| Show DISCOURSE by preside Preil dent nt larl ham young youn tabernacle february lt 1857 REPORTED BY geo CEO D WATT let the congregation be as still as possible I 1 wish to occupy a time in speaking to loi yoi oi and I 1 am not able to talk with the ease that 1 could wish for my health has baa for some time obliged me to confine myself pretty closely to my rooms this is the first time that hat I 1 have walked to so far tar as to come to this tabernacle since since the 1 unai unal of Jede jedediah diali M grant my bodily afflictions would not permit me to walk much and he y alo also aio stil still I 1 hinder my efforts in speaking or ex cresing I 1 have been troubled this winter as are tire many in in this high altitude with wilh a rising of the tile blood to fo tha the head that is what is troubling we toe this morning insomuch that I 1 hardly felt abl abi able abie to get hee hate aided by the faith and prayers of the saints stints I 1 will endeavor to speak so that you can hear me and to edify you according to the best of my ability I 1 have a great desire to teach people the way cf life and salvation I 1 have been occupied in that labor for many years it has been my chief business to instruct the be inhabitants of the earth how bey fley hey can secure unto themselves eternal life ane more moore I 1 become acquainted with wilh the principles pertaining w to salvation and the more strictly I 1 adhere to them the more mare I 1 attach to them if if I 1 do not always llew liew people as they re really ally aily are yet I 1 see tham partially as they are perhaps 5 as looking through a glas glass s darkly and in the i ision of my mind looking at this people called ietter letter L itter day saints and leaving out tile tua residue of the inhabitants of tle tite earth earthy to give vent to my understanding I 1 could cry aloud and weep before the lord it appears to me that very many in in their heir tinder linder standings 11 ace eding to the past conduct of lle ile the lie pi people ople opie lemina leav i 0 it the pres entre ijo too I 1 jo muc litie hue brute beasts or 01 like the door on its is hinges lora wah h opens and as it is acted upon nd is inan ible ibie this app ars to be the situation of some of the pearil fearil some imes raes b 3 seems biange and inconsistent that mankind a e organized to receive and cont con mip mie wip ti to receive an that receiving one fact f act in in tle ine tie wll alf understanding bstanding doel doci not deprive them in the lea leo leat t of receiving another there Is no heathen nation dalon but what exp eap ati their posterity tj improve in it all dil the he know knowledge letize they possess and ahat that is wed med m ed by the pereus pi p reus but the christian christ t ian n natio isi iii with we have been associated boat boa t of thea intelligence suppose that they are exhibiting great knowledge knowing and that it towers to the ibe heavens and expect their children to improve I 1 11 1 i all the arts and sciences in their possession when people have lle ile tiia lie p privilege lege of securing to themselves eternal exaltation when the words of eternal life are given to them what a pity it is tnt that they do not under understand sta nd how liable they are to fall out by the way way and that tills this i is necessary in ins 1113 state e of probation place before some persons that at thein their I 1 ear appetites crave and require and they will forsake every other tiling thing even their best friends they will contend against their best friends and benefactors in oler order to glut giu t their a ap pe ties tiles when I 1 look at this leopla to say not nothing in about any people but the latter day saints if I 1 have a correct understanding some few of them look to me to be mich much like what we call brute beasts the people are instructed from thair youth that there is no end to their learning tiie tile aney liers are taught by their parents ana and by their teachers te that they can continue to learn that hey they can ran store up tip knowledge treasure up the wisdom of the world and never see the time although they shall live to the age of methuselah Met Alet bugeia husela or older olde r but what they can add to their store of knowledge knowle knowlt dge e when I 1 apply these principles to the lai latter ter day saints it would seem that when they are once filled when they are once onre fed upon the words of eternal life until their souls are satisfied they conclude that that tint meal will last for ever they think they will never require any ary r more and so they become empty faint garled warier dull stid stupid and ana before they are aware of it they need ne a spirit of reformation they need a fielli f festi resti manifestation of the power of ga to stir tham them tham up lip and waken hem thim out of their sleep it to 0 remove the scales from their eyes to arouse them from their lethargy and when again awakened they begin to see that they have bpck bf en food then they can that they have neglected the tiie more weighty matters I 1 ask te ilie latter day saints is such the case Is 13 it true that adv of the elders of israel with their wives and children child en neglect the thin thins lungs s of god and turn to in the paltry corruptible things of earth and lt their aaa aft egions and feelings