Show SUNDAY SERVICES revelation OF THE GOSPEL TO TUIS THIS generation GEKER AriON preparatory WORK KOR FOR CHRISTS SECOND ADVENT FI HR ST si TO THE GENTILES THEN TO THE JEWS precursory SIGNS OF THE APPROACH OF THE GREAT EVENT TRIALS AND temptations OF THE SAINTS Rali religions gions services were held in the tabernacle salt lake city sunday april 99 9 9 1888 coin commencing at ai 2 p m president angus M cannon presiding the choir and congregation san sang the great and glorious gospel light has ushered forth unto my sight which in my soul I 1 have received cd from bondage and front from death i relieved clicked prayer by elder geor e G bywater the choir sang how sweet communion is on earth those realized the birth of water who the spirits powers receive in genial showers crp the priesthood of the twentieth ward officiated in the administration of the sacrament ELDER JOHN NICHOLSON was called to address the congregation he said the saints had assembled to partake of 0 the sacrament of the lord sa commemoration of the great work which he had done for the salvation of mankind it was a most profitable theme for a disciple of christ to consider the nature of the redemption he has wrought out for the children of men the saints had gathered from tae various nations in response to a peculiar proclamation in toia tais age As a rule the world reject this message which is in effect that the long silence which nas lias prevailed for ages between heaven and earth has been babken that god has designed once more to t communicate with his children asin days of old a prophet has been raised up and the gospel in its falness ful ness as it existed iu ancient times has hasteen been restored the church jt A christ has again been organized with all its officers and gifts and all its powers of salvation with apostles seventies high priests elders elder priests teachers and Deacon sand ae the duties of all are so plainly benned denned that one need not infringe on the prerogatives of the other it la Is not now DOW fashionable in the world to believe in the voice of revelation or in these officers and the miraculous gifts that foll followed owea the labors of jesus and aad his apostles today men go forth as did the ancient apostles having authority and declare that those these who receive the gospel become the children ot of light having faith in god and his son Jesus repeating of sins and being baptized oy by immersion immersi n for the remission of them they received the holy ghost it was because the ancient disciples possessed the power of the holy hely ghost that they would rather lay jay down th their air lives than deny their lord they rhey obtained that spirit by obedience to divine laws the possession of this influence is the great distinguishing feature between the latter day saints and the world fhe latter believe the former are deluded but the saints are assured they are not but are identified with a work of divine agin tais is the reason why the into are able to remain steadfast in t cigan i face of opposition were it not 0 ir that power they would be van loi als hed shed j among the revelations that came ah borough rou the prophet joseph jaseph was that fe e W were e biting in the generation when christ rist would come and reign reiga on earth and establish his kingdom to remain forever and that the restoration of his gospel and the condemns contemns of authority to act la in his name were preparatory processes that he might find faith on the earth when he should come when his disciples asked for the signs that would precede his second coming one oi of the most conspicuous ous to anich he referred as re corded in the chapter of matthew was that this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness and then shall the end come the latter day saints claim to be preaching this gospel preparatory to the end of the rule of the spirit of the world and the ushering in of the reign of righteousness there had bad come more light on this through joseph smith to whom the lord gave revelations relating to the coming of the son of man the lord explains more fully what he said to t U his disciples and his words are contained in the book of doctrine and covenant i of the ciurca section alv versed lt 16 to 30 as follows and I 1 will show it plainly as I 1 showed it unto my dis disciples as I 1 stood before them in the flesh and unto them saying ks as ye have asked of me concerzio concer concerning nio the my coming in the day when I 1 shall shail come in my glory glori iii in the clouds blonds of heaven to f a fil the promises prom ibes that I 1 have made unto your fathers for as ye yc have looked upon the long ab sence of your spirits from your bodies to be b a bondage I 1 will show unto you yon chowtie how tl e day of redemption shall conic come and also tic tl e restoration ot of the scattered israel androw and now ye behold this temple which is in jerusalem which ye the house of god and your enemies say that this house bouse shall never tall fall but verily I 1 say unto you aou that desola tion shall come upon this generation as a thief in the night and this people shall b be e destroyed and scattered among ill all nations and this temple which e now see shall nh ill U be e thrown down that there shall not be ler left t one stone upon another and