October 1883
Cannon, George Q. "Introductory Remarks—Increased Faith in God—The Ideas Advanced By Joseph Smith—Lapse of Eighteen Centuries and No Voice From the Heavenly Worlds!—Joseph Smith's Testimony in Regard to the Father and the Son and Holy Angels—The Effect of His Revelations Upon the Minds of Men—Spiritualism—The One Power Through Which Godliness, the Power of God, and the Gifts of God Can Be Made Manifest With Safety, i.e., the Priesthood—Joseph Smith Did Not Attempt to Preach the Gospel Until He Was Duly Commissioned of God—John the Baptist—The Higher Priesthood—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Stands Alone—The Results Following the Restoration of the Gospel—Wonderful Faith of the Latter-Day Saints Considering Their Traditions—Progress of the Church—The Generation Growing Up in These Mountains—Conclusion." Journal of Discourses. Volume 24. October 7, 1883: pg. 339-346.
Richards, Franklin D. "Retrospective Review of the Providences of God in Relation to the Saints—The Wrath and Schemes of Men Turned to the Advantage of God's People—The Order of God's Church Perfect—The Wicked Disturbed By Judgments, While The Righteous Enjoy Peace—The Administration of the Law of God in Relation to Offenses—Should Be Resigned to The Will of God in All Things." Journal of Discourses. Volume 24. October 6, 1883: pg. 278-286.
Smith, Joseph F. "Remarks." The Deseret News, October 31, 1883: pg. 942.
Snow, Erastus. "Present Revelation—Work Required of the Priesthood—Improvement Among the People—More Improvement Necessary—Faith in the Ordinances Required—Design of God in Relation to the Children of the Saints." Journal of Discourses. Volume 25. October 5, 1883: pg. 35-39.
Taylor, John. "Privilege of Meeting Together—We Are Here to Do Our Father's Will—All Dependent Upon God for Assistance, Guidance and Direction—The Lord Revealed to Adam the Purpose of Sacrifice—Adam, Before His Death, Called His Family Together and Blessed Them and Prophesied—Many Spirits Have Been Destined to Hold Certain Positions Among Men—Why We Are Gathered—We Must Follow the Teachings of the Spirit, and Honor the Priesthood in All Its Callings—Prepare Ourselves to Enter Holy Places—The Priesthood Must not Tolerate Iniquity—The Church Must Be Purified—Concluding Exhortations." Journal of Discourses. Volume 26. October 6, 1883: pg. 128-135.
Taylor, John. "The President Feeling a Little Weak in Body Asked the Considerate Attention of the Congregation—God Interested in the Welfare of All the Human Family—The Organization of the Church, and the Responsibility Resting Upon the Priesthood—God Has Given to Everyone a Portion of His Spirit—The Promptings of that Spirit—The Wickedness of the Inhabitants of the Earth in the Days of Noah—Why the Flood Came—The Ante-Diluvians Would not Repent—The Gospel Again Preached As a Warning—Persecution—Our Relationship to this Nation in a Political Point of View—A Commonwealth Has Been Built Up in These Mountains by the “Mormons” Under the Blessing of God—Unfairly Treated as a People By the Parent Government—The Latter-day Saints Have Rights Which They Will Seek Legally to Maintain—Conclusion." Journal of Discourses. Volume 24. October 7, 1883: pg. 287-296.
Thatcher, Moses. "A Few Questions Every Latter-day Saint Can Answer for Himself—The Fruits of the Spirit—The Proper Use of Riches—No Comparison Between Earthly Wealth and Eternal Riches—Principle Must not be Sacrificed for Riches—Consecration—Satan Rebuked—We Ought to Cultivate the Fruits of the Spirit—The Work of God Onward and Upward—The Fate of Those Who Sacrifice Principle at the Shrine of Greed—Conclusion." Journal of Discourses. Volume 24. April 6, 1883: pg. 297-301.
The Deseret News. 1883. "Fifty-Third Semi-Annual Conference." October 10: 596-597, 604.
FIFTY-THIRD SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Opening Prayer by George Q. Cannon
President John Taylor
Apostle H. J. Grant
Apostle Brigham Young, Jr.
Elder David P. Kimball
President George Q. Cannon
Friday, 2 p. m.
Apostle Lorenzo Snow
Financial Report
Apostle Erastus Snow
Present Revelation
Saturday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.
Apostle F. D. Richards
Retrospective Review of the Providences of God in Relation to the Saints
Apostle Moses Thatcher
Fruits of the Spirit
Apostle Albert Carrington
Saturday, 2 p. m.
President Wilford Woodruff
Mission Calls
Apostle F. M. Lyman
Statistical Report
Sunday, 10 o’clock a. m.
President George Q. Cannon
Increased Faith in God
President Joseph F. Smith
Remarks
Sunday afternoon, 2 p.m.
Mission Calls
Sustaining of the General Authorities
President John Taylor
God Interested in the Welfare of All the Human Family
President Geo. Q. Cannon
President John Taylor
Richards, Franklin D. "Retrospective Review of the Providences of God in Relation to the Saints—The Wrath and Schemes of Men Turned to the Advantage of God's People—The Order of God's Church Perfect—The Wicked Disturbed By Judgments, While The Righteous Enjoy Peace—The Administration of the Law of God in Relation to Offenses—Should Be Resigned to The Will of God in All Things." Journal of Discourses. Volume 24. October 6, 1883: pg. 278-286.
Smith, Joseph F. "Remarks." The Deseret News, October 31, 1883: pg. 942.
Snow, Erastus. "Present Revelation—Work Required of the Priesthood—Improvement Among the People—More Improvement Necessary—Faith in the Ordinances Required—Design of God in Relation to the Children of the Saints." Journal of Discourses. Volume 25. October 5, 1883: pg. 35-39.
Taylor, John. "Privilege of Meeting Together—We Are Here to Do Our Father's Will—All Dependent Upon God for Assistance, Guidance and Direction—The Lord Revealed to Adam the Purpose of Sacrifice—Adam, Before His Death, Called His Family Together and Blessed Them and Prophesied—Many Spirits Have Been Destined to Hold Certain Positions Among Men—Why We Are Gathered—We Must Follow the Teachings of the Spirit, and Honor the Priesthood in All Its Callings—Prepare Ourselves to Enter Holy Places—The Priesthood Must not Tolerate Iniquity—The Church Must Be Purified—Concluding Exhortations." Journal of Discourses. Volume 26. October 6, 1883: pg. 128-135.
Taylor, John. "The President Feeling a Little Weak in Body Asked the Considerate Attention of the Congregation—God Interested in the Welfare of All the Human Family—The Organization of the Church, and the Responsibility Resting Upon the Priesthood—God Has Given to Everyone a Portion of His Spirit—The Promptings of that Spirit—The Wickedness of the Inhabitants of the Earth in the Days of Noah—Why the Flood Came—The Ante-Diluvians Would not Repent—The Gospel Again Preached As a Warning—Persecution—Our Relationship to this Nation in a Political Point of View—A Commonwealth Has Been Built Up in These Mountains by the “Mormons” Under the Blessing of God—Unfairly Treated as a People By the Parent Government—The Latter-day Saints Have Rights Which They Will Seek Legally to Maintain—Conclusion." Journal of Discourses. Volume 24. October 7, 1883: pg. 287-296.
Thatcher, Moses. "A Few Questions Every Latter-day Saint Can Answer for Himself—The Fruits of the Spirit—The Proper Use of Riches—No Comparison Between Earthly Wealth and Eternal Riches—Principle Must not be Sacrificed for Riches—Consecration—Satan Rebuked—We Ought to Cultivate the Fruits of the Spirit—The Work of God Onward and Upward—The Fate of Those Who Sacrifice Principle at the Shrine of Greed—Conclusion." Journal of Discourses. Volume 24. April 6, 1883: pg. 297-301.
The Deseret News. 1883. "Fifty-Third Semi-Annual Conference." October 10: 596-597, 604.
FIFTY-THIRD SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Opening Prayer by George Q. Cannon
President John Taylor
Apostle H. J. Grant
Apostle Brigham Young, Jr.
Elder David P. Kimball
President George Q. Cannon
Friday, 2 p. m.
Apostle Lorenzo Snow
Financial Report
Apostle Erastus Snow
Present Revelation
Saturday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.
Apostle F. D. Richards
Retrospective Review of the Providences of God in Relation to the Saints
Apostle Moses Thatcher
Fruits of the Spirit
Apostle Albert Carrington
Saturday, 2 p. m.
President Wilford Woodruff
Mission Calls
Apostle F. M. Lyman
Statistical Report
Sunday, 10 o’clock a. m.
President George Q. Cannon
Increased Faith in God
President Joseph F. Smith
Remarks
Sunday afternoon, 2 p.m.
Mission Calls
Sustaining of the General Authorities
President John Taylor
God Interested in the Welfare of All the Human Family
President Geo. Q. Cannon
President John Taylor
FIFTY-THIRD SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE
On Friday, October 5th, 1883, the Conference met in the Assembly Hall at 10 o’clock a. m.
Present on the stand: Of the First Presidency—John Taylor, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith.
Of the Twelve Apostles—Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Albert Carrington, Moses Thatcher, Francis M. Lyman and Heber J. Grant.
The Patriarch of the Church, John Smith.
Of the Seven First Presidents of the Seventies—Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, William W. Taylor, Abraham H. Cannon and Seymour B. Young.
Of the Bishopric—Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton.
In addition to the above General Authorities, there was a large representation of leading Elders and authorities from nearly every Stake of Zion, even from those the most remote from headquarters.
The Conference was called to order at 10 a. m., by President John Taylor.
The choir sang: Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion city of our God.
On Friday, October 5th, 1883, the Conference met in the Assembly Hall at 10 o’clock a. m.
Present on the stand: Of the First Presidency—John Taylor, George Q. Cannon and Joseph F. Smith.
Of the Twelve Apostles—Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Albert Carrington, Moses Thatcher, Francis M. Lyman and Heber J. Grant.
The Patriarch of the Church, John Smith.
Of the Seven First Presidents of the Seventies—Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, William W. Taylor, Abraham H. Cannon and Seymour B. Young.
Of the Bishopric—Edward Hunter, Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton.
In addition to the above General Authorities, there was a large representation of leading Elders and authorities from nearly every Stake of Zion, even from those the most remote from headquarters.
The Conference was called to order at 10 a. m., by President John Taylor.
The choir sang: Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion city of our God.
Prayer by President George Q. Cannon.
Our Father who art in heaven, we Thy servants and Thine hand maidens have assembled ourselves to gather this morning in this place for the purpose of worshipping Thee, the Lord our God. And at the opening of this Conference we come to Thee, our Heavenly Father, in the name of thy well beloved Son Jesus, and call upon Thee to look down in mercy and tender compassion upon us.
We are thankful that we have this opportunity. We are thankful that our lives have been spared through the various vicissitudes through which we have passed during the past six months, that once more we Thy servants and Thy people are permitted to assemble ourselves together in a conference capacity. When we reflect upon Thy goodness, and Thy mercy and long suffering unto us, our hearts are filled with thanksgiving and praise unto Thee, the Lord our God, for Thou has wrought wondrously in our behalf. Thou has preserved us from the snares of our enemies; Thou has delivered us from their many traps; and we can meet this morning in this place and rejoice in our hearts in the liberty that thou has granted unto us and preserved unto us, and we can rejoice in being a free people, notwithstanding the efforts of the wicked to bring us into bondage.
Our Father, we desire to praise Thee in the congregation of Thy Saints for these blessings, for we know they are the gift of Thy hand: we know there is no power of man that could have preserved and blessed us as we are now blessed. Therefore, we give Thee the glory with all our hearts; we praise Thee the Lord our God, and rejoice before Thee that the promises which Thou has made unto us have been fulfilled even to the very letter. We thank Thee for life; we thank Thee for health; we thank Thee, our Father, for the crops Thou has given unto Thy people as a reward for their labor. The husbandman has been made to rejoice in the fruits of his hands; the land has been greatly blessed of Thee, our Father, and there is abundance of food for man and beast throughout these valleys, for which we feel to thank Thee. Yea, and Thou hast blessed Thy people with a goodly degree of health; Thou hast preserved them from the power of the destroyer. And notwithstanding the many difficulties we have had to contend with, we feel that our condition is indeed a blessed one. And we thank Thee, our Father, for families, for wives, for husbands, for children, for parents, for brothers and sisters, and for the friendship that Thou hast begotten in our hearts, even the love that thou hast given unto us through the everlasting Gospel.
We rejoice in the bestowal of these precious blessings upon us as a people; and we desire to come unto Thee this morning and entreat Thee in the name of Jesus to increase this love within us—love for Thee our Father and God—love for our fellow creatures—love for those who have entered into covenant with Thee, that we may love them as we love ourselves. Grant, our Father, that this spirit and feeling may be diffused throughout all the branches of thy Church, and that it may extend wherever the Gospel is preached, wherever men and women bow in submission to its requirements.
Our Father, we beseech Thee this morning to be with us in our Conference, and let the Holy Spirit descend from on high upon thy servants and thy people, who have come together, and who may come together, and upon Thine Elders who have come from afar for the purpose of being instructed. O Father, grant that they may be instructed, that they shall not go away hungry or unsatisfied in their spirits; but pour out Thy Holy Spirit in power upon Thy servants and upon Thy people, that those who speak may not speak their own thoughts or their own words or reflections, or the feelings that are peculiar to them; but that they may speak Thy word and Thy will, that they may bring forth from Thy treasure house those things that shall be adapted to the circumstances and conditions of Thy people individually and collectively, that those who have hungered and thirsted for righteousness may be fed and made to rejoice, having their hearts softened under the powerful influence of Thy Holy Spirit. And grant our Father that the hearts of the people who have assembled this morning and who shall assemble, and who shall assemble from day to day during our conference, that they may be prepared to receive Thy word, that every heart may be softened under the influence of the Holy Ghost, and that a contrite spirit may rest down upon all.
We thank Thee, our Father, in heaven for the presence of Thy servants who bear the Holy Priesthood. We thank Thee for the presidency of Thy Church; we thank Thee for the Twelve Apostles, we thank Thee for the High Priests, the Seventies and Elders, and for the local organizations; we thank Thee for the Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, for High Councils and for the Bishops of the various Wards with the Counselors. We thank Thee for the higher and the lesser Priesthood; and we ask Thee to pour out Thy spirit in power upon Thy servants, and let the people see that Thou hast indeed restored the Holy Priesthood to the earth, and that they are indeed Thy servants, by the honor which shall be bestowed upon them in the eyes of the people; that the gifts and qualifications of their various offices and callings may rest down upon them in great power, and that those who see and hear them may feel that they are indeed the men whom Thou hast chosen, and that they do not profess to have power which Thou hast withheld. O, Father, we ask Thee now to bless in a special manner thy servant President Taylor, and let the gift and qualification and endowment that pertain to his high and holy calling rest down upon him. Fill him with the revelations of Jesus; fill him with the knowledge necessary to enable him to magnify his office acceptably to Thee and to the satisfaction of his fellow-servants, and the Saints. And grant that these blessings may rest down upon all in their various offices and callings; and upon thy missionary servants who are preaching the Gospel; may the spirit that we ask for ourselves rest down in power upon them, and they be made instrumental in bringing many souls to a knowledge of the truth.
We now dedicate ourselves unto Thee, our Father, with all we have, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
The choir sang: Zion stands with hills surrounded, Zion kept by power divine.
Our Father who art in heaven, we Thy servants and Thine hand maidens have assembled ourselves to gather this morning in this place for the purpose of worshipping Thee, the Lord our God. And at the opening of this Conference we come to Thee, our Heavenly Father, in the name of thy well beloved Son Jesus, and call upon Thee to look down in mercy and tender compassion upon us.
We are thankful that we have this opportunity. We are thankful that our lives have been spared through the various vicissitudes through which we have passed during the past six months, that once more we Thy servants and Thy people are permitted to assemble ourselves together in a conference capacity. When we reflect upon Thy goodness, and Thy mercy and long suffering unto us, our hearts are filled with thanksgiving and praise unto Thee, the Lord our God, for Thou has wrought wondrously in our behalf. Thou has preserved us from the snares of our enemies; Thou has delivered us from their many traps; and we can meet this morning in this place and rejoice in our hearts in the liberty that thou has granted unto us and preserved unto us, and we can rejoice in being a free people, notwithstanding the efforts of the wicked to bring us into bondage.
Our Father, we desire to praise Thee in the congregation of Thy Saints for these blessings, for we know they are the gift of Thy hand: we know there is no power of man that could have preserved and blessed us as we are now blessed. Therefore, we give Thee the glory with all our hearts; we praise Thee the Lord our God, and rejoice before Thee that the promises which Thou has made unto us have been fulfilled even to the very letter. We thank Thee for life; we thank Thee for health; we thank Thee, our Father, for the crops Thou has given unto Thy people as a reward for their labor. The husbandman has been made to rejoice in the fruits of his hands; the land has been greatly blessed of Thee, our Father, and there is abundance of food for man and beast throughout these valleys, for which we feel to thank Thee. Yea, and Thou hast blessed Thy people with a goodly degree of health; Thou hast preserved them from the power of the destroyer. And notwithstanding the many difficulties we have had to contend with, we feel that our condition is indeed a blessed one. And we thank Thee, our Father, for families, for wives, for husbands, for children, for parents, for brothers and sisters, and for the friendship that Thou hast begotten in our hearts, even the love that thou hast given unto us through the everlasting Gospel.
We rejoice in the bestowal of these precious blessings upon us as a people; and we desire to come unto Thee this morning and entreat Thee in the name of Jesus to increase this love within us—love for Thee our Father and God—love for our fellow creatures—love for those who have entered into covenant with Thee, that we may love them as we love ourselves. Grant, our Father, that this spirit and feeling may be diffused throughout all the branches of thy Church, and that it may extend wherever the Gospel is preached, wherever men and women bow in submission to its requirements.
Our Father, we beseech Thee this morning to be with us in our Conference, and let the Holy Spirit descend from on high upon thy servants and thy people, who have come together, and who may come together, and upon Thine Elders who have come from afar for the purpose of being instructed. O Father, grant that they may be instructed, that they shall not go away hungry or unsatisfied in their spirits; but pour out Thy Holy Spirit in power upon Thy servants and upon Thy people, that those who speak may not speak their own thoughts or their own words or reflections, or the feelings that are peculiar to them; but that they may speak Thy word and Thy will, that they may bring forth from Thy treasure house those things that shall be adapted to the circumstances and conditions of Thy people individually and collectively, that those who have hungered and thirsted for righteousness may be fed and made to rejoice, having their hearts softened under the powerful influence of Thy Holy Spirit. And grant our Father that the hearts of the people who have assembled this morning and who shall assemble, and who shall assemble from day to day during our conference, that they may be prepared to receive Thy word, that every heart may be softened under the influence of the Holy Ghost, and that a contrite spirit may rest down upon all.
We thank Thee, our Father, in heaven for the presence of Thy servants who bear the Holy Priesthood. We thank Thee for the presidency of Thy Church; we thank Thee for the Twelve Apostles, we thank Thee for the High Priests, the Seventies and Elders, and for the local organizations; we thank Thee for the Presidents of Stakes and their Counselors, for High Councils and for the Bishops of the various Wards with the Counselors. We thank Thee for the higher and the lesser Priesthood; and we ask Thee to pour out Thy spirit in power upon Thy servants, and let the people see that Thou hast indeed restored the Holy Priesthood to the earth, and that they are indeed Thy servants, by the honor which shall be bestowed upon them in the eyes of the people; that the gifts and qualifications of their various offices and callings may rest down upon them in great power, and that those who see and hear them may feel that they are indeed the men whom Thou hast chosen, and that they do not profess to have power which Thou hast withheld. O, Father, we ask Thee now to bless in a special manner thy servant President Taylor, and let the gift and qualification and endowment that pertain to his high and holy calling rest down upon him. Fill him with the revelations of Jesus; fill him with the knowledge necessary to enable him to magnify his office acceptably to Thee and to the satisfaction of his fellow-servants, and the Saints. And grant that these blessings may rest down upon all in their various offices and callings; and upon thy missionary servants who are preaching the Gospel; may the spirit that we ask for ourselves rest down in power upon them, and they be made instrumental in bringing many souls to a knowledge of the truth.
We now dedicate ourselves unto Thee, our Father, with all we have, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
The choir sang: Zion stands with hills surrounded, Zion kept by power divine.
President John Taylor
announced the nature and object of the Conference. It was proper that all parts of the land of Zion should be represented here, that all things pertaining to the welfare of Israel might be comprehended, digested and disseminated among the people; that they might fully understand the position they occupy in relation to the past, present and future. Enumerated the various organizations of the Priesthood, general and local, together with such special institutions as Sunday Schools, Relief Societies, Mutual Improvement and Primary Associations, spoke upon the duties and operations of each, under the influence of which all things were ordained to move along in order according to the will of the Lord. The present system was perfected by President Brigham Young, a short time prior to his death, but there had been more or less laxity and neglect made manifest, which was exceedingly reprehensible. Exhorted the High Priests, Seventies, Elders, Patriarchs, etc, to humility and righteousness before the Lord, that they might be filled with His Spirit, and fully qualified to act in their several offices and callings for the perfecting of the Saints and the on-rolling of the Kingdom of God.
announced the nature and object of the Conference. It was proper that all parts of the land of Zion should be represented here, that all things pertaining to the welfare of Israel might be comprehended, digested and disseminated among the people; that they might fully understand the position they occupy in relation to the past, present and future. Enumerated the various organizations of the Priesthood, general and local, together with such special institutions as Sunday Schools, Relief Societies, Mutual Improvement and Primary Associations, spoke upon the duties and operations of each, under the influence of which all things were ordained to move along in order according to the will of the Lord. The present system was perfected by President Brigham Young, a short time prior to his death, but there had been more or less laxity and neglect made manifest, which was exceedingly reprehensible. Exhorted the High Priests, Seventies, Elders, Patriarchs, etc, to humility and righteousness before the Lord, that they might be filled with His Spirit, and fully qualified to act in their several offices and callings for the perfecting of the Saints and the on-rolling of the Kingdom of God.
Apostle H. J. Grant
said he had no other desire, in speaking or acting, than to serve God an benefit his brethren and sisters, and he did not ask anyone to perform any duty or keep any commandment, which he was unwilling to do himself. Mingling with the world caused him to appreciate his own religion more fully. No one who understood “Mormonism” would exchange it for any of the forms of faith prevalent in the world. But in order to understand it, it was necessary to live it. God had laid down certain laws for our guidance and had made promises as the result of obedience to the same. One of these was the Word of Wisdom, through obedience to which some of the greatest of blessings would accrue. This law was adapted to the weakest capacity, yet some of the strongest violated it. Some were afraid to pay tithing for fear of losing by it, and falling behind their associates in temporal affairs. Such had not the spirit of this work, for they measured the things of God by a worldly standard and would bring themselves under condemnation. In regard to temple building, the speaker said he was mercenary enough to feel that those who refused to contribute of their means for that purpose, ought to be denied the privilege of obtaining the blessings only to be secured in such places. He believed the dividing line was being drawn. Was thankful for the passage of such measures as the Edmunds Law; it drew a line separating the true from the false, and exposed the half-hearted and the hypocrite. Touched upon the principle of plural marriage and denounced those who failed to live it according to the spirit and meaning thereof, and quoted the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that such would be damned.
said he had no other desire, in speaking or acting, than to serve God an benefit his brethren and sisters, and he did not ask anyone to perform any duty or keep any commandment, which he was unwilling to do himself. Mingling with the world caused him to appreciate his own religion more fully. No one who understood “Mormonism” would exchange it for any of the forms of faith prevalent in the world. But in order to understand it, it was necessary to live it. God had laid down certain laws for our guidance and had made promises as the result of obedience to the same. One of these was the Word of Wisdom, through obedience to which some of the greatest of blessings would accrue. This law was adapted to the weakest capacity, yet some of the strongest violated it. Some were afraid to pay tithing for fear of losing by it, and falling behind their associates in temporal affairs. Such had not the spirit of this work, for they measured the things of God by a worldly standard and would bring themselves under condemnation. In regard to temple building, the speaker said he was mercenary enough to feel that those who refused to contribute of their means for that purpose, ought to be denied the privilege of obtaining the blessings only to be secured in such places. He believed the dividing line was being drawn. Was thankful for the passage of such measures as the Edmunds Law; it drew a line separating the true from the false, and exposed the half-hearted and the hypocrite. Touched upon the principle of plural marriage and denounced those who failed to live it according to the spirit and meaning thereof, and quoted the words of the Prophet Joseph Smith, that such would be damned.
Apostle Brigham Young.
The spirit of God had been with His people from the beginning of their history, and that spirit was necessary for their preservation. The powers of darkness are strengthening for the purpose of destroying the work of God. The Saints were now enjoying the spirit of the Lord to an extent hitherto unsurpassed. The most perfect organization on the face of the earth to-day is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord had given His people every opportunity and facility for carrying on His work, and He would stand by them in so doing. No power could affect the well-being of this people, for evil, only as they themselves permitted through their neglect. This truth had being made repeatedly manifest. It is when we tear down each other that there is danger of our being overthrown. God will not uphold the Saints in following after the ways of the world. He will not justify them in selecting from His word such portions of doctrine and law as suit their selfish fancies and ignoring all the rest. The revelations of God were adapted to his people, and absolute obedience to them all was therefore necessary. It is often a trial to accept certain laws without reservation, and many therefore wrest the Scriptures and take advantage of technicalities to set dishonestly before the Lord. The revelations of God are serial and progressive and would be given, first the milk and then the meat, as fast as His people became strong enough to receive them. Those who reject one revelation are not prepared to received that which is to follow.
The spirit of God had been with His people from the beginning of their history, and that spirit was necessary for their preservation. The powers of darkness are strengthening for the purpose of destroying the work of God. The Saints were now enjoying the spirit of the Lord to an extent hitherto unsurpassed. The most perfect organization on the face of the earth to-day is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord had given His people every opportunity and facility for carrying on His work, and He would stand by them in so doing. No power could affect the well-being of this people, for evil, only as they themselves permitted through their neglect. This truth had being made repeatedly manifest. It is when we tear down each other that there is danger of our being overthrown. God will not uphold the Saints in following after the ways of the world. He will not justify them in selecting from His word such portions of doctrine and law as suit their selfish fancies and ignoring all the rest. The revelations of God were adapted to his people, and absolute obedience to them all was therefore necessary. It is often a trial to accept certain laws without reservation, and many therefore wrest the Scriptures and take advantage of technicalities to set dishonestly before the Lord. The revelations of God are serial and progressive and would be given, first the milk and then the meat, as fast as His people became strong enough to receive them. Those who reject one revelation are not prepared to received that which is to follow.
Elder David P. Kimball
was pleased, after an absence of six years to meet again with the people of God, though his object in coming to Conference was not to teach but to be taught. He felt thankful for a standing in the Church and Kingdom of God. Referred to the good feeling among the Saints in Arizona and the region south, and spoke of the manifest improvement among the Saints in this locality since he last was among them.
was pleased, after an absence of six years to meet again with the people of God, though his object in coming to Conference was not to teach but to be taught. He felt thankful for a standing in the Church and Kingdom of God. Referred to the good feeling among the Saints in Arizona and the region south, and spoke of the manifest improvement among the Saints in this locality since he last was among them.
President George Q. Cannon
testified to the presence of the Spirit of the Lord, and said he should be very much disappointed were it otherwise. The Saints needed the Spirit at all times. This work was spreading and increasing rapidly, and nothing short of divine inspiration could qualify Gods servants and Saints for the important duties they were called upon to fulfill. When we look around and see that notwithstanding the efforts of our enemies, we still have the privilege of meeting together and worshipping God in His appointed way, we have cause to be truly thankful. No human power could have planned so wisely and successfully as God has done to preserve us in the enjoyment of our rights and liberties. And if the Saints will prepare themselves for God’s greater blessings, the veil between them and their heavenly Father will become thinner, and in time will be rent, and all that they seek in righteousness will be poured out upon them. It is the duty of every Saint to be an example to all around him. The angels of God are watching over His people. The approaching completion of the Temple now being erected should remind us of what is expected through them. No power, from the beginning of our history, has been effectual in hindering our progress, and our advancement from henceforth will be even more rapid. The time is coming when revelation will be poured out upon this people to an extent hitherto unknown; when the heavens will be opened and God and His angels will be nearer to this people than ever.
Conference was adjourned to the Large Tabernacle to 2 o’clock p. m.
The choir sang an anthem: “Who can stand against the work of the Lord.”
Benediction by President Joseph F. Smith.
testified to the presence of the Spirit of the Lord, and said he should be very much disappointed were it otherwise. The Saints needed the Spirit at all times. This work was spreading and increasing rapidly, and nothing short of divine inspiration could qualify Gods servants and Saints for the important duties they were called upon to fulfill. When we look around and see that notwithstanding the efforts of our enemies, we still have the privilege of meeting together and worshipping God in His appointed way, we have cause to be truly thankful. No human power could have planned so wisely and successfully as God has done to preserve us in the enjoyment of our rights and liberties. And if the Saints will prepare themselves for God’s greater blessings, the veil between them and their heavenly Father will become thinner, and in time will be rent, and all that they seek in righteousness will be poured out upon them. It is the duty of every Saint to be an example to all around him. The angels of God are watching over His people. The approaching completion of the Temple now being erected should remind us of what is expected through them. No power, from the beginning of our history, has been effectual in hindering our progress, and our advancement from henceforth will be even more rapid. The time is coming when revelation will be poured out upon this people to an extent hitherto unknown; when the heavens will be opened and God and His angels will be nearer to this people than ever.
Conference was adjourned to the Large Tabernacle to 2 o’clock p. m.
The choir sang an anthem: “Who can stand against the work of the Lord.”
Benediction by President Joseph F. Smith.
Friday, 2 p. m.
The Choir sang: We are not ashamed to own our Lord, And worship him on earth.
Prayer by President Joseph F. Smith.
The Choir sang: O awake my slumbering minstrel, Let my harp forget its spell.
The Choir sang: We are not ashamed to own our Lord, And worship him on earth.
Prayer by President Joseph F. Smith.
The Choir sang: O awake my slumbering minstrel, Let my harp forget its spell.
