Show discourse DIS COURSE BY my erder elder joselit JF smith smithy livered LIVEnED DE at the somi semi aniual 7 conference onye renee rence on n te the mew new taberna tabernacles de salt sall lake city october ath 1873 REPORTED BY DAVID W EVANS to say I 1 have been very much interested te in the instructions instruct lous ious that we have had at this conference Is but faintly to express my feelings we have had much very excellent teaching which we will do well to give heed to 1 I cannot can not believe that the congregations that have attended this conference will cast lightly aside these teachings certain it is that all the preaching that can be done by thos who are most compe lent tent and most richly endowed with t he rhe inspiration of the holy spirit will NOR not benefit the people in the least unless they will receive it and will realize that the counsels which are given are designed expressly for themselves it is not for us to say yay does not mean m me e 11 and nd that applies to my neighbor or that has reference to the doings of so and so we should each feel that the instructions given have direct reference to ourselves individually that counsel or that commandment comman man dment is for me and it is for me as an all individual to put it into practice this is the only course that will benefit and fit us for the responsibilities that will ivill devolve upon us in the future it will not do for us to say if brother so and so or sister so and so will observe and carry out that counsel I 1 shall be satisfied to remain as I 1 am we call can not obtain blessings from god by taking this course the tile only way to secure them is by diligence on our own part when we are prepared by our own works and diligence to receive tile the blessings that god goa lias has in store for the faithful then and not till then shall we receive them it will not do for us to be satisfied for our brother to prepare himself to receive the blessings god lias has promised to his big children and to rest content with seeing him receive the light of truth the blessings of the gospel and aud manifest a willingness to work righteousness in the tile earth that will not reach us only so far as we adopt his course courso and follow his example this is ilow liow low I 1 look at the requirements which god has made upon his its people collectively and and I 1 do believe that I 1 have no claim upon god or upon my brethren for blessing favor confidence or love unless by my works I 1 prove that I 1 am worthy thereof and I 1 never expect to receive blessings that I 1 do not merit who do does S I 1 do not know that anybody does yet if we were toj toi adge by the actions of some wo we must come to the conclusion that they are satisfied fied byse byke by seeing eing 0 others live their religion i love tile the society of or the good honorable and pure of those who love virtue and work righteousness to associate and be numbered with such and to have my ny p portion rt on and ni my lot with them in in ta this ils ili life and to live leeso so that I 1 lean ean can secure that association in tile the life to come conic throughout the countless ages of eternity I 1 take no pleasure i in n the society of the tile wicked for this reason the pleasures of the wicked will cease and be forgotten and the wicked will die and will not be regretted their name names will swill be cast out from the presence of god and from th the e throngs of the righteous for ever an and dever ever 1 therefore want no part parti with them but awant I 1 want to cast my lot with those who are securing to themselves eternal riches itches and happiness to obtain blessings I 1 must ller found walking in their footsteps and aud following their examples otherwise I 1 shall shail come short this is how I 1 understand the principles of the gospel and aid ard the tho work we are engaged in in it is an individual work you and I 1 must secure the tho blessings of eternal lives for ourselves through obedience and the mercy of god we have the volition of our own wills and we can cam camrose hose evil or good the society of the tile disked or that of the tile good we can enlist under the banner of christ or under that of bella bellai we have this option and can do whichever we choose therefore we must look well welt to our ways and see that we choose the right course and build upon a foundation that will not wash away we have got to learn to stand or fall for ourselves male maie and female it is true that wo are taught in the principles of the gospel that man is the head of the woman and christ is the head of the man and according to the order that is established in the kink kingdom dom of god it is the duty of the man to follow christ and it is the duty of the woman to follow the man in lif christ not out of him but has not a woman the same volition that the man has can she not follow or disobey the man as ho he can follow or disobey christ certainly tain lyshe she can she is responsible for her acts and must answer for them she ia is endowed with intel ie c and judgment and will stac stand il a upon her own merits as much so as the man that is why the brethren during this confere conference hice fice have been teaching the sisters that they must refrain from the fashions of babylon they must use their own judgment and