The Gospel: An Exposition of its First Principles

In the investigation of any subject, it is of first importance that the terms employed be thoroughly understood; hence, I begin the subject in hand by asking and answering the question, What is the Gospel? The definition to the term I shall derive from the scriptures; not from one passage alone, but from the consideration of a number of passages.

The Apostle Paul, in defining the Gospel, calls it: "The power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth".[A]

[Footnote A: Rom i: 16.]

From other scriptures, to be considered presently, we shall see that Paul could not have meant a mere intellectual assent to the truth of the several principles composing the Gospel, but an active, living faith in them-a belief which accepts them, not in theory only, but in practice also-a belief which leads up to an implicit obedience to the ordinances and precepts of the Gospel. It is only such a belief that can make the Gospel the power of God unto salvation. In proof of this I call attention to the following scriptures: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven * * * Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."[B]

[Footnote B: Matt. vii: 21, 24-27.]

"Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."[C]

[Footnote C: James i: 21,22]

And now to come to a passage which must set at rest forever all controversy on the question. In speaking of Jesus, the writer of the book of Hebrews says: "Though he were a son, yet learned he obedience through the things which he suffered, and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."[D] Not to those who do not obey him.

[Footnote D: Heb. v: 8,9.]

From these scriptures we deduce the following definition: The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation unto every one who believes and obeys it.

Having defined what the Gospel is, it is my purpose now, for convenience, to separate the subject into two grand divisions. These I shall call respectively: General Salvation, and Individual Salvation.

By General Salvation, I mean a salvation that is as universal as the race of man; that will extend to the sinner as well as to the saint; to the unbeliever, as well as to him who believes; to the impenitent, as well as to the penitent; in short, a salvation that is secured to every son and daughter of Adam, irrespective of his or her belief or unbelief, obedience or disobedience.

By Individual Salvation, I mean a salvation from certain consequences that result from transgressing one or more of God's holy laws; a salvation secured by complying with certain conditions specified in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and which can only be secured to those who fulfill said conditions.

First, then, as to General Salvation: Whatever mystery may hang over man's existence, he is conscious of these two facts: first, that he does exist; and second, judging from all human experience, as well as by the decrees of God, the time will come when he will die. No matter how strong the body, how perfect the health, or how buoyant the spirit, man knows that sooner or later time will sap the vital forces, unbend the body's strength, and in a few years the all- beholding sun shall see him no more in all his course.

The experience of the race proves that man is dust, and to dust he must return. It is true that a few, for the time being, have escaped this fate, through being translated by the special providence of God; as in the case of Enoch and many of his people;[A] the prophet Elijah;[B] the three Nephite apostles,[C] and also John, the apostle.[D] But even those who have attained this peculiar privilege, will doubtless yet have to pass through the mysterious change we call death, in order that the decrees of God may be fulfilled. This calamity of death, then, falls upon all mankind; and it was brought into the world through no act of theirs.

[Footnote A: Pearl of Great Price pp. 18, 19, 22.]

[Footnote B: II. Kings ii., Doc. and Cov. Sec. cx. 13.]

[Footnote C: III. Nephi xxvii: 7-33.]

[Footnote D: St. John xxi: 21-25, Doc. and Cov. Sec. vii.]

Adam transgressed the commandments given to him by his God; and through that act, sowed the seeds of death, and became mortal, and his progeny inherited, as a legacy, that mortality, and so death passed upon all mankind. And since death was brought upon mankind through no act or fault of theirs, justice demands that they should receive full and complete redemption from that evil which falls upon them through the acts of another, over which they had no control.

Such redemption has been wrought cut through the Atonement of Jesus Christ; and, in proof that that redemption from the consequences of Adam's transgression is universal, extending alike to the righteous and unrighteous, I cite the following scripture: "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth, shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."[E]

[Footnote E: Dan. xii: 2.]

From this it appears that not only the righteous -those who are worthy of everlasting life-are to come forth from their graves, but also the wicked-those worthy only of shame and everlasting contempt. To this agrees the testimony of Jesus, "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son, life in himself.

"Marvel not at this; for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation."[F] Or, as the last two clauses were given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, by inspiration: "They who have done good in the resurrection of the just, and they who have done evil in the resurrection of the unjust."[G]

[Footnote F: John v: 26, 28, 29.]

