I do not know when I was more edified and instructed than I was this
afternoon in listening to the discourse of Elder Hyde. According to my
judgment it was certainly calculated in its nature to edify and
instruct every person who listened to it with attention. It was
delivered in eloquent language, was plain and simple, pointed and
definite, and, if obeyed, was calculated to do good to all.
The Lord has appointed a variety of gifts in his kingdom, some having
one and some another, and especially in the Quorum of the Twelve, of
which Brother Hyde is the President, there is a great variety of gifts
and talents, and it gives me great pleasure to listen to them, and it
would be with great satisfaction that I would listen more than I do.
But I am frequently called upon to address the people when I would
prefer to listen to others.
What subject I may present before you tonight I do not know.
Sometimes a subject will open to my mind while I am listening to the
singers, and sometimes I rise without having the first thing before my
mind to speak to the people, and I trust in God to give me what is
needful at the very moment. This is the case with me this
evening, and I do humbly pray to my Father in heaven, in the name of
his beloved Son, that he will grant unto me the Spirit to discern what
to say and what would be most adapted to the wants of those who are
present. There is such a vast field of light and truth which God has
revealed in different ages of the world, and more especially in our
times, that the great difficulty with the servant of God, I have often
thought, is to distinguish and discern what portion of the great
variety would be most pleasing in the sight of the Lord to lay before
the people.
There are a great many peculiarities in our religion, but the
generality of the Latter-day Saints are well acquainted with them.
Sometimes strangers attend our meetings who would be glad to have us
dwell upon certain subjects, which they think would greatly interest
them. We are willing to do so, but still we study to have the Spirit
to edify all, whether they be in the Church, or whether they be
strangers who are here on a visit.
Among the peculiarities which God has revealed directly to the
Latter-day Saints may be mentioned the various degrees of happiness
and glory which exist in the eternal world, also the various degrees
of punishment upon the different classes of individuals. Formerly,
before we became Latter-day Saints, we were instructed by our fathers
and mothers, and by the ministers whom we heard, that there were but
two places in the eternal worlds, one or the other of which was
intended for all the human family; that all that happened to miss
heaven would be sent to the other place, which they called hell. This
subject was dwelt upon very lengthily and very interestingly by
Brother Hyde this afternoon, and during his remarks he told about the
different mansions that God had in reserve for all the human family,
some of which are glorious, and others intended as places of
punishment. These things were dwelt upon very fully by Brother Hyde,
in some respects, but there were some items connected with them that
were not fully investigated and laid before the people.
The way that we obtained a more perfect knowledge of the future
condition of the children of men was by revelation; indeed all the
knowledge that ever mankind did obtain in relation to this matter was
by revelation. We read in Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians
something about the different glories connected with the resurrection
of the dead. We are told in the reasoning of Paul that when people
come forth from the dead, some will inherit one glory and some
another; and these glories are typified by the various creations which
the Lord had made. Paul says, "there is one glory of the sun, another
glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, and that as one star
differs from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the
dead."
We are also told in the Scriptures that there is a great variety of
punishments as well as glories—these punishments differing in nature
according to the works of the children of men. For instance we read of
some persons who are to be punished for sins they have committed
without any chance of forgiveness either in this world or in the
world to come. This plainly indicates to us that certain classes of
sins cannot be forgiven in that world, while other classes of sins
may be forgiven on certain conditions. He that sins against the Holy
Ghost, we are told, shall not receive forgiveness. Men can sin against
God the Father, and if they repent in this world, they may be
forgiven; if they sin against Jesus his Son, and repent and work the
works of righteousness, these sins may be blotted out; but if they sin
against the Holy Ghost after having received the same and been
baptized by him, there is no forgiveness for that sin, neither in this
world nor in the world to come.
