Show DISCOURSE Deliver edby president witford wilford woodruff sunday morning october ath 1892 atthe at the semiannual semi annual conference held Z in the tabernacle aole salt sall lake otty G utah I 1 feel disposed to try to address this assembly of latter day saints for awhile this morning but I 1 wish to say that I 1 need not only the strict attention but the faith and prayers of the saints of god for no man can nil fill the place which I 1 or these A apostles postles occupy to fulfil fulfill the command of god and the requirements of the latter day saints except by the inspiration of almighty god this is in a truth that has remained on the earth from the day of father adam to this hour I 1 have some things upon my mind I 1 would like to lay before this assembly if I 1 can get sufficient of the spirit ol of inspiration to do it to commence with I 1 want to bear my testimony to these latte rd saints and to the world that I 1 am held field responsible before god the angels and the heavenly hosts boats for the testimony which I 1 bear before you and so to is every man who bears bean record of the son of god and of the wort work of god in this or any other generation these latter day saints bear record to the world and have borne record for almost a generation fallk pae that joseph smith was a prophet that they know this work is in of bod and hat this is the church of jesus christ of latter day saints they are hold held responsible for this and if they y bear a trun true testimony the na eions of theearta the earth who hear that testimony W will ill be held responsible for the use ue they absy make of it do you ask me how athi I 1 katow this in the work of god and that aph joseph smith is a prophet of 01 GOM od I 1 will tell you how I 1 know I 1 know it by the revelations of jesus christ and by the inspiration of the lord if I 1 may be allowed to 10 refer to ya elf without being considered yigal egotistical yi oal I 1 will tell you why I 1 bear thin i testimony mat years have daic ped pawed over my snead head since j I 1 first in the falegh S almost sixty years of that abu canna ih 1 bays been a member of the saints aSS assmus Sus of jesus christ of latter day that time I 1 he have borne and aorel oma foi nm portion of the holy y priesthood prie thoo edthe pied the bofty ty three t hrey years ara I 1 have mccu of the apostleship in with my brethren n I 1 have h abroad and at home I 1 have bays been taught from my childhood up by the revelations of god in the records of divine truth that have hare been given to us that there la is one god and that there is one jesus christ who in the savior of the world and the only savior pertaining to this world and to io the redemption thereof I 1 have been taught that there in ie one priesthood in its two divisions I 1 have been taught that there is one holy ghost and that there is ia one gospel goepel aud and one set of ordinances for the salvation of the whole posterity of adam and only one I 1 have been taught that those ordinances are the same in every age of the world whoever reads the new testament can see the testimony of the apostles that there was but one gospel in that day and generation and that gospel was taught by adam him elt belf to his bis posterity the same gospel was taught by moses and by all the patriarchs atri arche and prophets down to the nays days of jesus christ there was but the one gospel but the promise was that whoever received that gospel should receive the holy ghost and the gifts thereof and these gifts were made manifest from generation to generation when the god of heaven had a people on the face of the earth in traveling during these sixty years that I 1 have been in the church abroad and at home I 1 have been associated with the elders of israel in the administration of these theme ordinances to the human family what has been the result remember now what I 1 to d you thid that I 1 am hold held responsible for my testimony mony I 1 have traveled I 1 may say in the abi midst of visions vision in the midst of the administration of ang angels els to in the midst of the power of god in conned connection with my brethren I 1 have laid bands upon the sick and they have recovered we have laid hands upon the blind blin dand and the they have seen upon the deaf and they have heard upon the lame ame and ad they have walked upon those possessed with devils and they were cast out aej even unto the resurrection of the lead dead those gifts and graces that have followed the servants of god in every age of the world have been associated with this church from the day of its organ nation until this hour those these are truths in the sight of high heaven anti and I 1 will meet them there when I 1 go to the other side of bf the veil therefore if there theirs are any kt rangen here I 1 bear testimony to these things for I 1 know they are true the I 1 inspiration M 4 0 of the holy ghant deceives deceive e n no m man a n and when any people resolve receive this gospel and this thia priesthood they know for themselves whether the work la Is of god or not yes yea we lay hands upon the sick and while we do so the spirit and aad power of god comes upon us from the crown of our head bead to io the soles sole of our test feet we lay hands upon men to ordain them to the priesthood and the power