| Show biso DISO 0 TT T T 0 BY APOSTLE mm iia SIR swings or T 1 k at 4 the e general conference friday abler afler afternoon noonA april ath 1882 REPORTED BY lly 0 F gibbs 1 I 1 regard the mission of the lat ter day saints as the tho most important that bab baa fallen to the lot of man because we as the people of god live in the most important per period od of the worlds wor ida lda age the dispensation on of the falness of times in which h the god of heaven has set bet hla hia hand a second time to recover his people the house of israel to lay the foundation of the fulfillment fulfilment of the prom promises ea made to the fathers through ahro ugh moses and the prophets and to bring to pass pas the covenants made with abraham isaac and jacob ond those made with joseph the eon son of jacob concerning his seed the book of mormon gives a 4 brief history of a portion of the house of joseph who came to this land from palestine their native land and it not only gives an account of this people but it fore fofe foretells tolis tOlls their future A great future lies before thia this people in connection with the latter day work our mission is not a mission of bloode blood it is not a mission of war weir of strife or contention but a mission of peace on earth and good will to men a mission to bring life and salvation unto the children of men who will receive it a mission to make known the things that god has revealed for the happiness glory and exaltation ofris of hiis children both in this world and the world to como and what god has revealed to us which we call our out religion is not only theoretical c a I 1 but eminently practical it could not be others otherwise vIse and be the gospel of life and salvation A religion that is exclusively cala cai cal that ia is merely a matter of faith falth producing no legitimate works or fruits of that faion ia is dead there are many mahy dead forms of religion in the world and aa as a matter of course they aro arc without force and effect but the gospel of the son of God revealed anew adew from heaven in our dge uge and time and which his people nave espouse espoused dj Is a living taitu producing in ua its votaries vot aries its legitimate fruits love joy peace Vo however aver avar cwi gla wwi WI malti that we T a arn arm ahe ate anavi no L a tal tn raw examples of that living faith to the extent that god requires require 3 at our hands in this reaped it ia Is with us lisas as it was with others who preceded ue ut some gome of the seea seed haa has fallen by the way aides eide elde producing little effect in them that received it some has fallen in stony places and as anciently such rejoice for the time being but aias alas when tribulation or pr ferre perre persecution cution arkes arises there having not much depth of soil are easily uprooted some again has fallen among thorng thorns and the cares of the world and tho the deceitfulness of riches choko choke the word ord ond and it becomes un fruitful but blessed are these who break up tho the fallow ground of their hearts thereby preparing them delves by suitable reflection action meditation ji humility and hud prayer prayers overcoming tho the avil evil that la Is in them by the good that the beed seed when bown sown may take deep root and spring forth and bear precious fruit some thirty some sixty sisty and some one tine hundred fold according to the depth of the tha soil and the strength and cultivation of the mind I 1 said our religion was eminently practical as true religion cannot be separated from true practise it teaches us to visit the fatherless and the widow in their affliction and to keep ourE ours ourselves elves unspotted from the world it teaches charity and love jove one toward another and to assist to beat bear tach eath each other others ls burdens bundens and be one in christ jems jesus just before tho the Savior was offered up upon the cross he prayed to his father in behalf of his disciples loa los ica and those who should believe on him through th thoin their air oin ministrations that they might be ono one with him as ho he was ono one with the father now it ia is luite quite a fine nine thing in the estimation 0 ortho altho tho the christian world to preach about jesus and his doctrines but when it como coma to practice it lt Is quite another thing one of the main objects of tho latter day saints bis bib is to became united both spiritually and temp temporally oraby the clergymen of america who gho have been foremost in working up the late furore against tho mormon mormon people who have met in solemn solema cone conclave lava JaVe and dictated resolutions I 1 and gotten up memorials to con gress gresa and who have travelled and visited the tho noted cities as lecturers among whom may be ment mentioned lonea ionea the celebrated parson newman and the celebrated what shall I 1 say well mr hir schuyler huyler Bc colfax and others have aroused the nation and moved the members of congress Congre aa to hostile legislation against the lat ter day saints their general de cl has been that polygamy though polygamy was tb tho the a war cry was not to be dreaded like mormon unity they term it priestly influence or the influence of the mormon heir hoir archy in reflecting upon thia this decar atlon which was waa freely expressed on numerous