"This High Priesthood being after the order of His Son, which order was from the foundation of the world—or, in other words, being without beginning of days or end of years, being prepared from eternity to all eternity, according to His foreknowledge of all things."[[29]]
We may now turn to a consideration of the process by which an increase of the dominion of all those who are faithful, is provided for in the Gospel. In the Doctrine and Covenants, we read:
"And, again, verily I say unto you, if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my law, and by the new and everlasting covenant, and it is sealed unto them by the Holy Spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, unto whom I have appointed this power, and the keys of the Priesthood; and it shall be said unto them, ye shall come forth in the first resurrection; and if it be after the first resurrection, in the next resurrection; and shall inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers, dominions, all heights and depths—then shall it be written in the Lamb's Book of Life, that he shall commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, and if ye abide in my covenant, and commit no murder whereby to shed innocent blood, it shall be done unto them in all things whatsoever my servant hath put upon them, in time, and through all eternity, and shall be of full force when they are out of the world; and they shall pass by the angels, and the gods, which are set there, to their exaltation and glory in all things, as hath been sealed upon their heads, which glory shall be a fulness and a continuation of the seeds for ever and ever.
"Then shall they be Gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be Gods, because they have all power."[[30]]
It is not the purpose of this work to go outside of the strict boundaries of revelation, but one cannot refrain at this point from giving a little rein to the spirit of inquiry. When this glorious consummation shall have been attained, will not the whole process of world-making and world-peopling, in this order of spirits, be gone all over again? Shall spirits who have never heard of this plan of organization be visited by such a being, who shall afterward be in a position to say, "In the beginning I came down into the midst of these spirits, and taught them this same Gospel plan, a new earth was formed, another Adam came upon it, a Savior was provided?"
In the enduring union between the spirits and element, in the eternal nature of the bond entered into by those who receive the Holy Priesthood, and in the never-ending increase of those who properly contract the marriage relation, is manifest, therefore, the wisdom of God in providing for the perpetuity and growth of His dominion, as well as for the exaltation of those spirits who render obedience to the Gospel.
SUMMARY OF THE GOSPEL.
Summarizing the Outline of the Gospel here presented, we find:
I. That the Gospel had its inception when "God, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself."
II. That the purpose of God in so doing was "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."