Man's Endowment

Man's Endowment

The Lord created man of the earth, He endued them with strength by themselves, And made them according to his image, And put the fear of man upon all flesh, And gave him dominion over beasts and fowls. ¶

Counsel, and tongue, and eyes, Ears, and a heart, gave he them to understand. ¶

Withal he filled them with the knowledge of understanding. ¶

And shewed them good and evil. ¶

He set his eye upon their hearts, That he might shew them the greatness of his works, He gave them to glory in his marvellous acts for ever, That they might declare his works with understanding. ¶

Beside this he gave them knowledge, And law of life for an heritage. ¶

He made an everlasting covenant with them, And shewed them his judgments. ¶

Their ways are ever before him; And shall not be hid from his eyes. ¶

(Ecclesiasticus 17:1,3,4,6-9,11,12,15.) ¶

So many words in holy writ will create within us the Spirit of the Lord as we hear them today, for it is the Easter time. All of the Evangelists write beautifully of the resurrection. We read the words of Mark: ¶

And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. ¶

And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. ¶

And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? ¶

And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. ¶

And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. ¶

And he said unto them, Be not affrighted: ¶

Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. (Mark 16:1-6.) ¶

Every year at Easter time, our hearts are gladdened by the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Jesus died that we might by our faith be accounted worthy to attain eternal life. "It must needs be," he said, "that the Son of man should suffer and be put to death and rise again." (See Luke 24:7.) "Because I live, ye shall also live" is the divine message that has brought heavenly solace to millions of souls who have come to the knowledge that death is but the beginning of the greater and truer life. ¶

An ancient prophet, Isaiah, in speaking of the resurrection of the Savior in language, poetic and lofty, says: ¶

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation: that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! (Isa. 52:7.) ¶

This knowledge is the deepest need of mankind today; for while we honor his name and his call, we test our lives by other times and by other peoples, never allowing ourselves the one thing we need most of all — vision of the kingdom of God. The last words of Jesus from the cross were: "Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit. . . ." (Luke 23:46), words of perfect trust and confidence. In all his life, there was that divine knowledge that from God he came and to God he would return. ¶

This is why the outward incidents of his life were vested with the splendor of eternity. When he died upon the cross, he assured us of the greater life beyond the grave. ¶

The Spirit of the Lord has been in the hearts of the people who are assembled in this holy house. The lessons of the meaning of life which we will take home will long remain with us. Our minds may be open to the truths of the gospel. We cannot listen to the brethren who speak without being impressed with a new sense of power and a new source of comfort, because we have come to know God through the life of the Master: the Savior of the world. What could be more divine than to turn our thoughts to Jesus Christ our Savior at Easter time? The learned British author, Lord Ernle, has written: ¶

The belief in immortality rests on the belief in the government of the universe by one supreme, moral, and spiritual being. ¶

Happy are those whose faith on this point has survived the shock of recent years, and not the least part of their happiness lies in the sure and certain hope of a future life. ¶

From the days of father Adam down through all centuries, God has made manifest his truths to his children. The divine light has ever shown forth to inspire the sacred teachings which will bring the children of God back to his holy throne. In Homer's Odyssey we have the religious beliefs of the Greeks of ancient Athens. "Men and gods are divine," says Homer. "In this life the spirit and body are one, and to escape worldly influence we must become purified by denying ourselves certain kinds of foods and dress and avoid contact with impurities. One must become as near to God as possible, and that means to become righteous and holy with the help of wisdom." Concerning the Hindus, their philosophy of life is found in their Bible, the Rigveda, which says: "All children are and have been of heaven and earth. All souls in time can be gods. Their highest ethical figure is Varuna, who is unified with a glorified body." ¶

Then comes the conception of the ancient Hebrews. Job shows not only his belief in immortality, but also in the resurrection of the body when he gives utterance to the noble words: ¶

For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: ¶

And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. (Job 19:25-26.) ¶

How beautifully Daniel has written: ¶

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. ¶

And they that be wise shall shine in the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:2-3.) ¶

How beautiful and with what deep humility the American Indians in the past have spoken words of faith in the Great Spirit. In Francis Parkman's biography of the celebrated Indian Chief Pontiac, we have a statement concerning the Indian's faith, which was uttered when he surrendered to the English in 1765. He spoke in behalf of the several nations assembled at the council of the English warriors and the Indians, and said: ¶

Father, we have all smoked out of this pipe of peace. It is your children's pipe; and as the war is all over, and the Great Spirit and Giver of Light who has made the earth and everything therein, has brought us all together this day for our mutual good, I declare to all nations that I have settled my peace with you before I came here. And now deliver my pipe to Sir William Johnson, that he may know that I have made peace and have taken the King of England for my father, in the presence of all the nations now assembled. ¶

