Show DISCOURSE cr liv nm PREST DANIEL ff WELLS J DELIVERED AT tue TUC I 1 I 1 faly ty s sixth ix th se semiannual semi m ia annual conference 00 of the church of jesus christ of latter dav day da saints in the areu anew tabernacle salt sall lake city on 0 n fh the morning orning 11 of october vh 1875 1675 r REPORTED BY DAVID VT EVANS IT me pleasure to meet once diore more with the saints in general conference assembled where we may pledge ourselves again and bear our testimony and raise our warning voices to the world in regard to the great work that the fjord ord is accomplishing in the earth through the 1 instrumentality mentality of his children who have enlisted under king emanuels Emanu eps eVs banner and are arc willing to unite with him in accomplishing comp lishing his purposes on the earth ris his kingdom is being established hero bore in the valleys of the mountains settlements are being formed towns and villages are springing up and people who have made a covenant with god are reclaiming the earth from the ahral dom of sin and iniquity in which it lias has so long been held in bondage and instead of being in a little city or town in illinois where wo we were i not permitted pe emitted to dwell we are hero here in the valleys of the mountains possessing from one hundred and two hundred towns villages and settlements the lord has thus strengthened the stakes enlarged the borders and lengthened the cords of zion and lie he has reclaimed from the dominion of the wicked the amount of the earths surface that is now occupied by his bis saints at beast so long as they hold it for him and his llis kingdom arid themselves them salves saives for his llis work the world belongs to the lord and he has lias the right to govern and control contro it and he ia going to do so we aro arc preparing the way for his kingdom and coming forlie for lie he certainly designs te to come horo hero just as its egoli as aci the people are prepared to receive him and perhaps sooner than some will be willing to receive him I 1 I 1 have hwe sometimes thought that if haere now at the thel gate we should feel we would rather lie he would valt wait vait awhile until we could nix fis up matters before he was introduced the way was wasis is preparing howe bowe however ver vcr and I 1 feel to rejoice thise this morning that I 1 can bear my testimony to the increase of the numbers of the saints of god and to the increase of faith and good works among them Z the dominion domin ibn of the lord lora is extending upon the earth a little hero here and a little there sometimes perhaps going a little too far and iod nod dodging ging back a little for a time and then springing forward again and so going on on every side the lord has made no mistake he understands der stands what he is doing a great deal better than some of us do a andi andl and di d I apprehend that a great many people are aie bringing about the lords purposes pur put poses unwittingly perhaps they would not do as well in this lle Ile as they are now doing if I 1 they understood lo 10 the fullest ex tent the result of the course they are taking but really the lord is at work with a great many people some of whom see the tha kingdom king dorn doin and bothe some do not and he has even said that lie he will cause the wrath wr uth ath of the wicked and ungodly to praise him and the remainder of their wrath lie will restrain this is true and has been illustrated in the history of this thia people when they were driven from nauvoo the disposition 0 or L their enemies was to i destroy every eveny vestige of the authority of the tile holy priesthood from tho the faco of the earth and that Idis tooh still exists in the hearts of a great reit malty mally maity many people and if th they had tiie the power they w would 01 ad carry it it out well the lord in the earl eari early days of br the church suffered enough of lof this disposition to bo be gratified to cause enuse the exodus of his people from missouri Blisso url uri and illinois and t hey tiley were anally kicked right into the middle of the floor into these thase of the tho mountains ind when the tiie purposes of the lord were so s far aub served by the wrath of the wicked he restrained them dind and f linchis his people have been blessed blesa arld and prospered and tho earth b has as been made to bring forth north its strength for their sustenance and wo we see ece prosperity on every haud hand in the dwelling places of the sainte salute A country has been put into their i possession where the lord can strengthen their feet and he is doing so whether we understand it or oi not many blaby will doubtless make shipwreck of their faith and will bo be led away by the allurements allure ments of sin into by and forbidden paths yet the kingdom a will not bo be take taken n from this people and given to another but a people will come forth from among us who will be zealous of good works willing to do the bidding of the lord who will be taught jn in his ways and who will walk iii in his paths we if we are willing may be humble instruments in the hands bands of god in bringing to pass his great and glorious kingdom wo we have a temple pretty near ready to go into in st george it is progressing very favorably and is a magnificent structure and in a short time we wo