We are living in the latter days, at a time which all the prophets of
God, who lived upon the earth in former times looked forward to with
anticipation. The servants of God whose writings have been handed down
to us in the book called the Bible, were all blessed in their day and
generation with some foresight in regard to the last great
dispensation of God's mercy to man. The Spirit of God opened up to
them views concerning the great latter-day work, which God should
perform, in which He would consummate His purposes, in which He would
perfect His work, in regard to the people of this earth. And they were
strengthened in the performance of the duties devolving upon them by
glimpses of the latter-day glory. They were called to pass through
very trying circumstances. As the Apostle Paul says: "They were
stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the
sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, afflicted, tormented; they wandered in deserts, and in
mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." Generally speaking,
the prophets of God were rejected by the majority of the children of
men. By the spirit of prophecy which rested upon them, they could
perceive how small would be the impressions which they would be able
to make upon the people who lived in their day, and they saw also that
although they might be able to accomplish some good in the name of the
Lord, yet the adversary would come in like a flood, so to speak, and
overwhelm the influences which they were able to bring to bear. They
saw that the work which they were engaged in could not
continue, but for a little while. But they looked down to the last
days when the kingdom of God should be established on the earth, when
it should not be prevailed against nor be overcome, but should remain
and continue to grow and increase and spread forth, until its
influence should extend to the uttermost parts of the earth, until all
things should be subdued unto the Lord, until the wicked should be
destroyed, until misrule and tyranny and oppression and falsehood and
false doctrine and the powers of evil should be banished from the
earth, and the light of God should stream forth to lighten every land,
and the kingdoms of this world would become the kingdoms of our God
and His Christ, and He should rule from pole to pole and from shore to
shore. In this they rejoiced exceedingly, and they were encouraged to
perform the work entrusted to them, by the foresight that God gave to
them of the great latter-day work. The Apostle Paul referred to this
dispensation in these words: "Having made known to us the mystery of
his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in
himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven,
and which are on earth." By this we see that the Apostle Paul—and he
was imbued with the same spirit and understanding as his brethren of
the Apostleship—looked forward to another dispensation than that in
which they labored, which is generally called the Christian
dispensation, because it was introduced by Jesus who was the Christ.
Paul called the dispensation that was to come after His day, "the
dispensation of the fulness of times," and declared in that
dispen sation God would gather together in one all things in Christ;
not only the things in the earth, but also the things in the
heavens—they should all be gathered together in one.
Now, the Apostle Paul, and others in his time—like those ancient
prophets to whom I have referred—had the understanding that the work
in which he was engaged, although it would accomplish that whereunto
it was sent, would only make its impression for a time and for a
season; that the time would come when darkness would come in again;
when false doctrine would prevail; when the servants of God would be
taken from the earth and false prophets and false teachers would arise
who would, (to use the Apostle Peter's own words) "bring in damnable
heresies;" who would turn away the hearts of the people from the
truth. The Apostles saw that the time would come when the people would
be "heady and high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God,
having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof;" when false
teachers would arise and "make merchandise of the souls of men, even
denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction," "and many," we are told, "shall follow their
pernicious
ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of."
John, the beloved disciple, wrote a glorious vision that God gave to
him when he was upon the Isle of Patmos, being banished there for the
word of God and the testimony of Jesus, and in that vision the Lord
showed to him that a spurious church should arise which would have
influence over all the earth. It was pictured to him in the form of a
woman sitting upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of
blasphemy, and upon her forehead a name written, "Mystery,
Babylon the Great, the mother of Harlots." And he saw that she held in
her hand a golden cup full of abominations and filthiness of her
fornication, and he beheld that all nations were made drunk with the
wine that was in that golden cup. It was not merely to be partaken of
by a few, but by all nations. He also saw that the time should
come—foreseen by Isaiah the prophet—"When darkness shall cover the
earth and gross darkness the people." When Jesus was upon the earth He
told His disciples that the time would come when false Christs and
false prophets would arise, and when because of the iniquity that
should abound, the love of many would wax cold. And we find by
searching both the Old and New Testaments that the prophets of God who
lived in former times and had dispensations committed unto them, saw
that the time would come when the work which they performed would seem
to be lost from the earth; apostasy would ensue; people would go after
other Gods; they would transgress the laws, change the ordinances, and
break the everlasting covenant. But the ancient prophets had a glimpse
of what God would do in the latter days. They saw the time when He
would establish His work in the earth no more to be thrown down
forever; when He would establish His kingdom not to be left to another
people, not to be overcome, not to be trampled under foot, but to
arise and shine and the light thereof go forth to all the world, that
kings might come to its light and the Gentiles to the brightness of
its rising.
