ETERNAL LIFE AND SALVATION ETERNAL LIFE AND SALVATION. Every man born into the world will die. It matters not who he is, nor where he is, whether his birth be among the rich and the noble, or among the lowly and poor in the world, his days are numbered with the Lord, and in due time he will reach the end. We should think of this. Not that we should go about with heavy hearts or with downcast countenances; not at all. I rejoice that I am born to live, to die, and to live again. I thank God for this intelligence. It gives me joy and peace that the world cannot give, neither can the world take it away. God has revealed this to me, in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know it to be true. Therefore, I have nothing to be sad over, nothing to make me sorrowful. All that I have to do with in the world is calculated to buoy me up, to give me joy and peace, hope and consolation in this present life, and a glorious hope of salvation and exaltation in the presence of my God in the world to come. I have no reason to mourn, not even at death. It is true, I am weak enough to weep at the death of my friends and kindred. I may shed tears when I see the grief of others. I have sympathy in my soul for the children of men. I can weep with them when they weep; I can rejoice with them when they rejoice; but I have no cause to mourn, nor to be sad because death comes into the world. I am speaking now of the temporal death, the death of the body. All fear of this death has been removed from the Latter-day Saints. They have no dread of the temporal death, because they know that as death came upon them by the transgression of Adam, so by the righteousness of Jesus Christ shall life come unto them, CLOSE RELATION OF THE NEXT LIFE. I feel sure that the Prophet Joseph Smith and his associates, who, under the guidance and inspiration of the Almighty, and by his power, began this latter-day work, would rejoice and do rejoice,—was going to say if they were permitted to look down upon the scene that I behold in this tabernacle; but I believe they do have the privilege of looking down upon us just as the all-seeing eye of God beholds every part of his handiwork. For I believe that those who have been chosen in this dispensation and in former dispensations, to lay the foundation of God's work in the midst of the children of men, for their salvation and exaltation, will not be deprived in the spirit world from looking down upon the results of their own labors, efforts and mission assigned them by the wisdom and purpose of God, to help to redeem and to reclaim the children of the Father from their sins. So I feel quite confident that the eye of Joseph, the prophet, and of the martyrs of this dispensation, and of Brigham, and John, and Wilford, and those faithful men who were associated with them in their ministry upon the earth, are carefully guarding the interests of the kingdom of God in which I would not like to say one thing, or express a thought, that would grieve the heart of Joseph, or of Brigham, or of John, or of Wilford, or of Lorenzo, or of any of their faithful associates in the ministry. Sometimes the Lord expands our vision from this point of view and this side of the veil, that we feel and seem to realize that we can look beyond the thin veil which separates us from that other sphere. If we can see, by the enlightening influence of the Spirit of God and through the words that have been spoken by the holy prophets of God, beyond the veil that separates us from the spirit world, surely those who have passed beyond, can see more clearly through the veil back here to us than it is possible for us to see to them from our sphere of action. I believe we move and have our being in the presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly beings. We are not separated from them. We begin to realize more and more fully, as we I hope you will forgive me for my emotion. You would have peculiar emotions, would you not, if you felt that you stood in the presence of your Father, in the very presence of Almighty God, in the very presence of the Son of God and of holy angels? You would feel rather emotional, rather sensitive. I feel it to the very depths of my soul this moment. So I hope you will forgive me, if I exhibit some of my real feelings.—Apr. C. R., 1916, pp. 2-4. CONDITION IN A FUTURE LIFE. Some people dream, you know, and think, and teach that all the glory they ever expect to have in the world to come is to sit in the light and glory of the Son of God, and sing praises and songs of joy and gratitude all their immortal lives. We do not believe in any such things. We believe that every man will have his work to do in the other world, just as surely as he had it to do here, and a greater work than he can do here. We believe that we are on the road of advancement, of development in knowledge, in understanding, and in every good thing, and that we will continue to grow, advance, and develop throughout the eternities that are before us. That is what we believe.—Apr. C. R., 1912, p. 8. Now, all the world today, I am sorry to say, with the exception of a handful of people who have obeyed the new and everlasting covenant, are suffering this spiritual death. They are cast out from the presence of God. They are without God, without gospel truth, and without the power of redemption; for they know not God nor his gospel. In order that they may be redeemed and saved from the spiritual death which has spread over the world like a pall, they must repent of their sins, and be baptized by one having authority, for the remission of their sins, that they may be THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. Now, if Judas really had known God's power, and had partaken thereof, and did actually "deny the truth" and "defy" that power, "having denied the Holy Spirit after he had received it," and also "denied the Only Begotten," after God had "revealed him" unto him, then there can be no doubt that he "will die the second death." That Judas did partake of all this knowledge—that these great truths had been revealed to him—that he had received the Holy Spirit by the gift of God, and was therefore qualified to commit the unpardonable sin, is not at all clear to me. To my mind it strongly appears that not one of the disciples possessed sufficient light, knowledge nor wisdom, at the time of the crucifixion, for either exaltation or condemnation; for it was afterward that their minds were opened to understand the scriptures, and that they were endowed with power from on high; without which they were only children in knowledge, in comparison to what they afterwards become under the influence of the Spirit. Saul, of Tarsus, possessing extraordinary intelligence and learning, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the perfect manner of the law, persecuted the While, for the crime of adultery with Bathsheba, and for ordering Uriah to be put in the front of battle in a time of war, where he was slain by the enemy, the priesthood, and the kingdom were taken from David, the man after God's own heart, and his soul was thrust into hell. Why? Because "the Holy Ghost spake by the mouth of David"—or, in other words, David possessed the gift of the Holy Ghost, and had power to speak by the light thereof. But even David, though guilty of adultery and murder of Uriah, obtained the promise that his soul should not be left in hell, which means, as I understand it, that even he shall escape the second death. While suspended upon the cross, in the agonies of death, as he was about to yield up his spirit, our gracious, glorious Savior breathed this memorable and merciful prayer: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34.) No man can sin against light until he has it; nor against the Holy Ghost, until after he has received it by the gift of God through the appointed channel or way. To sin against the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, the Witness of the Father and the Son, wilfully denying him and defying him, after having received him, constitutes But not knowing that Judas did commit the unpardonable sin; nor that he was a "son of perdition without hope" who will die the second death, nor what knowledge he possessed by which he was able to commit so great a sin, I prefer, until I know better, to take the merciful view that he may be numbered among those for whom the blessed Master prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."