I can endorse heartily the remarks that have been made to us by
Brother John L. Smith, an old acquaintance whom I am pleased to see. I
feel gratified to know that he is still laboring for Israel, that his
heart is in the right place, and that his desires are, as they always
have been so far as I have been acquainted with him, to serve God, to
keep his commandments, and teach men so.
When Jesus was on the earth he said, "Whosoever therefore shall break
one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be
called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and
teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
I believe it is the object and desire of all our brethren who are
called to occupy responsible positions in the midst of the people to
carry out this saying of Jesus—that is, to keep his commandments
themselves and to teach others to do the same. This desire, at any
rate, should animate every one who is called to be a servant of God.
It is not enough to believe in the Gospel; it is not enough to have
faith in the work that God Almighty has commenced on the earth; it is
not enough to have a testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God,
that angels have come from heaven, restored the Gospel and brought
back the ancient priesthood, that God has commenced the great
latter-day work spoken of by all the ancient prophets and that we are
called to assist in that work—a mere testimony that this is the case
is not enough. We are called to be workers of righteousness. And we
are not only called to do what is right, but also to aid in
establishing righteousness on the earth by teaching others to follow
our example.
The religion which we have received is a practical religion. It offers
something for us to do all the time. There is no need for us at any
time to stand still, we are called to be active workers in the cause
of God. Every man and every woman who has received the Gospel and been
baptized into the Church is expected to take an active part in this
work; not to leave it to those who are called upon to preside in the
various wards and stakes and over the Church of God, but each one of
us has an individual interest in this Church (or ought to have) and should manifest it by a desire to do something that the
work of our God may roll forward in the earth.
We have had made plain to our understanding some few of the first
principles of salvation, and these have been made clear to our minds
not merely as objects of faith, but as something for us to lay hold
of, as a guide to our feet, as a light to our path, and as an
incentive to action. We are called to be Saints not only in the
Assembly Hall, or in the Tabernacle, or in the place of prayer, but in
every condition of life, and to bring into practice those things that
God has made known to us to influence us in all that we do, that we
might be a different people from the great mass of mankind, striving
after the condition of sainthood—that is, to become holy in the Lord,
to be sanctified in all our being to the service of the Almighty and
the establishment of his kingdom and government on the earth. That is
what we are here for, in these valleys of the mountains.
There is an idea in the world concerning religious affairs that they
are mere matters of sentiment, something to think about, something to
pray about, something to sing about, something to exalt the feelings.
This is all very good so far as it goes, but it is only a small part
of religion. Religion is not a mere matter of emotion or of sentiment,
or of feeling. True religion is something to guide us, to make us
better, to teach us in every respect. True religion will teach us how
to use properly every power with which our great Creator has endowed
us. True religion not only affects the spiritual part of our being,
the internal part of man or woman, but affects the whole nature,
spiritual, mental and physical. It comes here on the earth and is
fitted to our condition where we live and while we live. It is adapted
to us today. It not only unfolds to us something of the future and
elevates that standard of beauty and perfection before us, that we
expect some time to arrive at, but it unfolds to us our duty today
and tells us how to act in every movement of our lives and in every
condition in which we may be situated; in fact, there is no place that
we may be called upon to occupy, or in which we may find ourselves,
where our religion ought not to influence us in what we should do. Not
only does our religion come to us to influence us in our acts, in our
bodies as well as our spirits, but it also comes to us to direct us in
our thoughts, that we may be able to turn our minds in the proper
channel, so that we may think good thoughts and not evil, that we may
have good desires and not evil, and that we may become so sanctified
in our natures that the spirit and influence which comes direct, from
God our Heavenly Father, who dwells in the bosom of eternity, may
descend into our souls and have free and uninterrupted access thereto,
and that we may become Saints, individually and collectively, a royal
generation, a peculiar people, zealous of good works. This is the kind
of religion we have received.
