| Show ia t REMARKS 41 banfai sit at the salt lake stake conference salt salt lake city saturday march bath 1897 by s RESIDENT LORENZO SNOW BY ARTHUR WINTER t RUPO g r brethren aren and sisters with the exercise thour faith t this h is afternoon I 1 would like estava say your a few wor words ds I 1 have been delighted d with the instructions and kroph saim of af brother penrose which he has st addressed to you they are all fill his predictions in regard to the that will come to you in in conform be instructions he has given you se true etor the spirit of the lord sane sanc and approved them I 1 do not inert that the latter day saints will hect and put into practice all that taught this afternoon we are jj what like a little who has to learn the alphabet the aher ooin oin s to the letter a and tells aru what it is and asks him to be aft jeand and remember it the child looks at A it ft and at the request of the teacher tow briw to pronounce ron ounce it perhaps he is the teacher then turns to be tte letter b and asks the child to pro e that letter he endeavors to do he is successful in this and d perhaps a I 1 I 1 amcher asks the child to please aber that as well as the letter a bob the child promises to do and it can do quite easily then the turns again to the letter a and ahat what it is well the child in doggo ag about b has forgotten a but tile teacher does not become mad sit at all because he has had elpe expert fice in these matters he pronounces t the letter again for the child after which be se turns to the letter b and finds that tho the child has forgotten that and the teacher has to pronounce the letter b spin eala the lesson concluded the child iii after a time it is called up ftp again and the teacher has to go 9 through the same process as he finds tot aba the ane child has forgotten what was ato taught ht previously now this is a good deattie the way wit with h the latter day saints the very things that brother penrose e taught here today you have heard hundreds of times and vet it kimn to be necessary that these things houed id be taught us over and over baio again it is something like I 1 in reading the book of doctrine sad Cov covenants ensin every time I 1 read a reve tocoa in that book I 1 get some new idea I 1 may have read that sam many and many a time I 1 menage this is a your experience too if it is very v e ry different to mine brettner Brett nen and sisters the thing you have in your mind and which you should make a motto in your life is this serve god faithfully and be cheer ful I 1 dislike very m much u c h a and n d I 1 believe people generally do to see a person with a woebegone woe countenance and to see him mourning as though his circumstances were of the most unpleasant character there is no pleasure in in association with such persons in the family it is always a good thing for the parent to be cheerful in the presence of 0 ot I 1 his wife and children and out of that cheerfulness ma may y arise many good gifts sifts the lord ha has s not given us the gospel aspel that we may mav go around mourn ing all the days of our lives he has not introduced this religion for this purpose atall at all we came into the world for certain purposes and those purposes are not of a nature that require much mourning or complaint anere a person on is always complaining and feeling to find fault the spirit of the lord is not very abundant in his bis heart it a person wants to enjoy the spirit of the lord let him when something ot of a very disagreeable nature comes along think how worse the circumstance might be or think of something worse that he has experienced in the past always cultivate a spirit t of gratitude it is actually the duty of every latter day saint to cultivate a spirit of gratitude gratitude I 1 for what why lor for what has been explained here by brother penrose for or the wonderful things that god has done to make us happy both in this life and in the life to come the prospects that god has opened up to our view are wonderful and grand the imagination cannot conceive of them come into the temples and we will show you many of you I 1 presume have been there and have heard the marvelous things that god has prepared tor for those that love him and continue faithful to the end there are some individuals that are called out by the presidency of the through the presidents of St stakes alces to ta receive the greatest a and ad most tar far reaching promises ever conferred upon man since the world began we cannot make inake any comparison tom parison in our feelings with these wonderful prospects that iod god has opened up to our view in the promises that he has made through his servants servant unto us in the first hymn that was sung this after afternoon acion there is something said about all ali ii i well all is well that is a grand expression a beautiful sentiment we ought to consider it I 1 would not say that this could be applied to every latter lay atter day saint at the present time but all should be well with us god goa has made everything well for the latter day saints there is nothing the latter day saints can imagine that would afford them happiness that god has not unfolded to us as he has prepared every thing thin for the latter day saints that they could u possibly oos sibly wish or imagine in order