Part 12

[Sidenote: The real neighbor.]

The Samaritan however who was an outcast in the eyes of the Jew, for whom God Himself could hold no love; an apostate and a degenerate from the rich blood of Israel as unclean in {224} the opinion of the orthodox Jew as the loathsome leper--the Samaritan felt the thrill of the spirit of the great commandment "Thou shalt love thy neighour as thyself." He manifested that divine love--and that to one from whom he was an alien--which Jesus enjoined when He said, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."

[Sidenote: The fulness of the answer.]

Jesus could not have answered the lawyer more completely; neither could He have silenced more quickly the man who came to make trial of Him. The story of tender love and sympathy was of such compelling nature that the lawyer himself was forced to admit that the good Samaritan was the real neighbor. And that conclusion forced upon the lawyer the plain answer to his question, "Who is my neighbor" Why, he is my neighbor whom it is within my power to help, no matter what may be his creed, or his nationality, or his color. There was no room here for the splitting of hairs. The lawyer was used to the refined arguments of the learned rabbis as to the meaning of the word neighbor. Here it was plainly set forth in a simple little story. There was no more to say.

[Sidenote: The lesson clinched.]

But as He concluded his story, and received the lawyer's answer, Jesus drove home the lesson. "Go," said He, "and do thou likewise." It was as if He had reverted to the opening question, "Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" If you would inherit eternal life love your neighbor as yourself; consider him your neighbor whom you can help; hold no class distinction; despise no man for his creed or his color; but hold yourself always in {225} readiness to do good, to serve, and to help those who need your help. Remember the Good Samaritan. Do not pass by on the other side, but show your love in deeds of love. Then shall you inherit eternal life.

[Sidenote: The command renewed.]

The Savior's law of love is a principle of divine beauty. And so important is it in the Gospel plan of salvation, that it has been specially renewed in our own dispensation. Said Jesus to Joseph Smith, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve Him.

"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

"Every man (shall seek) the interest of his neighbor and (do) all things with an eye single to the glory of God."

THE REFERENCES

Luke 10:25-37. Doc. and Cov. 59:5, 6.

Lev. 19:18. Doc. and Cov. 82:19.

THE QUESTIONS

1. What more must men do besides withholding judgment and observing the golden rule?

2. Explain the lesson of Abou Ben Adhem.

3. What did the lawyer seek of Jesus?

4. What conclusion was forced, upon the lawyer by the story of the Good Samaritan?

5. How was this story a complete answer?

6. Why did it silence further questioning?

7. What does Jesus's admonition, "Go, and do thou likewise," imply?

8. How do these commandments affect us in the dispensation of the fulness of times?

{226} PICTURE: CHRIST IN THE HOME OF MARY AND MARTHA, Hofmann

{227}

XXX.

NO ONE CAN LIVE TO HIMSELF.

[Sidenote: The fable of the body and its members.]

In the ancient book of wisdom ascribed to Aesop, there may be found the following fable with its moral: "The Members of the Body once rebelled against him. They said he led an idle, lazy life at their expense. The Hands declared that they would not again lift a crust even to keep him from starving, the Mouth that it would not take a bit more food, the Legs that they would carry him about no longer, and so on with the others.

"The Body quietly allowed them to follow their own courses, well knowing that they would all soon come to their senses, as indeed they did, when, for want of the blood and nourishment supplied from the stomach, they found themselves fast becoming mere skin and bone.

"No one can live to himself."

[Sidenote: The time of Aesop.]

Aesop lived in the long ago. Tradition declares that he was born five hundred and fifty years before the time of Jesus. But already in that remote age men had learned to appreciate the value of organizing themselves into communities and churches and governments. Already, men had discovered that to live to oneself was to fight alone a losing fight against all the forces of the world.

[Sidenote: The growth of society.]

From the time that Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden, and their children began to settle two and two in the land to till it and to cultivate it, man has understood the advantages of friendly association. First it was the family. The family has always been, {228} and is still the actual basis of society. The members of the family clung together, and each one worked for the interest of the whole. Then, when the families increased they became associated in clans and tribes. Then, with the increase of population, came the organization of communities, religious association, governments. For protection, for worship, for education, for commerce and trade, for civilization, men have banded themselves together, and have worked for larger units, of which the individuals were but members. Only by such banding together can a community become socially efficient.

