than St. Augustine, and St. Augustine was nearer right than the
Protestant theologians who followed him. Baptism, as taught in the
New Testament, is not the mere "outward sign of an inward grace."
The action of the water and the action of the Spirit are not to be
separated in any analysis of the nature and effects of baptism. Both
are essential in the soul-cleansing, soul-enlightening process.
A Symbol of Creation.--Every baptism, every resurrection, implies
a birth. No seed germinates until it dies, or appears to die, and
is buried. The gardener plants that there may be a springing forth
of new life from the germ of the old. [16] Coming into this world
involves departure out of a previous world, and burial here implies
birth hereafter. The sun sets upon the Eastern hemisphere to rise upon
the Western, and sets upon the Western to rise upon the Eastern. The
setting and rising of the sun; sleep followed by waking; winter with
its icy fetters and snowy shroud, succeeded by spring in garments
of green, with bright flowers, singing birds and laughing streams;
all these suggest baptism, for they symbolize birth, burial and
resurrection.
Begotten and Born of God.--We have a Father and a Mother in heaven,
in whose image we were created, male and female. We were begotten and
born in the spirit before we were begotten and born in the flesh; and
we must be begotten and born again, in the similitude of those earlier
begettings and births, or we cannot regain the presence of our eternal
Father and Mother.
Babes in Christ.--Baptism signifies the creation of souls for the
Kingdom of God. The one who baptizes is the spiritual progenitor of
the one baptized. This is why the Apostles referred to those who
received baptism at their hands as "children of my begetting," "babes
in Christ," to be fed "the milk" before "the meat of the word." [17]
To baptize is to perform spiritually the functions of fatherhood.
Motherhood is symbolized by the baptismal font. Hence, baptism must be
by divine authority, must have God's sanction upon it. Heavenly and
earthly powers must join, must be wedded for the bringing forth of
the redeemed soul; otherwise, the baptism will be unlawful, the birth
illegitimate, the act of begetting a sin. Baptisms, like marriages,
performed without divine authority, will have no effect "when men are
dead."
Suggestive Symbolism.--The significance of baptism and the very form
of the ceremony are suggested by the career of that Divine Being whose
descent from heaven to earth, and whose ascent from earth to heaven,
are the sum and substance of the Gospel Story. Descending below and
rising above--such was his experience from the time he left his
celestial throne to the time he returned to his glorious exaltation.
It is not possible that the sacred ordinance of baptism was intended
to symbolize that wonderful event--God's merciful condescension for
the sake of fallen man? Was it not instituted in anticipation and as a
memorial of that mighty Birth, with its mortal burial and its immortal
resurrection?
A Watery World.--Moreover, in the symbolism of the Scriptures, this
world is represented by water. [18] "All things are water," said the
Greek Thales. At the very dawn of creation, Spirit and Water, the
two elements used in baptism, were both present--the one creative,
the other createable. [19] "Let the dry land appear!" The very words
suggest baptism, birth, creation--the emergence of an infant planet
from the womb of the waters. And when the Almighty was about to send
the Flood, he said to Noah, concerning the wicked: "Behold, I will
destroy them with the earth." [20] Did he mean the watery element which
enters so largely into the composition of the earth?
A Double Doorway.--Water represents the temporal part of creation,
including the body or mortal part of man. Baptism therefore, in its
twofold character, suggests the passing out from this watery world into
the spirit world, and thence by resurrection into eternal glory. It is
only a suggestion, but it emphasizes for me the reason why the doorway
to the Church and Kingdom of God is a double doorway, a dual birth, a
baptism of Water and of the Spirit.
Footnotes
1. Matt. 3:16.
2. Acts 8:38.
3. John 3:23.
4. Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12.
5. 1 Cor. 10:1, 2.
6. Ib. 15:29.
7. The first recorded case of clinic baptism is mentioned by Eusebius
as having occurred in the third century.
8. 3 Nephi 11:23-29.
9. Eph. 4:5.
10. 1 John 1:7.
11. Moses 6:59, 60.
12. Mark 1:8.
13. President Lorenzo Snow, in describing the effect of the Spirit
upon himself, after his baptism in water, says: "It was a complete
baptism--a tangible immersion in the heavenly principle or element, the
Holy Ghost."--Improvement Era, June, 1919, p. 654.