shall be able to enter it and receive blessings for time and aud ani aul eternity for ourselves and our dead let me say to the latter day saints that the blessings of the lord even ilfe life for ever more are commanded here in these valleys of the mountains I 1 will read a few words from the psalmist behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together ix unity it is like ilke the precious ointment upon the head that ran down upon the beard even aarons aarona beard that went down to the skirts of his garments as the dew of ilg hermon rmon and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of zion for there the lord co commanded in the blessing even ilfe life for ever over evermore inore lnore anciently this blessing was commanded in the mountains of zion on the eastern hemisphere but in our day the lord has revealed himself and has spoken from the heavens to his servant on the western continent where the authority of the holy priesthood is dwells the blessing of the lord I 1 and there has he commanded the blessing 0 even ilfe life for evermore we ade awe are united in our faith in our works and in our feelings and interests and in in every capacity that is possible the latter day saints should stand shoulder to before the lord and before the world an unbroken phalanx to resist the powers and insinuations of ot the enemy and the approaches of evil in every direction the people here are increasing and multiplying they are disposed a aa a general tb thing ing i 1 to do as the lord wants them t to 0 do but wickedness will creep in we live must purify our hearts the lord says son give me thy heart I 1 we must give our hearts to the lord our god then he can accept of us many are called but few are chosen mosen we are all called to be co helpers with the lord in establishing his is purposes in in the earth in sustaining holy and righteous principles and the institutions 0 of high gil heaven which the lord has revealed ceveale d and the tho organizations which he has introduced in the midst of the earth we ve are called upon to sustain them and to bear them oft off triumphantly to lay a foundation for the rule of truth peace and righteousness in the earth and to prepare the way for the ushering in in of that great and glorious i kingdom of peace that will stand for ever and ever this is the work of the latter day saints and the lord will perform it through the instrumentality of those who aro are willing and obedient in the day of his power we can have lot and part herel lerel n if we have a mind to so may all the children of earth all they have to do is to render obedience to the voice of the lord and the whole world ought to bo be giad glad iad lad of the opportunity to do that the lord invites us to come lie he is anxious and desirous that wo should come to dimand him and learn of him ho he says take upon you my yoke for it is is easy and my burden for it is light come partake of the waters of line lire freely treely 3 turn from your evils for why will ye die 0 house of israel the lord is 15 talking to the people and sending forth his warning voice to the nations of the wicked and ungodly and as it was in III the days of noah so it tt will be ia in the days of the coming of the son of man alan the nigh righteous bous were saved and the wicked picked were ere destroyed then so they will III lii ba jut Jui in hiese these latter days for the hour our of gods judgment ia come and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of r our god and of his christ and thip they will wilt be given to lihi hi sainta saints who would not be a saint why a great reat many people reject the tho word of tho lord and have no respect for it whatever and too lancy lanny rm 7 of th who eho to ta be lct lat ter ler bay hav day saints aro arc in the bame same condition ita it Is not at a great while since the word of the lord came through joseph smith the prophet of bf the lord to this nation to freo free their thein clr slaves and for the government to pay pat for them out of the treasury of the united states would the people receive the word of the lord through his servant ser eer vant rant no they would not what was waa the result why a fratricidal civil war in which thousands thousand of millions of dollars were spent devastation was spread over the landane land and rivers of bt blood were shed and all this might have been avoided and the slaves liberated by peaceful means at not more than one tenth of the expense if they would hate have hearkened to the word of at tha lord everybody can bee tee now BOW that that would hate have been the tho best course to take but nobody could eee sec it and nobody would receive it when it was given donot do not let us be afraid of theford the word of the lord uc he never did and lie lle never nevor will reveal a principle to the children of men but what if it be carried out will prove to their greatest interest and advantage I 1 merely mention this to illustrate a subject which is quite fa to the saints but which tha world do hot bot know EO so much about now we arc are here in obedience to a great command a command given by the almighty to his saints to gather out from babylon lest they be partakers par takers of her gins sins and receive of her plagues cat dat if we arc are going to partake of her sins