Chapter V: Appendix: Outline for class review of the Lectures 463-477 (3)

=5. Natural Indications of God's Existence.=--"It may not be, it
is not likely, that God can be found with microscope and scalpel,
with test-tube or flask, with goniometer or telescope; but with
such tools, the student earnestly working, cannot fail to
recognize a power beyond his vision, yet a power of which the
pulses and the motions are unmistakable. The extent of our solar
system once seemed to man more limited than it does at present;
and the discovery of the most distant of the planetary family was
due to a recognition of an attractive force inexplicable except
on the supposition of the existence of another planet. The
astronomer, tracing known bodies along their orbital paths, could
feel the pull, could see the wire that drew them from a narrower
course; he saw not Neptune as he piled calculations sheet on
sheet; but the existence of that orb was clearly indicated, and
by heeding such indications he sought for it, and it was found.
Theory alone could never have revealed it, though theory was
incomplete, unsatisfactory without it; but the practical search,
instigated by theory, led to the great demonstration. And what is
all science but theory compared to the practical influence of
prayerful reliance on the assistance of an omnipotent, omniscient
power? Disregard not the indications of your science work,--the
trembling of the needle that reveals the magnetic influence; the
instinct within that speaks of a life and a Life-Giver, far
beyond human power of explanation or comprehension. As you sit
beneath the canopied vault, pondering in the silence of night
over the perturbations, the yearnings which the soul cannot
ignore, turn in the direction indicated by those impulses, and
with the penetrating, space-annihilating, time-annulling glass of
prayer and faith, seek the source of that pervading force."--The
Author in _Baccalaureate Sermon_, Utah University Quarterly,
Sept., 1895.

=6. Theism; Atheism, etc.=--According to current usage, _Theism_
signifies a belief in God,--the acceptance of one living and
eternal Being who has revealed Himself to man. _Deism_ implies a
professed belief in God, but denies to Deity the power to reveal
Himself, and asserts a disbelief in Christianity; the term is
used in different senses, prominent among which are:--(1) belief
in God as an intelligent and eternal Being, with a denial of all
providential care: (2) belief in God, with denial of a future
state of the soul: (3) as advocated by Kant, denial of a personal
God, while asserting belief in an infinite force, inseparably
associated with matter, and operating as the first great cause.
_Pantheism_ regards matter and mind as one, embracing everything
finite and infinite, and calls this universal existence God. In
its philosophical aspect, pantheism "has three generic forms with
variations: (1) _one-substance pantheism_ which ascribes to the
universal being the attributes of both mind and matter, thought
and extension, as in Spinoza's system: (2) _materialistic
pantheism_ which ascribes to it only the attributes of matter, as
in the system of Strauss: (3) _idealistic pantheism_ which
ascribes to it only the existence of mind as in Hegel's system."
In its doctrinal aspect, pantheism comprises "the worship of
nature and humanity founded on the doctrine that the entire
phenomenal universe, including man and nature, is the
ever-changing manifestation of God." _Polytheism_ is the doctrine
of a plurality of gods, who are usually regarded as
personifications of forces or phenomena of nature. _Monotheism_
is the doctrine that there is but one God. _Atheism_ signifies
disbelief in God, or the denial of God's existence; _dogmatic
atheism_ denies, while _negative atheism_ ignores, the existence
of a God. _Infidelity_ is sometimes used as synonymous with
atheism, though specifically the term signifies a milder form of
unbelief, manifesting itself in scepticism on matters religious,
a disbelief in the religion of the Bible, and of course a
rejection of the doctrines of Christianity. _Agnosticism_ holds
that God is unknown and unknowable; that His existence can
neither be proved nor disproved; it neither affirms nor denies
the existence of a personal God; it is the doctrine of "We do not
know."--_See Standard Dictionary._

=7. Idolatrous Practices in General.=--The soul of man, once
abandoned to depravity, is strongly prone to depart from God and
his institutions. "Hence," says Burder, "have arisen the altars
and demons of heathen antiquity, their extravagant fictions, and
abominable orgies. Hence we find among the Babylonians and
Arabians, the adoration of the heavenly bodies, the earliest
forms of idolatry; among the Canaanites and Syrians, the worship
of Baal, Tammuz, Magog, and Astarte; among the Phoenicians, the
immolation of children to Moloch; among the Egyptians, divine
honors bestowed on animals, birds, insects, leeks, and onions;
among the Persians, religious reverence offered to fire; and
among the polished Greeks, the recognition in their system of
faith of thirty thousand gods. Hence, moreover, we find at the
present time, among most Pagan tribes, the deadliest
superstitions, the most cruel and bloody rites, and the most
shocking licentiousness and vice, practiced under the name of
religion."--_History of all Religions_, p. 12.

