Show baimon present AS ALSO RICHARDS AND GRANT the excellent discourses delivered the quarterly conference of the utah stake was held on sunday and monday june ad and ad 1889 in the new stake tabernacle there were present on the stand D eichardt Eich ards and heber J grant of the quorum of the twelve apostles jacob gates and abram H can uon of the first seven presidents of seventies president A 0 smoot and counselors david john and harvey H cluff of the stake Ire sideney bishops of the various wards and the local priesthood SUNDAY 10 a m the congregation was called to order by president A 0 and the choir sans the hymn on page commencing au anel from on high long long silence broke from the sky these fiorda lie spoke lo 10 in Cumo lonely hill A backed record lies concealed prayer was offered by president john the choir then sang the hymn on page behold the mountain of the lord in latter days shall rise on mountain tops above the bills and draw tho wondering eyes PRESIDENT H said ho certainly felt tho great necessity of the faith and prayers of the while he occupied anch a great and important position he realized his weakness and incapability of saying things of bent tit unless he on joyed the spirit of god it was the most trying position ho ever occupied yet he knew that this WM the work of god and that god has power to impart instruction unto us even through the weakest instrument ve have seen in our past years many marvelous manifestations of gods power we have seen all his promises fulfilled as time permitted and as time passes we will see the complete fulfillment of all that has been predicted concerning zion it ia by what god has wrought that sustains us in the time of adversity it gives ais peace when all is trouble without af our faith increases god will increase with us for it will bo by faith chat these things predicted will be fulfilled lul filled although the outlook at present is anything but promising never since tho has the outlook appeared more dim than it does today to day but it doea not look any darker than it has flone in other ages of the world there is a prediction given by an ancient prophet who said that the things that were done in egypt should no longer be remembered in the great events that should transpire in the latter days when god would deliver zion the fulfillment of these prophecies wo will see if our lives are spared we anuw that zion will not bo overcome god will bring her off triumphant and make his people might in view of these things Tiow diligent we should be how we should be to keep gods requirements it is not enough that we are sincere iu our belief have been people epou the earth and there are today to day who are just as sincere in their traditions and beliefs as we are in what we call tho principles of god where could wo find greater sincerity than that that exist among the Hin doos a people numbering one sixth of the duole of the inhabitants who believe that by doing certain things within view of the ganges a river that is sacred ia their oyes that they will obtain happiness in the eternity there are people in europe who suffer untold agony in comparison with the saints there are people in mexico who are just as sincero in what they think to be right as we so that sincerity is no evidence of belief but there is an evidence within every mans breast that tolls them if they will follow the rules 1 dd down by jesus that ebeo will be saved says the savior he that boeth tho will of my leather which is in heaven shall know of the doctrine whether it is of god or whether I 1 speak of myself the elders have gone among tho nations of the earth making this same promise and it has been through sincerity in making it and the evidence within the hearts of the honer that has caused thousands to flee from wickedness and bo inducted into alio fold of christ the spirit of god is a witness that rests upon the true be linver that tolls him he ia doing right I 1 firmly believe that it is this same spirit though in a lesser degree that rests upon inventors I 1 behave behove that it was this spirit that rested upon columbus and caused him to launch bis fraai bark upon the mighty waters and sail westward to and a new world I 1 believe that it was this same spirit that rested upon martin luther the great reformer and caused him to break down the barriers of religious oppression preparatory tho restoration of the true gospel I 1 believe it was this same spirit that rested upon moses and caused him to conceive in his mighty bruin tho idea of sending the flush of lightning upon the wire which we call telegraphy I 1 believe that it was this same spirit that rested upon edison and other great inventors it is the selfsame self same spirit but to him that obeys the principles of righteousness will a falness be given ye have to be grateful to god for and we should ever humble ourselves before him but should we persecute those who cannot see as we see should we dende the mode i of belief of our neighbor simply because he does not see as we see if we do than we are following the ex ample that batau set we are told in the bible to prove all things and hold fast to that which is good this is a principle I 1 believe in I 1 earnestly recommend that you study the different religions of the christian world as time and opportunity