Winter Solstice, 1st Quarter Moon

Book of Discipline Chapter 2

GOD EXPLAINETH THE FIRST AND SECOND RESURRECTION,
AND THE DIFFERENCE IN MANIFESTATIONS FROM THEM.

1. Hear me, O man, and consider the weight of the arguments of thy God. Thou
hast communed with the spirits of the dead; thy father and mother and sister and
brother who are gone from mortality have spoken to thee in spirit, and thou art convinced.

2. And thy kin and thy neighbor have done so likewise; yea, from east to west, and north
to south the communion of angels and a multitude of miracles have stirred up thousands
and millions, to know that the souls of the dead do live.

3. Moreover thou wert taught in thy youth to say: I believe in the holy communion of
angels.

4. And of a truth this hath come to pass. And thou rejoicest with all thy heart and soul.
Thou puttest aside the ancient scriptures, saying: Why shall I read them? Do I not
converse with heaven itself? Behold, I have seen my father and mother and brother and
sister who were dead; they have spoken to me; there is no devil nor place of hell.

5. For a season thy God hath suffered this also to come to pass, that the spirits say there is
no God; that there is no higher heaven than to dwell upon the earth, to enjoy the things
thereof; to be reincarnated, and to live over and over in mortality.

6. That the evidence of my words might be substantiated by thy experience, and thou be
led to consider the testimonies, present and past, in order to comprehend the plan of
Jehovih’s works, and the glory and completeness thereof.

7. Consider then the result of angel communion as thou hast found it, and bear witness
that Jehovih was wise in providing comfort to both the dead and the living by this
proximity of spirit unto them, rather than a heaven far remote.

8. Nevertheless, this also hath been proved unto thee, that there are false angels and wise
angels, as well as false seers and wise seers, and that out of the multitude of revelations
from them, there hath come neither harmony nor good works.

9. They have been pullers down and clearers away of the ancient revelations, doctrines
and religions; but they have built not an edifice of unity and glory to the Almighty.

10. And it hath been shown thee that not only the seer, prophet, su’is, and miracle worker,
but that all people are subject to the influence of the spirits of the dead, even though
unconsciously to themselves.

11. And it hath been shown that the spirits of the dead possess for a long period of time
the same characteristics and prejudices as when in mortality; and since there is neither
harmony nor community of life amongst mortals, neither is there harmony nor community
of life nor of teaching amongst the angels who manifest unto them.

12. For the angels through one prophet teach one doctrine, and through another prophet
another doctrine, after the manner of the doctrines of the prophets themselves.

13. Consider also the multitude of infants, that die without any knowledge of either earth
or heaven. And the multitude of unlearned, and foolish, and depraved; for all of these as
well as the wise and good enter the first resurrection.

14. And of the wise and good, who strive for continual elevation, how few, compared to
the whole! Yet such is the relative proportions of angels of light and angels of darkness in
proximity to mortals.

15. Thus hath it ever been. Nevertheless, in time long past, the minority, who were wise
and good were moved by the spirit of Jehovih upon them, saying:

16. Come ye together, O all ye who desire to rise to a higher heaven; my heavens are for
raising the soul upward for ever and ever.

17. And thy God gathered them together, and said unto them:

18. Behold, this darkness is more than we can bear; let us hence and inhabit a heaven
by ourselves, where there shall be no wrangling, or falsehood, or malice, or blasphemy
against our Creator.

19. And they responded: Yea, let us hence. And we will covenant ourselves unto Jehovih
to return no more to these regions, nor to mortals on earth. For doth not the behavior
of mortals invite darkness rather than light? Do they not want us for servants, to find
lost treasures or riches, or social indulgence? or to entertain them with miracles?

20. Thus it came to pass that the wisest and best angels departed away from the
earth; away from mortals, and away from the inharmonious presence of the legions
of the spirits of the dead, and they inhabited a heavenly region by themselves.

21. And they covenanted themselves unto Jehovih not to return again single-handed to
minister unto mortals; neither to return again to mortals save they came in phalanxes, and
only when duly authorized and directed by their most Holy Council, and their chief, who
was God.

22. Such then was the beginning of the second resurrection; and the condition of
membership required the renunciation of all associations and conditions below it. And the
rank of all such angels was, ANGELS OF GOD, or ANGELS OF JEHOVIH, in contradistinction from
the angels of the first resurrection, who know no organization for righteousness’ sake.

23. But that mortals be not left in darkness, behold thy God and his holy council prepared
certain rules of discipline and conduct and commandments, whereby the angels of the
second resurrection should be as a unit in their duties and teachings thereafter.

24. Chief of which rules was, that the angels of Jehovih should never manifest themselves
as individuals unto mortals, lest mortals become servants to, and worshippers of the
spirits instead of the All Highest, Jehovih.

25. Second to this, that when the angels of Jehovih should be appointed to mortals, it
should be as guardians over infants, to inspire them by way of the natural consciousness
within, as to what was right and good in reference to eternal life. And that such guardian
angels be in phalanxes of millions and tens of millions (but still in close membership
with thy God and his Holy Council) in order to relieve one another on guard.

26. For, by the inspirations of the angels of thy God, the individual entity of a mortal
is directed in its normal growth; but by the angels of the first resurrection, mortals
are used abnormally, by entrancement, by miracles, or by sar’gis, oracles or otherwise.

27. That the angels of God might inspire mortals with the same inspiration, behold, he
and his Holy Council prepared certain instruction with rules, words and commandments
adapted to the understanding of mortals for the good of their souls, pandering not to their
earthly desires. Such words being designated as sacred writings in the original, though for
the most part perverted or lost sight of afterward.

28. Chief angels over these phalanxes being Lords, Marshals, Captains, and so on, the
second resurrection being orderly, disciplined and organized in its glorious work.

29. Thus my Lords have angels under them who are authorized and ordained in my name,
and in the name of Jehovih to abide for times and seasons with mortals as guardians and
inspirers; to provide dreams, thoughts and visions in the minds of mortals, and to
otherwise labor in elevating them in purity, love and wisdom.

30. Such then are the angels of God and of Jehovih. And their teachings are the same as
my Lord’s and thy God’s; nor doth one of them teach a matter in one way, and another
teach it differently; howbeit there are different grades and systems adapted to the different
degrees of intelligence of the different peoples on earth.