THE PLAN OF SALVATION.
BY ELDER JOHN MORGAN.
In the midst of the Christian world there are very many conflicting theories in relation to man's existence here and hereafter; also as to the duties he owes to himself, his fellowman and to his Creator. It is an undisputed question that some knowledge of
WHERE WE CAME FROM, WHY WE ARE HERE, AND WHERE WE GO AFTER WE LEAVE THIS PROBATION,
is essential to the enjoyment and well-being of the human family.
In the following pages of this tract we shall seek to briefly set forth the belief of the Latter-day Saints on these points. While they may differ widely from the accepted ideas of the Christian world, we may be allowed to mildly suggest that the difference is not so much between those sects of the day and the Latter-day Saints, as it is between those sects and the Bible, a fact for which we are in no sense responsible, and a fact that we can in nowise alter or change, even were we so disposed.
It is deemed proper in the commencement of this investigation to refer to another point so that we may clearly understand each other. It is this: sincerity of belief does not, by any means, establish the correctness of a principle. Testimony of an unimpeachable character can alone do that. Man's belief does not affect a principle in the least. The whole world may believe it, and yet it be untrue; the whole world may refuse to believe it, and yet it be true. The unbelief of the people of Noah's day did not stay the flood; the unbelief of the Jews did not prove Jesus an impostor; and the killing of the apostles did not prove their doctrines false. The assassination of Joseph Smith was no proof one way or another as to the divine nature of his authority; neither will the rejection of the doctrines he taught prove them wrong. If they {307} are true, though he was slain, his followers mobbed, driven and persecuted, yet in the end they will rise triumphant over every obstacle and grow stronger and stronger, as error shall grow weaker and weaker.
In presenting the principles of pre-existence the first principles of the gospel and baptism for the dead, we shall simply quote scripture; and we again state that if there is any difference of opinion, it is between the reader and holy writ.
The Apostle Paul's injunction to the Thessalonians was: "Prove all things: hold fast that which is good" (I Thess. v. 21); and the wise man, Solomon, asserted: "He that judgeth a matter before he heareth it, is not wise."
Let us, then, refer to the word of the Lord, which is the end of argument, and see what the teachings of the Great Creator of all are.
Speaking to Job, one of the most ancient writers of the Bible, He says: "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? * * * When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job xxxviii, 2-7.)
Job certainly must have been somewhere when the "foundations of the earth were laid," or why the question?
There was doubtless more meaning to the words, "When ALL the sons of God shouted for joy," than one at first supposes. The reader asks, "Who were these sons of God?" Luke, in giving the genealogy of the human family, gives the necessary information on this subject: "Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the SON OF GOD" (Luke iii, 38). But let us turn to another text. One of the ancient writers says: "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." (Ecc. xii, 7).
Let us ask ourselves how it would be possible to return to a place, point or locality, which we had never visited. How could we return to God unless we had once been in His presence? The logical conclusion is unavoidable, that to enable us to return to Him we must have once enjoyed His associations, which must have been in a pre-existent state, before we became clothed upon with this body of flesh and bone.
Again, we find that the apostles must have had some conception of pre-existence, judging from their question to Jesus: "Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John ix, 2.) It will, doubtless, require no argument {308} to convince the reader that the justice of God would scarcely permit the punishment of the individual before the crime was committed. If so, then the sin must have been committed before he came upon the earth, for he was born blind. It was evident that the question was not a doubtful one in the minds of the apostles as to whether a man could sin previous to his existence in the flesh, but as to whether this particular man had sinned or not.
Paul, in his writings to the Hebrews, says: "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" (Heb. xii. 9.) We here gain the information as to who the sons of God were who shouted for joy in the beginning. We also learn the reason why we address Him as, "Our Father which art in heaven," is to distinguish Him from the father of our earthly tabernacles. In other words, He is the Father of the spirits that inhabit our bodies, in precisely the same sense that our earthly fathers are the fathers of our bodies of flesh and bone.
When death ensues, we bury the earthly body, which decomposes and mingles with the elements surrounding its place of deposit; but what of the spirit which "returns unto God who gave it?"
