Show DISCOURSE by ny elder wilford woodruff tabernacle sunday morning dec 27 reported rerouted BY J V LONG ai 1 i it seems to fall to my lot to occupy a rew jew moments this mornin morning and I 1 feel feet to say that thesis a blessed place tind lind and that this is a blessed people i i and that they are partaking of a great many blessed things it if the latter day saints could prize and comprehend the blessings that are X iven unto unab them and if our minds were enlightened continually by t t the holy spirit we would f eel ourselves ba blest iest lest and y comprehend that we are made partakers par takers of the 4 greatest bles bies blessings isings which the lord imparts unto the children of 0 men I 1 may say far greater than the rest of our oar fellow creatures who now inhabit this earth the lord says gays whosoever are quickened by a portion of the celestial spirit and abide a celestial law they bhail shall inherit a celestial glory whosoever are quick quickened bened by a terrestrial terr estial sp spirit rit shall inherit a terre terres st fi al glory I 1 realize this and cons consider der that the lord has revealed unto us lle ile the lie icele idele celestial sial law that that is is he be has given unto us the fullness of the gospel of jesus christ and has given us a knowledge of the principles of eternal life the lord reveals truth unto the he children of men by which truth we are to be qualified and pre prepared aie are for e exaltation x al truth has been present presented y in its simpli city so that it might be comprehended by the sons of men As I 1 reflect this morning upon the condition of the human family and arid consider how differently we are situated from the lite masses of mankind I 1 do feel that we we ought to bs ba grateful grate grale ful fui to our great benefactor or there are millions of the human family who ai assemble in various houses in cathedrals thur churches ches and chapels forche for ehe purpose of worshipping wor shipping god but is there one of those numerous congregations who come together lier ller with an art understanding of the truth except there there ba be some latter day saint elder eldr who is called to preach to the inhibit inhabitants inhabitant ant ani s of the earth do they come together understanding the principles of the same gospel the same sama plan 0 of f r salvation the gospel of jesus christ in a way and arid manner to make them one now god could not make a people one with so many kinds of faith and such a multiplicity of doc tt rines diametrically opposed to each other as exist in the world but we are a blessed people we have the principles of union and oneness with us and by carrying them out the they y bind us together and make us one I 1 it is upon this principle that the latter day saints are blest and made free we are delivered d in a great from those troubles and perplexities false doctrines the darkness the error and superstition by which our minds have been be clouded until the light has made manifest unto the children of men that they were in darkness or this was the case with us all until the light camb cama we were grovelling gro velling in the dark in a great measure though we might be honest and we might be actuated by the best and holiest hollest beelin feelings yet until the fullness of the gospel was reveal revealed ga the world were like the blind groping for the tile wall we had no Apostle sno Prophet swe had no inspired men torise up and tell us what to do to be saved and we we had to go through with all that trouble miser misery y and darkness to which the children of men are subject set while living under false doctrines false traditions dit ions lons and false teachers I 1 have frequently le ie marked remarked in my life arid and I 1 was wag sincere in the sentiment in saying that I 1 would rather take a six months tour in lle ile lie the penitentiary than to go go through with a six months conviction and conversion in ilie the sectarian according to their order of doieg business let aily ally any man go through the ordeal or of six months conviction and conversion in the presbyterian church and then be made acquainted with the true plan of salvation and be will feel about as I 1 do upon the subject read the history of any man and read his experience peri ence in in the religious world and you will find that it is worse as far as the affliction of the soul is concerned than as long a time in the biary we will take taie a presbyterian revival a man is called by the sectarian excitement to get religion he goes to the clergy I 1 do not care whether it is in a synod or in any other place but suppose that he be has a great desire to seek after aften the plan and principles of salvation and lie he applies to the clergy they will tell him like idee this you must surrender yourself to the lord lora he goes to work to pray and fast and be is faithful and diligent in trying to give liis his heart to fhe the lord but lie he is still in trouble and lie he goes to the priest and ard informs him bim of his situation and the priest tells him all the time tim i 6 you must give your heart unto god I 1 you lugt must be willing wilting to be damned daane d and to su summer suffer all ali things for the sake of christ the minister still pleads with him to submit himself