Show calo J religion were the whole realm of nature mine that were an offering far too small love so amazing so divine demands my soul my life my all tho mormon chu ch or more appropriately the church of jesus christ of latter day saints las reached a fixed among the religions of the world and has become universally so known as to call forth from tho ministers of christendom professed followers of that great prototype of nil that is good noble and godlike jesus christ their anathemas ana themas vituperation and falsehood such as should not be expected to come even from the this feeling exists to a remarkable extent in remote parts of the earth strange as it may appear in this the nineteenth century an enlightened age of tho world an epoch when the nations of tho earth enjoy the full blaze of what is termed christian civilization there should exist an va compromising and jealous hatred against this religions body they have an unimpeachable faith in god and his son jesus christ and with a remarkable unanimity follow the divine injunctions which he taught to his disciples in the meridian of time and which have been renewed in this dispensation by the personal perso aal ministry of angels in fulfillment of holy writ this pernicious strangeness and remarkable inconsistency so prevalent with religionists against the mormon community is fully explained by the prophets while recording the saying of the alord concerning the church of christ that should be established upon the earth lory to jais second advent the whole world however aro now corn polled to though it may be that the church of jesus christ is a fixed fact a permanent or an irresistible power thab must endure though their combined efforts should be directed direct bd against it tor the accomplishment of its over I 1 throw the lord gave the key to the prophet joseph smith establishing tha fact beyond a doubt that all the religious denominations than extant were heterodox therefore he warned him to join none of them it is not our purpose to enter further aiato iato the fallacies of the religious creeds but wo propose to review the church of the latter day saints we have no disposition to holdup for the gaze of other sor canvass the more obligations of men and women yet as suro as we are identified with a great and glorious work depend upon it as long as the people have attained a higher standard of christian development as revealed in this age and shall elicit and draw in all dpn and means pledged to it by solomn contract when members shall in this respect discharge their whole and yet plain business obligations agents and means will then be plentiful to properly carry on the grand enterprise to its legitimate accomplishment ment should our lord and master require a just fulfillment of our solemn obligations according to business principles how many are there who would escape condemnation v the various organizations which have been established in the church were designed to secure the greatest possible cos sible good to the brotherhood should any one of those organizations attempt to operate in any other than a legitimate channel the inconsistency sis tency would at once bo apparent to all and the breach would reflect upon the whole body politic alio accomplishment of the great work depends not only upon one department nor upon the loaders only but all who are equally interested this groat organized brotherhood and its departments ia priesthood may be symbolized by comparison to an extended manufacturing establishment with numerous rooms containing classified machinery which when in operation has a symmetrical sy metrical perfection and uniformity that command admiration from the beholders teach plant or machine performs with won darful exactness its proper functions so every man in the grand scheme of human redemption as organized by the hand of god almighty himself has his place each in the department to which he is assigned and every department occupying its legitimate position or relationship to alie body politic god has liberally endowed man with laudable aspirations to roach a more exalted station than that which ho daily occupies this divinely en dowed disposition will characterize his life and acts but this tendency should bo controlled by proper restraining influences it should bo regulated by otherwise it will lead to a spirit of oppression and division then anarchy and party strife will ensue this is true in a relative sense with governments both groat and small as it is in the business relations of life A craving ambition for power and supremacy wherein one man would rule over others ia a dangerous thing for tho human mind to indulge in for as bare a men roach the height of their am by unworthy methods an d for selfish purposes just ao sure will they become oppressors wielding arbitrary power over tho of men and reducing them to a condition of bondage there is an aspiration that may be indulged in to the utmost capacity cipa city of the human mind that will no inter fore with or diminish the rights of others and that is to excel in intellectual pursuits to attempt to reach tho highest pinnacle of knowledge and intellectual greatness will infringe on no mans interfere with the freedom of others to seek such attainments to try to be like god or his son jesus is not an unjustifiable or Tm worthy ambition it is a desire that will aid man in chiq growth and development a well directed ambition by which ho is impelled anward and upward to be ever progressing and seeking for knowledge light and intelligence and having attained to this degree of knowledge nd intelligence ho can contemplate more perfectly and view more