View source for Charles W. Penrose (1911): Jesus "was speaking of the class of people to whom the Sadducees referred. Under the law of Moses marriage for eternity was not celebrated...the marriages under consideration were for time only"

{{Main Page}}
<onlyinclude>
==Charles W. Penrose (1911): Jesus "was speaking of the class of people to whom the Sadducees referred. Under the law of Moses marriage for eternity was not celebrated...the marriages under consideration were for time only"==
Charles W. Penrose:
<blockquote>
"For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."<br><Br>

Now, generally, when this matter is touched upon by persons who do not view the subject in the same light that we do, they simply quote this one verse: "For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." In reading the scriptures, whether the Old Testament or the New Testament, in order to understand them properly we should not take one isolated text, but read it in conjunction with the context, then we get the meaning of the writer or speaker. The Sadducees came to Jesus, as the Pharisees also did occasionally, tempting Him and trying to get Him into a tangle in His sayings; but they did not succeed; to use a modern popular expression, He generally "came out on top." The Pharisees, on this occasion, were very much elated when they found the Sadducees had been turned down, and they came and congratulated Jesus on His replies. Now, he was speaking of the class of people to whom the Sadducees referred. Under the law of Moses marriage for eternity was not celebrated, except at the exceptional times when the Melchizedek priesthood was given to men on the earth, which we can read about in the D&C, section 132. Therefore, the marriages under consideration were for time only, and those persons to whom Jesus Christ was referring, were, as we read in the 20th chapter of Luke, where the same subject is touched upon, "the children of this world," not the children of the kingdom.<br><Br>

"The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage."<br><Br>

Christ said further: "They are as the angels." What is the condition of the angels? According to the revelation that I have briefly referred to, they are those that are not worthy of that "far more and eternal, and exceeding weight of glory" that comes to those who obey the fulness of the gospel and receive the ordinances of the new and everlasting covenant, who are sealed for time and for all eternity on the earth, and their marriage is sealed in heaven. They, then, who are called "the angels," are "ministering spirits unto the heirs of salvation and exaltation." They are waiters upon those who are worthy of this "more exceeding weight of glory"--the exaltation that "continues the seeds forever and ever, wherein the Father is glorified ;" so that those who only obtain the position of the angels are not in the condition of those who obtain the greater blessing and exaltation. They come forth in the resurrection, according to that revelation to us, "in their saved condition, separately and singly ;" therefore, they are not numbered among the Gods, but among the angels, or those that minister unto and are messengers and servants of "the heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ." Now, you take these two chapters, that I refer to, together, and I think the matter will be made very clear to your minds. Jesus did not say, as some people imagine He did, that there is no marriage after the resurrection. You can't find it anywhere. I do not say, this morning, that marriages are solemnized in the resurrection state, but I do say that marriages can be performed on the earth by representatives of those who have passed away; and that these, being sealed by the holy spirit of promise, by him who is anointed, both for time and for all eternity, having the keys thereof, will stand good forever, and those for whom they are performed will receive the full benefits and blessings thereof. I say again that what I have read to you and what there is in other parts of the scripture, concerning this subject, do not convey the idea that there is no such thing as marrying and giving in marriage after the resurrection. All these affairs, of course, are in the hands of Him who knoweth all things. Thank God, there is one great Supreme Judge, and many things that may be done here on the earth, in the flesh, or left undone and neglected, can and will be supplied by the supreme judge of all, when necessity requires, and those who are worthy to enter into this great exaltation will find that a plan is prepared and that God, who is the Great Judge, will put all things right that may have been done wrong here on the earth. Many things may be performed here in ignorance, or with lack of experience, but the Lord will make it all up, in the future, to those who are worthy of obtaining this great exaltation.<br><Br>

Now, I regret that there should be so many persons, eleven hundred persons, connected with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who have not been able or have neglected to obtain the benefits of this sealing ordinance. These grand Temples that have been erected according to a divine pattern revealed from heaven, are for the benefit of this people. I am glad that we have four of them; I hope the time will come, and I have no doubt of it, when many more will be erected in different parts of this glorious land of Joseph, and even in other lands; when necessity requires they will be erected for the performance of ordinances for the living and for the dead, that the great work of the Millennium may go on, and the way be prepared for God to come and dwell among His people, and "wipe away all tears from their eyes." I would exhort my brethren and sisters who have influence among the people, particularly our brethren who are called to preside in the various wards and stakes of Zion, to instruct the Saints on these matters; instruct the fathers and mothers as well as the young people upon the blessings and benefits of obtaining a proper ordinance of marriage, which is not merely till death parts them, but which will extend beyond the grave. This is an ordinance that will enter into the world behind the veil: that will stand good and true before the Lord in the resurrection of the dead, when the man and the woman, separated by death, but who have been sealed by this sacred ordinance, shall come together again and stand at the head of their posterity; and all of their posterity who are worthy will enter into that grand patriarchal order of family government, and, as I have said, of the increase thereof there will be no end.<br><Br>

The Lord told Abraham about this matter when He showed him the stars by the gift and power of God, by which he could discern things something like God does Himself. Abraham beheld the multiplicity of worlds that the Father had created, as the Lord also showed Enoch. The Lord told Abraham that if he could count them, so he could count his seed; that his seed should be as numerous as the sands on the seashore, and as the stars of the heaven, for multitude. You cannot count them. The multiplicity of the posterity of those who enter into this grand order of family government, sealed on earth and sealed in heaven will go on forever, while the stars shine, while the throne of God endures; while the glory of God, which is intelligence, continues to scintillate and be manifested among the myriads and hosts that inhabit the eternal worlds. This opens up a subject too broad and wide for me to enter into fully this morning; but I draw the attention of my brethren and sisters to this grand and solemn ordinance that God has instituted--the everlasting covenant; and those who have the opportunity to enter into it, and do not are under condemnation. A stronger term is used in the revelation--"then are they damned." Why? Because the end of their increase comes at death; their power and dominion at the head of a family ends when the grave yawns to receive their mortal bodies. But those who obey these ordinances, in the spirit and power thereof, arise when the Lord shall call them; they will be "Christ's at His coming," and He will call their sleeping dust to life, and they will be joined together, not only the spirit and the body be reunited, but the happy parents will come together again, as "Adam and Eve will stand at the head of a multitude, quickened and raised from the dead." Teach this to the Saints, and if they will not receive it, then they will have to suffer the consequences. <ref>{{CR|date=April 1911|pages=33-35}}</ref>
</blockquote>
</onlyinclude>
{{endnotes sources}}
<!-- PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE -->
[[es:Charles W. Penrose (1911): Jesús "hablaba de la clase de personas a quienes se referían los saduceos. Bajo la ley de Moisés, el matrimonio por la eternidad no se celebraba ... los matrimonios en cuestión eran solo por tiempo"]]
[[de:Quelle:Penrose:Conference Report:1911:Er sprach von der Klasse der Leute, auf die sich die Sadduzäer bezog ... die Eheschließungen waren nur für die Zeit]]