A Rational Theology, As Taught Part 7

**The Church Authoritative.** The Church of Christ possesses real authority, derived from G.o.d, and in its work represents G.o.d. Such a Church, alone, can appeal to the human understanding. A Church without authority is limp and helpless. Authority is the final test of a true Church. Does it attempt to officiate for G.o.d? Does its Priesthood possess authority? From the beginning, the Church of G.o.d has been given direct, divine authority so that its work might not be questioned. The angel walked with Adam, G.o.d spoke to Abraham, Jesus in person came on earth, the Father and the Son came to Joseph Smith,--in all ages, when the Church has been fully established, the Priesthood has been conferred by authoritative beings. The authority of the Church is real and genuine and possesses power. By its power it shall be known.

CHAPTER 21.

OBEDIENCE.

In the consideration of Priesthood and its authority, much useless discussion is often indulged in as to whether a person should yield obedience to authority. Some believe that to yield obedience is to lay down free agency.

**The Restraint of Nature.** Countless forces, surrounding man, are interacting in the universe. By no means can he withdraw himself from them. By experience he has learned that control of natural forces is obtained only when their laws are understood. When a certain thing is done in a certain manner, there is a definite, invariable result. No doubt it has often occurred to an intelligent being that he might wish it otherwise; but that is impossible. The only remedy is to comply with existing conditions, acknowledge the restraint of nature, and gaining further knowledge, put law against law, until the purpose of man has been accomplished. This is the process by which intelligent beings have acquired dominion over nature. Such an acknowledgement of the existence of the law of cause and effect does not weaken man; strength lies in an intelligent subjection to rightful restraint, for it has been the condition of progress from the beginning. The recognition of law and the obedience to law are sure signs that intelligent beings are progressing.

**An Active Condition.** Obedience is an active condition or it could not be a principle of consequence. It is closely akin to repentance.

Obedience simply means that whenever a truth is revealed, it is obeyed, which by our previous definition is a phase of repentance. The man who is active in carrying out what he knows is truth, is an obedient man. His active obedience to authority is based on intelligence; and the more knowledge a man has concerning the nature of the law in question, the more thoroughly obedient is he. Obedience is not a characteristic of ignorance.

**The Restraint of Man.** Obedience to the invariable laws of nature is, usually, considered to be a self-evident necessity. The question of obedience is commonly raised when man exercises authority. Shall a man obey a man? The first consideration in the answer to this question is whether the system which the man in authority represents is based on truth. If so, then intelligent man will be bound to render obedience to the system, even if it is exercised through imperfect man. The second consideration is whether the man is acting within his authority in the organization. This can always be determined, simply, by laying the matter before the bodies const.i.tuted to settle such matters. With the exception of the First Presidency, every officer in the Church has a limited jurisdiction. The third consideration is whether the matter to which authority has been applied is at all under the discipline of the organization. No officer in the Church has authority beyond matters that pertain to the Church. Any authority exercised beyond that field is accepted only at the discretion of the individual members of the Church, and should come only in the form of counsel. If yes is the answer to these three considerations, obedience must be rendered by a progressing man. If no is the answer, obedience should not be yielded, but the matter should be tried before the proper courts.

The restraint of man in the exercise of authority derived from eternal laws, is as compelling as the restraint of nature, because they are parts of the same whole.

**The Life of Law.** Obedience is nothing more than a compliance with truth. Truth is of no consequence to a man if it is not used. The moment truth is used, obedience begins. Man, and the Church to which he belongs, are active organisms, interested in progress. When truth is given them, promises to use that truth should be required, else all is in vain. Lives conforming to law, alone, are moving onward. For that reason, for every gift to man a promise is required, and usually a statement of the punishment that will follow the non-use or misuse of it. Obedience to truth means progress; refusal to use truth means retrogression.

**Disobedience.** Disobedience may be active or pa.s.sive. Pa.s.sive disobedience is not doing what should be done; active disobedience is doing what should not be done. Both may be equally harmful. The main effect of disobedience is to weaken, and finally wreck the man who disobeys law. Disobedience and sin are synonymous.

**The Church Worth Having.** The only Church worth having is one having authority, resting on intelligence and truth. Such a Church will command obedience. In such a Church, little misunderstandings are easily rectified. Within the laws of the Church, man has absolute, personal freedom. It is so with nature, outside of the Church. Within the laws of nature, man has full freedom. The greatest freedom known to man comes from obedience to law. The greatest punishment conceivable to man comes from opposition to law. This is true with respect to the Church as a community of the saints, and with respect to individual man in the great universe.

CHAPTER 22.

A MISSIONARY CHURCH.

There must be, in every organization, and especially in a Church dedicated to the great philosophy of man's place in the universe, a great cementing purpose. In the Church of Christ this is the desire to bring about the highest joy for all mankind.

