We will commence our discourse by reading a part of the 25th, and the
26th and 27th sections of a revelation, given December 27, 1832,
contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.
"And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud
voice, sounding the trump of God, saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O
inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come. Be hold,
and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
"And immediately there shall appear a great sign in heaven, and all
people shall see it together. And another angel shall sound his trump,
saying: That great church, the mother of abominations, that made all
nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, that
persecuteth the saints of God, that shed their blood—she who sitteth
upon many waters, and upon the islands of the sea—behold, she
is the tares of the earth; she is bound in bundles; her bands are made
strong, no man can loose them; therefore, she is ready to be burned.
And he shall sound his trump both long and loud, and all nations shall
hear it.
"And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour;
and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a
scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord
shall be unveiled; And the saints that are upon the earth, who are
alive, shall be quickened and be caught up to meet him. And they who
have slept in their graves shall come forth, for their graves shall be
opened; and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the midst of
the pillar of heaven—They are Christ's, the firstfruits, they who
shall descend with him first, and they who are on the earth and in
their graves, who are first caught up to meet him; and all this by the
voice of the sounding of the trump of the angel of God."
This revelation was given through our Prophet, and Seer, and
Revelator, Joseph Smith, who was one of the greatest men who ever
lived in this probation, one of the greatest Prophets, with the
exception of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, ever sent to our earth.
I think it is forty-one years yesterday since this revelation was
given. In it are revealed many things pertaining to the salvation of
the children of men, and pertaining to the great and eventful works of
the Lord which are about to take place on the earth. In the sections
preceding those which I have read, we have an account of certain great
events that have not yet transpired, namely, that after the
testimonies of the servants of God among the nations comes the
testimony of many judgments, which will be poured upon the nations,
such as earthquakes, wars, the sea heaving beyond its bounds, and a
variety of calamities which shall make the hearts of all the wicked
fail them for fear. After these great judgments are poured upon the
nations of the earth, then will be fulfilled the words which I have
read, "and angels will fly through the midst of heaven sounding the
trump of God, saying prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the
earth, for the judgment of our God is come, behold and lo! the
Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him." After these angels have
flown through the midst of heaven calling upon the inhabitants of the
earth to prepare for the coming of the Bridegroom, seven more angels
are to sound their trumps. The first one sounds, and his proclamation
is concerning great Babylon, "who has made all nations drink of the
wine of the wrath of her fornication, concerning her who sits upon
many waters, who has her dominion among many nations, kindreds,
tongues and people, behold she is the tares of all the earth, she is
bound in bundles, her bands are made strong, no man can loose them,
therefore she is ready to be burned, and he shall sound his trump both
long and loud, and all nations shall hear it."
There must be something connected with the sounding of this trump that
is miraculous in order that all nations may hear it. Any sound that
can be produced by mortal man does not reach, generally speaking, over
about thirty miles from where it originates, which is a very small
space indeed. But there will be something connected with the sounding
of the trump of the first of the seven angels which will manifest a power which we know nothing of. The sound of that trump
will be heard by all people, nations, kindreds and tongues in the four
quarters of our globe. I do not know that the sound will be so much
louder than some we have heard, but it will be carried by some
miraculous power so that all people will hear it.
"Immediately after the sounding of this trump, there will be silence
in heaven for the space of half an hour." Whether the half hour here
spoken of is according to our reckoning—thirty minutes, or whether it
be according to the reckoning of the Lord we do not know. We know that
the word hour is used in some portions of the Scriptures to represent
quite a lengthy period of time. For instance, we, the Latter-day
Saints, are living in the eleventh hour, that is in the eleventh
period of time; and for aught we know the half hour during which
silence is to prevail in heaven may be quite an extensive period of
time. During the period of silence all things are perfectly still; no
angels flying during that half hour; no trumpets sounding; no noise in
the heavens above; but immediately after this great silence the
curtain of heaven shall be unfolded as a scroll is unfolded. School
children, who are in the habit of seeing maps hung up on the wall,
know that they have rollers upon which they are rolled up, and that to
expose the face of the maps they are let down. So will the curtain of
heaven be unrolled so that the people may gaze upon those celestial
beings who will make their appearance in the clouds. The face of the
Lord will be unveiled, and those who are alive will be quickened, and
they will be caught up; and the Saints who are in their graves, will
come forth and be caught up, together with those who are quickened,
and they will be taken into the heavens into the midst of those
celestial beings who will make their appearance at that time. These
are the ones who are the firstfruits, that is, the firstfruits at
the time of his coming.
