Show DISCOURSE ir nr MB ELDER JOSEPH F SMITH AT goe TOE furdy sixth semiannual semi annual of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints ibe new tabernacle f salt sall lahe lake city on 04 wednesday mor mot morning ning oct 6 1875 inq REPORTED M BY DAVID W EVANS IT is always a source of pleasure to me to meet with my brethren and sisters in the gospel covenant I 1 oice olce exceedingly in the gospel of jesus christ and that I 1 have the privilege of being numbered with the saints of latter days I 1 am thankful for the blessings that we enjoy as a people in these valleys I 1 feel grateful for the many evidences we have experienced of gods merey mercy and protection I 1 am thankful that I 1 have been able to see his hand in our deliverance from the powers and machinations of our enemies from bioni the earliest period of cur existence as a people and I 1 am thankful that I 1 am able to see the he hand of the lord over us at present as conspicuously and as clearly as at any former period of our history we read in the revelations that have come to us through the prophets both ancient and modern concerning ceril cerii Dg the purposes of the lord in the latter days and the restoration of the gospel to the earth by a holy angel that it is to be preached to every nation kindred tongue and people under the whole wa heavens that every son and daughter of adam shall have tha the privilege of hearing it embracing it partaking of its blessings and of being saved by its power we read that the lord is going to do this work and nd that he is going to cut it short in righteousness that it is hi his s design to gather out the honest in heart those who are willing to hearken to his counsels and obey his laws it ia is his design to gather all such out from the nations of the he may makor maker of them i a people worthy of his n name ami and his blessin blessings as and prepare them to meet him when wien he shall come to make maue aphis jewels when he shall rhall come to take vengeance upon the wicked and ungodly who know not god and who keep not his commandments upon the earth the hand of the lord has been visible in the gathering together this people for the last twenty eight years yes for the last lorty tive live years and no more so in that than in everything connected with the ufa labor laborg of his servants their counsels unto and ana their guidance 0 of f the people by the inspiration of the almighty that was in them from the very beginning at no time timp in the history of thia thre church has the hand agthe of the tho lord been withdrawn from this people his power shor shortened or his eye slept but his eye has been befi upon us bisand his hand has been over us and aud his provi dences haye baye been in our favor circumstances have been over buted for good the hand of the enemy has hits been turned away paralyzed the efforts of the wicked destroy to lo us have resulted in our rood good and in their thele the irown own discomfiture the tho greater the iho efforts on the part of our enemies to destroy esthe us the greater the growth of the church and kingdom or agod god and the closer has our union been the better have we been able to see the hand of the lord over us and the inspiration of the almighty in the counsels of his servants and the more have we been inclined to respect and abide by the counsels given the very fact that the spirit of bitterness in the h hearts 0 of f yee tee tho the 0 wicked toward us at the present time is alvir as virulent alent as it ever was and is every eveny way similar to that manifested against the former formen day saints against the sa sal when anen he was upon the earth andi and against aiki albi alki this his disciples or the people of dod god in any former age of the world 1 I is an unmistakable evidence that the ibe lord god almighty is with us today to day as much as he ever was pin gin pineo pinco the tho organization of the church oras much as 11 lle lie ever was with any people he ever acknowledged as hi hin bin since the world began I 1 do not belleve believe there ever over wasia was a people who were guided by levela tiou or acknowledged of if the tho lord as his people that were not hated and the wicked eked and abid the corrupt aud and perhaps no people were ever more persecuted than this people would be if it it were in the power of the enemy today to day to persecute us as it was in the power of nero and the romans to persecute the tho saints in their day there never was waa a time when it was more fixed and determined in the heart hea rt of the wicked to fight against and destroy the kingdom from the earth than now and their failure will be due only to the impossibility of the task they have undertaken and this is an evidence to every one that possesses the least spark of the light of the holy spirit and should bo be to all mankind that the kingdom domhof of god is established that his hla priesthood js here thal that the saints or many of them are magnifying their calling and honoring the priesthood and also alo the lord both with their lives and with their substance which are his for my part I 1 do not fear the influence of our enemies from without out AS 1 I fear that of those wow from within an open and avowed enemy whom we may see and meet in an open field is far farle oarie less