I feel grateful to my heavenly Father this afternoon for the privilege
of meeting with the Saints in this Tabernacle; and feel thankful also
for the privilege of rising in this stand, for the purpose of speaking
to you upon such subjects as may be presented to my mind.
I, however, realize sometimes, more than at others, the necessity of
having the gift of the Holy Spirit resting upon me in order to
instruct and teach the people; for that is the only object of speaking
and hearing in a place like this. We speak for the purpose of
conveying to others the ideas that are contained within our own
minds; or such ideas as God may condescend to put into our hearts; the
people listen for the purpose of receiving the ideas that may be
advanced, in hope that their minds will be enlarged and instructed,
through the speaker. If I know my own heart, it is my desire when I
rise before an assembly to communicate something that shall be
instructing to the minds of the people; and in order to do this, I am
perhaps as well aware as any other person living, of the necessity of
having that Spirit that is able to give truth to the mind—that Spirit
that is able to inspire the heart in the very moment with the words
and ideas calculated to benefit the people. Indeed this is the promise
of the Lord to His servants; they are not to take any thought
beforehand concerning the words and ideas they shall utter before a
congregation; it is true they are commanded, in the revelations which
God has given, to treasure up in their minds continually the words of
life.
Why is it that we are required, as the servants of God, to treasure up
in our minds the words of life? It is in order that we may have a
store of knowledge and information—it is in order that we may
understand true principles—true doctrine, upon all subjects that
pertain to the welfare of man, that the mind being filled with
understanding, light, knowledge, truth, theory, and with a knowledge of
things God has revealed, may be able to communicate at the very moment
that part or portion of the same which God shall be pleased to impart
to the congregation, suited to their capacity and circumstances; this
is not taking thought beforehand what we shall say. If we should
treasure up the words that God has revealed—that are written in the
Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and in the various revelations
that God has given in latter times (I mean the printed and written
ones), together with what he has revealed in ancient times; if we
should get it all imprinted upon the tablet of our minds, it would not
be taking thought beforehand what we should say.
When we arise to speak before a congregation, if we place our
dependence upon God to inspire us with the Holy Spirit, to bring forth
not only the knowledge and information in regard to things that are
written, and things that have been revealed, but to communicate new
ideas, instructions, and information by the power of the Holy Ghost,
we shall thus be able to edify.
Sometimes when I arise before a congregation of the Saints, here in
the Valleys of the Mountains, I look at myself naturally, and think
over naturally in my own mind, How can I edify this people? What can I
say to them that has not already been said? This is a weakness in
human nature. These meditations and reflections ought not to have any
bearing upon the mind; God has wisdom sufficient; He has knowledge
sufficient, and understanding, and light, and truth to communicate
something for the benefit of the people, though they may have been
instructed for a long period, and been well informed in doctrine and
principles. Some times the Lord does not see proper to impart any new
ideas to the speaker, but rather to influence his mind to dwell upon
old things, or in other words, that which has already been made
manifest, for the purpose of communicating more clearly, or impressing
upon the mind more forcibly, the importance of attending to that which
has already been spoken and revealed.
We are only sojourners here, stopping here for a short period of time,
and while we are here we often meet together. What for? To learn
something that is calculated to benefit us temporally or spiritually.
Indeed everything with which we are surrounded, every circumstance
that we may be placed in, everything with which we have to do, if
properly used, is calculated to benefit the mind of man. That is the
object of all the works of God, to benefit living beings—beings that
are capable of being made happy—capable of receiving joy and peace,
all His works from the beginning to the end (if there be any
beginning or end, which we doubt very much), are calculated in their
nature to render happy, living, intelligent beings. That is the reason
we are here—the reason we have come from distant countries, from
foreign lands, and congregated in these valleys; it is in order that
we may be more happy, and more fitted to gain that experience that is
calculated to make us more happy. We are looking forward to a time
when we shall be exceedingly happy; that is natural to the mind of
man; it is on the stretch looking forward to the period when it shall
be far more happy than at present. We are inquiring how, and by what
means, or by what course of conduct, we can make ourselves more happy
than at the present time. Some people pursue one course and some
another; mankind have their various paths, walks, and courses, there are almost as many courses as there are people upon the face
of the earth; and they are traveling in these paths and roads: each
one seeking his own happiness, and perhaps, in few instances, the
happiness of some others. Some take a road of sin and wickedness to
secure happiness, but, in the end, they will find themselves literally
disappointed. In traveling these great variety of paths, they find
that it does not produce the result they hoped for—it does not bring
happiness, nor give to them joy. There is something, connected with
the travels of the people, and the courses that they mark out for
themselves, that is calculated very frequently to leave a bitter sting
upon the consciences. They suppose they can be happy in pursuing a
certain course, but they find themselves miserably disappointed.
