| Show BY GT TE 0 R G Z in the lith ward meeting souse sunday evening july 23 1880 REPORTED BY jonn JOHN office of fhe she holp holy spirit equality produced by the gospel the evil of class distinctions danger of worldly mindedness eliches aldna alone not productive of true e ha happiness A contrite iriart heart should he 6 an increase of spiritual gifts word of wisdom zhe the return to jackson dounty county while I 1 was ghere ther there was ewas a portion of the record of alma suggested itself to my mind which I 1 will read as found recorded in the ath chapter of the book ot of alma new edition the speaker then read the greater portion ot of the ath chap continuing ho he said I 1 should not attempt to get on my feet to speak to you my own thoughts though ts or my own feelings fee lingi or that which my nay own sp spirit t would suggest I 1 havo had au sufficient clent experience peri ence in my life to know that for a man to impart profitable instruction unto his lellow fellow creatures in the Capa capacity elty eity of a teacher of the things of god he must have the aid of the spirit of god without that he cannot impart that which will be of permanent Er manent profit to any one 1 I U afinow ow it is the privilege 0 of f a people situated as we VO are to know the mind and will of the lord concerning us and also when wo vo come into an ago assemblage age of this tills character to receive the instruction that is adapted to the circumstances of each particular individual and thatis that is the office of the spirit I 1 cannot tell your feelings I 1 do not know your hearts there may be secret sorrows there may be there may be doubt doubli there may be many things that olves oppress you in J jooa juul ax C w fl jy ignorant but the spirit the thin things gor of god god our hearts and his all piercing eye can penetrate the inmost recesses of our hearts and aud every thought every secret is known to him and band he can cau through the aid of his holy spirit impart to each one that portion of strength of comfort of light which each soul foul may need to strengthen it on its onward journey in the path which god our father has marked out for ua us to and unless a meeting of this kind is attended with these eit elt acts to me it is exceedingly unsatisfactory when I 1 go as a listener I 1 desire to go 90 to meeting to be fed to go away from the meeting with a feeling that I 1 have received that which will be a benefit to me in my life in the acts of my life and BO so also if I 1 speak the position of the latte rd saints in this respect is difre ditre different rent reut from that of or every other people that I 1 know of on the faco face of the earth wo profess to berve serve god we profess to have received from him blessings as the result of our oar obedience to his commandments wo we process to live by every word that proceed edeth etli etil from the mouth of god and wo we believe that this thia is a time when god speaks in various ways waya to nis ilia children maui maul manifesting his mind and will tu to them and that it is not with us acwith as with other people who wiio aro ara dependent upon that which is written dependent upon the tho bible for tile the nail and mini wini neur nour necessary to strengthen them we vve depend upon the revelations of god to us in la this tills respect our position is diff different brent from that of every other people that I 1 am acquainted fainted quain ted with and of course this being eing our position it is of the utmost importance to carry out the principles that we believe in that we should live in such a to have tho mind and aud will of the lord made manifest tous tons to us howls how is this mind and will communicated by what means is the mind and will of the father made manifest unto the tho children ell cli ildren lidren of men thero there are various ways one is he has placed in his church officers whose duty it is to instruct tilo the church yet this does not relieve the members bers of the Church from their responsibility lity it is for tile the members atthe of th church also to BO so live that when they are taught and counseled when instruction is given unto them themy that they shall be able to know whether that instruction and counsel be from god or not this is the privilege of every individual and there is no person however humble who is a member of the church who should be destitute of this spirit of or I 1 speak this light and aud this intelligence god our eternal father is the father of us all the relationship which ex ests between us and him is not confined to toa a small smail portion of ot the human family but it Is the same with all of us every individual that ia Is within the walls of this thia house tonight to night occupies I 1 ma may y say preci preel precisely sely the same relationship to our father in one sense not that all have the same responsibility not that all are required to perform the same saime duties but all occupy the same position of children and our father in heaven is our father the bei bel being n g whom we worship As god is t the h fath father er of us all we trace our descent from him our children trace their descent from him they are as much his child children reb reh as we are his children and I 1 often think in my association with my own children that I 1 