Show M M A F I 1 S BT APOSTLE JOHN HENRY SMITH DELIVERED in the me new tabernacle provo sunday afternoon august 1885 2885 14 REPORTED BY JOHN IR IRVINE 1 V LIM I 1 FEEL to congratulate you upon the success you ha have hase attained in having a place in which you can hold a conference for some time past I 1 have f elt leit that the conferences in utah stake were not so well attended as they should be of course I 1 I 1 fully ally sense the reason I 1 am pleased that today to day at least the building that we are in is not crowded and that the saints that are here have learned that il a thousand more can find accommodation on occasions of this kind I 1 think my brethren and sisters that much credit is due you for this labor due your president and the committee you have selected to gather together the contributions for the erection of 0 this building and I 1 for or its completion so far and I 1 nave have no doubt but that in the future the brethren and sisters of this stake will cheerfully give of their means to advance this work to its completion I 1 do not know what the spirit of the lord may have to sa ato you this afternoon during the t time e I 1 may speak to you but I 1 desire to be entirely under the of the holy spirit I 1 f lully ally realize that the spirit of the lord can prompt our utterances in a way that those who may speak and those who may listen shall be profited by what is said I 1 had pleasure this mornin morning in listening to the practical inspru instructions ons that were given to us by our brethren upon the law of tithing and to the testimonies that were borne in regard to tha truth of the gospel that after years of labor and anxiety and frequently of bitter expert experience ence men can rise in our midst and bear testimony of the truth of the convictions that have been in their minds for many years there are many subjects that are frau fraught ht with interest to us and while I 1 cannot expect to be able to speak to you upon any subject that will ue be particularly ticul arly new yet under the influence of the spirit of god I 1 trust I 1 may be able as others have been to give utterance to something beaning bearing upon the principles of the gospel that may awaken in the minds of the young at least a desire for research or t to a again awaken in the minds of some that perchance may have grown cold in that that brought them from the lands in which they were born M my mind rev reverts arts to the ath chapter of malachi fifth and sixth verses verse S behold I 1 will send you elijah the pro fro phet before the coming ot of the great and dreadful day dayot dayos of the lord and he shall turn the heart ot of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers lest I 1 come and smite the earth with a curse in listening this morning to the remarks of my brethren in regard to the practical tactical rac duties of the gospel I 1 was red fed led to reflect seriously upon the causes that have brought together here in these valleys of the mountains peoples of so many nationalities it is probable that within the confines at of no state or territory within the union can there be found a greater variety so far as nationalities are concerned than can be found in this region of country the causes that have led to emigration into the various states and territories of the union probably are different in every respect to those causes that have led us to gather to this region of tou country it Is true that a spirit of 0 restlessness has seized we might say upon the peoples of the whole world m a dread that tends to malie make men fearful regarding themselves and the interests of their posterity there are causes at work among the peoples of every land that are creating consternation in the ranks of all classes this is not only true in the land in which we live but it is true of almost every civilized government go upon the face of the earth there are restless spirits that have tended to create confusion to disorganize society to render life and property unsafe and to create with within a the minds of people a dread as to the consequences that will flow from the condition of things that odist among the human family this no doubt has led in a large degree to the great emigration that has taken place from various parts of the old world to this land that has made people desirous of changing their abode in the hope frequently frequently of bettering their circumstances their i leir prospects at home were not such as they desired them to be and into the states and territories of the united states have drifted elements from all parts of the world led hither in the hope of being able to draw to themselves the blessings sin bin and comforts of life which were denied 1 I them thein in the lands to which they belonged in other Instance instances 3 men have deen been led to abandon the section of country in which they lived from a dread of the government to which they belonged a feeling of disloyalty so to speak eak to the government under which t grey they ther had been born and reared the causes howe however veng verg that have led people to emigrate emigrate to the various states and territories are different to those which have induced people to come to our territory in the first place as remarked by one of our leading men y years ears ago those who first settled in th this 1 r region e 0 n 0 of f country n axy came here willingly ei because e c au s e coth coah they ey had to there seemed to be no other spot to which i they hey could go and desiring that they in might enjoy immunity from religious persecution that they might establish themselves far far removed from the people e whose prejudices had been aroused again against t them e an and who 0 were that e s oui the principles of t ein eln faith saith t e sought to make the home wit in t ese peaceful val vai leys of the in mountains un ins following in their wake you and I 1 from the various lands which the elders eldors had bad visited i made our way to this country not with the intention solely of bettering our condition in this life but bul with this h hope ope ape that we might be f fully liv instructed in n regard to the principles of bf the goi gospel p el a few of which we had been taught p previous rev ous to our coming here they ey taught us the doctrine of falth faith t they ey taught us of the justice of go god of the consideration coils calls Ide ration that he had pad rad for his is children c and that he was not the narrow contracted being that the teachings of the sectarian world would lead us to believe that he was the theory that because a man had lived in an age when the true principles of the gospel were not taught among men in their fullness and purity and had died without a knowledge of a risen