| Show discourses delivered Je livered to the christian Endea and others in the tabernacle salt lake city on sunday evening july ath 1897 BY ARTHUR WINTER eleder CHARLES W PENROSE in arising before this large assembly co address them on the principles of the gospel as understood by the latter dav saints or mormons cormons Mor mons as they are com 4 conly called I 1 earnestly desire that the 1 11 s spirit of almighty god will rest upon WS congregation and especially upon c bie that I 1 way may be able under its influence to macce clear to those who are V fathered in this house bouse tonight some of 44 aie e doctrines and principal pl s which we W have bove received from the almighty for the 1 benefit ot of the human family we are gud lad to meet with our friends who come to S us from various parts of the united states and who are believers in god and 1 in jesus C christ arist and are united together E in an endeavor to do good to p promote promote IS food d feeling and gool good conduct amon among 9 ae people of the world we rejoice 1 when en we see our fellow low creatures en T leadin le aein ng in any ady that anat is ls good that at ave i salt promote ro ote the welfare of man mankind kiad that will help to stem the tide of t i s and infidelity which is rush fairover lai rover er the world we believe that it faw 91 mission to stand up in the latter ka for god and for christ and for A truths revealed from heaven in tors fors sost cays for r the salvation of man we awve 6 no other desire in our hearts than promote enate the welfare of our brethren and sisters in all the world and to lead to the path ot of sa sal vaton ivaton y yae doctrines and principles which r we bold hol d dear and which we are ready io promulgate whenever called upon out pay and without reward we etere received by direct revelation from gawf in the nineteen h century the rek fielon ot of toe the latter day saints has not i ideen taken from books it has not been liged as a creed dy by any man or men we organization 10 which we belong A church of jesus christ of latter ay saints has been set up by direct diedt from god though jesus r onist and our fa her and our lord F fitus christ rist supervise and direct this aa in all its branches and all its it is organized on the same pattern iad aad plan flanoy planoy by which jesus christ organized his church when he was upon the earth in the flesh the ardi es chich mich we believe are necessary alte to obey have also been re from om heaven and they are aed d under authority from the authority to admin adain 9 ordinances of the gospel it has not come down through the various denominations of religion which are extant but has been sent down from heaven direct in our own time and it is the same authority that was held by the ancient apostles and ministers sent forth by out our lord jesus christ when he was upon the earth the same authority the same apostleship the same doctrines docs doci rines the same ordinances and they are attended by the same gifts and blessings and by the pouring out ot of the same power that attended the ministrations of the inspired servants of god whose words are re corded in the book called the bible we hold that god esthe same yesterday today and forever that hat he does not change that he is just as willing and just as able in the nineteenth century to reveal his will and to bestow his power as he was in the first century of the christian era and as he was in times before that aben he revealed himself to the prophets ane idea has prevailed in what is called the christian world that the voice voice ot of revelation was hushed and that it eased when john the ane apostle of toe the lord esus christ obtained that glorious vision vision which is recorded in the book called the book of revelation and which is placed last in the collection 0 of bouks book known as the new testament in consequence of that notion when god revealed himself in the latter days the cry was raised both among the th clergy and among the laity in the christian world that there was to be no more reve aaion from god and anci that the bible contained the whole chofe word of god that there was no need for any more revelation and that there was a prohibition against further revelation contained in the lat lait la it chapter in that volume an angel came to john while he was on the isle of patmos and revealed to nim him a dunber nu nasr of things atiat were shortly to come 0 pass in the ath chapter of the revelation and the verse lohn says after this I 1 looked and behold a door was opened in heaven and the first voice which I 1 heard was as it were of a trumpet tali talking ting with me which said come up hither and I 1 win will show thee things which must be hereafter at the close of the revelation john fell at the feet of toe tae angel who had bad showed him these things to worship him and the angel said see thou do it not for I 1 am thy fellow ser vant ant and of thy brethren the prophets and 0 of f them which keep the sayings of this book wo worship r god chap v 9 toen the word was given by the apostle john for I 1 testify unto every man that heareth othe words of the prophecy of this book if any man shall add unto these thi things god shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book and if any man shall take away from the words ot or the book of this prophecy god shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book v is now the idea has prevailed that this was the word of god declaring that there would be no more revelation to men bata but a close reading of this scripture will show that no such idea is conveyed that has been inferred b by men who were not inspired of god to declare his word the word says that no man Is is to add to the words of the book god eave a similar prohibition in the time of 0 moses when the law jaw was given that no one should add to or diminish from gm the things then revealed that is what god requires always whenever he gives a revelation to man he wants man to receive that revelation as it is it is not for man to add to his word nor for man to tike away from it in any degree the revelation is to stand as delivered and that is all there is to it in what the apostle john said c inc ernine this no man is to add to khat which god reveals this same book of revelation which says that man is not to add t to 0 what G god od reveals shows very clearly in several placers s that there was to be further revelation from god john aimse f received a mission to go out and prophesy to many nations and many kings and many tongues this was given him in the lorm form of a book that he wa was s to eat in the vision and the angel explained to ta him the meaning of it that was a mission for him to prophesy before many nations nation and many kings and many tri tribes beis aft and many tongues to agues and if he prophesied it would be the word of the lord spoken by the holy ghost whatever john might say under the influence of the holy ghost would oe be the word of the lord to the people just the same as what the prophets had said in olden times under the same spirit holy men of god as they chev were moved upun upon by the holy and that be came scripture and whenever a man of god having aut authority bority irom from god to speak in in his name writes or speaks by the power of god is the word of god and when it is written it is scripture just as much as though it were written thousands of years ago in the fourteenth chapter of that book and the sixth and seventh verses we read this and I 1 saw another angel fly in in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto nto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people saying with a loud voice fear god and aad give give glory to him for the hour of his judgment is come and worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains foun taing of waters that is what john saw and heard