would just as soon hurt the feo fee feelings eling 4 of a grown person as I 1 would one of my children I 1 think in one respect they are my equal though I 1 occupy the relationship of father to them and so I 1 feel towards nil nii now the gospel produces this sense of equality there could be no slavery where the gospel is taught in its falness and ii in its perfection there could be no distinction where the gospel is tided you read here or rather I 1 have read for you in this record that has come down to MS us 1 that when the principles of the gospel were practised practiced among the people of this land they were equal to a very great extent but when they began to violate the principles of chegos the gospel their inequality manifested itself some were lifted up in pride some looked with scorn upon their poor brethren and sisters classifications arose in society which had their origin not in virtue not in holiness not in purity noti not in nany any superiority arising from intelligence int elligen ce but because some were richer than others some bome could dress better than oth others some bome me could have better sur surround surroundings roun than others doubtless dwelt in finer liner houses bel bet narl fly alt filp r r clad and had bad probably auly finer and nicer food distinctions of this kind grew up not out of the gospel but out of the violation of the principles of the gospel wherever he gos gospel ea of the lord jesus christ is taught taught it produces as I 1 have said this sense of equal equality itys it makes the man who may know and understand the things of god feel that he is no better than his fellow man and the man who understands the tiie things of god feel that she is no better than her sister if this sentiment was practiced among us it would produce the results we find that alma sought to produce among the people and which ho he did produce by the tho preaching of the word as recorded in the subsequent verses versea to forth preaching the word as he found it tile the most off eff effectual means as described by the historian of af checking the evils that were growing among the people it would be sc so among us iu in a while if it were wore not for the preaching of the word of god and with the preaching of the word with all tile the faith all tile the zeal and all the power which our leaders are capable of exercising it needs atall it all nil to repress these inclinations and these tendencies there is something in the human heart of that character that when human beings are prospering they are apt to bo be lifted up in pride and to forget the cause or tile the corrao of their prosperity rity they are apt to forget god who is the fountain of all their blessings and to give glory to themselves it requires a constant constant preaching of the word of god a constant pleading with the people a constant outpouring of the tho spirit of god upon the people to bring them to tu a true sen sense of their real condition with all the experience the tife latter day saints have had who is us that cannot perceive this tendency why it Is constantly bringing itself into notice no it becomes in some instances quite offensive because those who are humble feel the effects of it those who are poor needy and destitute not gifted with ability to accumulate tiie tho things of this world and very frequently 1 y their hearts heart 9 aro are grieved because ue ca u s e of it there is this tendency we have havo ato contend with as a peo people p le and as individuals and ris his it is something ome we should constantly to bear bearin in mind that god has sent us here and given junto us a mission on the earth not to accumulate riches not to become worldly minded not to pile up the things of this tills world which are perishable to the injury of ourselves or to our detriment in our progress in the things of the kingdom of god Is it right that we should take care of ourselves as aa a people and vi duals certainly Is it right that weg should bo be prudent that we should take tako care of those gifts and blessings which god has given unto us that we should husband our resources J that we should bo be economical and not extravagant certainly this thia is right tills this is proper we would be culpable if we were not so but with this there is ano aho something else required and that is to keep constantly in view that the management and care caro of these things is not the object that god had in sending us here that is not tile the object of our probation god lias has shown unto this people repeatedly and there is scarce searce scarcely lyan iyan an individual member of the Church that has not had bad ence in it that he ile cun can canave cang cung give ve and he can take away I 1 havo in my mind now many instances where men of weal wealth th comparatively wealthy at least havo have joined this church I 1 and it seemed as though C there was vs a succession of events event after they joined the church to deprive them of all they had llad to test their faith apparently patently ly but to show them that god did not blvd men means for the purpose of placing their affections upon uron them and then after they were stripped hellas helias he lias in many instances began to bless them again and allowed them to have means in greater abundance dance danco than