| Show T 1 S 0 0 U P E BY m w lei ilo 0 delivered in the meeting house beauer beaver wednesday gernow abbet noon now nom june 0 SO 10 1883 n BY JOHN jonn IRVINE I 1 am greatly pleased ed at having i the opportunity of meeting with the latter day saints in this place and I 1 trust that oar meeting will be pro Q table tabla to all ail it is a most excellent thing to come together as wo we have done today to day and as wo we shall do tomorrow and have an interchange of views and partake of that spirit which la Is accessible to all of us that la is to all those who have placed therne themselves elves in a position to receive it by keeping beeping tho the commandments of god we have had from brother ly man much good fust lust instruction ruction and it if it la Is remembered and carried out practically in our oar lives ilves it will be of great profit to us there is one thing that suggested itself to me in listening to his closing re marks remarks and that fag lag is that if there are any strangers here I 1 suppose there may bs 1 I am not so well acquainted with your people su I 1 might be they will imagine that wo we are dwelling considerably on this idea of listening to the counsels of the priesthood it if there Is any thing more objectionable than another in the eyes ot of those thom who are opposed to this work work called mon imor mormonism it is that feature of it I 1 do not think there la is any feature that is so much disliked and io fo much found fault with as that peculiar feature of our religion which requires us ua to listen to 0 the counsels of the priesthood in thia this respect we differ from every other people upon the face of the earth it may be said that catholics Catholic 3 take the same view that we do about listening to the priesthood brit but then the catholics are not gathered together arwe as we are and andara ara arc not combined as aa we are and are not therefore in the opinion of thoss who vrho are opposed to us so BO much a menace to others as we are because of that feature or of their religion nevertheless though this thi 1 s doctrine la Is so di distasteful we have t to 0 pret prel preach aeh ach it it is ia the burden of the lord lir d upon us and aua it would bo be woe to us ua unless we did preach thia thib very doctrine with all our zeal and all bar our power I 1 can readily understand why this thib doctrine is ia so BO much disliked and why men find so much fault with it because if that becu flarity were to disappear from among ua and wo we ceased to listen to the voice of god as we believe it to ba manifested through those whom he lle has chosen to bo be hla his servants this thia great latter day work would amount to nothing in the earth it boull soon melt away and be ba like the sectarian systems from whence these latter day saints have been gathered out god had a purpose in revealing tho tha gospel in those thebe days and in restoring tho the everlasting priesthood and 1 to 0 o prepare tho the earth for the tha the coming of the lord jesua jesus christ christ it Is an imPOrt important ant aut work to prepare tho the earth and the inhabitants thereof for the coming of the tho lord izord jesus jeans christ now I 1 think that every ona one who ever believed in him or that ever believed in god will admit that thit when cezus comes everybody will listen ta him and will do as ho hd requires for it la Is writ ten that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that he is the lord nord he will be accepted ai the king of kings and lord of lords and the ruler over the whole earth and itis it is the constant prayer praye cof cor of those who are most moat devoted upon the subject of neli nali religion gion glon that the lord jesus may nay come and reign king over the whole earth as he does in heaven edg jl and of course if he dom docs that it will be expected that he will sway a that will not bo be disputed i angwill and will exercise a dominion that will not be questioned now the first announcement that was made concerning this work ot our god in these last days was that the object in its restoration was for tho the purpose ot of preparing the way for the coming of the son of man th that at was tho the announcement that was made and when the priesthood was restored it waa told to those tham to whom it was restored that thab it should not bo taken away from the earth again until the sons of levi should otter otier an acceptable sacrifice unto tho the p lord and they were r also assured that it nover never would ba taken away from the earth carth again but that it should continue until it accomplished all that god designed for it in lit the organization of this people peoples in the settlement of these valleys in the framing of kurfirst our first provisional formoe form of govern government mentin in the enactment of our laws in the building of our settlements and in the polity that has distinguished this people from their first brat settlement until now the wisdom of god manifested through the priesthood which he hag has restored to the earth has been plainly though these are civil matters its influences influence through the knowledge and power which it possessed has been most beneficent I 1 think that if there is any people upon the face of the earth who should listen to the priesthood and to the counsel