Show sunday services religious services were held at the tabernacle salt lake city sunday july 1890 commencing at 2 p m counselor charles W penrose presiding the choir and congregation sang 0 jesus I 1 the giver of all we enjo prayer by bishop elias morris the choir sang aly father thou that dwell est in the high and the priesthood of the eighth ward officiated in the administration of the sacrament APOSTLE HEBER J GRANT was the first speaker in the course of his remarks he said I 1 have a testimony of the gospel of christ I 1 know that by k keeping p i ng the commandments mand ments of our to lord r d and aa cavior alo r and by obeying the laws laid down for the guidance of his people that the promises whish have been made that we shall know of the doctrine alether whether it be of god or of man can be fulfilled it is because of a knowledge of the gospel because of the testimony of jesus Christ that I 1 am ever ready and willing to raise my voice in defense of the principles of truth and the plan of life and salvation I 1 have recently had the privilege of traveling in some of the eastern states and in canada I 1 visited some of the largest cities in the east going as far as new york and I 1 conteas that I 1 was greatly surprised as 1 I mingled among the people to find how little they know of the latter t a ay y saints 4 met a great many who h expressed astonishment upon hearing that we believe in the bible they had no idea that we accepted king janies james translation as a guide for our actions they seemed to think that the 1 mor mons mono 11 so called haj a bible of their own that thai we had cast away the holy scriptures and did not believe in jesus christ I 1 have discovered in traveling both east and west that the almighty dollar so to speak is the bible of the people it is business with them morning noon and night men of the world know very little except of those things which tend to give them earthly advancement they are and on energetic in their business aff affairs lairs they study they make their religion as it ivr were the accumulation of f wealth indeed there is no question that there is a great growth of wealth in the bands of cf the few and that therefore the many are gradually becoming placed in straitened circumstances there Is also I 1 am coli vinced among the latter day satiate a gradual growth of what we might term class distinction that brotherly love fellowship and union which existed among the saints paints in early times which made them in very deed brethren and sisters which made their alms aims interests t and ambitions one in common I 1 mon are gradually dying out we find and that there prevails a disposition posItIon als for every man to labor for himself and for his own advancement those of us who are familiar with the revelations given through the prophet joseph smith must realize that this tendency of which I 1 speak is contrary to the principles of the gospel goppel and that unless we become mure more united u we cannot expect to be blessed of the lord as he has ha promised 1 I regret to say that there are many latter day saints who think because they have received a testimony of the principles of the gospel and a knowledge as to the plan of life and salvation in a foreign land and have gathered together in these valleys that this is all that is necessary but any person who has taken the pains to read and study th the e teach teachings 1 bugs of 0 our u r lord a and D d sa savior vior will become thoroughly convinced that faith without works is dead that it requires labor and a fulwil fulfil ment of the duties and obligations resting upon us as members of the church if we would gain the reward in the meeting here la last laa A sabbath we heard considerable about the disposition of the people to seek after pleasure thereby neglecting their religious duties and obligations we heard beard also of the actions of our enemies from time to time as against the latter day saints for my own part I 1 have never seen the day when I 1 entertained the least fear as to what our enemies could do to injure the dorkof work of god they can do nothing against us but what shall be for us the only cause for fear that I 1 have had is lest the saints 4 ither as individuals or as a people might become negligent in keeling the commandments of our heavenly father the trials and tribulations through which from time to time we are called upon to pass are calculated in their very nature a to connect us more closely together and cause us to be united it is in days ot of adversity that the better part of mans nature is developed and the same applies to nations as to individuals in the early days of our country after our patriot fathers had fought for and obtained their liberty men labored not in the interests of party or of political rings but with all the zeal they pors possessed essed to found aud and establish a government whereby liberty could be efured to all today however we find that men have become wealthy gigantic corporations have sprung into existence money and politics control the laws which are enacted aen men unblushingly stand up dp in t atie he balls of congress anil ana admit tbt they are violating the constitution of their country bypassing by passing certain laws but urge that they do it because the country demands it the