Apostle Lorenzo Snow
read from the 93rd Section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, respecting the eternal nature of truth and intelligence, and of man’s advancement from grace to grace until he inherits a fulness of glory. The saints were entitled to revelation, for that instruction and support necessary while passing through this probation, and it was on such occasions as the present that they could be the spirit of prayer, unitedly exercised, draw forth such things from the speaker as they might need. That system of religion was worthless which would not give a proper understanding of things as they actually are. This religion taught that man could progress eternally and be exalted in due time to the presence and glory of the Lord. The Saints have the same knowledge concerning the divinity of the work, as ancient Israel had respecting the dealings of the Lord in those days. Moses, when called to lead Israel, received manifestations from heaven to convince him that God had indeed chosen him, and the subsequent history of that people was a series of similar proofs that when God requires his children to do a work He is willing to give them every evidence of its divinity. Any system of religion which would not bestow this knowledge would be of no value. Jesus Christ Himself organized this Church and sent unto Joseph Smith, His Prophet, those messengers whose right it was to confer upon him the keys of power and authority to act as a representative of God upon the earth. The Savior told Peter that flesh and blood had not revealed to him that He was the Son of God, but His Father in Heaven, and He also promised to His disciples, when He left them a Comforter who would come and lead them into all truth. The want of this was evident throughout the sectarian world, who worshipped a God without body, parts and passions, a nonentity, dwelling beyond the bounds of time and space, i.e. nowhere. But the Latter-day Saints had the privilege of piercing the vail and knowing for themselves the true nature and whereabouts of the Being they worship. Joseph Smith had the same privilege as John the Revelator in beholding Jesus Christ. It was through the authority bestowed upon Joseph Smith and others that the present work was being performed. It would never be destroyed. It has reached that point where it was not possible for it to be overthrown. The disbelief of the world and the persecution of the wicked would make no difference with the fulfilment of God’s purposes. The way had been opened whereby men could go from grace to grace, ascending from height to height of intelligence knowing for themselves what we expected of them in order to attain salvation. The Priesthood was placed in the Church for the perfecting of the Saints, and men were qualified to day to prophecy and to act in the name of the Almighty. The faith of the Saints in those things was evident from the sacrifices they had made and were still willing to make for the cause they had espoused.
read from the 93rd Section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, respecting the eternal nature of truth and intelligence, and of man’s advancement from grace to grace until he inherits a fulness of glory. The saints were entitled to revelation, for that instruction and support necessary while passing through this probation, and it was on such occasions as the present that they could be the spirit of prayer, unitedly exercised, draw forth such things from the speaker as they might need. That system of religion was worthless which would not give a proper understanding of things as they actually are. This religion taught that man could progress eternally and be exalted in due time to the presence and glory of the Lord. The Saints have the same knowledge concerning the divinity of the work, as ancient Israel had respecting the dealings of the Lord in those days. Moses, when called to lead Israel, received manifestations from heaven to convince him that God had indeed chosen him, and the subsequent history of that people was a series of similar proofs that when God requires his children to do a work He is willing to give them every evidence of its divinity. Any system of religion which would not bestow this knowledge would be of no value. Jesus Christ Himself organized this Church and sent unto Joseph Smith, His Prophet, those messengers whose right it was to confer upon him the keys of power and authority to act as a representative of God upon the earth. The Savior told Peter that flesh and blood had not revealed to him that He was the Son of God, but His Father in Heaven, and He also promised to His disciples, when He left them a Comforter who would come and lead them into all truth. The want of this was evident throughout the sectarian world, who worshipped a God without body, parts and passions, a nonentity, dwelling beyond the bounds of time and space, i.e. nowhere. But the Latter-day Saints had the privilege of piercing the vail and knowing for themselves the true nature and whereabouts of the Being they worship. Joseph Smith had the same privilege as John the Revelator in beholding Jesus Christ. It was through the authority bestowed upon Joseph Smith and others that the present work was being performed. It would never be destroyed. It has reached that point where it was not possible for it to be overthrown. The disbelief of the world and the persecution of the wicked would make no difference with the fulfilment of God’s purposes. The way had been opened whereby men could go from grace to grace, ascending from height to height of intelligence knowing for themselves what we expected of them in order to attain salvation. The Priesthood was placed in the Church for the perfecting of the Saints, and men were qualified to day to prophecy and to act in the name of the Almighty. The faith of the Saints in those things was evident from the sacrifices they had made and were still willing to make for the cause they had espoused.
President George Q. Cannon
then presented a financial report of the Logan Temple 50 cent monthly donation. He also presented a report on the Manti Temple.
On motion, both the above reports were unanimously received.
then presented a financial report of the Logan Temple 50 cent monthly donation. He also presented a report on the Manti Temple.
On motion, both the above reports were unanimously received.
Apostle Erastus Snow.
It was a source of pleasure and satisfaction to know that the Lord was communicating His will to His servants, and to see the Quorums of the Priesthood in good, efficient working order. The work of the ministry was great, the field was wide, and the word of the Lord was to thrust in the sickle and reap. Angels were superintending this work, under the direction of the Almighty, and the responsibility resting upon the Elders of Israel had not diminished. Blessings were in store for all who were willing to labor. It had been a custom in the past, with some people, to suppose when Elders were called upon missions that they had done something wrong, and had been sent off to get them out of the way. Such narrow, contracted notions should not prevail among this people. The qualifications required of missionaries by the Lord and His servants were faithfulness, integrity of heart and willingness to labor, and they were not seeking after any other kind; for these were the only ones that would be useful in the earth, or that the Lord would be willing to uphold and justify. The time was not far distant when the work of the Lord would go forth among all the House of Israel, and the Elders of this Church should be diligently preparing themselves for the great work. There was a manifest improvement among the people already, but there was room for much more, in order that the Saints might be purified and prepared to meet the Lord. They should be taught to depend upon God in times of sickness and, and trust in the ordinance for the healing of the sick, rather than upon physicians; but where doctors were employed, they should be men of faith in God, for medicines not administered under the inspiration of the spirit of truth, which knoweth all things, just as liable to work injury as to heal. God was desirous to build up in the midst of these mountains the healthiest, purest and most powerful people in the world, and through obedience to His holy laws, and the wise counsels of His servants, this was destined to be effected.
It was a source of pleasure and satisfaction to know that the Lord was communicating His will to His servants, and to see the Quorums of the Priesthood in good, efficient working order. The work of the ministry was great, the field was wide, and the word of the Lord was to thrust in the sickle and reap. Angels were superintending this work, under the direction of the Almighty, and the responsibility resting upon the Elders of Israel had not diminished. Blessings were in store for all who were willing to labor. It had been a custom in the past, with some people, to suppose when Elders were called upon missions that they had done something wrong, and had been sent off to get them out of the way. Such narrow, contracted notions should not prevail among this people. The qualifications required of missionaries by the Lord and His servants were faithfulness, integrity of heart and willingness to labor, and they were not seeking after any other kind; for these were the only ones that would be useful in the earth, or that the Lord would be willing to uphold and justify. The time was not far distant when the work of the Lord would go forth among all the House of Israel, and the Elders of this Church should be diligently preparing themselves for the great work. There was a manifest improvement among the people already, but there was room for much more, in order that the Saints might be purified and prepared to meet the Lord. They should be taught to depend upon God in times of sickness and, and trust in the ordinance for the healing of the sick, rather than upon physicians; but where doctors were employed, they should be men of faith in God, for medicines not administered under the inspiration of the spirit of truth, which knoweth all things, just as liable to work injury as to heal. God was desirous to build up in the midst of these mountains the healthiest, purest and most powerful people in the world, and through obedience to His holy laws, and the wise counsels of His servants, this was destined to be effected.
Present Revelation—Work Required of the Priesthood—Improvement Among the People—More Improvement Necessary—Faith in the Ordinances Required—Design of God in Relation to the Children of the Saints
Remarks by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at the General Conference, Friday Afternoon, October 5th, 1883.
Reported by John Irvine.
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 departments 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.
After which the choir sang the anthem: The gathered Saints.
Conference was adjourned till tomorrow, Saturday, at 10 o’clock
Benediction by Apostle Wilford Woodruff.
Remarks by Elder Erastus Snow, delivered at the General Conference, Friday Afternoon, October 5th, 1883.
Reported by John Irvine.
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 departments 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.
After which the choir sang the anthem: The gathered Saints.
Conference was adjourned till tomorrow, Saturday, at 10 o’clock
Benediction by Apostle Wilford Woodruff.
SECOND DAY.
Saturday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.
Conference met in the Tabernacle and was called to order at 10 o’clock a. m., by President John Taylor.
The choir sang, Come, thou glorious day of promise, Come and shed thy cheerful ray.
Prayer by President John D. T. McAllister.
The choir sang, Arise, arise, with joy survey, The glory of the latter day.
Saturday, Oct. 6, 10 a.m.
Conference met in the Tabernacle and was called to order at 10 o’clock a. m., by President John Taylor.
The choir sang, Come, thou glorious day of promise, Come and shed thy cheerful ray.
Prayer by President John D. T. McAllister.
The choir sang, Arise, arise, with joy survey, The glory of the latter day.
Apostle F. D. Richards.
If a retrospective view were taken of the providences of the Lord to the Latter-day Saints, especially since their sojourn in these mountains, the kind care of our Heavenly Father would be everywhere abundantly manifest. Since the settlement of these valleys, there had been a continuous series of efforts by the enemies of this people to deprive them of their rights and bring them into political bondage, but in every instance such efforts had signally failed. The persecutions inflicted by Federal officeholders, missionary judges, etc., had all been counteracted by the Lord’s providences, fallen short of their intended effect, and redounded to the disadvantage of their authors. Last year witnessed another notable attempt of this kind, and its failure. It was a singular circumstance that a man should be sent here from the heart of the nation, qualified by an extended experience, civil and military, which should have taught him to distinguish between right and wrong, and yet endeavor to nullify the popular vote and deliver the Territory over to the hands of an insignificant and unscrupulous minority. But so far this scheme had also failed and the schemer had defeated himself. This was but one of many proofs of the Lord’s watchcare over His people. They should therefore rejoice before Him and endeavor to serve him more diligently than ever. There was great room for improvement among them. The system of Church policy under which we operated, presupposed the most powerful government under the sun, and its superiority was no more strikingly illustrated than by contrasting the peace which prevailed in our midst, and the disturbances which were continually agitating the most powerful nations of the earth. All this presaged the fulfilment of the prophecy that Zion, in the latter days, would be the only people on earth not at war with another. Nor were we only free from political troubles, but from elemental disturbances, such as earthquakes, cyclones, etc., which were being sent forth to devastate the wicked. The Saints should endeavor to prove worthy of the divine mercy manifested over them, fearing not the menaces of their enemies, which were necessary to preserve and keep them together, and would fall harmless if the Salute would but do their duty. The Lord’s vineyard should be pruned, but in all wisdom and judgment, that in pulling up the tares the wheat may not be destroyed also. But none, through fear of doing wrong should refuse to do right. It was by using a gift that it developed and became powerful. The blacksmith had a stronger arm than the ordinary man, because he was all the time using it. Those who hold the Priesthood should use it and magnify their office and calling, or they would never know its value and utility. The children of Abraham would do the works of Abraham and thus prove worthy of the blessings of Abraham. Small sins should be avoided as well as large ones. Adultery and murder were sinful in the eyes of the Lord, but so were Sabbath-breaking and profanity. No one should cherish the idea that he has no time to serve the Lord. A man should be willing to go wherever and whenever the Lord calls him, whether it be to a foreign mission or to another world.
If a retrospective view were taken of the providences of the Lord to the Latter-day Saints, especially since their sojourn in these mountains, the kind care of our Heavenly Father would be everywhere abundantly manifest. Since the settlement of these valleys, there had been a continuous series of efforts by the enemies of this people to deprive them of their rights and bring them into political bondage, but in every instance such efforts had signally failed. The persecutions inflicted by Federal officeholders, missionary judges, etc., had all been counteracted by the Lord’s providences, fallen short of their intended effect, and redounded to the disadvantage of their authors. Last year witnessed another notable attempt of this kind, and its failure. It was a singular circumstance that a man should be sent here from the heart of the nation, qualified by an extended experience, civil and military, which should have taught him to distinguish between right and wrong, and yet endeavor to nullify the popular vote and deliver the Territory over to the hands of an insignificant and unscrupulous minority. But so far this scheme had also failed and the schemer had defeated himself. This was but one of many proofs of the Lord’s watchcare over His people. They should therefore rejoice before Him and endeavor to serve him more diligently than ever. There was great room for improvement among them. The system of Church policy under which we operated, presupposed the most powerful government under the sun, and its superiority was no more strikingly illustrated than by contrasting the peace which prevailed in our midst, and the disturbances which were continually agitating the most powerful nations of the earth. All this presaged the fulfilment of the prophecy that Zion, in the latter days, would be the only people on earth not at war with another. Nor were we only free from political troubles, but from elemental disturbances, such as earthquakes, cyclones, etc., which were being sent forth to devastate the wicked. The Saints should endeavor to prove worthy of the divine mercy manifested over them, fearing not the menaces of their enemies, which were necessary to preserve and keep them together, and would fall harmless if the Salute would but do their duty. The Lord’s vineyard should be pruned, but in all wisdom and judgment, that in pulling up the tares the wheat may not be destroyed also. But none, through fear of doing wrong should refuse to do right. It was by using a gift that it developed and became powerful. The blacksmith had a stronger arm than the ordinary man, because he was all the time using it. Those who hold the Priesthood should use it and magnify their office and calling, or they would never know its value and utility. The children of Abraham would do the works of Abraham and thus prove worthy of the blessings of Abraham. Small sins should be avoided as well as large ones. Adultery and murder were sinful in the eyes of the Lord, but so were Sabbath-breaking and profanity. No one should cherish the idea that he has no time to serve the Lord. A man should be willing to go wherever and whenever the Lord calls him, whether it be to a foreign mission or to another world.
Retrospective Review of the Providences of God in Relation to the Saints—The Wrath and Schemes of Men Turned to the Advantage of God's People—The Order of God's Church Perfect—The Wicked Disturbed By Judgments, While The Righteous Enjoy Peace—The Administration of the Law of God in Relation to Offenses—Should Be Resigned to The Will of God in All Things
Discourse by Apostle F. D. Richards, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, October 6, (Semi-Annual Conference) 1883.
Reported by John Irvine.
The Lord be thanked and praised for granting us another so favorable opportunity of meeting together to contemplate the interests of His
Kingdom, and our soul's salvation at this Conference. “Day unto day uttereth speech,” said the ancient man of God, “and night unto night showeth knowledge.” We can say that week after week, and month after month, since our last Conference, we have had renewed occasion for thanksgiving and praise to Him for the many blessings which He has vouchsafed unto His people.
If we take a retrospective view of His providences to us as a people, especially during the period of our sojourn in these mountains, we shall find that circumstances have occurred at very short intervals, which have kept the people continually awakened to a sense of their liberties, and to a watch care for them, measuring and weighing and noticing the efforts that have been made from time to time to take away our privileges and liberties, and such blessings as were thought could be taken from us which we had entered into the enjoyment of since our location in these mountain fastnesses. Step by step every such instance has been attended, if not with all that gift and abundance of favor and mercy, which we might have desired, and which might not have been best for us, yet with sufficient blessing to manifest the kind care of our heavenly Father continually and unceasingly over us.
When we came here and first made our laws, realizing that we were far away from the mass of the people of the States, both east and west of us, we found it was with great difficulty that we could avail ourselves of the few blessings which government seemed to tender to us. We could not even obtain the presence of federal officials in our midst, regularly, as was designed by government, and as was needed by the people. Consequently our isolation required our Legislature to confer unusual powers upon our local courts; but it was not long before the effort was made, and final success was had in taking from our local courts the civil and criminal jurisdiction. Time will not allow me to enter into minute details. Therefore, suffice it to say, that mission judges have come here fully determined to convert us from the error of our ways, as it appeared to them, to the “purity, refinement, and civilization” of the world! After laboring and toiling some years in our midst, finding their decisions frequently overthrown by the decisions of the Superior Court at Washington, our Prophet, who had been illegally imprisoned, released from his confinement, and one thing after another, upset their plans and devices; so that the great changes which had been hoped to be brought about among us, to make us like the people of the world, signally failed, and the end of that effort was, that the poor, miserable man who undertook the job, was carried home in his coffin.
I must notice one or two other important facts, which have stood out very prominently before us, and they were, that this people who were not of the world, and had no fellowship or love with the world, must be restricted in their civil rights and military duties, for fear that they should do some mischief on a holiday, therefore they were forbidden by Gubernatorial Proclamation, to order out a company of infantry or cavalry, to help to celebrate the Fourth of July, as they and their fathers were wont to do from time immemorial.
One after another, these and similar efforts have been made to take our liberties and privileges away from us, that we might be brought into some sort of contemptible subjection, it would appear. But without stopping to animadvert upon the folly and nonsense of such a procedure, let me inquire what was the result? What followed the proclamation that we should not do military duty as a people, or protect ourselves even from the surrounding savages? Immediately when this occurred, it seemed as if the very heavens were moved in our behalf, all the tribes around us became divested, seemingly, of what hostility they had possessed, and ever since that occurred, we have had the most substantial peace and quiet all around us, among the natives. How kind of Providence, it was, to so completely remove the enmity of the natives, when this circumstance transpired. We are relieved from the unpleasant tax of military duty, and even our adversaries are made to be at peace with us. What a logic of fact, for a contentious world to read.
During the past year, the great efforts that have been made, have seemed to prove abortive; special efforts and measures have appeared to miscarry; and we have had a law right from the Capitol, that seemed as if it must tell on the “Mormons.” A class of our people have been temporally divested of the right of suffrage; men and women, who may have violated some law, and many who have never violated any law of Congress, have been deprived of their political rights. But with all this we still seem to live and thrive and prosper faster than we have ever done before. The very step itself, will prove a great blessing to this people by separating a portion of those who have not the highest respect and veneration for all the Laws of God, and enable those who have, to be the wiser counselors and more efficient aids in advancing the interests of the kingdom in the hands of those who may be more acceptable in the eyes of government to wield administration here locally.
But it is a singular fact, a singular circumstance, that a man should come here from the heart of the nation—clothed, as was supposed, with every qualification to be a Governor of Utah—should act as he has acted. He had been through the army in the late rebellion. He was a man capable, as was supposed, of understanding what was right and proper, as between the nation and any other part of the country that might seem to feel in any wise oppressed or limited, and who would administer constitutional rights and executive powers with ability and with skill. He came here clothed with the supreme beauty of the State from whence he came. This man by his excessive propensity for figures, as we all know, made some very strange calculations; and then when one thing didn't work, another seemed to, until our representative in Congress was removed. But by and by we are blessed with another one in Congress to represent us there. And in a short time we found that, with the special effort that was being made in Washington in our behalf, such a shadow of doubt was cast over a certain portion of the law, entitled the Hoar amendment, when it was thought advisable by the Governor to execute some three hundred commissions, more or less, to men whom he appointed to fill supposed vacancies in this Territory, which if carried out would have turned over the local authority of the Territory into the hands of the avowed enemies of this people, but the supposed vacancies did not exist and the offices continued in the hands of the incumbents. After all the election was held during the past season when these offices were filled by the people's candidates. We have occasion again to rejoice that notwithstanding another desperate effort has been made to take away the rule from the hands of the people and put it into the hands of their enemies, and make us an outside Territory, subject to their oppressions, subject to all manner of taxation that they might please to impose upon us—we find that the voice and vote of the people are still triumphant, that their candidates have gone into office and are commissioned; the selections having been made from among those whose rights and privileges have been maintained unto them.
It is a singular feature in this matter, that the Governor has taken it into his head to leave the Territory just at the time when it was supposed he would be required to execute these commissions. But without going into particulars, persons of ordinary discernment observe that the course he has taken is such that he cannot himself cheek it to remain and issue the commissions to the properly elected persons to rule in this Territory, indeed it looks as though the dishonorable, undignified course he has taken is just what has driven him from the Territory, to leave his duty, and let the secretary be acting governor. When men come here full of determination to show their bravery, their ability, smartness and competency beyond their predecessors, to capture Utah, and turn her over to the hands of the ungodly; it appears that everyone who has made such an attempt has met with very signal defeat. When a man defeats himself as perfectly as this last one has, I think the Latter-day Saints have occasion to thank God and take courage; we have reason to rejoice and praise the Lord in all these matters, for whatever our enemies do He makes it return that, like a boomerang that is thrown out, it comes back and strikes the person that hurled it.
Well, then, my brethren and sisters, seeing that this is the way that these matters all move, the way they all operate, should it not inspire in us the most profound gratitude toward God for these manifestations of his mercy, goodness and blessing unto us. He has made our fields to abound with plenty. He has favored us with blessings innumerable and incomprehensible. We have a peace, a joy and a satisfaction at heart which those men who make these desperate laws cannot contemplate. We rejoice in the blessings that heaven is bestowing upon us. Is it not, then, our bounden duty to testify to God, the angels, and those that attend upon the covenant people of God, that we are determined to love Him more and serve Him better? I was pleased to hear the remark made by one of my brethren yesterday, that he felt on returning here, after an absence of five or six years, that there was an improvement in the spirit and feelings of the people. This is very manifest to those who observe and notice it. But we think there should be a very much greater improvement. Many of us have been very careless of some of the commandments: words of wisdom which the Lord has seen fit to give to us. We have not used that care, that caution, and that sound discretion in our daily lives before Him, that it is becoming we should do. I propose, brethren and sisters, in view of this matter, that we take these things to heart, and see if we can and ought to draw nearer to God, while He is willing to draw nearer to us, and thus more fully sense His blessings, His mercies, and his loving kindness unto us.
This institution—which President Taylor so beautifully reviewed yesterday morning in the Assembly Hall, noticing the varied authorities of the Church and their multifarious duties—sets forth to every discerning mind that the order of God's government presupposes and contemplates the strongest possible form of government that has ever been known on the earth. Men have come here in years past, and in speaking of President Young, they have said that he had a strong government here in Utah; and later on, in speaking of President Taylor, that he had a strong government in Utah, and also that men coming here from abroad to govern the people, simply governed the outsiders, and that the President of the Church governed the Latter-day Saints. This is the way the ungodly speak about it. Latter-day Saints know that the order of God's Church is the perfect order. They know that it is the one intended to give a people strength in the earth, and that strength is in their righteousness, in their virtue, in their purity, and in their union and fellowship with the Spirit, with each other, and with the heavens.
These principles are very dear and very glorious, and we ought to rejoice above all men in the earth. We may look to the east, to the west, to the north and to the south, and we see all governments, all peoples, all nations, all kindreds and tongues, stirred up with an activity, a spirit of strife and ambition to superiority, and we see that there is continual commotion among them in their political affairs, and in their civil relations. There are a great many disturbances continually going on, and many of the nations are really on the verge of bankruptcy, through the vast debts created to maintain their numerous armies even in the time of peace; while here among this people, though our liberties are menaced and threatened, and our peace would be sometimes disturbed, if we would allow it, yet, by the blessing of God, we enjoy peace in our hearts, such peace as the wicked cannot give to us, nor take from us. The voice of Him that spake to the waves of Gennesaret, and commanded them to be still, speaks to us, and while dark clouds and the thunderings and lightnings roll over the political horizon, yet in the hearts, in the homes, and in the habitations of the just there is peace, such as the wicked know not of, and it bespeaks the truth of the revelation which says, that not long hence, the people of Zion shall be the only people that will not be at war among themselves, and that the day will be when they who will not take up the sword against their neighbor, will have to flee to Zion, of which this is the embryo.
Look abroad and see what the Lord is doing in the way of judgments. There has scarcely been a year for many years past, when they have seemed to be so terrible as they have been during this present year, so far. Think of one portion of the world where islands of the sea have been sunk, and 100,000 people reported destroyed by earthquake and volcanic eruptions. And another where it is said some 15,000 or 20,000 were likewise destroyed. Think of it! And yet the Lord has preserved us in these mountains—in this region of country that might scientifically be called one of the most volcanic portions of the whole earth. The very face of the earth tells us its character by its extinct volcanoes, its silent craters, and numerous hot springs. Look at the strata of the earth's crust in these canyons, and see its nature.
Also the Lord has manifested His judgments by cyclones, etc. The words of the Prophet Joseph, have been and are being verified, those words he uttered before he went to Carthage. Said he: “I call for the four winds of heaven, the thunderings, lightnings, earthquakes, whirlwinds, the hailstorms, pestilence, and the raging seas to come forth out of their hiding places and bear testimony of the truth of those things which I have taught to the inhabitants of the earth as is promised in the revelations that have been given.” These were some of his last words among the people. And what have we seen? Scarcely a week last summer without a cyclone or hurricane happening somewhere in the States, destroying towns and villages, or parts thereof.
We live in times that if we only considered the matter and looked upon it as we should do, that should cause us to draw near unto the Lord, and to live up to every word that proceedeth from His mouth.
I wish to bear testimony that this Gospel and this order of government which I have been alluding to, is that which brings down the blessings of heaven upon this people. Besides peace and good order, it brings the gifts and blessings of the Gospel, the gift of healing to those who are afflicted and wounded and who are walking upon the borders of the grave; such are restored and healed by its divine power exercised in the prayers and faith of the Saints.
The fact of the matter is, those things which are held out as menaces to us, are the things that preserve us from the hands of the wicked, and keep us from forgetting God in the time of prosperity. It is one of the greatest blessings to us, that we are kept continually on the alert, diligently seeking after Him, putting our trust in Him, and then to find how successfully and perfectly He leads us to triumph over our enemies, and makes the mischief they would bring upon us, recoil upon their own heads. Saints find it good to trust in Him.
The great work that is now upon us—to build temples and to labor in them, calls upon us to perform our duties faithfully; calls upon Presidents of Stakes and Bishops of Wards, that they look well among their peoples, and see if they are not taking upon themselves the responsibilities of other people's sins. Presidents, High Councilors and Bishops, should seek diligently the Spirit of the Lord to know how to deal with and decide between the righteous and the wicked; to know how to pull up the tares without pulling up a great number of the roots of the wheat. When a man has given himself up to be a drunkard, to dishonor the cause of God, and to be picked up in the streets and to become a reproach, until people say, “that is one of your Mormons,” it is time the Bishops or Elders, or whosoever's duty it is, were looking after him to see that this evil is put away, and to see that his wife, who may be the deepest mourner over this whole matter, and his children, clothed in sorrow over his conduct, to see that they are cherished and sustained and preserved, lest while pulling up the tares you pull up the wheat also. It requires the skill and wisdom of the Holy Spirit in all of these things to know how to deal in the right way, to save those that can be saved, while those who will not work righteousness, may be known as transgressors, and that we may no longer carry them upon our faith and become partakers of their sins.
In the late organization of 1877, a score of Stakes were organized, a great many more Wards were instituted, many men were called and ordained to be Bishops in the Church who had never given their attention to consider carefully the duties of the bishopric. In view of the responsibilities of this calling, it may not be thought strange that some brethren holding this high and holy office are so afraid that they would do wrong, that they even durst not do right! Now, this is true whether you believe it or not. A great many men hold these important offices who are so timid and so fearful lest they should do wrong, that they are slow and backward in doing the thing which is right. Now, what is it that makes a man useful and strong in his calling and labor? Is it not his constant labor, and the diligent, actual performance of his duties? What is it that makes the blacksmith's right arm stronger than any other man's? It is because he is all the time using it, and in this way his arm acquires that practice which gives it the greatest attainable strength. If the brethren standing in these responsible places, whether they be Presidents of Stakes or Bishops of Wards, see anything wrong in their Wards, it is their duty to get after it. And it is notably the duty of a teacher to be conversant with the people, and to see that there is no iniquity in the Church. Instead of hardness of feeling or division of sentiment, or mischief of any kind being allowed to exist in your Stake, until it produces party strife, and people take sides with one and sides with another, it is far better to get after the mischief at once, find out where it is, root it out, and set matters right before the peace of families, of neighborhoods, and perhaps the Ward is disturbed. I wish the brethren in authority would heed this matter and wake up to their duties, and not act merely as figureheads, but more like men of God clothed with authority and power. When men standing in such responsible positions are so backward in their duties, they don't know the power of God, nor the spirit of their callings, but the moment they step forward and take hold with a prayerful heart, coming from their closets clothed with the Spirit of God, they find they have the power to make peace and restore union, fellowship and love in the midst of the people, and the people would love and bless them in return. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
We need a great deal of missionary service at home. We need a deal of labor in all the spheres of life—in the families, in the wards, and in the Stakes of Zion, which are organized and are being built up in the Church in these latter times. The work is constantly spreading. Stakes are being organized in different parts of the country, and the work of God is prospering. Our enemies “can do nothing against the truth, but rather for the truth;” for God will sanctify their evil designs, and their wicked and ungodly purposes, to bring to pass His ends, and to magnify His name and to honor him in the earth.
Let us humble ourselves before the Lord, let us keep His commandments, and teach our children so to do. Let us teach them the principles of purity and righteousness, so that they may go to the house of the Lord, pure as they were born, free from sin, and wholly there to enter into covenants with God that shall abide and stand and endure while time shall last and eternity endure; that they may live, grow and increase, as Abraham grew and increased, become as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore for multitude. For the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have come down upon us. And they that are the children of Abraham will do the works of Abraham. Let us not forget it; that they that would inherit the blessings of Abraham must do the works of Abraham, to entitle them to these blessings.
Let us draw near to the Lord with our households and strengthen ourselves in the truth. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
We ought to be more careful concerning the observance of the Sabbath. We talk of the great things of the laws of God, such as adultery, and those greater crimes, and murder, which are less frequently committed, but which are most terrible in their effects upon those who do, and are terrible also in their effects upon those who are surrounded and are connected therewith; but let us attend also to the Sabbath, to keep it holy, and go to our meeting and be more dutiful in that respect, and not go to the canyons, or hunt stock, and attend to a multitude of things, which otherwise might be avoided. Let us avoid, if we are going a journey, starting on a Sunday, “just to save one day more for business.” Let us undertake no manner of business on that day. Let us reverence the Sabbath as God has commanded us in the revelations of the last days. It is one of the ten commandments: “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work,” etc. The Lord has been particular. He is going to be particular again. We have been in circumstances where we were rudely dealt with. We have had to travel over the plains, but even there we reverenced the Sabbath. We stopped our teams, and let the cattle rest, and attended to our duties. Now we have come into a country where we have hardly had to buy land save at a nominal Government figure. Here we found a new world, a place in which we could make a living; and cannot we afford to take time to serve the Lord; to rest our bodies and refresh our spirits, by a study of His holy word increasing our faith also?
Another thing, we ought not to run after doctors as much as we do. “But,” says one, “if we have a bone broken we must have somebody to set it.” Yes, that is true, but we need not take all the nostrums they can think of. We ought first to go to the Lord and exercise our faith as far as we can make use of it in that direction, and we will make fewer blunders than we do in placing implicit confidence in the medical and surgical professions. When we do this we are certainly sure of one thing—we secure the help of God and the help of angels; and if we are appointed unto death, we want to go. We ought to want to go. Our prayers and supplications should be always conditional—that is, if not appointed unto death that he or she should be raised up. And if the heavens want a man to labor there in any sphere, there is where he should be. If a man is wanted to be on a mission in Europe, in Germany, or in the States, and he stays at home, he is not where he ought to be. He ought to be where God would have him, there the Holy Spirit will labor with him and help him. But for us to importune the Lord to heal those whom He has appointed unto death is just like asking—as we do once in a while—a man to go on a mission, and we get a long petition saying that he is such a blessed dear good man, or he has been such a good schoolmaster, “Do, pray, President let him stop.” Now, when the Presidency want a man to go on a mission, he ought to go. It is best for that man that he should go. It is best for all concerned that he should go to the place he is sent, and labor with all his heart. Just so with us. Here we are on a mission in the world. The matter of death is a very small matter. It is a matter of life or death to be sure; but if the Lord does not want us here, and we are taken away, His will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.
I do not wish to occupy more time for fear of infringing upon the rights of others.
I pray the Lord to still bless Israel, to bless us with humility, and with faithfulness in the keeping of His commandments; then we shall see more and grander things accomplished on His part, just in proportion to the faithfulness with which we perform the duties devolving upon us. May the Lord help us to do this; and to walk in the way of life, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Discourse by Apostle F. D. Richards, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Saturday Morning, October 6, (Semi-Annual Conference) 1883.
