| Show DIS DISCOURSE COURSIE discourse delivered in the tabernacle salt lake city monday october fth 1896 by ELDER FRANKLIN D RICHARDS REPORTED BY ARTHUR WINTER I 1 earnestly desire a measure of the holy spirit to tb assist me the lew few minutes that I 1 may stand before you thi this morning we have been receiving most precious instructions given to us by those who have spoken it was brought impressively home to my mind yesterday while listening lis listening with the rest ot of you the great fact mat that all this knowledge and all this experience in the church of christ with every blessing that we have received therein and that we hope to obtain hereafter has all come to us through the agency the ministry and the dispensation that was given to the prophet joseph smith this great fact connected with the manner of gods dealing with this young man contributes to make our whole work seem the more wonderful mysterious and all powerful in our eyes we have been singing this morning we thank thee 0 god for a prophet to guide us in these latter days the character of this man became such that he has been an object of song in the assemblies of saints in in all the world where the gospel has been preached 0 SO o that he has been spoken of as the angel said he would be his name would be had for good and for evil in all the world it has beenson far as the sound of him and his work has gone there is something very strange that the lord should taip take a boy fourteen years old in december and in the early part of the next spring he began to deal with him the boy was simple enough to believe that there was a god in heaven and that he might inquire after him as the scriptures said he might wonderful also to contemplate that so strange an affair occurred in the backwoods away on the frontier the western part of NW york in those days was away out west and that the lord should pick up a boy that way and deal with him was a strange aff affair air wh why n did he not choose some soe learned ma man nt it he had taken a learned man he would have ery soon been telling the lord he did not know his business and if the lord did d not hearken to his bis counsels he would turn and leave I jim him we see see plenty of those things going on in our experience but he took a boy and began egan to discipline and teach him he showed himself to him spoke to him and told him that the way of the world was wrong he sent his angels to teach him imand and to educate him the lord tells us in the eions that the first great gift he gave to him was the gift to translate the sive e book of mormon and that he would give him no other gift until ahat that was accomplished thus he brought forth rth to us by the information given through moroni to him where the record was found the precious history ol of this half of the world extending through a number of centuries this book that has been so despised by the world was testified to by the prophet joseph when asked how and when did you obtain the book of mormon answer moroni the person who deposited the plates from which the book of mormon was translated in a hill in manchester ontario county new york being dead and raised again appeared unto me and told me where they were and gave me directions how to obtain them I 1 obtained them and the arim and with them by the means of which I 1 translated the plates and thus came the book of mormon it contains the simplest declaration aud and the best elucidation of the principles of the gospel ot of the lord jesus christ of any one book extant and why should it not be translated word by word sentence by sentence line by line page by page through the arim and thum taum min we have no other book on earth that has such claims to our undivided confidence as the book of mormon this appeared to be the opening bec wedge ige and stepping stone to the great work of ushering in the last dispensation the prophet joseph while going on with this work learn learned eci that there was a necessity for all people to be baptized and when he be saw that he earnestly desired the blessings as they were offered ofle red he called on the lord about it and john the baptist came and ordained him an and d oliver cowdery to the lesser or priesthood this was a most wonderful thing now there were two men found on earth who could administer baptism by authority tor for the forgiveness or re mission of sins this stirred up the wrath of the ungodly till the boy was hunted searched for persecuted and driven from place to place soon after he received this blessing and power he heard the word of the lord unto him in the house of father whitmer saying that it faithful faith lul in this he should soon receive other authority by which to administer spiritual blessings therein he received the oracles of the apostleship was ordained to the Melchi sedek priesthood with power to administer all blessings of a spiritual nature upon the people as well as those of a temporal or physical nature referring to these ordinations it is revealed in the section of doctrine and covenants that he will partake with adam noah abraham and I 1 john ohn the baptist which john I 1 have sent unto you my servants joseph smith jr and oliver cowdery to ordain you unto this first priesthood which you have rl re that you might be called and or bained even as aaron i and