Show BY ZY ELDER LOEB WS vj va in the tabernacle salt sall lake MY city sunday nine june ath 4 1882 1892 keco KEtO ETED BY DY aeo OEO F V GIBBS it Is written in the scriptures that iman man by searching cannot find out aut 0 god gods and the experience of all ages ha has 9 proven the truth of this ible wo we are living in an age of great intelligence telli gence at a ime imo when the wa wise so things which have been said an and written by sage philosopher and prophet centuries ago can bo be read and reflected upon ubon and when men can bring to bear their own researches their own experience and the facilities which they have for gaining information upon the investigation vesti gation of the subject of deity yet we find that people who now live are as much at bea pea in regard to this matter aa as any people who lived in former times if wo we take up the works of the wisa visa men who live iivo upon the earth in our times and read their remarks concerning god we are forced to the conclusion that they like the people for whom they th ey write know little mile or nothing of the subject upon which they touch many years ego ago certain divines of the church of england chosen for the purpose endeavored to formulate a creed in which they tried to explain to the people what god is and after making mating a number of very ver y contradictory and foolish assertions they came to the conclusion that god is incomprehensible man by searching cannot find out god the only way whereby man can come to the knowledge of god is by communication from god sod iod and if the people receive what he does communicate uley may find out clearly and truthfully what he is and what are his designs and purposes in relation to them man iman know thyself ia is another saying not in the holy scriptures but just as good as though it were blau mau cannot know himself cannot comprehend himself any anymore more mere than he can comprehend deity by his own reflections unless the creator who mado made him and who comprehends what he was made for reveals it to him ho he cannot comprehend even his own being who is there that understands the nature of that intelligent tell teil igent spirit which inhabits the tabernacle of man A good burgeon surgeon can take the human body and dis sect it point out its various parts and their their relation one to another and name every bone and every eve ry muscle and every sinew and every eveny eve ry nerve but bat there is so something methin 9 even pertaining to the body leaving out the spiritual part of man that gives the body ilfe life which ho he cannot grasp or comprehend the vital force that gives animation to the body is beyond his ken and every man who has studied himself to any degree whatever knows that there ia Is something about himself besides the life of the body that there is superior to the body and to that vital force which animates the human frame how did that intelligent being get into his big physical nature natures and where did it come from did it come into existence with the earthly body cr gr did it exist before when the common lot of humanity comes comei and we I 1 shuffle oft off this mortal coil coll and our bodies go into the ground each part separating from the other and the elements clements go back whence they eames cames camo does this spiritual this intelligent being which inhabited the body still exist or does that dleo alao separate into particles who knows of can comprehend this by his own reflections no man unless we got some information from the neing being who made man we cannot comprehend ourselves much less can we of ourselves the being that made us the inhabitants of the earth in the different azes ages have havo had hado a great many duties they havo have formed ideas concerning god in their own minds and they havo worshipped wor shipped that which seemed to them the tho clearest representation of deity bome borne of the idols which mon ha TZ worshipped wor shipped appear very foolish to us they are no doubt indications of the low degree of development of the people who set them up aa as objects of worship but herein the cen tury among people called christians we hear a great deal about god the god of the bible the god that made man the god that rules the universe and when we ve inquire of the wisest wheat men we have in christendom in regard to thia being bhoj tell ua us that he is incomprehensible they tell teli us that ho he is an IMM emmate 21 te risi rial being whose centre is everywhere and whose circumference is now nowhere here that hohas he has nobody no body and no parts and no passions pas paa lons ions that there is nothing which can rop represent him thero there thedois is nothing ilke like him in the heavens above or in the earth beneath pd and that mans manss mind cannot grasp anything about him they i ay fay he ia is ones one and yet he is three that he is not three but butla butia is one that there are the father the son and nie hie holy ghost three separate substance substances s and yet not three but only one they eay that one of these three beings without a body had a body that one of the three parts of this being had both a body and parts and that he the sons bon was in all things like the father and v was also aho like us excepting that he was without sin ein but had bad passions