an individual spirit; (2) we are now in the advanced or mortal stage of
progress; (3) we shall live in a disembodied state after death, which
is but a separation of spirit and body; (4) and in due time each of us,
whether righteous or sinful, shall be resurrected from the dead with
spirit and body reunited and never again to be separated.
As to the certainty of the antemortal state, commonly spoken of as
preexistence, the Scriptures are explicit. Our Lord Jesus Christ
repeatedly averred that He had lived before He was born in flesh (see
John 6:62; 8:58; 16:28; 17:5); and as with Him so with the spirits of
all who have become or yet shall become mortal.
We were severally brought into being, as spirits, in that preexistent
condition, literally the children of the Supreme Being whom Jesus
Christ worshiped and addressed as Father. Do we not read that the
Eternal Father is "the God of the spirits of all flesh" (Numb. 16:22;
27:16), and more specifically that He is "the Father of spirits"? (Heb.
12:9.) In the light of these Scriptures it is plainly true that the
spirits of mankind were there begotten and born into what we call the
preexistent or antemortal condition.
The primeval spirit birth is expressively described by Abraham to whom
the facts were revealed, as a process of organization and the spirits
so advanced are designated as intelligences: "Now the Lord had shown
unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the
world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great
ones." (Pearl of Great Price, p. 65.)
The human mind finds difficulty in apprehending the actuality of
infinite or eternal process, either from the present onward to and
beyond what we call in a relative sense perfection, on, on, without
end; or backward through receding stages that had no beginning. But who
will affirm that things beyond human comprehension cannot be?
In the antemortal eternities we developed with individual differences
and varied capacities. So far as we can peer into the past by the
aid of revealed light we see that there was always gradation of
intelligence, and consequently of ability, among the spirits, precisely
as such differences exist amongst us mortals.
"That all men are created equal" is true in the sense in which that
telling epigram was written into the scriptures of the Nation as a
self-evident truth; for such laws as men enact in righteousness provide
for the protection of individual rights on a basis of equality and
recognize no discriminating respect of persons. But if applied as
meaning that all men are born with equal capacities, or even inherent
abilities in like measure for each, the aphorism becomes absurd and
manifestly false.
Every spirit born in the flesh is an individual character, and brings
to the body prepared for its tenancy a nature all its own. The
tendencies, likes and dislikes, in short the whole disposition of the
spirit may be intensified or changed by the course of mortal life,
and the spirit may advance or retrograde while allied with its mortal
tabernacle. Students of the so-called science with a newly coined name,
Eugenics, are prone to emphasize the facts of heredity to the exclusion
of preexistent traits and attributes of the individual spirit as
factors in the determination of character.
The spirit lived as an organized intelligence before it became the
embodied child of human parents; and its pre-existent individualism
will be of effect in its period of earth life. Even though the
manifestations of primeval personality be largely smothered under the
tendencies due to bodily and prenatal influence, it is there, and makes
its mark. This is in analogy with the recognized laws of physical
operation--every force acting upon a body produces it definite effect
whether it acts alone or with other and even opposing forces.
The genesis of every soul lies back in the eternity past, beyond the
horizon of our full comprehension, and what we call a beginning is as
truly a consummation and an ending, just as mortal birth is at once
the commencement of earth life and the termination of the stage of
antemortal existence.
The facts are thus set forth in the revealed word of God:
"If there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the
other yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more intelligent
than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have
no end, they shall exist after, for they are gnolaum, or eternal."
(Pearl of Great Price, p. 65.)
To every stage of development, as to every human life, there is
beginning and end; but each stage is a definite fraction of eternal
process, which is without beginning or end. Man is of eternal nature
and of Divine lineage.
-- 67 --
IN THE LINEAGE OF DEITY
Man's Divine Pedigree
THE spirits of mankind are the offspring of God. The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints so affirms on the basis of scriptural
certainty, and as wholly reasonable and consistent.
The preexistent or antemortal state of man has been heretofore
demonstrated. God the Eternal Father is the actual and literal Parent
of spirits. That many of these spirits in their embodied state manifest
more of human weakness than of Divine heritage, that they grasp the
earthly present with little regard for the heavenly past and with less
for the yet greater possibilities of the heavenly future, is no proof
to the contrary of the revealed truth that man belongs to the lineage
of God.
Of all the spirit children begotten of the Eternal Father throughout
the eons past, Jesus Christ was the firstborn. To this solemn truth the
Christ has testified in the current age: "And now, verily I say unto
you, I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the firstborn." And
as to the human family in general, ponder our Lord's further avowal:
"Ye were also in the beginning with the Father." (D&C 93:21, 23.)
