he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind
boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying,
Lord save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and
caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst
thou doubt?"
At another time, we are told, "there came to (Jesus) a certain man,
kneeling down to Him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is
lunatick and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft
into the water. And I brought him to Thy disciples and they could not
cure him.
"Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how
long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither
to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the
child was cured from that very hour.
"Then came the disciples to Jesus apart and said. Why could not we cast
him out? And Jesus said unto them. Because of your unbelief: for verily
I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall
say unto this mountain. Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall
remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Such examples as these might be cited indefinitely. These are enough,
however, to show how profoundly Jesus impressed upon the minds of His
disciples the necessity of cultivating the gift of unfaltering {109}
faith--faith, the one great principle of power, without which, as the
learned Paul later said, it is impossible to please God.
[Sidenote: The dispensation of the fulness of times, the wonderful
example.]
But perhaps the greatest wonder that has ever been accomplished, in all
the history of the world, through the invincible power of unhesitating
faith, is that which we ourselves experience every day of our lives.
Continuing the doctrine he had learned from Jesus, "James, a servant of
God and of the Lord Jesus Christ," wrote thus to the scattered twelve
tribes: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth
to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." When he was perturbed in
spirit, not knowing whither to go to find God, Joseph Smith heard these
words, and pondered them. He had implicit faith in God. He did not
waver. He prayed earnestly. In response to his simple, faith-provoked
prayer, God revealed Himself to Joseph Smith, and through him,
established the Church of Christ anew.
Are not the things that have been accomplished through faith,
wonderful? Must it not be a joy, a comfort, to possess the gift of
unlimited faith? Like the apostles of old, we feel to pray, "Lord,
increase our faith."
THE REFERENCES
Luke 17:5, 6. Doc. and Cov. 103:36.
Mark 11:21-26. Matt. 14:24-31.
Matt. 21:21, 22. Matt. 17:14-21.
James 1:5, 6.
{110} THE QUESTIONS
1. What principle did Jesus teach in the incident of the fig tree?
2. What is faith?
3. Why must forgiveness accompany prayer?
4. Why did Jesus use concrete examples in His teaching?
5. What did Jesus mean by saying that mountains might be removed by
faith?
6. What did the Prophet Joseph Smith teach concerning the power of
faith?
7. Recite some examples of the power of faith.
8. Show how the establishing of the dispensation of the fulness of
times is one of the most wonderful examples of the power of faith.
{111}
{112} PICTURE: RAISING THE DEAD, Hofmann
{113}
XV
THE HANDMAID OF FAITH
[Sidenote: The case of Mr. Baldwin.]
Nearly a hundred years ago was built in America the first locomotive
engine of American design. Everybody knows nowadays what a locomotive
is. Nearly every boy and girl in the world has seen one; many boys,
particularly, can tell you how the locomotive engine operates; and more
than one boy can even operate the locomotive himself. But it was not so
one hundred years ago. The locomotive was a rare machine. And all the
locomotives that people saw then in America had been made in England.
But in 1831, the officers of the Germantown and Norristown Railway
commissioned a young mechanical engineer, named Matthias Baldwin, to
build for them a locomotive engine. The Germantown and Norristown
Railway operated a horse-power line six miles long.
The Cambden and Amboy Railroad Company had only recently imported a
locomotive from England. When Mr. Baldwin received his commission,
he went immediately to Cambden, where were the parts of the English
engine not yet assembled. There he "carefully observed the various
parts of the machine, made a few measurements and at last crept under
the ponderous boiler. Here he remained in absorbed study for nearly
half an hour. As he emerged from his retreat, his face was glowing with
enthusiasm, and he exclaimed 'I can do it.'"
{114} [Sidenote: Words added to faith.]
So far so good. Mr. Baldwin was inspired by a sublime faith in his
power to build a locomotive engine. But had he stopped there, he would
never have become the builder of the first American locomotive. Mr.
Baldwin set determinedly and industriously to work to accomplish the
task he had faith he could do. He met countless difficulties; his
trials and disappointments were many, and often discouraging. But
he kept bravely, manfully on. He did much of the work with his own
hands, and personally trained the workmen who assisted him. At length,
after six months of unremitting industry and painstaking labor, "Old
Ironsides," the first American locomotive was completed. Matthias
Baldwin had vindicated his enthusiastic exclamation born of faith, "I
can do it."