Now, my brethren and sisters, we are blessed with the privilege of
living upon the earth in the latter days, in the time to which all the
prophets looked forward with pleasure, with rejoicing and with
thanksgiving; the time just preceding the coming of the Son of man,
not as the babe of Bethlehem, not to be born in a stable and cradled
in a manger, not to be "despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief," not to be lifted up on the cross and His
life's blood poured out because of the wickedness of men, but as King
of Kings and Lord of Lords; to come vested with all power on the earth
and in the heavens; to "sit upon the throne of His father David," and
to "reign from the rivers even unto the ends of the earth;" to subdue
all things unto himself; to abolish wickedness, to banish evil, to
bind Satan and his hosts, and to fill the earth with light and glory
and the power of God; that the lion and the lamb may dwell together;
that enmity may depart between man and man, and between man and beast;
that nation may not lift up sword against nation, and that people may
study the art of war no more; but that peace may be ushered in, and
that the power of God and the Spirit of God may be poured out upon
all flesh, and all nations be influenced thereby. We are living upon
the earth in the time preceding these great events—in the latter days,
in the last dispensation.
The question may arise, is this great dispensation which the prophets
foresaw, and which Paul spoke of, already ushered in? Has the
dispensation of the fullness of times been introduced for the benefit
of the children of men? Or are we still under the old dispensation
opened up by the Savior and carried on for a time by the Apostles?
That is a serious question, though if left to the Latter-day Saints to
answer, one that would be settled in a very short time; for go
where you might in this Territory, and ask the Latter-day Saints
concerning it, and they would answer, "I know the dispensation of the
fullness of times is ushered in; I do not merely believe it, but I
know it as well as I know that I live." And if you were to ask them
how they know it, they would answer, "By the revelations of the Holy
Ghost." They would tell you they know that God has again spoken from
the heavens, that angels have descended from the courts of glory and
communicated with man, and that through the direct agency of divine
and holy beings, this great and last dispensation of God's mercy to
man has been opened up. They would tell you further, that they know it
will remain and prevail; that all that has been designed must be
accomplished under its auspices; and the work which has been begun
must continue and grow—because it is the work of God—even until the
whole earth is subdued unto Him, and all things are prepared for the
coming of Him whose right it is to reign; and that no man or nation or
government or influence or society, or all combined, can have the
slightest influence or power to stop its onward spread.
It would be interesting perhaps to consider how the dispensation of
the fullness of times was to be opened up. We read that the works of
God are one eternal round, "He is the same yesterday, today, and
forever;" without variableness or any change whatever. As He acted in
ancient times, then, so may we expect Him to act in latter times. That
if He has a work to perform amongst men, He will commence and carry it
out in the same way that He did formerly. Whenever darkness has
covered the face of the earth, and the people have gone astray, we
find, by reading the Bible, that God spoke from the heavens, that He
sent heavenly messengers to some man or men whom He, not the people,
chose, to whom He communicated His mind and will, and whom He
authorized to preach to the rest. They went with "the burden of the
word of the Lord," they did not go forth preaching for doctrine the
commandments of men. They did not aim to please the eyes or the ears
of the people. They did not as a general thing possess much learning;
in fact, they were to some extent ignorant, that is, they were not
versed in the learning of the world. "Not many wise men after the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen
the foolish things of the earth to confound the things which are
mighty." But have we any intimation in the Scriptures that God would
act like that in the last days? If we had not, we might reason from
what He has done to what He will do. But we have any amount of
testimony in the Scriptures, written in both Testaments, as to what He
will do in the last days. In the first place we read that, "God will do
nothing except he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets."
