Show liso DISO 0 18 0 0 OTTISE U az sei DELIVERED BY vir elm EIM DM URSON prati PRATT at 4 the fhe generah general conference friday afternoon oct 8 1880 AY joun JOHN irvine ITIs IT is to be hoped that in this laige assembly every one will vill studiously beek seek to bo be as still aa as possible that there may be an opportunity of hearing I 1 do not suppose there will be bb much business presented before the conference this afternoon afternoons and I 1 have been requested which I 1 am willing to do and desire to do in a manner that shall be accetta in a manner ble bid to the lord and also alad instructive and edifying to the latter day sam saints mits fits I 1 will commence by reading a promise romise that was wag given lord I 1 an fn n the month of may alay 1833 a 9 promise made to all of the latter day saints not to a few individuals not to the members member fA of the Chur church chalone alone but td every person in all the world this promise will be found in the book boob of doctrine and covenants page new now edition aa as follows verily thus the lord it shall come to pass that every soul who forsa keth their sins and corneth unto me and calleta jonm on my name names an and 0 eye my voice volee and e t my commandments shall see my face and know that 1 ams am and that laithe I 1 am the true tru elight light that ligh teth every man that cometh into the world and that I 1 am in the father and the father in a me and the father and I 1 are ar e one this is a agrest great promise romise which the lord has made to all of his people male and female I 1 esteem it to be bhone oneff of the great characteristic of the latter daay flay dispensation one of the great lind and important promises made to the tha children of mortality morta motta lity one ono that one ono deeply concerns us all this pr promise 0 however la Is made on certain condition some of which are here hefe specified one of ans tub conditions in regard to this matter will bo be found in a revelation given on the day of september 1832 i which reads and stand this greater grenter priest hoad speaking ot of the order of the bon son of adol administer eth the gospel and goldeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom even the key ortho knowledge of god therefore in the ordinances thereof the power of godliness Js is made manifest and without the ordinances theror thereof and the authority of the priesthood the power of godliness s ia Is not manifest unto men in the flesh f for or without this no man can see the face of god even the father and live this moses plainly taught to the children of israel in the wilderness and sought diligently to sanctify them that they might behold the face of god but they hardened their hearts and could not endure hii his presence therefore the holy priesthood was taken out of their mid bid midst stand and also moses holding that priesthood and the lesser priesthood continued even the priest briest hold hoid hol hoi d of aaron which holds the keys in regard to outward ordinances ordinance a and the keys keya of the thee ministration of angels and the law of carnal commandments mand ments which the lord in hia wrath caused to continue with the house of aaron among the children of israel until john I 1 may not have repeated word for word in the language of the revelation but I 1 have llave given you at least the substance benore before tuat time the time when the higher priesthood was taken from amongst the children of israel they enjoyed ali all the privileges of the gospel in various dis sensations from the days of adam down doah until the days of Moses namely the privilege I 1 have jus JuB tread in your heNiff ig olf seeing the face of god in every dispensation yes ingan gin gln the presence ot of god in every V dispensation I 1 1 in this temporal life iffe was waa there ever a generation era tion or a people from adam to tb e aap upp ot of moses mosey when this principle wilnot was not exhibited provided that a dispensation of god was among them I 1 do not know of any were thera there any dispensations in which the higher priesthood did not exist I 1 do not know of any it ia Is true the tire lord in calling his servants in these early ages of the world h had ad a particular order but he did not always confine pamp himself to that particular order in in regard to lineage the order that khod god ordained and established onlie earth in the days of adam was that the first bom born was entitled by right to the grand order of patriarchal government including the high rila the order of the son of god adam was the first man marx in mortality ut id this probation that bred brid thia this great and glorious and high and heavenly calling conferred upon him there is no dubiety la in our minda minds in regard to this matter it is revealed it is declared in the revelations that are printed to wh which ich you all have access that adam himself as the first man in mortality received not only the gospel but hut the priesthood I 1 do not kno v that I 1 can repeat this reve word for word but I 1 will state elate the substance of it the spirit of the lord was upon our father adam adain and conversed with him made known unto him in great plainness the plan of salvation taught him concerning baptism in water told him tha rea rca rc rea a son bon why he should bo be