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

by Joseph F. Smith

"And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; [for this was before the coming of Christ to redeem his people] and he shall take upon him the transgression of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else."

Now let me say here: "He shall come into the world, and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name."

And those who believe will do the works that he commands. No man that will believe in truth will ever refuse to do what is required. And these are they that believe, that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.

"Therefore, the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works. Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death; the spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt. Now this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but all things shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. [Not the resurrection of the spirit, but the resurrection of the mortal body.] I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body; that is from death; even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption." (Alma 11:40-45)

Now that is the doctrine of the Latter-day Saints. That is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and, as he is the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead, as he was raised up, so will be raise up all the children of his Father upon whom the curse of Adam came. For as by one man came temporal death upon all men, so by the righteousness of Christ all shall come to life, through the resurrection from the dead upon all men; whether they be good or whether they be evil, whether they be black or white, bond or free, learned or unlearned, or whether they be young or old, it matters not. The death that came by the fall of our first parents is eradicated by the resurrection of the Son of God, and you and I cannot help it.—Journal of Discourses, October 26, 1867.

WORK FOR THE DEAD. The work for our dead, which the Prophet Joseph laid upon us with more than ordinary injunction, instructing us that we should look after those of our kinfolk and our ancestors who have died without the knowledge of the gospel, should not be neglected. We should avail ourselves of those sacred and potent ordinances of the gospel which have been revealed as essential to the happiness, salvation and redemption of those who have lived in this world when they could not learn the gospel and have died without the knowledge of it, and are now waiting for us, their children, who are living in an age when these ordinances can be performed, to do the work necessary for their release from the prison-house. Through our efforts in their behalf their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their children here, and will rejoice with you in your performance of these duties.—Oct. C. R., 1916, p. 6.

TEMPLE ORDINANCES UNCHANGED. We are engaged in temple work. We have built four temples in this land, and we built two temples in the eastern country before we came here. During the lifetime of the Prophet Joseph Smith one of the two was built and dedicated, and the foundation of the other was laid and the walls had well progressed when he was martyred. It was finished by the efforts of the people under the most trying circumstances, and in poverty, and was dedicated unto the Lord. The ordinances of the house of God were administered therein as they had been taught to the leading authorities of the Church by the Prophet Joseph Smith himself. The same gospel, the same ordinances, the same authority and blessings, that were administered by the Prophet Joseph Smith and taught by him to his associates are now being enjoyed by and taught to the Latter-day Saints in the four temples that have been built in these valleys of the mountains. When you hear anybody say that we have changed the ordinances, that we have transgressed the laws, or have broken the everlasting covenants which were entered into under the personal administration of the Prophet Joseph Smith, tell them for me, tell them for President Snow, for President Cannon, and for all those who are living today who received blessings and ordinances under the bands of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that they are in error. The same gospel prevails today, and the same ordinances are administered today, both for the living and for the dead, that were administered by the Prophet himself, and delivered by him to the Church.—Oct. C. R., 1900, pp. 46, 47.

CARE AND NEED OF TEMPLES. We feel that an effort should be made to preserve the temples of God, those houses that have been erected for the purpose of administering the ordinances of the gospel therein, for the living and the dead. We desire that these buildings shall be preserved and kept in repair and in a wholesome condition, so that the Spirit of the Lord may dwell in them, and that those who minister therein may feel the presence and influence of his Spirit. We also feel that when the time shall come and our hands shall be free from the obligations that now rest upon us, other places should be prepared for the convenience of the Latter-day Saints in more distant stakes, in order that those who are living at great distances from the center may have the privilege of receiving the ordinances of the gospel without being put to the great expense and loss of time that is necessary now in journeying from 500 to 1,000 miles in order to reach the houses of God. We hope to see the day when we shall have temples built in the various parts of the land where they are needed for the convenience of the people; for we realize that one of the greatest responsibilities that rests upon the people of God today is that their hearts shall be turned unto their fathers, and that they shall do the work that is necessary to be done for them in order that they may be joined together fitly in the bond of the New and Everlasting Covenant from generation to generation. For the Lord has said, through the Prophet, that this is one of the greatest responsibilities devolving upon us in this latter day.—Oct. C. R., 1902, pp. 2, 3.

PREACHING THE GOSPEL IN THE SPIRIT WORLD. Never has there been a name brought to the intelligence of the human race since the foundation of the world that has cost so much, that has accomplished so much, that has been revered and honored so much as the name of Jesus Christ, once so hated, and persecuted, and then crucified. The day will come, and it is not far distant either, when the name of the Prophet Joseph Smith will be coupled with the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of God, as his representative, as his agent whom he chose, ordained and set apart to lay anew the foundations of the Church of Jesus Christ, possessing all the powers of the gospel, all the rites and privileges, the authority of the holy priesthood and every principle necessary to fit and qualify both the living and the dead to inherit eternal life and to attain to exaltation in the kingdom of God. The day will come when you and I will not be the only ones who will believe this, by a great deal, but there will be millions living and dead who will proclaim this truth. This gospel revealed to the Prophet Joseph is already being preached to the spirits in prison, to those who have passed away from this stage of action into the spirit world without the knowledge of the gospel. Joseph Smith is preaching that gospel to them. So is Hyrum Smith. So is Brigham Young, and so are all the faithful apostles that lived in this dispensation under the administration of the Prophet Joseph. They are there, having carried with them from here the holy priesthood that they received under authority, and which was conferred upon them in the flesh; they are preaching the gospel to the spirits in prison; for Christ, when his body lay in the tomb, went to proclaim liberty to the captives and opened the prison doors to them that were bound. Not only are these engaged in that work but hundreds and thousands of others; the elders that have died in the mission field have not finished their missions, but they are continuing them in the spirit world. Possibly the Lord saw it necessary or proper to call them hence as he did. I am not going to question that thought, in the least, nor dispute it. I leave it in the hand of God, for I believe that all these things will be overruled for good, for the Lord will suffer nothing to come to his people in the world that he will not overrule eventually for their greater good.—M. I. A. Conference, June 5, 1910; Young Woman's Journal, Vol. 21, pp. 456-460.

VISION OF THE REDEMPTION OF THE DEAD. On the third of October, in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen, I sat in my room pondering over the Scriptures and reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God for the redemption of the world, and the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world, that through his Atonement and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved.