A Living Faith

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." ¶

There is nothing in the scriptures that is truer than this saying, Believe on him and thou shalt be saved. But when we refer to belief on the Lord Jesus Christ, having faith in him, we mean a living faith, not a dead faith. ¶

A living faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will secure salvation to every soul that believes on him. It doesn't need any qualification, if we only have a proper understanding of what is meant by a living faith. In order to get a proper conception of it it is well to hark back to that primeval day that we read of in the revelations contained in the Pearl of Great Price. Hark back to that time also that is referred to in the Bible when the Lord spake unto his servant Job, and said unto him : ¶

"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations1 of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. ¶

"When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" ¶

Where wast thou, Job, and where were you, my brethren and sisters? We were in the spirit world, in the presence of our Father. And what was it that we were shouting about ? It was the promulgation of the great plan of life and salvation that was made known to the children of God, begotten of him in the spirit, before the foundations of this earth were laid, and consequently before we had received these bodies of flesh and bones. When we heard those glad tidings our hearts were filled with joy. It was a plan whereby we might go on to perfection. It involved the creation of this world; it involved the placing upon this planet of our Father's children in bodies of flesh and bones. It involved also the fall. It involved a redemption from the fall. It involved the earth-life experiences as the best and only means of educating and preparing ourselves to become the children of God, members of His household, his sons and daughters in the celestial kingdom of God. That required a stupendous work and it required someone to carry out the divine program, and the question arose, 'Whom shall I send?" And there was one like unto the Son of Man arose in that mighty multitude, and said, "Here am I, send me. Thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever." ¶

That was Jesus Christ, the Lord, our Elder Brother, the first begotten of our Father in the spirit. But there was another one in that mighty multitude, also a strong personality, a great power among our Father's children who had been laboring to lead men and women away from God. He did not like the plan, for that plan was one of faith, one of repentance from sin, the only means of progress. He wanted none of that, but he said, "Here am I, send me. I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it : Wherefore give me thine honor." ¶

He was ambitious and he proposed compulsion, which is contrary to the will of God. Free agency is God's plan. Men must in the exercise of their own agency choose between good and evil if they would make progress. ¶

When we heard these glad tidings that were promulgated I tell you we were glad. Our hearts were filled with joy and gladness and we shouted for joy, at the prospect of becoming like God and dwelling in his presence forever. That was what we were shouting about. ¶

Well, God said, "I will choose the first," and Satan grew angry, for that is who it was — Lucifer, a son of the morning — Satan, or the devil, whatever you may call him. He it was who rebelled against God, and he took after him one-third of the hosts of heaven. So he must have been a powerful personality, leading men and women away from God's plan. ¶

God said, "I will send the first," and Satan grew angry and rebelled against God. All this we read in the Pearl of Great Price. ¶

Now to accept of him whom God did send is faith. To reject him whom God did not send, but cast out of heaven, is repentance ; and so when you hear people say, "I do not want to hear about these first principles, I know all there is to know about them," I want to tell you, my brethren and sisters, there is not anything beyond these fundamental principles of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every doctrine of the Church, every sermon that has been preached from this pulpit, has to do with faith in God and repentance from sin. Every discourse that has been delivered in this conference, no matter by what name it may be called, or what may be the subject, is a concrete example of these fundamental principles and the application of them to our lives. ¶

These doctrines of faith in God and repentance from sin are allinclusive. That is the kind of Gospel that we have received. The Apostle Peter knew so well the meaning of all this when he declared ; ¶

"We have also a more sure word of prophecy ; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts; ¶

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. ¶

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

That is exactly the condition that the Apostles of today proclaim. Scripture comes not by the will of man. ¶

We have been sustaining in this conference the men whom God has chosen to stand at the head of this people as prophets, seers, and revelators, men whom God has chosen to stand at the head ot this Church. We ofttimes sing, "We thank thee, O God, for a prophet." How grateful we ought to be that this Church is founded upon Apostles and Prophets, as the church was in days of old! To accept of their message, their counsel, is to have faith in the word of God, and living faith manifests itself in the works of obedience, and every work of obedience is founded upon faith. Did we not believe in God we surely would not believe in his prophets. If we had no faith in the Lord Jesus Christ of course we would not render obedience to his Gospel. But because God chose him to carry on his great work as the leader, his Only Begotten Son, he sent him into the world, "For God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." If we believe on him we render obedience to his Gospel and live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God, whether God reveals his will to us directly or through his constituted authorities upon the earth, his prophet, seer, and revelator, his servants who have been chosen and supported and sustained by his people. These are the ones God has chosen, and to accept of their message and their counsel is faith. ¶

To keep the commandments of God of course requires faith. The keeping of the commandments means works of obedience, whereby we demonstrate whether our faith is a living faith and not a dead faith. A dead faith has nothing to do with our religion. We say that faith without works is dead. We do not mean a living faith without works is dead. There could not be a living faith under those conditions. Only a faith that manifests itself in works of obedience has within itself the power of God to the salvation of his children. So faith is allinclusive, and likewise repentance is all-inclusive, for it has to do with everything that we have to do with. To reject him whom God did not send is repentance, and when we speak of rejecting him we mean rejecting his gospel, rejecting his plan, rejecting his sophistry, and his arguments, and there are many of them in the world today, and it behooves Latter-day Saints to choose whom they will follow — Jesus Christ the Lord and his glorious Gospel, or the devices of the adversary that lead us away from God. Every sophistry and every sin and every allurement of evil is prompted by that evil one that was cast out of heaven. He is with us here. He was cast down and is right here, not in a body of flesh and bones ; no, he did not fulfil his first estate, but he came just the same, and we cannot see him with our natural eyes, He has no body of flesh and bones, but he is here, and we feel his power and his influence, we see it everywhere leading men and women away from the truth. ¶

"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." To resist the devil is repentance. To draw nigh unto God is faith. Apply this to everything, to all of our actions, to everything that we do, our merchandising, our business transactions, our farming, our pleasures, our dancing. There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything. When we do it in a right way those are the works of obedience, whereby we demonstrate our faith. If we do it the wrong way we are committing sin and we are called upon to repent. That is the substance of the Gospel. It applies to our politics, it applies to every problem that comes before us. ¶

We have the word of the leaders of this people as to what should be our course in regard to certain political things. I do not wish to get into any political discussion or anything bordering on that, but let me tell you where good and evil are involved, as they are in the prohibition question, it devolves upon Latter-day Saints to choose the right and therefore manifest our faith in God and reject the sophistries and the false arguments of those who are trying to break down the safeguards of our Constitution. ¶

My time has already expired. May God help us to carry on this great work by living in accordance with his divine will as it shall be made manifest to us through his prophets, seers, and revelators, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