| Show ad I 1 S 0 0 bees weds OY by PREIST GE arget n CHRON flor floh Z I 1 at K the c general conference sunday af afternoon arro aeril april ad 1881 t nerola BY 0 F V adlaw it la with great pleasure that I 3 meet with yau my bret brot brethren bren breD and sisters in conference confer Confor enca today to day and aed though thourl in income bome some respects I 1 am tim not feeling very eager to address ho 80 large aa na has assembled this thia af afternoon td still we all know that if we can get the tho influence and assistance of the spirit of tho lord there Is no difficulty in speaking or advancing sueh such thoughts and suggestions gest ions as are suitable it beems to me that of allmen all ali men I 1 ought to be the most thankful I 1 certainly feel exceedingly happy in being in your midst in beh beholding your faces fades in sharing sharin in your meetings in partaking of your spirit I 1 am thankful I 1 have this privilege for such I 1 esteem it I 1 have ibave been absent as you yon all know for some sixteen weeks during ing my absence I 1 have enjoyed my self very veny much that i Is considering the circumstances I 1 have had cx ex health and I 1 donot know that I 1 ever felt bettor better in my life under the ho circumstances than I 1 have during the past winter of course there has been deen been considerate consi derale discussion upon our cause and question and considerable has been said about us ui but so far aa as my individual a feelings have been concerned I 1 hava not been disabled not oora fora for a single second there is an excite ment about warfare and the consciousness that victory will eventually perch eccli upon our banners and that we aro are on the winning side that makes such a contest pleasurable I 1 know this that when everything is still when the stream is quietly flowing along without a tipple ripple I 1 begin 0 to be uneasy I 1 expect you do wo we have been accustomed now for EO so many years in fact if it max may bo be said from the beginning to contending with the turbulence of the elements to battling with angry waves eaves that it seems to kiethe ba the natural condition for us to be in at any rate we know when this thia is the case that somebody is a little disturbed about us and that some think it necessary karyto to be stirring up opposition against ua us with the activity which prevails at home in the varl vari ous departments af the work the zeal that is being manifested among the saints by the leading men in the various stakes of zion with the labors of the home missionaries the young mens and young mutual improvement associations the relief societies the bunday sunday schools and the various organizations which have taken shape in our midst together with the union of tho the people and the sending bending of missionaries sion slon arles aries abroad jn in such each numbers with nil all these things thin gs at work works tend 1117 to consolidate the people to make them of ono one heart and one mind to preach the principle plen of truth to declare to tho the inhabitants of the earth the salvation of our cur god and to leave them without ox ex cuso cum for rejecting the truth I 1 eay say with all them thew activities at home and abroad together with the building of temples a great work which devolves upon Us 88 a 4 people with nil all thom those things it is no wonder to mathat me that opposition should be fierce florce abd and that there should be a great deai deal deal deai of talk about thelmor mons wo we have been taught from tho the beginning that this would be the case tho the earliest teachings hat that I 1 I 1 L can remember were to this thia deflect leading me forward fonward aa as you were led forward to anticipate just such sueh things just buch such a warfare as that in which we are involved year by year as this thia vork volk develop 2 as tho the Vur purposes poses of god unfold do we WO see sw the literal the definite fulfillment fulfilment of the predictions that wore uttered years and years the work of gou god ago n go concerning concern lilg ilig the prophet joseph jossph smiths name bas has been known for good and evil among all the inhabitants of the earth baing being regarded b by V some as I 1 a i man divinely inspired a prophet of the tho living god his hla words treasured up as the worl words of a prophet should be and by other he is looked upon as aa an imposter r an ignoramus a man in fact too bad to live jive this joseph smith who is thus known and has alg rig this repute among various people is gradually beng being lifted vp and und made prominent aud and through IL his beins being isif lifted up and made aromi nent the name of or our god whose servant bo hia warl wa Is being glorified thus joseph joaeph smith whose predictions were uttered 60 50 years ago and from that time down until he sealed his hiir testimony with his blood nearly 37 years ago this thia joseph smith la Is being proved to be a prophet not by the ahe latter day saints nione alone for tor we are doing comparatively little to wards the vindication of hi hisiro spro views of thia this divine calling for we are a feeble people we are a people few in number but thein the inhabitants of the earth numerous as they aro arc by their words and acte are establishing the divinity of his mission and proving that