The beloved apostle, John, left on

The beloved apostle, John, left on record, for the benefit and consolation of the children of men, these words: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." So, if men and women are condemned, it is by our own actions. It was not the purpose or the mission of the Master to condemn men. Salvation is held out to all of the children of men. ¶

While the Lord uses no particular coercion, we are persuaded, counseled, and advised to live the gospel. The Latter-day Saints have been accused of being a narrow-minded people, but this is from the lack of understanding of those who do not understand our intent nor the gospel as we preach it. We are broader than any other denomination in our views and in our teachings of the gospel. We understand that it is the object, and was the object in the beginning, to accomplish the salvation of all of the human family, and that some time and somewhere, all who desired would receive some kind of salvation. But the plan of salvation holds out, through the gospel, a code of laws that can not only bring unto the children of men salvation, but will bring unto them exaltation, and bring them back into the presence of our Father, from whence we came ; and in order that we may gain this exaltation, it is necessary for us to live up to the code of laws that has been laid down by the Master for us to follow, and we must comply with these in order that we may come back into his presence and receive the blessing that is in store for the faithful. We believe in an individual salvation as well as a general salvation, and in order that men may be exalted, they must comply with the laws and ordinances laid down by the lawgivers, even before the foundation of this earth. ¶

Some have the idea that salvation simply means a reunion of the body with the spirit, or a resurrection of the body; and if they can only attain to it, this seems to be the height of the ambition of a great many people with whom I have talked. But the atonement was as wide as the fall. We are told in the I Corinthians 15 that "As in ¶

Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." So, without any particular exertion upon the part of the children of men, we are going to be resurrected. But this does not insure to any individual salvation, nor exaltation, which to obtain, I believe, is the ambition of every man and woman. There is none but desires salvation, though there are a great many who are not working to that end. Now, in order that we may bring and merit unto ourselves a complete exaltation, and be worthy to come back into the presence of our Father, there is a code of laws that we must live up to. First, we must have faith in God the Eternal Father. We must be willing to repent of our sins. And after we have repented of our sins, it then becomes necessary for us to be baptized by immersion for the remission of them, and receive the Holy Ghost, which is a guide to the path of men and women here in the earth. We take the stand as Latterday Saints that all men and all women must comply with the law in order to gain an exaltation. ¶

But, says one, are you going to condemn all who are not baptized ? There are millions of people who have not had the privilege of receiving the gospel, and what is going to become of this class of people? There is where we take a broader view of the gospel of Jesus Christ than does any other denomination. We do not hold that this life is the only chance that men have to hear or embrace the gospel, but we believe that the time will come when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, and men who do not have that privilege here will have the privilege hereafter granted unto them. We are given to understand by the Apostle Peter that the gospel is preached to the spirits in the spirit world. Isaiah foresaw this. He foresaw the mission of the Savior. He saw that he was going to come here in the flesh, and would be crucified, and while his body was lying in the tomb, "He went and unlocked the prison door and let the captives free." Peter gave us to understand that this was carried out. He says, "For this cause was the gospel preached unto them that are dead ;" showing that all who do not have the privilege here are going to have the privilege sometime and somewhere. ¶

Men may reject the gospel here, and it seems that even they are going to have another chance of hearing it, according to the words of Peter, though Noah preached to the people and warned them in his day and they rejected his counsel and teaching, and no doubt called him (as they have called the 'servants of God in all ages) imposters, and would not accept his message. The result was, according to the decrees of the Lord, that the flood came and overtook the people, and there were only a few saved ; yet, even that class of people had the privilege of hearing the sound of the gospel in the spirit world, and were given another chance to receive it. ¶

But in this world, now and here, my friends, my brethren and sisters, is the place that we should receive the gospel. If we do not, we make the sad mistake that the people in Noah's day made, and condemn ourselves. Remember, there was a long period of time, for two thousand years, after that people had been swept from the earth, that they lay in the prison in the spirit world. ¶

Alma told his son, in pleading with him, trying to show him that the spirits of all men when they leave the body go back into the presence of God from whence they came, for a partial judgment, that the spirits of the righteous are assigned to a place of peace, rest, and happiness, while on the other hand, the spirits of the wicked go to a place of punishment during that period. This also bears out the statement of the rich man and Lazarus. While Lazarus was a good man and did all the good he could here, we find the rich man did just the opposite ; and the time came that Lazarus died, and the rich man died, and they met on the other side. It was then that the eyes of the rich man were opened. He saw where he had made the mistake here in mortality, and he pleaded with Lazarus to visit him. But the answer was, There is a gulf between you and me, and I cannot come. The rich man felt the truth of it, and pleaded with Lazarus that a spirit or an angel might be sent down to the earth to warn his brethren, because he did not want them to come where he was. The answer was this, They have Moses and the prophets, and if they will not listen and hearken unto the voice of the prophets, they would not accept one though he be raised from the dead. This gives us to understand that a place of punishment and a place of anything but happines is prepared for the spirits who leave this life and go into the spirit world unprepared. We have evidence upon evidence, to which we cannot refer this morning on account of the time not permitting. ¶

What I wish to impress upon the young people especially is, prepare yourselves in this life, that you may be able to continue the work and not be hindered and condemned as were the rich man and the antediluvian, who by error hindered and condemned themselves for that period of time. The object of the gospel was to save, and not only save, but to exalt all mankind. This is the object the Lord has in these the last days in revealing the gospel unto the children of men, that we may receive an exaltation, and come back into his presence. ¶

I want to bear my testimony to you here this morning. I know that the gospel is true. I know that the Lord has again spoken from the heavens, and revealed his priesthood, and has delegated the authority and power to men to officiate in his name and make it binding, as was promised to Peter, that whatever he bound on earth should be bound in heaven, and whatever he loosed on earth, should be loosed in heaven. That same power is here, the same blessing and the same gifts are here with the Church today, as in that day. This is why we are called a peculiar people, because we differ from the world. We do not find any fault with them. We think it is the right of all men to worship according to the dictates of their conscience. We do not condemn them, but we have a greater light. And it is our duty to hold that light up to the world, that it may shine that they may see as we see. ¶

I pray the Lord to bless us with his spirit, that our understandings may be quickened, that our determinations for good may be increased, and that we may be able not only to gain a salvation in the kingdom of God, but to gain an exaltation, and come back into his presence and live forever, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