FAITH.--THE CHARACTER OF GOD.
Although belief in the fact that God exists is of first importance, it
is not all that is necessary to an intelligent faith. It is the primary
element, perhaps, but there are others in addition to that which are
needful to a rational exercise of faith--such an exercise of faith that
will lead to eternal salvation in God's Kingdom. Something must be
known of the character of God, of his attributes; for I hold this truth
to be self-evident, that without some knowledge of God's character men
cannot intelligently exercise faith in him. Without that knowledge
faith will ever be imperfect, unsatisfactory, weak and comparatively
unfruitful. Hence, we next proceed to inquire into the character of
Deity, as he has revealed it to his children; and as we are dependent
upon revelation for the knowledge of God's existence, so are we
dependent upon revelation for what knowledge we have of his character.
But before I proceed immediately to inquire into the character of the
Deity, I think it necessary to remark that men, who exercise faith
in God, must not only believe that he is, but recognize him as the
creative power by whom all things are made and sustained; that they
recognize him as the Supreme Ruler of the universe. As I understand it,
that much is implied in the term God. Indeed, unless God is regarded
as the supreme governing power, men could not center their faith in
him for life and salvation. For if the idea existed that his power was
not supreme, absolute--fear would be engendered in the hearts of men
that there existed still other powers who would overturn his purposes,
and prevent a fulfillment of his promises; and where such fear exists
there faith cannot be perfected. There is abundant testimony in the
scriptures, however, which proves God to be the creator and sustainer
of all things that exist, and the supreme power of the universe. In
proof of this I quote the following: "Before the mountains were brought
forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from
everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."[A] "And thou. Lord, in the
beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are
the works of thy hands: they shall perish; but thou remainest; and they
shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them
up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years
shall not fail."[B]
[Footnote A: Psalms xc: 2.]
[Footnote B: Heb. i: 10-12.]
The scriptures, however, are more specific than this as to the works of
creation in connection with our earth and the heavens connected with
it. It is written: "God * * * hath in these last days spoken unto us by
his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, _by whom also he
made the worlds_."[C]
[Footnote C: Heb. i: 1, 2.]
From this it appears that God through and by Jesus Christ created the
worlds, not only one world, but doubtless many; and this agrees with
a number of other scriptures. The apostle John says, in opening his
Gospel--in plain allusion to Christ: "All things were made by him; and
without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and
the life was the light of men."[D] Paul also says: "But to us there
is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him;
and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."[E]
"And hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, * * * who is
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature; for
by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers: All things were created by him, and for him:
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is
the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn
from the dead, that in all things he might have the pre-eminence. For
it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell."[F]
[Footnote D: John i: 3, 4.]
[Footnote E: I. Cor. viii: 6.]
[Footnote F: Col. i: 13-19.]
It was doubtless these considerations which led President Young to
say: "Christ is the author of this earth, of men and women, of all the
posterity of Adam and Eve, and of every living creature that lives upon
the face of the earth, that flies in the heavens, that swims in the
waters, or dwells in the field. Christ is the author of salvation to
all this creation, to all things pertaining to this terrestrial globe
we occupy."[G]
[Footnote G: Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, p. 80.]
Christ being, under the direction of the Father the Creator and
Redeemer of the earth, he and his Father have a proprietorship in this
earth, and by virtue of that are the Supreme Governing Power in it. The
Lord Jesus Christ, under directions from his Father, created it; he
then redeemed it by his own suffering; he is now, and has been from the
beginning, watching over it; and will yet sanctify it, and present it
to the Father a glorious, celestial sphere to be added to the redeemed
and glorified kingdoms of God. "Remember the former things of old,"
saith the Lord through Isaiah, "for I am God and there is none else; I
am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying my
counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure."[H]
[Footnote H: Isaiah xlvi, 8-10.]
From the scriptures, then, we get abundant evidence that God is the
creator of, and the power that sustains the heavens and the earth, and
the Supreme Ruler of them; so that no fear need exist in the mind of
any who put their trust in God, that other powers will or can thwart
his purposes, for having all power in heaven and in earth, he is able
to fulfill his promises.
I now come to the character of the Deity, as we have it revealed to us
in the scriptures. The references I make are brief, though sufficient,
I hope, for my purpose. I assure my readers, however, that they may be
indefinitely extended, as the scriptures are replete with such passages.
Moses says: "And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, the
Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant
in goodness and truth."[I] "The Lord executeth righteousness and
judgment for all that are oppressed. He made known his ways unto
Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful
and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. But the mercy of
the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him,
and his righteousness unto children's children; to such as keep his
covenants and to those that remember his commandments to do them."[J]
[Footnote I: Exodus xxxiv: 6.]
[Footnote J: Psalms ciii: 6, 7, 8, 17, 18.]
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning."[K] "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye
sons of Jacob are not consumed."[L] "For God doth not walk in crooked
paths, neither does he turn to the right hand nor to the left, or vary
from that which he has said, therefore his paths are straight, and his
course is one eternal round."[M] "Listen to the voice of the Lord your
God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is
one eternal round, the same today as yesterday and forever."[N]
[Footnote K: James i: 17.]
