Whom do the Latter-day Saints Worship?

Improvement Era

Vol. XVII JUNE, 1914 No. 8

Whom do the Latter-day Saints Worship?

BY CHARLES W. PENROSE, OF THE FIRST PRESIDENCY OF THE CHURCH

The saying of the Savior concerning the Samaritans of his

day: "Ye worship ye know not what" (John 4:22), appHes to

millions of people of various sects, heathen and Christian, at the

present time. The attempts made by modern theologians to de-

scribe Deity are echoes of similar efforts by Greek and other

philosophers of olden times. To all of them God is an incompre-

hensible immateriality. The Latter-day Saints may truthfully re-

peat the associate assertion of Jesus Christ : "We know what we

worship." (John 4:22.)

Not that we claim to comprehend God in the fulness and per-

fection of his being; but that he is measurably understandable now,

and when we are made perfect and become like him, we shall

"comprehend even God" and see him as he is (I John 3:2; Doc.

and Cov. 88:49). The God whom we worship is our heavenly

Father we are in his image and likeness, because we are his sons

;

and daughters, on the eternal principle that every seed brings forth

"after its own kind." The spirit of man is a substantial entity, a

personal being, the offspring of Deity, the corporeal body conform-

ing to the spirit form. (Doc. and Cov. 77:2 A.) Spirit is tangi-

ble to spirit, as grosser element called matter is tangible to mat-

ter. There is no such thing as immaterial substance (Doc. and

Cov. 131 :7). A personal spirit has shape, extension, limits, a dis-

tinct individuality, whether in or out of the body, and is in the

likeness of his or her heavenly parents, as are the children of men

in the image of their earthly progenitors.

—

God, then, is a personal Being, a perfect Spirit dwelling in a

perfect body of immortal flesh and bones, quickened by spirit

(Doc. and Cov. 130:22). Our Father in heaven was revealed and

made manifest in the person of His Son Jesus Christ "For in him

:

dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9). Thus

Christ is God, "being the brightness of His glory and the express

;

706 IMPROVEMENT ERA

image of His person." He was the "first-begotten" of the Father

in the spirit, and the "only begotten" in the flesh. (Heb. 1, 2;

Col. 1:15-19; Doc. and Cov. 93:9-14, 21, 23.) He was with the

Father "in the beginning," and was the active creator or organizer

of "the worlds," under the direction of the Father. He knew what

to do and how to do it for, as he declared when in the flesh "The

; :

Father loveth the Son and showeth him all things that Himself

doeth" (John 5 :20). Being the first-born of the many sons he was

to bring unto glory, as their Redeemer, by his experience, intelli-

gence, association with the Father in the glorious works of count-

less ages, he was qualified to represent the Father and to come to

earth in the time predestined, to act as "God manifest in the flesh."

When he had accomplished his work on earth and "ascended up

where he was before," he had "all power in heaven and on earth,"

and was God in every respect, appearing and acting as "both the

Father and the Son."

We —

worship God the Father first person in the Trinity in ;

the name of the Son, Jesus Christ — second person in the Trinity

—

under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Ghost third per-

son in the Trinity, bearing witness of the Father and the Son.

These constitute the Godhead, and are ONE. Not one person,

but one in perfect unison of mind, spirit, purpose and action, as

all the sons of God will be when exalted unto the perfection of

"the gods." We worship that Divine Being who is "exalted above

all that are called gods, either in heaven or on earth." He is the

God of the Bible, both of the Old Testament and of the New the ;

God whom Adam worshiped both before and after the fall the ;

God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, of Moses, and of the

prophets of Jesus the Christ, and of his apostles and disciples.

;

He is our Father in heaven whom Jesus has taught us to worship,

and whom he worshiped and obeyed. Each of the Divine beings

in the Holy Trinity is separate and distinct from the others. The

Father has a body of flesh and bones, the Son also, but the Holy

Ghost is a '^personage of spirit" (Doc. and Cov. 130). In their

personality neither of them can be in more than one place at one

time, no matter how speedily or by what means he can move

through illimitable space. But universally dififused throughout the

immensity of space is an everywhere-present holy spirit that is not a

personage, and by that essence God can be and is omnipresent and

omniscient at will.

