Chapter VI: Part III: The Holy Ghost (1)

LESSON XII.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

NATURE AND FORM.

ANALYSIS.

I. The Holy Ghost Distinctive in Physical Nature from the Father and the Son.

II. Spirit Substance.

III. "Person" and "Personage" Defined.

REFERENCES.

Scripture and works cited in the body of this lesson.

_SPECIAL TEXT: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." (Phil. ii:5 c. f. Acts x:38.)_

DISCUSSION.

_1. As Heretofore Considered:_ I have already considered the Holy Ghost as a member of the Trinity; as a separate Personage in that Trinity; and have spoken to a limited extent of his special office as a Witness of the truth. But all that has been said has been to present a view of him in association with the other Personages of the Godhead. It is now proposed to consider him by himself, alone--his nature, his office, the principles upon which men may unite their lives with his life, and thus attain perfect spiritual life.

_2. The Spirit of the Inquiry:_ Most reverently, and rather reluctantly, do I address myself to this task. Certainly no one could approach it lightly, much less arrogantly, as knowing all about it, when really, after all, one knows and can know so little about it; and that only which it has pleased God to reveal in his word, and inspired his prophets to teach. Beyond what is of record in these revelations, the writer may claim no knowledge of the subject. It is merely to set forth what may be learned from these sources, grouping the facts as they may be learned by all in that manner which appeals to him as being most orderly and clear, and that will make for a reverent attitude towards this holy Personage of the Godhead.

_3. Distinctions in Nature:_ It appears that the Holy Ghost differs from the other personages of the Godhead, in this; that while "the Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's, the Son also;[A] * * * * the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of spirit. Were it not so the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us."[B]

[Footnote A: For collected evidence of this truth, and the doctrine that as the Son is, so is the Father, see Seventy's Year Book, No. III, Lesson xxiii, notes 7, 8, 11.]

[Footnote B: Doc. and Cov., sec. 130:22.]

Such the declaration of Joseph, the Prophet, in some instruction given to the Church at Ramus, Illinois, April 2nd, 1843;[A] and admitted into the body of the Doctrine and Covenants as doctrine of the Church.

[Footnote A: Hist. of the Church--the Journal History of the Prophet--Vol. V, p. 325.]

With this also, of course, the teaching of President Young agrees: "The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Lord, and issues forth from himself, and may properly be called God's minister to execute his will in immensity; being called to govern by his influence and power; but he is not a person of tabernacle as we are and as our Father in heaven and Jesus Christ are."[A]

[Footnote A: Journal of Discourses, Vol. I, p. 50.]

_4. "Spirit," Its Substantive[A] Nature:_ To aid in a proper understanding of the meaning of the Prophet in the passage just quoted, it is necessary to ascertain what is meant by him in using the terms "spirit" and "personage." At Ramus, Illinois, 17th of May, 1843, the Prophet, "speaking of Eternal Duration of Matter," said: "There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but is more fine or pure, [i. e. than gross matter] and can only be discerned by purer eyes. We can not see it, but when our bodies are purified, we shall see that it is all matter."[B] "In tracing the thing to foundation," said the Prophet in an editorial of the Times and Seasons, April, 1842, "and looking at it philosophically, we shall find a very material difference between the body and the spirit; the body is supposed to be organized matter, and the spirit, by many, is thought to be immaterial, without substance. With this latter statement we should beg leave to differ, and state that spirit is a substance; that it is a material, but that it is more pure, elastic and refined matter than the body; that it existed before the body, can exist in the body; and will exist separate from the body, when the body will be mouldering in the dust; and will in the resurrection, be again united with it."[C]

[Footnote A: Substantive (2) "Having substance or reality." Example of use: "The mind is a substantive existence, possessing a uniform structure of character, however fundamentally different from the bodily structure." G. T. Curtis, Creation and Evolution, p. 470.]

[Footnote B: "History of the Church," Vol. V, p. 393. The passage, except the introductory sentence, is admitted into the body of the Doctrine and Covenants (sec. cxxxi:7, 8).]

[Footnote C: Hist. Ch, Vol. IV, p. 575.]

From this, one is justified in concluding that because the Prophet refers to the Holy Ghost as a "spirit," he does not thereby mean an immaterial being, or personage; a being not matter; but a being, a personage of finer and more subtle material than flesh and bone, else the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.[A]

[Footnote A: An important truth hinges upon this doctrine and is considered later.]

