Show DISCOURSE ON tie THE winf BOOK OF mhli BY ELDER JOHN T rion fion in tn the salt lake assembly malt hall jn sunday ay Aft afternoon emdon february 1881 I 1 REPORTED BY JOHN JORN IRVINE P the church of christ organized anciently ci en aly on thib this Continent online n t pro prep ph ey fulfilled a anu and n fulfilling preparatory y the G fathering ath lang of atz all israel Commence commenced di present M condition of the nations fore torl tc c 1 to righteousness 8 ang and and the Avoid avoidance ande of hypocrisy and idolatry having been called from tron the midst of the congregation to address this assemblage this afternoon I 1 feel my inability personally to do justice f in inthe the performance of this duty unc 1641 less I 1 am aided by the spirit of the v livingood living god I 1 earnestly solicit that joti you will exercise faith for me while I 1 shall occupy this tApp that I 1 maybo maybe max may be able to speak through the influence of that power and truthfully present the principles of the y gospel of jesus christ which th the iii latter day saints have embraced in their faith and practice so far as they understand them r there are a great many subjects connected with the plan of redemption that are of interest to all who are seeking for salvation in the kin king g dop dor arof god field Is s so sa wide idi hp fact that there is som wom sometimes i betimes great difficulty in iti selecting the class of matter 40 the cire circumstances u 1 n that thai arro surround u n d us there is however one phase of this thid work that I 1 think is specially in connection with it il my hand band a volume volu lee iVe which is for good or evil throughout the entire civilized world irethe ithe book rook of mormon the latter M days day saint claim that this book is a record of peo peoples liles that dwelt ancient ly on the face of this continent and S that it was vas brought forth in this gen gert ve ration through the instrumentality of a great prophet prophets namely joseph smith this book has not reen rean generally received in tb this Is light kinf K ln other words it hag has been so to fth far t as aa the great bulk of the world is concerned J reau repudiated di i abed as not properly authenticated not what it claims to be bel in in my travels in the world however I 1 have found very few people who could give an intelligent reason for the stand they have taken in reference to this re condy cordy I 1 have asked a great many of 1 them and I 1 presume that numbers of the elders besides myself have done the same thing whether they had perused this book and endeavor head heed bled blad to make themselves acquainted haith with its contents and also to make themselves familiar with the evidences in favor of its authenticity kluthe luthe in the majority of instances these have never as much as ws seen a book bf dof mormon now it appear appears sr to me that t this is not a proper position to bo be taken in regard to any subject by an intelligent person if a matter airworthy of consideration at all it s intelligently investigated orr oft thesis T Th jis isis s the only method by which awe kwe V e can arrive at correct conclusions in reference to religion arany or any other ssu isu t subject bleet AX fici jve we claim this book is a record or ghis whis ghi story lory of the ancient inhabitants of america the remnants of whom jj frare are now scattered on various portions of this continent numbers of them surround us in these valleys I 1 fandre are known as the aborigines of tame kame Al alca it 19 unnecessary for me tylre than allude to the fact that therond the rond roUd did exist in the ages of the past bast peoples on this land who had arrived at an advanced stage of civilization and who cult cultivated the arus arts and sciences the ruins of vast cities among which are the remains of great structures giving a mple ample evidence dence denee of this fact this testimony is pre presente t before the world and is being eon con constantly produced for the of the reading public then there was a people anciently upon this continent who were in a condition of advancement this is universally ae a knowledge d i I 1 believe by those who have considered this question when whon jesus came to ofner oner himself up ni us nn atonement tosa to satisfy the law thae that had been broken by mankind and to 0 organize his church in the landof land of palestine he did so organize what he calleri cabied cabled his church it was composed so far as its officers are ato concerned of rae men n 0 wg pa hll all U 1 yno tho wred IX y authorized and commissioned nasson by him to act in his name and to administer the principles r 1 n ci I 1 es 0 of f I 1 ife life and salvat salvation 1 0 n WE wherever ledever they went what was the nature of their com corn mission he said to his ancient apostles whom he commissioned go ye into the world and preach tb tho the a gospel to every creature he that believeth beli eveth and is baptized shall be saved but lie he that believeth beli bell eveth not shall be damned the apostles according to the power that was given to them and according to the nature of the commission with which they were thus entrusted edwen went tinto into various parts of the world and made this proclamation calling upon all men everywhere to repent of their