I feel glad of the opportunity of bearing my testimony once again to
the principles of salvation that have been revealed in the day in
which we live, to the children of men. There is an impression resting
upon the people of every nation on the face of the earth, that some
great events in human history are about to take place. In the
Christian world there is a general belief that the time is approaching
when the God of heaven will assume the reins of power. They talk
about the reign of Christ, the great millennial day, when the kingdoms
of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ.
It is hardly possible for any person to live to the years of maturity
without having some impression, some anxiety concerning his future
state; all persons, at some period of their existence, have such
impressions. They come from the Lord, and their effect on the mind is
as plain as the mark of the type on the paper; and the reason we
experience them is because we are the children of God. There is a link
existing between God and his children here on the earth, and that
draws them towards him, and enables all who listen to the promptings
of his good Spirit to increase in good, and to overcome that which is
evil. This is natural, and exists to a greater or less extent in the
hearts of all the children of men.
There is evil in the world—evil influences that strive against
and destroy that which is good. Men's names are written in the Book of
Life, and will forever remain written there unless they do something
to cut the thread and to blot them out. Men are naturally religious in
their feelings, and it is a perversion of their nature to go into
wicked and by and forbidden paths. The practice of evil brings with it
no peace or true happiness. It destroys the vital thread of life that
reaches into the eternal bowers of peace and salvation. The Lord our
God has never given a commandment to the children of men but that
would, if observed, be for their happiness and well-being here on the
earth, and it is for ourselves that we serve God and keep his
commandments. All that he has done, all the commandments he has given,
are for our benefit, not for his. It would be well for us, as the
President has just observed, if we would walk in the channels of truth
and virtue, and in strict obedience to the commands of God, for
thereby we promote our own welfare and secure to ourselves an eternal
inheritance in the realms of joy and happiness. The kingdom is ours if
we will live for it. We may come to an inheritance of all that is
worth desiring or possessing, of all that will be of any benefit to us
either here or hereafter, if we will live for it.
God, our heavenly Father, has restored the authority of the Holy
Priesthood, through the channel of which a communication has been
opened up between the heavens and the earth; and through that channel
we can learn to know God, whom to know is life eternal. The way to
this is opened to all the children of men, and the invitation has gone
forth unto all people to repent of their sins, and return to God and
receive the blessings. There is no true enjoyment but what can be
obtained through this channel, and it is within the purview of the
kingdom of God here upon the earth. The people should not be afraid of
the government of God; it is only calculated for their benefit, and it
will be a blessed day when it can take the place of the wicked
governments that now exist on the face of the earth, and its
establishment should be hailed as the grandest and best event that
could take place among the children of men. In the kingdom and
government of God is every blessing that is enduring, and it will
confer upon those who abide its laws all the peace, joy and happiness
they can conceive of. Outside of it there is nothing worth having; all
real true happiness, all that can serve our best interests comes
within its purview.
Are we obliged, in order to secure present happiness and enjoyment, to
go outside the kingdom of God? By no manner of means, although it is
so esteemed in the religious world. A great many so-called religious
people feel that they are restrained of their liberty and enjoyment by
being members of their churches. This is a wrong view. Our Father in
heaven does not wish to restrain his children in anything that is
right, and it is right for people to enjoy themselves, and the very
acme of happiness is to be obtained by obeying the behests and
commands of our Father in heaven. Men may indulge in things they call
happiness, but there is often no real happiness in them, for they
bring punishment along in the sting they leave behind. It is not so
with proper enjoyments—enjoyments within the scope of reason and
right, where there is no infringement upon each other. The great law
of demarcation between that which is wrong and that which is right is
not to infringe upon the rights of another. No man has a right
to infringe upon another. We serve ourselves, then, by serving God and
keeping his commandments, and the way is so plain that no person can
err therein. Our boys who have been properly raised and tutored in the
Church and kingdom of God, who have attended Sunday school, learned
the catechism and become conversant with the principles set forth in
the Scriptures, in the Book of Mormon, and in the book of Doctrine and
Covenants, and have been endowed with the authority of the Holy
Priesthood, can teach men the way of life and salvation; and if they
will follow their teachings they will bring them back into the
celestial kingdom of God, they are so simple and so easy to be
comprehended.
