Despite much pondering, yet, we cannot comprehend any right higher than the right of the father who begets his children; he owns them, if he has not forfeited that right by transgression; thus we know of no right or priesthood higher than the Patriarchal right while they believe according to, and subject to their own Patriarchs, and so on and so on. And what do we have at the beginning of the human race? We have Adam as its chief patriarch of this creation; he is the first, the oldest in days, and because of that, he is called the “ANCIENT OF DAYS,” in the scriptures. He received the great first commandment to begin to multiply and replenish the earth with his descendants; and not only that, but also to subdue it and rule over it. How could he rule without being a Lord? There was no way he could. It was his Father who gave him this lofty and eternal right; for he did not tell him to rule until death, rather the commandment is endless. But, one may say, he lost his right through transgression Concerning his transgression there is more work to defend the character of our first patriarch from the false accusations of his corrupt children, than we can do here; for it will be our pleasure to yet do that. At least let the verdict on him be postponed until he can have a fair trial before the court of the truth. But if he forfeited his right, was justice served? And what justice could there be, except he alter the consequences and effect a restoration? If so, Adam was placed by his Father to be a Leader, a head Lord over the earth and all its inhabitants. Although it is consistent with the above, one may say, and his patriarchal right was just, it was necessary for him to be the father of our spirits, besides being the father of our bodies! All his descendants readily acknowledge that we are all “children of Adam;” but they say that God is the father of our spirits! How can contradictions such as these be reconciled? Well, if we examine this carefully, perhaps the supposed contradictions can be resolved. What if we were to try this: Who is that God whom we call the father of our spirits? We answer, that the God is yet to judge us in the coming days. Paul say that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is he, 1 Cor. xv, 24-28,—“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is obvious that he, who did put all things under him, is excepted. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.” We see that Jesus Christ will carry the work of the Father along, as it suited every eldest son to do for his father, until he accomplishes that which his Father gave him to do; here we see that he must reign on this earth, until he puts his enemies under his feet. He will be the king of kings, when all the kingdoms of the earth will belong to our Lord and his Christ. Every tongue will confess him, and every knee will bow. Yet all this will not show that he will be the chief Governing “Lord” of this world, rather another according to the first covenant.

After the Son has accomplished all the work that was given him, then he will give himself, and all that he accomplished up to God and the Father, namely his Father and our Father, he is the same person that will be called God above. By presenting his dispensation up to Him, the Son will acknowledge sublime right to all of it. “The Son himself will also be subdued,” to this Father God, notice; and thus “God will be all IN all.” In other words, the fullness of Godhood, namely, omniscience, omnipotence, the fullness of truth and the perfection of love, in every one of the numerous throng in the kingdom; and at that time they will have all these attributes, that are called “Godhood,” or God in them all and all of them in Him; namely this omnipresent God. It is seen from the revelation of John, that it is this God that will be on the judgment seat, when all the dead will be brought before him. Rev. xx, 11-15,—“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away: and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the saw gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire.” Let us compare this with that which Daniel says in chapter vii, 9, 10, 13, 14, —“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit: whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: a thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven; and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall be destroyed.”