And we are told in the revelation from which I quoted concerning the
general apostasy, when all nations shall become drunken from drinking
the contents of that golden cup in the hands of the mother of
abominations, an angel should come and bring to the earth again the
everlasting Gospel. You will find what I refer to in the 14th Chapter
of Revelation, and the 6th and 7th verses. John says. "And I saw
another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the ever lasting 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: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and
the fountains of waters." And after this he declares that there
followed another angel, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that
great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the
wrath of her fornication."
Some one may enquire, Did the things that John saw in the vision
signify events that had taken place already, or were they to take
place in the future? That can be easily settled by reading the 1st
verse of the 4th chapter of that book, which reads as follows: "After
this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first
voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which
said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be
hereafter." And in the 14th Chapter he says that he saw another angel
flying 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." So this Gospel that John saw the angel
bringing to earth was for the benefit of generations to come, for the
Christians as well as those who are termed the heathen. We who are
styled "Christians" are in the habit of calling all other nations
heathen; I am inclined to believe that there are a great many people
who are "Christian" heathen.
This revelation that was given to John will seem very strange to a
great many people, who are under the impression that the everlasting
Gospel has been upon the earth ever since it was taught by Jesus
Christ and His Apostles. But if that were so, what need would there be
for the Lord to send an angel with it. As I before explained, John saw
the time when the whole earth would be under the influence of that
wicked power which he saw sitting on a scarlet colored beast, and out
of the cup which she held in her hand, all nations were to drink—not
merely the heathen nations, but all the nations of the earth without
exception. I am well aware that this will not sit very comfortably on
the bosoms of some of our Christian friends. But what we are after, or
should be after, is truth; and we should be desirous to obtain the
truth notwithstanding that it may come in contact with our
preconceived notions. John saw that the whole earth would go astray;
and all the Apostles spoke more or less of the time when people would
depart from the Church, when they would "not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts they would heap to themselves teachers,
having itching ears;" and says the Apostle, "they shall turn away
their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables;" their
teachers shall "preach for doctrines the commandments of men;" and the
Apostle might have added, that if they did not preach to suit the
people, they would discharge them and hire others. The time was to
come when "darkness would cover the earth, and gross darkness the
people," but preceding the destruction of Babylon the great archangel
was to come to earth with the everlasting gospel to preach to all
nations; and the burden of his message was to call upon the people
with a loud voice, saying, "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven,
and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters," signifying that
the people had gone astray and were worshiping some other god or gods.
It is the general view that after the days of Jesus and the Apostles
there were to be no more angels to visit the earth. This has been
taught to the people diligently. What for? Because the men who teach
this doctrine do not receive any visitations from heaven themselves.
They have no communication with the powers on high. The heavens to
them are indeed as brass. They pray, but they do not expect to receive
any answer to their prayers, except in some mystical fashion which
neither they nor anybody else can understand. They do not expect to
receive answers to their prayers as the prophets of old did. And they
have taught the people for hundreds of years that there is to be no
more communications from heaven. And why? Because they pretend to
greater light; because they claim to live in an age of gospel blaze,
and Christianity, as they term it, has attained such a high standard
of excellence that they need no divine revelation. And yet when you
investigate their condition, you will find they do not comprehend the
Gospel; they differ amongst themselves, they contend with each other
even on fundamental principles. They have no positive knowledge in
regard to the things of God. Some of the clergy teach what they
believe, and others teach what they do not believe, being infidel at
heart. It is true there have been sincere men who have labored for the
benefit of humanity, and who have done a great deal of good; and they
will be re warded by the Almighty for all the good they have
accomplished. But wherein they have presumed to minister in the name
of the Lord when He never authorized them to act for Him, they have
run before they were sent, and will have to answer to Him for their
presumption. Wherein men have administered in the name of the Father,
and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and at the same time acknowledge that
they have had no communication with those higher powers, declaring
that the Holy Trinity has ceased to speak to men, they show by their
own words and make actual confession that they have no authority. They
could not possibly have any, because there has been no communication
from those individuals who alone had the right to give it, and wherein
they have presumed to act in the name of the Father, and the Son, and
the Holy Ghost without authority, they must give an account when they
appear before the bar of God. But the ministers who have preached
religion for hundreds of years have no definite knowledge in regard to
these matters and have to tell what they think and what their opinions
are, and they disagree with each other in regard to their opinions.
