--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Hyde, William A. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 22 number: 11 published: 1919-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Hyde, William A., "Help Thou Mine Unbelief," *Improvement Era* 22, no. 11 (September 1919): 938–946.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera22011unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera22011unse start_page: 938 end_page: 946 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1919-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera22011unse publication_year: 1919 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1919, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Help Thou Mine Unbelief Help Thou Mine Unbelief By William A. Hyde, President of Pocatello Stake of Zion There is to be found among investigators of the gospel, that anomalous and contradictory condition where, every objection being overcome and every doubt removed, the mind, though convinced, cannot make a decision to declare allegiance to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those who are in that condition are like the men who are moved to tears in a re- vival meeting, yet cannot leave their seats for the converts' bench; in the calmer and more thoughtful study of the gospel, these would be the men who had given up resistance and had ceased to argue. Possibly the Centurion who said, "Lord, I be- lieve, help thou mine unbelief," was in this class. He could be- lieve that part which his senses could take note of, — he desired to believe the things of which faith alone is cognizant. A number of reasons for this state of mind in man may be given. For example: the timid and weak may fear the plunge into the cold element of the criticism of their friends; the ego- tistical may hesitate to shock their own self-sufficiency by a public admission of humility and the need of repentance, but — these are the excuses of the weak; what can the strong, thought- ful man say of his hesitation, when the flood of evidence all runs heavily toward the truth of the doctrines of the gospel and the saving mission of the Church? This is a mystery not so easily solved. Some observations as to the effects of the truth upon the minds of men, may be enlightening to us here, and in this con- nection it is well to remember, that the preparation of the soil has always much to do with the planting. From the beginning of missionary work, elders have frequently found men and women — who have been expecting them to come, who literally have been standing at the door to receive them. Scores of instances there are where the messengers have been expected, and many times known. Here were men and women who had been hun- gering and thirsting, and the forces of truth had labored in their behalf, and in dreams and visions they had seen the answer to their prayers. Others, in a chance crowd, have listened to some speaker on the curb, and the first sentence has chained them. Another has picked up a leaflet on the pavement in London, and there seen the word that led him to the Church. Such as these have long before, without knowing it, perhaps, prepared their HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF 939 hearts. The door has been opened wide to truth and they have believed. These may be termed the "honest in heart," because they have willingly trusted their spiritual instinct to lead them. But who is there that can explain the phenomenon where a strong soul, clean and right living, dallies and argues, sometimes — for years, who could not dismiss the truth if he tried; who hears its echoes twenty years until the voice comes again from the lips of another messenger and he at last obeys? Who can explain the woman who resisted her husband for ten years, argu- ing, reviling, and almost persecuting him, fearing the truth he had but not consenting to its demands, but yielding at last in a fulness of joy in her final defeat, and reaching sainthood almost ill her faithfulness to the trust so reluctantly accepted? Is the explanation to be found in the saying: "Paul may plant and Apollos water, but God giveth the increase"? Perhaps not more than in the peculiarities of men, in their mental adjustment and degree of tractability and stubborness. The slowly yielding man must not be too harshly judged, for there is in the ultra-honest man the fear of his own actions, lest he be not honest with him- self. Such a man will stand back and resist, for fear that his very love of the ideal set before him has prejudiced his mind. Some there are, whom the brilliancy of the gospel has daz- zled and bewildered. One such said to me: "It is a beautiful fairy story, I wish that I could believe it, but it is too beautiful to be true." He did not know that there is no gift too rich for God's ample love for his children. To such, the wondrous love of Christ, manifested in his death for us; his great concern for us. shown in his revelation to the world in our day; the marvel- — ous plan which saves all and exalts all who will be exalted, this is, in the minds of some, too good to be true. May it not be that the very generosity of the gospel is a deterrent upon men? For they read of blessings that come to the passively good, the quietly virtuous, that surpass their fondest expectations under the old philosophies, and the most vivid imaginations of any sectarian, and they perhaps say: "I will be content to come in as one of the 'honorable men' of the earth; their glory is good enough for me," not sensing that happiness is by comparison merely, and that there is no perfect joy short of the fullest attainment. Such men as these have lived in every day and age, no doubt. For their warning the Lord said, "We must work today, for the night cometh when no man can work." We know the genus of — these men. They are the procrastinators the waiters. We do not know the species; eo in the midst of such diverse minds let all men withhold their condemnation and continue to reason and persuade with all diligence. If there be men in whom the truths 940 IMPROVEMENT ERA of the gospel havefound lodgment, but who e minds are con- fused and who cannot arrange the different elements to make them orderly