Show A DISCOURSE DELIVERED BY apdo hiten D richarb at the fifty kirth general conference in the tabernacle salt lake city on sunday april ath 18 1488 r being requested by president snow to occupy a little time this afternoon I 1 will take the liberty to read a few verses contained in the ath chapter of the first book of nepal in the book of mormon etisa it is a dream or vision that was had by the ancient prophet and patriarch lehi lebi who led forth a company consisting consist me of his family and others from the city of jerusalem about years before christ and being led by the power of god was wag landed on the west snores of this american continent this aged veteran in his bis experience has I 1 left eft on record the following dream or vision which is found in the eighth chapter of first nephi commencing with the ath verse verae 5 and it came to pass that I 1 saw a man and he was dressed in a white robe and he be came and stood before me 6 and it came to pass that he unto me and bade me follow him 7 and it came to pass that as I 1 followed him I 1 beheld myself that I 1 was in a dark and dreary waste 8 and after I 1 had travelled tor for the space of many hours in darkness I 1 began to pray unto the lord that he be would nave have mercy on me according to the multitude of his bis tender mercies 9 and it came to pass that atter after I 1 prayed unto the lord I 1 beheld a large and spacious field 10 and it came to pass that I 1 beheld a tree whose fruit was desirable to make one happy 11 and it came to pass that I 1 did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof and I 1 beheld that it was most sweet above all that I 1 ever before tasted yea and I 1 beheld that the fruit thereof was whitefo white teto to exceed all the whiteness that I 1 had bad ever seen 12 and as I 1 partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceeding great joy wherefore I 1 began to be desirous that m my family should partake of it also for I 1 knew that it was desirable above all other fruit 13 and as I 1 cast my eyes round about that perhaps perli aps I 1 might discover my family a also I 1 beheld a river of water and it ran along and it was near the tree of which I 1 was partaking the fruit 19 and 1 beheld a rod of iron and it extended along the ie bank of the river and led to the tree by which I 1 stood 20 and I 1 also beheld a straight and narrow fow path which came along by th the e rod of iron even to the tree by which 1 I 1 stood and it also led by the head of the fountain unto a large and spacious field as it if it had been a world 31 21 and ad I 1 saw numberless concourses of people many of whom were pressing forward that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I 1 stood 32 22 and it came to pass that they did come forth and commence inthe in the path which led to the tree 23 and it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness yea even even an exceeding great mist of darkness insomuch that they who had commenced la im the path did lose jose their way that they wandered off and were lost 24 and it came to pass that I 1 beheld others pressing forward and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron and they did press forward through the mist of darkness clinging to the rod of iron even until they did dia come forth and partake of the truit fruit of the tree it might seem quite preposterous for me to think of instructing and edifying this vast congregation in regard to anything I 1 know of myself or any gift of minely mine by which I 1 might endeavor to do so but if the saints shall exercise their faith and inclinations it may be N rad venture that the holy spirit aall shall rest upon us and that we may be edinel edified together it seems as though the flood of ligh and instruction that has been out during this conference upon the people copl e which has been quite becoming ing an and refreshing from the presence of god that of those who have heard beard these instructions and have sought to take them in and be profited thereby they would be sufficient to satisfy any honest seekers after truth in regard to the principles of life and salvation and enable him bia or them to lay hold bold of f the rod of iron and follow it to the source of the river of life commencing with the first principles of faith repentance and baptism and coming on even to baptism confirmation and tion for the dead which have brought us in our reflection and meditation to a sense of unika with our fathers and mothers that have gone before us we have bad poured out to us the precious brecious things of the kingdom of gog god which are calculated to stir up in the hearts of the tb righteous a firm inclination to adhere to the principles of the gospel yea to hold on to the rod of iron this this vision that was here seen though it applied to the people who received it and to the new land to which they were going still the circumstances cum stances attendant upon theng them were in some respects so analogous to the circumstances of the present day that it seems to me that from this lesson we may derive profit and be strenge strengthened h ened in our work and induced to hold ft firmly to this rod of iron that is bedew of we are informed in the revelation revelation to st john that the lord shall subdue all things and put