“Yes,” replied Rupert, “I attended the laying of the corner-stone of the one-hundredth temple the other day; and we have only just begun.  The time, talent, wealth, and energy that formerly went to the enriching of a few and that was spent to build and sustain armies and navies, now are directed to the building of temples and the carrying on the work in them.  I used to wonder how the needed temple work could ever be done for the millions of earth’s inhabitants, but now I can see how simple it is.  Tens of thousands of Saints, in thousands of temples, in a thousand years of millenium can accomplish it.  Every son and daughter of Adam must have a chance; every tangled thread must be straightened out; every broken link must be welded; every wrong must be righted; every created thing that fills the measure of its creation must be perfected;—­all this must be before the ‘winding-up scene’ comes.  All this can be accomplished, for now we have every force working to that end.  The earth is yet teeming with our brothers and sisters in mortality; there is continual communication between the spirit world and this world, and then here are we, with our kind; we have passed through the earth-life, through the spirit world, through the resurrection—­and we, as you said, are busier than ever, because with our added knowledge and wider view comes greater power.  Our services are needed everywhere.  And what a blessed privilege we have in thus being able to help the Lord in the salvation of His children and the hastening to its destined end of celestial glory this world of ours.”

Alice was playing with some birds, which she seemed to have well trained, as they were flying back and forth from her hand to the bushes.  The two women now came back along the path, stopping now and then to listen to a bird or to look at a flower.  They joined Rupert and Henrik.

“I have quite a lot of names from the spirit world to bring to the Temple today,” said Rupert, “among them fifteen couples to be made husband and wife.”

“I have heard it said,” remarked Marie, “that in heaven there is neither marrying nor giving in marriage.”

“Neither is there,” answered Rupert, “any more than there is baptism for the remission of sins.  Neither this world nor the world of spirits, where live the contracting parties, is heaven.”

“Isn’t this heaven?” asked Marie, looking around on the beauty with which she was surrounded.

“As far as we resurrected beings are concerned,” replied Rupert, “we have heaven wherever we go; but this earth is only being prepared for its heavenly or celestial state.  Until that is finished, there shall be marrying and giving in marriage.”

“I’m glad of it,” said Signe; “for there is—­”

She was interrupted by Alice, who came in with the announcement that others were coming up to the house.  Henrik and Marie were greeted for the first time by visitors who continued to gather.  For some time, white-clothed persons had been directing their steps towards the Temple.  Now they were hurrying.