_DEATH AND RESURRECTION_
_The Body Must Return to Mother Earth_--Every person possessing
the principle of eternal life should look upon his body as of the earth
earthy. Our bodies must return to their mother earth. True, to most
people it is a wretched thought that our spirits must, for a longer
or shorter period, be separated from our bodies, and thousands and
millions have been subject to this affliction throughout their lives.
If they understood the design of this probation and the true principles
of eternal life, it is but a small matter for the body to suffer and
die. 7:240.
The Lord has pleased to organize tabernacles here, and put spirits into
them, and they then become intelligent beings. By and by, sooner or
later, the body, this that is tangible to you, that you can feel, see,
handle, etc., returns to its mother dust. Is the spirit dead? No. You
believe the spirit still exists, when this body has crumbled to the
earth again, and the spirit that God puts into the tabernacle goes into
the world of spirits. What is their situation? Is there any opportunity
for them whatever? Yes, there is. 2:138.
"Well," says Mr. B.: "If you have got this great power, and can heal
the sick by the laying on of hands, come with me and heal the sick in
our neighborhood; or how is it that any of you 'Mormons' die at all?"
Take your time, Mr. B. The Bible teaches me I am dust, and to dust I
must return. It is not for me to thwart the plans of Jehovah, or do
away with any item of doctrine the Lord has taught me. From dust I am,
and to dust I must return. So it is with the rest of us, we shall all
die and be buried in the silent grave. 1:240. {565}
We shall suffer no more in putting off this flesh and leaving the
spirit houseless than the child, in its capacity, does in its first
efforts to breathe the breath of this mortal life. 8:28.
Our bodies are composed of visible, tangible matter, as you all
understand; you also know that they are born into this world. They then
begin to partake of the elements adapted to their organization and
growth, increase to manhood, become old, decay, and pass again into the
dust. Now in the first place, though I have explained this many times,
what we call death is the operation of life, inherent in the matter of
which the body is composed, and which causes the decomposition after
the spirit has left the body. Were that not the fact, the body, from
which has fled the spirit, would remain to all eternity, just as it was
when the spirit left it, and would not decay.
What is commonly called death does not destroy the body, it only causes
a separation of spirit and body, but the principle of life, inherent
in the native elements, of which the body is composed, still continues
with the particles of that body and causes it to decay, to dissolve
itself into the elements of which it was composed, and all of which
continues to have life. When the spirit given to man leaves the body,
the tabernacle begins to decompose. Is that death? No, death only
separates the spirit and body, and a principle of life still operates
in the untenanted tabernacle, but in a different way, and producing
different effects from those observed while it was tenanted by the
spirit. There is not a particle of element which is not filled with
life, and all space is filled with element; there is no such thing as
empty space, though some philosophers contend that there is.
Life in various proportions, combinations, conditions, etc., fills all
matter. Is there life in a tree when it ceases to put forth leaves? You
see it standing upright, and when it ceases {566} to bear leaves and
fruit you say it is dead, but that is a mistake. It still has life,
but that life operates upon the tree in another way, and continues
to operate until it resolves it to the native elements. It is life
in another condition that begins to operate upon man, upon animal,
upon vegetation, and upon minerals when we see the change termed
dissolution. There is life in the material of the fleshly tabernacle,
independent of the spirit given of God to undergo this probation.
There is life in all matter, throughout the vast extent of all the
eternities; it is in the rock, the sand, the dust, in water, air, the
gases, and in short, in every description and organization of matter,
whether it be solid, liquid, or gaseous, particle operating with
particle.
I have heard some philosophers argue that because no body could move
without displacing other matter, therefore there must be empty space.
That reasoning is nonsense to me, because eternity is, was, and will
continue to be full of matter and life. We put a ship in motion on the
water, and have we created an empty space? No, we have only changed
the position of matter. Men and animals move upon the earth, birds
and fishes cleave the elements they are organized to operate in, but
do they leave a track of empty space? No, for all eternity is full of
matter and life. True, element is capable of contraction and expansion,
but that does not by any means imply empty space. You see life in
human beings and in the growing vegetation, and when that spirit of
life departs, another condition of life at once begins to operate upon
the organization which remains. By way of illustration I will quote
one passage from the Book of Job, who in his afflictions was visited
by several friends, and after he had concluded that they were all
miserable comforters, he exclaimed, "Though worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God." To make this passage clearer {567}
to your comprehension, I will paraphrase it, Though my spirit leave my
body, and though worms destroy its present organization, yet in the
morning of the resurrection I shall behold the face of my Savior, in
this same tabernacle; that is my understanding of the idea so briefly
expressed by Job. 3:276-7.
