| Show SUNDAY SERVICES the usual sabbath servi ces of 0 f the church of jesus se sus suh rt christ of tatter latter day saints were held in the tabernacle on sunday september 18 1881 issi at 2 p ni ill the choir sang as opening hymn softly beams the tte sacred dawning prayer was offered by president 1 D T mcallister the choir sang pang the sacramental 1 hymn while of these emblem emblems i we partake apostle orson pratt was the first speaker he be said paid it has been almost one year since I 1 have been able to stand up before a congregation to addres address them having been severely afflicted during that period of time I 1 am now blessed with the opportunity and privilege of occupying afew alfew alfo alfe w minutes as long iong as my health would justify in epe speaking aking a few words to the congregation I 1 am 0 O a stand u upon pun my feet it time scarcely rc able abie to sit bit ix tre le e that the e saints have havea their prayers and thai thal thairol M y behalf if they had j I 1 I 1 doubt very much fauld uld now be able to ap i you notwithstanding j Us ddll of f my body and thail that I 1 have kept so faryl fa are concern lefelt ye felt feit the same endur y the principles of truth pie of god in all my thau at had in the time of I 1 there ff nothing so pre iss las as the great grent principles of they have for the last in als y ilfe life it being 51 ye yea ire gince since I 1 was baptized 0 oc uppermost place in my heathe es the honors of thi h i have been but a very kie Ide ration fon ion with me mo aota rn k C iha the riches of eternal sal bie tie blessings aein gs of the ete tte new now coye covenant nant which timed graced the great work lord oui our god is perform lag aag mig t ty hand in the age na and live I 1 trust a and ud emeth ireth that at that which has hw a place in my inz ide ng in my thought thoughts in lobis lon don in my mind will hold hoid bold the same sama position tion as ehni shall shail fairy lairy tarry here in thi this fifty one years ago agoto to j I 1 have said I 1 entered a 3 the church then them bein bern being i ismall small Ai district strict of botin coun mi ia teof af new york the rf I the gospel and th the ich ilch we have taught d forth except within J limit of country netleen then and the morrow if I 1 live till toi jl elii dall all ail be 70 year sear of age doobe to be the average aVerit ge old tei tsi th ey are the fife years ap j tan aan an so says one of th the H tenn liters tere and if man iud rad mid nid oad reach a few years he e score ad arid tena ten it is i Is balled hailed filled up with afflic orrow and Infirm infirmity it 0 of I 1 hist however ow ener ever V er r that tha if I 1 ski fed to tarry still a till longer appo fated time errath or rather S lot ot vinie I 1 trust that my f bdie those of summering suffering inna inan M as my m mand in is m ersland ing that it that is peace esce I 1 kno know V 7 w re I 1 know the th bradon I 1 have had the aati Jest aiti ions lons ons of the spirit of th the god cod to teach m me jehs JESS all the days ot 0 h and aud thi abas ahas given me e nl rl aton atlon hence iren ceif if I 1 livel iv arty ty I 1 do not expect to toraye ha nind I 1 may ruay have hae amic afflic nay may encounter them thero I 1 i any great reat extent p I 1 i call your attention for a ag tenth tb to a subject 06 closely sely with ralth those days that I 1 I 1 speaking of the rise of h it will wili be next thurs f 54 years since te vie pro ph smith then but a lad eted d by the angel of or tb the S pate laae e the gold plates of the cormon from the hill cu as uit nit it was called in ancien ancient I 1 eted awin in the state of new va s I 1 consider 0 one of the s elous occurrences which kire kirb for the past eighteen P ito to be permitted to ob s brof teof an holy holp angel and eted in addition f to tacit prete of tilo the ground in in j fanci Yanci ancient ent prophecy a re 14 e laif half of our globe giving the peoples and nation IA this great western he be nore dore lnore imore i marvelous mar veloda tb than an any ahw ahm abas ahas ti during period what ginakes it marvellous marv marvell narvell ellous ofis i 19 that it is with revelation with that a comes conlea from heaven e authority hority god permit ord to t 0 be taken irom ib it 1 ident dent lent deposit he it was wa the angel to deliver those tj the 6 ands hands of this by b y and what object did have in perform irig thu i thing lhing ft it was to dearth 1 earth that kingdom pre the ancient prophet dan bould beset bo set up in the last I 1 4 b should stand for lor ever md koli finally become a great h and fill ule hie wh whole olo ole e earth arth be