Show K 33 M my dreis president ident BRIGHAM YO 70 anew tabernacle salt lake city may wh aoth 1868 i i I 1 V PORTED REPORTED RE BY G D WATT I 1 the gospel which we preach is the gospel of life and salvation the church which we represent is the church and kingdom of god and possesses the only faith by which the children of men can be brought back into the presence of our father and god the lord has set his hand band to restore all things as in the beginning and by the administration of his holy priesthood save all who can ean be saved cleanse from the world the consequences of the fall and give it into the hands of his saints I 1 am a witness of these things how row far short we may come of being what we should be arof or of improving as fast as we should matters not this la is the kingdom of god this is the way of life and salvation and all who hearken to and andrec receive elve eive itin their faith and live it in their lives will have the privilege of returning to their eather father and their god and none else will come into his presence it is true that the spirits of all people will return to god who gave them both saint and sinner but as to their staying there and becoming permanent settlers in his immediate presence is another question the practical part of the lives of the saints in our day and in former days on this earth or on other earths is another part of the great subject of galva salvation the ehe faith falth of the people as a general thing is correct but the lives of many of the latter day saints sainta are far from being what they should be to tobe be latter day saints men and women nause cause be strictly honest they must observe that code of moral religion which is taught in the world and which is as good as can be taught there are numbers of the human family who profess the religions of men who live the moral code acknowledged among them as strictly as men and women can do when we talk of the true church of christ we speak of a system of theology the principles ol 01 which will bear upon every motive and act of mankind if there is a fault in the people it will make it manifest if there is it will be made apparent a rent for the iora lora lord takes this cours course e that his children may exhibit what is in them in the latter days he will reveal the secrets of the hearts of the children of men he is now doing this by breaking up the people here and there he is leading them through circumstances to try them to the uttermost if we are not tried in all things already there Is plenty of time yet for us to be so tried even as abraham was be patient my brethren and sisters for we shall all have the privilege of being tried to the uttermost if we weare are worthy how many trials abraham had bad and how severe they were we have not been fully informed A A portion of his big life has been committed to paper and handed banded down to us which we can read at our leisure rhe was tried as we are tried and in as many ways as the latter day saints are tried I 1 do not kno know r there is no question but that he be was tried sufficiently to prove before h his is fath father er an and d god that b he e was worthy of the blessings he obtained that he be was worthy of the priesthood and the keys thereof that he be was worthy to receive the articles of truth to dispense dispel lse ise salvation to his fat fathers hers bers hou house bouse seand and to his big friends and neighbors and to all who would hearken to his hia counsels the latter day saints area are a very peculiar people and they are led in a peculiar way we are brought into circumstances so as to be a stumbling block to the nations through the failings and weaknesses of the Latt erday saints jesus was a stumbling block to the nation of the jews aud and to the generation in which he lived and to all that M f f sl 5 piu riu knew him and how hom singular bin sin it is that that jesus jesua C christ I 1 at lela thia a late day angat bue sue buch such h a eil oll distance is t anee ance from the theatre of his operations should have attained such celebrity and fame even his disciples are not only canonized but almost del dei delfied fled fied and looked upon as though they were gods come down to dwell with men every circumstance connected with the saviors Sav lors life is looked upon as being divine christendom now acknowledge that jesus was the son bon of god they look upon him as god manifested in the flesh according to the ni new testament yet the generation in which he lived did not bee these tokens of divinity which this generation recognize to them he was a root out of dry ground a ti tumbling stumbling block a rock of of nence lence so with the latter day saints they are a stumbling block to this generation the world see all their weaknesses and faults and see bee no divinity in the work in which they are engaged yet this is not to be wonder wondered elf eif at inasmuch as the world could not see it in jesus when he dwelt in mortality we are looked upon as a low I 1 degraded ignorant set of fanatics this Is the opinion of the great majority of the learned and refined world others say that our people are the dupes of a few we do not hot claim to bo be very wise but we do know that that portion of mankind called christians in our day who profess to be followers of the meek