Show kisoe U DELIVERED BY LH lel led Q DELIVERED IN IK tim Taberna olef clef salt vali lake city chy sun bym day afternoon afternoons J juey juby A uly 15 IM t REPORTED BY jonn JOHN IRVIN r h in standing up to address you this thib afternoon I 1 debiro desire an interest in fix your faith and prayers that I 1 may ba led to speak upon those subjects best tied to and andybur your circumstances I 1 belleve believe it to ha be our privilege when we come together as we have this afternoon with ita our hearts carts united desirous before eforo god goa od for his blessing that the over very t things gs thai that is io the very doctrines lri iri irl Es and instructions and counsel that are needed by us and that 1 are bost best adapted to our circumstances U pegs and condition will be given unto p us by the holy spirit it Is for tb this Is pur purpose poco we meet together I 1 never did feel in attending meetings and listening to instructions and going away feeling refreshed nn and without being edified and strengthened in the principles of tho the everlasting gospel I 1 do not think that it la fa right that we should thus meet beet and thus ee parate separate god has made promises unto his people it his people do their ther part paul HO vill fulfill fulfil those promises he will give that portion of his spirit that is n necessary I 1 to impart unto them everything that their circumstances may way require I 1 think it wrong that men should prepare themselves beforehand before hand to speak to the people I 1 believe that god has given unto us the correct rule tho the rulo nulo that ho he gave to his ancient disciple sto take no thought beforehand what ye e ahall bay but tremere trea eure huie up in your minds continually the uhe words kords of woi moi life ilfe and it shall bo be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be ba meted unto every man when ahen the time should come for fon forhia hia servants to address the people he would give unto them the very things that were needed how do I 1 know how does any other man in this cengr congregation know the thoughts and tho fears and the wanta wanto of you who ue aro here today to day there may be souls here hungering for tho the word of god tried tilea and tempted in many directions direction ss annoyed and perplexed with tho the cares of ilfe life and with those anxieties that are connected with our earthly existence who bhail hall hali tell these souls that which they noeo need can any mau dat dut but of his own wisdom from tho the depths of his hla own thoughts though tg give tho the needed strength and comfort to those hungry aeouls souls it Is imper impossible 31 god must do it god must pour out his holy spirit god must help 83 ho he has promised to do and wo we his children must put ourselves in a position to be helped so that we can claim the blowing blessing these thebe people continually need strength from the lord there has never been a daya nay not an hour from tho commencement of thi this A work upon the earth in these last lest days th that t the latter day saints llave been destitute of the counsel r 6 f heaven of the tho word of god and 11 of f the guidance of that holy spirit that god bas has promised to bestow upon his faithful children having thus been led in the essential that wo we bo thus led in the future that we may live by every word that thail edeth from the mouth of god not that proceeded from his mouth 1800 years yearb earb ago but that proceeds from his mouth today in this year of our biord log d 1883 1983 and we need it just as sri much to day as we ever did Ws we need the direct interposition of goda gods providence in conr our behalf and we need the assist janac ianco of bf his holy spirit we need anis his H is w word ord and his blessing and his power and his direct jn in oar oun behalf as much today to day as this church did fifty years agro ago or as the church did 1850 years ago itis ibis it is indispensably dispensa bly necessary for our progress gress for our advancement in the things that pertain partain to jn ja the knowledge of god that we should be thus as assisted and upheld and ins dired plied this great work with which wo we anc are connected is becoming eo exten alve aeve Is ia spreading out in hi so many direct directions ione lone that it needs needa more of the tha manifestation of gods power and greater faith on the part of the peo plo pio to carry it forward in tha the earth it needs greater grester faith on the part pait of those who bear any anyn portion of tho the ho responsibility of the priesthood of the bon son of god because they bave havo now to act in on ca ai h ba aha v n gill V 1 not aoi in it beems seems only a little while a ngo ago 0 that we had bad but one of zion we had batone but bat one high counci council cil and the presidency of the church presided over that high council every matter of moment every case of importance came directly before the hirst presidency of the church intact affairs of the most wiling trifling importance or at least that which we would now consider of trilling trifling importance had to be submitted to them upon their 1 shoulders rested the responsibility of directing everything connected with the work of god in its minutest details but this has changed ini stead of one council instead of one