Freedom from the Bondage of Sin

My brethren and sisters, when President Smith was addressing the congregation in this Tabernacle, this morning, I felt a keen interest in the very much afflicted people of Mexico, and I thought, what a blessed privilege it is to live under the stars and stripes in our own beloved country. When I heard and saw, as it was pointed out and painted before us, the awful picture that prevails in that unfortunate country, I thought how happy are we who live under a government, the fundamental law of which was an inspiration unto the founders of this great country. I wonder to what extent the people of our own country appreciate the splendid blessings that we enjoy. To what extent do they appreciate our liberties ? ¶

We read in the Scriptures that the whole world lieth in sin, and under the bondage of sin, so, as President Smith pointed out, the true freedom that men and women ought to seek is to be free from the bondage of sin. I believe that there are a great many people who have very erroneous ideas regarding liberty and what is meant by freedom. There are some, no doubt, who think it means the privilege of doing anything they please, a class of people who object to having any restrictions placed upon them whatever. A person cannot be free who does not restrain himself, who does not live under wholesome restriction. Only those are really free who have a control over themselves, and who live in a community where a wholesome restraint is held upon the conduct of their fellow men. If a person felt, and acted accordingly, that he had the right to do whatever he pleases, no man's life would be secure, no one's property would be safe, and very few would have the privilege of pursuing happiness. I love the government of the United States for this fact, that it gives unto its citizens the greatest measure of freedom consistent with the rights of their fellow men, and consistent with right living. ¶

Not very long ago I was visiting one of the stakes of Zion, and we heard of a number of our young men who were about to go out, or had just recently gone out on an irrigation project, to engage in building a ditch. These boys had been brought up under the wholesome restrictions of the gospel, but they were not of the metal that our boys usually are, for these boys, when they went out into this camp life and came in contact with others who were not of our faith, and not under those wholesome restrictions, were influenced by their conduct. These men whom they found in the camp were engaging in the playing of cards, drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, profaning the name of the Lord, and divers other things of this character; and when our boys went out there they were invited: "Come, take a cigarette : have a glass of beer." At first they did not yield to it; they had not been accustomed to habits of that kind. But after a while these others began to taunt them and said. "Oh, take a cigarette. Don't be afraid. You are afraid to say that your souls are your own. Why don't you be free like me?" That was the spirit of the occasion, and, after a while, these boys weaklings that thev were yielded, and began to indulge in the same habits, because, forsooth, that a bully, with tobacco oozing out of his mouth, said, "Why don't you be free like me?" That was his conception of liberty a veritable slave to appetite, and did not know it. He thought he was free, but he was under the bondage of sin, yielding to an unwholesome appetite. ¶

It has been pointed out, very truly, that the gospel, that the truth would make us free. The truth is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It has within it the power of God to save souls. It has the power to make us clean, to cleanse and purify our hearts, to rectify our habits, that we may not yield to those things that are harmful to the body; and, if we acquire the power to resist the bodily appetites, we also acquire the power to resist the tempter in whatever form he may come. We should acquire the power to resist sin, because only those are free who obtain this power, and the gospel has been revealed from heaven that men and women might be liberated from sin. We live in a land of liberty, and how I do rejoice and glory in it. But with all our boasted freedom this nation, in common with other nations of the world, is under the bondage of sin, and we think that we are free, but we are not free until we shall overcome sin, until we shall yield obedience to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, until the truth will break the shackles of sin and make us free. That is the cry that goes out to the nations of the earth. Let them heed it and know this, that no man is free until he does overcome evil and yield obedience to the truth that has been revealed from heaven. I pray that the Lord will give unto us the power to overcome evil, that He will inspire us with a desire to overcome our own wrong habits, and teach us that we may take an active part in spreading a knowledge of this wholesome truth in all the world. ¶

