Show i BY y n lamaun DELIVERED in the tabernacle salt sait lake city nun sun day morning october ath semiannual annual conference 1884 REPORTED BY JOHN joun IRVINE I 1 WILL read a portion of the chapter of the book of isaiah commencing at the ath verse and the multitude of f all the nations that fight all that fight against her and her and that distress her shall be as a dream of a night vision it shall even be as when a hungry man drea meth and behold he leateth but he awa keth and his soul is empty or as when a thirsty man drea meth and behold he drin drinkuth keth but he be awa keth and behold he is faint and his soul hath bath appetite so shall the multitude of all the nations be that light fight against mount zion stay yourselves and wonder cry ye out andery and cry they are drunken drunker but not noi wih wine they stagger but nt net wi with t h strong drink for the tord luord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep and hath closed your eyes the prophets and your rul rui rulers erstle the seers beers hath he covered and the vision of all is become unto you as the words ot of a book that is sealed which men deliver to one that is learned saying read bead this I 1 pray thee and he saith ican lean not for itis it is sealed and the book Is delivered to him thatis that is not learned saying read this I 1 pray thee and he saith I 1 am not learned wherefore the lord said forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth month and with their lips do honor me but have removed their heart far sar from me and their fear rear toward me is taught by the precept of men therefore behold I 1 will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people even a marvelous work and a wonder for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish and the hid kid understand understanding ingot of their prudent men shallie shall bhail be there is much more in this chapter which I 1 will not read but which all can read at their leisure in sitting and looking at the congregation these words have come to my mind therefore beho behold di I 1 will wili 11 proceed to do a marvelous marselous elous work a among ng th this a people even a i adom elous work a and a wonder onder for the wisdom of their wise men en sha shall perish erish and the understanding of their pru prudent ent men mw shall be e bid T truly have these words been ful guedin filled in our eyes and in our hearing god our eternal father ther predicted by the mouth of his pr prophet isaiah concerning the com coming ini ing forth of the book of mormon and t the e manner in which it should be received and we today to day are living witnesses of the f fulfillment of these things god our eternal father has done and is doing dolanga a marvelous work and a wonder in the midst 0 the ithe inhabitants of the earth he is causin causing g the wisdom of the wise to perish he has caused it and he is bringing to naught the understanding of the prudent especially those who fight against mount zion or against the covenant people of G god od the manner in which our father and our god has spoken concerning the great work of the last days with which we are identified Is very remarkable when we examine the prediction of the holy prophets it Is wonderful how plainly everything connected with this work so far has been f fulfilled ul filled and as we have been told this morning and we are told whenever the spirit of 61 god rests down upon the elders of this church to speak sneak concerning the future we have the strongest assurance that can be given by god to any people that as that which has been predicted in the past has been completely f fulfilled ul filled u up to the present time so all the predictions dictions diat ions lons that have been made connected with this work or concerning it will also be f fulfilled to the very letter not one word will fall not one iota of the word of god cone conc concerning ernin zion will fall to the ground unfulfilled ul this work commenced as we know in obscurity in weakness with no particular demonstration in the sight of the world A few individuals only knew concerning it there were no remarkable manifestations for the world to gaze upon for the world to wonder at connected with its birth it was born according to the will of god the church started out a good bod deal likeke like ilke we have started out helpless what is there more helpless weak puny insignificant it may be said in many respects than a human bein being when it is born into the world y yet wt that being if nurtured properly if trained as it should be has before it a career of never ending glory that little puling infant may maj may become in the eternity of our god a god to sway power and dominion in the eternal worlds to be the father of unnumbered millions yet at its birth who would anticipate such a future for it so it was with the church of our god born in weakness cradled in obscurity it came forth according ClIng to the command of god not attended as I 1 have said by any great demonstration that the world could gaze and wonder at but attended by the blessing the power and the promises of our eternal father concerning its f future it required faith on the part of those who then received it to believe that such a glorious career as was predicted concerning it awaited it no human being