Show REMARKS by elder ader franklin D richards at the general conference held in the tabernacle aole salt lake oily my sunday morning april ath 1890 REPORTED BY WINTER beloved hearers 1 esteem it indeed an inestimable blessing to be permitted with you to listen to the precious testimony that we have just been listening to from our venerable president I 1 know that the things which he has declared unto us are the eternal truths of heaven that have been revealed to us in the day in which belive we live ahey are no more true from my knowing they are true or from you knowing they are true than if we did not know it or if the wicked do not know it they are no less true they are the truths by which the people of this generation will have to be judged president woodruff has lived in this church and in the knowledge of this chii s church almost sixty years I 1 have lived in it about fifty two years vears and I 1 wish to say that I 1 also know that this is 18 the w rk of the living god it has not been devised by man nor by any combination of men but it has been sent forth by the condescension of our heavenly father through our lord jesus christ and by the ministry of holy ali angels gels the wisdom of men has been brought to naught wherein they have thought that they were of necessary importance in the work of god he has taken those who were young in years ignorant of the learning of the world and has taught them in the knowledge of himself and of his purposes this is the highest degree of knowledge that is 18 conferred upon men in the earth and the humin family are going to flud find it so 80 the present is a time when those who are doubtful I 1 and who are less established entertain feelings of trepidation in their hearts not knowing what has been as some of the older ones do know therefore they are not prepared to understand without the revelations of jesus christ what is to come out but there Is isa a philosophy hil in the gospel of the lort lord jesus christ which aids people so that they come to understand the necessity of some things that have to exist our children the rising generation who have been born in these valleys and the many who have emigrated to this country from fort foreign ign nations during the period of our existence here are ignorant of the persecutions that occurred to the people ot of god in the states they have not bad a knowledge and a sense an understanding and a conscious compre hension bension of those things and they alpo alo must be made by the blessings and provi dences of god to come with us to a knowledge of his dis sensations to an understanding of his appointments and of the great truths that have been revealed true many of our children have come up I 1 ia a the 8 abbath schools and in the various associations and have obtained a knowledge by the testimonies of the holy ghost gaoat for themselves but there aie ae many who have not and it is pitiable to remember that some are associated with such euch parentage that they do oot not have the examples before them which are calculated to bring them to the knowledge of god in their earliest days we have had a period of almost unexampled prosperity ro while our children and they of little experience have not had a full knowledge of these things what have been the feelings of those who came from the states here scattered and peeled a little over forty years ago when it was not known that man could subsist in these valleys rhe flie feelings of those men and women are sentiments me ants V of the utmost gratitude to god that they were permitted to get away safely from their professed christian friends and lawless mob hers bers and have a little rest in these mountains where we could serve god according to the dictates of our consciences the lord graciously brought us out through daa t difficulties a thousand miles from settlements where we were hidden as it were from the people of the nation aroun dus anti and for quite a season it is within the memory of some and precious it is yet the lord blessed us to appoint the rulers from among our number Dumber even the rulers we were blessed with the best of guidance and wisdom by men who were inspired with the revelations of jehovah to leaen us we were united we were happy and we knew nothing of drunkenness and scarcely knew prof profanity milty and blessed as we were to in this excellent latitude of superlative health it was a saying among the people for many years that we wre were not going to die here of disease we did not but died of old age presently the avenues of communication we reopened up and all manner malaer of people esme came to dwell among us and a all 11 mauner manner of spirits and diseases dwell among us it becomes now a necessity for every saint to have on the whole armor kimt tb at he may be able to stand for himself be before his god and contend successfully against the powers of darkness this is 18 our condition today these things are calculated to put us lu common parlance upon our metal to find out whether we are right with god having fellowship and influence with him OW OM if all those who are before me today would have and keep the testimony of jesus the spirit ot of revelation that our president has been telling us of what would be the consequences would there be any difficulties amon this