I endorse with all my soul the remarks of my brethren who have preceded me, and hope that we may engage in the saving of human souls, that our voices may be heard in defense of the truth and in the proclamation of the fact that God has spoken from heaven and restored, in the day and age in which we live, His everlasting gospel, the only gospel that ever was proclaimed among the children of men that had within it the power of God unto salvation. This gospel lays hold upon the lives of the children of men. It teaches them to do those things that will cleanse and purify them and liberate them from this terrible bondage. It should incline the hearts of the children of men unto God. It teaches first and foremost faith in God. It teaches men and women to turn their hearts to Him, that they may derive wisdom and understanding and the inspiration of His Holy Spirit. It teaches men and women to put their trust in Him, and to acknowledge His hand in all things. "In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is His wrath kindled, save those who confess not His hand in all things, and obey not His commandments," not only in our prosperity but in our adversity; not only in our fortune but in our misfortune; not only in life but also in death. What would we be if there was no such thing as sorrow in this world ? What would men and women be in character? They would be unsympathetic; they would not love their fellow men; they would not have those fine traits of character, those noble qualities of heart and of mind, were it not for the fact of the trials they have to endure, the adversity that they have to put up with, and the difficulties they have to encounter. We would not progress; we would not be progressive beings if it were so; but thank the Lord that His hand is in all these things. Those things which sometimes seem to be our greatest sorrows will be sanctified for our good, and often have the purpose in the wisdom of the Almighty of bringing us nearer to Him. The one thing for us always to remember is the Lord our God, and recognize His hand in all things, and if we will do that every misfortune, every difficulty that may come to us, every adversity that overtakes us, will be a blessing though it be in disguise, for nothing of our experiences in mortal life will be in vain; all will have its purpose and all will go to make up our character. ¶

After all, the success of this life is not measured at the end of it by what we have, but rather by what we are, and that is what we want to remember. This gospel teaches us to repent of sin and turn away from evil, to cleanse and purify our hearts. This gospel leads us to seek forgiveness of sin in the waters of baptism, that they may be washed away in the blood of the Lamb of God, that we may be approved of our Heavenly Father, and that we may be in a condition that His Holy Spirit may be conferred upon us through the laying on of the hands of His servants, duly appointed, duly authorized to act in His name. And this is the distinguishing feature of this gospel, that the ordinances thereof, that these performances are done by men who have been endowed with power from on high. This principle of faith is world-wide, is taught in every denomination that you can find throughout the land. Likewise is the principle of repentance; and although they may consider them in a different light from what we do, nevertheless in their general expression they believe in these principles. Many of them believe in baptism. They may not regard it as essential to salvation, but in a general way they will accept of that holy ordinance as being a part of their faith. They, however, differ in this regard; it is the distinguishing feature of "Mormonism" that all these sacred ordinances must be ¶

performed by men who have been endowed with power from on high. These men perform the ordinances, not in their own power, not by their own volition, not by their own appointment, but because they have been called of God and endowed with His divine authority. Were it not for this distinguishing feature "Mormonism" would be no better than all the other 'isms of the world, but because of this it stands out as the work of God in contradistinction to all the other faiths of the world. That is not saying that there are not millions of good people in all the world; it is not saying that there may not be honest and sincere souls in every denomination. It merely proclaims the truth that God has but one church upon the earth, and He has blessed and endowed that church with power from on high, and calls men to minister in His name, and that which they do by that divine appointment will be recognized of Him just the same as if He did it Himself. But when men call themselves to such holy and sacred callings, and perform these ordinances in their own authority and by their own appointment, they will not be recognized by our Heavenly Father, but only that shall be recognized which God Himself shall institute among the children of men. ¶

We do not say these things boastfully, but we merely bear witness to them because it is the truth revealed from heaven. It is true that Joseph Smith was a prophet sent of God, and that holy angels administered unto him; that they have conferred upon him the right to act in the name of the Lord. He was the mouthpiece of God unto this generation. Through him the gospel has been restored in all of its primitive purity. Through him the Church of Christ has been established again among the children of men, and all men should know it, and our messengers should go out to proclaim it to the nations of the earth, and let every man and every woman proclaim it at home as well as abroad, whenever they are called to minister in the name of the Lord. ¶

May the Lord help us to be faithful to these callings, and bear in mind that this gospel has the power to liberate us from sin and to make us free. I pray that we may eventually be saved in the kingdom of God, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