[Sidenote: A football squad.]

Now, we may easily understand what this means if we apply the principle to the organization of a football squad. There are eleven men, you know, in the "team." One of them is the captain. When the squad is in action, playing hard against an opposing team, no single man can hope alone to win the game. The strength of the squad depends upon its team work. While each individual must put forth the best that is in him, whether in bucking the line or in playing the open field, that best must be so directed as to add to the sum total of the strength and efficiency of the united eleven. No member of that team may live or play to himself. And the orders of the captain must be obeyed. Some player in the line may think the orders poor--wholly wrong in fact--yet he must obey those orders. If he does not, he will go down to ruin himself, and he may possibly drag his team with him to shame and disaster. For, as is clearly evident, when he neglects to follow the command of the captain, he stands alone; the other ten obey orders. {229} Alone he can accomplish nothing. Nor is that the worst; by disobeying orders, he may spoil the premeditated play and lose the game. The football man is required to learn, therefore, that he is only a member of a body; that he must act with the body; that if he attempts to act in opposition to the body calamity is sure to follow; that success can come only through concerted effort. The football squad is an organization of society for efficiency.

[Sidenote: The teachings of Jesus.]

As it is with the football squad so it is with society in the large. Men and women are organized into communities and associations of various kinds for greater efficiency, and are subject to the laws governing organized society. Now, since Jesus was not primarily a social reformer, nor a social teacher, we should not be surprised if He had little to say about man's duties to organized society. Yet since He touches in His teachings nearly all phases of temporal and spiritual life, we might expect that somewhere He has something to say about the larger aspects of society. And we do really find it so. The three chief social institutions in the world are the family, the state, and the church. About man's duties to each one of these Jesus has something significant to say. Let us consider briefly the most important sayings of Jesus concerning these three fundamental institutions.

[Sidenote: The family.]

In the teaching of Jesus, marriage is presented as a divinely appointed sacrament, and the family as a sacred institution One day the Pharisees came to Jesus to test Him, and asked, "Is it lawful for man to put away his wife? And {230} He answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

"And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh; so then they are no more twain but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together let no man put asunder."

[Sidenote: The family sacred.]

Thus emphatically did Jesus teach that the marriage relation was ordained of God. And in doing so He declared also that the family is a sacred institution and its claims should never be put aside. The crying shame of the world today is the common practice of divorce. Boys and girls who become acquainted with the teachings of Jesus, should grow up with a horror of the divorce court. They should learn to look upon marriage as one of the highest privileges accorded to them by the heavenly Father. And boys and girls in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints should rejoice in the thought, that, when the proper time comes, they may go into the House of the Lord and have there performed the divine sacrament of marriage for time and for all eternity. For the Lord has said in this generation, "Whoso forbiddeth to marry is not ordained of God, for marriage is ordained of God unto man."

[Sidenote: The state.]

Jesus was equally emphatic in His teachings of man's duty to the state--to organized civil government. Certain of the Pharisees {231} and of the Herodians were sent one day to try to catch Jesus in his words. "And when they were come they say unto Him, Master, we know that Thou art true, and carest for no man: for Thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them. Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. And they brought it. And He saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto Him, Caesar's. And Jesus answering said unto them. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they marvelled at Him."

[Sidenote: The state divinely instituted.]

They had good cause, indeed, to marvel at Him; for, not only had He quieted them with a sufficient answer, but He had also declared a fundamental principle of the state. A government cannot exist without revenue to maintain its organization and to enforce the laws enacted for the protection and the welfare of its citizens. Caesar was doing much for Palestine. It was not only right, therefore, but just that the Jews should pay taxes to Rome. And so it is in our own day. "We believe," asserted Joseph Smith, "that governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man." It becomes therefore the duty of every honest citizen to do his utmost to uphold the righteous laws of the government, and to help in the maintaining of peace and order. And it is not only right, but just, that we should pay the taxes imposed by the government. We all enjoy the benefits derived from civil organization--protection, liberty, {232} illumination, trade, good roads, and all. The man who tries, then, to evade the taxes and the responsibilities of the government is dishonest.

[Sidenote: The Church.]

