Show DISCOURSE by widar elder ORSON PR ATT AT T delivered addi acred in the new tabet Taber tabernacle salt lake city april ith 1872 reported REPORTED BY DAVID W EVANS WHEN I 1 look over this vast congregation assembled in the body of this house as well as iii in the gallery it seems to be an im in to make all hear and to give aluah all ali an opportunity to do so BO it will be necessary that the closest attention be given and that shuffling or of feet and whispering cease I 1 suppose must be congregated here something in the neighborhood or of twelve tho thousand usario per persons gons and there are but very few I 1 voices alces oi or lungs that are able to reach such agich a multitude and edify and instruct them I 1 know from former experience in speaking from this stand that it re requires t I 1 res k a great exertion of the lungs and b body od coppeak to peek peak so ag as to be understood and this Is great exertion of the thet physical system is calculated d in a very avery short time to wear weary also the mind mindi therefore I 1 may not be abl able abie to address you for any great length of timea tl timeo timea meo mea jt is two years since the tha or of the church of jesus christ on the earth forty two tears years ago on the ath day of april thee the prophet joseph smith was wag commanded by the lord almighty to organize the kingdom of god on the earth for the last time to set bet up and make malen a beginning to form the nucleus of a government that never nevor should be destroyed from the earth or in other words that should stand forever the founding of governments government Ei of whatsoever nature they may be may be considered in the estimation of somo some very honorable but there is no special honor honorl attached to a man who is called upon by the almighty to found a government on the earth for it is th e biord 1 oid ofa wh Works by him ai as an instrument using ghim hinl hini for that purpose that of course is iq h honorable perhaps there never was a wor work k accomplished among men of so great and I 1 important a nature as that of the foundation a of a kingdom that never is to be destroyed destroy bd about six thousand years have passed away since the govern government merit established by the patriarchs or by the first man was commenced here on tho earth prom that time until the present vast numbers and descriptions of governments some patriarchal in their nature others taking the form of kingdom gothers of empires andio and so forth have been organized hereon here hore on the earth eaith during that long interval of time whenever a man has founded a government he has baen greatly honored hon hou ored c not only by the generation among whom he livid and in which he formed the che government bat he has been honored generally by after generations but bat nearly all the governments that have been established have been thrown down they have been only temporary in their nature existing for a few centuries perhaps and then overthrown it is ia not my intention this afternoon to examine the natu nature re and forms forma of these various hu man governments but to state in a few words that there is now organized on the earth a government which never will be broken as aa former governments have been this will stand for ever it began very small only six members were organized in this govern menton ment on tuesday the sixth day of april 1830 that is ad cording according to the vulgar era according to the true era it was some two or three years longer the christian era that Is in common use now among the human family is ia called the vulgar era because it is incorrect jesus it Is ia acknowledged by the most learned men at the present day was born two or three years before the period that is now com corm conly called the vulgar christian era it Is also acknowledged by the greater portion of the learned men of the day who have carefully examined the subject that jesus jeans was crucified on the ath day of april and according to the true christian era it was precisely eighteen hundred years from the day of his crucifixion until the day that this church was organized why the lord chose this particular period the an anniken anni annl niven vern veri sary of the day of his crucifixion for the organization of his kingdon on the earth I 1 do not know I 1 do know that ho he has a set time in his own mind for accomplish accomplish ing his great purposes but why he s should ouid purpose in his own mind that precisely eighteen hundred years should elapse from the tb day of the crucifixion until tho the day of bf the organization of othis his church we do not know suffice it iceo to say that this is the interval that thal elapsed ed the book of ml mormon gives the exact interval from the day of uis his birth to the day or of the crucifix lo ion nand and by putting these two periods together we we caun canu ascertain phd true tine christian era there i is s a gr great groat eat dispute however among chronologist chronologists a in regard to this matter many of bf them say jesus was born the vulgar era others that he kias aias was born min two years lefore that tour four different chronologists mentioned by name in smiths bible dictionary place the period three throe years before the vulgar era others place it at four rea yea years rs before some