Show RELIGIOUS I 1 A r sunday services BeHe ious services were held at the ac e salt lake city sunday U st ar 1891 commencing at 2 m counselor charlt charles s W penrose ding he choir sang the hymn beginning efow are thy servants blest 10 0 lo 10 lord rd how sure eure is their defense lelm wyer er was offered by apostle m H cannon cloar next sang the hymn r come ome thou thon glorious day of promise come and nd spread thy cheerful ray the priesthood of the seventeenth ast officiated to in the administration athe 6 the sacrament JAMES jamus F TALMAGE addressed the colO congregation gregat ton he said benwax hafl grateful for the opportunity of ose etin once again with the saints i to tm the purpose of worship they had I 1 there in the lords name v doubtless had bad some expectations fat of realizing the fulfillment fulfilment of his great whenever met 44 in his name there he was in of them through the medium of his holy spirit and would bless chein speaking of the mighty changes fob took place in the world day by day the speaker said that in all these would we could distinguish the ux cooee of the voice of gori gad and could fawd in the telegraphic dispatches as ay daily came to us if ine had the pow power er ot inspiration and ad were guided by the spirit of lawer ir the signs of the times wh which aeb 14 aba k understood by men gave unto 0 emtrue true wisdom yet there were save whom ears were deaf whose fa were blind whose hearts were 9 so 0 ib born that in all these matters they AW toB ried cried nothing out of the regular ader and so would it be according to 06 words of the prophet until the and terrible day men would due to chase their favorite tow giving themselves up to immure fM Mure ra perchance seeking gain the r in many instances praying and UK for wealth the rich raving braving riches day after day the ba of men would assert themselves 0 only those who had the power of otiley ity and the inspiration of the t of god with them would see kt else than the continuation of jf had gone on before but there ran 4 evident plan plain and purpose purpose in the tac of god that work today was in the same stage that if jl yesterday we were not loveling ing exactly the same road ac ding ng to the great and mighty plan al and the purposes of the respecting his hia servants here re not the sanae same as with our tore fore years ago we were nearer bend d than were they we must be firing under der circumstances and condl condi lom somewhat ome what different though the inary order of things would con it was well therefore on stated ionly when the saints met together ob KB they had that afternoon to bat t out oat the noise doise and bustle of ay life and strive to understand eter r the words of god which came to I 1 may by baay day all of us were child ta ren before the lord though some were younger to in experience and spiritual growth than others consequently we could not all depend upon our experience peri per lence ence in this life for guidance the voice of god would come unto them if their hearts were open if their ears were unstopped and give them pence peace comfort and bampi happiness bess uess which in the midst of strife would assert itself as superior to all else upon earth did gold silver or precious stones ever give to a man one iota of release from pain one exemption at anytime any time from the attacks of adversaries the man who bad the inspiration of the spirit of god within him possessed to some extent at least the power of banishing pain sickness disease and all those ills which were given U unto lato men as trials and for the purpose of testing their strength by being no longer subject to their thrall surely this was wag a power worth striving after it had been promised unto the humble and those who would seek to do the will of god how then should we strive to gain this inspiration so that we might not be misled by the aff affairs laira of life or deceived by tle the machinations of satan among other things against which we should struggle was the growing and besetting sin of indifference it was a matter of great congratulation and joy that so many assembled together in that and their other places of worship from time to time he dared not dot judge as to their motives he had bad to take it for granted however until shown otherwise that they met for purposes durpos es of true worship that their minds were sincere and if this were so they were blessed above all others but the sin of indifference was growing in the world at the present time and men were becoming more and more subject unto it it required no argument he thought to convince all the scriptures that there waff war today to day in progress a great battle and strife going on between the principles of light and those of darkness between the spirit of virtue and the elements of vice this being so we must confess that there were two opposing factions faction iq and that every man and woman on the earth by his or her actions in life showed to which of these parties he be or she belonged satan the commander in chief of the armies of darkness had bad proved himself to be a very wary general he bad made a great study of human nature he be was acquainted with our individual nature perhaps better then than we knew it ourselves be knew our weak points and our strong ones and made his bis plans accordingly there was a time when he endeavored to stir up his bis emissaries to the pitch of enthusiasm which exhibited itself in bloodshed and cruelty and terrible were the sins sine then enacted there was less of that kind of persecution in the world today than there had been during certain periods of the put past yet the adversary was none the less energetic and it seemed at least to be one of his tactics to implant within the hearts of all to whom he bad access the seeds of indifference and to inculcate within them a spirit of evil causing men to feel that all things were right and they cared not for matters of religion he believed that the same adversary would be full as successful in this course as he had bad been in his violent courses in the past knowing full well however that his triumph would be of but short duration against this spirit we should struggle and strive to be awake to all that passed round about us so that we might be properly impressed by that which we saw and heard beard and in this way we should distinguish the working out of the great purposes of the almighty and witness the unfolding of the buds and the bg bursting berating rating forth of the blossoms upon the great fig tree planted bg bv the deity that we might know the seasons when we glanced at that tree and control our lives accordingly those who believed not in the words of revelation scoffed at the idea that the end was near and that the second coming of the son of man was to be looked for in the immediate future though the word of the almighty had gone forth that that day