_5. Substantive Existence of the Holy Ghost:_ Upon this line of thought, that is, as to immateriality of spirit, the late Elder Orson Pratt has a most enlightening passage, which I here give at length:

"Some have supposed the Holy Spirit to be merely a power or influence, and not a substance; these are the views of Unitarians: they do not believe that there is a substantive Holy Spirit, but that the Holy Spirit is only a quality or attribute of the Father's substance. We shall first show that the Holy Spirit can have no existence as a mere attribute, or quality, without some substance to which such quality appertains. It is an admitted principle in all sound philosophy, that all qualities or powers must be the qualities or powers of something. Abstract qualities or powers are inconceivable. Motion implies a substance capable of moving or being moved. Force implies a substance capable of exerting a power on itself, or on something external to itself. The various colors of the prism imply a substance capable of producing the sensations of color upon the optic nerve. Sound implies a substance in a certain state or condition, affecting the organ of hearing. Taste implies a substance, exciting its appropriate sensation. As all these qualities and properties imply substance to which they belong, so do wisdom, knowledge, power, goodness, love, and such like qualities, imply substances to which they adhere. And as we cannot conceive of motion, force, color, or sound existing without a substrate, so we cannot conceive of wisdom, knowledge, goodness, or virtue subsisting without a substantive being to which these qualities belong.

"Some writers who have obtained a degree of celebrity among the speculative philosophers of modern times, have advocated a theory (if indeed, it may be called a theory), that power, forces, etc., in the abstract constitute the whole universe. Boscovich and his disciples maintained this idea, and contended that there was no such thing as substance in existence--that the universe was made up, not of substance, but of an infinitude of mathematical points, attracting, repelling, and combining with each other according to certain laws. According to this theory it is assumed that repulsions of a certain degree of intensity produce solidity--that those of less intensity produce liquidity, and that the various degrees of rarity or density depend, not upon substance, but upon the attractions and repulsions of points in different degrees of proximity. A celebrated writer of our own day--Isaac Taylor--is inclined to this theory. After suggesting the idea that substance was not necessary in the constitution of the universe, he says, 'The visible and palpable world then, according to this theory, is motion, constant and uniform, emanating from infinite centres, and springing, during every instant of its continuance from the Creative Energy.' (Isaac Taylor's Physical Theory of Another Life, p. 238.)

"According to this theory, attractions and repulsions must exist without anything to be attracted or rexpelled--motion must exist without anything being moved--there must be 'a springing' from 'infinite centres' continuing 'every instant' without anything to be sprung. Here are energies, forces, and motion, ascribed not to a substance, but to empty space, or nothing. The latter writer, it is true, admits a 'Creative Energy.' What he means by this is, that all those varieties of motions were created. But if there is no substance, there can be nothing but empty space; but space is not capable of motion, therefore, 'Creative Energy' could not create a motion, until there was something in space to be moved. Therefore, to speak of motion where nothing exists is an absurdity, only equaled by the absurdity of the notion of a 'God without body or parts.'

"As it is impossible for motion to exist without a substance, so it is equally impossible and absurd for wisdom, knowledge, goodness, love, power, will, or any other similar attribute or quality to exist separate and apart from substance; hence the 'Creative Energy' itself could not exist unless a substance existed to which it appertained. The most eminent philosophers of modern times, with very few exceptions, have considered substance necessary to the existence of every quality. These were the views of that great master spirit--the renowned Sir Isaac Newton. In the Scholium, at the end of the 'Principia,' when speaking of God, he says, 'He is omnipresent, not by means of his virtue alone, but also by his substance, for virtue cannot subsist without substance.' The Holy Spirit, therefore, is a substance, and must, like all other substances, have parts, bearing relation to space and duration."[A]

[Footnote A: Millennial Star, Vol. XII, No. 20.]