The Scriptures aver that all things existing upon earth, including
man, were created spiritually prior to their embodiment in earthly
tabernacles; and furthermore, that mortal man is fashioned after the
image of God. In short, all earthly existences are material expressions
of preexistent entities. The human body, so far as it is normal,
undeformed and unimpaired, is a presentment of the spirit itself.
One of the essential and distinguishing characteristics of life is
the power to select and utilize in its own tabernacle, whether plant,
animal, or human, the material elements within its reach, so far as
such are necessary to its growth and development. This is true alike of
the unborn embryo and of the mature being.
Man's spirit, therefore, is in the likeness of its Divine and Eternal
Father, and in the operations of the functions of life it shapes the
body to conform with itself. How could the spirit be otherwise than in
the image of God if it be divinely begotten and born?
The conformation of the body to the likeness of the pre-existent spirit
is attested in a revelation to an ancient prophet and seer, wherein
the Lord Jesus Christ, then in the unembodied state, showed Himself to
His mortal servant, saying: "Seest thou that ye are created after mine
own image? Yea, even all men were created in the beginning, after mine
own image. Behold, this body, which ye now behold, is the body of my
spirit; and man have I created after the body of my spirit; and even as
I appear unto thee to be in the spirit, will I appear unto my people in
the flesh." (Book of Mormon, Ether, 3:15, 16).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that the
spirit of man being the offspring of Deity, and the human body though
of earthly composition yet being, in its perfect condition, the very
image of God, man, even in his present and so-called fallen condition,
possesses inherited traits, tendencies, and powers that tell of his
Divine descent; and that these attributes may be developed as to make
him, even while mortal, in a measure Godlike. If this be not true we
have to explain a vital exception to what we regard as an inviolable
law of organic nature--that like begets like, and that perpetuation of
species is in compliance with the condition "each after his kind."
The actuality of the spiritual procreation, with which mortal birth is
analogous, is expressed in the inspired hymn by a latter-day poetess,
Eliza R. Snow:
For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth,
And withheld the recollection
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whispered, "You're a stranger here";
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere.
I had learned to call thee Father,
Through thy Spirit from on high;
But until the Key of Knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
In the heavens are parents single?
No; the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason, truth eternal
Tells me I've a Mother there.
When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?
Then, at length, when I've completed
All you sent me forth to do,
With your mutual approbation
Let me come and dwell with you.
-- 68 --
UNENDING ADVANCEMENT
Infinite Possibilities of Man's Estate
THE spirit of man is in the image of God, whose child it is, and every
human body conforms, in the measure determined by its perfection or
physical defects, to the spirit that tenants it. Furthermore, we know
that the spirit existed in the ante-mortal state, that after death it
lives as a disembodied individual, and that later it shall be reunited
with the body of flesh and bones in an everlasting union through the
resurrection inaugurated by our Lord Jesus Christ.
If man be the spirit offspring of God, and if the possibilities of
individual progression be endless, to both of which sublime truths the
Scriptures bear definite testimony, then we have to admit that man
may eventually attain to Divine estate. However far away it be in the
eternities future, what eons may elapse before any one now mortal may
reach the sanctity and glory of godhood, man nevertheless has inherited
from his Divine Father the possibilities of such attainment--even as
the crawling caterpillar or the corpse-like chrysalis holds the latent
possibility, nay, barring destruction, the certainty, indeed, of the
winged imago in all the glory of maturity.
Progression in mortality, that is true progression, advancement of
the soul in developing the attributes of godliness, achievement in
righteousness that shall endure beyond death and resurrection, is
conditioned upon compliance with spiritual law, just as bodily health
is dependent upon the observance of what we call natural law. Between
the two there may be difference of degree, but not essentially of kind.
Physical exercise is indispensable to the development of body, and
quite as certainly is spiritual activity requisite to the healthful and
normal development of the soul.
Through valiant service, by unreserved obedience to the requirements
embodied in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, never-ending advancement is
made possible to man. Thus, within the soul are the potentialities
of godhood. Such high attainment is specifically the exaltation of
the soul as distinguished from salvation. Not all who are saved in
the hereafter shall be exalted. One may refrain in large measure
from committing particular sins or sin in general, and so gain title
to a degree of salvation far above the lot of the gross offender,
nevertheless his goodness may be merely passive, and thus distinctly
apart from the active, aggressive, positive godliness of him who is
valiant in righteous service.
