Part 1

The Kingdom of God

Part 1.

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BY ORSON PRATT

ONE OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS

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The kingdom of God is an order of government established by divine authority. It is the only legal government that can exist in any part of the universe. All other governments are illegal and unauthorized. God, having made all beings and worlds, has the supreme right to govern them by his own laws, and by officers of his own appointment. Any people attempting to govern themselves by laws of their own making, and by officers of their own appointment, are in direct rebellion against the kingdom of God. The antediluvians were overthrown by a flood, because they rejected the government of the Almighty, and instituted their own governments in its stead. Noah and his family were the only loyal and obedient subjects to the legal power: they alone were saved. The universal desolation and utter abolishment of all the unauthorized man-made governments of the old world, should have been an everlasting warning to all future generations to avoid the same rebellion, and to establish no governments on the earth of human origin. But, alas! the posterity of Noah soon revolted from the only legal, rightful power, and set up for themselves forms of governments of their own inventions. The rebellion soon became so general, that all the inhabitants of the earth, except Melchizedek, Abraham, Lot, and a very few others, engaged themselves in it, supporting and upholding kings and other officers in their usurped authority, and suffering themselves to be governed by human laws, instead of revealed laws from God. From that time until the present, empires, kingdoms, principalities, republics, and numerous other corrupt, illegal, unauthorized powers, have multiplied themselves in the four quarters of the globe. At various times, during the last four thousand years, God has asserted his rights, and endeavoured to establish his own authority, his own laws, and his own government among the children of men. But so great was the opposition manifested by those illegal, rebellious powers, that his government while on earth was exceedingly limited in numbers. The vast majority of mankind made war against it--overcame, killed, and destroyed its officers and loyal subjects, until not a vestige of it was left remaining on the earth. For seventeen hundred years the nations upon the eastern hemisphere have been entirely destitute of the "_kingdom of God_"--entirely destitute of a true and legal government--entirely destitute of officers legally authorized to rule and govern. All the emperors, kings, princes, presidents, lords, nobles, and rulers, during that long night of darkness, have acted without authority. Not one of them was called or anointed a king or a prince by the God of heaven--not one of them received his office or appointment by him--not one of them has received revelations or laws from him--not one of them has received any communication whatsoever from the rightful sovereign, the Great King. Their authority is all assumed--it originated in man. Their laws are not from the Great Lawgiver, but the productions of their own false governments. Their very foundations were laid in rebellion, and the whole superstructure, from first to last, is a heterogeneous mass of discordant elements, in direct opposition to the kingdom of God, which is the only true government which should be recognized on earth or in heaven.

The kingdom of God is a theocracy. And as it is the only form of government which will redeem and save mankind, it is necessary that every soul should be rightly and thoroughly instructed in regard to its nature and general characteristics. The beauty, glory, power, wisdom, and order of the kingdom of God may be more fully understood by a careful examination of the following subjects.

First.--_The nature and character of the King_.

Second.--_The character and requisite qualifications of the subordinate officers_.

Third.--_The nature and character of the laws of adoption, or the invariable rule by which aliens are admitted into the kingdom as citizens_.

Fourth.--_The nature and character of the laws given for the government of all adopted citizens_.

Fifth.--_The character, disposition, and qualifications necessary for every citizen to possess_.

Sixth.--_The rights, privileges, and blessings enjoyed by the subjects in this life_.

Seventh.--_The rights, privileges, and blessings promised to the faithful, obedient subjects in a future life_.

