Let me come and dwell with you.[[7]]
The pre-existence of man's spirit and its relationship to Deity having been disposed of, I must now refer to the prophet's teaching on the subject of man's future existence and the possibilities which lie before him in the course of the eternities.
Joseph Smith taught the literal resurrection of the body, and its immortality. He declared that the same sociability which exists among us here will exist among us in that future life, only it will be coupled with eternal glory which now we do not enjoy.[[8]] On one occasion he said: "I will tell you what I want. If tomorrow I shall be called to lie in yonder tomb, in the morning of the resurrection let me strike hands with my father and cry, 'My father,' and he will say, 'My son, my son!' * * * Would you think it strange if I related what I have seen in vision in relation to this interesting theme? Those who have died in Jesus Christ may expect to enter into all that fruition of joy, when they come forth, which they possessed or anticipated here. So plain was the vision that I actually saw men before they had ascended from the tomb, as though they were getting up slowly. They took each other by the hand, and said to each other: 'My father, my son, my mother, my daughter, my brother, my sister.' And when the voice calls for the dead to arise, suppose I am laid by the side of my father, what would be the first joy of my heart? To meet my father, my mother, my brother, my sister; and when they are by my side, I embrace them and they me. * * * The expectation of seeing my friends in the morning of the resurrection cheers my soul and makes me bear up against the evils of life. It is like their taking a long journey, and on their return we meet them with increased joy."[[9]]
The prophet also taught that the relationships formed in this life were intended to be eternal, not excluding that of husband and wife, with all its enduring affections. He taught that the marriage covenant which binds man and woman as husband and wife should be made for eternity, and not until "death doth them part." To be made for eternity, however, the marriage covenant must be entered into with that object in view, and sealed and ratified by God's authority on earth—even by the holy priesthood, that authority which binds on earth and in heaven, in time and in eternity; which also looses on earth and in heaven—in time and in eternity. Otherwise such covenants are of no efficacy, virtue or force in and after the resurrection from the dead. The house of God is a house of order, and it is useless to hope that covenants made until death shall overtake the contracting parties will endure in eternity; or that covenants entered into for eternity, unless sealed by the authority of God, will be of binding force in and after the resurrection from the dead.
I wish to be perfectly understood here. Let it be remembered that the Prophet Joseph Smith taught that man, that is, his spirit, is the offspring of Deity; not in any mystical sense, but actually; that man has not only a Father in heaven, but a Mother also. And when I say that the prophet taught that the resurrection is a reality, that the relationship of husband and wife is intended to be eternal, together with all its endearing affections, I mean all that in its most literal sense. I mean that in the life to come man will build and inhabit, eat drink, associate and be happy with his friends; and that the power of endless increase will contribute to the power and dominion of those who attain by their righteousness unto these privileges.
What a revelation is here! As I have remarked elsewhere,[[10]] instead of the God-given power of pro-creation being one of the chief things that is to pass away, it is one of the chief means of man's exaltation and glory in that great eternity, which like an endless vista stretches out before him! Through it man attains to the glory of the endless increase of eternal lives, and the right of presiding as priest and patriarch, king and lord over his ever increasing posterity. Instead of the commandment, "Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth," being an unrighteous law, it is one by means of which the race of the Gods is perpetuated, and is as holy and pure as the commandment, "Repent and be baptized." Through that law, in connection with an observance of all the other laws of the gospel, man will yet attain unto the power of the Godhead, and like his Father—God—his chief glory will be to bring to pass the eternal life and happiness of his posterity.
If anyone shall say that such views of the life to come are too materialistic; that they smack too much of earth and its enjoyments, my answer is, that if it be inquired what thing has contributed most to man's civilization and refinement, to his happiness and dignity, his true importance, elevation and honor in life, it will be found that the domestic relations in marriage, the ties of family, of parentage, with its joys, responsibilities, and affections will be selected as the one thing before all others. And those relations and associations which have contributed so much to man's true progress and refinement in this world may be trusted not to degrade him in the life that is to come. On the contrary, with all the affections chastened, with all the qualities of the mind improved, and the attributes of the soul strengthened, we may reasonably hope that what has done so much for man in this life will contribute still more abundantly to his happiness, his exaltation and glory in the life which is to come.
One other point I must not omit to mention. I know how like sacrilege it sounds in modern ears to speak of man becoming a God. Yet why should it be so considered? Man is the offspring of Deity, he is of the same race and has within him—undeveloped, it is true—the faculties and attributes of his Father. He has also before him an eternity of time in which to develop both the faculties of the mind and the attributes of the soul—why should it be accounted a strange thing that at last the child shall arrive at the same exaltation and partake of the same intelligence and glory with his Father? If Jesus Christ, "being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,"[[11]] why should it be considered blasphemous to teach that man by faith and righteousness in following the counsels of God, shall at last become like him, and share his power and glory, being a God, even a son of God?
I grant you the height from our present position looks tremendous; yet it is not impossible of attainment, since we have eternity in which to work. Stand by the cradle of a new-born babe and contemplate it. Within that little body of organized pulp—with eyes incapable of distinguishing objects; legs unable to bear the weight of its body—without the power of locomotion; hands over whose movements it has no control; ears that hear but cannot distinguish sounds; a tongue that cannot speak—yet within that helpless little tabernacle, what powers lie dormant! Within that germ in the cradle are latent powers which only require time for their unfolding to astonish the world. From it may come the man of profound learning who shall add something by his own wisdom to the sum-total of human knowledge. Perhaps from that germ will come a profound historian, a poet or eloquent orator to sway the reason and passions of men, and guide them to better and purer things than they have yet known. Or a statesman may be there in embryo; a man whose wisdom shall guide the destiny of the state or perhaps with God-like power rule the world! If from such a germ as this in the cradle may come such an unfolding of power as we see in the highest and noblest manhood, may it not be, that taking that highest and noblest manhood as the germ, that from it may come, under the guiding hand of our Father in heaven, a still more wonderful unfolding, until the germ of the highest and noblest manhood shall develop into a God? The distance between the noblest man and the position of God is greater, perhaps, than that between the infant in the cradle and the highest development of manhood; but if so, there is a longer time—eternity—in which to arrive at the result; and God and heavenly influences instead of human parents and earthly means to bring to pass the necessary development.
This doctrine makes very clear some of the sayings of the scripture, "Now are we the sons of God," said the Apostle John, "and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he [Christ] shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is; and every man who hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure."[[12]] We can see now some meaning in the exhortation of Jesus—"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."[[13]] "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne."[[14]]