I will read a portion of the vision Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon had
concerning various kingdoms that God has prepared for his subjects—
"And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the sun is
one. And the glory of the terrestrial is one, even as the glory of the
moon is one. And the glory of the telestial is one, even as the glory
of the stars is one; for as one star differs from another star in
glory, even so differs one from another in glory in the telestial
world; For these are they who are of Paul, and of Apollos, and of
Cephas. These are they who say they are some of one, and some of
another—some of Christ and some of John, and some of Moses, and some
of Elias, and some of Esaias, and some of Isaiah, and some of Enoch;
But received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus, neither
the prophets, neither the everlasting covenant. Last of all, these all
are they who will not be gathered with the saints, to be caught up
unto the church of the Firstborn, and received into the cloud. These
are they who are liars, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and
whoremongers, and whosoever loves and makes a lie. These are they who
suffer the wrath of God on the earth. These are they who suffer the
vengeance of eternal fire. These are they who are cast down to hell
and suffer the wrath of Almighty God, until the fulness of times, when
Christ shall have subdued all enemies under his feet, and shall have
perfected his work; When he shall deliver up the kingdom, and present
it unto the Father, spotless, saying, I have overcome and have trodden
the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath
of Almighty God. Then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory,
to sit on the throne of his power to reign forever and ever. But
behold, and lo, we saw the glory and the inhabitants of the telestial
world, that they were as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of
heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore; And heard the voice of the
Lord saying: These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall
confess to him who sits upon the throne forever and ever; For they
shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive
according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which
are prepared; And they shall be servants of the Most High; but where
God and Christ dwell they cannot come, worlds without end. This is the
end of the vision which we saw, which we were commanded to write while
we were yet in the Spirit." (Doc. and Cov., sec. xcii., par. 7.)
I do not know that I have any particular desire to dwell upon this any
more than any other subject of the Gospel, although this subject, in
the abstract, occupies more of my affection, adoration, and heartfelt
gratitude to our Father and God than any other that has ever been
revealed to my knowledge, from the days of Adam to the
present.
Looking at the human family—the millions of intelligent beings who
have come upon this earth from the days of Adam until now, and those
that must still come in the course of events—the question naturally
arises, What are they created for? What is the object of their being?
None of them have power to produce themselves. Jesus Christ is the
heir of this vast family. He said that he had power to lay down his
life and take it up again; but he had no more power to produce his
life, in the beginning of his existence, than we have. Every human
being is endowed, more or less, with eternal intelligence, with the
germ of life everlasting, of glory immortal; and then, when I view the
human family as they are, with the traditions of the fathers, what the
Bible has taught, what the priest has taught, and what kings and
rulers have introduced and fastened upon their people, through
traditions and customs, and contemplate the variety now existing and
that has existed upon the earth, the marks of these finites, and what
is their end, I can truly say that, in my estimation, no other
revelation so glorious was ever given. You may read the character of
the Deity as portrayed in all that has ever been revealed, until you
come to this vision, in relation to his justice, his judgment, his
power, his life, his glory, his excellence, his goodness, his mercy,
and the fulness of every gift, of every trait, of every principle
inherent in the character of the Supreme Being, and it is not equal in
magnitude, in my reflections, to that which God revealed to Joseph
Smith and Sidney Rigdon in the vision from which I have read.
We are far advanced in the things of the kingdom of God. To say
nothing about any other principle or doctrine that has ever been
revealed, the transcending glory, excellency, wisdom, goodness, virtue,
and power that God has revealed in this vision far outweigh all the
Christian tenets, doctrines, and systems they have drawn from the
Bible. No cistern, to use a figure, hewn by man, can hold water; and
every human doctrine and principle, professing to point the way of
salvation, fades away. The doctrine God has revealed here is more
precious to me, and is worth more than all the doctrines of
Christendom.
We may read that the Lord will turn the wicked into hell, and all the
nations that forget God; but, so far as the Bible and priests are
concerned, the world are left in the dark upon what this vision
reveals. Fatality is sealed on the world by the priests as an
everlasting inheritance and legacy, from which they never can be
delivered. Their doom is to dwell in a lake of fire and brimstone. God
has created this intelligence to preserve it. If the world, with its
present feelings, believed this vision, they would say—"Our condition
will be so far better than we had anticipated, that we will continue
our course; for we love the world and the things of the world, and we
will roll sin as a sweet morsel under our tongues, and delight in all
the iniquity we have indulged in from youth, and continue to imbibe
the erroneous principles taught by the fathers and others, and will
pass on from day to day; for our condition is to be so far better than
our priests have taught us." It would have been better for them had
they never been born, were it not so.
