My Brethren I Appreciate Very Much Some...

My brethren, I appreciate very much this privilege of having a part with you in this great priesthood brotherhood under which we receive our commission to serve God. ¶

Some time ago a friend of mine who lives on the farm was telling me that as his sons get old enough to share in the responsibility of farm work, he arranges for them to have a little land to till or some farm animals to raise. ¶

And, of course, they receive the compensation involved. ¶

"My father's business"

The Lord also has that kind of program. As his children become sufficiently mature, he invites them to have a part in that great enterprise that Jesus referred to as "my Father's business." That is the business of building character, integrity, Godliness, and eternal life into his children. ¶

God has said that it is his work and his glory ". . . to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." ¶

(Moses 1:39.) And then by way of invitation to us he has said, ". . . If ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;" ¶

(D&C 4:3.) And we may have as large a part as we are able to qualify for in the very work in which God himself spends his entire time. Of course, we must also be prepared to accept our share of the responsibility. ¶

We have been given the priesthood, which is the authority to act in the name of the Lord. But we ourselves must develop the leadership, which is the ability to act in the name of the Lord. And I suppose that one is not of great consequence without the other. That is, what good would come from a missionary having the authority to make converts if he did not also have the ability to make converts? ¶

Our world itself is made up of opposites. There is a kind of north pole and south pole in every life. We live amid the contrasts of positive and negative, good and evil, uphill and downhill, heaven and hell. Jesus talked about the straight and narrow way that leads to life, but we must also be aware of the dangers of that broad road that leads toward death. ¶

Blessings, If You Obey

The Lord himself has said, "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; "A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, "And a curse if ye . . . turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, . . ." (Deut. 11:26-28.) And we determine the direction of our lives by which of the affinities, antagonisms, or inclinations we build into them. There is a natural duality in life which Plato called "the upper and the lower soul." Jesus referred to this antagonism as "the spirit and the flesh," but some time ago a psychologist said that each of us has within himself "a life instinct" and also "a death instinct." ¶

The dictionary says that an "instinct" is a natural aptitude or tendency leading toward a goal. In introducing the Master, the Apostle John said, "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (John 1:4.) The greatest commodity in the universe is life. And Jesus announced his own mission by saying, "I came that ye might have life and have it more abundantly." (See ibid., 10:10.) God has endowed every seed with a life germ by which it is able to reach upward toward better things. But the greatest gift of God is eternal life, and after endowing his children with his own potentialities, he implanted in them a kind of upward reach, a natural inclination or a tendency to strive by which the offspring of God may hope to become like the parent. ¶

Forces of Death

But the life instinct also has its opposite. All around us we see the results of that sinister attraction leading toward death which might be compared to the instinct that leads the moth toward the flame that will destroy it. It is an interesting fact that nature never wearies of imposing punishment. The unfortunate moth may burn off its wings, blister its body, and bum itself blind, but the flame goes on and on, unmolested, unhurt, unsympathetic, and even unaware of the terrible pain it has inflicted. No one really knows how severe the torments of the body may be. ¶

We know they can be sufficient to send one insane or to bring about his death. But the spirit is eternal; it can suffer, but it cannot die. There is no such thing as a cancellation of existence. The chief characteristic of eternal death is not oblivion but endless pain and regret. When one dies as to things pertaining to righteousness, then misery and despair take over the control of life; and of some who had passed the point of no return, the Lord said, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still." (Rev. 22:11.) And certainly those who allow their better impulses to die will be miserable forever, as there can be no happiness in wickedness. ¶

The most feared experience of life is death. We instinctively cling to life with every ounce of our strength. In the days of Job it was said, ". . . all that a man hath will he give for his life." ¶

(Job 2:4.) There isn't anything that we wouldn't do, there is no expense that we would not involve ourselves in to prolong life for a week or a month, even though we knew that that period would be filled with pain and unhappiness. But when John said, "There is a sin unto death: ..." (1 John 5:16) he was speaking of a more dreadful death than that of the body. And Paul describes this sin by saying, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, "And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, "If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." (Heb. 6:4-6.) But this second death does not take place all at once. Spiritually we die a little bit at a time. Our enthusiasm dies, our faith dies, and our ambition dies. ¶

No one ever gets off the straight and narrow way at right angles, and no sin is born fully grown. Every sin is a minor one to begin with. Percentagewise, very few people will ever lose their blessings because they have become murderers or sons of perdition. ¶

As someone has pointed out, it isn't the giant redwoods that trip us up as we walk through the forest, it's the vines and the underbrush. ¶

