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The resurrection of this earth, and of the people who live on it, will be the completion of our creation. It will be able to rest from the iniquity that has inhabited it and become the home of celestial beings. Three scriptures help us understand its importance. One is D&C 88:17-20 that was already quoted. The other two are:

61 And the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve;
62 And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem (Moses 7:61-62).

25 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—
26 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 (D&C 88:25-26).

The Lord promised Enoch,

62 I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem (Moses 7:62).

The Prophet Joseph explained,

9 This earth, in its sanctified and immortal state, will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining to an inferior kingdom, or all kingdoms of a lower order, will be manifest to those who dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ’s (D&C 130:9).

That relationship is described more fully in two other places in the scriptures. A short version is reported by the Prophet Joseph when he saw a vision of his brother Alvin.

1 The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell.
2 I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire;
3 Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son.
4 I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold (D&C 137:1-4).

That “Holy City” is described in some detail in the last two chapters of the book of Revelation. Here is just part of that description.

10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
…..
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof (Revelation 21:10-11, 22-23).

14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
17 … And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely (Revelation 22:14, 17).

The Savior’s great intercessory prayer is the ultimate expression of those eternal relationships. Here is part of what he said.

1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:
2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word
……
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
……
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:1-26).

The Savior promised his disciples,

2 In my Father’s house are many mansions [3438]: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (John 14:2-3).

My old Strong [# 3438] says “mansions” means “a staying,” “abode”; another says “abiding places.” Perhaps a good modern translation might be “motels.” That is what is suggested in D&C 130 where it talks about persons in the celestial kingdom.

10 Then the white stone mentioned in Revelation 2:17, will become a Urim and Thummim to each individual who receives one, whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known;
11 And a white stone is given to each of those who come into the celestial kingdom, whereon is a new name written, which no man knoweth save he that receiveth it. The new name is the key word (D&C 130:10-11).

The persons who receive a white stone are already in the celestial kingdom. I suppose that if one has access to a stone “whereby things pertaining to a higher order of kingdoms will be made known,” that stone is also a guide whereby one may achieve those “higher orders of kingdoms.”
The conclusion has to be that if we receive a celestial body that is capable of withstanding the power of intensely pure light, then after the resurrection there is a great adventure awaiting us.

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After Alma threatened Zeezrom with the loss of his priesthood blessings (By this time Zeezrom is feeling like he is being clobbered with his past covenants, and is taking Alma’s warning very seriously), Alma then reviewed the entire Nephite temple drama. (Alma 12:28-35) {1} He reminds him that God sent angels to teach the people how to come to where God is. After the angels visited,

30 And they [the people] began from that time forth to call on his name; therefore God conversed with men, and made known unto them the plan of redemption, which had been prepared from the foundation of the world; and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works (Alma 12:30).

He says that God made known unto the people the plan of redemption, “and this he made known unto them according to their faith and repentance and their holy works.” So the teaching tools God uses are “faith” that is pistis (as it is in the New Testament), which is a reference to the covenants; {2} repentance, which is ultimately the only effective way to learn; and the “holy works” which are the ordinances. Then Alma concludes,

34 Therefore, whosoever repenteth, and hardeneth not his heart, he shall have claim on mercy through mine Only Begotten Son, unto a remission of his sins; and these shall enter into my rest (Alma 12:34).

In this context the “holy works” must be priesthood ordinances. From this it is reasonable to deduce that the “works” by which we will be judged are these “holy works.”

James also uses “works” to mean ordinances when he says “faith [pistis] without works is dead.” What is he is saiying is that one can make whatever covenants one wishes, but without the validating ordinances the covenants have no eternal value. {3}

17 Even so faith [the word he uses here is pistis, the covenants], if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
….
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:17-26).

So I conclude that our “good works,” like kindness, empathy, and taking warm bread to the neighbors, will qualify us to receive a celestial body. But our final judgement before the Savior will be about whether we have made and kept the saving covenants, and received and honored their validating ordinances.

We are assured that “no unclean thing can enter the presence of God.” Therefore, we must be clean. he covenants, symbolized and ratified by the ordinances, are designed to enable us to become clean. However, it is the function of the Holy Ghost to actually cleanse us. Fortunately, it is the function of the Church to provide the means that we may support each other so we may remain clean. Moroni explained that very clearly.

3 And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.
4 And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith (Moroni 6:3-4).

Having clean garments on our bodies is symbolic of being clean within, as Alma told the people in Zarahemla.

21 I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins (Alma 5:21-28).

That is the same doctrine that God taught to Adam ever so long before.

58 Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children, saying:
59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;
60 For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;
61 Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment (Moses 6:58-61).

For the Book of Mormon prophets, their having clean garments was symbolic of their having fulfilled their covenants. Moroni explained,

37 And it came to pass that the Lord said unto me: If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.
38 And now I, Moroni, bid farewell unto the Gentiles, yea, and also unto my brethren whom I love, until we shall meet before the judgment-seat of Christ, where all men shall know that my garments are not spotted with your blood.
39 And then shall ye know that I have seen Jesus, and that he hath talked with me face to face, and that he told me in plain humility, even as a man telleth another in mine own language, concerning these things (Ether 12:36-41).

In Isaiah 61, which is an in-depth prophecy of vicarious work for the dead, the royal priesthood clothing is part of the coronation at the beginning, and also of the sacred marriage at the end. The prophecy presents the coronation ceremony as the same cleansing ceremony that was an important part of the ancient Israelite temple drama.

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified (Isaiah 61:3).

Let us examine that verse.

A. “To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion,” That is, to make them a part of Zion.

B. “to give unto them beauty for [in place of] ashes.” “Beauty” connotes the beauty of a crown. Ashes that are placed on the head as part of formal repentance or morning are removed by a ceremonial washing. So even though the word “washing” is not found here it is a necessary part of the coronation.

C. “the oil of joy for [in place of] mourning” The oil is olive oil which also represents the waters of life and is used to consecrate both kings and priests.

D. “the garment of praise for [in place of] the spirit of heaviness” Elsewhere in the scriptures that clean clothing is called by names that represent priesthood and kingship.

E. “that they might be called [given a new royal king-name] trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.” Trees make fruit; fruit make seeds; seeds make trees, ad infinitum. For the dead, the new name royal king-name is a promise of eternal family. {4}

The last two verses of Isaiah 61 are spoken by the dead. Verse 10 is about a royal wedding, with an appropriate emphasis on “the garments of salvation” and “the robe of righteousness.”

10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels (Isaiah 61:10). {5}

That clean, royal clothing is a permanent characteristic of the righteous, as John writes,

9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
….
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. (Revelation 7:9-15).

In an essay first published in the Evening and Morning Star, the Prophet Joseph explained further,

But from the few items previously quoted we can draw the conclusion that there is to be a day when all will be judged of their works, and rewarded according to the same; that those who have kept the faith will be crowned with a crown of righteousness; be clothed in white raiment; be admitted to the marriage feast; be free from every affliction, and reign with Christ on the earth, where, according to the ancient promise, they will partake of the fruit of the vine new in the glorious kingdom with Him; at least we find that such promises were made to the ancient Saints. {6}

It may be that the white clothing is symbolic of the promise of the resurrection, when one’s spirit puts on a new garment — a resurrected body that is clean and made of pure light. It reminds us of where we began this odyssey through linear time when all things are made of the light of Christ. We began there, and now we have come to the conclusion where,

24 That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day (D&C 50:24).

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FOOTNOTES

{1} see in scripture section. and Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord.

{2} see discussion of 2 Peter 1:1-4 in last one

{3} Martin Luther understood that and wanted to take the book of James out of the Bible because the Catholics claimed a monopoly on the ordinances and Luther believed they were not necessary.

{4} For an analysis of Isaiah 61 see the “Scripture” section of this website.
For a discussion of the coronation ceremony as a part of the ancient Israelite temple drama see, Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, the section called “Act 2, Scene 9: The Coronation Ceremony in Isaiah 61, first edition, 461-99; second edition 336-60.
A section within that chapter is called “the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness.” It discusses the ancient ceremonial clothing as representing the king’s priesthood and kingship, first edition, 483-95; second edition 349-58.

