To Know God and Jesus Christ Is Life Eternal

I feel very humble and never have I felt more than I do today to rejoice in the revelations of the Lord, especially in those that have come to us in this dispensation. It has caused my heart to ¶

swell within me as I have listened to the testimonies from our brethren as they have borne witness that God lives and that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and the Son of God. I desire to add a few words of testimony to these great truths, knowing as I do that not only the brethren on this stand, but you, my brothers and sisters, are also able to bear the same testimony, because these things have been made known to you by the power of the Holy Ghost. ¶

TO KNOW GOD AND JESUS CHRIST IS LIFE ETERNAL ¶

In a prayer uttered by our Savior just before his death, he said: ¶

"And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. ¶

"I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. ¶

"And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." ¶

I know, as these our brethren know, that God lives; that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotton Son of God in the flesh, and the Redeemer of the world. But I have not learned all that there is to know about him and our Father, neither have you, for in this mortal life it is impossible for us fully to comprehend the mission of our Lord and Redeemer, to know him and just who and what he is, and the extent of the great work he accomplished. But if we shall be worthy to enter into the presence of God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son and there be crowned with exaltation, it will be necessary for us to know them in the fullness. However, until we do enter into their presence and receive this great blessing, we will not fully know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. ¶

THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF CHRIST ¶

A very significant thing in this prayer is the expression, "And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." The work accomplished by our Savior did not begin when he came into this world a babe at Bethlehem. A great work had already been accomplished by him before he came here, and he exercised authority in the eternities, under his Father, before this world was framed, but not with a body of flesh and bones. ¶

John, the beloved disciple, bearing witness of this, says: ¶

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ¶

"The same was in the beginning with God. ¶

"All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. ¶

"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. ¶

"And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehendeth it not." ¶

THE WORK OF CHRIST TO BRING TO PASS IMMORTALITY AND ¶

ETERNAL LIFE ¶

Jesus Christ was the light of men before he came here to die. ¶

Under the direction of his Father he created worlds -- great earths for habitation by the children of God -- and exercised authority as the Son of God, the first begotten in the spirit, beyond that which we can comprehend. In the scriptures, known to us as the Writings of Moses, we have some account of this great work that was performed by Jesus Christ. I want to read a portion of the conversation, had by Moses with the Lord, and recorded in this scripture: ¶

"And the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me. ¶

"And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth. ¶

"And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten. ¶

"And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many. ¶

"But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them. ¶

"And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and thy servant will be content. ¶

"And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine. ¶

"And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof, even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words. ¶

"For behold, this is my work and my glory -- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." ¶

So we see by this that Jesus Christ is the light and the life of men, he was a Creator before this world was made. But we are not concerned so much just now with the works he then performed, nor are we concerned just now with these other worlds and their inhabitants. ¶

LIFE DID NOT ORIGINATE ON THE EARTH ¶

This we know, and that will suffice until all things are revealed, the inhabitants of these worlds created by Jesus Christ, are begotten sons and daughters unto God. Life did not originate here; man did not first come into existence here. We are told by our Father in heaven, that man is eternal, that he has always existed, and that all life on this earth came from elsewhere. We may not be able to comprehend all this now, but the time will come in the providence of the Lord, when all these things shall be made known and we shall have knowledge in the fullness. ¶

THE FAITHFUL PROMISED ETERNAL LIFE ¶

The thing we are vitally interested in in this life is stated in that expression: "For behold, this is my work and my glory -- ■ to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." This ¶

truth is vital to every faithful Latter-day Saint, for we have had committed into our care the gospel of Jesus Christ, and have been commissioned and given power through the Priesthood, to go forth and proclaim this message of salvation in all the world. We are to bear witness to the fact that God our Father, through the redemption made by Jesus Christ his Son, has granted unto all men the power of forgiveness and remission of sin through their faith, repentance, and baptism in water, by which they may come back, if they will be faithful in keeping his commandments to the end, and enjoy eternal life in his presence. Through the mercy of God all men are to receive immortality, and to those who are willing to serve and be obedient to all the commandments of the Lord, he has promised another great blessing known as eternal life. Immortality means life without death, and eternal life means much more than that, it is life in the presence of God and in the presence of Jesus Christ his Son, there to receive the fullness of the blessings and the power which the Father has promised to his sons and daughters who, through the keeping of the commandments are found just and true. All who receive the gospel and endure in faith to the end are heirs to the blessings of this great promise -- eternal life. ¶

