Show 11 0 IF by president GEORGE A SMITH delivered in the new tabernacle salt lake city may ath 1870 REPORTED BY DAVID IV EVANS it is a great pleasure to meet with the brethren again iu in conference and it is certainly very gratifying to see the people so comfortably seated with a prospect pre of enjoying the benefits and blessings of the conference even should the elements not be favorable we have a shelter and a shade it has been the fortune of the latter latten day saints never to stay in any place long enough to build a house sufficiently large to hold the people but with the blessing of the lord and the united efforts of the brethren wo we have room sufficient to hold a very large audience though no doubt occasions will still occur when we shall cry out more room and probably before our conference closes I 1 think however that we need not ask any of our brethren who reside in this city as wo we have had to do to stay at home to make room for those who maybe may be in from a distance all may come and be accommodated the acoustic properties pr wp of the tabernacle are evidently improved by the erection ot the gallery and if all who attend Conference will leave their coughing at home sit still while here and omit shuffling their feet they may have an opportunity of hearing pretty much everything that may be said it will certainly require even oven when all these conditions are complied with considerable effort to fill so large a house with one voice and that effort must be met by a corresponding effort on the part of the audience to preserve perfect stillness it was forty years ago on the ath of last month since the organization of the church took place in the chamber of father whitmer in fayette fay eay ette etto seneca county new now york with six members members the history of that forty years would require volumes to record the institution as it then commenced was in its infancy yet the lord revealed to his servant that he had laid the foundation of a great work the truth of that saying has been realized by the progress of events the changes that have transpired in connection with this people have havoc been very remarkable the work commenced by preaching faith in the lord jesus repentance and the ordinance of baptism for the remission of sins and the laying on of hands for the gift of the holy G ghost ost which was an innovation upon the creeds and practices of every other religious sect I 1 am not aware that any one denomination 1 believed in and practiced all the principles that were introduced at the organization of this church tho the first three of these principles were faith in the lord jesus repentance and baptism by immersion lor the remission of sins the next principle was the laying on of ha hands rids for the reception of the holy ghost precisely as it was pointed out by the savior and tided by his disciples in judea there were denominations who believed in baptism by immersion but not for the remission of sins they believed that remission of sins was necessary previous to baptism but they were ignorant of the possibility of the reception of the holy ghost and consequently of the doctrine of the laying on of hands the church of england it is true would confirm by the laying on of the hand of the bishops but not for confirming the gift of the holy ghost on the heads of the believers and while all the professed believers in the doctrine of christ had some portions or fragments ot of his gospel aa as revealed and established by him and hla hia apostles it was the church of latter day saints which introduced and established complete the principles of faith falth in the lord jesus christ repentance towards god baptism for the remission of sins and the tha laying on of hands for the gift oi of the holy ghost these principles aples were all important and the moment the bible was brought forth ever evar everybody could find that they coincided exacter exactly with the principles set forth by the savior saveur 0 and it required to be spiritualized spi ritualized and and changed to make it appear otherwise but the christian world had gone astray from these things and when they were restored they rejected them there were however honest persons in all of the denominations and god has respect to every man who is honest of heart and purpose though be he may be deceived and in error as to principle and doctrine yet vet so far as that error is the result oathir of their being deceived by the cunning craftiness of men or of circumstances over which such have no control the lord in his ilia abundant merw mercy looks with allowance thereon and in his great economy he has provided different glories and ordained that all persons shall be judged according to the knowledge 11 they e uledge Ml possess assess and the ule ulo us 0 they make of that knowledge n edge and according to the deeds done I 1 in the body whether rood good or evil and again we saw the terrestrial world and behold and lo 10 these are they who arg are aro of the terrestrial choss glory differ from that odthe of the church of the first born who have received the fullness of the father even as that of the moon differs from that of the tho sun in the firmament behold chese thesa are they who died without law and and also aiso they who are the tha spirits of men kept in prison whom the son visited and preached the gos gospel p ea unto them that they might bo judged to men inthe 1 flesh who received not the testimony of jesus io in the flesh but afterwards received it these are they who are honorable men of the earth who were blinded by the craftiness of men these are they who receive of his glory but not of his fullness these are they who receive of the presence of the son but not of the fullness of the father wherefore they are bodies terrestrial and not bodies celestial and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun run these are they who are not valiant in the testimony of jesus wherefore they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our god ay in opening this conference it would be weil wed for us individually to ask ourselves have we received the first principles of 0 the gospel of christ and have we continued in those principles which were first taught unto us or is it necessary for us again to lay jay the foundation of repentance from dead works it is very singular that when the principles