.\nNot, however, from the \"intrinsic nature of the case; not from the daws\nof the moral government of the world;\" but because of the subjective\ninfluence that the union of the divine nature with the human--effected\nin the incarnation and the Atonement by the Christ, would have upon\nman.[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Shedd, \"History of Christian Doctrine,\" Vol. II, pp. 260,\n261.]\n\n[Footnote B: The matter is stated at length in Neander's \"History\nof the Christian Religion and Church,\" Vol. IV, pp. 497-8. See also\nAugustine (De Trinitate), Lib. xiii, Ch. x. \"This idea of an 'abstract'\nomnipotence accompanies the history of the doctrine of atonement down\nfrom the earliest to the latest times. In the ancient church, Irenaeus\n(Adv. Haer. III, XX.), Cyril of Jerusalem, Basil, and Ambrose contend\nfor an absolute necessity of Christ's satisfaction; while Athanasius,\nAugustine, Cyril of Alexandria, Theodoret, and John Damascene assert\nonly a relative necessity. In the mediaeval church, Anselm, and perhaps\nHugh St. Victor assert an absolute, while Abelard, Bernard, Lombard,\nHales, Bonaventure, and Aquinas (Cont. Gent. IV, liv, lv) concede\nonly a relative necessity. In the seventeenth century, the subject\nwas discussed by Owen, and Twise (the prolocutor of the Westminster\nAssembly); the former asserting and the latter denying, the absolute\nnecessity of a satisfaction. See Owen's tract, 'On the Nature of\nJustice'\" (\"History of Christian Doctrine,\" Vol. II, p. 302, note).]\n\nIt should be remembered, however, that the doctrine of the \"reign\nof law,\" in the moral government of the world, excludes arbitrary\naction--action independent of law--even though beneficent; and if that\nwere not true, then God must act in harmony with his own attributes.\nMercy must not be at variance with Justice. Even God's Omnipotence must\nkeep step with the attributes of Truth and Wisdom. Satisfaction for\nviolated law, satisfaction to divine justice is a claim that may no\nmore be set aside than the pleadings of Mercy. A way shall be found out\nof these difficulties, but it must not be by \"a schism in the Deity,\nand an intestine conflict between the divine attributes.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Shedd's \"History of Christian Doctrine,\" p. 300.]\n\nIt can be readily understood that not even God's Omnipotence could make\nit possible for him to act contrary to Truth and Justice.[A] It ought\nto be no more difficult to understand that God's Omnipotence could\nnot permit him to set aside a satisfaction to Justice as an arbitrary\nconcession to Mercy. Mere power has not the right to nullify law. Not\neven Omnipotence has the light to abolish Justice. Might in Deity is\nnot more fundamental than Right. God we must conclude will act in\nharmony with all his attributes, else confusion in the moral government\nof the world.\n\n[Footnote A: See closing paragraphs Lesson XII.]\n\nThese reflections lead to the inevitable conclusion that there must be\na satisfaction made to justice before there can be redemption for man.\nBut how?\n\n\n\nLESSON XVII.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nAPPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES--(B) THE REDEMPTION TO BE THE WORK OF GOD.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nVI. Repentance and Future Obedience--Ineffectual as Satisfaction for\nthe Past; Atonement Must Equal Offense.\n\nVII. The Atonement Also a Matter of Power--Ability to Restore that\nwhich was Lost.\n\nVIII. Man May Not Be Left Under the Sentence of a Broken Law, as that\nWould Violate God's Promise of Eternal Life.\n\nIX. Conditions that Must Be Met in the Atonement of Deity for the\nSalvation of Man.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nBook of Alma xxxiv; Book of Mosiah xv; St. John x:14-18; also v:19-29.\n\nMormon Doctrine of Deity--\"Jesus Christ the Revelation of God,\" Ch. iv.\n\nAnd the quotations and references in the body of this lesson.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXTS: \"For as the Father hath life in himself, so hath he\ngiven to the Son to have life in himself.\" (St. John v.26.)_\n\n_\"For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them, even so\nthe Son quickeneth whom he will.\" (St. John v.21.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. The Helplessness of Man in the Presence of Broken Law:_ The\npreceding lesson closed with the question how can satisfaction be made\nto justice in order that redemption may reach fallen man. Admittedly\nman, the transgressor of law, is powerless to make such satisfaction.\nTrue, it is conceivable that he might repent of his transgression, and\nthrough struggle maintain himself in righteousness for the future. But\nthat does not reach the past. If he should by struggle maintain himself\nin righteousness for the future, that is no more than he ought to do.\nMan owes that duty every day in the present and in the future. It is\nthe breach in the law that must be mended. Man is under the sentence\nof eternal death, spiritual and temporal;[A] for a past transgression\nof the law of God. Doing what is merely his duty in the present and\nthe future will not make satisfaction for the past. Man is helpless\nin the presence of that broken law; no act of his can atone for the\ntransgression of Adam or stay the effects of the fall upon the race, or\nredeem them from the penalty of death.\n\n[Footnote A: \"Wherefore the first judgment which came upon man [the\njudgment of death] must needs have remained to an endless duration.\nAnd if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its\nmother earth, to rise no more\" (II Nephi ix:7). Because of the fall of\nAdam \"all mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice;\nyea, the justice of God, which consigned them forever to be cut off\nfrom his presence\" (Alma xl ii; 14).]\n\n_2. Only Deity Can Satisfy the Claims of Deity:_ The sin of Adam\nwas a sin against divine law; a sin against the majesty of God. Only a\nGod can render a satisfaction to that insulted honor and majesty. Only\nDeity can satisfy the claims of Deity.\n\nAnd hence Alma says, in speaking of the Atonement, and in view of the\ninadequacy of any atonement man himself can make: \"It shall not be a\nhuman sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice. * * *\nAnd behold, this is the whole meaning of the law; every white pointing\nto that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice\nwill be the Son of God; yea, infinite and eternal. * * * The plan of\nmercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made;\ntherefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world to bring about\nthe plan of Mercy, to appease the demands of Justice.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Alma xxxiv:10-14; xlii:15. See also II Nephi ix:7]\n\n_3. The Atonement Also a Matter of Power to Make It--Capacity:_\nMoreover the Atonement is not only a matter of satisfying the insulted\nhonor and majesty of God adequately by like meeting like, and measure\nanswering measure; but it is also a question of power. Not only must\nthe dishonor towards God be removed by satisfaction, but there must be\npower over death; there must be a power of life that that which was\nlost may be restored; and not only as to the spiritual life of man with\nGod; but restored union between the spirit and body of man--physical\nlife upon which the happiness and progress that God has designed for\nman depends. \"Man,\" it should be always remembered, \"is spirit.\" \"The\nelements [meaning elements of matter] are eternal; and spirit and\nelement inseparably connected receive a fulness of joy.\"[A] Hence the\nimportance of man's physical life, the union of his deathless spirit\nwith a body that must be made equally immortal; and since the fall\nbrought to man this physical death as well as the spiritual death; his\nredemption, to be complete, must re-establish that physical life by\nreuniting the essential elements of the body of man and his spirit, in\nthe resurrection, and the resurrection must be universal; the Atonement\nin its redeeming effects must be as universal as the fall. As in Adam\nall die, so through the Redeemer of men must all be made alive,[B] if\nthe redemption is to be complete. It was doubtless these considerations\nwhich led some of the Nephite prophets to say that the Atonement\n\"must needs be an infinite atonement;\" by which, as I think, they\nsought to express the idea of the sufficiency of it; its completeness;\nthe universality and power of it to restore all that was lost, both\nspiritual and physical, as well as to express the rank and dignity of\nhim who would make the Atonement.\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 93:33, 34.]\n\n[Footnote B: I Cor. xv:22.]\n\nThe Redeemer, then, must be a Lord of life, hence Deity. He must not\nonly have the power of life within himself, but the power to impart it\nto others--a God-like power; and to inspire faith in his possession\nof such power, the manner of the Atonement must be such as to include\ndemonstration of that fact, else how shall men have faith in him? All\nthese considerations lift the Redeemer and the Atonement far above man\nand what man can do. Truly the redemption of man is to be the work of\nGod.\n\n_4. Scripture Warrant for Above Conclusions:_ And now for the\nscripture warrant for these conclusions:\n\n    \"I lay down my life for the sheep [men]. * * * Therefore doth my\n    Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it\n    again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I\n    have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This\n    commandment have I received of my Father.[A]\n\n    \"Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up; * * *\n    he spake of the temple of his body, when therefore he was risen\n    from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto\n    them.\"[B] \"Thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the\n    dead the third day.\"[C]\n\n    \"In him was life; and the life was the light of men.\"[D] \"Verily,\n    verily I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what\n    he seeth the Father do; for what things soever he doeth, these also\n    doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth\n    him all things that himself doeth; and he will shew him greater\n    works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up\n    the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he\n    will.[E] Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is come and now\n    is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they\n    that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself so\n    hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given\n    him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of\n    man. Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in which all that\n    are in the graves shall hear his voice. And shall come forth; they\n    have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have\n    done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.\"[F]\n\n[Footnote A: St. John x:17, 18.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ibid ii:19-22.]\n\n[Footnote C: Luke xxiv:46.]\n\n[Footnote D: St. John i:4.]\n\n[Footnote E: St. John v:19-29.]\n\n[Footnote F: St. John v:25-29.]\n\n_5. Man May Not Be Left to Suffer the Course of Justice, As That\nWould Thwart the Divine Purposes and Promises:_ But to return\nnow to the thought that God himself must make atonement for man's\ntransgression. And we come back to that thought with increased\nconviction after considering the necessary element of power in\nconnection with the Atonement, the ability to restore that which was\nlost--life, spiritual and physical; not the work of man, but the work\nof a Deity, a Lord of life--God must himself redeem man. That or\njustice must take its course and the sinner be left to satisfy the\njustice of God by an endless misery under the sentence of law; without\nunion with God--spiritual death; and subject to the dissolution of\nspirit and body, without the power of resurrection--physical death. But\nthat would thwart the purpose of God with reference to the earth-life\nof man, which was designed for his progress, that progress might bring\nhim joy.[A] Moreover, to leave man under the penalty of a broken law,\nwhich means to him eternal death, physical and spiritual, would be\ncontrary to the pledge of eternal life \"which God, that cannot lie,\npromised before the world began.\"[B] Under these circumstances justice\nmay not be left to take its course. There must be an atonement made for\nman and as none but God can make an adequate atonement in the case,\nthen a Deity must make it. And hence one of the Nephite prophets,\ncoming to the same conclusion, wrote: \"And now the plan of mercy could\nnot be brought about, except an atonement should be made; therefore God\nhimself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of\nmercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect,\njust God, and a merciful God also\"[C] The Atonement, we conclude, must\nbe made by a Deity, in order to be adequate; but it must be made by a\nDeity living a man's life--hence the incarnation of the spirit of a\nDeity in the person of Jesus Christ.[D] It must be made by a Deity\nwho will live man's life with all its temptations, yet remain without\nsin that the sacrifice might be without spot or blemish;\" by one who\nwill give to the world the illustration and the one demonstration of a\nperfect life--a life in which the will is wholly subjected to the will\nof God Also the Atonement must be made by a Deity living man's life\nthat the satisfaction to the justice of God may be rendered from the\nsame plane on which the offense was offered, and essentially from amid\nthe same conditions. Hence the special temptation of Jesus by Lucifer.\nThe Atonement must be made by a Deity who shall die man's death, but\nwho shall not be holden of it, but break its bands and demonstrate\nthe power of the resurrection of which he is the first fruits, and\never after Lord of life and the power of the resurrection--such, for\ninstance, as was Jesus Christ.\n\n[Footnote A: II Nephi ii:25; Doc. & Cov., Sec. 93:33,34, and I Peter\ni:18-20.]\n\n[Footnote B: Paul to Titus: Titus i:1, 2; see also Lesson IV.]\n\n[Footnote C: Jesus Christ not only Divine but Deity. See Lecture by\nthe writer, \"Mormon Doctrine of Deity,\" Ch. iv.]\n\n[Footnote D: \"Ye know that ye were not redeemed by corruptible things,\n* * but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without\nblemish, and without spot\" (I Peter i:18, 19). All the victims in the\nsacrifices under the law which typified the Christ were required to be\nperfect, spotless, without blemish, foreshadowing that he, too, who was\nto atone for man's sin would be without fault.]\n\n\n\nLESSON XVIII.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nSCOPE AND MOTIVE FORCE OF THE ATONEMENT.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. Scope of the Atonement Broader Than Individual Sins.\n\nII. Distinction Between Adam's Sin and Individual Sins.\n\n1. Free Redemption from the First.\n\n2. Conditional Redemption from the Second.\n\nIII. The Same Principle Involved in Both General and Individual\nAtonement.\n\nIV. The Motive Force of the Atonement.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nOrson Pratt's Remarkable Visions, closing pages. Also The Kingdom of\nGod, part III, subdivision V, Pratt's Works.\n\nThe Gospel (Roberts), Chs. ii and iii.\n\nII Nephi ii, and Alma xii and xlii.\n\nAnd the text and context of passages quoted and cited in this lesson.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and\ndeath by sin and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.\n* * * Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to\ncondemnation, even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came\nupon all men unto justification of life.\" (Rom. v:12, 18.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n1. The Atonement of Broader Scope than Making Satisfaction for Adam's\nSin: So far the Atonement has been considered only with reference to\nits effect upon the transgression of Adam. It is, however, of much\nbroader scope than that. Not only must the sin of Adam be atoned, but\nsatisfaction must be made for the sins of every man, if the integrity\nof the moral government of the world is to be preserved. Man is just\nas helpless with reference to his own, individual sins, as Adam was\nwith reference to his sin. Man when he sins by breaking the laws of\nGod, sins of course against divine law; commits a crime against the\nmajesty of God, and thereby dishonors him. And man is just as helpless\nto make adequate satisfaction to God, I repeat, as Adam was for his sin\nin Eden; and is just as hopelessly in the grasp of inexorable law as\nAdam and his race were after the first transgression. For individual\nman from the beginning was as much in duty bound to keep the law of God\nas Adam was; and if now, in the present and for the future he observes\nthe law of God and remains righteous, he is doing no more than he ought\nto have done from the beginning; and doing his duty now and for the\nfuture can not free him from the consequences of his past violations\nof God's law. The individual man, then, is just as much in need of\na satisfaction being made to the justice of God for his individual\ntransgression of divine law, for his violence to the honor of God, for\nhis insult to the majesty of God, as was Adam for his sin.\n\n_2. Distinction Between Adam's Sin and Individual Sin:_ The\ndifference between the sin of Adam and the sin of the individual man\nis this: First, Adam's sin, which the scriptures call the fall, was\nracial, in that it involved all the race of Adam in its consequences,\nbringing upon them both a spiritual and a physical death, the nature\nof which has already been explained.[A] Man's individual sin is more\nlimited in its consequences though for a time his personal sins may\ninvolve the happiness of others in their consequences, yet ultimately\nthey will be narrowed down to personal results; affecting the actual\nsinner's personal relationship to God, to righteousness, to truth, to\nprogress, to happiness.\n\n[Footnote A: Lesson XV.]\n\nSecond. Adam's sin was necessary to the creation of those conditions\nunder which man could obtain the experiences of earth-life necessary to\nthe union of his spirit with earth elements; necessary to his progress\nas a divine Intelligence; necessary to his knowledge of good and evil\nin actual conflict; joy and sorrow; pleasure and pain; life and death;\nin a word, necessary that man might become acquainted with these\nopposite existences,[A] their conflicts and their values; all which\nwas essential to, and designed for man's progress, for his development\nin virtue and power and largeness and splendor of existence. But man's\nindividual sins are not necessary to these general purposes of God.\nThat is, the fall of Adam was necessary to the accomplishment of the\ngeneral purposes of God; but it was not necessary to those purposes\nthat Cain should kill Abel, his brother; or \"that every imagination of\nthe thoughts of man's heart\" should be \"evil continually.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: See II Nephi, ii also \"New Witness for God,\" Vol. III, pp.\n219-227.]\n\n[Footnote B: Gen. vi:5.]\n\nThe fall of Adam, I say, was necessary to the attainment of these\npossibilities and hence the atonement made for Adam's sin is of\nuniversal effect and application without stipulations or conditions, or\nobedience or any other act as a condition precedent to participation\nin the full benefits of release from the consequences of Adam's\ntransgression. Hence it is written: \"Since by man came death, by man\ncame also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even\nso in Christ shall all be made alive.\"[A] And again: \"Therefore, as\nby the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation;\neven so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men\nto the justification of life.\"[B] Free redemption then is provided\nfrom the consequences of Adam's transgression, because the fall was\nessential to the achievement of God's purpose with reference to man.\nNot so, however, with the individual man. His individual sinning is not\nabsolutely necessary to the achievement of God's purposes. All men may\nsin; nay, all who come to years of accountability, doubtless, do sin;\n\"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.\"[C] \"And so\ndeath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.\" \"There is none\nrighteous, no not one; * * They are all gone out of the way; * * there\nis none that doeth good, no, not one.\"[D] But while all men sin--except\nthose who die in infancy or early childhood--it is not necessary that\nmen should sin, and hence they may be held fully accountable to the\njustice of God for their individual transgressions of law, and are\nso held accountable. The penalty for the individual sins of men is\na second spiritual death, not a physical death, not a separation of\nthe spirit and the body of man after the resurrection, for what is\nachieved for man's physical life by the resurrection remains.[E] But\nfor his own individual sins (and this constitutes the third distinction\nbetween Adam's sin and the sins of other men) he is subject to a second\nspiritual death, to banishment from the presence of God; his spiritual\nunion and communion with God is broken, and spiritual death ensues.\nThe Lord, in speaking of Adam and his first transgression, says: \"I\nthe Lord caused that he should be cast out from the Garden of Eden,\nfrom my presence, because of his transgression, wherein he became\nspiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death, which\nis spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall\nsay--Depart, ye cursed.\"[F]\n\n[Footnote A: I Cor. xv:21, 22.]\n\n[Footnote B: Rom. v:18.]\n\n[Footnote C: Rom. iii:23.]\n\n[Footnote D: Rom. iii:10-12.]\n\n[Footnote E: \"Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death;\nand the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death,\nthat all shall be raised from this temporal death; the spirit and the\nbody shall be reunited again in perfect form; both limb and joint shall\nbe restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and\nwe shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now\nand have a bright recollection of all our guilt. Now this restoration\nshall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free; both male\nand female, both the wicked and the righteous and even there shall\nnot so much as a hair of their heads be lost but all things shall be\nrestored to their perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and\nshall be brought and arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and\nGod, the Father, and the Holy Spirit which is one Eternal God, to be\njudged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they\nbe evil. Now, behold, I have spoken unto you, concerning the death of\nthe mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal\nbody. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal\nbody; that is from death; even from the first death unto life, that\nthey can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to\nbe divided. Thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they\ncan no more see corruption\" (Alma Ch. xi:42-45).]\n\n[Footnote F: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 29:41.]\n\nSo Alma, explaining the fall of man, and how God gave unto men\ncommandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption,\nsaying: \"That they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a\nsecond death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining to\nrighteousness.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Alma xii:31, 32.]\n\nAgain Alma, describing the impenitent dead before the bar of God, says:\n\n    \"And now behold I say unto you, then cometh a death, even a second\n    death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever\n    dieth in sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual\n    death; yea he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness;\n    * * * Then I say unto you, they shall be as though there had been\n    no redemption made; for they cannot be redeemed according to God's\n    justice; and they cannot die, seeing there is no more corruption.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Alma xii:16, 18.]\n\nSamuel the Lamanite prophet says: \"The resurrection of Christ redeemeth\nmankind, yea, even all mankind, and bringeth them back into the\npresence of the Lord; * * * but whosoever repenteth not * * * then cometh\nupon them again a spiritual death, for they are cut off again as to\nthings pertaining to righteousness.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Helaman Ch. xiv:17, 18.]\n\n3. Men as Dependent on the Atonement for Individual Sins as for\nRedemption from Adam's Sin: As already remarked, men having\ntransgressed the law of God by their own personal violations of it,\nthey are helpless of themselves to make satisfaction to the justice of\nGod;[A] and are just as dependent upon a Redeemer to rescue them from\nthe spiritual effects of their personal transgression of the divine law\nas from the effects of Adam's fall. Also, under a reign of law, God may\nnot pardon men for their individual sins by arbitrary act of sovereign\nwill. He may no more set aside the claims of justice unsatisfied in\nthe case of men's personal sins than in the case of Adam's first sin.\nIn both cases \"a necessary and immanent attribute of Deity\" stands\nin the way of the non-infliction of the penalty due to sin, _viz._,\nthe attribute of Justice, which not even the attribute of Mercy may\ndisplace, or rob of that satisfaction which is due. God must act in\nharmony with his own attributes.\n\n[Footnote A: The late Elder Orson Pratt, put this doctrine of the\nhelplessness of man to escape the penalty of his own sin in the most\nforcible manner. He said: \"We believe that all who have done evil,\nhaving a knowledge of the law, or afterwards in this life coming to\nthe knowledge thereof, are under a penalty, which is not inflicted\nin this world but in the world to come. Therefore such in this world\nare prisoners, shut up under the sentence of law, awaiting with awful\nfear for the time of judgment, when the penalty shall be inflicted,\nconsigning them to a second banishment from the presence of their\nRedeemer, who had redeemed them from the penalty of the first law.\nBut, enquires the sinner, is there no way for escape? Is my case\nhopeless? Can I not devise some way by which I can extricate myself\nfrom the penalty of the second law and escape this second banishment?\nThe answer is,--if thou canst hide thyself from the all-searching eye\nof an Omnipresent God, that he shall not find thee, or if thou canst\nprevail with him to deny justice its claim, or if thou canst clothe\nthyself with power, and contend with the Almighty, and prevent him\nfrom executing the sentence of the law, then thou canst escape. If\nthou canst cause repentance, or baptism in water, or any of thine\nown works, to atone for the least of thy transgressions, then thou\ncanst deliver thyself from the awful penalty that awaits thee. But be\nassured, O sinner, that thou canst not devise any way of thine own to\nescape, nor do anything that will atone for thy sins, therefore, thy\ncase is hopeless, unless God hath devised some way for thy deliverance\"\n(Remarkable Visions, Orson Pratt's Works).]\n\n_4. Identical Principles Operative in Man's Individual Sins as in\nAdam's Sin:_ In the case of man's individual violations of law,\nas in Adam's sin, the inexorableness of law holds good.[A] Thus\nsatisfaction to justice in the case of individual sins like the\nsatisfaction to justice for Adam's sin, must be rendered by God to\nGod, \"since only Deity can satisfy the claims of Deity.\" There is the\nsame act against the honor of God; hence the same question of rank\nand dignity in the one who makes the Atonement. The same necessity\nfor one not only willing but capable of making the Atonement, by\nsuffering the penalty due to the sins of all men. He must suffer for\nthem; for the ground work of their forgiveness and restoration to union\nwith God must be that the penalty due to their sin has been paid.\nThis or Justice goes unsatisfied--Mercy robs Justice or else the law\nmust take its course and punishment be actually inflicted upon the\ntransgressors which leaves man to a life of eternal misery, alienated\nfrom God, separated from the source of spiritual life and light; no\nlonger in union with the power divine that could uplift and direct him\nto sublime heights of moral and spiritual excellence--man, under such\ncircumstances, would indeed be spiritually dead, and dead eternally,\nsince he is helpless to extricate himself from such conditions, as a\nsinner can not justify his sin, nor a criminal pardon his own crime.\nBut to leave the punishment to be actually inflicted upon man would\nthwart the purpose of God with reference to man's earth-life; for God\ndesigned that mail's earth-life should eventuate in his happiness,\nin the union of man with God. \"Men are that they might have joy.\" By\nother Book of Mormon teachers the plan for man's redemption is called\n\"the plan of happiness,\" \"the great plan of happiness;\"[B] and as this\nhappiness depends upon union and communion with God, it is proper to\nthink of the gospel as contemplating the spiritual union of man with\nDeity.\n\n[Footnote A: Behold justice exerciseth all his demands. * * * What! do\nye suppose that mercy-can rob justice? I say unto you, nay; not point\nurged by the Nephite writer is that God will act in harmony with his\nattributes, see the context--the whole chapter.]\n\n[Footnote B: Alma xlii:8, 15.]\n\nWe conclude then that for man's individual sins as for Adam's sin,\nthough differing in some respects already noted, involves the same\nnecessity of Atonement to the honor of God by one equal with God--hence\nGod.\n\nThere is the same inexorableness of law; the same helplessness on the\npart of man to make satisfaction for his sin, hence man's dependence\nupon a vicarious atonement, if he is to find redemption at all. There\nis the same need for capacity in the one making the atonement to\nmake full satisfaction to the justice of God by paying the uttermost\nfarthing of man's obligations to the law; the idea of satisfaction\nnecessarily involves that of penal suffering, coupling together those\ntwo ideas, satisfaction and expiation; or satisfaction to Justice\nthrough expiation. The Deity who redeems man must pay the penalty due\nto sin by suffering in man's stead.\n\n_5. Motive Force of the Atonement:_ And what shall prompt a Deity\nto make such an atonement? Two attributes of the Deity now a long\ntime kept in the back ground, viz., Love and Mercy. We have seen and\nconsidered at some length the helplessness of man in the midst of\nthose earth conditions necessary to his progress; God saw it from the\nbeginning; and--\n\n    \"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that\n    whosoever believeth on him might not perish but have everlasting\n    life.\n\n    \"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but\n    that the world through him might be saved.\"\n\n    \"He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth\n    not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name\n    of the only begotten Son of God.\n\n    \"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world,\n    and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were\n    evil.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: St. John iii:16-19.]\n\n\n\nLESSON XIX.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE ADVENT OF MERCY INTO THE EARTH-SCHEME OF THINGS.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. Source of Redemption.\n\nII. Antiquity of the Plan of Redemption.\n\nIII. Vicarious Work of the Christ.\n\nIV. The Balancing of the Claims of Justice and Mercy.\n\nV. Man's Part in the Scheme of Redemption--Repent or Suffer.\n\nVI. The Advent of Mercy--Alternatives.\n\nVII. The Justice, Wisdom and Mercy of God.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nThe references of Lesson XVIII.\n\nAlso Taylor's Mediation and Atonement, Chs. xix, xxiv, xxv; and the\ntext and context of the passages of scriptures quoted and cited in this\nlesson.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"The law entered that sin might abound. But when sin\nabounded, grace did more abound that as sin hath reigned unto death,\neven so might grace reign through righteousness, unto eternal life by\nJesus Christ our Lord.\" (Rom. v:20, 21.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. Manner of the Christ's Atonement Foreshadowed:_ This lesson\ncontinues with the truth with which the last one concluded, viz., \"God\nso loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever\nbelieveth on him might not perish, but have everlasting life.\" This\ndeclaration is preceded in the testimony of John with the following:\n\n    \"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must\n    the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should\n    not perish but have eternal life.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: St. John iii:14, 15.]\n\nShowing the manner of Christ's atonement.\n\nPeter the chief of the Judean apostles, and hence chief of the\nwitnesses for the great truth of salvation through Christ, says: \"For\nChrist also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that\nhe might bring us to God.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: I Peter iii:18.]\n\n_2. Source of Redemption:_ Inexorableness of Justice: The Nephite\nwriters are even more explicit. Lehi says:\n\n    \"The way is prepared and salvation is free, and men are\n    sufficiently instructed that they know good from evil. And the law\n    is given unto men. And by the law, no flesh is justified; or, by\n    the law, men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law, they were cut\n    off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is\n    good, and become miserable forever. Wherefore, redemption cometh in\n    and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.\n    Behold he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends\n    of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite\n    spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: II Nephi ii;4-7.]\n\nSo also Jacob, brother of the first Nephi, said: \"And he [the Christ]\ncometh into the world that he may save all men, if they will hearken\nunto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men; yea the\npains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who\nbelong to the family of Adam.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Ibid ix:21.]\n\n_3. Antiquity of the Plan of Man's Redemption:_ After explaining\nthat it was appointed unto men to die, \"and after death they must\ncome to judgment;\" and that God saw that it was expedient that men\nshould come to a knowledge of these things and accordingly, from early\ntime,[A] \"sent angels to converse with them, who caused men to behold\nthe glory of God\"--Alma says:\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Moses--P. of G. P--Ch. v:6-8, 58.]\n\n    \"And they began from that time forth to call on his name;\n    therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the\n    plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation\n    of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their\n    faith and repentance, and their holy works; wherefore he gave\n    commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first\n    commandments as to things which were temporal and becoming as\n    Gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to\n    act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills\n    and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good; therefore God\n    gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them\n    the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty\n    thereof being a second death, which was everlasting death as to\n    things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of\n    redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not\n    be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God. But God\n    did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of\n    redemption which was laid) saying, 'If ye will repent, and harden\n    not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine\n    only begotten Son; therefore, whosoever repenteth and hardeneth\n    not his heart, he shall have a claim on mercy through mine only\n    begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter\n    into my rest. And whosoever will harden his heart, and will do\n    iniquity, behold, I swear in my wrath that he shall not enter into\n    my rest.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Alma xii:29-35.]\n\n_4. The Vicarious Work of the Christ and Its Purpose:_ Again Alma:\n\n    \"Behold I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among\n    the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his\n    people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the\n    Lord God hath spoken it; for it is expedient that an atonement\n    should be made; for according to the great plan of the eternal\n    God, there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must\n    unavoidably perish; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must\n    perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient\n    should be made And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law;\n    every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that\n    great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God; yea, infinite\n    and eternal; and thus he shall bring salvation to all those who\n    shall believe on his name; and this being the intent of this last\n    sacrifice to bring about the bowels of mercy, which over powereth\n    justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith\n    unto repentance. And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice,\n    and encircle them [the penitent sinners] in the arms of safety,\n    while he that exercises no faith unto repentance, is exposed to the\n    whole law of the demands of justice therefore only unto him that\n    has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal\n    plan of redemption.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Alma xxxiv:8, 9, 14-16.]\n\n_5. The Counter Claims of Justice and Mercy--Mercy Triumphant:_\nAnd again Alma:\n\n    \"All mankind were fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice;\n    yea, the justice of God which consigned them for ever to be cut\n    off from his presence. And now the plan of mercy could not be\n    brought about, except an atonement should be made; therefore God\n    himself atoneth for the sins of the world to bring about the plan\n    of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a\n    perfect, just God, and a merciful God also. * * * But there is a\n    law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted;\n    which repentance, mercy claimeth: otherwise justice claimeth\n    the creature, and executeth the law, and the law inflicteth the\n    punishment; if not so, the works of justice would be destroyed,\n    and God would cease to be God. But God ceaseth not to be God,\n    and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the\n    atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of\n    the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into\n    the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence,\n    to be judged according to their works; according to the law and\n    justice; for behold justice exerciseth all his demands, and also\n    mercy claimeth all which is her own; and thus none but the truly\n    penitent are saved. What! do ye suppose that mercy can rob justice?\n    I say unto you, nay; not one whit. If so, God would cease to be\n    God. And thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes\n    which were prepared from the foundation of the world. And thus\n    cometh about the salvation and the redemption of men, and also\n    their destruction and misery.\"[A]\n\n    [Footnote A: Alma xlii.]\n\n    The revelations given through Joseph Smith are equally explicit:\n    \"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; for,\n    behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh;\n    wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might\n    repent and come unto him.\"[A]\n\n    [Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 18:10, 11.]\n\n    _6. Man Must Repent or Suffer:_ And again:\n\n    \"And surely every man must repent or suffer, for I, God, am\n    endless; wherefore, I revoke not the judgment which I shall pass,\n    but woes shall go forth, weeping wailing and gnashing of teeth,\n    yea, to those who are found on my left hand; nevertheless it is\n    not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it\n    is written endless torment. * * * Therefore I command you to repent,\n    repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath,\n    and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore--how sore you know\n    not! how exquisite you know not! yea, how hard to bear ye know\n    not! For behold, I, God have suffered these things for all, that\n    they might not suffer if they would repent. But if they would not\n    repent, they must suffer even as I. Which suffering caused myself,\n    even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to\n    bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit; and would\n    that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink--nevertheless,\n    glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations\n    unto the children of men; wherefore, I command you again to repent,\n    lest I humble you with my almighty power, and that you confess your\n    sins, lest you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken,\n    of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have\n    tasted at the time I withdrew my spirit.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 19:4-6, and 15-20.]\n\n_7. The Advent of Mercy--Summary:_ From the doctrines of these\nscriptures, how like a flood comes rushing into this world-scheme\nof things the Love and Mercy of God! The Justice of God, as we have\nseen, has been exacting--otherwise it would not be Justice, the very\nnature of Justice is to be exacting--demanding all that is its due\nsatisfaction for the injured honor and majesty of God; and the penalty\ndue to broken law. But once these claims are satisfied, Justice is\nsilent, and Love and Mercy have free range to bring to pass the\ncomplete redemption of man.\n\nLet us for a moment contemplate our theme from this view-point though\nat the cost of iteration.\n\nGod, loving always the spirits of men, desires their progress and their\neternal happiness.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: See Lesson IV where the doctrine is worked out in detail.]\n\nTo achieve this the union of spirit and earth-elements are necessary,\nthat the spirit may get more perfect self expression, and attain to\nhigher manifestations and power than would otherwise be possible.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: See Lesson IV where the doctrine is developed somewhat in\ndetail.]\n\nAlso to achieve this end, the experience of earth-life amid broken\nharmonies is necessary; the experience of viewing opposite existences\nin conflict--good and evil; faith and doubt; hope and despair; victory\nand defeat; freedom and bondage; joy and sorrow; perfect health and\nphysical pain; life and death.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: The subject is discussed at length in Lesson VII.]\n\nTo bring to pass these broken harmonies that the rich lessons and\nnecessary experiences they teach may be available to man, there must\nneeds be \"a fall of man,\" a violation of law, else there can be no\nbroken harmonies.\n\nMan falls; Adam transgresses law and the earth-life of man begins among\nall the conditions essential to his instruction and experience with\nopposite existences in conflict.\n\nBut this violation of law, though necessary to these ends, is\nnevertheless a violation of law, for which a satisfaction must be made\nand that the broken harmonies may be restored.\n\nNot only did Adam transgress law in order to bring to pass the\nconditions necessary to man's instruction and consequent progress, but\nman--all men--coming to years of accountability, also violate law--sin\non their own account and incur the consequences due to sin.\n\nIn both cases men are unable to restore that which was lost--give\nsatisfaction to the injured honor and insulted majesty of God, or\ncreate grounds of justification for the pardon of man's sin; either for\nAdam's transgression--the fall--or for man's personal sins.\n\n_8. Alternatives--But One Admissable:_ This creates a situation\nthat can only be met in one of two ways if justice is to be maintained,\nthe integrity of the moral government of the world perpetuated, and the\nharmony of God's attributes remain unbroken;\n\nFirst: _Justice must take its course, the punishment must be inflicted\nupon the actual sinner, leaving man to satisfy justice by an endless\nmisery; or_\n\nSecond: _God must satisfy his own claims against man; he must make a\nsatisfaction to justice, there must be a vicarious Atonement made for\nman, since, as we have seen, man himself is helpless._\n\nThe adoption of the first of these alternatives would thwart the\ngeneral purpose of God with reference to man, the bringing to pass\nhis progress and the possibility of his eternal happiness; and also\nit would violate the covenant of God with man, made before the world\nbegan, the promise of eternal life.