Gospel Preached in Power by the Spirit

1 Corinthians 2:1-8; There was of old, there is now, and to all eternity there shall be only one approved and proper way to preach the gospel—Preach by the power of the Spirit. Anything short of this is not of God and has neither converting nor saving power. All the religious learning, of all the professors of religion, of all the ages is as nothing compared to the Spirit-born testimony of one legal administrator.

1 Corinthians 2:1-8; Either ministers of religion receive revelation or they do not, and if they do not their words do not carry the final converting seal. Granted they may say things that are true, but truth alone is not enough. Pure religion is a thing of the Spirit and not of the intellect alone, and its truths must be carried into the hearts of hearers by the power of the Spirit, otherwise the human soul is not changed, the old man of sin is not crucified, and the seeker after salvation does not become alive in Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:1-8; If there is any truth of salvation that Deity has made imperishably clear, it is that first and last, in all ages, now and forever, among the learned and the ignorant for all races and peoples, and for that matter on all the endless worlds of the great Creator, there is one formula and one formula only for conveying saving truth to men—Preach by the power of the Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:1-8; In a revelation to Joseph Smith, God commanded his ministers: "If ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach." Then he gave them this promise: "As ye shall lift up your voices by the Comforter, ye shall speak and prophesy as seemeth me good; For, behold, the Comforter knoweth all things, and beareth record of the Father and of the Son." (D&C 42:14-17.)

1 Corinthians 2:1-8; Reasoning with his ministers on this subject, the Lord said: "I the Lord ask you this question—unto what were ye ordained?" The answer, in Deity's language: "To preach my gospel by the Spirit, even the Comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth."

1 Corinthians 2:1-8; Then the Lord asked: "He that is ordained of me and sent forth to preach the word of truth by the Comforter, in the Spirit of truth, doth he preach it by the Spirit of truth or some other way?" And as though his voice thundered from Sinai, the Almighty answered: "If it be by some other way it is not of God."

1 Corinthians 2:1-8; This revealed reasoning then continues: "And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? If it be some other way it is not of God. Therefore, why is it that ye cannot understand and know, that he that receiveth the word by the Spirit of truth receiveth it as it is preached by the Spirit of truth? Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together." (D&C 50:13-22.)

1 Corinthians 2:1-8; From Nephi's inspired writings we learn that one of the signs of the great apostasy is that ministers of religion "shall teach with their learning, and deny the Holy Ghost, which giveth utterance." (2 Nephi 28:4.)

1 Corinthians 2:1-8; Is it any wonder, then, that Paul, who himself taught and wrote and preached by the power of the Spirit, should divide preachers into two classes: 1. Those who preach with enticing words of man's wisdom; and 2. Those who do so in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

1 Corinthians 2:1-8; In this connection, however, it should be pointed out that there is much reasoning and intellectuality in the world which prepares men for that preaching which carries conviction and brings conversion. The Light of Christ is shed forth upon every person born into the world, teaching all men to do good, to love truth, and to come unto the gospel covenant. Those who heed the promptings and follow the pleadings of this Spirit accept and conform to many true principles and are thus ready to accept the fulness of revealed truth when it is taught to them by the power of the Holy Ghost. (D&C 88:45-53.)

1 Corinthians 2:5-8; 5-8. Wisdom is of two kinds: 1. The wisdom of men or the wisdom of the world; and 2. The wisdom of God. One is of the intellect alone; the other is in the mind of God and is given to man by revelation. One is "foolishness" and "profiteth" nothing; the other leads to "that happiness which is prepared for the saints." (2 Nephi 9:28, 43.)