concen eu of wealth and power a aind ane e laboring for self sel falz aggrandizement ent is the ruling spir spirit of the age in years gone by men did not look toward their own personal interests our patriot fathers labored for the common good of all to establish a land of liberty that should in very deed be the home of the oppressed of all nations but things have changed cha aged history is repealing itself and evidences of dissatisfaction are very plainly seen on all sides there is a lack of that patriotism and honor which should exist in the hearts of men who hold high and responsible positions they will remark unblushingly your cause is just but we can do nothing for you now we as latter day saints as the people of god seeing the tendency of wrong and the growth and centralization of power should seek to become more u bolted seek to labor for each others advancement it should be impossible for any member of the church to ruffer without all suffering and we should likewise rejoice together the per uy by our enemies the trials through which we are called upon to pass amount to absolutely nothing they are in the nature of chastisements just as a parent would chastise a child whom he or she loves when it does wrong in I 1 order to bring it back to the line of duty the latter day saints are accused of being narrow and contracted in their religion and ideas and yet this la Is the gospel of christ reaching out and embracing all mankind and redeeming them eventually through the atoning blood of our lord and savior jesus christ it is indeed glad tidings to a fallen world orld and it behoves behaves each and all of us who have received a testimony of the gospel so to live and order our lives that the example we set shall bring credit to the work of god I 1 maintain that tile the latter day saints should so live that as they come in contact with the people of the world those who learn to td know them will have to acknowledge their honesty of purpose sincerity or of heart the uprightness of their lives and their good example speaking of persecutions if the latter day saints had bad not been driven to the mountains one of the predictions of the prophet joseph would have fallen to the ground those who drove the people here thought no doubt that they were doing gods service that the mor mons 11 would probably be hunted into the wilderness to starve and die and that a vile blot would thereby be wiped out joseph smith had said that the saints would be driven from city to city from coun ty to county from state to state finally to the rocky bocky mountains and become a great people therefore those who persecuted the latter day saints were simply making a fulfilment fulfillment of the prophecies uttered by the prophet he who told us that the day would come when nt nit only city county and state would be arrayed against us but tile whole united states this bredle Hoi was lau laughed glied and scoffed at by people pl forty years ago why it was ridiculous to imagine that in a land of freedom and of boasted liberty such things would happen but the day has come and we have frequently seen in print at the head bead of the newspapers the united states of america versus the church of jesus jesua christ of latter day saints we have seen our property taken away from us and confiscated and measures are now introduced into congress to distribute that property broadcast throughout the schools of utah territory to take the money that you and I 1 have earned by our labor and give it those who have never contributed a dollar we have not only seen the united states opposed to this handful of despised we have felt their oppression and power our oui liberty has been taken away and propositions made in the senate that the money taken from us be returned to the people are voted down great liberality and generosity have aein aee n shown by people putting their hands into other peoples pockets taking out the money and giving it to somebody else these rhese things we have expected the latter day saints accepted this stealing by the united states calmly and deliberately when the decision came that the supreme court had decided to take their property the united states did not know what to do with it as there was no law to govern the case but edmunds has come to the rescue and introduced a bill yet all this did not ruffle the people any more than it would for them to be told that dinner was reaby the latter day saints believe in the greatest possible liberty to all men ani the day will never come no matter bow viciously they may fight against us when this people will oppress and rob others as they have been oppressed and robbed the man who has himself suffered will not feel to inflict punishment upon others I 1 am thankful that the trials through which we are passing are uniting the hearts of the people if we as latter day saints have received the testimony of the gospel then unless we the faith within us and improve upon the spiritual knowledge we possess by keeping the commandments of god it will assuredly die may god help us to be faithful in all things ELDER B H ROBERTS next addressed the congregation and said he rejoiced in the testimony borne by postle apostle A grant some of his remarks he be continued relative to the accumulation of wealth in the world and the spirit that