—Improvement Era, Vol. 21, June, 1918, p. 732. THE RESURRECTION. Speaking of the resurrection, the subject on which so much has been said during this conference, and appropriately said, too—we distinctly believe that Jesus Christ himself is the true, and only true type of the resurrection of men from death unto life. We believe there is no other form of resurrection from death to life; that as he rose, and as he preserved his identity, even to the scars of the wounds in his hands and feet and side, that he could prove himself to those that were skeptical of the possibility of rising from the dead, that he was indeed himself, the Lord crucified, buried in the tomb, and raised again from death to life, so it will be with you and with every son and daughter of Adam, born into the world. You will not lose your identity any more than Christ did. You will NATURE OF MINISTERING ANGELS. We are told by the Prophet Joseph Smith, that "there are no angels who minister to this earth but those who do belong or have belonged to it." Hence, when messengers are sent to minister to the inhabitants of this earth, they are not strangers, but from the ranks of our kindred, friends, and fellow-beings and fellow-servants. The ancient prophets who died were those who came to visit their fellow creatures upon the earth. They came to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; it was such beings—holy beings if you please—who waited upon the Savior and administered to him on the Mount. The angel that visited John, when an exile and unfolded to his vision future events in the history of man upon the earth, was one who had been here, who had toiled and suffered in common with the people of God; for you remember that John, after his eyes had beheld the glories of the great future, was about to fall down and worship him, but was peremptorily forbidden to do so. "See thou do it not; for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book; worship God." (Rev. 22:9) Jesus has These are correct principles. There is no question about that in my mind. It is according to the Scriptures; it is according to the revelation of God to the Prophet Joseph Smith; and it is a subject upon which we may dwell with pleasure and perhaps profit to ourselves, provided we have the Spirit of God to direct us.—Discourse delivered at the funeral services of Elizabeth H. Cannon, Fourteenth Ward assembly rooms, Salt Lake City, January 29, 1882. Journal of Discourses, Vol. 22, pp. 350-353. REDEMPTION BEYOND THE GRAVE. "But woe unto him that has the law given; yea, that has all the commandments of God, like unto us, and that transgresseth them, and that wasteth the days of his probation, for awful is his state." (II Nephi 9:27-38; see also Alma 11:40, 41). Now, it is evident that such as these have no chance for redemption, no matter what may be done for them in hope or by faith, for they will have sinned against life and knowledge, and are, therefore, worthy of damnation. It is nowhere revealed that such as these will ever be forgiven, although we are informed that all of God's judgments are not given unto men. Therefore, Jesus went with his message to their spirits in prison and proclaimed liberty and deliverance to them through their obedience in the spirit world, that the work might be done for them in the flesh, and they be judged according to men in the flesh, and live according to God in the spirit. So there is no conflict in these scriptures. Of course, there is a difference between those who receive the light of the gospel and the testimony of Jesus Christ and afterwards rebel against that light and reject it, thereby putting Christ to an open shame and crucifying him, and those who are referred to by Alma: "Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made." These are not under as great a condemnation as those who have received it and rejected it; but so long as they remain unrepentant and wicked, there is no redemption for them any In relation to the deliverance of spirits from their prison house, of course, we believe that can only be done after the gospel has been preached to them in the spirit, and they have accepted the same, and the work necessary to their redemption by the living be done for them. That this work may be hastened so that all who believe, in the spirit world, may receive the benefit of deliverance, it is revealed that the great work of the Millennium shall be the work in the temples for the redemption of the dead; and then we hope to enjoy the benefits of revelation through the Urim and Thummim, or by such means as the Lord may reveal concerning those for whom the work shall be done, so that we may not work by chance, or by faith alone, without knowledge, but with the actual knowledge revealed unto us. It stands to reason that, while the gospel may be preached unto all, the good and the bad, or rather to those who would repent and to those who would not repent in the spirit world, the same as it is here, redemption will only come to those who repent and obey. There is, no doubt, great leniency given to people who are anxious to do the work for their dead, and in some instances, very unworthy people may have the work done for them; it does not follow, however, that they will receive any benefit therefrom, and the correct thing is to do the work only for those of whom we have the testimony that they will receive it. However, we are disposed to give the benefit of the doubt to the dead, as it is better to do the work for many who are unworthy than to neglect one who is worthy. Now, we know in part and see in part, but steadfastly look forward to the time when that which is perfect will come. We are left largely to our own agency here, to exercise our own intelligence and to receive all the light that is revealed so far as we are capable of receiving it, and only those who seek the light, and desire NATURE OF DEATH. God has given laws to govern all his works, and especially has he given laws to govern his people, who are his sons and daughters. We have come to sojourn in the flesh, to obtain tabernacles for our immortal spirits; or, in other words, we have come for the purpose of accomplishing a work like that which was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. The object of our earthly existence is that we may have a fulness of joy, and that we may become the sons and daughters of God, in the fullest sense of the word, being heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, to be kings and priests unto God, to inherit glory, dominion, exaltation, thrones and every power and attribute developed and possessed by our Heavenly Father. This is the object of our being on this earth. In order to attain unto this exalted position, it is necessary that we go through this mortal experience, or probation, by which we may prove ourselves worthy, through the aid of our elder brother Jesus. The spirit without the body is not perfect. It is not capacitated, without the body, to possess a fulness of the glory of God, and therefore it cannot, without the body, fulfil its destiny. We are foreordained to become conformed to the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ; and in order that we may become like unto him, we must follow in his footsteps, even until we sanctify ourselves by the law of truth and righteousness. This is the law of the celestial kingdom, and when we die, its power will bring us forth in the morning of the first resurrection, clothed with glory, immortality and eternal lives. Unless we do keep the law that God has given unto us in the flesh, which we have the privilege of receiving and understanding, we cannot be quickened by its glory, neither can we receive the fulness thereof, and the exaltation of the celestial kingdom. "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before We must, therefore, learn the laws of heaven, which are the laws of the gospel, live and obey them with all our hearts, and in faith abide in them, perfecting ourselves thereby, in order to receive the fulness of the glory of that kingdom. * * * While we are in mortality we are clogged, and we see as through a glass darkly, we see only in part, and it is difficult for us to comprehend the smallest things with which we are associated. But when we put on immortality, our condition will be very different, for we ascend into an enlarged sphere; although we shall not become perfect immediately after our departure from the body, for the spirit without the body is not perfect, and the body without the spirit is dead. The disembodied spirit during the interval of the death of the body and its resurrection from the grave is not perfect, hence it is not prepared to enter into the exaltation of the celestial kingdom; but it has the privilege of soaring in the midst of immortal beings, and of enjoying, to a certain extent, the presence of God, not the fulness of his glory, not the fulness of the reward which we are seeking and which we are destined to receive, if found faithful to the law of the celestial kingdom, but only in part. The righteous spirit that departs from this earth is assigned its place in the Paradise of God; it has its privileges and honors which are in point of excellency, far above and beyond human comprehension; and in this sphere of action, enjoying this partial reward for its righteous conduct on the earth, it continues its labors, and in this respect is very different from the state of the body from which it is released. For while the body sleeps and decays, the spirit receives a new birth; to it the portals of life are opened. It This is the condition of her whose remains now lie before us, and of every one who has been faithful to virtue and purity, while traveling here below; but more especially of those who while here had the privilege of obeying the gospel, and who lived true and faithful to its covenants. Instead of continuing here among the things of time, surrounded as we are with the weaknesses of a fallen world, and subject to earthly cares and sorrows, they are freed from them to enter a state of joy, glory and exaltation; not a fulness of any one of them but to await the morning of the resurrection of the just, to come forth from the grave to redeem the body, and to be reunited with it and thus become a living soul, an immortal being, never more to die. Having accomplished its work, having gone through its earthly probation, and having fulfilled its mission here below, it is then prepared for the knowledge and glory and exaltation of the celestial kingdom. This Jesus did; and he is our forerunner, he is our exemplar. The path which he marked out we have to walk, if we ever expect