Part 6

It is recorded that Jesus cursed one morning a certain fig tree that it should no more bear fruit. The next morning, as Jesus and the disciples passed by from Bethany to Jerusalem, they saw that the fig tree was dried up from the roots. "And Peter, calling to remembrance, saith unto (Jesus), Master, behold, the fig tree which Thou cursedst is withered away!

"And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you. That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

{106} [Sidenote: Forgiveness accompanies prayer.]

"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Like the other sayings of Jesus, this one, too, is full of meaning and interest. But as with the other sayings, too, the meaning of this one is easy to find. If we try to remember what we have learned in the preceding lessons, we shall be able easily to understand this one.

[Sidenote: Reason for concrete examples.]

Many people have stumbled because of this forceful saying of Jesus. How can a man by the exercise alone of faith remove mountains? But such people have failed to understand Jesus's method of teaching. Whenever He could, Jesus emphasized His doctrine with concrete example. Because Jesus did not teach abstractly, even little children may understand Him. And the people whom He taught during His earthly life, were almost like little children. He had to make everything very clear to them. So, now, He wanted to impress them with the unlimited power of faith. He used, therefore, the vigorous and startling figure of moving a mountain into the sea: or as St. Luke has worded it, "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree (mulberry tree), Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you."

{107} [Sidenote: The interpretation.]

You will remember, however, that nowhere did Jesus ever teach His disciples to pray for material things, except to supply their daily needs. Neither did He ever teach them to ask for things impossible or impracticable for God to give. It is to be understood, then, that Jesus did not intend to encourage men to try to move mountains by the mere exercise of faith. He intended a larger, a spiritual meaning. Faith is so powerful a principle, that, through the exercise of it, one may remove obstacles to sublime spiritual blessings, as difficult to be moved as a mountain. By such a striking figure did Jesus impress upon His disciples that nothing is impossible to faith.

[Sidenote: Jesus's own interpretation.]

That this was what Jesus wanted to impart, is apparent from His own application of the concrete illustration. "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." Or, as the statement is worded in a modern translation, "Believe that you shall receive all things for which you pray and ask and you shall have them." And this invincible power of faith in prayer is supported by the words of Jesus to the Prophet, Joseph Smith. "All victory and glory is brought to pass unto you through your diligence, faithfulness, and prayers of faith."

[Sidenote: Examples of the power of faith.]

In the story of the ministry of Jesus, there are many examples of the necessity of cultivating unlimited faith. Do you remember what happened when Jesus walked to the boat one evening on the sea of Galilee? Most of the disciples became afraid when they saw Him, and cried {108} out, "It is a spirit." But when they became assured that it was really Jesus, Peter said, "Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water."

"And (Jesus) said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"

At another time, we are told, "there came to (Jesus) a certain man, kneeling down to Him, and saying, Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to Thy disciples and they could not cure him.

"Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.

"Then came the disciples to Jesus apart and said. Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them. Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain. Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

Such examples as these might be cited indefinitely. These are enough, however, to show how profoundly Jesus impressed upon the minds of His disciples the necessity of cultivating the gift of unfaltering {109} faith--faith, the one great principle of power, without which, as the learned Paul later said, it is impossible to please God.

[Sidenote: The dispensation of the fulness of times, the wonderful example.]

But perhaps the greatest wonder that has ever been accomplished, in all the history of the world, through the invincible power of unhesitating faith, is that which we ourselves experience every day of our lives. Continuing the doctrine he had learned from Jesus, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ," wrote thus to the scattered twelve tribes: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering." When he was perturbed in spirit, not knowing whither to go to find God, Joseph Smith heard these words, and pondered them. He had implicit faith in God. He did not waver. He prayed earnestly. In response to his simple, faith-provoked prayer, God revealed Himself to Joseph Smith, and through him, established the Church of Christ anew.

Are not the things that have been accomplished through faith, wonderful? Must it not be a joy, a comfort, to possess the gift of unlimited faith? Like the apostles of old, we feel to pray, "Lord, increase our faith."

THE REFERENCES

Luke 17:5, 6. Doc. and Cov. 103:36.

Mark 11:21-26. Matt. 14:24-31.

Matt. 21:21, 22. Matt. 17:14-21.

James 1:5, 6.

{110} THE QUESTIONS

1. What principle did Jesus teach in the incident of the fig tree?

2. What is faith?

3. Why must forgiveness accompany prayer?

4. Why did Jesus use concrete examples in His teaching?

5. What did Jesus mean by saying that mountains might be removed by faith?

6. What did the Prophet Joseph Smith teach concerning the power of faith?

7. Recite some examples of the power of faith.

8. Show how the establishing of the dispensation of the fulness of times is one of the most wonderful examples of the power of faith.

{111}

{112} PICTURE: RAISING THE DEAD, Hofmann

{113}

XV

THE HANDMAID OF FAITH

[Sidenote: The case of Mr. Baldwin.]

