(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
"LIFE FROM LIFE"--SPIRITUAL LIFE FROM SPIRIT (Continued).
ANALYSIS.
VI. Fundamental Elements in the Spiritual Man that are Absent in the
Natural Man.
VII. Terms Used to Express Elements in Spiritual Man.
VIII. Process of Regeneration in the Individual Man.
IX. Insignificance of the Time Element.
REFERENCES.
The works and Scripture cited in the body of this lesson.
_SPECIAL TEXT: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not
yet appear what we shall he: but we know that, when he shall appear, we
shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." (I John iii:2, 3.)_
DISCUSSION.
_1. The Spiritual Man Contrasted with the Natural:_ If it shall be
asked what it is that constitutes the difference between the natural
man and the spiritual man, the answer, though necessarily brief, can
take on various forms; but in the last analysis it will be found to
consist in one thing: One has been "born again"--"born of the Spirit;"
the other has not. One has received the Holy Ghost; the other has not.
One has the power to "know that Jesus is the Christ," the other has no
such power.[A]
[Footnote A: "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy
Ghost." I Cor. xii:3.]
The body of one is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in him, which
he has of God, and he is God's, in body and in Spirit;[A] the other is
in no such relationship to God.
[Footnote A: I Cor. vi:19, 20.]
One through aceptance of the atonement of the Christ has "access by one
Spirit unto the Father,"[A] the other has not.
[Footnote A: Ephesians ii:18, and context.]
One is "strengthened with might by his [God's] spirit in the inner
man,"[A] the other is not.
[Footnote A: Ibid iii:16.]
One has received the sanctification of the spirit and belief of the
truth;[A] the other has not.
[Footnote A: II Thess. ii:13.]
One knows that he dwells in God and God in him, because God hath given
him of his Spirit;[A] the other has no such witness.
[Footnote A: I John iv:13.]
One is under "the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus," is made
"free from the law of sin and death;" the other is not; "for they that
are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are
after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit; for to be carnally minded
is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."
Paul runs the parallel between the spiritual man and the carnal or
natural man much further and beautifully: "The carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye
are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of
God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is
none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin;
but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of
him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised
up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his
Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not
to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh,
ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they
are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage
again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we
cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit,
that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of
God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him,
that we may be also glorified together."[A]
[Footnote A: Romans viii:1-17.]
_2. The Terms Used to Express the Contrast:_ I have chosen to put
the distinction between the natural man and the spiritual man--the
man unbaptized of the Spirit and the one born of the Spirit--in terms
that include direct reference to the Holy Ghost. It may be put into
terms that refer directly to the Christ, such, for example, as "know
ye not your own selves how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be
reprobates?" This said to those who had received the Gospel.[A] "Your
bodies are members of Christ."[B] "At that day ye shall know that I am
in the Father, and ye in me, and I in you."[C] "I am the vine, ye are
the branches."[D] "I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live; yet
not I, but Christ liveth in me."[E]
[Footnote A: II Cor. xii:5.]
[Footnote B: I Cor. vi:15.]
[Footnote C: St. John xiv:10.]
[Footnote D: St. John xv:4.]
[Footnote E: Gal. ii:20.]
All which, however, amounts to the same thing; viz.,--those born of the
spirit live in God, and God in them. They have received something that
the spiritually unborn have not received; and though they may carry
that precious thing in earthen vessels, yet is it there. There has come
down into such spirit-baptized men a spirit-life which has touched
their souls, and left there a spirit life that is deathless, and will
grow until it conforms the man receiving it to its own image, and
likeness, and quality, unless sinned against to the point of blasphemy.
Of which more later.
_3. The Process of Regeneration:_ "What can be gathered on the
surface as to the process of regeneration in the individual soul,"
asks Henry Drummond. "From the analogies of biology," he continues,
"we should expect three things: First, that the new life should dawn
suddenly; second, that it should come "without observation;" third,
that it should develop gradually. On two of these points there can
be little controversy. The gradualness of growth is a characteristic
which strikes the simplest observer. Long before the word Evolution was
coined Christ applied it in this very connection--"First the blade,
then the ear, then the full corn in the ear." It is well known also to
those who study the parables of nature that there is an ascending scale
of slowness as we rise in the scale of life. Growth is most gradual in
the highest forms. Man attains his maturity after a score of years; the
monad completes its humble cycle in a day. What wonder if development
be tardy in the Creature of Eternity? A Christian's sun has sometimes
set, and a critical world has seen as yet no corn in the ear. As
yet? "As yet," in this long life, has not begun. Grant him the years
proportionate to his place in the scale of life. 'The time of harvest
is not yet!'"
"Again, in addition to being slow, the phenomena of growth are secret.
Life is invisible. When the New Life manifests itself it is a surprise.
Thou canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. When the
plant lives whence has the life come? When it dies whither has it gone?
Thou canst not tell; * * * so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
"Yet once more--and this is a point of strange and frivolous dispute
--this life comes suddenly. This is the only way in which life can
come. Life cannot come gradually--health can, structure can, but
not life. A new theology has laughed at the doctrine of conversion.