to dwell and be crowned with him in his kingdom. We must obey and put our trust in him, knowing that he is the Savior of the world. What reason have we to mourn? None, except that we are deprived for a few days of the society of one whom we love. And if we prove faithful while in the flesh we will soon follow, and be glad that we had the privilege of passing Jesus had not finished his work when his body was slain, neither did he finish it after his resurrection from the dead; although he had accomplished the purpose for which he then came to the earth, he had not fulfilled all his work. And when will he? Not until he has redeemed and saved every son and daughter of our father Adam that have been or ever will be born upon this earth to the end of time, except the sons of perdition. That is his mission. We will not finish our work until we have saved ourselves, and then not until we shall have saved all depending upon us; for we are to become saviors upon Mount Zion, as well as Christ. We are The Prophet Joseph Smith has said that this is one of the most important duties that devolves upon the Latter-day Saints. And why? Because this is the dispensation of the fulness of times, which will usher in the millennial reign, and in which all things spoken by the mouths of holy prophets, since the world began, must be fulfilled, and all things united, both which are in heaven and in the earth. We have that work to do; or, at least all we can of it, leaving the balance to our children, in whose hearts we should instill the importance of this work, rearing them in the love of the truth and in the knowledge of these principles, so that when we pass away, having done all we can do, they will then take up the labor and continue it until it is consummated. May the Lord bless this bereaved family and comfort them in their deprivation. Those who die in the Lord shall not taste of death. When Adam partook of the forbidden fruit he was cast out from the presence of God into outer darkness; that is, he was shut out from the presence of his glory and the privilege of his society, which was spiritual death. This was the first death; this indeed was death; for he was shut out from the presence of God; and ever since, Adam's posterity have been suffering the penalty of this spiritual death, which is banishment from his presence and There is no death except to those who die in sin, without the sure and steadfast hope of the resurrection of the just. There is no death where we continue in the knowledge of the truth and have hope of a glorious resurrection. Life and immortality are brought to light through the gospel; hence, there is no death here; here is a peaceful slumber, a quiet rest for a little season, and then she will come forth again to enjoy this tabernacle. If there is anything lacking in regard to ordinances pertaining to the House of the Lord, which may have been omitted or not reached, those requirements can be attended to for her. Here are her father and mother, her brothers and sisters; they know the ordinances necessary to be performed in order to secure every benefit and blessing that it was possible for her to have received in the flesh. These ordinances have been revealed unto us for this very purpose, that we might be born into the light from the midst of this darkness—from death into life. We live, then; we do not die; we do not anticipate death but we anticipate life, immortality, glory, exaltation, and to be quickened by the glory of the celestial kingdom, and receive of the same even a fulness. This is our destiny; this is the exalted position to which we may attain and there is no power that can deprive or rob us of it, if we prove faithful and true to the covenant of the gospel.—Funeral THE RESURRECTION. Guided by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus by faith in God, in the testimony of his prophets and in the scriptures, I accept the doctrine of the resurrection with all my heart, and rejoice at its confirmation in nature with the awakening of each returning spring. The Spirit of God testifies to me, and has revealed to me, to my complete personal satisfaction, that there is life after death, and that the body which we lay down here will be reunited with our spirit, to become a perfect soul, capable of receiving a fulness of joy in the presence of God.—Improvement Era, Vol. 16, 1912-1913, pp. 508-510. THE RESURRECTION. It is true, all of us are clothed with mortality, but our spirits existed long before they took upon them this tabernacle that we now inhabit. When this body dies, the spirit does not die. The spirit is an immortal being, and when separated from the body takes its flight to the place prepared for it, and there awaits the resurrection of the body, when the spirit will return again and re-occupy this tabernacle which it occupied in this world. This great and glorious principle of the resurrection is no longer a theory, as some think, but it is an accomplished fact which has been demonstrated beyond all successful contradiction, doubt or controversy. Job, who lived before the resurrection of Christ, possessing the spirit of prophecy, looked forward to the time of the resurrection. He comprehended the fact. He understood the principles and knew the power and design of God to bring it to pass, and predicted its accomplishment. He declares: "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth." He further says, "And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God." (Job 19:25-26) He looked forward to something not yet Now the chief priests and Pharisees were not satisfied with the crucifixion and burial of our Lord and Savior; they remembered that while living he had said that after three days he would rise again, so they established a strong guard to protect the sepulchre, and set a seal upon the stone, lest his disciples should come by night and steal away the body and say unto the people, "He is risen from the dead," and thus perpetuate a fraud upon the world. Lo and behold! by this act those unbelieving guards But is this the only evidence we have to depend on? Have we nothing but the testimony of the ancient disciples to rest our hopes upon? Thank God we have more. And the additional evidence which we possess enables us to become witnesses to the truth of the testimony of the ancient disciples. We go to the Book of Mormon; it testifies of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in plain and unmistakable terms; we may go to the book of Doctrine and Covenants containing the revelations of this dispensation, and we shall find clear and well defined evidence there. We have the testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, the testimony of Oliver Cowdery, and the testimony of Sidney Rigdon, that they saw the Lord Jesus—the same that was crucified in Jerusalem—and that he revealed himself unto them. Joseph and Sidney testify to it as follows: "We, Joseph Smith, Jr., and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit on the sixteenth of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-two, by the power of the Spirit our eyes were opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to see and understand the things of God—even those things which were from the beginning before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his Only Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the beginning, of whom we bear record, and the record which we bear is the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision." (Doc. and Cov. 76: 11-14). They were called to be special witnesses of Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. Is this all the evidence we have? No. Joseph Smith boldly declared to the world that if mankind would sincerely repent of their sins and be baptized by authority, they should not only receive a remission of their sins, but, by the laying on of hands, they should receive the Holy Ghost, and should know of the doctrine for themselves. Thus all who obey the law and abide in the truth become witnesses of this and other equally great and precious truths. Today there are thousands of Latter-day Saints living in Utah and throughout the world who have attained to the possession of these things, both men and women. If we witness by our acts, and from our hearts, our determination to carry out the mind and will of the Lord, we shall have this double assurance of a glorious resurrection, and be able to say as the Prophet Job said—his was a glorious declaration "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall [again] stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, I bear my testimony, and surely it is of as much force and effect, if it be true, as the testimony of Job, the testimonies of the disciples of Jerusalem, the disciples on this continent, of Joseph Smith, or any other man who told the truth. All are of equal force and binding on the world. If no man had ever testified to these things upon the face of the globe, I want to say as a servant of God, independent of the testimonies of all men and of every book that has been written, that I have received the witness of the Spirit in my own heart, and I testify before God, angels and men, without fear of the consequences, that I know that my Redeemer lives, and I shall see him face to face, and stand with him in my resurrected body upon this earth, if I am faithful; for God has revealed this unto me. I have received the witness, and I bear my testimony, and my testimony is true. The testimony of the Latter-day Saints is in addition to and consonant with