Chapter V: Part I: Eternal Intelligences and Progress (4)

"But Christ * * * by his own blood * * * entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of the bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh: _how much more shall the blood of Christ_ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. * * * And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; _and without shedding of blood is no remission_."[A]

[Footnote A: Heb. ix:12-14. 22.]

_7. The Testimony of the Apostle Peter to the Atonement:_ The Apostle Peter is equally emphatic with Paul in testifying of the virtue of the Atonement of Christ in bringing to pass the redemption of man through his death, as witness the following:

"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the
blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. * * *
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible
things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received
by tradition from your fathers; _but with the precious blood of
Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:_ who verily
was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was
manifest in these last times for you."[A]

[Footnote A: I Peter i:2, 18-20.]

Again: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison."[A]

[Footnote A: I Peter iii:18-19.]

_8. The Testimony of John, the Beloved Disciple, to the Atonement:_ So also John, the beloved disciple, testifies to the same effect: "If we walk in the light as he [God] is in the light, we have fellowships one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."[A]

[Footnote A: I John i:5-7.]

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin
not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and
not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."[A]

"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the
book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue,
and people and nation: and hast made us unto our God kings and
priests; and we shall reign on the earth."[B]

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the
dragon--Satan], whose names are not written in the book of life of
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."[C]

[Footnote A: I John ii:1.2.]

[Footnote B: Rev. v:9, 10.]

[Footnote C: Rev. xiii:8.]

LESSON XI.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

THE FACT OF THE ATONEMENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES--(Continued).

ANALYSIS.

III. The Testimony to the fact of the Atonement (Continued).

5. The Book of Mormon as a Witness:

(a) The Testimony of the Christ to the Nephites.

(b) The Testimony of Christian Institutions.

(1) The Ordinance of Baptism.

(2) The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

IV. Testimony of the New Dispensation Scriptures--Doctrine and Covenants.

V. The Only Adequate Gospel Sermon--Jesus Christ.

REFERENCES.

References same as those in Lesson X, with the citations in the body of this Lesson, and the contexts of the texts, which should be fully considered.

_SPECIAL TEXT: "Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. * * * I have come into the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin." (The Christ to the Nephites: III Nephi ix:15, 21.)_

DISCUSSION.

_1. The Testimony of the Book of Mormon to the Atonement:_ The third book of Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, may well be called the "Fifth Gospel,"[A] the beginning of the New Testament of the Nephite scriptures. In it is detailed the account of the Christ's visit to the western hemisphere and the circumstances attendant upon the establishment of his Church among the Nephites. The voice of God, which was heard after the great destruction which swept over the land during the entombment of the Christ, said:

[Footnote A: The term was first used by Dr. Paden of Salt Lake. See "Defense of the Faith and the Saints," Vol. 1, pp. 371-399, for full treatment of the subject.]

"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I created the heavens
and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the
Father from the beginning. I am in the Father, and the Father in
me; and in me hath the Father glorified his name. I came unto my
own, and my own received me not. And the scriptures concerning my
coming are fulfilled. And as many as have received me, to them have
I given to become the Sons of God; and even so will I to as many as
shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh, and
in me is the law of Moses fulfilled. * * * For behold, I have come unto
the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world
from sin."[A]

[Footnote A: III Nephi ix:15-17.]

_2. The Testimony of the Resurrected Christ:_ Then again, upon his appearing among the Nephites after his resurrection and his post-resurrection ministry in Palestine, the Christ said:

"Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified should come
into the world: and behold, I am the light and the life of the
world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father
hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the
sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the
Father in all things from the beginning. * * * And it came to pass
that the Lord spake unto them saying: Arise and come forth unto
me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye
may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that
ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole
earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world."[A]

[Footnote A: III Nephi xi:10-14.]

_3. Evidence of the Atonement in the Symbol of Baptism:_ Convincing as testimony to the fact of the Atonement is the Christian institution of baptism, the formula of which is given in the Book of Mormon. In it is shown the authority of the Christ in this ordinance of salvation, since in addition to the Holy Trinity being named as authorizing the ordinance, the administrator specifically declares that he has authority from Jesus Christ for performing it. The ordinance itself, providing as it does for the immersion of the candidate, symbolizes the Christ's death and burial for the sinner; and also in bringing forth the baptized from the watery grave, symbolizes the resurrection--all which is done that forgiveness of sin might be granted to those who thus palpably manifest that they do most solemnly accept the Atonement of the Christ of which his baptism is a most beautiful symbol--of his death, burial and resurrection.[A]

[Footnote A: III Nephi xi:10-14. The matter is treated somewhat more in detail in Lesson XXI.]

_4. Evidence of the Atonement in the Symbol of the Lord's Supper:_ The Christ also established the sacrament of the Lord's Supper among the Nephites and constituted it the symbol of the Atonement. After breaking bread and blessing it, he gave it to his Nephite disciples and said: "This shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you, and it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me, and if you do always remember me, ye shall have my spirit to be with you."[A] So also with the wine which he blessed and gave them to drink, adding, "Ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you, that you may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me."[B]

[Footnote A: III Nephi xviii.]

