I feel thankful to be with you today, to sit and listen to the
teachings we have heard, to be associated with the Saints of the Most
High. Like our brother who has just spoken, I do feel thankful that I
am here and have a part and lot in this great world in which we are
all engaged; it is a work capable of filling the utmost desire and
capability of the human mind, or wish or thought of that individual
whose mind has been ripened into an understanding of the principles
which lead to eternal life and exaltation in the kingdom of God. Man,
in this kingdom, is placed upon a basis, upon a foundation by which he
can cultivate himself with the graces and the attributes of a God. It
is a work of progression. We are caught in the world by the Gospel net
in the condition in which people of all other communities are found.
We are found in the world in sin, ignorance, and degeneracy,
surrounded by all the influences of evil, having our traditions in
common with the rest of mankind, and from all this the Gospel is
capable of reclaiming us; from all that is hateful, such as strife,
discord, dissension, and every species of sin and iniquity, our
religion is calculated and designed to save and redeem us, if we will
let it, by availing ourselves of its power.
This is the work which lies before each and every one of us as Saints
of the Most High God. We have this privilege within ourselves if we
choose to cultivate it.
It has been said by some, and I suppose it to be true doctrine, that
God is truth, but that does not prove that truth is God; for truth
like love, wisdom, and goodness, is an attribute and not a person. All
these attributes of Deity lie in our pathway, and they are strewn
around us to be laid hold of, and are calculated in their tendency to
improve and exalt us as well as the Gods, and we have the privilege of
assuming a position in which we can clothe ourselves with the
blessings which lead to life everlasting, or we can disgrace ourselves
with the excesses and deformities of the wicked, and all those things
that lead to destruction, and which do not continue. The principles of
eternal life are laid before us, both good and evil are present with
us; we have the power of rejecting those good and wholesome
principles, or, on the other hand, we have the privilege and the power
of controlling our volition and directing it in that channel which
will clothe the mind with the graces and beauties of the Gospel, which
are calculated to bring us up into that position where we shall have a
right to these blessings which emanate from heaven, and which will
make the society where we dwell beautiful and glorious, and ultimately
lead on to exaltation in the eternities to come. Eternal life is here
my friends, my brethren and sisters; we are in a part of that
existence which is eternal. True, we are passing through that portion
which is called time, but is not this a part of eternity?
We have nothing in our possession but what is lent or given to us to
improve upon for eternity, no, not even our present lives. We do not
pay sufficient attention to the life that we at present enjoy, or we
should understand that it is as much eternal life as any that we shall
ever attain to, for surely at the present time we have no existence in
all of the eternities but in this. We may not have to pass through
changes in the life which is to come as we do here, but it is for us,
while here, to comprehend and appreciate the beauty and glory which
lie in our pathway. We may have to labor and dig and delve in the
earth, but, if so, we should remember that there is a dignity in
labor when that is directed by the intellectual power, with which, in
all the creation of God, only man is endowed, for the development and
combination of the elements with which he is surrounded for the use
and the benefit of the world in which he lives.
It is true that evil is strewn in our pathway, but we should labor to
get all evil thoughts from our minds, and strive to cultivate those
graces which come through faith, and which are calculated to eradicate
from our being those things which lead downward, instead of leading us
in the path which is unto eternal lives and eternal progression while
here as well as in the world to come.
To live here and perform the duties of today is the present business
of the Latter-day Saints, and to lay a foundation that will carry us
safely through this and prepare us for that life which is to come, and
it is also our duty to obey those principles which are revealed
through obedience to the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we
will continue to be faithful and seek after those principles that will
tend to exalt us here, then we will be exalted hereafter; but it is of
no use thinking of being exalted in the eternal worlds unless we apply
those principles in our conduct here.
If we suppose that we can go through this life straight into the
kingdom of God, and attain to exaltation by being clothed with
hypocrisy and falsehood, we are simply mistaken; such a course of life
is not calculated to lead to that end. If we are exalted, it must be
by putting in practice those principles which are exalting in their
tendency, and which are given us through the inspiration of the
Almighty. Thus will be formed a character in this life that will
endure in that which is to come.
I can endorse the sentiment expressed by brother Bayliss, who was
speaking before me, that it is our duty to do all we can for the
spread of truth, and to ornament our minds with the truths of the
Gospel, that we may combine those principles to form that character
and connection with the heavens which we have the opportunity of doing
more abundantly here, in these sequestered vales than in the scattered
condition of the Saints in the midst of the nations of the earth.
