"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to
Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be
thou perfect."
In connection with this I will quote part of the words of the Savior
in his sermon on the Mount, as contained in the last verse of the 5th
chapter of Matthew.
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect."
In occupying a short time this morning, I desire an interest in your
faith and prayers.
We learn that the Lord appeared to Abraham and made him very great
promises, and that before he was prepared to receive them a cer tain requirement was made of him, that he should become perfect
before the Lord. And the same requirement was made by the Savior of
his disciples, that they should become perfect, even as he and his
Father in heaven were perfect. This I conceive to be a subject that
concerns the Latter-day Saints; and I wish to offer a few remarks by
way of suggestion, for the reflection of those whom it concerns.
The Lord proposes to confer the highest blessings upon the Latter-day
Saints; but, like Abraham, we must prepare ourselves for them, and to
do this the same law that was given to him of the Lord has been given
to us for our observance. We also are required to arrive at a state of
perfection before the Lord; and the Lord in this case, the same as in
every other, has not made a requirement that cannot be complied with,
but on the other hand, He has placed for the use of the Latter-day
Saints the means by which they can conform to His holy order. When the
Lord made this requirement of Abraham, He gave him the means by which
he could become qualified to obey that law and come up fully to the
requirement. He had the privilege of the Holy Spirit, as we are told
the Gospel was preached to Abraham, and through that Gospel he could
obtain that divine aid which would enable him to understand the things
of God, and without it no man could arrive at a state of perfection
before the Lord. So in reference to the Latter-day Saints, they could
not possibly come up to such a moral and spiritual standard except
through supernatural aid and assistance. Neither do we expect that the
Latter-day Saints, at once will or can conform to this law under all
circumstances. It requires time; it requires much patience and
discipline of the mind and heart in order to obey this commandment.
And although we may fail at first in our attempts, yet this should not
discourage the Latter-day Saints from endeavoring to exercise a
determination to comply with the great requirement. Abraham, although
he might have had faith to walk before the Lord according to this
divine law, yet there were times when his faith was sorely tried, but
still he was not discouraged because he exercised a determination to
comply with the will of God. We may think that we cannot live up to
the perfect law, that the work of perfecting ourselves is too
difficult. This may be true in part, but the fact still remains that
it is a command of the Almighty to us and we cannot ignore it. When we
experience trying moments, then is the time for us to avail ourselves
of that great privilege of calling upon the Lord for strength and
understanding, intelligence and grace by which we can overcome the
weakness of the flesh against which we have to make a continual
warfare.
Abraham was called to leave his kindred and country. Had he not
complied with this requirement, he would not have been approved of the
Lord. But he did comply; and while he was leaving his home, he no
doubt was living in obedience, to this divine law of perfection. Had
he failed in this, he certainly could not have obeyed the requirements
of the Almighty. And while he was leaving his father's house, while he
was subjecting himself to this trial, he was doing that which his own
conscience and the Spirit of God justified him in doing, and nobody
could have done better, providing he was doing no wrong when he was
performing this labor.
When the Latter-day Saints received the Gospel in the nations
afar, and when the voice of the Almighty to them was, to leave the
lands of their fathers, to leave their kindred as Abraham did, so far
as they complied with this requirement, so far they were walking in
obedience to this law; and they were as perfect as men could be under
the circumstances, and in the sphere in which they were acting, not
that they were perfect in knowledge or power, etc.; but in their
feelings, in their integrity, motives and determination. And while
they were crossing the great deep, providing they did not murmur nor
complain, but obeyed the counsels which were given them, and in every
way comported themselves in a becoming manner, they were as perfect as
God required them to be.