and lowly jesus are grossly ignorant of his character and of the means and way of salvation hal bal which he offers to the world the latter day saints as a people may not be so far advanced in the knowledge of many of the sciences as their neighbors but they are learning how hofto to take care of themselves which is one of the greatest arts known to man when the most learned and band scientific among men scrutinize their own lives and experience they are under the necessity of acknowledging that they are faulty weak ignorant they are strangers from the covenants of promise having no hope and without god in the world instead of considering that there is nothing known and understood only as we know and understand things naturally I 1 take the other side of the question and believe positively that there is nothing known except by the revelations of the lord jesus christ whether in theology science or art the world receive information and light on great principles of science and ka knowledge now ledge in the arts ana to the of the almighty but they are ignorant of the bonree from whence it comes to them they seek not to know god whom to know is life ilfe everlasting they seek riot otto to know the source of their own existence and of all light and truth they are not riot willing to acknowledge his hand band in all things they are not riot willing to acknowledge hi hie hand band in anything and for this the god of heaven Is la displeased with them and his anger is kindled against them they have every evidence that can be asked that joseph smith was a prophet sent from god yet they cannot acknowledge led ge it while at the same bame time with t he the scriptures in their bands they can but acknowledge the supremacy of the doctrine we preach over the dogmas of the age and in the growth of this com in the face of a constant stream of abuse and persecution gathering the poor from all nations they must acknowledge the superior wisdom and power displayed that cannot be attributed tri buted to man the wisdom which god has given them teaches tea 0 hes them better it teaches them that a secret something an invisible agency is evidently at work behind the curtain what mortal has the power to call people from the ends of the earth while jesus christ was in the flesh he did not power how much power did he manifest over the people of the world in his day did he ire send his disciples to the nations and call his followers together from the ends odthe of the earth by thousands he did not there is no doubt but that he had the power to call the people together but he did not manifest it the people saw no exhibition of this power when he be was among them but he is doing it now and ifft if it had been the time to do it in his day it could have been done by the power of the heavens beavens through him as it is now done by the same power through joserh joseph h stu smith ith and his bis br brethren e th god is abw displaying his hi s power ina lna in a marvelous degree whispering to the inmost souls of the children of men in foreign lands with a s still t 11 small smail M a 1 1 ifor voice flee to the moun mountains tai tsi n s for t the h e day of the lord is upon the wicked nations of babylon and the cry come out of her my people has bas gone throughout the world do we improve as fast as we should we do not im asfalt fast as we might but I 1 am prove h nappy happy a piry 0 tak now that we improve and aud we more i if we please compare Coni pare rare the progress of the saluta Sainta in the dys daya of the savior and his disciples with the progress of the saints in ju days when a mormon elder offers evidence of orthis this great work to unbelievers believers un thes they tell teli him that he is a party concerned and his hig evidence cannot be tal tai taken ah with regard to joseph josepht smiths mission maion I 1 ask the christian world vye wye re are your situe witnesses aes ses that jesus is the christ who are those who testified MISS mission and how many are there eight persons persona testified of him and ind their testimony many meny is recorded and aill they were his disei disciples T les ies and parties concerned yet at this is day adall all ali the Cli cil christian ristian world I 1 is s ready to receive their ny I 1 testify that this work of god in which we are engaged has been commenced to gather the tile house of israel and establish zion in the last days and has more outward and weighty evidence to prove that it is of god than there was in the days of jesus to prove that he was the christ when the book of mormon came forth it was testified to by twelve witnesses and who can dispute their testimony no living person on the earth can do it and besides the testimony of these twelve witnesses hundreds and thousands have received a witness to themselves from the heavens and who can dispute their testimony no living person on earth can do da it this infidel world inquires where do you get your testimony we answer we get it from the heavens were we to ask aak them where they get the knowledge they possess they reply we do not know it came to us we know not its source we have testimony that the bible is true that the prophecies contained in it are true that jesus is the pon gon of god and came to redeem the tha world have the so called christian world this