But in declaring that it is right to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, Jesus also taught that man owes likewise certain duties to his The Church, religious organization. Render, said He, "to God the things that are God's." In line with this thought we are instructed by another experience of the Lord's. When Jesus and His disciples came one day in their journeyings to Capernaum, "they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your Master pay tribute (the temple tax)? He saith Yes, And when He was come into the house Jesus prevented (anticipated) him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon, of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children or of strangers? Peter saith unto Him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee."

These gatherers of tribute money, were, it appears, those who collected the taxes for the support and maintenance of the temple at Jerusalem. Jesus was Himself the son of God. He was the Master of the temple. He might have been free from the tax. But Jesus recognized the fact that the principle was right; therefore, He paid the tax. And in doing so, He taught the lesson {233} that it is right and just for every citizen in the kingdom of God to pay the taxes imposed for the maintenance of the kingdom. As with the state, so with the kingdom of God, he who tries to evade the temple tax is dishonest. "Behold," declared Jesus to the great modern Prophet, "now it is called today (until the coming of the Son of man), and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people, for he that is tithed shall not burn at His coming."

[Sidenote: The teachings of our own Church.]

The children of the Latter-day Saints have much for which to be thankful. Here we are reared in the sanctity of the home, in love and in the fear of God. Our family relations are established to continue throughout the eternities. Here we are taught to yield honor and obedience to established government, and to deserve the benefits provided by it. Here we are taught to revere the priesthood of God, to pay ungrudgingly our tithes and our offerings, and to do our best from day to day in the upbuilding of righteousness. And this we do that we may live and profit and prosper together; for no one can live to himself alone.

THE REFERENCES

Mark 12:13-17. Doc. and Cov. 49:15.

Matt. 17:24-27. Doc. and Cov. 134:1.

Doc. and Cov. 64:23.

{234} THE QUESTIONS

1. What is the meaning of Aesop's fable?

2. Explain by means of the football squad how man can not live to himself.

3. What did Jesus teach concerning man's duty to the family?

4. What are a man's obligations to the state in which he lives?

5. What does a man owe to the church to which he belongs?

6. Why should the children of the Latter-day Saints be grateful above all other children?

{235}

{236} PICTURE: JESUS WASHING PETER'S FEET, Brown

{237}

XXXI

HE THAT EXALTETH HIMSELF

[Sidenote: The old law and the new.]

Everyone who has compared the teachings of the law of Moses with those of Jesus must have been impressed with the essential difference between those teaching's. The old law always emphasized the actual, or material, elements of life, and provided punishment for deeds actually committed. Thus the law of Moses exhorted, Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not do this or that. And if one violated this material law, he became liable to the penalty--but only if he actually committed a deed in violation of law. Jesus, on the other hand, went back of the act to the state of mind that prompted the act. In other words, the essential thing in the philosophy of Jesus was not the act itself, but the motive back of it. Instead of "Thou shalt not kill," Jesus said, "Whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment." Jesus did not say. Thou shalt not commit acts of immorality, but, He that entertains an impure thought is already guilty of the immoral act.

[Sidenote: The teaching of Jesus psychological.]

Jesus was not a psychologist in the modern sense, yet this teaching of Jesus is psychologically true. Our acts are but the fruits of thoughts that have found lodgment, care, and nourishment in our minds. Our minds, indeed, are but gardens. Seed-thoughts are blown into them by this wind and by that. Involuntarily as well as voluntarily suggestions come into the mind. Now, if the seed-thoughts that are waited into the mind-garden are good, and are carefully tended and nurtured, the garden {238} will bear good fruit--the acts performed will be charitable and clean. But if the seed-thoughts that find lodgment in the mind are noxious, and if these noxious seeds--these destructive weeds of the mind--be tended and nurtured, then the acts resulting therefrom will necessarily be evil.

[Sidenote: A concrete example.]

Let us turn from this abstract discussion to the concrete example. Do you know why a good boy, who has been taught all his life to keep his body clean from the loathsome poison of tobacco, sometimes takes to smoking cigarettes in spite of his teaching? The reason is perfectly clear. The boy has been tempted. A noxious seed-thought has found lodgment in the boy's mind. Now, had the boy been really strong, had he gone to like a good gardener, hoe in hand, and cleaned out the weeds, the noxious plants could never have bloomed nor borne fruit. But because the boy entertained the evil thought, gave it nourishment and tended it, it grew and spread until the good seed and fruitage of his conscience were crowded out of the mind. One thought, then, remained in power; and on that thought the boy acted. He became a smoker of cigarettes.