[A] This alternative, is impossible,\nthen, and may be dismissed without further consideration.\n\n[Footnote A: Titus i:2.]\n\nThe second alternative is all that remains. God must make a vicarious\nAtonement for man; a Deity must satisfy the claims of God's honor. God\nmust satisfy the demands of justice, that Mercy may assert her claims\nand redeem man.\n\nAnd that order of things is in force; that is \"the great plan of\nhappiness\"--the Gospel--\"Glad tidings;\" \"Glad tidings of great joy,\nwhich shall be unto all people.\"[A] Back of it, underlying it, is the\ngreat Love of God for man; Love manifested in great acts of mercy; for\nMercy is but Love active.\n\n[Footnote A: Luke ii:10.]\n\nThis Love prompts God to make reparation to God's honor, and satisfy\nJustice by undergoing the penalty due to Adam's sin, that he might\nbring to pass the resurrection from the dead; and make it possible for\nman spirit and body united, to resume his union with God.\n\nThis Love prompts God to suffer for the individual sins of men; to pay\nthe penalty due to each man's sin, that there might be ground for man's\njustification under the law. That Mercy might claim the sinner upon\nconditions that Love may prescribe.\n\n_9. The Justice, Wisdom, and Mercy of God:_ In view of all this is\nit any marvel that men coming to a full consciousness of the balanced\nclaims of Justice and Mercy in ecstasy exclaim--as Jacob the brother of\nNephi did--\n\n    \"O the greatness and the justice of our God! For he executeth all\n    his words, and they have gone forth out of his mouth, and his law\n    must be fulfilled. * * *\n\n    \"O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel!\n    for he delivereth his saints, from that awful monster the devil,\n    and death and hell.\"[A]\n\n    \"O the wisdom of God! his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh\n    should rise no more, our spirits must become subject to that angel\n    who fell from before the presence of the eternal God, and became\n    the devil, to rise no more.\"\n\n    \"And our spirits must have become like unto him, and we become\n    devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our\n    God, and to remain with the Father of lies, in misery, like unto\n    himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents; who\n    transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up\n    the children of men unto secret combinations of murder, and all\n    manner of secret works of darkness.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: II Nephi ix:17, 19.]\n\n[Footnote B: II Nephi ix:8-9.]\n\nOr else with Paul declare--\n\n    \"By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves;\n    it is the gift of God.\"[A]\n\n    \"The law entered that sin might abound. But where sin abounded,\n    grace did more abound; that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so\n    might grace reign through righteousness, unto eternal life by Jesus\n    Christ our Lord.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Eph. ii.]\n\n[Footnote B: Rom. v:20-21.]\n\n\n\nLESSON XX.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nCO-OPERATION OF MAN NECESSARY TO INDIVIDUAL REDEMPTION.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. The Two Effects of the Atonement.\n\nII. The Necessity of Man's Co-operation in Individual Salvation.\n\nIII. Sanctification as Well as Justification.\n\nIV. Spiritual and Moral Growth.\n\nV. Free Redemption of Little Children and Those Who Die without Law.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nBook of Mormon: II Nephi ix; Doc. & Cov., Sec. 19; Alma xi.\n\nThe Gospel (Roberts), Ch. iii.\n\nOrson Pratt's Kingdom of God, Part III, Subdivision V. Works\n\nTaylor's Mediation and Atonement, Chs. xxi and XXV.\n\nThe texts and contexts of the scriptures quoted in the body of this\nlesson.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"Wherefore the rather brethren, give diligence to make\nyour calling and election sure.\" (II Peter i:10.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. The Atonement as Related to Adam's Transgression, and Man's\nIndividual Sins:_ As already observed a difference is to be noted\nbetween the results flowing out of the Atonement for Adam's first\nsin--the fall; and the results derived from the satisfaction made by\nthe Christ for man's individual sins.\n\nThe difference consists in this: First, from the consequences of\nAdam's transgression, there comes full and free redemption--salvation\nunconditional and universal. \"By Adam came the fall of man. And\nbecause of the fall of man, came Jesus Christ even the Father and the\nSon;[A] and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man. And\nbecause of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they\nare brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein\nall men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass\nthe resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless\nsleep, from which sleep all men shall be awakened by the power of God\nwhen the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and\ngreat, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed\nfrom this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: For explanation see Doc. & Cov. Sec. xciii:1-6.]\n\n[Footnote B: Book of Mormon, Ch. ix:12, 13. Also II Nephi Ch. ix.\nBoth chapters are devoted to the idea of the text above, and should be\nstudied carefully; they are too long for quotation here.]\n\nTo this may be added Paul's great generalization: \"Since by man came\ndeath, by man came also the resurrection from the dead; for as in Adam\nall die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: I Cor. xv:21, 22.]\n\nThe universal physical death is overcome by the equally universal\nresurrection.[A] The universal banishment of men from the presence of\nGod, the spiritual death, is overcome by the universally established\npossibility of reunion with God; and all will be brought back into\nthe presence of God at the day of judgment; but their right and power\nto remain in that presence and maintain union with God, will depend\nupon conditions to be considered later. Second, redemption from the\nconsequences of man's individual sins, the penalties for which the\nChrist has expiated, are granted to men only upon compliance with\ncertain conditions. \"By grace are ye saved _through faith_\"[B] \"He that\nbelieveth and is baptized shall be saved.\"[C] \"Wo unto him who knoweth\nthat he rebelleth against God; for salvation cometh to none such except\nit be through repentance and faith on the Lord Jesus Christ.\"[D] \"He\nshall take upon himself the transgression of those who believe on his\nname; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation\ncometh to none else.\"[E] \"Behold, I God, have suffered these things for\nall that they might not suffer if they would repent, but if they would\nnot repent they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself,\neven God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain and to bleed\nat every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit.\"[F] \"And being made\nperfect, he became the author of eternal life unto all them that obey\nhim.\"[G]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. xix:26-29, 41. Matt. xxv:31-46. Alma\nxi:40, 41.]\n\n[Footnote B: Eph. ii:8.]\n\n[Footnote C: Mark xvi:16.]\n\n[Footnote D: Mosiah iii:11, 12.]\n\n[Footnote E: Alma xi:40, 41.]\n\n[Footnote F: Doc. & Cov. Sec. xix:16-19.]\n\n[Footnote G: Heb. v:9.]\n\n_2. Man's Co-operation With God in Working out Man's Salvation,\nGrounded in Necessity:_ These scriptures establish the truth that\nfor redemption from the consequences of man's individual sins the\nco-operation of man is required, his faith, his repentance; in a word\nhis obedience.\n\nThe Gospel so far as the individual man is concerned, is the power of\nGod unto salvation to everyone that believes and obeys the same. In the\ndifference between the redemption from the transgression of Adam and\nredemption from man's personal sins, the one being free, unconditional,\nuniversal; and the other being free, possible to all, but conditional,\nand therefore limited to those who comply with the conditions, there\nis to be observed nice discriminations in the justice of God. Free\nand universal redemption comes from the consequences of Adam's fall\nbecause that fall is absolutely necessary to the accomplishment of\nthe purposes of God with reference to man; without it nothing may\nbe done for his progress, therefore since that fall is necessary to\nthese ends Justice demands that there be provided free and universal\nand complete and unconditional redemption from its consequences. But\nin the case of man's personal sins they are not absolutely necessary\nto the accomplishment of the general purposes of God. Of course the\nearth-environment of man, including the broken harmonies as we find\nthem, including the self-wilfullness, and even the personal sins of\nmen, with the consequent suffering and sorrow, may be necessary to\nthe experience of man; but all that will abundantly come once men\nare at the same time free to choose, and good and evil is set before\nthem. But what is here meant is that it is not absolute necessity that\nindividual men should sin, or that they sin without limit. Men can\nrefrain from sin if they will; the power is in them. They are able\nto stand, \"yet free to fall.\" They have power to choose good and to\nfollow that instead of evil if they so elect. Therefore, while it is\neminently proper that the Atonement of the Christ should be made to\ninclude satisfaction to Justice for the personal sins of men, and the\ndebt of suffering due to them should be paid vicariously,--especially\nsince man is powerless to offer expiation himself--for it is needful\nthat ample provision be made for the justification of man's pardon;\nyet it is also in accordance with Justice that man shall co-operate\nwith God in bringing about the blessed result of his deliverance from\nthe consequences of his personal sins; and that conditions shall be\nrequired as necessary to participation in the forgiveness provided;\nsuch conditions as belief in and acceptance of the terms of Atonement;\nrepentance of sin, and a hearty co-operation with God in overcoming\nevil and its effects in the human soul.\n\n_3. The Work of Salvation a Work of Sanctification as well as of\nJustification:_ Moreover, this salvation from the effects of\npersonal sins is not only a matter of forgiveness of past sins; a\nmatter of justification before God; a matter of re-establishing union\nwith God, which is spiritual life; but it is a matter of sanctification\nof the soul; and of power to maintain the renewed spiritual life with\nGod. It is a matter that involves human desires and human will. Surely\nit is unthinkable that God would hold man in union with himself against\nhis desire, or against his will. Such a condition would not be \"union\"\nbut bondage. The co-operation of man then in this work of his personal\nsalvation becomes an absolute necessity, and hence the conditions of\nindividual salvation already noted, and which may be summed up in the\ndoctrine of man's self-surrender unto God, manifested by his obedience\nto God under the law; and the declared intention of that obedience by\nreceiving the symbols of the Atonement, to be found in the ordinances\nof the Gospel, especially in baptism and the sacrament of the Lord's\nsupper.\n\n_4. Spiritual and Moral Growth:_ The attainment of this condition\nof Christian righteousness, however, becomes a matter of character\nbuilding under the favorable conditions provided by the gospel; and\ncharacter building, even under favorable conditions is a matter of\nslow, self-conquest, It means to follow the admonition of the chief\nJudean apostle, and \"add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue,\nknowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience;\nand to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and\nto brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you and\nabound,\" said he, \"they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor\nunfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: II Peter i.]\n\nTo be fruitful in that knowledge means to be growing in grace, in\nknowledge of the truth, in righteousness. It means development\naccording to the type of the Christian spiritual life, which is Christ\nJesus. \"If you wish to go where God is,\" said the Prophet Joseph, \"you\nmust be like God, or possess the principles God possesses.\" All of\nwhich, of course, may not be possessed without divine help, as well\nas human effort. \"He that lacketh these things\"--the virtues above\nenumerated by Peter, and the disposition to build them up by his own\neffort, as well as by divine grace, \"is blind and cannot see afar off,\"\ncontinues that apostle, \"and hath forgotten that he was purged from his\nold sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your\ncalling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never\nfall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into\nthe everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: II Peter i:9-11.]\n\n_5. Phase of the Atonement Peculiar to \"Mormonism:\"_ It may\nbe remarked in passing that the difference noted in the foregoing\nparagraphs of this lesson on applying the Christ's Atonement to Adam's\nsin and man's personal sins--in the first case unconditional, and in\nthe second conditional--is a doctrine, in modern times, peculiar to\n\"Mormonism;\" or, to speak more accurately, to the New Dispensation\nof the Gospel revealed to Joseph Smith; and is derived almost wholly\nfrom the teachings of the Book of Mormon.[A] In that distinction the\nbeauty and glory of the Atonement, the balanced claims of justice and\nmercy shine forth as no where else, even in holy writ,--much less in\nthe uninspired writings of men. It may be regarded as the \"Mormon\"\ncontribution to views of the Atonement of Christ, for it is to be found\nno where else except in Mormon literature.\n\n[Footnote A: See II Nephi ii. Ibid ix. Alma xxxiv and xlii. Mormon ix.]\n\n_7. The Free and Complete Redemption of Little Children:_ From the\nforegoing difference in the application of the Atonement to the sin\nof Adam and the individual sins of men there arises another important\nmatter viz.: If redemption from the consequences of Adam's fall is to\nbe absolutely unconditional, and universal, and that entirely through\nthe Atonement of the Christ and without the co-operation of man, then\nit logically follows that if man himself remains absolutely without\nsin, he would stand in need of no satisfaction being made for his sin\nand no forgiveness of sins, since in the case supposed they have no\nexistence; and therefore the Atonement of the Christ for the sin of\nAdam, would be all sufficient to redeem man from the power of death and\nrestore him to union with God. It follows that if any part of the human\nrace die in this state of personal innocence then they are redeemed\nby virtue of the Atonement of Christ without any other consideration\nwhatsoever. Hence Mormon said:\n\n    \"Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your\n    God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but\n    the sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they\n    that are sick! wherefore little children are whole, for they are\n    not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken\n    from them in me, that it hath no power over them. * * * Little\n    children need no repentance, neither baptism. * * * Little children\n    are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Moroni viii:8-12.]\n\nNo less explicit is the word of the Lord through the Prophet Joseph\nSmith:\n\n    \"But, behold, I say unto you, that little children are redeemed\n    from the foundation of the world through mine only Begotten,\n    wherefore they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to\n    tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable\n    before me.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. xxix:46, 47.]\n\n_8. The Redemption of Those Who Die Without Law:_ Moreover, it\nappears that Mercy has special claims upon those men and women, and\nalso upon nations and races who know not the Gospel. The first Nephi in\nspeaking of the Atonement of Christ and its effects where proclaimed\nand rejected, says:\n\n    \"Wherefore he [God] has given a law; and where there is no law\n    given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment,\n    there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation, the\n    mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them because of\n    the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him [Christ];\n    for the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all\n    those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered\n    from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the\n    lake of fire and brimstone [See Alma xii:17],[A] which is endless\n    torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath,\n    which is the Holy One of Israel.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: The torments of the ungodly sinners are likened unto a\nlake of fire and brimstone by this writer, Nephi. Not that the sinners\nare plunged into a lake of fire and brimstone as so-called orthodox\nChristians teach. Indeed, in the above passage there is a definition of\nwhat the lake of fire is--it is \"endless torment,\" which ever exists\nfor the punishment of impenitent sinners--each one partaking of it to\nsuch a degree and for such time as is necessary to satisfy the demand\nof justice. In this very chapter above quoted Nephi says of the wicked:\n\"And their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames\nascend up for ever, and have no end.\"]\n\n[Footnote B: Nephi ix:25, 26.]\n\nAnd so Moroni:\n\n    \"For the power of redemption cometh on all they that have no\n    law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under\n    no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth\n    nothing.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Moroni viii:22.]\n\nTo this also agrees the teachings of Paul:\n\n    \"For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without\n    law:[A] and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by\n    the law.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: I venture the suggestion, basing it on the sense of the\nwhole passage, that it should read: \"Shall also be judged without the\nlaw.\"]\n\n[Footnote B: Rom. ii:12.]\n\n\n\nLESSON XXI.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nSYMBOLS OF THE ATONEMENT.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. The Two Great Christian Symbols.\n\nII. Baptism.\n\n1. Introduction and Formula.\n\n2. Symbolism of Atonement in Baptism.\n\n3. Realities Give Virtue to Symbols.\n\nIII. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper--Eucharist.[A]\n\n1. The Prayer of Consecration--Formula of.\n\n2. Symbolism of the Atonement in the Eucharist.\n\n3. Realities Back of Symbols.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nAll the texts and contexts of this lesson, and also\n\nMatt. xi:26-29; Luke xxii; I Cor. xi:23-30.\n\nDoc. & Cov., Sec. xx.\n\nMoroni ix, v.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"Except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he\ncan not enter into the kingdom of God.\" (St. John iii:5.)_\n\n_\"For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the\nLord's death till he come.\" (I Cor. xi:26.)_\n\n[Footnote A: The commemoration of the sacrifice of our Lord is often\nand I may say generally called Eucharist. \"The Lord's Supper, a solemn\nrite commemorating the dying of Christ for the salvation of men; the\nHoly Sacrament, the communion of the body and the blood of Christ\" (Funk\n& Wagnall Dic.).]\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. The Two Great Christian Symbols:_ The two great Christian\ninstitutions of baptism and the sacrament of the Lord's supper have\nalready been alluded to as evidence of the fact of the Atonement.[A]\nThey are now to be considered as symbols of the Atonement. I take up\nbaptism first, as introduced by the Christ himself among the Nephites,\nbecause there more perfectly than elsewhere we have this symbol set\nforth, and only there, in ancient scripture, is the exact formula of\nthe ceremony given. The account of it in the Nephite record stands as\nfollows:\n\n[Footnote A: Lesson XI which see.]\n\n_2. Introduction of Baptism Among the Nephites--Its Formula:_\n\n    \"And he said unto them, on this wise shall ye baptize; and there\n    shall be no disputations among you. Verily I say unto you that who\n    so repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be\n    baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize him; behold,\n    ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye\n    baptize them. And now, behold, these are the words which ye shall\n    say, calling them by name, saying:\n\n    'Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the\n    name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.'\n\n    And then shall we immerse them in the water and come forth again\n    out of the water.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: III Nephi xi:22-26.]\n\n_3. The Symbol of the Atonement in Baptism:_ In this ordinance\nwe have recognized first of all Jesus Christ in whose authority the\nadministrator acts--\"Having authority given me of Jesus Christ,\" etc.\n\n\"I baptize you * * * then shall we immerse them in the water and come\nforth again out of the water.\" By this immersion in the water is\nsymbolized the death and burial of the Christ, the Atonement he made\nfor the sins of man. In the coming forth again out of the water, is\nsymbolized the resurrection of the Christ, his triumph over death, the\nvictory side of the Atonement; death is conquered, life is triumphant;\nChrist is the first fruits of the resurrection and through him all men\nparticipate in the resurrection. \"For since by man came death by man\ncame also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so\nin Christ shall all be made alive.'\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Cor. xv:21, 22.]\n\nNor is this all; but in baptism is symbolized the forgiveness of sins\nto the baptized. John preached \"the baptism of repentance for the\nremission of sins.