[5]. 1 Nephi 13:12.
[6]. "Heroes and Hero Worship," Lec. 2.
PART EIGHTH
BEYOND THE HORIZON
ARTICLE THIRTY-SEVEN.
The Spirit World.
Not Heaven.—That there is a Spirit World, and that it is closely connected with the material world—the one we now inhabit—has been a tenet in the religious philosophy of wise and good men all down the ages. In the minds of many people, the Spirit World and Heaven are synonymous terms, indicating one and the same place. But in reality there is a wide difference between them. A State of rest, such as the spirit life is understood to be for the righteous—though "rest" should not be interpreted as idleness or want of occupation—might easily pass for heaven, when contrasted with this life of pain, sorrow and trouble. But that is only relative. It is not saying too much—indeed it may be saying too little—to affirm that there is just as much difference between the spirit world and heaven, as between the mortal and the spiritual phases of man's existence.
Here on Earth.—According to Parley P. Pratt, the Spirit World is the spiritual part of this planet—or, to use his exact language: "The earth and other planets of a like order have their inward or spiritual spheres, as well as their outward or temporal. The one is peopled by temporal tabernacles, and the other by spirits." "As to its location," he says, "it is here on the very planet where we were born."[[1]]
All Things Before Created.—The proposition that Earth has a spiritual as well as a temporal sphere is a reassertion of the doctrine of duality, embodied in ancient and modern revelation, and particularly emphasized by Joseph the Seer. A careful reading of the Book of Genesis (the King James version) discloses, though somewhat vaguely, the fact of this duality, as applied to the works of creation. Thus, after giving an account of the earth and of all things connected therewith, the sacred writer says:
"These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground."[[2]]