Then as to "personage:" The Prophet used this term always in the sense of meaning an individual, including bodily form, with all that belongs to it; never in the subtle and vague sense of the philosophers or school men, mediaeval or modern.[A] This is evident from use of the term in describing his first vision: "I saw two personages whose brightness and glory defy all description."[B] These two "personages" were the Father and the Son, of the holy Trinity, and whom in later years, as already seen, the Prophet declares to possess bodies of flesh and bone as tangible as man's, and in form like man's. It follows, then, that describing the Holy Ghost as a "personage of Spirit," means only that the Holy Ghost differs from the other glorious personages of the Godhead in the nature of the substance of which, for want of a better term, we may say he subsists, but not necessarily different in form; and of which we can only say--that is, of his substance--he is not flesh and bone as are the tabernacles of the Father and the Son.

[Footnote A: Never, for example, as Calvin uses it: "What I denominate a person is a subsistence of the divine essence which is related to the others and yet is distinguished from them by an incommunicable property." Calvin's Institutes i:13; or as the philosophers use it, where consciousness, thought and will seem to be the essentials of "personality," without any reference to form. (See Evolution in Relation to Religious Thought, Dr. Jos. Le Conte, p. 339.)]

[Footnote B: Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Joseph Smith, ch. ii.]

LESSON XIII.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

NATURE AND FORM (Continued).

ANALYSIS.

IV. A Spiritual Personage Revealed.

V. The Holy Ghost in Person Revealed

VI. Personality of the Holy Ghost Revealed in Described Activities.

VII. The mode of Union Between the Holy Ghost and Men.

REFERENCES.

The Scriptures and works cited in the body of this lesson.

_SPECIAL TEXT: "I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet, nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord, and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another." (II Nephi xi:)_

DISCUSSION.

_1. A Personage of Spirit Revealed:_ The Holy Ghost may be as the pre-existent spirit of the Christ was, before the incarnation; and of which we have at least one enlightening revelation in the Book of Mormon.

The brother of Jared having by faith come into the presence of the Christ, that spirit personage, said to him:

"Behold I am he who was prepared from the foundation of the world to redeem my people; * * * and never have I showed myself unto man whom I have created, for never has man believed in me as thou hast. Seest thou that ye are created after mine own image [likeness]. Yea, even all men were created in the beginning after mine own image. Behold this body which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in the spirit, will I appear unto my people in the flesh."[A]

[Footnote A: Book of Ether, ch. iii.]

I do not say that the spirit-personage of this passage and the "personage of spirit," the Holy Ghost, is declared to be by the Prophet Joseph Smith, of like essence or substance, or even that they are similar in the nature of their substances; they may be very different. But the passage in Ether informs us what a spirit-personage may be. He may be as Jesus was, a spirit in the form of a man.

_2. The Holy Ghost Revealed:_ In his "Articles of Faith," Elder James E. Talmage says:

"That the Holy Ghost is capable of manifesting himself in the true form and figure of God, after which image man is shaped, is indicated by the wonderful interview between the Spirit and Nephi, in which he revealed himself to the Prophet, questioned him concerning his desires and belief, instructed him in the things of God, speaking face to face with the man. 'I spake unto him,' says Nephi, 'as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in form of a man, yet nevertheless I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh to another.'"[A]

[Footnote A: Articles of Faith, p. 164; and I Nephi xi:22. Elder Orson Pratt refers to the same passage in 1850, and makes the following comment: "Whether this Spirit that Nephi saw 'in the form or a man' was the person of the Holy Spirit, or the personal Spirit of Jesus, which, about six hundred years afterwards took upon himself flesh, is not definitely stated. The brother of Jared, some two thousand years before Christ, saw the personal Spirit of Christ, which was in the form of a man. Nephi might have seen the same; but we are rather inclined to believe from the context, that he saw the personage of the Holy Spirit; if so, this establishes, beyond doubt, the personality of the Holy Spirit."]

Of this evidence for the personality and even the individuality of the Holy Ghost, in human form, it might be said that since the pre-existent spirit of the Christ, and doubtless the spirits of all men, existed in human form, some one of these of sufficient excellence and holiness could by appointment have ministered unto Nephi, and be called the "Spirit of the Lord." But a close consideration of the context of the quoted passage will, I think, dispel that idea and leave established the view of the author of the "Articles of Faith," and that view to which Elder Orson Pratt more especially inclined, viz.: that on the above occasion there was given to the Prophet Nephi a view of the spirit-personage of the Holy Trinity, known to us in the word of God as the Holy Ghost. The considerations which lead me to that conclusion are that in the chapter preceding the one in which it is declared that the "Spirit of the Lord" was "in the form of a man," Nephi had expressed his desire to see and hear, and know of these things by the power of the Holy Ghost, "which is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him."[A] Then in a subsequent verse he remarks: "And the Holy Ghost giveth authority that I should speak these things, and deny them not."[B] Then follows the narrative in which occurs the statement that the "spirit of the Lord," which conversed with Nephi, was "in the form of a man" This juxtaposition of the terms "Holy Ghost" and the "Spirit of the Lord," "in the form of a man," is too significant to doubt of identity of personage.