\"[A] Peter commanded the multitude on the day of\nPentecost to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for\nthe remission of sins.[B] \"Arise and be baptized and wash away thy\nsins.\"[C] \"Come unto me and be baptized in my name that ye may receive\na remission of your sins.\"[D] \"Thou shalt declare * * * remission of\nsins by baptism.\"[E] \"Preach repentance and remission of sins by way of\nbaptism in the name of Jesus Christ.\"[F]\n\n[Footnote A: Mark i:4. Luke iii:3.]\n\n[Footnote B: Acts ii:38.]\n\n[Footnote C: Acts xxii:16.]\n\n[Footnote D: III Nephi xxx:2.]\n\n[Footnote E: Doc. & Cov. Sec. xix:31.]\n\n[Footnote F: Doc. & Cov. Sec. iv:2.]\n\n    \"Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ\n    were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by\n    baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead\n    by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness\n    of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of\n    his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Rom. vi:4, 5. See also \"The Gospel\"--Third Edition, Ch.\nxvi.]\n\nBaptism then not only becomes a symbol of the Christ's death, burial\nand resurrection to newness of life; but also the death and burial to\nsin of the baptized; and his resurrection to a newness of moral and\nspiritual life. To him it is a birth to righteousness.\n\nWater baptism is completed by the baptism of the spirit, by which man\nis placed in union with God, through the reception of the Holy Ghost,\nforeshadowing that more complete union which shall come when man shall\ndwell in the very presence of God the Father, and God the Son after the\nresurrection.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. xxvi.]\n\nAnd thus the symbols of the Atonement of Christ to the very uttermost\nare found in this Christian institution of baptism.\n\n_4. Realities Give Virtue to Symbols:_ Let it be said here,\nhowever, and because following the above presentation of baptism it\nmay be seen better than in any other connection, that it is not the\nphysical fact of being immersed in water that brings remission of sins,\nnor the physical fact of the imposition of hands that re-established\nthe union with God through the medium of the Holy Ghost. These as we\nhave tried to explain are symbols of the deeper and greater realities\nthat produce the results of forgiveness of sins and union with God.\nBack of the physical fact of baptism is the Atonement of Christ,\nwrought out by his making satisfaction to the injured honor of God,\noccasioned by sin, and bringing to pass the resurrection from the dead,\nbecause a Lord of life, and having the power to impart life to others,\nto the dead. Back of the physical fact of the immersion of a man in\nwater, in order to a remission of his individual sins, is the fact that\nJesus by his own suffering paid the penalty due to that and every other\nman's sins in the world, and thus brought all men within the claims of\nMercy, and made it possible for the sins of men to be forgiven without\nviolence to the Justice of God. This ordinance of baptism supplies the\nsymbols of these realities; it is, however, in the realities instead of\nthe signs or symbols of the realities whence arises the power of God\nunto salvation. Still the symbols of the realities may not be dispensed\nwith; they are necessary to the perpetuation, in palpable form, of the\nrealities behind them, hence the Church teaches and will always teach\nthe necessity of conforming to or obeying them; they are but the signs\nand seals of our salvation, however, rather than the ground of it;\nand they would have no virtue at all except for the existence of the\nrealities which they image forth to outward senses, and witness to the\nworld the covenant which those who accept the gospel make with God.\n\n_5. The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper as a Symbol of the\nAtonement:_ This, like baptism, is a permanent Christian\ninstitution; and also like baptism it is best set forth in the Nephite\nscriptures,[A] the Book of Mormon; for there, and no where else in\nancient scripture, is the formula of the institution as given by the\nChrist to be found. The prayer of consecration of these symbols is of\nthe highest value, and one of the noblest monuments of Nephite or any\nother Christian literature extant. I give the prayers of consecration\ntogether with the introductory remarks of Moroni which declare their\norigin.\n\n[Footnote A: The best New Testament account of the introduction of the\nLord's Supper is (1) That given by Matthew; and (2) by Paul. The first\nof these is as follows: \"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread and\nblessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take\neat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it\nto them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new\ntestament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins\" (Matthew\nCh. xxvi:26-28).\n\nThe second in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians: \"For I have\nreceived of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the\nLord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when\nhe had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take eat; this is my body,\nwhich is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. After the same\nmanner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is\nthe new testament in my blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink of it in\nremembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this\ncup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever\nshall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall\nbe guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine\nhimself and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he\nthat eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to\nhimself not discerning the Lord's body\" (I Corinthians, Ch. xi:23-29).]\n\n_Introduction:_\n\n\"The manner of their Elders and Priests administering the flesh and\nblood of Christ unto the church. And they administered it according to\nthe commandments of Christ; wherefore we know the manner to be true;\nand the Elder or Priest did minister it. And they did kneel down with\nthe Church and prayed to the Father in the name of Christ, saying:\n\n_Prayer of Consecration over the Broken Bread--the Body:_\n\n\"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son Jesus\nChrist, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who\npartake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son,\nand witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing\nto take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and\nkeep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always\nhave his spirit to be with them. Amen.\"\n\n\"The manner of administering the wine. Behold they took the cup, and\nsaid:\n\n_Consecration of the Wine--the Blood:_\n\n\"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son Jesus\nChrist, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who\ndrink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy\nSon, which was shed for them, that they may witness unto thee, O God,\nthe Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may\nhave his spirit to be with them. Amen.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Moroni, Chs. iv and v. Of these formulas I have\nelsewhere said what Archdeacon Paley has said of the Lord's prayer,\nwhen appealing to its excellence as evidence of its divine origin--\"For\na succession of solemn thoughts, for fixing the attention on a few\ngreat points, for suitableness, for sufficiency, for conciseness\nwithout obscurity, for the weight and real importance of their\npetitions, these prayers are without an equal.\" The composition of\nthem in excellence arises far above any performance that Joseph Smith\ncould be considered equal to; and, in a word, carry within themselves\nthe evidence of a divine authorship. Such passages as these need no\nargument in support of their divine origin. We may trust entirely\nto the self-evidence which breathes through every sentence\" (\"New\nWitnesses for God,\" Vol. III, p. 489).]\n\n_6. Exposition of the Symbols of the Atonement in Holy Sacrament:_\nIn these prayers, the whole scheme of man's salvation is generalized\nand symbolized. There is a more solemn and awe-inspiring title used in\naddressing the Deity than is used in the Lord's prayer, but that is\nwholly warranted from the nature of the prayer of consecration which is\nto follow--\"O, God, the Eternal Father.\" And this is repeated in the\nbody of both prayers in a second appeal to God the Father. But this\ndoes not fall under the head of \"vain repetition,\" since it is the\nrepetition of emphasis, of deep solemnity, as any one will determine if\nhe considers it with attention and will allow for both the solemnity\nand greatness of the occasion. But not only is God the Eternal Father\nrecognized in this prayer, but the Son also--\"We ask thee in the\nname of thy Son, Jesus Christ,\" etc. And not only is the Father and\nSon recognized but the Holy Spirit also--\"That they may always have\nhis Spirit to be with them.\" This prayer of consecration, then, is a\nconfession of faith in the Holy Trinity.\n\n\"Bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake\nof it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son.\"\n* * * \"Bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who\ndrink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy\nSon, which was shed for them.\" The broken bread is the symbol of the\nbroken or wounded body of the Christ, broken for sinful man. The\nwine is the symbol of the blood--the blood shed for the sins of men:\nand the sincere Christian eats of the one and drinks of the other\nin grateful remembrance of what the Christ has done for him--the\nsuffering he underwent in order to establish justification of man and\nthe forgiveness of his sin under a reign of law, without violence to\nthe Justice of God or the exclusion of Mercy from our earth-scheme\nof things. In all this the Atonement is recognized and celebrated\nmost beautifully, and its benefits accepted and appropriated by the\ncelebrants. Moreover, they witness in the act of eating and drinking\nthese emblems of the body and the blood of the Christ, \"that they\nare willing to take upon them the name,\" of the Christ, become\n\"Christians.\" \"And always remember him;\" and who could remember him\nand not with gratitude in view of what he had done for mankind! \"And\nkeep his commandments which he hath given them\"--a solemn covenant of\nobedience upon which, as we have seen, depends the reception of the\nbenefits of the Atonement made for man's individual sins--\"he [the\nChrist] became the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey\nhim.\" And to what end does all this lead--this covenanting to take\nupon them the name of Christ; to always remember him; to keep his\ncommandments--to what culmination does all this conduct the celebrant?\nTo union with God, the one thing most important; the climax is \"that\nthey may always have his spirit to be with them!\" Just as the several\nsteps of faith, repentance and baptism culminate in possession of the\nHoly Ghost.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Acts ii:38, 39. Heb. vi:1-6.]\n\nThus in two paragraphs, making less than fifteen lines of printed\nmatter is given the story of man's redemption, in this symbol of the\nAtonement--the Lord's Supper. As in the case of baptism, however,\nI would remind the student that the virtue is not in the symbols,\nbut in the realities they represent; in the actually broken body\nof Christ--broken by nail-wounds, by crown of thorns, by spear\nthrusts in the side; by suffering of mental and spiritual agony that\nmade blood-sweat for the body, and torture for the sin-burdened\nspirit--vicariously suffering for the sins of all men. By these\nrealities was our salvation purchased; and the virtue lies in them,\nnot in the symbols of them. The symbols we use in remembrance of the\nrealities, and without mistaking them for the realities themselves.\n\n\n\nLESSON XXII.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nDOES THE NECESSITY OF THE ATONEMENT ARISE FROM THE NATURE OF THE CASE,\nOR FROM ARBITRARY ARRANGEMENT?\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. Could Other Means than the Atonement Have Been Provided for Man's\nSalvation?\n\n1. The Evidence from the Fact of Divine Institution.\n\n2. The Evidence of Scripture.\n\nII. The Severity of the Atonement Justified.\n\n1. By the Value of the Things Purchased.\n\n2. On the Ground that it was a Voluntary Sacrifice.\n\n3. By the Lessons it Teaches Man.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nThe texts and contexts of scriptures quoted and cited in the body of\nthis lesson.\n\nHistory of Christian Doctrine (Shedd), Book V, Ch. ii; Anselm's Theory\nof Satisfaction; Neander's History of the Christian Religion and\nDoctrine, Vol. IV, pp 49-511.\n\nTaylor's Mediation and Atonement.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"Put up thy sword into its place. Thinkest thou that\nI cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more\nthan Twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be\nfulfilled, that thus it must be?\" (Matt. xxvi:52, 54.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n1. Could Other Means than the Atonement Have Been Devised for Man's\nSalvation: The question, could any other plan have been devised for\nthe redemption of man than the Atonement as made by the Christ,\nwas discussed, in part, in a previous lesson when considering the\nquestion of possible redemption by the sovereign act of God.[A] It\nis a question that has been often asked, and oftener in our own day\nperhaps than at any previous time, since our age is pre-eminently\ncritical, and questions the rationality of the Atonement as set forth\nin the scriptures and also as taught by the Catholic and the Protestant\nchurches. Shedd propounds the question in this form:\n\n[Footnote A: See Lesson XVI.]\n\n    \"Does the necessity of expiation in order to pardon arise from the\n    nature of the case, or from an arbitrary arrangement? Could the\n    Deity have dispensed with any or all satisfaction of Justice, or is\n    Justice of such an absolute and necessary character, that it would\n    be impossible to save the guilty without an antecedent satisfaction\n    of this attribute [Justice] as it would be for God to lie?\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: \"History of Christian Doctrine,\" Shedd--Vol. II, p. 223.]\n\nAnswering these questions from the point of view developed in this\ntreatise, it would be necessary to say (1) that the necessity of\nexpiation in order to pardon does arise from the nature of the case and\nnot from arbitrary arrangement; (2) that the Deity could not dispense\nwith any or all satisfaction to Justice since Justice as an attribute\nof God is of such an absolute and necessary character that it would be\nas impossible to save the guilty without an antecedent[A] satisfaction\nas it would be for God to lie. The attribute of Justice is as necessary\nto maintain in Deity as the attribute Truth.\n\n[Footnote A: Or pre-determined satisfaction, that ultimately must\nbe realized in fact. I make this qualification of \"antecedent\"\nsatisfaction in the interest of the great truth that the effects of\nthe Atonement were realized by the ancient saints previous to the\ncoming of Christ to earth and hence previous to his actually making\nthe Atonement; but that was because the Atonement for man's sins, the\nsatisfaction to Justice, had been pre-determined upon, and this fact\ngave virtue to their faith, repentance and obedience to ordinances of\nthe Gospel. (See Seventy's Year Book II, Lesson XX. \"Antiquity of the\nGospel.\")]\n\n_2. (a). The Evidence of Scripture:_ Considered from the\nstandpoint of scriptural evidence, there can be no doubt of the\nabsolute necessity of the Atonement as it was wrought out in the\nsuffering and death of the Christ. The two disciples overtaken on their\nway to Emmaus by the unrecognized, risen Savior, gave him an account\nof the crucifixion and the reported resurrection of Jesus. They also\nvoiced their own great disappointment in the seeming anti-climax of the\nevents which had resulted in the crucifixion by saying: \"But we trusted\nthat it had been he which should have redeemed Israel;\" but it was now\nthree days since the crucifixion, and consequently their hopes were\ndisappointed. Then said the Christ unto them:\n\n    \"O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have\n    spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to\n    enter into his glory?\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Luke xxiv:13-27.]\n\nThe same evening Jesus appeared to a company of his disciples and gave\nthe most palpable demonstration of his resurrection, and said to them:\n\n    \"These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with\n    you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the\n    law of Moses, and in the Prophets and in the Psalms, concerning me.\n    Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the\n    scriptures. And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it\n    behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day;\n    and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his\n    name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Luke xxiv:44-47.]\n\nIf, then, \"all things must be fulfilled\" which are written in Moses\nand in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning Christ; and if it\n\"_behoved Christ thus to suffer and to rise from the dead_ * * that\nrepentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among\nall nations;\" then it would seem that there must have been absolute\nnecessity for that order of procedure followed in the events which make\nup and attend upon the Atonement as we now know it. To this evidence\nthere must be added the thrice repeated, agonized prayer of the Christ,\nin Gethsemane, when contemplating the approaching climax of his\npassion:[A] \"O, my Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me!\nnevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Passion--Any suffering or endurance of imposed or\ninflicted pain * * especially the suffering of Christ between the time\nof the last supper and his death--especially in the garden and on the\ncross. (Webster.)]\n\n[Footnote B: Matt. xxvi:39.]\n\nThe silence of God in the presence of that prayer tells us that it\nwas not possible for other means to be devised for man's salvation.\nAnd when the officers and the rabble led by Judas came upon Jesus and\nhis friends in the garden and Peter drew the sword in defense of the\nMaster, the latter said:\n\n    \"Put up thy sword into its place; * * thinkest thou that I cannot\n    now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than\n    twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be\n    fulfilled, _that thus it must be?_\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Ibid, verses 52-54.]\n\n\"_Thus it must be_,\" confirms again the absolute necessity of the\nAtonement as the Christ made it.\n\n_3. (b). Evidence of Necessity from the Fact that God Instituted\nIt:_ The opinions of some of the early Christian fathers upon the\npossibility of other and perhaps milder means being used to save men\nthan the Atonement, have already been considered, as connected with\nthe suggestion that God might arbitrarily forgive sin by the virtue\nof his Omnipotence. Also a list was given of both the principal early\nChristian fathers and the medieval Christian doctors and the views they\nrespectively supported;[A] and from the necessity of the principles\ninvolved, the conclusion was reached that the Atonement as made by\nChrist was absolutely necessary. It might be argued with great force\nthat since God instituted the Atonement it must have been necessary or\nit would never have been ordained; especially if milder means could\nhave been made to answer or the satisfaction to justice could have been\nset aside, and man's reconciliation with God brought about by an act of\npure benevolence; for it is inconceivable that either God's Justice or\nhis Mercy[B] would require or permit more suffering on the part of the\nRedeemer than was absolutely necessary to accomplish the end proposed.\n\n[Footnote A: Lesson XVI.]\n\n[Footnote A: Ibid, p.-- and note --]\n\nOn the influence of pain and suffering Baring-Gould has the following\nfine passage:\n\n    \"There was no necessity, some theologians have taught, for Christ\n    to have died but as S. Bernard says, \"perhaps that method is best,\n    whereby in a land of forgetfulness and sloth we might be more\n    powerfully and vividly reminded of our fall, through the so great\n    and so manifold sufferings of Him who repaired it.\" Then quoting\n    Oxenham:\n\n    \"'Pain is one of the deepest and truest things in our nature; we\n    feel instinctively that it is so, even before we can tell why. Pain\n    is what binds us most closely to one another and to God. It appeals\n    most directly to our sympathies, as the very structure of our\n    language indicates. To go no further than our own, we have English\n    words, such as condolence, to express sympathy with grief; we have\n    no one word to express sympathy with joy. So, again, it is a common\n    remark that, if a funeral and wedding procession were to meet,\n    something of the shadow of death would be cast over the bridal\n    train, but no reflection of bridal happiness would pass into the\n    mourners' hearts. Scripture itself has been not inaptly called 'a\n    record of human sorrow.' The same name might be given to history.\n    Friendship is scarcely sure till it has been proved in suffering,\n    but the chains of an affection riveted in the fiery furnace are\n    not easily broken. So much, then, at least, is clear, that the\n    Passion of Jesus was the greatest revelation of sympathy: 'Greater\n    love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his\n    friends.' And hence fathers and schoolmen alike conspire to teach,\n    that one reason why he chose the road of suffering was to knit us\n    more closely to himself. For this he exalted his head, not on a\n    throne of earthly glory, but on the cross of death. It is, indeed,\n    no accident of the few, but a law of our present being, which the\n    poet's words express:\n\n  'That to the Cross the mourner's eve should turn\n  Sooner than where the stars of Christmas burn.'\n\n    For in all, in their several ways and degrees, are mourners. The\n    dark threads are woven more thickly than the bright ones into the\n    tangled skein of human life; and as time passes on, the conviction\n    that it is so is brought home to us with increasing force.' I\n    (Oxenham: \"Doctrine of the Atonement, 1869, pp. 290-292.)