DELIVERED BY ELDER ORSON PRATT, AT THE TABERNACLE, GREATSALT LAKE CITY, JULY 25, 1852
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I have been requested to preach the funeral sermon of the wife of brotherLevi Savage, who died last December; and since coming to this place thismorning, I have been requested to preach the funeral sermons of severalof the Saints who have died in England; and I have concluded, instead oflimiting my address to any one individual case, to preach what may be considereda general funeral sermon of all the Saints that have died in all past agesand generations, with all that shall die hereafter, and the funeral sermonof all those who are not Saints, and also the funeral sermon of the heavensand the earth; and for this purpose I will take a text, which you will findrecorded in the 51st chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah, and the sixth verse-
"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath,for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax oldlike a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; butmy salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished."
All things with which we are acquainted, pertaining to this earth ofours, are subject to change; not only man, so far as his temporal body isconcerned, but the beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, the fishesof the sea, and every living thing with which we are acquainted-all aresubject to pain and distress, and finally die and pass away; death seemsto have universal dominion in our creation. It certainly is a curious world;it certainly does not look like a world constructed in such a manner asto produce eternal happiness; and it would be very far from the truth, Ithink, for any being at the present time to, pronounce it very good: everythingseems to show us that goodness, in a great degree, has fled from this creation.If we partake of the elements, death is there in all its forms and varieties;and when we desire to rejoice, sorrow is there, mingling itself in everycup; and woe, and wretchedness, and misery, seem to be our present doom.
There is something, however, in man, that is constantly reaching forwardafter happiness, after life, after pleasure, after something to satisfythe longing desire that dwells within his bosom. Why is it that we havesuch a desire? And why is it that it is not satisfied? Why is it that thecreation is so constructed? And why is it that death reigns universallyover all living earthly beings? Did the great Author of creation constructthis little globe of ours subject to all these changes, which are calculatedto produce sorrow and death among the beings that inhabit it? Was this theoriginal condition of our creation? I answer, no; it was not so constructed.But how was it made in the beginning? All things that were made pertainingto this earth were pronounced "very good." Where there is pain,where there is sickness, where there is sorrow, and where there is death,this saying can not be understood in its literal sense; things cannot bevery good where something very evil reigns and has universal dominion.
We are, therefore, constrained to believe, that in the first formationof our globe, as far as the Mosaic history gives us information, everythingwas perfect in its formation; that there was nothing in the air, or in thewaters, or in the solid elements, that was calculated to produce misery,wretchedness, unhappiness, or death, in the way that it was then organized;not but what the same elements, organized a little differently, would produceall these effects; but as it was then constructed, we must admit that everyparticle of air, of water, and of earth, was so organized as to be capableof diffusing life and immortality through all the varied species of animatedexistence-immortality reigned in every department of creation; hence itwas pronounced very "good."
When the Lord made the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea,to people the atmospheric heavens, or the watery elements, these fowls andfishes were so constructed in their nature as to be capable of eternal existence.To imagine anything different from this, would be to suppose the Almightyto form that which was calculated to produce wretchedness and misery. Whatsays the Psalmist David upon this subject? He says that all the works ofthe Lord shall endure for ever. Did not the Lord make the fish? Yes. DidHe not make the fowls of the heavens? Yes. Did He not make the beasts ofthe field, and the creeping things, and the insects? Yes. Do they endurefor ever? They apparently do not; and yet David says all His works are constructedupon that principle. Is this a contradiction? No. God has given some otherparticulars in relation to these works. He has permitted the destroyer tovisit them, who has usurped a certain dominion and ruin on every hand; theperfections of the original organizations have ceased. But will the Lordfor ever permit these destructions to reign? No. His power exists, and thepower of the destroyer exists. His power exists, and the power of deathexists; but His power exceeds all other powers; and consequently, wherevera usurper comes in and lays waste any of His works, He will repair thosewastes, build up the old ruins, and make all things new: even the fish ofthe sea, and the fowls of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth, mustyet, in order to carry out the designs of the Almighty, be so constructedas to be capable of eternal existence.
It would be interesting to know something about the situation of things,when they were first formed, and how this destroyer happened to make inroadsupon this fair creation; what the causes were, and why it was permitted.
