following quotation, the covenant entered into by the spirits, "in the beginning:"

"I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.

"Now, the lord had shewn unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

"And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; and we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them."^[25]

The spirits, therefore, after this plan of the Gospel had been presented to and accepted by them, had agreed to "do all things whatsoever the Lord their God should command them." In accord herewith is the statement of President Joseph F. Smith that not order, but obedience, is the first law of heaven.

As to the covenant made by the Lord in His part of the contract, we read in the Doctrine and Covenants:

"And also all they who receive this Priesthood receiveth me, saith the Lord; for he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; and he that receiveth my Father, receiveth my Father's Kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him; and this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the Priesthood. Therefore, all those who receive the Priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break."^[26]

As it is designed in the Gospel plan for the redemption of the dead, that all men who have arrived at years of accountability and who during their life time here were subject to law, shall have the Priesthood conferred upon them, either in person or by proxy, it will be seen how wide the application of this covenant will extend.

The great covenants pertaining to the Gospel are, accordingly; on the part of the spirits, obedience to whatever law is given them; on the part of the Lord, to those who are the most faithful, a fullness of His glory. But, as will be seen hereafter, provision is made for all, even for the least of His creatures.

IX.
PERPETUITY OF THE GOSPEL.

Certainly a system of such grandeur and comprehensiveness as the Gospel must have within itself the seeds of perpetuity. No catastrophe the mind of man can contemplate would compare with that which would result if all this beautiful fabric should at some time, by any mischance, go to pieces. But the elements not only of continuity but of continuous growth, are in the Gospel, and the wisdom of God shall not be destroyed.

The spirits, whether they place themselves under the course of instruction provided for in the Gospel or not, are eternal, as are, also, the elements with which, under its plan, they become united; and by following the thought behind the revelations here to be quoted, we may trace therein the design of the Maker for the stability of His work.

In relation to the union of spirit and element, we read in the Doctrine and Covenants:

"For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receiveth a fullness of joy; and, when separated, man cannot receive a fullness of joy."^[27]

Here, without doubt, it may be noted in passing, we have one of the great discoveries by which God came to be God.

As to the continuity of the union between spirit and matter, we quote the words of the Prophet Amulek, recorded in the Book of Mormon:

"Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body; that is, from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more, their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided, thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption."^[28]

Our next step will be a consideration of the Priesthood, which is designed by the Gospel plan to form a never-ending bond of union between those who arrive at their exaltation under its provisions.

We read in the Book of Mormon:

"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