Yet they tell the people there is no need now for any revelation from
on high; that there is no need for angels to come to the earth and
make plain the way of life and salvation, because, forsooth, they know
so much. The canon of Scripture they say is full; and God ceased to
speak after He gave that revelation to John on the Isle of Patmos.
"Well," someone perhaps will say, "does not the book itself say
so?"
No, it does not, but these ministers have taught that it does. In the last chapter of the Book of Revelation are we not told that,
"if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book?" Yes; but we are also told
that, "if any man shall take away the words of the book of this
prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and
out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this
book." The angel merely told John what God told His servants in former
times, that when He gave a revelation, man should not add to it. He
told the same thing to Moses—"Ye shall not add unto the word which I
command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it." That is quite
right. But man is prone to do that which is forbidden. When God
reveals anything, someone is sure to add to or take away from it, and
try to "improve" it or make it void. Hence the angel told John that no
man was to take away from the words of the book of this prophecy. What
book? The book that John was writing—the Book of Revelation. It does
not refer at all to the Bible. There was no such book as the Bible
then. Those books that are now compiled in the Bible—and a great many
more that are not there—were scattered abroad, and hundreds of years
after that, they were hunted up and examined; those that we now have
were selected from a great mass of manuscripts and compiled; others
were thrown away as non-canonical. The canon of Scripture was not made
up by John, but was made up in the way I have described; and there is
no intimation anywhere from God to man that He would give no more
revelations; but the whole Bible from beginning to end proves the
contrary. We are told to fear God and work righteousness, and call
upon His Holy name and He will be nigh to answer, "Ask and ye shall
receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened
unto you; for everyone that seeketh findeth," etc. That is the word of
the Lord. It does not say that God would not give any more revelation;
but it does say that man shall not add to that which God does give. In
that very revelation we are told that an angel came to John and gave
him a little book and told him to eat it. He ate the book as he was
told. Then the angel said to him in explanation: "Thou must prophesy
again before many people, and nations, and tongues, and kings." If
John was to prophesy to nations, and people, and before kings, would
not that be the word of the Lord? Yes, just as much as that which he
wrote in the book. So it does not follow that there was not to be any
more revelation. The injunction is that man shall not add to or take
from any revelation that God gives, and that has been a standing rule
in all generations.
But if this passage in the last chapter of the Book of Revelation
could be so construed as to make it appear that there was to be no
more revelation, such a construction would conflict with what we find
in the 14th chapter of Revelation to the effect that an angel was to
come "having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on
the earth, and to every nation and kindred, and tongue, and people."
And if we turn back to the writings of the old prophets we find that
they looked forward to the time in which you and I live; to the time
when this work should be consummated; to the time when no one should
need to say, "Know ye the Lord: for they shall all know Him
even from the least unto the greatest of them." Why? Because "they
shall all be taught of God." They looked forward to the time when "the
Spirit of God shall be poured out upon all flesh;" so that all mankind
shall feel the influence and be brought into union and harmony and
communion with the Great God, the author of their being. That spirit
will measurably rest down upon the brute creation. "The lion and the
lamb will dwell together, and the little child shall play on the hole
of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice
den." The earth itself shall feel the influence of that divine spirit,
and cease to bring forth thorns and briars, and in the place thereof
"shall spring up the fig and the myrtle tree;" and "the earth shall be
full of the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea."
How can man know God without revelation from God? "Man by searching
cannot find out God." Wise men have been seeking to find out the
secret of Deity for hundreds of years, and the more they study, the
more they ponder, the less they know about Him. God is not to be found
out in that way. Man cannot find out God, but God can manifest Himself
to man. The only way that the Lord can be made manifest to man is by
revelation. Jesus Christ thanked His Father, when he was praying, that
God had "kept those things hid from the wise and prudent and revealed
them unto babes." "Even so, Father:" said He, "for thus it seemed
good in thy sight. And no man knoweth the Son, but the Father, neither
knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal Him." That is the only way.