of more importance vent event was predicted to barf such a kingdom should me agod should be the author lay jay the dounda N that he should set it u up p we paek pack aek ack to tile the finding of the juthe bo boak of mormon if nek lack eventful day clay M emt nt uis his angels to con mass firm the divinity of that record to three a other persons if we go back to the time of the organization of thi this church ach we find that god has in all these matters spoken iseff we did not select the day on which this thiis kingdom should lid be organized joseph smith the prophet did not select the day but god bod pointed out the very day the very month in which this work should iid ild be performed hence it Is I 1 gods s work it was god and not man main that set up this kingdom has ha e bern an authority established in this lis its church from the day of its organization niza tion that was established by man mans mana s authority not one verv very ry authority n this thi church however ever high oi or how however ever low oi or whatever bever the nature of the calling callings might ht be whatever the duties of th the callings god has introduce od thae thai authority we have no record no minutes in our church ach where where there have been apostles sties called and ordained in this thi kingdom dom eom by mans authority it i h what we might expect any thing g else than this would not be asid bribed to the kingdom of or god the kingdom dom of god could not be set u up by man lan tan man ilan has no right to so se lee fec leven keven even the day for the tion of that kingdom man ilan has no right b to select the least officer 0 of that kingdom ia Is must all nil come 3 from heaven it was said anid that sucha such a kingdom h should be et up i p it was set bet it was set up u S according to the mind f ing to 0 his own mind not according ac cordin to the ie whims and notions of dectar 1 i or any theologians or ans any fe ed man but according to the thel mind i of the great jehovah W we have seen the progress of this king dom we have ceen what god ha accomplished during the last 5 51 years B we nye have seen his hand made manifest loest we have seen keen the king organized hot to dwell jn the place i of its particular organization and the people be scattered all ove over the world like sectarianism but a kingdom dom that should gather to cether aether er the sons and daughters of god according to the predictions 0 of the ancient prophets into one place upon i the face of tour TOUT globe to pro pre par ethem them for the mighty nd occurrences that should take place a when he should accomplish that work and how marvelous it see the hun hundreds dreda and hundred or vessels that have cros cres crossed ed tbt the ocean n the mighty ocean in perfect lafety bringing the saints of god to their r destined haven to rejoice in one body in one place in une one region in the mountains 0 ol 01 i arsel al the great back bone of the he western hemisphere if wel v may EO so term it this is all to fulfill fulfil prophecy becy but it I 1 must not enlarge upon thu subject act how happy I 1 feel that I 1 am once more after having been brought so low so near the gates of leath b how happy I 1 feel that I 1 am pe once more to lift up my voice a before you I 1 do not know tha that I 1 can cau i make you all hear but I 1 trust that my voice will be strengthened trust that my body will be astren streng strong 9 led I 1 trust that my mind as i it bas has been keen weakened at all by sic bicknel kneL may ay also be strengthened and that I 1 yet may have the humble privilege liege of lifting up my voice and testifying before thousands of pie these mountains if not abroad among ng the thie inhabitants of fathe the earth oda power it is a day in which he has has commenced to perform a mighty aty work and the fouti foundation dation i ij aready idy ady laid and ia Is quite broad and ele eie lias has quite a numerous people through ugh whom ho ile can work and a ac illish HN mighty purposes and although ough feeble in body I 1 d do not noi know but what the tho lord may 7 yet strengthen me tc te again in publish glad tidings of great oy abroad among the nations of the earth h or perform whatever dutie dutle may abe be assigned unto me by the orai oral authorities of his church ilay ay god blees bless the people of zion all ali the latter day saints scattered throughout nil ail these mountain re 15 may ile he favor us u before malay maray man years ra with a full and complete re demotion demp action tion according to the prom promise iseF 1 that t are made in his hia word amen resident president george Q cannon wa the next speaker he