baptized in that it ws wes a similitude or in that it ws wes a similitude or in water other words something that was blim flir milar ollar to our natural birth into the world and atter after having ta him the gospel saying that ho be and his hla children must be baptized la in water and should yo receive the holy ghost which should beat record of the father and the son and should make manliest manifest unto him the things of the kingdom of ot god and the thins things necessary for him to understand in his hla probationary state staw in order to get et back bach again reain rain into the kingdom of his big father in ln cheh cavene whilo the spirit of godias god was still upon him adam believing ll he called upon the name of the tho th elord lord what was the effect of this the spirit of the ther lord took tools him now 1 I 1 dont want you to spiritualize shwas tuis as the sectarians sect beet arians do to a it place where there was water that spirit placed him beneath tho the water brought bim him forth font of tha tho water and ihu ihus sadam adam s was vaa baptized t the e first baptism that per pertains taing to mortal man here on the earth what next the priesthood was given to him on that occasion casion easlon for the unto him thou art after the order orden df of rim him that is without beginning of days or end of all nil to end of years from eternity what ag a greab great real bies bles blessing qing to be permitted to enjoy that priesthood that had nobie notie no ginning a priesthood that was wag without father without mother a priesthood that was from all eternity 0 o all eternity adam ayed lecea into the order or of it it and became a high i priest forever forea er sater after the order of him aho who is eternal namely the son of god then after this the lord gave many revelations and anti he be gave gave a pattern as you can read here jn in this thia book boob after which tho people should write and they ooin corn commenced mend writing the ibe things of god goa they thoy commenced writing their genealogies they commenced writing concerning the gospel and concerning the priesthood they named their book which they wrote in those days tho the book of numbers that Is to number that which god had spoken to number gumbir the genealogies to number the gospel as it was reve leve revealed aled to number the prophecies as they were delivered and this nook boob of numbers wag written by the inspiration of the most high god in this book of numbers kept hept by the forefathers it was recorded that tho the first born among the descendants of adam should have conferred upon them the everlasting priesthood 3 the tho patriarchal tri power to govern over their seed here then is what might be termed a temporal ar der a political government combined with a spirit spiritual uhl uki order revealed from heaven it was all one in those thome days the management and anti government of tile the children of god were dictated by revelation by the priesthood by the patriarchal power by the laws that were communicated from the heavens unto the children of men the next one that received this priesthood of which we have any account was abel adam had hatt a nu numerous family how many tills book does doea not tell us but they were so nume numerous rous roua that they were scattered over the face of the land two and two adam and eve evo begat sons and daughters and they united in marriage two fund and two and scattered abroad on the faco face of the jand land you all have the history in thia this book as towboat to what took place in regard to two of these sons bons cain and abel it beems that some gome of the others other according to the record given were rebels A great many of them flem did not hearken unto the lord bord did not keep nia hia commandments commandment and be came quite wicked befaro the heavens the lord it would gouid seem conferred the priesthood upon abel and he heo Sered a sacrifice that was acceptable before the lord call cain undertook to imitate iu ju in some measure by offering the Ahe I 1 ruita of the ground but his heart being corrupt not having faith it was not accepted of the lord cain felt angry abou about tit it aud and his coun countenance ten ance anco fell yet the lord condescended descended con to talk with him on the subject why cowhy art thou wroth eaid said the lord nord and why ID isi thy countenance Gunten ance failen fallen if thou ahou doest well wel thou not be accepted acce apted and if thou doest not well sin lieth at the door and sa tan dea der ireth to have bave thee andea and e copt tho hearken hearden he arken arben unto my commandments I 1 will deliver thee up and it shall be unto thee accord inc ing to his hig desire and thou shall bhail rule over hini hiru etc according to the new translation well cain did not repent but hardened his hla heart and finally built bulit up a secret combination that thi la Is he gathered the 06 posterity of adam who were rebell rebellious lous ious anel and organized quite a large combination organized quite a large combination i the object of I 1 the die combination was to plunder to steal to td obtain political esl esi power outride outside of the order that god had hao established and batan balan was the thid founder of it he lie gave them tham all the various lilam plan pertaining to it and