The sun-ray drag its slow length along."
This immense velocity of locomotion, as applied to a body of flesh and bones, or of material elements, may at first thought, strike the mind as being contrary to the known laws of physical motion.
But let it be recollected that the vast earth on which we dwell, with all its weight and bulk, its cities, animals and intelligences, moves through actual s.p.a.ce, at the astonishing velocity of eighteen miles per second, one thousand and eighty miles per minute, or sixty-four thousand eight hundred miles per hour.
If so vast a bulk of gross, and in a great measure inanimate matter, can move through s.p.a.ce, at a rate of speed so inconceivably great, how easily we can conceive the probability of vastly increased powers of locomotion on the part of animate bodies released from their earthly prison, quickened by superior and celestial element, dictated by an independent, inherent principle called the will, and urged onward by the promptings of the eternal, infinite mind and affections, in their aspirations for knowledge and enjoyment.
A corporeal, human body, raised from the dead, and quickened by elements so refined, so full of life and motion, so pure, and so free from the influences control, or attractions of more gross elements, will, like the risen Jesus, ascend and descend at will, and with a speed nearly instantaneous.
Let us pause, and contemplate, for a moment, such a being taking leave of the confines of the earth, and sea, and clouds, and air, with all their dark and gloomy shadows. Behold him as he speeds his way on the upper deep, and launches forth in the clear and boundless expanse bespangled with millions of resplendent orbs.
He calculates his distance, and regulates his course by observing the relative position of those most familiar to him, and soaring upwards still, his bosom swells with an unutterable and overwhelming sensation of the infinitude of his own eternal being, and of all around, above, below him, till unable to contain his grat.i.tude, and joy, and exultation, he breaks forth in the language of a celebrated British poet, and sings as he flies--
"Heavens broad day hath o"er me broken, Far above earth"s span of sky!
Am I dead? Nay, by this token, Know that I have ceased to die!"
Planets will be visited, messages communicated, acquaintances and friendships formed, and the sciences vastly extended and cultivated.
The science of geography will then be extended to millions of worlds, and will embrace a knowledge of their physical features and boundaries, their resources, mineral and vegetable; their rivers, lakes, seas, continents and islands; the attainments of their inhabitants in the science of government; their progress in revealed religion; their employments, dress, manners, customs, &c. The science of astronomy will also be enlarged in proportion to the means of knowledge. System after system will rise to view in the vast field of research and exploration! Vast systems of suns and their attendant worlds, on which the eyes of Adam"s race, in their rudimental sphere, have never gazed, will then be contemplated, circ.u.mscribed, weighed in the balance of human thought, their circ.u.mference and diameter be ascertained, their relative distances understood. Their motions and revolutions, their times and laws, their hours, days, weeks, sabbaths, months, years, jubilees, centuries, millenniums and eternities, will all be told in the volumes of science.
The science of history will embrace the vast "univercoelum" of the past and present. It will in its vast compilations, embrace and include all nations, all ages, and all generations; all the planetary systems in all their varied progress and changes, in all their productions and attributes.
It will trace our race in all its successive emigrations, colonies, states, kingdoms and empires; from their first existence on the great, central, governing planet, or sun, called Kolob, until they are increased without number, and widely dispersed and transplanted from one planet to another, until, occupying the very confines of infinitude, the mind of immortal, eternal man, is absorbed, overwhelmed, wearied with the vastness, the boundless expanse of historic fact, and compelled to return and retire within itself for refreshment, rest and renewed vigour.
Next in order, will be the field of prophetic science. The spirit of prophecy will be poured upon the immortal mind, till, from seeing in part, and knowing in part, man will be able to gaze upon a boundless prospective, a future of still increasing glory, knowledge, light, love, might, majesty, power and dominion, in which the sons of G.o.d-the kings and priests of heaven and earth, and of the heaven of heavens, and all their retinue of kingdoms and subjects, will find ample room for boundless increase and improvement, worlds without end. Amen.
CHAPTER XVII.
LAWS OF MARRIAGE AND PROCREATION.
Ye kindred spirits, filled with mutual love, Pure as the dews descending from above, All hail! for you the sacred Keys are given, To make you one on earth, and one in heaven.
Be fruitful then, and let your race extend; Fill Earth, the stars, and worlds that never end.
The great science of life consists in the knowledge of ourselves, the laws of our existence, the relations we sustain to each other, to things and beings around us, to our ancestry, to our posterity, to time, to eternity, to our heavenly Father, and to the universe.
To understand these laws, and regulate our actions by them, is the whole duty of intelligences. It should therefore comprise our whole study.
This science comprises the fountain of wisdom, the well-springs of life, the boundless ocean of knowledge, the infinitude of light, and truth, and love. It penetrates the depths, soars to the heights, and circ.u.mscribes the broad expanse of eternity.
Its pursuit leads to exaltation, glory, immortality, and to an eternity of life, light, purity, and unity of fellowship with kindred spirits.
