Chapter 5

The Certain Steps of Progress

(Read the Fourth Article of Faith)

The first principles and ordinances of the Gospel, by which a person may receive the benefits and blessings of the plan of salvation, are essentially the steps by which achievement and progress may be won in any field of endeavor. The operation of eternal law is never postponed until the hereafter. Every righteous endeavor, here, contributes to the sum of our ultimate victory, there. Every law for spiritual progress may be used in winning temporal success. Life here and life hereafter are but different manifestations of one eternal reality. Reason and common sense give coherence and strength to every Gospel principle and practice.

Faith, the fundamental principle of the Gospel, may be easily understood since it operates in every human concern. Belief in the outcome initiates every human enterprise. Knowledge is the beginning of faith. As belief in the truth of acquired knowledge is established, faith is developed. Certain knowledge is faith. By this definition, faith may be made the measure of human progress, individually and collectively. As faith waxes strong, the power and joy of life increase.

Knowledge is the foundation of intelligent living. Joseph Smith declared, “It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance” and “Knowledge is the pathway up to the Gods.” Moreover, knowledge acquired here makes an indelible impression upon the spirit of man; it is imperishable; it continues with the man, in some form, throughout eternity. Again in the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, “whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.” There can be nothing more important than knowledge.

However, only true knowledge leads to faith. Tested knowledge, tested again and again in terms of truth, is the substance of the high belief called faith. Certainty can be derived only from truth. Faith may again be defined as the knowledge of truth. Much false knowledge masquerades as truth, and deceives men. So-called faith, based upon untruth, soon withers if brought into the open light of daily life and use. The process of building faith is largely the testing of knowledge for its truth.

The extent of faith naturally increases with the increase of knowledge, but the degree of faith depends upon the intensity or certainty of the belief that the knowledge possessed is true. Thus it often happens that great faith may accompany limited knowledge. The humble and unlearned may know without a peradventure of doubt that God lives—such faith will triumph over the half-hearted acceptance of the Divine Father by one who possesses great stores of knowledge.

It is easy enough to understand that in every ordinary human concern faith is necessary. Dams and bridges, houses and towers, are built because of men’s belief or faiths in principles of construction and strength of materials. Faith supplies the means with which life’s structure may be raised; and he who has faith knows that the result will be good. With faith there is certainty of effort, without faith there is chaos of thought and action.

It is the higher realms of faith, those that enter the unseen world, that sometimes raise questions in the minds of the inexperienced. Faith makes use of all the powers of man. It does not stop with that which may be sensed directly by the simpler senses, but invades the unseen universe which may be known only by the use of subtler human gifts. It proceeds to examine the evidences for God and H is kingdom. This, however, is only in harmony with current thought and practice. Much, if not most of science concerns the unseen world. Molecules, atoms, and electrons, the composition of the stars and the core of the earth, are known and can be known only through their effects upon certain instruments. Just so, the unseen world of living beings may be known by its effects upon living men. No man-made instrument can be as sensitive and truthful as man, himself, who may fit himself, by righteous living, to be a suitable instrument for the reception of inlluences from the unseen world. When this is done, faith may and does rise to sublime heights, beyond the understanding of those who will not pay the price in self-conquest. We may then know with certainty that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ. This phase of faith is implied by the Apostle Paul in his famous declaration that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Faith is indeed the same foundation of human action.

Repentance, the second principle of the Gospel, is a necessary derivative of faith. To believe a thing is not enough. Knowledge must be used, if it is to be made alive. If a person has violated law, done something which he discovers should not have been done, the spirit of repentance, will help him to do it no more. That is turning away from error; that is giving life to faith. Faith is not complete unless so used. Yet it is not sufficient to justify faith by turning away from error. It is equally important to do that which should be done. The repentant man ceases to do wrong; he also does that which is right. Full repentance places both requirements upon the man. Repentance is active faith.

Such repentance has its counterpart in the daily affairs of life. Knowledge is but a dry and dusty husk until used to correct mistakes and to promote human ventures. Repentance in this sense is practiced by all successful persons in every concern of the day. The genuineness of repentance depends usually upon the sincerity of faith. The quality of fafth may be gauged by its effect upon human actions, that is upon repentance. The ordinance of baptism is equally easy to comprehend. The Church is a divinely provided organization of men and women of a common faith. Every organized body requires of its members some form of acquiescence in its purposes and practices, a promise of conformity. Baptism is this initiatory evidence on the part of the candidate admitting him into the fellowship of the Church. It is much like the giving of a contract covering a human transaction. In this instance, the agreement is between a man, the candidate for admission to the Church, and the Lord who is the head of the Church. The man agrees to keep all the laws, regulations, and arrangements of the Church and to observe every word of God as given through his prophets in all ages; and as a signature to the contract he submits to the ordinance of baptism. He who is baptized into the Church has promised to live in harmony with Gospel requirements; if he fails to do so, he is a contract breaker, a man who does not keep his word or promise.