That spirit of God is Divine light. It is the spirit of intelli-

:"

gence which "was not created or made, neither indeed can be

it is the spirit of life and is manifested through organisms of all

grades and varieties. By that spirit God created or organized all

things, spiritual and temporal. It is the light of Christ and

"lighteth every man that cometh into the world." It is "the in-

spiration of God that giveth men understanding." By its opera-

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Tin-: SALT LAKIC TABERNACLE

Is a world-famed structure, liaviiig an immense auditorium, elliptic in

shape, and scatinj^; eight thousand. The building is 250 by 150 feet in

area and 80 feet in height. The self-supporting wooden roof is a

remarkable work of engineering, resting upon buttresses of red sand-

stone that stands ten to twelve feet apart in the whole circumference

of the building. The pillars support wooden arches ten feet in thick-

ness, and spanning 150 feet. These arches are put together with

wooden pins and are of a lattice-truss construction. There were no

nails in Utah in the days when this building was erected, neither iron

of any kind was used in the framework. The wonderful structure

w^as erected from 1865 to 1867, and all the imported material used

in its construction had to be hauled with ox teams from the Mis-

souri river, since the railroad did not reach Utah until May, 1869.

The roof now has a metallic covering which some years ago replaced

the old wooden shingles. The original cost of this building was

about $300,000, exclusive of the great organ which, until recently, was

the largest in the world. The Tabernacle was planned and erected

under the direction of Brigham Young who was a glazier and cabinet-

maker by trade, schooled chiefly, however, by hardship and experi-

ence. The building is used for conferences of the whole Church

which are held in April and October of each year, the annual con-

ference being held in April, and the semi-annual conference, in Oc-

tober. It is also used for special Sunday services, for services of the

Salt Lake City stake conferences on Sunday afternoons, for concerts

by the great world-famed "Mormon" Tabernacle choir, and for con-

certs and lectures by world-famed artists and lecturers.

THE SALT LAKE TEMPLE

(See frontispiece.)

The temple is 186 feet long by 99 feet wide.The greatest height

of this magnificent structure with its six imposing spires is 222 feet

to the top of the figure mounting the eastern central spire. It was

begun in 1853, less than six years after the arrival of the pioneers.

The foundation walls are 16 feet wide and 18 feet deep, and above

the ground the walls vary in thickness from nine to six feet. The

great building was completed in 1893 and dedicated April 6, just forty

years after it was begun. Its construction cost approximately four

million dollars. Up to 1873, when the railroad was completed to the

rock quarries the huge granite blocks of which t!ie temple is built

were hauled from the Cottonwood granite quarries, some twenty

miles to the southeast of the city, by ox teams. It frequently re-

quired four days with four yoke of oxen to carry to the temple

grounds a single stone. As with all the temples of the Saints, no

visitors are admitted to this building. Temples are not designed

as places of public assembly, but are devoted to sacred ordinances.

Marriages, baptisms, and other sacred rites, including baptism for the

dead, are here performed.

The ground upon which the temple stands consists of a ten-acre

square, surrounded by a stone and adobe wall 12 feet high and 3 feet

thick. The grounds are beautifully parked. Resides the temple there

are the Tabernacle, the Assembly Hall and the Bureau of Informa-

tion. The gull monument, recently erected in front of the Assembly

Hall, commemorates a remarkable event in the history of the pio-

neers; and then there are also monuments of Joseph Smith, the

prophet, and Hyrum Smith, his brother, with inscriptions relating

to the founding of the Church, and remarkable revelations leading

thereto.

At the Bureau of Information approximately 200,000 visitors are

entertained each year and much literature is distributed descriptive

of Utah and the Latter-day Saints.

WHOM DO THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS WORSHIP? 709

tions, of which there is great diversity, spiritual gifts are bestowed,

and holy men of old received and spoke and wrote the word of

God. It pervades all worlds and "proceedeth from the presence

of God throughout the immensity of space," being in all things,

giving light to all things, and the law and power of God by which

all things are governed, and by which "He comprehendeth all

things, and all things are before Him, and all things are round

about Him, and He is above all things, and through all things,

and in all things, and all things are by Him, and of Him, even God

forever and ever." (John 1 :l-9; Job 32:8; I Cor. 12:4-11 Doc.

;

and Gov. 88:7-13, 41; and 93:29.) Thus God can receive our

prayers, know our thoughts, understand our desires and minister

to our necessities. He has also at His command angels, and other

divine intelligences, who operate in different spheres and worlds

and ."onstellations, who are endowed with power and authority to

speak and act for Him in the grand order of His spiritual kingdom,

according to eternal principles and the developments and needs

of His creatures and creations.