Nearly a hundred years ago was built in America the first locomotive engine of American design. Everybody knows nowadays what a locomotive is. Nearly every boy and girl in the world has seen one; many boys, particularly, can tell you how the locomotive engine operates; and more than one boy can even operate the locomotive himself. But it was not so one hundred years ago. The locomotive was a rare machine. And all the locomotives that people saw then in America had been made in England. But in 1831, the officers of the Germantown and Norristown Railway commissioned a young mechanical engineer, named Matthias Baldwin, to build for them a locomotive engine. The Germantown and Norristown Railway operated a horse-power line six miles long.

The Cambden and Amboy Railroad Company had only recently imported a locomotive from England. When Mr. Baldwin received his commission, he went immediately to Cambden, where were the parts of the English engine not yet assembled. There he "carefully observed the various parts of the machine, made a few measurements and at last crept under the ponderous boiler. Here he remained in absorbed study for nearly half an hour. As he emerged from his retreat, his face was glowing with enthusiasm, and he exclaimed 'I can do it.'"

{114} [Sidenote: Words added to faith.]

So far so good. Mr. Baldwin was inspired by a sublime faith in his power to build a locomotive engine. But had he stopped there, he would never have become the builder of the first American locomotive. Mr. Baldwin set determinedly and industriously to work to accomplish the task he had faith he could do. He met countless difficulties; his trials and disappointments were many, and often discouraging. But he kept bravely, manfully on. He did much of the work with his own hands, and personally trained the workmen who assisted him. At length, after six months of unremitting industry and painstaking labor, "Old Ironsides," the first American locomotive was completed. Matthias Baldwin had vindicated his enthusiastic exclamation born of faith, "I can do it."

Now it was the observance of the principle that enabled Matthias Baldwin to make good, which Jesus urged upon the multitudes assembled to hear Him teach during His ministry on the earth. "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord," declared Jesus, "shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

[Sidenote: The principle of works.]

This teaching is so simple that anyone may understand it. And it is true everywhere in life, in every kind of calling. Would you not think Mr. Baldwin foolish, if after exclaiming "I can do it" he had remained inactive and had not tried to build "Old Ironsides?" Can you imagine that a carpenter might ever enjoy the fame of master-builder if he never practiced the trade he had learned? Do you think it would be possible for a sinking ship {115} to send out the signal of distress, if the operator on the ship did not put into practice the laws governing wireless telegraphy? In other words, knowing how to build a locomotive will never construct one; knowing how to build a house will never erect even the smallest structure; knowing how to operate the telegraphic instrument will never send a message. It is only by actually putting into operation the principles underlying these activities, and working in obedience to them, that one can accomplish the desired end. And if this is true of material, earthly things, how much more ought it to be true of spiritual, heavenly things. Without faith it is impossible to please God. But faith is of no avail without works. Works constitute the handmaid of faith, and one is not without the other in the Lord. "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

[Sidenote: A parable.]

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them," taught Jesus, "I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

[Sidenote: The works of Jesus.]

Jesus manifested great power during His earthly ministry. He healed the sick; He made the lame to walk and the blind to see; He rebuked evil and cast out {116} devils; He raised the dead to life again; and He spoke with authority as no other man has ever spoken, either before or since His time. Without question every boy and girl would like to be able to do the things that Jesus did. Every boy and girl in the Church of Jesus Christ believes in Jesus--knows indeed, that He is the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world. Why, then, should not everyone long to emulate Him. But notice what Jesus declared: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto my Father. If ye love me keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

[Sidenote: The works of man.]

It is not impossible, then, for man to possess the power to do the works that Jesus did. Indeed, man may do even greater works than those Jesus performed. But to gain the power so to do, one must not only believe in Jesus, one must also keep His commandments. In short, one must add works to faith. Mere belief will save no man, just as mere confidence in one's own ability will never build a locomotive. But when our works make practical our faith, and prove it really true and worth while, then we may claim a realization--a fulfillment--of all that is promised through our diligence.

{117} [Sidenote: Conclusion.]

Now, it is no more difficult to prepare a mansion in the kingdom of our Father, than it is to build a locomotive. Should not every boy and girl, after having learned Christ's teaching, exclaim as Baldwin did, "I can do it?" Then go to undauntedly and do it.

THE REFERENCES

Matt. 7:21. James 2:26.

Matt. 7:24-27. John 14:12, 15, 21.

THE QUESTIONS

1. What element of character did Baldwin display in the building of the first American locomotive?

2. What principle of life and action made it possible for him to accomplish his work?

3. What did he have to add to this principle in order to make good?

4. Why will not everyone who crieth "Lord, Lord," be admitted into the kingdom of heaven?

5. Explain the Lord's parable of the wise and the foolish man.

6. Under what conditions may we be enabled to do works as great as those Jesus did?

7. What is the duty of every member of the Church?

{118} PICTURE: THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE

{119}

XVI

THE MEANING OF REPENTANCE

[Sidenote: The irreverence and ruthlessness of Pilate.]

Some time before the close of the ministry of Jesus, there occurred at Jerusalem two unfortunate incidents, both of which served to give Jesus an opportunity to preach one of the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel. Pilate, the Roman governor had undertaken to construct some great conduits to supply Jerusalem with a better and a larger supply of sweet water. The venture was apparently both difficult and costly; and he derived no support from the people, whom he hated, and who hated him and all pagan rule in return.