=8. Examples of Atrocious Idolatry.=--The worship of Moloch is
generally cited as an example of the cruelest and most abhorrent
idolatry known to man. Moloch, called also Molech, Malcham,
Milcom, Baal-melech, etc., was an Ammonite idol: it is mentioned
in scripture in connection with its cruel rites (Lev. xviii, 21;
xx, 2-5; see also I Kings xi, 5, 7, 33; II Kings xxiii, 10, 13;
Amos v, 26; Zephaniah i, 5; Jeremiah xxxii, 35). Keil and
Delitzsch describe the idol as being "represented by a brazen
statue which was hollow, and capable of being heated, and formed
with a bull's head, and with arms stretched out to receive the
children to be sacrificed." While the worship of this idol did
not invariably include human sacrifice, it is certain that such
hideous rites were characteristic of this abominable shrine. The
authors last quoted say: "From the time of Ahaz, children were
slain at Jerusalem in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and then
sacrificed by being laid in the heated arms and burned." (II Kings
xxiii, 10; xvi, 3; xvii, 17; xxi, 6; Jer. xxxii, 35; Ezek. xvi,
20, 21; xx, 31; compare Psalms cvi, 37, 38.) Many authorities
state that the sacrifice of children to this hideous monster long
ante-dated the time of Ahaz. "The offering of living victims was
probably the climax of enormity in connection with this system,
and it is said that Tophet, where it was to be witnessed, was so
named from the beating of drums to drown the shrieks and groans
of those who were burned to death. The same place was called the
Valley of Hinnom, and the horrible associations connected with it
led to both Tophet and Gehenna ('valley of Hinnom') being adopted
as names and symbols of future torment." For foregoing facts, and
others, _see "The Pentateuch" by Keil and Delitzsch, and
Cassell's Bible Dictionary_.

Scarcely less horrible were the practices of voluntary suicide
under the car of the idol Juggernaut, and the drowning of
children in the sacred Ganges as found among the Hindoos.
According to Burder ("History of all Religions"), the ponderous
and hideous image Juggernaut, was, on festival days, usually
placed on a movable tower resting on wheels; and, thus mounted,
was drawn through the streets by enthusiastic worshipers. As the
car moved along, some of the most zealous of the devotees threw
themselves under the wheels and were crushed to death; and such
acts were "hailed with the acclamations of the multitude as the
most acceptable sacrifices." The same author thus describes the
rite of child-sacrifice to the sacred river, as formerly
practiced in India:--"People in some parts of India, particularly
the inhabitants of Orissa, and of the eastern parts of Bengal,
frequently offer their children to the goddess Gunga. The
following reason is assigned for this practice: When a woman has
been long married, and has no children, it is common for the man,
or his wife, or both of them, to make a vow to the goddess Gunga,
that if she will bestow the blessing of children upon them, they
will devote the firstborn to her. If, after this vow, they have
children, the eldest is nourished till a proper age, which may be
three, four, or more years, according to circumstances when, on a
particular day, appointed for bathing in any part of the river,
they take the child with them and offer it to the goddess: the
child is encouraged to go farther and farther into the water,
till it is carried away by the stream, or is pushed off by its
inhuman parents."--_History of all Religions_, pp. 745-746.

The practices of Druidism among the ancient Britons furnish
another example of degradation in religion through the absence of
authoritative guidance and the light of revelation. The Druids
professed a veneration for the oak, and performed most of their
distinctive ceremonies in sacred groves. Human sacrifices were
offered as a feature of their system. Of their temples, some,
e.g. Stonehenge on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, and others in
Kent, still remain. These circular enclosures, which were open to
the sky, were called _doom-rings_: near the center of each was an
altar (_dolmen_) on which victims were sacrificed. The horrible
ceremonies included on special occasions the burning alive of
large numbers of human beings, enclosed in immense cages of
wicker-work.

=9. Immaterialists are Atheists.=--"There are two classes of
atheists in the world. One class denies the existence of God in
the most positive language; the other denies his existence in
duration or space. One says 'There is no God;' the other says
'God is not _here_ or _there_, any more than he exists _now_ and
_then_.' The infidel says 'God does not exist anywhere.' The
immaterialist says 'He exists _nowhere_.' The infidel says 'There
is no such substance as God.' The immaterialist says 'There is
such a substance as God, but it is _without parts_.' The atheist
says 'There is no such substance as _spirit_.' The immaterialist
says 'A spirit, though he lives and acts, occupies no room, and
fills no space in the same way and in the same manner as matter,
not even so much as does the minutest grain of sand.' The atheist
does not seek to hide his infidelity; but the immaterialist,
whose declared belief amounts to the same thing as the atheist's,
endeavors to hide his infidelity under the shallow covering of a
few words.... The immaterialist is a religious atheist; he only
differs from the other class of atheists by clothing an
indivisible unextended _nothing_ with the powers of a God. One
class believes in no God; the other believes that _Nothing_ is
god and worships it as such."--Orson Pratt, in pamphlet
_Absurdities of Immaterialism_, p. 11.

=10. Atheism, a Fatal Belief.=--"During the Reign of Terror, the
French were declared by the National Assembly to be a nation of
atheists; but a brief experience convinced them that a nation of
atheists could not long exist. Robespierre then 'proclaimed in
the convention, that belief in the existence of God was necessary
to those principles of virtue and morality upon which the
republic was founded; and on the 7th of May, the national
representatives, who had so lately prostrated themselves before
the Goddess of Reason, voted by acclamation that the French
people acknowledged the existence of the Supreme Being, and the
immortality of the soul.'"--_Students' France, xxvii, 6_; quoted
by Rev. Charles E. Little, in _Historical Lights_, pp. 280-281.