of god gods goda a servants it Is the latter day saints and I 1 think if there are any men upon the the tho face of the earth that can claim loyalty from the people and allegiance to the priesthood it is the men who have borne it and who have exercised its ita authority from the time inie t we settled these valleys until now I 1 think they can do so with the best possible grace for the beat best of possible reasons for whenever their counsel has been listened to it has always been attended with unquestioned success sand when I 1 it t has been dle disobeyed obeyed it has alwayn been followed by disaster the latter day faints are ate the witnesses of this themselves we ean can appeal to them with the utmost confidence upon this point because they know they have had bad experience they have tested thebe these things for themselves and they know that these are aye not idle statements they know they are true acdwell ana and well weli founded and that god hag has in his mercy and kindness confirmed the labors of his servants and the counsels they have given by bestowing prosperity and blessing upon all those who have accepted their counsels and have carried them out in the spirit in which they havo have been given the latter day saints themselves are living witnesses to this tho the men who followed president brigham young and tho the twelve apostles Apost ies iea over whom ho he presided when they left nauvoo and came across to iowa and followed the indian trails to the missouri river riven and built winter quarters and then to the spring of 1817 traversed the plains the tho gun trodden that Is igl in them they were wilds of which they know nothing people who followed lowed a him and them to bait sait lake valley and laid the foundation of salt lake city they have been the people who have been the most blessed of god and most moat prospered they have prospered in their religion they have prospered in temporal things A and they have been blessed with peace all he the day long while the men who disobeyed that counsel and concluded that they had had enough of this work and of fol lowing the counsels of tho the leading men of this church have had sorrow and difficulty and have not prospered god confirmed the leadership of these men by bestowing his hig blessing upon them and upon those who followed the their ir counsels ho he delivered them from perils he delivered them from indiana indians he delivered them from famine he delivered them from pestilence and prosperity attended their labors and every settlement that has haa been formed in these mountains from the day salt lake valley was reached has been attended with similar pros the men who have gone forward and listened to the counsels of gods godge servants have been the men who hava been blessed they have been the men who have had inala ence while the men who have taken a different course are the men who have not where is there any apostates from this work that have influence in the earth A few have had temporal prosperity but Is that all prosperity consists of Is that all success consists of to have a little of this worlds goods good goldsand sand and there are very few ot them that even havo have that there Is something else there is tho blessing of god there ia 13 the peace of heaven there is theroy the joy ol of the holy ly ghost there are the gifts and b es aings that attend the faithful servants and handmaidens hand maidens of jesus christ in addition to temporal prosperity before which temporal prosperity fades I 1 am speaking now of money and that which perishes with money I 1 have seen the richest people alvin living 9 in the lowliest homes Why 33 cause they were rich in their fell feel feelings 1 I 1 have seen the richest men who were poorer than the poorest of earths sons why because they did not have that rich feeling such a fooling roeling does not belong to riches and earthly prosperity it comes ff from OM tho the blessing of god in this respect the latter day saints may be said bald to be the richest people on the face of the earth they are rich in that glorious feeling that god gives you maystr maystriw may strip lp them as I 1 have seen them stripped of earthly ly possessions and turned loose in a wilderness without a place of security and not knowing where they would find a resting place and yet they were aa happy a people as I 1 ever saw in my life destitute of many things that men and women consider essential to earthly com corm fort yet they had that which is above prIce and which riches cannot bestow namely the peace or of heaven the peace of god resting down upon them and they have been a rich people from that day to the present if they have not glad hearts and cheerful countenances it Is their own fault but this iq one of their characteristics they do have glad hearts and cheerful countenance a you go you see them they may not have rich surroundings an abundance of this worlds goods elegant houses nor elegant furniture for their houses but when they have this spirit they are happy and they are full fuli of peace and joy those who have listened to the counsels of godya godla servants ber per ta have had bad this blessing but as I 1 have said baid whore where I 1 ia the ap apostate slate the man that has denied his god broken hig hii covenant dissolved his connection