Show BY ily ilder ELBER ERASTUS som SOT at the general conference on bron baon uon mon vt day afternoon april ath 1 1881 ml BY GEO F I 1 desire to be heard beard not that I 1 am ambitious of speaking but if I 1 speak I 1 desire that my strength shall not be unnecessarily taxed one of the ancient ex of the christian religion said that the gospel was the perfect law of liberty I 1 believe it and if I 1 take a text at all that is my text the gos goo go pel as understood and expounded y the savior and his an elent apo apos ties is a perfect law of liberty Svery thing pertaining to fh file 0 spirit of the gospel as taught and expo ekpo expounded 11 eded and practised practiced by the savior havior am an his disciples tended to liberty jlii 11 the revelations that god eve evet g ve to man from the be ginning 0 j A i e world tended to liberty the emment ov which our heavenly ilea lica venly I 1 lit ift her ther t has exercised or attempted to exercise over his children on the thee e i th or in the heavens has hag not in the least tended to restrain or abridge them in their liberty but rather to enlarge aitto it to extend it jointure Jo to insure to preserve and maintain ithe it 4 r th 0 gospel of christ and all au ol 01 the rev of god to man have bave sought bought to mark the line of distinction between liberty and license between correct principles of government and anarchy or oppression and slavery oppression and slavery are the result of sin and wickedness violations of the principles of the everlasting gospel either by the rulers or ruled or both and generally both true freedom of mind and body and true liberty even the enjoyment J oy merit merkt of human rights ia Is founded and maintained and rests upon hu inan integrity and virtue and the observance of those principles ples plea of truth on which all true happiness and true freedom is founded sin was never righteousness nor can be license was never liberty nor can be misery was never happiness nor can be and yet because of the blindness and nd ignorance of bome some never appear to be happy only when they thoy are perfectly miserable and there are some people too who think they are always in slavery and bondage unless they are trying to get themselves into trouble and they think there is no true liberty only in acting like the devil the nihilists nihilisms lists of russia hussla the socialists of prance france and their sympathizers in america including the ibm liberals ibe rals nals of utah are panting for liberty they are restive under the restraint of order and law they are opposed to government and like the i french socialists and communists they would destroy jehovah himself hind and behead the king and burik hum up parliament and assassinate every representative of powering power powe nind rind and government and when they had reduced the country and themselves to an simy they would look upon their condition as the acme of freedom and human liberty the world today is drifting in this direction including our own liberal america if if we take a retrospective view of the dealings of god with wilh his people whom hoin he recognized and who acknowledged now ledged his laws and among whom he raised up prophets and with whom he established his covenants we will find that teat they have been the freest of all peoples that have existed on the earth the students of the bible and the book of mormon know this to be the tha case they know that the first king that ruled over ancient israel was chosen at their own earnest solicitations citations soli when they began to apostatize from god and to despise his counsels they know that amuel samuel the seer who judged them in righteousness and who taught them faithfully the ways of the lord jamesly remonstrated with them when they clamored for a king hing to go out and in before them to that they might be aa as other nations who were around them samuel foretold the results that such a course tended to bondage that they were but forging the links of the chain that would bind them and deprive them of freedom he labored long and arduously to dissuade them from it but they would not listen to him and yet they were not willing to consent for anybody else to make them a king but that thai same samuel and when he had prayed sto to the lord the I bord ord told him to hearken to the toce of the people I 1 in n all that they i say gay unto to thee dorthey for they have not rejected J thee but they have rejected moe roe e that I 1 should not reign over them samuel muel muei di du dia A as the lord commanded him and israel was ruled over by a king of their own choosing but the heavens were dis displeased eased with them for BO so doing any ant and you who are conversant with bible bibie history are familiar with the troubles and sorrows that befell israel in consequence bence of this de ture jure from the ways of god and facture Far those hose who read the book of mormon find the same spirit breathed through ou t that book boob Thep the people epplein in th e days when they were willing to listen to the voice of prophets and inspired men filen were the and best of all people but when they began egan to apostatize and harden their hearts against the words of the ard alad and the counsel imparted to them by his servants they began to drift i with sin and oppression