kind of testimony they have not all the testimony they can boast of is the testimony mony MODY of eight men who lived nearly two thousand years ago the infidel world cannot rece reee receive ive lve their testimony because they were parties concerned we are asked if signs follow the believer li everIn in our day aan as n days of old we answer they do the blind see the lame leap the deaf hear the gift of prophecy is manifest also the gift of healing the gift of revelation of tongues and the interpretation of tongues jesus said that these signs signa should follow them that believe his church and kingdom always have these signs which follow the believer in all ages who when n the true church is in existence do ebey they bey hey follow any but believers they do not the gift and power of the holy ghost as en assigned by the ancient saints and its various are not received in the faith of modern christian sects they say that the gift and power of the holy ghost have ceased that the canon of scripture is full that there is no more new revelation no more prophecy no more inspired visions visions no more administration of angels as in days of old no more voice of god from froni the heavens no more inspired prophets and apostles who seal on earth and it is sealed in heaven from whence then have they testimony I 1 that jesus is the christ and that god lives the very book which they believe to be inspired and nod which they offer to the heathen and the infidel as the strongest evidence they possess for the divinity of their religion declares positively ively that signs shall follow the Ee believer llever liever and this very important declaration and promise they discard altogether we say that signs do in burday our day follow the believer and nod here ia is the witness and testimony that jesus is the christ if we speak of ourselves our testimony is nothing but if we speak by the power of god that is wit vit within hin us the same spirit bears witness that we are the true followers of the lord jesus and bonvin ceth the world of sin and of a judgment to come the spirit of the almighty is abroad among the people and all who will listen to the truth will be convinced by the spirit of truth and they will flow together from distant lands and as tb the salt of the earth is gathered out the nations will break to pieces and are they this time breaking to pieces the honest in heart hearl are gathering out by thousands and tens teas of thousands from the nations of babylon they are leaving their fathers and mothers and hus bus bands and wives and children chil chii dreuy and friends and associations at the call of the gospel preached by the elders of this church what power but the power of god could stir uthe up the world and enlighten the soulard soul ana and etter better the condition ot of multitudes teaching them to make the wilderness blossom ai as the rose and the desert places to be inhabited after the latter day saints are gath ered together I 1 repeat that we do not improve as bastis aai aal we this word of wisdom which has been sup posed to have become stale and not in force is like all the co counsels asels of bod nod in force as auch puch much today to day as it ever was Therel there is lile life I 1 everlasting life iiii irli in it the life which now noy is and ahe ibe the life which is to come we have had thi this s word of wisdom thirty five years last february and the whole people have not pot yet learned to observe it after the tru true truo 0 spirit and meaning of it there is within a few years past a ment in this so much so that I 1 very much doubt whet whether her ber a tobacco spittle could be found upon the floor of this tabernacle after this congregation is dismissed tobacco is not good to receive into the human system hot hoi drinks are not good we will use cold coid drinks to allay thirst and hod warm drinks for medicine flesh should be used sparingly in famine and in cold the people are beginning to listen to these things the spirit of the lord is urging tir lilg 1139 the people people to cease from ever everything at ing that is 8 ev evil 1 and to reform in their I 1 lives ilves ves for unless the spirit urged the peo people le to do right we might as well talk to 0 the sides of this house we are urged by the spirit to refrain from articles tend to death to preserve pres erye this life which is the tile most precious life given fo mortal beings preparatory to a an n im mortal life it is our business to prepare to live hereto hera to do good instead of crying to the people prepare to die our cry is prepare to live forevermore these mortal houses house will swill drop dropp off fi sometime and when they are cleansed and i purified sanctified and gloria glorified led we shall inherit them again forever and ever let all the saints pursue a course to live let lot those who night fight agal agai against fist gods goda kingdom fall asleep and let those who build it up live and prosper until their work in the flesh is Js done we say to worldly wise men mein acknowledge the band of god in your greatness and wisdom and in all the blessings which you receive for you receive them all from him are we improving as a people we are I 1 have said and say to oday today o day that according to the age of the people we have improved as fast as the |