is abroad among the children of men to seek for wealth and make it their god and his statement that to f some iome extent pt at least a like spirit prevailed among among the latter day saints called to my mind a passage in the book of mormon it is a piece of history connected with the Nep hites of old in which as in a mirror we may see reflected reflect eci the spirit of our own times and the tendency of things as existing in our own nation the speaker t nett read the passage referred to from the sixth chapter of the third book of nephi and proceeded to say that is very much the condition of the people today if the spirit of pride the spirit of greed of making class clam distinctions based upon the possession of wealth exists among the latter day saints to any very great event then woe be unto tilts tills keople people they are occupying extremely y dangerous ground it is laid down as a law iu in zion it is contained in the book of mormon itself that the inhabitants of zion shall labor for zion and nut not for money referring to the subject of the gathering together of the saints from the various nations of the earth and the object thereof elder roberts observed it was no mistake our gathering into these mountain valleys the rhe purposes of god were not thwarted when the saints were compelled to leave the city of nauvoo and their glorious temple and came here many of our veterans can bear testimony that years beffie his death the prophet joseph smith talked with the brethren in relation to our coming into these mountain valleys it was our destiny and not our enemies that drove us here though their persecutions may have hastened the day of our departure I 1 bear my testimony to you that the work which the world calls mormonism is the gospel of the son of god that it is the power of god unto salvation and that man can do nothing against it just as sure as the throne of jehovah is established and cannot be moved by the puny arm of man just juat so sure will the truth which we have embraced stand unmoved by anything that our enemies can do so far as they are concerned we can feel perfectly at ease and the evidence that we do feel at ease is seen in the calmness with which the latter day saints look upon move after amov made against us this is all right and proper I 1 do not know but what we would be ashamed if we could not be equal with the former lay day saints of whom it is written they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods the latter day saints ought to be able to do this just as much as they did aati and I 1 think we can and if our enemies should wish to fleece and rob us of that which is ours while we may not rave about it call mass meetings and protest very loudly against it I 1 do believe it is right to let them know we understand that they are going to commit the theft but we can afford it if they can there has been a great deal said about weaning the youth of the latter ay saints from the faith of their fathers by cintr introducing acing education into our midst I 1 know how densely ignorant the people of the eastern states are in relation to the latter day saints they have no idea that we have schools and have had schools from the very beginning I 1 have myself met some men meir who were astonished to hear that the mormons cormons Mor mons understood the english language and who had bad no idea that we had bad schoolhouses maps charts and globes and ah aff the fur common in their schools in the east they do not understand these things they believe that we love ignorance in iii tact fact we have frequently been told that mormonism can only flourish where ignorance I 1 is S most profuse A baser falsehood than this was never uttered concerning the work of god it was joseph smith the despised one in this generation who taught the glorious truth that man could not be saved in ignorance he went further than that by way of encouragement at heastand lea stand said that whatever principle of knowledge we attained to in this life would give us just as much advantage in the world to come for that knowledge would come up with us as we came forth in the resurrection if one manley his faithfulness by his bis enlarged experience and diligence obtained more knowledge than another he ha hal 1 just that much advantage over the one who had been neglectful now there has come a sudden revolution of feeling the people have witt withheld held from us all assistance in this matter of education and finally come to the conclusion I 1 presume that we are not only able to educate our own children but to contribute something to the education of theirs and we can dp do it but we want them to understand in the future that it was our means that educated their children we want to have the privilege of telling them that the means which accumulated in the hands bands of the mormon people and designed for benevolent bene violent purposes amongst ourselves were stolen to educate their children and that we submitted to it pleasantly I 1 love the work work of god I 1 love the gospel of jesus arist I 1 love it because it is not only going to operate for the salva salvation tien of men in this little space of time but so long as there is a child of god absent from the fold of christ it shall continue to operate until it leads the wayward back to the throne |