{5} The royal clothing is also described in the section called “The Royal Wedding in Psalm 45,” beginning in the first edition on page 255, and in the paperback edition on page 181. The kings clothing is called “glory and thy majesty. “Glory representing his priesthood and “majesty, his kingship. pages, 257 and 182. The queen “is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold, pages 258 and 184.

{6} Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols. (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1932-1951), 2:21.

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The prophets of the Book of Mormon repeatedly remind us that we will be resurrected before we are brought into the presence of the Savior for our final judgement. So we will already have a celestial, terrestrial or telestial body when we stand before the Savior. Here are just three examples.

21 …. but this much I say, that there is a space between death and the resurrection of the body, and a state of the soul in happiness or in misery until the time which is appointed of God that the dead shall come forth, and be reunited, both soul and body, and be brought to stand before God, and be judged according to their works (Alma 40:21).

23 But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice (Alma 42:23).

6 And he bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead, whereby man must be raised to stand before his judgment-seat (Mormon 7:6). {1}

This insists that there must be a ‘preliminary final judgement’ that will determine what kind of resurrected body we will have, and a ‘formal final judgement’ that will be before the Savior and based on our works.

The scriptures tell us very little about that preliminary judgement. How it happens is not described, just as how the resurrection happens is not described. But WHO will judge us is very clear. We are always our own judges because we radiate the spirit that is within us. Consistent with that, we will also judge ourselves when we receive a resurrected body.

Alma explained that to his son Corianton. Here are some excerpts from what he taught.

2… Behold, it is requisite and just, according to the power and resurrection of Christ, that the soul of man should be restored to its body, and that every part of the body should be restored to itself.
3 And it is requisite with the justice of God that men should be judged according to their works; and if their works were good in this life, and the desires of their hearts were good, that they should also, at the last day, be restored unto that which is good.
4 And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. ….
5 The one raised to happiness according to his desires of happiness, or good according to his desires of good; and the other to evil according to his desires of evil; ….
7 …. and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil.
8 Now, the decrees of God are unalterable; therefore, the way is prepared that whosoever will may walk therein and be saved.
13 O, my son, this is not the case; but the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful.
14 Therefore, my son, see that you are merciful unto your brethren; deal justly, judge righteously, and do good continually; and if ye do all these things then shall ye receive your reward; yea, ye shall have mercy restored unto you again; ye shall have justice restored unto you again; ye shall have a righteous judgment restored unto you again; and ye shall have good rewarded unto you again.
15 For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored; therefore, the word restoration more fully condemneth the sinner, and justifieth him not at all (Alma 41:2-15).

Now the question is, upon what criteria will we judge ourselves. That seems to be quite simple to define. If one is not “able to abide” one glory, then he will get a body that is compatable with one he is “able to abide.” The Lord explained that to the Prophet Joseph.

19 For after it [the earth] hath filled the measure of its creation, it shall be crowned with glory, even with the presence of God the Father;
20 That bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and for this intent are they sanctified.
21 And they who are not sanctified through the law which I have given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom, even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom.
22 For he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory.
23 And he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a terrestrial glory.
24 And he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory. Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory (D&C 88:19-24).

That sounds to me that noone will be surprised, even though some may be disappointed that they are no longer able to fake goodness in the way they had in their past. The Lord describes such people as religious, but not honest. It was about those people that the child prayed, “Dear God, Please help the bad people to be good, and the good people to be nice.”

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them: I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity (3 Nephi 14:21-23).

The wording there is the same as in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. However, the Prophet’s Inspired Version clarifies it. Where Matthew says “I never knew you (Matthew 7:23), the Joseph Smith translation says, “Ye never knew me (JST Matthew 7:33).”

The Book of Mormon shows that the Matthew version is correct, but the Prophet’s change shows that the Savior’s intent was to describe a relationship that never happened.

In the economy of heaven nothing is casual or haphazard. Every righteous thing of eternal consequence is made sure by covenant, ratified by ordinance, and sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise. The persons in question who claimed an intimate knowledge of the Savior had either not made those covenants, or had forsaken them.

When Alma confronted Zeezrom about his broken covenants, he challenged him in language that reminds us of the Savior’s words about the uninitiated.

Alma says, “It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God,” and then he clobbers Zeezrom with a resounding, “However!” “Mystery” is used in the Book of Mormon the same way it is used in the New Testament, to represent the early Christian, or in this case, the Nephite temple rites.{2}

Alma begins by reminding Zeezrom of his own temple experience, then tells him that the consequence of his present attitudes and actions will bring him to a “second death” as “pertains to righteousness.” In Hebrew, “righteousness” is zedek. It meas correctness in priesthood and temple things. That is, they must be performed the right way, with the right authority, in the right place, using the right words, dressed the right way, and using the correct arm or hand gestures. {3} Alma is simply telling Zeezrom that if he continues to “harden his heart” he will forfeit his temple blessings so he cannot be where God is.

9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this [not knowing the mysteries] is what is meant by the chains of hell.

The Book of Mormon prophets had a simpler version of eternity than we do. We understand there are three degrees of glory and one where there is no glory. The Nephite prophets taught that there were only two options. We will either be were God is, or we will be somewhere else. I think if Alma were to comment on Section 76 he would describe it as one degree of glory and three degrees of something much less than that. We find that idea in the rest of what he said to Zeezrom.

12 And Amulek hath spoken plainly concerning death, and being raised from this mortality to a state of immortality, and being brought before the bar of God, to be judged according to our works.
13 Then if our hearts have been hardened, yea, if we have hardened our hearts against the word, insomuch that it has not been found in us, then will our state be awful, for then we shall be condemned.
14 For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence.
15 But this cannot be; we must come forth and stand before him in his glory, and in his power, and in his might, majesty, and dominion, and acknowledge to our everlasting shame that all his judgments are just; that he is just in all his works, and that he is merciful unto the children of men, and that he has all power to save every man that believeth on his name and bringeth forth fruit meet for repentance.
16 And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness (Alma 12:9-16).

The people Jesus was talking about, who “never knew him,” do not have to wait until judgement day to reveal themselves. In this life they may have let their pride mask their true Selves from themselves and they have thought they could hide who they really were from others. However, just as good people can feel love that radiates from those who love, they can also feel the darkness from those who exude darkness. Brigham Young’s friend and counselor Jedediah M. Grant could both feel and see it. He told Heber C. Kimball about his near death experience, and President Kimball repeated it when he spoke at President Grant’s funeral.

He said that after he came back he could look upon his family and see the spirit that was in them, and the darkness that was in them; and that he conversed with them about the Gospel, and what they should do, and they replied, “Well, brother Grant, perhaps it is so, and perhaps it is not,” and said that was the state of this people, to a great extent, for many are full of darkness and will not believe me. {4}

That darkness President Grant saw can be a real part of us, and if we do not get rid of it here, we will take it with us into the next world. Moroni devoted his last admonition in the Book of Mormon to teaching us how to be clean so that we could become “holy without spot.”

32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot (Moroni 10:32-33). {5}

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FOOTNOTES

{1} Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, “A Meaning of “Redeem”— to “Come Unto Christ” second edition, 510-20

{2}The relationship between the way the word “mystery”is used in the New Testament and in the Book of Mormon is discussed in a footnote in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord. First edition, footnote # 716, pages 650-51; paperback edition, footnote # 737, page 463. The footnote reads,

The distinguished Catholic Biblical scholar, Raymond E. Brown, has shown that the meaning of the Greek word mysterion (translated “mystery” in the English versions of the New Testament) and of the Hebrew word sode (translated “secret” in the English versions of the Old Testament) is essentially the same. Mysterion is more specific since it refers to secrets disclosed during initiation into sacred religious rites, [Strong 3466: “the idea of silence imposed by initiation into religious rites”] while sode is more general in that it refers to the deliberations (or decisions) of either a religious or a secular council. Brown observes that the New Testament mysterion refers to the Council in Heaven. He shows that in the Old Testament sode sometimes refers to that Council or its decisions (as in Amos 3:7), though it is sometimes used to describe any gathering, whether legal, or illegal and conspiratorial. (see Raymond E. Brown, The Semitic Background of the Term “Mystery” in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1968), 2-6).