agency as to whether they will obey this counsel or not if they will not obey it they will bo responsible as much as the men are responsible responsibly for thedr thur acts the man is responsible for the woman only so far as she Is influenced fluen ced by or is obedient to his counsels christ is responsible for the man so far as the mail man walks in obedience obediente obed lence lente to the laws and commandments he has lias given but bult no further and so carwill far will his atoning blood redeem and cleanse from sin eo so far as they obey them will the principles of eternal life revealed in the gospel have dave effect upon the souls of menso men so also with women bo so sis do not flatter yourselves that you have nothing to answer for so long as you may have a good husband you must be obedient obedience is the first law of heaven without it the elements could not be control controlled without it neither the earth nor those who dwell upon it could be controlled the angels in heaven would not be controlled without it and in fact without obedience there could be no union or order and chaos and confusion would prevail when we are obedient we may be guided to the accomplishment men t of a all ail I 1 that is required of us by our heavenly father nor for it is on this principle that the assigns and purposes of god are accomplished the elements are obedient to his word he sa idLet there be light and there was light ligh lighther tHe he commanded the land and the waters to be divided and it was vas so when christ commanded the storm to be still and the sea to bo be calm the elements were obedient to him the earth and all the worlds which god has made are obedient to the laws of their creation for this reason there are ara peace harmony euion increase power glory and dominion which could not exist without obedience for the lack of obedience the whole world today to day lies in sin for except the little existing among this people obedience can not bo be found on the face of the earth go to the religions of the day do you find obedience manifested by the people no but you find man everywhere self willed and therefore confusion and anarchy reign it is said in the scriptures that all things are possible with god but he only works in accordance with the principles by which lie he himself is governed and hence he can not convince nations of the truth against their will As the poet says know th tills Is that every soui son soul I 1 la is rree tree to choose his liae life and what hell be for this eternal truth la given that god will force no man to heaven hell heil call persuade penu ade nde direct aright bless him with wisdom love and fight lighty in nameless ways be good and ana kind nat vat never force thee thed human mind that is the way that god deals with man way tSi 4 I 1 say he cannot work with this generation they have set him aside and made themselves supreme they nav hav fulfilled the words of df the prophet paul when he said that in the last days dap perilous dimeff should come for nor men shall shail be lovers of their oti selves cove boasters proud I 1 blasphemers blaspheme rs disobedient to parents unthankful rui rul unholy without natural affect lohs truce breakers false accuse accusers i rs in incontinent fierce despisers despi sers of those that are good traitors heady high minded lovers loverd of pleasure more than lovers of god having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof ac no one could better describe the condition of this generation and yet light has come into the tu world but it is rejected and for this reason the world lies in it sin and under condemnation the peo yeo people pie pio of god lie under tinder condemnation tio tic n too so far as they are disobedient to the counsels of gods servants we talk of obedience but do wet wel require any man inan or woman to ignorantly obey the coun counsels seig seis that are given do the first presidency require aul rett relt it t no never what do othey they desire that we may have our blinds opened and our oun understandings enlar eniar enlarged ed that we may comprehend pr ellend alstru altrue e principles nor for ourselves then we will be easily governed thereby we shall yield obedience with our eyes open and it will be a pleasure for us to do so the lord does not accept obedience frommel from fr ommen men except that which th they ey rh render der cheerfully antl and gladly in their hearts and that is all that is desired by ills his servants that is tho the obedience we ought to render and if we do not we are under condemnation dem nation what matters what the world say sax in fit regard to us nothing 1 what whal 11 at do I 1 care have I 1 spent thirty years of life with the opportunities that have been aff afforded corded am yet e t T ignorant of the way of eternal fl life ilfe f e jf if I 1 have then I 1 am to be pitied why then says the blasphemer do you yield obedience to the servants of ot god because it is meat and drink to me to do so because it is for my safety and for my best good I 1 ask no odda odds of the world I 1 have learned that it is the very best thing that I 1 can do and I 1 should be a fool indeed not to do that which is for my best good I 1 3 intend to do it and I 1 1 do not care what the world say about me Iam lam I 1 am sorry cosay to say