1. In preceding lessons we treated of what faith was, and of the objecton which it rested. Agreeable to our plan, we now proceed to speak of itseffects.
2. As we have seen in our former lectures that faith was the principleof action and of power in all intelligent beings, both in heaven and onearth, it will not be expected that we shall, in a lecture of this description,attempt to unfold all its effects; neither is it necessary to our purposeso to do, for it would embrace all things in heaven and on earth, and encompassall the creations of God, with all their endless varieties; for no worldhas yet been framed that was not framed by faith, neither has there beenan intelligent being on any of God's creations who did not get there byreason of faith as it existed in himself or in some other being; nor hasthere been a change or a revolution in any of the creations of God, butit has been effected by faith; neither will there be a change or a revolution,unless it is effected in the same way, in any of the vast creations of theAlmighty, for it is by faith that the Deity works.
3. Let us here offer some explanation in relation to faith, that ourmeaning may be clearly comprehended. We ask, then, what are we to understandby a man's working by faith? We answer -- we understand that when a manworks by faith he works by mental exertion instead of physical force. Itis by words, instead of exerting his physical powers, with which every beingworks when he works by faith. God said, "Let there be light, and therewas light." Joshua spake, and the great lights which God had createdstood still. Elijah commanded, and the heavens were stayed for the spaceof three years and six months, so that it did not rain: he again commandedand the heavens gave forth rain. All this was done by faith. And the Saviorsays, "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, say to this mountain,'Remove,' and it will remove; or say to that sycamine tree, 'Be ye pluckedup, and planted in the midst of the sea,' and it shall obey you." Faith,then, works by words; and with these its mightiest works have been, andwill be, performed.
4. It surely will not be required of us to prove that this is the principleupon which all eternity has acted and will act; for every reflecting mindmust know that it is by reason of this power that all the hosts of heavenperform their works of wonder, majesty, and glory. Angels move from placeto place by virtue of this power; it is by reason of it that they are enabledto descend from heaven to earth; and were it not for the power of faiththey never could be ministering spirits to them who should be heirs of salvation,neither could they act as heavenly messengers, for they would be destituteof the power necessary to enable them to do the will of God.
5. It is only necessary for us to say that the whole visible creation,as it now exists, is the effect of faith. It was faith by which it was framed,and it is by the power of faith that it continues in its organized form,and by which the planets move round their orbits and sparkle forth theirglory. So, then, faith is truly the first principle in the science of THEOLOGY,and when understood, leads the mind back to the beginning, and carries itforward to the end; or, in other words, from eternity to eternity.
6. As faith, then, is the principle by which the heavenly hosts performtheir works, and by which they enjoy all their felicity, we might expectto find it set forth in a revelation from God as the principle upon whichHis creatures here below must act in order to obtain the felicities enjoyedby the saints in the eternal world; and that, when God would undertake toraise up men for the enjoyment of Himself, He would teach them the necessityof living by faith, and the impossibility there was of their enjoying theblessedness of eternity without it, seeing that all the blessings of eternityare the effects of faith.
7. Therefore it is said, and appropriately too, that "Without faithit is impossible to please God." If it should be asked -- Why is itimpossible to please God without faith? The answer would be -- Because withoutfaith it is impossible for men to be saved; and as God desires the salvationof men, He must, of course, desire that they should have faith; and He couldnot be pleased unless they had, or else He could be pleased with their destruction.
8. From this we learn that the many exhortations which have been givenby inspired men, to those who had received the word of the Lord to havefaith in Him, were not mere commonplace matters, but were for the best ofall reasons, and that was -- because without it there was no salvation,neither in this world nor in that which is to come. When men begin to liveby faith they begin to draw near to God; and when faith is perfected theyare like Him; and because He is saved they are saved also; for they willbe in the same situation He is in, because they have come to Him; and whenHe appears they shall be like Him, for they will see Him as He is.
9. As all the visible creation is an effect of faith, so is salvationalso -- we mean salvation in its most extensive latitude of interpretation,whether it is temporal or spiritual. In order to have this subject clearlyset before the mind, let us ask what situation must a person be in, in orderto be saved? or what is the difference between a saved man and one who isnot saved? We answer, from what we have before seen of the heavenly worlds,they must be persons who can work by faith and who are able, by faith, tobe ministering spirits to them who shall be heirs of salvation; and theymust have faith to enable them to act in the presence of the Lord, otherwisethey cannot be saved. And what constitutes the real difference between asaved person and one not saved is -- the difference in the degree of theirfaith -- one's faith has become perfect enough to lay hold upon eternallife, and the other's has not. But to be a little more particular, let usask -- Where shall we find a prototype into whose likeness we may be assimilated,in order that we may be made partakers of life and salvation? or, in otherwords, where shall we find a saved being? for if we can find a saved being,we may ascertain without much difficulty what all others must be in orderto be saved. We think that it will not be a matter of dispute, that twobeings who are unlike each other cannot both be saved; for whatever constitutesthe salvation of one will constitute the salvation of every creature whichwill be saved; and if we find one saved being in all existence, we may seewhat all others must be, or else not be saved. We ask, then, were is theprototype? or where is the saved being? We conclude, as to the answer ofthis question, there will be no dispute among those who believe the Bible,that it is Christ; all will agree in this, that He is the prototype or standardof salvation; or, in other words, that He is a saved being. And if we shouldcontinue our interrogation, and ask how it is that He is saved? the answerwould be -- because He is a just and holy being; and if He were anythingdifferent from what He is, He would not be saved; for His salvation dependson His being precisely what He is and nothing else; for if it were possiblefor Him to change, in the least degree, so sure He would fail of salvationand lose all His dominion, power, authority and glory, which constitutesalvation; for salvation consists in the glory, authority, majesty, powerand dominion which Jehovah possesses and in nothing else; and no being canpossess it but Himself or one like Him. Thus says John, in his first epistle,third chapter, second and third verses: "Beloved, now are we the sonsof God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, whenHe shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. Andevery man that hath this hope in Him, purifieth himself, even as He is pure."Why purify themselves as He is pure? Because if they do not they cannotbe like Him.
