An Individual Testimony of the Divinity of Jesus Christ

AN INDIVIDUAL TESTIMONY OF THE DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST By Martha E. Fuller, of the Senior Girls, Phoenix, Arizona The sweetest joy that can come to the human heart is the spirit that attends a testimony of the divinity of Jesus, the Redeemer of the world, who is the Light of the world, and by whom and through whom only we can attain unto life eternal. Great men and great women, through all Christian time, have acknowledged this. The poet Tennyson, upon one occasion, while walking through his garden with a friend, was asked this question, "What influence, if any, has Jesus Christ had upon your life?" And the great poet, reaching, plucked a beautiful rose and made this reply, "My friend, all that the sunlight is to this beautiful flower, so is the Spirit of Jesus, the Redeemer of the world, to my life." We, the young people of the Church, acknowledge this, and look with sorrow and consternation upon the attack now made by the anti-Christ. So far as we are concerned, we stand by the faith of our fathers, and fling back against the gathering clouds of doubt and dissension the faith-destroying argument of the adversary; and today we announce to all the world that, so far as the young manhood and young womanhood of this Church is concerned, God lives, and Jesus is the Christ. At this time when the divine character and mission of the world's Redeemer are questioned, even by many professing Chris- tians, it is a cause for congratulation and rejoicing that there is still found "faith on the earth" — faith in Jesus Christ as the very Son of God, as the anointed and fore-ordained messenger of Him who "so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, that who- soever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Among those who hold fast to this conviction, are the Latter- day Saints, or "Mormons." And we announce to all the world that, "We stand for an individual testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ." Such a testimony can come but in one way — and that is God's way, not man's. Books cannot give it. Schools cannot bestow it. No human power can impart it. It comes, if it comes at all, as a gift of God, by direct and immediate revelation from on high. Said Jesus to his chief apostle: "Whom say ye that I am?" Peter answered: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Then said Jesus: "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." Such was the basis of Peter's testimony and such is the basis of every real testimony of like character. They all rest upon the

AN INDIVIDUAL TESTIMONY 327 same foundation. Testimony means evidence, and a testimony of the gospel may consist of any of its varied fruits; such as: dreams, visions, prophecies, tongues and their interpretation, healings and any other manifestations of the Divine Spirit. But the greatest and most convincing of all testimonies is the soul's illumination under the kindling and enlightening power of the Holy Ghost — the Comforter, promised by the Savior to his disciples, to abide with them after he had departed, to bring things of the past to their remembrance, and to show them things to come, making mani- fest the things of God, past, present and future. By that Spirit, and by that alone, can men know God and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent — to know whom, and to act con- sistently with that knowledge, is to lay hold upon eternal life. No greater thing can come to men while in the flesh than the knowledge of how to secure that greatest of all heavenly gifts. To know God, man must know himself, must know whence he came, why he is here, what is expected of him by the One who sent him here, where he is going when he leaves this mortal life, and what awaits him in the great hereafter. The Holy Spirit is the fountain from which flows this knowledge, the most precious that men can possess. By means of it comes the testimony that JesUs Christ was and is divine. Such a testimony the patriarchs and prophets of old possessed. They were not without the gospel and its glorious gifts. The Holy Ghost did not make its first appearance upon the earth in the days of Jesus and his apostles. Men had seen God before that time, and had enjoyed the sweet influence and wonder-working power of his Spirit. Devised in the heavens before the earth was organized, the gospel had been among men in a series of dispensations, long before it was preached by the apostles in the meridian of time. "I know that my Redeemer liveth," the cry that came from the depth of Job's sorely tried, suffering, yet patient, soul has been echoed by the hearts of many of the faithful, whose heaven-inspired testimonies have come ringing down the ages, from the days of Adam to the (days of Joseph Smith, and the present day. The holy scriptures are filled with testimonies of Christ's divinity, attested by miracles and wonders manifold. But let us suppose Christ wrought no miracle — suppose he did not walk upon the water, did not heal the sick, cast out devils, give sight to the blind, caused the lame to walk, or did anything that men deem supernatural, was there not that about him which bore unimpeachable testimony to his divinity? What could be more divine than the life of one who "went about doing good," teaching men to forgive their enemies, to pray for those who persecuted them, and do unto others as they would that ethers should do unto them? And did he not set the example by

3 28 IMPROVEMENT ERA asking upon the cross, in the agonies of death, God's pardon upon his guilty murderers:' "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." What could be more divine than that? Who but a God could offer such a prayer at such a time? "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." But there was one who could lay down his life for his enemies, as well as his friends. No mere man could do that. It took a God to die for all men — foes as well as friends — and that act alone stamps divinity upon the character and mission of Jesus Christ. Phoenix, Arizona. Yellow Flowers Yellow flowers are like cheerful people, they brighten odd corners and dingy places. There is something about yellow flowers that radiates cheerfulness like the smile on a friendly face. Yellow flowers carry God's messages to the stricken heart as no other color of flowers can do. Un- obtrusively they bloom on wind-swept hills far from the haunts of man, content to make beautiful out-of-way places; they drop their yellow petals, like splashes of sunshine, on the dunes of the gray desert, asking for only the meager dew drops to keep them fresh ; they nod in woodland nooks, seen only by birds and bees. They are like the friendly humans who go unconsciously about their silent mission brightening up the community in which they live with the happiness that beams from their faces and the cheerful words that fall from their lips. The dandelion is the humblest of the yellow flowers, it cannot compare with the stately rose, yet little children love it — it is thornless. — D. C. Retsloff. To Measure Success Out of the failure and out of the fault of you, Something rebounds to an ultimate good, Something that savors the tang and the salt of you, Weathers the sinew and gnarl of the wood. Out of the residue, out of the flaws of you, Something is crystalized deep in the dross, Back of the primitive reason and cause of you, Nothing was ever created for loss. Out of your past there emerges tomorrow, Bigger and fuller for tempest and stress, Out of your failure and out of your sorrow, Something is needed to measure success! Mesa, Arizona. BERTHA A. KLEINMAN.