Having dealt with what I called General Salvation, I now turn to Individual Salvation. You have seen that man is redeemed from the evils brought upon him through Adam's sin, without any act of belief or obedience being required of him. This is because his agency or will was not exercised in breaking the law given to Adam. The calamity overtakes him through no fault of his; and consequently his deliverance, so far, comes without his seeking—in fact, it comes independent of him. In this matter, man is passive, being acted upon by the relative claims of Justice and Mercy.

But apart from the transgressions of our first parents, there is a vast amount of sin, crime and corruption in the world. Envy, hatred, malice, contention, evil-speaking, jealousy, and covetousness abound; to say nothing of the greater evils of lying, drunkenness, stealing, fornication, adultery, and debauchery of every description, which would be improper even to name.

Selfishness is the starting point of the present system of industrialism; chicanery and fraud enter into all the avenues of trade; dishonesty walks the streets without shame; licentiousness revels in its own wantonness; whoredoms are poisoning the life's blood of the nations; prostitution flaunts its shame upon the streets, and takes up its abode in the very shadow of the church, where men meet to worship God. Instead of beautifying the earth, man is but making many portions of it sink-holes of iniquity; where poverty, misery, degradation, drunkenness, crime and sin lie festering in their filthiness under the sunlight of heaven, until the very earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof.

Now, who is responsible for all these evils, this seething mass of iniquity, which blights like a hell-sent plague this fair creation of ours—the earth? I answer that every man and every woman and every child, who has arrived at the years of accountability—who understands the difference between good and evil—is responsible for it, so far, and to that extent that his or her individual acts contribute to the grand aggregate of crime in this sin-stained world.

In the commission of these individual sins, too, man's agency becomes a factor. He sins knowingly willfully, and sometimes wantonly. He transgresses the laws of God and of nature in spite of the protests of his conscience, the convictions of his reason and the promptings of his judgment. He becomes desperately wicked and so depraved that he actually seeks evil and loves it. He hugs it to his bosom and cries, "Evil, be thou my good; sin, be thou my refuge!"

For the transgression of that law which brought death into the world. Justice had no claims upon the posterity of Adam, because their agency was not concerned in it, hence a free redemption was provided from the calamity that overtakes them. But in the case of these individual sins, where the agency of every person is exercised, justice demands that the penalties affixed to the violated laws be satisfied, and the transgressors punished. But here again the principle of mercy is active. As I have before stated, the victory over death is not the only benefit arising from the Atonement of the Messiah; but by the sacrifice which he made he purchased mankind as an inheritance for himself, and they became of right under his dominion, for he ransomed them from an endless sleep in the grave. Nor is that all, but as the scripture saith: "He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows * * * He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed * * * The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."^[A] So that his Atonement not only broke the bonds of death, but also atoned for the individual sins of men on condition of their obedience—their loyalty to Christ, who by virtue of his Atonement redeemed them from endless death, and therefore of right became their lawgiver, and had power given him to dictate the terms upon which the full benefits of his Atonement should be applied to individuals, in order to release them from the penalties which follow as a consequence of their personal violations of the principles of righteousness.

[Footnote A: Isaiah liii: 5,6.]

First, however, let us settle it in our minds from authority that the Atonement of Christ has this two-fold force that I have ascribed to it, viz.: that it redeems all mankind from death; and also redeems them from the consequences of personal sins, through obedience to Christ.

The first part of the proposition has already been discussed and proven in those chapters devoted to the consideration of General Salvation, and those arguments need not be repeated here.

That the second part is true is evident from such scripture as: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned;"^[B] and, "Being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."^[C] But while you are under the necessity of sustaining the proposition, so far as the Jewish Scriptures are concerned, by inference, by conclusions drawn from the consideration of numerous passages, in the Book of Mormon we have passages which at once sustain the doctrine: "And also his blood atoneth for the sins of those who have fallen by the transgression of Adam, who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned. But woe, woe unto him who knoweth that he rebelleth against God; _for salvation cometh to none such, except it be through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ_."^[D]

[Footnote B: Mark xvi. 16.]