that of the disciples of Jesus Christ who lived at Jerusalem, those who lived on this continent, the Prophet Joseph, Oliver, Sidney, and others, of our crucified and risen Redeemer, because they received it not of them, but by the same Spirit by which they received it. No man ever received this testimony unless the Spirit of God revealed it unto him. We will see Brother Urie again. Sister Urie will meet him on the other side of the grave. The spirit and the body will be reunited. We shall see each other in the flesh, in the same tabernacles that we have here while in mortality. Our tabernacles will be brought forth as they are laid down, although there will be a restoration effected; every organ, every limb that has been maimed, every deformity ON THE RESURRECTION. I believe that as Christ arose from the dead, so shall all the faithful arise. We shall all see one another again. I know that Jesus is the Christ, that after his death and burial he arose from the dead, and became the first fruits of the resurrection. To all believers, and to the Latter-day Saints especially, there is sweet comfort in this knowledge, and in the thought that through obedience to the ordinances and principles of the gospel, which Christ, our Savior, taught and enjoined upon the people and his disciples, men shall be born again, redeemed from sin, arise from the grave, and like Jesus return into the presence of the Father. Death is not the end. When we, sorrowing, lay away our loved ones in the grave, we have an assurance based upon the life, words and resurrection of Christ, that we shall again meet and shake hands and associate with them in a better life, where sorrow and trouble are ended, and where there is to be no more parting. This knowledge is one of the greatest incentives that we have to live right in this life, to pass through mortality, doing and feeling and accomplishing good. The spirits of all men, as soon as they depart from this mortal body, whether they are good or evil, we are told in the Book of Mormon, are taken home to that God who gave them life, where there Where a man has obeyed the principles of the gospel, used his influence for good, injured no soul, loved righteousness, and despised wrong doing, laying down his body to the rest of the righteous in the grave, I feel and know that, in addition to the spirit's promised state of peace and rest in paradise, there will be a glorious reunion of body and spirit, a bright awakening for him in the resurrection, and a future beyond, full of happiness. When this time shall come, none but God knoweth, but we do know that all men shall come forth from the dead. Now, I know these statements to be true; I know them to be true by the thrill of the inspiration of God which fills my entire being with this knowledge. To me they are consistent with God's wisdom and with his holy purposes. We have the testimony of Christ, the testimony of the prophets, the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, and with these evidences, I cannot help but believe, and know that there is a resurrection of the dead, a literal, actual resurrection of the body. I cannot believe that a wise and merciful God would create a man like our friend and brother, upright, honorable, honest in all his dealings and in his RESURRECTION AND FINAL JUDGEMENT. When the spirit leaves the body, it returns, says the prophet, immediately to God, to be assigned to its Place, either to associate with the good and the noble ones who have lived in the paradise of God, or to be confined in the "prison-house" to await the resurrection of the body from the grave. Therefore we know that Brother Clayton has gone to God, gone to receive the partial judgment of the Almighty which pertains to the period intervening between the death of the body and the resurrection of the body, or the separation of the spirit from the body and their uniting together again. This judgment is passed upon the spirit alone. But there will come a time which will be after the resurrection, when the body and spirit shall be reunited, when the final judgment will be passed on every man. This is in accordance with the vision of John the Revelator: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: * * * and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. That is the final judgment, which we will all receive after we have performed this our earthly mission. The Savior did not finish his work when he expired on the cross, when he cried out, "It is finished." He, in using those words, had no reference to his great mission to the earth, but merely to the agonies which he suffered. The Christian world, I know, say he alluded to the great work of redemption. This, however, is a great mistake, and is indicative of the extent of their knowledge of the plan of life and salvation. I say, he referred merely to the agonies of death, and the sufferings he felt for the wickedness of men who would go so far as to crucify their Redeemer. It was this feeling, and this alone, that prompted him to cry out in the agony of his soul, "It is finished," and then he expired. But his work was not completed; it was in fact only begun. If he had stopped here, instead of his being the Savior of the world, he, as well as all mankind, would have perished irredeemably, never to have come forth out of the grave; for it was designed from the beginning that he should be the first fruits of them that slept; it was part of the great plan that he should burst the bands of death and gain the victory over the grave. If, therefore, his mission had ceased when he gave up the ghost, the world would have slumbered in the dust in interminable death, never to have risen to live again. It was but a small part of the mission of the Savior that was performed when he suffered death; it was indeed the lesser part; the greater had yet to be done. It was in his resurrection from the tomb, in his coming forth from death unto life, in uniting again the spirit and the body that he might become a living soul; and when this was done, then he was prepared to return to the Father. So, after his resurrection from the dead he could return to the Father, there to receive the welcome plaudit, Well done; you have done your work, you have accomplished your mission, you have wrought out salvation for all the children of Adam; you have redeemed all men from the grave; and through their obedience to the ordinances of the gospel which you have established, they can also be redeemed from the spiritual death, again to be brought back into our presence, to partake of glory, exaltation and eternal life with us. And so it will be when we come forth out of the grave, when the trump shall sound, and these our bodies shall rise and our spirits shall enter into them again, and they shall become living souls, no more to be dissolved or separated, but to become inseparable, immortal, eternal. Then we shall stand before the bar of God to be judged. So says the Bible, so says the Book of Mormon, and so say the revelations which have come direct to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith. And then those who have not been subject and obedient to the celestial law will not be quickened by the celestial glory. And those who have not been subject and obedient to the terrestrial law will not be quickened by the terrestrial glory. And those who have not been subject and obedient to the telestial law, will not be quickened by a telestial glory; but they will have a kingdom without glory. The sons of perdition, men who once were in possession of the light and truth, but who turned away from them and denied the Lord, putting him to an open shame, as did the Jews when they crucified him and said, "His blood be on us, and on our children;" men who consent, against light We read in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit, and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil because he yielded unto temptation, and because of this transgression he became "spiritually dead, which is the first death, even that same death, which is the last death, which is spiritual, which shall be pronounced upon the wicked when I shall say—Depart, ye cursed!" (Doc. and Cov. 29:41.) But who will receive such punishment? Only those who deserve it, those who commit the unpardonable sin. Then there is the banishment of the transgressor (not the sons of perdition) into the prison-house, a place of punishment, with no exaltation, no increase, no dominion, no power, whose inhabitants after their redemption may become servants of them that have obeyed the laws of God and kept the faith. That will be the punishment of such as reject the truth, but sin not unto death.