CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP.
Members of the Church must necessarily accept the conceptions for
which it stands. These are, essentially, the plan of salvation, the
progressive development of all spirits concerned in the Plan, and the
authority of a supreme intelligent Being, to deal with the men and
women placed on earth. The conditions of membership are not many, nor
difficult to understand. They are, rather, of a kind naturally
appearing before an intelligent being concerned in any organization.
**Faith.** All who enter the Church, or accept the Great Plan must,
as a first condition, possess the faith which has been defined as "the
substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen." In
other words, they must first acknowledge the existence in the universe
of things and powers that may not be sensed directly, but which may be
used to accomplish the purposes of man. Such an attitude is required
to admit the existence of a God or a plan of salvation. Such a faith
yields to man a comprehensive possession of the universe, and may
establish a philosophy of life that conforms to every law of nature.
The man who has no such faith stands before the plan of salvation as
before a sealed book. He can not open it, nor opened, can he read it.
A faith that admits the universe, seen and unseen, enables man to
accomplish great things; in fact, all who have done the great labor of
the world, have had such a faith. The law of faith is a general law.
Faith is not necessarily removed from the ordinary experiences of
life. On the contrary it is the beginning of all knowledge. Man
observes the phenomena of nature, classifies and groups them until he
reaches great general laws representing many individual phenomena. By
the use of such laws, reasoning from the known to the unknown, laws
may be inferred, the existence of which cannot be sensed directly. By
this method of using human knowledge, man rapidly becomes aware of the
certainty of the great universe that lies around him but beyond his
immediate ken. Moreover, and possibly of chief importance, such
inferred but certain knowledge makes man confident that he can
continue forever in the acquisition of knowledge and power, and it
thus becomes a help in every duty of life.
**Repentance.** Another fundamental requirement of those who enter
the Church is repentance. This is also self-evident, for if man is
convinced of the correctness of a certain procedure, that is, if he
has faith in it, he certainly will use that faith, if it is to become
of any value to him. An active faith is repentance. It is commonly
felt that repentance is only the turning away from evil practices. It
is probably just as important for man to act out the good he learns as
to refrain from doing evil. Repentance, then, is not merely negative;
it is also positive. This also is a general law. Great work can be
done by those only who have faith and who put that faith into action.
**Baptism.** The third requirement of those who desire entrance into
the Church is baptism. The candidate for baptism, presenting himself
to one who has authority from Jesus Christ, is buried in the water and
taken out again, as a symbol of the death and resurrection, the
atoning sacrifice, and the conquest over death, of the Savior. The
ordinance of baptism, as far as man is concerned, is essentially an
acknowledgment of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, a promise of
obedience to the requirements of the Great Plan, and the acceptance of
divine authority. Baptism is also a principle of general application,
for in whatever pursuit a man may be engaged, whether in or out of the
Church, he must first have faith in the work he has to do, then
repent, in the sense of putting his faith into action and, finally, he
must give obedience to the laws involved in the work.
**The Gift of the Holy Ghost.** The fourth condition of Church
membership, which is in the nature of a result of the three first
requirements, is that the candidate receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost. This is accomplished when one having authority places his hands
on the head of the candidate, confirms him a member of the Church, and
says, "Receive the Holy Ghost." This establishes an authoritative
connection between man and God, the Holy Ghost, by which it is
possible to secure, through the active support of the Holy Ghost, more
light and power and confidence than man may secure unaided. Every man
born into the world has life by the holy spirit and may, through its
operations, and his own self-effort, be in communication with all
other intelligent beings in the universe; but, only those who conform
to the first ordinances of the Gospel are connected officially with
the powers of the Holy Ghost in such a way as to secure added help. A
distinct and real power conies to the individual who has received the
Holy Ghost. It is as if he had been given a key to a great and
wonderful building which he enters at his pleasure. However, the key
may be kept unused; then the gift has been of no value. Man must draw
upon the Holy Ghost, if the gift shall be real. The gift of the Holy
Ghost also represents a general law, for it is evident that all who
have faith made active by repentance, and have shown obedience by
baptism, will be in such harmony with intelligent forces as to receive
great light from them if desired or needed.
**Continued Conformity.** It is not sufficient that a man secure
entrance into the Church by compliance with the first four principles
of the Gospel. After he has attained membership he must become active
in the practice of the laws which constitute the body of Church
doctrine, and which are quite as important as the fundamental ones
preceding entrance. Passivity will not suffice; activity only
constitutes an unqualified membership in the Church. The man will be
"in tune" with the work only when he lives out daily the principles of
the Great Plan. This is self-evident, moreover, because the Church has
the mission of bringing the Gospel to the understanding of all men on
earth, and unless the members of the Church are active in missionary
work, they will not acquire the full spirit of the Church.
Unselfishness should characterize the members of the Church.
**Acceptance of Authority.** The conditions of membership here
mentioned are all vital. Nevertheless, in addition to them, candidates
for admission to the Church must acknowledge the full authority of the
Church as a divine institution, to which has been committed, by God,
the authority to act for him in all matters pertaining to the plan of
salvation. Without this authority, the Church is no more than any
man-made institution. The acceptance of authority means that all the
laws of the Gospel must be obeyed, by every member. The law cannot be
varied for individuals, to please their fancies or supposed needs.
This is clearly brought out by the historical fact that Adam, after he
had been taught and had accepted the Gospel, was baptized, confirmed,
and received all the ordinances of the Church. Similarly, Jesus, the
Son of God, began his official labors by being baptized by one having
authority. The pattern has been set for all; and it has been followed
in all dispensations. If men be on the full road of progress they will
comply with the laws of membership, and become active in the support
of the Church and its work.