Part 14
It is erroneously supposed by many that the laws observed by Israel previous to Christ's atonement were almost entirely obliterated, being, as many think, all fulfilled in His mission on earth. A little reflection upon this subject will correct this error in the minds of all who are diligently and honestly seeking for the truth. The Ten Commandments themselves are pre-eminently a part of the Gospel of Christ. When the young man came to the Messiah to learn the way of salvation, he was enjoined to observe the commandments, "Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery," etc. (Matt. xix;16-21.) Whatever was discontinued after the atonement was that which had been established to symbolize and teach the great atonement to come. The offerings of lambs and bullocks in sacrifice was dispensed with, as it had pointed to the coming atonement now fulfilled in the Messiah. It was replaced by the sacrament, the broken bread and the wine, both blessed and administered to the disciples and enjoined as a continuous ordinance to keep bright in memory the sufferings, atonement and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The only time when the law of tithing was not enjoined upon the people of God, so far as the Scriptures indicate, is when they not only consecrated one-tenth to the Lord, but all they had. This law of consecration, we learned, was observed in the city of Enoch. It was carried out in a measure by the ancient Saints in Palestine after the day of Pentecost: "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they all had things in common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus; and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses, sold them, and brought the prices of the things which were sold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto every man as he had need." (Acts iv:32-35.)
This law of consecration, which comprehended the law of tithing and much more, was also observed for some 200 years upon the American continent subsequent to the visit of the Savior to and the establishment of His Church among the Nephites upon this land. The law of consecration was revealed to the Latter-day Saints through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and will be established and carried out fully in the redemption of Zion; without it Zion cannot be redeemed.
This is the dispensation of the fullness of times, the one containing in its revelations all the keys, powers, prerogatives, authorities and blessings, enjoyed by any and all previous dispensations combined-a day of the restoration of all things spoken by the mouth of all His holy Prophets since the world began. (Acts iii:20-21; Eph. i:9-10.) Consequently the law of tithing, with other grand doctrines, has been restored to the earth. The revelation on this subject is found in the Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 119, and was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith July 8, 1838. It shows what constitutes tithing, the purpose thereof and the blessings to be received as a reward of obedience thereto.
The law specifies one-tenth of all our interests annually. This means what it says, "one-tenth of our interests;" in other words, whatever comes to us as the result of our labors in any and every vocation of life. If we lend money, whatever the interest on the loan amounts to, one-tenth of this interest is tithing. If the money is invested in any enterprise and brings a dividend, one-tenth of the dividend is the tithing. If a man is a carpenter, a blacksmith or a school teacher, and earns a salary, one-tenth of that salary should be consecrated to the Lord as tithing; and the tithe-payer has the other nine-tenths to meet his expenses and to use as a means of livelihood. Whatever the occupation, whether farmer, mechanic, professor, miner or whatever, one-tenth of his interest annually is the tithing. If questions arise, as they sometimes do, especially with the farmer regarding legitimate expenses used in producing what is left to us as a profit on our labors, the Latter-day Saint, if in doubt as to the amount to pay, is usually certain of this--that between two propositions one of which he knows is right, and the other may be but he is not sure, he is always safe to act upon that side of the question which extends to the law of the Lord the greater liberality. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver," and "He that deviseth liberal means, shall stand by his liberality," while the man who complies grudgingly or studies how little he can do, and at the same time have the name and record of doing, is not the man who loves the Lord with all his heart, mind and strength, and should not anticipate a full measure of blessing attached to His law.
By an honest compliance, the individual is blessed in spirit and in temporal substance. The testimonies of thousands, and even of the widow who has paid her full tithing, is that God has increased their substance in some instances in a most remarkable manner, even as He increased in the barrel the meal of the poor widow who fed the prophet Elijah. He also has given testimony of His goodness and power and the increase of His Holy Spirit to the honest tithe-payer, who receives blessings greatly exceeding in value the increase of gold, silver or any physical substance.
