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"God is Love"
Sermon by Elder James W. Gillen
At Old Church Near Lamoni, Iowa, December 31, 1882
I call your attention to the reading of the third
chapter of the First General Epistle of John [verses 1–24]:
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God;
therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we
shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every
man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he
is pure. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law;
for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he
was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not; whosoever
continueth in sin hath not seen him, neither known him. Little
children, let no man deceive you; he that doeth righteousness
is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that continueth in
sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might
destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth
not continue in sin; for the Spirit of God remaineth in him;
and he cannot continue in sin, because he is born of God, having
received that holy Spirit of promise. In this the children of
God are manifest, and the children of the devil; whosoever doeth
not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not
his brother.
For this is the message that ye heard from
the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain,
who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore
slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's
righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We
know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love
the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that
no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive
we the love of Christ, because he laid down his life for us;
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso
hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and
shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth
the love of God in him?
My little children, let us not love in word,
neither in tongue only; but in deed and in truth. And hereby
we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts
before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than
our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn
us not, then we have confidence toward God. And whatsoever we
ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and
do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is
his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son
Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he
in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit
which he hath given us.
I thought this morning what time I might occupy,
to call your attention to two passages of scripture. I shall not
tell you where they are, but shall quote them: "God is love,"
connected with another passage, "Perfect love casteth out
all fear, for there is no fear in love."
Whether I shall be able to do justice to the
text that I have quoted or not is very doubtful. Still, if I shall
have that assistance from Him who is love, perhaps I shall be
able to say something that may be for your edification, and this
is the only object that I have in view. My desire is that I may
be able to assist and encourage, and build up the faith of the
Saints, and if possible to induce them to a closer walk with God,
that they may become more like Him. And while my efforts shall
be to endeavor to encourage others, and induce a closer walk with
God, I too feel admonished of the necessity of endeavoring to
practice that which I set forth unto others as obligatory upon
them.
"God is love." You will discover that
in the Scriptures, nowhere is an effort made to prove the existence
of a God. It is assumed. And the first declaration we have in
the Scriptures is, "In the beginning God."
I do not know that it will be necessary for me
to set forth some of the reasons why we believe in the existence
of a God; why we accept of a supreme, overruling, governing power.
But it seems to me to be quite evident to every thinking mind,
to every reasoning individual, that there must be a Power superior
to man. That there must be some Being in existence who is the
cause of all things that we behold around us. And it seems to
me that present existence argues an eternal existence. Something
now exists, and we think that reasoning from this standpoint,
we are irresistibly driven to the conclusion that something must
have always existed—for nothing cannot produce something.
For everything there is, it is evident there must be an adequate
cause. We examine ourselves, and we see that we are organized
and beautifully arranged, and everything seeming to be adapted
to the end in view. Perhaps man is the most intricate piece of
machinery in existence; and when we discover a mechanism, an adaptation
of means to an end, we certainly conclude that there must have
been a Designing Mind, there must have been a Mechanic, an intelligent
one too, that understood the arrangement of parts, and understood
the end for which the individual thing that is constructed was
adapted. We look forth upon the visible world, and as the Psalmist
declares: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the
firmament showeth his handiwork" [Psalm 19:1].
Now we cannot say that law is the cause of this.
That is, we cannot say that law, separate and apart from intelligence,
possibly could produce these things; for we understand law at
best to be but a rule of action, or a rule for action. You may
define it either way, a rule of action or a rule for action—I
care not which way you have it. If it is a rule, there must have
been Someone to lay down this rule. To simply refer to law, or
to chance, or to the working of a law without an Individual working
by this law, it seems to me is to abandon all claim to being a
philosopher.
