It is related by the Venerable Bede that, when King Edwin became persuaded by the Christian missionary, Paulinus, to adopt the new faith of the Christ, he called a council of his wise men and asked of every one what he thought of the new doctrine. One of the king's chief men, approving the king's actions, as also his words, said:

"The present life of man, O king, seems to me, in comparison of that time which is unknown to us, like to the swift flight of a sparrow through the room wherein you sit at supper in winter, with your commanders and ministers, and a good fire in the midst, whilst the storms of rain and snow prevail abroad; the sparrow, I say, flying in at one door, and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry storm; but after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, into the dark winter from which he had emerged. So this life of man appears for a short space, but of what went before, or what is to follow, we are utterly ignorant. If, therefore, this new doctrine contains something more certain, it seems justly to deserve to be followed."^[A]

[Footnote A: Bede's Ecclesiastical History, bk. II, ch. 3.]

Certainly, Christianity had something more satisfying concerning both the herebefore and the hereafter than had the pagan worship of the barbarous tribes of England. Those tribes became Christian, therefore; and as they became Christian, so the whole civilized world has become Christian.

But the question raised by the king's chief man of old is little better answered now than it was then. To a multitude of Christian men, life is still as the flight of a sparrow from the outer storm and darkness, through a lighted hall, and out into the unknowable darkness again. True, Christianity explained originally both what was before and what was to come. But much of what was first taught has been lost. The word of the Lord to Jeremiah, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations,"^[B]—is a dark saying to the world. So also is the word of Jesus, "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you."^[C]

[Footnote B: Jeremiah 1:5.]

[Footnote C: John 14:2.]

These questions are now again clearly answered in the story of the Restoration. As early as June, 1830, only two months after the Church was organized, the question of the previous state of man was clearly answered by the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was then that he received the revelation known as the "Visions of Moses." The Prophet was told that God created all things spiritually before they were formed naturally upon the earth; that the spirits of all men were present with God from the beginning, and convened in council with Him to consider the creation of the earth; and that the children of God shouted for joy when the earth was formed, and given shape, and appointed to become the home of man.^[D] In like manner, the Book of Abraham, translated by the power of God, teaches the same divine truths. There, too, God is represented as standing in the midst of the spirits of heaven. Some of them are great and noble. These, the Father selects to become prophets, kings, and leaders to him, in the earth-life.^[E] Thus, are the dark sayings of the Jewish scriptures, referring to a pre-existent state made plain.

[Footnote D: Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses, chs. 1-5.]

[Footnote E: Pearl of Great Price, Book of Abraham, chs. 3, 4, 5.]

The earth-life, then, is no longer like the flight of a sparrow from an unknown outer darkness into a lighted hall. We know whence we came. Our advent here is but the process of graduation, or promotion, from a lower life to a higher. There, we had progressed in the experience of the spirit. To advance further, we must pass from the spiritual state to the temporal state, and gain experiences unattainable there. The present life is in continuation of the life before. And there is yet to come in continuation a life hereafter.

As the Prophet Joseph Smith revealed the condition of man in the life before this, so he revealed also the condition of man when this life shall be ended. Early in the year 1832, the Prophet had attended a conference of the Church held at Amherst. On his return home from that conference, he resumed the translation of the Scriptures, which had occupied him for nearly two years. Undoubtedly, many questions arose in his mind as the work progressed. Among others came to him also the question of man's future state.

"From sundry revelations which had been received," he writes, "it was apparent that many important points touching the salvation of man, had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled. It appeared self-evident from what truths were left that if God rewarded every one according to the deeds done in the body the term 'Heaven' as intended for the Saints' eternal home, must include more kingdoms than one."^[F]

[Footnote F: "History of the Church," Vol. I, p. 245.]

On February 16, 1832, the word of the Lord came with power. Joseph was accompanied this time by Sidney Rigdon. Suddenly the visions of heaven opened before them, and they were permitted to see both the damnation and the exaltation of men hereafter. They were commanded to write the vision as they saw it. It forms now Section 76 of the Doctrine and Covenants. As a revelation, it is one of the noblest sections in the sacred Book of Today. Analyzed, the section falls naturally into eleven parts.