Understanding these words casts a fascinating light on the manner in which the Book of Mormon was translated. The Nephites most likely spoke Hebrew or some other Semitic language, not Greek, so the Greek word mysterion was probably not a part of their language, whereas the Hebrew word sode (with its English equivalents) was likely familiar to the ancient Book of Mormon peoples. In the Book of Mormon, as in the Bible, sode might refer to a Council in Heaven sode experience, or a ceremony related to the temple drama representing a sode experience, or even the secret decisions of conspirators. In this, the English translation of the Book of Mormon is very precise. When the underlying word sode used in the negative sense it is translated as “secret,” as in “secret combinations.” However, when the underlying word sode is used in the positive sense—indicating a temple or temple-like experience—it is always translated as “mystery,” equivalent to the English New Testament translation of the Greek mysterion. Thus, Nephi writes of “having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God” (1 Nephi 1:1).

For a more detailed discussion of the sode experience see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord. the chapter called, “Sode Experience.”

{3} The reason these paragraphes about the Nephite temple service are not more detailed is because, it its entirity, Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord is a discussion of both the Israelite and Nephite temple dramas. To do an adequate job here, I would have to reproduce that whole book.

{4} Heber C. Kimball, Remarks at the funeral of Jedediah M. Grant, December 4, 1856, Journal of Discourses, 4:135-138. You can find the whole sermon in “Favorite Quotes” in this website.

{5} Paul says “holy without blame” and does so in the context of the premortal temple covenants. See Ephesians 1 under “Scriptures” in this website.

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It seems to me that our life in the postmortal spirit world will be consistent with this one. We will seek for the same sense of fulfillment we sought here, whether good or bad, or somewhere in between, just as Alma said (Alma 34:32-35).

We will still be with family and friends, only we will also be able to renew premortal friendships with people we were not able to associate with them in mortality because they came to this world in a different time and place from when we came.

Our activities will still be about fulfilling the covenants we made earlier in the Council in Heaven and that we renewed in this world. I suppose that is especially true of people who die relitively young, except the burden of their covenants probably had more to do with their duties in the postmortal spirit world than in this one.

In Section 131 it tells of the importance of “the new and everlasting covenant of marriage.” Later in that section we learn of marriage by or in the new and everlasting covenant. {1} Marriage is a part of the covenant. That does not diminish the marriage covenant, it only makes it a part of a greater whole. In its totality, the covenant is new because it is renewed in this world, it is everlasting because it is the covenant we made at the Council. Therefore, it includes all that we promised we would do before, during, and after this mortal life.

The importance of keeping the entire covenant is spelled out with great power in the first 14 verses of Section 132 where we learn about the entire new and everlasting covenant.{2}

Family and friends are everything. When Jedediah M. Grant died, Heber C. Kimball spoke at his funeral and told about President Grant’s experiences in the spirit world. This is what he said.

I went to see him one day last week. …. He said to me, brother Heber, I have been into the spirit world two nights in succession, and, of all the dreads that ever came across me, the worst was to have to again return to my body, though I had to do it. But 0, says he, the order and government that were there! When in the spirit world, I saw the order of righteous men and women; beheld them organized in their several grades, and there appeared to be no obstruction to my vision; I could see every man and woman in their grade and order. I looked to see whether there was any disorder there, but there was none; neither could I see any death nor any darkness, disorder or confusion. He said that the people he there saw were organized in family capacities; and when he looked at them he saw grade after grade, and all were organized and in perfect harmony. We would on this earth, but I never saw any to compare with those that were there. I saw flowers of numerous kinds, and some with from fifty to a hundred different colored flowers growing upon one stalk.” We have many kinds of flowers on the earth, and I suppose those very articles came from heaven, or they would not be here.

After mentioning the things that he bad seen, he spoke of how much he disliked to return and resume his body, after having seen the beauty and glory of the spirit world, where the righteous spirits are gathered together.

Some may marvel at my speaking about these things, for many profess to believe that we have no spiritual existence. But do you not believe that my spirit was organized before it came to my body here? And do you not think there can be houses and gardens, fruit trees, and every other good thing there? The spirits of those things were made, as well as our spirits, and it follows that they can exist upon the same principle.

After speaking of the gardens and the beauty of every thing there, brother Grant said that he felt extremely sorrowful at having to leave so beautiful a place and come back to earth, for he looked upon his body with loathing, but was obliged to enter it again.

He said that after he came back he could look upon his family and see the spirit that was in them, and the darkness that was in them; and that he conversed with them about the Gospel’, and what they should do, and they replied, ” Well, brother Grant, perhaps it is so, and perhaps it is not,” and said that was the state of this people, to a great extent, for many are full of darkness and will not believe me. {3}

The world we enter upon leaving this one is designed to give us every opportunity we did not have in this world. However, there are priesthood and temple ordinances that must be performed here. President Wilford Woodruff reported that when the St. George Temple was completed,

Every one of those men that signed the Declaration of Independence, with General Washington, called upon me, as an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the Temple at St. George, two consecutive nights, and demanded at my hands that I should go forth and attend to the ordinances of the House of God for them.” {4}

Those great men did not request that their temple work be done. It was theirs by right, and they “demanded” that it be taken care of. President Woodruff told that story more fully soon after it happened.

I will here say, before closing, that two weeks before I left St. George, the spirits of the dead gathered around me, wanting to know why we did not redeem them. Said they, “You have had the use of the Endowment House for a number of years, and yet nothing has ever done for us. We laid the foundation of the government you now enjoy, and we never apostatized from it, but we remained true to it and were faithful to God.” These were the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and they waited on me for two days and two nights. I thought it very singular, that notwithstanding so much work had been done, and yet nothing had been done for them. The thought never entered my heart, form the fact, I suppose, that heretofore our minds were reaching after our more immediate friends and relatives. I straightway went into the baptismal font and called upon brother McCallister to baptize me for the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and fifty other eminent men, making one hundred in all, including John Wesley, Columbus, and others; I then baptized him for every President of the United States, except three; and when their cause is just, somebody will do the work for them. {5}

In his journal he recorded that while he was in St. George, on August 22, 23, and 24 he ordained some High Priests rather than elders. Of those, he names George Washington, John Wesley, Benjamin Franklin, and Christopher Columbus.{6}

Several years later, on March 19, 1894, President Woodruff reported in his journal,

I had a Dream in the night. I met with Benjamin Franklin. I though He was on the Earth. I spent several hours with him and talked over our Endowments. He wanted some more work done for him than had been done which I promised him He should have (2d). I thought then He died and while waiting for burial I awoke. I thought very strange of my Dream. I made up m mind to get 2d Anointing for Benjamin Franklin & George Washington. {7}

Both of those accounts suggest that the spirit world is the same as this one, except the colors, flowers are more beautiful, and the people were organized “in perfect harmony.” We also learned that the men who gave us our freedom still associate with each other and can act in unison. Everything I know about our premortal world, about the importance of this life, and about the worlds to come has only to do with our relationships with God and with his children. Priesthood covenants and ordinances are about sealing those relationships. Priesthood is a function of charity. Charity is expressed in the law of consecration. The quality of our life in the eternities is determined by the quality of our truth/light/love as we develop it during our maturation through linear time. In Doctrine and Covenants 88, after explaining qualifications for the various degrees of glory, the Lord also explained that eternal life is about eternal relationships (D&C 88:15-38)

39 All beings who abide not in those conditions are not justified.
40 For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light; mercy hath compassion on mercy and claimeth her own; justice continueth its course and claimeth its own; judgment goeth before the face of him who sitteth upon the throne and governeth and executeth all things (D&C 88:39-40).

The Prophet Joseph clarified that in a most beautiful way when he expanded,

1 When the Savior shall appear we shall see him as he is. We shall see that he is a man like ourselves.
2 And that same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory, which glory we do not now enjoy (D&C 130:1-2).

I do not believe that our dearest family connections and friendships first happen by accident in this world, nor to I believe they will ever end. Brigham Young once said,

The kingdom of God secures unto the faithful eternal life, with wives, children, and friends, in glory immortal, and in eternal felicity and bliss. Life eternal in His presence is the greatest gift that God can bestow upon His children. {8}

Heber C. Kimball believed the same, and listed Brigham young among his eternal friends. At Jedediah M. Grant’s funeral he expressed his love for his brethren. (Apparently something else was also on his mind that day. His other comments seem rather comical in view of the fact that he had more wives than any other man in Utah.)

