Gospel Doctrine: Selections from the Sermons and Writings of Joseph F. Smith

GOD IS AT THE HELM. We are living in a momentous age. The Lord is hastening his work. He is at the helm; there is no mortal man at the helm of this work. It is true, the Lord us...

ETERNAL LIFE AND SALVATION. Every man born into the world will die. It matters not who he is, nor where he is, whether his birth be among the rich and the noble, or among the lo...

NECESSITY OF MARRIAGE. The house of the Lord is a house of order and not a house of confusion; and that means that the man is not without the woman in the Lord, neither is the w...

A TESTIMONY. I declare unto you in all candor, and in all earnestness of soul, that I believe with all my heart in the divine mission of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, that I am con...

THE CHURCH IN ADVANCE OF ITS MEMBERS. "The modern 'Mormon' is far in advance of 'Mormonism'." The very reverse of this statement is the truth. "Mormonism" is far in advance of t...

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. I believe with all my soul in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in the law of God, and I do not think any honest and intelligent man or woman could help but...

THE REALITY OF JOSEPH'S VISION. Our critics say it was an apparition that the Prophet Joseph saw, but he did not say so. He said the personages who appeared to him were real men...

THE KINGDOM OF GOD DEFINED. What I mean by the kingdom of God is the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, over which the son of God presides, and not...

ETERNAL NATURE OF THE PLAN OF SALVATION. I feel this morning as I have felt all my life, but I feel it stronger this morning, perhaps, than ever before, that there is nothing un...

THE OBJECT OF MAN'S EXISTENCE. The object of our being here is to do the will of the Father as it is done in heaven, to work righteousness in the earth, to subdue wickedness and...

GOD HAS DIRECTED HIS LATTER-DAY WORK. It has not been by the wisdom of man that this people have been directed in their course until the present; it has been by the wisdom of hi...

DEFINITIONS OF AUXILIARY ORGANIZATIONS. I have in mind our auxiliary organizations; what are they? Helps to the standard organizations of the Church. They are not independent. I...

HOW MISSIONARIES ARE CALLED. No person but the President of the Church has the authority to call missionaries to preach the gospel; others may suggest or recommend, but they do...

YOUTH SHOULD LOOK FORWARD. Our youth should not be left to spend their time almost entirely in the mad whirl of pleasure and amusement, without a thought of advancing years with...

WHY THE LAW OF TITHING WAS INSTITUTED. The Lord revealed to his people in the incipiency of his work a law which was more perfect than the law of tithing. It comprehended larger...

WE ARE EVER LEARNING. We are not "ever learning and never coming to a knowledge of the truth." On the contrary, we are ever learning and are ever drawing nearer to a proper comp...

VALUE OF THE SPIRIT OF REVELATION. The man who possesses the spirit of revelation can realize whether he is a sinner, whether he is prone to evil, whether he is magnifying his s...

HOW THE SINNER MAY BE CLEANSED. You cannot take a murderer, a suicide, an adulterer, a liar, or one who was or is thoroughly abominable in his life here, and simply by the perfo...

THE DEVIL'S KNOWLEDGE. The devil knows the Father much better than we. Lucifer, the son of the morning, knows Jesus Christ, the Son of God, much better than we; but in him it is...

OUR HOPE FOUNDED ON TRUTH. Our hope of salvation must be founded upon the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, for we cannot build upon error and ascend into the c...

THE GIFT OF TONGUES. The devil himself can appear like an angel of light. False prophets and false teachers have arisen in the world. There is perhaps no gift of the Spirit of G...

MAN SHOULD BE MASTER OF HIS APPETITES. How humiliating it must be to a thoughtful man to feel that he is a slave to his appetites, or to an over-weening and pernicious habit, de...

OBEDIENCE AN ETERNAL PRINCIPLE. We have entered into the bond of that new and everlasting covenant agreeing that we would obey the commandments of God in all things whatsoever h...

PRAY EVERY DAY. Observe that great commandment given of the Master, always to remember the Lord, to pray in the morning, and in the evening, and always remember to thank him for...

WE ARE NOT DISCOURAGED. We are not disheartened, we are not discouraged, we are not faint-hearted. We believe in the Lord and we know that he is mighty to save, that he has guid...

THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS A FREE PEOPLE. We will now present before the conference the names of the general authorities of the Church, with the earnest desire that all the members o...

God is at the Helm--Distinction Between Keys of the Priesthood and Priesthood--Conferring the Priesthood--An Authoritative Declaration--The Church Not Man-made--What is the Prie...

Necessity of Marriage--Marriage, God-Ordained and Sanctioned--Righteousness and Necessity of Marriage--Male and Female Enter Heaven--Marriage to Replenish the Earth--Eternal Mar...

The Church in Advance of Its Members--The Gospel the Most Important Thing--Personal Advancement is Help to the Church--Covenants of the Latter-day Saints--A Privilege to be Asso...

The Object of Man's Existence--We Deal with the Lord--Necessity for All to Accomplish their Missions--God Honors Those Who Honor Him--Qualifications of Latter-day Saints--Perfec...

The Ten Commandments--The Laws of God and the Laws of the Land--No Nationalities in the Church--The Latter-day Saints Loyal to the United States--Loyalty to the Constitution of...

God has Directed His Latter-day Work--A Personal Knowledge of God--God Speaks to the Honest in Heart--God Constantly Mindful of us--God's Will to Exalt Man--God's Right to Rule...

The Kingdom of God Defined--"Mormonism" Defined--The Mission of the Church--The Plan of Life Restored--Our Mission is to Save--The Gospel Message--We are as Leaven--Man Insignif...

Definition of Auxiliary Organizations--Place of Auxiliary Organizations in the Church--Relation Between Authorities of Ward and Auxiliary Organizations--Purpose and Duties of Re...

Why the Law of Tithing was Instituted--Essential Nature of the Law of Tithing--The Law of Tithing a Test--The Law of Tithing, the Law of Revenue--Tithing--The Widow and Her Tith...

Eternal Life and Salvation--Close Relation of the Next Life--Condition in a Future Life--Spiritual Death--The Unpardonable Sin--The Resurrection--Nature of Ministering Angels--R...

Man Should Be Master of His Appetites--Moderation--Temperance--How to Teach Temperance--Use of Tobacco and Strong Drinks--Do Not Smoke--The Saloon--Defeat the Liquor Interests--...

We Are Ever Learning--Address on Ignorance--The Value of Practical Education--Practical Education Advocated--Boys Should Be Taught the Arts of Industry--Manual Training and Agri...

Our Hope Founded on Truth--The Gospel Founded in Truth--Truth, the Foundation--Man Saved by Truth--Gospel Truth Cannot be Superseded--Man's Greatest Achievement--Truth and Right...

How Missionaries Are Called--Requirements of Prospective Missionaries--The Kind of Men Wanted for Missionaries--Necessary Qualifications of Missionaries--Further Qualifications...

The Reality of Joseph's Vision--Joseph Smith's Name Will Never Perish--The Prophet Joseph Smith--Prediction of Joseph Smith Fulfilled--Joseph Smith the Boy--Joseph Smith a Resto...

The Devil's Knowledge--The Enemy of Truth Always Arrayed Against This Work--Why the Truth is Hated--Only Those Who Deny the Faith Contend--Beware of False Teachers--Where to Exp...

Value of the Spirit of Revelation--The Spirit of Inspiration--The Spirit of Revelation Enjoyed by All--New Revelation--When to Expect New Revelation--How the Lord Reveals His Pu...

Youth Should Look Forward--Proper Amusements--Proper Character of Amusements--Social Duties--The Danger of Pleasure Hunting--Harmful Effects of Bad Books--Proper Reading--Raffli...

We Are Not Discouraged--I Forgive All Men--We Leave Our Enemies in God's Hands--Leave Results in God's Hands--Our Debt to Our Enemies--A Prayer for Our Enemies--The Golden Rule-...

Eternal Nature of Plan of Salvation--Gospel Principles are Eternal--Pre-existing States--Spirit Memories--The Immortality of Man--Man Eternally Responsible--Our Indestructible,...

The Gift of Tongues--The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper--Order of Administering to the Sick--The Use of a Testimony--Purpose and Practice of Testimony Bearing--The Temporal and...

How the Sinner May be Cleansed--Fallacy of Death-Bed Repentance--The Change that Comes with Repentance and Baptism--The Necessity of Baptism--When to Baptize Children--Through A...