I will read within your hearing this afternoon the 19th, 20th and 21st
verses of the 3rd chapter of the Acts of the Apostles—
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted
out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the
Lord;
"And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
"Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all
things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets
since the world began."
In endeavoring to address those who are present this afternoon, I
desire that I may have an interest in the faith and prayers of my
hearers, that such things may be said, such principles brought forth,
as will be for our mutual good and benefit, and acceptable to our
Father and God. I have often thought in connection with our services
here in the Tabernacle, that it should be a testimony, not only to the
Latter-day Saints, but to strangers who may visit us, in regard to the
work in which we are engaged, the manner in which our preaching is
done. Elders come into the congregation with no anticipation whatever
of being called upon to address the people. During the week they have
possibly been engaged in their various avocations as farmers, as
artisans, as mechanics of various grades and kinds, as merchants, and
in the dif ferent walks of life, and they possibly come to the
meeting and into the congregation with their minds filled with the
business of the previous week, when they are called upon to stand
before a congregation of one, two, three, five, or ten thousand
people, and preach to them the words of eternal life. A congregation
of that size elsewhere in the Christian world, to edify, to instruct
them, would require considerable preparation upon the part of the
minister. But it is not so with us as a people. Elders are called to
the stand without a moment's warning, or time to prepare what they may
have to say, or what they may be expected to say; and it looked
strange to me when I first entered a congregation of the Saints and
saw this manner of procedure. It doubtless looks strange to many
today who visit us. But we rely on the promises of our Savior, though
made many hundreds of years ago. We consider these promises still good
and in force, and that in the hour we are called upon to proclaim the
words of eternal life he will give unto us words to speak; we shall
speak by the inspiration of that spirit which leads, guides and
directs us unto all truth.
In the passages that I have just read, especially in the 21st verse,
reference is made to Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who had come forth in
the day and age in which these words were spoken, in a lowly manner,
from the city of Nazareth, proclaiming certain principles, certain
ideas, and certain doctrines. As it happened, these principles, ideas
and doctrines were not popular in the section of country in which he
was preaching at that particular time. He taught certain doctrines to
the people, which the mass of mankind by whom he was surrounded did
not receive, did not accept, and did not believe. On the contrary,
they used every means in their power to thwart the carrying out of the
designs of the Savior, the bringing forth of the principles and the
promulgation of the ideas and doctrines that Jesus and those by whom
he was immediately surrounded proclaimed. As the result of this
opposition, which lasted a considerable length of time, this man,
Jesus of Nazareth, was taken by the populace, and by the Scribes and
Pharisees and ministers and high priests of that day, and crucified;
and said they, "Let his blood be upon our heads and the heads of our
children;" considering it better that one man should perish than that
the whole nation should be led away. They considered that if they
allowed this man to go on, the whole world would follow after him;
therefore, this heresy, this delusion, this gigantic wrong, that had
sprung up, must be done away with, and the only way to do it was to
kill Jesus, whom they looked upon as an impostor. As a result they
crucified him, doubtless anticipating that that act would stop the
work that he had started; that from the day of his crucifixion, his
followers, would dwindle and fall away, and that the delusion he had
been preaching would no longer be heard on the face of the earth.
Well, to a certain extent they were correct in this. Peter, doubtless,
as prophet, seer, and revelator, saw this feature in the future. In
telling them that they had crucified the Christ, the Savior of the
world, he reminded them that the heavens must receive this man. He
could no longer dwell with them in the flesh. He had come forth and
was born upon the earth; was baptized; the Holy Ghost came upon him in
the bodily form of a dove; he was crucified, buried and
resurrected, and had ascended into heaven. Naturally his friends and
followers would ask the question, How long is he to remain there,
throughout all the ages of eternity? Oh, no, for at the time of his
ascension, when his disciples stood looking at him ascending on high,
there stood two angels by their side, who said, "Ye men of Galilee,
why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him
go into heaven." They had the promise given unto them from the lips of
holy angels, that in like manner as he had ascended in a body of flesh
and bone, in like manner should he return to the earth. Peter then
informs us how long he is going to remain from the earth, informs us
what length of time he is to abide in the heavens, "Whom the heaven
must receive until the times of restitution of all things."