Reported by John Irvine.
The Lord be thanked and praised for granting us another so favorable opportunity of meeting together to contemplate the interests of His
Kingdom, and our soul's salvation at this Conference. “Day unto day uttereth speech,” said the ancient man of God, “and night unto night showeth knowledge.” We can say that week after week, and month after month, since our last Conference, we have had renewed occasion for thanksgiving and praise to Him for the many blessings which He has vouchsafed unto His people.
If we take a retrospective view of His providences to us as a people, especially during the period of our sojourn in these mountains, we shall find that circumstances have occurred at very short intervals, which have kept the people continually awakened to a sense of their liberties, and to a watch care for them, measuring and weighing and noticing the efforts that have been made from time to time to take away our privileges and liberties, and such blessings as were thought could be taken from us which we had entered into the enjoyment of since our location in these mountain fastnesses. Step by step every such instance has been attended, if not with all that gift and abundance of favor and mercy, which we might have desired, and which might not have been best for us, yet with sufficient blessing to manifest the kind care of our heavenly Father continually and unceasingly over us.
When we came here and first made our laws, realizing that we were far away from the mass of the people of the States, both east and west of us, we found it was with great difficulty that we could avail ourselves of the few blessings which government seemed to tender to us. We could not even obtain the presence of federal officials in our midst, regularly, as was designed by government, and as was needed by the people. Consequently our isolation required our Legislature to confer unusual powers upon our local courts; but it was not long before the effort was made, and final success was had in taking from our local courts the civil and criminal jurisdiction. Time will not allow me to enter into minute details. Therefore, suffice it to say, that mission judges have come here fully determined to convert us from the error of our ways, as it appeared to them, to the “purity, refinement, and civilization” of the world! After laboring and toiling some years in our midst, finding their decisions frequently overthrown by the decisions of the Superior Court at Washington, our Prophet, who had been illegally imprisoned, released from his confinement, and one thing after another, upset their plans and devices; so that the great changes which had been hoped to be brought about among us, to make us like the people of the world, signally failed, and the end of that effort was, that the poor, miserable man who undertook the job, was carried home in his coffin.
I must notice one or two other important facts, which have stood out very prominently before us, and they were, that this people who were not of the world, and had no fellowship or love with the world, must be restricted in their civil rights and military duties, for fear that they should do some mischief on a holiday, therefore they were forbidden by Gubernatorial Proclamation, to order out a company of infantry or cavalry, to help to celebrate the Fourth of July, as they and their fathers were wont to do from time immemorial.
One after another, these and similar efforts have been made to take our liberties and privileges away from us, that we might be brought into some sort of contemptible subjection, it would appear. But without stopping to animadvert upon the folly and nonsense of such a procedure, let me inquire what was the result? What followed the proclamation that we should not do military duty as a people, or protect ourselves even from the surrounding savages? Immediately when this occurred, it seemed as if the very heavens were moved in our behalf, all the tribes around us became divested, seemingly, of what hostility they had possessed, and ever since that occurred, we have had the most substantial peace and quiet all around us, among the natives. How kind of Providence, it was, to so completely remove the enmity of the natives, when this circumstance transpired. We are relieved from the unpleasant tax of military duty, and even our adversaries are made to be at peace with us. What a logic of fact, for a contentious world to read.
During the past year, the great efforts that have been made, have seemed to prove abortive; special efforts and measures have appeared to miscarry; and we have had a law right from the Capitol, that seemed as if it must tell on the “Mormons.” A class of our people have been temporally divested of the right of suffrage; men and women, who may have violated some law, and many who have never violated any law of Congress, have been deprived of their political rights. But with all this we still seem to live and thrive and prosper faster than we have ever done before. The very step itself, will prove a great blessing to this people by separating a portion of those who have not the highest respect and veneration for all the Laws of God, and enable those who have, to be the wiser counselors and more efficient aids in advancing the interests of the kingdom in the hands of those who may be more acceptable in the eyes of government to wield administration here locally.
But it is a singular fact, a singular circumstance, that a man should come here from the heart of the nation—clothed, as was supposed, with every qualification to be a Governor of Utah—should act as he has acted. He had been through the army in the late rebellion. He was a man capable, as was supposed, of understanding what was right and proper, as between the nation and any other part of the country that might seem to feel in any wise oppressed or limited, and who would administer constitutional rights and executive powers with ability and with skill. He came here clothed with the supreme beauty of the State from whence he came. This man by his excessive propensity for figures, as we all know, made some very strange calculations; and then when one thing didn't work, another seemed to, until our representative in Congress was removed. But by and by we are blessed with another one in Congress to represent us there. And in a short time we found that, with the special effort that was being made in Washington in our behalf, such a shadow of doubt was cast over a certain portion of the law, entitled the Hoar amendment, when it was thought advisable by the Governor to execute some three hundred commissions, more or less, to men whom he appointed to fill supposed vacancies in this Territory, which if carried out would have turned over the local authority of the Territory into the hands of the avowed enemies of this people, but the supposed vacancies did not exist and the offices continued in the hands of the incumbents. After all the election was held during the past season when these offices were filled by the people's candidates. We have occasion again to rejoice that notwithstanding another desperate effort has been made to take away the rule from the hands of the people and put it into the hands of their enemies, and make us an outside Territory, subject to their oppressions, subject to all manner of taxation that they might please to impose upon us—we find that the voice and vote of the people are still triumphant, that their candidates have gone into office and are commissioned; the selections having been made from among those whose rights and privileges have been maintained unto them.
It is a singular feature in this matter, that the Governor has taken it into his head to leave the Territory just at the time when it was supposed he would be required to execute these commissions. But without going into particulars, persons of ordinary discernment observe that the course he has taken is such that he cannot himself cheek it to remain and issue the commissions to the properly elected persons to rule in this Territory, indeed it looks as though the dishonorable, undignified course he has taken is just what has driven him from the Territory, to leave his duty, and let the secretary be acting governor. When men come here full of determination to show their bravery, their ability, smartness and competency beyond their predecessors, to capture Utah, and turn her over to the hands of the ungodly; it appears that everyone who has made such an attempt has met with very signal defeat. When a man defeats himself as perfectly as this last one has, I think the Latter-day Saints have occasion to thank God and take courage; we have reason to rejoice and praise the Lord in all these matters, for whatever our enemies do He makes it return that, like a boomerang that is thrown out, it comes back and strikes the person that hurled it.
Well, then, my brethren and sisters, seeing that this is the way that these matters all move, the way they all operate, should it not inspire in us the most profound gratitude toward God for these manifestations of his mercy, goodness and blessing unto us. He has made our fields to abound with plenty. He has favored us with blessings innumerable and incomprehensible. We have a peace, a joy and a satisfaction at heart which those men who make these desperate laws cannot contemplate. We rejoice in the blessings that heaven is bestowing upon us. Is it not, then, our bounden duty to testify to God, the angels, and those that attend upon the covenant people of God, that we are determined to love Him more and serve Him better? I was pleased to hear the remark made by one of my brethren yesterday, that he felt on returning here, after an absence of five or six years, that there was an improvement in the spirit and feelings of the people. This is very manifest to those who observe and notice it. But we think there should be a very much greater improvement. Many of us have been very careless of some of the commandments: words of wisdom which the Lord has seen fit to give to us. We have not used that care, that caution, and that sound discretion in our daily lives before Him, that it is becoming we should do. I propose, brethren and sisters, in view of this matter, that we take these things to heart, and see if we can and ought to draw nearer to God, while He is willing to draw nearer to us, and thus more fully sense His blessings, His mercies, and his loving kindness unto us.
This institution—which President Taylor so beautifully reviewed yesterday morning in the Assembly Hall, noticing the varied authorities of the Church and their multifarious duties—sets forth to every discerning mind that the order of God's government presupposes and contemplates the strongest possible form of government that has ever been known on the earth. Men have come here in years past, and in speaking of President Young, they have said that he had a strong government here in Utah; and later on, in speaking of President Taylor, that he had a strong government in Utah, and also that men coming here from abroad to govern the people, simply governed the outsiders, and that the President of the Church governed the Latter-day Saints. This is the way the ungodly speak about it. Latter-day Saints know that the order of God's Church is the perfect order. They know that it is the one intended to give a people strength in the earth, and that strength is in their righteousness, in their virtue, in their purity, and in their union and fellowship with the Spirit, with each other, and with the heavens.
These principles are very dear and very glorious, and we ought to rejoice above all men in the earth. We may look to the east, to the west, to the north and to the south, and we see all governments, all peoples, all nations, all kindreds and tongues, stirred up with an activity, a spirit of strife and ambition to superiority, and we see that there is continual commotion among them in their political affairs, and in their civil relations. There are a great many disturbances continually going on, and many of the nations are really on the verge of bankruptcy, through the vast debts created to maintain their numerous armies even in the time of peace; while here among this people, though our liberties are menaced and threatened, and our peace would be sometimes disturbed, if we would allow it, yet, by the blessing of God, we enjoy peace in our hearts, such peace as the wicked cannot give to us, nor take from us. The voice of Him that spake to the waves of Gennesaret, and commanded them to be still, speaks to us, and while dark clouds and the thunderings and lightnings roll over the political horizon, yet in the hearts, in the homes, and in the habitations of the just there is peace, such as the wicked know not of, and it bespeaks the truth of the revelation which says, that not long hence, the people of Zion shall be the only people that will not be at war among themselves, and that the day will be when they who will not take up the sword against their neighbor, will have to flee to Zion, of which this is the embryo.
Look abroad and see what the Lord is doing in the way of judgments. There has scarcely been a year for many years past, when they have seemed to be so terrible as they have been during this present year, so far. Think of one portion of the world where islands of the sea have been sunk, and 100,000 people reported destroyed by earthquake and volcanic eruptions. And another where it is said some 15,000 or 20,000 were likewise destroyed. Think of it! And yet the Lord has preserved us in these mountains—in this region of country that might scientifically be called one of the most volcanic portions of the whole earth. The very face of the earth tells us its character by its extinct volcanoes, its silent craters, and numerous hot springs. Look at the strata of the earth's crust in these canyons, and see its nature.
Also the Lord has manifested His judgments by cyclones, etc. The words of the Prophet Joseph, have been and are being verified, those words he uttered before he went to Carthage. Said he: “I call for the four winds of heaven, the thunderings, lightnings, earthquakes, whirlwinds, the hailstorms, pestilence, and the raging seas to come forth out of their hiding places and bear testimony of the truth of those things which I have taught to the inhabitants of the earth as is promised in the revelations that have been given.” These were some of his last words among the people. And what have we seen? Scarcely a week last summer without a cyclone or hurricane happening somewhere in the States, destroying towns and villages, or parts thereof.
We live in times that if we only considered the matter and looked upon it as we should do, that should cause us to draw near unto the Lord, and to live up to every word that proceedeth from His mouth.
I wish to bear testimony that this Gospel and this order of government which I have been alluding to, is that which brings down the blessings of heaven upon this people. Besides peace and good order, it brings the gifts and blessings of the Gospel, the gift of healing to those who are afflicted and wounded and who are walking upon the borders of the grave; such are restored and healed by its divine power exercised in the prayers and faith of the Saints.
The fact of the matter is, those things which are held out as menaces to us, are the things that preserve us from the hands of the wicked, and keep us from forgetting God in the time of prosperity. It is one of the greatest blessings to us, that we are kept continually on the alert, diligently seeking after Him, putting our trust in Him, and then to find how successfully and perfectly He leads us to triumph over our enemies, and makes the mischief they would bring upon us, recoil upon their own heads. Saints find it good to trust in Him.
The great work that is now upon us—to build temples and to labor in them, calls upon us to perform our duties faithfully; calls upon Presidents of Stakes and Bishops of Wards, that they look well among their peoples, and see if they are not taking upon themselves the responsibilities of other people's sins. Presidents, High Councilors and Bishops, should seek diligently the Spirit of the Lord to know how to deal with and decide between the righteous and the wicked; to know how to pull up the tares without pulling up a great number of the roots of the wheat. When a man has given himself up to be a drunkard, to dishonor the cause of God, and to be picked up in the streets and to become a reproach, until people say, “that is one of your Mormons,” it is time the Bishops or Elders, or whosoever's duty it is, were looking after him to see that this evil is put away, and to see that his wife, who may be the deepest mourner over this whole matter, and his children, clothed in sorrow over his conduct, to see that they are cherished and sustained and preserved, lest while pulling up the tares you pull up the wheat also. It requires the skill and wisdom of the Holy Spirit in all of these things to know how to deal in the right way, to save those that can be saved, while those who will not work righteousness, may be known as transgressors, and that we may no longer carry them upon our faith and become partakers of their sins.
In the late organization of 1877, a score of Stakes were organized, a great many more Wards were instituted, many men were called and ordained to be Bishops in the Church who had never given their attention to consider carefully the duties of the bishopric. In view of the responsibilities of this calling, it may not be thought strange that some brethren holding this high and holy office are so afraid that they would do wrong, that they even durst not do right! Now, this is true whether you believe it or not. A great many men hold these important offices who are so timid and so fearful lest they should do wrong, that they are slow and backward in doing the thing which is right. Now, what is it that makes a man useful and strong in his calling and labor? Is it not his constant labor, and the diligent, actual performance of his duties? What is it that makes the blacksmith's right arm stronger than any other man's? It is because he is all the time using it, and in this way his arm acquires that practice which gives it the greatest attainable strength. If the brethren standing in these responsible places, whether they be Presidents of Stakes or Bishops of Wards, see anything wrong in their Wards, it is their duty to get after it. And it is notably the duty of a teacher to be conversant with the people, and to see that there is no iniquity in the Church. Instead of hardness of feeling or division of sentiment, or mischief of any kind being allowed to exist in your Stake, until it produces party strife, and people take sides with one and sides with another, it is far better to get after the mischief at once, find out where it is, root it out, and set matters right before the peace of families, of neighborhoods, and perhaps the Ward is disturbed. I wish the brethren in authority would heed this matter and wake up to their duties, and not act merely as figureheads, but more like men of God clothed with authority and power. When men standing in such responsible positions are so backward in their duties, they don't know the power of God, nor the spirit of their callings, but the moment they step forward and take hold with a prayerful heart, coming from their closets clothed with the Spirit of God, they find they have the power to make peace and restore union, fellowship and love in the midst of the people, and the people would love and bless them in return. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.
We need a great deal of missionary service at home. We need a deal of labor in all the spheres of life—in the families, in the wards, and in the Stakes of Zion, which are organized and are being built up in the Church in these latter times. The work is constantly spreading. Stakes are being organized in different parts of the country, and the work of God is prospering. Our enemies “can do nothing against the truth, but rather for the truth;” for God will sanctify their evil designs, and their wicked and ungodly purposes, to bring to pass His ends, and to magnify His name and to honor him in the earth.
Let us humble ourselves before the Lord, let us keep His commandments, and teach our children so to do. Let us teach them the principles of purity and righteousness, so that they may go to the house of the Lord, pure as they were born, free from sin, and wholly there to enter into covenants with God that shall abide and stand and endure while time shall last and eternity endure; that they may live, grow and increase, as Abraham grew and increased, become as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore for multitude. For the blessings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have come down upon us. And they that are the children of Abraham will do the works of Abraham. Let us not forget it; that they that would inherit the blessings of Abraham must do the works of Abraham, to entitle them to these blessings.
Let us draw near to the Lord with our households and strengthen ourselves in the truth. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
We ought to be more careful concerning the observance of the Sabbath. We talk of the great things of the laws of God, such as adultery, and those greater crimes, and murder, which are less frequently committed, but which are most terrible in their effects upon those who do, and are terrible also in their effects upon those who are surrounded and are connected therewith; but let us attend also to the Sabbath, to keep it holy, and go to our meeting and be more dutiful in that respect, and not go to the canyons, or hunt stock, and attend to a multitude of things, which otherwise might be avoided. Let us avoid, if we are going a journey, starting on a Sunday, “just to save one day more for business.” Let us undertake no manner of business on that day. Let us reverence the Sabbath as God has commanded us in the revelations of the last days. It is one of the ten commandments: “Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work,” etc. The Lord has been particular. He is going to be particular again. We have been in circumstances where we were rudely dealt with. We have had to travel over the plains, but even there we reverenced the Sabbath. We stopped our teams, and let the cattle rest, and attended to our duties. Now we have come into a country where we have hardly had to buy land save at a nominal Government figure. Here we found a new world, a place in which we could make a living; and cannot we afford to take time to serve the Lord; to rest our bodies and refresh our spirits, by a study of His holy word increasing our faith also?
Another thing, we ought not to run after doctors as much as we do. “But,” says one, “if we have a bone broken we must have somebody to set it.” Yes, that is true, but we need not take all the nostrums they can think of. We ought first to go to the Lord and exercise our faith as far as we can make use of it in that direction, and we will make fewer blunders than we do in placing implicit confidence in the medical and surgical professions. When we do this we are certainly sure of one thing—we secure the help of God and the help of angels; and if we are appointed unto death, we want to go. We ought to want to go. Our prayers and supplications should be always conditional—that is, if not appointed unto death that he or she should be raised up. And if the heavens want a man to labor there in any sphere, there is where he should be. If a man is wanted to be on a mission in Europe, in Germany, or in the States, and he stays at home, he is not where he ought to be. He ought to be where God would have him, there the Holy Spirit will labor with him and help him. But for us to importune the Lord to heal those whom He has appointed unto death is just like asking—as we do once in a while—a man to go on a mission, and we get a long petition saying that he is such a blessed dear good man, or he has been such a good schoolmaster, “Do, pray, President let him stop.” Now, when the Presidency want a man to go on a mission, he ought to go. It is best for that man that he should go. It is best for all concerned that he should go to the place he is sent, and labor with all his heart. Just so with us. Here we are on a mission in the world. The matter of death is a very small matter. It is a matter of life or death to be sure; but if the Lord does not want us here, and we are taken away, His will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.
I do not wish to occupy more time for fear of infringing upon the rights of others.
I pray the Lord to still bless Israel, to bless us with humility, and with faithfulness in the keeping of His commandments; then we shall see more and grander things accomplished on His part, just in proportion to the faithfulness with which we perform the duties devolving upon us. May the Lord help us to do this; and to walk in the way of life, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Apostle Moses Thatcher.
The thought frequently arose in his mind, were the Saints honest and sincere in their belief, and willing to practice what they preach to others? Paul’s advice to the Galatians was to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free. Honesty, purity, temperance and uprightness were fruits of the Spirit, while impurity, intemperance and the worship of Mammon were the fruits of the flesh. Those who manifest the former were those who cared for the orphan and the widow, increased in faith and good works, and thought more of the riches of eternal life than the wealth of the world. There was no intrinsic harm in wealth. Its acquisition was due to mental and physical endowments, God-given and legitimate, but the love of money was the root of all evil. The Saints should avoid giving way to this form of idolatry. God love the humble, just rich man as much as he did the humble, just poor man. There was a great power in wealth, always had been and always would be, but the power it exercised was not to be compared to the influence which a man ought to and would yet wield who laid up treasures in heaven. The riches of the everlasting hills were God’s, the earth and the fulness thereof; He could and would give them to whomsoever he pleased. But it was a great mistake to attach more importance to mercantile pursuits and money-making schemes than to the work of the ministry and the cause of the Lord. Riches did not make men happy. But few rich men were happy. For unless they lived righteously, honoring God and His Priesthood, and were willing to sacrifice all for His kingdom’s sake, they would not be happy. If they died infidels, they would rise in the resurrection as infidels, and would find that they had forfeited the inestimable treasure of eternal life for the fleeting riches of time. It was a dangerous thing for the young to imagine they must be rich in order to be happy, and must be dishonest and hypocritical in order to heap up pecuniary wealth. A man endowed with the gift of acquiring property should use it for the benefit of the community. No man could monopolize the avenues of trade and wealth, robbing the poor and building up himself and enjoy the spirit of God, and when the time came that all things that could be would be shaken, such men would fall, for their faith would not be sufficient to support them in the hour of trial. It were better to be clothed in a blanket, like an Indian, and enjoy the favor of God, than to be attired in velvet and feel that our prayers were not heard. The word of God was onward and upward and the destiny of this people was to sustain all just principles. The United Order and consecration were yet to be established, and there was a day of great trial for those who were dishonest and selfish before the Lord.
The thought frequently arose in his mind, were the Saints honest and sincere in their belief, and willing to practice what they preach to others? Paul’s advice to the Galatians was to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free. Honesty, purity, temperance and uprightness were fruits of the Spirit, while impurity, intemperance and the worship of Mammon were the fruits of the flesh. Those who manifest the former were those who cared for the orphan and the widow, increased in faith and good works, and thought more of the riches of eternal life than the wealth of the world. There was no intrinsic harm in wealth. Its acquisition was due to mental and physical endowments, God-given and legitimate, but the love of money was the root of all evil. The Saints should avoid giving way to this form of idolatry. God love the humble, just rich man as much as he did the humble, just poor man. There was a great power in wealth, always had been and always would be, but the power it exercised was not to be compared to the influence which a man ought to and would yet wield who laid up treasures in heaven. The riches of the everlasting hills were God’s, the earth and the fulness thereof; He could and would give them to whomsoever he pleased. But it was a great mistake to attach more importance to mercantile pursuits and money-making schemes than to the work of the ministry and the cause of the Lord. Riches did not make men happy. But few rich men were happy. For unless they lived righteously, honoring God and His Priesthood, and were willing to sacrifice all for His kingdom’s sake, they would not be happy. If they died infidels, they would rise in the resurrection as infidels, and would find that they had forfeited the inestimable treasure of eternal life for the fleeting riches of time. It was a dangerous thing for the young to imagine they must be rich in order to be happy, and must be dishonest and hypocritical in order to heap up pecuniary wealth. A man endowed with the gift of acquiring property should use it for the benefit of the community. No man could monopolize the avenues of trade and wealth, robbing the poor and building up himself and enjoy the spirit of God, and when the time came that all things that could be would be shaken, such men would fall, for their faith would not be sufficient to support them in the hour of trial. It were better to be clothed in a blanket, like an Indian, and enjoy the favor of God, than to be attired in velvet and feel that our prayers were not heard. The word of God was onward and upward and the destiny of this people was to sustain all just principles. The United Order and consecration were yet to be established, and there was a day of great trial for those who were dishonest and selfish before the Lord.
A Few Questions Every Latter-day Saint Can Answer for Himself—The Fruits of the Spirit—The Proper Use of Riches—No Comparison Between Earthly Wealth and Eternal Riches—Principle Must not be Sacrificed for Riches—Consecration—Satan Rebuked—We Ought to Cultivate the Fruits of the Spirit—The Work of God Onward and Upward—The Fate of Those Who Sacrifice Principle at the Shrine of Greed—Conclusion
Remarks by Elder Moses Thatcher, delivered at the General Conference, Saturday Morning, April 6th, 1833.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs and John Irvine.
The thought frequently arises in my mind, are we as a people honest and sincere in the professions we make? Do we prove by our dealings, our acts and conversations, that we sincerely believe in all of the principles of the Gospel which we have been willing to preach to others; or do we sometimes in our weakness, preach one thing and practice another? Do we manifest more of the fruits of the flesh than of the spirit? Do we manifest greater love for the things of this world, and the honors of men, than we do for eternal riches and the honor of God? These are questions every Latter-day Saint ought to be able to answer for himself.
We are bidden of Paul to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and to be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. The purpose that the Lord had in view in gathering us to this land, is at least partly reflected in this language of Paul, namely: that we may sanctify the body by developing the fruits of the spirit.
Honesty and sincerity are fruits of the spirit; to be true to God and each other are manifestly fruits of the spirit; purity of thought and action is fruit of the spirit. Injustice, unrighteousness, dishonesty, intemperance, impurity, insincerity and hypocrisy are fruits of the flesh. All these are sometimes manifested in man's undue love for the things of the world, and in his contempt for the things of God. Those who live for eternal riches are thoughtful, devoting time and reflection and study to the word of God; they are the people who desire the Lord to search and prove them, and know their hearts, and see if there be any wickedness in them. You see true religion manifested in such people by their attention to the sick, by their administering to the orphan and widow; you see them friends to God's poor. You see them opposed to oppression of every form, opposed to the encroachments of those who would do the people harm. You see them urging the people to works of righteousness not only by precept but by example also. You see them, as Elders of the Church, willing to go to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel abroad, or to devote their time and talent to the education of the youth at home. They are earnest, and sincere; they live in the light of the Spirit, doubting not the principles of eternal truth. They are not filled with doubt and apprehension, but are full of faith and good works. They desire to see the people advance and prosper, securing temporal wealth while seeking earnestly to obtain the greater riches, the riches of eternity. They are they who appreciate the authority and power of the Priesthood, the efficacy of prayer, through which the sick are healed. To be worthy instruments in the hands of God, to administer in His name is more gratifying to them than are the riches of the world.
During the short time I may speak I desire to direct my remarks especially to the young upon this point, for here as elsewhere we are subject to laws producing constant changes. Today, the Latter-day Saints are far more prosperous in the things of this world than they were a few years ago; and it is right and proper they should be. The Lord desires to bestow these things upon His people. There is no harm in the possession of properly acquired riches; there is no harm in wealth. God created the riches of the earth; He created the ability of the mind, the intellect and faculties of the man which enables him to accumulate wealth. But the love of riches is dangerous. Excessive love for the things of time has led men in all ages to forget their God, and indulge themselves in things wherein there is no profit. This is what we, as individuals, and as a whole people should avoid. Excessive love of riches, an unnatural desire to accumulate wealth at the sacrifice of principle—and at the expense of God's honest and deserving poor—produces a gulf of separation over which preaching can never throw a bridge. We should realize that God being the Father of us all, loves the humble and deserving poor as much as He loves the rich who are alike worthy. We should realize that all are friends and brethren equally, if equally worthy, able to approach the throne of God.
I have heard expressions from some young people recently to the effect that, “The theory of the Gospel is all right, and while it is beautiful, we cannot deny the fact that even in Israel there is great power in wealth.” Of course there is. There always has been and probably always will be, because the possession of wealth produces power. We see this manifested everywhere, in the history of every nation; but when we contrast the power of earthly wealth with that of eternal riches, there can be no comparison, the one being transitory, the other eternal; the one is measured by time, the other by eternity. A man may be true and honest before the Lord, and yet be rich in the things of this world. God has had servants in time past who were wealthy, and yet devoted as any could be. Abraham, Job and David for instance. It is true the subsequent fall of the latter might be traceable, to an extent, to indulgences and luxuries resulting from his use of wealth. But I contend the riches of the earth belong to the Lord, and He can bestow them upon whom He pleases, and it will be His good pleasure to bestow them upon His people when they are in a proper state to receive and use them to His honor and glory. But it is a mistake for our young people to imagine that it is better to lay aside the work of God, to refuse to go on missions, labor in the ministry at home, or act as teachers in the Sunday Schools—it is a great mistake, and I will tell you why. Riches, unless they have been acquired under the approbation of God, will not produce happiness. The possession of riches may give influence, power, fame, adulation, even among us, but unless those who possess it are men of God, unless they are men of faith, believing in the atoning blood of Jesus, unless they believe in the Priesthood of God, and its right to direct in matters both spiritual and temporal, they are not happy, they do not possess the riches that will guide them safely through the veil into the presence of God. They may believe all the ordinances that faithful men believe; they may have their wives sealed to them over the holy altar of God; may have their children married according to the new and everlasting covenant; come to conference meeting; pay their tithing; and finally consecrate all their goods; but if their hearts are not converted, if they are not free with the freedom wherewith Christ once made them free, if they have gone back into the bondage of the world, they have lost their golden opportunity. As they die without faith, so will they rise without faith. If they have been infidel to principle, slow to hear, if their hearts have been hardened, and they have fought secretly or openly against the principles of the Almighty, when they wake up behind the veil they will find that in their love for the things of this world they have lost that which it may take ages to regain.
I bear my testimony that these things are true. And while there are wealthy men in this Church whom I respect and who I believe to be good men, yet it is a dangerous thing for our young people to conceive the idea that they must sacrifice principle at the shrine of policy, and be hypocrites in order to advance their interests and wield the influence and power of wealth in the midst of this people—such an idea is dangerous, and it is a thing that we, as Elders in Israel, should guard against. Give me the influence, give me the faith and prayers of a man who is willing to go to the ends of the earth for Christ's sake, and has healing virtues in him, power to comfort, bless and heal the sick, bind up the brokenhearted and lead to eternal life, rather than the influence of any man without these, though he may be as rich as Jay Gould. It is proper and right to use the wealth of this world in beautifying Zion, for the benefit of those worthy who need it—for the widow and the orphan, and for the benefit of honest industries and righteous poor who need assistance. A man should be as willing to financier for the good of the whole people as for himself in the same capacity. The same energy should be displayed in the one case as in the other. We should learn to do for the people of God that which we are anxious to do for ourselves. We should learn that the Spirit and power of God will lead unto all righteousness, but that a man cannot be dishonest and enjoy that Spirit; that he cannot monopolize the natural avenues of wealth, depriving the poor of their rights, and enjoy the spirit that comes from heaven. Greed often pushes men beyond legitimate acquisition into respectable robbery. If there are such in our midst, when trials come, when dark days approach, there will be shaking in the marrow of their bones; and faith will decrease as wealth wrongfully acquired increases; and as such come to their end darkness will be before their eyes, they will fear the things that are beyond the veil; their faith will waver; they will not know whether the atoning blood of Jesus Christ will reach beyond the grave or not, but if it should they will not know whether they will be able to stand in the presence of God, without a blush. I bear you my testimony that men who devote themselves to the riches of this world at the sacrifice of principle, will rise in the resurrection poor, miserably poor! They will be in greater poverty than the poorest in all the House of Israel.
We had better think of the revelations of Jesus Christ. We have talked a little about cooperation in the past. We have sometimes alluded to consecration. I heard a story in regard to a brother in Farmington, a few years ago. The question of gathering the poor Saints from England came up in an evening meeting. The brother had two cows, and he donated one for the purpose mentioned. In going home a spirit of darkness said unto him: “You have been very foolish. You have given away one of the two cows you possessed, while Brother so-and-so, a much wealthier man than you, has only given five dollars. Now, you have done a wrong thing, a foolish thing.” And thus was this brother tempted until he turned around and said, as though addressing himself to Satan: “If you don't cease tempting me, I will go back to the Bishop, and give him the other one.” [Laughter.] Now, that is just as I feel. If at any time the Lord has blessed me with means, and I am tempted not to do as I should, because of the actions of others. I hope I shall always when tempted, feel to draw near unto the Lord, and ask His assistance. I would rather give all I have—and it is not much—and be like an Indian, clothed in a blanket, and be acceptable to the Lord, than be clothed in velvet and surrounded with riches, feeling that my prayers were never heard by the Almighty.
There is no reason why we may not have all the fruits of the Spirit in our midst. There is no reason why we may not have the gifts and blessings of the Gospel. A circumstance somewhat marvelous came recently under my personal observation. A little boy was thrown from a horse violently, his head striking the hard ground with great force, causing severe concussion of the brain. The doctor was called, the Elders also. The eyes of the poor little fellow were fixed and stony; all were greatly alarmed for the case was a serious one, the physician saying that blood was evidently clotting on the brain; the right side was paralyzed; the wrist almost pulseless. He went into convulsions while the Elders were administering to him, and many present believed that he was dying, but the grasp of death was broken by the power of faith. Unbelief was rebuked, and health and reason were speedily restored. Next morning the boy was running about the rooms with no soreness about his head whatever! I say the gift of healing by the power of God exists in the Church, and it might be far more prevalent if we would live for it.
