Show DISCOURSE by jedediah M grant tabernacle Taber 0 S L city march 1854 by the request of br 0 hyde I 1 will occupy a p portion ion of the time this morning in speaking upon t the h e principles of our hot holy ly religion I 1 have hare no special subject in my mind to con verse upon for the instruction of the assem assembly bl I 1 do not know but it is as necessary and as equa equally essential for the elders who speak from this stand to trust in the lord for his spirit as it is i for those who go forth to preach to them who have never received the gospel there is a commandment joseph smith the prophet in the book of doctrine and covenants that requires the elders to conduct the meetings as they are led by the holy ghost according to the commandments and revelations of god also that they should seek diligently and teach one another words of wisdom yea seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom seek learning even by study and also by faith and this to be done by the aid of the holy spirit which will bring forth from the treasury of the mind such things as in wisdom should bo be taught to t the he people if it is 19 necessary for an older elder to have the spirit to teach un believers is it not as important that chath he s should have the spirit to teach those who are advanced in the principles of the doctrine of christ it certainly requires as much skill to finish a superstructure per structure as to commence it with new materials or to shape the necessary materials for th the foundation and for the construction of the whole building it may inay require as hard ham service to commence a building as to finish it but certainly it would require its as much skill at the finishing as at the commencement hence I 1 see no impropriety in a person addressing you without any particular meditation without any special for forethought e th h in relation to the subject mutter matter ho he shall lay before the people e trusting as all faithful elders do in the almighty god to teach as dictated by his spirit it is presumed with me that any person occupying tills this stand and upheld by the prayers of an audience of saints assembled hers here from sabbath to sabbath will actually speak such things as the lord wishes you yott to receive and obey or wishes the speaker to teach you I 1 have traveled and preached chrol the united states considerably the northern eastern southern and middle states I 1 have traveled about eleven years from tile time I 1 commenced until I 1 ceased traveling away from home to preach and I 1 have never been able to remember accurately any sermon I 1 ever preached I 1 might be able to remember parts of sermons I 1 havo have preached certain things that I 1 have said at certain places and to certain congregations but the particular form shape beginning and end and various parts of any discourse I 1 have ever delivered I 1 cannot remember I 1 have them not in my mind neither have I 1 ever overwritten written any of them or subjected myself to any particular method or taken any pains to think methodically beforehand what to say tills this is something I 1 never have tried during the period I 1 have endeavored to speak in public one tiling thin I 1 always wished for that when I 1 was sent to do a thing do it before I 1 returned I 1 believe when an all elder is sent on a mission he should exert every nerve to fulfil fulfill it not that he should encourage some very special expectations of ac comp lishing something very great but an older properly instructed by tile the spirit of god and having I 1 proper experience in his king kingdom doin will discover that the lord works not as man mall that when he commences his work in a nation it is by simple means perhaps in some obscure family or ri by giving power to one of his elders to heal beal a s sick icek person or to lead some few persons of honest minds to believe the gospel and be baptized and from such simple beginnings you will see the work of god commence and spread rapidly I 1 have noticed in my experience that the elders who have anticipated antini much aud and have in their souls desired to accomplish a great deal and trusted more or less in their reading education attainments ac when they have gone forth to preach tills this gospel of the kingdom have accomplished hut but little those who have accomplished much have aeeti h contrite in spirit putting their trust tn in the lord he has always accomplished his work by littles and on ft 4 very simple scale and it has baa spread forth from small and bo ba come great this to te the 11 light t in which I 1 view the gospel of the son ddn of go god in which I 1 view this work la in which we are engaged it commenced small tile the lord did not choose choose one of the mighty men of the earth speaking after the manner of men to lo bring to pass his work of the last days he did not choose the potentate lord duke emper president or governor nor did he choose one or of the noted divines of the world when 1 say noted I 1 mean celebrated among the people at large who live on the earth but he made choice of an obscure youth and enlightened him and inspired him by the inspiration of the holy ghost and sent holy angels to him from time to time all ali the die lessons br joseph smith received were easily understood the first lesson