| Show y w i ams ais i IN THE maetina hypse SUNDAY NIGHT fies sinking by the cacir the Esc eilent remarks made lasic sunday evening the meeting hous ewas filled to its utmost capac with people gathered to participate iii the christmas festivity and sacred concert iven under the auspices of ahe combined wards of provo president david john presided the house was tastefully decorated the work of william bic callough of the first ward joa sawyer and walter cox of the sec oad ward and chas of the fourth ward the evergreens ever greens with which tho house was decorated was donated by mr W C A smoot and tte ornaments and trimmings by mr J it boshard tho choir under the leadership 0 prof J E daniels rendered the various selections in fine manner prof H E giles presided at the organ the services were opened by the rendering the anthem uh father whose almighty power prayer was offered by elder S S jones the choir then sang elvens fine arise shine joi thy light is come PEES D boux joux said seven hundred baars before the bir of christ the isaiah unto na a child is born unto us a son is fiven and the government shall be upon afa shoulders and his name aall bo called wonderful counselor the mighty god the everlasting father the prince of peace after his death tho apostle paul said forasmuch then as the children are partakers par takers of flesh and blood ho also himself likewise took part of the s me the national census was de in judea to be taken through ail the provinces of the toman empire in the time of ceaser augustus edme eighteen centuries ago in obedience to tle tl e mandate each one afat up for enrolment to his owa cuy the 01 had crowded the little ian ia tha little town of bethlehem so that their outbuildings buildings out were laid under tribute to burnish shelter to later comers so it is often quoted tant in a stable tha young child was born at the of his birth a song from angels rang through the plains of bethlehem which overjoyed the watchful shepherds with celestial music and a star of unusual brilliancy over that ob dwelling soon strangers from air brought gifts and spices and pres sated them and bowed their in worship before the newborn baby as a divine messenger flew the news from house to house unto you is born this day m alio city of david a savior which is christ the lord it is said of him and when he bri ngeth in the first ibe gotton into the world he and A nd let all the angels of god worship him again it is said who icia keth his angels spirits and his a flame of fire but unto the son he saith thy throne 0 god is fe borover and over a sceptre of right is ous is a sceptre of thy king but to return to the first part of nr subject it was to bethlehem hat joseph and mary were coming the town of bath and boaz and the early home ol 01 their forefather david how long they were there before jesus was bora wo do not know one of the evangelists said while they were there mary gave birth to the savior sings it was the winter wild while the heaven born child all meanly wrapped in the rude manner lies mature in awo to him iad doled her audy trim her great master so to sympathize to wanton ith the sun tho poets fancy creates tho dark but the shepherds on the hilla witnesses of tho reverse we firmly belcove that it was as to our reckoning the ath day of april the apocryphal gospels in miraculous detail describe the nativity whether true or not in groat sublimity it happened as mary aud joseph ware going towards bathlo hem the time came when jesus should be boru and mary said to joseph take me down from my animal and he took her down and said to her where shall I 1 tho for there is no inn hero then he found a cave near the grave of bachal the difo of the patriarch jacob the mother of joseph and benjamin and never the cave but it WAS always filled with darkness and ilbo sun was then just goia down lEfco Ahia he led her and left her two son beside her and out toward to seek help but when mary entered the cave it was presently filled with light aad beams as if from the sun shona around and thus it continued day and night whilo jhc remained in it in this cave the child was born and the angola were round him at his birth and wor shipped the newborn new born child and eaid glory to god in the highest and peace on earth and good will to men meanwhile joseph was wandering about seeking help and when he looked up to heaven he saw tho pole of the stood abill and the birda the air stopped in the midst of thair thuir flight and tho sky was darkened this alsa condition ef divine emotion the stul ceBa over hill aad valley broken omy by the bleating of the sheep the brightness of the syrian y with its millions of stars and e of these mountain pastures oear to every jew BS the scene of r s youth were over and around and 10 lo an angel 0 the lord came upon them and the glory of the lord shone round them and they were sore afraid and the angel said unto them fear not for behold I 1 bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be unto all people for unto you is born this day in the city of david a savior who is christ the lord and this shall be the sign unto you ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger and suddenly there waa with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising god and singing glory to god in the highest and on earth peace goodwill good will towards men this fulfills tho pro diction of the angol to the virgin who announced to her that she was to bo the most honored of women in giving birth to the son of god and the savior of men tho of december has been held sacred by many especially since the ath century ia memory of the birth of jesus christ As we have to before there is n difficulty in accepting this as tho date of tho nativity december being the height of the rainy season in judea when neither hocks nor shepherds could have been at night in the fields of bethlehem in all civilized countries alio annual recurrence of christmas has been celebrated with festivities of different kinds somo religious and many nonreligious non religious in our judgment it should bo celebrated with great reverence rove rence to jehovah in sending his son to save the lost sheep of the house of israel tbt nativity has been represented by a host of great painters and it is the inspiring theme of 9 large part of handels great triumph tho messiah the choir sang the anthem hark 1 tho herald angels sing PRESIDENT H H CLUFF said being limited to time I 1 shall at once enter upon the subject it is the decree of heaven that the physical universe should declare aind display the majesty and glory of jesus christ in a revelation to the prophet joseph smith touching the liea venly bodies it says behold all these are kingdoms and any man who hath scon any or tho least cf tasso hath seen god moving in