I bear my testimony, in conclusion, that this is the work of God. I know that its destiny is onward and upward; whatever lies may be concocted, whatever powers may combine to retard its progress, God will eventually make it the head and not the foot. There are boys growing up in these mountains who will so learn to love liberty, and will so desire to see all humanity free, that they will maintain the principles of our national constitution and all just principles, and will invite the oppressed of every land and clime to enjoy liberties which God will maintain in His Kingdom—the liberty wherewith Christ will make them free.
On the other hand I bear my testimony that men who, in the Church or out of it, sacrifice principle at the shrine of greed, who take away the earnings of the honest poor, who monopolize the avenues of trade to the oppression of God's honest people, will wake up beyond the veil disappointed, unhappy, grieved and damned. They will be damned in that God will so quicken their minds, that they will see the past, and understand the future. They will fully comprehend that in the brief space, perhaps, of a few years, they sacrificed opportunities, and gave away chances whereby they might have become kings unto the Most High God, and saviors on Mount Zion; that they gave all these blessings for the love of self, the honor of men, worldly riches; and the testimony of widows and orphans will come up against them before the eyes of the Lord, and they will see it and comprehend it, and in the conception of their great loss, they will feel that they have been damned.
I pray that we may be faithful and true to our religion, and that we may have the guidance and inspiration of the Most High. I pity a man that has no inspiration. I pity any set of men who seek in their ignorance and blindness to retard the progress of God's Kingdom.
There is a day of deep trial for those who love the things of this world more than they love the things of God. If we have such among us, I earnestly hope and pray that the Spirit of God may rest upon them, that they may see the error of their way, repent, turn unto the Lord, and be saved. Amen.
Remarks by Elder Moses Thatcher, delivered at the General Conference, Saturday Morning, April 6th, 1833.
Reported by Geo. F. Gibbs and John Irvine.
The thought frequently arises in my mind, are we as a people honest and sincere in the professions we make? Do we prove by our dealings, our acts and conversations, that we sincerely believe in all of the principles of the Gospel which we have been willing to preach to others; or do we sometimes in our weakness, preach one thing and practice another? Do we manifest more of the fruits of the flesh than of the spirit? Do we manifest greater love for the things of this world, and the honors of men, than we do for eternal riches and the honor of God? These are questions every Latter-day Saint ought to be able to answer for himself.
We are bidden of Paul to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and to be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. The purpose that the Lord had in view in gathering us to this land, is at least partly reflected in this language of Paul, namely: that we may sanctify the body by developing the fruits of the spirit.
Honesty and sincerity are fruits of the spirit; to be true to God and each other are manifestly fruits of the spirit; purity of thought and action is fruit of the spirit. Injustice, unrighteousness, dishonesty, intemperance, impurity, insincerity and hypocrisy are fruits of the flesh. All these are sometimes manifested in man's undue love for the things of the world, and in his contempt for the things of God. Those who live for eternal riches are thoughtful, devoting time and reflection and study to the word of God; they are the people who desire the Lord to search and prove them, and know their hearts, and see if there be any wickedness in them. You see true religion manifested in such people by their attention to the sick, by their administering to the orphan and widow; you see them friends to God's poor. You see them opposed to oppression of every form, opposed to the encroachments of those who would do the people harm. You see them urging the people to works of righteousness not only by precept but by example also. You see them, as Elders of the Church, willing to go to the ends of the earth to preach the Gospel abroad, or to devote their time and talent to the education of the youth at home. They are earnest, and sincere; they live in the light of the Spirit, doubting not the principles of eternal truth. They are not filled with doubt and apprehension, but are full of faith and good works. They desire to see the people advance and prosper, securing temporal wealth while seeking earnestly to obtain the greater riches, the riches of eternity. They are they who appreciate the authority and power of the Priesthood, the efficacy of prayer, through which the sick are healed. To be worthy instruments in the hands of God, to administer in His name is more gratifying to them than are the riches of the world.
During the short time I may speak I desire to direct my remarks especially to the young upon this point, for here as elsewhere we are subject to laws producing constant changes. Today, the Latter-day Saints are far more prosperous in the things of this world than they were a few years ago; and it is right and proper they should be. The Lord desires to bestow these things upon His people. There is no harm in the possession of properly acquired riches; there is no harm in wealth. God created the riches of the earth; He created the ability of the mind, the intellect and faculties of the man which enables him to accumulate wealth. But the love of riches is dangerous. Excessive love for the things of time has led men in all ages to forget their God, and indulge themselves in things wherein there is no profit. This is what we, as individuals, and as a whole people should avoid. Excessive love of riches, an unnatural desire to accumulate wealth at the sacrifice of principle—and at the expense of God's honest and deserving poor—produces a gulf of separation over which preaching can never throw a bridge. We should realize that God being the Father of us all, loves the humble and deserving poor as much as He loves the rich who are alike worthy. We should realize that all are friends and brethren equally, if equally worthy, able to approach the throne of God.
I have heard expressions from some young people recently to the effect that, “The theory of the Gospel is all right, and while it is beautiful, we cannot deny the fact that even in Israel there is great power in wealth.” Of course there is. There always has been and probably always will be, because the possession of wealth produces power. We see this manifested everywhere, in the history of every nation; but when we contrast the power of earthly wealth with that of eternal riches, there can be no comparison, the one being transitory, the other eternal; the one is measured by time, the other by eternity. A man may be true and honest before the Lord, and yet be rich in the things of this world. God has had servants in time past who were wealthy, and yet devoted as any could be. Abraham, Job and David for instance. It is true the subsequent fall of the latter might be traceable, to an extent, to indulgences and luxuries resulting from his use of wealth. But I contend the riches of the earth belong to the Lord, and He can bestow them upon whom He pleases, and it will be His good pleasure to bestow them upon His people when they are in a proper state to receive and use them to His honor and glory. But it is a mistake for our young people to imagine that it is better to lay aside the work of God, to refuse to go on missions, labor in the ministry at home, or act as teachers in the Sunday Schools—it is a great mistake, and I will tell you why. Riches, unless they have been acquired under the approbation of God, will not produce happiness. The possession of riches may give influence, power, fame, adulation, even among us, but unless those who possess it are men of God, unless they are men of faith, believing in the atoning blood of Jesus, unless they believe in the Priesthood of God, and its right to direct in matters both spiritual and temporal, they are not happy, they do not possess the riches that will guide them safely through the veil into the presence of God. They may believe all the ordinances that faithful men believe; they may have their wives sealed to them over the holy altar of God; may have their children married according to the new and everlasting covenant; come to conference meeting; pay their tithing; and finally consecrate all their goods; but if their hearts are not converted, if they are not free with the freedom wherewith Christ once made them free, if they have gone back into the bondage of the world, they have lost their golden opportunity. As they die without faith, so will they rise without faith. If they have been infidel to principle, slow to hear, if their hearts have been hardened, and they have fought secretly or openly against the principles of the Almighty, when they wake up behind the veil they will find that in their love for the things of this world they have lost that which it may take ages to regain.
I bear my testimony that these things are true. And while there are wealthy men in this Church whom I respect and who I believe to be good men, yet it is a dangerous thing for our young people to conceive the idea that they must sacrifice principle at the shrine of policy, and be hypocrites in order to advance their interests and wield the influence and power of wealth in the midst of this people—such an idea is dangerous, and it is a thing that we, as Elders in Israel, should guard against. Give me the influence, give me the faith and prayers of a man who is willing to go to the ends of the earth for Christ's sake, and has healing virtues in him, power to comfort, bless and heal the sick, bind up the brokenhearted and lead to eternal life, rather than the influence of any man without these, though he may be as rich as Jay Gould. It is proper and right to use the wealth of this world in beautifying Zion, for the benefit of those worthy who need it—for the widow and the orphan, and for the benefit of honest industries and righteous poor who need assistance. A man should be as willing to financier for the good of the whole people as for himself in the same capacity. The same energy should be displayed in the one case as in the other. We should learn to do for the people of God that which we are anxious to do for ourselves. We should learn that the Spirit and power of God will lead unto all righteousness, but that a man cannot be dishonest and enjoy that Spirit; that he cannot monopolize the natural avenues of wealth, depriving the poor of their rights, and enjoy the spirit that comes from heaven. Greed often pushes men beyond legitimate acquisition into respectable robbery. If there are such in our midst, when trials come, when dark days approach, there will be shaking in the marrow of their bones; and faith will decrease as wealth wrongfully acquired increases; and as such come to their end darkness will be before their eyes, they will fear the things that are beyond the veil; their faith will waver; they will not know whether the atoning blood of Jesus Christ will reach beyond the grave or not, but if it should they will not know whether they will be able to stand in the presence of God, without a blush. I bear you my testimony that men who devote themselves to the riches of this world at the sacrifice of principle, will rise in the resurrection poor, miserably poor! They will be in greater poverty than the poorest in all the House of Israel.
We had better think of the revelations of Jesus Christ. We have talked a little about cooperation in the past. We have sometimes alluded to consecration. I heard a story in regard to a brother in Farmington, a few years ago. The question of gathering the poor Saints from England came up in an evening meeting. The brother had two cows, and he donated one for the purpose mentioned. In going home a spirit of darkness said unto him: “You have been very foolish. You have given away one of the two cows you possessed, while Brother so-and-so, a much wealthier man than you, has only given five dollars. Now, you have done a wrong thing, a foolish thing.” And thus was this brother tempted until he turned around and said, as though addressing himself to Satan: “If you don't cease tempting me, I will go back to the Bishop, and give him the other one.” [Laughter.] Now, that is just as I feel. If at any time the Lord has blessed me with means, and I am tempted not to do as I should, because of the actions of others. I hope I shall always when tempted, feel to draw near unto the Lord, and ask His assistance. I would rather give all I have—and it is not much—and be like an Indian, clothed in a blanket, and be acceptable to the Lord, than be clothed in velvet and surrounded with riches, feeling that my prayers were never heard by the Almighty.
There is no reason why we may not have all the fruits of the Spirit in our midst. There is no reason why we may not have the gifts and blessings of the Gospel. A circumstance somewhat marvelous came recently under my personal observation. A little boy was thrown from a horse violently, his head striking the hard ground with great force, causing severe concussion of the brain. The doctor was called, the Elders also. The eyes of the poor little fellow were fixed and stony; all were greatly alarmed for the case was a serious one, the physician saying that blood was evidently clotting on the brain; the right side was paralyzed; the wrist almost pulseless. He went into convulsions while the Elders were administering to him, and many present believed that he was dying, but the grasp of death was broken by the power of faith. Unbelief was rebuked, and health and reason were speedily restored. Next morning the boy was running about the rooms with no soreness about his head whatever! I say the gift of healing by the power of God exists in the Church, and it might be far more prevalent if we would live for it.
I bear my testimony, in conclusion, that this is the work of God. I know that its destiny is onward and upward; whatever lies may be concocted, whatever powers may combine to retard its progress, God will eventually make it the head and not the foot. There are boys growing up in these mountains who will so learn to love liberty, and will so desire to see all humanity free, that they will maintain the principles of our national constitution and all just principles, and will invite the oppressed of every land and clime to enjoy liberties which God will maintain in His Kingdom—the liberty wherewith Christ will make them free.
On the other hand I bear my testimony that men who, in the Church or out of it, sacrifice principle at the shrine of greed, who take away the earnings of the honest poor, who monopolize the avenues of trade to the oppression of God's honest people, will wake up beyond the veil disappointed, unhappy, grieved and damned. They will be damned in that God will so quicken their minds, that they will see the past, and understand the future. They will fully comprehend that in the brief space, perhaps, of a few years, they sacrificed opportunities, and gave away chances whereby they might have become kings unto the Most High God, and saviors on Mount Zion; that they gave all these blessings for the love of self, the honor of men, worldly riches; and the testimony of widows and orphans will come up against them before the eyes of the Lord, and they will see it and comprehend it, and in the conception of their great loss, they will feel that they have been damned.
I pray that we may be faithful and true to our religion, and that we may have the guidance and inspiration of the Most High. I pity a man that has no inspiration. I pity any set of men who seek in their ignorance and blindness to retard the progress of God's Kingdom.
There is a day of deep trial for those who love the things of this world more than they love the things of God. If we have such among us, I earnestly hope and pray that the Spirit of God may rest upon them, that they may see the error of their way, repent, turn unto the Lord, and be saved. Amen.
Apostle Albert Carrington
had a testimony to bear in regard to the grand Latter-day Work the Lord had commenced in this dispensation. The world could not appreciate it because they were devoid of the Spirit of the Lord, without which the natural mind could not appreciate the things of God. They denied inspiration and therefore could not enjoy its blessings. They could not realize that the earth, our mother, was an intelligent being and kept laws through obedience to which she would yet be sanctified, celestialized and be prepared as an eternal inheritance for the righteous. This destiny was attainable by the weakest, through a course of humble, diligent obedience before the Lord. How long would we be learning that this is the condition of our promised salvation in His presence? The wicked were waxing worse and worse, notwithstanding all their boasted enlightenment, just as the righteous were increasing in good works. Wickedness naturally persecuted its opposite, and would continue to do so as long as it was permitted. The powers of Satan were not asleep. They were active and enterprising, but we should never be disheartened, for the Lord had decreed and all past history verified the truth of his promise that the wicked could do nothing against the Lord’s work, but for it. It could not be opposed with any success whatever. It would go on as rapidly as the Lord desired, and would yet achieve the glorious destiny predicted for it.
The choir sang an anthem—The Lord will comfort Zion.
Conference adjourned till 2 o’clock p. m.
Benediction by Patriarch John Smith.
had a testimony to bear in regard to the grand Latter-day Work the Lord had commenced in this dispensation. The world could not appreciate it because they were devoid of the Spirit of the Lord, without which the natural mind could not appreciate the things of God. They denied inspiration and therefore could not enjoy its blessings. They could not realize that the earth, our mother, was an intelligent being and kept laws through obedience to which she would yet be sanctified, celestialized and be prepared as an eternal inheritance for the righteous. This destiny was attainable by the weakest, through a course of humble, diligent obedience before the Lord. How long would we be learning that this is the condition of our promised salvation in His presence? The wicked were waxing worse and worse, notwithstanding all their boasted enlightenment, just as the righteous were increasing in good works. Wickedness naturally persecuted its opposite, and would continue to do so as long as it was permitted. The powers of Satan were not asleep. They were active and enterprising, but we should never be disheartened, for the Lord had decreed and all past history verified the truth of his promise that the wicked could do nothing against the Lord’s work, but for it. It could not be opposed with any success whatever. It would go on as rapidly as the Lord desired, and would yet achieve the glorious destiny predicted for it.
The choir sang an anthem—The Lord will comfort Zion.
Conference adjourned till 2 o’clock p. m.
Benediction by Patriarch John Smith.
Saturday, 2 p. m.
The choir sang: Jesus mighty King in Zion, Thou alone our guide shall be.
Prayer by Prest. A. O. Smoot.
The choir sang: Earth with her ten thousand flowers, Air with all its beams and showers.
The choir sang: Jesus mighty King in Zion, Thou alone our guide shall be.
Prayer by Prest. A. O. Smoot.
The choir sang: Earth with her ten thousand flowers, Air with all its beams and showers.
President Wilford Woodruff.
It would be no news to the people to hear that this was the work of God, and that Zion was being built up in these mountains, but the beauty of these things was that they were true. The speaker had been associated with this Church for fifty years, and was familiar with its history. He had never seen a time when it was in so prosperous a condition as now. The strength and union of its organizations was unprecedented in its history. The Spirit of God was manifest in the acts of his servants in authority. God was with them, and they were united as the heart of one man. The Presidency were able to preach the whole law of God, and they practised what they preached. They were an example to others. No man in this kingdom had a right to preach that which he did not practice. He himself did not feel at liberty to preach the Word of Wisdom unless he observed it. In this respect the Apostles felt desirous of emulating the example of the First Presidency. But it should not stop here. All other quorums should do likewise, for the time was at hand when it would be necessary to keep the whole law of God, for there would be a dividing line, separating those who did from those who did not. The Priesthood with all its powers keys and authorities was upon the earth, and the kingdom must go forward, it cannot go backward. The young men of Israel would rise up and bear off the kingdom. He rejoiced in seeing the sons of Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Jedediah M. Grant and others, rising up and following in the footsteps of their fathers. The Lord never had a work upon earth without having worthy men foreordained to perform it, and this generation required some of the noblest of spirits to operate as instruments in the hands of God. There was a mighty work to be performed, for the living and the dead, and God the Eternal Father stood at the head of it. The kingdom was going to roll on. Its history was already written in the prophecies concerning it. All were destined to be filled. No power over did or ever could hinder the Almighty, and no power would now or hereafter. The law of Patriarchal Marriage was the pretext made by the world for persecuting the Saints, but it was only a pretense, for those who cry aloud against the alleged iniquity of this people were steeped in corruption themselves, and if that law which they falsely brand as immoral were done away with, persecution would not cease. The Church was more fiercely assailed before plural marriage was revealed, than it ever has been since. The Saints had no feelings of bitterness or disloyalty against the national Government. They were patriotic and loyal, but they deprecated persecution in all its forms and claimed and advocated the right of religious liberty. The warfare between this people and the world was a warfare between God and Satan, and the Lord would bring his people off victorious. Men had been known to lay down their lives for their country’s honor, and the Saints should be willing to lay down their lives, if need be for the sake of God and His kingdom?
It would be no news to the people to hear that this was the work of God, and that Zion was being built up in these mountains, but the beauty of these things was that they were true. The speaker had been associated with this Church for fifty years, and was familiar with its history. He had never seen a time when it was in so prosperous a condition as now. The strength and union of its organizations was unprecedented in its history. The Spirit of God was manifest in the acts of his servants in authority. God was with them, and they were united as the heart of one man. The Presidency were able to preach the whole law of God, and they practised what they preached. They were an example to others. No man in this kingdom had a right to preach that which he did not practice. He himself did not feel at liberty to preach the Word of Wisdom unless he observed it. In this respect the Apostles felt desirous of emulating the example of the First Presidency. But it should not stop here. All other quorums should do likewise, for the time was at hand when it would be necessary to keep the whole law of God, for there would be a dividing line, separating those who did from those who did not. The Priesthood with all its powers keys and authorities was upon the earth, and the kingdom must go forward, it cannot go backward. The young men of Israel would rise up and bear off the kingdom. He rejoiced in seeing the sons of Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, Jedediah M. Grant and others, rising up and following in the footsteps of their fathers. The Lord never had a work upon earth without having worthy men foreordained to perform it, and this generation required some of the noblest of spirits to operate as instruments in the hands of God. There was a mighty work to be performed, for the living and the dead, and God the Eternal Father stood at the head of it. The kingdom was going to roll on. Its history was already written in the prophecies concerning it. All were destined to be filled. No power over did or ever could hinder the Almighty, and no power would now or hereafter. The law of Patriarchal Marriage was the pretext made by the world for persecuting the Saints, but it was only a pretense, for those who cry aloud against the alleged iniquity of this people were steeped in corruption themselves, and if that law which they falsely brand as immoral were done away with, persecution would not cease. The Church was more fiercely assailed before plural marriage was revealed, than it ever has been since. The Saints had no feelings of bitterness or disloyalty against the national Government. They were patriotic and loyal, but they deprecated persecution in all its forms and claimed and advocated the right of religious liberty. The warfare between this people and the world was a warfare between God and Satan, and the Lord would bring his people off victorious. Men had been known to lay down their lives for their country’s honor, and the Saints should be willing to lay down their lives, if need be for the sake of God and His kingdom?
President Geo. Q. Cannon
then read the names of missionaries who are already in their field of labor, and those who are now called to take missions.
Names of Elders who have been called on Missions since the April Conference 1883, and now in their fields of labor. October 6th, 1883.
GREAT BRITAIN.
George Barber, Smithfield.
SCANDINAVIA.
Nelse Peterson, Bloomington.
Lars Fredrick Swalborg, Gunnison.
Anton Henry Lund, Ephraim.
UNITED STATES.
Henry Rudy, 15th Ward, City.
Charles Madison Donelson, 13th Ward, City.
Mormon Miner, Fairview.
John George Moroni Barnes, Kaysville.
Thomas Steepleford Woodland, Willard.
Thomas Butler, Richfield.
Edmond Franklin Durfee, Aurora.
David Franklin Davis, 17th Ward, City.
John Reidhead, Woodruff, Arizona.
SOUTHERN STATES.
Minor Wilcox, Paris.
James Andrew Ross, Kanosh.
Sidney Teeples, Holden.
John Alexander Bevan, Tooele.
John James Humphries, Paris.
New Samuel Whitney, Parowan.
William Franklin Garner, North Ogden
RUSSIA.
John Wink, 13th Ward, City.
Missionaries for October Conference, 1883:
GREAT BRITAIN.
William Corbridge, East Bountiful.
Francis Greenwall, Ogden.
C. J. Arthur, Cedar.
John Griffin, Newton.
John W. Thornley, Kaysville.
Joseph H. Armstrong, Johnson’s Fort, Iron Co.
Arthur Stayner, Jr., Farmington.
George J. Dent, 21st Ward.
Angus McKay, Huntsville.
James W. Thomas, Spanish Fork.
John L. Edwards, Willard.
Frederick Lewis, Spanish Fork.
George F. Hunter, West Weber.
Richard Douglass, Ogden.
SCANDINAVIA.
John Malmstrom, West Jordan.
Edward Hansen, Logan.
Mons Monsen, Moroni.
Albin C. Anderson, Moroni.
Frederick Christiansen, Fairview.
Peter Michelsen, Manti.
Erick Christiansen, Ephraim.
Lars Larsen, Brigham.
August Valentine, Brigham.
Martin Christofferson, 4th Ward.
UNITED STATES.
William A. Hess, Farmington.
A. E. Strickland, Bloomington, Idaho.
Henry Day, Draperville.
John J. Ashby, Holden.
John E. Booth, Provo.
James Mason, Beaver.
Joseph M. Jensen, Brigham.
CANADA.
Edward Stevenson, 14th Ward.
SOUTHERN STATES.
David Hess, Georgetown.
John E. Roueche, Kaysville.
John W. Galley, “
David H. Cannon, Jr., St. George.
Geo. J. Woodbury, “
Elias Kimball, Meadowville.
Hyrum Kimball, “
Joseph L. Jolley, Moroni.
Ormus A. Bates, Tooele.
Josiah Richardson, Malad.
Thomas Davis, Fillmore.
Lyman Shepherd, Beaver.
Jasper Lemmon, Mendon.
Samuel R. Bennion, Taylorsville.
Thomas Stephen Kimball, St. David, Arizona.
Orrin Dudley Merrill, St. David, Arizona.
Joseph K. Rogers, Pima, Arizona.
Joseph Cluff, Thatcher, Arizona.
SWISS AND GERMAN MISSION.
Joseph A. Smith, Providence.
Francis Marion Lyman, Jr., Provo.
Eleazer Evans, Lehi.
Frederick Schoenfeld, Brighton.
Jacob Hafen, Mount Pleasant.
AUSTRIA.
Paul Hammer, 12th Ward, City.
Thomas Bessinger, Lehi.
INDIAN TERRITORY.
Joseph H. Felt, 11th Ward.
then read the names of missionaries who are already in their field of labor, and those who are now called to take missions.
Names of Elders who have been called on Missions since the April Conference 1883, and now in their fields of labor. October 6th, 1883.
GREAT BRITAIN.
George Barber, Smithfield.
SCANDINAVIA.
Nelse Peterson, Bloomington.
Lars Fredrick Swalborg, Gunnison.
Anton Henry Lund, Ephraim.
UNITED STATES.
Henry Rudy, 15th Ward, City.
Charles Madison Donelson, 13th Ward, City.
Mormon Miner, Fairview.
John George Moroni Barnes, Kaysville.
Thomas Steepleford Woodland, Willard.
Thomas Butler, Richfield.
Edmond Franklin Durfee, Aurora.
David Franklin Davis, 17th Ward, City.
John Reidhead, Woodruff, Arizona.
SOUTHERN STATES.
Minor Wilcox, Paris.
James Andrew Ross, Kanosh.
Sidney Teeples, Holden.
John Alexander Bevan, Tooele.
John James Humphries, Paris.
New Samuel Whitney, Parowan.
William Franklin Garner, North Ogden
RUSSIA.
John Wink, 13th Ward, City.
Missionaries for October Conference, 1883:
GREAT BRITAIN.
William Corbridge, East Bountiful.
Francis Greenwall, Ogden.
C. J. Arthur, Cedar.
John Griffin, Newton.
John W. Thornley, Kaysville.
Joseph H. Armstrong, Johnson’s Fort, Iron Co.
Arthur Stayner, Jr., Farmington.
George J. Dent, 21st Ward.
Angus McKay, Huntsville.
James W. Thomas, Spanish Fork.
John L. Edwards, Willard.
Frederick Lewis, Spanish Fork.
George F. Hunter, West Weber.
Richard Douglass, Ogden.
SCANDINAVIA.
John Malmstrom, West Jordan.
Edward Hansen, Logan.
Mons Monsen, Moroni.
Albin C. Anderson, Moroni.
Frederick Christiansen, Fairview.
Peter Michelsen, Manti.
Erick Christiansen, Ephraim.
Lars Larsen, Brigham.
August Valentine, Brigham.
Martin Christofferson, 4th Ward.
UNITED STATES.
William A. Hess, Farmington.
A. E. Strickland, Bloomington, Idaho.
Henry Day, Draperville.
John J. Ashby, Holden.
John E. Booth, Provo.
James Mason, Beaver.
Joseph M. Jensen, Brigham.
CANADA.
Edward Stevenson, 14th Ward.
SOUTHERN STATES.
David Hess, Georgetown.
John E. Roueche, Kaysville.
John W. Galley, “
David H. Cannon, Jr., St. George.
Geo. J. Woodbury, “
Elias Kimball, Meadowville.
Hyrum Kimball, “
Joseph L. Jolley, Moroni.
Ormus A. Bates, Tooele.
Josiah Richardson, Malad.
Thomas Davis, Fillmore.
Lyman Shepherd, Beaver.
Jasper Lemmon, Mendon.
Samuel R. Bennion, Taylorsville.
Thomas Stephen Kimball, St. David, Arizona.
Orrin Dudley Merrill, St. David, Arizona.
Joseph K. Rogers, Pima, Arizona.
Joseph Cluff, Thatcher, Arizona.
SWISS AND GERMAN MISSION.
Joseph A. Smith, Providence.
Francis Marion Lyman, Jr., Provo.
Eleazer Evans, Lehi.
Frederick Schoenfeld, Brighton.
Jacob Hafen, Mount Pleasant.
AUSTRIA.
Paul Hammer, 12th Ward, City.
Thomas Bessinger, Lehi.
INDIAN TERRITORY.
Joseph H. Felt, 11th Ward.
Apostle F. M. Lyman.
The Lord had inspired His servants of late years to more fully organize and discipline the members of His Priesthood. It was also given as a law to this Church in earlier days for parents to train and discipline their children in obedience to the laws of God. But while the Saints had paid pretty good attention to other requirements, this law had been to a great extent lost sight of. It was however still binding upon them to teach their children the things they are themselves acquainted with, and also to set proper examples before them. All parents should inquire of their own hearts whether they had kept this law in the past and if they had not, they should do so in the future. The Lesser Priesthood should be active, and according to the instructions of the First Presidency several years ago should have greater consideration shown them. The youth of Israel should be called upon to act as deacons, teachers, and priests, and thus be gradually prepared to receive the Melchisedek Priesthood and the greater blessings awaiting them. They should be taught before they were eight years of age to honor God, to pray to Him, reverence His servants, and to love the truth. If parents did not do this, and set examples consistent with their profession, they could not blame their children for regarding them as hypocritical and insincere. There was also danger that while such Elders went abroad upon missions to save the souls of men, they would love their own children as the result of neglect in this particular. At the close of this Conference about 100 missionaries would be set apart and ordained. Before they departed those who presided over them here should give them counsel as if they were their own children, that they might remember it when far away and also after they return. The speaker felt anxious to devote himself to the salvation of the human race, and bore testimony that God had commenced this work for that purpose, and from the loins of the Latter-day Saints would yet spring a nation and a king which would never pass away.
The Lord had inspired His servants of late years to more fully organize and discipline the members of His Priesthood. It was also given as a law to this Church in earlier days for parents to train and discipline their children in obedience to the laws of God. But while the Saints had paid pretty good attention to other requirements, this law had been to a great extent lost sight of. It was however still binding upon them to teach their children the things they are themselves acquainted with, and also to set proper examples before them. All parents should inquire of their own hearts whether they had kept this law in the past and if they had not, they should do so in the future. The Lesser Priesthood should be active, and according to the instructions of the First Presidency several years ago should have greater consideration shown them. The youth of Israel should be called upon to act as deacons, teachers, and priests, and thus be gradually prepared to receive the Melchisedek Priesthood and the greater blessings awaiting them. They should be taught before they were eight years of age to honor God, to pray to Him, reverence His servants, and to love the truth. If parents did not do this, and set examples consistent with their profession, they could not blame their children for regarding them as hypocritical and insincere. There was also danger that while such Elders went abroad upon missions to save the souls of men, they would love their own children as the result of neglect in this particular. At the close of this Conference about 100 missionaries would be set apart and ordained. Before they departed those who presided over them here should give them counsel as if they were their own children, that they might remember it when far away and also after they return. The speaker felt anxious to devote himself to the salvation of the human race, and bore testimony that God had commenced this work for that purpose, and from the loins of the Latter-day Saints would yet spring a nation and a king which would never pass away.
President Geo. Q. Cannon
then submitted to the conference a statistical report of the various Stakes of Zion, also a financial and statistical report of the Relief Societies, which was accepted by unanimous vote of the Conference.
The choir sang an anthem. Great is the Lord.
Conference was adjourned till to-morrow (Sunday), at 10 o’clock a.m.
Benediction by Apostle Erastus Snow.
then submitted to the conference a statistical report of the various Stakes of Zion, also a financial and statistical report of the Relief Societies, which was accepted by unanimous vote of the Conference.
The choir sang an anthem. Great is the Lord.
Conference was adjourned till to-morrow (Sunday), at 10 o’clock a.m.
Benediction by Apostle Erastus Snow.
THIRD DAY.
Sunday, 10 o’clock a. m.
The choir sang—Great is the Lord, ‘tis good to praise His high and holy name.
Prayer by Apostle George Teasdale.
The choir sang—Though deepening trials throng your way, Press on, ye Saints of God
Sunday, 10 o’clock a. m.
The choir sang—Great is the Lord, ‘tis good to praise His high and holy name.
Prayer by Apostle George Teasdale.
