Show REM reh REMARKS ares ARKS by prest 1 D 11 II vens wens Taber tabernacle naclet ilardi march 22 1857 REPORTED BY J T V LONG brethren and sisters I 1 feel it a privilege to have hare a tl part in the tile work of the file latter days and I 1 feel thankful that I 1 have been bi blought ought upon the stags stage of existence in this period of time it is a privilege which you all enjoy as well as myself and one which we should appreciate more than we ve do when we reflect upon the misery and degradation that prevail in the world we ought to highly T arze arze the privilege we enjoy I 1 heard one remal k in the forenoon that he looked than he did twenty years ago this brought to my my mind what I 1 ba had heretofore observed among among what we term the worlds people men and women plod along in in the even tenor ol 01 of f their way for fifteen twenty armore or more years and become perfectly rusty as rusty as iron that has been long iong on exposed to the action of the elements clement but let tile the of truth come upon persons ani and their minds expand and you at once seed see a dilder ece ence ede in their countenances who vilho among us has not noticed this his I 1 know that the sahit of the tha lord gives give life and that men grow younger when they tiley comp into this kingdom and live their religion this is is although unbelievers believers un may make sport of it I 1 know now that the feelings of the tha righteous are enlivened their flesh and blood are and they become a glorious people t v left ie i e and enjoy the spirit of the lard lord look took at the nations of the earth and see them alons alonz without improvement in the know leage ge of the things of god without being touched in their spirits with tile the life giving power and hey ney hey rut they do to not enjoy themselves near so much as do tile the mormons cormons Mor mons 1 who enjoy themselves a great deal better than any people within my knowledge for it is a peculiarity of mori momia monism that its fo followers flowers enjoy themselves upon the plains you can cin see tham dancing and kicking up tip their heels there is is not riot much muchO formal sanctity about them and in this particular they arr are ni alo aio so right for tile the lord love loves a cheerful heart and a buoyant spirit and those who i leneive the spirit O 4 the lord arejula of life and animation they iare lare are not 1104 t apt to have the 41 blues blue I 1 or i at times thear 1 do they do not go into their graves with that com corn plaint they ther are ready to do anything hat that hatwill wiil will tile tiie interests of the kingdom of god and Ilie ille irre religion i even evert t though it may ba be contrary to thein their ein eln ri natural feelings this is one principle that mikes us so dimmie diffie different rent from the world the mor mona mois know that all is light right if they carry out oat the given them it is a f fact act whether you believe it or not that his this people were getting into their old sectarian they were getting so that they had not time to 16 do scarcely anything to the cause of god fand an l tha thy had began to be viry very dul and sleepy I 1 has been with them thern as the lord said in tile the parz parable abke able ble when the men siept slept the enemy came and SJ wd red sed tare tares among tile the wheat now we are livened up again we feel the lively emotions nf t tha the spirit of god and we are it spady to dp anything that may be counseled by whoever hasi haslie lie the ri right ht to counsel conn coun sel sei we are ready reily realy to walk wilk in the path of strict let us keel heel kee lee right from this time lime forth and not go to sleep again noblet bior let the enemy sow tares as he did be be fo e U e hive no need of being roused from a state of let lethargy harcy harzy if we wilt will let the spirit lead us ind the thu 1 loid loid noid will prosper us u for the man and the woman ft oman that keeps his bis spirit is right with it the people can bi being ing as much again to pass piss as they can otherwise they aie stronger in their minds and in id their judgments and arid are more capable of gathering around them thein the comforts of life for their subsistence instead of sms a disqualifying disqualify ing us it qualifies us for all thing things s that ought to be done let us be careful not to allow the enemy to come and sow tares but keep alive loathe duties enjoined upon us lis I 1 have a few words to say to the bishops much haps has been said to them and I 1 attribute a large share of the improved condition of the eo ale to their faithful instructions they have sone rone dono aono ulu niu h but still there is one iliin thing more to which I 1 wish to direct their attention there are many ren pen people pie who do not know how to set themselves advantageously d to work we call the bishops the fathers of the wards and by bv the exercise of of a little care and judgment they can do much towards putting many of