as wo we have thiais the result of the attempt on the part of the wise men of christendom to find out god for themselves it is impossible and Is so laid down in holy writ man by searching can find out god the only way that can be relied upon whereby man can find out god ia is by obtaining information f from rom the almighty himself nim Him seit geIf weil well feay bay say the people but he does not communicate anything to any of the Inh inhabitants abitanta of the earth why Hs he not power to manifest maniff st himself to mortals Is he so great and mighty and eo so far above the human far fsr family rilly that he cannot reveal himell to humanity dumani ty no he used to do BO so hundreds of sears years ago ss and why does be re not do it now because the day of revelation has gone by they say aay who told them so fo the fact la Is that for a ion lon long iong g period the people have not been expecting to receive revelations from god they have not sought for them and therefore have not obtained them but we find in the old scriptures a something eom ething like this return unto me and I 1 will return unto yon sag sai bauh alth the lord even from the daya days of your fathers you have gone away from mine ordinances and have not kept them you have transgressed the laws changed the ordinances and broken the everlasting covenants now igie Ilie leburn turn unto me and I 1 will ra ro turn unto you saith balth hosts we also aiso find in the scriptures the declaration that god cha tha chanreth ngeth no I 1 that he is the gibe same bame jest yest yesterday erda erds t today and forever and we may reasonably infer that if god wasa vasa was a god of revelation hundreds of years ago he Is tho the same god of revelation today to day only the people do not inquire of him they do not seck eeck unto bim him la in the right way that they may obtain eions from him the apos apostle tle tie james declares I 1 if any of you lack laek wisdom lot him ask of god who to all men liberally and up br aideth not and it shall bo givon given him but let iet him ask hi fait falt hnoth huoth ing wavering for ho he that waver eth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed s it appears then that god may be approached that we WO may ask of him but if we do ask of him rim dim we must ask in faith wo we must be love hove if we do not believe we will nob not obtain thio this principle of faith seems to be the means of approach ing the almighty if we take up tho the bible and read how the ancients received revelation we find that they approached god by falth faith and further wo learn that when god communicate anything to them they tried to carry it out la in their practice they tried to embody in their lives those instructions an and aud d communications As brother bywater who preceded me af afternoon ter ten has quoted fear and keep lifa his commandments this is the whole duty of mad those holy men of old when they learned anything from god clod were willing to carry it out no ma mattor matter ator what the cost might be god held communion with them by means of the tho holy ghost which seems seema to bo be the na ghost which seems seema to bo be the na tural means of communication between god and man tho the word and will of god were wera revealed to the prophet joseph smith why should we not receive this blessing of heavenly communication in our day As latter day saints we have our names ease case z out as evil simply because we believe in this doctrine of receiving communication from gc bcd cd we are simple enough to believe that god will speak to people now if they will approach him in the right way men have borne borno testimony that they have received communication muni cation from above and have made known the same hame t tj us and i abing beil bell believed eved on their wo word and done ilone exactly as they directed u us s god sod has confirm conformed aed med the truth of their words word upon our hearte hearts with signs following and now we can say ouiE ourselves elves we know that god lives that thai he communicates tom tow to men en we know the channel of communication la Is opened up between the tho heavens and the earth and that the people of the thel nineteenth century by taking a proper course and exercising faith in the tho right way and being humble enough to carry into effect the commandments which the lord gives when he does manifest him self telf unto them conn cean obtain comuni cation from on high by the gift and power of the holy ghost by dreams and visions and by the visible manifestation of gods power in the midst of his people this is our testimony to the world and it is for this that wo we are opposed thia this is the ground work of the opposition applied to us in what is called the christian chriatian world for if the fact be admitted that the latter day saints are the people of god and those who preside over them are the servants of gody godf that they receive communications communication 9 from him and that hat this is dishis his church that would bo be to admit also that 01 till other churches are the churches of men and not of christ that those who minister in them aro arc not delegated of heaven and that the doctrines they teach are merely tho the doctrines and commandments mand ments of men thus our cur faith comes in contact