Show I 1 11 W I 1 I 1 I 1 rr r t r I 1 A by president t young delivered in the tabernacle nacle great salt lake laka city june aune 1852 after elder I 1 ira ra ames had addre addressed med the congregation REPORTED BY 0 D WATT there is a little more time which remains to i be improved this morning in which I 1 will off offer er a few words to the con congregation re 1 gation feeling thankful for this and for all other privileges that I 1 ey enjoy from day to day we ve have had the pleasure this day of hearing the truth of the work of the last days declared I 1 with the testimony of one of the servants of the lord who has had an experience of SO 20 years in this church there are many others who also have a lengthy experience and some have not had more than six months trial but in that short time they have obtained as an experience which has given them sufficient information to satisfy them thein that there is a god in this work that a me power has hal attended the gospel of salvation is called mormonism from its rise to this day I 1 say to all both saint and sinner that there is not an individual who hae heard the sound of this work and the report of that book the book of mormon but the spirit of the lord accompanied that report in to them there is no person no matter as to his character if he has heard the truth and has not been made to acknowledge that there is enough of proof to substantiate the coming forth of the aly ay iy priesthood which is calculated to save we children of men in the celestial kingdom but must have passed the ordeal where the spirits could not operate upon his feelings or in other words have sinned against agamet the holy ghost conseen consequently fitly the religious and the irreligious the good and the evil it makes no matter what class of characters you refer to every person who has ever heard the sound of the book of mormon of joseph smith and of the latter day work th spirit of the almighty has convinced vine d that individual of its truth and I 1 kno v it the kings upon their thrones the princes of the parth arth the lords of the land with the beggar upon the dunghill have all felt the power of god at times witnessing to their hearts that the boik BOA of mormon is 18 TRUE joseph smith a prophet and that the lord has set to his hand the second time to redeem israel bro ames has said thit that mormonism will progress 5 if it does not god will be de thrones ned for when he undertakes to do anything it will be done in spite of every op opposing P osing influence when the wicked have power to mow blow out the sun that it shines no more when they have power to brin to a conclusion the operations of the elements suspend the whole system of nature and make a footstool of the throne of the almighty they may then think to check mormonism in its course and thwart the unalterable purposes of heaven they may persecute the people who believe its doctrines report and publish lies to bring tribulation and distress upon their heads earth and hell may unite in one grand league against it and exert their malicious power to the utmost but it will stand as firm and unmoved in the midst of it all as the pillars of eternity they may berset persecute ute the prophet and those who believe in and uphold him they may drive the saints and kill men women and children but that does not affect the truths of mormonism Monnon ism one ona iota for they will stand when the elements melt with fervent heat when the heavens are wrapped up like a scroll and the solid earth is dissolved it stands upon the eternal basis of omnipotence jehovah is the mormonism of this people their priesthood and jhc thc ir power and all who adhere to it in the day appointed will come up into the presence of the king eternal and receive a crown of life while speaking the other day to the people I 1 obo observed arved that the race was not to the swift nor the battle to the strong neither righteousness to men of wisdom I 1 happened to cast my eyes upon ire ira ames who was sitting in the congregation I 1 knew he had been in the church a considerable length of time I 1 have edve been personally acquainted with him bim twenty years mine eye also caught many more of the first saints at the same time these men know that mormonism is true they have moved steadily forward and have not committed some outrageous crime to make theme themselves ives noted characters as many have but unseen as it were they have steadily maintained their tooting looting in the right path there are those who are dreadfully afraid they will not become public enough so they commit some wicked act to bring their names before the public to bp be publicly talked of I 1 could place my hand upon many in this congregation that will win the race though they are re not very verv swift to outward appearance or make any great pretensions they are found continually attending to their own business they do not appear great warriors or as if they were likely to win the battle but what is their true character they have faith today to day they are filled with faith their words are few but they are full of integrity you find them to morrow as they were yesterday or today to day and today to day as unchanged changed an as they were yesterday visit them when you will under whatever circumstances and nd you will find