Show R E lk 10 10 TJ S sunday services ServI services es were held na religious p te legious the tabernacle bait lake omy city sunday april 28 1889 M ing at 2 pm president angus cannon presiding the choir and con congregation grega tiola euw great god attend while zion ringa the joy that from thy presed presence 0 oprial prayer by bishop 0 F whitney the choir sang behold the great redeemer die A broken law to t satisfy the priesthood of the ninth ward officiated in the administration of the sacrament ELDER JAMES E TALMAGE addressed the congregation it may ay perhaps seem somewhat becu liar aar he said saia to those who are are present ent as visitors that elders iu in srael israel should speak to the congregations of saints extemporaneously and that they should be called upon frequently without notice that their testimony should be always ready and they themselves ready to bear it before any assembly or private individual this is one of the principles of our creed and religious practice that as in days gone by our father in heaven was able and willing to inspire those who stood forth to speak and teach hum NY ly in his name with the spirit of truth ruth and the power of discernment that they could recognize and understand der stand what principles and topics were appropriate appropriate to the occasion so call Q he 4 e do today and so does he act with reference to any of those who hold the priesthood and who undertake or attempt to di discharge tile he duties connected with th that scharle at ca call 1 iua g in humility and sincerity we believe further that as in the past god od frequently selected the weak things of earth wherewith to accomplish his great purposes and to ring bring about the fulfilment fulfillment of his knighty designs so today does he oftentimes speak through the mouths of 01 those who are comparatively weak k and feeble provided they will place themselves in his hands as 48 willing instruments for the ac of good we that holy men should pk peak now as in bygone days as hey are moved upon by the holy ghost host and the influence of the Puit of god can be invoked and aued called down from heaven by that faith th and the sincere prayers of the re gation ave e do not think it would be aper for us as latter day saints 1 I set t apart certain men to be our preachers poachers and teachers who make a business of that coie rae before a congregation with sidled died phrases and set words tl thoughts already matured ill 10 their minds and determined upon as the ones that should be tre pre eted on a particular occasion to a very great extent he who does so ds the spirit and prevents the lee exercise of the power of inspire adiola we T do not conceive however t th hat this is in any way an excuse or idleness and sloth in the study that S should be bestowed upon the angs of god we believe that it right and proper for all to store ahelf air minds with knowledge anfor aton and truth and to gather such books from all quarters from good and from the teachings of wise se men and that they shall ao ac pany their studies with prayer tk 3 by their practice the au bority r V ai and power pg of the he greatest teacher of all that when they stand in the discharge of their duties as teachers in israel they may have some knowledge within their minds upon which the spirit may draw as upon a store As latter day saints we have been characterized by those who are not of our faith as a most peculiar people differing from others in many of our tenets and religious practices indeed the latter day saints themselves admit that they are a strange and peculiar people if judged from the standpoint of other sects and denominations it would be difficult to enumerate all the peculiarities perhaps which distinguish this people but among others they believe implicitly in the exercise of faith towards the godhead eon consisting of the father and his son jesus christ who is tho the redeemer and the savior of all flesh and in the holy ghost this faith about which the latter day saints talk so much and to which they bear testimony as occasion of offers flers is a power and an aia influence u which are expected to pervade the whole of their lives not n t a faith that shall be employed only when convenience favors its use not a faith that shall be exercised merely during the time of prosperity when the sunshine of happiness falls about the church and when individuals feel that they are blessed indeed with the spirit and inal influence bence qt of peace but a faith also that shall support them in the face of tribulation and trial and that shall bv be a sustenance unto them even when their enemies speak against them and they find persecution around as the clouds of a coming coining storm a faith which shall teach them this great lesson to acknowledge the hand of god in all his dealings with men upon this earth a faith which shall teach them to look upon their heavenly parent as the god of the universe and one who holds control over the influences and elements of nature and also over the hearts and thoughts and even the possessions of men 1 a faith which shall teach them to judge liberally and not to say because perhaps some personal or selfish aim of theirs has been frustrated that therefore the church is wrong and that this faith is of little avail there is one other