The Lord will not listen to pet.i.tions nor accept an offering from one who has bitterness in his heart toward others; "First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."[325] In His revealed word to the Saints in this day, the Lord has placed particular stress upon this necessary condition: "Wherefore I say unto you that ye ought to forgive one another, for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespa.s.ses, standeth condemned before the Lord, for there remaineth in him the greater sin;"[326] and to remove all doubt as to the proper subjects for human forgiveness, it is added:--"I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men."
[323] Matt. vii, 2; Mark iv, 24; Luke vi, 38.
[324] Matt. xviii, 23-35. See "Jesus the Christ," pp. 392-395.
[325] Matt. v, 23-24: III Nephi xii, 23-24.
[326] Doc. and Cov. lxiv, 9-10.
=23. (3.) Confidence in Christ"s Atoning Sacrifice= const.i.tutes the third essential condition in obtaining remission of sins. The name of Christ is the only name under heaven whereby men may be saved;[327]
and we are taught to offer our pet.i.tions to the Father in the name of His Son. Adam received this instruction from the mouth of an angel,[328] and the Savior personally instructed the Nephites to the same effect.[329] But no person can truthfully profess faith in Christ, and refuse to obey His commandments; therefore obedience is essential to remission of sin; and the repentant sinner will eagerly seek to learn what is further required of him.
[327] Pearl of Great Price: Moses vi, 52.
[328] Pearl of Great Price: Moses v, 6-8.
[329] III Nephi xxvii, 5-7.
=24.= Repentance, to be worthy of its name, must comprise something more than a mere self-acknowledgment of error; it does not consist in lamentations and wordy confessions, but in the heart-felt recognition of guilt, which carries with it a horror for sin, and a resolute determination to make amends for the past and to do better in the future. If such a conviction be genuine, it is marked by that G.o.dly sorrow which, as Paul has said, "worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death."[330]
Apostle Orson Pratt has wisely said:--"It would be of no use for a sinner to confess his sins to G.o.d, unless he were determined to forsake them; it would be of no benefit to him to feel sorry that he had done wrong, unless he intended to do wrong no more; it would be folly for him to confess before G.o.d that he had injured his fellow-man, unless he were determined to do all in his power to make rest.i.tution. Repentance, then, is not only a confession of sins, with a sorrowful, contrite heart, but a fixed, settled purpose to refrain from every evil way."
[330] II Cor. vii. 10.
=25. Repentance Essential to Salvation.=--This evidence of sincerity, this beginning of a better life, is required of every candidate for salvation. In the obtaining of Divine mercy, repentance is as indispensable as faith, it must be as extensive as sin. Where can we find an absolutely sinless mortal? Sagely did the Preacher of old declare "There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not."[331] Who, therefore, has no need of forgiveness? who is exempt from the requirements of repentance? G.o.d has promised forgiveness unto those who truly repent before Him, it is unto such that the advantages of individual salvation, through the atonement of Christ, are extended. Isaiah thus admonishes to repentance, with a.s.suring promises of forgiveness: "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our G.o.d, for he will abundantly pardon."[332]
[331] Eccl. vii, 20; see also Rom. iii, 10; I John i, 8.
[332] Isa. iv, 6-7; see also II Nephi ix, 24; Alma v, 31-36, 49-56; ix, 12; Doc. and Cov. i, 32-33; xix, 4; xx, 29; xxix, 44; cx.x.xiii, 16.
=26.= The burden of inspired teachers in every age has been the call to repentance. To this effect was heard the voice of John crying in the wilderness, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."[333] And the Savior followed with "Repent ye and believe the gospel,"[334] for "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."[335] So too proclaimed the apostles of old, that G.o.d "commandeth all men everywhere to repent."[336] And in the present dispensation has come the word, "We know that all men must repent, and believe on the name of Jesus Christ ... or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of G.o.d."[337]
[333] Matt. iii, 2.
[334] Mark i, 15.
[335] Luke xiii, 3.
[336] Acts xvii, 30.
[337] Doc. and Cov. xx, 29.