Now if there is to be a variety of punishments as well as a variety of
glories, there must be a variety of places of punishment. It would
look inconsistent to us, even here in this life, to see a person
guilty of but a small crime against the laws of our country thrust
into the same dungeon with the murderer. It would be unjust, for
instance, according to our notions, for a person who has committed but
a trifling offense against the law to be thrust into the darkest and
deepest dungeon along with him who has shed innocent blood. We have
sufficient justice in our own bosoms to classify these individuals and
to point out to each the apartment in which he is to dwell. Is the
Lord less just than man? Is he not filled with the great principles of
justice far beyond that which any man ever did receive? From him have
emanated all our ideas of justice, consequently we cannot look upon
him as a being who would consign the poor heathen who died without a
knowledge of the law, and others who have led moral lives but who have
not obeyed the Gospel of the Son of God, to the same punishment as the
murderer and him who sheds innocent blood. We should regard it as
unjust if all these classes were to be thrust into one place, there to
welter under the same conditions of punishment throughout the endless
ages of eternity without any hope of redemption. I could not look upon
this as just, and I pre sume that no other reflecting being could,
especially if he was acquainted with the Scriptures. Jesus, in
speaking upon this subject, says—"He that knows his master's will and
does it not shall be beaten with many stripes;" while he who is
ignorant of his master's will and does things that are worthy of
stripes, shall be beaten with few. I have not quoted the saying of
Jesus, word for word, but I have given you the sentiment; the Lord,
therefore, in judging man, judges not by the act in all cases, but
according to the understanding and knowledge of the individual who
performs that act. If two persons were each to commit a murder—shed
innocent blood—and one had a full knowledge of the revealed law of
God, and the other was in entire ignorance of it, there would be a
distinction in judging these two characters. We would say at once that
he who had sinned against knowledge should receive a heavier
punishment than he who had not this knowledge.
Suppose that Saints, who have not only heard the law of God, but have
embraced the Gospel of the Son of God, have been renewed in their
minds by the power of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good word of
God and the powers of the world to come, should be so far overcome as
to shed innocent blood, would there be any forgiveness for them? Not
at all. Would it be our duty, if such a person were judged, and
condemned by the laws of our country to be hanged by the neck until
dead, to visit him and pray that God would forgive his sins? No, we
would be sinning against God in doing so. Why? Because God has
revealed to us that persons who have this light and knowledge, and
shed innocent blood, cannot be forgiven in this world nor in the world to come, and we should not ask him to do that which he
has decreed that he will not do. Such a person commits the
unpardonable sin—he sheds innocent blood after having the light of the
Holy Ghost, knowing that in so doing he is not only sinning against
God the Father and against his Son, but against the convictions of the
Holy Ghost.
Supposing, again, that persons outside of this Church, that have heard
the Gospel of the Son of God, but have refused to obey it, should
murder, they sin against great light and knowledge, but not against
the Holy Ghost. Here is the difference between the two classes of
murderers; the Latter-day Saint would never be forgiven, but he would
become a son of perdition.
Now let me bring up some instances from Scripture in regard to these
different classes of individuals and the light and knowledge which
they had. Some may be forgiven, as I have already stated, in the world
to come. Let me refer you to a certain class that are named in the
Scriptures that will be forgiven on certain conditions. You recollect
that the Apostle Peter, having gathered around him a large
congregation of Jews, the murderers of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, who had shed innocent blood, delivered to them a discourse,
but it was a very different one to that which he preached to the mixed
multitude who had gathered from the different nations on the Day of
Pentecost. When he preached to the latter he said, "Repent, every one
of you, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission
of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for
the promise is unto you and your children, and unto all that are afar
off, even to as many as the Lord our God shall call." That was a true
Gospel sermon, preached to individuals that were not guilty of murder.
They were all required to repent, believe in Jesus Christ, to be
baptized in water for the remission of sins, and they and all who were
afar off, who would receive the Gospel, were promised the forgiveness
of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost. But come to the other sermon
to which I have referred, the one preached to the wicked and corrupt
Jews who crucified Jesus. Peter said, we wot not but what you have
done it through your ignorance—in other words, you have not received
the Holy Ghost, and because you have not had the Spirit of the Lord
resting upon you, you have shed the blood of the Innocent One, you
have murdered the Son of God, the Messiah; but you have done it
through ignorance. Now the question is, was there any hope for them?