Man, when he was first placed upon this earth, was an immortal being,capable of eternal endurance; his flesh and bones, as well as his spirit,were immortal and eternal in their nature; and it was just so with all theinferior creation-the lion, the leopard, the and the cow; it was so withthe feathered tribes of creation, as well as those that swim in the vastocean of waters; all were immortal and eternal in their nature; and theearth itself, as a living being, was immortal and eternal in its nature."What! is the earth alive too?" If it were not, how could thewords of our text be fulfilled, where it speaks of the earth's dying? Howcan that die that has no life? "Lift up your eyes to the Heavens above,"says the Lord, "and look upon the earth beneath; the heavens shallvanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, andthey that dwell therein shall die in like manner." In like manner!What! the earth and the heavens to die? Yes, the material heavens and earthmust all undergo this change which we call death; and if so, the earth mustbe alive as well as we. The earth was so constructed that it was capableof existing as a living being to all eternity, with all the swarms of animals,fowls, and fishes that were first placed upon the face thereof. But howcan it be proved that man was an immortal being? We will refer you to whatthe Apostle Paul has written upon this subject; he says that by one mancame death; and be tells us how it came: it was by the transgression ofone individual that death was introduced here. But did transgression bringin all these diseases and this sorrow, this misery and wretchedness, overthe whole face of this creation? Is it by the transgression of one personthat the very heavens are to vanish away as smoke, and the earth is to waxold like a garment? Yes, it is by the transgression of one; and if it hadnot been for his transgression, the earth never would have been subjectto death. Why? Because the works of the Lord are so constructed as to existfor ever; and if death had come in without a cause, and destroyed the earth,and laid waste the material heavens, and produced a general and utter overthrowand ruin in this fair creation, then the works of the Lord would have ceasedto endure according to the promise, being imperfect in their construction,and consequently not very good.
But what was this sin, and what was the nature of it? I will tell youwhat it was; it was merely the partaking of certain kind of fruit. But,says one, I should think there is no harm in eating fruit. There would notbe unless God gave a command upon the subject. There are things in naturethat would be evil without a commandment: if there were no commandment,it would be evil for you to murder an innocent being, and your own consciencewould tell you it was an evil thing, It is an evil for any individual toinjure another, or to infringe upon the rights of another, independent ofany revealed law; for the savage, or that being who has never heard of thewritten laws of heaven-who has never heard of the revealed laws of God withregard to these principles-as well as the Saint, knows that it is an evilto infringe upon the rights of another; the very nature of the thing showsthat it is an evil; but not so in regard to many other things that are evil;which are only made evil by commandment.
For instance, here is the Sabbath day: a person that never heard therevealed law of God upon the subject, never could conceive that it was evilto work on the Sabbath day; he would consider it just as right to work onthe first day of the week, as on the seventh; he would perceive nothingin the nature of the thing by which he could distinguish it to be an evil.So with regard to eating certain fruits, there is no evil in it of itself,it was the commandment of the Great God that made it an evil. He said toAdam and Eve, "Here are all the fruits of the garden; you may eat ofthem freely except this one tree that stands in the midst of the garden;now beware, for in the day you eat thereof you shall surely die." Don'twe perceive that the commandment made this an evil? Had it not been forthis commandment, Adam would have walked forth and freely partaken of everytree, without any remorse of conscience; just as the savage, that neverhas heard the revealed will of God, would work on the Sabbath, the sameas on any other day, and have no conscience about the matter. But when aman murders, he knows it to be an injury, and he has a conscience aboutit, though he never heard of God; and so with thousands of other evils.But why did the Lord place man under these peculiar circumstances? Why didHe not withhold the commandment, if the partaking of the fruit, after thecommandment was given, was sin? Why should there have been a commandmentupon the subject at all, inasmuch as there was no evil in the nature ofthe thing to be perceived or understood? The Lord had a purpose in view;though He constructed this fair creation, as we have told you, subject toimmortality, and capable of eternal endurance, and though He had constructedman capable of living for ever, yet He had an object in view in regard tothat man, and the creation he inhabited. What was the object? And how shallthis object be accomplished?
Why, the Lord wanted this intelligent being called man, to prove himself;inasmuch as he was an agent, He desired that he should show himself approvedbefore his Creator.
How could this be done without a commandment? Can you devise any possiblemeans? Is there any person in this congregation having wisdom sufficientto devise any means by which an intelligent being can show himself approvedbefore a superior intelligence, unless it be by administering to that mancertain laws to be kept? No. Without law, without commandment or rule, therewould be no possible way of showing his integrity: it could not be saidthat he would keep all the laws that govern superior orders of beings, unlesshe had been placed in a position to be tried, and thus proven whether hewould keep them or not. Then it was wisdom to try the man and the woman,so the Lord gave them this commandment; if He had not intended the man shouldbe tried by this commandment, He never would have planted that tree, Henever would have placed it in the midst of the garden. But the very factthat He planted it where the man could have easy access to it, shows thatHe intended man should be tried by it, and thus prove whether he would keepHis commandments or not. The penalty of disobedience to this law was death.
But could He not give a commandment, without affixing a penalty? Hecould not: it would be folly, even worse than folly, for God to give a lawto an intelligent being, without affixing a penalty to it if it were broken.Why? Because all intelligent beings would discard the very idea of a lawbeing given, which might be broken at pleasure, without the individualsbreaking it being punished for their transgression. They would say-"Whereis the principle of justice in the giver of the law? It is not there: wedo not reverence Him nor His law; justice does not have an existence inHis bosom; He does not regard His own laws, for He suffers them to be brokenwith impunity, and trampled under foot, by those whom He has made; thereforewe care not for Him or His laws, nor His pretended justice; we will rebelagainst it." Where would have been the use of it if there had beenno penalty affixed?
