God's Work And Man's

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a wonderful organization. And it ought to be, for it is the work of God and not of man. It used to be said that the "Mormon" Church was the most perfect organization in existence — excepting the German army. In rhetoric this would be called an anti-climax ; in common parlance a letdown. As if one were to say, The sun is the brightest luminary in the heavens — except the moon. ¶

There is no possible comparison between the work of God and the work of man. The German army at its best represented, perhaps, the quintessence of military wisdom, drawn from the experience of the ages — but it was man's wisdom. The Church of God is a product of Divine Wisdom, and there is nothing like it in all the world. ¶

THE CHURCH ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN ¶

I believe, and think I have good reason to believe, that this Church, so far as it has been developed, is a replica or duplicate of a Church in the heaven of heavens, a Church presided over by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the great First Presidency over the Universe. Joseph the Seer, having beheld in vision that heavenly Church, undertook by divine command to reproduce it on earth ; and did so as far as possible amidst the crude and primitive conditions under which he labored. It had a humble beginning, this infant Church; but it has been growing and developing ever since, approximating nearer and nearer to the perfection it is destined finally to attain. Some day we shall have in the midst of mankind the fully matured and perfect Church of Christ, and the will of God shall then be done on earth even as it is done in heaven. ¶

STAKES AND MISSIONS ¶

President Grant, in his opening address yesterday morning, drew attention to the fact that the Church today comprises one hundred and one Stakes of Zion and twenty-seven outside missions. The stakes extend through the Rocky Mountain region from Canada to Mexico, and to parts of the Pacific Coast ; while the missions cover the various States of the Union and most of the countries of the globe. These constitute in area, membership and organization, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. ¶

INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT ¶

Each stake is officered and equipped in such a way as to constitute almost a church in itself. The stakes, are all independent of one another, yet subject to the stake authority — the spiritual "binding pole" that makes of them one stake. Even so with the missions and their subdivisions ; each is subject to the authority above it — the branch to the district, the district to the mission. And the missions, like the stakes, are all under the General Authority which holds them together and makes of them one Church. ¶

THE EASTERN STATES MISSION ¶

I have recently returned from visiting the Eastern States Mission, presided over by Elder Henry H. Rolapp, in whose company I traveled through nine States of the Union and the District of Columbia, holding conferences in seven of those commonwealths and preaching the Gospel in the principal cities, including Washington, Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia and Boston. I greatly enjoyed my travels in that very interesting region — the land of the Sacred Grove, where Joseph the Prophet beheld in vision God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ, and received from them instructions relative to the opening of this Gospel dispensation ; the land of the Hill Cumorah, where the record of the Nephites was unearthed by divine direction, that the world might know the truth concerning the glorious past and yet more glorious future of America ; the land where Zion, the New Jerusalem, is to rise, and where a work has already begun that will prepare the way for the coming of the Lord in his glory. In that great mission also is the town of Palmyra, where the Book of Mormon was first printed; and the little village of Fayette, where the Church was organized on the sixth day of April in the year 1830. ¶

I enjoyed my association and labors with President Rolapp, as I previously enjoyed the companionship of President Callis in the Southern States, and of President Quinney in Canada — all zealous and honorable men of God. ¶

WORLDLY AND HEAVENLY THINGS ¶

What most impressed me during my travels was not the beautiful and sublime scenes through which I passed, not the many objects of historic interest presented to my view. New York, with its towering sky-scrapers — that busy Babel of many tongues, where modern men, like their ancient prototypes, seem trying to get to heaven in some other way than the God of heaven has appointed — "The Great White Way," for instance; the spacious and splendid railroad depots, where one is almost lost in the multitudinous concourses of people crowding to or coming from the outgoing and incoming trains ; the glittering palaces, stately monuments, magnificent public buildings, and all the other evidences of wealth, power and civilization that are to be seen on every hand — these were not the things that most impressed me. For I thought, with Shakespeare, as I gazed upon them: ¶

"The cloud-capt towers, the gorgeous palaces. The solemn temples, the great globe itself — Yea, all that it inherit, shall dissolve, And like the baseless fabric of a vision, Leave not a rack behind." ¶

GOD'S GREATEST GIFT ¶

In that day one thing will remain. What is it? Eternal Life, God's greatest gift. That will abide when all else has passed away. ¶