Sudden conversion especially has been ridiculed as untrue to
philosophy and impossible to human nature. We may not be concerned
in buttressing any theology because it is old. But we find that this
old theology is scientific. There may be cases--they are probably in
the majority--where the moment of contact with the living spirit,
though sudden, has been obscure. But the real moment and the conscious
moment are two different things. Science pronounces nothing as to the
conscious moment. If it did it would probably say that that was seldom
the real moment--just as in the natural life the conscious moment is
not the real moment. The moment of birth in the natural world is not
a conscious moment--we do not know we are born till long afterward.
Yet there are men to whom the origin of the new life in time has
been no difficulty. To Paul, for instance, Christ seems to have come
at a definite period of time, the exact moment and second of which
could have been known. And this is certainly, in theory at least, the
normal origin of life, according to the principles of biology. The
line between the living and the dead is a sharp line. When the dead
atoms of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, are seized upon by life,
the organism at first is very lowly. It possesses few functions. It
has little beauty. Growth is the work of time. But life is not. That
comes in a moment. At one moment it was dead; the next it lived. This
is conversion, the "passing," as the Bible calls it, "from death unto
life." Those who have stood by another's side at the solemn hour of
this dread possession have been conscious sometimes of an experience
which words are not allowed to utter--a something like the sudden
snapping of a chain, the waking from a dream."[A] And as it is in
death, so it is in life--life comes suddenly; as at the last moment it
departs suddenly.
[Footnote A: "Natural Law in the Spiritual World," pp. 91-94.]
_4. Conformity to Type:_ The Spiritual life of God once
established in man--what then? What is to come of it? "Beloved," said
one of old, "now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be: but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be
like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man who has this
hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."[A] "But we all,
with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit
of the Lord."[B] "And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is
the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints
according to the will of God. * * * For whom he did fore know, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son." All
which means that man receiving into his soul spirit-life from God,
that spirit-life will conform and transform the man receiving it to
itself, until man is brought into perfect union with God.[C] If it
were expressed in terms of biology one would say that the spirit life
imparted to man would conform to its type, making man's spirit conform
to God's spirit, to the type of the Christ.
[Footnote A: I John iii:2, 3.]
[Footnote B: II Cor. iii:18.]
[Footnote C: On this head the Prophet of the New Dispensation of the
Gospel, Joseph Smith, has a fine passage: "If you wish to go where
God is, you must be like God, or possess the principles which God
possesses, for it we are not drawing towards God in principle, we are
going from Him, and drawing towards the devil. . . . A man is saved no
faster than he gets knowledge, for if he does not get knowledge, he
will be brought into captivity by some evil power in the other world,
as evil spirits will have more knowledge, and consequently more power
than many men who are on the earth. Hence it needs revelation to assist
us, and give us knowledge of the things of God." (Minutes of April
Conference, 1842. History of the Church, Vol. IV, p. 588.)]
_5. The Analogy in Natural Life:_ Speaking of this analogy between
the natural and spiritual worlds, in the matter of different kinds of
life conforming to the type, Mr. Drummond says: (But before quoting
let me call attention to what I have before said of using a variant
phraseology on the part of Christian writers whose ideas, in part at
least, we can accept, and the phraseology we of the new dispensation
would use. I have said in subdivision 2 of this Lesson, that the idea
of being born of the spirit may be put in various terms, in terms that
have direct reference to the Holy Ghost, or terms may be used that
refer to the Christ, or the Christ-life, it is in this last form that
Mr. Drummond expresses the idea of the spirit-life in man):
"What goes on then in the animal kingdom is this--the bird-life seizes
upon the bird-germ and builds it up into a bird, the image of itself.
The reptile-life seizes upon another germinal speck, assimilates
surrounding matter, and fashions it into a reptile. The reptile-life
thus simply makes an incarnation of itself. The visible bird is simply
an incarnation of the invisible bird-life.
"Now we are nearing the point where the spiritual analogy appears. It
is a very wonderful analogy, so wonderful that one almost hesitates
to put it into words. Yet Nature is reverent; and it is her voice to
which we listen. These lower phenomena of life, she says, are but
an allegory. There is another kind of life of which science as yet
has taken little cognizance. It obeys the same laws. It builds up an
organism into its own form. It is the Christ-life. As the bird-life
builds up a bird, the image of itself, so the Christ-Life builds up a
Christ, the image of Himself, in the inward nature of man. When a man
becomes a Christian the natural process is this: The living Christ
enters into his soul. Development begins. The quickening life seizes
upon the soul, assimilates surrounding elements, and begins to fashion
it. According to the great law of conformity to type this fashioning
takes a specific form. It is that of the Artist who fashions. And all
through life this wonderful, mystical, glorious, yet perfectly definite
process, goes on "until Christ be formed" in it.
"The Christian life is not a vague effort after righteousness--an
ill-defined pointless struggle for an ill-defined pointless end.
Religion is no disheveled mass of aspiration, prayer, and faith. There
is no more mystery in Religion as to its processes than in Biology.
