passenger; and besides myself there were upwards of a hundred others
in that part of the vessel. The second cabin had about twice as many
passengers, and in the steerage were several hundred more. The first
cabin berths were not only the best furnished, but the most favorably
situated for comfort, convenience, and safety. Every courtesy was
shown to the passengers; the captain and other officers were their
associates; their food was of the choicest, and they had the full
freedom of the ship. They might go down into the second cabin, or lower
down, into the steerage, and return, without hindrance or question.
They had paid for these privileges and were therefore entitled to
them. But it was different in the second cabin. There the food was not
so good, the berths were less comfortable, and the privileges fewer.
Passengers might descend into the steerage, but were not permitted upon
the upper deck. In the steerage, conditions were even less favorable.
The food was still poorer, and the restrictions were more rigid. The
occupants of that section were not allowed even in the second cabin.
Having paid only for steerage accommodations, these were all that they
could consistently claim. Viewing the situation, I said to myself:
What a striking analogy to the final destiny of the human race, as set
forth in the revelations of God! All men rewarded according to their
works--saved according to their merits, in the eternal mansions of the
Father! And I resolved anew that I would be a first cabin passenger
over the ocean of life into the haven of Celestial glory.
Mormonism's Magnanimity.
Joseph the Seer, after gazing upon the glories of eternity, outlining
the ultimate destiny of the human race, had another vision in which he
"beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of
accountability, are saved in the Celestial Kingdom". He also saw his
father, his mother, and his brother Alvin in that Kingdom. His parents
had received the Gospel; but Alvin died before it came. He was a good
man, however, and had faith in what the Prophet told him. He simply had
not been baptized. Nevertheless, Joseph beheld him in celestial glory,
the highest glory of all, and it caused him to marvel. Then fell this
word from Heaven:
"All who have died without a knowledge of this Gospel, who would have
received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the
Celestial Kingdom of God; also all that shall die henceforth without
a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts,
shall be heirs of that Kingdom, for I, the Lord, will judge all men
according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts."
(Joseph Smith's Teachings, p. 19; Church History, Vol. 2, pp. 380-318).
Could justice, mercy, magnanimity, go further? And yet there are people
who imagine "Mormonism" to be something small, narrow and illiberal.
By the contrary, it is broad, generous and charitable, as all its
teachings testify.
The Source of Its Strength.
"Mormonism's" strength is not in the number of its adherents, who are
comparatively few; nor in the sagacity of its leading men, who are only
mortals. Rather does it reside in the fact that every worthy man and
woman connected with it is entitled to and receives a personal, direct
testimony of its truth. The Church of Christ is founded upon this
rock--the Rock of Revelation--against which the waves of sophistry,
the billows of bigotry, the breakers of persecution, beat and dash in
vain. All who fight the truth are fordoomed to defeat. The Gates of
Hell cannot prevail against it. "Mormonism" is strong because God is
its Author--the Engineer directing its course; and all the might of
Omnipotence is behind it, impelling it on to its destiny. It is the
Everlasting Gospel, the saving, glorifying power of God, the power by
which He carries on His mighty and marvelous work, bringing to pass the
immortality and eternal life of man.
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Latter-day Saints in the United States
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