John Taylor

“ There is one great principle by which, I think, we all of us ought to be actuated in our worship, above everything else that we are associated with in life, and that is honesty of purpose. The Scriptures say—"If the truth shall make you free, then shall you be free indeed, the sons of God without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation." ”

“ We have our bodies of divinity, our schools of theology, our religious seminaries, and places where ministers are manufactured and prepared to perform certain work which they call preaching the Gospel, and these ministers, as well as the people, have different ideas about the Deity and the proper modes of worshiping him. Does the incongruity of this state of things ever strike the minds of reflecting men, men of science, who are accustomed to weigh the force of an argument and to solve knotty problems? ”

“ Now, what can God think of a people, placed here on the earth, the most intelligent of his creations, possessed of reasoning faculties, who, in many instances, have investigated and understand the laws of Nature, I say, what can he think of men who set up every form, notion and theory, every species of absurdity that can be imagined, and call it the worship of God? ”

“ If there is anything behind the vail that is mysterious; if there is anything that the Prophets saw when the visions of eternity were unfolded to their view; if there are principles of life and salvation; if there is anything tending to exalt man in time and eternity, anything pertaining to eternal rewards and everlasting exaltation, you are now in possession of a principle which will unfold and develop these principles to your mind. ”

“ Seeing, then, that man is both a mortal and an immortal being, having to do with eternity as well as time, it is proper that he should become acquainted with those principles that are so nearly concerned with his happiness and well-being in time and in eternity. We will let John Wesley, Luther, Calvin, Melancthon, Henry the Eighth, and any other organizer of religion go, and we will come to the Scriptures of truth and see what they say about it. Christ, we are told, brought life and immortality to light, and he did it through the medium of the Gospel. ”

“ We call ourselves Christians, that is, we Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, Episcopalians and "Mormons," we all call ourselves Christians. Well, perhaps we are, and then, perhaps we are not; it is a matter that would bear investigation, I think; and, then, I think, too, that it is very proper, as I said at the commencement, that we should be honest with ourselves about all things, and especially in religion and the service and worship of God. ”

“ They all believed in him, no matter what deities of an inferior nature they might have. But there were very few who knew how to worship the true God; hence they made to themselves all sorts of gods, some of wood, stone, ivory, gold, silver, brass, iron, &c. They had deities of every imaginable kind, and through these various forms and mediums they wished or thought to propitiate the Deity, and to secure to themselves some kind of happiness in the life hereafter.
We, in this generation, are a good deal like them. We think we are very superior in intelligence and in religion. ”

“ Having commenced in the principles of truth and obtained the Spirit of light and intelligence that flows from God through obedience to the Gospel, it is for us to "purify ourselves even as God is pure," and purge from ourselves all corruption, iniquity, fraud, lying and evil of every kind, all adultery, fornication, seduction and lasciviousness ”

“ Only think of men being in possession of a principle which should enable them, under all circumstances, to discriminate between truth and error, virtue and vice; between those principles which would ennoble and elevate, and those which would overthrow and destroy, and which should make them acquainted with God and the principles of eternal life. ”

“ Said he—"If I go away I will send you the Comforter, which is the Spirit of truth, and it shall bring things past to your remembrance, it shall lead you into all truth and show you things to come;" in other words—"You, man, who are made in the image of God, shall be brought into your proper relationship with him That spirit of intelligence which dwells in you shall be associated with God—the God who dwells in eternity, communication shall be opened up between you and him, you shall be placed en rapport with him, and you shall realize and comprehend all things pertaining to your well-being. ”

“ God, we are told, "is no respecter of persons; but in every nation he that fears God and works righteousness shall be accepted of him." Is that true? Yes. God "has made of one blood all the families of the earth," we are told. There seemed to be an idea of this kind prevailing in ancient days, according to the sayings of some of the inspired men mentioned in the Scriptures. We are in the habit of going along like flocks of sheep—following our leader, no matter where he goes. ”

“ There was something intellectual about it, something tangible, and satisfactory to the human mind, and calculated to meet the capacious desires thereof, and to make a man feel that he was an inheritor of eternal life. ”

“ Well, in regard to all these things we all think alike, because our thoughts are based on correct principles. But when we come to religious matters, we discover that, though men are naturally intelligent, they act like fools; they do not use their common judgment, reason or intelligence. "Well," say they, "you know we are governed by the Bible." ”

“ One is a little stronger than another, one has a more beautiful face, perhaps; may be more exquisitely formed than another; but all bear the same impress; all are governed by the same laws, all possess the same properties, powers and faculties to a certain extent, so far as the body is concerned, according to the strength or weakness of the individual. You do not find men with four arms, six eyes, ten heads, or fifteen feet or legs ”

