| Show SERMON dermon BY ELDER ORSON OKSON PRATT aug 28 eszo REPORTED BY ny G D WATT I 1 evill will call the attention of the assembly to the tho last chapter of ath and ath verses behold I 1 will send you vou you elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day ef f the lorland Lor dand he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers lest I 1 come and smite the earth with a curse I 1 do not feel this morning to make apologies particularly but present myself before you because lecause I 1 am requested BO so to do feeling that I 1 am fulfilling the of my office and calling to comply with the he requests of 0 those set to preside there is one subject which I 1 will briefly touch upon as a kind of preface to my remark sand that is in relation to ones ing himself as a servant of god to preach the principles of eternal truth we should not study beforehand the precise subject upon which we will preach or the precise language that we shail use in treating upon any subject but laut this does not preclude the idea of a mat mals mats s informing himself upon all 01 subjects this I 1 lave often thought is not nut understood as it ought to be by the of this church there are aro many perhaps who feel a dlo dio tion to neglect all improvement of mind thinking that if they are placed in a position where they are called upon to preach that goi goj will give them not only the subject but the language al alboan soan goan a everything thin g pertaining to the duties of their ca calling I 1 zery gery ings as public bublic speakers altho aitho we are tau taught gh t that we ve are to take no thought beforehand fo forehand d what we say yet we are nowhere taught in the revelations of god to let our minds run down our understandings und erst and ings inge and our judgment to be spent in idleness without treasur ingup the things of the kint kingdom dom of godf god and storing up useful knowledge know lege indeed we are commanded in the revelations of the most host high directly to the contrary from the idea which has prevailed among some souie we e are commanded over and over again to treasure up p wisdom in our heart s continually tip up the words of eternal life continually and make inake ourselves acquainted not only with ancient revelation but with modern to ourselves our seles acquainted not only with things perta pertaining filing to time but with things pertaining to eternity to make ourselves acquainted it not nol ot in regard to things of earth but also in regard 0 to o things that are in heaven beaven to inform ourselves upon theories principles laws doctrines upon things that are ara at home add and upon things that are abroad and the same samo alm aim almighty i gaty being who has commanded us to do these things has commanded us to take ngi ns thought beforehand what we should say for every well instructed scribe we read in the new testament jestam ent int bringe bri ngeth tb out of his bis heart things both new and old it is not the ill instructed strud ted scribe it is not the person who does riot not study it is not the person who suffers his time ta to run to idleness but it is that man that iris itse instructs tracts himself in all thires within his bis reach so far as his circumstances and abilities will allow such guch a one will bring forth before his hearers things that will edify in relation lalion re to old times and also in relation to the present and future thin things s both new and old more oyer cyer we read that the holy ghost shall give you in the very hour what ye shall say what need then inquires one is there for a person to inform his mind if the holy ghost will give hira bira jn in the very hour what he shall pay say ay iti is not every man tb thit it hai haa sufficient fathio obtain that amount of the holy spirit that will bring the subjects the ideas the language avd the system of the subject all before his hia mind abonce there abere ar ane are e but a very few persona persons which ever lived llred upon this earth that have hare had sufficient clent faith to obtain all this fullness 4 f these gift and an it isone bisone great reason why the tie f lord bas baa commanded bie his servants to toi instruct n themselves because of the weakness of their faith then if they have fulfilled this commandment they will have more confidence in god but if they baye bare neglected this com corn rn moan roan dment what confidence have they that the holy ghost will be given to them will the lord bestow his holy spirit upon i an unwise and unfaithful servant upon one who disobeys his commandments who sits himself down in idleness and will not attempt to inform his mind upon all subjects within his bis reach if any person supposes this they are greatly mist mia taker but if iche he tries to fulfill the coin corn mand ments of god making himself extensively ac acquainted with the attributes of that being I 1 whom he worships if it he tries to become acquainted quain tinted ted with all useful subjects he will then Ei have hava ave faith he can then go before the lord and ask him for his spirit to in the very hour that particular subject which he be has previously informed himself upon and to bring it forth before the people in a proper light and in a proper manner but without this his efforts will be