We meet together from time to time to speak, to hear, to reflect, to
converse, and to exchange views in regard to the worship of Almighty
God. There is something associated with these matters that has
generally attracted the attention of the human family in all ages,
among all peoples, and under almost all circumstances. There is and
always has been a feeling of reverence existing among the human family
for a Divine Being of some kind and of some form, even amongst the
most low and debased people of the earth. The position that we occupy
in the world, our ideas of the mutability of affairs of time and
sense, the continuous departure of one after another from this stage
of existence to another, leads us, as well as other portions of the
human family generally, more or less to reflect upon those things
pertaining to the future. Various ideas and theories have existed
amongst different peoples. Some have worshipped a great variety of
Gods of their own making, while others have followed the notions and
theories of men in regard to certain doctrines, formulas, theories and
ideas that have been promulgated among what would be termed the wise,
the prudent, and the intelligent of the earth. But in relation to
religious matters there is no one can have any true or correct
conception of a hereafter unless it has been revealed by the Almighty,
who alone is able to comprehend the end from the beginning and is
acquainted with the position and destinies of men and of the world.
We have had revealed to us from time to time, as manifested in the
Scriptures, developed therein, many ideas pertaining to God and to
futurity; but any intelligence in regard to these matters was
generally obtained directly from the Lord, or through the ministering
of angels, or by the Spirit of prophecy and revelation given to them
by the Almighty. And it is emphatically stated in the Scriptures that
"the things of God knoweth no man but by the Spirit of God," and hence
when men assume to comprehend principles pertaining to futurity,
predicated upon the learning, the wisdom, the intelligence or the
science of the world, they are always very much at fault. Who can
comprehend the Almighty or under stand his designs? As one of
old said, "It is high as heaven." What can'st thou know? "Deeper
than
hell." Who can penetrate its mysteries? What really do we know? To
commence with, who can understand the designs of God in relation to
the organization of this world, or in relation to the position of man
and his destiny? His past operations, his present dealings with the
nations and his designs in the future, to the uninspired, are all a
profound enigma. Who knows anything about it? We find all kinds of
theories, notions and opinions in existence at the present day, but
what do they amount to? What would my unsupported opinion be worth, or
what would anybody's opinion be in relation to these matters? It would
amount to nothing. In regard to other principles, of a more material
nature that we are intimately associated with, there are certain facts
that scientists and men of intelligence always wish to be
demonstrated, and unless they are, they pay very little attention to
any unsupported hypothesis. If this be true in regard to the known
sciences, how much more particular should we be in regard to more
important matters. Theories, hypotheses, notions, dogmas and opinions
amount to very little when associated with the great and eternal
principles connected with the welfare of mankind, and the salvation of
a world. And hence we need something higher, something of more
intelligence than anything that man possesses to give unto us
information pertaining to these matters.
When God created the world and placed man upon it he had certain ideas
and designs that were fixed, immutable, and eternal, they were based
or predicated, in the most consummate wisdom; the most profound
intelligence; the wisdom and intelligence, if you please, that dwells
with the Gods. The organization of the heavens and the earth, the
creation of the world as we understand it, and also the creation of
man and beast, fowl, fish and insect, and everything that exists upon
the face of this earth. There was an object and design in relation to
all these matters. We could know nothing about that, however, unless
it had been revealed unto us, unless it had been communicated by the
being who knows the end from the beginning, and who comprehends all
things pertaining to the present condition as well as the past and the
future destiny of the human family and of the world.
