IV.
SOURCE OF MORAL EVIL.
Now we come to an element in our faith, extremely interesting and that is the transgression of law, which the Apostle John declares to be sin: "for sin," said he, "is the transgression of the law." This transgression of law is a fact that has to be taken into account in the sum of things. The existence of moral evil in the world is one of the problems that has vexed Christian theologians from the earliest of times until now. They have had extreme difficulty in reconciling their conception of God as an absolute being, infinitely wise, all-powerful, all-good, and that he created everything out of nothing, and yet not assign to him the creation of evil. If all things have been produced by an infinitely righteous, perfect, all-powerful, and good Creator, how can moral evil exist in his economy? That is a question to which no satisfactory explanation has yet been found. Mormonism teaches that God does not create moral evil; but that moral evil arises out of the agency of intelligences, and that so long as there are intelligences, possessed of free agency, it means that they can violate law, if they insist upon doing it. To conceive this as impossible would be to deny the free agency of intelligences.
I know there is one passage that, perhaps, might be quoted against my contention, that God does not create evil. It occurs in the writings of Isaiah, it is said—and it is the only place in Scripture where it is said, so far as I have been able to learn—"I [God] make peace," and "I create evil." "I create"—what? "Evil," such as the opposite of peace, such as war, famine, and the like. But to what end does God cause war, or famine? For corrective purposes only, to chastize men, to bring them to a realization of wrong-doing, or national transgression. For these ends God has, sometimes, brought to pass these conditions that we recognize as evil. But that class of evils is quite a distinct thing from moral evil. Though God may bring on a famine, storm, tempest, or war for corrective purposes, yet God is not the creator of falsehood; he is not the creator of slander; nor of drunkenness; nor of avarice, nor malice, nor of robbery, nor unkindness, nor of adulteries. These moral evils are not of his creating. Jesus Christ did not say, "Lead us not into temptation," for, as the Apostle James instructs us, God cannot be tempted of evil. "Let no man," says he, "when he is tempted, say, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and enticed. Then lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death." The prayer of the Christ, as taught to his apostles, and as restored through the word of the Lord to our Prophet, is not, "And lead us not into temptation," but "Suffer us not to be led into temptation, deliver us from evil."
So far as moral evil is concerned, then, I say it is not of God's creation. It is one of those possibilities that are eternal. It did not begin with the transgression of Adam upon this earth. It existed before that; even in the heavens, when Lucifer rebelled against the King and majesty of heaven—God. Lucifer had power even there to sin; and so far back as the agency of intelligences extends, there has existed always the possibility of sin; and so far forward as the agency of intelligences shall extend, there will always be the possibility, of the transgression of law, of sin; for sin potentially, is an eternal reality. It is concurrent with the free agency of intelligences.
But God, according to Mormon doctrine, does not create evil, tempt men with it, and then when not sufficiently strong to withstand the temptation, damn them everlastingly for falling. The only way in which God affects men is favorably, that is, he helps them in their apprehension of and their adoption of the good. He does not, according to Mormon doctrine, create intelligence, for that is an independent, self-existing thing; therefore not even God creates man's intelligence, that is uncreated and uncreatable—an eternal thing. As I have said elsewhere, God is not responsible for the use they make of their freedom; nor is he the author of their sufferings when they fall into sin; suffering arises out of the violations of law to which the "intelligence" subscribed, and must be endured until the lessons of obedience to law are learned.
Man has his choice of moving upward or downward in every estate he occupies; often defeating even the benevolent purposes of God respecting him, through his own perverseness; he passes through dire experiences, suffers terribly, yet learns by what he suffers, so that his very suffering becomes a means to his improvement; he learns swiftly or slowly, according to the inherent nature of him, obedience to law; he learns that "that which is governed by law is also preserved by law, and perfected and sanctified by the same; and that which breaketh the law and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice nor judgment. Therefore they must remain filthy still." This conception of things relieves God of the responsibility for the nature and status of intelligences in all stages of their development; their inherent nature and their volition makes them primarily what they are, and this nature they may change, slowly, perhaps, yet change it they may. God has put them in the way of changing it, by enlarging their intelligence through change of environment, and through experiences.
THE PLACE AND MISSION OF CHRIST IN MORMON DOCTRINE.
There is a singular fact connected with this subject of moral evil—of sin. And that is that the transgression of the moral law entails suffering, even as violation of physical law may result in pain, or sickness or death. The way of the transgressor is hard. "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he reap." "The wages of sin is death." Not only are these truisms, but it is also true that often the righteous are made to suffer because of the transgressions of the wicked. The innocent are involved in the misery of the guilty. No man lives unto himself alone, and he may, and often does involve others in his transgressions. It is possible for the fathers to suffer because of the sins of the children. It is possible for the children to suffer because of the sins of the fathers. Many a father can still exclaim as David did over his wayward son Absalom, "O! my son! Would to God that I had died for thee!" This is one of the difficulties that confront religious thought—the innocent being involved in the sufferings of the guilty. Yet, from the midst of our perplexity over such a seeming injustice as this, there comes to us the mighty testimony that it is not only possible but it is a fact, that the innocent can and do suffer with and because of the transgression of the guilty; may they not also suffer for them, since vicarious suffering is a possibility? On that possibility hinges the whole gospel of the Christ, and the saving power of the atonement. It is deeply written in the experiences of men that the innocent can suffer with and because of the guilty; and it is the doctrine of the Christian revelation that the innocent can suffer for the guilty, as witness the following testimonies: "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for us." "Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." "He [the Christ] appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. * * * So Christ once suffered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." "Christ also suffered for us. * * Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness; by whose stripes we were healed." It is very clear, then, that it is the doctrine of the Christian revelation, which doctrine of course, Mormonism accepts, that Christ suffered for man's transgressions. There is Scripture evidence also, could we but take the time to point it out, to prove that the whole scheme of man's earth-life and his redemption was considered even before the foundations of the earth itself were laid. And the Redeemer chosen and agreed upon and hence was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Paul announces himself as living, "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began." The facts in brief are that the time came when for