In tithing is strongly exemplified the eternal law that what is given as God directs increases the substance of the giver. When men exert the intellectual talents with which they are endowed in imparting knowledge to others, their own knowledge does not decrease but is enhanced, while the active intellect grows strongly and the talents are more quickly developed and increased. When our young Elders go forth and preach the Gospel as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, the Spirit they employ does not grow less nor the gifts thereof diminish because they are constantly imparting to others, but these increase abundantly. It is just as easy for the Lord to increase physical substance as to add to spiritual blessings and powers. When we sow the grain upon the earth, it would seem thrown away, but by the law of the Great Creator, the seed germinates in it and produces again, sometimes thirty and forty fold. So it is with tithing. We may not understand fully the process, but the result is plain. God increases the faith and substance of him who freely pays his tithing.
Among the conditions associated with this law is, "those who are not tithed shall not be worthy the blessings of the house of the Lord;" and again, "He that is tithed shall not be burned" (at His coming). (Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 64:23.) It is predicted by Malachi and other prophets, as well as by the words of the Lord in the last days to the prophet Joseph Smith, that the days of God's judgment are coming upon the earth, and that the wicked, proud and rebellious shall become as stubble, "and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts." (Malachi iii. Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. 64.)
In the revelations on tithing the Lord also says, "Verily I say unto you, it shall come to pass that all those who gather into the land of Zion shall be tithed of their surplus properties, and shall observe this law or they shall not be found worthy to abide among you. And I say unto you, if my people observe not this law, to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you, it shall not be a land of Zion unto you. And this shall be an example unto all the Stakes of Zion. Even so, Amen." (Doc. and Cov., Sec. 119.)
The perfection and benefits of the law of tithing could not be comprehended by men of this age of the world prior to the revelations given from the Lord. This divine instruction was necessary, and its demonstration in the lives of the people is a further witness of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith; the facts connected therewith are within easy reach of those who will investigate among the people who have actual experience and knowledge of the divine blessings that attend obedience to the law of tithing and are unimpeachable testimonies of the truth of God's word.
ETERNAL REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS.
There is nothing more strikingly plain and explicit in all the Holy Scriptures than that God is just and His paths are "mercy and truth."
Justice is an essential attribute of Deity; it is as necessary in government as love and mercy; it demands that man shall acquiesce in divine law, without which all were confusion, utterly devoid of order and method, and the learned essayist has informed us that "Heaven's first law is order." Justice should govern law, and when the law is violated or its statutes are broken, justice calls for a penalty therefor. It is by law that penalties are affixed, and we find in Deuteronomy, the 28th chapter, beginning with the 15th verse, "If thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command thee this day, that all these curses shall come upon thee." In Mark xvi:16, we read, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Here we find a penalty affixed for the violation of the laws of God.
We find it verily true that in all God does and in all that He orders, He manifests goodness and love, maintains justice and equity and exercises mercy and long-suffering. Notwithstanding His compassion and mercy, He is nevertheless just and true, therefore a full assurance that He will bestow rewards and inflict punishments, as He has aforetime decreed, must take root in the mind of every considering, inquiring, honest soul. As the apostle said: "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." (Titus i:2. ) Mercy shall ever season justice, but never be permitted to rob her of her inexorable demands Love will never cease to be a ruling attribute in all God's dealings, but not to mitigate or lessen punishment, unless repentance be manifest and forgiveness granted; goodness, kindness, forbearance and gentleness, while they are forever and always exercised in Deity, will not stand to thwart or forestall the judgments of God, or remove deserving penalties, only as provision is made in the plan of redemption.
There are numerous instances recorded upon the pages of Holy Writ which go to prove that God is just, and that His decrees will be fulfilled to the letter. Perhaps none are so convincingly clear as that portrayed in the atonement of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He became pre-eminently the "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." Not for His own sins, for He was the one person free from sin, but He bore affliction and suffering beyond our finite comprehension before a remission of that penalty, which justice demanded for Adam's sin, could be procured. When we consider the agonies of the garden, the scoffings of the council and the torture of the crucifixion, we begin to realize the exaction of punishment ere the sons of Adam could be freed from the original transgression enacted in Eden. Christ, in His vicarious work of interposition for fallen man, humbled Himself before His Father, being subject to pain, scorn, ignominy and death, that justice might be satisfied. Herein, then, is plainly discerned the justice of the Almighty--a justice as strict in its works as it is stern in its words, yet seasoned with mercy and dealt kindly with love; requiring of that Just One a full and complete atonement, unsparingly and unflinchingly, for thus did justice demand. We are assured, then, of the justice of God; the debt must be paid before the burden is lifted, but when the requirements of the law are righteously met and kept, the load is removed, for our Father is not only just, but merciful and true.
