Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith

Section Six (1843-1844) | The Prophet's Remarks at the Funeral of Judge Higbee

1Brethren and Sisters, you will find these words in 2 Peter 3:10, 11:--"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness." I am not like other men.

2My mind is continually occupied with the business of the day, and I have to depend entirely upon the living God for every thing I say on such occasions as these. The great thing for us to know is to comprehend what God did institute before the foundation of the world. Who knows it? It is the constitutional disposition of mankind to set up stakes and set bounds to the works and ways of the Almighty. * * * But I will give you a more painful thought.

3Suppose you have an idea of a resurrection, etc., and yet know nothing at all of the Gospel, nor comprehend one principle of the order of heaven, but find yourselves disappointed--yes, at last find yourselves disappointed in every hope or anticipation, when the decision goes forth from the lips of the Almighty. Would not this be a greater disappointment--a more painful thought than annihilation?

4Had I inspiration, revelation, and lungs to communicate what my soul has contemplated in times past, there is not a soul in this congregation but would go to their homes and shut their mouths in everlasting silence on religion till they had learned something. Why be so certain that you comprehend the things of God, when all things with you are so uncertain. You are welcome to all the knowledge and intelligence I can impart to you.

5I do not grudge the world all the religion they have got: they are welcome to all the knowledge they possess. The sound saluted my ears--"Ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant" (Hebrew 12:22, 23, 24).

6What would it profit us to come unto the spirits of the just men, but to learn and come up to the standard of their knowledge? Where has Judge Higbee gone?