I am talking of what I know, and not of what I merely believe; and may the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, rest upon you, my brethren and sisters, and upon our families and every good person. Brother Brigham is my brother, and brother Jedediah is my brother; I loved him, I love those men, God knows I do, better than I ever loved a woman; and I would not give a dime for a man that does not love them better than they love women. A man is a miserable being, if he lets a woman stand between him and his file leaders; he is a fool, and I have no regard for him; he is not fit for the Priesthood.{9}

May I tell you my personal feelings about the meaning of eternal family and of eternal friendships, and why I believe that they are almost exactly the same thing.

As a boy, I remember hearing church talks about genealogy and how important it is that we be sealed to our parents, and they to theirs, etc., etc., in one continuous chain until finely we get to Adam. (There was always some wiggle room in those talks, saying that if some ancestor were bad, then his link would not be in the chain, but the chain would just skip that link and go on intact anyway.) So I visualized that concept this way:

Here is Adam—who looks very funny indeed—from him comes zillions of chains of people, so he looks much like poor old Jacob Marley in Dickens’ Christmas Carol, with chains attached to him in every direction. That imagery didn’t make a lot of sense when I was a boy, but it was what I was taught, so I believed it must be right somehow.

As I grew older, I realized that the idea of chains was very misleading, but I did not know what to replace it with. Then, one morning while I was on my mission in England, we came out of our digs to discover a magnificent spider web in the bushes by the driveway. The sun had just come up but the dew was not yet melted away. The sunshine on that dew on that spider web looked like it was arrayed with a thousand sparkling diamonds. It was magnificent. As I contemplated its beauty, I realized that was the answer I was looking for. Our eternal relationships are not like a chain, but like the multiple connections of that beautiful spider web. I am sealed to my parents. My mother is sealed to her parents. Grandma is sealed to her sister, my mother’s Aunt Rinda, who is sealed to her son, who is sealed to his wife, who is sealed to her brother, who is sealed to his wife and thereby to her parents, ad infinitum. It wasn’t a chain at all. It was a pattern like a spider web with everyone ultimately connected to everybody else. I really liked that idea, and I still like its implications.

The practical application of that idea is that because everyone is ultimately related to everyone else, then everyone is also sealed to everyone else. Friendships become family. I am sealed to my tenth great-grandfather John Lathrop who came to America in the 17th century. My dear friend is also sealed to his multi-great grandfather John Lathrop by the same priesthood authority. Through those interconnections (and probably several others) my friend and I are sealed together by the same priesthood power as we are sealed to members of our immediate families. Those connecting points create sealing links so that we are in fact all one very large family.

I strongly believe that friendship bonds are similar to our family bonds, and that both kinds of love have a much firmer base than our short relationships in this world’s experiences. I believe that both kinds of love are founded on eternal covenants, originating a very, very long time ago. I believe that friendships that seem to begin by happenstance here, and will be projected into the future eternities, are strong here because they actually began in past eternities. That is, in this world we don’t make new friends, we only recognize old ones.

I liked the spider web imagery for many years, but after a while it asked questions it could not answer. The most pressing of those questions was also the most simple: Why was it flat? What would happen if it were not two dimensional? The question answered itself. “Flat” really makes only a little more sense than “chains.”

One day I was visiting with my best friend at BYU and he was trying to explain some mathematical principles to me (not an easy task, by the way). He told me the difference between a “sphere” and a “ball.” To theoretical mathematicians they present entirely different problems. A sphere is hollow like a balloon or a basketball. A ball is solid like a baseball or like the earth. Once my head had settled on that concept, he told me how those principles related to theoretical multiple dimensions.

That’s when all my lights came on.

Make the spider web a multidimensional ball with everybody connected to everybody and the Savior in the center. That’s beautiful, but now it asks another question: “Who are on the outside edges? The answer is “No one!” This ball is infinitely multidimensional so everyone is at the center and everyone is next to everyone.

It seems to me it has to be that way. Even though my mind does not know how to visualize such a ball, that doesn’t matter. If time and distance do not work in the celestial world like they work here, then physical proximity is not the issue. Even though the physical juxtapositions I have tried to imagine are not adequate, that analysis plus a good hug are still the only way I can understand it.

That hug asks the next question. “What is the sealing power.” Obviously, the first answer is the priesthood. The reasoning behind that answer is that God is a God of order, and the sealing authority must be the ordinances of priesthood authority. But that answer does not address the question. Authority and power may not be the same thing. The question is, what is the sealing power.

I do not think the power that seals us to the Saviour is his authority. I believe the power by which he seals us to himself is his love for us. If it is true with him, then it must also be true with us — the power that seals the Saviour to one’s Self is one’s love for him. If it is true of that relationship, then it must be true of all relationships—the eternal sealing power is the love that emanates from each individual — our truth/light/love. The ultimate sealing power is Charity.

The Saviour’s love for us is the eternal constant. The only variables are our love for God and for his children. If that statement is correct, then the power to be saved in the Celestial kingdom is one’s individual power to personify — to respond to and to be an expression of — to BE — Love.

If that is true—and I am convinced it is—then the whole matter boils down to the simplest of all possible formulas: Said one way it is the Savior’s words: “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Said another way it is the conclusion of Moroni 7, “But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.”

I truly believe that love is the only and the ultimate sealing power, and, as such, it is also the final qualification for Celestial glory.

Essentially all I have written says only this: All one has to do in order to be saved in the Celestial kingdom is to be the sort of person who is comfortable in that multi-dimensional celestial relationship that is charity. That notion fits this context,

92 And thus we saw the glory of the celestial, which excels in all things—where God, even the Father, reigns upon his throne forever and ever;
93 Before whose throne all things bow in humble reverence, and give him glory forever and ever.
94 They who dwell in his presence are the church of the Firstborn; and they see as they are seen, and know as they are known, having received of his fulness and of his grace;
95 And he makes them equal in power, and in might, and in dominion.
96 And the glory of the celestial is one, even as the glory of the sun is one (D&C 76:92-97).

The people in the ball “see as they are seen, and know as they are known.” I suppose that if people are not comfortable being in that situation, they just won’t want to be in the ball.

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FOOTNOTES

{1} D&C 132:19 says “by”; v. 41-42 say “in.”

{2} In the “Scriptures” section of this website you will find, “D&C 132:1-15, new and everlasting covenant, LeGrand Baker.”

{3} Heber C. Kimball, Remarks at the funeral of Jedediah M. Grant, December 4, 1856, Journal of Discourses, 4:135-138. You can find the whole sermon in “Favorite Quotes” in this website.

{4}President Wilford Woodruff, April 10, 1898, Conference Report, 89-90.

{5} Wilford Woodruff, Sunday, September 16, 1877, Journal of Discourses, 19:229.

{6} Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 1833-1898, Typescript in 9 vols. edited by Scott G. Kenney, 7:366-67.

{7} Wilford Woodruff’s Journal, 1833-1898, Typescript in 9 vols. edited by Scott G. Kenney, 9:293.

{8} Journal of Discourses, 11: 127.

{9} Heber C. Kimball, Remarks at the funeral of Jedediah M. Grant, December 4, 1856, Journal of Discourses, 4:135-138.

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Once again let me remind you that I am writing my opinion, not church doctrine.

The postmortal spirit world is the culmination of our journey through linear time, and is the consummation of our definition of Self. There is a veil like a two-way mirror that separates us from that next world. We do not see them, but they must be able to remember (perhaps sometimes see) us, for if they could not remember this world, they could not repent or retain their family connections. Then vicarious temple ordinances would have no meaning and they could not use the experiences of this world as a platform from which to rise into eternity.

Human life on this earth happens on such an uneven playing field that many rational people look upon it with utter despair. They know nothing of a premortal life, so cannot know anything of the covenants and decisions made there. They find no hard evidence of a postmortal life, so either deny it, or accept it with a blind but hopeful “faith.” The tragedy is that many religionists who believe there is a purpose in existence, use that belief to justify prejudice, contempt, bullying, hatred, sometimes murder, and even genocide. That has always been so, as far back as written history can take us. Nevertheless, there is a fundamental goodness in most people, and an innate sense that this world is not all there is, but that we, like Moses, are wandering as “strangers in a strange land (Exodus 2:22).” The LDS Church survives under the cultural, political, and military umbrella of those good and honest people who share an inherent value of the dignity and beauty of life.

