Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1895-03-09
WHAT IS WAN?
aura. Delivered Tabernacle. Salt Lake city, sunday.
o'''" January 27th 1906 by
ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.
larroRrrD by ARTHUR wSrER1


OF light upon the problem.
| take It that no one present here to-
dly Is IGNORANT of the great fact Of
death. We have met with 10 10 our exc
pUncncc 10 SOME form or other. There
are parents here who have lost chile
dren, there arc children who have lost
parents; brothers who have lost sisters;
sisters who have lost brothers; aud d,
pcrChancc, there should be any who
have not come in contact with death IN
these near relationships, then all, nc
least. have lost friends All have
looked upon the dead; and as we gazed
into the cold, mlfblc faces Of those
whom we loved, who IS there that has
not been struck with the thought on
such occasions that what he gazci upon
was but the temple, or the house. 10
which the soul he loved had dwclt. The
caskct only was before him; the jewel
was gone.
We need not engage In any inc.spun
spcculatons about the exist nee Of the
spirit / take % that no man has looked
upon the dead who has not been im-
pressed with the truth TO which / now
invite your attention. We may take
10 as a Tact conceded that man Is dual
in his organism; composed not merely
Of the gross materials that make mp the
body OF the flesh and bone; there Is the
mind or spirit as we'll This l. this ego
within man, and that Is more properly
the man, Is Just as much fact MS the
existence Of the body, In death we
see thgsc-'hc spirit and body scplr.
utcd
Our inquiry will lead us 10 consider
man % ms uull organisms composed
OF spirit and body. When leau, was
upon the earth aud His disciples came
20 Him and said, Lord. telcl us how
% pray as John also taught bis dis
ciples'' the reply Of the Son OF God
was, when Sc pray, say Our Father
which ara IN heaven, Hlllowcd be Thy
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will
be donei on earth as 10 is in heaven 4"
etc. All that concerns me IN this
PRAYER 40 this particular moment is the
invocation, "Our Father, which art in
heaven Is that unmciniug verbiagt'
or did the Son OF God by employing
that language Intend to express the
exact aud true relationship which In
some way exists between man and q ld2
take Il that Jesus Christ did not deal
with words without meaning, but that
lie used language which expressed
great truths, however simple His words.
and, indeed, the simpler the language
most generally the more sublime II Is.
he words, "Our Father which ara In
heaven, mean something, They mean
Ulat God Is ~ some way the Father Of
mankind We know that we have
earthly fathers and mothers, who brought
as INTO existence; aud hence with some
Tue question may arise, how can Cod be
our falheE The Apostle Pau gives as
y solution Of this problem ne saws:
furthermore, we have had fathers OF
our Heah which corrected ms, aud we
gave them reverence. shall we not much
Iilher be In subsection TO the Father
OF spirits, and liyef' Here. say,isa
solution TO the question. Our earthly
parents are but the parents OF our
pollesi but God The Father OF spirits Is
our Father alsp-uuT Father in heaven.
% mat man not only has dual organ.
Am, uui a dual pltentage- earthly
paienhgc and "a heavenly parentagr.
hl' Us easy enough TO prove from thc
scriptures, Sometimes men took OF.
Tense az the teachings Of Jesus Christ
me scubes, phlusees aud sadducees
frequently did So AMI when lie taught
mem the necessity Of being obedicnt TO
the piccepts ut the Gospel, they gath.
cred about them their robes aud saia.
we have Abraham 10 be our lathrr.n
ihen Jesus astoni,hed them by saying,
before Abraham was, / am. "Whyb
aall lAeN thou ART not yet fifty years
Old, ana hast thou seen Abraham}"
Ana they construed His language into
hllsphemy. Even His disciples could
not always comprehend the great
trulhs Jesus announced. Teaching
uhem some doctrine ON one occasion
mat they did not readily receive, He
said 10 them, Doth thls offend youP
What and II ye shall see the Son OF
Man ascend up where lie was beioreP"
Again, just previous TO Ills Crucihxion.
when the elimination Of Ills great
mission was drawing nigh, and when
lie sought strength To meet the ordeal
through which He must pass, lie re-
ilred hy himself aud prayed to the
Father, and said. 81 have gl0rlied Thee
ON earth. ! have finished the work
which thou glygst me TO do. Aud nov.
o Father glorIiy Thou me with Thine
own sen, with the glory which / had with
lhee before the world was" Here lie
speaks not only Ut an existence lie
had before lie tabenlclgl iu the flesh,
but speaks also OF glory unto
which lie had STAINED. one
that was so sweet In His recollection
that lie desired above all things that lie
might rise out VI the conditions of sor.
row and affection in the midst Of which
lie was then plunged, aud 20 back To
that glory which He had with God be.
fore the world was. On this point too.
there Is another passage oil Scripture
that ought to be considered.
God, who lt sundry times and In
divers manners spake IN times past unto
Tine 'atneis 10y the prophets. hath I'm
these last days spoken unto as by His
son whom lie hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also lie made the
worlds Not only did Jesus have an
existence with His Father before lie
lived on earth; not only did He have a
glory there; but lie had been employed
by His Father, the God OF heaven. IN
creating worlds-not one world, but
many, Aud all This IN that existence
which preceded His existence upon The
earth, So ilr MS men could see. lesus
was not unlike His fellow man. lie had
form and dimensions, lie had height
and breadth, lie had flesh and bones
lie was warmed with The same Gre, chilled
by the same winds; lie was often au
hungered; pre-eminenuy lie was the
man Of sorrow, aud acquainted with
grief In everything lie seemed to share
the physical Qualities that characterized