It must be, then, that something would have to be taken from the earth
to enable the bringing about of a restitution. As, for instance, it
would be impossible for a man to restore back to me something I had
never been in possession of. It would be impossible to return back to
the earth something that the earth had never possessed. It would be
impossible to restore back to the human family that which they had
never possessed. Then, to make a restitution, it must be that there
would be restored back to the earth certain things, certain
principles, certain doctrines, certain ideas, that had once been
extant on the face of the earth. Others of the apostles and prophets,
seers and revelators of the Lord Jesus Christ in their day and age
looked forward to this time. Isaiah tells us that the time should come
when the earth should mourn and fade away and languish. Why? "Because
they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, and broken the
everlasting covenant."
Certain principles were advanced when Jesus was upon the earth. They
were advanced by him and by his followers, the disciples, and those
who believed in his mission. Prominent among these principles that
were advanced was the principle that he advanced in regard to himself.
He spoke of his having come from the Father; and Peter, in speaking of
this matter in one of his epistles, says: "Who verily was foreordained
before the foundation of the world." Going further back into history,
as we have it here in holy writ, we find that God had spoken to some
of the prophets in times of old in regard to the same principle. Said
he to Jeremiah, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and
before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained
thee a prophet unto the nations." Again, we find in the writings of
Job, speaking of the organization of the world, that "the sons of God
shouted for joy when the foundation of the earth was laid." Again, one
of the writers in holy writ, in speaking on this subject, said: "Then
shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it." I take it as a logical consequence, that
it would be impossible to return to a place where we had never been;
that it would be impossible to return to God, if we had not been in
his presence.
I find in the passages that I have quoted an allusion to the
pre-existence we have had, similar to that which Jesus taught of
himself when he was upon the earth. As he and his disciples
passed along the road they found a man who had been blind from his
birth. The disciples referred to Jesus and asked, "Who did sin, this
man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" If the result of the
blindness was the sin of the man, certainly that sin must have been
committed before the birth in the flesh. It is scarcely possible that
a man would have to be punished in this way in the expectation of his
committing a sin. That idea is reserved for men in the nineteenth
century. We as a people know that men, in hundreds and thousands of
cases are judged and condemned before they are proven guilty. That
idea, however, is not promulgated by divine authority. I find, then,
in these passages, a proof of the pre-existence of these spirits of
ours which inhabit our tabernacles, those that I see before me this
afternoon, as well as my own. I find in all parts of the world that we
have any knowledge of, or wherever I have had the privilege of coming
in contact with the children of men, that there is what we call death
comes to them; and I find that they almost universally agree—although
Sadduceeism does to a certain extent exist in the Christian world
today—that when we bring this body of flesh and bone, this outward
covering of the spirit, there is a spirit that has inhabited that body
that goes somewhere, if you please; that when it leaves this earth it
exists as a spirit, or has an existence outside of this body of flesh
and bone. And I also find, as a general thing, that the human family
recognize that that spirit has intelligence, and I moreover find that
the great mass of the Christian world believe that that spirit has not
only intelligence, but that it can suffer pain, and can enjoy
pleasure. As, for instance, we hear people speak in regard to those
of their household who have passed away from their midst. They have
buried the body of flesh and bone, and it may molder away in the
grave, yet they feel to say, "The spirit has gone behind the veil, and
when we go there we expect to meet." We also find that the so-called
followers of the Lord Jesus Christ today, in talking on this subject,
assert that the spirit has gone to a place of punishment, where it is
punished, or that it has gone to a place of enjoyment, where it can
enjoy. In other words that this spirit within us is something that is
tangible, something that can reason, something that can sense and feel
pain or enjoy pleasure. In other words, when we come to examine this
matter, when we come to ascertain the truth in relation to it, we find
that the spirit that inhabits this body, the spirits that inhabit the
bodies of the human family, is the intelligent part of them—it is the
part that receives light and knowledge; it is the part that was
created before the foundations of the earth were laid, and which has
come upon the earth to tabernacle in the flesh, and when we have done
with this body of flesh and bone, the spirit, as far as light and
knowledge is concerned, retains its identity and its knowledge. One
very erroneous idea that has crept into the minds of the human family,
and one that we find traditioned in the minds of our children, is
this: A kind of vague, indistinct impression that when we lay down
this body of flesh and bone we lay down the frailties and
imperfections of this life. Not if the words of this book (the Bible)
are true, for we find that those spirits, after having gone behind the
veil, according to the Apostle Peter, had to be preached to:
"For for this cause," says he, "was the gospel preached also to them
that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the
flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." They needed to be
preached to, to enable them to live according to the Spirit of God,
and as we find in the preceding chapter, Peter says, "By which also he
went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were
disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of
