It is a great privilege to meet together as the Saints of the living
God. It is a great privilege, after a lapse of 1,800 years; to
participate in the memorials of the shed blood and broken body of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And whilst we are doing this we look
forward to the time when Jesus will again come, and when we shall eat
bread with Him in the Kingdom of our God. These are thoughts that
naturally crowd upon the mind while partaking of the Sacrament of the
Lord's supper. The ordinance has a tendency to draw our minds from the
things of the world and to place them upon things that are spiritual,
divine, and heavenly; and that are in accordance with the nature,
desires, and attributes of man. It is a great privilege to have one
day in seven set apart for the worship of the living God. Men differ
in their opinions as to what day it ought to be. That is a matter,
however, of very little importance. We meet together as servants and
handmaidens of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we participate in the
emblems of his broken body and shed blood. We think, we reflect, speak
and cogitate upon things that are calculated to elevate our
minds, to impart comfort to our spirits, and to bring peace, joy and
happiness, whether reflecting upon things of the past, present or
future.
To be a Saint of God is to occupy a high position before God, angels
and men. The light of truth, the revelations of Jehovah, and the holy
priesthood, which the Saints of God enjoy, are the greatest boons that
Heaven can bestow upon mortals. In this respect we stand alone in the
midst of the nations of the earth; and in this respect we approach
nearer to the object of our creation and the designs of our being than
any other people that exist, at the present day, on the face of the
whole earth. Notwithstanding our many weaknesses, imperfections and
follies the Lord still continues His mercy, manifests His grace and
imparts unto us His Holy Spirit, that our minds may be illuminated by
the light of revelation. He is still leading us onward, very slowly,
it is true, in the paths of life, in the way that leads to
principalities, powers, thrones and dominions in the eternal worlds.
We stand, as I have already said, a distinct and peculiar people; for
whatever our weaknesses and imperfections may be, and they are many,
there are no people at the present day who enjoy the privileges we are
in possession of. Who is there that is acquainted with God? To whom
has He communicated His will? Where are the people who today rejoice
in the blessings of revelation? Where shall we find, today, an
organization of the holy priesthood? Where shall we find a people to
whom God communicates His will? Nowhere. There are no people who
profess this, or lay claims to associations of this nature, or to
blessings similar to those we enjoy. You may search in vain among the
nations of the earth for such a people. You may investigate the
various religious, social and political systems that exist upon the
face of the earth and it is nowhere to be found. We stand alone in
this particular among the nations of the earth—the blessed of God, the
adopted of the Lord, the chosen of the Great Jehovah, to whom He has
deigned to manifest His will, and reveal His purposes; and by whom he
designs to build up His Kingdom and to establish righteousness upon
the earth.
We occupy then, as I stated before, a very important position, and it
is well for us, Latter-day Saints, to consider well our pathway, to
reflect on our actions, and to seek to pursue that course whereby we
shall be able to magnify our callings, honor our God and our
priesthood, stand approved before God, angels and men, and acquit
ourselves in all respects as Saints of the Most High God: that we may
ask and receive the blessings of Heaven upon us, upon our wives and
children, upon our progenitors, and our posterity worlds without end.
Our religion is not a religion of a day, a month, a year or a
lifetime; but it reaches back into eternity, operates in time and
stretches forth again into eternity. It embraces every truth that ever
did exist, that exists now, or ever will exist. It is adapted to the
wants and capacious desires of immortal minds. It emanated from God
and leads back again to Him, and it is very properly said that in Him
we live and move and have our being. As immortal beings we are
interested in the light of that truth which He has developed and in
the blessings of the everlasting Gospel of which He is the author. And
standing in this capacity it is well for us to consider the course we
pursue.
We are living in an age pregnant with greater events than any other
age the world has ever seen. There have been times when God has
specially manifested Himself to individuals and nations, and when the
revelations of His will have been made known, to a certain extent, to
His people, and when His people have been gathered together; but there
never was a time so important as the present. It is not merely the
word of the Lord to one man or to a few men, or a peculiar
dispensation to the Israelites or the Nephites; but it is the
dispensation of the fullness of times when God will gather together
all things in one, and when He will settle up the affairs of the
nations of the earth, and the people of the earth, whether they be
living or dead, whether they have slept thousands of years or have yet
to come into existence. It is the time in which He has organized His
church according to the pattern that exists in the Heavens, in which
all the various organizations and priesthood that ever existed are
concentrated. This is the age when the Saints are no longer to be
trodden down, or wickedness and iniquity triumph, but when the
righteous shall bear rule and the dominion of God be established. If
there ever was a time when covenants were entered into associated with
the people of God on the earth, it is now. If there ever was a time
when the dead were to be redeemed, it is now. If there ever was a time
when God's mercy was to be extended to His people, it is now.