Were the wicked, in their sins, under the necessity of walking into
the presence of the Father and Son, hand in hand with those who
believe that all will be saved—that Jesus will leave none, their
condition would be more excruciating and unendurable than to
dwell in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. The fatalist's
doctrine consigns to hell the infant not a span long, while the
adulterer, whoremonger, thief, liar, false swearer, murderer, and
every other abominable character, if they but repent on the gallows or
their deathbeds, are, by the same doctrine, forced into the presence
of the Father and the Son, which, could they enter there, would be a
hell to them.
The kingdoms that God has prepared are innumerable. Each and every
intelligent being will be judged according to the deeds done in the
body, according to his works, faith, desires, and honesty or
dishonesty before God; every trait of his character will receive its
just merit or demerit, and he will be judged according to the law of
heaven as revealed; and God has prepared places suited to every class.
The Savior said to his disciples—"In my Father's house are many
mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be
also." How many kingdoms there are has not been told to us: they are
innumerable. The disciples of Jesus were to dwell with him. Where will
the rest go? Into kingdoms prepared for them, where they will live and
endure. Jesus will bring forth, by his own redemption, every son and
daughter of Adam, except the sons of perdition, who will be cast into
hell. Others will suffer the wrath of God—will suffer all the Lord can
demand at their hands, or justice can require of them; and when they
have suffered the wrath of God till the utmost farthing is paid, they
will be brought out of prison. Is this dangerous doctrine to preach?
Some consider it dangerous; but it is true that every person who does
not sin away the day of grace, and become an angel to the Devil, will
be brought forth to inherit a kingdom of glory.
The sectarian world, as we call them, is a professed church of God,
without the Priesthood. Sectarians have not the Priesthood; but all of
them who live according to the best light and intelligence they can
obtain through faithfulness to what they believe, as taught unto them,
will receive a kingdom and glory that will far transcend all their
expectations, imaginations, or visions in their most excited moments,
whether in their falling-down power, jumping power, or squawling
power. All they have ever desired or anticipated they will receive,
and far more; but they cannot dwell with the Father and Son, unless
they go through those ordeals that are ordained for the Church of the
Firstborn. The ordinances of the house of God are expressly for the
Church of the Firstborn.
"Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth
not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe;
In my name," &c. This is the law of the celestial kingdom, and those
who hearken to this law, and embrace its truths in their faith, and
live them in their lives, will be brought to enjoy the presence of the
Son, and will dwell with him and the Father. And all the residue, who
do not sin against the Holy Ghost, will be punished according to their
deeds, and will receive according to their works, whether it be little
or much, good or bad. Jesus will redeem the last and least of the sons
of Adam, except the sons of perdition, who will be held in reserve for
another time. They will become angels of the Devil.
What say you, ye Latter-day Saints? Is not this the most glorious
thought that ever was revealed to mortal man? Let the Elders of this
Church go forth and preach that every person who does not become as
they are will have to suffer the wrath of God, and go down to hell to
dwell in a lake that burns with brimstone and fire, "where the worm
dieth not, and the fire is not quenched," and I would not give the
ashes of a rye straw for all they will do. It is good for nothing:
there is no life in it—there is no soul in it.
This intelligence must endure. We must preserve our identity before
the Lord, who has sent his Son and angels, and is sending the Holy
Ghost, and his ministers, and revelations, to comfort, cheer, guide,
and direct the affairs of his kingdom on the earth. Shall we dwindle
out in our faith and in those blessings God bestows on us at this
time? No. Let us live to increase them. Let us so live, that when we
receive our bodies in the resurrection, we will be received in the
presence of the Father and the Son. This kingdom is designed expressly
to prepare the people to dwell with God the Father and his Son Jesus
Christ, and all the world beside will receive according to their works
upon the earth. This is a joy that is unspeakable: it is a glory
beyond the capacity of our minds at the present time to appreciate. It
is a great joy to me.
Sometimes I feel as though I would like to dwell upon these
principles, they are so delightful; but I do not feel like preaching
or talking much this morning. The glory and intelligence that God has
prepared for the faithful, and for every other being that is worthy to
receive, expand, extend, and comprehend, no man knoweth. Should not
this fill every heart with peace and joy that there is no end to the
progress of knowledge? Let us continue to prepare ourselves to dwell
with Him in eternal burnings.
May the Lord bless the people! Amen.