Show R 30 31 A A at R ak K S by y president GEORGE georgie A delivered in the tabernacle sait salt lae zae lake lag city sunday april 24 1870 ere CRE REPORTED PorTED BY DAVID W EVANS aw th the 0 verse of the chapter of ex odus sone one of the ten commandments reads as fa follows thou thon not bear false witness against thy neighbor no abor 11 we as a people are situated in the great basin among tho mountains and occupy the little valleys which form the backbone of the americ american continent we have been here about 25 23 years 70 ars and we have had the privilege of contending with the fury of the elements witha sterile country and with desolation itself and by the magio magic wand of oft off industry and the blessing of our heavenly father upon our labors and upon the waters and the land we have been able to tomako mako make for ourselves comfort comfortable abio ablo homes and to enjoy religious liberty a blessing which had been denied to us ua in other localities where we had resided no other community can be found on the face of ot the earth that has had more good order peace and harmony in all the settlements protection safety and every necessary blessing has been extended to the traveler to the stranger and the resident alike I 1 believe that for the forty or efty thousand square miles wo have occupied in spots the desert of course intervening between the settlements therm thero i haxe have lave been better police regu regulations lations and tend more safety to all parties than has existed in the streets of jofh kow now ow york or washington and the protection which has existed and which does still exist has been the work of the latter day saints of this we aro have bavo every reason to be proud I 1 have recently traveled more than loob 1099 miles among the settlements and havo visited perhaps people dur during 1 i ng that bourney I 1 have not seen an idler loafer or heard icard an oath or blasphemous word iha iba I 1 havo hayo vo not seen a drinking saloon dram shop gambling bling hell bell or br brothel brathol othol but all has haa been heen perfect berfect order and peace the people wor shipping god as they understand the gospel and rejoicing in the same it was waa my lot during the past season to be present much of the time in this city which was visited by great numbers of men from nearly all parts of the earth many of them w were ere cre clergymen of the various denominations presbyterians rians congregation gre gation gatlon alises methodists baptists and others some of these men occupied our pulpits in this and the new now tabernacle we were glad to hear bear them we had haa many good reasons reasons for wishing them to t preach reach to us many of the tho younger members of our community havo have not been con versant with the religions of the age tho the elder members of our body have been for most of us were raised in some one or other of tho the religious denominations and hav have e felt and realized the effects of their principles and aro are fully acquainted with tel tei their doctrines thousands of our elders have traveled abroad in the earth preaching and have been bean observant of their workings and progress buethe but 0 youn young gand gana and aud rising generation among us have not had this opportunity it is therefore very desirable to us whenever ministers of standing in their own denominations visit us to have them set forth their doctrines ana and sentiments before honore us that the young persons among us may understand all other religions as well as ours and bo be able to compare the doctrines that are aro taught or held in christendom with choso which we have been introducing under tho the revelations given to joseph smith it was on this and other grounds that the general spiritual liberty so marked among us in the days of jozeph joseph smith has been constantly continued we all remember who lived in he the days of joseph that every clergyman of or any prominence who visited visit nauvoo was waa invited to preach to burcon our congregations gregat ions this has ever been our course it was so at kirtland they preached in our templo temple and in other local localities aties and it has been continued up to the present time during the long years that we were in a manner isolated from the tho rest of the world ministers pass passing fing across the continent by tago tage or in emigrant companies have spoken in our tabernacles it is true thab that when our elders have been abroad preaching in they have not met with similar courtesy es there was not long since in the vermont journal a little article in relation te to rev john todd D D at pittsfield mass who the journal says did not reciprocate the courtesies shown him at salt lake lako last summer he preached in this building and afterwards requested the privilege of preach preaching in gin kin in the new now tabernacle chedid he did so swo and was treated with due courtesy he de delivered livered us an ad address addless diess showing us his falth faith and religion which was what we desired him to do we requested him to condi conduct vet tet the meeting as at he chose as arwe we wished to see his hia manner of wor worship shir ahir or bather that our young peo people pie might see it he went way away a and anc published P u b shed a book in which he be misrepresented us in many things and asserted that there was no lib erty nor freedom here that he felt bound and he hoped that this plague spot would be removed and prayed that god might speed the day this course pursued by jy dr todd put me in mind of the commandment our text texi thou not bear false witness against thy beig neighbor abor 11 A freer people do not exist on the c earth arth nor any who have greater opportunities for free thought and understand understanding irig elders are going forth to every nation kindre kindred tongue and people preaching the gospel and gathering up the poor and needy and their going and returning keep heep us posted thoroughly in relation to the progress and improvements improvement s made by and going on in the religious scientific and moen meen mechanical anical world ogese are the facts and every man has the privilege of exercising his own will and freedom and the privilege of preach irig hig in our congregations is extended through all our settlements to mini mint ministers and men of standing in other religious bodies lodies I 1 saw recently invitations published to the learned of all denominations to occupy the halls of brigham city and and tho the ahe samo same ia is truo true of other settlements all that we desire of our fellow men when they visit us is to tell the truth about us and not to tell for truth the forecastle yarns they have heard spun at si some somo me street corner by some who while manufacturing lies were trying to imitate dean S swift wilt s tales talles of gulliver V many men who have called hero here bave have done this I 1 remember one particular instance which occurred last season there were five gentlemen of the baptist church who ame imo here with whom I 1 had a conversa ign on they said their people had never under any circumstances persecuted the utter day saints I 1 told them that I 1 did mot act know that thoy they had as a church but nut I 1 told them that the rev hmccoy I 1 mccoy a bap kisk minister with his gun gua on bis his shoulder at the head of forty men drove women aej and ana ildren children sh out of their houses and robbed them in jackson county missouri in 1833 that levi williams a baptist preacher led the party of men who murdered joseph smith and that the rev key thomas thoma 9 brock aman of the reformed baptists at the head of 1800 men drove forth to perish five or six hundred saints men women and children eh ildren lidren poof poor and helpless who were left in nauvoo ills having previously can the town for three days I 1 did not know that as a church they had persecuted us but certain individuals of their persuasion had bad taken part in the matter they seemed considerably hurt to hear it K they wished to preach to us and they had the opportunity to do so in tiie tile new tabernacle it was not long before an article appeared I 1 in n the baptist paper describing the meeting I 1 presume most of the audience recollect the discourse of dr Ba baciu bad ciu elu clu us the description these gentlemen aavo gave of the meeting was w 1 s something like thit the twelve apostles apost ies lea were on the staw and they looked around to seo see which was u aias finally they came to the conclusion th athey ta ey were all Ju dases except elder the tiie paper said it was desired and hoped i diat in a short time the government would ampt efficient measures to put a stop to ism now howl I 1 do really think thatis that it is to the religion science and civilization lf f the age where th ere are five hundred t 1 h ou on sand ministers editors and public teachers in the country to ask the government to interfere in any manner whatever to correct any moral or religious error I 1 think it is acknowledging a weakness in the civilization liza tion and religion wor lor the age ago to do so I 1 wish to say to our friends who have visited us in conclusion we are glad to see sea you yon you are welcome among us we like to lon ion hear ear you speak but when you go away tell the truth about us and remember the commandment man dment of god thou not bear faise false witness against thy neighbor |