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The Light of Christ (Spirit of the Lord) God has permitted His Spirit, which is the light of truth, and which manifests truth, to be poured out upon all the inhabitants of the earth to some extent; for in that they live and move and have their being, and all people of any age, race or country who seek unto God with an honest heart in fervent prayer, desiring truth and to be taught of God, will be enlightened by Him. There have been inspired bards and sages and poets, who have uttered words of truth, words of inspiration concerning things of which they had been enlightened of God. And many things that such men wrote have been recorded and handed down, and scraps of them may be found among all nations and peoples. As the Apostle Paul says, "God hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring." (Acts 17:26-28.) His Spirit has enlightened mankind in all ages to a certain extent; …We are told, that "there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding." [Job 32:8] This is that spirit. It is the light of Christ; it is the light of God. It is the life of our bodies, and it is also the light of our minds. This spirit is not confined to one race of people, or to one country, or to one age or generation, but it is universal; it is of Him in whom we live and move and have our being. It is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. And if all men would be guided by that natural light, that natural inspiration which gives them understanding, and by which they exist, they would be guided directly to Him who is the fountain of all light; they would then be in a condition to be communicated with by Him who is their Maker and Creator. But the inhabitants of the earth have been from the beginning prone to walk in the ways of darkness rather than in the light, because, as Jesus explained it, "their deeds are evil." [John 3:18-19.] This is the reason why there is so much ignorance in the world concerning God and His ways. (Charles W. Penrose, JD, January 14, 1883, 23:346-47.)
Light of Christ President Joseph Fielding Smith explained that the “Light of Christ is not a personage. It has no body. I do not know what it is as far as substance is concerned; but it fills the immensity of space and emanates from God. It is the light by which the worlds are controlled, by which they are made. It is the light of the sun and all other bodies. It is the light which gives life to vegetation. It quickens the understanding of men, and has these various functions as set forth in these verses. “It is: ‘The light which is in all things, which givethlife to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sittethupon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.’ “This is our explanation in regard to the Spirit of Christ, or Light of Truth, which every man receives and is guided by. Unless a man had the blessings that come from this Spirit, his mind would not be quickened; there would be no vegetation grown; the worlds would not stay in their orbits; because it is through this Spirit of Truth, this Light of Truth, according to this revelation, that all these things are done. “The Lord has given to ‘every man that cometh into the world,’ the guidance of the Light of Truth, or Spirit of Jesus Christ, and if a man will hearken to this Spirit he will be led to the truth and will recognize it and will accept it when he hears it. We have seen this demonstrated thousands of times, where men were led to investigate and have had the desire to investigate in spite of the prejudices and traditions which they were taught in the world. “If they refuse to come unto him, then he calls them wicked and they are under the bondage of sin. It seems to me that when a person declares that he is satisfied with his religion and therefore does not care to investigate, it is evidence that he has not hearkened to the Light of Truth which was given him; else he would not have been satisfied with the false religion which he has and would be seeking the truth.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:52–53.)
Earth’s Existence Birth—Creation (Abraham 4:1) Telestial Life—Fall (2 Nephi 2:22) Baptism—Flood (Genesis 7:19) Baptism by Fire—Cleansing at 2nd Coming (Article of Faith 1:10) Terrestrial Life—Millennium (Isaiah 65:17-25) Death—End of the World (D&C 29:22-23) Celestial Life—Glorification & Resurrection (D&C 88:18-20, 25-26)
D&C 88:26 Is the Earth Alive? Associated with matter-energy was the implication in Joseph Smith's teachings that the energy in the universe is a form of intelligence; that is, in a manner not fully understood by man, some form of life resides in all matter, though of an order wholly different from the organized intelligence of men or higher living things. Hence, everything in the universe is alive. The differences among rock, plant, beast, and man are due to the amount and organization of life element. Confirming this view, the Prophet in a revelation said: [Sec. 88:26, quoted.] That implies clearly that the earth is a living organism. President Brigham Young who was trained in the gospel by the Prophet confirmed the teaching that life and intelligence pervade all things, animate and inanimate. "Are this earth, the air and the water composed of Life? . . . We suggest that there is an eternity of organization, and an eternity of intelligence from the highest to the lowest grade, every creature in its order from the Gods to the animalculae." (The Resurrection, 1884 edition, p. 3.) We live then in a living universe which in all its component parts is intelligent. (Joseph Smith, 1951, pp. 149-50.)