=27. Repentance, a Gift from G.o.d.=--Repentance is a means of pardon, and is therefore one of G.o.d"s great gifts to man. It is not to be had for the careless asking; it may not be found upon the highway, it is not of earth, but a treasure of heaven, and is given with care, yet with boundless liberality unto those who have brought forth works that warrant its bestowal.[338] That is to say, all who prepare themselves for repentance will, by the humbling and softening influence of the Holy Spirit, be led to the actual possession of this great gift. When Peter was charged by his fellow-worshipers with a breach of law in that he had a.s.sociated with Gentiles, he told his hearers of the Divine manifestations he had so recently received; they believed and declared "Then hath G.o.d also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."[339] Paul also, in writing to the Romans, teaches that repentance comes through the goodness of G.o.d.[340]
[338] Matt. iii, 7-8; Acts xxvi, 20.
[339] Acts xi, 18.
[340] Rom. ii, 4; see also II Tim. ii, 25.
=28. Repentance not always Possible.=--The gift of repentance is extended to men as they humble themselves before the Lord, it is the testimony of the Spirit in their hearts; if they hearken not unto the monitor it will again leave them, for the Spirit of G.o.d strives not ever with man.[341] Repentance becomes more difficult as the sin is more wilful; it is by humility and contrition of the heart that sinners may increase their faith in G.o.d, and so obtain from Him the priceless gift of repentance. As the time of repentance is procrastinated, the ability to repent grows weaker; neglect of opportunity in holy things brings a forfeit of the chance. In giving commandment to Joseph Smith, in the early days of the present Church, the Lord said, "For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven, and he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received, for my Spirit shall not always strive with man saith the Lord of Hosts."[342]
[341] Gen. vi, 3; Doc. and Cov. i, 33.
[342] Doc. and Cov. i, 31-33.
=29. Repentance Here and Hereafter.=--The Nephite prophet, Alma, described the period of earthly existence as a probationary state, granted unto man for repentance;[343] yet we learn from the scriptures that repentance may be obtained, under certain conditions, beyond the vail of mortality. Between the times of His death and resurrection, Christ "preached unto the spirits in prison, which sometime were disobedient when once the long suffering of G.o.d waited in the days of Noah;"[344] these the Son visited, and unto them He preached the Gospel, "that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it."[345]
[343] Alma xii, 24; x.x.xiv, 32; xiii, 4.
[344] I Peter iii, 19-20.
[345] Doc. and Cov. lxxvi, 73-74. See "Jesus the Christ," ch.
x.x.xvi.
=30.= Yet no soul is justified in postponing his efforts to repent because of this a.s.surance of G.o.d"s long-suffering and mercy. We know not on what terms repentance will be obtainable in the hereafter, but it is unreasonable to suppose that the soul who has wilfully rejected the opportunity of repentance in this life will find it easy to repent there. To procrastinate[346] the day of repentance is to deliberately place ourselves in the power of the adversary. As Amulek taught and admonished the mult.i.tude of old: "For behold this life is the time for men to prepare to meet G.o.d, ... therefore I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance unto the end.... Ye cannot say when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my G.o.d. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance, even until death, behold ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his."[347]
[346] Alma x.x.xiv, 33.
[347] Alma x.x.xiv, 32-35.
NOTES.
=1. Example of False Faith.=--"When Europeans first began their explorations in the New World, the Indians whom they met were much amazed at the power and explosive properties of gun-powder, and asked many questions respecting the manner in which it was produced. The Europeans, taking advantage of the ignorance of the savages, and seeing an opportunity to increase their wealth by the deception, told the Indians that it was the seed of a plant which grew in the lands they had come from, and doubtless it would thrive in their land also. The Indians, of course, believed this statement, and purchased the supposed seed, giving in exchange for it large quant.i.ties of gold. In implicit faith they carefully planted the supposed seed, and anxiously watched for its sprouting and the appearance of the plant; but it never came.
They had faith in the statements made to them by the Europeans, but as these statements were false, and therefore the evidence on which the Indians based their belief untrue, their faith was vain."--Orson Pratt.
