PRINTED AND PUBLISHED AT THE MILLENNIAL STAR OFFICE, 295 EDGE LANE,
LIVERPOOL.
In the midst of the Christian world there are very many conflicting
theories, in relation to man's existence here and hereafter; also as to
the duties he owes to himself, his fellow-man and to his Creator. It
is an undisputed question that some knowledge of WHERE WE CAME FROM,
WHY WE ARE HERE, AND WHERE WE GO AFTER WE LEAVE THIS PROBATION, is
essential to the enjoyment and well-being of the human family.
In the following pages of this tract we shall seek to briefly set forth
the belief of the Latter-day Saints on these points. While they may
differ widely from the accepted ideas of the Christian world, we may be
allowed to mildly suggest, that this difference is not so much between
the sects of the day and the Latter-day Saints, as it is between those
sects and the Bible, a fact for which we are in no sense responsible,
and a fact that we can in nowise alter or change, even were we so
disposed.
It is deemed proper in the commencement of this investigation, to
refer to another point, so that we may clearly understand each other.
It is this: sincerity of belief does not by any means establish the
correctness of a principle. Testimony of an unimpeachable character
can alone do that. Man's belief does not affect a principle in the
least. The whole world may believe it and yet it be untrue; the whole
world may refuse to believe it, and yet it be true. The unbelief of the
people of Noah's day did not stay the flood; the unbelief of the Jews
did not prove Jesus an impostor; and the killing of the apostles did
not prove their doctrines false. The assassination of Joseph Smith was
no proof one way or another as to the divine nature of his authority;
neither will the rejection of the doctrines he taught prove them wrong.
If they are true, though he was slain, his followers mobbed, driven
and persecuted, yet in the end they will rise triumphant over every
obstacle and grow stronger and stronger, as error shall grow weaker and
weaker.
In presenting the principles of _pre-existence_, the _first principles
of the gospel_ and _baptism for the dead_, we shall simply quote
scripture; and we again state that if there is any difference of
opinion it is between the reader and holy writ.
The apostle Paul's injunction to the Thessalonians, was: "Prove all
things: hold fast that which is good" (I.Thess. 5:21); and the wise man
Solomon's assertion, was: "He that judgeth a matter before he heareth
it is not wise."
Let us, then, refer to the word of the Lord, which is the end of
argument, and see what the teachings of the Great Creator of all are.
Speaking to Job, one of the most ancient writers of the Bible, He says:
"Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up
thy loins like a man: for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? * * * When
the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for
joy?" (Job 38:2-7.)
Job certainly must have been somewhere when the "foundations of the
earth" were laid, or why the query?
There was doubtless more meaning to the words, "When ALL _the sons of
God_ shouted for joy," than one at first supposes. The reader asks,
"Who were these sons of God?" Luke, in giving the genealogy of the
human family, gives the necessary information on this subject: "which
was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of
_Adam, which was the_ SON OF GOD." (Luke 3:38.) But let us turn to
another text. One of the ancient writers says: "Then shall the dust
return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who
gave it." (Ecc. 12:7.)
Let us ask ourselves how it would be possible to _return_ to a place,
point or locality, which we had never visited. How could we _return_
to God unless we had once been in His presence? The logical conclusion
is unavoidable, that to enable us to _return_ to him we must have once
enjoyed His association, which must have been in a pre-existent state,
before our spirit became clothed with this body of flesh and bone.
Again, we find that the apostles must have had some conception of
pre-existence, judging from their question to Jesus: "Master, who did
sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2.) It
will, doubtless, require no argument to convince the reader that the
justice of God would scarcely permit the punishment of the individual
before the crime was committed. If so, then the sin must have been
committed before he came upon the earth, for he was _born blind_. It
was evident that the question was not a doubtful one in the minds of
the apostles as to whether a man _could_ sin previous to his existence
in the flesh, but as to whether this particular man had sinned or not.
Paul, in his writings to the Hebrews, says: "Furthermore we have had
fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence:
shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits,
and live?" (Heb. 12:9.) We here gain the information as to who the
sons of God were who _shouted for joy_ in the beginning. We also learn
the reason why we address Him as, "Our Father which art in heaven," to
distinguish Him from the father of our earthly tabernacles. In other
words, He is the father of the spirits that inhabit our bodies, in
precisely the same sense that our earthly fathers are the fathers of
our bodies of flesh and bone.
