only on the evidence of unimpeachable faithfulness. "The blasphemy
against the Holy Ghost," says the Lord in one part of the revelation
on marriage, "which shall not be forgiven in the world, nor out of the
world, is in that ye commit murder, wherein ye shed innocent blood, and
assent unto my death, after ye have received my new and everlasting
covenant, saith the Lord God; and he that abideth not this law, can in
no wise enter into my glory, but shall be damned, saith the Lord."[F]
[Footnote F: Doc. and Cov. 132:27.]
By the word of the Lord Himself, then, murder is placed as the most
awful crime that a man who has entered into this covenant can commit.
And coming close after it is the sin of infidelity to the marriage
covenant. The new and everlasting covenant prescribes a perfectly
moral and faithful relationship in marriage. The Lord defines the
sin of adultery, and condemns it. Nor does He allow in the least a
double standard of morality. The new and everlasting order of marriage
prescribes purity of the home, and sacred fidelity to the marriage
covenant. The great promises of future glory can be realized only
through a faithful observance of the new and everlasting covenant.
No more sublime principle has ever been given to man than this of the
sanctity and eternity of the marriage contract. Through it, the home
becomes more than ever the center of community life. The father and the
mother, if they continue faithful, are bound together by everlasting
ties. And their children, too, become theirs throughout eternity. Death
can have no fears for them. The grave has lost its victory. For they
know they shall rise again from death and the grave; and then they
shall mingle again as father and mother and children, and the relations
so happily begun here will be continued forever there. In such a home
may be found true happiness. But to gain such happiness, both parties
to the marriage contract must have faith in the divine ordinance; it
must be performed by the authority of the priesthood of God. If the
ordinance be not so performed, neither the man nor the woman can attain
the fulness of the glory of God. "In the celestial glory there are
three heavens or degrees," we read in the revelation numbered section
131; "and in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this
order of the Priesthood (meaning the New and Everlasting Covenant of
marriage)."[G]
[Footnote G: Doc. and Cov. 131:1, 2.]
It will be observed, further, that the revelation on marriage
contemplates a plurality of wives. The practice of plural marriage
brought bitter persecution upon the Church, however. The Congress
of the United States took action against the practice and demanded
that it cease. Accordingly every effort has been put forth, and that
strenuously, to suppress plural marriages. The solemnization of plural
marriage in the Church has been entirely discontinued. The Lord has
said that when we strive to do His will and our enemies prevent us, He
will accept our endeavor.
Meanwhile, the basic principle of the sanctity and eternity of the
marriage covenant remains unimpugned. It is still fundamental in the
social organization of the Church. While the world goes on marrying
and divorcing, and committing a thousand violations of the laws of
both God and man, the children of the Latter-day Saints are born in
purity, reared in holiness, and trained in the fear of God. They are
taught that marriage is a sacred relationship; that the ordinance of
uniting two in marriage should be performed in a sacred place with the
sanction and by the authority of Almighty God; that then the marriage
relationship does not end with this life, but continues through the
countless ages yet unborn. How can children so reared look with the
least degree of favor upon the social evil--divorce? How can they wink
at even the mildest forms of immorality and vice so common in the world
today? Their watchword is evermore:
"For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of
allowance."[H]
[Footnote H: Doc. and Cov. 1:31.]
XIX.
THE VISION OF GLORIES.
It is related by the Venerable Bede that, when King Edwin became
persuaded by the Christian missionary, Paulinus, to adopt the new faith
of the Christ, he called a council of his wise men and asked of every
one what he thought of the new doctrine. One of the king's chief men,
approving the king's actions, as also his words, said:
"The present life of man, O king, seems to me, in comparison of that
time which is unknown to us, like to the swift flight of a sparrow
through the room wherein you sit at supper in winter, with your
commanders and ministers, and a good fire in the midst, whilst the
storms of rain and snow prevail abroad; the sparrow, I say, flying in
at one door, and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is
safe from the wintry storm; but after a short space of fair weather, he
immediately vanishes out of your sight, into the dark winter from which
he had emerged. So this life of man appears for a short space, but of
what went before, or what is to follow, we are utterly ignorant. If,
therefore, this new doctrine contains something more certain, it seems
justly to deserve to be followed."[A]
[Footnote A: Bede's Ecclesiastical History, bk. II, ch. 3.]