But what was the nature of this penalty? It was wisely ordained to beof such a nature as to instruct man. Penalties inflicted upon human beingshere, by governors, kings, or rulers, are generally of such a nature asto benefit them.
Adam was appointed lord of this creation; a great governor, swayingthe sceptre of power over the whole earth. When the governor, the personwho was placed to reign over this fair creation, had transgressed, all inhis dominions had to feel the effects of it, the same as a father or a mother,who transgresses certain laws, frequently transmits the effects thereofto the latest generations.
How often do we see certain diseases becoming hereditary, being handeddown from father to son for generations. Why? Because in the first instancethere was a transgression, and the children partook of the effects of it.
And what was the fullest extent of the penalty of Adam's transgression?I will tell you-it was death. The death of what? The death of the immortaltabernacle-of that tabernacle where the seeds of death had not been, thatwas wisely framed, and pronounced very good: the seeds of death were introducedinto it. How, and in what manner? Some say there was something in the natureof the fruit that introduced mortality. Be this as it may, one thing iscertain, death entered into the system; it came there by some means, andsin was the main spring by which this monster was introduced. If there hadbeen no sin, old father Adam would at this day have been in the garden ofEden, as bright and as blooming, as fresh and as fair, as ever, togetherwith his lonely consort Eve, dwelling in all the beauty of youth.
By one man came death-the death of the body. What becomes of the spiritwhen the body dies? Will it be perfectly happy? Would old father Adam'sspirit have gone back into the presence of God, and dwelt there eternally,enjoying all the felicities and glories of heaven, after his body had died?No; for the penalty of that transgression was not limited to the body alone.When he sinned, it was with both the body and the spirit that he sinned:it was not only the body that eat of the fruit, but the spirit gave thewill to eat; the spirit sinned therefore as well as the body; they wereagreed in partaking of that fruit. Was not the spirit to suffer then aswell as the body? Yes. How long? To all ages of eternity, without any end;while the body was to return back to its mother earth, and there slumberto all eternity. That was the effect of the fall, leaving out the plan ofredemption; so that, if there had been no plan of redemption prepared frombefore the foundation of the world, man would have been subjected to aneternal dissolution of the body and spirit-the one to lie mingling withits mother earth, to all ages of eternity, and the other to be subject,throughout all future duration, to the power that deceived him, and ledthem astray; to be completely miserable, or, as the Book of Mormon says,"dead as to things pertaining to righteousness;" and I defy anysuch beings to have any happiness when they are dead as to things pertainingto righteousness. To them, happiness is out of the question; they are completelyand eternally miserable, and there is no help for them, laying aside theatonement. That was the penalty pronounced upon father Adam, and upon allthe creation of which he was made lord and governor. This is what is termedoriginal sin, and the effect of it.
But there is a very curious saying in the Book of Mormon, to which Inow wish to refer your minds; it reads thus: "Adam fell that man mightbe, and men are that they might have joy." Says one, "If Adamhad not fallen, then there could not have been any posterity." Thatis just what we believe; but how do you get along with that saying whichwas given previous to the fall, where he was commanded to multiply and replenishthe earth? How could he have multiplied and fulfilled this commandment,if "Adam fell that man might be?" Let me appeal to another sayingin the New Testament: "Adam was not deceived; but the woman, beingdeceived, was in the transgression," says the Apostle Paul. Well, afterthe woman was deceived, she became subject to the penalty; yes, after shehad partaken of the forbidden fruit, the penalty was upon her, and not uponAdam; he had not partaken of the fruit, but his wife had. Now, what is tobe done? Here are two beings in the garden of Eden, the woman and the man;she has transgressed, has broken the law, and incurred the penalty. Andnow, suppose the man had said, "I will not partake of this forbiddenfruit;" the next word would have been, "Cast her out of the garden;but let Adam stay there, for he has not sinned, he has not broken the commandment,but his wife has; she was deceived, let her be banished from the garden,and from my presence and from Adam's presence; let them be eternally separated."I ask, on these conditions could they fulfil the first great commandment?They could not. Adam saw this, that the woman was overcome by the devilspeaking through the serpent; and when he saw it, he was satisfied thatthe woman would have to be banished from his presence: he saw, also, thatunless he partook of the forbidden fruit, he could never raise up posterity;therefore the truth of that saying in the Book of Mormon is apparent, that"Adam fell that man might be." He saw that it was necessary thathe should with her partake of sorrow and death, and the varied effects ofthe fall, that he and she might be redeemed from these effects, and be restoredback again to the presence of God.
This tree, of which they both ate, was called the tree of knowledgeof good and evil. Why was it thus termed? I will explain a mystery to you,brethren, why this was called so. Adam and Eve, while in the garden of Eden,had not the knowledge you and I have; it is true, they had a degree of intelligence,but they had not the experience, they had not the knowledge by experience,which you and I have: all they knew was barely what they knew when theycame there; they knew a commandment had been given to them, and they hadsufficient knowledge to name the beasts of the field as they came up beforethem; but as for the knowledge of good, they had not got it, because theynever had anything contrary to good placed before them.