and satisfying, here is work for the analytical teacher. Those who have found, owe a duty to those who are seeking, and that duty cannot be discharged short of standing by the men in a brotherly way, not dogmatically, but as an equal merely, without offense to their pride, and pointing out this or that guide up the road ahead which leads to a decisive faith. In the face of such a task I confess my lack of understanding; but come, my brother, with such light as we may have, let us reason together. Have you a conception of God, my brother? If so, is it childlike or metaphysical? If you try like a philosopher to fathom God, we shall not succeed, but if you know him as the child knows him, then we may proceed with confidence. God — the Father, the Almighty, these are terms we can understand. As? the Father, do you love him? As the Almighty, do you fear him? If so, then are we safely on our way. That God has to do with us, there is no need to argue, else why should we talk about religion at all? Being the Father and Almighty he is to be obeyed. These elemental truths accepted, we have proceeded in our consideration as far as where books begin, and we find the things that prophets and teachers have written of God's re- quirements of us and of our duty to him. Alas! Here is where men begin to flounder. Strange, is it not, that an allwise God, knowing the mutations and inaccuracies of language, and know- ing the kinds, and the imperfection of minds through which his commandments must filter, had left us to the guidance of books alone! Rather, is it not more strange that reasonable men can so believe! You searcher for truth, stand fast here ere you move another foot and make your decision. If books alone are to direct you, with no surer guide, we shall presently be in a labyrinth from which innumerable paths emerge. If your con- ception of God has not in it the element of personal concern in you; if you cannot believe, with James, that "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God;" or with Carlyle, that we should "consult the eternal oracles not yet inaudible, nor ever to be- come fo, when worthily inquired of, and to disregard nearly altogether in comparison, the temporary noises, menacings and — deliriums," then you have neglected the sign posts put along the way. If you go wrong, you do ro wilfully. But if your mind 13 open, and you are ready to receive, not only from Scriptures, but from their Author, then shall you safely proceed, with this reasonable and proper admission that the Scriptures testify of God and are of great value to the world as being the written law to which all spoken law in its elements of principle will con- HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF 941 form, and that in them is marked out the path of eternal life. At this point we may be halted by a danger to which many investigators succumb — the danger of being misled by an in- dividualism which will say: "I have found God, and my soul is satisfied." My friend, to find God, as you say, is but the be- ginning; to have faith that "he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him," is but the admission on your part, that shall constitute you rebellious if you do not obey him. Here is the parting of the ways between the two branches of Christians: those who say, "I believe," and those who say, "I be- lieve and obey." Now you must lose that prerogative that you have heretofore asserted to go your way alone, you cannot go unaided in the cause of Christ. You cannot be a hermit in your sufficiency, some one must minister to you. If you are a stu- dent of the history of God's dealings with his children, answer this: In every age when men would listen and obey, has he not given to some one man or another, the word, that he might be the prophet or the teacher? Around these men has not the mass o humanity always assembled, and whether Moses brought the 1 ' law from Sinai, or Samuel, from the temple, or John, from the wilderness, has it not always been God's word? And those who have been gathered together and have been led thus, have they not always been the congregation of Israel or of the saints? What is the Church if it is not the organization of men for the purposes of spiritual government and action? At all times, when the world would receive him, God has supplied the man, and has given him the word, the authority, that would constitute him the leader. That being true, my friend, you must submit your- self to divine government if such is to be found. But you say: "I neither need nor want such association, the road of morality and righteousness is clearly marked for me, I can govern my- self." That being your stand, you refuse all present mediation between yourself and God, and you deny yourself the fruit of obedience. You submit yourself to the law of right living as you — understand it, further than that, you refuse to obey God. You are content with an intellectual assent to principle, denying your- self the spiritual confirmation that God has promised to those who believe and obey him. Come now, and let us see whether, upon general principles, the Church does not make a reasonable offer. The Church says: "I am the custodian under God of the gospel of Christ. This is a plan of principles and ordinances which embraces all truth and authority. Nothing short of this would be worthy of God. This is offered to you, and to every other man, and you receive the blessings that follow, according to your faith and merit equally with every other man." An all comprehending offer, but ever in answer to it, logically must come the question from the careful 942 IMPROVEMENT ERA — searcher the question that lies at the hottom of this matter, Have you, as representing the Church, the right to make this offer? Ah, my friend, around the answer to this question that you have asked, all questions of right revolve! Truly, may it not be that men are offering spurious gifts, intangible, unreal, unauthoritative, by which the unwary are duped? Is every man in clerical garb who opens a church door and invites men in to partake, presumed to offer from the pulpit the genuine bread of life? The unhesitating answer is, "No, since there are a hundred different messages