Dear reader, your future well-being in all time to come, depends upon your rightly understanding these seven subjects. Read, therefore, with serious attention, and your mind shall be opened to see things that you never saw before; things too of infinite importance, without which you can in no wise be saved. Let us begin by examining--

First.--_The nature and character of the King_. God is the King. In him exists all legal authority. He alone has the right of originating a system of government on the earth. He claims this right by virtue of his having made man and the earth he inhabits. Man, therefore, is indebted to God for his own formation and for the formation of the planet on which he dwells. He also claims the right of establishing his government among men, by virtue of his superior wisdom and power. If God had sufficient wisdom and power to construct such a beautiful world as this, with all the infinite varieties of vegetables and animals appended to it; if he could form such an intricate and complicated piece of machinery as the human tabernacle as a dwelling-place for the human spirit, then we must admit that his wisdom and power are immeasurably greater than that of man, and hence he is qualified to reign as king. An order of government, established by such an all-wise, powerful being, must be good and perfect, and must be calculated to promote the permanent peace, happiness, and well-being of all his subjects. The Great King is a very amiable being, full of benevolence and goodness, and never turns any person away empty, that comes requesting a favor which he sees would be for his benefit.

The King occasionally visited his subjects in ancient times, and once tarried with them for several years; but he received such cruel abuse from many of the people that he left them, and went to some other part of his dominions. Where the King is gone the people cannot tell. They have not heard one word from him for upwards of seventeen hundred years. He has been absent so long, that some of the people have doubted even his existence. They have argued that if he did exist, that some one would very likely have heard something from him in the course of so many centuries. Many millions however have some idea that he exists, and are constantly sending all kinds of petitions to him; but for some reason he sends no word back. No messengers are dispatched to the petitioners to give them any counsel upon any subject. It has become a very popular thing to send daily petitions to the King, and to appropriate one day out of seven for the especial purpose of sending in their petitions. The same petitions are frequently sent a great number of times. It is very unpopular however for any one to expect the King to make any reply to any petitions sent in. Any one pretending to have received a reply would be counted a base impostor; for, say they, the King has spoken to no one for the last seventeen hundred years; no one has heard from him since he conversed with his servant John on the Isle of Patmos. The King conversed very freely with his subjects in the early and middle ages; and some think it very strange that he has been silent so long. They have expended millions in building many costly and magnificent churches in honor of his name; but yet he has not deigned to grace one of them with a visit, neither has he condescended to send any tidings to them by a messenger or otherwise. He has not informed them whether he was pleased or displeased with their splendid edifices. His profound silence for so many centuries has caused many to think that he was, for some reason, very angry with the people; yet they could not see why he should be angry when the people were doing so much to honor him--when they were expending millions to hire learned men to preach and write in such an eloquent manner about him.

Reader, can you tell why the King should be so distant? Why he holds no communication with any of the people? Why he has not sent one sentence of consolation or counsel to them? Why he has suffered some fifteen thousand millions of the human race to fall into their graves, in the latter ages, without condescending to speak one word to any of them? There must be some cause for all this. There must be something wrong. The King never formerly served his people in this manner; and when he went away, he left word that if any of his people lacked wisdom or knowledge on any subject, they should send in their petition to him, and he would liberally send them the requisite information.

I will now tell you the reason why the King has kept silence so long. It is because he has had no subjects to converse with; all have turned away from him and advocated other governments as being the rightful and legal authority. They killed off and utterly destroyed every true subject of his kingdom, and left not a vestige of it upon the earth; and, to add to their guilt and wickedness, they have introduced idolatry in its worst forms, and utterly turned away from the true and living God. They have introduced a "_God without_ BODY, PARTS _or_ PASSIONS." They have had the audacity to call this newly-invented god by the same name as the God of the ancient Saints, although there is not the least resemblance between them. Indeed there could be no resemblance between them; for a bodiless god, without "_parts or passions_," could resemble nothing in heaven, on earth, or in hell. This imaginary modern god has become exceedingly popular. It is to him that a vast number of churches have been erected. It is not to the true and living God that they send forth petitions, but it is to this imaginary being. No wonder that they have received no communication from him! no wonder he has not honored them with a visit. As he has no "PARTS," he could neither be felt nor seen if he should visit them. Such a being could not speak, for he has no "parts" to speak with.