The same glorious person called God by John, “God the Father” by the Son according to the foregoing quotation, is there called the “Ancient of Days>” The great work that he will do, that of judging the world, proves that the same time period is referred to by the one and the other, also, the fact that there will be but “one judgment day,” proves that the judge will be the same although he is called “God the Father,” by the one, and “the ancient of days” by the other. Also this kind of subjection of the Son to the “Ancient of days,” according to the vision of Daniel, which his, according to Paul, to “God and his Father,” proves that the two were referring to the same person. God is also identified in the two visions by the similarity of “government” and the lifting up the Son received. The two thrones coincide with respect to their fiery nature—the large number of those present and the remarkable nature of the characters that are judged, namely the “beasts” as they are called; besides the singularity of the “judgment days,” the victory that is assured, and the eternal enjoyment of the kingdom by its worthy heirs; all, prove that it is the same period that is referred to; and thus that it is the same person who will fill the same glorious throne in judgment, although under two different names. But lest any doubt lingers, about whether the “Ancient of Days” and the God whom Jesus Christ calls “Father” are the same, let us take note of the saying of the angel Gabriel to Mary, His mother, in Luke I, 32, 33, —“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Here is the testimony of the second greatest angel in heaven, to prove that the “Highest” crowned his Son Jesus with the eternal kingdom, and with an endless reign; and we received the testimony of Daniel, which he received, most likely from the same Gabriel, who was with him several times, which proves that it was the “Ancient of Days” who gave the same “reign” to him; and thus, more than likely, the “Ancient of Days” was simply another name for the “Highest,” his “Father,” &c. After using scriptural fact from God in heaven, one sees the consistency of the conception of his body by the same Father in the womb of the Virgin. Since Jesus is considered our brother, does that close relationship obligate him to be born of the same Father as we; although that Father can be both God and man; both God and man at the conception of either one? If our statement, that the “Highest,” relating to this world; namely, the Father of Jesus Christ is the Father of our spirits, is true, —if we have proved that he and the ”Ancient of Days” are the same, then the “Ancient of Days” is the Father of all our spirits. Lest we have not provide sufficient and clear proof that he who is called the “Ancient of days” and he who is called “Adam” are the same person, let us add that it was revealed to Joseph the Seer; if so, we who is the original Father of our earthly bodies, is the same as he who was the father of our spirits; thus, he is our spiritual and corporeal Father; and our “elder brother” will be the fair and gracious judge of us all, in the day to come. Is that not more consistent than the popular idea that the one is the Father of our spirits, and the other is our original earthly father? Also, if it is thus, we ask which of the two will be our Father, if we have the privilege of having part of the “glory of the sons of God,” namely the “resurrection of the body?” or, will our two fathers claim us as children for each of them? or is it supposed that not all the sons of God will have their father, as it is acknowledged by the ”eldest Son?”

Perhaps some will be frightened by a doctrine that appears so new and strange as is our subject to many; nevertheless, we cannot retreat from the inevitable conclusions of the truths seen in the scriptures; and we cannot comprehend what objection any man has concerning the one who is considered sufficiently good to be our earthly father, to his also being the father of our spirits, while he is God in the heavens, —or why he is not just as suitable as a patriarch, or a God, as he is for one of the two previous relationships. Furthermore, concerning this statement let us reason as follows:--namely, since not one of the children of Adam is considered to be in a condition of perfect salvation, until their bodies are resurrected in an undefiled state, and are “a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;” how could the Father of our spirits complete our salvation, without becoming the father of our earthly bodies? Is it because so much is said from the pulpits about the “transgression of Adam,” that he is considered unworthy of the lofty sphere that we are trying to show is his lawful right? But let us remember that he is no more guilty of all the accusations that are brought against him than we are, nor, consequently, accountable to their court. If the character of Adam deteriorates as much in the coming six thousand years, as it was made to do in the past, we do not know how his children of godly image will have a place sufficiently painful to be punished: it is far worse now than it was in the time of Paul, for he said that it was “not Adam who sinned, rather the woman.” And he has not, as far as we know, been proved guilty of an intentional sin, before any just court, although perhaps he loved his wife a bit too much, unintentionally; but more on this later. If this God was sufficiently good to be an object of worship by Jesus Christ, why is he not sufficiently worthy of the truth of all his children? Yet, it is not his person that is in question, rather his Godhood, as we have already mentioned; while he is in complete unity with his Father. Although there are “lords many,” why is he not the chief Lord of his own family in this world? and since “we have but one God,” why is that one not he? Since all the sons of God expect to attain this “lofty objective;” and since it is Adam who has the patriarchal reign, through his begetting us, and since his God will place him to “reign” on this earth forever, why has he not gained back Godhood, before all the rest of them? Although millions of his race have come in the same way, they are no more independent from him, than he is from the great Elohim. Before the will of God can be done on the earth, as it is done in heaven, as Christ prayed, all families must be in perfect obedience to their Patriarch, according to the plan of heaven, with the father of us all as chief almighty patriarch over all, with no one in opposition. If so, there would be no need for any changes except for the perfection of the members to make earth a heaven, —and the human race a godly race with respect to principle. As long as he is obedient to his God, having his essential right to preside over them, together with those who have chosen him as their father; there is nothing but his own transgression that will deprive him from that, and they are responsible to him, according to the plan of God for all they do.