Now, according to the Scripture I have quoted to you, an angel was to
come to the earth and bring back the Gospel!—the Gospel that had been
lost, the everlasting Gospel, the Gospel preached by Jesus and His
disciples, the Gospel preached of old; for we read that it was
preached to Abraham, and that it was preached to the Jews before the
law of carnal commandments was given, and then God gave them a lesser
law because they would not receive the greater. When Jesus appeared He
merely came to bring to the earth that which was lost. He came to
restore the Gospel that was preached in the beginning to the
patriarchs, that was believed in by Abraham, and by receiving which he
was able to commune with the Father, who called him His friend, and
who said: "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing
that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all
the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him,
that he will command his children and his household after him, and
they shall keep the way of the Lord." So we read in the 18th chapter
of Genesis. The same Gospel that Abraham received; the Gospel preached
to the people before Abraham's day; the Gospel preached to the Jews
before the law of carnal commandments was given; the Gospel Jesus and
His disciples preached, and of which John the Baptist came as the
forerunner, baptizing people for the remission of their sins in the
river Jordan—that same Gospel has been restored in the day in which we
live. There is but one everlasting Gospel. There are a great many so
called gospels that men have made, but they are not the true,
everlasting Gospel; for as the Apostle Paul says: "though we, or an
angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." There is but
one straight path to the celestial city. There is but one gate into
the kingdom of God, and "he that tries to climb up some other way will
be accounted a thief and a robber." So said Jesus. This everlasting
Gospel then was to be brought to the earth by an angel, and was to be
preached to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
Now, when Jesus, the Son of God, was upon the earth, after His
resurrection from the dead He appeared to His eleven Apostles—for one
had apostatized, having sold his Master for a few pieces of silver—and
gave them a commission. He said: "Go ye into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall
be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs
shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they 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." And the disciples went
forth according to His word and preached, and God confirmed the word
with signs following. Wherever they went they preached this one
Gospel, and God blessed those that received their testimony. The
Holy Ghost accompanied their preaching, and bore witness to the hearts
of the people, and all who obeyed the Gospel were made of one heart
and one mind—Greeks, Romans, Jews and Gentiles, bond and free,
Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Herodians, etc., people from all the
various sects, and some that did not belong to any sect, infidels
also, when they ac cepted the testimony of the Apostles and were
baptized, and had hands laid upon them, received the Holy Ghost, and
were made of one heart and one mind; they had one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, one hope of their calling. And we read in the New Testament
that when they met in their assemblies one would speak in tongues,
another would interpret, another would prophesy, etc. The Lord poured
out His Spirit upon the people and gave them visible manifestations of
His power, in addition to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost which made
them all see and comprehend alike, and which bore witness to the
divine mission of Christ and to the mission of the Apostles whom He
had sent forth. These signs were seen in their midst, which comforted
and made them strong. But after a time the people began to go astray.
Wicked men took the Apostles and put them to death. Some were cast
unto wild beasts; some were thrown into caldrons of boiling oil; some
were crucified; others were tormented in various ways, persecuted and
afflicted and slain. Then others began to depart from the faith,
bringing in damnable heresies. Others began to preach for hire and
divine for money, making merchandise of the souls of men. And thus the
apostasy went on until darkness covered the minds of the people, and
paganism was introduced into the Christian church. And the time came
when that wicked power spoken of in the Revelation overcame the
saints. The Spirit of God left the polluted church. The body became
dead. Just as when the spirit of man leaves his body, the carcass
begins to crumble; every particle seems desirous to get away from
every other particle. So it was after the time that the Apostles fell. The Holy Ghost left the church. The spirit of revelation
departed from the body and dissolution set in. Darkness ensued.
Apostasy prevailed. In one of the homilies of the Church of England it
is declared that: "Clergy and laity, men, women and children, of all
ages, sects and degrees of whole Christendom (a most horrible and
dreadful thing to think) have at once been buried in the most
abominable idolatry, and that for the space of 800 years or more."
This was because there had been no Holy Ghost in the church, no
revelation from heaven, no real communion with the powers on high.