When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, "They were affrighted, and supposed they had seen a spirit." But He corrected them, saying, "Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have" (Luke xxiv. 37-39). From these, words we may gather the information that man, while existing as a spirit, was not clothed upon with flesh and bone, but nevertheless, existed in the exact shape and form that he now possesses. He had eyes to see, ears to hear and many other faculties with which man is here endowed. He was also doubtless in possession of intelligence, and much that goes to ennoble man. He had the ability to pass from place to place, increase in knowledge, and perform certain duties that devolved upon him in that sphere of action.
An unembodied spirit is one that has not yet taken upon itself a body. An embodied spirit is one dwelling in the flesh. A disembodied spirit is one that has passed through this stage of existence and laid its body down in the grave, to be finally taken up and again united, spirit and body, those of the righteous never more to be separated.
The word of the Lord to Jeremiah was: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a {309} prophet unto the nations" (Jer. i. 5). Here we have the sure word of the Lord relating to one of the children of men who was but a type of the rest, only that in this particular case we have the fact made known that, for good and sufficient reasons, our common Father in the heavens saw proper to ordain one of His children to a certain office prior to sending him down upon the earth. Having so gained the confidence of his Father while in his first or pre-existent state, he was ordained to a high and holy calling, previous to his advent upon the earth, and we learn from holy writ, that this confidence was not misplaced, but that he in honor filled his mission and proved himself true to the trust reposed in him, not veering or turning a hair's breath from the line of his duty, though met by obstacles that would have appalled the stoutest heart.
The reader will please be cautious not to confound the principle of fore-ordination with that of predestination, in the case of Jeremiah, for there is a broad distinction between the two. A man may be fore-ordained, set apart or commanded to do a certain work, yet he retains his agency in the matter, and it is optional with him whether he performs the duty assigned him or not. If predestined to perform a certain work, there would be no choice but to do that work. Not having any choice, he would not incur the responsibility of his own actions, nor control them, but would be controlled by the power which predestined him. While Jeremiah was fore-ordained to be a prophet to the nations, we do not read that he was predestined to fill the office of a prophet by any means.
The principle of pre-existence is plainly illustrated in the life of our Savior, who thus spoke to the people: "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?" (John vi. 62.) Again, "And no man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven." To all human appearances, Jesus resembled very much the rest of the children of our common Father. So close was this resemblance, that those by whom He was surrounded failed to see any contrast between Him and any ordinary man. They enquired of each other, "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren James and Joses, and Simon and Judas?"
Let us ask ourselves the question: Is it so difficult to comprehend our own pre-existence, when that of Jesus is so plainly taught, and also that of many of the Biblical characters of whom we read? Paul, the great apostle, speaking of himself, says, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." (Titus i. 2.) Here {310} was a promise made to Paul of eternal life, "before the world began," continued upon obedience, as was said to Cain aforetime, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" (Gen. iv, 7.) Yet, notwithstanding this promise, Paul was under the necessity of performing certain duties to enable him to claim the promise made. After being stricken with blindness on the way up to Damascus, and hearing the voice of a risen Redeemer, he was told to "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." (Acts ix. 6.) After fasting and prayer, he was visited at the end of three days, by one Ananias, who had been commanded of the Lord, in vision, to visit Paul, and was furthermore told that he was a "chosen vessel," or in other words, one whom the Lord had made promises to, before the "world began," and who had a mission to perform before "Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel." The question of Ananias was, "And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts xxii. 16.)
We have presented for the consideration of the reader but a few Biblical proofs of man's pre-existence, out of the many that can be selected, yet consider that sufficient has been advanced to show conclusively that the claim of the Latter-day Saints to a belief in this principle, is founded upon holy writ. Their ideas only coincide with the prophets and servants of God in all ages of the world who have alluded to this subject.
Having answered this question: Where did we come from? let us now consider
WHY WE ARE HERE.
A wise Creator must have had some great object in view in the creation of the earth, and placing upon it His children, to pass through what they are called upon to, while in this probation. A knowledge of this object is almost positively necessary to enable the human family to act well their part. Let us then examine what He had in view.
The primary object of man's existence upon the earth, is to obtain a body of flesh and bone; for without this it is impossible to advance in the grand scale of being in which he is to move, in the eternal worlds.
