John Taylor's sermon on the things of God - May 6, 1870
The Scriptures inform us "that no man knows the things of God, but by
the Spirit of God;" and then no man can speak the things of God unless
aided by the Spirit of the Lord; and no people can comprehend the
things spoken unless inspired and guided by the same Spirit. We need
this Spirit continually and so do all mankind, to guide us, to enable
us to comprehend the laws of life, to regulate and concentrate our
thoughts, to elevate and ennoble our feelings, to give force and
vitality to our actions, and to place us in a position before God,
before men, and before the holy angels, that will be right, acceptable
and proper to all true intelligence, to the angelic host, and to our
heavenly Father. It matters very little what we are engaged in, it is
impossible for us to do right without the guidance of the Almighty; but
aided and directed by the Spirit of the Lord, we can act in consonance
with the dignity of our high position as immortal beings possessing the
holy Priesthood, and participating in the new and everlasting covenant;
by the aid of that unerring Spirit we can fulfil the measure of our
creation and prepare ourselves for an inheritance in the celestial
kingdom of our God. (1)
We are told "that the world by wisdom knows not God;" yet they do
comprehend a great many things, and because of the spread of general
intelligence and the great progress of science, literature and the
arts, they believe they can find out God. Like the framers of Babel's
Tower, they seek to penetrate the heavens on natural principles. Like
them they are mistaken, as all men have been who sought to solve the
problem of life through the influence of human wisdom. No man ever did
understand God on this principle; neither can they by mortal agency
alone understand the principles of life and salvation. No man in the
present generation comprehends them on this principle; neither will
human wisdom enable any man who ever will live to understand them. It
is true that mankind, within a short time, have made great advances in
the arts and sciences. During the last half century scientific research
has made many wonderful developments; and many things which, before
that time, were unknown to the human family, are now quite familiar.
There was very little known of the application of the power of steam
half a century ago. I remember, very well, the first steam-boat and
locomotive that were propelled by steam, and riding on the first
railway. Before that, locomotion had to depend upon the winds and tides
and horse power and a few other agencies. These are now supplanted by
what all will acknowledge as a very superior agent - namely, the power
of steam. (2)
Electricity, or rather its application, so as to subserve the wants of
man, was unknown until a comparatively recent period. I refer now more
particularly to the electric telegraph. That has been a means of
greatly facilitating the transmission of thought and the spread of
intelligence among the human family, and has been a great advantage to
the world at large. When we came to this valley, for instance, even so
late as that, we had to depend upon ox teams to bring our mails and to
convey intelligence from the East, and I have known it to be four,
five, and sometimes as long as six months before we knew what President
was elected. Now we can have it in fewer minutes; this exhibits a great
improvement in such matters. (3)
I can remember the time when we had to plod along at night, nearly in
the dark, in our largest cities, the streets being lighted only by dim
oil lamps. Now we have gas and various luminous oils, which we have
made the earth teem forth by millions of gallons, that are almost
equivalent to gas. Daguerreotyping, or as it is more generally called
photography, is another great achievement of the human mind, conferring
the power to take likenesses, landscapes and views in a moment, which
formerly required days or months, even by the most eminent artists. (4)
In machinery and chemistry, manufactures, and many other scientific
developments connected with human life, wonderful advances have been
made, and the world seems to have been progressing with great rapidity
in the arts and sciences, in regard to manufactures. Some years ago
every texture had to be spun by a single thread, now, by the aid of
steam and machinery, it is done by thousands and hundreds of thousands.
We might go on enumerating many other improvements which have taken
place within the past few years; from which it is very evident that the
progress of the present generation has far eclipsed that of any
preceding it, of which we have any knowledge. Because of these things
it has been supposed by many that the human intellect is capable of
grasping everything in this world and the world to come - even eternal
things, and many men have got puffed up and vain in their imaginations
because of the discoveries they have made and the advancement in
science, literature and the arts. They forget "that every good and
perfect gift proceeds from God, the Father of light, in whom there is
no variableness nor the shadow of a turning." They forget that every
particle of wisdom that any man possesses comes from God, and that
without Him they would still continue to grope in the dark. They forget
that, with all the increase of wisdom and intelligence and the
expansion of the human mind, they are in the dark in regard to God, and
that no man by wisdom can find Him out. The mystery which enshrouds Him
is as high as heaven, as deep as hell and as wide as the universe; and
it is unfathomable and incomprehensible by human intelligence, unaided
by the inspiration of the Almighty. (5)
There are men, it is true, who profess from the little knowledge they
have of earthly things, by a series of deductions, to be able to find
out heavenly things, but there is a very material difference between
the two. There is a philosophy of the earth and a philosophy of the
heavens; the latter can unravel all mysteries pertaining to earth; but
the philosophy of the earth cannot enter into the mysteries of the
kingdom of God, or the purposes of the Most High. But because of the
advancement to which I have alluded, men set themselves up as teachers
of things pertaining to spiritual matters, of which they know nothing.
