"Hartford, Conn."
These writers were willing to ignore the teachings of tradition, and
let the words of inspired men mean just what they said, without any
"private interpretation."
God being no respecter of persons, it would be manifestly unjust for
one portion of the human family to have the privilege of hearing the
sound of the gospel in this life, while so great a proportion never
hear it, and lie under condemnation from the fact. No; the plan of
salvation is complete, and, reaching from our pre-existent state,
applies to our present condition, and will extend to the future state,
until every son and daughter of Father Adam have had ample opportunity
to embrace its tenets, and live in accordance with its spirit.
We have now examined the gospel proof of pre-existence, and quoted the
testimony of Jesus and many of the servants of the Most High. We have
gone over the ground of the duties that pertain to this life, connected
with _faith, repentance, baptism_ for the remission of sins, and the
_laying on of hands_ for the gift of the Holy Ghost [A] and examined the
scriptures relative to _preaching to spirits in prison_.
[Footnote A: Should the reader desire a more complete treatise on these
important points, we refer to Tract No. 1.]
We now take one more step in our investigation, and shall endeavor
to learn if there is a way wrought out for the deliverance of the
prisoners bound and captive in the grasp of Satan.
The fact of their being preached to, is one evidence that something
could be done to mitigate their condition, for it {323} would be
cruelty intensified, if, after being taught the gospel, it would be
necessary to inform them that there was no deliverance.
The word of the Lord through the Prophet Malachi was, "Behold I will
send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful
day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the
children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come
and smite the earth with a curse." (_Mal. iv_. 5, 6.) Here was a work
for the translated prophet of Israel to perform at some future period
of time, with the fearful consequence of non-compliance placed before
us, that the Lord would smite the earth with a curse. The nature of
that work is briefly set forth as turning the hearts of the fathers to
the children, and that of the children to the fathers.
The Apostle Paul asserts that they without us could "not be made
perfect," or in other words, that their salvation was necessary to our
happiness or perfection.
Jesus, speaking to Nicodemus, said: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be born of _water_ and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God."
"But," asks the reader, "how shall a spirit be born of water, or be
baptized in the water?"
Very many of those who have gone into the spirit world had never
submitted to the ordinance of baptism, while vast numbers of those who
had been baptized, had the ordinance administered by one who held no
rightful authority whatever, and whose acts God will not by any means
recognize.
They stand in the same position to the "kingdom of God" that a man
does, who, as an alien to the government of the United States, has
received his papers of citizenship from a man who held no office under
the government, and, as a consequence, had no authority to confer those
rights upon anyone.
Paul, writing to the Hebrews, speaks of baptism in the plural: "Not
laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith
toward God, and of the _doctrine of baptisms_." (_Heb. vi_, 1, 2.)
Many have supposed this passage to sanction the idea of different
modes of baptism, but, by turning to another of Paul's epistles, we
learn clearly his meaning. We gain also the information how we may be
instruments in the hands of a wise Creator in doing a work for the
dead. _"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the
dead rise not at all? Why are they baptized for the dead_?" (_I. Cor.
xv_, 29.)
{324} We have here an explanation as to how their prison doors may be
opened, and they set free: by the ordinance of the gospel through the
baptism for the dead. Those that are in the flesh can do vicarious work
for their dead, and become "saviors upon Mount Zion."
We here insert an account of the visit of Elijah to the earth, in
fulfillment of the promise of the Lord through Malachi.
On the 3rd day of April, 1836, the Prophet Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery, while in the temple of Kirtland, had the vision of heaven
opened, and Elijah, the prophet, who was taken to heaven without
tasting death, stood before them, and said: "Behold the time has fully
come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that
he" (Elijah) "should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the
Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the
children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse.
Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands,
and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is
near, even at the doors." (_Doc. and Cov., new edition, page_ 405.)