Noah." And I often think that, in connection with this matter, if many
of our men in Israel would stop and reflect for a few moments in
regard to this point it would be a benefit to them; that if they would
but understand and comprehend that the habits and the weaknesses in
which they indulge, the frailties to which they become accustomed, and
that are not right, that they go with them into the spirit world,
there to be repented of, or turned from, they would hesitate before
becoming addicted to many of the things they do, seeing that the habits
they have contracted will remain eternally with them, unless they are
repented of. But repentance here or repentance there must come before
progress or exaltation will ever reach them, worlds without end. All
the thoughts and the acts we indulge in here, the ideas that we
obtain, the principles that we become partakers of, are eternal in
their nature, and they will stay and abide with us throughout the
eternities to come, for good or for evil. There are certain laws,
certain rules, a certain system of order, which controls, leads and
guides all this great plan. These principles were taught by the Savior
when he was upon the earth. They were not popular, however, because
they did not chime in with the ideas of that day and age of the world.
Said these wise men of the Pharisees and Sadducees, "Why, these
doctrines clash with our particular, or peculiar ideas, and if we
admit them for one moment, the fabric we have built up here will
tumble to the ground; we cannot stand it." It is true they could not
contend with Jesus and his apostles in argument; and I have always
said that any man, any set of men, any government, I care not who they
are, or what they are, who resort to brutal force to convince their
opponents that they are wrong—I say that those who do so are almost
certain to be in error. They have run out of argument, and any
government that will force men in regard to belief, political or
religious, I consider that that government, or the people who engage
in such a thing, are out of argument on their side, they have no
longer any argument to sustain themselves, and resort to force to
carry their point. In that day and age of the world, those men who
opposed Jesus and his apostles ran out of argument, and as a result
they say, "We will take the life of this man."
We find other principles that were taught by our Savior when he was
upon the earth. One of these was faith, a very important principle in
the plan of salvation. Another was the principle of repentance, and I
have often thought, in coming in contact with the human family, that
one of the reasons today of the discord and confusion that reign in
the midst of the children of men is because they have not truly
repented. It is trite, there is a form of repentance indulged in by
many millions of the human family—a kind of repentance that moans and
groans and cries and laments over the sins that they have committed,
but they go and do the same thing tomorrow. That is the kind
of repentance that Paul meant when he said: "For godly sorrow worketh
repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the
world worketh death." There is a kind of sorrow that needs not to be
repented of, and which consists in turning away from all that is evil,
from all that is wrong or incorrect in the sight of God and of holy
angels and of all good men.
Jesus taught also the principle of baptism, and I have no doubt in my
own mind that he foresaw the fact that the time would come when the
principle of baptism as he taught it would be perverted and changed.
Paul undoubtedly foresaw that time, for says he, "The time will come
when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts
shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they
shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables." We find many fables in the world today in regard to the
principle of baptism. The baptism that Peter taught was widely
different to the baptism taught by the Christian world today. Said
he, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you." What for? "For the
remission of sins." Today baptism is not practiced with that object
in view, by any means, by those who profess to have the Gospel of
Christ. They baptize for a form, for the answering of a good
conscience. I find that the baptism that Peter taught, that John
taught, had for its object the remission of sin, and another very
important principle was to follow this baptism, for said Peter
emphatically, "Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." And for
fear that there would be those who would pervert and change and turn
away from this principle, he told the thousands of Judea that were
listening to him, that "the promise is unto you, and to your children,
and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall
call." The promise was unto those that were afar off. It makes no
difference in regard to nationality, kindred, or race, and today, if
God calls any man to obey him and keep his commandments by going into
the waters of baptism, this promise is just as good as it was on the
day of Pentecost when the Holy Ghost was poured out so mightily upon
the apostles. We find an instance in connection with this ordinance in
the Acts of the Apostles. The Apostles, when at Jerusalem, heard that
Samaria had received the word of God, and that Philip had been
attending to the ordinance of baptism, after the people had
repented—but by repentance they did not receive the Holy Ghost. You
know repentance in the Christian world today brings the gift of the
Holy Ghost. Peter and John went down to Samaria and prayed that they
might receive the Holy Ghost. But did praying bring it? No. "Then laid
they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." This was
an ordinance instituted by our Lord and Master, taught and preached by
him and his apostles, for the reception of the Holy Ghost. But that
ordinance today, in the midst of the Christian world, is obsolete; it
is no longer considered necessary. I suppose that in this day of
enlightenment of the nineteenth century, with their wisdom in regard
to mechanism, in regard to discovery, in regard to invention, they
have found out some shortcut method whereby they can work out their
salvation without the help of the Lord, and consequently have taken
upon themselves to do away with this principle of the Gospel.