=11. The Trinity.=--"'Mormonism' affirms its unqualified belief
in the Godhead as the Holy Trinity, comprising Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost; each of the three a separate and individual
personage; the Father and the Son each a personage of spirit and
of immortalized body; the Holy Ghost a personage of spirit. The
unity of the Godhead is accepted in the literal fulness of
scriptural declaration--that the Three are one in purpose, plan,
and method; alike in all their Godly attributes; one in their
Divine omniscience and omnipotence; yet as separate and distinct
in their personality as are any three inhabitants of earth.
'Mormonism' claims that scripture passages declaring the oneness
of the Trinity admit of this interpretation; that such indeed is
the natural interpretation, and that the conception is in accord
with reason."--_The Philosophy of "Mormonism_," by The Author:
Improvement Era, vol. iv, p. 463.

=12. The Father and the Son.=--In the treatment of the
"Personality of Each Member of the Godhead" (p. 41) and "Divine
Attributes" (p. 42) no attempt has been made to segregate the
references made to The Father and to The Son. It is to be
remembered that the Personage most generally designated in the
Old Testament as God or the LORD, is He who in the mortal state
was known as Jesus Christ, and in the antemortal state as
Jehovah. See the author's work, "Jesus the Christ," chap. iv.
That Jesus Christ or Jehovah is designated in certain scriptures
as the Father in no wise justifies an assumption of identity
between Him and His Father, Elohim. This matter has been
explained in a publication dated June 30, 1916, entitled "The
Father and The Son; a Doctrinal Exposition by the First
Presidency and the Twelve." This appeared in _Improvement Era_,
August, 1916, and in a pamphlet of earlier issue. Excerpts
therefrom follow: "The term 'Father' as applied to Deity occurs
in sacred writ with plainly different meanings. Each of the four
significations specified in the following treatment should be
carefully segregated.

"1. _'Father' as Literal Parent._... Jesus Christ is the Son of
Elohim both as spiritual and bodily offspring; that is to say,
Elohim is literally the Father of the spirit of Jesus Christ and
also of the body in which Jesus Christ performed His mission in
the flesh....

"2. _'Father' as Creator._ A second scriptural meaning of
'Father' is that of Creator, e.g. in passages referring to any
one of the Godhead as 'The Father of the heavens and of the
earth.'... With this meaning, as the context shows in every case,
Jehovah, who is Jesus Christ the Son of Elohim, is called 'the
Father.'...

"3. _Jesus Christ the 'Father' of those who abide in His
Gospel"._ See Doc. and Cov. xxxiv, 1-3; xxxv, 1, 2; xxxix, 1-4;
Mosiah xv, 10-13.

"4. _Jesus Christ the 'Father' by Divine Investiture of
Authority"._ See John x. 30; xvii, 11, 22; compare xiv. 28; see
further v, 43; x, 26; III Nephi xx, 35; xxviii, 10; and Doc. and
Cov. 1, 43.

LECTURE III.

TRANSGRESSION AND THE FALL.

=Article 2.=--We believe that men will be punished for their own
sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

TRANSGRESSION AND ITS RESULTS.

=1. Man's Free Agency.=--The Church holds and teaches as a strictly scriptural doctrine, that man has inherited among the inalienable rights conferred upon him by his divine Father, absolute freedom to choose the good or the evil in life as he may elect. This right cannot be guarded with more jealous care than is bestowed upon it by God Himself; for in all His dealings with man, He has left the mortal creature free to choose and to act, with no semblance of compulsion or restraint, beyond the influences of paternal counsel and loving direction.[119] True, He has given commandments, and has established statutes, with promises of blessings for compliance and dire penalties for infraction; but in the choice of these, God's children are untrammeled. In this respect, man is no less free than are the angels and the Gods, except as he has fettered himself with the bonds of sin, and forfeited his power of will and force of soul. The individual has as full a measure of liberty to violate the laws of health, the requirements of nature, and the commandments of God in matters both temporal and spiritual, as he has to obey all such; in the one case he brings upon himself the sure penalties that belong to the broken law; as in the other he inherits the specific blessings and the added freedom that attend a law-abiding life. Obedience to law is the habit of the free man; 'tis the transgressor who fears the law, for he brings upon himself deprivation and restraint, not because of the law, which would have protected him in his freedom, but because of his antagonism to law.

[119] See Note 1.

=2.= The predominant attribute of justice, recognized as part of the Divine nature, forbids the thought that man should receive promises of reward for righteousness, and threats of punishment for evil deeds, if he possessed no power of independent action. It is no more a part of God's plan to compel men to work righteousness, than it is His purpose to permit evil powers to force His children into sin. In the days of Eden, the first man had placed before him commandment and law,[120] with an explanation of the penalty which would follow a violation of that law. No law could have been given him in righteousness had he not been free to act for himself. "Nevertheless thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee, but remember that I forbid it,"[121] said the Lord God to Adam. Concerning His dealings with the first patriarch of the race, God has declared in this day, "Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself."[122]

[120] Genesis ii, 17; Pearl of Great Price, Moses ii, 27-29; iii,
15-17.