\n\n    \"The Incarnation is the manifestation of perfect love, but perfect\n    love cannot halt at anything short of the extreme disintegration\n    wrought by the fall. Christ must sacrifice Himself wholly to man,\n    or his love is not sufficient to draw man to him. He must enter\n    into man's joys and man's woes, to meet him at every turn of the\n    winding lane of life. Love is not satisfied till it has made\n    every sacrifice that is in its power to make and no more complete\n    sacrifice can be imagined than that of honor, ease, and finally\n    life.\n\n    The narrative of Christ's life is, therefore, one of continuous\n    sacrifice, of emptying himself of everything in the overflowing\n    Passion of his love, counting all as nought if only he might catch\n    man's eye and draw him towards himself.\n\n    \"He came to seek and to save that which was lost. Such is reported\n    by the Evangelist to be the account he gave of his mission.\" * * *\n    \"Pain is the deepest thing we have in our nature, and union through\n    pain has always seemed more real and more holy than any other.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: \"Origin and Development of Religious Beliefs,\" Vol. II,\npp, 305, 307, 330.]\n\n_4. The Severity of the Atonement Justified from the Value of Things\nPurchased by It:_ The severity of the Atonement may be justified\nif viewed with reference to what it purchased for man, and the effect\nit was doubtless designed to have in forever fixing the values upon\ncertain great things, in the mind of man. When the plan of redemption\nis contemplated with reference to what it cost the Christ, then we must\nhave exalted notions ever after of the majesty and Justice of God, for\nit was to make ample satisfaction to that majesty and Justice of God\nthat the Christ suffered and died; we must have exalted conceptions of\nthe value of that stately fabric known as the moral government of the\nworld, for it was for the preservation of its integrity that the Christ\nsuffered and died; we must hence forth have a higher regard for God's\nattribute of Mercy, for it was that Mercy might be brought into the\nearth-scheme of things, and claim her own, that the Christ suffered and\ndied; we must set a higher value even upon physical life hereafter, for\nit was in order to bring to pass the resurrection of man to physical\nlife, and to make that life immortal, that the Christ suffered and\ndied; new glory must attach hereafter to spiritual life,--perpetual\nunion between soul of man and soul of God,--for to bring to pass that\nspiritual life, that indissoluble union with God on which it depends\nfor existence, that the Christ suffered and died; we must henceforth\nhave a deeper reverence for the Love of God and the Love of the Christ\nfor man,--and a higher regard for man himself since God so loved\nhim--for it was to give a manifestation of that Love, that the Christ\nsuffered and died.\n\nIf it be true, and it is, that men value things in proportion to what\nthey cost, then how dear to them must be the Atonement, since it cost\nthe Christ so much in suffering that he may be said to have been\nbaptized by blood-sweat in Gethsemane, before he reached the climax of\nhis passion, on calvary. \"Behold he suffereth the pains of all men;\nyea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children,\nwho belong to the family of Adam;\"[A] \"surely every man must repent or\nsuffer [i. e., the eternal consequences of sin]. * * * For behold, I\nGod, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if\nthey would repent, but if they would not repent, they must suffer even\nas I, which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to\ntremble because 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.\"[B]\nAdvantages to be realized in eternal life purchased at such a cost as\nthis, should indeed be regarded by men as pearls of great price, to\nobtain which a man would be justified in selling all that he hath, that\nhe might buy them.\n\n[Footnote A: II Nephi ix:21.]\n\n[Footnote B: Doc. & Cov. Sec. xix:4, 16-18.]\n\nBut on the other hand if high values for the great and important things\nenumerated above could only be secured by the severity of suffering\nthat attended upon the Atonement made by the Christ, then, I say, and I\ntrust with becoming reverence, that they were worth all that even the\nChrist by his blessed suffering paid for them.\n\n_5. The Atonement a Voluntary Offering:_ Another thing may be\nurged in justification of the severity of the plan of redemption\nthrough the Atonement--it was a voluntary act; and no one was compelled\nto undertake the terrible mission unless he himself elected to do so.\n\"Whom shall I send,\" asked God the Father, after he had explained the\nnecessity of a Redeemer for man in the earth-scheme of things.[A]\n\"Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of man, saying,\n'Here am I, send me.'\" The act was voluntary. Indeed the glory of the\nAtonement as well as the justification for its severity depend upon\nits being so. \"Therefore doth my father love me,\" said the Christ,\n\"because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. _No man taketh\nit from me, but I lay it down of myself._ I have power to lay it down\nand I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of\nmy Father.\"[B] And when one would have defended him by physical force\nthe Christ bade him put up his sword, saying, \"Thinkest thou that I\ncannot now pray to my father and he shall give me more than twelve\nlegions of angels?\" That is, to deliver him from his captors. \"But,\" he\nadded, after declaring the possibility of his deliverance by legions of\nangels, \"how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that _thus it must\nbe?_\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: See Lesson VI.]\n\n[Footnote B: John x:17, 18.]\n\n[Footnote C: Matt. xxvi:53, 54.]\n\n_6. Lesson Taught by Severity of the Atonement:_ Let the severity\nof the Atonement impress men with one very important truth, viz.,\nthat breaking up the harmony of the moral government of the world\nis a serious, adventurous, and dangerous business, even though when\nnecessary to bring about conditions essential to the progress of\nIntelligences; and more serious when man in his presumption and\napostasy from God, of his own perverse will, to gratify his ambition,\nor pride or appetite or passions, violates the law of God and breaks\nthe union between himself and Deity. That is serious; and how difficult\nit is to re-establish that union, to purchase forgiveness for that sin!\nHow hard it is to make amends to the majesty of God, dishonored by\nman's individual transgression of divine law--let the severity of the\nChrist's Atonement for man's sin bear witness; for it required all that\nthe Christ gave in suffering and agony of spirit and body, to lay the\ngrounds for man's forgiveness and reconciliation with God.\n\nThe severity of the Atonement should impress men with the fact that we\nlive in a world of stern realities; that human actions draw with them\ntremendous consequences that may not be easily set aside if the actions\nin which they have their origin are wrong.\n\nMoral laws have their penalties as physical laws have their\nconsequences; there could be no moral laws without penalties; and\npenalties of laws must be enforced, else laws are mere nullities.\nViolations of moral law are attended by shame and suffering; suffering\nis the consequence or the penalty of violating divine, moral law; and\nthe penalty must be paid, either by the one sinning or by another who\nshall suffer vicariously for him.\n\nThis brings us to one of the great questions inseparably connected\nwith the Atonement. Can there be such a thing as vicarious suffering?\nAnd can the vicarious suffering of an innocent victim pay the debt to\njustice due from one who is guilty of the transgression of law?\n\n\n\nLESSON XXIII.\n\n(Scripture Reading Exercise.)\n\nTHE EFFICACY OF VICARIOUS ATONEMENT.\n\nANALYSIS.\n\nI. The Law of Righteousness.\n\nII. Possibility of the Spirit Suffering.\n\nIII. The Suffering of Men.\n\n1. Because of Their Own Sins.\n\n2. Because of the Sins of Others.\n\n3. With Each Other on Account of Sin.\n\n4. Willingness of Men to Suffer for Others and what it Suggests.\n\nIV. Vicarious Suffering the Doctrine of Christ.\n\nV. The Reign of Law and Love.\n\nREFERENCES.\n\nThe texts and contexts of the scriptures quoted and cited in the body\nof this lesson.\n\n_SPECIAL TEXT: \"He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. * *\n* Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent\nhis Son to be the Propitiation for our sins._\n\n_\"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.\" (I\nJohn iv:8-11.)_\n\nDISCUSSION.\n\n_1. The Law of Righteousness:_ All sin against moral law is\nfollowed by suffering. At first glance that statement may not be\naccepted without qualification; but it is true. \"Sin is transgression\nof the law,\" is scripture definition of sin.[A] No difficulty will\narise from that definition, but there might arise difference of opinion\nas to what constitutes \"moral law,\" which to violate would be sin.\nOf course moral law, varies among different races, and nations; and\nindeed varies in the same race and nation in different periods of time;\nbut no matter how variant the law may be, between different races or\nnations; or how variant it may be between individuals, the principle\nannounced that suffering follows sin will hold good. Of course between\nthe Christian whose conscience is trained in the moral law of the\ndoctrine of Christ, and the heathen, \"who know not God,\" there is a\nwide difference. Many things which are sin to the Christian conscience\nare not sin to the heathen races, unenlightened by the ethics of the\nChristian religion; but, nevertheless, what I say is true; and if\nheathen peoples do not have the same moral standards that prevail in\nChristian lands, they have _some_ moral standards; and whenever they\nviolate what to them is the \"rule of righteousness,\" it is followed\nby chagrin, by sorrow, by mental suffering for them; and so with the\nChristian people who are instructed in the high, moral principles of\nthe Christian religion. When they fall below their ideals, when they\nconsciously violate their rule of righteousness, it is followed by\nsuffering, by sense of shame, by sorrow; and, indeed, the great bulk\nof the sorrows of this world spring from sin, the transgression of the\nmoral law, and there is no escaping its penalty--suffering.\n\n[Footnote A: I John iii:4; and Rom. iv:15.]\n\n_2. Possibility of the Spirit Suffering:_ It is just as real,\nthis suffering of the spirit for the violation of the moral law, as\nthe suffering of physical pain that comes from the violation of some\nphysical law. The mind no less than the body may be hurt, wounded as\ndeeply as the body, and carry its scars as the evidence of its wounds\nas long. Mental suffering is as real and poignant as physical pain; and\nhe who sins suffers. \"And it often happens,\" says Guizot, \"that the\nbest men, that is, those who have best conformed their will to reason,\nhave often been the most struck with their insufficiency, the most\nconvinced of the inequality between the conduct of man and his task\nbetween liberty and law;\" and therefore have they suffered most. It is\npossible, then, for men to suffer because of their own sins.\n\n_3. Men Suffer Because of the Sins of Others:_ This we know, also,\nit is possible for men to suffer _because_ of the sins of others, and\nthey often do it. You can scarcely conceive of a man being so far\nisolated, so far outside the sympathies of the world, that it can be\nsaid of him that he lives unto himself alone; that his sinning and\nhis suffering concerns only himself. We are so knit together in a net\nwork of sympathies--not seen, but real nevertheless--that we suffer\n_because_ of each other. It is easily proven. Take the case of an\nhonorable father and mother who have led we will say--and there are\nsuch fathers and mothers--ideal lives. They have lived in honor; they\nhave met their obligations to the world with reasonable fidelity; they\nhave lived lives of righteousness; they have set good examples to their\nchildren; they have taught the Christian truths at the fireside; they\nhave surrounded their family with every advantage that would prepare\nthem for honorable stations among men. They have taken pride as they\nhave seen their children grow from infancy to manhood, and their souls\nhave hoped that a sort of immortality would subsist in the perpetuation\nof their race through their children. Then out of this family group,\nover which the parents have watched with such anxious solicitude, there\ncomes forth a reprobate youth, in whom there seems to be scarcely any\nmoral sense. He violates all the conventions of society, and of moral\nliving; he destroys his intellect by his excesses, and he becomes\na vagabond and outcast among men, a degenerate, perhaps finds his\nway through the sewers of sin, into the prison house, and at last,\nperchance, may go to the very gallows itself.\n\nAnd what is the condition of that righteous father and mother the\nwhile, when they look upon this sad mischance in their household?\nSorrow! The one who has led the shameful life, though he may suffer\nsomewhat for his sins, has not suffered the one-thousandth part of the\nshame and humiliation and disgrace that has been experienced by this\nfather and mother. They suffer _because_ of the sins of this wayward\nson. They illustrate in their experience the fact that men can suffer\nbecause of each other; _the innocent are involved in the sins and\ncrimes of the guilty._\n\nFrom this confessedly extreme case all down the line of human\nexperiences and relationships in constantly varying degrees men suffer\n_because_ of each other.\n\n_4. Men Suffer With Each Other on Account of Sin:_ Then men suffer\n_with_ each other? An outsider, looking at this scene I have presented\n--I mean one not a member of the grief-stricken family--witnessing\nthe sorrow of the father, and the inconsolable grief of the mother;\nthe mental distress and shame experienced by brother and sisters; the\nstranger witnessing all this, weeps with the sorrowing father and\nmother; he suffers _with_ them.\n\n_5. Willingness of Men to Suffer for Each Other:_ There is still\nanother phase of this suffering on account of sin, and one that draws\nvery near to the point I am trying to reach. There is among men, and\nespecially among men of highly sensitive natures, a willingness to\nsuffer _for_ others. Take the case, for instance, of David and Absolom.\nAbsolom was the most worthless of all David's many worthless sons;\nhe had planned rebellion against the grand old king; he would have\nclutched the crown from the hoary head of David and put it upon his\nown. In every way he had warred against the honor and the interests\no. his noble father. Yet when news was brought to the king that the\nworthless young man had been caught in the battle and slain, the old\nking was stricken with sorrow, and gave vent to the parent-cry that\nrings through all the ages--\"Oh Absolom, my son! my son! would to\nGod I had died for thee!\" In this experience of David's we see the\nwillingness of one to suffer _for_ another. Nor is this willingness\nconfined to parents alone who would so often and so willingly take upon\nthemselves the consequences of their children's sins, though those\nconsequences involved death. The same willingness exists on the part\nof the children, but perhaps is less frequently manifested, to suffer\nfor their parents. The same is true also as to brothers and sisters,\nand among friends, where no tie of consanguinity exists; and even among\nstrangers, on the occasion of great, imminent danger, this impulse in\nman, this willingness to risk his own life for others is frequently\nmanifested. Such experiences make up the history of heroism, which is\nthe chief glory of our human race.\n\n_6. The Great Principle Suggested by the Foregoing Facts:_ Does\nthis fact of willingness to suffer for others, so abundantly attested\nin human experiences, bear witness to the existence of no great and\neternal principle, that may be of incalculable benefit in the moral\neconomy of the world? Is it meaningless? I think not. On the contrary\nit suggests the existence of a great and effective truth, namely, that\nthe Intelligences of the universe are so bound together in sympathetic\nrelations that at need they can suffer for each other, as well as with\neach other, and because of each other. \"Greater love hath no man than\nthis, that a man lay down his life for his friends.\"[A] This is true\nbecause when a man lays down his life for a cause or for a friend he\nhas then given all he has to give; for with life goes all things else;\nhe can give no more. Shall those Intelligences we must needs think of\nas Divine, as making up David's \"congregation of the Mighty,\" the Gods\namong whom God the greatest of all the Intelligences, standeth and\njudges,[B] shall these be denied the privilege of love-manifestation\nwhich goes with this giving of all? And shall this suffering for others\nhave no benefiting effect upon those others for whom the suffering is\nendured? Shall this love-force of men and of divine Intelligences be\nmere waste of the highest and most refined of all forces--spiritual\nforce? Not so, if reason answers the question. Certainly not so if\nscripture answers it. \"Here by perceive we the love of God, because he\nlaid down his life for us.\"[C] \"God so loved the world that he gave his\nonly begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish\nbut have everlasting life.\"[D] \"For Christ hath also once suffered for\nsin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God.\"[E] \"When\nwe were yet without strength in due time Christ died for us. * * * Being\nnow justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. *\n* * When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his\nson * * *.\"[F] The scriptures then abundantly confirm the declaration\nmade that divine Intelligences are not denied the power of giving the\nhighest love manifestation for others by suffering for them; and in\nthat love-manifestation giving all they can give even to taking upon\nthemselves the consequences of the sins of others and making Atonement\nfor them; suffering that others might have placed within their reach\nthe means of escape from suffering, if only they would accept such\nmeans and apply them. Otherwise, of course, the sinners themselves must\nsuffer all the consequences due to their sins; for nothing is clearer\nin the revealed word of God, developed in this treatise, than that\nsatisfaction must be made to Justice whenever the domain of Justice is\ntrespassed upon, else all is confusion in the moral government of the\nworld; so that if men will not avail themselves of means which Mercy\nprovides for their redemption, then they themselves must meet the\ninexorable demands of Justice.\n\n[Footnote A: St. John iii:15.]\n\n[Footnote B: Psalms lxxxii.]\n\n[Footnote C: I John iii:16.]\n\n[Footnote D: St. John iii:16.]\n\n[Footnote E: I Peter iii:16.]\n\n[Footnote F: Rom. v:6-10.]\n\n_7. Vicarious Suffering. Its Reality and Its Effectiveness is the\nDoctrine of the Christ:_ This, then, is the especial doctrine of the\nChrist on which his earth-life's mission is based. One Intelligence at\nneed can suffer for others. It is possible for one to stand responsible\nfor another; a man can be his brother's keeper, and vicariously endure\neven suffering for another's sins; make a satisfaction to justice, and\nbring the quality of Mercy into the moral economy of things, and give\nit legitimate standing under a reign of law, softening somewhat the\notherwise harsh aspect of things.\n\n_8. The Reign of Law and Love:_ To this then our inquiry and\ndiscussions lead us; to recognize in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the\ncentral truth of which is the Atonement, a reign of Law and Love; and\nthat to preserve this Law, and to manifest this Love was the purpose of\nthe earth-life's mission of the Christ. To teach and to demonstrate,\nfirst of all, God-love for man, by a sacrifice that tasks God that\nman might be saved;[A] and second, to inspire man-love for God, by\nthe demonstration that God first loved man, and how deeply God loved\nman;[B] and third, to teach man-love for man. \"For beloved,\" said\nthe apostle whom Jesus loved pre-eminently--\"If God so loved us, we\nalso ought to love one another.\"[C] In this love for one another\nthe children of God are manifest, he contends. \"Whosoever doeth not\nrighteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.\nFor this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we\nshould love one another. * * We know that we have passed from death into\nlife, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother\nabideth in death. * * Here by perceive we the love of God, because he\nlaid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for\nthe brethren.\"[D] It is not to be marveled at that this same apostle\ndeclared that \"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love,\"[E]\nor that Paul, accepting the same principles, should say, \"he that\nloveth another, hath fulfilled the law. * * * Love worketh no ill to\nhis neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.\"[F]\n\n[Footnote A: St. John iii:16, 17.]\n\n[Footnote B: \"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because\nthat God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live\nthrough him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved\nus, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins\" (I John iv:9,\n10.)]\n\n[Footnote C: I John iv:11.]\n\n[Footnote D: I John iii:10-16.]\n\n[Footnote E: I John iv:8.]\n\n[Footnote F: Rom. xiii:8, 10.]\n\nJesus, however, teacheth the matter most perfectly. Accepting the love\nof God for man as assured, then the great commandment for man is--\n\n    \"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with\n    all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great\n    commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy\n    neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and\n    the prophets.\"[A] \"Love is the fulfilling of the law\"[B]--\n\n    _\"All's Love, yet all's Law.\"_[C]\n\n[Footnote A: Matt. xxii.]\n\n[Footnote B: Rom. xiii:10.]\n\n[Footnote C: Browning.]\n\nLove exists in the earth-scheme of things, in the moral government of\nthe world, as we have seen, in harmony with the universal reign of law.