Father, we are thankful to you for lighting our council fire for us, and desiring us to return to it. ¶

Every group of people in all history has looked to God and has known of the "life beyond." A shrine, a temple, or a church is a part of the great picture book of humanity and testifies alike to the goodness and beauty of human life. ¶

Centuries ago, God gave the children of Israel through the Prophet Moses, the Ten Commandments, in which are written sublime truths: ¶

I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. . . . ¶

Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. ¶

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. (Exodus 20:2, 8, 12.) ¶

The Ten Commandments became the constitution of the Holy Land, and they have influenced the civic and political life of all civilization since that time. ¶

All through the ages, since God sent his servant Adam to this earth, a divine power has ever directed mankind and given him a knowledge that God lives. The holy Bible is the product of men inspired of God, covering a period of four thousand years. The holy book shows that the Hebrew prophets gave their lives to the service of God. They wrote by the power of the Holy Ghost. ¶

God directed them. ¶

The life of Christ our Savior, as given in the New Testament, is to old and young alike the most moving and convincing truth that he came from some higher sphere into our earthly history with the mission to reveal God and save man. He preached the gospel of the kingdom; and forever even until all the aeons have been closed, and earth itself, with the heavens that now are, have passed away, shall every one of his true and faithful children find peace and hope and forgiveness and his name shall be called Emmanuel or God with us. ¶

We always keep in mind that in the great literature of the world's history, writers have extolled the powers of the mind and intelligences of mankind. ¶

Ever since the recording of history began, the divine power of man has been made manifest. "No other single force has entered so widely, so powerfully, so continuously into the renewal of the mortal spirit of man, into the shaping of men's ultimate ideals, and into the formation of personal character, as the sense of contact between the human and the divine." One of the old Hebrew singers — possibly David — summed up the lesson of Judah in these words: ¶

"They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever." (Ps. 125:1.) ¶

Today as we look forward to the time ahead, our vision will be clear if we have prayed and worked to have a testimony of the word of God among his children. We know of the truth that God lives and that Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world, will come again. ¶

With understanding hearts, we recall the words of Isocrates, an Athenian philosopher of the fifth century, B.C.: ¶

The age in which we live should be distinguished by some glorious enterprise . . . Let the leaders contrive to put an end to our present troubles. The treaties of peace are insufficient for their purpose; they may retard but they cannot prevent our misfortunes. We stand in need of some more endurable plan, which will forever put to an end our hostilities, and unite us by the lasting ties of mutual fidelity and affection. ¶

The writer of the Acts of the Apostles gives an account of the last meeting of the risen Messiah with his disciples in Palestine, and his last words to them: ¶

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. ¶

And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, 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. (Acts 1:9-11.) ¶

Mosiah writes gloriously in the Book of Mormon: ¶

But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ. ¶

He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death. ¶

Even this mortal shall put on immortality, and this corruption shall put on incorruption, and shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him according to their works whether they be good or whether they be evil. (Mosiah 16:8-10.) ¶

God the Father and Jesus Christ came to this earth and restored the gospel to Joseph Smith, and the Church of Jesus Christ was organized. Through the years the Prophet's life was filled with sorrow and bitter struggle to have men understand. A few came with him — men of great character and women of great souls, "That faith might increase in the earth, and that mine everlasting covenant might be established and proclaimed unto the end of the world." ¶

The world is weary of the religion about Christ. What it wants is the religion of Jesus Christ. To follow Jesus Christ means to have a part in the building of his kingdom on earth. Here we merge into the sunshine of a great experience. ¶

In words that are forceful and clear, we have our tenth Article of Faith as written by the Prophet Joseph Smith: ¶

We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion will be built upon this [the American] continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. ¶

When Jesus Christ gave his holy prayer in speaking to the people on the mount, he uttered words which to this day are given by the millions of people who hold him as the Savior of the world. He said: ¶

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. ¶

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. ¶

Give us this day our daily bread. ¶

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. ¶

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. (Matt. 6:9-13.) ¶

And so we await his kingdom. We live day by day in preparation of his coming, for Christ will come again. ¶

It was John Fiske, the historian at Harvard fifty years ago, who wrote: ¶

The future is lighted for us with the radiant colors of hope. Strife and sorrow shall disappear. Peace and love shall reign supreme. The dream of poets, the lesson of priest and prophet, the inspiration of the great musician, is confirmed in the light of modern knowledge and as we gird ourselves up for the work of life, we may look forward to the time when in the truest sense, the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. ¶