Show T S ma BY BT PREM JOSEPH F SMITH DELIVERED in the assembly hall salt lake city sunday afternoon feb 1 ath 1884 REPORTED BY IRVINE desirable condition of the saints characteristics te of prophets the governing rower power of god in human affairs mans ingratitude toward ged god the enlightening rower power of gods Spirit Mans origin probation and destiny A base conception of the object of life lite the saviors noble sobie example the source of true truc ila lla happiness P great truths revealed through joseph smith El eternal associations and destiny of the saints how to attain to a knowledge of the things of eternity I 1 TRUST that the spirit of the lord may direct what I 1 may say it is sometime since I 1 stood before a congregation in this building my labors have dien ben den directed in a great measure in ln other r settlements where I 1 have enjoyed seasons of f pleasure and profit witnessing a spirit and a lively feeling among the latter day saints wherever it has hay been my privilege to meet with them I 1 be believe liere that the same good spirit prevails among the latter tay aay saints in this city and throughout this stake of zion and that there is generally a feeling of confidence and laith larth in tilo tiie hearts of the saints in the work of the lord loro and in ills servants this is gratifying when we realize the importance ot 0 our oun ur being united and of our faith being centered in the lord and nd in we the great work god has begun inthe in the earth in these last days without unity and confidence no faithful latter day saint can call be truly happy brother abram natch hatch has dwelt upon u the idea he had when a boy in relation to the characteristics of a I 1 prophet I 1 presume that his idea was similar to that entertained by most of the civilized world today to day and yet I 1 do not think that there is any ground or reason for such opinions respecting the character of men who have been inspired of god while he was speak upon this subject my mind reverted to so some me of the ancient prophets whose words have been handed down to us as words of inspiration and so far as my mind can recall all those imminent emmi nent men of ancient days were I 1 believe belaev e young men enen they were called to their respective positions from the first man adam down to the latest inspired man of god of which we have any account in the scriptures they were all chosen so far as my knowledge goes when they were in their youth abraham became an inspired iuan inan when very young he was called to be a 1 prophet and patriarch in his youth his sons isaac and jacob were liot flot not at all old men when the prophetic inspiration fell upon them and when we come down to later times we find that the prophet samuel was chosen and dedicated unto the jhb lord in his childhood alevas he was a prophet from his youth up david was a youth daniel darmel was vas sas a youth isaiah was a youth and so far as I 1 recall to mind the prophets were all young men when they were ivere called to the work that they ahey had to perform jesus himself the tiie greatest of all prophets only attained ills his thir ty third year when ile he was offered as a sacrifice upon the cross most alost of the apostles who were chosen by our savior were young men and those who have been chosen in this dispensation were all of them in the beginning young men some of them almost beardless much less having flowing beards grey and bald wrinkled and old arwe as we see the prophets and patriarchs aichs archs pictured by modern artists representing p re benting sen ting the modern conception of them president taylor himself when he was called to the apostleship which is a prophetic calling was only a man about thirty years of age anu and there were many younger than he and all the way down to the present time nearly every man called to the prophetic calling has been called in his youth grown up under the inspiration of the almighty and has developed under the influence and power of the spirit of the living god there is I 1 think thin good reason for this the young mind is much more plastic much more susceptible able abie of impressions and of influence than the older mind A youth can be conformed so to speak in his ideas thoughts and feelings to tile the will and requirements of heaven much easier than in old age nevertheless I 1 believe that god is able to inspire any man who is good faithful pure and righteous in his desires god delights in the willing mind and in those who keep ills his laws and commandments nien aien have been raised up in almost all ages of the world to per perform forin certain works or accomplish certain missions they having been inspired for that work wor kand rand and mission from their infancy and it may be even before they were born into tile the world no doubt all the prominent men who have figured in any dispensation of the gospel since the days of our father adam until the present were inspired of the almighty irom arom their childhood an and disere divene were chosen and selected even from or before their birth god has his eye upon uron the world ile he overrules over rules and controls all things notwithstanding ile he is shut out from the councils coMic ils lis of men by their unbelief ills lils authority is not admitted by the world the children