[Footnote B: Ibid.]

What may be called the "New Testament"[A] part of the Book of Mormon, then, no less than the New Testament of the Bible testifies to the fact of the Atonement. The same may be said of the immediate scriptures of the New Dispensation, the Doctrine and Covenants.

[Footnote A: Referring to those parts of the Book of Mormon which were written after the birth of the Christ, beginning with the III Nephi.]

_6. Testimony of the New Dispensation Scriptures--Doctrine and Covenants:_ In a revelation to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, given in June, 1829, the Lord said: "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God: For behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance."[A]

[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 18:10-12.]

Again, in a revelation to Martin Harris, given through Joseph the Prophet, in March, 1830, the Lord said: "Therefore I command you to repent--repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore--how sore you know not! how exquisite you know not! yea, how hard to bear you know not! For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all that they might not suffer if they would repent, but if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I. Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit: and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink--Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."[A]

[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. 19:15-19.]

The declaration that Jesus Christ made an atonement for man is frequently repeated as follows:

"I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified for the sins
of the world, even as many as will believe on my name, that they
may become the sons of God, even one in me as I am in the Father,
as the Father is one in me, that we may be one."[A]

"I am Christ, and in mine own name, by the virtue of the blood
which I have spilt, have I pleaded before the Father for them; but
behold, the residue of the wicked have I kept in chains of darkness
until the judgment of the great day; which shall come at the end of
the earth."[B]

[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov. Sec. xxxv:1, 2.]

[Footnote B: Doc. & Cov., Sec. xxxviii:4, 5.]

Again:

"Listen to him who is the Advocate with the Father, who is pleading
your cause before him, saying, Father, behold the sufferings and
death of him who did no sin, in whom thou wast well pleased; behold
the blood of thy Son which was shed--the blood of him whom thou
gavest that thyself might be glorified; wherefore, Father, spare
these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come unto
me and have everlasting life."[A]

[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. xlv:3-5.]

_7. The One Adequate Gospel Discourse (Brigham Young):_ Perhaps this branch of our treatise--the fact of the atonement--cannot be more fittingly closed than by quoting a passage from one of the discourses of Brigham Young, setting forth the impossibility of a man adequately preaching a gospel discourse in this our mortal life; and holding that Christ alone, in his creative work under the Fathers direction, in his earth-life, death, resurrection, and the final presentation of the finished work to his Father--this alone is the adequate gospel sermon:

"There is but one discourse to be preached to all the children of
Adam; and that discourse should be believed by them, and lived up
to. To commence, continue, and finish this gospel sermon, will
require all the time that is alloted to man, to the earth, and
all things upon it, in their mortal state; that is my idea with
regard to preaching. No man is able to set before a congregation
all the items of the gospel, in this life, and continue these
items to their termination, for this mortal life is too short.
It is inseparably connected, one part with the other, in all the
doctrines that have been revealed to man, which are now called the
various doctrines of Christianity, of which all the professors of
religion believe a portion; but severally reject, or desire to
reject, other portions of the truth: each sect or individual taking
to themselves portions of the Bible, portions of the doctrine of
salvation, that are the most pleasing to them, rejecting all the
rest, and mingling these doctrines with the tenets of men.

"But let a gospel sermon be preached, wherein all the principles
of salvation are embodied, and we will acknowledge, at the end of
the mortality of this earth, and all things created upon it--at
the closing up scene, at the final consummation of all things that
have been from the commencement of the creation of the world, and
the peopling of it, unto the latest generation of Adam and Eve,
and the final finishing up of the work of Christ--I say, we shall
acknowledge that there is the gospel sermon, and that it could not
be preached to finite beings in one short life.

"Christ is the author of this gospel, of this earth, of men and
women, of all the posterity of Adam and Eve, and of every living
creature that lives upon the face of the earth, that flies in the
heavens, that swims in the waters, or dwells in the field. Christ
is the author of salvation to all this creation; to all things
pertaining to this terrestrial globe we occupy.

"He has redeemed the earth; he has redeemed mankind and every
living thing that moves upon it; and he will finish his gospel
discourse when he overcomes his enemies and puts his last enemy
under his feet--when he destroys death, and him that hath the power
of it--when he has raised up this kingdom, and finished his work
which the Father gave him to do, and presents it to his Father,
saying, 'I have done the work, I have finished it; I have not only
created the world, but I have redeemed it; I have watched over it,
and I have given to those intelligent beings, that you have created
by me, their agency, and it has been held with perfection to
every creature of intelligence, to every grade of mankind; I have
preserved inviolate their agency; I have watched over them, and
overruled all their actions, and held in my hand the destinies of
men; and I have finished up my gospel sermon,' as he presents the
finished work to his Father.