One day a serious accident happened. Connected with Pilate's undertaking, apparently, was a large tower on the top of Ophel, opposite Siloam. This tower fell, without warning, and buried in the ruins eighteen men who had been working on it. Of course, the people held the accident to be the judgment of God upon the men who had helped in the sacrilegious labor. Then Pilate fell short of funds. To defray the expenses of the enterprise, the irreverent Pilate resorted to the temple, and ruthlessly appropriated a part of the treasures of the temple. These treasures amounted to vast sums derived from the temple dues voluntarily paid by Jews all over the world. Naturally, the people became enraged, and rose in rebellious demonstration against the governor. Incited by their priests and rabbis, the mob stormed Pilate's residence, and demanded that the work on the water system be abandoned. They railed against him, the Roman {120} governor, and hinted at sedition. Pilate became in his turn indignant. He sent a large number of soldiers, dressed in plain clothes and armed only with heavy clubs, who surrounded the mob, and beat them so remorselessly that great numbers of them were killed. The soldiers pressed the mob to the very temple, then entered the holy precincts of the temple itself, and there slew many of the poor pilgrims who were killing their own sacrifices. Their blood was mingled with the blood of the beasts they were preparing for sacrifice, and thus, according to the law, the House of God was polluted. The news of this outrage spread throughout Palestine. The country was filled with indignation. In Galilee, the feeling was particularly strong, for the men who had been slain were Galileans.

[Sidenote: The necessity of repentance.]

Jesus was journeying at this time in the province of Perea, expounding His teachings to great multitudes that followed Him. When news of the disasters in Jerusalem reached them, these multitudes were stirred by the wildest kind of excitement. They were particularly indignant at the murders in the temple. As for the eighteen men buried under the tower, and the Galileans slain in the tumult, the people accepted their death, in characteristic Jewish fashion, as the judgment of God for sins committed. But the pollution of the temple could not be overlooked. So there grew up a strong feeling for a national uprising to avenge the unprecedented evil.

But Jesus did not approve of their sentiment; neither did He believe that those who had suffered in these two calamities were especially sinful. He seized the {121} opportunity, therefore to preach to the multitude the necessity of repentance on the part of everyone, and to correct the notion that a calamity of any kind is necessarily the judgment of God. "There were present at that season," writes the historian Luke, "some that told Him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."

[Sidenote: The barren fig tree.]

"He spake also this parable: a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down: why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto Him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, . . . . and if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that Thou shalt cut it down."

[Sidenote: Repentance a fundamental doctrine.]

As always, Jesus presented very clearly the doctrine He wished the people to learn to understand. For nearly three years. He had Himself ministered to His people. Yet, He could find no fruits of repentance. In the long-suffering of God, the people would be spared yet a little while. But their end was inevitable. Unless they should {122} repent, they should all perish, even as did the Galileans, and the eighteen men buried under the tower at Siloam. And this doctrine of repentance was fundamental in the ministry of Jesus. First, John had come, crying in the wilderness of Judea, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Then Jesus Himself had gone to Galilee, after John had been put into prison, and had preached, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." And when He sent out the twelve apostles two and two. He instructed them to preach everywhere that men should repent.

[Sidenote: Jesus's exclamation against the wicked.]

That the people did not observe the word of Jesus is, however, very evident from the way in which He upbraided them, and pointed out to them that the lot of the wrongdoers who repented would in the end be better than that of the selfrighteous who repented not. "But whereunto shall I liken this generation?" exclaimed Jesus one day. "It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, he hath a devil. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. . . . Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have {123} repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee."

[Sidenote: Repentance a universal principle.]

It is evident, then, that in the teaching of Jesus, repentance from evil is absolutely necessary if one would enjoy the blessings of the Lord. This is so self-evident a truth that it should not be necessary to state it. In all the affairs of life--in business, in politics, in the industries, in science, in art, in war, in what not--repentance is a fundamental principle of true success. In our daily work we are accustomed to calling our wrongdoings mistakes; but we have to correct those mistakes before we can achieve the end for which we are working. Sometimes the mistakes we make are of such a nature that we cannot correct them. Then we have to begin over again, and have to try to avoid those serious mistakes; but the memory of those mistakes remains with us forever, and the waste, or loss, or suffering, caused by them can never be made right. In the great world war now raging, many costly mistakes have been made. Officers and men have often been forced to repent; and many men, because they have violated their orders, have lost their lives. For them, repentance in this life has been made impossible. So it will be also with those who persist in evil. The day {124} will come when they will be taken away suddenly. Then the opportunity to repent in this life will be lost. Jesus would have us repent here and now, and devote ourselves to works of righteousness that we may gain eternal life.

[Sidenote: Things of which to repent.]

But of what would Jesus have us repent? The learned apostle, Paul, who, it seems, understood perfectly the spirit of Christ's teachings, which to wrote certain instructions to the Ephesians which reveal exactly what kind of men Jesus would have us be. Malice, dishonesty, immorality in thought or word or deed--these things unfit a man for an inheritance in the kingdom of God. Paul expresses the doctrine, in part as follows: