_MAN'S SEARCH FOR TRUTH AND SALVATION_
_Man Desires Salvation_--Honest hearts, the world over, desire to
know the right way. They have sought for it, and still seek it. There
have been people upon the earth all the time who sought diligently
with all their hearts to know the ways of the Lord. Those individuals
have produced good, inasmuch as they had the ability. And to believe
that there has been no virtue, no truth, no good upon the earth for
centuries, until the Lord revealed the Priesthood through Joseph the
Prophet, I shall say is wrong. There has been more or less virtue and
righteousness upon the earth at all times from the days of Adam until
now. That we all believe. 6:170.
Until they sin away the day of grace, there is something in all persons
that would delight to rise up and reject the evil and embrace the
truth. There is not a person on the earth so vile but, when he looks
into his own heart, honors the man of God and the woman of God--the
virtuous and holy--and despises his comrades in iniquity who are like
himself. There is not a man upon the earth, this side of saving grace,
unless he has sinned so far that the Spirit of the Lord has ceased to
strive with him and enlighten his mind, but delights in the good, in
the truth, and in the virtuous. 8:326.
Reflect for a moment upon the sensitive faculty implanted within us. We
know when we touch anything with our hands. When we discern an object
with our eyes, we know that we see. How do we know? By a principle
common to all intelligent beings--by the sensations God has {646}
placed within us. Were it not for this, the eye could not see, nor
sensation be communicated by touch. Were it not for the intelligent
principle God has placed within us, we could neither feel, see, hear,
taste, nor smell.
It is recorded that some have eyes to see, and see not; ears to hear,
and hear not; hearts have they, but they understand not. You who are
spiritually-minded, who have the visions of your minds opened--have
studied yourselves, your organizations, the power by which you have
been organized, and the influences that act upon you, can understand
that the power that has given you physical sensation is the power of
the same God that gives you understanding of the truth. The latter
power is inward. My inward eyes see, my inward hands handle, my inward
taste tastes of the word of God. The Apostle used this language. He
spoke of tasting the good word of God and the powers of the world to
come. Do you taste? Yes, by the sensations God has planted within you.
Thousands and thousands know, by their inward and invisible sensation,
things that have been, things that are, and things that are in the
future, as well as they know the color of a piece of cloth by means of
their outward or physical vision. When this inner light is taken from
them, they become darker than they were before, they cannot understand,
and turn away from the things of God. 8:41.
Descend from the busy, wealth-seeking middle classes, to the humbler
grade of society, and follow them in their various Occupations and
pursuits, and each one of them 1s seeking earnestly that which he
imagines to be salvation. The poor, ragged, trembling mendicant, who
is forced by hunger and cold to drag his feeble body from under some
temporary shelter, to seek a bit of bread, or a coin from his {647}
more fortunate fellow-mortal, if he can only obtain a few crusts of
bread to satisfy the hunger-worm that gnaws his vitals, and a few
coppers to pay his lodgings, he has attained to the summit of his
expectations, to what he sought for--salvation, and he is comparatively
happy, but his happiness vanishes with the shades of night, and his
misery comes with the morning light. From the match-maker up to the
tradesman, all have an end in view, which they suppose will bring
to them salvation. King, courtier, commanders, officers, and common
soldiers, the commodore, and sailor before the mast, the fair-skinned
Christian, and the dark-skinned savage, all, in their respective grades
and spheres of action, have a certain point in view, which, if they can
obtain, they suppose will put them in possession of salvation. 1:1.
_Humanity Loves Truth and Righteousness_--What would satisfy the
children of men, if they had it in their possession? Only truth and the
true principles and conduct flowing from its observance. True, certain
classes of the inhabitants of the earth are pretty well satisfied with
themselves, through their researches in the philosophies of the day;
and yet they are not fully satisfied. What will satisfy us? If we
understood all principles and powers that are, that have been, and that
are to come, and had wisdom sufficient to control powers and elements
with which we are associated, perhaps we would then be satisfied. If
this will not satisfy the human mind, there is nothing that will. 7:2.
