| Show D P x s C ext 0 urr ura CTR S IM by jeer elder ORSON PRATT delivered in me the tabernacle Sali salt lake Zake oty y nov 1 1870 REPORTED BY DAVID wi EVANS we have assembled ourselves together this afternoon to partake of bread and also the contents of the cup to witness before the heavens that we remember the crucifixion death and sufferings of our savior that we are willing wilting to keep hla hia commandments and determined to be his followers and obey him liim to the end of our lives we have also assembled to speak and to listen concerning those things that pertain to our peace ace and welfare not only in this world ee but u t in that which is to come ve we as a people called latter day saints are a very peculiar people not only in the eyes ot of one ono another but in inthe the eyes of the world and also in the eyes of god and all the heavenly host we are a peculiar people ansome in some respects namely we believe that god has spoken and sent an angel from the heavens as we heard this forenoon and by new revelation has established his kingdom I 1 adom or church upon the eart earth h according to the predictions of the ancient pr prophets aph in this respect we are very peculiar we are also peculiar in another respect instead of remaining where we embraced this gospel among the various nations we NO have left our native lands and have emigrated to the interior of north america and have founded settlements in the rocky mountains under the most unfavorable circumstance in this respect again awain again we are peculiar there is another respect wherein this ri people eople boileve are very peculiar we not only believe eve in the jewish bible the old and new testament but we also believe in the ancient american bible called the book of mormon which no other people do believe in and hence anthis latter point we are aro regarded as very peculiar we might ight point out a great many peculiarities liari ties relating to this people but I 1 do not know that it Is necessary to mention all the differences between this people and the religious Christ christiaa lan laa denominations of the age I 1 think those already named are sufficient to render us a distinct people from the rest of mankind we believe belleve that god has fulfilled that which was spoken of this forenoon that was predicted by the mouth of the revelator john that he has jias sent an angel from heaven and by the ministration of this angel he has revealed the everlasting gospel in all its ancient purity and fullness to be proclaimed to every nation under heaven and let me dwell on this subject a little while the restoration to of the everlasting gospel by an angel for this is a peculiar doctrine and the latter day saints are the only p people eople on earth who believe in it let us now inquire for a few moments ia in what manner this gospel was resto rosto redby an angel did it come to us verbal verbally lv i from his mouth month or was there a revelation revel atlon atron communicated and written containing this everlasting gospel we testify that by the ministration of this angel bent sent from heaven in fulfillment of john an ancient bible kept by ancient prophets was brought to light the bible of ancient america of course it has a little different name we call it the book of mormon this bible contains the everlasting gospel but in order tornow to know whether it does contain this everlasting gospel it may not be amiss for me to state in a very few words what the everlasting gospel is I 1 would ifould state that the everlasting gospel must be the same that was published on the eastern continent some eighteen centuries ago as recorded in the new testament wo we and our forefathers have had a record of that gospel from ancient times unto the present but a record is one thing and the power and authority to administer it is another they are entirely distinct as much so as the history of a good dinner enjoyed oyed in ancient days is i s distinct from the partaking of that dinner in our day the history of such an event will not satisfy a mans nanya hun hunger huner er any more than the mere record of wh what at the everl everi everlasting asti astl ng gospel is will confer the authority to administer its ordinances din ances we may read when we are very hungry about the three or five thousand eating the loaves and fishes but our appetite would still remain unsatisfied it is very good lood to think that somebody else was led and ana nd had their hunger satisfied but it does us no good so far as the cravings clavings cravi of our own appetites is concerned so with regard to the nea new testament containing the everlasting gospel none could embrace that gospel from the simple fact that none was authorized to administer its ordinances after the apostles and righteous men of or ancient days who held this authority were killed dr off you might read the gospel and relate over to one another its various principles and ordinances but you could not embrace it that everlasting gospel required a man to be baptized for the remission ofris sins that is very important and everybody who believes tn in god and in jesus christ will acknowledge that the sins of men and women should be forgiven god ordained in the everlasting gospel that his creatures should be baptized for fr the remission of their