people no indeed every family would be living in the light and spirit of that revelation 4 each family would govern itself the presidency ortho of the church the presidencies cies of stakes and the bishops of wards as well as the high councils would have little to do in settling difficulties why because as the prophet joseph said the people being taught correct principles they would govern themselves this is what the lord is trying to bring his people up boand fott fortunate for us if i we so live as to acquire those abilities of self government and self control I 1 would admonish all that they cultivate diligently the spirit of prayer and supplication with this vast tide of prosperity with this influx of wealth and inflation of pr itea many men are forgetting tin their prayers old and young auf and they are so much business and so much hurry they cannot stop to pray neither at morning nor at night I 1 warn you my brethren if you cease your prayers and do not keep that connection between you and your god you will dry up and be blown away these influences will contaminate you they will hunger your soul after the things of the world and the cares of the world will choke the word and the spirit of the lord will witti withdraw draw from you unless you find speedy repentance and turn to find bud the favor and presence of the loid again it is of the utmost importance port atice that we should keep the connection complete between us and the heavens we know when there is a st ormand we put in a telegram to send abroad and we do not dot get t an answer that there to is something S g the matter the poles are down the wire is down for there has been some storm but when the wires are in order the message goes through and we get the answer just so it is IB about our prayers if we live as we ought to do the spirit of prayer and supplication is with us and we are increasing in strength in faith and in fellowship with god with the augele angels and the spirits of the just made perfect and these theme things will be hastened on according to our diligence and faithfulness will the purposes of god be brought about unto us we havie have had bad to my understanding a most precious season during this conference it has seemed as if the gamut of the gospel has been traced towards us in every keynote of it from personal confession up to the highest principles of the gospel it seems to me that every soul must have been fed every afflicted sorrow ful one must have been comforted every tried and tempted one must have felt the benefit or of these instructions to refresh his soul and renew his strength before the lord I 1 wish to fo testify that I 1 have been greatly blessed of the lord I 1 obtained the first testimony of the holy spirit to the truth of this great work in the midst bidet of what is called the grand prairie in Misso missouri tirl I 1 was crossi crossing Dg it on foot one day in november 1838 1 I had just heard that the prophet tle the apostles and the elders to the number of thirty or forty had been taken off to richmond liberty and other places to prison and that we need never hope to have them with us no any more for the wicked had determined ter mined ned that they should not dwell with us nor we with them I 1 felt as a boy seventeen years old would naturally feel under those circumstances about two thousand miles from his native home in search of the gospel of the KI kingdom 0 on of god and the servants of god right bight there in that lonely place it was that the blessings and glory of god shone around me and it was shown to tome me that we would have them again it was the work of god it could not be destroyed it could not be broken up it could not be impaired it was shown to me how it looked to peter and the brethren anciently when jesus christ was crucified and the apostle has written for us that his bis hopes were well nigh gonei gone when the lord made this manifest to me I 1 rejoiced exceedingly cee and traveled over that prairie with great lightness and testimony and got up to associate with the people of god that was the first testimony I 1 received from god concerning the work and during the last fifty years that I 1 have been traveling with you and throughout the nations in preaching the gospel to this and european countries I 1 have been blessed with testimonies repeatedly peat edly such as healings tongues interpretations prophecies cevela tion sand nd the still small voice and in divers other ways I 1 know this to be the hurch church U aud and kingdom of god I 1 know it to be the work of the lord just as truly as I 1 know any earthly thing I 1 have to do with and knowing this I 1 feel and have all the time to consecrate myself with what little I 1 am and have to help build up this church andio advance its interests in any humble capacity in which I 1 may be situated you will recollect that some few years ugo ago one among the apostles had the senseless eSO inconsideration to feel and to say that our savior was only as another man that he was tried un n i convicted sentenced and executed as any other culprit should be and you will remember that he was moved out of his place this thing struck deep into my heart I 1 was ordained as you know here in i n these valleys in 1849 being then the youngest member in the council of the