Questions on persistence of life that

Questions on persistence of life that have arisen through the Great War — Literature that seeks to answer the question: What happens after death? ¶

— No two writers agree — Testimony of the Holy Scriptures, the Bible and Book of Mormon — The testimony of Joseph Smith the Prophet to whom appeared in this dispensation men who lived in former times — With these before us, why doubt the immortality of man? — Without other evidence the life of Jesus is sufficient to answer the question forever— All who die shall live after death, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. ¶

Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. ¶

For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. ¶

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, to the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, to the resurrection of damnation (John 5:25-29). ¶

Had I, or any other speaker, declared from this pulpit, four years ago, that the question pending between the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Kingdom of Servia, resulting from the assassination of the crown prince of the former country, and his wife, while they were visiting in the Balkan States, would plunge the world into the most stupendous war of history, a war which would affect, either directly or indirectly, every human being in the civilized world ; that millions of soldiers would be trained for war, and battles terrible beyond the dreams of men fought ; that nations would devote themselves to war until it would be easier to fight on than return to a condition of peace ; that our own country would become involved in it, and would equip and send to Europe vast armies of men, and expend treasure almost beyond the comprehension of the human mind ; that the bed of the ocean would be carpeted with sunken ships, and death hurled upon defenseless women and children from the air ; that before the end came whole nations would be blotted out, ancient autocracies go crashing down, and the guarantees of international law be utterly ignored, he would have been regarded as either a harmless dreamer or a dangerous dunatic ; yet we who have lived through the past four eventful years have witnessed the development of these conditions. ¶

Millions of men have been slain, other millions have been wounded and maimed for life. In some instances families with long and honorable history behind them have lost their last representative on the field of battle, and to all human appearances the worst is yet to come. ¶

This tremendous sacrifice of human life, the thousands whose remains lie upon the ocean bed, and the countless numbers whose burial places will never be known to the parents, brothers, sisters and kinsmen who sent them forth to battle, has awakened in the minds of thinking people a widespread desire to know something of the condition of man after death. What happens after death? What of ourselves after death? Shall we ever meet these dear ones again? If there is a future life, what of our personality, does that persist, or are we to be so changed that we will have no greater knowledge or recollection of conditions as they exist in this mortal life than we now have of the past? ¶

These are some of the pertinent questions which are being asked, questions in which we are all vitally interested, for whether in peace or war, we are constantly being separated from those we love by this condition which we call death. ¶

Many books have been written and published, since the war began, in which the endeavor is made to answer this all important question, "What happens after death?" I have read a number of these books, in which the opinions of some of the world's greatest scholars and thinkers are expressed ; and as I read, the one striking thought which came to me was the great diversity of opinion which exists among these learned men. No two agree. There is a certain uniformity of opinion among Christian ministers, it is true, they all accept the doctrine of future life, but are hopelessly divided regarding the personality of the individual, and his relationship, in the life to come, with that which is in any way connected with this life. The doctrine of the resurrection, if admitted at all, is held to be a kind of new spiritual birth, while the reunion of the spirit and body of man, to become a living material soul, is not admitted by a single writer. ¶

Among those who are most pronounced in their unbelief, Max Nardau, the great French scholar and author, is perhaps the most outspoken. Death, he declares, means the final extinction of consciousness, and the eternal dissolution of what was a personality. The immortality of the personality, he says, is neither conceivable nor desirable, nothingness is more consoling. ¶

Sir Hyrum Maxim asserts that there is not one little particle of evidence to prove that we live after death, as preachers would have us believe. He argues that the only future life we may expect is as we live in our children, and that he who has failed to leave posterity is forever dead, ¶

John Blundelle-Burton would like to believe, but is in doubt, because, he says, no one comes back to tell ; while Madam Besant assures us in the most positive terms that there is a life after death, but destroys our hope by telling us that we may be re-incarnated in the form of a plant, an animal, or some other human being, until we finally reach a condition that we pass into Nirvana, whatever that may be. ¶

