It has pleased God in the day and generation in which we live to
reveal His holy Gospel. I expect that He knew the time to bring it
forth; that He understood the proper time to introduce its
principles, and chose that period in the world's history in which it
would be received by, at least, a portion of His children. I apprehend
that He made no mistake; that the angel which John prophesied should
come forth, bearing the everlasting Gospel to the children of men,
came to the right person, to the true Joseph—to the one who would
receive it, and bear testimony that he had seen an angel, though all
the world should deride and point the finger of scorn, call him a
dreamer, and treat him with every kind of contumely and reproach; and
though they eventually persecuted him unto the death, they could not
prevail upon him to deny that he had seen an angel, and that he
received from the Lord those principles which he taught.
We believe, then, that it was the right time, and that he, the angel,
came to the right person; that the Gospel has gone forth unto the
world, that the minds of the children of men have been touched with
the light of truth, and that it has had the effect to inspire some to
seek after the Lord, to observe and keep His laws, learn His ways and
walk in His paths. The object and purpose of our gathering together,
brethren and sisters, is to learn of His ways, and walk in His paths.
It is one of the greatest conceivable blessings which can be conferred
upon the children of men to live in the day and generation in which
the Lord has sent forth His Gospel; in an age in which He has
conferred upon men the authority of the holy Priesthood to administer
in sacred and holy things. It is one of the greatest blessings that
could be conferred upon His children to become the happy recipients of
that knowledge which leads to eternal life and exaltation in His
kingdom. All people have this privilege so far as the knowledge of the
Gospel has come to their ears. In this the children of men are
independent; they have their volition and agency to receive or to
reject these principles when they shall hear them; but when they are
sent forth with the authority of the holy Priesthood, which is the
authority of God, and are sounded in the ears of God's creatures here
on the earth, and they reject them, they incur a fearful
responsibility. Still they have the power to act as they please in
this matter; but the consequences rest upon themselves—the Lord has
left them without excuse. It is a matter for you and me and for all
persons to canvas in their own minds, and we can then act upon our own
volition in receiving or rejecting the truth.
All who have not heard the prin ciples of life and salvation
proclaimed will have the privilege of doing so; if not here, then in
some other sphere or state of existence. The plan of salvation is
ample, full and complete, and will save all the children of men who
let it, and the Lord will be left without excuse in the final winding
up, so far as the probation of man on the earth is concerned.
We read in the Scriptures that to know the only true God and Jesus
Christ, whom He has sent, is life eternal. To enable His creatures to
obtain this knowledge the Lord has kindly sent forth His revelations
from time to time; but we do honestly believe that the Latter-day
Saints are the only people on the face of the earth at the present
time that have any true knowledge of God, of the relationship that
does exist between Him and the inhabitants of the earth and of the
design and object of the Almighty in bringing them into existence, and
the purpose to be accomplished thereby in their future state. I say we
believe that the Latter-day Saints are the only people who possess
this knowledge. The world have no just conceptions of the Deity; even
the Christian world are without the knowledge of God as much as the
heathen nations. This may be deemed a sweeping declaration, but it is
susceptible of proof, if we take the Scriptures for our guide and as
the foundation of our argument; that is, if the Christian world
believe as they profess to do. I do not care to illustrate at this
present time, or to bring evidence to bear to sustain my position, to
a people who understand these arguments and principles, and who have
learned better things, as is the case with this congregation. We know
in whom we have trusted; we know who has led us forth to the valleys
of the mountains; who has blessed the land and caused it to bring
forth its strength for our sustenance; who has shielded and protected
us from the power of the adversary—those who have sought our overthrow
and destruction. We have learned to know Him as our Father, the Father
of our spirits, and the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. He has exercised a parental care over us, and has delivered us
at all times from the power of our enemies, brought us an inheritance
in a goodly land, blessed the land and caused it to bring forth in its
strength for our sustenance. We know that we are dependent upon Him
for our very existence, and that by Him only are we preserved, just as
well as we know that the children of men, impelled by the great
adversary, Satan, are seeking to overthrow us, to break in pieces the
kingdom of God, and to destroy from the face of the earth the rule and
authority of the Priesthood of God.