five randsome and some have placed laced it seven years beo rothe present resent vulgar era if wa we talde taide a medium between these combined with ith the testimony of a great many who have written upon the subject we find as 1 I said before that it makes pre bisely eighteen hundred years between the two great took place namely the crucifixion and the building up of his k kingdom I 1 n g doin dorn in these latter days god ad has seen proper in the progress of this kingdom to restore to his servants holding the priesthood every key and power pertaining to the restitution of all things spoken of by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began one of the first things that he descended condescended con to restore was the tho fullness of the everlasting gospel just according to the prediction of the ancient prophets by the coming of an angel from heaven mr smith fulfilled that prediction or rather it was fulfilled to him he declares in language most plain and positive that god did send an angel from heaven and committed to him the the everlasting gospel on plates of gold or in other words lie he had it revealed to him by this angel where the plates of gold were deposited containing the everlasting gospel as it was preached reached to the ancient inhabit ants anto of tbt this american continent by the personal ministry ol of our lord and savior havior jesus christ this was tho restoration predicted by john in the alth chapter of revelations where it is declared that such an event should take place john says that he be saw in vision an angel come from heaven to earth to restore the everlasting go gospel apel no people on earth prior to the advent of the prophet joseph smith ever testified to the 0 of f johns prediction if you make the inquiry orlee of ahe various christian denominations whether catholic greek or dissenters they will tell you that no such event characterized the rise of of their churches we have wherefore flie file their testimony proving that god never fulfilled this portion of his word through them but on the contrary tha the united voice and testimony of all these chr christians i from one end of the tho earth to the other is that the bible contains the gospel and we have preached the gospel say they as we found it recorded in the bible and no angel to restore the authority to preach the gospel to baptize bap tiza to confirm by the laying on of bands to administer the lords supper or to restore or give authority to ganina organize or the kingdom of god on the earth was nr cessare ces sary 11 to this we reply the history of the gospel is one thing and the authority to preach it and administer its ordinances is another we can read its history in the new testa ment and we can also read there how the ancient servants of god organized the church in their day we can read what or 01 finances din ances they performed or administered among the children of men we can read what was needful for the organization of the christian church eighteen hundred year years sago ago we have the history of all these things in the scriptures but for some soine seventeen centuries past prior to the coming of this angel there has been no authority to preach it no apostles no prophets no revelators revelatory no visions frona from heaven no inspiration from heaven no voice of the lord has been leard heard among the nations during the long interval that has elapsed since the putting to death of the ancient servants ot or god and the destruction st of the ancient christian church joseph smith came to this generation testifying to the fulfillment of that which god predicted in the revelations of saint john the restoration of the gospel but says john the revelator when it is restored it shall be preached to every nation pation kindred tongue and people Is there any prospect of this gospel bein being 9 thus extensively preached among the tho inhabitants of the earth in this genera keneran tion we need not refer you to the missions that have been taken by the elders of this church their works speak for themselves behold this vast congregation of people assembled here and nearly all who inhabit this territory why are they here because the angel has brought the everlasting gospel and because the servants of god have been commissioned and sent forth with the sound of the gospel among the various nations and kingdoms ol of the earth and because they have succeeded in preaching it among vast numbers of people and gathering them out from the midst of the nations but it has riot not yet gone to all nations kindreds tongues and people but wait a little longer it will shortly go lorjust for just as sure as itras it bas has already been preached to fol nearly all the nations of christendom so will it go g to every other people heathen mahometano Maho and every class whether in europe asia africa or the uttermost parts of south america the frozen regions in the north or the numerous numero wt islands in the great western and eastern oceans every peoples must be warned that the great day of the lord is close at hand every people must know that the tho lord god has spoken in these latter times limes every people must know something purposes of the great jehovah in fulfilling and ac comp lishing the great preparatory to work for the second advent of the son sori