[Footnote A: I Nephi x:17.]

[Footnote B: Ibid 18.]

_3. The New Testament on the Personality of the Holy Ghost:_ It is also clear from the New Testament scriptures that the Holy Ghost is a "spiritual personage" in the sense presented in this lesson, for the reason that he is referred to as a personage, and as doing those things which only a personage, in the sense of that personage being an individual, would do. In these scriptures the Holy Ghost is quite generally "HE" rather than "IT." "I will pray to the Father," said Jesus, "and he will give you another Comforter, * * * even the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth _him_ not, neither knoweth _him_; but ye know _him_, for _he_ dwelleth with you and shall be in you."[A] "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, * * * _he_ shall teach you all things;"[B] "* * * _He_ shall testify of me."[C] _He_ will guide you into all truth; for _he_ shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear that shall _he_ speak, and _he_ will show you things to come. _He_ shall glorify me for _he_ shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you."[D] "And when _he_ is come, _he_ will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment."[E]

[Footnote A: John xiv:16, 17.]

[Footnote B: John xiv:26.]

[Footnote C: John xv:26.]

[Footnote D: John xvi:13, 14.]

[Footnote E: John xvi:8.]

Moreover, as we have seen in a previous lesson, the Holy Ghost does those things, performs those offices which may be done only by a "person" in the sense here considered, viz. He is represented as proceeding from the Father; as sent forth in the name of the Son; as abiding; as teaching; as bearing witness; as reproving the world; as guiding; and revealing.[A]

[Footnote A: See Lesson viii, this treatise where citation to scripture for all these things is given.]

It is, however, proper that attention should be called to the fact that in some cases the Holy Ghost is represented by the neuter pronoun "It" and "Itself." "The spirit _itself_ beareth witness with our spirit."[A] John calls the Holy Spirit "the anointing;" "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teach you all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught, ye shall abide in him."[B] Here we see that the neuter pronoun "_it_" is applied to the Spirit which "teacheth all things."[C] "That this anointing," says Orson Pratt, "referred to the Holy Spirit is evident, not only from its 'teaching all things,' but the word is so applied by Peter: 'God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.'"[D] Elder Pratt also cites the following instances from the Book of Mormon: "The Book of Mormon in two places uses the neuter pronoun 'it' when speaking of the Holy Ghost. Nephi says, 'Behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them.' And again, he says, 'If ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what we should do.' In another place the Book of Mormon represents the Spirit of the Lord as a person. Nephi says of this spirit, 'I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet, nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.'"

[Footnote A: Rom, viii:16.]

[Footnote B: I John ii:27.]

[Footnote C: Acts x:38.]

[Footnote D: Mill. Star, Vol. XII, p. 307.]

It is, in his described activities, however, that one may find the best idea of the nature of the personal quality of the Holy Ghost, and these activities can only obtain, as we hope is abundantly set forth in these lessons, in connection with a personality, and in the sense of that personality being an individual spirit.