The form of baptism by immersion is heaven-ordained, but clearly comprehended. Jesus the Christ is the central figure of the plan of salvation. He came on earth to teach the Gospel to man; he died that men may be redeemed from the grave; and he was resurrected into his father’s glory, thus pointing to the possible destiny of every man born upon earth. In symbolic manner baptism repeats the story of Jesus—the candidate is buried in the water, arises from it into a new life. By the mode of baptism, the position and vicarious service of Jesus is accepted, and the promise of the resurrection received.

Yet another gift to man is symbolized by baptism. The candidate may have been sinful, but has developed faith in the Lord and the plan of salvation. He has turned away from evil and engaged in good deeds. By baptism he is willing to certify that he will obey the law hereafter. He goes into the water, which is a cleansing agent, and comes out again a changed man. He has been cleansed in a high spiritual sense. He may have to pay the physical price for his mortal mistakes, but his errors will not now prevent him from entering the kingdom of Heaven, if he henceforth lives according to the law. Baptism, then, carries with it also the gift of forgiveness of our sins.

So conceived, baptism becomes a beautiful ordinance, symbolizing (1) our agreement with God, henceforth to keep his Law; (2) the leadership of Jesus, the Christ, with the gift of the resurrection through his sacrifice, and (3) the forgiveness of our sins, so that they shall not stand in the way of our progress towards the presence of God.

In natural order comes the last of the four initiatory principles and ordinances of the Gospel; the reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Every person born into the world, saint or sinner, enjoys according to the manner of his life, the presence of the Holy Spirit, which flows from the presence of God to fill all space and to touch every human heart. Life and light and understanding are the gifts of this ever-present influence. It is the fountain of knowledge. Without it, darkness and despair would cover the earth. It is the universal gift of the Lord to His earthly children. By its means, the humblest and meanest, as well as the highest and best, may communicate with the Father who gave them life on earth.

The gift of the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, is reserved for those who by faith, repentance, and baptism, have qualified for membership in the authorized community, the church of believers. It confers upon the recipient the official right, as it were, to secure added and higher guidance and protection in the affairs of life. He may approach the Father in prayer, as one who has the right to make certain requests. He is henceforth a co-worker in behalf of the plan of salvation entitled to corresponding help from above. Gifts from heaven, prophecy, healing or tongues, may be conferred upon the petitioner according to his needs and the decrees of heaven. The Holy Spirit is a general gift to all by which they may find their way to truth; the gift of the Holy Ghost is a special gift, conditioned upon the person’s proper use of the general gift of the Holy Spirit. The gift of the Holy Ghost includes the companionship of the Holy Ghost, through the agencies under His control, for the comfort, enlightenment and strengthening of man. The rate of progress in all good things may be made more constant and rapid by the gift of the Holy Ghost.

It does not follow that an immediate change comes over the person who is confirmed into the Church. That would be contrary to the ways of life. It is more as if a door were opened, permitting him to enter, if he so desire, or placing before him an instrument, say a radio set, which he may operate at will. The more the gift is used, the greater the facility gained and the blessings obtained. All gifts are conditioned upon our efforts.

This may, in a small way, be compared with the effects upon a person in any mundane pursuit, who conforms to preliminary conditions and thereby, having prepared himself, may more competent y perform the work placed before him. The equivalent of the reward for faith, repentance, and obedience, may be observed in every human pursuit.

Faith, a convincing belief, as the groundwork of action, repentance, a correct use of knowledge by which faith becomes active; baptism, an agreement to abide by the regulations of the Church composed of those who have found faith and practiced repentance and to accept Jesus as the Head of the work; and the reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost, the official participation in the powers of heaven, made possible by man’s acceptance of the preceding conditions, by which progress may become more certain and rapid—these form a sequence, a series of natural steps, by which a person may achieve greatly and progress continuously. The first principles and ordinances form a safe, understandable foundation for life in the Church of Christ. They are the necessary first steps in a progressive existence.

QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

1. What is faith?

2. How are knowledge and faith related?

3. How may man know with certainty something which cannot be seen or heard?

4. What is the distinction between a principle and an ordinance?

5. How is repentance related to faith?

6. Why is baptism a necessary precedent to the gift of the Holy Ghost?