Show REMARKS made awe at the weber sta stake e conference monday jan e nce ogden I 1 xyth 1897 by ELDER BRIGHAM YOUNG BY ARTHUR I 1 am pleased to see so many out this afternoon and I 1 regret that the house was wag riot jot filled this morning to hear president Tres ident george Q cannon I 1 con aderee it a privilege to listen to his re I 1 rejoice that we have men who of life and salvation teach the way am am us As much as I 1 love life and the goo things ot life that god has provid provi d sl for us its the gospel is more to me than 3 else on earth I 1 have never found on the ot of history anything so satis pages ages petery as the gospel through the spirit of this gospel the bible has become new book because we can to us a raad it by the light of that spirit it is is is a lamp that sheds additional ray upon making us to understand the scriptures the bible better than any other people daoa the face of the earth without the bible has become a B liht r block to our brethren and of the christian denominations aft with this light ot of the holy spirit it is the of life and walk in ways noB Bible to jah 41 ration and god has granted this coteat alast boon unto this people because of their humility an and d obedience it is the bawl uty of the heart not wealth nor As apparel nor beautiful houses bouses that the courts of heaven and insures lB in inthe gods blessing won upon the creature all oien cam are born to receive if they will the order it will not be intolerable or the heathen in the day of judgment provided ded they have lived according to the fiet 11 that has been given them but atwal it be intolerable for the individual who has received the light and then rejected it and sinned knowingly before god these art are they on whom per bame the second death will have power I 1 find myself with you to some extent in in a precarious condition we are walking ja inthe the straight and narrow path that leads unto eternal life and with the knowledge veat at we p isseks if we but deviate to the right hand or to the left and turn from that path that leads to eternal life it is mitt enthat at we had better never have been born upon the earth this is st iture and not to have been born upon the earth would render us it seems to ane capable inta iri pable ot of receiving rec receiving eivin our a celestial seacy in the presence olour father these bodies es are r given avento to us that we may attain unto this ceccial celestial state through obe diance di ence As christ ascended and obtained ift his supremacy through obedience so have his bj brethren ethren and sisters the sons and daughters of jad god to attain unto this blessing through obedience in the flesh obedience is at the foundation of all the blessi blessings blessing nj of god there is no blessing without it if a blessing is bestowed on the disobedient it may become a curse to him and the more blessed the thing bestowed the greater the curse unto the disobedient creature this we have expert encee the good things of the earth are for the children of our father in heaven but when we receive and abuse them th they ey become a curse unto us man is a peculiar being I 1 have studied myself enough to know that I 1 am one of the most peculiar of all of gods creations I 1 know not myself I 1 cannot tell who I 1 am I 1 may look at my face in a mirror buts but as it is written I 1 go away and immediately for get what manner of man I 1 am I 1 think today that I 1 will be faithful that I 1 will perform a certain act but influences come alon along and turn me from the path I 1 would creag tread in and before the sun sets I 1 do things that I 1 never dreamed of I 1 find myself in a dual capacity and that there is is a warfare going on within me there are two distinct parts within me one the spiritual from god and the other of the earth earthy I 1 know that that spirit dwells in this temple it is here for a season to purify this house in which I 1 dwell and to make it a fit habitation for the spirit in the celestial kingdom of our god to my understanding the spirit is without a house to dwell in when it forfeits the body that god has given to it and a spi spirit ri t without a body cannot attain to the celestial kingdom I 1 find also that this warfare within me is of a very peculiar nature I 1 have two minds in me as well as two beings when the spirit of god rests upon me and I 1 make up lip my mind then the spirit has been communicated with by the spirit of god and it determines what course it will pursue then it has to deal with the being in which it dwells with all those tastes and imperfections that seem to have comedown come down to us from our fathers the spirit begins its warfare upon the flesh upon the appetites of the flesh to try and overcome them by and by I 1 decide that instead of doing what I 1 was convinced was proper I 1 will cater to an appetite that I 1 have acquired in the flesh here commences a war between the S spirit Z rit and the biesh I 1 am like the man n who 0 resolved