—Discourse delivered at funeral of William Clayton, in the Seventeenth Ward meetinghouse, Salt Lake City, December 7, 1879. Journal of Discourses Vol. 21, 1881, pp. 9-13. CONDITION OF CHILDREN IN HEAVEN. If we have received the testimony of the spirit of truth in our souls we know that all is well with our little children who pass away, But, with little children who are taken away in infancy and innocence before they have reached the years of accountability, and are not capable of committing sin, the gospel reveals to us the fact that they are redeemed, and Satan has no power over them. Neither has death any power over them. They are redeemed by the blood of Christ, and they are saved just as surely as death has come into the world through the fall of our first parents. It is further written that Satan has no power over men or women, except that power which he gains over them in this world. In other words, none of the children of the Father who are redeemed through obedience, faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins, and who live in that redeemed condition, and die in that condition are subject to Satan. Therefore he has no power over them. They are absolutely beyond his reach, just as little children are who die without sin. To my mind this is a consolation and a glorious truth that my soul delights in. I am grateful to my heavenly Father that he has revealed it unto me, for it affords a consolation that nothing else can give, and it brings a joy to my spirit that nothing can take away, except the consciousness on my Under these circumstances, our beloved friends who are now deprived of their little one, have great cause for joy and rejoicing, even in the midst of the deep sorrow that they feel at the loss of their little one for a time. They know he is all right; they have the assurance that their little one has passed away without sin. Such children are in the bosom of the Father. They will inherit their glory and their exaltation, and they will not be deprived of the blessings that belong to them; for, in the economy of heaven, and in the wisdom of the Father, who doeth all things well, those who are cut down as little children are without any responsibility for their taking off, they, themselves, not having the intelligence and wisdom to take care of themselves and to understand the laws of life; and, in the wisdom and mercy and economy of God our Heavenly Father, all that could have been obtained and enjoyed by them if they had been permitted to live in the flesh will be provided for them hereafter. They will lose nothing by being taken away from us in this way. This is a consolation to me. Joseph Smith, the prophet, was the promulgator under God of these principles. He was in touch with the heavens. God revealed himself unto him, and made known unto him the principles that lie before us, and which are comprised in the everlasting gospel. Joseph Smith declared that the mother who laid down her little child, being deprived of the privilege, the joy, and the satisfaction of bringing it up to manhood or womanhood in this world, would, after the resurrection, have all the joy, satisfaction and pleasure, and even more than it would have been possible to have had in mortality, in seeing her child grow to the full measure of the stature of its spirit. If this be true, and I believe it, what a consolation it is. Jesus Christ was the Son of God before he came into the world, yet he With these thoughts in my mind, I take consolation in the fact that I shall meet my children who have passed behind the veil; I have lost a number, and I have felt all that a parent can feel, I think, in the loss of my children. I have felt it keenly, for I love children, and I am particularly fond of the little ones, but I feel thankful to God for the knowledge Now, the beauty of this to me is that I know these things, that I am satisfied of them, and so long as I possess the spirit of truth I have no fear that any doubt or uncertainty will ever enter my mind in regard to these principles. There is only one course that I might pursue which would bring about mistrust and fear, trembling and doubt, in relation to these things. And that would be for me to deny the truth and cut myself loose from the guiding influences of the Holy Spirit, for I do know that so long as a man is under the guiding influence of the Spirit of God he never can deny these truths which God has revealed to him, and in that condition he is not subject to the power of Satan. It is only when he transgresses the law of God, and dismisses these principles from his thoughts, that he becomes subject to the powers of evil, that his mind becomes darkened, and he begins to doubt and fear. But, let a man have the Spirit of God in his heart, that Spirit which reveals the things of God unto men, and makes them to know the truth as God himself knows it, he never can doubt those things which God has revealed. Therefore, I rejoice in these truths, for I know they are true. I know that Brother Heber and his companion, if they STATUS OF CHILDREN IN THE RESURRECTION. The spirits of our children are immortal before they come to us, and their spirits, after bodily death, are like they were before they came. They are as they would have appeared if they had lived in the flesh, to grow to maturity, or to develop their physical bodies to the full stature of their spirits. If you see one of your children that has passed away it may appear to you in the form in which you would recognize it, the form of childhood; but if it came to you as a messenger bearing some important truth, it would perhaps come as the spirit of Bishop Edward Hunter's son (who died when a little child) came to him, in the stature of full-grown manhood, and revealed himself to his father, and said: "I am your son." Bishop Hunter did not understand it. He went to my father and said: "Hyrum, what does that mean? I buried my son when he was only a little boy, but he has come to me as a full-grown man—a noble, glorious, young man, and declared himself my son. What does it mean?" Father (Hyrum Smith, the Patriarch) told him that the Spirit of Jesus Christ was full-grown before he was born into the world; and so our children were full-grown and possessed their full stature in the spirit, before they entered mortality, the same stature that they will possess after they have passed away from mortality, and as they will also appear Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the infant child that was laid away in death would come up in the resurrection as a child; and, pointing to the mother of a lifeless child, he said to her: "You will have the joy, the pleasure, and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after its resurrection, until it reaches the full stature of its spirit." There is restitution, there is growth, there is development, after the resurrection from death. I love this truth. It speaks volumes of happiness, of joy and gratitude to my soul. Thank the Lord he has revealed these principles to us. In 1854, I met with my aunt, the wife of my uncle, Don Carlos Smith, who was the mother of that little girl that Joseph Smith, the Prophet, was speaking about when he told the mother that she should have the joy, the pleasure, and the satisfaction of rearing that child, after the resurrection, until it reached the full stature of its spirit; and that it would be a far greater joy than she could possibly have in mortality, because she would be free from the sorrow and fear and disabilities of mortal life, and she would know more than she could know in this life. I met that widow, the mother of that child, and she told me this circumstance and bore testimony to me that this was what the Prophet Joseph Smith said when he was speaking at the funeral of her little daughter. One day I was conversing with a brother-in-law of mine, Lorin Walker, who married my oldest sister. In the course of the conversation he happened to mention that he was present at the funeral of my cousin Sophronia, and that he heard the Prophet Joseph Smith declare the very words that Aunt Agnes had told me. I said to him, "Lorin, what did the Prophet say?" and he repeated, as nearly as he could remember, what the Prophet Joseph said in relation to little children. The body Eventually I was in conversation with Sister M. Isabella Horn. She began to relate to me the circumstance of her being present at the funeral that I refer to, when Joseph spoke of the death of little children, their resurrection, as little children, and of the glory, and honor, and joy, and happiness the mother would have in rearing her little children in the resurrection to the full stature of their spirits. "Well," she said, "I heard Joseph say that. I was at that funeral." Sister Isabella Horne told me this. Then I said to her: "Why haven't you spoken about it before? How is it you have kept it to yourself all these long years? Why haven't you let the Church know something about this declaration of the Prophet?" She replied: "I did not know whether it was my duty to do so, or whether it would be proper or not." I said: "Who else was there?" "My husband was there." "Does he remember it?" "Yes, he remembers it." "Well, will you and Brother Horne give me an affidavit in writing, stating the fact, and let it be sworn to?" She said, "With the greatest of pleasure." So I have the testimony in affidavit form of Brother and Sister Horne, in addition to the testimony of my aunt, and the testimony of my brother-in-law, in relation to the Prophet Joseph's remarks at that funeral. Just a little while later, to my joy and satisfaction, the first man I ever heard mention it in public was Franklin D. It is a good thing for us not to attempt to advance new doctrine, or new and advanced thought in relation to principles and doctrines pertaining to, or presumed to pertain to, the gospel of Jesus Christ, without weighing it carefully, with the experience of years, before we attempt to make a doctrinal test and to advance it to the people of the Lord. There is so much simple truth, necessary to be understood, that has been revealed to us in the gospel that it is extreme folly in us to attempt to go beyond the truth that has been revealed, until we have mastered and can comprehend the truth that we have. There is a great deal within our reach that we have not yet mastered.