To contemplate man in his true light, we must, as it were, forget that death is in his path; we must look upon him as an eternal, ever living being, possessing spirit, flesh and bones, with all the mental and physical organs, and all the affections and sympathies which characterise him in this world. Or rather, all his natural affections and sympathies will be purified, exalted, and immeasurably increased.
Let the candidate for celestial glory forget, for a moment, the groveling sphere of his present existence, and make the effort to contemplate himself in the light of eternity, in the higher spheres of his progressive existence, beyond the grave--a pure spirit, free from sin and guile, enlightened in the school of heaven, by observation and experience, and a.s.sociation with the highest order of intelligences, for thousands of years; and clothed with immortal flesh, in all the vigour, freshness and beauty of eternal youth; alike free from pain, disease, death, and the corroding effects of time; looking back through the vista of far distant years, and contemplating his former sojourn amid the sorrows and pains of mortal life, his pa.s.sage through the dark valley of death, and his sojourn in the spirit world, as we now contemplate a transient dream, or a night of sleep, from which we have awakened, renewed and refreshed, to enter again upon the realities of life.
Let us contemplate, for a moment, such a being, clothed in the finest robes of linen, pure and white, adorned with precious stones and gold; a countenance radiant with the effulgence of light, intelligence and love; a bosom glowing with all the confidence of conscious innocence dwelling in palaces of precious stones and gold; bathing in the crystal waters of life; promenading or sitting "neath the evergreen bowers and trees of Eden; inhaling the healthful breezes, perfumed with odours, wafted from the roses and pinks of paradise, or a.s.sembled with the countless myriads of heaven"s n.o.bility, to join in songs of praise and adoration to the Great Parent of every good, to tune the immortal lyre in strains celestial; or move with grace immortal to the soul-inspiring measure of music flowing from a thousand instruments, blending, in harmonious numbers, with celestial voices, in heavenly song, or mingling in graceful circles with joyous thousands, immersed in the same spirit, and moving in unison and harmony of motion, as if one heart, one pulse, one thrill of heavenly melody inspired the whole.
O candidates for celestial glory! Would your joys be full in the countless years of eternity without forming the connexions, the relationship, the kindred ties which concentrate in the domestic circle, and branch forth, and bud and blossom, and bear the fruits of eternal increase?
Would that eternal emotion of charity and benevolence which swells your bosoms be satisfied to enjoy in, "single blessedness," without an increase of posterity, those exhaustless stores of never-ending riches and enjoyments? Or, would you, like your heavenly Father, prompted by eternal benevolence and charity, wish to fill countless millions of worlds, with your begotten sons and daughters, and to bring them through all the gradations of progressive being, to inherit immortal bodies, and eternal mansions in your several dominions?
If such be your aspirations, remember that this present probation is the world of preparation for joys eternal. This is the place where family organization is first formed for eternity; and where the kindred sympathies, relationships, and affections take root, spring forth, shoot upward, bud, blossom, and bear fruit to ripen and mature in eternal ages.
_Here_, in the holy temples and sanctuaries of our G.o.d, must the everlasting covenants be revealed, ratified, sealed, bound and recorded in the holy records, and guarded and preserved in the archives of G.o.d"s kingdom, by those who hold the keys of eternal Apostleship, who have power to bind on earth that which shall be bound in heaven, and to record on earth that which shall be recorded in the archives of heaven, in the Lamb"s book of life.
_Here_, in the holy sanctuary, must be revealed, ordained and anointed the kings and queens of eternity.
All vows, covenants, contracts, marriages, of unions, not formed by revelation, and sealed for time and all eternity, and recorded in the holy archives of earth and heaven, by the ministration of the holy and eternal Priesthood, will be dissolved by death, and will not be recognised by the eternal authorities, after the parties have entered through the vail into the eternal world.
This is heaven"s eternal law, as revealed to the ancients of all ages, who held the keys of eternal priesthood, after the order of the Son of G.o.d; and, as restored with the priesthood of the Saints of this age.
Again, it was a law of the ancient Priesthood, and is again restored, that a man who is faithful in all things, may, by the word of the Lord, through the administration of one holding the keys to bind on earth and heaven, receive and secure to himself, for time and all eternity, MORE THAN ONE WIFE.
Thus did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the Patriarchs and Prophets of old.
The princ.i.p.al object contemplated by this law, is the multiplication of the children of good and worthy fathers, who will teach them the truth, and train them in the holy principles of salvation. This is far preferable to sending them into the world in the lineage of an unworthy or ignorant parentage, to be educated in error, folly, ignorance and crime.
The peculiar characteristics of the blessings included in the Everlasting Covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their lineage, was the multiplicity of their seed; and the perpetuity of the royal, priestly and kingly power in their lineage.
To a.s.sist in carrying out and fulfilling this covenant, good and virtuous women were given to their faithful Prophets, rulers, and wise and virtuous men; and, as it was said of the four wives of Jacob, "_These did build the house of Israel_."