Now it was the observance of the principle that enabled Matthias
Baldwin to make good, which Jesus urged upon the multitudes assembled
to hear Him teach during His ministry on the earth. "Not everyone that
saith unto me, Lord, Lord," declared Jesus, "shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in
heaven."
[Sidenote: The principle of works.]
This teaching is so simple that anyone may understand it. And it is
true everywhere in life, in every kind of calling. Would you not
think Mr. Baldwin foolish, if after exclaiming "I can do it" he had
remained inactive and had not tried to build "Old Ironsides?" Can you
imagine that a carpenter might ever enjoy the fame of master-builder
if he never practiced the trade he had learned? Do you think it
would be possible for a sinking ship {115} to send out the signal of
distress, if the operator on the ship did not put into practice the
laws governing wireless telegraphy? In other words, knowing how to
build a locomotive will never construct one; knowing how to build a
house will never erect even the smallest structure; knowing how to
operate the telegraphic instrument will never send a message. It is
only by actually putting into operation the principles underlying these
activities, and working in obedience to them, that one can accomplish
the desired end. And if this is true of material, earthly things, how
much more ought it to be true of spiritual, heavenly things. Without
faith it is impossible to please God. But faith is of no avail without
works. Works constitute the handmaid of faith, and one is not without
the other in the Lord. "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so
faith without works is dead also."
[Sidenote: A parable.]
"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,"
taught Jesus, "I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house
upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds
blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded
upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his
house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and
the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was
the fall of it."
[Sidenote: The works of Jesus.]
Jesus manifested great power during His earthly ministry. He healed
the sick; He made the lame to walk and the blind to see; He rebuked
evil and cast out {116} devils; He raised the dead to life again; and
He spoke with authority as no other man has ever spoken, either before
or since His time. Without question every boy and girl would like to
be able to do the things that Jesus did. Every boy and girl in the
Church of Jesus Christ believes in Jesus--knows indeed, that He is the
Son of God, the Redeemer of the world. Why, then, should not everyone
long to emulate Him. But notice what Jesus declared: "Verily, verily,
I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall
he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go
unto my Father. If ye love me keep my commandments. He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that
loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will
manifest myself to him."
[Sidenote: The works of man.]
It is not impossible, then, for man to possess the power to do the
works that Jesus did. Indeed, man may do even greater works than those
Jesus performed. But to gain the power so to do, one must not only
believe in Jesus, one must also keep His commandments. In short, one
must add works to faith. Mere belief will save no man, just as mere
confidence in one's own ability will never build a locomotive. But when
our works make practical our faith, and prove it really true and worth
while, then we may claim a realization--a fulfillment--of all that is
promised through our diligence.
{117} [Sidenote: Conclusion.]
Now, it is no more difficult to prepare a mansion in the kingdom of
our Father, than it is to build a locomotive. Should not every boy and
girl, after having learned Christ's teaching, exclaim as Baldwin did,
"I can do it?" Then go to undauntedly and do it.
THE REFERENCES
Matt. 7:21. James 2:26.
Matt. 7:24-27. John 14:12, 15, 21.
THE QUESTIONS
1. What element of character did Baldwin display in the building of the
first American locomotive?
2. What principle of life and action made it possible for him to
accomplish his work?
3. What did he have to add to this principle in order to make good?
4. Why will not everyone who crieth "Lord, Lord," be admitted into the
kingdom of heaven?
5. Explain the Lord's parable of the wise and the foolish man.
6. Under what conditions may we be enabled to do works as great as
those Jesus did?
7. What is the duty of every member of the Church?
{118} PICTURE: THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE
{119}
XVI
THE MEANING OF REPENTANCE
[Sidenote: The irreverence and ruthlessness of Pilate.]
Some time before the close of the ministry of Jesus, there occurred
at Jerusalem two unfortunate incidents, both of which served to give
Jesus an opportunity to preach one of the fundamental doctrines of the
Gospel. Pilate, the Roman governor had undertaken to construct some
great conduits to supply Jerusalem with a better and a larger supply of
sweet water. The venture was apparently both difficult and costly; and
he derived no support from the people, whom he hated, and who hated him
and all pagan rule in return.