bins ains but how could I 1 or any ny other person be baptized for the remission of sins if no manon man on the earth had the authority to administer the ordinance of baptis baptism lwi iia would god forgive my sins through my faith and repentance tanco tance without being legally baptized in water Is there any promise in this everlasting gospel that we can receive forgiveness gi 1 eness veness ot of sins unless we connect with our ig laith a IN baptism by immersion in water no the everlasting gospel as preached in ancient times contained no such promise read bead the record of it if in the second chapter of the acts of the apostles where it was first promulgated after the commission was given to the ancient apostles to preach the gospel to every creature they were commanded to tarry in the city of jerusalem until they received power to prea preach chAat that gospel and administer its ordinances to th tho the 0 people they did so boand and on the day of pentecost they received this power the holy ghost came upon them the whole house where thay they were sitting was filled with cloven tongues like fire and sat on each efthem of them and they iose lose up before a arge multitude of people many thousands n number and proclaimed the everlasting gospel they tiey informed the people that that despised being called jesus who whom m the jews had crucified was boh bol both lord lr d and christ they proved it effectually by appealing to the prophetic writings after having proved this fact and having convinced the people by sufficient testimony exhibited before their minds that he was really the lord and savior that he was the great redeemer and had bad come in fulfillment of the law of moses to be offered as a sacrifice the people were pricked to their hearts they were convicted or in other words faith had come by hearing the evidence presented before them and they were convinced that jesus was really and tru truly y both lord and christ and seeing the imp importance ortance and necessity of repenting of their sins they cried out in the ai anguish aguish of their hearts men and brethren what shall we do As much as to say we see by the testimony which you have presented before us that we have crucified the sa savior vior that he ire was that being that the law of moses typified we see that we have committed a great sin that our nation has transgress du eld and that we are under great condemnation now how shall we be saved can you inform us how we can receive the remission of our sins the answer was ready peter said unto them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of the lord jesus for the tho remission of your sins and you shall shail receive the holy ghost for the promise is to you yon and to your children and to all that are afar off even as many as the lord our god shall call these were the first principles of the gospel of the son of god these constituted in par panso tiso tilo far as its elements were concerned the eve everlasting r 1 astin aslin 1 gospel that va bato 4 to be brought by the tho ang angel 11 in the latter days and committed to the inhabitants of the earth you will notice that on the day of peu pentecost defost faith was not sufficient for the rd remission of sins neither was faith and repentance pen tance neither was faith repentance and prayer sufficient to obtain the great blessing of the remission of sins Thare there was wasa a sacred ordinance connected with these principles by which only the remission of sins was prom promised ased nam namely ely baptism by immersion in water after having been born of the water and justified from all their sins they had the promise of the holy ghost that is the birth odthe spirit as well as the birth of the water and this baptism of the holy ghost like all other blessings that the lord has haa promised unto the people came through the administration of an holy ordinance what was that ordinance the hands of the servants of god had to be laid on the baptized believer the penitent soul who had received the first principles of the gospel for god committed to his servants whom he called to preach in ancient days the power not only to administer the gospel int inN ingord vord but also its ordinances and spirit I 1 know that there are many at the present day in christendom who will ask what Is the use of these outward ordinances what particular benefit is it for me to go and be immersed in water or to have hands laid upon me for the gift of the holy ghost they are only outward ordinances in explanation let me say to the congregation that the blessings which god has promised in his word generally come through some act required of odthe the creature when the man with the withered hand was healed the lord did not say I 1 command you to be healed without any act on his part but he commanded him to stretch forth his hand that appear antly was an impossibility for his arm was withered powerless and he might have thought that it was impossible for him to perform the act required of him but an exercise ot faith was required on the part of chatman th that atman man cometh something I 1 ng connected with theal thoAi the mental faculties b by y which the blessing of healing hearing might be secured f so it is in regard to the blessing of the remission of sins god in order to prove that we have