Latter Day Saints' Messenger and Advocate/Volume 1/Number 5/Faith of the Church. No. XI.
FAITH OF THE CHURCH. No. XI.
In prosecuting the investigation of the work of the Holy Spirit in the salvation of men, it will be necessary to go back and begin where the subject begins, in order that we may have a clear understanding of it. We have previously seen what part the Spirit took in preparing the apostles for their respective callings and mission—how necessary it was for them to receive it; for unless they had received it they never could have built up the kingdom of heaven, or church of Christ; and that without it all the knowledge and information which they had received from others, not even that received from the Lord himself personally, both while in the flesh, and after his resurrection from the dead excepted, would not have availed to enable them to execute their high commission; for in addition to all that they had seen, and heard, and handled, of the word of life, they must receive this gift, or work for the Lord they could not. You must tarry at Jerusalem, says the Savior, until you are endowed with power from on high, that is, until you receive the Holy Spirit, and then, and not till then, you shall go forth and proclaim the gospel to all nations.
From the course which was pursued with the apostles in preparing them for their high calling, they must have had great knowledge of the situation of others, and a correct understanding of what was necessary to prepare and qualify them for the enjoyment of future felicity; and in their teaching we may expect to find the subject plainly set forth; for if it is not plainly set forth in their writings, they cannot be trusted as safe guides in things pertaining to eternal life. Let us look, therefore, in what point of light they have set forth the subject under consideration.
In the commission which the apostles received from the Savior, after his resurrection from the dead, as recorded by Mark, we can obtain some information which will serve as a key to unlock to the enquiring mind in a degree, the office which the Holy Spirit was to perform in the salvation of those who were to believe on their word! it reads thus, "And he said unto them, go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature: he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned, and these signs shall follow them that believe: in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands upon the sick, and they shall recover. Mark 16:15,16,17,18. In the 12 chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle says that the promises here made to those who should believe the report of the apostles, were gifts of the Holy Spirit, or spiritual gifts. Let it be particularly noticed, that in the commission given to the apostles, that it was not the apostles themselves who were to show the signs but it was the persons who were to believe on the apostles' word—the signs were to follow them, "These signs shall follow them that believe—they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents, and if they shall drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them." Not the apostles, but those who believe their word. Such is the point of light in which the promise made to those who believe on the word of the apostles, was presented by the Savior, and in the ex[e]cution of this commission, by the apostles, we will not expect to find any thing different from this, for if we should, we would be left in a great difficulty, not knowing what to believe nor whom to obey.
Having seen in what point of light the commission stands, which was given to the apostles at the first by the Savior himself, to authorize them to go forth and call upon the nations to repent and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, and if they done as they were required by the apostles, they should receive certain things, or power to do certain things, which were called afterwards by the apostles spiritual gifts, and being spiritual gifts were part of the work of the Spirit in saving men; for they are numbered among the things which pertain to the kingdom of God, and to the scheme of eternal life; and an attempt to set forth the work of the Spirit in the salvation of men, and leave this out would be a vain attempt. When we propose to investigate the work of the Holy Spirit in the salvation of men we mean to include the whole of the work of the spirit. When we speak of the work of God the Father in the salvation of men, we mean all the work which he performs for their salvation. In like manner when we speak of the work of the Son we mean all the work which the Son performs in the salvation of the world; So in like manner when we speak of the work of the Spirit we mean all that the Spirit does in this work.
In order that we may have the subject plainly before us, we will follow the apostles in their journeyings and preachings, and hear them explain the gift of the Holy Spirit. We will notice its effects on those who received it, and then draw the contrast between those who received it, and those who were full of religion without it.
We shall begin with the 2 chapter of the Acts of the apostles and first verse. The gift of the Holy Spirit is described thus: "And when the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." 1, 2, 3 and 4 verses. The historian informs us that in consequence of this out pouring of the Spirit, being noised abroad, the multitude came together which was very great because it was the time of the feast of pentecost, and there were devout Jews from all nations under heaven dwelling at Jerusalem at that time, and the consequence was that they were all amazed, and said to one another Behold are not all these Galileans which speak? and how hear we every man in our own tongue wherein we were born? these expressions of astonishment and amazement, together with some conjectures among the multitude, such as the disciples were filled with new wine, &c. excited the apostle Peter to arise and address them, and explain this marvelous phenomena. "But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: for these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants, and on my handmaidens, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy."
In the 23 verse, after the apostle had proven the resurrection of the Savior, he says, Therefore being by the right hand of God, exalted, or being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath shed forth this which you now see and hear.
In the 37 verse we are told that the multitude who had come together on that occasion were pricked in their hearts and enquired of Peter and the rest of the apostles what they should do—and Peter made the following answer, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.—For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call."
From the above quotations, we learn some very important things respecting the office of the Holy Spirit in the salvation of men. In the first instance the apostle describes the gift; he tells what it was, and what its effects were. In the 33 verse, speaking of Christ's being raised from the dead, and having ascended up on high, and having received the gift of the Holy Spirit—"He hath shed forth this which you now see and hear." We are told, in the 2 and 3 verses what it was that they saw and heard: "And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Let the reader notice particularly, that the thing which the multitude saw, and heard was the gift of the Holy Spirit, and this is the only thing which is called the gift of the Holy Spirit in the bible.
But we have not only the gift described but its effects also. The apostles quoting from the prophet Joel, says, verses 17,18: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, (saith God) I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:"
From these descriptions and explanations of the apostle, in relation to the gift of the Holy Spirit, the subject begins to get plain and easy of understanding. First, the gift of the Holy Spirit was a visible thing, for the multitude did not only hear it, but they saw it also; and secondly when it was poured out it produced a particular effect, that is, the person on whom it was poured spake with other tongues—they were to prophesy, to dream dreams, and to see visions, and to put the matter at rest, these were the effects which it was to produce when in the last days, God would pour it out on all flesh.