[121] Pearl of Great Price, Moses iii, 17.

[122] Doctrine and Covenants, xxix, 35.

=3.= When the brothers Cain and Abel brought their sacrifices before the Lord, the elder one became angry because his offering was rejected; then the Lord reasoned with Cain, and endeavored to teach him that he must expect results of his actions to follow in kind, good or evil, as he might elect:--"If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door."[123]

[123] Genesis iv, 7.

=4.= A knowledge of good and evil is essential to the advancement which God has made possible for His children to achieve; this knowledge can be best gained by actual experience, with the contrasts of good and its opposite before the eyes; therefore has man been placed upon the earth subject to the influence of good and wicked powers, with a knowledge of the conditions surrounding him, and the heaven-born right to choose for himself. The words of the prophet, Lehi, are particularly explicit: "Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself, save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.... Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."[124]

[124] II Nephi ii, 16 and 27; x, 23. See also Alma iii, 26; xii,
31; xxix, 4, 5; xxx, 9; Hel. xiv, 30.

=5.= Alma, another Nephite prophet, in speaking of those who had died, said they had gone "that they might reap their rewards, according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one; For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy."[125]

[125] Alma iii, 26-27.

=6.= Samuel, the converted Lamanite, upon whom the spirit of the prophets had fallen, admonished his wayward fellows in this wise: "And now remember, remember my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge, and He hath made you free; He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and He hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death."[126]

[126] Helaman xiv, 30-31.

=7.= When the plans for creating and peopling the earth were under discussion in heaven, Satan sought to destroy the free agency of man, by obtaining power to force the human family to do his will, promising the Father that by such means he would redeem all mankind, and that not one of them should be lost.[127] This proposition was rejected, while the original purpose of the Father,--to use persuasive influences of wholesome precept and sacrificing example with the inhabitants of the earth, then to leave them free to choose for themselves, was agreed upon, and the Only Begotten Son was chosen as the chief instrument in carrying that purpose into effect.

[127] Moses iv. 1; see also Abraham iii, 27-28; and "Jesus the
Christ," ch. ii.

=8. Man's Responsibility= for his individual acts is as complete as is his agency to elect for himself. The natural result of good deeds is happiness; the consequence of evil is misery; these follow in every man's life by inviolable laws. There is a plan of judgment[128] divinely fore-ordained, by which every man will be called to answer for his deeds; and not for deeds alone but for his words also, and even for the thoughts of his heart. "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."[129] These are the words of the Savior Himself. "And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord."[130] John the Revelator was permitted to learn in vision something of the scenes connected with the last judgment; he says: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."[131]

[128] Matt. x, 15; xi, 22; II Peter ii, 9; iii, 7; I John iv, 17.

[129] Matt. xii, 36.

[130] Zech. viii, 17.

[131] Rev. xx, 12, 13.

=9.= The judgment of God is not always made to follow immediately the acts of men; good deeds may not be at once rewarded, evil is rarely peremptorily punished; and this is according to Divine wisdom; were it appointed otherwise, the test of individual nature, and the trial of human faith, for which purposes this mortal probation was primarily ordained, would be greatly lessened; for the certainty of immediate pleasure or pain would almost universally determine human acts to secure the one and to avoid the other. Judgment, therefore, is postponed, that every one may fully prove his nature, the good man increasing in righteousness, and the evil doer possessing opportunity of repentance and reparation before the great and terrible day. On rare occasions, speedy judgment of a temporal nature has been executed, the physical results of worldly blessing for good,[132] and calamity for evil deeds[133] following swiftly upon the acts. Whether such retribution entirely satisfies the claims of justice, or a further visitation of judgment is to take place beyond this world, matters not. Such acts are exceptional in the Divine administration.

[132] Job xlii, 10-17.

[133] Numbers xii, 1-2; 10-15; xv, 32-36; xvi; xxi, 4-6; I Sam.
vi, 19; II Sam. vi, 6-7; Acts v, 1-11.

=10.= It is the prerogative of Jesus Christ[134] to judge the children of men, and He will do it as His own purposes, which are likewise the purposes of His Father, may be best served. John records the words of Christ: "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son; that all men should honor the Son even as they honor the Father."[135] And Peter, while expounding the gospel to the devout Gentile, Cornelius, declared concerning Jesus Christ, that "it is He which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead."[136] Of the dread fate of the wicked reserved for the judgment day, many prophets have borne record[137] and the presiding Judge of that awful tribunal has given in His own words descriptions[138] so vivid and forceful, as to leave no shadow of doubt that every living soul will be called to acknowledge the record, and to accept the results of his acts. The Lord's words and those of His prophets are unequivocal, that He is no respecter of persons,[139] and that any species of favor foreign to justice is unknown to Him. This judgment none but the unrepentant wicked need fear; to the righteous it is a time of triumph.[140]

[134] John v, 22-27; Acts x, 42; xvii, 31; Rom. ii, 16; II Cor. v,
10; II Tim. iv, 1, 8; Doc. and Cov. cxxxiii, 2.

[135] John v, 22.