We should worship and adore and render obedience to Him

who is the Father of our spirits. (Heb. 12:9.) We are indebted

to Him for our organized, conscious, intelligent personalities, who,

in our "first estate," gave us the power of agency when He begat

us in His own likeness. All elements are eternal, whether spiritual

or gross material. But, as our bodies are organized entities be-

gotten by our earthly fathers and composed of earthly yet eternal

elements, so our spirits are organized entities begotten by or unto

our Eternal Father, and composed of eternal spiritual elements.

There was "no beginning" to their numbers or their substance.

(See Doc. and Gov. 29:31; 76:24; 93:17; Book of Moses 3:5;

4:3; Book of Abraham 3:13.) Adam stands at the head of the

human race on this planet, as the great patriarch of all the earth's

families we should and will honor him as the Ancient of Days

;

(Dan. 7:13), with whom we shall "have to do" in matters per-

taining to earth. Adam in his pre-existence was Michael, the arch-

angel, a mighty being in heaven and on earth. But we do not

worship him. We worship the great Elohim whom Adam wor-

shiped and will worship (Doc. and Gov. 107:53-56), and whom

Jesus the Ghrist also worships, and to whom he will render up

this earth and its inhabitants when redeemed, that the God of gods,

the majestic and mightv One, our Eternal Father, who is above

all,may indeed be "all in all."

Jesus, the Christ, who was the Jehovah of the ancient He-

brews, and who gave to ]\Toses the law called by his name, is some-

times snoken of as "both th? Father and the Son." He is so

named in the Book of Mormon. But that is explained in the same

book bv the declaration that he is "the father of heaven and earth,"

being its actual creator under and with his Father and our Father,

710 i.mi'I«:()VI';mI':nt vma

h< God and our God. Mosiah 3:8; 111 Ncplii 15:5; I Cor. 15:

(

28.) was "in the beginning with God and was God," for all

lie

thirds were made by him and for him, and the Father gave to

him the power to act in and use His holy name. On this earth

Christ represents the Father, manifests the Father, .speaks as the

l-'athcr, possesses "the fulness" of the Father, and calls his dis-

ciples not his sons but his brethren.

The. Holy Ghost, "a personage of spirit," is the being sent by

the Savior after his departure from earth, to bear witness of both

the Father and the Son, to dispense spiritual gifts, to reveal "the

deep things of God," to comfort, enlighten and inspire the bap-

tized believers in Christ, who receive from him "the gift of the

—

Holy Ghost" in their confirmation that is, the Holy Ghost as a

gift a special endowment and continual guide, an "abiding wit-

:

ness" by "the anointing from above that teacheth all things"

through the higher than ordinary operations of that universal holy

snirit that pervades all things. He is with the true Church of

Christ was present on that day of Pentecost when the disciples

;

were endowed with power from on high, and on the occasion of

similar manifestations in these latter days. By his aid we draw

near to Christ the Son. and God the Father, and hold communion

with the Highest. He is a separate and distinct individual from

the Son, as the Son is from the Father, but the three personalities

are One in Deity, and all act in perfect unity, through the agency

of the universally-present, eternal spirit of light and truth and

power. In the language of Paul "Though there be that are

:

called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many,

and lords many), but to us there is but one God, the Father of

^yhom are all things, and we in him and one Lord Jesus Christ, by

;

whom are all things, and we bv him" (I Cor. 8:5, 6). It is God the

Father whom we worship and adore in the name of Jesus Christ.

His Son, under the influence of the Holy Ghost. Other worship

is idolatry.

The Being whom we worship is the embodiment and expres-

sion of the eternal verities. He is the complete revelation of light,

life, truth, faith, hone, love, law. justice, mercv. virtue, beauty,

harmonv. power, authoritv. equity and energy. Eternal principles

are perfectlv manifested in his personality. He is altogether ven-

erable, lovable and adorable. Therefore, and because he is our

Et°rml Father, we should worship and implicitly obey him in all

things.

In theological discussions among the Latter-day Saints much

misunderstindino- would be avoided if notions derived from ob-

scure passages of scripture or isolated expressions made by prom-

inent speakers nnd writers were let alone, and the recognized

standar^^s were taken as the proper written guide. Also if subjects

upon wdiich there is no definite revelation were not argued or