The choir sang—Though deepening trials throng your way, Press on, ye Saints of God
President George Q. Cannon
read from the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants concerning the Priesthood and its descent from Adam through the Church of God through all generations; also of the powers and privileges conferred upon its possessors. It was an onerous duty to teach the people the things of God, one which he would not attempt unaided by Him, When he thought of the great changes wrought in the earth in regard to faith in God since the advent of the Gospel the more thankful he felt that he and his family and had his faith. Fifty years ago the world stood aghast at the things taught by Joseph Smith. Eighteen centuries had elapsed since God had been recognized as revealing His will to man. The silence was deep, profound and uninterrupted, as much as if the Almighty, His angels and the heavenly powers had been dead, or as if all communication had been cut off between this world and the realms above. Tradition and ancient writs were all that had kept up the idea of God’s existence and even this idea was very imperfect and largely the result of speculation. A diversity of opinions was held. Angels were painted with wings, half fowl and half man, and other views equally ridiculous were entertained. But Joseph Smith startled the world by declaring that he had seen God and angels, and that they had communicated divine truths unto him. For this the world through him worthy of death. It was indeed wonderful that in the midst of all the doubt and skepticism so widely prevalent, a man should be found with faith sufficient to receive such things and declare them to his generation. Joseph testified that God was a being of body, parts and passions, that angels were exalted men, without wings, and that God and His Son Jesus Christ, though similar in appearance, were two distinct individuals. Since then thousands have been enabled to corroborate his testimony. The ancient faith had been restored, and its reflected influence was apparent in the outside world. The pendulum which swung between skepticism and credulity, moved from the former to the latter extreme. Spiritualism made its appearance, and faith in supernatural manifestations increased. But strange to say the same unwillingness to receive the truth remained. There was only one medium through which the powers of godliness could with any safety be made manifest. This was the Priesthood. If that were taken away the world would be left as it was before Joseph Smith came forth. It was a note-worthy fact that he did not presume to act in the name of the Lord until he had received authority to do so. How consistent this was, that he should patiently wait the due time of the Almighty, until John the Baptist, who held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood in former times, came and delivered them unto the modern Prophet and his associate Oliver Cowdery; who thereupon were commissioned to baptize each other and others who believed in their mission. Afterwards came Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Melchisedek, or Greater Priesthood, and likewise delivered that authority unto those men. Hence this Church stood out distinct from every other religious organization, deriving its powers from God alone. A new order of things was commenced upon earth from the time of its establishment. All that characterized the Church of God in ancient days was manifest in the Church in modern times, and the history and experience of one was almost the exact counterpart of the other, not only with regard to the gifts and graces of the Gospel and their manifestations, but in the persecutions which the Church endures. Thus was this Church a living testimony to the fact that God had again spoken from the heavens and set His hand once more to accomplish His work. Crystalized tradition and unbelief, like a wall of adamant, had to some extent stood in the way of its progress, but God was now raising up a generation in the midst of these mountains who were untrammeled by the traditions of their fathers and their faith, he hoped, would be correspondingly superior. The young Elders of Israel should go forth without purse or script to preach the gospel that their faith and reliance in the Lord might be developed, and those parents who provided their sons with money to go upon missions, were doing them harm instead of good.
read from the 84th section of the Doctrine and Covenants concerning the Priesthood and its descent from Adam through the Church of God through all generations; also of the powers and privileges conferred upon its possessors. It was an onerous duty to teach the people the things of God, one which he would not attempt unaided by Him, When he thought of the great changes wrought in the earth in regard to faith in God since the advent of the Gospel the more thankful he felt that he and his family and had his faith. Fifty years ago the world stood aghast at the things taught by Joseph Smith. Eighteen centuries had elapsed since God had been recognized as revealing His will to man. The silence was deep, profound and uninterrupted, as much as if the Almighty, His angels and the heavenly powers had been dead, or as if all communication had been cut off between this world and the realms above. Tradition and ancient writs were all that had kept up the idea of God’s existence and even this idea was very imperfect and largely the result of speculation. A diversity of opinions was held. Angels were painted with wings, half fowl and half man, and other views equally ridiculous were entertained. But Joseph Smith startled the world by declaring that he had seen God and angels, and that they had communicated divine truths unto him. For this the world through him worthy of death. It was indeed wonderful that in the midst of all the doubt and skepticism so widely prevalent, a man should be found with faith sufficient to receive such things and declare them to his generation. Joseph testified that God was a being of body, parts and passions, that angels were exalted men, without wings, and that God and His Son Jesus Christ, though similar in appearance, were two distinct individuals. Since then thousands have been enabled to corroborate his testimony. The ancient faith had been restored, and its reflected influence was apparent in the outside world. The pendulum which swung between skepticism and credulity, moved from the former to the latter extreme. Spiritualism made its appearance, and faith in supernatural manifestations increased. But strange to say the same unwillingness to receive the truth remained. There was only one medium through which the powers of godliness could with any safety be made manifest. This was the Priesthood. If that were taken away the world would be left as it was before Joseph Smith came forth. It was a note-worthy fact that he did not presume to act in the name of the Lord until he had received authority to do so. How consistent this was, that he should patiently wait the due time of the Almighty, until John the Baptist, who held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood in former times, came and delivered them unto the modern Prophet and his associate Oliver Cowdery; who thereupon were commissioned to baptize each other and others who believed in their mission. Afterwards came Peter, James and John, who held the keys of the Melchisedek, or Greater Priesthood, and likewise delivered that authority unto those men. Hence this Church stood out distinct from every other religious organization, deriving its powers from God alone. A new order of things was commenced upon earth from the time of its establishment. All that characterized the Church of God in ancient days was manifest in the Church in modern times, and the history and experience of one was almost the exact counterpart of the other, not only with regard to the gifts and graces of the Gospel and their manifestations, but in the persecutions which the Church endures. Thus was this Church a living testimony to the fact that God had again spoken from the heavens and set His hand once more to accomplish His work. Crystalized tradition and unbelief, like a wall of adamant, had to some extent stood in the way of its progress, but God was now raising up a generation in the midst of these mountains who were untrammeled by the traditions of their fathers and their faith, he hoped, would be correspondingly superior. The young Elders of Israel should go forth without purse or script to preach the gospel that their faith and reliance in the Lord might be developed, and those parents who provided their sons with money to go upon missions, were doing them harm instead of good.
Introductory Remarks—Increased Faith in God—The Ideas Advanced By Joseph Smith—Lapse of Eighteen Centuries and No Voice From the Heavenly Worlds!—Joseph Smith's Testimony in Regard to the Father and the Son and Holy Angels—The Effect of His Revelations Upon the Minds of Men—Spiritualism—The One Power Through Which Godliness, the Power of God, and the Gifts of God Can Be Made Manifest With Safety, i.e., the Priesthood—Joseph Smith Did Not Attempt to Preach the Gospel Until He Was Duly Commissioned of God—John the Baptist—The Higher Priesthood—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Stands Alone—The Results Following the Restoration of the Gospel—Wonderful Faith of the Latter-Day Saints Considering Their Traditions—Progress of the Church—The Generation Growing Up in These Mountains—Conclusion
Discourse by President Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, (Semi-Annual Conference) October 7th, 1833.
Reported by John Irvine.
President Cannon commenced by reading a portion of the 84th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants:
“Which Abraham received the priesthood from Melchizedek, who received it through the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah; And from Noah till Enoch, through the lineage of their fathers; And from Enoch to Abel, who was slain by the conspiracy of his brother, who received the priesthood by the commandments of God, by the hand of his father Adam, who was the first man—Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years. And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God. And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
“Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence, therefore the Lord in his wrath, for His anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into His rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory. Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also; And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the keys of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel; Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in his wrath, caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb.”
After which he said:
In arising to address this vast congregation this morning, I trust I may have the assistance of the Spirit of God, that I may be able to speak in plainness and with a distinct voice, so that all can hear those things that are appropriate to us on the present occasion. Naturally one shrinks from the task of addressing so large an audience. It requires a great physical effort to do so; besides it is a serious labor to attempt to teach and to instruct the people in the things of God. I would not attempt it if I did not hope to have His aid. But the people have come together this morning to be fed, to have the bread of life administered to them. This is our privilege. We believe in this, and I rejoice that I am identified with a people who have this faith.
When I think of the great change that has been wrought in the earth within the last half century in regard to faith in God and in the manifestations of God's power, I feel exceedingly thankful, and more especially because I and my family are identified with the people who have this faith.
Fifty-three years ago the religious world stood aghast at the ideas advanced by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and those associated with him.
Eighteen centuries had elapsed from the days of the Savior and His Apostles, and during the greater portion of this time no voice from the heavenly worlds had been heard by man—at least this was the statement made by the religious people of that time. A deep silence prevailed. There had been no voice of God. There had been no manifestations from the Son of God. There had been no angelic visitation. The silence was deep, profound and uninterrupted, as much so as though every possible means of communication between God, Jesus, the angelic hosts and man on the earth had been entirely cut off.
Joseph Smith, inspired of God, came forth and declared that God lived. Ages had passed and no one had beheld Him. The fact that he existed was like a dim tradition in the minds of the people. The fact that Jesus lived was only supposed to be the case because eighteen hundred years before men had seen him. The fact that angels had an existence was based upon the knowledge that men had recorded it eighteen hundred years previously. The character of God—whether He was a personal being, whether His center was nowhere, and His circumference everywhere, were matters of speculation. No one had seen him. No one had seen anyone who had seen Him. No one had seen an angel. No one had seen anyone who had seen an angel, and all that was known concerning angels was that which had come down in this book [the Bible]. Is it a wonder that men were confused? That there was such a variety of opinions respecting the character and being of God? Angels were painted with wings—half fowl and half man, illustrating most perfectly the absurd notions that had generated in the minds of men concerning these beings. How could it be expected to be otherwise? But Joseph Smith, as I said, startled the world. It stood aghast at the statement which he made, and the testimony which he bore. He declared that he had seen God. He declared that he had seen Jesus Christ. He declared that he had seen angels, that he had heard their voices, that they had communicated to him divine truths. It was something entirely unheard of; and because he made these statements, he was deemed worthy of death? It is a most wonderful thing when you contemplate it, that there should have been one man found who, after eighteen centuries of unbelief and incredulity, had faith sufficient to feel after God, and obtain revelation from Him—that one man should have been found who had strength sufficient and power from God sufficient to make so great a departure as to believe that it would be possible for God to reveal Himself to man. All the persecutions that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints endured in the early days were due to the fact that they bore testimony to this great and important truth, that God lived, that God was a God of revelation, and that God had communicated His mind and will to His children once more.
After that revelation faith began to grow up in men's minds and hearts. Speculation concerning the being of God, ceased among those who received the testimony of Joseph Smith. He testified that God was a being of body, that He had a body, that He had parts, that man was in his likeness, that Jesus was the exact counterpart of the Father, and that the Father and Jesus were two distinct personages, as distinct as an earthly father and an earthly son. He bore testimony also that angels did not have wings, that they were men who had kept their covenants with their Father and their God, and had been exalted, through obedience to the commandments of God to that condition that they could dwell in His presence and become His ministers. By degrees this faith has grown until there are thousands upon thousands who have received it, and who believe it, who know for themselves concerning God, concerning Jesus Christ, concerning His Gospel and the plan of salvation; and the faith that formerly existed has been restored to the earth, and has begun to grow and to increase in the hearts of the children of men.
Not only has faith in spiritual manifestations grown in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, but something of a similar character has grown up in the midst of the world. The pendulum which had swung in one direction, in the direction of extreme unbelief, of extreme incredulity, concerning everything of a spiritual character, after the organization of this Church, after the restoration of the everlasting Gospel in its ancient purity and power, the pendulum, I say, that had swung to such an extreme in one direction, began to swing in the other direction, in the direction of credulity, and willingness to have something that might be traced, or that could be attributed to a spiritual origin. Some fifteen or sixteen years after this Church was organized, spiritualism began to make its appearance, and thousands upon thousands of people were ready to receive anything that any charlatan chose to bring before them as the result of spiritual manifestations, until the whole nation of the United States, as well as some nations in Europe, were humbugged by the most extraordinary statements and ideas set forth by those charlatans. Men are ready enough now in some places to believe anything that makes its appearance in the form of spiritualism. All sorts of stories have been told. All kinds of powers have been manifested. Tables have been tipped. I cannot attempt to describe the many kinds of manifestations that have been had among men. But the same willingness to receive the truth, the same unwillingness to receive the Gospel and the blessings and gifts of God, has continued to be manifested, and this belief or credulity concerning spiritualism has not had any favorable effect upon the people in causing them to receive the truth as it is.
Now, there is one power, and one power alone—as I have read to you in this extract from this revelation—through which godliness and the power of God and the gifts of God can be made manifest with any degree of safety—that is, through the Priesthood of the Son of God. Take that authority away from the midst of men, and they would be left precisely in the same condition that the world was in at the time of this revelation to Joseph Smith.
Though Joseph Smith, as I have said, was permitted in his boyhood, to behold the Father and the Son, was ministered unto by holy angels, he did not—and it is a very remarkable and noteworthy fact—he did not because of these things, those glorious visions that he had, attempt to exercise any authority as a servant of God in the administration of the ordinances of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. His conduct in this respect stands out in remarkable contrast with the conduct of men, hundreds of whom, because they receive an impression at some time, that they ought to preach the Gospel, take upon themselves that holy calling, without any further authority than a mere impression upon their minds. He refrained from doing anything of this character. He waited the good pleasure of God. And how consistent it was! How much in accordance—now, we look at it in the light of experience and knowledge—with the will and plan of God, that he should thus wait, and that a holy messenger should be sent with the authority from on high to lay his hands upon him and to restore to the earth through him the everlasting Priesthood, by the administration of which the gifts and blessings and power of God had been manifested in ancient days.
Joseph Smith waited patiently for years, until the due time of the Lord, when He should send a heavenly messenger, and He did send John the Baptist. John held the authority in ancient days to baptize for the remission of sins, and held the keys—having inherited them from his great ancestor Aaron, of the Aaronic Priesthood, which Aaron held, and which authority his descendants exercised among the children of Israel, until the days of John, who was called the Baptist. This John, Jesus said, was a prophet than whom none greater had ever been born of woman. He was a mighty man, and was distinguished above all men upon the face of the earth in this, that God chose him to be the instrument to baptize His Son Jesus Christ in the waters of Jordan. He was a unique character in this respect. John was beheaded, as we know, to satisfy the priests and the murderous disposition of a wicked woman. When he died he held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood—that Priesthood, as I have said, which he derived from his great ancestor Aaron, the brother of Moses. He carried with him that authority, and there having been no bestowal of it from his day until the day of Joseph Smith, it became his legitimate right, when the authority was once more to be restored to the earth, to come and confer it. He did so. He laid his hands upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and ordained them to the authority which he himself held. He bestowed upon them the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, that he had exercised while in the flesh. When these men were thus ordained, they then had the right, which they exercised by the command of God, to baptize each other, and to baptize others, who might be willing to repent of their sins, for the remission of sins.
But this was not all. Something more was needed. This higher Priesthood of which I have read—this greater Priesthood, which holds the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, the keys of the knowledge of God—this greater Priesthood was still reserved. John did not possess it. “I indeed,” says he, “baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” John did not have that authority. But Jesus held it. And Jesus had bestowed it upon His Apostles, three of whom were prominent among the Apostles—one as President, and the other two Counselors associated with him—Peter, James and John. These three held the keys of this greater Priesthood, which they had received from the Son of God Himself. They came, as Joseph Smith testified, and laid their hands upon his head, and bestowed upon him the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the higher Priesthood, the Priesthood which is after the order of the Son of God. This authority was bestowed once more upon men by the administration of these heavenly beings who had been sent from God, the Eternal Father, to restore it once more to the earth.
Hence this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands alone. It stands disconnected entirely with every other organization on the face of the earth. It draws its power from no existing organization. It derives its authority, it derives its Priesthood from nothing that exists among men; but claiming that the Church had fallen, that the authority of the Holy Priesthood had been taken from the earth and withdrawn to God in heaven, because of the wickedness of men in slaying those who held this Priesthood, it was eminently proper and consistent that when it was once more restored to the earth it should be restored from heaven by the administration of holy angels.
Time will not permit me to dwell at any length upon the results of what has occurred since then. But I may say this, that a new order of things commenced on the earth from the day that Joseph Smith was ordained, and the day this Church was organized. Once more the Church was organized, having within it all the old authority—the Apostleship, the Priesthood, the gifts, the graces, the blessings that characterized the Church of Christ in the day when it was upon the earth. Nothing was wanting. The same power, the same blessings, the same gifts, the same union, the same love, the same testimony on the part of those who had received these ordinances, until today we have in these mountain valleys a people the exact counterpart in every particular of that primitive Church which Christ and His Apostles organized upon the earth. Every distinctive nature, every characteristic, every power, every ordinance, that that Church possessed is claimed and possessed by this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the same fruits, the same characteristics, the same blessings, the same union, the same power, attends the administration of its ordinances, and follows its believers in all their lives and in all their operations. Go with its missionaries to the remotest land, you will find them the exact followers of the disciples of Jesus, who were with Him in the flesh. Did they travel without purse or scrip? So do the Elders of the Church in these last days. Did they exercise faith before God, to have their way opened up before them? So do the Elders in these last days. Did they baptize repentant believers for the remission of their sins? So do the Elders in these last days. Did they promise unto repentant believers who were baptized that they should receive the gift of the Holy Ghost? So do the Elders who go forth in these last days. The same promise, the same gift, the same power, that was promised anciently is again promised, and, what is better still, is again bestowed and enjoyed by those who qualify themselves to receive this precious gift. Did they lay hands upon the sick for the restoration of their health? So do the Elders in these last days; and the sick are healed; and the power of God is manifested among men as it has not been manifested for these many centuries past. Did they, when they had organized a Church, find a people full of union and love, loving one another and willing to do deeds of kindness to one another, and thinking more of their brethren than they did of themselves? So do the Elders in these last days in organizing branches of the Church, and the same spirit attends their labors and follows as a result of their administrations in every land—not in Christian lands alone, but in heathen lands, and among the natives of our forests and of our mountains. Wherever these Elders go they go accompanied by the power of God. This rests down upon the people who receive their words, and they are filled with the Holy Ghost, and their hearts are blended together in union and in love, which cannot be found elsewhere upon the face of the earth—God in this wonderful manner bearing testimony to the labors of His servants and to their word, and fulfilling their promises in bestowing those gifts upon all races, upon all men who bow in submission to the Gospel which they preach. There is not a single characteristic that the ancient Church possessed, that is not manifested in these our days in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The same persecution of the Church, the same hatred, the same inclination to shed the blood of inoffensive, innocent men and women, to drive them from their homes and to treat them with the utmost cruelty upon baseless charges and misrepresentation—that characteristic is not wanting either. It follows the Church. It follows the Elders of the Church go where they will. They may be as pure as angels—so far as it is possible for earthly beings to be—nevertheless they are followed by this floodtide of falsehood, of slander, of misrepresentation, and also by the same disposition to kill them, to shed their blood; and Prophets have been slain in our day, the blood of apostles has been shed in our day, the blood of disciples and Saints has stained the earth in our day for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God. There is not a single characteristic lacking; and today this Church stands as a living testimony in the eyes of all nations, that God has indeed restored the everlasting Gospel, that God has indeed once more spoken from the heavens, that He has indeed restored the everlasting Priesthood, through the administration of which all these blessings have come in so remarkable a manner to men.
Considering what an age of unbelief we have had, considering the traditions that we have inherited, it is wonderful the faith that has been manifested by this people called Latter-day Saints. When I look at it from a certain standpoint, I am amazed at what I witness. The fathers of this people had not faith in anything of this kind. Imbued with the traditions that were prevalent throughout Christendom, they believed that the heavens were sealed, that all communications had ceased between God and man, and that all we had to depend upon was this book [the Bible] for the knowledge of God. This was the tradition instilled into the minds of our ancestors, until it has become a crystallized belief. One of the most difficult things to make men believe, when this Church was first organized in these last days, was that it would be possible for God to speak, that it would be possible for angels to come to the earth, that it would be possible for that power to be manifested once more. All these things were associated with imposture in the minds of men. A man who made any such statement was immediately accused of being an impostor, and of trying to deceive somebody.
This Church has made its onward progress, despite this crystallized unbelief, which has been like a wall of adamant in front of us, hedging our way, barring our progress in the midst of the human family. Men would listen and then turn away with a sneer when they heard a statement of the truth. Yet notwithstanding that, it has a foothold in the earth. And what is the result? A generation is growing up in these mountains filled with the old faith to a certain extent free from the traditions of their fathers. My children I hope will have more faith than I, as I had more faith than my father. I was trained in this faith. My children, I trust, will have more faith than I, and the children of the present generation will have more faith than their fathers for this reason, that we are endeavoring to instill into their minds this faith; endeavoring to promote it; endeavoring to make them believe that God is a God of revelation, that God is not afar off, that He is not remote, but that He is near at hand; endeavoring to make them believe that God will answer prayer, and you can tell what the result will be. Every young man who goes out—as in the case of our young men who are constantly going—goes without purse or scrip. What is the result? They have to feel after God. If they want a pair of pantaloons they have to ask God to obtain them. If they want a meal of victuals, they have to exercise faith on this account. In sending out my sons to preach the Gospel, or having them go, I would not give them one dollar to go with; and while I am on this subject I will say, the father who gives his sons money to go to preach the Gospel, does them the greatest injury he can do. I would not do it if I had millions at my disposal. I would not give them a dollar. Let them go out and feel after God, and obtain a knowledge of God, through faith and through mighty prayer. When a man is hungry; when a man is without friends; when a man has no place to sleep, he will, if he believes in God, and His gifts, be certain to go to Him and ask Him to furnish that which he needs, and when his prayers are answered he has greater faith next time. When he lays hands on the sick and the sick are healed, he has greater faith next time to go and administer to the sick, and in this way faith is growing and increasing in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, and the power of godliness is being made more and more manifest. But we are far from being what we should be.
I have not time to dwell further on these things. I would like to talk on kindred subjects; but time is passing and I am now trespassing.
I pray God to bless you, to fill you with the Holy Ghost, and to help you to seek after God with a greater faith; I pray that He may help you to put away your sins, and to keep His commandments perfectly, so that you may receive the blessings that He has in store for all the faithful, which I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Discourse by President Geo. Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Morning, (Semi-Annual Conference) October 7th, 1833.
Reported by John Irvine.
President Cannon commenced by reading a portion of the 84th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants:
“Which Abraham received the priesthood from Melchizedek, who received it through the lineage of his fathers, even till Noah; And from Noah till Enoch, through the lineage of their fathers; And from Enoch to Abel, who was slain by the conspiracy of his brother, who received the priesthood by the commandments of God, by the hand of his father Adam, who was the first man—Which priesthood continueth in the church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days or end of years. And the Lord confirmed a priesthood also upon Aaron and his seed, throughout all their generations, which priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the priesthood which is after the holiest order of God. And this greater priesthood administereth the gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom, even the key of the knowledge of God. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live.
“Now this Moses plainly taught to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence, therefore the Lord in his wrath, for His anger was kindled against them, swore that they should not enter into His rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fulness of his glory. Therefore, he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also; And the lesser priesthood continued, which priesthood holdeth the keys of the ministering of angels and the preparatory gospel; Which gospel is the gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in his wrath, caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb.”
After which he said:
In arising to address this vast congregation this morning, I trust I may have the assistance of the Spirit of God, that I may be able to speak in plainness and with a distinct voice, so that all can hear those things that are appropriate to us on the present occasion. Naturally one shrinks from the task of addressing so large an audience. It requires a great physical effort to do so; besides it is a serious labor to attempt to teach and to instruct the people in the things of God. I would not attempt it if I did not hope to have His aid. But the people have come together this morning to be fed, to have the bread of life administered to them. This is our privilege. We believe in this, and I rejoice that I am identified with a people who have this faith.
When I think of the great change that has been wrought in the earth within the last half century in regard to faith in God and in the manifestations of God's power, I feel exceedingly thankful, and more especially because I and my family are identified with the people who have this faith.
Fifty-three years ago the religious world stood aghast at the ideas advanced by the Prophet Joseph Smith, and those associated with him.
Eighteen centuries had elapsed from the days of the Savior and His Apostles, and during the greater portion of this time no voice from the heavenly worlds had been heard by man—at least this was the statement made by the religious people of that time. A deep silence prevailed. There had been no voice of God. There had been no manifestations from the Son of God. There had been no angelic visitation. The silence was deep, profound and uninterrupted, as much so as though every possible means of communication between God, Jesus, the angelic hosts and man on the earth had been entirely cut off.
Joseph Smith, inspired of God, came forth and declared that God lived. Ages had passed and no one had beheld Him. The fact that he existed was like a dim tradition in the minds of the people. The fact that Jesus lived was only supposed to be the case because eighteen hundred years before men had seen him. The fact that angels had an existence was based upon the knowledge that men had recorded it eighteen hundred years previously. The character of God—whether He was a personal being, whether His center was nowhere, and His circumference everywhere, were matters of speculation. No one had seen him. No one had seen anyone who had seen Him. No one had seen an angel. No one had seen anyone who had seen an angel, and all that was known concerning angels was that which had come down in this book [the Bible]. Is it a wonder that men were confused? That there was such a variety of opinions respecting the character and being of God? Angels were painted with wings—half fowl and half man, illustrating most perfectly the absurd notions that had generated in the minds of men concerning these beings. How could it be expected to be otherwise? But Joseph Smith, as I said, startled the world. It stood aghast at the statement which he made, and the testimony which he bore. He declared that he had seen God. He declared that he had seen Jesus Christ. He declared that he had seen angels, that he had heard their voices, that they had communicated to him divine truths. It was something entirely unheard of; and because he made these statements, he was deemed worthy of death? It is a most wonderful thing when you contemplate it, that there should have been one man found who, after eighteen centuries of unbelief and incredulity, had faith sufficient to feel after God, and obtain revelation from Him—that one man should have been found who had strength sufficient and power from God sufficient to make so great a departure as to believe that it would be possible for God to reveal Himself to man. All the persecutions that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints endured in the early days were due to the fact that they bore testimony to this great and important truth, that God lived, that God was a God of revelation, and that God had communicated His mind and will to His children once more.
After that revelation faith began to grow up in men's minds and hearts. Speculation concerning the being of God, ceased among those who received the testimony of Joseph Smith. He testified that God was a being of body, that He had a body, that He had parts, that man was in his likeness, that Jesus was the exact counterpart of the Father, and that the Father and Jesus were two distinct personages, as distinct as an earthly father and an earthly son. He bore testimony also that angels did not have wings, that they were men who had kept their covenants with their Father and their God, and had been exalted, through obedience to the commandments of God to that condition that they could dwell in His presence and become His ministers. By degrees this faith has grown until there are thousands upon thousands who have received it, and who believe it, who know for themselves concerning God, concerning Jesus Christ, concerning His Gospel and the plan of salvation; and the faith that formerly existed has been restored to the earth, and has begun to grow and to increase in the hearts of the children of men.
Not only has faith in spiritual manifestations grown in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, but something of a similar character has grown up in the midst of the world. The pendulum which had swung in one direction, in the direction of extreme unbelief, of extreme incredulity, concerning everything of a spiritual character, after the organization of this Church, after the restoration of the everlasting Gospel in its ancient purity and power, the pendulum, I say, that had swung to such an extreme in one direction, began to swing in the other direction, in the direction of credulity, and willingness to have something that might be traced, or that could be attributed to a spiritual origin. Some fifteen or sixteen years after this Church was organized, spiritualism began to make its appearance, and thousands upon thousands of people were ready to receive anything that any charlatan chose to bring before them as the result of spiritual manifestations, until the whole nation of the United States, as well as some nations in Europe, were humbugged by the most extraordinary statements and ideas set forth by those charlatans. Men are ready enough now in some places to believe anything that makes its appearance in the form of spiritualism. All sorts of stories have been told. All kinds of powers have been manifested. Tables have been tipped. I cannot attempt to describe the many kinds of manifestations that have been had among men. But the same willingness to receive the truth, the same unwillingness to receive the Gospel and the blessings and gifts of God, has continued to be manifested, and this belief or credulity concerning spiritualism has not had any favorable effect upon the people in causing them to receive the truth as it is.
Now, there is one power, and one power alone—as I have read to you in this extract from this revelation—through which godliness and the power of God and the gifts of God can be made manifest with any degree of safety—that is, through the Priesthood of the Son of God. Take that authority away from the midst of men, and they would be left precisely in the same condition that the world was in at the time of this revelation to Joseph Smith.
Though Joseph Smith, as I have said, was permitted in his boyhood, to behold the Father and the Son, was ministered unto by holy angels, he did not—and it is a very remarkable and noteworthy fact—he did not because of these things, those glorious visions that he had, attempt to exercise any authority as a servant of God in the administration of the ordinances of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. His conduct in this respect stands out in remarkable contrast with the conduct of men, hundreds of whom, because they receive an impression at some time, that they ought to preach the Gospel, take upon themselves that holy calling, without any further authority than a mere impression upon their minds. He refrained from doing anything of this character. He waited the good pleasure of God. And how consistent it was! How much in accordance—now, we look at it in the light of experience and knowledge—with the will and plan of God, that he should thus wait, and that a holy messenger should be sent with the authority from on high to lay his hands upon him and to restore to the earth through him the everlasting Priesthood, by the administration of which the gifts and blessings and power of God had been manifested in ancient days.
Joseph Smith waited patiently for years, until the due time of the Lord, when He should send a heavenly messenger, and He did send John the Baptist. John held the authority in ancient days to baptize for the remission of sins, and held the keys—having inherited them from his great ancestor Aaron, of the Aaronic Priesthood, which Aaron held, and which authority his descendants exercised among the children of Israel, until the days of John, who was called the Baptist. This John, Jesus said, was a prophet than whom none greater had ever been born of woman. He was a mighty man, and was distinguished above all men upon the face of the earth in this, that God chose him to be the instrument to baptize His Son Jesus Christ in the waters of Jordan. He was a unique character in this respect. John was beheaded, as we know, to satisfy the priests and the murderous disposition of a wicked woman. When he died he held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood—that Priesthood, as I have said, which he derived from his great ancestor Aaron, the brother of Moses. He carried with him that authority, and there having been no bestowal of it from his day until the day of Joseph Smith, it became his legitimate right, when the authority was once more to be restored to the earth, to come and confer it. He did so. He laid his hands upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, and ordained them to the authority which he himself held. He bestowed upon them the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, that he had exercised while in the flesh. When these men were thus ordained, they then had the right, which they exercised by the command of God, to baptize each other, and to baptize others, who might be willing to repent of their sins, for the remission of sins.
But this was not all. Something more was needed. This higher Priesthood of which I have read—this greater Priesthood, which holds the keys of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, the keys of the knowledge of God—this greater Priesthood was still reserved. John did not possess it. “I indeed,” says he, “baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire.” John did not have that authority. But Jesus held it. And Jesus had bestowed it upon His Apostles, three of whom were prominent among the Apostles—one as President, and the other two Counselors associated with him—Peter, James and John. These three held the keys of this greater Priesthood, which they had received from the Son of God Himself. They came, as Joseph Smith testified, and laid their hands upon his head, and bestowed upon him the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood, the higher Priesthood, the Priesthood which is after the order of the Son of God. This authority was bestowed once more upon men by the administration of these heavenly beings who had been sent from God, the Eternal Father, to restore it once more to the earth.
