There is a large assembly of people now seated in this Tabernacle, and
it will require a good deal of attention and stillness on the part of
so large a congregation in order to hear distinctly and to understand
what may be advanced. I have been in the habit for a few months past
of selecting a text from the Scriptures. I do not do so this
afternoon, for the reason that no particular text has presented itself
to my mind; nevertheless I shall endeavor by the assistance of
the Spirit of the Lord to speak upon subjects as they may be presented
to me at the very moment. What they will be I know not. It is my
earnest desire, however, that I may be favored with the faith and
prayers of all good people who may be present, that peradventure the
Lord may be merciful to us and shed forth a great abundance of His
Holy Spirit to assist us on this occasion.
It is a strange thing to the greater part of the civilized world to
see, or rather to contemplate, so many scores of thousands of people
gathering together in the interior portions of North America, in the
Rocky Mountains or vicinity, all of one religious faith. It is a
marvel, and produces a great deal of wonderment among the people, to
understand what is the cause of this great assembling or gathering
together, what it means, what the object is, what purpose is to be
accomplished, what the designs of the people are and so forth. It is
attracting the attention not only of our own nation but of many other
nations—this fleeing out, this gathering together of a people from so
many parts of the world and coming together in the interior of this
new world, in a country which, to all human appearance, was one of the
most difficult countries in the known world to be settled. They wonder
how it is that an influence can be exercised over the minds of so many
people, among so many nations, to get them to leave the homes of their
fathers, their native countries, their associates and friends, and go
forth for thousands of miles upon railroad conveyance, and cross the
ocean, and then pursue their journey for thousands of miles still
further into the heart of a desert. This is a curious thing when we
reflect upon it. I will here observe, however, that it is not the
influence of man that has brought this great event about; man is not
the origin of this great gathering which you see in the Territory of
Utah. If you do not believe what I say, let any other society, I don't
care how much talent they may have, how much human wisdom they may
possess; let them attempt to accomplish a similar thing and see
whether they can succeed. Take all the learning that is in the world,
combine it together, send forth the most learned and talented orators
among the nations, exercise all the human power and influence that God
has given you, and attempt to accomplish a work similar to the one
which is now before your eyes, and see if you can succeed. It can't be
done; it never has been done, to my knowledge, since the days of our
Savior. We have no account in history of any religious society
gathering out from so many nations into one region of country since
the days of the Savior.
Do you wish to know the secret of this great gathering? Do you wish to
know why it is that this influence has been exercised over the minds
of the people? I will tell you: it is because God, who is in yonder
heavens, has spoken in our day, this is the secret. It is because he
has sent forth angels, messengers from heaven, who have appeared to
men here on the earth, and have conversed with them. It is because
God, by angels, and by his own voice, has sent forth messengers again
unto the human family with an important message, a message more
important, in one sense of the word, than any which has before been
delivered to man—a message to prepare the way before the face and
coming of his Son from the heavens.
Strangers may inquire, what has this great gathering to do with
preparing the way before the coming of his Son? Could you not all
remain scattered abroad among the nations and be prepared just
as well? I answer, that if God had commanded us to remain among the
nations in our scattered condition, that would have been right, and
acceptable before him; but on the other hand, if God has spoken, as we
declare that he has, and his voice has been heard, and messengers have
been called and sent forth by divine command, and revelation has been
given, not only for the people to obey the gospel but also to gather
out and assemble themselves in one, then we could not be prepared for
his coming without obeying the divine command. It all rests,
therefore, on this point: has God spoken concerning this matter? Has
he really instituted this thing? Has he given divine revelation in the
19th century? Has he sent forth his angels? If he has, then the work
that is before you is the preparatory work for the coming of the Son
of God. If he has not spoken, as we declare that he has, then a
similar work will have to be performed in the future by some other
people; for the very work which you now perceive—the gathering
together of so many thousands, is clearly predicted by the ancient
prophets; and if we are not the people fulfilling these predictions,
then another people must rise hereafter under similar circumstances to
fulfil them, before the Son of God will come from the heavens, to
reign here as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Much has been said about the coming of our Lord to reign here on the
earth for a thousand years. We have now in the United States and in
Great Britain, and other parts of the world, those who call themselves
Second Adventists, who say they are going forth in order to prepare
the way before the coming of the Lord. But are they fulfilling the
predictions of the ancient prophets contained in this Bible? By no
means. The first predic tion to which I will refer you, upon this
subject, that now occurs to my mind, is one that has been often
repeated, for some forty-one years, by this people; but it is of so
much importance and interests this generation to that degree, that I
never feel tired of repeating it. It will be found in that prophecy
that was delivered to John on the Island of Patmos. He saw in vision,
as represented in the 14th chapter of his prophecy, the Son of Man
sitting on a cloud with a sharp sickle in his hands, clothed in glory
and in power, and he saw angels at the same time, and one of them
cried unto him that had the sharp sickle in his hands, that he should
go forth and reap down the earth; for the harvest of the earth is
ripe. Here was a view of the coming of the Son of Man. But before
this, there was a preparatory work to perform, the nature of which is
explained in the same chapter. This preparatory work is what I wish to
call your special attention to on this occasion.