The Lord is gathering His Saints into this valley in order to instruct
them how to be happy; that is the ultimate object and aim He has in
view. He desires us to be well instructed, and to have the straight
and narrow path laid out plain before us, showing us, from time to
time, what steps are necessary to be taken, that will lead to the
greatest amount of happiness; and if we follow them and continue in
the path, we shall find that our light will grow brighter and
brighter, our happiness greater and greater, and our joys will become
more and more intense, until, in the eternal world we shall be
swallowed up, as it were, with a fulness of joy—a fulness of
happiness.
We are all the time, as I have already observed, looking forward to
something ahead of our present condition, to something that is future.
We believe in a future state; it is a kind of natural instinct in the
mind of man, to believe in a never-ending hereafter. When he lays down
his mortal body in the silent tomb, and it crumbles back to its mother
earth, he does not believe that the destruction of the mortal body, is
the last of the being called man; he believes that there is something
there besides the tabernacle of flesh, that will live, move, and have
a being forever. Furthermore, when we reflect more fully upon this
subject, we believe that the something which dwells in this flesh and
bones, is the only being that is capable of being made happy.
We have often been told this, from this stand; and it has often been
told, among the congregations of the Saints abroad, that it is the
spirit of man, and not the mortal tabernacle, that enjoys, that
suffers, that has pleasure and pain. But the mortal tabernacle is so
closely connected with the spirit of man, and we have so long been in
the habit of associating the pains and pleasures of the spirit with
what is termed the pains and pleasures of the body, that we have
almost worked ourselves into the belief that it is actually the body
that suffers pain, and enjoys pleasure; but this is not the case; the
body, so far as we know, is incapable of feeling; it is naturally
incapable of it; it is only the spirit, that dwells within the body,
that feels. However severely the body may be injured, it is not the
body that discerns that injury, but the spirit, within the body, that
discerns it. [The speaker here asked a blessing on the cup.] We were
speaking concerning that being that we call ourselves, that dwells in
this mortal tabernacle of flesh and bones. We were observing that so
intimately are the body and spirit connected together, that we have
become habituated to term the pleasures and pains that we experience,
the pleasures and pains of the body; but this is not the case; the
body of flesh and bones, when the spirit has left it, is incapable of
any sensation whatever; it does not form any portion of that
identity that belongs to ourselves as spirits; we are not aware of its
pleasures or its pains; for it has neither; but we are aware that if
our mortal tabernacle is injured or infringed upon, the spirit within
is troubled and pained; but we have become habituated to call this the
pain of the body.
I make these remarks in order to extend our ideas beyond this state of
existence.
If the spirit while in the body is capable of suffering, of being
acted upon from without the body, and of experiencing diverse
sensation, if it is capable of intense joy, or intense grief, may we
not suppose that when it is freed from the body, when the animal
tabernacle is fallen into the dust, and returns to its former earth,
the same spirit, unclothed and unshielded, standing naked, as it were,
before God, and before the elements that He has made, will be acted
upon then, more or less, by these same elements; and that the same
spirit that is capable of suffering here, will be capable of far more
intense suffering hereafter; the same spirit that is capable of great
joy here, will be capable of far more intense joy and pleasure
hereafter; and the same things of an external nature that are capable
of producing intense pain here, are, under certain circumstances,
capable of producing a hundredfold more pain hereafter? If this be
the case, how important it is that we should take that course that the
spirit may, in its future state of existence, be placed under
circumstances where we can obtain the pleasure, joy, and happiness,
and escape the pains, evils, and bitterness of misery, to which some
spirits will be exposed.
Perhaps there may be in the future state a difference, a vast
difference, in some respects, in the reflection of pain upon the
spirit from what there is here; and in other respects there may be a
similarity. There are many things connected with the spirit of man, in
the intermediate state, that we do not know anything about; and then
there are other things that we do know, so far as they are revealed,
and no further; and then there are other things connected with the
spirit of man between death and the resurrection that we may believe,
but not have a certain knowledge of, but believe that such and such
will be the case from analogy, from reason, from the nature of things.
There has been but a little revealed to man on the subject of the
intermediate state of the spirit, after it leaves this mortal
tabernacle.