The Lord designs to bring us up into the celestial kingdom. He has
made known, through direct revelation, that we are His offspring,
begotten in the eternal worlds, that we have come to this earth for
the special purpose of preparing ourselves to receive a fullness of
our Father's glory when we shall return into his presence. Therefore,
we must seek the ability to keep this law, to sanctify our motives,
desires, feelings and affections, that they may be pure and holy, and
our will in all things be subservient to the will of God, and have no
will of our own except to do the will of our Father. Such a man in his
sphere is perfect, and commands the blessing of God in all that he
does and wherever he goes. But we are subject to folly, to the
weakness of the flesh, and we are more or less ignorant, thereby
liable to err. Yes, but that is no reason why we should not feel
desirous to comply with this command of God, especially seeing that he
has placed within our reach the means of accomplishing this work. This
I understand is the meaning of the word perfection, as expressed by
our Savior and by the Lord to Abraham. A person may be perfect in
regard to some things and not others. A person who obeys the word of
wisdom faithfully, is perfect as far as that law is concerned. When we
repented of our sins and were baptized for the remission of them, we
were perfect as far as that matter was concerned. Now we are told by
the Apostle John, that "we are the sons of God, but it does not appear
what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be
like him; for we shall see him as he is." "And every man that hath
this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he [Christ] is pure." The
Latter-day Saints expect to arrive at this state of perfection; we
expect to become as our Father and God, fit and worthy children to
dwell in his presence; we expect that when the Son of God shall
appear, we shall receive our bodies renewed and glorified, and that
"these vile bodies will be changed and become like unto his glorious
body." These are our expectations. Now let all present put this
question to themselves. Are our expectations well founded? In other
words, are we seeking to purify ourselves? How can a Latter-day Saint
feel justified in himself unless he is seeking to purify himself even
as God is pure—unless he is seeking to keep his conscience void of
offense before God and man every day of his life. We doubtless, many
of us, walk from day to day and from week to week, and from month to
month, before God, feeling under no condemnation, comporting
ourselves properly, and seeking earnestly and in all meekness for the
Spirit of God to dictate our daily course; and yet there may be a
certain time or times in our life, when we are greatly tried and
perhaps overcome; even if this be so, that is no reason why we should
not try again, and that, too, with redoubled energy and determination
to accomplish our object, There was the Apostle Peter, for instance, a
man valiant for the truth, and a man who walked before God in a manner
that met with his divine approval; he told the Savior on a certain
occasion that though all men forsook him he would not. But the Savior,
foreseeing what would happen, told him that on that same night,
before the cock crowed, he would deny him thrice, and he did so. He
proved himself unequal for the trial; but afterwards he gained power,
and his mind was disciplined to that extent that such trials could not
possibly affect him. And if we could read in detail the life of
Abraham, or the lives of other great and holy men, we would doubtless
find that their efforts to be righteous were not always crowned with
success. Hence we should not be discouraged if we should be overcome
in a weak moment; but, on the contrary, straightway repent of the
error or the wrong we may have committed, and as far as possible
repair it, and then seek to God for renewed strength to go on and do
better.
Abraham could walk perfectly before God day after day when he was
leaving his father's house, and he showed evidences of a superior and
well disciplined mind in the course he suggested when his herdsmen
quarreled with the herdsmen of his nephew, Lot. There came a time in
Abraham's life, however, which must have been very trying; in fact
anything more severe can scarcely be conceived of; that was when the
Lord called upon him to offer as a sacrifice his beloved and only son,
even him through whom he expected the fulfillment of the great promise
made him by the Lord; but through manifesting a proper disposition he
was enabled to surmount the trial, and prove his faith and integrity
to God. It can hardly be supposed that Abraham inherited such a state
of mind from his idolatrous parents; but it is consistent to believe
that under the blessing of God he was enabled to acquire it, after
going through a similar warfare with the flesh as we are, and
doubtless being overcome at times and then overcoming until he was
enabled to stand so severe a test. "Let this same mind be in you,"
says the Apostle Paul, "which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God." Now
every man that has this object before him will purify himself as God
is pure, and try to walk perfectly before him. We have our little
follies and our weaknesses; we should try to overcome them as fast as