The spirit which inhabits these tabernacles naturally loves truth, it
naturally loves light and intelligence, it naturally loves virtue,
God and godliness; but being so closely united with the flesh their
sympathies are blended, {648} and their union being necessary to the
possession of a fulness of joy to both, the spirit is indeed subject
to be influenced by the sin that is in the mortal body, and to be
overcome by it and by the power of the Devil, unless it is constantly
enlightened by that spirit which enlighteneth every man that cometh
into the world, and by the power of the Holy Ghost which is imparted
through the Gospel. In this, and this alone, consists the warfare
between Christ and the Devil. 11:237.
The greater portion of the inhabitants of the earth are inclined to
do right. That is true. There is a monitor in every person that would
reign there triumphantly, if permitted so to do, and lead to truth and
virtue. 8:320.
As to the mortals of the world, I have said it a great many times
and still say that there are just as good men and women on the earth
in other societies and communities as we have here, as far as they
understand; and we are after such ones. 12:326.
There are as honest men in other churches as there are in ours. 8:357.
_Human Family Alike in Sentiments_--In reality, the inhabitants
of the earth do not vary so much in their sentiments as they do in
the explaining of them to each other. This I have good reason to
believe; when feelings and ideas are explained, people vary more in
language than in sentiment, yet they differ widely in their sentiments,
feelings, customs, habits, and manner of life. 1:74.
When we see and comprehend things in the spirit, we oftimes realize an
utter inability to simplify and tell them in our language, to others;
though we may receive principles, and convey the same to others, to
some extent. It would be a great consolation to me, inasmuch as faith
comes {649} by hearing the word of God, if I had language to express
my feelings. No man can tell all that he can see in the spirit, when
the vision of the spirit is upon him. He can see and understand in the
spirit only. He cannot tell it, yet many things may be given, in part,
to others. 1:115.
_A Variety of Human Gifts_--I am sensible that people are not
gifted and capacitated alike. There is not that depth of understanding
and intensity of thought in some that there is in others, neither is
there the same scope of perception. Some are quick to apprehend, while
others are slow. 6:93.
We all enjoy the power of sight, but how differently we look at and
comprehend things! And we are very much like the people who have lived
before us. We are a strange and curious composition--no two alike.
Of all the faces before me this afternoon there are no two alike. We
might possibly find those whose judgment would be pretty much alike on
various subjects, still there are no two whose judgments are precisely
the same. Human life is a great stage, and it contains a very great
variety of scenes and scenery, of thought and of action. 16:23.
There is quite a diversity in men as to their capacity for learning,
and also in regard to retaining what they learn. Some comprehend their
lessons quickly, while others are not so gifted. I have also noticed
that some children commit their lessons quickly and well; but ask them
the meaning and intent of what they have committed, and they cannot
answer you; while others pay more attention to the intent and meaning
of what they learn. Such is the case with all persons, no matter what
their age; and some are capacitated to receive more and faster than
others. 8:158.
Let the people bring out their talents, and have the variety within
them brought forth and made manifest so {650} that we can behold it,
like the variety in the works of nature. See the variety God has
created--no two trees alike, no two leaves, no two spears of grass
alike. The same variety that we see in all the works of God, that we
see in the features, visages and forms, exists in the spirits of men.
Now let us develop the variety within us, and show to the world that
we have talent and taste, and prove to the heavens that our minds are
set on beauty and true excellence, so that we can become worthy to
enjoy the society of angels, and raise ourselves above the level of the
wicked world and begin to increase in faith, and the power that God
has given us, and so show to the world an example worthy of imitation.
11:305.
_Man's Powers are Limited_--The inhabitants of the earth have the
pleasure of performing the labors they list to do, but they have never
enjoyed the privilege of controlling the results of their labors, and
never will until they are crowned with glory, immortality and eternal
lives. We have the privilege of going to the gold mines, or staying at
home; of serving God, or not serving him; but the result of our acts is
not in our hands, it is in the hands of our Father and God. So it is
with individuals, with neighborhoods, with communities, and with the
nations of the earth. 10:331.