ono stake there are at least twenty five instead of the first fl rat presidency of the tho church presiding over high councils there are dennies of these various stakes and upon them rest tho the responsibilities which formerly rested upon the first presidency there are stakes now in zion the number of whose members far exceeds the number of members in the church in those early days for years after we came to there thore valleys valley sor bor or for some time a least the whole church in a the theao mountains did not number as many souls bouls as are now comprised within salt lako lake stake the responsibility therefore la is being divided it rests upon a great number of men and as tho the people increase this responsibility becomes more and more divided it is an impossibility now no w for the first presidency to attend to anything but general matters of business giving general instructions end and they lind find themselves thoms elvea olvea under tho the necessity more and more of dividing this laying it upon tho the shoulders ot other men calling helps from various quarters to labor labon in various directions and to perform the work vork which informer in former fermer times was deemed especially their province the I 1 saints themselves find themselves under the necessity of depending more upon themE elvos elyas than they did lid iid formerly they cannot in the multiplicity of cares and labors which devolve upon leading men they cannot expect that holp help that a attention t ten tion t to 0 m anor in or affa affair ins irb that ib a t th ey formerly received I 1 ence my and bisters sisters bla sla tera it is necessary that every man and woman and child connected with thia this work abound learn as s rapidly as possible the tha habit of relo reio de pend enca to exercise faith falth before god for themselves to EO that each one in his place or inner la place will be able to perform his or her fart part to the acceptance cep tance of our god and jn in guch such a manner mannen as to bring to pasa pass their own salvation this is much more elsy easy at the present tima time than it was in the asat past from the fact that doctrine is becoming better understood the principles of the gospel are more thoroughly disseminated by the aid of all ali the agencies that are at work in our oun midst our oar children jiow receive in ohe oha primary associations Association sas as soo boo soon boon as they are abla able to comprehend principle kuch such instruction as is adapted to their thein dawning intellects and from that to the sunday school and from the sunday school to the tha young mens and young associations and in the case of the boys boya to the various councils of the priesthood and in the aee ase ee of the girls to the various relief belief societies Bocie socie ties they are led jed along step hy by step until they become thoroughly indoctrinate tri nate in principle and comprehend in tho tha broadest bense the character of the work with which they are identified only this morning I 1 had an opportunity of testing this to somo bome extent my frequent absences from homo horna rivo rive me moe but few opportunities to meet with my children but I 1 said to them this morning instead of you going to sunday school I 1 will have a banday school beho aint olat at home homo I 1 wanted to talk to them to inquire of my little ones onea concel concerning ning their knowledge of the principles of the gospel and nud I 1 waa somewhat surprised at the tho there re plies which were made to my interrogatories roga noga tories concerning this work concerning its characters character concerning its doctrine 3 and nd the principles s that are taught by the elders I 1 presume that thai it Is the case with ai nil our cur children and I 1 havo hava no doubt my that at the present time there are children quits quite small smail who vrho are capable of 9 giving av replies to questions which a few years ago lauy of our elders could not answer I 1 am pleased r with I 1 th this I 1 think it right As I 1 have eald eaid this work Is ia spreading to so great an c extent that responsibility must roat upon individual wal gal members tho the presidency of the church the twelve apostles tV elna nw no longer do as they have done donet in years past carry the people along the ehi T he people peddie themselves must leam learn to waleto walk to bear their own burdens bardens to perform their own duties and to take tahe buch such a course as will result in their own development and in the advancement of this great work that god has established upon the earth I 1 would not gise give much for musj us our nor rot roh ouri our future if the individual intelligence of the tho people should not be develop ed it would bean be an impossibility for this work to achieve the high destiny in store cpr it ir and concerning which we have indulged in so ea many glowing no other principle than this wo wb afra nire told that intelligence is the glory of god end it certainly is tue glory of man and with the obstacles that have to tobe be over overcome come comp that confront us every step in our progress p ro griBs there ih e r must be knowledge dovel devel developed opta opiA amb amu among E ia this people there thero must mast I 1 b be 1 the highest h attainment and grade of 0 intelligence