Show GENERAL conference the fifty eighth annual conference of the church of jesus christ of lat ter day dav saints convened in ia the tabernacle salt lake city at 10 am on april jtb ath 1838 1888 apostle lorenzo snow presiding there were on the stand of the twelve lorenzo snow heber J grant and john W taylor of the counselors to the twelve daniel H wells patriarch john smith of the presiding council of the seventies henry herriman horace S eldredge jacob gates abram H cannon seymour B young of the presiding B bishopric john R winder oneie w were re alad 1 present a large num number berof ol 01 presidee Pr csider dew ts of stakes and other leading brethren the choir sang the hymn on page 46 beginning our oar god we raise to thee 1 I 1 hanks banks for thy blessings free we here enjoy opening prayer by apostle john W taylor singing by the choir I 1 know that my redeemer lives what comfort this sweet sentence gives ELDER F A HAMMOND president of san juan stake was the first speaker he feyad sad in substance with the assistance of the lord I 1 will do the best I 1 can to comfort the saints and speak concerning tb those ose things which interest them today in cooki looking bg at the many aged people pres present elit aitu whom I 1 am acquainted I 1 am reminded of an inquiry made by a poet in relation to tue toe future lite life IS S all we know each other baere 11 I 1 am assured that we will and this understanding gives me energy vigor and joy I 1 rejoice in this woi wo i k and do not teel feel discouraged although it ir looks a little cloudy but bat the ship zion has not lost her head way it ii had never done so we are meeting with opposition as we expected ald make our way inch by inch sometimes it has been smooth sailing and then the crew were la in the most danger as they then became careless storms develop the energies and ability of all hands bands I 1 rejoice in the experiences we have passed through and that we are now meet the hand band of the lord to la in it all L teaches us that if the lord is not with us we are in a sorry plight as we have no hope irom from any other source I 1 have no fear but that those who have the light of the lord with them will go through every ordeal unscathed it will be otherwise with those who are unfaithful it is my desire to know the mind of the lra in reference to myself and the people to I 1 minister this is the privilege of cf aab each officer and member of the charsh ELDER HENRY HERRMAN HERRIMAN of the presiding council of tle the seventies aged 84 was the next speaker he said I 1 am thankful to my heavenly father that he has preserved our bodies in health and strength and has BBS given us the privilege of assembling together in the jimy futy eighth Conter conference euce ot of the Chur church choi of jesus christ Christof of latter day saints I 1 thank god that I 1 have lived to behold this day I 1 have been in the church fifty five years and be unto our eternal father that he be has tilled filled my cay soul with joy and rejoicing and opened the eyes of my understanding to understand his purposes and to dwell here upon the barta in the f of times I 1 know by the gift and aad power of the holy ghost and by what my eyes have seen and my heart has felt bat god has raised up a prophet to lay the foundations of his church and kingdom and has revealed the principles of eternal life and redemption to prepare a people for the great day that to is to come when jesus our redeemer will corne cone upon the earth to reign a thousand years with the saints when nothing shall hurt or destroy upon the face of the earth and when his kingdom will be built up and when we shall see eye to eye and the saints become of one heart and one oae mind and all shall behold the eternal purposes ot of god now I 1 will say through the grace of god if there are are persons within toe tile sound of my voice who do not know that god has spoken from the heavens beavens humble yourselves as little children and call upon his holy name and he will pour out his writ spirit upon you in such a way that will be calculated to te raise you up and till fill your souls with truth and you will get the blessings of the falness of the everlasting gospel of christ and you will make your callins calling and election sure thanks be unto god for his kindness and tender mercies unto us thanks be unto unco him for opening the eyes of our understanding to comprehend through the hanif manifestations est of tile the holy spirit that which has been made manifest unto us in years past and all his unto us I 1 now naw my brethren and sisters I 1 feel in my heart to exhort every person within the sound of iny imy voice to attend u upon pon the lord jesus christ to do his will to do those things which are right and just before him and they will be built u up awa in listening to te the still small voice e I 1 it t will ill open the eyes of their understanding and prepare them for the things to come and which the god of heaven will brine upon the face of the earth until the earth becomes a place for the doing of the will of god ged as the saints are looking forward with the eye of faith to obtain tile the blessings which jesus prepared from before the foundations of the world for all that overcome and endure unto the end when our bodies will become cleansed and