88:27—Spiritual Bodies These modern blind teachers of the blind have a very false understanding of what is meant by a spiritual body. They have based their conclusion on the statement that Paul makes that the body is raised a spiritual body, and that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. [1 Cor. 15:42-50.] They cannot conceive in their minds a body raised from the dead, being composed of flesh and bones, quickened by spirit and not by blood. When Paul spoke of the spiritual body he had no reference at all to the spirit body and there they have made their mistake. They have confused the spiritual body, or, in other words, the body quickened by the spirit, with the body of the spirit alone. They think that those who believe in the resurrection of the literal body believe that it shall be raised again, quickened by blood, which is not the case. I want to read a verse from the Doctrine and Covenants: [Sec. 88:15-20, 25-30, quoted.] D&C 88 27After the resurrection from the dead our bodies will be spiritual bodies, but they will be bodies that are tangible, bodies that have been purified, but they will nevertheless be bodies of flesh and bones, but they will not be blood bodies, they will no longer be quickened by blood but quickened by the spirit which is eternal and they shall become immortal and shall never die. (Joseph Fielding Smith, CR, April 1917, pp. 62-63.)
D&C 88:28--Same Body… Joseph Smith taught “there is no fundamental principle belonging to a human system that ever goes into another in this world or in the world to come; I care not what the theories of men are. We have the testimony that God will raise us up, and he has the power to do it. If anyone supposes that any part of our bodies, that is, the fundamental parts thereof, ever goes into another body, he is mistaken.” (History of the Church, 5:339; see also 1 Corinthians 15:35–54; Alma 11:43–44; 40:23–25.
D&C 88:37—many kingdoms There are many worlds inhabited by people who are glorified, for heaven is not one place, but many; heaven is not one world but many. "In my Father's house are many mansions." (John 14:2.] In other words—In my Father's house there are many worlds, which in their turn will be made glorified heavens, the inheritances of the redeemed from all the worlds who, having been prepared through similar experience to our own, will inhabit them; and each one in its turn will be exalted through the revelations and laws of the Most High God, and they will continue to multiply their offspring through all eternity, and new worlds will be made for their progeny. (Orson Pratt, JD, November 12, 1879, 18:297.)
D&C 88:24,32,39—Not a Kingdom of Glory What, then, is "the second death?" Why, the Lord tells us what that is in His revelation in the twenty-ninth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. [Vs. 41-45.] It is eternal banishment from His presence. He is the source of light and truth and power and glory and happiness and joy and dominion and increase forever, of which they will all be deprived. Being shut right out from the light, these shall go away into outer darkness where no ray of light comes, spiritual or physical—no ray of light from sun or moon or twinkling star or even a comet; to be in outer darkness, and no wonder there is "weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth," to use the scripture expression. (CR, October 1914, pp. 40-42.)
D&C 88:40 “…and if we are corrupt and wicked and abominable and rebellious, the effects of our acts are right in our nature and these things will be disclosed just as naturally as the opening of books made of paper and written with ink.” (Charles W. Penrose, CR, April 1917, p. 18.)
D&C 88:21-39, 42—Law The Lord has shown to us that there are differences of rewards. Some of his children will attain to what is called celestial glory. Others of his children will not have faith enough nor exercise their agency in this direction to gain that glory; but they will gain terrestrial glory. There are others that will not progress that far; they will feel reluctant to obey the laws that pertain to the terrestrial, and they will obtain telestial glory. There are still others that will not attain even to the telestial glory. Why is it that there are these differences? Is it because God has chosen some of us for the telestial glory, some of us for the terrestrial glory, and some of us for the celestial glory? No, there is no such predestination as this. We are all born with our free agency; with the power within ourselves, aided by the blessing of God, to attain unto the highest glory. How shall we attain unto the highest glory? There is only one way, and that is by observing the highest laws. The highest laws, when obeyed, bring as a reward the highest glory; and the man or woman who expects to attain to the highest glory without obeying these laws, deceives himself or herself. It cannot be done. If I rise above the telestial glory, I must obey a law that will lift me above that. If I rise to the terrestrial glory, it will be by obeying terrestrial law. If I do not obey laws higher than that, I cannot attain to a higher glory. I want to impress upon you . . . that our exaltation, our future glory, depends entirely upon our obedience to law. [Sec. 131:1-4, 132:7, 20-24.] We should not lose sight of this. (George Q. Cannon, CR, April 1900, p. 54.)
A Modern “School of the Prophets”—The DPC “Brothers and sisters, it should be obvious to all of us that something spiritually significant is taking place in Rexburg, Idaho. Let me suggest that in Rexburg, Idaho, we are in the process of creating not a missionary training center (MTC), but a Disciple Preparation Center—a DPC. In this special and sacred and set apart place, you and I have access to unparalleled spiritual resources that can assist us in developing and deepening our devotion as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the primary and most important reason for the existence of Brigham Young University-Idaho and for its sponsorship by and affiliation with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (President David A. Bednar, Brigham Young University - Idaho : Devotional, August 31, 2004).
Principles for us to Apply in the DPC D&C 88:77-79, 118-126, 137-138 (Instructions regarding the School of the Prophets) D&C 97:3-9 (School of the Elders organized and led by Parley P. Pratt in Zion—the equivalent of the School of the Prophets in Kirtland)