But some who are willing to admit the argument
from design, that is from effect to cause, still desire to carry
that same argument to the Deity Himself. But we think there is
one thing lacking. There is one link missing here. Because before
we look for a cause of an effect, we must first come to the conclusion,
and be satisfied, that that thing is an effect, that it had a
beginning. We must certainly prove that it had a beginning, or
else we have no right to look for a cause for the Originator of
that thing. We have no right to look for a cause if it always
existed. If it never had a beginning, it is not an effect, and
does not need a cause. When we are arguing from effect to cause,
the first thing is to ascertain whether this thing we are examining
had a beginning. If there was a time when it did not exist, there
must have been an adequate cause to produce this effect.
When we examine the earth and all there is upon
it, we are driven to the conclusion that there was a time in the
history of this earth when man did not exist. Nay, if we are to
accept the deductions of science, there was a time when man could
not exist upon it. Not only man, but the present race of animals—there
was a time when they could not exist, that the earth was not in
a condition for them to subsist upon it, and they could not live
there. That the conditions were such that it was not adapted to
life upon it at all at one period of its existence. And we go
down still further, if we accept the deductions of science, and
we find a time in the history of the earth when it was in its
embryotic state—when not only the animals that are now upon
it did not exist, nor man nor any living thing. There was a time
when life was not upon the planet. We pass down through one strata
after another, and we find one graveyard after another, and we
pass down below the era of life, and find a time when no living
things subsisted upon this earth. Hence all that live, whether
past or present, at one time were not. They are effects. Then
there must be an adequate cause for them.
The Scriptures tell us too, that "The heavens
declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork."
If we accept this declaration as it reads, as truth, then we are
irresistibly driven to the conclusion that all that we behold
of the various planets is the workmanship of God's hands. And
if so we ask, What law, what power it was that placed them in
such orderly arrangement by which they move in their orbits, obedient
to the laws that govern them?
Law—what is it? The laws of nature—we
hear men talking very learnedly about them. We hear men who have
never stopped to inquire what is meant by the laws of nature.
Why do you use the term just as flippantly as though you understood
all about nature and nature's laws? Men talk as though they had
gone into the laboratory of nature, and there discovered the secret
workings of it, the mainsprings, and the causes that have produced
all these things. Why you say, What do you mean by a law of "•
nature? I apprehend that there is not one in ten of those who
use this term that can tell you anything about it. Suppose we
should have to give a definition of a law of nature. What should
we say it is? Simply a fixed, stated, uniform law. A law that
acts constantly, uniformly. If anyone is able to give us a better
definition than that, I have failed to discover what that definition
can be. I cannot for the life of me tell. I have thought about
it, and studied about it. When I have heard individuals talk so
learnedly about the laws of nature, I have studied in regard to
it, and I have used my weak powers to endeavor to find a better
definition of the phrase, laws of nature, than this: that they
are firmly fixed, universal laws. Some power acting constantly,
if you will.
The moment we talk about law, or about the existence
of law, certainly it refers us to the Originator of this law.
If law is a rule of action, or a rule for action, I care not which,
then there must have been Someone who laid down this rule. I care
not whether they are the laws of nature, or what we might term
the laws of God, or laws for the government of nature, or for
the government of man; we hold that all law is the one and the
same thing.
We understand that if law is eternal, then the
Individual making this law must be as eternal, and indeed if there
is any difference, must be prior to the law. That if the laws
of nature are eternal, then the Individual who formed those laws
must be eternal also. We inquire, What is law? I understand it
to be simply the will of God, and that all law is referable to
God, to God's will.
We ask, Why does the earth move in its orbit?
Why does it have its annual and diurnal motion? Why does it revolve
in its elliptic? We answer, Because it is God's will. God has
placed it there, and it is His will that it should thus revolve.
