Show DISCOURSE DIS C SE by irr president ta I 1 I 1 BY G 1 I 1 am not in ih the habitor ha bitof taking a text when I 1 preach to the saints but I 1 will quote a portion of scripture and ana offer a few remarks upon it it is recorded savior matthew 12 46 50 that thal while he yet talked to fhe the people behold his bis mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak with him then one said unto him B behold eh old oid thy in nutter aler tier and arid thy brethren stand without desiring to speak with thee but lie he answered and said saia sani d unto him that told him who is my mother and who are my brethren and he stretched forth his hand towards his disciples and said behold ril ill my mother and my brethren for whosoever sha shall bhail I 1 do the will of my father which is in heaven tile the same is my brother and sister and mother the saviors reply to the questions who is my mother and wh 0 are my breth renis fis fraught with a principle that is ve very rebr little i atle noticed by many I 1 frequently hear the he t brethren athren and you may kear bear hear bear both them and the sisters in the prayer inee meetings tings where they have a privilege leh lep of speaking say 1 I have not a father mot mother er bi other sister uncle aunt first nor second cousin nor any relative whatever in this church 2 do you not hear such expressions made by the saints yes and I 1 sometimes hear them from this stand whether r to the understanding of ot his beare hearers ra at that time or whether to fo oi ours irs those questions were correctly answered by our savior in the observation for whosoever wh oso ever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven the same is my br brother and sister sifter and mother sotar so fir as I 1 aar concer concerned nM I 1 do not claim relationship a v y where else and I 1 do not think thin k that the savior will claim any son or dau daughter abter of adam to be his brother sister mother or kin kill or connection of any kind or description according to the fhe flesh except those who do the will of our fattier father in heas heaven heasell ell zil the will of jesus and his F fahr fuhr ith r wo ive presume that the S savior vior perfectly understood wis kis orlain for he was then over thirty vears years of aie age age and had bad been instructed by his father rather in heaven beaven leaven and by the holy ghost and bad bid h id had the visions of his mind repeatedly open 1 according to the history given by his disciples therefore we hareno have no hesitation in bellev ing ng that he understood his origin who he was rhe the errand for which he r ame came into the world the business he had to attend to here and un dr stood the end of his mission in the meridian of time he understood that which you and I 1 do not u understand without the sime same same kind of revelations and te teachings achin as he enjoyed let leahe the human family do as they didin did in the days of adam in the days of ngah or even as th they e v did in the days of lot let parents propagate children and let iet one generation succeed succeed ancher lino iino mer and this does not change the blood flesh bones sinews ac pertaining thour organization in the flesh this does no not t change in the least liast the peculiar characteristics of the organization of our bodies the apostle ap ostle merely hinted anted at this subject wh when whan en he said sald and cland hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of of the earth and hath bath determined ter mined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habit habitation atLon acts 17 26 no matter who they are nor whether they are u telo upon n the islands or upon the continents no mat matter r hether whether A they are the wild arabs who traverse the scorching sands of arabia the abo aborigines eldes kines of our own country who roarn roam over its plains ains and a mountains or the delicately nurtured dwellers ellers eilers in highly civilized nations they are all of one flesh and blood consequently we can readily and safely draw the conc concision lution that a man or woman who has sprung from froni the loins of father adam and mother eve whether upon the islands of the sea in the west in the east dr on the opposite osite side of this globe is flesh of our flesh anthone op ani and bone of our bone as much saas sa as any person now in this house or in this territory but the relationship tion ship that I 1 claim im is to those who do the will of our father in heaven they are my brethren and sisters I 1 know a great many hers here who have no relatives in this church using that term in its customary tn ary acceptation sometimes wives leave th their air husbands to come here mothers also leave their chi children chilgren idren laren and children their parents ask them where is your husband in E england 1 or in some other othar count country rv have you any children yes where are they 1 11 they would not come with me have you any brothers and sisters or parents yes my father and mother are living did th they eab elleve believe the gospe gospel 1911 no did your br brothers yone liers and bisters believe it no I 1 am a urme umme person 21 I 1 such persons are apt to feel a spirit of despondency pon on to mourn and complain 10 0 that I 1 fiad flad had a fathers house to