It is a very difficult matter to say anything at a time of sorrow and
bereavement like the present that will give immediate relief to the
sorrowing hearts of those who mourn. Such griefs can only be fully
relieved by the lapse of time and the influence of the good spirit
upon the hearts of those that mourn, by which they can obtain comfort
and satisfaction in their hopes of the future. For the loss of a
father or mother in the family there is no adequate reparation; no
remedy in this world which will supply such a loss, and about the only
consolation we have is in the hope that we may so live that we
may be permitted to meet again with our beloved, faithful and true
friends who go before, or who come after us, and enjoy their society
once more in another sphere or state, which will be immortal. If we
can only be satisfied in our minds by the witness of the good spirit,
to know that the course we pursue in this life is such as will secure
to us this privilege, then, in this reflection there is a degree of
comfort and satisfaction, if not of joy, notwithstanding our
separation, in time, from those that we have loved and cherished, for
although they are gone from us, we know we shall meet them again in a
better and more enduring sphere. I remember my feelings when first
called upon to part with one of my children—my firstborn. It seemed
to me to be an irreparable loss—a calamity, and if I had not
restrained my feelings I should have felt that it was cruel for the
Lord to suffer one so bright, so pure and innocent to be taken away by
the hand of death, after remaining with us just long enough to become
the joy of our hearts and the light of our home. Indeed it was a
severe trial of our feelings to part with one who seemed so
indispensable to our happiness, and for a time it seemed that the
substance of our joy and hope had fled forever; but I have learned
that there are a great many things which are far worse than death.
With my present feelings and views and the understanding that I have
of life and death I would far rather follow every child I have to the
grave in their innocence and purity, than to see them grow up to man
and womanhood and degrade themselves by the pernicious practices of
the world, forget the Gospel, forget God and the plan of life and
salva tion, and turn away from the only hope of eternal reward and
exaltation in the world to come.
Far better, in my judgment, follow them to their graves before they
have commenced such fearful acts, or fall into such fearful errors. I
would rather a thousand times die while I have the faith of the Gospel
in my heart and the hope of eternal life within me, with the prospect
of becoming worthy of inheriting a crown of eternal life which is the
greatest gift of God unto man, than to live in possession of all the
world affords and lose that gift.
It would be far better for me and my whole family to die in the faith
than to live and deny it and bring shame, disgrace and ruin upon us
forever.
The Gospel has been revealed to us in this dispensation. The
revelation of the Gospel is a reality; there is no fiction about it.
It is a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. The plan of
salvation has been revealed for the redemption of the world. Shall we
deny it after we have become acquainted with its glorious truths?
No person can turn away from the truth into darkness and error and
into "by and forbidden paths," and continue in that course without
forfeiting all claim to the blessings and privileges of the first
resurrection.
If the truth had not been revealed to the world and mankind had been
left in ignorance in relation to these principles, it would have been
a very different thing; there would have been some excuse for them;
but the fact that light has come into the world, that the truth has
been revealed and the way of salvation marked out and made plain and
simple for all to walk in it, makes it absolutely necessary for all to
come to the knowledge of the truth, to walk circumspectly, and
to keep the commandments which the Lord has given. It would be
immeasurably better for us to lay down our bodies now, in the faith of
the Gospel, than to live to ripe old age and turn away from it,
thereby forfeiting our claim upon eternal life.
If we live and turn away from the truth we will be separated
throughout the countless ages of eternity from the society of those we
love. We will have no claim upon them, and they will have no claim
upon us. There will be an impassable gulf between us over which we
cannot pass, one to the other. If we die in the faith, having lived
righteous lives, we are Christ's, we have the assurance of eternal
reward, being in possession of the principles of eternal truth and
shall be clothed with glory, immortality and eternal lives. While we
sojourn in the flesh we pass a great portion of our life in sorrow;
death separates us for a short time, some of us pass behind the veil,
but the time will come when we will meet with those who have gone, and
enjoy each others' society forever. The separation is but for a moment
as it were. No power can separate us then. God having joined us
together we have a claim upon each other—an undeniable claim—inasmuch
as we have been united by the power of the priesthood in the Gospel of
Christ. Therefore it is better to be separated in this life for a
little season, although we have to pass through deprivation, sorrow,
trouble, toil, widowhood, orphanage, and many other vicissitudes, than
to be separated for all eternity. By complying with the principles of
the Gospel we become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
The anticipation of these great privileges brings happiness to us now,
and strengthens our hopes of exaltation and eternal reward in the
kingdom of God hereafter. No other power but that of God, through the
knowledge of truth, can give such enjoyment, peace of mind,
consolation and happiness to the sorrowing hearts of mortals. The
Gospel has been revealed for the salvation and exaltation of the
children of men, and if they would only receive it, it would bring,
finally, unalloyed and perfect happiness to all, even a "fullness of
joy."