"It takes just such a character as the Savior, to preach one gospel
discourse; and this was commenced with the commencement of all men
upon this earth or any other; and it will never close until the
winding up scene, and all is finished, and the kingdom is presented
to the Father."[A]

[Footnote A: Journal of Discourses, Vol. III, pp. 80, 81.]

LESSON XII.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD RELATED TO THE ATONEMENT.

ANALYSIS.

I. Attributes[A] Ascribed to God--First Group.

1. Eternity;

2. Immutability;

3. Omnipotence;

4. Omniscience;

5. Omnipresence.

II. The Attributes Expounded--Limitations.

REFERENCES.

Doc. & Cov.: "Lectures on Faith," Lectures III and IV. Catechism (John Jaques), Ch. v; Doc. & Cov. Sec. 20:17-28.

Richards and Little's Compendium: "True and Living God," pp. 187-193.

Also collection of passages in Oxford or Cambridge "Bible Helps," or "Bible Treasury," under captions, "God" and "Attributes." Also the scripture passages quoted and cited in the body of this lesson.

_SPECIAL TEXT: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." (Psalms xc:2.)_

[Footnote A: Attribute: A characteristic or distinguishing mark, especially an excellent or lofty quality or trait (Cent. Diet.). "By this word 'attribute' is meant something which is immovable and inseparable from the essence of its subject, as that which constitutes it (Descartes). Attribute is considered a word of lofty significance: Thus, for example, it would be felt as indecorous to speak of the 'qualities' of God, and as ridiculous to talk of the 'attributes' of matter."--Hamilton.]

DISCUSSION.

_1. The Attributes Ascribed to God:_ As the attributes of God are necessarily involved in the philosophy of the Atonement, I think it proper here to make brief allusion to them, especially to those more immediately involved in the Atonement. The attributes usually assigned to God, either upon the ground of scripture or the supposed necessity of his nature are: Eternity, Immutability, Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence, Wisdom, Holiness, Truth, Justice, Mercy, Love.

_2. Eternity:_ By "Eternity," spoken of as an attribute of God, is meant God's eternal existence. We may not in rational thought assume a time when God was not--or when He did not exist. God's eternity is sustained by such scripture as David's 90th Psalm, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting thou art God." Also Paul bears the same witness: "And thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands. They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same and thy years shall not fail."[A]

[Footnote A: Heb. i:10-12.]

_3. Immutability:_ God's "Immutability," his unchangeableness, is sustained in such passages of both ancient and modern scriptures as follow: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."[A] "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."[B] "For God does not walk in crooked paths, neither does he turn to the right hand nor to the left, or vary from that which he has said; therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round,"[C] "Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same yesterday, today and forever."[D]

[Footnote A: James i:17.]

[Footnote B: Malachi iii:6.]

[Footnote C: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 3, v. 2.]

[Footnote D: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 35, v. 1.]

_4. Omnipotence:_ By "Omnipotence" is meant all-powerfulness. This attribute is essential to all rational thinking upon God. We may not think upon God and then think upon him as being overruled by a higher power, and still have him remain to our thought as God. The Scriptures in their whole spirit present this view of the Omnipotence of Deity. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. * * * And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. * * * And God said. Let the waters be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so." In this manner the work proceeds throughout the creation periods.[A]

[Footnote A: Gen. i-iii.]

Of this attribute David sings: "The heavens shall praise thy wonders, O Lord: * * * for who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the Mighty can be likened unto the Lord? * * * O Lord God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto thee? Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves arise thou stillest them. * * * The heavens they are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them. * * * Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand."[A] To the same effect sang Isaiah (Ch. xl:10-15); also Jeremiah (Ch. xxvii:17), and Daniel (Ch. iv:35).

[Footnote A: Psalms lxxxix.]

In the New Testament, the Christ teaches that "with God all things are possible;"[A] and negatively, "with God nothing shall be impossible."[B] The Revelation uses the term "omnipotent" direct: "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and the voice of the mighty thunderings, saying Alleluia: for the Lord God _omnipotent_ reigneth."[C]

[Footnote A: Matt. xix:26.]

[Footnote B: Luke i:37.]

[Footnote C: Rev. xix:6. Also "Lectures on Faith," Doc. & Cov., Lecture III. So, too, in Mosiah iii:17, 18, 21.]

_5. Omniscience:_ By "Omniscience" is meant all-knowing. "Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world,"[A] said the Holy Spirit-inspired council of the apostles and elders of the early Christian church. "Remember the former things of old. * * * I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient time the things that are not yet done, saying my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure."[B] A sparrow falls not to the ground without the Father's notice.[C] In reasoning with Abraham upon the Intelligences in heaven and the fact that they varied in degree of intelligence, the Lord said that where there were two intelligences and the one was more intelligent than the other, "there shall be another more intelligent than they: I am the Lord, thy God, _I am more intelligent than them all_."[D] By which is meant, as I think, not that God is more intelligent than any other one of the Intelligences, but more intelligent than all of them together.