But the moment they do that, they exhibit their folly, vanity,
imbecility and shortsightedness, for, as I have stated, they never did
comprehend the things of God without the Spirit of God, and they never
will. What folly it is, for men with the breath in their nostrils, who
are but worms of the earth, existing as it were for a day, and
to-morrow are cut down like the grass; or like the moth or butterfly,
which flutters around for a brief space and then passes away into
everlasting oblivion; I say what folly it is for beings so
circumstanced, so weak, imbecile, circumscribed and controlled to set
themselves forward, unaided by the Spirit of the Almighty, to fathom
the designs of God, to unravel the principles of eternal life, to
comprehend the relationship that subsists between God and man and to
draw aside the curtain of futurity. Who is there who has seen God or
can comprehend Him, His designs and purposes? No man is capable of
fathoming these mysteries. Man, indeed, can comprehend some of the
principles which are developed in nature, and only a few of these. But
who can grasp the intelligence that dwells in the bosom of Jehovah? Who
can unravel His designs and penetrate the unfathomable abyss of the
future? Who can tell upon what principle this world was organized or
anything about the denizens of those worlds that we see moving around
us? It is true that by the science of astronomy nice calculation in
regard to the heavenly bodies can be made; but none can tell who put
those bodies in motion, how they are controled, or by what class of
people they are inhabited. As the Scriptures say, "What man, by his
wisdom, can find God out?" No one can comprehend Him. We can find
ourselves to be a remarkable enigma, both in regard to body and mind -
each individual man, woman and child; but who can draw aside the veil
and tell how or why we came here, and what awaits us when we lay aside
this mortal coil? None can do this, unless God reveals it. There never
was a man, neither is there a man now, nor ever will be, that can
comprehend these things upon the principle of natural or human
philosophy, and nothing short of the philosophy of heaven - the
intelligence that flows from God, can unravel these mysteries. (6)
Some men will stultify themselves with the idea that in ages gone and
past the human race was in a semi-civilized or barbarous condition, and
that any kind of a religion would do for the people in those days; but
with the progress of intelligence, the march of intellect, the
development of the arts and sciences and the expansion of the human
mind, it is necessary that we should have something more elevated,
refined and intellectual than that which existed then. To me such
notions are perfect foolishness. If I read my Bible aright and believe
in it, known unto God were all things from before the foundation of the
world, and I do not think that the intelligence of the nineteenth
century can enlighten His mind in relation to these matters. He that
framed the body, shall He not know its structure? He that organized the
mind, shall not He understand it? Before this world rolled into
existence or the morning stars sang together for joy, the great Eloheim
comprehended all things pertaining to the world that He organized and
the people who should inhabit it; the position that they would occupy
and the intelligence that they would possess; their future destiny and
the destiny of the world that He then made. It is vanity, puerility and
weakness for men to attempt to gainsay the designs of God, or to boast
of their own intelligence. What do they know? Why, they discovered
awhile ago that there is such a thing as electricity. Who made that
electricity? Did man? Did he originate and place it among the nature's
forces? Did it proceed from the acumen of man's intelligence and his
expansive mind? No, it always existed, and the man who discovered it -
a little smarter than his fellows - only found out one of the laws of
nature that emanated from and originated with God. It is just so with
steam - the properties which render it so useful in subserving man's
purposes always existed, but man discovered them; if there had been no
God to make these properties, no one could have found them out. It is
so with the various gases and their properties, with minerals - their
attractions and repulsions - they originated with God; man is
incompetent to form anything of the kind. So we might go on through all
man's boasted achievements; they amount to no more than the discovery
of some of the active or latent laws of nature, not comprehended by men
generally, but discovered by some who consider themselves, and they no
doubt are, smarter than their fellows. Where, then, is the boasted
intelligence of man? Science reveals the beauty and harmony of the
world material; it unveils to us ten thousand mysteries in the kingdom
of nature, and shows that all forms of life through fire and analogous
decay are returned again to its bosom. It unfolds to us the mysteries
of cloud and rains, dew and frost, growth and decay, and reveals the
operation of those silent irresistible forces which give vitality to
the world. It reveals to us the more wonderful operations of distant
orbs and their relations to the forces of nature. It also reveals
another grand principle, that the laws of nature are immutable and
unchangeable as are all the works of God. Those principles and powers
and forces have undergone no change since they were first organized,
or, if changed, they have returned again to the original elements from
which they were derived. All of the properties of nature were as
perfect at the creation as now; all the elements of nature possessed
the same specific properties, affinities and capacity of combination
that they do at present. Trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, birds, beasts,
fishes and man were as perfect then as now. God's works are all perfect
and governed by eternal laws. It reminds me of an infant; I can compare
it to nothing else. The new-born child is perfectly oblivious to
anything and everything around it, although marvellous in its
organization and perfect in its structure. By and by it holds up its
hand and discovers for the first time that it has a hand. It had it
before, but a new light bursts upon the brain of the child, and it
discovers it has a hand, and no doubt thinks it is wonderful wise in
finding it out, just as some of our philosophers do when they discover
the properties of matter. But God made the child's hand, and it was in
existence before its brain was capable of comprehending it. And so were
all these things, about the discovery of which men boast so much. God
made them and made them perfect. Yet men will boast that they know
things independent of God, whereas unless they had been aided by the
Spirit of the Lord, and unless the principles had existed they never
could have been found out, for no man could have originated them
himself. All that man has ever done, with all his boasted intelligence,
has been simply to develop or find out a few of the common principles
of nature that always have existed, and always will exist, for these
things and every principle of nature are eternal. The Gospel is also
eternal. But where is there a man who understands heavenly things? Who
can unravel them? Who has been behind the vail and talked with the
Gods? Who among the wise men, philosophers, divines, philanthropists,
kings, rulers or authorities of the earth can comprehend God or His
designs. If we can understand so imperfectly the laws of nature with
which we are surrounded, with the privileges of seeing, feeling,
comparing and analyzing, what do we know of things beyond our vision,
hearing, or comprehension? We can read, in the history of the past, of
the rise and fall of nations, of the downfall of thrones and of the
destruction of kingdoms; we can read of wars and rumors of wars.