We will bring up an example. For instance, suppose you had never tastedanything that was sweet-never had the sensation of sweetness-could you haveany correct idea of the term sweetness? No. On the other hand, how couldyou understand bitter if you never had tasted bitterness? Could you definethe term to them who had experienced this sensation, or knew it? No. I willbring another example. Take a man who had been perfectly blind from hisinfancy, and never saw the least gleam of light-could you describe colorsto him? No. Would he know anything about red, blue, violet, or yellow? No;you could not describe it to him by any way you might undertake. But bysome process let his eyes be opened, and let him gaze upon the sun beamsthat reflect upon a watery cloud, producing the rainbow, where he wouldsee a variety of colors, he could then appreciate them for himself; buttell him about colors when he is blind, he would not know them from a pieceof earthenware. So with Adam previous to partaking of this fruit; good couldnot be described to him, because he never had experienced the opposite.As to undertaking to explain to him what evil was, you might as well haveundertaken to explain, to a being that never had, for one moment, had hiseyes closed to the light, what darkness is. The tree of knowledge of goodand evil was placed there that man might gain certain information he nevercould have gained otherwise; by partaking of the forbidden fruit he experiencedmisery, then he knew that he was once happy, previously he could not comprehendwhat happiness meant, what good was; but now he knows it by contrast, nowhe is filled with sorrow and wretchedness, now he sees the difference betweenhis former and present condition, and if by any means he could be restoredto his first position, he would be prepared to realize it, like the manthat never had seen the light. Let the man to whom all the beauties of lighthave been displayed, and who has never been in darkness, be in a moment,in the twinkling of an eye, deprived of his natural sight; what a changethis would be to him; he never knew anything about darkness before, he neverunderstood the principle at all; it never entered the catalogue of his ideas,until darkness came upon him, and his eye-sight was destroyed: now he cancomprehend that the medium he once existed in was light. Now, says he, ifI could only regain my sight, I could appreciate it, for I understand thecontrast; restore me back again to my sight, and let me enjoy the lightI once had; let me gaze upon the works of creation, let me look on the beautiesthereof again, and I will be satisfied, and my joy will be full. It wasso with Adam; let the way be prepared for his redemption, and the redemptionof his posterity, and all creation that groans in pain to be delivered-letthem be restored back again to what they lost through the fall, and theywill be prepared to appreciate it.
In order to show you the dire effects of the fall, it is not only necessaryto say that old father Adam has experienced that penalty, and laid downhis body in the dust; but all generations since that time have experiencedthe same; and you, and I, and every man, and woman, and child, have gotto undergo that penalty; it will be inflicted upon us, and thus will thelaw of God be magnified, His words fulfilled, and justice have its demands.It is not because of our sins, that we die; it is not because we have transgressed,that we die; it is not because we may commit murder, or steal, or plunder,or rob, or take the name of the Lord in vain; it is not these things thatbring the death of the body; but it is Adam's sin that makes the littlechild die, that makes kings, princes, and potentates die, and that has madeall generations die from his day down to the present time. Don't you thinkthere ought to be some way to redeem us from this dreadful calamity? Wehad no hand in the transgression of Adam; you and I were not there to participatein it; but it was our great father who did it, and we are suffering theeffects of it.
Cannot some of the wise medical men of the age-some of the great physiciansand doctors of the day, who have studied medicine all their life-can theynot imagine up something new, that will relieve the posterity of Adam fromthis awful calamity? They have not done it yet. Dr. Brandreth recommendedhis medicine for all kinds of diseases, and even it was said that steam-boatswere propelled by its power; but it made no man immortal; it did not saveone man; and it is doubtful in the extreme-it is certain, that no man inthis mortality has ever discovered that medicine which will relieve us fromthese awful effects transmitted from father Adam to this present time. Thereis a remedy, but it is not to be found in the catalogue of the inventionsof man; it is not to be found in the bowels of the earth, or dug out ofany mines; it is not to be purchased by the gold of California, or the treasuresof India. What is it, and how was it discovered? It was the Being who mademan, that made him immortal and eternal, that Being whose bosom is filledwith mercy, as well as justice, that exercises both attributes, and showsto all creation that He is a merciful God, as well as a God of justice;it was He that discovered this wonderful remedy to preserve mankind fromthe effects of this eternal death. But when is it to be applied? Not immediately,for that would frustrate His designs: when the body has got back into thedust, and after man has suffered sufficiently long for the original sin,He then brings him forth to enjoy all the bloom of immortality; He tellsDeath to trouble him no more; He wipes away all tears from his eyes, forhe is prepared to live for ever, and gaze upon His glory, and dwell in Hispresence.