to effect their complete baD happiness throughout the vast eternities for em ear ample just think of the promises that are made to you in the beautiful and glorious ceremony that tha kt as is IV used in t the b e marriage covenant in t the e T emple wh when e a two latter day saints are united uni ed to geahr in marriage marriage p promises are made to them concer concerning ng in their offspring that reach from eternity to eternity they are promised that they shall have the power and the right to govern and con arol and administer salvation and exaltation and glory to their offspring worlds w without end and what offspring they do d not have here undoubtedly there them will be opportunities to have them here alter after what else could man mall wish A man and a woman in the other life having celestial bodies free from sickness and disease glorified and beautified be yond description standing in the midst of their posterity governing and controlling them administering life exalta tion and glory worlds without tody supposing a person should have the opportunity port unity of reigning feigning over an immense empire on this earth for fora a hundred years free from interruption and disturbance and all should be peace and harmony harmon t throughout ahr 0 his dominion for that len length of time A great many men no doutt doubt would jump at such an opportunity iwa and would sacrifice anything they had bad for W it I 1 do not know how many there are in this church who would sacrifice their prospects for such a glorious in the eyes of the world position supposing further that the people of this vast empire were given the power to live evra even a thousand years and this person should have the privilege of sitting upon the throne and governing and controlling for a thousand years a people that would live in harmony with the principles of truth and peace and happiness and no division or turmoil should exist in that empire till the thousand years had passed away supposing all this what is that to the prospects that god has unfolded ed to the latter da day y saints an endless reign over our offs offspring zing from all eternity to all eternity now ow this is actually what the lord has promised it is not anything that man has devised to entertain the imaginations of people but it is the word of god therefore we can determine as to what course we should take and what sacrifices we would make before we would lose these 91 glorious orious 1 prospects acts we also can mar vel and wonder that god should have revealed these things to us mandof many of us have received the spirit of these theft promises to that extent that we un feel that we would saI sacrifice fice anything and everything rather than lose these beau ifal prospects now it is not necessary that we should go o mourning all through this lile life in 0 der to secure these promises I 1 say let men serve god faithfully and energetically and be cheerful I 1 would not say that under some circumstances a person can show cheerfulness even jesus himself when in agony upon the cross was in a position where he could not very well exercise a feeling of cheerfulness there are times when persons are brought into conditions where it would be very difficult if not ble to assume a cheerful aspect but such times are very few referring to the habits and practices that brother penrose has been speaking about it is a good thing for persons to et into proper habits and practices and S sit en they are not so liable to make mistakes as they otherwise would be for instance a girl starts to learn to play a piano she has to learn to strike with this hand and then with the other hand this key and then that key in order to produce music from that instrument it may take her a long time to do this but when she has learned and got into the habit of striking the keys correctly and properly she can go on and play tune atter alter tune without a mis take but suppose she should be careless in learning to play would she not be sure to make a mistake evera time she endeavored to play a tune she certainly would but she does not make these mistakes it she has learned correctly and has not become discouraged I 1 have bave noticed that many young ladies wad and young men too start in to learn music but get discouraged and failing to persevere they do not succeed in accomplishing that you may notice the same thing among the latter day saints persons get t baptized and they feel to rejoice in we gospel and that which is unfolded to them they prosper well for a time but after awhile they cease to persevere they become soured perhaps at some things they experience in their acquaintance with their brethren who perchance are not wise and they turn their backs upon the principles principle s in which they took so much delight in the beginning and go into darkness brethren and sisters I 1 want to say a few words in rt relation lation to the work we are doing in the pimples of the lord in the balt bait lake temple we have had large companies for several weeks pant pa t which lives es arp u great delight we are satiE satisfied fied E t t the spirit of temple work is increase among the latter day saints and we hope this laith faith will continue four temples have been erected in this state at the expense of several millions of dollars and