Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-02-19

10 suffer for their own sins, the pains
and sufferings which he also suffered
when he took upon himself our sins and
our inlquitics. For so he has declared.
which l shall read from the Doctrine
and Covenants. sec. 10;
Therefore, | command you to repent
repent, lest / smite you by the rod
of my mouth, and by my wrath. and
by my anger. and your sufferings be
sore-how sore YOU know not! how
exquisite YOU know not
Yea, how hard to bear we know not
For behold. /. God, have suffered these
things for all, that they might not Suf-
fer If they would repent.
But If they would not repent, they
must suffer even as |.
Which suffering caused myself, even
God. the greatest of all. to tremble
because of pain. and to bleed at every
pore. and to suffer, both body anG
spirit. and would that 1 might not
drink the bitter cup and shrink.
1t would be unjust to make all those
who have not received the gospel, who
had not repented of their sins in the
flesh, not understanding the gospel,
and had not been baptized for the re-
mission of their sins-to make them
suffer eternally In torment for that
which they could not. altogether. help:
because where the gospel is not, there
is no remission OF sins; and without
the gospel they could not obey God
In the fulness. and therefore. he has
mercy and bestows 1t upon his children,
and grants unto them. though they
be dead, the right to receive these prin-
ciples OF truth. even in the spirit world,
as he himself declared 1t.
CHRISTS MISSION TO SPIRIT
WORLD.
Peter tells us that Christ suffered for
the sins of the world. and won't unto
the spirits in prison and taught them
the principles of truth that they might
live according to God In the spirit but
be judged according to men In the
flesh You will find this fact recorded
In the third chapter of the first epistle
OF Peter. beginning with the 18th verse
and In the fourth chapter. and sixth
verse He went to those spirits in
prison, as he declared he would. and
there he opened the prison doors and
taught them the truth From that time
forth they had the privilege, after these
principles and ordinances have been
received by them. of going forth from
the prison house.
/ read a little while ago that God
was eternal, that his punishment WAS
eternal. IN the Doctrine and Covenants
he reveals unto us what Is meant by
eternal punishment being Gods pun
ishment, and everlasting punishment
being his punishment. 1t Is not that
man will partake of that punishment
forever. without any relief, but that 1t
Is eternal because he Is eternal; Eter-
nal is his name, and his laws are eter-
nal, but not necessarily will a man suf-
fer eternally when he commits a sin.
unless it be sin unto death. There are.
John tells us, sins for which there Is
no forgiveness.
VICARIOUS WORK FOR THE DEAD.
Since the Prophet Elijah came and
bestowed. upon the head of Joseph
Smith, in the Kirkland temple.
turns the hearts of the chill
dren towards their fathers. the
hearts of the children have been
turned to their fathers. Before that
time 1t was very seldom, indeed II at
all. that you found a man seeking
after the genealogy of his fathers;
and II you did find such a man. his
only object was to prepare himself
to obtain the estate of the family,
keys were revealed. and the priest
hood was conferred. the saints began
shortly after. to perform the ordi-
nance OF baptism and the laying on OF
hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost
in behalf of their dead. That Is a
scriptural doctrine. 1t was taught
in ancient Israel in the days of the
apostles: they baptized for their dead:
and 1t is not a new doctrine In our
day. although not understood In tho
world They did 1t ancienty. and aft
er these keys were restored we did 1t,
and we have continued to do 1t from
that day until the present. But this
spirit was not confined to members of
the Church. 1t spread forth and took
possession of the hearts of the children
in the nations. beginning here in the
United States. then crossing over the
waters and taking possession of the
people of Europe; and today there are
thousands upon thousands. who are
not connected with the Church OF
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
who are just as faithfully working in
behalf of their dead as are we; and
they arc gathering out their records
and compiling them and preparing
them, that we might obtain them and
go into the temples of the Lord and
perform these ordinances In behalf of
the dead, that they might be saved in
the kingdom of God, just as we ex-
pect to be saved in that kingdom.
WORK OF GENEALOGICAL So
CIETIES.
The restoring of these keys took
place in the year 1896. In the year
1874, In Boston, few men gathered
together and formed what Is known as
the New England Historic Genealog-
cal society; they began to gather tho
records from various archives and
from places where they had been
stored. many OF which, also had been
thrown away; they preserved these
and started to form a library In that
way they obtained names of their
dead. which they recorded The So
cety grew, and Others seeing the
good that it was doing formed socle-
ties also. One was formed In the city
OF New York, in the year 1862 one
was formed in the city OF PhiIadel-
phia; one. was formed in Maine: one
In Vermont; In Rhode Island: in Con-
nectIcut. In PennSNlvanin. in Non,