_4. Mode of Union Between the Holy Ghost and Men:_ The question will be asked, however, how the doctrine of the personality of the Holy Ghost, in the sense of his being a spirit-personage, in the form of man, is to be made compatible with the idea that the Holy Ghost operates simultaneously upon the minds of many persons; in fact becomes an indwelling influence and power in them. "Receive ye the Holy Ghost," is said to all those who accept the ordinances of the gospel--both the first and second part of the Christian baptism; and the theory is that though these become an innumerable host, such as no man can number, there would still be for each a personal relationship with the Holy Ghost. Each would receive him; each would be baptized of the Spirit; and that which each would receive would be his bond of fellowship with God, his union with the divine life, his re-established communion with God, hitherto severed by sin. To each the Holy Ghost would be his special source of knowledge, as we have seen, of God the Father, and Jesus the Son;[A] the Holy Ghost would be the life of God in the life of each; the power by which he would be conformed to the very image and likeness of God--inducted in fact into the divine nature. How can all this be if the Holy Ghost be regarded as a personage, in the sense of his being an individual; and necessarily limited by the laws of form and substance? That is to say, that as a personage, he is not everywhere present; as a personage, not capable of being in two places at the same moment of time; as a personage, limited as to the amount of substance or spiritual essence of which he subsists; as a personage, not of unlimited or inexhaustible substance, extending throughout the universe. These conclusions are inevitable from the nature of beings, however refined of substance or essence, or however exalted in office and power, or however glorious, if to them we ascribe form; or if God in his word prescribes form to them, as in this case. These conclusions are inevitable where form is the mode of existence.

[Footnote A: No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost. I Cor. xii:3. "I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me." III Nephi xi:32.]

Happily the task does not devolve upon the writer to advance a positive theory with reference to this difficulty. Frankly he confesses himself inadequate to such a task. If the Son of God, so far the Master Teacher in this world, felt it necessary to say, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit"[A]--if the Master Teacher said this, surely it is becoming in this writer not to attempt in any positive way to give an exposition of that which our Lord saw proper to leave in the above status. Still, reverently, and subject to correction that may come with the further unfolding of God's revealed word, one may without presumption suggest how conception of the Holy Ghost as a personal spirit may not be incompatible with effectual, personal contact with each one that shall obey the commandment to be born both of the water and of the Spirit; and how the Holy Ghost may become an indwelling power in each of such persons regardless of numbers.

[Footnote A: St. John iii:8.]

In Lesson II of this treatise I discussed the immanence of God in the world, and developed the thought, I trust clearly, that there was both with human and divine persons an influence radiating forth from them. And that so far as divine persons were concerned, since they had attained to participation in the divine nature, which is essentially one, their influence was one, with others likewise so developed, and divine; and that so blended into one spiritual atmosphere this influence or "Spirit of God" became the Immanent Deity, the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world, and through which God is everywhere present and a power in his creations, throughout the immensity of space.[A]

[Footnote A: It is suggested that the student refresh his mind by reading again Lesson II.]

The point to be made here by reference to the discussion in Lesson II is, that if other Divine Intelligences radiate a spiritual influence and power, is it not conformable to reason to think that the Holy Ghost will also radiate a spiritual influence and power from himself that will be all sufficient to bring him in personal contact with the soul of every man who obeys the gospel--the conditions essential to fellowship with the Holy Ghost? And may it not be, and indeed from the nature of the revealed knowledge we have of this Spirit, are we not under the necessity of believing that such is his peculiar nature--wholly spiritual, as we have seen--that he acts more immediately, and more powerfully upon the consciousness and soul of man than any other spiritual power whatsoever? And is not this the explanation of the fact that he who sins against the testimony which union with the Holy Ghost gives, is under greater condemnation than for any other sin whatsoever?[A]

[Footnote A: "He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness." (St. Mark iii:28.) "It is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." (Hebrew vi:6).]

_Illustration; Analogy:_ Let us see if analogy will not help us here. We know that self-luminous bodies send forth vibrations that in turn produce light waves; and these acting upon the organs of sight render visible the objects from which the vibrations proceed. The sun is such a luminous body; and though its material body is some 92,000,000 of miles distant, yet to us men it is a glorious earth-presence, this sun, flooding the earth with light and warmth and life-giving power, without which all life would languish and die. And it is possible, and to this writer's thought very probable, that not only to the planet earth of our solar system, but to some of the other major planets of the system, though by many hundreds of millions of miles more distant from the sun than our earth, the sun may perform the same kindly office for them, not only in the matter of giving them light, which we know to be the case, but also the warmth and vital energy essential to their forms of life. But with this we need not concern ourselves now.