There is much mystery in Biology. We know all but nothing of life yet,
nothing of development. There is the same mystery in the spiritual
life. But the great lines are the same, as decided, as luminous; and
the laws of natural and spiritual are the same as unerring, as simple.
Will everything else in the natural world unfold its order, and yield
to science more and more a vision of harmony, and religion, which
should complement and perfect all, remain a chaos? From the standpoint
of revelation no truth is more obscure than conformity to type. If
science can furnish a companion phenomenon from an every-day process
of the natural life, it may at least throw this most mystical doctrine
of Christianity into thinkable form. Is there any fallacy in speaking
of the embryology of the new life? Is the analogy invalid? Are there
not vital processes in the spiritual as well as in the natural world?
The bird being an incarnation of the bird-life, may not the Christian
be a spiritual incarnation of the Christ-life? And is there not a real
justification in the processes of the new birth for such a parallel?
"Let us appeal to the record of these processes.
"In what terms does the New Testament describe them? The answer is
sufficiently striking. It uses everywhere the language of biology. It
is impossible that the New Testament writers should have been familiar
with these biological facts. It is impossible that their views of this
great truth should have been as clear as science can make them now.
But they had no alternative. There was no other way of expressing this
truth. It was a biological question. So they struck out unhesitatingly
into the new field of words, and, with an originality which commands
both reverence and surprise, stated their truth with such light, or
darkness, as they had. They did not mean to be scientific, only to be
accurate, and their fearless accuracy has made them scientific.
"What could be more original, for instance, than the Apostle's
reiteration that the Christian was a new creature, a new man, a babe?
Or that this new man was "begotten of God," God's workmanship? And what
could be a more accurate expression of the law of conformity to type
than this: 'Put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the
image of Him that created him?' Or this, 'we are changed into the same
image from glory to glory?' And elsewhere we are expressly told by the
same writer that this conformity is the end and goal of the Christian
life. To work this type in us is the whole purpose of God for man.
'Whom He did foreknow He also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son.'"[A]
[Footnote A: "Natural Law in the Spiritual World," pp. 293-6.]
_6. The End of the Matter--We Shall Be Like Him--Conformed to the
Divine Image:_ That is the end then, for the spiritually born
man--he will be conformed into the image of God--conformed to the type
of the Spirit-life that has taken up his abode in him. How long shall
it take? Who knows? And what shall it matter? The important thing is
that it shall be done. The important thing for us men is that the
spirit-birth takes place; that union with God be formed; the ages may
wait upon the growth, and full fruitage of that event. It may take
aeons of time to make a man, longer to make Super-man; but the eternal
years are his who is born of the Spirit; and again I say the important
thing for us men is to have that Spirit-birth, and then are we sons of
God; and while it doth hot appear what we shall be, for the height and
glory of that is beyond our human vision, ultimately we shall be like
him, and see him as he is, and be conformed to the Christ image, that
is to say, to the Divine nature--unless one shall sin against the Holy
Ghost.
LESSON XXII.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST.
ANALYSIS.
I. Possibility and Enormity of the Sin.
II. The Word of the Christ on the Sin--"Hath Never Forgiveness."
III. "The Sin unto Death"--St. John.
IV. Nature of the Offense--Sin Against Truth and Light--St. Paul.
V. All Sin Dangerous Since it Leads Towards Spiritual Death.
VI. The Punishment and the Sin--High Treason Against God--Spirit-Murder.
REFERENCES.
The works and Scriptures cited in the body of the lesson.
_SPECIAL TEXT: "It is impossible for those who were once enlightened,
* * * if they shall fall away, to renew them again to repentance."
(Hebrews v:4, 6.)_
DISCUSSION.
_1. Possibility and Enormity of the Sin:_ It is possible to so
sin against the Holy Ghost as to forfeit the spiritual life which his
presence in the human soul gives, and that conformation to the Divine
type which his effectual working would otherwise bring to pass. That
being true, the sin against the Holy Ghost must be the most appalling
act that can enter into human experience. Perhaps the most heinous
crime known to human law is the crime of murder, wherein innocent blood
is shed. But that sin which effectually kills spirit-life, which has
for its victim not a human being but a divine being--that overtops in
atrocity any possible physical murder. In this concluding chapter of
our treatise let us contemplate this awful sin--this master crime. And
first let us be sure from the word of God that there is such a sin.
_2. The Teaching of the Christ Upon the Subject:_ According to St.
Matthew Jesus said:
"Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be
forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not
be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of
Man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy
Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world neither in
the world to come."[A]
[Footnote A: St. Matt, xii:31, 32.]
St. Mark puts it in this form: "Verily I say unto you, all sins shall
be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they
shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost
hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation."[A] St.
Luke's version is--"Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man
it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the
Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven."[B]
[Footnote A: St. Mark iii:28, 29.]
[Footnote B: St. Luke xii:10.]
_3. St. John on the Sin Unto Death:_ This represents practical
unanimity in the testimony of these three evangelists upon the subject.