Could they have their sins forgiven in this life? No, Peter, after
first telling them that they had shed the blood of the Just One in
their ignorance, then tells them how and when they may obtain
forgiveness. I will repeat the words: "Repent ye, therefore, and be
converted" —no baptism here—"repent ye, therefore, and be converted
that your sins may be blotted out, when he shall send Jesus Christ,
which before was preached unto you, whom the heavens must receive
until the times of the restitution of all things spoken of by the
mouth of all the Holy Prophets since the world began." He did not tell
them to be baptized for the remission of their sins. Why? Because he
understood too well the nature of their sin to tell them to be
baptized for the remission thereof. He knew they had lost that
privilege in this world, because they had shed the blood of the Holy and Just One. He said to them, If you will repent now, you
murderers, you who have killed Jesus, the Just and Holy One, there is
one hope that even your sins may be blotted out. Not in this life, not
by baptism for the remission of sins, but when the time of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord and he shall send Jesus
Christ, whom the heavens will receive until then, and not even then
unless they repent while here in this life. This must have been
sorrowful news to those to whom it was communicated, if they believed
it.
"Repent and be converted." Notice now what this sentence means. The
word "converted" has been construed to be "born of God," or to become a
new creature; but the true meaning of the word is to reform our lives,
converted from doing that which is evil to do that which is
good—turning from sin and transgression to that which is righteous
before God. If those Jews would repent and turn or be converted from
their sins to do that which was right, they had a hope of having their
sins blotted out when Jesus should be sent from the presence of the
Father in the times of restitution; but until then they must remain in
torment, suffering for their sins.
Let me bring up another instance. There was a man in ancient times
named David, and because he was a man after God's own heart, the Lord
chose him to be king over Israel. The Lord also greatly blessed this
man, and poured out richly upon him the spirit of prophecy and
revelation, and many of his psalms, which we now sing with so much
pleasure in our meetings, contain prophecies relating to the most
remote generations of the human family. This man was a Pro phet and
Revelator, he was filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke as he was moved
upon by that Spirit. God loved him, and said that he was a man after
his own heart. God also blessed him, while but a ruddy youth, fleeing
from cave to cave, and from mountain to mountain to escape from the
persecutions of Saul, who sought to take his life, with eight wives.
This was before he was placed upon the throne. But after Saul had been
cut off and David had been elevated to the throne of Israel, the Lord
also gave him all the wives of Saul his master. So says Nathan the
Prophet, and he was sent to reprove David. What had he done to need
reproof? Why he had taken his neighbor's wife, a person he had no
claim upon, and he not only committed adultery by thus taking the wife
of another, but by his order her lawful husband was placed in front of
the battle that he might be destroyed, and he was destroyed, hence,
though he himself did not thrust a dagger to his heart, he became a
murderer in the sight of heaven by having this man placed where his
blood would be shed. After all his goodness, and after all the light
and knowledge which God had given to this man, he committed these two
great crimes. Nathan the Prophet was sent to reprove him for them, and
he did so by means of a parable. He told David, the king, that a
certain poor man had but one ewe lamb, and his rich neighbor, close
by, had a great flock, and there came along a stranger, and the rich
man went to this poor man's fold and took the only sheep he had and
dressed it in order to make a sumptuous feast for the stranger. This
kindled David's wrath, for though he had transgressed, the principle
of justice was not extinct in his bosom, and he said, "He who
hath done this thing shall surely die." Nathan said, "Thou art the
man." God hath given to thee a great number of wives, among the rest
all the wives of thy master Saul. All this great flock of sheep, as it
were, has been given unto you from the Lord, yet you have gone and
taken the only one that a poor man had, and committed adultery with
her, therefore said the Lord, I will punish you. With what kind of
punishment was this man punished? Amongst them was that of suffering
in the eternal worlds. How long? I cannot say exactly, but a good
many centuries, a thousand years at least; this man, once righteous,
now wicked, had to suffer the penalty of that crime. Did he repent? He
did. Did he cry unto the Lord? He did. Was he sorely troubled? He was,
and he was perhaps as repentant as anyone could be; but the decree
had gone forth, and hence that man had to endure the penalty of his
crime. Peter, when referring to this subject on the day of Pentecost,
as recorded in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, quotes
from the Psalms of David, and says, "Thou hast not left my soul in
hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." It
seems that after all, though David's repentance could not wipe away
his sin, yet he had a hope, and he looked forward to the time when he
would be liberated from hell; when that time arrived he would come
forth and receive some kind of a glory, how much I do not know, for it
is not revealed; but suffice it to say, he sinned against great light
and knowledge and because of his sin he fell from a very high
position. That he had received many of the principles that are now
understood by the Lat ter-day Saints, under the new and everlasting
covenant, I doubt; for if he had he never could have been redeemed, he
never could have said, "Thou wilt redeem my soul from hell," etc.