The incident of the rich young Jew who came in quest of instruction
as to his duty is in point. See Matt. 19:16-26. "Good Master," said
he, "what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" The
Lord answered "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments"
and in response to further inquiry cited the standard requirements of
the Mosaic Law. In simplicity, and seemingly devoid of all sense of
self-righteousness, the young man rejoined: "All these things have I
kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?" Then Jesus replied "If thou
wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and
thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." The young
ruler, for as such he is designated, yearned to know what he should
do beyond ordinary observance of "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not" of
the decalog. He went away sorrowful in contemplation of the sacrifice
required of him for the attainment of perfection. Love of worldly
things was this man's besetting ailment. The Great Physician diagnosed
his case and prescribed a suitable remedy.
Through the latter-day prophet, Joseph Smith, the Lord has specified
the conditions of exaltation in the eternal worlds, by describing those
who thus attain:
"They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on His
name and were baptized after the manner of His burial, being buried
in the water in His name, and this according to the commandment which
He has given. That by keeping the commandments they might be washed
and cleansed from all their sins, and receive the Holy Spirit by the
laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this
power. . . . They are they who are Priests and Kings, who have received
of His fulness, and of His glory, and are Priests of the Most High,
after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch,
which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son. Wherefore, as it is
written, they are Gods, even the sons of God." (D&C 76:51-58.)
And further, of the supremely blessed we read:
"Then shall they be Gods, because they have no end; therefore shall
they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then
shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then
shall they be Gods, because they have all power, and the angels are
subject unto them. Verily, verily I say unto you, except ye abide my
law, ye cannot attain to this glory." (132:20, 21.)
But all shall be subject to the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus
Christ, as thus attested:
"Wherefore all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things
present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ's and
Christ is God's." (76:59.)
-- 69 --
THE LIVING AND THE DEAD
Both to Hear The Gospel
THE Atonement of Jesus Christ is the means by which salvation has been
placed within the reach of all mankind--poor and rich, bond and free,
and, be it added, living or dead.
We have seen in the light of scriptural demonstration that, except
through compliance with the laws and ordinances of the Gospel as
enunciated and prescribed by the Lord Jesus Christ, no man can attain a
place in the Kingdom of God.
What then of the dead, who have lived and passed without so much as
hearing that there is a Gospel of salvation or a Savior of the race?
Are they to be hopelessly and forever damned? If so, the phrase
"eternal justice" should be stricken from Scripture and literature, and
"infamous injustice" substituted.
Think of the myriads who died before and at the Deluge, of the hosts
of Israel who knew only the Law and died in ignorance of the Gospel,
and count in with them the millions of their pagan contemporaries; then
think of the generations who passed away during the long dark night of
spiritual apostasy, predicted by prophecy and attested by history; and
contemplate the heathen and but partly civilized tribes of the present
day. Are these, to whom no knowledge of the Gospel has come, to be
under eternal condemnation in consequence?
In the hereafter the saved and the lost are to be segregated. The
Scriptures so avouch. Therefore, were there no salvation for these who
have died in ignorance of Christ's Atonement and His Gospel, these
benighted spirits could never associate with their descendants who have
been privileged to live in an age of Gospel enlightenment, and who
have made themselves eligible for salvation by faith and its fruitage,
obedience.
I have read of a heathen king, who, through the zealous efforts of
missionaries whom he had tolerantly admitted to his realm, was inclined
to accept what had been presented to him as Christianity and make it
the religion of his people. Though he yearned for the blessed state of
salvation which the new religion seemed to offer, he was profoundly
affected by the thought that his ancestors, the dead chieftains of his
tribe, together with all the departed of his people, had gone to their
graves unsaved. When he was told that while he and his subjects could
reach heaven, those who had died before had surely gone to hell, he
exclaimed with a loud oath "Then to hell I will go with them."
He spoke as a brave man. Though, had he been more fully informed he
would have known that the Gospel of Jesus Christ entails no such dire
certainty; but that, on the contrary, the spirits of his noble dead
would have opportunity of learning, in the world of the disembodied,
the saving truth which in the flesh had never saluted their ears.
The Gospel is being preached to the dead. Missionary service in the
spirit world has been in progress since its inauguration by the
disembodied Christ while His crucified body lay in the tomb. (John
5:25.)
Christ's promise from the cross to the penitent thief dying by His
side, that the man should that day be in paradise with the Lord, tells
us where the Savior's spirit went and ministered during the interval
between death and resurrection. Paradise is not heaven, if by that name
we mean the abode of God and the place of the supremely blessed; for in
the early light of the resurrection Sunday the Risen Lord decisively
affirmed that He had not then ascended to His Father. (See John 20:17.)
Peter tells of the Lord's ministry among the disembodied: "For Christ
also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he
might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened
by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in
prison." (1 Peter 3:18-19.)
