James E. Talmage

“ On another occasion these words were spoken:—"For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.... And again, verily, verity, I say unto you, that when the thousand years are ended, and men again begin to deny their God, then will I spare the earth but for a little season, and the end shall come." ”

“ Religion without morality, professions of godliness without charity, church-membership without an adequate responsibility as to individual conduct in daily life, are but as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals—noise without music, the words without the spirit of prayer. ”

“ Intolerance has been the greatest hindrance to true progress in every period of time; yet under the sable cloak of perverted zeal for religion, nations while boasting of their civilization, and professed ministers of the gospel of Christ, have stained the pages of the world's history with the record of such unholy deeds of persecution as to make the heavens weep. In this respect, so-called Christianity ought to bow its head in shame before the record of even pagan toleration. ”

“ We frequently hear it said that faith is imperfect knowledge; that the first disappears as the second takes its place; that now we walk by faith but some day we will walk by the sure light of knowledge. In a sense this is true; yet it must be remembered that knowledge may be as dead and unproductive in good works as is faithless belief. ”

“ If this thought be founded on truth, and the Christian soul will hardly doubt it, we may as readily believe in the existence of other worlds than those of structure so gross as to be visible to our dull eyes. I repeat, that in regard to the revealed word concerning the regeneration of earth, and the acquirement of a celestial glory by our planet, science has nothing to offer, either by way of support or contradiction. Let us not because of this, disparage science, or decry the labors of its votaries. No one realizes more fully than does the truly scientific man how much we do not know. ”

“ All the revolting practices of idolatry are traceable to perverted and fiendish conceptions of human excellence, and these are reflected in the hideous creations of man-made, devil-inspired deities. On the other hand, the man whose enlightened soul has received the impress of love, pure and undefiled, will ascribe to his God the attributes of gentleness and affection, and will say in his heart, "God is love." He alone who has acquired a proper understanding of the glory and responsibility of parenthood, can intelligently use the Son's title of invocation, "Our Father." ”

“ There are powers and forces at the command of God, compared with which, electricity, the most occult of all the physical agencies controlled in any degree by man, is as the pack-horse to the locomotive, the foot messenger to the telegraph, the raft of logs to the ocean steamer. Man has scarcely glanced at the enginery of creation; and yet the few forces known to him have brought about miracles and wonders, which but for their actual realization would be beyond belief. ”

“ So marked has been the universal curse, so great the power of the tempter; so bitter the selfish and ungodly strife betwixt man and man, and between nation and nation; so general has been the enmity of the animal creation, among its own members, and toward the being who, though in a degraded state, yet holds the Divine commission to the authority of dominion; so prolific has been the soil in bringing forth thorns, briers, and noxious weeds, that the description of Eden is to us as the story of another world, an orb of a higher order of existence, wholly unlike this dreary sphere. ”

“ The Atonement Proved by Evidence.—"It is often asked: 'How is it that through the sacrifice of one who is innocent salvation may be purchased for those under the dominion of death?' We observe in passing that what should most concern man is not so much how it is that such is the case, but is it a fact?... To that question the blood sprinkled upon a thousand Jewish altars, and the smoke that darkened the heavens for ages from burnt offerings, answer yes.... Even the mythology of heathen nations retains the idea of an atonement that either has been, or is to be made for mankind. ”

“ What shadow of justification or pretense of consistency can man claim for denying the power and purposes of God to reveal Himself and His will in these days as He assuredly did in former times? In every department of human knowledge and activity, in everything for which man [324] arrogates to himself glory, he prides himself in the possibilities of enlargement and growth; yet in the Divine science of theology, he holds that progress is impossible, and advancement forbidden. ”

“ To admit the existence of a designer in the evidence of design, to say there must be a contriver in a world of intelligent contrivance, to believe in an adapter when man's life is directly dependent upon the most perfect adaptations conceivable, is but to accept self-evident truths. These axioms of nature ought to require no demonstration; the burden of proof as to the non-existence of a God ought to be placed upon him who questions the solemn truth. "Every house is builded by some man, but he that built all things is God." ”

“ And without the power of perpetuating his kind, how insignificant would appear the glory and majesty of man! How little can be accomplished by the individual within the limited range of a single mortal existence! ”

“ Miracles are not primarily intended, surely they are not needed, to prove the power of God; the simpler occurrences, the more ordinary works of creation do that. But unto the heart already softened and purified by the testimony of the truth, to the mind enlightened through the Spirit's power and conscious of obedient service in the requirements of the gospel, the voice of miracles comes with cheering tidings of a loving Parent's continued favor, with fresh and more abundant evidences of the magnanimity of an all-merciful God. ”

“ At the time the Prophet Joseph received that revelation, the belief was general in Christendom that at death the destiny of the soul was fixed irrevocably and for all eternity. If not rewarded with endless happiness, then endless torment was its doom, beyond all possibility of redemption or change. The horrible and monstrous doctrine, so much at variance with every element of Divine justice, was generally believed, that the heathen nations who had died without a knowledge of the true God, and the redemption wrought out by His Son Jesus Christ, would all be eternally consigned to hell. ”