14. Acts 8:17.
15. Other synonyms were "consecration" and "consummation." Those
baptized were understood to have consecrated their lives to God, and to
have consummated or completed their preparation for communion with the
Church of Christ. Only to such was the sacrament of the Lord's Supper
administered.
16. 1 Cor. 15:35-44.
17. 1 Cor. 3:1,2; Heb. 5:13, 14.
18. Dan. 7; Rev. 13, 17.
19. Gen. 1:2.
20. Ib. 6:13.
ARTICLE THIRTY-FOUR.
The Gospel's Accessories.
Many Ways to the Heart.--There is only one way into the Kingdom of
Heaven, but there are many ways into the human heart; and the Church
of Christ, in its mission of promulgating truth and turning souls to
righteousness, has legitimate use for every avenue to that heart.
Poetry, music, art in general, as well as science and philosophy--all
these can be utilized as auxiliaries in the carrying on of the Lord's
manifold work. They may not be essential parts of the divine message,
but they prepare the way for its acceptance and are the forerunners of
greater things. This, to my thinking, is the main reason why they are
in the world. There is something purifying, ennobling, exalting, in all
true poetry, true music, real science and genuine philosophy.
The Poet's Mission.--"The poets of the world," says the poetic Dr.
Holland, "are the prophets of humanity. They forever reach after and
foresee the ultimate good. They are evermore building the paradise that
is to be, painting the millennium that is to come, restoring the lost
image of God in the human soul. When the world shall reach the poet's
ideal, it will arrive at perfection; and much good will it do the world
to measure itself by this ideal and struggle to lift the real to its
lofty level." [1]
In the light of such a noble utterance, how paltry the ordinary concept
of the poet as a mere verse-builder. His true mission is to exalt the
ideal, and encourage the listless or struggling real to advance
toward it and eventually attain perfection.
Dreamers and Builders.--In this age of money-worship, the poet is often
referred to, and at times even ridiculed, as a "dreamer." But the
ridicule, when applied to a real poet, a true son or daughter of the
Muses, is pointless. The poet _is_ a dreamer; but so is the architect
and the projector of railroads. All creative minds are dreamful,
imaginative, poetic. Were it otherwise, nothing worth while would be
created. If there were no dreamers, there would be no builders. Both
are necessary to progress. Every art and every science has its share of
poetic idealism, of poetic enthusiasm, and must have it, in order to
achieve best results.
Well worthy of a place beside Doctor Holland's beautiful thought on
poets and their ideals, is the following sentiment on dreamers, from
the pen of the popular essayist, James Allen: "As the visible world
is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and
sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of
their solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot
let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them as the
_realities_ which it shall one day see and know. Composer, sculptor,
painter, poet, prophet, sage, these are the makers of the after-world,
the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful because they have
lived; without them, laboring humanity would perish." [2]
Poets and Prophets.--Poets are prophets of a lesser degree; and the
prophets are the mightiest of the poets. They hold the key to the
symbolism of the universe, and they alone are qualified to interpret it.
Prophets, mightiest of the poets,
They to whom the Gods tell secrets,
Doing naught till true revealings
Have made wise their trusted servants,
Who in turn make wise the people;
Bringing past and future present
For the betterment of all men,
Earth for every change preparing
On her pilgrimage to glory. [3]
Rhymes and Rhymesters.--There are rhymesters who are neither poets nor
prophets; and there are prophets and poets who never build a verse nor
make a rhyme. Rhyme is no essential element of poetry. Versification is
an art used by the poet to make his thought more attractive. The rhyme
pleases the ear and helps the sentiment to reach the heart--a ticket of
admission, as it were. A musical instrument is painted and gilded, not
to improve its melodic or harmonic powers, but to make it beautiful to
the eye, while its music appeals to the ear and charms the soul. Rhyme
sustains about the same relation to poetry, as paint or gold leaf to
the piano or organ. Clothing adds nothing to one's stature, to one's
mental or moral worth; but it enables one to appear well in society.
"The apparel" may "proclaim," but it does not _make_ "the man." Neither
does rhyme make poetry.
