The Holy Ghost, its Nature, Office and Power--Conferred Through
the Laying on of Hands--Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit--How
Obtained--Their Object and Design--Effects of Its Withdrawal--Infinite
Riches of Its Full Inspiration.
The repentant, baptized believer arises from the tomb of water cleansed
from sin and washed pure of iniquity. He is spiritually resurrected.
His old life is gone. He is born again. This is a type of the bodily
resurrection to come. He is now prepared to receive the Holy Ghost,
which "dwelleth not in unclean tabernacles."
This is an endowment from on high. It is the Comforter which fills the
absent place of the personal Christ. It is a manifester of truth. It
bears witness of the Father and the Son. It is the light of eternity.
It reveals things present and past, and unfolds events that are to
come. It is the true scripture-maker. By it the prophets wrote the
word of the Lord. It proceeds from the presence of God. It is the
communicating element between man and his Maker. It is the source
from which flow the spiritual gifts of the gospel. Without it no one
can say from knowledge that Jesus is the Lord. Without it, the things
pertaining to immortal spheres cannot be comprehended by mortals.
Without it, no one can see the way which leads to eternal life. Without
it, none can enter the kingdom of God.
There is a set mode by which this great gift is conferred upon mankind.
God's house is a house of order. His laws are set in the spiritual
as in the physical universe, and there is no confusion in any of His
works. The ways of men are not His ways, and He does not bend them to
suit men's diversified notions. To obtain the gift of the Holy Ghost,
the necessary conditions must be complied with. These we have already
explained. The method by which it is conferred is, the laying on of
hands by men who have themselves received it and have been called of
God and ordained to administer it.
True faith, genuine repentance, correct baptism, properly administered,
are as surely to be followed by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost,
through the laying on of hands, authoritatively administered, as the
harvest is to come from seed sown in good soil and ripened by the rains
and sunshine of heaven, or as the results of a chemical experiment are
to be achieved when the needful elements are correctly compounded.
The effects of this gift upon the recipient are not generally of a
startling character. They are not necessarily physical. The chief
office of the Holy Ghost is to enlighten the internal man or woman.
It administers to the spirit. It brings peace, comfort and joy to the
soul. It gives assurance of divine acceptance; and it establishes
inward strength to resist sin and evil and lay hold upon all that is
good. But it does not convulse the system. It produces no contortions
of the countenance. It will not throw people to the earth as if they
were dead. Neither will it cause them to yell, shout, jump around in
paroxysms or act in an unseemly manner.
Its internal fruits are faith, knowledge, wisdom, joy, peace, patience,
temperance, long suffering, brotherly kindness and charity. Its
external gifts are manifested in prophecies, visions, discernments,
healings, miracles, power over evil spirits, speaking in various
tongues, interpretation of tongues, etc.
These several gifts are distributed according to the will of God among
the various recipients of the Holy Ghost. One person may receive
several of them. Some may not obtain any of those gifts which are
manifested outwardly. Neither are the latter always the most to be
desired. "Prophecy" is better than "tongues" as a gift, though the
latter is more showy, and wisdom and faith are better than either.
Divine knowledge with divine wisdom in its use is a gift of priceless
worth, bringing joy beyond expression to its possessor, and conferring
untold blessings upon others.
These various gifts of the Spirit are obtainable through the prayer of
faith. "Ask and it shall be given you" is the promise to the Saints.
And they are called Saints who have obeyed the laws and ordinances we
have explained, and received the gift of the Holy Ghost. But their
desires must be pure in order to obtain the blessings for which they
ask. These are not given as signs to be consumed on any one's lust.
Neither are they bestowed as wonders to create astonishment or feed
the love of the marvelous. They are designed for the comfort and
confirmation of the faith of the true and obedient believer, and as
tokens of the love of an indulgent Father, and they must be used in
wisdom, or they will be withdrawn and work injury instead of benefit.
The ceremony of the bestowal of the Holy Ghost is called confirmation.
As baptism is the birth of water, so confirmation is the birth or
baptism of the Spirit. Both are necessary to entrance into the kingdom
of God, whether that is viewed in the light of the Church on earth or
the glorious dominion of the Father in heaven. Only they who are led by
this Spirit are truly the "sons of God."
As it is bestowed through obedience, so it may be withdrawn through
disobedience. The condition of those who lose this gift after having
enjoyed it is truly lamentable. The light that was within them becomes
darkness, and their last state is worse than their first. Their
spiritual tastes become dead or vitiated, light seems to them darkness,
and that which was once their greatest delight becomes the object
of their deepest aversion. They then become a prey to influences of
evil; hatred and malice spring up in their hearts towards the children
of light; and the culmination of their career, if persisted in and
reclamation does not come, is the shedding of innocent blood, for which
there is no forgiveness.
The possessor of the Holy Ghost is infinitely rich; those who receive
it and lose it are of all men the poorest. But there are various
degrees of its possession. Many who obtain it walk but measurably
in its light. But there are a few who live by its whisperings, and
approach by its mediumship into close communion with heavenly beings of
the highest order. To them its light grows brighter every day. For them
are joys, anticipations and glorious hopes that thrill no other bosoms,
sweet experiences that earthly pleasures cannot bring, and a spiritual
growth towards the stature of Christ Jesus that eternity only will
fully unfold to general view.