the progress of spirit intelligences an earth-life, under conditions such as exist in this world, became necessary to them. To bring to pass that earth-life the union of spirit with earth element and attended by the experiences which such a life would bring, involved transgression of law, involving the race in sin and death from which it was only possible to extricate it by adequate atonement being made to satisfy the claims of inexorable law. In this crisis there arose in the councils in heaven one great, sympathetic Soul who recognized not only the fact that the innocent can suffer with the guilty, or because of the guilty, but for the guilty, and offered himself a sacrifice for the sin that should be committed in breaking the harmony of things in order to give intelligences the advantages of earth-life and its lessons. The Christ would make atonement for Adam's transgression, so that as in Adam all should die, as saith the Scriptures, so in Christ should all be made alive; that "since by man came death, by man should come also the resurrection of the dead." And not only was this vicarious atonement made to cover the transgression of Adam, but it was made to reach also to the individual sins of men, that they might not suffer if they would accept the gospel. The doctrine is better stated in a revelation given to our Prophet than anywhere else in sacred literature, hence I quote that revelation. Let it be borne in mind that transgression of the moral law—sin—is attended upon by suffering, and now this revelation. It was given through the Prophet to Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon, reproving him for some of his delinquencies:
"And surely every man must repent or suffer, for I, God, am endless,
"Wherefore, I revoke not the judgments which I shall pass, but woes shall go forth, weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, yea, to those who are found on my left hand;
* * * * *
"Therefore I command you to repent, repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not! how exquisite you know not! yea, how hard to bear you know 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 tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit; and would that I might not drink that bitter cup and shrink—
"Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men;
"Wherefore, I command you again to repent, lest I humble you with my almighty power, and that you confess your sins, test you suffer these punishments of which I have spoken, of which in the smallest, yea, even in the least degree you have tasted at the time I withdrew my spirit."
I presume that the experience of Martin Harris, here described, has at least been sufficiently the experience of every matured man and woman—that they know this testimony to be true, that is, that sin produces suffering—sorrow, anguish of heart; and when the Spirit of the Lord is withdrawn and darkness, like the blackness of night surges through the soul of man, and the sun of righteousness seems set for him, he is then made to feel what it means to sin against the law of God as it has been revealed unto his soul. When you think of the bitterness of that personal suffering, you will not marvel that when the heavy burden of a world's sin rested down upon the Son of God in Gethsemane—you certainly will not marvel that he sweat great drops of blood in his agony; nor wonder at his suffering on the cross.
Now, the transgression of the moral law we say results in suffering. It is possible for the innocent to suffer for the guilty, and through the voluntary act of the Christ, he took upon him your sins and mine, if we will but be bought by the price which he paid for us. He has suffered that we might not suffer, if we would but obey his law henceforth.
The atonement of the Christ both for Adam's transgression and for the individual sins of men, brings into the moral economy of God the element of mercy, and of love from which mercy springs. To make room for mercy, however, justice had to be satisfied, hence the atonement. "And God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." This sacrifice of the Christ is the manifestation of that love of God that binds in sympathetic relations all the intelligences of the universe together; by which they suffer not only with each other and because of each other, but at need for each other. This is the doctrine of the atonement of the Christ; this the good news of salvation, the gospel of Jesus Christ. You may be rescued, I may be rescued, from the suffering that comes of sin, through the vicarious atonement of the Christ. And that the forces of that atonement may be applied to us, we manifest our acceptance of this means of salvation by our repentance of sin, and by going into the waters of baptism, into the great cleansing element of the world, and there are buried with the Christ in likeness of his own burial; and then we are brought forth from the watery tomb in the likeness of his glorious resurrection; and as he awoke to a newness of physical life, by the resurrection, so, too, may we come forth from baptism to a newness of spiritual life. We also complete the baptism by the application of the purifying element, the baptism of the Holy Ghost—likened unto a baptism of fire. The Spirit of God is thus imparted to our spirit, which means that our lives are united with the life of God; by which his wisdom may be at our service; by which his strength may be our strength; his glory, may be our glory. Thus may men be united to God by these most beautiful and holy symbols of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then, to keep the object lessons constantly before us, and to be reminded of the price that was paid for the possibility of our redemption from sin, we often partake of the emblems of the body and of the blood of the Christ, by which we renew covenant, by which we renew spiritual life, and thus keep our fellowship with God, that the blood of Christ may cleanse us from all sin.
This, in part, is the body of our doctrine. This is the grand scheme of man's salvation, and the philosophy that underlies it. This is our doctrine concerning the universe, concerning the existence of intelligences within it, the purpose of earth-life of man, and the means provided for man's redemption from the consequences of the transgression of law involved in that earth-life. Judge ye, this day, whether such a body of doctrine as this is not worthy of something more than "the cold respect of a passing glance."
V.
PEACE.
Remarks at the "Peace Meeting," held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, Sunday afternoon, May 16th, 1909, following a Discourse by Elder W. W. Riter on the subject of "Universal Peace."
I.
THE BLESSEDNESS OF PEACE.
"And he [Jehovah] shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into plow shares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."
This is the passage of Scripture which Elder Riter referred to as being the one which, perhaps, will be more frequently repeated today than any other passage of Scripture; for in our own land, and other Christian lands, this day is dedicated to the promotion of peace; to the suggesting of ways and means by which peaceful arbitration may be substituted for the dreadful arbitrament of war, in the settlement of international difficulties.
I presume there is no one but what loves peace. We remember, of course, the injunction of the Psalmist, "to seek peace and pursue it." We recall, on this occasion, the song of the angels at the birth of the Christ, when the hope of Isaiah in a new form was expressed in the song of the angels, in the Judean hills—"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." I think of all the salutations that were ever spoken to man, the most beautiful is that salutation of the Christ after his resurrection upon meeting his disciples—"Peace be unto you!" This afterwards became the universal Christian salutation—"Peace be unto you!" "He [the Christ] hath called us to peace," is Paul's declaration. Again: "if it be possible—as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." Of wisdom it is said:
"Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are paths of peace."