Let us refer to some other instances. There were the Lamanites, a
people who, according to the Book of Mormon, had dwindled in ignorance
on this American continent before Christ came. They had dwelt here for
centuries, and before the coming of our Savior they were sunk in the
depths of ignorance. They had lost the knowledge of the principles of
salvation, and they had become a very ignorant, wicked, idolatrous
people. The Nephites, an enlightened nation which dwelt on this
continent at the same time, sent missionaries to the Lamanites to
convert them, if possible, from their sins. They went amongst them and
had much success, bringing a great many thousands of them to a
knowledge of the truth. This nation had been taught, in their
ignorance and wickedness, that there was no harm in murdering the
Nephites, and they had murdered them while in ignorance of the law of
God; but when the Gospel was laid before them, could they obtain
forgiveness for these murders? On certain conditions, and one of them
was that they would lay down their weapons of war, and they did so,
burying them deep in the earth as a testimony before God that they
would no more shed innocent blood; and through their great sorrow and
repentance the Lord had compassion upon them, and he forgave in this
life the sins they had committed in ignorance. That showed that
murderers, under certain conditions, could be forgiven here; but there
are other classes of murderers for whose forgiveness in this life it
would be very wrong to pray, even if they never had received
the Holy Ghost—I mean those who have read and understood the revealed
law. To pray for present forgiveness would be contrary to the mind and
will of God, and hence it would be sinning against him. I believe I
have said sufficient to show the principle upon which the Lord acts in
punishing the sins of the children of men. Now let me say a few words
in relation to their coming forth and redemption.
I will here ask, will many of these individuals who have sinned
against God come forth and inherit that high degree of exaltation in
the celestial world? This is a great question. Can they inherit the
same glory that will be enjoyed by the Saints who have lived in
different ages of the world and endured faithful to the end? Can they
receive that full exaltation and shine forth in the kingdom of God?
No. Why not? Because they are not prepared for it. I do not say but
what they may in some future age, according to the purposes of God, be
led along from one step to another, until, finally, some of them
attain to celestial glory. We Latter-day Saints believe that when the
Lord comes he will redeem the heathen nations, not into his presence,
into celestial glory, but they will come forth from their graves; not
with celestial bodies and prepared to wear a celestial crown, to shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. No; such a glory they
cannot have, but they will have a glory adapted to the light and
knowledge which they have had, and that glory is typified by the moon.
"There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another
glory of the stars, and as one star differeth from another star in
glory, so also in the resurrection of the dead." Now, there is quite a
difference among these celestial bodies that shine in the firmament.
The sun is far more glorious than the moon, so much so that
astronomers tell us it would take several hundred thousand full moons
to make a light equal to the light of the sun; in other words, if all
our visible firmament from the horizon was just one glare of moons,
all this would not be equal to the light of the sun, consequently you
can form an idea of the difference between the glory of the sun and
the glory of the moon.
Again, when we look upon those twinkling stars in the firmament of
heaven, we see some shining with a much greater brilliancy than
others, and they are divided into classes by astronomers, and ranked
according to their magnitude, or according to the intensity of the
light they shed forth upon our world, not according to the real nature
of the stars, because they are too far off for us to judge of that,
only we know that they are suns, the centers of systems, and that they
shine by their own radiance; and if we were as near to them as we are
to our sun, many of them would be far more resplendent in their glory,
and would shed forth more light than our sun does. But the Apostle
Paul in speaking on this subject had reference to the glory of the
stars as they appear to us, and to the amount of light which they seem
to send forth.
Now those persons who receive a glory like that of the stars, or as
the light of the stars appears to us, will not come up to that glory
enjoyed by the heathen, for their glory will be like that of the moon,
and all the stars put together do not shed forth as much light upon
our world as one moon, and hence the glory of that class of beings
whose glory differs as the stars will be lower than that of the
heathen, for they will receive the glory of the moon. But all who go into the glory typified by the sun will have to obey certain
principles of law, and that law is a celestial law. What is that law?
It is the law of the Gospel. All persons in these days who enter
celestial glory must not only be acquainted with the Gospel as taught
in ancient times, but they must be acquainted with it as it is taught
and administered by men having authority to administer it now. If they
do this, they will be entitled to the blessings of the Gospel, to the
forgiveness of sins in this world, and being thus made the sons and
daughters of God, they will be entitled to all the fullness of the
glory of that plan of salvation, and Jesus says that they shall shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of my Father.