Undoubtedly the fondest hope of every person who has been separated from those he loves by death, is that at some future time, when he too is called, as he knows he must be, he will meet them and renew the associations which bound him to them in this life. If there are men like Max Nardau, who really feel that a future existence is neither conceivable nor desirable, it is their privilege, I presume, to remain in their faithless condition. I shall enter into no argument with them at this time, they deny the divine authenticity of the scriptures, and consequently no basis for discussion, from the point of view of a Christian, exists. But to John Blundelle-Burton, who would like to believe, but is in doubt because no one comes back to tell, or Madam Besant, who asserts her belief in a future life, but would have us accept her theory of re-incarnation, and most of all to those devout Christians who earnestly believe in, and hope for, reunion with those they love after death, there is evidence sufficient to satisfy the most exacting mind, evidence which, when we come to understand it, leaves us without doubt, and the testimony of the Christian is founded upon far more convincing proof than the opinion of the unbeliever. The latter does not believe because he has not seen, but neither he, nor any witness he can produce can disprove the testimony of the Christian who has seen, he can only assert his unbelief, which proves nothing, though thousands do it. ¶

The testimony of one reputable witness, however, who avers that he knows because he has seen, is of great worth, and where many testify to the same thing, the fact becomes established, whether the multitude accept it or not. ¶

The holy scripture is not the product of a single mind. The contents of the Bible were not written by one hand, but by many. It does not deal with a single dispensation or period of time, but covers the world's history, and the handdealings of the Father with the inhabitants of the earth, from the creation to the present, for men not only wrote their own observations and experiences, but by the spirit of revelation, and gift of prophecy, foretold the future with such accuracy that only one who is determined to not believe can be left in doubt. To some of the truths bequeathed to us by the scripture, and attested by men of God, I wish briefly to refer. ¶

One thing about the scriptures, which struck me with great force, when I began to study and understand them, is the fact that the word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as a definite, abstract statement of fact. "In the begining God created the heavens and the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them." So it is from the first words in the Bible to the last, the works of the Father are declared as facts, not theories. ¶

The words of the Redeemer, which I read before beginning my remarks, declare definitely that the hour is coming when all that are in the graves shall come forth, they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation. In corroboration of this doctrine permit me to read from the words of Mormon, as he contemplated the slain of his people : "O, ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen ? But behold ye are gone and my sorrows cannot bring your return, and the day soon cometh that your mortal must put on immortality, and these bodies which are now mouldering in corruption must soon become incorruptible bodies, and then ye must stand before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged according to your works. And if it so be that ye are righteous then are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone before you" (Mormon 6:19-21). ¶

This doctrine of the universal resurrection of the dead is taught by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and other of the prophets. That the dead will live again must be admitted by every believer in the Bible. ¶

Just as definite as is the doctrine of the resurrection, is the fact that all who participate in it must appear before the bar of God to be judged according to the deeds done in the body. ¶

Paul, writing to the Corinthian Saints, said : "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:19-22). ¶

In that remarkable revelation, given by Christ to the Apostle John, on the Isle of Patmos, which he sent and signified by his angel, we read : "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God ; and the books were opened ; and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them : and they were Judged every man according to their works" (Revelation 20:12,13). ¶

The scripture which I have quoted makes clear two vital points of doctrine connected with this subject, that as in Adam all die so in Christ all are made alive through the resurrection, and that the personality of the individual persists after death, otherwise how could he be responsible for the deeds done in the body? ¶

The two outstanding attributes of God are justice and mercy. How can I in justice be held responsible for the transgressions of another or rewarded for his righteousness? No; I must answer for myself, just as you must answer for yourself ; so my personality must persist, I must be the same man, my future life inseparably connected with this life. ¶

We are told that upon a certain occasion Jesus took Peter, and James, and John, and went into a mountain to pray and behold there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias (Matt. 17: 1-4). These men were seen of the apostles who bore record of their presence, which was so real that Peter suggested that three tabernacles be constructed, one for Jesus, and one each for Moses and Elias. Moses lived 1500 years before Christ, and Elias, if we are to identify him with the Elijah of the Bible, 1000 years before:, one instance from the many where some one came back to tell. ¶

The revelation given to John, on the Isle of Patmos, from which I have quoted was delivered by a heavenly messenger, and when John would have bowed down to worship him he was forbidden, the messenger declaring that he was one of his fellow servants, one of the prophets who kept the commandments of the book (Revelation 22: 8-9). ¶

Of greater importance to us, because we are more directly affected by it, is the appearance of men, who long since lived and died, in the present dispensation. Let Joseph Smith tell the story in his own simple language. It should be remembered that at the time the first of these manifestations were given, Joseph Smith was a simple country boy, not yet fifteen years old, and incapable, even if he had so desired, to conceive of or execute a great fraud or deception. He simply desired to do his duty to God, and the great confusion among sectarian churches left him in doubt as to which denomination he should identify himself with. He went to the Lord for wisdom, with the following result : ¶

