| Show DIS DISCOURSE COURSIE Vie delivered livered at the general conference of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints in the tabernacle salt lake city sunday april ath 1897 by RESIDENT RF JOSEPH F SMITH 1 1 It SpORT BY ARTHUR WINTER A 1 I have been invited by president george Q cannon to occupy a portion ol of the time this morning there are which deserve the attention ahan i things Y the e elders and which might be k upon during the conference and il u be probably to the edification of the arants ti and in the interest of the ad celmens of the work of the lord it rivery avery gratifying to hear the report cinc hh has been given this morning by cannon concerning the labor of df the elders that are preaching the gogoel pell it io the nations of the earth and pea allY to no dotlee tice the one leading feature bially ti e to which reference has been swe namely the mode ol of preaching ate ae gospel by the elders in the united states and in some other parts of the world without purse and scrip the idea has prevailed for some time ctet to a certain extent until a little while e ago that it was necessary that the elders should in going out to preach alte 6 gospel provide themselves with in order thit that they might not suf jw wr the necessaries of life in con 46 q 6 en ce of the prevalence of this idea man years year past the elders generally ba atre pro provided divided the themselves with means as they could and then their kindred iad friends and the various quorums of the seventies have tarnished furnished them admos to enable them to prosecute their missionary ry labors To ToN Brother elias eliass S kluball now presiding over the southern states mission is due the credit perhaps as much or more than to akay ay of df the elders who are presiding over missionary fields for acce former practice of preaching the gospel among the people without purse or wp crip it is gratifying to know that in the southern states in the northern W in the eastern states and in the california missions and upon the islands of thelea the sea intact wherever this practice is observed the work of the lord is more prosperous if possible than it is anywhere else the hearts of the people are reached their sympathy is aroused and they receive the elders with greater kindness and administer to them more liberally than they were wont ta do when the elders were depending fat their support upon the means in their own pockets I 1 have always advocated ibbe principle of preaching the gospel swit without hout purse or scrip I 1 recollect making some remarks on this subject several years ago in this house when my words seemed to recoil on my own head for they did not meet with my favor avar in the course course of my remarks at that time I 1 advanced the idea that those men who possessed wealth whose sons were called out into the missionary field and who were furnishing them abundance of means were doing their sons irreparable wrong we have evidences that the young men whose parents furnished them all the means they needed while they were out attempting to preach the gospel are today to day without the testimony of the truth and some of them have fallen away whereas those who have gone out depending upon the lord having faith in the provi dences of the almighty have had developed within them a testimony of the truth and a knowledge of the principles of the gospel which will enable thereto ther nto stand firm and faithful in the gospel so longas long as they continue to do their duty as members of the church I 1 have a son on a nand I 1 have advised him to put his trust in the lord and as far as possible poss p iole exert an influence with his associates to do the same sae and not to depend upon me for means but to depend upon the lord and the p people among whom he labors I 1 would advise all those who have sons out in the world preaching the gospel to exhort them not to put their trust in money but rather in the lord and thereby prove the world and labor wholly and nd solely for the salvation of men having that thought uppermost in their minds and not the thought that they have been sent out into the world to see the sights I 1 have labored in england on missions and my experience while abroad proved to me that among the most useless missionaries sion aries sent out into the field were those who depended upon the means in their pockets for their support they did not nit feet feel humble they did not seem to put their trust in the lord they did not seek unto him earnestly and diligently to obtain his spirit they did nt n t feel eel in their hearts that burning desire for the salvation of the children of men that those did who were wholly dependent upon the lord I 1 attribute the improvement pro that is observed in the various various missionary fields to the spirit that has been awakened in the minds of the elders to put their trust in the lord and to rely upon his kindness kindne s and providence while they are in the world I 1 have heard words of criticism amounting almost to censure of the rigid way in which brother elias S kimball had aeto re required red elders to put their money away and to put their trust in the lord and I 1 have not felt to endorse that sentiment for I 1 have believed it was right I 1 do not believe there is any great blessing