The Prophet Joseph Smith, while a prisoner in Liberty jail in 1839, wrote a letter to the Saints in which he lamented the persecutions they had suffered. The conclusion of that letter reads,

12 For there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it—
13 Therefore, that we should waste and wear out our lives in bringing to light all the hidden things of darkness, wherein we know them; and they are truly manifest from heaven—
14 These should then be attended to with great earnestness (D&C 123:10-17).

The gospel is the only truth that can level the inequities of this uneven playing field. Our missionary work is important but not sufficient. In the end, it is the work we do in the temples that will enable all persons, from all generations no matter what their disadvantages in this life, to have access to all truth in an environment that will let them become precisely who and what they choose to be, with all of the advantages of the Atonement.

Our responsibility of doing vicarious ordinances for the dead reinforces our sensitivity to, and our understanding of the reality of the hereafter. It also contravenes many of the fears we have in this life, and counterbalances much of the pain and sorrow we feel when a loved one dies.

Because we cannot see their world. The scope of the afterlife is still a mystery to us. And though we understand the gist of Peter’s words, we do not have access to the full breath of the meaning of what he writes.

For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit (1 Peter 4:6).

The greatest scriptural insight we have on the conditions of that spirit world is President Joseph F. Smith’s vision of the redemption of the dead in Section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants. There we learn that those who had a firm testimony in this world, retained that testimony in the next (v. 9-16). They were aware of what was happening in our world, so they knew when the Savior would die, and gathered to welcome him into the spirit world (v. 16-18). Not everyone was there to meet him. The Savior did not visit those who were unworthy, but established missionary work among the righteous so they could teach the others and invite them to accept the vicarious temple covenants and ordinances. (v. 36-37, 57)

President Smith tells us who was in attendance. He does it so casually that it is apparent he did not need to be introduced to them, but recognized who they were. He mentions the Old Testament prophets by name, and tells us the Nephite prophets were there as well. This was a gathering of the noble and great ones, including both those who had already lived as mortals and were in the postmortal spirit world, and those, like Joseph Smith, who were to be born into this world long after the Savior was resurrected. (v. 53-55) That fact teaches us a great deal about the organization of heaven.

Last time I quoted a number of statements from Wilford woodruff showing that Joseph Smith is still he head of this dispensation and that there is an ongoing communication between his organization in the postmortal spirit world and the current leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It suggests that the last living prophet is the liaison between the larger church over which Joseph presides in the spirit world and the current living prophet.

In Section 138 we see premortal and postmortal spirits associating together. We can know that they are among the noble and great ones because the list of people who were present is bracketed on both ends by identifying them as such.

38 Among the great and mighty ones who were assembled in this vast congregation of the righteous were Father Adam, the Ancient of Days and father of all (D&C 138:38),
…. [names and identifications of people who have died are given here] …..
53 The Prophet Joseph Smith, and my father, Hyrum Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and other choice spirits who were reserved to come forth in the fulness of times to take part in laying the foundations of the great latter-day work,
54 Including the building of the temples and the performance of ordinances therein for the redemption of the dead, were also in the spirit world.
55 I observed that they were also among the noble and great ones who were chosen in the beginning to be rulers in the Church of God.
56 Even before they were born, they, with many others, received their first lessons in the world of spirits and were prepared to come forth in the due time of the Lord to labor in his vineyard for the salvation of the souls of men (D&C 138:53-56)

Last time I quoted Wilford Woodruff’s testimony in which he said, “Joseph Smith was ordained before he came here, the same as Jeremiah was.” {1} Similarly, Isaiah 48 and 49 as recorded in 1 Nephi 20 and 21 also shows that even before the war in heaven Joseph was responsible for the success of the dispensation that was to prepare for the second coming of the Savior.{2} It is perfectly reasonable then, that he, along with the others who were heads of dispensations, should be present at the Council meeting that organized missionary work among the dead.

From that I conclude that the members of the Council in Heaven remain an intact quorum and continue to work together and preside over all parts of our journey through linear time.

It is necessary for the order and organization of things, that at least some of the leaders must be able to transcend the boundaries between the pre- and post-mortal spirit worlds, but that is not, and cannot be true for the great majority of people.

I suspect that very few of us get out of this world having completed all of the things we covenanted to do here, and it would be contrary to the laws of justice and mercy if we could remember our premortal spirit world until we had fulfilled those covenants. Because if, when we die, we could remember our premortal experiences, that would negate our opportunity to “be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit (1 Peter 4:6).”

If the dead could remember the choices they made before they were born into our world, such a memory would negate the need for missionary work, conversion among the dead would be meaningless because they would remember that they had already accepted the blessings of the Atonement, And they would lose their free agency. Our not being able to remember gives us a chance to start over without bringing any baggage from the previous world, thus guaranteeing our free agency here in mortality. If postmortal spirits could remember their premortal covenants, then all that opportunity would be taken away. Therefore, after we die, the enormous majority of us remember this world but not the premortal world. Therefore, the next world is best understood as an extension of this one, and, as President Wilford Woodruff explains, there is perfect priesthood organization there that directs what is done and how it is accomplished.

I want to say to my brethren and sisters, that we are placed upon the earth to build up Zion, to build up the kingdom of God. The greater proportion of the male members of Zion, who have arrived at the years of early manhood, bear some portion of the Holy Priesthood. Here is a kingdom of Priests raised up by the power of God to take hold and build up the kingdom of God. The same Priesthood exists on the other side of the veil. Every man who is faithful in his quorum here will join his quorum there. When a man dies and his body is laid in the tomb, he does not lose his position. The Prophet Joseph Smith held the keys of this dispensation on this side of the veil, and he will hold them throughout the countless ages of eternity. He went into the spirit world to unlock the prison doors and to preach the Gospel to the millions of spirits who are in darkness, and every Apostle, every Seventy, every Elder, etc., who has died in the faith as soon as he passes to the other side of the veil, enters into the work of the ministry, and there is a thousand times more to preach there than there is here. {3}

When President Joseph F. Smith described his vision of the redemption of the dead, he quoted the first verse of Isaiah 61 in three different places (v. 18, 31, 42). In verse 42 he quoted much of it verbatim.

42 And Isaiah, who declared by prophecy that the Redeemer was anointed to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound, were also there.

Isaiah 61:1 reads,

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

Isaiah says the Savior will “preach good tidings unto the meek,” In Psalm 25, the “meek” are clearly identified as those who kept the covenants they made in the Council in Heaven, and in D&C 138 those are the persons to whom the Savior came. {4}

Isaiah 61 is a deeply encoded, but rather complete description of the Feast of Tabernacles temple rites that would be performed for the dead. There are three discussions of Isaiah 61 on this website under “Scriptures” then “Old Testament.” The first and most complete is called “An Endowment for the Dead.” The other two were written some time ago. They are “Temple rites for the dead” and “Blessed are all they that Mourn.” There is no point in repeating them here, so I invite you to read them there.

The Savior also used parts of Isaiah 61 to call attention to his work with the dead. In the synagogue in Nazareth he read the passage and said “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” We can know that the Jews understood, because they responded the way they almost always did when they understood — they got angry and tried to kill him.

28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way, (see Luke 4:16-30).

A different time, when his followers did understand but did not get angry was when he introduced the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4 paraphrases Isaiah 61:2)

One wonders how much they understood. For Isaiah 61 is to a complete ancient temple drama, including coronation rites, priesthood ordinances, the birthright blessings of Abraham, a wedding ceremony, and an encoded promise of the resurrection.

When the resurrected Lord spoke the Beatitudes to the Nephites who had retained the Feast of Tabernacles temple drama as part of their worship services, it is likely that every adult present understood the full implications of this Isaiah chapter, just as Moroni did when he closed the Book of Mormon with review of those rites including the marriage ceremony.{5}

Understanding Isaiah 61 opens to us a whole new appreciation of the ancient Israelite and Nephite religion because it teaches us that they knew of the promise that the Savior would give their dead a full opportunity to accept the gospel.