The analogy I suggest is this, and I press it no further than illustration: If a physical, luminous body can send forth from its presence an energy into such immense space depths, as we know our sun does, and conveys its essential qualities of light and heat and vital force to planets at least so distant as our earth is from the sun; may it not be that a spirit of such dignity and power as we have a right from what is revealed of him to believe the Holy Ghost is, cannot he, more abundantly, and even to infinity, give forth spiritual energy that shall unite to himself all those who are born again--those who obey the gospel? And as one may not separate the ray of light from the luminous object whence it proceeds, so one may not, or so it would seem--fail to be completely united with the spirit-personage of the Holy Ghost by the direct spiritual energy proceeding forth from his divine presence.

This conclusion is not given, be it remembered, as a positive dictum as to the mode of union of man with God through the fellowship or possession of the Holy Ghost. It is only a tentative suggestion as to a possible mode of that union, to meet the question as to how it can be possible to regard the Holy Ghost as a spirit-personage in the sense of his being an individual--a conclusion forced upon the understanding by the revelations of God which present him to us--and at the same time accept the notion--also forced upon the understanding by what is revealed of the Holy Ghost--that he is in conscious union with unnumbered millions of minds who have been brought into fellowship with God through the spiritual birth. But for the matter itself, as to any dogmatizing about it--"The wind bloweth where it listeth, * * * * ye know not whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

LESSON XIV.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

OFFICES (I. E., FUNCTIONS) OF THE HOLY GHOST.

ANALYSIS

I. Chief Office--Witness for Father and the Son.

II. Comforter.

III. Teacher.

IV. Remembrancer.

REFERENCES.

The Scripture passages cited in the body of this lesson.

_SPECIAL TEXT: "When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." (St John xv.26.)_

DISCUSSION.

_1. Review of Former Statement:_ It has already been pointed out in Lesson X, when considering the Holy Ghost in association with the Father and the Son in the Godhead, that his chief office, in the sense of function, is to be a witness for the two other divine personages of the Godhead, and for the truth of God--for the whole volume of it. That description of his office, however, was merely incidental, as explained in a footnote at the time, and followed only so far as was necessary to indicate merely the chief work of this divine Spirit.

_2. Chief Function of the Holy Ghost--Witness for God:_ It was there emphasized, however, that the chief function of the Holy Ghost was to be Witness for God the Father, and for Jesus Christ:

"Ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and of the Son."[A] "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Ghost"[B]

[Footnote A: II Nephi xxxi:18.]

[Footnote B: I Cor. xii.]

"But when the Comforter is come ... he shall testify of me."[A]

[Footnote A: St. John v;26.]

These passages were relied upon to emphasize that conclusion; and to these the following may be added: "I bear record of the Father," said Jesus to the Nephites, "and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me." "Whoso believeth in me, believeth in the Father also, and unto him will the Father bear record of me: for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost. And thus will the Father bear record of me and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I and the Holy Ghost are one."[A]

[Footnote A: III Nephi xi:32-36.]

This chief office of the Holy Ghost established, we may now proceed to the consideration of other functions of this Divine Personage.

_3. Comforter:_ As the time drew near for Jesus to make his great sacrifice, and then depart from the immediate presence of his disciples, he manifested a great desire to comfort them, and this he did by promising to send to them from the Father, the Holy Ghost, that he (the Holy Ghost) might abide with them forever.

"If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."[A]

[Footnote A: St. John xiv:16, 17. It will doubtless be of interest to note in this connection another promise following immediately upon this one relative to the Holy Ghost as a Comforter, and very generally overlooked even by Christians, namely, a promise that both the Father and Son would also take up their abode with those who keep the commandments. "I will not leave you comfortless," said the Christ in the verse following the one given in the text above, "I will come unto you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him. If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." When Orson Hyde gave a "spiritual interpretation" to the last statement, to the effect that it is "our privilege to have the Father and Son dwelling in our hearts," the Prophet Joseph answered: "When the Savior shall appear, we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves, and that the same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy. The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse (John xiv:23) is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man's heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false." (Doc. and Cov., Sec. cxxx.)]

_4. The Holy Ghost as Teacher:_ Continuing his discourse on the Comforter, Jesus said:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."[A]

[Footnote A: John xiv:26.]

In continuation of his remarks on this subject, to the disciples, he told them he had many things to say unto them, but they could not bear them at that time. "Howbeit," said he, "when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you."[A]

[Footnote A: John xvi:13-15.]