Can you tell us any better reason for it? Can there be any better
reason for it? All law is the will of God, and upon this hypothesis
we argue that all law is eternal, because God Himself is eternal;
and that everything exists by the will of God, and everything
is governed by the will of God. We find that wherever God's law
is acting without the agency of man, that law acts in a uniform
manner. There is harmony, there is no disorder there. Everything
moves forward in its proper order, obedient to the laws that govern
it, and everything moves in harmony. But whenever man has anything
to do with this law, whenever man is brought into relation to
it, whenever he becomes a factor, then we find imperfection. We
find things do not move in harmony with the will of God. But all
inert matter, all matter, or all bodies that are not possessed
of intelligence, that are not endowed with rational powers, all
that act as mere machines acted upon, then the law acts constantly,
uniformly, without deviation, because they move obedient unto
God's will. And therefore they move in harmony.
We understand then, that all law is referable
to the will of God. Therefore, when we come to ask the question
in regard to positive law, or moral law—whether God commanded
certain things because they are right, or whether they are right
simply because they are commanded—we are led to the conclusion
at once, that if all law is referable to the will of God, then
all law must have been and existed eternally. God does not command
today things simply because they are right, and that other things
are right because they are commanded. This question has been agitated
very much: whether certain laws that were given to us were given
because they were right, that is, according to the eternal fitness
of things; or whether their right and rectitude simply consists
in their being a commandment of God.
Now if we take the position that God is eternal,
and that all law is the will of God and referable thereto, then
we can see that all law has existed from eternity, and that those
laws must have been enacted, must have been given expression to,
so far as man is concerned—and we hold that all law is equal
so far as intelligent creatures are concerned.
There are only three classes of intelligences
with which we are acquainted other than God, so far as I know
anything about it: angels, devils, and men. Angels, we understand,
rejoice in doing the will of God. We find that they rejoice in
executing His commands. Devils were not always devils it appears,
but became such by the violation of some law. Now mark you, "Sin
is the transgression of the law." If we take the scriptural
view of the matter, we will say that devils rebelled, these certain
spirits rebelled, and are "reserved now in chains of darkness
unto the judgment of the great day"—that they are undergoing
a certain punishment, and are held in reserve for a punishment.
If we take this ground, then we are certainly irresistibly driven
to the conclusion that law existed there, and that they violated
that law.
The angels kept the law, whoever they are. No
matter who they are, or what they are, whether they came into
existence at a certain period of time, or whether they always
existed, what they are has nothing to do with the inquiry this
morning. But we simply say, that according to the Scriptures there
was a certain class of spirits which rebelled. We care not when
they had a beginning, or how they had a beginning, or what the
character of their rebellion was. It simply appears that there
was a law, and that they failed to keep that law, whatever it
was.
Now our object is to show that this law is binding
upon man; that is, upon all intelligences—that it is universal.
Why? Because we claim that this law is love—the law of love.
And we hold that this law has been in existence always, from all
eternity. We hold, inasmuch as God is love, that everything that
He has made, that everything that He has formed, was formed in
love and for the benefit of His creatures.
Should it be proven, or should it be taken for
granted, or should they accept the statement made in the revelation,
that there are thousands of worlds like this, and there are intelligences
living upon them. You may accept this statement, or you may reason
by analogy and say that other planets are surrounded by atmospheres,
and adapted to man equally as well as the one upon which we live.
You may go still further and reason from analogy, or take the
revelation as a statement of fact, that there are other worlds,
and that they are peopled with intelligences. Let that be as it
may. We hold that this law of love is universal. We hold that
it is adapted to all intelligences, whether there be men upon
the other planets, or whether there be angels—that all are
governed by the one general law, and that law is love. And we
hold that when the Savior said, "Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbor as thyself,"
He referred to the relation of the creature with the Creator,
of one individual with another; and we see it is adapted to individuals
who may live in communities. It presents our duty to our neighbors,
as well as the creature's duty to God.
We find when we look at it in this manner, that
the law is eternal; that it existed from all eternity, and that
it is universal. And that the will of God to Adam, and the law
of God to other individuals, are but expressions, are but single
enactments or manifestations of this particular law— or
rather particular manifestations of this law—expressions
of it.