Beginning with chapter 40, Isaiah is a poetic rendering of the ancient Feast of Tabernacles temple drama.{6} That is apparent from the sequence of its ideas – Council in Heaven, steps in the cosmic myth, and concluding with the second coming of the Savior. Scholars have long since noted that the second half of Isaiah relies heavily on the psalms. That reliance is another evidence that the last half of Isaiah is a review of the Israel temple drama because the psalms were the liturgy of the drama.{7}

It is probable that Isaiah 61 is a commentary on Psalm 22, which is the most powerful testimony I know that the pre-exilic Israelites understood the full magnitude of the Atonement. All four of the gospels recognize the 22nd Psalm as a description of the Savior’s experience on the cross. References in the gospels to Psalm 22 are Matthew 27:35, 27:46; Mark 15:24, 15:34; Luke 23:34; John 19:24. After his death, according to the psalm, Jehovah himself went down into the Underworld to save the king and his people from the clutches of death and hell.{8}

Psalm 22 is the earliest evidence I know of in the Old Testament that explicitly teaches that the Savior’s Atonement includes the promise of redemption of the dead. Its first two thirds is a prophetic description of the Savior’s agonies on the cross, then after the Savior dies in the psalm, its last third is about his triumphal entry into the spirit world.

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation [as we read in D&C 139] will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows [keep my covenants] before them that fear him. [the meek]
26 The meek [defined in Psalm 25 as those who keep the covenants they made at the Council] shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. [that is very inclusive]
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations.
29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust [the dead] shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. [even the dead require the blessings of the Atonement]
30 A seed shall serve him [in Isaiah 61 the “seed” that shall serve him are the living who do the work for the dead]; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this (Psalms 22:22-31).

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FOOTNOTES

{1} Journal of Discourses, 21: 317-318. President Wilford Woodruff taught that principle during his sermon in General Conference, Sunday Afternoon, October 10th, 1880.

{2} I have four short essays discussing 1 Nephi 20. You can find them by using the search engine.

{3} President Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses, 22: 334. Scriptural references that say the spirits in prison will be taught the gospel include: John 5:25; 1 Peter 3:19, 4:6; D&C 76:3-74, 88:99, 124:29, 127:5, 128:5-15 (Hebrews 11:40), 128:24-25,137:1-10, 137:7; Moses 7:38, 57.

{4} See the discussion of Psalm 25 in the “Scriptures” section of this website.

{5} See the discussion about Moroni 10:28-1 in this website.

{6} There is an exception. In the scriptures section of this website, under 2 Nephi 20, there is an introductory essay showing that Isaiah 44:28 through chapter 48 was either written or edited by the Jews during the Babylonian captivity. So those chapters are not part of Isaiah’s review of the Israelite temple rites.

{7} That is the message of the book Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord.

{8}That Psalm 22 as a prophecy of the Savior’s Atonement and as his triumph in the world of spirits is discussed in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, first edition 422-25, 435-37; paperback edition 305-08, 317-18.

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In him was life; and the life was the light of men (John 1:4).

I mentioned in part 5 of this series that the earth is going through a long creation process that began with the decisions of the Council in Heaven and will not conclude until it becomes a celestial orb. Our journey through linear time is parallel to that creation process, each step presenting us with ever new and previously unimagined possibilities.

When our intelligences received spirit bodies made from the Savior’s light, we were clothed with power that was greater than our own, like a candle in a lighthouse. Now, in mortal bodies that are also made from the Savior’s light, our own truth/light/love is magnified even more. Few of us can actually see another’s light, but we can feel it. The following is a classic description of that feeling and how the cleansing power of the Holy Ghost effects our relationships with other people. Parley P. Pratt wrote,

In the presence of such persons, the light of their countenances, as the genial rays of a sunbeam. Their very atmosphere diffuses a thrill, a warm glow of pure gladness and sympathy, to the heart and nerves of others who have kindred feelings, or sympathy of spirit. No matter if the parties are strangers, entirely unknown to each other in person or character; no matter if they have never spoken to each other, each will be apt to remark in his own mind, and perhaps exclaim, when referring to the interview—”O what an atmosphere encircles that stranger! How my heart thrilled with pure and holy feelings in his presence! What confidence and sympathy he inspired! his countenance and spirit gave me more assurance, than a thousand written recommendations, or introductory letters.” Such is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and such are its operations, when received through the lawful channel—the divine, eternal Priesthood. {1}

President McKay described the same phenomena when he wrote,

Every man and every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone; it is not alone what he does. It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she really is. Every person is a recipient of radiation. The Saviour was conscious of that. Whenever He came into the presence of an individual, He sensed that radiation — whether it was the woman of Samaria with her past life: whether it was the woman who was to be stoned, or the men who were to stone her; whether it was the statesman, Nicodemus, or one of the lepers. He was conscious of the radiation from the individual. And to a degree so are you. and so am I. It is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us. {2}

When Heber C. Kimball spoke at the funeral of Jedediah M. Grant, he described the source of that radiation — both the good and the bad. He said,

During brother Grant’s brief sickness…. He said to me, brother Heber, I have been into the spirit world two nights in succession, and of all the dreads that ever came across me, the worst was to have to again return to my body, though I had to do it. But O, says he, the order and government that were there! [talks about happiness of the righteousness, about family organizations, about what Joseph and others are doing to help the saints, about the beauty of the place, especially the flower gardens]….

He said that after he came back he could look upon his family and see the darkness that was in them [That is the best commentary I know on Moroni’s statement at the close of the Book of Mormon: “Holy and without spot”]; and that he conversed with them about the Gospel, and what they should do, and they replied, “Well, brother Grant, perhaps it is so, and perhaps it is not,” and said that was the state of his people, to a great extent, for many are full of darkness and will not believe me. {3}

The radiation President McKay described is our own truth/light/love refined by the cleansing power of the Holy Ghost. Heber C. Kimball explained its importance in a sermon he delivered in the Tabernacle on February 8, 1857.

I am perfectly satisfied that my God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured Being. Why? Because I am cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured when I have His Spirit. That is one reason why I know; and another is the Lord said, through Joseph Smith, “I delight in a glad heart and a cheerful countenance.” That arises from the perfection of His attributes; He is a jovial, lively person, and a beautiful man. {4}

If we begin with the premise that “God is a cheerful, pleasant, lively, and good-natured Being” then everything else falls into place. Lehi’s famous couplet, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy(2 Nephi 2:25),” is a necessary conclusion to that premise, just as is the Lord’s statement to Moses, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39).” I read that to say that God’s work to his glory is to make men truly alive — and joy is the essence of that aliveness.

Through the medium of our physical body we can just taste a little of that joy while we are in this world (Alma 19:6, 26:36) so that when this body is a fully matured celestial being, it will be the power by which our intelligence obtains and retains a fulness of joy. The Lord explained,

33 For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
34 And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy (D&C 93:33-34).

In this world the quality of our truth/light/love/joy defines the quality of our soul (“the spirit and the body are the soul of man” (D&C 88:15). The quality of our soul determines the quality of our resurrected bodies (D&C 88:17-33). Celestial bodies are pure light. Therefore, to have a celestial body our truth/light/love/joy must also be pure.

Now, the overriding question is: How do we achieve those prerequisites to eternal life while we are still in this world? The Savior’s prayer gives us the key.

11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. ….
13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves (John 11, 13).

“That they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” That is the answer. In the contexts of these scriptures, “joy” is a quality of power. In a formal sense, joy is a product of charity which in turn is equated with keeping priesthood covenants. Peter gave the Saints a simple (well, simple enough to say but not so simple to do) eight-step process whereby we can make our calling and election sure.{5} He wrote,

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith [# 4102, pistis = the Greek word means contract or covenant] virtue [# 703, “manliness”]; and to virtue knowledge [# 1108, knowledge, understanding. I prefer the definition of truth in D&C 93:24 is knowledge of reality in sacred time];
6 And to knowledge temperance [# 1455, self control]; and to temperance patience [# 5281, steadfastness, constancy, endurance. That describes our relationship with God, with oneself, as also with other people]; and to patience godliness [# 2150, reverence. One can never hurt or be unkind to something or someone whom one revers];
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness [# 5360, philadelphia = “fraternal love” {6}]
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall (2 Peter 1:5-10).{7}

Of those eight steps, the first four are about our relationship with God and with our Self. The second four are about our relationships with other people. Before the Savior left this world, he explained the power of those relationships to the Twelve.