As we have not time to enter fully into the investigation of all these
different glories, I wish more particularly to inquire concerning the
nature of this higher state of glory called celestial. Will there be
any difference among those who are redeemed into that glory? There
will, in some respects. They will all be equal in the enjoyment of
some blessings, and so far their glory will be the same, but yet in
some respects there will be a difference. Some who will inherit a
portion of that glory will have no families, they will be deprived of
that blessing to all ages of eternity, while others will receive an
exaltation and kingdom, and will have wives, children, dominion,
greatness and power far above those I first referred to.
Now why should there be this distinction in the celestial kingdom, and
what is the cause of it? It is because certain persons who have obeyed
the Gospel have become careless and indifferent in regard to securing
that high exaltation which was within their reach. God has revealed
to this people what is needful for an exaltation in his kingdom. He
has revealed to us, as we heard from Elder Hyde this afternoon, that
marriage is destined for eternity as well as time—that the marriage
covenant between male and female must be entered into in this life,
and the ordinance performed here by those whom God has appointed and
ordained to hold the keys and authority to seal on earth that it may
be sealed in heaven; for in heaven there is neither marrying nor
giving in marriage; no such thing can be attended to there. Now
persons among the Latter-day Saints who do not enter into this
covenant of marriage but prefer to lead a single life cannot enjoy
all that fullness of exaltation which will be possessed by those who
have had this covenant sealed upon them. They might not have forfeited
the blessing of celestial glory altogether, but they have forfeited
the right to have wives by which only they could have a posterity in
the eternal worlds. Who will be the subjects in the kingdom which they
will rule who are exalted in the celestial kingdom of our God? Will
they reign over their neighbors' children? Oh no. Over whom then will
they reign? Their own children, their own posterity will be the
citizens of their kingdoms; in other words, the patriarchal order will
prevail there to the endless ages of eternity, and the children of
each patriarch will be his while eternal ages roll on. This is not
according to present customs, for now when a young man reaches the age
of twenty-one years he is free from his parents, and considers that he
is no longer under the necessity of being controlled by his father.
That is according to our customs, and the laws of our country. It is a
very good law and adapted to the imperfections that now exist;
but it will not be so in the eternal worlds. There will never be any
such thing there as being from under their father's rule, no matter
whether twenty-one or twenty-one thousand years of age, it will make
no difference, they will still be subject to the laws of their
Patriarch or Father, and they must observe and obey them throughout
all eternity. There is only one way by which children can be freed
from that celestial law and order of things, and that is by rebellion.
They are agents, and they can rebel against God and against the order
of things he has instituted there, just as Satan and the fallen angels
rebelled and turned away. The increase of those who are exalted in
that kingdom will endure forever; and the bringing forth of children
will not be attended with sorrow, pain and distress as it is here:
these evils have come in consequence of the fall of man and the
transgression by him of God's holy laws. But when men are redeemed to
immortality and eternal life there will be no pain, sorrow or
affliction of body, and yet children will be brought forth, and to
their increase there will be no end. Hence the promise of God to the
patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that their seed should be as
numerous as the stars of heaven, or as the sands upon the seashore.
We all know that the sand on the seashore is innumerable to us. If we
take a handful it numbers its tens of thousands of grains, and if
Abraham's seed are to become as numerous as the sands on the seashore
they will fill a great many worlds like this of ours. There is to be
no end to the increase of the old Patriarch, and, as his posterity
increases, world on world will be created and brought into existence,
and those children will be sent forth from the presence of the
Patriarch to take upon themselves bodies, as we have done here in this
world. I mean their spirits. Understand me now, resurrected parents
are the parents not of bodies of flesh and bones, but of spirits the
same as we were before we came and took these mortal bodies, that is,
when we lived up in yonder world in the presence of our Father, and in
the company of the thousands of millions of our brother and sister
spirits. They will be of the same class and nature, and they will have
to take their position in worlds that will be created for them the
same as we came from heaven to this world, that we might gain
knowledge and experience that we could not gain in any other way. Thus
will the Lord continue his work and purposes, and there will be one
eternal round in creation, and redemption, in the formation and
redemption of worlds, and bringing them back into his presence.