There was a period some eighteen centuries ago, when the Saints arose
from their graves, after the resurrection of Christ, he being the
firstfruits. That is called in the Book of Mormon the first
resurrection; it took place about the time, or a little after the
resurrection of Jesus. But when he comes the second time, the
firstfruits of the resurrection will be the Saints who come out of their
graves. They, in connection with the Saints of all ages, will be the
Church of the Firstborn, and they will descend with the Savior when
he comes.
There are some who suppose, when these Saints are thus resurrected and
taken up into heaven, that this will be the precise period when Jesus
will descend on the earth; but I wish to correct this idea by the aid
of both old and new revelation. Instead of Jesus immediately
descending to the earth, when these Saints are thus taken into heaven,
he will stay until the seven angels have sounded their trumps. There
will be quite a lapse of time between the sounding of each of these
seven; some months will intervene; they do not all follow directly one
after the other or in the course of a few hours time; but there will
be a period between in which certain great and marvelous events will
take place. For instance, if we read the revelations of St. John, we
find that when the fifth angel shall sound his trump, the bottomless
pit shall be opened, and there shall come forth a great smoke, and a
cloud of locusts, so great that the sun and air shall be darkened; and these locusts shall have power to torment men five
months before the sounding or the sixth trump. This shows that there
will be a period of at least five months, between the sounding of the
trumps of the fifth and sixth angels. Read also concerning the
sounding of the sixth trump, and you will find that there is a great
work to be accomplished before the seventh angel shall sound, for in
the time intervening between the sounding of the sixth and seventh
trumps the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates
are to be loosed, and they are to gather together a very great army.
If I recollect aright, that army is to consist of two hundred millions
of people, who are to ride on some kind of beasts or animals which the
Lord, probably by some supernatural means, will prepare for the
occasion. These personages who come forth riding upon these beasts are
prepared for an hour, for a day, for a month, and for a year; and
their work is to slay a third part of the hosts of men then existing
upon the earth, and as they are prepared for an hour, a day, a month,
and a year, it shows there will be quite a lapse of time between the
sounding of the trump of the sixth and seventh angel.
We might bring up, also, the declaration of John in relation to the
two witnesses who are to prophesy about that period. They are to
prophesy three and a half years, and their field of labor will be
Jerusalem, after it shall have been rebuilt by the Jews. By means of
their prophecies and the power of God attending them, the nations who
are gathered together against Jerusalem will be kept at bay, these
Prophets will hold them in check by their faith and power. By and by
these nations overcome the two witnesses and, having finished their
mission, they are slain, and their bodies will lie three days and a
half in the streets of the city. Then a great earthquake will take
place, and these two witnesses will be caught up to heaven.
All this takes place after these trumps begin to sound; and if these
two witnesses are to fulfill a mission of three and a half years, it
shows that the sounding of the trumpets does not take place, as many
have supposed, in rapid succession, but certain events have to be
accomplished between their respective soundings. By and by the whole
seven will have sounded, and then they commence to sound a second
time. According to the revelation from which I have read, the second
sounding of the trumpets is not to prudence destruction among the
nations, but the sound of the first one will reveal the secret acts of
God, his purposes and doings on the earth during the first thousand
years; the sounding of the second will reveal the doings and purposes
of the Great Jehovah during the second thousand years, and so on,
until the seventh shall sound the second time, and pronounce the work
of God finished, so far as the great preparation needful for his
second coming is concerned.
Notice, now, that it is the first sounding of the first of these
seven, when the first resurrection takes place; and all these great
works are to be performed on the earth, and years elapse before Jesus
descends with all his Saints; that, is, if we understand these things
correctly, by what little is revealed upon the subject. There are many
things which I would like to dwell upon in connection with the
resurrection of the Saints and their being caught up into the heavens.
The subject of the resurrection is one that we all are very much
interested in; it is something which concerns all mankind, more
or less, but especially the Latter-day Saints who are now living on
the earth. We all see that our brethren and sisters, as well as the
wicked, are passing away, leaving us; they are called upon to lay
aside these bodies, which are deposited in the grave. They are passing
off by scores, by hundreds and by thousands, and we expect to follow
them, that is the most of us. Perhaps some may live until the coming
of the Son of Man, or the sounding of the first trump; but inasmuch as
most of us expect to lay our bodies down to sleep, it must be
interesting to every Latter-day Saint to know something about the
resurrection.