the people in a better way for obtaining a living and thereby strengthen their feeble knees A man roan lately came to me from the north who had land and team but no seed and wanted to be put in the way to get a kvint living I 1 gave him a note to his B shop what 5 should 0 be the duty of that bishop he should say sayi will find you seed this m and you can pay it back after harvest in this manner such individuals may easily be placed in the way for obtaining their own support this go gospel pei pet brings tile hie silk weavers potters potter and many nany other tra tradesmen desien from the old country and many could form torm a vessel who have only learned a single sin sih le branch of a trade it often happens in the manufacture of earthenware that one turns the clay another bakes it and still another burns it but neither can cin operate in in the department ment ot of another until there here are openings here for such mechanics ics acs they labor under many disadvantages there are hundreds of such persons person in ill lil your ward wards and what does it become you to do in such cases to take pains and plan to make their services orsome use and abid profit the tile bishops and arid their counselors and assistants should have a wise oversight of such persons and devise ways and means for tor them to toj aise raise vegetables and grain gram they should plan some kind of employment that will make them and their families useful put them in in a position that will enable them to procure a subsistence andio and do good for themselves and the great cause in which we are engaged enga gred it is a duty that thai we owe society to use our influence to build each other up that we may be united and became become strong and able and by assisting the poor and astren strengthening the a people in whom trie til e LorE lord will have bave deligh heilig glit t and assist in bli bringing ying sing to pass his purposes do 0 we realize what these purposes are saints who have haie received tile the gospel and live their religion know by the tire vibrations of the heart arid and the operations of the spirit what they are the lords people will become exceedingly numerous they are rising fast and the responsibilities of bis this his kingdom will rest upon the he sons of zion and ile he will wi 1 l hasten his work in its time lime the day will come corns in in which the earth will tremble and the nations quake with fear because of the wickedness of her inhabitants we read that satan shall be bound a thousand 1 years tears ears earb how is this to be accomplished by our becoming ecoling so impregnated with the tire principles of the gospel with the holy ghost that the enemy vill will have no place in in us or in our families and shedding forth that influence in our neighborhoods the adversary is first to be driven from ourselves then from our families then fi flom om our neighbors next from our territory Teni tory and even eventually natty flom hom tile tili the nations until ll 11 he shall find nc no place upon tile the face tace of the whole earth earlb then will lie he not be bound yes so far as this earth is concerned and that is the way in which it is to be ae done in my humble opinion he will be chained to all intents and purposes when he can have no influence no power no tabernacles into which he can enter lie he will ben then hen have bave no place of entertainment when he finds that ile he is cornered ti eliat I 1 at dose doss will he not consider himself bound I 1 thin think lidwill he lie will whether he thinks mor so or not tois tais is a work at which we can all labor forit font is by our united efforts that zion will be produced in our own bosoms in ih this citrin cit yin our oun territory or anywhere else if we will do this and be united as the heart of one man we shall badih batan satan from and eventually from this earth and this we have to do if we resist him lie he will flee from us and that the lord is qu leh leb to answer if it we i light kightly call upon him for assistance we shall be mada made exceed exceedingly exceeding inO V numerous ani and strong and shall be alle al le to build up tip a temple to the name of our god goa we are a good people the lord loves us and it will be his delight r to bless us its more and more and the more we are capable of receiving themore he will give for ahe heavens are ready to drop with blessings but we also have a d work to perform peti peli form we can aal preach reach and do much but boutwe we must do still more an than we have done if we can banish satan from our presence we shall do a good work for he it is who steps in and arid causes bickering bicke rings s and strife bot bat if we will be wide awake and arid not let tile llie enemy come in in there will be no bicke rings nor strife and we will be able to move the heavens and the earth if necessary we will be able to drive satan from our midst with wilh all the kindred spirits that are seeking peeking our destruction