We are told in the Book of Mormon that the spirits of all men, as soon
as they leave this mortal body, and return home to that God who gave
them life, whether they be wicked or whether they be righteous, go
back to where they once were; they return to their former state, to
their former location and residence; they appear in the presence of
the Being that gave them life.
What further are we told on the subject? That after we get back into
the presence of God, and return home again, then it shall come to pass
that the spirits of the righteous, those who have done good, those who
have wrought the works of righteousness here upon the earth, shall be
received into a state of rest, a state of happiness, of peace, a state
of joy, where they will remain until the time of the resurrection. We
are also told that another portion of spirits, another class of them
that return home to God, after leaving this mortal tabernacle, are
cast out, are sent off again, and are not permitted to stay at home,
but are cast out into outer darkness, where there is weeping and
wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now there must be some intense
suffering, some intense misery in connection with the wicked class of
spirits in order to cause them to weep and to wail.
We might now inquire, what is the cause of this intense suffering and
misery? Is it the action of the elements upon the spirit? Is it the
materials of nature, operating from without upon it, that causes this
distress, this weeping, wailing, mourning, and lamentation? It may be
in some measure; it may help to produce the misery and the
wretchedness; but there is something connected with the spirit itself
that no doubt produces this weeping, wailing, and mourning. What is
this something? It is memory, and remorse of conscience; a memory of
what they have once done, a memory of their disobedience. Do you not
suppose the spirits can have power to remember in that world as well
as in this? Yes, they certainly can. Have you never read in the Book
of Mormon, where it informs us, that every act of our lives will be
fresh upon the memory, and we shall have a clear consciousness of all
our doings in this life? Yes; we have read that in the Book of
Mormon—"a clear consciousness."
We read or learn a thing by observation yesterday, and today or
tomorrow it is gone, unless it be something that impresses us
distinctly, that makes a vivid impression upon the mind, that we can
remember it perhaps for days, months, and years; but common
information and knowledge are constantly coming into our minds, and as
constantly being forgotten. And some of the knowledge we receive here
at one time becomes so completely obliterated, through the weakness of
the animal system, that we cannot call it to mind, no association of
ideas will again suggest it to our minds; it is gone, erased,
eradicated from the tablet of our memories. This is not owing to the
want of capacity in the spirit; no, but the spirit has a full capacity
to remember; for do you sup pose that God in begetting spirits in the
eternal world would beget an imperfect thing, that had no capacities?
No. The Being, who is full of intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom, and
acting upon the great principles that are ordained for the generation
of living beings, spiritual beings, brings them forth with capacities
capable of being enlarged or extended wider and wider; consequently it
is not the want of capacity in the spirit of man that causes him to
forget the knowledge he may have learned yesterday; but it is because
of the imperfection of the tabernacle in which the spirit dwells;
because there is imperfection in the organization of the flesh and
bones, and in things pertaining to the tabernacle; it is this that
erases from our memory many things that would be useful; we cannot
retain them in our minds, they are gone into oblivion. It is not so
with the spirit when it is released from this tabernacle.
I might refer to the words of many of the Prophets upon this subject,
but every person of reflection and observation knows that the
imperfection of the tabernacle does have a bearing upon the memory, as
well upon other faculties and powers of man. It has been proved that
when the skull has been depressed by accident, or in the way of
experiment, every particle of the knowledge that the person has
possessed has been entirely suspended. Relieving the skull from the
pressure, things come fresh again into the mind; this shows that the
spirit has not lost its capacity for memory, but it is the
organization of the tabernacle that prevents it from remembering. Wait
until these mortal bodies are laid in the tomb; when we return home to
God who gave us life; then is the time we shall have the most vivid
knowledge of all the past acts of our lives during our probationary
state; then is the time that we will find that this being we call
man—this spirit that dwells within the tabernacle, is a being
that has capacity sufficient to retain all its past doings, whether
they be good or bad.
It is, then, this memory that will produce the suffering and the pains
upon that class of spirits whose works have been wicked and abominable
in the sight of God. A spirit, then, will remember, that "at such a
time in yonder world, and at such a place, I disobeyed the
commandments of God; I did not hearken to the counsel of those whom
God had appointed to be my counselors; I did not give heed to the man
of God; no: but I rejected his sayings; good counsel was imparted to
me, but I did not heed it." In this life, things that may have been
erased from your memory for years will be presented before you with
all the vividness as if they had just taken place. This will be like a
worm upon the conscience; it will prey upon the spirit, and produce
unhappiness, wretchedness, and misery. This will cause you to lament,
and mourn, and weep after you are cast out from the presence of
God—from the home to which you have returned.