We read that God is the Father of our spirits, the Father of the
spirits of all flesh Moses calls him. The Apostle James tells the
Saints in his day, that we have fathers in the flesh who have
corrected us, how much more ought we to be obedient to the Father of
our spirits and live?
What will become of the old bachelor who refuses to obey the ordinance
of marriage? We have preached to the young men of this Territory, and
laid before them the sacredness of the marriage covenant. We have told
them and the young women that it is their duty to enter into this
covenant as much as it is their duty to be baptized for the remission
of their sins. The same God that commanded the latter gave the
revelation concerning the marriage covenant, yet there are
some who will give heed to one ordinance—baptism—but will be careless
and indifferent about the other. By taking this course they do not
altogether forfeit their right and title to enter that kingdom, but
they do forfeit their right and title to be kings therein. What will
be their condition there? They will be Angels.
There are many different classes of beings in the eternal worlds, and
among them are angels. Who are these angels? Some of them have never
yet come to take upon them bodies of flesh and bones, but they will
come in their times, seasons and generations and receive their
tabernacles, the same as we have done. Then there are others who were
resurrected when Jesus was, when the graves of the Saints were opened
and many came forth and showed themselves to those who were then
living in the flesh. Besides these there are angels who have been to
this world and have never yet received a resurrection, whose spirits
have gone hence into celestial paradise, and there await the
resurrection. We have now mentioned three classes of angels. There are
others, among them some redeemed from former creations before this
world was made, one of whom administered to our first parents after
they were cast out of the garden as they were offering sacrifices and
burnt offerings, according to the commandments which they received
from God when they were driven from the garden. After they had done
this many days an Angel came and ministered to them and inquired of
them why they offered sacrifices and burnt offerings unto the Lord.
The answer was, "I know not, save it be that the Lord commanded me."
Then this angel went on to explain to our first parents why these
offer ings were made and why they were commanded to shed the blood of
beasts, telling them that all these things were typical of the great
and last sacrifice that should be offered up for all mankind, namely
the Son of the living God. These angels that came to Adam were not men
who had been redeemed from this earth—not men who had been translated
from this earth—but they pertained to former worlds. They understood
about the coming of Jesus, the nature of these sacrifices, &c.
Some of these angels have received their exaltation, and still are
called angels. For instance Michael has received his exaltation. He is
not without his kingdom and crown, wife or wives and posterity,
because he lived faithful to the end. Who is he? Our first, great
progenitor, Adam, is called Michael, the Prince. I am mentioning now
things that the Latter-day Saints are acquainted with. Many of these
things I have just been quoting are revelations given to us, as those
who are readers will recollect. Some of these angels have received
their exaltation. They are kings, they are priests, they have entered
into their glory and sit upon thrones—they hold the scepter over their
posterity. Those other classes I have mentioned have neglected the new
and everlasting covenant of marriage: They cannot inherit this glory
and these kingdoms—they cannot be crowned in the celestial world.
What purpose will they serve? They will be sent on errands—be sent to
other worlds as missionaries to minister, they will be sent on
whatever business the Lord sees proper; in other words, they will be
servants. To whom will they be servants? To those who have obeyed and
remained faithful to the new and everlasting covenant, and have been
exalted to thrones; to those who have cove nanted before God
with wives so that they may raise up and multiply immortal intelligent
beings through all the ages of eternity. Here is the distinction of
classes, but all of the same glory, called celestial glory.
But how about these terrestrials, can they come up into the celestial?
No, their intelligence and knowledge have not prepared and adapted
them to dwell with those who reign in celestial glory, consequently
they cannot even be angels in that glory. They have not obeyed the
law that pertains to that glory, and hence they could not abide it.
But will there be blessings administered to them by those who dwell in
celestial glory? Yes, angels will be sent forth from the celestial
world to minister to those who inherit the glory of the moon, bearing
messages of joy and peace and of all that which is calculated to
exalt, to redeem and ennoble those who have been resurrected into a
terrestrial glory. They can receive the Spirit of the Lord there, and
the ministration of angels there.