What can we know about it? Nothing except what the Lord has revealed,
and let me here say that perhaps no subject pertaining to salvation
was ever so fully revealed to the inhabitants of the earth as that of
the resurrection of the body. Many people have thought that very
little has been revealed on this subject; but if I am not mistaken we
have an abundance, although there are many things in regard to it
about which we are still in the dark, because they have not been
revealed. But if we will carefully search the revelations that have
been given, we may learn many things in regard to this great event
which will be satisfying to our minds.
When we carry our friends to the grave yard we feel sorrowful, because
we have to leave them, and because they are separated from us, for a
short time. All that kindness and sociability which existed are no
more experienced, and we no longer have the privilege of their society
as we had formerly, and consequently we mourn. But what a consolation
it is to realize that, when our friends are laid down, we are not
separated from them forever, if they have died in the faith, and if
we, ourselves, endure faithful to the end; for if we keep the
commandments of God as we should, we have an assurance and a hope
within us which cannot be shaken that we shall rise again, and that
our bodies will come forth from the grave.
Now let us try to understand how much is revealed upon this subject;
and in order to understand it, let me refer you to some things that
are contained in the Book of Mormon. On page 240 of that book we find
something on the subject of the resurrection. That which I am about to
read was spoken by the Prophet Amulek, in the city of Ammonihah, to a
very wicked people, who were shortly afterwards totally destroyed
because of their wickedness.
"Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death; and the death
of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall
be raised from this temporal death. The spirit and the body shall be
reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be
restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we
shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and
have a bright recollection of all our guilt. Now, this restoration
shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male
and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall
not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but all things shall be
restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall
be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God
the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to
be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether
they be evil."
Thus we see that there will be no limbs lacking. If a person has lost
his arm, his leg, or his eyes, they will be restored, and will stand
before God perfect, and the wicked will have a bright recollection of
all their guilt. The Prophet Amulek was trying to explain all this to
a people who were full of guilt, having disobeyed the commandments of
heaven, until they were almost ripened for destruction. He informed
them that they should have a perfect knowledge of all their guilt. In
this life there are many things that people, whether righteous or
wicked, forget. Our memories are so weak that many things done in
years passed are obliterated; but when they come forth in the morning
of the resurrection, the wicked as well as the righteous, their
memories will be restored, so that every act of their lives, whether
good or evil, will be perfectly remembered, and the wicked will have a
perfect knowledge of all their guilt. Will not this be sufficient to
create an unquenchable fire in their breasts, and with this
recollection, to behold the face of the Lord? Will not this cause them
to shrink from his presence? I think it will. The Prophet Moroni,
speaking on this subject, and addressing himself to the unbelieving
who should live on the earth at the time the Book of Mormon should
come forth, says—"You would be more miserable to dwell in the presence
of that holy and pure Being than you would to dwell with the damned
souls in hell." That is perfectly reasonable; for a wicked person in
the presence of God would be a place not adapted to his evil, corrupt,
carnal nature. There must be a place of filthiness prepared for that
which is filthy, that those who are filthy, wicked and corrupt may be
placed in circumstances adapted to their condition. Such persons, when
in the presence of God, would be glad for the rocks and mountains to
fall upon and hide them, for the recollection of their iniquities will
smite them, and kindle within them a flame like an unquenchable fire,
for their consciences will have a bright recollection of all their
guilt.
Now this restoration will come to all, both old and young, bond and
free, male and female, righteous and wicked, and there shall not so
much as a hair of their heads be lost. Many persons, when they advance
in years, lose their hair, and become baldheaded. Will they rise in
the resurrection without hair, because they have been laid in the
grave in that condition? No, that would be imperfection, and we have a
statement in the Book of Mormon that not so much as one hair shall be
lost. Again the Prophet Amulek says—"But all things shall be restored
to its perfect frame, as it is now, and shall be arraigned before the
bar of Christ, the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which
is one eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether
they be good, or whether they be evil. Now, behold I have spoken unto
you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the
resurrection of the immortal body. I say unto you that this mortal
body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the
first death, unto life, that they can die no more." What this means is
this—there can be no further dissolution between the spirit and the
body; they cannot be separated, and they can die no more.
This seems to make it plain that their spirits unite with their bodies
never to be separated again, and return to dust, as in the first
death, and thus becoming spiritual and immortal, "they can no more see
corruption."
