FAITH.
It is now my purpose to enter into a more particular consideration of
the respective principles and ordinances which constitute the Gospel,
or plan of man's salvation.
First in order, both from necessity and because of its importance, is
the principle of faith. And following the same method of investigation
I adopted at the commencement of this inquiry, _viz_: defining as clearly
as I am able, the meaning of the words and terms used, I come to the
question. What is faith? And in answer say that it is an assurance in
the mind of the existence and reality of things which one has not seen,
or which to him have not been demonstrated. It may be an assurance in
the mind of the existence of some Being whom we have not seen, but
whose works are visible, and who has been seen by others; or it may be
of the transpiring of some event at which we were not present, but of
which others bear witness; or it may be an assurance of the correctness
of certain deductions based upon scientific calculations, though the
principles of the science, and the method of dealing with them, by
which the conclusions are reached, we neither understand nor are able
to follow; in whatever it may be, that assurance of the mind which
accepts as truth those things which one has not seen, and does not
know for a certainty from his own experience to be absolutely true, is
faith. For example, to bring to our aid the assistance of illustration,
few, perhaps none of my readers have ever seen the Lord Jesus Christ;
yet the writers of the New Testament bear testimony to the reality of
his existence, and relate the circumstances which make up his eventful
career. The writers of the Book of Mormon do the same in relation to
his labors on the western hemisphere Joseph Smith testifies that, in
vision, he saw both Jesus and his Father, in the spring of 1820.[A]
Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon bear record that they saw him in
February, 1832;[B] and Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith say they saw him
in the Kirtland Temple, in April, 1836.[C] These evidences establish an
assurance, or faith, in the mind, concerning the existence of Jesus,
the Lord.
[Footnote A: Pearl of Great Price, p. 59.]
[Footnote B: Doc. and Cov., sec. 76.]
[Footnote C: Doc. and Cov., sec. 110.]
Again, none of us, and perhaps no one living, was at the battle of
Waterloo; yet the fact of that battle taking place is testified to
by many historians; no one doubts it, and the evidence in the case
is so certain, that one may say he has perfect faith or assurance,
approaching almost within the lines of absolute knowledge, that the
event transpired--that assurance in the mind is faith.
Still another illustration: Mathematicians claim that they can weigh
the earth, and measure the distance between our planet and the sun.
One may not be acquainted with the methods of their calculations,
or the principles involved in them, yet such is the character and
learning of the thoughtful men who make the claim, that we accept
their statements and conclusions as true, though we may not be able
ourselves to comprehend the science which reveals to them, perhaps to
the certainty of demonstration, these facts:--this confidence in their
statements--this assurance of the mind, is faith.
Other elements enter into this principle, but at this stage of our
investigation, I desire to present the subject in its simple rather
than in its complex character.
A step further in the investigation of this principle brings us to the
consideration of the facts upon which faith rests, or from which it
springs. I think a careful reading of the remarks already made in this
chapter will lead the reader to see that faith is based upon evidence,
upon testimony. It is the evidence we have in the testimonies of the
writers of our Scripture, and the prophets of God to which I have
alluded, supported to some extent also by the glorious works of nature,
that creates in the mind faith in the existence of God. That Paul held
these views, that is, that faith is based upon evidence, is clearly
seen in this passage: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved. How, then, shall they call on him in whom they
have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have
not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall
they preach except they be sent? So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God;"[D] or, in plainer terms--"faith cometh by
hearing the word of God."[E]
[Footnote D: Rom. x: 13-17.]
[Footnote E: I understand that such is the rendering of this
passage--Rom. x: 17--by the Prophet Joseph.]
Faith is based upon evidence, then, and here I would remark, that the
faith will be true or false according as the evidence or testimony is
truthful or untruthful. Evidence is to faith what the fountain is to
the stream; and as an impure fountain cannot send forth pure streams,
so incorrect evidence cannot establish a true or profitable faith.
By way of illustration I borrow the following from the Works of Orson
Pratt:
"When Europeans first began their explorations in the New World, the
Indians whom they met were much amazed at the power and explosive
properties of gun-powder, and asked many questions respecting the
manner in which it was produced. The Europeans, taking advantage of
the ignorance of the savages, and seeing an opportunity to increase
their wealth by the deception, told the Indians that it was the seed
of a plant which grew in the lands they had come from, and doubtless
it would thrive in their land also. The Indians, of course, believed
this statement and purchased the supposed seed, giving in exchange for
it large quantities of gold. In implicit faith they carefully planted
the supposed seed, and anxiously watched for its sprouting and the
appearance of the plant; but it never came. They had faith in the
statements made to them by the Europeans, but as these statements were
false, and therefore the evidence on which the Indians based their
belief untrue, their faith was vain."
Thus must it ever be. Only correct evidence, only truthful testimony
can produce fruitful, profitable faith. No matter how sincere one's
belief may be in an error, that will not transform the error into
truth. The sincere faith of the Indians in what the Europeans had said
about the "gun-powder seed" did not make that substance produce a plant
yielding gun-powder. And so faith in false doctrines, founded upon
false testimony, cannot savor of salvation.
It is also worthy of note, in passing, that the character and intensity
of the faith depends largely upon the quality and quantity of the
evidence. If a credible witness testifies to any matter of fact,
however strange or unusual the fact may be, one would have some degree
of faith in it; but if another witness to the fact, equally credible
with the first, also testifies to the same thing, one's faith would
be greatly increased; and so as the evidence was multiplied the faith
would grow, until at last faith would become so perfect that it would
pass almost into the domain of knowledge.
So much for faith in general. Now to consider it as a principle
of revealed religion. Here it occupies a prominent place. It is
the foundation on which religion rests, and the source of all
righteousness. In religion, it is in God that faith centers; it is to
him that religious faith directs the eyes of man, and bids him hope
through Christ to obtain eternal life. And as this is the primary
principle in religion, it is my purpose to show from the Scriptures
that there is an abundance of evidence which, if carefully considered,
will not fail to produce faith in the mind of him who is desirous to
know the truth as to the existence of God, the divinity of Christ's
mission and the truth of the Gospel.
Before I proceed with that investigation from the Scriptures, however,
I think it will be profitable to inquire briefly into the authenticity
and credibility of the Scriptures themselves; that is, as to the
Jewish Scriptures; for I consider such an inquiry respecting our
other Scriptures, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and the
revelations contained in the Pearl of Great Price, as altogether
unnecessary here.
The reason that I undertake to devote several chapters to this
inquiry, is because some have supposed that the testimony of the Bible
respecting God is so far imperfect that it is scarcely reliable. And
to the extent of my ability, I desire to check a growing skepticism
in relation to the Bible, and therefore will endeavor to prove that
not only are the revelations contained in the Bible sufficient to
lay a sure foundation for an intelligent belief in God, but that the
Bible itself is both authentic and credible. I must ask my readers to
remember, however, that this of itself is a subject for a volume, and
I can but devote a few pages to it; and therefore ask that too much be
not expected.