Certainly, Christianity had something more satisfying concerning both
the herebefore and the hereafter than had the pagan worship of the
barbarous tribes of England. Those tribes became Christian, therefore;
and as they became Christian, so the whole civilized world has become
Christian.
But the question raised by the king's chief man of old is little better
answered now than it was then. To a multitude of Christian men, life
is still as the flight of a sparrow from the outer storm and darkness,
through a lighted hall, and out into the unknowable darkness again.
True, Christianity explained originally both what was before and what
was to come. But much of what was first taught has been lost. The word
of the Lord to Jeremiah, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew
thee, and before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee;
I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations,"[B]--is a dark saying
to the world. So also is the word of Jesus, "In my Father's house are
many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to
prepare a place for you."[C]
[Footnote B: Jeremiah 1:5.]
[Footnote C: John 14:2.]
These questions are now again clearly answered in the story of the
Restoration. As early as June, 1830, only two months after the Church
was organized, the question of the previous state of man was clearly
answered by the Prophet Joseph Smith. It was then that he received the
revelation known as the "Visions of Moses." The Prophet was told that
God created all things spiritually before they were formed naturally
upon the earth; that the spirits of all men were present with God
from the beginning, and convened in council with Him to consider the
creation of the earth; and that the children of God shouted for joy
when the earth was formed, and given shape, and appointed to become
the home of man.[D] In like manner, the Book of Abraham, translated by
the power of God, teaches the same divine truths. There, too, God is
represented as standing in the midst of the spirits of heaven. Some of
them are great and noble. These, the Father selects to become prophets,
kings, and leaders to him, in the earth-life.[E] Thus, are the dark
sayings of the Jewish scriptures, referring to a pre-existent state
made plain.
[Footnote D: Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses, chs. 1-5.]
[Footnote E: Pearl of Great Price, Book of Abraham, chs. 3, 4, 5.]
The earth-life, then, is no longer like the flight of a sparrow from
an unknown outer darkness into a lighted hall. We know whence we came.
Our advent here is but the process of graduation, or promotion, from a
lower life to a higher. There, we had progressed in the experience of
the spirit. To advance further, we must pass from the spiritual state
to the temporal state, and gain experiences unattainable there. The
present life is in continuation of the life before. And there is yet to
come in continuation a life hereafter.
As the Prophet Joseph Smith revealed the condition of man in the life
before this, so he revealed also the condition of man when this life
shall be ended. Early in the year 1832, the Prophet had attended a
conference of the Church held at Amherst. On his return home from that
conference, he resumed the translation of the Scriptures, which had
occupied him for nearly two years. Undoubtedly, many questions arose
in his mind as the work progressed. Among others came to him also the
question of man's future state.
"From sundry revelations which had been received," he writes, "it was
apparent that many important points touching the salvation of man, had
been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled. It appeared
self-evident from what truths were left that if God rewarded every one
according to the deeds done in the body the term 'Heaven' as intended
for the Saints' eternal home, must include more kingdoms than one."[F]
[Footnote F: "History of the Church," Vol. I, p. 245.]
On February 16, 1832, the word of the Lord came with power. Joseph was
accompanied this time by Sidney Rigdon. Suddenly the visions of heaven
opened before them, and they were permitted to see both the damnation
and the exaltation of men hereafter. They were commanded to write the
vision as they saw it. It forms now Section 76 of the Doctrine and
Covenants. As a revelation, it is one of the noblest sections in the
sacred Book of Today. Analyzed, the section falls naturally into eleven
parts.
1. The introduction. The Lord will reveal His mysteries to the
faithful. Verses 1 to 10.
2. Explanation. The circumstances under which the vision was given are
stated. Verses 11 to 18.