that he would pass a certain whisky saloon without stopping to take a drink he walked straight t as a soldier past the liquor establishment and when he got a few rods past he said I 1 now ill go back and treat resolution it is the tendency of the h human man family to treat resolution I 1 Q find this war 1 going on in in ii me ie but my reflections on atril subject carry me at times beyond where I 1 have power to express my ideas something tickles the palate of of a man and he cannot refrain from it and after his taste is gratified in one particular parti culap he looks for something else it is like our sons and daughters just as soon as one party is over where they have danced until they are exhausted they want to know when they can have another party and so we go on hasten mg ing from one indulgence to another now there is a conflict going on with in in us between the spirit and ther the flesh which will succumb will the spirit within me with which god holds converse by his S spirit pm i it succumb ib to the appetites ot of the flesh or will it overpower every feeling and appetite of the body and bring it into subjection to the spir spirit it that it may be prepared through thi the j grace of maa god d for an exaltation in his presence this ijane question before us today president cannon spoke ot of prayer ir I have seen in books of various denominations a form of prayer printed for almost every occasion prayer for thanksgiving prayer for mourning prayers for morning and even evening prayers for the birth of a child and a also 40 for the christening etc everything in the shape of prayer seems to be prepared for the people the way to serve god is made just as easy as possible it is like a boy bay I 1 saw in a certain city which has a large number of images and every everybody bod that t passes an image takes his hat off to it this boy was about fourteen years old and he was passing one of these Imag images esi and without looking at it but simply as a matter of habit he doffed coffed his cap to the image and went on what is prayer Ls Is it simply the glancing of the eye on the te written page which tells you adu what ym are to say to god if this is all there is in it why not let our religion be made as ea easy as wable possible pos sibe we might go 8 so 0 fg fai as to be like the e man who had got tired tir edof of even reading his prayers so he be had his evening prayer printed and posted up at the head of his bed and before bedine he would jump into bed he would say lord rhems my sentiments sentiment sM but if the heart of man is to be schooled in the religion liffon of jesus christ and the appetites 0 of the flesh are to be overcome as jesus jestis overcame and this body is to be brought into subjection to the law of christ of what use is all this extraneous matter none whatever it is but a device of the enemy to lead the multitude astray now I 1 this people are not going to obtain salvation in in an easy manner the latter day saints have got to war wair with the appetites of the flesh with the traditions of the fathers and with those things which god has commanded us to eschew when we retire at night instead of having a printed prayer we must kneel down before the lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit and then the lord will surely bear us oft victorious brethren and sisters have we undertaken this warfare to conquer or are we yielding to the insidious influences fluen cea ces that are brought among us I 1 am reminded of a story I 1 read on one occasion of an old man who was ascend ing 8 g a steep hill and there were seven dez devils pulling at his skirts and jerking him back A traveler observing this wondered why there should be so many little devils pulling at the old mans garments determined determine ct to defeat his efforts to get up this steep place but he went on and came to a great city where he saw one little dev devia 1 l perched up on the pin nacle oi of a s shaft aft half asleep he thought that was strange he had seen seven of these little fellows trying to annoy an old man who was striving to climb up a steep place and here was a great city with a hundred thousand people ve e in it and only one little sleepy imp he asked what the meaning of this was the reply was that this old man was determined ter mined to follow in a path that led to somewhere that was good while the hundred thousand people were resting easy following their own pleasure and the little fellow had bad nothing to do lor for they were traveling the road he wanted them to travel I 1 say to you latter day Saints Saint you are climbing a steep hill and there are more than seven devils to every otte one of you determined that you shall not gain the prize that you are laboring for and the warfare is internal as well as external and is going on constantly the ime latter day sa saints have the world upon their back determined to overthrow them it if it is in their power to do it why do I 1 say this are there not good men