Show sr ELDER I 1 G W delivered in the tabernacle salt saif 5 1 lake city may 1883 reported BY gibbs AND irvine wn WE are arc living in the latter days at a time which all the prophets of god who lived jived upon the earth in former times looked forward to with anticipation the servants of god whose writings have been handed down to us ua in the book called the bible were all blessed in their day and generation with some foresight in regard to the last great dispensation of gods mercy to man the spirit of god opened up to them views concerning the great latter day work which god should perform in which he would colsum nate hla his purposes in which he would perfect his work in regard to the people of this earth and they were strengthened in the performance of the duties devolving upon them by glimpses of the latter day E lory glory they were called to pass through very trying circumstances As AB the apostle paul says inthey they were stoned they were bawn sawn asun der were tempted were slain with the sword they wandered about in sheep skins and goatskins goat goats skins kino kinq being destitute afflicted tormented they wandered in des deserts ertes and in mountains and in dens and caves eaves of the earth generally speaking tho the prophets of god were relec rejected ted by the majority of the children of men by the spirit of prophecy which rested upon them they could pre ceide how small email would be thelm the impressions pres which they would be able 1 to make upon the people who lived in their day and they saw also that although they might be able to accomplish comp com eom liah some good in the name narae of the lord yet the adversary would come in like a flood so BO to speak and overwhelm the influences which they were able to bring to bear benr they saw that the work which they were engaged in could not continue at least but for fora forn a little littie while but they looked down to the last days when the kingdom of god should be established on the earth when it should not be per vallea against nor be overcome but should remain and continue to geovil grow glow and inc increase reake and spread forth until its should extend to the uttermost ermest est dat parts paris of the earth until ali ail 11 things should be subdued unto the lord until the tho wicked should be destroyed until misrule and tyr anny and oppression and falsehood and false doctrine and the powers of evil should be banished from the earth and the tho light of god gods hould should stream forth to lighten every land and the kingdoms of thia this world would become became the kingdoms of our god and hia his christ and he should rulo ruie from pole to pole and from shore to shore in this they rejoiced exceedingly and they were encouraged to perform the work entrusted to them by the foresight that god gave to them of the great latter day work the apostle eaul raul referred to this thia dispensation in these thebe words shaving having made known to us the mystery of his wili wiil according to hib his good pleasure pleasures which he hath purposed ed in himself that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in christ both which are in heaven and which aro are on earth J 9 by this wo we soa boa that the apostle paul aud lie he was wag imbued with the same spirit and understanding as his hig bro brethren thren thron of the apostleship looked forward to another dispensa tio nthan that in which ey labored which Is ia generally called the christian dispensation because it was introduced trod trad by jesus jebus who was the christ paul called the dispensa that was to comb come after his day the dispensation of the fullness of times 12 and declared in that diepen bation god would gather together in one all things in christ not only the things in the earth but also the things in the heavens thoy should all be gathered together in one now the apostle paul and others in his hia time ti melike like those ancient anchen prophets to whom I 1 have referred nad had the understanding that the work in which ha was waa engaged although it would that whereunto whore unto it was bont bent would only make its impression for p a time and for a season that the time would come coma when elar clar knees would come in again when false doctrine doe doo trine trina would prevail when the servants of god would be taken from the earth and arld faise false prophets and false teachers would arise who would to use uso the tho apostle reters peters 0 own words bring to in damnable heresies here her slem biem who would turn um away the hearts of the people from rom the truth troth the apostles saw that the time would come when the people would be heady heady beady and high minded lovers of pleasure more than lovers of god having having bavIng a form of godliness but denying tho the power th thereof ereo when false teachers would arase arise and make camake merchandise of the souls of men even denying the lord that bought them and nd brine brinz upon themselves swift destruction 1 and many we are told shall fol low ow their pernicious ways waye by reason of whom themay the way of truth bhail shall be evil spoken of johny johns the beloved disciples disciple wrote a glorious vision that god gave to him when he was upon the isle of patmon being banished