characteristic of the faith of a latter day saint namely that his is not a faith consisting of words and belief and thought only but a faith that must be substantiated and proved by works we consider that a man who professes processes a belief in the lord jesus christ and then refuses or neglects to do the things which the savior declared were indispensable to the acquisition of salvation is one whose faith is hollow and hypocritical A belief in the lord jesus christ consists in more than a mere acknowledgment in words that he died to save us it consists in a willing willin earnest and sincere observance of 01 all the tenets which he has taught and all the requirements winch which he has made of his faithful followers the mau man who neglects wilfully to do that which his hia maker has demanded at his hands who gives his life unto the acquisition of false precepts and the following of vim vices must not hope that mercy shall be arbitrarily extended unto him thus it follows that repentance pen tance is indispensable unto all who hope to secure forgiveness of their evil deeds we think it is necessary that a man should be baptized ac according cordin to the form and manner which gog god has revealed and that this baptism should be performed by one who to is called or set apart under the author heaven to do such works and ordinances even as aaron was called by the voice of revelation coming through the mouths of those who have been established as the oracles of god by his own almighty word it is not the latter day saints alone who acknowledge at the present time that there is a power more than that of earth existing in the midst of this church our enemies look with wonder and awe at its almost miraculous development since its organization many leading thinkers of the day have declared that such a system of organization and such a grand plan as prevails val Is in this church could not have been established or conceived in the mind of man alone it would seem scarcely natural that from six members mem bersin in the face of constant opposition the church of god could have developed into its present proportions were it not for the fact that the hand of the almighty has been over it and that he its protector has permitted only such eions and tribulations to come as have been necessary for the development and advancement of this work in n this the true saints of the almighty acknowledge his hand band and thank him for those tribulations another principle and feature of our belief is that man standing as he does upon earth as a free agent in the eyes of his god has the opportunity privilege and right to do as unita he w will in spite of all the influences that might be brought to bear upon him to the contrary we believe that a man will follow to a very great extent the dictates of his own conscience and if that conscience be a pure and holy one and he nourishes that purity and holiness he will do works that are pure and holy but in regard to the man who sins by his own free will and choice not because his maker is pleased leased to see him sin we believe ft ft to is possible according to t the he plan of our almighty fat father h for him to be brought back into his 1 vided aided he w will do the works demanded by him at the hands of his obedient children to make a very plain and bold statement we believe that men are indispensable in the eyes of god if his plans are not to be frustrated but we believe and know also that thai there is living upon earth no single individual who Is indispensable to the progress of the work of god that no man living shall say to himself he is or of such importance and that his labors we are of such indispensable necessity unto the church of god that were it not for him the church would material hindrance and be retarded god has declared that he would not raise up other races and peoples to carry on his work yet he gives to all his sons and daughters the opportunity port unity of accomplishing good and receiving the reward that follows as a natural sequence judas the man who betrayed his maker and who by a false kiss placed him in the hands of his enemies by whom he was led to a cruel and torturing death had the keys of the apostleship placed within his hands and upon his head and he had the opportunity by the exercise of that r right g ht and privilege appertaining to the holy apostleship af ga gaining nin all the blessings that were in in store for one called to that exalted station it was the weakness of his nature against which he did not strive it was the impurity and of his conscience his selfishness his desire for power his greed for money that led him to that fatal step and so will wih selfishness greed covetousness and un ungodly I 1 r adl th thoughts lead men today to t the tenths depths tf of d degradation rad atlon if they will not repent an and 2 listen unto the commands which god has given and the requirements which he makes of his children but it is not within the belief of a 6 latter day saint that any man is bound or in any manner trammeled in the exercise of his discretion here upon earth he is as free as the angels in heaven heaten as free today as when he stood about the throne of his great father and took sides in that great struggle which took place lace between the sons of god and C the followers