In the minds of many there exists a vague and erroneous idea as to what is really meant by the term "eternal rewards" and "eternal punishments." A misunderstanding of these expressions has doubtless caused many to be skeptical and infidelic. The word "eternal" does not refer to the length or duration of the blessings endowed or penalties inflicted, but to the everlasting nature of the Great God, under whose righteousness and justice the faithful are exalted and the wicked punished.
Through Moses, that ancient seer, the Lord spoke thus: "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." (Deut. xxxiii:27.) God, then, being eternal, His rewards are "eternal rewards," His punishments "eternal punishments." If the United States were an eternal government, its justice would be eternal; if it were unchangeable, it always would punish violators of the law, and if justice were meted out to all, they would be punished in proportion to the crime committed, and when the demands of justice were satisfied they would be released, but the punishment would still continue to exist, and being eternal, all who fell under its ban would taste of eternal punishment. The punishment will always endure, although criminals may serve their penalties and come out from the prison house; it is even so in the kingdom of God. God is the highest type of justice. He is eternal, everlasting, unchangeable, and always will punish sin. His punishment is eternal, because He is eternal. Eternal is one of His names, and eternal punishment is used in the sense of God's punishment, and not to designate it as everlasting in its duration upon the offender of the law. He will beat with many stripes all who commit sins worthy of the same, and with few stripes those guilty of less venal crimes. This will be determined according to the light and knowledge one may possess. For example, three men commit murder, an African in the jungles of Africa, a negro who was formerly a slave, and a white man. Other things being equal, the white man, with his advanced intelligence, will suffer most, for he has had the most light and by far the best opportunity to advance.
There are degrees of punishment, as well as degrees of reward. Here is a tender, moral girl, who dies without accepting Christ as her Savior, and here is an old man, eighty years old, who dies in his sins; dare any one assert that a just and holy God is going to punish those two alike? And yet many, very many, look upon hell as a place where all suffer alike, and heaven an ethereal, uncertain abode, where all enjoy like blessings. Our salvation from death depends entirely upon Christ, but our exaltation is upon our acts of obedience, and our condemnation upon our sins and transgressions. How plain and simple are the words of the apostle Paul, "Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor." (I Cor. iii:8.)
God rewards according to our faithfulness to all opportunities. He does not require a quart from a pint vessel. "Where much is given much is required." "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." As with rewards, so likewise with punishments. When justice is satisfied, the sinner has paid the debt.
How beautiful and holy is this plan of eternal justice! How consistent with the words of the Messiah, "Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." Paul informs us that after the resurrection and eternal judgment, we are to go on unto perfection, and not until then, will the measure of our creation be filled.
Let all ponder the simple truth that God is just, holy and righteous, wondrously tender, loving, gentle and kind. Eternal rewards are the blessings we receive from God for our faithfulness and fealty to His laws. Eternal punishments are the inflictions which He imposes for our violation of His righteous commands. Our rewards we merit; our punishments we justly deserve. The Lord has said, "I will never leave thee; I will never forsake thee," therefore, we are assured that "His mercy endureth forever."
OBEDIENCE.
"To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." (I. Samuel xv:22.) In an age of the world when independence is the proud boast of the nations, obedience is, by mistaken ideas of freedom, considered a mark of humiliation. To the reader I will say, in reality, true obedience to the Lord's commands is an indication of moral courage, union and power. It is not blind obedience that is referred to and maintained, but that type which characterized the ancient seers and saints, who, like the Messiah, were ready to say by word and deed, "I came not to do mine own will, but the will of my Father who sent me."