—Improvement Era, Vol. 21, May, 1918, pp. 567-573. ADDRESS AT FUNERAL SERVICES OF MARY A. FREEZE. There does not seem to be much left to be said. I endorse heartily and fully every kindly sentiment that I have heard expressed here this afternoon with reference to our departed sister. I have known her, as a worker in the Church, for a goodly number of years, and have had the pleasure of frequently meeting her in the various capacities in which she has labored in the Church, and in every instance I have been more and more impressed with the pure character and spirit of the woman. There was a calmness about her appearance, her conversation, and her conduct that seemed to indicate a well-matured character and a well-established principle of life. Nothing that I have ever perceived in her has appeared flighty, unsettled, or unstable, but in everything, her life indicated a life of stability, of reliability and fidelity to the Lord and to his covenants. After hearing the many good things that have been said Now, to me this explains the sentiment expressed by Brother Joseph E. Taylor, when he said he did not feel the presence of death when he went to visit her. Do you feel the presence of death here? He did not feel it then. Just prior to the departure of her spirit, there was no element of death there. The element of dissolution—the separation of the spiritual from the temporal, of the immortal from the mortal was visible, but in the presence of the Spirit of the Lord, and with the hope inspired in the gospel of the Son of God, that "he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die," and in the knowledge of the fact that every provision the Lord has given by which we may be prepared to enjoy the fulness of these blessings has been observed and entered into, believed and followed by this good woman, what reason could there be, under such circumstances, for thoughts of death? It was not death, but a change from mortality to immortality, from death, in fact, to life everlasting. Now, I believe that if ever a soul in the world is entitled to the enjoyment or realization of that saying, of the Son of God this good woman is entitled to it; for I believe, according to her knowledge, she was true to every principle by which she might fulfil the intent of it and by which she may receive the verification of it in the world to come. I do not feel that it would be proper or necessary for me to occupy very much time, but while the brethren and sisters were speaking, the thought naturally passed through my mind—what will be her occupation in the world to come? I have always believed, and still do believe with all my soul, that such men as Peter and James and the twelve disciples chosen by the Savior in his time, have been engaged all the centuries that have passed since their martyrdom for the testimony of Jesus Christ, in proclaiming liberty to the captives in the spirit world and in opening their prison doors. I do not believe that they could be employed in any greater work. Their special calling and anointing of the Lord himself was to save the world, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison doors to those who were bound in chains of darkness, superstition, and ignorance. I believe that the disciples who have passed away in this dispensation—Joseph, the Prophet, and his brother Hyrum, and Brigham, and Heber, and Willard, and Daniel and John, and Wilford and all the rest of the prophets who have lived in this dispensation, and who have been intimately associated with the work of redemption and the other ordinances of the gospel of the Son of God in this world, are preaching that same gospel that they lived and preached here, to those who are in darkness in the spirit world and who had not the knowledge before they went. The gospel must be preached to them. We are not perfect without them—they cannot be perfect without us. Now, among all these millions of spirits that have lived on the earth and have passed away, from generation to generation, since the beginning of the world, without the knowledge of the gospel—among them you may count that at least one-half are women. Who is going to preach the gospel to the women? Who is going to carry the testimony of Jesus Christ to the hearts of the women who have passed away without a knowledge of the gospel? Well, Now, may the Lord bless Brother Freeze. As Sister Martha Tingey has said, Sister Freeze could never have done the work she has done if it had not been for his seconding her in her efforts. He consented to her partially neglecting her home duties in order to labor in a broader field for the salvation of others. But just here let me my a word to you mothers. Oh, mothers, salvation, mercy, life ever-lasting begin at home. "What profiteth it a man, though he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" What would it profit me, though I should go out into the world and My brethren and sisters, I know as I know I live that Joseph Smith was and is and ever will be the instrument chosen of God the eternal Father to lay the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and to establish the kingdom of God on earth, never more to be thrown down. I bear testimony to you. I know as I know I live that every doctrine that he taught is calculated to build up, to ennoble, to enlarge the soul, to establish peace and righteousness in the hearts of the children of men, and lead them up to God, and not away from him. I know it as I know I live. It is true, and I thank God that, like my dear sister here, whose earthly remains only now are with us, he has made me to believe it and to accept of it without recourse. I believe it with all my heart, just as I believe I live, and as I believe my own mother and father. Let us all strive for this belief, and if we will, we shall have joy and satisfaction, and we shall enter into God's rest, right here, That God will help us to reach that point is my prayer, and may the blessings of the Lord attend the family of Sister and Brother Freeze and their children, that not one of them will ever take a course that will bring sorrow to their beloved and sainted mother. That has been one of the stimulants of my life, one of the things that has made me strive to do good. I would not grieve my blessed mother, if I knew it, for anything in the world. There is nothing between me and the heavens that would compensate for doing something that would grieve or hurt my mother. Why? Because she loved me, she would have died for me over and over again, if such were possible, only to have saved me. Why should I grieve, why should I disappoint her? Why should I take a course contrary to her own life and her life's teachings to me, for she taught me honor, and virtue, and truth, and integrity to the kingdom of God, and she taught me not only by precept but by example. I would not grieve her for the world. Boys and girls, do not do anything to grieve your mother. You know she was a Latter-day Saint, you know she was true to her convictions. Be as true as she was, and, as the Lord lives, you will be exalted with your mother, and will have a fulness of joy, which, may God grant, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.—Young Woman's Journal, Vol. 23, 1911, pp. 128-132. THE RESURRECTION. Now I am going to take the liberty of reading a little scripture to you, and then, as I go along, express my belief and conviction in relation to what we believe as Latter-day Saints with reference to the resurrection from the dead. I shall not take the pains or time to go into the subject in detail, for there are a great many scriptures that can be brought to bear upon the subject, Thomas, one of the Twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came, after his resurrection. "The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." (John 20:25.) We have a great many Didymuses in our day and generation, but we hope that there are none of them here, but the other class Jesus named. "And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my bands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." (John 20:26-29) The disciple who wrote this, the beloved disciple, the personal witness himself, he who ran to the sepulchre and who outran Peter and came to it first, and looked into it, and who afterwards went into it after Peter, he who has written these words, says further: "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." (John 20:30, 31) Now what I want to call to your minds is, emphatically, the undeniable and unequivocal and direct description of "And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about three-score furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should not know him." (Luke 24:13-16) And he journeyed and talked with them on the way, and unfolded the scriptures unto them, but they did not know that it was he. They did not personally know that it was Christ resurrected. "And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them." Now this is not the testimony of John. This is the testimony of Luke, another of the disciples of Christ. "And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Now, shall we accept the scriptural definition of the resurrection of the body? Shall we accept Christ's manifestation in his own person resurrected from the dead? Or shall we take the Rev. Mr. Phillip's opinion of it, that the death of the body and the separation of the spirit from it is the resurrection of the dead? Which do you choose? Joseph the Prophet declared in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants (Sec. 130:22) that the Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's, and