Volume 4, Issue 1 – September 2009

Posted on 10/14/2009 at 8:00:49 AM

Contents

Editorial

Chosen Before the Foundations of the World

The Destiny of Woman

Moses & Fromet Mendelssohn

A Dream of the Pre-existence

Two Spirits (poem)

Rules of Celestial Marriage

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Two Spirits

Posted on 10/13/2009 at 10:57:04 AM

Two spirits in Celestial world
Stood apart from the heavenly throng;
A mighty love shone on each face,
In each heart was a heavenly song,

“Sister,” he said with a look of love,
“The hour at last has come,
That I may take the glorious step,
And have a mortal home.

Our love and association here,
Will bind our hearts below,
And, Darling, when I meet you there,
I’m sure our hearts will know.” Read the rest of this entry »

Rules of Celestial Marriage

Posted on 10/13/2009 at 10:52:59 AM

Inasmuch as the saints in Utah consider it moral, virtuous, and scriptural, to practice the plurality system, they should seek by every means to eradicate, not only from their own minds, but from the minds of their children, every erroneous improper prejudice which they have formerly imbibed, by their associations with the nations of modern Christendom. Parents who have daughters should seek to instill into their minds, that it is just as honorable for them to be united in marriage to a good man who is already a husband, as to one that is single: they should be taught to reject the society and proposals for marriage of all wicked men, whether single or not. A father should be impartial to all his children, and cultivate the same love for them all; while each wife should instill into the minds of her own children the necessity of loving the children of each of the others, as brothers and sisters. Each wife should not only care for the welfare of her husband and her own children, but should also seek the happiness of each of his other wives and children. And likewise, the children of each wife should not only represent, honor, and love their own mother, but also the mothers of all their brothers and sisters. By observing these precepts, peace and tranquility will reign throughout every department of the family, and the spirit of God will flow freely from heart to heart. Read the rest of this entry »

Dream of the Pre-Mortal World

Posted on 10/13/2009 at 8:28:23 AM

Mosiah Hancock related the following dream:

When about twenty-one years of age, I was permitted by the power of God, to go into His presence and into my former abode. I saw the Eternal Father on His throne and His wives on His left side, [I have no idea of their number,](1) all shining in glory, I saw the Savior and knew Him. It takes the power of the Holy Ghost to tell the difference between the Father and the Son, they look so much alike. Jesus said: “Mosiah, I have brought you here to show you how it was before you went to the earth.” I had been to the earth; everything looked so natural and familiar. I seemed to have been a companion of the Savior and talked with him like a friend. Again, He spoke to me and said: “Look and see man as he came forth.” I looked in the direction indicated and saw an innumerable line of God’s children extending further than I could see. They were arranged in pairs, male and female, and passed in front of the Eternal Father who named them; and they were clad in long white robes with girdles tied around their waists; each pair seemed to have been created mates. Read the rest of this entry »

The Story of Moses & Fromet

Posted on 10/13/2009 at 8:11:25 AM

33 year old Moses Mendelssohn, the grandfather of the well-known German composer, was far from being handsome. Along with a rather short stature, he had a grotesque hunchback. In 1762 he visited a merchant in Hamburg who had a lovely daughter named Fromet Guggenheim. Moses fell hopelessly in love with her. But Fromet was repulsed by his misshapen appearance.

When it came time for him to leave, Moses gathered his courage and climbed the stairs to her room to take one last opportunity to speak with her. Upon seeing him she burst into tears.

“Is it my hump?” he asked.

“Yes.” she hesitantly replied.

She was a vision of Heavenly beauty, but he felt deep sadness by her refusal to look at him. After several attempts at conversation, Moses shyly asked, “Do you believe marriages are made in Heaven?”

“Yes,” she answered, still looking at the floor. “And do you?”

“Yes I do,” he replied. “You see, in Heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry. When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then the Lord added,” “But your wife will be humpbacked.”

“Right then and there I called out, ‘Oh Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be fair and beautiful.’”

Then Fromet looked up into his eyes and was stirred by some deep memory. She reached out and gave Mendelssohn her hand and later became his devoted wife. They had six remarkable children together.

“When love has blended and molded two beings
in an angelic and sacred union,
they have found the secret of life;
henceforth they are only the two terms of the same destiny,
the two wings of one mind.”
(Victor Hugo)

The Origin and Destiny of Woman

Posted on 10/13/2009 at 8:02:39 AM

The Latter-day Saints have often been ridiculed on account of their belief in the pre-existence of spirits, and for marrying for time and all eternity, both being Bible doctrines. We have often been requested to give our views in relation to these principles, but considered the things of the kingdom belonged to the children of the kingdom, therefore not meet to give them to those without. But being very politely requested by a lady a few days since (a member of the Church) to answer the following questions, we could not consistently refuse, viz.:

“Where did I come from? What am I doing here? Whither am I going? And what is my destiny after having obeyed the truth, if faithful to the end?”

For her benefit and all others concerned, we will endeavor to answer the questions in brief, as we understand them. The reason will be apparent for our belief in the pre-existence of spirits, and in marrying for time and all eternity.

Lady, whence comest thou? Thine origin? What art thou doing here? Whither art thou going, and what is thy destiny? Declare unto me if thou hast understanding. Knowest thou not that thou art a spark of Deity, struck from the fire of His eternal blaze, and brought forth in the midst of eternal burning? Read the rest of this entry »

Chosen Before the Foundations

Posted on 10/7/2009 at 10:26:02 AM

¹In the ancient Apocrypha² it tells the story of the young man named Tobias³, and how he was guided by an angel to the “fair and wise” Sara, whom he was destined to marry.

However, Tobias was more than a little scared at this prospect as previously “this maid hath been given to seven men, who all died in the marriage chamber” at the hands of an evil spirit. Yet the angel told him not to be afraid, and assured him “this same night shall she be given thee in marriage.”

After being given some instruction on how to ward of the demon that would oppose their union, he was further reassured that following he and his wife’s prayers, “God which is merciful, … will have pity on you, and save you: Fear not, for she is appointed unto thee from the beginning; and thou shalt preserve her, and she shall go with thee.”

Yet, we might wonder, why should the angel favor Tobias amongst all the other men? The answer seems to be in his statement that Sara was “appointed unto thee from the beginning.”⁴ Having heard this he softened, and we are told that from that moment “he loved her, and his heart was effectually joined to her.”

It seems that Sara, being appointed to Tobias from the beginning, suggests that their relationship was fore-ordained (or planned) in the pre-mortal world, and I began to wonder whether it was possible that many other couples were similarly ‘meant for each other’, or if this incident was just an exception.

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