This great Redeemer is stronger than Death, more powerful than thatdireful monster who has come into the world, and laid siege to all the inhabitantsthereof; He will banish it out of this creation. How will He do it? If thepenalty of the original sin be the eternal separation of body and spirit,how can justice have all its demands, and mercy be shown to the transgressor?There is a way, and how? It is by the introduction of His Only BegottenSon, the Son of His own bosom, the first-born of every creature, holdingthe birthright over every creation He has made, and holding the keys ofsalvation over millions of worlds like this; he has a right to come forthand suffer the penalty of death for the fallen sons and daughters of man.He offered his own life: says he, "Father, I will suffer death thoughI have not merited it; let me suffer the demands of the law. Here I am innocentin thy presence; I have always kept thy laws from the day of my birth amongthy creations throughout ages past down to the present time; I have neverbeen rebellious to thy commandments; and now I will suffer for my brethrenand sisters: let thy justice be magnified and made honourable; here am I;let me suffer the ends of the law, and let death and the grave deliver uptheir victims, and let the posterity of Adam all be set free, every soulof them without an exception." This is the way that justice is magnifiedand made honourable, and none of the creations of the Almighty can complainof Him, that He has not answered the ends of justice; no intelligent beingcan say, "You have deviated from your words." Justice has hadits demands in the penalties that were inflicted upon the Son of God, sofar as Adam's transgression is concerned.
I will explain a little further. So far as that transgression is concerned,all the inhabitants of the earth will be saved. Now understand me correctly.If there are any strangers present, that have not understood the views ofthe Latter-day Saints, I wish you to understand that we have no referencein any way to our own personal sins; but so far as the original sin of fatherAdam is concerned, you and I will have to suffer death; and every man andwoman that ever lived on this globe will be redeemed from that sin. On whatcondition? I answer, on no condition whatever on our part. "But,"says one, "where I came from they tell me I ought to repent for theoriginal sin." I care not what they tell you, you will be redeemedfrom the original sin, with no works on your part whatever. Jesus has diedto redeem you from it, and you are as sure to be redeemed, as you live uponthe face of this earth. This is the kind of universal redemption the "Mormons"believe in, though in one sense of the word, it is a different kind of universalredemption from that which the nations have been in the habit of hearing.We believe in the universal redemption of all the children of Adam intothe presence of God, so far as the sins of Adam are concerned. They willobtain a universal redemption from the grave. It matters not how wickedyou are; if you have murdered all the days of your life, and committed allthe sins the devil would prompt you to commit, you will get a resurrection;your spirit will be restored to your body. If Jesus had not come, all ofus would have slumbered in the grave; but now, wicked as we may be, if wego down to the grave blaspheming the name of the Lord, we shall as surecome up again as we go down there. This is free grace without works; allthis comes to pass without works on the part of the creature.
Now let us pause upon another subject, as we pass along. Don't you know,my hearers, that there has been another law given since man has become amortal being? Is it the Book of Mormon? No. After man became a mortal being,the Lord gave him another law. What was it? "You have now got intoa condition that you know good and evil by experience, and I will give youa law adapted to your capacity," says the Lord, "and I now commandyou, that you shall not do evil."
What is the penalty? Second death, What is that? After you have beenredeemed from the grave, and come into the presence of God, you will haveto stand there to be judged; and if you have done evil, you will be banishedeverlastingly from His presence-body and spirit united together; this iswhat is called the second death. Why is it called the second death? Becausethe first is the dissolution of body and spirit, and the second is merelya banishment-a becoming dead to the things of righteousness; and as I havealready remarked, wherever a being is placed in such a condition, thereperfect misery reigns; I care not where you place them; you may take anyof the celestial worlds, and place millions of beings there that are deadto righteousness and how long will it be before they make a perfect hellof it? They would make a hell of any heaven the Lord ever made. It is thesecond death-the penalty attached to the commandment given to the posterityof Adam, viz., "You shall cease to do evil; for if you cease to doevil, you shall be redeemed from Adam's transgression, and brought backinto my presence; and if you cease not to do evil, you shall be punishedwith everlasting destruction from my presence, and from the glory of mypower," saith the Lord.
"But," says one, "He is so merciful, that He would notinflict such a penalty upon us." Have you ever seen a man that hasescaped from the first death? or who had any prospect of it? No; you cannotfind a remedy to hinder him from going down to his grave. Has there beenany escape for any individual for 6000 years past? Now, if the Lord hasbeen punctual to make every man, woman, and child, suffer the penalty ofthe first transgression, why should you suppose that you can stand in Hispresence, and behold the glory of His power, and have everlasting life andhappiness, when He has told you that you should be banished therefrom, thatthe second death should be inflicted upon you? For the first provocation,He has fulfilled to the very letter the penalty of the law; so will He inthe second, and there is no escape. Says one, "Is there no escape?"No; not so far as you are able to provide. But I will tell you that thereis a redemption for man from this second death or penalty, and the Lordremains a perfect, just Being, His justice being magnified.