ever they had before ho he has done so 80 with this people we have been stripped of our property reduced to the last extremity for food and andhor for other necessary comforts and yet god has multiplied upon us those blessings when ho Hohas has sent us food and we have had abundance but jut the happiness of a people does not consist in the abundance of worldly things I 1 that is the abundance of food or of raiment or of houses carriages horses and costly apparel it is true that if we are relieved from the pressure of want if we have the wherewith to supply our necessities we feel better we feel a relief that we do not feel when ground down by pr p r zuo da acs rac an j dependent upon these circumstances ata att ances auces as doubtless many of my brethren and sisters have proved I 1 have proved itself to my entire satisfaction is I 1 have been in reduced circumstances been on missions when I 1 did not know where to get a mouthful to eat turned away by the people who dare not entertain me because of tho the anger auger that was kindled against us I 1 could stand standby by and weep being a boy and away fram all my frien friends ds but I 1 nevertheless th eless was happy I 1 never enjoyed myself in my life as I 1 did then thin 1 know that happiness does doea not consist in the possession of worldly things still it is a great relief when people c can have the tho means necessary for the support of themselves and families it these things and the spirit of god with them thein they aret axe blessed but the lord require requires of us dla dia brent hrent things in inthis this daytow day to what hatlie batIle he did in ancient chent days I 1 often think of it there alsa la a great deal of inequality equality in amont among us as a people not so great as described by the writer in the book of alma but still there is a great deal of inequality among ug us a great deal of pride and more disunion than there should be ThIs people are not united AS they should be there are many things existing among ug us that should be too uprooted and got not not have an existence in our mid t and what iq the reason that these things exist the reason is to bo be i found in our neglect of the principles cl ples pies we have espoused tho the lord requires all his people in these days to nin bring tin unto him a bacri fleo flee in olden times before the coming of the lord jesus we read in the bible that the people brought their offerings n s ot of oxen of sheep of fowls of various kinds these those were burnt offerings they were sacrifices the blood of animals of the people apparently were remit remits ted by their olied obedience lence to these requirements quire ments but the lord has said respecting us that the offering he ile requires at our hands is a broken brokon heart and a contrite spirit let me ask you and in asking you I 1 ask myself do you when you go unto the lord bring this 0 offering IT ering bring or do you go to god without asking him in this spirit andin this manner if you go to the lord wi a broken heart and a contrite cont rIto spirit he will show to you ali air your fa faults and all your weaknesses 3 he will bring plainly before you wherein brein you have como come short in doing his will and when you see yourself jn in the light of that spirit instead of being filled med with avith pride you YOM will feel to abase yourselves and bring yourselves down in the very dust of humility your own unworthiness will be so plain before you that if pride should come into your heart at any time you will almost be shocked at it and you will feel to put it away from you it is in this way vay that we as latter day saints should live there ia Is enough taught to ua us in the bible in the book of mormon in doctrine and covenants and by our leaders from time to time lime to I 1 lead ead us into the presence of god our heavenly father fattier we should be the most moat humble people on the face of the earth why because god in ill communicating to us the knowledge of our weakness and faults will give us humility we should be the most moat thankful people upon theearta the earth why because owing to the abundance of goda gods 1 goodness fodness ness and mercy to us and realia realizing ing it as we should do it if will fill nil us with a thankfulness that words could not lot express our one hearts would overflow with extreme thankfulness to the lord our god for the blessings that we enjoy under these circum stan ces should there be beany any murmuring notary not any auy should we nind find fault with our condition and our circumstances certainly not if jr we are living tile the religion that god has revealed to us should there be any quarrelling or fault finding ko no because where the spirit of god exists there is no di position deposition of this character there is a disposition to suffer wrong rather than to do wrong not to revile revlie not to persecute not to assail back when we are assal assailed led if it a brother comes up to me he ia is in a bad temper he says something that is annoying and I 1 lose my tamper and reply in the same spirit do I 1 do right certainly not however much the provocation may be it is not my duty as a latter day saint as a proa professed lessed fol foi lower of jesus christ to indulge in any such euch feeling or expression well but one |