Instead of true worship there was idolatry. People had gone into
darkness, and it had covered the earth—all nations and sects and
parties, "clergy and laity, men, women and children of whole
Christendom." From that time to the present, sect has multiplied upon
sect, and creed upon creed, but there has been no uniting power. The
Holy Ghost not being in the church, the body has been segregated,
every part separating from other parts, like the toes which Daniel saw
composed part of iron and part of clay, the one refusing to mingle
with the other.
In this generation came forth a young man bearing the testimony that
the Lord had sent an angel from heaven to reveal the everlasting
Gospel; and he bore testimony that the angel had appeared to him, and
conversed with him in a heavenly vision. And he testified further that
a servant of God who had once lived upon the earth, who was no less a
personage than John the Baptist, had come to him and ordained him and
Oliver Cowdery to the lesser Priesthood; that he had come as a
forerunner of Christ, that the way might be prepared for His second
advent. He still further testified that Peter, James and John appeared
to him and ordained him to the same Priesthood which they themselves
held, namely, the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood, committing unto
him the Keys of the Apostleship and of the dispensation of the
fullness of times, the dispensation when all things are to be gathered
together in one, including the gathering of Israel, and the bringing
back of the lost ten tribes, and the gathering of the elect of God
from the four quarters of the earth, that they may be assembled in
holy places so that they may not be moved when the judgments of the
latter days are poured out, and that they may be prepared for the
building up of the latter-day kingdom. It was very easy for the young
man to say this, but what evidence is there to substantiate the truth
of his assertion? The evidence is here. This young man claimed to hold
this divine authority to preach the same Gospel that Jesus preached,
promising the same testimony, the same signs and the same power that
attended the ministrations of the servants of God in olden times. Now,
an impostor could bear testimony that he received this communication,
but an impostor could not draw down the Holy Ghost upon the people; an
impostor could not open the heavens; an impostor could not cause these
blessings and signs to come, convincing believers of the divinity of
the work which he represented.
The facts are these: People began to believe in his testimony because
they found that he taught the same doctrines as those contained in the
Scriptures; some went forth and were baptized. And upon all that
yielded obedience to the require ments of the Gospel he laid
his hands, and the Holy Ghost descended upon them. Some received
visions; some received the gift of healing, and others the gift of
prophesying, etc.—the same powers which were enjoyed by the primitive
Church were enjoyed by the Church established by the inspiration of
God, through Joseph Smith, the Prophet and Seer of the 19th Century.
He, under the divine command, ordained men to go forth and preach this
Gospel. Some went to England, some to Scotland, some to Wales, others
to France, to Germany and Scandinavia, and to different parts of
Europe, while others preached extensively through this nation; and
wherever they went and the people believed their testimony and were
baptized for the remission of their sins, and submitted to the laying
on of hands for the reception of the Holy Ghost, they all bore
testimony that God Almighty had revealed to them by the gift and power
of the Holy Ghost, that He had in very deed sent his angel from heaven
and opened up the dispensation of the fullness of times.
Here we have a people dwelling in these mountain valleys who have been
gathered from the different nations under this influence. Our Elders
go out, not to entice the people to leave their homes; they do not go
as "emigration agents," as some people allege they do, but they go to
preach the everlasting Gospel, and they do it as did the ancient
servants of God; they are not paid for preaching, but they pay their
own way, as a general thing, to their fields of labor, and then travel
"without purse or scrip." I have traveled extensively myself, as have
many of the men within my hearing, without purse or scrip preaching
the Gospel of Christ; and wherever the people received my testimony I
baptized them and laid hands upon them, and they testified that the
Holy Ghost came upon them, the gifts of that spirit were bestowed, and
the sick were healed, in many instances instantaneously, by the power
of God. I speak of this, not as a personal matter, but because this is
the universal testimony of my brethren, wherever they have been sent
among all nations.
This is not the work of man; it is the work of God, and it is God that
bears witness to it. This is why this people are here. They have not
come for gold or silver; they have not come simply to better their
temporal circumstances; but they have gathered here "as the elect of
God," the voice of God having gone forth in connection with this
Gospel. "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her
sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues; for her sins have
reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." And the
time is nigh at hand when the other angel will proclaim, "Babylon the
great is fallen, is fallen." This is the time that Jesus said His
angels should go forth to gather His elect from the four winds,
previous to His coming. And said He, "then shall this gospel of the
kingdom be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations,
and then shall the end come." The testimony of our Elders who go forth
is that this is "the gospel of the kingdom," and this is "the
dispensation of the fullness of times;" and that the period has come
for the establishment of the latter-day kingdom; when the people of
God shall be gathered from the four winds previous to the destruction
of the wicked, the breaking up of the kingdoms of this world, as
Daniel saw them in his vision, that they may pass away and be
found no more, and that "the kingdoms of this world may become the
kingdom of our God and his Christ."
The people who dwell in these mountain valleys labor to build up
homes, to redeem the land and make it a desirable place to live in;
but they are here chiefly, and as their primary object, to serve God
and learn of Him. They are here in fulfillment of predictions made by
Micah, Isaiah and Daniel. Isaiah declared, "It shall come to pass in
the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be
established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above
the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall
go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to
the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and
we will walk in his paths," etc. The prophecies of these ancient men
of God are being fulfilled literally; and this people called
Latter-day Saints have come here to learn of the ways of the Lord.
They learned something of his ways in the lands where they were born,
and the word tasted sweet to their souls; communion was opened up
between them and the heavens, and they received a testimony for
themselves. They did not have to depend upon the testimony of Joseph
Smith, or of Brigham Young, or of John Taylor, or of the Apostles whom
God has called in our day, but they obtained one for themselves. They
were all baptized with one spirit into one body, and all received of
the same influence; all obtained a similar testimony; and the gifts
and graces of the everlasting Gospel are enjoyed by them, according to
their several faiths and desires for God and the truth. This,
therefore, is the beginning of the great latter-day work, the
restoration of the Gospel, the opening up of the dispensation of the
fulness of times. The work now is to gather the Saints of God. First
of all the Gospel is to be preached to the Gentiles and then to the
Jews. "The fulness of the Gentiles" has not yet "Come in," but
the
time is close at hand when it will come in. After that the Lord will
say, "Turn ye to the Jews also." The servants of God are going out
among the Gentile nations preaching the Gospel of the kingdom, and
bearing testimony that it is His cause; not preaching what they think,
or giving expression to any opinions they may have formed, but from
knowledge of the will of God through the testimony of Jesus, which is
the spirit of prophecy which they obtained by bowing in obedience to
the ordinances of the Gospel. They know what they preach. They do not
go out with the "enticing words of man's wisdom," but to preach the
everlasting Gospel as God has revealed it, as He has manifested it
from on high. They are not sent to preach to please the popular ear,
but to deliver in plainness, as the Spirit shall give them utterance,
the message of salvation, whether the people believe it or not. And
our missionaries find that the same spirit exists today that the
servants of God had to meet and contend with anciently. The wicked
oppose the message of truth they bear; and the most vehement opponents
to it are those who profess the most piety. They have it in their
hearts to destroy or bring trouble upon this people. Why? They do
not know why themselves. It is because they shut their own hearts to
the truth like the Pharisees of old, who made long prayers that
they might be heard and seen of men, and not entering the kingdom
themselves, they will not suffer those who would, to enter therein.
They have the same spirit in their hearts that slew the prophets and
put Christ to death. When our Elders go out, instead of meeting them
with argument, these men stir up the people to oppose them by force.
They have stirred up Congress to pass inimical laws to oppress the
"Mormons," to deprive them of the commonest rights of citizens, to
take their leaders and put them to death. This is the spirit that has
been arrayed against this Church from the beginning. Joseph Smith and
Hyrum his brother, were slain in Carthage jail. What for? For the word
of God and the testimony of Jesus; because they taught the truth as it
came from God and claimed to have divine authority, to have received
power from on high. They could not oppose the testimony of these men
by truth, nor by Scripture, nor by argument, neither could they
overcome them by law. But as the mob said that put these servants of
God to death: "The law cannot touch them, but powder and ball shall."
This is the spirit by which the prophets of old were put to death.
This is the spirit by which Christ was crucified on the cross. This is
the spirit by which Peter was crucified head downward. This is the
spirit by which others were thrown unto wild beasts and some were cast
into caldrons of boiling oil. And this is the spirit that is exhibited
in the latter times by some who claim to be ministers of the Gospel.