It was no less than a messenger that was to fly through the midst of
heaven—an holy angel, not something to be spiritualized, or that we
can interpret according to our own views, not some great and renowned
man that was to be raised up here on the earth, but an angel. "I saw
another angel," says John, before the coming of Christ, before he saw
that personage sitting on the cloud. "I saw another angel flying
through the midst of heaven." Not a person raised up to go and preach
here, and fly among the inhabitants of the earth, but flying through
the midst of heaven. What particular message had this angel to convey,
and to whom was he to convey it? John says, that this angel whom he
saw flying through the midst of heaven had the everlasting gospel to
preach unto them that dwell on the earth. To show how
extensively it was to be preached, mark the next sentence: "To be
preached unto them that dwell on the earth, unto every nation,
kindred, tongue and people." Does not this include all? Does not the
prediction take within its scope all mankind in the four quarters of
the earth? It verily does. What was connected with this everlasting
gospel that the angel should have to be thus extensively preached
among the inhabitants of the earth? What other prediction was uttered
on that occasion? The angel proclaimed that the hour of God's judgment
had come. He had the gospel to restore, however, before that judgment
would fall on the nations. They must first hear it, they must first be
warned, they must first receive the opportunity and privilege of
receiving the message, after which, if they do not receive it, the
angel said that the hour of God's judgment has come. Consequently we
learn from these predictions some three or four very important things.
First: that when the gospel is again committed to the inhabitants of
the earth it is to be by an angel. Second: that when it is thus
committed, it must be preached to all people under the whole heavens,
without any exception of tongues or languages or races. Third: we
learn that the hour of God's judgment was immediately to follow this
preaching of the everlasting gospel.
Now mark what is predicted in the next verse. This was the first
message; but John says: "I saw another angel follow him." There were
two angels then, the first one with a message of the gospel of peace,
proclaiming peace to the inhabitants of the earth, and then judgment
immediately to follow. The second angel had no message of peace, but
this was his proclamation; "Behold, Babylon the great is fallen, is
fallen, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of
her fornication." We learn that a certain power, under the name of
Great Babylon, is to meet with a total downfall after the gospel had
been preached, that was to be brought by an angel. A third angel
followed, and declared that all who would not receive the message of
truth should be cast down, and should be punished, and the smoke of
their torment should rise up forever and forever. After having
predicted the coming of these three angels he then proclaims the
coming of the Son of God sitting on a cloud, of which I have spoken.
Now we have this important message to testify, and we testify it in
all boldness, we testify it before the heavens, we testify it before
the earth, we testify it in the name of the Lord God who has sent us,
in the name of Jesus Christ who has redeemed us, that that angel has
already come, that the 19th century is the favored century in which
God has fulfilled this ancient prediction, uttered by the mouth of his
ancient servant. God has indeed sent that angel, and when he came he
revealed the everlasting gospel.
