III THE GOD OF ISRAEL.

A very important question.

What kind of being is God, the Father, of whom are all things? If you should be sent into the missionary¹ field to preach the Gospel, you would find this one of the most difficult questions you would have to answer. For God is somewhat of a mysterious being in the opinions of most men. Very few men have ever claimed to have seen God, or to have held converse² with Him. And for that which seems mysterious, men like to find hard, complicated answers. The simple truth does not satisfy them.

The truth is simple and easy.

Yet, the simple answer is nearly always the right one. A missionary to the South Sea Islands found himself one day trying to explain to the natives the nature of hail. There is neither hail nor snow nor sleet³ on the islands. There are really but two seasons—the dry and the wet. When it is wet it rains. The missionary tried by many various roundabout ways to make the natives understand that hail is frozen raindrops. The natives knew nothing about frost. They had no previous knowledge with which to associate his explanation. And, as you know, we cannot understand anything new unless we can tie it up with something that we already know.

The missionary became desperate. Finally, he thrust his hand into a bowl of rice standing⁴ on the floor, lifted a handful, and allowed it to fall again in a shower to the ground. "Hail," he said, "is like that." Instantly {30} the natives got the picture. They saw the raindrops turned white and hard, and pelting⁵ the earth in their fall. The simple explanation went home.

Jesus's explanation of God.

Now, Jesus's explanation of what kind of being God is, is even more simple and clear than is this illustration of what hail is like. But men have strayed into the worshipping of many different kinds of God, because they have refused to accept the simple truth.

Near the close of His mortal life on the earth, Jesus delivered a very excellent farewell discourse⁶ to His disciples⁷. It is full of words of cheer and comfort. Amongst other things Jesus said:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.

"Philip saith unto Him, Lord shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

"Jesus saith unto him. Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?"

The meaning of Jesus's answer.

Is not this answer very simple and very clear? Is there any good reason for mistaking this answer? You hear it said very often of a young man that he is the very image of his father. If you should some day say to a young man, "I should like very much to see your father," what should you think the father looked like, if the young man were to answer, "He that has seen me has seen my father"? {31} Could you possibly in reason help thinking that the father and the son were alike?

We know what manner of man Jesus was. Jesus possessed⁹ a body of flesh and bones; or, as John the Beloved, said, "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." Besides, Jesus was so much like other men that His own people could not see anything different in Him. When Jesus went into His own country and taught in the synagogue, the people were astonished. "Whence hath this man this wisdom," they asked, "and these mighty¹⁰ words? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?" To His own people Jesus was but an ordinary man.

The testimony¹¹ of Paul.

But the disciples of Jesus learned to understand what Jesus meant by His teaching about God. Said Paul, "God, who at sundry¹² times and in divers¹³ manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed Heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged¹⁴ our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty¹⁵ on high."

The truth about God.

It is not necessary, then, to go a round-about way to find out the nature of God. The simple explanation is the true one. The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob—the supreme¹⁶ God of this world—is a person. He possesses a body of flesh and bones. His Son is so much like Him that {32} He could say in truth, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." Jesus was the express image of God's person.

God is our Father.

Jesus's favorite name for God was Father. This beautiful word means many things to us in the teaching of Jesus. First, Jesus was really the Son of God, and could rightfully speak of Him as "My Father." But Jesus taught us more than that. Not only is Jesus the Son of God—the Only Begotten¹⁷ in the flesh—but we are all the children of God. He is the Father of our spirits, so that we may also rightfully pray to Him as "Our Father who art in heaven." Then, if God is really our Father, He must have the same kind of feelings for us that fathers always have for their children. Indeed, since He is God, His feelings must be deeper and truer than those of any earthly father. Jesus put it thus:

"What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

A real joy to know the true God.

It is a matter of comfort and joy to know the true God—to worship a God whom we can understand, whom we may recognize. It is no wonder that people everywhere become confused when they try to pray to a God who is something yet nothing, who is everywhere yet nowhere, who sits on the top of a topless throne, and so forth⁸. It is no wonder that people are looking for the true God.

{33} "We know that there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting¹⁸ to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them—that He created man, male and female, after His own image and in His own likeness¹⁹, created He them, and gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve Him, the only living and true God, and that He should be the only being whom they should worship."
THE REFERENCES

John 14:6-9. Heb. 1:1-3.

John 12:45. John 1:14.

Matt. 13:35. Doc. and Cov. 130:22.

Col. 1:15. Matt. 7:9-12.

Phil. 2:6. Doc. and Cov. 20:17-19.
THE QUESTIONS

1. How do we learn to know things?

2. Why have men strayed from the true conception of God?

3. What kind of being is God?

4. What did Jesus say God is like?

5. What did His disciples understand Jesus to mean?

6. In what sense is God the Father?

7. How is He like other fathers?

8. Why could you not worship any other God than a personal God?

9. What did Jesus teach Joseph Smith concerning God?

1 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

2 converse   

vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反

参考例句：

• He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
• I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

3 sleet   

n.雨雪；v.下雨雪，下冰雹

参考例句：

• There was a great deal of sleet last night.昨夜雨夹雪下得真大。
• When winter comes,we get sleet and frost.冬天来到时我们这儿会有雨夹雪和霜冻。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 pelting   

微不足道的，无价值的，盛怒的

参考例句：

• The rain came pelting down. 倾盆大雨劈头盖脸地浇了下来。
• Hailstones of abuse were pelting him. 阵阵辱骂冰雹般地向他袭来。

6 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

7 disciples   

n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一

参考例句：

• Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. 犹大是耶稣十二门徒之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "The names of the first two disciples were --" “最初的两个门徒的名字是——” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

8 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

9 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

10 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

11 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

12 sundry   

adj.各式各样的，种种的

参考例句：

• This cream can be used to treat sundry minor injuries.这种药膏可用来治各种轻伤。
• We can see the rich man on sundry occasions.我们能在各种场合见到那个富豪。

13 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

14 purged   

清除（政敌等）( purge的过去式和过去分词 )； 涤除（罪恶等）； 净化（心灵、风气等）； 消除（错事等）的不良影响

参考例句：

• He purged his enemies from the Party. 他把他的敌人从党内清洗出去。
• The iron in the chemical compound must be purged. 化学混合物中的铁必须清除。

15 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

16 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

17 begotten   

v.为…之生父( beget的过去分词 )；产生，引起

参考例句：

• The fact that he had begotten a child made him vain. 想起自己也生过孩子，他得意了。 来自辞典例句
• In due course she bore the son begotten on her by Thyestes. 过了一定的时候，她生下了堤厄斯式斯使她怀上的儿子。 来自辞典例句

18 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

19 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。