There are a good many ways pointed out by the children of men, which
they call the ways of life and salvation, but the end thereof is
death. The Lord is not the author of the confusion that exists in the
religious world. Satan stands there, ready, and has religion at his
fingers' ends, already manufactured, to suit the notions of men. Men
get notions and ideas foreign to the truth, and they find religion
manufactured to their order, and can get any kind that they have a
mind to order, just as one who goes to a huckster's shop can purchase
anything he has a mind to pay for. They have their manufactured
religion to pay for, for Satan does not work for nothing.
There is but one way, one faith, one baptism, one God, one Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and man; he has made it
manifest unto the children of men in the day and age in which we live.
It has been told to us here, today, and is frequently reiterated in
our hearing, that God is full of mercy, and would rather that all men
should turn from evil and live. He begs people to turn from their evil
ways. He says "Take upon you my yoke, for it is easy, and my burden,
for it is light; and come, partake of the waters of life freely,
without money and without price." These words, are sounded in our ears
continually, for the Lord would rather that all men would turn and
live and come to him. Why so? He is merciful, and the invitation is as
widespread as the vast domains of the world: it reaches every human
being, every son and daughter of Adam upon the face of the whole
earth. Holy messengers of salvation are sent forth by the direction of
the God of heaven, through the channel of the holy priesthood that he
has revealed and instituted again among men, warning the people to
turn from their evil ways, and to become partakers of this great
happiness and glory and to sustain his government upon the earth. It
is true the impression has gone forth in the midst of the nations, and
it is a true impression, that he will establish his government upon
the earth. This earth belongs to God, he has a right to rule and
govern it, and it is his intention to do so. Prophets, in ages gone
by, have disclosed this, and modern prophets have done the same in our
day through the channel of the Holy Priesthood. That Priesthood has
been organized according to the ancient pattern, for God set in his
Church, first Apostles, second Prophets, and so on. It has been
reorganized according to this pattern, and the proclamation has gone
forth—"Repent and give glory to God." The Gospel has been restored by
the angel which John saw flying through the midst of heaven having the
everlasting Gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, saying,
"Fear God and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment
is come." This message has been sounded in the midst of the nations,
and the greater portion of the people who have gathered to these
valleys have listened to this proclamation. It reached their ears and
made an impression upon them, and they gathered up from the midst of
the nations of the earth to these valleys of the mountains to be
taught in the ways of the Lord, that they might walk in his paths,
instead of walking in the vain imaginations of their own hearts and in
ways of error, because, as the ancient prophet says, "They have
inherited error and lies from their fathers." Behold, this has been
fulfilled in the day in which the angel has brought forth and revealed
the Gospel. Now we can see wherein we and our fathers have been in
error. We have been taught the precepts of men instead of the
commandments of God; but in our day we have been touched with the
light of truth and with the Spirit of the living God, through
obedience to the principles of the Gospel. The Saints of the Most
High, having heard these principles proclaimed in their ears, had
faith in them and in God, and they repented of their sins and went
forth into the waters of baptism, according to the words of our
Savior—"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of God."
Having been obedient to these principles and having had hands laid
upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost, it has been given unto
us, and we know, ourselves, concerning these things, and bear
testimony this day that they are true. It has come from God, it is not
any "guess so;" it is not a hope within a hope, that we have a hope,
but we bear testimony that we verily do know that God has spoken, and
we warn all people to repent and turn to God, and partake of the
waters of life freely, without money and without price.
This is what has brought this people together in the valleys of the
mountains; and they are laboring now to bring forth and establish the
Zion of God upon the earth, according to the words of his Holy
Prophets, whose prophecies have been and are being fulfilled in the
history of this people. The kingdom of God is actually transpiring
right before our face and eyes, but the world cannot see it, because
they are not born again. They cannot enter this kingdom, because they
are not born of the water and of the Spirit, and because they do not
comply with the requirements of the Gospel and render obedience to the
great plan of salvation devised in the heavens before the foundation
of the world. This plan was understood and was in the program before
the morning stars together sang for joy, and who can better it? Puny
men undertake to do so, but their efforts are vain, and they only
betray their own folly and presumption. Our Father in heaven knew
better than any of us what was for our best interests, and he has
condescended to make it manifest to his children here, and if they
would walk in accordance therewith they would lay the foundation for
eternal power, dominion and glory.