Certain men in different ages have told us, so it is recorded here in
the Bible, about certain communications which they had from the
Almighty. They seemed to have a mode and manner of approaching him,
and he in the various dispensations made choice of and selected
individuals through whom and to whom he communicated his will to the
human family. There is something very remarkable in regard to these
things. There are many remarkable things in the old antediluvian
history of the world, that we have only very imperfectly related to us
in the Bible. We read, for instance, of a man by the name of Enoch—we
are told in the Bible that "Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for
God took him." That is about all that is said about him except that he
was a man that feared God. But Enoch, when we come to know more of his
history from the revelations that have been given, we find, was a man
that had communication with God from time to time. The Bible says he
walked with God and was not, for God took him, but in other
revelations which we have received, we have an account of the kind of
ministry that he had, the labors that he performed, the preaching that
he did, the manifestation of the power of God on his behalf, and
finally of his gathering together a large number of people. That he
built a city; that in that city they were under the guidance,
direction and control of the Almighty; and that he and his city and
people, or many of them, were translated, and hence as the Bible says,
"he was not; for God took him," and he also took the people that were
with him, those that feared him and worked righteousness.
There are other events associated with these matters which are very
interesting when we come to examine them. The people had corrupted
themselves very much, departed from the law of God, violated his
ordinances, and committed all kinds of iniquity, so that, as the Bible
tells us, all the thoughts of their hearts were only evil and that
continually, and it repented the Lord that he had made man because of
the wickedness and corruption that then existed. We have a very short
account of this in the Scriptures, but through other means that have
been communicated to us we have received a further knowledge of these
matters; for other men that embraced the Gospel in former ages became
preachers of righteousness as well as Enoch. They had the Spirit of
the Gospel as Moses had it, as Jesus had it, and as we have it. They
held communion with God and were under the inspiration of the
Almighty, in their administration, and when they came together—those
that feared God and worked righteousness—they had visions and
revelations and prophesied of events that should transpire. There were
many prophets in those days and they prophesied of a prison house that
God had prepared, told the people of the destruction that was coming
upon the earth: that they should be swept off the face of the earth by
the waters of the flood and that none should be spared except a few to
perpetuate the name and fame of the Almighty and again propagate their
species. This is a thing that has seemed very singular to some men who
do not comprehend the designs of God, and they suppose that there was
a degree of cruelty attached to the Almighty in sweeping off the whole
people of the land, with the exception of a very few. They assume to
say there was a degree of injustice, cruelty and tyranny associated
with it. However, that is for want of an understanding of correct
principle, and the designs of the Almighty, and many conclusions that
people arrive at, predicated upon the same ground—arise from a lack of
understanding the principle that they talk about.
There are some principles connected with these things which put
matters in a very different light. When we understand the nature of
man, when we consider that he is a dual being, that he is possessed of
a body and spirit, that he is associated with time and with eternity,
that according to the Scriptures the spirits of all men were created
before this world was made, and that God is the God and Father of the
spirits of all flesh; and being God and Father of the spirits of all
flesh, it was his right and his prerogative to dictate what should be
done for the benefit of those spirits and his children that he had
created here upon the earth. It was not a matter of theory, according
to the opinions of men, but an immutable plan, according to
the eternal wisdom of God as it existed in his bosom before the world
was, or "before the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of
God shouted for joy." These spirits, that he was the father of, had
their rights and privileges and immunities; and as he had created man
upon the earth or prepared a tabernacle, or a body, if you please, for
these spirits to inhabit, it became his interest, as the Father of the
human family, to look after their welfare. They had been led aside by
the influence of Satan and had corrupted themselves and departed from
correct principles, and violated the law of God, and became degraded
and sunken in iniquity and infamy. Now, suppose we take ourselves back
into the presence of our Father, and looking down upon these degraded
wretches that inhabited the earth at that time, would we not turn to
our Father as a just God and say, "Father, do you see the corruption,
the degradation, the infamy and the evil that exists and permeates the
world of mankind?" "Yes, yes, of course I see it." "Is it just that
our spirits should be condemned to go and inhabit the bodies of these
men, or of their seed, that are so fallen, so degraded and so corrupt,
and whose actions and operations are so at variance with thee and thy
laws? Is it just and equitable that we should go and be mixed up with
these infamies and be led astray like them into the paths of vice and
suffer for things that we have not done and could not help ourselves
in: is it just?" "Why, no it is not, and I will cut them off; and as
they possess the power of propagating their species upon the earth, I
will stop that power by a flood and raise up another people, that
justice may be done you, my sons and daughters, and that the judge of
all the earth may do right." When we look at things in that point of
view, it places them in another position from what they would appear
otherwise, and justifies the ways of God with man.
