I can dimly perceive that away down in the distant future humanity is to broaden and develop into the perfect type of angelhood; that the divinest attributes of the soul are yet to govern and control the body; and ignorance, darkness, and crime flee before the dawning light of knowledge and wisdom; and that human life is to become illuminated with the glory of universal love and harmony.
I can believe that the “good time coming,” “the year of jubilee,” “the millennium,” so long foretold by prophet and seer, so often mentioned in song and story, the poet’s dream and the idealist’s fancy, is yet to dawn upon the awakened world; when man, become strong through the educators of love and sympathy, made wise by the acquirement of knowledge, and the recognition of truth, shall look upon all humans as his brothers and sisters, shall learn that war is a crime against the human family, and tyranny, injustice, and oppression sins against the Holy Ghost. Then shall mankind fraternize, and nations sit down in universal peace. I believe that the human form is yet to bear the stamp and impress of all that is lovely and divine.
I was with a friend at a convocation of spirits, where were gathered together a large throng of refined, intelligent beings, each one marked with a beauty all his or her own, and I amused myself by comparing the different individuals with the beautiful forms in nature which they reminded me of, and the resemblance—so to speak—was so apparent that I called my friend’s attention to it by remarking:
“Did you ever observe that there is a certain resemblance between humanity and the forms of Nature? For instance, yonder lady, with her pure, white face, daintily-carved features, and lithe, willowy form, reminds me of nothing but a stately garden-lily, shimmering with whiteness; and that laughing, rosy-cheeked sprite beside her, with her rounded form and well-developed features, is very like the royal blush-rose of summer.”
“Very true,” replied my friend; “and over there you note the speaker; does not his massive frame, well-proportioned limbs, lofty brow, and shining features remind you of some mighty bowlder, uprearing its head with a consciousness of might and grandeur?”
“He does, indeed; the shadow of a great rock in a weary land; and just beside him rests one whose tall, straight form, beneficent looks, and air of protectiveness calls to mind the forest tree with its ample provision of kindly shade and shelter.”
And so we went on, drawing our comparisons,—one, with her calm, benignant smile, and a wealth of love and sympathy welling up from her nature, and expressing itself in the depths of her shining eyes, we likened to the smiling, open sea, overflowing with its wealth, and watering and refreshing the earth. Another, who was bubbling over with a superabundance of merriment and joy, we likened to the laughing, gurgling streamlet that overleaps all bounds, and speeds merrily along its way. One, of majestic form, replete with vital force, with a look of concentrated determination in his face, and an expression of energetic power impressed upon him, reminded us of the ocean, mighty in its majesty and power. One shone like the sun, another sparkled like a sunbeam; one brought an air of refreshing coolness with her, another glowed and glimmered like the autumn days.
“The fact of it is,” said my friend, “all that there is good and beautiful in nature is personified and individualized, so to speak, in the higher types of humanity. All the richness and splendor of creation culminate their grandest expressions in the human form; and when spirituality has ripened and developed the soul, its outer tenement will become so harmonized with the natural life of creation, so blended with the external manifestations of God, that it will become permeated with His life, and will reflect all the beauty and fragrance, all the grace and symmetry, of His works. Do you understand?”
I did, but I know not that I make it plain to mortals; suffice it to say, that I believe the day is coming when each soul shall have grown so in harmony with the laws of life that it will reflect upon its outward form only the beautiful and the good.
I had not long returned to spirit life ere I again met my former friend and teacher, “Benja, the missionary.” The sage was engaged in his usual employment of aiding souls in need. The pleasure of our meeting was mutual, but cannot be expressed by mortal pen; it was of the soul, true and fervent, and shone in the speaking eye and upon the trembling lip. Since that time I have often sought the company of the sage, and always with profit to myself. He has been an invaluable guide to me in my search for knowledge, and has lifted my spirit into a pure atmosphere. Spirit life is full of such workers, and by their efforts, combined with the desires of sin-sick souls to become better, we look for the redemption of the human race from error.