Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1895-02-16

must have come from God. or from some
superior being.
An admit freely enough that man
could not create himself Consequently,
his existence upon the earth demon
stratcs that he must have had a creator.
BY parity OF reasoning, since we see that
civilization exists. for we have a living
monument to that effect before our eyes;
and inasmuch as h could not originate
itself, Il is proof " the same character
and of equal weight. that the iounda.
tons Of civilization must have been laid
by revelation from God.
The message that Is sent forth to the
world today Is embodied M the words
that were given through the Prophet
Joseph Smith to certain Elders who
were collected together 10 hear the mind
and will Of God Go yc into all the
world and preach the Gospel he that
bclievcth aud is baptized shall be saved,
and he that beiievcth not shall be
damned; and these signs shall follow
them that believe" That was The bur.
den OF the message that was laid upon
those servants Of the Most High God,
and when IL was given by our Lord aud
Savior Jesus Christ, lie prciac,d that
message with these words, "And Say
unto YOU as / said unto mine aplstles"-
evidently referring to that period Of
time when lie was upon the earth In
jerusalem. One OF our most learned
ncgatists, Colonel lngcroIl. while he
admits the historical facts OF the life Of
Jesus Christ, takes occasion to deny that
Jesus ever uttered those words, as re-
corded by the evangelist Laucr.day
Saints can form their own judgment Of
this Thcy have, through the Prophet
Joseph Smith, the testimony OF the
SAVIOR, that he did say "as ! said unto
mine apostles" thus giving the direct
lie to Colonel lngcroll,
The Colonel further declares that "for
the man je us he gladly pays the hom-
aye OF his admiration aud his tears
What "a saying Is this to come from the
lips Of an unbclicvcrl Yet he Is con.
strained to utter Il by the weight OF
historical evidence; for there is no fact
better demonstrated IN our day than
that Jesus did live; did perform the
mighty works that are ascribcd 10 Him.
and was a great moral Teacher, and
lugCroll Is compelled 10 acknowledge
IT,. lie therefore gladly pays the HON.
age Of his admiration aud bis tears ITO
that grand and serene man. lcsus
Christ" although In the same breath
he denies His relationship % the Deity.
lie ooks upon Jesus, so iar a6 His be
ing the son OF God is concerned, as an
arrant impusior What do you think OF
thlsi L. there a man that Claims to be "a
Lattcr.dav Saint who, II Ia his heart he
believed Joseph Smith TO be an impos-
tor, would pay him the homage Of his
admiration and his teafs' No. there is
not. While we might respect his teach-
ings we would never forget the TACT that
he was an impostor and that would
overcome all such emotions as admira.
ton and tears. Surely such homage"
Is only sounding brass and linkling
cymbal.
Colonel lngersoll moreover saws:
You cannot believe as you wish. YOU
must believe as you must. You weigh
the evidence for and against, ana the
integrity Of the soul stands az the scales
and tells which side rises and which
side ialls.' Now this Is very plausible
at iirst sight, and gives seeming force to
the argument which he makes; that IL
would be therefore unjust on the part OF
Deity TO punish any one for his un.
belief when he could not help him.
self So Il would. 2 think Il was DR..
Courtney who delivered a lecture In
reply to Colonel lngersoll and takes oc.
easion to mention this one point. He
says that the argument would be all
very good II the soul stood Ia perfect
integrity; but Il does not. No matter.
he says, what form OF theology we have
received, we are all ready to admit the
doctrine Of original sin which has
brought about human deprawly; and
inasmuch as the tendency OF this de.
pravlty In mans breast iuclines him to
things opposed to goodness, when we
look at the scales TO weigh the evidence
Tor and against, If We yield TO that bias
toward evil, It so Affects the integrity OF
our souls that we do not see things
Just as they are, and that we are often
inclined TO call evil good and good evil.
John Stuart Mil, one OF the greatest
educators of the present century, al
though a negatist, speaking OF the doc.
Ifine OF free agency, says: 81 say that
although our character Is formed by
circumstances, yet our own desires can
DO much TO shape those circumstances:
and that what is really inspiring and en-
lobllng IN the doctrine OF free will Is
Inc conviction that we have real power
over the formation Of our own chafac-
ieri that our Will, by influencing some
)i our circumstances, can materially
modify our future conduct and capabili-
lies OF willing" Now then II our own
iesires modify our characters, do Won
not see that u we do not desire that
which is righteous, that which Is good
loble and pralseworthy, we Will yet a
lias IN our Judgment and when We are
weighing sacred truths, those evil de.
ilrcs will give us such an ubliuuity of
'islon that we will sometimes call sweet
bitter and bitter sweet On a similar |
point, Soame Jenyns gives utterance to !
he following; THE most insurmount.
Iblc as well as the most usual obstacle |
O our belief arises from our passions |
ppeiiies and interests; aud as belief Is |
IN act oil the will as much as the under. |
we oitcner dishelieve from |
want OF inclination than from want of |
violence" These are the answers that |
PRESENT themselves to me when | ask |
low and why It is that this message |
his divine message OF love from Inc |
ourts OF heaven, is received bv line
hldren OF men with SO much indiaer-
nee. am afraid that too many love
darkness rather than light. because
heir deeds are evil. There & si1
uolher class that rock Themselves 10
ieep WIN the idea that for their sins OF
ohlullssloh or omission, at stated
eilods OF time, they can receive alb
olu'lon from an authority which they
iilege emanales from high heaven.
mere IS sun another class that rests IN
neir s'ns from the conviction that lesus
alllorslVlng, all.pardonIng, II we will
u' utter WIN our lips that we believe
ilm TO be the Christ The force Of