One day a serious accident happened. Connected with Pilate's
undertaking, apparently, was a large tower on the top of Ophel,
opposite Siloam. This tower fell, without warning, and buried in the
ruins eighteen men who had been working on it. Of course, the people
held the accident to be the judgment of God upon the men who had helped
in the sacrilegious labor. Then Pilate fell short of funds. To defray
the expenses of the enterprise, the irreverent Pilate resorted to the
temple, and ruthlessly appropriated a part of the treasures of the
temple. These treasures amounted to vast sums derived from the temple
dues voluntarily paid by Jews all over the world. Naturally, the people
became enraged, and rose in rebellious demonstration against the
governor. Incited by their priests and rabbis, the mob stormed Pilate's
residence, and demanded that the work on the water system be abandoned.
They railed against him, the Roman {120} governor, and hinted at
sedition. Pilate became in his turn indignant. He sent a large number
of soldiers, dressed in plain clothes and armed only with heavy clubs,
who surrounded the mob, and beat them so remorselessly that great
numbers of them were killed. The soldiers pressed the mob to the very
temple, then entered the holy precincts of the temple itself, and there
slew many of the poor pilgrims who were killing their own sacrifices.
Their blood was mingled with the blood of the beasts they were
preparing for sacrifice, and thus, according to the law, the House of
God was polluted. The news of this outrage spread throughout Palestine.
The country was filled with indignation. In Galilee, the feeling was
particularly strong, for the men who had been slain were Galileans.
[Sidenote: The necessity of repentance.]
Jesus was journeying at this time in the province of Perea, expounding
His teachings to great multitudes that followed Him. When news of the
disasters in Jerusalem reached them, these multitudes were stirred by
the wildest kind of excitement. They were particularly indignant at the
murders in the temple. As for the eighteen men buried under the tower,
and the Galileans slain in the tumult, the people accepted their death,
in characteristic Jewish fashion, as the judgment of God for sins
committed. But the pollution of the temple could not be overlooked. So
there grew up a strong feeling for a national uprising to avenge the
unprecedented evil.
But Jesus did not approve of their sentiment; neither did He believe
that those who had suffered in these two calamities were especially
sinful. He seized the {121} opportunity, therefore to preach to the
multitude the necessity of repentance on the part of everyone, and
to correct the notion that a calamity of any kind is necessarily the
judgment of God. "There were present at that season," writes the
historian Luke, "some that told Him of the Galileans, whose blood
Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said
unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the
Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but,
except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon
whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were
sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but,
except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
[Sidenote: The barren fig tree.]
"He spake also this parable: a certain man had a fig tree planted in
his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.
Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three
years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it
down: why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto Him,
Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, . . . .
and if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that Thou shalt cut
it down."
[Sidenote: Repentance a fundamental doctrine.]
As always, Jesus presented very clearly the doctrine He wished the
people to learn to understand. For nearly three years. He had Himself
ministered to His people. Yet, He could find no fruits of repentance.
In the long-suffering of God, the people would be spared yet a little
while. But their end was inevitable. Unless they should {122} repent,
they should all perish, even as did the Galileans, and the eighteen men
buried under the tower at Siloam. And this doctrine of repentance was
fundamental in the ministry of Jesus. First, John had come, crying in
the wilderness of Judea, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand." Then Jesus Himself had gone to Galilee, after John had been put
into prison, and had preached, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom
of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." And when He
sent out the twelve apostles two and two. He instructed them to preach
everywhere that men should repent.
[Sidenote: Jesus's exclamation against the wicked.]
That the people did not observe the word of Jesus is, however, very
evident from the way in which He upbraided them, and pointed out to
them that the lot of the wrongdoers who repented would in the end be
better than that of the selfrighteous who repented not. "But whereunto
shall I liken this generation?" exclaimed Jesus one day. "It is like
unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,
and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have
mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither
eating nor drinking, and they say, he hath a devil. The Son of Man
came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a
winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. . . . Then began He to
upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because
they repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!
for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre
and Sidon, they would have {123} repented long ago in sackcloth and
ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which
art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the
mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it
would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall
be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than
for thee."