in vain it is most likely that an individual who has disobeyed this commandment instead of preaching by the ghost will preach by his own wisdom and he will tell you yon about ten thousand things which the holy noly ghost never puts in hi his s heart he be will preach about ea so i many things that it will be impossible for the enlightened among his congregation to see anything in liis fits ideas that will be calculated to edify or instruct I 1 have made these preparatory remarks particularly for the benefit of my brethren of the ministry for I 1 know the ibe difficulties they encounter when they go abroad I 1 have been abroad with several companies of missionaries from this place and I 1 have haie seen them lament and mourn and have heard beard them tell 1 ing inga 0 oue one e to another saying 0 that I 1 bad occupied my time tima me that I 1 have spent as it were in folly in treasuring up tip the principles of eternal life that I 1 had studied the scriptures that I t had made myself acquainted more wore Exien extensively with the doctrines of the church that I 1 had made myself acquainted with those principles revealed from heaven eaven for our guidance I 1 should then have been prepared to stand before the inhabitants of the earth and edify them with regard to our principles ly I 1 have heard these lamentations for months after they were in their fie fit fields ids of abor labor and I 1 have really really been astonished at the idleness of those thos e w who 0 are growing up tip who expect to be servants of god and to occupy occue y a conspicuous us place in the kinga kingdom of god I 1 know many of us can plead some sort of ot an excuse the hard labors we have to endure in irrigating ting the soil in penetrating the mountain kan kenyons one for wood and timber all these thines things laye kaye have haye a tendency to fatigue the body and the mind BO so that we have bare not the same opportunity for information that we would have bave if we were more at leisure atter alter all cannot every man look back upon many hours that have been spent in foolishness nesb ness perhaps in going golff to dancing school orin going to parties wherein there is ii no particular profit not only hours but days are spent that might hava been use used for better purposes consequently you have not a sufficient excuse to justify you in spending your time in idleness idle nebs having made these remarks we will now call your youn our attention to the words of our text how far I 1 may on the present occasion treat upon the subject that is laid down in the text lext I 1 do not riot know L alwill will endeavor to treat upon it as far as my mind shall be opened by the holy spirit and ind if any other subject is presented to me isbell I 1 shall bhail follow it and deviate from the subject couched in the text behold I 1 will rill end you ou elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the lord and be he shall turn the hearts of the he fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers lest I 1 come and smile smite the earth with a aulse curse what great and dreadful dread ful fol day of the lord is meant in the words of our text wai was it the great day of the coming of our savior id in the fresh ish to make it an n atonement for the children of men Is there nothing contained in the tle last chapter of malachi that will give us a clue to that day that will give us an understanding of what is breant by the great and dreadful day aay odthe of eLord theford th lord go back to the beginning of that chapter and you will read something like this behold the day cometh that shall burn as an oven and all the proud and they that do wickedly ll 11 mali khali be as stubble leand and the day that cometh s shall all ali burn them up saith the lord of hosts that it shall leave them neither root nor branch but unto you that fear my name shall the son of right righteousness anise arise with healing in his wings and ye y shall go forth and grownup grow prow up like calves of the stall and ye shall tr tread ad down the wicked and they shall be ashes under your feet in the day that ledo I 1 do this saith the lord of hosts were thee things predicted in relation to the first coming of the Messi messiah ail all no all the proud and all that did wickedly in that day were not consumed as stubble and the righteous iid ild lid did not go forth and grow up like calves of the stall and tread down the wicked A aa ashes under the soles of their feet at the first coming of oun our lord then surely this coming of our lord had bad rela reia relation flon floa to the great and terrible day the day of burning the day in which wickedness should bf b entirely swept from the he earth and no remnants of the wicked left when every branch of them and every root hoot of them should become aa as stubble and be consumed from the face of the earth that is the terrible day that was spoken of by the prophet before which a certain messenger was to be sent behold I 1 will send you elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of 0 the lord who was elijah eiljah the prophet he was a man that lived upon the earth some 2500 years ago he was a man of got gois that had bad power to call down fire from heaven and consume his enemies enem es you recollect on a certain