But I know what now rises in your hearts, I know what the strangers
who are before me will say in their hearts, what they now think. Some
of you now say in your hearts, we have the everlasting gospel
contained here in this book, the New Testament, and we have had it for
some eighteen centuries or more, and consequently what was the use of
another angel having the same everlasting gospel to commit to the
children of men when we already had it? Now was not that in your
hearts? I will venture to say that there were some in this
congregation who were thinking of something very similar to this. Let
me say in answer to this query that God has revealed the everlasting
gospel anew. But what reason or purpose had he in so doing, say
some, have we not sufficient written on the subject in the Bible? Have
we not the Gospel in great plainness, and why should he reveal it
anew? I will tell you why. What is written in the New Testament in
relation to the everlasting Gospel is not as it was when it was first
revealed; and as a testimony that it is not very plain, let me refer
you to some five or six hundred different religious views, all founded
on this same book, which you say contains the everlasting Gospel. Why
all these views, why all this distraction of faith? Why, for instance,
does one sect believe in sprinkling, another in pouring, another in
immersion, another rejecting baptism entirely, another baptizing those
who profess to have obtained forgiveness of sins? Another class
baptizing expressly for the remission of sins? Why is it that all
these sentiments and religious notions prevail? Do not all these
classes profess to found their faith on the New Testament, which they
say contains the everlasting Gospel? O yes. It shows clearly and
plainly that there is something lacking. There are just as many
sincere people, no doubt, who believe that sprinkling infants is the
correct mode of baptism, as there are who believe in baptizing adults
by immersion. One class is just as sincere as the other; one professes
to believe and have confidence in the New Testament as well as the
other. Now there must be something that is not quite so clear in the
New Testament, or there would not be so great a diversity of opinion
and sentiment.
We again refer to the everlasting Gospel that the angel should bring!
What might we expect when the angel comes? Could we not reasonably
expect that when God sends an angel from heaven with the ever lasting
Gospel he will make it so plain that there can be no misunderstanding
in regard to any ordinance or any principle that is connected with it?
That is what I should expect. The causes why these things are not so
plain now in the New Testament, are these: the New Testament has been
handed down, or its manuscripts, for a great many centuries,
transcribed by the scribes of different generations. No doubt many of
these were sincere and good men; but they have made, in the course of
so many centuries, many great perversions in the text, in the original
word I mean, in the Greek text, and also in the Hebrew so far as the
Old Testament is concerned. I am not referring to the English
manuscripts, but to the text written in what is termed the original
Greek or Hebrew. These Greek and Hebrew manuscripts being transmitted
from generation to generation, and transcribed and altered more or
less, have fallen at length into the hands of the people of latter
times in a state wherein they very much contradict each other. It is
declared by the most learned archbishops and bishops, and men of great
learning who have gathered together thousands of these ancient
manuscripts and compared them one with another, that there are thirty
thousand different readings of the original text. Not merely a
different reading in one or two phrases, but of the original text,
taking the Old and New Testament as a whole. When King James, in his
day, set a great number of learned men apart to translate the Bible
into the English language, they gathered together such manuscripts as
they could get hold of. By examining them they of course did not know
which was correct. They found them differing one with another in
thousands of instances. Which were the most correct they, without
inspiration, never could learn; but they did the very best they
knew how. They are not to blame for those errors. They were men of
integrity; they collected, according to the best of their
understanding and knowledge, the manuscripts in existence and
translated them according to the best information they had concerning
the original languages. Hence originated this present English Bible,
King James' translation. I am astonished when I look at this Bible,
to find it so correct; I am astonished, and it has been a mystery to
me that it can be so correct with such an abundance of contradictions
in the original manuscripts. As a general thing the meaning has not
been altered much, but it has been altered sufficiently to produce all
the confusion at present existing throughout Christendom. All these
different denominations have arisen, founded on the same Bible and on
the same text. What may we expect then when God sends an angel? Must
we expect that he will give us a confused mass of something that we
cannot understand? Or may we not rather expect that he will impart to
us the plainness and simplicity of his word, and call that the gospel,
and call upon the nations of the earth to receive it? I answer that so
far as reason is concerned, and good sound judgment, that is, so far
as I can judge concerning reason, reason would say that the God of
truth would communicate a message in perfect plainness, that could not
be misunderstood by those who desired to know the right way.