with the turned his hia back upon the people with whom he was formerly associated that can lay jay claim to thia it my may be said that this Is ia all delusion but it if delu delusion brings happiness then delusion is a blessing and Is it not better to know and aud feel as we do respecting a future tu to feel that there is a future before us ns that is bright tand and glor gior glorious fous loas than it is to have our mind a blank in regard to a future to be without hope looking as it were into a horizon that is darkened by the dearest clouds which are impenetrable to our gaze gaza and beyond which we cannot bee see certainly it is certainly it la Is better to have this hope that god has haa given us we know that it is of god but bat our enemies say bay it la a delusion but if this delu blon glon brings peace and joy and happiness and certainty and all those feelings that fill our soul with inexpressible presa ble bie dellab dei deJ ehr ghr ta why then we are in a bettor better condition than those who are not thus deluded but we know w that we are not deluded we know that when a wire wife la is to us by the authority of 0 the holy priesthood that that ordinance is binding as eternity if we are falth faith faithful ful fui we know that when we have children born bom to us in the everlasting covenant and death takes them away we are comforted with the assurance that though they be consigned to the silent tomb wo we shall yet have them in eternity thus the sting of death Is taken away and the grave has no victory death does not fill us with gloom and up apprehension and doubt and uncertainty we know as well weli as we can know anything of that character that when time ends we shall be united with our eh children ildren lidren and dwell with them eternally we know also aiso that when a man buries his wife the faithful partner of his life if she were married to him by the th holy priesthood he knows when he lays her away in the grave that that is ia not an eternal separation but that they will again be united and so with the wife when she bhe lays jays away her faithful husband she knows as well as she knows she lives that they will be united and that they will dwell together throughout eternity if she continues faithful to the truth it Is 13 the priesthood that has brought unto us ns theba these blessings there is ia not a thing connected with our existence in these valleys that I 1 do not I 1 in a my feell feelings n g a give credit for under god to the priesthood pr sest test hood do we have peace in our hearts do we have order in our settlements do we have good order throughout these mountains yes we haves baves and it is due to those men whom god has inspired to lead the people this good order Is due to the priesthood we cannot give any credit to anybody else however much we might be inclined to do so BO we have had judges here we have had hd governors here bome some of them men of ability but we cannot in honesty and truth give them credit for any an y of the blessings we enjoy on t the he contrary many of them have been our worst enemies and if they could have had bad the power they would have destroyed our peace and introduced strife and disorder and bonfa confusion and v war ar and bloodshed in our oun mid midst ot and that these things do not exist exis t is due to the priesthood and to tha the people leopla also who have listen ed to their counsels and been guided by them now it la 13 our duty to hono louz lour 1 our oar god and in honoring god we do not show dishonor to others because I 1 feel in my heart to honor the priesthood that god has restored to the earth I 1 do not therefore j mean nor do I 1 feel any sentiment of dishonor towards anybody else it does not make me any the leab less a loyal citizen or a true man be because crAuse I 1 do this not in the least on the con trany I 1 am ata a better citizen for this because I 1 am more peaceful I 1 am more easily controlled I 1 maintain good order or endeavor to do so BO the influence ther theramore afore of the priesthood upon me as upon all the rest of the community has not the effect to make us disloyal to our trust nor to us any worse citizens of the government of which we form a part on the contrary there Is no more loyal men to be found within the confines of the republic than are to be found in this territory no men more true to the constitution or who love it with more devotion or who are aro willing to make greater for it than are to be found in this territory and I 1 think I 1 am in a position to speak understand angly I 1 eay say there are no people who will wil do more to maintain true republican government covern Rovern ment than the people who form the church of jesus christ of latter day saints I 1 would shoulder my gun to defend an episcopalian against a amob mob and I 1 would do D the be bame bime to defend a methodist 0 or ir is an n infidel I 1 would do as aa much to maintain min tain the rights of all men and andu all women under thit this form of ga gov as I 1 would those of m my own faith I 1 would consider my self unworthy of my position if I 1 did not have that feeling and this la is the feeling feelings I 1 1 am sure of this entire people called latter day saints they hate oppression oppress fons ions they hate bate it in every form and they will B |