We hold that all laws are alike; they are but
simple expressions of the one grand law. That each expression
is but a particular manifestation of this law. That the law existed
before the enactment.
Now in regard to the government of man, we understand
that in the far, distant past when these spirits rebelled, whenever
it was, we understand that they failed to keep the law of God,
whatever the particular nature of the rebellion was, that the
principle of it was that they sinned in not loving God. Had they
loved God they would have obeyed Him, no matter what the particular
requirement was, no matter what they were commanded to do, I care
not what it was. The principle that they transgressed was love
to God. It was not a particular enactment that they transgressed;
they did not keep this general law—love to God. And I think
too, that the love to their fellow creature, or their fellow spirit,
was violated too. Because not satisfied with their own transgression,
they sought to lead others into a like rebellion, and sin from
their allegiance and their duty to God. And therefore, not only
did they fail to love God themselves, but they held out inducements
to others to ignore, or to set aside this love to God, to turn
away from it. So that both love to God and love to man, upon which
"hangs all the law and the prophets," was violated by
them, and because of this violation they were cast out, and are
reserved unto chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great
day.
God is love, and we hold that whatever laws He
gives to man are given in love, and for the good of man. In the
Garden of Eden God gave to man a law. Now I understand that the
general law had existed before, from all eternity. But this particular
expression of it was then given: "Of every tree in the garden
thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, thou shalt not eat of it." Why? Simply because
God has commanded it, if you will; and you as the creature, owing
love to God, ought cheerfully and willingly to observe whatever
law God has given you.
Why? It seems reasonable when we come to the
conclusion that God is our Creator, that He has fitted up the
earth for our abode; that He has adorned it with everything that
is to gratify our best feelings, if you will; and to satisfy our
love for the beautiful, and satisfy our wants and provide for
our necessities and supply us with everything necessary; surely
if we love God as we ought to love Him, with all our hearts—had
Adam done this, he certainly never would have allowed any mere
curiosity or love to the woman to turn him aside from his love
to God. It is evident that the woman, in partaking of the fruit,
forgot her love, forgot her duty to God. She could not have loved
Him as she ought, else she would not have allowed any power to
influence her, or turn her aside from keeping this law of love
to Him. We understand it was a violation of this grand law, this
moral law, if you please; this law upon which all other laws rest—upon
which all other laws hang; for upon these two commandments the
Son of God declares, "hang all the law and the prophets."
We take it then, that although law has its exactions,
those exactions that attach to law are given in love, and for
man's good. There are some who seem to think that it is unjust,
and that there is no love in punishing man, or in God punishing
His creatures because of their transgressions. We hold, it is
in love. We hold, that when the parent corrects the child with
a view to the reformation and the ultimate good of the child,
when he does it in a proper spirit, in a proper manner, he is
manifesting more love for the child than he possibly can do to
neglect that proper correction. We hold, that a parent is not
faithful to his trust, that he does not discharge the duties resting
upon him as he ought to do, if he sees his children do that which
is wrong and fails to correct them for it. So we consider when
man departs from God, and God attaches a certain punishment to
the transgression of the law, that it is done in love, and the
object is man's ultimate good. We hold, that all punishment, whether
here or hereafter—and we cannot look at it in any other
way from the standpoint that God is love— has for its object
the reformation and ultimate good of man. Why? Because "God
is love." Yes, says one, God is just, too. So He is. We admit
that. But there can be no love without justice. That is a perverted
love which is not just. Justice belongs with love. That love is
not a pure love that ignores justice. We understand where there
is love, with that love is justice—is impartiality too.
It is uniform, too. Whatever corrections may come in for the transgression
of this general law of love to God, they are in mercy to man and
with the ultimate good of man in view. We claim that inasmuch
as God is love, that all His acts to man are in love. They are
because of His love to man.