and women in the world yes just as good as we are but here is a system that is superior to any system that has ever been discovered since the gospel was revealed to man upon the earth the gospel never has been revealed before in the perfection that we behold it today because the restitution of all things in one has been left to the last days this gospel is to regenerate fallen man through the instrumentality oi of those who will engage in the work and every man and woman is called to this works work if he or she will receive it god will give to all freely who will receive it and as you have undertaken this labor lit let your trust be in him and you will carry it to a successful issue but I 1 sa say to you that every man woman and M child d will see the time when they will bow the knee and confess that jesus is is the christ christao Chris tto to the glory of god the father god has committed this work to the latter day saints and he calls upon us now in this time of temptation and trial sorrow and glad gladness neds the the most peculiar time that ever was upon the earth to be as faithful as our brethren and sisters who haye have died and gone one to their place of rest as faithful as doseph joseph smith and hyrum smith sith who gave their lives to perpetuate what we enjoy today As jesus laid down his life for the whole world so did the prophet joseph smith and the patriarch hyrum smith lay down their lives in Carthage illand ja gailand iland john taylor spilled his blood to make possible what we enjoy today in the blessings of the everlasting gospel we stand today upon the foundation of the blood of martyrs and the fiat has gone forth that this work is perpetuated through the shedding of the blood of the best men of the nineteenth century shall we then forsake the benefits that god has given unto us shall I 1 permit these fleshly desires and appetites of mine to destroy the hope that I 1 have of everlasting life oh nol no nor will the latter day saints do it but they will cleave to light and truth what kind of a prayer shall I 1 offer shall 1 I offer the p prayer r a y er of my heart or shall I 1 say that the printed prayer is is good enough for me god requires the heart jesus has bought us with a price by the sacrifice of his life again our father has bought this people by bringing them out from the midst of their enemies and planting plan planting tint thein here where they can have every lessing blessing that their hearts can desire sire irk in righteousness never has a latter day saint done a good thing without the lord bein being present immediately to reward him whenever I 1 have done a glod act god has rewarded me right then thed yet as it is written in the book of mormon I 1 still owe him my life my family my surroundings my good father and mother and all that I 1 have that is beautiful and lovely now after he has blessed us with these things shall we take the bit in our teeth and say that we will go our own road if we do we shall go to destruction this people have a work to perform that the world know little about and I 1 fear that many of us c co 0 not appreciate it brethren and sisters I 1 testify to you that the gospel of the son ot of god is in the midst ot of this people I 1 testify to you that the power is in the midst of this people to overcome the evil that is in the world the power is given unto this people in embryo to save this nation from destruction power is given unto us to do a work for the dead that have passed away without a knowledge of the gospel that the prison doors may be opened that the prisoners may go f free ree and partake of the blessings of heaven in in conjunction with us ahe power is S given ven unto us to prepare a church and a engrom kingdom that god will accept and whoever of this congregation are upon the earth when jesus christ appears will it faithful be caught up to meet him in in the air while others will suffer the destruction truc tion that will come upon the earth we know these things and can testify of them therefore let us take a course that will be approved of god that through our faithfulness we may receive thel the blessings which he has promised unto us may god bless us abundantly and and give us more of his holy spirit more union more light more intelligence though I 1 do not want more unless I 1 can live by it A short time ago I 1 meta met a minister coming from his church and as some children were passing assing he be said oh ob I 1 that I 1 could be a child again I 1 asked him what he wanted to be a child again for oh said he if I 1 could be a child like one 0 of f these I 1 could serve my god all my days 1 I buhy by said 1 I you might serve the devil how bow do you know you had better be satisfied with your lot I 1 take what god has provided be humble lil pure epure honorable upright I 1 pay ay your debts serve god with an undivided heart and ancl trust him in his beneficence for the salvation which he will give every son and daughter that is worthy of it amen |