A Rational Theology, as Taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The Great Plan provided that man should come upon earth with the memory of his past taken from him, so that, beginning his earth-life as a child, he might repeat on earth the ef...

**All Knowledge, the Basis.** The Gospel, as the largest knowledge, must include the knowledge of all sciences. The conceptions of time and space are quite as necessary in theol...

The plan proposed by God for the government of the spirits who entered upon their earth careers is revealed only so far as it is necessary for the guidance of man. We may remain...

**The Foundation of Authority.** The power or right to command or to act, is authority. In the beginning, man, conscious and in possession of will, reached out for truth, and ga...

To carry on the diversified work of the Church requires a close organization. An organization, in turn, requires officers. All the officers of the Church hold the Priesthood, bu...

**In the Beginning.** In each intelligent being has resided, from the beginning, an individual and distinct will, which, of itself, has been acting in some degree upon the exter...

In the high heavens yet hang the stars. Throughout the infinite universe still play the hosts of mighty forces. The full conquest of the earth by man is yet to be accomplished....

**The Pre-existent Effort.** Men of common origin, and of common destiny, labor on earth under a mutually accepted Plan. Yet, it is not conceivable, that all the spirits who rea...

**Why God is God.** To determine this relationship between God and man it is necessary to discuss, first, the conditions under which God became God. As already said, God is the...

Members of the Church must necessarily accept the conceptions for which it stands. These are, essentially, the plan of salvation, the progressive development of all spirits conc...

Man is not left to himself on the face of the earth. Though his memory has been taken away, he will not be allowed to drift unwatched and unassisted through the journey on earth...

**Priesthood Defined.** The Church is composed of eternal, intelligent beings, moving onward in eternal progression, who have accepted God's plan of salvation. It is God's Churc...

**Making of the Earth.** The first step, in carrying out the Great Plan, was to secure a place on which the desired experience might be gained. To accomplish this, the earth was...

Knowledge is the material upon which the reasoning mind of man acts. Just as physical strength can neither be developed nor exercised unless material bodies are at hand, so ment...

**Reading God's Message.** In possession of the holy spirit is a record of the will of God with respect to all things and all occurrences, great or small, in the universe from t...

The doctrine of the brotherhood of man and the principles of united order and co-operation show the necessity of giving ourselves for the common good. This intense desire of the...

The conception of a universe directed by a God of intelligence can not include a God of mystery. In mystery there is only confusion. It does not follow that because he is not my...

The Church of God 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 spea...

The innumerable interactions of the matter, energy and intelligences of the universe, must be held together by some great law. This universal law to which all lesser laws contri...

We are not the last spirits to enter upon the earth career. There are yet countless numbers of unborn spirits waiting for the privilege of receiving earthly bodies and of tastin...

**The Intelligence of Nature.** Each and all of the numerous forces in the universe may be subjected to the will of man. In the universe are untold numbers of intelligent beings...

Is the increasing power of man a sufficient reward for the effort and struggle that must accompany progression? This is a question that comes to every student of the Gospel. Pow...

Those who believe in the Great Plan form the community known as the Church. Many men, who have given the subject only superficial study, find it difficult to understand why a ch...

The true relation among men, the doctrine of the brotherhood of man, is nowhere better exemplified than in the principle of the united order. This system of living represents, n...

All must work--in defense if for no other reason. Without some kind of labor, body and mind will deteriorate. Clearly, however, all cannot do the same work, unless each man does...

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...

**Descending Beings.** In a universe containing eternal, intelligent, personalities possessing free agency, there may be beings who are in opposition to the general law of progr...

Time is unceasing. There was a yesterday, there is a today, and there will be a tomorrow. The Gospel plan encompasses all time. Tomorrow has a great place in the eternal plan.

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 Ch...

Earth, stars and the vastness of space; yesterday, today and tomorrow, and the endlessly increasing knowledge of the relations of forces, present an illimitable universe of numb...

Consideration has been given, in the preceding chapters, to the pre-existent life, the course of the Gospel on the earth, and man's relationship to God, to the Church and to his...

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 associate. In the Great Plan it is so o...

After all, the body is only the tabernacle of the spirit. The spirit within, the essential part of man, must be developed as much as possible during the earth career.

**Community Defined.** A community is a body of people having common interests and, usually, living in the same place, under the same laws and regulations. From the beginning of...

The doctrines set forth indicate that each man must exert himself to the utmost. Even this is not sufficient for the full progress of individuals. Every man must also be support...

**The Primeval Condition.** All that is really clear to the understanding is that man has existed "from the beginning," and that, from the beginning, he has possessed distinct i...

**Bible,** Genesis 15:6; Exodus 4:5; Numbers 20:12; Psalms 119:66; Prov. 16:20; John 5:24; 20:29; Acts 8:37; 10:43; II Cor. 5:7.

**Doctrine and Covenants,** 9:3-6; 10:66; 18:11-13; 19:16-19; 29:35-42, 46; 58:28; 74:7; 76:25, 26, 39-41, 69; 93:29-39; 98:8; 101:78; 104:17; 121:32.

**Doctrine and Covenants** 3:2; 9:7-9; 28:13; 29:31-35; 49:17; 76:13, 22-24; 82:4; 86:9; 88:13, 25, 26, 34-45; 93:21-23, 29; 105:5; 121:30-32; 130:20, 21; 131:7; 132:8.

**Bible,** Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-18; Psalms 110:4; John 15:16; Acts 14:23; Heb. 2:17; 3:1; 4:14; 5:1; 7:3, 15-28; I Peter 2:5; Titus 1:5; II Tim. 1:6.

**Doctrine and Covenants** 42:30-39, 53-55, 71-73; 51:1-20; 44:6; 52:40; 78:1-2; 82:1-24; 83:1-6; 85:1-5, 9-12; 92:1-2; 104:1-86; 105:34; 119:1-7.

**Doctrine and Covenants** 18:18; 19:24; 27:11; 29:34; 39:6; 50:43; 76:56-58; 78:15-18; 84:37, 38; 93:1-17; 107:53-56; 121:28-32; 132:19, 20, 23, 37.

**Doctrine and Covenants** 3:4; 6:9; 19:33; 20:20; 29:34; 56:1; 58:21; 63:55; 64:34; 82:10; 88:22-39; 98:4-7; 101:43-62; 103:31-34; 105:5; 124:49; 130:19, 20, 21; 134, whole sec...

**Doctrine and Covenants** 18:42; 20:70, 71; section 25; 29:46, 47; 49:15-17; 55:4; 68:25-27; 74:5, 6; 83:4, 5; 84:27, 28; 93:40-42; 131:2; section 132.

**Doctrine and Covenants** 10:67; 11:24-26; 20:1; 21:1-3; 22:3; 26:2; 29:42, 43; 41:2, 3; 42:8; 43:8; 45:14; 50:44; 58:23; 76:54; 115:4.

The General Authorities--The Stakes of Zion--The Wards of the Stakes--The Priesthood in Stakes and Wards--Auxiliary Organizations--All Must Work--The Tenure of Office--An Unpaid...