Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1895-05-02

we meet the storms of the world. At
the close of our earthly reception. I'M
der the brush and broom of the porter,
the coat or hat may be handed to us
hettcr than when we resigned it. and
the cloak of humanity will finally be
returned to us improved and brighten
ed and purified and gloritied. You and
do not want our bodies returned to
us as they are now. We want to get
rid of their Weaknesses. and all their
susccptibilities to fatigue. and all their
slowness of locomoticn. They will he
put through Il chemistry of soil and
heat and cold and changing seasons
out of which God will reconstruct
them as much better than they are
now as the body of the rOSicst and
hcalthiest child that bounds over the
| lawn is better than the Sickest pa
tient in the hospital
| But as to our soul. we will cross
right over. not waiting for obsequeS.
Independent of obituary. into state
in every way better with wider room
and velocitics beyond computation: the
| dullcSt Of us into companionShip With
the very best spirits in their Very best
moods. in the very best room of the
universe, the four walls furnished and
panelcd and pictured and sloritied
with all the splendcrs that the infinite
| God in all ages has been able to in
| Vent. Victory!
| This view of course. makes it of hut
little importance whether we are ere
| mated or Sepultured If the latter is
dust to dust. the former is ashes to
ashes. If any prefer incarceration. let
them have il without caricature. The
world may become SO crowded that
cremation may be universally adopted
by law as well as by general consent.
Many OF the miShtieSt and best of
earth have gone through this process.
Thousands and tens of thousands of
Gods children have been cremated
T. i. Bliss and wife the evangelist
singers, cremated by accident at Ash
tahula bridge. John Rogers cremated
by prosecutions: Latimcr and Ridley
crelnated at oxford: Pothinuh and
l;londlna. slave. and Alexander. Il
physician. and their comrades. ere
mated M the order of Marcus .Aure-
Illus. Al least Il hundred thousand of
Christ'S disciples crematcd. and there
can be no dolb, about the resurrection
OF their bodies. Ii the world lasts as
| much longer as ii has already been
built. there perhaps. may be no room
for the large acreage set apart for rest
Il
Plenty of room yet ana the race need
not pass that bridge of fire until it
comes 10 it. The most of us prefer
The old way. But whether out of nat
ural di>intesration or cremation we
Shall set that luminous. buoyant.
gladSnme transcendent. magnificent.
inrXplcablc structure called the rcsur
rection body. you VIII have it. ] will
have it. | say to you to-day. as Paul
said to Agrippa, "WhH. should it be
thought Il thing incredible With you.
that God should raise the deadT'
That far-up cloud higher than the
hawk flies higher than the eagle flies.
what is ii made of: Drops OF water
from the Hudson. other drops from
the East river. other drops from the
Stasnant pool out on Newark Flats.
Up yonder there embodied in cloud
and the sun kintl!es it, If God can
make such II lus;rons cloud out nj wa
Ter drops. many of them Soilcd and
impure, aid fetched from miles away.
can he not transport the fragments OF
Il human body from earth. and out
Of them build Il radiant body? Can not
God. who owns all the material out
of which bones. and muscle. aud flesh
are made. set them up again if they
scopes drop telescope on the floor
and ii breaks. can lie Lot mend it
again so you can see through it: And
if God drops the human eye into the
dust. the eye which he originally fash
Toned. can he not restore ii: Aye. If
the manufacturer of the telescope By
q change of the glass and Il change
of focus. can make Il better glass than
that which WAS originally constructed.
and actually improve it. do YOU not
think the faShioner of the human eye
may improve its sight anu multiply
the natural eye by the thousandfold
additional forces of the resurrection
eye?
why should it be thought with you
an incredible thing that God should
raise the deady' Things all around lis
suggest it. Out of what grew all these
flowers Out of the mound and earth.
Resurrected. Resurreoted. The ra-
diaut butterfly where did it come
from: The loathsome caterpillar.
That albatross that smites the tempest
with its wings. Where did it come
from: a senseless shell. Near Ber-
I gerac. France. in a Celtic tomb. under
Il block. were found flower seeds that
nad been buried 1000 years. The OK
plorer took the flower seed and plant
ed it, and it came up. it bloomed in
biuebell and helictrope. Two thou
sand years buried. yet resurrected.
A traveller says lie found in a mummy
pit in Egypt garden peas that had
been buried there 5000 years ago. He
brought item out and on June 1, 1874,
he planted them, and in thirty days
they sprlns up. Buried 5000 years,
u yet reS''r::.cted.
why should ii be thought thing
incredible With you that God Should
raise the dead?" Where did all this
silk come from? The silk that adorns
your person and your homes: In the
hollow of staff a Greek missionary
brought from China to Europe the
prosenitors of those worms that now
supply the silk markets of many ma
tions The pageantry of hammered
hose and the luxurious articles of COM
mercial emporium blazing out from
the silk worm! And who shall be sur
prised if out of this insignificant earth
ly life our bodies unfold into some