Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-05-31

under its influence and by It's pOWel
they may lie able to resist evil, Il
overcome the temptations that may
be in their pathway, and TO strength
en- themselves in the practice o
those virtues which He has en-
joinei upon Us rs necessary TO max,
US acceptable in His sight.
But the question arises-and II
has often arisen in times past-hON
II Is that God should make such ex
pressions as He has concerning
Jacob and Esau. BY reference Il
the history we find that before th'
children were born, in response :,
the inquiry Of RebeCca c0ncernin,
them, the Lord said to her "th'
elder shall serve the younger" al
though they each SHOULD become tn;
bead OF n great nation. And by
those " no tTy TO prove that some
men are prsdestined to 10 good RnC
ot,iers 10 do evil 1t Is often remarked
"HRs not God said that Jacob hav,
| loved, but Esau have haicG2' /.
not this an evidence that predestl
nation was doing its work in tn,
lives Of these twin brothers? DID
not Jacob start before his birth witt
advantages over his brother Esau.
And was Esau to be blamed for sell
ing his birthright aid losing the IA
vOrof Cos, when God beforehand had
declared that that should lie the
case?" Then again, those who tak,
this view say, "Nhy, God has said
expressly that He raised up Pharaoh
for the very purpose Of showing
forth His power through him; and
mas He not said that He hardened
his heart that he nigh; &c. lei
Israel 60, ecen though he beheld
the mighty miracles thet were per.
formed by Moses and AarOn.'
Looked at from one standpoint,
these passages Of Scripture would
seem TO give color to the idea that
there is foundation for this doctrine
Of predes.ination, and that before
the birth Of Esau and JRcOb there
had been n foreordination or u pre-
destination by which the lives Of
the two men were determined, and
the course that they should take had
been ordained by Gcd, 50 that each
had 10 follow rertain line Of lie 10
accomplish his destiny.
The difficulty that many people
have in considering this subject is
that they coniouni forcknOwIpdge
with liberalization. Because God
! fOrekusw that Esau would serve his
brother jacob, He Knowing the end
from the beginning, Il does not fol
low that because Of this fOr.knowl-
edge and because He revealed this
fact 10 RebccCa, il was His design.
or that He had predetermined, that
these children. yc. unborn, should
each take the course that he did.
Esau and Jacob had their agency.
So with all Of Us; yet our Heavenly
Father knows notwithstanding
concerning Us and what cur lives
viii be. There IS nothing hidden
from or unknown TO Him concern
ing the earth and its inhabitants.
Everything that VIII take place is
known beforehand TO Him. by the
spirit Of prophecy, therefore, Hepre-
diets events that shall take place aud
works that men and nations win ac-
complish. He knew before these chill
dren were born upon the earth the
course that both Jacob and Eslu
would take, and was able 10 fcre,ell
TO the mother that the elder would
serve the younger, and that the
younger would be the greater and
the letter man. But" SAYS one.
ale says that Jacob have / loved,
and Esau have hatei'''-as
though God before they were born
had loved one and hated the other:
before they had committed any act
10 cause the feeling Of love or TO
prompt the feeling Of hatred, lie
had expressed Himself in that man
ner.
This is not tine case, however.
This expression was not made Ey
the Lord before the birth Of these
children. II was Malachi, the last
OF the Prophets whose record in the
Bible has come down 10 Us, who
made this expression concerning
these two men. After they had
lived upon the earth. after they had
accomplished their labOrs. the
Prophet Malachi, in Speaking Of
them and Of the blessings that had
descended upon Israel. and speaking
Icy the spirit Of the Lord and for
the Lort, matte this expression:
Jacob have loved, and Esau have
! hatci.' OF course, it was easy 20
declare this then, after they had
finished their work On earth. There
was no Improperly in II. for the
judgment was then pronounced
upon them. The works Of Jacnl,
had been those which God loved.
The works u Eslu had been those
of which God did not approve.
Therefore this could he said Of them
with perfect propEiety and impair
TALLY, and without conveying the
idea that EsIu. helpless in the
presence Of n fate 70 which he had
been fDreordaiued, had RO alterna-
tive hut 10 perform the works which
were 50 Gispleasing 70 the Lord.
In the cash Of Phar OH, the Lord
raised him up, 10 doubt, for the ex-
press purpose Of showing forth His
power. He knew Pharaoh before
he was born. He knew his charac-
ter and spirit. He knew that which
he would do. Therefore, to show
forth His might aad to acconlplish
his puEpOses-not by taking away
PharaOh's agency-nOt by compel
ling him TO 90 that which lie did,
but by leaving him 10 the free exer-
else OF his agency-He spoke as He
did concerning Pharaoh and de-
clared that He had raised him up
for that express purpose. He placed
him on the throne II Egypt at a time
when IL was necessary IN order tn
fulfil the predictions that had al
ready been made respecting the de-
liverance Of ISRAEL from the bondage
Of Egypt. In order that the children
NJ Israel might go forth with mighty
power and with the exhibition Of
great miracles, God so arranged and 7.
prepared events that n spirit such as /
this Pharaoh was, should occupy the !
throne Of Egypt, 20 thaS His glori- .
Gus ability 10 save His PEOPLE and 10 I
fulfil His word might be made mani I
Test 10 The nations Of the earth. and 4
that the story thereof should 20
Town through all the ages
u time, to DC tIid rs long as
here should he men upon the
aasth to relate the story or 10 hear
i; and in Order, too, that dis chosen
people, the children Of Israel, might
know that He had brought them
'orth with mighty power and with
IN outstretched arm, that Il might
never lie forgotten by them nor their
children after them.
But it was not that God fore
ordained this man 20 commit this
welcomes and TO oppose His work.
would like you to clearly under
'tand that f1rekuowledge is one
hing snd Denomination or pre-
destination is another, and there Is
! great distinction between the two.
They must not be confCunded one
With the atber. Is it not plain that
iod does possess fOreknowleges
But does it necessarily follow that,
because He knows that a spirit
When it takes msrtal tabernacle