It is necessary also for him to learn, by actual experience, the difference between good and evil. As was said of our first parents, "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil." (Gen. iii. 22.) It is necessary that man should taste the bitter to enable him to appreciate the sweet. No proper appreciation of the value of {311} eternal life could be arrived at, without having experienced its opposition.
A man must first feel the effects of sickness to enable him to fully appreciate the great boon of health. He must feel the effects of pain before he can enjoy immunity therefrom. He must feel the influence and power of death, before he can appreciate eternal life. He must comprehend the effects of sin, before he can enjoy "the rest promised to the faithful." There are many experiences that he can gain in the flesh that cannot be obtained elsewhere. There are ordinances to be performed and eternal unions to be perfected, that in the wise economy of the great Creator, must be effected here on the earth. Baptism for the remission of sins and marriages for eternity, are prominent features of duty that devolve upon man in his second estate, or during his existence upon the earth. It is not all of man's duty to care for himself alone, to selfishly neglect his fellow man, and seek aggrandizement himself at their expense. "Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you," is called the Golden Rule, by which men should be governed in this life. In brief, man has a work to do to prepare himself for a future exaltation in the eternities to come. He is called upon to "work out his salvation with fear and trembling," for the work done in this life will have its influence in that to come. By obedience to the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ, he prepares himself for the grand and glorious exaltation held in reserve for those who worship God in "spirit and in truth." As Jesus said to His apostles, "I go to prepare a place for you," for "in my Father's house are many mansions."
Having learned why we are here, let us next examine what is the nature of the duties devolving upon us.
FAITH.
To enable a man to perform any work whatever, requires that he have faith in the ultimate result of his work. No farmer would plant, unless he expected to reap; no builder build, unless he expected to inhabit; no speculator invest, unless he expected to increase his means; no journey would be attempted, unless there existed hope of reaching the destination. So, likewise, no commandment of God would be obeyed, unless there existed faith that certain blessings would follow obedience.
With this idea plainly before us, we can comprehend the assertion of the Apostle Paul to the Hebrews, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to {312} God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Heb. xi. 6).
We find the active workings of the principles of faith in the many cases of healing performed by our Savior. "Thy faith hath made thee whole," was the invariable remark He made to one and all: and we find Him speaking to the apostles in the strongest terms about their lack of this great principle. Upon one occasion they came to Him with the question, "Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." (Matt. xvii. 19, 20.) Again we read, "And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (Matt. xiii. 58), or in other words, they had no faith in the claim he made of being the Messiah; consequently they were deprived of the blessings that fell to those that had faith, as mankind today are depriving themselves of many great and glorious blessings, through their unbelief in the divine calling of Joseph Smith, the prophet and seer.
We often hear the same cry today that greeted the ears of Jesus, "Master, we would see a sign from thee." But He answered and said unto them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign." (Matt. xii. 38, 39).
What was true of the generation was true of the individual, and what was true then is true now, which places sign-seekers in a most unenviable position, but doubtless where they justly belong. Faith is not produced by sign-seeking, but in the words of Paul, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom. x. 17).
After the death and resurrection of Jesus, He left this grand test of faith upon record, to serve as a guide for all future generations: "And these signs shall follow them that believe" (or have faith): "In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." (Mark xvi. 17, 18).
"But," says one, "was it not intended that these gifts and blessings should be limited to the days of the apostles, and to the apostles themselves?" Read again, "shall follow them that believe;" and again the preceding verse reads, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." If you limit the signs following the believer to the days of the apostles you must also limit a salvation to that day. But it is today as it was in the {313} day Paul wrote to the Hebrews: "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." (Heb. iv. 2).
The cultivation of this principle of faith is the first step in our duties in this life. The second step is that of
REPENTANCE.
"Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin." (Ezek. xviii. 30). "Let the wicked forsake his way" (Isa. lv. 7). "Repent * * * every one of you" (Acts ii. 38). "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke xiii. 3).
We understand that repentance does not consist in mourning over sins committed, and then repeating the same sin or one equally heinous, but that Ezekiel meant for the people to cease from doing wrong, to quit their evil practices, and walk in the path of rectitude, virtue and true holiness. "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death." (II. Cor. vii. 10). We believe that the "sorrow of the world" here alluded to, is the too-prevalent practice of crying, groaning and moaning over our wrong-doings, and then continuing the same practices.