sins sius to obey the everlasting gospel that they might be saved in the kingdom of god to come into the true fold foid of christ nobly did they perform the great work that was entrusted to them but so far fak as we are aware they did not extend their labors to this part of the he world for the peoples who dwelt on the eastern hemisphere were ignorant of bf the existence of this continent yet the lord jesus christ said to his apostles go ye therefore and teach all nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy ghost 11 now seeing there was a people here on this continent surely they were entitled to the benefits of tile gospel of the ke re deeme raswell as those who wh lived on other parts of the eart earth 1 we find that so far as the book of mormon is concerned an explanation is given in regard to how the people who lived on this portion of our globe were visited and administered to in the things of the gospel of jesus christ even as those ministrations were manifested in other parts of the world sometimes we allude to the scriptures and select passages to substantiate those things that are ane written in the book of mormon formon IN I 1 wil wll I 1 now draw the atten tiou lou of the congregation to a passage that we consider has lias reference babis to this subject which is found in the chapter of the gospel according to st john the I 1 ath and verses As the father me these are the words of the savior aleven even so know I 1 the ibe ij hS kather oather ather and I 1 jay lay down my life for the sheep and other sheep have abiel which are not of this foldi them also I 1 must 1 bring 1 and they c ll 11 hear bear my voice and there shall be one fold and adno ono one bli bil opherd shepherd ili 1 what is the nee necessary sary conclusion to be arrived at from thi this remark of the savior it is very plain and simple there were other sheep who were not of the fold at jerusalem and it was necessary filat they also should hear the voice of the savior and be brought in into the fold of christ that i there might bo be one fold andone and one shepherd the book of mormon from page to gives an account odthe of the fulfillment fulfilment of this inspired utterance of the redeemer it tells how bow after he was crucified in the flesh at jerusalem and showed himself to many of his disciples he in fulfilment of this a assertion that he had bad other sheep that he must visit them and that they the yalo also aiso must hear bear his big voice and be brought braught into the fold visited th the e an ancients cientos on this land and established his fold amongst them he performed that work on this continent among the people of whom the book of or mormon is a history or record what is the fold of christ it itch is the church of christ what is the church of christ it is an organized body at the head bead of which stand apostles and prophets that was the church of the redeemer in ancient times it was the church established by himself in palestine and it always will be the church as long as there is a true church of christ not a cevela ti onless uninspired doad formula having a form of godliness but d denying the power thereof but an organization wherein there is authority to act in the name of or him whose church it is men alen are remo rea hable HabIe upon most subjects it appears to me excepting when it omes comes to matters of religion re A great many people seem to be willing that anything should do for them in the shape shapo of religion so long iong onas it does not give them much G trouble troubie le but there is nothing by which humanity cabbe ean can be sanctified unless it he be the truth and no church can ofner offer salvation except itile the true church of christ for in it alone is the power of god unto salvation it is a strange thing that people can read the record of the new testament of the sayings of the apostles the description of the organization of the chercha Chur oha cha jt existed I 1 io I 1 its is pr prim I 1 ir L ingy N M griir t rno ano 4 then be prepared to accept of a church hurch of a different description entirely this is a day when revelation is denied when Prophet sand apostles are stated to be no longer needed thi this a is the tile position of the tiie whole of so called christendom but what do the scriptures ray ay these there inspired teachers were given for paul bays says they were given far the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of chhist christ 11 and if we say that such officers are no longer needed then we must also assume the position that the ministerial work can be safely abolished and that the body of christ which is the church requires nu no more edification flea fi tion for this was the means established ta by jesus christ for its edification fica flea fi tion and instruct instruction iou lou another purpose for which these inspired teachers were given was that we might be all brought to a unity of the faith and yet it is stated staled that those officers who were placed in in the church for that purpose are no longer needed if that assertion ass atlon were correct unity would be unnecessary jn in the chur church ch or else the church has arrived at that condition of unity when the means for bringing about that result is entirely unnecessary and can be dispensed with but no