From all these expressions we learn, of course, the desirability and the beauty and grace of peace—"peace on earth, and toward men good will." Strange indeed would be the spectacle of a man who would express himself in favor of war instead of peace. Peace is the mother of abundance; the nurse of sciences and of arts; for without peace these things may not abound. Peace is essential to the progress of nations; some one has called it the "calm health of nations." Every prompting of the heart and every deduction of the reasonable mind would array all men upon the side of peace. Good sense demands it; prosperity and progress of nations demand it. I give my voice for peace. But in our contemplation of this subject, there are some other things that, I think, ought to be considered. We must not forget that there is such a thing as "ignoble peace," There has been in the past, and there may be in the future, such things as "honorable wars." There are some things in this world that can not be arbitrated. A burglar, for instance, enters your home, and he loads up his bag with your valuables—your jewelry, your money, the product of your frugality and industry—and when you catch him red-handed in the act, he may not drop his bag and propose arbitration. You can't arbitrate the case; he must be seized and brought before the courts, and receive the punishment due to his crime. The community must be protected against such characters. It is equally true that there are international affairs that may not be arbitrated. A host may not invade our territory, and while still occupying it propose arbitration of differences between us. We will not endure the presence of the invader. He must be driven from the fatherland. Until we reach the basis of assured justice in personal affairs and in national affairs, the world may not hope to dispense with the force that can demand and assure justice. The very existence of law implies force. The great Napoleon, who will yet be recognized as a greater statesman than he was warrior, once said, "Your laws are mere nullities without the force necessary to make them respected." Law implies penalty; penalty implies force; force, in the last analysis of it, means armies and navies, and there is no escaping the conclusion. While God is spoken of as a God of justice, he is also spoken of as a God of battles: and we have a number of instances named in holy writ, where God justified war—notwithstanding all the horrors attendant upon it. There are some things worse than war, and there are some things even better than peace. Justice is better than peace; and without justice, be assured you can have no enduring peace. War is horrible, but slavery is worse. Deprivation of your rights, the right to life, to liberty, and to the pursuit of happiness—to be deprived of these is worse than war; and these are worth all that it costs to maintain them, worthy of all that even a war would cost us to maintain them.
II.
THE GOD OF BATTLES.
I was much impressed, many years ago, in reading the account of Joshua, when he was taking possession of the land which God had given to the Hebrew race. As he was nearing Jericho, in the early days of his conquests, on one occasion he observed a stranger approaching, with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him and said, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" "Nay," said this glorious personage, "but as captain of the host of the Lord, am I now come;" and Joshua fell at his feet and worshiped him without reproach, acknowledging him as lord, and inquired what he would have him to do; and the divine personage—for he was no less—required the warrior, Joshua, to remove the very shoes from his feet, for he was standing on holy ground! How different this incident from that where an angel appeared unto John, the beloved disciple, and John, overwhelmed with the glamor of the angel's brightness, fell down and worshiped him, or would have done so, but the angel quickly raised him up and said, "See thou do it not, for I am of thy fellow servants and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus, worship God." But in the case of Joshua bowing down to this personage, with drawn sword in hand, "Captain of the Lord's hosts," he was not stopped in his worship of him; proving to us that this personage was more than an angel—that he was divine. What, Deity? Yes, or why was he worshiped by Joshua? Again, it is written in the Scriptures:
"The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh—made war with the Hagarites—and they were helped against them: for they cried to God in the battle, and he was entreated of them; because they put their trust in him.—Then fell down many slain, because the war was of God."
These incidents represent God indeed as a God of battles. I know it is said that "War is hell," and therefore, from that standpoint, some people may think that God has little or nothing to do with war; but at this point I may say that I share the views of his Grace the Archbishop of Armagh, who, in a poem published a few years ago, said:
"They say that 'war is hell,' the 'great accursed,
'The sin impossible to be forgiven—
Yet I can look beyond it at its worst,
And still find blue in Heaven.
"And when I note how nobly natures form
Under the war's red rain, I deem it true,
That he who made the earthquake and the storm,
Perchance made battles too!
* * * * *
"As the heaven's many colored flames
At sunset are but dust in rich disguise—
The ascending earthquake dust of battle frames
God's pictures in the skies."
III.
JUSTICE THE BASIS OF PEACE.
You will see, from what I have here said, that while I am interested in this question of peace, and believe in it, I have little sympathy with the hysteria that sometimes goes with those who advocate it. If the world wants peace—very good; the world may have it; but that world-peace which has been the dream of prophets and sages must have for its basis justice. No more beautiful expression than this: "Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other;" and peace is of little worth till kissed by righteousness. Make your basis of universal peace universal justice, and peace is assured. And may we hope for it, this universal peace? Most assuredly. It has been promised the world by divine wisdom, and his word will not fail; but when we get universal peace, it will be because righteousness has been established, and because justice is assured. Those of us, then, who are interested in establishing international peace—universal peace—let us proceed by seeking to establish righteousness—personal and national—and by establishing justice. Already there has been wonderful progress made by the world in this direction. Already we may see the twilight breaking over the eastern hills that gives assurance of the coming day of peace spoken of by the prophets. Elder Riter has traced for us some of the developments in this progress. I think, in modern days our movements towards it have been almost by leaps and bounds. It was in 1815 that the first peace society in the world, was organized. That organization was effected in the United States. It took place immediately after the close of the unfortunate war of 1812, our last war, with Great Britain—pray God it may be, indeed, the very last! The circumstances attendant upon that war, the pity of seeing people of the same race and of the same religion, locked in deadly conflict; and then, too, the unhappy circumstances of having the chief great land battle fought some fifteen or twenty days after the peace between the two nations had really been signed—these circumstances created a sentiment against such wars as this, wars between people so closely allied in interest and sentiment, and religion—it was like brother fighting brother! And the great internecine war between the American states presented to the world even a sadder picture, and created a still stronger sentiment for peace. So the peace movement began from these circumstances, and from these beginnings grew until from a purely local movement it became a national one; and today is an international one. In 1899 we had the happiness of seeing the world's first great, permanent international court of arbitration established, the beginning of the fulfilment of that dream of the prophets, the establishment of the universal parliament of the world, the federation of nations. The leading nations of Europe and America sent delegations to the Hague that year, and there was established this permanent court of arbitration, which has already passed upon some twelve international cases, and that has quite a number of cases still pending before it. This is progress beyond the dreams of men a quarter of a century ago. But these things grow slowly. We need not marvel if the movement that finally established this permanent international court of arbitration grew slowly. "Constitutions," says an authority on civil law, "are not made—they grow." They come up out of the long experience of races of men. They are beaten out upon the anvil of human experience. Take a single nation, a homogenous people—how slow they have been, in the centuries of the past, to come to a settlement of the questions pertaining to the civil rights of persons, to their political rights under the law. How slow individuals have been to learn that liberty is liberty under the law; and not the license to do as one pleases, irrespective of the rights of others! You may be assured that if a race or a nation has made slow progress along these lines, when the people were homogenous, when their civilization was identical, when their aspirations were of one character—then you may be assured that nations of different races, civilizations, traditions and temperaments will still make slower progress and require a longer time to conform their conduct to international law, the object of which shall be to dispense justice among the nations. Still we may hope that this movement towards a recognition of international justice and universal peace will be more rapid than in past ages as to national reforms and progress, since we live in an age noted for the diffusion of knowledge, and a constantly widening circle of intelligence.
In this text I have read to you, there is one thing that I want to call your attention to, that we are apt to overlook, and that is this: "And He [Jehovah] shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people," etc. Mark you that! Jehovah "shall judge among the nations;" then comes your promise of the beating of swords into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks. When? When Jehovah judges among the nations—when his law, the very essence of which is justice, is observed and honored by the nations; then we may hope to find the fulfillment of the dream of the prophet,—and not until then. And when the dream of the poets and sages shall come to pass, and the federation of nations shall be a reality, and there shall be the world's parliament—what then? Why, even then you will find that law implies force to compel obedience, and that force in the last analysis of things means armies, navies—war! So that when the world shall be removed from the possibilities of war, I do not know. My judgment is that we shall need courts, police, armies, navies—the embodiment of force, just so long as on the part of individuals and groups of individuals and communities and nations there is a disposition to resort to acts of injustice, to violate law, to gratify the disposition in man to make aggression upon his fellow-men. These things must be restrained; and, in some cases force only is the means by which they may be restrained; so that the means of the enforcement of law, so far as I can see, must live as long as there is law.
Well, this view is not so very hopeful for international—for universal peace, is it? I read, in my Scriptures, about their having been war even in heaven; and I do not know but what there may be future wars in other heavens—I am sure there will be if there is rebellion against law, and justice, and good order; and it will extend into the future, as well as being a reality of the past. Now, do you not see that the end of all our reflections upon the subject simply means that you must have righteousness or you can have no peace? You must have justice or you can never have peace. Neither Gods nor men have been able to have peace in the past, not even in heaven, apart from these principles; and what holds as to the past, I think is very likely to hold for the future.
As to the sorrow that wars bring to us—I scarcely know what to say of that. But even sorrows have their mission in this world; and suffering has its mission. I think that any Christian who rightly understands the gospel of Jesus Christ will value all the more the salvation that comes to him, by reason of what it cost—the blood-sweat of the Christ in Gethsemane, as well as his sufferings on Calvary. I think a man should value the liberties that he enjoys all the more because of the awful price that has been paid for them. I read here in our Book of Doctrine and Covenants that God inspired the fathers of our republic to establish the Constitution of our country—the United States; and he tells us that he "redeemed the land by the shedding of blood." Are these battles of the past, these sufferings and sacrifices of past generations, of no value? I prize the liberties of our age and the civilization of our times, not only because of the value of the things in themselves, but also because of the price that the generations in the past have paid for them. They become sanctified through the suffering and the sacrifice that it has been necessary to make fo them. Father Ryan has voiced some sentiments, in which I share, and I am going to read them to you. It is said by some one, whom I do not now remember, that "Calvaries and crucifixes take deepest hold of humanity—the triumphs of might are transient, they pass away and are forgotten—the sufferings of Right are graven deepest on the chronicles of nations." I do not believe that all the suffering of the past is wasted, by any manner of means, "Crowns of roses fade; crowns of thorns endure!" And now for this poem:
THE LAND WITH MEMORIES.
"Yes! give me a land where the ruins are spread,
And the living tread light on the hearts of the dead;
Yes, give me a land that is blest by the dust,
And bright with the deeds of the downtrodden just!
Yes, give me the land that hath legend and lays
Enshrining the memories of long-vanished days;
Yes, give me a land that hath story and song,
To tell of the strife of the Right with the Wrong;
Yes, give me the land with a grave in each spot,
And names in the graves that shall not be forgot!
Yes, give me the land of the wreck and the tomb,
There's a grandeur in graves—there's a glory in gloom!
For out of the gloom future brightness is born,
And the graves of the dead, with the grass overgrown,
May yet form the footstool of Liberty's throne,
And each single wreck in the war-path of Might,
Shall yet be a rock in the Temple of Right!"[1]
[Footnote 1: This poem was often quoted by Mr. Alexander Stephens, of Georgia, than whom America has produced few greater statesmen, and this poem for him seemed to voice the sorrows of the South after the close of the war between the States.]
Now, let us have peace, even if we have to fight for it—and in my judgment, for some time to come, if you have peace, it will be because you are prepared to fight for it; and when the great central government shall be established—the world's federation of nations—it will need the force, the power to compel men to submit to its just decrees. This dream of the poet, here in Isaiah, shall be fulfilled in very deed, when God shall judge among the nations; because when he judges among the nations, he will judge in righteousness, and he will judge in justice; that will insure the world's peace; and our national armaments then will not be necessary. But what experiences, national and international, lie between where we now stand and the attainment of that end—who may tell? Another prophet caught a glimpse of that side of the question, when he declared that the nations would beat their plows into swords, and their pruning hooks into spears (Joel 3:10); and there is something in the way of experience in that kind for modern nations, in all probability. Yet, I am a man of peace, I believe in peace. I intend to work for peace, but I cannot close my eyes to some of these things that are born out of the experiences of races and nations of men; but may God grant that the spirit of peace may increase in the world—there is much need of it, but when peace becomes universal and permanent, be assured it will be so, because righteousness and justice shall have been established in the world.