If the Latter-day Saints and all the world understood the philosophy
of their own being, they would bow in humble reverence to him who is
the Author of our being and the Author of all wisdom and all knowledge
known among the children of men. It is very little comparatively
that we do know, and but very little we can really comprehend. It is
believed that our scientists and philosophers are very far advanced,
and that wonderful progress has been made {651} in the nineteenth
century; but notwithstanding all the knowledge and power of philosophy
which so distinguish our age, who among our most learned can create
as simple a thing as a spear of grass, or the leaf of a tree? No one;
this can only be done through the natural process; no one can organize
the simplest particle of element independent of the laws of nature.
When the philosopher of the age reaches that perfection that one can
waft himself to the moon or to the North star, or to any other of the
fixed stars, and be there in an instant, in the same manner that Jesus
did when he ascended to the Father in heaven and returned to the earth
again, then we may begin to think we know a little. When we shall
possess the power and knowledge to cause heavenly planets to take their
position, giving them their laws and boundaries which they must obey,
and which they cannot pass, then we may begin to feel that we possess a
little wisdom and power. 18:259.
If I look through my telescope, and my friends inquire how far I
can see, I tell them I can see anything in sight, no matter how far
from me the object may be; but I cannot see anything out of sight,
or that which is beyond the power of the instrument. So it is in the
intellectual faculties of mankind; it is easy for them to see that
which is before their eyes, but when the object is out of sight, it is
a difficult matter for them to see it; and they are at a loss how to
form an estimate of it, or what position to put themselves in, so as to
see the object they desire to see. 1:351.
There is but a hair's breadth between the vulgar and sublime. There is
but a hair's breadth between the depths pot infidelity and the heights
of the faith of the Gods. Man is here like a feather trembling between
the two, liable continually to be operated upon by the power of the
enemy; {652} and it is through that power that the children of men are
made to doubt the evidences of their own senses, when, at the same
time, if they would reflect for a moment and listen to the intelligence
which God has placed within them, they would know, when they saw what
is termed a miracle, the power by which it is wrought; they would know
when they have seen with their eyes and felt with their hands, or when
they have had a heavenly vision. 7:163-164.
_Man Must Have Confidence in Himself_--We must be ourselves. 3:365.
There are a great many men who know but little about what they can do,
and there are a great many women that never consider what they can
perform; people do not fully reflect upon their own acts, upon their
own ability, and therefore do not understand what they are capable of
doing. 4:101.
It is not for any man to think he is a cipher--that what he can do will
not tell in this matter, and say, "They will get along well enough
without me." 1:53.
When a person is thinking all the time he is little better than a
machine, he perverts the purpose of his organization, and injures both
mind and body. Why? Because the mental labor does not find vent through
the organism of the tabernacle, and has not that scope--that field of
labor which it desires, and which it was wisely designed that it should
have. Think according to your labor, labor according to your thinking.
3:248.
_Man Always Dependent_--Shall we ever see the time we shall be
perfectly independent of every other being in all the eternities? No;
we shall never see that time. Many have fallen on as simple ground as
this, and were I to use Western term, I would say, "They were troubled
with a big {653} head." Such persons think they have power to do this,
that, and the other, but they are left to themselves, and the Lord
loves to show them they have no power. 1:338.
_We Must Fight Our Battles_--But some may say, "I have faith-the
Lord will turn them away." What ground have we to hope this? Have I any
good reason to say to my Father in Heaven, "Fight my battles," when he
has given me the sword to wield, the arm and the brain that I can fight
for myself? Can I ask him to fight my battles and sit quietly down
waiting for him to do so? I cannot. I can pray the people to hearken to
wisdom, to listen to counsel; but to ask God to do for me that which I
can do for myself is preposterous to my mind. 12:240-1.
_How to Know Oneself_--No man can know himself unless he knows
God, and he cannot know God unless he knows himself. 16:75.
