Show jd E S 0 0 up S M BY M APOSTLE jelm DELIVERED in the tabernacle logan logon saturday afternoon february and 2nd 1884 t REPORTED BY jolln joun the near coming ot of the lord jesus jeans christ the saints should n not noi 0 think he lle dela yeth his coming the work to be accomplished temples already built and many more will yet be built redemption ot of tho dead ezekiels vision of the valley which was full fuli ol of dry bones now how long will it take to accomplish the work until every soul has had an opportunity of receiving and obeying the gospel but will wili the lord delay his coming until all this work is ae accomplished complis hed by no means meana joseph smiths mission on earth and behind the veil another mission to be undertaken the resurrection of joseph smith nigh at hand band the meaning of the expression the morning of the first resurrection resurrections conclusion I 1 AM asked to speak but I 1 feel in attempting to do so that my speech will be barren unless the lord is pleased to inspire my mind by the holy spirit I 1 know there is faith in the hearts of the people and the lord I 1 is able to give words of edification and comfort I 1 am not however impressed with anything in particular in the way of doctrine to speak to my brethren and sisters I 1 have only a feelen feeling to exhort in general terms the latter day saints realize as I 1 do that every year brings us nearer to the coming of our lord that every month and week and day that pass over our heads brin bring us nearer to the great and im important octant events that must transpire and ana ans that it does not become us to ei ve way to a f feeling eeling of apathy and diff ernce and to say in our hearts the lord dela yeth ills his coming and that tomorrow to morrow will be as this day and much more abundant and that the ne next nest generation w will 11 be e like ilke c t the e present and as the world orl ori has as conal continued aed to roll rol on as generations have come and generations have ave gone so will it be wit with us an and our children I 1 say it does not become us to give wa way to these sentiments and f feelings feekings eelene gs wilh which are common with un believers with the world or with the unenlightened who have not a knowledge of god who have not been favored with the li liht light ht of revelation who have not discerned th the e signs of the times f for or we are not the children of darkness but the children of light light has come unto us we have been called out of darkness unto light we have been translated from the kingdom of darkness unto the kin hin kingdom adom of gods dear son and therefore rg it may and ought to be said of us as saint paul pau I 1 said concerning the saints ye brethren are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief it is written miswritten and we expect it to be itil filled upon the heads of the unbelieving and the wicked that the lord will overtake them as a thief in the n night 1 in such an hour said the S savior a gr as ye think not the son of man cometh who then is a faithful f ful ua and wise servant whom his lord hath made ruler over his household to give them meat in due season blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find nd so doin doln doing verily I 1 say unto you that he shall make him ruler over all his goods but and if that evil servant shall say in his heart my lord dela yeth his coming and shall be begin g i n to smite his fellow servants and to e eat at and drink with the drunken the lord of that servant shall come in a day aay when he not f for or him and in an hour that he is not aware of an and d shall cut him asunder and appoint him his bis portion with the hypocrites now it is not impossible nor yet improbable t that at the there re will be be some among the latter att erday day saints who are called of god and appointed to this work and who are set over their fellow servants to give ve v them meat in due season who eifle will be f found sound negligent who will have forgotten tor lor gotten their high and holy calling who will have lau iau laid off their armor 0 of righteousness who will have become slothful and weary in well doing and who will have taken to eating and drinking with the drunken and smiting heir f fellow enow servants but as surely as any such are found amon among the servants of god the they will vill be overtaken taken when the day of tie the lord cometh and their portion will be appointed with hypocrites and unbelievers believers un but we hope better things of the elders of israel of presidents of stakes of bishops ot of high counselors of high 1115 h priests of seventies of priests teachers and deacons and of all the latter day saints for we have all been made par takers of this priesthood and the blessings of the lord directly or indirectly have been conferred upon us the work before us is a gr great eatone one and very much remal rem aineth neth to be accomplished according to the prophecies israel is to be gathered jerusalem rebuilt zion established established the vineyard of tile tiie lord pruned and the corrupt branches cutoff cut off and cast into the fire while the good branches shall be grafted in and partake of the root and fatness of the tame olive tree there is a great work to be accomplished in the earth but the lord has said