The work of gathering has commenced, then. That is part of the work of
the dispensation of the fullness of times, the gathering of the people
of God in one. The Saints of God will be gathered. The wicked may do
what they please. They may pass laws; fulminate decrees; send circular
letters to the governments abroad to prevent "Mormon" emigration; but
as God lives and rules and reigns on high, this is His work and He
will bring it about in His own way and time and there is no power on
the earth that can thwart His purposes. His people will come from the
east and gather from the west. The Lord will say to the north, "Give
up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from afar, and my
daughters from the ends of the earth." And they will gather to Zion as
the prophet foretold, and build up temples to the living God, that His
ordinances may be performed therein, and that they may learn of His
ways and walk in His paths. Then the Gospel, as I before remarked,
will be preached to the Jews. The way is now being prepared for this.
The work is moving on for the gathering of the Jews to their own land
that they may build it up as it was in former times; that the temple
may be rebuilt and the mosque of the Muslim which now stands in its
place may be moved out of the way; that Jerusalem may be rebuilt upon
its original site; that the way may be prepared for the coming of the
Messiah, who shall be seen in the midst of those whose ancestors
nailed him to the cross, and who, when they see the marks in His
hands, shall say in answer to their inquiries, "These are the wounds
with which I was wounded in the house of my friends."
This is only a small part of the latter-day work that is to be
performed. We are just in the beginning of it. The Gospel has to be
preached. The Saints must be gathered. The ten tribes must be
brought from the north. The Gospel must be preached to the Lamanites,
those red men of the forest, who are a branch of the house of Israel,
whose forefathers came from old Palestine to this continent. The Lord
is working among them by visions and dreams and by the manifestations
of His divine power. What else? Why we are building temples in this
land. We have built one in St. George, and have others in course of
construction in this city, in Logan, and in Manti. Some people say:
"What are you spending so much money for in building temples? Why
don't you put it to better use?" People who talk thus do not
understand our position. This is part of the work we have to perform.
We have temples to build, that the Lord may reveal many more things to
His people concerning this latter-day work, and we are building them
according to the pattern He has revealed, that we may attend to
ordinances that He has made manifest; ordinances for the living and
also for the dead; that we may be baptized for our dead, so that the
spirits who have been preached to in prison may be brought forth, and
that ordinances they cannot perform for themselves in the spirit
world may be performed for them here in the houses we are building.
There are many more things connected with this great dispensation that
I have no time to refer to—and would not if I had time—because they
belong only to the people of God, to those who have entered into the
everlasting covenant, to those who have received the Holy Ghost, and
who understand the things of God; for "no man knoweth the things of
God, but by the Spirit of God." But this work will go on; the Saints
will be gathered, and temples will be built, and Israel will be
redeemed, and the kingdoms of this world will become more and more
divided; and the sects and parties of Christendom will become more and
more contentions even than they are today. Infidelity will increase,
for the Spirit of God is being withdrawn from them, because they
receive not the truth when it is presented to them. And nation will
rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and people against
people. War will be poured out eventually upon all nations; the only
place where there will be peace and safety will be in the Zion of God.
The judgments we read of in the revelations will all be poured out
just as the Prophets have predicted and just as John the beloved has
declared. All the woes that John saw are bound to be poured out upon
the inhabitants of the earth; every word will be fulfilled, not one
jot or tittle will pass away without its fulfillment.
We are here in these mountains that we may escape these troubles; that
we may not partake of the sins of Babylon, that we may not share in
her plagues. God has called us out from the world that we may be
different from the world; that the object we live for may be different
from the object which men have in view in the world; that we may not
live for worldly gain, but live for God, for humanity, for the spirit
of the Gospel; live to gather Israel, live to build temples, live that
we may attend to the ordinances pertaining to our own salvation and
exaltation, and those that pertain to the salvation of our dead. That
the word of God may be fulfilled; that His kingdom may be established
upon the earth no more to be thrown down forever. That the light of God may go forth from Zion and His name be honored in all the
earth, and that He may reign from pole to pole and from shore to shore
forever and ever. Amen.
- Charles W. Penrose