unenlightened and uninspired bv bathe the spirit of god could have anticipated such a f future for this great work and yet in these early earis days when it was in this condition which I 1 have attempted to described des cribei the prophet joseph and those who received revelations with him looked forward to its future and saw that which we behold today to day in actual reality they saw in vision that which we e participate in today to day and far more than thau anything that we have yet vet seen I 1 have often been struck with the remarkable character of the predictions which joseph I 1 inspired of god gave utterance to con concerning this work As I 1 hanje said scarcely a step in its advancement was wag hidden from him scarcely a step but bat what was wax foreshadowed shadowed fore by him through the spirit of god which rested down clown upon him men doubt the divinity of this work men question the spirit of prophecy ghery or the divine mission of joseph smith mith lil lif his life ilfe is maligned and misrepresented r e f his character derided an and ct h held heid eid eld up to contempt and scorn yet it is not much to tot say jt it is not much to anticipate that wat before many years pass away ho he will be recognized by the children of men as one of the mightiest prophets that ever trod the footstool of god ofir our eternal father it ja is because his life has not been understood der stood 1 it itis is because the work which he was the mean in the hands bands of god of founding is not comprehended it is because everything connected with this church Is be clouded by misrepresentation sen tation and falsehood that men assume the attitude they do towards this the great work of our god jn in the very beginning of this work joseph told the saints lef left t on record the statement as to how it would be received by the children of men the hatred with which it would be met the violence that would be maul maui manifested feste a towards it the various troubles through which chit it would have to pass all these things he told bv his pro voice as though their history had ad been written as though they haci hari taken place most graphically h he has described to the sal sai saints ants the results that should attend the increase of the work at the first he said it should excite the animosity and hatred of a township it did this god in his mercy did not permit persecution to become so strong in the Incept inception lod iod of the work in the days of its weakness that it could be overwhelmed he rV restrained strained the power of the wicked so that the gro growth ath and strength of the work would be commensurate with the opposition it had to contend with As its circle circie enlarged as its influence extended 0 opposition P grew proportionately from townships it extended to cities As the work grew and outspread these limits it excited the opposition of counties counties As its influence continued to 0 grow from one county it extended to D adjacent counties all the time growing ng all the time increasing all the time line meeting with as much opposition as Ls it couldwell could well weli bear up under wonderfully der has the providence of our god been exhibited in the care rare exercised over his growing church and his increasing people had it not been for this care my brethren and sisters we should not have the happy hapak privilege that we enjoy this day of meeting together in peace in this tabernacle er had Sata satan been adeen permitted to wreak his vengence upon the church in the commencement it could easil essil easily HZ have been extinguished in blood had the same power that was exercised against the church in the days of nauvoo when the blood of our prophet and anci patriarch and our present resent president d ent drenched the soli soly soil of illinois had that same spirit bee bet been m permitted to have wreaked wrecked its vengeance ance upon the church in the early days it could with no more excitement than was then raised have completely efti extirpated abed the priesthood from the face of we the earh earth but god as I 1 have said in his wonderful providence re restrained strained strai ned the wrath of the wicked wicked in the early RIX da days s of the church bro franklin D richards has told us this morning that for eight years after the birth of a child it is f free ree f from rom the power of temptation and satan god restrains the power of satan forbids him to exercise it over the tender child and so in like manner did ile he restrain the power of satan in the early lays days of this church so that there was a limit to its exercise over the church in its weak condition but as power increased as the gifts of god were manifested as the keys of the priesthood were revealed unto the children of men so byo did the wrath of the wicked so did the violence of mobs so did the combinations that were formed with the object of demtro destroying v in the work of f god increase in the their rr strength and it in their numbers agthe As the work progressed so did the spirit of opposition progress one keeping keepin pace apparently with the other ani and there is a wise purpose in this when we contemplate the great destiny that awaits this people we can see the wisdom and the purpose of our god in permitting persecution to keep pace with the growth crowth