Defense of the Faith and the Saints (Volume 2 of 2)Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Religion
Defense of the Faith and the Saints (Volume 2 of 2)
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Latter Day Saint churches
In the Scripture we read: "We have had fathers of the flesh, and we
did give them reverence, shall we not much rather be subject to the
Father of spirits and live?" So that we know we have had a father to
our spirits; but because we hold that the spirits of men have also a
mother in heaven, as well as a father, behold these reviewers complain
against us. Now, observe the peculiar position of these critics: It is
all right for Jesus to have a mother; but it is all wrong for him to
have a father. On the other hand, it is all right for men's spirits to
have a Father in heaven, but our reviewers object to our doctrine of
their also having a mother there. I sometimes wonder what in the world
is the matter with you, gentlemen. I am puzzled to classify your views,
or the kind of beings with which you people heaven. One of your own
number, however, has thrown some light upon that subject, and has so
classified you--saving me the trouble--as to enable us to understand to
some extent your peculiar views. I have a book here that I am going to
use in this controversy. It is a new one. I got it three days ago, and
have read it nearly through in order to be prepared for this occasion.
It is the work of Rev. R. J. Campbell, of City Temple, London, and it
is a treatise on the _New Theology,_ just now much talked of in Europe.
He describes ministers of the gospel and gives them the classification
referred to a moment since, and which I think must needs be all right,
since it comes from a minister. He takes the average business man of
England, naming him "John Smith," for convenience, and he says this
about John:
"John Smith, with whom we used to go to school, and who has since
developed into a stolid British man of business, with few ideas
and a tendency toward conservatism--John is a stalwart, honest,
commonplace kind of person, of whom brilliant things were never
prophesied and who has never been guilty of any. His wife and
children go to church on Sundays. John seldom goes himself, because
it bores him, but he likes to know that religion is being attended
to, and he does not want to hear that his clergyman is attempting
any daring flights. He has a good-natured contempt for clergymen
in general, because he feels somewhat that, like women, they have
to be treated with half-fictitious reverence, but that they do not
count for much in the ordinary affairs of life, they are a sort of
a third sex."
Now, ladies, I ask you to remember, in passing, that I am reading
the words of somebody else; their are not my words. The phrase
"half-fictitious reverence" is not mine. I think we ought to have real
reverence for women; no fictitious reverence at all.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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