which was given to him was adapted to his capacity and his mode of teaching the people was in accordance with tile doctrines received from the angels and their mode of teaching him the instructions received were plain and appeared in the eyes of the world to be too simple to have come from god I 1 ask you was it long bern sermons ions loud exhortations strong reasoning on abstruse and complicated subjects that brought you yon into this kingdom was it lengthy quotations from the bible and every principle being proved scientifically eliat moved your feelings convinced your judgment and brought your spirits to yield obedience to the gospel no but you will say there was something in accompanying the preaching of the individual who spoke to you that something attended the simple simile unadorned reasons advanced in favor of the book ook of mormon and the book of doctrine and covenants that there wass was a stillson still sin small all voice of the spirit to convince your minds expand your intellect raise your thoughts to heaven and give you an understanding ol of the bible it was the still solemn voice of the spirit that gently led you into a belief of the truth when it had bad touched your understanding and you had become humble and willing to forsake sin and be baptized you went forth humbly as a child and was baptized for the remission of sins and received the laying on of hands tu in accordance with the laws of god that you might receive a full fruition of the holy ghost when that rested upon you it wasa was a maek k al and t d quiet spirit it was thi hi light by which elete ev eyson on a and ild daughter dau jilter of adam is enlightened by which all things are governed and the law by which all things are controlled some people enquire why it is that some of our brethren and friends wish to go to california this is easily answered they have lost the spirit of the lord that tells the whole story when you see a man or woman discontented and cunha unha unhappy py and wishing to leave the people of the lord you have only to reflect for a moment and you on will at once conclude that man or woman lias has the spirit of the lord sin the people who have retained the spirit they received at baptism ba cism know the lord can you move them ko no the inhabitants of the earth who examine our government and see the easy laws by which we are governed the progression that marks our course the exact government that is in our midst wonder that other states and nations do not adopt some of the leading principles of mormonism in order to keep their subjects in a state of subordination every empire kingdom and government would be glad to do this if they could do you suppose any other body of people can be governed and controlled in the way we are certainly not how is it that this people can be governed so easily by a president and two counselors and the quorum of the twelve and other I 1 authorities of the church 7 it lit in easily answerer I 1 I 1 j they have been taught right principles naples and bay the thO spirit of the lord and thereby they are ace able t to govern themselves they know abt to is right and they are led by the holy ghost jihad ga tb seek to do right cout continually lau ally I 1 A now in relation to a passage in the book of doctrine and covenants covenant R it is written in the appendix adix of the book of Doe dottrina trinA and covenants paragraph 10 that the church of jesus christ of latter day saints believe that all religious societies h have ave a to deal with their members for disorderly conduct according to tile the rules and regulations of such societies provided that such dealings be for bellou fellowship ship and good standing but we do not believe that any religious society has authority to try men on the right of property or life fife to take from them this worlds goods or put them I 1 in jeopardy d y either in life or limb neither to inflict any physical punishment upon them they can only excommunicate them from their society and withdraw a from their fellowship this was written by oliver cowdery Cow dory he believed it was rigia right and I 1 know it was adopted when joseph smith was absent on a journey but whether lie he sanctioned it or not I 1 never did know sat rat in the ancient church paul refers to covenant breakers what disposition ought the people of god to make of covenant breakers they who are led by the meek and quiet spirit of god who trust in jehovah and watch and pray and partake of the sacrament sa of the lords lorda supper who do right and have kept pt their baptismal vow vows I 1 say what ought such a people to do with covenant breakers why says one forgive them to tobe be sure very goodbub good but aliat else ought they to do what does the apostle say he says they are worthy of death I 1 wonder whether ho was really in earnest or happened to get into a wild freak and advanced principles and sentiments that were incorrect I 1 am inclined inc lind to believe liis ilia decision dec tRion was wai a correct one then what ought this meek people who keep the commandments of god do bounto unto thom them why says C one ine they ought to pray to the lord to kill them I 1 want to know if you would wish the lord to come down and do all your dirty work many of the latter day saints will pray and petition and supplicate