You will discover that before the foundation
of the earth was laid, He knew what would be the consequence of
placing man upon it. He knew that man would depart, would fall
from his original state of innocence; therefore God provided Himself
with a means for the recovery of man. He devised a plan, if you
will, whereby man could be restored, after suffering pain, sickness,
and sorrow. That He would ultimately, provided man should keep
this law of love, that although he had fallen, yet if he would
make use of the means that He had prepared whereby he might reinstate
himself with God, that God would restore him— not only to
that from which he had fallen, but to a higher degree of exaltation
than man could possibly have enjoyed had he not fallen. I claim
then, that man is benefitted, if I might be allowed the expression,
by the Fall. That every individual that keeps God's law, and is
governed in his individual actions by love—love to God and
love to man—that it will be a benefit to him. In other words,
he shall attain to a higher degree of glory, a higher degree of
enjoyment, and be placed in a higher sphere than he possibly could
have been, had man not fallen. I do not say that the Fall was
altogether for man's benefit, but that the promise is made by
God Himself, that "All things shall work together for good."
And I accept the statement just as it is written, if we love God,
if we will accept the means that God has placed within our reach,
that God in love has given us, that is, if we will accept of the
gift of His Son, for in love He gave Him, and the Son was prompted
by love to come and offer Himself, and work out man's salvation,
to pay the debt for him. And that therefore we hold, that inasmuch
as an individual loves God, he would be willing, not only willing,
but anxious, and not only anxious, but he will rejoice in the
opportunity of doing whatever God commands him to do.
Now we hold this to be a fact, that it is not
simply because it is a duty, simply because it is required that
we should perform anything, but we ought in everything that we
do, to be glad, rejoice, and be thankful; yea, our hearts ought
to swell with love and gratitude to God, that we have the opportunity
of showing our love to God, of doing just what He commands, no
matter what it may be. We ought to ever rejoice in doing the will
of God whatever it may be. Therefore we understand that there
is one part of the scripture that tells us to live above the law,
all special enactments of the law, above anything except the one
perfect law, because "perfect love casts out all fear."
There is no fear of transgressing God's law. There is no fear
of being cast out into endless darkness. There is no fear in those
who love God with all the heart, that they will be ultimately
cast off. There is no fear of a failure to ultimately attain the
end they are making for. There will be no fear. Why? "Perfect
love casts out all fear." We hold, if we love God with all
our hearts, our mights, and our minds, and our strength, and if
that love reaches out towards man, as God's love reaches out towards
us, as the Son's love reaches out towards us—we claim that
if this love to God dwells in the heart of man, it is the Spirit
of God dwelling there, for this love comes from the Spirit of
God, for "God is love." And the more we love God the
more we have of His Spirit, and this begets in us a desire to
make our fellowmen partakers of this good. We not only desire
to love God ourselves, but we desire that everybody else should
love Him. Suppose they do us wrong, suppose an injury is done
to us. Does our love abandon us? No, it ought to come out in pity,
in sympathy for them, in commiseration for their weakness; for
I hold that perfect love is the fulfilling of the law, and that
"perfect love casts out all fear."
Where the love of God dwells in the heart of
a man, he will not perform certain requirements that are made
at his hands because it is a duty simply—he will not go
out to preach simply because it is a duty; he will not seek out
his fellowman because it is a duty simply—he will not go
and labor to sustain the cause of Christ because it is a duty,
because the law says he shall. He will stop looking at what the
law says in regard to the matter. If he loves the Lord his God
with all his heart and mind, he will work for Him, and will take
pleasure in working for Him. It will cause his heart to reach
out towards his fellowman, and to do all things in his power that
are for their good.