While peculiar blessings and encouragements were given to a good and faithful man, and to his wives and children; while they were honoured of G.o.d, and respected by all who knew them; while the father of a hundred children was had in greater honour than the hero of a hundred battles, adultery, fornication, and all unlawful intercourse was strictly prohibited, and even punished by the strictest laws--the penalty of which was death.
A daughter of Israel, who, by prost.i.tution, was rendered unworthy, or unqualified for the duties of a virtuous wife and mother, was considered unfit to live. While the male who would thus trifle with the fountain of life, and contribute to render a female unworthy to answer the end of her creation, was also condemned to death.
Strict laws were also given and diligently taught to both s.e.xes, regulating the intercourse between husband and wife. All intercourse peculiar to the s.e.xes was strictly prohibited at certain seasons which were untimely. Nor were the bonds of wedlock and shield from condemnation, where the parties, by untimely union, excess, or voluntary act, prevented propagation, or injured the life or health of themselves or their offspring.
The object of the union of the s.e.xes is the propagation of their species, or procreation; also for mutual affection, and the cultivation of those eternal principles of never-ending charity and benevolence, which are inspired by the Eternal Spirit; also for mutual comfort and a.s.sistance in this world of toil and sorrow, and for mutual duties towards their offspring.
Marriage, and its duties, are therefore, not a mere matter of choice, or of convenience, or of pleasure to the parties; but to marry and multiply is a positive command of Almighty G.o.d, binding on all persons of both s.e.xes, who are circ.u.mstanced and conditioned to fulfil the same. To marry, propagate our species, do our duty to them, and to educate them in the light of truth, are among the chief objects of our existence on the earth. To neglect these duties, is to fail to answer the end of our creation, and is a a very great sin.
While to pervert our natures, and to prost.i.tute ourselves, and our strength to mere pleasures, or to unlawful communion of the s.e.xes, is alike subversive of health, of pure, holy and lasting affection; of moral and social order; and of the laws of G.o.d and nature.
If we except murder, there is scarcely a more d.a.m.ning sin on the earth than the prost.i.tution of female virtue or chast.i.ty at the shrine of pleasure, or brutal l.u.s.t; or that promiscuous and lawless intercourse which chills and corrodes the heart, perverts and destroys the pure affections, cankers and destroys, as it were, the well-springs, the fountains, or issues of life.
A man who obeys the ordinances of G.o.d, and is without blemish or deformity, who has sound health and mature age, and enjoys liberty and access to the elements of life; is designed to be the head of a woman, a father, and a guide of the weaker s.e.x, and of those of tender age, to mansions of eternal life and salvation.
A woman, under similar circ.u.mstances, is designed to be the glory of some man in the Lord; to be led and governed by him, as her head in all things, even as Christ is the head of the man; to honour, obey, love, serve, comfort and help him in all things; to be a happy wife, and if blessed with offspring, a faithful and affectionate mother, devoting her life to the joys, cares and duties of her domestic sphere.
It frequently happens, in the course of human events, that there is, in a community, a majority of females. In such cases, human laws have no right to interfere with the divine eternal laws of nature, or of nature"s G.o.d, by suffering females to be prost.i.tuted to minister to the wanton pleasures of the lawless, to become the unlawful, dishonoured mistress, the illegitimate mother, or the wretched outcast of shame, disease and crime. Nor yet, on the other hand, have human laws the right to doom a portion of heaven"s fair daughters, to single wretchedness, loneliness and gloom, without the lawful privilege of becoming honoured wives and mothers.
A wise legislation, or the law of G.o.d, would punish, with just severity, the crimes of adultery or fornication, and would not suffer the idiot, the confirmed, irreclaimable drunkard, the man of hereditary disease, or of vicious habits, to possess or retain a wife; while, at the same time, it would provide for a good and capable man, to honourably receive and maintain more wives than one. Indeed, it should be the privilege of every virtuous female, who has the requisite capacity and qualifications for matrimony; to demand either of individuals or government, the privilege of becoming an honoured and legal wife and mother; even if it were necessary for her to be married to a man who has several wives; or, as Jesus said in the parable, to take the one talent from the place where it remains neglected or unimproved, and give it to him who has ten talents.
The false and corrupt inst.i.tutions, and still more corrupt practices of "_Christendom_" have had a downward tendency in the generations of man for many centuries. Our physical organization, health, vigour, strength of body, intellectual faculties, inclinations, &c., are influenced very much by parentage. Hereditary disease, idiocy, weakness of mind, or of const.i.tution, deformity, tendency to violent and ungovernable pa.s.sions, vicious appet.i.tes and desires, are engendered by parents; and are bequeathed as a heritage from generation to generation. Man becomes a murderer, a thief, an adulterer, a drunkard, a lover of tobacco, opium, or other nauseous or poisonous drugs, by means of the predisposition, and inclinations engendered by parentage.