VI.
THE MYSTERIOUS HARMONIES OF THE GREAT REPUBLIC.
Being a development of the thought that God had part in founding the government of the United States and is directing its destinies. (Fourth of July speech at Spanish Fork, 1908.)
I.
INTRODUCTION.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: I appreciate the honor you have done me in asking me to come to your beautiful and thriving town to speak such things to you as this occasion may suggest. I think it is quite generally conceded that the old-fashioned Fourth of July celebration, like many other old-fashioned things, is growing out of date. The thirteen guns at sunrise, the hoisting of the flag, the early assembling of the people, the parade, in spite of heat and dust, rain or mud, representation of the thirteen states by thirteen young ladies—beautiful all; the assembling of the people in the grove, the prayer of the chaplain, the reading of the Declaration of Independence, with all its serious charges against King George III intact; and, above all, the long and serious and wearying speech of the "orator of the day"—all this is passing away, and we celebrate our nation's birthday usually under less imposing ceremonies; and to this change, for one, I have been entirely reconciled. So far reconciled, in fact, that I had made something like a resolution that never again would I participate in the old-fashioned methods of celebration; that I would no more inflict on my fellow-citizens a Fourth of July speech so often misnamed "oration."
But receiving your committee's very flattering invitation to address the good people of Spanish Fork, a change came over the spirit of my thought, and it occurred to me that at this particular time the occasion might afford an opportunity for the expression of thoughts which I am quite sure the people of your town, and the people of our entire state, would do well to consider at this time, and hence I am here to venture a few remarks which I hope will be of some interest to those here assembled, and without offense to any.
THE MIRACLE OF AMERICAN ACHIEVEMENTS.
I think no man of intelligence can contemplate the achievements by the United States of America through the last one hundred thirty six years without being over-powered by the sense that what has been wrought is the result of something more than merely unaided, human achievement. The establishment, maintenance and extension of free institutions until they reach triumphant success in permanent, peaceful self-government by the people; the enlargement of our borders from the great lakes to the gulf; from the shores of the Atlantic to those of the Pacific; the triumphs obtained over the wilderness; the marvelous extension of civilization; the contributions we have made to civilization itself; the triumphs of intellect over material things; the practical annihilation of distances; the network of railroads, trans-continental and local, with accompanying network of telegraph lines bringing all parts of our land into immediate communication with each other, and with all the world; the multiplication of mechanical contrivances, which removes man from much of the drudgery of life; the marvelous increase in conveniences and comforts of human life, country life, town life, city life and national life; the general uplift that has taken place in intellectual, moral and spiritual life; our expanding educational facilities and the wide dissemination of knowledge among the people; the increase among the people, if not of patriotism, at least of confidence in the permanency and success of our system of government—all these triumphs, I repeat, proclaim a higher power than that which is resident in human wisdom as being the force that founded and that has guided the destinies of our country to the achievement of all this. For some wise purpose, yet to be more perfectly unfolded, through plot and counterplot of men, I feel that God is developing the mysterious harmonies that shall make up the history of our great republic. It is upon this idea that I shall dwell today, the idea that God has had a part in founding our nation and directing thus far its course. I am the more free to take in hand this subject today, because I believe that I am speaking to those who quite generally accept this view.
II.
THE INSPIRATION OF THE FOUNDERS OF THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION.
The following passage is to be found in a book which many of our citizens accept as scripture, and which represents Deity saying:
"It is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another. And for this purpose have I established the constitution of this land [the United States] by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood." (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 101.)
I think this doctrine may be maintained in two ways: First, by reference to the historical incidents of the American revolution, in the throes of which our nation had its birth. And, second, by an appeal to the principles of the constitution on which our nation is founded. Necessarily, of course the consideration of these two branches of the subject must be very limited. Let us consider the first proposition. One hundred and thirty-six years ago today, when the Declaration of Independence was signed by the American patriots assembled in Philadelphia, there were in existence, and in rebellion against Great Britain, thirteen colonies extending along the Atlantic seaboard from Massachusetts to Georgia. In round numbers, the population did not reach 3,000,000. They were not a military people. They were a farming and frontier population. The task immediately before them, in an economic way, was the subjugation of the wilderness. They had no great stores of munitions of war, nor were they well supplied with arms. Their commerce was primitive and depended upon the favor and shipping of the nation with which they were at war. They had no great military geniuses among them, and, from the standpoint of those who believe that God fights on the side of those who have the largest and most perfect armies and the heaviest ordinance, the struggle for independent national existence would look hopeless. In the eyes of many of the colonists themselves it was a forlorn hope, this dream of independence. They were about to measure arms with one of the most formidable empires of the world. A nation ready and armed at all points, "her navies," as some of the leading men of Virginia said—"her navies were riding triumphantly in every sea; her armies never marched but to certain victory." What could be the issue of such a conflict except that the colonies would become an easy prey to Great Britain, and the rebellion would end in converting "the right" which the British parliament then claimed to tax America without representation, into a firm and indubitable right by conquest?