there for the word of god and the testimony of jesus and in that vision the lord showed to him that a spurious church should arise which would over all the earth it wab was pictured to him in the form of a woman sitting upon a scarlet colored besst beasts full fuli of names of blasphemy and upon her forehead a name written 69 mystery babylon the great the mother of harlots 11 and he saw that she held in hez her hand a golden cup full of abominations and filthiness of other her fornication and he be beheld that all nations were made drunk with the wine that was wag in that golden cup it was not merely to ie be partaker partaken par taken of by a few but by all nations he also saw that the time should come foremen foreseen by isaiah the prophet when darkness shall cover the earth carthand eart hand and gross darkness dar knees the people 21 when jesus was wag upon the earth he told his disciples that the time would come como when false christs and falge faige prophets would arise and when because of the iniquity that should abound the love of many would wax cold and we find by searching both the old and new now testaments that the prophets of ol 01 god who lived in former times and had dispensations committed unto them saw that the time would come when the work which they performed would seem beem to be lost loaf from the earth apo apostasy staey stacy would ensue people would gont goat go atter alter ter other pods nods they would transgress the laws change the ordinances and break the everlasting covenant baethe but bat the ancient prophets had a glimpse of what god would do in the latter days they saw the time when lie bo ouid would establish mis mia work in the earth no more to bo be thrown down forever when he would establish his kingdom not to be left to another people not to be overcome not to be trampled under foot but buh to arise and shine and the light thereof go forth to all the world that kings might come to its light and the gentiles to the brightness of its rising now my brethren and bisters slaters we are blessed with the privilege of liv 11 v ng upon the earth in the itter litter days in he the time to which all the prophets caked coked forward with pleasure with rejoicing and with thanksgiving the time just jast preceding the coming of the son of man not as the babe of bethlehem not to be ba born la in a stable and cradled ina lna in a manger not to be I 1 despised and rejected acted 0 of f m men en 9 a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief not to be lifted up upon on the cross and his lifes blood poured out because ot of the wickedness of men but as king of kings rings and lord of arde to come vested with all power on the earth and in the heavens to sit bit alt upon the throne of his father david and to reign foreign from the rivers even unto the ends of the earth to subdue all things unto himself to abolish wickedness to banish evil to bind batan satan and his hosts boats and to fill the earth with light and glory and the power of god that the lion and the lamb may dwell together that enmity may depart between man and man and between man and beast that nation baynot may not lift up sword against nation and that people may study the art of war no more but that deaca may ba ushered in and that the power of god and the spirit of god may be poured out upon all fl flesh eshand and all nations be influenced thereby we aro ano living jiving upon the earth in the time preceding these great events in the latter days dais in the last dispensation the qu question estion may arise Is this great dispensation which the kroph ets foresaw and which paul spoke of already ushered in has the dispensation pensa penea tion of the falness of times been introduced for the benefit of the children of men or are we still und under erthe the old dispensation opened up by t the a savior and carried on for a time e b by the apostles that is a serious question though if left t to 0 the latter atter day saints to answer one that would be settled in a ve very short time for go where you ml liht 9 t in this territory aw and ask the lat ter day saints concerning it and they would answer I 1 1 ai I know the d dispensation Is pensa tion of the falness of times Is ushered in I 1 do not merely believe it but bat I 1 know it as well as I 1 know kno w that I 1 live 23 and isyou if you cereto were to ask them how they know it they would answer by the revelations of the holy ghost jit jib they would tell you they know that god has again spoken from the heavens that angels have descended from the courts of elory and communicated with man and that through the direct agency of divine and holy beings this great and last dispensation of gods mercy to man has been opened up they would tell you further that they know it will remain in ain aln and prevail that all that has been designed must be accomplished under its auspices and the work which has been begun began must continue and grow because it is the work of god Go deven even until the whole earth Is subdued unto him and all things are prepared for the coming of him whose right it is to reign and that no man or nation or government or influence or socie ty or all ail combined can have bave the slightest influence or power to stop its onward spread it would