[Sidenote: Repentance a universal principle.]
It is evident, then, that in the teaching of Jesus, repentance from
evil is absolutely necessary if one would enjoy the blessings of the
Lord. This is so self-evident a truth that it should not be necessary
to state it. In all the affairs of life--in business, in politics, in
the industries, in science, in art, in war, in what not--repentance
is a fundamental principle of true success. In our daily work we are
accustomed to calling our wrongdoings mistakes; but we have to correct
those mistakes before we can achieve the end for which we are working.
Sometimes the mistakes we make are of such a nature that we cannot
correct them. Then we have to begin over again, and have to try to
avoid those serious mistakes; but the memory of those mistakes remains
with us forever, and the waste, or loss, or suffering, caused by them
can never be made right. In the great world war now raging, many costly
mistakes have been made. Officers and men have often been forced to
repent; and many men, because they have violated their orders, have
lost their lives. For them, repentance in this life has been made
impossible. So it will be also with those who persist in evil. The
day {124} will come when they will be taken away suddenly. Then the
opportunity to repent in this life will be lost. Jesus would have us
repent here and now, and devote ourselves to works of righteousness
that we may gain eternal life.
[Sidenote: Things of which to repent.]
But of what would Jesus have us repent? The learned apostle, Paul, who,
it seems, understood perfectly the spirit of Christ's teachings, which
to wrote certain instructions to the Ephesians which reveal exactly
what kind of men Jesus would have us be. Malice, dishonesty, immorality
in thought or word or deed--these things unfit a man for an inheritance
in the kingdom of God. Paul expresses the doctrine, in part as follows:
"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk
not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
Who being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness,
to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned
Christ; if so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by
Him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful
lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on
the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his
neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not;
let not the sun go down upon your wrath: {125} Neither give place to
the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour,
working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to
give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of
your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may
minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,
whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness,
and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from
you, with all malice; and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
[Sidenote: The service principle of the Gospel.]
This is the true spirit of the Gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Those
who would hold membership in His Church, and receive the blessing of
His love and redeeming sacrifice, must have faith in Him, then they
must add to their faith works. And the first bit of work to be done is
to repent of all evil--repent "after a godly manner," as Paul says,
which will lead to salvation. Thus repentance becomes the second
fundamental principle of the Gospel. And "by this," said Jesus to the
great American prophet, "ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins.
Behold, he will confess them and forsake them."
THE REFERENCES
Luke 13:1-9. Mark 6:7, 8.
Matt. 5:1-2. Matt. 11:16-24.
Mark 1:14, 15. Eph. 4:17-32.
Doc. and Cov. 58:43.
{126} THE QUESTIONS
1. How did the Jews explain suffering of any kind, and calamity?
2. What did Jesus say about the death of the men under the tower, and
of the Galileans?
3. Interpret the parable of the barren fig tree.
4. What did both John and Jesus say to the people?
5. What do we learn from Jesus's exclamation against the cities where
His greatest works had been done?
6. How is repentance a fundamental principle in our daily work?
7. Of what does Jesus want people to repent?
8. How is repentance the second principle of the Gospel?
9. Of what does true repentance consist?
{127}
{128} PICTURE: BAPTISM OF JESUS, Weberg
{129}
XVII
BAPTISM BY IMMERSION
[Sidenote: The first principles and ordinances.]
When the Prophet Joseph Smith was asked to make a statement of the
principal doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
he prepared what we know now as the Articles of Faith. The Articles of
Faith are very plain, and touch the fundamental tenets of the Church.
The third article of faith states that "we believe that through the
atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws
and ordinances of the Gospel;" and the fourth article declares that,
"we believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel
are: first, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, repentance; third,
baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, the laying on
of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost." Those who profess faith in
Jesus must forsake the way of evil, and learn to take delight in the
law of the Lord. This, we have learned, constitutes the requirement of
the first two principles of the Gospel.
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly,
Nor standeth in the way of sinners,
Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
And in His law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
That bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
His leaf also shall not wither;
And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
The ungodly are not so;
But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous;
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
{130} [Sidenote: Baptism essential to salvation.]