I am asked to speak, but I feel in attempting to do so that my speech
will be barren unless the Lord is pleased to inspire my mind by the
Holy Spirit. I know there is faith in the hearts of the people and the
Lord is able to give words of edification and comfort. I am not,
however, impressed with anything in particular, in the way of
doctrine, to speak to my brethren and sisters; I have only a feeling
to exhort in general terms.
The Latter-day Saints realize as I do that every year brings us nearer
to the coming of our Lord; that every month and week and day that
passes over our heads, brings us nearer to the great and important
events that must transpire, and that it does not become us to give way
to a feeling of apathy and indifference, and to say in our hearts,
"The Lord delayeth His coming," and that tomorrow will be as this day
and much more abundant, and that the next generation will be like the
present, and as the world has continued to roll on, as generations
have come and generations have gone, so will it be with us and our
children. I say it does not become us to give way to these sentiments
and feelings which are common with unbelievers, with the world, or
with the unenlightened, who have not a knowledge of God, who have not
been favored with the light of revelation, who have not discerned the
signs of the times; for we are not the children of darkness, but the
children of light. Light has come unto us. We have been called out of
darkness unto light. We have been translated from the kingdom of
darkness unto the kingdom of God's dear Son, and therefore it may and
ought to be said of us as Saint Paul said concerning the Saints: "Ye,
brethren are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a
thief." It is written and we expect it to be fulfilled upon the heads
of the unbelieving and the wicked, that the Lord will overtake them as
a thief in the night. "In such an hour," said the Savior, "as
ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise
servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give
them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when
he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall
make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil servant shall
say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to
smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; The
lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him,
and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites." Now, it is not
impossible, nor yet improbable, that there will be some among the
Latter-day Saints who are called of God and appointed to this work,
and who are set over their fellowservants to give them meat in due
season, who will be found negligent, who will have forgotten their
high and holy calling, who will have laid off their armor of
righteousness, who will have become slothful and weary in well doing,
and who will have taken to eating and drinking with the drunken and
smiting their fellowservants; but as surely as any such are found
among the servants of God, they will be overtaken when the day of the
Lord cometh, and their portion will be appointed with hypocrites and
unbelievers. But we hope better things of the Elders of Israel, of
Presidents of Stakes, of Bishops, of High Councilors, of High Priests,
of Seventies, of Priests, Teachers and Deacons, and of all the
Latter-day Saints; for we have all been made partakers of this
Priesthood, and the blessings of the Lord, directly or indirectly,
have been conferred upon us.
The work before us is a great one, and very much remaineth to be
accomplished according to the prophecies—Israel is to be gathered,
Jerusalem rebuilt, Zion established, the vineyard of the Lord pruned
and the corrupt branches cut off and cast into the fire, while the
good branches shall be grafted in and partake of the root and fatness
of the tame olive tree. There is a great work to be accomplished in
the earth. But the Lord has said by the mouth of His servants that He
will cut His work short in righteousness in building up His Kingdom in
the latter days. True, when the Lord speaketh He does not reckon time
as we do. The time was, in the infancy of this Church, when our minds
were so narrow compared to what they are now, that we looked for the
speedy coming of our Lord, and the accomplishment of His great work
before this time. But as our minds grew, and our ideas enlarged, we
began to perceive that we were only children in our views and
feelings, our ideas and expectations. We had the views, ideas and
expectations of children; and we see how the Lord has enlarged Israel
and expanded His work; and now we behold so much more to be
accomplished than what has been accomplished, that we are apt in our
minds to put off the day of the Lord a great way. The time was that we
looked for one temple. The early revelations given to the Latter-day
Saints predicted a temple in Zion, and Zion in our minds at that time
was a little place on the Missouri River in Jackson County, Western
Missouri—a town and a few surrounding villages, or a country,
peradventure it may be as large as a county. When we first heard the
fullness of the Gospel preached by the first Elders, and read
the revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, our ideas of
Zion were very limited. But as our minds began to grow and expand, why
we began to look upon Zion as a great people, and the Stakes of Zion
as numerous, and the area of the country to be inhabited by the people
of Zion as this great American continent, or at least such portions of
it as the Lord should consecrate for the gathering of His people. We
ceased to set bounds to Zion and her Stakes. We began also to cease to
think about a single temple in one certain place. Seeing the different
Stakes of Zion that were being organized we perceived the idea,
possibly, of as many temples. Having had one spot pointed out in the
revelations for the temple in Jackson County, our minds expanded so
that in a short time we were building another temple in a Stake of
Zion in Kirtland, Ohio. A little while afterwards we were laying the
foundation of a temple in Far West Missouri, and driven before our
enemies; from that place we next laid the foundation and built up a
temple unto the Lord in Nauvoo. When we located in the mountains and
laid the foundation of a temple in Salt Lake City, who of us had an
idea that before it should be completed we would be administering in a
temple in St. George, and another in Logan, and another in Manti, and
who conceives the idea today, that by the time these are completed
and the Saints have officiated in them, we will be scattered over the
American continent, building temples in a hundred other places? All
this comes within the range of possibility, nay, probability, almost
amounting to certainty. One of my brethren behind me here, who
understands these things, and who can speak knowingly in regard to
them, says, that we may put it down as a certainty, that by and by,
there will be hundreds of these temples throughout the land. Our minds
are beginning to comprehend the object and purpose of the temples of
our God. We realize that they are places where the Lord bestows the
keys of life and salvation pertaining to the everlasting Priesthood,
and opens the door of redemption and salvation unto our dead. We begin
to comprehend a little of the vision shown to Ezekiel, as recorded in
the 37th chapter of his book. Ezekiel, while under the influence of
the Spirit of the Lord, was set down in the midst of the valley which
was full of bones. He explored the valley, saw there were very many
bones, and, lo, they were very dry. The Lord commanded him to prophesy
concerning them, and he prophesied, saying: "O ye dry bones, hear the
word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I
will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay
sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with
skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that
I am the Lord. * * * And the breath came into them, and
they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dry, and our hope is lost: we
are cut off for our parts." Now, these were not the prophets and
saints and righteous dead who had been partakers of the blessings of
the Gospel and of the Priesthood, while in the flesh, but were those
who had passed off in a day of darkness, and in their lost condition
said to one another, and said in their hearts, "Our bones are
dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts." But lo!