Elijah the prophet having come, and conferred the authority to baptize
for the dead, the Latter-day Saints are assiduously engaged in
erecting temples, wherein this ordinance may be performed. The object
of Elijah's visit having been partially accomplished, in causing the
hearts of the fathers, dead and gone, to turn to the children here on
earth, the children are feeling after the fathers and seeking to open
their prison doors, and bring them through the door of baptism into the
sheepfold.
Not only are the Elders of Israel traveling, preaching the gospel, and
baptizing the people by the thousand, but the Saints are flocking to
the temples of the Lord, and redeeming their dead from the grasp of
Satan. They are performing a great and mighty work for the human family
who have lived upon the earth in the different ages of the world's
history, and who, in some instances, by revelation, make manifest to
their children or friends, the fact that they have accepted the gospel
in the spirit world.
The patriarchs and prophets of former days, with Peter, James and the
apostles who lived in the meridian of time, with Joseph Smith, Brigham
Young, and other prophets of the "dispensation of the fullness of
times" in the latter days, are earnestly engaged in the work of giving
information and directing the preaching of the gospel in the spirit
world.
{325} Associated with our Father in the heavens, with the angels, and
the good and true of the earth, we can afford to smile at the puny
efforts of man to overthrow the work of God. What! can man strive
against the bucklers of Jehovah? Can the designs that have been in
process of fulfillment since the world began, now be stayed in their
onward progress, because they do not happen to meet the approval of the
people of today?
In conclusion, let us examine one more question that has doubtless
presented itself to the mind of the reader, and that is the question of
future punishment. If, by preaching to the spirits in prison, bringing
them to a knowledge of the truth, and being baptized for them, released
them from their prison house, it logically follows that there must be
an end to future punishment.
We hear the question asked, "Do not the scriptures say that it is
'eternal punishment' and 'everlasting punishment?'" We answer, "Yes."
But let us not put any private interpretation on these terms, but
correctly understand their meaning.
Eternal punishment is God's punishment; everlasting punishment is God's
punishment; or, in other words, it is the name of the punishment God
inflicts, He being eternal in His nature.
Whosoever, therefore, receives God's punishment, receives eternal
punishment, whether it is endured one hour, one day, one week, one
year, or one age. "And they were judged every man according to their
works." (_Rev. xx_, 13). Some shall be beaten with few and some with
many stripes (_Luke xii_, 47, 48). Here we have plainly set forth the
fact that all men are not punished alike, that some receive a greater
punishment than others.
That, as their works are so shall be the punishment awarded them. "And
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books,
_according to their works_. And the sea gave up the dead which were in
it; and death and _hell delivered_ up the dead which were in them."
(_Rev. xx_, 12, 13.)
These were the words of John, upon the Isle of Patmos, and most
impressively he adds, "And if any man shall take away from the words
of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the
book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are
written in this book." (_Rev. xx_, 19.)
We consider that enough has been said to establish the {326} principles
we have advanced, and we will call upon all to whom these words shall
come, to exercise _faith_ in the gospel of Jesus Christ, to _repent_ of
their sins, to be _baptised for the remission of them_, to receive the
_laying on of hands_ for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then to serve
the God of Israel with all their might, mind and strength.
_"Many men will say, 'I will never forsake you, but will stand
by you at all times.' But the moment you teach them some of the
mysteries of the Kingdom of God that are retained in the heavens
and are to be revealed to the children of men when they are
prepared for them, they will be the first to stone you and put you
to death. It was the same principle that crucified the Lord Jesus
Christ, and will cause the people to kill the Prophets in this
generation."_
--_Joseph Smith_.
_"The angel taught Joseph Smith those principles which are
necessary for the salvation of the world, and the Lord gave him
commandments and sealed upon him the Priesthood, giving him power
to administer in the ordinances of the Lord."_
--_Wilford Woodruff_.
{327}
_"When you see a people loaded with irons and delivered to the
executioner, be not hasty to say--This is an unruly people that
would trouble the peace of the earth. For peradventure it is a
martyr's people, which suffer for the salvation of humanity_."