Let us look into the future. We should not brood over the hardships
which we have passed through. This is a world of sorrow, of care, of
probation; a world of disappointment, anxiety and toil. We find it as
it is, and many of us help to make it no better. When God organized
the world, he pronounced it good, but men have transgressed the laws
and departed from the paths of life. Mankind do not live by principles
of justice, truth, righteousness and equality. They are violators of
the law, and will come under its condemnation. I am sorry to say that
mankind bring evil and therefore suffering upon themselves. Men rise
up and oppress their neighbors. Many take delight in oppressing their
fellow creatures, and they do it because they have not the Spirit of
God or the love of the Gospel in their hearts. They hate justice and
righteousness and are strangers to mercy, because they know not God
nor His law, nor comprehend the results of their own acts. Whereas, if
they were imbued with the good spirit, they would comfort and elevate
those by whom they are surrounded. Were men to use properly the
blessings which God has given them for the good of all mankind, we
could soon see the effects in the amelioration of the world; but many
are so fallen and degraded that they care nothing for
themselves nor for anybody else.
Many are lovers of pleasure and lust more than lovers of God. They
delight in the lusts of the flesh, the gratification of their
appetites, having virulent desires, living in corruption, debauchery,
revelry and all manner of wickedness. Many people do not know how to
be happy, not knowing how to use the blessings that God has given unto
them. If they had all the world, they would use it for the
gratification of their own base passions and desires, to their own
destruction. But if they possessed the right spirit, they would seek
to promote the peace and happiness of mankind and extend the influence
of the Gospel of light and truth to all the world. They would love
purity, virtue, honesty, sobriety and righteousness. We should use the
blessings that we receive to the glory of the Lord. We should comfort
the mourner and provide for those who are in need. If we were to use
the blessings that God has given unto us to His honor and glory, all
would be happy; but we do not all see nor do alike. Inasmuch as we do
not use our gifts or talents that are given unto us of God for the
elevation of mankind, we know too well the sad results. They are
misery and ruin for time, and perhaps for all eternity.
Every man will have to render an account of his stewardship, and every
one of us will be held responsible for his own works, whether good or
evil. We will be judged for the deeds done in the flesh; if they have
been evil we will have to pay the penalty and satisfy justice and the
demands of a broken law. Those that have sinned against the Holy Ghost
will have no redemption. All will be saved with this exception, and
come out of the "prison" and be exalted and receive a reward and an
inheritance in the mansions prepared for them in the house of God. God
does not judge men as we do, nor look upon them in the same light that
we do. He knows our imperfections—all the causes, the "whys and
wherefores" are made manifest unto Him. He judges us by our acts and
the intents of our hearts. His judgments will be true, just and
righteous; ours are obscured by the imperfections of man. We are
required to obey the laws of God revealed unto us in the Gospel. It is
for Sister Urie and her little ones to comply with these laws
throughout their lives. It is for the widow and the fatherless to live
to the principles of the Gospel, be faithful and keep the covenants
they have made. If they do this, they will be exalted in His kingdom,
and they will receive all that their hearts can rightfully desire.
They will receive the reward, if they are faithful, and will lose
nothing. God will not suffer the righteous to be deprived of the
blessings they justly merit; they will gain their exaltation. No eye
hath seen, no ear heard, neither can the heart of man conceive of the
glory and exaltation that is laid up in store for the faithful.
