Show DISCOURSE DELIVERED BY buy jonn JOHN till JL L 0 R J jn the alth ward dard ward meeting giouse on an sunday afternoons afternoon december 1878 BY GEO F GIBBS WE wn meet together from ilmo ilme to time to attend to the worship of the almighty became we think it ia Is proper for forus us to pay due respect unto the lord god our heavenly father fattier we assemble ourselves for the purpose of praying to him of singing slinging his pra praises tees ibes of speak speaking ipg of principles doctrines ordinances and other matters in which wo we are indi vidu aily ully and collectively interested all of which ia la more or less connect ee ea with the worship of our god there is something associated with our vip viv glywa ws that chat differs dinners materially from those thode of many others the lord has baa rpy jey paled unto ui us his wiil will or UW lawi he has given unto lis ua a akao knowledge of the o pies plea of and and heid held he is peeking boy toy the tho means he bas has appointed toe medium of the everlasting lasting gospel to tod prepare us for the eveitts that will ill lil necessarily take place in a short time and to enable us to introduce among men those pure holy and heavenly principles which exist with the gods in the eternal w worlds 0 ridi and io to prepare ug us through tite tide medium ot of the gospel to operate with him bim and nd with the holy priesthood esth that thad has existed in w forma former formen ages in 6 the development of the purposes reposes of god upon the earth its itu it la n gatab and important work in wh which fan lan ire aa are ara engaged and we need continually the Oi direction and the gul gui guidance danca dauca ot 0 the almighty for tor it stands to remon when we reflect upon if it that so no man as is spoken of in the Sulf furos fures can know the thing of god unless they are re vale uto ato to him by the spirit of god we tate talk ot these thebe ebe eee things sometimes rather flippantly and probably in maby instances without due reflection tio 5 ab buu but ut when wilen wo we look upon man as is be he js il organized aad and the limit and aud b or of his jand then reflect upon the position that he sustains to the almighty vie vic we shall find that there ia Is nothing very mysterious in these remarks buu buc that there is a great amount of truth and reason associated therewith for fr ins ina istance tanca men know very little about themselves or about the things of man or how to control their passions and habits and the various evils with which they are surrounded and have to combat they know very iry little about the true condition of man and his relation to god to the world to thelast the past present or future as ia is evidenced by the position of the world everywhere wherever we gei turn our attention we are beginning to find out some few things in relation to the laws of nature and the earth on which we dwell but our knowledge of these things is very small comparatively and yet we boast sometimes quite free freely y of our intelligence but when we reflect on our true position we know very little in reality even about the world in which we live jive or about the properties of matter or the elements with which we are surrounded and yet a few years ago agg the world knew much tess jess than we know today to day I 1 can remember the time very well when there was no such thing as steamboats steam boats ire lre I 1 ve 1 member sailing across the atlantic more times than one when thing as a steamboat steam boat was used for that purpose I 1 remember the time too when there were no such things ag As locomotives or railroads and many of you know very well how I 1 it t was yi rega loga regard rd to tho the tele tole telegraph raph th the photograph C and a great many other things they aue aie simply certain principles that exist in the laws of nature that have been u uh li to us but there are thousands of other things that we know very little about and then what do we know about the future what do we know about the heavens that are above us we can get some scanty ideal and we boast very much of them but really there is not very much to bost boast of when we reflect upon those these things these things are simple principles that we have become I 1 acquainted with through study addy and research by chemical ana analysis lyals issig and the development of eternal laws we are simply becoming acquainted winsome with some bome of we the principles tuat that exist in nature the question necessarily arises who iho ja laced faced eed ced those principles herc here who ci organized ryul raul t zed wed his hib ahls this earth on which we dwell and man upon on ats it and all creation as it ex exists 8 bome borne superior we eaifie the power of god irby by faith wo we understand that the worlds were vere made by the power ot god ao so that things which are no now seen not made of things that do appear there is not a particle of the human system but what Is fuli full of intelligence and displays forethought prescience dasigo skill and creative power and everything bespeaks aks the handi ork of a wise intelligent igent omnipotent creators orea Crea tork or oi god when a little oboy I 1 used to ask aak myself who adio addo where Q did I 1 come from vhal bhala aba m I 1 doing here and why am api I 1 here