9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. (John 15:7-12).

Priesthood ordinances and covenants (baptism, gift of the Holy Ghost, and the coronation ceremonies as practiced in the ancient Israelite temples) {8} give power which enables freedom, which freedom enables joy. A shining example is a prophecy of vicarious temple work for the dead in Isaiah 61. {9} Verse 3 is the coronation ceremony. There the anointing is called “the oil of joy.”

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes [ashes were removed by a ceremonial washing], the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified (Isaiah 61:3).

“Double” is code for the birthright blessings. The Law of Moses required that the birthright son received a double portion. In the ancient temple service the double was the birthright blessings of Abraham which brings “everlasting joy.”

7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them (Isaiah 61:7).

Verse 10 is spoken by the dead and represents their marriage ceremony. It is introduced with “my soul shall be joyful in my God.”

10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels (Isaiah 61:3).

The relationships described there for the dead are not different from the relationships we have while we are living. Priesthood is primarily a function of those relationships. The Savior’s Beatitudes are all about priesthood ordinances, covenants, and the responsibilities we have for each other. One of those is expressly about how one can become a sacral king or queen and a worthy priest or priestess. It reads,

7 And blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (3 Nephi 12:7).

Many of the Beatitudes are quotes or paraphrases from other scriptures, so to understand them we must place them in their original context as the Savior’s audience would have done. This Beatitude echoes the promise given in Psalm 18 which reads:

25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright (Psalms 18:25).

That verse twice uses a variation of hesed. Hesed is a Hebrew word that means unfailing love based on a prior covenant. The psalm reads: “With the merciful [hesed as an adjective] thou wilt shew thyself merciful [hesed as a verb].” Just as the Beatitude reads, “blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

Hesed is best understood as reciprocated charity or fraternal love. {10} Charity is always the answer. However, just as true repentance is a gift of God that cannot be accomplished without the covenants and ordinances that enable our reception of the blessings of the Atonement, so charity is also a gift that cannot be achieved without living to those ordinances and covenants. The Prophet Joseph admonished his friends,

45 Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever (D&C 121:45-46).

As the prophet wrote, we must strive to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. Several years ago I put together a group of accounts about the Prophet Joseph — after his death — returning to his friends to teach them that they must learn to listen to the instructions of the Holy Ghost or they could not succeed in this life or the next. I was just going to refer you to them and let it go at that, but I think they are so important they need to be quoted here. {11}
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Oliver B. Huntington was a good friend of the Prophet Joseph. He came to Utah and was a patriarch in Springville before his death. The following is a copy of a letter he received from SGR. But I don’t know who SGR was.

Springville, Aug. 27, 1885

Shortly after the settlement at Winter Quarters, I do not remember the date, living next to the Historians Office, I had the privilege of seeing a copy of a vision, President Young had at that time and being permitted to take items from it, I copied what I felt would be a comfort and benefit to me on my long journeying, about to take place, for I was about to visit England my native land, with my husband who was going upon a mission, and I felt I needed something to say to the people. I give it here as near as possible having copied it from the original manuscript.

Joseph stepped towards me and looking very earnestly, yet pleasantly said, “Tell the people to be humble and faithful, and be sure to keep the spirit of the Lord, and it will lead them right; be careful and not turn away of the still small voice: it will teach you haw to do and where to go; it will yield the fruits of the kingdom: Tell the brethren to keep their hearts open to conviction so that when the Holy Ghost comes to them, their hearts will be ready to receive it. They can tell the Spirit of the Lord from other spirits; it will whisper peace, and joy in their souls; it will take malice, hatred, strife and all evil from their hearts; and their whole desire will be to do good, bring forth righteousness and build up the kingdom of God. Tell the brethren if they will follow the Spirit of the Lord they will go right.

Be sure to tell the people to keep the Spirit of the Lord; and if they will find themselves just as they were organized by our Father in Heaven, before they came into the world. Our Father in Heaven organized the human family, but they are all disorganized and in great confusion.” Joseph then showed me the pattern, how they were in the beginning. This I cannot describe, but I saw it, and saw when the Priesthood had been taken from the earth, and how it must be joined together so as to make a perfect chain from Father Adam to his latest posterity. Tell the people to be sure to keep the Spirit of the Lord, and follow it, and it will lead them just right.”

It seemed that Brother Young was shown into a place where he saw Joseph sitting a little higher than the floor where he stood, with some persons around him, but being so overjoyed to see Joseph he went straight to salute him, when he found a barrier of some kind which prevented him approaching nearer. Joseph said, you cannot come now, but must wait awhile till your work is done; and then conversed a good while with him concerning events past and to come, when about to leave, he, Brigham, asked Joseph what he should say to the people from him, upon which the piece I have now copied from the manuscript was the answer.
S. G. R. {12}
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President Wilford Woodruff taught that principle during his sermon in General Conference, Sunday Afternoon, October 10th, 1880.

It has been my faith and belief from the time that I was made acquainted with the Gospel that no greater prophet than Joseph Smith ever lived on the face of the earth save Jesus Christ. He was raised up to stand at the head of this great dispensation–the greatest of all dispensations God has ever given to man. He remarked on several occasions when conversing with his brethren: “brethren you do not know me, you do not know who I am.” As I remarked at our priesthood meeting on Friday evening, I have heard him in my early days while conversing with the brethren, say, (at the same time smiting himself upon the breast) “I would to God that I could unbosom my feelings in the house of my friend.” Joseph Smith was ordained before he came here, the same as Jeremiah was. Said the Lord unto him, “Before you were begotten I knew you.” etc.

So do I believe with regard to this people, so do I believe with regard to the apostles, the high priests, seventies and the elders of Israel bearing the holly priesthood, I believe they were ordained before they came here; and I believe the God of Israel has raised them up, and has watched over them from their youth, and has carried them through all the scenes of life both seen and unseen, and has prepared them as instruments in his hands to take this kingdom and bear it off. If this be so, what manner of men ought we to be? If anything under the heavens should humble men before the Lord and before one another, it should be the fact that we have been called of God.

I believe the eyes of the heavenly hosts are over this people; I believe they are watching the elders of Israel, the prophets and apostles and men who are called to bear off this kingdom. I believe they watch over us all with great interest.

I will here make a remark concerning my own feelings. After the death of Joseph Smith I saw and conversed with him many times in my dreams in the night season. On one occasion he and his brother Hyrum met me when on the sea going on a mission to England. I had Dan Jones with me. He received his mission from Joseph Smith before his death; and the prophet talked freely to me about the mission I was then going to perform. And he also talked to me with regard to the mission of the Twelve Apostles in the flesh, and he laid before me the work they had to perform; and he also spoke of the reward they would receive after death. And there were many other things he laid before me in this interview on that occasion. And when I awoke many of the things he had told me were taken from me, I could not comprehend them. I have had many interviews with Brother Joseph until the last 15 or 20 years of my life; I have not seen him for that length of time. But during my travels in the southern country last winter I had many interviews with President Young, and with Heber C. Kimball, and Geo. A. Smith, and Jedediah M. Grant, and many others who are dead. They attended our conference, they attended our meetings. And on one occasion, I saw Brother Brigham and Brother Heber ride in carriage ahead of the carriage in which I rode when I was on my way to attend conference; and they were dressed in the most priestly robes. When we arrived at our destination I asked Prest. Young if he would preach to us. He said, “No, I have finished my testimony in the flesh I shall not talk to this people any more. But (said he) I have come to see you; I have come to watch over you, and to see what the people are doing. Then (said he) I want you to teach the people–and I want you to follow this counsel yourself–that they must labor and so live as to obtain the Holy Spirit, for without this you cannot build up the kingdom; without the spirit of God you are in danger of walking in the dark, and in danger of failing to accomplish your calling as apostles and as elders in the church and kingdom of God. And, said he, Brother Joseph taught me this principle.” And I will here say, I have heard him refer to that while he was living. But what I was going to say is this: the thought came to me that Brother Joseph had left the work of watching over this church and kingdom to others, and that he had gone ahead, and that he had left this work to men who have lived and labored with us since he left us. This idea manifested itself to me, that such men advance in the spirit world. And I believe myself that these men who have died and gone into the spirit world had this mission left with them, that is, a certain portion of them, to watch over the Latter-day Saints. {13}
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In another sermon, published in the Deseret Weekly (the precursor to the Deseret News), President Willford Woodruff reemphasized those same principles.