10. The Lord said unto Moses, Leviticus 19:2: "Speak unto all thecongregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, 'Ye shall beholy: for I the Lord your God am holy.'" And Peter says, first epistle,1:15, 16: "But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy inall manner of conversation; because it is written, 'Be ye holy; for I amholy.'" And the Savior says, Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect,even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.'" If any shouldask, why all these sayings? the answer is to be found from what is beforequoted from John's epistle, that when He (the Lord) shall appear, the saintswill be like Him; and if they are not holy, as He is holy, and perfect,as He is perfect, they cannot be like Him; for no being can enjoy His glorywithout possessing His perfections and holiness, no more than they couldreign in His kingdom without His power.
11. This clearly sets forth the propriety of the Saviour's saying, recordedin John's testimony 14:12: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he thatbelieveth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater worksthan these shall he do, because I go unto my Father." This taken inconnection with some of the sayings in the Savior's prayer, recorded inthe seventeenth chapter, gives great clearness to His expressions. He saysin the 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24th verses: "Neither pray I for these alone,but for them also who shall believe on me through their words; that theyall may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they alsomay be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. Andthe glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one,even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfectin one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast lovedthem, as thou hast loved me. Father, I will that they also whom thou hasgiven me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thouhast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."
12. All these sayings put together give as clear an account of the stateof the glorified saints as language could give -- the works that Jesus haddone they were to do, and greater works than those which He had done amongthem should they do, and that because He went to the Father. he does notsay that they should do these works in time; but they should do greaterworks, because He went to the Father. He says in the 24th verse: "Father,I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; thatthey may behold my glory." These sayings, taken in connection, makeit very plain that the greater works which those that believed on His namewere to do were to be done in eternity, where He was going and where theyshould behold His glory. He had said, in another part of His prayer, thatHe desired of His Father that those who believed on Him should be one inHim, as He and the Father were one in each other. "Neither pray I forthese (the apostles) alone, but for them also who shall believe on me throughtheir words, that they all may be one"' that is, they who believe onHim through the apostles' words, as well as the apostles themselves, "thatthey all may be one, as thou, Father, are in me and I in thee; that theyalso may be one in us."
13. What language can be plainer than this? The Saviour surely intendedto be understood by His disciples, and He so spake that they might understandHim; for He declares to His Father, in language, not to be easily mistaken,that He wanted His disciples, even all of them, to be as Himself and theFather, for as He and the Father are one so they might be one with them.And what is said in the 22nd verse is calculated to more firmly establishthis belief; if it needs anything to establish it. He says; "And theglory which thou gavest me, I have given them, that they may be one, evenas we are one." As much as to say that unless they have the glory whichthe Father had given Him they could not be one with them; for He says Hehad given them the glory that the Father had given Him that they might beone; or in other words, to make them one.
14. This fills up the measure of information on this subject and showsmost clearly that the Saviour wished His disciples to understand that theywere to be partakers with Him in all things, not even His glory excepted.
15. It is scarcely necessary here to observe what we have previouslynoticed, that the glory which the Father and the Son have is because theyare just and holy beings; and that if they were lacking in one attributeor perfection which they have, the glory which they have never could beenjoyed by them, for it requires them to be precisely what they are in orderto enjoy it; and if the Saviour gives this glory to any others, he mustdo it in the very way set forth in His prayer to His Father -- by makingthem one with Him as He and the Father are one. In so doing He would givethem the glory which the Father has given Him; and when His disciples aremade one with the Father and Son, as the Father and Son are one, who cannotsee the propriety of the Saviour's saying -- "The works which I do,shall they do; and greater works than these shall they do, because I goto my Father."
16. These teachings of the Saviour most clearly show unto us the natureof salvation, and what He proposed unto the human family when He proposedto save them -- that He proposed to make them like unto Himself, and hewas like the Father, the great prototype of all saved beings; and for anyportion of the human family to be assimilated into their likeness is tobe saved; and to be unlike them is to be destroyed; and on this hinge turnsthe door of salvation.