permits learn from all good books do not let us bo narrow minded let us recollect that god has given to all men a free agency he is not going to force any man to heaven had gatans satans plan been adopted the sacred things of god would have been withheld from us and wo never could have been creators and rulers god has marked out two path one leads to glory and exaltation the other leads to death and damnation these two paths were trod alike by gods ancient people and they are being trod by his people in this day after god had delivered the children of israel from the fury of pharoah and before entering the promised land he told them that so long as they remembered him and sought his aid and blessing in all things that he would be with them and protect them but said he if ye do not these things your vines shall cast their fruit down before you the heavens shall be as brass above you and the earth as iron beneath your feet they disobeyed the lord and as a result they were given into the hands of their enemies and they suffered persecution se at one time the prophet samuel was told to go to king saul and tell him to go up against the philistines and to spare neither man or woman flocks or herds saul went and fulfilled the work of destruction save that he kept a number of the finest sheep for sacrifice to the lord when he returned samuel asked saul if he had done what ho had been told saul answered yes then said what is the meaning of this lowing of chiep and bleating of herds saul answered thui they were a few of the best which he had re to samuel rebuked him and said obe dierce is better than sacrifice and to hearken better than the fat of rams As a result of his disobedience the kingdom was rent from saul now there are in store for the faithful of god in these days but they aro given upon certain conditions if we keep those conditions then we will obtain the blessings if we do not we will lose them and suffer the anger of a just god isomo timos think that wo picture our trials worse than they are we make mountains out of mole hills it is somewhat like the brother who in the early days was traveling from salt lake to this southern country to build up a home for his parents at that time the jordon river was larger than it is today to day this river lay on his right on his left lay the mountains the point of which seemed to connect with the river he journeyed on all the time wondering how he could get through the river as he could not swim it worried him a great deal but he continued on and when he got to the place he found that the situation was different to what ho expected that there was a road there over which he successfully passed so it is many times with us we should be faithful in keeping the things of god if we do not god will visit us with the rod of justice and chastise us we should not hanker afier riches they will come in their own due time and when they do come we shall use them for the benefit of god I 1 recollect a certain brother in S alt lake who had become wealthy through hard work and the blessings of god being present at a gathering of people both saints and outsiders the remark was made there by one of the latter class that men in the church who were rich stayed in it for policy sake this brother got up and said that it was true he was blessed with an abundance of earthly means but that be had obtained them through gods i blessings yet if the authorities of the church were to come to him and say that they were wanted for the benefit i of gods work he would give all be had for that purpose freely and will angly knowing that god would reward him for so doing this is the feeling wo should ever possess and it is this feeling that will bring about the redemption of zion the ceded his remarks with a fervent appeal to the saints to provo true to choir convictions in the faco of all odds APOSTLE J realized that it would take considerable effort on the part of the saints to arrive at the condition referred to by brother cannon there are a great many that feel in their hearts a desire for the advancement of gods kingdom but the desire is somewhat weak when it comes to touching their pockets I 1 recollect ono man boasting that he had consecrated his property and all that he had to the lord my subsequent bub sequent relations with that man led me to the conclusion that he had indeed consecrated it lo 10 the lord he had consecrated it so that no one savo him or the lord could touch it but the time when our means and our talent will be subject to the lord is near at hand although when I 1 come to examine the tithing books and find men holding important positions in israel who do not pay one tenth of an honest tithing I 1 am led to the conclusion that the day for the redemption of zion is further off than we expect I 1 find in the book of i doctrine and covenants in a revelation given juno 2218 that zion at that time would have been redeemed long ago had the people of god done right in the sight of god verily I 1 say unto you who have assembled yourselves together that you may learn my will concerning the redemption demp tion of mine afflicted people behold I 1 say unto you were it not for the transgression of my people cirg concerning the church arid not indium bals they might have been redeemed even now but behold they have cot