3. The beginning of the vision. Joseph and Sidney behold the glory of
the Son on the right hand of God. Verses 19 to 24.
4. Lucifer, a Son of the Morning, is cast out of heaven. The Elders are
commanded to write the vision. Verses 25 to 30.
5. The vision of the sons of perdition. They are they who crucify
Christ unto themselves. The special mission of the Christ is explained.
Verses 31 to 49.
6. The resurrection of the just. The condition of those who come forth
in this resurrection is explained. The celestial glory. Verses 50 to 70.
7. Terrestrial world. The condition of those who attain the second
glory is described. Verses 71 to 80.
8. The glory of the telestial. The condition of those who attain the
telestial is described. Verses 81 to 89.
9. A summary. The degrees of glory are compared. Verses 90 to 98.
10. The glory of the telestial. The condition of those who attain the
third glory is further described. Verses 99 to 113.
11. Conclusion. Many things revealed which cannot be written. Verses
114 to 119.
It appears from the doctrine of this revelation that all God's children
will ultimately be saved, except the sons of perdition. Fortunately it
is not easy to become a son of perdition. To become a son of perdition,
one must deny the fulness of the light of the everlasting Gospel after
having experienced it; one must defy the power of God after having
known it and partaken of it; one must deny the Holy Spirit after having
received it; one must consent to the crucifixion of the only Begotten
Son of the Father, and to the putting of Him to open shame. On such a
one only shall the second death have power. "For all the rest shall
be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the triumph
and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of the
Father, before the worlds were made."[G]
[Footnote G: Doc. and Cov. 76:39.]
However, "all the rest" shall not come forth to equal glory. As
there are three degrees of brilliancy in the heavens, represented
figuratively by the sun, the moon, and the stars, so there are three
degrees of glory in the future life; and as the stars in heaven differ
in magnitude, so do the degrees of exaltation within the glories differ
the one from the other. "In my Father's house," said Jesus, "are
many mansions." Each of the children of God will be assigned in the
future life to the mansion for which he has qualified. In other words,
men will be judged by the deeds done while in the body, and will be
rewarded according to their works.
Thus, those only will attain the celestial glory who have been faithful
in all things. They have kept the commandments of God, and have been
sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise. They are the Church of the First
Born; they are priests and kings who receive of the fulness of His
glory. "They are Gods, even the sons of God" and "shall dwell in the
presence of God and His Christ for ever and ever."
The terrestrial world, however, consists of those who have not been
valiant in the testimony of Jesus, as have those of the celestial. They
are those who died without law, "who received not the testimony of
Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it." They are honorable men
of the earth, who could not see the light for the craftiness of men.
They are men who were not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; therefore,
they could not obtain the crown over the kingdom of God. These receive
the presence of the Son, but do not receive the fulness of the Father.
Finally, even those who have violated the commandments of God will
be saved in the telestial glory, so only they have not committed the
unpardonable sin. These are men who did not receive the everlasting
Gospel when the opportunity was at hand, but who did not deny the Holy
Spirit. They are sinners and breakers of the law, and are cast in
punishment to the depths of hell. Thence they can be redeemed only at
the last resurrection. But in the end they will be saved, and exalted
according to their merits, in the telestial kingdom. There they do not
receive the administration of the Father or the Son, "but of the Holy
Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial." Theirs is the
lowest order of salvation.
Every man, then, will receive the reward for which he qualifies. Either
we shall be lost, with the sons of perdition, or we shall be saved
in one of the kingdoms of glory. And if we are saved we may continue
further to grow. As in this life we must go either forward or backward,
so in the future life, we must either advance or retrograde. There is
no such thing as standing still. There is no level plain, the summit
of all things, above which ascend no heights. There is no end to
advancement. Eternal progression is the principle upon which the gospel
is based. Eternal progression was an active principle when the words
began; it is active still; it will continue to be active worlds without
end. When we shall be graduated, then, from this life into the future
one, we shall not pass merely from a field of endeavor and profitable
activity into one of lethargic idleness. There will be work for us
still to do. We shall find our time happily occupied. The principle of
eternal progression will require of us all eternal, ceaseless activity.
