A MISSIONARY CHURCH.
There must be, in every organization, and especially in a Church
dedicated to the great philosophy of man's place in the universe, a
great cementing purpose. In the Church of Christ this is the desire to
bring about the highest joy for all mankind.
**A Church with a Purpose.** According to the fundamental doctrines
elaborated in previous chapters, the purpose of the earth-career is to
assist in man's development, so that he may acquire more power and
therefore more joy. In the nature of things, as already explained, it
is impossible for an intelligent being to rise to the highest degree
of joy unless other like beings move along with him. The Great Plan
will be successful only if all or at least a majority of those who
accepted it are saved. The Church, a feature of the Great Plan, must
have the same main purpose. All must be saved! In fact, the work of
the Church cannot be completed until all have at least heard the
truth. There can be no talk of a few saved souls at the throne of God,
with the many in hell. The great mission of the Church must be to
bring all men into the truth. This is the cementing purpose of the
Church.
**The Hope of Today.** However, men are not saved merely by being
taught the truth. They must live it in their daily lives. Life,
indeed, is an endless succession of days, each of which must be a
little larger in development than the preceding one. Each day must be
well spent. The Church must help, every day, in all the affairs of the
day, from the food man eats to his highest spiritual thought. Each day
must be a step onward to the eternal exaltation which he desires. This
is the hope of today. To help in this daily work is one of the main
parts of the missionary labors of the Church. All the days of all the
members must be made happy ones.
**Temporal Salvation.** In a church based on the principles already
outlined there can be no separation between the spiritual and the
temporal. There is one universe, of many aspects, to which we belong.
There is one Great Plan for us. In the heavens, spiritual things are
probably of greatest importance, but on earth, temporal things are of
importance. The impossibility of separating things temporal from
things spiritual justifies the attempt of the Church to assist in the
temporal affairs of its members. In fact, a large part of the
missionary labors of the Church must be to better the temporal
conditions of its members. Only when the temporal as well as the
spiritual life is looked after, can the Church rise to its full
opportunity. Only in sound bodies can the spirit experience the
highest joy. Only under sound temporal conditions can the Church move
on in full gladness.
**The Foreign Mission System.** In conformity with the cementing
missionary spirit of a church, every member of which holds or may hold
the Priesthood, it follows that every member of the Church, whether
man or woman, may be called to go on a spiritual or temporal mission
for the upbuilding of his fellowmen. In harmony with the law of free
agency, it is voluntary with the individual, whether he accept or
refuse the call. The custom in the Church of today has been that a man
go on at least one mission, which varies in length, two or more years.
The missionaries not only assist the members already gathered into the
Church, but they travel all over the world, preach to all the
everlasting Gospel, and bring those who accept the truth into the
Church. The main purpose of the Church missionary system is to preach
the Gospel to all the members of the human race, so that, as far as
possible, none may be left with the excuse that he has not heard the
Gospel.
**The Home Mission Service.** The whole Church, at home, is devoted
to the home mission service. The organizations of the Priesthood and
the auxiliary organizations, form a network of active service into
which every member of the Church may be brought. The home missionary
service concerns itself with the spiritual and the temporal side of
man's nature and life. The amusements of the young people; the home
life of the older people, and the daily duties of all, are made part
and parcel of the organized missionary system of the Church.
**For the Common Good.** The genius of the Church of Christ stands
for the common good; hence the ceaseless missionary activity which is
the great cementing principle of the Church. Not for the one, not even
for the many, but for all, does the Church stand.