be I 1 attracted from f rom hoy lo 10 Y erinc princ liles ile 3 and placed on objects of or no moment n e n I 1 you can answer lh his qi question estion at your pour your leimyre e you that see sep and understand unde mand wand bilings things as they are YOU oui ovi who cau can b din the v lions of or el eternity tern ity its whose iliin Is soar oar doft to things bilings I 1 beyond this vale of tars bow ch do s it appear to you DJ da you feel as hough you vou can ran weep o over our ver ser the people whether you d arnot that is is my felin f feeling elin to observe for wila whai ti tiff inn i g things 41 wen wea and avd women will turn away firu tile the spirit of the holy gospel after tr avelin a f w lo indred hundred nades niiles with perhaps a few littlon jais lais i als alg to pass through stick as being pe flexed w th wild cattle in their team mis losses and thy they thirst thirst hirst greed i y for tue tle tie vain and ana foolish things of the world 0 oid old aid id neglect negle neali et tha the spirit S irit erit and principles of the holy gospel it has las billea killed them sp spiritually to pass through I 1 those so sorrows soi rows krows priva prisa privations privation tio and trials you may n lisure i ponder these ideas in your hearts lie lle arts at your leisure such sach conduct Is 13 one oie of the asto nato lis ils liing thina things s to me that ever I 1 have experience experienced or beheld beli bell eld eid yet I 1 have hav reasons for thinking f ilat ilat I 1 understand the natural causes why the I 1 popie odle onie are arc as lifey the are I 1 flowered flit ered myself years ago that whoever embraced the doctrine of lvalion salvation sa would so live us as la to enter euter in at tile the gat gate in this howey er I 1 have hard been mistaken if we this day had c congregated 0 1 i tila the vast multitudes that have taken upon ii them the name 0 of christ that have hare entered into the new and everlasting everl everi astino astina covenant to serve the ae lord our god those wio who have embraced the gospel of salvation that has been revealed through llis fils lis ils prophet and seer in the last days and then selected out those who still st iud firm in the tile faith you would gad had that but a portion of the vast congregation had kept the faith far the greatest number would be on the left hand if you were to inquire of them individually after you heard tile ilia gospel believed and embraced it did you think you would ever leave the faith falth every mail man and woman would reply no no I 1 will believe and obey until death deatle no power on earth hall shall deprive me of the blessings of tha the gospel that I 1 hwe have embraced for it I 1 have sacrificed my all 1 again would not thousands that have hare forsaken their fathers mothers children or companions for the sake of the tile gospel but are new enveloped in the spirit of the world when or asked ked whether they know this gospel to be true reply we believe it iland and when asked whether joseph smith was a prophet reply we believe it ask such inch persons why they tiley do not gather with tile the saints and the ten thou thousand obstacles th atwould be presented would tower up like mountains mountain and keep them from gathering ask them why they do not pay their tithing and they havo hayo ten thou sli sir aund aind ia excuses and reasons to render inquire wh why Y they do not do something some thill g for tha gospel and abd instruct them if they cannot pay their tithing nor gather with willi the saints to go and preach to their neighbors and they will say to you 40 0 my neighbors are pretty well off they are good people hero here are the methodists baptists presbyterians rians etc and they aregood are good people and I 1 really do not feel it my duty to preach to them thern where are such persons they are ia la darkness they have llave apostatized anether another ane Ant ther great class you will find have come out i in n open rebellion to the faith to those principles they once testified they knew ku e w to be true and that too by tile the power of t the lie holy ghost now leave that vast multitude and come to this place here herm is the gathering of the people ample here is tile the carcass and tile the eagles gather to this tilis place here they are by thousands and scores of thousands look through this vast multitude bs be fore me and through th tho inhabitants of this territory and then go to the ilia united states and to B europe and anduha the islands of the sea and g gather gither aher up all who s to be latter D ly saints and how flow many of them are there in it the tha way to enter into the straight gate flow many are going to be crowned with the gods you will all admit that this is a liard hard question to answer do you think one half of them will enter in at tile the straight gate das fas pass by the angels and the tile gods and receive a celestial est ial tat exaltation I 1 pray they thiv may even if it I 1 do not believe so Is there any person deprived of this privilege lega ga no not one has the tha lord cast an obstacle iu in the way of or any individual to deprive him of the privilege of being exalted no not one but every thing that coul could I 1 be dons has been dono done evey every provision that could be made maje has lias