[136] Acts x, 42.

[137] Dan. vii, 9; II Thess. i, 7, 8; III Nephi xxvi, 3-5; Doc.
and Cov. lxxvi, 31-49; 103-106.

[138] Matt. xxv, 31-46; Doc. and Cov. i, 9-12.

[139] Acts x, 34, 35; Rom. ii, 11; Eph. vi, 9; Colos. iii, 25.

[140] II Tim. iv, 8.

=11. Sin.=--What is the nature of sin? To this question the Apostle John replies, "Sin is the transgression of the law."[141] In the original language of the Bible records, many words occur for which our single term sin is used, all however conveying the common idea of opposition to the Divine will.[142] As God is the embodiment of purity and perfection, such opposition is a rebellion against the principles of advancement, and an acceptance of the practices that lead to degradation. Sin is any condition, whether consisting in omission of things required, or in commission of acts forbidden, which tends to prevent or hinder the development of the human soul. As a righteous course leads to eternal life, so sin tends toward the darkness of the second death. Sin was introduced to the world by the arch-fiend Satan;[143] yet it is by Divine permission that mankind is brought in contact with sin, the contrast between evil and good thus being learned.

[141] I John iii, 4.

[142] See Note 2.

[143] Pearl of Great Price: Moses iv, 4; Genesis iii.

=12.= According to the technical definition of sin, it consists in the violation of law, and in this strict sense sin may be committed inadvertently or in ignorance. It is plain, however, from the scriptural doctrine of human responsibility, and the unerring justice of God, that in his transgressions as in his righteous deeds, man will be judged according to his ability to comprehend law. To him who has never been made acquainted with a higher law, the requirements of that law do not apply in their fulness. For sins committed without knowledge,--that is, for laws violated in ignorance, a propitiation has been provided in the atonement wrought through the sacrifice of the Savior; and sinners of this class do not stand condemned.

=13.= Nephi, prophesying to the ancient inhabitants of the western continent, taught them this doctrine:--"Where there is no law given, there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment, there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation, the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him; For the atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel."[144] And then, in contrast with the lot of those who are thus pardonable, the prophet adds:--"But wo unto him that has the law given; yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state!"[145] This is in strict agreement with the teachings of Paul to the Romans, "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law."[146] And the word of modern scripture is to the same effect, for we are told through recent revelation to the Church, that among those who are to receive the blessings of redemption are "they who died without law."[147] These will include the heathen nations, whose redemption is promised, with the added declaration that "they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection."[148]

[144] II Nephi ix, 25-26.

[145] The same, paragraph 27.

[146] Rom. ii, 12.

[147] Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 72.

[148] Doc. and Cov. xiv, 54. See p. 404, Note 4.

==14. Punishment for Sin.--As rewards for righteous deeds are proportionate to deserving acts, so the punishment prescribed for sin is made adequate to the offence.[149] Punishment is inflicted upon the sinner, for disciplinary and reformatory purposes, and in support of justice. There is nothing of vindictiveness or of desire to cause suffering in the Divine nature; on the contrary, our Father is cognizant of every pang, and permits such to afflict for beneficent purposes only. God's mercy is declared in the retributive pains which He allows, as in the blessings of peace which issue from His hand. It is scarcely profitable to speculate as to the exact nature of the spiritual suffering imposed as punishment for sin. Comparison with physical pain,[150] such as the tortures of fire, in a sulphurous lake, serve to show that the human mind is incapable of comprehending the depth of these dread penalties. The sufferings entailed by the awful fate of condemnation are more to be feared than are any possible inflictions of purely physical torture; the mind, the spirit, the whole soul is doomed to suffer, and the extent of the torment no man knoweth.

[149] Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 82-85; lxxxii, 21; civ, 9; lxiii, 17;
II Nephi i, 13; ix, 27; xxviii, 23.

[150] Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 36, 44; Jacob vi, 10; Alma xii, 16-17;
III Nephi xxvii, 11-12.

=15.= Consider the word of the Lord regarding those whose sin is the unpardonable one, whose transgression has carried them beyond the present horizon of possible redemption; those who have sunk so low in their wickedness as to have lost the power and even the desire to attempt reformation.[151] "Sons of Perdition" is the terrible designation by which they are known. These are they who, having learned the power of God, afterward renounce it; those who sin wilfully, in the light of knowledge; those who open their hearts to the Holy Spirit, and then put the Lord to a mockery and a shame by denying Him; and those who commit murder, wherein they shed innocent blood;[152] these are they of whom the Savior has declared that it would be better for them had they never been born.[153] These are to share the punishment of the devil and his angels--punishment so terrible that the knowledge is withheld from all except those who are consigned to this dread doom, though a momentary glance at the awful picture is permitted to some.[154] These sinners are the only ones over whom the second death hath power, "Yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord."[155]

[151] See Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 26, 32, 43.

[152] Doc. and Cov. cxxxii, 27.

[153] John xvii, 12; II Thess. ii, 3; Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 32.

[154] Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 45-48.

[155] Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 38-39.