Safeguards Against Forces of Destruction

And one of the most damaging sins and one that gives greatest strength to our death instinct is the violation of that great revelation given 132 years ago called the Word of Wisdom. Some violators of this law tend to excuse themselves because it appears to be such a small thing. It seems like just a little disobedience, a little caffeine, a little nicotine, a little friendly indulgence in alcohol. Yet these are the springboards to disease, broken homes, immorality, disloyalty to God, physical death, and the death of many of our eternal interests. ¶

In the February 26, 1965 issue of Life magazine, there is an appalling article about the toll being taken by the dope traffic in the United States. ¶

And among its most damning effects is the deadly addiction it forms and the good inclinations that are destroyed by its craving. Dope users often lie, steal, or kill to satisfy these appetites of death. But in some degree, these same results are characteristic of every sin. Every disobedience, every dishonesty, and every exercise of lust forms an evil addiction and strengthens the death instincts. No one ever needs a recording angel to look over his shoulder to take notes on his sins. ¶

Good or bad, everything that we do is being recorded in our appetites, our nervous systems, our personalities, our minds, and our immortal spirits. ¶

Every cigaret, every crime, and every irreverence is indelibly written down in the person of its victim. A violator of the man-made laws may at least hope that his crime will not be discovered. But for the violators of the laws of God, there is no possibility to escape punishment. And each transgressor becomes his own prosecutor, his own judge, his own jury, and his own executioner. ¶

A violation of civil law can put us in jail. A crime against our health may cause us to be locked up in some wearisome hospital of pain, but a sin against our eternal lives may give our death instincts sufficient power to cast us into the fires of hell. And unfortunately, from this verdict there is no appeal, for when we sentence ourselves to be dope addicts, alcoholics, moral weaklings, or unprofitable servants, what power can nullify the condemnation? ¶

Wages of Sin

The Apostle Paul said, ". . . the wages of sin is death; . . ." (Rom. ¶

6:23.) Death is the irrevocable consequence of allowing this strange affinity for evil to establish itself in our lives. Sin can make good seem so unattractive that we turn our backs on righteousness and fight against God. ¶

The other day a man who had witnessed the long agonizing cancerous death suffered by his father shot himself when the doctor told him that the symptoms indicated that he might suffer a similar fate. Suicide may solve his problem so far as this life is concerned, but what about eternity? If we so much dread the pitiful, lingering, unhappy death of the body, what would it be like to endure eternal death in one's own soul? ¶

Of those who sin unto death the Lord has said, ". . . it had been better for them never to have been born; "For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer . . . with the devil and his angels in eternity; "Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come — ". . . they . . . shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels — "And [are] the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power." (D&C 76:32-34, 36-37.) And yet the most painful cancerous death that we can bring upon ourselves may be only a symbol of our eternal regret and suffering. ¶

"To be spiritually minded is life and peace"

But on the other side of our possibility, what a thrilling opportunity we have to develop our life instincts. ¶

We live in the greatest age, under the most favorable conditions ever known in the world. The pathway to exaltation has been perfectly marked and brilliantly lighted, and no one needs to get off the straight and narrow way except by his own choice. In the revelation the Lord said, "And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones; "And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; "And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint. ¶

"And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them." (Ibid., 89:18-21.) The body is the temple of the spirit, and both mutually react upon each other. John Locke said, "A sound mind in a sound body is a short but full description of a happy state in this world." When the mind and the body are operating properly and the tissues are crying for exercise, then there is joy and zest in living. To maintain its health and strength the body must work. Likewise, a healthy spirit must be constantly and vigorously employed in doing good. Lethargy is a part of the death instinct, whereas righteous zeal builds up the life instinct. Probably the greatest idea in the universe is God's promise that we ". . . might have life, and . . . have it more abundantly." (John 10:10.) And our lives fail to the extent to which our life instincts lose their ascendency by tolerating those little evils causing our addiction to sin. ¶

The story has been told of an explorer walking through an arctic winter. Because he was tired and cold, he decided to sit down and rest. After a few minutes he began to feel better. ¶

The weariness and unpleasantness began to disappear. Because he was a little drowsy, he decided that a fifteenminute nap would give him the help he needed. Then suddenly it occurred to him that he was freezing to death. ¶

In desperation he jumped to his feet and ran with all his might. He was running for his life, and soon the blood was churning through his veins, producing the natural heat that saved him from death. ¶

Through our world of opposites, we are also running for our lives, and Jesus has indicated what the amount of our effort should be when he said, "O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day." (D&C 4:2.) May God help us to keep all of his commandments, that in its best meaning we may have life and have it more abundantly. This I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