|
My brethren and sisters, I have been thrilled with the exercises of this present conference. I was deeply thrilled with the singing of the Singing Mothers about fifteen hundred of them--it was wonderful. I have been greatly thrilled with the singing of our regular Tabernacle Choir here today. I compliment them on the fine work they are doing, and I verily believe there is no better choir in the world. I am thrilled in standing before you and looking into the faces of this vast congregation. It is certainly a privilege to stand here and occupy the pulpit a few moments.
Happy is the young man, and happy is the young woman, yea, and the older ones, if they shall have discovered the purpose of life in their youthful days, because if they have discovered it, it will help them to order their paths, and to live more intelligent lives.
People sometimes say: "Well, yes, the 'purpose of life': What does it mean? What does it amount to? We are born into the world, we live our earth life and pass on." What is the answer?
The answer is that it amounts to a very great deal, that it is a serious matter, and should require our careful attention.
"Brother Clawson, what is the purpose of life? Can you tell me in a few words?" Yes, in one sentence, The Prophet Lehi said: Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. (Two- Nephi 2:25.)
Perhaps the Prophet should have added that they might have a fulness of joy. That is the purpose of life.
"Well, how is one to obtain this fulness of joy?"
Ah, my brother, that is another question. But the Pearl of Great Price tells us that God ordained that his spirit children should pass through three estates, and we here who are his spirit children, and others, have passed from a former estate. We must have lived there, my brethren and sisters, a long, long time. We must have learned much by experience. It must have been a place of happiness, but it was not a place where one could attain fulness of joy. The time came in that first estate when there was war in heaven. A rebellion had broken out in that great spirit family, and we are told in sacred writ that Michael and his angels fought with the dragon and his angels. I have a few lines here, taken from the Bible, which give a brief description of that war and the results that followed. Permit me to read them:
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. (Revelation 12:7-11.)
Rebellion in heaven! Could it be possible? Yes, not only possible, but it actually occurred. These spirits at that time had their free agency, as we have our free agency, to choose between good and evil. And there was a class of spirits, headed by a prominent spirit named Lucifer, the Son of the Morning. He must have been a spirit of ability, a spirit of power and influence, and a spirit of great authority in that heavenly place. He stirred up the spirit of rebellion and sought to displace God upon his throne; so he was cast down to the earth with his followers, a third part of the hosts of heaven.
Others fought for the right and were faithful, so that the time came when the Lord said to one of the spirits:
You can go no farther. You have progressed as far in this estate as it is possible. Go down to the earth below and take upon yourself a body, and then you may pass through your second estate.
And, if this should be said to one, it would be said to all that great family of spirits, that each in his turn should go down and get a body, that this was essential to their progress. They came down, as we have heard, Satan came, and his followers who were evil spirits.
And the young man went down, and we read in the Bible, second chapter of Genesis, that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul."
So it was with all those spirits in that first estate. They came down and are coming to get mortal bodies and will he coming for a long time-in the future. It was a vast group.
Satan is here with his followers, and the fight is still on. The righteous spirits find, when they are brought into material form, that they stand naked and bare as it were. If they are to battle with the evil spirits they must be clothed upon with divine authority. How is this brought about?
It is brought about in the manner stated by the Savior when he said to Nicodemus:
Except a man be born again--[and that means every man and every woman]--Except a man a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
And:
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:3, 5.)
And so it was made plain by the Savior that in order to enter the kingdom of God it is necessary to be baptized by immersion in water and by the spirit, or Holy Ghost, by one having authority. There is no other way. But this birth by water and spirit, which simply and only gives a person a standing in the kingdom of God, is not sufficient. If the war which originated in heaven is to be fought over again on earth in the body, men must have divine authority as a preparation. The said authority consists of the Melchizedek and Aaronic Priesthoods. The battle is continuous and will be waged through the second or mortal estate. Satan's punishment and the punishment of his followers for their rebellion in heaven, Joseph Smith the Prophet said, is that they are denied mortal bodies. The said punishment is terrible and will make those who receive it most unhappy for the reason that they are halted, they cannot progress, they cannot go forward, cannot attain a full measure of happiness.
Their eagerness to secure bodies is so great that in many cases they endeavor to steal the bodies of the more favored spirits, and when these evil spirits enter into and take possession of the bodies of others we say of those afflicted that they are possessed by evil spirits. They can only be subdued and cast out of stolen bodies by those members of Christ's Church who are under divine authority.
They who pass through the second estate will be tried and tested to the uttermost, because it is said of them that if they keep their second estate glory will be added upon their heads forevermore, while those who do not keep their second estate but rebel against the God of heaven and against the Priesthood and power of God will be defeated and go down to destruction.
The great majority of Latter-day Saints are making a gallant fight. Some are putting more effort into it than others and therefore accomplish more than others. Surely the second estate is a great school of experience; a variety of conditions are encountered--sickness, disease, misfortune, disappointment, sins of commission, sins of omission, days of happiness and days of sorrow.
In this estate the children of God are sorely tried that it may be seen whether or not they will keep the commandments of God and will live by every word that proceedeth forth from his mouth. If they are faithful they will rise to exaltation and glory in their third estate, as already mentioned.
That there is a definite purpose of life is further shown by the folowing paragraphs in the D&C, Section 93, verses 33-34:
For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;
And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy.
I apprehend, my brethren and sisters, that it is our supremest desire to secure this great, if not the greatest of all blessings.
Another thing: Before we can enter into full and complete exaltation and glory and receive a fulness of joy we must take into account the sublime doctrine of marriage. It is necessary to our final exaltation. The man and woman were created together, or in other words it was one creative act. In the Garden of Eden it was found not to be right for Adam to live alone. Therefore Eve was created and given to him for a companion, a helpmate, that he as a king and a priest and she as a queen and priestess might rise to exaltation and glory and together receive a fulness of joy.
I rejoice, my brethren and sisters, today in the glorious opportunities that are before us to win a crown in the kingdom of our God. The victory is within our reach if we will only take hold and make the best of our opportunities.
Let me say in a few closing words how important it is that we should look after these mortal bodies that God has given us. They are precious gifts from heaven. It is not only proper and right that we should look after our spirits, for that is what constitutes the life within the body, but we should also look after our bodies. Is it any wonder that the Church has organized a campaign against liquor and tobacco which are so hurtful to the body, and in a measure defile the body? There are other things also that weaken the body--immorality, etc. We should remember that we are to lay these bodies down and take them up again as the Savior laid his body down and took it up. He was the first fruits of the resurrection, and he holds the keys of the resurrection. So, as he has gone down and come up, surely his brethren will go down and come up and be resurrected. And it is therefore very desirable that we should take up our bodies free from sin and defilement.
Now, I shall just read these few lines to close my remarks:
God bless you, brethren and sisters. The Lord bless the Presidency of this Church, and the Twelve, and the First Council of Seventy, and all the presiding authorities, the authorities in the stakes of Zion, the authorities in the mission fields. May peace and blessing and success attend you is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
|