sato to be feared than a lurking deceitful treacherous enemy hidden within us such as are many of the weaknesses of our fallen human nature which a are re too often orten allowed to go unchecked bee bec be louding clouding our minds leading away our affection from god and his truth until they sap sal the very foundations of our faith and debase us beyond the possibility or hope 0 of f redemption either elther in this world or that to come these are the enemies that we to battle with they are aro the greatest that we have hava to contend with in the world and mhd most difficult to io conquer they are the fruits of ignorance gener genet ally arising out of sin bin I 1 and evil ovil in our own hearts the labor that is upon us is to subdue ou our r passions conquer our out inward foes and see that our hearts hearm are right in the sight of the lord 9 that there is nothing calculated to g grieve his spirit and lead us away from the path of duty I 1 1 those only who possess the liht leht of the spirit of god and the faith of the gospel which can only be possessed through faithfulness and obedience to the requirements of heaver heaven can discern and know the voice of the true shepherd when they hear it we need not expect tobe to be able to discern the right from the wrong the truth troth from error and light from darkness unless our onn eye Is r and we havo haro declared oura ouri ourselves oure eires elves for god and has work if we are divided in fix our thoughts affections and interests teresta In like the rest rett rest ret t ol 01 the world we need not expect to comprehend compre hen 0 the will of the lord when made known to us no how bow powerfully or direct directly y it may come it will be all the same to u us s unless we ara are ard in a 0 position to receive the light and the truth when it is offered unto us what shall we do if we have neglected our prayers let us begin to pray it if we have neglected any other duty let fib fis us seek unto the lord for his spirit that we I 1 may know wherein we hava havo erred and lost our op opportunities ties or let them pass by us uhl unimproved proved let et ua us seek unto the edid lo 10 rd in humility u nit hit determined to forsake everything th n that would on be an obstruction ruction to our our oar receiving the intelligence andlee andl andu be light that wo we need and an au answer to aur zur our iray pray prayers that we may y bip tip approach him that his ears cars will be open td OM our petit petitions lons lous 1 that his hib heart will val be turned 4 an mercy that afir our oun sins bins may be roi foi forgiven kaven given dar our minds enlightened by the influence and ind power powen of god may comprehend our duty and aud hate have c disposition to perform its iti it not to postpone 14 it not to set eel it aside norto say in our hearts we must serve the world or the beyll a little lon ion tord we are not yet prepared to serve the lord fully to give up our evil etil habits to lay aside this and that folly aud and walk straight forward in duty daty we must sow bow a dew jew more wild oata before we can ful fal fully rully lyanake inako up our minds and lind determine upon berving berting the lord and doing his bia will upon earth carthas ear thas As it should be done doue and as we know how to do itle we but yield obedience to the 06 light that hab has come in to the world butchen we see bee what Is necessary tope tobe done it becomes our cur duty and we should go to with all our might and do it no matter what our orr desine desires s maybe may be to the contrary whatever comes comte from tho the priesthood by inspiration we should be willing abic fo receive as tho the counsel of the tho almighty which we must musi of necessity obey and execute in order that we may be accepted of him hirn this Is a lesson that we as gods people should cheerfully learn do you yon think my bre brO brethren hinen boren si aud and d sisters that vre we can climb up gp some other way or corenter enter enten in at soma some come other door do you think that we can cap take the things of god and bring them to our oun standard or square tho principles of the gospel of jebus Jesus christ by ayour our rule do you think th that we would ever eter adm zvi succeed in an six effort to die dle dictate ate to the almighty the terms of our calv salvation atlon if we think BO we aro arc mistaken deceived we cannot do it the tho purposes or the almighty are unchanged and unchangeable ills lin lavis jaws cn en lure dure and he la isi tho the samo same yesterday today aud and pu purposes will ripen aride consummated teda and ii his d designs be completed wo weda not cou con form ta to his wl oley obey his big laws and yield to his ie requirements ia iii this ibis world we w will bo be consigned to ithe prison hou douset sot sou set here where we we will remain until we pay the debt to to t the lie fittere this Is a scriptural a IV and a trae true doctrine I 1 a doctrine 6 C a d ab Saints ta understand nde ude r an it bufa a t there he r m may be some bome me her here who do not 0 and d or or ta their c ir Y benefit c befit as well as to afre refresh th th tha the ne 1 morics I of tb who may y not hare have r re fleeced fleeted for a little upon this principle plea I 1 will refer to it as briefly ox pressed oppressed in the