From these passages four important things are learned respecting the powers of the Holy Ghost:

(1) That he will teach all things; and, what is equivalent, "guide into all truth." (2) He will bring all things to remembrance, that is, whatsoever things have been stored in the mind. (3) He will show things to come. (4) He will take of the things of God and reveal them unto men.

Of the excellence and importance of these several powers it is scarcely needful to speak, since their excellence is evident upon the mere enumeration of them, yet one cannot refrain from looking at them more in detail. How excellent a thing it is to have a teacher competent to teach "all things," and "guide into all truth." In view of the fact that the saints possessed the Holy Ghost, and that the Holy Ghost has these powers, one can understand the reasonableness of John's remarks to the saints, in which he says:

"But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. * * * The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him."[A]

[Footnote A: John ii;20, 27.]

Moreover, to the extent that a man is guided into all truth, he is preserved from all error. There is no danger of his being deceived, or led astray by every wind of doctrine, or the cunning craftiness of false teachers, so long as he is in possession of that Spirit which guides into all truth. So taught Isaiah, who, in speaking of the time when the house of Israel should possess this Spirit, said:

"And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers;

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left."[A]

[Footnote A: Isaiah xxx:20, 21.]

_5. The Holy Ghost as Remembrancer:_ As to the second power enumerated, viz.: the power to bring all things to remembrance; it is a most practical and important function, as it would be impossible for man to live the law of the Gospel without some such grace being conferred upon him by the Lord. The law of the Gospel requires men not only to do good to those who do good to them, but to do good to those who despitefully use them; not only to lend to those who lend to them, but to lend to those of whom they may not hope to receive anything in return; to revile not those who may revile them--in a word, the law of the Gospel is summed up in this: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."[A]

[Footnote A: Romans xii:21. See also Matt. v, vi.]

However fine this may be in theory, to carry it practically into the affairs of life is difficult. When reviled it seems but natural to answer railing with railing, blows with blows, and for injury inflicted, return as much in kind as is within one's power to inflict. And unless in possession of this grace bestowed by the Holy Ghost, viz., having brought to one's recollection the things of Christ's Gospel, being reminded in the very moment of temptation of these laws--when smarting under a sense of injustice, or suffering under wrongs heaped upon one--it would be difficult if not impossible to live up to these heaven-given precepts. But by having the Holy Spirit as one's prompter in the moments of temptation, and by cultivating the Christian virtue of patience, this law of the Gospel, so contravening the natural disposition of man, may be complied with, and the follower of Christ, like his Master, may be able to say for those who inflict injury upon him, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

_6. President Brigham Young on the Same:_ Along this line of thought the late President Brigham Young left on record, in a discourse delivered on the 28th of August, 1852, [Journal of Discourses, Vol. I], a very choice deliverance, in which he urged righteousness upon the ministry of the Church everywhere and at all times, through constant possession of the Holy Ghost. The passage follows:

"When I heard the brethren exhorting those who are going on missions, I wished them to impress one thing upon the minds of the elders, for it is necessary that it should be uppermost there, which may be the means of preserving them from receiving stains on their characters from which very probably they may never recover. If we get a blight on our characters before the Lord, or in other words, lose ground and backslide by transgression, or in any other way, so that we are not up even with the brethren, as we are now, we never can come up with them again. But this principle must be carried out by the elders wherever they go, whatever they do, or wherever they are. One thing must be observed and be before them all the time in their meditations, and in their practice, and that is, clean hands and pure hearts, before God, angels, and men. If the elders cannot go with clean hands and pure hearts, they had better stay here, and wash a little longer; don't go thinking when you arrive at the Missouri river, at the Mississippi, at the Ohio, or at the Atlantic, that then you will purify yourselves, but start from here with clean hands and pure hearts, and be pure from the crown of your heads to the soles of your feet, then live so every hour. Go in that manner, and in that manner labor, and return again as clean as a piece of pure, white paper. This is the way to go, and if you do not do that, your hearts will ache.

"How can you do it? Is there a way? Yes! Do the elders understand that way? They do. You cannot keep your hands clean, and your hearts pure, without the help of the Lord; neither will he keep you pure without your own help. Will you be liable to fall into temptation and be overtaken in sin? Yes, unless you live so as to have the revelation of Jesus Christ continually, not only to live in it today, or while you are preaching in a prayer meeting, or in a conference; but when you are out of the meetings. You must have the Holy Spirit all the time, on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and every day through the week, and from year to year, from the time you leave home until you return, so that when you come back, you may not be afraid if the Lord Almighty should come into the midst of the Saints and reveal all the acts and doings and designs of your hearts in your missions, but be found clean like a piece of white paper; that is the way for the elders to live in their ministry at home and abroad."

