Show br ur uh OR uh 11 n calnon DELIVERED J in n the tabernacle ogden sunday morning january I 1 ath 1885 REPORTED BY JOHN IRVINE I 1 AM MA pleased to have the opportunity of meeting with tile the latter day saints sainta this morning in ogden and of listen in ing to the reports which have been yma ima made de by the brethren respecting the sunday schools school and the young toung mens mutual improvement associations these institutions furnish an index to the growth crowth and develop ment of the people e ople opie and the future character of those who are ab nb w wand and will be members rs of the church in years to come I 1 think a very fair estimate can be formed of what our people will be by closely observing the condition of the sunday schools and the mutual improvement associations because those children and those young oung men and young women naomen who ara are now members of these schools and associations will in a very f few sew ew years take their place as active members in the community and the character of therom unity ra be larg largely ely cly dependent upon A their characters and upon the develop ment which they have made in the directions ions that these institutions seek to form them I 1 look upon it myself as exceedingly important that our schools should be properly conducted and that our associations should receive that attention from those who have influence and knowledge make a proper impression upon the binds of those who are in members embers iri Iii whatever capacity capacio I 1 might ig t be acal acting in t the e pi iest lest 0 bd the proper feeling e I 1 ofa of anxiety let iet ab about oil oui the growth an and development eve lo 10 ent of th the e p people gopie I 1 cou con could not fall fali to take interest te re st in all these associations and to see sec that they were properly conducted as faras my influence would extend I 1 do feel this interest I 1 have for many years felt it it has been one of the great reat delights I 1 may say of malile my alte for lor very many years to see the growth and development of our sunday school interest for many years while laboring in the ministry abroad I 1 saw how small was the amount of f fruit ruit resulting f from rom the labors of in myself self seif and other riders elders eiders in the world that t we labored some times for years and were only able to bring into the church a comparative f few ew and then out of those that were converted and the church there was a large percentage who did dia not remain but who lost the faith and fell away I 1 became convinced la in mr my mind that more inore satisfactory results and a larger amount of fruit could be obtained by devoting attention to the cultivation of our children bil Ill dren and for years before I 1 had the opportunity I 1 had resolved in my own mind that if I 1 were ever permitted to remain at home long iong enough I 1 would devote attention to the cultivation of the young I 1 think that which has been done in this direction has amply rewarded every man and woman who have taken interest in this cause you can better tell probably than I 1 can cac or at least some of you can what the enn eff effect act upon our community is the effect of the sunday school aud and of the teachings of tho the sunday schools you are familiar with the children you can contrast their present condition with the condition of children a lew few years ao a ago o and by making this contrast you cin can estimate at p pretty retty near its value that which is and has been done so faras far as my observation is concerned I 1 am satisfied that a great amount of has been accomplished 9 I 1 have bood een on missions when elders have come from the valley young men an and I 1 have been very much ashamed to see their ignorance in regard to the doctrines of the church and of the history of the church and thein their ignorance of the scriptures I 1 have f felt feit elt eit that it was almost a shame that young men brought up in zion should go as missionaries sion aries and be so ignorant concerning the most vital points connected P ith our religion I 1 am happy to believe beleve 1 that that has passed away to a very great extent and that those who now go out in the capacity of missionaries do so with a more thorough understanding der standing respect respecting ing lug the history of the Church the doctrines of the church and a wider intelligence concerning concertin con cernin everything connected with tile the churek church thad thau was formerly manifested idour in our sunday schools I 1 have bare listened to children being catechised catechi sed and their answers upon points of history roi foi of the church and other matters have been given with a correctness that 0 U id no not t be excelled if equalled equal led by bv etc i many iny of the elders of mature years if they were interrogated upon the same p r oats every one who has visited sunday schools must be convinced of this There therefore forey foret when we nye hear as we do today to day that in some of your settle ments nearly all the tile children are ane en rolled in the sunday schools it speaks well for the future of the children if these schools are properly conducted the effect must be immense in liftin lifting atheni athena them up from ignorance and giving them correct knowledge