And although St. John has nothing directly upon the subject in his
Gospel, yet in his epistle he has a passage which brings him into
harmony with the others upon the subject: "If a man see his brother
sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give
life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death:[A]
I do not say that he shall pray for that. All unrighteousness is sin
[transgression of the law, ch. iii:4] and there is a sin not unto
death;"[B] but also, as above stated, there is a sin unto death.
[Footnote A: That is, doubtless, a sin which kills the spiritual life
in man; that breaks this union with God--the sin against the Holy Ghost
which men have of God, and they become spiritually dead--and it is
impossible to revive them to life again. (See Heb. vi:6.)]
[Footnote B: John v:16, 17.]
_4. Nature of the Sin--St. Paul:_ Paul in his exposition of this
doctrine, throws some light on the nature of this sin: "Let us go on
unto perfection," is the Apostle's admonition. "Not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of
the doctrine of baptism and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection
of the dead and eternal judgment. And this will we do if God permit.
For," glancing back upon some whe had received these fundamental
principles and ordinances, sinned against them and would fain be
repeating them--"it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,
and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the
Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of
the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto
repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh,
and put him to an open shame. For the earth which drinketh in the rain
that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom
it is dressed, receive the blessing from God: but that which beareth
thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is
to be burned."[A]
[Footnote A: Hebrews vi:1-8.]
From this it appears that the sin against the Holy Ghost is sin against
that enlightenment to the human soul which possession of the Holy Ghost
brings. Sin against knowledge of truth which knowledge was produced in
the very soul of man by witness of the Holy Ghost--is a sin against
light and truth. And "if we sin wilfully after that we have received
the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin,
but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation,
which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law
died without mercy under two or three witnesses; of how much sorer
punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden
under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant,
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite
unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, vengeance
belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, the
Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God."[A]
[Footnote A: Heb. x:26, 31.]
_5. The Path of Danger:_ The "wilful sin" here condemned is, of
course, the "sin unto death," not every sin that one might commit,
though every sin that man commits, small as well as great, is along
the path of danger, and in the direction of, and may lead to, the sin
unto death. The path of safety from the sin unto death lies in the
other direction; not in the way of sinful dalliance, but in a stern
battle for righteousness and against sin. Headed that way, there is no
danger of the "sin unto death;" but every transgression of the law of
righteousness--which is sin[A]--though not a sin unto death, leads
towards the death of the spirit life planted in the soul by the Holy
Ghost--hence to be avoided, shunned. Man must not, even as God does
not, look upon sin with the least degree of allowance in himself,
always it must be abhorred and resisted. In that course and in that
course alone lies safety.
[Footnote A: I John iii:4.]
_6. Joseph Smith on the Sin Against the Holy Ghost:_ The Prophet
Joseph in a discourse at the General Conference of the Church, held at
Nauvoo in 1844, upon this subject of sinning against the Holy Ghost,
said:
"What has Jesus said? All sins, and all blasphemies, and every
transgression, except one, that man can be guilty of, may be forgiven;
and there is a salvation for all men, either in this world or the world
to come, who have not committed the unpardonable sin, there being a
provision either in this world or the world of spirits. Hence God
hath made a provision that every spirit in the eternal world can be
ferreted out and saved unless he has committed that unpardonable sin
which cannot be remitted to him either in this world or the world of
spirits. * * * I said, no man can commit the unpardonable sin after
the dissolution of the body, nor in this life, until he receives the
Holy Ghost; but they must do it in this world. * * * All sins shall
be forgiven, except the sin against the Holy Ghost; for Jesus will
save all except the sons of perdition. What must a man do to commit
the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens
opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against him. After a man
has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He
has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got
to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and
to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it;
and from that time he begins to be an enemy. This is the case with many
apostates of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."[A]
[Footnote A: Improvement Era, Vol. XII, 1909, pp. 185-7.]
_7. The Punishment and the Sin:_ This is in strict harmony with
one of the revelations of the New Dispensation, portraying the future
estates of man in the varying degrees of glory in the Kingdom of God.
Elsewhere[A] I have presented the following digest:[B]
[Footnote A: Outlines of Ecclesiastical History, pp. 419-421, 3rd
edition.]
[Footnote B: The Revelation is in Doc. and Cov., Sec. lxxvi:25-49.]
There is a class of souls with whom the justice of God must deal, which
will not and cannot be classified in the celestial, terrestrial, or
telestial glories. They are the sons of perdition. But though they will
not be assigned a place in either of these grand divisions of glory,
the revelation from which we draw our information respecting man's
future state, describes the condition of these sons of perdition so far
as it is made known unto the children of men. It also informs us as to
the nature of the crime which calls for such grievous punishment.