LESSON XV.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

OFFICE (I. E., FUNCTIONS) OF THE HOLY GHOST (Continued).

ANALYSIS.

V. The Revealer: The Spirit of Prophecy.

VI. Miscellaneous Gifts and Powers.

VII. Personal Graces Imparted.

REFERENCES.

The works and Scripture passages cited in the body of the lesson.

_SPECIAL TEXT: "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you." (St. John xvi:13, 14.)_

DISCUSSION.

_1. The Holy Ghost the Spirit of Prophecy and of Revelation:_ "He will show you things to come." In other words, the Holy Ghost is the spirit of prophecy, for by it the future has been unfolded to the minds of the prophets; and by it the scriptures were given. In proof of this I quote the apostle Peter: "Prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost."[A] And that which they spake was written and became scripture.

[Footnote A: II Peter i:21.]

When an angel visited John on Patmos and that apostle fell at his feet to worship him, the angel said: "See thou do it not. I am they fellow servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus [which is the Holy Ghost]: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."[A]

[Footnote A: Rev. xix:10. These facts will exhibit the inconsistency, nay, I may say, the absolutely erroneous position of those who insist that while the Holy Ghost has continued with men, prophecy and revelation have ceased.]

The very fact, as stated in the fourth item taken from these passages under consideration [Lesson XIV, subdivision 4], viz., that the Holy Ghost will take of the things of the Lord and show them unto men, also proves that this Spirit is one of revelation, and is in harmony with the scripture which saith:

"But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."[A]

[Footnote A: I Cor. ii:9-14.]

_2. Joseph Smith on the "Spirit of Revelation:"_ The spirit of revelation is in connection with these blessings [i. e. receiving the Holy Ghost, see context of discourse]. A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas, so that by noticing it, you may find it fulfilled the same day or soon; [i. e.] those things that were presented unto your minds by the Spirit of God will come to pass; and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.[A]

[Footnote A: Joseph Smith in a discourse to the Twelve, 27th June, 1839, History of the Church, Vol. III, p. 381.]

He also teaches, in the same discourse, that there are two comforters: one the Holy Ghost, whom he calls the First Comforter; the other, Jesus Christ, whom he calls the Second Comforter, in explanation of St. John xiv:12-23. (See also note e, Lesson XIV.)

"There are two comforters spoken of. One is the Holy Ghost, the same as given on the day of Pentecost, and that all Saints receive after faith, repentance and baptism. Their First Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is more powerful in expanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge, of a man who is of the literal seed of Abraham, than one that is a Gentile, though it may not have half as much visible effect upon the body; for as the Holy Ghost falls upon one of the literal seed of Abraham, it is calm and serene; and his whole soul and body are only exercised by the pure spirit of intelligence; while the effect of the Holy Ghost upon a Gentile, is to purge out the old blood, and make him actually of the seed of Abraham. That man that has none of the blood of Abraham [naturally] must have a new creation by the Holy Ghost. In such a case, there may be more of a powerful effect upon the body, and visible to the eye, than upon an Israelite, while the Israelite at first might be far before the Gentile in pure intelligence.[A]

[Footnote A: The Other Comforter: This subject, in part, was treated in footnote e, in Lesson XIV. I quote what the Prophet said further upon the subject in this foot note: "The Other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest, and perhaps understood by few of this generation. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands, which is the first Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the 27th verses. * * * Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus Christ to attend him, or appear unto him from time to time, and even he will manifest the Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions--Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general assembly, and the Church of the First Born." (History of the Church, Vol. III, pp. 380-1).]

_3. Miscellaneous Gifts and Powers Imparted by the Holy Ghost:_ In addition to these special powers of the Holy Ghost, there are a number of gifts and powers enumerated, as one may say, in mass in the scriptures, and yet of highest importance. Paul says:

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues; but all these worketh that one and the selfsame spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit."[A]

[Footnote A: I Cor. xii:1-13.]