Lecture Seventh

2. faith was the principle of action and of power in all intelligent beings, both in heaven and on earth,...for it would embrace all things in heaven and on earth, and encompass all the creations of God, with all their endless varieties;...neither has there been an intelligent being on any of God's creations who did not get there by reason of faith as it existed in himself or in some other being; nor has there been a change or a revolution in any of the creations of God, but it has been effected by faith; neither will there be a change or a revolution, unless it is effected in the same way, in any of the vast creations of the Almighty, for it is by faith that the Deity works.

3. when a man works by faith he works by mental exertion instead of physical force. It is by words, instead of exerting his physical powers, with which every being works when he works by faith. And the Savior says, "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, say to this mountain, 'Remove,' and it will remove; or say to that sycamine tree, 'Be ye plucked up, and planted in the midst of the sea,' and it shall obey you." Faith, then, works by words; and with these its mightiest works have been, and will be, performed.

4. every reflecting mind must know that it is by reason of this power that all the hosts of heaven perform their works of wonder, majesty, and glory. Angels move from place to place by virtue of this power; it is by reason of it that they are enabled to descend from heaven to earth; and were it not for the power of faith they never could be ministering spirits to them who should be heirs of salvation,

6. As faith, then, is the principle by which the heavenly hosts perform their works, and by which they enjoy all their felicity, we might expect to find it set forth in a revelation from God as the principle upon which His creatures here below must act in order to obtain the felicities enjoyed by the saints in the eternal world;...all the blessings of eternity are the effects of faith.

7. Why is it impossible to please God without faith? Because without faith it is impossible for men to be saved; and as God desires the salvation of men, He must, of course, desire that they should have faith;

8. When men begin to live by faith they begin to draw near to God; and when faith is perfected they are like Him; and because He is saved they are saved also; for they will be in the same situation He is in, because they have come to Him; and when He appears they shall be like Him, for they will see Him as He is.

9. As all the visible creation is an effect of faith, so is salvation also. what situation must a person be in, in order to be saved? they must be persons who can work by faith and who are able, by faith, to be ministering spirits to them who shall be heirs of salvation; and they must have faith to enable them to act in the presence of the Lord, otherwise they cannot be saved...for if we can find a saved being, we may ascertain without much difficulty what all others must be in order to be saved...two beings who are unlike each other cannot both be saved; for whatever constitutes the salvation of one will constitute the salvation of every creature which will be saved; and if we find one saved being in all existence, we may see what all others must be, or else not be saved...how it is that He is saved? the answer would be -- because He is a just and holy being;...His salvation depends on His being precisely what He is and nothing else;...salvation consists in the glory, authority, majesty, power and dominion which Jehovah possesses and in nothing else;...no being can possess it but Himself or one like Him…"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in Him, purifieth himself, even as He is pure." Why purify themselves as He is pure? Because if they do not they cannot be like Him.

10. "But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, 'Be ye holy; for I am holy.'"..."Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.'"...no being can enjoy His glory without possessing His perfections and holiness, no more than they could reign in His kingdom without His power.

12. All these sayings put together give as clear an account of the state of the glorified saints as language could give -- the works that Jesus had done they were to do, and greater works than those which He had done among them should they do, and that because He went to the Father. he does not say that they should do these works in time; but they should do greater works, because He went to the Father.

13. He declares to His Father, in language, not to be easily mistaken, that He wanted His disciples, even all of them, to be as Himself and the Father, for as He and the Father are one so they might be one with them….unless they have the glory which the Father had given him, they cannot be one with Them.

14. the Saviour wished His disciples to understand that they were to be partakers with Him in all things, not even His glory excepted.

15. the glory which the Father and the Son have is because they are just and holy beings;...if they were lacking in one attribute or perfection which they have, the glory which they have never could be enjoyed by them, for it requires them to be precisely what they are in order to enjoy it;...if the Saviour gives this glory to any others, he must do it in the very way set forth in His prayer to His Father -- by making them one with Him as He and the Father are one. In so doing He would give them the glory which the Father has given Him;...when His disciples are made one with the Father and Son, as the Father and Son are one, who cannot see the propriety of the Saviour's saying -- "The works which I do, shall they do; and greater works than these shall they do, because I go to my Father."

16. He proposed to make them like unto Himself, and he was like the Father, the great prototype of all saved beings;...for any portion of the human family to be assimilated into their likeness is to be saved; and to be unlike them is to be destroyed; and on this hinge turns the door of salvation.

17. salvation is the effect of faith?...all the heavenly beings work by this principle; and it is because they are able so to do that they are saved,...These with a multitude of other scriptures which might be quoted plainly set forth the light in which the Saviour,...viewed the plan of salvation. That it was a system of faith -- it begins with faith, and continues by faith; and every blessing which is obtained in relation to it is the effect of faith, whether it pertains to this life or that which is to come. To this all the revelations of God bear witness...through the whole history of the scheme of life and salvation, it is a matter of faith: every man received according to his faith -- according as his faith was, so were his blessings and privileges; and nothing was withheld from him when his faith was sufficient to receive it. he could stop the mouths of lions, quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the sword, wax valiant in fight, and put to flight the armies of the aliens; women could, by their faith, receive their dead children to life again; in a word, there was nothing impossible with them who had faith. All things were in subjection to the Former-day Saints, according as their faith was. By their faith they could obtain heavenly visions, the ministering of angels, have knowledge of the spirits of just men made perfect, of the general assembly and church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven, of God the judge of all, of Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and become familiar with the third heavens, see and hear things which were not only unutterable, but were unlawful to utter.