Joseph the Seer informs us that the “Ancient of Days,” “Michael,” and “Adam,” are but different names pertaining to the same person, about whose greatness and glory the scriptures say so much; another time he is called “Michael the GREAT prince,” and Gabriel called him, “Michael YOUR prince.” The latter’s supremacy over Gabriel, who is Noah, is proved, although he is the leader of the postdiluvian world, as was the other of the antediluvian world, by freeing him on his way from the clutches of a mighty angel, “the princes of Persia,” who kept him prisoner, it appears for “one and twenty days.” This Michael was our Leader in the early council, —Lucifer fought against him, and He and his armies cast him out of heaven: he will bind him with a “great chain,” and will drive him and the ”beasts” who worship him, to the “second death.” If Michael was not the father of our spirits in that war, who was their father, and why is he not mentioned, or why did he not support his obedient children against the oppression of the traitor? We learn through revelations that the Father asked the spirits in the early council, who would go to give his life for his brethren? His eldest Son responded, “Here am I, send me.” His second son said, “send me.” I shall send the first, said the Father, and the second son was angry, and “at that time he began to be Satan.” According to this, the two brothers were Jesus and Lucifer, sons of the same father, —who was that? If we have proved that the “Ancient of Days,” whom Jesus called “Father,” is the same as he who is called Michael, then Jesus acknowledges that Michael was his Father; if he is his father, and Jesus is our brother, why is this Michael not the Father and the God of all spirits, yes, the father of Lucifer also? Is it strange, then, that he would be a suitable judge of the one, and the God of the others who obey him? If he is the God of the spirits, why is he not a suitable God for them while they are men?

It is worthy of emulation instead of condemnation, if all the works of our “Chief-covenanter” for his family, whom he represented, are properly considered: his first concern for them was seen in begetting bodies for them, without which they would never be able to become Gods, like him; next, he taught them the way of salvation, by words and example; he gave them the Priesthood, which enabled those of them who wished, like Enoch, to “WALK WITH GOD three hundred years.” Although that God is not named, yet it is known that Enoch was contemporary with Adam! He not only showed his great concern for the objects of his “RULE” while he was in the world of the spirits, and on the earth with them; but after his departure his concern was not less, if he is Michael: frequently he sent dispensations following the destruction of the previous ones by the rebellious children, —salvation, present benefit, and eternal glory of his children was his objective in it all. Over the past thousands of years he sent one messenger after the other, —his stalwarts and his valiant ones in the early campaign, such as Abraham, Mises, Elijah, and all the prophets, with terms of peace. And in the predetermined time, he sent his beloved Son, —the Lamb that was killed (as promised) since before the foundation of the world, to save his younger brothers and sisters, —his life as a sacrifice he gave at the request of his Father, who was “well pleased” with him. He had sent his servants and the same terms of peace as before, only to meet with the same harsh treatment as their predecessors, and from those whom they sought to benefit the most. Last of all to our midst, for whom the end of the world has already come, he sent his servant Joseph and Hyrum, and other hosts of stalwarts, as he did earlier, with the restoration of the same terms of eternal peace, —“the dispensation of the fullness of times,” —the “eternal gospel,” through which life and purity are brought to light. Proclaiming the gracious message cost them their lives, and, like practically all before them, they willingly sealed their truth with their blood. What else would a Father do for the salvation of his children, besides what He did? Then will his justice shine gloriously, in the condemnation of the rebellious and the heedless of such fatherly concerns on their behalf; and thus, his graciousness will be magnified in the saving of his followers to bliss and eternal life.

O! the remarkable wisdom shown in the organization of such a glorious plan, through which an endless succession of the children of Adam can become fathers—patriarchs—GODS!—all, completely independent in their sphere, —all, in unity and peace, —all, Kings and all subjects, reigning in glory and perfect happiness forever!

Dear reader, rejoice together with the author in such a privilege—let us rejoice in every obedience to our lawful ruler so that we will be received into His glory, when he comes on his fiery throne to judge the living and the dead, according to the testimony of this gospel.