We will now turn to what the Prophet Alma said to his son Corianton,
not only concerning the resurrection, but also concerning the
condition or state of the spirit of man, between the time of death and
the resurrection. This is on page 318 of the Book of Mormon.
"And now I would inquire what becometh of the souls of men from this
time of death to the time appointed for the resurrection? Now whether
there is more than one time appointed for men to rise it mattereth
not; for all do not die at once, and this mattereth not; all is as one
day with God, and time only is measured unto men. Therefore, there is a
time appointed unto men that they shall rise from the dead; and there
is a space of time between the time of death and the resurrection. And
now concerning this space of time, what becometh of the souls of men,
is the thing which I have inquired diligently of the Lord to know; and
this is the thing of which I do know. And when the time cometh when
all shall rise, then shall they know that God knoweth all times which
are appointed unto man. Now, concerning the state of the soul between
death and the resurrection—Behold, it has been made known unto me, by
an angel, that the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed
from this mortal body, yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be
good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life. And then
shall it come to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are
received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state
of rest, a state of peace, where they shall rest from all their
troubles and from all care, and sorrow.
"And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the wicked, yea,
who are evil—for behold, they have no part nor portion of the Spirit
of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good;
therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take
possession of their house—and these shall be cast out into outer
darkness; there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth,
and this because of their own iniquity, being led captive by the will
of the devil. Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked, yea,
in darkness, and in a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery
indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this
state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of their
resurrection."
There is an idea prevalent, I do not know how prevalent, among the
Saints, that we do not go directly home to God, when our spirits leave
these bodies, but that there is a kind of intermediate state where we
have to go through further preparations; but if I can understand the
language contained in this declaration of Alma, it seems that the
spirits of all men, whether wicked or righteous, as soon as they leave
this mortal body, "go home to that God who gave them life," that is,
they return to the place and position that they occupied while they
were in the eternal worlds. It is called "home," because they once had
their abiding place there, and they have been absent from home, while
here in the body; but as soon as they are separated from the body,
they all return to that ancient home, into the presence of the Lord.
After they get back there, they are completely redeemed, so far as the
original sin is concerned. The original sin shut them out from the
presence of God; did it not? Every one will say yes. The redemption
made by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ redeems mankind from the
penalty of the original sin, fully and completely and the wicked and
the righteous, without any respect of persons, are brought back into
his presence, the same as they were before they came from his presence
into these fallen bodies. This makes the redemption universal. No
person, however wicked, if he be as corrupt a man as ever lived on the
earth, even a son of perdition, can avoid being brought back into the
presence of God, that his redemption may be complete, so far as the
original sin is concerned. Anything short of this would be a failure
in the redemption of man from the fall. The righteous, after death,
are received into a state of rest, peace, and happiness, in Paradise.
There they will be free from all care and sorrow, and Satan will have
no power over them. If they should be sent on a mission from Paradise
to any part of the dominion of the Almighty to administer, as Jesus
administered while his body was in the tomb, evil powers and spirits
and fallen angels are subject to their command, and they are not in
the least subject to these evil beings. Herein is the freedom of the
righteous, and the victory they obtain, for in the name of Jesus they
can command these fallen angels, and they are compelled to yield
obedience. But how is it with the wicked? They have not learned to
command these evil powers, they have not placed themselves in a
position here in this life to do so; they cannot cast out devils.
Why? Because they are wicked and corrupt, and when they meet with the
devil or any of the fallen angels, they are immediately enslaved and
brought into captivity to them, and that is the worst kind of slavery;
and according to what I have read here, the spirit of the devil enters
into their house. What house? The spiritual house, for they have not
got bodies of flesh and bones yet, the resurrection has not taken
place yet, and that spirit, that spiritual body, becomes subject to
the devil, and he enters their house, and they are cast out into outer
darkness, and are in captivity to the devil, and are his slaves, until
the resurrection, when their bodies and spirits will be reunited.
