TOUCHING
THE FULLNESS OF THE GOSPEL
Now,
some of our brethren have taken up quite a discussion as to the fulness of the
everlasting gospel. We are told that the Book of Mormon contains the fulness of
the gospel, that those who like to get up a dispute, say that the Book of
Mormon does not contain any reference to the work of salvation for the dead,
and there are many other things pertaining to the gospel that are not developed
in that book, and yet we are told that book contains "the fulness of the
everlasting gospel." Well, what is the fulness of the gospel? You read
carefully the revelation in regard to the three glories, section 76, in the
D&C, and you find there defined what the gospel is. There God, the Eternal
Father, and Jesus Christ, His Son, and the Holy Ghost, are held up as the three
persons in the Trinity -- the one God the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,
all three being united and being one God. When people believe in that doctrine
and obey the ordinances which are spoken of in the same list of principles, you
get the fulness of the gospel for this reason: If you really believe so as to
have faith in our Eternal Father and in his Son, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer,
and will hear Him, you will learn all about what is needed to be done for the
salvation of the living and the redemption of the dead.
When
people believe and repent and are baptized by Divine authority and the Holy
Ghost is conferred upon them as a gift, they receive the everlasting gospel. We
used to call it, and it is now called in the revelations, the "Gift of the
Holy Ghost," the Holy Ghost, the spirit that proceeds from the presence of
the Father throughout the immensity of space, which guides, directs,
enlightens, which is light in and of itself, which is the spirit of
intelligence, "the light of truth," and when the Holy Ghost as a gift
is conferred upon people, young or old, as an "abiding witness," as a
continuous gift, as a revelating spirit, they have the beginning, and I would
not say the end, but they have the substance of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
They have that which will bring salvation, for the gift of the Holy Ghost is
such that it will highly enlighten everyone who receives it. That is the spirit
that enlightens every man that comes into the world, we are told. Certainly, it
is the spirit of life and of light, but when it is conferred by the laying on
of hands, as a gift to the individual, a special gift, above that natural light
that comes by birth, then there is something given to the individual by which
he or she can inquire and learn and be inspired of God. The Holy Ghost is the
Spirit of inspiration which comes from the presence of the Father and the Son;
it enlightens in regard to all things. "God has revealed these things unto
us by his Spirit," said the ancient Apostle Peter, "For the spirit
searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God." and if a man holds the
authority of the holy Priesthood, he has to speak and preach and administer
under the influence of that spirit to make it divine All revelation from the
Father comes through the Son, and by the power and gift of the Holy Ghost, who
as one of the Trinity, is an individual, as we are told in the revelation, he
is "a personage of spirit."
Now
some of our brethren get these two ideas confounded no matter what is done or
said or printed or written. It has been explained time and time again, and yet
some of our brethren want to know if every child receives the Holy Ghost as a
personage of spirit, when confirmed into the Church. No, that is not the idea
at all; the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost (the two terms are used synonymously very
often -- sometimes perhaps unnecessarily so) the Holy Ghost which pervades all
things, by which God said he created all things, the Holy Ghost which is the
Spirit that comes from His presence, this power is disseminated through all the
worlds; by that means God enlightens just like the light that comes from the
sun; each person does not receive the sun as an organized body but the light of
the sun proceeds forth and illuminates different parts of space, to a certain
extent, at any rate. (Charles M. Penrose, Conference
Report [April 1922]: 27-28)