When the Savior stood at the well in conversation with the woman of Samaria, he gave her some very important instruction regarding eternal life. There he also declared himself to be the Son of God. He asked her for water to drink, and in turn promised her and all who would believe on him and keep his sayings, that to them he would give water which if they would drink of it they would never thirst. It is written: ¶

"Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again,"(He was speaking of the water in the well), "but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well springing up unto everlasting life." ¶

On another occasion when teaching the Jews, they asked Jesus what sign he could show, or what great work he had accomplished, to prove his ministry. They referred to Moses and to the manna that the Lord had sent to the children of Israel when they were in the wilderness. The Lord answered them thus: ¶

"Verily, verily, I say unto you Moses gave you not that bread from heaven, but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. ¶

"For the bread of God is he that cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." ¶

So he declared himself to be the water of life and the bread of life, and made the promise that those who would receive this water and this bread should never thirst, and never hunger, their souls would be satisfied. They misunderstood him; the woman thought he spoke of water which quenches thirst. The Jews thought he spoke of bread which sustains the body, but he was speaking of the principles of the gospel, these principles of eternal life which, if the ¶

people would live them, would bring them back into the presence of the Father. ¶

Again he said: ¶

"I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." ¶

This is my testimony. I know these things are true. I know that if we are obedient to the laws and principles of the gospel as they have been made known to us, if we will walk in righteousness and endure in faith that we shall obtain eternal life. This life will bring us back into the presence of God, there to dwell in the fullness of light, there to know our eternal Father, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Those who do not dwell there shall not know them, for they shall not be blessed with eternal life, which is God's life, although they may be in possession of immortality, for all men will receive the gift of the resurrection through the atonement of Jesus Christ. We must have faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. We must believe in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost, as three separate and distinct personages, the Father and the Son having bodies of flesh and bones, not blood. We are misunderstood by many people when we say that Jesus Christ has a body of flesh and bones and his Father also, and they naturally conclude that such a body must be quickened by the blood, but the body after the resurrection is not quickened by blood, but is quickened by spirit, and is immortal. We must believe in the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as the great governing power of the universe. It is necessary for men to repent of their sins in order to have perfect faith, and after repenting of their sins it is necessary that they have their sins remitted in the waters of baptism, that they be cleansed in the manner which the Lord has provided and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, by which they may come back again from spiritual death to spiritual life, to dwell in the presence of the Father and the Son. ¶

CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH MEN MAY SECURE SALVATION ¶

In conclusion let me read these words by revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the day on which this Church was organized: ¶

"And we know that all men must repent and believe on the name of Jesus Christ, and worship the Father in his name, and endure in faith on his name to the end, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. ¶

"And we know that justification through the grace of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is just and true; ¶

"And we know also, that sanctification through the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is just and true to all those who love and serve God with all their mights, minds and strength. ¶

"But there is a possibility that man may fall from grace and depart from the living God. ¶

"Therefore let the Church take heed and pray always, lest they fall into temptation." ¶

We are not saved now. I have stood on the street corners and heard men declaring that they are saved, because they have received religion and been converted. No man is saved as long as mortality endures, unless he is 'faithful to the end, and there is always a possibility, as I have read to you here, that men may fall from grace. ¶

So, it behooves us, as Latter-day Saints, to be faithful, to keep the commandments of the Lord, to walk in righteousness all the days of our lives. Thus through obedience to those commandments which are set forth in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and by continuance therein, we shall receive immortality, glory, eternal life, and dwell in the presence of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, where we shall truly know them. Oh, I pray that we may endure, that we may receive these blessings, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. ¶

hymn, "Do what is right, the day-dawn is breaking." ¶

After singing by the choir and congregation, prayer was offered by Elder William R. Palmer, President of the Parowan stake. ¶