Now let us come to still inferior glories. I have mentioned those who
inherit the glory of the stars. Who are they? They are not the
heathen, for they come up higher—into the terrestrial glory. Who are
they, then, who are permitted only to inherit a glory typified by the
stars? They are the general world of mankind, those who have heard the
Gospel of the Son of God but have not obeyed it. They are to be
punished. How long? Until Jesus has reigned here on the earth a
thousand years. How much longer? Until the "little season" has passed
away after the end of the thousand years, and then when the final end
shall come and the trump of God shall sound, and the great white throne
shall appear and the heaven and the earth shall flee away; when that
time shall come, the sound of the trump shall call forth those
sleeping millions of all ages, generations and nations who have heard
the sound of the Gospel and have not obeyed it, but until then their
bodies must sleep. They are not worthy of "the first resurrection."
"Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection, for on
such the second death has no power." But those who will not give heed
to the law of the Gospel have no claim on this first resurrection, and
their bodies must sleep through all these long centuries that are to
intervene between the time of their death and the end of the earth.
Where will their spirits be all that time? Not in any glory; they
cannot inherit a glory until their punishment is past. They are not
permitted to enter into prison. A great many people, and perhaps some
of the Latter-day Saints, have supposed that these characters will go
into prison. I do not know of any revelation anywhere intimating that
anyone of this class of persons will ever be put in prison. Where do
they go? To another place altogether different from a prison. A prison
is designed for those who never heard the Gospel here in the flesh,
but yet have committed a few sins without the knowledge of the
revealed law, and who have to be beaten with few stripes in prison.
But these persons who hear the Gospel, as the nations of the present
dispensation are doing, cannot go to prison, it is not their place.
They fall below a prison, into outer darkness or hell, where there
will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. There they have to
remain with the devil and his angels in torment and misery until the
final end, then they come forth. Can they come where God and Christ dwell? No, worlds without end they cannot come there. Can they
go into the presence of the heathen where the glory is that of the
moon? No, they cannot even come there. When they are delivered from
the power of Satan and endless death and brought forth, where do they
go? If they do not go into the presence of God the Father, if they are
not counted worthy to enter into the terrestrial world among the
heathen, where will they go? God has provided mansions for them
according to their works here in this world. Having suffered the
vengeance of eternal fire for the space of a thousand years and
upwards, and suffered the extreme penalty of the law of God, they can
now be brought forth to inherit a place where they can be administered
unto by terrestrial beings and by Angels holding the Priesthood, and
where they can receive the Holy Ghost.
Those in the terrestrial world have the privilege of beholding Jesus
sometimes—they can receive the presence of the Son, but not of the
fullness of the Father; but those in the telestial world, still lower,
receive only the Holy Ghost, administered to them by messengers
ordained and sent forth to minister to them for glory and exaltation,
providing they will obey the law that is given unto them, which law
will be telestial law. That will finally exalt them. How far I know
not, but where God and Christ are they cannot come, worlds without
end.
Now I think I have set forth these glories and these different degrees
of punishment, and the different classes of people that are to be
judged according to the knowledge that they have here in this world. I
have set these things forth as plainly as I am capable of doing in one
short dis course; and will bring my remarks to close in a few moments.
We are what the Lord calls Latter-day Saints—we have received light
and knowledge to that degree from the heavens that will, if obeyed,
exalt us to these high privileges of which I have been speaking. On
the other hand, if not obeyed, that very light and knowledge are
sufficient to sink us below all things. Hence we stand on dangerous
ground in some respects, and we have need to fear lest we sin against
this light and have not the privilege of even the telestial world. He
that rejects this covenant, (let me quote the word of the Lord given
in these last days)—"He that rejecteth this covenant and altogether
turns therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor
in the world to come." Do you hear it, Latter-day Saints? If you do,
then strive with all your hearts to be faithful. Strive to abide in
the covenant that you have received. There is no halfway business with
us—we have got to remain faithful to this covenant, for if we turn
away from it we cannot even claim the glory that the world will have
when the last resurrection shall come, but our doom is fixed—we have
to dwell with the devil and his angels to all eternity. Why? Because
they once had light and knowledge, dwelt in the presence of God, and
knew about the glories of his kingdom. But they rebelled, and kept not
the law that was given to them—they sinned against light and knowledge
and were thrust down in chains of darkness, there to remain until the
judgment of the great day. If we do not wish to be placed in their
society for all eternity we must abide in the covenant that we have
made. If we do this, Latter-day Saints, glory and honor and
immortality and eternal lives, and thrones and kingdoms and
dominions and creations and worlds will be given to us, and our
posterity will increase until, like the sand on the seashore, they
cannot be numbered.
Amen.