go to or if I 1 had bad one person whom I 1 could fisit and call cali sister how happy I 1 should be babut but I 1 am a stranger here chave no relatives in this kingdom Is that f feeling eeling correct or incorrect I 1 say that it is I 1 incorrect such conclusions are not true that man or woman that is a child of god that thit honors his or her hen calling in the kingdom of god on the earth earthy is just as much your brother or sister as any person you you have been accustomed cus tomed to claim that relationship with if you see a woman who lives her ro religion ligion who is owned of god you yon see ee a person that is flesh of your flesh blood of your blood and bone of your bone altho aitho she may have bein born upon the opposite side of the earth from where you vou was born those who actually live the ieli leil religion glon gion we profess are as much your brothers and sisters as are those born of the same earthly parents jesus understood this as we may learn from his expression for whosoever shall do the wll will of my rather which is in heaven the same is my brother and sister and mother 22 I 1 let your hearts be at westfor rest for tor you have brothers and sisters here to sif visia sit they are your connections your relatives your brethren and sisters A great many have all an experience that has provin proven to them the truth of or this doctrine ask asic those individuals those who at times have desponding feelings I 1 about the absence of their relatives when they are in tile the light of the spirit when the joys of salvation salvati oi i fill their bosoms is whether they would prefer er the society of their fathers mothers mathers brothers and sisters whom wh om they have left behind or whether they would like ilke to associate with them better than with their neighbors here and th thoy they will tell you no would you visit sit the them as quid as you would a good saint no do you have bave the same feeling and fellowship for them as for a saint ir no 11 are they annear and dear lo 10 you as those who are saints no and yet when the S spirit irit is is gone gore from them and they chev are arc left to themselves themselves they are apt to feel lonesome and cast down to be filled with desponding feelings and to cry out 1 I wish I 1 could see my llly illy father my mother my brothers and sisters si I 1 wish they were here and I 1 wi wish sli sll you yon to understand that your brethren and sisters are here eteri een according to the flesh yes according to the connection and relationship we w e bear to each other to our father and god and to our elder brother jesus christ it estrue is true that I 1 have hive not almog altogether ether tb the e experience that those have whose parents would not got embrace the gospel nor an any of their fathers family famila my M father and isep mother embraced i the plan pian danof of salvation as revealed throy joseph josaph the prophet and four of my ray bF brothers others five sisters and their thair children and their childrens children almost without exception are in in this church also alib many of my cousins uncles and other classes of what we call relatives I 1 I 1 or relations relations are in this church but I 1 had this trial when I 1 embraced eln ein braced this gospel can you forsake your friends and your fathers honse house 1 this L was in the vision of my reind and I had jus just t as much ranch of a trial as though gihad actually y been called to experience all that same some really have I 1 afelt felt feit yes I 1 can leave my father my brothers and sisters and ln my wife and children if they will not serve the lord and go with me ML I 1 did liot riot ask ash my wife whether she believed the gospel I 1 did not ascher ask her whether she would be baptized faith repentance and baptism are free for all J edid did not know when I 1 was baptized ghelber mv wife believed the gospel or not I 1 did not kno know w that my fathers house would go with me I 1 believed that some of them would beitl but I 1 was brought to the test can I 1 forsake all for tor the go gospels spelts spells sake I 1 I 1 can was wa s the reply within me would WOul ayon aYOU yon you 1 1 like toa top to yes if they will not embrace the gospel ea will not these earthly natural ties be continually in your bosom no I 1 know no other cami family liy lly but the family famili of go god gathered to together ether or about to be in this my day I 1 have no other connection on the face of the i earth that I 1 claim and from that day to this if my father was still living or my mother and would not believe the gospel embrace it and then live it or if any of my living brothers and sisters would won not nol I 1 would rather meet a saint sunt who was a bedgar in the streets and bid him welcome to my house than to receive a visit f from rom any of my unbelieving lievin connections even though they hey had the iv wealth of the indies I 1 was bi brought ought to this test in my own feelings in the first of my experience in this church here are our f athers fathers mothers brothers and sisters and perhaps it would be s strictly cor to say that we have b ave f fathers athers in the gospel spiritual fathers for the apostle paul called timothy whom he brought into the church bis cown lown ian son in the faith and charged him hini