The Restoration of the GospelWidtsoe, Osborne J. P.
Religion
The Restoration of the Gospel
Widtsoe, Osborne J. P.
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Finally, even those who have violated the commandments of God will
be saved in the telestial glory, so only they have not committed the
unpardonable sin. These are men who did not receive the everlasting
Gospel when the opportunity was at hand, but who did not deny the Holy
Spirit. They are sinners and breakers of the law, and are cast in
punishment to the depths of hell. Thence they can be redeemed only at
the last resurrection. But in the end they will be saved, and exalted
according to their merits, in the telestial kingdom. There they do not
receive the administration of the Father or the Son, "but of the Holy
Spirit through the ministration of the terrestrial." Theirs is the
lowest order of salvation.
Every man, then, will receive the reward for which he qualifies. Either
we shall be lost, with the sons of perdition, or we shall be saved
in one of the kingdoms of glory. And if we are saved we may continue
further to grow. As in this life we must go either forward or backward,
so in the future life, we must either advance or retrograde. There is
no such thing as standing still. There is no level plain, the summit
of all things, above which ascend no heights. There is no end to
advancement. Eternal progression is the principle upon which the gospel
is based. Eternal progression was an active principle when the words
began; it is active still; it will continue to be active worlds without
end. When we shall be graduated, then, from this life into the future
one, we shall not pass merely from a field of endeavor and profitable
activity into one of lethargic idleness. There will be work for us
still to do. We shall find our time happily occupied. The principle of
eternal progression will require of us all eternal, ceaseless activity.
These principles, together with those in the previous chapters, are
among the most noble ever given to man. The announcement of them places
Joseph Smith far and away above the heads of the philosophers of the
world. It is a crowning act in the great drama of the Restoration.
XX.
IN THE MOUTHS OF WITNESSES.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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