Show reply neily to the presbytery Fresby terr As prof miller has not yet transcribed his short hand band notes of elder B H roberts reply to the presbytery of utah we continue to reprint the sermon previously do da livered by elder roberts on the same topic J I 1 observe in one of the declarations of the presbytery held a at spanish fork that they set it forth and I 1 speak of it because they undertake to justify their assertion by reference to a publication of mine that those who do not accept the person and the mission of joseph smith are heretics and are to become sons of perdition it is scarcely necessary in this congregation for me to say bay that mormonism does not teach any such doctrine as that lam J am sure that I 1 have never taught it la in aped I 1 am rather of the opinion that men cannot be sons of perdition until they do receive the gospel of jesus christ until they themselves hold part of gods authority in the holy priesthood and that having come to the light and to the possession posse sEdon of this power they then do violence to it 1 by 3 becoming traitors to god and by dewing yin the atonement of the lord W jesus christ and by altogether turning away from the gospel I 1 am of the opinion that no man can become subject to the same condemnation dem nation that rests upon lucifer until they commit the same sin that lucifer committed then and then only can like condemnation fall upon them and that cannot be until they have tasted the good word of goel god and partaken partaker par taken of his power therefore our friends are mistaken when they say that we the teach ach that those who do not accept the testimony of joseph smith and the work that he was the instrument of establishing become sons sous of perdition pet but I 1 am not here to say aay smooth things even to pi please ease our friends friende and would tell them all frankly that by rejecting this message b by closing their hearts against it they come under great condemnation because as in the days davs of the savior light has come into the world and because men turn away from the light therefore condern nation rests reals upon them but our religion teaches us ug that in the great future men shall be raised from the dead and judgment shall be passed upon them that they shall be judged in that justice and mercy that is ho rep resident ident in the breast of god the father that to every son SOD and to every daughter there shall be awarded that degree of glory and of exaltation to which their faith and devotion a and d neEls entitle them and W which ich their intelligence telli gence can compre comprehend end and enjoy and that as lie stars in heaven differ one from another in degree of brightness so in the world to come shall adlein differ r in degree of exaltation and greatness and development and gro giesa giess the reward and blessing that shall he be afforded to the children of men if there is any taint or stain of bigotry injustice or narrowness connected with these doctrines doc erines for the life of me I 1 cannot can riot comprehend cow where it comes in but let me scan the theology the teachings of protestant and catholic alike and enquire of them what becomes of those whom you have not converted to the christian religion reli aion Jion after nineteen centuries of favorable opportunity to spread abroad in the world a knowledge of the gospel of jesus christ you have not yet reached even up to this year of grace 1896 more than about one fourth of the inhabitants odthe of the earth what of those millions outside the pale of your churches and what of those who have perished without the gospel through all the centuries of the christian era what of all the untold millions of the inhabitants of america who like the leaves upon the trees in the forests have fallen silently unknown b by Y you yi by your missionaries la Is there anything in your teaching is there anything in your conception of the plan of salvation that reaches out to these untold millions of gods children the hand that has power to save what is your answer cornel comel on this question of narrowness and of being bigoted where is your breadth nay we may ask aak you what is your teaching and your doctrine in respect to innocent infancy that passes away by the millions without the sacrament of your baptism are you in any position to talk of bigotry and of narrowness when you speak of other religions I 1 do not dwell upon these themes with any degree of anger or unpleasantness pleasant ries but I 1 would wish that our friends not of our faith could understand the glory could understand the height the depth and the profoundness of the gospel of jesus christ as revealed through the prophet joseph smith I 1 wish they could be led to comprehend what the future of roan man is as that gospel teaches it it seems tome to me that then the the fin finger r would be placed upon the lip that would characterize the doctrines of the lord jesus christ as believed in by the latter day saints as a narrow contracted religion |