Again:
"The rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and .. the powers of heaven cannot be controlled or handled only upon the principles of righteousness . . . . When we undertake to cover our sins, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves, the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the Priesthood or the authority of that man."[[17]]
An Echo From the Heights Eternal, where the Gods, in solemn council before the creation of the world, decreed freedom, not tyranny; persuasion, not compulsion; charity, not intolerance, the platform upon which the Lord's servants should stand. There is no room in all the Government of God for the exercise of "unrighteous dominion."
The Other Side.—But there is another side to the question. If the men bearing this sacred authority confine themselves to the lawful use of the powers conferred upon them, doing no other than the things enjoined by divine revelation or inspired by the Holy Spirit—what then? In that event the responsibility shifts to other shoulders; and just how weighty the responsibility is, the Savior himself shows in his parable of the Last Judgment, where is indicated the standard or one of the standards by which He will judge the world.[[18]]
Before the Bar of God.—When the Son of Man, sitting upon "the throne of his glory," shall require of all nations and of all men a final accounting, and shall put to them the crucial question: "How did you treat my servants whom I sent unto you?" happy the nation or the man who can reply: "Lord, I showed them the respect to which they were entitled—I honored them as I would have honored Thee."
Warning and Exhortation.—Grievous the sin and heavy the penalty incurred by those who mistreat the servants of the Master. But more grievous and more weighty still, the sin and punishment of those who betray them. "See to it," says the Prophet to the Elders of the Church, "that ye 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."[[19]]
Again that ancient admonition, sounding down the centuries, "Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm!" blending with the Savior's solemn warning to the world: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto Me."
Footnotes
[1]. Hist. Ch. Vol. 4, p. 207; D. & C. 107:1-20.
[2]. D. & C. 29:34, 35.