by the mouth of his servants that ile he will cut ills his work short in righteousness in building up his kingdom in the latter days true when the lord s speak eadeth eth ue he does not reckon time as we wedo so the tim sim evas in the infancy of this thi church when our minds were so narrow compared ared to what they are mow wow that we faked looked for the speedy coming of our lord and the accomplishment accomplishment of ills his great work before t this is time but as our oan minds grew grevy and our ideas enlarged we began to precelle prec elve eive that we were only children in our views and feelings our ideas and expectations we had the views ideas and expectations of children and we see how the lord has hits enlarged israel and expanded ills his work and now we behold so much more to be accomplished than what has been accomplished that we are apt in our minds to put off the day ot of the lord a great way the time was that we looked for one tem temple tempie 1 e tile tiie early revelations mcgive given n to tt the c latter day saints pred predicted ted a temple in zion and zion in nour our minds at that time was a little place on the missouri river in jackson county western missouri massou ri a town and a few surrounding villages or a country peradventure it may maybe be as large as a county when we first heard the f ulness of the gospel preached by the first elders and read the revelations ve lations given iven through the prophet joseph smith our ideas of zion were very limited but as our minds beggan began to 0 grow ow and expand why we be began an to 1 look 0 0 upon zion as a great people e and the stakes of zion as numerous and the area of the country to be inhabited by the people of zion as this great american continent or at least such portions of it as the lord should consecrate for the gathering of llis liis people we ceased to set bounds to zion and her stakes we began also to cease to think about a single temple in one certain place seeing the different stakes of zion that were being organized we perceived the idea possibly of as many temples having had one s spot P ot pointed out in the revelations for the temple in jackson count county I 1 our minds expanded so that in a s short art time we were building another temple in a stake of zion in A little while afterwards we were laying the foundation of a temple in far west missouri and driven before our enemies from that place we next laid the foundation and built up a temple unto the lord in nauvoo when we located in the mountains and laid the foundation of a temple in salt lake city who of us had an idea that before it should be completed we would be administering in a temple in st george and another r in logan and another in manti and who conceives the idea to today day that by theotime the time these are com completed ini lri eted and the saints have officiated in them hem we will be scattered over the american continent building temples in a hundred other places all this comes within the range of possibility nay probability almost amounting to certainty one on e of my brethren behind me here who understands these thin thins things s and who can speak knowingly in regard to them says that we aay may put it down aown as a certainty that by and by there will be hundreds of these temples throughout the land our minds are beginning to comprehend the object and purpose of the temples of our god we realize that they are places where the lord bestows bestons the keys of life and salvation bertam pertaining int t to 0 the svetla sting priesthood ana and opens the door of kedem redemption and salvation unto our dead we q e begin to comprehend a little of the vision shown to ezekiel as recorded dedin in the chapter of his book eze edehl Ez eHl ehi 1 I 1 while under the influence of the S spirit I 1 rit of the lord was set down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones he explored the valley saw there were very many bones and lo 10 they were very dry the lord commanded him to prop prophesy liesy concerning them and he prophesied saying 0 ye dry bones hear the word of the lord thus saith the lord god unto these bones behold I 1 will awill cause breath to enter into you and ye shall live and I 1 will lay ay s sinews aws upon you an and will 11 bring ring pitr u up flesh es upon you an and cover you ou with sk skin lii iii and put breath in you and ye sha shall shail live and ye shall know that I 1 am the lord ord and the breath came unto them and they lived and stood up upon their feet an exceeding great army then theu he said sald unto me son on of man these bones are arc the whole house of israel behold they say our bones are dry and our hope is lost we are cut onn oil for our parts now these were not the prophets and saints and righteous dead who had been partakers par takers of the blessings of the gospel and of the priesthood while in the tiesh flesh but were those who had passed off in a day of darkness and in their lost condition said to one another and said in their hearts our bones are dried and our hone hono is lost we are arc cut off for our parts but lo 10 the plan pian of salvation for the dead is revealed the scheme which the father had provided for the redemption of those whose hope was lost and who were cut off is revealed unto their children