17. Who cannot see, then, that salvation is the effect of faith? for,as we have previously observed, all the heavenly beings work by this principle;and it is because they are able so to do that they are saved, for nothingbut his could save them. and this is the lesson which the God of heaven,by the mouth of His holy prophets, has been endeavoring to teach to theworld. Hence we are told, that "Without faith it is impossible to pleaseGod": and that salvation is of faith, that it might be by grace, tothe end the promise might be sure to all the seed. Romans 4:16. And thatIsrael, who followed after the law of righteousness, has not attained tothe law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith,but as it were by the works of the law; for they stumbled at that stumblingstone. Romans 9:32. And Jesus said unto the man who brought his son to Him,to get the devil who tormented him cast out: "If thou canst believe,all things are possible to him that believeth." Mark 9:23. These witha multitude of other scriptures which might be quoted plainly set forththe light in which the Saviour, as well as the Former-day Saints, viewedthe plan of salvation. That it was a system of faith -- it begins with faith,and continues by faith; and every blessing which is obtained in relationto it is the effect of faith, whether it pertains to this life or that whichis to come. To this all the revelations of God bear witness. If there werechildren of promise, they were the effects of faith, not even the Saviourof the world excepted. "Blessed is she that believed," said Elizabethto Mary, when she went to visit her, "for there shall be a performanceof those things which were told her from the Lord." Luke 1:45. Norwas the birth of John the Baptist the less a matter of faith; for in orderthat his father Zacharias might believe he was struck dumb. And throughthe whole history of the scheme of life and salvation, it is a matter offaith: every man received according to his faith -- according as his faithwas, so were his blessings and privileges; and nothing was withheld fromhim when his faith was sufficient to receive it. he could stop the mouthsof lions, quench the violence of fire, escape the edge of the sword, waxvaliant in fight, and put to flight the armies of the aliens; women could,by their faith, receive their dead children to life again; in a word, therewas nothing impossible with them who had faith. All things were in subjectionto the Former-day Saints, according as their faith was. By their faith theycould obtain heavenly visions, the ministering of angels, have knowledgeof the spirits of just men made perfect, of the general assembly and churchof the first born, whose names are written in heaven, of God the judge ofall, of Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and become familiar withthe third heavens, see and hear things which were not only unutterable,but were unlawful to utter. Peter, in view of the power of faith, secondepistle, first chapter, second and third verses, says to the Former-daySaints: "Grace and peach be multiplied unto you, through the knowledgeof God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as His divine power hath givenunto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledgeof Him that hath called us to glory and virtue." In the first epistle,first chapter, third, fourth and fifth verses he says: "Blessed bethe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to His abundantmercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection ofJesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled,and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by thepower of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the lasttime."
18. These sayings put together show the apostle's views most clearly,so as to admit of no mistake on the mind of any individual. He says thatall things that pertain to life and godliness were given unto them throughthe knowledge of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. And if the question isasked, how were they to obtain the knowledge of God? (for there is a greatdifference between believing in God and knowing him -- knowledge impliesmore than faith. And notice, that all things that pertain to life and godlinesswere given through the knowledge of God) the answer is given -- throughfaith they were to obtain this knowledge; and, having power by faith toobtain the knowledge of God, they could with it obtain all other thingswhich pertain to life and godliness.
19. By these sayings of the apostle, we learn that it was by obtaininga knowledge of God that men got the knowledge of all things which pertainto life and godliness, and this knowledge was the effect of faith; so thatall things which pertain to life and godliness are the effects of faith.
20. From this we may extend as far as any circumstances may require,whether on earth or in heaven, and we will find it the testimony of allinspired men, or heavenly messengers, that all things that pertain to lifeand godliness are the effects of faith and nothing else; all learning, wisdomand prudence fail, and everything else as a means of salvation but faith.This is the reason that the fishermen of Galilee could teach the world --because they sought by faith, and by faith obtained. And this is the reasonthat Paul counted all things but filth and dross -- what he formerly calledhis gain he called his loss; yea, and he counted all things but loss forthe excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord. Philippians 3:7,8, 9, and 10. Because to obtain the faith by which he could enjoy the knowledgeof Christ Jesus the Lord, he had to suffer the loss of all things. Thisis the reason that the Former-day Saints knew more, and understood more,of heaven and of heavenly things than all others beside, because this informationis the effect of faith -- to be obtained by no other means. And this isthe reason that men, as soon as they lose their faith, run into strifes,contentions, darkness, and difficulties; for the knowledge which tends tolife disappears with faith, but returns when faith returns; for when faithcomes it brings its train of attendants with it -- apostles, prophets, evangelists,pastors, teachers, gifts, wisdom, knowledge, miracles, healings, tongues,interpretation of tongues, etc. All these appear when faith appears on theearth, and disappear when it disappears from the earth; for these are theeffects of faith, and always have attended, and always will, attend it.For where faith is, there will the knowledge of God be also, with all thingswhich pertain thereto -- revelations, visions, and dreams, as well as everynecessary thing, in order that the possessors of faith may be perfected,and obtain salvation; for God must change, otherwise faith will prevailwith him. And he who possesses it will, through it, obtain all necessaryknowledge and wisdom, until he shall know God, and the Lord Jesus Christ,whom He has sent -- whom to know is eternal life. Amen.