without some sacrifice not the sacrifice of principle but the sacrifice of our bvm ow desires it is is a comparatively easy thing for a man with his bis pockets full of poney money to travel in the world it require requires sno no sacrifice to do this no exercise of thought no faith no earnestness of purpose no ardent desire in the soul for the salvation of mankind but to go out among strangers without means dependent only upon the lord requires faith humility perseverance and earnest desire in man and it has a tendency to develop in them all these noble and excellent qualities which are essential to stability in the kingdom of god in conversation last evening with some brethren some remarks were made respecting those who came in early days to this country pulling and pushing the handcart and a comparison was drawn between that mode of immigration to zion and the manner in which our people are gathered today di d yon ever hear of a man ot or a woman acosta mizing that pushed or pulled a h handcart an d cart across the plains did you ever hear ot of them becoming dissatisfied soon after they got here and at once expressing their desire and intention to go back to the old country if you have it has been a rare exception to the rule As it a rule and almost the universal rules rule those who tramped the plains with the hau hand carts and next those who came with the ox teams have been rooted and grounded in in the faith they had occasion to put their trust in god and their faith was developed their love for the truth was brought out and they bave have been as a rule stale stable sta le and steadfast stead flast in the gospel of christ while today many who come from distant lands by steamship and by railroad soon after they got get to zion become dissatisfied and discontented and they long for the leeks and the onions and ane flesh pots of egypt and frequently people who have hav emigrated here in in that way hive have within A week from the time they landed in ia this city or in other places wanted to return and them have returned they pame came too easy they did not gain experience in coming their faith w was not tried they had bad nothing to develop within them the principle of integrity to the truth and they were discouraged and wanted to go back at the least difficulty now the cue lord has said that he would have a tried people and it is stated in the scriptures that the lord chast eneth every son and daughter whom he receive th it is also said in in the book of Dac doctrine trine and covenants that god will try his people unto death to see it they are worthy barthy of the blessings of the gospel of the son of god section 1 I contend that a man is is in a poor condition to endure the trials and temptations in the world who is not tried in his bis feelings and proven to the ut ten ter most to see if he loves the truth snore more than he loves himself or the world and I 1 believe that it will be most difficult for any man to stand firm in the gospel who is not thus put to the test my pt prayer a y er has been constantly not that I 1 nugh might t be r spared pare d trials but that I 1 might have wisdom and judgment patience and endurance given unto me to bear the trials that I 1 might be called to tass through while I 1 cannot say truthfully that I 1 have been tried in my faith in the gospel of christ yet I 1 can say truth fully that I 1 have been tried in many ways my patience has bas been tried my love has been tried my integrity has been tried but my faith in the gospel in the divine mission of the prophet joseph smith in the organization of the church of christ in these latter days has never yet been sorely tried I 1 have never expert experienced encee anything calculated to try my faith f a i th seriously in regard to these matters for I 1 have grown up I 1 be believe fieve in them I 1 have been taught from my childhood that mormonism was true that joseph was a prophet that brigham young was his bis lawful sue suc cessor ceasor that john taylor was the lawill successor success dr of president young and that president woodruff is the lawful successor of john taylor in the presidency of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints and what intelligence I 1 possess convinces me that these things are not only essential but that they are true so that however much men may have tried me or however much I 1 may have been tried by circumstances in which I 1 have been placed wherein rein my love for my brethren and my integrity to them has been tested I 1 mk have ave never yet had a doubt cross my mind that mormonism was true or anat the church of jesus christ of latter day saints was properly organized and recognized of god these things seem to have been made clear to my understanding dundei standing and they have been en grafted into my heart until my whole being is saturated with them I 1 know that god will no more leave his work unto another people and that it shall continue until his purposes shall be completed in the earth this brings bring s me to a thought awakened ip in my mind by a letter which aich I 1 received yesterday complaining of me because I 1 occupied the position that I 1 hold in the presidency of the church not simply because I 1 occupied that position but the writer found fault with the ex existence a m of the