There is a way of escape from the effects of your own individual transgressions,but it is different from the redemption from the original sin of Adam. Theredemption from that sin was universal without works, but the redemptionfrom your own personal sins is universal with works on the part of the creature-universalin its nature, because it is free to all, but not received by all. The salvation,or redemption from your own sins, is not by free grace alone, it requiresa little work. But what are the works? Jesus Christ, through his death andsufferings, has answered the penalty, on condition that you believe in him,and repent of your sins, and be baptized for the remission of them, andreceive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands, and continuehumble, and meek, and prayerful, until you go down to your graves; and onthese conditions, Jesus will plead for you before the Father, and say, "Father,I not only died for Adam's sin, but for the sins of all the world, inasmuchas they believe in my Gospel; and now these individuals have repented, theyhave reformed their lives, and have become like little children in my sight,and have performed the works I have given them to do-and now, Father, maythey be saved with an everlasting salvation in thy presence, and sit downwith me on my throne, as I have overcome, and sit down with thee on thythrone; and may they be crowned, with all the sanctified, with immortalityand eternal life, no more to be cast away."
Don't you think the Father would accept an appeal of this kind fromHis Only Begotten Son? Yes. He is our Mediator, to plead before the Fatherfor those who will comply with his commands, and the laws of his Gospel.The way is simple, so simple and easy that many step over it and say, "O,that is of no consequence, it is of no avail, it will do no good to be baptizedin water." But if the Lord had not constructed it upon a simple plan,adapted to the capacities of all men, they might have had some excuse; butas it is, they have none: all you have got to do is to believe that JesusChrist is the Son of God, turn away from your sins, cease to do evil, saying,"Father, I will cease from this time henceforth to sin, and will workthe works of righteousness; I will try to do good all the days of my lifeand I witness this before thee by this day going down into the waters ofbaptism; and thus cast off the old man, with his deeds," and henceforthlive in newness of life. If you will do this, you will just as sure be redeemedfrom your own sins, and the penalty thereof, and be lifted up to dwell inthe presence of God, as you have been redeemed or lifted up from the watersof baptism. This is the Gospel, the first principles thereof, by which youcan be redeemed from your own sins; and by and bye death will come, andit will be sweet to you, for Jesus has suffered the penalty of sin; thepangs of sin are gone, and you fall asleep in peace, having made sure yoursalvation, and having done your duty well, like those we are preaching thefuneral sermon of this morning; and thus you will fall asleep, with a fullassurance that you will come up, in the morning of the first resurrection,with an immortal body, like that which Adam had before he partook of theforbidden fruit. This is the promise to them that fall asleep in Jesus.
When our spirits leave these bodies, will they be happy? Not perfectlyso. Why? Because the spirit is absent from the body; it cannot be perfectlyhappy while a part of the man is lying in the earth. How can the happinessbe complete when only a part of the redemption is accomplished? You cannotbe perfectly happy until you get a new house. You will be happy, you willbe at ease in paradise; but still you will be looking for a house whereyour spirit can enter, and act as you did in former times, only more perfectly,having superior powers. Consequently, all the holy men that have lived indays of old, have looked forward to the resurrection of their bodies; forthen their glory will be complete.
What did Paul say upon this subject? He said, "I have fought agood fight," "I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laidup for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,shall give me at that day." Do you understand this passage? Rememberthat this crown that Paul speaks of, was not to be given in the day we die;but it is to be given in "that day"-the day of the Lord's appearing;it is to be given to all those that love his appearing; then is the timethat Paul will get his crown; then is the time that the Saints who fallasleep in our day, will receive their crowns-crowns of rejoicing-kinglycrowns. What good would a crown do a man who is miserable and wretched?Many persons have worn crowns in this life; tyrants have had crowns of diamondsand gold; but what benefit are they? None at all, except to a being whohas made himself perfectly happy by his obedience. But what are we to understandby this crown of righteousness, which is to be given to the Saints? We understandthat it is actually to be a crown of glory; that they are to be kings inreality. John speaks in the first chapter of his Revelations to the Churchesin his day, and represents the Saints to be Kings and Priests; he says,Christ "hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father;"and this too, while in this life.
In another place he speaks of those who are dead-about their singinga new song: "And they sung a new song, saying," Thou "hastredeemed us Oh God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people,and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and priests." Herethen we find, from the first chapter, that they were made Kings and Priestsbefore they were dead; and in the next quotation, we find that they stillretained their kingly office after death, and actually had made songs toexpress their happy condition-Thou "hast made us kings and priests."Now we see the reason why they are to wear crowns, for they will be madeKings and Priests on the earth: the Lord then, must have some way to givethis kingly power.
Do you understand this, brethren and sisters? If you were to speak,I should hear innumerable voices respond, "Yes, we understand it; theLord has revealed the ordinances; we know how the sons and daughters ofGod obtain this kingly office, while living here in this mortal tabernacle."