The millennial reign of Christ will sanctify the earth, and help to prepare it for celestial glory; but it must first undergo a baptism of fire, in which its elements will "melt with fervent heat," and all the dross of its mortality be consumed. Then, by the power of the resurrection, Mother Earth will rise again, changed into a glorious sphere, a heaven; and the righteous will inherit it eternally. ¶

WHAT MOST IMPRESSED ¶

What most impressed me was the love of Truth, the love of the Gospel, in the hearts of the Elders, our boy and girl missionaries ; in the hearts also of the scattered Saints ; and manifested to a degree by the honest investigators of our doctrines and claims, those who attend the meetings of the Saints and listen respectfully and appreciatively to the testimonies of the servants of the Lord. Their love for the Gospel and their reverence for those who preach it, beamed from every face and lingered in every hand-clasp. ¶

I don't wonder that they love the Gospel. I love it. We all love it. It is the greatest, grandest and most glorious thing under the sun. ¶

THE GOSPEL OF COMMON SENSE ¶

Next to the beauty and sublimity of the Gospel, I appreciate it for its plain, sound common sense. It satisfies the cravings of the soul ; answers every question that needs answering and solves every problem that ought to be solved. It makes clear life's meaning and purpose, and reveals to man his origin, duty and eternal destiny. It tells the truth about God and enables one to comprehend the things of God. ¶

THE TRUE GOD ¶

The God we worship — who is he? What is he? He is the God of the Bible, the God of Adam, of Enoch, of Noah, of Melchizedek, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ; the God who made man in his own image. He is our God ; but he was not the God that the churches were teaching and their congregations worshiping when Joseph Smith and "Mormonism" came forth. The Christian world had conjured up an impersonal god, a bodiless deity, a spirit that : ¶

"Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, Glows in the stars and blossoms in the trees, Lives through all life, extends through all extent, Spreads undivided, operates unspent." ¶

A very beautiful description — of something, but no correct portrait of the true and living God. There is indeed a spirit that proceeds forth from him and is immanent in all things. It is the power by which the grass grows, the flowers bloom, and the trees bear their fruit. It is the light of the sun, moon and stars, and the lamp of the human understanding. All men and women have a portion of it, are born into the world with it. It is the principle of life and light throughout all creation. ¶

But that is not our Father in Heaven ; no, nor our Savior, Jesus Christ; nor the Holy Ghost as a personage; it is not even the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is the exclusive possession of members of the Church of Christ. It is not God, but a spirit sent forth from God, not Divinity, but an emanation from Divinity ; and it was what the Christian world was worshiping, or what Christian teachers were teaching, when Joseph Smith and the restored Gospel came. ¶

Joseph knew God, for he had seen him, had conversed with him, and received from him instruction. He declared God to be in human form, an exalted, glorified Man, and that was his first great service to humanity. He brought back the lost knowledge of the true and living God. ¶

MAN IN THE DIVINE IMAGE ¶

And how reasonable, how logical it is. What simple, plain common sense. For if God made man in his own image, then God must be in the image of man. And if men and women are indeed God's children, his sons and daughters, what more reasonable than the conclusion that we have a Mother as well as a Father in Heaven, in whose likeness we are, male and female? ¶

NOT CREATED OUT OF NOTHING ¶

The churches were also teaching that God made this beautiful earth and all that it contains out of nothing. Why, a ten-year old boy ought to reject such a dogma as that. How can something be made out of nothing? Think of it a moment! God never gave such a doctrine; Jesus never taught it; neither did his apostles. Neither did Joseph Smith. In the Book of Abraham, translated by him, the Lord is quoted as saying, "unto those who were with him" on the morning of creation : "We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell." ¶

That is "Mormon" doctrine and it is plain common sense, true philosophy, in perfect accord with true science. Science declared long ago that it is impossible to create or destroy an atom of matter ; and divine revelation proclaimed it long before science did. The elements are eternal; matter as well as spirit is uncreatable, indestructible. Out of the eternal elements God created the earth spiritually and temporally, with all that it contains. ¶

LIFE'S PURPOSE ¶

And this earth is for God's children, for you and me and all the rest of the race. We are placed here as spirits to take bodies and thus become souls, capable of endless increase and eternal progression ; to be tested in this our second estate, as we were tested in our first, our spirit estate. Here we walk by faith, whereas in the spirit world, we walked by sight. We kept the first estate and won the privilege of coming into this second estate, with the promise that if we manifest equal integrity here, we shall have glory added upon our heads forever and ever. ¶