It is the duty of the Latter-day Saints to live by every word
proceeding from the mouth of God.
He has told us to keep the words of wisdom, and has said that they are
adapted to the capacity of all who can be called Saints, even the
weakest. But, see the frailty of humanity! We think we know and
understand better than the Lord, what is best for us. We say this by our acts a great many times; but we might as well learn, first
as last, that the Lord knows best, and that his way is better than
ours, as much so as the heavens are higher than the earth. He has
trodden the path, and has had the experience that we have not had, and
has kindly condescended to make known a little of his experience in
regard to these things. He has told us that it is not good for us to
take spirituous liquors; but a great many of us think a little will do
us no harm, and it is better for us to have it than not to have it. He
has told us not to swear, not to take the name of the Lord in vain,
not to give way to our evil passions. Our passions are good, and
planted within us for a good and wise purpose, to give us strength and
energy of character; but they should be governed and controlled by
that heaven-inspired intellect and reason with which every person is
endowed; in other words, our passions should be our servants and not
our masters.
If we are thus governed and influenced, kindness, love and charity will
fill every heart; but depart from that, let passion bear sway, then
the evil influences that attend us take possession and cause us to go
astray into by and forbidden paths. When passion rules it dethrones
reason and intellect, and makes a beast of a man; and he who has no
more command of himself than to be governed by passion has fallen far
beneath the dignity of true manhood, and the end of such a course is
death.
These are some of the things that we have to be told of so often,
because we are so forgetful, and we oftentimes let the cares of the
world choke the word of life. The latter is sown in the hearts of the
children of men, and sometimes it takes root and grows fairly for a
little while, and then withers and dries up. Some times it falls into
good ground, takes root downward and bears fruit upward; and where it
does not do this it is owing to the frailties of human nature, and to
its proneness to wander from the way of life and to disregard the
truths of heaven.
One of the greatest boons that could be conferred upon the children of
men would be to have the government of God established on the earth.
Can they see it? No, they stand in fear of it. What makes men fear it?
What makes them afraid of the Lord, or of his government being
established on the earth? Is it not because their deeds are evil, and
because they are afraid of receiving the punishment due for the same?
The word has gone forth, and most men believe it, that every man will
be judged according to the deeds done in the body, whether they be
good or evil. And when men are conscious of evil deeds, and know they
do not pay allegiance to the kingdom and government of God, they have
reason to fear and dread the future; and let me say here, the time
will come when they will call upon the rocks and mountains to fall
upon them to hide them from his presence. But it should not be so. We
need not be afraid of the rule and government of God, it is only
calculated to benefit the children of men, and it will be a glorious
happy day when it shall be established on the earth in its fulness.
Men should fear to do wrong, to commit iniquity; they should do
themselves the kindness to honor the principles that pertain to their
well-being, and to eternal life and exaltation. Such principles should
be hailed with joy, gladness and delight by all the children of men.
The time will come when the government of God will prevail over the
whole face of the earth, notwithstanding all that mankind, and all that the powers of evil can do against it. The principles which
underlie the kingdom and government of God are those of truth and
virtue, and they will endure; while sin, iniquity, disobedience and
unbelief will be swept away, and the man who builds his house or
castle on such a foundation will find that it will not stand in the
day of the Lord Almighty. When the storms come and the winds beat upon
that house it will be swept away; in that day too, men will be
stripped of all their hypocrisy and iniquity, and they will stand
forth in all their naked deformity, then they will call upon the rocks
to fall upon and hide them from the presence of the Lord. Men should
live so that they can bear the scrutinizing eye of the Almighty.
Persons may think they can commit this or that evil, and no one will
know it; they may be very secretive in doing wrong, and think they
will never be found out. But if I commit evil I know it, and when I
know it, one too many knows it; and the Lord knows it as well as I
know it. We cannot hide it from him, and we had better not commit
ourselves in any such a way, for in the great day of the Lord these
things will be revealed; man will stand forth in his naked deformity,
and the wickedness of wicked men will be made to appear, and it will
be written where it can be read by all people when the veil shall be
taken from before the eyes. Then let us repent and turn to God with
full purpose of heart, and the promise to everyone who will do this
in sincerity is that their sins shall be forgiven, and that they shall
receive the testimony which we bear this day—namely that the Gospel we
preach, is the Gospel of the Son of God and has been revealed for the
salvation of the human family.
