History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 2Smith, Joseph, Jr.
History
History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Volume 2
Smith, Joseph, Jr.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844
law of man premises safety in temporal life; but the law of God
promises that life which is eternal, even an inheritance at God's
own right hand, secure from all the powers of the wicked one.
We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of
instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to
the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven
to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection,
the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till
he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for
sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point of faith where
he is wrapped in the power and glory of his Maker, and is caught
up to dwell with Him. But we consider that this is a station to
which no man ever arrived in a moment: he must have been instructed
in the government and laws of that kingdom by proper degrees,
until his mind is capable in some measure of comprehending the
propriety, justice, equality, and consistency of the same. For
further instruction we refer you to Deut. 32, where the Lord says,
that Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert
land, and in the waste, howling wilderness; He led him about, He
instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye, etc.; which
will show the force of the last item advanced, that it is necessary
for men to receive an understanding concerning the laws of the
heavenly kingdom, before they are permitted to enter it: we mean
the celestial glory. So dissimilar are the governments of men,
and so divers are their laws, from the government and laws of
heaven, that a man, for instance, hearing that there was a country
on this globe called the United States of North America, could
take his journey to this place without first learning the laws of
government; but the conditions of God's kingdom are such, that all
who are made partakers of that glory, are under the necessity of
learning something respecting it previous to their entering into
it. But the foreigner can come to this country without knowing a
syllable of its laws, or even subscribing to obey them after he
arrives. Why? Because the government of the United States does not
require it: it only requires an obedience to its laws after the
individual has arrived within its jurisdiction.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account