Now, when this event took place, people were cast into the pit, into
the prisons, as it had before been said that they should be. Well,
what about that? Trace things forward to the time that Jesus appears
upon the earth, and we see something then pertaining to these very
individuals, in the acts of the Almighty, as they transpired at that
time. When Jesus accomplished his work, when he had fulfilled the
mission that he had to do here upon the earth, and when he was put to
death in the flesh and quickened by the Spirit, he went and preached
to the spirits in prison "that sometime were disobedient, when once
the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah;" and although
they had suffered the wrath of Almighty God, he who had come to
proclaim deliverance to the captive, to open the prison doors to those
that were bound, to release them and to proclaim the acceptable time
of the Lord, he went to them as their Savior, in common with others,
and preached the Gospel unto them. Hence we find the acts of God
justified in relation to these matters, and while he had power to
destroy, while he had power to send them to prison, he also had power
to conceive a plan for their deliverance therefrom, when the time
should come that they should be delivered after they had suffered
sufficiently for the crimes, evils and iniquities that they had
committed upon the earth. There are many singular things associated
with these matters that men do not really comprehend.
We come again to another prominent character, that is Abraham,
a very remarkable man in his day and age; although at the present time
men look upon him as a kind of an old shepherd, a man that attended
flocks and herds and sheep, a sort of herdsman and a shepherd; and
there was very little of him known except that he lived in his day
almost as a barbarian. That is the opinion that many men have formed
of him—that he was something like our backwoodsmen, some of our
farmers who have not mixed up with the elite of society, or made
themselves familiar with the intelligence that pervades the world. I
look upon him as another character entirely, and from information that
we can gather from revelations that have been referred to, we find
that there was something very peculiar about him. We read his history
and we find that he was a man that sought after righteousness, that he
desired to obtain more righteousness, that he examined the records of
his fathers, that he found in examining the records, tracing them
back through the flood, clear away back unto Adam's day, he found many
circumstances that were connected with mankind, not only to Adam's
day, but before the world was. In doing this, among other things, he
found he had a right to the priesthood. I need not stop to tell you
what that is, you Latter-day Saints. You understand it is the rule and
government of God, whether in the heavens or on the earth, and when we
talk of the kingdom of God we talk of something that pertains to rule,
government, authority and dominion; and that priesthood is the ruling
principle that exists in the heavens or on the earth, associated with
the affairs of God. Hence, we are told in the Scriptures that Christ
was a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Then of what
order was Melchizedek? A priest forever after the order of the Son of
God, for if Christ was after the order of Melchizedek, Melchizedek
must have been after the order of Christ, as a necessary consequence.
Very well. Now, then, in relation to that priesthood it was something
that ministered in time and through eternity; it was a principle that
held the keys of the mysteries of the revelations of God, and was
intimately associated with the Gospel, and the Gospel, wherever it
existed, was in possession of this priesthood; and it could not exist
without it. It always "brought life and immortality to light." The
notions and opinions and religions of man generally are altogether
devoid of a principle of that kind, they know nothing about it.
Whenever men are placed in communication with God and are in
possession of the Gospel of the Son of God, it brings life and
immortality to light, and places them in relationship with God that
other men know nothing about.
They were spoken of in former times as the "sons of God." "Now are we
the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him: for we shall
see him as he is." It was this priesthood that would be the means of
introducing him into the presence of God that Abraham found that he
was a rightful inheritor of, according to his lineage and descent, and
he applied for an ordination, which he received, according to the
revelation given unto us, and with that ordination the powers, the
blessings, the light, intelligence and revelation associated with the
Gospel of the Son of God. And what then? The next that we read of is
that he had the Urim and Thummim, and thus he sought unto God
for himself, and while searching unto him, God revealed himself unto
Abraham and said: "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them
that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be
blessed." There is something very remarkable about this when we
reflect upon it, and when we examine the position that he occupied,
and that his seed occupied, we can see the fulfillment of these
things. Afterwards, the Lord revealed himself to him from time to
time, communicated his will to him, and he was made acquainted with
the designs of the Almighty. The Lord showed unto him the order of
the creation of this earth on which we stand, and revealed unto him
some of the greatest and most sublime truths that ever were made known
to man. He got these through revelation from God and through the
medium of the Gospel of the Son of God.