the plan of salvation for the dead is revealed. The scheme which the
Father had provided for the redemption of those whose hope was lost,
and who were cut off is revealed unto their children, unto those who
have been gathered from their long dispersion, and who have received
the keys of the Holy Priesthood, which bringeth life and salvation to
the dead as well as to the living. Having these keys committed unto
us, we proceed to establish Zion; to build up her Stakes; to build her
temples; to gather together those who purify themselves before the
Lord, and qualify and fit themselves to become saviors upon Mount
Zion, by entering into holy places and officiating for themselves and
their dead, thus laying the foundation for the redemption of the dead
in being baptized for them, in being ordained for them, in being
blessed and endowed for them, in receiving the keys and the key words
for them, that in the day when the Elders who have passed behind the
veil shall preach to them the Gospel of glad tidings of great joy, lo
and behold! they will receive it and will be put in possession of
those keys, endowments and blessings, whereby they may be freed from
their prison houses, and be raised from the dead, and stand upon their
feet an exceeding great army, and be restored to the blessings which
God promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and their seed after them.
Now, this is the work before us, and I want to ask my brethren, the
Elders of Israel, how long shall we be in accomplishing this work? Can
I tell you? No, it is not given me to know. It is sufficient for us to
know that the time has come for the work to be done: that the Lord has
turned the key and opened the door; that it is an effectual door which
no man can shut—the door of life and salvation. Hence it is our duty
to step forward and magnify the calling whereunto God has called us.
Send out the young men of Israel; send out the middle aged; send out
those who have not as yet cleared their garments of the blood of this
generation to call the children of men to repentance, and to see how
many will engage with us in this great work of salvation, and become
saviors upon Mount Zion. But this preaching the Gospel to the outside
world is a small part of the work. It is but the ABC of the lesson to
be learned and the work to be accomplished. How long, I ask, shall we
be in accomplishing this work? It is not, as I have said, given to me
to know; but I can tell you in general terms. As long as there is one
soul (of all the sons and daughters of Adam that have been born on
this earth) that has not had an opportunity of receiving and obeying
the Gospel; as long as there is one soul that is in a condition to be
saved and that can be reached by this plan of salvation, so long will
the Latter-day Saints be engaged in this work. But what I was going to
bring before your minds was this: Shall we expect that the Lord Jesus
is going to delay His coming in the midst of His people, until all
this great work shall have been accomplished? By no means. I do not
understand that He has ever intimated anything of this kind. Nor need
we wait in our faith and in our expectations till all these great and
glorious things shall have been accomplished on the earth before the
Prophet Joseph Smith shall come unto us again. He has merely taken
another mission in advance of us. He fulfilled the mission given unto him on earth. The Lord was satisfied with his labors here.
