I believe that nothing but the fulfilment of the doctrine of Jesus can
give true happiness to men. I believe that the fulfilment of this
doctrine is possible, easy, and pleasant. I believe that although none
other follows this doctrine, and I alone am left to practise it, I
cannot refuse to obey it, if I would save my life from the certainty of
eternal loss; just as a man in a burning house if he find a door of
safety, must go out, so I must avail myself of the way to salvation. I
believe that my life according to the doctrine of the world has been a
torment, and that a life according to the doctrine of Jesus can alone
give me in this world the happiness for which I was destined by the
Father of Life. I believe that this doctrine is essential to the welfare
of humanity, will save me from the certainty of eternal loss, and will
give me in this world the greatest possible sum of happiness. Believing
thus, I am obliged to practise its commandments.
"_The law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ._"
(John i. 17.)
The doctrine of Jesus is a doctrine of grace and truth. Once I knew not
grace and knew not truth. Mistaking evil for good, I fell into evil, and
I doubted the righteousness of my tendency toward good. I understand and
believe now that the good toward which I was attracted is the will of
the Father, the essence of life.
Jesus has told us to live in pursuit of the good, and to beware of
snares and temptations ([Greek: skandalon]) which, by enticing us with
the semblance of good, draw us away from true goodness, and lead us into
evil. He has taught us that our welfare is to be sought in fellowship
with all men; that evil is a violation of fellowship with the son of
man, and that we must not deprive ourselves of the welfare to be had by
obedience to his doctrine.
Jesus has demonstrated that fellowship with the son of man, the love of
men for one another, is not merely an ideal after which men are to
strive; he has shown us that this love and this fellowship are natural
attributes of men in their normal condition, the condition into which
children are born, the condition in which all men would live if they
were not drawn aside by error, illusions, and temptations.
In his commandments, Jesus has enumerated clearly and unmistakably the
temptations that interfere with this natural condition of love and
fellowship and render it a prey to evil. The commandments of Jesus offer
the remedies by which I must save myself from the temptations that have
deprived me of happiness; and so I am forced to believe that these
commandments are true. Happiness was within my grasp and I destroyed
it. In his commandments Jesus has shown me the temptations that lead to
the destruction of happiness. I can no longer work for the destruction
of my happiness, and in this determination, and in this alone, is the
substance of my religion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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