Let us enquire, for a few moments, concerning the nature of these
spiritual bodies which are thus restored back into the presence of
God. A great many people have supposed that the spirit which exists in
the tabernacle, for instance, of an infant, is of the same size as the
infant tabernacle when it enters therein; No one will dispute that it
is of the same size when it is enclosed therein; but how large was the
spirit before it entered the tabernacle? Was it a full grown male or
female spirit, or was it a little infant spirit in its pre-existent
state? We have no account that I know of, in any revelation which God
has given, of any infant spirit coming from the eternal worlds to take
infant bodies; but we have an opposite account in the revelations
which God has given; for if we turn to the Book of Ether we shall find
that the Lord Jesus, who was one of these spirits, and the firstborn
of the whole family, was a personage like unto a man, without flesh,
blood or bones, but a fullgrown spirit, thousands of years before he
came to take his infant tabernacle. Is it so recorded in the
Book of Ether? Yes. You will no doubt recollect the words of the
brother of Jared, at the time that he prayed unto the Lord, when he
carried in his hand sixteen small transparent stones, and went to the
top of Mount Shelem. He said—"Lord, stretch forth thine hand and touch
these stones with thy finger one by one, that they may shine forth and
give light unto us in the vessels which thou hast commanded us to
prepare, and suffer not that thy people shall cross this great deep in
darkness. Behold, O Lord, then canst do these things," &c. The Lord,
in answer to his prayer, stretched forth his hand and touched these
stones one by one, sixteen of them. Eight vessels were prepared, and
the Prophet wanted one in each end of each vessel; and because of the
faith of the brother of Jared the Lord could not hide his finger from
him, and hence the veil was taken from before his eyes, and he saw the
finger of the Lord, and it was like unto the finger of a man, and not
like an infant, which when the brother of Jared saw he fell, through
fear, lest the Lord should smite him, it being the first time he had
ever seen any part or portion of the spiritual body of Jesus. The Lord
said unto him—"Arise, why hast thou fallen?" And the brother of Jared
said, "I saw the finger of the Lord, and I knew not the Lord had flesh
and blood." The Lord said—"Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I
shall take upon me flesh and blood; and never has man come before me
with such exceeding faith as thou hast; for were it not so, ye could
not have seen my finger. Sawest thou more than this? And he answered,
nay; Lord, shew thyself unto me. And the Lord said unto him, Believest
thou the words which I shall speak? And he answered, yea, Lord, I know
that thou speakest the truth, for thou art a God of truth and canst
not lie. And when he had said these words, behold, the Lord shewed
himself unto him, and said, Because thou knowest these things ye are
redeemed from the fall; therefore, ye are brought back into my
presence; therefore I shew myself unto you."
Here was the redemption of a man restored back again into the presence
of the Lord while yet in the flesh; he saw with his eyes what he had
before seen by faith. Then the Lord said—"Behold I am Jesus Christ, I
am the Father and the Son, and in me shall all mankind have light, and
that eternally, even they who shall believe on my name. Behold, this
body which you now see is the body of my spirit, and all men in the
beginning have I created after the body of my spirit." Notice now,
they were created after the same form and fashion, and no doubt attain
by growth to similar dimensions as the body of his spirit, without
flesh and bones. The expression is, "All men in the beginning" —you
were there, all this creation were there; all the inhabitants of the
earth who now live, all that have lived, and all that will live in
times to come, were all created after the body of his spirit in the
beginning before this world was made.
When all these spirits were sent forth from the eternal worlds, they
were, no doubt, not infants; but when they entered the infant
tabernacle, they were under the necessity, the same as our Lord and
Savior, of being compressed, or diminished in size so that their
spirits could be enclosed in infant tabernacles. If their bodies die
in infancy, do their spirits remain infants in stature between death
and the resurrection of the body? I think not. Why not?
Because the redemption must restore everything to its natural order.
If they were of the size and stature of manhood or womanhood before
they entered into the tabernacle would the redemption be complete,
when they came out of that tabernacle, unless they were restored to
their former dimensions? I think not; there would not be a full
restoration, and consequently, there would seem to be an imperfection
in the plan. There are some of our brethren and sisters, perhaps, who
are very anxious to see their little children after they depart this
life. The Lord sometimes gives them a vision of their departed little
ones, not of their spirits, but as they will appear in the morning of
the resurrection, in order that they may know and recognize them. But
supposing that he should show them the spirits of their little
children as they are after leaving their infant tabernacles, would
they be satisfied? I think not. Why? Because I think they would not
recognize them, for I am of the opinion that the spirits of children
who die here regain their former dimensions of manhood or womanhood,
and hence if you were to see them you would perhaps be disappointed.
But by and by the resurrection will come, then these full grown
spirits, who have died in infancy here, will again enter into the
infant tabernacle, and they will come forth as infants, as they were
at the time they laid down their bodies; then their parents will have
no difficulty in recognizing them.