purified when we shall see as we are seen and know as we are known and when we shall become heirs of god god and joint heirs with jesus christ wita tabernacles incorruptible and immortal may we obtain these blessings is my desire in the name of jesus christ amen men ELDER SEYMOUR B YOUNG I 1 next adar addressed ased the congregation substantially ly lyte he spoke as follows I 1 desire to be inspired cosay to say something beneficial we have assembled for the purpose of being instructed aud and to treasure up what we hear when we gorence go hence may we feel that we have been blessed tae gospel consists of ordinances blessings and co covenants venanza and embraces good works brother hammond stated that his testimony had bad grown brighter by experience in the church brother herriman also bore a similar witness I 1 have known these brethren a long time and rejoice to hear them speak as they do the latter is the senior president of the seventies I 1 have seen him pull a hand handcart eart ina in a company with which I 1 traveled he be ing aue the president of the company I 1 have never seen him sany im commit a wrong act and congratulate myself at the opportunity of associating with such men we have gone into the waters of baptism to have bur sins remitted we did this because we had become convinced of our oar sinfulness by this act of obedience the debt ot of the creature to the creator was cancelled we were thus forgiven of all sinful al acts up to that point then we desired the testimony of J jesus eau through the imposition of hands through which ordinance we received the holy ghost the apostles assembled together at jerusalem as related in the second chapter of the acts to be indeed with P power ower so that ofte the people who congregated 9 on the occasion occasion marvelled marvellee marvel led peer r preached to them christ and aad nian m crucified and they were convinced Q of the truth of what he said when asked by then them what they should do peter replied that they must repent be baptized for the remission of sins and they should receive the holy ghost trie the scriptures throughout declare the necessity of baptism the savior himself setting an example by rendering obedience to that ordinance notwithstanding that it to is oe believers lievers only who should receive it it is customary ry in alie world to sprinkle infants who are incapable of belief and have no sin of which they could repent repeat even it if they could comprehend ething about thesel things these th I 1 are a reversal odthe doctrine of barist christ as taught by himself toe the lord is not the author of confusion but of order the principles of truth are laid down la in plainness and there is a proper authority for the tic tian n of the gospel in the ordinances blessings and covenants we have received the lord has manifested the plan of 01 redemption not only for the living but also the dead who have not had gospel privileges leps in this life the jews were familiar with this doctrine of preaching the gospel to departed spirits and obeying outward ordinances by proxy int behalf paul exhibited this fact when he asked the corinthians in his argument in favor of toe tae resurrection of the dead else what shall they do that are baptized for the dead it if the dead rise not at all way then are they baptized for the dead 1 when christ was crucified body lay in the tomb his spirit entered the world of spirits and tte tie preached to them as declared by peter this glorious phase of the gospel was revealed anew through joseph smith the prophet Prop bet laud and heto geiner getner with all the faithful elders who have laid their bodies down in this dispensation are now engaged in a similar labor among the spirits of the dead theo are curnin turning the hearts of the fathers to M the children as exemplified L by I 1 th the e conduct in that regard of the latter ater day saints in being turned to the fa fat liers tion they build temples in which ardi nances bances in behalf of those who have died without tile the full fall benefits of the gospel in this life are administered for the furtherance of this work the lord revealed the ladof law of tithing that houses bouses of worship may be erected trie tie poor gath gathered red fed and clothe dand other similar objects attained we should appreciate the privilege of complying with this necessary law continuous revelation is another feature of the church of christ the nece necessity of divine communication was as clearly yearly a fact now as it ever was in any dispensation or age it was wai through this principle that joseph ph smith who was raised up for the purpose was enabled to organize the church give the design of temples communicate the nature e and character of the ordinances of the gospel the gathering of the saints and all other principles lu a which we so greatly rf re joice apice these things came through joseph joaeph the prophet and no BO man this honor unto himself except he ie called ot of god as was aaron 11 joseph was told by the lord that he should be the instrument in Hs his hands bands of bringing arout the divine burp purposes oses he f fulfilled his bis glorious mission neder the most formidable obstacles and finally was martyred marty red sealing his testimony with his bis blood and he be now is working