History points out what has transpired in relation to the nations of
the earth and to men who have lived upon it, but who can penetrate into
the future? Man is an immortal being: he is destined to live in time
and throughout all eternity. He possesses not only a body, but a soul
that will exist while "life or thought or being lasts, or immortality
endures." Who can tell in relation to this future? Who can tell things
pertaining to our heavenly existence, or the object God had in view for
creating this and other worlds, and the destiny of the human family? No
man, except God reveals it to him. What has been and still is the
position of the world in relation to these things? It has been governed
by every kind of dogma and theory of religion. "Isms" of every kind
have prevailed in turn - polytheism, infidelity, Christianity in its
ten thousand forms, and every kind of theory and dogma that the human
imagination could invent. Such contrarieties show definitely and
positively that men, by wisdom, cannot find out God. And Christianity,
at the present time, is no more enlightened than other systems have
been. What does the Christian world know about God? Nothing; yet these
very men assume the right and power to tell others what they shall and
what they shall not believe in. Why, so far as the things of God are
concerned, they are the veriest fools; they know neither God nor the
things of God. Our Government is engaged just now in an act of this
kind. Our legislators would tell me what I shall and shall not believe
in, what shall be the course of my morals, as if they were immaculate
and had been made perfect; as though they had inspiration from on high,
and had found out the truth in all its richness, power and glory; as
though they had conversed with the heavens and were acquainted with
God. Oh, fools! What do they know about the truth? No more than a child
about its hand. They are imbecile and ignorant and in the dark, and the
greatest difficulty in the matter is - they are fools and don't know
it. (7)
We consider, and always have since this Church was organized, that the
part of Scripture that I quoted beforevis true - namely, "No man knows
the things of God but by the Spirit of God." We, as Latter-day Saints,
understood no correct principle until it was revealed to us. I did not,
nor have I ever met with anybody that did, and I have travelled very
extensively over the world that we live in, and have met with all
classes and grades of men in different nations. We, as Latter-day
Saints, are indebted to the revelations of God, given unto Joseph
Smith, for the knowledge of the very first principles of the doctrine
of Christ, and he could not have known it unless it had been revealed
to him. One thing I did know of myself before I came into this Church,
and that is more than a great many know of themselves - namely, that I
was a fool, and did not know anything unless God revealed it. It takes
a great deal of hammering to get that into some men's minds. The main
questions in my mind, when this Gospel came, were, "Is this true?" "Is
this from God, or is it not?" "Has God, indeed, spoken as this man says
He has?" If He has not, it is all a fiction, a farce and delusion, like
the other "isms" that exist in the world; if He has, it is for me to
obey, no matter what the consequences may be. (8)
There is one thing that has always been satisfactory to my mind in
relation to this Gospel - there has never been one principle revealed,
at any time, but what has been instructive and in accordance with the
Scriptures, which we consider to be of divine origin. Never one
principle but what could be substantiated by the word of God, although
we did not know it before, and the world does not know it now. And I
may also say that there has never been a principle revealed but what
has been strictly philosophical and is in accordance with good, sound
common sense; and, furthermore, I will go on beyond that and say that
no principle ever will be revealed but what will be in accordance with
philosophy, if we can comprehend it. As there is a philosophy of the
earth and a philosophy of the heavens, it needs heavenly instruction to
comprehend the heavenly things. But, as I said before, "no man knows
the things of God, but by the Spirit of God." The Scriptures show unto
us how we may obtain that Spirit, which will give us a knowledge for
ourselves. (9)
When this Gospel was revealed, it was declared unto us that it was an
everlasting gospel, that there was a Priesthood associated with it, and
that that Priesthood was everlasting; so we were presented with an
everlasting Priesthood, and with an everlasting Gospel. There was also
an everlasting covenant associated with it. We were told how we might
obtain a knowledge of this Gospel for ourselves - the promise being
that if we would repent of our sins and be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of them, by one having authority, we
should receive the Holy Ghost. We were also told that that Holy Ghost
would place us in communication with God; that it would take of the
things of God and show them unto us, and that we should know for a
certainty, each of us for ourselves, of the truths that had been
proclaimed unto us. (10)
This was the position that we were placed in. We went forward and
obeyed it, for we were told that God had revealed Himself from the
heavens, that He had restored the Gospel by the means of a holy angel,
as referred to by John the Revelator, and that He had restored, by
authority direct from heaven, communication between Himself, the
heavenly world and His creatures here. We were told that by obedience
to that Gospel we should be made the recipients of a Spirit which would
bring things past to our remembrance, that would lead us into all truth
and show us things to come. (11)
Believing in this message, this vast crowd of people before me to-day,
went forth and bowed in obedience, and they received that Spirit, and
they knew and do know that the Gospel they had preached unto them came
not in word only, but in power and in the demonstration of the Spirit,
and that the Holy Ghost accompanied it. (12)
You know, and I know, that when you obeyed this Gospel and had hands
laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost, you received it. (13) Who
else knows anything about it? Nobody. Do any of these strangers around?
No. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Except a man is born again, he can not
see the kingdom of God." Then what do they know about it? (14)
You talk to a blind man about colors, and ask him to tell the
difference between red and white, black and blue, and he would tell you
perhaps that one was long and the other short, that one was light and
the other heavy. He could not describe, nor his sense comprehend it.
Jesus said a man could not see the kingdom of God unless he was born of
the Spirit. Did he speak the truth? I think he did. And when you were
born again of the water and of the Spirit, you saw and you entered into
the kingdom of God, and things that you were ignorant of before, you
then comprehended. Many of you felt a good deal like the blind man
spoken of in the Scriptures, after he had been healed by our Savior.
The Scribes and Pharisees, a learned and very holy body of men - spoke
to his father, saying, "Give God the glory, for we know that this man
is a sinner." They knew that Jesus was an imposter, a deceiver, a false
prophet, a blasphemer, and that he cast out devils through Beelzebub,
the prince of devils, and that he was one of the wickedest, meanest
curses in existence. "Give God the glory," said they, "for we know this
man is a sinner." The father of him who had been healed of his
blindness said, "Whether he is a sinner, I know not; but this I do
know, that whereas this my son was once blind and now he sees." Now a
great many of you here are very much deluded in the estimation of the
philosophers, wise men and priests of the world; but if you do not
comprehend the philosophy of the whole matter, one thing you all know -
that once you were blind, but now you see. (15)
You understood that years ago and you understand it to-day, and no man
can deprive you of that knowledge, or strip you of that information. No
man can rob you of that light: it is the gift of God, it emanates from
Jehovah, and no man can take it away, or reason or legislate it away;
it is an eternal principle, emanating from God, and that is something
the worldly-wise and great know nothing about. You who are here to-day,
who have obeyed this Gospel, are witnesses of the truth of which I
speak; I am a witness and I bear witness to it. (16)
We are told that Jesus said on a certain occasion to his disciples, "It
is necessary that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will
not come. If I go away I will send you a Comforter, which is the Holy
Ghost." What will it do for you? It will lead you into all truth, so
that you will see eye to eye and comprehend the purposes of God; you
will march in line; you will be under one instructor; you will have one
Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God who is in all and through all,
will inspire and guide and dictate you; you will not be split up and
divided as the sectarians are - every man taking his own course, every
man for himself and the devil for the whole; it will not be setting up
human intellect above the intelligence and inspiration of the Almighty.
Instead of this, all will bow to the dictates of Jehovah; the
aspiration of every heart will be, "O, God, thou that rulest in the
heavens; O thou Supreme Governor of the universe, that created all
things and controls all things, impart to me a small moiety of Thy
wisdom! Inspire me with a little of that intelligence that dwells in
Thy bosom! Give me a little of Thy Holy Spirit, that I may comprehend
Thee and Thy laws, and walk in obedience to Thy commands!" This will be
the feeling of that individual. "O God, teach me the paths of life and
then give power to walk in them!" (17)
Jesus told them they should have the Holy Ghost, the Comforter; the
Spirit should bring things past to their remembrance, it should enable
them to comprehend something about the world and why it was organized
and by whom; why man was placed upon it; what the position of the human
family is in relation to the present, past and future; find out what
God's dealings had been with the human family in ages gone and past,
and His designs in relation to the world. Then it should unfold things
to come, it should draw back the curtain of futurity and by the
inspiration and intelligence of that Spirit which proceeds from God, it
should grasp the future. It should comprehend the destiny of the human
family, and by the revelations which God should communicate, make known
the life to come in the eternal worlds. This is the kind of thing that
the everlasting Gospel communicates, and it is the revelation of God to
man. But the world, as I said before, know not the things of God, and
they cannot comprehend them. (18)
I have had it asked my by philosophers, "Is this the only way you
propose to ameliorate the condition of the human family - faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ, baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on
of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost?" Yes, that is God's way
of doing it; that is the way He has pointed out. (19)
I remember, on one occasion, being in the city of Paris, and a
gentleman came to me to inquire concerning the Gospel. He was
associated with a system of socialism, very common in France, called
Icarianism. A company of them went to Nauvoo after we left. This
gentleman was a philosopher, and the society was trying to carry out
its philosophy in France, and they aimed to bring about the Millennium.
