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
HOW THE SINNER MAY BE CLEANSED. You cannot take a murderer, a suicide,
an adulterer, a liar, or one who was or is thoroughly abominable in his
life here, and simply by the performance of an ordinance of the gospel,
cleanse him from sin and usher him into the presence of God. God has
not instituted a plan of that kind, and it cannot be done. He has said
you shall repent of your sins. The wicked will have to repent of their
wickedness. Those who die without the knowledge of the gospel will have
to come to the knowledge of it, and those who sin against light will
have to pay the uttermost farthing for their transgression and their
departure from the gospel, before they can ever get back to it. Do not
forget that. Do not forget it, you elders in Israel, nor you, mothers
in Israel, either; and, when you seek to save either the living or the
dead, bear it in mind that you can only do it on the principle of their
repentance and acceptation of the plan of life. That is the only way in
which you can succeed.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1907, pp. 6, 7.
FALLACY OF DEATH-BED REPENTANCE. I do not believe in the ideas that
we hear sometimes advanced in the world, that it matters but little
what men do in this life, if they will but confess Christ at the end
of their journey in life, and that is all-sufficient, and that by so
doing they will receive their passport into heaven. I denounce this
doctrine. It is unscriptural, it is unreasonable, it is untrue, and it
will not avail any man, no matter by whom this idea may be advocated;
it will prove an utter failure unto men. As reasonable beings, as men
and women of intelligence, we cannot {117} help but admire and honor
the doctrine of Jesus Christ, which is the doctrine of God, and which
requires of every man and woman righteousness in their lives, purity
in their thoughts, uprightness in their daily walk and conversation,
devotion to the Lord, love of truth, love of their fellowman, and above
all things in the world the love of God. These were the precepts that
were inculcated by the Son of God when he walked among his brethren in
the meridian of time. He taught these precepts; he exemplified them in
his life, and advocated continually the doing of the will of him that
sent him.--_Oct. C. R.,_ 1907, p. 3.
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