By the request of President Kimball, I arise this afternoon for the
purpose of speaking to the Saints upon whatever subject may be
presented to my mind; at the same time earnestly desiring that the
prayers of the Saints, who sit before me, may ascend up before the
Lord in my behalf, that I may be able to speak those things that will
be calculated to edify you, and do you good.
It is delightful to me, to speak of the things that belong to the
salvation of the human family—to speak of God and of His works, plans,
and purposes, so far as they are revealed for the salvation and
benefit of man.
But, at the same time, I realize that there is but a small degree—a
very small degree, indeed, of the purposes of God unfolded to the mind
of man. The amount of knowledge, which we in our present state are in
possession of, is extremely limited, so that when compared with that
vast amount of knowledge that fills eternity, we might say that man,
in his highest attainments here in this life, is, as it were, nothing.
However far he may expand his intellectual powers, and faculties by
studying, by meditation, by seeking unto the Lord diligently for the
inspiration of the Spirit, yet all that he can possibly receive and
attain to here is, comparatively speaking, nothing. Moses was a man
possessed of like passions with other men; he was a man similar to
ourselves, but he had by his perseverance, diligence, and faithfulness
obtained great favor and power with God; so that by this favor and
through this power, he was enabled to obtain greater information and
knowledge than the rest of the human family that were on the earth at
that period; and far greater in some things than what we have attained
to in this generation; at the same time, when the grand and wonderful
intelligence of heaven was portrayed before the mind of Moses, and
knowledge was poured out from the heavens upon him, he exclaimed
before the Lord, "Now I know for this once that man is nothing."
If there were a being then upon the face of the earth, that had a
reason to suppose that man was something, it was Moses; but yet in the
midst of the visions of the Almighty, and the vast field of knowledge
that was opened to his mind—while he was yet gazing upon the
workmanship of the hands of God, and looking into the intricacies of
the construction of this world—in the midst of all this, he considered
himself nothing. That is just the way I feel; and I presume it is the
way that almost everyone feels who contemplates the greatness of God,
and the immensity of knowledge that there is far beyond our reach in
this present state of existence. At the same time, when we compare our
knowledge and our intellectual powers with the glimmerings of light
that we see manifested in the brute creation, we may exclaim that man
is some thing—that he is advanced far beyond the apparent
manifestations of knowledge that exist among the lower orders of
beings. He is, indeed, something compared with the small glimmerings
of light that exist in the brute creation, in the beasts of the field,
in the fowls of the air, and in the fishes of the sea; all these have
some degree of knowledge and understanding; and some of them have some
degree of information and knowledge that man is not in possession of.
Man designates such intelligence by the name of instinct; they seem to
be guided by a principle that man, naturally speaking, is not in
possession of; but yet, when we contemplate the reasoning powers and
faculties of man—the rational faculty—the abstract ideas that are
capable of dwelling in his mind, and then look at the brute creation,
we see a vast difference between the two.
Mankind, in one sense, are far above the brutes, and not only this,
but they are above even some of the angels; for there are certain
orders of angels that are far beneath man; they have not progressed in
the great scale of being—in the scale of wisdom, knowledge, and
intelligence to the same extent as we have; and consequently they are
beneath us; they are lower than we are; they have not attained to the
same degree of information that we are in possession of; hence we read
that man shall judge angels; the Saints are to judge, not only the
world—the wicked world, and also one another, but they are to judge
angels. Why? Because they are superior, or will be at the time they
shall sit in judgment and decide upon the cases brought before them by
the angels; they will rule over the angels, or in other words, the
angels will be subject to them. This we read in the laws that God has
revealed to this Church. We read that there are a certain class of
beings, who, because they have not fulfilled the law of God, will, in
the next state, enjoy no higher privileges than those of the angels;
they will remain angels, while others who have kept the celestial law
in all its bearings—in its ordinances, and institutions, and have
claimed the privileges of the Saints of God, will be exalted to a
higher sphere; they will have greater knowledge and information, and
those angels being of a lower order of intelligence will be subject to
them, and will minister for them, in carrying out their purposes and
designs in the wide field of action in the eternal worlds.