In accordance with this, my determination, to ask God, I retired to the woods to make the attempt. * * * * Having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time that I was doomed to sudden destruction. But by exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction — not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being — just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended until it gradually fell upon me. ¶

It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which had me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name, and said, pointing to the other: This is my beloved Son, hear him! ¶

Three years later, and after he had retired for the night, Joseph Smith says : ¶

While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was brighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor. He had on a robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen, nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also a little above the wrists, so also were his feet naked, as were his legs a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom. ¶

Not only was his robe exceedingly white, but his whole person was glorious beyond description, and his countenance truly like lightning. The room was exceedingly light, but not so very bright as immediately around his person. When I first looked upon him I was afraid, but the fear soon left me. He called me by name and said unto me that he was a messenger sent from the presence of God to me, and that his name was Moroni; that God had a work for me to do, and that my name should be had for good and evil among all nations, kindreds and tongues, or that it should be both good and evil spoken of among all people. ¶

Six years after the above incident the following is related by Joseph Smith : ¶

Two days after the arrival of Mr. Cowdery (being the 7th of April) I commenced to translate the Book of Mormon, and he began to write for me. We still continued the work of translation, when, in the ensuing month of May (1829), we on a certain day went into the woods to pray and inquire of the Lord respecting baptism for the remission of sins, that we found mentioned in the translation of the plates. While we were thus employed praying and calling upon the Lord, a messenger from heaven descended in a cloud of light, and having laid his hands upon us, he ordained us saying: "Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer the priesthood of Araon, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never again be taken from ¶

the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness." The messenger who visited us on this occasion and conferred this priesthood upon us, said that his name was John, the same that is called John the Baptist, in the New Testament. ¶

Many other instances might be cited where men who lived long ago have returned to the earth and communicated the will of the Lord to his servants here. If this be true, and it is, why should we be in doubt regarding the immortality of man, or his resurrection as a material being, with a body of flesh and bone, as he now has, but a body cleansed and purified, no longer subject to the pain, suffering and final death with which mortality is burdened. ¶

If we had no other evidence the life of the Redeemer is sufficient to settle this question forever. Jesus was the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world. He came for the very purpose of making clear to us this mystery of human life. Born as we are born, he lived, labored and loved much as we do, except that the power of God, love, charity, patience, self sacrifice, those Godlike characteristics which were his birthright, were manifest in his life as they never have been, and never will be, in any other human being. Finally, when his work was finished, he died, very much as we would have died under similar circumstances. Up to this point the gerat mission which he came to perform was but little understood, but when on that Easter Sunday morning he arose from the tomb, with a glorified body, the sting of death was made sweet, the victory of the grave was turned to defeat, for he made the resurrection of the whole human family not only possible, but a fact, whether they accepted him or not. ¶

His disciples doubted, and when he appeared to them they were terrified, supposing that they saw a spirit, for like some of us they could not understand that one who had lived and died, could live again, and Jesus said to 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" (Luke 24:39). It was the same Christ, with the same body, but glorified, who stood before them. Why should we be in doubt regarding the future status of the souls of men? I bear witness to you that just as Christ was raised from the dead, with a material body which his disciples saw and felt, just as he will appear to the Jews with the prints of the nails in his hands and feet, and the spear wound in his side, so is it the design of God that every one of us shall be raised from the dead with material, but not mortal bodies. ¶

The sea will give up the dead which are in it, the battle fields of France will give up the dead who are interred in them. Every mother who has lost a son, every kinsman who has lost a relative, will receive them back again through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the associations, the covenants, the bonds of love which bound us together in this life will be renewed and continue with us through the endless ages of eternity. ¶

I love the gospel because of this hope which has come to me. I live in anticipation of reunion with those I love after death. I want no heaven away from my own, but to be with my father and mother, my children and kindred, with you my brethren and sisters, with whom I have labored and borne the burdens of this mortal life, and I know that my desire will be realized if I am true to the covenants which I have made with the Lord and my fellow men. ¶

I wanted to bear this testimony, hoping that it may bring comfort to all who are separated from those they love by death. It is only for a little season. The graves will be opened, and the dead will come forth to answer for the deeds done in the body. God help us to live righteous lives, that we may be worthy of eternal life, through faith in Christ. Amen. ¶