of the gospel as I 1 have stated them were presented to the different sects they were disposed to reject them and to persecute those who preached them in their fullness such however was the fact and it is owing to this that the latter da day saints are now in the great basin of the thy rocky mountains in the heart of the american continent in the enjoyment of political and religious liberty and freedom for lor which they have sacrificed more perhaps than any other people on the face of the earth and we have the greatest reason of all people to be thankful thank fal fai to god for these blessings then jet us ask ourselves are we prepared bestowed Ee ared for the great blessings which god has bestowed stowed upon us are we living up to our callings and magnifying the same do we observe the duties which are imposed upon us by our holy religion or are we foolish enough while recognizing its truth and professing to be latter day saints to treat it with carelessness care Ss and neglect and failing to live up to 71 dur aur ur high and holy calling from the earliest days of the preaching of the gospel by joseph smith men were tried and tempted and led astray by false spirits its and doctrines of devils we find at the t commencement of Joseph josephs ts mission that m many an y who entered into covenant turn turned e d A way away 1 and some became very bitter enemies it was necessary from the very beginning that there should be a sifting for the lord declared unto his people that he would sift them as with a sieve this sifting had to continue and hence every time the latter day saints were driven scattered or otherwise persecute dit caused those who could not abide in the faith to pass quietly away or to make their wickedness manifest unto the church and unto the world but while this was going on the strength of zion was increasing it itis is said paid and I 1 pres presume urne urno correctly that oliver cowdery remarked at one time to joseph smith if I 1 should apostatize and leave the cl church lmh the church would be broken up sy the answer of the prophet was what and who are you this is the work of god and if you yon turn against it and withdraw from it lt it will still roll on and you win wirl not be missed it was not long until oliver turned away but the work continued god raised up men from obscurity to step forth and shoulder the burdens and it was hardly known when and where he be went in about ten years he came back again came before a local conference at mosquito creek pottawatomie co iowa october 1849 saud Sand aud and acknowledged his faults he bore testimony of the mission of the prophet joseph smith and of the truth of the book of mormon he exhorted the saints to follow the authority of the holy priesthood which he assured them was with the twelve apostles he said when the saints sainta follow the main channel of the stream they find themselves in deep water and always right pursuing their thein journey with safet safety y but when they turned aside into sloughs and bayous they are left to flounder in the mud and are lost for the angel of god said unto jo joseph h in in i my hearing that this priesthood shau shah remain on the earth unto the end I 1 oliver declared he took pleasure in bearing this testimony to the largest congregation of saints he had ever seen together he was re baptized and made arrangements to come to the mountains but bat died soon on a visit to in missouri this circumstance shows how little bod god depends upon man to carry on his work he does it by his own power his own majesty by his own mighty hand and for the accomplishment of H his is own glorious purposes it was thought and fet fot throughout the the world about the year 1844 that if jo seph smith the prophet could be destroyed d that would be the end of the latter r day d a y saints men conspired together to shed his bloody they sought occasion against him they madeheim made him an offender for a word they swore falsely against him and some who had been his friends turned traitors and conspired with the wicked and shed his blood jt was generally genei genel ally nily believed by the enemies of the saints that that was the end odthe of the work of the lord therul the pulpit re sounded with thanks to god that tho the ithe great aroh impostor joseph smith was slain the priests rejoiced ov over erst erIt if and though there was waa a beelin tole toie tolerably abl widespread wide spread that tha t it was barbarous to kg kill him under lie ife the plighted faith of illinois yet matthe the general feeling was that it was wasa good thing that he was dead but god had a wak gnk to perform and it did nota P pend en dupon upon tho the life of one or two individuals it was uis his work his kingdom his ch church rab his plan of salvation and he by his own wisdom and his hla own mighty hand bore it off these were the facts and these continue to be the facts and all that the latter day saints have to do is to iivo live within the confines of gods holy law and up to their privileges are we ire doing so are we walking in accordance with these principles let us ask ourselves these questions and aud i if any of us are remiss let us immediately commence to reform humble ourselves before god and be ready to sacrifice ourselves and all we have if necessary for the building up and redemption of zion and for our salvation we have come together as a conference to compare notes with each other to rejoice together and to receive instruction andlee and let iet every man and woman that has come or that manyet come lift their hearts to god in solemn prayer that his blessing may rest upon his servants that they may be inspired with a double portion of his holy spirit that the priesthood in all its life power and glory may speak forth the words of truth light and intelligence that sh alipour all ail pour comfort into the hearts of the saints and aud guide and strengthen them and illuminate their path that we one and all may continue in the great and glorious work which we have commenced may the tho lord god of hosts bless you and ld peace be and abide in your hearts that you may appreciate these things and exercise eise cise faith union knowledge power and wisdom in your walk and conduct henceforth and that these meetings may be a lessing messing TS to all who attend them s is my prayer in the tha name of jesus amen |