was at hand band the exact time he had revealed to none as far as we were informed indeed we were told that even the angels in heaven knew not the day and hour of the son of mans coming coining yet we were commanded to watch and pray aud and read if we could the hand writing of the almighty as he was waa tracing it upon the schedule of history today as he had bad traced it in the past there existed in the world at this time a spirit of uneasiness in political circles and doubtless his hearers bearers had read quite recently of the visits which were being made by the warlike organ izat lons ions of one country to another parading as am it were their engines and powers of destruction in the eyes of each other he himself was not an interpreter ter preter of mysteries he was not a prophet unto the people and therefore sought not to explain in detail what was meant by these happenings but he be did say any that they were in accordance with the prophecies which had been uttered when it was told by the words of inspired men that the spirit of strife should grow in the world and there should be war and rumors of war one nation rising up against another it had bad been his good fortune to make a series of visits during the past few mont months beto to several of the countries of europe and among many other things which impressed him there he noted with great interest the signiA significant signs of warlike preparations to be found everywhere the tramp of armed men was so common in the streets of the great cities as to excite no great wonder at night they were heard beard passing the door and in the daytime battal battalions loDs were to be seen moving from place to place the railroads were burdened with the traffic of carrying men armed for fighting from one part to another all europe was today one camp under arms boys were being pressed into the service and scores of them could be seen in the ranks with scarce a bearded face among them sham battles i for practice in arms were the order of the day the rattle of musketry had a familiar sound and mothers took out their sons to watch those contests that they might be imbued with a desire to emulate those who took part in them he had an opportunity of talking with some of the officers of regiments and asked them for what they were preparing mst most of them answered that they did not know but that there were signs of coming strife and every nation felt itself under the necessity of being under arms each nation said elder Fal mage was looking jealously upon its neighbor and know knew not how scoon one might be engaged against the other having witnessed these things be could not help comparing compa the comparative para tive peace here in our mountain home with what was going on else where true there were dissensions dimensions here political difference differences and matters which needed adjustment and which time would adjust yet we lived here in comparative peace now and for this we should be thankful in all that was going forward we could not deny the workings of the hand of god he v was as happy to bear his testimony unto the saints that we were hero here in the land of plenty find and knew not what poverty was compared with that prevailing in many parts of the world today we knew not what dissension and strife were when contrasted with some of those disturbing elements which were themselves felt in other quarters he knew that the latter day saints were endeavoring to serve god by the actions of their lives they were pure at t heart and though they might alight have made many mistakes at times which experience and prayerful endea endeavor vur would correct still they were the people of god and had bad with them the power of present revelation which would open their eyes unto these great events and teach them the purposes of god APOSTLE HEBER J GRANT occupied the rem tinder duder of the time it was always a source of pleasure and satisfaction to highe him he said to listen to the testimony MODY of the servants of god and he be rejoiced exceedingly in the testimony which he himself had received a 4 to the divinity of the work in which they as a people were engaged the latter day saints occupied a position before the world which certainly made them an interesting study he believed no other people claimed that the church to which they belonged had bad been organized by revelation from god almighty he knew of no DO ministers of the gospel who went out into the world as did the elders of this church proclaiming unto mankind the restoration of the gospel and promising to those who would belle believe ve in their testimony keep the commandments of the lord jesus christ and have faith in him that they should know of that gospel whether it be of god or man almost without exception the mem here bers of this church had seen manifestations fe of the spirit of god they had bad listened to the speaking akina in tongues and had seen the sick that bad been given up for dead healed and rise from their bids beds of affliction they stood in a position where they could testify from their own knowledge and ex peri ence to the goodness of god to them and the fulfilment fulfillment of his promises to all who keep his commandments mand ments having as a people received this testimony he might say universally they were ready and willing in the provi dences of god to wait for the time to come when their virtues boult be recognized when their honesty of purpose and sincerity of heart would be known by all men so long as they were faithful in keeping gods commandments mand ments and remained true to the testimonies that they had bad received it mattered not what trials and eions tione they were called upon to undergo the latter day saints were looked upon by the world as an ignorant superstitious and add biggot ed people but the speaker showed how in the same manner the followers of christ were regarded in his day it was because men had not the capacity and did not possess sufficient knowledge to fully comprehend and grasp the things of god as seen in nature that people pe were deceived the trouble was that ruan mankind kind at large as they got hold of an idea did not investigate it for themselves and because they did not have the light of the inspiration of the spirit of god they were many times deceived and turned away from the truth it behoved behaved the latter day saints having received a testimony ot of the gospel to seek from our Jb atner the cue or of MIS his spirit baini that our minds may never become darkened by the sophistries sophis tries of men or so called scientific facts may god teach us to be prayerful sincere and diligent in the discharge of every obligation resting upon us the abe choir gave the anthem let the mountains shout for joy and the choir and congregation then together sang the doxology the services concluded with the benediction pronounced by elder W C dunbar |