[Footnote A: Acts xv:18.]

[Footnote B: Isaiah xlvi:9, 10.]

[Footnote C: Matt. x:29.]

[Footnote D: Book of Abraham iii:17-19.]

_6. Omnipresence:_ "Omnipresence" means everywhere present; and perhaps the best description of this attribute of God is in David's passage--"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say surely darkness shall cover me: even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee: but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to these."[A] "Will God indeed dwell on the earth," asked Solomon, in dedicating the first temple, "Behold the heaven, and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded."[B] And Paul, in teaching the nearness of God to men, said that God had made of one blood all nations of men: and had given to all the privilege of seeking the Lord, if happily they might feel after him, and find him, "though he be not far removed from every one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being."[C]

[Footnote A: Psalms cxxxix:27.]

[Footnote B: I Kings viii:27.]

[Footnote C: Acts xvii:26-28.]

Under the attribute of "Omnipotence"--all-powerful--I include "Power," which is sometimes, and usually, treated separately as an attribute of God: and under "Omniscience" I include "Knowledge," which is also usually regarded separately as an attribute of Deity; but both these terms--"Power" and "Knowledge"--may very appropriately fall under the larger terms--"Omnipotence" and "Omniscience"--which, respectively, include them.

_7. Limitation in the Attributes of God:_ W. may now consider somewhat the limitations of the attributes so far named. The Eternity of God may be regarded as absolute. "I am that I am," the Eternal One, the Self-existent, admits of no modification as to his Eternity.

His Immutability should be regarded as stability, adherence to principle. What stands among men under the name of "constitutional morality," fixed devotion to law; and working through law to the achievement of his divine purposes, rather than by caprice, or by arbitrary, personal action. But God's immutability should not be so understood as to exclude the idea of advancement or progress of God. Thus, for example: God's kingdom and glory may be enlarged, as more and more redeemed souls are added to his kingdom: as worlds and world-systems are multiplied and redeemed and enrolled with celestial spheres, so God's kingdom is enlarged and his glory increased. So that in this sense there may come change and progress even for God. Hence we could not say of God's immutability as we do of his eternity that it is absolute, since there may come change through progress even for God: but an absolute immutability would require eternal immobility--which would reduce God to a condition eternally static, which, from the nature of things, would bar him from participation in that enlargement of kingdom and increasing glory that comes from redemption and the progress of men. And is it too bold a thought, that with this progress, even for the Mightiest, new thoughts, and new vistas may appear, inviting to new adventures and enterprises that will yield new experiences, advancement, and enlargement even for the Most High?[A] It ought to be constantly remembered that terms absolute to man may be relative terms to God, so far above our thinking is his thinking; and his ways above our ways.

[Footnote A: On this point Sir Oliver Lodge has a passage at once advanced and bold, and yet for which he claims Christian warrant. It is, however, far removed from modern Christian orthodoxy, though splendidly true: "The universe is not a 'being,' but a 'becoming'--an ancient but light bringing doctrine when realized,--it is in change, in development, in movement upward and downward, that activity consist. A stationary condition, or stagnation, would be to us simple non-existence: the element of progression, of change, of activity, must be as durable as the universe itself. Monotony, in the sense of absolute immobility, is unthinkable, unreal, and cannot anywhere exist: save where things have ceased to be.

"Such ideas, the ideas of development and progress, extend even up to God himself, according to the Christian conception. So we return to that with which we started: The Christian idea of God is not that of a being outside the universe, above its struggles, and taking no part in the process, solely exalted, beneficent, self-determined and complete; no, it is also that of a God who loves, who yearns, who suffers, who keenly laments the rebellious and misguided activity of the free agents brought into being by himself as part of himself, who enters into the storm and conflict, and is subject to condition as the Soul of it all: conditions not artificial and transitory, but inherent in the process of producing free and conscious beings, and essential to the full self-development even of Deity.

"It is a marvelous and bewildering thought, but whatever its value, and whether it be an ultimate revelation or not, it is the revelation of Christ." ("Science and Immortality," p. 292.)]

The attribute "Omnipotence" must needs be thought upon also as somewhat limited. Even God, notwithstanding the ascription to him of all-powerfulness in such scripture phrases as "With God all things are possible," "Nothing shall be impossible with God"--notwithstanding all this, I say, not even God may have two mountain ranges without a valley between. Not even God may place himself beyond the boundary of space: nor on the outside of duration. Nor is it conceivable to human thought that he can create space, or annihilate matter. These are things that limit even God's Omnipotence. What then, is meant by the ascription of the attribute Omnipotence to God? Simply that all that may or can be done by power conditioned by other eternal existences--duration, space, matter, truth, justice--God can do. But even he may not act out of harmony with the other eternal existences which condition or limit even him.

So with the All-knowing attribute, Omniscience: that must be understood somewhat in the same light as the other attributes considered: not that God is Omniscient up to the point that further progress in knowledge is impossible to him; but that all knowledge that is, all that exists, God knows. He is Universal Consciousness, and Mind--he is the All-knowing One, because he knows all that is known.

So the attribute "Omnipresence"--the Everywhere Present attribute. This must be so far limited as to be ascribed to God's Spirit, or Influence, or Power: but not of God as a Person or Individual; for in these latter respects even God is limited by the law that one body cannot occupy two places at one and the same time. But radiating from his presence, as beams of light and warmth radiate from our sun, is God's Spirit, penetrating and permeating space, making space and all worlds in space vibrate with his life and thought and presence: holding all forces--dynamic and static--under control, making them to subserve his will and purposes.

God also uses other agencies to reflect himself, his power or authority: also his Wisdom, Goodness, Justice and Mercy--angels and arch-angels, both in heaven and on earth; and in the earth prophets, apostles, teachers--all that make for up-lift, for righteousness; all that catch some ray of the Divine Spirit in poem, music, painting, sculpture, state-craft or mechanical arts--all these but reflect God and are a means of multiplying and expressing him, the Divine. And in a special way, as witness for God, and under very special conditions, the Holy Ghost, that Being accounted the Third Person of the Godhead--he reflects and stands for God, his Power, and Wisdom; his Justice, Truth and Mercy--for all that can be, or is, called God, or is God. All these means, direct and indirect, convey God into the universe, and keep him everywhere present in all his essentials of Wisdom, Power and Goodness, while his bodily presence remains at the center of it all.

LESSON XIII.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD RELATED TO THE ATONEMENT (Continued).

ANALYSIS.

III. Attributes Ascribed to God--Second Group.

1. Wisdom:

2. Holiness;

3. Truth;

4. Justice;

5. Mercy;

6. Love.

IV. The Attributes of God Constitute a Harmony--This Relates Them to the Atonement.

REFERENCES.

References same as in Lesson XII. Also Scriptures quoted and cited in the body of this lesson.

_SPECIAL TEXT: "God does not walk in crooked paths, neither does he turn to the right hand nor to the left, or vary from that which he has said; therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round." (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 2:2.)_

DISCUSSION.

There is yet to be considered the attributes of Wisdom, Holiness, Truth, Justice, Mercy, Love; and these are the attributes referred to which are more immediately involved in the doctrine of Atonement.

_1. Wisdom:_ Wisdom that arises from knowledge seems essentially an attribute of Deity; as well from the nature of the attribute as from the declaration of scripture. God as un-wise is unthinkable; unpossessed of this attribute, he could not appeal to the consciousness of man as God at all. Therefore it is agreeable to think with Elihu in Job, that God "is mighty in strength and wisdom."[A] Also with David: "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom thou hast made them all: the earth is full of thy riches."[B] And again David: "Great is our Lord, and great of power; his understanding is infinite."[C] So Paul: "To God, only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever;"[D] "The wisdom of the world is foolishness with God;"[E] He says, so high above the wisdom of men does he esteem the wisdom of God; and even "the foolishness of God is wiser than men."[F] We may fittingly close his testimony with his prayer: "Now, unto the King Eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever, and ever. Amen."[G]

[Footnote A: Job xxvi:5.]

[Footnote B: Psalms cxv:24.]

[Footnote C: Psalms cxvii:5.]

[Footnote D: Rom. xvi:27.]

[Footnote E: I Cor. i:25.]

[Footnote F: I Cor. i:26.]

[Footnote G: I Tim. i:17.]

Worthy to go with this testimony is that of Joseph Smith, in which is found the same spiritual music: "The Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior; great is his Wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out; his purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand."[A]

[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 76:1-3.]

_2. Holiness:_ "Holiness," as an attribute of God, is equally indispensable as Wisdom. Equally unthinkable is it that Deity should not possess it. No marvel that Moses sang, "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods, glorious in holiness?"[A] "I am the Lord your God; * * * ye shall be holy: for I am holy,"[B] was God's word to ancient Israel. Throughout the scriptures God is spoken of as the "Holy One of Israel." "Thou art Holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises in Israel."[C] "Sing unto the Lord * * * at the remembrance of his Holiness."[D] "God that is Holy shall be sanctified in righteousness."[E] "And one cried unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." Such Isaiah's vision.[F] Both the Old and the New Testaments are replete with the doctrine. In one of the prophets it is written: "O Lord, * * * thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity."[G] And again in the scripture: "I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance;"[H] which perhaps more than any other utterance of holy writ, asserts the Holiness of God.

[Footnote A: Ex. xv:11.]

[Footnote B: Lev. xi:44.]

[Footnote C: Psalms xxii:3.]

[Footnote D: Psalms xxx:4.]

[Footnote E: Isaiah v:16.]

[Footnote F: Isaiah vi:3.]

[Footnote G: Hab. i:12,-13.]