They never prayed to God, they were going to do it by human
intelligence. This gentleman, whose name was Krolikrosky, called upon
me, when after a lengthy conversation on the principles of our faith,
said he, referring to faith, repentance, baptism and the laying on of
hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, the first principles of our
Gospel: "Is this all you propose to ameliorate the condition of the
world?" "Yes." He answered, "I hope you will succeed, but I am afraid
you will not." "Permit me," I said, "to draw your attention to one or
two things. I am a religionist." "Yes." "I profess to have had
revelation from God; you do not." "That is so," said he. "You have sent
out to Nauvoo a number of your most intellectual men, well provided
with means of every kind and with talent of the first order. Now what
is the result? They have gone to a place that we have deserted; they
found houses built, gardens and farms enclosed, nothing to do but to
take possession of them?" "Yes. They found buildings of all kinds,
public and private, in which they could live and congregate." Yes. Was
there ever a people better situated in regard to testing your natural
philosophy? You could not have hit upon a better place. It is a fertile
country, on the banks of the most magnificent stream in the United
States - the Mississippi. Houses built, gardens made, fields enclosed
and cultivated. You have wise men among you - the wisest, the creme de
la creme of your society, yet with all this and the favorable
circumstances under which your people commenced there, what have you
done? Every time that I take up a paper of yours the cry from there is,
'Send us means;' 'we want means;' 'we are in difficulty;' 'we want more
money.' This is their eternal cry, is it not?" "Yes." "Now," said I,
"on the other hand, we left our farms, houses, gardens, fields,
orchards, and everything we had, except what we took along in the shape
of food, seeds, farming utensils, wagons, carts, and we wandered for
from ten to fifteen hundred miles, with hand-carts, ox teams and any
way we could, and settled, finally, among the red savages of the
forest. We had no fields to go to and no houses built; when we went
there it was a desert - a howling wilderness, and the natives with
which we were surrounded were as savage as the country itself. Now
then, what is the result? We have only been there a few years, but what
are we doing? We are sending money to bring in our emigration; we are
sending hundreds of thousands of dollars, and have expended half a
million a year in teams to bring in our poor from the nations. But what
of you wise men who know not God, and think you know better than He
does, what are you doing - you philosophers, intelligent men and
philanthropists, crying out eternally, 'Send us help?" Which is the
best?" Said he, "Mr. Taylor, I have nothing to say." (20)
We care nothing about the opinions of men, let them look upon us as
they may. We can say as the old Apostle said, "we are living epistles,
known and read of all men." Judge us by our works. Do thieves,
renegades, blacklegs and corrupt men accomplish the work done here?
Where are your Gentile associations? Here we have a magnificent city
called Corinne, instituted by you gentlemen Gentiles here. What a
magnificent place it is! It looks as if Tophet has been spewed out to
people it with honorable American citizens! Yet these men will prate to
us about morality, the poor miserable curses! O, shame, if thou hadst
any blood in thy body, thou wouldst blush for very shame at the
transactions of this world in which we live. (21)
But we believe in God, and you Latter-day Saints, your religion is as
true as it was ten, twenty, thirty, or eighteen hundred or six thousand
years ago. It has not changed, and I do not think that it will. It is
everlasting; it is eternal in its nature and its consequences, and,
whether other men know what they are doing or not, we do. If others do
not attend to eternity, we do; if others know nothing about God, we do,
and we know where we are going and how we are going. God has pointed
out to us the path, and we intend to walk in it, in spite of all the
powers of earth and hell. (22)
God has taught us the relationship that should exist between us and the
eternal worlds. That is a thing that is very much found fault with. He
has unveiled the future to us and told us that man is not made for here
alone, and then to die and rot and be forgotten, or to sing himself
away somewhere beyond the bounds of time and space where nobody ever
was nor ever will be. We have been taught something different from
that. We are aiming at eternal exaltation, at thrones, principalities
and powers in the eternal worlds. Being made in the image of God, male
and female, and having had developed to us the laws of this life and
the laws of the life to come, we take the privilege of walking
according to these laws, despite the ideas and notions of men. (23)
Who is there among the men of the world who know anything about the
future? I know how it was with me, and how it was with you, Jew,
Gentile, Mormon, everybody. What was it! If you applied to the
priesthood of the day to be married, the priest told you he joined you
in the holy bonds of matrimony until death. And what then? You had to
find out the rest by your own ingenuity. No matter about the future. Is
that all man was made for - to live, marry and die - and nothing
pertaining to the future? Is man made in the image of God? Is God our
Father? Is there a heaven above? Is there an eternity before us, and
are we to prepare ourselves for it or not? We take the liberty of
following the counsel of Jehovah, revealed to us in relation to it. (24)
What man has a claim upon his wife in eternity? It is true that some of
the writers of the yellow-backed literature have a philosophy a little
in advance of the priests of the day. Some of them do tell us about
eternal unions. They expect to be married here and hereafter. They know
nothing about it, still they are in advance of the clergy. They follow
the instincts of nature, and nature unperverted looks forwards to a
reunion. We are not governed by opinion in these matters. God has
revealed the principle, and our wives are sealed to us for time and
eternity. When we get through with this life we expect to be associated