There is quite an anxiety at the present time, about one thing,
connected with the resurrection, and that is, will those spirits,
whose bodies died here in infancy, when reunited with their infant
bodies, re main of that stature through all the ages of eternity? There
is a sermon of the Prophet Joseph Smith, reported by longhand
reporters, in which it is stated that resurrected infants will forever
remain infants. But I doubt very much in my own mind if those who
reported that sermon got the full idea on this subject; and if they
did, I very much doubt whether the Prophet Joseph, at the time he
preached that sermon, had been fully instructed by revelation on that
point, for the Lord has revealed a great many things to Prophets and
revelators, and among them to Joseph Smith, the fullness of which is
not at first given. For instance, in baptism for the dead, in Joseph's
day women were baptized for men, and men for women as well as for men.
The Lord had at first revealed a few things to him, showing that
baptism for the dead was a true principle, without giving him all the
particulars at once. But he continued to enquire of the Lord, and he
received more and more in regard to this principle. So in regard to
the resurrection, there may have been many things revealed to him that
were true, and others upon which, without having revelation, he would
draw his own conclusions, until it should please the Lord to give
further revelation. There is no revelation given that gives us a full
knowledge upon that point—but I will give you my reasons, merely as
reasons, to show that they who die here in infancy will grow up to the
full stature of manhood or womanhood, after the resurrection. I do not
say that it is so, but my reasons for believing that they do are
these: How could they be restored completely to all that perfection of
manhood and have a perfect tabernacle, adapted to the dimensions of
the spirit as it existed, before it came here, unless their
bodies should grow up from a state of infancy, and be sufficiently
enlarged to become a perfect house for the fullgrown spirit, whether
man or woman? I have heard, whether it be true or not I do not know,
that before Joseph was martyred, he had obtained further light and
information on this subject, to the effect that there would be a
growth after the resurrection. How this may be I do not know, and it
does not particularly matter; still it is something that we have the
right and the privilege of reflecting upon, for there is no harm for
any man or woman letting the mind expand to lay hold upon all that God
has revealed, and to ponder upon it, as the ancient children of God
did. Nephi says—"I ponder upon the things of God continually which he
has revealed unto me," and there is no harm for us to do the same. We
should not get into that old sectarian notion, that we have no right
to know anything about this, that or the other, and that we must not
pry into this, that or the other. That is an old sectarian notion,
which we have fought against all the day long, and we do not want it
to creep into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is
the privilege of its members to let their minds expand, and to ponder
upon the things of God, and to enquire of him, and by and by, when we
have prepared ourselves by getting all the knowledge we possibly can
from that which is written, God will give us more.
There are many other things I would like to touch upon in regard the
resurrection. We often reflect in our minds upon the capacity and
power we shall have after the resurrection, when we are quickened by
the celestial spirit. To dwell upon this subject would take up another
discourse, and I see I have not time for that, for I have to be at
another meeting soon after 4 o'clock. But I will just mention a few
things which we shall enjoy after the resurrection that we do not have
here. For instance, we are limited in our vision here, we can see only
a few things round about us, and they must be in the immediate
neighborhood. We cannot see away off to England, or the European
countries, and we cannot see anything unless it reflects the natural
light of the sun or some other luminous body, and sends the light into
our eye, and by that means the mind is informed concerning objects
outside of us. But how very limited this sight of ours is! Do you
suppose that the sight of the immortal body will be thus limited to
the natural light that shines? No, there are a great many kinds of
light besides the light which shines from the sun, moon or stars, or
for some artificial light that may be created on the earth. There is,
for instance, the light of the Spirit of God, by which the elements
are controlled and governed; that is in all the elements, it matters
not whether beneath or above the surface of the earth. Now, there may
be a perfect organization in the resurrection, wherein this other kind
of light, associated with the elements, will be permitted to affect
the eye of the immortal body, so that it can see into the earth as
well as on its surface. I do not wish you to take my statement only in
regard to this, but the revelations of God inform us that there have
been men here in mortality who have had their eyes quickened by this
other species of light so that they could see things under the earth
as well as things on its surface. Moses was one of these men,
and we have an account, in the Pearl of Great Price, of the great
vision he had concerning this earth. Before the Lord revealed to him
the history of its creation Moses beheld every particle of the earth,
and the account says there was not a particle that he did not behold,
discerning it by the Spirit of God. One of the revelations says, that
whatsoever is light is spirit, and there are degrees of this spiritual
influence that will affect the natural or mortal eye; then there are
other degrees more refined, perhaps, which do not affect the mortal
eye, but will affect the immortal eye, yet the Lord would be able to
touch the eyes of a man like unto Moses or any other man of God, so as
to show him every particle of the earth, inside and outside.