be interesting perhaps to consider how the dispena dispensation atlon ution ot of the falness of nf times was to be opened up we read that the works of god are one eternal kunf roun he is the same yesterday today to day and forever without variableness or any ady change whatever As he acted in ancien ancient t times then so eo may we expect him to act in latter times that if he has a work to perform amongst men he will commence and carry it out in the same fame way that ho he did formerly whenever darkness has covered be the thee face of the earth and the people have gone astray we find by reading the bible that god spoke from the heavens that he sent heavenly messengers to bome some naan man or men inen whom he not the people chose to whom he communicated his mind and nud will and whom he authorized to preach to the rest reft they went with the burden of the word of tha lord they did not go forth preach fag ing for doctrine the commandments of men they did not aim to please the eyes or the ears of the people they did not as a general thing possess bess seab much learning in fact they were to some bome extent ignorant that esthey were not versed in the learning of the world not many wise men after the nesb flesh not mot many mighty not many noble are called but god hath chosen the foolish things of the earth to confound the things which are mighty 2 but have we any intimation in the scriptures that god would act like that in the last as t daye if weh web we had ad not we might t reason from what he has done clone to what he will do but we have any amount of testimony in the tures written in both Testament Test amentas siss sias to what he will do in the last days in the first place we read that god will do nothing except he reveals hia his secret to ills lils servants the prophets and we are ore told in the revelation from which I 1 quoted concerning the general apostasy apo stacy when all nations shall become drunken from drinking the contents of that golden cup in the hands of the mother of abominations an angel should come and bring to the earth again the everlasting gospel you will find what I 1 refer to in th the e 14 th chapter of revelations and the ath and ath venes veries john says and I 1 saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people braying raying with witha A loud voice fear god and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment j is come comet and worship him that made heaven and earth and aud the bea boa and the fountains of water and after this he declares that there followed another angel angels saying babylon is fallen is fallen that great city because al she bhe he made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornications some one may enquire did the things that john saw in the vision 1 signify I u il events that had taken place already ze s d y or were they to take place in the future that can be easily settled by reading the iet let verse ot of the ath chapter of that book which reads as follows gratter gratten this I 1 looked and behold a door doon was opened in heaven and tho the girat grat voice which I 1 heard was as ils it were wore of a trumpet talking with me which h said come up hither and I 1 will show thee thin things gs which must be hereafter hereof terud aud and in tho he says that he saw another angel flying in ilu the tho midat of heaven ing the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that thai d dwell eneil on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people so bo this gospel that john saw baw the angel bringing to earth was for the benefit of generations to come for the christians christiana as well as those who are termed the heathen we who are styled christiana Christian ss are in the habit of calling all other nations heathen I 1 am inclined to believe that there are a great many people who are christian heathen this revelation that was given to john will beem seem very strange to a great many people who are under the impression that the everlasting gospel has been upon the earth ever since it was taught by jesus christ and his hia apostles but buu it that were so what need would there be for the lord to send an angel with it As I 1 before explained john saw the time when the whole earth would be under the influence of that wicked power which he saw haw sitting pitting on a scarlet calorel beast and out of the cup which she held in her hand all nations were to drink not merely the heathen nations but all the nations of the earth without exception except on lam well aware that this will not sit very comfortably on the bosoms of some of our christian friends but bat what we are after or should be after Is truth and we should be desirous to obtain the truth notwithstanding that thit it may come in contact with our preconceived notions john saw that the whole earth would go astray and all the apostles spoke more or less of the time when people would depart from the church when they would achot not endure sound doctrine but after their own lusts they would heap to themselves teachers having itching earmand earn eane and says the apostle they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned into fables their teachers shall ahall preach for doctrine the commandments of men and the apostle might |