Show DISCOURSE DISCOURSE ey eider elder david havid Can oan candland tiland illand nowery bowery sunday morning may 3 1857 1 REPORTED BY J V Y L LONG ox r I 1 BRETHREN AND SISTERS I 1 have llave lear lean learned lied tied in my experience and travels in the church olid aia klile kitie kingdom dorn of oar our oin oln god that a man may have a great dal d al in him ile lie may know a great deal and he lie may be a man of a great nany words but unless hose word s are sea seasoned boned with grace and drawn from him by ti he le prayers of the tiie people I 1 hey they are at beat best bestas 11 as onn 1 oun dirig bracq bra or a tinkling symbol viewing matters then therl as I 1 do I 1 desire this ll 11 is coming lor the short timp limp that I 1 may addless add i ess you to I 1 eel feel the foi fol ce and tiar power of your faith ani aal prayers pray els eis when a man mail is thus assisted it is really easing pleasing Ii to fo himself as well as s to ol liels for him to speak for there thare is a kind land of cusp nus c ch aiming in Vs s nature about a servant of god that 10 ro io 10 tune by our best masters can ean compare with it is some time brethren and sisters since sincel I vas was abroad in ih I 1 the he woi wol woid wois id preaching tiie tire gospel of jesus chiist and arid in fact I 1 have been at home longer this time lime than I 1 ever have llave been since I 1 became a member of the he church the mail man who thinks andrell and pets will always have something to say about passin passing events as wel wei as to 0 o elucidate some of the prominent prin ciple ci aks s of our falb aib alb aih S since ince t the lie lle fair weather has commenced anil ana since the reformation ha has with wih soine some in a measure many have apostatised and gone from our midst I 1 have llave sought to understand the reason of this tills I 1 have lave seen some who were our brethren arld arid and sisters goin going to ha ilia world for the purpose I 1 suppose of tasting its luxuries and while beholding the tile backsliding back backs sliding lidin of I 1 have llave asked am I 1 conducting ms elf so that I 1 shall be able jostand to stand the fhe various tests through which this church may he be called to pao pas shall I 1 be alie alle atile to endure lile ilia trials and arid difficulties which this people will nill have lo 10 encounter I 1 realize these are momentous questions question s arid and I 1 do ao not riot know enoi that a day passes at any rate a week does not without my asking the tile que question tion rain lain am I 1 preparing in myself to stand the va vailous vatious dous teas tests and trials which will ere long come upon the saints of latter litter days I 1 have llave seen many who professed to have had reat great dreams and ard to have seen seeli mih mig maghy lity miracles performed such stich as the deaf m oriade to hear bear the dunsto speak and the blit bilt baird d to tofee see 1 I have seen those very individuals that have testified fiNI that the y have haveisen ha seen these things arid and thai that tiie tire they have seen thosa those sick with the cholera miraculously healed turn round and po go back lo 10 the stales states or 10 lo eli ell england adrid there to tell the people that this is not the vol voi k of god pod scein seeing this I 1 have been led to ask the question are ire thie thoe those vi ions lons liia gifts signs sins arid and miracles mii acles sub clent proof of the truth ot of this work to ally any mail man who embraces it and ami upon those evidences will he really stand tile tiie irving tr hiis day ilay I 1 have solved the question for myself rny iny seif self and arid my conclusion is that visions dream reain arid and nnie the gifts in ill the chuch and king hing kingdom dura durn of god are not steady satisfactory proofs to you and arid I 1 that they are altogether fi bioni orn god unless a man roan has nip HIP abidin abiding witness within linn him these gifta gilta alone ai aie ale insufficient the tile love of the he truth murt inu idu t abide abille in him or hose those sp spiritual irilua ll manifestations are are but of 0 little use for ex p he ie lias has the still mail small voice of lle ile lie the spit sanit it whispering his pel pei vei ng to his soul that lie he accepted is he lie may see all the dreams arid and visions that hat can pos sibly be seen by mortals and yet he is liable to be deceived iii in ny my humble opinion a moan roan embracing mor mon lonisin mo nisin must do it for tile luve of the tr truth ulli util and arid oti noali oil rig tig else will enable him lo 10 stand he lie may boast that lie has lias traveled and evangelized evangeli zed almost all mankind yet notwithstanding I 1 all this unless lie he has tire tiie c candle candie of tle vie tie lord in liim him so that lie can detect error eltor and evil whenever wiler her ei eier er arid and under whatever circumstances clivy ibey may inay be presented lie may preach till lie lip is blind and arid then their the ilia weight and power of Alor monism lie he does not uniel stand it is not ilot the amount of 13 preaching reaching 1 that a matl mail has done lone nor the fhe lle ile lie fluency and eloquence of ili lil his 3 tongue neither is it tiie tire number that he has healed heated by 43 the he laying oil on of hanis