Our Good Character Must Be Cherished--When a man by his course in life
has acquired a character that is spotless, it is a priceless jewel, and
nothing should induce him to barter it away. If the wicked try to bring
a blemish or cast a stain upon it their efforts will not be successful.
They may throw their mud, but it will not stain the garments of the
pure and holy. 13:218.
"Are our characters our own?" We may say, "Yes, we form these
characters." Suppose that we are fortunate enough to form a good,
honest character in the minds and in the faith of those who are
acquainted with us, do not those characters belong to our neighbors,
although we may be the framers of them? And I would like to ask, have
we the right to destroy them? It is a serious question with me. If we
have confidence in each other, and our conduct has been such that we
have created confidence in the feelings of {654} our neighbors toward
us, have we a right to destroy that confidence? Is it not sacrilege? I
will simply reply by giving my views with regard to myself. According
to the knowledge which I possess it is a great deal easier for an
individual to preserve a good character than to frame and make one if
it is lost. It is much easier to keep a fort when it is well armed and
defended than to give it into the hands of the enemy and then regain
it. Consequently, we had better keep our characters, if they are good,
than to suffer the enemy to rob us of them. 14:277.
_The Need of Leaders_--The whole world are sadly in want of what
they call a master-spirit. 6:44.
When I say rule, I do not mean with an iron hand, but merely to take
the lead--to lead them in the path I wish them to walk in. They may be
determined not to answer my will, but they are doing it all the time
without knowing it. 9:195.
It is not every man that is capable of filling every station, though
there is no man but what is capable of filling his proper station, and
that, too, with dignity and honor to himself. When you find a person
that is capable of receiving light and wisdom, one that can descend to
the capacity of the weakest of the weak, and can comprehend the highest
and most noble intelligence that can be obtained by man, can receive it
with all ease, and comprehend it, circumscribe it, understand it from
first to last, that is the man that can ripen for eternity in a few
years; that is the individual who is capable of occupying stations that
many cannot occupy. 4:130.
Let the people see to it that they get righteous men to be their
leaders, who will labor with their hands and administer to their
own necessities, sit in judgment, legislate, and {655} govern in
righteousness; and officers that are filled with peace; and see to
it that every man that goes forth among the people as a traveling
officer is full of the fear of the Lord, and would rather do right at a
sacrifice than do wrong for a reward. 7:12.
_Duty and Responsibility of Man_--"To mind your own business"
incorporates the whole duty of man. 10:295.
What is the duty-of a Latter-day Saint? To do all the good he can upon
the earth, living in the discharge of every duty obligatory upon him.
10:295.
His labor is to build up, not to destroy; to gather together, not to
scatter abroad; to take the ignorant and lead them to wisdom; to pick
up the poor and bring them to comfortable circumstances. This is our
labor--what we have to do. 10:316.
It is the business of a Latter-day Saint, in passing through the
street, if he sees a fence pole down, to put it up; if he sees an
animal in the mud to stop and help get it out. 10:296.
The greater our privileges and the greater the blessings bestowed upon
us, the more faithfulness and diligence are required in our callings to
save the children of men. 7:274.
There are men upon whom God has bestowed gifts and graces, and women
who are endowed with strong mental ability, and yet they cannot
receive the truth; and then the truth condemns them; it leaves them
in darkness. When they cannot receive every truth, let it be ever so
important or unimportant to them, their neglect to grasp in their faith
the truth God reveals for their benefit weakens them, comparatively,
from the crowns of their heads to the soles of their feet, and the
enemy may have the advantage over them in an hour when they think not.
8:59. {656}
Strive to be righteous, not for any speculation, but because
righteousness is lovely, pure; holy, beautiful, and exalting; it is
designed to make the soul happy and full of joy, to the extent of the
whole capacity of man, filling him with light, glory, and intelligence.
8:172.
If we do the best we know how, and yet commit many acts that are wrong
and contrary to the counsel given to us, there is hope in our case.
2:132. {657}