comprehensively the field of intelligence before him although he may grasp the sciences with greater readiness than it was possible for him to do before when cambered cumbered cumb ered with mortality ho will find that he has only possessed himself of the key of power the arim and by which he can unlock and view the broad expanse still before him stud died with celestial arbs orbs he will find that there is no space in which there is no world and there is no world in which there is no and as there is one world greater than another there is one greater than it he will find that in the bosom of his father and god ho lived moved and basked thousands of years previous babore this mundane sphere from chaos sprung sun moon stars and worlds were framed ye even before the vast assembly of the sons of god shouted for joy and in one chorus sang praises unto the highest down down through tho vista of unnumbered years he can see yet through alie vail that ho would come and dwell in the flesh just as the gods had done and walk in the footsteps of our elder brother jesus the prince eo would know that ho had launched his bark upon a and faced the dangers of a raging world and that he dared all in the hope of gaining a asat among the gods he would see multitudes sailing in gilded barques floating along the stream of time in luxurious ease with scar cea zephyr to disturb tho tranquil bosom of the placid stream they would seem to gado along in peace yet they never soared aloft or mounted on eagles wings nor did they draw aside the vail of other worlds they seemed to know nothing of other I 1 worlds and but little or this they had no taste for holier and purer joys but fritta red and died forgotten though there dwells within them the eternal spark of deity thousands of weary years must pass away ere they obtain the glorious prize they could if faithful leave obtained onward the faithful move scaling from realm to realm because they dared to bravo the scorn of imbeciles imbe ciles who knew nor cared not for the prize of eternal life beador which path hast thou undertaken der taken to pursue we have briefly glanced into the future and refined to the glories eliat are to come wo shall now resume the consideration bof the condition of man in this probationary state and more fully dwell upon that which immediately concerns him the faithful observance of which will bring him into possession of the key j that unlocks the treasures of knowledge and renders him capable of at unto the power and wisdom of a god by which he may sie enthroned in a celestial kingdom and over his posterity for eternity probably nine tenth of the human family have an intense love for power which is the curse of the age and a trait of character that should not be permitted to creep into any of the organizations of as it loads to demoralization the experience of the pat has produced lessons that are indelibly stamped upon the memory of elders in the church over whom a feeling of re frequently passes as they see aspiring men craving scheming and clamoring for power and banding themselves together for purpose of securing the object of their unrighteous ambition when such mischievous influences make their appearance among the latter day saints every philanthropist of the cause should yet kindly exert a proper reactionary influence so that factious should be restrained and kept subject to just government the grand ultimatum to be reached in the scale of progress does not depend upon occupying presiding positions or exalted stations in the church for the humblest members are admissible ad into the holy of halies and havo secured the benedictions that even tho highest have pronounced upon them in the degrees of glory revealed to the world through the prophet of this age the conditions upon which the highest glory is predicated are abundantly pet forth in that revelation there is so mention made touching a higher exaltation for the president bishop or other officer than that equally within the reach of the humblest ser vaut of god I 1 say praise god from whom all blessings flow that to men he has revealed laws that place them on an equal footing so far as their rights to an exaltation are concerned these facts should bo so potent as to bar forever such evils as wo see arise in governments by the promotion of men to power and position through intrigue and party cunning there is no just bubi noss principle connected with such mercenary proceed ure it can only be termed a mendacious menace upon the moral standing of society religious or irreligious and ought not to bo pardonable even in the dark agas Is it not a well known fact that the majority of men and women who have a mania or intense ambition for public life usually desire and seek it not for the object of doing good but to gratify a vain morbid selfish and unholy ambition do they not de sire the place for the sake of the place for notoriety for fame to be looked nt to be talked about and to be lionized desire like these are contemptible and utterly unworthy of the nobility of manhood and womanhood A character worthily won and recognized by good people is a boon that should be prized as of great value but how of ten do we recognize recognise a jealous envy emanating from mean minds and hear the tongue of slander assailing tho character of the just and upright to give tho essence of orthodox religion wo quote the in parm verses from the apostalo lames pure religion and undefiled nn defiled he fore god and ajic father is this to visit the fatherless and w in cheh ion and to keep it imse efm n the world ITS a wise child thal goes out of tho room to laugh when old man mashes his thumb |