We find that one of the blessings that should be given to those who
received this great and glorious gift should be the gift of wisdom.
If, however, we are to judge the so-called wise men of the present
day, we can only conclude that they are certainly not in possession of
it; they certainly cannot be in possession of it, or they would not
take the course that many of them do. It should give unto them wisdom,
but you do not find wisdom in their midst, and no faith in this
ordinance of the Gospel. What is the reason today that this nation,
for instance, does not go into the waters of baptism? Because they
have no faith that God will keep his promise and remit their sins by
that ordinance. What is the reason that the sects of the day omit the
ordinance of the laying on of hands for the reception of the Holy
Ghost? Because they do not believe that the God of Israel will keep
his promise; they have got no faith in him. What is the reason that,
in the midst of want and misery that is brought about by sickness,
they do not administer to the sick by the laying on of hands as
commanded? Because they have no faith to believe that God will keep
his promise. Consequently, I am led to believe that in all this there
is a lack of wisdom on the part of the people; they have not received
the gift of the Holy Ghost, which leads, guides and directs them into
all truth. That it does not do this to the wise men of this nation and
to all the nations of the earth, is an evident fact from the many
blunders they make in their political work, in their financial
schemes, for today one scheme is raised up whereby the national debt
is to be paid; tomorrow another man comes forth with his ideas; next
day some thing else turns up, and so they are tossed to and fro by
every wind of financial doctrine; consequently I am led to believe
that they have not received this gift.
I also find that this gift will show unto us things that are to come.
Well, it is true we do find people talking about things that are to
come. We had a man recently who published a little book in regard to
great calamities that are coming. By what authority did he speak? By
what privilege did he enunciate these ideas, and where did he obtain
them? Did he get credit for them? Yes; the world gives him credit.
But did God speak through that man? I should judge not, if we are to
take as evidence all the belief and the doctrines of the man. Again,
when we go abroad in the midst of this nation and the nations of the
earth we ask, "Have you wise men in your midst who can foresee and
foretell events that are to come? "No," say they, "we have nothing of
that kind; we do not believe today in any man having that gift," and I
well remember the startled look a gentleman gave me when, in
conversation on this principle, I told him that the gift of the Holy
Ghost revealed unto man things that were to come. He at first seemed
very pleasantly struck with the idea. He was a member of a church and
lived in a Christian community in which there were thousands of good
Christian people. While talking I asked him, what would be the result
if he professed such a thing. "Why," said he, "I certainly think they
would kill me. They would not let me live here a week if I were to
profess anything of the kind." "What?" said I, "in the midst of
this
Christian community, with Bibles all around, with Bible associations,
with ministers of the Gospel calling upon people to be saved,
and with the fact that the Savior preached this doctrine, and yet when
you follow his instructions they would take your life?" "Yes," said
he, "I verily believe they would." Well, I can also believe they
would, too, from what little experience I have had in the Christian
world, consequently I am led to believe that they lack the possession
of this principle, that they have not received this gift. And I
sometimes liken it in this way in my meditations in regard to it; said
John, "That was true light which lighteth every man that cometh into
the world." I understand every person on the face of the earth has
this lamp in his possession, but I ask you as reasonable beings, what
benefit is this lamp to them unless it is lit up? Would a lamp, in a
dark room be of any benefit to a man if he had no means of lighting
it, or any means whereby to touch the light to cause it to shine? None
whatsoever, he would be just as well without the lamp. It must be lit
up, and the difficulty with the world today is they may be in
possession of that lamp but it has not been lit up, whereas it was lit
up within the prophets of the living God in days gone by, and as Peter
could tell these people, comforting them in regard to these matters,
"Whom the heavens must receive until the time of the restitution of
all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets
since the world began." It was by the lighting up of that lamp within