hadis but it is that iphil that makes a man willi willing ig to be controlled by those who preside over him and arid to resign nm djin self fully full into tile the hands of the tire servants sei af of god and arid be ever ready to d 3 their bidding which alone can give endurance and stability to aay any any man there are men trien with willi whom you and arid I 1 are acquainted quain ted led men who leave lave astonished multitudes with their heir eloquence and erudition and arid you would have actually thom thought lit that they tiley would have set he tile thames on flie fhe but when rhen they get here heie lel lei lc and behold because their melds welds it arld and extraordinary acquirements acquire ments aie are not appreciated the they thes soon take their leave I 1 do not profess to be educated myself and I 1 do not know that m myrem y re ini irks r 1 9 will suit thoe those who are but nevertheless I 1 say that college education has but little to do with a mans maus usefulness in ill this kingdom A man mail may bo be a gamaliel for eloquence and lo arning learning and ile lie may be as great oil an orator as cicero arid yet not riot have the roo of bior Alor mormonism monism in hiiri him all the he education 11 he may possess mill will never save him hial unies unless thit cd ed be used for tile he Fal sal salvation of lle ile lie the human family I 1 have been struck 1 with admiration when ibave 1 have looked at the tile course by christ christy lie he did not riot go to IP non nor to the tile schools lie he did not riot go po to the academies of the learned but lie he went to he tire illi lili erate erale the tire unwise of gallilee and selected them a as file tiie men of his hid choice as the tha of his bis h power and I 1 think that the teason reason wily why lie d dd d so then and why lie does docs now is that man yari yali 1111 highly educated aber the he ludt ludi rudiments ments of the is too apt to take the tiie glory to himself which belongs I 1 legitimately it 1 ii to god upon tins at an experience of my youth occurs to dojny ey mind arid and perhaps aps it may rot not be te uninteresting uninteresting to speak of it here I 1 joined this tins church when xen but hut a lad I 1 came into it as s many others do full of faith and eai zeal eal I 1 had been to school and arid also to college or lather rather anat in at the front door and out cut at a the tiie bai bal back enough to say that I 1 had been to college arid and I 1 actually lually ac thou thought hit that I 1 morcom m would receive great acquisitions through my ability and arid I 1 felt that it would not riot live it if I 1 did not go into it with this tins feeling I 1 joined the church was or laitur to tile the p and shortly afterward after afler ward was sen sere out to pi each the gospel which I 1 had just P t previously embraced I 1 traveled tia viled in bedford shire and arid other parts then in in tile the london conference and arid when I 1 had astonished all that weel wee in in ille ilie little town of Ir chester cheater I 1 went to bedford I 1 knew that all who ought lo 10 be out would be out to listen I 1 took alip the by road to bedford and a nd while travel ng thought of the tile work before me and selected one of lle ile the lie most fancy texts that thai I 1 could find and preach preached rd to IQ all tile the pots and arid gates on oil the way dav and after traveling sixteen miles in in i his this dav way of or course coin coln se I 1 concluded concluded conclude a that I 1 was in tun for a very cry ery fine sermon I 1 got the people leopla together took my ray fine text as I 1 supposed it to be and arid that was all there was about it for all that I 1 had learned and studied out had vanished vani hed from flom iny icy mind all the fine words tile tiie cile clit ica ideas arld and the rich arguments had tied ned from me from that time I 1 concluded that although a man mail liht comprehend ten thousand thu things gs yet unless god be in in all his ways his words are but a as sounding brass or tinkling 11 symbol symbols herce I 1 say I 1 came to th the e very just conclusion that god didiot did not value tle the tie mans mails ability and leani learning ing unless il less lie would bend and arid ue u e them for the benefit of he the kin kindom kingdom dom of god arid and that my experience thus far lias has gone to prove I 1 have learned in my experience that a i man may be ground down town by bv poverty bovert v be oe even wretch e el I 1 and a poor as ejob jobs s turkey lurkey yet le if tie cie tle root of the matter if the principles of be in in bim him J care not how poor nor how illiterate lie may be god wil wll honor him his merit vill will be discovered and this gnp on tiling I 1 will bear my testimony of today loday lo to today day that Moru does not value the man irian because or or his educe lon ion lon ion because of the purse it does not riot value tile the grold gold nor the tile fine apparel but it values the man mw the tile mei met merit it of his character is the grand passport in it nils this kingdom in ili england where many of you and arid where I 1 came clime from it is tile the purse the cloth and arid you and I 1 were obliged to bow andio obeisance to thoe thoc who could wear the best estr cloth and make the greatest show of