possible, and we should inculcate this feeling in the hearts of our
children, that the fear of God may grow up with them from their very
youth, and that they may learn to comport themselves properly before
him under all circumstances. If the husband can live with his wife one
day without quarreling or without treating anyone unkindly or without
grieving the Spirit of God in any way, that is well so far; he is so
far perfect. Then let him try to be the same the next day. But
supposing he should fail in this his next day's attempt? That is no reason why he should not succeed in doing so the third day. If
the Apostle Peter had become discouraged at his manifest failure to
maintain the position that he had taken to stand by the Savior under
all circumstances, he would have lost all; whereas, by repenting and
persevering he lost nothing but gained all, leaving us too to profit
by his experience. The Latter-day Saints should cultivate this
ambition constantly which was so clearly set forth by the apostles in
former days. We should try to walk each day so that our conscience
would be void of offense before everybody. And God has placed in the
Church certain means by which we can be assisted, namely, apostles,
and prophets, and evangelists, etc., "for the perfecting of the
Saints," etc. And he has also conferred upon us his Holy Spirit, which
is an unerring guide, standing as an angel of God at our side,
telling us what to do, and affording us strength and succor when
adverse circumstances arise in our way. We must not allow ourselves to
be discouraged whenever we discover our weakness. We can scarcely find
an instance in all the glorious examples set us by the prophets,
ancient or modern, wherein they permitted the Evil One to discourage
them; but on the other hand they constantly sought to overcome, to win
the prize, and thus prepare themselves for a fulness of glory. The
Prophet Elijah succeeded. He so walked before God that he was worthy
to be translated. And Enoch was found worthy to walk with God some 300
years, and was at last, with his people, taken up to heaven.
We are told that in the latter days, "There shall be no more thence an
infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the
child shall die an hundred years old." And in another scripture we are
told that the age of the infant shall be as the age of a tree, and
that it shall not die until it shall be old, and then it shall not
slumber in the dust but be changed in the twinkling of an eye. But in
those days people must live perfectly before the Lord, for we are told
in the same passage, that "the sinner," instead of being favored,
"being an hundred years old shall be accursed." When we once get it
into our minds that we really have the power within ourselves through
the gospel we have received, to conquer our passions, our appetites
and in all things submit our will to the will of our Heavenly Father,
and, instead of being the means of generating unpleasant feeling in
our family circle, and those with whom we are associated, but
assisting greatly to create a little heaven upon earth, then the
battle may be said to be half won. One of the chief difficulties that
many suffer from is, that we are too apt to forget the great object of
life, the motive of our Heavenly Father in sending us here to put on
mortality, as well as the holy calling with which we have been called;
and hence, instead of rising above the little transitory things of
time, we too often allow ourselves to come down to the level of the
world without availing ourselves of the divine help which God has
instituted, which alone can enable us to overcome them. We are no
better than the rest of the world if we do not cultivate the feeling
to be perfect, even as our Father in heaven is perfect.
This was the exhortation of the Savior to the former-day Saints, who
were a people of like passions and who were subject to the same
temptations as ourselves, and he knew whether the people could
conform to it or not; the Lord never has, nor will he require things
of his children which it is impossible for them to perform. The Elders
of Israel who expect to go forth to preach the gospel of salvation in
the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among a people who are
full of evil and corruption, should cultivate this spirit especially.
And not only they, but everybody, every young man and woman belonging
to this Church who is worthy to be called a Saint should cultivate
this desire to live up to this requirement that their consciences may
be clear before God. It is a beautiful thing, either in young or old,
to have this object in view; it is especially delightful to see our
young people take a course that the light and intelligence of God can
beam in their countenances, that they may have a correct understanding
of life, and be able to live above the follies and vanities of the
world and the errors and wickedness of man.
May God bless you, brethren and sisters, and pour out His Holy Spirit
upon you, that you may be blessed in all your acts, in your incomings
and your outgoings and in the performance of every duty, and be
blessed in calling upon the Almighty, that His Spirit may be in you as
a well of water springing up to everlasting life, to guide you in His
fear through all the scenes of life, is my prayer, in the name of
Jesus. Amen.