The sons of perdition are they of whom God hath said that it had been
better for them never to have been born; for they are vessels of wrath,
doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in
eternity. Concerning whom he hath said there is no forgiveness in this
world nor in the world to come. These are they who shall go away into
everlasting punishment, with the devil and his angels, and the only
ones on whom the second death shall have any power; the only ones who
will not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings
of his wrath. He saves all the works of his hands except these sons of
perdition; but they go away to reign with the devil and his angels in
eternity, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched,
which is their torment. The end thereof, the place thereof no man
knoweth. It has not been revealed, nor will it be revealed unto man,
except to them who are made partakers thereof. It has been partially
shown to some in vision, and may be shown again in the same partial
manner to others; but the end, the height, the depth, and the misery
thereof, they understand not, nor will anyone but those who receive the
terrible condemnation.
Such the punishment, now as to the crime that merits it. It is the
crime of high treason to God, which pulls down on men this fearful
doom. It falls upon men who know the power of God and who have been
made partakers of it, and then permit themselves to be so far overcome
of the devil that they deny the truth that has been revealed to them
and defy the power of God. They deny the Holy Ghost after having
received him. They deny the Only Begotten Son of the Father after the
Father hath revealed him, and in this crucify him unto themselves anew,
and put him to an open shame. They commit the same act of high treason
that Lucifer in the rebellion of heaven did, and hence are worthy of
the same punishment with him.
They have crucified not the body of the Lord Jesus, but a spirit which
united with man's spirit which unhindered in its work, would have
conformed man to the Divine image--now, after the sin against the Holy
Ghost, impossible. Spirit murder has been committed--a divinity slain
and the guilty one hath no forgiveness. Thank God the number who commit
that fearful crime is but few. It is only those who attain to a very
great knowledge of the things of God that are capable of committing
it, and the number among such are few indeed who become so recklessly
wicked as to rebel against and defy the power of God. But when such
characters do fall, they fall like Lucifer, never to rise again; they
get beyond the power of repentance or the hope of forgiveness.
APPENDIX.
The next two Lessons I place under the head of "Appendix," because they
open up anew many things treated in the body of the work; and which I
would not again refer to only because of the associations given to them
in the discourses of the great Apostle of the Gentiles, and the greater
Apostle of the New Dispensation. I throw the "Appendix" into the form
of lessons, in the hope that the topics of the respective discourses
will be all the more emphasized and appreciated.
LESSON XXIII.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
PAUL, THE APOSTLE, ON SPIRITUAL GIFTS IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
ANALYSIS
I. Unity of Spirit, but Diversity of Gifts.
II. The Church as an Organism Entitled to the Manifestation of All the
Gifts.
III. Pre-eminence of Charity Over All Other Gifts.
IV. The Gift of Prophecy Preferable to the Gift of Tongues.
V. Decency and Order to Be Observed in All Things.
REFERENCES.
These three chapters in Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians
(Chapters xii, xiii, xiv), and the New Testament, passim, for what
others have said on Spiritual Gifts.
_SPECIAL TEXT: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels
and have not charity I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling
cymbal." (I Cor. viii:1.)_
DISCUSSION.
_1. The Holy Ghost, the Source of Knowledge of the Christ:_ "Now
concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye
know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as
ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking
by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say
that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
_2. Diversity of Manifestation, but One Spirit:_ "Now there are
diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences
of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of
operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another
the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the
same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to
another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another
discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another
the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the
selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."
_3. The Oneness of the Church, Though Made Up of Many Members:_
"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members
of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by
one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or
Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink
into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the
foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is
it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am
not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If
the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were
hearing where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every
one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all
one member, where were the body? But now are they many members, yet
but one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need
of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay,
much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are
necessary: And those members of the body, which we think to be less
honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely
parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need:
but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant
honor to that part which lacked: That there should be no schism in the
body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one
member be honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body
of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the
church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after
that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities
of tongues. Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are
all workers of miracles? have all the gifts of healing? do all speak
with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the best gifts: and
yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."
_4. The Vanity of Gifts Without Charity:_ "Though I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I
have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity,
I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and
though I give my body to be turned, and have not charity, it profiteth
me nothing."
_5. The Excellence and Qualities of Charity:_ "Charity suffereth
long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is
not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,
is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity,
but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but
whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues,
they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is
perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When
I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought
as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For
now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I
know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now
abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is
charity."
_6. The Gift of Prophecy More Excellent than the Gift of Tongues:_
"Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye
may prophesy. For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not
unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the
spirit he speaketh mysteries. But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men
to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. He that speaketh in an
unknown tongue edifieth himself; but he that prophesieth edifieth the
church."
_7. The Uncertainty of Tongues:_ "I would that ye all spake
with tongues but rather that ye prophesied: for greater is he that
prophesieth than he that speaketh with tongues, except he interpret,
that the church may receive edifying. Now, brethren, if I come unto you
speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you, except I shall speak
to you either by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying, or by
doctrine? And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or
harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be
known what is piped or harped? For if the trumpet give an uncertain
sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?"
_8. Paul's Choice of Gifts:_ "So likewise ye, except ye utter by
the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what
is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air. There are, it may be,
so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without
signification. Therefore if I know not the meaning of the voice, I
shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian, and he that speaketh shall
be a barbarian unto me. Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of
spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church.
Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may
interpret. For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but
my understanding is unfruitful. What is it then? I will pray with the
spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with
the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. Else when thou
shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of
the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth
not what thou sayest? For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other
is not edified. I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:
Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding,
that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in
an unknown tongue."
_9. Confusion Likely to Come of the Gift of Tongues:_ "Brethren,
be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but
in understanding be men. In the law it is written, With men of other
tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all
that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for
a sign, not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but
prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which
believe. If therefore the whole church be come together into one place,
and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned,
or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad? But if all prophesy,
and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is
convinced of all, he is judged of all: And thus are the secrets of his
heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship
God, and report that God is in you of a truth."
_10. The Things that Make for Edification:_ "How is it then,
brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath
a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation.
Let all things be done unto edifying. If any man speak in an unknown
tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course;
and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep
silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God. Let
the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge. If any thing
be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be
comforted. And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace..."
_11. Decency and Order Enjoined:_ "If any man think himself to
be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that
I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be
ignorant, let him be ignorant. Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy,
and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently
and in order."
LESSON XXIV.
(Scripture Reading Exercise.)
THE PROPHET JOSEPH SMITH ON THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST.[A]
ANALYSIS.
I. Conflicting Opinions of Men on the Subject, Due to the Absence of
Revelation.
II. Extravagant Expectations Reproved.
III. All the Gifts Distributed Within the Church.
IV. Manifestation of Spiritual Gifts Not Always Outwardly Discernable.
V. Admonition as to Seeking Spiritual Gifts.
REFERENCES.
The citations of Scripture in the body of this lesson.
_SPECIAL TEXT: "Follow after charity, desire spiritual gifts, but
rather that ye prophesy." (Paul--I Cor. xiv:1.)_
[Footnote A: The matter used in the "Discussion" is an editorial from
the Times and Seasons of the 15th of June, 1842; and if not written by
the Prophet was at least published with his sanction and approval. In
his Journal History, the Prophet introduces the article as follows:
"Issued an editorial on the 'Gift of the Holy Ghost,' as follows."
(History of the Church, Vol. V, p. 26, et seq.) The side headings are
not part of the original editorial.]
DISCUSSION.
_1. Not Every Supernatural Manifestation of God:_ "Various and
conflicting are the opinions of men in regard to the gift of the Holy
Ghost. Some people have been in the habit of calling every supernatural
manifestation the effects of the Spirit of God, whilst there are others
that think there is no manifestation [i. e., of God] connected with it
at all; and that it is nothing but a mere impulse of the mind, or an
inward feeling, impression, or secret testimony or evidence, which men
possess, and that there is no such a thing as an outward manifestation.
"It is not to be wondered at that men should be ignorant, in a great
measure, of the principles of salvation, and more especially of the
nature, office, power, influence, gifts, and blessings of the gift
of the Holy Ghost; when we consider that the human family have been
enveloped in gross darkness and ignorance for many centuries past,
without revelation, or any just criterion [by which] to arrive at a
knowledge of the things of God, which can only be known by the Spirit
of God. Hence it not infrequently occurs, that when the Elders of this
Church preach to the inhabitants of the world, that if they obey the
Gospel they shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, that the people
expect to see some wonderful manifestation, some great display of
power, or some extraordinary miracle performed; and it is often the
case that young members of this Church for want of better information,
carry along with them their old notions of things, and sometimes fall
into egregious errors. We have lately had some information concerning a
few members that are in this dilemma, and for their information make a
few remarks upon the subject.
_2. Priesthood and Church Organization Ineffective without the Holy
Ghost:_ "We believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost being enjoyed now,
as much as it was in the Apostles' days; we believe that it [the gift
of the Holy Ghost] is necessary to make and to organize the Priesthood,
that no man can be called to fill any office in the ministry without
it;[A] we also believe in prophecy, in tongues, in visions, and in
revelations, in gifts, and in healings; and that these things cannot be
enjoyed without the gift of the Holy Ghost. We believe that the holy
men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, and that holy
men in these days speak by the same principle; we believe in its being
a comforter and a witness bearer, that it brings things past to our
remembrance, leads us into all truth, and shows us of things to come;
we believe that 'no man can know that Jesus is the Christ, but by the
Holy Ghost.' We believe in it [this gift of the Holy Ghost] in all its
fullness, and power, and greatness, and glory; but whilst we do this,
we believe in it rationally, consistently, and scripturally, and not
according to the wild vagaries, foolish notions and traditions of men.
[Footnote A: See Book of Moroni chapter iii. "And after this manner did
they ordain priests and teachers, according to the gifts and callings
of God unto men; and they ordained them by the power of the Holy Ghost
which was in them."]