Well, let us look a little at the fulfillment of some of these things.
"I will bless them that bless thee; and in thee shall all families of
the earth be blessed." We read sometime afterwards of Isaac and Jacob.
Jacob had communication with God. The Lord appeared unto him from time
to time, and revealed his purposes and designs unto him. Abraham
prophesied that the children of Israel should be in bondage in Egypt
for 400 years, that after that time they should be delivered; and
Moses was raised up as a deliverer and he conversed with God. He saw a
bush that burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. He
afterwards conversed with the Lord upon mount Sinai, and received
tables of stone written upon by the finger of God, which were the
commandments of the Lord to the children of Israel. And who was Moses?
A descendant of Abraham.
We also read of prophets who, by the spirit of inspiration, could draw
aside the dark veil of futurity and penetrate into the invisible
world, and contemplate the purposes of God as they should roll forth
in after ages in all their majesty and power and glory. And who were
they? They were the seed of Abraham. We read that Jesus, also, who was
the Son of God, was born of the seed of Abraham according to the
flesh. Who were His apostles? The seed of Abraham. Then there were
Nephi, Lehi, Ishmael and others who came from the land of Jerusalem to
this continent according to the Book of Mormon. Who were they? The
seed of Abraham. There were also the Twelve Apostles called and set
apart upon this continent, who went forth by the power and Spirit of
God, aided by intelligence and revelation such as they never had on
the other continent. Who were they? The seed of Abraham. "In thee
shall all the families of the earth be blessed" —not cursed; that was
not what the priesthood of God was introduced for, but to spread
light, truth, and intelligence, to unfold unto mankind the ways,
purposes and designs of God, to make man acquainted with his origin,
his position in life and his future destiny; and to make him
acquainted, as an eternal, intelligent being, with things past, with
things present, and with things to come. This is what Jesus taught
them on the continent of America. "It is expedient for you that I go
away, for if I go not away the comforter will not come unto you;"
which is the Spirit of God. And what shall it do? It shall bring
things past to your remembrance. You shall be made acquainted with the
actions of the ancient principles and of God in ages that have
preceded you. It shall lead unto all truth. You shall comprehend all
matters that are necessary for you to know by the light, intelligence,
and revelation which flows from God. And what else shall it do? It
shall show you of things to come. It shall draw aside the veil of the
invisible world. It shall make you acquainted with the things
pertaining to eternity, and you will be enabled to square your lives
according to the eternal principles of intelligence as it dwells in
the bosom of God, and as the Holy Ghost will make known and reveal
unto you. It is this priceless treasure that is spoken of that we
possess in earthen vessels "that ye are come," says Paul in his
epistle to the Hebrews, "unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the innumerable company of
angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in
heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men
made perfect. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to
the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of
Abel." This is what the Gospel does for you, it brings life and
immortality to light.
These are some of the leading, prominent principles as they have
existed heretofore, along with thousands of others that we have not
time to mention or touch upon this evening.
Now, we will come to other events, of later date; events with which we
are associated—I refer now to the time that Joseph Smith came among
men. What was his position? And how was he situated? I can tell you
what he told me about it. He said that he was very ignorant of the
ways, designs and purposes of God, and knew nothing about them; he was
a youth unacquainted with religious matters or the systems and
theories of the day. He went to the Lord, having read James'
statement, that, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him." He believed that statement and went to the Lord and asked him,
and the Lord revealed himself to him together with his Son Jesus, and,
pointing to the latter, said: "This is My Beloved Son, Hear Him!" He
then asked in regard to the various religions with which he was
surrounded. He enquired which of them was right for he wanted to know
the right way and to walk in it. He was told that none of them was
right, that they had all departed from the right way, that they had
forsaken God the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out
cisterns, broken cisterns, that could hold no water. Afterwards the
Angel Moroni came to him and revealed to him the Book of Mormon, with
the history of which you are generally familiar, and also with the
statements that I am now making pertaining to these things. And then
came Nephi, one of the ancient prophets, that had lived upon this
continent, who had an interest in the welfare of the people that he
had lived amongst in those days.
