Show irreligious sunday services religious services were held aa a the ra tabernacle bernacle salt lake city sunday march 8 1891 commencing at 2 rpm pm counselor joseph E taylor presiding the choir and congregation sang the hymn beginning now lotus rejoice in the day of salvation so no longer as strangers on earth need we roam prayer was offered by bishop orson F whitney the cliola sang the hymn god moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform the priesthood of the fourteenth ward officiated in the administration of the lords lordo supper ELDER ELDEK JAMES E TALMAGE wasi was called upon to address the auLi audience lence this vast congregation of thousands he said is indeed an inspiring sight awl an 1 it is a great res ability to td attempt addressing it one which no speaker can undertake in disown his own strength in responding to the call to occupy this position today I 1 rely greatly on your assistance I 1 stand humbly before you without any prejudice or any pet idea of my own to advocate only desiring that the will and mind of the almighty may be given to us I 1 trust that the great majority of us have come here to be instructed yet t some desire instruction on one point int and others on another the rhe guidance af the holy spirit is therefore necessary in order to have the right kind of instruction gi given ven my y a short 0 ex experience fience has been sufficient to teach ch me that the promise given hy atte savior where here two or three are assembled abi in my name there will I 1 be among them meets with daily ful fil ailment ment but I 1 know of no promise to those who are assembled in any other name than his I 1 realize that we are here in the presence of our maker and that I 1 who am called upon to address you will be held terribly accountable for what whai I 1 say the belief that one person can exercise an influence over other persons by hit his presence among them is not confined to the latter day saints societies have been organized in the world for the purpose of investigating the processes whereby mind influences mind it la is clear that this often is done but it takes place tb through rough a medium which in many respects is in corn we are not lacking analogous cases in the physical world one particle of matter always exercises i influence over other particles according to the law discovered by the master mind of isaac Newton and aDd known as the law of gravitation thus the sun holds and governs his planets in their celestial rt 1 courses the larger bodies prevailing over the smaller and all moving in perfect order and harmony we cannot doubt even apart from revelation that simlar similar lays prevail in the dominions of the mind by this w we lean can perceive that when we concentrate our thoughts and minds upon a proper subject we will certainly obtain from the lord that which we desire and if two or three assembled in his name can laim claim his presence the request of af thousands fan an certainly not be withheld wb realize when we assemble in a worshiping capacity that this indeed a great WP we are here to worship our great maker choke power and glory is incomprehensible to us we cannot approach his except in the greatest humility but although he is infinitely great yet ile he can and does accommodate himself to the condition of those chose that are weak and he says to u us call me father we feel our relationship to him he is n not ot only the father of our spirits spirit but also the maker 0 of our bodies as well as of all a that surrounds us I 1 do not believe there are many here if any who do not recognize him as such some there are in the world who hold the idea of a personal god to be incon sistena with reason they think there is no god because they have not seen been him they claim that the great order that prevails in the creation exists because it so happened happen etL the speaker illustrated the foolishness of this view by referring to the conclusions to which we must dame by contemplating the great eat works of art or engineering none can in seeing these things conclude that there was no artist no author of those works I 1 have heard it said that the belief in the existence ofia of a god is inconsistent N M ith reason but with this statement I 1 cannot agree even though many apparently take a delight in declaring that they do not believe in and owe no allegiance to a being outside this visible world infidels declare that they cannot accept the bible on account of alleged inconsistencies to be found on its pages and they imagine it to be a mark of freedom not to believe the red records cords ie one instance of supposed inconsistency in the historical narration of the bible now comes to my mind one which has often been referred to as a proof against theau the authenticity of the bible it will be remembered that joshua on a certain occasion called out to the sun to stand still upon gibeon and the moon in the valley of ajalon until he be had completed his victory over the enem enemies leg and the historian tells us that the sun stood still it le is claimed that this is ab impossibility because it ft is incomprehensible hen sible how it could be dunnand dune and it is further stated that had such an event actually taken place it would have been recorded by other historians now I 1 do not cok consider isider it my duty to attempt an interpretation of the passage but I 1 will merely remark that the sacred historian appeals to other sources sou aces for a corroboration of his bis statement and those who assert that no other historian lias has recorded the event are either mistaken or guilty of wilfully denying a known fact foht has bas been recorded by several profane historians and there are malty nations ako have the tradition among their myths myth the chinese have bave a tradition that the sun at one time during the reign of their emperor yao did norgo godown not down for two days and that the earth suffered greatly from heat during that time the greeks and romans have similar traditions ovid has baa recorded a fable that the son bon of phoebus the god of the suu sun once asked for aud and obtained permission to drive the fiery fairy chariot through the firmament but that the youth not being able to manage the luminous team these did not reach the western horizon in due t time all the people suffering greatly tom from the heat during this period careful study of chronology reveals the fact that he chinese emperor yao lived ut at the same time as joshua and there is no doubt that the i pecullar roman myth had fiat its origin in the biblical event thus the truth of the bible is 18 testified stifled te to by miny historians bistor laDs if the early agles ages it is not necess necessary arv however to reter refer to such sources for a confirmation of divine truths for these can an be understood der stood by the aid of the spirit of god and none can comprehend such things except through the spirit not that a man has to disregard reason for this to is a gift of god yet when men try to fani the truth by reason alone he will go astray first because satan delights in leading men away from the truth and secondly I 1 because men do not always know when they are drawing correct conclusions from apparently true premises let a man thore therefore fok seek prayerfully to obtain knowledge remembering that the b human uman mind is always weak education and learning are acceptable accept acceptably abl to god but he never reveals the mysteries of his kingdom to any but to those who seek them to in prayer and with a humble heart such wilb be enabled to understand those mysteries and to accomplish acom great things by the power thus sought and obtained david slew the mighty goliath aud and by the same power joseph smith was taken from the farm while a young boy and was made a man whose character and intelligence telli gence has gain gained edlor for him through out all the world a name for good and for evi evil by the same power the saints paints have been gathers gathered from nil all parts of the world and made a united people notwithstanding the various surroundings of their conditions before accepting the gospel to the blessings of the gospel enjoyed by the saints the speaker said aid there are things more precious than gold or silver there are carls of so 80 great value that theorict baliver yet been named by men and these are within the reach of all A man who can kneel knee down before the throne of grace Js is indeed JD in possession of a 4 treasure even though his bis circumstances beever be ever so h bumble u ruble the address was brought to a close with a powerful power rul testimony to the truth of the gospel abe choir sang an anthem anthem god of israel hear our oar prayer benediction by counselor joseph E taylor |