I am speaking now of the wicked. What is it that produces the opposite
principle? There is an opposition in all things; it is the reflection
of the memory that produces joy; that is one of the elements by which
joy and happiness are produced upon the spirit of man in the future
state; we remember the acts of our past lives that they have been
good; we perceive by our memories that we have been obedient to
counsel; we perceive that when we have erred through our weakness we
have repented of that error; when we have been told of a fault we have
forsaken it. When we look back upon acquaintances and neighbors we
perceive that we have observed the golden rule, to do unto others as
we would that others should do unto us. We look back upon our past
lives, and we perceive we have never spoken evil against a brother or
sister, that we have never striven to stir up family broils, and that
we have never desired to injure any of the children of men; male or
female. What do these reflections produce? They produce joy,
satisfaction, peace, consolation, and this joy is a hundredfold more
intense than what the spirit is capable of perceiving or enjoying in
this life. Why? Because just in proportion to the vividness of the
conscience, or the memory, so will be the joy. This you may have
knowledge of by everyday experience; just in proportion to the
vividness of your ideas, and of the truth set before your minds, and
of the good things that are imparted to you, the more intense is your
happiness here; how much more intense would it be hereafter, when this
mortal clog with all its imperfections has been laid down in the
grave! The fact is, our spirits then will be happy, far more happy
than what we are capable even of conceiving, or having the least idea
of in this world.
Our happiness here is regulated in a great measure by external
objects, by the organization of the mortal tabernacle; they are not
permitted to rise very high, or to become very great; on the other
hand it seems to be a kind of limit to our joys and pleasures,
sufferings, and pains, and this is because of the imperfection of the
tabernacle in which we dwell; and of those things with which we are
surrounded; but in that life everything will appear in its true
colors; in my estimation not a single thought of the heart, that has
ever passed through the mind, not a single act of an individual, from
the earliest period of its memory till the time it comes into the
presence of God, will escape the notice of the memory when it appears
there, unclogged from this tabernacle.
Are there any other circumstances that will produce pain or joy,
besides that which is connected with the spirit—besides its
own conscience or memory? Yes, a great deal will depend upon the place
of the residence of these spirits. Suppose you were a righteous
spirit, and you were cast out to dwell a certain time; not cast out,
but sent out, on a mission to the abodes of darkness, or to those who
are not as righteous as yourselves; though you might have peace of
conscience and happiness dwelling within your own bosoms in reflecting
upon your past conduct, yet the society with which you are compelled
to mingle for a short period, in order to impart knowledge and wisdom
and such information as is calculated to benefit them, is, in a
measure, disagreeable; you are compelled, for a season, to mingle with
those who are inferior to yourself in their capacities. When you go
and associate with them there is something disagreeable in the nature
of this association; you feel to pity them in their ignorance, in
their condition and circumstances; their conversation is not agreeable
to you as that of your own associates in the presence of God. There is
something that is calculated to render their society disagreeable to
themselves, which increases as the degradation of the society is
increased. Then a wicked man entering into the company of such beings
has not only a hell within himself—a conscience gnawing like a worm,
but he sees misery and wretchedness; and they cleave one to another in
their wickedness, and in their conversation, and acts, and doings, and
intercourse with each other; all these things are calculated in their
nature to produce misery and wretchedness, as well as their own
consciences. It should then be our constant study to escape this order
of things. We are free and independent; it is all in our hands whether
to escape this order of wretchedness and misery, and the abodes of the
wicked in the spiritual world; we can dwell in the society of the
righteous, or in the society of the wicked, just as we choose. As
the revelation states, all intelligence and all truth is independent
in that sphere in which God has placed it to act for itself,
consequently you and I are the ones to make ourselves happy by taking
the course pointed out by our superiors, by those who have a right to
teach, control, and direct us. It is for us to create a heaven within
our own minds. It is for us to choose the place of our abode, either
among the spirits of the just or the spirits of the damned.
We have spoken of the memory of spirits in the future state; the same
principle will apply to many other faculties of the mind of man, as
well as memory; knowledge for instance. How limited, how very limited,
in its nature is the knowledge of man in this life. Why is it that our
knowledge is so limited? I say limited, compared with that which is to
be known, and which will be known. The reason is, God has seen proper
in His infinite wisdom to place us in circumstances where we can learn
the very first elements of knowledge, and act upon them in the first
place. Instead of having the whole of the rich treasures of knowledge
and wisdom unfolded to us at once, He begins to feed us little by
little, the same as you would feed a weakly, sickly infant with food
prepared and adapted to its taste, and to the weakness of its system.
