CHAPTER XIV.

Ir is unscriptural and unchristian, to teach or preach that any human being has yet to make his peace with God, or to do any act or thing whereby to obtain his own salvation, or to proffer his aid to others in any manner or by any means for such a purpose. It is also clear and certain that a world already saved needs neither works of any kind, nor priests, nor ministers, nor ordinances, nor sacraments, nor prayers, nor churches, nor altars, nor any of the so-called means of grace to save it. There is no cause for laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of the doctrine of baptism and of faith toward God. All these together could never save a soul, never take away the sin of the world, nor reconcile it to God, or justify it by the righteousness of Christ, its head; and yet they have each their appropriate place and sphere in the gospel church; priests and ministers, pastors and teachers, are the ambassadors of Christ, as though God did beseech all sinners by them to believe that they are and were reconciled to him through Christ, their head, and the church in which these saved sinners may assemble themselves, not to

placate the divine wrath and vengeance, and thereby escape eternal hell torments, but to worship God and offer the spiritual sacrifices (every sinner being himself a priest), of an humble spirit and contrite heart, and of thanksgiving and praise, acceptable to God through Christ Jesus, our Lord, and such ordinances and sacraments as were observed by the church in her first estate, are conducive to the increase and joy of faith. And the assurance God gave, alike to the poor and rich, of his paternal love for them, and the burdens and yoke which he required them to take upon themselves, was also given in love. We have shown that no being can love any other being or object which is not in itself apparently lovable. How then shall men love their enemies, or the most violent and vicious transgressor? Answer. Men must pray for grace to love those sinners, even the chief of sinners, as God and Christ see them, viz., as they saw them before the world began, pure holy spirits, which, together with their head, were born of God, but were for an infinitely wise and gracious purpose made partakers of fleshly lusts, by which they were drawn away and enticed to commit all those abominations, but which lusts are to be destroyed by death, and the soul and spirits set free, and in due time to be clothed with a spiritual body, like Christ's body. And God knowing their frame, that it is dust, is merciful to their unrighteousness, and remembereth their sins and their iniquities no more, seeing only that they are his offspring and in his own image and likeness. Now, if all mankind saw each other as God sees them, they would see

that human souls and spirits are of far higher nature, and more like the God of love and of glory than angels or any other beings in the universe, and are therefore more lovable, and can be perfectly and universally loved as God's children and a universal brotherhood; and seeing all mankind as such, even the greatest enemy can be loved, fed, clothed and prayed for. Having shown that every human being is "a child and heir of God, and of the universe of worlds," and of immortality and heaven, we proclaim that it is the divine right of that humanity and every member thereof, to rise from the dust of doubt and uncertainty, fear and terror, and put on the garments of praise, and of glory and beauty, as the members of the general assembly and church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven, and the names of God and Christ are written upon them. Stand forth, then, the entire humanity, and claim the unspeakable honor and glory of your oneness with Christ, and thereby your heirship of God. Let the poor and destitute of that humanity say, We ask not the riches of earth, neither do we envy the comparatively few of the humanity who are rich, inasmuch as their wealth, as well as our poverty, is the wisest and best allotment, both for them and for us.

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CHAPTER XV.

We hope it is now seen by a portion, at least, of our readers, that the world—the humanity, were saved in their head, Christ, by being baptized into his death and raised up with him from the dead, and so in that headship mode of being were saved and glorified at that time. But it remained for that humanity, in their individual mode of being, to be glorified at the second coming of Christ, who resurrected those who had, until that period, slept in him, and subsequently to glorify all human beings at death, and to continue a like process of glorification until earthly existence shall cease. The present

The resurrectional spiritual body, the present fleshly organism, is shown in the Scriptures to be imperfect, and as "seeing things which are temporal only, not which are eternal, and as seeing through a glass darkly." It is sufficient therefore only for a very partial development of the powers of the human soul; and that development is greater or less, as the physical conformation is more or less perfect, and is to be destroyed by death; when the organism is no more, the senses revert to the soul, to which they all belong. And when the soul is

reorganized, with its appropriate spiritual immortal body, it will still be in the fleshly human form, which is also the form of Christ and of God; and that soul, spirit and spiritual body will constitute a glorified body, and with its head, will be a joint heir of all things. And the Christ-like and God-like form, faculties and power of that glorified humanity will be susceptible also of progressive development, world without end. The joys of Heaven, the supreme joy of Christ and the members of his glorified body, in the presence of God, and the happiness of doing his will, are thereby to increase eternally their knowledge of him and of his works; and in that enjoyment they will be one with their head, Christ, being eternally with him beholding his glory. And as we have shown that Christ is ever with the Father in the government of the universe, and that he must reign till he removes every hindrance to the glorification of humanity; and as he is the advocate of every man that sinneth, and is touched with the feeling of their infirmities, it is rationally and naturally inferable that glorified souls and spirits may come to earth on missions of love, promotive of the well-being of their brethren, yet to be glorified. We do not, however, infer the possibility of any communication of disembodied souls with human beings, while in the unorganized state.