first presidency clency of the church and claimed that it should not exist that th re never had bad been a successor appointed d to the prophet joseph smith and that therefore my presence in that quorum was a wrong to him and to the whole church now I 1 wish to read a few words from the book of doctrine and covenants the lord in a revelation says there are in the church two Priest hoods namely the Melchi Melch sedek bedek and including hie atie priesthood why the first is called the Melchi sedek priesthood is because Melchi sedek was such a great high priest before his day it was called the holy priesthood after the order of the son of god gd but out of res respect act or reverence to the name oi of the supreme izing being to avoid the too frequent repetition of his name they the church in ancient days called that priesthood after Melchi sedek or the Melchi sedek priesthood all ali other authorities or offices in the church are an appendages to this priesthood but there are am two divisions or grand heads one is the Melchi sedek priesthood and the other is the or priesthood the office of an elder comes under the priesthood of Melchi sedek the Melchi sedek priesthood holds the right of presidency and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world to administer in spiritual things sec avii 18 1 8 the lord further says of necessity there are president sor presiding offices growing out of or appointed of or from among those who are ordained to the several offices in these two Priest hoods of the Melchi sedek priesthood three presiding high priests chosen by the body appointed and ordained to that office and upheld by the confidence faith and prayer of the church from a quorum of the presidency of the church sec 3 2122 this is the law and do what we will we cannot set it aside nor can we adopt any other plan or method method and still be in harmony with the glorious and perfect order of this holy priesthood which god has revealed f from r om the heavens in the dispensation of the fullness of times the lord continues the welve traveling counselors are called to be the twelve apostles or special witnesses of the name of christ in all the world thus differing from other officers in the church in the duties of their calling and they form a quorum equal in authority and power to the three presidents previously mentioned see sec avil 33 23 34 24 let me call your ur attention to this principle the cord lord has not established in the church two heads two presiding quorums to run parallel with each other othe he has established an order in this priesthood which is absolutely indestructible truc tible so long as there is a single man holding this priesthood and exercising the rights and functions thereof in righteousness the meaning of this passage is simply this when from death or any cause there is no first presidency then the authority of presidency dt ncy rests upon the I 1 welve twelve apostles it does not mean that their authority is is equal to the authority of the first dency while there is a first presidency such would breed confusion and dis order there could be no presidency under circumstances of this kind therefore the equality of the authority of the twelve apostles with that oi of the first presidency manil manifests ests itself when they are called to exercise that authority in the absence of the first presidency yet it has been contended so we have been credibly informed that it was wrong to organize the first pj i dency aher after the death of the prophet joseph that hat the twelve apostles should nave have been the presiding council of the church and that e should have bet been n an executive committee appointed out of the twelve to conduct the affairs affair of the church I 1 suppose it is upon this idea that this brother whom I 1 have known from childhood claims he is injured church red and wronged and that the whole church is wronged because of the existence of the first presidency which nevertheless must exist in order to complete the pattern which god has gihei given I 1 for the guidance and government of his church this revelation goes on the seventy are also called to preach the gospel and to be especial witnesses unto the gentiles and in all the world thus differing from other offices in the church in the duties of their calling and they form a quorum equal in authority to that of the twelve special witnesses or of apostles just named sec avii 2526 would anybody think for a moment of contending that because the law au hority of the first presidency the authority of the twelve apostles and the authority of the seventy was equal therefore there was a triple headed presidency of the church and that it was necess necessary that all three of these councils of cf the aix priesthood should exercise in equal power and authority the presidency at one and the same time why that would be nonsense and would absolutely destroy the principle of government it would be only in case ot of the destruction of the presidency of the church and of the twelve apostles that the seventy could come forth and exercise authority equal with that of the twelve in the absence of the first presidency and of the fut first presidency when the church is fully organized gani zed and every decision made by either of these quorums qu must be by |