The Lord brings us in this state under similar circumstances, endowed
with certain senses by which we can gain, by little and little,
knowledge and information; but it takes a long time to get a little
into our minds. It seems that our spirits, that once stood in the
presence of God, clothed with power, capacities, wisdom, and
knowledge, forget what they once knew—forget that which was once fresh
in their minds.
But, inquires one, "Do you have an idea we had once much information
and knowledge in the spirit world?" Yes, we had a great deal of
knowledge and information, but to what extent I know not; suffice to
say we had much knowledge, we were capable, when the morning stars
sang together for joy, when the foundations of this earth were laid,
of lifting up our voices and shouting aloud for joy. What produced
this joy? The contemplation of a world on which we were to receive our
probation, and have tabernacles of flesh and bones and obtain our
redemption. All these things were known to us in our anterior state,
but we have forgotten them all. We knew then about the Redeemer—about
Christ, but we forgot it in our infantile moments.
As soon as our spirits were enclosed in this tabernacle all our former
knowledge vanished away—the knowledge of our former acts was lost,
what we did then we know not; we had laws to govern us; how obedient
to them we were we know not; how faithful we were we know not, we had
a contest with the one-third part of the hosts of heaven, and we
overcame them; and then the Lord made an earth where we might have a
second probation, and forget all we once knew concerning the battles
we had fought, before we came here, against Lucifer the son of the
morning. We forget about the laws that were given to govern us in that
spiritual state. Why all this? If we came here with all the knowledge
we formerly possessed, could we be again tried as those who possess
only the first principles of knowledge? We must begin at the alphabet
of knowledge; and when once we begin to gain knowledge and information
the Lord tries us to see if we will comply with that, and if we do, He
gives us more, in this probationary state; but after we have gained
all we can here, it is nothing com pared with that immense fulness,
which it is the privilege of the children of men to obtain in the
future state of existence.
Our knowledge here is, comparatively speaking, nothing; it can hardly
be reckoned the elements of knowledge. What few glimmering ideas the
wisest of us get, we obtain by experience, through the medium of our
senses, and the reflecting powers of the mind.
Some people suppose that we do not acquire scarcely any knowledge,
only what we get by seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, and feeling;
we may not, in one sense of the word, but in another sense there is a
vast amount of knowledge which we gain by reflection; the solving of
mathematical problems from beginning to end is not brought about by
seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, or feeling, unless the mind can
feel them; we reason from one step to another until we solve the
proposition. There is a vast field of knowledge, pertaining to this
state, that mankind can gain through the medium of their reflecting or
reasoning powers; and then there is another vast field that they can
explore through the medium of their senses. I am now speaking of
temporal knowledge.
We became acquainted with light and color through the organization of
our bodies. In other words the Lord has constructed the mortal eye and
framed it in such a manner that it is capable of being acted upon by
one of the elements of nature, called light; and that gives us a great
variety of knowledge. A blind man knows nothing about light, as we
were told here the other day by our President, the blind man knows
nothing about light if he were born blind. You cannot, by talking with
him for a thousand years, instil into his mind an idea what red,
yellow, white, black, green, blue are like; they are ideas that have never entered into his mind. Why? Because the little inlet to
this kind of knowledge is closed up, and there is no other part of the
spirit exposed to the light. It is only a small place by which the
spirit can converse with light and its colors. Just so in regard to
many other ideas.
Take a man who is perfectly deaf, who was born deaf, so that no sound
has ever entered his ears; what does he know about music? About the
various sounds that are so beautiful to the mind of man? He knows
nothing at all about it, neither can it be described to him.
A man that has always been deprived of the organ of smell, has no
other inlet of knowledge by which he can know and understand the
nature of smell; he cannot see a smell, or hear a smell; it can only
be perceived by this little organ called the nose; that is the only
way these ideas can get to the spirit. If he ever knew them before he
came here, he has forgotten them, which is the same as if he had never
known them; and if he wishes to gain an idea of the sensations
produced by the elements of nature, he must learn them anew by these
media. If a man be devoid of taste what can he know about sweet and
sour? You might as well talk to him about the bounds of time and
space, and get him to comprehend a heaven located beyond their limits,
as to comprehend what sweet and bitter are, or tell the difference
between a piece of sugar and vinegar, so far as its taste is
concerned.