of men ignore ills his rv to govern and control to dictate e or to co counsel un e in the earth nevert nevertheless beless ile he governs and controls the nations ol of the earth and individuals and all things are subject to ills his power powei I 1 do not mean that all mankind are obedient to his will I 1 do not mean that they are willing to acknowledge him or that they know him I 1 am rather inclined to the opinion that th they ardig are ignorant entirely of him anz any and of his its power and that they do not conceive it possible that he lre governs and controls the affairs of the nations of the earth nevertheless ile he does boand so and while man proposes god disposes while the leaders of the nations of tie the the earth plan and scheme and seek to govern according to their ideas yet god almighty aver overrules over rules their acts and brings forth results which in accordance cor dance with ills his wisdom are arc designed to hasten and ultimately con summate ills his grand and glorious purposes oses in the earth and f I 1 believe that one of the greatest sins of which the inhabitants of the earth are arc guilty today is the sin of ingratitude the want of ac on their part of t god and his right to govern and control we see a man raised up with extraordinary tra ordinary gifts or with great intelligence and he is instrumental in developing some great principle ile he and the world ascribe his great reat genius and wisdom to himself ife he attributes his success to his own energies labor and mental capacity ile he does not acknowledge e d e the hand and h of god in a anything n t hin 11 connected with his success but inores ignores i nores him alto aito altogether ether and takes take s the honor onor to himself this tins will apply to almost all the world world iii lu all the I 1 great re at modern discoveries in science in t the h arts in mechanism and in all the material advancement of the age the world say we have done it the individual says 1 I have done it 11 and he gives no honor or credit to goti goll god now I 1 read in the revelations through joseph smith the prophet that because of this god is not pleased with the inhabitants of the earth but is an angry with them because they will i not lot a acknowledge e yz cledge his hand in all things I 1 am inclined to acknowledge the hand of G god od in all thin things s if I 1 see sec a man inspired with intelligence with extraordinary ability and alid wisdom vis dom I 1 say to myself he is indebted to god gon for that wisdom and ability and that without the providence pr gr interposition of the almighty he would not have been what he is ile he is indebted to the lord almighty for his intelligence and for all that he has for the earth is the lords and the funess falness thereof god originated and designed all things and all are ills his children we are born into the world as his offspring endowed with the same attributes the children of men inen have sprung from the almighty whether the world are willing to acknowledge know knowledg led e it or not ile he is the father of our spirits he is the originator of our barthl earthly tabernacles vf we live and move and lave have our being in god our heavenly father and ll 11 having ving s sprung run 1 from him with 0 our 1 talents talent dur our ability 9 clity our wisdom wd hould at lit least be willing to ills his hand in all the prosperity that may in ay attend us in life and ana live give to him the honor and glory 0 0 cfall lal ial wi wie e accomplish in the flesh we ve are upon the almighty albig ty for everything we possess of a worldly character there is not a man mail on the earth possessed of the wisdom or power ot of himself to cause even a spear of grass to grow or to produce a kernel of wheat or of corn or any fruit vegetable or any material whatever which is essential for the sustenance the happiness and the well being of a human creature in the wor world d it is true we can go to the earth we find it prepared to a certain extent and we cultivate plow and plant lant and we reap the harvest but eod god has ordained that the fruits of our labor shall be in subjection and in obedience to certain laws which ile he himself controls and which he has kept out of the power of man man nian may boast of having a great deal of wisdom of having accomplished a great deal in this century but if he did but know it he derives the ability by which he accomplishes these things from god his father who is in heaven ile he does not possess the power in and of hll hii himself n I 1 read a scripture something like this that there is a spirit in man ihan now if that should stop here there would not be perhaps anything very remarkable about man for the spirit of man only the things of man and the things of god are discerned bythe by the spirit of god but while there is a spirit in man it is f urther further stated that the inspiration of the almighty it understanding 11 there is not a man born into tile the world ard but has a portion of ane spirit of god and it is thelt that spirit of god Goa which gives ives to his spirit understanding understand ing without thisbe this he would be but an animal like the rest of the brute creation without understanding without judgment without skill without ability except to eat and to drink like the brute