his majesty and power what a thrilling voice was that which was heard in heaven saying this is my beloved soa in whom 1 am well pleased in whom I 1 have glorified my name followed by the command hear ye him it remains more a surprise at the heavenly hosts shouting hosannah Hosa anah blessed is ho that chineth ia tho name of tho lord hosannah in the highest christ has become tha of poet phil ophor os aind years and the star of bethlehem still occupies its place among the heavenly bodies as the reflex of the noble character it is designed to announce as coining the mission of this divine character has a circum ferencak and depth far q beator than that which pertains to the condition of men in this mortal state it cir every condition of progress aid makes possible an opportunity oe development for all embodied and disembodied pertaining to the system of worlds of which tin sun is the conter there isan uncertain ity in the minds the exact time of christs birth the most perfect and reliable reli alle statement is found in the doctrine and covenants section twenty alich reads as follows the rise of the church of christ in these last days leing ano thousand eight hundred and thirty years ainee the coming of and savior jesus christ in the flesh it being regularly organized ani established agreeable to olour country by the will aad of grod 10 the fourth on the sixth day of the month alich is called april the by apostle orson pratt on the great pyramids of egypt discloses the same fact or points to the bauo sauo year aud day of the month date is also affixed by john the as found in chapters twelve ind thirteen which reads as follows and the woman fled iceo tho wilderness where aho hath a place prepared of god that they should eed her there a thousand two funded and three score days and to th woman were given two wings f a great eagle that she might fly buo tha wilderness into her place where sh is nourished for a time and times md a half a time from the face of afo serpent la chapter thirteen we hive and there was gevea him a speaking great things and blasphemies and power was given unto urn to continue forty and two months choso three periods or terms designating des igniting are evidently synonymous farms and relate to the duration of the time in which tho church with it priesthood would be taken trow the of men and its restoration resto rution a the expiration of that period alie o aro two important points to roach in cheso problems in order to first when did the woman symbolizing tho church go into the wilderness erness or at what period of the christian erat second to decipher jie terras used by the revelator Rov elator BO as to know the number of years or perio of time during which the church regains in the wilderness authorities ire well agreed that A D is the beginning of the one thousand two hundred and three score days or and a half a the forty and two months we must now find the key by which we can decipher th aau figurative expressions for notwithstanding these problems differ one from the other tha results of each must harmonize or a great cy will arise and the key remain a failure days in the first problem evidently represents years giving us birne arid timos and a kalf of a time being undoubtedly 3 which when multiplied into days of to the year gives us days which as in the former instance represents that many years now we take the forty two months an entire dif farent yet representing th same period of time end applys thai same circumstance and we tho forty two months by thirty being that many days in a month and we get 1260 days as before wo havo therefore on this theory 1260 years that intervene from the time the priesthood is taken or the church goes into the wilderness until its restoration to again As we havo stated the year is decided upon as being the liine when the duration of the church and priesthood ceases and the power tha was to continue forty two months begins if wo add to 1260 we find the problem brings the year 1830 the very identical time when god did organize his church again upon the earth ib is not to be supposed for a moment that the prophet joseph smith a mere youth so early in the history of founding a church understood these problems and attempted to decipher them and thus appoint the year 1830 in which to establish the church but god did designate the year and day in chieh to commence the great work of opening the dispensation or tho falness of times if christs birth did not carry conviction to the people of his divinity divia ity there vere unmistakable evidences of his crucifixion of such magnitude as to leave any reasonable person without a doubt language is inadequate to make sufficiently impressive the divinity of our lord he taught some of the most sublime truths and introduced the grandest principles ever presented to maa his ministry among the Tep hites in the land of bountiful as they gathered around tample in the city of bountiful was stamped by divinity in every act tho power of god was so wonderfully manifest that little children uttered prophetic sentiments so peculiarly classical and heaven bom that the osavior instructed the writers not to record them the beautiful prayer which he offered illustrates the divine character and portrays his relationship which ho held to god father I 1 thank thee that thou hast given tho holy ghost unto these whom I 1 have chosen and it is beeanna of their belief in mathat I 1 have chosen them out of the world father T pray not for tho world but for those whom thou hast gevea me out or th world because of their faith that they may be purified in me I 1 may bo in them as thou father art in me that wo may be one that I 1 may bo glorified in them thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor ye would that men should do to you do ye oven so to them are lessons that flowed like a river of life from this divine inspired teacher what a happy condition of society would bo established if these galde carai 1 blander whose ede is sharper than the whose tongue all the worms of the aile whose breath on the posting winds and doth belie all cornera of the world kings queens states and maids matrona matrons mat rons nay tho secret of the grave this venomous leno slander enters shakespeare the choir rendered Moz arts gloria in excelsior Excel sio elder karl G maeser then arose and delivered an address suitably suit ablo to tho occasion the chorus from handels messiah lift up your heads 0 ye batse wu then beautifully sung by the choir elder theom samuelson made some very appropriate roni arlis at tho conclusion 0 which the choir rendered the hallelujah chorus from the messiah when elders thoa alamaa sr and S S jones made fitting addresses the choir rendered the anthem anne Dimit tug benediction was pronounced by j elder evan |