learned to be obedient to the things which I 1 require at their hands but are full of all manner of evil and do not impart of their substance as be cometh s cinta to the po orand afflicted amoni them and are not united according to union required by the law of the celestial kingdom and zion cannot be huilt up unless it is by the principles of the law of the kingdom otherwise I 1 cannot receive her unto myself and my people must needs bo chast ened kulil they leara obedience if it must needs be by tho things which they suffer the lord commandments unto us and we pay no attention to those commandments he has made curtain promises unto us and yet we do not keep the conditions of those promises although we expect to reap the benefits all the same what would we think of the audacity of a man who was hired for a term of say six months who during all that time did not do any of tho work for which he was hired but yet who at the end of the period came around and asked for his pay what would we think of such a man why to put it mild we would think he had considerable cheek it is the same with us we talk about knowing the work of god to ba true and yet we do not do the things commanded of us wo have not got to look at the actions of man in justification of our negligence some say that some missionaries are called out of spite I 1 do not care if they are if they will fulfill fulfil those missions acceptable before the lord they will bo blessed while those who called them out of will go down it will be no excuse for us before the lord if we say when asked why we did not keep the word of wisdom that the president of the stake or our bishop did not do so we have got to save ourselves and stand for our own sins ve cannot shirk our negligence upon somebody else what ever rood deed we perform in this life will ro bound to us in the eternities it is the knowledge that we will in no wise lose our reward for the good that we do in this life that stimulates us in the things of god there are none of us that labor in this life for the onward advancement of gods kingdom but what will reap the we should strive all the time to pot good examples for good examples lead men upward while bad examples lead them astray what good would it do for me to stand up before you day after day preaching the law of tithing if I 1 did not observe it myself it is the same with our children you tell them to keep the laws of god and then let them find that you do not keep them yourselves and what will your children say what will they think As I 1 said before good examples will lead dpn upward while bad examples lead men astray we have got to consider our positions before the lord and live up to the light that has been shed abroad in this day soma thought that the crusade we are passing through would cause a great falling away from the truth but I 1 tell you that it has done more good than harm young men and young ladies who were reckless and wayward previously have beba brought to realize their positions they have seen men take their fathers and put them in prison for be leaving principles that they know came from god they have seen their mothers weep and suffer at being deprived of loved ones such things have caused them to reflect and wonder until the still small voice of the spirit spoke in their hearts and they began to realize their positions before the lord hence the crusado has done good and the experience though sore should mako us more determined to do the will of god PRESIDENT H H felt that ho possessed a testimony concerning the work of god and rejoiced in his heart that the lord had given to him this testimony he felt that it was the most precious gift that man could enjoy on this earth to know that god has spoken from the heavens and that he has opened a door through which all mankind might pass and partake of the glories that he has prepared for the faithful to know this is a privilege that is priceless this is a great work that we are engaged in and its magnitude increases as wo are engaged in it we can blunt our faculties and blot out the testimony that we have received concerning the truth of his work by our negligence on the other hand we can brighten that faith which we have received concerning the divinity of this work we gaze about us we see men and women who fire careless and indifferent concerning their duties and in thus manifesting their indifference they illustrate their faith in the work on the other hand we see men and women who are devoted who have a testimony as bright as when they received it after baptism and the laying on of hands this work is worth everything to us it will pay us to keep the commandments of god it will pay us to pay tithing to attend to our prayers to go on missions and give all our time and attention to the cause of salvation the testimony we have is sufficient to urge us on in this great work wo have much to contend with and the more fierce the conflict becomes the nearer are we to the victory such seems to be the casa today to day I 1 rejoice in the work and I 1 know that it will come off victorious I 1 know that there is no power in hell or on earth that can stay its progress to know these things is great for they give us encouragement to live for what is in store for the faithful the choir sang the anthem thine 0 lord is the |