of lucifer the latter day saints do not say teach or think that all those wha are not latter day saints are of nei ne cassity to be consigned to a place of endless torment and dwell with the condemned they believe that in the kingdom of god there are indeed man many many mansions and every soul sou every spirit will dinha inha inhabit t that particular ca degree and e enjoy oy that authority for which its own nature fits it best yet we think that if a man would reach the highest rank if he would gain unto himself the boon of eternal life which is to know god and dwell with him he must do not one thing alone but all that god has ever demanded from his children man must not be the judge of what is right and what Is wrong when his father speaks god has said that ex except t a man n re repents a and is 8 baptized 1 by one holding authority he cannot enter r the kingdom of heaven that thai declaration was m made e without modification it has never been repealed and we ourselves do not think it is a dead letter it is only those who have not looked into the tenets of this church and have not examined the professions of this people who say in their hearts that the latter day saints are a selfish people the man who is selfish is not a true latter day saint he is not living up to his high and holy name he is not deserving of that great great title until he has conquered self and placed his time his talents his means his property everything everything that he has upon the altar of his Is god and is willing to sacrifice it for the carrying on of his great work the belief of the latter day saints is is a liberal belief having the authority of the priesthood in our midst we feel that god demands of us that we should I 1 carry these doctrines and preach this gospel to every son and daughter of his upon earth Is there another people or sect that has taken upon itself this great reat n mission of carrying the aspel gospel without money and without price unto the sons and daughters of god our missionaries do not go abroad because they receive a salary for this labor the they are called to leave their homes for ake the time being to neglect the care of their families desert their business pay the their ir own expenses and take no sc scrip i p with them and caring not for themselves Is there another people anywhere to be found whose missionaries travel and labor after that pattern we do not think that the judgment day will be ushered in and that men will be called to give a strict account of their deeds until every one has had an opportunity of receiving or rejecting the name of christ and we do not think that the latter day saints should constitute themselves judges as to who should be saved and who is not deserving of salvation in the early days of this church our fathers and mothers left their comfortable homes many of them locked their doors and left their houses as they stood deserted kindred and native country and came here to a wilderness and a desert a place which was declared to be as the records of history show incapable of sustaining any life but that of the known savage one great man declared with an oath that corn could never be raised in this valley while another offered a bushel bush e tf of gold for the bushel of potatoes potatoes that could be raised bere rere here of a presentable presentable resen table shape the fame of the h utah products has since spread and people people know that this country is fertile with every possibility within it of great advancement and almost supernatural growth they see only looking with the human eye the development of a patch of land they see simply that the water has been taken from its ita natural courses and spread in fructifying fructify ing streams across the land but the latter day saint sees more than that he sees the hand of god and the fulfilment fulfillment of prophecy in all this great and miraculous change he knows that it is for the purpose of demon demonstrating demonstration stratin to the world that the people of ga god though driven as they have been from the confines of civilization can still grow until their name becomes a wonder in the eyes of men we think that the power of inspiration spir atlon exists in the world and that god is bringing to paw pass his almighty purposes in the cr dealing ealing of nation with nation and man with man that the king who sits upon his irone throne the emperor who rules from his imperial council chamber and whose edicts are received as law throughout the length and breadth of his vast dominions live and rule as vice regents for the time being of the almighty and that they will have to give an account of their ruling we think too that the lord can and wa will overthrow kingdoms as unto him good and set up others in accordance with the principles of justice and right we look for the day when the earth shall be redeemed and when men will rule rul and acknowledge that they rule by virtue of the power they have received from the great god of the universe if a man who has been blessed with an intellect of power and enabled to bring inventions into existence or to make discoveries which have been of value to the human race understands bis bia position he will acknowledge reverentially lly that it is through the mercy and gift of god that he enjoys it man |