The very introduction of this Gospel, as first proclaimed, was, "I saw
an angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting
Gospel to preach to every nation, kindred, tongue and people; crying
with a loud voice fear God and give glory to Him for the hour of His
judgment is come." The Gospel has been proclaimed among the nations of
the earth. These Elders have been as messengers to the nations,
clothed upon with the holy priesthood and the power of God, and have
borne their testimony thereunto. And we have done more than this, we
have been fulfilling the word of the Lord given anciently to His
servants by the spirit of prophecy—gathering His "people together,
those who have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice." We have been
gathering the people together for years. What for? Why the Lord says,
I will take one of a city and two of a family, and bring them to Zion,
and I will give them pastors after my own heart who shall feed them
with knowledge and understanding. They have been fed heretofore with
the theories and dogmas of men, but I will pour out my spirit upon my
people and instruct them in the principles of righteousness, that I
may have a people who will listen to me and will pursue the course I
shall dictate.
We are here today, that we may be instructed in relation to all
things pertaining to our associations with each other, our intercourse
with the world, our political organization, in things pertaining to
our welfare—our blessings, anointings, endowments, sealings and
covenants, and the building up of the Kingdom of God upon the earth.
We have not gathered that we may accumulate riches, or possess the
honors of this world only; but that we may have the blessings of
eternity, and enjoy the spirit of truth; that we may be so led as to
secure to ourselves the favor and approbation of the Almighty. Hence
we are taught some of the smallest things that men can think of, and
also the greatest and most sublime principles that have ever entered into the heart of man. We are taught all principles that are
interwoven with the interest, peace and happiness of society here, and
that will prepare us for associations with God in the eternal worlds.
We have here our Schools of the Prophets, in which we are taught how
to manage our temporal affairs and how to avoid the snares that exist
in the world; whom to deal with and whom to let alone; how to raise
stock, how to cultivate our farms, and how to conduct all the affairs
incident to human existence. We are also taught about God and
eternity; about our associations before we came here, our
relationship to God at the present time, the destiny of this and other
worlds and everything pertaining to this life and that which is to
come.
The fact is the Gospel of Christ embraces all truth. It found us, when
first revealed, ignorant, dark, benighted, besotted, depraved,
corrupted and degenerated, ignorant of God and of almost every true
principle. It is humiliating to reflect that, after all our boasted
intelligence and knowledge of collect principles, government, morals
and religion, we should be found so weak, ignorant, degraded and
debased. It is humiliating in the highest degree to reflect, that,
after all the boasted intelligence of men, we can scarcely find one
true principle in existence. Men say, "we have been taught good
morals." To a certain extent good morals are taught, but even their
teachers did not know them correctly; they exist in most instances in
principle only, and not in practice. They think they have had some
tolerably good religion, but their religion is little better than that
of the ancient heathens who used to bow down to sticks and stones.
What knowledge do men possess of God? None what ever. The most
intelligent among the most enlightened nations of the earth, when you
come to scan their ideas, what are they? A God without body, parts and
passions. And this is the God they worship and adore, a being that
exists everywhere and yet is nowhere, no personal presence or
associations. I remember a Jew coming to me once to talk to me on this
subject. He was a very learned man. Among other things he was almost
afraid to mention the name of Deity; but he spoke of Him as being
everywhere, but as having no personal presence. He could not conceive
the idea of a being having an existence like a man, and having a body,
parts and passions, and yet at the same time being felt everywhere. I
said, "here is a candle, is there not?" "Yes." "Is that light
connected with that candle?" "Yes." "Has that a stationary and positive
existence there?" "Yes." "What is this light all around here, it
emanates from that candle, does it not?" "Yes." Then why can't
God
exist on the same principle as that candle, or as the sun and other
things exist? But yet that is the acme of perfection, the sum total of
the intelligence of the nations of the earth in relation to the being
of a God. They have no ideas of Him. How can they have? They have been
without revelation. He has not communicated His will nor revealed
Himself to them; then how can they have any ideas of that of which
they have had no opportunity of obtaining knowledge? It is impossible.