and bondi age anarchy shall I 1 say is the worst of all governments no anarchy Is the absence of all government ern ment itis it is the antipodes of or der it Is the acme df bf it is the result of unbridled license the antipodes of true liberty the apostle paul says bays truly for there is no power but of god the powers that bo be are ordained of god bodis at first this la Is a startling statement even the monopoly of the one man power as in bussin It or th the tha p monopoly of the tile aristocracy as in other parts of europe or the imbecility and sometimes stupidity ofa of a republic like our own ia Js tar far better than no government at all and for thi this reason says the apostle paul the powers are ordained of god not that they are always the best forms of f government for the people or that they afford liberty and freedom to mankind but that any and all forms of if government are better than none at all having a tendency as they do to restrain the passions of human na ture and to curb them and to establish and main maintain order to a greater or less loss degree one monopoly I 1 is bet ter than many and wad the opp oppression of a king is tolerable but theop the oppression P res of a nio mob moh eliere every man is a law to him bim himself self relf and his own right arm is his bis power powen to enforce his own wil will is the worst form of government athe the tho etoris of extremists clamoring for human freedom arga are all tending in this derea tion and those who clamor for human rights bre are ah aa a general thing the first to trample them underfoot under foot 1 I mean those who are the most loudmouthed loud mouthed their ideas of freedom are all ali on their tongue they conceive of bf no freedom only when they wield the sword or dictate terms to td others bt fiers the gospel of ane son of god extends to the world that perfect law of liberty found ed on truth and ana a proper appreciation of those principles that tend to the largest possible hap bap happiness to humanity it restrains mankind not in be the benj ay anent oi 01 freedom and liberty but from min efforts to deprive their fellows of df it in other othen words the power which god has sought bought 0 to exer exercise clae eLse and which he has r recommended and auctioned is 18 only to seize the arm that is raised to fell his fellow and to stop atop the loud joud ton toti gue of the raging maniac that would destroy the peace of his hi fellowman lowman fel fei fellow man would seek beek to build himself up zip on oil the ruin of others there 16 no system of government ever over instituted among men that is weil well calculated to give and maintain hunan human freedom and at the same bame time to restrain the vices ilces and excesses of fallen humanity as the government of the gospel sought to be establish ed by the savior and his apostles wo we heard quoted this forenoon the word so at god spoken through the prophet joseph 0 b a and which are and abw always ays nys wil wll I 1 rep be in force among this people to the effect that the powers of the priesthood are inseparably connected with me the powers kers of heaven and cannot be exercised in nily any degree of unrighteousness that the power of that man departs from him when he attempts in the least degree to exercise an unrighteous dominion over his granv power or dominion except that power of truth and of persuasion found ed upon it the teachings 0 orthe f fihe the ibe savior in relation to the settling of difficulties arising among brethren in the church of christ through visiting them and talking frankly one wig wiz with another explaining and expounding to each other until they hey come to an understanding of all troubles that may arise among members of the church and in cases ewes of disagree ment invoking the aid and council of visiting priests and teachers to act in the premises as peace reace maker sas helps to the parties to arrive at a pro proper er under standing constitute the best best method of and adjusting the differences of mankind thit that has ever been instituted agreeing with the experience of bishop hunter who has often baldy baidy baid eald that no cases of difficulty are eo so thoroughly and effectually settled as those that are disposed of in this way this Is the chief labor of the visiting priesthood among the tiie people of god and yet the enemies of this people prato prate a great deal about the oppression of the phiet hood there Is no pope or bishop priest or clergyman or ecclesiastic belonging to any sect on the earth so far as my knowledge extends 4 that Is so EO approachable as the president president and apostles and priests and bishops and elders of this church whose hearts and ears are open to everybody to hear what everybody every body has lias to say aay and to give it due weight in all patience and long suffering to enlighten and teach them correct principles that they may act honestly with each other and secure each other the greatest possible ibie ible amount of liberty freedom and ild ba happiness mastle s the same may be said of the domes tie tic relations in the family circle 1 twill will not say with wicked men with men that are naturally tyrannical having the spirit of tyranny and oppre oppression don born in them but I 1 will say may that free men and women who wiio arc