concern concerning the doctrines and history of t the e hurch church and indoctrinating them in the e principles which we view as so important por nt tor for men and women wo men to u understand understand it is therefore very gratifying to hear such reports an and that which we have heard today to day respecting the schools in i weber stake is a very fair sample of tho the reports which are mado mada laither in other makes we have today to day so far aa as statistics inform us nearly children in sunday schools these cli cil children aldren will in a very few years be men and women taking their place in s society clety probably m married ardred ana and their influence influence will be 71 feit felt t u upon P anthe the future families of the people and if they are properly taught in the principles of the gospel and are fortified against sin and are arc taught the evil effects that will result from the practice of evereth everything in 11 that is wrong we can imagine what nhat an effect this will have on the entire body of the people I 1 it is therefore very encouraging cou raging to all those who take an interest in the growth of zion in the development of the work of god to know that our children in prim primary ar associations in sunday schools an and in young men men and young I 1 omens mutual improvement associations are receiving the tile instruction that is best adapted for their f future good and happiness there are a few points that I 1 have always deemed as of the utmost importance that our children should be taught the more so because such teaching guards them against some gome of the growing evils of the age in which ve we live it has seemed to me sometimes that if the lord had not established this church at the time lie he did the future of our race raie would be in some respects ve very dark and hopeless to con contemplate template tha the growth of intemperance the spirit of infidelity concerning goi got go i and aud concer concerning nim everything pertaining to god and to io righteousness the wonderful spread of corruption the low value placed upon virtue and the increase of the evils that resul tf rom the absence of virtue are of such a nature feature that it if you look outside this church the picture is a most disco discouraging g one godhan established this church and ile he has told us from the very beginning that the chief corner stone it may be said of this great edifice that nellas hellas he has reared and is rearing is virtue early in the history of the church church the prophet joseph received revelations to this tills effect that he who looked upon a woman to lust after her should deny the faith and unless he repented he should be cast out what an amount of purity is embodied in this statement of the lord to us in this revelation 1 A man must not noti only refrain from doing that which is wrong with the opposite opposite sex he must not only refrain from carrying his lust into the actual commission of crime but he must be so pure in heart that he shall not look upon the other sex with a lustful eye and a lustful desire if he does so we are told by the almighty that lie be shall deny the faith now I 1 cannot imagine how the lord can make more plain to us than ile he has done in these revelations for itis re pea tedmore than once in the revelations that we have received the importance of virtue the importance of purity purity in thought as Is well as purity in action the frequent acosta sies this church tiie the many who have left the church denied the faith lost the spirit of god the most of them no doubt are arc traceable to the commission of this sin it is as I 1 have said the crying sin of the tile age outside of this church virtue is not fostered as it should be of course there are exceptions I 1 do not mean to say that all people are corrupt I 1 would not be so sweeping but in society generally there is not that value places placey placed upon virtue that should be and in many circles the virtue of man roan is derided A man who claims to be virtuous pr who desires or seeks to be orvious trelous Ir elous lous ious finds himself alone as it were among his fellows therefore it is of the utmost importance that we in training our children should lay deep and solid in their minds the importance of virtue they should be taught that their whole lives aa as latter day saints depend upon tile the cultivation and preservation of tills this principle and that if they are guilty of wron wrong in this direction unless there is sincere sincere and heartfelt j ebent ance before the lord he ile will undoubtedly withdraw his holy spirit from them tham and leave them to themselves to become a prey to those wicked influx edees that are seeking constantly to take possession of the heart hearty a ot of the saints of god now we can best do chisin this in childhood we can teach our children in childhood and in youth and as they erow STOW to manhood and to womanhood we can f fortify them against those evils it has been necessary apparently for the spirit has seemed to indicate the necessity of this thi that there should be grester greater strictness enforced among our people there has been a growth of wrongdoing wrong doing iu in manx many quarters that has been most painful to all ali those who have tile the welfare of the saints