_Man Should Live Out His Days_--It is not the design of the Father
that the earthly career of any should terminate until they have lived
out their days; and the reason that so few do live out their days
is because of the force of sin in the world and the power of death
over the human family. To these causes, and not to the design of the
Creator, may be attributed the fact that disease stalks abroad, laying
low the aged, middle-aged, youth, and infants, and the human family
generally by millions. 14:230.
So live that when you wake in the spirit-world you can truthfully say,
"I could not better my mortal life, were I to live it over again." I
exhort you, for the sake of the House of Israel, for the sake of Zion
which we are to build up, to so live, from this time, henceforth, and
forever, that your characters may with pleasure be scrutinized by holy
beings. Live godly lives, which you cannot do without living moral
lives. 8:164.
_We Should Not Mourn for the Righteous Dead_--Those who have
honored their calling and Priesthood to the end die in the Lord, and
their works do follow them. 13:75.
It is a great cause of joy and rejoicing and comfort to his friends to
know that a person has passed away in peace from this life, and has
secured to himself a glorious resurrection. The earth and the fulness
of the earth and all that pertains to this earth in an earthly capacity
is no comparison with the glory, joy and peace and happiness of the
soul that departs in peace. 12:186.
Mourning for the righteous dead springs from the ignorance {568}
and weakness that are planted within the mortal tabernacle, the
organization of this house for the spirit to dwell in. No matter what
pain we suffer, no matter what we pass through, we cling to our mother
earth, and dislike to have any of her children leave us. We love to
keep together the social family relation that we bear one to another,
and do not like to part with each other; but could we have knowledge
and see into eternity, if we were perfectly free from the weakness,
blindness, and lethargy with which we are clothed in the flesh, we
should have no disposition to weep or mourn. 4:131.
Nothing remains here for us but to pay our last respects to that which
came from mother earth. It was formed and fashioned and the spirit was
put into it, and it has grown and become what it is, and the spirit
having departed, the body lies ready to return to the bosom of its
mother, there to rest until the morning of the resurrection. But the
life and intelligence which once dwelt in that body still live, and
Sister Aurelia moves, talks, walks, enjoys and beholds that which we
cannot enjoy and behold while we are in these tabernacles of clay. She
is in glory; she has passed the ordeals and has reached a position
in which the power of Satan has no influence upon her. The advantage
of this Priesthood is that when persons yield obedience to it, they
secure to themselves the sanction of him who is its author, and who
has bestowed it upon the children of men. His power is around them and
defends them; and when they pass into the spirit world they are out of
the reach of the power of Satan. Where the pure in heart are the wicked
cannot come. This is the state of the spirit world. 14:229.
When death is past, the power of Satan has no more influence over a
faithful individual; that spirit is free, and can command the power of
Satan. The penalty demanded by the {569} fall has been fully paid; all
is accomplished pertaining to it, when the tabernacle of a faithful
person is returned to the earth. All that was lost is passed away,
and that person will again receive his body. When he is in the spirit
world, he is free from those contaminating and condemning influences
of Satan that we are now subject to. Here our bodies are subject to
being killed by our enemies--our names to being cast out as evil. We
are persecuted, hated, not beloved: though I presume that we are as
much beloved here as the spirits of the Saints are in the spirit world
by those spirits who hate righteousness. It is the same warfare, but we
will have power over them. Those who have passed through the veil have
power over the evil spirits to command, and they must obey. 7:240-241.
Shall we rejoice that we have the opportunity of paying the last
respects due to this lifeless clay, which a few days ago was alive and
active, full of spirit, attending the High Council, giving decisions
full of knowledge? Yes, we will rejoice. It is a matter of rejoicing
more than the day of his birth. It is true it is grievous to part
with our friends. We are creatures of passion, of sympathy, of love,
and it is painful for us to part with our friends. We would keep
them in the mortal house, though they should suffer pain. Are we not
selfish in this? Should we not rather rejoice at the departure of
those whose lives have been devoted to doing good, to a good old age?
Brother Spencer has lived beyond what is counted to be the common
age of man some four or five years; his judgment was as active as it
was twenty-five years ago. He has been faithful in this holy war. He
instructed all with whom he met in the way of life. He never gave
counsel but what marked the way to life everlasting. 13:75.