imbued with the spirit of the everlasting gospel who are living iu in polygamy mat that they manifest a greater degree of parental affection and of conjugal love and evince greater earnest desire to promote peace yace and happiness and comfort and liberty and freedom to caell each member of their families than nt at least the great majority of the families of the christian world and as I 1 have often said and I 1 am a as well Re acquainted with polygamous families in utah as perhaps any other man in consequence of my traveling constantly among the people and mingling with them that as a miff the polygamous families of utah are the best regulated families irl in the tiie land and they enjoy the greatest dorret degree of ba happiness iness and freedom unity feli tell fellowship 0 asp ap and love and e fer for correct principles our foum be regenerators would feign lit liy anul anil make us believe that unless we all go to the polls and vote ther their ticket we are baves to id the priesthood 9 that because wech we chose to vote for 1 ou wr friends wo we are doing the bidding v ut the priesthood yes and so wo we are the priesthood has bas always taugh taught us that we would be fools fool lnig indeed fu to vote for our enemies for those who would rob and plunder us for those who would riat only rob us financially but would steal from us the common rights of citizenship were it in their power to tu do BO so and yet forsooth because we voie vole vote for our friends for men in whom we have bave confidence they say we are prie stridden etc and what does it all ali mean why we want you mor mormons cormons mons to vote for us that V we 6 ml may get our arm into the public fue nue treasury ury for we are too lazy to work all who are acquainted with the administration of ot affairs in maii utah know that the affairs of gov emment both territorial and county and also municipal are the most economically administered of any other territory or state in th the e union that there is not one delinquent or baso of ot embezzlement to where there are ten in any other territory or state and yet our would be regenerators are exceedingly ino ing ly angry because we wiil not vote for men nien to misrepresent us and our pur interests at the seat of government because we e do not squeak when they squeak because we do not when they take snuff VL whis this his they call liberty and there are perhaps some of cur own people who are eo so far befogged that they run with this class of men they read their twaddle so much and they become so much be clouded that they think it is necessary in order to td filow show th belr mau man manhood liend to vote vole for their enemies becatti because co if it they do not ote for their enemies they will be put pui down as cmor IMor i laves slaves 11 and this would be too much for them they could not hot stand to 0 o much NOW row thinking men understand the object of all this cry it is prompted by the same spirit that we st bie sie e man i 1 bested by the extremists almost throughout the civilized world it is true rrue there is a great deal of oppression in the world and these men pe ste it and they wish to improve tiling but do not know how bow and instead of commencing to rectify what ia la wrong w rong tong in own hearts and in their own families and then extend their thelt ip influence fluence for good to those immediately around them instead of using moral suasion and showing a go 0 example they turn to and undertake 6 rt ake to god like ilke the thed dejl eyll trying to right things th the wrong way f fhy by casting down everything jn in the form of order and government nt producing anarchy and ruin instead like the idiot who because he lie himself was houseless having to sleep bleeg on the doorstep of some rich man atit the torch to the rich mans palace and destroyed jt amli can demolish and destroy it requires wise afien men to build I 1 said of the ancient people of god I 1 say of the latter day Saints there is no people capable of appreciating truo true liberty and of understanding the principles on which it Is found foung ed and who know so well how to maintain them lacunae we have sought jt in the ga gospel pei pel which we e have received and every man who has hag ha received the spirit of the gosp eland whole heart Is warmed with the love of it Is preparing ma hi heart bearl and is using ins his influence to educate the people to understand tha the true principles of human man freedom uund arid the tho meana means by which they carl can U be maintained AU I 1 say saya as prest preat joannon has hag said referring ib to what the prophet joso jose 6 to told d HE lie that the pime ilme would woula come hen the extremists of the land a tid fid who hr are undermining the fabric of freedom and little by little breaking under foot the guarantees of human liberty which ac h have been raised up by py our heavenly father through the instrumentality mentality of wise men whom he be raised up to establish the institutions of our country countr yi these extremists of the land i are im gradually dually anjer undermining thos those e safeguards of human liberty and plotting to 0 o carry earry carry ou their nefarious designs idi iri it their eo eri deavo ring to oppress the people 0 god and to destroy the in institutions of heaven |