The Essence of Poetry.--The essence of poetry is its idealism, its
symbolism. The Creator has built his universe upon symbols, the
lesser suggesting and leading up to the greater; and the poetic
faculty--possessed in fulness by the prophet--recognizes and interprets
them. "All things have their likeness.' [4] All creations testify of
their creator. They point to something above and beyond themselves.
That is why poetry of the highest order is always prophetic or
infinitely suggestive; and that is why the poet is a prophet, and why
there is such a thing as poetic prose.
"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not,
neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all
his glory was not arrayed like one of these." [5]
That is poetry, real poetry, full of rhythm, yet having no rhyme.
Above and Beyond.--Anything is poetic that suggests something greater
than itself. The lilies of the field suggested to the Savior's poetic
mind the glory of Solomon. He used them as a means of instilling into
the minds of his doubting disciples the great lesson of trust in
Providence.
Man, fashioned in the divine image, suggests God, and is therefore "a
symbol of God," as Carlyle affirms. [6] But Joseph Smith said it first
and more fully. He declared God to be "An Exalted Man." To narrow
minds, this is blasphemy. To the broad-minded, it is poetry--poetry of
the sublimest type.
Poetic Ordinances.--The bread and water used in the sacrament
of the Lord's Supper, represent something greater than those
emblems--something above and beyond. The whole sacred ceremony is a
poem in word and action.
The same is true of Baptism, which stands for birth, creation, burial
and resurrection. Fatherhood and motherhood are both symbolized in the
baptismal ordinance, the true form of which is immersion. Any deviation
from that mode destroys its poetic suggestiveness, its symbolism.
The Greatest Poet and Prophet.--Jesus Christ, the greatest of all
prophets, was likewise the greatest of all poets. He comprehended the
universe and its symbolism as no one else ever did or could. He knew it
through and through. What wonder? Had he not created it, and was it not
made to bear record of him? [7] He taught in poetic parables, taking
simple things as types of greater things, and teaching lessons that
lead the mind upward towards the ideal, towards perfection. The Gospel
of Christ is replete with poetry. It is one vast poem from beginning to
end.
What of Philosophy--"Philosophy is the account which the human mind
gives to itself of the constitution of the world." So says that great
modern philosopher, Ralph Waldo Emerson. [8] In Article Eleven I have
pointed out the similarity between Plato's concept of causes that
produced the universe, and Joseph Smith's teaching upon the origin
and purpose of the great plan of eternal progression. But Joseph
did not get his philosophy from Plato. He had it directly from the
divine Source of Plato's inspiration. There is no plagiarism in this
semi-paralleling of a sublime thought. In like manner Confucius taught,
in a negative way, the Golden Rule, afterwards taught affirmatively and
more fully by Jesus of Nazareth. Truth, whether uttered by ancient sage
or by modern seer, is worthy of all acceptance.
Emerson on "Compensation."--Few things of a philosophic nature appeal
to me more strongly than Emerson's great essay on "Compensation." Says
that master of thought and expression: "Every excess causes a defect;
every defect an excess. Every sweet hath its sour, every evil its good.
Every faculty which is a receiver of pleasure, has an equal penalty put
on its abuse. It is to answer for its moderation with its life."
"Nature hates monopolies and exceptions. The waves of the sea do not
more speedily seek a level from their loftiest tossing, than the
varieties of conditions tend to equalize themselves. There is always
some leveling circumstance that puts down the overbearing, the strong,
the rich, the fortunate, substantially on the same ground with all
others."
"The farmer imagines power and place are fine things. But the President
has paid dear for his White House."
"The cheat, the defaulter, the gambler, cannot extort the benefit,
cannot extort the knowledge of material and moral nature which his
honest care and pains yield to the operative. The law of nature is, Do
the thing, and you shall have the power; but they why do not the thing
have not the power."
"As the royal armies sent against Napoleon, when he approached, cast
down their colors and from enemies became friends, so do disasters of
all kinds, as sickness, offense, poverty, prove benefactors."
"Our strength grows out of our weakness. Not until we are pricked and
stung and sorely shot at, awakens the indignation which arms itself
with secret forces. Blame is safter than praise."