Hence this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands alone. It stands disconnected entirely with every other organization on the face of the earth. It draws its power from no existing organization. It derives its authority, it derives its Priesthood from nothing that exists among men; but claiming that the Church had fallen, that the authority of the Holy Priesthood had been taken from the earth and withdrawn to God in heaven, because of the wickedness of men in slaying those who held this Priesthood, it was eminently proper and consistent that when it was once more restored to the earth it should be restored from heaven by the administration of holy angels.
Time will not permit me to dwell at any length upon the results of what has occurred since then. But I may say this, that a new order of things commenced on the earth from the day that Joseph Smith was ordained, and the day this Church was organized. Once more the Church was organized, having within it all the old authority—the Apostleship, the Priesthood, the gifts, the graces, the blessings that characterized the Church of Christ in the day when it was upon the earth. Nothing was wanting. The same power, the same blessings, the same gifts, the same union, the same love, the same testimony on the part of those who had received these ordinances, until today we have in these mountain valleys a people the exact counterpart in every particular of that primitive Church which Christ and His Apostles organized upon the earth. Every distinctive nature, every characteristic, every power, every ordinance, that that Church possessed is claimed and possessed by this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the same fruits, the same characteristics, the same blessings, the same union, the same power, attends the administration of its ordinances, and follows its believers in all their lives and in all their operations. Go with its missionaries to the remotest land, you will find them the exact followers of the disciples of Jesus, who were with Him in the flesh. Did they travel without purse or scrip? So do the Elders of the Church in these last days. Did they exercise faith before God, to have their way opened up before them? So do the Elders in these last days. Did they baptize repentant believers for the remission of their sins? So do the Elders in these last days. Did they promise unto repentant believers who were baptized that they should receive the gift of the Holy Ghost? So do the Elders who go forth in these last days. The same promise, the same gift, the same power, that was promised anciently is again promised, and, what is better still, is again bestowed and enjoyed by those who qualify themselves to receive this precious gift. Did they lay hands upon the sick for the restoration of their health? So do the Elders in these last days; and the sick are healed; and the power of God is manifested among men as it has not been manifested for these many centuries past. Did they, when they had organized a Church, find a people full of union and love, loving one another and willing to do deeds of kindness to one another, and thinking more of their brethren than they did of themselves? So do the Elders in these last days in organizing branches of the Church, and the same spirit attends their labors and follows as a result of their administrations in every land—not in Christian lands alone, but in heathen lands, and among the natives of our forests and of our mountains. Wherever these Elders go they go accompanied by the power of God. This rests down upon the people who receive their words, and they are filled with the Holy Ghost, and their hearts are blended together in union and in love, which cannot be found elsewhere upon the face of the earth—God in this wonderful manner bearing testimony to the labors of His servants and to their word, and fulfilling their promises in bestowing those gifts upon all races, upon all men who bow in submission to the Gospel which they preach. There is not a single characteristic that the ancient Church possessed, that is not manifested in these our days in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The same persecution of the Church, the same hatred, the same inclination to shed the blood of inoffensive, innocent men and women, to drive them from their homes and to treat them with the utmost cruelty upon baseless charges and misrepresentation—that characteristic is not wanting either. It follows the Church. It follows the Elders of the Church go where they will. They may be as pure as angels—so far as it is possible for earthly beings to be—nevertheless they are followed by this floodtide of falsehood, of slander, of misrepresentation, and also by the same disposition to kill them, to shed their blood; and Prophets have been slain in our day, the blood of apostles has been shed in our day, the blood of disciples and Saints has stained the earth in our day for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God. There is not a single characteristic lacking; and today this Church stands as a living testimony in the eyes of all nations, that God has indeed restored the everlasting Gospel, that God has indeed once more spoken from the heavens, that He has indeed restored the everlasting Priesthood, through the administration of which all these blessings have come in so remarkable a manner to men.
Considering what an age of unbelief we have had, considering the traditions that we have inherited, it is wonderful the faith that has been manifested by this people called Latter-day Saints. When I look at it from a certain standpoint, I am amazed at what I witness. The fathers of this people had not faith in anything of this kind. Imbued with the traditions that were prevalent throughout Christendom, they believed that the heavens were sealed, that all communications had ceased between God and man, and that all we had to depend upon was this book [the Bible] for the knowledge of God. This was the tradition instilled into the minds of our ancestors, until it has become a crystallized belief. One of the most difficult things to make men believe, when this Church was first organized in these last days, was that it would be possible for God to speak, that it would be possible for angels to come to the earth, that it would be possible for that power to be manifested once more. All these things were associated with imposture in the minds of men. A man who made any such statement was immediately accused of being an impostor, and of trying to deceive somebody.
This Church has made its onward progress, despite this crystallized unbelief, which has been like a wall of adamant in front of us, hedging our way, barring our progress in the midst of the human family. Men would listen and then turn away with a sneer when they heard a statement of the truth. Yet notwithstanding that, it has a foothold in the earth. And what is the result? A generation is growing up in these mountains filled with the old faith to a certain extent free from the traditions of their fathers. My children I hope will have more faith than I, as I had more faith than my father. I was trained in this faith. My children, I trust, will have more faith than I, and the children of the present generation will have more faith than their fathers for this reason, that we are endeavoring to instill into their minds this faith; endeavoring to promote it; endeavoring to make them believe that God is a God of revelation, that God is not afar off, that He is not remote, but that He is near at hand; endeavoring to make them believe that God will answer prayer, and you can tell what the result will be. Every young man who goes out—as in the case of our young men who are constantly going—goes without purse or scrip. What is the result? They have to feel after God. If they want a pair of pantaloons they have to ask God to obtain them. If they want a meal of victuals, they have to exercise faith on this account. In sending out my sons to preach the Gospel, or having them go, I would not give them one dollar to go with; and while I am on this subject I will say, the father who gives his sons money to go to preach the Gospel, does them the greatest injury he can do. I would not do it if I had millions at my disposal. I would not give them a dollar. Let them go out and feel after God, and obtain a knowledge of God, through faith and through mighty prayer. When a man is hungry; when a man is without friends; when a man has no place to sleep, he will, if he believes in God, and His gifts, be certain to go to Him and ask Him to furnish that which he needs, and when his prayers are answered he has greater faith next time. When he lays hands on the sick and the sick are healed, he has greater faith next time to go and administer to the sick, and in this way faith is growing and increasing in the midst of the Latter-day Saints, and the power of godliness is being made more and more manifest. But we are far from being what we should be.
I have not time to dwell further on these things. I would like to talk on kindred subjects; but time is passing and I am now trespassing.
I pray God to bless you, to fill you with the Holy Ghost, and to help you to seek after God with a greater faith; I pray that He may help you to put away your sins, and to keep His commandments perfectly, so that you may receive the blessings that He has in store for all the faithful, which I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
President Jos. F. Smith.
Regretted that the previous speaker had not continued. He himself never felt stronger in the faith than at present, and felt there was everything to encourage the people to feel likewise. The Church and Kingdom of God had being established upon the earth, and the Gospel of Christ and the Holy Priesthood again restored and conferred upon many. The organization of the Church was more perfect to-day than in the days of the ancient disciples. He looked to see the advent of the time when the miracles of old would no longer be cited to awaken wonder, as they would be lost sight of in view of the more wonderful manifestations of modern times. The gathering of Israel in this age was in itself a far more marvelous accomplishment than the bringing of Israel out of Egypt in the days of Moses. Zion was bound to grow and increase, and the purposes of God would be consummated, despite of all opposition. All that our enemies did would only tend to expedite and give impetus to this work. They might aim and intend otherwise, but God would overrule all for the good of His Saints, and the discomfiture of their foes. He had never seen, in the last 30 years, anything to make him alter his faith in this fact. Personal testimony was the great desideratum with members of the Church in relation to its truth. He who did not know for himself and was dependent upon others in this respect, was in a pitiable condition. There was no freedom for such a one. He himself was not dependent upon his brethren for the knowledge he had of God’s truth. Truth was received through men, but simply as mediums of the Almighty. This Church did not receive the Book or Mormon or the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants from Joseph Smith, but from the Almighty who chose Joseph as the instrument to bring them forth. While we honored Joseph the Prophet for the noble part he had played, we honored God more as the Author of all good. The Priesthood came through man but not from him originally. A man who was kept in the Church by another man’s will and influence was not a man himself, but a vassal and a serf. All should know for themselves and stand upon their own accountability, otherwise their house was built upon the sand and when the storms descended it would be liable to fall. The Church of Christ was full of life and light, and all who drank of it were qualified to know of its truth, and they were then members of Christs Church and hearkened to the counsels of those placed over them simply because they willed to do so. This was the case with the great majority of this Church. They knew what they were doing, and could not be moved, except by something better presented to the than that, which they already held. A good Latter-day Saints would always be found willing to receive that which was better than what he already possessed. The commandments of God were various, suited to the needs and condition of His children. The Ten Commandments were good as far as they went, but they were not all that must be obeyed. The young man who told the Savior he had kept all the commandments from his youth up, still had a weak point in the love of worldly wealth which induced him to forfeit the riches of eternal life. The parable of the talents portrayed the condition of man in his stewardship on earth. Those who would inherit a fulness of glory must go the whole length of the law upon which that glory is predicated.
Regretted that the previous speaker had not continued. He himself never felt stronger in the faith than at present, and felt there was everything to encourage the people to feel likewise. The Church and Kingdom of God had being established upon the earth, and the Gospel of Christ and the Holy Priesthood again restored and conferred upon many. The organization of the Church was more perfect to-day than in the days of the ancient disciples. He looked to see the advent of the time when the miracles of old would no longer be cited to awaken wonder, as they would be lost sight of in view of the more wonderful manifestations of modern times. The gathering of Israel in this age was in itself a far more marvelous accomplishment than the bringing of Israel out of Egypt in the days of Moses. Zion was bound to grow and increase, and the purposes of God would be consummated, despite of all opposition. All that our enemies did would only tend to expedite and give impetus to this work. They might aim and intend otherwise, but God would overrule all for the good of His Saints, and the discomfiture of their foes. He had never seen, in the last 30 years, anything to make him alter his faith in this fact. Personal testimony was the great desideratum with members of the Church in relation to its truth. He who did not know for himself and was dependent upon others in this respect, was in a pitiable condition. There was no freedom for such a one. He himself was not dependent upon his brethren for the knowledge he had of God’s truth. Truth was received through men, but simply as mediums of the Almighty. This Church did not receive the Book or Mormon or the revelations of the Doctrine and Covenants from Joseph Smith, but from the Almighty who chose Joseph as the instrument to bring them forth. While we honored Joseph the Prophet for the noble part he had played, we honored God more as the Author of all good. The Priesthood came through man but not from him originally. A man who was kept in the Church by another man’s will and influence was not a man himself, but a vassal and a serf. All should know for themselves and stand upon their own accountability, otherwise their house was built upon the sand and when the storms descended it would be liable to fall. The Church of Christ was full of life and light, and all who drank of it were qualified to know of its truth, and they were then members of Christs Church and hearkened to the counsels of those placed over them simply because they willed to do so. This was the case with the great majority of this Church. They knew what they were doing, and could not be moved, except by something better presented to the than that, which they already held. A good Latter-day Saints would always be found willing to receive that which was better than what he already possessed. The commandments of God were various, suited to the needs and condition of His children. The Ten Commandments were good as far as they went, but they were not all that must be obeyed. The young man who told the Savior he had kept all the commandments from his youth up, still had a weak point in the love of worldly wealth which induced him to forfeit the riches of eternal life. The parable of the talents portrayed the condition of man in his stewardship on earth. Those who would inherit a fulness of glory must go the whole length of the law upon which that glory is predicated.
Remarks
by President Joseph F. Smith
I never rejoiced more in the Gospel than I do at the present. I never felt stronger in the faith than I do to-day. I have never seen less cause for doubting or for fear than I now see. I think there is everything to encourage the people of God; and those things which may be calculated to discourage, seem to be decreasing all the time.
The Kingdom of God has been established upon the earth; the Gospel has been restored to the children of men; and the Holy Priesthood of which Bro. Cannon spoke, which is after the order of the Son of God, and of which Jesus himself is the Great High Priest, has again been bestowed upon man. The Church has been organized according to the pattern which God gave in the days of our Savior and His disciples, only I think the organization has been perfected to a greater extent, perhaps, in this dispensation than in the days of Jesus and His disciples. All that was given to them has been conferred upon us, and, as greater things are to be accomplished in the last days than have ever before been accomplished, we may look for still greater perfection in the organization of the Church, as well as for greater perfection in the organization of the Church, as well as for greater things in other directions. I expect to see the time come, when those wonderful works which were esteemed by the people anciently, and which are now looked upon as miraculous, will no longer be cited to inspire faith, wonder, or dread of the mighty God of Jacob; they will be lost sight of in the more wonderful things that will be performed in the latter days. I consider that the gathering of this people to these valleys, in the manner in which they were gathered, is far more miraculous—and will be so regarded in time to come—than was the gathering of Israel from the land of Egypt into Canaan. What it took 40 years to accomplish then, God accomplished in a few months in three days, besides carrying the latter day Israel a great deal further than He did ancient Israel. He led this people out of bondage, too, as He led the children of Israel, and He delivered this people out of the power of their enemies, as He did them; and He has planted our feet upon the tops of these mountains, and has caused us to grow, and to increase in strength from the day the pioneers set foot here to the present.
It is true that our enemies have, to some extent, ruled over us, but we possess and enjoy liberties and rights nevertheless; and no matter what they may try to do, as heretofore, they will be unable to stop the growth and increase of Zion. Zion is bound to grow; the Kingdom of God is destined to spread abroad; and the purposes of God will be accomplished, and our enemies cannot hinder it. They may pass laws, they may send up armies, they may send missionaries to rule over us as officers, to enforce upon us Christian religion, as it is called; they may appropriate thousands and millions of their treasure to establish free sectarian mission schools among us—yet, all that they do will only tend, in some degree at least, to extend the work of God and to give it impetus in the earth, for it is written in the Scriptures—and it is true, and it has been demonstrated as other things have been in connection with this work—that “the wicked can do nothing against, but for Zion.” They may aim to do that which they think will injure the people of God, they may desire in their hearts to see the progress of the work of the Lord stopped in the earth, and they may do all in their power to accomplish their purposes, but God Almighty will overrule their acts for the good of His people, and for their own discomfiture, as He has heretofore done. This is my firm belief, and I have never seen anything in the last 30 years of my experience in the Church, that has given me reason for doubt upon this point; on the contrary, everything I have witnessed only tends to strengthen my faith, and confirm my belief in regard to these matters.
The great desideratum which we should keep in view, is the obtaining for ourselves a knowledge of the truth, to know the doctrine for ourselves. I, for instance, would be in a pitiable condition if I were dependent upon my brethren for a knowledge of the truth of this work. If this were so, I certainly would be in a state of vassalage. The secret of our success—so far at least as the union of this people is concerned—is in this: they know the doctrine for themselves to be of God; they are, therefore, free to do His will as it is made known to them. And they are not in bondage, they are not tyrannized over, they are not ruled over by their presiding officers, but they are one with them, and are united with them in the faith. Who, I would ask, holds me in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—does President Taylor, or President Cannon, or do the Twelve Apostles? Is it by their influence that I am persuaded to serve God, or to believe what I do believe? I want to say I am not dependent upon President Taylor, or President Cannon, or upon any other man in regard to my faith. It is not based upon men’s views or ideas. I have not received the knowledge which I possess of the principles of the Gospel, and are instrumental in the hands of God in making us acquainted with the same, we may, in that light, be said to receive it from man; but in reality we do not receive a knowledge of the Gospel from man, but from God. Did we receive the Book of Mormon from Joseph Smith? No, we did not! From whom then? From God Almighty. Joseph Smith in and of himself did not have power to bring it forth, nor to translate it. It was God, through him, that gave this record to the world. Yes, he was the honored instrument in the hands of God of bringing it forth, and we are indebted to God, through him, for this book; and when I read its truths and drink of its inspiration, and receive its instruction and admonition, I am conscious of the fact that it was through the gift and power of God that this book came unto us. To whom are we indebted for the Doctrine and Covenants? It may be said that we are indebted to Joseph Smith for it, he having been the mouthpiece of God through whom the revelation comes. So we are in a certain sense, but there is a great than he; beyond him there is the Source of light, intelligence and knowledge, whence Joseph drew his inspiration, and it is to that Source that we are indebted for what Joseph Smith was raised up and inspired to accomplish. While, therefore, we honor him as the instrument in the hands of God, it is to God alone that we give the glory, for to Him alone it belongs, and none among us appreciated this fact more than the Prophet Joseph himself. We must not worship man, but God. He alone must be the object of our worship. I repeat, therefore, no man keeps me a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, neither is there any man professing to be a member of the Church who is kept so by the influence of other men. If there is, then he is a vassal, a serf, he is not a man and is not magnifying his manhood. He ought to know the truth of the doctrine for himself; he ought to be inspired of God himself, standing firm upon his own foundation; so that when the storms come he may not be shaken. Jesus Christ has pointed out the way, he says, “whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone who heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.” If a man is held in restraint by any influence other than that of knowledge, by any spirit other than that of God, it will be found that he has built his house upon the sand only to crumble and fall before the approaching storms. The root of the matter is not in such a man. He has not drunk from the fountain of light, he cannot withstand the powers of darkness and he must of necessity fall a prey to the destroyer.
But the facts are that the Latter-day Saints have embraced a religion that is full of light and truth. They have received the same spirit that actuated Joseph Smith and his successors. We have drunk at the same fountain that they drank at. The same spirit that inspired them, inspires us. We are engaged in the same great work, and are children of the same Father. You may take a Latter-day Saint, no matter where, if found in the line of duty, he will tell you, in all sincerity and truth, and he knows the doctrine to be true himself, and he will give you the best of reasons for this knowledge. He will prove it by the Scriptures, and by every evidence possible to convince the mind of man, and he is able to do this, because the Spirit of truth is in him. He is not dependent upon others for the knowledge he possesses. He is a member of the Church because he wills to be, because he chooses to be, and he chooses to be associated with the people of God because he knows it is for his own personal good. He hearkens to the counsels of the Priesthood of God, because he knows for himself that he cannot afford to disregard them. That is why I am a Latter-day Saint, that is why I obey counsels, and I am free a man—at least I think I am—as walks the footstool of God. It is my good will and pleasure to serve God. It is my good will and pleasure to be connected with the people of God. It is my good will and pleasure to hearken to the counsels of these good men with whom I have the privilege of associating. I know them to be men of truth. I have grown up under the droppings of the sanctuary, under the inspiration of these men, and from my youth I have known them to be men of God. When I say this I am only giving expression to the feelings of the majority of the people of God. They know what they are doing, they know what they believe in, they know of the doctrine, they are not ignorant, they do not yield blind obedience, but they yield willing, intelligent obedience, because they know of the truth, and it would be useless for anybody to try to convince them to the contrary, unless it were possible for them to bring greater light to hear upon their minds than they themselves have received; and that is the only way that a “Mormon” can be converted. If he can be shown something superior to that which he has received, he will willingly accept it. It is greater truth and greater light that we are after; more righteousness, greater harmony; and more perfect union, peace and good will to all men is what we are striving to establish upon the earth. This is why we let our enemies alone. Why we do not strike back when we are struck. We want peace, not war. We are opposed to contention and warfare among our fellow-men. On the contrary, our mission is to preach the principles of truth, of peace, of life and salvation, principles that will, if received and obeyed, produce in the heart of man joy and gladness, and love for his fellow-beings. I might turn, if there was time, to the Books and read and expound some of these principles. I might repeat the ten commandments: thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not blaspheme the name of the Lord, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not commit murder, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and none other shalt thou serve, etc. These are a portion of the principles of the Gospel, they are principles that we have espoused as Latter-day Saints, they are doctrines of Christ and they are part of my religion, and if a community will be governed according to these principles, which are regarded as the moral law, the penalties of that law will not be known among such a people. But the question may be asked, do not the Christian world believe in these principles? Yes, they profess to. And are they not therefore as good as we are? Yes, correspondingly as they carry them out in their lives; so far they are as good as we are. But is that all? No, not by a great deal! There are other requirements made of the children of men, in connection with the organization and establishment of the Church of Christ, one of which is, that we should gather together to a certain appointed place. Now, supposing that I should keep the ten commandments and refuse to obey the law providing for the gathering of the people, and was not willing to receive in my heart the constituted authorities of the Church as they now exist, what good would it do me in the long run to accept part of the word of God and reject part, when the whole was essential to my salvation? I should then be in the condition of the young man referred to in the Scriptures, who, it is said, went to Jesus to know what he should do to obtain eternal life. The Savior answering him said, keep the commandments, and took the pains to enumerate them. The young man in replying said, this he had done from his youth up. What lacked he yet? Jesus perceiving the true state of his mind answered and said to him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and follow me. When the young man heart this he turned away sorrowful because he had great possessions. The Lord knew his weakness. He knew that the young man did not love God with all his heart, with all his might, mind and strength; He knew that he loved his riches more than he loved God, and rather than comply with this requirement, a requirement that is higher, needing greater faith to obey than the moral law, he, it is said, turned away sorrowful. This I fear would be so with many of us if we were put to the test. We believe in the moral law and in much of the Scriptures, but we come to something by and by that we cannot accept because it involves too much sacrifice, either of feelings or property, and like the young man, we content ourselves with the progress we have made. That places us also in the position in which the man was placed who received the one talent. You remember the parable: to one was given one, to another two, to another five; they who received the greatest number of talents put them to usury and gained other tales; but the man receiving one talent hid it up in a napkin and buried it in the earth; and when the master came he returned to him the talent just as he received it, saying that he knew that his lord was a hard master, expecting to reap where he had not sown, etc., and therefore he had hidden his talent in the earth and was content to return to him just what he had received. The lord reprimanded him, calling him an unprofitable servant, telling him he should have put his talent to usury and gained other talents; and because he had failed to do this, the talent that was entrusted to his care, and which might have been his, was taken from him and given to another who had proven himself more worthy. That would be the condition of a man who would go part way in accepting and obeying the laws of God, and then stop, refusing to accept the whole law. The only way to obtain a fulness of the glory of God is to receive in our hearts and carry out in our lives the word and will of God, in its entirety, as it has bene revealed unto us, and as it may be revealed to us from time to time, as we go on to perfection. Amen.
The choir sang an anthem: The Lord hath brought again Zion.
Conference was adjourned till 2 o’clock p. m.
Benediction by Bishop John Sharp.
by President Joseph F. Smith
I never rejoiced more in the Gospel than I do at the present. I never felt stronger in the faith than I do to-day. I have never seen less cause for doubting or for fear than I now see. I think there is everything to encourage the people of God; and those things which may be calculated to discourage, seem to be decreasing all the time.
The Kingdom of God has been established upon the earth; the Gospel has been restored to the children of men; and the Holy Priesthood of which Bro. Cannon spoke, which is after the order of the Son of God, and of which Jesus himself is the Great High Priest, has again been bestowed upon man. The Church has been organized according to the pattern which God gave in the days of our Savior and His disciples, only I think the organization has been perfected to a greater extent, perhaps, in this dispensation than in the days of Jesus and His disciples. All that was given to them has been conferred upon us, and, as greater things are to be accomplished in the last days than have ever before been accomplished, we may look for still greater perfection in the organization of the Church, as well as for greater perfection in the organization of the Church, as well as for greater things in other directions. I expect to see the time come, when those wonderful works which were esteemed by the people anciently, and which are now looked upon as miraculous, will no longer be cited to inspire faith, wonder, or dread of the mighty God of Jacob; they will be lost sight of in the more wonderful things that will be performed in the latter days. I consider that the gathering of this people to these valleys, in the manner in which they were gathered, is far more miraculous—and will be so regarded in time to come—than was the gathering of Israel from the land of Egypt into Canaan. What it took 40 years to accomplish then, God accomplished in a few months in three days, besides carrying the latter day Israel a great deal further than He did ancient Israel. He led this people out of bondage, too, as He led the children of Israel, and He delivered this people out of the power of their enemies, as He did them; and He has planted our feet upon the tops of these mountains, and has caused us to grow, and to increase in strength from the day the pioneers set foot here to the present.
It is true that our enemies have, to some extent, ruled over us, but we possess and enjoy liberties and rights nevertheless; and no matter what they may try to do, as heretofore, they will be unable to stop the growth and increase of Zion. Zion is bound to grow; the Kingdom of God is destined to spread abroad; and the purposes of God will be accomplished, and our enemies cannot hinder it. They may pass laws, they may send up armies, they may send missionaries to rule over us as officers, to enforce upon us Christian religion, as it is called; they may appropriate thousands and millions of their treasure to establish free sectarian mission schools among us—yet, all that they do will only tend, in some degree at least, to extend the work of God and to give it impetus in the earth, for it is written in the Scriptures—and it is true, and it has been demonstrated as other things have been in connection with this work—that “the wicked can do nothing against, but for Zion.” They may aim to do that which they think will injure the people of God, they may desire in their hearts to see the progress of the work of the Lord stopped in the earth, and they may do all in their power to accomplish their purposes, but God Almighty will overrule their acts for the good of His people, and for their own discomfiture, as He has heretofore done. This is my firm belief, and I have never seen anything in the last 30 years of my experience in the Church, that has given me reason for doubt upon this point; on the contrary, everything I have witnessed only tends to strengthen my faith, and confirm my belief in regard to these matters.
The great desideratum which we should keep in view, is the obtaining for ourselves a knowledge of the truth, to know the doctrine for ourselves. I, for instance, would be in a pitiable condition if I were dependent upon my brethren for a knowledge of the truth of this work. If this were so, I certainly would be in a state of vassalage. The secret of our success—so far at least as the union of this people is concerned—is in this: they know the doctrine for themselves to be of God; they are, therefore, free to do His will as it is made known to them. And they are not in bondage, they are not tyrannized over, they are not ruled over by their presiding officers, but they are one with them, and are united with them in the faith. Who, I would ask, holds me in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—does President Taylor, or President Cannon, or do the Twelve Apostles? Is it by their influence that I am persuaded to serve God, or to believe what I do believe? I want to say I am not dependent upon President Taylor, or President Cannon, or upon any other man in regard to my faith. It is not based upon men’s views or ideas. I have not received the knowledge which I possess of the principles of the Gospel, and are instrumental in the hands of God in making us acquainted with the same, we may, in that light, be said to receive it from man; but in reality we do not receive a knowledge of the Gospel from man, but from God. Did we receive the Book of Mormon from Joseph Smith? No, we did not! From whom then? From God Almighty. Joseph Smith in and of himself did not have power to bring it forth, nor to translate it. It was God, through him, that gave this record to the world. Yes, he was the honored instrument in the hands of God of bringing it forth, and we are indebted to God, through him, for this book; and when I read its truths and drink of its inspiration, and receive its instruction and admonition, I am conscious of the fact that it was through the gift and power of God that this book came unto us. To whom are we indebted for the Doctrine and Covenants? It may be said that we are indebted to Joseph Smith for it, he having been the mouthpiece of God through whom the revelation comes. So we are in a certain sense, but there is a great than he; beyond him there is the Source of light, intelligence and knowledge, whence Joseph drew his inspiration, and it is to that Source that we are indebted for what Joseph Smith was raised up and inspired to accomplish. While, therefore, we honor him as the instrument in the hands of God, it is to God alone that we give the glory, for to Him alone it belongs, and none among us appreciated this fact more than the Prophet Joseph himself. We must not worship man, but God. He alone must be the object of our worship. I repeat, therefore, no man keeps me a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, neither is there any man professing to be a member of the Church who is kept so by the influence of other men. If there is, then he is a vassal, a serf, he is not a man and is not magnifying his manhood. He ought to know the truth of the doctrine for himself; he ought to be inspired of God himself, standing firm upon his own foundation; so that when the storms come he may not be shaken. Jesus Christ has pointed out the way, he says, “whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone who heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.” If a man is held in restraint by any influence other than that of knowledge, by any spirit other than that of God, it will be found that he has built his house upon the sand only to crumble and fall before the approaching storms. The root of the matter is not in such a man. He has not drunk from the fountain of light, he cannot withstand the powers of darkness and he must of necessity fall a prey to the destroyer.
But the facts are that the Latter-day Saints have embraced a religion that is full of light and truth. They have received the same spirit that actuated Joseph Smith and his successors. We have drunk at the same fountain that they drank at. The same spirit that inspired them, inspires us. We are engaged in the same great work, and are children of the same Father. You may take a Latter-day Saint, no matter where, if found in the line of duty, he will tell you, in all sincerity and truth, and he knows the doctrine to be true himself, and he will give you the best of reasons for this knowledge. He will prove it by the Scriptures, and by every evidence possible to convince the mind of man, and he is able to do this, because the Spirit of truth is in him. He is not dependent upon others for the knowledge he possesses. He is a member of the Church because he wills to be, because he chooses to be, and he chooses to be associated with the people of God because he knows it is for his own personal good. He hearkens to the counsels of the Priesthood of God, because he knows for himself that he cannot afford to disregard them. That is why I am a Latter-day Saint, that is why I obey counsels, and I am free a man—at least I think I am—as walks the footstool of God. It is my good will and pleasure to serve God. It is my good will and pleasure to be connected with the people of God. It is my good will and pleasure to hearken to the counsels of these good men with whom I have the privilege of associating. I know them to be men of truth. I have grown up under the droppings of the sanctuary, under the inspiration of these men, and from my youth I have known them to be men of God. When I say this I am only giving expression to the feelings of the majority of the people of God. They know what they are doing, they know what they believe in, they know of the doctrine, they are not ignorant, they do not yield blind obedience, but they yield willing, intelligent obedience, because they know of the truth, and it would be useless for anybody to try to convince them to the contrary, unless it were possible for them to bring greater light to hear upon their minds than they themselves have received; and that is the only way that a “Mormon” can be converted. If he can be shown something superior to that which he has received, he will willingly accept it. It is greater truth and greater light that we are after; more righteousness, greater harmony; and more perfect union, peace and good will to all men is what we are striving to establish upon the earth. This is why we let our enemies alone. Why we do not strike back when we are struck. We want peace, not war. We are opposed to contention and warfare among our fellow-men. On the contrary, our mission is to preach the principles of truth, of peace, of life and salvation, principles that will, if received and obeyed, produce in the heart of man joy and gladness, and love for his fellow-beings. I might turn, if there was time, to the Books and read and expound some of these principles. I might repeat the ten commandments: thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not blaspheme the name of the Lord, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not commit murder, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and none other shalt thou serve, etc. These are a portion of the principles of the Gospel, they are principles that we have espoused as Latter-day Saints, they are doctrines of Christ and they are part of my religion, and if a community will be governed according to these principles, which are regarded as the moral law, the penalties of that law will not be known among such a people. But the question may be asked, do not the Christian world believe in these principles? Yes, they profess to. And are they not therefore as good as we are? Yes, correspondingly as they carry them out in their lives; so far they are as good as we are. But is that all? No, not by a great deal! There are other requirements made of the children of men, in connection with the organization and establishment of the Church of Christ, one of which is, that we should gather together to a certain appointed place. Now, supposing that I should keep the ten commandments and refuse to obey the law providing for the gathering of the people, and was not willing to receive in my heart the constituted authorities of the Church as they now exist, what good would it do me in the long run to accept part of the word of God and reject part, when the whole was essential to my salvation? I should then be in the condition of the young man referred to in the Scriptures, who, it is said, went to Jesus to know what he should do to obtain eternal life. The Savior answering him said, keep the commandments, and took the pains to enumerate them. The young man in replying said, this he had done from his youth up. What lacked he yet? Jesus perceiving the true state of his mind answered and said to him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and follow me. When the young man heart this he turned away sorrowful because he had great possessions. The Lord knew his weakness. He knew that the young man did not love God with all his heart, with all his might, mind and strength; He knew that he loved his riches more than he loved God, and rather than comply with this requirement, a requirement that is higher, needing greater faith to obey than the moral law, he, it is said, turned away sorrowful. This I fear would be so with many of us if we were put to the test. We believe in the moral law and in much of the Scriptures, but we come to something by and by that we cannot accept because it involves too much sacrifice, either of feelings or property, and like the young man, we content ourselves with the progress we have made. That places us also in the position in which the man was placed who received the one talent. You remember the parable: to one was given one, to another two, to another five; they who received the greatest number of talents put them to usury and gained other tales; but the man receiving one talent hid it up in a napkin and buried it in the earth; and when the master came he returned to him the talent just as he received it, saying that he knew that his lord was a hard master, expecting to reap where he had not sown, etc., and therefore he had hidden his talent in the earth and was content to return to him just what he had received. The lord reprimanded him, calling him an unprofitable servant, telling him he should have put his talent to usury and gained other talents; and because he had failed to do this, the talent that was entrusted to his care, and which might have been his, was taken from him and given to another who had proven himself more worthy. That would be the condition of a man who would go part way in accepting and obeying the laws of God, and then stop, refusing to accept the whole law. The only way to obtain a fulness of the glory of God is to receive in our hearts and carry out in our lives the word and will of God, in its entirety, as it has bene revealed unto us, and as it may be revealed to us from time to time, as we go on to perfection. Amen.