[Footnote G: Doc. and Cov. Sec. lxxv: 16, 17.]

This, too, is in harmony with Paul's teaching, pronounced on the occasion of his defense before Felix: "After the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets; and have hope towards God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust."[H]

[Footnote H: Acts xxiv: 14, 15.]

If it were necessary to add anything more to this array of testimony, it would be found in the words of John the Revelator. In the twentieth chapter of Revelations is given an account, first, of the resurrection of the just, and their reign of peace upon the earth for a thousand years; and then follows a description of the general resurrection in which the writer says: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to his works."[I]

[Footnote I: Rev. xx: 12, 13.]

It is certain, then, that the resurrection of the dead is universal, extending alike to all classes and races of men. And thus there is a general salvation from the consequences of Adam's fall. "For as by the offense of one (Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (Christ) the free gift came upon all men to the justification of life."[J] And again, "Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."[K]

[Footnote J: Rom. v: 18.]

[Footnote K: I. Cor. xv: 21, 22.]

The reader will observe that the redemption is as universal as the fall. If it were possible, still more explicit is the testimony of the Book of Mormon on this subject of man's redemption, as will be seen from the following passages: "And he (Christ) shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else; therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works."

"Now there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death: the spirit and the body shall be re-united again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt. Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but all things shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil."[L]

[Footnote L: Alma xi: 40, 41, 42, 43, 44.]

"Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you, that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me; and my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me; that as I have been lifted up by men, even so should men be lifted up by the Father, to stand before me, to be judged of their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil. And for this cause have I been lifted up; therefore, according to the power of the Father, I will draw all men unto me, that they may be judged according to their works."[M]

[Footnote M: III Nephi xxvii: 13-15.]

"Behold, he (Christ) created Adam, and by Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man, came Jesus Christ, even the Father and the Son; and because of Jesus Christ, came the redemption of man. And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection, which bringeth to pass a redemption from an endless sleep, from which sleep all men shall be awoke by the power of God, when the trump shall sound; and they shall come forth, both small and great, and all shall stand before his bar, being redeemed and loosed from this eternal band of death, which death is a temporal death."[N]

[Footnote N: Moroni ix: 12, 13.]

Still, some of skeptical inclination, will refuse to admit that justice has its perfect development in this scheme of redemption through Christ's Atonement. They insist that the sin of Adam should not be visited upon his posterity even for a moment. Why should man die? How is it that through the sacrifice of one who is innocent, salvation may be purchased for those under the dominion of death?

In answer to the questions with which the last chapter closed, I may say that however difficult it may be to comprehend fully all things connected with man's fall, and God's plan for his redemption, we may be assured that the fall was not a blunder, nor was it an accident. The prophet Lehi bowed down under the weight of years, when giving his last testimony and instructions to his son Jacob, said: "Behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy."[A]

[Footnote A: II Nephi II: 24, 25.]

All that has befallen man, we may rest assured, is essential to his eternal and perfect happiness. From our limited experience, we know that men learn to appreciate the joys of prosperity by drinking deeply from the cup of adversity; they learn to prize the boon of health, by languishing upon the bed of affliction; they learn the value of wealth, by experiencing want and poverty; the sweets of life are rendered still more sweet by the draughts of bitterness we are compelled to drink; and the ever intermittent gleams of sunshine are made more bright by the renewing storms which darken the sky; and thus-

"Tis sorrow builds the shining ladder up,

Whose golden rounds are our calamities."

As it is with these things I have mentioned, so it is in respect to the greatest blessing Deity can bestow upon man-the gift of eternal life. How great that gift, it is difficult for us to understand. It is not to live merely three score years, nor a thousand years, nor ten thousand years, but eternally; and while

"The stars shall fade away, the sun himself

Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years;

Man shall flourish in immortal youth.

Unhurt amid the war of elements,

The wreck of matter and the crash of worlds."-

But in order that his children might know how to prize the greatest of all his gifts. Deity has ordained that they should pass through the dark valley of death; and in the meantime, by passing through this probation we call life, they might have the opportunity of demonstrating before the heavens their integrity to principles of righteousness and truth; and by coming in contact with evil, they might forever prize that which is pure and good: that vice might ever be hideous to them, and virtue lovely-and thus the eternal happiness of man be made secure. Thus with death, as with many other things, that which at times we consider our greatest calamity, turns out to be our greatest good.