=16. The Duration of Punishment.=--As to the duration of such punishment, we may take assurance that it will be graded according to the sin; and that the popular interpretation of scriptural passages to the effect that every sentence for misdeeds is interminable, is entirely false.[156] Great as is the effect of this life upon the hereafter, and terrible as is the responsibility of opportunities lost for repentance, God holds the power to pardon beyond the grave. And yet the scriptures speak of eternal and endless punishment. Any punishment ordained of God is eternal, for He is eternal.[157] His is a system of endless punishment, for it will always exist as a place or condition prepared for disobedient spirits; yet the infliction of the penalty will have an end in every case of willing repentance and attempted reparation. And repentance is not impossible in the spirit world.[158] Yet, as seen, there are some sins so terrible that their consequent punishments are not made known to man;[159] these extreme penalties are reserved for the "Sons of Perdition."

[156] Doc. and Cov. xix, 6-12; lxxvi, 36, 44.

[157] Doc. and Cov. xix, 10-12.

[158] I Peter iii, 18-20; iv, 6; Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 73. See p.
119.

[159] Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 44.

=17.= The false doctrine that the punishment to be visited upon the erring souls is endless, that every sentence for sin is of interminable duration, must be regarded as one of the most pernicious results of unenlightened sectarianism. It is but a dogma of unauthorized and erring churches, at once unscriptural, unreasonable, and revolting to one who loves mercy and honors justice. True, the scriptures speak of everlasting burnings, eternal damnation, and the vengeance of eternal fire,[160] as characteristics of the judgment provided for the wicked; yet in no instance is there justification for the inference that the individual sinner will have to suffer the wrath of offended justice forever and ever. The punishment in any case is sufficiently severe without the added and supreme horror of unending continuation. Justice must have her due; but when "the uttermost farthing" is paid, the prison doors shall open and the captive be free. But the prison remains, and the law prescribing punishment for offences will not be repealed.

[160] Matt. xviii, 8; xxv, 41, 46; II Thess. i, 9; Mark iii, 29;
Jude 7.

=18.= So general were the ill-effects of the commonly-accepted doctrine, unscriptural and untrue though it was, regarding the endless torment awaiting every sinner, that even before the Church had been formally organized in the present dispensation, God gave a revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, touching this matter, in which we read:--"And surely every man must repent or suffer; for I, God, am endless: wherefore I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea to those who are found on my left hand; nevertheless it is not written that there shall be no end to this torment, but it is written endless torment. Again it is written eternal damnation ... for behold, I am endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand, is endless punishment, for Endless is my name; wherefore, eternal punishment is God's punishment. Endless punishment is God's punishment.[161]"

[161] Revelation given March, 1830; Doc. and Cov. xix, 4-12.

=19. Satan.=--We have had occasion to refer frequently to the author of evil among men. This is Satan,[162] the adversary or opponent of the Lord, the chief of all evil spirits, called also the Devil,[163] Beelzebub,[164] or the Prince of Devils, Perdition,[165] and Belial.[166] The figurative appellations Dragon and Serpent are applied to Satan, when reference is made to his fall.[167] We learn from the revealed word[168] that Satan was once an angel of light; he was then known as Lucifer, a Son of the Morning, but his uncontrolled ambition prompted him to aspire to the glory and power of the Father, to secure which he made the unjust proposition to redeem the human family by compulsion; failing in this purpose, he headed an open rebellion against the Father and the Son, drawing a third of the hosts of heaven into his impious league.[169] These rebellious spirits were expelled from heaven, and have since followed the impulses of their wicked natures by seeking to lead human souls to their own condition of darkness. They are the Devil and his angels. The right of free agency, maintained and vindicated by the fateful strife in heaven, prevents the possibility of compulsion being employed in this fiendish work of degradation; but the powers of these malignant spirits to tempt and persuade are used to their utmost limits. Satan tempted Eve to transgress the law of God;[170] it was he who imparted the secret of murder to the fratricide, Cain.[171]

[162] Job i, 6-22; ii, 1-7; Zech. iii, 1-2.

[163] Matt. iv, 5, 8, 11; I Peter v, 8.

[164] Matt. xii, 24.

[165] Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 26.

[166] II Cor. vi, 15.

[167] Rev. xii, 9; xx, 2.

[168] Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 25-27.

[169] Doc. and Cov. xxix, 36-37; see also Pearl of Great Price:
Moses iv, 3-7; Abraham iii, 27-28; "Jesus the Christ," pp. 8, 9.

[170] Genesis iii, 4-5, and Pearl of Great Price: Moses iv, 6-11.

[171] Pearl of Great Price: Moses v, 29-33.

=20.= Satan exerts a mastery over the spirits that have been corrupted by his practices; he is the foremost of the angels who were thrust down, and the instigator of the ruin of those who fall in this life; he seeks to molest and hinder mankind in good efforts, by tempting to sin; it may be by imposing sickness,[172] or possibly death. Yet in all these malignant doings, he can go no farther than the transgressions of the victim may enable him, or the wisdom of God may permit him to go, and he may at any time be checked by the superior power. Indeed, even the operations of his utmost malice may be turned to the accomplishment of Divine purposes. The scriptures prove to us that the days of Satan's power are already numbered,[173] his doom has been pronounced, and in the Lord's own time he will be completely overcome. He is to be bound during the millennial reign,[174] and after that thousand years of blessed peace, he will be loosed for a little season; then his defeat will be made complete, and his power over the children of God will be entirely destroyed.