of god at heart and wilo aillo des desire re the tiie prosperity of zion many mady cases have come coine to the know knowledge leil ieli geottge of the first presidency and of the twelve and of other leading leadin men wherein people have been be e a compelled in order to conceal tile their ir wrongdoing wrong doing to marry and even then have failed to cover it tip lip now w such a condition of things it if permitted to continue in our midst unchecked would be productive of tile the most terrible consequences the spirit spirl t of god undoubtedly would be so g grieved 61 eved that it would forsake not only t those hose who are guilty of these acts but I 1 it t would withdraw itself from those who would suffer them ato to be ilc done in our midst unchecked aud and and from the President of the church down through throughout ont the entire ranks of the priesthood thre th re rc would be a loss of the spirit of god a withdrawal of his ills gifts and blassl ng and his power because of their not liot taking the proper measures to check and to expose their iniquity my brethren and sisters I 1 suppose you must be impressed as I 1 am with this truth that our only source of strength la Is that we shall live so that the spirit an and ana d po gifts of our rel rei religion hion and the favor lavor of our god shall be extended unto us and be la in our possession there never was a more critical period in many respects in inthe the history of the church of jesus christ than that which we now wit witness nebs I 1 ne never in my roy recollection or in reading zer ger the t e history his tory of the church have seen a time nor heard of a time when tile tiie adversary of gods kingdom was more de term destro destroy y the work of god than lie he is at the present time on oil every hand there are the most persistent efforts made to check the growth of the kingdom of god and not only oil that but to destroy this religion td the rell reil religion lon ion of jesus christ and to throw ast obstacles acles in the pathway path way of its progress and to actually deprive members of this church of or every right that men inen and women value every political right every civil right to place us in bondage and to maky makl make it odious in the eyes of mankind to be latter day saints or to have any faith falth walthin a the religion that god has revealed to us and of which we nye are so proud and for tor which we are as a rule so thankful ua now we do not have wealth with which to combat the desi designs ns of our enemies we do not haye have numbers we do not have indence inu ence euce there is no strength that we have that men value and that men seek for in a contest such as that in which we are engaged we possess no advantage none whatever that men place value upon but we possess advantages that we understand and which we as latter day S saints ants highly value 1 e and they are the best advantages however much muck they may be disliked by the world however little importance they may attach to the advantages that we possess we know shatina that in a contest buce such as this in which we are now engaged gaw gag ge d they are of the utmost importance to begin with we must as I 1 have said be a virtuous people we must love virtue better than we love our lives we must be so pure not only in our actions but in our though thoughts ta that god gods S fa favor V or W will wiil I 1 11 be w with I 1 th u us s and his ills spirit rest down upon us and we must live the lives of latter day saints carrying out in our lives the principles r aples that god has hay revealed this Is our r only strength let us be deprived of this and we are weak because as I 1 have said we possess no other advantage if we prevail as undoubtedly we nye shall it must be because of gods help it must be because lie ile is at our oun right and at our left and his ills power Is round round about us and ana nearun near unto tous us looking at our posIt iou Jou from rom a human standpoint everything looks dark men today to day are calculating on the destruction of this people they think that we shall at least be colu coln compelled to abandon some features of our religion n in some places and with some people it is church and state they complain of in other places it is that we practice plural marriage in other places there are otar other reasons assigned for their dislike tous to us we are too united wedo we do not divide into parties wherever wego we go we nye cling together and ana do not assimilate with the rest of our fellow citizens but are a party of ourselves and are dangerous dan erous crous because of this and various accusations are arc made cation for the treatment that is extended to us men whose lives are so vile that they would not bear the least examination much iss iss exposure sure make the charge against us that we practice plural in marriage arriage and therefore that we should be git xit dealt with in the harshest and most severe auner manner in on the other hand men who are constantly seeking for political ml influence 9 who do not scruple crup lt to use that influence in the most reprehensible manner and to the utmost extent possible and frequently preachers too charge that we unite church and state they would gladly use the influence that we have it they had llad it and use it in |