So with regard to touch. There are many things we cannot feel, yet we
have knowledge of them; we cannot feel the sun, moon, stars, and
comets, and many other things; and if it were not for some senses that
give a knowledge of them we should be wrapped in total ignorance
concerning them. How do we know, when this spirit is freed from this
mortal tabernacle, but that all these senses will be greatly enlarged?
If we, by looking through these little eyes of ours, can see objects
some thousands of millions of miles distant; if we can see objects
that are existing at that immense distance through the medium of these
little inlets; suppose that the whole spirit were uncovered and
exposed to all the rays of light, can it be supposed that light would
not affect the spirit if it were thus unshielded, uncovered, and
unclothed? Do you suppose that it would not be susceptible of any
impressions made by the elements of light? The spirit is inherently
capable of experiencing the sensations of light; if it were not so, we
could not see. You might form as fine an eye as ever was made, but if
the spirit, in and of itself, were not capable of being acted upon by
the rays of light, an eye would be of no benefit. Then unclothe the
spirit and instead of exposing a small portion of it about the size
of a pea to the action of the rays of light, the whole of it would be
exposed. I think we could then see in different directions at once,
instead of looking in one particular direction; we could then look all
around us at the same instant. We can see this verified, in some
small degree, by bringing to our aid artificial means. Look at the
telescopes invented, of what advantage are they? Why, they bring a
greater number of rays of light together, and concentrate them upon
the retina of the eye. The glasses within the telescope are so
constructed as to bring the rays of light to a focus; and when they
are placed properly in that instrument it brings a larger number of
rays upon the eye, so that it brings objects we cannot see with the
natural eye within the power of our vision, thus we are enabled to see
many glorious objects in the heavens, that the natural eye could never
have gazed upon.
Let the spirit itself be a telescope; or in other words, let there be
a million of times more of the surface of the spirit exposed to the
rays of light, than is now exposed through the medium of the eyes, or
were this body of flesh and bones taken off, and the whole spirit
exposed to the rays of light; would not these rays produce an effect
upon the spirit? Yes; inasmuch as it is inherently capable of such
effects, independent of flesh and bones. Then there would be a vast
field opened to the view of the spirit, and this would be opened not
in one direction only, but in all directions; we should then have the
advantage of the telescope, though it were as large as Lord Ross',
whose object glass is six feet in diameter. What great improvement it
would be if a telescope could be invented, to bring the rays of light
on other parts of the spirit, besides the eye. Such will be the case
when this tabernacle is taken off; we shall look, not in one direction
only, but in every direction. This will be calculated to give us new
ideas, concerning the immensity of the creations of God, concerning
worlds that may be far beyond the reach of the most powerful
instruments that have been called to the aid of man. This will give us
information and knowledge we never can know as long as we dwell in
this mortal tabernacle. This tabernacle, although it is good in its
place, is something like the scaffolding you see round about a new
building that is going up; it is only a help, an aid in this imperfect
situation; but when we get into another condition, we shall find that
these imperfect aids will not be particularly wanted; we shall have
other sources of gaining knowledge, besides these inlets, called
senses.
In relation to this matter, touching the extension of our knowledge
year after year, some people have thought that we should have to learn
every thing by study. I do not believe it; there are a great many ways
of learning things without reasoning or studying them out; without
obtaining them through the medium of the five senses. Man will be
endowed, after he leaves this tabernacle, with powers and faculties
which he, now, has no knowledge of, by which he may learn what is
round about him. In order to prove this, let me refer you to some
things in some of the revelations which God has given. What is said
about the brother of Jared? It is said that the Lord showed him all
the children of men previous to his day, and all that were on earth at
the time he lived, and all that would be to the end of time. How do
you suppose he beheld them? Did he look at them with his natural eyes?
How long do you suppose it would take a man to see all that are now
living, if he only employed one second to look at each individual? It
would take him a long time; it would take him over thirty years. In
order to see them all, he must place his eye upon them all. If a man
look at one individual in this assembly, though he may indistinctly
perceive, on each side of that individual, a vast variety of faces,
yet there is only one person that he sees distinctly; the rest only
produce very indistinct images upon his vision. So with the brother of
Jared; if he had looked at each individual of all the generations for
one second successively, it would have taken him over three thousand
years to have beheld them all.
There must be some faculty or power natural to God and to superior
beings, that man, in this life, is not in possession of in any great
degree, by which they can look at a great variety of objects at once.
The brother of Jared could look upon past, present, and future
generations; they all came before him, and he gazed upon them all;
there was not a soul that he did not behold.