[172] Luke xiii, 16; Job i.

[173] John xii, 31; xvi, 11.

[174] Rev. xx, 1-10.

THE FALL.

=21. Our First Parents in Eden.=[175]--The crowning scene of the great drama of creation was the forming of man in the image of his spiritual Father, God.[176] For the reception of the first man, the Creator had specially prepared a choice region of earth, and had embellished it with natural beauties calculated to gladden the heart of its royal possessor. "The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden,[177] and there he put the man whom he had formed."[178] Soon after man's advent upon the earth the Lord created for him a companion or help-meet, declaring that it was not good that man should be alone,[179] Thus, male and female, Adam and his wife Eve, were placed in the Garden. They had been given dominion "over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth."[180] With this great power were associated certain special commands, the first of which in point of importance was that they "be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it;" then, that they refrain from eating or even touching the fruit of a certain tree, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which grew in the midst of the Garden, though of all other fruits they were permitted to freely partake. The words of God concerning this command and its penalty are:--"And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying, of every tree in the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; nevertheless thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee, but remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."[181]

[175] Read Genesis, chapters ii and iii; Pearl of Great Price:
Moses iii, iv: Abraham v, 7-21.

[176] Genesis i, 26; Pearl of Great Price: Moses ii, 27.

[177] See Note 3.

[178] Genesis ii, 8-9.

[179] Genesis ii, 18; Pearl of Great Price: Moses iii, 18, 21-24.

[180] Genesis i, 28; Pearl of Great Price: Moses ii, 28; Abraham
iv, 28.

[181] Pearl of Great Price: Moses iii, 16-17; see also Genesis ii,
16-17.

=22. The Temptation= to disobey this command soon came. Satan presented himself before Eve in the Garden, and, speaking by the mouth of the serpent, questioned her about the commands which God had given respecting the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Eve answered that they were forbidden even to touch the fruit of that tree, under penalty of death. Satan then sought to beguile the woman, contradicting the Lord's statement, and declaring that death would not follow a violation of the Divine injunction; but that, on the other hand, by doing that which the Lord had forbidden, she and her husband would become like unto the gods, knowing good and evil for themselves. The woman was captivated by these representations; and, being eager to possess the advantages pictured by Satan, she disobeyed the command of the Lord, and partook of the fruit forbidden. She feared not evil, for she knew it not. Then, telling Adam what she had done, she urged him to do likewise.

=23.= Adam found himself in a position that impelled him to disobey one of the requirements of God. He and his wife had been commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. Adam was still immortal; Eve had come under the penalty of mortality; and in such dissimilar conditions, the two could not remain together, and therefore could not fulfill the Divine requirement. On the other hand, Adam would be disobeying another command by yielding to his wife's request. He deliberately and wisely decided to stand by the first and greater commandment; and, therefore, with a full comprehension of the nature of his act, he also partook of the fruit that grew on the Tree of Knowledge. The fact that Adam acted understandingly in this matter is affirmed by the scriptures. Paul, in writing to Timothy, explained that "Adam was not deceived; but the woman, being deceived, was in the transgression."[182] The prophet Lehi, in expounding the scriptures to his sons, declared "Adam fell that man might be, and men are that they might have joy."[183]

[182] I Timothy ii, 14. See Note 8.

[183] II Nephi ii, 25.

=24. The Tree of Life.=--There was another tree of special virtues in Eden; its fruit insured life to all who ate of it. While Adam and Eve lived in innocent immortality, this tree had not been forbidden them; the celestial fruit indeed was fitting food for their sinless state. Now that they had transgressed, however, now that the Divine decree had issued, fixing death as their lot, it was not proper that the fruit of the Tree of Life should be longer within their reach. They were, therefore, expelled from the Garden, and cherubim with a flaming sword guarded the way, that man might not return in an unregenerate state. By the act of transgression, our first parents acquired a knowledge, which in their condition of pristine innocence they had not possessed,--the experimental knowledge of good and evil. The result of the Fall could have been of none but ill effect had the fallen ones been immediately restored to a condition of immortality, without repentance, without atonement. In the despair that followed their realization of the great change that had come upon them, and in the light of the knowledge gained at such cost as to the virtues of the fruit that grew on the Tree of Life, it would have been but natural for them to seek the seeming advantages of an immediate escape, by partaking of the celestial food. It was in mercy that they were deprived of the means of so doing.

=25.= The words of the Creator are unmistakable as to the necessity of banishing His first earthly children from Eden:--"And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man: and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."[184]

[184] Gen. iii, 22-24; Pearl of Great Price: Moses iv, 31.

=26.= Alma, the Nephite prophet, comprehended the result that would have followed had Adam and his wife eaten of the Tree of Life; he thus explained the matter:--"Now we see that the man had become as God, knowing good and evil; and lest he should put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever, the Lord God placed Cherubim and the flaming sword, that he should not partake of the fruit; And thus we see, that there was a time granted unto man to repent, yea, a probationary time, a time to repent and serve God. For behold, if Adam had put forth his hand immediately, and partook of the tree of life, he would have lived forever, according to the word of God, having no space for repentance; yea, and also the word of God would have been void, and the great plan of salvation would have been frustrated."[185]

[185] Alma xlii, 3-5.