This is my testimony in relation to this matter. I have known Brother
Urie for quite a number of years; he was a man who had a good heart;
he was a friend to mankind, so far as it lay in his power to be, which
he has proved by many acts of kindness to his fellow man. He has acted
sometimes unwisely towards himself and family. I am sorry to say this,
but we cannot ignore the fact, it is too well known. I do not believe
that he has injured any individual but himself and family. They will
forgive him, we will forgive him, and I trust God will forgive
him for this folly. I do not believe that he would have harmed a hair
of any man upon earth, or raised a finger to injure anyone. He has
befriended the cause of Zion and the Elders of Israel. He will receive
his reward if he has been true to his covenants with God. I do not
believe for a moment that he forsook them or ever denied the faith. He
will answer for the wrong which he has committed against himself and
family. God will not forsake him, inasmuch as he forsook Him not and
was true to Him, and he will be preserved, but he will have to suffer
the consequence of his folly and pay the debt. This I will say, if I
had the power, as a savior upon Mount Zion, I would forgive him, and
nothing would give me more joy and pleasure than to administer
reclamation, salvation and exaltation to Brother Urie.
Let us obey our religion. Keep the commands of God, and bring up our
children in the way of life and salvation, teach them the principles
of the Gospel, to be virtuous, honest and pure, that they may lead
pure and holy lives and cleave to the faith, that they may all come
off victorious and receive the crown and the blessing of endless
lives. Bishop Kesler was saying that we are mortal beings. It is true
all of us are clothed with mortality, but our spirits existed long
before they took upon them this tabernacle that we now inhabit. When
this body dies, the spirit does not die. The spirit is an immortal
being, and when separated from the body takes its flight to the place
prepared for it, and there awaits the resurrection of the body, when
the spirit will return again and re-occupy this tabernacle which it
occupied in this world.
This great and glorious principle of the resurrection is no longer a
theory as some think, but it is an accomplished fact which has been
demonstrated beyond all successful contradiction, doubt or
controversy. Job, who lived before the resurrection of Christ,
possessing the spirit of prophecy, looked forward to the time of the
resurrection. He comprehended the fact. He understood the principle
and knew the power and design of God to bring it to pass, and
predicted its accomplishment. He declares—"I know that my Redeemer
liveth and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth;" he
further says, "and though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet
in my flesh shall I see God." He looked forward to something not yet
done, something which had never been done in this world before his
day. It was not accomplished till long after his time. Having received
the spirit of the Gospel and of revelation, he was enabled to look
down into unborn time and see his body which had moldered and
crumbled into dust raised from the dead. What he saw by the eye of
faith has become actual history unto us, and we possess not only the
history of the fact but a knowledge by the testimony of the Holy Ghost
of its truth. We are not therefore situated as Job was, we live in the
"latter times" which are pregnant with grand and glorious events, among
the greatest of which is this glorious principle of the resurrection
of the dead, which is no longer a mere prediction, a cherished hope,
or a prophetic promise, but a reality; for long before our day it has
actually been accomplished. Christ Himself burst the barriers of the
tomb, conquered death and the grave and came forth "the firstfruits
of them that slept." But says one, how can we know that Jesus was put
to death or resurrected? We have plenty of evidence to show
that Jesus was crucified and resurrected. We have the testimony of His
disciples and they produce irrefutable evidence that they did see Him
crucified, and witnessed the wounds of the nails and spear which He
received on the cross. They also testify that His body was laid away
in a sepulchre wherein no man had lain and they rolled a great stone
to the door and departed.
Now the chief priests and Pharisees were not satisfied with the
crucifixion and burial of our Lord and Savior, they remembered that
while living He had said that after three days He would rise again, so
they established a strong guard to protect the sepulchre and set a
seal upon the stone lest His disciples should come by night and steal
the body away and say unto the people, "He is risen from the dead,"
and thus perpetrate a fraud upon the world.
Lo and behold! By this act those unbelieving guards became actual
witnesses to the fact that a heavenly personage came and rolled away
the stone and that Jesus came forth. The disciples witness and testify
to the resurrection, and their testimony cannot be impeached. It
therefore stands good, and is true and faithful.
But is this the only evidence we have to depend on? Have we nothing
but the testimony of the ancient disciples to rest our hopes upon?
Thank God we have more. And the additional evidence which we possess
enables us to become witnesses to the truth of the testimony of the
ancient disciples. We go to the Book of Mormon; it testifies of the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in plain and unmistakable
terms; we may go to the book of Doctrine and Covenants containing the
revelations of this dispensation, and we shall find clear and
well-defined evidence there. We have the testimony of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, the testimony of Oliver Cowdery, and the testimony of
Sidney Rigdon, that they saw the Lord Jesus—the same that was
crucified in Jerusalem—and that He revealed Himself unto them. Joseph
and Sidney testify to it, as follows—
"We, Joseph Smith, Jun., and Sidney Rigdon, being in the Spirit on the
sixteenth of February, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight
hundred and thirty-two—By the power of the Spirit our eyes were
opened and our understandings were enlightened, so as to understand
the things of God—Even those things which were from the beginning
before the world was, which were ordained of the Father, through his
Only Begotten Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, even from the
beginning; Of whom we bear record; and the record which we bear is the
fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the Son, whom we saw and
with whom we conversed in the heavenly vision." (Doc. and Cov., sec.