redeemer the theory that there was no red ned redemption emp for such seem to us as we reflect upon the matter incompatible with the justice of our heavenly father the doctrine the elders brought to MS us opened the door so we could understand the principles of the gospel they brought with them the witness ot et the spirit which stamped upon our minds the truth of the utterances that were made they held out to us something beyond simpie simple faith and the prospect that the ordinances of at the gospel would not only reach us but those who were dead opened up a door bychich by which and through which we might 40 something in the interests of those who knew not the plan of life and salvation the servants of god who made their appearance arance in dur our midst explained to us a plan so broad and so comprehensive pertaining to the whole human family that it struck us as indeed one of the grandest schemes in theory atlease at least that had ever been revealed to the human family we were filled with joy and satisfaction at the prospect of being being able to do something for our kindre kindred who were dead a prospect that had not been held out to us by the sectarian world or by those that had been regarded e d in many instances as good men in and ad that had lar labored orect in the interests of the human family the scriptures appeared to us in a new 11 liht light ht th they gave us new thoughts bej bep they ilist instilled edie edle gave into us new energy i they held out to us better prospect prospects it is true the call was made madu upon us to leave the homes in which vye we had been reared we were called upon to leave everything ever thing with which we had been familiar the old church with which we had been identified the graves of our ancestors were there the ties that bound us to the government under which we had lived were there wo we were called to leave all the place in which the elders met us was our home and it had been our aulbi ambition tion to make it a desirable spot but when the glad aidin tidings s of great joy jop sounded in our ears our ur minds were enlightened and we looked forward to th the e future mare ive we vve could see how bow the dead were to be redeemed we could see our posterity growing up in the nurture and admonition of trie lord untrammeled oy by the tile traditions of the world there was awakened within our hearts a willingness to abandon the scenes of our youth that we might work in harmony with ile lle the people of god seeking to advance and build up among man kinda religion so broad and comprehensive in and of itself that it reached out to our kindred that had bad gone before opened the way by which we could relieve them from their condition we could then comprehend the verses verges I 1 have read that god our father would turn the heart of the fathers to the tile children and the heart of the children to their fathers that they might b be e saved for these things we left our native homeland homes home sand and all that was near and dear to us that we might unlock the door of life and salvation in justice alike to the living and the pretended reh ended the greatness of this plan vve we are able to see that god would not be so unjust as to send our parents down to death and condemnation because they did not possess privileges that we are permitted to enjoy we realized that those who were dead would have extended to them the same rights and privileges which had been veen elven eiven iven to us and that none would be denied aenied the use of the agency with which they had been endowed you and I 1 ai are e searching the earth for genealogical re cords records that we may attend to this great work our hearts are turned in that direction an interest has been awa awakened bened within us and within hundreds who have a desire to delve in this kind of lore thus tho the heart of the fathers are being turned to the children and the heart of the children to their fa fathers to the end that every man should be Judged according to the opportunities he lie has las ras enjoyed if he possessed assessed not these opportunities here re he should not be denied them there he should have the right to make selection for himself whether ho he will receive the gospel or reject it thusly brethren and sisters sister sl might 1 go a on and reason upon other principles of 0 1 the gospel there is nothing noth perhaps haps 3 that is co comprehended W within the faith that we have espoused that opens u up to our view so great a field for nar mar labor as does this one baptism for the dead for these and other causes we have been brwn from our native lands lauds we have come to be taught and instructed of god we have come here for the purpose of rearing to our god temples wherein we can enter and perform the ordinances thad that will bind the children to the fathers and the fathers to tho the childr children enthat that all may be judged alike for this ause say the scriptures was the gospel preached to them that are dead that they might be ing to men in the flesh but live according to god in the spirit Itom compare pare this system with the ideas that are extant among the religious world or with the view as expressed to me by a divine upon jhb streets of liverpool but a few months ago that they who had died without a knowledge of the savior of the world were irretrievably lost must euffer suffer with the damned eternally I 1 turned away from him in disgust informing him that I 1 could not receive such a religion that I 1 could not believe in such a delty deity I 1 I 1 eel feel that it would not be prudent to take taken up more of your time but as asther thera ere ore many young men and young women here who probably may not have received a testimony of the truth I 1 desire to bear my testimony to the truth of the mission of joseph smith to the truth of the mission of brigham young to lo 10 the truth of the mission of john taylor tay tax tor lor to the truth of the mission of the lat ter day saints in the accomplishment of the purposes of god in the preaching of the gospel to the world that inea inen may maybe be action judged for their acceptance or rejection of the truth I 1 bear my testimony to you my young brethren and Sisters that I 1 do know that god has restored his bis work with all its rights privileges and powers that it has been sent for the redemption of his children that it has come to stay that it will stay and that nothing upon the face of the earth will retard its gress ress or interfere with its development for far lor god has decreed that it shall conquer the earth this Is his decree and I 1 bear witness that this is true and ana I 1 lie not as I 1 elpe expect t to meet my master at the last day may god bless uless you in the name of jesus amen |