| Show DISCOURSE DELIVERED BY durr ELDER iiii U in the Tabe tabernacle MacZey sallee olty pity on sunday af afternoons vernoon lep ler noon jung june 1879 REPORTED BY cleo GEO Y I 1 GIBBS WE are assembled here this after 1 noon as a congregation of worship per we have come together to worship god accor according bilig to the dictates of his word according to tho the revelations of ochla his divine will as it has been made known to the people of the latter day saints we re present a faith a spiritual constitution an organization of ideas which incorporates our bur bense pense of d duty uty our duty to our god and 0 our ur duty to our fel this is not a now occasion toia tola is not a new now an no we have existed as a people in the the nations of the earth for upwards of a third ota ofa of a century iiii doctrines are not new our principles of which these doctrines doctrine are composed are not of the century they are not the outgrowth a 0 the inte intelligence lil ili of thi this sage age they are arc not the tha products of that intellectuality which is by many regarded as the hig highest helst heist standard of advancement ua ne the moat elevated platform of thought our principles are from eternity to eternity the gospel of the lord jesu jesus a christ which cilita is the name commonly applied to the religion we profess was waa preached aforetime unto abraham was revealed unto our fathers the ancients many blany of its fundamental principles beveral ot of its divine ordinances din ances and very many of the hopes that inspired inep ired and caused to heave with heavenly emotion and delight the bosoms of the purest men and women of thia this age or of ages preceding this of ours were principle principles that had bad been revealed in ages and gone by but bat we claim to have received this thia gospel in the dispensation in which wo we live asa ass aa a new now reve revelation lallon not new now principles but a new now revelation of old principles of ancient doctrines of institutions that the tho greatest benefactor philanthropists and humanitarians manit arians that ever graced the human race were more or less made familiar with we are here today to day beloved friends aa as the result of the operations of the ministry of this gospel as a people occupying this section of country called the territory of utah we are fruits we aro are results of the ministry of recon cili cill atton atlon brought forth through the mission of the gospel of jesus christ in its falness and primitive purity in the day and age in which we live and to us as a people when we thus address each other and reiterate theae truths in each others hearing bearing we are not announcing that which we do not understand but we simply do eo so to remind each other to stir up our thoughts to put into activity our reflective powers and call forth those intellectual energies which are awakened by the revelation of these principles of life and immortality in the development of our faith and fostir to stir up bacome our minda minds that they may bacome become po me more pure puro and to bring to our remembrance things tha that t are p past abt ast as Ls well as cause to pass before our minds minda the tha circumstances the duties and the incidents of the present and thus carry with us the history we are creating and produce by the combined action of our past and present labors those results which the gospel in its eu entirety and its power and influence exercises over the heart of man in bringing to pass pasa that human regeneration so long spoken of by the prophets prophete eo long ago sung of by the inspired psalmist and lue luo doug etera of karael which should characterize acte the features that would mark the development of goo goa gos goas s purposes in this iau Yau manity humanity in this great mass of intelligence which he has created and given a cuirci ouy oua existence to upon the be earth in speaking I 1 in n thi this mauner manner my and sisters I 1 desire to do eso ebo as making a fow tow preparatory r rt tso marks to what may be eaid enid by my brethren who may follow after me as I 1 shall not occupy your attention but for a limited portion of time this afternoon I 1 wish to say however in addition to what I 1 have bavei already said raid with reference to the character of the we need leed not look to any other for an evidence of the divinity of the mission in arbach we are engaged the divinity of tag revelations which ha have been in trusted to ua us in this dispensation of the falness of times for an evidence of its divine character and leav heaven enborn born nature or for the proofs of its practical results as to ou ourselves neives nelves we can my friends examine our own experience experienc erwe we can review each individual one of us pa the several irh irb chapters apters which each days acts conversations and the results of our labors as individual members of this body ecclesiastical and of this church militant and see what at have been the aruis which these principles ha leborne in our lives ilves and arld moreover moroto yer ver see how far we have conformed fd those conditions upon the blessings of the second birth the regeneration egene ration of the human hear lunder the inspirations of the spirit of the lord have been vouchsafed J and eee wh whether