We will pass over that; suffice it to say, that death does not wrenchit from them; for they are to be kings, not for a day, or for this shortlife, but they are to remain to all eternity kings; having their thrones,and acting in the duties belonging to their kingly office. Compared withthis, what are all the little, petty kingdoms of this earth worth? Theyare not worth one snap of the finger. The kings of the world exercise acertain authority over the nations-over the subjects, issuing laws, andframing governments, and controlling them; and do you suppose that the Saintswill be kings in the eternal world, and sit down upon thrones, in silence,not exercising the functions of their office? No. That is not the way theLord has organized His creations; if there are kings, you may depend uponit they will have kingdoms under their control; they will have authorityand dominion; they will give laws to those subjects over whom they bearrule; they will control them by the priestly office, for it is combinedwith the kingly office, and neither can be separated and contraced in Hisfeelings, in His views and disposition, that He would limit the authorityof the priestly office to this little globe we inhabit? No. God has moreexpansive views; His works are without beginning, and without end; theyare one eternal round. What kind of works are they? They are to make creations,and people them with living beings, and place them in a condition to provethemselves; and to exercise the kingly and priestly office to redeem themafter they have suffered pain, and sorrow, and distress; and to bring themup into the presence of God; that they, in their turn, may become kingsand priests for other creations that shall be made, and that shall be governedand ruled over by those possessing the proper authority.
We do not believe that everything has got to be limited to this littlespace of time in this world; but the Saints will be doing a work that willbe adapted to beings that are the sons of God in the fullest sense of theword, that are precisely like their Father; and if so, they will be likeGods, and will hold dominion under that Being who is the Lord of lords;and they will hold it to all eternity.
We will come back to our text. We have been talking about the funeralsermon of the earth; the earth is to wax old like a garment and pass away.I have already proved to you the redemption of man, and how he will becomeimmortal and eternal; now let us look after his inheritance; we will seeif he is to be lifted up in space, without any inheritance to stand upon,without any land upon which to raise manna for eating, or flax for the spinningand making of fine robes and other wearing apparel. Let us see if it isto be a shadowy existence, like the God that is served by Christendom, "withoutbody, parts, and passions," and located "beyond the bounds oftime and space."
The earth is to die; it has already received certain ordinances, andwill have to receive other ordinances for its recovery from the fall.
We will go back to the creation. The first account we have of the earth,it was enveloped in a mass of waters; it was called forth from the wombof liquid elements. Here was the fire birth of our creation-the waters rolledback, and the dry land appeared, and was soon clothed upon with vegetableand animal existence. This was similar to all other births; being firstencompassed in a flood of mighty waters, it burst forth from them, and wassoon clothed with all the beauties of the vegetable kingdom. By and byeit became polluted by Adam's transgression, and was thus brought under thesentence of death, with all things connected with it; and as our text says,it must wax old and die, in like manner as the inhabitants upon the facethereof.
The heavens and the earth were thus polluted, that is, the materialheavens, and everything connected with our globe; all fell when man fell,and became subject to death when man became subject to it. Both man andthe earth are redeemed from the original sin without ordinances; but soonwe find new sins committed by the fallen sons of Adam, and the earth becamecorrupted before the Lord by their transgressions. It needs redeeming ordinancesfor these second transgressions. The Lord ordained baptism, or immersionof the earth in water, as a justifying ordinance. Said he to Noah, "Buildan ark for the saving of thyself and house, for I will immerse the earthin water, that the sins which have corrupted it may be washed away fromits face." The fountains of the great deep, and the windows on high,were opened, and the rains came and overwhelmed the earth, and the dry landdisappeared in the womb of the mighty waters, even as in the begin-to alleternity. Is our God so narrow ning. The waters were assuaged; the earthcame forth clothed with innocence, like the new-born child, having beenbaptized or born again from the ocean flood; and thus the old earth wasburied with all its deeds, and arose to newness of life, its sins beingwashed away, even as man has to be immersed in water to wash away his ownpersonal sins.
By and bye the earth becomes corrupted again, and the nations make themselvesdrunken with the wine of the wrath of great Babylon; but the Lord has reservedthe same earth for fire; hence He says by the prophet Malachi, "Behold,the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, &c." A complete purificationis again to come upon the earth, and that too, by the more powerful elementof fire; and the wicked will be burned as stubble. When is this to be? Isit to be before the earth dies? This is a representation of the baptismthat is received by man after he has been baptized in water; for he is thento be baptized with fire and the Holy Ghost, and all his sins entirely doneaway: so the earth will be baptized with fire, and wickedness swept awayfrom its face, so that the glory of God shall cover it. As the waters coverthe great deep, so will the earth be overwhelmed and immersed in the gloryof God, and His Spirit be poured out upon all flesh, before the earth dies.After this purifying ordinance, there will be a thousand years of rest,during which righteousness shall abound upon the face of the earth; andsoon after the thousand years have ended, the words of the text shall befulfilled-"The heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earthshall wax old like a garment," &c. When the earth waxes old, andhas filled the measure of its creation, and all things have been done accordingto the mind and will of God, He will say to the earth, "Die."What will be its death? Will it be drowned? No: it is to die through theagency of fire; it is to suffer a death similar to many of the martyrs;the very elements themselves are to melt with fervent heat, and the hillsare to be made like wax before the Lord. Will the earth be annihilated?No, there is no such a word in all His revelations; such a thing was neverknown in the bosom of the Almighty, or any other being, except in the imaginationsof some of the moderns, who have declared that the globe was to become likethe "baseless fabric of a vision." It is one of the sectarianfolies, that the elements and every thing else are to be completely struckout of existence. The Lord never revealed, or thought of, or even hintedat such a thing.
