Show D TS 0 sr DELIVERED DY BY 1 JOH lohn JOHN 1 TAYLOR jn th ac C A assembly scorns sunday morning 1880 1889 v jr BY ri r t it I 1 WE wr aremel here hero today to day as we frequently ly have to do to ply the 1 last ast tribute of respect to the departed dead time with nil all its changes change and mutations bring us face to face very frequently with the ilni kind of afi tiling thing that is now presented before as us ve we come into the tile world wo ive sir struggle u r a little while with the af mairs fairs incident to human nature and by audy andy and by the struggles of the tile present are over the tile veart vealy weary yeary wheels of life standstill stand still and we go into an other state of As wise t prudent and intelligent men it behooves bovea us really to comprehend the Struer position wo occupy in relation to tile ille past in relation to the pre sent as well weil as to the future speak peael mg ing of the past we all of us haye have had our idea about a pr pre c ex ast i stence e n wo wc consider that G god od is batrak of tile the spirits of all fielli not A oui oni af thoo that fear him but of those who do not reath featH fear oear imand who disobey his laws he is tile the father of tile tilo spirits of all and as is spoken oa ofin ihmle iho tho seri berl scripture tures we aini dini are his off offspring antema and emanated naw from him lvie we came into this tilis world to attend to certain things which are designe designed d by the almighty and which in tile the gramme pro of the lord it was necessary that we should take our part tin n we had very little to do without with our comin coming here all ali things move along naturally nt but we have something som bom ething to do however with our affairs chile we are here in a state of probation pro bation but nut but about ou our r leaving in ninety niney nine nino cases out of a hundred or more than that even we have little to do with it there are certain inscrutable purposes associated with the divine pro gramme which men generally 1 not comprehend we know a very il to little tio tic of the warl worlden n L we live iise abiu and of its inhabitants abi abl abitanta tants aut but what f ra nilo how little do wo we know in rela 1 tion to the past or in rem reg regard gard to any thing pertaining to the future who n end the purpose ess eff of god pertaining to the organization odthe earth cirth say sd to commence comme eomme nce with and A wa th 0 16 peopling of f it and tile the maintain arii arli ing 0 of it or in regard to the position of tile tiie th donations conations co nations and their destiny or JA regard in igard to the world itself and the various var lous ious changes yet to transpire up odit onit onit and then who of us knows an anything J 1 thing definite pertaining to ourselves 16 ves aes or about the impulses by which we aro governed and ind actuated or of odthe powers af darkness or the powers power of light as the case caso may be with which we are surrounded how many of us comprehend tb the these e things very lvery few indeed it is the tho design of god as I 1 understand it in our coming here to give unto us bod bodies elhat that the spirits that were prea created 1 d al bg 1 dorb Torb might rna wherein iq ein eln eltty 1114 y might wight live and bals exist ceist t 2 an d inove and mt act ay aws japo corporeal if you please 5 and that according certain to inscrutable laws of rod iod god perta pertaining irling ra to tbt the tho human famil damli family yand sand and the future destiny and orld orid in 14 which wo ilvo ilive live that through the union of the tiie axy body and aud spirit 3 and their obedie obedience nee aeao 1110 to certain vertin laws which the great s riven given irton irnen for the thle guidance they might be more exalted more dl dignified igni fled flod more glorious than it would be possible possibly for them to be had they not come lil lim liere 16 in these tabernacles and combat coniti at with the various cylis to which flesh is heir under these circumstances ra acobs from time to time ho he has lias made aown irown his will to men he has in different ages raised up men inta with whom he communicated and to whom he revealed ills his will and under certain circumstances 0 to o whom he committed his law and ho he lias has made them ills his mouthpiece to the human family and through them has revealed life li feind and its principles and has unveiled the tile heavens and given man a knowledge of tile the future and lias has shown his demnati con nor evinced his hatred to evil and aud an iniquity in tilty of every kind and luvi lias shown t through them the evil effects of pursuing this course x these men in a ages c in in which they lived jived warned tid the eople people and the nations in regard to 0 ev iland have hate tried to incite them A to td goody dood and ind held heid pul put to them the principle of lives ilves eternal after aften af ter ten IV to be obtained in the celestial terrestrial or kingdoms these men and these principles which havo have been introduced by the tho almighty havo hava had hatt their more or less loss among the camj ly but there lias has been associated with this a spirit of antagonism tx to god to virtue to truth to purity to holiness and to thase those principles that were cal caG calculated