with the established usters py a terms terns of christendom now the lord has made known to us a few simple tru truth thi in regard to our being wi ano i 0 we are w aberg h ere we came from what wa wo are aro here for where wo we are going to and what is to be our final destiny these things are not mere mero articles of faith they are gre not they are not mere opinions or sentiments but they are totis to use the language an of brother water abao lute truths they have been revealed ed from the almighty and end are his word to ua us and not the tho bay say baybo so of men god ha hm borno borne testimony of the truth of them in our own hearts dand jand nd tous to us they have become absolute truths we are net left in doubt about them thorn they are to ua us facts as palpable as the fact of our existence I 1 have not time to dwell upon this subject but I 1 wiil wid mention two or three lacta tacta thab that G ad har has made known to us and will leave them for the reflection cf tho the congregation god has made known to us up in the first place that we the real beings the intelligent chich which are in these mortal frames are the spring offspring off eff prin g of deity the children of god as much eo so as our bodies are ate the offspring of the children of men that just j abt as men and women are the sons bons and daughters of men eo so far as their earthly bodies are concerned so the spirits which inhabit these bodies aie beings bom born of the almighty god Godin in the eternal worlds this bpark spark of intelligence Intilli gence that tb at exists hithe lithe 11 1 the human form Is stricken off from the eternal flamo of deity the children of men are the offspring of god and when jesus told his disciples in addressing the throne of grace to say kay our oar father who art in heaven ho he caid said that which was absolutely true not in a spiritual or methods Me thodis veal sense but as an absolute fact god is our father and we are hib hia sons and daugh daughters tera our earthly bodies are framed in the image imago of god they aro are framed to fit fife our spirits which aro tho the offspring of god which aro are therefore ther eforo in his image according to the law that every seed brings forth its own kind A comprehension of the offspring of god will therefore lead to an understanding of god himself Hime elf elo theo 0 spiritual spi epi ritual beings now so jo upon the earth in mortal tabernacles dwelt in tho the bosom of eternity and were with the eternal father when the tho morning stars sang together and tho the sons of god shouted for joy jpy on beholding the organization of this eurth we were there and we ive joined in the heavenly chorus said the apostle john Beloved now are we the sons of god and it doth not yet appear what we a shan shall be but we know that when he shall appear we shall shail ba like him forwe for we shall shail see him cs rs he is s by that time we will bo be able to comprehend god notwithstanding tan ding the assertion of the learned cf rf the world to the contrary we W e were fent font down upon tho the earth to dwell for a time that wo we might learn the laws which govern this lower sphere that we might have a portion of it framed as a body tody in which we should dwell that in it and through it we ellit might become beco ifie acquainted with bin sin which ia Is the transgression of law and learn loarn that only by obedience io fo law is happiness possible for tho tha offspring of godi godl that ony buly by obedience to eternal laws and wholesome regulations can cau man be made happy in time and in eternity and by becoming acquainted quain ted with darkness we can appreciate preci ate the light by becoming acquainted quain quai quainter ted with pain and sorrow we can appreciate perfect biles blies and happiness by coming in contact with leathand deat hand under understanding standing it through experience wo we may way comprehend the ble bie blessings sings of life prep preparatory armory arbory to an endless existence in the presence of the father to dwell in perfect submission to his eternal laws wo we are hero for experience experiences and while we dwell iu in mortality there cro lessons to be learned and that must be le learned arnedt if needs be through suffering it is our privilege privileges while here in the school of experience and adversity far fro ui our cur ancient home to struggle up to the light from whence we came and by the power of the holy spirit to obtain a knowledge of the past a comprehension of the present senta and an of theau the future for when the spirit of truth la Is come be shall guide you into all truth and be shall take of the things of the fatherland Fat herand of the son bon and show them unto you he shall show you things to come and shall bring to your remembrance things that rr are a past ho he shall give you knowledge of the present and shall unfold fayou 0 o you jou the future ss this la Is the offida of the holy ghost in be stowing its gifts and blessings upon men now we can learn our duty we can learn jeam what is the mind and will of god concerning ua us the lord has manifested a great many things to us while in mortality which has had the effect of stirring up the opposition of the world and the powers of darkness against us this thia is a necessary experience |