Spiritual Growth and Power

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SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND POWER By E. H. Lund There appeared in the August issue of the Improvement Era, 1919, a short article under the caption, "A Message with a Few Suggestions to the Seventies." The many excellent thoughts expressed and suggestions offered for individual and, in a quorum capacity, collective improvement contained therein prompted the writing of this article. Along a similar line of thought, and with special reference to the Seventies, what here follows applies with equal force to the priesthood generally.

Mental Activity

Perusal of the article referred to reminded me of a certain action taken some years ago, by a large representative body of Seventies of the Granite stake of Zion, assembled in conference. On that occasion the following slogan was adopted, as doubtless it was in many of the stakes of Zion: To be a Seventy means mental activity, intellectual development and the attainment of spiritual power. The slogan was formulated by President B. H. Roberts, and printed in one of the year books of the Seventy, and recommends itself by its incisiveness, terseness and conciseness. It is recommended because of the enumeration of principles vital not only to man's temporal salvation, but to our individual success, exaltation and eternal progress in the kingdom of our Father. Have we forgotten it? Or have wt failed to duly ponder and sense the fuller meaning of its terms? Are we even now heedlessly or thoughtlessly failing to. live it, or to govern our lives by the spirit of it? To make the Slogan a vital, inspiring thought in the shaping of our individual course in life we should bear in mind what each of the several "propositions" stands for: mental activity, intellectual development, spiritual power. Let us consider them. By the simple exercise of the will to attain, man may enlarge in intelligence; by study and careful observation, he may increase the scope of his understanding. According to the genius, or the power of mental absorption which each one possesses, knowledge is quickly or less rapidly stored in our minds. One of the primary laws of universal nature is continuity of motion. The great law of existence is progression. Failure to make intelligent use of one's talents and mental powers invites a condition of las- — situde, followed by spiritual stagnation retrogression and eventual oblivion.

An idle, dormant brain Isas a desert plain No faith, no hope, no life is there.

Stagnation is death; action is life. One must keep moving, moving forward, upward and onward. We are dual beings, endowed with the higher reasoning faculties and intelligence that are eternal and God-given.

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The deteriorating tendencies of the flesh must be overcome by the elevating will power of the spirit. Self-government! It is, therefore, within our personal power to direct our energies so intelligently that we may grow in moral strength and advance in spiritual power in the attainment of a future Cod-like state of perfection. The glory of God is intelligence. This, to my mind, bespeaks God's perfection as a personal being, perfection of his mental faculties, perfection of his all-embracing Godly attributes, perfection of his understanding, his omniscience. And even with God the Father the principle of progression continues in operation. Also, "omnipotence" and "omniscience" may be said, in the last analysis, to be relative terms, for God's power and knowledge is supreme and superlative only in so far as the beings, the entities and the inconceivably multitudinous creations (Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses 1:4, 37; Abraham 3:12; Doctrine and Covenants 29:33), over which he has jurisdiction and the right of presidency, is concerned. For it must not be said that God our eternal Father has reached a point where he cannot further expand in intelligence, in knowledge, in power, in the acquisition of new truths through ever-widening experiences. No; God, the Father of us all and of Jesus Christ our elder Brother, has not reached a stage or point beyond which he cannot further advance. Our Father is a progressive Being, and will continue to enlarge in knowledge and power throughout the endless eons of eternity. As the glory of God consists mainly in the infinite extent of his allembracing knowledge and wisdom; that is to say, superlative, above that of all other intelligences (Abraham 3:19), so also in ratio, it may be stated, is intelligence the glory of man in this life, as it shall be in his future estate. Man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge, said the Prophet Joseph Smith. (Hist. Joseph Smith, Vol. 4, p. 588; see also Doc. and Cov. Sec. 130:18, 19 and Sec. 131:5, 6.) Knowledge, therefore, is necessary to one's salvation; i. e ., in the fulness of the term posi- Knowledge begets wisdom, and — tive, progressive, constructive salvation. "with all thy getting get understanding." (Prov. 4:5-9.) Mental activity, then, consists in being mentally alert, alive to the opportunities presented in this life for each one to add to and ever increase — his knowledge through the several channels offered by study, by ear, by sight, by our daily experiences. "Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom: seek learning even by study, and also by faith." (Doc. and Cov. 88:118.) In these days of wonderful educational facilities—not in books alone but also in the practical affairs of daily social life—the materials are inexhaustible by which we may build and grow in usefulness, knowledge and understanding.

Intellectual Development

— We may define intellectual development thus: The training of the mind, intensifying one's powers of perception, discernment, enlarging the understanding, developing the faculty of thought, to think clearly. In order that our mental activities may be of a wholesome nature and elevating, we must "school our feelings," be self-controlling, overcome tendencies and cravings aright. Since the inherent tendencies of the flesh are toward evil (Gen. 8:21), man is inclined to give way the more readily to iniquitous thought, which tendency and inclination must be overcome by continuous striving and the prayer of faith. Let the flesh be made subject to the righteous will of the spirit. If we would develop intellectually and become indeed masters of our destiny, we must purge ourselves from all semblance of evil, else there can be no advancement, and God has said, "I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance." (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 1:31.) And on a former occasion, the Savior said to those who believed on