“ Shall religion be the one department of human thought and effort in which progression is impossible? What would we say of the chemist, the astronomer, the physicist, or the geologist, who would proclaim that no further discovery or revelation of scientific truth is possible, or who would declare that the only occupation open to students of science is to con the books of by-gone times and to apply the principles long ago made known, for none others shall ever be discovered? The chief motive impelling to research and investigation is the conviction that to knowledge and wisdom there is no end. ”

“ And further, it is evident that the Fall was foreseen, to be a means whereby man could be brought face to face with both good and evil; that of his own agency he might elect the one or the other, and thus be prepared by the experiences of a mortal probation for the exaltation provided in the glorious plan of his creation:—"For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man;" ”

“ Oh, man of learning though not of wisdom! why reject the privileges extended to you by the omnipotent, omniscient Being to whom you owe your life, yet whose name you will not acknowledge? No mortal can approach Him while contemplating His perfections and might with aught but awe and speechless reverence ”

“ Was there ever mortal believer who confessed more unreservedly a knowledge of God and His Son Jesus Christ than did these same followers of Satan? The evil one knows God and Christ; remembers, perchance, somewhat concerning the position which he once occupied as a Son of the Morning [272] ; yet with all such knowledge he is Satan still. Neither belief nor its superior,—actual knowledge,—is efficient to save; for neither of these is faith. Belief may be a product of the mind, faith is of the heart; belief is founded on reason; faith largely on intuition. ”

“ Importance of Belief in God.—"The existence of a Supreme Being is, without doubt, the sublimest conception that can enter the human mind, and, even as a scientific question, can have no equal, for it assumes to furnish the cause of causes, the great ultimate fact in philosophy, the last and sublimest generalization of scientific truth. ”

“ No person possessing a regard for Deity and a sense of duty toward that power Divine, can be happy if he be restricted in the performance of the highest duty of his existence. Could one be happy, though he were housed in a palace, surrounded with all material comforts and provided with every facility for intellectual enjoyment, if he were cut off from communion with the being whom he loved the most? To the man who has learned to know his Divine Father, freedom of worship is preferable even to life. ”

“ And for such high claims combined with such professions of tolerance, the Church has been accused of inconsistency. Let it not be forgotten, however, that toleration is not acceptance. I may believe with the utmost fulness of my soul's powers that I am right and my neighbor is wrong concerning any proposition or principle; but such conviction gives me no semblance of right for interfering with his exercise of freedom. The only bounds to the liberty of an individual are such as mark the liberty of another, or the rights of the community. ”

“ Surely the full penalty provided for wilful unbelief will fall to the lot of the professed believer who refuses to yield obedience to the very principles in which he boasts of having faith. And what can be said of the sincerity of one who refuses to obey the Divine commands except there be specific penalties provided for disobedience? Can such a one's repentance be sincere, when he now is submissive only through fear of punishment? ”

“ Not a truth has ever been made the property of human kind except through the power of that great Spirit who exists to do the bidding of the Father and the Son. And yet the actual companionship of the Holy Ghost, the divinely-bestowed right to His ministrations, the sanctifying baptism with fire, are given as a permanent possession only to the faithful, repentant, baptized candidate for salvation; and with all such this gift shall abide, unless it be forfeited through transgression. ”

“ The Comprehensiveness of Our Faith must appeal to every earnest investigator of the principles taught by the Church, and still more to the unprejudiced observer of the results as manifested in the course of life characteristic of the Latter-day Saints. Within the pale of the Church there is a place for all truth,—for everything that is praiseworthy, virtuous, lovely, or of good report. The liberality with which the Church regards other religious denominations; the earnestness of its teaching that God is no respecter of persons, but that He will judge all men according to their deeds ”

“ Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins. But little children are alive in Christ even from the foundation of the world." [253]
24. And in a revelation through the prophet Joseph Smith in this dispensation, the Lord has said:—"But behold I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten; wherefore they cannot sin, for power is not given unto [92] Satan to tempt little children until they begin to become accountable before me." ”

“ A knowledge that he is wilfully and wantonly sinning against the truth will deprive him of sincerity in prayer and faith, and will surely estrange him from his Father. He must feel that the trend of his life's course is acceptable to God, that with due allowance for mortal weakness and human frailty he is in some measure approved of the Lord, or he can never approach the throne of grace with confidence. The consciousness of earnest effort toward godly walk and conduct is a power of itself, strengthening its possessor in sacrifice and under persecution, and sustaining him in all good works. ”

“ Faith a Gift of God.—Though within the reach of all who diligently strive to gain it, faith is nevertheless a Divine gift, and can be obtained only from God. [305] As is fitting for so priceless a pearl, it is given to those only who show by their sincerity that they are worthy of it, and who give promise of abiding by its dictates. Although faith is called the first principle of the gospel of Christ, though it be in fact the foundation of all religion, yet even faith is preceded by sincerity of disposition and humility of soul, whereby the word of God may make an impression upon the heart. ”