tind built up tip a combination that was wicked in the extreme cain being ono one of the iha most wicked of nil all that combination he was the chief captain the great grand ma ux tor do you abu want to know Ms his name darne grand master arann mahan after abel wai murdered adam still had the high priesthood it mastbe was he creat governing power appointed by the almighty the priesthood wag was not nol taken froni front the earth il was still held heid hythe bythe by the first m mar man iun itu of all and wb when en IM ISO yearb years llad h ad passed away a person by the name of seth both came campton on the stag ge of action and bw to the voice of the lord gage gave ave heed to the instructions of hia hs father adam and the triest hood was conferred upon him n x bv and anti bye a little over one hundred i years arter after seth both obtained the priesthood enos enog was wa born rand enog eno hearkened 1 I to the tha of god and the wa wag conferred him aldaffer an aud and dAffer A a yew few ew epars yews be hebe ga rat gai a aron apon gon son whom lie be called cainan t the a fourth generation from adam adani at that urethe people of god had batt become quite numerous they were ered over the the land winked were among them i and anil eo so greb grea the wickedness tha that t prevailed descendants of adlin adain that it wag was counseled hy by enog eno that ahat hannd nil all the residue of the righteous ou should 0 the hind land they fled out about years after adam adana was placed on the earth parth the land which they had hadi occupied prior to that timo was called the landof simlon rhulon where whereat reft reit it was ido rio not know it is not revealed I 1 suppose adam went with them although it does not say boy sol eo it only says thab that elenos enoa and the residue of the people of god came out froin from the land which war was callais shulon and ani dwelt in a land of promise promis e imen I 1 men i some of oathee th e to show you the early history of the priesthood the the early his pry f the dealings dealing Fi of god gol with the children of men as revealed tous d n this geri gerk generation er they seemed to maintain a foothold in this land to which they fled it might haye have been beep norup notus of jackson county for aught J know there seem to be some old i rul rui ruins ns in davis county jn iii the state of Miss missouri ouirl and no doubt there were altars built there we know from verbal revelation not writ written tens teny that adam built an altar in that coun country and onn off offered ered sacrifices thereon they maintained a foothold lo from years after adam came upon the stage of being down from generation to generation to the days of enoch for cainan begat mahala Mabala leel leei begat jared and jared begat enoch enoich who was the seventh from adam enoch being wrought upon by the spirit of god left the land of r cainan where all the righteous were living and went forth on a foreign mission the rama same as 3 many of our oun elders now DOW go forth he traveled eastward from the land of cainan till hel hei came to the borders of the theeda sea bea what feik ea it was I 1 dowiot know the atlantic ocean flows between the great i eastern continent and the weste western rn but whether that ocean was weis there ia irl the days of adam I 1 eo 0 o not know there is one thing certain however that from the days of adam down to the days of peleg the earth was waa not divided at any rate enoch enoth traveled eastward and he cameto the sea sem shore and the lord appeared to him film theford the lord does not appear to people that do not havethe priesthood according to the revelation that I 1 have already repeated I 1 mean do not misunderstand me he does not appear to those who have not been administered through the order of the tho priesthood male I 1 and female enoch having been in the land of callnan was administer ed unto and taught in the ways ays nys of god he had the privIlege of seeing thes thorace face faco of godana god and god revealed i bim himpele self lo 10 him even after he be started on his mission what did the lord say to him anoint thine eyes with wit hclay clays clayt and wash them andt and hoir shai tsee see bee enoch did fi a berbas commanded and bis his spiritual eyes were werd opened so that he could ree see those thing which were not visible to the natural eyes of men mena ony oni of the first visions kiven riven to him was to ph show ow b bim him I 1 m what god h ad created before the foundation of the world he saw baw saw the spirits of men that god i had made before the world was made what a wonderful power was bestowed upon this man through that simple ordinance nce that he be was commanded to attend tol toi to he saw of menas menns men inen as bbs they efti existed ol before this world was formed and before this world was formed and it sass says ba besaw saw thinea that could not bot bd een seen by tb the natural eaf ey p and thefford the lord fLord commanded blanto him to lift up hig hla voice in abe the ekht east country near pear the sea ren shore to td the nations who h nd forgotten gd ard bp be did F fo 0 was wab gutte quinea a marvel to the thel people for he with great power and fear came upon theo then and they durst not lay hands hand to joae 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