| Show AT TEE TABERNACLE Elder Spry of the Southern Mission was the Speaker on Sunday The tabernacle held a large audience Sunday Sun-day as was compatible with the brightness bright-ness of the weather OnlyPresidentAngus M Cannon Bishop William B Preston and Elder William Spry wero on tho stand The anthem How Beautiful Upon the Mountains with Mrs Lizzie Thomas Edward and Mr Kelly as soloists was a piece of music that people would go far to hoar More members mem-bers of the choir were present than at any time since the tabernacle was remodeled The music of Mr Stephens keeps improving im-proving and his grand choir also as It will t keep improving until it can no longer do so Elder William Spry was tho speaker j He spoke as follows I It fs pleasing to gather tbgother to hear the words of tho speakers who were inspired in-spired by tho holy ghost It has been revealed to the Latterday Saints that if they would live up to the word of God they would be prompted by Him The word of God delights the Latterday Saints The Latterday Saints entertain ideas dif ferent from any other people they occupy a distinct position in religious mattersGod designed this should bo the case Many things they believe in are not believed in by Christendom but they know that they are following the admonition of Jetus who said to the multitude if they would obey God they would know if a doctrine was of God or man We claim we have done so and have had faith in his promises unto the children of men Tho elders who abroad make the go same promises as were anciently made by the prophets and there are numbers who have accepted their tes timony and who havegathered together In those valleys and there are numbers who are at this time ready to accept their tes timony The Latterday Saints believe that God is as capable now of holding communication I com-munication between heaven arid earth as has e h-as in day gone by They see nothing irrational In this The Christian world claims that in the first all the blessings enjoyed by the church were to help the church to gain a firm foothold and that there is no need of any of those things now as the church is not to be uprooted The Latter day Saints claim that whenever the true gospel has been upon the earth the gift of healing by laying on of hands the casting out of devils the speaking in tongues and prophesying always accompanied it The Saints have been persecuted and falsely I spoken of because of their belief They have been thrown out of the world for some reason they have left its ways laid aside false religions and accepted the true one they stand alone and are prominent todny because they are prominent and distinct they are looked upon as a separate and hated people The belief of the Latter day Saints is not mysterious lila so plain that a wayfaring man though fool could not err therein The honest in heart accept ac-cept tho true gospel and the Latterday Saints today accept the Bible as far as it is correctly translated They do not believe in mystifying its say lags but take it literally for they think no man has any right to construe it to suit his own individual taste In this great work God selected a man to whom He could communicate com-municate His will and gave him his instructions in-structions how be should bring all people to a knowledge of the truth This is contrary to the views held in this day yet it was Gods way and He is the judge of what is best Tho Lord revealed himself toJoseph Smith in the same way in which he revealed re-vealed himself to the prophets of old The principles of the Latterday Saints are superior su-perior to the principles the world bo cause their basis is truth righteousness honesty and virtue and come direct from God The Lord is no respecter of persons and desires all men to repent and this is the reason the elders go and preach the true way to gain eternal life and salvation salva-tion The religion they preach is not myth It has something tangible about it i and concerns both now and the hereafter The Latterday Saints could not afford to lay l aside their convictions and come into the world and gain the good will of it Something better than the praise of man awaits the Saints in the hereafter They will not yield up their manhood and integ rity and should feel proud that their course was countenanced by tho Almighty Mr Spry then bore testimonyas to the truth of the work of God |