Faith, we are told, comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
And how can they hear without a preacher, and how can he preach except
he be sent? And as they had nobody sent among them by God to
communicate His will, they were all ignorant together. We were part of
them; we were dug from the same pit and hewn from the same
rock, and had no more knowledge than they; and if we have any
knowledge of God and correct principles now, it is because God has
revealed them to us through the medium of this Gospel which He has
made manifest in these last days through Joseph Smith. What knowledge
have we, of ourselves, of our relationship to eternity? None. Where is
the man on the face of the wide earth who has a claim to a wife in
eternity? There is not one outside of this church. They do not profess
it, they know nothing of such a principle. The extent of their
covenants is that they are married until death parts them, and that
ends the matter. Who is there who has any idea of associating with
their children in the eternal world? They think about it. There is
nature, or a kind of instinct that leads to reflections of this sort.
But they have not the privilege of entering into covenants of this
kind. There are a great many other principles connected with this
Gospel of which, as the scriptures say, they are as ignorant as brute
beasts that were made to be taken and destroyed.
Do they have any correct ideas at all in relation to matrimony? None
in the least. Their actions, feelings and propensities are corrupt,
depraved and brutalized. They are ignorant alike of religious, social
and political matters, and they know not how to manage anything
committed to their care. What do they know about governing the world?
Who knows how to regulate the affairs of the nations? The man cannot
be found; but anarchy, disorder and confusion prevail to a very great
extent throughout the nations of the earth, and the seeds of
dissolution are sown among the whole of them. The rulers of the earth
know not how to unite and cement their people or to regulate their
affairs, for it can only be done on the principle of revelation. What
are the armies and navies of the nations for? Why is it that England,
France, Portugal, Spain, the United States and the various nations of
the earth must have their armies and navies? Why is it that they need
millions of men and a vast amount of treasure for their protection?
Because the nations regard their neighbors as bands of robbers who
will commit acts of aggression upon them unless they have sufficient
force to repel them. And yet they wipe their mouths and say, "we are
very civilized, enlightened and intelligent."
This is the condition of things among the nations of the earth. They
watch one another with the greatest scrutiny. The various officers who
manage their national affairs want to know how many thousand soldiers
there are in the army of the nation contiguous, and whether it is safe
for them to reduce their armies or not, just the same as we do here
when we have hundreds of blacklegs in our midst, and have had to
increase the number of the police to guard ourselves against their
inroads and aggressions. They know it is the nature of men to aggress
upon and take advantage of their fellows, and to rob, plunder and
destroy, and that to preserve their nationality they must maintain a
force sufficient to repel the inroads of their neighbors. This is
their position, without saying anything about the debauchery, fraud,
corruption and wickedness that abound to so great an extent amongst
them. And this is civilization, this is Christianity; this is the
height of the glory and intelligence of the 19th century.
Now, something is needed to regulate these things. We read of a time when Jesus shall rule and when the Saints of the Most High
shall take the Kingdom and have the dominion, and when He shall rule
from the rivers to the ends of the earth. People are afraid when they
hear the Saints talk about rule and dominion that they too are going
to turn national robbers, and take the sword to slay and destroy and
lay waste whenever they have the opportunity. Such is not their
feeling or desire; that is God's province. He will make the wicked
slay the wicked, and will turn and overturn until He accomplishes His
purposes. He has introduced the wedge of truth. It begins to penetrate
among the people, and many begin to quail in consequence of it. It
will continue to spread, grow and increase until it will cover the
whole earth. He desires in the first place to impart to us some of the
leading or first principles of the Gospel of life, truth and
intelligence that we may be the honored instruments in His hands in
establishing truth, in rooting out iniquity and bringing to pass His
purposes upon the earth.
This is what we are aiming at. This is why we meet together, why we
are gathered together, why we preach. This is why we have our Schools
of the Prophets, why we administer in the ordinances of the House of
God. This is why we build our temples and endowment houses that we may
be taught and instructed, sanctified and set apart; that we may be
full of the Holy Ghost and the power of God, that we may stand forth
as the elect of God, as the chosen of Jehovah to bring to pass the
things spoken of by the prophets. This is the aim of all our
associations and operations in life and in everything pertaining to
the holy priesthood. If God placed formerly in His church apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the
Saints, the work of the ministry and the edifying of the body of
Christ, He has placed in His church in these last days, presidents,
apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, bishops, high
councils and all the various organizations of His church for the
perfecting of His Saints, the establishing of righteousness, the
building up of His Kingdom, the triumph of peace, the overthrow and
destruction of wickedness and the powers of darkness, and for the
introduction of everything calculated to exalt and ennoble man in both
time and eternity.
May God help us to be faithful in the name of Jesus. Amen.
- Joseph F. Smith