all things under his feet that 11 he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers and this rod ol of iron as nephi explains in the chapter and verse is toe the word of god so that la in regard to this expression there need be no misunderstanding now in this vision which I 1 have read you will notice that the prophet saw a great many going along trying to walk in that straight and narrow path but some of there then got out ol of it and you will recollect be says that there arose an exceeding great mist of darkness insomuch that they who had commenced in ade path lost their way so that the only chance they had bad to keep la in the right path was to haug bang on to the rod of iron otherwise it if that rod was near the edge of the river they might tumble into the river and be cut off from the direct way the prophet nephi further says in the same connection that whoso choso would hearken unto the word ward of god and would hold bold fast unto it they would never perish neither could th the e temptations and the fiery darts of the adver adversary saTy overpower them unto blindness to lead them away to 10 destruction st wherefore nephi did exhort his bis to give heed unto the word w d of the lord with all the th e energies wat s soul and with all the faculty which h he possessed they would give heed to the word of god and aad remember to keep his commandments in all things now it occurs to my mind that in our own day right here in salt lake city there is great need for many yes yea tor for all of us to cling tight unto this rod of iron which is the word of god one of the ancient apostles in speaking of this says to the brethren we have also a more sure word of prophecy whereunto where tinto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a aig it t that chineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts 11 from this say saying ing we are led to understand nd ahat hat they who had bad embraced the gospel those who had been born ol of the water and the spirit had a sure word of prophecy to chica faey must take heed this day dawn and the day star that was to arise in their hearts was that principle which is spoken ofin of in another scripture where it says the anno inting which ye have received of him arideth in you and ye need not that any man teach you but as the same barne anno inting tea cheth you all things and is truth and is no liband even ILS as it hath taught you ye shall abide in him this was ot of peculiar importance to the saints as well as to the apostles anciently ancie itlY especially when some were being killed and others seat scattered in different parts of the earth it was of special importance to them that they should have the spirit of god 9 which is f spirit of revelation within them t it might bea source of light and I 1 and an anchor to their souls couth any ally now I 1 ask have we not also received this holy anointing and aad if we have are not these same blessings promis fo eu tons to us even all who keep his bis command mento and inasmuch inas muchas as we cultivate these blessi gs by constant obedience ae a e we not precious in the eyes of god we are told in the tae scriptures his children are precious in his st shat ht t as the apple of rif his eye suppose then that each one undertakes hims elfand adopts the process mended in the epistle which was read yesterday suppose we wash our eyes with eye salve and judge ourselves in that mariner manner which is contemplated by the apostle namely we re judge dge ourselves so that we nee be judged by no man Is it no better to judge ourselves aud put ut anav all that is unworthy in our lives fives and aid claim this great blessing which is virtue of the holy anointing Is not this our right and privilege do we not feel the need of nore more of the spirit of revelation in these times of doubt and uncertainty Is it not better I 1 repeat to judge our ourselves and put ourselves in a position to receive these blessings at the hands of god one and all of us we should then be in a position to get knowledge Bow ledge and intelligence of the lord in all things as we might need it to s obedi obedience enee to the will of god that brings his arieno ohp ah p and its his blessings la in the early settlement of these valleys when each sambath we ate and drank at the table of the lord ution peace and love to each other and the lord lard all was pleasant eves even in our deep bove poverty ty now in the face of all the opposition ioa that we meet it is not quite so fo easy to be a saint in some respects it Is easy for a mariner to gaide ade his ship in a fair wl wind nd lout but in a hurricane abd rough sea he requires au all the skill he possesses so with the ship zion at one gue time all may be pleasant behold we nave have been gathered together from the four quarters of the earth many have corns come here not for the truths sake but to better their condition temporally 1 would like to bear my testimony here of the great work and excellence of the institution that has helped so many to gather to this country presidents brigham young and john taylor well manage ma its affairs vis as benet of our race and reg rendered dered it very efficient to bring may thousands here in our scooping in the net we were not then able to discern those that were good from those