One morning, while we were at Winter Quarters, Brother Brigham Young said to me and the brethren that he had had a visitation the night previous from Joseph Smith. I asked him what he said to him. He replied that Joseph had told him to tell the people to labor to obtain the Spirit of God; that they needed that to sustain them and to give them power to go through their work in the earth.

Now I will give you a little of my experience in this line. Joseph Smith visited me a great deal after his death, and taught me many important principles. The last time he visited me was while I was in a storm at sea. I was going on my last mission to preside in England. My companions were Brother Leonard W. Hardy, Brother Milton Holmes, Brother Dan Jones, and another brother, and my wife and two other women. We had been traveling three days and nights in a heavy gale, and were being driven backwards. Finally I asked my companions to come into the cabin with me, and I told them to pray that the Lord would change the wind. I had no fears of being lost; but I did not like the idea of being driven back to New York, as I wanted to go on my journey. We all offered the same prayer, both men and women; and when we got through we stepped on to the deck and in less than a minute it was as though a man had taken a sword and cut that gale through, and you might have thrown a muslin handkerchief out and it would not have moved it. The night following this Joseph and Hyrum visited me, and the Prophet laid before me a great many things. Among other things, he told me to get the Spirit of God; that all of us needed it. He also told me what the Twelve Apostles would be called to go through on the earth before the coming of the Son of Man, and what the reward of their labors would be; but all that was taken from me, for some reason. Nevertheless I know it was most glorious, although much would be required at our hands.

Joseph Smith continued visiting myself and others up to a certain time, and then it stopped. The last time I saw him was in heaven. In the night vision I saw him at the door of the temple in heaven. He came and spoke to me. He said he could not stop to talk with me because he was in a hurry. The next man I met was Father Smith; he could not talk with me because he was in a hurry. I met half a dozen brethren who had held high positions on earth, and none of them could stop to talk with me because they were in a hurry. I was much astonished. By and by I saw the Prophet again, and I got the privilege to ask him a question. “Now,” said I, “I want to know why you are in a hurry. I have been in a hurry all through my life; but I expected my hurry would be over when I got into the kingdom of heaven, if I ever did.” Joseph said: “I will tell you, Brother Woodruff. Every dispensation that has had the Priesthood on the earth and has gone into the celestial kingdom, has had a certain amount of work to do to prepare to go to the earth with the Savior when He goes to reign on the earth. Each dispensation has had ample time to do this work. We have not. We are the last dispensation, and so much work has to be done and we need to be in a hurry in order to accomplish it.” Of course, that was satisfactory to me, but it was new doctrine to me.

Brigham Young also visited me after his death. On one occasion he and Brother Heber C. Kimball came in a splendid chariot, with fine white horses, and accompanied me to a conference that I was going to attend. When I got there I asked Brother Brigham if he would take charge of the conference. “No,” said he, “I have done my work here. I have come to see what you are doing and what you are teaching the people.” And he told me what Joseph Smith had taught him in Winter Quarters, to teach the people to get the Spirit of God. He said, “I want you to teach the people to get the Spirit of God. You cannot build up the Kingdom of God without that.”

That is what I want to say to the brethren and sisters here today. Every man and woman in this Church should labor to get the Spirit. We are surrounded by these evil spirits that are at war against God and against everything looking to the building up of the kingdom of God; and we need this Holy Spirit to enable us to overcome these influences. I have had the Holy Ghost in my travels. Every man has that has gone out into the vineyard and labored faithfully for the cause of God. I have referred to the administration of angels to myself. What did these angels do? One of them taught me some things relating to the sighs that should precede the coming of the Son of Man. Others came and saved my life. What then? They turned and left me. But how is it with the Holy Ghost? The Holy Ghost does not leave me if I do my duty. It does not leave any man who does his duty. We have known this all the way through. Joseph Smith told Brother John Taylor on one occasion to labor to get the Spirit of God, and to follow its dictation, and it would become a principle of revelation within him. God has blessed me with that, and everything I have done since I have been in this Church has been done upon that principle. The Spirit of God has told me what to do, and I have had to follow that. [The rest of the page is full of personal stories about how President Woodruff received and obeyed instructions from the Spirit.] {14}
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Once again, in the last sermon he delivered in General Conference, that theme was the most important message he could give to the members of the Church.

Now, I want to say to this congregation, to the young men of Israel, to the Elders of Israel, to all our missionaries, the day has come when the God of Heaven requires at my hands, as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to say unto you, it is the will of God for you to take this course. Get the Spirit of God before you go on your missions or anywhere else. Get the spirit of revelation with you. And when you get that you are safe, and you will do exactly what the Lord wants you to do. I have felt strongly impressed to say that to this Conference. What can you do without revelation? We cannot do the will of God and accomplish what is required of us without it. We will make no mistakes if we pursue that course. The spirit is with the Apostles, and with the Elders of Israel who are true and faithful. The rasing generation should labor to obtain the Spirit of God. Get it within you and it will be a continual monitor with you. {15}
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In the context of those accounts, and with the understanding that nothing really changes, it is appropriate to recall how President Hugh B. Brown closed the April Conference of 1965. He said,

The men of the Tabernacle Choir will now sing, “The Lord Bless You and Keep You.” …. Brother Condie has suggested that the choir be permitted to sing, after singing this number, President McKay’s choice of all the hymns: “I need Thee Every Hour.” They wanted to do this in honor of our President.{16}

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FOOTNOTES

{1} Parley P. Pratt, Key to the Science of Theology/A Voice of Warning (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1965), 101 – 102.)

{2}President David O. McKay, “Radiation of the Individual,” The Instructor, October, 1964, p. 373-374.

{3} Funeral held “in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City, December 4, 1856.” Journal of Discourses 4: 135-136. You can fine the entire funeral sermon in “Favorite Quotes.”

{4} Journal of Discourses, 4: 222.

{5}The dictionaries it the back of different editions of Strong’s Concordance have different definitions. My old first edition sticks closely to the ancient Greek. More modern editions tend to be more politically correct, so here I quote the old edition.

{6} Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, fn 906, p 680. In this verse, the King James Version uses the phrase “brotherly kindness,” but elsewhere in the New Testament that same Greek word is always translated as “brotherly love” which has a somewhat stronger connotation (Strong: Greek 5360 [first edition, 1894] reads: “philadelphia; fraternal affection: brotherly love (kindness), love of the brethren.” [Emphasis is in original).
This is probably significant. Righteous masculine virtues include priesthood, extended brotherly love, and charity. In contrast, righteous women enjoy the focused yet overriding feminine virtue that has a more singular quality of charity than men have. In the eternities our Father’s objective has always been to bring each of us back to him in the eternal family unit where friendship, love, and charity are the sealing power—timeless in both directions—and where each participates in the creation of endless lives “after their own image”—“as innumerable as the stars” in the heavens (D&C 132:30-31).]; and to brotherly kindness charity.

{7} For a discussion of those verses see Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, chapter “Calling and Election Made Sure in the Epistles of Peter,” first edition, 679-82, paperback edition 679-82.

{8} Explained in Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, the entire book.

{9} What I write here will make little sense unless it is read in full context. You can find my discussion of Isaiah 61 under “scriptures” in this website.

{10} For further discussion see “3 Nephi 12:7 & Alma 38:1-15 — LeGrand Baker — duties of priesthood and kingship.” Also, Who Shall Ascend into the Hill of the Lord, chapter “Calling and Election Made Sure in the Epistles of Peter,” paperback edition 680.

{11} You can also find them in “Other Writings,” as “Get the Spirit of God in our life.”

{12} “Diary of Olive B. Huntington, 1847-1900, Part II, Copied by the Brigham Young University Library, 1942,” p. 279-280. (Typed copy in special collections.)

{13} Journal of Discourses, 21: 317-318.

{14} Deseret Weekly, Salt Lake City, November 7, 1896. vol. 53: 642-643.

{15} Conference Report, April 1898, p 31.

{16} Conference Report, April 1965, p. 96.

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