Well, such was the fact. I hold in my hand a record containing more
writing than the New Testament; and this book, from the beginning to
the end, was written by divine revelation, comprising history,
prophecies and the Gospel. It was written by an ancient people, a
portion of the house of Israel, who dwelt in ancient America. Prophets
and inspired men wrote this record on plates of gold. They inform us
that Jesus administered on this American continent in person, as well
as on the little land of Palestine. They inform us that after his
resurrection and ascension from the land of Jerusalem to his Father,
he descended on this American continent, that he taught them here at
different times, appearing to them often, delivering to them his
everlasting Gospel in plainness and simplicity. He commanded them to
write that Gospel upon the plates that they kept their records on at
that time, and which had been already handed down among them for about
six hundred years. This book also informs us concerning the preaching
of the Gospel among the ancient Americans—the ancient inhabitants of
this country; that twelve men were called, not apostles, or rather
that they were not called apostles, but disciples. Twelve disciples
were chosen in ancient America and preached the Gospel that the Son of
God revealed to them in person. They proclaimed that Gospel in the
four quarters of this Western hemisphere, in other words, on what we
call South and North America; they built up the Church and Kingdom of
God in this land, and millions of the people received the Gospel. They
kept a record of this fact three hundred and eighty-four years after
the coming of Christ. Mormon, who had charge of the records, after
making an abridgment on other plates, in consequence of the apostasy
of his portion of the nation, delivered the abridgment or the plates
that contained it, into the hands of his son Moroni, a faithful
prophet and servant of God, but the other plates he hid up in a hill
in what we now call the State of New York. Moroni beheld the downfall
of his nation, their destruction by the hands of another
branch of the house of Israel, a powerful nation on this continent.
The nation that kept these records was destroyed. Moroni, who was the
last prophet entrusted with the plates, had to flee from place to
place and hide up in dens and caves in order to preserve his own life.
These records, four hundred and twenty years after the birth of
Christ, were hidden up, at least that was the last date given on them.
With them was deposited a sacred instrument that was possessed by the
people on this continent, called the Urim and Thummim. Many
predictions were uttered, not only by Moroni, but by many previous
prophets, that these records in the last days, should be brought to
light by the ministration of holy messengers; that God would bring
them forth in order to prepare the way before the coming of his Son
from the heavens. This, therefore, is the book that that angel whom
John saw flying through the midst of heaven has revealed to the
inhabitants of the earth. This is the sacred book that contains the
everlasting Gospel revealed by the angel. This is the sacred book
which God has commanded his servants to publish to the four quarters
of the globe as a witness unto all nations before the Son of Man
comes. This is the sacred book that contains the words of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ when he appeared on this American continent. This
is the sacred book that will go forth, warning all people, nations and
tongues before the Son of Man appears in his glory. If they receive it
they will be blest, if they receive it not, then will be fulfilled that
which was spoken by the mouth of John the Revelator concerning the
hour of God's judgment coming upon them.
Does this book do away with those differences that exist in regard to
many points of the doctrine of Jesus? Does it make it plain so that
there is no chance of building up two different denominations from the
doctrines it contains? I answer yes, there cannot be established two
different denominations founding their ideas on the doctrines of this
book. Why? Because the doctrine is so plain in every point that it is
impossible for any person with common sense not to understand it just
as it is delivered and revealed. Hence you perceive that, that which
we would naturally expect and reasonably hope for when the angel came
is realized, namely, a doctrine so plain that all the learning and
wisdom of man could not wrest and twist and turn it and make it appear
two different things. For instance, let us take the simple ordinance
of baptism, what does the Book of Mormon say in regard to that one
ordinance? Jesus, when he came to the American continent, they not
having seen the true order of baptism in the same light that the Jews
had in Palestine, condescended to point out to them how they should be
baptized. He says, first, you must believe in me and repent of your
sins and become as a little child and go forth and be baptized for the
remission of your sins and you shall receive the Holy Ghost; and then,
to show how this ordinance was to be performed, he says that inasmuch
as anyone shall come forth desiring the ordinance of baptism, having
repented of his sins, having believed in me, even Jesus Christ, you
shall go down into the water and you shall baptize him in my name; you
shall immerse him in the water, and come forth out of the water, and
then he shall receive the Holy Ghost. Showing the ordinance also
through which and by which the Holy Ghost should be given, namely, the
laying on of hands. Now I ask, is there any possibility, with words
penned as plain as these words are recorded, to build up two
different denominations in regard to the mode of baptism? No, they
could not do it; there could not be one sprinkling, another pouring
and another baptizing by immersion; neither could there be those who
would require individuals to first experience religion and then be
baptized; but "be baptized in my name for the remission of their sins,
and then they shall receive the Holy Ghost."