_3. Man's Inclination to Run to Extremes:_ "The human family
are very apt to run to extremes, especially in religious matters,
and hence people in general, either want some miraculous display, or
they will not believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost at all. If an
Elder lays his hands upon a person, it is thought by many that the
person must immediately rise and speak in tongues and prophesy; this
idea is gathered from the circumstance of Paul laying his hands upon
certain individuals who had been previously [as they stated] baptized
unto John's baptism; which when he had done, they 'spake in tongues
and prophesied.' Philip also, when he had preached the Gospel to the
inhabitants of the city of Samaria, sent for Peter and John, who when
they came laid their hands upon them for the gift of the Holy Ghost;
for as yet he was fallen upon none of them; and when Simon Magus saw
that through the laying on of the Apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was
given, he offered them money that he might possess the same power.
[Acts viii.] These passages are considered by many as affording
sufficient evidence for some miraculous, visible manifestation,
whenever hands are laid on for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
_4. Diversity of Gifts:_ "We believe that the Holy Ghost is
imparted by the laying on of hands of those in authority, and that the
gift of tongues, and also the gift of prophesy are gifts of the Spirit,
and are obtained through that medium; but then to say that men always
prophesied and spoke in tongues when they had the imposition of hands,
would be to state that which is untrue, contrary to the practice of
the Apostles, and at variance with holy writ; for Paul says, 'To one
is given the gift of tongues, to another the gift of prophecy, and
to another the gift of healing;" and again: 'Do all prophesy? do all
speak with tongues? do all interpret?' evidently showing that all did
not possess these several gifts; but that one received one gift, and
another received another gift--all did not prophesy, all did not speak
in tongues, all did not work miracles; but all did receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost; sometimes they spake in tongues and prophesied in
the Apostles' days, and sometimes they did not. The same is the case
with us also in our administrations, while more frequently there is no
manifestation at all; that is visible to the surrounding multitude;
this will appear plain when we consult the writings of the apostles,
and notice their proceedings in relation to this matter. Paul, in I
Cor. xii, says, 'Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would
not have you ignorant;' it is evident from this, that some of them
were ignorant in relation to these matters, or they would not need
instruction.
_5. Spiritual Gifts to be Sought After:_ "Again, in chapter xiv,
he says, 'Follow after charity and desire spiritual gifts, but rather
that ye may prophesy.' It is very evident from these Scriptures that
many of them had not spiritual gifts, for if they had spiritual gifts
where was the necessity of Paul telling them to follow after them,
and it is as evident that they did not all receive those gifts by the
imposition of the hands; for they as a Church had been baptized and
confirmed by the laying on of hands--and yet to a Church of this kind,
under the immediate inspection and superintendency of the Apostles,
it was necessary for Paul to say, 'Follow after charity, and desire
spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy,' evidently showing
that those gifts were in the Church, but not enjoyed by all in their
outward manifestations.
"But suppose the gifts of the Spirit were immediately, upon the
imposition of hands, enjoyed by all, in all their fullness and power;
the skeptic would still be as far from receiving any testimony except
upon a mere casualty as before, for all the gifts of the Spirit are not
visible to the natural vision, or understanding of man: indeed very
few of them are. We read that 'Christ ascended into heaven and gave
gifts unto men; and Me gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some
Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers.' [Eph. iv.]
_6. Diversity of Spiritual Gifts:_ "The Church is a compact body
composed of different members, and is strictly analogous to the human
system, and Paul, after speaking of the different gifts, says, 'Now ye
are the body of Christ and members in particular; and God hath set some
in the Church, first Apostles, secondarily Prophets, thirdly Teachers,
after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, governments,
diversities of tongues. Are all Teachers? Are all workers of miracles?
Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?' It is evident that they
do not; yet are they all members of one body. All members of the
natural body are not the eye, the ear, the head or the hand--yet the
eye cannot say to the ear I have no need of thee, nor the head to the
foot, I have no need of thee; they are all so many component parts in
the perfect machine--the one body; and if one member suffer, the whole
of the members suffer with it: and if one member rejoice, all the rest
are honored with it.
"These, then, are all gifts; they come from God; they are of God; they
are all the gifts of the Holy Ghost; they are what Christ ascended
into heaven to impart; and yet how few of them could be known by the
generality of men. Peter and John were Apostles, yet the Jewish court
scourged them as imposters. Paul was both an Apostle and Prophet, yet
they stoned him and put him into prison. The people knew nothing about
it, although he had in his possession the gift of the Holy Ghost Our
Savior was 'anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows,' yet
so far from the people knowing Him, they said He was Beelzebub, and
crucified Him as an imposter. Who could point out a Pastor, a Teacher,
or an Evangelist by their appearance, yet had they the gift of the Holy
Ghost?
_7. Spiritual Gifts Not Always Outwardly Discernible:_ "But to
come to the other members of the Church, and examine the gifts as
spoken of by Paul, and we shall find that the world can in general
know nothing about them, and that there is but one or two that
could be immediately known, if they were all poured out immediately
upon the imposition of hands. In I Cor. xii, Paul says, 'There are
diversities of gifts yet the same spirit, and there are differences
of administrations but the same Lord; and there are diversities of
operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the
manifestations of the Spirit is given unto every man to profit withal.