All these, then, in one sense of the word, are something, instead of
being nothing; for all of the works of God are intended to show forth
His wisdom, power, and goodness, whether it is in the formation of
man, in the formation of the brute creation, or in the formation of
the highest or lowest order of intelligence. God is there; His
intelligence and power are there; His wisdom and goodness are there;
and all His works are marked by His great and glorious attributes.
There is something calculated to give great joy and happiness to the
mind of man in the idea of improvement, so long as there is anything
to be learned—in the idea of progressing and expanding those
principles of light and intelligence that already exist within these
tabernacles. There is a joy—a satisfaction, existing in the mind of
the righteous man, in the discovery of every additional truth; it
matters not whether he himself attains this truth by experience, by
reason, by reflection, by immediate revelation from higher powers, or
by a revelation from his fellow man. It matters not how or in what way
or manner he obtains this new truth, it is calculated to inspire his
heart with joy and happiness. We see this illustrated in some small
degree in the scientific discoveries of modern ages, as well as in
those of ancient times.
If we can depend upon the declarations of the discoverers, who, after
long and toilsome researches after some hidden truth, at length, have
obtained the key that leads to that truth; they make use of it; the
door of knowledge and wisdom is unlocked to them, and they find out
and discover something new; it is demonstrated to their minds, and
they know it to be true. There is a perceptive faculty, existing in
the bosom of man, that is capable of perceiving light and truth, when
it is clearly manifested; such truths are as certain and as sure to
him as any other truths; when he obtains the knowledge which he has
long hunted after, and spent years, perhaps, in close meditation,
reasoning, and study in order to obtain, it gives him such a joy,
satisfaction, and ecstasy, that he is hardly capable of retaining
himself in the body. The mind of that great man Sir Isaac Newton, one
of the great discoverers in modern times, was exercised in a wonderful
manner. About the time he unfolded the great law that governs the
bodies in the universe, which he termed the law of universal
gravitation; his mind was so affected, so full of joy, and so
overcome, when he was about laying bare the great truths this law
unfolded, that he had to obtain the assistance of someone present in
carrying out the calculations.
If these scientific truths will have such an effect upon the mind of
man, how much greater ought the joy to be, in the hearts of the
children of men, in relation to those still greater truths that
pertain to eternal life and the exaltation of man in the eternal
world!
If those truths which only have a bearing upon the present state of
existence, are calculated to impart joy and happiness so intense, as
almost to overpower the mortal tabernacle of man, are not those still
greater truths that proceed from heaven by the ministration of angels,
by the power of the Holy Ghost, and by the visions of the Almighty,
calculated to impart still greater joy and happiness to the mind of
man? They certainly are.
There is something glorious in the contemplation of that period of
time, when we shall come in possession of greater truths, even before
we do obtain them; for we have the promise given to us by the
Almighty, that more truths will be revealed and unfolded; and just the
bare anticipation of these truths, before they are revealed, are
calculated to give great joy and happiness to the mind of man. Now
what do we anticipate brethren and sisters? What are we looking for? I
stated to you last Sabbath, that we were looking for a future
existence after this mortal body shall crumble back to its mother
elements. I also endeavored last Sabbath to inquire into the nature of
this future state of existence in some small degree; at the same time,
reminding you that in one short discourse it would be utterly
impossible to point out the apparent differences, or at least, the
real and supposed differences that will exist between man in his
present state, and in his future state. There will be a great
difference in many respects, and in other respects, a very little
difference.
Now let us touch, for a few moments, upon a principle in regard to the
communication of knowledge between man and man, in his future state.