\nIt is not born of some caprice, or mere impulse, howsoever beneficent;\nbut interwoven it is into the very web of things, and is immanent\nin them, an indestructible _Presence_. It is because love reigns in\nharmony with law that we mortals can be so sure of it; and rest so\nsecure in it. For as it was not born of caprice, so, too, it will\nnot depart from the world, nor from individuals on caprice; but will\nendure as space itself endures--from the very nature of it; as truth\nabides; as law itself subsists; as God lives; for it is of the _Eternal\nThings--the Things that do not pass away._\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\nOther Views of the Atonement.\n\nI.\n\nHISTORY OF SOTERIOLOGY[A] FROM APOSTOLIC TIMES UNTIL IT TAKES\nDEFINITE FORM UNDER THE TEACHING OF ANSELM IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY.\n\n[Footnote A: Soteriology is that branch of theological science which\ntreats of the work of the Redeemer, or of the divine agency in the\nsalvation of the soul (Die. Funk & Wagnall). This brief historical\nstatement of soteriology is either condensed or quoted from Shedd's\nwork on the \"History of Christian Doctrine,\" and is not mine.]\n\nNot even an epitome of the history of the doctrine of the Atonement may\nbe attempted here. The title is written out, not to attempt a summary\nof the history of this branch of theological science; but merely to\nmake a few remarks about that history.\n\nIt is quite generally conceded that the doctrine of the Atonement\ndeveloped slowly. \"Taking the term Atonement in its technical\nsignification to denote the satisfaction of divine justice for the sin\nof man, by the substituted penal sufferings of the son of God, we shall\nfind a slower scientific unfolding of this great cardinal doctrine than\nof any other of the principal truths of Christianity.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: \"History of Christian Doctrine\" V. \"History of\nSoteriology,\" Vol. II, p. 204.]\n\n_Heretical Views During the First Two Christian Centuries:_\nThere were two views of the atonement held to be heretical during the\ntwo first Christian centuries, the Gnostic[A] and the Ebionite,[B]\nrespectively.\n\n[Footnote A: The Gnostics were a sect which arose in the Christian\nChurch in the first century, flourished in the second, and had\nalmost entirely disappeared by the sixth. The Gnostics held that\nknowledge rather than faith was the road to heaven, and professed to\nhave a peculiar knowledge of religious mysteries. They rejected the\nliteral interpretation of the scriptures, and attempted to combine\ntheir teachings with those of the Greek and Oriental philosophies\nand religions. They held that God was the unknowable and the\nunapproachable; that from him proceeded, by emanation, subordinate\ndeities termed \"eons,\" from whom again proceeded other still inferior\nspirits (Cent. Dict.--Gnostics).]\n\n[Footnote B: The Ebionites were a party of Judaizing Christians which\nappeared in the church as early as the second century and disappeared\nabout the fourth century. They agreed in (1) the recognition of Jesus\nas the messiah; (2) the denial of the divinity; (3) belief in the\nuniversal obligation of the Mosaic law, and (4) rejection of Paul and\nhis writings The two great divisions of Ebionites were the Pharisaic\nEbionites, who emphasized the obligation of the Mosaic law, and the\nEssentic Ebionites, who were more speculative and leaned toward\nGnosticism (Cent. Diet.--Ebionites).]\n\nThe Gnostic heresy as affecting the Atonement brought against the\nscripture doctrine on that subject two contradictions; the first by\none Basilides (A. D. 125), who affirmed only a human suffering in the\nRedeemer, which was not expiatory for the reason, first, because as\nmerely human it was finite, and inadequate to atone for the sins of\nthe whole world; and, second, because the idea of substituted penal\nsuffering is inadmissible. \"Suffering for the purposes of justice,\"\ntheir teacher said, of necessity implied personal criminality in the\nsufferer,\" and therefore can never be endured by an innocent person\nlike Christ.\" \"The principle of vicarious substitution, in reference to\njustice, he held to be untenable.\n\nThe other contradiction of Gnosticism was made by Marcion (A. D.\n150). He affirmed a divine suffering in the Redeemer, which was but\napparent, however, because the \"Logos,\" or \"Word\"--Christ--having\nassumed a phantom, not a real body, only a seeming suffering could\noccur, and could not, of course, be expiatory. \"It was merely\nemblematical--designed to symbolize the religious truth, that man, in\norder to attain his true and highest life must die to his earthly life.\"\n\n\"If now we examine these Gnostic and Judaizing theories,\" says Shedd,\nfrom whom I am condensing this account, \"we find that they agree in one\ncapital respect, viz., in the rejection of the scripture doctrine of a\nreal and true expiation of human guilt.\"\n\n_2. Soteriology of the Apostolic Fathers:_ In the writings of the\nApostolic Fathers, we obtain the views of the Church upon the doctrine\nof the Atonement during the first half century after the death of the\nlast inspired apostle (A. D. 100-150). Examining them, we find chiefly\nthe repetition of Scripture phraseology, without further attempt at an\nexplanatory doctrinal statement. There is no scientific construction\nof the doctrine of Atonement in the writings of these devout and pious\ndisciples of Paul and John; yet the idea of vicarious satisfaction is\ndistinctly enunciated by them.\"\n\nOur author then quotes from the Apostolic Fathers in proof of the above\nstatement.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: See \"History of Christian Doctrine,\" Vol. II, pp. 208-212.]\n\n_3. Early Patristic Soteriology:_[A] One characteristic of\nthe early Patristic Soteriology which strikes the attention is the\nimportant part which the doctrine of Satan plays in it. The death\nof Christ is often represented as ransoming man from the power and\nslavery of the devil. Such passages as Colossians ii:15, and Hebrews\nii:14: \"Having spoiled principalities and powers (Satanic dominion),\nhe made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. * * * That\nthrough death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that\nis, the devil,\"--were made the foundation of this view. The writer who\nexhibits it more plainly and fully than any other is Iranaeus (+200?)\nAs an illustration of his sentiments, we quote a passage from the first\nchapter of the fifth book of his important work, \"Adversus Haereses:\"\n\"The Word of God (the Logos), omnipotent and not wanting in essential\njustice, proceeded with strict justice even against the apostasy or\nkingdom of evil itself, redeeming from it that which was his own\noriginally, not by using violence, as did the devil in the beginning,\nbut my persuasion, as it became God, as that neither justice should be\ninfringed upon, nor the original creation of God perish.\"\n\n[Footnote A: This period extends into the last quarter of the 2nd\ncentury.]\n\nAll true scientific development of the doctrine of the Atonement it is\nvery evident, must take its departure from the idea of divine justice.\nThis conception is the primary one in the Biblical representation of\nthis doctrine. The terms, \"propitiation\" and \"sacrifice,\" and the\nphraseology, \"made a curse for us,\" \"made sin for us,\" \"justified by\nblood,\" \"saved from wrath,\" which so frequently occur in the revealed\nstatement of the truth, immediately direct the attention of the\ntheologian to that side of the divine character, and that class of\ndivine attributes, which are summed up in the idea of justice. And\nas we follow the history of the doctrine down, we shall find that\njust in proportion as the mind of the Church obtained a distinct and\nphilosophic conception of this great attribute, as an absolute and\nnecessary principle in the divine nature, and in human nature, was\nit enabled to specify with distinctness the real meaning and purport\nof the Redeemer's passion, and to exhibit the rational and necessary\ngrounds for it.\n\nNow, turning to the writings of the Patristic period, we shall see that\nsufferings and death of the Redeemer are, in the main, represented as\nsustaining their most immediate and important relation to the justice\nof God. It is not to be disguised that the distinctness with which this\nis done varies with different writers. We shall find in this period,\nas in every other one, some minds for whom the pollution of sin is\nmore impressive than its criminality, and in whose experience the\ndoctrine of justification[A] is less formative than the doctrine of\nsanctification.[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Justification, as here used, is the act of God by which\nthe sinner is declared righteous, or justly free from obligation to\npenalty, and fully restored to divine favor.]\n\n[Footnote B: Sanctification, the act of sanctifying or making holy. In\nTheology the act of God's grace, coupled with the efforts of man, by\nwhich the affection are purified and the soul is cleansed from sin and\nconsecrated to God.]\n\n_4. Soteriology of Athanasius and the Greek Fathers:_ \"Athanasius\n(373) is distinct and firm in maintaining the expiatory nature of\nthe work of Christ. He recognizes its relations to the attribute of\ndivine justice, and has less to say than his predecessors respecting\nits relations to the kingdom and claims of Satan. The more important\nbearings of the doctrine of vicarious satisfaction, it is evident, were\nnow beginning to receive a closer attention, while less stress was\nlaid upon its secondary aspects. We can find in the representations of\nAthanasius the substance of that doctrine of plenary satisfaction of\neternal justice by the theanthropic sufferings of Christ which acquired\nits full scientific form in the mind of Anselm, and which lies under\nthe whole Protestant church and theology.\"\n\n\"Athanasius composed no tract or treatise upon the Atonement and we\nmust consequently deduce his opinions upon this subject from his\nincidental statements while discussing other topics. In his discourses\nagainst Arians, there are frequent statements respecting the work of\nChrist, in connection with those respecting his person and dignity, and\nfrom these we select a few of the most distinct and conclusive: 'Christ\nas man endured death for us, inasmuch as he offered himself for that\npurpose to the Father.' Here, the substitutionary nature of his work\nis indicated. 'Christ takes our sufferings upon himself, and presents\nthem to the Father, entreating for us that they be satisfied in him.'\nHere, the piacular[A] nature of his work is taught, together with his\nintercessory office. 'The death of the incarnate Logos is a ransom for\nthe sins of men, and a death of death.' 'Desiring to annual our death,\nhe took on himself a body from the Virgin Mary, that by offering this\nunto the Father a sacrifice for all, he might deliver us all, who by\nfear of death were all our life through subject to bondage.' 'Laden\nwith guilt, the world was condemned of law, but Logos assumed the\ncondemnation and suffering in the flesh gave salvation to all.' Here,\nthe obligation of the guilty world is represented not as relating to\nSatan but to law; and the Redeemer assumes a condemnation, or in modern\nProtestant phraseology becomes a voluntary substitute for the guilty,\nfor purposes of legal satisfaction.\"\n\n[Footnote A: \"Piacular\"--expiatory.]\n\n\"If we examine the soteriology of the Greek church during the last half\nof the fourth and the first half of the fifth centuries, we meet with\nvery clear conceptions of the atonement of Christ. The distinctiveness\nof the views of Athanasius upon this subject undoubtedly contributed\nto this; for this great mind exerted as powerful an influence upon the\nEastern doctrinal system, generally, as Augustine exercised over the\nWestern.\"\n\n_5. Soteriology of Augustine and Gregory the Great:_ \"Augustine\n(430): Augustine's view of the work of the Christ is essentially that\nof the fathers who had preceded him, neither falling short nor making\nany marked advance in scientific respects. * * * 'All men,' he says,\n'are separated from God by sin. Hence they can be reconciled with him,\nonly through the remission of sin, and this only through the grace of\na most merciful Savior, and this grace through the one only victim\nof the most true and only priest.' In another place, alluding to our\nLord's comparison of his own crucifixion with the lifting up of the\nserpent by Moses, Augustine thus expresses himself: 'Our Lord did not,\nindeed, transfer sin itself into his flesh as if it were the poison of\nthe serpent, but he did transfer death; so that there might be, in the\nlikeness of human flesh, the punishment of sin without its personal\nguilt, whereby both the personal guilt and punishment of sin might be\nabolished from human flesh.'\n\n\"These passages, and many others like them, scattered all through\nhis writings, prove indisputably that Augustine held the doctrine of\nvicarious satisfaction.\"\n\n_Gregory, the Great, Bishop of Rome (604):_ Gregory, in his\nwritings, lays great stress upon the idea of a sacrifice offered in\nthe death of Christ. He starts from the conception of guilt, and from\nthis derives immediately the necessity of a theanthropic[A] sacrifice.\n\"Guilt,\" he says, \"can be extinguished only by a penal offering to\njustice. But it would contradict the idea of justice, if for the sin\nof a rational being like man, the death of an irrational animal should\nbe accepted as a sufficient atonement. Hence, a man must be offered as\nthe sacrifice for man; so that a rational victim may be slain for a\nrational criminal. But how could a man, himself stained with sin, be\nan offering for sin? Hence a sinless man must be offered. But what man\ndescending in the ordinary course would be free from sin? Hence, the\nSon of God must be born of a virgin, and become man for us. He assumed\nour nature without corruption. He made himself a sacrifice for us, and\nset forth for sinners his own body, a victim without sin, and able\nboth to die by virtue of its humanity, and to cleanse the guilty, upon\ngrounds of justice.\"\n\n[Footnote A: Theantropic--both divine and human; being or pertaining to\nthe God-man.]\n\n_6. Anselm's Theory of Satisfaction:_ A. Anselm's views of\nthe Atonement (1109 A. D.) are fundamentally those of Protestant\nChristendom, it is important that they be stated in sufficient detail\nto make the leading principle clear.\n\nThe fundamental position of Anselm is that \"the Atonement of the Son\nof God is absolutely or metaphysically necessary in order to the\nremission of sin. Anselm concedes by implication, throughout his work,\nthat if it cannot be made out that the vicarious satisfaction of divine\njustice by the theanthropic suffering of Jesus Christ is required\nby a necessary and immanent attribute of the Divine Nature, then a\nscientific character cannot be vindicated for the doctrine; for nothing\nthat is not metaphysically necessary is scientific. Hence, in the\nvery beginning of the tract, he affirms that a mere reference to the\ndivine benevolence, without any regard to the divine justice, cannot\nsatisfy the mind that is seeking a necessary basis in the doctrine\nof atonement. For benevolence is inclined to dispense with penal\nsuffering, and of itself does not demand it.\n\n\"It is not the attribute of mercy, but the attribute of justice,\nwhich insists upon legal satisfaction, and opposes an obstacle to\nthe salvation of a sinner. Setting aside, therefore, the divine\njustice, and taking into view merely the divine compassion, there\ndoes not appear to be any reason why God should not by an act of bare\nomnipotence deliver the sinner from suffering and make him happy. This\nconducts Anselm to that higher position from which the full-orbed\nnature and character of the Deity is beheld, and he proceeds to show\nthat compassion cannot operate in an isolated and independent manner in\nthe work of redemption, and that if anything is done for the recovery\nand weal of the transgressor, it cannot be at the expense of any\nnecessary quality in the divine nature, through the mere exercise of an\narbitrary volition, and unbridled omnipotence.\n\n\"The leading positions, and the connection of ideals, in this\nexceedingly profound, clear, and logical tract of the eleventh century\nare as follows:\n\n\"Beginning with the idea of sin, Anselm defines this as the withholding\nfrom God what is due to him from man. Sin is debt. But man owes to God\nthe absolute and entire subjection of his will, at all times to the\ndivine law and will. This is not given, and hence the guilt, or debt,\nof a man to Deity. The extinction of this guilt does not consist in\nsimply beginning again to subject the will entirely to its rightful\nsovereign, but in giving satisfaction for the previous cessation in so\ndoing. God has been robbed of his honor in the past, and it must be\nrestored to him in some way, while at the same time the present and\nfuture honor due to him is being given. But how is man, who is still\na sinner, and constantly sinning, to render this double satisfaction,\nviz.: satisfy the law in the future by perfectly obeying it, and in\nthe past by enduring its whole penalty? It is impossible for him to\nrender it; and yet this impossibility, argues Anselm, does not release\nhim from his indebtedness or guilt, because this impossibility is\nthe effect of a free act, and a free act must be held responsible\nfor all its consequences, in conformity with the ethical maxim, that\nthe cause is answerable for the effect. But now the question arises:\nCannot the love and compassion of God abstracted from his justice come\nin at this point, and remit the sin of man without any satisfaction?\nThis is impossible because it would be irregularity and injustice. If\nunrighteousness is punished neither in the person of transgressor, nor\nin that of a proper substitute, then unrighteousness is not subject\nto any law or regulations of any sort; it enjoys more liberty than\nrighteousness itself, which would be a contradiction and a wrong.\nFurthermore, it would contradict the divine justice itself, if the\ncreature would defraud the creator of that which is his due, without\ngiving any satisfaction for the robbery. Since there is no attribute\nmore just and necessary than that primitive righteousness innate to\ndeity which maintains the honor of God. This justice, indeed, is God\nhimself, so that to satisfy it, is to satisfy God himself.\n\n\"Having in this manner carried the discussion into the very heart of\nthe divine nature, and shown that a necessary and immanent attribute\nof the Deity stands in the way of non-infliction of punishment and\nthe happiness of the transgressor, Anselm proceeds to consider the\npossibility of satisfying the claims of justice--the claims of Satan\nbeing expressly denied. There are two ways, he says, in which this\nattribute can be satisfied. First, the punishment may be actually\ninflicted upon the transgressor. But this, of course, would be\nincompatible with his salvation from sin, and his eternal happiness,\nbecause the punishment required is eternal, in order to offset the\ninfinite demerit of robbing God of his honor. It is plain, therefore,\nthat man cannot be his own atoner, and render satisfaction for his\nown sin. A sinner cannot justify a sinner, any more than a criminal\ncan pardon his own crime. The second, and only other way in which the\nattribute of justice can be satisfied is by substituted or vicarious\nsuffering. This requires the agency of another being than the\ntransgressor. But here everything depends upon the nature and character\nof the being who renders the substituted satisfaction. For it would be\nan illegitimate procedure to defraud justice by substituting a less for\na more valuable satisfaction. It belongs, therefore, to the conception\nof a true vicarious satisfaction, that something be offered to justice\nfor the sin of man that is greater than the finite and created, or,\nin Anselm's phrase, is 'greater than all that is not God.' In other\nwords, an infinite value must pertain to that satisfaction which is\nsubstituted for the sufferings of mankind. But he who can give and has\nthe right to give, out of his own resources, something that is greater\nthan the infinite universe, must himself be greater than all that is\nnot God, or than all that is infinite and created. But God alone is\ngreater than all that is not in God, or the created universe. Only\nGod, therefore, can make this satisfaction. Only Deity can satisfy the\nclaims of Deity.\n\nBut, on the other hand, man must render it, otherwise it would not\nbe a satisfaction for man's sin. Consequently, the required and\nadequate satisfaction must be theanthropic, i. e., rendered by a\nGod-Man. As God, the God-Man can give to Deity more than the whole\nfinite creation combined could render. Furthermore, this theanthropic\nobedience and suffering was not due from the mere humanity of Christ.\nThis was sinless and innocent, and justice had no claims, in the way\nof suffering, upon it. And, moreover, only a man's obedience, and not\nthat of a God-Man, could be required of a man. Consequently this Divine\nHuman obedience and suffering was a surplusage, in respect to the man\nChrist Jesus, and might overflow and inure to the benefit of a third\nparty--in other words, to the benefit of the transgressor for whom it\nwas voluntarily rendered and endured.\n\n\"This satisfaction made by incarnate Deity to meet the claims of one of\nhis own attributes, Anselm represents as even more than an equivalent\nfor the sin of mankind.\"\n\nThis brings us to the point where now the view of the Atonement by\nCatholics and Protestants respectively may be stated.\n\nII.\n\nTHE ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW OF THE ATONEMENT.\n\n_Original Sin:_[A] \"Original sin is distinguished from actual,\nor personal sin, because actual or personal sin is the sin which we\npersonally with our own free will commit, whilst original sin is that\nsin which our human nature has committed with the will of Adam, in\nwhom all our human nature was included, and with whom our human nature\nis united as a branch to a root, as a child to a parent, as men who\npartake with Adam the same nature which we have derived from him, and\nas members of the same human family of which Adam was the head. The\ndifference that exists between original and personal sin is, that the\nlatter is committed with the will physically our own, whilst original\nsin is committed with a will physically of another, and only morally\nour own, because it forms with that other (Adam), who is our head, one\nmoral body.\n\n[Footnote A: I take the Catholic doctrine of the Atonement from\n\"Catholic Belief,\" by Very Rev. Joseph Faa Di Bruno, D. D., which is\nbased, of course, upon the decisions of the Council of Trent, held from\n1545 to 1563, and which among other things declared what the Catholic\ndoctrine was upon \"Original Sin\" and \"Justification.