But says one, This is all well enough if we knew
that everything was all right. But it has to pass through other
hands, and whether these use it for this purpose or whether they
do not, we do not know. Here comes in the scripture now, "Perfect
love casts out all fear." It is evident we may be loving
God, but there is something else lacking. We cannot have kept
the other part. Remember one part of the love is to God and the
other is to man. We may have kept the love we had to God but we
have lost our love for our fellowman. We cannot love our brother
as God has commanded us to love him—our love is deficient,
it is not perfect, His law is not observed in its entirety when
there is this fear. Our duty to God we may be performing. We may
perhaps be loving God with all our hearts, but this is not possible,
because the Apostle says, "How shall we love God whom we
have not seen, and hate"—mistrust, misjudge, be suspicious
of, be fearful of—"our brother whom we have seen."
Shall I put for the word "hate"—mistrust, suspicion,
misjudge, be fearful of "our brethren whom we have seen"?
It follows that according to the Apostle's reasoning, we cannot
love God whom we have not seen, if we hate or despise or suspicion
or are afraid of or misjudge our "brethren whom we have seen."
Are these terms admissible here? If they are, then it is evident
that there is something wrong in our hearts, or we have discovered
something that is wrong in our fellowman.
What ought to be our course towards such individuals?
Suppose this is the case—what does the law require of us?
That we shall hold them off in the distance? Is this the way the
father does with the son whom he loves? Is this the way a mother
does with her child because it has transgressed the law; does
she for that reason hold it off at a distance, and never give
it an opportunity of redeeming itself? Is this the course that
a mother pursues towards her child? Is this the course that a
father pursues towards his son or daughter? No. Why not? Simply
because they love their children with a purer affection than that
with which we as brethren love one another. Hence our love is
not as perfect as theirs. For there is no fear in love. "Perfect
love casts out all fear." "Love is the fulfilling of
the law."
What I want to get at this morning is to show
that no matter what is required of us by special enactments, by
certain laws, they are all based upon this one fundamental law
of love to God and love to man. That is the substrata, if you
will, upon which everything else rests. If we keep these two laws
we will do whatever God requires of us, whatever Christ requires
of us. Whatever our duty to God is, we will do it willingly and
cheerfully, not because God commands us simply, not simply as
a cold duty, not simply because we feel that we are obliged to
do it; but we do it heartily because we love to do something for
God, because He has done so much for us. We love to serve Him.
Why? Because He loves us. And because we are so wholly and entirely
dependent upon Him for all that we have and are, that we ought
to rejoice in having the opportunity of showing our gratitude
to God in serving Him, in loving Him, and doing whatever He requires
of us in regard to the great work.
God's law we understand to be the will of God.
That is, the laws of God are the will of God. For instance, we
are told that Jesus Christ came to do the will of the Father.
We are told that if we are obedient to the truth, the truth shall
make us free. We are told that God's word is truth. We are told
that the commandments of God are truth. God's laws are truth.
We are told that Christ came to bear witness to the truth, and
He says, "Thy word is truth." Well surely the word of
God is the will of God, is it not? Then the will of God is man's
law, whatever that will is. Whatever God's will is, man is to
do. That is God's law to man, and is obligatory upon him. Hence
all these various expressions of God's will in the various enactments
in the Gospel are but special enactments, particular expressions
of this one great general law of love.
I remark now, that so far as this is concerned,
we pray that the will of God may be done. "Thy will be done."
What do we mean by this? That God's will shall be done. What is
God's will? The salvation of man, is it not? "God willeth
that all men should be saved," does He not? Verily, if God's
will is that all men should be saved, if we desire God's will
to be done upon the earth, if we desire it to be universally kept
as it is kept by the angels in Heaven—we understand they
rejoice in doing His will, take pleasure in doing it—if
we desire God's will to be done, and we take pleasure in doing
it, and obeying His law because we love to do it, what is our
duty now to our fellowman, if we love our neighbor as ourselves?
Do you love the truth? Yes. Are you anxious to have the human
family all obey the truth? Is it good for you? If it is good for
you, if it is good for me, if we are made happy in the truth,
if we love the truth and rejoice in it, if we find that we have
been better men because we have obeyed the truth, if we have found
more happiness because we have obeyed the truth, if we find it
brings the spirit of life from God, if we find that it brings
happiness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, shall we who love
our neighbors as ourselves withhold this great blessing from them?