"The history of persecution is a history of endeavors to cheat nature,
to make water run up hill, to twist a rope of sand. The martyr cannot
be dishonored. Every lash inflicted is a tongue of fame; every prison
a more illustrious abode; every burned book or house enlightens the
world. It is the whipper who is whipped, and the tyrant who is undone."
"The changes which break up at short intervals the prosperity of men,
are advertisements of a nature whose law is growth. We cannot part with
our friends. We cannot part our friends. We cannot let our angels go.
We do not see that they only go out, that archangels may come in."
"The death of a dear friend, wife, brother, lover, which seemed nothing
but privation, somewhat later assumes the aspect of a guide or genius;
for it commonly operates revolutions in our way of life, terminates an
epoch of infancy or of youth which was waiting to be closed, breaks up
a wonted occupation, or a household, or style of living, and allows the
formation of new ones more friendly to the growth of character." And
the man or woman who would have remained a sunny garden flower, with no
room for its roots and too much sunshine for its head, by the falling
of the walls and the neglect of the gardener, is made the banian of the
forest yielding shade and fruit to wide neighborhoods of men." [9]
Divers Teachers.--Philosophy, like poetry, wins its way, where Truth's
fulness, preached in power, might offend. The plain blunt message
of the prophet who comes proclaiming, "Thus saith the Lord," repels
and antagonizes many who will listen to and be impressed by the
philosopher, with his cogent reasoning; or charmed by the poet, with
his melodious verse and appealing illustrations; or won over by the
scientist, with his clear-cut, convincing demonstrations. All kinds of
teachers go before the prophet, preparing his way, or follow after him,
confirming his testimony. [10]
The Divine Art.--Music softens the heart, thus preparing the way before
the Gospel. "The song of the righteous is a prayer unto me," saith the
Lord. [11] Nothing brings the good spirit into a meeting more quickly
than sweet and soulful singing, especially when choir and congregation
join. Tourists come in a constant stream to listen to the organ and the
choir in our great Tabernacle. The Gospel is not always preached to
them; they do not always desire it. But they are mellowed by the music,
and go away with kinder feelings toward, and a better understanding of,
the people who build such instruments, organize such choirs, and rear
such structures. Their works speak for them. Depraved wretches, such
as the majority of Utah's people are falsely represented to be, do not
love music, care nothing for poetry and philosophy, do not cultivate
the arts and sciences, nor rear tabernacles and temples unto God.
Seeing and Hearing.--In the year 1875 President Ulysses S. Grant came
to Utah--the first Executive of the Nation to set foot within the
Territory, now a State. It was at a time when, all over this broad
land, bitter prejudice against the Latter-day Saints prevailed. It was
freely asserted that the man who had finished with the South, would
"make short work" of Utah and the "Mormons." Among the places visited
by the President and his party during their stay, was the Salt Lake
Tabernacle, where he heard the organ played by Joseph J. Daynes. What
the President thought of it, I never learned; but Mrs. Grant, her face
streaming with tears, turned to Captain Hooper, who had been Utah's
delegate in Congress, and said with deep feeling: "I wish I could do
something for these good Mormon people." The music had touched her
heart, and perhaps the heart of her noble husband; for Grant was noble,
though yielding at times to intense prejudice. [12]
No Substitute for the Gospel.--Let it not be supposed, however, that
music, poetry, painting, sculpture, science, or any other thing, can
take the place of the great uplifting Plan whereby the world, already
redeemed, is yet to be glorified. No gift can vie with the Giver, no
creature usurp the functions of the Creator. He will use everything
true and good and beautiful to melt the hearts of men and prepare them
to be saved; but salvation itself comes only by one route--the Gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the great Ideal, and it must be honored and maintained as such.
In dealing with it, no Procrustean process is permissible. It must not
be chopped off because men think it too long, nor stretched out because
they deem it too short. It did not come into the world to be mutilated.
Revelation cannot bow down to tradition. Truth is the standard--truth
as Heaven reveals it--and the opinions and theories of men must give
way. The Gospel's accessories are no substitute for the Gospel.
Footnotes
1. Lessons in Life, by Timothy Titcomb (J. G. Holland)--Lesson 22, "The
Poetic Test."