of god rests upon the men who administer these then thirty thousand elders who dwell here in the mountains n of israel when they go to the nations of the earth and get up and declare the gospel goepel of jesus christ to the world the holy ghost is with them they bear a testimony that rejoices the hearts hearte of men and men receive that testimony and every grything thine thing they promise them is fulfilled to the very letter this is the reason why 1 I know that joseph smith was a prophet of god and that this to is the C hurch church of gad on the earth and I 1 wish many times that I 1 had power to express to the latte rd saints what is in my heart and what the vision of my mind opens unto me in those seasons when I 1 am inspired with the spirit and power of god to see what lies before this people and before this generation ohl ob ye lat ter day talk about revelation and wonder if there is any revelation why bless your souls say may nothing about the apostles Ap ostlee and elders around me these mountains contain thousands upon thousands of devoted womer holy women righteous women virtuous women who are filled with the inspiration of almighty god yes yea these women have brought forth an army of sons and daughters in these mountains by the power of god and these adese sons and aad daughters partake of the inspiration of their mothers as well as of their fathers I 1 will ask you what are these then apostles doing when they rise up and preach to you ahafi are these theme elders of israel doing when they bear record here to the latter day saints and to io the world it if they have not inspiration and rev lauon lation there to is not a man on the footstool of god almighty today who has power to preach ti tue tie e gospel and testify to its truth only by the inspiration of the holy ghost yes we have revelation the church of god could not live twenty four hours bears without revelation we do not have as an much as an we ought to have and whon I 1 look at the work that lias has been piled up for these latter day saints to bear off in the w world I 1 teal feel as an though we need a good deal of more inspiration and revelation thao than we have we want our souls to be wide open to the things of god and to te understand our position and aad destiny I 1 realize latter day saints require at my hands as president of the church of jesus christ of lat ter day saints many things they also require many things at the hands bands of my counselors cou melon and these apostles we can accomplish what la in required of us if we have the faith and the assistance si of the latter day saints bainte and the power of god but without that we voe can do nothing I 1 will say a few words with regard to another dispensation the whole christian world profess to believe in the bible you look through that book bobki and you will not fl find nd a single instance of a prophet or an ajoste or an inspired man going forth to preach the gospel except by the power of the holy and everlasting priesthood no man has had power to go forth and administer in the ordinances bances of salvation without that priesthood from adam dow n father adam was a great high priest go bo were his sons that were with him betti beth enos enoe jared canaan anasito an asiro leel enoch and methuselah and a great many others bore the holy priesthood all that moses did was by the power of the holy priesthood all that jesus christ and the apostles did was by the power of the priesthood jesus christ was our great high priest and he H came into the world and laid down his life as a great sacrifice for the redemption of the world it is that dispensation that I 1 wish to say a few words about it was rather a peculiar dispensation the savior came to the jewish nation to his own through the loins of abra A bra ham isaac and aad jacob and david the toish nation min he la bored until they put him to death he lived only three years year and a halt half after he entered the ministry he lived long enough however to choose twelve Apost apostles lest to organize a church to warn that nation and to declare unto them what would come upon their beads moses had also told the jewish nation of these them tillage things in big day by the inspiration of the lord has one jot or er title fallen unfulfilled not one when the savior suffered buffered that ignominious death on the cross and was about to give up the ahot t honald father forgive them for they know not what they do Is ie not that a strange saying for a man who was being crucified and about to go into the w arlu but jesus saw everything that would befall the jewish nation and aad well might he make mak d 0 uch a remark he saw that one t thousand eight hundred years after his death this yoke of bondage and trial and tribulation would rest upon the posterity of judah and he was i ready to forgive them no they did not know what they did they did not comprehend it they did not understand that they were putting tr tc death their the king ot of the jews their great redeemer Be deemer they were too overwhelmed with darkness dark neua and iniquity to comprehend this but as an I 1 was saying abing jesus chose twelve apostles they were fishermen weak and illiterate but the lord has always chosen the weak things of this world instead of the breut greut and the learned and the rich