they have been dedicated to the lord we feel when we go into these temples that we enjoy the spirit of the lord more fully than in in any other place they ate are the lords buildings building and his most important work is carried carria on within their walls we are satisfied at least I 1 am and I 1 believe many of the brethren look upon it in the same light that the most important work that lat ter day da saints can do on this earth is that 0 of opening the door for I 1 the ae salva tion of f their kindred bead an there is but one way in in which men can receive salva salvation tim exaltation and glory and that is through ii the order ol of baptism and the ordinances connected therewith no mortal man or woman will ever receive celestial glory unless he be or she has been baptized receiving this ordinance per or by proxy that is the order that god has established in the temple 11 we receive people and do not question their right to come in and do the work they desire if they have a proper recommendation men dation clation that matter is left entirely to the respective bishops and presidents of jt stakes and we do not go behind the record we welcome them there and we introduce them to ail the blessings and ordinances with but one exception that are given there while I 1 sometimes doubt whether some persons that reach our temple here are worthy I 1 do not question their right but I 1 am satisfied that hat some individuals have come into these temples that should not have had that privilege yet they hd had the necessary recommendation signed by their bishop and by the president of the stake there have been one or two cases however that we have felt to submit to the first presidency lor for their acion the bishops and presidents of stakes stand as sentinels so to speak peak and persons who are unworthy should not be able to pass by these sentinels but it requires a gi gibat eat deal of discretion and judgment the other day I 1 got a recommendation from a bishop for a sister atti this explanation that she had not paid her tithing and leaving it to our discretion as to how far she might be allowed to receive the blessings of the temple and he wished me to write to him and inform him whether persons who did not pay their tithing shoud shou d be permitted to have a recommendation to the temple now we are not prepared to answer a question of that kind that is within the discretion of the bishops and presidents of stakes I 1 feet feel quite interested in this temple work the temp temples lias have been built by the people many of them have sacrificed very largely to 10 donate for this purpose and i 1 am satisfied that when persons go into these temples they do not pass out without feeling better and with a determination in their minds to do a little better than ihan they have done that is the feeling we want the saints to get we do not want to exclude any person from the temple that can be made teter by enter emering ipg therein we want to extend leniency as far as consistent with that which is right there ore I 1 say it requires a good abood deal 0 of f bisci ebion on the part ol of the bishops i in regard to these matters we do not want them to go too lar jar and allow persons that are unworthy to go into the temple but we want them to axtt extend nd their charity as lar jar as they can it looks to me now the way things are moving that our temples are the grand places where people will be taught and prepared tor lor the things they will have to endure in the not far distant another thing I 1 want to say we invite the poor to come into the temple if they have not got a cent they are just as welcome as though they had bad their pockets full ot of money but there is this about it there is a vast amount of expense connected with this temple work which many do not re alze and we wint those who have means to donate something some people come into our temple that are very well off and we have known of individuals coming in to get married who would pay just twenty five tive cents though they were well blessed with this worlds goods they get a wife for twenty five cents now when young people come in there who have no means they are just as welcome as anybody but those young people who are well off we think they ought to be liberal I 1 know when I 1 married I 1 always felt generous to the patty party that married me and that was president ident young I 1 wish the bishops would talk ot these things to the parties panics who come to therm them to get recommends they should also impress upon the people the necessity of paying their tithing when people come to them for recommendations it is a good time to do this As I 1 have said the bishops and presidents of stakes should stand as sentinels and they should not allow any to pass by them into the temple that are unworthy it is something like what we learn in the temple about a time that i is coming when persons who go into the celestial kingdom will have to pass by the angels and the gods brethren ethien Br and sisters god bless yo yon and peace be multiplied upon you an and upon your households stick to the ship cf f zion if boats come to the side showing beautiful colors and making wonderful promises do not get oft off the ship to go to the shore on any other boat but keep on the ship if you are badly used |