This is the great question for us. If we have love to God and
love to man, if the angels rejoice over one sinner that repenteth,
if there is joy in Heaven over it, ought we not to have joy also?
I inquire right now, if we keep these two commandments,
love to God and love to our fellowman, is there any obstacle,
is there anything that lies in our way that should hinder us from
doing all that lies within our power to bring this good to our
fellowman also? I say, if we love God with all our hearts and
our neighbors as ourselves, we will want to impart it to them,
we will want them to have the same good that we ourselves have.
If it has brought joy and gladness to us, if we love them we shall
want to bring joy and gladness to them. We will not stop at simple
things; we will not stop at little obstacles; we will not stop
because this one does not do just as we think he ought to do,
or because someone else is not doing just as we think he ought
to do, or because someone else is not acting just as we think
he ought to act. Perhaps they are acting conscientiously. Perhaps
they are acting sincerely. Perhaps they are living up to the best
light which they have. Perhaps they view it from a different standpoint
from what you do. Perhaps they have canvassed the ground much
better than you have. Perhaps they are doing the very best that
according to their understanding can be done. And if they are,
and you are keeping the commandments, then there is no fear there.
Because there is no fear in love. "Perfect love casts out
all fear." The great difficulty seems to be this: that we
have not that love in our hearts that we ought to have, and not
that confidence in Him that we ought, and it is our privilege
to have.
But says one, This is all practicable—it
is easy to love God and have faith in Him. But have you implicit
confidence in Him? The child that loves its parents with all its
heart just thinks that whatever father does, whatever mother does
is all right. Do we not think sometimes when certain things take
place, that if God loves us as He is represented to do, or as
much as He ought to do, that He would let us pass over these afflictions?
Do we not sometimes think that His afflictions are not altogether
in love? When we are prostrate upon a bed of sickness and affliction,
and are suffering pain and anguish, do we not sometimes think
that God might have done a little better and have saved us from
this suffering from these pains? Does not that thought sometimes
cross our minds? Hence you discover there is something lacking.
You do not love God, you are not joying and rejoicing in the will
of God. You are not willing that God's will should be done. There
is fear there. There is not perfect love there. Love is not fulfilled
there, for love is the fulfilling of the law, and whenever that
law is not fulfilled in its entirety, whenever we allow ourselves
to depart from the path of rectitude, and the path of duty, from
the path that Christ marked out for us, perfect love is not there,
and the law is not fulfilled I say, in its entirety—there
is something lacking.
When we withhold the means that we have that
might be used for the purpose of carrying this great good to our
fellowmen, setting forth God's great love to man, spreading it
abroad upon the earth; when we fail to put forth proper efforts,
it matters not whether it is I or you or somebody else. If he
allows love to family, to children, to wife, to father or mother,
or anyone to stand between him and his God, that moment perfect
love is not there. We do not keep the commandment. There must
be fear there. There must be doubts there, there must be misgivings
there, for perfect love casts out all fear. There will be no fear
there if our love is perfect. You know Christ says, "Anew
commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another."
When we keep His commands simply from a standpoint
of duty, simply because it is a duty, it seems to me that the
general law is broken. If I do a certain thing because I am commanded
to do it, because it is my duty to do it; if I do it simply because
it is a duty, because I am required to do it, I have failed to
keep the law. I may discharge duty, but where is my love to God?
The law of love is not kept; and, we hold, the Scriptures teach
that whatever we are required to do by God, if we love God we
will rejoice in the privilege of doing it, we will be glad to
do it, and will rejoice in doing it whenever that will is made
known unto us. If we love God we will be willing to err rather
on the side of love than to act simply because stem duty requires
us to act.
