The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-11-26
THE IMMORTAL PART.
A Belief in the Theory of Spirit
ualiSm Expressed by Rev. John
P. Newman.

Avenue Congregational Church last
Sunday has excited considerable
comment. His subject was "DO the
Dead Return ?" the sermon being one
OF a series on the Immortality of the
soul. He took the position that the
spirits of the dead inhabit an invisi-
bic world and that communications
are received from them. DR.. New
man in conversation yesterday with
a Tribune reporter said:
There has been a belief in spirits
among nearly all nations, and that
there is an intermediate state has
been almost universally believed.
In Bible times the two worlds met.
There was communication between
them as there is now between New
York and London-not so fire.
quently, of course. If spirits exist
the question comes as to what forms
they have. In the first place I say
that where there have been appear
ances the spirits have been in HUI.
man form. 1t is a physiological
fact that the human soul is c0eXten-
sive with the nervous system. Ii
you take away everything from the
body but the nervous tissues, you
still have left the human form.
Death is the evolution of the soul
out of this system of the human
body"
"Do you believe in commanica-
ton with departed spirits ?"
Nothing is more clearly taught
in the Bible. Notices. than five per-
sons are recorded there as having
returned. Christ had pre-exist-
ence. During the three days inter
Yening between his death and re-
surrection, his spirit is represented
as absent from the body. First, He
visited Paradise, for He told the
thief on the cross that He would
meet him there the day of his death.
Then He went to Gahenna for He
preached to the spirits who 'afole-
time were disobedient.' The scrip
tural record is in I. Peter ill.,, 10.
There is no doubt some accepted His
teaching. This is presupposed by
the fact Of His preaching to them.
He then returned to the earth and
is to return again"
ss"Was Christ in the flesh or the
spirit, in your opinion after the re-
surrection p
"He took up His body again, but
it underwent transformation be-
fore His ascension. Then there are
the cases of Samuel, Moses and
Elijah. Moses represented the dis
embodied spirits and returned after
an absence of 1900 years; Elijah,
rep esenting the embodied spirits
he was translated, you knoW-re-
turned after 1000 years"
what was their mission?"
"They were evidently a commit.
tee of two sent from the spirit
world to inquire of Christ whether
he felt himself competent to make
their heaven permanent by his
death on the cross. They were
familiar with this world; they
knew where Christ was; what
top he was on, praying;
they knew that he was to die in
Jerusalem-a future event"
"Did you make use Of PauPs case
in your argument?"
eyes, that is another example.
Under the law Of leyitation he was
caught up to the third heaven, and
heard, as he said, things not lawful
or him to utter. He came back,
and lived twenty years after this
event. 1t was to him the inspira-
ton of his ministry, and enabled
him to endure martyrdom. He is
the only man that ever longed for
death. He knew all about it. He
had been there"
"What do you think of Sweden
borg's theories?"
t"There can be no doubt that he is
correct in his assertions that the
spirits of his friends came to him
and communicated with him, There
are many cases where there seems
to be this communication of spirits.
When the father of the eloquent
Buckminster was dying in New
Hampshire he suddenly exclaimed,
My son is dead His son did die at
that very moment in Boston. I
buried precious woman a few years
ago. Her only son was in Iowa,
While blowing in a field he sudden
ly stopped and said his mother was
dead. The young mans father, who
is mathematician, made a calcula-
ton, and found that the death and
the impression received by the son
were coincident in point of time to
the moment"
"How did you get this evidence p"
"From the father and son. / know
them both we'll"
"In what way do you account
for the transmission Of such lntelli-
gence? 2"
"The mothers spirit may have
communicated it to him. / have
had several remarkable instances of
a similar character to those I have
cited in my own life"
"Do you believe in verbal mes
sages from the spirit world as well
as spirit impression ?"
stepping away from necromaney.
and things Of that sort, there are
persons, [ believe, who are lnessen-
gers of the spirit world.
Shy What means do they come in
possession of this power"
Faith is a condition. These ner-
sons yield themselves to the infiu-
onan Otho7c &l-o,,o.I. II AA0