This doctrine of salvation for the dead not only enlarges the hope of man, but it gives him nobler conceptions of the character of the Deity, and increases his admiration for him. In fact, to my thinking, this doctrine strips the character of God in the inhuman and vindictive cruelty which men, in the past, have delighted to represent him as possessing; and gives new force, and, perhaps, new meaning to the expression, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most miserable." It also vindicates the wisdom of Deity; for it must be a very imperfect wisdom that would construct a plan for the redemption of mankind so imperfect in its operations, so limited in its application as to miss the great majority of mankind, and leave them without redemption throughout the countless ages of eternity. But when one is given to understand, and surely such an understanding is given one in the revelations of God to which the reader's attention has been directed--when one learns that sometime in the eternities, somewhere in the numberless creations of God, the proclamation of the gospel will overtake all the children of our Father, and they have the privilege of accepting it, and will be saved by it, and permitted to enjoy all the happiness and glory their nature and degree of development enables them to encompass--the wisdom, mercy, justice and love of God all stand out in bold relief; and man's heart is warmed with increased admiration and devotion to him: for it teaches him that he worships not a tyrant who delights in the miseries and damnation of his children, but one whose great pleasure and design it is to bring to pass the eternal happiness of man. CONCLUSION. My task now draws to a close. I have completed the exposition of the First Principles of the Gospel of Christ, contemplated in this work. I have endeavored to explain what the Gospel is--its two-fold powers of redeeming mankind from the consequences of Adam's transgression; and also from the consequences of their own personal violations of the principles of righteousness, on the condition of their repentance and obedience. The various principles and ordinances constituting the gospel have been analyzed and the nature and object of each considered in detail, and then in their relationship to each other--how one principle or ordinance prepares the way and leads up to another: and lastly, their application to mankind, not only in this probation, but how they follow them into the spirit world and throughout the eternities, forever inviting him to peace and eternal felicity. In all this I see a most perfect system of moral and spiritual philosophy--the perfection of beauty and goodness--a harmonious blending of justice and mercy, of truth and love. How far these pages exhibit those powers and beauties of the gospel, it will be for the reader to judge. But in passing that judgment I ask him to remember this: