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Show ! , . '.. A BBSCaUi&SE. ' . By Prest. Joseph Gmith. being the funeral fu-neral sermon of elder King Folletfc j from the Millennial Star, (continued.) The mind or the intelligence which man possesses Is co-equal with God hirqoelf. I know that my testimony is true, hence when I talk to these mourners, what have they lost? their relatives and friends are only sepera-ted sepera-ted from their bodies for a short sea-802: sea-802: their spirits which existed with God have left the tabernacle of clay only for a little moment, as it were; and they now exist in a place where they converse together the same as we do on the earth. I am dwelling on the immortality of the spirit of man. It is logical to say that the intelligence of spirits is immortal, and yet that it had a beginning begin-ning ? The intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither will it have an ond . That is -good logic. That which has a beginning may have an end. There neve: ras a time when there were not spirits; for they are.co-equal are.co-equal with, our Father in heaven. I want to reason more on the spirit of man; for I am duelling on the body i and spirit of man on the subject of the dead J take my ring from my finger and liken it unto the mind of man the immortal part, because it has no beginning Suppose you exit it in two; then it has a beginning and an end; but join it again, and it continues one eternal round. So with the spirit ol! man. As the Lord liveth, if it had a beginning, it will have an end. All H the fools and learned and wise men H from the beginning of creation, who H say that the spirit of man had a bc- H ginning, prove that it must have an H ' end; end if that doctrine is true, then H the doctrine of annihilation would be H true. JSut if I am right, I might with boldness proclaim from the house-tops H that God never had the power to ere- ate the spirit of man at all. God him-self him-self could not create himself. Intelligence is eternal and exists jB upon a self-existent principle It is a spirit from age to age, and there is no creation about it. All the minds and spirits that God ever sent into the world are susceptible of enlargement. The first principles of man arc oelf-8 oelf-8 existent with God. God himself, lind- H ing he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to nd-( vance like himself. The relationship H we have with God places us in a situ-1 RmiHHaMiMHnHUi ation to advance in knowledge, He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, an-other, and all that knol wedge, power, glory, and intelligence which is requisite requi-site in order to save them in the world of spirits. This is good doctrine. It tastes good. I can taste the principles of eternal life, and so can you. They are given to me by the revelations of Jesus Christ; and I know that when I tell you these words of eternal life as they are given to me, you taste them, and 1 know that you believe thera. you say honey is sweet, and so do I. I can also taste the spirit of eternal life. I know it is good; and when I tell you of these things which were given me by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you are bound to receive them as sweet, and rejoice more and more. I want to talk more of the relationship relation-ship of man to God. I will open your eyes in relation to your dead. All things whatsoever God of his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal re-veal to us, while we are dwelling in mortality, in regard to our mortal bodies, are revea'ed to us in the abstract ab-stract and independent of affinity of this mortal tabernacle, but are revealed re-vealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all; arid those revelations which will save our spirits will save our bodies God reveals re-veals them to us in view of no eternal dissolution of the body, or tabernacle. Hence the responsibility, that rests upon us, :n relation to our- dead; for all the spirits who have not obeyed the gospel in the flesh must either obey it in the spirit or be damned. Solemn thought 1 dreadful thought! Is there nothing to be done? no preparation no salvation for our fathers and friends who have died without having had the opportunity to obey the decrees of the Son of Man ? Would to God that I had forty days and nights in which to tell you all ! I would let you know that I am not a fallen prophet." What promises are made in relation to the subject of salvation of the dead ? and what kinds of characters are those who can be saved, although their bodies are mouldering and decaying in the grave ? When his commandments command-ments teach us, it is in view of eternity; eterni-ty; for we are looked upon by God as though we were in eternity. God dwells in eternity and does not view things as we do. The greatest responsibility in this I world that God has laid upon us is to I seek after our dead. The Apostle says, I "They without us cannot be made I perfect;" for it is necessary that the I sealing power should be in our hands fl to seal our children and our dead-'.i'or fl the fulness of the dispensation, of times M a dispensation to meet the promises made by Jesus Christ before the I foundation of the world for the sal- vation of man. B Now I will speak of them. I will meet Paul half-way. I say to you, Paul, you cannot be perfect without 9 us. It is necessary that those who I are gone before and those who come I after us should have salvation in com- I mon with us; and thus hath God made 1 it obligatory upon man. Hence God 1 said'I will send Elijah the prophet 'M before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lovcj and ie shall M turn the hearts of the fathers to the I children, and the hearts of the children J to their fathers, lest I come and smile M the earth with a curse' . , I I have a declaration to rank a as to f '; V the provisions which God hath made to suit the conditions of man made I from before the foundation of the world. . M What has Jesus said ? A sins, and all blasphemies, and every trans-. I session, except one, that man can be 1 guilty or, may be forgiven; and there J is a salvation for all men, either in this fl world or the world to come, who have " H not committed the unpardonable sin, H there being a provision either in this H world or the world of spirits. Hence H Qcd hath made a provision that every spirit in the eternal world can be fer- H retted out and saved, unless he has H committed that unpardonable sin H which cannot be remitted to him H either in this world or the world of H spirits. God has wrought out a salva- H tion for all men, unless they have B committed a certain sin ; and every fl man who has a friend in the eternal H world can save him, unless he has H committed the unpardonable sin. And so you can see how far you can be a 1 savior. 1 t(o be continued. I |