And so it has been with God from the foundation of the world. He has visited all nations, kindred, tongues, and people, and yet the truth has not been revealed to the world in its fulness, and men have not been called to do the work that Christ was called to do; nor the work that Abraham was called to do; nor that which Noah was appointed to do; nor that appointed to the twelve apostles to preach his name and proclaim his gospel to the world. They were called like Columbus to do work God required them to do. Later God revealed the power of steam to Watt, just as he has inspired every other philosopher and scientist and great man of the world. I acknowledge the hand of God in it. I give God the honor, the glory; and I know that it is in accordance with his purpose that he has inspired these things to be brought to pass. I believe that Mohammed was an inspired man and the Lord raised him up to do the work he did.
I believe God raised up Joseph Smith to lay the foundations of the gospel of Christ in the dispensation of the fulness of times; that it will remain and no more be broken up; but will continue until God's promises are accomplished in the world and Christ shall come and reign, whose right it is to reign in the midst of the earth. This is what I believe about it, and the Lord's hand was in the raising up of Joseph Smith to accomplish the work.
Joseph Smith was called to do this work; and he did it. He has been an instrument in the hands of God by giving each of us the power to obtain knowledge for ourselves through the mercy and love of God, and to become teachers of it to the world; teachers not only to our children, but to nations that are in darkness and know not the truth. And it is a living, daily religion, an hourly religion. It requires us to do right today, this hour, this week, this month and this year; and so on from year to year, to live our religion—which is the religion of Jesus Christ—of righteousness, of truth, of mercy, of love, forgiveness, kindness, union and peace on earth and good will to man and all the world. This is our mission.
May the Lord bless you, my brethren and sisters, and my fellow workers in the cause of Zion, is my prayer.—Young Woman's Journal, Vol. 18, 1907, pp. 312-315.
THE FOUNTAIN OF TRUTH. We hear frequently of men who throw discredit on the doctrine of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, because some of the principles, doctrines, and philosophy which he taught are said to have been spoken before his day by heathen philosophers.
A variety of examples are sometimes quoted to show that Zoroaster and other ancient philosophers made known truths, and that the Old Testament, the Avesta, and other writings, contain sentiments, which were repeated, perhaps in slightly different form, by the Son of God. He taught nothing new, they say, and so they incline to belittle his mission, and accuse him of plagiarizing the truth.
It is conceded by a number of competent students that the ideals which have grown from the doctrines of Christ are a direct development of what is found in the teachings of the Old Testament, particularly in the Psalms and in the second part of Isaiah. But, on the other hand, it is just as certain that these ideals received a finish and an enrichment, by the touch of the Savior, vastly beyond and above what they possessed before, and also they are placed on deeper and firmer foundations. This, let it be said to begin with, is because they were his before they were ever uttered by man.
Even in the five distinctive and characteristic topics generally considered by commentators original in the teachings of Jesus, we find little if anything new, except the enlargement. These are named as the Fatherhood of God; subjects or members of the Kingdom; the Messiah; the Holy Ghost; and the Tri-Unity of God.
But the idea of the Fatherhood of God was not unknown either to the Pagans or to Israel. Zeus from the time of Homer had borne the name "Father of gods and men." But, both in Jewish and Pagan literature, the idea was superficial and meant little more than "originator" (Genesis 1:26); and in the old Jewish scripture God is more particularly called the Father of his people, Israel. (Deut. 14:1; Isaiah 63:6) But in the teachings of Christ there is a fuller embodiment of revelation in the word Father, and the application which he makes of the Fatherhood of God invests his life with supreme tenderness and beauty. As an example: In the old scriptures, we are told, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him;" (Psalms 103:13), but by the interpretation of Jesus, the love of God as Father extends, beyond these limitations even to those who are unthankful and evil: "But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of our Father which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust." (Matt 5:45.) "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest; for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." (Luke 6:35.)
And so with other doctrines of Christ; while perhaps not new, they were enriched by the addition of fuller, broader, more loving conceptions of God and his purposes; in which compulsion was eliminated, and lowly service, love, and self-sacrifice were substituted and made the true forces of an acceptable life. Even the answer to the lawyer's question, often called the eleventh commandment, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" had been given to the children of Israel, (Lev. 19:18) over two thousand years before its perfected meaning was impressed upon the learned Pharisee. (Matt. 22:34, 40.)