apostles but this circum me melted lead it went down into my soul boul and I 1 thought what do I 1 know about our great captain our lord jesus christ our great redeemer and called to be an apostle of the lord jesus christ it came home to tome me with an earnest earnestness that set me at work with prayer and with fasting and with searching the scriptures until god in his pleasure showed it to me and I 1 can say that I 1 know that my redeemer lives and he will come and stand upon the earth in the latter day lie he came and went through his ministry until the earth and the inhabitants babi tants thereof did what they listed with him and when they had bad done the last thing they could do with him he triumphed over death and hell and went on high he lives there and will remain there until his enemies shall be made his footstool you and I 1 are called upon to prepare ourselves in body and in spirit in all that we are with all that we have with all that we can control and prepare our surroundings for his coming his glorious return when he astall sl all tring his ran rans ransomed omed throngs with him no earthly potentates be he czar emperor king lord or noble or of any title has had bad the prestige gp and the attention of the human family as has this our lord and savior jesus christ the most anc ancie terAL time we hear of in the garden or ot eden it was said of him that he should come in the meridian of time and sacrifices were given and required to perpetuate this knowledge that he was to come as the great living sacrifice and by the wisdom of ef the eternal and man on the earth it was so perpetuated and every great man that had any knowledge know ledge of god offered sacrifices and perpetuated that knowledge till jesus came and dwelt in the flesh these records that president woodruff referred us to this morning contain testimonies that have come down through the ages of time unto u and we know that he has come that he lias has passed through this ordeal that he has wrought out salvation and the resurrection for all mankind we live in a period of time when peoples hearts are hard bard the nation k teems to be be clouded terrible thought our nation is filled with lies concerning us they do not know us we have not the power to make curse ourselves alves known to th them they are unwilling to know they seem as if they are afraid we are right we cannot get them even to that first birth by which they might see the kingdom of god much less enter into it oh what a terrible condition they are ida parts of the united stats states will not dot listen to an elder other parts are now receiving the gospel a little but what has the lord to say about this matter we understand by the revelations that the great father of lies is the author of this condi condition tiou of things he was a liar from the beginning and be has imposed these lies and false ideas upon the human family and he is keeping them under that cloud lest they should come unto a knowledge what did the apostles say anciently that god shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie that they all wight might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness 11 oh terrible fate terrible consequences right here in the flesh without waiting jp A get out of it to find the torments of hell as promised by some for god has decreed that he will sweep away this refuge of lies with the besom of his destruction as promised by his ancient prophets this Is the condition of the world and now while it is so that we cannot be heard beard bythe by the preaching of the gospel we say as our president has sald said let us go to the dead leta leta us get the records of our ancestry and go to wore wora for them and very soon we will find that they will be at work for us as those who are laboring in the holy places aas laces do find this is ie a work that has to do with the generations of the dead for ages that are past the testimony of john is true concerning the lord Lor jesus dJesus christ who was inthe in the begin beginning nin nim in the creation and without him there was not anything made that was made he had control as he was the character known as jehovah when he was in the burning bush jw said to moses I 1 am jehovah anil and he told his name along occasionally casio nally to the ancient prophets and worthies by which we know that he was the jehovah when he came and entered into the flesh then he was the christ and has been known by that name ever since he idour is our great redeemer and we are commencing the great work of the last dispensation in ID which the consummation is to be when there will come people from all nations kindreds tongues ton aes ues and people and they wilf will praise and glorify his holy name who hath redeemed us out of every nation and kindred and tongue and people and hath made us kings and priests unto our god and we shall reign on the earth there is aglor eglorious lous prospect of triumph ahead and we have no do need to fear no need deed to be anxious about the outcome the thing is to conduct ourselves properly every day under the circumstances and conditions in which we are placed and abide by every law which god has given us that we may be sanctified hy by them unto immortality and eternal life and if we can attain this we are safe we art are certain |