Peter that taught him in regard to this great event that was to come
at the restitution of all things. Well, when the day of restitution
came, what was the result? When the morning sun of the day of
restitution arose and began to make its influence felt on the earth
what was the result? History but repeats itself. As it was in the days
of Noah so shall it be in the coming of the Son of Man, in the days of
the restitution of all things. And when it came to pass that God
raised up his prophet on the face of the earth and sent his angel from
the courts of heaven to restore these things to the children of men,
these great and glorious principles that had been lost, the same
opposition, the same character of opposition came forth. The principle
of faith, to a great extent, had been lost from the face of the earth,
and when it was restored back it had to be a restoration of the same
faith precisely that was had in times of old, the faith that would
cause men to obey the principles of the everlasting Gospel despite all
the opposition of the powers of darkness, of earth and hell combined,
that might be arrayed against them. There was restored back to the
earth the correct principle of repentance, of turning away from
wrongdoing. There was restored back to the earth the correct
principle of baptism for the remission of sins. There was restored
back to the earth the ordinance of the laying on of hands for the
reception of the Holy Ghost. There was restored back to the earth the
authority to act in these different offices, and as John the Baptist
held the keys of the office of baptism for the remission of sins he
was sent back to the earth in this day and age of the world as a
messenger of God to restore this principle to the earth. "But," says the
Christian world, "We don't believe it." I wonder what difference that
makes? I wonder if it makes any difference? I wonder if that will
have any influence upon the fact? If John did really come, though every man and every woman, every soul that exists upon face of
the whole earth, should refuse to believe save the one to whom it was
sent, yet it is binding upon them so far as the proclamation reaches
them. Believe it or not, it still remains a fact, a principle of
truth; and when man, vain man, stands up and tells what he believes;
what difference does that make? None whatever, with all due respect to
their belief whatever that may be; we as a people today know for
ourselves that the authority to baptize for the remission of sins has
been restored to the earth by the return of the proper personage, and
the Latter-day Saints are well versed in regard to these matters. "How
do you know these things; how do you obtain this knowledge." I have
had men ask me in coming in contact with strangers to our belief. In
replying to that question let us turn back to the sayings of the
Savior. Said he, "If any man," (he did not bind it to a dozen, a
hundred, a thousand or ten million) "will do his (the father's) will,
he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I
speak of myself." The Latter-day Saints have gone into the waters of
baptism, have received the laying on of hands, and they know for
themselves that these principles that I have been speaking to you
about this afternoon are true, and I have often looked on the matter
in this way: would it not be a very unheard of and peculiar proceeding
for say fifty, or 100, or 500 wise men from the east to come here and
try and convince us there was no Lake out there, never had been, that
it was all a mistake and a myth, that we were deceived in regard to
it, and when they had pushed their argument, to such a length as
almost to be offen sive, unpleasant and disagreeable, without
convincing us; it would be an unheard of proceeding if they were to
say, "Well, we will put you in prison and fine you if you do not
acknowledge that there is no lake." But just as unheard of is the
proceeding made against us today, and for years gone by, in regard to
these principles we advocate; we know as a people, as well as we know
that Salt Lake exists, that God has spoken from the heavens in these
the last days. Talk about convincing men to the contrary in regard to
these matters! I am sometimes led to marvel at the folly of men in
regard to these things, and it looks like presumption on their part to
talk and act as they do. I am willing to talk kindly, courteously, and
agreeably with any man in regard to these principles, and when he
tells me there is such a place as Omaha, and says, "I have passed
through it, I know there is such a place, or that there are certain
stations on the railroad here," I am willing to believe him; I do not
contradict him and when I tell him that I know for myself of the truth
of my religion, I expect he will treat me courteously in regard to that
matter. But our expectations in that respect are not always realized.