also with peter and james and lohn john whom I 1 have sent unto you by whom I 1 have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles and especial witnesses of my name and bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things thines which I 1 reveal unto them unto whom I 1 have committed the keys of my kingdom and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times and tor for the fullness of times in the which I 1 will gather together in one all things both which are in heaven and which are on earth the account of this is not given us very fully as to when it occurred but brother addison everett who died a short time ago has left it on record that he heard the prophet joseph say in the mansion house in nauvoo that it was on an occasion when they were returning from Co lesville in york state to harmony in pennsylvania A numerous mob had ad gathered in Co lesville determined to destroy him and the only way to save his life to all human appearance j was to leave at once and he and aad oliver cowdery went after traveling and wandering along on the banks of toe the susquehanna through the marshes and swamps all night long and having had little or nothing to eat the day before they were weary taint and well nigh exhausted oliver became so weary that joseph had to put his arm around him to steady him while they got out on to dryer land where they could sit down and rest when they came out into this place this brother says oseph told himi bins that it was there that peter james and aad john ohn met them in their loneliness and weariness and declared unto them their testimony that they had been sent of the lord jesus christ to ordain them to the apostleship the prophet joseph in writing about the great work of toe the lord in in his seclusion in the days of nauvoo says and again what do we hear glad tidings irom cumorah moroni and an angel from heaven declaring the fulfillment of the prophets the book to be revealed A voice of the lord in the wilderness of fayette seneca county declaring the three witnesses to bear record of the book the voice of michael on the banks of the susquehanna detecting the devil when be appeared as an angel ot of light the voice of peter james and john in the wilderness between between harmony susquehanna I 1 county and lesville colesville Co broome county on the susquehanna river declaring themselves as possessing the keys of the kingdom and of the dispensation of the dalness of times and again the voice of god in the chamber of old father whitmer in in payette ya yette seneca county and at sundry times and in divers places through all the travels and tribulations of this church of jesus christ of latter day saints 11 doctrine and covenants sec par pair 2021 ao 20 ai 21 this corresponds with our brothers statement though we are nowhere told just when it occurred when they had reft received ived this ordination and blessin blessing 9 they arse arose and walked the remaining sav seventeen onteen miles like giants refreshed with wine strong and able to finish their journey to harmony the lord in his various asand and peculiar ways has restored authority and power to the human family to administer and to receive the everlasting gospel how strangely he led jeo the prophet joseph from time to tima me from place to place in his great ret work rk to build temples and establish est aih his people in the gathering places and to accomplish the wonders that have been performed for he was attacked by the powers of darkness from the gay he be began to receive the discipline of the lord he says himself thai it he was used continually to wading ia deep water twenty or thirty minutes is too short a tune time in which to mention more than two or three events in the 10 prophets heihs we life As I 1 am called a historian MID you u will naturally expect to r some items oi of history from me after healing the sick in montrose all the company 02 any followed joseph to the hank of at the t a river where he was going to take cake the boat to return home while waiting for the boat a 9 man from the west who bad seen that the sick and dying were hewed heated asked joseph if he would not go to his house and heal two ot of his children who were very sick they were twins and were three months t aad oid joseph told the man he could not sd but he would send some one to heal themi them i he told elder woodruff to go with ith the man and heal his children at the same time he took from his pocket a silk bandanna handkerchief and gave it to brother woodruff telling him to wipe as th flim faces ot of the children with it and th they should ah ouid be healed and remarked at tue the same time As long as you keep r that handkerchief it shall remain a league between you and me elder vve woodruff did as he wali waa commanded and thio the children were healed and he keeps the handkerchief to this day dav on another occasion in the days of kirtland january Ja aana 1832 when the church was yet young and composed of lew few members they met to aether er in conference and there were teales lea and females elders and high priests ts beside the presidency of the church ch the prophet in his history tells us that the spirit and power of god came down upon them and he spoke in another language and others spoke in tongues ost and he continued with them 1 ux