The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

I am going to ask you to listen to a few passages of scripture. ¶

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork. ¶

"Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. ¶

"There 'is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. ¶

"There line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." ¶

Such is the language of David, Prophet and King of Israel. ¶

"There is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." That is Job. ¶

"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." ¶

Such is the language of the chief of the apostles in the dispensation of the meridian of time. ¶

"For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man preceiveth it not. ¶

"In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; "Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction." ¶

That is Job again. ¶

"And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. ¶

"And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshiped, every man in his tent door. ¶

"And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." ¶

All these examples of revelations from God to man are from the Old Testament. If you turn to the New Testament you will find that all these modes of revelation are to be found upon its pages. I will read one or two passages from the New Testament. ¶

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead;" ¶

Such are the words of Paul, the apostle of the gentiles. ¶

"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him [that is, unto John the Baptist, who was to be a witness that Jesus of Nazereth was the Lamb of God, the Redeemer of the world; hence it was for him that the heavens were opened], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: ¶

"And lo a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." ¶

Again, referring to Stephen at the very moment of his martyrdom: — ¶

"But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. ¶

"And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." ¶

You who have followed me in the reading of these passages of the scripture, have doubtless already concluded in your minds that it is my purpose to call your attention to the various modes through which God reveals Himself to the children of men. You will observe that the first passage that I read calls attention to that species of revelation that is made known through the works of nature. "The heavens declare the glory of God." I presume there are no people living now or in past times but must have been impressed to a greater or less extent by that revelation which God gives of Himself through His works. Not only ■Christian people, but the Mohammedan, the Buddhist, the Deist, are all impressed by that magnificient revelation of God's power and glory which may be seen in the magnitude of His works. The Deists, are of opinion that this revelation is all-sufficient as a foundation for natural religion. One high in authority among such people has declared that the wonderful structure of the universe and everything we behold in creation proves to us better than books can the existence of God, and at the same time proclaims His attributes. "It is by the exercise of our reason," he continues, "that we are enabled to contemplate God in His work and to meditate His ways. When we see His care and goodness extended over His creatures, it teaches us our duties towards each other, while it calls forth our gratitude to Him." ¶

But great and magnificent as is this revelation of God's glory and power through His works, it is inadequate to meet all the requirements of man. There are great questions that the stars cannot answer. There are great problems that this world of ours cannot solve. I ask the question in the presence of this great revelation that comes from God, through nature. Whence is man, and the purpose of hi« existence? And the stars give no answer to that question. I ask the question, What is the purpose of human existence? And nature gives no reply. I ask the question, What is the end of human existence? And from nature there comes no satisfactory answer. So that this revelation through nature, however splendid it may be, is not sufficient for guidance to the children of men. So say the Christiana of all sects. They hold that something must be learned more than can be learned through the revelations of nature. Hence they accept the revelations that come through the scriptures. ¶

I desire to call attention to Christian faith on this point, and I desire also to expound our faith, if I can, upon this great subject. ¶

Christians are pretty well united in believing that there Is a revelation of God through nature. They accept all there is in this revelation of nature, and in addition to that they believe that God is manifested in the history of the world. So also do we. They believe, too, that there is a revelation from God through the human heart. So do we believe "there is a revelation in the intelligence that is in man. The Christian world also believe in special revelations from God — revelations through inspiration, such as Job speaks of when he says that there is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. "This is the kind of revelation which has produced the scripture. Men spake, in olden times, as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and what they said under such circumstances became the word of God, the will of God: and being reduced to writing and treasured up by the people, it has come down through the ages as holy writ. I say, all the Christians believe in that kind of revelation. So, too, do we. But there is a difference between our faith in respect of this class of special revelation and the belief of the various divisions of Christendom. ¶