2. As a Man Thinketh, "Visions and Ideals."
3. "Love and the Light," p. 68.
4. Moses 6:63.
5. Matt. 6:28, 29; Luke 12:27.
6. Sartor Resartus, 3, "Symbols."
7. Moses 6:63.
8. Representative Men, Plato, p. 51.
9. Emerson's Essays, 3, "Compensation."
10. A friend of mine, a medical practitioner, was conversing with a
learned physician in the great city of London. The subject was the Word
of Wisdom (D. & C. 89) wherein the Lord, after deprecating the use of
strong drink, tobacco and other things "not good for man," goes on to
say that "all wholesome herbs," "every fruit in the season thereof,"
and all grains are ordained for man's use. "Nevertheless, wheat for
man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls
and for swine and for all beasts of the field and barley for all useful
animals, and for mild drinks," etc. The learned man asked: "Where did
Joseph Smith get this information? These teachings are based upon
scientific principles, recognized as such by the medical profession;
but they are of comparatively recent discovery. They were not known in
Joseph Smith's time." My friend, being a Latter-day Saint, did not lose
the opportunity thus afforded of bearing testimony to Joseph Smith's
mission as a prophet.
11. D. & C. 25:12.
12. Before reaching the Tabernacle, President Grant passed up South
Temple Street, lined on both sides with sabbath school children, neatly
and tastefully attired, waving banners and mottoes of welcome in
honor of the nation's chief. Riding in an open carriage, and running
the gauntlet of applause and cheers, the honored guest turned to
the Governor of Utah, Hon. George W. Emery, who sat beside him, and
inquired: "What children are these?" "Mormon children," replied the
Governor. "The Silent Man" mused for a moment, and was then heard to
murmur, "I have been deceived."
He never was deceived again--in the same way. He could trust his eyes
when he looked upon those beautiful children. They were not the product
of crime and depravity, not the offspring of savages and criminals. He
could trust his ears, too, when he heard that choir and that organ. No
one could make him believe, after his visit to the "Mormon City," that
its inhabitants were as black as they had been painted.
ARTICLE THIRTY-FIVE.
What Are Miracles?
Not Contrary to Law.--Miracles are results flowing from superior means
and methods of doing things. They do not happen contrary to law. They
are in strict conformity therewith. It could not be otherwise; for the
universe, natural and supernatural, is governed by law. But there are
greater laws and lesser laws, and the greater have power to suspend the
operation of the lesser. When this occurs, people exclaim: "A miracle!"
Others say: "It never happened, for it is contrary to law." And indeed
it may seem contrary to ordinary law, with the workings of which their
everyday experience is familiar. But that does not prove it contrary to
some higher law concerning which they may know little or nothing.
Elisha and the Axe.--When the Prophet Elisha relieved the distress of
the young man who had lost an axe--a borrowed axe--in the stream on the
bank of which he was hewing timber, [1] it may have been supposed, by
some skeptical on-looker, that the man of God was working in opposition
to law. The account given states that "he cut down a stick" and cast
it into the water, and "the iron did swim"--in spite of the fact that
it is the nature of iron to sink. The law of gravitation required that
the axe remain at the bottom of the stream, unless, by the application
of some counter-force, ordinary or otherwise, it could be recovered.
The force applied in this case was extraordinary. Elisha invoked a law
superior to the law of gravitation, suspending its complete action upon
that particular piece of iron. [2]
Scientific Achievements.--Today, iron ships are floating upon every
sea. While this is not a miracle such as Elisha wrought, it would have
been deemed a miracle in earlier ages of the world, before such wonders
became commonplace. The achievements of modern science, compared with
past conditions in the same field of thought and action, ought to
convince any reasonable mind that the days of miracles are not over.
Light Production.--Men once made light by briskly rubbing together two
pieces of wood, until friction generated flame. Gas light or electric
light, with the present means of producing them, would have filled the
souls of such men with fear and wonder. To them it would have been a
miracle. And yet, to press a button or turn a switch, and thus obtain
light, is a very clumsy device--or will be so considered when men learn
to make light as God made it on the morning of creation. [3]