The choir sang an anthem: The Lord hath brought again Zion.
Conference was adjourned till 2 o’clock p. m.
Benediction by Bishop John Sharp.
Sunday afternoon, 2 p.m.
The choir sang, Come follow me, the Savior said Then let us in His footsteps tread.
Prayer by Counselor John W. Young.
The choir sang, ‘Twas on that dark, that solemn night When powers of earth and hell arose.
The choir sang, Come follow me, the Savior said Then let us in His footsteps tread.
Prayer by Counselor John W. Young.
The choir sang, ‘Twas on that dark, that solemn night When powers of earth and hell arose.
President George Q. Cannon then submitted the following additional missionaries who were unanimously sustained by the Conference vote:
SWISS AND GERMAN MISSION.
Wm. C. A. Smoot, Jr., Provo.
SCANDINAVIA.
John Anderson, Huntsville.
Andrew Kenstrom, “
N. C. Mortensen, “
Ola Olsen, Hooper.
H. D. Peterson, Wilson.
Ole Hansen, Smithfield.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Wm. Salter, Ogden.
Wm. M. Davis, Willard.
B. N. Allen, Mt. Pleasant.
SOUTHERN STATES
Wiley Cragum, Pleasant View.
Willard E. Bingham, Wilson.
Joseph N. Seely, Indianola.
SWISS AND GERMAN MISSION.
Wm. C. A. Smoot, Jr., Provo.
SCANDINAVIA.
John Anderson, Huntsville.
Andrew Kenstrom, “
N. C. Mortensen, “
Ola Olsen, Hooper.
H. D. Peterson, Wilson.
Ole Hansen, Smithfield.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Wm. Salter, Ogden.
Wm. M. Davis, Willard.
B. N. Allen, Mt. Pleasant.
SOUTHERN STATES
Wiley Cragum, Pleasant View.
Willard E. Bingham, Wilson.
Joseph N. Seely, Indianola.
And the following General Authorities of the Church were also sustained by the vote of the Conference.
John Taylor, Prophet, Seer and Revelator to, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.
George Q. Cannon as First and Joseph F. Smith as Second Counselor in the First Presidency.
Wilford Woodruff, President of the Twelve Apostles.
Members of the Council of the Apostles—Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Albert Carrington, Moses Thatcher, Francis Marion Lyman, John Henry Smith, George Teasdale and Heber J. Grant.
Counselors to the Twelve Apostles—John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells.
The Counselors to President John Taylor—the Twelve Apostles and their Counselors, as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
Patriarch of the Church—John Smith.
The First Seven Presidents of Seventies—Henry Herriman, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, Wm. W. Taylor, Abram H. Cannon and Seymour B. Young.
The Presiding Bishop of the Church—Edward Hunter, with Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton as his counselors.
John Taylor as Trustee-in-Trust for the body of religious worshippers known and recognized as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to hold the legal title to its property and contract for it.
The Counselors to the President—the Twelve Apostles, their Counselors, and Bishop Edward Hunter as Counselors to the Trustee-in-Trust.
Wilford Woodruff as Historian for the Church, and General Church Recorder.
Albert Carrington as President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund Co. for the Gathering of the Poor, and F. D. Richards, F. M. Lyman, H. S. Eldredge, Joseph F. Smith, Angus M. Cannon, Moses Thatcher, Wm. Jennings, John R. Winder, Henry Dinwoodey, Robert T. Burton, A. O. Smoot and H. B. Clawson; as his assistants.
Truman O. Angel as General Architect of the Church, and T. O. Angel, Jr., and W. H. Folsom, as his assistants.
As Auditing Committee—Wilford Woodruff, E. Snow, F. D. Richards, J. F. Smith, W. Jennings.
George Goddard as Clerk of the General Conference.
George F. Gibbs as Church Reporter.
President George Q. Cannon said owing to the death of Elder Orson Pratt, who acted as Church Historian, it was necessary for that vacancy to be filled, and the name of Wilford Woodruff was then put before the Conference as Historian and General Church Recorder, who was sustained by a unanimous vote.
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was then administered.
John Taylor, Prophet, Seer and Revelator to, and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.
George Q. Cannon as First and Joseph F. Smith as Second Counselor in the First Presidency.
Wilford Woodruff, President of the Twelve Apostles.
Members of the Council of the Apostles—Wilford Woodruff, Charles C. Rich, Lorenzo Snow, Erastus Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Albert Carrington, Moses Thatcher, Francis Marion Lyman, John Henry Smith, George Teasdale and Heber J. Grant.
Counselors to the Twelve Apostles—John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells.
The Counselors to President John Taylor—the Twelve Apostles and their Counselors, as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
Patriarch of the Church—John Smith.
The First Seven Presidents of Seventies—Henry Herriman, Horace S. Eldredge, Jacob Gates, Wm. W. Taylor, Abram H. Cannon and Seymour B. Young.
The Presiding Bishop of the Church—Edward Hunter, with Leonard W. Hardy and Robert T. Burton as his counselors.
John Taylor as Trustee-in-Trust for the body of religious worshippers known and recognized as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to hold the legal title to its property and contract for it.
The Counselors to the President—the Twelve Apostles, their Counselors, and Bishop Edward Hunter as Counselors to the Trustee-in-Trust.
Wilford Woodruff as Historian for the Church, and General Church Recorder.
Albert Carrington as President of the Perpetual Emigration Fund Co. for the Gathering of the Poor, and F. D. Richards, F. M. Lyman, H. S. Eldredge, Joseph F. Smith, Angus M. Cannon, Moses Thatcher, Wm. Jennings, John R. Winder, Henry Dinwoodey, Robert T. Burton, A. O. Smoot and H. B. Clawson; as his assistants.
Truman O. Angel as General Architect of the Church, and T. O. Angel, Jr., and W. H. Folsom, as his assistants.
As Auditing Committee—Wilford Woodruff, E. Snow, F. D. Richards, J. F. Smith, W. Jennings.
George Goddard as Clerk of the General Conference.
George F. Gibbs as Church Reporter.
President George Q. Cannon said owing to the death of Elder Orson Pratt, who acted as Church Historian, it was necessary for that vacancy to be filled, and the name of Wilford Woodruff was then put before the Conference as Historian and General Church Recorder, who was sustained by a unanimous vote.
The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was then administered.
The congregation was then addressed by President John Taylor.
A great many interesting principles had been advanced since the opening of the Conference. The Saints should comprehend the important position they occupy in relation to the world, the nation they were associated with, and the responsibilities resting upon them as messengers of salvation to the nations of the earth. It was further necessary to comprehend the past, the present and the future, for with all these this people had to do. The Saints sometimes entertained erroneous notions in relation to the people of the world, and were narrow and contracted in their views. Like the ancient Jews who proclaimed themselves the “Temple of the Lord,” we were sometimes oblivious of the fact that God had “made of one blood all the nations of the earth;” that He had given them all a portion of His spirit to profit withal, and that He was the Father of the Spirits of all flesh and interested in the salvation of all men as His offspring. The Saints should feel towards the people of the world as God feels towards them, and He so loved them that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus said He came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved, and He sent His apostles forth to preach the Gospel to all the world, with the warning that the alternative of damnation would necessarily follow its rejection. A dispensation of the same Gospel had been delivered to men in these days, by the opening of the heavens, the restoration of the Holy Priesthood, and the revelation of the Lord’s will to man. The Twelve Apostles were set apart as special messengers to unlock the doors of salvation to the nations. Their commission was the same as in former ages. To assist the Twelve were the Seventies, all called and ordained of God for that purpose, and when they had fulfilled their mission and delivered the warning message, they would have done no more nor less than God required at their hands. They were not responsible for the acceptance or rejection of their words. Their duty was simply to preach the Gospel, and administer its ordinances to believers. They were then rid of the blood of this generation and the result rested with the Almighty. Outside of the Gospel, there were many worthy principles extant. Nearly all men felt that it was right to be honest. In mercantile life it was considered disgraceful not to meet business engagements. These were good principles. The shedding of blood was shocking in the eyes of most men, and laws were passed to prevent it and punish murderers. The protection of virtue was another good principle which, though not practiced as it should be, was correct so far as it was observed. There were thousands, perhaps millions of men who would not countenance crimes of any character, yet they were not members of the Church of Christ. God destroyed the antediluvian world for wickedness, but He did it for their own benefit, to prevent them from adding sin to sin, and placing themselves beyond the pale of redemption. Another reason was that preexistent spirits, who were waiting to receive tabernacles on earth, were worthy of a better lineage than then existed. So God swept the wicked off to make room for a more righteous generation. Before the flood, however, there were righteous people, such as Enoch and his city who were translated heavenward, while the wicked were removed by the flood and their spirits were shut up in prison until the time when Christ, in the interval between his death and resurrection, went and preached to them. Such would be the fate of all who rejected the Gospel now. Elders who were persecuted for preaching the word of life, had the satisfaction of knowing that it was the same with Christ, their Master, and all the holy prophets. God did not coerce men, neither should His servants, and all who persecuted their fellow creatures were of their master the devil, who was cast out of heaven for seeking to destroy the free agency of man.
A great many interesting principles had been advanced since the opening of the Conference. The Saints should comprehend the important position they occupy in relation to the world, the nation they were associated with, and the responsibilities resting upon them as messengers of salvation to the nations of the earth. It was further necessary to comprehend the past, the present and the future, for with all these this people had to do. The Saints sometimes entertained erroneous notions in relation to the people of the world, and were narrow and contracted in their views. Like the ancient Jews who proclaimed themselves the “Temple of the Lord,” we were sometimes oblivious of the fact that God had “made of one blood all the nations of the earth;” that He had given them all a portion of His spirit to profit withal, and that He was the Father of the Spirits of all flesh and interested in the salvation of all men as His offspring. The Saints should feel towards the people of the world as God feels towards them, and He so loved them that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believed in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus said He came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved, and He sent His apostles forth to preach the Gospel to all the world, with the warning that the alternative of damnation would necessarily follow its rejection. A dispensation of the same Gospel had been delivered to men in these days, by the opening of the heavens, the restoration of the Holy Priesthood, and the revelation of the Lord’s will to man. The Twelve Apostles were set apart as special messengers to unlock the doors of salvation to the nations. Their commission was the same as in former ages. To assist the Twelve were the Seventies, all called and ordained of God for that purpose, and when they had fulfilled their mission and delivered the warning message, they would have done no more nor less than God required at their hands. They were not responsible for the acceptance or rejection of their words. Their duty was simply to preach the Gospel, and administer its ordinances to believers. They were then rid of the blood of this generation and the result rested with the Almighty. Outside of the Gospel, there were many worthy principles extant. Nearly all men felt that it was right to be honest. In mercantile life it was considered disgraceful not to meet business engagements. These were good principles. The shedding of blood was shocking in the eyes of most men, and laws were passed to prevent it and punish murderers. The protection of virtue was another good principle which, though not practiced as it should be, was correct so far as it was observed. There were thousands, perhaps millions of men who would not countenance crimes of any character, yet they were not members of the Church of Christ. God destroyed the antediluvian world for wickedness, but He did it for their own benefit, to prevent them from adding sin to sin, and placing themselves beyond the pale of redemption. Another reason was that preexistent spirits, who were waiting to receive tabernacles on earth, were worthy of a better lineage than then existed. So God swept the wicked off to make room for a more righteous generation. Before the flood, however, there were righteous people, such as Enoch and his city who were translated heavenward, while the wicked were removed by the flood and their spirits were shut up in prison until the time when Christ, in the interval between his death and resurrection, went and preached to them. Such would be the fate of all who rejected the Gospel now. Elders who were persecuted for preaching the word of life, had the satisfaction of knowing that it was the same with Christ, their Master, and all the holy prophets. God did not coerce men, neither should His servants, and all who persecuted their fellow creatures were of their master the devil, who was cast out of heaven for seeking to destroy the free agency of man.
The President Feeling a Little Weak in Body Asked the Considerate Attention of the Congregation—God Interested in the Welfare of All the Human Family—The Organization of the Church, and the Responsibility Resting Upon the Priesthood—God Has Given to Everyone a Portion of His Spirit—The Promptings of that Spirit—The Wickedness of the Inhabitants of the Earth in the Days of Noah—Why the Flood Came—The Ante-Diluvians Would not Repent—The Gospel Again Preached As a Warning—Persecution—Our Relationship to this Nation in a Political Point of View—A Commonwealth Has Been Built Up in These Mountains by the “Mormons” Under the Blessing of God—Unfairly Treated as a People By the Parent Government—The Latter-day Saints Have Rights Which They Will Seek Legally to Maintain—Conclusion
Discourse by President John Taylor and President George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, October 7th, Semi-Annual Conference, 1883.
Reported by John Irvine.
Permit me to say that in consequence of the immense multitude that has assembled on this occasion, it will be absolutely necessary that the strictest order and quietude should be maintained, in order that all may hear; for it is a great labor to address so many thousands of people. As I feel a little weak in body I hope, therefore, you will give me your quiet and considerate attention.
We have listened to a great many interesting principles since the commencement of this conference.
We occupy today a very peculiar position, and it is proper that we, as Latter-day Saints, should comprehend that position and our various responsibilities in relation to the world in which we live, the nation with which we are associated, and the duties and responsibilities which devolve upon us as messengers of salvation to proclaim the Gospel to mankind. It is further necessary that we should comprehend the past, that we should comprehend the present, and that we should also—under the influence and by the direction of the Spirit of the living God—comprehend the things of the future; for we, as Latter-day Saints, have to do with the past, we have to do with the present, and we have to do with the future.
In relation to the inhabitants of the world generally, I sometimes think that we entertain very erroneous notions concerning them—that our ideas are too narrow and too contracted, that we do not comprehend the relationship in which they stand to God our Heavenly Father—and we are apt to fall into an error which was indulged in by the Jews in former ages, and to cry out, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we.” Because God has conferred upon us light and intelligence, and revealed His will unto us, we are too apt to look down upon the rest of mankind as aliens and undeserving of Divine regard; but we are told that God has made of one blood all the families of the earth, and that He has given unto them a portion of His Spirit to profit withal. We are also informed, that God is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh. We are given to understand that He feels interested in the welfare of all the human family, for it is written that they are all His offspring. Therefore, we as Latter-day Saints, ought to feel towards the world and the inhabitants thereof, as God our Heavenly Father feels towards them; for we are told that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son to atone for their sins, that whosoever believeth on Him might not perish, but have everlasting life, and if this is the feeling of our Heavenly Father towards the inhabitants of the earth, we ought to entertain the same sentiment. When Jesus was on the earth, when He established the Gospel upon it, as it has been established in these last days, He said: “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” And when He commissioned His Apostles, His command was: “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.” The damnation or condemnation of the people who rejected the Gospel He could not help; He offered unto them the words of life, and according to eternal laws that exist in the heavens, men must be governed by certain principles, if they desire to associate with the Gods, and if when the Gospel was preached they did not receive it, the condemnation rested with them. And the condemnation grows out of this: that light had come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
The Lord Jesus has given us a commission of the same kind to the world of mankind, and you have heard during this Conference of the manner in which these things were introduced, so that it is unnecessary for me to repeat them. Suffice it to say, that they were introduced by the opening of the heavens, by the appearance of God our heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, by the administering of holy angels, by the restoration of the Priesthood, and by the revelation of His will to man. You comprehend very well the nature of the organization, and the duties devolving upon certain individuals and quorums in this Church. The Twelve are set apart as special witnesses to the nations of the earth, and are empowered and authorized to open up the Gospel, to introduce it, and to turn the keys thereof to all people, and the word to the Apostles—and to others associated with them—to the Elders of Israel generally is, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned.” This is just as it was in former ages. To assist the Twelve in the labors in which they are engaged, are the Seventies, who are called as special witnesses to the nations of the earth. What for? Who organized these Seventies, and these Twelve, and who dictated their duties and responsibilities? The Lord. Why did He do it? Because, as in former ages, He felt interested in the welfare of the human family, and it is not and never was the will of God, that mankind should perish, but that they all might be brought to a knowledge of the truth, and to an obedience thereof, if they saw proper, and if not, when the Twelve, the Seventies, the Elders, and the various officers who have been ordained and set apart to preach the Gospel, have fulfilled their missions to the nations of the earth; they have done just what the Lord has required at their hands, and no more. I further wish to state to the Twelve and to the Seventies, and to the Elders, that they are not responsible for the reception or the rejection by the world of that word which God has given to them to communicate. It is proper for them to use all necessary diligence and fidelity, and to plainly and intelligently, and with prayer and faith, go forth as messengers to the nations, as the legates of the skies, clothed upon with authority from the God of Heaven, even the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of God, which is after the order of Melchizedek, which is after the power of an endless life. He has endowed them, as you have heard, with authority to call upon men to repent of their sins, and to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and then He has told them to lay hands on the people thus believing, and thus being baptized, and to confer upon them the gift of the Holy Ghost, and when they have performed their labors, and fulfilled their duties, their garments are free from the blood of this generation, and the people are then left in the hands of God their Heavenly Father. For the people, as before stated, will be held responsible to God for their rejection of the Gospel, and not to us.
I will talk a little further about the people of the earth, who have in their midst Christianity, and other religious professions. I have quoted what is stated in the Scriptures—that God has given to every man a portion of His Spirit to profit withal. But that has nothing to do with the Gospel particularly. It is a principle which is implanted in the heart of every human being outside of the Gospel; and under its influence there are and have been many great and good principles in existence on the earth and among the peoples thereof. All men almost everywhere, possessing any degree of intelligence, feel that it is right to be honest; and all civilized nations, influenced by that feeling, pass laws to punish the thief, the rogue, and the man who possesses himself of other people's property in any unjust manner, and these feelings and principles are generally sustained by the honorable of all countries, and operate more or less among all nations. Chicanery, deception and fraud are looked upon as evils in the moral world; and men influenced by that principle—which, as I stated, is planted in the bosom of every individual—feel to abhor acts of deception and fraud of any kind, although some people practice them to a very great extent. Men under the influence of this spirit in the mercantile world, for instance, consider it a disgrace not to keep their engagements, not to pay their honest debts, and laws are made to reach offenders in those cases. So strong is the feeling of honor among many—in this nation, in England, in France, in Germany, and in other European nations—that very many of those people who would be esteemed honorable in their feelings and instincts, if calamity overtake them and they are unable to meet their liabilities, very frequently commit suicide, wrong though it be; they would rather die than be dishonored. Now, these sentiments of honor are good so far as they go; but this is outside of the Gospel. There are, of course, many dishonest merchants and men of large means, who use their talent and wealth for the purpose of taking advantage of the unwary, and oppressing the poor; and in this and in other countries, annually filch thousands of millions of wealth from the unsuspecting and poor by their questionable acts and insatiable greed; carrying poverty, sorrow, misery and distress to millions of the honest laboring classes. As God has planted a portion of His Spirit within them, He will hold them, and not us, responsible for their acts; and instead of possessing riches and honor their names will become infamous on earth and hereafter. And instead of wallowing in their ill-gotten gains, they will find themselves with Dives, calling upon their victims for a drop of water to cool their parched tongues. Gospel or no Gospel, honorable men cannot condescend to chicanery and deception; and while following the lead of that inward monitor, they could not yield themselves to those heartless and cold-blooded practices. Again, there is a horror in the minds of men generally, about shedding innocent blood, and laws are passed to prevent crimes of that kind and to punish the offender. Where do all these things come from? From that spirit which God has planted in the bosom of all men. You may take the lowest and most degraded of men, some of the greatest criminals perhaps, and they will say, if they see an honorable man, a virtuous man, a kind-hearted and generous man, a man who acts uprightly—“We respect that man, we honor him, we respect him for his virtues; we cannot imitate him, we are sorry to say,” and in this way they will acknowledge that which is good and feel that they themselves are doing wrong. These are some of the principles that exist in human nature. They are so far good. At the same time there is another sentiment prevails—that is, to protect virtue and chastity. It is not practiced as extensively as it ought to be; a great amount of hypocrisy exists on this subject. But nevertheless it is implanted in the hearts of millions of the human family; and they look upon the seducer of woman and the defiler of himself, and upon those who practice crimes associated with these matters, with disgust. The nations today, however, are wallowing in rottenness and corruption in regard to these matters, yet there are thousands and millions of men and women who abhor impurity and vice, and cannot sanction licentiousness in any of its disgusting forms. All these things are good in their place; but this alone is not the Gospel.
Now, in former times, in the days of the flood, for instance, the people became very corrupt, so much so we are told, that the imaginations of the hearts of men were only evil and that continually, and the Scriptures say it repented the Lord that He had made man because of his corruptions and wickedness; but some tell us that it repented Noah that man had been made because of the abominations and evils that he witnessed in his day. God destroyed the wicked of that generation with a flood. Why did He destroy them? He destroyed them for their benefit, if you can comprehend it, but I very much question whether all of you can or not. Let me explain a little. We are told, as I have already said, that God is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh. We are further told that Jesus the Son of God, existed before the worlds were. It is also stated that He is our elder brother, and that we pre-existed also—that is, our spirits did. When Satan had gained an ascendancy over the inhabitants of the earth so far that they had departed from God, and violated His laws, what would be the feelings of those spirits in the eternal worlds? Let me ask all intelligent people, would they not be apt to turn to their Heavenly Father and say: “Father, look down upon those corrupt inhabitants. Do you see them?” “Yes, I see them and I know them.” “Is it just that we, thy children, should be doomed to inhabit those filthy, corrupt bodies, and thus be subjected to Thy wrath and indignation, and it may be thousands of years before we can come back again into thy presence?” “No, it is not just,” and on this principle the Father destroyed them with a flood, and recommenced peopling the earth with the seed of a righteous man.
But, let me ask, what did the Lord do before He sent the flood? He sent Noah among them as a preacher of righteousness; He sent Enoch; He sent many Elders among the people, and they prophesied to them that unless they repented, judgment would overtake them; that God would overwhelm the earth with a flood and destroy the inhabitants thereof—that is, those who would not listen to the Gospel of the Son of God; for the Son of God was in existence then, not personally on earth, but existed in the spirit, and the promise to them was that He should come and atone for the sins of the world. They were taught these things, but they rejected them, that is the great majority of them did so. We are also told that Enoch walked with God, and that he had a city which they called Zion, and people gathered to Zion then, as we gather the people to Zion in this day. Enoch walked with God, and was instructed by Him, and he instructed the people of Zion. There is a very short account of it in the Bible. There we are simply told that “Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” It was not thought necessary to say more upon this subject; but the facts were that Enoch and the people of his city, having been taught for upwards of 300 years in the principles of the Gospel before the judgment overtook the world, were translated. Thus the people in that day, had had fair warning, but only a very few paid any attention to it. We are told concerning the Book of Enoch that it is to be testified of in due time, and then we shall know more about these things than we do now. But what of those who were disobedient? They were thrown into prison. How long did they continue there? Until Jesus came. What then did He do? He went and preached to the spirits in prison. He was “put to death in the flesh,” we are told in the Bible, “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.” Is that in the Bible, inquire the Christians? Yes, that is in your Bible.
Thus we see the dealings of God with those people. Noah had nothing to do but to preach the Gospel, and obey the word of the Lord. We have nothing to do but attend to the same things. We then leave the inhabitants of the earth in the hands of God. It is not for us to judge them; for the Lord says: “judgment is mine and I will repay.” When men have offered unto them the words of life, and they reject these words, they then become amenable to their God, and the condemnation is, as I stated before, that light came into the world; but men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. Men persecute the Elders when they go forth to preach. They persecuted Jesus. They persecuted His disciples. Men, in many instances, even in this nation—a nation that is emphatically called the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the asylum for the oppressed—have put to death some of our Elders, because of the testimony they have borne to them. This however, is all in accordance with the predictions of Jesus. He told His disciples that, “if the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” In other words, the Savior said, “If they love me, they will love you; if they receive me, they will receive you; if they reject me, they will reject you; if they persecute me, they will persecute you.” And He further said—and it is singular that He should have to say it to His disciples, men who were good, virtuous, pure, upright, and desirous to promote the welfare of humanity—it is singular that He should have to say: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Were these men the enemies of mankind because they told them the truth? All intelligent men would say, No. Are those Elders who go forth to proclaim the Gospel today, the enemies of mankind? All intelligent men will say, No. Well, would you try to coerce men? No. Why? Because God does not do it, and He does not want us to do it. I would not use any influence but that of truth to lead any man to a knowledge of the truth. Any other influence, any other power, and other spirit is not of God. There is a species of false Christianity that thinks it is right to persecute people because of their religion, but those possessed of that spirit, whoever they are, are of their father the devil, because his works they do. God believes in the freedom of mankind, and Satan was cast out of heaven because he sought to take away the free agency of man. In various ages of the world, under various guises, the same thing has been attempted. Sometimes political, sometimes religious, and sometimes other pretexts are introduced to oppress mankind, and to deprive them of that liberty which it is their birthright, and which all men have a right, under God's law, to enjoy.
Now I come to talk of our relationship to this nation in a political point of view. We are here in this Territory of Utah. We were told to gather here by the Lord, and we have obeyed His command, just as they did, as I before stated, in the Zion of Enoch in his day. When we came here we brought our bodies with us. It is not a spiritual thing, for we are all of us very literal and very temporal. We have arms and legs, eyes and ears, like other people—we are the children of our Heavenly Father as others are. He has introduced the Gospel, as I have before said, and one of the principles thereof is that of gathering, and we have gathered together. I need not quote to you the Scriptures in the Bible on this subject, for you know them, and I need not occupy time in quoting them today. We are here. Who came in the first place? A number of people from the eastern, western and southern States, who believed the Gospel and obeyed it. It is not necessary to go into our history, and dwell on events as they transpired in Ohio, in Missouri, or in Illinois. Let all those things pass. You can read them in our history. But as I have said we are here. Under what auspices? According to the laws and usages of the United States we settled cities, towns and villages; we settled on farms, etc., which we had a right to do. We purchased and paid for the property that we possess as other citizens do.
At this point, President Taylor, feeling weak, requested President Geo. Q. Cannon to talk a little on the subject.
President Cannon said: President Taylor is suffering from fatigue and will take a little rest. We have gathered here, as he has said, and have built up a commonwealth in these mountains—a commonwealth which, if it were not for the prejudice that we have to contend with, would be the admiration of mankind. The despised “Mormons” stripped of their properties, driven out into the wilderness as outcasts, as unfit for the society of their fellow citizens; having been treated in this manner because of alleged crimes—that at least was the justification that was offered for the treatment of the Latter-day Saints because they were such a wicked people that they deserved to be treated by mob violence, and the whole world, it may be said, acquiesced in the verdict that had been pronounced upon us, or at least there was not sufficient manhood and courage in the nation to raise the voice against it, though thousands of people felt that it was an outrage. Driven into the mountains in this manner, stripped of our possessions; some of us coming into these valleys barefooted, with scarcely enough clothing to cover us for the succeeding winter, God has blessed the people, and through the wisdom and the power and influence that He has given to this people, they have built, as I have said, a commonwealth in these mountains, that is the admiration of every unprejudiced man. These so-called “Mormon thieves,” these “Mormon outlaws,” these people who were considered unworthy to live in Illinois and in Missouri have come here, and we behold today hundreds of settlements, hundreds of cities, built in the most admirable manner. A government exists here for the protection of the poor as well as the rich; and I have often said, that when we take into consideration the fact of the poverty of the people, that we have had an influx every year of about 3,000, on an average, of foreign immigrants, unacquainted with our methods of living, not familiar with our climate, coming here stripped—that is, coming here with very little to aid them—it is one of the most wonderful things that a community like this can absorb so many people annually, and show no evidences of pauperism. We have no paupers.
Now, my brethren and sisters, these results—and I think them under the circumstances significant—are due to the blessing, wisdom, power and guidance of our God. We have been sustained here by His arm. Yet at the same time we have been treated like a stepchild by our parent government. Loyal as we are to the core; believing as we do that the constitution of our country is inspired of God; looking upon this form of government as God-given, and as the best possible form of human government; notwithstanding we entertain these views, we have been treated from the beginning as though we were aliens, and as though we were a stepchild, instead of one born legally, and entitled to the blessings that the rest of our brothers and sisters in the compact of the Union are entitled to. We have had this sort of treatment from the beginning. Every act of ours has been viewed with jealousy. Nevertheless, we have prospered. God has been with us. His blessing has been upon us. We have maintained good order in these mountains, not because governors have been sent here not of our choosing; not because federal officials have been sent here in whose selection we have had no voice; not because for several years back it has almost been deemed a qualification for officers to hate the “Mormon” people among whom the federal officials were going to serve; but because there has been a union in the midst of the people, there has been a wisdom, there has been a power in the government which God has given. God has developed true statesmanship in the midst of these Latter-day Saints. There are hundreds of men in this community who can take a body of people and go into these desert wilds and build up a city, or a number of cities, and govern and control them in a manner that if the whole world were governed in that way would produce the grandest and happiest results. We have demonstrated our capacity for self-government, and it is inherent, it may be said in the people, springing, as I believe, from the wisdom and blessing that God has bestowed upon men. There is no community today, within the confines of these United States, that can furnish so many practical men of this character as can the Latter-day Saints, and the evidences of it are to be seen in the good order that prevails throughout these mountains from north to south, and from east to west, wherever the Latter-day Saints live and have influence. I praise God for it. I claim no credit for man in this matter. It is the divine blessing, and it is in accordance with the plan that has been pre-arranged in the heavens. Why, the very fact that we were permitted to be driven to these mountains, shows us the hand of God in it. There was no room for expansion in our old position. We could not have grown; we could not have developed. But our enemies were determined to make us great, and they thrust us out, and sent us into a land which God evidently had designed to be settled by just such a people as ourselves. There is no such land under the sun today. It is the habitat, the true habitat of the Latter-day Saints, admirably adapted in every feature of its climate, of its conditions, of its mountains, of its valleys, of its crystal streams, and the scarcity of water making it admirable for settlement by a sparse people, a people such as we are. No dense populations could live here.