Now, if the mortal man can see this, as Moses certainly did, why
should we suppose that we will be limited in that state of immortality
which all Latter-day Saints expect to enjoy? It is more probable that
we shall be able to discern, not only everything pertaining to this
little speck of creation which we now inhabit, but also other worlds
and what takes place thereon, as easily as that which takes place on
our own. We have revelations also in regard to this. When Enoch was
expressing his mind about the greatness of the creations of the
Almighty, he said that if a man could number millions of earths like
this, and all the separate particles which enter into their
composition, it would not be a beginning of those creations, yet, said
he to the Lord—"Thou art here, thy bosom is here;" and the Lord said
unto Enoch—"I can stretch forth mine hand and hold all the creations
that I have made, and mine eye can pierce them also." By what power
can his eye pierce them? By the same power that quickened the eyes of
Moses while yet a mortal man; that same power can quicken the eyes of
immortality to behold all the creations that the Lord has made, and
hence there will be an enlargement of vision in the resurrection.
We might dwell on the enlargement of hearing as well as of vision. Do
you suppose that immortal beings depend, for sound, upon the mere
vibrations of an atmosphere like ours? This atmosphere only extends
about forty-five miles above the surface of the earth. How could
beings, away above this atmosphere of ours, communicate sounds to us
here? There are other principles and elements of a more refined nature
that intervene between these creations that God has made, and these
elements may be brought into perfection, and by their vibratory powers
they may communicate sounds from one world to another, just the same
as light is communicated from world to world, and the immortal ear
would be adapted to this.
We have not time to dwell upon this, I merely mention it as one of the
great blessings of immortality.
We might mention too, concerning sleep. We have to sleep away about
one-third part of our time here; will immortal beings be obliged to do
the same, and spend one-third of the eternal millions on millions of
the ages to come in dormancy? I do not think any such thing. Inquires
one—"Are not things here typical of things hereafter?" Some are not.
We die here, but that is not typical of any death that will come on
the righteous hereafter, and there are a great many things which we
pass through here that are not typical of things hereafter. All
physical imperfections will be done away with hereafter, and we shall
enjoy a greater fullness and power, and I cannot see that it
will be necessary for the immortal body to be vivified or quickened
and refreshed by sleep. They will no doubt eat and drink in an
immortal state, but whether it will be necessary to do this is another
question entirely. The Twelve Apostle, Jesus said, "shall eat and
drink at my table, and shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel," showing that the Lord will have a table, and
that he will have food upon it, and that they will eat and drink at
that table, though they are immortal; but whether it will be necessary
in order that their immortality may endure is another question, and we
have not time to dwell upon it. Suffice it to say that, even children
of mortality, when quickened by the Spirit of God, have often lived
for quite a period of time without eating or drinking. Moses, for
instance, on two occasions, passed forty days and forty nights in
Mount Sinai, and neither did eat nor drink during that time.
We might go on and speak of other enlargements that we will have that
we do not have here, besides eating, drinking, hearing, seeing, &c. We
might mention the perfection of locomotion, passing to and fro from
world to world, and the power of rising contrary to the principle of
gravitation, showing that man will have superior power, even as Jesus
did, when he ascended heavenward, contrary to the laws of gravitation.
We might speak of the velocity of locomotion; but it will not do for
me to dwell upon these subjects at the present time. But I pray that
the Lord God will pour out his Spirit upon the Latter-day Saints
throughout all the earth, and quicken our minds and understandings,
and every power and faculty that he has given us, that we may search
after knowledge, and be obedient to all that the Lord requires at our
hands. If we do this the time will come, by and by, when we will have
faith in God, even as the brother of Jared had; and when we possess
faith like unto his, we are promised in the Book of Mormon that all
the great things which he saw shall be revealed unto us. But we shall
have to obtain them as he obtained them—by faithfulness. By the
quickening power which was bestowed upon him, the brother of Jared
beheld all the inhabitants of the earth that had been before his day,
all who existed when he existed, and all who would exist even unto the
end of the world. The power of God rested upon him and enlarged his
vision, enabling him to see all these objects. Amen.