[Footnote H: Doc. & Cov., Sec. i:31: "Nevertheless," continues the passage, "he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven." Showing that while God may not compromise with sin by looking upon it with any degree of allowance, yet he has compassion upon the sinner who repents.]

_3. Truth:_ The attribute of "Truth" is ascribed to God; and here we again come in touch with the absolute, as when speaking of God's Eternity. God can be no other than absolute in this quality. An untruthful God! the thought is blasphemy. "God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent."[A] "Mercy and Truth shall go before thy face."[B] "A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."[C] "Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of Truth."[D] "Abundant in goodness and Truth."[E] So our modern scriptures: "God does not walk in crooked paths, neither does he turn to the right hand nor the left, or vary from that which he has said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round."[F] It cannot be emphasized too strongly--God is a God of Truth; and does not, and cannot lie without ceasing to be God. It would wreck the moral universe for God to lie. He must _be_, he is TRUTH! "A God of truth, without iniquity, just and right is he."[G]

[Footnote A: Numbers xxiii:19.]

[Footnote B: Psalms lxxxix:14.]

[Footnote C: Deut. xxxii:4.]

[Footnote D: Psalms xxxi:5.]

[Footnote E: Ex. xxxiv:6.]

[Footnote F: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 3:2.]

[Footnote G: Deut. xxxii:4.]

_4. Justice:_ "Justice," as an attribute, is of the same quality as the attribute of Truth--it must be conceived as absolute in Deity. God not just! The thought would be blasphemous. Of course we have scripture warrant for the doctrine: "Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne."[A] "There is no God beside me: a Just God and a Savior."[B] "The Just God is in the midst thereof."[C] "Behold thy King cometh unto thee: he is Just and having salvation."[D]

[Footnote A: Psalms lxxxix:14.]

[Footnote B: Isaiah xv:21.]

[Footnote C: Zech. iii:5.]

[Footnote D: Zech. ix:9.]

_5. Mercy:_ "Mercy" as an attribute of God is in a class with Truth and Justice and Holiness. A God without compassion--only another name for mercy--would be a monstrosity. No, God must be Merciful! Else what shall become of man? God not merciful! It is unthinkable, that is all. The quality of Mercy as an attribute of God is not strained;

"It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath; it is twice blest;
It blesses him that gives, and him that takes;
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
* * * It is an attribute to God himself!"

"Mercy and truth shall go before his face," is the testimony of the Psalmist.[A] "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, Merciful and gracious."[B] "But thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful."[C]

[Footnote A: Psalms lxxxix:14.]

[Footnote B: Ex. xxxiv:6.]

[Footnote C: Neh. ix:17.]

_6. Love:_ Love! the crowning glory of all the attributes of God! We may revel in this attribute. "He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is Love!"[A] "God is Love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."[B] "Every one that loveth is born of God."[C] "In this was manifested the Love of God towards us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins."[D]

[Footnote A: I John iv:8.]

[Footnote B: I John iv:16.]

[Footnote C: St. John iii:16.]

[Footnote D: I John iv:9,10.]

"God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."[A] More perfect evidence than this of love, even God cannot give.

[Footnote A: St. John iii:16.]

_7. The Harmony of God's Attributes:_ These attributes as well as those considered in lesson XII, must be thought upon as constituting a harmony; those with the existences as real and eternal as themselves; these with reference to harmony within or among themselves. Thus Justice may not deny the claims of Mercy. Mercy may not rob Justice. Even Love may not allow God to intrude upon Justice, or Wisdom or Truth. At the same time it must be remembered that Mercy and Love, no less than Justice, are attributes of God and somehow and somewhere must find entrance into the divine economy, must get themselves expressed and that worthily; worthy of their intrinsic nature, and worthy of God in whom they inhere. And while "all must be law" or at least in harmony with law; all "must be love," in harmony with love--for God, from first to last, is Love.

The attributes of God must be preserved in perfect accord if the moral harmony of the universe is to be maintained. It is these considerations which unite the attributes of God with the subject of Atonement. If God's moral government of the universe is, like his physical government, one of law, then Law, not personal, arbitrary, capricious Will must rule.

LESSON XIV.

(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

THE REIGN OF LAW.[A]

ANALYSIS.

I. The Government of the Universe--Two Methods Conceived of:

1. By Unvarying Law;

2. By Special Providence.

II. Harmonization of Government by Unvarying Law, and the Existence of Special Providence.

1. Misconception of Unvarying Law; Laws Have Their Limitations.

2. Misconception of "Miracles."

III. The New Dispensation--Its Prophet and Doctrine Committed to the Reign of Law in Both the Physical and the Spiritual World.

REFERENCES.

Doc. & Cov., Sec. 88; also Sec. 130.

A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology (White); Conflict Between Religion and Science (Draper); Natural Law in the Spiritual World (Drummond).

Joseph Smith, the Prophet-Teacher (Roberts), pp. 42-49.

Studies in Religion (Fiske), pp. 158-169, 337, 338.

