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

by Joseph F. Smith

It is only by obedience to the laws of God that men can rise above the petty weaknesses of mortality and exercise that breadth of affection, that charity and love, that should actuate the hearts and the motives of the children of men. The gospel as it has been restored is intended to make free indeed, free to choose the good and forsake the evil, free to exercise that boldness in their choice of that which is good, by which they are convinced of right, notwithstanding the great majority of the people of the world may point at them the finger of scorn and ridicule. It requires no especial bravery on the part of men to swim with the currents of the world. When a man makes up his mind to forsake the world and its follies and sins, and identify himself with God's people, who are everywhere spoken evil of, it takes courage, manhood, independence of character, superior intelligence and a determination that is not common among men; for men shrink from that which is unpopular, from that which will not bring them praise and adulation, from that which will in any degree tarnish that which they call honor or a good name.—Oct. C. R., 1903, pp. 1, 2.

OBEDIENCE TO CHURCH ORDINANCES INDISPENSABLE. From remarks that sometimes fall from members of the Church one is led to believe that they regard the gospel of Jesus Christ simply from the standpoint of a code of morals; that if one lives an honest, upright life, that is all that the gospel requires of him; that it is not necessary to observe the rites, ceremonies and ordinances of the Church; that the latter constitute a sort of religious trapping that has no substantial value in the plan of life and salvation. Such a position does not harmonize with the word of God given to this people nor with the teachings of Christ in his day, nor is it in harmony with the universal instinct of man to worship God.

Jesus himself attended to the ordinance of baptism; he instituted the sacrament of the Lord's supper, and ordained its observance; and performed other rites which he thought essential to man's salvation. In the case of Nicodemus, he so emphasized baptism that he made the birth of water and the Spirit essential to man's salvation.

Besides the rites and ceremonies and the moral effect they and other means of worshiping God have upon the moral life of man, the gospel is also a power in itself. It is a creative power which gives man not alone dominion in the world, but the power, if he can attain it by his faith, to ordain and create other worlds. On one occasion Jesus commended to the disciples the value of faith as a power when he told them that if they had faith as a grain of mustard, they could say unto the mountain, be thou removed, and it should be done. It is true that our faith would be greatly weakened by acts of immorality, and it might be wholly destroyed by such acts; but faith and morality are not convertible terms. A moral life is one of the means by which we cultivate faith, but it is not the only means. We may not see any moral virtue in the ordinance of baptism, in the laying on of bands, or in any other rite or ceremony of the Church, but our obedience to these rites and ordinances may be quite as helpful in developing our faith as any act of charity we may perform. Faith is always a gift of God to man, which is obtained by obedience, as all other blessings are.

The man or woman in this Church who desires to enrich his or her faith to the highest possible degree will desire to observe every rite and ordinance in the Church in conformity to the law of obedience to the will of God. In these things, and through them, man gains a more perfect knowledge of God's purposes in the world. An enriched faith means an enlarged power, and though man may not have in this life an occasion to exercise all the powers that come to him through the enrichment of his faith, those powers may be exercised in their fulness in eternity, if not in time. The man or woman, therefore, among the Latter-day Saints, who does not see the necessity for the ordinances of the House of God, who does not respond to the requirements of the gospel in all its rites and ordinances, can have no proper conception of the great work which the Latter-day Saints have been called upon to perform in this age, nor can he or she enjoy the blessing that comes from the virtue of obedience to a law higher than that of man.—Juvenile Instructor, Vol. 38, November 1, 1903, p. 656.

OBEDIENCE BRINGS LIGHT AND FREEDOM. The gospel is very simple when we understand it properly. It is plain and easily understood. It is always right, good, uplifting, comforting and enlightening. It prompts men and women to do that which is acceptable before God, who is just, righteous, allwise, allgood, and allmerciful.

The gospel teaches us to forgive, to overcome selfishness, covetousness; to abjure anger, wrath, faultfinding, complaining and the spirit of contention and strife. The gospel warns and forewarns the children of men against the evils which bring disunion and contention and shut out honesty and love from among the children of men; which mislead people to acts of injustice, selfishness, covetousness, wickedness and sin, things which the gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us to eschew and avoid as we would the gates of hell. There is nothing intricate or incomprehensible in the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who possess the Spirit of the Lord.

There is nothing mysterious and unaccountable in the dealings of God with his children if we can only see and understand by the spirit of truth. Jesus has given us in this life the example, the type of that which exists in greater perfection, in a purer, higher and more glorious excellence where he dwells himself. The gospel teaches us to do here just what we would be required to do in the heavens, with God and the angels, if we would listen to its teachings, and obey it, and put it into practice. There would be no covetousness in the hearts of the children of men, if they possessed the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and understood the precepts of the gospel as he taught and admonished all men to observe them.

There would be no strife, no anger, nothing of the spirit of unforgiveness, unchastity and injustice, in the hearts of the children of men, if we loved the truth and obeyed it as it was taught by the Son of Man. With this spirit we could advance to the extreme position that we would pray for those who despitefully use us, who speak all manner of evil against us falsely, accuse us of wrongdoing, and lay plans and plots to bring us into disrepute. There would be no such desires in the hearts of the children of men, if they possessed the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ. There would be no contention, dishonor, nor dishonesty among neighbors nor in the communities of the people. None would take advantage of the unwary, the weak or unsuspecting; no one would seek to wrong another; but, on the contrary, we would feel like Jesus himself expressed it, "he that is greatest among you, let him be the servant of all." If we would be great among the children of men, let us show that we are willing to serve and to do good to our fellowmen, set them a right example, shield them from wrong, show them the right way, help them to avoid error and sin, and to walk in the light, as God is in the light, that they may have fellowship with him and with one another, and that the blood of Christ may indeed cleanse them from all sin.

The spirit of the gospel should teach us that if men sue us at the law, and take away our coat wrongfully and wickedly, intending to injure or degrade us, that we would rise above the spirit of contention and retribution in our own souls, and speak as Jesus spoke: "Forgive them, for they know not what they do."