But how is it in relation to these people and in regard to some of
these matters? Why and how should these men that have lived here upon
the earth have anything to do with the people that now live upon it?
You Latter-day Saints ought to be acquainted with these matters, and
I suppose you are; but I will show one or two princi ples here
in case, peradventure, there may be those present who have not thought
or reflected properly upon the subject. The Melchizedek Priesthood, we
are told by Paul, is without beginning of days or end of years. He
speaks of Melchizedek as a man "without father, without mother,
without descent." Now, he would be a very singular man, according to
our idea of things, without father or mother, without beginning of
days or end of years, but it was the priesthood of which he spake in
contradistinction to the priesthood of Aaron. He was then among the
Jews. The Jews believed in the Aaronic priesthood; but they knew very
little or nothing about the Melchizedek priesthood, and a man to be a
priest of Aaron must be a literal descendant of Aaron, and of the
tribe of Levi, and he must be able to prove his lineage from the
records. But in contradistinction to this priesthood there was the
priesthood of Melchizedek, hence we come to account for some of these
things of which I have been speaking. And now I will go a little
further in regard to this matter. I find, for instance, a man by the
name of Moses who lived at a certain time to whom I have referred. I
find another man by the name of Elijah, who was a great prophet and
who had great power with God, among other things in controlling the
elements, in shutting up the heavens and in again opening them by his
prayer of faith under certain circumstances, which it is not necessary
for us now to enter into. We find that when Jesus was here upon the
earth he ascended a mount with his disciples, Peter, James and John,
and there appeared unto them Moses and Elias, in great glory. Peter,
turning to Jesus, said, "Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou
wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for
Moses, and one for Elias." Now then, the question arises, What was
Moses doing here? What was Elias doing here? Where had they come from?
Why, they had the Gospel. The Gospel is an everlasting Gospel as
spoken of in the Scriptures, and associated with that Gospel is the
priesthood that administers in time and in eternity. And Moses, who
had led the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, and had
conversed with God and given the law of the Lord unto the people, with
Elias the prophet, who was also a man of God—the Melchizedek
priesthood, which held the keys of the mysteries of God, and it
ministers in time and in eternity. Both of these men had ministered on
the earth, and, holding that priesthood in the heavens they came to
minister to Jesus, and to Peter, James and John, upon the earth. There
is nothing very remarkable about that.
We come again to John on the Isle of Patmos, where he had been
banished because of his religion. I do not know whether he was a
practical polygamist or not; but his religion was very much opposed to
the ideas and theories of the people in that day. He was a Christian
and he dared to fear God and keep his commandments, and they banished
him to the Isle of Patmos, that he might labor amongst the slaves
there in the lead mines. But while there, being in possession of the
light, the truth, the intelligence and revelation that proceeded from
God, he gazed upon the purposes of God as they should roll forth in a
subsequent period of time, and he contemplated the position of man in
the various ages of the world unto the time that the heavens and the
earth should pass away; when there should "be a new heaven and
a new earth whereon dwelt righteousness." He gazed upon all these
things and fell down at the feet of the angel to worship him,
whereupon the angel said, "See thou do it not: I am thy
fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship
God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." In other
words: "I was like you once, on the earth, persecuted, cast out,
condemned, despised, had every kind of opprobrium and approach cast
upon me; wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute,
afflicted, tormented; wandered in deserts and mountains, and dwelt in
dens and caves of the earth. I am one of thy fellowservants the
prophets, I have fought the good fight, finished my course, I have
kept the faith, I was true to my covenants, my God, and my priesthood,
and I come now to minister to you." Again who more likely than Mormon
and Nephi, and some of those prophets who had ministered to the people
upon this continent, under the influence of the same Gospel, to
operate again as its representatives? Who more likely than those who
had officiated in the holy Melchizedek priesthood to administer to
Joseph Smith and reveal unto him the great principles which were
developed?
