Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1874-01-08

CONDUCTED BY
REV. ISOBERT LATHAM.
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.


SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT.
Rest, in the sense of perfect and complete
absence of motion, has, so far as is known, no
existence Everything in the universe is in
perpetual motion. This is not all. Every
thing is either increasing or decreasing; be-
coming greater or growing less. Material
exstences seem to increase to q certain point
and then commence to fail and continue to
decay until they return to their original and
constituent elements. The grass springs up
and hourishcs until it has produced seed and
then dies; the forest trees continue to grow
for many years but at last the period arrives
when they commence to fail. They ultimate
" die, fall down and rot, and their former
existence is marked only by q heap Of mold.
Animal existence is subject to the same law.
The babe grows to be Il man, strong and Wig
orous; but soon old age insidously creeps
upon the man and dissolution takes place.
Spiritual existence is not subject to the
same law. There is development, but not ex-
actly in the same way. There is connec-
ton between the soul and body of man which
we only partially understand. In the devel-
opment of the two existences in man, there Is
a kind of parallelism. In many respects, the
powers of the soul depend for their develop
ment upon the growth and development OF
the body; in other respects the development
of the powers and capabilities of the soul are
almost absolutely independent of the body
The moral development Of the soul has very
little to do with either the growth or decay of
the body. The body of 4 giant sometimes in
cases soul morally hideous from its dwarf
ishness. On the contrary, the body OF
dwarf is the temporary abode of soul OF 81.
gantc development. The soul, in its normal
state, is subject to the same law of develop
meut which controls the growth of the body ;
but it is not subject to the law Of decay. 1t
never gets to certain point and then COM
mences to rctrogradc.' 1t is true that old
men become dotted but it will be found that
this dotage is physical, rather than spiritual !;
in other words, it pertains to the body and
not to the soul. The memory Of old men, it
is usually said, becomes weak. This is due
not to the weakness of the memory, but to the
fact that in old age physical objects make but
little impression upon the senses.
In moral point of view, the soul contin-
ucs to grow both in strength and in capablli-
ty for spiritual enjoyment during the whole
period of its residence in the body. Soul en-.
joymcnt and bodily enjoyment, are very diff
ferent things The body may be tortured
with pain, and the soul revcling in extatlc
ioy. The reverse may also be true. The
body may recline on beds Of eider-down, and
feast at tables loaded with the choicest luxu-
ries, whilst the soul is prcyed upon by the
worm that never dies, and scorched by the
fire that is never quenched.
This world is but the index of the next.
The babe does not lose his identity by be-
! coming man neither will any of us become
a different being by crossing the narrow
bound which separates between time and
eternity. Physical development is a tempo
raj thing. 1t was evidently designed to serve
an end which ceases to exist in another state
of existence This is true respecting many
of the institutions which now exist amongst
the human family In the resurrection they
neither marry nor are given i'll marriage In
the next world the institution of marriage
will have no existence, because the object for
which it was originally instituted, will then
have been accomplished. Not so with regard
t. the command to love God and keep his
commandments. This command is of perpet-
ual obligation Morally, men will continue
to be- through all eternity, what they are when
they arc merged from time into eternity. Du-
ring time, the moral aspect of the soul may
be changed in eternity no change will be
: possible.
God in his providence, but especially in
his grace has organized system of educa-
, ton by which the soul is schooled and pre-
pared for heaven. These means being neg
lected the soul natures in moral pollution
and becomes fit for that place where immor-
ality reigns supreme This world is school
in which we are all undergoing PREPARATION for
another state of existence. In every school,
children commence their education by learn
ing the alphabet, then to pronounce syllables,
then to read, and gradually, from that which
is easy, to something more difficult. To this
process there is no end. The boy which once
sat learning the shape and name of the seve-
raj letters of the alphabet, passes, by regu-
lar ascent, step by step, through an academic
education, then enters college, and the same
ascent continues until the day that his
tolls are rewarded with diploma. Nor does
the process of development stop at this point.
In fact, it has but fairly commenced. Some
thing very similar to this takes place in the
moral development of every human being.
This world is an academy in which we learn
the elementary principles of holiness Here
we undergo process of training which fits US
for either happiness or misery in the next
world. When a boy enters college he does
not 90 over those studies which he went over
in his academic course; but commences at
!; the point where he left off at in the academy.
Just so in the next world. We commence
at the point where we left off at in this. All
; that we learn of God and holiness in this
world is so much to commence with in the
next. The law of development will continue
in all its essential force during the ceaseless
ages of eternity. Nothing that is sinful or
polluted can enter heaven; but persons may
enter heaven without having made great pro-
Dress in holiness There will be no ignorance