in the same great cause of redemption demp tion Lion I 1 bear testimony that the gospel of jesus christ as revealed through joseph smith is true including aalthe all the principles pies enunciated by him without exception ELDER ELDEB ANDREW JENSEN I 1 have bad the opportunity of attending a great many conferences ot of the burch church during the last twenty oni on years and since my first arrival in these mountains but this is the first time that I 1 have been called upon to speak in any of these conferences in a arising ising before this large congregation Is this morning I 1 feel my inability to say anything that could edify this congregation unless lithe ithe spirit of god shall sustain me I 1 need hardly say the call was unexpected I 1 flad fiad however no excuse in this for au an elder in this cauich ought to be prepared for anything and any kind of surprises as it were and holding a position posit ioa ia the priesthood I 1 consider myself in duty bound to respond to any call that is made upon me I 1 feel this morning that I 1 have a testimony to bear in connection with my brethren who have spoken before me I 1 have rejoiced exceed exceedingly ingy not only today but in times past in listening to our gray haired men woo have been for years and years in this church and kingdom and who have proven themselves faithful and ana true to the cause of god in the midst of tribulation and persecutions when I 1 soe se such men as brother herriman and oeners who are present with us today and hear testimonies it makes my heart rejoice there are so daiy mai y who have been lo 10 leased blessed by the spirit of god with the te testimony of jesus christ with this k knowledge now ledge that they know and can b bear ear testimony that josephs mith was a prophet of the living god I 1 look upon this as of great importance imp orance indeed q and every man and every woman iu the midst of the latter day saints should know for a surety that this is so we are very numerous at the present time in reading the history hilory of the church we haye baye reason to be thankful al to god tor for all the stakes of zion that are now organized when we consider the tae small beginning that took place in the year 1839 1830 when the Cati baurch reft was first organized in the little village of payette jayette senaca county new york and that we have 34 stakes of zion sidn organized in these mountain regions we eare are numerous today as a people we find however that there are in the midst of this multitude rd of p people eople called la later ter day saints a geat many perhaps that do not have the testimony that has been borne by bv our brethren here this morning there are a great many young men and women in the midst of this people who up to the tae present time have felt calm and at ease in their minds and have relied upon the testimony oi of their fathers and mothers instead of praying for and receiving a testimony of the truth of this gospel for themselves they have done this for years instead ot seeking for the voice of inspiration the apostles and prophets have borne their tc testimonies in regard to the divine mission of joseph smith and have exhorted oeners to bac acquire a knowledge ot of this matter tor for themselves but they have thought perhaps pt that it was not necessary I 1 belleve and know that we as a people are passing through severe and trying scenes which arg absolutely necessary nf to make us stronger 7 in the faith every man and e very every woman should have a testimony within themselves should seek tor for the spirit 01 01 revelation and obtain it direct from heaven and know fur for themselves that the lord libs revea ed hii hia mind an i will to the children of men in these the last days that he has restored the f alness of his gospel gopel and that joseph smith was his prophet and commanded of him to bring about abou the great plan of salvation I 1 have loucio in the situation we are in today that we are in the hand of god we may look tile the mem members of the different religious sects a as being sincere and honest in their belief as no doubt thousands and millions of them are but we claim in regard to th latter L atter day saints that it a necessary for them today to know of the mitsi missi oi ot of joseph whitmer and oeners cottiers ot tiers to know whether joseph smith was a true prophet 0 god or not and whether or not he did receive the manifestations and power of god to know if he did see the path fath er and the son when he be went to the woods to pray that he did find bad trie plates ia io th hill camoras 0 01 did tran translate date the same by toe tae aid of the arim and did he receive the priesthood through the ad ginistra min istra tion of toe apostles peter james ann an john did moses confer upon mat him the keys of gathering the israel of the latter days or did elijah appear to hirn him in he kirtland temple and reveal t him the keyt whereby the hearts of fathers were to be turned to their chi dren and the hearts boarts of the children turned to their fathers it is made necessary for us as a peo pie today to be diligent in building these temples in these mountain re gions I 1 say of these things tha they are either true or false it they ate aie true the great majority of the children of men have not tile abe truth and if they |