There have been various species of idolatry in different ages of the world. The sun, moon, stars, beasts, crocodiles, frightful serpents, images of wood, of stone, and of brass, have been erected into gods, and worshipped by innumerable multitudes. But the system of idolatry, invented by modern christianity, far surpasses in absurdity anything that we have ever heard of. One of the celebrated worshippers of this newly-discovered god, in his "Physical Theory of Another Life," says, "A disembodied spirit, or, we should rather say, an unembodied spirit, or sheer mind, is NO WHERE. Place is a relation belonging to extension; and extension is a property of matter: but that which is wholly abstracted from matter, and in speaking of which we deny that it has any property in common therewith, can in itself be subject to none of its conditions; and we might as well say of a pure spirit that it is hard, heavy, or red, or that it is a cubic foot in dimensions, as say that it is _here_ or _there_. It is only in a popular and improper sense that any such affirmation is made concerning the Infinite Spirit, or that we speak of God as _every where_ present. God is in every place in a sense, altogether incomprehensible by finite minds, inasmuch as his relation to space and extension is peculiar to infinitude. Using the terms as we use them of ourselves, God is not _here_ or _there_, any more than he exists _now_ and _then_." This species of idolatry, according to the foregoing quotations, approaches so near to Atheism, that no one can tell the difference. Reader, can you see the difference? A god "_without a body!_" A god "_without parts!_" A god that cannot be "_here_ or _there!_" A god that is "NO WHERE!" A god that cannot exist "NOW and THEN!" A god that exists in NO TIME! A god that has no _extension_--no "_parts_"--no conceivable relation to _time_ or _space!_ O, blush for modern christianity!--a pious name for Atheism! Some perhaps may think that I have not sufficient charity. But why should I have charity for a god that has no "_parts_"--no relation to space? Let him first have charity for himself. But this would be impossible; for he is a god "_without passions_." He can have no charity nor love for himself nor any one else. There is no danger of offending him; for a passionless god is not capable of anger. One of the persons of this imaginary god is said to have been crucified. But this must be a sad mistake; for it would be impossible to crucify a portion of something that had no "_parts_." The reason, then, why the people have not received any word from the Great King, is because they have petitioned the wrong god. Would you expect her majesty, the queen of England, to answer your petition if it were directed to some African prince? Would you expect the God of heaven to answer a petition that was addressed to a Hindoo god? If, then, your petitions are addressed to the bodiless, passionless god of modern christianity, you must not be surprised if the true God does not pay any attention to it. You need not expect that the true God will make any reply to petitions offered to any other being.

The true God exists both in time and in space, and has as much relation to them as man or any other being. He has extension, and form, and dimensions, as well as man. He occupies space; has a body, parts, and passions; can go from place to place--can eat, drink, and talk, as well as man. Man resembles him in the features and form of his body, and he does not differ materially in size. When he has been seen among men, he has been pronounced, even by the wicked, as one of their own species. So much did he look like man, that some supposed him to be the carpenter's son. Like man, He had a Father; and he was "_the express image of the person of the Father_." The two persons were as much alike in form, in size, and in every other respect as fathers and sons are of the human race; indeed, the human race are "_his offspring_," made in his likeness and image, not after his moral image, but after the image of his person. There is no such thing as moral image. Such an image cannot exist. Morality is a property of some being or substance. A property without a substance or being to which it appertains is inconceivable. A property can never have figure, shape, or image of any kind. Hence, a moral image never had an existence except in the brains of modern idolators.