from as many pulpits!" Let us know, then, my brother, some of the characteristics of authority, that we may discern the genuine from the counterfeit, for surely there must be some seal attached to a commission which purports to be is- sued by the Almighty! If a man predict, and his words come not to pass, then we say: "He is no prophet," but are we safe in saying that all men whose words time has verified, or who did some marvel, spoke or acted under the inspiration or dictation of God? Scarcely, for then we may accept shrewd speculation, or occult hazard, as the voice of revelation. There are better ways to know him who bears authority than by these fruits that are common in this day and age of counterfeiting and substitution. This I take to be the first and greatest sign of authority in man, that he speak authoritatively. Back of all finite judgments and decisions, there stands the ultimate and final decree, if we mav know it. The realm of mortality is one vast field of speculation, which is bounded by no more definite limits than the shore line of faith. Out from the vast ocean of the Infinite, comes the voice of God. He does not argue or speculate, he commands and decrees. This then, is a prime characteristic of a man of God, that there has been put into him the Divine assurance. The prophet never hesitates or stammers. It is, "Thus saith the Lord," with him. "Hear, heavens, and give ear, earth; for the Lord hath spoken" is the startling salutation of Isaiah, and who that believes in God at all shall doubt what follows? From the weakest of men the Lord creates a mighty herald of truth. Hear the plaint of Jeremiah: "Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child." And then the reply: "Say not, I am a child for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and what- : soever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces; * * * behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the king- doms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant." Now, behold this "child", under this commission, speaking the words of God that cover time to the end of the earth. See John the Baptist, forth from the wilderness, proclaim- HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF 943 ing, not an argument of the colleges, but uttering a cry as stern and imperative as the sands and rocks whence he came, "Repent ye, repent ye!" Thus ever were and ever shall be, these heralds of the word of God. Trumpet-tongued they shout their truths as God bade them to utter, and though maligned, derided and stoned, they say their say, though at the cost of life itself. Strong proof of the Divine in man is this, that one shall emerge — into strength of mind and purpose in an hour or day, that the weak and timid shall speak boldly, and that the fearful become fearless. That one among men shall stand out from the mass and direct, when no president or king has called him, is evidence of some commission from a higher source than earthly kings. But this show of assurance alone is not sufficient credential, for the insane have that quality beyond measure this also is an ; evidence of a man's right to speak for God, that he always in that agency speaks the truth. This is the marvel of the recorded word of God, that nowhere is there to be found conflict among prophets. Though a thousand or five thousand years separate them, their words, coming from different sources of cause, and in different historical setting, tend always toward the same point and ultimately come together. The first prophet made the standard, and all who followed, no matter in what clime or day, though they had access to the former word or not, have not con- tradicted it. The eecret of the unity is apparent. It was all snoken by God. These different men have been, each in his time, the mouthniece merely. So prophets of God and men of divine authority have no fear whatever of cranks, or soothsavers, or false prophets, for these are at endless discord with truth. So, my friend, note not only the denortment of him who sneaks, but what he vreaches. See, also, that he who testifies of God speaks well of him. That Soirit which we are told testifies of the Father and of the Son will maonify and plorifv the God- head. No man speaking under the influence of that Spirit "calls Jesus accursed," was said, in effect, bv one of old, and no man, sneaking under the influence of that Spirit, will belittle him by denying his ner°onality, or by limiting him to mortal powers; therefore, classify according to their deserts that numerous crowd of teachers, who, bv their learned doubtings, have brought the Christ into disfavor before all earnest thinking men. To such a<= these the Scripture is a stumbling block, and thev would, if they dared, deuv its truthfulness openlv as thev now do covertlv. This. T think that we h»ve discovered, that a prophet of God sneaks with assurance, that he speaks the truth as compared with all other divine men, aid that his testimony will fflorify the name of God. Now let this b*1 the guage and standard bv which we measure men who make offer to us of spiritual benefits. 944 IMPROVEMENT ERA That we may properly consider this age, which dogmatic sectarians would have us believe is devoid of prophets, it is well to consider that God has said that, he "will do nothing but he re- vealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." That the Al- mighty considered them essential we must admit, and those sects or creeds which assert and deplore their absence, must be ac- counted without argument as among those to whom God is not communicating his will. The other horn of the dilemma is that the Almighty is neglecting this earth at a time when the prophets of old foretold that he should speak, and at a day when never be- fore in the history of man has his guidance been more needed. Now, in the midst of this world's babel and confusion, these "temporary noises, menacings and deliriums," the seeker for truth should listen intently for that commanding voice which he has good reason to know must come clearly out of the din with a message; and where, in these late centuries, since the Beloved Disciple spoke, has there been one who spoke as clearly and authoritatively as