Moses also had a similar view; he, at a certain time, was clothed upon
with the glory of God; and while he was thus clothed upon, he was
enabled to behold many things; and seeing some things that looked very
glorious, he wanted to see more; but the Lord said unto him. "No man
can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can
behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh;" that is, it
would consume him; the sight would be so overwhelming that the mortal
tabernacle would melt away. Should a mortal man be permitted to gaze
upon all the works of God, which include all His glory; mortality
could not endure it. But the Lord did condescend to give him, in a
measure, the same principle that He Himself is in possession of; for
the Lord beholds all His works. He says, "Mine eye can pierce them
all," after telling us that the number of worlds were greater than the
number of particles in millions of earths like this. Jesus says that
he "looked forth upon the wide expanse of eternity," and that "all
things are present before mine eyes."
Now, the Lord imparted a portion of this principle to Moses. Let us
see how it operated on his vision. As soon as Moses got this new
principle, not natural to man, what did he behold? He looked upon that
which mankind never can look upon in this natural state, without the
aid of the same principle; he beheld every particle of the earth, or,
as the new revelation says, and there was not a particle of it that he
did not behold, discerning it by the spirit of God. What an excellent
telescope! Did the Spirit of God impress it by the rays of light upon
the retina of the eye only? No: the vision was exhibited to the mind,
independent of the natural eye. Instead of acting upon the mere eye,
every part of the human spirit could behold and discern, through the
medium of that all powerful substance—the Spirit of God, every
particle of this earth. How long would it have taken Moses to have
gazed at each particle separately, with the natural eye? While he was
gazing with the eye at one, he could not be looking directly at
another. It would have taken him a great many millions of years to
have gazed directly and distinctly upon every particle of the earth,
as we naturally see things in succession. But, instead of this, we
find him, in a short space of time, perhaps the interval was only a
few minutes or hours, gazing upon every particle of it. Here was
something new, and independent of the natural vision, showing him
things beneath the surface of the earth. Men look at things above the
surface by the natural eye; but here is a man who, by the power of
heaven, is enabled to penetrate that which the natural eye could never
behold. Suppose that the spirit of man were unclogged from this mortal
tabernacle, the Lord could show him the particles of million on
millions of worlds, in the same way, and with the same ease, that he
showed Moses the particles of one.
By the same power and principle that Moses beheld every particle of
this earth, he could have looked at the moon, and beheld every
particle of it; and the same power could have shown him every particle
of the sun, planets, comets, and fixed stars.
Here, then, is a new faculty of knowledge, very extended in its
nature, that is calculated to throw a vast amount of information upon
the mind of man, almost in the twinkling of an eye. How long a time
would it take a man in the next world, if he had to gain knowledge as
we do here, to find out the simplest things in nature? He might
reason, and reason for thousands of years, and then hardly have got
started. But when this Spirit of God, this great telescope that is
used in the celestial heavens, is given to man, and he,
through the aid of it, gazes upon eternal things, what does he behold?
Not one object at a time, but a vast multitude of objects rush before
his vision, and are present before his mind, filling him in a moment
with the knowledge of worlds more numerous than the sands of the
seashore. Will he be able to bear it? Yes, his mind is strengthened in
proportion to the amount of information imparted. It is this
tabernacle, in its present condition, that prevents us from a more
enlarged understanding. Moses understood all he saw, so far as the
Lord pleased to show him; and if the Lord showed him all the
properties, qualities, and connections of those particles, he would
have understood it.
There is a faculty mentioned in the word of God, which we are not in
possession of here, but we shall possess it hereafter; that is not
only to see a vast number of things in the same moment, looking in all
directions by the aid of the Spirit, but also to obtain a vast number
of ideas at the same instant. Here, we have to confine ourselves in a
little, narrow, contracted space, and we can hardly think of two
things at a time; if we do, our minds are distracted, and we cannot
think distinctly. Some, by habit, it is true, are able to think of two
or three little things at once, or at least the interval between the
successive thoughts is so small as to be inappreciable. Some people
play on an instrument of music, and may go through a very difficult
performance, while their minds are thinking of something else; and by
habit, they hardly perceive the working of the musical instrument.
I believe we shall be freed, in the next world, in a great measure,
from these narrow, contracted methods of thinking. Instead of thinking
in one channel, and following up one certain course of reasoning to
find a certain truth, knowledge will rush in from all quarters; it
will come in like the light which flows from the sun, penetrating
every part, informing the spirit, and giving understanding concerning
ten thousand things at the same time; and the mind will be capable of
receiving and retaining all.