in the next, and therefore we pursue the course that we do, and no
power this side of hell, nor there either, can stop it. (25)
Our course is onward. The Lord has revealed to us the pearl of great
price. We have sacrificed everything that the world calls good to
purchase it; we are in possession and we will not part with it for
worlds. We "fear not men, who can kill the body," as Jesus said; and
after that there is no more that they can do. We fear God who is able
to cast both soul and body into hell. Yea, we fear Him. (26)
We make our covenants, then, for eternity, because the Gospel is an
everlasting Gospel. Every truth that ever did exist is everlasting. Man
is an eternal being; his body is eternal. It may die and slumber, but
it will burst the barriers of the tomb and come forth in the
resurrection of the just. I know that some of our wise men, even some
among us, profess to think that these things are only folly. However, I
look at them differently. I believe the Bible; I believe in the
revelations of God and in the manifestations of the Spirit of God. I
would rather possess the feeling that Job had when he was afflicted,
cast out, oppressed and despoiled, when he lay scraping himself with a
potsherd, wallowing in ashes, than the proud and lofty folly that
dwells in the heart of the unbeliever and scorner. Said Job, "I know
that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand in the latter days upon
the earth; and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh shall I see God; whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall
behold, not for another; and though worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh shall I see God." Those were his feelings. This transpired in the
"dark ages," when men did not know so much about electricity,
locomotives and a few other scientific discoveries, as they do in this
enlightened age. I also read in the sayings of the prophets, given
under the inspiration of the Almighty, that "the dead, small and great,
shall rise, and that bone shall be joined to its bone, sinew to sinew,
and they became a living army before God." I knew a man, whom many of
you knew, who built a tomb for himself in the city of Nauvoo. His name
was Joseph Smith, and many of you heard him say what I shall now
relate. Said he, "I expect when the time of the resurrection comes to
rise up in my tomb there, and strike hands with my brethren, with my
father and with my mother, and hail the day when we shall burst from
the barriers of the tomb and awake to immortal life." Have you never
heard him talk thus? I have. Shall we reject from our belief the
glorious principles of eternity - the resurrection of the just? Says
John, when wrapt in prophetic vision, and clothed upon with the Spirit
and power of God and the revelations of Jehovah, "I saw the dead, small
and great, stand before God; and the sea gave up the dead which were in
it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and
all nations stood before God." (27)
I want a part in the resurrection. The angel said, "Blessed and holy is
he who has part in the first resurrection." I want to have part in the
first resurrection. It is that which leads me to hope. It is that hope
which buoys me up under difficulties and sustains me while passing
through tribulation, for I know as well as Job knew that my "redeemer
lives, and that He shall stand in the latter days upon the earth," and
I know that I shall stand upon it with him. I therefore bear this
testimony. (28)
Allow me to quote a little Scripture. You know that there is a saying,
by one of the Apostles, that Jesus was a priest for ever after the
order of Melchizedek; and speaking further of this Melchizedek, the
Apostle says he was "without father, without mother, without descent,
having neither beginning of days nor end of years." A very singular
sort of man, was he not? Did you ever see a man like that? We are told
that Jesus was a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. Now,
there never was a man without father or mother, but this refers to his
Priesthood, that was without beginning of days or end of years, and
Jesus had the same kind of Priesthood that Melchizedek had. (29)
Now we talk about the everlasting Gospel, and we will go back to some
of these dark ages referred to. The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the
mysteries of the revelations of God. Wherever that Priesthood exists,
there also exists a knowledge of the laws of God; and wherever the
Gospel has existed, there has always been revelation; and where there
has been no revelation, there never has been the true Gospel. Let us go
back to those times. We find that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham,
and that Melchizedek was the man to whom Abraham paid tithes, and that
Melchizedek blessed him. Paul tells us, "Verily the less is blessed of
the better." Now Abraham had the Gospel, and Melchizedek had it, and
the law was added because of transgression; and by and by, when Jesus
came, He was a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek, and he
restored the Gospel, and consequently revelations, the opening of the
heavens and the manifestation of the power of God; and whenever the
Gospel has existed, in any age of the world, these same manifestations
have existed with it; and whenever these have not been upon the earth,
there has been no Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation
to every one that believes, for therein is the righteousness of God
revealed from faith to faith." (30)
In addition to Melchizedek, the Bible also mentions a man called Moses,
and he had the Gospel, for Paul tells us "that he preached it to the
children of Israel in the wilderness, but that it profited them
nothing, not being mixed with faith." (31)
There was another man called Elijah, that we read of in the Bible. He
was one of those fanatics who believe in revelation, and he had the
Gospel. We come down to the time that Jesus was here on the earth; and
on one occasion we read that he was on the mount with three of his
disciples, Peter, James and John, and Jesus was transfigured before
them. And Peter said, "Master, it is good for us to be here, let us
make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses and one for Elias."