that were bad the savior said when the net we cast lute into the sea that it was likeke unto the kingdom of god it all sorts of fish to the shore and v w e find it to be true the good will be put into vessels the bad will be cast away there are some people here who being traitors betray their brethren and sisters men whom it would have been better if they had never come to this land ar perhaps better still if they had not b been een born some of them and these together with the enemies of zion Z ion who have come up against the people of godare doing their utmost to make things very unpleasant among us darkness covers the ear h and gross darkness the people because they have changed the ordinances they have transgressed the laws and they irive broken the everlasting covenant tt tL hath bath a curse devoured the earth and it is devouring it now then let us look k at this dark ass mss nt ss a little the tae prophet lehi said he behold beheld in this vision that there was great darkness that thai he was led into and he saw how difficult it was to get gel ta rough and oat of it into the light again indeed he found tt the ie only ay way iy tolof to get et through pas was by clinging to the ro rod of iron this is characteristic of the saints always that while they love the light they fear not the darkness while they have the spirit and power of god with them we are reminded of one of the early hymns that used to be sung we want no cowards in our hand band that will their colors fly we call for valiant hearted men whore not afraid to die these are the kind we have been seeking for and aed have found a great many still while gathering them we have had bad to bring others with them the wheat and the tares are so mixed up and have grown together that it if we pull up the tares we will be very apt to pull some of the wheat also so well wait until the harvest and the angels will gather the wheat in the garner and the tares into bundles to be burned in the due time of the lord but concerning this darkness no lowi wi know that a good many of the saints te ie put about over these thee thing their athes athers are taken off to krisun their a husbands are dragged aggedy away and they lem iem selves are humored in the dust by reason of the inquisition that seems to take possession of them and their most backed relations lons consequently thare is a sad feeling and sorro sorrow v gets into the minds of 01 some but we tell you it is iu in baese times that the test comes to the increase of our faith there is such a thing as walking in the twilight when your light does not noi burn very brig it but your eyes become adapted to the light and you can see to walk steadily without bling even if it be not in the full liga i of the son of righteousness but b by y and by that glorious son will come in ia the fatness of his splendor the dawning of that day has come we are walking in the light of it but when the thes m of righteous snail come and dwell upon the earth the n refal ht sous will have a falness of his glory did you ever walk out in a dark night when the vivid lightning flashed and the pealing thunder rolled over your heads beads when it was so dark you could not see a step before you when the glare of light came you could see what was but buc a few steps ahead and could go a start distance in safety when aa glashof flash of light still further illuminated your pathway until the storm had passed and you were enabled to pursue your way steadily in an even though perhaps not the brightest light so with the experience and trials c f the saints though the storm may beat upon us the ungodly hover around us and thick darkness may exist and threaten destruction of property and life still 1 between there will come to those who are true and faithful these manifestations from time to time that will s show how them from one step to the next the way to tree of life lehl lehi saw in his bis vision an exceeding grea grea mist of if darkness many who commenced in the narrow path did lose their way aud wandered off sad and were lost while those who clung to the lod iod of iron made their way safely to the tree and partook of its fruit herein my brethren is where we come to the trial of our f faith though not so 80 much a trial of our fait faith perhaps as of our integrity to the truth some feel their weakness and are a little shaky when they see our great government is taking away our oar prop arty the hard earnings of our labor and the toil of forty years and in the midst of this confusion and jar wonder what the outcome will be suppose we should be stripped of our possessions by unscrupulous agencies our frugality temperance industry and faith in god would soon enable us to place ourselves on a better basis of wealth than we ever before enjoyed we could scarcely be brought to a lower condition in that respect than when we arrived in these valleys and exist my brethren and sisters C od id has given us indubitable n i such unqualified assur ahsu ces that he would establish his ar is k k egdom in this dispensation and that it shall never be given gevea to another people but that he will deal with his saints discipline and prepare them so that they will have that assurance and confidence that they will never doubt and when satan comes around and tries to disturb |