other our professions are professions merely whether they are simply wordy acknowledgements acknowledge ments or whether we preach those most moat practical of sermons in the action of our lives in the practices of our everyday ao so as to verify the correctness ness of our testimony and to justify our frienda friends and ourselves iu in the conclusion that we are honest and sincere in the worship of the lord our burgod god according to the revelations ve lous lobs of his bis will brethren and sisters we have received revelations from god the unbelief of the world respecting those revelations reve laMons to the contrary notwithstanding we have received those glorious truths pertaining to the regeneration of man pertaining to his bis further development and to his final and complete redemption demp tion or in other words to use perhaps language more familiar to some boma minds minus the more perfect development deve lop iop nen of man we have received tho those s e glorious corlous principles we have accepted them in the elm eim of our hearts as truths from godana we have realized in our individual experiences exper lences that our testimony is t true rue that the principles ples plea we have embraced are true that they have verified themselves in our experiences and verified the promise made by our redeemer in the declaration to his bis dixel dir dis ciple ples pies and ye shall know the hand band the truth shall make you fee free 13 if the son therefore shall make you free ye yo shall ba be free indeed our principles are simple they are perspicuous they are 1 t hey they are self evident they become self evi dent to every mind capable of p perceiving er the relation which these p principles r bear to our conditions of 1 life ilfe i r including the physical and mental the plan of human redemption ion lon which we call the gospel of the son bon of god is composed of principles and doctrines that are arc pure that are in p perfect erfert harmony with every want of our natures with every rightful desire with every lefiti mate of our being physical or mental material or spiritual whichever terms we choose to select to express the materiality teria lity or spirituality olour being I 1 repeat that the gospel of thebon the bun sun bf of lod iod god tod contains every provision and is enriched with wilh every quality is kin tin dowed endowed with every element necessary to the perfect enjoy enjoyment ment ot at all the powers of man and of all the capacity with which he he be is endowed fortso tor for the development of his power and intelligence iu in speaking this subject my brethren and sisters we are lod led to the of the the eternity of bf ou our r being we wd are conducted thereby the tho nto into li spread out won ton the thel len led we are guided in our bar I 1 lions prini priti I 1 i ciple for every truth poses possesses ss its own principle its own quail ty of power its own energy and whenever truth is received by a sentient beffie being by a conscious being heing by a being leing pcs poe eased of the quail fumi ly ty of the ego feeling and when the complement bebla af hl ini tel tei ale 4 are bot hot lna ira paired I 1 when they are awakened to tw a healthful exercise by ballio the kawao thought ba b the force of gif principle by ibe the impress of objects andr when the man mais is awakened as ag w thinking intellectual intel Intal being be ia hi i ably op tinto irce receive ive lve a ik portion inspiration which tb they ey the more advanced heimbe hb is the more elevated he be beco becomes mehin mebIn in 0 intelligent the tho greater great grest wiil will by his capability teiei 6 belve of ahat ht andlee more mote be he tub ibb andul algis geb gea in the contemplation of and loftier alms of life the more alue value he attaches to every principle of morality and virtue to every overy I 1 rin ciple of revelation from god to truth of every eve ry kladt and moru more tewo th iff truths lifis mit that heeve have ah air immediate jeanng bearing upon hib hid present condition as well as ail hose truths which affect his bis future elate there la Is much of the knowledge that has been conferred upon the family of man there la Is much of that intelligence and understanding wh which lohman ichMan man has been brought into possession of that we can not use immediately in regulating our affairs socially or in any other work in the structure of society buethe but the principles to which iam lam I 1 am now directing your attention the principles of the gospel jo of jesus christ aro are jund fund they are cardinal elements they are the foundation stones atones e s if jf you please or at the great superstructure i of humanity they leacu thet the fu fundamental ada conditions of its being they possess the virtue of delving down into the mos intricate re cesse of our natures and of cauling ing to 0 well up from our inmost 3 natures those qualities and excel embel len ien cles cies those virtues those deeds which aie are praiseworthy praise worthy and of of good report and command vedera venera i tinn thos a deeds which hav have e 1 adorned th the ilyes lives of all men who have made toja to their race and who hase have shone anone as the reformers and regenerators of society no matter by what idame name they bave have been called if they haire have done