_SPECIAL TEXT: "There are many kingdoms, and to every kingdom is given a law; and to every law there are certain bounds also, and conditions. All beings who abide not in those conditions [i. e., laws] are not justified." (Doc. & Cov., Sec. 88:37-39.)_

DISCUSSION.

_1. Government of the Universe--(A) By Unvarying Law:_ "Two interpretations may be given of the mode of government of the world," says Professor John W. Draper.

[Footnote A: "The fundamental conception of law is an ascertained working sequence or constant order among the phenomena of nature.

* * "The laws of nature are simply statements of the orderly condition of things in nature, what is found in nature by a sufficient number of competent observers.

"And despite the limitations of its sphere on every side, Law is still the largest, richest, and surest source of human knowledge." (Henry Drummond: Natural Law in the Spiritual World, Introduction, pp. 4, 5.)]

"It may be by incessant, divine interventions, or by the operation of unvarying law." The former view is held by Draper to be the view of the Roman religion (pre-Christian); and later of the Roman Christian religion. A priesthood, he holds, will always incline to the theory of "divine interventions," "since it must desire to be considered as standing between the prayer of the votary and the providential act." "Not without reason, therefore," he continues, "did they [the priests] look upon the doctrine of government by 'unvarying law' with disfavor." And then continues in the following manner:

_2. Draper's View--Unvarying Law:_ "The orderly movement of the heavens could not fail in all ages to make a deep impression on thoughtful observers--the rising and setting of the sun; the increasing or diminishing light of the day; the waxing and waning of the moon; the return of the seasons in their proper course; the measured march of the wandering planets in the sky--what are all these and a thousand such, but manifestations of an orderly and unchanging procession of events? The faith of early observers in this interpretation may perhaps have been shaken by the occurrence of such a phenomenon as an eclipse, a sudden and mysterious breach of the ordinary course of events; but it would be resumed in tenfold strength as soon as the discovery was made that eclipses themselves recur, and may be predicted.

"Astronomical predictions of all kinds depend upon the admission of this fact--that there never has been and never will be any intervention in the operation of natural laws. The scientific philosopher affirms that the condition of the world at any given moment is the direct result of its condition in the preceding moment, and the direct cause of its condition in the subsequent moment."[A]

[Footnote A: Conflict Between Religion and Science, p. 229.]

In the remainder of the chapter here quoted, Draper traces the struggle between the idea of government by special Providence and government by "unvarying law." until the latter triumphs in modern thought and science.

_3. White's View--Unvarying Law:_ To the same purpose, Andrew D. White, once professor of History at Cornell University, and President of the University for twenty-five years, published his great work, "A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology,"[A] The title of a few of the chapters will show the drift of the thought: "From Creation to Evolution," "From 'Signs and Wonders' to Law in Heaven," "From Genesis to Geology," "From Magic to Chemistry and Physics," "From Miracles to Medicine," and so following.

[Footnote A: The Work is in Two Volumes, Appleton and Co., 1903.]

_4. John Fiske's View--Unvarying Law:_ Of course John Fiske (and the same may be said practically of all our modern scientists and philosophers) inclines to the same view--government of the universe by "unvarying law." Fiske describes the effect of the modern intellectual movement to be "to discredit more than ever before the Latin idea of God as a power outside of the course of nature and occasionally interfering with it. In all directions the process of evolution has been discovered, working after similar methods, and this has forced upon us the belief in the Unity of Nature. We are thus driven to the Greek conception of God as the power working in and through nature, without interference or infraction of law. We have so far spelled out the history of creation as to see that all has been done in strict accordance with law. * * * So beautiful is all this orderly coherence, so satisfying to some of our intellectual needs, that many minds are inclined to doubt if anything more can be said of the universe than that it is a Reign of Law, an endless aggregate of coexistences and sequences."[A]

[Footnote A: Studies in Religion, pp. 337-8.]

_5. Henry Drummond's View--Unvarying Law:_ Drummond, in 1893, published his "Natural Law in the Spiritual World," with a view, as the title suggests, of bringing the phenomena of the spirit-world into harmony with the modern scientific conceptions that obtain respecting the natural world. His self-imposed task was to "demonstrate the naturalness of the supernatural;" that the natural and the spiritual world are one. Drummond's conception was a noble one, and resulted in the production of a very notable and convincing work, though meeting in some quarters with the impatience that attaches to works of its class, viz., the class that attempts to work out harmony between science and religion; or between the natural and the spiritual world.[A]

[Footnote A: Thus Andrew D. White, in his "Warfare of Science with Theology," speaking of the phases of theological attack upon science, represents the third and the last--as "an attempt" at compromise--"compromise by means of far-fetched reconciliations of textual statements with ascertained fact" (Warfare, Vol. I, p. 218). That Drummond himself was aware that these "attempts at compromise" of the differences between science and religion, or the "natural and spiritual world," is evident from his preface, where he says: "No class of works is received with more suspicion, I had almost said derision, than those which deal with Science and Religion. Science is tired of reconciliations between two things which never should have been contrasted. Religion is offended by the patronage of an ally which it professes not to need; and the critics have rightly discovered that, in most cases where Science is either pitted against Religion or fused with it, there is some fatal misconception to begin with as to the scope and province of either."]