Witness the power that we can wield in the earth, by gradually
spreading abroad those principles which we have received, until
finally righteousness shall spread over and cover the whole earth, put
an end to the power of the wicked, bind Satan and cast him from the
earth, as has been spoken by the inspired writers.
I suppose it will be accomplished this way, by filling up the measure
of our creation in union, truth, and oneness, and by officiating in
those ordinances of the Priesthood which shall seem good unto the
Almighty. It is for us to prepare to walk in that way which shall be
marked out, and to go and perform every act as we shall be dictated
through the instrumentality of the servants of God, whom he
has appointed to dictate and guide in order that his purpose may be
accomplished at least in the valleys of the mountains, where he has
provided an asylum for his people.
This kingdom is established to the extent of the power that is now
wielded, and there is no other place upon the face of the earth to
which good men who desire to promote virtue and establish justice can
rally except to this, and it is accomplished through the
instrumentality of the Gospel we have embraced. Others have their
institutions, some of which are very good, but there is more than an
overbalancing amount of corruption, from which those who would do
good, have not the power to disenthrall themselves.
There is such unlimited power to do evil, which the wicked use for the
oppression of the feeble, to oppress the poor, the honest in heart,
whom they rule by priestcraft, kingcraft, and every other wicked craft
that mankind in their degeneracy can devise, so that it would seem
almost impossible even for the Almighty to establish his kingdom and
save his people, without withdrawing them from the wicked nations.
People come here and have full liberty to do or not to do; to live
their holy religion or not to live it; to be honest, faithful, and
true, or to reject those principles and clothe themselves with that
which is evil; they have the freest volition to exercise their right
of will. We expect, however, that those who come here are those who
have elected and chosen for themselves to do the will of God, and to
follow the counsel of him whom he has chosen to rule in his Church and
kingdom. We have reason to believe this, but then when we reflect upon
the past, we are satisfied that others must have come with a different
motive. Some of us are apt to forget that we should furnish and adorn
our own minds, with a comprehensive knowledge of the Gospel; that we
should furnish the material rather than expect that some greater and
more powerful influence will do it for us. We sometimes find that
people are careless in regard to their duties in this respect, and
Satan is always ready to step in and take the advantage of such an
opportunity. Now we should not be indifferent and lay down the armor
of the Gospel, and say this is no advantage to me. No, my dear
brethren, it will be an advantage and a blessing to all of us, if we
honor the kingdom of God and live its principles, and if we do not,
it will still roll on, whether we go with it or not.
We have no right to be indifferent to any principles revealed in this
kingdom, but we should feel an interest in everything that is laid
before us, that we may be of some use and benefit to the Church, fill
up our days in usefulness in any department of the kingdom of God in
which we may be called to act. I pray God to help us to do this; to
help us by giving us of his Spirit to strengthen our minds that we may
overcome the evil; that we may seek to do everything that is good;
that we may secure that aid and assistance that will enable us to
bring our spirits back pure and holy, into the presence of him who
gave them unto us, that we may not give Satan the power over us, not
strengthen those chains which he has, through the agency of the fall,
obtained over the human family, but that we may overcome that evil as
far as possible, even to the obtaining that knowledge and intelligence
which was said to have been obtained by the brother of Jared, whose
faith was so great that the Lord could not prevent him from looking
within the veil. Why? Because he had clothed him self with
those principles which lead to exaltation, so that he could see beyond
the vision of human ken, and the Lord could not keep him from
penetrating behind the veil.
If we are going to have anything excellent it is for us to look after
it, and not let the Devil rule over us, but ornament our minds by our
own virtuous acts and our bodies with the workmanship of our own
hands. If we take this course the Lord will help us by placing the
elements that are for the welfare and comfort of mankind within our
reach. During the travels of the children of Israel, he showered down
provisions upon them that they might not have to labor in the
wilderness, and ordained that their clothing should not wear out, but
otherwise than that, and a few other such instances, I do not know
that he ever helped a human being except by placing within his reach
the elements for him to combine therefrom for his support. He has put
into our hands the power to combine the elements and to provide
ourselves with those things that we need, and as I said in the
commencement of my remarks, there is a dignity in labor, in drawing
from those elements things necessary for our own benefit and
advancement as intelligent beings. Let us therefore endeavor to
improve the earth upon which we live, and make it pleasant to the
sight of God and man.
May God help us to comprehend and obtain those great blessings which
he has in store for his faithful Saints, is my prayer in the name of
Jesus. Amen.
- Daniel H. Wells