76, verses 11-14.) They were called to be special witnesses of Jesus
Christ and His death and resurrection.
We have also the testimony of the ancient disciples who lived on this
continent of the crucifixion and resurrection. You will find their
testimony recorded in the Book of Mormon. The disciples who lived upon
this continent knew what transpired at Jerusalem; the Lord shewed them
these things. After His resurrection He manifested Himself to His
disciples on this continent, and showed them the wounds He had
received on Calvary. They were convinced that Jesus was the Christ and
the Redeemer of the world. They beheld Him in the flesh and
they bear witness of it, and their testimony is true. We have the
testimony of many witnesses. We have the testimony of eleven special
witnesses to the divine authenticity of the Book of Mormon, which book
testifies of Christ's resurrection, containing as it does the records
of the ancient prophets and disciples of Christ on this continent,
thus confirming their testimonies.
Is it all the evidence we have? No. Joseph Smith boldly declared to
the world that if mankind would sincerely repent of their sins and be
baptized by authority they should not only receive a remission of
their sins, but, by the laying on of hands, they should receive the
Holy Ghost, and should know of the doctrine for themselves. Thus all
who obey the law and abide in the truth become witnesses of this and
other equally great and precious truths. Today there are thousands of
Latter-day Saints living in Utah and throughout the world who have
attained to the possession of these things, both men and women. If we
witness by our acts, and from our hearts our determination to carry
out the mind and will of the Lord we shall have this double assurance
of a glorious resurrection, and be able to say as the Prophet Job
said—his was a glorious declaration—"For I know that my redeemer
liveth, and that he shall (again) stand at the latter day upon the
earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my
flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes
shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me."
Thousands have received this testimony and can witness unto God and
testify from their hearts that they know these things.
I bear my testimony, and surely it is of as much force and effect, if
it be true, as the testimony of Job, the testimonies of the disciples
at Jerusalem, the disciples on this continent, of Joseph Smith, or any
other man that told the truth. All are of equal force and binding on
the world. If no man had ever testified to these things upon the face
of the globe, I want to say as a servant of God, independent of the
testimonies of all men and of every book that has been written, that I
have received the witness of the Spirit in my own heart, and I testify
before God, angels and men, without fear of the consequences that I
know that my Redeemer lives, and I shall see him face to face, and
stand with Him in my resurrected body upon this earth, if I am
faithful; for God has revealed this unto me. I have received the
witness, and I bear my testimony, and my testimony is true. The
testimony of the Latter-day Saints is in addition to and consonant
with that of the disciples of Jesus Christ who lived at Jerusalem,
those who lived on this continent, the Prophet Joseph, Oliver, Sidney
and others, of our crucified and risen Redeemer, because they received
it not of them, but by the same spirit by which they received it. No
man ever received this testimony unless the Spirit of God revealed it
unto him.
We will see Brother Urie again. Sister Urie will meet him on the other
side of the grave. The spirit and body will be reunited. We shall see
each other in the flesh, in the same tabernacles that we have here
while in mortality. Our tabernacles will be brought forth as they are
laid down, although there will be a restoration effected; every organ,
every limb that has been maimed, every deformity caused by accident or in any other way, will be restored and put right. Every
limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame. We will know
each other and enjoy each other's society throughout the endless ages
of eternity, if we keep the law of God. It is for us to remain true
and faithful and keep our covenants, and to train our children up in
the paths of holiness, virtue and truth, in the principles of the
Gospel, that we may with them be prepared to enjoy the perfect and
eternal day.
May God bless you, and my earnest prayer is that the Lord will bless
Sister Urie and her dear little ones in this bereavement; that He will
preserve their lives, establish them firmly in the faith of the Gospel
and in the love of the truth, that they may be worthy to come forth in
the morning of the first resurrection, crowned with glory and eternal
lives. I pronounce this blessing upon them, inasmuch as they live
faithful, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
- Joseph F. Smith