1118 IMPROVEMENT ERA him —and the word is unto all his covenant people: "If you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples, indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth^shall make you free." (John 8:31, 32.) To know the truth is the greatest achievement of mankind. Our beloved former leader, President Joseph F. Smith, some years ago, when enlarging upon the above thought, expressed his view of the subject in the following language: "If you love the truth, if you have received the gospel in your hearts, and love it, your intelligence will be added upon, your understanding of the truth will be expanded, become larger than in any other way. Truth is the thing, above all other things in the world, that makes men free free from indolence and carelessness, free from the fearful consequences of neglect, for it will be a fearful consequence if we neglect our duty before the living God. If you will learn the truth and walk in the light of truth you shall be made free from the errors of men and of crafts; you will be above suspicion and above wrong-doing of every description. God will approve of you and bless you and your inheritances, and make you prosper and flourish like a green bay tree." (Improvement Era, Vol. 21, p. 102, December, 1917.) If one will wholly keep the commandments of God, the promise is sure; one's mind will be imbued with the enlightening Spirit of the Lord unto the enlarging of the understanding, imparting a perfect knowledge of things as they really are, enabling one to distinguish between truth and error, between good and evil, to choose the right. Thus, knowledge of the truth shall make him free, immune from the machinations of Satan. Certainly, by all logical reasoning, such knowledge should mean absolute immunity from evil. Such must be the ultimate conclusion, of the situation. With such knowledge, coupled with the knowledge that there is future exaltation and eternal progress awaiting him, it would seem one cannot fall, except it be by deliberate choice, fully conscious of the dire consequences. I say, it is inconceivable that one possessing the truth, with a perfect comprehension of all it means, would deliberately so choose. If so, such an one, indeed, might be classed with the sons of perdition, who, we may believe, happily are few and far between, at least from among mortals; as scarce, one will say, as are they who would deliberately cut out his own eye, or amputate his nose to spite his face!

Spiritual Power

To attain to spiritual power should be the aim of every Latter-day Saint. And especially should the faith and prayerful efforts of every man be so directed. How shall we define "spiritual power"? What principle or rule of action must govern or dictate one's manner of life, in order that one may be a power for good among men? Spiritual power is the outcome of spiritual growth. As growth is the first law of the physical life, so also is it the first law of spiritual development. But there the analogy stops; for while the physical being, on reaching maturity, ceases to grow, our spiritual development continues, knowledge is added to knowledge, and one progresses continually. As man increases in knowledge and spirituality, so also in ratio does his power to do good among his fellow men and the ability to accomplish great things. One comes into closer relations with the varied natural forces, and is better able to analyze and understand the complexities of life, to discern and comprehend the truths of existence as they are unfolded to the view in the multifarious human activities about us. Perhaps one seeks to know the motives that incite men to action. Weponder the mysteries of thought, the secret workings of the mind, the results of which are revealed in the actions of men as they respond to incentives to do good or evil, showing their measure of strength or weakness in will power. Thus, by observation and personal experience in our daily association with other people, we are moved to self-analysis, enabling us to discover

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and correct our own shortcomings, and strengthen our bulwarks against temptation, gaining for us proportionately greater will power to withstand evil; and, as we continue to exercise the will to do good, to work righteousness, so also in proportion may we receive light and knowledge through the inspiration of the Spirit of God, thus increasing in spiritual power, wielding a mighty influence for good among the children of men. Everywhere is manifest the spirit of ambition for material and social success. With the great majority of people the spiritual side of man's nature is neglected. Catering to selfish desires, aspiring to the honors of men, bent upon temporal salvation alone, seems to be a universal trait of the human mind. For many centuries the reason for this condition has no doubt lain in the fact that the world has been distracted by an inextricable mass of unreasoning, unsatisfying, confusing and mystifying religious thought, from which the intelligent mind is unable to extract sufficient sound material on which to found a hope of the future, develop faith in a just God and aspire to the joys of eternal progression in the kingdom of our Father. This sad condition of the world, wherein men are being "wafted to and fro by every wind of doctrine," excites compassion and sympathy rather than criticism and censure in the breast of the man of God who devotes his time and energies to correcting and counteracting the many existing fallacies and misconceptions of the truth, in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in alleviating pain and sorrow wherever possible. His heart sympathies go out to his fellow men, struggling for existence, weighed down with the responsibilities of life, discouraged by the sorrows of the present, and by the unrealized ambitions of earlier years. Thus, by acquaintance with life beyond our own petty affairs, consciously noting the life-battles of our brother, interesting ourselves in his welfare, anxious to render him aid when in vital need of substantial assistance; I say, thus actuated, our willing spirit becomes strengthened, the tendencies of the flesh are overcome, and the last vestige of egotism will be abolished and finally eliminated from our sentient selves. The selfish narrowness of individualism disappears, and we broaden out in the spirit of human sympathy and benevolence, enlarging in spirituality. Contact with our fellow men, helping one another to solve the many vexing problems that confront us, beget outflowing sympathy and love, and one feels impressed to inquire of God as to one's own status before him. Men become humbled, haughtiness and arrogance give way to humility of heart and mind; altruism supersedes egotism, and the soul is , imbued with charity and love toward all mankind. In thought and deed, let each one be actuated by the "still, small voice" of a clear, clean conscience, and God's Holy Spirit shall be a constant companion. (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 121:45, 46.) And so may we attain to spiritual growth by keeping the commandments, and cultivating the Spirit of God; and spiritual growth carries with it ever-increasing spiritual influence or power for good among our fellow men. The Seventies' slogan is worthy of adoption, not only by all the quorums of the Priesthood, but by every Latter-day Saint. It covers all the ground for moral uplift and individual progress. May we stand for "mental activity, intellectual development, and spiritual power." Work for its achievement. Salt Lake City, Sugar Sta.