until all congregation the spoke or pray ly or sung in tongues giving them a r regular ar pentecost in these last days es senti gilt atly ly like unto the pentecost of I 1 ancient times only that it was not so ax extensive lie he further says ft which follow them that believe and obey the gospel as tokens that the lord is is ever the same in his dealings with the humble alws and foll followers of truth began to be h poured out among us as in ancient days for as we viz joseph smith jr sidney siano y rigdon frederick G williams newel K whitney hyrum smith sinith zebedee coltrin joseph smith sen samuel H smith john murdock murdoch lyman johnson orson hyde ezra thayer high priests and levi hancock and william smith elders elden were assembled in conference on the of january I 1 spoke to the conference in another tongue and was followed loll owed in the same gift by brother zebedee coltrin and he by brother william after which the lord poured out his spirit in a miraculous manner u until all the elders spoke in tongues and several members both male and female great an and d glorious were the divine manifestations of the holy spirit praises were sung to god and the lamb speaking and praying all in tongues occupied the conference until a late hour at night so rejoiced were we at the return of these long absent blessings on the we again assembled in conference when after much speaking singing praying and praising god all in tongues we P proceeded roce eded to the washing of feet when the prophet joseph had returned from missouri he attended a conference I 1 was present at the first conference that that he held after he escaped from prison in missouri it was at the old presbyterian camp ground near the city ot 01 quincy illinois a little east of the town I 1 recollect well when president joseph young introduced me to him 1 I was then in my teens and he took me by the hand and said god bless you brother franklin I 1 felt the shock go 90 through me from my head to my feet as I 1 had frequently felt the shock of electricity passing through me I 1 recollect well an item of his instructions at that conference he appointed a committe to gather up the libelous publications licati ons of abominable falsehood so that they could be preserved for history conference over he went with a com cittee up to a place that was afterwards called nauvoo then commerce a little place oace on the east bank ot of the mississippi river which was so sickly that a company of people from new york who had settled there were glad to sell out I 1 the prophet joseph and the committee bought them out and als also 0 purchased a tract of land on the west side of the river after a while and seeing how it was the prophet joseph started out as if the heavens had gathered around him and aroused him to go he took some of the brethren with him and we have some of these brethren here today president woodruff was with him and brother joseph B N noble 0 b I 1 e and perhaps others they went through th the camp healing the sick and raising the th dead they that had not got i nto into their graves as yet he went forth and aad as long as he could make his voice heard in the ears ot of the sick and dying he called them back to life again president woodruff writes concerning this eventful day it was a day in july 1839 that many lay sick along the banks of the mississippi iss api river and joseph walked up on the east bank to the lower stone house occupied by sidney rigdon and he healed all the sick that lay in his path among the number was henry G sherwood who was waa nigh unto death joseph stood in the door and commanded him in the name of jesus christ to arise and come out of his tent and he obeyed him and was healed brother benjamin brown and his family also lay sick the former appearing to be in a dying condition joseph healed them in the name ot of the lord after healing all that lay ay sick upon the east bank of the river as far as the stone house he called upon elder kimball and some others to accompany him across the river to visit the sick at montrose many of the saints sai n Is were living at the old military barracks among the number were several of the twelve on his arrival the first house he visited was that occupied by elder brigham young the president of the quorum of the twelve who lay sick joseph healed him when he arose and accompanied the prophet on his visit to others who were in the same condition they visited elder wilford woodruff also elders orson pratt and john taylor all of whom were living in montrose they also accompanied him the next place they visited was the home of elijah fordham who was supposed to be about breathing his last when the company entered the room the prophet of god walked up to the dying man and took hold of his right hand and spoke to him but brother fordham was unable to speak his eyes were set in his head like glass and he seemed entirely unconscious of all around him joseph held his hand and looked into his eyes in silence for a length of time A change in the countenance of brother Ford fordham harn was soon perceptible to all present his sight returned and upon joseph asking him if he knew him he in a low whisper answered yes joseph asked him if he had faith to be healed he ampere answered d 1 I fear it is too late if you had come sooner I 1 think I 1 |
