Show RELIGIOUS sunday services religious services were weft held in ritie bhe tabernacle bernacle ra salt lake city sun lay jay nov ath 1890 commencing at 2 p m president eres ident joseph E taylor presiding the choir sang the hymn upa are thy servants bi bles es 1 1 0 lord I 1 now how sure la is thy defense 1 prayer was offered uffe revl by elder inline blins morris phe choir sang he died I 1 the great redeemer died and israels daughters wept around the priesthood of the fourth ward officiated I 1 in a the ad ministration administration of the sacrament BISHOP ORSON P F WHITNEY was called upon to address the congregation gre gation it is a cum non custom among the saints he said to call upon tiu n elders to speak a athe the spirit designates without consulting with them but a feeling of weakness and dependency upon a superior is nevertheless usually combined with this thia kud aud A ud I 1 know full well that no mm man of himself can elalfy a congregation of latter day salute saints simply by trusting in himself we have come together here from different places and with various feelings though presumably with a common motive to be fed with the bread of life to bear instructions re proofs reproof is warnings or admonitions such as the spirit knows to be necessary hence the Im impotence for the speaker to be as a instrument in the hand of the spirit to co ply play upon as desirable it does not however depend entirely ott on the speaker no more than it does upon a pane of glass to give light or on a inua loAl instrument to music he must keep his heart clear as the glass must be in order to ail adult tilt the light or he most be in tu tune tie as an austrum instrument nt must be to give music yet it does not depend on him alone there is a great power within a congregation to draw forth what is most needed they must therefore come with a spirit ap rt en rapport with the holy spirit B pr rhen ahen we can enjoy his instructions tru ons god has had in every age given unto man his free agency he has placed him here ou on earth on probation to act for himself and to take the sequences consequences cor of his acts he may be good or evil he may make a wise use of his time lais his talent and op opportunities port uni ties or he may squander them he is left at liberty to act for himself and to receive blessings when sought for de destael desi reil anti and deserved when jesus was among men he preached the gospel and worked various kinds of miracles to the great astonishment of his generation yet to in a certain place he could not perform many miracles on account of the unbelief of the people why could he not r do it for this reason already stated that god will not c ampel men to exercise faith he will lead them and exhort them but he liever compels anybody to be right bous the free agency of man its an eternal principle and we are required it gods children to seek earnestly after the salvation he will give us there is as aa it were a great gulf yawning between him and us his love will partly span this gul gulab ph but our good works must span the other part of it this doctrine is not very popular among the christian world the idea has obtained that belief alone Is 18 sufficient that even a criminal can on the scaffold if he has the name of jesus on his lips go straight to jesus we do not believe such doctrines we hold that none will be punished for another mans sins sing nor rewarded for another virtues but that every one must be judged according 0 0 his own deeds in this there is nothing unreasonable we are often accused of being narrow and exclusive in our views concerning human salvation but only those think so who have failed to study our doctrines and have accepted falsehood for truth I 1 can say without prejudice that I 1 have never heard of more magnanimous and comprehensive doctrines than those contained in what is called mormonism but on oa account of misrepresentation men have believed the contrary we believe that god is the father of the race and that literally he to is the father of the spirit the intelligent thinking part of man without which our body would be a 96 cold and lifeless lump jump of clay this was made in the image of god and placed here that it might develop and become like god and this we hold to be true not only concerning ourselves but of all men wherever they may exist beneath the canopy of heaven we believe that his heart is great enough and kind enough to beat with love to all his children if some are black and some are white or red or yellow if dome are rich and others poor and so on we hold that there are good reasons for these differences but god certainly loves them all and will fill the cup of their desires and give them all the happiness they can appreciate we believe that god sent his son to die for men but not to put a premium upon their idleness but to open the way to all that they may come and partake of the waters of life freely of course if they do not come but like those bitten by the serpents in the wilderness refuse to look to him and be saved they cannot blame anyone but themselves for their condemnation those however who have never heard the gospel cannot on that account be cast away for they cannot be judged according to a law they have never heard yet this is the belief of many christians christian yea they even hold that little eh chil I 1 I 1 dren are to be sent to hell because they have never heard beard the name of a savior although this idea is gradually dying out No now all men will be judged according to the deeds done in the body those who have received a higher law will he be judged ac cording to the law and if they have been faithful in everything they will obtain reward according ly there are many trials and tribulations awaiting those who live according to this higher law but these are necessary iu in order to educate us to the privilege of mingling with ads gds hereafter christ taught this principle when he said maid if I 1 had nut not come you would have had no sin but he came and they were consequently auder condemnation when rejecting him god isa is just if man is not and he rewards everybody according to his deeds john saw the martyrs and those who had not worshiped the beast that they lived and reigned with christ he alao saw those who were without guile before god following the lamb wherever he goeth 11 1 1 yen yea following him here in tribulation or even to in martyrdom and when these tragic scenes are past following him in glory becoming kingo and rulers this is the grand conception of joseph the mormon formon prophet that the destiny of men is to become gods and that each one will be rewarded according to his deeds this too to Is the narrow idea of joseph smith the mormon prophet paul taught the same doctrine but men have forgotten it it was always a doctrine of the gospel and it will be so forever for themselves the saints sainte claim simply this that god has committed to them the everlasting gospel to be preached to all nations their elders go out accordingly bear ilig privations and insults and are sometimes murdered and all this not for salaries but because they love their fellow fellowmen fel meu and god as the father of mankind they go because they claim that god has restored the priesthood in order to empower them to act in his name for the salvation of mankind they believe that no oue one can do so except being called as was aaron a holy calling with which no man not even one with kingly authority hasa bass right to interfere GOU god alone can commission men to administer in sacred things now we claim that men have been so authorized zed in order that the human race may repent be baptized and receive the various gifts of the holy ghost and we also claim that men will be judged according to this law and condemned thereby if they reject it having once received it we do not expect any better treatment from men than that which was accorded to former saints and we will therefore not allow auy any bitter feelings to possess our hearts but we wish to return good for evil do good to all men and leave the issues with god we wish no war the olive branch is the emblem of those that preach the gospel of peace may be we have not always been able to do this to perfection but roy any failure in this respect must liot be put down to mormonism 02 but to the weakness of the human heart we have seen and expert erceg bercea much injustice in the past and this is not a always ways easily forgotten yet it must be forgotten and forgiven and it shall so tie be and it will in the future be evident coall to all good men as it itis now to god that the have been heroic in bearing wrongs in a way without a parallel in the history of the world we do not however care much about what men say our chief concern is what does bod god say we can afford to wait and leave the outcome with him who boeth all things well the choir sang the anthem let the mountains shout for joy and the congregation joined in the doxology benediction by president charles W Fe penrose benrose nrose |