tile the lord to do a thousand things they themselves would be ashamed to do I 1 would like men never to ilsk ask jesus christ the lamb of god his father their associates or ilia angels of the high heavens to do anything they won would not be willing to do themselves when a man prays for a thing lie he ought to be willing to perform it himself but if tile the latter day saints should put to death the covenant breakers bakers it would try the faith of the very meek just juat and pious ones among them and it would cause a great deal of whining in israel in tile the days of moses moes for certain crimes they were to bring the guilty persons before tile congregation gre gation and each man and woman were ere required to bring a stone to throw at the person worthy of death then there was another odd commandment the lord god commanded thom them nut not to pity tile the person parson whom thoy y killed but to execute the law of god upon persons worthy of death tills this should be done by the entire congregation showing no ito pity I 1 hive thought there would have to be quito quite a revolution k among the mormons cormons Mor mons before such a commandment could bo be obeyed I 1 ay ly by them the mormons cormons lave have a great deal of sympathy ym pathy for instance if thoy they cn can got get it a man wore before tit alie e tribu tribunal lial administering adminis administering terin g the law law of the lond land and succeed in getting a rope round his neck and having hirn him hung up like a dead dog it is all right but if the church and kingdom of god should stop step forth and execute the law of god 0 what a burst of mormon sympathy it would cause I 1 wish we were in a situation favorable to our doing that which is justifiable before god without aay a ay iy contaminating influences of gentile amalgamation laws and traditions that the people of god might lay the axe to the root of the tree and ev wy ry tree free that bringing not forth good fruit might bo newn hewn down what do you believe that people would do right and keep he law of god by actually put shigio death the transgressors putting to death transgressors would exhibit the law of god no differ difference enco by whom it was donit done that is id my opinion you talk of the he doings governments cie e states if you please what do they do with traitors what mode do they adopt to punish trai traitor toriO do traitors to that government forfeit their lives examine also aso the doings of other earthly governments upon this point and you find and the same practice universal I 1 amnot aware that there aro any exceptions but people will look into books of theology and argue that t the he people of god havo have a right to try people for fellowship low ship but they have no right to try them on property or life that makes the devil laugh 0 tying I 1 have got them on a hook now they cut them ot off and I 1 will put ei eight it or ton tea spirits t t f W worse orse than they eliy are into their tabor tabernacles e g and send them back to mob them what a fi fine n e thing it was that I 1 got oliver cowdery to write that chat piece on law and introduce it into the book of Doo doctrine trino and covenants 1 but if the government of god on earth and eternal priesthood with the sanction of high heaven in the midst of all ilia his people has passed sentence aen tence on certain sins when they appear in a person has not the people of god a right to carry out that part of his law as well as any other portion of it it is id their right to baptize a sinner to save him and it is also their right to kill a sinner inner to save him when lie he commits those brimet that can only be atoned for by shedding edding sli his blood if the lord god forgives sins by bap baptism cism and there is another law lav that certain sins cannot be atoned for by baptism but by the shedding of the blood of the sinner query whether the people of god bo be overreaching the mark if they should execute beute tile the law to save such they used to do it anciently we would not kill a man of course unless we killed him to save him we would no not t baptize a man unless we baptized him to save hini him we would not lay hands u upon poll a man that he might receive the holy spirit only for the salvation of theman the man and every act of men having the priesthood upon the earth should be for the salvation of 7 the people I 1 am aware that there are a great many strange things connected with religion lit in one light gilt th they ey ate ase odd in another they are strange for i instance n jesus at certain times was unusually meek sneek lowly humble condescending administering ing to the sick bearing the infirmities of the people a and 11 d weeping over their distresses at another time he was whipping them out of the temple calling them a generation of vipers hypocrites ac br joseph smith was operated upon in the same manner at ti times I 1 nes he was mild meek and lowly in spirit and at other times when the spirit of the almighty rested mightily u upon pon him requiring him to chastise the people or rebuke any servant of god his words then cut to the centre Is not this the case with all men of god possessed 0 of the eternal priesthood ask the best men in the world the quorum odthe of the twelve if you please how they felt when joseph |