=27. The Immediate Result of the Fall= was the substitution of mortality, with all its attendant frailties, for the vigor of the primeval deathless state. Adam felt directly the effects of transgression, in finding a barren and dreary earth, with a sterile soil, instead of the beauty and fruitfulness of Eden. In place of pleasing and useful plants, thorns and thistles sprang up; and he had to labor arduously under the conditions of physical fatigue and suffering, to cultivate the soil that he might obtain necessary food. Upon Eve fell the penalty of bodily infirmity; the pains and sorrows, which since have been regarded as the natural lot of womankind, came upon her, and she was made subject to her husband. Having now lost their sense of former innocence, they became ashamed of their nakedness, and the Lord made for them garments of skins. And upon both the man and the woman was visited the penalty of spiritual death; for in that very day they were banished from Eden, and cast out from the presence of the Lord. The serpent, having served the purposes of Satan, was made a subject of Divine displeasure, being doomed to crawl forever in the dust, and to suffer from the enmity which it was decreed should be placed in the hearts of Eve's children.[186]

[186] See Note 4.

=28. Atonement was Provided for.=--God left not His now mortal children without hope. He gave other commandments to Adam, requiring him to offer sacrifices in the name of the Only Begotten Son, and promising redemption unto him and all his descendants who would comply with the conditions prescribed. The opportunity of winning the victor's reward by overcoming evil was explained to our parents, and they rejoiced. Adam said, "Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God." Eve was glad and declared, "Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient."[187]

[187] Pearl of Great Price: Moses v 10-11; see Note 6.

=29. The Fall came not by Chance.=--It would be unreasonable to suppose that the transgression of Eve and Adam came as a surprise to the Creator. By His infinite fore-knowledge, God knew what would be the result of Satan's temptation to Eve, and what Adam would do under the conditions. And further, it is evident that the Fall was foreseen, to be a means whereby man could be brought face to face with both good and evil; that of his own agency he might elect the one or the other, and thus be prepared by the experiences of a mortal probation for the exaltation provided in the glorious plan of his creation:--"For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man;"[188] thus spake the Lord unto Moses. It was the purpose of God to place within the reach of the spirits begotten by Him in the heavens the means of individual effort, and the opportunity of winning, not merely redemption from death but also salvation and even exaltation, with the powers of eternal progression and increase. Hence, it was necessary that the spiritual offspring of God should leave the mansions of their primeval childhood, and enter the school of mortal experience, meeting, contending with, and overcoming evil, according to their several degrees of faith and strength. Adam and Eve could never have been the parents of a mortal posterity had they not themselves become mortal; mortality, as before stated, was an essential element in the Divine plan respecting the earth and its appointed inhabitants; and as a means of introducing mortality the Lord placed before the progenitors of the race a law, knowing full well that transgression would follow.

[188] Pearl of Great Price: Moses i 39; see Note 7.

=30.= Eve was fulfilling the foreseen purposes of God by the part she took in the great drama of the Fall; yet she did not partake of the forbidden fruit with that object in view, but with the intent to violate the Divine command, being deceived by the sophistries of the serpent-fiend. Satan also, for that matter, furthered the purposes of the Creator, in tempting Eve; yet his design was to thwart the Lord's plan. We are definitely told that "he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world."[189] Yet, his diabolical effort, far from being the initiatory step toward destruction, contributed to the plan of man's eternal exaltation. Adam's part in the great event was essentially different from that of his wife; he was not deceived; on the contrary he deliberately decided to do as Eve desired, that he might carry out the purposes of his Maker with respect to the race of men, whose first patriarch he was ordained to be.

[189] Pearl of Great Price: Moses iv, 6.

=31.= Even the transgressions of man may be turned to the accomplishment of high purposes. As will be shown, the sacrifice of Christ was ordained from before the foundation of the world,[190] yet Judas who betrayed, and the blood-thirsty Jews who brought about the crucifixion of the Son of God, are none the less guilty of the awful crime.

[190] See Lecture iv, p. 76.

=32.= It has become a common practice with mankind to heap reproaches upon the progenitors of the family, and to picture the supposedly blessed state in which we would be living but for the Fall; whereas our first parents are entitled to our deepest gratitude for their legacy to posterity,--the means of winning glory, exaltation, and eternal lives, on the battlefield of mortality. But for the opportunity thus given, the spirits of God's offspring would have remained forever in a state of innocent childhood; sinless through no effort of their own; negatively saved, not from sin, but from the opportunity of meeting sin; incapable of winning the honors of victory because prevented from taking part in the battle. As it is, they are heirs to the birthright of Adam's descendants,--mortality, with its immeasurable possibilities and its God-given freedom of action. From Father Adam we have inherited all the ills to which flesh is heir; but such are necessarily incident to the knowledge of good and evil, by the proper use of which knowledge man may become even as the Gods.[191]

[191] See Note 5.

NOTES.