Are we prepared to take upon ourselves the labor, the self-denial, the
self-abnegation, I might say the persecution, if it should be
permitted to come upon us, that continually besets the pathway of the
Saint of God? If we are, we are all right; if we are not, we had
better repent and seek unto the Lord for strength, retrace our steps,
and get the Spirit of God in our hearts that we may become more
confirmed in our most holy faith. When we received the Gospel we felt
as though it would be a great privilege to devote our whole lives and
all our interests in this existence to the extension of this great and
glorious cause. Have we grown lukewarm in our feelings and love? If so
it is time to retrace our steps, lest we become darkened in the
counsel of our minds and turn away to the beggarly elements of the
world.
I will say, this morning, that the Gospel that I received is
as sweet to me today as it ever was during my existence on the earth,
yea, more so, for as I advance, greater and more glorious truths and
beauties develop themselves and come home to my understanding. If the
first principles of the Gospel were true in the days of Joseph, they
are true today. If the principles that have been developed as we have
passed along were true when they first struck our minds with their
convincing proofs, they are also true today. If what we believed were
the whisperings of the Spirit of God confirming these truths on our
minds, were really so, and we received them from Heaven, we should
live faithful to what we have received, that we may progress and
improve as we pass along. We have received an item of truth here and
another there, as we could receive and maintain it; but the
revelations declare that there are things yet to be revealed which
have been kept hid from the foundations of the world. I, for one,
expect that the volume of revelation will remain open, and that the
servants of God will, in the future as they have in the past, read to
us from the Book of Life. The reflection that we shall not be confined
to what has already been given, but that we shall continue to grow and
increase in the knowledge of God, and in every good, is one of the
most highly-prized principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
How true it is that, when any new principle, or any new idea
concerning an old principle is promulgated, the human heart seems to
rise up in rebellion against it, and the Saints are no exception in
this respect, for when the Lord condescends to reveal any new
principle pertaining to their welfare and the building up of His
kingdom on the earth, many are ready, both in feelings and practices,
to rise up and rebel against it. What is the matter? Are we pent up in
a nutshell and confined in our feelings to such an extent that we
cannot receive new revelations and instructions from time to time when
they come from the proper source? No. I think that, for the great
majority of the Latter-day Saints, I can answer it is not so. It may
be so with individuals; but as a general thing the Saints are glad to
receive instruction, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a
little and there a little, as they can receive and endure it. I heard
President Young say that he told the Prophet Joseph never to reveal a
new principle to him if he thought that he could not receive it, that
it would be detrimental to his faith or cause him to turn from that
which he had received. He said he would rather remain in ignorance
than to have it prove a stumblingblock to him. I have seen a great
many people anxious for revelation, and for the development of some
great mystery concerning the kingdom of God. I have never felt so; I
have been satisfied with what the Lord should condescend to reveal,
and more than glad if, when it did come, I was able to receive and
practice it.
How many are there within the hearing of my voice who have felt
infringed upon in their feelings when they were told to sustain Zion
and not to trade with their enemies. This was a new feature, but it
touched things of a temporal nature. Why a great many felt as though
they could not submit to be dictated to, though it was by the servant
of God, in regard to temporal affairs. Is not this true, and we, too,
right in the midst of Israel? O, yes, we can't deny it, there has been
considerable howling made concerning this item. But yet this is the
kingdom of God, and the kingdom and the greatness thereof are
to be given to the Saints of the Most High. Can we expect anything
else than that His servant will dictate us concerning our temporal
matters? I do not understand it in any other way. When, I would ask,
can the kingdom of God be established on the earth, or in other words
when can the kingdom and the greatness thereof be given to the Saints
of the Most High? Never until a people is found possessing sufficient
good, hard, sound sense to use the blessings of that kingdom to build
it up and not to give it to the devil just as fast as the Lord hands
them over to them. We have come up to Zion that we may be taught in
the ways of the Lord and that we may learn to walk in His paths. And
you know I have told you how independent we are—we can either receive
the Gospel, or reject it and take the consequences. But let no man lay
the flattering unction to his soul that he can do just as he pleases
and obtain celestial glory. We can never do this except we make our
ways, notions and ideas correspond with the Lord's. If we expect to
attain to celestial glory, and be prepared and qualified to receive
the kingdom of God in its greatness upon the earth, we shall have to
make our ways correspond with the Lord's, so much so at least as to be
found faithful in making good use of the blessings which He has
entrusted to us. It is those who are found faithful over a few things
unto whom the promise is made that they shall become rulers over many
things. It is not those who fly the track at the moment of peril and
difficulty who will obtain the blessings of high heaven; no, the Lord
tests and tries us, to prove if we have integrity, and the man who
flies the track, when tested, proves that he is lacking in integrity
and is not worthy to receive the blessings of those who are faithful
and true. Blessings are no doubt withheld in kindness for a time, for
many who receive them grow fat and kick, thus proving to the Lord that
they are not worthy; and peradventure He withholds blessings from many
very good people, who will finally triumph over their own peculiar
notions and ideas, and make their ways so far correspond with the
Lord's as to be worthy.
