You Cannot Get Away from Yourself

You Cannot Get Away From Yourself By Joseph S. Peery, Superintendent Y. M. M. I. A., Liberty Stake

"I am associating with myself all the time, day and night, and I do not want to do anything that myself will not approve." These words were dropped in a conversation twenty years ago by United States District Judge Tillman D. Johnson. The event causing the remark is forgotten, but the writer hopes never to forget the words nor the desire to pass them on to others. "I am with myself all the time," relates not only to this earth life existance, but to the existence of all eternity. When a man does wrong, that wrong is known by at least two persons: by his Maker in his own image, who breaks his Creator's corn- more he adds to his difficulties, for, either in this life or in the life to come, he must meet them all. The young man who reasons, "I will have all the fun I can in this life, for I will be a long time dead," and, acting upon this beguiling thought, who goes into dissipation, who rejects the advice that he is the protector of the girl, and who riotously lives the carnal life as a destroyer of virtue and womanhood, who yields to selfish indulgence and degrades the body made by his Maker in His own image, who breaks his Creator's com- mandments and finally runs his life course of disobedience, will enter the spirit world with knowledge that he lives, with a keen sense of his wasted life and his defiance of the Almighty. The great Latter-day Prophet Joseph Smith tells us, "The agony of hell is mental. The sinner realizes what he has missed. He sees others have joy that he might have had, if he had acted and lived differently, and he is his own accuser. Having the intelligence he had in earth life, he realizes that his condition in the Spirt world is the result of his own actions. Hell of fire and brimstone could not be worse than his torture of mind. What can be worse than mental agony? Oh, that he could get away from himself! Oh, that he could go back to earth life and live over even a small portion of that wasted opportunity! He sees others who have obeyed and served their Maker, and notes their happiness. This only adds to the real- ization of what "he has missed." In earth-life he refused to consider, now he learns fully the meaning of Paul's warning, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). He reaps a crop of regret, remorse, suspense, and a lake of

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fire and brimstone could not be worse than his agony of mind. The climax of his misery is the knowledge that his Maker knows his record in every detail and that he must stand before God and be judged according to his works. Summer has gone and my soul is not saved. My earth- life was one of selfish gratification. I did there as I pleased. Now I must yield to the demands of justice and pay the penalty to the "uttermost farthing." When I finally "rise and stand before God," I will be judged by the book of my life. How horrible, how unbearable! With such a record, what can I ex- pect? It is probable in the Spirit World that the sinner has such musings of misery and suspense. The Savior in the nineteenth section of the Doctrine and Covenants commands us all to re- pent: Repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, — and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore how sore you know not! how exquisite you know not! yea, how hard to bear you know not! For behold I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent." But if they would not repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit. Such is the latest printed divine word of what we must meet if we will not repent. Every one should deeply consider these words and not be indifferent to them. They apply to us all. They mean what they say. The main thing of repentance is to — quit sinning not only to feel sorry for the sins we commit, but to "cease doing the things we are sorry for." Through the wonderful atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, all mankind will rise from the grave sometime the body and spirit will be reunited constituting the soul of man. However, all will not rise at the same time nor go to the same place. It will be a merit system that Paul compares to the sun, moon and stars. The Savior says: "In my Father's house are many mansions." President John Taylor remarked "We will have to pass by the Gods and the angels, and how sad it would be for a man to come forward and be told, 'Stop and

take another course. You have not yet paid the penalty for your contempt of God's laws and his kindness unto you. You cannot come forth in the first thousand years. You must wait " until the second.' But to the constructive side, and the doctrine of the Latter- day Saints is constructive, though we should all look at the sit- uation squarely, yet the splendid fact and blessing exist that God is merciful. The Bible tells us "God's tender mercies are over all his works." "God's tender mecies endure forever."

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"Christ died as a ransom for "And I, if I be lifted up all." from the earth, will men unto me" (John 12:32). draw all "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pard- on" (Isaiah 55:7). But as the Book of Mormon warns, "We should not pro- crastinate our repentence unto the end." This life is a place of preparation for the next life, one school of development, one part of eternity. Delays are dangerous. We should face the fact that, either willingly or through suffering, we will all eventually come in harmony with divine law. It does not pay to defy God's law, for the penalty must be paid to the uttermost farthing. The universe is governed by law. The spiritual do- main is ruled by law, and every soul must and will finally yield obedience to law. How much better it is to humble ourselves and yield obedience willingly to Almighty God than to be whip- ped into line through suffering. We have the option. No one can escape. The Divine Law applies to every one, rich and poor, high and low, renowned and unknown. God is no respecter of persons. Whoever obeys the law receives the reward. So called "Mormonism" is broad and beautiful and hope- ful. It does not consign the poor sinner to endless hell. It tells him that, though the debt must be paid and it is going to be hard enough, bad enough and long enough, yet when justice is satisfied the prisoner is free. It also tells him to do as Sir Walter Scott said on his dying bed to his son-in-law, Lockhart, "Be a good man." By being good he starts to receive a portion of his heaven right here in earth life, and is very much further advanced when he dies than to be put into a condition and place of hell to work off a debt for his bad deeds. Furthermore, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints helps him mostly by giving him something to do to help others. It teaches him that when he is in the service of his fel- low man he is in the service of his God. It proves to him that he is progressing when he serves others, and he knows full well he is not progressing when he thinks only for himself. The Church shows him that his exaltation depends largely on his own efforts, that the heaven he gets will be the heaven he earns, and that his safety and happiness depend upon his performance of duty The inspiration of the Almighty is shown in the words of the Koran: "When a man dies those who survive him inquire what property has he left behind, but the angel who bends over the bed of the dving man inquires what good deeds has he sent be- fore."

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Henry Van Dyke in his Joy and Power appeals to the read- er, "Live in the light of knowledge that you live forever. What are you going to give personally to make the human life of the place where you do your work, purer, stronger, better and more worth living? The question for you is not what are you going to get out of the world; but what are you going to give to the world." President B. S Hinckley, of Liberty stake, recently ad- dressed a congregation in these words: "How would a person feel who goes to the next life and be shown a beautiful mansion he might have had. Instead of that he sees the miserable hut that he sent up for himself." "Of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: it might have been." The Lord is a good Paymaster. How glorious is the re- ward of those who love and serve their Maker! Through the centuries the promise of the Good Book has been held up to humanity: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath pre- pared for them who love him." And the later words of the Savior printed in the Doctrine and Covenants should be borne in mind by everyone: "But learn this, that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward: even peace in this life and eternal life in the world to come." (Sec. 59: 23.) Peace in this life is a precious boon, and eternal life is the choicest of all blessings.