CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP.
Members of the Church must necessarily accept the conceptions for which it stands. These are, essentially, the plan of salvation, the progressive development of all spirits concerned in the Plan, and the authority of a supreme intelligent Being, to deal with the men and women placed on earth. The conditions of membership are not many, nor difficult to understand. They are, rather, of a kind naturally appearing before an intelligent being concerned in any organization.
**Faith.** All who enter the Church, or accept the Great Plan must, as a first condition, possess the faith which has been defined as "the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen." In other words, they must first acknowledge the existence in the universe of things and powers that may not be sensed directly, but which may be used to accomplish the purposes of man. Such an attitude is required to admit the existence of a God or a plan of salvation. Such a faith yields to man a comprehensive possession of the universe, and may establish a philosophy of life that conforms to every law of nature. The man who has no such faith stands before the plan of salvation as before a sealed book. He can not open it, nor opened, can he read it. A faith that admits the universe, seen and unseen, enables man to accomplish great things; in fact, all who have done the great labor of the world, have had such a faith. The law of faith is a general law.
Faith is not necessarily removed from the ordinary experiences of life. On the contrary it is the beginning of all knowledge. Man observes the phenomena of nature, classifies and groups them until he reaches great general laws representing many individual phenomena. By the use of such laws, reasoning from the known to the unknown, laws may be inferred, the existence of which cannot be sensed directly. By this method of using human knowledge, man rapidly becomes aware of the certainty of the great universe that lies around him but beyond his immediate ken. Moreover, and possibly of chief importance, such inferred but certain knowledge makes man confident that he can continue forever in the acquisition of knowledge and power, and it thus becomes a help in every duty of life.
**Repentance.** Another fundamental requirement of those who enter the Church is repentance. This is also self-evident, for if man is convinced of the correctness of a certain procedure, that is, if he has faith in it, he certainly will use that faith, if it is to become of any value to him. An active faith is repentance. It is commonly felt that repentance is only the turning away from evil practices. It is probably just as important for man to act out the good he learns as to refrain from doing evil. Repentance, then, is not merely negative; it is also positive. This also is a general law. Great work can be done by those only who have faith and who put that faith into action.
**Baptism.** The third requirement of those who desire entrance into the Church is baptism. The candidate for baptism, presenting himself to one who has authority from Jesus Christ, is buried in the water and taken out again, as a symbol of the death and resurrection, the atoning sacrifice, and the conquest over death, of the Savior. The ordinance of baptism, as far as man is concerned, is essentially an acknowledgment of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, a promise of obedience to the requirements of the Great Plan, and the acceptance of divine authority. Baptism is also a principle of general application, for in whatever pursuit a man may be engaged, whether in or out of the Church, he must first have faith in the work he has to do, then repent, in the sense of putting his faith into action and, finally, he must give obedience to the laws involved in the work.
**The Gift of the Holy Ghost.** The fourth condition of Church membership, which is in the nature of a result of the three first requirements, is that the candidate receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is accomplished when one having authority places his hands on the head of the candidate, confirms him a member of the Church, and says, "Receive the Holy Ghost." This establishes an authoritative connection between man and God, the Holy Ghost, by which it is possible to secure, through the active support of the Holy Ghost, more light and power and confidence than man may secure unaided. Every man born into the world has life by the holy spirit and may, through its operations, and his own self-effort, be in communication with all other intelligent beings in the universe; but, only those who conform to the first ordinances of the Gospel are connected officially with the powers of the Holy Ghost in such a way as to secure added help. A distinct and real power conies to the individual who has received the Holy Ghost. It is as if he had been given a key to a great and wonderful building which he enters at his pleasure. However, the key may be kept unused; then the gift has been of no value. Man must draw upon the Holy Ghost, if the gift shall be real. The gift of the Holy Ghost also represents a general law, for it is evident that all who have faith made active by repentance, and have shown obedience by baptism, will be in such harmony with intelligent forces as to receive great light from them if desired or needed.
**Continued Conformity.** It is not sufficient that a man secure entrance into the Church by compliance with the first four principles of the Gospel. After he has attained membership he must become active in the practice of the laws which constitute the body of Church doctrine, and which are quite as important as the fundamental ones preceding entrance. Passivity will not suffice; activity only constitutes an unqualified membership in the Church. The man will be "in tune" with the work only when he lives out daily the principles of the Great Plan. This is self-evident, moreover, because the Church has the mission of bringing the Gospel to the understanding of all men on earth, and unless the members of the Church are active in missionary work, they will not acquire the full spirit of the Church. Unselfishness should characterize the members of the Church.
**Acceptance of Authority.** The conditions of membership here mentioned are all vital. Nevertheless, in addition to them, candidates for admission to the Church must acknowledge the full authority of the Church as a divine institution, to which has been committed, by God, the authority to act for him in all matters pertaining to the plan of salvation. Without this authority, the Church is no more than any man-made institution. The acceptance of authority means that all the laws of the Gospel must be obeyed, by every member. The law cannot be varied for individuals, to please their fancies or supposed needs. This is clearly brought out by the historical fact that Adam, after he had been taught and had accepted the Gospel, was baptized, confirmed, and received all the ordinances of the Church. Similarly, Jesus, the Son of God, began his official labors by being baptized by one having authority. The pattern has been set for all; and it has been followed in all dispensations. If men be on the full road of progress they will comply with the laws of membership, and become active in the support of the Church and its work.