I think that the Latter-day Saints will also recognize in that a note of "Mormonism"—because they believe that whatever man may be today, whatever his excellence may be—even the excellence of the most highly developed men—we believe that there are heights beyond those which he has now attained, to which it is possible for him to mount.
I merely wanted to read those two paragraphs for the purpose of presenting the attitude of the professors, in a general way, in regard to the creeds of men and the existing Christian Churches. I now call your attention to some few doctrines that our prophet taught in respect of man. Of course, you who are familiar with Christian teaching of three-quarters of a century ago, will recall the fact that it was quite customary to represent man as a quite inferior, insignificant, poor worm of the dust; and the phraseology applied to him was that he was a creature "conceived in sin and shapen in iniquity." Referring to these ideas as something engrafted upon Christianity, yet foreign to its genius, Professor G. H. Howison of the University of California, in his contribution to the book Conceptions of God (1902) and speaking of those who hold and taught such views, says:
"Their monotonous theme was the inevitable greatness of the Supreme Being and the utter littleness of man. Their tradition lay like a pall upon the human spirit—nay, it lies upon it to this day, and it smothers now, as it smothered then, the voice that answers there to the call of Jesus." (p. 96.)
When the prophet proceeded with the deliverance of his message to the world, he departed from this view as to the essential baseness of the nature of man, and proceeded to proclaim him to be a son of God, not only through some means of adoption, but by the very nature of him. He proclaimed him to be an eternal intelligence as to his spirit, and that after the experience of the resurrection from the dead, he would be an immortal personage, a prince of heaven, an heir to all that God possesses, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ, capable of infinite progress and of amazing possibilities. On one occasion—to be more specific, in 1844—while discoursing upon the subject of man and his spirit, he propounded this question:
"The mind of man, the immortal spirit—where did it come from? All learned men and doctors of divinity say that God created it in the beginning, but it is not so. The very idea lessens man in my estimation. I do not believe the doctrine; I know better. Hear it, all ye ends of the world! for God has told me so. If you don't believe me, it will not make the truth without effect. * * * We say that God himself is a self-existent being. Who told you so? It is correct enough, but who told you that man did not exist in like manner, upon the same principle? God made a tabernacle and put man's spirit in it, and it became a living soul. * * * * It does not say in the Hebrew that God created the spirit of man; it says God made man out of the earth and put in him Adam's spirit, and so became a living soul. The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-eternal with God himself. * * * God himself does not create himself. Intelligence is eternal, and exists upon a self-existent principle; it is a spirit from age to age, and there is no creation about it. The spirit of man is not a created being, it existed from eternity, and will exist to eternity."
Such was the prophet's teaching upon this subject. I might, however, supplement the above statement by quoting one of the revelations that also bears upon this theme. The Christian world are ready to accord to the Christ, the Son of God, an existence co-eternal with God; and indeed would consider it unorthodox to hold any other view than the co-eternity of the Son with the Father; and they quote in support of this view the very beautiful preface to John's gospel; namely, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. The same was in the beginning with God. * * * * In him was life, and the life was the light of men." And then later it is explained that this "Word" "became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory; the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth."
All orthodox Christians believe that this passage establishes the co-eternity of the Christ with the Father. Now, that is a very great doctrine; but I desire to show you that, excellent as it is, the Lord in our dispensation has added another truth to that one by what is said in the revelation from which I now read. Jesus Christ is represented as speaking:
"Verily, I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the first-born. [Now, mark you—addressing the several brethren who were present when this revelation was received]—Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is spirit, even the spirit of truth."
Meaning that part of man that is spirit, that intelligence, that thing within man that is conscious of its own existence, and of other existences; that has power to will and to direct and to do things; that thing within man that reasons and reflects and has memory; that being who, most emphatically, is you, yourself, and not the house, merely, in which you live; that, too, was in the beginning with the Father. And now the revelation broadens the truth beyond those to whom the Christ directly spoke at the time the revelation was given; for in a subsequent verse it says: "Man," undoubtedly meaning the race—
"Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.
"All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also, otherwise there is no existence.
"Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man, because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light.
"And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation,
"For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receiveth a fulness of joy;
"And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.
"The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples."