Discourse by President John Taylor, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, Feb. 10, 1884.

We meet together from time to time to speak, to sing, to pray, and, according to an institution which has been provided, to partake of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper, and also to perform those various duties devolving upon us as servants of the living God. It is pleasant for the Saints to meet together to commune with each other, to listen to the words of life, to reflect also upon their position and relationship to God, to His Church and Kingdom, as well as to examine into their own feelings, and, under the guidance of the Lord and of His Holy Spirit, try to find out what relationship they sustain to their Heavenly Father, and whether they are performing the various duties devolving upon them, and are seeking to carry out the word, the will, and the law of God.

We are certainly a very peculiar people gathered together in these valleys of the mountains; we are assembled here from many nations; it would be difficult to say at present how many; but I think on some public occasion awhile ago, there were twenty-five nationalities represented. In this respect, we present a very singular aspect, and occupy a very peculiar position in the history of the day and age wherein we live. Our religion differs very widely from that which exists in the world. Our ideas of God, of futurity, of heaven and of hell, and of the future destiny of the human family, not only of ourselves, but of all nations, differ very materially from that of others. Our social ideas, too, are very dissimilar from those entertained by others. And, again, our political ideas are not in accord in many respects with those of others, and thus we find ourselves in a very anomalous position, gathered together here in these valleys of the mountains, separated to a great extent from the rest of mankind. We were a few years ago very decidedly separated. Now, this portion of the continent has become almost the highway of the nations. I frequently meet with persons from France, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, from the various Principalities of Germany; from Russia, Italy, Spain, Portugal; from Australia, and the Islands of the sea, and from almost all the nations of the earth. They pass by here, and hearing that we are a strange sort of a people, they are desirous to know something about us as they pass through.

It frequently becomes a question in the minds of many—How and in what manner did these things originate, and what is the object of our being thus gathered together as a separate and distinct people? By what motives are we actuated? The world of mankind, whether in this nation, or in any other nation, form very strange notions in regard to our reasons for thus gathering together. Although we have been striving for a great many years to enlighten the world in relation to this and other matters, still they seem very much at sea in regard to the position which we occupy, and to our moral, social, religious and political status. So that it becomes almost impossible for people at a distance from here, notwithstanding we profess to live in an age of light and intelligence, in an age of railroads, telegraphs, and telephones, in an age when rapid communication can be had, say from all parts of the earth in one day, in an age of professed knowledge of science, literature and art, and of everything that is calculated—or ought to be if properly conducted—to promote the welfare of the human family; I say that, notwithstanding all these things, if there is one subject about which the human family today is grossly ignorant, it is on the subject of the principles of the Latter-day Saints. A short time ago a very distinguished European gentleman, after eulogizing the appearance of our city, the quiet and order that prevail, etc., said to me, “President Taylor you can scarcely conceive how impossible it is, outside of your Territory, to obtain correct information regarding you as a people;” and an editor of The North American Review told me he came here from New York, expressly for the purpose of getting me to write an article on our present status, thus again exhibiting the strange attitude which we occupy before this nation and the world, and demonstrating that in consequence of such a flood of falsehood, vituperation and abuse which is constantly circulated against us, that it is almost impossible, as before referred to, to obtain any correct information concerning us. Some of the literary men who come along here, express to me the opinion that we have been maligned and misrepresented a good deal. I tell them that in an age like this people ought to know better; that they ought to be better informed; that they ought to make themselves acquainted with facts within the reach of everybody; and that there is no excuse for ignorance in relation to these matters. Still this ignorance continues. There is an undercurrent that men generally are not acquainted with, which operates in the minds of men and produces these results of which I speak at the present time. To the Latter-day Saints there is nothing very mysterious about this. We have passed through this state of things in embryo, years and years ago. Many of you thought, when you heard the Gospel, and your hearts had been made glad by obedience thereunto, that all you would have to do would be to tell your particular friends and relatives of these things, and that it would cause their hearts to rejoice as it did yours. You felt interested in their welfare and had a desire to promote their happiness, that they might rejoice with you in the blessings which you experienced through obedience to the Gospel. But lo and behold! The moment you opened your mouth on this subject, you were set down as impostors. You were probably before this a decent man or a decent woman; but now you became ostracized and cut off in many instances from association even with members of your own family. Was it because you had become corrupt? No. Was it because you had become unsocial? No. Was it because you possessed principles that were at variance with the principles of truth, virtue, honor, and the word of God? No. And if you had asked them what the reason was, for their coolness and the feeling of ostracism that they manifested, they could not tell, only that you were a “Mormon.” You have all of you experienced this. If this is the case, then, with your most intimate friends—with your relatives, with your fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, uncles and aunts, with whom you had been on the most friendly terms heretofore—how can you expect the world to look at things in any different manner. I reflect sometimes upon the position occupied by the ancient Christians, and upon the character, position and standing of Jesus, the Son of God. We all profess to reverence Him. All Christendom bows in reverence at the mention of His name; they feel there is something hallowed about it. They look upon Him as being the Son of God, and they look upon His Apostles as men of unblemished reputation, of pure lives, holy, virtuous and upright. You cannot travel anywhere in Christendom but you find churches erected to St. Paul, St. Peter, to St. John, to St. Matthew, to St. Luke, and to all the different saints as they are now called by the people. But how was it with these saints when they lived here upon the earth? They were called disturbers of the peace. It was said of them that they were stirrers up of sedition—that they were impure, ungodly men. The idea of their being persecuted, as we read of, for their religion, would have been altogether preposterous in that day. They would tell you they were prosecuted for their crimes and their iniquities. They were brought before rulers, kings and judges, and they had to depend upon the Lord and His Holy Spirit, to sustain them under those circumstances. Jesus emphatically told them to expect these things. “If the world hate you,” said He, “ye know that it hated me before it hated you. * * * If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. * * * For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” It is singular, yet it is a fact that these things did exist. While the crowds were ready sometimes to cover his path with olive branches and with their garments, and to shout “Hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord,” yet with the very next breath they were ready to cry, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him! It is not fit that He should live.” And when He was hounded and hunted, persecuted and proscribed, at the very last, even when a Roman judge said, “What evil hath he done?” and washed his hands of the blood of this just person, they still continued to cry, “Let him be crucified,” and Barabbas, a noted thief, and a murderer, was released in preference to Jesus. This was the kind of feeling manifested toward the Savior. Were they an ignorant people that thus treated Him? No. They were what were called the elite of the day, the educated; men of position, the High Priests, the scribes, the Pharisees, the doctors, the law– yers, the leading men of the nation; all of them engaged in this thing, and all of them partook of the same spirit. What was the cause of this? It was because He was not of the world. “If ye were of the world,” said the Savior to His disciples, “the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” That is the cause. The world loveth its own. And the world is today, was then, and always will be, until it shall be regenerated, opposed to God, opposed to righteousness and opposed to the principle of truth. Paul makes the following statement: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is at enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” There is nothing new, therefore, in any of these matters that we hear bruited around from place to place—from the east to the west, from the north to the south, and spreading abroad among the nations of the earth; nothing new, nothing strange, nothing very remarkable in any of these things. The carnal mind knows not the things of God, and is not subject to the law of God, neither can it be. They form all kinds of opinions, even, with regard to our gathering. “Why don’t you stop at home as other folks do?” Some say that it is an emigration scheme gotten up to make money, and that missionaries are sent out by us to deceive the weak and the ignorant, and to gather them together that they may be made merchandise of. That is one idea. You all know how far that is true, and how far it is false. Others say that we are gathered here for licentious purposes—to carry out polygamic ideas, to corrupt, demoralize, and trample under foot the women who come and associate with us, and to destroy their virtue; whereas you know there is not a place in the world where women are better protected and their virtue more sacredly guarded than in Utah. They compare plural marriage to their whoredom, seductions, their social evils, and the many kinds of iniquity, corruption and rottenness that prevail among themselves. Reasoning from their own standpoint, they consider that we are a very wicked, corrupt and licentious people. But according to the statistics that we have pertaining to these matters, our immorality is twenty to forty times less than theirs here in our midst, without going any further. The crimes, iniquities and corruptions committed by the small minority of outsiders in our midst very far exceed, perhaps by twenty to thirty times, the crimes of the Latter-day Saints. This excess of crime on the part of outsiders is what might be reasonably expected; for we profess to be a better people, and we ought to be a better people than those who make no pretensions to be guided by divine revelation. Examine the records of our city jail, of the Penitentiary, of the county prisons, which have been published and are being published, and you will find a full statement in relation to these matters and the percent of crime that exists between one and the other. Mr. Barclay, a member of the British Parliament, who lately visited us, writes in “The Nineteenth Century,” a monthly review published in London: “In the winter of 1881, a census was taken of the prisons in Utah, with the following results—In the City Prison were twenty-nine convicts, and in the county prison six convicts, all non-Mormons. In the Penitentiary, out of fifty-one prisoners only five were Mormons, two of whom were there for polygamy. * * Of the population of Salt Lake City, about 75 percent is Mormon, and 25 percent non-Mormon.” He further says: “These figures conclusively prove that the Mormons are a sober, law-abiding people, and singularly free from the grosser forms of vice; whatever may be alleged by ignorant or prejudiced enemies. Of the two hundred saloons, billiard, bowling alley, and pool table keepers, not a dozen even profess Mormonism.” And since these figures were published, others in relation to 1882 have been made public. One gentleman, who has spent a considerable length of time investigating these matters, writes: “The statistics at hand for 1882 * * * cover a wide field, taking in all the populous districts of the Territory. The total number of all arrests for crimes and misdemeanors in these localities during 1882, was 2,198—of which the 78 percent of the Mormon population furnished 300, and the 22 percent of the non-Mormons 1,898, * * So that the Mormons comprising 78 percent of the population of the Territory contributed one-eighth of the arrests made during 1882 and the non-Mormons, having only 22 percent contributed seven-eighths. The number of brothels throughout the Territory was 12, all kept by non-Mormons.”

Regarding Salt Lake City, where he resided for some time, he states: “The criminal record of Salt Lake City, for 1882, shows that in a population of about 25,000, divided between Mormons and non-Mormons as 19 to 6, the total number of arrests was 1,561, of which 188 were Mormons and 1,373 non-Mormons. Of the 66 houses, where beer and liquor were retailed by the glass, 60 were kept by non-Mormons, and the remaining 6, nominally Mormons, were not entitled to participate in the sacraments of the Church by reason of their calling. The 15 billiard rooms and bowling alleys, and the 7 gambling houses were all kept by non-Mormons. The 6 brothels had non-Mormon proprietors, and they were filled by 31 non-Mormon inmates.” There is nothing in this to be proud of; for it would be a pity if we could not live better than they do. We have gathered here, not for speculative purposes, as is sometimes charged, but to worship God, to keep His commandments, and to be instructed in the laws of life. There is no cause for boasting on our part in regard to these things; but I refer to them to show how fallacious their ideas are in regard to these matters.

Then, is it strange that we should be placed in the position that we are? Yes, it is very strange, but it is nevertheless true, and the same condition of things has existed in the different ages.

We profess to be the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ; we profess to be in possession of the everlasting Gospel; we profess to have gathered here to observe the laws and keep the commandments of God, and that we might assist in building up the Church of God, the Kingdom of God, and the Zion of God. These are really the facts of the case. True, we do not do as well as we might. We are not as pure as we might be, nor as good, nor as virtuous, nor as upright, nor do we possess the amount of integrity that we ought; but, then, we don’t propose to place ourselves on a level with the outside world; we have not dropped to their standard by a very long way: and many of us are striving to live our religion, to observe the laws of God, and to keep His commandments.

In regard to the spirit and genius of the age in which we live, there is nothing, as I have said, strange about that. The powers of darkness have always been in antagonism to the light, truth and intelligence that proceeds from God, and till Satan is bound, and his power is curtailed by a superior power, that state of things will continue, and instead of getting better and better, we are told in the Scriptures, that the wicked shall grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Do you imagine that they will grow better? I do not.

Do not let us be mistaken in relation to all these things—that is as the world are mistaken. We complain sometimes about the injustice of men. I expect to find unjust men, many of them. We refer to certain laws that are being enacted by our Congress as unconstitutional, etc. Why, we expect they will yet pass many laws of that kind. We don’t expect them to be our friends or the friends of God. They don’t profess it. We have a right to expect, of course, that they would abide by the Constitution, because that is an instrument gotten up by themselves, and that they profess to be governed by, and that men in authority swear to uphold. We have a right to expect that. But, then, does not all Christendom profess to believe in the Bible? Yes. And do the ministers of the various denominations? Yes. Do they practice its teachings? Do they follow its doctrines? Or are there any two of their doctrines alike? They have all kinds of theories, notions and ideas; yet still they tell you that the Bible contains the word of God. But are they governed by it? No. God placed in the Church Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists, and He gave unto His servants the Holy Ghost, and the light of revelation, and made them acquainted with the same sacred principles. They were all baptized unto one baptism, and all partook of the same spirit. How is it now? Many Lords, many faiths, many baptisms.

Speaking of the doctrine of the plurality of wives, I remember talking with one of our Presidents—I mean one of the Presidents of the United States—on this subject in Washington, a number of years ago, as I have with others since on the same subject; but I remember some of the remarks made on that occasion. “Well,” said he, after talking some little on politics, and one thing and another, “what about your polygamy?” “Mr. Pierce,” said I—I can mention his name now as it is a thing of the past—“it may be possible that some of us may have wrong ideas in regard to these things. We read about such a man as Abraham, who is described as ‘the friend of God;’ we read about such a man as David, who is described as ‘a man after God’s own heart:’ we read about Jacob, who had twelve sons, whose names are to be written upon the twelve gates of the holy city. Who was Jacob? He was a man who had several wives, by whom he had these twelve sons. Then we read of Moses—a man of God, a leader of Israel, and a lawgiver. He told the people how they should treat their children whether by the first wife or by the second, and how all these matters were to be arranged.” “Mr. Pierce,” said I, “It is possible that we of the nineteenth century, have not been able to instruct the Lord very much in regard to these matters. Probably He knew just as much about them then as we do now, and that in regard to our marital laws, we may have made some mistakes.” “Well,” said Mr. Pierce, “I cannot say.” Of course he could not.

Now, then, men assume to judge the acts of others, but they don’t judge their own acts, and they strive to falsify us, and to make evils of those things that God has ordained according to His economy, and that men of old, who were considered men of God, and the friends of God, practiced under His direction. It is not uncommon for men to talk about Abraham. They would like to get into Abraham’s bosom—that is most of the Christians of the present day would like to have a place in Abraham’s bosom. Would you? Would you really? Are there any of that class here that would like to go unto Abraham’s bosom? Why, should you have your wish, when you woke up you would find you were in the bosom of a polygamist, and would not that be very horrible? But that would be the fact. Jesus Himself, was a descendant of that class of people who had practiced the things that we today believe in. But they didn’t persecute Him because He was a polygamist. They persecuted Him because He was a friend of publicans and sinners. They accused Him of being a blasphemer, of casting out devils through the power of Beelzebub, the prince of devils. If He did any good act at all, they were ready to cry out, “Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.”

These things are facts that we cannot ignore. They stand out before us in living characters, and to use a very trite saying, “history repeats itself” in regard to these things. The same causes in one age generally produce the same results in another age.

I will now tell you about some of my feelings when I first came into this Church. It is a long while ago. When I first heard the Gospel I was compelled to admit there was something reasonable about it. I almost hoped it was not true. “If it is true,” said I, “as an honest man I shall be obliged to obey it, or else I cannot have any confidence in myself.” When I had investigated the subject, and become convinced that it was true, I said, “I am in for it; I must embrace it; I cannot reject the principles of eternal truth;” and I will say, moreover, I don’t know of a time in my life when if anybody presented a truth that could not be controverted, but I was ready to obey it; and I am today. If any person in the religious world, or the political world, or the scientific world, will present to me a principle that is true, I am prepared to receive it, no matter where it comes from. Well, says one, you believe the Bible? Yes. You believe in the Book of Mormon? Yes. You believe the Book of Doctrine and Covenants? Yes. I believe all that God has ever written or spoken, everything that we have on record, and I am prepared to believe everything that He will communicate to the human family. We profess to believe in all truth, and to be governed by all truth.

Then, in regard to our position—referring to that again—we are gathered here from the different nations of the earth, from England and elsewhere. I remember the time very well when the Gospel was not preached in England. I remember when Brothers Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Wilford Woodruff, myself and others took our first mission to England. Many of you that are here, whose heads are white like mine, will remember the circumstances. We took our departure after laying the cornerstone of the Temple in Far West, Caldwell County, Missouri. The people were much excited about the Mormons at that time, just as they are now, and every once in awhile. They had gotten up a furor against us; and Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Bishop McRae, and others, were seized by a mob and imprisoned; and many of you may have read the remarks made by a certain General Clark—the famous, or rather infamous General Clark. He told the people—the same as they tell us now—that it was wrong to gather as they were then doing, and as we are now doing, and place ourselves under Bishops, etc. And said he—I heard him—“Oh, that I could invoke the spirit of the unknown God to rest upon you, that you may be delivered from the delusions with which you are encompassed.” But his “unknown God” didn’t hear him, and the “delusions” have still gone on. We had been driven out of Missouri. They were so good a people and so virtuous, and we were so bad. But we were not polygamists then; we had not entered into the awful crime of polygamy; but we dared to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience. They drove us out, took possession of our property, and robbed and pillaged everyone they could. After doing this they did not like that their action should go out to the world; so the legislature actually made an appropriation for us—that is, for the poor “Mormons”—of $2,000, if my memory serves me aright. They had killed and destroyed any amount of our cattle and hogs, and anything and everything of that kind that they came across. Still they pretended to be very sorry for us, and solicitous for our welfare. In order that we might not suffer, they went into an adjoining county where our people lived, stole a lot of hogs from them, and then turned in those hogs to make up the appropriation made by the legislature of Missouri! They were so liberal in their operations! They stole the hogs from one portion of our people, and then gave them to another. I saw the hogs come in, and they were butchered and divided among the Mormons.

These are some of the things that I am acquainted with. Was I surprised when I saw such operations? No. I expected when I came into this Church, that I should be persecuted and proscribed. I expected that the people would be persecuted. But I believed that God had spoken, that the eternal principles of truth had been revealed, and that God had a work to accomplish which was in opposition to the ideas, views and notions of men, and I did not know but it would cost me my life before I got through. It came pretty near it at one time; yes, at many times. I have had to “stand the racket” in a way that many of you folks don’t know much about. More than once I have had to face large crowds of people in the shape of armies, expecting to come into contact every moment—no farther off, perhaps, than the length of this hall. That is not a very pleasant position to be in. But I was in a worse scrape in Carthage jail, when Joseph and Hyrum were killed—penned up in a room and attacked by a blackened mob. I had to stand at the door and ward off the guns while they were trying to shoot us, and we without arms, and under the protection of the Governor of the State. Dr. Bernhisel and myself were sent by Joseph Smith to wait upon the Governor, and lay before him the facts of the case. We told him we were competent to take care of ourselves, and did not require any of his aid, for we had an organized body of militia that were quite competent to protect us from their mobs, and asked his advice. He thereupon stated it would be better for us not to bring an armed force, and pledged his faith and the faith of the State, as Governor, for our protection. We consented. This he said to Dr. Bernhisel and myself; and that pledge was violated by the murder of Joseph and Hyrum Smith in Carthage jail, and I myself received five balls in my person; but then I am here yet.

Was there anything surprising in all this? No. If they killed Jesus in former times, would not the same feeling and influence bring about the same results in these times? I had counted the cost when I first started out, and stood prepared to meet it.

We afterwards came to these valleys of the mountains. We people have been gathered here and are gathering; but we have had to encounter very little of such things as I have referred to. It is true, we had what was called the Buchanan war, when we paraded up and down, and when we went to Echo, etc. But there was not much harm done. It cost the government some forty million dollars, from what I learn; but there was no one killed. Two newspaper reporters who had been sent out here to report the war, got to fighting between themselves, and I remember being called upon by one of them to assist him in his trouble in Provo. That is all that occurred. We had to go out and meet the army. We marched and countermarched—the same as we do in our dances, you know; one of those grand marches, marching in and marching out; and finally the President sent us a pardon for that which we had never done. We did not appreciate it very much. With the exception of that little episode, we have not had much trouble. I have heard people complain of our judges and our governors, and this, that and the other. Why, bless your soul, how can they send better men than they have? We need not expect good men, virtuous men, honorable men; they can only send such as they have, consequently, we need not look for any better.

Well, what are we to do? They are talking all kinds of loud things about us now. They keep on talking. Sometimes they do a little; sometimes they don’t do much; sometimes they are very angry with us, and get up quite a furor. A Presidential election is coming on, you know, and they are preparing things for that, and the “Mormon question” is as good a thing as they can have on both sides of the House—on the republican side, and on the democratic, too. “Well,” the question is asked, “What are they going to do with you?” It don’t make much difference. They hardly know themselves. They think they are going to do a great deal. They will do just what the Lord will let them, and no more. But we understand their ideas, I presume, as well as they do. Here are two political parties. The republicans long ago put into their platform that there were two twin relics that had to be moved out of the way—the one was slavery, and the other polygamy. They have removed slavery out of the way, but polygamy seems to be rather a hard nut for them to crack. It seems to bother them. They are in a good deal of trouble about it, and the religious people are very much exercised over it. Their pure souls are very much agonized about things of that sort, and about impurities which exist among the Mormons. They cannot see or say anything about the licentiousness, the corruption, the feticide, the infanticide, the rottenness, hypocrisy, lying, fraud and deception that exists among themselves; but they think we are a very bad people, and in order to purge the nation of so foul a blot, they must all unite to put us down. They will just do what the Lord will let them, and no more.

Now, neither of these political parties are our friends. Neither of them are the friends of God. They think that we are democratic. We are to a certain extent, and then we are republicans to a certain extent. But the republicans are afraid that the democrats are going to make use of us in some way or other, and they are determined to crowd the Mormons down their throats, and the democrats gulp at it; they don’t like to swallow it. It is worse than the apple that stuck in Adam’s throat. They don’t want to shoulder the responsibility, and so the democrats will join with the republicans on a question of this kind, just the same as the Scribes and Pharisees, the Herodians and Sadducees, did when Jesus was to be crucified. Pilate and Herod could then be made friends, and they were hail fellows, well met. So it is now, and as the Church of England chant says: “As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, worlds without end, amen,” it may continue—at least for a certain length of time.

What are we to do under those circumstances? Shall we be very angry? No. I feel just as easy about it as the boy did about his father. Says Tommy, to his companion: “Do you know my daddy?” “No, I don’t.” “Why,” said Tommy, “I know him just as e-a-s-y.” I feel just as easy as the boy did about knowing his daddy.

We are engaged in a work of importance. We are immortal beings. We are dual beings associated with time and eternity; I might say associated with the past, the present, and the future. We have a work to perform here upon the earth, and with the help of Israel’s God we expect to do that work.

I do not wish to defame anybody. But the things I have talked of are true. It is a pity they are true, but then they are. What are we going to do? Do right. We are called of God to be an upright people, a virtuous people, an honorable people. We are called upon to maintain correct principles, and to introduce them among the peoples of the earth, and especially among the people of this nation. Jesus told His disciples to pray in His day, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Did He understand what He was saying. I think He did.

The Lord has gathered us together in these valleys of the mountains, that He might have a people who would be prepared to receive the eternal truths of heaven, and be governed by them. Instead of your being deceived to get you to come here, you had the pure principles of the Gospel of the Son of God preached unto you, in the various nations from which you have come. You were called upon to repent of your sins, and to be baptized in the name of Jesus, for the remission of sins, and to have hands laid upon you for the reception of the Holy Ghost. And when you received that Holy Ghost, it took of the things of God, and showed them unto you. Among other things it showed you that it was proper for you to gather to the land of Zion, and you came here. It was under this influence you came. You came to learn more fully the law of God, and to be instructed in the principles of eternal life. The Lord has said through the Prophet Jeremiah: “I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” This is what we are gathered here for—to build up the Zion of our God, to establish the Kingdom of God, and to purify and exalt the Church of the living God; that His people may be presented without spot or wrinkle, as spoken of in the Scriptures; that they may be prepared to have an inheritance among those that are sanctified; and that the principles of eternal truth may go forth from the land of Zion, and extend to the ends of the earth, that the honest in heart may be gathered together to help establish the principles of truth upon this land of Zion.

Shall we accomplish this? I think we shall. But people are opposed to you. What difference does that make to you or to me? We are here, as Jesus was, to do the will of God. “I seek not mine own will,” said the Savior, “but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” We are here today to do the same thing.

Now, do you feel angry at our enemies? No. They don’t know any better, and if they did many of them would not like to act differently. If they are not capable of comprehending and receiving the truths of God, we cannot help it. But shall we be their enemies because of this? No. Shall we return evil for evil? No. What shall we return? Good for evil, blessing for cursing. “Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven.” What was the blessing pronounced upon Abraham? “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;” not cursed. Did they carry this out? Yes. Witness the preaching of the Apostles in former times in the land of Asia, and the disciples on this continent. Who were they? Descendants of Abraham. Whom did they preach to? A good people, a virtuous people, a holy people? No, if they had been good, virtuous and holy, there would have been no need of a message of that kind being taken to them. But God felt merciful towards all the human family; for they are all His children, and His design was to benefit and bless them, so far as they would let Him, and sometimes He has had to deal with them very severely. On one occasion He had to cut them off by a flood, because they had corrupted themselves. Every imagination of their hearts was evil, and that continually. They were raising up a corrupt progeny, and it was an injustice to the spirits that dwelt in the heavens that wished and desired and had a right to have tabernacles here upon the earth. Those corrupt men and women were not fit to be the producers of those tabernacles, and they had to be cut off. But God knew how to manipulate these matters. He prepared a prison house for them, and when Jesus came He went and preached to the spirits in prison that sometime were disobedient in the days of Noah.

God has always felt interested in the welfare of the human family; but there are certain eternal laws associated with His economy that have to be carried out, whether in His Church or out of His Church. From the members of His Church He expects a higher state of morality than He does from those that are outside. All men will be judged according to the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or evil. The Gospel has been sent to them from time to time. The old disciples were told to go to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, and proclaim its glad things, and the people on this continent had the same testimony delivered among them. In the last days there was another angel to fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwell on the earth. What Gospel? The same Gospel that Adam had, the same Gospel that Enoch had, the same Gospel that Seth and Mahalaleel and Noah had, the same Gospel that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had, and that Moses and the Prophets had, the same Gospel that Jesus had, the same Gospel that was taught on the Asiatic continent and on the American continent, and proclaimed to the various peoples of the earth.

As Latter-day Saints we believe this Gospel has been restored, and further, we know that we are in possession of it. I do for one, and so do you; and through obedience to its principles, and the reception of the Holy Ghost, you Latter-day Saints do know that this is the work of God, and if you don’t know it, it is because you are not living your religion, and keeping the commandments of God; “for if any man will do His will,” says Christ, “he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” And the Spirit taketh of the things of God, and shows them unto us, and if we will follow its teaching, it searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. If we do not know these things, we ought to know them, and we shall know them if we only humble ourselves, and ask according to the light of the Spirit of the living God, even the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Now, what are we doing? We are sending the Gospel to the nations of the earth. Why? Because God has commanded it. What are the Seventies for? For this purpose. What are the Twelve for? For this purpose. What are the Elders for? When there is a deficiency among the Seventies they are chosen for this purpose, and the High Priests have to assist in the same way. What to do? To teach, to instruct, to enlighten, to bless, and to lead the people of the world in the ways of life. This may be considered criminal by some, but we consider we have a duty to perform, God has laid that duty upon us and, in the name of Israel’s God, we will try and do it.

We are building temples. What for? To carry out other purposes that have been spoken of. Shall we carry them out? If the Lord permits we will. We will go on laboring and working in the interest of humanity. “Well,” says one, “don’t you feel angry sometimes?” Well, sometimes I feel almost as Jesus did when he went into the Temple and found a lot of money changers, and took a whip of small cords and chased them out, saying unto them, “It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” We are not all of us what we ought to be, we ought to be more humble and more faithful, more diligent and more self-denying. We ought to assist in building up the Kingdom of God, and in doing the will of God, and seek to promote those principles, which He has introduced for the salvation and exaltation of the human family. And what about this nation? We will do them all the good we can, and I will say, gentlemen, pursue your course, persecute, proscribe, so far as God will let you. We can stand these things if you can, but woe to those who fight against Zion; I say that in the name of Israel’s God. If they can stand these things we can. We are here to do the will of God. Shall we persecute in return? No. We will do good for evil, and pray for those who despitefully use us, and evil entreat us that we may be the children of our Heavenly Father. This is the spirit of the Gospel of the Son of God, and it is for us to carry it out. What shall we do, then? Do right; be honest with ourselves; be honest with our neighbors; honest with the good; honest with the bad; honest, I was going to say, with the devil; honest with everybody. We can afford to do right, whether others can or not. We can afford to maintain the Constitution and institutions of the United States, and all laws, as it is said in the Doctrine and Covenants, that are constitutional. It is the will of God that we should obey them, and sometimes we obey laws that we think are not constitutional. I expect, like the Catholics in this respect, we shall have to do some works of supererogation. However, let us do right. Let us maintain the Constitution of this government. It was ordained of God, and if wicked and corrupt men do wrong, and administer improperly and unrighteously, God will deal with them. We need not rail and rant and get up a commotion about them. We do not cherish any ill-will or ill-feelings, but they would not like it to be said that they are doing the works of their father, the devil: but that is what Jesus said about people of the same kind in His day. We need not be angry with them. Jesus, at the very last, even when hanging on the cross and expiring, said, as it were with His last breath, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Neither do they in this day. But we are the children of the light. Let us walk in the light, and be governed by the principles of truth and righteousness, virtue and honor, and seek to cleave to God in our bodies and in our spirits, which are His. If the Latter-day Saints throughout the land of Zion, would only fear God and work righteousness, there is not a power on this side of hell, or the other side either, that could harm them; for God will carry out His work and His purposes, and if He suffers us, at any time to be chastened, it will be for our good; but Zion will triumph, and the Kingdom of God will roll forth, and no man shall stop its progress from this time, henceforth and forever, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Apostle Erastus Snow, delivered in the Tabernacle, Logan, Saturday Afternoon, February 2nd, 1884.

I am asked to speak, but I feel in attempting to do so that my speech will be barren unless the Lord is pleased to inspire my mind by the Holy Spirit. I know there is faith in the hearts of the people and the Lord is able to give words of edification and comfort. I am not, however, impressed with anything in particular, in the way of doctrine, to speak to my brethren and sisters; I have only a feeling to exhort in general terms.

The Latter-day Saints realize as I do that every year brings us nearer to the coming of our Lord; that every month and week and day that passes over our heads, brings us nearer to the great and important events that must transpire, and that it does not become us to give way to a feeling of apathy and indifference, and to say in our hearts, “The Lord delayeth His coming,” and that tomorrow will be as this day and much more abundant, and that the next generation will be like the present, and as the world has continued to roll on, as generations have come and generations have gone, so will it be with us and our children. I say it does not become us to give way to these sentiments and feelings which are common with unbelievers, with the world, or with the unenlightened, who have not a knowledge of God, who have not been favored with the light of revelation, who have not discerned the signs of the times; for we are not the children of darkness, but the children of light. Light has come unto us. We have been called out of darkness unto light. We have been translated from the kingdom of darkness unto the kingdom of God’s dear Son, and therefore it may and ought to be said of us as Saint Paul said concerning the Saints: “Ye, brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.” It is written and we expect it to be fulfilled upon the heads of the unbelieving and the wicked, that the Lord will overtake them as a thief in the night. “In such an hour,” said the Savior, “as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.” Now, it is not impossible, nor yet improbable, that there will be some among the Latter-day Saints who are called of God and appointed to this work, and who are set over their fellowservants to give them meat in due season, who will be found negligent, who will have forgotten their high and holy calling, who will have laid off their armor of righteousness, who will have become slothful and weary in well doing, and who will have taken to eating and drinking with the drunken and smiting their fellowservants; but as surely as any such are found among the servants of God, they will be overtaken when the day of the Lord cometh, and their portion will be appointed with hypocrites and unbelievers. But we hope better things of the Elders of Israel, of Presidents of Stakes, of Bishops, of High Councilors, of High Priests, of Seventies, of Priests, Teachers and Deacons, and of all the Latter-day Saints; for we have all been made partakers of this Priesthood, and the blessings of the Lord, directly or indirectly, have been conferred upon us.

The work before us is a great one, and very much remaineth to be accomplished according to the prophecies—Israel is to be gathered, Jerusalem rebuilt, Zion established, the vineyard of the Lord pruned and the corrupt branches cut off and cast into the fire, while the good branches shall be grafted in and partake of the root and fatness of the tame olive tree. There is a great work to be accomplished in the earth. But the Lord has said by the mouth of His servants that He will cut His work short in righteousness in building up His Kingdom in the latter days. True, when the Lord speaketh He does not reckon time as we do. The time was, in the infancy of this Church, when our minds were so narrow compared to what they are now, that we looked for the speedy coming of our Lord, and the accomplishment of His great work before this time. But as our minds grew, and our ideas enlarged, we began to perceive that we were only children in our views and feelings, our ideas and expectations. We had the views, ideas and expectations of children; and we see how the Lord has enlarged Israel and expanded His work; and now we behold so much more to be accomplished than what has been accomplished, that we are apt in our minds to put off the day of the Lord a great way. The time was that we looked for one temple. The early revelations given to the Latter-day Saints predicted a temple in Zion, and Zion in our minds at that time was a little place on the Missouri River in Jackson County, Western Missouri—a town and a few surrounding villages, or a country, peradventure it may be as large as a county. When we first heard the fullness of the Gospel preached by the first Elders, and read the revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, our ideas of Zion were very limited. But as our minds began to grow and expand, why we began to look upon Zion as a great people, and the Stakes of Zion as numerous, and the area of the country to be inhabited by the people of Zion as this great American continent, or at least such portions of it as the Lord should consecrate for the gathering of His people. We ceased to set bounds to Zion and her Stakes. We began also to cease to think about a single temple in one certain place. Seeing the different Stakes of Zion that were being organized we perceived the idea, possibly, of as many temples. Having had one spot pointed out in the revelations for the temple in Jackson County, our minds expanded so that in a short time we were building another temple in a Stake of Zion in Kirtland, Ohio. A little while afterwards we were laying the foundation of a temple in Far West Missouri, and driven before our enemies; from that place we next laid the foundation and built up a temple unto the Lord in Nauvoo. When we located in the mountains and laid the foundation of a temple in Salt Lake City, who of us had an idea that before it should be completed we would be administering in a temple in St. George, and another in Logan, and another in Manti, and who conceives the idea today, that by the time these are completed and the Saints have officiated in them, we will be scattered over the American continent, building temples in a hundred other places? All this comes within the range of possibility, nay, probability, almost amounting to certainty. One of my brethren behind me here, who understands these things, and who can speak knowingly in regard to them, says, that we may put it down as a certainty, that by and by, there will be hundreds of these temples throughout the land. Our minds are beginning to comprehend the object and purpose of the temples of our God. We realize that they are places where the Lord bestows the keys of life and salvation pertaining to the everlasting Priesthood, and opens the door of redemption and salvation unto our dead. We begin to comprehend a little of the vision shown to Ezekiel, as recorded in the 37th chapter of his book. Ezekiel, while under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, was set down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones. He explored the valley, saw there were very many bones, and, lo, they were very dry. The Lord commanded him to prophesy concerning them, and he prophesied, saying: “O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. * * * And the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dry, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.” Now, these were not the prophets and saints and righteous dead who had been partakers of the blessings of the Gospel and of the Priesthood, while in the flesh, but were those who had passed off in a day of darkness, and in their lost condition said to one another, and said in their hearts, “Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.” But lo! the plan of salvation for the dead is revealed. The scheme which the Father had provided for the redemption of those whose hope was lost, and who were cut off is revealed unto their children, unto those who have been gathered from their long dispersion, and who have received the keys of the Holy Priesthood, which bringeth life and salvation to the dead as well as to the living. Having these keys committed unto us, we proceed to establish Zion; to build up her Stakes; to build her temples; to gather together those who purify themselves before the Lord, and qualify and fit themselves to become saviors upon Mount Zion, by entering into holy places and officiating for themselves and their dead, thus laying the foundation for the redemption of the dead in being baptized for them, in being ordained for them, in being blessed and endowed for them, in receiving the keys and the key words for them, that in the day when the Elders who have passed behind the veil shall preach to them the Gospel of glad tidings of great joy, lo and behold! they will receive it and will be put in possession of those keys, endowments and blessings, whereby they may be freed from their prison houses, and be raised from the dead, and stand upon their feet an exceeding great army, and be restored to the blessings which God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their seed after them.

Now, this is the work before us, and I want to ask my brethren, the Elders of Israel, how long shall we be in accomplishing this work? Can I tell you? No, it is not given me to know. It is sufficient for us to know that the time has come for the work to be done: that the Lord has turned the key and opened the door; that it is an effectual door which no man can shut—the door of life and salvation. Hence it is our duty to step forward and magnify the calling whereunto God has called us. Send out the young men of Israel; send out the middle aged; send out those who have not as yet cleared their garments of the blood of this generation to call the children of men to repentance, and to see how many will engage with us in this great work of salvation, and become saviors upon Mount Zion. But this preaching the Gospel to the outside world is a small part of the work. It is but the ABC of the lesson to be learned and the work to be accomplished. How long, I ask, shall we be in accomplishing this work? It is not, as I have said, given to me to know; but I can tell you in general terms. As long as there is one soul (of all the sons and daughters of Adam that have been born on this earth) that has not had an opportunity of receiving and obeying the Gospel; as long as there is one soul that is in a condition to be saved and that can be reached by this plan of salvation, so long will the Latter-day Saints be engaged in this work. But what I was going to bring before your minds was this: Shall we expect that the Lord Jesus is going to delay His coming in the midst of His people, until all this great work shall have been accomplished? By no means. I do not understand that He has ever intimated anything of this kind. Nor need we wait in our faith and in our expectations till all these great and glorious things shall have been accomplished on the earth before the Prophet Joseph Smith shall come unto us again. He has merely taken another mission in advance of us. He fulfilled the mission given unto him on earth. The Lord was satisfied with his labors here. He lived long enough to endow his brethren with full authority to carry on the work that he had begun on the earth. He took his departure behind the veil. The Lord suffered his enemies to destroy him in the flesh, to take away his life, and he was made an offering—what shall I say? an offering for sin. Not in the sense in which the Savior was offered, but he was made a martyr for the truth and his blood was shed to attest the testimony that he bore to the world. He entered upon another short mission. Where? Why, unto his brethren of the house of Israel, and as many of the Gentiles as will receive his testimony, behind the veil. The mission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, between his death and resurrection was a similar mission, but a very short one. It lasted only three days. While his body lay in the tomb his spirit visited the spirits in prison, turned the key and opened the door of their prison house, and offered unto them the Gospel of salvation. How many of them were prepared to avail themselves of it at that time? Comparatively few. But he opened the door and offered the message of life and salvation, and having done this, His fellow laborers—the Seventies, Elders and others whom He ordained to the ministry—as fast as they finished their ministry in the flesh—continued their work among the spirits in prison. So is the Prophet Joseph Smith officiating and ministering to those spirits, and so are all His brethren, the Apostles, who have gone in his wake, who have followed, as it were, in his track. They have just gone behind the veil. Who shall we say? Let us call to mind a few of the brethren who have passed away—Brother David Patten (the first of the Apostles who was slain), Parley P. Pratt, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Brigham Young, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, and others of the Apostles; also Patriarchs Father Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith; Elders Samuel H. Smith, Don Carlos Smith—all the first Elders of this Church and the Presidents of all the early quorums, and a vast company of the members of their quorums. All these and many more are laboring in the spirit world preparing the spirits thereof to receive the benefits and blessings which are now about to be offered to them in the temples of God. In other words, “a ticket of leave” is about to be sent to them to the effect that their friends on the earth have officiated in their behalf, have complied with the ordinances which are appointed for their redemption, which will enable them to advance into a higher sphere, to walk upon a higher plane, to enter a higher class where they can be further instructed and prepared for a glorious resurrection. And as fast as this work is accomplished—and it is nigh at hand, it is now even at our doors—there will be another step made in advance; there will be another mission undertaken. The next mission will be to come and prepare the way in Zion, and in her Stakes, and in the temples of our God for turning the key of the resurrection of the dead, to bring forth those that are asleep, and to exalt them among the Gods. And who will be first and foremost? Why, he whom God has chosen and placed first and foremost to hold the keys of this last dispensation. How long will it be? It is not given to me to say the month, the day, or the hour; but it is given unto me to say that that time is nigh at hand. The time is drawing near (much nearer than scarcely any of us can now comprehend) when Joseph will be clothed upon with immortality, when his brother Hyrum will be clothed upon with immortality, when the martyrs will be raised from the dead, together with their faithful brethren who have performed a good mission in the spirit world—they, too, will be called to assist in the work of the glorious resurrection. The Lord Jesus, who was the firstfruits of the dead, the firstfruit of them that sleep, and who holds the keys of the resurrection, will bring to pass the resurrection of the Prophet Joseph and his brethren, and will set them to work in bringing about the resurrection of their brethren as He has set them to work in all the other branches of the labor from the beginning. And the Lord Jesus will appear and show Himself unto His servants in His temple in holy places, to counsel and instruct and direct. He will appear in the glory of His Father, in His resurrected body, among those who can endure His presence and glory. And all this I expect long before He will waste away and destroy the wicked from off the face of the earth. True, we have, in our limited understandings, perhaps imagined, many of us, that this glorious resurrection was to come upon us, and upon the whole world suddenly, like the rising of the sun. But you must remember the sun does not rise the same hour and the same moment upon all the earth. It is twenty-four hours in rising and twenty-four hours in setting. So with the resurrection. There is a day appointed for the resurrection of the righteous. And it is sealed upon the heads of many that if they are faithful and true, they shall come forth “in the morning of the first resurrection;” but the morning lasts from the first hour of the day until midday, and the day lasts till night; and the rest of the dead—those who are not prepared or counted worthy to have part in the first resurrection—shall not live again until the thousand years are ended. In other words, the first resurrection will have been ended, and another period appointed for the resurrection of the rest of the dead. But this “morning of the first resurrection” is nigh at hand, and blessed are those who, through their faithfulness, shall be counted worthy to have part in it; for they shall be crowned kings and priests with God and the Lamb—they shall reign with Christ and in the midst of His people, and carry on the work of the redemption and resurrection of the Saints of God. And while in some parts of the world the Elders of Israel are preaching the Gospel unto the heathen nations who have not been ripened for destruction, but whose kings and mighty men have perished, and whose governments have been broken in pieces and wasted away, and the government of the Kingdom of God has been extended over them; while this is going on in some portions of the world, in other places, even in Zion and in her Stakes and in Jerusalem, the children of God will be engaged in the redemption of their dead in the temples of our God, and in the resurrection of those that are counted worthy of so great a salvation.

Then, I say, we need not put off the day of the Lord so far from us. Rather let us prepare ourselves for it; for lo and behold! He cometh quickly, and blessed are they who are prepared to receive Him; for they shall enter into His rest and be crowned with glory, and shall labor with Him and with the Prophet Joseph and his brethren in bringing to pass this great salvation and redemption of our God.

May God help us to continue faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Lecture by Elder B. H. Roberts, of Centerville, Delivered Under the Auspices of the Mutual Improvement Association, in the Fourteenth Ward Assembly Rooms, Salt Lake City, Monday Evening, January 28th, 1884.

At the request of the Presidency of Davis Stake of Zion, I have delivered two lectures in each of the Wards of that county. Being a young man, I have addressed myself to the young people, with a view to strengthen their faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which has been revealed anew to the earth in this age of the world. And in considering the subject before us tonight—“Joseph Smith’s Mission”—I desire to show to my young brethren and sisters that our fathers have not been following cunningly devised fables, but that they have, and so have we, good and sufficient reasons for believing in the mission of Joseph Smith as a divine one.

In considering the subject of our lecture, the question naturally arises; What was Joseph Smith’s mission? It was the mission of Joseph Smith, under God’s direction, to establish the Church of Christ and the Kingdom of God upon the earth; and to the accomplishment of this work he devoted the whole energy of his life, and was faithful unto death.

But this statement of what his mission was, gives birth to another question: “Is there any necessity for such a work as is ascribed to Joseph Smith being performed?” The Christian world believe that when Christ was upon the earth in the flesh, that he then established his Church and Kingdom, and that it has continued among men from that time until the present. And although many changes have taken place in regard to principles and doctrines, and divisions and subdivisions have distracted the religious world—yet they claim that those things which are essential to the existence of Christ’s Church and Kingdom have remained among men. This is their theory. We have a theory which is opposite to theirs.

The first revelation that Joseph Smith received from the Lord, was that men were teaching for doctrine the commandments and precepts of men, and that He [the Lord] did not acknowledge their institutions as His Church or Kingdom, and told Joseph to join none of them.

Here then you see, we have two propositions presented to us; if one is true the other must be false; both cannot be correct. If the theory held by the Christian world be true, then there appears no necessity for such a work as we ascribe to Joseph Smith being performed; for if the Kingdom of God has continued upon the earth from the days of Jesus until the present, then there would be no need of anyone being raised up to establish that which was already here; and proving that there was no necessity for such a work as that ascribed to Joseph Smith would be a big stride towards proving that he was an impostor. But if we can show that the theory held by the Christian world is incorrect—if we can prove that there has been an apostasy—that men have been following for doctrine the commandments of men; if we can prove that Christ’s Church and Kingdom were not upon the earth at the time Joseph Smith’s Mission commenced—then the necessity of such a work as we claim he performed, becomes apparent; and if there is a necessity for such a work as the restoration of the Kingdom of God to the Earth, may not Joseph Smith have been the instrument in the hands of God, in performing that work?

Let us consider the question then—Has there been an apostasy? We cannot examine this subject in detail. All we shall be able to do, is to briefly refer to some of those prophecies which relate to the subject. We begin by calling your attention to the 24th chapter of Isaiah, commencing with the 4th verse: “The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.

“The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.

“Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.”

I have had men in the world try to reason away the force of this prophecy, in the following manner: They reminded us that Isaiah lived in the Mosaic dispensation, when the law of carnal commandments was in force; and claim that it was of this carnal law of which Isaiah spake—it was the law of Moses that was to be transgressed; the Mosaic ordinances which were to be changed; the Mosaic covenant which was to be broken. These assertions, however, are incorrect—from the fact that the Mosaic law never was considered, by those who understood it, “an everlasting covenant.” It was given for a special purpose, and when it had accomplished that purpose, it was laid aside.

We read from Galatians, 3rd chapter and 8th verse:

“And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

From this it appears that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham. In the 4th chapter of Hebrews and 2nd verse, Paul in speaking of ancient Israel, says:

“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” Not only then was the Gospel preached unto Abraham, but also unto the children of Israel. Now, let us go back to the 3rd chapter of Galatians, for Paul having stated that the Gospel was preached unto Abraham, asks this question (19th verse):

“Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgres– sions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made.”

Added to what? Added to the Gospel, which before that time had been preached unto Abraham, and also to ancient Israel. But the Israelites under Moses, were unable to live the perfect law of the Gospel, were not strong enough to overcome evil with good, as the Gospel requires, so a law of carnal commandments was “added” to the Gospel—a law which included the principle of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”—a law which was suited to their capacity. Paul still speaking of this subject in the same chapter of Galatians, already quoted (23rd verse), says:

“Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

“Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

“But after that faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.”

From these passages of Scripture, we learn this: The Gospel was preached to Abraham, and also to ancient Israel. The Israelites were unable to live the law of the Gospel—so a law of carnal commandments, known as the law of Moses, was given as a schoolmaster to bring them up to the higher law: Christ came and introduced that higher law—the Gospel, explained its precepts, and pointed out the difference between it and the law of Moses. The Gospel took the place of the law of Moses, which was laid aside, having fulfilled the object for which it was added to the Gospel. If then the law of Moses was not an everlasting covenant, this prophecy of Isaiah’s, which we are considering, does not relate to it, as the prophecy of Isaiah was concerning an everlasting covenant.

We find in Hebrews xiii, 20, the following: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect,” etc.

From this we learn that Christ’s blood is called the blood of the everlasting covenant. Paul in writing to Titus, gives us to understand that he lived “In hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began,” and this immortal life which God had promised—this everlasting covenant which God had made with man before the world began, was sealed by the blood of Christ, and this life and immortality were brought to light through the Gospel—and is called in the Scripture, the everlasting Gospel or covenant; and Isaiah says that the laws of the everlasting covenant, or the Gospel laws, shall be transgressed, the Gospel ordinances shall be changed: and in consequence of these serious transgressions, the earth is to be burned, and few men left; which judgment still is hanging over the inhabitants of the earth. Having proven then that this prophecy of Isaiah’s refers to the Gospel, and not to the law of Moses, let us remember that Jesus said, “Though heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or tittle of my word shall fail, but all shall be fulfilled.” Either Isaiah was mistaken when he spake as moved upon by the Holy Ghost, in relation to the world departing from that order of things inaugurated by the Savior, or else the Christian world is incorrect in maintaining that the Gospel in all that is essential, has continued from the days of Jesus to the present time.

Some few noted Christian writers more candid than their fellows, have freely admitted the apostasy of Christendom. We will introduce their testimony. John Wesley in his 94th sermon, says:

The reason why the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost are no longer in the church, “is because the love of many waxed cold, and the Christians had turned heathens again, and had only a dead form left.”

The following quotation is taken from page 163, of Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible. This work is endorsed by the names of 63 divines of both Europe and America, all noted for their scholarship. They say:

“We must not expect to see the Church of Holy Scripture actually existing in its perfection upon the earth. It is not to be found thus perfect, either in the collected fragments of Christendom, or still less in any one of those fragments.” This is a frank acknowledgment of all that we claim as to the apostasy of the primitive Church. Christ and his Apostles established the Church upon the earth, in the days of their ministry, and now we are told that it is not to be found even in the collected fragments of Christendom—that is, take the principles of truth which each sect possesses, and put them all together, and yet from this collection of truths we would not find the Gospel of Christ. Let us then take them at their word: they have but a dead form left—“The Church of Christ is not to be found on the earth.” These admissions on the part of the prominent writers of Christendom, coupled with the sure prophecy of Isaiah, forces us to the conclusion that men have corrupted the Gospel, as taught by Christ and the Apostles—that there has been an apostasy, and it must needs be that God set up His Kingdom again upon the earth.

By examination, we shall find that the Scriptures predict the restoration of the Gospel. It pleased the Almighty, while His servant John was on the Isle of Patmos, to show him many things that would transpire in the future. While wrapped in heavenly vision, he saw, among other things, “Another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth, and to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” It appears from this passage of Scripture, which you will find in the 14th chapter of Revelation, that the angel who is to come with the Gospel, will make his appearance just prior to the judgments of God being poured out upon the children of men in the last days—“in the hour of God’s judgment.” This Gospel was not to be preached merely to one nation or people, but to EVERY nation, every kindred, every tongue, and every people. It is evident to my mind, that all nations, tongues and peoples must have been without the Gospel, or why would it be necessary for the Lord to restore it by the ministry of an angel to all peoples and tongues, if any of them possessed it? There is another prophet who has predicted the setting up of God’s Kingdom upon the earth in the last days. I refer to Daniel, the Hebrew prophet, who was among the captive Jews, who were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon, by King Nebuchadnezzar, about six hundred years B.C. The Lord gave unto this same king of Babylon a wonderful dream, but he had forgotten it. He assembled all his wise men and magicians, and demanded that they tell him his dream, and the interpretation thereof. If they failed to do so, death was to be the penalty. This produced great consternation among the wise men, but the Lord revealed the thing to Daniel, who came before the king, with the dream, and the interpretation of it.

The king saw a great image, the head of which was gold; the arms and chest of silver; the trunk of brass; the legs of iron; the feet and toes, part of iron and part of potter’s clay. He also saw a little stone, cut out of the mountains without hands, which smote the image on the feet and toes, and broke them in pieces; then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver and the gold broken to pieces, and became as the chaff of the summer’s threshingfloor, and the wind carried them away, but the little stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Such was the dream. Daniel in giving the interpretation thereof, said unto Nebuchadnezzar, “Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power and strength, and glory; * * * Thou art this head of gold.” (Daniel 2, verses 37 and 38.) The head of this great image, therefore, was the Babylonian kingdom, which flourished in the sixth and seventh centuries, B.C., but in 538 B.C., it was destroyed. Daniel continues: “And after thee”—Nebuchadnezzar—“shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee.” (Verse 39.) The Medo-Persian Empire succeeded the Babylonian kingdom, and continued from 538 to 331, B.C., and is represented by the chest and arms of silver in the great image.

Again we quote: “And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.” (Verse 39.) The Macedonian Empire succeeded the Medo-Persian, being founded by Alexander the Great, and did “bear rule” over the then known world, continuing until 161, B.C.

“And the fourth kingdom,” says Daniel, “shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron breaketh all these things, shall it,” the fourth kingdom, “break in pieces and bruise.” (Verse 40.) The Macedonian Empire, founded by Alexander the Great, was pushed out of existence by the Roman Empire, which entirely supplanted it in 161, B.C. The Roman nation is the fourth great nation seen by Nebuchadnezzar in the image, and is represented by the legs of iron; and as iron breaketh in pieces all other metals, so the Roman nation broke in pieces the other kingdoms of the earth.

We still have left the feet and toes of the image, which are part of iron and part of clay. What kingdom or kingdoms do they represent?

In the year 364 A.D., the Roman Empire was divided between Valentinian and Valens. The western part of the empire was assailed by the Goths, Vandals, Huns, and other tribes inhabiting the north part of Europe, until it was utterly destroyed 483 A.D. From its ruins arose those kingdoms and empires, which, today, occupy the western part of Europe.

The eastern part of the Roman Empire was destroyed by the invasions of the Saracens, and out of this part of ancient Rome has sprung the kingdoms which now occupy the east of Europe, and the west of Asia.

The old Roman Empire, then, represented in the image by the legs of iron, was divided and subdivided, until the kingdoms represented by the feet and toes of this image are in existence. Concerning these feet and toes, Daniel says, “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay. THEY” Who? Why those nations which sprung up out of the ruins of the Roman Empire—“they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” The nations now in existence marry and intermarry—“mingle themselves with the seed of men,” striving in this manner to unite their interest, and avert calamity, but all in vain; they do not cleave together any more than hard pieces of iron will dissolve and become one substance with clay. We have now traced this prophecy down to our own times—to the kingdoms that exist in our own days. What comes next? Why, says Daniel, “In the days of these kings,” represented by the feet and toes of the image, “shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”

Not only, then, does John tell us that the Gospel, in the hour of God’s judgment, shall be restored to the earth by the ministry of an angel, but the Prophet Daniel has proclaimed to us, that in the last days (for he says—2nd chapter, 28th verse—“There is a God who maketh known unto the king, what shall be in the latter days”), the God of heaven would set up His kingdom, and has given us the assurance that it would stand forever. No handwriting will ever appear upon the walls of the temples of that kingdom, saying the kingdom is divided and given to another people. Whatever may be our fate as individuals, we may rest assured the Kingdom of God has come to stay.

Having shown from the Scriptures not only that there would be a universal apostasy, but also a restoration of the Gospel, and the setting up of the Kingdom of God in the last days, we are now at liberty to inquire what the reasons of men are for rejecting Joseph Smith as God’s instrument in accomplishing this work.

Is the fact that Joseph Smith was rejected by the world, hated and persecuted by thousands, any evidence against his being the chosen servant of God, to accomplish the mighty work of setting up the Kingdom of God upon the earth in the last days? Let history answer that question. How have the servants of God been received in all ages of the world? Much in the same way that Joseph Smith was. Paul, in speaking of the Prophets, tells us, “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented” (Heb. xi, 37). Jesus was hated and despised by the world, and finally put to death by the wicked. His Apostles and disciples fared but little better. Concerning the Apostles, Paul says: “We are fools for Christ’s sake, * * Even unto this present time we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling place: And labor, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.” (1 Cor. iv.) Was Joseph Smith despised any more than these ancient servants of God were? But Jesus says: “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets. Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” (Luke vi, 22, 26).

On another occasion the same Great Teacher said to His disciples: “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” And does not the same principle hold good today? And if Joseph Smith was indeed God’s servant, would not the world hate him? This principle also holds good when applied to the people of God as a whole. If the Latter-day Saints were as vile and corrupt, or as ungodly as they are represented to be by their enemies, if they were as licentious as they are said to be—then as God lives they would be of the world: and if of the world, and the principle which Jesus laid down be true, then the world would love them: but from the fact that this people are hated of the world, we have an assurance that they are not of the world: but God hath chosen them out of the world, and the world hate them.

That Joseph Smith was despised, rejected, and persecuted by men, is no valid objection to his being the honored servant of God. I have heard other objections urged against Joseph Smith: such as that he was un– learned—uneducated in the wisdom of the world—and this was true. That is, in his youth he was unlettered, and his scholastic attainments were limited, but as he grew to manhood, his lack of education could scarcely be complained of, as he proved himself able to cope with all the scholars of the age.

It is also alleged that both he and his followers were men that came from the humble walks of life, and were not among the lawyers, the rulers, and the professors. The same objections were urged against Jesus and His followers—His Apostles. But what does such an objection amount to? Are not these the class of men that God has almost invariably called to perform His work? I read the following passage from the first Chapter of I. Corinthians:

“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

“But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty;

“And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and the things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

To say, then, that Joseph Smith’s estate was lowly, and that he was unlearned when called to the work of God, instead of being a valid objection against him, is, to the contrary, an evidence in his favor.

Having thus disposed of the objections made against his being a good man and a servant of God, let us next inquire into the evidence of his being an instrument in the hands of God, in restoring the Gospel, and setting up the Kingdom of God upon the earth. What evidences have the Latter-day Saints to offer to the world that he accomplished this important work? First, the work itself: the institution which he organized—it is an exact facsimile of that which Christ instituted when He ministered upon the earth. Did the ancient Apostles teach faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world—did they teach salvation in His name? Yes, and so do we! Did they teach repentance, which includes the forsaking of sin? Yes, and so do we! Did they teach baptism by immersion for the remission of sin? And the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost? The resurrection of the dead and future rewards and punishments? Yes, and so do we!

Did they have in the Church Apostles, Prophets, Seventies, Elders, Bishops, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers, and Deacons—together with other helps and governments in the Church organization? Yes, and the same are in the Church of Christ today, which Joseph Smith, under God, has organized on the earth.

Did the ancient Saints enjoy the spiritual gifts and blessings of the Gospel—the gifts of knowledge, wisdom, faith, healing, tongues, interpretations, discerning of spirits, revelation, prophecy, visitation of angels, etc.? Yes: and do the Latter-day Saints enjoy these things? You know they do, for you are witnesses of these things—then this institution exactly resembles that which Jesus established upon the earth when He was here. It is the same in its principles and ordinances; its officers and organization; and the same results—the same gifts and graces grow out of obedience to its requirements. If you compare the institution known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with that institution described in the New Testament, you will find they correspond with each other, as face answers to face in the mirror. This feat of organizing a Church which should in every respect resemble that of Christ’s, has been the ambition of the learned and pious reformers for centuries past; but they have failed. The world, however, are now compelled to admit one or the other of the two following conclusions: Either Joseph Smith, unlettered youth though he was, has so far outstripped the learning and wisdom of ages, and by the power of his own genius accomplished that which genius aided by scholarship could not do in previous centuries; or else they must conclude that God has in very deed again spoken from heaven, and revealed the Gospel and the organization of His Kingdom, through Joseph Smith. The first conclusion is absurd; the second is the true solution of the mystery, and thousands testify of it.

Another reason I would offer to sustain his being called of God, is—he started right. I have seen a motto somewhere, which reads: “Well begun, is half done.”

Jesus, when among His disciples on one occasion, appeared curious to know what people thought of Him; so He said to His Apostles, “Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?” He was answered, that some said He was John the Baptist, others Elias, or one of the prophets. “But whom say ye that I am?” Peter answered, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona,” said Jesus, “for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven * * * and upon this rock will I build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. xvi.). What was that “rock” upon which the Church was to be built? It was upon the principle of God revealing unto men that Jesus was the Christ—the principle of revelation.

In the Spring of 1820, Joseph Smith, in obedience to the instruction given in James—“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him”—was praying in the woods to the Father, when he was suddenly enwrapped in a glorious vision. He saw a pillar of light descending from heaven—it rested upon him—its brightness exceeded the brightness of the sun at noonday. In the midst of this glorious light stood two personages: each resembling the other. One standing a little above the other, pointing to the one below him said: “This is My Beloved Son; Hear ye Him!”—“Blessed art thou, Peter, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” The same could be said to Joseph Smith now, for the Father had revealed the Son to him. “And upon this rock will I build my church.” Hence we say Joseph Smith started upon the very principle upon which Jesus said He would build His Church.

Not only did Joseph start right, but he continued right. John, the Revelator, said that an angel would bring the everlasting Gospel to the earth in the hour of God’s judgment; Joseph Smith declares that the angel Moroni, who had been one of the ancient Prophets upon this American continent, came to him, and taught him many principles of the Gospel, and also delivered to him the metallic plates containing the Book of Mormon, in which is contained the “fulness of the everlasting Gospel.” Thus was the Gospel restored to the earth, according to the prediction of the Scripture. John made the prediction; Joseph Smith declares its fulfillment.

Furthermore, he received the authority to administer in the ordinances of this Gospel as the Scriptures direct. He did not take the honor upon himself, for the Scriptures forbid that. I will read from the 5th chapter of Hebrews, 4th verse. Paul, speaking of those who minister in the things pertaining to God, says:

“And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.”

The question now for our consideration is, how was Aaron called? For if we can find out how he was called, we shall then know how all other men must be called before they have authority to administer in the Gospel. Suppose that on the Statute books of Utah Territory, we should find a law which said, “No man shall be governor of Utah, except he be appointed as was Governor Young.” If that law was in force, what would we do if we were without a governor, and wanted one? We would turn back in the history of Utah, and find how Governor Young was appointed, and then appoint one the same way; very well, let us do the same thing in the case before us, as they are parallel cases. How was Aaron called? We read in the 4th chapter of Exodus, that the Lord called Moses to go and deliver Israel out of Egypt. Moses excused himself, and desired the Lord to send someone else, as he was not eloquent, but slow of speech. This angered the Lord, and He said, “Who hath made man’s mouth?” And the Lord promised to be with him, and teach him what he should say. Still Moses shrank; so the Lord says, “Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. * * And he shall be thy spokesman to the people: and he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of a God.” On another occasion, when further authority was granted to Aaron, the word of the Lord came through Moses, saying, “Take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may administer unto me in the priest’s office,” etc. (Exodus, 28th chapter.) From this, then, we learn that Aaron was called by the word of God coming to a Prophet of God, calling him to administer in things pertaining to God; and Paul states the law—no man taketh this honor unto himself, except he be called in the same way that Aaron was. Joseph Smith was called according to this law. John the Baptist, a Prophet of God, who had held the Priesthood of Aaron when on the earth, came to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and placing his hands upon their heads, ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood, which gave them authority to preach repentance, and baptize for the remission of sins. Subsequently, Peter, James and John came, and conferred the apostleship upon them, which gave them the authority to build up the Kingdom of God in all the world. Thus he received his authority of God according to the Gospel law relating to this matter.

But let us come to more positive proof than we have yet considered.

I read from the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, 64th verse, the Lord in speaking to the first Elders of the Church, makes this promise unto them through Joseph Smith: “Therefore, as I said unto mine apostles I say unto you again, that every soul that believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost.”

Here, now, is a promise that an impostor dare not make. It is placed within the reach of all men to test the truth whether Joseph Smith was authorized to make such a promise or not. It is just as much a test as that which Jesus gave to the people in His day, when He taught them in their temples, saying, “If any man will do the will of my Father in Heaven, he shall know of the doctrine, whether I speak of myself or of Him who sent me.” So now we are told by this modern teacher, that if we believe on his words, and are baptized, we shall receive the Holy Ghost. If this promise is not fulfilled, then it proves beyond all controversy that the person making it is an impostor. But seeing it is something that man cannot bestow upon another by his own power, if the promise is fulfilled, and men do receive the Holy Ghost, then it is positive evidence that Joseph was authorized of God to make that promise. Thousands can testify that this promise has been fulfilled. Most of you in this hall, if called upon, would doubtless testify that you have received the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. For one I can bear testimony that I have received the Holy Ghost, through obedience to the Gospel. It has expanded my mind, and enabled me to understand many of the principles connected with the Church and Kingdom of God. I have frequently felt it thrill from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet. I could as soon doubt the existence of the sunlight, as doubt the existence of the Holy Ghost within me, and which I have received in fulfillment of this promise in the Doctrine and Covenants.

But I read further, in the same section, “And these signs shall follow them that believe—In my name they shall do many wonderful works; In my name they shall cast out devils; In my name they shall heal the sick; In my name they shall open the eyes of the blind, and unstop the ears of the deaf; And the tongue of the dumb shall speak; And if any man shall minister poison unto them it shall not hurt them; And the poison of a serpent shall not have power to harm them. But a commandment I give unto them, that they shall not boast themselves of these things, neither speak them before the world.” That is, we shall not boast before the world that God has promised to deliver us of these things. We may learn a lesson from Jesus on this subject—The devil took Him to the pinnacle of the temple, and now, said he, if thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written, I will give mine angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands shall they bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. “It is also written,” replied Jesus, “thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” So today, we shall not boast ourselves of these things, and tempt the Lord.

But are these signs and blessings in the Church which Joseph Smith established? You, my brethren and sisters, know they are: you know that it is a common thing to send for the Elders to administer to the sick, and they are healed, and thousands in Utah, and hundreds throughout the world, can testify that they have seen the power of God manifest in the Church. If these promises made through Joseph Smith, had not been realized, it would have proven him an impostor; their being fulfilled, is an evidence that he was called of God.

The Lord gave unto ancient Israel a rule by which they might prove the men who spake to them in the name of the Lord, that they might know whether God had sent them or not; you will find it in the 18th chapter of Deuteronomy, 22nd verse.

“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”

This, then, was the test made; if their prophecies failed to come to pass when the wheel of time brought them due, the Lord had not sent them. If their prophecies were fulfilled, then Israel might know that the Lord had sent them. Since it is claimed that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, let us try him by this rule. Many of his predictions are on record, let us examine them. We must confine ourselves to a few, however, for lack of time prevents us from making a very extensive examination.

I call your attention to a prediction recorded in section 103, of the Doctrine and Covenants, verses 5, 6 and 7.

“But verily I say unto you, that I have decreed a decree which my people shall realize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour unto the counsel which I, the Lord their God, shall give unto them. Behold they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour. And by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the saints, to possess it forever and ever.”

This prophecy was given in February, 1834—a few months after the Saints were driven from Jackson County, Missouri. Now, take the history of the Saints from that time until the present, and to my mind, it appears to be one continual series of triumphs. The Saints being driven from Jackson County, did not stop the progress of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel was preached more extensively, and the fruits of the Elders’ labors were more abundant; and when five years later the Saints were expelled from the State of Missouri, 12,000 were driven instead of 1,200 as in the drivings in Jackson County. The only visible effect of their expulsion from Missouri, was to give the work fresh impetus. The exiled Saints settled in Illinois, started to build a great city, and began the erection of a noble temple, at the same time sending the Gospel to the European nations. Eight years after, when they were again obliged to move, instead of 12,000 going, there were 20,000 that began their march for the West. They settled in these mountains, and although great difficulties have had to be surmounted, still the work of God has been growing; and if the Saints had to move again, 150,000 would leave their homes—so persecution has not stayed the work of God.

Again; when the Saints were in Missouri, they had but one temple; today we have one temple completed and several more in course of erection—some of which will soon be finished.

In 1833, they drove our fathers from a single county in Missouri; five years later it was found that they had possession of several counties.

In 1846, they drove our parents from a single city and its surroundings; they came to the wilderness, and founded a Territory which we possess; and we are spreading over into the surrounding States and Territories, and today the cry of Zion’s children is—“Give us room that we may dwell!” We have prevailed against every obstacle—the prophecy so far has been fulfilled; and if we will but hearken to the counsels of God, we shall never cease to triumph, until the kingdoms of this world are the kingdoms of our God and His Christ.

In Sec. 87 of the Doctrine and Covenants, is the remarkable prophecy of Joseph Smith’s, relating to the great rebellion of the Southern States. Before I read that part of the prophecy of which I wish more particularly to speak, I will pave the way for it. When reasoning with infidels on the truth of the Jewish Scriptures, I have often alluded to the many prophecies in the Bible, and then have shown from history that these predictions have been verified—hence they were inspired. They would generally try to destroy the force of my argument by claiming that the predictions were made after the events had transpired; that is, they were not predictions in fact, but were written by fanatics to deceive mankind. But I wish to show my young brethren this prophecy on the war of the rebellion cannot be overthrown by such assumptions as these, to which I have just alluded.

This revelation and prophecy on war, was given December 25, 1832; the events it predicts did not commence until 1861—29 years after the prophecy was made. I have heard several of the leading Elders of the Church say, they carried with them manuscript copies of that prophecy in their preaching tours throughout the States, and occasionally would read it to the people: better still—in the year 1851, Elder F. D. Richards published in England a book called, “The Pearl of Great Price;” among other interesting matter it contained, was this prophecy on war. This was nine years before the war it predicted began. As this book was widely circulated both in Europe and America, no one can ever use the old infidel argument against it—that is, that the prediction was made after the event had occurred.

I read from the Book of Covenants:

“Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that shall shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which shall eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls; And the time will come that war will be poured out on all nations, beginning at this place.

“For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations.”

We have already shown that this prediction was made a number of years before it began to be fulfilled. It now remains for us to prove that the events spoken of, actually occurred.

It is a matter of history that the first gun fired “in the late unpleasantness,” was fired upon Fort Sumpter, from a rebel battery in South Carolina, and from there the war spread to other States. The trouble started, then, where Joseph Smith said it would begin—South Carolina.

It was to “end in the death and misery of many souls.” This, however, was contrary to the expectations both of the North and the South. The South claimed that in a short time they would be able to compel the North to acknowledge them as an independent nation. While Abraham Lincoln was equally confident in his ability to put his foot upon the neck of the Rebellion and crush out its life; his first levy for troops was only for 90,000 men, for 90 days. But whatever the expectations of men might be, the Lord had said the war should “end in the death and misery of many souls.” All who are acquainted with the history of the Rebellion know that it thus ended.

I, myself, have visited many of the battlegrounds in the Southern States. Not long ago I was on the battlefield of Shiloh, on the Tennessee River, where 20,000 men were killed in two days: I have also passed over the battlefields around Nashville, Franklin, and Murfreesboro; also over Missionary Ridge, Chiamaugel, and Mount Lookout. Last summer I visited Richmond, and passed over that part of country where the Battles of the Wilderness were fought, where over three hundred thousand men laid down their lives in their respective causes; and as I called to mind the thousands who had been slain on these battlefields I have mentioned, and many others—said: The fact that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, is written in characters of blood to this generation, and yet they regard it not.

But this war was to end in the “misery of many souls,” and when I called to mind the sorrow of the sister who looked in vain for the return of the brother—the companion of her childhood—when I thought of the tears that had fretted channels in the pale cheek of the mother who looked in vain for the return of her son, who in the buoyancy of youth had gone to do battle in his country’s cause—when I thought of the wife, who still watched and waited for the return of him whose strong arm was to be her support through life’s dreary march—when I called to mind all the anguish these hearts felt, I exclaimed—That Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, is witnessed by the tears and heartrending sobs of these multitudes who have looked and waited in vain for the return of their loved ones.

The Southern States were to call on Great Britain to assist them. Did they do it? Yes. The Southern States Confederacy sent two men, Messrs. Mason and Slidell, to negotiate with the English government, with the view of getting assistance; but they were captured and brought back to the United States. This is a familiar matter of history. England, too, was to call upon other nations to protect themselves against other nations. Has this been done? To answer that question we have but to allude to the treaties now existing between Great Britain and other European nations. Thus you see this prophecy, so far as we have read it, has been minutely fulfilled—fulfilled in every particular, and the rest of it will be, so fast as the wheels of time shall bring the events due; and the fulfillment of these prophecies prove beyond controversy, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and “spake as he was moved upon by the Holy Ghost.”

There is just one more item I will refer to, and then close.

It was always a strange thing to me, that Joseph Smith should have to lay down his life, until I found the following passage of Scripture: it is contained in the 9th chapter of Hebrews, 16 and 17 verses:

“For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

“For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.”

Joseph was the instrument through which God ushered in the dispensation of the fullness of times—the greatest of all dispensations—in which God will complete His work, pertaining to the salvation of men on the earth; it was a great work—Joseph was to testify of it—and “where a testament is there must needs be,” says Paul, “the death of the testator.” So when Joseph Smith fell by the old well-curb at Carthage jail, pierced by the bullets of assassins, he placed the capstone upon his mission by sealing it with his blood—and from that time henceforth it is in force on all the world.

Discourse by Elder John Morgan, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, January 20th, 1884.

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on to perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

“Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

I have read the first and second verses of the 6th chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews.

Having been requested to occupy a portion of the time allotted to our afternoon service, I desire an interest in your faith and prayers and confidence, that I may be enabled to say those things which will be acceptable to our common Father and God in the heavens, and will be for our good.

The Latter-day Saints who have congregated together this afternoon for religious worship, come for a particular specified object, having in view the strengthening of their spiritual natures, the receiving of light, intelligence and knowledge from on high on matters that pertain unto eternal life. To enable us to accomplish this object, it is necessary that we draw in our minds from the things by which we are surrounded, and endeavor to concentrate our faith upon the duties which devolve upon us in religious worship. And it is no meaningless phrase when an Elder of Israel asks the faith and prayers of Israel in his behalf, that he may be clothed upon by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to say those things that will be for the good of the people.

We have laid down here certain principles of the Gospel that Paul taught to the Hebrews nearly 2,000 years ago, but principles that were not new even in that day; on the contrary, principles of eternal truth which have always existed, that always will exist, which cannot be changed in their form, cannot be annihilated through the unbelief of the human family; for they are self-existent and do not depend upon the belief or unbelief of men for their sustenance or for their destruction. In this consists their greatness, that they are not dependent upon the arm of flesh for their existence; for they were just as true when rejected by the Hebrews in days of old as they were in times before that, as they are today—accepted by a few of the human family, but rejected by the great mass. The Latter-day Saints, then, feel to congratulate themselves upon this point—that they have built their faith upon a rock which cannot be destroyed, and that will exist not only through the ages of time, but throughout all the endless ages of eternity. Having existed in eternity in the past, it exists today, and will exist in the eternities to come.

These principles are plain and simple, so plain and so simple that a wayfaring man though a fool need not err therein; on the contrary they are suited to the capacity of the whole human family, the unlearned as well as the learned. There was this peculiar feature about these principles when they were promulgated in the days of Jesus: as a rule it was the unlearned of the human family that were willing to yield obedience to them; it was the common people who heard him gladly. The teachers of the Jews, they who had control of the synagogues, who stood in the foremost places in the nation, rejected the lowly Nazarene and His teachings, while fishermen from the shores of the Sea of Galilee heard and received Him gladly. That peculiar feature to a greater or less extent adheres to those principles today. Gathered from the middle walks of life, from the various nations of the earth, coming from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, for the Gospel’s sake; gathered together in these valleys of the mountains, the Latter-day Saints are willing to sacrifice the good opinion of the world; willing to sacrifice all that man holds near and dear to him for the sake of the truth; willing to forsake kindred and home, the graves of our ancestors, and those associations that bind themselves round the heart—coming here for the sole purpose of being instrumental in the hands of God in establishing His Kingdom, in bringing to pass His purposes, in proclaiming the glad tidings of the Gospel—tidings that were proclaimed to the shepherds upon the plains of Bethlehem 1,800 years ago, “On earth peace, good will toward men;” bringing with us a broad charity and philanthropy for the world, desiring to better the human family, and allowing our charity to go out broader than that even—reaching behind the veil, taking hold upon the things pertaining not only to this life, but redeeming those who have preceded us into the spirit world—allowing our charity to go out so broad that we give a possible salvation to every son and daughter of Adam that ever came upon the face of the earth, or that shall come.

Paul calls those principles that I have read over, “the doctrine of Christ.” He calls one of those principles the doctrine of repentance. The Latter-day Saints who have gathered from the nations of the earth will bear me out when I say that the doctrine of repentance as believed in by them is different in many respects to the doctrine of repentance as it existed in the lands from whence they came. As the Latter-day Saints understand the doctrine of repentance, it is to turn from that which is wrong; to forsake evil and cleave unto that which is good. If a man has been a wrongdoer, let him be a wrongdoer no longer; let him conform his life to the principles of integrity and righteousness and honor; let him keep the commandments of God in their letter and in their spirit. I care not what the professions of a man may be; I care not with what air of sanctity he may be clothed; without the observance of this law in its true sense, it is not repentance.

Paul speaks of another principle which he calls faith; and in the 11th chapter of his epistle to the Hebrews, he gives some information in regard to its nature and character. He says: “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight. Women received their dead raised to life again,” etc. Faith certainly is a most important principle, and without it, I ask the Latter-day Saints how long could we exist as a body? I have often heard the remark made by those unacquainted with the Gospel, those who knew not the truth, but yet who were willing to look dispassionately, yea, even kindly upon the errors and fallacies as they termed them and believed them to be that we are indulging in—the question has been asked by this class of persons: “How does it come, by what process is it that the Latter-day Saints, surrounded as they have been, surrounded as they are today, environed around about upon every side by difficulties that seem insurmountable, difficulties and obstacles that might cause, apparently, the stoutest heart to quake and the firmest knees to tremble—that in their hour of trial and tribulation they always had confidence that in the outcome, it would all be well with Israel, that no matter what might be done, it would in the end prove for the good of the Kingdom of God, until, the motto, ‘They can do nothing against, but only for us,’ has become a household word in the midst of the Saints?” Why, when the powers and influences of the world are brought to bear upon the Latter-day Saints, whether collectively or in an individual capacity, they cling to this principle of faith; they believe in the promises of the God of Israel; they believe that God will not falsify His word; they believe that God will establish His Kingdom, and bring to pass His purposes in the earth. The faith of the Latter-day Saints is a living principle. A Latter-day Saint devoid of the principle of faith, would be an anomaly—in fact such an one could not be a Latter-day Saint; for it requires faith in the God of Israel to stand the tests that they are called upon to pass through. Yet calmly and quietly, deliberately, with full confidence in Jehovah, they can go forth in the discharge of their duties as they understand them, believing that in the outcome God will be their friend and protector in the future as He has been in the past; as He has brought them through the trials and tribulations of days gone by, so will he do in the future. This principle of faith, therefore, that Paul taught to the Hebrews, was certainly a most important one, and it is one without which it would be impossible for the Latter-day Saints to have succeeded.

Paul also speaks of the doctrine of baptisms; not in the singular, but in the plural, apparently, as though there were two baptisms. “The doctrine of baptisms,” he says. We find, following after the principles of faith and repentance, the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins, as John the forerunner of Jesus taught, as Paul taught, and as Jesus himself taught. It is upon record here that they taught baptism for the remission of sins, of those who would submit to the ordinance of baptism. Or, in other words, to more clearly explain what I wish to, the sins of human beings up till the age at which they are baptized are recorded against them. If they are willing to submit to the ordinance of baptism by immersion, having faith in God, repenting of their sins, by one having authority, God gives them His promise that He will remit their sins; that all that have been committed in the past shall be blotted out from the book of His remembrance, and from that day forth they are free from the sins of the past. The ordinance of baptism, then, is not an ordinance to us of mere form, or something that is submitted to simply because it is an ordinance of the Church. On the contrary, it is positively essential to the salvation of the human family. Nicodemus, in times of old, came to Jesus upon this subject, and apparently asked Him the question, If there was some other possibly better method whereby man could enter the Kingdom of God, and he was told by the Redeemer, that “no man could enter the Kingdom of God, except he had been born of the water and of the Spirit.” This is the law as it is laid down. If there is any difference of opinion upon the part of any single individual on this subject, it is not with me, but it is with the word of God, as given through His Son Jesus Christ—that except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit he can in no wise enter the Kingdom of God. The Latter-day Saints believe this, and act accordingly—that except a man be born again he could not even see the Kingdom of God, let alone enter therein. The ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins is, then, to Latter-day Saints a very important ordinance.

Paul speaks of another ordinance that he terms the “laying on of hands.” I have found in traveling in the midst of the Christian world, that very often Christian people would agree with me in relation to the principles of which I have spoken. They would say: “Yes, we believe that idea of faith is correct; we believe that idea of repentance is correct; we believe that idea of baptism even is correct; but they were not strong enough apparently to believe in this principle called the “laying on of hands,” which Paul terms one of the doctrines of Christ. We find that this principle is practiced in the midst of the Latter-day Saints as also an essential ordinance—that except a man be baptized in water and born of the Spirit, by the laying on of hands, he can in no wise enter the Kingdom of God. This is the light, we are told, that is given to every soul that comes upon the earth; not to the Latter-day Saints alone, not to the former-day Saints alone, not to those alone who were baptized, but to every soul that cometh upon the earth. The ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins being essential, so is the ordinance of the laying on of hands, that men may receive the Holy Spirit; or, in other words, the laying on of hands is the medium that God has instituted for His children to be placed in communication with Himself, that they may receive the Spirit that leads and guides and directs unto all truth, that brings things past to our remembrance, that shows us things to come, that opens up the visions of heaven and makes known unto us the mind and will of God. I remember one minister with whom I had the privilege of conversing upon this principle. He stated that it looked reasonable; that he did not know really but what it was correct, and doubtless had been neglected in times gone by. Well, he got to thinking over the matter, and he read, “He will show you things to come.” He came to me with some questions. One was, “Do you mean to say the Holy Spirit will show a man things to come?” “Yes.” “Well, of course if it shewed me things to come I could tell of it?” “Yes.” “Would not that constitute me a prophet?” “It would.” “Well,” said he, “this generation will not endure this thing; it is too strong doctrine.” I replied that no generation that I had ever read or heard of had endured it; but that in all the ages gone by when God had placed men here upon the earth with authority to confer this gift, they had invariably been rejected of men. This principle is believed in and practiced by the Latter-day Saints. We read in one instance, that is doubtless fresh in the minds of many of the Latter-day Saints—as contained in the 8th Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles—where certain men had been baptized; but they had to send for the Apostles to go into the portion of country where those baptisms had occurred, and we read: “Then laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost.” The Latter-day Saints believe that not only was that principle efficacious in that direction in that day, but that it is true today as then. The Latter-day Saints bear testimony of its truth; that having repented of their sins, having faith in God, having been baptized, having received the laying on of hands, they have received the Holy Spirit, they have received knowledge, light and intelligence from on high, that God has revealed to them certain principles of truth and righteousness. If this is the case, I ask, how can we unlearn these things? How can we unknow them at the dictation of the world. Will fines and imprisonment take this knowledge away from us? Will disfranchisement take this knowledge away from us? Will death itself take this knowledge away from us? No, verily, I say to you, it will not. It is with us here today; it will be and abide with us when we go hence. The knowledge I have in relation to this principle—of which I bear my testimony to you this day—that I received through the laying of hands, I expect to retain with me so long as I live in accordance with the laws and principles of truth and righteousness. When I turn away from these, there may be a veil of darkness drawn over my mind; but I can never free myself from the fact that I had once a knowledge of the things of God.

These four principles are termed the first principles of the Gospel of the Son of God. These principles the Latter-day Saints believe in. These were the principles that were enunciated by Joseph Smith, 50 years ago. These were the principles, and about the only principles at that time—very nearly the only principles—in the original organization of the Church—that were taught to the world.

But let us reflect in relation to the record and history of that day. Men tell us that a certain doctrine we believe in today—a doctrine that has been taught and revealed at more recent date—is the cause of our difficulty. But I ask you, were not difficulties met by the Latter-day Saints, in the early history of the Church, such as we meet today? Were they not driven and tossed to and fro? Were they not subject to persecution and death, to fines and imprisonment? Were they not cast out from the Christian world in that day before this obnoxious—as they term it—principle was revealed? Were they not cast out for the doctrine of faith in the God of Israel, for the doctrine of repentance, turning from wrongdoing, for the doctrine of baptism for the remission of sins, for the doctrine of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands? Were the Saints persecuted formerly? So they are today; and doubtless this will continue until one or the other power is vanquished; for it is not a struggle between a few people, citizens of the United States, who live here in the Territory of Utah, and in the surrounding States and Territories, to the number of 150,000 or 200,000 people, and the people of the world. It is not a contest between these two parties, by any means, no more than it was a contest between Luther, when, at the Diet at Worms, he exclaimed: “Here I take my stand. I can do no more and no less.” It was not a contest between him individually and the priests, but it was a contest between truth and error, right and wrong. It was a contest between the advancement of the human family and their retrogression. This conflict today cannot be narrowed down to the few people who live in the Territory of Utah. But running out from here as veins and arteries from the human heart, it penetrates and permeates the whole universe, going from the rivers to the ends thereof, and to all the nations of the human family. This struggle which we are engaged in today, the struggle that Joseph Smith was engaged in 50 years ago, in the infancy of this work; the clash of opinion and the conflict of ideas that existed in the days of Nauvoo, that exists today; all this does not pertain alone to the Latter-day Saints, my friends, but, on the contrary, to the good, to the salvation and to the redemption of the whole human family—broader in its scope, mightier in its influence than it is generally acknowledged to be. Then, can this conflict cease at the command of men? Can laws be passed to stop this struggle? Is it in the power of kingdoms and principalities and governments to stay the onward march and progress of the principles of truth? No more than it was in times gone by when the march of thought in its onward progress was sought to be stayed by the hand of the mother church from Rome. No more today than it could in the days when the Puritans in England, when the Huguenots in France, asked the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of their own conscience; and almost as a parody on human nature, when these very same Puritans came to the land of America, they in turn could turn upon the Quakers and persecute them for religion’s sake, bore holes through the tongues of the people that did not agree with them in religious matters. But what did all this accomplish? The world looks back—the Christian world looks back with shame upon this record of their ancestors, and yet in turn they do the very same thing today, to be followed in a generation or two by people whose faces will mantle with the blush of shame, that in this free land of America, under a government established for the freedom of the human family, where the religious exile, the exile for thought and ideas, from the nations of the earth could come to for protection; that in this land dedicated to freedom and equality to all men there should have found footing the idea that men must be persecuted for religion’s sake, for belief’s sake. Let the Latter-day Saints then, understand and comprehend that this struggle which we are engaged in, broadens out and extends itself not to us alone, but to the nations of the earth, to the whole human family. I imagine I hear someone say, “But is not that a contradiction?” You asserted a few moments ago that baptism was essential to the salvation of the human family, and as there has been but a very few of the human family baptized, how is it with the rest who have not had the privilege of this ordinance? Paul very correctly wrote, and the translators very correctly translated this passage that I read, wherein he refers to the doctrine of baptisms, for there is more than one baptism. We read of the baptism of water for the remission of sin. We read of another baptism; for as I have already quoted, except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he can in no wise enter into the Kingdom of God. Then we ask ourselves the question, What shall become of the untold millions of the human family who have not heard the sound of the Gospel? What shall we do with those who have not even heard anything relative to the plan of salvation? Our Christian friends, for instance, devote many thousands of dollars and pounds sterling to the conversion of the heathen as they are pleased to call them, and to carry the Bible to those who are unacquainted with it. This is certainly very commendable; this certainly shows a most philanthropic spirit upon their part; this is an evidence of goodwill to the human family, and it is to be commended. But inasmuch as they reach but a very few, we ask ourselves the question, What shall become of the rest? To the Latter-day Saints this is a solved problem. We assert this not simply with the words of our lips; we assert this not simply in editorials and pamphlets written; but we prove our faith by our works. Almost within the sound of my voice here, there is a magnificent temple being erected at the expense of many hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the town of St. George in the south, at the expense of nearly half a million; at Manti, in Sanpete County; at Logan, in Cache; we have four temples either completed or nearly so. At Nauvoo, when the Saints were storm-tossed with persecution, surrounded about by mobs, and every influence that fiendish vindictiveness could think of, was brought to bear upon them, they built themselves a magnificent temple there. At Kirtland, in the days of their infancy, when the labors which they performed were very arduous in comparison with the labors the Latter-day Saints have to perform today in the building of these temples, they built another temple. What are these temples for? There is an object in their being built. We prove our faith in these things by our works, seeking not only to redeem ourselves, seeking not only salvation for our own household, but extending its influence beyond and reaching out to those of our progenitors who have gone before us into the spirit world and are there, becoming acquainted with the principles of eternal life; for as recorded in the 3rd Chapter of the Epistle of Peter, “Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” Or as we find it still further recorded in the 4th chapter of the same epistle: “For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” We also find a question asked of our Savior, as recorded in the account of His crucifixion in the book of Saint Luke. One of the thieves who was crucified alongside of our Savior, said to Him: “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” Jesus could not consistently do this; for He had told Nicodemus previous to that, that except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit he could not enter into His Kingdom; and this thief, acknowledging that he was worthy of death, was, consequently, an unrepentant, unbaptized sinner. Jesus, however, turned to him and said: “Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.” The Christian world have made the mistake of imagining, believing and teaching that Jesus and the thief on the cross went back to the bosom of our Father and God in heaven. But we find, after the resurrection of our Savior, when He stood by the open door of the sepulchre, Mary came, and recognizing Him, put out her hands to touch Him. But Jesus said: “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father in heaven: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” During the three days that the body of Jesus lay in the tomb, then, where was the spirit that formerly inhabited the body? According to the testimony of Peter, as recorded in the 3rd Chapter of the first epistle of Peter, it was preaching to the spirits in prison; and Isaiah tells us that it was for this that Jesus was to come; it was to loose the bonds of the prisoners; it was to open the prison door. Men who had lived in days gone by, who had failed to obey the commandments of God, who had passed into the spirit world, according to the accepted idea of a few years ago—Christian ideas change about these things, you know—these people were eternally lost. There was no possible chance for their redemption; but having closed their eyes in death as sinners in the sight of God, they were under condemnation to all eternity. A strange parody indeed upon the idea of God’s love and mercy for His children! God is love, we are told, and yet in the short space of one man’s life, that man’s sins and errors—nay, more than that, he might have lived honorably and honestly; he might have sought to do as best he knew how; he might have been a good citizen, a good father, a good husband; he might have filled all these duties acceptably, yet if he is outside the pale of the Church and death overtakes him in that condition, he was eternally lost according to the Christian idea of a few years ago. Leading thinkers of today, in the Christian world are changing their views very materially in relation to this matter, as within the past few years I heard the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher declare, that, if his God reigned in the next world, every man and woman who did not learn the truth here, should have the privilege there. Then we find also Dr. Thomas, of Chicago, a leading light in the religious world, and very many who are distinguished in the religious world, are today changing their ideas and theories in relation to this matter. One of the peculiar features connected with the Gospel in days gone by is often presented to my mind in this wise: Jesus taught some of His doctrines in the midst of the Pharisees and Scribes. They found that certain of His doctrines were popular; they found that certain of His doctrines were very pleasant; they found that certain of His doctrines were very agreeable. And so they did what He told them they were doing. They poured new wine into their old Pharisee bottles; they endeavored to patch their Sadducee coat with a new piece of cloth; but they were told that they would burst their bottles, and make a larger rent in their coat than there was. So it is today. When Mr. Beecher introduces to the Christian world the idea that there is a redemption beyond the grave, he shakes the pillars of so called Christianity; he gives them a mightier blow than could be given by an Elder advocating the same doctrine; and when Dr. Thomas, of Chicago, advanced that idea to his intelligent audience, it went like wild fire over the land that so distinguished a theologian as Dr. Thomas, had declared that there was a chance for redemption after the grave. This new wine, revealed from heaven in this day and age of the world, through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, a man who was despised by the world, is being taken by the wise men and poured into their sectarian bottles, and in the end the result will be as it was with the Pharisees in times gone by.

But this doctrine has more of a meaning to the Latter-day Saints than simply preaching to the spirits in prison. We read here in the old Bible where God, speaking through the mouth of one of His Prophets, said certain things should transpire in the last days. “Behold,” says the Lord through His Prophet Malachi, “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” So today the Latter-day Saints testify that God having sent the Prophet Elijah to the earth to reveal this principle, or rather to give the key for the administration of this principle, the hearts of the children here upon the earth are being turned to the fathers behind the veil, and the hearts of the fathers behind the veil are being turned to their children here upon the earth, the one feeling after the other for their redemption; for without them we cannot be perfect, neither can they without us. This plan of salvation that the Latter-day Saints believe in is broad, indeed it reaches out to the whole human family, present, past and future. We read in the 15th Chapter of 1st Corinthians, an explanation of this expression of Paul’s in regard to the two baptisms. In the 29th verse of that Chapter he says: “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” Or as Paul expresses it in the 19th verse of the same chapter: “If in this life only, we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” Paul in preaching to the Corinthians said that very few of them took hold of the Gospel. The great mass rejected Paul. Paul, however, with that broad philanthropy of heart, lit up by the light that first came to him on his way to Damascus, would have been miserable indeed had he not learned of this great principle that in the spirit world these Corinthians would be preached to and taught. So the Latter-day Saints today would be of all men the most miserable if they did not recognize this principle of preaching to spirits in prison and baptism for the dead. The Latter-day Saints are fulfilling the Scripture, which says that there shall be gathered home to Zion, “one of a city and two of a family.” In many instances one person of an entire lineage is all there is in the Church and Kingdom of God. That being the case, what of the fathers and the mothers, the brothers and the sisters, the relatives near and dear, who have not had the opportunity of accepting the Gospel? How glorious, how grand a work it is that swells the hearts of Israel to know that we can enter into the temples of the living God and redeem our dead and become in truth and in deed saviors upon Mount Zion! Certainly no nobler, no grander, no mightier principle has ever been revealed to the human family than this. And though we may have doctrines that are obnoxious to the world; though we may have principles that innovate upon established ideas; though we may have ideas that conflict with those of the honest and the good, and those who love the principles of integrity and righteousness; though we may have all these, yet when we come to reflect in regard to this one principle, that of itself alone should be sufficient to recommend the Latter-day Saints to the whole civilized world; that of itself should blot out from their remembrance those other matters that seem to disagree with and are unpleasant to them. That principle that is reaching out for the salvation of the untold myriads of the human family—the very possibility of it should cause the hearts of the whole human family to rejoice, should cause them to think, to feel and to act kindly towards a people who are seeking to carry out this principle. But human nature is very strong in relation to these matters, and as it has been in the past doubtless it will be in the future—that through much tribulation shall they come up who shall be clothed in robes of white, and that it is through trial and tribulation God shall have a tried people. The Latter-day Saints do not lay to themselves the flattering unction that there shall be peace, peace, peace, to us just yet; but that on the contrary this work and this struggle will continue; the nations of the earth will be brought to the knowledge of the truth; the honest of the blood of Israel will be gathered home; the kingdom of God will be built up; temples will be erected and the Saints will enter into them and redeem their dead, and cause the hearts of our fathers and our mothers who have gone before us into the spirit world to rejoice; and we shall join hands with the Prophets and Apostles of days gone by, with those of today who have preceded us behind the veil; with the good and the true of all ages; with our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ, and with God our Eternal Father in the heavens—all linked together in one mighty phalanx in this great and glorious work of the latter days.

May God bless you. Amen.

Discourse by Apostle George Teasdale, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, January 13th, 1884.

I likewise can bear my testimony to the truth of this work that the world please to call Mormonism. The “Mormon problem” is very easily defined if we consider the pretensions of the people called “Mormons.” From the time that Joseph Smith first declared that he had had a vision of the Father and the Son—from that time to the present, I know that the world have never been able to prove that his testimony was false. I know that they have never been able to prove that Moroni did not give to him the plates of gold, or that the translation called the Book of Mormon is false. I know that they have never been able to prove that John the Baptist did not visit Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and confer upon them the Holy Priesthood, even the Aaronic Priesthood; neither have I ever heard that it has been proved that the Melchizedek Priesthood and Apostleship were not restored by Peter, James and John. There has been a great deal said about Mormonism; quite a number of books written upon the subject; a great deal of derision has been made of it; but the testimony of the Latter-day Saints has never been proven to be false.

We have declared to the world that God has spoken from the heavens; that angels have appeared to the children of men; and that the keys of the Priesthood and intelligence have been restored to the earth—and we know it. We have invited the people to search the Scriptures to see if these things were not predicted—to find out if it had not been declared therein that it should come to pass in the last days that the God of heaven would establish His Kingdom upon the earth. There had to be a commencement. We read in the Bible that God set in the Church firstly Apostles, then Prophets, then Evangelists, and Teachers, for the work of the ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ. Paul declared that the Saints were the body of Christ, members in particular, and he bore the same testimony to the Corinthians that he bore to the Ephesians, concerning the fact that God had set in the Church firstly Apostles, then Prophets, etc. Might I ask where the revelation is that at any time set in the Church firstly Popes, then Cardinals, Archbishops, and Right Reverend Fathers in God? Might I ask where the revelation is authorizing the establishment of the Episcopal Church? Might I ask where the revelation is authorizing the alteration of the order of government which God had set in the Church? We are calmly told that these things are done away with. Who says so? Men whose business it is to try and prevent people from thinking for themselves, and to do the thinking for them. But as a responsible being I am bound to do my own thinking; and when it comes to a question of my eternal welfare, I take the liberty to think for myself. I am told that holy men of old wrote and spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and that the Scriptures were not to be understood by private interpretation. I believe as a child of God, that I have a right to receive intelligence, for it was predicted ages ago that God would give to those who loved Him line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until they were perfected. The object of the Apostleship was the edification of the Saints. Now, I can understand the value of this Apostleship. Those who hold it are to be taught by the revelations of God, and have authority to call upon men everywhere to repent, to believe in the living and true God, to cease from their heresies, to cease from their wickedness and abominations, to lead perfect and pure lives, and to give them the privilege of being baptized by immersion for the remission of sins, and to have hands laid upon them, that they may receive the Holy Ghost. This, we are given to understand by the historians, was the manner in which the Kingdom of God was established in the days of the Savior, and if it had remained upon the earth there would have been a continuation of the Apostleship.

When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He did not give us to understand that the whole work was finished so far as we were concerned as individuals; because the last instructions that He gave to His Apostles, as recorded by the historian Mark, and which were given after His crucifixion and resurrection were: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” And we are told that the Apostles went and preached this doctrine; called upon men everywhere to repent of their sins, called upon them to repent of their false modes and manner of worship. They preached exclusive salvation. They had the only way to be saved. This was what rendered them so unpopular. This is what renders us so unpopular today. But if we preach the same doctrine, if we have similar power, if God has spoken from the heavens and has declared to His children the necessity of their repentance, and has chosen men to hold the Priesthood, and go forth to the nations of the earth; if this is the case, where will the wicked and ungodly be? I think, myself, it should be a matter of interest to all classes of people, especially rulers, to make themselves acquainted with the doctrines of the Latter-day Saints, with the principles which they teach, so that they may act in wisdom. They have to give an account of the deeds done in the body; they will have to stand before the bar of God; their record will be there; and I say it is to the individual interest of every man, whether he is a king or a beggar, to make his record of such a character that he will dare to meet it; because as sure as we live today, we shall have to face the record we make upon earth.

Now, why should so much fault be found with the Latter-day Saints? Right here, I would ask, why should so much fault have been found with the Lord Jesus Christ? Why should so much fault have been found with the Apostles and their followers? Why did they not, when they found it was distasteful to the majority of the people, give up their belief and become one with them, as we are kindly invited to do? Why did they not, in the midst of their persecutions—when they were being torn to pieces by wild beasts, etc.—rise up and say: “Will it not be better, seeing our religion is so distasteful to mankind, to stop our mode of worship, and worship with the majority?” Why, they never dreamed of such a thing. I have never heard of a faithful man that ever lived who dreamed of such a thing as giving up that which he believed to be true for the sake of the approbation even of millions. Joseph Smith, the Prophet, Seer and Revelator, stood alone and declared that God had spoken from the heavens, and when people believed his testimony, when they accepted the doctrines he taught, God bore witness to them that he was a true Prophet. They discovered that the doctrine which he taught was that which was taught anciently; they discovered by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ, that in the last days the Kingdom of God was to be established upon the earth; and in their simplicity they believed that it had to be commenced with a few; and that it had to commence wherever the Great Eternal determined that it should commence. He revealed Himself that He might have a testator on the earth who knew that He lived, who knew that Jesus was the Christ. He revealed Himself to the boy Joseph Smith, who had sought Him in perfect faith. And, then, in order that the world might be left without excuse, when He sent the angel Moroni to reveal the history of the house of Jacob on this continent, He did not have the fact of his visit dependent upon the testimony of one man. Others were privileged to receive the visits of heavenly messengers, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word should be established. When did the three witnesses—Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer, and Martin Harris—ever declare otherwise than that they saw an angel, and that they heard the voice of God declare that the book called the Book of Mormon, had been translated by the power of God? They were never known—though they left the Church—to have flinched from that testimony, and their testimony is as good as the testimony of anybody else. It never has been impeached. And then again: Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith both declared that John the Baptist came and laid his hands upon their heads and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood. Who had any idea that there was any necessity for John the Baptist to come? Where were there any records to that effect? And yet we are told emphatically that John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ. But the world contend that he filled his mission as the forerunner of Christ in His first coming. I will take the privilege of questioning that, if you please, and will tell you why I do so. By referring to the 40th chapter of Isaiah, we there find these words: “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” It then goes on to say: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low.” Now, when John the Baptist came, did he speak comforting words to Jerusalem? When the Priests and Pharisees—those professedly holy men—came to him to be baptized in Jordan, what did he say to them? “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth fruits meet for repentance, etc.” He was the forerunner of Christ. He declared so himself. The Lord Jesus bore testimony of him. He said: “This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare the way before time.” Now, it is true that John the Baptist came as the forerunner of Jesus; it is true that he filled his mission so far; but we know very well that the people generally did not receive him, and ultimately they beheaded him. We know that they did not receive Jesus. They crucified Him. Instead of speaking comforting words to Jerusalem, He exclaimed: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” Were these comforting words to Jerusalem? I think not. It is very evident that John the Baptist was not only the forerunner of His first coming, but also of His second advent. The Scriptures are plain on this matter.

But let us follow the history of the Apostles, and what do we find? Martyrdom for every one of them, John the Revelator alone excepted. What do we find concerning the Saints? Cruel persecution and death, until, in consequence of the awful crime of the shedding of innocent blood, God in His displeasure withdrew the Priesthood from the earth, and left it as it was before the coming of the Messiah, without divine authority. Was this statement of things predicted? Most assuredly it was predicted by the Prophets of old. It was foretold by Paul, who declared that after his departure grievous wolves would enter in among the flocks and destroy them. He also beseeches the Thessalonians not to be soon shaken, or troubled, in regard to the day of Christ being at hand. He told them not to be deceived by any means: “for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first.” Has there been a falling away? Why, the prediction is verified by every sect in Christendom, when they calmly tell us that the spiritual gifts of the Gospel have been done away with, and that they are no longer needed. I argue that it is just as necessary today—if God is an unchangeable God, if He is the same yesterday, today and forever—that we should enjoy the spiritual gifts of the Gospel as in former days, above all the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, the spirit of truth by which I may comprehend the relationship that exists between me as an individual here upon the earth and my Father who is in heaven. By carefully reading the revelations of St. John, you will find the apostasy foretold. You will find the Church represented as a woman surrounded by twelve stars. You will also find the history of the bringing forth of the Priesthood, and of the woman going into the wilderness for a season. You will also find the history of the establishment of the church of Satan—which is likewise represented by a woman sitting upon a scarlet colored beast; she was proclaimed the Mother of Harlots—a church that was to hold dominion over all the nations of the earth. John also saw the restoration of the everlasting Gospel, as proclaimed in Revelation, 14th chapter and 6th verse: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Now, if the Gospel was upon the earth, there certainly would be no necessity of an angel bringing the Gospel; there would be no necessity for the restoration of any thing that had not been lost. But seeing that this order of government had been lost—this order of Priesthood—this authority which was given unto the ancient Apostles—it was absolutely essential that it should be restored, otherwise, how could the Gospel of the Kingdom be preached in all the world for a witness before the second advent of the Lord Jesus Christ? For Christ Himself declared: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”

Now, is it not tidings of great joy to learn that God has spoken from the heavens; to know that there are men upon the earth who have authority to preach the Gospel; to know that we can receive a remission of our sins, that we can be made clean, and that we can be taught the ways of the Lord, that we may walk in His paths? Is not this tidings of great joy when we think of the confusion and ignorance that exists in the world today? To all reasoning men it must be a source of great consolation. I know it is a cause of great joy to me to know that the Apostleship has been restored, to know that these principles are true and faithful; that God is the same yesterday, today and forever, when faith is manifested; that the signs follow the believer according to his faith; and that all who do the will of the Father are most assuredly put in the possession of the knowledge that the principles that were taught by the Messiah and by His Apostles are true.

Since I last had the privilege of bearing my testimony from this stand, I have visited the temple of God at St. George, and spent a season there, and I want to bear my testimony to the truth of the doctrine of baptism for the dead. When Paul was arguing with the Corinthians, some of them were foolish enough to contend that there was no resurrection; they had believed, had been baptized, and they had been a certain portion of time in the Church; but their traditions and their lack of understanding caused them to believe that there was no such thing as the resurrection. Paul, in his argument, made use of the following language: “Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” Do you know why the ancient Saints were baptized for the dead, and do you know why Paul used this argument when they were disputing this principle of the resurrection? We do, for God has revealed it. He says: “Why stand we in jeopardy every hour? If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.” Now, don’t you think it would have been wise in Paul to have taken the advice that some of our friends pretend to give us? Don’t you think it would have been wise in Paul, when he stood in jeopardy every day, to give up those principles which rendered him so unpopular among the people? The same question is propounded to us today. People say, “Give up your religion; it is unpopular; we don’t like it, and we are fifty millions strong. We want you to please do as we do, say as we say, and be as we are.” But in order to make the thing not quite so glaring—not quite so gross an injustice—they say, “Will you please give up your plural marriage and do as we do? If you must have a plurality of women, marry one and keep the others and raise illegitimate children as we do.” That is the English of it. It may be distasteful to tell so much truth in one afternoon; but that is the English of it. I have traveled in a few of the nations of the earth; I have seen some of their finest cities; and I have seen the effects of the workings of what is termed high Christian civilization.

But before referring to this allow me to go back a little with regard to the pretensions of Joseph Smith because this is the “Mormon” problem; “it lies in a nutshell.” Joseph Smith was a true Prophet sent of God, or he was not. He held the keys and powers of the Priesthood, or he did not. These he conferred upon other men in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before his death. Now, those upon whom he conferred these keys have the Apostleship, or they have not; they have the authority of God, or they have not; they hold the keys of the Priesthood, or they do not; God our Eternal Father, reveals His mind and will from the heavens to His children in these valleys of the Rocky Mountains, or He does not. We testify He does.

Without quoting any more Scripture, let us reason together a little while. Who knew of the necessity of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthood? Joseph Smith had a vision of the Father and the Son. Who ever conceived of the necessity of such a vision? There was an absence of the knowledge of God. The world by wisdom know not God. The being that is worshipped by so-called Christianity, is a being without a body, parts or passions. In order that He might have a testator upon the earth, God revealed Himself, so that we might understand a little concerning the personality of God; as it is written, we are created in His image. Then the Book of Mormon was brought forth. Jesus Christ declared, “other sheep I have, which are not of this fold.” Those “other sheep” had to be visited; and the Book of Mormon gives us a history of Christ’s visit to them—the aborigines of this continent, called the American Indians, but really the descendants of Jacob. We have given unto us within the lids of this book (Book of Mormon) the fullness of the everlasting Gospel. We have the principles of the Gospel laid down in their simplicity—plainer by far than in the Bible, though agreeing with that sacred record. It is in reality the stick of Judah that is contained in the Bible; the stick of Ephraim is contained in the Book of Mormon. Isaiah prophesied concerning the coming forth of this book. In fact the writings of the Prophets are pregnant with predictions concerning the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the latter days.

Joseph Smith declared that John the Baptist came and restored the Aaronic Priesthood, and also that Peter, James and John restored the Apostleship, and the keys and powers thereof. Please tell me who it was that put it into the heart of this so called impostor (Joseph Smith) regarding the coming forth of this book? Will you please tell me where he acquired the wisdom to concoct such a record? Who taught Joseph Smith the necessity of the Aaronic and Melchizedek Priesthoods? Who taught Joseph Smith the perfect system of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Who taught him the necessity of three High Priests presiding over the Church of Christ like unto Peter, James and John? Who taught him the necessity of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and of their powers and duties and the presidency thereof? Who taught him the necessity of the High Priesthood in their presidings? Who taught him the necessity of the Seventies and their organization? Who taught him the necessity of the Elders’ Quorum, the Priests’ Quorum, the Teachers’ Quorum, and the Deacons’ Quorum? Who taught him the organization of the Stakes of Zion with their presidency, their High Council, their Bishops, Teachers, etc? Who taught him the necessity of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost? Who taught him the necessity of holding keys of Priesthood, and that God would reveal principles through this channel that had been hidden from before the foundation of the world? Who taught him of the pre-existence of the spirit of man? Who taught him the philosophy of our probation upon the earth, and the results that would flow from a faithful observance of the principles of righteousness? He declared that Jesus Christ taught him; he declared that all these things were received through the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ to him. When people say that Joseph Smith was an impostor, they make him one of the greatest men that ever lived in view of the religion he founded. Again, who taught him the necessity of marriage for eternity? Who taught him the doctrine of baptism for the dead? Who taught him the principles of the resurrection and eternal judgment, as described in this Book of Doctrine and Covenants? I answer, God the Eternal Father.

Now, will you please tell me why the world are so embittered against us as a people? I will tell you. It is upon the same principle that they were embittered against the Messiah. The Messiah came with His bowels filled with compassion and love for the human family. He taught them how to be saved to the uttermost. He taught them exclusive salvation. Joseph Smith was a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and acted under His instructions. His life and works boldly tell that he was no impostor. He was, indeed and of a truth, a true Prophet of God. He declared the principles of eternal life, and those principles have been carried to the nations of the earth. What has followed the preaching of the Gospel? Judgment, calamity and desolation have come, in many instances, upon those who have rejected it; upon those who have cast us out and spurned the message of life and salvation: for it has been decreed by the Almighty. The hour of His judgment has come. You take this large congregation. If they had the opportunity of testifying, they would declare in words of soberness that God had revealed to them the principles of the Gospel, and that it was for that reason that they left the States, the islands of the sea, the nations of Europe, and came to this country; it was because they received a knowledge that these principles were true. They had been impressed by His Spirit to gather here; it is the gathering of Israel. In doing this they were told by their friends that they were deceived; but I ask any man who has accepted these principles, who has practiced them in solid faith, if he has ever been deceived? Never, no never. God has been true to His word. He has done His part. He has placed us in the possession of a knowledge of these principles, He has brought us home to Zion from the various nations where we were scattered. He has taught us the principles of righteousness through His appointed channel, by His Holy Spirit, and woe be unto us if we harden our hearts and close our ears against the pleadings of the Holy Ghost. We should sanctify ourselves before, the Lord, and live holy and pure lives. We are living in the last days. We have no time to trifle. We are in the midst of the judgments of Almighty God. He has declared that desolation should cover the earth, and that He would waste the inhabitants away who would not listen to His voice. How can the Latter-day Saints escape if they neglect so great a salvation? We are called upon to be ministers of righteousness. We are building temples. We have no right in those temples unless we can go in as saviors upon Mount Zion. We never can be upon Mount Zion unless we save ourselves from this untoward generation. We must practice the principles of righteousness. We must give up our follies, our light speeches, our loud laughter and our inhuman feeling with regard to our children placing them in a position where they are under the dominion of Belial, and under that influence that would wean them from the principles of righteousness. We must repent of our sins. We must listen to the voice of God through His servants. We must sanctify ourselves before Him or we cannot assist Him in the establishment of His righteousness upon the earth. You know this as well as I do. What right have I to require of anybody what I will not do myself? What right have I to expect of anybody what I do not do myself? No, we must save ourselves. We must make our calling and election sure. Who is afraid to die but the sinner? Who is afraid of death but those who have sinned and who dread to meet the consequence of those sins behind the veil? But those who love the principles of righteousness and who practice them know that they have passed from death unto life. They know that they are redeemed through the precious blood of the Redeemer. When they pass into the spirit world it is not in blindness. They know that they are going into the presence of the Lamb, and the Church of the Firstborn. They know that they belong to that Church, and they also know whether they have kept their garments clean or not. Have we any occasion to fear the people? Have we any occasion to fear nations? Do we fear when we go forth in their midst, traveling one or two at a time in the midst of our enemies with threatenings on every hand? Do we fear under those circumstances? No; and if we can trust ourselves in the hands of God, under those conditions, I think we can trust Him today. And as far as I am concerned as an individual, not one principle that God has revealed from the heavens do I dare to go back on—not one principle. I believe in the fullness of the everlasting Gospel. I believe in plural marriage as a part of the Gospel, just as much as I believe in baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. The same Being who taught me baptism for the remission of sins, taught me plural marriage, and its necessity and glory. Can I afford to give up a single principle? I cannot. If I had to give up one principle I would have to give up my religion. If I gave up the first principle of the revelations of the Lord, I would prove before my brethren, before the angels, before God the Eternal Father, that I was unworthy the exaltation that He has promised me. I do not know how you feel; but I do not fear the face of man as I fear the face of God. I fear lest when I go behind the veil and have to meet my progenitors, that I should meet them as a traitor, as a man who had not the backbone to stand by the principles of righteousness for fear of my life; or for fear of some calamity that might come upon me. How would they look upon me? How we would be condemned if we dared suggest such a thing as to say that we would give up the first principle of eternal truth! I bear my solemn testimony that plural marriage is as true as any principle that has been revealed from the heavens. I bear my testimony that it is a necessity, and that the Church of Christ in its fullness never existed without it. Where you have the eternity of marriage you are bound to have plural marriage; bound to; and it is one of the marks of the Church of Jesus Christ in its sealing ordinances. “Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven.” We know how sensitive the Prophet Joseph was to introduce this principle. He knew the feeling that was against it. It had been taught from the days of heathen Rome down to the present time that a man should have but one wife, which has resulted in the prostitution of many of the fair daughters of Eve as mistresses. Here we have too much love for women to see them trampled in the dust. Here we have too much respect for unborn spirits to have them come into the world branded as bastards, illegitimate, in shame, without knowing their fathers. The children we have are legitimate. They are our own. We honor them and our wives. Our children are given unto us of God, for our wives are given to us of God. We never should have thought of practicing this principle if God had not revealed it from the heavens and commanded it, and we must stand by it and by every principle that He has revealed. It is more than I dare, to go back on that principle or any other principle; and I have besought the Lord with all my heart that He would give me strength according to my day that I might never fail in my integrity, but that I might stand firm as the pillars of heaven to the truths that He has revealed for the redemption of the human family. I understand my own weaknesses; I understand my own insufficiency; but my trust is in the living and true God. And I have a testimony that for over thirty years He has sustained me through some very crooked and tight places by His Almighty power. He has stood by me, been my friend; and so far my testimony and my love for the principles of righteousness are as deep and earnest as my first love, and more so; for I have witnessed His loving kindness in the sealing powers and bonds of the everlasting covenant; I have been privileged to see the magnificent manner in which He has provided for His children, in placing them in a position that they may become like unto Him—eternal, without end of years.

That God may give us grace to stand true and faithful to our covenants, and endure to the end, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Discourse by President Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, January 6th, 1884.

The testimonies of the servants of God, which we hear so frequently from this stand, ought to make an impression upon the minds of those who hear them—they ought to have weight, for the reason that those who bear them declare in solemnity, in the presence of God, that they know that which they testify is true; and when a man, or any number of men, arise in the presence of their fellow men, and declare in words of truth and soberness, that certain things are true, that they know them to be true, that they are willing to bear testimony of them be– fore God and the people, and to suffer all things for their truth, even to death itself, it should make an impression upon the human mind, and inspire those who hear these testimonies with a disposition to at least investigate and withhold their condemnation. Because, unless a man knows something to the contrary, unless he has had a testimony that these things are false, he is not justified in condemning them. There is only one way in which they can be fairly condemned, and that is by proving their falsity, by obtaining knowledge that is directly in contradiction to that which is borne testimony to. In this consists the condemnation of the inhabitants of the earth at the present time, as it has consisted in every age when God has had a work to do upon the earth. Certain men have gone forward in the midst of their fellow men, and in solemnity and in truth have testified that God has spoken, that God has given revelations, that God is doing a certain work in the earth of which they are the witnesses. They know this, they say, for themselves and bear testimony of it, and exhort their fellow men to seek for knowledge in the same manner in which they have sought for it, with an assurance that if they do so they will obtain knowledge. Now, notwithstanding men have done this, the world, without pretending to have any counter demonstration or testimony, without being able to disprove by the same sort of evidence, condemn wholesale, without discrimination or hesitation those testimonies and declare them to be false, and assert that the men who bear them are either deceived themselves or are striving to deceive somebody else.

I do not think this is fair. It never was fair. It is not a proper method of dealing with affairs of this character; because if there is a God, and one man says he has had communication with Him, and another, who believes also, or professes to believe in God, denies that the first has had any such communication, and yet does not pretend that God told him any such thing, does not pretend to have had any communication from God—the contradiction of the one is not equal to the affirmation of the other. It is the height of presumption for a man who professes to believe in God, to rise up and at his own instance and of his own will, because he chooses to take that view of God, and of God’s method of dealing with man, and declare that the testimony of the man who says he has had revelation from God is false. Why, anyone at a glance can see that it is an improper way to deal with the subject. If he does not have revelation himself from God, he should, at least, be modest in contradicting the testimony of others who declare that they have had revelation from Him. The whole religious world in Christendom profess to believe in God. They declare that God lives and are continually preaching to the people a belief in Him, a belief in Jesus, saying that Jesus is the Son of God, that He lived upon the earth in the flesh, that He has gone to the Father, and that they are His ministers, having power to do certain things in His name, and to teach His doctrines. They say to the people who do not listen to them: “You will be visited with the most terrible judgments if you do not believe what we say; you will go to hell, and you will burn there throughout the countless ages of eternity, if you do not believe what we tell you.” Now, when men go to their fellow men and make such statements as these, and assume such prerogatives and powers as these, and say that their fellow men will be condemned by wholesale to eternal hell for not listening to them, they certainly ought to have some method of communicating with the Being they represent, and whose ministers they profess to be, and they ought to know more than other men—more than common men at least—about the Being who, they say, sends them as His ministers. But what are the facts? Here is Brother Woodruff, who for the last half century has been testifying, as he has this afternoon in your hearing, with all the energy of his soul—for he has been a very zealous man all his days—he has been testifying to all people to whom he could get access, that God has spoken from the heavens and restored the plan of salvation in its ancient purity, and the Church as it was organized upon the earth in the days of Jesus, with the plenitude of its gifts and powers and graces, and that this condition of things now exists upon the earth, and that he is a living witness of it; that God has really revealed this to him, so that he has become a witness through revelation from God, of its truth. He has declared this. Hundreds have made a similar declaration, and hundreds are still testifying concerning these things to the inhabitants of the earth. But Christendom through some of its principal representatives says: “We don’t believe a word you say. We don’t believe God has spoken to you. We don’t believe God has given you any authority. We don’t believe your doctrine to be from God. We don’t believe that the church you have organized, and that you declare is the Church of Christ, is the Church of Christ; and so confident are we of this that we believe that it would be justifiable for you to be killed as a lot of impostors and dangerous men, and you ought to be broken up. If it should be necessary to do this, and it cannot be done any other way, we would be willing to have armies resort to violence and have bloodshed, rather than such a dreadful heresy and such a wicked system should be perpetuated on the earth.”

You turn to them—to these men who profess to have the fate of their fellow beings in their hands, whose efforts, as they state, will send millions to heaven and millions to hell—you ask these men who profess to have such awful powers as this—“By what authority do you make these statements? Has God given you any testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not the true Church? Has God told you anything about it?”

“Oh, no,” they will say, “God has not spoken to us. We do not believe He talks to anybody. We believe he has stopped all communication with man; that no living man has heard His voice, or knows anything about His mind and will.”

Now, this is their testimony. You cannot get any of them—at least I have not, and I speak so far as my own personal knowledge goes to declare that God has revealed to them either by the spirit of prophecy or by the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, that the doctrines taught by the “Mormon” people are false, or that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not of God, and yet, notwithstanding this, they take the course that I now describe. Here on one side is knowledge—at least it purports to be knowledge. Here are men who say they have actually received revelations from God; that God has poured out the Holy Ghost upon men and women; that Jesus has actually visited the earth in person, and been seen by living men; and that angels have been seen and conversed with by living men. They state this in all solemnity and in all truth, and as a test of the sincerity of their statements, they say to their fellow men: “If you will take a certain course that God has pointed out, and that we are authorized to designate; if you will take this certain course, you shall know also of the truth of our testimony. We do not make these statements expecting you to receive them simply because we make them; but we say to you, if you will take this course, if you will accept the conditions which God has prescribed and comply with them in sincerity and humility, you shall receive these blessings and this testimony for yourselves, and you then will be numbered as witnesses with us.”

What can be fairer than this? And this is the course that the servants of God have always taken with mankind, and hence, as I have said, the condemnation of the inhabitants of the earth, because they will not receive that testimony. They abuse the Church of Christ without having reason or foundation for doing so; they abuse it without having any evidence that is at all tangible or that can be relied upon; they have nothing more than their personal feelings, personal prejudice, and their personal tradition—that which they have inherited from their fathers—upon which to base their opposition.

Now, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been built up in this manner. Its strength consists in this peculiarity: that those who have embraced it as a rule—there may be exceptions—have taken the course which has been taught by the servants of God, and the result is that legions of witnesses have been raised up. It is not confined to one; it is not confined to the original few; but this testimony has extended itself, until it has brought within its fold men and women of almost every race; for it is not confined, happily, to sex no more than it is to nationality, but it is extended unto men of every race, and unto women of every race, and all these rise up as an army of witnesses, unanimously bearing testimony of the same great truths, declaring that it is not from their fathers, it is not from tradition, it is not from their teachers, it is not from any human source that they have derived their knowledge; but that God Himself, by His invisible power, by His superhuman power, by the outpouring of the Holy Ghost upon them, has borne testimony to them, so that they are thoroughly convinced and have a knowledge as strong as the knowledge that they themselves live, that this is the work of God, that He has established it, and that He will roll it forth and cause it to accomplish all that He has said it would. It is in this peculiarity that the strength of the people consists. If it was not for this we should be as weak as a rope of sand; there would be no cohesiveness or strength about us. But with this there is a power that makes hell tremble. It makes the Devil mad. It makes every man that is afraid of the truth angry in his spirit because of that which he sees. If men were not afraid of truth there would be no fear connected with this work. What is there about it to create fear? What is there in its manifestations, in its fruits, and in its operations upon the minds of the children of men to cause any man who loves truth to have any dread concerning it? Nothing whatever. It is beneficent in its operations. It elevates men and women; it makes them better, purer, more Godlike, more orderly. It bestows blessings—this system does—upon all who espouse it, and all who come within the range of its influence. And this has been its characteristic ever since its organization until today. You know it, each of you who have espoused it. You know its effects upon you. You know it has made you better men. You know it has made you men of purer lives, of loftier desires, of more Godlike aspirations. You all know this. Every man, every woman, and every child connected with this work is a witness of the truth of this. If it has this effect upon you, will it not have the same effect upon every human being who comes within the range of its influence and who bows in submission to its requirements? Certainly it will. There is no human being, however low, that it will not elevate, if he will obey it. It is the power and lever, so to speak, by which humanity will be elevated to the presence of God our Eternal Father, for the very reason that the exaltation which God has attained to, has been through obedience to these selfsame laws that are now taught to us. That which obeyeth law is preserved and sanctified by law. The people who obey law will be exalted by law; they will be preserved by it, they will be sanctified by it; and that is the effect of the teaching of the Gospel upon the Latter-day Saints.

While Brother Woodruff was talking, I thought what an immense labor it is to endeavor to accomplish that which the Prophets have told us will be brought to pass in the last days. I look at this people so comparatively few in numbers, and at the immense work that is to be accom– plished, and it seems an herculean, an impossible labor to the natural vision. It seems as if no human beings could accomplish it. But God has spoken concerning this work. His word has gone forth, and it cannot fail. This work will be accomplished, and it will be accomplished by the operation of truth. As Brother Woodruff has said, there is a power connected with truth, that when brought to bear upon human beings, has the effect that he has described, and has the effect that the Prophets have predicted concerning the last days. There will be a power exercised in our behalf, increasing as we are prepared to receive it; for this people with all their weaknesses, and they are many, are nevertheless drawing nearer and nearer to God every day, and faith is increasing in their midst. A generation of boys and girls are growing up who will have greater faith than their predecessors, their parents, have had, and the work will continue to grow and spread. And there is this to be taken into consideration, God having predicted the ushering in of the last dispensation, knowing the odds that would have to be contended with in establishing it: God knowing this has reserved in the heavens to come forth at this time the noblest of His spirits, the men and women most capable of carrying out this work, and achieving the grand results the Prophets have predicted should be accomplished in the day and generation, preparatory to the coming of the Son of Man. God knowing this, in His wisdom and foreknowledge has prepared the way beforehand, and there will be men and women brought forth who will carry off this work in the way He designs. Step by step, the adversary of God, that is the adversary of all truth, will have to recede. The struggle is between Satan and God. The struggle is for the supremacy of this earth, and you may depend upon it, it will not be given up without a mighty wrestle. The adversary has wielded this power now for nearly 2,000 years—1,400 years and upwards on this continent. For this period he has held undisturbed sway, it may be said—that is, if not entirely true it is nearly true in saying it has been undisturbed. There have occasionally some persons arisen who have endeavored to stem the tide of wickedness that the devil has caused to flow over the earth; but there has been no Priesthood on the earth, no organized church, no organized power, through whom God could operate, and you may depend upon it, now that there is one, there will be a mighty struggle. It will cost the best efforts of which we are capable, to lay the foundation so successfully that it shall not be overturned, to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every kind of opposition will be brought against this work. There is nothing that you can conceive of that will be kept back, and it will come upon us as fast as we are able to bear it. It is only the power of God that restrains our enemies from overwhelming us. If it were not that God has said this shall not be, and has told us that He will establish this work never more to be thrown down, we would not be able to stand. But victory will perch upon our banners, and will do so until the end. But it will not be without a mighty warfare, the hostility against this work will be continuous. No man need calculate on anything else. Why, just think of the results that are to be wrought out. Just think of what depends upon our labors and upon this con– test? We have been gathering the people from Babylon through the power of God to build up a Zion here. But see the results that attend our labors in this city and in this Territory. It seems as though all hell is endeavoring to defeat our object, and to defeat the cause of God in gathering the people out from the nations of the earth. The adversary has said:

“You shall not have a pure people; you shall not build up Zion; I will bring all my forces to bear against this; I will destroy the work of God; I will not allow the Priesthood of God to remain on the earth; I will kill them off, or I will do everything in my power to cripple them.”

Thus he brings every kind of influence to bear against this people. We would have a pure people here; we would have a Zion such as the Bible describes, if we were allowed; we would have a city in which angels might walk in the streets all day, if we could have our way; but Satan says: “You shall not. I will bring every power and influence to bear against you. I will besmear you in every way I can, and will make you so hateful in the eyes of all people, that they will come up against and destroy you. You shall not build up Zion, if I can prevent it.”

And you see the result. Every power that is conceivable is brought to bear against us. We are maligned. We are represented as everything that is vile. Men think that in killing us they will be doing God service; not because of our wickedness, but because they believe we are wicked, because the adversary has had such power through falsehood and misrepresentation, that men believe that they will be doing God service in exterminating us from the face of the earth. And what is it that restrains the efforts of our enemies? It is the power of God only. We should be overwhelmed if it were not for this invisible agency—invisible to us. There are legions of angels around us. Their power is exerted in our behalf, and the results we can see in the deliverances which are wrought out so miraculously for our good. It is a cause of amazement how we are delivered from time to time, so few in numbers, and so hated as we are. Our friends are filled with astonishment. Every few days, every few weeks, or every few months, they think that something is going to occur, that will cause our destruction—I mean friends who have not the faith and the knowledge that we have. But this work of our God will go forth, despite all the opposition that will be brought against it. It will win, because it is true. As we have been told by Brother Woodruff, the eternal principles of truth are on the earth now in an organized form, and you cannot kill them unless you kill the people themselves. There is no way to stop this work, except by the extirpation of the “Mormons,” or Latter-day Saints, root and branch! No other method can destroy them but that, and God will not permit it. His Priesthood is on the earth, and it will remain on the earth. You may kill off a few, still the Priesthood will remain, and it will exercise power in the earth. It will unite the people, and the power of God will attend its administration in the midst of the people. The honest will receive the Holy Ghost, they will have a knowledge of this work for themselves, and they will be ready to endure all the consequences that may attend the espousal of the truth, just as their predecessors have done in times that are past and in our own age. God will bless us if we seek to do His will. Remember, my brethren and sisters, that that which obeys law is preserved and sanctified by law. If you want to escape evils, obey the law that God has revealed. Keep His commandments. There is safety in this. It is a great work we are engaged in. The desire I have for every man and woman of this Church is, that they may be true, and that their children may live to be true to God in days to come; for we are laying the foundation of a work that shall stand undisturbed for one thousand years. Then, in the purposes of God, Satan will be loosed again for a little season, but it will only be for a little while. We are engaged in laying the foundations of that work. It is the most glorious work that could be committed to man. Angels delight in it, and we have the precious privilege of taking part in it. We have difficulties to contend with, but let them come. We will meet them, and what is better still, we will overcome them through God’s help, and our children will enjoy the blessings of liberty. I trust and pray that of this people who have fought so valiantly, and whose desires for the success of God’s Kingdom are so pure, there will be found men and women of their descent, who so long as time shall last, shall stand up possessed of the Holy Priesthood in the presence of God, to magnify it. This is my desire for myself, it is my desire for my family, it is my desire for my brethren and sisters throughout the Kingdom of God; and that God may grant that we may be exalted in His presence when our work is done, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by President Wilford Woodruff, delivered in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, January 6, 1884.

There is a proverb or saying which I have heard a good many times in my life, and which I think bears a great deal of weight, and that is, “truth is mighty and will prevail.” I think this has been manifested in every capacity in which truth has been used, whether applied temporally or spiritually; whether applied in the capacity of nations, or families, or individuals; whether applied to the world or to the kingdom of God. I think that in every age of the world, truth, whether it has been popular or unpopular, has proved itself, in the end of its labor, to prevail in all cases. When Columbus was moved upon by the Spirit of God, to cross the ocean to find a new continent, his object and desires were unpopular with those by whom he was surrounded, and it was only after a good deal of labor that he gained favor in the eyes of any of the rulers of the nations whereby to receive assistance sufficient to carry out his wishes. But in the end he prevailed. He found a new world, as it were, which today contains a population of the Anglo-Saxon race, numbering fifty millions of people. The commencement of Columbus’ project was certainly unpopular, but the result has proved it true. And so in all cases, whenever men have been inspired to receive truth, or to promulgate any principle, which would be a benefit to the human family, they have generally been unpopular. When Robert Fulton undertook to demonstrate the power of steam in a steamboat, the crowd which gathered to behold the event, did not gather to see success; they gathered there to ridicule, to see a man fail in performing a work which they considered impossible. But when the steam was applied to the vessel it moved. The invention was certainly very crude, but there was truth in it, and it has prevailed to a great extent; for steam is the great motive power of all the machinery in the world, in a great measure. And so with a Scottish Earl when he announced that there was a man going to try and light the City of Edinburgh with smoke. The man was looked upon as crazy. But there was truth in that smoke, and it lit the city, and it has given light to a good many other cities since. The principle prevailed, and is now adopted throughout the world. So with Mr. Morse, the electrician. He unsuccessfully in the first instance [in 1837-8], sought aid both from the American Congress and the English government to enable him to carry out his ideas; but, ultimately [in 1843] he gained assistance from Congress, and his invention of telegraphy was demonstrated a success, and is now made use of throughout the civilized world. And so we might go on to show that in almost every instance when men have undertaken to introduce new principles—principles of truth—principles that would benefit the human family—they have generally been very unpopular, until the truth was made manifest to the world.

The same thing may be applied to the introduction of the principles of eternal truth pertaining to the salvation of the human family in a spiritual point of view. When our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, stepped forth into the world to occupy the position to which He had been ordained of God, there were but few individuals who had faith in Him, or who were looking for the coming of the Son of Man in fulfillment of prophecy. Jesus, all His life, it may be said, from the manger to the cross, was very unpopular with the mass of the human family, more particularly the inhabitants of Jerusalem. His history is before the world. He died an ignominious death upon the cross, and those of His own Father’s house, the High Priests, and the leading men of Jerusalem, were all in favor of His death. Yet the Savior possessed truth. He offered truth to the world; He offered life and salvation to the world. But the principles He taught were unpopular in His day. He gathered around Him a few followers; but the acceptance of His principles cost them their lives, as it did the life of the Savior Himself. I do not know of a man—except it was John the Revelator—who escaped. They all died violent deaths. They had to seal their testimony with their blood. Some were crucified; others were sawn asunder, beheaded, or in some way put to death for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ. They were put to death for their religion. How is it today? What name has been more honored, or more held up as an ensample to the world than the name of Jesus Christ? The Catholic world, the Protestant world, in fact the whole Christian world are professing to honor the name of Jesus Christ. The Savior had truth, but it was not received in His day and time.

With regard to our own time my mind is often led to reflect upon it. Half a century has past and gone before the eyes of this generation, since the God of heaven commenced, as in former ages of the world, the fulfillment of prophecy and revelation contained in the Bible—this good old book that the Christian world profess to believe in so much. The Lord has set His hand to bring to pass some of these prophecies and principles which He had foreordained before the world was, and which He has left on record through the medium of holy men who wrote and spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost from generation to generation. Those prophecies are with us today. They are contained in the Bible, a book that is published by millions throughout the Christian world. The Christian world profess to honor the Bible and to honor the prophecies and sayings of Christ and the Apostles. But do they believe in the fulfillment of these things? Do they believe in the fulfillment of these principles and truths which are today being fulfilled in the eyes of heaven and earth? No. Those prophecies and those principles—which the God of heaven has set His hand to carry out—are as unpopular today throughout the Christian world as they were when Jesus of Nazareth stood in the flesh and proclaimed the same to the Jewish nation. We occupy the same position that they did in that day and generation with regard to these truths. Now, as I have said, truth is mighty. It always has prevailed in every age of the world. It will prevail in this dispensation as it has done in others. The God of Israel will no more fail today to carry out the principles which He has stretched forth His hand to establish, than he did in the days of either Adam, Enoch, Noah, or Jesus, or in the days of any other dispensation.

The principles to which I allude—the principles of the Gospel—are worthy the attention and comprehension of at least the Latter-day Saints, and it would be well for the Christian world to take them into consideration also; for if truth is going to prevail in the earth it certainly will involve the destiny of this whole generation, Jew and Gentile, high and low, rich and poor, Zion and Babylon. It will involve the destiny of the whole world—of the fourteen hundred millions of people who breathe the breath of life in it. And I bear record and testimony, as a servant of God, that the God of heaven has set His hand to carry out those great and eternal principles which He decreed before the world was made and which He has left on record through the mouths of His prophets, to be fulfilled in the last dispensation and fullness of times. Are these principles popular today? They are not. Why not? Because the world is not governed by the spirit of inspiration; because its people do not seek the Lord; because they do not honor His name; but they are governed and controlled by other principles. But the Lord will rule over His own Kingdom, notwithstanding the Devil has great dominion today as he has had in almost every age of the world. The inhabitants of the earth have their agency. They must use that agency according to the desires of their own hearts, whether they be for good, or whether they be for evil. But the day is at hand when the Lord will show the children of this generation that there is a God in Israel, as He has done in other dispensations when He has reigned. In all the history of the dealings of God with man this one principle, sooner or later, has manifested itself: that virtue exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people. You will see that this has been manifested in the history of all nations under heaven—in their rise and progress and prosperity, and in their fall and decline and in their final overthrow and destruction. You will find in every instance that sin, error, darkness, falsehood, wrongdoing, have laid the foundation of the overthrow of every nation and city under heaven from the foundation of the world until the present time. What men sow they will reap, and what measure they measure to others will be measured unto them.

Today we occupy a peculiar position as a people—as Latter-day Saints here in these mountains. Here is a people growing up in the earth who are organized into a Church, called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. How did the organization of that Church come about? Why, the God of heaven has proclaimed through His prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others, whose writings are contained within the lids of the Bible, that in the latter days He would set His hand to call forth His Church out of the wilderness and out of darkness and error, and establish it upon the foundation of truth, Christ Jesus being the chief corner stone. The God of heaven also proclaimed through Daniel, 4,000 years ago, that in the latter days he would set up a kingdom which should never be destroyed; and the kingdom should not be left to other people, but it should break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it should stand forever. That prophet also declared that a little stone should be cut out of the mountain without hands; that the stone should become a great mountain and fill the whole earth; and that it should break in pieces all other kingdoms. Was that Prophet inspired by the Spirit and power of God? I say in the name of Israel’s God he was, and so was Isaiah when he spoke of the gathering of the people unto the mountains of Israel to establish the Zion of God in its beauty, strength, power and glory. The God of heaven also inspired a prophet as he stood upon the Isle of Patmos—John the Revelator—and in connection with the great events of the last dispensation and fullness of times he saw, in vision, an “angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.” Now I want this congregation; I want the world; I want the Christian world; I want the priests of the day who cry aloud for the blood of innocence to be shed to carry out their desires—I want these priests and all who are laboring to overthrow “Mormonism,” to carefully inquire, whether those prophets were inspired of God. And if they were inspired of God, whether it is right for them to make war against the work of God in the earth? Whether it would not be better to let these things alone—to leave them in the hands of the Lord, and allow Him to govern and control as He sees fit? And if these men were inspired of the Lord and made those proclamations—with thousands of others in the Bible and in the revelations of God—the question is, whether this warfare against God and against His work is going to prevail? The wicked will have no such power; for the Lord has set His hand to fulfill these things which have been predicted by His Prophets—to establish His Church and Kingdom upon the earth. He has called Prophets, and they were inspired of God. Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God. He was a man raised up by the power of God. He received the testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by visions and revelation as did John the Revelator. Angels appeared unto him and taught him the ways of life. Those men who held the Priesthood—who were put to death in the flesh for the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ—visited Joseph Smith. John the Baptist conferred upon him the Aaronic Priesthood; Peter, James and John, the Apostleship and Melchizedek Priesthood; and all the Prophets who held any keys and powers belonging to the Gospel these also visited Joseph Smith, and conferred upon him those keys and powers and authority to administer them on the earth. These are eternal truths, as the God of heaven lives, and they will prevail whether men believe them or not, or whether the wicked war against them or not. These truths belong to God Himself. He is the author of them. He has given forth certain decrees, and they will have their fulfillment in the earth.

Now, as far as the Latter-day Saints are concerned, I will say to my brethren and sisters, we ought to contemplate these principles. There is no power organized beneath the heavens that can stay the hand of Almighty God. He has set His hand to carry out His purposes. The world hate this people, because the Lord has called them forth out of the world, the same as He called His disciples of old. This is the position we occupy today, as His people. Though our numbers are small, yet “a little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation:” and the Lord will hasten it in His time. A little one has already become more than a thousand, or a hundred thousand, and in spite of all opposition this small one will become a great nation, and God will hasten it in His time, because God is our friend. Now, these are truths. They have emanated from God Himself.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the law of salvation. No man can be saved without it. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth—to Jew or Greek, Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, or any other sect or party on the face of the earth.

We, as Latter-day Saints, are called upon to build up Zion. We have been gathered to be instructed by inspiration and through the medium of the Holy Priesthood, in the principles of eternal truth. This is our condition today. Fifty-three years have passed since this work commenced. Joseph Smith dwelt in the flesh some fourteen years after he organized this Church. He holds the keys of this dispensation on both sides of the veil, and will hold them forever. God ordained him to perform a certain work. He performed it. He stayed on earth until his work was finished. All the keys, powers and principles which God gave unto him he left with his brethren; although whatsoever he left with his brethren did not take from him; for as Jesus says in a revelation given in regard to the Priesthood:

“Whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.

“And he that receiveth my Father receiveth my Father’s kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.

“And this is according to the oath and the covenant which belongeth to the priesthood.

“But whoso breaketh this covenant after he hath received it, and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come.”—Doc. and Cov., Sec. 84.

Thus, although the Lord bestows upon His servants the same powers and blessings that He Himself holds, it does not take away these powers and blessings from the Father. The Father possesses all He had before. The Son possesses all that he hath given unto him. So do the sons of the living God. When a man bestows those gifts and blessings and powers upon others, he does not lose them himself. The Lord raised up Joseph Smith. He organized this Church. It has been organized for 54 years next April. And what has been the consequence? Have we had opposition? Yes. Have we had persecution? Yes. Is not the desire of a great many millions of people for our overthrow? Yes; and a great many wish us put to death. Some men go so far as to be willing to slay, utterly, men, women and children, because they believe what is termed “Mormonism,” but which is really the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These things are proclaimed to the world today. What is the matter? Mormonism is unpopular. Why is it unpopular? “Because,” say the priests of the day, “it interferes with our rights. We preach for hire and divine for money, and if the Mormons were to prevail in the earth, we should lose our business, and we cannot endure it.” “Why,” says the world, “you profess to believe in polygamy, and that is why you are persecuted.” No, you are mistaken about that. The worst persecution this Church ever endured was before polygamy was revealed to the Church. We have had more prosperity since we carried out that law, and endeavored to fulfill it according to the command of God, than we ever had as a people before. And here is the principle with me—I speak as an individual; I speak for myself—if this work is of God; if the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as revealed to Joseph Smith, is true, then God will take care of it; if the patriarchal law of marriage comes from the God of Israel, He will take care of it; He will protect and defend it, and He will uphold the people that carry it out. I say this is in the name of Israel’s God, And if it is not of God, who wants it? I don’t, neither do this people. I speak of this principle because I want my brethren and sisters to understand the views I have upon it.

I know we are engaged in the work of the Lord. I know this is His Church. He has organized it with Prophets and Apostles in fulfillment of predictions made thousands of years ago. This is a work which was ordained before the world was. The Lord Almighty never created a world like this and peopled it for 6,000 years, as he has done, without having some motive in view. That motive was, that we might come here and exercise our agency. The probation we are called upon to pass through, is intended to elevate us so that we can dwell in the presence of God our Father. And that eternal variety of character which existed in the heavens among the spirits—from God upon his throne down to Lucifer the son of the morning—exists here upon the earth. That variety will remain upon the earth in the creations of God, and for what I know, throughout the endless ages of eternity. Men will occupy different glories and positions according to their lives—according to the law they keep in the flesh.

But I want the Latter-day Saints to understand their position. Our trust is in God. With regard to men, it is our duty to treat our fel– lowmen aright, to leave them in the hands of God if they persecute us. The Lord has a controversy with this generation. This Bible, the Old and New Testament, contains a vast amount of, I will say, tremendous revelations, tremendous events, which hang over the heads of the people of this dispensation. Are these events going to fall unfulfilled? No; no more than they did in the days of the fall of Babylon, of Nineveh, of Jerusalem, and of other cities in the nations of the earth. When the inhabitants of Jerusalem became ripe in iniquity; though Jerusalem was the royal city, in which was the Urim and Thummim, and in which sacrifices were made unto the Lord, yet the city was laid low, and the Jews have been trampled under the feet of the Gentiles for 1,800 years. We are living at the commencement of the Millennium, and near the close of the 6,000th year of the world’s history. Tremendous events await this generation. You can read an account of them in the revelations of St. John; the opening of the seals; the blowing of the trumpets; the pouring out of the plagues; the judgments of God which will overtake the wicked when Great Babylon comes in remembrance before God, and when the sword that is bathed in heaven shall fall on Idumea, or the world, who shall be able to abide these things? Here we are living in the midst of these tremendous events.

We are in the hands of God; our nation is, and so are the nations of the earth; and when they undertake to overthrow the Kingdom of God, which is decreed shall be established, they have somebody to fight against besides Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, or John Taylor, or any other of the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This warfare is between God and the devil, between light and darkness, truth and error, between the heavens and the earth; and that God who has supported His work from the creation of the world, is bound to do it unto the end. Where have you ever read that the Kingdom of God would be overthrown in the last days? You cannot find it anywhere on the pages of the records of divine truth. No; the revelations of God will be fulfilled. And we must exercise faith in that direction. As the ancients had faith; as the world was created by faith; as Noah built an ark and preached the Gospel of repentance for 120 years by faith; as Abraham went out not knowing where he was going by faith; as the ancients performed many mighty works, such as the subduing of cities and kingdoms by faith; therefore I say to the Latter-day Saints, you are required by the God of Israel, your Heavenly Father, by his Son Jesus Christ, by the holy angels, and by every principle of eternal truth, to exercise faith in the revelations of God, for they will be fulfilled as the Lord lives. God is with this people. But we are required to hearken to his voice, obey his commandments, and humble ourselves before him. And I thank the Lord that I have lived to see the time when I believe there is a great improvement among the Latter-day Saints. I believe they are exercising greater faith in God. And there is a calmness prevailing among the Mormons—so called—that is a marvel and a wonder to the world. The world wonder why we are not excited over the opposition that is brought to bear upon us by the millions of people who inhabit this continent, as well as by the people of the nations of the earth. The reason of our calmness is—God is our friend, our lawgiver, our deliverer. If the Lord cannot sustain His work, we certainly cannot. But He can. He has always done it, and will do it to the end. Therefore I say to the Saints, fear not. Trust in God. Let not your hearts be faint. Let your prayers ascend to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, day and night. Ask what you want. When you do that, the Lord will answer your prayers, if you ask what is right. There is where our our strength lies. It is in God. I have no hope in anything else. But I do look upon the Latter-day Saints as occupying a most glorious position in this day and age of the world. This is the first time since God created the world that he has ever established a dispensation to remain on the earth until the coming of the Son of Man—to remain in power and strength and glory, until the Millennium, until He reigns whose right it is to reign. Behold what lies before you! Behold the power of God! Behold the prosperity of Zion! Behold the blessings which have rested upon your houses, your lands, your flocks and herds, your children—the blessings of the earth as well as of the heavens—in this mighty barren desert! Then should we have any doubts or fears with regard to the Kingdom of God? No! As a people we should rise up in faith and power before God, and make our wants known, and leave our destiny in His hands. It is there anyhow. It will remain there. And with regard to our nation, I leave them in the hands of God; but I would to God their eyes were open to see and understand the responsibilities that rest upon them. I would to God that the rulers of our land—the President of the United States, the Congress of the United States, the Supreme Court of the United States—would learn the responsibility the God of heaven will hold them to in the administration of those glorious principles laid down in the Constitution of the government of this country. The God of heaven will hold this nation, as well as all other nations, responsible for the manner in which these principles are used. If they misuse them, it will be their loss. If they trample the Constitution under foot; if they undertake to deprive any portion of citizens of the rights the Constitution guarantees unto them, they will be held responsible, and will have to pay the bill. When innocent blood is shed, it costs something; and I would to God that our nation could understand the blessings they enjoy. There is no nation on the face of the earth that has the same liberty that is guaranteed to us by the Constitution of our country.

Have we any warfare with our Government? Have we any reproach to offer them? Not at all. I feel sorry that this nation should sow seeds which when ripe will bring destruction; for I know as God lives that if this or any other government departs from the principles of truth, becomes ripened in iniquity, forsakes the Lord, forsakes the principles of life and liberty, the God of heaven will hold it responsible. Judgments will come upon the wicked. When men depart from the principles of truth and cleave unto darkness and wickedness, they reap the whirlwind; they lay the foundation for desolation.

I pray God my heavenly Father, that his blessing may rest upon us as Latter-day Saints; that we may comprehend and understand our position, our duties and our responsibilities to God. When I look, brethren and sisters, upon this handful of men and women here in these mountains of Israel, say 150,000, out of the fourteen hundred million people that dwell on the earth; when I realize the responsibility that God has laid upon the Latter-day Saints, the responsibility of building up this great kingdom of our God, of proclaiming the principles of eternal life, light and truth to the world; when I reflect upon these things I ask myself the question, What manner of men ought we to be? Our numbers are small compared even with the inhabitants of this nation, not to speak of the inhabitants of the world; yet, as I said before I say again, the God of heaven looks to the Latter-day Saints to carry on His work.

Then let us be careful. Let us realize our condition. Let us realize we are here upon a mission. Let us realize that we will be held responsible for the manner in which we fill it. We should be willing to sacrifice everything for the upbuilding of the Kingdom of God. Any man who will seek to save his life and desert the principles of the Gospel, is not worthy of eternal life. How many have laid down their lives since the creation of the world for the sake of the truth? Jesus Himself descended below all things. He descended, I believe, lower than any other man will be called to descend. Are we greater than Jesus? If we are called upon today to lay down our lives, what of it? Is it not as well to die for the Gospel’s sake as to die for anything else? A million of men, a few years ago, sacrificed their lives for the honor of this nation. No matter what we may be called to pass through, let us maintain our integrity to God. Where is the man whose mind has been lit up by the inspiration of God to comprehend the celestial kingdom, or the celestial law, or the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who can bear the idea of pursuing a course whereby he will be cut off from inheriting the blessings for which he has hoped in the future? No, I would rather die a thousand deaths than be deprived of these blessings. We have a long time to live when we get through here. There is all eternity before us. It will pay you, it will pay me—no matter what comes, no matter what this nation may do to oppress us—to be true and faithful to our covenants, to our wives and children, to our God and to our country; it will pay us to be faithful to the end.

I pray God that this may be our lot, that we may be true and faithful unto death, and inherit eternal life, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Remarks by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at the General Conference, Friday Afternoon, October 5th, 1883.

I am grateful for the opportunity of meeting in Conference once more with the Latter-day Saints, and for the health and strength given me to continue my labors among the people, and for this same blessing of health which is enjoyed by my brethren. I am thankful, too, that the Lord has raised up young men to bear off the Kingdom and help carry the burdens of the people. It is also a source of satisfaction that He has spoken and given instructions through His servant pertaining to the Seventies, to more fully organize and set in order the quorums of the Priesthood, the Seventies being more especially called as assistants to the Twelve Apostles, in the work of the ministry. And it is desirable that the revelation upon the subject should be fully carried out, the Priesthood in its various depart– ments fully organized, and everything set in order according to the word and mind of the Lord; that every quorum of the Priesthood, general and local, might be in good working order. For it devolves upon the quorums of the Melchizedek Priesthood to carry the Gospel to the nations, and to gather those that accept it. This work is great, the field is white, and the word of the Lord unto us, His servants, is to thrust in our sickles and reap, and gather the harvest of the earth. And here let me say, the Lord has sent His angels to superintend the work. The angel spoken of by John the Revelator, has flown with the everlasting Gospel to preach to those that dwell upon the earth; and it is given unto us that we should proclaim it to all nations, to every people under heaven, the decree having gone forth that this Gospel of the Kingdom should be preached to all nations, and then the end should come.

Many years have elapsed since this message began to be communicated to the sons of men; and we have become, comparatively speaking, a great people. A little one has indeed become a thousand. We, who a few years ago were only numbered by units and tens, now are numbered by thousands and tens of thousands, yea hundreds of thousands. And the Priesthood is correspondingly increasing in numbers and in ability to labor, and acquiring means to carry on the work of preaching the Gospel and of gathering Israel. The labor before us is not diminishing; it is extending on every hand, and the Lord desires to see the Elders of Israel in their various quorums and organizations interested, earnest and alive to their calling, anxious to perform well and faithfully the duties assigned them.

The Spirit of the Lord prompts from time to time the calling and setting apart of men to the work of the ministry, and sending them to different portions of the globe. And inasmuch as people feel earnest and anxious to do good, to use the means that God blesses them with in doing good, in sending the Gospel to the nations, and in gathering the elect of God—and as this feeling prevails and increases among the people generally—the Seventies and Elders, when they feel this spirit moving upon them, should not wait, supinely rest upon their oars, but be ready to act. And here permit me to say that that feeling which has to some extent prevailed with some in time past, that when men are named, either in Conference, or otherwise called on missions, to indulge in such remarks as this, “I wonder what he has been doing that he should be sent upon a mission.” Such a spirit should not exist in the minds of Latter-day Saints, as it is entirely foreign to those who call men to the ministry. Such a feeling is not worthy a man called to preach the Gospel of the Son of God. The qualifications of Elders that are sought after, and that should recommend a minister of the Gospel, should be an earnest desire to do good, a willingness to serve, a desire to know what the Lord has for him to do, and a readiness to at once engage in the undertaking, using himself and his means, if blessed with means, his talents or gifts bestowed upon him by the Lord, with an eye single to His honor and glory. And men who are at home, ought to show forth these qualities in their daily lives and conduct, by attending their quorum meetings and their ward meetings, and their general Priesthood meetings, and by improving every opportunity to learn their duty, and to improve themselves in their daily lives; by being prompt in paying their tithing and in bringing forth their offerings for the poor, and their contributions for the building of Temples. It may not be those who are loudest in their professions, but those actually pursuing this course of life. These are the men that will be useful on the earth, and whom the Lord will delight to own and bless in their labors in the ministry. And it is desirable, that in the various Stakes of Zion, where quorums are organized, that the Presidents of Stakes should encourage those quorums, and the presiding officers of the various quorums should endeavor to gather together all who have received the Priesthood, and see that they are enrolled in their respective quorums, and encourage them to attend their quorum meetings, and there seek for the counsels of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit that should rest upon the presiding officers of quorums to teach the members of the quorums all things pertaining to their duties, and how to become fitted for the labors whereunto God has called them. For all these quorums and organizations are so many classes for mutual improvement, edification and instruction; and the Presidents thereof are appointed and ordained to instruct the members of their quorums in all things in the line of their duty. And they should be encouraged by the Presidents of Stakes in their Quarterly Conferences to report progress and attendance of members, and the progress they are making in their qualifications. The Elders should thus be sought after; and according to the spirit they manifest in attending to their duties and qualifying themselves for the work of the ministry, they should be called into the field, whether from the Seventies or the Elders or the High Priests, the High Priests, however, being more especially expected to take the responsibility of presiding in Branches, in Stakes, in Wards, as Presidents of Stakes, as High Councilors, as Bishops, or Bishop’s Counselors, as Presiding Elders in the Conferences of the churches abroad. And the time is not far distant when the Elders of Israel will be required to turn their attention and labors among the branches of the house of Israel; and especially among the remnants of Joseph, upon this American Continent.

I am pleased to be able to testify, from my travels among the people, in attending Stake Conferences and Priesthood meetings, and hearing their reports from time to time, that there is a steady improvement in the feelings of the people. This was the testimony of Brother David P. Kimball, this morning, when he said, that he could perceive a decided improvement in the faith of the Latter-day Saints during the six years of his absence. I think this is especially visible to all those who are moving and acting among the people, they being the best able to judge of their true condition. This is a source of gratitude and thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father. I will not say of self-congratulation; for although we have reason for thanksgiving for the mercies and the blessings we have received, yet there are many things still to be done, very many improvements to be made, many weaknesses to be overcome, and very much yet to be done to instruct the people that they may be sanctified and prepared to endure the presence of the Lord, when he shall come; and to enable them to withstand the shocks of the enemy that will be directed against them. Much remains to be done by the people in putting away evils that still exist in our midst; and very much needs to be done in the various Wards and Stakes throughout all the settlements of the Saints by the local Priesthood. I don’t merely mean the Presidents of Stakes, the Bishops, the High Councilors, and the lesser Priesthood appointed to assist the Bishops—however important their labors may be and however necessary it may be that they should be alive and active; but they should also have the support of all High Priests, Seventies and Elders in their Wards. And every officer of the Priesthood should be alive and awake to see what good he might do, wherever and whenever the opportunity exists of doing good—in his own home and family first, watching over his own children, laboring to unite the hearts and feelings of his wife or wives and children, that peace may dwell in his own habitation, and the wisdom and knowledge of God grow and increase among his own household; and to see that his children do not grow up idlers, but are trained to be industrious, and taught to reach out after truth, that their spirits may not be unfruitful, and that they may be taught in the fear of the Lord, and to worship Him, and to call upon Him, and to have faith in Him, so that when sickness assails them that they may not first resort to the doctor, or desire to put their trust in medical men to heal them, for the Lord has commanded His people that when any are sick among them, they shall call for the Elders of the Church, who shall pray over them, and lay their hands upon them, and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick. This was the exhortation of the Apostle James to the former-day Saints, and it has been repeated to the Latter-day Saints. The revelations given unto us on this subject are to the effect that “they who have faith to be healed, shall be healed; the deaf who have faith to hear, shall hear; the lame who have faith to walk, shall walk, etc. And they who have not faith to do these things, but believe in me, I will have compassion upon them, and bear their infirmities, and they shall be nursed with herbs and mild food, and that not by the hand of an enemy.”

These things are for you, my brethren and sisters, and for your families, and all who are willing to receive the word and counsels of Almighty God. And if our faith is so weak that we have to resort to medical aid, let us do it trusting and relying upon God, seeking unto those who have faith, and who have confidence in God, and who do what they do unto the Lord, righteously, justly and honorably, seeking for the light of the Holy Ghost to help them in their profession. These will be far more likely to succeed and do good; but the other class are not to be relied upon, for all doctors have not faith any more than all lawyers or other men. But the sound, intelligent philosopher or Surgeon has respect for God and His works, which are made manifest in all nature and in nothing more than the human frame, which is after the image of God himself—fearfully and wonderfully made—and those who understand it best, respect, as a rule, the Maker, and acknowledge His wisdom as being superior to that of man, for there is nothing ever devised by man that is equal to his own organization in perfection and beauty, or in strength and durability.

Let us remember and ponder upon these counsels, and cleave to the Priesthood and have confidence in it; and let the Elders administer to the sick in faith, and let them rebuke disease when the Spirit prompts them, and it will be rebuked, and the sick will be healed by the power of God. Every Elder in Israel should so live before the Lord as to have confidence in Him to do this. And let the Presidents of Stakes and the Bishops and the leading influential men encourage faith among the people, depending upon God and the ordinances of His house rather than trusting in man. And while they seek for wisdom to nurse the sick in a manner calculated to do them good, let them learn too, that herb medicine, unless administered in wisdom and intelligence, is liable to injure the patient instead of benefiting him. And let the Elders lay aside strong drinks and tobacco, and discontinue the practice of everything having a tendency to injure the system, and set examples before our sons and daughters that is worthy of imitation. If parents will pursue this course they will command the respect of their children; and when the time comes for them to go down to their graves, their children will point to them in affection and pride as being the chief means, under God, of their learning His ways and walking in His paths, and of eschewing those pernicious habits which are wasting away the life of our nation, and that are gradually undermining society and destroying the human race. It is the design of the Almighty to raise up in these mountains a hardy and a healthy people, a people who shall live according to the laws of heaven that govern them, in whom shall be found the elements of faith and power; and it becomes our duty to shape our lives accordingly. And that God may help us to do so, and to accomplish all that is required of us, is my earnest desire and prayer. Amen.

Discourse by President Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered in the Meetinghouse, Provo, Sunday Morning, September 2nd, 1883.

(CONCLUDED FROM VOLUME XXIV, PAGE 376, JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.)

All that is necessary on our part is to fear God and keep his commandments—to be brave and loyal and true to the cause that He has established upon the earth—to live such lives of purity as shall enlist heaven in our behalf. That is all that is necessary for us as individuals, or as a people, to do. God is doing a great work among us, much greater than many of us imagine. We do not see Him, but He is nevertheless in our midst. We do not see Jesus, but He is nevertheless in our midst. We do not see angels, but they are nevertheless in our midst. God is working to get this people to the perfection that He desires them to attain. We are building Temples. Who shall enter these Temples when completed? Shall the adulterer? Shall the whoremonger? Shall the thief? Shall the drunkard? Shall the blasphemer? Shall the Sabbath breaker? Shall the men who defile themselves by the sins of the world enter therein and receive all those precious blessings that God has to bestow? Ask yourselves who shall enter therein. I tell you, my brethren and sisters, that God demands of us a holiness of life that we cannot conceive of at the present time; but there are duties we can conceive of, that we should attend to. We should put away sin far from us. We should live so that our God will be very near to us. And we should encourage faith in our hearts.

There is a class of people who have been disfranchised because they have chosen to obey the word of God; they have been excluded from the polls, excluded from office, and another class of Latter-day Saints are now in possession of the offices. Shall those who have not obeyed the law of God as perfectly as their brethren and sisters—shall they look down upon those who have obeyed that law and say: “You have been put out of office; we have chosen the better part; we have done that which has resulted in the most good; and if it had not been that we were reluctant to obey that law, this Territory today would not be in the hands of the Latter-day Saints?” Shall that be the expression of feeling on the part of those who have been, for various reasons, prevented from obeying the fullness of the law of God? Woe! to this people if that were to be the feeling. I bear my testimony this day that God has commanded us, His servants, to obey His law, and I would not, for all this world, for all its honors, and for everything that is within the power of man to bestow—I would not be in any other condition than the one I am in, so far as that law is concerned. I dare not risk my salvation outside of obedience to that law. There may be men who will get into the celestial kingdom who have not obeyed that law—God will be their judge—but I dare not put myself in that position; I dare not risk my eternal salvation and exaltation on any such contingency as that. The law has been revealed. The moment the revelation was published and it came to my knowledge, it became a command to me—though I was not mentioned personally—and I accepted it as such. I have obeyed it as such, believing in my heart that God will save and exalt all those who perfectly carry it out. It is the hatred of that principle among others, that creates excitement. Yet, by that principle, God has designed to accomplish His purposes on the earth, and to redeem His people from the evils which afflict mankind at the present day. The other agencies that are at work among men today, are complete failures. What has all Christendom done towards stopping or arresting the progress of prostitution? All the preachers combined have no more effect upon it than the whistling of the wind. It increases and spreads. And who shall deliver mankind from that sin and dreadful train of evils? There is nothing that can do so but the power of God, the commandments of God, and the revelations of God. God has revealed the law by which it shall be accomplished, and we have seen the effects of it to a certain extent. We see a generation growing up here, young men and young women, who are the admiration of all who behold them—fine physical specimens of manhood and womanhood—pleasant faces and lovely countenances and forms—showing that the blessings of God have evidently rested upon the parents. I thought of Brother Smoot’s case. I remarked but for plurality, he would today have been without a child of his own. But see what a number of children he has, and what beautiful children they are. It is so everywhere throughout these mountains. The blessing of God has rested down upon His servants. Their houses are filled with beautiful children. The blessing of God has attended the men who have obeyed His law, and the women also. They have had their trials; but these have had the effect of purifying them. They have gained strength and power with God, and with man also, and the day will come when they will be honored men and honored women on the face of the earth. That day will come. It may be distant yet for a little while, but it will come most assuredly.

I pray God my Heavenly Father, to fill you with the Holy Ghost, that you may be enlightened thereby, and that you may be led to see and comprehend the greatness of the work in which we are engaged, and the character of those influences we have to contend with. There are unseen influences on both sides. There are unseen and invisible agencies that God our Heavenly Father has brought to bear upon this work to aid us, and there are on the other side those unseen agencies of evil. We can tell them by their fruits and by the results of their actions upon the children of men. Let us remember that it is not that which is before us alone that we have to contend with, but that there are powers behind those that we see in the flesh, and those powers are determined to destroy this work. It is a contest between Satan and God, and there can be no doubt as to the result; and if we cling to the truth we shall take part in all the glorious triumphs of this work, which I pray for in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Discourse by Elder Chas. W. Penrose, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, May 20th, 1883.

I am called upon this afternoon quite unexpectedly to me, to address this congregation, and I earnestly pray that the spirit of the living God may rest down upon me and upon all who are gathered in this Tabernacle, that I may be inspired to say something which will be profitable to hear, and that all who listen to my words may be able to understand them in the spirit by which they are spoken.

We have assembled here today to worship God our Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, under the influence and power of the Holy Spirit. In order that our worship may be acceptable to God, it must be done in the name of Jesus, and it must be done under the influence of His Spirit; for “God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” We must be sincere in our worship; we must be sincere in all that we do in order that it may be acceptable to God. But sincerity alone is not sufficient. We have to worship Him in truth as well as in spirit, and we must worship Him also in the way that He has appointed, not in our way. God does not accept the ways of man unless those ways are in accordance with His ways. And we have come here that we may learn the ways of God, and then walk in His path. This is in accordance with the ancient prophets. They declared that in the last days, people should come from all nations unto “the tops of the mountains” for this very purpose, that they might learn of His ways and walk in His paths. The reason why we have had to do this is because the ways of our fathers, in their worship and in their service towards God, have been only in accordance with their private notions, their ideas of what is right.

There has been no voice from heaven heard among the children of men on this earth for a great many centuries. People have not been guided by the revelations of the Almighty, but by the wisdom of man, or, as we think, the folly of man. It is true that the people called “Christians,” have had the book called the Bible. The Old Testament and the New Testament contain books which were written by men who lived in ancient times, and who were inspired of God. Those books do not contain all that was written by the servants of God in ancient times, but only a few of the writings given to the children of men by inspiration. This book contains a great deal of truth and some few errors, but the errors are the interpolations or the mistranslations of men. The doctrines which the Bible contains are true, and they are in sufficient plainness to be correctly understood, if the people who read what it contains are influenced by the same spirit or inspired by the same spirit as the men who wrote those things. But without that spirit the people of the earth are not able fully to comprehend that which is written. We read in that book that “the letter killeth.” It is the spirit that giveth life, and it is also the spirit that giveth light. Without the Spirit of God as the revealing influence from on high, mankind are unable to comprehend the things of God. As we are unable this afternoon to see anything of a physical nature without that natural light which comes from the sun, so without the light that comes from the Son of Righteousness, we are unable to see the things of God. The prophets who wrote the things contained in the Old Testament, and the Apostles of Jesus Christ, who wrote the epistles, and other writings contained in the New Testament, were blessed with the gift that is called in the Scriptures the gift of the Holy Ghost. This was not merely an influence which made them feel good; that exalted their spiritual natures so as to make them happy, contented and peaceful; but it was a manifestation of the power that comes from God. As the light that comes from the sun reveals through our natural eyes those objects which we see around us, so the Holy Ghost coming from God opens up and makes clear and plain the things of eternity, those things that are called spiritual, although they are all spiritual to our Heavenly Father. The things which we call natural and temporal are spiritual to Him, because He sees the essence of things, He comprehends them in their internal nature. All the elements of all things that exist are eternal, and “the things that are spiritual are eternal,” and therefore it is all spiritual to God. We at the present time are creatures of time, and we see things that change. We do not comprehend their eternal nature. We do not comprehend their essence. We only see that which is on the surface, on the outside. But God looks into the internal nature of things as well as of men, and comprehends them. And the elements, both of that which is called natural and that which is spiritual, are all eternal, without beginning and without end. They are manipulated and changed and worked over, but they have no beginning in their essence, and they cannot have. No atom in nature can be destroyed. It never commenced to be; it will never cease to be. God looks upon things as they are, in their eternal nature, and therefore they are all eternal or spiritual to Him. But speaking after the manner of men we call things temporal and spiritual, natural and supernatural; yet after all when we come to comprehend them as they are, they are all material and all spiritual.

The inhabitants of the earth, as I have remarked, have been without any direct communication from God, and therefore they have been measurably in the dark. They have been able to read some of the books which were written by the servants of God, who were inspired by Him in ancient times; but they have had no revelation for themselves. They can read what Isaiah said, or Jeremiah, or Peter, or Paul, or Luke, or other writers of the Old or New Testament; but they have had no personal revelation. The light which they have obtained is a borrowed light, like the light of the moon. They have been in a sort of moonlight or twinkling starlight. There have been a great many preachers who have claimed to be the servants of God, ministering among the people in Christendom; some in the ancient church called the Church of Rome, some in the Episcopal Church, some in the Methodist Church, others in the Baptist Church, and so on through all the various denominations that compose modern Christendom. No doubt many of them were good men, men who strove to the best of their ability, and the best of their knowledge to enlighten the minds of their fellow men. Some of them, perhaps, were mere hirelings, “preaching for hire and divining for money;” but others were sincere in their hearts, sincere in their worship, sincere in the religion which they taught to others. But they had not a knowledge of the truth. They had a faith of some kind. They believed in certain principles. They believed in the things which they read in the Bible so far as they could comprehend them, but they had no positive knowledge in regard to the things which they believed in and which they taught. The men who were called the Reformers, who came out from the Church of Rome, and introduced a little more truth than the people previously had, and reformed several errors that were existing—were, some of them, most excellent men, and they performed a great and a good work in the earth. But they were not called of God in the way that His servants were called in ancient times who wrote the things contained in the Bible, neither were they endowed with the Holy Ghost, which those men enjoyed. They nevertheless did a grand work in the earth, and for that they will receive their reward, no doubt; for no man who ever lived on the earth whether in a Christian nation or among the heathen or pagan world, ever did a good thing but he was the better for it, and will receive his reward for it, and no man ever did willfully a wicked thing, that which he knew and felt to be wrong, without being the worse for it, and for that he must give an account in the great day when the secrets of the hearts of all mankind shall be made manifest, Christian and heathen, those in the ancient times and those in the latter times. All who ever dwelt in the earth in the flesh must appear before the bar of God, and be judged for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or evil, and they will receive a reward for the good that they did, and a punishment for the evil that they did, especially and particularly if they did evil knowingly, if they sinned willfully, sinned against light and knowledge.

A great many of those persons that I have referred to among those reformers and others who worked on the earth, as they sought for righteousness and for the Lord, have labored in sincerity, but not always in truth. A great many errors have prevailed in the world since the time when the Apostles were put to death, when the lights that God placed in the world were put out by the hand of wickedness; since the servants of God were destroyed in the flesh, a great many errors have crept into the world, and darkness has spread over the minds of the children of men. Though many have worshipped in sincerity, they have not worshipped in truth, because they did not fully comprehend the way of truth. When they read the Scriptures, they only partially comprehended them, and they differed among themselves as to the meaning of those things which they read. Thus sect has multiplied upon sect, denomination upon denomination. And in what is called Christendom, people are in confusion, not comprehending alike, not seeing the truth as it is; for if they could all see the truth properly, they would see alike; if they all comprehended the truth correctly, they would be of one heart and one mind so far as they comprehended. But the very fact that those divisions exist, proves that there is darkness in the world. If the light of God was revealed to six men in the same degree, they would comprehend the principles presented before them, the principles of the Gospel, exactly in the same way; and if six men can be united in comprehending truth exactly alike, six millions or any number of men can be united so as to see and comprehend the truth exactly in the same way, and this was the effect of the Spirit of God, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, the Revealer, the spirit of life and light, which God gave to His people in the ancient Christian Church when the Gospel came to them. They were all divided when Jesus Christ came into the world. There was a similar diversity of opinions and faith in regard to God and His ways, to what there is now, only not to so great an extent. Jesus came and showed the right way. He was “the way, the truth, and the life.” He came to reveal His Fathers will. He made plain the way of life and truth, that all who desired might be able to walk therein—in the same way and under the same light, that they might see eye to eye and be no more divided. It was thus with the people called Pharisees or Sadducees, or with those who belonged to any sect that existed among the Jews, or with those who lived among the Greeks, and had adopted the Grecian system of philosophy, or with people who lived in any other part of the world, and believed in any other kind of religion—when they came into the Christian church they were no longer divided in their opinions and in their faith, but they were all brought to see alike; they were “all baptized by one spirit, into one body, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free.” They no longer worshipped different Gods, or the same God in different ways, but they worshipped alike. They had “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one hope of their calling.” But when darkness came into the world again; when the guides that God had placed among humanity were rejected and thrust out, and the Holy Ghost was withdrawn, and men were left to themselves, then they began to divide up, each man going his own way, according to his notion. Preachers have multiplied, sects have multiplied, and doctrines have multiplied. And here we are in the latter times, in the nineteenth century, when the people boast so much about Gospel light as well as scientific light, here we are in the nineteenth century, and the people are groping like blind men for the wall. They do not know God, and some do not care anything about Him. Some deny His existence, and a great many more stand in a position of doubt and uncertainty. Very few squarely deny the existence of a God; but there are a great many people who do not know whether there is a God or not; they are not satisfied in their minds. “I do not know,” seems to be the sentiment of the great bulk of intelligent people nowadays in regard to divine things.

Well, as I said in the beginning of my remarks, we have met here today to worship God in His way—not our way, that is, not the way we have made, not the way that any man has made, but according to the plan and pattern revealed from heaven by Almighty God, in our day and time. If God manifested himself in ancient times, why should He not manifest Himself in latter times? If God spoke to the world by the power of the Holy Ghost, through chosen men in former ages of the world, why not in this age? If angels came down from heaven and ministered to persons upon the earth in any period of this world’s history, why not in the latter times? Are God’s lips closed that He cannot speak? Are the heavens sealed up and become like brass, that no man can break through, and no heavenly being come to this little world and make manifest the things of eternity? Has the Holy Ghost changed in its power and influence and revealing qualities? Or are the children of men in such a condition that they are not willing to receive the Lord and His ways and His works and His light? Has God purposely departed from the earth, or have the people of the earth departed from God? We read here in the book of Isaiah about a time that should come when “darkness would cover the earth, and gross darkness the people.” We read of a time when God would come out from His hiding place in judgment upon the inhabitants of the earth in the latter days, and it should be “as with the people so with the priest; as with the servant, so with the master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord has spoken this word.” What for? “Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate.” Now, it looks to me a great deal more reasonable to think that the people of the earth have departed from God, and gone out of His way, and made ways of their own; that they have “heaped to themselves teachers having itching ears, and have turned away their ears from the truth, and have turned unto fables;” that they have become “lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God;” and that they have a form of godliness, but lack the power thereof, than that God has forsaken them, without any acts of their own. Now, I know that this sounds very harsh in Christian ears. It sounds very disagreeable to the people who compose Christendom, to say that they have gone out of the way—those good, pious-appearing people, who express such beautiful sentiments, and have such religious emotions and such lofty feelings, and many of whom are sincere in their hearts—to say that they have gone out of the way and that they are in the dark. It is all right to say that millions upon millions of the heathen nations for hundreds and hundreds of years have been in the dark, and that they are in the dark today, that they are away from God, that the light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ does not shine into their souls, that their philosophers and sages and poets and preachers and mighty men of intellect are all wrong; that is all right; you can say that. Many Christian people do say this, and are not shocked in their feelings a bit; but to say that the Christians of this generation are out of the way sounds terrible in their ears. Nevertheless I will make bold to say that this is the fact; that the whole earth has gone astray. I will go no further than they say themselves: “We have left undone those things that we ought to have done, and have done those things that we ought not to have done, and there is no help in us. O Lord have mercy upon us, miserable sinners.” Well, that is just exactly what they are. Now, I do not boast that we are any better than they are. I am merely taking them as the Lord will take a great many of them: “Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee.” They tell the Lord, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” That is what is the matter with the Christian world. They are not walking in the Lord’s way. They are walking in the ways that men have invented.

Any student of the Scriptures who is willing to receive truth when it is presented before him, can see by perusing the sacred books of the Old and the New Testaments, that the condition of the world at the present time was anticipated by the ancient prophets and apostles. They all saw that the time would come when the people would turn away from the truth; when they would walk in their own ways; when they would build up churches to themselves; when they would hire men to preach to them things which were wise and good in their own eyes; they would not be very anxious to find out the will of God, or that He might declare it to them, but would have preachers to teach them doctrines which seemed good to their “itching ears.”

A student of the Scriptures will also find that in every age of the world when there was a people dwelling on the earth whom God acknowledged as His people, He required them to do all things as He commanded them; not as they might choose, but as He commanded. When Jesus Christ came He did not come to do His own will, or to preach His own doctrine. Said He: “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” Jesus did nothing and said nothing but that which He had been commanded to do and say. He taught no doctrine of Himself. And He declared that when He should go away, the Comforter would come in His place. What would He do? “He will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” When the Apostles who were called of Jesus Christ, went out to preach the Gospel in His name, they did not go to preach their own views and opinions and notions, nor to administer ordinances that they thought were proper and adapted to the people in different nations, but they went out with the word of the Lord; they went out to teach that which had been commanded. Said Jesus Christ: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” They were not to preach with the enticing words of man’s wisdom, nor proclaim their notions about things, but they were to go forth with the living word of God, they were to go and teach that which Christ had taught them, and which He did not teach of Himself. And even then He told them to tarry in Jerusalem until they were endowed with power from on high. They waited. And on the day of Pentecost, we read, they came together “with one accord in one place.” They were of one heart, of one mind, and of one spirit, and then the Holy Ghost was manifested to them, in visible form, in cloven tongues as of fire. They were all filled with that spirit, and they spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance, and from that time, having been ordained by Jesus Christ, when He was upon the earth, they were able to go out and preach the Gospel to the nations of the earth. On that day (Pentecost) Peter preached that great gospel sermon which we read about in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. He did not teach the people anything in regard to his opinion. He told the people that which he knew, that which had been made manifest to him, that which he understood, and he did it under the influence and power of the Holy Ghost, the same spirit which rested upon the ancient prophets, the same spirit by which Jesus spoke, which was given to him not by measure, but in a fullness.

No man has a right to preach in the name of the Lord, unless he is endowed as were those Apostles, unless the Lord has committed to him a dispensation of the Gospel; and if any man does so he does it upon his own responsibility. Unless he is so-called and endowed, all his administrations, whether it be baptism, confirmation, or any other rite which he may administer in the name of deity, are null and void and of non-effect in the heavens. When God calls men to officiate, what they do on earth in His name in the way He has appointed, by His authority, is as valid as if He performed it himself in person; what they “seal on earth is sealed in the heavens;” and what they “loose on earth is loosed in the heavens.” But when men administer the ordinances without authority, without inspiration, without being called and appointed and ordained specially for that work, all their ministrations are vain and valueless. If they baptize a person that baptism is void. The baptism of infants is void. It never was ordained of God, it never was authorized of Him, but is one of the vagaries of men, one of man’s inventions. But even baptism administered as the ancient Apostles administered it, and as Jesus Christ taught it, and according to the pattern which He Himself set in His own baptism, if administered by men who have not been called and ordained and endowed with the power and right to do it, is utterly void, and is of no more account than a bath. And it is the absence of this authority and the absence of this endowment, the absence of this divine spirit which reveals the things of God, and makes them plain to the children of men, which have caused all this confusion that exists in the Christian world, as well as in the heathen world.

Well, we have met here this afternoon, and we have gathered here in these mountain valleys that we might learn God’s ways, and then carry them out in our lives, for ours is a practical religion. We not only learn but we practice. If we are Latter-day Saints, we come to learn what is right and then do it with all our might, fearless and regardless of the opinions of others, or what other people may do or try to do. The business of our lives is to try and find out the will of our Heavenly Father and perform it. This we can do. There is no need to be in doubt as to what it is. There is no need to depend upon any man—Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Peter, Paul, Isaiah, or anybody else. Every man that lives, and every woman that breathes the breath of life has a right to know in his or her own heart, whether a thing is right and true or not, and those who do not strive to obtain this knowledge are derelict. “He that doeth the will of the Father shall know of the doctrine.” Our business is then to find out what the Lord’s will is, to guide us in our everyday life, not only to make us feel good, to exalt our spiritual nature, our emotions, our sentiments, our thoughts, not only that, but to guide us in our daily lives, so that all our acts may be squared according to the rule of right, that we may do that which is pleasing to our Heavenly Father, that we may learn to live so as not merely to do our own will, but to do the will of Him that has sent us here on the earth, and who has enlightened our minds in regard to the truth. We need not walk in the dark. It is our privilege to walk in the light. We have come out from the darkness, we have come out from confusion, we have come out from Babylon into the light and the liberty and the certainty of the everlasting Gospel. We have come out from the creeds of men; we have come out from the ways of men; we have come out from the nations and kingdoms of the earth; we have come up into these mountain valleys, that we may find out truth day by day and year by year, that we may get closer and closer to our God, that we may learn the ways of truth, and walk in them more perfectly, until the veil shall be entirely taken away, and we shall see and comprehend the things of eternity as plainly as with our natural eyes as we can behold each other and the things of time. It is our privilege to come near unto our Father, to drink of those streams that flow from the eternal fountain, to have the Holy Ghost in our hearts every day, springing up “like a well of water unto everlasting life.” It is our privilege to walk in the light continually, and have the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion, directing our ways, not only our actions and our doings, but our feelings and our thoughts and our sentiments, that we may become purer and holier, day by day, until we are sanctified and made clean and white and fit to go back into the presence of our Heavenly Father.

This is our business here in Utah—to learn the Lord’s ways, to walk in the Lord’s paths, to be devoted to Him; not only to be baptized by water into His Church, but baptized by the Holy Ghost, that we may be brought into a oneness with our Father, brought into communion with Him, that the voice of the eternal Spirit may whisper peace to our souls, and point out the way that we shall go, and enable us to bear testimony of the truths made manifest from the Lord through His inspired servants as He reveals His will. Some people think that we have come here to gratify every lust and every passion and every base desire that is common to poor fallen humanity. Never was a greater mistake made. This is not how I have learned what is commonly called “Mormonism.” I have learned that it is a holy thing, a sacred thing; that it requires self-abnegation, not to men, but to truth, to righteousness, to that which God reveals. The very essence of “Mormonism” is to find out what the Lord wants, and then to do it, and to do it regardless of anybody living upon the face of the earth, regardless of what the world may do to try and prevent us. And the people here are most of them of the same mind. They have come out from the various sects and have all been baptized into one spirit, into one body. The same Holy Ghost has rested down upon them as rested down upon the Saints in ancient times, and has produced the very same results. For the Holy Ghost has not changed, God has not changed, the truth has not changed, and the Lord is just as willing today as He was in the first years of the Christian era to reveal himself to those who desire to learn of Him, and the Holy Ghost is just as much a revealer today as it was in the olden times when the Prophets wrote and spoke under its influence. The truth is just the same, but the people have gone astray from the Lord’s ways, corrupted themselves before Him, filled the earth with abominations and iniquity, and their eyes are so closed to that which is true and pure, that when the truth is revealed from heaven, it is accounted a strange thing, and they not only turn away from it, but they are filled with hatred towards those who have received the truth and desire to walk in it.

It always was so from the beginning. When Abel would worship God in the way appointed, Cain, who wanted to go his own way, offered what he pleased, what he thought would do, and he was filled with anger towards Abel, because his offering was accepted. Abel offered what God commanded, the firstlings of the flock. Cain offered the fruits of the ground. God had commanded a lamb without blemish and without spot, to be offered as an emblem of the coming Redeemer, who, in the meridian of time should come as “the lamb slain from before the foundation of the world,” and offer his life and pour out his blood for the remission of sins. Cain offered what he pleased, and when Abel’s offering was accepted, Cain was filled with anger. The spirit of Satan entered into him—which is the spirit of destruction, the spirit of murder—and he arose and slew his brother. Now, though persecutors in these times do not realize it themselves, they are filled with the same spirit towards the servants of God. When Joseph Smith, called of God to be a prophet in this latter time, to usher in the great last dispensation of God’s mercy to man, to bring forth the ancient Gospel as taught by Jesus and His Apostles, to reveal again the ancient Priesthood and authority thereof, to lay the foundation of the Latter-day kingdom, to prepare the way for the coming of the Son of Man; when he came as a boy, an unlettered youth, bearing the glad tidings of great joy that communication between the heavens and the earth so long lost, had been restored, that the light from the eternal Sun of Righteousness had again streamed down to lighten up and dispel the darkness of the world—how was he received? Why, men would not listen to his teaching. They would not compare the doctrines he taught with the scriptures which they professed to believe. They hooted at the very idea of present revelation from God. They said: “Even supposing it possible that in this enlightened age one could receive revelation, was God going to speak to an illiterate boy? Would He not choose some of the great and wise men of this generation, some of the learned divines. But the idea of God’s speaking to this youth!” And they were filled with anger. The preachers and ministers of the day were filled with hatred and wrath towards him, and towards all those who received his testimony, and the Saints were driven from place to place, from city to city, from State to State, until finally his blood was shed. What for? Because he committed crime? No; their own confession proved to the contrary, for they said, “the law cannot touch him, but powder and ball shall.” The same spirit that put Jesus Christ to death; the same spirit that put those holy men to death about whom I have spoken, who had “the burden of the word of the Lord,” and came not to declare their own opinions, but the word of God Almighty to the inhabitants of the earth; the spirit that put them to death, put Joseph Smith to death, and that is the spirit that burns in the hearts of the so-called pious “Christian” ministers against the Latter-day Saints. They meet together in their convocations and conferences and assemblies, and pass resolutions about a people of whose doctrines and practices and lives they are in perfect ignorance. They do not know the motives which prompt us. They do not know the principles which actuate us. They know nothing about the work God Almighty has called us to do, for which we have left our homes in distant lands, and come to these valleys. But they are inspired by the same spirit of wickedness and destruction which filled the hearts of men who slew the servants of God in former times. They do not want to try and convert these Latter-day Saints. Oh, no. What do they want to do? One enlightened minister of the Gospel who came out here and stayed about twenty-four hours, and like a great many other people went back professing to know all about “Mormonism;“ although perhaps he never spoke to a “Mormon” while here—got up in the pulpit and preached the gospel of the bayonet and cannon as a means of solving the “Mormon problem!” He said he would solve the problem in a short time. He would gather all the Latter-day Saints into this great Tabernacle, and then turn the artillery of the United States upon them! That was a minister of the orthodox gospel. I do not say they are all like him; God forbid that I should. But the same spirit is working in their hearts and in the hearts of a great many men, and they do not know it.

It may be said of them as Jesus said in regard to His disciples on a certain occasion. Because some people did not do exactly as they wanted, they asked: “Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?” The Savior, we are told, rebuked them and said: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” That is the spirit of the Gospel, the spirit of salvation. Well, those people who seek the destruction of the Latter-day Saints do not know what spirit they are of. They are in the dark in regard to the things of God. They have not been guided by the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. Many of them have administered in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, without the slightest vestige of authority. They have done it upon their own authority; and they are filled with the spirit of the evil one, and they desire the destruction, not the conversion, of the Latter-day Saints.

Well, my brethren and sisters and friends, I take great pleasure in bearing testimony this afternoon in this public congregation before the heavens, before Almighty God, who shall judge the world, before Jesus Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant, before the angels of heaven who can hear and witness my words, that in these last days our Heavenly Father has revealed the ancient Gospel anew, by His own voice from heaven and by heavenly messengers sent down from on high; that the authority which the ancient prophets and apostles held in ancient times has been restored, and men hold it now; that the same Holy Ghost by which the ancient prophets spoke and wrote the word of the Lord is given to the people called Latter-day Saints—not only to the leaders of the Church who are placed in authority to direct and manage and govern the affairs of the Church of Christ upon the earth, but the body of the people. The spirit that is in the head of the Church is in the body, and runs to every extremity, enlightening it, filling it with life and with vigor. And it brings forth the same fruits, which are love, joy, peace, patience, long-suffering, brotherly kindness and charity, and the light of God bears witness to these things. And not only have we these gifts, but there are other gifts in our midst, the same as were manifested in olden times, such as the gift of tongues, interpretation of tongues, visions and dreams, the gift of prophecy, the discerning of spirits, the healing of the sick—those who have faith to be healed—and every gift and every power and every blessing which were the result of the reception of the Holy Ghost in ancient times, are enjoyed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I bear this testimony with words of truth and soberness, before God and all men. I know this is God’s work, and I know it will prevail. I know it will not be left to another people. I know it will remain, and every power and every influence that rises against it, to destroy it, will itself perish and be destroyed, and every arm that is lifted against this work will, in the due time of the Lord, be palsied and withered, for it is the work of the great God, and it will stand forever. The servants of the Lord in this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in spite of all attacks and schemes and efforts to stop them, will go out to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, and preach the Gospel of the kingdom as a witness before the end shall come, and they will gather the elect of God from the four winds and bring them to Zion. And these Temples which we are laboring upon will be erected, and the people of God will enter them and administer in behalf of the living and the dead, and God will commune with His servants therein. They will learn more of His ways and walk in His paths; they will purge out all iniquity in their midst; they will cut off the evil doer by severing him or her from the Church; the spirit of judgment will come to Zion, and the wicked and ungodly and the hypocrite will flee away; and God will break every yoke, and remove every bond, and Israel shall be free. And the Zion of our God shall arise and shine, and the glory thereof shall stream forth to the uttermost parts of the earth, and God will break down every nation, kingdom and government of the earth which refuses to hearken to his voice, until the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and His Christ, and He shall reign from pole to pole and from shore to shore.

May God add His blessing to this testimony, through Jesus Christ. Amen.