A Rational Theology, as Taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day SaintsWidtsoe, John Andreas
Religion
A Rational Theology, as Taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Widtsoe, John Andreas
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Doctrines; Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines; Theology
**Subject to Earth Conditions.** Intimacy with the conditions of
earth, alone, will give a man final knowledge of them. Such
information can not be obtained second hand nor by casual or
superficial acquaintanceship. For that reason, probably, man has been
brought so completely under the subjection of gross matter, that he
has no power over it beyond that which he gains as he obtains
knowledge of it. Hence, on this earth, stripped of all power, and
left, as it were, helpless in the midst of contending universal
forces, man must search out the nature of the things about him and
determine their laws before he acquires power over nature and thereby
brings himself into a condition of joy. In the face of the impending
change called death, man is possibly more determined to acquire the
power that will lift him from the grave and give him an eternal
association with all the elements of the universe, including his
earthly body.
**Laws to be Obeyed.** To enter into the fullness of progressive joy,
a man must, as has been said, naturally subject himself to the laws of
the universe. In God's Plan for life on earth, is a system of laws,
representing eternal realities, to which man must conform. Such a law,
for instance, is faith, which, in its simple universal meaning, is
man's certainty that in the universe is found everything he may desire
for his upbuilding and advancement, and that the eternal relations of
universal forces will prevail for his good. Another such fundamental
law to which man must conform, is that of repentance, which in its
larger sense, is merely faith made active. Passive faith can do little
for man's advancement. Yet another such law is that of baptism, which
is essentially obedience to existing laws. And still another such law
is that of the gift of the Holy Ghost, which perhaps means that a man
may place himself in touch with the whole of the universe and to draw
knowledge from it, including the beings of superior intelligence that
it contains. These and other laws are given as guides for man. They
sharpen his free agency; develop his habits of obedience to law, and
establish for him communication with God. Moreover, a plan formulated
by an intelligent Being must be composed of laws, for even the
infinite relationships of matter and energy fall naturally into groups
of invariable laws. The laws of the Plan, like those above stated, are
logical necessities, if the earth-plan is at all accepted.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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