etc ete these things still adz puzzle puzzie Z 10 lo asat us a least e ai many of them d yet thebe these tire are bre thoughts we cannon cannou cannot help belp reflecting upon we see childr children born into the world and we se bee see e spring ilg jig ahi nhi summer autumn and arid winter follow i each other in regular alicee succession salan abd we ask ourselVes By what hat power bower were these things brought about why are we here and what is the oba object act pi all haae which ch we see around ue us not to say anything about the worlds with which we are environed fori ford speaking g qa 0 ourselves we wo are only a speck in creation there is isi nothing to or of us scarcely or in the world we IL habit in comparison t he myriads of worlds with are ate aro a surrounded ur f now wo we frequently want to know knor the object of our exita existence tence and w why hy we are here and tho saints alif still go a little further by asking why have we to battle with the affairs of this world and to struggle to be tried and tempted and we go mit wit further and ask when we see our friends pasa pae away from this state of existence one ono after another and the body tb was once full fuli of life anim animation aaion and vitality pow now lying helpley and void of tife life and our minds reach back into the years that are past and we think of the thousands of millions yea of myriads who have inhabited i this parth earth and who have rone gone go ne into an ither state of existence andee and we are jeu leu led to ask ourselves why is it t thus thu ad aid we are led to hsk aak ourselves oure elves further why are w wa s thus situated and why should come into life have an existence an aud and d then fade and decay and it is proper that we should have such thoughts and sueh such reflections who can unravel these things who can cau tell us upon natural principles the meaning of thia this strange phenomena the tho whys ghys and wherefores in relation to these thene matters nobody vve we have peculiar feelings and sensations irr common with all men man in regard ab lothe the future but what are the views ideas and feelings of bf men gen generally brany in a relation to these mat matter terL fc and if tf they ha hav e views what is ht the source of their intelligence what scientist philosopher eri erg or divine can unravel to us many of theba mys principles which we see every day exhibited before us it ts a very difficult for mau man an to comprehend end and nothing as I 1 said eaid before but the spirit which organized th the c creations of god those principles and give us a knowledge of that fitti fitness est of things as they exist in the mind atthe creator of our relationship to god and to each other and the world orid orld in which we exist and the worlds that are to come nothing but superhuman in the inspiration odthe of the almighty can reveal these things wd wei have ten thousand ideas notions and feelings the world ia Is full of every kind of theory in relation to these matters but what does it i i amount to we may theo thoo theorize r ize aa as much arwe as we please but unless we receive some comman communication from the beings possessing intelligence superior to anything mortal that are associated with these there vast creations and know something of the their ir origin and object what can we know knew we need communication with and revelation from god en lightning us we shall shail still be in the dark ind and know nothing in concerning the future and many things of tho the present and past some borne of our poets in rather beautiful metaphor point us to someplace place 9 beyond the bounds of time and space where we are to look forward to a heavenly place the saints lecure abode there is something very pleasing about buch such reflections but at the baoe same time there Is something I 1 do not know how er or upon what principle we are to get got beyond the bounds of time and ancl space spacer itla itis iez beyond my comprehension arid and I 1 very much question whet whether ah or the person who wrote it could in fact I 1 know he could not we sing bing solo SoLe sometimes sometime times timer too about singing our delves away to everlasting bliss what is this and where is it how shall iball we we eo enjoy joy it and under what circumstances cIrcumstance 5 Certain certainly Jy those who walkabout talk taik about thebe these things display no intelligence we can never about these things bu but t by the revelations of god elther either made dir dik directly i ealy lo 10 us or orto ta iiii lili us t through other others j now we Latt erday day Saint saints onre oare are indebted I 1 was going to eay to joseph emith smith b for what b have av e but this would not be strictly tr true ap cpr w we eare earp e are arp not ladebu teddo him grany other man for or the k knowledge lowi edge twe e posses we are aro indebted to the lord and the prophet ja joseph fph fp h was made mado U him as the medium ta tp juk jul ap midst ortha orthe of the battlo maes mafs i in n the world the principal principles pl ep of ilfe life light ight and intelligence and the laws by the gods kro aro are governed in the eternal world worlds to teach us what course we should pursue that we might act wisely prudently and intelligently abid audd comprehend the position we