Perhaps the strangers will say, that is plain enough, we admit your
argument that, if that be a revelation from God, there could not be
two different denominations built up on that. I will say further that
in regard to a great many other points of doctrine this book is just
as plain and just as simple. Supposing you could grant all this,
supposing you should say, strangers, we will admit that it is very
plain in the Book of Mormon; but the great question with us is, is the
Book of Mormon a divine revelation? That is the question that we want
answered. The plainness we don't dispute, we know that it is so plain
that a wayfaring man though a fool need not err therein; all that we
want to know in regard to the matter is, has God given that book, or
is it an invention of man? What evidence have you to offer, inquires
the stranger, to prove the divine authenticity of your book? You have
the testimony of Joseph Smith. He says that an angel came and revealed
to him the Book of Mormon, and that he was commanded by the Lord
Almighty to go and get the plates, according to the vision that was
shown to him at the time the angel came and conversed with him, that
he obtained the plates, and he says he translated them by the Urim and
Thummim. This all rests, perhaps you may think, upon his testimony
alone. Well, supposing it did, has God ever condemned the world for not
obeying one servant when he only had one witness? I answer yes, in
some instances. He was going to condemn the great city of Nineveh on a
certain occasion through the testimony of one man called Jonah. "In
forty days this great city shall be destroyed," says Jonah. Jonah
finding that the Lord sent but one witness with such an important
message felt almost discouraged, and when he was on his way to deliver
it to a great people and city, he felt that he would almost rather die
than go as a single and solitary witness with a message of so much
importance, and he besought the people to throw him overboard. They
did so, the Lord having produced a furious wind, frightened the
people, and they, according to their old traditions, thought somebody
was on board that ought not to be there. Jonah told them that he had
rejected the commandment of the Lord, and if they would throw him
overboard the winds would cease. They did so, and the wind did cease.
A fish was prepared and it swallowed up Jonah, and the fish was
commanded of the Lord to go and vomit up Jonah on the land, which he
did. Very obedient, much more so than many people are now-a-days, or
have been in former times. This fish was obedient to the command of
the Lord and went and did what the Lord commanded, and Jonah was
thrown up. The word of the Lord came to him to go and fulfil his
mission. He went and preached to the great city of Nineveh, and told
the people what the Lord intended to do, and the people repented in
sackcloth and ashes, from the king on his throne down to the least of
them; they all turned and repented of their sins, and the Lord had
compassion and did not execute the judgment on them because of their repentance. Now, what would have been the consequence if they
had rejected this one man's testimony? The consequence would have been
their overthrow. Jonah might have told them that God had sent him, and
he might have preached to them that he had been swallowed up by a
whale, and that God had given commandment to the fish to vomit him up
on dry ground! What would they care about that? They would have said,
"Jonah is crazy, insane, he must be insane," and they might have
rejected his testimony, and brought death and destruction on the whole
city, consequently God may send but one witness.
But he sometimes condescends to give more. We have four witnesses who
have written and whose writings have descended to our day, concerning
the resurrection of Jesus Christ—one of the most important events
that has ever happened in our world. Four men who saw Jesus after his
resurrection have testified in the New Testament to his resurrection.