them unalterably the same and finally when you have spent your life with them you will find that their life throughout has been well spent full of faith hope charity and good works as far As as they have had the ability these are the 0 ones ns who will win the race conquer in the battle and obtain the peace and righteousness of eternity I 1 would inquire if the congregation recollects the text for the season seasons 1 and let every man who prea preaches elies it act according to it himself if those who speak do so by the spirit of the lord they will speak according to the text for it is impossible ever to depart from it if they remain in the truth and they will always be within the power of being a son or a daughter of f god if they live to it their whole lives will aim directly to the one grand object to be encircled wrapped up filled and surrounded with the knowledge of god that will make them one prepare them to do unto others as they would that others should do unto them to keep the whole law of the father and the son wid and all the laws of the celestial kingdom which has or ever will be revealed and to meet the savior savio r at ilia his it yields solid satisfaction to hear men testify of the truth n ot f the gospel it is always part particularly I 1 inter interesting sting to me to hear the saints tell their experience an experience to me is one of the best of sermons and to hear bear men and women relate to each other how the lord has wrought upon their understandings and brought them into the path of truth life and salvation is one of the most lively conversations that can be introduced before a congregation a tion I 1 would rather hear men tell t their h air experience and testify that joseph is a prophet of the lord the book of mormon the bible and other revelations of god are true that they know it by the gift and power of god have conversed with angels have had the power of the holy iahost upon them giving them visions and revel revelations ationo than hear any other kind of preaching it is the best that ever saluted my ears if I 1 could command the language and eloquence of the angel ao gelof of god I 1 would tell you why but the eloquence of angels never can convince any I 1 person that god lives and makes truth the habitation of his throne independent of its being clothed with the power of the holy ghost G host it would be in the absence of this a combination of useless sounds what is it that convinces men it is the influence of the almighty enlightening the mind giving instruction to the understanding of the inner man not the outer man touching the sensibility lity that every person is in endowed with by the power of the father who has created it that brings conviction to the mind when that which inhabits this body that which came from the regions of ef glory is enlightened by KB it kindred influence power and spirit it swallows up ap the organization which pertains to this world thom who are governed by this influence low lose light eight of all things pertaining to morts mortality lity they ire are wholly influenced by the power of eternity mid and lose sight eight ot 1 I time all the ilono honor wis wisdom dont strength and whatsoever is considered desirable among men yea all that pertains to this organization niza tion which is is in in any way independent ot of that which came f from rom the father is obliterated I 1 to them and they hear and understand by the same power and spirit that clothes the deity and the holy beings that are in his bis presence anything besides that influence will fail to convince any person of the truth troth of the gospel of salvation this is the reason why I 1 love to hear bear men testify to the various operations of the holy ghost upon them it is at once interesting and instructive when a subject is introduced with all the calculation method tact and cunning of man clothed with the ef fusions of worldly eloquence before a congregation endowed with the power of the holy ghost and filled with the N light of eternity they can understand it trace its bearings place all its parts where they belong and dispose of it according to the unalterable laws of truth this makes all subjects interesting and instructive to them but the case is quite different with those whose minds are not opened ani instructed instruct edby by the power of god sermonising Sermon ising dividing and subdividing subjects and building up a fine superstructure a fanciful and serial building to fascinate a congregation coupled with the choicest eloquence of the world will not produce any good to mortals the sentiments of my mind and the manner of my life is to obtain knowledge by the power of the holy ghost it if all the talent tact wisdom and refinement of the world had bad been combined in one individual and that person had been sent to we ire with the book of mormon and had declared in the most exalted of earthly eloquence the truth of it undertaking to prove it by his learning and worldly wisdom it would have been to me like the smoke onoke which arises only to vanish but when I 1 saw a man without eloquence or talents for or public speaking who could coula only just say 1 I know by bv the power of the holy ghost that the book of if mormon is i true that joseph smith is a prophet of the lord the holy ghost proceeding