This promise is certain and sure, there need be no doubt about it; it
will be fulfilled to all whom the Lord our God shall call—to everyone
who repents of his evil ways and renders obedience to its mandates.
The minister in the pulpit needs it as much as anybody else. Why?
Because he has taught error; he has assumed to himself the authority
of high heaven, which has never been given to him. He has run before
he was sent, and has taught the traditions of the fathers instead of
the commandments of God. He needs to repent of his evil ways, and not
only to repent of but to turn from them.
No man can get a greater testimony of the forgiveness of his sins by
the Lord, than a knowledge within himself that he has turned away from
his evil deeds. He knows it then, for God has promised to forgive
everyone who will comply with the requirements of the Gospel and turn
from evil; and the man who forsakes evil knows it, and if he has no
other testimony of his forgiveness, this is as great a one as he can
possess.
I know that this is different kind of preaching from what people get
in the world, but that makes no difference. We are a different people
from any other, God has made us so by the instructions that he has
imparted unto us through his servants. He has taught us another and a
better way—the true way, the way that leads back to him, the way of
life, truth and salvation. The Scriptures—the history of God's
dealings with his children in past ages when the authority of the Holy
Priesthood was on the earth, also bear testimony that this is the work
of God, and that all who receive it, and remain true and faithful,
may become coworkers with our heavenly Father in bringing to pass his
purposes and establishing his kingdom upon the earth, if we will only
let him work with us; but we must do this. He will establish
his work anyhow, independent of us, if we do not see proper to aid
him in this great enterprise. If we do not do it, he will find
somebody who will, for the day of redemption, the set time has come
for the commencement of this great work. An impression has gone forth
among all the children of men that the time is rapidly approaching to
prepare the way for the coming of the Lord, and the establishment of
his kingdom on the earth. No matter whether it be Gentile, Jew, bond
or free, heathen or Christian, this impression has been made on the
minds of all classes of the children of men in all the nations of the
earth, and it is true. The set time has come when God will put
forth his hand to establish his kingdom, and everybody knows it. We
proclaim in the ears of the people that the angel has come and brought
again the everlasting Gospel to preach to all the inhabitants of the
earth—to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. Let those, then,
who have not received it, make some inquiry concerning this work. It
is not a thing done up in a corner, but it is like a city set on a
hill, that cannot be hid. The kingdom of God is transpiring before
the eyes of the children of men. Let them take heed and not raise
their heel against it, because if they do, it will only redound to
their own discomfiture. Then they had better not do it, they had
better receive it, or at least investigate, and then, if they do not
receive it, they had better withhold their hands instead of seeking to
destroy and overthrow the work and kingdom of God. All efforts to do
so will be futile, they will do the kingdom no harm, for nothing can
prevent its increase and triumph in the earth. God will not be
thwarted in his purposes and designs. The set time has come for him to
favor his people, and to establish his kingdom, and the puny arm of
man will be powerless to prevent it. Have they not been trying for
forty years? Are the lessons of the past of no benefit to the world?
It would seem so, indeed. They are slow to learn this lesson,
peradventure they may learn it after awhile, but not so long as evil
predominates as it does at present in the hearts of the great majority
of the children of men. We may be scattered and driven and have many
afflictions to endure, but will that stay the work of God? No. How has
it been? Let our past experience teach us and the world at the same
time. It has only increased and given greater velocity to the work of
God. Phoenix like, it has risen from its ashes and, if there is
anything about it formidable, it has presented a more formidable face
than ever before, notwithstanding the most strenuous exertions of its
adversaries. My testimony is that the experience of the past will be
renewed in the future, if the enemies of Zion work for its overthrow.
They may succeed in taking the lives of some of the servants of God;
they have done that in the past, but it never obstructed the work, and
all their efforts in the future will be as powerless as in the past.
It is for the Saints to ponder these things in their hearts, and with
renewed confidence and greater faith to press forward in their high
calling. Their past observation and experience have proved to them the
necessity of continual diligence. Many who have borne faithful
testimonies to the truth of this work have apostatized and forsaken
the truth because they have neglected some duty and have gradually
given way to evil, and the counsels of their mind have become darkened to the principles of truth, and they have finally forgotten
that they ever knew them to be true.