Now, then, what has he revealed? Anything new? Why, yes; a new Gospel;
but an everlasting Gospel. What is it that John said he saw? "I saw
another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel
to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God,
and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come." Did John
see that among other things? Has it come to pass? Yes, it has, "And in
thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Who was Joseph
Smith? The Book of Mormon tells us he was of the seed of Joseph that
was sold into Egypt, and hence he was selected as Abraham was to
fulfil a work upon the earth. God chose this young man. He was
ignorant of letters as the world has it, but the most profoundly
learned and intelligent man that I ever met in my life, and I have
traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, been on different continents
and mingled among all classes and creeds of people, yet I have never
met a man so intelligent as he was. And where did he get his
intelligence from? Not from books; not from the logic or science or
philosophy of the day, but he obtained it through the revelation of
God made known to him through the medium of the everlasting Gospel.
Now people who are ignorant of these things are ready to point the
finger of scorn, and heap contumely and reproach upon him and upon
others who dare have the hardihood, as they say, to express the same
kind of sentiments that he did. I dare do it! I have done it among the
nations of the earth, and dare do it today before any man or any set
of men that the world can produce, and I defy them to successfully
controvert or overturn any principle that God has revealed through the
Gospel of the Son of God in these last days!
But could Joseph Smith help being selected of God? There is, to say
the least of it, an intelligence displayed that the world knows
nothing of. Is that to be despised? Is that to be regretted? Was he
the enemy of man? No; no more than Abraham was; no more than the
prophets were; no more than Jesus was; but could Abraham, or the pro phets know what God was going to demand of them? No, they
could not. And if they could not, if they were to tell a truth that
God has revealed to them, would their telling it make it a falsehood?
I think not. It was an unpleasant thing for a man to rise up and tell
the people they were wrong. To go to our divines—our right reverend
divines—and their followers and tell them they were all out of the
way! I expect they would be no more satisfied with such a message than
the same class were with the teachings of Jesus when he spoke of the
Scribes and Pharisees and called them hypocrites, like unto whited
sepulchers which appeared fair on the outside to men, but inwardly
they were nothing but rottenness and dead men's bones. This was not
very palatable for some of the wise of the Jews and some of the
leading men of that day who professed such a great amount of piety.
But he came to tell them the truth, not to speak his own words but the
words of his Father who sent him and to communicate those great
principles which God had revealed to him.
Well, now, do I believe that Joseph Smith saw the several angels
alleged to have been seen by him as described, one after another? Yes,
I do. Why do I believe it? Because I obeyed this Gospel. And what was
there connected with the obeying of it? What was the Gospel that he
taught? Precisely the same as that that Jesus and his disciples taught
both on the continent of Asia and on this continent. What did he do?
Why, says he to his disciples: "Go ye into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature." Was he an enemy of mankind? I think
not. Go unto all the world and tell them of the love of God to man,
preach the Gospel to every creature, and, "he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
What else? "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name
they shall cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They
shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it shall
not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall
recover." Here was something practicable, something real, something
intelligent, something that was worthy of a God, communicated by the
Son of God for the welfare of the human family.
What have we now? Ideas, notions, theories, opinions, hypotheses, and
all the various confusion of ideas and notions, but no man to say
"thus saith the Lord." They used to say "thus saith the Lord;" they
had the word of God for the people, and not the opinions and creeds
and notions and fancies of men.