that therease there ther eare are some of those who profess to be lat ter day saints who meet with the saints on the abbath sabbath and partake of the sacrament witnessing that they are willing to take upon them the name of christ and to follow him through evil as well as good report and yet in their hearts they oppose the plans and projects of those whom thel they pretend to uphold upheld and la sustain ustain I 1 know and could call the names of some of these men shame on them I 1 say in the name of manhood come out and show your colors say you will not bo loe obedient and anti cease to be hypocrites cease lying in the presence of god and trying bryin to deceive yourself and your brethren tell us ui what you aro take your stand where you elong belong Ta 01 and do not deceive the unwary you can not deceive those who have the spirit of god for they can discern your hearth hearts ilove hove the cause of the gospel I 1 love iove this people because ot all ail others on the face of the earth they have ve enlisted under tile the banner of of king emanuel they have co coven ven anted with god to keep ills his commandments mand ments and they are the most willing of any on the face of the earth to hearken to gods inspired servants I 1 love them for this reason and I 1 want to be identified with them not only in time but throughout eternity without them I 1 would havo no home no friends I 1 want none without them let us keep the commandments and counsels that have been given to us ug let us not be hearers of the word only but let ua us be doers of it as we well weli ll 11 as hearers let us put away the foolish fashions of the tile world live up to the truth and seek to to nind find out god whom to td know is life eternal the road to this knowledge ia ls obedience to liis ills lawsond laws and td the whisperings of the still small voice voted in our own hearts that will lead us into truth if wo we will hearken and do not blunt the monitor mio that ia Is within us let us do our duty and be for god and his ills kingdom let our motto be tho tile the kingdom 0 of f god or nothing because Inthe in kin dom there ia Is every everything thin and outside of it nothing at a all nil we heard beard here the other oilier day 1 I ay from the pre president that the gospel embraces every thing that eliat Is good and true or desirable to the pure in heart I 1 havo have said that outside the kingdom of god there is nothing but there is kom hom something ething what is it disappointment Disa sorrow borrow anguish and death and everything that will make us miserable while everything that is good desirable and worth possessing eternally is to be found only in the tie gospel of christ says one I 1 do nol not no people who are not riot latter day saints have a great many blessing blessings and enjoy a great many rna ina good thin ti lings Certainly they do they enjoy goi got gold silver and worldly honors they have a plen of greenbacks green backs houses lands carriages horses luxury and ease dives had all these in this world while lazarus crawled at his bis feet and begged for tile the crumbs that fell from his table tabie but afterward dives lifted up ills his eyes in hell and saw lazarus in abrahams bosom enjoying the good things that lie ho had for formerly pos possessed hessed in it the world and he be begged abraham to send lazarus to dip tile the tip of if ills his finger in water to alleviate ills his parching tongue but even eiren this poor boon was denied him lie he being informed that there was an impassable gulf between them and said abraham to dives in el effect reet neet when you were in the flesh you had moses and the prophets you had the gospel preached to you but you rejected and refused to obey obby it you had your good portion and your enjoy ments merits in in the world now you are denied them they are given to lazarus 11 how long do the honors wealth and pleasures lea iea 1 of the tile last until death claims him for its own then lie ceases to enjoy them because he lias has failed to cecur secure e his title to them they have not riot been sealed upon him liim by the authority of the priesthood of tile the son of god which has power to bind oil on earth and it is bound in heaven if they have wives and children when death calls them they are no longer theirs because they have not been sealed unto them by tile the power of god they do not obey th the truth they do not receive tile the ministrations of the priesthood and arid consequently they are deprived not only of their wealth but of their wives and children we are not living only for the few miserable years that wo we spend on this earth but for that thab life ilfe which isi is interminable and we desire to enjoy every blessing throughout 0 these countless ames ages of eternity but unless they aro arc sicfred secured to tous tons lis its by that sealing power which was given to the apostle peter by the son of god we cannot possess them unless we secure them on that principle in the life to come we shall have neither father mother broth er sister wife children nor friends nor wealth nor honor for all earthly contracts covenants bonds obligations ligat ions oaths vows connections and alyd associations are dissolved in the grave except those sealed and rati ratified tied fied by the power of god |