person can claim this latter position those who call themselves the church of christ cannot consistently assume this position for if there is a subject upon which men and women are divided in their views and find practices and engender towards each other feelings of or bitter animosity y it is religion and that also which is claimed eato to be the tile rell reli religion lon ion of the meek inee kand and lowly jesus chilst christ who came to fill the hearts of his disciples dis elliles with peace this was his motto thia wag was the proclamation r 0 lim Ution in his tyr lir tir birth t h gry to god in the highest and on an earth baith peace good will toward men we claim that it requires the same today today to day jay to td save men and women as it did in ancient times but to return to the book of mormon portions of scriptures can be cited which substantiate or tend to substantiate at feast the validity or authenticity of this book but nut there are other evidences that are more pot potent entin in their character in my estimation ti and these evidences are COnt contained affied within the bogk book itself it speaks for itself its teachings are in the strictest harmony with thoe those of the scriptures of eternal truth its morality is jj 8 its religion will bear the closest scrutiny in comp comparison arlson arison with the instructions of jesus himself and the A apostles astles as contained within the ilis liss lids of the bible the record that is accepted by christendom as the history of the early church but there is internal evidence of the book of mormon being what we claim it to be and to have been brought forth by the power of the living god what is the character of this evidence it I 1 is prophetic in its nature I 1 will draw the attention of the tho congregation to one passage that occurs to raymind my mind will be found on page of the latest edition it gives the words of the prophet nephi and now I 1 would prophesy somewhat more concerning the jews and the gentiles for after the book of which I 1 have spoken shall come forthm forth M that is the coming forth of this book and be written unto the gentiles and sea sealed ed up again unto the lord there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written and they shall carry them forth to the remnant of our seed and then shall the remnant of our seed know conce concerning mingus us how that til at we came out from jerusalem and that they are descendants of the jews and the gospel of jesus chhist christ shall be declared among them wherefore they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers and also to tiie the knowledge ledge edge of jesus christ which was had among their fathers and then shall they rejoice for they shall know that til at it is a blessing unto them from the hand band of god and their scales of darkness shall begin egin to fall from their eyes reyes and many generations s hall liall not pas pasi i away among them save fave they shall be a white an and d delightsome people and it shall earne come to pass f that at the jews wh which ich are scattered also shall begin to believe in christ and they shall be begin 0 ddn to gather in upon the face of the land and as many as shall believe in christ shall also aiso become a delimit acome people and it shall come to pass that the lord god shall commence celas ce his work among ailua allua all ali nations kind hind kindreds reds neds tongues and people to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earthy earth oarth A portion of this thia prediction b has as received a literal I 1 IN mif IV 19 in process of verification the tens of thousands of latter day saints render the prophecy that many sh shall a believe th the e words of th the e book an aa accomplished fact the inspired utterance purports to have been spoken over two thousand years ago the unbeliever may repudiate the claim regarding the ancient character of the record and aud ahsu assume me that it originated with joseph J ose h S smith ml eth ith but this would not MUCK much improve the position PO of the skeptic for aa as the book of mormon was wag bubli published 8 hed before the church was organized joseph smith had no ordinary means of knowing that many would believe in the amne authenticity of the book there have been many I 1 believe belleve even among the latter day saints who under t ie circumstances of the past have found it all that their faith could grasp to believe E ome iome i of the words which I 1 ha hav v e ejust u tread read in your hearing those relating to the Lama nitea nearly from the ori of this church and for many years subsequently missionaries elders eldens of this church were sent among the remnants of the ancient people of this con the aborigines to endeavor to bring them to a knowledge if their fathers it appeared however as if the efforts in that direction were fruitless that these people had fallen so low in the caie cale teale of being so depraved that it seemed next to impossible for the rays ot truth to penetrate their minds it a appeared paea r ed as if might as well dispain of or accomplishing anything as they were concerned but this is an inspired record and these words which I 1 have read to to you this afternoon were the inspired utterances of a great prop prophet het bet which must come to pass |