"Oh, but," says one, "we have more than four men." I think not,
I can't
find but four who have written. No women have written, for we have not
any women's epistles or writings in the New Testament. "But," says
one, "do you mean to say that the twelve apostles have not handed down
their testimony? I do say so. I have no doubt but what they did
testify of his resurrection, but they have given us no account. Four
of the eight writers of the New Testament saw Jesus after his
resurrection, and all the Christian world at the present day believe
that Jesus rose from the dead because those four men testified that he
did so. But does not Paul say that he was seen by him, and afterwards
on a certain occasion after his resurrection by five hundred of his
brethren? Yes, we suppose that he said so, because the writer of the
Acts of the Apostles says that Paul said so; but it all rests on the
writer of those Acts, whose name is supposed to be Luke. Luke says
that Paul saw Jesus; Luke says that he was seen by five hundred, or at
least he says that Paul says that he was seen by five hundred. Well
now, such a great and important fact as the resurrection of the Son of
God rests upon the testimony of four witnesses, and they are dead. You
cannot cross-question them, you can't ask them if their testimony is
true, you can't go to them and enquire about the particulars in
relation to it; but you have to take the testimony of four witnesses
who are dead and have been for eighteen hundred years; yet you believe
the great fact, I do, and so do the Latter-day Saints, on their
testimony.
Again, we find that it is written in the New Testament, the words of
Jesus on the same subject, that in the mouths of two or three
witnesses shall every word be established. Indeed, is that so? Are two
or three witnesses sufficient to condemn the whole world of mankind,
and to leave them without excuse? Jesus says so: every word shall be
established in the mouths of two or three witnesses. This is in
accordance with what took place in the days of the flood. Noah, Shem,
Ham and Japhet were the only witnesses that went forth to warn that
generation of a terrible judgment that was to come on all flesh if
they did not repent. They did not receive the testimony of those four
men and consequently they were overthrown by the flood. God does
therefore condemn the children of men by the number of witnesses that
seems to him good to communicate, or through whom to communicate, a
message to them.
Now then, let us come back again. Here was Joseph Smith, a boy, his very youth ought to testify in his favor, for when the Lord
first revealed himself to that little boy, he was only between
fourteen and fifteen years of age. Now, can we imagine or suppose that
a great impostor could be made out of a youth of that age, and one
that could reveal the doctrine of Christ as he has revealed it to this
generation? Would he stand forth and bear testimony that he had seen
with his own eyes a messenger of light and glory, and that he heard
the words of his mouth as they dropped from his lips and had received
a message from the Most High, at that early age? And then, after
having declared it, to have the finger of scorn pointed at him, with
exclamations, "There goes the visionary boy! No visions in our day, no
angels come in our day, no more revelation to be given in our day! Why
he is deluded, he is a fanatic;" and to have this scorn and derision
and still continue to testify, in the face and eyes of all this, while
hated and derided by his neighbors, that God had sent his angel from
heaven. Can you imagine that a youth would do this? Select out some of
our little boys here, fourteen years of age, can you imagine it to be
possible for them to be impositions of this description? I think not.
The very youth, then, of this first witness that I have named,
testifies in his favor! Did God send forth servants to publish this
Book of Mormon, containing the everlasting Gospel, to all the nations
and kingdoms of the earth without giving more witnesses than this one
I have named? No, he was more merciful to this generation than he was
to the city of Nineveh; he sent more than one. He would not even
permit this book to go forth as a divine revelation to this generation
until he had raised up three other men—Martin Harris, David Whitmer
and Oliver Cowdery, besides Joseph Smith. "But," says one,
"perhaps
they were deceived, while Joseph Smith was the impostor, they might
have been sincere men!" Let us see whether they could be deceived men,
and yet their testimony be given as it is here recorded. They have
testified to all nations, kindred, tongues and people unto whom this
work shall come, that, "we, through the grace of God the Father and
our Lord Jesus Christ, have seen the plates which contain this record,
and we testify with words of soberness that God sent forth an holy
angel from heaven, and he showed unto us the plates from which this
record was taken, and he commanded us to bear record of the same and
to be obedient unto the commandment of God. We bear testimony of these
things, and we do know if we are faithful in Christ we shall rid our
garments of the blood of all men," and so forth. I have repeated to
you part of the testimony of these three men.
Now is there any chance for deception here? An angel to be sent forth
from God, an angel to come down from heaven clothed in glory and
brightness! An angel to take these plates and turn them over leaf
after leaf and show the engravings thereon! An angel to proclaim to
them that they must bear testimony of it to all people, nations and
tongues; and at the same time to hear the voice of God out of the
heavens proclaiming that it had been translated correctly! Any chance
for deception here, so far as they are concerned? Were they deceived?