been made every law hw that could be instituted to encourage and elevate alevato the people to increase in crease creasa their faith their knowledge their understanding and to lead them to life and aud salvation the lord has brought to this people then tile the lord is not to blame are angels to blame are they hindering the tile ped people p e no are the tile spirits of tile the just casting stumbling blim bilm blocks before the people or tying their thein hands or turning them away from the right path no do you think that one half of the people walk up to every esery known duty are so doing and laboring that they are in the straight and narrow path that leads to the lives answer this question at your leisure yet every person will acknowledge that that every thing the lord could do for our salvation has his been done all heaven is anxious that the people should be saved the heavens weep over the people because of their hardheartedness hard heartedness unbelief and slowness to believe and act you have been taught all the adlong day long iong that you are in a world of sin you have been taught all your YO ur lives that the seeds of sin are sown i in n your mortal bodies you on have been taught that the spirit barru barreth a against ainest the flesh and the flesh against the spirit spirl pt that the spirit of every man and woman that gets into the celestial kingdom must over overcome c ome the flesh must war against the flesh until the seeds of sin that are sown in the flesh are brought into subjection to the law of 0 christ this has been taught you from your youth up there ia is not a society in christendom but what h has s taught tau bt these principles and you have reid areld read them in in your bibles when you were children your mothers taught you that we were wele in a world of sib sin and that the enemy of righteousness is all the time ready and watching to overcome every individual you will reply at once 4 we believe this doctrine 21 and yet from day to day from week to week from month to month ard and from year to year we go on as wo we have some will sterl sa say 1 I did give g ive lve way to my evil passion lesterl ye yesterday y an and d I 1 will give way again today to day dayl and I 1 will let the flesh overcome the spirit I 1 will br bring I 1 i my spirit into subjection to the evil passion and an evil e ia influences that the tle enemy of christ has sown in the human system I 1 will let my tongue aspea speak I 1 x just j u s t what it pleases I 1 will rail out against my n neighbor e when I 1 get mad I 1 will blaspheme I 1 will deceive my brother or my neighbor and thus they bling bring the spirit into subjection subject jaon ilon to the flesh until the lord almighty will withdraw the light of truth from those individuals and they are left if not to apostatise apostatize to deny joseph sep sap li aa as a prophet jesus christ as the savior and to esteem holy writ and all the revelations from god as a burlesque they are left in the dark to welter in sorrow in the flesh and in the spirit world they never can be exalted Is it then any marvel that those who dwell in the heavens should weep over the people do you yoa wonder now that the prophets used to weep over the people in ancient times that joseph used to weep over the people in his bis day if you do I 1 do not here is a large number of the latter day saints situated upon the mountain tops and right before each individual is eternal day or eternal night eternal light or eternal darkness eternal love or eternal hatred eternal glory or eternal misery this ibis would want a great deal of explaining 0 to bring it down to iut kut your our capacities so that you can understand but I 1 use one class of these expressions to convey an idea of the opposite of the glory prepared for the very people now before me the lord has done every thing be he can do in injustice jusa just hice tice and in truth in his mercy and in his long suffering and undress kindness there is nothing he has neglected in order to put into the possession of this people power to secure to themselves eternal day eternal peace instead of eternal misery eternal glory glor I 1 happiness beauty power exaltation excellency ncy anil and every good chingare thin gare prepared for the elders that now sit before me to enter into the jire presence sence of the father and the son where they could be exalted sit with the gods be crowned with immortality and eternal lives become le e f fathers athers not only of many nations but of an eness endless posterity be the framers not only of a kingdom but of an endless chain of kingdoms kin nothing more can be done than what las has has hab been done how many of those now looking on me will order their lives so that they will secure to themselves eternal happiness and exaltation do you think that one half of this congregation congre a will answer that question I 1 pray that they may m whether diether I 1 fellete b eliere it or not do you see people neglect e lect elect their eternal welfare A feeling preva prevails if 9 with some that 1 we do d 0 not n ot know these the se things we have not seen these things we do not understand that there is a prepared for the faithful we do not understand that there is a place prepared for those that are unruly those that disbelieve those that |