the "Mormon" prophet, Joseph Smith? Measured by the standards that we have set out, in no respect has he been deficient. Though a boy in age and learning, in a day he became a man in intelligence and knowledge of things spiritual. From his first utterance he never stammered, hesi- tated, nor faltered. Not deeply versed in ancient scriptures, he laid the new revelations beside them and fearlessly bade the world compare, and while the foolish laughed, the envious stormed, and the wise criticised, he calmly waited upon time to vindicate every word he uttered. This quiet assurance I hold to be a strong proof of his divine calling. Surely no mere egotist would thus dare to brave the world. Egotists and imposters there have been who have strutted for a brief time before an ad- miring multitude, only to have their bubble pierced at last by some sharp truth, to sink flabbily into the dust of forgetfulness, — but this man endures Though martyred upwards of a century ! ago, he is seen more and more clearly as we adust our minds to his magnitude. The world is moving up to him, and to what he said. Truths that he understood fully and pronounced hesitat- ingly, our minds are ust beginning to grasp. Truly this man spoke beyond himself. Here is a man to listen to. Hark now to this call delivered by this youth. Isaiah-like he speaks: "Hear. ye heavens, and give ear, earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior. Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doings none can find out; from eternity to eternity he is the same and his vears never fail. For thus saith the Lord, I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the HELP THOU MINE UNBELIEF 945 end; great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory." Did ever prophet speak more nobly than this? Were ever words more authoritatively spoken? With impressive ardor, refined dignity, and sublime poetry, they are svich words as a loving Creator with the earth at his feet, might utter! With the tides of the Infinite thus surging in his mind and heart, it were as utterly impossible for this man to conform to the religionists of his day as for John the Baptist to the Scribes and Pharisees, for he declared that in the beginning of his min- istry God had revealed to him that the churches of the earth had gone astray: For, said he, "they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far fromme they teach for doctrine the ; commandments of men." These are not the daintily spoken words of a man who seeks to show tender courtesy to profess- ional brethren, at the expense of truth, but the courageous utter- ance of a man who has heard, and whose duty it is to deliver the message at whatever danger to himself or embarrassment and hu- miliation to others. When great issues are involved, individuals sink, and the truth must have precedence over all other consider- ations. So spoke all the prophets when it was their mission to denounce, but from Martin Luther down to the last and least, what professor or protestant in the last centuries has dared to 'speak definitely until now! The world has been filled with argu- ment, thesis and disputation, but by the sharp words of this man, theories have been cleft as with a battle axe, and the basis of religion— — God and his will has again been revealed Should ! it be a great offense to the uncertain ones whose churches were founded upon conclaves of men, and the subtle exegeses of pro- fessors, that one should appear now who has the message of God himself? Those honored men in all the churches who spoke the best they could, were not often wrong in motive, but wrong in their estimation and interpretation of God, and that in his appointed and due time God should correct them, all should al- low as consistent and reasonable. When for fifteen hundred years men have been groping in the twilight reflected from the ancient word, while a fog of sophistry and hazv speculation has enveloped the earth, great need that one should bring a torch to light the way! Lying athwart the spiritual pathway of humanitv have been such dogmatic obstacles as these: The inherent depravity of man; the predestination of man; the eternal damnation of man. Small wonder that the otherwise normally happy world should have been in a nightmare of doubt and fear. No word of God rightly understood, but the word of man, falsely uttered under guise of priestly right to speak, has justified this doubt and fear. Such dogmas have ever barred the way of the lover 946 IMPROVEMENT ERA of truth, whose mind has sought a logical course wherein it might go to some definite end consistent with the divine attri- butes of Justice, Love and Mercy. As against these philosophers of the soul and spirit have been arrayed the mental philoso- phers whose whole argument runs counter to the instincts in the heart of man. True philosophy has had its way marked clearly by this modern prophet, for justice, Love and Mercy will never oppose it. Joseph Smith and his followers are not in the business of peddling principles upon the street corners, bidding for popu- larity by some generous offering of future bliss, but they come to invite the world to consider again, the commands, the prom- ises and the rewards of the Almighty. They announce that God, the Jehovah of Israel, has spoken again; that his message to- day is the same as that of the Meridian of Time; that he has the right to direct us now in such manner as it shall please him, and therefore that we must obey him. It is the message of repentance and baptism for the remission of sins. We have no assurance given that our path may not be thorny; but we know that, if pursued faithfully to the end, it will lead to ex- altation and eternal life, and we know that this promise is to us, to our ancestors, and to all "that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." This is the message for which Joseph Smith gave his life. It is the burden of the message of all prophets who have spoken or who shall speak. It is the mes- sage of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the inhabitants of the earth. It proclaims, by authority, the law — of Obedience, Mercy, Justice and Love, the only law by which men may be saved. Pocatello, Idaho.