The earth will not be annihilated, any more than our bodies are afterbeing burned. Every chemist knows that the weight of a thing is not diminishedby burning it. The present order of things must be done away, and, as theapostle John says, all things must become new; and he tells us the timewhen: it is to be after the millennium. The passing away is equivalent todeath, and all things being made new is equivalent to the resurrection.Is the new earth to be made precisely like this earth? No; but as this earthwas, before sin entered into it; and we shall inherit it.
This is our heaven, and we have the title to it by promise and it willbe redeemed through the faith and prayers of the Saints, and we shall geta title from God to a portion of it as our inheritance.
O ye farmers, when you sleep in the grave, don't be afraid that youragricultural pursuits are forever at an end; don't be fearful that you willnever get any more landed property; but if you be Saints, be of good cheer,for when you come up in the morning, of the resurrection, behold! thereis a new earth made, wherein dwells righteousness, and blessed are ye, forye shall inhabit it. "Blessed are the meek," says our Saviour,"for they shall inherit the earth," though they have died withouta foot of land. The Latter-day Saints were driven from one possession toanother, until they were driven beyond the pale of civilization into thedeserts, where it was supposed they would die, and that would be the lastof them; but behold, they have a firm hold upon the promise that the meekshall inherit the earth, when they come here with immortal bodies capableof enjoying the earth. True, we can have plenty of the things of this lifein their cursed condition; but what are all these things? They are nothing.We are looking for things in their immortal state, and farmers will havegreat farms upon the earth when it is so changed. "But don't be sofast," says one, "don't you know that there are only about 197,000,000of square miles, or about 126,000,000,000 of acres, upon the surface ofthe globe? Will this accommodate all the inhabitants after the resurrection?"Yes; for if the earth should stand 8,000 years, or eighty centuries, andthe population should be a thousand millions in every century, that wouldbe eighty thousand millions of inhabitants; and we know that many centurieshave passed that would not give the tenth part of this; but supposing thisto be the number, there would then be over an acre and a half for each personupon the face of the globe.
But there is another thing to be considered. Are the wicked to receivethe earth as an inheritance? No; for Jesus did not say, Blessed are thewicked, for they shall inherit the earth; this promise was made only tothe meek. Who are the meek? None but those who receive the ordinances ofthe Gospel, and live according to them; they must receive the same ordinancesthe earth has received, and be baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost,as this earth will be when Jesus comes to reign upon it a thousand years;and be clothed upon with the glory of God, as this earth will be; and afterthey have died as the earth will die, they will have to be resurrected,as this earth will be resurrected, and then receive their inheritance uponit.
Look at the seventeen centuries that have passed away on the easternhemisphere, during which time the sound of the Gospel has never been heardfrom the mouth of an authorized servant of God. Suppose now that out ofthe vast amount of the population of this earth, one in a hundred shouldreceive the law of meekness, and be entitled to receive an inheritance uponthe new earth; how much land would they receive? We answer they would receiveover 150 acres, which would be quite enough to raise manna, and to buildsome habitations upon, and some splendid mansions; it would be large enoughto raise flax to make robes of, and to have beautiful orchards of fruittrees; it would be large enough to have our flower gardens, and everythingthe agriculturalist and the botanist want, and some to spare.
What would be done with the spare portions? Let me tell you of one thingwhich perhaps some of you have never thought of. Do you suppose that weshall get up out of the grave, male and female, and that we shall not havethe same kind of affections, and endearments, and enjoyments that we havehere? The same pure feelings of love that exist in the bosom of the maleand female in this world, will exist with seven-fold intensity in the nextworld, governed by the law of God; there will be no corruptions nor infringementsupon one another's rights. Will not a man have his own family? Yes; he willalso have his own mansion and farm, his own sons and daughters. And whatelse? Why, the fact is, man will continue to multiply and fill up this creation,inasmuch as it is not filled up by the resurrected Saints after it is madenew.
And what will he do when this is filled up? Why, he will make more worlds,and swarm out like bees from the old hive, and prepare new locations. Andwhen a farmer has cultivated his farm, and raised numerous children, sothat the space is beginning to be too strait for them, he will say, "Mysons, yonder is plenty of matter, go and organize a world, and people it;and you shall have laws to govern you, and you shall understand and comprehendthrough your experience the same things that we know." And thus itwill be one eternal round, and one continual increase; and the governmentwill be placed under those that are crowned as kings and Priests in thepresence of God.
Much more might be said, for we have only just touched upon these things,only turned the key that you may look through the door and discern a littleof the glories that await the Saints. Let me tell you, it has not enteredinto the heart of man to conceive the things which God has laid up for themthat love Him, unless he is filled with the Holy Ghost, and by vision gazesupon the thrones and the dominions, the principalities and powers, thatare placed under His control and dominion; and He shall sway a righteoussceptre over the whole.
This we will consider a kind of resurrection sermon for this creation,and all the righteous that shall inhabit it. We have not time in this discourseto preach the resurrection of the wicked, nor point out the place of theirlocation.