[Sidenote: The motive all important.]

Such examples as this might be multiplied without limit. If you will examine your own acts, you will find that every act of yours is the result of a preconceived thought, entertained and fed. Is it not clear, then, that the teaching of Jesus is far better than the teaching of the Old Law? It is more important to train the mind and to guard the motives, than merely to guard one's acts. If one's {239} motives are pure, wholesome, and sound, one's acts cannot but be so also.

[Sidenote: Jesus's doctrine of rewards.]

Now, just as Jesus differed in His teaching of the ultimate basis of the moral life from the teaching of the Old Law, so He differed from the Old Law in His teachings about rewards. Amongst the Jews of the time of Jesus, the fear of punishment or the hope of immediate good fortune constituted the primary motive of a good life. In other words, rewards--more or less material and immediate--were in the Old Law the inspiration to action. Jesus would do away with such an attitude toward charitable living. He would have people do good for the good's sake; He would have people live right for the sake of right living, He would have people work righteousness for the sake of righteousness. And He emphasized and drove home the thought that if any one worked merely to increase his own honor and to exalt himself in the eyes of men, he should fail, and should be humiliated in the attempt.

[Sidenote: A parable in point.]

"It came to pass," says the New Testament narrative, "as (Jesus) went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched Him. . . . "And He put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when He marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them. When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee. Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou {240} art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then thou shalt have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.

"For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

[Sidenote: A sound psychological principle.]

Here again Jesus announces a sound, psychological principle. Men who crowd and push themselves forward always arouse the ill will and antagonism of their fellowmen; whereas those who are humble and meek stir the admiration of their fellowmen and are advanced by them. All our acts should be inspired, not by the desire for honor or for worldly reward, but by the desire to work righteousness.

[Sidenote: A further illustration.]

This principle Jesus illustrated further by a direct address to the Pharisee who had invited Him. "When thou makest a dinner or a supper; call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

[Sidenote: Peter and the question of recompense.]

The question of recompense has disturbed many people; unfortunately, it is still uppermost in the minds of some. It was undoubtedly the question of recompense that troubled Peter when he said to Jesus, "Lo, we have left all, and have followed Thee." We may imagine that the rest of his thought ran somewhat like this: What shall be {241} our reward? Jesus very promptly answered, "Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting."

"But many that are first shall be last; and the last first."

[Sidenote: The reward worth while.]

Jesus did not discourage entirely, then, the idea of rewards. But He emphasized the necessity of the pure and upright motive, and service for the sake of service. Then, those who serve shall receive a reward--not material, perhaps, but spiritual--which shall fill their lives here, and assure life everlasting hereafter. What does it matter, after all, if one lose one's worldly possessions but gain contentment of soul and an assurance of eternal exaltation? There are men who are possessed of untold material wealth who would give all to gain the simple testimony of Jesus possessed by the simplest and humblest member in the Church of Christ. Indeed, true contentment--which is the chief reward of a well-spent life--can come only as the result of service unselfishly rendered. Neither wealth nor poverty can bring about the worth-while, spiritual reward of an act prompted by a worthy motive. And without question, many that are first, in this world, shall be last in the day of judgment.

[Sidenote: Conclusion.]

This we have, then, to let sink deep into our hearts: Jesus would have us guard the motives of our acts; He would have us understand that our acts are but the outward fruits of our inner {242} thoughts; with our motives pure, He would have us perform good deeds without thought of reward; He would have us do good where no recompense can be had; He would have us remain meek and humble in thought, in word, and in deed, innocent of any selfish act. Then will He recompense us with a reward, indeed: satisfaction, contentment, spiritual light, the goods of this world as we shall need them, and life everlasting, the greatest gift of God.

"Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, And he who humbles himself shall be exalted."

THE REFERENCES

Luke 14:1, 7-14. Luke 18:28-30.

Mark 10:31.

THE QUESTIONS

1. What is the difference between the Old Law and the New in the teaching about acts and motives?

2. Show that the teaching of Jesus is psychologically correct.

3. Illustrate the process of the action growing from the thought by some instance other than that of the cigarette smoker.

4. What was the attitude of Jesus toward the doctrine of material rewards?

5. How does the question of motive affect this doctrine?

6. Discuss the parable of the Wedding Feast.