We are in a school of experience, brethren and sisters, and it will be
well for us if we will wisely use and apply the blessings we receive
and the experience that we are passing through, and so govern and
control ourselves in the future that the experience of the past may be
a light to our feet in time to come.
It is most desirable to us all that we should be preserved in the
purity of our most holy faith, and never depart therefrom or swerve
either to the right hand or to the left. The fate of others who have
departed from the path of rectitude ought to be a warning to as all to
be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit, lest we fall into the same
pit. It is a very easy thing for a man to get into the dark, and small
things often lead to it. He sees, peradventure, something in his
Bishop or Teacher, or in some of the authorities, which he does not
like, and instead of going to the proper place to ascertain the truth
in the case, and informing his mind correctly concerning the matter,
he lets it corrode in his heart until disaffection is produced and he
begins to lose confidence. In a short time, if he indulges in this
spirit, he mouths it to some confidant or friend, and after doing it
once he mouths it again, and if you follow that man a little longer
you will find that he neglects his prayers and the duties of his calling, and very soon the counsel of his mind becomes darkened,
and soon he is on the highway to apostasy, and, in fact, he has been
there from the beginning, if he had only known it; and if no good
friend should tell him his error, in a short time such a man goes over
the dam and makes shipwreck of his faith, and that is the greatest
calamity that can befall any person.
What matters it to the Saints what path they are led into if the Lord
leads? If they are submissive and yield to His dictation, no matter
whether it brings weal or woe, it will work out good; it may bring
poverty, so far as the things of the world are concerned, but it will
never bring poverty to the soul. And it will be a happy reflection
when we have passed through this mortal existence, that we were able
to stand the test, enduring the ordeals and remaining steadfast and
faithful to the end.
I do not know that we are promised anything here but the hatred and
persecution of the world; and this has been the portion of the Saints
of God in every age of the world. I do believe, however, that the
table is going to change; I believe that when the people are
sufficiently pure and worthy, and capable of wisely using the
blessings of which I have spoken, the blessings of earth and heaven
will be poured upon them in rich abundance. We have a little foretaste
of this in the blessings that we have received and enjoy today.
Although the power of the Adversary is very great, and he still seeks
the overthrow and destruction of the cause and kingdom of God on the
earth; yet it is a different age of the world, it is a different
dispensation; it is the dispensation of the fulness of times, in
which, no matter how much we may be overturned, no matter how much
individuals may suffer, or how much they may be called to endure, the
final result will be triumph to the kingdom, and it will not be given
to another people; but we shall have power to redeem Zion and to build
that great and glorious temple in which the Saints will receive the
blessings of eternity, and on which the glory of God will rest as a
cloud by day and as a pillar of fire by night. This people are that
people; these Saints are the Saints of the Most High, to whom the
kingdom and the greatness thereof will be given, and another people
shall never possess it.
This should be a great satisfaction to us, and should encourage us in
our pathway through all the difficulties we may have to encounter. We
would not be worth much if we could not pass through ordeals. The
Savior of the world had to pass through them, and we should not
complain if we have to tread in his footsteps in order to obtain great
blessings at the end of the race. Let us reflect on these things and
go on our way rejoicing, filling the full measure of our creation with
credit to ourselves, and with honor to God, our Father, who brought us
to this state of existence, which is my prayer for Jesus' sake.
Amen.
- Daniel H. Wells