Moreover, to the extent that a man is guided into all truth, he is preserved from all error. There is no danger of his being deceived, or led astray by every wind of doctrine, or the cunning craftiness of false teachers, so long as he is in possession of that Spirit which guides into all truth. So taught Isaiah, who, in speaking of the time when the house of Israel should possess this Spirit, said:
"And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers;
"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."[A]
[Footnote A: Isaiah xxx:20, 21.]
5. The Holy Ghost as Remembrancer: As to the second power enumerated, viz.: the power to bring all things to remembrance; it is a most practical and important function, as it would be impossible for man to live the law of the Gospel without some such grace being conferred upon him by the Lord. The law of the Gospel requires men not only to do good to those who do good to them, but to do good to those who despitefully use them; not only to lend to those who lend to them, but to lend to those of whom they may not hope to receive anything in return; to revile not those who may revile them—in a word, the law of the Gospel is summed up in this: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."[A]
[Footnote A: Romans xii:21. See also Matt. v, vi.]
However fine this may be in theory, to carry it practically into the affairs of life is difficult. When reviled it seems but natural to answer railing with railing, blows with blows, and for injury inflicted, return as much in kind as is within one's power to inflict. And unless in possession of this grace bestowed by the Holy Ghost, viz., having brought to one's recollection the things of Christ's Gospel, being reminded in the very moment of temptation of these laws—when smarting under a sense of injustice, or suffering under wrongs heaped upon one—it would be difficult if not impossible to live up to these heaven-given precepts. But by having the Holy Spirit as one's prompter in the moments of temptation, and by cultivating the Christian virtue of patience, this law of the Gospel, so contravening the natural disposition of man, may be complied with, and the follower of Christ, like his Master, may be able to say for those who inflict injury upon him, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
6. President Brigham Young on the Same: Along this line of thought the late President Brigham Young left on record, in a discourse delivered on the 28th of August, 1852, [Journal of Discourses, Vol. I], a very choice deliverance, in which he urged righteousness upon the ministry of the Church everywhere and at all times, through constant possession of the Holy Ghost. The passage follows:
"When I heard the brethren exhorting those who are going on missions, I wished them to impress one thing upon the minds of the elders, for it is necessary that it should be uppermost there, which may be the means of preserving them from receiving stains on their characters from which very probably they may never recover. If we get a blight on our characters before the Lord, or in other words, lose ground and backslide by transgression, or in any other way, so that we are not up even with the brethren, as we are now, we never can come up with them again. But this principle must be carried out by the elders wherever they go, whatever they do, or wherever they are. One thing must be observed and be before them all the time in their meditations, and in their practice, and that is, clean hands and pure hearts, before God, angels, and men. If the elders cannot go with clean hands and pure hearts, they had better stay here, and wash a little longer; don't go thinking when you arrive at the Missouri river, at the Mississippi, at the Ohio, or at the Atlantic, that then you will purify yourselves, but start from here with clean hands and pure hearts, and be pure from the crown of your heads to the soles of your feet, then live so every hour. Go in that manner, and in that manner labor, and return again as clean as a piece of pure, white paper. This is the way to go, and if you do not do that, your hearts will ache.
"How can you do it? Is there a way? Yes! Do the elders understand that way? They do. You cannot keep your hands clean, and your hearts pure, without the help of the Lord; neither will he keep you pure without your own help. Will you be liable to fall into temptation and be overtaken in sin? Yes, unless you live so as to have the revelation of Jesus Christ continually, not only to live in it today, or while you are preaching in a prayer meeting, or in a conference; but when you are out of the meetings. You must have the Holy Spirit all the time, on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and every day through the week, and from year to year, from the time you leave home until you return, so that when you come back, you may not be afraid if the Lord Almighty should come into the midst of the Saints and reveal all the acts and doings and designs of your hearts in your missions, but be found clean like a piece of white paper; that is the way for the elders to live in their ministry at home and abroad."