and the powerful of the earth why has baa he done it that he might have hare instruments that he could handle men who would obey him who would take his counsel and carry out his commandments in preparing this dispensation an in which we live the lord b has as known ip perfectly erfe etly well what lay before us tie he has ban known the mighty events that were to be heaped upon the meads beads of both jew and gentile saint and sinner incer zion ana the world and he has prepared an element to do this work of his HIM which he has gathered here jn in the mountains of israel but in the days of the savior it was a die dispensation pensa ot of sacrifice and jesus christ and the apostles only lived a little while after they were chosen cheep to warn the nation in which they dwelt and that generation jesus christ was crucified the apostles Apo atles were put to death and m st at every mau maa who bore the priesthood was slain excepting john the revelator the lord had ordained him to live and he did not die but remains today upon the face of the earth in fulfillment fulfilment of the promises of god to him but in that day they aad had not dot the privilege of building the mon afon of god or the kingdom of god it was not a dispensation prepared for that these men laid down their live and the judgments ot or god overtook the jewish nation in fulfilment fulfillment of the predictions of the savior and the prophets moses mosea told them in his day and thou shall eat the fruit of thine own body the fleth flet h of thy sons and of thy daughters which the lord thy god hath bath given thee in the siege and in the strait nese wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee all this came to pam and the kingdom was taken from the earth the holy priesthood was taken up to god who gave it and the church wont went into the wil berness der nesB ness day set for its restoration to the world but I 1 want to speak more particularly about this great and last dispensation in which the lord has said bald through the mouth months of all the patriarchs patriarch and prophets a mighty work should be performed it in ii different differently my brethren and sisters stere i from the d days a ys of the savior I 1 do not believe abe there r ever was a greater dispensation than the one in which you and I 1 live because in it Is cen tred the fulfilment fulfillment of all prophecy and all revelation that has been mani fest fent looking to the final restoration ot of all things before the coming of the son of man I 1 want to speak of our condition today before the lord when the savior died he went to preach to the spirits in prison most all the people from the days daya of noah to that day had died without the gospel and jesus went and preached to them they had thle this work resting upon them in that day in this day and generation we have in the bible the book of mormon and the doctrine and covenants the history of the latter day saints and of the world you are my witnesses today that this people are here in fulfillment fulfilment of these revelations and prophecies we have had bad a prophet raised up in these last lays days as great a prophet as ever breathed the breath of life save jesus christ and he was raised up for the purpose of laying the foundation of this work and how bow is this and this work to corn coin menca I 1 would like to have the christian world read the revelations revelation of st john there you have hare before you a picture of what awaits this genera tion you have there proclaimed that in the commencement of thio thi great and aad last baat work in the last days day an angel of god would fly by through the midst bidet of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell on OB the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people saying with a loud voice fear god and give glory to him for the hour of hla judgment is come 11 yee yc ye latter day saints the hour of godys gode judgment in ia come 4 the lord raised a great prophet unto us he wits was a mighty nod moa no D although illiterate in one sense genee of the word the lord call d apon him to perform this work and he be not only received the visitation of angels but even the voice of god this is in the only dispensation that I 1 have ever read of in which the father and son both appeared to the man whom he fie bad chosen to establish his church joseph smith received this great honor he was a prophet of god I 1 have traveled with him a good many mile sneaking Ste 81 ea king aking of the gifts an and graces manifested by the elders ot of lerae israel I 1 have sees seen joseph smith JD in one day go forth among the sick and command those that were dying to arise and be made wh ie and they have leaped from their beds been clothed and walked out in the street and followed the prophet of god in his hi travels through the midst of the saints of god can I 1 doubt this work catt CAP you doubt it I 1 think not no man that has had any experience in this work can doubt it you remember brother fordham Ford bam he was breath ing his lost last breath of life abri the prophet took him by the hood hand of and commanded him in the name jesus of nazareth to arise and be made bed was clothed and walked out and into the house home of brother joseph bt ates ten noble who is in still aall living is |