1. The introduction. The Lord will reveal His mysteries to the faithful. Verses 1 to 10.

2. Explanation. The circumstances under which the vision was given are stated. Verses 11 to 18.

3. The beginning of the vision. Joseph and Sidney behold the glory of the Son on the right hand of God. Verses 19 to 24.

4. Lucifer, a Son of the Morning, is cast out of heaven. The Elders are commanded to write the vision. Verses 25 to 30.

5. The vision of the sons of perdition. They are they who crucify Christ unto themselves. The special mission of the Christ is explained. Verses 31 to 49.

6. The resurrection of the just. The condition of those who come forth in this resurrection is explained. The celestial glory. Verses 50 to 70.

7. Terrestrial world. The condition of those who attain the second glory is described. Verses 71 to 80.

8. The glory of the telestial. The condition of those who attain the telestial is described. Verses 81 to 89.

9. A summary. The degrees of glory are compared. Verses 90 to 98.

10. The glory of the telestial. The condition of those who attain the third glory is further described. Verses 99 to 113.

11. Conclusion. Many things revealed which cannot be written. Verses 114 to 119.

It appears from the doctrine of this revelation that all God's children will ultimately be saved, except the sons of perdition. Fortunately it is not easy to become a son of perdition. To become a son of perdition, one must deny the fulness of the light of the everlasting Gospel after having experienced it; one must defy the power of God after having known it and partaken of it; one must deny the Holy Spirit after having received it; one must consent to the crucifixion of the only Begotten Son of the Father, and to the putting of Him to open shame. On such a one only shall the second death have power. "For all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of the Father, before the worlds were made."^[G]

[Footnote G: Doc. and Cov. 76:39.]

However, "all the rest" shall not come forth to equal glory. As there are three degrees of brilliancy in the heavens, represented figuratively by the sun, the moon, and the stars, so there are three degrees of glory in the future life; and as the stars in heaven differ in magnitude, so do the degrees of exaltation within the glories differ the one from the other. "In my Father's house," said Jesus, "are many mansions." Each of the children of God will be assigned in the future life to the mansion for which he has qualified. In other words, men will be judged by the deeds done while in the body, and will be rewarded according to their works.

Thus, those only will attain the celestial glory who have been faithful in all things. They have kept the commandments of God, and have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. They are the Church of the First Born; they are priests and kings who receive of the fulness of His glory. "They are Gods, even the sons of God" and "shall dwell in the presence of God and His Christ for ever and ever."

The terrestrial world, however, consists of those who have not been valiant in the testimony of Jesus, as have those of the celestial. They are those who died without law, "who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it." They are honorable men of the earth, who could not see the light for the craftiness of men. They are men who were not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; therefore, they could not obtain the crown over the kingdom of God. These receive the presence of the Son, but do not receive the fulness of the Father.

Finally, even those who have violated the commandments of God will be saved in the telestial glory, so only they have not committed the unpardonable sin. These are men who did not receive the everlasting Gospel when the opportunity was at hand, but who did not deny the Holy Spirit. They are sinners and breakers of the law, and are cast in punishment to the depths of hell. Thence they can be redeemed only at the last resurrection. But in the end they will be saved, and exalted according to their merits, in the telestial kingdom. There they do not receive the administration of the Father or the Son, "but of the Holy Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial." Theirs is the lowest order of salvation.

Every man, then, will receive the reward for which he qualifies. Either we shall be lost, with the sons of perdition, or we shall be saved in one of the kingdoms of glory. And if we are saved we may continue further to grow. As in this life we must go either forward or backward, so in the future life, we must either advance or retrograde. There is no such thing as standing still. There is no level plain, the summit of all things, above which ascend no heights. There is no end to advancement. Eternal progression is the principle upon which the gospel is based. Eternal progression was an active principle when the words began; it is active still; it will continue to be active worlds without end. When we shall be graduated, then, from this life into the future one, we shall not pass merely from a field of endeavor and profitable activity into one of lethargic idleness. There will be work for us still to do. We shall find our time happily occupied. The principle of eternal progression will require of us all eternal, ceaseless activity.

These principles, together with those in the previous chapters, are among the most noble ever given to man. The announcement of them places Joseph Smith far and away above the heads of the philosophers of the world. It is a crowning act in the great drama of the Restoration.