When we heard the Gospel and believed in Christ and in God the Father,
and went forth repenting of our sins and were baptized for the
remission of sins, and received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of
hands, this was the beginning of our religion, these were the
preliminary steps in the path that leads to the presence of God. When
we came into the Church, having put off the old man with his deeds,
we were supposed to have put on Christ, to pattern after him
in all our acts, to seek for his spirit, to be guided by his example,
so that by and by we might become as he is and fit to stand where he
stands—in the presence of God, and abide there. Some people who are in
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as some
people outside the church, have an idea that salvation consists in
belonging to a certain sect or party or in having a certain condition
of mind. They do not grasp the idea that exaltation is only brought
about through a natural process—the putting away of that which is evil
and laying hold of that which is good; the putting away of that which
is wrong and taking hold of that which is right: departing from the
ways of the world and walking in the ways of God. We need to
understand this fully and clearly, my brethren and sisters. You and I
will not be saved in the presence of God with an exaltation like that
which is held out to us simply because we are called Latter-day
Saints, or because we have complied with a certain form of religion,
or even because we have gone into sacred places and received holy
ordinances whereby we might be washed and cleansed and made anew and
anointed unto righteousness. We shall not be brought up into the
presence of our Father to abide there and participate in his glory
simply because of these things. If we ever get there to stay, it will
be because we are fitted to be there, because we are prepared to abide
his glory, to stand in his presence and rejoice with him and aid him
in his glorious works in the midst of the universe. We will stay there
because we are like him and fit to be where he is. If it is found that
we are not like him, that we are not of his spirit, not actuated by
the same motives that animate his bosom, not governed by the same
laws, we shall not be able to abide his presence and cannot stay
there. If we do stay there, it will be because we are fit to be there
in the nature of things because natures correspond with his, our
spirits harmonizing with his, our acts being controlled by the same
motives and governed by the same laws as those by which he governs
himself, and not merely because we have adopted a certain creed, not
merely because we have bowed to a certain form, not merely because we
have submitted to certain ordinances and ceremonies.
All these ordinances and ceremonies instituted by the Almighty and
comprehended in that which is called the Gospel are necessary. There
is no such thing as nonessential ordinances; every one of them is
essential. Exaltation cannot be arrived at without them. But
exaltation does not consist of the mere compliance to certain forms
and ceremonies that the Almighty has instituted and placed in his
Church. There is something more required, something superior to all
this. What is it? It is the spirit that comes from our Father to
dictate us in every act, to make us righteous and holy unto the Lord,
and to sanctify us and bring us into complete subjection to and
harmony with the laws that govern the celestial kingdom. There is no
real happiness either in this world or the world to come except
through obedience to proper law. That is the only way that happiness
can be obtained. We ought to understand this and teach it to our
children. There is a spirit growing in the world which leads mankind
to throw off restraint, to cast aside laws and regulations, which
leads people to become "a law unto themselves." This is the
teaching "spiritualism," that peeping and muttering system. The
expounders of that faith—if it may be called a faith—teach the
doctrine of mankind becoming a law unto themselves—no forms, no
ceremonies, no regulations—each one independent for himself and
herself. Now, while we sing sometimes:
"Know this that every soul is free,
To choose his life and what he'll be;"
and while we acknowledge,
"For this eternal truth is given,
That God will force no man to heaven."
Yet on the other hand, we recognize the fact that there is a law given
to all things in the economy of God in the heavens above and in the
earth beneath. "All kingdoms have a law given." So we are told here in
the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. We learn from that Book that,
"there are many kingdoms; for there is no space in which there is no
kingdom; and there is no kingdom in which there is no space, either a
greater or lesser kingdom. And unto every kingdom is given a law; and
unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions." Every
kingdom that is governed by law is preserved by law and sanctified by
the same, no matter in what part of the universe it may be and those
who abide the laws of that kingdom and that condition in which they
find themselves, gain happiness and are preserved and sanctified and
become exalted thereby. Now, although these laws are given of God,
they do not interfere with the volition of man. Every man has his free
agency. Light and truth are placed before us, truth and error are
here, and we can choose the one and refuse the other, or refuse the
one and choose the other, just as it was with our first parents in the
garden of Eden. The history of the fall is placed before us that we
might understand this great principle of agency; the tree of life and
the tree of death, the tree of light and the tree of darkness. The
Lord has said to us in substance, "I have placed before you truth and
error, choose which you will receive. You can receive the light or the
darkness, you can receive the truth or the error as you please; but by
and by you must give an account of your acts." We find ourselves here
on this planet that God has created for us, a branch of his great
family, and he has given us certain principles to govern ourselves by.