The fact alone that the colonies succeeded in the face of such overwhelming odds in winning their independence must necessarily argue the support of some superhuman power which intervenes in the affairs of nations. And when the secondary means through which victory was finally secured for the colonies is considered, the more apparent becomes the fact of divine interposition. The mind skeptical to such faith as this, would naturally say that the victory of the colonies was achieved because France and Spain, old enemies of Great Britain, and Holland, her jealous rival for the world's commerce, joined with the American colonies in the war against Great Britain, and that those nations, rather than the colonial armies, won for the American colonies their independence. To my mind, however, it is just here that the interposition of divine providence becomes most apparent; and I find my belief most aptly expressed by one of the most accomplished of American historians (Marcus Wilson), who, in commenting upon the treaty of peace signed by Great Britain, France, Spain, Holland and the United States, said:
"This closed the most important war in which England had ever been engaged—a war which rose wholly out of her ungenerous treatment of her American colonies. The expense of blood and treasure which this war cost England was enormous; nor, indeed, did her European antagonists suffer much less severely. The United States was the only country that could look to any beneficial results from the war, and these were ordained by a strange union of opposing motives and principles, unequaled in the annals of history. France and Spain, the arbitrary despots of the old world, had stood forth as the protectors of an infant republic, and had combined, contrary to all the principles of their political faith, to establish the rising liberties of America. They appeared but as blind instruments in the hands of providence, employed to aid in the rounding of a nation which should cultivate those republican virtues that were destined yet to regenerate the world upon the principles of universal intelligence, and eventually to overthrow the timeworn system of tyrannical usurpation of the few over the many."
To this expression of my belief I may hope to add nothing. I do, however, desire, in addition to the evidence thus presented for the idea of the interposition of providence in the affairs which led to the establishment of our nation, I do desire to call your attention to the fact that some of the great American leaders in the Revolutionary period had a most perfect pre-vision of all these events which history records as having taken place. Among these inspired men, which many of you believe God raised up to found the constitution of our country, there certainly was none more inspired than the great Virginia orator, Patrick Henry. Mr. Wirt, his biographer, calls attention to an item of his history which seems to have been strangely overlooked by those who speak of this great man and the contributions he made to the general cause of freedom in our land. Mr. Wirt tells us of a conversation that took place at the residence of Colonel Samuel Overton, in Virginia, in the presence of a number of prominent gentlemen that is so clearly prophetic that you shall not find in Isaiah or Micah or Amos or any of the Jewish prophets a passage that surpasses it for prophetic clearness. I shall quote the incident as related by Mr. Wirt, who received the story of Mr. Pope, and records it in his excellent biography of Patrick Henry:
"I was informed by Colonel John Overton, that before one drop of blood was shed in our contest with Great Britain, he was at Colonel Samuel Overton's in company with Mr. Henry, Colonel Morris, John Hawkins and Colonel Samuel Overton, when the last mentioned gentleman asked Mr. Henry, 'whether he supposed Great Britain would drive her colonies to extremities, and if she should, what he thought would be the issue of the war.' When Mr. Henry, after looking round to see who were present, expressed himself confidentially to the company in the following manner:
"'She will drive us to extremities; no accommodation will take place; hostilities will soon commence, and a desperate and bloody touch it will be.' 'But,' said Colonel Samuel Overton, 'do you think, Mr. Henry, that an infant nation as we are, without discipline, arms, ammunition, ships of war, or money to procure them do you think it possible, thus circumstanced, to oppose successfully the fleets and armies of Great Britain?' 'I will be candid with you,' replied Mr. Henry. 'I doubt whether we shall be able, alone, to cope with so powerful a nation. But,' continued he (rising from his chair, with great animation), 'where is France? Where is Spain? Where is Holland?—the natural enemies of Great Britain. Where will they be all this while? Do you suppose they will stand by, idle and indifferent spectators to the contest? Will Louis XVI be asleep all this time? Believe me, no! When Louis XVI shall be satisfied by our serious opposition, and our Declaration of Independence, that all prospect of a reconciliation is gone, then, and not until then, will he furnish us with arms, ammunition, and clothing; and not with these only, but he will send his fleets and armies to fight our battles for us; he will form with us a treaty offensive and defensive, against our unnatural mother. Spain and Holland will join the confederation! Our independence will be established! and we shall take our stand among the nations of the earth!' Here he ceased; and Colonel John Overton says, he shall never forget the voice and prophetic manner with which these predictions were uttered, and which have been since so literally verified. Colonel Overton says, at the word independence, the company appeared to be startled; for they had never heard anything of the kind before even suggested."
I think this passage alone, when the roster of "American prophets" shall be made up, will place this first man of our Revolutionary period high on the list of such prophets, and we shall yet have occasion to be as proud of our American prophets as the Jews are of their prophets. Of other manifestations of inspiration in the men who guided the councils of our nation in this Revolutionary period, I may not here speak at length. It is matter of pride, however, that their wisdom was recognized by friends over the sea. Of the first continental congress, the Earl of Chatham, in the British house of lords, said:
"I must declare and avow, that in all my reading and study of history (and it has been my favorite study—I have read Thucydides, and have studied and admired the master states of the world), that for solidity of reasoning, force of sagacity and wisdom of conclusion, under such a complication of circumstances, no nation or body of men can stand in preference to the general congress of Philadelphia."
Whence obtained these men the wisdom that thus challenged the admiration of the first statesman of Great Britain, and of his age, a man of gigantic intellectual powers, of incorruptible integrity, and who devoted the great powers of his mind to the service of his country? Could the wilderness impart much knowledge of principles of government and statesmanship as was manifested in the councils of those American planters, manufacturers and trades people? What books were extant from which they could learn it? Was it the genius of the land they inhabited that taught them statecraft? Was it the spirit of freedom that brooded over the country, over lake and stream and forest that sought self-expression through them? Did the wild waves of the Atlantic, as they broke upon the shingle of New England's rugged coast, hymn civic wisdom into their souls? Let poets and romancers attribute it to what source they will, to me it was the inspiration of God which touched their spirits and gave them understanding.
And not only was that inspiration wisdom to the American councils, but it inspired courage in the presence of defeat and patience that taught their armies to wait for their victory. It gave hope and calm to the turbulent spirit of Washington, and faith and confidence to his companions in arms. It kept alive the fires and patriotism in the breast of the common soldier and quieted the fears of the loved ones left to watch over the homes during the absence of husbands and fathers and sons. It affected all the departments of the great struggle until "Yorktown's sun rose on a nation's banner spread, a nation's freedom won." And the nation of the United States began that career whose achievements are the admiration and marvel of the world.
III.
THE UNIQUE THINGS IN AMERICAN GOVERNMENT.