We know how we communicate knowledge one to another here; it is by
speaking, by writing, by arbitrary sounds that we convey our ideas one
to another, and reveal knowledge, instruction, and truth one to
another. This is a very imperfect medium of communication,
consequently man progresses slowly, very slowly, indeed, in obtaining
truth. But supposing that we could have revealed to us from on high a
language more pure and heavenly, that is a perfect language, so far as it can be made perfect, and be adapted to our present
state of existence; let such a language be revealed to us; let us
learn it; let us obtain a knowledge of all the various symbols of the
same, by which we could communicate our ideas one to another,
perfectly, without any ambiguity or uncertainty in the ideas, would
not this be a medium by which mankind could greatly enlarge their
ideas and knowledge of things? Could not those that have progressed in
the principles of truth and righteousness more readily impart their
ideas to others? Now we find, in consequence of the imperfection of
our language, that it is very difficult, indeed, to communicate
readily our ideas to others, so that we have to spend years and years
to instil into the minds of children and youth, some very easy and
simple principles of knowledge. It is in one sense owing to the
weakness of the capacity and intellect in early age, but it is still
more owing to the imperfection of language by which these ideas are
communicated. [The speaker here asked a blessing upon the bread.]
We were speaking upon the imperfect medium, here in this life, by
which we convey our ideas one to another. Let us now compare our
present means of obtaining knowledge with the facilities which are no
doubt, in store for the people of God. Will there be a pure language
restored? There will; through the testimony of the prophets. We are
also told that tongues shall cease. We are to understand by this that
the great varieties of languages and tongues that have existed on the
earth for many ages, are to be done away; they are to cease; now
something must take the place of those imperfect, confused languages
and tongues. What is that something? It is a language that is spoken
by higher orders of beings than ourselves; that is, beings that have
progressed further than ourselves; it is that same language that was
spoken for nearly two thousand years after the creation; that was
spoken by Adam and by his children, from generation to generation that
came down to the flood, and was taught extensively among the children
of Noah until the Lord by a direct miracle caused the people to forget
their own mother tongue, and gave them a variety of new tongues that
they had no knowledge of, and by this means scattered them abroad upon
the face of the whole earth; and now that same Being that destroyed
the memory of the people at the building of the tower, so that they
could not remember their own mother tongue, and the same Being that
gave to them new languages and tongues, will operate again by His
power to do away with this curse, for I consider it a curse, and the
blessing will be as great and as extensive as the curse, in destroying
it from the face of the earth. This is a poor medium of communication
between man and man. Whether this pure language here spoken of, which
is to be spoken here upon the earth among mankind in their mortal
state, is to be as perfect as the language that has to be spoken in
our immortal state, is not for us to say; but still we may draw some
conclusions upon this matter, from the fact that things in the eternal
world will in some measure be different from what they are here.
For instance; how do you suppose that spirits after they leave these
bodies, communicate one with another? Do they communicate their ideas
by the actual vibrations of the atmosphere the same as we do? I think
not. I think if we could be made acquainted with the kind of language
by which spirits converse with spirits, we would find that they do not
communicate their ideas in this manner; they have a more refined way;
I mean that portion of them that are in the school of
progress; they have undoubtedly a more refined system among them of
communicating their ideas. This system will be so constructed that
they can, not only communicate at the same moment upon one subject,
as we have to do by making sounds in the atmosphere, but communicate
vast numbers of ideas, all at the same time, on a great variety of
subjects; and the mind will be capable of perceiving them. Perhaps
there may be some who consider this altogether an improbability. They
may consider it very improbable that the mind should be able to take
in a vast collection of ideas, on different subjects, all at once, and
be able to digest and comprehend them; if the mind has such faculty as
this, then there must necessarily be a language adapted to such a
capacity of the mind; not an imperfect medium of communication to
convey a few simple ideas upon one subject at a time, as is done here,
but a language exactly adapted to the capacity; if the capacity is
greater, then the language must be more refined than what it is here,
in order to communicate in the same ratio that the capacity is capable
of receiving and understanding. It is impossible for man to
communicate, by our present language, any more than one chain of ideas
at the same time. There may be other ideas suggested to the individual
who is hearing, but the ideas of the individual who is speaking are
always in one line, giving one idea at a time; and the mind seems
hardly capable here in the mortal tabernacle, for some reason, of
receiving more than one idea at a time, or at least a very few, and
such ideas follow each other in quick succession. In the spirit state,
we have reason to believe, that inasmuch as there is such a vast field
of knowledge to be learned, their medium of communication will be
adapted to the nature and capacity of the mind to grasp in a varie ty
of subjects and digest them all at once.