Then let us take heed to our steps. "Let him who standeth take heed
lest he fall," is a very good exhortation. We are none of us
independent, and none have got so far along but we find it necessary
to live humbly before the Lord. We should pray without ceasing, and
let our hearts be drawn towards the Lord continually, never forgetting
him, or the principles that he has revealed unto us; but we should be
actuated by them in all we say and all we do. If we do this, the
Spirit of the Lord will be within us like a well of water springing up
unto everlasting life. It is necessary that everyone should live thus
humbly before the Lord, in order to have full possession of this
Spirit. This will bring peace, joy and comfort under all difficulties
that may assail us and seek to prevent our progress in the kingdom of
God.
What is a man good for who flies the track the very moment obstruction
or difficulty presents itself before him? Nothing. He has not proven
his integrity, and he cannot prove it in this way. We have undertaken
to follow the Lord through evil as well as good report; and the Lord,
and his ways, his teachings and government are in evil report in the
world; and he who has independence and courage enough to strip himself
of his surroundings in the world, and seeks to establish the kingdom
of God, has to meet these difficulties which present themselves before
him. He has to stem his ear to the popular stream. It is easy to float
with the stream; but it requires more courage, and independence of
character and greater nerve to stem the tide of corruption in the
world than to go down with the current; and the man who takes this
course is far more in dependent than he who has not the courage to do
so.
Then let us take courage and press onward if we have received the
truth, as we know we have; if we have received the testimony of
Jesus—the spirit of prophecy, as we know we have, let us take heed to
our steps and continue faithful, never swerving to the right hand or
to the left, for of all people in the world, the Latter-day Saints are
the people who cannot afford to lay off the armor of righteousness for
a moment. The tempter, the evil one, is at our elbow, ready to enter in
and take possession and blind our understandings and cause us to make
shipwreck of our faith if possible.
The Saints should live humble, be courteous, be civil and live for God
and his kingdom. That is the only job we have on hand. Let us work on
that job as long as we live on the earth. Our religion is not a matter
of enthusiasm, to last a day or a week, and then evaporate into thin
air, like the religions of the world; but every hour, every day, every
week, every year, as long as we live on the earth, it should be first
with us, for it is only he who endures faithful and true to the end
that will be saved, and will inherit everlasting habitations. We need
not lay to our souls the flattering unction that we can go hand in
hand with the devil all our lives and inherit celestial glory. That is
not in the program. We can do as we please about receiving or
rejecting the principles of life and salvation as they have been
revealed. We have this power, because we are free agents, to act as we
please in this matter; but we cannot go back into celestial abodes
and inherit celestial glory unless we keep the law pertaining to that
kingdom. And so with every other kingdom, even a telestial kingdom; we
must abide a telestial law or we cannot participate in the glory appertaining to it.
I do not wish to continue. I feel thankful for the privilege of
bearing my testimony, although I do yet count myself a preacher. But
the principles of the Gospel make preachers of us all, for they make
us bear testimony of the same to the children of men. They impel every
heart to say something, to bear testimony, if nothing more, to the
truth of the principles we have received. This lifegiving power, the
Holy Ghost, I say, impels every person who has received it to bear
this testimony according to the sphere and position he fills, and the
duties he is called upon to perform. A person may be called to plough,
sow, reap, build a railroad, work in the canyon or to go and preach
to the nations of the earth, and one calling is as legitimate as
another, inasmuch as he who is filling it is working in the legitimate
channel, and aiding to build up the kingdom of God.
Every person who has obeyed the Gospel has a share of responsibility
to bring forth and establish this work upon the earth. None can shirk
this responsibility, but it is shared by all according to their
spheres and positions. Those engaged in raising families are doing
their part to establish the Zion of God, just as much as in the
performance of any other labor.
Let us ponder these things in our hearts, receive the impressions made
from the heavens above. This will exalt us above the groveling things
of earth and cause us to attain those which are before us with
cheerful hearts and willing minds.
May God preserve us in the purity of our most holy faith, and enable
us to endure to the end, that we may inherit everlasting habitations
prepared for the righteous, is my prayer for Jesus' sake. Amen.
- Daniel H. Wells