Charles W. Penrose

“ Thus, while mankind are worthy of its administrations and accompanying blessings, it may be perpetuated in the earth, a medium of communication between God and man, a guide for the feet of erring mortals to the straight and narrow path that leadeth unto life. Without it, the inhabitants of the earth wander in spiritual darkness, and those who presume to step forward as their teachers, are blind leaders of the blind, and all their ministrations in the name of Him who never sent them are vain, worthless and without force or virtue in time or eternity. ”

“ But, for them who receive His gospel and conform to all its ordinances and teachings, the door is open to the highest courts in the heavenly mansions, and while they are helped through the ordeals of mortal life, they gain the keys to all the glories of that existence in which the family relation is perfected and perpetuated, and every power of the whole being, refined, intensified and developed, finds exercise, in its true sphere, to the complete and unalloyed bliss of each one in the endless family circle, and the glory of Him who is the Patriarch and Ruler of all. ”

“ The whole race of Adam must be raised from the dead. The vail between earth and heaven must be removed. The knowledge and glory of God must cover the earth as the waters cover the deep, and the spirit of life and peace and light and joy must be poured out upon all flesh, until the whole creation vibrates with pleasure and responds with praise. ”

“ Who can picture the bliss, the glory, the power, the might, the dominion and majesty that shall grow out of the redemption from the dead of the righteous man and his household, dwelling in perfect harmony and peace with all the powers of their being, spiritual and physical, purified, quickened, intensified and enlarged to a fullness, with all eternity before them for the exercise thereof in accordance with the designs of the Great Greater? ”

“ It is the very root of the tree of life, and its sap runs through all the branches. "Without faith it is impossible to please God." And "Whosoever cometh to God must believe that He is." Faith, in its simplest sense, is the assent of the mind, and its assurance of the existence of things unseen by the natural eye. This is belief. In another sense, faith is a motive power, a principle of action. Examination into the secret springs that prompt us in the common affairs of life will show that faith moves us to exertion and incites us to perseverance. ”

“ Why should the opportunity to learn and the power to obey the truths of the gospel be confined to dwellers in the flesh? Is it to be supposed that when the immortal spirit leaves its domicile of clay its powers of preception, of reason, of reception or rejection of truth or error, of submission or rebellion to the decrees of heaven, are buried with the decaying body? The idea is contrary to all the hopes of the life to come kindled in the heart by the promises of the gospel. ”

“ But that which remains to be accomplished is so vast, that no mind, unless illuminated by the light of God, can see how it can ever be performed and perfected. Yet it will be done, and blessed are they who aid in the heavenly labor! With what joy will they be greeted by the spirits of their progenitors when they meet them in Paradise! What honor will crown their brows in the day of reward and compensation! They will stand among the saviors, and shine among their kindred who are redeemed, like glorious suns in the heavenly constellations! ”

“ Here is the peculiar blessing upon the heads of the Saints in the grand, culminating and completing dispensation of the fullness of times. To labor for the redemption of their progenitors until every lost link in the line of their ancestry, back to the Abrahamic stock from which they originally sprang, shall be taken up and welded into the perfect family chain. Herein is seen one of the blessings attending the perpetuation of a man's name in the earth; to die leaving no seed being considered in olden times, among the people of God, one of the greatest of calamities. ”

“ It involves the brotherhood of man. It is full of ennobling and elevating suggestions, and prompts those who are impressed with its majesty to deeds worthy of so exalted an origin; leads to humility and obedience, and influences all the sons and daughters of the Eternal Father to mutual help, forbearance, charity and affection, as brothers and sisters of a family, whose destiny is connected with the glory, and dominion, and matchless power of the Almighty framer and governor of the universe. ”

“ They will have power over all the elements, spiritual and corporeal. The incorruptible and fadeless riches will be theirs. They will mingle with the highest. They will gaze upon the face of the Eternal God and dwell in the presence of the sinless Son. Pain and sorrow, and trial and death will henceforth be only known in memory, to form the contrast needful to make their joy complete. Eternity with its boundless opportunities and unutterable bliss and intelligence and majesty will be before them without a barrier in the way, secure for them as to the Almighty Father himself. ”

“ The light of modern revelation rolls back the darkness of ages and unfolds the glorious plan of human redemption in its fullness, and the illuminated soul perceives the triumph of justice in union with mercy, through the extension of gospel privileges beyond the narrow sphere of this mortal life. ”

“ Jesus will reign as its King; the river of life will flow out from the regal throne; the tree of life, whose leaves were for the healing of the nations, will flourish upon the banks of the heavenly stream, and its golden fruit will be free for the white-robed throng, that they may eat and live forever. ”

“ A body may exist, but so transformed as to be imperceptible to the natural vision. The forces that regulate the universe are occult, and though some of the laws that govern them are known, there are others that have not been discovered, and it is the height of presumption for those who have obtained a smattering of information concerning these things—and who has obtained more?—to declare that impossible which they know nothing of, or to limit the power of that creative or quickening energy, whose nature, capabilities and qualities they cannot comprehend in the smallest degree. ”