The Lord has restored the same Spirit by which we know of the truth of
the principles declared by Joseph Smith and by others. I know it and
so do you, many of you, who hear me. Was it an injury to the world in
the days of Jesus for his disciples to go and proclaim salvation? I
think not. Is it an injury to the people today for us to proclaim the
same Gospel to the world? I think not. You can find very few people
who will do what thousands of our elders have done—go out without
purse or scrip to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation, things that
they not only believe in but know for themselves before God that they
are true—go out as the friends of mankind to publish the same Gospel
under the same authority that others had in former ages. Did
they prosecute and persecute men in former ages? They did. Why? Was it
because they were wicked and corrupt? No; it was because they dared to
tell a corrupt world that God had spoken, that light and truth had
been revealed from heaven, that the Son of God had appeared and that
if they would repent of their sins and be baptized for the remission
of them, they should receive the Holy Ghost, that should take of the
things of God and show them unto them. That was the doctrine they
taught; that is the doctrine that we teach. Is there anything very
remarkable about it? Yes, very remarkable. Is there a people that dare
say what the Elders of the Latter-day Saints dare say to the world? I
think not. What have these elders done, many of whom are here? Gone to
the ends of the earth without purse or scrip proclaiming the Gospel of
the Son of God. And what did they tell the people to do? To repent and
be baptized for the remission of their sins and to have hands laid
upon them for the reception of the Holy Ghost; and you do the same;
you baptize them when they believe in the name of the Father, and of
the Son and of the Holy Ghost. And what does a name mean? Power and
authority. Supposing a man was to come here as Governor or Secretary,
or holding any other office under the government of the United States;
he comes in the name of the United States, or by the power or
authority of the United States, does he not? Yes. But supposing some
of you was to set up here as Governor, they would want to see your
credentials and know by what authority you came here and whether you
were appointed by the legitimate authorities of the United States or
not. If not, they would pay no attention to you; they would look upon
you as a very commonplace, foolish individual, and moreover, they
would also look upon you as a fraud. Well, then, if God does not send
men, of course they cannot act under the authority of God; if they do,
they act fraudulently. Now, how can men go in the name of God when
they tell you that God has never spoken for the last eighteen hundred
years, and that he does not now reveal himself? That being the case,
how then can they go forth in the name of God? I do not know; it is a
mystery to me; these people possess some mysteries which I cannot
fathom, and that is one of them. I know of only three ways of
obtaining authority of that kind—one is by lineal descent, another by
writing, and a third by speaking. Now, then, if we can find no record
among the people who profess to teach in the name of God, and they do
not profess to have a lineal descent, and they even hold that God has
not spoken for eighteen hundred years—they place themselves in a very
awkward position. But when you come to understand, to fully comprehend
the priesthood held by our forefathers, you can see by what authority
the Holy priesthood is conferred upon you. Well, then, where did you
get this authority from—from the world? No, the world did not have it
to give, and consequently you could not get it from them; and if God
has not spoken, if the angel of God has not appeared to Joseph Smith,
and if these things are not true of which we speak, then the whole
thing is an imposture from beginning to end. There is no half-way
house, no middle path about the matter; it is either one thing or the
other. Now you go forth to the nations of the earth in the
name of the Lord, I appeal to you elders, you contradict me if you
can—and when people believe and have been baptized, you lay your hands
upon them in the name of the Lord, and you say unto them, "Receive ye
the Holy Ghost," and they receive it, do they not? They do, and you
are my witnesses of that. And what does the Holy Ghost do? It takes of
the things of God and shews them unto us. Can we conceive of a greater
principle, of one more majestic, and grand, and noble, and exalted?
What is man? A poor feeble worm of the earth, going forth in the name
of God to call upon the human family to repent and be baptized for a
remission of their sins, and after the name of God, he lays his hands
upon their head, for the reception of the Holy Ghost. Who gives it?
God, and it is the greatest evidence that exists upon the face of the
whole earth; no men anywhere have an evidence like that which is given
from the Almighty. It did not come from us, it did not come from
Joseph Smith, though he was the medium through which those things were
communicated; it did not come from Brigham Young, it did not come from
me or any other individual; it comes as the free gift of God according
to the eternal laws of the everlasting Gospel.
Now, then, here we are. We find ourselves in this position, having
entered into these principles, we believe in them and are willing to
be governed by them.