in zion and to nourish and cherish the wicked and ungodly what better shall we be for gathering 8 shall shail hall hali we escape her plagues by so to doing no there is no promise ta that effect but if we practise the sins and ini battles q ailles allies of babylon here bere in zion we may expect to receive of her plagues and to be destroyed we have duties to perform here which devolve upon us as saints of the most high tale the book hook of doctrine and covenants informs us that things will be revealed in this the dispensation of the falness of times that have hare been kept hidden from before the foundation of the world should we bo be surprised then when a anew new principle is manifested among among ns us from the lord through the channel of the holy priesthood do we realize that this is the tho channel through th which the mind and will of god our father is made known unto us here is the bible of what is of a compilation of things made known to the children of men in former ages through the instrumentality of the holy priesthood the word of the lord to the people has always come through that channel and it always will it Is Is the same authority that exists in the heavens by which the gods themselves aro are governed and by which they control all things and itis it la amone the privileges of every man and every woman to approach the lord th ucb urb this channel and jeann learn his mind and will concerning them and through this same channel a bishop may learn the mind of the lord about bis ward the president ol 01 a quorum about his quorum aad and ad the president of the whole church the llie mind and will of the tho lord concerning the people and so through all the quorums and organizations of the church from first to last all may approach the lord th through the channel of the holy priesthood and learn his bis mind and will concerning them it is the privilege of the father and mother of a family to obtain the tho mind and will of tho the lord to vo enable them to guide their children in the ways of eternal life ilfe this lano fano la no childs play or i able fable the lord has spoken from the heavens and we bear nony mony thereof to all the nations of the earth listen then to his loicel it comes to all it comes colnes to tho latter day saints through the channel of the priesthood located here in the valleys of the mountains hear it all ye nations of the bartal come vp up here and learn the mind and will of ih the lord take warning that tou you you toa may esc escape esc csc c hib his wrath when his judgments jude ments shall tro tra be poured ared out because they will be just as sure as they were in the days of noah this Is the work of th eLord cLord and we bear testimony ony of these things continually in your ears you of course do as you please about re receiving celvin or believing our testimony that makes no difference in re gard pard to the troth of the matter it is gods truth and it is extending and will continue to do so until it prevails and triumphs over every obstacle the latter day saints have a work to do not only in proclaiming the gospel and warning the peaple people but to build up zion right here upon the earth not atar afar off in some far distant the lord has as planted their feet in the valleys of the mountains and we must be united and must operate together as far as in our power powen nowen dowen lies to brin bring to pass the purposes 7 of the almighty because righteousness and peace and harmony 1 roust dwell in the kingdom A house divided v against itself can net stand eland Is a r reformation needed amongst tho the saints yes it is needed with us all wa we must laust reform and continue to reform vve we IVe have inherited lies from and are full of the traditions of the fathers we have al ai imbibed errors in our infant years and the enemy is on the alert ready to enter in and to lead into by and forbidden paths the footsteps of tho young that ho he may cause them to make shipwreck of their faith and go away from the truth the eternal truth of heaven the word is waging a warfare against this little handful of in the valleys of the mountains ti why because we ilie hae cot got the tha truth troth the true faith of the tha holy go PO pel we have the authority of the holy priesthood that has come down from heaven they are anxious to destroy this authority and the servants of the lord who bear it and th they y arc anxious to uproot ana and destroy us as a people then in order orden to defend ourselves letus go to with our oun unite as the tho heart of one man and glend blend r shoulder to shoulder in building up the kingdom of god upon tin earth if we have lest lost our faith in the why yby of vc cant te crr acted to do ny thing more towards building it up but if it we are assured in our own minds that this Is the truth troth that so called Is the everlasting gospel that it has his been revealed by direct revelation from the lord in these last days and that we are really his people let us go to and reform our lives there is need of it we have been slack black negligent and dilatory and peradventure we have donal donn a great many things we ought not to have done per haps hapa we have been guilty of sins tins of omission as well as eins sins of commission and we need to repent and anil to go down into the waters |