Gospel Doctrine: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. Smith

by Joseph F. Smith

"My son, be up and doing, and the Lord will be with thee."—Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 38, p. 689.

DUTY OF A PERSON CALLED ON A MISSION. When a man is called to go on a mission, and a field of labor is assigned to him, he should, I think, say in his heart, "Not my will be done, but thine, O Lord."—Deseret Weekly News, Vol. 33, 1884, p. 226.

CHAPTER XXI

FALSE TEACHINGS

THE DEVIL'S KNOWLEDGE. The devil knows the Father much better than we. Lucifer, the son of the morning, knows Jesus Christ, the Son of God, much better than we; but in him it is not and will not redound to eternal life; for knowing, he yet rebels; knowing, he is yet disobedient; he will not receive the truth; he will not abide in the truth; hence he is perdition, and there is no salvation for him. The same doctrine applies to me and to you and all the sons and daughters of God who have judgment and knowledge and are able to reason between cause and effect, and determine the right from the wrong, and the good from the evil, and who are capable of seeing the light and distinguishing it from the darkness. Then this is the gospel of Jesus Christ, to know the only true and living God and his Son whom he has sent into the world, which knowledge comes through obedience to all his commandments, faith, repentance of sin, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands by divine authority, and not by the will of man.—Apr. C. R., 1916, p. 4.

THE ENEMY OF TRUTH ALWAYS ARRAYED AGAINST THIS WORK. From the day that the Prophet Joseph Smith first declared his vision until now, the enemy of all righteousness, the enemy of truth, of virtue, of honor, uprightness, and purity of life, the enemy of the only true God, the enemy to direct revelation from God and to the inspirations that come from the heavens to man has been arrayed against this work.—Apr. C. R., 1909, p. 4.

WHY THE TRUTH IS HATED. Why should men be embittered against you because of this, because of your belief in Joseph Smith? Why should they become your enemies because you declare your faith in a new revelation from the Father and from the Son to mankind for their guidance? Why should they? Let me tell you why: for the very same reason precisely that the embittered and unbelieving Pharisees and hypocrites of the Savior's time persecuted the Redeemer of earth, for the very reason that they later put to death the disciples of Jesus Christ, whom he ordained as apostles and as special witnesses of himself, who bore testimony of him and of the gospel to all the nations of the earth. They put them to death one by one, some of them in the most cruel manner, simply because they preached Jesus Christ, and him crucified and risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven, and sitting with all glory and power and majesty and might at the right hand of his Father, God. The world felt injured by it. Why? Because it laid the ax at the root of the tree of error, of superstition, and of tradition, of lack of faith, and unbelief. It laid the ax at the root of the tree of wickedness, in the world, and of ignorance of God and his principles, and the plan of life and salvation, and the world hated the disciples because of it, and they hated the Son of God because of it, and they crucified him. They hated the disciples because of it, and they put them to death. That is why they hate you, for the same reason; that is, those who do hate you, those who have exercised their power, their will and their thoughts or minds sufficiently to be imbued with the spirit of persecution and hatred against the light and the truth.—Oct. C. R., 1911, p. 5.

ONLY THOSE WHO DENY THE FAITH CONTEND. You find the spirit of contention only among apostates and those who have denied the faith, those who have turned away from the truth and have become enemies to God and his work. There you will find the spirit of contention, the spirit of strife. There you will find them wanting to "argue the question," and to dispute with you all the time. Their food, their meat, and their drink is contention which is abominable in the sight of the Lord. We do not contend. We are not contentious, for if we were we would grieve the Spirit of the Lord from us, just as apostates do and have always done.—Apr. C. R., 1908, p. 7.