Gospel Doctrine: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. SmithSmith, Joseph F. (Joseph Fielding)
Religion
Gospel Doctrine: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. Smith
Smith, Joseph F. (Joseph Fielding)
Latter Day Saint churches
among so-called Christians, in these latter days, is a fallacy of the
deepest kind. It is absolutely repugnant {34} to the very soul of man
to think that a civilized, intelligent being might become a dog, a
cow, a cat; that he might be transformed into another shape, another
kind of being. It is absolutely repulsive and so opposed to the great
truth of God, that has been revealed from the beginning, that he is
from the beginning always the same, that he cannot change, and that
his children cannot change. They may change from worse to better; they
may change from evil to good, from unrighteousness to righteousness,
from humanity to immortality, from death to life everlasting. They
may progress in the manner in which God has progressed; they may grow
and advance, but their identity can never be changed, worlds without
end--remember that; God has revealed these principles, and I know they
are true. They assert their truth upon the intelligent mind and soul
of man. They embrace or embody that which the Lord has planted in our
hearts and souls to desire, and to give it unto us. They put us in the
way of receiving that which we most desire and most love, that which
is most necessary and essential to our happiness and exaltation. They
take of the things of God and give them to us, and they prepare us for
the future, for exaltation and for eternal happiness, a reward which
all the souls in the world desire, if they are correct in their lives
and thoughts. It is only the vicious and the truly wicked who do not
desire purity; they do not love purity and truth. I do not know whether
it is possible for any soul to become so debased as to lose all regard
for that which is pure and chaste, good and true and godlike. I believe
that there still lingers in the heart of the most vicious and wicked,
at times at least, a spark of that divinity that has been planted in
the souls of all the sons of God. Men may become so corrupt that they
do not have more than mere glimpses of that divine inspiration that
strives to lead them toward and to love good; but I do not believe
there is a soul in the world that has absolutely lost all conception
{35} and admiration of that which is good and pure, when he sees it.
It is hard to believe that a human being may become so depraved that
he has lost all desire that he might also be good and pure, if it were
possible; but many people have abandoned themselves to evil and have
come to the conclusion that there is no chance for them. While there is
life there is hope, and while there is repentance there is a chance for
forgiveness; and if there is forgiveness, there is a chance for growth
and development until we acquire the full knowledge of these principles
that will exalt and save us and prepare us to enter into the presence
of God the Father, who is the Father of our spirits, and who is the
Father in the flesh, of his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who joined
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