lafed to elevate and exalt humanity through time and through the eternities eterniti cs that are to edme crime Thus two influences have been at work among the nations and among the various peoples af the earth in tho the dif dlf different ages sometimes it seems mysterious to the human family that thab things should bo be as they have been they do donot not comprehend the meaning or tho iho purposes or des designs hrris or oven even the law of god in fact some of these laws have leave not been made known generally to mankind permit mo me to say there are eternal laws that exist with tho the gods in the eternal world wor ds sand and from which they cannot I 1 d depart epa t and to which they are bound aoun d Mall mail tn all ali their acts lots I 1 was v ts gong going to say ay as we wp we are I 1 but I 1 will say not as we re are but as we wa ought to io be subject to the law of god in in alaoui all ail our acts and that it is ib b polut ay iy necessary that men should be placed ina in a state of triai trial thi tri aljin lii iii ft state af pf probation atlon atton it was just as necessary r y th that at satan if you please should exercise ills his power as that god should exercise llis his this is a thing athing that is not always understood by nien pien men and I 1 in fact they understand very sory little about it we are mold told however that it must needs be that there is an in opposition in in all things good and evil emil M light ight and dar darkness liness happiness ind and misery coi cof corruption P ti tion on 3 life and death heaven and hell heli we talk about a futurity and about heaven of which men have havo cp vague ideas soule think heaven is beyond the bounds of time and space it is a kind klind of poetic thought which sounds very ery cry well but nit where wh ere cre is such suph a place when we reflect upon it in our sober moments we naturally conclude that it is nowhere but men have entertained singular I 1 not notions and ideas pertaining to the future many of which have been becq erratic foolish andl ignorant and the fact is it is impossible for man unaided by the revelations of god 3 to comprehend anything about him job ays says canet thou by searching f ind find out god GO canet thou find out ui the almighty unto perfection itis it is as high as li heaven daven what enst thou do deeper than hell what canet thou know we are arc told emphatically that no man knows the things thing of god but by the spirit of god godt and how are arc they to become acquainted with these thin things unless they are in in poss possession assion of that light ligh and tand that spirit which is capable of imparting to them that intelligence A knowledge of god is out of the ken of ud uninspired inspired humanity who can draw asinethe asi aside dethe the vall vail of the invisible world who can penetrate nitrate into the future and irh orm looky giar as some men have through the dark k vista L 1 of future ages and see the p purposes of god roll on with all their in majesty and glory to consummation of which til they ey nor we nor anybody can know anything about ex copt co pt by and under tho the influence of that spirit they cannot know iti is out of their reach well what then in regard to 0 the things of men we see men blek biek ering cring enin erin gand and quarreling over religious matters aver things really that they know nothing about and that they are justas just as ignorant of as babies are arc they contend about certain principles dogmas aud and theories and get got up vp debates about them oft causing trouble in famine ind and neighborhoods often persecuting one another mid and even putting buttin 01 one le another to death concerning things that they know nothing about themselves this is all very foolish how does god feel towards the human family ho he feels ATIs that they thes arellis children what all yes the white the black the tile red the jew the gentile the heathen the christian ind and all classes and grades of men he feels interested in all he has ha dolle doile done so from the b beginning oc muing an and d will continue to do so M to the tho end he will do all that lies in his power for the benefit blessing and exaltation of tile the human family both in time and in eternity conson those laws and those eternal principles that I 1 have referred to from which lle lie 1 he 10 himself cannot deviate wo we sometimes get up feelings about parties that do not think as we do and do not believe belleve as cis we do and in d we wo are arc a apt t t to to M cast st aspe aspersions i upon them why why the seare their afna afra aurira irs would you allow everybody to worship as they pl please easse certainly what if you knew they were ere in error I 1 certainly 1 would not wish vish to control the bu human mind mindy L would not control the actions of men god does not do iti it he leaves them to their own agency to combat with tho the trials tometa tion adversities and evils of every kind that are in the world to which humanity MIty is or can be incident he put within their their reach however cerha certa certain 1 in principles las and would like to fehd tead lead them fo himself if they would be led if not lie then tilen does docs the very best with them that he can in some wine instances instance ho lie has had to come out aa