The Latter-day Saints are credited with being obedient and submissive to authority, this fact being often used by their opponents as the occasion of reproach. Those who so use it surely must forget that God requires obedience; that the best embodiment of this principle, the most humble and yielding to the divine will, was the best and purest Being who ever dwelt in mortality, viz., the Lord Jesus Christ; He in whose mouth there was found no guile; who was perfect and without blemish in all the walks of life. While He was obedient to His Father's will and humble to the extreme, He was independent of the influence and persuasions of wicked men.
The status of Latter-day Saints is conformable to this example. They are obedient to conscience, to convictions of right, to divine authority and to God, in whom they trust. While thus submissive, their persecutors have found them equally oblivious to the behests of wicked men, whether high or low. Men in the factories of the old world, working side by side at the weaver's loom, in the coal pit or elsewhere in following the various vocations of life-in this condition the Gospel preached by the elders of Israel has reached them. Alike, many of them have received convictions of the truth. They have said: "This is the truth; I must obey it or stand condemned." Other people have said: "It is true, but if I obey I will be ostracized, perhaps lose my employment and be an outcast from my father's house. Better that I reject the truth and live in peace, than take upon me this cross of obedience to unpopular truth."
The courageous obey the Gospel, suffer persecution, prove themselves men, and will attain to eternal life. The other people referred to are slaves to their own fear of popular clamor and to the unseen powers of darkness which lead men to reject the plan of salvation. Of the first named class are the Latter-day Saints, a host of men and women who have left home, kindred and country for the Gospel's sake. They have endured persecution even unto death, privation and suffering in every form; have redeemed a desert and built up a commonwealth so fruitful with education, thrift and enterprise that any nation beneath the sun might well be proud of them. Their obedience and moral courage they bequeath to their posterity is a legacy better than diamonds or the honors and praise of a fallen world. They look back to their associates in early manhood who, for fear, rejected the truth, and find these, whether living or dead, in most cases unhonored and unknown.
The obedience rendered by Latter-day Saints to the authority of the priesthood is not secured by virtue of any solemn obligation entered into by the adherent to obey the dictum of his superiors in office; but upon the nature of the Gospel, which guarantees to every adherent the companionship of the Holy Spirit, and this Spirit secures to every faithful individual a living testimony concerning the truth or falsity of every proposition presented for his consideration.
"By one spirit have we access unto the Father." (Eph ii.) So that as all men and women who embrace the Gospel are entitled to an individual testimony of the truth, the same spirit guides into all truth reveals the things of the Father and imparts the inspiration essential to preserve mankind from a blind obedience to erroneous principles and false guides.
The statement of the Savior, recorded in St. John vii:17, covers the ground in the broadest light: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself." This secures to every true Saint, if he is faithful, protection against imposture, the abuse of power and the false decisions of man-made councils. In this particular the Church of Christ is distinguished from all other system and institutions. He has promised to guide and direct, and that He "doeth nothing, but He revealeth His secrets unto His servants, the prophets." (Amos iii:7.) This does not imply the infallibility of man, but it does imply the promise that no man or council of men who stand at the head of the church shall have power to lead the Saints astray. With this assurance, then, the people of God in every dispensation have been justified in rendering absolute yet intelligent obedience in the direction of the holy prophets. It is an undeniable fact in the history of the Saints that obedience to whatever has come, either by written document or verbally, from the presidency of the church, has been attended with good results; on the other hand, whosoever has opposed such council, without repentance, has been followed with evidence of condemnation.
Applying this principle of obedience to organizations of a civil and business character, confusion and weakness result from men refusing their support to the decision of the presiding authority or of the majority, where the action is left to popular vote. Carlyle, the great English writer, said: "All great minds are respectfully obedient to all that is over them; only small souls are otherwise."
The obedience rendered to God is based upon a conviction that He is perfect in all His ways possessing the attributes of justice, judgment, knowledge, power, mercy and truth in all their fullness. Obedience to His appointed authority upon the earth is obedience to Him, and is so taught by the Savior. "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth Him that sent me." (Matthew x:40.) He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth Him that sent me. (Luke x:16.) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth Him that sent me." (St. John xiii:20.)