“ It is the light of eternity. It reveals things present and past, and unfolds events that are to come. It is the true scripture-maker. By it the prophets wrote the word of the Lord. It proceeds from the presence of God. It is the communicating element between man and his Maker. It is the source from which flow the spiritual gifts of the gospel. Without it no one can say from knowledge that Jesus is the Lord. Without it, the things pertaining to immortal spheres cannot be comprehended by mortals. Without it, no one can see the way which leads to eternal life. ”

“ And though Joseph, the chosen seer, and many of his brethren have become martyrs for the truth's sake, and the bosom of mother earth is stained red with the blood of the persecuted Saints, the Church re-established, the Priesthood restored, the truths now revealed shall never, be taken from earth again, but they shall spread and increase and prevail and triumph, until darkness and evil, and sin and Satan shall give way, and this planet, ransomed and redeemed shall be crowned with the glory and presence of its rightful King, Jesus the anointed, the sinless Son of the omnipotent God. ”

“ Each condemned person will pay the uttermost farthing for his sins. Justice, tempered, not warped or thwarted, by mercy, will mete out to all their right deserts, "every man according to His works." The punishment is always existent, therefore it is eternal punishment. But each one who suffers, receives only his just portion thereof. Shall the murderer and the Sabbath-breaker, the adulterer and the thief, the drunkard and the profane, all merit the same doom? Would human courts proclaim such judgment? Shall man have more equity than God? ”

“ Is not each of these wives entitled to her position in eternity, by virtue of the sealing power which made her part of the man? Why should one enter into the exaltation of the celestial world, and the other be relegated to singleness and servitude? They all become one in the patriarchal order of family government. And if this be the case in heaven, why should not similar conditions so far as possible exist on earth? Is earth holier than heaven? If a man receives from the Lord more wives than one under the sealing ordinances of celestial marriage, where is the moral wrong? ”

“ Joy unspeakable fills his heart. Peace indescribable dwells in his bosom. Purity shines in all his nature. He has entered by the door, into the sheep fold, and is one of the flock of Christ. The load of his past misdeeds is rolled from his shoulders and he is free. The liberty of the gospel is his. ”

“ Then came Elijah the Prophet, bearing the keys of the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children and of the children to the fathers, that the link of the broken chain of the Priesthood through the ages might be welded together, and the spirit world be known to men in the flesh. ”

“ Death is the common heritage. It is a legacy to all the children, left by our first progenitor. It is the result of transgression, the penalty of violated law. The immortal pair who dwelt in Eden fell into mortality through sin. Immortality is the power of continued existence. But "all things are governed by law." Sin is law-breaking. To live for ever requires perpetual obedience to the laws of everlasting life. ”

“ And shall we say that it is impossible for the Power that regulates the universe to reanimate a defunct body?
It must be remembered that nothing in nature is annihilated. No particle of matter is destroyed by any process. What is called death is but a change of form. All matter is not visible to the human eye. ”

“ The fullness of celestial glory in the presence and society of God and the Lamb are beyond the reach of that saved but not perfected soul, forever. The power of increase, wherein is dominion and exaltation, and crowns of immeasurable glory, is not for the class of beings who have been thrust down to hell and endured the wrath of God for the period allotted by eternal judgment. ”

“ Through the testimony of men divinely appointed to speak in the name of the Lord, faith is awakened in the human heart. It is a principle existing in every soul, but in the condition of fallen humanity is measurably dormant, until quickened by a divine influence. The word spoken by inspired men, accompanied by the influence of the spirit of truth, arouses faith in the soul of man, and by its force he is led to call upon the Lord, and by its light to see his way to repentance and obedience. ”

“ Joseph Smith was the chosen instrument in the hands of God to receive the glad message and direct its promulgation to all the world. Angels do not travel and preach to mankind in person; when they bring tidings from on high they deliver the heavenly mandates to a chosen man who, in turn, makes them known to his fellows.
But though the ministry of angels is not general, all people may know thereof of a surety by obedience to the commandments revealed, which is followed by a divine witness of their truth and of the fact of the manifestation. ”

“ It was God who commanded the twain made one flesh to "increase and multiply."
Marriage, properly contracted, is therefore holy and pure, and its relations, unabused, are sacred and chaste. The notion that celibacy is purer than matrimony, that either man or woman is holier in the sight of heaven because of nonintercourse with the other sex, is a gross error, unwarranted by reason or revelation. There is no attribute of the mind or function of the body that is in itself, or in its legitimate exercise, impure or degrading. It is only the wrong use of any of our powers that is sinful. ”

“ Being an individual, God, in His personality, cannot be omnipresent. But by the Holy Spirit, which proceeds from His presence and permeates all things throughout the immensity of space, He can see, and know, and influence all things. Yet the Being who has power over all His creations proceeds by law, and while giving laws to all His creations is Himself governed by law and never violates the eternal principles of truth, justice and mercy. The "laws of nature" are the laws of God, and He is consistent with them and those higher laws which pertain to the spiritual spheres. ”

“ Then the Church will have filled its mission—to preach the gospel, administer in its ordinances, unite the Saints, manifest the things of God, establish righteousness, bring together the heavens and the earth and make straight the path for the Lord Jesus. And the vail of the covering will be taken away; the Church of the Firstborn will be one in all things beneath and above; evil will be swept from the earth; and truth, peace, harmony and praise will glorify this planet and its inhabitants, who will know God, from the least even unto the greatest. ”