Well inquires one, "Can you imagine up any such system, or language in
this world?" I can imagine up one, but it cannot be made practicable
here, from the fact that the mind of man is unable to use it. For
instance, the Book of Mormon tells us, that the angels speak by the
power of the Holy Ghost, and man when under the influence of it,
speaks the language of angels. Why does he speak in this language?
Because the Holy Ghost suggests the ideas which he speaks; and it
gives him utterance to convey them to the people. Suppose the Holy
Ghost should suggest to the mind of an individual a vast multitude of
truths, I mean when in the spiritual state, and he wished to convey
that intelligence and knowledge to his fellow spirit; suppose, instead
of having arbitrary sounds, such as we have here, to communicate these
ideas, that the Holy Ghost itself, through a certain process and
power, should enable him to unfold that knowledge to another spirit,
all in an instant, without this long tedious process of artificial and
arbitrary sounds, and written words. The fact is, if celestial spirits
were so organized, and so constructed, as to close up their own ideas
in their own bosoms, from those in a lower condition, or to disclose
them at their own pleasure, according to the mind and wisdom of the
Holy Ghost, and others were so organized and constituted as to receive
these ideas by the power of the Holy Ghost, it would be just as good a
communication between man and man—between spirit and spirit, as any
other medium, and perhaps far better. Now, I have quite an idea that
this will be one of the great helps in the eternal world, by which
knowledge will be poured out more abundantly upon the mind of man; it
will be by this aid; by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that they will progress faster than here, they will learn more rapidly;
the intellectual powers will be more expanded.
There is something of this nature that God has revealed. You may think
I am now reasoning altogether upon conjecture, and only to be received
as such; well, we will let it go as such; but still there are some
glimmerings of light and intelligence, which God has revealed in
regard to these superior beings in the eternal world, which show us
that some such economy will be carried on in the future world. For
instance, how does God perceive the thoughts of our hearts? Is there
not here a language by which He can discover and discern the thoughts
and intents of the heart? Are we not told in many of the revelations
how that God can perceive the thoughts of man, and that for every idle
thought we are to be brought into judgment? Yes, He discerns the
thoughts, and the intents of the hearts of the children of men.
Suppose we had some of that power resting upon us, would not that be a
different kind of a language from sound, or from a written language?
It would. If spirits could commune with spirits, and one higher
intelligence commune with another, by the same principle through which
God sees the thoughts and intents of the heart, it would be nothing
more than what has already existed here in this world, according to
that which is revealed.
Much might be said upon this subject; it is a glorious subject to
contemplate; and it is that which gives joy to the mind of every
righteous man who desires the truth; he knows how happy the principle
of truth makes him here, when he discerns it, or it is revealed to
him; and if he can get his mind fixed upon a more glorious economy,
wherein truth can be unfolded more rapidly, and in such a way that
there can be no possibility of mistaking it for error; the very
an ticipation of it is calculated to inspire the heart of every
individual to be faithful in all things, that he may enter into the
enjoyment of those blessings which are ahead.