shall we take this course or shall we be like ike world and suffer ourselves to wither and dry up and have no strength before us are light and joy and an entrance into tile the celestial kingdom of our god on ae t ie other hand are degradation ra poverty bovert ald aid and misery sery such as we know nothing about lt let us begil bealice be alive v e to our business for it is sour our oun business and inte interest rest to look to the up building of the kingdom of god not only in spiritual but in temporal matters we are constituted to need food and the necessary facilities and appliances for operating suc cea ceis fully such as the cattle cattie horse horses and the various conveniences for carrying on business they are all till the theloris Lords and he will bless us its with those things that are for our good and comfort if we are faithful t we shall shai I 1 increase in the things of god the tire devil can ran claim no right to tile the blessings of or tile the lord for those things belong to the S eints ant therefore let us do all we can for tile the building up of the kingdom of god and lie he will furnish us its all we need for all belongs to him no part of the human family belongs to the devil unless they tiley sell themselves to him but the lord cannot consistently bless us junices lie he knows that we will serve server him and make a good hood uke use use of what he be stows let us be faithful alive to our duties and perform our in mission ssi n alpon up on the earth we inhabit no matter what I 1 it is is that we have been sent to do lot let us its seek unto the elgord almighty and ask for his spirit to be with us and if we are faithful he will vill give it for lie he reg ardeth those who arg are faithful we read that lie he liberally to those who ask of him and upbraid eth not let us not be lazy but let us ever be alive to the interests of the kingdom of god and expend our time lime and strength for tile the interest ami and benefit of that kingdom for the devil has lias had the use and benefit it of this world nearly long enough I 1 feel as though we were all going to do better in future I 1 feel that this is the intention of this his people for I 1 see them feel alive to each others interests I 1 saw this manifested last fall and arid every call that is made upon them they feel anxious to comply with to the utmost and they th ey feel richer with hall halt the means than they did before and they will have means doubled and trebled upon them I 1 am not guessing at this for I 1 know that it is if we will vill only use those means and blessings it in the service of our god if we will entire entirely yb e cease fase serving the tile devil we will vill be still more obviously better and richer than any people i upon i the face of the earth treasure basure up the words of wisdom that we hear from time to time and aud be cleanly in in our persons and in our habitations for the he holy ghost will not dwell in unholy temples it itis is an insult to the holy spirit for us to be filthy filthy and it may grieve away if we do not observe cleanliness be careful to treasure these things up in your minds keep the co commandments of god do not take his name in in vain do not be seen loafing about at 11 the ie corners of the streets and spending your time in idleness when you go to plow and plant ask god to bless the ground and the tire geed s eed and let us have his iiii blessing on all that we do and have our faith centered upon tile the things that we are called upon to perform and we will be blest biest and prospered and ard will seethe see the work of the he almighty alright y roll rol I 1 forth forthwith with mi might lit and arid power even until we shall redeem zion and build a temple upon the consecrated spot where it is said that the glory of god shall rest upon it as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night are WP now prepared for the coming comin of the son of man alan and for the resurrection do we ever think of this brethren and sisters let us be faithful keep our covenants and press onward until that time shall come tome important events and duties transpire quite as fast as we are prepared for them therefore let us round up our shoulders gird ird up tip our loins and if we can bear greater burdens there i is more coming and we shall have all that we cando can do if we will not do this the lord can raise raise up p a people that will the hearts of all men ure are re in in his hards hands and if we do not appreciate the blessings less glen gien given he lie will g give lve ive them to somebody else ancient Ancie fht fit idael transgressed transgress ed and would not keep the covenants and obey he the lord consequently they could not enter into the promised land but was it much trouble to raise up a people that would no may the lord bless us and enable us to keep our covenants and ani be faithful faith falth ful fol continually is my prayer through christ our Rd redeemer eemer amen aman |