occupy here upon the thu earth and abd the relationship that subsists be I 1 mail man tina and his maker and thab that we might understand things pertain inar biagto to the future adwell as well weil as things pertaining to the present and the religion we have had unfolded unfold eq to us is to tb prepare us tp take part in flies these q bath don uon Ja bathie thle thie world arid and the world ivorid to come 10 lo teach us how to reproach rp roAch neach buriak ou rIak anil phil jo 0 o gel get further knowledge 6 avi edge of his laws b aia and the principles of juth that have teve teye been revealed re eared to Us us arl generally treat trent these things very lightly the lenson is they do do not comprehend them and therein lies I 1 the difficulty difficult and wo anly ay kl know ow them in jn part and eee them ia in part and comprehend thi themly part but without communion with theal the ai mighty we certainly should nou not have ave understood anything at all about these things there ib something vory very peculiar in the world and we as well as others are sometimes apt to be quite narrow and contracted ip iti our ideas pertaining to io the world in which we live hind and the people with whom we are alq surra fiur rounded we ve are told that the manifestation of tha the spirit Js Is gi giyen given v dai eli ao ito every man tun tin fo to profit withal and I 1 would atae aurther Jurt berthat that all irue true intelligence which possess in regard to the laws of nature mature and their operations as well as any moral or philosophical ideas we W may form that are correct proceed from the same sources source whether acknowledged by men or not and apil furthermore whatever correct religious ideas that tho the world possess s in relation to the future state proceed from froni that portion of the spirit that hat is given to every man to profit withal not unto but to every nian man and to the influence of that spirit bpi Spi ail all men are indebted for the degree of bf honor ana and und ind integrity that exists among men pen it is true there is very little comparatively but for the amount there is they are indebted to god just as much as we are the apostle paul on a certain occasion said that god had ii not ot left himself with but witness this is a it general principle that exists everywhere and among hmong all mankind euf Eui there is another principle which is separate and distinct from that arld arid that is the principle that brings men into closer comi communion nunion with tho the almighty And what Is that itis itts it Is the spirit of the lord in a more eminent degree and add is called in the scriptures the holy ghost how do men obtain that through a certain medium that god has appointed viz by faith repentance baptismal baptis baptism mad ministered administered by proper authority tho rity and laying on of hands for the gift of the holy ghost now the lord has had his witness Ivy upon the earth jn in di florent different ases agea of time when he hasi has had bad this witness the gospel has his generally been associated therewith it is a part and parcel of the great pro gramme there therb is a very foolish idea prevailing in the world that there was no such thing as the gospel until jesus it is the greatest folly in creation no gospel until jesus jesua introduced it say you gid DA not the scriptures I 1 say tsay that life and immortality aie I 1 brought about through the gospel yes and did not jesus introduce the gospel ye yee well weil then if he came and introduced the gospel why why do ou eay say that they had bad the gospel before they always had the gospel whenever men had bad a knowledge ot god it ia 18 the gob gos pel pei brinks brings life ilfe and immortality to light it ia is the goepel gospel that places man mail ios ioa ins in a position to obtain ajust knowledge of god aadot and of the eternities les to come of their position on the he eaith and of their position sa it IV will bo hereafter it is tha principle brings as we are t told DIdT ilfe life and immortality to light and if if you will trace out the records of either the book of mormon or the bible or those of any people that have lived upon the earth and find anywhere I 1 ii a people that had bad a knowledge of life jiro and immortality then I 1 will point you out a people that had the abe gospel it wab waa through that principle that men before the flood had a knowledge of god and had communication with him it was wag through that that enoch understood der dor stood the principles of heaven and appi appl applied I 1 ed those to his position and it by that power and through that principle that he with the lived was translated as well weil as s the thousands who lived jived then and als ais bibo also after crafter that time werm werey translated it wah was through the principle and powen power of the gospel that bring brine life ilfe and immortality to light it was through the bame same same came principle plea that noah nosh was saved he had communication cation with god who revealed to him what wa was coming an the ehe earth and the ther results of it god him and prepared him and told him what to do and how to do if it and he pursued the course given him and lie bo received his reward it was through that principle that abraham comprehended ended god and had bad |