I count myself happy that in consequence of the recent interest awakened on the subject of revelation we have in our city an utterance of the Christian belief upon this subject. A prominent minister of our city has set forth, not only the views of the particular church of which he is the pastor, but also the views of the whole of Christendom with reference to this subject of revelation. I do not refer to his discourse with any intention of entering upon a controversy. Far be that from me. I would not for the world, if I can help it, challenge the correctness of anything that may have been said by our fellow Christians. I do not feel antagonistic toward them. I am a man of peace. But this particular discourse has afforded a good opportunity of placing in contrast our beliefs on the subject of revelation with the beliefs of the world, and I use it merely for this purpose. Sometimes, you know, we can appreciate things better when we see them in contrast than in any other way. ¶

And now in regard to special revelation by inspiration, whence comes our scriptures. This Christian teacher has this to say about it: ¶

"We are not only at one in gratefully receiving such scriptures as the faithful record of God's gracious revelations and the sure witness of Christ, but we are equally at one in denying that any such record or unveiling of the divine will has since been given, or ever will be given, for the guidance of mankind." ¶

Why should such a conclusion as that be reached? When the great apostle of the Christian dispensation, unto whom Jesus had said: "I give unto you the keys of the kingdom, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven," — when this man, clothed with the Holy Ghost, stood before the multitude in Jerusalem, and they said unto him, "Men and brethren what shall we do?" He gave this memorable answer: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Now mark you: "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." ¶

If Peter had designed to make this promise of the Holy Ghost universal, I cannot for the life of me understand what language he could have used that would have made the promise more universal than the language he did use. This promise of the Holy Ghost, given as a result of obedience to the gospel, was to them, to their children, and to all that were afar off— a hundred years off, five hundred years off, five thousand years off — to all unto whom this message of repentance shall come this promise is made. Very well. How did we receive the scriptures? "Holy men of God spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost," that is how we came by the scriptures. "There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." Now, if people are receiving the gospel today, I hold that they are entitled to the fulfillment of the promise that they shall receive the Holy Spirit — the power by which the scriptures were written. And hence our friends are confronted with the choice of one of two propositions; either they must say that men no longer receive the Holy Ghost, when yielding obedience to the gospel, or else they must say that the Holy Ghost has lost His power to reveal the will of God to man. To say that, in my judgment, would be blasphemy. We Latter-day Saints do not say that. On the contrary, we say that this Holy Spirit possesses all His powers, and those who receive that Spirit receive His powers and can exercise and enjoy them. ¶

Again: All Christians, together with ourselves, recognize that God manifests Himself through mighty works, called miracles. Yet listen to this discourse I am quoting on that mode of revelation: ¶

"While Christians are virtually at one in recognizing these invasions of the Divine will, they are well nigh as thoroughly agreed in denying that we have good reason to expect the continuance of such marvels." ¶

Why? Whence came the miracles of scripture — the healing of the sick, prophecy, speaking in tongues, the interpretation of tongues, the gift of knowledge? They came from the possession of this same Spirit and power. This power, which is imminent in nature, which fashions and molds matter as God wills— whence comes it? It comes from the possession and operation of this Holy Spirit. I repeat again, that to deny to that Spirit the powers He is accredited with in scripture would be blasphemy. To deny Him His power would be to say that He was as salt that bath lost its savor. ¶

In common with our fellow Christians we believe in that mode of revelation by which men of God, such as Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Peter, John, Paul, and the rest of the names which blazon the pages of sacred history, rose to such high privileges that, like Moses, some of them talked face to face with God, as a man talks with his friend. But while the Christian world believes that such revelation as this obtained in the past, listen to what is said of it at the present time: ¶

"Few Christians will deny that men of old had such revelations; few Christians will claim that we have reason to look for their continuance." ¶

Another mode of revelation recognized by ourselves and also by the Christian world is the revelation of God through Jesus Christ. He is the crowning revelation; for in Him, in His person and character, was revealed the Divine.. The Father was revealed through Him. He is spoken of as being the express image of the Father; and henceforth the world has a means by which they may know, not only the being, the existence of God, but the kind of being He is, namely, that He is the express image of the Lord Jesus Christ; for as the Son is the express image of the Father, so also the Father must be the express image of the Son. Concerning this, the discourse to which I am alluding says: ¶