[Footnote C: Heb. v: 16.]

[Footnote D: Mosiah iii: 11, 12.]

Alma, in answering a question asked him by the lawyer Zeezrom, said of Jesus:—"And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else; therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bonds of death; for behold the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God and be judged according to their works."^[E]

[Footnote E: Alma xi: 40,41.]

Still more plain in relation to the effect that Messiah's Atonement has upon the personal sins of men, is the word of the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith to Martin Harris, warning him to repent lest his sufferings be sore—how sore, how exquisite, how hard to bear he knew 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; and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink— nevertheless, glory be to the Father, I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men."^[F]

[Footnote F: Doc. and Cov. Sec. xix, 16-18. See also Mosiah iii, 20, 21.]

These passages to my mind prove the dual character of Messiah's Atonement—the redemption from the consequences of Adam's transgression, from death; and redemption from personal sins on condition of implicit obedience to the laws of Christ—to the gospel, which we have already seen is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes and obeys it.

It will doubtless be observed by the attentive reader that upon this showing those who die before they are capable of knowing good or evil, before they arrive at the years of accountability and who, therefore, are pure and innocent, are saved by the merits of Jesus Christ alone. Being redeemed from the death brought upon them by the fall of Adam, by the Atonement made by Christ, and having committed no personal sins —dying in the days of their innocence—they have nothing to repent of. Having broken no law. Justice has no claim upon them; they fall into the arms of Mercy alone, and there they are secure. Well might Jesus exclaim—"Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven!" But those who interpret that scripture to mean that little children have to be baptized or perform or have performed for them any other ordinance, in order that they might come unto Christ, or to save them in the kingdom of God, are woefully ignorant of the gospel, and fail to grasp the grandeur, the consistency the perfection there is in it.

It was doubtless these considerations which caused Mormon to say, in writing to his son Moroni: "Listen to the words of Christ your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance: the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore little children are whole for they are not capable of committing sin, wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; * * * and after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of God unto me, wherefore my beloved son, I know that it is solemn mockery before God that ye should baptize little children. Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach, repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children. And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism* * * Little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world."^[G]

[Footnote G: Moroni viii, 8-12.]

No less implicit is the word of the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith: "But behold I say unto you, that little children are redeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten. Wherefore they cannot sin, for power is not given unto Satan to tempt little children, until they begin to become accountable before me."^[H]

[Footnote H: Doc. and Cov. Sec. xxix, 46, 47.]

Moreover, it appears that Mercy has special claims upon those men and women, and also upon nations and races who know not the laws of God, or have never heard the gospel. The first Nephi in speaking of the Atonement of Christ and its effects where proclaimed and rejected, says: "Wherefore he has given a law; and where there is no law given there is no punishment; and where there is no punishment, there is no condemnation; and where there is no condemnation, the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them because of the Atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him (Christ); for the Atonement satisfieth the demands of his justice upon all those who have not the law given to them, that they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone (see Alma xii, 17),^[I] which is endless torment; and they are restored to that God who gave them breath, which is the Holy One of Israel."^[J]

[Footnote I: The torments of the ungodly sinners are likened unto a lake of fire and brimstone by this writer, Nephi—not that sinners are plunged into a lake of fire and brimstone as so-called orthodox Christians teach. Indeed, in the above passages there is a definition of what the lake of fire is—it is "endless torment," which ever exists for the punishment of impenitent sinners—each one partaking of it to such a degree and for such time as is necessary to satisfy the demands of justice. In the very chapter above quoted Nephi says of the wicked: "And their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames ascendeth up for ever and ever, and have no end."]

[Footnote J: II. Nephi ix, 25, 26.]

And so Moroni: "For the power of redemption Cometh on all they that have no law; wherefore he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing."^[K]

[Footnote K: Moroni viii, 22.]