to be gentle unto all men apt to teach patient to be ne careful calef ul cautious with regard to the people that believed in jesus christ to learn the th e disposition and the nature of the people I 1 that he might understand himself and those h he e ta taught I 1 ight and alluded to others that were traveling and preaching building up churches or presiding over them af after berthey they were built up looking t at the conduct of many yea very many as we w e can see it exhibited in this our day they want the mastery the influence the power they want to be able to sayto bayto say to the people do this or do that and have no objections raised they would have the people obey their voice and yet they do not know how to gain the affections of the people they do not understand the dispositions of the people paul observed the same difficulty in his day many elders were preaching anu and and presiding who were ignorant aspiring and tyrannical and but few f ew of them treated the people as kind and benie benle benevolent father fathers treat their children there were not many fathers but there was a disposition to be many jn asters masters 1 as we fee dec s ee here the most of our elders want to be obeyed is as 1 strictly as you are taught by them from this stand that this people ought to obey br heber or br brigham as strictly as they preach to you to obey our counsel I 1 do not threaten you sou you much no if I 1 have not wisdom and povl poll power r to gain the influence necessary for me to ivie ivle wield id in the midst of this people eople without cursing them without telling tiem trem them that they and their su substance e shall be cursed and that if they do not do as I 1 say they shall go to bell without threatening the people all the time with my jud judgments ments and the judgments of the almi aimi almighty my 1 I say zay let brig brigham llam ilam liam sink a little lower M and add get t into the fild field hild bild where I 1 can find my true I 1 level levei iet set where I 1 an can be made more useful you never hear me plead with nor threaten the people much nor chastise them often and severely for not obeying my co counsel Is it right that others sit sli should ouid do to so yes it is all right if they are eo so disposed dis dig ased I 1 have no fault to find with regard to ot others flers fiers urging the people to obey counsel but if I 1 do not give e the saints and others the counsel of the almighty lim and that too by the spirit of my mission they are at a liberty to dictate me or to correct me in in every error I 1 commit and certainly I 1 should commit great errors if I 1 did not enjoy and have the spirit of my mission and counsel according to the will of the lord if all who are ca called clied tiled to responsible stations would look at themselves precisely as they tily are I 1 will venture that we would have many more fathers 1 than we now have and f fewer ewer masters to drive the he people n As I 1 have frequently said to the brethren I 1 stop hold on if you have sheep and have b be e come 4 a shepherd it in the fold of christ you must bear in mind that you must know your sil ill sheep e an and d that then they will kno know you that is 7 i you havo have got sheep perhaps some of you are nursing a flock of goats and donot do not 1 know the diffene difference rice rica but it you actually have I 1 a flock of sheep you should instead of halloo halloc ine inz in shoo shoo get pet out 0 il of the way and driving delving them take a course that when the they y hear your voice they may begin to bleat and run for their shepherd because be has a little salt for them when the sheep hear the voice voice ofa good shepherd they expect to hear the words of life and every one that has theano the knowledge tv of god will know and understand that sull bull such buch a shepherd is 13 acting in his duty and they will walk u up t to hi his I 1 s c counsels 0 u ns els eis and example do all the shepherds t take 3 ac e a wise course no and the r reasons eamons have been told here times enough I 1 riders elders of israel ant bishops be fathers fat liers and take a 1 course by chiji which li you yon will win the affections of the people how with your silken lips no no but with the fear of the almighty do you know that men mien and women of god love truth they do not iova lova sophistry it is all an abomination 1 0 n to them when men are smooth as elwitha ol 0 1 l witha with a smile mile always upon their as some sonie elders have to gain an influence the love people have for such men is s rotten js is without foundation and inthe day of traubie trouble tr aubie auble when they need neel neef a foundation in their people they will ivill find that it will fall to tile the ground and that the people eople will wiil pass by them theomi and say sy we wedo do not khow know those men 2 let your influence and your power be gained bythe by the power of the lord almighty bythe holy ghost sent seat down from heaven beven anil nd see that you have bihin you a well veil of water springing up tip to everlasting life tjien when your brethren breff irez irel and sisters come around you they will drlak drink at that fountain and say we i are one with you you hear bear the elders leaching the people to try and have confidence in god and saying do have |