There are a great many things to be contemplated, in connection with
man in his future state, compared with his present. One principle I
mentioned to you last Sabbath; that mankind would be able, through the
power of the Holy Ghost, to obtain a knowledge of a vast number of
things at once, and of a vast portion of the works of God all at
once, the same as Moses did when he looked upon every particle of this
earth and discerned it by the Spirit of God, not only all the various
continents and islands, but every particle of the interior of it; all
was presented before his mind at once. He did not have to reason out
the knowledge concerning these particles; neither did he have to look
at one particle of it at a time, but he had the faculty by which he
could look at more than one thing at once; he could look at almost an
infinite number at the same time; for there are more particles in one
grain of sand than we could number in all our life if we lived to be a
thousand years old; and if Moses could look upon every particle, and
behold the whole all at once, he must have had the capacity of looking
in all directions in the same moment, and of beholding it by the
Spirit. Here was a language by which he conversed with nature; with
the works of God; and the Spirit that is in connection with the works of
God—that is in all creation—conversed with Moses, for the Spirit of
God is in all things, around about all things, through all things, and
the law by which all things are governed. When that Spirit, which is
thus diffused through all the materials of nature, undertakes to
converse with the minds of men, it converses in a different kind of
language from that we use in our imperfect state. It
communicates ideas more rapidly—more fully, and unfolds a world of
knowledge in a moment. But the Lord told Moses that a man in the flesh
could not see all His glory, without seeing all His works; and that no
man could behold all His works and afterwards remain in the flesh.
Though the Spirit opened the mind of Moses, so that he could converse,
as it were, with this one world, and discern every particle of it, and
understand all about it; yet there was a stopping point; he was not
permitted to gaze upon the particles of the moon, the sun, the
planets, and fixed stars, and of the other worlds which God had made,
only so far as God thought fit to open his mind to gaze upon His
works; but the same Spirit is in the sun, and is the power thereof by
which it is governed; the same Spirit is in the moon, and is the power
thereof by which it was made; the same Spirit is also in the planets,
and fixed stars, and it is the power thereof by which they are
governed. I say the same Spirit, existing in all these worlds, could
converse with the mind of man, as it conversed with Moses, and unfold
their particles, and all things connected with them with the same ease
as it unfolded the particles of this earth.
So you see that there is a language in the spirit world that can
communicate more to the mind in one minute than could be learned here
in a hundred years of intense study and reasoning. There is an
eternity of knowledge. There are worlds, as it were, without number;
kingdoms without number; personages without number; intellectual
beings of all grades and orders without number; and all these have
their laws, their governments, their kingdoms, their thrones, their
principalities, their powers, all moving and acting in the sphere in
which they are placed; and they all have their way of communication
one with another; therefore, when the Apostle says, that tongues shall
cease, he had reference to the imperfect tongues upon the earth;
knowledge will not cease, but knowledge in part will be done away, not
knowledge in full. Says the Apostle Paul, "We know in part, and we
prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that
which is in part shall be done away." These imperfect things will be
done away, and we shall be able by the power of the Holy Ghost to
obtain a language by which the angels speak, and by which a higher
order of beings speak, and by these means attain to a greater degree
of knowledge, that will produce a greater amount of happiness.
What is the body compared with the mind? Just nothing at all
comparatively speaking. Hence the Savior says, in one of the new
revelations, "Care not for the body, nor for the life of the body; but
care for the soul, and the life of the soul." Again, the Savior says
to his Apostles, Why take ye thought for raiment, what ye shall eat,
what ye shall drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed. "Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they
spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of these." The body is of but little worth
compared with that being which dwells within the body, it is not a
perceptive being; if it is, we have not learned it; the body is not
capable of feeling pain; if it is, we have never learned it; it is the
spirit then that receives joy, happiness, and pleasure, that
rejoices, fears, and hopes; it is the spirit, then, that possesses all
these feelings and sensations of joy, happiness, pain, or misery. And
when we speak about the dissolution, and death of the body, it is only
the crumbling back of these coarser materials of earth, but the
intellectual being lives, and will enjoy happiness to a
greater extent. It is only our transition state, as it were, like some
worms that creep out of their shells in the form of a butterfly;
instead of crawling around like a snail, they burst their shells, they
take the wings of the morning, and fly to the uttermost parts of the
earth; not only their sphere of knowledge is extended, but their power
of locomotion; so it will be when we burst these mortal shells; it is
not death in one sense of the word, but it is only getting out of the
prison we got by the fall. If Adam had not fallen, we should not have
come here; but having come here, and these mortal tabernacles having
produced pain and distress upon the spirit, we look forward to the
joyful time, when we shall burst them, and our sphere of action become
more enlarged, and our locomotive powers become greatly increased.