Says one, "Shall we have all knowledge?" I have nothing to say about
that; that is a matter that you must look to our President for
information upon; he is the one to hear upon that subject; and we
should not teach anything, when we once ascertain his real mind, that
will come in contact with his teachings. I do not know that I have
this day presented any views that are different from his: if I have,
when he corrects me, I will remain silent upon the subject, if I do
not understand it as he does. So with regard to any other principle
whatever which I may teach. God has placed him as the President of
this Church, as our leader, guide, and teacher, and we are bound not
to come in contact with him—not to teach differently to what he does;
that is, when we once ascertain fully his mind and views. But, very
frequently, mankind are so imperfect, and their minds so contracted,
and their knowledge so little, comparatively speaking, that they may
throw out many ideas that may not be true, that are incorrect; but the
Lord has appointed these that hold the keys, to correct and give us
instructions on all principles of doctrine; and as often as they see
proper to turn the keys and unlock to their own minds these
principles, they can do so. It is not always wisdom to use the keys of
knowledge and revelation upon trifling subjects. There may also be
many subjects that it is not wisdom for us to understand and receive
at present. There may be many items of knowledge in the bosom of God,
in the eternal worlds, that He does not see proper to reveal to us,
while in our mortal state; consequently, people may differ
with regard to their views of those things not revealed, and which
they do not understand. In many of my remarks and teachings, I may
have laid before you ideas, which, when you come to learn the
President's mind upon them, may be declared erroneous and not sound
doctrine. I may have done the same things in many of my writings; but
in all points of doctrine, relating to the plan of salvation, and the
redemption of man, so far as I understood it, I have endeavored to
write that which I, at the time, verily believed to be true. Some of
those things may be wrong; I do not say that I am capable, without
direct revelation, of writing upon many intricate points, with the
same degree of perfection and precision as one who writes only as he
is inspired. But I do feel thankful to that God who has placed us in
these Valleys of the Mountains, that He has ordained keys by which
knowledge and information may be poured down from the great fountain,
until we gain all that is necessary for us to know in this state: and
I do look forward with great rejoicing at the prospects of the future.
When I speak of the future state of man, and the situation of our
spirits between death and the resurrection, I long for the experience
and knowledge to be gained in that state, as well as this. We shall
learn many more things there; we need not suppose our five senses
connect us with all the things of heaven, and earth, and eternity, and
space; we need not think that we are conversant with all the elements
of nature, through the medium of the senses God has given us here.
Suppose He should give us a sixth sense, a seventh, an eighth, a
ninth, or a fiftieth. All these different senses would convey to us
new ideas, as much so as the senses of tasting, smelling, or seeing
communicate different ideas from that of hearing.
Do we suppose the five senses of man converse with all the elements of
nature? No. There is a principle called magnetism; we see its effects,
but the name of the thing does not give us a knowledge of its nature,
or of the manner in which the effects are produced. We know not why a
piece of iron will turn towards a magnet this way or that. Now,
suppose we had a sixth sense that was so adapted as to perceive this
very thing, we should learn some new ideas, connected with the
elements of nature, besides those we have learned by the five senses
we already possess. I believe there are ten thousand things with which
we are surrounded, that we know nothing about by our present natural
senses. When the Lord imparts to us a principle by which we can look
upon the past and future, as well as the present—by which we can look
upon many intricate objects of nature which are now hidden from our
view, we shall find our capacity for obtaining and retaining knowledge
to be greatly enlarged.
We already have the capacity, and all it wants is to bring things into
a situation to act upon it. The capacity is here; and when the Lord
sees fit, it will be instructed and taught, and things will be
unveiled—even the things of God, and the laws that have been hidden
concerning the celestial, terrestrial, and telestial worlds, and
concerning all the variety of things that are organized in the
immensity of space, so far as the Lord sees proper to unfold them; and
we shall learn more and more of them until the perfect day, as the
Lord places us in circumstances to become acquainted with them.
I have dwelt upon this subject in order that we may be looking
forward with joyful anticipations to the future. I am constantly
looking to the future, as well as to the present, and trying to frame
my present course of conduct in such a way as shall enable me
to attain to that which is in the future for the faithful. If I had no
knowledge or understanding of the future, it would be like a person
pursuing a phantom that he did not know was of any worth; but the more
know ledge we get of the future, the more we impress it upon our minds
and in our thoughts, the more we will be stirred up in our exertions to
do that which concerns us at the present moment, knowing that it has
an all-important bearing upon the future.