If so, you may as well say that Peter was deceived, that Paul was
deceived, that James was deceived, that all the writers of the New
Testament were deceived, that all the writers of the Old Testament
were deceived, when they testify that they saw angels, for one stands
on as good and sound a foundation as the other; and if the
very nature of the testimony as recorded by the ancient writers shows
the impossibility of their being deceived, so does the nature of the
testimony revealed in the last days show the impossibility of these
individuals being deceived. Here then were four men before this church
had any existence, four special witnesses, raised up to testify to the
truth of the divinity of the Book of Mormon.
Were these all the witnesses God gave before the rise of this church?
No, no! There are eight other witnesses whose names are recorded,
attached to their own testimony, a testimony which they give expressly
to go forth in connection with this record, or in all the translations
of this record to every people, tongue and nation under the whole
heavens. What do they testify? They testify in words of soberness that
they have seen the plates from which this record was translated, that
they have handled these plates, that they saw the engravings on these
plates, that they had the appearance of ancient work and of curious
workmanship, and they bear this testimony in words of soberness, and
give their names to go forth to the whole world of mankind. I ask if
either of these twelve witnesses have denied their testimony from that
day to this? Never, in no instance. Neither of these twelve men,
whatever has been his circumstances, wherever he has been, has ever
denied his testimony from that day to this. Forty-two years and
upwards have passed away since those twelve witnesses, four of whom
saw the angel, gave their testimony.
What other witnesses have you besides these? On the strength of this
testimony other persons believed in the everlasting Gospel and went
forth and were baptized, repenting of their sins, for the remission of
them. And God commanded his servants whom he had called and ordained
to be apostles in this church and kingdom, to lay their hands upon
them, and said that they, the candidates, should receive the Holy
Ghost through that ordinance. Did they receive the Holy Ghost? They
testified that they did. They prophesied—they were filled with joy
and light, and with a spirit that they never had experienced before.
They testified that they had received the baptism of fire and of the
Holy Ghost, in fulfillment of the promise. Did God reveal to them
anything by this spirit that came upon them through obedience to the
Gospel? Yes. What did he reveal? He revealed to them the divinity of
this work, the truth of it, and they knew as well as these witnesses
whose testimonies are recorded that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
They knew that no human being by human means could confer the baptism
of the Holy Ghost, as they testified they had received it,
consequently they became witnesses in their turn, and many of them
were sent forth as messengers and missionaries to preach to their
neighbors, and into the regions round about, to declare what God had
commenced to perform and accomplish in the midst of the 19th century.
By and by thousands received the work. Did they receive the Holy
Ghost? Yes, every person who repented sincerely before God, who had
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and came forth humbly, and was
baptized by immersion by those whom the Lord had called and appointed
by revelation, did receive the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of the
hands of the servants of God. These would constitute thousands of more
witnesses in addition to those that I have named.
But let other witnesses speak, besides all these who had received a revelation of the divinity of this work. What other witnesses
did God give? He gave the same witnesses to the Church after it was
built up that he gave to the ancient Church. What did he give to the
ancient Church? He said to his apostles, as recorded in the last
chapter of Mark, "Go ye forth and preach the Gospel in all the world
to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow
them that believe." Notice, now, certain signs were to be given not
only to the twelve men to whom he was speaking, but all the world that
should believe their testimony, making millions and millions of
witnesses. "These signs shall follow them that believe: in my name
they shall cast out devils." These believers, not you apostles to whom
I am speaking alone, but all that believe the Gospel which you preach,
"they shall cast out devils in my name; they shall speak with new
tongues, if they shall drink any deadly thing or take up serpents it
shall not hurt them; they shall lay their hands upon the sick and they
shall recover." What glorious signs to follow the Christians, or all
believers in Christ! What has become of all the Christians in all the
centuries that are past and gone? Where are they? If there have been
any they have had these signs following them. What, do you mean, Mr.