Only look at the sluggishness of man in the mortal tabernacle, and
then compare it with those swift messengers sent from the eternal
worlds to administer to all the creations of the Almighty; they are
sent from world to world; they do not have to travel as we do, taking
three months to get a thousand miles across the plains, but they mount
up as with wings of eagles, they run and are not weary as we are, they
walk and are not faint. I do not know whether they get fatigued or not
in that world; but it seems that we, who have come into this world,
are in conditions and circumstances wherein we need to replenish the
mortal tabernacle; we need refreshment, and have to lie down and sleep
that the body may be refreshed. Give me that state where the active
faculties of man—where the intellectual powers will never become
weary, when they will be like God who rules the universe, whose eye is
ever upon the works of His hands; every moment discerning the intents
and thoughts of our hearts, and who governs creation with His power.
Let as look forward to that state of more advanced happiness when this
mortal shell shall be laid off; and when we, in the spiritual state,
shall be enabled to enjoy those enlarged powers of locomotion which we
have reason to expect.
How much do we expect? That we may fly swiftly to other worlds on
missions. We would not want to occupy three months time in going from
the earth to the moon, or from the earth to the sun, as we do in
crossing these plains with ox teams, but we wish to go with greater
velocity. If we go with the velocity of light, we should travel at the
rate of one hundred and ninety-two thousand miles every second. There
are substances in nature which are moving with this velocity. What is
it that moves with this velocity? Is it anything else but spirit? The
light we see is spirit. What does the Lord say in one of the new
revelations? "Ye shall live by every word that cometh out of the mouth
of God; whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is
Spirit," consequently the light that comes from the sun is spirit. How
fast does that spirit travel? It can be demonstrated that it can
travel one hundred and ninety-two thousand miles per second; if then
one portion of spirit can travel with that velocity, it is natural for
us to suppose that any other portions of spirit can travel with the
same velocity, and thus we shall be able to accomplish, and perform a
greater amount of righteousness among other worlds and beings, than if
we were compelled to lose three fourths, or nine tenths of our time on
the journey.
Let us look forward to a different state of being from what we are
now in; it will be different in some respects, and in other respects
it will be the same. We shall be there, and fully conscious of
our having been here, and remember all our actions; this is clearly
taught in the Book of Mormon. The wicked will remember all their
wicked actions; their memory will be perfect there, and every act of
their lives here will be imprinted on the tablets of the memory. Here
we can remember but few things; almost all the knowledge we have at
one time, at another is gone from the tablet of our memory; but still
it is there, and it will come out, like the daguerreotype likeness;
that which appears to be erased from the mind will stand forth in bold
relief and we shall read it, and be conscious that we were the beings
that did so and so in this life. The righteous will remember all their
acts, and it will produce a pleasant sensation upon their minds; we
treated upon the subject of memory last Sabbath.
May the Lord bless us, and may His Spirit be continually poured out
upon us, and may it inspire our hearts with truth, and with a desire
to work righteousness all the day long. And do not forget to look
forward to those joys ahead, if we do, we will become careless, dormant,
and sluggish, and we will think we do not see much ahead to be
anticipated, but if we keep our minds upon the prize that lays
ahead—upon the vast fields of knowledge to be poured out upon the
righteous, and the glories that are to be revealed, and the heavenly
things in the future state, we shall be continually upon the alert; we
are beings that are only to live here for a moment, as it were. Let
these things sink down in our minds continually, and they will make us
joyful, and careful to do unto our neighbors as we would they should
do unto us. Lest we should come short of some of these things is the
reason I have touched upon the future state of man the two Sabbaths
past, to stir up the pure minds of the Saints that we may prepare for
the things that are not far ahead, and let all the actions of our
lives have a bearing in relation to the future. May the Lord bless us
for Christ's sake. Amen.