For to one is given, by the Spirit, the word of wisdom, to another,
the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith, by the
same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing, by the same Spirit; to
another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another the
discerning of spirits; to another divers kind of tongues; to another
the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh that one and the
self same spirit, dividing to each man severally as he will.'
"There are several gifts mentioned here, yet which of them all could
be known by an observer at the imposition of hands? The word of
wisdom, and the word of knowledge, are as much gifts as any other, yet
if a person possessed both of these gifts, or received them by the
imposition of hands, who would know it? Another might receive the gift
of faith, and they would be as ignorant of it. Or suppose a man had
the gift of healing or power to work miracles, that would not then be
known; it would require time and circumstances to call these gifts into
operation. Suppose a man had the discerning of spirits, who would be
the wiser for it? Or if he had the interpretation of tongues, unless
someone spoke in an unknown tongue, he of course would have to be
silent; there are only two gifts that could be made visible--the gift
of tongues and the gift of prophecy. These are things that are the most
talked about, and yet if a person spoke in an unknown tongue, according
to Paul's testimony, he would be a barbarian to those present. They
would say that it was gibberish; and if he prophesied they would call
it nonsense. The gift of tongues is the smallest gift perhaps of the
whole, and yet it is one that is the most sought after.
"So that according to the testimony of Scripture and the manifestations
of the Spirit in ancient days, very little could be known about it by
the surrounding multitude, except on some extraordinary occasion, as on
the day of Pentecost.
"The greatest, the best, and the most useful gifts would be known
nothing about by an observer. It is true that a man might prophesy,
which is a great gift, and one that Paul told the people--the
Church--to seek after and to covet, rather than to speak in tongues;
but what does the world know about prophesying? Paul says that it
'serveth only to those that believe.' But does not the Scriptures
say that they spake in tongues and prophesied? Yes; but who is it
that writes these Scriptures? Not the men of the world or mere casual
observers, but the Apostles--men who knew one gift from another, and
of course were capable of writing about it; if we had the testimony of
the Scribes and Pharisees concerning the outpouring of the Spirit on
the day of Pentecost, they would have told us that it was no gift, but
that the people were 'drunken with new wine,' and we shall finally have
to come to the same conclusion that Paul did--'No man knows the things
of God but by the Spirit of God;' for with the great revelations of
Paul when he was caught up into the third heaven and saw things that
were not lawful to utter, no man was apprised of it until he mentioned
it himself fourteen years after: and when John had the curtains of
heaven withdrawn, and by vision looked through the dark vista of future
ages, and contemplated events that should transpire throughout every
subsequent period of time, until the final winding up scene--while he
gazed upon the glories of the eternal world, saw an innumerable company
of angels and heard the voice of God--it was in the Spirit, on the
Lord's day, unnoticed and unobserved by the world.
"The manifestations of the gift of the Holy Ghost, the ministering of
angels, or the development of the power, majesty or glory of God were
very seldom manifested publicly, and that generally to the people of
God, as to the Israelites; but most generally when angels have come,
or God has revealed Himself, it has been to individuals in private, in
their chamber; in the wilderness or fields, and that generally without
noise or tumult. The angel delivered Peter out of prison in the dead
of night; came to Paul unobserved by the rest of the crew; appeared to
Mary and Elizabeth without the knowledge of others; spoke to John the
Baptist whilst the people around were ignorant of it.
"When Elisha saw the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof,
it was unknown to others. When the Lord appeared to Abraham it was
at his tent door; when the angels went to Lot, no person knew them
but himself, which was the case probably with Abraham and his wife;
when the Lord appeared to Moses, it was in the burning bush, in the
tabernacle, or in the mountain top; when Elijah was taken in a chariot
of fire, it was unobserved by the world; and when he was in a cleft
of rock, there was loud thunder, but the Lord was not in the thunder;
there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and
then there was a still small voice, which was the voice of the Lord,
saying, 'What doest thou hear, Elijah?'
_8. An Admonition to Righteousness:_ "The Lord cannot always be
known by the thunder of His voice, by the display of His glory or by
the manifestation of His power; and those that are the most anxious to
see these things, are the least prepared to meet them, and were the
Lord to manifest His power as He did to the children of Israel, such
characters would be the first to say, 'Let not the Lord speak any more,
lest we His people die.'
"We would say to the brethren, seek to know God in your closets, call
upon him in the fields. Follow the directions of the Book of Mormon,
and pray over, and for your families, your cattle, your flocks, your
herds, your corn, and all things that you possess; ask the blessing
of God upon all your labors, and everything that you engage in. Be
virtuous and pure; be men of integrity and truth; keep the commandments
of God; and then you will be able more perfectly to understand the
difference between right and wrong--between the things of God and the
things of men; and your path will be like that of the just, which
shineth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.
"Be not so curious about tongues, do not speak in tongues except
there be an interpreter present; the ultimate design of tongues is to
speak to foreigners, and if persons are very anxious to display their
intelligence, let them speak to such in their own tongues. The gifts of
God are all useful in their place, but when they are applied to that
which God does not intend, they prove an injury, a snare and a curse
instead of a blessing."