History relates of Hypatia, the daughter of Theon, an eminent mathematician of Alexandria, that before being committed to the flames by an ignorant mob, she exclaimed:—

"Who am I, whence am I, and whither am I going?"

These questions, elaborated and particularized, are universal. They belong neither to any time, nor sect nor civilization. They are the questions of life. They recur to us at every turn in life, and when life nears its close, the master-thought with studious men is that they shall soon know the answer.

But from that bourne no traveler returns, as the poet has it, to enlighten those who remain. And so we are beset by limitations. Swung into space with no means of exploring it, bound to this whirling ball, circumscribed in all our activities, without power to determine our lot here, the moment of our entrance, nor to extend the time of our exit; when we seek to know the mysteries of life, our condition is, in a way, as would be that of a family, inhabiting from time out of mind, a miniature island in mid-ocean, without means of communication with the world, should they, by conjecture, try to learn the history and civilization of mankind.

Our means of observation of the forces about us are very limited,^[1] tradition is cut off at our birth, reason stands powerless for want of analogy, and the only recourse we have for direct communication with reality, is revelation. Professor Lewes, in his Biographical History of Philosophy, closes the door of inquiry upon us in this way: "To aspire to the knowledge of more than phenomena, their resemblances and successions, is to aspire to transcend the limitations of human faculties. To know more we must be more."^[2]

In the midst of these perplexities comes the Gospel to us as a welcome, gracious visitor from the realms beyond the reach of our knowledge.

The object of this work as intimated by the text, is to suggest a firm central point about which may be grouped in orderly arrangement, all our knowledge, and our guide shall be revelation. In this endeavor we shall be assisted materially, if we attempt, however crudely, a classification of the subject-matter; and we shall, therefore, consider:

First,—The universal, all-prevailing, eternal conditions of existence, under the head of,

1. CONDITIONS PRECEDENT.

Second,—The inception, purpose, plan, covenants and perpetuity of this system of organization in which we now find ourselves, under the head of,

2. THE GOSPEL.

Third,—The results, the fruits of this All-wise arrangement, under the head of,

3. CONDITIONS SUBSEQUENT.

It may be said at the outset that the attempt here made is to present in order and to hold up, as the answer to all the problems of life, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, as restored to the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith.

There are only two reasons that come to mind, why this effort may not be acceptable; one is a disbelief on the part of the reader in the divinity of the Gospel, the other, is the inadequacy of this presentation.

To the former objection it is sufficient for the inquiring mind to say, Judge for yourself whether or not the Gospel as here set out answers every requirement of life, where other systems of philosophy all fail; to the latter we reply, No attempt is here made to present in detail the principles of the Gospel, but only to sketch the outlines; and, moreover, the reader is at perfect liberty to supply whatever deficiency he may detect.