What? Was Moses, that old fellow who led the children of Israel from
Egypt, there? That shows that he had the everlasting Gospel and
Priesthood; and having got rid of the affairs of this world, he
returned to minister to Jesus when he was on the earth. Was Elias there
too? So Peter said. What was he doing there? He died long before, but
having held the everlasting Priesthood he lived again, and lives for
evermore. (32)
We will go to another man. There are curious things in the Bible, if
the people only believed them; but they do not, and that is the
trouble. I refer to John, the beloved disciple. We are told that he was
banished because he was a fanatic - I was going to say a Mormon - as
John did not agree with the enlightenment, philosophy and intelligence
that existed then. What did they do with him? They banished him and
sent him to the Isle of Patmos; and compelled him to labor among the
slaves in the lead mines; he was not fit for civilized society, but
they could not deprive him of fellowship. (33)
While there with the Almighty, he was carried away in the Spirit, and
that Spirit manifested to him things past, for generations gone; things
present - the condition of the churches that then existed; and also
things to come - the world with all its myriads of inhabitants down to
the winding-up scene. He saw the dead, small and great, stand before
God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, called the
Book of Life; and he saw a hundred and forty-four thousand, and a
number that no man can number, who sang a new song, and the glories of
eternity, and the past, present and future were unveiled before his
vision. He saw the new Jerusalem descend from above, and the Zion from
above meeting the Zion from below, and they were married and became
one. He saw the end of the nations, and of the world. "Cloud-capped
towers and gorgeous palaces were dissolved," and everything passed
away. He gazed upon the whole; and a mighty angel stood before him, and
he was about to bow down before him and to worship him; but the angel
said, "Stop, do not worship me!" "Why? Who are you? You are a glorious
personage; you are filled with greatness, and surrounded by majesty,
glory and power, and the visions of eternity seem to be at your
command, for you have unfolded them to me. Will you not let me worship
you?" "No." "Who are you?" "I am one of thy fellow-servants, the
prophets, who kept the testimony of Jesus, and the word of God, while
here upon the earth, and feared God and kept His commandments. Do not
worship me, worship God." Said he, "I am one of those old fellows who
were buffeted, persecuted and misrepresented just as you are; despised
as you are by fools who knew nothing about God or eternity." (34)
Well, now, we believe these things. We believe in a religion that will
reach into eternity, that will bring us into connection with God. We
believe that God has set up His kingdom on the earth; we believe and
know that it will roll forth and spread and extend, that Zion will be
built up, that the glory of God will rest upon it; that the arm of
Jehovah will be made bare in its defence; that the power of God will be
exerted in behalf of His people; that Zion will rise and shine, and
that the glory of God will be manifested among His Saints. We know that
this kingdom will grow and increase until the kingdoms of this world
will become the kingdoms of our God and His Christ, and that He shall
rule and reign for ever and ever. And we expect to join in the
universal anthem, "Hosanna, hosanna, for the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth," and will reign until all enemies are under His feet. (35)
God bless Israel. God bless all His Saints, and let the wrath of God be
upon the enemies of Zion from this time henceforth and for ever, in the
name of Jesus. Amen. (36)
1) The Holy Spirit empowers believers to become witnesses for Jesus Christ not the Mormon priesthood.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of
Me. And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from
the beginning. John 15:26-27.
2) Being a witness for Jesus Christ is the manifestation of the wisdom and power of God.
For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach
Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks
foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God
is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 1
Corinthians 1:22-25.
3) Talking about electricity is not a demonstration of the wisdom of God.
But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from
God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—that, as it is
written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians
1:30-31.
4) Talking about photography is not a demonstration of the wisdom of God.
And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of
speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I
determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your
faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1
Corinthians 2:1-5.
5) Talking about machinery is not a demonstration of the wisdom of God.
However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom
of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of
this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the
Lord of glory. 1 Corinthians 2:6-8.
6) Personal slander of people is not a demonstration of the wisdom of God.
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit
searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows
the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even
so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have
received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God,
that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
1 Corinthians 2:10-12.
7) John Taylor never had the wisdom or power of God.
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s
building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a
wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on
it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other
foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:9-11.
8) Joseph Smith was a religious dictator and the LDS church is a farce.
“We will trample down our enemies and make it one gore of blood from
the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. I will be to this generation
a second Mohammed, whose motto in treating for peace was ‘the Alcoran
or the Sword.” So shall it eventually be with us – ‘Joseph Smith
or the Sword!’” No Man Knows My History, pages 230-231.
9) The Christian Gospel is not a principle but the message of Jesus Christ.
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to
you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you
are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless
you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I
also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third
day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then
by the twelve. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
10) The Christian Gospel has nothing to do with baptism or the Mormon priesthood.
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not
with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no
effect. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1
Corinthians 1:17-18.
11) The Christian Gospel never had to be restored by ungodly Joseph Smith.
Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our
common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to
contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the
saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were
marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of
our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus
Christ. Jude 1:3-4.
12) The Holy Spirit empowers believers to be witnesses of Jesus Christ not a bogus church based in Utah.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8.
13) The Holy Spirit can be received through the preaching of Jesus Christ.
Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth I perceive that God
shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works
righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the
children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of
all—that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and
began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who
went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,
for God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all things which He did
both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by
hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him
openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God,
even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And
He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He
who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him
all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in
Him will receive remission of sins.” While Peter was still speaking
these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as
came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured
out on the Gentiles also. Acts 10:34-45.