\"]\n\n\"If our hand strike a fellow-creature unjustly, though the hand has\nitself no will, yet it is considered guilty, not indeed as viewed\nseparately by itself, but inasmuch as it is united to the rest of the\nbody, and to the soul, forming one human being therewith, and thus\nsharing in the will of the soul with which it is connected.\n\n\"Also the sin committed inwardly by the human will, by a bad desire,\nbelongs to the whole human being.\n\n\"Of the original sin in which we are born we are not personally guilty\nwith our own personal will, but our nature is guilty of it by the will\nof Adam, our head, with whom we form one moral body through the human\nnature which we derive from him. * * * The Catholic Church teaches that\nAdam, by his sin, has not only caused harm to himself, but to the whole\nhuman race; that by it he lost the supernatural justice and holiness\nwhich he received gratuitously from God, and lost it, not only for\nhimself, but also for all of us; and that he, having stained himself\nwith the sin of disobedience, has transmitted not only death and other\nbodily pains and infirmities to the whole human race, but also sin,\nwhich is the death of the soul.\n\n\"The teaching of the Council of Trent (Session V) is confirmed by these\nwords of St. Paul: 'Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this\nworld, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom all\nhave sinned' (Rom. v:12).\n\n\"Surely the early Christians believed in original sin, as it can be\ngathered from what St. Augustine said to Pelagius, opposing him on the\nmatter: 'I did not invent original sin, which Catholic faith holds from\nancient time; but thou, who deniest it, thou, without doubt, art a new\nheretic\" (De nuptiis, lib. xi, c. 12).\n\n\"It may be said that this belief is as old as the human race, for\ntraces of this ancient tradition are spread in all nations, insomuch\nthat Voltaire had to confess that 'The fall of man is the base of the\ntheology of nearly all ancient people' (Philosophic de l'histoire,\nchapter xvii).\n\n\"Beside the guilt of original sin, which is that habitual state of\nsinfulness in which we are born (because our human nature is justly\nconsidered to have consented in Adam to the rejection of original\njustice), there is also in man the stain of original sin, entailing the\nprivation in the human soul of that supernatural lustre which, had we\nborn in the state of original justice, we all should have had.\n\n\"As neither Adam nor any of his offspring could repair the evil done\nby his sin, we should ever have remained in the state of original sin\nand degradation in which we were born, and we should have been forever\nshut out from the Beatific Vision of God in Heaven, had not God, in his\ninfinite mercy, provided for us a Redeemer.\"\n\n_The Incarnation of God the Son:_ Respecting this great mystery,\nCatholics believe that the Holy Trinity, out of infinite mercy, decreed\nto provide for us a Redeemer, who could suffer, and suffer as an\nindividual of the human race, and at the same time be in himself so\nexalted as to be able to give infinite value to his sufferings; because\nsin, being an offense against the infinite majesty of God could only be\natoned for by an expiation of infinite value.\n\n\"To accomplish this end, God the Son, the second person of the Holy\nTrinity, the Eternal Word, chose the Blessed Virgin Mary of Nazareth,\nto become his Mother, and on receiving her consent, he, by the\nsupernatural agency of the Holy Spirit, took human flesh from her, and\nthus became man, and his holy name is Jesus Christ.\n\n\"By becoming man the Eternal Word did not lay aside his divine nature,\nbut, remaining what he had ever been from all eternity, took upon\nhimself human nature without a human personality, so that from the\nfirst moment of his incarnation there was in him, and there ever will\nbe, not one only but two natures, the divine and the human, united in\nhis divine personality, the person of God the Son.\n\n\"The divine nature of Jesus is one and the same as that of the Eternal\nFather and of the Holy Spirit, and his human nature is in all things\nlike ours, sin and tendency to sin excepted. He is equal to the Father\nas to his Godhead, and less than the Father as to his manhood.\n\n\"Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died in his human nature on Mount\nCalvary, and thereby effectually interposed his atonement between his\neternal Father and man, and thus made a plentiful expiation and paid a\nfull ransom to the Eternal Justice for the sins of the whole world. * *\n\n_\"Jesus Our Only Mediator of Redemption:_ \"Catholics believe\nthat our Lord Jesus Christ is alone the great Centre of the Christian\nreligion, the Fountain of all grace, virtue, and merit as in the\nnatural world (if the comparison may be allowed), the sun is the centre\nand enlivening created source of light, heat, and growth.\n\n\"This grand truth they believe to be the vital, essential part of\nChristianity, 'for other foundation no man can lay but that which is\nlaid; which is Christ Jesus' (I Corinthians iii:11).\n\n\"They hold that to be united to Jesus Christ is the highest and noblest\naim of man, and that only the holy Catholic church supplies the means\nfor the closest union with Jesus Christ; and they are convinced that\nthe yearning to possess this closer communion with Christ has, by\ndivine attraction, drawn thousands of earnest minds to seek in the\nCatholic church this, the highest happiness to be enjoyed on earth.\n\n\"They believe that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, because he has\nredeemed us from the bondage of Satan, with the ransom of his most\nprecious blood; that he alone is our Savior because he saves us from\nstain, the guilt, and the curse of sin; that he is our only mediator\nof redemption and salvation, because he alone, by his own merits, has\nefficiently interposed between God and man, to obtain the full pardon\nof our sins through the sacrifice of himself: 'There is one God, and\none mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself a\nredemption for all' (I St. Timothy ii:5, 6). Neither is there salvation\nin any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to man,\nwhereby we must be saved' (Acts iv:12).\n\n\"They believe that Jesus died on the cross to purchase mercy, grace,\nand salvation for all men--'Who will have all men to be saved, and to\ncome to the knowledge of the truth' (I St. Timothy ii:4). And that\nsince Adam's fall, mercy, grace, and salvation can be obtained by man\nonly through the passion and death of Jesus Christ.\n\n\"Believing that Jesus Christ is truly God, they hold that the homage\nof supreme adoration is due to Him, the God-man, as well as to God the\nFather, and to God the Holy Spirit.\"\n\n_Catholic View of Justification:_ \"Justification is a divine act\nwhich conveys sanctifying grace, and by that grace communicates a\nsupernatural life to the soul which by sin, whether original or actual,\nhad incurred spiritual death: that is to say, justification is a change\nin the human soul or translation from the state of sin into the state\nof grace.\n\n\"It is a gift of Almighty God, a ray, as it were, coming direct from\nthe divine goodness and filling the soul, which makes those who receive\nit pleasing to God and justified in his sight.\n\n\"The grace of justification produces a change affecting the soul of the\nregenerate by its presence, elevating and perfecting it. By this grace\nthe likeness of God is brought out in them, and they are raised to a\nstate of friendship with him, and of divine sonship.\n\n\"The Catholic church teaches that the grace of justification not merely\ncovers sin, but blots it out; that is, blots out the guilt and stain\narising from sin, and remits the everlasting punishment due to it.\n\n\"Justifying is not dressing splendidly a dead man's body, it is\nvivifying it. It is not covering a leprosy with a beautiful shining\ndress, it is curing it thoroughly. It is not gilding a piece of coal,\nleaving it inwardly black, but it is transforming it into a brilliant\ndiamond.\n\n\"What unspeakable regrets it would leave in the justified man if he had\never to see his soul, indeed magnificently arrayed, still in itself\nstained with sin, deformed, corrupt, black, and horrible as before.\n\n\"Merely covering sin is a human way of forgiving, which consists in\npassing over the crime of a sinner, and in treating him outwardly as\nif he had not committed it, and as if no stain were in the soul in\nconsequence of it, though the guilt and the stain are still there.\n\n\"God's way of pardoning a sinner is very different, and wholly divine.\nIt is a way worthy of his infinite goodness, sanctity, omnipotence\nand worthy too of the immense efficacy of Christ's blood, and of his\nsuperabundant redemption, and of his infinite merits.\n\n\"God's way of pardoning is to cleanse away entirely the guilt and stain\nof sin, so that instead of it, God sees in the pardoned sinner the\n\"charity of God poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost\" (Rom.\nv:5), which, like a fire, has destroyed all the dross of sin, and\nrendered man pure, upright, and holy.\n\n\"Hence the justification of a sinner is represented in Scripture as\nthe putting on of the new man who is \"created in justice, and holiness\nof truth\" (Ephesians iv:24): the \"renovation of the Holy Ghost\" (Titus\niii:5).\n\n\"In the case of the grown-up persons, some dispositions are required on\nthe part of the sinner in order to be fit to obtain this habitual and\nabiding grace of justification. A man can only dispose himself by the\nhelp of divine grace, and the dispositions which he shows do not by any\nmeans effect or merit justification, but only serve to prepare him for\nit; and for that reason are simply called dispositions or preparations.\nThis is the teaching of the Council of Trent, which declares: \"We are\nsaid to be justified gratuitously, because none of the things which\nprecede justification, whether it be faith or good works, can merit\nthis blessing for us.\" (Session VI, chapter viii.) The same holy\ncouncil declares that sins are remitted gratuitously by the mercy of\nGod through the merits of Jesus Christ (Session VI, chapter vii).\n\n\"The principal dispositions required for justification are the\nfollowing acts, which can only be made by the assistance of God's\nactual grace, namely, an act of faith or belief in revealed truths,\nof fear of God, of hope, and of charity; an act of repentance for\npast sins, with a purpose to avoid sin in future, and to keep the\ncommandments: a desire of receiving baptism for those who have not yet\nbeen baptized, and for those who have fallen into sin after baptism,\na resolution to approach the sacrament of penance (Council of Trent,\nSession VI, chapter vi).\n\n\"Justification may be lost by wilfully violating a commandment of God,\neither by doing what is forbidden, or by not doing what is commanded.\nJustification is a talent or gift which should be made to bear fruit,\nor we shall be punished for the neglect.\n\n\"By justification we are raised to the dignity of Sons of God, heirs\nof his kingdom; and this entails upon us the duty of acting in a way\nbecoming to so high a dignity. If thou wilt enter into life, keep the\ncommandments,' said the Lord (St. Matt. xix:17). By justification we\nare incorporated with Christ, like a branch growing on a vine; but\nif the branch produces no fruit it will be cut off and cast into the\nfire (St. John xv:6). Hence the grace of justification is compared\nby our Savior, not to a pond, but to a fountain, whose waters reach\nunto heaven: 'But the water that I will give him shall become in him a\nfountain of water springing up into life everlasting\" (St. John iv:14).\n\n_\"How Christ's Redemption is Applied to Men that They May Be\nJustified and Sanctified:_ \"Jesus Christ died for all mankind; he\ntruly died that 'he might taste death for all' (Hebrews ii:9). Yet we\nknow that all men will not be saved but only those who do his will,\nfor we read in St. Paul: 'And being consummated, he became to all\nthat obey him the cause of eternal salvation' (Hebrews v:9). And so,\nnotwithstanding Christ's redemption, it is stated in the gospel that\nsome 'shall go into everlasting punishment' (St. Matt. xxv:46). St.\nPaul did not say that God will save all men, but, 'who will have all\nmen to be saved' (I Timothy ii:4), implying thereby that for salvation,\nman's will and co-operation is required to fulfill the conditions, and\nuse the means appointed by God himself for the purpose.\n\n\"Only those who \"have washed their robes and have made them white in\nthe blood of the Lamb\" (Apocalypse [Rev.] vii:14), that is, who have\nthe merits of Christ applied to them, and who persevere to the end in\ndoing what is commanded, will be saved.\n\n\"The direct means instituted by Christ himself for applying his\ninfinite merits to the souls of men are the holy sacraments, which are\nso many channels instituted by Jesus Christ to convey to men his grace\npurchased for us at the price of his most precious blood.\n\n_\"The Holy Sacraments:_ \"The Catholic church teaches that there\nare truly and properly seven, and only seven sacraments of the new law,\ninstituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and necessary for the salvation\nof mankind, though not all of them necessary for every person, as, for\ninstance, holy order and matrimony.\n\n\"These seven sacraments are:\n\n\"1st, Baptism, by which we are made Christians, children of God, and\nmembers of his holy church..\n\n\"2nd, Confirmation, by which we receive the Holy Ghost, to make us\nstrong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ.\n\n\"3rd, Holy Eucharist, which is the true body and blood, with the soul\nand divinity, of Jesus Christ, under the appearances of bread and wine.\n\n\"4th, Penance, by which the sins that we commit after baptism are\nforgiven.\n\n\"5th, Extreme Unction, which in serious or dangerous illness, comforts\nthe soul, remits sin, and restores health of body, if God sees it to be\nexpedient.\n\n\"6th, Holy Order, by which bishops, priests, and other ministers of the\nChurch are ordained.\n\n\"7th, Matrimony, the sacrament which sanctifies the union by marriage\nof man and woman.\n\n\"Each of these has the three conditions necessary for a sacrament\nunderstood in the strict sense of the word, namely, the outward sign,\nthe inward grace, and the institution by Jesus Christ, who alone has\nthe power to institute sacraments, that is, outward signs as means of\ngrace.\"\n\nIII.\n\nTHE PROTESTANT VIEW OF THE ATONEMENT.\n\nThere are some slight variations in the views of the leading\nsubdivisions of Protestant Christendom in relation to the Atonement;\nbut these do not so much concern the nature of the Atonement itself\nas the manner of appropriating or receiving its benefits. At any rate\ntheir views of the Atonement are so nearly alike that they may be\nstated with sufficient clearness from any one of the standard works of\nthese subdivisions.[A] The statement here used to represent the views\nof the leading subdivisions of Protestant Christendom is from the\n\"Westminster Confession of Faith\" of the Presbyterian church.\n\n[Footnote A: \"At the time of the Reformation, we have seen that both\nLutheran and Calvanistic theologians adopted the Anselmic theory of\na strict satisfaction. This soteriology enters into all the Lutheran\nand Calvanistic symbols of the continent, and into the Episcopalian,\nPresbyterian, and Congregational symbols of England and America. So\nfar, therefore, as the principal Protestant creeds are concerned, the\ntheory of an absolute necessity of atonement, and a strict satisfaction\nof justice by the suffering of Christ, is the prevalent one\" (\"History\nof Christian Doctrine,\" Shedd, Vol. II, p. 349).]\n\n_Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment Thereof:_\nSection I.--Our first parents being seduced by the subtlety and\ntemptation of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit. This their\nsin God was pleased, according to his wise and holy counsel, to permit,\nhaving purposed to order it to his own glory.\n\n\"Section II.--By this sin they fell from their original righteousness,\nand communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled\nin all faculties and parts of soul and body.\n\n\"Section III.--They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this\nsin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature\nconveyed to all their posterity, descending from them by ordinary\ngeneration.\n\n\"Section IV.--From this original corruption, whereby we are utterly\nindisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly\ninclined to all evil, do proceed all actual transgressions.\n\n\"Section V.--This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain\nin those that are regenerated; and although it be through Christ\npardoned and mortified, yet both itself, and all the motions thereof,\nare truly and properly sin.\n\n\"Section VI.--Every sin, both original and actual, being a\ntransgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto,\ndoth, in its own nature, bring guilt upon the sinner, whereby he is\nbound over to the wrath of God, and curse of law, and so made subject\nto death, with all miseries, spiritual, temporal, and eternal.\n\n_\"Of God's Covenant with Man:_ Section I.--The distance between\nGod and the creature is so great, that although reasonable creatures do\nowe obedience unto him as their Creator, yet they could never have any\nfruition of him as their blessedness and reward, but by some voluntary\ncondescension on God's part, which he hath been pleased to express by\nway of covenant.\n\n\"Section II.--The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works,\nwherein life was promised to Adam, and in him to his posterity, upon,\ncondition of perfect and personal obedience.\n\n\"Section III.--Man by his fall having made himself incapable of life by\nthat covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called\nthe covenant of grace: whereby he freely offereth unto sinners life and\nsalvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him, that they\nmay be saved; and promising to give unto all those that are ordained\nunto life his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe.\n\n\"Section IV.--This covenant of grace is frequently set forth in the\nScripture by the name of a testament, in reference to the death of\nJesus Christ the testator, and to the everlasting inheritance, with all\nthings belonging to it, therein bequeathed.\n\n\"Section V.--This covenant was differently administered in the time\nof the law, and in the time of the gospel: under the law it was\nadministered by promises, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb,\nand other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all\nfore-signifying Christ to come, which were for that time sufficient\nand efficacious, through the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and\nbuild up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had\nfull remission of sins, and eternal salvation: and is called the Old\nTestament.\n\n\"Section VI.--Under the gospel, when Christ the substance was\nexhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed are, the\npreaching the Word, and the administration of the sacraments of baptism\nand the Lord's supper: which, though fewer in number, and administered\nwith more simplicity and less outward glory, yet in them it is held\nforth in more fulness, evidence, and spiritual efficacy, to all\nnations, both Jews and Gentiles; and is called the New Testament. There\nare not, therefore, two covenants of grace differing in substance, but\none and the same under various dispensations.\n\n_\"Of Christ the Mediator:_ Section I.\"--It pleased God in his\neternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, his only begotten\nSon, to be mediator between God and man; the Prophet, Priest, and King;\nthe Head and Savior of his Church; the Heir of all things; and Judge of\nthe world: unto whom he did from all eternity give a people to be his\nseed, and to be by him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified,\nand glorified.\n\n\"Section II.--The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being\nvery and eternal God, of one substance, and equal with the Father, did,\nwhen the fulness of time was come, take upon him man's nature, with all\nthe essential properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without\nsin; being conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, in the womb of the\nVirgin Mary, of her substance. So that two whole, perfect, and distinct\nnatures, the Godhead and the Manhood, were inseparably joined together\nin one person, without conversion, composition, or confusion. Which\nperson is very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only Mediator\nbetween God and man.\n\n\"Section III.--The Lord Jesus, in his human nature thus united to the\ndivine, was sanctified and anointed with the Holy Spirit above measure;\nhaving in him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; in whom it\npleased the Father that all fulness should dwell: to the end that being\nholy, harmless, undefiled, and full of grace and truth, he might be\nthoroughly furnished to execute the office of a Mediator and Surety.\nWhich office he took not unto himself, but was thereunto called by his\nFather; who put all power and judgment into his hands, and gave him\ncommandment to execute the same.\n\n\"Section IV.--This office the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake;\nwhich that he might discharge, he was made under the law, and did\nperfectly fulfil it endured most grievous torments immediately in his\nsoul, and most painful sufferings in his body; was crucified, and\ndied; was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no\ncorruption. On the third day he arose from the dead, with the same body\nin which he suffered; with which he ascended into heaven, and there\nsitteth at the right hand of his Father, making intercession; and shall\nreturn to judge men and angels at the end of the world.\n\n\"Section VII.--Christ, in the work of mediation, acteth according to\nboth natures; by each nature doing that which is proper to itself;\nyet by reason of the unity of the person, that which is proper to one\nnature is sometimes in Scripture attributed to the person denominated\nby the other nature.\n\n\"Section VIII.--To all those for whom Christ hath purchased redemption,\nhe doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same:\nmaking intercession for them; and revealing unto them, in and by the\nWord, the mysteries of salvation; effectually persuading them by his\nSpirit to believe and obey; and governing their hearts by his Word and\nSpirit; overcoming all their enemies by his almighty power and wisdom,\nin such manner and ways as are most consonant to his wonderful and\nunsearchable dispensation\" (Westminster Confession of Faith).