faitel falth faith requires ils us to be baptized for the remission of our sins if we do this he stands ready to impart forgiveness to us so in regard to the baptism of the holy ghost ha he is willing to grant this spirit to those who are willing to be obedient but if they are unwilling to receive this simpie simple act of the laying on of hands bands considering it non will willing to pour out His spirit if they will not obey so simple an ordinance he will withold his spirit this then was the everlasting gospel so far as its first sies ales ays are con concerned cerna as preached in ancient now then let us consider this thiis gospel so far as the power of it is concerned we have shown you how to obtain the remission of sins and aud the gift of the holy ghost now what are the powers of this holy ghost as promised to the believer for we have seen that the promise is not a limited one when the apostle made the promise on the day of pentecost he said the promise is to you 11 a large multitude and it is not only to you but dren 11 meaning the then rising generation and not only to you and your children but to all afar off meaning the distant nations of the earth and to all ail that thai the lord isora our god shall call every human creature on the face of tle the the earth that has the gospel preached to him has the promise r amise of the holy oly ghost if he or she will yield obedience now what are the powers of the holy ghost what are its gifts and blessings how are we to know when we receive the holy ghost I 1 will mention the scriptural account of the blessi blessings figs and gifts that pertain to the holy spirit you read the chapter of corinthians and you yon will have havea a description of the various powers and gifts of the holy ghost we there learn that god gave to every man that is every man in the church the demonstration of the holy spirit to profit withal says paul we are all baptized into the same body by the same spirit that is they were not baptized into half a dozen or a hundred different bodies or denominations of people called christians but they were all baptized into the same body by the same spirit and all made partakers par takers of the gifts of that spirit enjoying the blessings and powers of the same the members constituting the body of christ are diversified versi fied and beins being filled with the holy ghost it operates in various ways to one says paul is given through the spirit t the word worn of wisdom to another is given by the same spirit the word of riven knowledge new ledge to another is given faith by the same spirit to another the gift of healing to another the working of miracles to another prophecy to another the discerning of spirits to another divers kinds of tongues and to another the interpretation of tongues but all these work after that one and the selfsame spirit severally as he will here then we see what it ia is that constitutes the body of christ or in other words his church first those principles that I 1 have named faith saith repentance and baptism for the remission of sins then the laying on of hands an a for the reception of the holy of ghost st then when the spirit falls upon t the hurch church it diversifies all these gifts tha that are a named hamed throughout the whole body of the church this agrees with the promise that jesus made when he gave the great last commission to his apostles to preach the gos gosei jei jel el in all the world to every creature on that occasion he made certain promises to every creature that should dwell on the earth said he he that be and is baptized shall le be saved and he that believeth beli bel eveth loveth not shall be damned and these signs shall follow them that believe in my name they shall cast out devils now notice this promise was not exclusively made to the apostles they were the ones who received the commission to go and preach the gospel but the promises ro that I 1 am ant now repeating were made to all persons in the world that should believe that gospel they preached they who believed should not only have the gift of salvation conferred upon them thena but these signs shall follow them that believe in my name they shall cast out devils t they ey shall speak with new tongues a ani A if they e y take up serpents or drink a any auy de deadly I 1 y thing they shall not hurt the them and they a shall lay hands on the sick an and ana the they a shall shail al I 1 xe recover cover 11 these are the gifts of that ancient gospel the powers that pertained to the baptism of the holy spirit promised to every believer in the world these were the powers that were remarkable in the church of the living god and which constituted that church the body of christ now we will inquire where whore rebas has this body of christ been during the last seventeen hundred years has it existed among the greeks or rom roman an catholics or has it existed among the protestant denominations for the past two or three centuries no these gifts gilts have been banished from the earth for several centuries and the universal cry in the religious world of christendom is that these gifts were only intend edoor edmor the first age of Christ christianity lanit lault 11 B but u t if these gifts are part of tha tho gospee gospel you d do lo 10 them away and you yon do away with the |