developed among ns upon no other oiher principle can we stand upon no mb other principle can we progress upon no other pr inel f pie can we accomplish the great results that we have before u it is true we testily that god has restored the everlasting gospel in ita ito primitive simplicity purity and power powen wo we bear this testimony but the restoration lestor atlon of this luls alone in and of 1 itself will not accomplish that which we have before us unless we 1 avail ourselves of the advantages chic which h its restoration affords we must put in practice and carry out practically in our lives its ita principles we must be a people who are not only hearers of the word but doers of it also it will not do for us to have a form of godliness without the power thereof we must lave the power of the work that god has founded we put ourselves in a position to receive the blessings and advantages connected with thib thia work and to have these we must ba a pure people pure fure in thought pure in word and pure in action god through us is 19 founding a new orden order of things in the earth the abo is bald at the root noot of the theold oid old tree and sooner or later it will be hewn down the restoration of everlasting gospel the th 0 reb res tor toy a 1 on of the powers connected therewith of the gifts gif ua of tho the blessings and especially ot of the tho union and the peace that characterized it in ancient days dab la is bound eventually to produce wonderful results in the oarth earth already it la Is conceded that it atia Is a mar bellous work and a wonder just as the prophet isaiah said bald would be the case anis ania must spread from the nature of things it must spread it must continue to grow to increase themore tha tho more obstacles cles cies it has haa to contend with the better its power is developed dev dov eloped the better its strength is exhibited I 1 am thankful myself for the difficulties we have had to contend with I 1 am thankful that wo we have a hard pathway to tread I 1 ani am thankful that we have opposition of so eo serious a character without thia this we could not be ba developed without this thia we could not be thoroughly tested nor our principles be proved it is by auch such ordeals as these that man exhibits his hia divine origin and the qualities ehg that t ho he inherits from his divine father it is byruch by ench such ordeals ag aa these that systems are tried and that principles exhibit their force and power to womankind mankind wo we are being tested as no other people upon the faco naco of the earth aro arc being tested the principles that we have espoused and that we advocate are passing through such an ordeal orceal as aa the tha principles advocated by no other people are subjected to every form of opposition is brou brought glat giat to boar bear every kind or of influence Is ia set in motion not even oven stopping at violence vio enco ence itself 1 if our principles will with withstand 8 tand land all these thele shocks and assaults upon them and endure they will prove to the world far better than our verbal testimony 0 ny will that they ere are of divine origin if the organization of this thia church chuich ca cannot n be broken up by the attacks of mobs by the tho uprooting of the people by the driving of them forth into the wilderness by the attacks atta eke of townships towne hips of cities of counties of states or by the legislation legnola of the tha ulfred united states itself then the world will bo be more likely to boileve that which we solemnly asbert arbert that god is its author that god ald laid aid its foundation that god has pro served it thus far and that he ha will preserve it to the very xeny end thebe thebo th eso ebo are the proofs of that which we testify that it has thus withstood dd all these assaults we are living wit nemes nones that we gamt today to day in our present t Organ organized organised ged izra capacity in the organization to adapt itself to every hange change of circumstance men may sneer men may deride men may publish false statements men man may attribute all thia thit to various vario varjo us causes which ate are tin untrue truel but bat the fact still remains and unassailable that there lan ian is a power an and d a strength and agelas an elasticity abou about t the organisation organization 0 of o this church of jebus leans chris ot of latter day saints that all that Js is brought against it falls falis to une ettla or to shiver now we have been testifying that la 19 same acme ot 0 the tha eldi eidi eiders elders rs have for these 63 years that ihla ibia work had this capacity joseph smith stated it in the tho before the church itself was organized organised sed the first elders of this thid church bore similar testimony when bu t six bix in members ern enn comprised the entire church of jesus christ they rb future they stated that it possessed these the diane qualities they sol bol 0 mn ay declared that god bad re rel 8 stored it from the heaven pj that it was the old citation brought back baek agaibi again I 1 that I 1 it t was wab as the he old oid gompel rest restored ored ofed once onee more to the earth and that it would win its way in every land and among every people le and that it would woul d R accomplish c c ampil 8 h a bli bil 11 that god had |