"All Christians believe in the incarnation. Very few believe that this revelation will ever be repeated in its objective form till time, as we measure it, shall end." ¶

Well, no; the incarnation of the Son of God will not be repeated. He has obtained His body, and it has been glorified through the resurrection from the dead, and has become as immortal as the spirit that inhabits it. There will be no reincarnation of the Son of God, it is true; but this will be true of the Son of God, if we may trust the scriptures to guide us: He will make a glorious reappearance in the world. You remember that occasion, do you not, when the disciples were gathered together on the Mount of Olives after the resurrection, and Jesus met with them. Presently, after giving His last benediction, He was taken up into heaven. Spell-bound by the beautiful sight of His receding form from earth, to heaven, the disciples stood gazing up at Him, and as they did so two angels made their appearance and said to them: "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." That kind of a revelation of Jesus Christ — His reappearance among men in His resurrected, immortal body of flesh and bones — that kind of a revelation of Jesus Christ is in the future for the world, though there may be no reincarnation of Him. ¶

The difference between the Christian world and the Latter-day Saints respecting special revelations from God is this: The Christian world believe that such revelations took place in the past, but that they have not taken place since the close of the apostolic age; that miracles have ceased: that special inspiration has ceased; that God conversing with man face to face has ceased; and they have no hope of these glorious kinds of revelation being repeated in the experience of the world. The Latter-day Saints on the other hand state boldly to the world, and as I remember it, one of our articles of faith declares that "We believe all that God has revealed, all that he does now reveal, and that he will yet reveal many gre it and important things pertaining to the kingdom of God." ¶

I want to extend that a little and say that we not only believe in the revelations that have been given, that are now being given, and that will be given in the future, but we believe also in all these modes of revelation — revelation by inspiration, by the manifestation of miraculous powers, by face to face conversations with God, and communion with Jesus Christ as a man might commune with his friend. And we believe that all these modes of revelation will continue. But we do not believe that the will of man will control in these matters. Prom some things that have been said recently relative to revelation one would reach the conclusion that because we have in our midst prophets and apostles, inspired men, God and angels and the Holy Spirit are subject to their beck and call; and because a man is upheld as a prophet of God some people seem to suppose that he may enter the presence of God when he will and talk with Him face to face; or, that 'by his summons, a prophet may bring angels to his side at his own sweet will! Not so. These divine things are under the control of the Lord Almightty, and He will reveal Himself when and in whatsoever mode seemeth Him good. Do you not remember the scriptures which clearly indicate the correctness of the view I state upon this subject? where it is declared that unto one is given by the Spirit the Word of Wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, to another the gift of faith, to another the gift of healing, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, etc., the Lord dividing to every man severally as He [the Lord] will— not as man might will or choose. So that the times and modes of revelation are in the hands of God; our faith is simply this: that the Lord reigns supreme in heaven, aye, and on the earth, and whenever His work requires that His hand should touch it and guide it He will inspire His servants to take the course that is necessary to conform His works to His will. If it be necessary to send from the presence of His throne an angel, clothed with power, might and majesty, to stand in the presence of prophets and apostles, to make known a divine purpose, the sovereign will of God is sufficient to order that to be done; and if it becomes necessary to summon a prophet into the presence of God to commune face to face with Him, then He will summon that prophet into His presence; or open the vision of His mind, snatch away the veil of the covering that at present separates us from God, and will commune with His servant as He did with Moses face to face — all according as God wills. That is our faith concerning revelation; and as the great Luther said of his faith at the Diet at Worms — "Here we stand; we can do no other; God help us." If God says, move forward, we will move forward. If He says, halt, we will halt. If He says, turn to the right or turn to the left, we will turn accordingly. And our faith is if we shall walk under the guidance of God no harm can come to us individually, nor harm come to the work of God. Only such things will happen as will tend to the progress of God's work, and the glorification of His name in the earth. ¶

