Show DISCOURSE by rr trident Ident heber litber C kimball bowery sunday sand sant morn mom j ing sept 21 1 1856 ar PORTED 33 BYJ Y J V T LONG I 1 have a great many things on my mind constandy constantly st by night and by day in regard to this people ourselves I 1 mean here in valleys of the mountains I 1 I 1 was lately looker looking g in the book of mormon and I 1 thought 0 that a portion of the book of elaman helaman If frum nearly the middle of the 42 goth page second european edition to the end or of tile the ath chapter w apply very well weil to this people and if they would appreciate it rightly it would be what I 1 should call a very great sermon it ivas was read to the congregation in the afternoon af hernoon ter noon by br leo hawkins it treats upon the conduct of the people when they were blest they illey were led into a land away from their enemies and the lord blest them exceedingly yet the only way vay that he could keep them within due and proper bounds BO so that they would live their religion BO so that they would be humble before their maker and their god was to let afflictions come upon them the lord through the prophet relates tha that t he had withheld their enemies from them by softening their hearts from day to day so that they would not go up to war avar against tle tie the people of god and that he had multiplied blessings 0 gs them insomuch that aney became exceedingly rich in fine clothing jewelry raiment and every thing that heart could wish god poured out his bis blessings upon them and as quick as they began to prosper and to increase improperly in property they were raised up in the pride of their hearts their god their prayers and their covenants they had made wied and before their god arid and when we read the bible and arid the chebook Book of book of mor mon we are led to contrast the proceedings of the former day saints on this continent with the travels and arld course of this people and to reflect that many of us have been rooted up and driven some five or six times and that last of all we are driven here into the valleys of the mountains 1 a thousand miles from every body where god has let us come to worship him to carry out his designs to establish his ordinances and to qualify a people that they may obtain a celestial glory lory arc are not this people running into pride are they not filled with discord contention broils and an d animosity have they not forgotten their their god and their covenants cothey hold their covenants sacred those they made when they received their endowments when they covenanted not to speak evil of one another nor of the lords anointed nor of those that lead them did they not make all these coven covenants alts arts have they not broken them or man many y of them do you suppose that god would have spoken to you through br brigham as he did last sunday if all was right if y you on were all living your reli reil religion lon ion no it would have been an other tune teat that would have been sun bung sung or played and it would have given you credit but that sermon was good to me and god knows that I 1 never beara heard a better one since I 1 was born considering the occasion and the circumstances in which this people stand before their god this will not apply to all but it will vill a applys p I 1 ay y prett pretty generally more moreo or jess riess we live ilav neelis t le to tse take a different cluese and it must needs be that this thib people repent of their sins arid do their first works over or god will remove r 1 amov their candlestick out of its place when our president our leader our pro prophet pil speaks unto us from week tb to week and from sabbath to sabbath do his teachings reach our hearts do the people hear do the people understand if they do they are not all careful calef ua to practice I 1 have told y apu u a great many times that the word of our leider leader and prophet is the word of god to this people and you play with those words and you ou neglect them you neglect the voice ad and word of god and it will fall upon you in in a way avay that you never expected and you dont expect it now but there is yet a chance for us to redeem ourselves and there is a great deal more necessity for us to redeem ours ourselves elves elyes than there is for us to redeem the dead for the dead they are dead and you cannot help it but we are living and can help ourselves and I 1 suppose that dod doa god helps those who help themselves let us rise up as a people and turn unto the lord our god with full purpose of heart and peradventure our sins may be remitted and forgiven i 1 en and blotted out this is what the lord ea has placed men to lead you you for you cannot see god you cannot behold him and hold con vese with avith him as one man does with another but he has given us a man that we ave can talk to and thereby thereby know his bis will just as well ivell as if god aimse himself if was avas present am I 1 afraid to risk my salvation in the hands bands of the man that is appointed to lead me and to lead this people no no more than I 1 am to trust myself in the hands of the almighty he lie will lead me right if I 1 do as lie he says in every particular in every circumstance in poverty poter y in riches in sickness and in death that is the course for me to take and if that is the course for me to take it is the course for br grant to take and for the twelve apostles for the seventies for the high priests for the elders and for every person in the church and kin kindom kingdom dom of god we should be lile like the clay in tre tee the elands of the potter bless your souls that is just as true a fi figure fiure ure as can be presented before a people if they ever saw a potter work but if they never saw one work vork they do net not know what course he takes any more than a person knows kiowa about a mill blat that never saw one well this is the course for us to take to be like clay in the hands of the potter who ia is the potter god our father is the great potter the head potter and br brigham is one of his servants to preside over this pottery here in the flesh and his word is the word of god to this people and to those that he has called to assist him in this great work these are my feelings and a part of what I 1 was meditating and reflecting upon upon as also upon how much we are arc blest I 1 know that there are several going away and that the they y bay say this is a hard country let the people that have come from denmark de amark turn round and go back to where they came from and then they will ivill say that this land is a perfect eden and this place a perfect palace when hen compared to the land that they lived in before they came here they coad here aa as heart hearty and as robust as our mountain sheep or eg elk eik or the buffalo and why ashy is it so because they have always worked from the days of tb their air youth they are the cha chaps