the Son of God has a body of flesh and bones as he himself has declared that he has, and is not a mere spirit, but is a risen being, a resurrected Now I am going to read a little from the Book of Mormon, a book of scripture that was translated by the gift and power of God, for the voice of God declared to the three witnesses that it had been translated by the gift and power of God and that it was true. The three witnesses declared and testified to its truth, and eight other witnesses, besides the Prophet Joseph, declared that they beheld the plates and handled them, and saw the engravings on them, and that they do know that Joseph Smith did have the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated. And it is one of the greatest puzzles to scientists that they are discovering in the path of ancient civilization of this continent evidences and proofs of the divinity of the Book of Mormon, that they cannot dispute or gainsay. And their wonder is, how Joseph Smith, a man unlearned in history, in theology, in science, a man without book learning, practically, could ever so closely hit upon facts that are now being discovered by explorers and scientists throughout this historical country, that the Book of Mormon covers, and they say it is perplexing to them. It is astonishing to them that three men could testify, as the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon have testified, and that the eight other witnesses could testify as they have done, and yet not one of them ever repudiate his testimony. They cannot understand and they cannot account for it upon any scientific principle. If it was a fraud, and these men were deceived or led into a trap, and did it by sophistry or with a purpose of deceiving the world, surely some one or more of them So it was with David Whitmer until the day of his death. He believed that Joseph had been led astray, first, into receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood as well as the Aaronic priesthood. That he received the Aaronic priesthood and was ordained under the band of John the Baptist he admitted and believed, but he denied any ordination under the hands of Peter, James, and John to the Melchizedek priesthood, and consequently he went to work and organized a church and a presidency after the order of the Aaronic priesthood. But never, up to the time of his death, did he deny his testimony as one of the three witnesses, and in his dying words he declared that his testimony contained in this book is true. So did Oliver Cowdery. He came back into the Church after saying many bad things and after wandering about for a while, and confessed his follies and his wrong, and claimed that if he could only be permitted to come back a lay member in the Church it would be all that he could ask, or would ask for. He felt that he was unworthy of anything better or greater, and he was permitted to come back and be baptized. Martin Harris also came back and was baptized into the Church, and died with his testimony on his lips, for not one of them ever repudiated his testimony. Now, one of the ancient disciples or prophets who lived upon this continent, who was inspired of God and who delivered this message to the world afterwards that was engraven upon plates of gold, and preserved and handed down and revealed in this dispensation of the world, has something precious to say upon this subject. This is not from Jerusalem. This is not a message that was delivered to the disciples of Christ in Jerusalem; but this is a message that was delivered by a prophet who lived upon this continent;—and here are his words: "And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; [for this was before the coming of Christ to redeem his people] and he shall take upon him the transgression of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else." Now let me say here: "He shall come into the world, and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name." And those who believe will do the works that he commands. No man that will believe in truth will ever refuse to do what is required. And these are they that believe, 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 bands 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. Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death of Christ shall loose the bands Now that is the doctrine of the Latter-day Saints. That is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and, as he is the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead, as he was raised up, so will be raise up all the children of his Father upon whom the curse of Adam came. For as by one man came temporal death upon all men, so by the righteousness of Christ all shall come to life, through the resurrection from the dead upon all men; whether they be good or whether they be evil, whether they be black or white, bond or free, learned or unlearned, or whether they be young or old, it matters not. The death that came by the fall of our first parents is WORK FOR THE DEAD. The work for our dead, which the Prophet Joseph laid upon us with more than ordinary injunction, instructing us that we should look after those of our kinfolk and our ancestors who have died without the knowledge of the gospel, should not be neglected. We should avail ourselves of those sacred and potent ordinances of the gospel which have been revealed as essential to the happiness, salvation and redemption of those who have lived in this world when they could not learn the gospel and have died without the knowledge of it, and are now waiting for us, their children, who are living in an age when these ordinances can be performed, to do the work necessary for their release from the prison-house. Through our efforts in their behalf their chains of bondage will fall from them, and the darkness surrounding them will clear away, that light may shine upon them and they shall hear in the spirit world of the work that has been done for them by their children here, and will rejoice with you in your performance of these duties.—Oct. C. R., 1916, p. 6. TEMPLE ORDINANCES UNCHANGED. We are engaged in temple work. We have built four temples in this land, and we built two temples in the eastern country before we came here. During the lifetime of the Prophet Joseph Smith one of the two was built and dedicated, and the foundation of the other was laid and the walls had well progressed when he was martyred. It was finished by the efforts of the people under the most trying circumstances, and in poverty, and was dedicated unto the Lord. The ordinances of the house of God were administered therein as they had been taught to the leading authorities of the Church by the Prophet Joseph Smith himself. The same gospel, the same ordinances, the same authority and blessings, that were administered CARE AND NEED OF TEMPLES. We feel that an effort should be made to preserve the temples of God, those houses that have been erected for the purpose of administering the ordinances of the gospel therein, for the living and the dead. We desire that these buildings shall be preserved and kept in repair and in a wholesome condition, so that the Spirit of the Lord may dwell in them, and that those who minister therein may feel the presence and influence of his Spirit. We also feel that when the time shall come and our hands shall be free from the obligations that now rest upon us, other places should be prepared for the convenience of the Latter-day Saints in more distant stakes, in order that those who are living at great distances from the center may have the privilege of receiving the ordinances of the gospel without being put to the great expense and loss of time that is necessary now in journeying from 500 to 1,000 miles in order to reach the houses of God. We hope to see the day when we shall have temples built in the various parts of the land where they are needed for the convenience PREACHING THE GOSPEL IN THE SPIRIT WORLD. Never has there been a name brought to the intelligence of the human race since the foundation of the world that has cost so much, that has accomplished so much, that has been revered and honored so much as the name of Jesus Christ, once so hated, and persecuted, and then crucified. The day will come, and it is not far distant either, when the name of the Prophet Joseph Smith will be coupled with the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of God, as his representative, as his agent whom he chose, ordained and set apart to lay anew the foundations of the Church of Jesus Christ, possessing all the powers of the gospel, all the rites and privileges, the authority of the holy priesthood and every principle necessary to fit and qualify both the living and the dead to inherit eternal life and to attain to exaltation in the kingdom of God. The day will come when you and I will not be the only ones who will believe this, by a great deal, but there will be millions living and dead who will proclaim this truth. This gospel revealed to the Prophet Joseph is already being preached to the spirits in prison, to those who have passed away from this stage of action into the spirit world without the knowledge of the gospel. Joseph Smith is preaching that gospel to them. So is Hyrum Smith. So is Brigham Young, and so are all the faithful apostles that lived in this dispensation under the administration of the Prophet Joseph. They are there, having carried with them VISION OF THE REDEMPTION OF THE DEAD. On the third of October, in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen, I sat in my room