He does not force them upon us. God will force no man to heaven or to
hell; but if we choose we can lay hold of these principles and be
governed thereby, and by doing that we will be improved in our nature
in proportion to our reception of light and truth, and exaltation will
come to us on this principle and no other.
This spirit of so-called independence, or "liberty," as some persons
misuse the term, is spreading throughout the world. It has its
influence among us. There is to a certain extent in our midst a desire
and disposition to throw off the restraint that comes from the heads
of families, the influence that parents exercise over children, to
rebel against the laws of the community in which we live, to resist
the restriction that comes from the laws of the land, and from the
laws of the Church—the laws of God. This spirit exists to a great
extent in the world, and is bound to have more or less effect upon us
here in the mountains, because, although we are in some degree
separated from the world, yet we are also connected with the world,
and must expect, as a part of the human family, that some
among us will be more or less affected by this spirit. Now, we ought
to get this idea clearly upon our minds and upon the minds of our
children. We ought to understand the necessity of yielding obedience
to proper laws. We ought to learn to understand the laws that pertain
to our bodies so that they may be kept healthy. And we should become
fully acquainted with the laws that govern our Church. Every principle
that God has revealed should be clear to our minds, and in order to
understand them we should read the books given to us, the Bible, the
Book of Mormon, and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants. These ought to
direct us in our every day lives. Then when we come to meeting and
hear our brethren speak the word of the Lord, we should try to
treasure up in our hearts the words of life, put them into practice,
and also teach the same to our children; for it is on this principle
that we will become prepared to go into the presence of God by and by,
and not merely because we are called Saints, not merely because we
have been ordained to some office in the priesthood, not merely
because we may have been put into some position to preside or direct
our fellows. This will not exalt us, but the practice of what is right
and true will exalt us. In fact every person in doing what is good and
right is naturally bettered thereby, and every individual in doing
what is evil is degraded thereby. All our acts are known by the powers
on high whom we cannot see. They understand us, although we may think
no one sees what we do. Yet though no one should see us, if no one but
ourselves knows our acts, if we do what is evil and debasing we are
that much the worse for it; if we do that which is right and good we
are that much the better for it. And if we practice righteousness and
teach men, so we will become great in the kingdom of heaven on natural
principles.
We should all live according to the laws of God, to the best of our
ability—although we are beset with many weaknesses and infirmities and
faults, many of which have been transmitted to us from our forefathers
away back for ages and are concentrated in us who live in the
latter days. But so far as we have power and ability, we are required
to battle with and overcome our inherent failings, and if we take hold
of the principles of righteousness, in the very act of doing that we
are bettered, and if we continue in this path we will go on from grace
to grace, from light to light, from purity to purity, from holiness to
holiness, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fulness of Christ." We must be clothed with his
light, and be filled with his fullness, and be fit to stand in his
presence and dwell with the Father. And this is the promise: "To him
that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I
overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." There is no
need for us at any time to be in the dark concerning our duties. We
need not be in the dark concerning any act we desire to perform, if we
will go to the Father and say, "Father, make thy will known to me.
Enable me to walk in thy light to do that which is pleasing to thee;
enable me to overcome all that is contrary to thy law." If we live in
this kind of spirit, there will always be a voice whispering
in our souls telling us that which is right and wrong, and our
progress will be onward and upward in the straight and narrow path
that leadeth unto the eternal continuation of the lives.