_Our Identity Will Be Preserved_--And the thought of {570} being
annihilated--of being blotted out of existence--is most horrid, even to
that class called infidels. 5:53.
This intelligence must endure. We must preserve our identity before the
Lord, who has sent his Son and angels, and is sending the Holy Ghost,
and his ministers, and revelations, to comfort, cheer, guide, and
direct the affairs of his Kingdom on the earth. 8:155.
I am after life; I want to preserve my identity, so that you can see
Brigham in the eternal worlds just as you see him now. I want to see
that eternal principle of life dwelling within us which will exalt us
eternally in the presence of our Father and God. 7:57.
The Gospel of life and salvation reveals to each individual who
receives it that this world is only a place of temporary duration,
existence, trials, etc. Its present fashion and uses are but for a few
days, while we were created to exist eternally. The wicked can see no
further than this world is concerned. We understand that when we are
unclothed in this present state, then we are prepared to be clothed
upon with immortality--that when we put off these bodies we put on
immortality. These bodies will return to dust, but our hope and faith
are that we will receive these bodies again from the elements--that we
will receive the very organization that we have here, and that, if we
are faithful to the principles of freedom, we shall then be prepared to
endure eternally. 5:53.
_Our Bodies Will be Resurrected_--After the spirit leaves the
body, it remains without a tabernacle in the spirit world until the
Lord, by his law that he has ordained, brings to pass the resurrection
of the dead. When the angel who holds the keys of the resurrection
shall sound his trumpet, then the peculiar fundamental particles that
organized our bodies here, if we do honor to them, though they be
deposited in the depths of the {571} sea, and though one particle is in
the north, another in the south, another in the east, and another in
the west, will be brought together again in the twinkling of an eye,
and our spirits will take possession of them. We shall then be prepared
to dwell with the Father and the Son, and we never can be prepared to
dwell with them until then. Spirits, when they leave their bodies, do
not dwell with the Father and the Son, but live in the Spirit world,
where there are places prepared for them. Those who do honor to their
tabernacles, and love and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, must put
off this mortality, or they cannot put on immortality. This body must
be changed, else it cannot be prepared to dwell in the glory of the
Father. 8:28.
The only true riches in existence are for you and me to secure for
ourselves a holy resurrection. 1:272.
After the body and spirit are separated by death, what, pertaining to
this earth, shall we receive first? The body; that is the first object
of a divine affection beyond the grave. We first come in possession
of the body. The spirit has overcome the body, and the body is made
subject in every respect to that divine principle God has planted in
the person. The spirit within is pure and holy, and goes back pure and
holy to God, dwells in the spirit world pure and holy, and, by and
by, will have the privilege of coming and taking the body again. Some
person holding the keys of the resurrection, having previously passed
through that ordeal, will be delegated to resurrect our bodies, and our
spirits will be there and prepared to enter into their bodies. Then,
when we are prepared to receive our bodies, they are the first earthly
objects that bear divinity personified in the capacity of the man. Only
the body dies; the spirit is looking forth. 9:139.
But this our place of abode is only temporary; we are on a {572}
journey; we have only to winter and summer, as it were. Brother Grant
has got through here, and has gone to his spiritual place of abode for
a season. Not that he has reached his journey's end, nor will he, until
he has again received this body that now lies before me. Every material
part and portion pertaining to his body, to the temporal organization
that constitutes the man, will clothe his spirit again, before he is
prepared to receive the place and habitation that is prepared for him;
yet he has gone to his spiritual home for a season. 4:129.
Yes, we will lay down these bodies in the grave. What for? That the
dust, our mother earth, that composes the house of the spirit, may
be purified by passing through this ordeal, and be prepared to be
called up and united with the intelligent heavenly body that God has
prepared. This is nothing but a change. It is not the dissolution of
the creature; it is merely putting off the flesh that pertains to this
world.
The particles of this earth that now compose this body will be
rearranged, and the spirit will be clothed with an immortal tabernacle.
Let the spirit reign predominant over the flesh, and bring into
subjection the whole man, every feeling and every desire of his heart,
and let him be devoted wholly, body and spirit, to the end for which
the has been created. When the flesh is brought into subjection, it is
made worthy through that means. 8:43.
We are here in circumstances to bury our dead according to the order
of the Priesthood. But some of our brethren die upon the ocean; they
cannot be buried in a burying ground, but they are sewed up in canvas
and cast into the sea, and perhaps in two minutes after they are in
the bowels of the shark, yet those persons will come forth in the
resurrection, and receive all the glory of which they are worthy, and
be clothed upon with all the beauty of resurrected Saints, as much so
as if they had {573} been laid away in a gold or silver coffin, and in
a place expressly for burying the dead. 9:193.