occasions during last winter and ging zing spring in the tirades made against t the e latter day saints it has caused some curious reflections what would have been the result if the methodists the presbyterians rians the baptists baptista ats and all the prominent denominations of america had been true disciples of christ and bad had come under that rule laid down in the Sav saviors lors lorb prayer if they had all become one in christ as he was one with the father what would have been the result Met methinks binks things would be very different in the history of american govern ern ment from what we now see wo we will refer for example examples to the condition of to the late civil war and about the time the republican party incorporated in their platform at the philadelphia convention in 1856 the celebrated plank known aa as the twin relics relies in which they pledged themselves to exterminate the twin relies relics slavery and polygamy what was the condition of the religious ejects of america at that time those who are familiar with the history of those times will remember that preparatory to that great struggle E which resulted in the great civil war there hae line been a complete separation and two distinct organizations izat ions of all the prominent sects seats of america the methodist church was divided into the methodist church north and the methodist church south tho the presbyterians rians were divided into the tho presbyterian church burch north and the presbyterian church south tho the baptists baptista the Campbel Dampbell lItes ites and the other various sects beets were vere divided in like manner the mason nd prid dickson line lines as it was called was the line of division between the churches north and the churche churchea 3 south and substantially the same line marked tile tiie arh orl 1 aera aern lurn ac acra conrede con coffee fee um acy racy and northern states during the war for tho the division commenced in the tho churches and it was the various religious sects of america that worked up the war they divided one against another and brought on the war and when the northern and southern arms were marching against and slaying each other by hund hundreds reds redi of thousands every regiment and division of the tho army on both bides sides were encouraged by the prayers and fains reaching preaching of their respective chaplains of the various sects on both sides each praying for the success of bf thair arms that each side might succeed in using up the opposite side now imagine them for a moment tobo tobe lo 10 to the true disciples dis cIes cles cleb of christ miters ministers of tho the true and everlasting gospel holding power and authority from him what would have been tho the result it the lord had hoard heard the tho prayers of tho religious elements of these those two contending parties the tho only thing we can think thinh of as expressing the idea is tho the old fabia fabio of the kilkenny cats cate which it is rnald said fough fought t each other and devoured each e ch other all but the tails and they began to jump at each other erom prom tile tho results oue one would suppose that the lord heard tho the prayers on both sides to a can considerable aid sid erable ernbie extent but it la Is too toj to J berl fieri oua ous a matter to be treated in a etyle style and yet one can hardly ie the tho temptation it is so 0 o ludicrous to see fee people professing sing the same hoy holy religion to fo 10 1 0 followers of the meek and lowly jesu jesua 3 and his righteousness and preachers of his hla gospel arrayed on each side stirring up the people to war urging them on and praying to tho th earns barns god for tho the success of each others arms now I 1 ackis this an easam pie of christian vanity elich euch as the savior prayed for whon when he ashod asked the father that all that should believe on him through the words of his disciples might become fono rono even as ho lle and the father were one the latter day saints as 03 I 1 have before remarked are ara far from being 13 abet yet what the tho lord inard requires them to te fre but buts that cirit E which accompanies com pailles pallies the tho falness of the tho gospel which tho latter day have received through the preaching of the gospel and through obedience to its requirements has so far made their hearts aa as one causing them to see eye to eye and to gather together upon this land of joseph josephs i that they might learn more fully folly the ways of the lord and walk in his paths and cultivate the christian unity which the savior prayed for and this appears to be the head bead and front of our ending offending polygamy la Is ostensibly the cry but what reflecting man that is posted in jn the history of tho the times believes that this has a particle of influence upon our statesmen they admit according to their own showings showing that there is to more immorality depravity ty whoredom and the terrible consequences of the social evil in one of the great cities of the union in a single year than ha has been in utah ever since it has been founded they know this thia full well they know that we are a people of energy of industry and honest labor a people who do not labor with wi h a view and rind desiro desire to build ourselves up at the expense and ruin of