beast but inasmuch as the spirit of god all men understanding ile he is cn ell lightened above the brute beast fifels he is made in ift the image of god himself so that he can reason reflect pray exercise falth faith he can use his energies for the accomplishment of the daies dM ies les of bigheart his hig hearn heart and inasmuch as he puts forth his effort efforts 4 in the proper direction then he is entitled to an increased portion of the spirit spirl of the ltv ity to inspire him to increased intelligence to increased prosperity and happiness in the world but ill in frol proportion is as he prostitutes kis lis his energies for evil the inspiration of the almighty is withdrawn from him until he necomes becomes so 90 dark and so benighted that so far as ill lii his 4 knowledge cf i is concerned so far as the future or hopes of eternal life are concerned he is quite as ignorant as a dumb brute I 1 was remarkably struck upon this point only a short time ago by the expressed opinion of an Gai wal individual vidual who is considered to be very intelligent a philanthropist going about the country and said to be doing a great deal of good ohp remarked in my hearing that the future was a blank that welner we knew bothin nothing about it that we knew nothing as to the condition of the spirit after g death nor as to the pre pro existence of spirits and that all these things must be left without consideration as matters wholly beyond our reach this in substance was the opinion expressed by this very intelligent person who is roin going about the country doing so much go good d I 1 do not doubt that in didi duals may go about dol doi doing good dod relle reile relieving iving present necessities throwing 94 v in out practical ideas and suggestions suggestion il a as s to temporal concerns and adminis administering terin r reproof proof e that will be greatly r batly bene nic fic lecial ia 1 to very many in t ah their air present worldly condition but in view of the possibilities of the great and eternal hereafter and the important contin of the past involving our or origin and our destiny some of us are so constituted that we cannot content ourselves to rest such vital matters here in the midst of so much ignorance uncertainty and doubt wede we desire to know something about the future and the past a as S well as of the present what is the object of our being whence have we come whither are we going what consequences are dependent up upon 0 ii this life what is to be apa gained ined or lost to whom are arc we responsible seeing we do not owe our existence to our earthly parents alone nor to chance or hazard Is there any reward or punishment hereafter for good or evil committed in the flesh we desire to know something about these things if it is possible to know anything ai about ut them what is the standard of right and truth and who is the great example those who say in their hearts that it is impossible to learn anything about these things that it is sufficient to content ourselves with that which we can see and hear bear and handle and with that which only materially effects our present exi exl existence ence that that is all we have to concern ourselves about can be jut little removed beyond the brutes or the animal creation such maybe may be classed with th those ose whom the savior referred to in the tile parable of the rich i nan man who said take thine ease eat cat drink and be merry 11 in other words I 1 let us ma have pleasure in that which we po possess sTess or enjoy enjo y today da it Ks this reminds me of a remark that I 1 was told a certain man sai sal said sald d to be learned in the law had made in reference to the religion of the latter day saints ile he remarked so something methin like this 9 you believe in having joy you claim that your religion is for the purpose of securing to you the great greatest amount of joy now on orl the back of this you deny denv yourselves of this that and the other your people are called upon to deny their appetites to c control on their passions and to crucify the flesh etc my bly enjoyment consists in whatever I 1 can get that is good to eat cat to drink or wear whatever ministers to my bodily case or comfort to the gratification of my tastes and appetites I 1 deny myself noti nothing 1 ing that I 1 like or desire I lence 1 I drink I 1 smoke I 1 chew and I 1 do as I 1 please 1 he might have added perhaps 11 L curse and swear I 1 gamble gambie amble I 1 commit whore doms and take advantage of every circumstance I 1 can to augment my pleasure and gratify my lust and my ambition all these contribute pleasure to me and ana constitute Tny iny greatest joy and happiness such was tile til e confessed moral status of this legal individual to whom I 1 refer but I 1 consider and I 1 believe that every right minded person will heartily agree with me that such a conception of the object of human existence and happiness is groveling vile and con no pure t minded person can perceive anything noble nobie exalted exacted pure pr or praiseworthy in in a ii life ilfe e so selfish narrow and gross there is nothing liberal or manly in such avowals avo wals much less in the practical results of such a life and coming coming from a man mail of years of legal experience and knowledge to a south youth with a AV view |