=2. The Sectarian Dogma of Justification by Faith alone= has exercised an influence for evil since the early days of Christianity. The idea upon which this pernicious doctrine was founded was at first a.s.sociated with that of an absolute predestination, by which man was fore-doomed to destruction, or to an utterly undeserved salvation. Thus, Luther taught as follows:--"The excellent, infallible, and sole preparation for grace is the eternal election and predestination of G.o.d." "Since the fall of man, free-will is but an idle word." "A man who imagines to arrive at grace by doing all that he is able to do, adds sin to sin, and is doubly guilty." "That man is not justified who performs many works; but he who without works has much faith in Christ." (For these and other doctrines of the so-called "Reformation," see D"Aubigne"s _History of the Reformation_, vol. i, pp. 82, 83, 119, 122.) In Miller"s _Church History_ (vol. iv, p. 514) we read: "The point which the reformer [Luther] had most at heart in all his labors, contests, and dangers, was the justification by faith alone." Melanchthon voices the doctrine of Luther in these words: "Man"s justification before G.o.d proceeds from faith alone. This faith enters man"s heart by the grace of G.o.d alone;" and further, "As all things which happen, happen necessarily according to the divine predestination, there is no such thing as liberty in our wills" (D"Aubigne, vol. iii, p. 340). It is true that Luther strongly denounced, and vehemently disclaimed responsibility for, the excesses to which this teaching gave rise, yet he was not less vigorous in proclaiming the doctrine. Note his words:--"I, Doctor Martin Luther, unworthy herald of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, confess this article, that faith alone without works justifies before G.o.d; and I declare that it shall stand and remain forever in despite of the emperor of the Romans, the emperor of the Turks, the emperor of the Persians,--in spite of the pope and all the cardinals, with the bishops, priests, monks, and nuns,--in spite of kings, princes, and n.o.bles, and in spite of all the world and of the devils themselves; and that if they endeavor to fight against this truth they will draw the fires of h.e.l.l upon their heads. This is the true and holy gospel, and the declaration of me, Doctor Luther, according to the teachings of the Holy Ghost" (D"Aubigne, vol. i, p. 70).
Fletcher (_End of Religious Controversy_, p. 90) ill.u.s.trates the vicious extreme to which this evil doctrine led, by accusing one of its adherents with having said, "Even adultery and murder do not hurt the pleasant children, but rather work for their good.
G.o.d sees no sin in believers, whatever sin they may commit.... It is a most pernicious error of the schoolmen to distinguish sins according to the fact, and not according to the person. Though I blame those who say, let us sin that grace may abound, yet adultery, incest, and murder, shall upon the whole, make me holier on earth, and merrier in heaven."
A summary of the mediaeval controversy regarding the means of grace, including the doctrines of Luther and others, is presented in Roberts" _Outlines of Ecclesiastical History_, part iii, section ii, to which the student is referred. The quotations given above are incorporated therein.
=3. Forgiveness not always Immediate.=--"On account of the magnitude of sins committed, repentance is not always followed by forgiveness and restoration. For instance, when Peter was preaching to the Jews, who had slain Jesus and taken His blood on themselves and their children, he did not say, repent and be baptized for the remission of sins; but, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and [when] He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must receive until the times of the rest.i.tution of all things" (Acts iii, 19-21). That is, repent now, and believe in Jesus Christ, that you may be forgiven when He whom you have slain shall come again in the days of the rest.i.tution of all things; and prescribe to you the terms on which you may be saved."--_Compendium_, p. 28.
LECTURE VI.
BAPTISM.
=Article 4.=--We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are:--... (3) Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; ...
=1. Nature of Baptism.=--Among the Latter-day Saints, water baptism ranks as the third principle, and the first essential ordinance, of the gospel. Baptism is the gateway leading into the fold of Christ, the portal to the Church, the established rite of naturalization in the kingdom of G.o.d. The candidate for admission into the Church and kingdom, having obtained and professed faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and having sincerely repented of his sins, is properly required to give evidence of this spiritual sanctification by some outward ordinance, prescribed by authority as the sign or symbol of the new profession. The initiatory ordinance is baptism by water, to be followed by the higher baptism of the Holy Spirit; and, as a result of this act of obedience, remission of sins is granted.
=2.= How simple are the means thus ordained for admission into the fold; they are within the reach of the poorest and weakest, as also of the rich and powerful! What symbol more expressive of a cleansing from sin could be given, than that of baptism in water? Baptism is made a sign of the covenant entered into between the repentant sinner and his Maker, that thereafter he will seek to observe the Divine commands.
Concerning this fact, the Prophet Alma thus admonished and instructed the people of Gideon:--"Yea, I say unto you, come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your G.o.d that ye are willing to repent of your sins, and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day, by going into the waters of baptism."[348]