Now, by and by, when we come into the presence of God to be judged we
will be valued for what we are, not for what men have called us, not
for what we have appeared to be to one another, but we will stand just
as we are, with all of our spots and blemishes. If we are clean and
white and pure when we appear in the presence of our Heavenly Father,
and in the presence of the hosts around him, we shall be seen as such;
if we are foul and evil, no matter how fair we have appeared to men,
we will be comprehended as we are, we will "see as we are seen and
known as we are known." We shall not be able to hide our imperfections
from one another. We shall be weighed in the balance, and if we are
found wanting we cannot receive a fullness of glory. But, says
someone, I have had certain blessings pronounced upon my head, I have been
promised an exaltation in the presence of God; I have been promised
thrones, principalities, powers and dominions, and are not the
promises of God to be fulfilled? Yes; but every promise is made on
certain conditions, and unless we comply with these conditions God
cannot, in consonance with eternal justice, bestow those blessings
upon us, no matter what may have been promised upon our heads. We are
told that those who will not sanctify themselves by the law of the
celestial kingdom cannot receive a celestial glory. Now, what glory
will you and I have? Just exactly that glory we are fitted to have and
no other. This is only just, and God must be just or he would cease to
be God. Yet God will force no man or woman to keep the law of light
and truth; but unless we live the laws of righteousness and obey the
law of the celestial kingdom we cannot in the nature of things receive
and abide a celestial glory. Then our chief business is to find out
the law of God, and do that which is right and true and good. We
should watch well the path of our feet and avoid everything that is
evil; for that which is evil naturally contaminates and debases, and
that which is good naturally purifies and exalts. We should all the
time strive for the guidance of the Holy Spirit that we may be in
harmony with those who are placed over us, and that we may train our
desires and our acts so as to be in consonance with the mind and will
of God.
Now, the Lord has made known to us a few things. We should make it our
business to carry these things out, and we shall find the value of
them by and by if we do not sense them today; for as I said just now
when we are in the act of performing that which is right we become
purified in our character, and more fit to abide the glory of our
Father, while the less we do what is right the further we will be away
from that purity which is necessary for dwelling in his presence. We
expect to gain a celestial glory. That is what you and I started out
to win. We are not satisfied, as our sectarian friends are, to sing:
"I want to be an angel,
And with the angels stand."
That is not what you and I are aiming at. We are after a glory
superior to that. We read that the Saints shall judge the angels. Who
are the angels? They are ministering spirits to those that are worthy
of "a far more, and exceeding, and eternal weight of glory."
That is what you and I have started out to gain, to obtain a celestial
glory, to obtain a celestial crown, and we shall be satisfied with
nothing else than that. How shall we obtain it? We shall obtain it in
no other way than by abiding the laws that pertain to the celestial
kingdom. Let us, then, find out the laws of the celestial kingdom as
fast as we can and practice them, and if we make this the business of
our lives we will find the Lord very near to us, we will find it easy
to approach him and learn of his ways. We can have the still, small
voice to make glad our souls and open out our understandings. We
should live in this spirit, my brethren and sisters, so that we may
enjoy happiness and peace today as well as the prospect of having
eternal happiness and peace in the world to come.
I pray God, in the name of Jesus Christ, to stamp these truths upon
our hearts, so that we may be able to order our lives by the laws of
truth and righteousness, individually and as a people; that we may
live for the Lord and for the truth, and for one another—not for
selfish objects, but for the glory of God and the salvation of our race.
I feel thankful this afternoon to be in the congregation of the
Saints, to be numbered among the people of the Most High God, and to
take part in the religion that God Almighty has revealed in this day
and age of the world. I know this is the work of God. I know this by
the witness of the eternal spirit in my soul. I know the peace it
brings when I act in consonance with its laws. My desire is to live as
becomes a Saint of God; to live as a servant of the Most High; to
incorporate in my being the principles that will make men and women
holy and pure, for I know that they make men and women great. I desire
to live these principles, and as far as I have ability to teach them
to others, for I know that in them is joy and happiness, power and
might—power to the spirit and might to the body. The power of God
belongs to and is with this Church. It enters into our whole being,
spiritual and physical. This work is good for the body and for the
soul, and if we live according to the dictations of the Holy Spirit,
we will be happier, stronger and mightier in all our being, and when
we come up in the presence of the Father, having been purified and our
robes made white through the blood of the Lamb and our faithfulness to
the cause of truth, we will be able to abide the presence of the Great
Eternal without shame.
May the blessing of God rest upon us, and may we be saved in the
celestial kingdom of our Father, is my prayer in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
- Charles W. Penrose