and the advancement of the work it is just as necessary that we should be developed in our strength it ts is jurt jut as necessary that we should be developed in our faith I 1 as anything else connected with the work woric of our god if it were not for foi this we could not become the people that god designs we could not mini the destiny that he has in store for us if it were not for these terrible ordeals to which this church and this people have been subjected in tte past and to which they are now exposed and which doubtless will continue to increase as the church increases until the da day comes when the einga Kinga kingdom om of god ami will triumph over every obstacle and be I 1 full fuli ully established upon the face of the earth but as I 1 have remarked as the kingdom has grown and spread so have davd the words of our beloved prophet been literally fulfilled men say sa yOh oh if you TOU will only boniv get et a revelation concerning P polygamy 0 I 1 if you yon vo u will only lay polygamy asi ast aside gamy e you will gift no longer have any opposition to contend with it you will only conform to modern ideas concern I 1 ing your domestic institutions we shall I 1 have nothing to say against you the opposition t that hat bat finds now such strong support will be deprived of its war cry and of the sympathy of thousands that sustain it at the present time thia they will be deprived of this and you will go along niong like the rest of the churches without having to suffer from the opposition and the hatred that now are manifested against you 1 vain thought a thought that is oni only ex presse expressed by those who know not nothing ing of ah xh the character of this work who agrenot are not fa familiar illar with the hist history 0 of this dispensation and who ludge judge of ly f the effects of such movements by their human knowledge and the experience per peri perl lence ence that they have with other systems this system that godhan god has established this great work of our god cannot be measured by human thought the effects of this work and an d that which it Is accomplishing 0 on n the earth that which it will w it accomplish on the earth cannot be estimated by anything that is known among men it Is entirely unique unlike anything else that has ever been upon the earth since our savior laid the foundation of that dispensation pensa tion there has never beeney thing like it among men and therefore every calculation concerning it every prognostication and eve every eveny ry suggestion Is Is at fault in re regard ard to this work of our god for I 1 se be it understood as we well understand it as a people that before the public revelation of plural marriage the opposition to this work was str stronger ong er accord according ing to the strength of the people than it has been since therefore those who understand this work know very well that anything of this kind unless indeed the people should apostatize would haye hayg no such effect as our f friends in many instances th think I 1 I 1 it t would have As I 1 have haye remarked opposition has continued to grow and increase u until today to dayas day as we have been told and led i to expect upwards of half a century ago not only has it been a township not only has it been a county not only has it been a state that has hasar nasar arrayed itself against the work of god and instituted measures for its overthrow and entire destruction but today this great fact stares us in th the e face it t presses itself upon our attention lom we ve cannot shut our eyes to it this 1 reat fact that today to day the united mates tates tales in its governmental capacity has pitted itself at the work wort 0 of our god and has passed measures for its complete overthrow and de destruction most wonderfully wondern won derf ully has god thus far fulfilled f ul filled every word that has been spoken by the mouth of his inspired prophet tl and shall we who witness the remarkable fulfillment fulfilment of this prophecy shall shull we today to day shrink from the he issue that is presented to us shall shail we in view of all that god has said to us concerning the past and all that he has predicted concerning the future shall we falter shall we tremble or grow weak in our knees shall shail we webe become I 1 co me palsied in our eff efforts orts and let go of that great work of our god which eh Is 19 entrusted to totis us God forbid that there should d be any weakening that thera should be any faltering that there be any lowering of the fla fia flag or any weakening of the kiles or 0 e any trembling of the heart in view of all anat presents itself before us however appalling the vision may be to mortal sight god forbid that thau there should be anything of this kind iii la the hearts or in the actions of any mandr man or woman women who calls himself or herself a latter alaster dayal daral darai day saint nt for he be it known unto you my brethren and sisters be it known unto all the earth everywhere that thit god years and years ago told us by the mouth of I 1 ills lears Is inspired prophet that these things the fulfillment fulfilment of which we now behold would actually take place and that we should have these thin thins things s to meet and to contend with and t 9 overcome what shall be the future result Is this to be |