occasion that the king cf of israel sent up fifty men to take elijah the prophet that he be might be slain elijah went tip up and sat on the top of an bill and d when those fifty men approached him they said come down th thu u man of god etc elijah said if I 1 be a man of god let fire come from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty fire descended ant ani and they were consumed another gitty fitly were sent and they repeated the arme amme same aroe mockery and the prophet of god repeated the same if I 1 be a man of god let fire descend from heaven and consume thee also and thy gifty fifty and it waa was done that same man of god was in his day filled with faith with confidence in glod god and was armed with the power of god and on a certain occasion he came forth before the israelite Israe lits and said to them how bow lonc long dodou halt between two opinions if god be god sire him if baal be god serve him how shall israel test the matter how shall the laople know whether god is really the god of israel or baal bay say elijah I 1 will tell you how to test it you gather together all the prophets tn of baal into one as and let them offer an offering unto their god baasland Ba aland I 1 as a prophet of the other god will offer an of ferine and if baal answer answers R by gir fir then he be shall be the he true god pod but if it the god that I 1 elijah worship answers by fire then he shall be the true god they concluded d to put t the fhe thing to a test ao so they assembled the prophets of nial baal some four hundred and fifty in ri number timber nto into one grand assembly and they killed a bulloc kand hand laid it upon the altar ami anti commenced crying to baal 0 baal hear n they were very earnest and very zealous in their cries and petitions to baal but bilt no voice no ria answer jno fires descended from baal to bonsu consume ne the sacrifice by and by the prophet prophet elijah began to mock them said he cry aloud for be is a god either he is talking in g or he be is pursuing or be is in a lourney journey or peradventure he must be awaked cry lon derand they did BO so and cut themselves with knives and lancets lancers to excite the compassion of their god but with all their linued all daylong day long iong they could obtain no voice no revelation no answer no messenger no by dyard byard ard and by elijah the prophet killed a sacrifice fi ce and built an altar of stones and laid his sacrifice upon the altar and told them to turn out oli olt water in great abundance into the troughs bs around about the altar after which elijah merely offered up a simple petition to the god of heaven the true god and anti behold fire fell from heaven beaven and devoured the sacrifice and not only that but it con consumed the water itself and all things pertaining to the sacrifice were consumed by the fire that descended from heaven many of the people were convinced that baal was not the true god and that the prophets of baal were false prophets what mastbe wasta result this true pro prophet het said gald to them take those prophets of baa baal and slay every one of thelmao the mso mao mso they went to work and killed all the he prophets of baal by anti and by this same prophet went forth into a certain place followed by elisha knowing that the time tims was come for him to be taken from the midst of israel and behold there appeared a chariot of fire and horsemen and it came down town from heaven and elijah wast was placed in the chariot and waft ed to heaven body anti and spirit flesh and bone then elijah ignot dead if we could have a view of the heavenly host at the present day we would see elijah there but he is a to be sent from heaven on a mission to our earth behold I 1 will send you elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the lord shall come we need never look for the coming of the son of god for the day when he shall suddenly come to his bis temple and sit like a refiner of silvor silver and as with fullers soap to purify and purge the sons of leviy levi etc until elijah eiljah the prophet is sent buttee but bui the great question is haa baa he be been sent if he basat must have been of a very recent date for the great and dreadful day of the lord has not yet come for there are still wicked men upon the earth what is the testimony of the prophet joseph smith we believe him to be the prophet of the fhe lord in this great and last sst sat dispensation we latter day sainta saints believe this fact what did he testify in the kirtland temple after it was built and consecrated and dedicated uno unto the lord of hosts ile he testified that he in connection with others had the ministration of elijah the prophet who appeared to then in great glory you can read this thia in the history of joseph smith the ibe prophet we can read all afi the instructions that were given in relation to his particular mission we cannot suppose that that great prophet is coming comine down upon the earth to wander about among the nations and to continue in this wicked world ithe it he is sent at all he be will be gerit gerlt se serit sent rit with power and authority 0 like other angels sent from heaven the same aut ant authority botty that thai is upon himself on coulp the 64 hat hit they may ao fort tort 1 hold hoid ing |