The Lord, however, has revealed many other great and important
principles to us, and among these the eternal covenant between man and
woman. Did Joseph reveal that principle? Yes, he did. Do you know it?
Yes, I do know it; if nobody else knows it, I do. Did he tell you of
it? Yes, he did; but I have had other manifestations besides that, and
therefore I know of what I speak, and I know the principle is of God.
Now there are some people who tell us we are very wicked. Are we? Why,
yes, in many respects we are. But not in that! Not in that! Not in
that! Are we careless? Are we indifferent? Are we covetous? Do we love
the world more than we ought to do, and allow our minds, our feelings
and affections to be carried away by the transitory things of time and
sense? Yes, yes, to our shame, in many instances, be it spoken; this
is true. Do we violate in many instances the great principles that God
has revealed? We do, to our shame be it spoken, many of us; but we do
not violate the law of God nor the laws of chastity in that thing.
Well, what are we to do? God has revealed a principle to us; do we
know it? Yes. Do I know it? Yes. Do you? Yes, yes, a very great many
of you that are here and hear me speak know it. But does the Congress
of the United States know it? No. Does the Supreme court know it? No;
they cannot know of the things of God but by the Spirit of God. Do
they know anything about eternal relationship and perpetuity in the
eternal world? No, they do not, they are ignorant of the principle,
they know nothing about it, and we did not until it was revealed to
us. Now, then, what is to be done? They place us in a position like
this; God says this is an eternal law associated with the eternal
perpetuity of lives in time and throughout the eternities that are to
come; that a man having a wife must have her sealed to him for time
and for all eternity. Why, long ago we have heard of a religion to
live by but none to die by; none that could reach to the other
side of the veil and prepare us for eternal associations and eternal
lives in the eternal world, or eternities that are to come. But this
principle involves that thing and places us in this position: God says,
"Go and obey my law." Congress says, "No, you shall not do it."
Now the
question is—who shall we obey? We would like to be in accord with
Congress. We would like to submit ourselves to every ordinance of man.
We would like to be good and peaceable citizens, which we are. We
don't wish, however, to follow their corruptions—don't we know enough
of them? Yes, we do. We know a good deal more about them than they
know about us. We know their crimes, we know their licentiousness, we
know of the millions of murders that are perpetrated by mothers and
fathers of children and they know it. Many of these murders are
committed while the children are prenatal; they kill them either
before or after they are born, just as it happens. We also know of
this horrible social evil that exists among them, and of the
corruption, degradation and rottenness that exist in their midst. And
as I have said to some of them sometimes, "You come from these dens of
infamy, reeking with corruption and rottenness, steeped in crime and
bloodshed and you will come here, will you, and teach morality to us?
Go home, attend to your own business, cleanse yourselves from your
corruptions, for they are a stink in the nostrils of Jehovah, and of
all honest men, and don't come to set us right in regard to things
that God has given us to do, and which with the help of the Lord we
will carry out."
Now, these are our feelings in relation to these matters. This Gospel
reveals to us, as it did in former days, the light and intelligence of
God. It opens up the visions of eternity; it places us in
communication with the Lord. It prepares us for life and for death and
for exaltation, and we are going to go on with our temples and
administer in them in the name of the Lord. We shall enter therein and
be baptized for the living and the dead and stand as saviors upon
Mount Zion, and let the world wallow in corruption and follow the evil
desires of their hearts, let them pursue their own course, fighting,
if they please, against the Zion of our God, but the Lord will be
after them and they will know before they get through that there is a
God that rules in the heavens and he will say to them as he did to the
waves of the mighty deep, "Hitherto thou shall come, but no further:
and here shall thy proud waves be stayed."
What, then, shall we do? Fear God, be faithful, be honest and upright
and full of integrity and truthfulness; shun evil of every kind,
preserve our bodies and spirits pure, maintain our covenants before
God, and he will smile upon us, he will be on the side of right, and
his kingdom will grow and increase and spread until the kingdoms of
this world shall become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ, whose
right it is to rule forever and ever.
May God help us to be faithful in keeping his commandments that we may
be saved in his kingdom, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.