from froin that individual illuminates my understanding der and light glory and immortality is before me I 1 am encircled by it filled with it and know for myself that the testimony of the aran irani is true but the wisdom of the world I 1 say eay is like smoke like the fog of the night that disappears before the rays of the luminary of day or the hoar frost in the warmth of the suns ray my own judgment natural endowments and education bowed to this humble but mighty testimony there sits the man who baptized me and who ho fi first rat pre presented dented the book of mormon to my notice bro Miller there are also others it filled my system with light and my soul with joy the world with all its and power with all the glory and gilded show of its kings and potentates sinks into perfect I 1 insignificance ns agn compared with the simple unadorned testimony of a servant of god jesus said 9 consider the lilies of the field fielda 5 behold the splendid and simple beauty of their clothing even solomon the greatest and wisest of earthly kings who swayed his sceptre tre so as to be admired and feared oy by all nations and yet he in all his glory could not compare with one of these lili lilis lilies s which you can sever from its native stem with the least effort admire for a moment and then toss it from you as you would a thing of no value all that is considered valuable precious glorious or magnificent among men cannot even compare with that lily which you tread under your feet itt in beauty and excellence it all vanishes away and is no more it is fleeting as the twilight of the morning and as baseless as a dream the glory of man is in fitly compared in the scriptures to the flower of the grass when it is cut down which withers and is gone for ever but when the almighty sheds shed forth his spirit upon an individual or upon a people thi the vision of their minds is opened so as to discern di se ern between the things pertaining to this organization and those pertaining to the organization of other bodies which are brought forth in other spheres all things are made new to them for all 11 things that are in the heavens and on the earth arth endure in the presence of the almighty and can only be revealed unto mortals m atals in their proper light by the power of the holy ghost while bro ames was speaking upon his experience peri ence previous to believing and embracing the faith of thy the gospel and a few words of conversation verea tion that passed between him and bro geo curtis this question occurred to my mind viz what causes men and women whose minds have been accustomed to reflect upon theological subjects to speak so intelligently as soon as the spirit of the lord touches their understanding the experience of the most of the congregation gre gation can answer this question you are the oracle of the spirit the repository of or intelligence that comes from another state stat of existence invisible to the natural eye of the influence that pro produces dures an effect without revealing the cause and creates apparently mirac miracles cles lesin in the world you are already acquainted with my my views upon the doctrine of miracles in reali ty Y there ran can be no miracles only to the ignorant these invisible spiritual agents to the natural understanding are not only in us but also in the elements in the heavens above and in the earth beneath and are continually producing effects the cause of which we cannot see with the natural eye or feel with the natural sense of touch does the experience of this people teach them why men and women speak that which is wrong many of them but not all have an understanding of it tolerably well paul could not explain it though he be was ore of 0 Gama liels household servants and probably swei swept this his house or cleaned his sandals he be however had an opportunity of learning much I 1 throw this in by way of remark with all his learning and talent he could not explain it any better than his uneducated brethren when he would seek the lord with wih all his heart he found something in the way which endeavoured to overcome him and block up his path when he pursued the course of righteousness and the only way he could explain it was by saying when ewhen I 1 would do good evil is present with me the evil is with us it is that evil influence which tempts us to sin which has come into the world for the express purpose of giving us an opportunity of proving before god before jesus christ our elder brother before the holy angels and before all good men that are or ever will be that we are determined to overcome the evil and cleave to the good for the lord has given us the ability to do so consequently when the evil is present witti wite me I 1 have a little fighting to do I 1 must turn and combat it until it is eradicated from my affections as well as from my actions that I 1 may have power to do all the good I 1 wish to perform every person is capable of this they can bridle their tongues and cease from every evil act from this time henceforth and forever and do good instead there is an old maxim and in many cases cam an excellent one it is think twice before you speak once ona and three times before you act if we train ourselves to think what we are about to do before we do it and have understanding to know and power |