The Articles of Faith. James E. Talmage

Jesus Christ the 'Father' of those who abide in His Gospel". See Doc. and Cov. xxxiv, 1–3; xxxv, 1, 2; xxxix, 1–4; Mosiah xv, 10–13.

      "4. Jesus Christ the 'Father' by Divine Investiture of Authority". See John x. 30; xvii, 11, 22; compare xiv. 28; see further v, 43; x, 26; III Nephi xx, 35; xxviii, 10; and Doc. and Cov. 1, 43.

      LECTURE III.

       TRANSGRESSION AND THE FALL.

       Table of Contents

      Article 2.—We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.

      TRANSGRESSION AND ITS RESULTS.

      1. Man's Free Agency.—The Church holds and teaches as a strictly scriptural doctrine, that man has inherited among the inalienable rights conferred upon him by his divine Father, absolute freedom to choose the good or the evil in life as he may elect. This right cannot be guarded with more jealous care than is bestowed upon it by God Himself; for in all His dealings with man, He has left the mortal creature free to choose and to act, with no semblance of compulsion or restraint, beyond the influences of paternal counsel and loving direction.119 True, He has given commandments, and has established statutes, with promises of blessings for compliance and dire penalties for infraction; but in the choice of these, God's children are untrammeled. In this respect, man is no less free than are the angels and the Gods, except as he has fettered himself with the bonds of sin, and forfeited his power of will and force of soul. The individual has as full a measure of liberty to violate the laws of health, the requirements of nature, and the commandments of God in matters both temporal and spiritual, as he has to obey all such; in the one case he brings upon himself the sure penalties that belong to the broken law; as in the other he inherits the specific blessings and the added freedom that attend a law-abiding life. Obedience to law is the habit of the free man; 'tis the transgressor who fears the law, for he brings upon himself deprivation and restraint, not because of the law, which would have protected him in his freedom, but because of his antagonism to law.

      2. The predominant attribute of justice, recognized as part of the Divine nature, forbids the thought that man should receive promises of reward for righteousness, and threats of punishment for evil deeds, if he possessed no power of independent action. It is no more a part of God's plan to compel men to work righteousness, than it is His purpose to permit evil powers to force His children into sin. In the days of Eden, the first man had placed before him commandment and law,120 with an explanation of the penalty which would follow a violation of that law. No law could have been given him in righteousness had he not been free to act for himself. "Nevertheless thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee, but remember that I forbid it,"121 said the Lord God to Adam. Concerning His dealings with the first patriarch of the race, God has declared in this day, "Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself."122

      3. When the brothers Cain and Abel brought their sacrifices before the Lord, the elder one became angry because his offering was rejected; then the Lord reasoned with Cain, and endeavored to teach him that he must expect results of his actions to follow in kind, good or evil, as he might elect:—"If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door."123

      4. A knowledge of good and evil is essential to the advancement which God has made possible for His children to achieve; this knowledge can be best gained by actual experience, with the contrasts of good and its opposite before the eyes; therefore has man been placed upon the earth subject to the influence of good and wicked powers, with a knowledge of the conditions surrounding him, and the heaven-born right to choose for himself. The words of the prophet, Lehi, are particularly explicit: "Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself, save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other. … Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great mediation of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself."124

      5. Alma, another Nephite prophet, in speaking of those who had died, said they had gone "that they might reap their rewards, according to their works, whether they were good or whether they were bad, to reap eternal happiness or eternal misery, according to the spirit which they listed to obey, whether it be a good spirit or a bad one; For every man receiveth wages of him whom he listeth to obey, and this according to the words of the spirit of prophecy."125

      6. Samuel, the converted Lamanite, upon whom the spirit of the prophets had fallen, admonished his wayward fellows in this wise: "And now remember, remember my brethren, that whosoever perisheth, perisheth unto himself; and whosoever doeth iniquity, doeth it unto himself; for behold, ye are free; ye are permitted to act for yourselves; for behold, God hath given unto you a knowledge, and He hath made you free; He hath given unto you that ye might know good from evil, and He hath given unto you that ye might choose life or death."126

      7. When the plans for creating and peopling the earth were under discussion in heaven, Satan sought to destroy the free agency of man, by obtaining power to force the human family to do his will, promising the Father that by such means he would redeem all mankind, and that not one of them should be lost.127 This proposition was rejected, while the original purpose of the Father—to use persuasive influences of wholesome precept and sacrificing example with the inhabitants of the earth, then to leave them free to choose for themselves, was agreed upon, and the Only Begotten Son was chosen as the chief instrument in carrying that purpose into effect.

      8. Man's Responsibility for his individual acts is as complete as is his agency to elect for himself. The natural result of good deeds is happiness; the consequence of evil is misery; these follow in every man's life by inviolable laws. There is a plan of judgment128 divinely fore-ordained, by which every man will be called to answer for his deeds; and not for deeds alone but for his words also, and even for the thoughts of his heart. "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."129 These are the words of the Savior Himself. "And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbor, and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the Lord."130 John the Revelator was permitted to learn in vision something of the scenes connected with the last judgment; he says: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."131

      9. The judgment of God is not always made to follow immediately the acts of men; good deeds may not be at once rewarded, evil is rarely peremptorily punished; and this is according to Divine wisdom; were it appointed otherwise, the test of individual nature, and the trial of human faith, for which purposes this mortal probation was primarily ordained, would be greatly lessened; for the certainty of immediate pleasure or pain would almost universally determine human acts to secure the one and to avoid the other. Judgment, therefore, is postponed, that every one may fully prove his nature, the good man increasing in righteousness, and the evil doer possessing opportunity of repentance and reparation before the great and terrible day. On rare occasions, speedy judgment of a temporal nature has been executed, the physical results of worldly blessing for good,132 and calamity for evil deeds133a following swiftly upon the acts. Whether such retribution entirely satisfies the claims of justice, or a further visitation of judgment is to take place beyond this world, matters not. Such acts are exceptional in the Divine administration.

      10. It is the prerogative of Jesus Christ133b to judge the children of men, and He will do it as His own purposes, which are likewise the purposes of His Father, may be best served.