ho be is the man that we have testified fled flod ho he was from the beginning to me the ways of the lord are very wonderful when I 1 thus con template them how wonderful are the lordes lorda works how wonderous wonder are his doings in the midst of the inhabitants of the earth how strangely and by what singular means he brings to pass his great and glorious purposes men using nations using governments as stems good to him to effect his hip divine purposes those of us who have havo been brought up in thia church who can remember the days datys tha are past the days of our weakness the days of our oppression the days whence when we were a broken and aud a peeled people can call to mind how unlikely etwas that the teachings we have received concerning this work would ever be fulfilled we had bad faith that they would be but gut it required the eyo eye ot faith and a heart of faith to idee see or to comprehend that they would bo be as they have been developed through the years that have intervened util n all the present time the fulfillment fulfilment nf of these teachings and predictions predict ions iong ha brought to us confirmation of our faith brought to Us more and more with tho the greatest impressiveness the truth of that which we were told and which a ai I 1 h havo hivo avo said was so unlikely to be fulfilled in the beginning this work before t it was an organized body that is when it was in its embry when but a few men had any knowledge concerning the purposes of gd god connected with it excited hatred and brought forth contention an am ob young man without worldly influence without advantageous I 1 surround inize declared that god bad again spoken from the heavens and that angels had again descended to the earth testified that the church of christ was wag about to be reestablished established re with its old powers and that the ever last ing gospel the old plan of salvation was to bo be again restored in its original purity and with it the old authority the everlasting priest hood by means of which men and women could be inducted into the church of god by the administration of athe old ordinances and receive the gift of the holy ghost with its attendant powers and blessings the mere declaration of these thinus thiap a by a young man who was thus obscure without influence without the prestige of education or birth immediately excited a fever in the neighborhood an excitement was aroused and men began to persecute him they beggan began to tell lles lies about rm him bim they began to bring false falso charges against him there was wils a restlessness begotten that could not be accounted for upon natural prIn principles Oples oi or upon anything they could bee see with their natural eyes it was entirely unaccountable his family was calumniated he be was calumniated and slandered ever act of his afe lne ilfe life was turned over and made evil of and charges of wrongdoing were hurled against him of which ho he was wag entirely innocent and for tor which there was not ven even the color or semblance of truth on next wednesday nifty fifty one ono years yearb will vill have elm elf elapsed pied since binco the church ot of jesus cheritt of latter day saints was organized it then consisted of six members not very numerous you can count them on your fingers lingers it might be thought that so insignificant a body of people would escape attention not eo sc however the whole countryside was aroused A terrible thing had taken place this thib joseph smith had dared to organize a church he had found some fomo gold plates plated hud had a golden lii bibi e he had been a money mcney digger and he be had done a great many things and at last his audacity had culminated in the a church ao at I 1 lavoi have wd said the tho whole countryside was in a flame we cannot endure this thle it is a disgrace to our city our countr country your sour township to at let such a vile fellow A ilow liow as he pai pal palta m his impositions on ori the pub uc ile we nye must put a stop toft to it n the result sl accusations wa brought before officers of the law upon every conceivable complaint the papers heralded his dis dia diagram grac throughout all the neighborhood as far as they had circulation determined to ile lie him down there are certain fabulous attributes ancor erectly ascribed to the creature cail call edthe ed the octopus or devilfish devil nish fish it is said that when it wanta wants to devour its victim it elects an inky substance that nils fills the whole water around so hat bat it can the more easily capture ca future ita its prey it was in thi manner that the pro a is and the pulpit endeavored endeavor fd to stifle the truth and to destroy thoo tho o who testified that they had received it th whole country was filled alib every kind of slander human ini im agitation agi nation was racked to 0 o invent stories they said that joseph smi h had bad tried to establish his divine calling by attempting to walk upon the water with gun cun cun arrange J planks placed a short abort distance beneath the surface of ahti water but that fortunately he bad had buen been detected in his im position they said be he had bad tried trie to raise the dead and that the man whom he arid to raise nearly die j because the apparatus which be he had arranged for him to