in that heavenly vision I 1 want to call your attention again to what I 1 have quoted noted from the fourth chapter and the R first verse when he was told that the things that he saw were to come to pass hereafter it was not a vision of that which had been it was a prophecy of things that were to come and in the process of that vision among a great many other glorious things revealed to john it was shown to him that an angel was to come through the midst of heaven having baving the everi everlasting asting gospel to preach to men on the earth this gospel was not to be preached merely to the heathen it ft was not merely for people who had never heard about christ it was for very every notion nation and kindred and tongue and people pl I 1 T the re qs question tion might arise where would be the necessity for an an angel ea to come from heaven and bring the gospel p ea for every nation and kindred and tongue and people when the dospel gospel was already on the earth and was being preached to a great many nations and tongues and people that is althe the query that would arise in many but is there not a more correct view to be taken of this if an angel has to be sent from heaven with the everlasting gospel for all the burld is it not rather to be understood that when that an angel ea oreg should come the people of the world w all nations kindreds tribes and tongues would have gone astray that they had bad been mistaken that they had been divided up through hearing the doctrines of men that they had depart effrom the simplicity purity and power of the gospel as preached by the apostles in the primitive church this will be found to be the more cor view if we read a little more from this same book john john saw that after this angel came an and brought the gospel to the earth lor all the n nations eions of the world babylon the great should fall he says and I 1 heard another voice from heaven saying cortle come out of her my people that ye be not partakers par takers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues for her sins have reached unto heaven and god cod hath bath remembered her iniquities rev 4 the people of god were commanded to ct me out of babylon what is is meant by babylon and why were the people to come out of her we have to read a little more from the same book in the eighteenth chapter and there john shows what babylon was or what was meant by the term john understood that the spiritual interpretation of the word babylon is confusion the tower ot of babel was built by pt pe ople who had strayed from god ana the confusion of tongues was the consequence and babylon means con confusion fasion john said I 1 saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast full of names of blasphemy having seven heads beads and ten borns boms and the waman woman was arrayed in in purple and scarlet color and decked with gold and precious atones and pearls having a golden cup in her hand band full fall of abominations and filthiness of her fornication and upon her forehead was a name written mystery babylon the great the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth 4 5 now mark this john says babylon is fallen is is wilen fallen that great city because she bath made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication xiv 8 now these are all things that were to econe to pass atter alter john s day or after the time when he had that vision and it appeared according to what the lord showed him in the vision that the time would come when this power and influence represented by the woman sitting upon the scarlet colored beast should extend over all the earth all nations all kings all kingdoms all tribes all tongues would be affected by what was drunk out ol of that golden cup therefore the need of god sending an angel in the he latter times to bring back to the earth the everlasting gopel go pel in its purity and in its power that it might be preached to every nation and kindred and tongue and people and that all who desired to worship the true god the living god who made the heavens and the earth the sea anil and the fountains of waters might turn unto him by obeying the everlasting gospel sent by him for them out of heaven our lord jesus christ before his crucifixion and atonement conversed with his disciples about the things that were to come you can read them in the twenty fourth chapter of the gospel according to st matthew read that chapter carefully and you will find that after christ predicted the wars and the rumors of wars the plagues and the famines and the troubles in various places he made this remark and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come T v 14 now all these taken together will show that it was the purpose of almighty god as revealed in the new testament that in the latter days the gospel should be sent to the earth in its purity and power alter it had been corrupted by the peoples of the world the true gospel should be restored the gospel that christ preached breacht d for there is but one he said enter ye in at the strait gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that to destruction and many there be which go in thereat because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which unto life and few there be that find it matt vii 1314 there is but one way one plan of salvation there cannot be two distinct ways of salvation there can be but one divine plan for god is oue ote and christ is one with him 1 I and the father are one and he prayed that his disciples might be one even as he and the father were one the effect of his gospel when preached in power by his apostles was to bring all people to the unity ot of the faith no matter what hat sect or party or nation they belonged to when they obeyed the gospel which the apostles brought they were all baptized by one spirit into one body whether they were jew or gentile bond or free and ana were all made to drink into one f spirit and it brought them to a unity of the faith god we are told in the fourth chapter of ephesians placed in his church chuich apostles prophets evangelists ge lists pastors and teachers for the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body ot christ till we all come in in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son ot god unto a perfect man unto the measure of the st stature iture of the falness of christ that we henceforth be 0 o more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men and cunning nin cratt chattiness iness whereby they lie in wait to liec deceive eive but speaking them the truth in love may grow up unto him in an all things which is the head even christ IV this was the purpose of the of the church and the placing in it of these inspired men apostles pro peets evangelists pastors and teachers paul ing to the corinthians also explains it in the same way he says and god hath bath set some in the church first N apostles secondarily prophets thirdly tah teach ers after that miracles then gifts of healinda he alinea governments diversities ol of tongues j he also in th s same chapter explains to the corinthian saints the blessings to be enjoyed by true believers in christ says he for to one is given by the spirit the wo word rd of wisdom to another the word of knowl edge ti H the same spirit to another laith faith by the same spirit to anc an C other the gitts gins of healing by the same spirit to another the working of miracles to an other prophecy to another discerning of spirits to another divers kinds of tongues to an the interpretation of tongues but all these that one and the seaf same spirit dividing to every man severally severally y he will I 1 cor xii 28 the gospel that jesus christ ta taught when he was on earth was verbyd and s simple mple and he sent seat his ap apostles ea out with power to preach it in all the world after his resurrection as aa west read in the last coaster |