**A Church with a Purpose.** According to the fundamental doctrines elaborated in previous chapters, the purpose of the earth-career is to a.s.sist in man's development, so that he may acquire more power and therefore more joy. In the nature of things, as already explained, it is impossible for an intelligent being to rise to the highest degree of joy unless other like beings move along with him. The Great Plan will be successful only if all or at least a majority of those who accepted it are saved. The Church, a feature of the Great Plan, must have the same main purpose. All must be saved! In fact, the work of the Church cannot be completed until all have at least heard the truth. There can be no talk of a few saved souls at the throne of G.o.d, with the many in h.e.l.l. The great mission of the Church must be to bring all men into the truth. This is the cementing purpose of the Church.

**The Hope of Today.** However, men are not saved merely by being taught the truth. They must live it in their daily lives. Life, indeed, is an endless succession of days, each of which must be a little larger in development than the preceding one. Each day must be well spent. The Church must help, every day, in all the affairs of the day, from the food man eats to his highest spiritual thought. Each day must be a step onward to the eternal exaltation which he desires. This is the hope of today. To help in this daily work is one of the main parts of the missionary labors of the Church. All the days of all the members must be made happy ones.

**Temporal Salvation.** In a church based on the principles already outlined there can be no separation between the spiritual and the temporal. There is one universe, of many aspects, to which we belong.

There is one Great Plan for us. In the heavens, spiritual things are probably of greatest importance, but on earth, temporal things are of importance. The impossibility of separating things temporal from things spiritual justifies the attempt of the Church to a.s.sist in the temporal affairs of its members. In fact, a large part of the missionary labors of the Church must be to better the temporal conditions of its members. Only when the temporal as well as the spiritual life is looked after, can the Church rise to its full opportunity. Only in sound bodies can the spirit experience the highest joy. Only under sound temporal conditions can the Church move on in full gladness.

**The Foreign Mission System.** In conformity with the cementing missionary spirit of a church, every member of which holds or may hold the Priesthood, it follows that every member of the Church, whether man or woman, may be called to go on a spiritual or temporal mission for the upbuilding of his fellowmen. In harmony with the law of free agency, it is voluntary with the individual, whether he accept or refuse the call. The custom in the Church of today has been that a man go on at least one mission, which varies in length, two or more years.

The missionaries not only a.s.sist the members already gathered into the Church, but they travel all over the world, preach to all the everlasting Gospel, and bring those who accept the truth into the Church. The main purpose of the Church missionary system is to preach the Gospel to all the members of the human race, so that, as far as possible, none may be left with the excuse that he has not heard the Gospel.

**The Home Mission Service.** The whole Church, at home, is devoted to the home mission service. The organizations of the Priesthood and the auxiliary organizations, form a network of active service into which every member of the Church may be brought. The home missionary service concerns itself with the spiritual and the temporal side of man's nature and life. The amus.e.m.e.nts of the young people; the home life of the older people, and the daily duties of all, are made part and parcel of the organized missionary system of the Church.

**For the Common Good.** The genius of the Church of Christ stands for the common good; hence the ceaseless missionary activity which is the great cementing principle of the Church. Not for the one, not even for the many, but for all, does the Church stand.

CHAPTER 23.

TEMPLE ORDINANCES.

The Church of G.o.d has always been characterized by the possession of temples in which the holiest work of the Gospel has been done. The activities of the Church have, so to speak, centered about the temples.

**Educational.** The doctrines of the origin, present condition and destiny of man should always be well in the mind of all, for without this knowledge, it is difficult to comply fully and intelligently with the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. It has been provided, therefore, that the story of man, from the beginning, at the present, and to the last great day, shall be given as frequently as may be desired to the members of the Church. In the temples this information is given, in an organized and correct form, so that it may not depart from among men and women. That is, the temples are conservators of the great truths of the Gospel. To the temples, man goes to be refreshed in his memory as to the doctrines relative to man and his place in nature. The endowments given to members of the Church in the temples are, essentially, courses of instruction relative to man's existence before he came on this earth, the history of the creation of the earth, the story of our first earthly parents, the history of the various dispensations of the Gospel, the meaning of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the story of the restoration of the Gospel, and the means and methods whereby joy on this earth and exaltation in heaven may be obtained. To make this large story clear and impressive to all who partake of it, every educational device, so far known to man, is employed; and it is possible that nowhere, outside of the temple, is a more correct pedagogy employed. Every sense of man is appealed to, in order to make the meaning of the Gospel clear, from beginning to end.

**Symbolism.** Naturally, the very essence of these fundamental truths is not known to man, nor indeed can be. We know things only so far as our senses permit. Whatever is known, is known through symbols.

The letters on the written page are but symbols of mighty thoughts that are easily transferred from mind to mind by these symbols. Man lives under a great system of symbolism. Clearly, the mighty, eternal truths encompa.s.sing all that man is or may be, cannot be expressed literally, nor is there in the temple any attempt to do this. On the contrary, the great and wonderful temple service is one of mighty symbolism. By the use of symbols of speech, of action, of color, of form, the great truths connected with the story of man are made evident to the mind.

**Covenants.** The temple service also gives those who take their endowments, special information relative to their conduct upon earth.

For instance, men and women are taught to keep themselves free from sin. They must be chaste, virtuous, truthful, unselfish, and so on.