As to the second question[B]-How is it that through the sacrifice of one who is innocent salvation may be purchased for those under the dominion of death?-I will observe, in passing, that what should most concern us, is, not so much how it is that such is the case, but is it a fact. Is it true that God has established such a scheme of redemption, is what should concern us most.

[Footnote B: See Discourse of J. Taylor, J. of D. vol 10, p. 114.]

To that question the blood sprinkled upon a thousand Jewish altars, and the smoke that darkened the heavens for ages from burnt offerings, answers yes. For those sacrifices, and that sprinkled blood were but typical of the great sacrifice to be made by the Messiah.

Even the mythology of heathen nations retains the idea of an atonement that either has been, or is to be made for mankind. Fantastic, distorted, confused; buried under the rubbish of savage superstition it may be, but it nevertheless exists. So easily traced, so distinct is this feature of heathen mythology, that some writers have endeavored to prove that the gospel plan of redemption was derived from heathen mythology. Whereas the fact is that the Gospel was understood and extensively preached in the earliest ages;[C] men retained in their tradition a knowledge of those principles or parts of them, and however much they may have been distorted, traces of them may still be found in nearly all the mythologies of the world.

[Footnote C: See Pearl of Great Price, Writings of Moses, pp. 12 to 31. Gal iii, 8. Heb. iv, 2, in connection with latter part of chap iii. I Cor. X, 1-4. Mediation and Atonement by the late Prest. John Taylor -Appendix.]

The prophets of the Jewish scriptures answer the foregoing question in the affirmative. The writers of the New Testament make Christ's Atonement the principal theme of their discourses and epistles. The Book of Mormon, speaking as the voice of an entire continent of people, whose prophets and righteous men sought and found God, testifies to the same great fact. The revelations of God as given through the Prophet Joseph Smith are replete with passages confirming this doctrine, and lastly, the Saints who have received this doctrine and walked in obedience to the laws of heaven, bear testimony that the Spirit of God has borne record to their spirits that the Atonement of Christ is a grand reality.

This evidence is more than sufficient, it seems to me, to establish the fact of the atonement beyond the possibility of a doubt; and if there are some things in it not within the scope of our comprehension, still there is sufficient foundation for our glorious hope of eternal life through its power; for the evidence proving the fact of that Atonement is sufficient, wanting nothing, either in quality or quantity.

The Atonement is not the only fact which man accepts without being able to comprehend it. Such facts exist all about us. For example, here stands a row of trees; here is the plum tree, the peach, pear, apple, cherry and the apricot. They send their roots down into the same soil; their fibres become interlaced in it; and yet each tree has the mysterious power to draw from the same soil the substances which produce its own peculiar fruit. So it is throughout the vegetable kingdom. But how it is that the peach tree produces the peach, while the plum tree, from the same soil, produces the plum; or how one plant produces wheat, while another at its side produces barley, we cannot tell. But there is the fact; and how stupid would he be considered who rejected the fact, because, forsooth, he cannot understand the mysterious powers or forces which produce it!

As Bishop Watson remarks to Sir Edward Gibbon, in the letters which comprise his Apology for Christianity:-"In physics you cannot comprehend the primary cause of anything: not of the light by which you see; nor of the elasticity of the air by which you hear; nor of the fire by which you are warmed. In physiology you cannot tell what first gave motion to the heart, nor what continues it, nor why its motion is less voluntary than the lungs; nor why you are able to move your arms to the right or left by a simple volition; * * * nor comprehend the principle by which your body was at first formed, nor by which it is sustained, nor by which it will be reduced to earth." The list might be indefinitely extended, for the facts in nature which are incomprehensible are more numerous than those of revelation. And yet those who insist that all the facts connected with revelation should be of such a character that they are perfectly comprehended, refuse not to accept the facts in nature because they are incomprehensible. Why cannot they treat with equal fairness the facts of revelation and leave it to time and further revelation to make that clear which is now obscure?