These principles, together with those in the previous chapters, are
among the most noble ever given to man. The announcement of them places
Joseph Smith far and away above the heads of the philosophers of the
world. It is a crowning act in the great drama of the Restoration.
XX.
IN THE MOUTHS OF WITNESSES.
It is wonderful how the Lord of heaven has safe-guarded every act in
the story of the Restoration, that there may be no question as to
its actuality. That Joseph Smith was a great prophet there can be
no question. He will remain forever the divinely appointed leader
of the dispensation of the fulness of times. His work is sufficient
to establish his claim as a prophet. The far-reaching results that
have followed his ministry are sufficient evidence of his divine
inspiration. Founded in the midst of the age of science and progress,
the system he introduced is "a marvelous work and a wonder." There are,
however, enemies innumerable to the restoration who do not hesitate
to cast doubt upon it. "How shall we know," ask the opponents of the
Prophet, "that he really saw a vision, or that he received authority
from heaven? Is it not possible that he was himself deceived about
those things? Or is it not possible even that he lied deliberately
about them? The word of the Prophet alone may be sufficient for you who
have been converted to believe in him; but to us who do not believe
in him, what evidence can be given to us that we may know that he was
neither deceived nor deceiving?" The question is fair, and to it can be
made a fair answer:--Not a single important step in the progress of the
restoration was taken without corroborative testimony or the presence
of witnesses.
This assertion may seem both broad and rash. On that beautiful morning
in the early spring of 1820, when the boy, Joseph Smith, went into the
grove to pray, he went alone. He took no boon companion with him, nor
did he even reveal to his mother the purpose of his visit to the grove.
And when the Father and the Son appeared to him in glorious vision,
he was still alone. No other mortal was present during that wonderful
appearance. How, then can anyone bear corroborative testimony of the
actuality of that vision?
Joseph Smith claims to have seen no further visions for some three and
a half years. But when he retired on the evening of the twenty-first
of September, 1823, he prayed earnestly to the Lord to vouchsafe him
some further word as to the nature of his mission upon earth. Joseph
Smith was alone then. He had no friend with him in his room. He sent
for neither father, nor mother, nor brother, nor sister. In the privacy
of his own chamber he prayed, pouring out his heart to his God. And in
answer to the fervent prayer, an angel of heaven appeared in another
glorious vision. It was Moroni, a Nephite, a resurrected being. Three
times he appeared to the boy that night and once in the forenoon of
the following day. Four times, then, in about twelve hours, the angel
Moroni--so the Prophet claims--appeared to him, and each time the boy
was alone. No other living mortal was near. Again it may be asked,
How can anyone bear corroborative testimony to the actuality of these
visions?
On the day following the visions of the night, Joseph told his father
what he had seen. The father believed the story told by his son. He
counseled the boy to do whatever the angel had commanded him to do.
Now, the angel Moroni had shown Joseph, in vision, a low hill not very
far from his own home. In that hill were buried the sacred records of
the Nephites, and Joseph was required to visit the hill to see the
sacred treasure. Accordingly, following his father's counsel, Joseph
Smith set out near midday of September twenty-second, 1823, to visit
the hill, Cumorah, shown him in vision. But he went alone; he took no
companion with him. When he had reached the place of the vision, and
had uncovered the golden plates, the angel Moroni appeared again, the
fifth time. He instructed the boy in his life-work, and required that
he should return to the hill annually, on the same day of the month,
for four years, that he might be further instructed in the work he had
to do. Accordingly, Joseph Smith went to the same place on the hill,
Cumorah, on the twenty-second of September, for four consecutive years.
Each time he went alone. He was accompanied by neither friend nor
foe. And each time the angel, Moroni, appeared to him and instructed
him. The last time, September twenty-second, 1827, the plates of the
Nephite record were delivered to the young man, and he was commanded to
translate it. Thus, the Prophet claims that the angel, Moroni, appeared
to him five different times on the hill Cumorah, and instructed him in
his work. But each time the Prophet was alone. How, then, can anyone
bear corroborative testimony of the actuality of these visions? Ten
visions the Prophet saw alone, at the beginning of his very interesting
career. Never was he accompanied at any of these visions by mortal man.