it shall coi come de to pass that this generation of jews shalliot shall not pass away until every desolation v which inch I 1 have told you concerning them shall come to pass ye say that ye know that the eni end of the world cometh ye say also that ye know that the heavens and the earth shall pass away and in this ye say truly for so it is but these things which w lucli I 1 have told you shall not pass away until all shall be fulfilled and I 1 have told you concerning jerusalem rusa leni and when that day shall come shall a remnant be scattered among all nations but they shall be gathered again but they shall meiriam until the times hirthe of the gentiles Uen t tiles be fulfilled fullIl led and in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars and the whole earth shall bein be in commotion and mens hearts shall fall fail theland the them mand and they shall say that christ his coming coining until the end ot the earth and the love lo 10 e ot of men inen shall wax wa cold and iniquity shall abound and when the times of the gentiles is come in a light shall brake forth among them that sit j in it darkness and it shall be the falness of my gospel but they receive it not tor for they perceive not the light and they turn their hearts front from me because of the precepts of men and in that generation shall the times of t the he gentiles be fulfilled nearly all christians believe that a time will come when christ will reign personally on the earth therefore there is no dispute between them and the in regard to that As the angels said to the men of galilee at the transfiguration of christ in like manner as he ascended so lie he should in the latter days descend but bat there is this distinction between the saints and the christian world the latter believe christs coming to be afar off while the saints believe it to be near at hand the prophecies re garding this event are not rew but bat through groug joseph smith they were made more easily understood la in the awen ty fourth bourth chapter of matthew jesus spoke of two great historical epochs of the future one oae of these was the destruction st of jerusalem and the scattering of the jews a remnant of whom would be gathered in the latter days the temple then in its magnificence was to be destroyed and the jews to be dispersed and become a hiss and a in all nations could any prediction be more faithfully fulfilled than this has been it if that part of the saviors prophecy has been so clearly verified should it not increase in the hearts of men a faith that the remainder will transpire as ae as precisely jesus revealed to joseph smita filat in the latter times preparatory to his coming a light should break forth among them that sit ta ia darkness that it should be the light of the gospel he said the same thing to his ancient apostles he told them the gospel should be preached in all tile the world for a witness before the end should come it is also stated in the revelation to joseph smith that the dispensation of the falness sf times limes should be ushered in by the proclamation of that gospel which is now being taught to the gentiles and will be until the times of the gentiles are fulfilled then will a 8 great change take place no more will the despised elders extend their evangelical labors to the gentiles there is a time and season tor for that work to be prosecuted and a time when it shall be withdrawn from the th gentiles and if they come in after that season it will be on their application not upon entreaty then will be ushered in the day of israel tor for that to is a labor ot of this dispensation the carrying it of the gospel to judah not many years hence and their ears will be saluted wits with the sound of the gospel this generation will witness the marvelous phenomenon of the realization of the sacred promise made to israel and the gathering of the remnants of judah who shall rebuild the waste places of the holy land many believe this will not occur but I 1 it t will transpire before long and in the eyes of all na nations for the word of the lord has declared that it should be in tais dispensation we are living in the days of the coming of the son of man in his glory and disappearing his appearing is not far distant it is tor for the true disciples to understand the signs of his coming which are multiplying on every hand the good book says there shall be earthquakes in divers places do we hear bear anything of such events at the present time we have heard during the last few years of numerous in instances s of the earth opening and 1 thousands of her inhabitants those destructive disturbances of our gl globe obe have even visited our own beloyed beloved country as well as d stan slant lands in the latter days there were to be gr great eat disturbances in society grea great t pe perplexities rp of nations wars and r rumors u of wars etc at the present time there is not much actual war but the rumors a are so frequent as to be without precedent in ai ni story as are also combinations between nations for offensive and defensive purposes witness for instance the condition in this regard of the most powerful em empires pire a of europe there never was a time when warlike enunciations renunciations were so completely aad rapidly spread over the world as nab mcw indeed there