The Godhead consists of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is a material being. The substance of which he is composed is wholly material. It is a substance widely different in some respects from the various substances with which we are more immediately acquainted. In other respects it is precisely like all other materials. The substance of his person occupies space the same as other matter. It has solidity, length, breadth, and thickness, like all other matter. The elementary materials of his body are not susceptible of occupying, at the same time, the same identical space with other matter. The substance of his person, like other matter, cannot be in two places at the same instant. It also requires _time_ for him to transport himself from place to place. It matters not how great the velocity of his movements, _time_ is an essential ingredient to all motion, whether rapid or slow. It differs from other matter in the superiority of its powers, being intelligent, all-wise, and possessing the power of self-motion to a far greater extent than the coarser materials of nature. "God is a _spirit_." But that does not make him an immaterial being--a being that has no properties in common with matter. The expression "_an immaterial being_," is a contradiction in terms. Immateriality is only another name for nothing. It is the negative of all existence. A "_spirit_" is as much _matter_ as oxygen or hydrogen. It has many properties in common with all other matter. Chemists have discovered between fifty and sixty kinds of matter; and each kind has some properties in common with all other matter, and some properties peculiar to itself which the others do not inherit. Now, no chemist, in classifying his substances, would presume to say, This substance is material, but that one is immaterial, because it differs in some respects from the first. He would call them all material, though they in some respect differed widely. So the substance called spirit is material, though it differs in a remarkable degree from other substances. It is only the addition of another element of a more powerful nature than any yet discovered. He is not a being "without _parts_," as modern idolators teach; for every whole is made up of parts. The whole person of the Father consists of innumerable parts; and each part is so situated as to bear certain relations of distance to every other part. There must also be, to a certain degree, a freedom of motion among these parts, which is an essential condition of the movement of his limbs, without which he could only move as a whole.

All the foregoing statements in relation to the person of the Father, are equally applicable to the person of the Son.

The Holy Spirit being one part of the Godhead, is also a material substance, of the same nature and properties in many respects, as the spirits of the Father and Son. It exists in vast immeasurable quantities in connexion with all material worlds. This is called God in the scriptures, as well as the Father and Son. God the Father and God the Son cannot be everywhere present; indeed they cannot be even in two places at the same instant; but God the Holy Spirit is omnipresent--it extends through all space, intermingling with all other matter, yet no one atom of the Holy Spirit can be in two places at the same instant, which in all cases is an absolute impossibility. It must exist in inexhaustible quantities, which is the only possible way for any substance to be omnipresent. All the innumerable phenomena of universal nature are produced in their origin by the actual presence of this intelligent, all-wise, and all-powerful material substance called the Holy Spirit. It is the most active matter in the universe, producing all its operations according to fixed definite laws enacted by itself, in conjunction with the Father and Son. What are called the laws of nature are nothing more nor less than the fixed method by which this spiritual matter operates. Each atom of the Holy Spirit is intelligent, and like all other matter has solidity, form, and size, and occupies space. Two atoms of this Spirit cannot occupy the same space at the same time, neither can one atom, as before stated, occupy two separate spaces, at the same time. In all these respects it does not differ in the least from all other matter. Its distinguishing characteristics from other matter are its almighty powers and infinite wisdom, and many other glorious attributes which other materials do not possess. If several of the atoms of this Spirit should unite themselves together into the form of a person, then this person of the Holy Spirit would be subject to the same necessity as the two other persons of the Godhead, that is, it could not be everywhere present. No finite number of atoms can be omnipresent; an infinite number of atoms is requisite to be _everywhere_ in infinite space. Two persons receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, do not each receive at the same time the same identical particles, though they each receive a substance exactly similar in kind. It would be as impossible for each to receive the same identical atoms at the same instant, as it would be for two men at the same time to drink the same identical pint of water. It is these three all-powerful substances that stand at the head of all legal government. All governments not established by these three will be ere long overthrown. They hold the supreme authority and power in heaven, and in the heaven of heavens, and throughout the wide expanse of universal nature. All principalities, powers, and kingdoms, whether in heaven or on earth, must yield to be instructed and controlled by the supreme power, or they cannot stand.

Second.--_The character and requisite qualifications of the subordinate officers in the kingdom of God_ are now to be considered. As the persons of the Father and Son cannot be every where present, it is therefore impossible for them to attend in _person_ to all the multiplied affairs of government among intelligent beings; therefore, God, in establishing a government among such beings, has always called persons of their own number to officiate in his name. The character of these persons, previously to their calling and appointment, has generally been that of honesty and sincerity; otherwise they have not differed materially from other men.