The Gospel: An Exposition of its First Principles

f belief or obedience being required of him. This is because his agency or will was not exercised in breaking the law given to Adam. The calamity overtakes him through no fault of his; and co

vy, hatred, malice, contention, evil-speaking, jealousy, and covetousness abound; to say nothing of the greater evils of lyi

poisoning the life's blood of the nations; prostitution flaunts its shame upon the streets, and takes up its abode in the very shadow of the church, where men meet to worship God. Instead of beautifying the earth, man is but making

I answer that every man and every woman and every child, who has arrived at the years of accountability-who understands the difference between good and e

laws of God and of nature in spite of the protests of his conscience, the convictions of his reason and the promptings of his judgment. He becomes desper

e only benefit arising from the Atonement of the Messiah; but by the sacrifice which he made he purchased mankind as an inheritance for himself, and they became of right under his dominion, for he ransomed them from an endless sleep in the grave. Nor is that all, but as the scripture saith: "He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows * * * He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed * * * The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity o

A: Isaiah

s this two-fold force that I have ascribed to it, viz.: that it redeems all mankind from dea

nd proven in those chapters devoted to the consideration of Ge

ity of sustaining the proposition, so far as the Jewish Scriptures are concerned, by inference, by conclusions drawn from the consideration of numerous passages, in the Book of Mormon we have passages which at once sustain the doctrine: "And also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have f

B: Mark

e C: Heb

: Mosiah ii

f those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else; therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redempti

E: Alma

w hard to bear he knew not: "For behold, I God, have suffered these things for all that they might not suffer if they would repent, but if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to

v. Sec. xix, 16-18. See

's transgression, from death; and redemption from personal sins on condition of implicit obedience to the laws of Chri

he Atonement made by Christ, and having committed no personal sins -dying in the days of their innocence-they have nothing to repent of. Having broken no law. Justice has no claim upon them; they fall into the arms of Mercy alone, and there they are secure. Well might Jesus exclaim-"Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of

mitting sin, wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; * * * and after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of God unto me, wherefore my beloved son, I know that it is solemn mockery before God that ye should baptize little children. Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach, repentance and baptism

G: Moroni

le children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten. Wherefore they cannot sin,

c. and Cov. Sec

there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment, there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation, the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them because of the Atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him (Christ); for the Atonement satisfieth the demands

ed, in the above passages there is a definition of what the lake of fire is-it is "endless torment," which ever exists for the punishment of impenitent sinners-each one partaking of it to such a degree and for such time as i

: II. Nephi

ve no law; wherefore he that is not condemned, or he that is under no

K: Moroni

e sinned without law shall also perish without law;[L] and as

on the sense of the whole passage, that it shou

e M: Rom

that whosoever having knowledge, have I not commanded to repent? And he

c. and Cov. Sec

ad no law given to them, and have died without

ov. Sec. xlv, 54. See a

warrant us in expecting that they are prepared to inherit the same degree of glory with those who have received the law of the gospel, faithfully observed all its requirements and through their obedience have become sanctified by it, and inherit the celestial glory, the highest of all. Therefore, it is w

c. and Cov. Sec

tial kingdom. Of one thing at least we may rest assured, and that is, that they will receive all the glory, all the exa

chapter on Salvat

m the penalties affixed to sin, by obeying the precepts and ordinances thereof. How far is their o

s-man's obedience to him must be implicit and absolute. It is the duty of man to obey the whole Gospel, all precepts, all ordinances, as far as they are made known unto him-in short, it is binding on him to live by every word which proceedeth from the mouth of God. In proof of this, I have on

: Matt. xxv

d, "which;" that is, which of the commandments must he keep. And here I will say that by reading a little between the lines it is not difficult to see that the young man had an idea that there was some great thing he could do, and by that one act secure eternal life. But the answer of Jesus dispelled that illusion, for he said:-"Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt no

S: Matt. x

er. How much that means! But I shall not particularize, I shall sum up the matter by saying' that this case, together with the observations in the preceding chapters, plainly proves that if man would be perfect, if he would obtain