I do not know whether I am stating exactly your faith in these things or not, but this is my faith; and for the life of me I cannot understand how anyone, Jew or Gentile, Heathen or Christian, who believes in God at all can stop short of this perfect submission unto His will; which submission of the mind to God is alone true worship. Once admitting the great premise that God lives, that He is interested in human affairs, that He not only created but governs and controls this universe, it seems to me that after that the only logical conclusion for one who holds that faith' is that if he receives a message from God, he will perform the mission that is given to him in that message. ¶

Just a word or two in conclusion. We have spoken in this conference a great deal about the world hating us. I think sometimes we use the term without sufficient and proper modification. When Jesus said to His disciples: ¶

"Marvel not if the world hate you. It hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own, but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." ¶

When the Master used that language I scarcely think He had reference to all the world, but only to those who were "wordly," to those whose hearts were set upon the things of this world, to those who were lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, to those who were corrupt in their hearts; out of which conditions the Lord had called His disciples, and now in these days has called His people. When we say "the world hate us," let us not think that that means all mankind, but that it means the worldly portion of mankind, those who love darkness rather than light. Those whose deeds are evil. When we go to them with our message, it reproves this part of the world for sin and unrighteousness; therefore they hate it. They hate the light, because they love darkness. But we shall find, I am sure, hundreds of thousands, nay millions of our Father's children who do not and who will not hate us; but who will be responsive to the message that we have to declare to them. So that I am of opinion that we should keep this modification in our minds that it is the worldly that will hate us, while those who are honest in heart will be responsive to the testimonies that we have to bear. I remember with what supreme confidence President Brigham Young relied upon the operation of the Spirit of God upon the minds of people. He said on more than one occasion that no man had yet so much as heard of the Book of Mormon but what the Spirit of the Lord whispered quietly to his soul that that book was true: no man had so much as heard of the Prophet Joseph Smith but what the "still small voice" whispered to him that he was a true prophet. ¶

The exact words of President Young on this subject are as follows: ¶

"Nothing short of the Holy Ghost will do us any lasting good. I told you, in the beginning of my remarks, the truth as it is in heaven and on the earth, as it is with the angels, and with prophets, with all good people, and with every sinner that dwells upon the earth. There is not a man or woman who on hearing the report of the Book of Mormon but the spirit of the Almighty has testified to them of its truth; neither have they heard the name of Joseph Smith but the Spirit has whispered to them 'He is the true Prophet.' It is the spirit which is invisible to the natural mind of man, that produces effects apparently without causes, and creates mysteries, marvels, and wonders in the earth. These things we behold, but we cannot with the natural mind account for them, nor divine their ultimate end." ¶

(Discourse by Prest. Brigham Young, June 13, 1852. Deseret News, Vol. 4, No. 6.) I believe that doctrine, and it ought to be a mighty source of encouragement to the Elders who are preaching the gospel among the nations of the earth. They toil and labor, they distribute tracts, they try to make their voice heard in the midst of the world's clamor, and they may think from surface indications that their labors are vain, that their voice is lost as though they were crying in a wilderness. Not so; but as they speak in halls or crowded thoroughfares God's Spirit bears witness to the hearts of those at all susceptible to its influence in testimony of the truths uttered; and it will be because the world rejects that testimony which comes to their souls that there will be condemnation for them, and not because they have rejected the words spoken by the Elders. ¶

Both we ourselves and the world stand in the presence of this enfolding influence and power of God's Holy Spirit — the spirit of revelation. Our lives through the gospel may be made to touch the life of God, and by touching the life ot God partake somewhat of His qualities; have brought into our lives some of His divine powers, by which at least we may know the truth and rejoice in it. And though "the world" — regarding "the world" in the light of my suggestion — may hate us, let us see to it that we do not hate the world. We may dislike their acts; we may not be able to look upon their actions with the least degree of allowance; we must say that their actions are wicked and that they and their actions are ungodly; but after all, they are the children of God, though they have wandered far from Him, and it is our mission to send forth the voice that shall call them back, to stretch out a hand that shall lead them into the fold. Such is the spirit of the gospel as we have received it, and such our faith in the revelations of God. The Lord bless you. Amen. ¶