never were such before tor for the news of warlike demonstrations to be fl ishad over the earth finest momentarily not only are the nations by threatening international questions but there are social conditions of a singular and terrorizing character there are tendencies toward popularization of power there is an aa element honeycombing honey combing the nations threatening the destruction ot ol all forms of ord r and government in many rep acts ct i mens hearts fail them for fear of if these things this fear is exhibited by the fact that in some of the nations it is impossible tor for a ruler to go safely a short distance from his bis abode without being protected by bv the military those who take a leading part in the affairs of nations are in a like position and sometimes such men mea are assassinated notwithstanding all their caution an element among beope of thel world is manifesting a spirit that will not brock the restraints ot of the governments under which they live the prince of the power of the air is abroad in the earth seeking whom he may devour he to is also seeking the destruction of the church of christ as an organization jesus jeans said regarding the condition of affairs when he should come that those who profess to take upon them his name as we do here today would be divided into two distinct divisions that one half of the virgins only were wise and the foolish foo lisi ones onea could not enter into the presence of 01 the savior not having a wedding gar car ment in ia other words not being clothed with the power of righteousness they will have no oil in their lamps how shall we keep the oil in our lamps that we may be ready when the cry goes forth behold the baldel room cometh vo go ye out to meet H him I 1 m we will have no oil unless we take the holy spirit lor for our guide and follow in the path pointed out by jesus it has been predicted that the hypocrites lypo crites in zion shall tremble those who have the name of the lord on their lips yet seek first their own advancement they seek to promote their heir own welfare and those objects that hat relate to their personal comfort they seek the things of the world first thinking perchance they will obtain the kingdom of god and his righteousness as a secondary consideration this reversal of the order embodied G in the he divine injunction will not stand the kingdom will decline to take a secondary position the time will come when the hypocrite shall be afraid his knees will weaken and his cheeks blanch when his hypocrisy cau caa no longer be hidden bidden the voice of revelation through joseph the prop prophet et declares that the vure pure 1 in he heart rt who constitute zion shall judge all things pertaining to it the words of the lord lora in a that respect are Forit shall come to p pass aas that the inhabitants of zion shall j lud geall things pertaining to zion a and ad all liars and hypocrites shall b be e proved by them add they who axe are not 0 t apostles and prop prophets lichts shall be known and even the B bishop is hop who 0 is a judge and his goa counselors a sel 0 rs it they are not faithful in the their r at stewardships steward ew ar 8 ships aps shall be condemned and oth others era shall be planted in their stead for behold I 1 say unto you that zion shall flourish and the glory of the lard shall be upon her we are placed upon the threshing th floor of the lord to see whether we are wheat to be garnered into the storehouse of the bordor chaff to be blown away by the wind it shall be demo demonstrated it whether or sot not we can pass through the crucible of temptation unscathed or whether we will be consumed dined gr or evolve from it as dross ross the saints are surrounded by temptation their duty is to examine the effects of every contemplated act and if it would be detrimental to the cause of truth or orin in jurious to the community the individual should refrain from its performance for mance the saints are enjoined from following after evil aaa aaz if they have the spirit of god they will have the to behold the truth clearly when they fire are in circumstances of temptation by that spirit they gan can cast the temptation aside and say to te the evil one get thee behind me satan but sometimes to obtain the satisfaction of questionable desires we say in effect get thee be hind me lord for a little while till I 1 consummate my present object and then I 1 w will ill come around to thee I 1 the lord will be slow to hear bear the er cry y ol of those who thus seix seek to temporarily thrust him and his laws aside to a suit alt their convenience we sometimes lay the flattering flittering flitt ering unction to our souls that the people of god are always maltreated mal treated because of their righteousness When they have kept his commandments they have been prospered and protected such is the history of israel unless in elc exceptional e instances there is an inai invincible CT howera principle that leads to victory within those who serve the lord truth is mighty and will prevail and no power can prevent its blessings to fol lewing those hose who conform to it in ia their lives live f for 0 r gods throne is based on justice tic e an and d righteousness what is needed today is that the saints should oboe observe r ve the second principle of the |