He lived long enough to endow his brethren with full authority to
carry on the work that he had begun on the earth. He took his
departure behind the veil. The Lord suffered his enemies to destroy
him in the flesh, to take away his life, and he was made an
offering—what shall I say? an offering for sin. Not in the sense in
which the Savior was offered, but he was made a martyr for the truth
and his blood was shed to attest the testimony that he bore to the
world. He entered upon another short mission. Where? Why, unto his
brethren of the house of Israel, and as many of the Gentiles as will
receive his testimony, behind the veil. The mission of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, between his death and resurrection was a similar
mission, but a very short one. It lasted only three days. While his
body lay in the tomb his spirit visited the spirits in prison, turned
the key and opened the door of their prison house, and offered unto
them the Gospel of salvation. How many of them were prepared to avail
themselves of it at that time? Comparatively few. But he opened the
door and offered the message of life and salvation, and having done
this, His fellow laborers—the Seventies, Elders and others whom He
ordained to the ministry—as fast as they finished their ministry in
the flesh—continued their work among the spirits in prison. So is the
Prophet Joseph Smith officiating and ministering to those spirits, and
so are all His brethren, the Apostles, who have gone in his wake, who
have followed, as it were, in his track. They have just gone behind
the veil. Who shall we say? Let us call to mind a few of the brethren
who have passed away—Brother David Patten (the first of the Apostles
who was slain), Parley P. Pratt, Heber C. Kimball, Orson Hyde, Brigham
Young, Orson Pratt, Charles C. Rich, and others of the Apostles; also
Patriarchs Father Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith; Elders Samuel H.
Smith, Don Carlos Smith—all the first Elders of this Church and the
Presidents of all the early quorums, and a vast company of the members
of their quorums. All these and many more are laboring in the spirit
world preparing the spirits thereof to receive the benefits and
blessings which are now about to be offered to them in the temples of
God. In other words, "a ticket of leave" is about to be sent to them
to the effect that their friends on the earth have officiated in their
behalf, have complied with the ordinances which are appointed for
their redemption, which will enable them to advance into a higher
sphere, to walk upon a higher plane, to enter a higher class where
they can be further instructed and prepared for a glorious
resurrection. And as fast as this work is accomplished—and it is nigh
at hand, it is now even at our doors—there will be another step made
in advance; there will be another mission undertaken. The next mission
will be to come and prepare the way in Zion, and in her Stakes, and in
the temples of our God for turning the key of the resurrection of the
dead, to bring forth those that are asleep, and to exalt them among
the Gods. And who will be first and foremost? Why, he whom God has
chosen and placed first and foremost to hold the keys of this last
dispensation. How long will it be? It is not given to me to say the
month, the day, or the hour; but it is given unto me to say that that
time is nigh at hand. The time is drawing near (much nearer
than scarcely any of us can now comprehend) when Joseph will be
clothed upon with immortality, when his brother Hyrum will be clothed
upon with immortality, when the martyrs will be raised from the dead,
together with their faithful brethren who have performed a good
mission in the spirit world—they, too, will be called to assist in the
work of the glorious resurrection. The Lord Jesus, who was the
firstfruits of the dead, the firstfruit of them that sleep, and who holds
the keys of the resurrection, will bring to pass the resurrection of
the Prophet Joseph and his brethren, and will set them to work in
bringing about the resurrection of their brethren as He has set them
to work in all the other branches of the labor from the beginning. And
the Lord Jesus will appear and show Himself unto His servants in His
temple in holy places, to counsel and instruct and direct. He will
appear in the glory of His Father, in His resurrected body, among
those who can endure His presence and glory. And all this I expect
long before He will waste away and destroy the wicked from off the
face of the earth. True, we have, in our limited understandings,
perhaps imagined, many of us, that this glorious resurrection was to
come upon us, and upon the whole world suddenly, like the rising of
the sun. But you must remember the sun does not rise the same hour and
the same moment upon all the earth. It is twenty-four hours in rising
and twenty-four hours in setting. So with the resurrection. There is a
day appointed for the resurrection of the righteous. And it is sealed
upon the heads of many that if they are faithful and true, they shall
come forth "in the morning of the first resurrection;" but the morning
lasts from the first hour of the day until midday, and the day lasts
till night; and the rest of the dead—those who are not prepared or
counted worthy to have part in the first resurrection—shall not live
again until the thousand years are ended. In other words, the first
resurrection will have been ended, and another period appointed for
the resurrection of the rest of the dead. But this "morning of the
first resurrection" is nigh at hand, and blessed are those who,
through their faithfulness, shall be counted worthy to have part in
it; for they shall be crowned kings and priests with God and the
Lamb—they shall reign with Christ and in the midst of His people, and
carry on the work of the redemption and resurrection of the Saints of
God. And while in some parts of the world the Elders of Israel are
preaching the Gospel unto the heathen nations who have not been
ripened for destruction, but whose kings and mighty men have perished,
and whose governments have been broken in pieces and wasted away, and
the government of the Kingdom of God has been extended over them;
while this is going on in some portions of the world, in other places,
even in Zion and in her Stakes and in Jerusalem, the children of God
will be engaged in the redemption of their dead in the temples of our
God, and in the resurrection of those that are counted worthy of so
great a salvation.
Then, I say, we need not put off the day of the Lord so far from us.
Rather let us prepare ourselves for it; for lo and behold! He cometh
quickly, and blessed are they who are prepared to receive Him; for
they shall enter into His rest and be crowned with glory, and shall
labor with Him and with the Prophet Joseph and his brethren in
bringing to pass this great salvation and redemption of our God.
May God help us to continue faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.