To this also agrees the teachings of Paul: "For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law;^[L] and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be judged by the law."^[M]

[Footnote L: I venture the suggestion, basing it on the sense of the whole passage, that it should read: "Shall also be judged without the law."]

[Footnote M: Rom ii, 12.]

So also the word of the Lord to Joseph Smith: "And again I say unto you, that whosoever having knowledge, have I not commanded to repent? And he that hath no understanding it remaineth in me to do as it is written."^[N]

[Footnote N: Doc. and Cov. Sec. xxix, 49, 50.]

Hence it is that the heathen nations who have had no law given to them, and have died without law, will have part in the first resurrection.^[O]

[Footnote O: Doc. and Cov. Sec. xlv, 54. See also Mosiah xv, 24, 25.]

Still, those who have died without law are placed at this disadvantage; that if they are not under the condemnation of the law, through not having had it delivered to them, neither are they sanctified by the law, and consequently their development in spiritual knowledge and experience is not such as may warrant us in expecting that they are prepared to inherit the same degree of glory with those who have received the law of the gospel, faithfully observed all its requirements and through their obedience have become sanctified by it, and inherit the celestial glory, the highest of all. Therefore, it is written of those who die without the law: "These are they who are of the terrestrial [world], whose glory differs from that of the church of the First Born, who have received the fullness of the Father, even as the moon differs from the sun in the firmament. Behold these are they who died without law."^[P]

[Footnote P: Doc. and Cov. Sec. lxxvi, 71, 72.]

I know of nothing that is written, however, which prevents us from believing that they may, eventually, enter the celestial kingdom. Of one thing at least we may rest assured, and that is, that they will receive all the glory, all the exaltation, that their capacity can comprehend and enjoy, and they will be satisfied with the mercy and justice of God.^[Q]

[Footnote Q: See chapter on Salvation for the Dead.]

But now to return to those to whom the gospel is preached, and who can only hope for salvation from the penalties affixed to sin, by obeying the precepts and ordinances thereof. How far is their obedience taxed? What principles are they to accept, what precepts practice, what ordinances observe?

To the first question I make answer: That since Christ ransomed mankind by his own death and suffering, from an endless sleep in the grave, in order to attain the additional grace of an immunity from the consequences of our personal violations of the laws of righteousness—a forgiveness of sins—man's obedience to him must be implicit and absolute. It is the duty of man to obey the whole Gospel, all precepts, all ordinances, as far as they are made known unto him—in short, it is binding on him to live by every word which proceedeth from the mouth of God. In proof of this, I have only to add that when Jesus commanded his apostles to go into the world and preach the Gospel he said: "Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you"^[R]

[Footnote R: Matt. xxviii, 19, 20.]

There is no one single thing, however great, that man can do and then be under no further obligations to continue to observe the laws of righteousness. The reply of Jesus to the young man who came running to him saying, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" was—"If you will enter into life, keep the commandments." The young man asked, "which;" that is, which of the commandments must he keep. And here I will say that by reading a little between the lines it is not difficult to see that the young man had an idea that there was some great thing he could do, and by that one act secure eternal life. But the answer of Jesus dispelled that illusion, for he said:—"Thou shalt do no murder, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness; honor thy father and thy mother; and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man sayeth, all these things have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, if thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all thou hast and give it to the poor, * * * and come and follow me."^[S]

[Footnote S: Matt. xix: 16-22.]

It will be observed from the foregoing that it was not enough that the young man keep the commandments in the law of Moses, not enough that he sell all that he had and give it to the poor, but he must then come and follow his Master. How much that means! But I shall not particularize, I shall sum up the matter by saying' that this case, together with the observations in the preceding chapters, plainly proves that if man would be perfect, if he would obtain the full benefits of Messiah's atonement, complete absolution from his personal violation of holy, righteous laws, as well as deliverance from the grave, his obedience to the laws of Christ— the Gospel, must be implicit, absolute.