pondering over the Scriptures and reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God for the redemption of the world, and the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world, that through his Atonement and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved. While I was thus engaged, my mind reverted to the writings of the Apostle Peter to the primitive saints scattered abroad throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and other parts of Asia where the gospel had been preached after the crucifixion of the Lord. I opened the Bible and read the third and fourth chapters of the first epistle of Peter, and as I read I was greatly impressed, more than I had ever been before, with the following passages: "For Christ also bath once suffered for sins, the just "By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water." (I Peter 3:18-20) "For, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." (I Peter 4:6) As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great. And there were gathered together in one place an innumerable company of the spirits of the just, who had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality, and who had offered sacrifice in the similitude of the great sacrifice of the Son of God, and had suffered tribulation in their Redeemer's name. All these had departed the mortal life, firm in the hope of a glorious resurrection, through the grace of God the Father and his Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ. I beheld that they were filled with joy and gladness, and were rejoicing together because the day of their deliverance was at hand. They were assembled awaiting the advent of the Son of God into the spirit world, to declare their redemption from the bands of death. Their sleeping dust was to be restored unto its perfect frame, bone to his bone, and the sinews and the flesh upon them, the spirit and the body to be united never again to be divided, that they might receive a fulness of joy. While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of I marveled, for I understood that the Savior spent about three years in his ministry among the Jews and those of the house of Israel, endeavoring to teach them the everlasting gospel and call them unto repentance; and yet, notwithstanding his mighty works and miracles and proclamation of the truth in great power and authority, there were but few who hearkened to his voice and rejoiced in his presence and received salvation at his hands. But his ministry among those who were dead was limited to the brief time intervening between the crucifixion and his resurrection; and I wondered at the words of Peter wherein he said that the Son of God preached unto the spirits in prison who sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, and how it was possible for him to preach to those spirits and perform the necessary labor among them in so short a time. And as I wondered, my eyes were opened, and my understanding quickened, and I perceived that the Lord went And so it was made known among the dead, both small and great, the unrighteous as well as the faithful, that redemption had been wrought through the sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross. Thus was it made known that our Redeemer spent his time during his sojourn in the world of spirits, instructing and preparing the faithful spirits of the prophets who had testified of him in the flesh, that they might carry the message of redemption unto all the dead unto whom he could not go personally because of their rebellion and transgression, that they through the ministration of his servants might also hear his words. Among the great and mighty ones who were assembled in this vast congregation of the righteous, were Father Adam, the Ancient of Days and father of all, and our glorious Mother Eve, with many of her faithful daughters who Moreover, Ezekiel, who was shown in vision the great valley of dry bones which were to be clothed upon with flesh to come forth again in the resurrection of the dead, living souls; Daniel, who foresaw and foretold the establishment of the kingdom of God in the latter days, never again to be destroyed nor given to other people; Elias, who was with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration; Malachi, the prophet who testified of the coming of Elijah—of whom also Moroni spake to the Prophet Joseph Smith—declaring that he should come before the ushering in of the great and dreadful day of the Lord, were also there. The prophet Elijah was to plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to their fathers, foreshadowing the great work to be done in the temples of the Lord in the Dispensation of the Fulness of Times, for the redemption of the dead and the sealing of the children to their parents, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse and utterly wasted at his coming. All these and many more, even the prophets who dwelt among the Nephites and testified of the coming of the Son of God, mingled in the vast assembly and waited for their deliverance, for the dead had looked upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage. These the Lord taught, and gave them power to come forth, after his resurrection from the dead, to enter into his Father's kingdom, there to be crowned with immortality and eternal life, and The Prophet Joseph Smith, and my father, Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and other choice spirits who were reserved to come forth in the fulness of times to take part in laying the foundations of the great Latter-day work, including the building of the temples and the performance of ordinances therein for the redemption of the dead, were also in the spirit world. I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God. Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits, and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men. I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead. The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God, and after they have paid the penalty of their transgressions, and are washed clean, shall receive a reward according to their works, for they are heirs of salvation. Thus was the vision of the redemption of the dead revealed to me, and I bear record, and I know that this record is true, through the blessing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, even so. Amen.—Joseph F. Smith. This Vision of the Redemption of the Dead was submitted October 31, 1918, to the Counselors in the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve and the Patriarch, MODERATION IN BURIAL DISPLAYS. A good friend who is often called upon to attend to the proprieties on behalf of the dead, calls attention in a letter to the indulgence of extravagance in the laying away of our departed friends and relatives. She believes that the Lord is not pleased with the profusion of flowers, the expensive dress, and even with the ornaments of gold in the form of rings and other jewelry used in decorating the dead. We certainly recommend moderation and wisdom in the use of flowers, the hire of carriages, and the purchase of caskets. In the old scriptures we have numerous examples of simplicity in burials. While we are not called upon literally to follow these, they should be a lesson to us to avoid ostentations, and to attend to these matters with only such displays and preparations as will show due respect for the departed, and proper consideration for the living. Relating to dress, the Latter-day Saints burial clothes are all sufficient for our day. Anything more is unnecessary, which good, common sense would clearly suggest; while the burial of jewelry with the dead can serve no good purpose. It savors of vanity, and might prove a temptation to grave robbers,—a naturally horrible thought. In like manner with carriages and caskets, only the necessary and modest should be used.—Improvement Era, Vol. 12, December, 1908, p. 145. WHO CANNOT BE REACHED BY THE GOSPEL? And he that believes, is baptized, and receives the light and testimony of Jesus Christ, and walks well for a season, receiving the fulness of the blessings of the gospel in this world, and afterwards turns wholly unto sin, violating his covenants, he will be among those whom the gospel can never reach in the spirit world; and all such go beyond its saving power, they will taste the second death, and be banished from the presence PRINCIPLE OF BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD. Here will come in the principles of baptism for the dead, and of proxy and heirships, as revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, that they may receive a salvation and an exaltation, I will not say a fulness of blessing and glory, but a reward according to their merits and the righteousness and mercy of God, even as it will be with you and with me. But there is this difference between us and the antediluvians—they rejected the gospel, consequently they received not the truth nor the testimony of Jesus Christ; therefore they did not sin against a fulness of light, while we have received the fulness of the gospel; are admitted to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and a knowledge of the living and true God, whose will it is also our privilege to know, that we may do it. Now if we sin, we sin against the light and knowledge, and peradventure we may become guilty of the blood of Jesus Christ, for which sin there is no forgiveness, neither in this world nor in the world to come.—Oct. C. R., Deseret Weekly News, Vol. 24, 1875, p. 708. |