third and fourth chapters of the first epistle of or peter there you will see that jesua jesus himself preached the gospel to the tho spirits in prison which some come time were disobedient when once the long iong ning ring of god waited I 1 la a the tho days of noah while the ark was a wherein few that Is eight souls bouls were savea saved by water this may beem ecela 1 strange to some that jedias jesus should go to prene preach h the gogel gospel unto the wicked rebellious an no whose bodies had been destroyed in the flood because they rejected the testimony of noah who had bad been sent to rebuke their iniquities and warn them of dest delt destruction ruction decreed a against a dinst them if they d did I 1 d not repent nevertheless eleis it IV is true from this scripture we not only learn the condition of those who are cut off in their sins because of their wickedness in rebelling against ane laws of god goc and ani rejecting his bis servants but sueh such of 0 them as hate bare not sinned against the thle holy ghost however wicked they may have lave been in this world save committing that thai unpardonable sin will wili will have the privilege of hearing bearing the gospel in the spirit world for as the apostle bays says for this cause wius was the gospel also msp to 0 o them thal thai are dead yes says bays one dead in In tut lut not dead as to the flesh but bu the apostle does not eay say EO but bat to the contrary for the dead here referred to had perished in the flesh and the apostle continues ithac that they might be judged accordine to men mer in the fiech but live ac car cording din to god in the spirit I 1 that Is out of t the b body d until the resurrection froni from th the dead but at first they must remain in hell the prison house until they have paid the penalty of their sins in the flesh tiesh even to the uttermost farthing but 1 I says one is this possible the people in europe where we have been preaching 4 were struck with wonder and a astonishment when we mentioned this doctrin doctrine an and d y we had supposed that info aa the tree fell EO so it should lie and that there was no salvation in inthe anthe the grave 11 neither Is there any salvation in the crave grave angas aind anias as the tree falls so it lies but this Is pertaining to the flesh does the spirit lie with the body Is the spirit con confined tined in the graye grave no As the body falls so it will kave vave be e until the resurrection there is no salvation in the grave but in christ who is the light of ilfe life hf and the spirit soai s beyond le the grave it does not plum slumber la in the d dust but if Is wafted wafred to the place prep prepared ared arid forit for it in the spirit world to receive ceide its reward or punishment hah hing hab ha hf h Dg 9 passed the first judgment of god tien t I 1 gen ien to aw awalt althis his bis merc mere mereland nurcy yand and the resurrection from the dead and ana the final judgement jud gement of the great last day thusie see those wicked antediluvians who even oven had tho privilege of hearing tae the gospel in the tho flech ai as preached by noab and who rejected the message messaged ot that servant or agod were actually visited in the prison house by the saviour hIms himself elfand and heard i the gospel I 1 from his bis own mouth after be he wa was s putto gutto put to death in the flesh theli their prison was opened aud was procia proclaimed lined unta unto them in their captivity in the prediction of the tho prophet iksilaras laliah as yoa you might read in his gist chapter that they malcome may come forth when theys ball hall have fulfilled the decree of judgment upon thern them in the prison or bell to do the first works necessary unto galia salia salvation tion which they refused to do in the beg beginning lAning here will come in the principles of bib bin baptism for the dead and of proxy and as revealed through the prophet jo joi 1 r seph neph 81 smith mith that they inay may rec receives elvea elyea salvation an exaltation exalt arlon arion I 1 will notay a falness fumes orble of blessing 1 agin ngin and glory buta but a reward W ard according accordine accord ine lne to thein their meris merls merits and nd the righteousness lind and mercy of Go god deven even as it will be with you and with me bui bul there la Is between Us and the antediluvians they rejected the gos gospel peli consequently they not the truth nor the testimony of jesus christ therefore they did nat wot tin pin sin eln a against alart a i fulner a of light while hild we have hive received t he of the this larg arc are nrc admitted to the testimony of jesus jesus christ and a knowledge of the living and true god whose will it Is ais als aiso also 0 our privilege tok to know lowi v e mayi luay do alti iti now if lf we gln eln wp vp gln eln against light right and vaid knowledge and peradventure we e may way bo be come guilty odthe of the tho blood of jesus christ for which sin there is li no forgiven in this world nor not in the world to come jesus lilai helf telf declares malt matt 13 12 sl 31 that all manner of r ein eln in and blasphemy shall be forgiven mito wito men but the blasphemy elst against the noly holy ghost shall shail not be bb for given unto men nelthia neither in this world neither in tho the world wrid to come |