Says one, If I could avoid it, I would let it
go. Then we do not want to do any more than we can help; we do
not wish to do any more than we are compelled to do, than we are
required to do, than it is our bounden duty to do.
One revelation tells us that we ought to bring
to pass much righteousness of ourselves; that he that waiteth
to be commanded in all things is a slothful servant. Why? Because
if we love God and our fellowmen we will put forth efforts for
their good, for their well-being, for their happiness, for their
comfort, that the law does not require of us, that is the strict
letter of the law. Therefore, whenever we see that we can work
a good for the cause of God, that we can do anything to bring
man to love God; that is, when we can put forth any effort that
will induce man to love God, or do anything to roll forth the
work of God, wherever we see an opportunity, wherever the privilege
is given unto us of benefitting our fellowman, of relieving misery,
of comforting and alleviating the distressed, there our duty is.
As it was in regard to the neighbor, Who is my neighbor? Now it
is a certain fact that the law had no hold upon this Samaritan
who passed by to relieve the distresses of this man who fell among
thieves. There was no law binding him to do it, but he did it
of his own accord. He did it willingly, freely, without any compulsion,
without any influence being brought to bear upon him. His own
goodness of heart and love to his fellowman was what prompted
him. He saw misery. He saw need. He saw where he could do some
good, where he could be of some benefit to his fellowman. And
he did it. Hence the saying, "Go thou and do likewise."
Do not stop to ask the question, "Who is my neighbor?"
There was a case of suffering; there was a case of want; there
was a case of need. Whenever there is such a case presented, I
say there is our neighbor, wherever it is. Love, the general law
of love, I say, underlies all other law and requires us to do
this—love to God and love to man.
I do not know that I shall occupy any more time.
My thoughts have been rambling and rather disjointed; but if I
have said anything that will induce anyone to think more upon
this matter, and will induce anyone to greater efforts in keeping
the great fundamental law of love to God and love to man, then
I shall be fully satisfied. I desire to see love in every heart.
I wish to see an increase of love towards one another. I desire
less listening to fears and doubts towards one another. I want,
if I possibly can, to induce more confidence in one another. If
I can get us to love one another more, if anything I can say will
get us to love one another more, it will banish doubt and distrust—unless
we have good reasons for it. We ought to have good grounds for
it before we ever allow it a place in our hearts. There is no
fear in love. "Perfect love casts out all fear."
Remember this, that "God is love."
The more we become godlike, the more pure love we will have in
our hearts. Remember that charity, which is the pure love of God
in the heart, "Thinketh no evil, is not easily provoked,
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, believeth
all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never
faileth. But whether there be prophecies they shall fail."
They are only for time. "Whether there be tongues they shall
cease." They are only for time. "Whether there be knowledge,"
so far as worldly knowledge is concerned, "it shall vanish
away." But love that binds the heavenly hosts together, pure
love, will continue through all eternity. It has been from eternity,
and it will continue. It is the general, fundamental law governing
all creatures, pointing their duty out the one towards the other,
and their duty to God their Creator. It is the chain that binds
all intelligences together. It never fails.
Now the more we get of love to God in our hearts,
and love to our fellowman, the better we are prepared to enter
into that community of love, to enter into the presence of Him
who is love; into the presence of those who are obeying the law
of love and who are rejoicing over the repentance of every sinner
upon earth.
May God help us to thus cultivate the spirit
of love. And let me say that those who love most come nearest
to God, they are most godlike. If we do make mistakes, let us
make them on the side of love. Let us be found erring in that
direction, if error be found. May God help us then, to love one
another with a pure heart, fervently. Let us allow nothing to
step in between God and us. Let us allow nothing to cause us to
cast aside or to obstruct or hinder our love to God. Let love
to God be supreme; then love to our fellowmen. May God help us
to cultivate this spirit of love, is my prayer (The
Saints' Herald 30 [Lamoni, Iowa, May 19, 1883]: 313–318;
Joseph Smith III, Editor). |
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