good n n any capacity or sphere if it society socie ly today to day owes anything to the past to the treat reat motor force that lias las affected the in gereata sot of humanity or guarded the conditions of its welfare or ha has s directed its energies in any degree to produce a condition that is desirable in the history of our race we owe it to that class of men we owe it ik to men that have been nirm and true to their convictions of what was right we ove owe it to men who have stern stemmed med the current of bt popular liar ular prejudices or who have dared to row the stream of popular opinion ioa loa we owe it to men who have sacrificed the good dillof will of those who were floating with the tide of popularity and to men who have stood firm and true and inflexible to their convictions of right have there been such ment men yes my brethren and st bisters aters I 1 that through the sabio cable P that through the almost impenetrable clouds clouda that intervene between us today to day and the ages of the past we can seo see glimpses sein bein tillas of light that illumined time and I 1 revere and honor the memo rles ries of such men who did what they could to fulfill the pur purposes posea of their great creator tho the father of the human rice and the creator of all thing 3 that are I 1 honor their memories if it they were not mot in the pos possession of so eo much truth as those who followed them if their philosophy was not as bound sound and if in their theology there were wera greater incongruities yet it must be bei remembered that they were not eo so far ad advanced as to bf b able to perceive their errors and if they wert wern worn devoted and sincere in the course they pursued living up to the best light they pose pos e et ged sed I 1 for one cherish cherl cheri bih rih with the tho m memories 1 of buch euch people but there is a very anomalous mental t state ute existing in the bidet of the human tamly family which lanot is noe not a now new one however it is the constant battle that is be ing by antiquated theories and principle principles which are perhaps in tati the hearts of ube ibe ma Jo rifles whenever a ne new w truth Is I 1 introduced ta the world when whenever ever a principle that bas has not neen recognized 1 di as such has noti not entered into the constitution of ot their own religion philosophy or se science fena fenn When whenever dver a new truth is introduced the stubborn and iri irl flexible c conservatory conservators conserve conserva i torb tors of antiquated notions and ideas are unwilling to widen the area of theirl rhein thought and extend the boundary i of their reflections still iward anil and it lare late we dincov ellorie er one oue beroa bero and iad fad herh herb the world dover over oven e entertaining fliesen fhe the sensible elble views ex pretsel pressed in the language of huml humi i boldt the german naturalist weak minds complacently believe that in their own s aee age e humanity have attained to the ting point of intellectual greaf great nesa neso forgetting that by the internal co existing among all ni n nr I al lal phenomena an fn in proportion I 1 mr advaney the tho to ber bet V eased we 1 0 ex t e r 1 that av beppo a od n illia r A lioi 1161 rqn abb ryes of tn 9 I 1 ingo ri guf gus tan ildy fercl ore lk alis nL iS 1 are these word chis theford this no bie ble mad mav r 4 minds mind oft ott ate ato e a or f the tie tle b wt uuro auro to W eiith century are we these fb thoughts from this dwarfed condition of ideas no I 1 fear not and ia is it not as true today to day as li it ever has been that wb whenever enever an individual or a community of individuals introduce into the world any principle or doctrine which they conceive t to 0 be in the moat most perfect accord wi h the principles of truth already revealed they are sure to be met with the same old cry the same bame weapons of warfare that arem areA are strewn rawn around aroun d over the battlegrounds battle grounds of the ages are eagerly clutched by some of the sturdy sturdy veterans who will grab at anything infidel sceptic heterodox fanatic immoral and it matters not what the odium attached to I 1 such worda words may be bi aso as abo jong dg as they think they can bemused be used to arrest thit the pr progress ogress of trutha troth cf principle principle of doctrine which ba hab not been incorporated corp corn orated in th thir el r views we talk about our progressive enlightenment lighten ment we falkof our clag intelligence wo ve speak eloquently of the marcu march of intellect and yet weare icare we bre are heo dee 0 o condemn every effort that js s made by the worlds r most staunch advocate 01 of ol human progress in duding fading after the tho foudra foundation ilon lion of society ili in r feeling after the foundation of faith in seeking to de determine ie the soundness or the unsoundness of principles and lawe if we disc discover over that on our fathers ate sour bour grapes and we their children have bad had our teeth aei pei et 0 on A edge gage WO we w wish ish to io administer konic ionic some IAn lan panacea acea to remove the difficulty to change the elements that are sapping ibe the foundation of that society which we are aie trying to build up and supply its ila place with elements of a homogeneous texture |