Let us now consider the second proposition; namely, that the inspiration of those who founded our constitution may be sustained by a consideration of the principles on which our government is founded. That there were republics and federated republics, too, before our own, goes without saying; that the justice of the principle of government by the people had been recognized by masters of the science of civil government is equally true; but never before in the history of the world has there been developed such a highly complex system of government, none in which there has been such a balancing and fair adjustment of powers, will be conceded by every student of history and of civil government. In the first place, the division of the sovereign power of government into three co-ordinate and independent departments, both in the states and in the nation—the executive, the legislative and the judicial departments—is more insisted upon than in any other government that has ever been established. Then, again, in the division of the sovereign power as between the states and the general government it is unique. On the one side the general government is more limited and on the other more extended than in any other republic ever founded. Limited in that the general government is confined to powers expressly conferred upon it by the constitution, while all other powers of government are reserved to the states or to the people, respectively. The side on which its powers are more extended than in any previous confederation is in this, that power is conferred upon the general government to execute its own laws, with its own machinery, and upon all citizens within any one and in all the states. The French philosopher, De Tocqueville, declares that the principle of our republic rested upon "a wholly novel theory, which may be considered as a great discovery in modern political science, and for which there is as yet no specific name." Enlarging upon the subject, he said:
"This constitution, which may at first be confounded with the federal constitutions which have preceded it, rests, in truth, upon a wholly novel theory, which may be considered as a great discovery in modern political science. In all the confederations which preceded the American constitution in 1789, the allied states for a common object agreed to obey the injunctions of a federal government; but they reserved to themselves the right of ordaining and embracing the execution of the laws of the Union. The American states which combined in 1789 agreed that the federal government should not only dictate, but should execute its own enactments. In both cases the right is the same, but the exercise of the right is different, and this difference produced the most momentous consequences. The new word, which ought to express this novel thing, does not yet exist. The human understanding more easily invents new things than new words, and we are hence constrained to employ many improper and inadequate expressions."
Our own national experience proves that it is the adoption of this principle in our system of government which supplies the element of strength that is usually supposed to be lacking in republican forms of government, and makes it possible for a republic to persist, to be strong, and at the same time conserve the freedom of the people.
The principle, however, which most concerns us here today in our deliberations is the great and fundamental principle of our system of government—"the law of laws," as De Tocqueville calls it, the doctrine of the sovereignty of the people—"government of the people, by the people and for the people." This principle is, of course, the foundation not only of our republic but of all republics. It has, however, in our American system received increased emphasis; it has taken on new life; it has become a reality. There are not wanting writers on civil government who say this principle is active in all governments, and, indeed, to some extent, that is true; but for the most part, in modern times, until the establishment of our own government, this principle found expression only "in the purchased suffrages of a few of the satellites of power." At other times "in the votes of the timid or interested minority." Or else it was "discovered in the silence of the people and based on the supposition that the fact of submission establishes the right to govern." But in our system this principle is not barren or concealed; it is recognized by the customs of the people, as well as proclaimed by the laws. "It spreads freely and arrives without impediment at its most remote consequences," as De Tocqueville urges, and it has direct application to the affairs of government. It is a principle that takes government out of the hands of a favored few, and recognizes civil power as resident in the people. It upsets the doctrine of the divine right of kings to rule, and of priests to interfere, only as they may exercise their rights of citizenship in common with their fellow-citizens. That utterance of our Declaration of Independence, which says "governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed," may seem at first glance to be an unimportant statement, but tremendous consequences draw it, and it was truly revolutionary in its character, as matters stood in the political affairs of the British Empire at the time it was proclaimed. And when we say that we believe that the constitution of our country was established by a divine inspiration, working through the men who formulated it, we should remember that we stand committed to this doctrine of government by the people; and to such of us who hold to a divine inspiration in our constitution, that principle of our government is God-ordained.
Referring to this idea that the constitution of our country is an inspired instrument, I am tempted to believe sometimes that we fail to appreciate the seriousness of that doctrine. We are apt to speak of it too glibly, and as applying to a mass of things that we have never taken the time to analyze and consider in detail. But if we really mean what we say when holding to this view of the constitution being an inspired instrument, then let us remember that we believe that the constitution, not only as a whole, but in its parts, is inspired of God. That is, it was a divine wisdom that recognized the power of civil government as resident in the people. In other words, God ordains, for our country at least, that government shall be by the people; that the sovereign power of government which they ordain and establish shall be divided into its three co-ordinate and independent branches, executive, legislative and judicial; that there shall be a further division of the sovereign powers of government between the states and the general government; that the general government is authorized to exercise only such powers as are expressly conferred upon it by the constitution; that the rest of the sovereign powers of government are reserved to the states and to the people respectively. The theory that the constitution of our country is inspired commits us to the doctrine that there shall be freedom of the press, freedom of speech, separation of church and state, and the freedom, equality and independence of the individual citizen—all these things together and severally are ordained of God; and he who infringes upon any one of these things ordained by our inspired constitution is untrue to that order of things that God has ordained for our government through an inspired constitution.
There is even more than all this to those of us who believe the constitution to be an inspired instrument; for the most of us who believe that believe also that the Book of Mormon is a true history of ancient America; and in that book is recorded an historical incident which has a direct bearing upon the subject we are here considering. It refers to a new element in government by the people; one that we will do well to properly regard. And that is, the direct personal responsibility that the individual carries under a system of government where the people rule. The incident occurs in the alleged reign of Mosiah I at a period that corresponds with the latter half of the second century before Christ. The old king proposed to his people a revolution in the form of government by which monarchy should be abandoned and the republican form of government be established in its place. In urging this revolutionary measure the good king said:
"It is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law to do your business by the voice of the people. And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you, yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land. * * * * And I command you to do these things in the fear of the Lord; and I command you to do these things, and that ye have no king; that if this people commit sins and iniquities, they shall be answered upon their own heads. For behold, I say unto you, the sins of many people have been caused by the iniquities of their kings; therefore their iniquities are answered upon the heads of their kings. And now I desire that this inequality should be no more in this land, especially among this my people; but I desire that this be a land of liberty, that every man may enjoy his rights and privileges alike, so long as the Lord sees fit that we may live and inherit the land; yea, even as long as any of our posterity remains upon the face of the land."