wealth an and splendor well bre ore hr hren n I 1 bank thank hank god today to day that I 1 am lilii living ig in a kingdom 11 where the tiie man mail is esteemed not the cloth and althou although some gine b hao bao hae wye aye 3 stated t C eted that it Is 13 a russian estal lish ment yet I 1 god that I 1 am numbered wilh with his tits stints 1 I know that some are apt to feel that hey they are not fully v exiled and wid appreciated but I 1 know that all ati men will wiil will have that which they deserve and which earn in ili tins this kingdom that which a at oln man in sow i lie will also i eap if lie he bows sows good his reward will be if on the other liand hand tie the lle thinas of tile the wor wot la occupy all ali our thoughts our bielins ti elins and arid we are ire lre not riot identified with lle ile lie tile kingdom kit hit dom of god in our cuir property as well as our baith we cannot claim the i eward of the ilia faithful lie tint that seek beek beeks k the til ill interest of the kingdom of god lie may be a poor obscure individual arid and feels that he lie ii i dept deprived ived of many miny of tile the com coin forts rolt of life ilfe yet lie will wili he be searched out tile the lord will vill discover him all men and arid women vill will eather gather that which they have hase li ve sown and arid though comat imes ray lay brethren may feel feh that all the glowing pictures presented lo 10 them when in benm alk aik and in the various nation 1 flom which they cone come are not true yet they vill will find that ille tile rewald of the lle faithful ia sure arld and rith zith the tile lest rest jf if faithful faithfull they hey will receive their theirs but 1 says one 1 11 I was lel led lo 10 believe from what I 1 heard that there thele was a ilven liver of honey and arid another of milk whereas lo 10 and bell beli be hLl id there ae ate none except we make them the reit error has been that you on i ave been led to look for fer perfection nouv now whereas the perfection p of itie the saints anellie ant anc and llie ahe of or the kingdom of god i are ill lii in the future 1 1 ealine that we are in a new country and if the shade shada trees do to ilot riot crow all at it once if oie tho fruita are not riot it t is 39 your business and mine lo 10 help inake make them bem grow mow row as they should be so far as s it is ill in our power powen bo so far as lly try my expel getice croes goes in in 1 Nor mor monism I 1 am satisfied with it so if there is hing bing amiss am ks it is is in me and it is dinou in jou you and arid not riot ingilis in this gospel gio fio pel pei or this chill cb ever eer since since the inita lnita kr which I 1 ma made fadeal deat deal at bed fold foid my feelings have been loid give me thy spirit lopi logi logilde lo 10 ide nde me and aud I 1 10 do lo biot lot care if I 1 never neven see another miracle only let me tile have thy sp spirit nit uit 0 to o enable me to know tile hie voice of the nin trun nip shepherd and aid ald all ali the rest may inay go fio give me that wisdom and anil that und und and I 1 ak ask no more for that embraces embi aces al a 1 after the tire deith of joseph it is well known n that a sit 11 git apat excitement tok toik place and aid that hat sd apy rips tips R their thele e I 1 full lull to the hrim brim and nd the people seemed to be halting halti eig fig between two opinions ions tons and anti if 3 you oti oil have ever been upon the tire ocean an and elpe r ien len d the ahe mil mii pleasantness of the storm oil oti you yon can call corin some idea idea of the ilie con condition concilion dilion the tire people ae were in hi then thel but the tire ery tely moment that pre ident br abrham alam miam aming raised his ins voice vo i ce ibe the i people peoli le wele wei wel e davd their eals cais ears he heard ardth the e voice at the Illet tnie rile shepherd shep heid held and they have been baen contented ever since pince S afar ailt as I 1 am individually concerned I 1 am satisfied hat that mormonism is is a ti living fact for fur me roe to attempt lo 10 epie apie s nv liiv sentiments in it full foil would occupy too jimr it is enough for us to bear our testimony and to endorse the lle t sentiments s of those who wha stand at our head for hy by this thia tha we openly avow our to the pi principle i of 1 Monno nisin arld and leslif to all the world that we wee as well as our leaded s know it to be true the tire men trien who have gone one fiona tiona us have not gone sons because Mor monism is is lintl undue there are other ie leagons assorts that have lave prompt prompted d them to go when aviden I 1 ain aln am at my business at aube ambe the globe op ties of learning fr from m the individuals themselves why they tiley go we have sold a great many crackers to those who vrho were going away I 1 knew thern by the peculiar angle of their mouths and the twist of if their eyes and ana I 1 made it my to ask a few questions some replied that the lero lefo rogation had develop developed edmore nore than they ever evel thong thought tit of and that they felt they conid riot not live lived i monism and arid finally decided to go away I 1 said sald to one relan rilan man what t is the matter he ile replied 11 I 1 like I 1 the he gentile manners and arid customs and arid I 1 will |