18. These sayings put together show the apostle's views most clearly, so as to admit of no mistake on the mind of any individual...all things that pertain to life and godliness were given unto them through the knowledge of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ...if the question is asked, how were they to obtain the knowledge of God?...there is a great difference between believing in God and knowing him -- knowledge implies more than faith...through faith they were to obtain this knowledge; and, having power by faith to obtain the knowledge of God, they could with it obtain all other things which pertain to life and godliness.

19. By these sayings of the apostle, we learn that it was by obtaining a knowledge of God that men got the knowledge of all things which pertain to life and godliness, and this knowledge was the effect of faith; so that all things which pertain to life and godliness are the effects of faith.

20. all things that pertain to life and godliness are the effects of faith and nothing else; all learning, wisdom and prudence fail, and everything else as a means of salvation but faith. This is the reason that the fishermen of Galilee could teach the world -- because they sought by faith, and by faith obtained...this is the reason that Paul counted all things but filth and dross -- what he formerly called his gain he called his loss; yea, and he counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord...Because to obtain the faith by which he could enjoy the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord, he had to suffer the loss of all things. This is the reason that the Former-day Saints knew more, and understood more, of heaven and of heavenly things than all others beside, because this information is the effect of faith -- to be obtained by no other means...this is the reason that men, as soon as they lose their faith, run into strifes, contentions, darkness, and difficulties; for the knowledge which tends to life disappears with faith, but returns when faith returns;...when faith comes it brings its train of attendants with it -- apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, gifts, wisdom, knowledge, miracles, healings, tongues, interpretation of tongues, etc. All these appear when faith appears on the earth, and disappear when it disappears from the earth; for these are the effects of faith, and always have attended, and always will, attend it. For where faith is, there will the knowledge of God be also, with all things which pertain thereto -- revelations, visions, and dreams, as well as every necessary thing, in order that the possessors of faith may be perfected, and obtain salvation;...he who possesses it will, through it, obtain all necessary knowledge and wisdom, until he shall know God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, whom He has sent -- whom to know is eternal life. Amen.

Lecture Sixth

2. An actual knowledge to any person, that the course of life which he pursues is according to the will of God, is essentially necessary to enable him to have that confidence in God without which no person can obtain eternal life...to endure all their afflictions and persecutions, and to take joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing (not believing merely) that they had a more enduring substance.

3. they were enabled to take, not only the spoiling of their goods, and the wasting of their substance, joyfully, but also to suffer death in its most horrid forms; knowing (not merely believing) that when this earthly house of their tabernacle was dissolved, they had a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

4. unless they have an actual knowledge that the course they are pursuing is according to the will of God they will grow weary in their minds, and faint;...nothing short of an actual knowledge of their being the favorites of heaven, and of their having embraced the order of things which God has established for the redemption of man, will enable them to exercise that confidence in Him necessary for them to overcome the world,

5. For a man to lay down his all, his character and reputation, his honor, and applause, his good name among men, his houses, his lands, his brothers and sisters, his wife and children, and even his own life also -- counting all things but filth and dross for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ -- requires more than mere belief or supposition that he is doing the will of God; but actual knowledge, realizing that, when those sufferings are ended, he will enter into eternal rest, and be a partaker of the glory of God.

7. Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation;...the faith necessary unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the sacrifice of all earthly things. When a man has offered in sacrifice all that he has for the truth's sake, not even withholding his life, and believing before God that he has been called to make this sacrifice because he seeks to do his will, he does know, most assuredly, that God does and will accept his sacrifice and offering, and that he has not, nor will not seek his face in vain. Under these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay hold on eternal life.

8. It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are heirs with those, or can be heirs with them, who have offered their all in sacrifice, and by this means obtain faith in God and favor with him so as to obtain eternal life, unless they, in like manner, offer unto him the same sacrifice, and through that offering obtain the knowledge that they are accepted of him.

9. from the days of righteous Abel to the present time, the knowledge that men have that they are accepted in the sight of God is obtained by offering sacrifice. And in the last days, before the Lord comes, He is to gather together His saints who have made a covenant with him by sacrifice.

10. But those who do not make the sacrifice cannot enjoy this faith, because men are dependent upon this sacrifice in order to obtain this faith: therefore, they cannot lay hold upon eternal life, because the revelations of God do not guarantee unto them the authority so to do, and without this guarantee faith could not exist.

11. All the saints of whom we have account, in all the revelations of God which are extant, obtained the knowledge which they had of their acceptance in His sight through the sacrifice which they offered unto Him; and through the knowledge thus obtained their faith became sufficiently strong to lay hold upon the promise of eternal life, and to endure as seeing Him who is invisible; and were enabled, through faith, to combat the powers of darkness, contend against the wiles of the adversary, overcome the world, and obtain the end of their faith, even the salvation of their souls.

12. For doubt and faith do not exist in the same person at the same time; so that persons whose minds are under doubts and fears cannot have unshaken confidence; and where unshaken confidence is not there faith is weak; and where faith is weak their persons will not be able to contend against all the opposition, tribulations, and afflictions which they will have to encounter in order to be heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ Jesus; and they will grow weary in their minds, and the adversary will have power over them and destroy them.