The old king in his passage points to the existence of an important element in government by the people, the moral element; the direct, personal responsibility of the individual for such evils as obtain under government where the people rule. But in order that this element of moral responsibility may be brought into government, it stands to reason that every individual must be free and untrammeled in the exercise of his political duties, in the casting of his vote. Each individual musts have an equal voice in the government. Every man must be a sovereign in the civil institution, and his vote must represent the voice and judgment of a free man. A vote unawed by influence, and uncoerced by any power whatsoever. Less than this would bring the whole scheme of government by the voice of the people into contempt and failure. Under the system of government by the people, in order to retain the moral responsibility of the people in civil affairs, there must be no appeal but to the intelligent judgment of the individual. Each man's act must be the act of a free man; and those who would corrupt the electorate of a government where the people rule, or sway it by any other force than by an appeal to reason, would destroy this element of personal, moral responsibility in civil government, and in the case of those of us who accept this book from which I am quoting—if we would appeal to any other force than to that of reason, we would be setting ourselves against an order of things that God has ordained.
This old king of whom I am speaking manifested wisdom in another respect. His suggestion of this change from a monarchy to a republic carried with it the provision that the change should not go into effect until the time of his death. He would remain king so long as he lived; then the rule by the voice of the people should begin. Was the old monarch conscious that it would be difficult to inaugurate this rule of the people while he yet lived? That there would be those who would seek to know his desires, then proclaim them, influence the minds of the electorate, and thus still have Mosiah's rule instead of government by the people? I do not know how far these thoughts may have been the thoughts of the king; but surely he removed grave difficulties from the institution of his newly conceived form of government for his people by putting off its inauguration until after his death. For sure it is that the desires of one so esteemed, so wise and unselfish, would have had such influence that his wishes, howsoever expressed, would have been followed by the people, and in a measure the end of his proposed revolution would have been thwarted.
These reflections bring to my recollection the words of an American writer (Orville Dewey) whose works I learned to esteem in the early days of my reading. Especially did I admire the following passage on what the character of a free people should be, from his essay on "Human Life:"
"Liberty gentlemen, is a solemn thing—a welcome, a joyous, a glorious thing, if you please; but it is a solemn thing. A free people must be a thoughtful people. The subjects of a despot may be reckless and gay if they can. A free people must be serious; for it has to do the greatest things that ever was done in the world—to govern itself. That hour in human life is most serious when it passes from parental control into free manhood; then must the man bind the righteous law upon himself, more strongly than father or mother ever bound it upon him. And when a people leaves the leading-strings of prescriptive authority, and enters upon the ground of freedom, that ground must be fenced with law; it must be tilled with wisdom; it must be hallowed with prayer. The tribunal of justice, the free school, the holy church must be built there, to entrench, to defend and to keep the sacred heritage. * * * In the universe there is no trust so awful as moral freedom; and all good civil freedom depends upon the use of that. But look at it. Around every human, every rational being, is drawn a circle; the space within is cleared from obstruction, or, at least, from all coercion; it is sacred to the being himself who stands there; it is secured and consecrated to his own responsibility. May I say it?—God himself does not penetrate there with any absolute, any coercive power! He compels the winds and waves to obey him; he compels animal instincts to obey him; but he does not compel men to obey. That sphere he leaves free; he brings influences to bear upon it; but the last, final, solemn, infinite question between right and wrong, he leaves to man himself. Ah! instead of madly delighting in his freedom, I could imagine a man to protest, to complain, to tremble that such a tremendous prerogative is accorded to him. But it is accorded to him, and nothing but willing obedience can discharge that solemn trust; nothing but a heroism greater than that which fights battles, and pours out its blood on its country's altar—the heroism of self-renunciation and self-control. Come that liberty! I invoke it with all the ardor of the poets and orators of freedom; with Spenser and Milton, with Hampden and Sydney, with Rienzi and Dante, with Hamilton and Washington, I invoke it. Come that liberty! Come none that does not lead to that! Come the liberty that shall strike off every chain, not only of iron, and iron-law, but of painful constriction, of fear, of enslaving passion, of mad self-will; the liberty of perfect truth and love, of holy faith and glad obedience!"
I trust this consideration of some of the details that enter into the idea that our constitution is a divinely inspired instrument, will bring home to us more emphatically the seriousness of that declaration, as also that it will bring to us the realization of our responsibilities that we sustain as free men, as sovereigns in a free government. I trust, however, that you will not think I am calling attention to these matters because I believe there will be any failure on the part of the people of our great republic to perpetuate these institutions so vital to our system of government. I cannot believe that our nation was brought into existence under the circumstances that attended upon its birth to end at last in failure. On the contrary, I am persuaded that the time has fully come for the establishment in this world, in some permanent way, government by the people. That the reign of tyrants is ended and that the rule of the people has begun, and will remain. The people of our country, especially the people of our state, I trust, and believe, will stand for the great principles that will perpetuate free institutions; that there shall be in our country "equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political;" that our nation shall continue as an indissoluble union of indestructible states; that "the state governments shall be supported in all their rights as the most competent administration for our domestic concerns, and the surest bulwark against anti-republican tendencies;" that the general government "shall be preserved in its whole constitutional vigor as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad;" that a "jealous care shall be exercised of the right of election by the people"—unawed by influence, uncoerced by any power other than an appeal to reason; that "absolute acquiescence shall be maintained in the decision of the majority, the vital principle of republics;" also "the supremacy of the civil over military authority;" the "diffusion of information and the arraignment of all abuses at the board of public reason; freedom of the press and freedom of person"[1]—all these shall be maintained, and with these principles maintained we may be assured that free government will not perish from among men.
[Footnote 1: The reader will, of course, recognize these quoted members of the concluding sentence as excerpts from Jefferson's First Inaugural Address.]