of god gim from the heavens here men hen is the fulfillment of one prophecy let us now come to another john who saw this angel restore the everlasting gospel to be preached to all the nations declares that another proclamation was closely connected with the preaching of tho abo gospel what was it the hour of hla his judgment has gomey gomel come the eleventh hour the last time that god will warn the nations of the earth the hour of gods judgment has come and that is the reason why the gospel is to be so extensively preached among all people nations and an tongues because the lord intends through this warning to prepare thera thena if they will to escape the hour of his judgment which must come upon all people who will refuse to receive the divine message of the everlasting gospel we will n now ow pass on to another prophecy A another n 0 th r angel augel gel gei followed what was his hia proclamation another angel followed and he cried m ith a loud voice volee saying babylon is fallen is fallen she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath ot of her fornication ac spir spiritual igual babylon the great the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth mystery babylon that great power that has hold hoid sway away over the nations of the earth that great ecclesiastical power which has ruled over the consciences of the children of men she is to fall and is to be destroyed from the face of the earth will the righteous fall with her het no why not because there is a way for their escape now mark another proal 1 I heard a great voice says john joh from heaven saying Come out of her 0 my peo peopled out of where mystery babylon the great out of this great confusion that exists throughout alithe all ali the nations and multitudes of christendom come out of her 0 my people that yo ye partake not of her sins that ye receive not of her plagues for bersins her ber hins sins have reached to the heavens and god hath bath remembered her hee Is this being fulfilled do you see any indications of the people of god coming out ont from mystery babylon the great ves vea for forty two years and upwards god has corn coin commanded banded his people not by something devised by a congregation of divines or by human ingenuity but by a voice from heaven which has been published and printed requiring all who receive the everlasting gospel to come out from the midst of great babylon one hundred thousand latter day saints a approximately p speaking now inherit these mountain regions they are here because of this prediction of john because of its being fulfilled because of the voice that has come from heaven the proclamation of the almighty for his bis people to flee from the nations of the earth I 1 need not say any more in regard to this pro checy it is in the bible and is being fulfilled before the eyes of all people let merever me refer now to another prophecy daniel the prophet has told us that in the latter days af er the great image that was seen in dream by the king of babylon baby ion lon representing the various kingdoms of the world should be destroyed 1 and those nations should pass away and bec bee become ome like the chaff of the summer threshing floor the lord would establish an everlasting government here upon the earth the lord god saw proper to re veal to his servant daniel the nature of this government he represented it as having a very small beginning as a stone cut out of tho the mountain without hands which stone should fall upon the feet of the image aud laud they should be broken in pieces after the destruction of the feet ft all the image should fall the legs of iron the belly and thighs of brass tile tiie breast and arms of silver the head of gold representing senti tig the remnants of all those ancient nations the babylonian medes modes and persians and the greeks also the remnants of thos those that once constituted the great roman empire those now in europe and those of european origin which have come across the great ocean and established themselves here on the vast continent of the ae west all all were to to be destroyed by the force of this little kingdom to be dished by the power of truth and by the authority that should characterize the nature of the stone cut out of the mountains in the days of these kings kingi 11 says the prop prophet het bet shall the god of heaven set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed neither shall it be left to any other people but it shall stand for ever etc the prophet danler danier uttered the prophecy joseph smith by authority of the almighty fulfilled it so far as aa the organization or setting up of the kingdom was concerned let me refer now to some other prophecies I 1 do not want to dwell long iong upon any of them we are told in the prophecies of isaiah that before the time of the second advent when the glory of the lord should je bo revealed and all flesh should bee see it together there should be a zion built up on theearta the earth the prophet gives the following exhortation to that zion 0 zion thou that br ingest good tidings get thee woe up into the high mountain here then is 11 a prophecy that in the latter days god would have a zion on the earth before he should reveal himself from heaven and manifest his clory glory to all people and the people called zion |