"You ask the learned doctors why they say the world was made out of nothing; and they will answer, 'Doesn't the Bible say He created the world?' And they infer from the word create, that it must have been made out of nothing. Now, the word create came from the word baurau, which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize-- the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship. Hence we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos-- chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the glory. Elements had an existence from the time He had. The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed. They may be organized and reorganized but not destroyed. They had no beginning, and can have no end." As to the personage meant, one may say, There are many Gods, an almost endless chain of creators; to which one does the Prophet refer? We are not left in doubt, for he explains: "If the vail were rent today, and the great God, who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power, were to make Himself visible,--I say, if you were to see Him today, you would see Him like a man in form." And further: "My object is to find out the character of the only wise and true God, and what kind of a being He is." With these prefatory remarks, the Prophet Joseph proceeds to tell how God came to be God, in what must appeal to one as among the divinest words ever uttered. He says: "God himself, finding he was in the midst of spirits and glory, because he was more intelligent, saw proper to institute laws whereby the rest could have a privilege to advance like himself. The relationship we have with God places us in a situation to advance in knowledge. He has power to institute laws to instruct the weaker intelligences, that they may be exalted with himself, so that they might have one glory upon another, and all that knowledge, power, glory and intelligence which is requisite in order to save them in the world of spirits." No wonder that, in the ecstasy of the moment, he exclaimed: "This is good doctrine. It tastes good, I can taste the principles of eternal life, and so can you. They are given to me by the revelations of Jesus Christ; and I know that when I tell you these words of eternal life as they are given to me, you taste them, and I know you believe them. You say honey is sweet, and so do I. I can also taste the spirit of eternal life. I know it is good; and when I tell you of these things which were given me by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you are bound to receive them as sweet, and I rejoice more and more." Here, then, is the inception of the Gospel; the course of study under which we are now working; the plan of salvation, by virtue of which all the creations of God, beginning with Kolob, were made; instituted in the beginning by our Father, to which Jesus the Christ acceded in the grand council in heaven before this earth was made.