our neighbors but a people who labor to gather from the element elements a around us producing the comforts of life for ourselves and fa families millem they recognize in us a people who have planted a flourishing commonwealth in the heart of the great american desert and made it possible to pop late the surrounding territories in 1817 1847 the standard of the american can nation was planted on this temple block I 1 assisted in planting it and many bround around me today to day participated in those early scenes at the same time the country lying west of the sierra nevada and between it and the pacific coast was waa held under the american flag by the mormon battalion who under general kearney captured the state of california Cal cai fornia from the mexican alexica n government and held it for the united states government until this country was ceded to the united states by treaty on the of february 1848 1818 the stars stara and stripes were planted between the rocky mountains on the east and the sierra nevadas west by mormon colon colonies le and west to the pacific coast by the cM mormon ormon onmon battalion and the country held for the american government wo we proceeded to the establishment and organization of civil government this great basin country between the mountains was incorporated into the state of deseret Da geret seret a provisional government was wets organized for the state of doe don eraa eret a vai val tym iuna iu nm was framed and adopted by the people the country was divided into coun ties and precinct precincts local government was organized laws adopted and delegates bent sent to congress to ash ask for admission into the union at the same time the gold hunters were flocking to california after the mormon battalion revealed the first gold which they brought to light sutter while dragging captain butter terba tersa mill race some of the men are still in our midst who brought about these result who first revealed to the astonished world the gold of california and who raised the first furore which resulted in thousands flocking to the pacific coast and mark marh the first colony of settlers upon that pacific coast const after the capture of that country through the valor of tho the mormon ormon onmon battalion was a mormon colony shipped from the new england states who took with them a pra printing gat lat press and planted their thein feet jeet upon the bay of ban isan Franc francisco hrco krco and there issued the california stars star in 1847 which was the first publication cation catlon in the english language west of the roky kolky mountains the first free press hailing the american flag and proclaiming american liberty the principles of free government and ami at the same time we planted a free r press in in this city whence was issued the D dusmet DESERET esmet NEWS proclaiming those principles to all the world both california and deseret presented themE themselves elves elvos at the same time through their delegates knocking at the door doon of congress praying for admission into the union the prayer of california was accepted that of deseret was rejected jesus had occasion to ask aak this qu question of the tiie jews if a son eon on shall ask bread broad of any of you thet is a father will ye give lva ivo iva him a stone or if he ask a nish fish will he for a fish give him a serpent it might lii ill become me rao perhaps to apply theo these words to our national government but the facts are that when we presented ourselves aa as the state of deseret deg Dea eret precisely pree isely on equal bootin footing 9 with that of california with equally a democratic government and republic republican arl ari constitution both of which staten states has been organized out of the old mexican states of upper california and which had been recently captured from the mexican government and presented themselves to congress on equal footing one was accepted accept eds the other rejected instead stead of granting to dea dez deseret erot eret a state government congress gave us a territorial form of government under the organic act of 1850 it Is true it extended to us certain rights of self government but to a limited extent we had the right of representation sen Een tation in the legislative assembly but those rights ts were clipped by the absolute veto of a federal governor nor indeed is the absolute veto of a federal governor the only veto held over the territorial IR legislature congress itself reserving to itself a right tight to annul the acts of the legislative assembly though receiving tho the signature of the governor but if tho the governor chooses to withhold his signature no matter how wholesome or necessary the measure it cannot become lawi laws law nor would he be under the organic act le required to assign any neason reason for it the mere whim of a man a stranger to our country who has but little if any practical knowledge of our needs and who himself is not a taxpayer tax payer probably may deprive a whole community of peo pia pla of their legal rights such is the territorial form of government governments not of all territories for with the except tion of utah and now mexico this absolu absolute to veto power does not exist on american c oll eoll other i as well as the states and the united states may mays |