_6. Difficulties in the Way of Government by Unvarying Law; (1) Limitations of Laws:_ The difficulties between the conception of government of the world by "unvarying law," and the facts of man's spiritual or religious experiences, which seems at times to be in contravention of law, answers to prayer, healing the sick through faith, foreknowledge of coming events, and the like, would disappear if only men would recognize the fact that laws have their limitations; and that laws in nature known to us may have their force broken or counteracted by the operation of other forces. For example: the power of ocean currents and the winds to carry objects with them in the direction of their movement is overcome by another force, though no less operating under law, viz., the force found in steam; the force of gravitation by the levitating power of gas; the natural tendency of water to seek its level by evaporation and the absorbing power of the atmosphere, are examples. This principle of "law being governed by law," was taught by Joseph Smith as early as 1832, in a revelation received in that year, and in which it was said: "Unto every kingdom is given a law; _and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions_." The context of the passage makes it clear that "kingdoms" here are not groups of men or nations over which a monarch reigns; but substances, matter; worlds and world-systems, and their inhabitants under the dominion of law; the universe considered in its divisions and subdivisions. "Verily I say unto you," continues the revelation, "he [God] hath given a law unto all things by which they move in their times and their seasons; and their courses are fixed; even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehend the earth and all the planets."[A] And yet these laws have their metes and bounds, their limitations; fixed, however, by the operation of other laws, not by the arbitrary will of an absolute monarch.

[Footnote A: Doc. & Cov., Sec. 88:42, 43.]

_(2) "Miracles" Part of the Divine Economy:_ The criticism of religionists on the conception of the government of the universe by the operation of "unvarying law," is that it bars out of the economy of things any place for the special providences of God; destroys all value in prayer; and eliminates miracles. To which the answer is "Not at all!" The whole seeming difficulty arises from a misconception of the means by which the providences of God are wrought; and the means by which socalled "miracles" are brought to pass. This subdivision of the subject may be treated under a brief discussion of "Miracles" usually defined to be an "event in derogation of the laws of nature." What I have said elsewhere upon this subject will answer my purpose here.[A] There is a general misapprehension of the term miracle. It is usually understood as "an event or effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a deviation from the known laws of nature." Renan defines a miracle to be, "not simply the inexplicable, it is a formal derogation from recognized laws in the name of a particular desire." What is especially faulty in these definitions is this: Miracles are held to be events outside or contrary to the laws of nature. Let us examine this:

[Footnote A: "New Witnesses for God," Vol. I, p. 252.]

Two hundred years ago the only motive powers known to ocean navigators were wind and the ocean currents. Suppose at that time those old mariners had seen one of our modern ocean steamers running against both ocean currents and the wind, and, withal, making better speed, in spite of both wind and tide than the old sailing vessel could match even when running before the wind and the ocean currents in her favor. What would have been the effect on the mind of the old-time sailor? "It is a miracle!" he would have exclaimed; that is, it would have been an "effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things," "a derogation from recognized laws." But is such an effect to us who know something of the force of steam contrary to the laws of nature? No; it is simply the employment of forces in nature of which the old-time mariner was ignorant; and while it would have been a miracle to him, to us it is merely the application of a newly-discovered force of nature, and it is now so common that we cease to look upon it with wonder. So with the things that we in our ignorance call miracles--such as healing the sick, restoring the blind to sight, making the lame to walk, through exercise of faith; and the resurrection of the dead--instead of these things being in "derogation from recognized laws, we shall yet learn that they are done simply by the application of laws of which we are as yet in ignorance."[A] With man's limited knowledge of the laws of nature, how presumptuous it is in him to say that the healing of the sick or even the resurrection of the dead are in "derogation of the laws of nature," or that deviation from those few laws of nature with which he is acquainted will never happen, or is impossible! Better reasoners are they who, like George Rawlinson, say: "Miraculous interpositions on fitting occasions may be as much a regular, fixed, and established rule of his [God's] government, as the working ordinarily by what are called natural laws." In other words, what we in our ignorance call miracles, are to God merely the results of the application of higher laws or forces of nature not yet learned by man. Miracles are to be viewed as a part of the divine economy.

[Footnote A: "In the progress of science, all phenomena have been shown, by indisputable evidence, to be amenable to law, and even in the cases in which those laws have not yet been exactly ascertained, delay in ascertaining them is fully accounted for by the special difficulties of the subject; the defenders of miracles have adapted their argument to this altered state of things, by maintaining that a miracle need not necessarily be a violation of law. It may, they say, take place in fulfilment of a more recondite law, to us unknown.