It seems then that the assertion must fail, that not a single important
step in the progress of the restoration was taken without corroborative
testimony or the presence of witnesses.
However, the work of the young prophet went steadily on. By 1829 the
Nephite record was translated, and during that year it was published
under the caption, "The Book of Mormon." Before the book was given to
the world the Lord had said in revelation that there should be three
special witnesses to the book.[A] In the book itself, too, three
witnesses were predicted.[B] Moreover, it was further said that there
should be other witnesses--"a few according to the will of God, to bear
testimony to His word to the children of men."[C] In June, 1829, the
three special witnesses were appointed by revelation.[D] And some time
afterwards, eight others were selected to bear testimony to the fact
that Joseph Smith was in actual possession of the plates of the Book
of Mormon. It will be interesting to examine the testimonies of these
eleven men, to learn how they affect the early visions of the Prophet,
as well as the book itself and the later work of the Church.
[Footnote A: Doc. and Cov. 5:11-15.]
[Footnote B: II Nephi 11; Ether 5:4.]
[Footnote C: II Nephi 27:12-13.]
[Footnote D: Doc. and Cov. 17.]
The three witnesses called by revelation to testify to the divine
authenticity of the Book of Mormon were Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer,
and Martin Harris. All three men became associated with the Prophet
soon after he began the translation of the Nephite record. Martin
Harris and Oliver Cowdery had acted as scribes for the Prophet; and
David Whitmer had rendered much material assistance and encouragement.
It was many days after the receiving of the revelation that named the
three witnesses that they agreed, with the Prophet, to retire to the
wood, "and try to obtain, by fervent and humble prayer, the fulfillment
of the promises given in the * * * revelation--that they should have a
view of the plates."[E] Accordingly they retired to a grove near David
Whitmer's house and began their supplications to the Lord to fulfill
the promise made to them.
[Footnote E: "History of the Church," Vol. I, p. 54.]
It seemed at first, however, that their prayers were ineffectual. The
heavens were as brass above their heads. No manifestation of divine
favor appeared to encourage them. Each one of the four prayed earnestly
and fervently, as his turn came, but without avail. A second time
they prayed in rotation, but still without result. What could be the
matter that their prayers were not answered? Some time before this,
Martin Harris had prevailed upon the Prophet to allow him to take a
number of pages of the manuscript translation of the Nephite record
to show them to certain members of his own family. Harris had bound
himself by sacred covenant not to exceed the privilege specified, and
to return the manuscript uninjured. Unfortunately, however, Martin
Harris had lost the manuscript entrusted to him. The loss had caused
great embarrassment to the Prophet, and had brought upon Harris for a
time the disfavor of the Lord.[F] When now the fervent prayers of the
Prophet and the special witnesses remained unanswered, Martin Harris
suggested that he would perhaps better withdraw, since undoubtedly it
was because of his presence that their efforts were fruitless.
[Footnote F: "History of the Church," Vol. I, p. 21.]
The three remaining ones then knelt again in prayer. "[We] had not been
many minutes engaged in prayer," writes the Prophet, "when presently
we beheld a light above us in the air, of exceeding brightness; and
behold, an angel stood before us. In his hands he held the plates
which we had been praying for these to have a view of. He turned over
the leaves one by one, so that we could see them, and discern the
engravings thereon distinctly. He then addressed himself to David
Whitmer, and said, 'David, blessed is the Lord, and he that keeps His
commandments;' when, immediately afterwards, we heard a voice from out
of the bright light above us, saying, 'These plates have been revealed
by the power of God, and they have been translated by the power of God.
The translation of them which you have seen is correct, and I command
you to bear record of what you now see and hear.'"[G]
[Footnote G: "History of the Church," Vol. I, pp. 54, 55.]