President Taylor, at this point, again took the stand and said: I have felt the exertion almost too much for me. I am not very strong in body at present, but I will continue.
We consider as Latter-day Saints, that we have rights here, and although we have been dealt with as we would call it, rather scurvily by the government that ought to foster us, yet at the same time we have strictly adhered to the letter of the law, even in the face of the assumed purity those people (our enemies) profess to attach to themselves. We have not resisted any of these things, but have treated those men who came as our oppressors, if you please, with kindness and due respect, notwithstanding they have introduced many things in our midst, at variance with the laws and constitution of the United States, and with our rights as American citizens. We have yielded for the time being, but we purpose in behalf of ourselves, of our children, in behalf of the institutions of this nation, and of thousands of honorable men in it, to test these things to “the last bat's end,” and see, legally and constitutionally, whether this nation will sustain these acts or not, and then if they do we will leave them in the hands of God, and pursue our course, trusting in Him. But one thing I will say, and that is that this cause is onward; and as my brethren have said, so say I, that God has commenced it, and He will take care of it. I know what I am saying. I know when I am speaking that I am speaking not only to you, but to the whole world; for it will be published to the world. And I tell you Latter-day Saints not to fear, not to have any trembling in the knees, for the God of Israel is on the side of Israel, and hosts of angels also. There are more for us than there can be against us; and God will sustain the right and take care of, and preserve His people, if they will only do right.
We have embraced the Gospel. We have placed ourselves in another position from that of the world. We have entered into sacred covenants with the Lord, and He expects us to fulfill our covenants, and those who do not fulfill them will be condemned. There are certain rules and regulations that exist in the heavens, as well as on the earth. We are told that before we can enter into the celestial kingdom of God, we shall have to pass by the angels, and the Gods, and if the Latter-day Saints aim at a celestial exaltation, they must live and abide by the celestial law, or they will not get it, any more than the Gentiles will. Hear it, ye Latter-day Saints! God expects you to be pure, virtuous, holy, upright, prayerful, honest, obedient to His law, and not to follow the devices and desires of your own hearts. God has revealed many things to you, and He will reveal many more. He expects you to abide His law, and those who do not want to abide it, had better quit today, the sooner the better, for God expects us to do His will in all things. If we are Seventies we have to go to the nations of the earth. If we are members of the Twelve, we have also to go to the nations and preach the Gospel, or see that this work is done. If we are Presidents of Stakes, we must do our duty, draw nigh, to God, and seek for the revelation of His will, that we may know the things we do, and the things whereof we testify. If we are Bishops, we must perform our duties, or we will be moved out of our place. I do not care who it is these words may affect; for God is building up a Zion, and that Zion means the pure in heart, the honorable, the upright, the virtuous, and those whose sympathies extend to the promotion of the welfare of the human family. He expects us to operate in behalf of the interests of a fallen world, and to bring all to a knowledge of the truth that will listen to it and obey it. He then expects us to build temples as we have been and are doing. And here permit me to say that I commend the Latter-day Saints for the energy they have displayed in these things. And it is for us to honor our God, and to obey all just and constitutional laws, and to be quiet and peaceable, and operate for and be the friends of mankind, but do not condescend to their pernicious, corrupt, and damnable practices, or God will judge you as He will judge them. It is for us to do right, and work righteousness, and God will bless us. We need have no fear pertaining to the future; and when we have completed these temples, we will go and administer therein the sacred ordinances of God's house, and the Spirit and blessing of God will rest upon us, and we will stand, as the Scriptures say, as saviors upon Mount Zion, and the Kingdom shall be the Lord's; and woe! to them that fight against Zion. Amen.
Discourse by President John Taylor and President George Q. Cannon, delivered in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday Afternoon, October 7th, Semi-Annual Conference, 1883.
Reported by John Irvine.
Permit me to say that in consequence of the immense multitude that has assembled on this occasion, it will be absolutely necessary that the strictest order and quietude should be maintained, in order that all may hear; for it is a great labor to address so many thousands of people. As I feel a little weak in body I hope, therefore, you will give me your quiet and considerate attention.
We have listened to a great many interesting principles since the commencement of this conference.
We occupy today a very peculiar position, and it is proper that we, as Latter-day Saints, should comprehend that position and our various responsibilities in relation to the world in which we live, the nation with which we are associated, and the duties and responsibilities which devolve upon us as messengers of salvation to proclaim the Gospel to mankind. It is further necessary that we should comprehend the past, that we should comprehend the present, and that we should also—under the influence and by the direction of the Spirit of the living God—comprehend the things of the future; for we, as Latter-day Saints, have to do with the past, we have to do with the present, and we have to do with the future.
In relation to the inhabitants of the world generally, I sometimes think that we entertain very erroneous notions concerning them—that our ideas are too narrow and too contracted, that we do not comprehend the relationship in which they stand to God our Heavenly Father—and we are apt to fall into an error which was indulged in by the Jews in former ages, and to cry out, “The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we.” Because God has conferred upon us light and intelligence, and revealed His will unto us, we are too apt to look down upon the rest of mankind as aliens and undeserving of Divine regard; but we are told that God has made of one blood all the families of the earth, and that He has given unto them a portion of His Spirit to profit withal. We are also informed, that God is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh. We are given to understand that He feels interested in the welfare of all the human family, for it is written that they are all His offspring. Therefore, we as Latter-day Saints, ought to feel towards the world and the inhabitants thereof, as God our Heavenly Father feels towards them; for we are told that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son to atone for their sins, that whosoever believeth on Him might not perish, but have everlasting life, and if this is the feeling of our Heavenly Father towards the inhabitants of the earth, we ought to entertain the same sentiment. When Jesus was on the earth, when He established the Gospel upon it, as it has been established in these last days, He said: “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” And when He commissioned His Apostles, His command was: “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.” The damnation or condemnation of the people who rejected the Gospel He could not help; He offered unto them the words of life, and according to eternal laws that exist in the heavens, men must be governed by certain principles, if they desire to associate with the Gods, and if when the Gospel was preached they did not receive it, the condemnation rested with them. And the condemnation grows out of this: that light had come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
The Lord Jesus has given us a commission of the same kind to the world of mankind, and you have heard during this Conference of the manner in which these things were introduced, so that it is unnecessary for me to repeat them. Suffice it to say, that they were introduced by the opening of the heavens, by the appearance of God our heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ, by the administering of holy angels, by the restoration of the Priesthood, and by the revelation of His will to man. You comprehend very well the nature of the organization, and the duties devolving upon certain individuals and quorums in this Church. The Twelve are set apart as special witnesses to the nations of the earth, and are empowered and authorized to open up the Gospel, to introduce it, and to turn the keys thereof to all people, and the word to the Apostles—and to others associated with them—to the Elders of Israel generally is, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be damned.” This is just as it was in former ages. To assist the Twelve in the labors in which they are engaged, are the Seventies, who are called as special witnesses to the nations of the earth. What for? Who organized these Seventies, and these Twelve, and who dictated their duties and responsibilities? The Lord. Why did He do it? Because, as in former ages, He felt interested in the welfare of the human family, and it is not and never was the will of God, that mankind should perish, but that they all might be brought to a knowledge of the truth, and to an obedience thereof, if they saw proper, and if not, when the Twelve, the Seventies, the Elders, and the various officers who have been ordained and set apart to preach the Gospel, have fulfilled their missions to the nations of the earth; they have done just what the Lord has required at their hands, and no more. I further wish to state to the Twelve and to the Seventies, and to the Elders, that they are not responsible for the reception or the rejection by the world of that word which God has given to them to communicate. It is proper for them to use all necessary diligence and fidelity, and to plainly and intelligently, and with prayer and faith, go forth as messengers to the nations, as the legates of the skies, clothed upon with authority from the God of Heaven, even the authority of the Holy Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of God, which is after the order of Melchizedek, which is after the power of an endless life. He has endowed them, as you have heard, with authority to call upon men to repent of their sins, and to be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins, and then He has told them to lay hands on the people thus believing, and thus being baptized, and to confer upon them the gift of the Holy Ghost, and when they have performed their labors, and fulfilled their duties, their garments are free from the blood of this generation, and the people are then left in the hands of God their Heavenly Father. For the people, as before stated, will be held responsible to God for their rejection of the Gospel, and not to us.
I will talk a little further about the people of the earth, who have in their midst Christianity, and other religious professions. I have quoted what is stated in the Scriptures—that God has given to every man a portion of His Spirit to profit withal. But that has nothing to do with the Gospel particularly. It is a principle which is implanted in the heart of every human being outside of the Gospel; and under its influence there are and have been many great and good principles in existence on the earth and among the peoples thereof. All men almost everywhere, possessing any degree of intelligence, feel that it is right to be honest; and all civilized nations, influenced by that feeling, pass laws to punish the thief, the rogue, and the man who possesses himself of other people's property in any unjust manner, and these feelings and principles are generally sustained by the honorable of all countries, and operate more or less among all nations. Chicanery, deception and fraud are looked upon as evils in the moral world; and men influenced by that principle—which, as I stated, is planted in the bosom of every individual—feel to abhor acts of deception and fraud of any kind, although some people practice them to a very great extent. Men under the influence of this spirit in the mercantile world, for instance, consider it a disgrace not to keep their engagements, not to pay their honest debts, and laws are made to reach offenders in those cases. So strong is the feeling of honor among many—in this nation, in England, in France, in Germany, and in other European nations—that very many of those people who would be esteemed honorable in their feelings and instincts, if calamity overtake them and they are unable to meet their liabilities, very frequently commit suicide, wrong though it be; they would rather die than be dishonored. Now, these sentiments of honor are good so far as they go; but this is outside of the Gospel. There are, of course, many dishonest merchants and men of large means, who use their talent and wealth for the purpose of taking advantage of the unwary, and oppressing the poor; and in this and in other countries, annually filch thousands of millions of wealth from the unsuspecting and poor by their questionable acts and insatiable greed; carrying poverty, sorrow, misery and distress to millions of the honest laboring classes. As God has planted a portion of His Spirit within them, He will hold them, and not us, responsible for their acts; and instead of possessing riches and honor their names will become infamous on earth and hereafter. And instead of wallowing in their ill-gotten gains, they will find themselves with Dives, calling upon their victims for a drop of water to cool their parched tongues. Gospel or no Gospel, honorable men cannot condescend to chicanery and deception; and while following the lead of that inward monitor, they could not yield themselves to those heartless and cold-blooded practices. Again, there is a horror in the minds of men generally, about shedding innocent blood, and laws are passed to prevent crimes of that kind and to punish the offender. Where do all these things come from? From that spirit which God has planted in the bosom of all men. You may take the lowest and most degraded of men, some of the greatest criminals perhaps, and they will say, if they see an honorable man, a virtuous man, a kind-hearted and generous man, a man who acts uprightly—“We respect that man, we honor him, we respect him for his virtues; we cannot imitate him, we are sorry to say,” and in this way they will acknowledge that which is good and feel that they themselves are doing wrong. These are some of the principles that exist in human nature. They are so far good. At the same time there is another sentiment prevails—that is, to protect virtue and chastity. It is not practiced as extensively as it ought to be; a great amount of hypocrisy exists on this subject. But nevertheless it is implanted in the hearts of millions of the human family; and they look upon the seducer of woman and the defiler of himself, and upon those who practice crimes associated with these matters, with disgust. The nations today, however, are wallowing in rottenness and corruption in regard to these matters, yet there are thousands and millions of men and women who abhor impurity and vice, and cannot sanction licentiousness in any of its disgusting forms. All these things are good in their place; but this alone is not the Gospel.
Now, in former times, in the days of the flood, for instance, the people became very corrupt, so much so we are told, that the imaginations of the hearts of men were only evil and that continually, and the Scriptures say it repented the Lord that He had made man because of his corruptions and wickedness; but some tell us that it repented Noah that man had been made because of the abominations and evils that he witnessed in his day. God destroyed the wicked of that generation with a flood. Why did He destroy them? He destroyed them for their benefit, if you can comprehend it, but I very much question whether all of you can or not. Let me explain a little. We are told, as I have already said, that God is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh. We are further told that Jesus the Son of God, existed before the worlds were. It is also stated that He is our elder brother, and that we pre-existed also—that is, our spirits did. When Satan had gained an ascendancy over the inhabitants of the earth so far that they had departed from God, and violated His laws, what would be the feelings of those spirits in the eternal worlds? Let me ask all intelligent people, would they not be apt to turn to their Heavenly Father and say: “Father, look down upon those corrupt inhabitants. Do you see them?” “Yes, I see them and I know them.” “Is it just that we, thy children, should be doomed to inhabit those filthy, corrupt bodies, and thus be subjected to Thy wrath and indignation, and it may be thousands of years before we can come back again into thy presence?” “No, it is not just,” and on this principle the Father destroyed them with a flood, and recommenced peopling the earth with the seed of a righteous man.
But, let me ask, what did the Lord do before He sent the flood? He sent Noah among them as a preacher of righteousness; He sent Enoch; He sent many Elders among the people, and they prophesied to them that unless they repented, judgment would overtake them; that God would overwhelm the earth with a flood and destroy the inhabitants thereof—that is, those who would not listen to the Gospel of the Son of God; for the Son of God was in existence then, not personally on earth, but existed in the spirit, and the promise to them was that He should come and atone for the sins of the world. They were taught these things, but they rejected them, that is the great majority of them did so. We are also told that Enoch walked with God, and that he had a city which they called Zion, and people gathered to Zion then, as we gather the people to Zion in this day. Enoch walked with God, and was instructed by Him, and he instructed the people of Zion. There is a very short account of it in the Bible. There we are simply told that “Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” It was not thought necessary to say more upon this subject; but the facts were that Enoch and the people of his city, having been taught for upwards of 300 years in the principles of the Gospel before the judgment overtook the world, were translated. Thus the people in that day, had had fair warning, but only a very few paid any attention to it. We are told concerning the Book of Enoch that it is to be testified of in due time, and then we shall know more about these things than we do now. But what of those who were disobedient? They were thrown into prison. How long did they continue there? Until Jesus came. What then did He do? He went and preached to the spirits in prison. He was “put to death in the flesh,” we are told in the Bible, “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.” Is that in the Bible, inquire the Christians? Yes, that is in your Bible.
Thus we see the dealings of God with those people. Noah had nothing to do but to preach the Gospel, and obey the word of the Lord. We have nothing to do but attend to the same things. We then leave the inhabitants of the earth in the hands of God. It is not for us to judge them; for the Lord says: “judgment is mine and I will repay.” When men have offered unto them the words of life, and they reject these words, they then become amenable to their God, and the condemnation is, as I stated before, that light came into the world; but men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. Men persecute the Elders when they go forth to preach. They persecuted Jesus. They persecuted His disciples. Men, in many instances, even in this nation—a nation that is emphatically called the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the asylum for the oppressed—have put to death some of our Elders, because of the testimony they have borne to them. This however, is all in accordance with the predictions of Jesus. He told His disciples that, “if the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” In other words, the Savior said, “If they love me, they will love you; if they receive me, they will receive you; if they reject me, they will reject you; if they persecute me, they will persecute you.” And He further said—and it is singular that He should have to say it to His disciples, men who were good, virtuous, pure, upright, and desirous to promote the welfare of humanity—it is singular that He should have to say: “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Were these men the enemies of mankind because they told them the truth? All intelligent men would say, No. Are those Elders who go forth to proclaim the Gospel today, the enemies of mankind? All intelligent men will say, No. Well, would you try to coerce men? No. Why? Because God does not do it, and He does not want us to do it. I would not use any influence but that of truth to lead any man to a knowledge of the truth. Any other influence, any other power, and other spirit is not of God. There is a species of false Christianity that thinks it is right to persecute people because of their religion, but those possessed of that spirit, whoever they are, are of their father the devil, because his works they do. God believes in the freedom of mankind, and Satan was cast out of heaven because he sought to take away the free agency of man. In various ages of the world, under various guises, the same thing has been attempted. Sometimes political, sometimes religious, and sometimes other pretexts are introduced to oppress mankind, and to deprive them of that liberty which it is their birthright, and which all men have a right, under God's law, to enjoy.
Now I come to talk of our relationship to this nation in a political point of view. We are here in this Territory of Utah. We were told to gather here by the Lord, and we have obeyed His command, just as they did, as I before stated, in the Zion of Enoch in his day. When we came here we brought our bodies with us. It is not a spiritual thing, for we are all of us very literal and very temporal. We have arms and legs, eyes and ears, like other people—we are the children of our Heavenly Father as others are. He has introduced the Gospel, as I have before said, and one of the principles thereof is that of gathering, and we have gathered together. I need not quote to you the Scriptures in the Bible on this subject, for you know them, and I need not occupy time in quoting them today. We are here. Who came in the first place? A number of people from the eastern, western and southern States, who believed the Gospel and obeyed it. It is not necessary to go into our history, and dwell on events as they transpired in Ohio, in Missouri, or in Illinois. Let all those things pass. You can read them in our history. But as I have said we are here. Under what auspices? According to the laws and usages of the United States we settled cities, towns and villages; we settled on farms, etc., which we had a right to do. We purchased and paid for the property that we possess as other citizens do.
At this point, President Taylor, feeling weak, requested President Geo. Q. Cannon to talk a little on the subject.
President Cannon said: President Taylor is suffering from fatigue and will take a little rest. We have gathered here, as he has said, and have built up a commonwealth in these mountains—a commonwealth which, if it were not for the prejudice that we have to contend with, would be the admiration of mankind. The despised “Mormons” stripped of their properties, driven out into the wilderness as outcasts, as unfit for the society of their fellow citizens; having been treated in this manner because of alleged crimes—that at least was the justification that was offered for the treatment of the Latter-day Saints because they were such a wicked people that they deserved to be treated by mob violence, and the whole world, it may be said, acquiesced in the verdict that had been pronounced upon us, or at least there was not sufficient manhood and courage in the nation to raise the voice against it, though thousands of people felt that it was an outrage. Driven into the mountains in this manner, stripped of our possessions; some of us coming into these valleys barefooted, with scarcely enough clothing to cover us for the succeeding winter, God has blessed the people, and through the wisdom and the power and influence that He has given to this people, they have built, as I have said, a commonwealth in these mountains, that is the admiration of every unprejudiced man. These so-called “Mormon thieves,” these “Mormon outlaws,” these people who were considered unworthy to live in Illinois and in Missouri have come here, and we behold today hundreds of settlements, hundreds of cities, built in the most admirable manner. A government exists here for the protection of the poor as well as the rich; and I have often said, that when we take into consideration the fact of the poverty of the people, that we have had an influx every year of about 3,000, on an average, of foreign immigrants, unacquainted with our methods of living, not familiar with our climate, coming here stripped—that is, coming here with very little to aid them—it is one of the most wonderful things that a community like this can absorb so many people annually, and show no evidences of pauperism. We have no paupers.
Now, my brethren and sisters, these results—and I think them under the circumstances significant—are due to the blessing, wisdom, power and guidance of our God. We have been sustained here by His arm. Yet at the same time we have been treated like a stepchild by our parent government. Loyal as we are to the core; believing as we do that the constitution of our country is inspired of God; looking upon this form of government as God-given, and as the best possible form of human government; notwithstanding we entertain these views, we have been treated from the beginning as though we were aliens, and as though we were a stepchild, instead of one born legally, and entitled to the blessings that the rest of our brothers and sisters in the compact of the Union are entitled to. We have had this sort of treatment from the beginning. Every act of ours has been viewed with jealousy. Nevertheless, we have prospered. God has been with us. His blessing has been upon us. We have maintained good order in these mountains, not because governors have been sent here not of our choosing; not because federal officials have been sent here in whose selection we have had no voice; not because for several years back it has almost been deemed a qualification for officers to hate the “Mormon” people among whom the federal officials were going to serve; but because there has been a union in the midst of the people, there has been a wisdom, there has been a power in the government which God has given. God has developed true statesmanship in the midst of these Latter-day Saints. There are hundreds of men in this community who can take a body of people and go into these desert wilds and build up a city, or a number of cities, and govern and control them in a manner that if the whole world were governed in that way would produce the grandest and happiest results. We have demonstrated our capacity for self-government, and it is inherent, it may be said in the people, springing, as I believe, from the wisdom and blessing that God has bestowed upon men. There is no community today, within the confines of these United States, that can furnish so many practical men of this character as can the Latter-day Saints, and the evidences of it are to be seen in the good order that prevails throughout these mountains from north to south, and from east to west, wherever the Latter-day Saints live and have influence. I praise God for it. I claim no credit for man in this matter. It is the divine blessing, and it is in accordance with the plan that has been pre-arranged in the heavens. Why, the very fact that we were permitted to be driven to these mountains, shows us the hand of God in it. There was no room for expansion in our old position. We could not have grown; we could not have developed. But our enemies were determined to make us great, and they thrust us out, and sent us into a land which God evidently had designed to be settled by just such a people as ourselves. There is no such land under the sun today. It is the habitat, the true habitat of the Latter-day Saints, admirably adapted in every feature of its climate, of its conditions, of its mountains, of its valleys, of its crystal streams, and the scarcity of water making it admirable for settlement by a sparse people, a people such as we are. No dense populations could live here.
President Taylor, at this point, again took the stand and said: I have felt the exertion almost too much for me. I am not very strong in body at present, but I will continue.
We consider as Latter-day Saints, that we have rights here, and although we have been dealt with as we would call it, rather scurvily by the government that ought to foster us, yet at the same time we have strictly adhered to the letter of the law, even in the face of the assumed purity those people (our enemies) profess to attach to themselves. We have not resisted any of these things, but have treated those men who came as our oppressors, if you please, with kindness and due respect, notwithstanding they have introduced many things in our midst, at variance with the laws and constitution of the United States, and with our rights as American citizens. We have yielded for the time being, but we purpose in behalf of ourselves, of our children, in behalf of the institutions of this nation, and of thousands of honorable men in it, to test these things to “the last bat's end,” and see, legally and constitutionally, whether this nation will sustain these acts or not, and then if they do we will leave them in the hands of God, and pursue our course, trusting in Him. But one thing I will say, and that is that this cause is onward; and as my brethren have said, so say I, that God has commenced it, and He will take care of it. I know what I am saying. I know when I am speaking that I am speaking not only to you, but to the whole world; for it will be published to the world. And I tell you Latter-day Saints not to fear, not to have any trembling in the knees, for the God of Israel is on the side of Israel, and hosts of angels also. There are more for us than there can be against us; and God will sustain the right and take care of, and preserve His people, if they will only do right.
We have embraced the Gospel. We have placed ourselves in another position from that of the world. We have entered into sacred covenants with the Lord, and He expects us to fulfill our covenants, and those who do not fulfill them will be condemned. There are certain rules and regulations that exist in the heavens, as well as on the earth. We are told that before we can enter into the celestial kingdom of God, we shall have to pass by the angels, and the Gods, and if the Latter-day Saints aim at a celestial exaltation, they must live and abide by the celestial law, or they will not get it, any more than the Gentiles will. Hear it, ye Latter-day Saints! God expects you to be pure, virtuous, holy, upright, prayerful, honest, obedient to His law, and not to follow the devices and desires of your own hearts. God has revealed many things to you, and He will reveal many more. He expects you to abide His law, and those who do not want to abide it, had better quit today, the sooner the better, for God expects us to do His will in all things. If we are Seventies we have to go to the nations of the earth. If we are members of the Twelve, we have also to go to the nations and preach the Gospel, or see that this work is done. If we are Presidents of Stakes, we must do our duty, draw nigh, to God, and seek for the revelation of His will, that we may know the things we do, and the things whereof we testify. If we are Bishops, we must perform our duties, or we will be moved out of our place. I do not care who it is these words may affect; for God is building up a Zion, and that Zion means the pure in heart, the honorable, the upright, the virtuous, and those whose sympathies extend to the promotion of the welfare of the human family. He expects us to operate in behalf of the interests of a fallen world, and to bring all to a knowledge of the truth that will listen to it and obey it. He then expects us to build temples as we have been and are doing. And here permit me to say that I commend the Latter-day Saints for the energy they have displayed in these things. And it is for us to honor our God, and to obey all just and constitutional laws, and to be quiet and peaceable, and operate for and be the friends of mankind, but do not condescend to their pernicious, corrupt, and damnable practices, or God will judge you as He will judge them. It is for us to do right, and work righteousness, and God will bless us. We need have no fear pertaining to the future; and when we have completed these temples, we will go and administer therein the sacred ordinances of God's house, and the Spirit and blessing of God will rest upon us, and we will stand, as the Scriptures say, as saviors upon Mount Zion, and the Kingdom shall be the Lord's; and woe! to them that fight against Zion. Amen.
President Geo. Q. Cannon.
The Latter-day Saints had built up a commonwealth which, but for the prejudice existing against them, would be the praise and admiration of all men. Persecuted from the beginning of their history, mobbed and drive, they had fled from civilization to these mountains, and the work so far accomplished by them was truly wonderful. Made up of all nations yet dwelling in peace and harmony, and coming here poor and destitute in many cases, yet now prosperous and happy, the hand of the Almighty was manifest in their preservation and advancement. This people had been treated as a stepchild by the parent government, viewed with jealousy, and oppressed without cause, yet through it all they had prospered. The union, patience and industry of the Saints had successfully counteracted all hostile efforts, and their qualifications for self-government had been developed and made manifest. No other part of the Union could furnish such an example. God’s hand was apparent in all our history. He evidently designed this land for just such a people as the Saints, and their enemies had driven them to the fulfillment of their destiny.
The Latter-day Saints had built up a commonwealth which, but for the prejudice existing against them, would be the praise and admiration of all men. Persecuted from the beginning of their history, mobbed and drive, they had fled from civilization to these mountains, and the work so far accomplished by them was truly wonderful. Made up of all nations yet dwelling in peace and harmony, and coming here poor and destitute in many cases, yet now prosperous and happy, the hand of the Almighty was manifest in their preservation and advancement. This people had been treated as a stepchild by the parent government, viewed with jealousy, and oppressed without cause, yet through it all they had prospered. The union, patience and industry of the Saints had successfully counteracted all hostile efforts, and their qualifications for self-government had been developed and made manifest. No other part of the Union could furnish such an example. God’s hand was apparent in all our history. He evidently designed this land for just such a people as the Saints, and their enemies had driven them to the fulfillment of their destiny.
President John Taylor
The Latter-day Saints considered they had rights, but even though robbed of them, treated scurvily and oppressed by national representatives, they had submitted patiently and quietly. But they proposed to test the constitutionality of every oppressive law passed against them, and if the nation persisted in persecuting this innocent people they would appeal to God and leave their cause in His hands. The God of Israel was on the side of Israel, and there were more for us than against us. Those who did not keep the covenants they had entered into would be condemned. No one would pass by the angels and Gods, standing sentinel at the gates of the Celestial Kingdom, who did not abide the celestial law. God expected His people to do all that He required of them. God was building up Zion and Zion means the pure in heart, who would operate for the welfare of a fallen world, but not condescend to the damnable ways of the wicked. Woe to them who fought against Zion!
The choir sang an anthem: How beautiful upon the mountains.
Conference was adjourned till next April, at the regular time, in the Tabernacle.
Benediction by Patriarch John Smith.
Following are the titles of the pieces sung by the Choir during Conference, together with the names of the composers of the music, who are all members of the Church and residents of Utah:
“Who can stand against the work of the Lord,” L. D. Edwards.
“The gathered Saints,” E. Stephens.
“The Lord hath brought again Zion,” A. C. Symth.
“Great is the Lord,” H. A. Tuckelt.
“How beautiful upon the Mountains,” John Tullidge.
“The Lord will comfort Zion,” Geo. Careless.
The word of these anthems were taken from the Bible, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants.
“Glorious things of Thee are spoken,” J. S. Pansey.
“Zion stands with hills surrounded,” A. C. Smyth.
“We’re not ashamed to own our Lord,” J. J. Daynes.
“Zion prospers, all is well,” A. C. Smyth.
“Come thou glorious day of promise,” A. C. Smyth.
“The millennial dawn,” George Careless.
“Come follow me,” Henry Emery.
“Hail to the brightness of Zion’s glad morning,” E. F. Parry.
“How are thy servants blest, O Lord,” J. J. Daynes.
“The reign of righteousness,” F. Beasley.
“Jesus mighty King in Zion,” John Edwards.
“God is love,” T. C. Griggs.
“Praise to the Lord,” E. Beesley.
“Press on ye Saints of God,” George Careless.
“All hail the glorious day,” John Tullidge.
“Softly beams the sacred dawning,” L. D. Edwards.
“Sacramental hymn,” H. E. Giles.
“Columbia’s fairest star,” E. Beesley.
George Goddard,
Clerk of Conference.
The Latter-day Saints considered they had rights, but even though robbed of them, treated scurvily and oppressed by national representatives, they had submitted patiently and quietly. But they proposed to test the constitutionality of every oppressive law passed against them, and if the nation persisted in persecuting this innocent people they would appeal to God and leave their cause in His hands. The God of Israel was on the side of Israel, and there were more for us than against us. Those who did not keep the covenants they had entered into would be condemned. No one would pass by the angels and Gods, standing sentinel at the gates of the Celestial Kingdom, who did not abide the celestial law. God expected His people to do all that He required of them. God was building up Zion and Zion means the pure in heart, who would operate for the welfare of a fallen world, but not condescend to the damnable ways of the wicked. Woe to them who fought against Zion!
The choir sang an anthem: How beautiful upon the mountains.
Conference was adjourned till next April, at the regular time, in the Tabernacle.
Benediction by Patriarch John Smith.
Following are the titles of the pieces sung by the Choir during Conference, together with the names of the composers of the music, who are all members of the Church and residents of Utah:
“Who can stand against the work of the Lord,” L. D. Edwards.
“The gathered Saints,” E. Stephens.
“The Lord hath brought again Zion,” A. C. Symth.
“Great is the Lord,” H. A. Tuckelt.
“How beautiful upon the Mountains,” John Tullidge.
“The Lord will comfort Zion,” Geo. Careless.
The word of these anthems were taken from the Bible, Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants.
“Glorious things of Thee are spoken,” J. S. Pansey.
“Zion stands with hills surrounded,” A. C. Smyth.
“We’re not ashamed to own our Lord,” J. J. Daynes.
“Zion prospers, all is well,” A. C. Smyth.
“Come thou glorious day of promise,” A. C. Smyth.
“The millennial dawn,” George Careless.
“Come follow me,” Henry Emery.
“Hail to the brightness of Zion’s glad morning,” E. F. Parry.
“How are thy servants blest, O Lord,” J. J. Daynes.
“The reign of righteousness,” F. Beasley.
“Jesus mighty King in Zion,” John Edwards.
“God is love,” T. C. Griggs.
“Praise to the Lord,” E. Beesley.
“Press on ye Saints of God,” George Careless.
“All hail the glorious day,” John Tullidge.
“Softly beams the sacred dawning,” L. D. Edwards.
“Sacramental hymn,” H. E. Giles.
“Columbia’s fairest star,” E. Beesley.
George Goddard,
Clerk of Conference.