"Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
"Then shall he answer them, saying. Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal." (Matthew 25:31-46.)
This, then, is one of the moral standards by which men and nations will be judged: How have you treated my servants whom I sent unto you? Happy the man or the nation who can truthfully reply to the Just and Righteous One in that day: Lord, I rendered unto thy servants the same respect and obedience that I would have shown unto thee, hadst thou been present in person.
Warning and Exhortation.—The Savior's solemn warning to the world may well be supplemented by his servant Joseph's impressive exhortation to the Priesthood and the Church in general. He was addressing the apostles and some of the seventies, prior to their mission to Europe, in the summer of 1839:
"O ye Twelve! and all Saints! profit by this important key—that in all your trials, troubles, temptations, afflictions, bonds, imprisonments and death, see to it, that you do not betray Heaven; that you do not betray Jesus Christ; that you do not betray the brethren; that you do not betray the revelations of God, whether in the Bible, Book of Mormon, or Doctrine and Covenants, or any other that ever was or ever will be given and revealed unto man in this world or that which is to come. Yea, in all your kicking and flounderings, see to it that you do not this thing, lest innocent blood be found upon your skirts, and you go down to hell. All other sins are not to be compared to sinning against the Holy Ghost, and proving a traitor to the brethren." (History of the Church," Vol. III, p. 385.)
Such warnings give added weight to an ancient admonition that comes sounding through the centuries: "Touch not mine anointed; do my prophets no harm."
Agents of the Almighty.—What it means to bear the Priesthood and to officiate therein, is made clear to the comprehension by considering men clothed upon with divine authority as agents of God, sent forth to transact business in his name and in his interest. What kind of men ought they to be, and what is required of them by Him who sent them forth? Such a question can have but one consistent answer: They should be men who will represent him truly and faithfully. They should reflect his intelligence, his goodness, his benevolence, and as diligent, upright agents of the One who commissioned and empowered them to carry on his work, follow closely the instructions that he has given, doing conscientiously and thoroughly what they sincerely believe he would do were he present in his own proper person. Such men should live so near to the Lord, that when the letter—the revealed word—falls short, the Spirit that inspired it, resting upon them as a continual benediction, can readily give "line upon line" of revelation, flash upon flash of inspiration, to illumine and make plain the path they are to tread. This is what it means to be an agent of the Almighty, a representative of God.
"And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation."—(D. and C. 68:4.)