to io god but lie he does not tell him the first step which he ought to take in order to have his sins forgiven and obtain salvation but tells him cont iLlIla ly that lie he must do it that ha he must give his heart to god the result insult is that the man mourns and weeps and by and bye he thinks that lie he has committed the unpardonable donable donabie sin and lie he gets so that lie he thinks pardonable it ar is the worst sin that he be can commit to pray when going through these feelings and this trial I 1 have read the history of many strong minded men and besides this I 1 know my own history and experience I 1 know the way the ahe children of inen men buffer in lir attempting to give their hearts unto 0 god gob and as I 1 have said as far as the feelings of the childr enof men are concerned it would not be J grieving their feelings any more in bearing the reproach pra ch of their neighbors to be sent to prison for crime crini than some men have endured in getting religion ligi el 1 what wh at is the reason of all this itis it is because thoi thop they have llave not riot the same law because there is is not any rn man ii inspired to rise up and teach them the way to be saved no apostle to teach the gospel of jesus esus Christ ohi chi T novin i the them midst ast dst of these trials and tribulations many of you 0 can remember how many nights and lays days ou have spent in in suffering and dietr distress di acs trying in to give your hearts to god and when you have been called into the circle of ministers have they not called upon you again and again to come to he the anxious anxious bench and get religion I 1 can well remember it although I 1 never joined an any church at all until I 1 joined the latter day saints but yet I 1 attended meetings and I 1 have been called upon day after day and night after night to give my heart to god so much so that I 1 would get mad to be told to do a thing so many times that thit that I 1 was all the time lime trying 0 to o do for I 1 had bad a desire to do that which was right but did dri not know knon how to take the first step and those who taught could not tell me how low now had there been an apostle there to have said sald boand go and repent be baptized for the remission remson of your our sins gins ard aid then I 1 will lay my hands banda upon you ou that ou on may inay receive the holy which wi will wili 1 lead antl and gulde guide you into all truth irwill it will eni your mind ill lil in relation to the principles of eternal life and arid irvill it vi ll 11 show you things odst past present and to come ho how veasy aay this would have hage lave been providing a man inspired of gd gid had been there in r relation elate lon ton to theae the e things this people are truly blest but the world are in ui worse darkness than they were before joseph smith received ret rel cevela elation from heaven they have gone into thicker darkness for the gospel has been offered to tite lite lle ile lie children of men to tha iha most of the christian nations during ille lite last twenty five years and arid in n a great measure they hav have a rejected it irbit but before the light came to them they the did not know what to do for the world were bound up in ignorance darkness and arid by false traditions false principles and false faise teachers who gave guve unto the children of men their erroneous opinions options for tor doctrines of salvation I 1 we are liberated from these thee thi ghi things the cloud of darkness is 13 taken from us U and the lite light of eternal truth has begun to shine upon our minds some of this assembly have embraced this os pe pel in foreign countries and many mani of us its in ill this our maln native e land and now vv we e have hive all ome come r boget together to hear preaching exhortation and receive instruction st in m the things of god and we have corns coins expecting to hear the truth and tn in this we have not been disappointed for ve we do hear the truth from this stand w e have been tau taught 11 lit the pure principles of virtue and righteousness by the servants er of god the knowledge kno medge Wedge we have received has taken from us those troubles of mind and add soul and those thoe distressing feelings which were occasioned by those false doctrines and traditions that were im implanted in in our minds in in early life and that have caused us so much suffering in in days day daj s that ari are gone then I 1 say jt it is is a great blessing that god has given unto us the celestial law the principles of the gospel goepel that tb atwill will lead to celestial glory and eternal lives the lord has for forbears years past been continually revealing the simple supple principles that will bring us back into the presence of our heavenly father rather and which will give unto us a place in in his celestial kingdom if we abide a celestial law we can all see the effects of the establishment of the church and kingdom of god upon the earth and we perceive eive that the effects of lle ile lie the gospel are very different from false tradition and from sc sec sectarian c absurdities that deluge the world there the requirement qui rement is that men shall shail abide the celestial law of god in in order that they may mav be quickened by that tha power and be united by those