unto those who have been ga gathered catherea therea from their long dispersion and who have received the keys of the holy priesthood which bri ngeth life and salvation to the dead as well as to the living having these keys committed unto us we proceed to establish zion to build up her stakes to aund jund julid her temples to gather together those who purify themselves before the lord and q qualify and fit themselves to become saviors upon mount zion by entering into holy places and officiating for themselves and their dead thus laying the f foundation oun dation f for or the redemption R of the dead in being baptized for them in being ordained for them in being blessed blesse dand and endowed for them in receiving the keys and the keywords key words for them that in the day when the elders who dave lave have passed behind the veil shall preach to them the gospel of glad tidings n s of great joy W lo 10 0 and behold I 1 they rill wm receive it and will be put in pos session of those keis kers endowments and blessings whereby whereby they may be freed from their prison houses auses and ana and be raised from the dead and stand upon their feet an exceeding great army and be restored to the blessings which god promised to abraham isaac and jacob and their seed after them now this is the work before us and I 1 want wan to asi my brethren the elders of israel how long shall we be in accomplishing comp lishing this work can I 1 tell teli you no it is not given me to know it is sufficient for us to know that the time has come for the work to be done that the lord has turned the key and opened the door that it is an effectual door which no man can shut the door of life and salvation hence it is our duty to step forward and magnify the calling ailen g whereunto god has called us send out the young youn men inen of israel send out the middle aged send out those who have not as yet cleared their garments of the blood of this generation to call tile the children of men to repentance and to see how pany many will engage with us in this great reat work of salvation and become sav saviors lors bors upon mount zion but this preaching the gospel to the outside world is a small part of the work it is but the A B C of the lesson to be arned learned and the work to be accomplished how long I 1 ask shall we be in accomplishing this work it is not as 1 I have said given to me to know but I 1 can tell you yon in general terms As long as there is one soul of all the sons and daughters of adam that have been born on this earth that has not had an 0 opportunity port unity of receiving and obeying tre the gospel as long as there is one soul that is in a condition to be saved and that can be reached by this plan of salvation so long will the latter day saints be eng engaged aged in this work but what I 1 was going to bring before your minds was this shall we expect that the lord jesus Is going to delay ills his comin coming in the midst of his people until all this great work shall nave have been accomplished by no means I 1 do not understand that ile he has ever intimated anything of this kind nor need we wait in ill our faith and in our expectations till all these great and glorious things shall have been accomplished on the earth before the prophet joseph smith shall shail come unto usa us again ain aln he lle has only go gone n e from our midst for a little season he has merely taken another mission in advance of us lie he f fulfilled ul filled the mission given unto him on oil earth the lord was satisfied with his labors here lie he lived long enough to endow his brethren with f ull full authority to carry on the work that he had begun on the earth he took his departure behind the veil the lord suffered his enemies to destroy him in the flesh fl esh to take away his life and he was made an offering what shall I 1 say an offering f for or sin not in the sense in which the savior was ellered oll oli ered but he was made a martyr for the truth and his blood was shed to attest the testimony that he bore to the world lie he entered upon another short shoji mission where why unto his brethren of the house ol of israel and as many of the gentiles as will receive wis hka testimony behind the veil the mission of our lord and savior jesus christ between his death and resurrection was a similar mission but a very short one it lasted only three days while his body lay in the tomb his spirit visited the spirits in in prison turned tile the key and opened the irison door of of their prison house and offered unto them the gospel of salvation how many of them were prepared to avail themselves of it at that time comparatively f few ew but heo opened reopened he the door and offered the message of life and salvation and having do done ne this his fellow laborers the sev seventies t les ies elders and others whom he ordained to the ministry as fast as they finished their ministry in the flesh continued their work among the spirits in prison so is the prophet t joseph smith officiating and ministering to those spirits and so are all his brethren the apostles who have gone in his wake who have followed asit as it were ivere indis in his track they tiley have just gone behind the veil who shall we say let us call to mind a few of the brethren who have passed away brother david |