believed th remarks larks made mado by troth brothen brother or pratt had bad been boen u listened too with delight exar led med the pleasure he himsel had 1 experienced while listening brother her pratt was no doubt theold the tho old oid est livin living c member of the charch cht chi ach ich od i sure surely aurely y none had bad been morie faithful laiful and seif self sacrificing he go be lieveld cd that the prayers of the sain saints sainte had i prevailed r lied in Ms his being healed and 1 hoped bp 0 ra that they would con uey as gs there N was wag no iio debiro desire so strong in the heart of brother pratt prati as the tile desire to publish the thelah glad giad tid ings of the gospel it was a pleasure to listen to budh such a man the speaker alluded to the subject touched upon iby by the previous speaker viza viz the comin coming g for forth th of tb the 6 book of mormon and showed how bow that record lail laii been maligned and derided by the world and denounced as one of th thi greatest of Im imposture postures and how through belief in its divinity this people had bad been ridiculed and persecuted compared this to the pharisaic persecution of the disciples ol 01 christ for holding to the truth 0 ol 01 elis his resurrection resu erection showed how pub lie sentiment changed from age to t ae age the alleged im postures of yesterday being the accepted truth truths 0 ol 01 today to day etc and testified that even as the sentiment chroal had eb changed aged so would pie senti sent bent concerning t this his i work the book of mormon had been testified of by three witnesses one of whom is now livin gand who though alienated from the church still bore witness to the authenticity of the book the tte othe others i rs in life ilfe aiso also held heid unflinchingly to their testimony although they too had bad left the church eight others also testified to haying seen and hefted the gold plates but boe toe t ldes ides these the nook book had internal evidences of its own divinity soma of ita its own prophecies had been verl veri bed fled since it was published and were being fulfilled to Z day the speaker named some of the everts thu thus foretold including the rejection 0 of the book by most of the world its it by VIC few and the progress of the church of christ tipon upon the earth A gen general eral opinion n concerning the american indians was that they would gradually dis disappear appena before the onward march of civilization but the book of mormon predicted the exact opposite that there ther was a glorious future for the red man and that his hii despised and downtrodden down iown trodden race would yet become a white and delightsome peo P pie lie N nothing 0 hing bing seemed more unlikely th rhan than t this h ls but it would come to pass is as surely aa as god had spoken it it was for holding this belief that th mormons Mor mons were acau accused sed led of undue sympathy for the indians because we treat them as luman yuman 1 uman beings respect the their ir rights and endeavor to reclaim them from their fallen state we are excused of inciting them to depredations against the government it as fashionable to decry everything unpopular and every reformation is unpopular we might be as angels yet we won id be falsified and calumniated our religion 1 is unpopular and the virtues of this thia people are obscured by the great cloud of calumny raised against them yet this work IF is frue true me and it will illy prevail the speaker cited instances where providence had bad interposed ter posed in behalf of this deop and showed that they had thus been taught to place firm reliance upon the almighty and god had bad blessed e d the saints faints with peace and bereni serenity y of soul and through all their trials they were far happier than those who persecuted them he exhorted the saints to live in such euch s manner that they mio mia maht ht retain thi this feeling reeling and ever possess a know ledge tedge of the truth of the work they thes we were re forwarding the six who formed the nu cleous orth church in 1830 were a greater power in the earth than six who were without their testimony all ali should live iivo so a as to beable be able abie tc t bear a personal testimony ond end not no blindly follow joseph smith brig ham young john taylor or 01 my iny man and depend aloida upon ill lii his testimony all ha bm the right to know for them selves the speaker testified of th truth of mormonism and bow how the Lord was work working ing mightily in the earth to his pur poses the choir sang rejoice la tho the lord lorol elder nobert robert campbell Camp boll beil pro the benediction |
