Page 35 - Berg_Mortuary_Bishops_Guide

BERG MORTUARY 35
call death is the operation of life, inherent in the matter of which the body is composed, and
which causes the decomposition after the spirit has left the body. Were that not the fact, the
body, from which has fled the spirit, would remain to all eternity, just as it was when the spirit

left it, and would not decay (DBY, 368).

JESUS CHRIST IS THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE RESURRECTION

Jesus is the first begotten from the dead, as you will understand. Neither Enoch, Elijah, Moses,

nor any other man that ever lived on earth, no matter how strictly he lived, ever obtained a
resurrection until after Jesus Chirst’s body was called from the tomb by the angel. He was the
first begotten from the dead. He is the Master of the resurrection—the first flesh that lived here
after receiving the glory of the resurrection (DBY, 374).
This was no miracle to him. He had the issues of life and death in his power; he had power
to lay down his life and power to take it up again [see John 10:18]. This is what he says, and we
must believe this if we believe the history of the savior and the sayings of the Apostles recorded
in the New Testament. Jesus had this power in and of himself; the Father bequeathed it to him;

it was his legacy, and he had the power to lay down his life and take it again (DBY, 340-41).
The blood he spilled upon Mount Calvary he did not receive again into his veins. That was
poured out, and when he was resurrected, another element took the place of the blood. It will
be so with every person who receives a resurrection; the blood will not be resurrected with the
body, being designed only to sustain the life of the present organization. When that is dis-

solved, and we again obtain our bodies by the power of the resurrection, that which we now
call the life of the body, and which is formed from the food we eat and the water we drink will
be supplanted by another element; for flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God
[see 1 Corinthians 15:50] (DBY, 374).

OUR FAITHFULNESS CAN PREPARE US FOR A GLORIOUS
RESURRECTION, THE REUNITING OF OUR BODY AND SPIRIT

The Gospel of life and salvation reveals to each individual who receives it that this world is only
a place of temporary duration, existence, trials, etc. Its present fashion and uses are but for a
few days, while we were created to exist eternally. The wicked can see no further than this world
is concerned. We understand that when we are unclothed in this present state, then we are
prepared to be clothed upon with immortality—that when we put off these bodies we put on

immortality [see Alma 11:43-44]. These bodies will return to dust, but our hope and faith are
that we will receive these bodies again from the elements—that we will receive the very orga-