The terms of salvation are equally binding upon the quick and the dead:
"For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead,
that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live
according to God in the spirit." (1 Peter 4:6.)
The Atonement would be shorn of its sublime import and effect were
its provisions limited to the relative few who have complied with the
ordinances of the Gospel in the body. But the Scriptures abundantly
show that the Atonement is of universal effect, reaching every soul,
both in the certainty of resurrection from death and in the opportunity
for salvation through individual obedience. With particular reference
to redemption from death Jacob, a Nephite prophet, thus spake:
"Wherefore it must needs be an infinite atonement; save it should be
an infinite atonement, this corruption could not put on incorruption."
(Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 9:7.)
Obedience to Gospel requirements is likewise of universal application.
It follows that if any man has failed, either through neglect or lack
of opportunity to meet the requirement, the obligation is not cancelled
by death.
-- 70 --
GOD OF THE LIVING
All Live Unto Him
"BUT as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that
which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead,
but of the living." See Matt. 22:23-33.
These words of the Master were addressed to a party of Sadducees,
who had asked, though in irony, concerning certain details of the
resurrected state, all the while holding to their unscriptural dogma
that there could not be a resurrection from the dead.
The Lord dismissed their circumstantial instance with terse reproof
and brief explanation, and went direct to the real point of their
question--the actuality of the resurrection then future. He cited a
Scripture often quoted in the rabbinical discourses of the time, daily
sung in the refrain of the temple chants, and of frequent recurrence
in their ceremonial orisons: "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob."
Jehovah's affirmation of His own identity as expressed in this passage
was made to Moses at Horeb. See Exo. 3. At that time Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, with whom He who there spake unto Moses from amidst the
fiery splendor of the burning bush had made covenant of everlasting
effect, were dead. The climax of the Master's explanatory and positive
doctrine was unanswerable: "He is not a God of the dead, but of the
living: for all live unto him." (Luke 20:38.)
Small wonder that certain of the Scribes exclaimed, "Master, thou hast
well said," nor that the multitude "were astonished at His doctrine."
To acclaim as one of the distinguishing titles of Jehovah that He
was the God of the patriarchs whom they most revered, and yet hold
that those worthies were dead in the Sadducean sense of death, was
inconsistency itself.
The real import of death varies with the point of view. Looked at from
this side of the veil it means bereavement, departure, separation, and
as some ignorantly profess to believe, annihilation. From the other
side it is seen in its verity as the disembodiment of the living,
active, intelligent spirit, which existed before its entrance into a
tabernacle of flesh and bones, which maintains its individuality after
bodily dissolution, and which is destined to be reembodied in the
resurrection.
In these several states of existence the spirit is the same being,
with specific powers and functions, endowed with agency or choice,
and therefore strictly accountable. Death of the body in no sense
extinguishes the conscious personality of the spirit nor does it
terminate individual accountability.
Peter tells us of disembodied spirits who had lived in the flesh
during the Noachian dispensation, and who through disobedience and
wilful rejection of the Gospel had incurred bodily destruction, and
imprisonment of their undying spirits throughout the centuries from
Noah to Christ. Unto them the disembodied Savior went and preached the
Gospel. They were therefore alive, possessed of understanding, and
capable of accepting or again rejecting the Gospel of salvation.
Yet they were all numbered among the dead as man counts the departed;
and for that matter so was the Christ, for His visitation to those
"spirits in prison" was made during the interval of His death on the
cross and His emergence from the tomb with spirit and body reunited--a
resurrected Soul.
The Nephite prophet Alma set forth in words of inspired plainness the
continuity of intelligent existence after death:
"Now concerning the state of the soul between death and the
resurrection. Behold, it has been made known unto me, by an angel, that
the spirits of all men, as soon as they are departed from this mortal
body; yea, the spirits of all men, whether they be good or evil, are
taken home to that God who gave them life. And then shall it come to
pass that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a
state of happiness, which is called paradise; a state of rest; a state
of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all
care, and sorrow. . . . Now this is the state of the souls of the
wicked; yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful, looking for
the fiery indignation of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain
in this state, as well as the righteous in paradise, until the time of
their resurrection." (Book of Mormon, Alma 40.)
And as to the individual existence in and after the resurrection, the
same revelator has given us this Scripture:
"Now, there is a death which is called a temporal death: and the death
of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall
be raised from this temporal death. The spirit and the body shall
be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be
restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we
shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and
have a bright recollection of all our guilt. Now this restoration shall
come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and
female, both the wicked and the righteous." (Alma 11.)
-- 71 --
BEYOND THE GRAVE
Repentance Possible Even There