Moreover, they are taught that they must devote themselves and all that they have or may have to the great cause of truth, to teaching the everlasting Gospel to their fellowmen, so that the Great Plan may be worked out according to the* mind and will of G.o.d. In return for this, those who take their endowments make covenants with each other and their G.o.d, that they will observe the instructions given, and will carry them out in their daily lives. Thus the work becomes active and vital. It is also explained that the failure to carry out these promises, when once knowledge has been given, will be punished. This is in accordance with the law that provides a penalty for disobedience, as already explained. Only by the use of knowledge will more knowledge be obtained. The whole system of temple wors.h.i.+p is very logical.

**Blessings.** In the course of instruction in the temple, it is emphasized that blessings will follow those who accept the truth, practice it and live G.o.dlike lives. The essence of the endowment service is a blessing. Punishment is not made so prominent, as is the possibility of inviting great blessings by proper obedience to the truths that may be obtained from time to time.

**Temple Authority.** Perhaps the most glorious ordinances of the temple are those that seal husband and wife and children to each other for time and all eternity. According to the Gospel, the marriage relation does not necessarily cease with death. On the contrary, since s.e.x is eternal, the s.e.x relation may continue to the end of time. Such a union or sealing may be performed only by special authority, which is possessed only by the President of the Church. The President may, however, delegate the authority for longer or shorter times, so that certain temple workers may perform such marriages in the temples of G.o.d. Similarly, children who have been born to parents who were not married for time and eternity, may be sealed later to their parents, so that the relations.h.i.+p may be sustained throughout all the ages of eternity.

Moreover, every ordinance belonging to the Church may be performed in the temple. In the temple is a baptismal font, so that the introductory ordinance may be performed; likewise, every other ordinance for the benefit of the Saints may be performed in the holy temple. The work for the dead, as will be explained in chapter 28, is done in the temples, by the living. The vicarious work for the dead, who did not accept the Gospel on earth, forms the bulk of the temple work, since, after the first time, when endowments are taken for himself, a person must do work for the dead when he goes through the temple.

**Possible Repet.i.tion.** The vastness of meaning in the temple wors.h.i.+p makes it difficult at once for man to remember and understand it, and only once are the endowments taken for himself by any one person. To refresh his memory, and to place him in close touch with the spirit of the work, a man may enter the temple as frequently as he desires and take endowments for the dead, and in that way both he and the dead are benefited. The temples, then, are means whereby every member of the Church may receive precious endowments, and may be kept in refreshed memory of the Great Plan, which he, with the rest of the human family, is working out. Temple work is the safety of the living and the hope of the dead. At present, temples are in operation in Salt Lake City, St. George, Logan and Manti, all in Utah, and a temple is nearing completion in Cardston, Alberta, Canada.

MAN AND MAN.

CHAPTER 24.

THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN.

There are many men and women upon the earth. No one faces, alone, the great forces of nature. About him move other men, with whom he must a.s.sociate. In the Great Plan it is so ordained that men shall dwell together, and this leads to many of the finest applications of the Gospel to the daily life of man.

**Common Origin.** By the power of G.o.d, the spirits of men were born into the spiritual world; thus all became the children of G.o.d. In turn, all have been born from the same spiritual estate into the earth estate, from the one earthly ancestor, Adam. All men are therefore of identical origin. Absolute uniformity prevails among the children of men, so far as their origin is concerned.

**Common Purposes.** The spirits are placed on earth for a common purpose. From the beginning, man has risen to his high estate through the acquisition of power over the natural forces surrounding him. "Man is that he may have joy," is the fundamental purpose of man's activity, whether on or out of the earth. In the Great Council all the spirits which have reached or will reach the earth, were present; and all declared themselves in favor of the Plan. In conformity with this agreement, man is on earth. All desire a closer acquaintance with gross matter, as a means of future power and consequent joy; and all desire that the earth-experience may be accompanied with as much joy as is possible. Consequently, all who are or have been, or will be a.s.sembled on earth, have a common purpose. Absolute uniformity prevails among men so far as their fundamental purpose is concerned.

**Common Destiny.** Likewise, the destiny of all the spirits sent to earth, is the same. Man has ever moved towards eternal life. All new information, every addition of knowledge, has moved him onward, toward perfection and a vision of greater happiness. True, since all men have free agencies, individual wills express themselves in different ways, and no two spirits are therefore at precisely the same point on the upward road. Some are far ahead, some lag behind, each and all according to individual effort. However, throughout the vast eternities, all who are conscientiously moving upward, though it be ever so slowly, will in time reach a point which is absolute perfection to our mortal conceptions. Then, all will seem as if precisely alike. Whether or not we reach a given point at the same time, all men have a common destiny. As far as the destiny of man is concerned, all are alike.

**Inter-dependence.** Of even greater importance in daily work is the fact that every intelligent being affects every other intelligent being. Every person affects every other person. Through the operation of the Holy Spirit all things are held together. Good or evil may be transmitted from personality to personality; it is impossible to hide from G.o.d, and it is equally impossible for us to hide ourselves completely from our fellowmen. No individual action may restrain or r.e.t.a.r.d another individual; but all our actions, thoughts and words must be so guarded that all are advanced. This is as true for the earth-life as it may be for the spiritual life.