“ The Scriptures inform us that when Jesus commenced to preach the Gospel he called men from the various avocations of life, among others from the occupation of fishing; he called twelve men, whom he ordained as Apostles. He inspired these men with the gift of revelation and with a knowledge of God; he placed them in communication with God, so that they had revelation from him and were enabled to teach the laws of life ”

“ We may deceive one another, and, in some circumstances, as counterfeit coin passes for that which is considered true and valuable among men. But God searches the hearts and tries the reins of the children of men. ”

“ He might. reasonably say, these men exhibit wisdom and intelligence in many respects. So far as discovering the operations of Nature, and examining and testing the laws thereof, they all agree, but in religious matters they exhibit imbecility and weakness, in that there is no union. A philosopher in America, France, Germany, England, Spain, Italy, Russia, Prussia, or any other nation, will arrive at the same conclusions, precisely, that all other men or scientists of all other nations do; that is, when they examine the laws of nature and operate in the actual sciences. ”

“ There was something peculiar about it—it gave men who lived up to and honored its principles in their lives and actions, a knowledge of life and immortality. They were not dependent upon the sayings or doings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Malachi or any of the Prophets; but the Gospel brought a knowledge of life and immortality to all who obeyed it and lived according to its precepts. It informed all such that they were immortal beings; that they would exist after they had got through with time; if they died they should live again ”

“ Men, everywhere, are egotistical, they always think they are the smartest and most intelligent that ever lived; and it must be confessed that in many respects the generation in which we live are very far in advance of many others, and in regard to the arts and sciences, and certain branches of literature and mechanism, but how vague and uncertain are the ideas entertained by men in general, about the Deity! ”

“ He knows our thoughts and comprehends our desires and feelings; he knows our acts and the motives which prompt us to perform them. He is acquainted with all the doings and operations of the human family, and all the secret thoughts and acts of the children of men are open and naked before him, and for them he will bring them to judgment. ”

“ Our Bible purports to be the account given us of him by men who were inspired by him, for we are told that, "holy men of old spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost." It is related within the lids of this sacred volume that a great many of the ancients had dreams, visions, the ministering of angels and revelations ”

“ My impression about this is, that both speaker and hearer ought to be under the guidance and direction of the Almighty, for unless a man speaks by the dictation of the Spirit of the Lord, his discourse will be of very little benefit to those who hear; and unless those who hear also hear by the Spirit, and are prepared to receive correct instructions, no matter how eloquent the discourse may be, or how forcible and powerful the truths which are enunciated, it amounts to very little. ”

“ There is little or no difference among the men of these various nations in regard to the existence of a Supreme Being, who rules and controls the destinies of nations, as well as of individuals; and there was no difference, in former times, between the magicians, and Daniel and those associated with him in his faith relative to the true God. ”

“ No matter where they are, or in what language they may convey their ideas—for words are merely the signs of ideas—whenever correct ideas exist, and these ideas are properly explained, whenever submitted to scientific analysis and proper tests, they all arrive at the same conclusions, no matter what nation it is you are among or where you live. ”

“ It is proper that men should be honest with themselves, that they should be honest with each other in all their words, dealings, intercourse, intercommunication, business arrangements and everything else ”

“ Yet strange as it is, you are willing to take anybody's ipse dixit in relation to religious matters, in relation to things of the most vital importance, things pertaining to the immortal part of man, we act like the veriest babies or consummate fools, while in regard to the affairs of this life we act intelligently. ”

“ I have seen sheep sometimes, and perhaps you have, running along a road, and one thought there was an obstacle—perhaps there was not anything—and it would make a leap, and when the others reached the same place they would all make the same leap; if one leaps they all leap. ”

“ This is an idea that will not be disputed by any race of men now existing upon the earth, nor perhaps by any who have existed heretofore, for whatever may have been the theories or notions of men in former times, they have generally had a reverence for, and a belief in, an Allwise, Supreme, Omnipotent Being, who, they supposed, was greater than all of them, and who governed and control [l] ed all their actions. A feeling of this kind is frequently made manifest in the Scriptures, and it is nothing new in our age to believe in a God of this character. ”

“ This reasoning is correct, and in regard to nature and its laws, the world and the elements with which we are surrounded, and the laws operating in the world with which we are acquainted, all men arrive at the same conclusions, and there is no difference, unless we come to theorizing, and then there is always difficulty. ”

“ These ideas are believed in by men generally, who, with very few exceptions, whatever their general conduct or ideas on religious matters may be, believe in an All-seeing eye which penetrates and is enabled to weigh the actions and motives of the children of men. ”

“ This is so under the most severe tests which scientific criticism can apply; with every known principle in nature, whether we refer to light, heat, the gases, or any and all of the elements of which the earth is composed or by which we are surrounded. ”