Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-10-29

My beloved t:etilten and sisters:
feel Il great responsibility in standing
: before you, and yet am glad to. have
the opportunity OF having my brethren
Of experience and knowledge present
when ] speak There is not as much
responsibility, so far as danger IS con-
-cerncd in addressing this audience. as
there is In my teaching the young mis-
sionaries at the school, or my regular
theology class. II make mistake
here. It can be corrected by my brcth-
rem, and would much rather suffer
what little humiliation there might be
+ In having the brethren who preside
over me put me right thani would to
suffer progressive humi'7t!on by an
error going forth from - lips ana
doing progressive injury.
4 am aware OF the value OF truth. 1t
makes men free, and yet truth fired
from hates bow is n poisoned arrow.
Truth presented when inopportune. out
Of place. ia always abortivc. Jesus I'M
derstood this when he said. II have
much to tell you, but you cannot bear 1t
now"
tit is a glorious privilege to
come together on the Lords
day: and 1t is not merely q
privilege; 10 the Latter-day Saints: 1t
is n command. to so to the Lords house
on the Sabbath day. Some men and
women say they can remain at hoine
and read to greater advantagc--very
I good. but the Lord says that we shall
20 to the house of prayer on the Sab
bath day. / love to come to these gath
erings and hear my brethren pray. You
know prayer Is. almost without eXcep-
tiOn, document OF two paIts--onc part
making a declaration OF our gratitude
and desires, another part sending n pc
tItion. the ono who leads is our dele
gate to form that declaration and petit
tlon. and present 1t to our God. | am
glnd to have my signature on that Pc
tition, by my amen"
STATES OF EXISTENCE.
I thought, perhaps, that it might not
I, be out OF place. today. to tax to you
about the four or five states OF exist
ence. We teach our children that there
nre several states or estates of exist
ence: First. the prcmortal state-somc
call It the .'unembodicd" state prefer
the term .'premortai" because a spirit
Is n body. spiritual body Then we
have the mortal state. sometimes spok-
! en- OF us the embodied state, and then
bodied state, the state between the
earth-life and the resurrection: and
after the dcmortai state, we have the
Immortal or re-embodied state. In
which we occupy n body so constructed
that there shall be balance or equllib-
rum between the repair and the waste
in the body, and 1t will therefore be
continuous There Is another state
spoken of in our theology. known as
the ''translated' state. that which Is
enjoyed by John the Revelator and the
three Ncphtes. where death has been
suspended or dissolution held back by
the promise of the Lord.
~ thought, perhaps, in order to carry
the thread of this theme, might use
the words of that prophetic poet, ELIZA
r. Snow: they are the out-bursting OF
81 beautiful soul into the universe. She
begins with an inquiry:
80 My Father, Thou that dwclest
Isl In the high and glorious place!
When shall I regain Thy presence.
And again behold Thy face?
In Thy holy habitation.
rs Did my spirit once reside:
In first primeval childhood,
WAS I nurturcd near Thy side??"
An Inquiry--who will answer this?
How can 1t be answered? 1t deals
with the doctrine of the prcmortal
state. Whatfis there In the world to
give us an answer to this question? We
have four sources of theological knowl-
edge: first. tradition: second. history;
third, revelations; fourth, reason.
TRADITION.
Have we any evidence from the first
source concerning this pre-ex.stencc?
What does the mother tell the older
children? How does she feel? What Is
the, story of her heart? THE baby came
from God" And 1t IL true. Some may
to find nm error in that :ra-
ditfonnl source OF knowledge. Whence
came that little one? The spirit came
from God, a direct gift; the body came
from God. and an Indirect gift through
theflaws of human nature. but 1t Is all
the gift OF God. Let us see what we
lave in history. Let us go to the his
tory OF the Mighty One. the Ideal One.
and what do we find there? We find
him declaring that no one ascends to
the Father except he hath come from
the Father: and when he had nearly
finished his work on the earth. he said.
..Fnther. gloriy thou me with thine
own SELF with the glory had with
thee before the world was" And il we
read the book of jeremiah, we find
there recorded that the Lord declared
that he knew Jeremiah before he was
born and ordained him prophet unto
tho nations. Again. in the Book OF
Abraham translated by the Prophet
Joseph. the, Lord, speaking to Abraham
told him that he was chosen before lie
was born. and he showed Abraham the
.premortal inteliigences.
REASON.
Is there any reason for this condi-
ton? when the prophet Joseph Smith
declared that man, as an ego. and in