Pratt, to unchristianize the world? O no, I am only quoting the words
of Jesus. If there have been any Christians in the world for the last
seventeen centuries, these signs have followed them. They have laid
hands on the sick and the sick have recovered; they have cast out
devils in the name of Jesus, for recollect the promise is to all
believers, not to a few or a part of them.
Notice the two promises: First, salvation—he that believes (that
is—all believers throughout the world), and is baptized shall be
saved. Will you pretend to say that that promise of salvation was
limited to the days of the apostles? "O no," answer all the Christian
sects with one united voice, "the promise of salvation is for all
Christians in the first age, in all future ages throughout all the
world." Very well, come to the next verse, "These signs shall follow
them that believe." "Ah," says the Christians, "that is not for us,
that is limited to the days of the apostles; that was not intended for
the Christians of the second, third, fourth or fifth century, or for
the people in our day. No, all we have to do is to claim the first
promise and reject the last."
Well, we are not so foolish as all this, although taught by our
forefathers, and the pretended Christians around us, that these signs
would not follow the believer, yet we were just simple enough to
believe that Jesus told the truth, and, consequently, when the
servants of God went forth and taught the everlasting Gospel that an
angel had brought from heaven, the Lord confirmed the word by signs
following. To whom? To those who believed. He promised that they
should have certain signs, and they got them, and this was a
confirmation to them. Every man and every woman might know whether he
or she was a believer or not in the Gospel; if they obtained the signs
they were believers; if they obtained no gifts or no signs there was
lack on their part, they were not Christians in the full sense of the
word.
Don't you think we would have been discouraged after forty years'
trial if God had not fulfilled the promise? I think we should. I do
not think you would see this large congregation here in this desert
mountainous country, I have no idea you would find such a
people here in such a forbidding country as we now occupy, if God had
not, in numerous instances among the nations in which you formerly
dwelt, fulfilled his promise, and given you the promised blessing.
This therefore, is another evidence, besides the evidence and
testimony recorded in the Book of Mormon, an evidence which hundreds
and thousands enjoy at the present day. Hundreds and thousands have
seen with their eyes and have experienced the power of God as
manifested in the various gifts.
This is what constitutes the true Christian Church. This is what
distinguishes Christianity from all spurious doctrines, and separates
the true from spurious Christianity. This is the great distinguishing
point, it is the power of God made manifest through the preaching of
the everlasting Gospel. It is this which has gathered this people out
from among the nations. It is because their sick have been healed in
their own country; it is because thousands of this people, now in this
Territory, have been healed themselves. It is because God has shed
forth his power by the ministrations of his servants and proved to
them with testimonies they never can deny that the Lord God of Israel
has spoken from the heavens. Blessed be the name of the Lord our God!
Praise his name for evermore, that he has again sent the Gospel in its
fulness to the earth. We should praise his name because he has not
only restored the Gospel, but the power and authority to preach it,
and administer its ordinances! Power and authority sent down from
heaven and conferred upon weak mortal man to baptize for the remission
of sins! Power and authority sent from the eternal heavens to build up
his Church here on the earth; and we see divine power and authority
accompanying those who he has thus called and to whom he has thus
revealed himself. Consequently our Gospel does not come with the
cunning craftiness of man's wisdom. Though we may be poor, illiterate
men, taken from our common avocations of life and sent forth by the
Lord Almighty to proclaim his Gospel, we have one thing the world has
not got. Though we may not be able to proclaim the Gospel in eloquence
of language and in the power and wisdom of the world, we have a power
that is superior to that—we have the power of the Almighty God. We
have his angels to go before our face, his Spirit to dwell richly in
our hearts, and his presence to go with us and be with us on our right
hand and our left. It is he who performs the work; it is he who
proclaims to the inhabitants of the earth by the mouths of his
servants, saying, "Repent, and prepare the way for the great day of
the coming of the Lord from the heavens."
Will they hear? No, like the people in the days of the flood, they
eat, they drink, they are engaged in merchandise and in the traffic of
this world, and the voice of inspiration and the power of Almighty God
that are being made manifest among the people will not reach their
stubborn and hardened hearts, until the Lord, by and by, by his
judgments, will pour out his indignation upon all nations.
Amen.