s we want those men that have been ral rai raised seTin in the mountains and that have learned to be obedient from the days of their youth they are the saints that the men of god want avant I 1 love to see them come here under their own flag the danish flag for the standard is raised and they may come with their own banners and bow to ki in what wh t is required of us now that we have run into a snare we should be willing to come out of the forbidden path and turn unto the lord with avith full purpose of heart here are hundreds of people that desire their endowments dow ments as soon as they can get them I 1 would not give them their endowments to almost the last we took through until they repented anted and were ivere baptized we have taken hundreds hundreds through when they ought to have previously done thel thele first works over I 1 offer these few remarks that you may reflect upon them and know when you are guilty when a man has done wrong avron 0 he knows it and when he is breakie breaking ca his c covenants ove hants nants he knows s it and those persons are under condee natian and it need be that they repent I 1 am willing to repent of my my bins sins I 1 repent every day or of my ray life and I 1 humble before my god and acknowledge my sins both in private andin and in public an and I 1 take taie a course to be industrious dust rious and I 1 do as I 1 am told and I 1 do not care tare what that is for I 1 know it will ivill be right it if I 1 were told to build build a house that would include this whole city I 1 would go 0 at it it might t make me groan a little bull buli but I 1 wouldga would go at f ft dont you belive I 1 would I 1 tell you I 1 would though it broke my neck or cut m my v throat and chopped me into mince meat 7 1 will stand by the ki kingdom n dom and by the prophets and arid apostles andy andoy all that stand up for the iiii kingdom doa of our god I 1 am their friend and hands off from those men if you do not want to take jesse these are my f feelings eerlings and may god bless you and may peace be be multiplied unto you amen the following is that part of the book of mormon alluded to by prest kimball and thus we can behold how false and also the unsteadiness of trie hearts of the children of men yea we ave can see that th atthe the lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless blesa and prosper those who put their trust in him yea and we may nay seo see se at the very timo when he doth prosper his people eople yea in the increase of fair their flocks and their herds and in old nd Sh didi diri id silver a and d in all manver manier of redious things zsofe of olevery every ver mud kind andar and ant art spar ng their lives and d delivering them out of he bands of their ene enemies inies softening the heartsol heart sef set of their enemies that they should not declare wars arb ars against alem them yea and in fine doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people yea then is the time that they do harden their hearts and do forget the lord their god and do trample under their feet the holy one yea and this because of their ease and their exceeding great prosperity and thus we see that except the lord doth chasten his bis people with many afflictions yea except he doth visit them with death and with terror and with famine and with all manner of pestilences esti estl lences they will vill not remember him 0 tow eow bow low foolish and how ilov vain and how evil and devilish and how quick to do iniquity and how slow to do good are the children of men yea how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one and to set their hearts upon the vain thin things s of the world yea how quick to be lifted up in pride yea how bow quick to boast and do all manner of that which is iniquity t and how slow are they to remember tyl tzi the lord lord their god and to give ear unto his bia counsels yea how slow blow to walk in wisdoms paths Ile lle behold hoid hotd they do not desire that the lord their god who is ho hath bath created them should rule and reign over them notwithstanding his great reat goodness and his mercy towards lem them t they e do set at nought his counsels and they avi will f not that lie he should be their guide 0 how great is the nothingness of the children of men J yea even they are less than the dust of the earth for behold the dust of the earth loveth hither and thither to the dividing asunder at the command of our great and everlasting dod god yea behold at his voice doth the hills and the mountains tremble and quake and by the power of his voice they are broken up and become smooth yea even like unto a valley yea by the power of his bis voice doth the whole earth shake k yea by the power of his voice doth the foundations rock even to the very centre yea and if he say unto the earth move it is moved yea if he bay say unto the earth thou go back that it lengthen out the day for many hours it is done andtius and thus according to his sord word vord the earth goeth back and it ap heareth unto man that the sun a still till yea and behold this thia is so for sure it is the earth that loveth and not the sun and behold also if he be gay say unto the waters of the great reat deep be thou dried up it is done behold fold foid if he say unto this mountain be thou raised up and come over and fall upon that city that it be buried I 1 U up behold it is done and behold if a man lim hide up a treasure in the e earth arth and the lord shall say let it be accursed because of the iniquity ti of him who hath bath hid bid it up behold it shall be e accursed and if the lord shall say be thou accursed that no man shall find thee from this time henceforth and for ever behold no man zetteth it henceforth and forever and behold if the lord shall say unto a man because of thine iniquities thou be accursed for ever it shall be done and if the lord shall say because of thine iniquities thou be cut off from my presence he will cause that it shall be so and wo unto him to whom he shall say this for it shall be unto him that will do iniquity and he cannot be saved therefore for this cause that men might be saved hath bath repentance been declared therefore blessed are they who will repent and hearken unto the voice of the lord their god for these are they that shall be saved and may god grant in his great fullness that men might be brought braught unto repentance and good works that they might be restored unto guce grace for grace according to their works and I 1 would that all men inen might be saved but we ave read that in that great and last day there are some who shall be cast out yea who shall be cast off from the presence of the lord yea who shall be consigned to a state of endless misery fulfilling the words which say they that nave have done good shall have everlasting t life and they that have done evil shall have everlasting damnation am nation and thus it is amen |