principle principles with the lite apostles Apost les lei and prophets and all those thoe beings who hive have been quickened by it in ages that are gone and dwell in the light and arid presence of god and be for forever ever even in lit the society of the city of enoch and our brethren who have gone before us and arid who have been made perfect by the same gospel which we have received it if we were to go into the celestial world we would then be actuated by thespina the spirit that predominates there and have continually with us those principles by which winch we should be governed we have got to possess posses the lite sima eme yme spirit and principles in in this fidis world and we have haie ha got to 16 abide a celest celestion cele iol law here and be united upon the principle that unites the people of god who dwell in his presence greence re ence in in order to get the same glory that they enjo enjoy these are the principles that are taught us from day to dar dav i and land we ave must learn to carry them out and we must lay aside our self seif selfishness lili lies lles s and all false fale principles that bat hat we have imbibed and that have been taught us from our infancy in order that we may obtain the blessings and power of god it is is different with us from what it is and arid will be with the cedren of this thi s people As one of the old prophets said speaking of the gathering in the last days when they would come together wake up from their drowsiness drobness drow ness get to understand principle and see their true position they will sav say surely our fathers have inherited lies ind aid athius things wherein there is is no profit 2 and it is truly trula so for we can already say that our fathers have hive inherited lies and we have inherited many of thell their traditions until we heard beard the fullness of the gospel wo we were filled with traditions and false fale doctrines and the teachers of the day did not instruct men to walk in in the lite same path but they were continually contu bally fe aching teaching something that would divide men I 1 n their feelings and that would produce brodu oe as many different creeds and as there were sects in the world and hence bence yve yie wa have all the be evils attendant upon that course of life this puts me in in mind of a circumstance that happened when I 1 was preaching I 1 in in kentucky I 1 preached upon the first principles of the gospel and at the close of my discourse I 1 gave the privilege for any one oro to ask questions or to make remarks if they felt so disposed A gentleman arose and I 1 noticed that a great many of the congregation began to laugh and I 1 afterwards learned that the gentleman was an infidel and ard hence the congregation gre gie gation gatlon were disposed to make fun of him he said si will vi ill lil not detain you Iong long but ibish I 1 v ish to state to this thia large congregation that thai mr woodruff has taught 11 me more this evening ilian ihan I 1 ever learned in lit my whole life before from my boyhood I 1 have been searching into religion and when 1 I have asked a minister in relation to the way of life lie would point me to the way he was walking himself then I 1 would ask another and he would point out a different way and I 1 might have asked a hundred and they tiley would all have pointed pointed jointed out a different road and they would tell me that I 1 must hs be born again I 1 observed mentho were said to be born again and one class of men who were said to be lorn torn again would take one wa way y and another would take quite a different ro road a d an and I 1 always marveled at this tilis for I 1 did not s see ea any sense sence in men taking different roads to lead to the kingdom of heaven but now this man mr wood woodi 1 ruff has told me rae the truth and shown me the feas feat reason featon on they took so many different rods roads after they were born again and the reason is because were all born BLIND this in lit reality is the tile case for many of us have been born again according to the traditions of our fathers fat fal heis helb but those these that keep lle ile lie he celestial law jaw and arid obey the principles of the gospel ot of christ you never hind find them heni taking dlf dif different derent roads there is but tut one right road und udd itis it is a straight forward one and the principles arid and rules that govern govern you in in that path are simple and easy to be understood this is the tha path for us to walk in and I 1 consider that we ve are greatly blessed in lit having learned the true way and in being delivered from that yoke of bondage that has chained us down with error false doctrine and false teachers this I 1 count one of the greatest ble blessings sOngs that god has given to the children of men inen to have the plain I 1 truth ruth pointed out to them yon look at he religions religious of the day and arid see their confusion and the mystery that hangi bargi around them you may present the truth to them as plainly as you can and so simply dimply that an ati intelligent child might understand der stand and still they tiley cannot comprehend it you ask ilsk a man among them about the character of gou goa and about his attributes and what canille can cau he eli eil ell tell yow you they will |