a itis it is said in his fierce wrath upon the peoples and upon the nations of the earth carth and many other things have been in his pro gramme because became life with its few years is only comparatively aa a 1 if were a few moments in the estima tion of Jeh jehovah ovall ovail it is but aspan akpan a dream or a tale that is told and passed avay avas ay ay but in regard to the eterniti eternities eg tha tare to come COMO realities we have to do with hereafter that is another affair I 1 have havo bieard rd men talk about the cruelty of god just like ilke bome eomy foolish people talk abort about their fathers who knows anything about god did you ever see him hita sonic somo think jt it was very tery very cruel in him to destroy the tho world at it lood how do they know but that it was the greatest boon he could aoud confer u upon on that wicked people how do agey they know but that it was one ne of the thid richest blessings lip he could pour poun out upon their heads in sweeping them off off tile the earth and sending them into another state of existence mathen and md then shut shui them up in prison after that how H ON V do you know certainly you jou ou do not know that it is not the cae cac let us is reason for a few moments and lookyat things about as they are I 1 irwill i will te tell teli 11 them as they th ey are and as they were satan bea bere pre the lays days of the tiie nood hood obtained the ascendancy over manyuen many men and brought them under ills his rule and ond dominion he started in 14 with cain and made a murderer of him the very first thing ho did and taught him many principles of evil and he was called the great master blaster mahon mabon under the influence and power of satan he operated to thwart the designs d designs of god and to stop the tile purposes of jehovah sat satan in first started inthe in the heavens but was cast out and succeeded in obtaining a great ascendancy over the minds minds of the people whom he caused to corrupt themselves leading in I 1 them into evil folly vanity and corruptions corrupt ions of every kind so much so we are told th atthe imaginations and thoughts t of their hearts were only evil and that continually 11 what had to be lone done ione then there vere were other othen parties interested besides those upon the earth there were innumerable hosts of spirits in tile tiie heavens that had to come and take tabernacles was it proper and righteous was it equitable was it according to the th c principles of justice that those that were tere pure with their father in the heavens should command come and partake of bodies and be forced to enter into tabernacles that were the offspring of those corrupt beings who were then peopling the earth if I 1 or you had been there should we not have spoken to our father rather and said father do you see fee the cor eruptions upon tiie the face of the car ear earth yes 3 I 1 know it Is it ju just st that wd we sh should 0 uld have to go into thee these corrupt contaminated evil wicked bodies to receive our earthly parentage from them and be subject to that power and iniquity in all its phases phaes for thousands thousand or millions of years to comdoll come no says he it is not and I 1 will sweep them til cm away 1 I will dest destroy roy them they possess the tile power while w hile bile living to propagate their species but I 1 will do deprive rive them of that power I 1 wills enTin in the floods upon them and then alwill I 1 will shut them up in in prison r gon did dia he doit dolt do it chedid he did but ut before hadid he did it its ity he had the gospel el preached t to 6 them as it is now being dein bein preached and men inon clothed upon with tile tiie priesthood were sent forth amono among among the peoples to proclaim to CIO them the great principles of life and they had the gospel and the tile revelations of god and communion with their heavenly father enoch was a preacher of righteousness and numerous elders at it that talat time were sent kent forth among the people and proclaimed the principles of eternal truth and gathered the people together so that every man who would fear god and ind obey his 1 law aw and be t governed by the principles of righteousness 11 1 1 might have havo the full blessings of tile u everlasting ver tta sti ng 90 gospel ch and ile ho gathered them c n t together before destruction mine came the they were gathered unto zion and that zion was caught up bythe by tile power of god away from tile the earth and tb then on the avenging hand of god camo came upon cupan the corrupt inhabitants that were left because of their iniquities would it be proper to allow corruption eions and wickedness to predominate and the powers of satan to have the presiding influence and god to bo be left out yut 0 of f th tho the e question no therefore he accomplished hed hod what ile he did did he injure them nothey would only duly have lived a fe new few years longer r anyhow but he 11 1 1 dun dmn did not J watt want to perpetuate that kind of foll foil folly 3 wickedness and corruption that then preval prevailed ledi ledl and said eald 1 I will stop it and he stopped it lher ifer now what about the future of such people we may have curious ideas about them some think that they are going to remain in hell for ever and ew ever e r but |