The third step for man to take in this life to secure salvation in the eternal world, is to be
BAPTIZED.
"He that believeth" (that is, he that hath faith) "and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark xvi. 16), was the emphatic assertion of our Savior. Again, we find that man came under condemnation by refusing obedience to this commandment:
"But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him" (Luke vii. 30). So the world of today will, in the end, find themselves under condemnation for refusing to obey this principle of the gospel.
"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John iii. 5).
Paul, writing to the Hebrews, says: "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrines of Christ, let us go on unto perfection: not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands." (Heb. vi. 1-2). Here are four principles all classed together, all equally important, all {314} equally necessary, and all required at our hands by those fixed and eternal laws of truth and justice, by which the worlds are governed, and by which we may return back into the presence of God, and dwell with the just and true and the pure of all ages.
The fourth step necessary for man to take while in this state of probation, is to receive
THE LAYING ON OF HANDS,
for the reception of the Holy Ghost. This is a principle, to a great extent, ignored by the Christian world, yet plainly taught in the scriptures.
Peter, and his brethren of the twelve, had doubtless all been baptized, and endeavored to lead holy lives during their association with Jesus; yet we find Him, just previous to His ascension on high, telling them: "Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them." (Luke xxiv. 49, 50).
We find a still further explanation of the manner of obtaining this gift and blessing, in the Acts of the Apostles, where He "commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence" (Acts i. 4, 5).
Turning to the account of the ministry of Philip, in Samaria, we find that after the Samaritans had exercised FAITH sufficient to cause them to repent, they had been BAPTIZED under the hands of Philip. "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost (for as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost" (Acts viii. 14-17).
Paul, writing to Timothy, charged him thus: "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery" (I. Tim. iv. 14); and again, "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance, that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands" (II. Tim. i. 6).
We also call the attention of the reader to the account of {315} Paul's visit to the baptized Saints of Ephesus, and his inquiry of them: "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. * * * Then they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them: and they spake with tongues and prophesied" (Acts xix. 2-5).
Sufficient has doubtless been said to clearly establish the fact that the gift of the Holy Ghost was formerly obtained by the laying on of the hands of those who held the authority to do so. Nowhere do we find that the order here laid down has been supplanted or annulled. On the contrary, the apostles spoke in the strongest terms against any innovation upon the established forms that Jesus taught them.
Paul, writing to the Galatians, speaks of those who were "perverting" the gospel; doubtless teaching that the laying on of hands was not necessary, or else that it was done away with, and says, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Gal. i. 8).
The reader has now examined the fourth step for man's advancement in the probation in which he is now living: and in the words of our Savior, "He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber" (John x. 1).
We have traced man from a pre-existent state, before the world began, when he dwelt in the presence of the Father and of our elder Brother Jesus, and mingled with the spirits who have or shall come into this sphere of action.
As it is beautifully expressed in one of the songs of Zion:
"Oh, my Father, Thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place!
When shall I regain Thy presence,
And again behold Thy face?
In Thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside?
In my first, primeval childhood,
Was I nurtured near Thy side?
"For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth,
And withheld the recollection,
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whisper'd, 'You're a stranger here;'
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere."
{316} This is certainly a grander and nobler conception of man's origin than that of some of the would-be philosophers of today, who advocate the idea of evolution from a lower scale.
Having described the nature of the duties (to have faith in God and His promises, to repent of his sins, to be baptized for their remission, and to receive the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost) that he must perform in this life to lay a foundation for future exaltation, we now turn to the consideration of man's
FUTURE EXISTENCE.
Upon this subject there is a great diversity of opinion among men, and almost every possible conjecture has, from time to time, held the attention of the human family. If we are to judge by the accepted creeds of the Christian world, we find that an almost universal belief exists in future punishment.
We find also that the fear of future punishment is used as a mighty power to influence the minds of the people in a religious sense. The fearful horrors of a never-ending punishment of the guilty are portrayed in the livelie............