Therefore it [the earth] must

"Therefore it [the earth] must needs be sanctified from all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory ; ¶

"For after it hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father; ¶

"That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it for ever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified." ¶

"And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation and transgresseth not the law. ¶

"Wherefore it shall be sanctified ; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it; ¶

"For notwithstanding they die, they also shall rise again a spiritual body : ¶

"They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened. ¶

"Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness ; ¶

"And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness ;" and so on. ¶

After the resurrection from the dead our bodies will be spiritual bodies, but they will be bodies that are tangible, bodies that have been purified, but they will nevertheless be bodies of flesh and bones, but they will not be blood bodies, they will no longer be quickened by blood but quickened by the spirit which is eternal and they shall become immortal and shall never die. ¶

Now, if our good friends understood this, they would not fall into this error of thinking that Paul's doctrine was in conflict with that of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when Paul declared that the body that would be raised would be a spiritual body. You read in the Book of Genesis, where the Lord said to Noah after the flood, that the blood was the life of the body; the blood is the life thereof, he says. Therefore, whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed, because blood is the life of the mortal body, but with the body brought forth in the resurrection, which is the immortal body, that is not the case, in it blood does not exist, but the spirit is the life-giving power and hence they are no longer bodies quickened by blood but bodies quickened by spirit and hence they are spiritual bodies, but tangible bodies of flesh and bones, just as was the body of the Son of God. Now this is the doctrine of the Lord and Savior of the world. ¶

I had a conversation with a man one time, a minister, and he took this view which prevails so largely in the world, and I forced him, by the reading of the scriptures, to admit that when the Savior appeared to his disciples and said unto them, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have," that the Savior really spoke the truth, and I asked him, "that being true, then how in the world do you believe, how can you believe, that today he sits in the heavens without a body of flesh and bones?" His answer was, "After he ascended from the Mount of ¶

Olives he shed his body of flesh and bones." I asked him for the chapter and verse and, of course, he was unable to give it. ¶

The Lord has very clearly set forth the doctrine of the resurrection. He declared shortly before his crucifixion that the hour was coming and, he said, now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. Even his disciples wondered what he meant. They marveled at it, they could not fully comprehend it, notwithstanding the fact that they believed in the literal resurrection of the body in those days, and the Savior seeing their perplexity said unto them and unto the people who were there assembled: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming in the which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." Now the world interprets that to mean those who are dead in trespasses and sin, those who are in bondage of iniquity should hear his voice, but the Lord meant literally just what he said when he declared that the dead should hear his voice and should come forth, they that had done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that had done evil unto the resurrection of damnation, for the resurrection shall come upon all mankind for they are not responsible for death. The Lord will not punish them for Adam's transgression. Therefore, he took upon him the sins of all mankind and redeemed every creature from death and granted unto each one of us a resurrection, but not eternal life, not salvation, not an existence in the presence of his Father in the ¶

celestial kingdom. That comes through faithfulness, through diligence, through perseverance on our part and through our belief and acceptance and our keeping of the commandments of the Lord. Now I said in the beginning that the World is full of philosophy. One prominent and intelligent writer has called these theories, "scientific fiction." I think he is right. We have the theories of evolution, of higher criticism, the ideas that prevail in the schools throughout our land that are dangerous, that are striking at the fundamentals of the gospel of Jesus Christ, trying to destroy the faith in the minds of the students who attend the schools. We are troubled with it to some extent even in our own state and the colleges throughout the country are full of it, and the professors teach it, they believe in it, at least they profess to believe in it, and it seems to me that the sole purpose of it is to undermine and destroy the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to say to the Latter-day Saints that it is our duty to put our faith in the revealed word of God, to accept that which has come through inspiration, through revelation unto his servants, the prophets, both ancient and modern, and whenever you find any doctrine, any idea, any expression from any source whatsoever, that is in conflict with that which the Lord has revealed and which is found in the holy scriptures, you may be assured that it is false and you should put it aside and stand firmly grounded in the truth in prayer and in faith, relying upon the Spirit of the Lord, for knowledge, for wisdom, concerning these principles of truth. If you will walk in the light as I have read here, and will receive the doctrines of our Redeemer, he will grant unto you, through the inspiration that will come from the Spirit of the Lord, a testimony of the truth and you need not walk in darkness nor in doubt, but may have a clear and a distinct comprehension, and understanding of the truth which will make you free. It is our duty to seek the Lord, to obey his laws, to keep his commandments, to put away from us light-mindedness, foolishness, and the false theories, notions, and philosophies of the world, and to accept with fulness of heart and in humility these solemn, God-given principles which will bring unto us eternal life in the Celestial kingdom. That we may do this is my prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶

A tenor solo was sung by James H. Nielsen, entitled, "If with all your hearts." — Mendelssohn. ¶