The resurrection from the dead may also, with propriety, be called a
birth. 8:260.
The blood he spilled upon Mount Calvary he did not receive again into
his veins. That was poured out, and when he was resurrected, another
element took the place of the blood. It will be so with every person
who receives a resurrection; the blood will not be resurrected with
the body, being designed only to sustain the life of the present
organization. When that is dissolved, and we again obtain our bodies
by the power of the resurrection, that which we now call the life of
the body, and which is formed from the food we eat and the water we
drink will be supplanted by another element; for flesh and blood cannot
inherit the Kingdom of God. 7:163.
_Jesus, the First Fruits of the Resurrection_--Jesus is the
first begotten from the dead, as you will understand. Neither Enoch,
Elijah, Moses, nor any other man that ever lived on earth, no matter
how strictly he lived, ever obtained a resurrection until after Jesus
Christ's body was called from the tomb by the angel. He was the first
begotten from the dead. He is the Master of the resurrection--the first
flesh that lived here after receiving the glory of the resurrection.
8:260.
You read about a first resurrection. If there is a first, there is a
second. And if a second, may there not be a third, and a fourth, and so
on? Yes; and happy are they who have a part in the first resurrection.
Yes, more blessed are they than any others. But blessed also are
they that will have part in the second resurrection, for they will
be brought forth to enjoy a kingdom that is more glorious than the
sectarian world ever dreamed of. 7:287.
_The Resurrected Body_--We bear the image of our {574} earthly
parents in their fallen state, but by obedience to the Gospel of
salvation, and the renovating influences of the Holy Ghost, and the
holy resurrection, we shall put on the image of the heavenly, in
beauty, glory, power and goodness. Jesus Christ was so like his Father
that on one occasion in answer to a request, "Show us the Father," he
said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." 11:123.
In the resurrection everything that is necessary will be brought from
the elements to clothe and to beautify the resurrected Saints, who will
receive their reward. I do not trouble myself about my dead. If they
are stripped of their clothing, I do not want to know it. 9:192.
When the body comes forth again, it will be divine, Godlike according
to the capacity and ordinations of the Lord. Some are fore-ordained to
one station, and some to another. We want a house, and when we get it
and our spirits enter into it, then we can begin to look forth--for
what? For our friends. We want them resurrected. Here is this friend
and that friend, until by and by all are resurrected. And the earth is
resurrected? Yes, and every living thing on the earth that has abided
the law by which it was made. Then that which you and I respect, are
fond of, and love with an earthly love, will become divine, and we can
then love it with that affection which it is not now worthy of. 9:140.
Our bodies are now mortal. In the resurrection there will be a reunion
of the spirits and bodies, and they will walk, talk, eat, drink, and
enjoy. Those who have passed these ordeals are society for angels--for
the Gods, and are the ones who will come into the Temple of the Lord
that is to be built in the latter days, when saviors shall come up
upon Mount Zion, and will say, "Here, my children, I want this and
this done. Here are the names of such and such ones, of our fathers,
and {575} mothers--our ancestors; we will bring them up. Go forth, you
who have not passed the ordeals of death and the resurrection--you who
live in the flesh, and attend to the ordinances for those who have died
without the law." Those who are resurrected will thus dictate in the
temple. When the Saints pass through death, they cannot officiate in
this sinful world, but they will dictate those who are here. "Go, now,
and be baptized for the honorable--for those who would have received
the law of God and the true religion, if they had lived; be baptized
for the heathen--for all who were honest; officiate for them, and save
them, and bring them up. Be baptized for them, anointed for them,
washed and sealed for them, and fulfil all the ordinances which cannot
be dispensed with." They will all be performed for the living and the
dead upon Mount Zion. 8:225.
_Resurrection Necessary to Full Salvation_--No man can enter the
celestial kingdom and be crowned with a celestial glory, until he gets
his resurrected body; but Joseph and the faithful who have died have
gained a victory over the power of the Devil, which you and I have not
yet gained. So long as we live in these tabernacles, so long we will
be subject to the temptations and power of the Devil; but when we lay
them down, if we have been faithful, we have gained the victory so far;
but even then we are not so far advanced at once as to be beyond the
neighborhood of evil spirits. 3:371. {576}