get air be came deranged there was no end of stories told by agnor ant people vile people deluded people wicked people and evenbay even by men who called themselves ministers of the gospel you cannot think of anything that was not told that was not sworn joany number of witnesses could be obtain obtainer ej l to testify to the truth troth of those fale fal e bonds at the ame a me time it was said it woold atwould only be a little while until the system of which he was the head wot kot id burst up we have only to wait a while and bud it will disappear but it did not otdis disappear the elders eiders regardless of the slanders regardless arthe othe falsehoods regardless of the calum nies preaching the word of god preaching it in the spirit and of god regardless Begar regan dIeB of or al wi these things they went r persecuted derided their names cast cut out as evil men con ideres it almost a disgrace to talk to them if they received them into their houses bouses their neighbors looked upon them as though they were en g lepers apers what whai have you got a mormon in your house do you know wat thes thea people are travelling Tra velling without purse or scrip natheer as their thein predence predecessors i had bad done in primitive days of gospel gospe purity from town to town from village to village from hamlet to hamlet bear ing all kinds of insults and and hardships they traveled the land lifting up their voices everywhere where they had the opportunity eunity testifying in all humility that god GM had again spoken from the heavens that god bad again restored s t tb the a tru truth th in I 1 its is ancient t purity and power that god had restored a the ordinances of the gospel as they once existed d upon the earth and declaring unto the inhabitants of the earth that iod rod god dod Is a hearer of players find that he will answer their peti petitions tlona tiona when they call upon him in faith thus they went travelling velling tra through the united 8 ates and canada and afterwards cross cress ing ng the ocean to the old world pro claiming there the same truths A strange thing to be heard in great Britain Great Brita lul wh win had been heen sending bending out her missionaries by to the remotest part of the earth who considered herself as dwelling in the blaze of gospel truth and occurs occupying ing the foremost rank among civilized and enlightened national A strange thing for men from the wilds of america to come and preach to them the truth troth of heaven to tell them the contents of their thein bible as it seemed the elder nevertheless did this they had bad received the dispensation of tho ospel and eke paul they felt feit would be woe unto themia thomm thorn if they did not preach it and they went from land to land until every continent almost every land has been visited by them hem whilo while the missionaries were thus engaged the tho work at home homa did not cease per persecution at home horns was not arre arrested koed iced mobs continued to gather gither g ither together as they had done before the elders crossed tho the ocein ocean and it wa was blot hot then the cry that thebe theae mor mons were introducing patriarchal marriage which we think hurtful to our civilization that was dot not the charge in tho the early days the harges charges i urged against the saints when hey they went out west to the ot ft weme were tbt they believed in anointing and iu in laying hands bands upon the bick bleb that they believed in revelation revel that they believed in prophet prophete prop bets bete that they thy th y listened to the counsels and teach i in ings tea of prophets was not this is very dangerous danger ons but this was not all 0 it sounds very queer in these there days daya to think that on of the gravest charges made mide against the latter day saints saint by the mob that drove them from ddom their homes in jackson county was that they were yankees and I mel MeI designing gning men seeking for pretexts that would answer the purpose of in naming flaming the minds of ignorant people seized and und used this as a good ground upon which to babe design for expulsion missouri was a slave tate late and unit the iatter latter day saints wel wol e in the main new et gland peo pie they who were not were from new sew york pennsylvania and other middle states but they were known as Yan keep keer and as their oneale asserted abolitionists a bul eui tahle table people tc to be pounced upon u n and daiv vu n out the they were dr driven rv eu 0 out ut county and to get gel rid of them lilbur lieuw W boggs governor and commander in chief of t the be militia of the state of missouri is sued an exterminating order threatening the tho latter day saints with extermination unless they left the state there was one alternative left to them if they rem remained aided in th tb state apost ncy ney but Ml mis misouri favor was wag not so desirable to the lat ter tor day saints as the favor of thel itier god and they choose to abandon their homes and they marched out of the state as best they could now durine during all these years and subsequently q quent entis ly when we were being mobbed plundered and driven the lat ter tor day by saints had bad an abiding faith upon the revelations hat god hid given through brother josei h smith that the day would |