14) In context, a person must be first-born naturally to be born again spiritually.
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he
enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus
answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water
and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born
of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” John 3:5-7.
15) Unlike John Taylor, Biblical Apostles were witnesses of Jesus Christ.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the
people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed
done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be
known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the
dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone
which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief
cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no
other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:8-12.
16) The Christian Gospel declares the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should
boast. Ephesians 2:8-9.
17) The Christian Gospel declares that Jesus Christ is the way, truth, and eternal life.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6.
18) John Taylor did not know the things of God.
So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging,
to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God,
persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the
Prophets, from morning till evening. And some were persuaded by the
things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. So when they did not
agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word:
“The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our
fathers, saying, ‘Go to this people and say: “Hearing you will hear,
and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of
hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with
their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with
their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”’ Acts 28:23-27.
19) Jesus Christ was not adamant about the laying on of hands like the bogus LDS church.
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me,
I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and
said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any,
they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are
retained.” John 20:21-23.
20) John Taylor was actually an enemy of the Christian Gospel.
Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as
you have us for a pattern. For many walk, of whom I have told you
often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the
cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly,
and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body
that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working
by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Philippians
3:17-21.
21) 19th century Mormons were expert cut throat murderers.
They said, "O, they are good men, they are gentlemen." With that, I
took my large bowie knife, that I used to wear as a bosom pin in
Nauvoo, and cut one of their throats from ear to ear, saying, "Go to
hell across lots." The other one said, "You dare not serve me so." I
instantly sprang at him, seized him by the hair of the head, and,
bringing him down, cut his throat, and sent him after his comrade; then
told them both, if they would behave themselves they should yet live,
but if they did not, I would unjoint their necks. Sermon delivered by
Brigham Young on March 27, 1853.
22) The Mormon message has continually changed due to powers on earth.
The recent letter of Wilford Woodruff, president of the Mormon Church,
in which he advised his people "to refrain from contracting any
marriage forbidden by the laws of the land," has attracted wide
attention, and it is hoped that its influence will be highly beneficial
in restraining infractions of the laws of the United States. But the
fact should not be overlooked that the doctrine or belief of the church
that polygamous marriages are rightful and supported by divine
revelation remains unchanged. President Woodruff does not renounce the
doctrine, but refrains from teaching it, and advises against the
practice of it because the law is against it. Now, it is quite true
that the law should not attempt to deal with the faith or belief of
anyone; but it is quite another thing, and the only safe thing, so to
deal with the Territory of Utah as that those who believe polygamy to
be rightful shall not have the power to make it lawful. President
Benjamin Harrison 1890 State of the Union address.
23) Believers are looking forward to praising the Father and the Son in heaven.
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne,
the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a
loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and
riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” And
every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth
and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the
throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” Then the four living
creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and
worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. Revelation 5:11-14.
24) Believers will be focused on Jesus Christ but the wrath of God abides on John Taylor.
John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been
given to him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said,
‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ He who has
the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who
stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s
voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I
must decrease. He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the
earth is earthly and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is
above all. And what He has seen and heard, that He testifies; and no
one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has
certified that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words
of God, for God does not give the Spirit by measure. The Father loves
the Son, and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the
Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not
see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:27-36.
25) John Taylor was never a believer in Jesus Christ.
Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the
Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither
marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.”
Matthew 22:29-30.
26) Christian revelation is the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the
marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true
sayings of God.” And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to
me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your
brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:9-10.
27) Do you believe that Jesus Christ shed His blood for your sins? Do you have a testimony of Jesus Christ?
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have
come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God
day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood
of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love
their lives to the death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who
dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the
devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that
he has a short time.” Revelation 12:10-12.
28) Do you have a testimony of Jesus Christ? Do you want eternal life in the love of God?
He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who
does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed
the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony:
that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who
has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have
life. 1 John 5:10-12.
29) Jesus Christ was Melchizedek of the Old Testament.
For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses
spoke nothing concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident if,
in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has
come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according
to the power of an endless life. For He testifies: “You are a priest
forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” Hebrews 7:14-17.
30) John Taylor never had a testimony of Jesus Christ but twisted the word of God.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of
God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also
for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from
faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:16-17.
31) John Taylor was ignorant of progressive Biblical revelation.
Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if
there had been a law given which could have given life, truly
righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has
confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might
be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept
under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be
revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that
we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no
longer under a tutor. Galatians 3:21-25.
32) Do you have a testimony of Jesus Christ or of a bogus Mormon priesthood?
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated
to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in
the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was
born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be
the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead. Romans 1:1-4.
33) Do you have a testimony of Jesus Christ?
I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom
and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos
for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation
1:9.
34) Do you have a testimony of Jesus Christ?
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have
handled, concerning the Word of life—
the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and
declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was
manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you,
that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is
with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we
write to you that your joy may be full. 1 John 1:1-4.
35) The kingdom of God is not the bogus LDS church based in Utah.
Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21.
36) John Taylor never knew the things of God. Amen.
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” Luke 6:27-31.