Orson F. Whitney August 12 1894
THE APOCALYPSE DISCOURSE
Delivered by Bishop Orson F. Whitney, in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake
City.
John, after being told what he should write unto the seven churches,
saw a vision of the past and the future. He beheld a sea of glass
like unto a crystal, shining before a heavenly throne, upon which sat
a glorious being holding in his hand a book sealed with seven seals.
Joseph Smith declares that that sea of glass was the earth in its
sanctified and immortal state, and that the book with seven seals
symbolized the history of the earth-its true history-the hidden acts
of men and the mysteries of God pertaining to this planet, during the
seven thousand years of its temporal existence. The opening of the
first seal was the revealing of the acts of the first thousand
years, the opening of the second seal the revealing of the acts of
the second thousand years, and so on until the seventh. We gather
from this and other teachings of the prophet that this earth has been
appointed a certain time in which to accomplish its mortal probation,
prior to its glorification. It was created, not a something out of
nothing, as many have absurdly taught and supposed, but was organized
from everlasting spirit and element, and was made for the children of
God, firstly as a temporary abode, and lastly as an eternal
inheritance. It has been given a certain time in which to fulfill its
mission as a mortal creature. It keeps the law of God, the celestial
law, which means that it lives by every word that proceeds from his
mouth, and because of this it shall be sanctified. Yea, though it
die, yet it shall live again, be resurrected, to shine as a celestial
body, as "a sea of glass mingled with fire," and beings of celestial
order shall inherit it forever. We are taught that men and women, the
sons and daughters of God, who were spirits in his presence, were sent
here to take mortal tabernacles and undergo experiences that would in
due time exalt them to the plane occupied by their Father and Mother
in heaven. Earth is to become a heaven. Man is to become a God. The
difference between the human and the divine is a matter of education
and development. Gods and men are of the same species, and it is just
as reasonable that God's children should attain to the fullness of his
spiritual stature, as that man's children should grow to the fullness
of his physical stature. The son of God thought it not robbery to be
equal with God. Neither need we, his sons and daughters, think it
robbery to aspire to that glorious plane where stand God our Father
and Jesus Christ, our elder brother. He has made it possible for us
all to come unto him and be like him. He laid down his life to bridge
the chasm and enable us to cross it over.
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