When death ensues we bury the earthly body, which decomposes and
mingles with the elements surrounding its place of deposit; but what of
the spirit which "returns unto God who gave it?"
When Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, "They were
affrighted, and supposed they had seen a spirit"; but He corrected
them, saying, "Handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and
bones, as ye see me have." (Luke 24: 37-39.) From these words we gather
the information that man, while existing as a spirit, did not have a
body of flesh and bone, but nevertheless, existed in the exact shape
and form that he now possesses. He had eyes to see, ears to hear,
and many other faculties with which man is here endowed. He was also
doubtless in possession of intelligence, and much that goes to ennoble
man. He had the ability to pass from place to place, increase in
knowledge, and perform certain duties that devolved upon him in that
sphere of action.
An unembodied spirit is one that has not yet taken upon itself a body.
An embodied spirit is one dwelling in the flesh. A disembodied spirit
is one that has passed through this stage of existence and laid its
body down in the grave, to be finally taken up again united, spirit and
body, those of the righteous never more to be separated.
The word of the Lord to Jeremiah was, "Before I formed thee in the
belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I
sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."
(Jer. 1:5.) Here we have the sure word of the Lord relating to one
of the children of men, who was but a type of the rest, only that in
this particular case we have the fact made known that, for good and
sufficient reasons, our common Father in the heavens saw proper to
ordain one of His children to a certain office prior to sending him
down upon the earth. Having so gained the confidence of his Father
while in his first or pre-existent state, he was ordained to a high and
holy calling, previous to his advent upon the earth, and we learn from
holy writ, that this confidence was not misplaced, but that he in honor
filled his mission and proved himself true to the trust reposed in him,
not veering or turning a hair's breadth from the line of his duty,
though met by obstacles sufficient to appall the stoutest heart.
The reader will please be cautious not to confound the principle of
fore-ordination with that of predestination, in the case of Jeremiah,
for there is a broad distinction between the two. A man may be
fore-ordained, set apart or commanded to do a certain work, yet he
retains his agency in the matter, and it is optional with him whether
he performs the duty assigned him or not. If predestinated to perform
a certain work, there would be no choice but to do that work. Not
having any choice, he would not incur the responsibility of his own
actions, nor control them, but would be controlled by the power which
predestined him. While Jeremiah was fore-ordained to be a prophet to
the nations, we do not read that he was predestined to fill the office
of a prophet by any means.
The principle of pre-existence is plainly illustrated in the life of
our Savior, who thus spake to the people: "What and if ye shall see the
Son of man ascend up where He was before?" (John 6:62.) Again, "And
no man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven."
To all human appearance, Jesus resembled very much the rest of the
children of our common Father. So close was this resemblance, that
those by whom He was surrounded failed to see any contrast between
Him and any ordinary man. They enquired of each other, "Is not this
the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren,
James, and Joses, and Simon and Judas?"
Let us ask ourselves the question: Is it so difficult to comprehend
our own pre-existence, when that of Jesus is so plainly taught, and
also that of many of the Biblical characters of whom we read? Paul,
the great apostle, speaking of himself, says, "In hope of eternal
life, which God, that cannot lie, _promised before the world began_."
(Titus 1:2.) Here was a promise made to Paul of eternal life, "_before
the world began_," conditioned upon obedience, as was said to Cain
aforetime, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" (Genesis
4:7.) Yet, notwithstanding this promise, Paul was under the necessity
of performing certain duties to enable him to claim the promise made.
After being stricken with blindness on the way up to Damascus, and
hearing the voice of a risen Redeemer, he was told to "Arise and go
into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." (Acts
9:6.) After fasting and prayer, he was visited at the end of three
days, by one Ananias, who had been commanded of the Lord in vision, to
visit Paul, and was furthermore told, that he was a "chosen vessel,"
or, in other words, one whom the Lord hath made promises to before the
"world began," and who had a mission to perform before "Gentiles, and
kings, and the children of Israel." The question of Ananias was, "And
now why tarriest thou? Arise, and _be baptized_, and wash away thy
sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16.)
We have presented for the consideration of the reader but a few
Biblical proofs of man's pre-existence, out of the many that can be
selected, yet consider that sufficient has been advanced to show
conclusively that the claim of the Latter-day Saints to a belief in
this principle is founded upon holy writ. Their ideas only coincide
with the prophets and servants of God in all ages of the world who have
alluded to this subject.
Having answered the question: _Where did we come from?_ let us now
consider