WHERE WE SHALL SPEND ETERNITY ¶

What is the Lord going to do with this beautiful world? Did he create it merely to destroy it? No. He is going to change it into a heaven, a home for the righteous. I picked up a card on a railroad train one day, a card on which was printed this question: "Where do you expect to spend eternity?" A very interesting query; and a very difficult one for some people to answer. But "Mormonism" answers it, and it is the only religion that can answer it consistently. "Mormonism" says that when we pass out of the body we are in the spirit world, and will remain there, the righteous resting from their labors — not in idleness, but in doing, working without weariness, without pain, while awaiting a glorious resurrection, when they are to have the privilege of coming back to spend their time on this planet, when it is celestialized and converted into a heaven. ¶

HOW SHALL WE SPEND ETERNITY? ¶

About the time that I picked up that card and read the question thereon, a similar question was going the rounds of the religious magazines. Thus: "How do you expect to spend eternity?" This question caused quite a discussion. One reverend gentleman answered it in these words: "How do I expect to spend eternity? I expect to spend the first million years gazing upon the face of the Savior. And then," he added, somewhat facetiously, "I might take a sidelong glance at my wife." ¶

Poor lone woman, waiting a million years for that sidelong glance! Is it not plain that her loving husband did not know how to answer the question? If he had known he would have told, and made himself famous; but he did not know, and so passed it off as a joke. But it is no joke, this problem of life and death and resurrection and the hereafter. It is a solemn and sublime reality. ¶

But assuming that he was serious and really meant what he said, let us consider for a moment the gentleman's reply. Does any sane man or woman believe that an all-wise God would create an earth like this, and place his children upon it to become expert and skillful as farmers, as artisans, as engineers, bankers, merchants or what not, and then whisk them away to some distant part of the universe, some world "beyond the bounds of time and space," where they would sit down and twiddle their thumbs and stare somebody out of countenance for a million years? Is it reasonable? Is it sensible? ¶

A MORMON REPLY ¶

How would a Latter-day Saint answer such a question? One who understands his religion — an intelligent, thoughtful Latter-day Saint, if asked : "How do you expect to spend eternity," would be very apt to reply : "I expect to spend it in doing there the things I have learned to do here." That is common sense. It is logical, economical. Else were this all wasted time. No, we are not going to sit down through all eternity and gaze upon the face of the Savior. I don't believe he would want anyone to look at him that long. It would be bad manners. We shall do in eternity the things we have learned to do in time, but we will do them better there than here. We will be better fathers and mothers, better husbands and wives, better in every way; and every faculty exercised and developed here, will find full play and employment in the Great Hereafter. ¶

I do not mean to say that the farmer will have to plow and sow, in heaven as he does on earth, in order to produce a harvest ; nor that the good housewife will have to cook pancakes on a red-hot stove. But I do say that all the occupations of this life that are proper and legitimate are typical of and lead up to and prepare us for the higher occupations of the life to come. We will do there the things we have learned to do here, but we will do them in higher and better ways. For instance, when man wants light, he strikes a match or presses a button, or turns a switch, and lo there is light. When God wants light he says : "Let there be light !" and there is light. Nay, God himself is Light, and would need but to appear and all darkness would flee away. ¶

Nor is there anything contrary to law in all this. God works by law. But there are greater laws and lesser laws, and sometimes the greater suspend the action of the lesser. Miracles are not contrary to law ; they are simply extraordinary results flowing from superior means and methods of doing things. When Elisha the Prophet raised the sunken ax from the bottom of the Jordan River, he might have done it in a commonplace way — might have laid aside his robes, taken off his sandals, and plunged in like a diver and brought the ax to the surface. But he knew a better way. Plucking a sprig of green from a bush growing on the bank of the river, he cast it upon the water and commanded the ax to float. "And the iron did swim," says the sacred record. I believe it. The prophet's act was not contrary to law, but in accordance with law, a higher law than the law of gravitation which, had not its operation on that piece of iron been suspended, would have kept the ax at the bottom of the stream until raised by some other process. ¶

In conclusion. The Gospel explains all such problems, and will solve for us in due season all mysteries. We know some things now. We know where and how we will spend eternity. Revelation has made it clear, and good old Dr. Watts, author of the hymn, "Sweet is the Work, my God, my King," had a glinting of light upon this great subject when he wrote concerning the Hereafter : ¶

"Then shall I see and hear and know All I desired and wished below, And every power find sweet employ In that eternal world of joy." ¶