[Footnote L: Mai. iii: 6.]
[Footnote M: Doc. and Cov., sec, iii: 2.]
[Footnote N: Doc and Cov., sec. xxxv: 1.]
"God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that
he should repent."[O] "Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast
redeemed me, O Lord God of Truth."[P] "He is the rock, his work is
perfect; for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth and without
iniquity, just and right is he."[Q]
[Footnote O: Numbers xxiii: 19]
[Footnote P: Psalms xxxi: 5.]
[Footnote Q: Deut. xxxii: 4.]
Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every
nation he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with
him.[R]
[Footnote R: Acts x: 34, 35.]
"He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love: * * * and he
that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."[S] "For God
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth on him should not perish but have everlasting life."[T]
[Footnote S: John iv: 8-16.]
[Footnote T: John iii: 16.]
I can think of no greater evidence of God's love than that exhibited
in the act of permitting his Son, Jesus Christ, to come to the earth
and suffer as he did for the sins of the world, that they might not
suffer if they would but conform to his laws and thus accept the terms
of salvation. It would seem, too, that the same attribute of love
exists in the breast of the Son, for the sacrifice he made for the
redemption of the world was a voluntary act. He was not compelled to
make the atonement, but of his own free will he volunteered to become
our ransom.[U]
[Footnote U: Pearl of Great Price, p. 41]
He himself testified: "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay
down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but
I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power
to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father."[V]
[Footnote V: John x: 17, 18.]
Thus, the atonement of Jesus, for the children of men, was a voluntary
act; and his death and suffering for the world, was the strongest
expression of his love it is possible to conceive--"Greater love hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
From the foregoing testimonies we learn the following things respecting
the character of God.
"First, that he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abundant
in goodness, and that he was so from everlasting, and will be so to
everlasting.
"Secondly, that he changes not, neither is there variableness with him;
but that he is the same from everlasting to everlasting, being the
same yesterday, today, and forever, and that his course is one eternal
round, without variation.
"Thirdly, that he is a God of truth and cannot lie.
"Fourthly, that he is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he
who fears God and works righteousness is accepted of him.
"Fifthly, that he is love."[W]
[Footnote W: I quote the above paragraphs from the III. Lecture on
Faith, Doc. and Cov.]
I conclude this chapter with the remarks made upon these attributes of
Deity, to be found in one of the lectures on faith in the Doctrine and
Covenants:
"An acquaintance with these attributes in the divine character, is
essentially necessary, in order that the faith of any rational being
can center in him for life and salvation. For unless he was merciful
and gracious, slow to anger, long suffering and full of goodness,
such is the weakness of human nature, and so great the frailties
and imperfections of men, that unless they believed that these
excellencies existed in the divine character, the faith necessary to
salvation could not exist; for doubt would take the place of faith,
and those who know their weakness and liability to sin, would be in
constant doubt of salvation, if it were not for the idea which they
have of the excellency of the character of God, that he is slow to
anger and long suffering, and of a forgiving disposition, and does
forgive iniquity, transgression and sin. An idea of these facts does
away doubt, and makes faith exceedingly strong.
"But it is equally as necessary that men should have the idea that
he is a God who changes not, in order to have faith in him, as it is
to have the idea that he is gracious and long suffering; for without
the idea of unchangeableness in the character of the Deity, doubt
would take the place of faith. But with the idea that he changes not,
faith lays hold upon the excellencies in his character with unshaken
confidence, believing he is the same yesterday, today and forever, and
that his course is one eternal round.
"And again, the idea that he is a God of truth and cannot lie, is
equally as necessary to the exercise of faith in him as the idea of
his unchangeableness. For without the idea that he was a God of truth
and could not lie, the confidence necessary to be placed in his word,
in order to the exercise of faith in him could not exist. But having
the idea that he is not man, that he cannot lie, it gives power to the
minds of men to exercise faith in him.
"But it is also necessary that men should have an idea that he is no
respecter of persons, for with the idea of all the other excellencies
in his character, and this one wanting, men could not exercise faith
in him; because if he were a respecter of persons, they could not
tell what their privileges were, nor how far they were authorized to
exercise faith in him, or whether they were authorized to do it at all,
but all must be confusion; but no sooner are the minds of men made
acquainted with the truth on this point, that he is no respecter of
persons, than they see that they have authority by faith to lay hold on
eternal life, the richest boon of heaven, because God is no respecter
of persons, and that every man in every nation has an equal privilege.
"And lastly, but not less important to the exercise of faith in God, is
the idea that he is love; for with all the other excellencies in his
character, without this one to influence them, they could not have such
powerful dominion over the minds of men; but when the idea is planted
in the mind that he is love, who cannot see the just ground that men of
every nation, kindred, and tongue, have to exercise faith in God so as
to obtain eternal life!
"From the above description of the character of the Deity, which is
given him in the revelations to men, there is a sure foundation for the
exercise of faith in him among every people, nation, and kindred, from
age to age, and from generation to generation."[X]
[Footnote X: Doc and Cov., Lectures on Faith, No. III.]