\n\nIV.\n\nTHE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT SOTERIOLOGY.\n\nThe difference between the Soteriology of these great divisions\nof Christendom--Catholic and Protestant--consists chiefly in the\nconception of the mode in which the Atonement of the Son of God became\navailable to the believers. Shedd, in pointing out these differences,\nstates that the decisions of the Council of Trent, which, as we\nhave seen, formulated the church's doctrine on \"Original Sin,\" and\n\"Justification,\" \"makes inward holiness in conjunction with the merits\nof Christ the ground of justification. The unintentional confounding of\nthe distinction between justification and sanctification,\" which Shedd\nadmits appears occasionally in the writings of some of the Christian\nFathers--Augustine especially--\"becomes a deliberate and emphatic\nidentification in the scheme of the papal church.\" He then sets forth\nthe Protestant view as follows:\n\n_The Protestant Position:_ \"The Anselmic and Protestant\nsoteriologies mean by the term 'justification,' that divine act,\ninstantaneous and complete, by which sin is pardoned. If we\ndistinguish the entire work of redemption into two parts, a negative\nand a positive, justification in the Pauline and in the Reformed\nsanctification would include the former and would include nothing more.\nJustification is the negative acquittal from condemnation, and not in\nthe least the positive infusion of righteousness, or production of\nholiness. This positive element, the Reformers were careful to teach,\ninvariably accompanies the negative; but they were equally careful\nto teach that it is not identical with it. The forgiveness of sin is\ndistinct and different from the sanctification of the heart. It is an\nantecedent which is always followed, indeed, by its consequent; but\nthis does not render the consequent a substitute for the antecedent, or\none and the same thing with it.\"\n\nIn a foot note our author quotes the Westminster Confession on the\ndistinction of justification and sanctification:\n\n\"The Westminster Confession thus states the distinction between\njustification and sanctification. 'Although sanctification be\ninseparably joined with justification, yet they differ, in that\nGod in justification _imputeth_ the righteousness of Christ; in\nsanctification, his Spirits _infuseth_ grace, and enableth to the\nexercise thereof: in the former, sin is _pardoned_; in the other it is\n_subdued_; the _one_ doth equally free all believers from the revenging\nwrath of God, and that perfectly in this life, that they never fall\ninto condemnation; the _other_ is neither equal in all, nor in this\nlife perfect in any, but growing up to perfection\" (Larger Catechism,\nQ. 77).\n\nShedd, continuing the discussion of the differences between the\nCatholics and Protestants upon this subject, says:\n\n\"The Council of Trent resolved _justification_ into _sanctification_,\nand in the place of a gratuitous justification and remission of sins\nthrough the expiation of the Redeemer, substituted the most subtle form\nof the doctrine of justification by works that has yet appeared, or\nthat can appear. Man is justified and accepted at the bar of justice\nby his _external acts_ of obedience to the moral or the ecclesiastical\nlaw. This is, indeed, the doctrine that prevails in the common practice\nof the papal church, but it is not the form in which it appears in the\nTridentine canons. According to these, man is justified by an inward\nand spiritual act which is denominated the act of faith; by a truly\ndivine and holy habit or principle infused by the gracious working of\nthe Holy Spirit. The ground of the sinner's justification is thus a\ndivine and a gracious one. God works in the sinful soul to will and\nto do, and by making it inherently just justifies it. And all this is\naccomplished through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ; sot\nthat, in justification there is a combination of the objective work of\nChrist with the subjective character of the believer. This statement\nis the more subtle, because it distinctly refers the infused grace or\nholiness to God as the author, and thereby seems to preclude the notion\nof self-righteousness. But it is fundamentally erroneous, because this\ninfused righteousness, or holiness of heart, upon which remission of\nsins rests in part, is not _piacular_.[A] It has in it nothing of\nthe nature of a satisfaction to justice. So far forth, therefore,\nas infused grace in the heart is made a ground and procuring cause\nof the pardon of sin, the judicial aspects and relations of sin are\noverlooked, and man is received into the divine favor without any true\nand proper expiation of his guilt.\"\n\n[Footnote A: \"Piacular,\" expiatory, atoning.]\n\nOur author quotes Hooker as in substantial agreement with the above\nviews as follows:\n\n\"Then what is the fault of the church of Rome? Not that she requireth\nworks at their hands which will be saved: but that she attributeth unto\nworks a power of satisfying God for sin\" (Hooker \"On Justification,\"\nWorks II, 538).\n\n_Another Statement of the Protestant Attitude:_ \"It was in their\nprofound sense of the reality of sin, and of its dominion in the human\nwill, that the Protestants laid the foundation of their theology. The\nbody of the Reformers rested on the Anselmic idea of satisfaction [in\nthe Atonement] which likewise formed a part of the opposing [i. e.,\nthe Roman Catholic] creed. The point of difference was on the vital\nquestion how the soul, burdened with self-condemnation, is to obtain\nforgiveness of sins and peaceful reunion to God in the character of a\nreconciled father. In the teachings, injunctions, services, ceremonies\nof the Church, the Reformers had sought for this infinite good in vain.\nThey found it in the doctrine of gratuitous pardon, from the bare\nMercy of God, through the mediation of Christ; a pardon that waits for\nnothing but acceptance on the part of the soul--the belief, the trust,\nthe faith of the penitent. Everything of the nature of satisfaction\nor merit on the part of the offender is precluded, by the utterly\ngratuitous nature of the gift, by the sufficiency of the Redeemer's\nexpiation. Every assertion of the necessity of works or merit on the\nside of the offender, as the ground of forgiveness, is a disparagement\nof the Redeemer's Mercy and of his expiatory office. Faith, thus\nlaying hold of a free forgiveness and reconnecting the soul with God,\nis the fountain of a new life of holiness, which depends not on fear\nand homage to law, but on gratitude and on filial sentiments. Christ\nhimself nourishes this new life by spiritual influences that flow into\nthe soul through the channel of its fellowship with him. Justification\nis thus a forensic[A] term; it is equivalent to the remission of sins.\nTo justify, signifies not to make the offender righteous, to deliver\nhim from the accusation of the law by the bestowal of a pardon. Saving\nfaith is not a virtue to be rewarded, but an apprehensive act; the hand\nthat takes the free gift. Such, in a brief statement, was the cardinal\nprinciple of the Protestant interpretation of the Gospel. The Christian\nlife has its centre in this experience of forgiveness. Virtues of\ncharacter and victories over temptation grow out of it. Christian\nethics are united to Christian theology by this vital bond.\n\n[Footnote A: A term used in argumentation or discussion.]\n\n[Footnote: This idea of justification is the keynote in Luther's\n\"Commentary on the Epistle to the Gallatians,\" and Malancthon's\n\"Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans.\" It is the distinctive\nfeature of the Protestant exegesis of the writings of Paul\" (Fisher).]\n\n_The Authority for Protestant Conclusions:_ But to what authority\ncould the Reformers appeal in behalf of their proposition? What\nassurance had they of its truth? How did they arrive at the knowledge\nof it? They had found this obscured and half-forgotten truth recorded\nas they believed with perfect clearness, in the Scriptures. The\nauthority of the Scriptures was fully acknowledged by the church in\nwhich they had been trained, however it might superadd to them other\nauthoritative sources of knowledge, and however it might deny the\ncompetence of the individual to interpret the Bible for himself.\nThat Christ spoke in the Scriptures all admitted. What his voice\nwas the Reformer could not doubt; for the truth that he uttered\nwas one of which they had immediate, spiritual recognition. Their\ninterpretation verified itself to their hearts by the light and peace\nwhich that truth brought with it, as well as to their understandings\non a critical examination of the text. The church then denied their\ninterpretation and commanded them to abandon it, was in error; it\ncould not be authorized, infallible interpreter of Holy Writ. Thus the\ntraditional belief in the authority of the Roman church gave way, and\nthe principle of the exclusive authority of the Scriptures, as the rule\nof faith, took its place. By this process the second of the distinctive\nprinciples of Protestantism was reached. That the meaning of the Bible\nis sufficiently plain and intelligible was implied in this conclusion.\nHence, the right of private judgment is another side of the same\ndoctrine\" (\"The Reformation,\" by Geo. P. Fisher, D. D.--Scribners--pp.\n460-462).\n\n_The Roman Catholic Side of the Controversy:_ On the Roman side of\nthe controversy it is but proper that the statement of the Council of\nTrent on essential points at issue should be quoted:\n\n\"Justification is not the mere remission of sins, but also the\nsanctification and renovation of the inward man through the voluntary\nreception of grace and gifts of grace; whereby an unjust man becomes\njust, the enemy a friend, so that he may be an heir according to the\nhope of eternal life. * * * The only formal cause of justification\nis the justice * * * of God, not that by which he himself is just,\nbut that by which he makes us just--that namely by which we are\ngratuitously renewed by him in the spirit of our minds, and are not\nonly reputed, but really are and are denominated just, receiving\njustice into ourselves each one according to his own measure, which the\nHoly Spirit imparts to each as he pleases, and also, according to each\none's own disposition and co-operation. * * *\n\n* * * When the Apostle asserts that man is justified by faith and\ngratuitously, his language is to be understood in that sense which the\nconstant agreement of the Catholic church has affixed to it; in such a\nmanner, namely, as that we are said to be justified by faith, because\nfaith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation and root of\nall justification, without which it is impossible to please God (Heb.\nxi:6). And we are said to be justified gratuitously, because none of\nthose things which precede justification, whether faith or works,\nmerits the grace itself of justification.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Canones Concilii, Tridentini: De Justificatione vii, viii.]\n\nThe contrast between Protestant and Catholic views on justification are\neven more distinctly seen when the anathematizing clauses of the Trent\nCouncil utterances are considered, and which are added to guard the\nCatholic faith. They follow:\n\n\"If any one shall say that the sinner is justified by faith alone, in\nthe sense that nothing else is required which may co-operate towards\nthe attainment of the grace of justification, and that the sinner does\nnot need to be prepared and disposed by the motion of his own will:\n_let him be accursed_.\n\n\"If any one shall say, that men are justified either by the sole\nimputation of the righteousness of Christ, or by the sole remission of\nsin, to the exclusion of that grace and charity which is shed abroad in\ntheir hearts by the Holy Spirit, and which inheres in them, or shall\nsay that the grace whereby we are justified is merely and only the\nfavor of God: _let him be accursed_.\n\n\"If any one shall say that justiying faith is nothing but confidence in\nthe divine mercy remitting sin on account of Christ, or that this faith\nis the sole thing by which we are justified; _let him be accursed_.\"\n\n_Protestant Rejoinder:_ Upon this statement Shedd makes the\nfollowing comment, with which, we think, not even Catholics would be\ndispleased, as it but emphasizes their position on justification:\n\n\"It will be perceived from these extracts that the Tridentine\ntheologian regarded 'justification' as prospective and not\nretrospective, in its essential nature. It is not the forgiveness of\n'sins that are past,' but the cure and prevention of sins that are\npresent and future. The element of guilt is lost sight of, and the\npiacular [expiatory] work of Christ is lost sight of with it; and\nthe whole work of redemption is interpreted to be merely a method of\npurification. Thus the Tridentine theory implies, logically, that sin\nis not guilt, but only disease and pollution. Furthermore, according to\nthe papal theory, justification is not instantaneous, but successive.\nIt is not a single and complete act upon the part of God, but a gradual\nprocess in the soul of man. For it is founded upon that inward holiness\nor love which has been infused by divine grace.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: History Christian Doctrine--Shedd--Vol. II, p. 326.]\n\nV.\n\n\"THE MODERN LIBERAL VIEW\" ON THE DOCTRINE OF ATONEMENT.\n\nThere is still another class of Christians entertaining views upon\nthe Atonement whose ideas ought to be presented and yet are extremely\ndifficult to classify, as they may neither be called Protestant nor\nCatholic. They are a modern product, accepting the conclusions of what\nis called \"higher criticism,\" and the doctrine of evolution. They make\na wide departure from the old conception of the doctrine of Atonement\nas of all things else in the old Christian theological schools, and yet\nretain a respect and I may say a veneration for the Christ, and seek to\ngive him place in the order of things as conceived by them. For want of\na better title I have called their conception of the work of Christ,\n\"The Modern Liberal View,\" which, while it may not be as perfectly\ndescriptive as could be desired, will not, I trust, be offensive, and\nwill serve the mere purpose of classification.\n\nPerhaps the most complete statement, in concise form, of this Liberal\nView is made by Dr. Lyman Abbott in his \"Theology of an Evolutionist,\"\npublished in 1897. I begin his statement with what he says of sin.\n\n_\"Innocence, Temptation, Fall, Sin:_ This is the biography of\nevery man, save only Him who passed from innocence to virtue through\ntemptation, yet without sin. Man cannot grow from innocence to\nvirtue without temptation; he cannot experience temptation without a\npossibility of sin,--that is, of yielding to temptation; and yielding\nto temptation is fall. Every man when he yields to temptation and\nsins falls from a higher to a lower, from a spiritual to an animal\ncondition. He falls back from that state from which he had begun to\nemerge. It is true that the animal man is worse in his animalism than\nthe animal from which he has emerged or is emerging. The ferocity of\nthe tiger is no match for that of the ferocious man; the intemperance\nof the brute is far less than that of the brutalized man. How can it be\notherwise when the higher powers which God has conferred upon him are\nsubordinated to and made the instruments of his animalism?\n\n\"Sin, then, is not a means to good. It is not \"good in the making.\"\nThe fall is not a \"fall upward.\" Every yielding to temptation is a\nhindrance, not a help, to moral development; but every temptation\noffers what, rightly employed, is an indispensable means of moral\ndevelopment. For all moral development is through temptation to virtue.\nThere can be no virtue without temptation; for virtue is victory over\ntemptation. An untempted soul may be innocent, but cannot be virtuous,\nfor virtue is the choice of right when wrong presses itself upon us and\ndemands our choosing. How can we have courage, unless there is danger\nand apprehension of the danger? How can we have patience, unless there\nare burdens? How can we have fidelity, unless there is some trust to be\nmaintained, and some temptation calling on us to leave the trust and be\nfalse to it? The scorn of \"goody-goody\" is justified, for \"goody-goody\"\nis innocence, not virtue; and the boy who never does anything wrong\nbecause he never does anything at all is of no use in the world.\nTemptation is struggle, and virtue emerges from struggle. And we cannot\nhave the choice of right without the possibility of doing wrong; and\nchoosing wrong is sin; and sin is fall; because it is choosing the\nanimal from which we are emerging rather than the spiritual condition\ninto which we have partially emerged.\n\n_The Means of Salvation: Saved by the Blood--i. e., The Life of\nthe Christ:_ \"Vicarious sacrifice is not an episode. It is the\nuniversal law of life. Life comes only from life. This is the first\nproposition. Lifegiving costs the life-giver something. That is the\nsecond proposition. Pain is travail-pain, birth-pain; and it is a part\nof the divine order--that is, of the order of nature--that the birth of\na higher life should always be through the pain of another.\n\n\"This is the law of God,--that is, the nature of God. For the laws of\nGod are not edicts promulgated; they are the expressions of Himself;\nand the law that life comes only by the pouring out of life through\nsuffering is an expression of the divine nature. This is the meaning\nof Paul's teaching in the eighth chapter of Romans: first, that it\nis the universal law that all life is by impartation of life; and,\nsecondly, that this is universal because it is divine; that God Himself\nis the great Life-giver, and gives by His own suffering His life to the\nchildren of men.\n\n\"This, too, is what is meant by that statement so dear to some and so\nshocking to others,--that we are saved by the blood of Christ. Let us\ntry for a moment to disabuse our minds of traditional opinions and see\nwhat that phrase means looked at in the light of history. Is 'the blood\nof Christ' the blood which flowed from Him at the crucifixion? His was\nalmost a bloodless death; a few drops of blood only trickled from the\npierced hands and feet; for the blood and water that came from the side\nwhen the spear pierced it came after death, when the suffering was all\nover. Blood, the Bible itself declares, is life; we are saved by the\nblood of Christ when we are saved by the life of Christ, by Christ's\nown life imparted to us, by Christ's life transmitted; and by Christ's\nlife transmitted, as life alone can be transmitted, through the gateway\nof pain and suffering. The suffering of Jesus Christ was not a single\nepisode,--one short hour, one short three years: the suffering of Jesus\nChrist was the revelation of the eternal fact that God is from eternity\nthe Life-giver, and that giving life costs God something as it costs us\nsomething.\"\n\n_Meaning of Revelation and the Struggle for Righteousness:_\n\"Knowledge of the truth, clearness of apprehension and tenacity of\ngrasp upon it, are developed by struggle with error. Revelation is\nnot a divine contrivance for saving men from struggle, but a divine\nincitement to and encouragement in struggle! Virtue is developed by\nstruggle with temptation. Grace is not an easy bestowment of virtue\non an unstruggling creature, but such aid as is necessary to inspire\nthe courage of hope and give assurance of victory. But struggle is\nfor others as well as for self: the struggle of love as well as\nof self-interest; the struggle of parents for their offspring, of\nreformers for the state, of martyrs for the church. And these struggles\nall point to and are prophetic for the service and the sacrifice of the\nSon of God. For this struggle of love is divine. It belongs not to the\ninfirmity of humanity, but is an essential element in that process of\nevolution which is God's way of doing things.\n\n\"It is only by human experiences that we can interpret the Divine. *\n* * * We shall never enter into the mystery of redemption unless we\nenter in some measure into these two experiences of wrath and pity, and\ninto the mystery of their reconciliation. We must realize that God has\nan infinite and eternal loathing of sin. If the impure and the unjust,\nthe drunkard and the licentious, are loathsome to us, what must be\nthe infinite loathing of an infinitely pure Spirit for those who are\nworldly and selfish, licentious and cruel, ambitious and animal! But\nwith this great loathing is a great pity. And the pity conquers the\nloathing, appeases it, satisfies it, is reconciled with it, only as\nit redeems the sinner from his loathsomeness, lifts him up from his\ndegradation, brings him to truth and purity, to love and righteousness;\nfor only thus is he or can he be brought to God. The Old Theology has,\nit seems to me, grievously erred in personifying these two experiences;\nin imputing all the hate and wrath to the Father and all the pity and\ncompassion to the Son. But the New Theology will still more grievously\nerr if it leaves either the wrath or the pity out of its estimate of\nthe divine nature, or fails to see and teach that reconciliation is the\nreconciliation of a great pity with a great wrath, the issue of which\nis a great mercy and a great redemption. * * * * *\n\n\"There are many in the Church of Christ who think of God as a just\nand punitive God, who must be satisfied either by penalty laid on\nthe guilty, or by an equivalent for the penalty. That is one form of\npaganism. There are many who, reacting against that conception, think\nof God, as an indifferent, careless God, who does not care much about\niniquity, does not trouble Himself about it, is not disturbed by it!\nThat is another form of paganism. And there are many who try to solve\nthe problem by thinking of two Gods, a just God and a merciful God, and\nimagining that the merciful God by the sacrifice of Himself appeases\nthe wrath of the just God. That also is a modified form of paganism.\nThe one transcendent truth which distinguishes Christianity from all\nforms of paganism is that it represents God as appeasing His own wrath\nor satisfying His own justice by the forth-putting of His own love. But\nHe saves men from their sins by an experience which we can interpret\nto ourselves only by calling it a struggle between the sentiments of\njustice and pity.\"","title":"The Seventy's Course in Theology, Fourth Year: The Atonement","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":73150}