We are often answered very peculiarly; we are often met with very
peculiar arguments. I take it for granted, however, that it is no
argument to disprove a principle to libel the character of believers
in that principle. The after character of Judas did not prove that his
evidence of Christ was incorrect. The denial of Peter did not prove
that Jesus was not the Christ. The character of a man has nothing to
do with the principle that may be advanced. I do not care where truth
comes from; I do not care who preaches it; I do not care if
the devil himself enunciated a principle of truth, it is truth all the
same, and you cannot change or alter it. I do not care how wise the
man is, how long the prayer he may make, or how reverend he may look,
if he tells a lie, it is a lie, and you cannot change or alter it.
Thus it is we as a people look upon the principles of truth, those
principles that led to light and knowledge, and it is time that people
laid down the foolish idea of striving against such things. Let us sit
down for a moment and examine in detail principle after principle, and
I will say to you that if any man on the face of the earth will show
me that I am in error on any principle, I will leave it that very
hour, and no longer claim it as a principle. Will every man do as much
to me? Many will, and many will not. I remember the case of a minister
who came to visit me. I wished to be fair with him, and I desired
that he should be equally so with me. I said, "Now we are alone in the
room, there are no witnesses here; but I will make a contract with
you. Here is the Bible; we will hunt for truth, and wherever I find
truth you are to acknowledge it, and wherever you find truth I shall
do the same." "No," said he, "I won't."
"Why not?" said I. "Oh," said
he, "you might spring some trap. We have a certain discipline to go
by; we have got a creed of faith and you may try to catch me in some
trap." "But," said I, "if you are wrong in your creed or faith,
don't
you want to be put right?" "Oh," said he, "it is the faith of my
fathers, it is the faith they died by, it is the faith of my
grandfather, my great grandfather; for generations back they have
lived and died by it, and I cannot afford to make a change."
"'Well,"
said I, "there is no use you and I talking if that is the case, that
ends the conversation." Now, I consider such reasoning as the height
of foolishness. Let us, as honest men and honest women, lay down all
prejudice and malice, and examine the principles of truth and
righteousness as they are placed before us, and as the light and
intelligence of the Holy Spirit will show them unto us, for they will
lead and guide us back to the presence of our Father and God. The
truth will hurt no man. The principles of truth the Latter-day Saints
preach to the nations of the earth, the principles that the Elders
have carried to the nations, are the principles whereby the human
family can be saved if they will but hearken to them. These principles
are not for a few, the plan God has revealed is for all. These
principles are revealed that God's kingdom may be established on the
earth in righteousness, and they shall lead, guide, and control untold
millions of the human family that have dwelt and shall yet dwell upon
the earth. We as Latter-day Saints should have broad and philanthropic
views in regard to these things. What if our names are cast out as
evil? What if they do strike us, or contend in regard to these
matters? Read the history of the past, and what has been the result?
Take individuals, take the men who have contended against the kingdom
of God in the last half century, and what has been the result? Take
the plans, and the untold thousands of plots and projects that have
been brought forth for the overthrow of the Church of Christ, and
where are they today?
" Gone glimmering among the things that were
A school boy's tale of other days
The wonder of but an hour." Gone no longer to be remembered; forgotten from the face of
the earth and their projectors with them. How long will men continue
in their foolishness, striving against the bucklers of Jehovah? Why,
just so long as the Lord lets them, no longer. We as the people of
God, recognize the hand of God in relation to these things, and we
want to prepare and fit our minds for an exalted view in relation to
the workings of the kingdom of God. We want to put away the "penny
wise and pound foolish" ideas that many of us have in regard to these
things as not becoming us as Latter-day Saints. I am not finding
fault; but we want to look upon these principles with great and noble
minds; "we want to shape our lives in connection with these things,
and as was said in times of old, let us "seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you."
We want to set our faces to the building up of the kingdom of God. To
the spreading and promulgation of the principles thereof not only
throughout the valleys of the mountains, but throughout the nations of
the earth. And will the opposition we have to meet stop it? Not by any
means. It will but add fuel to the fire, until the blaze will grow
higher and higher until all the nations of the earth shall see it, and
Zion shall be set upon a hill, which may God grant in the name of
Jesus. Amen.