| Show REMARKS t made in the tabernacle salt lake city sunday afternoon july 1898 r by JOSEPH V F SMITH T an pleased to hear the testimonies v of dr the truth as they are given through r called to minister unto who are gac A ofle ito from time to time we have been li shearing Ph earing rang about the gospel which Is be ftak taught to the children of men C and also t to 0 those who vh o have ay iy been gathered to these valleys fro froni ni tsa of the earth and who com f sose the ithe church of jesus christ of baltier r day saints it Is this eternal I 1 of at truth which has been re bored in this dispensation through the ent alltY of an inspired man a att t of the living god that we to tc offer to the people of the world s many any features distinct from the Ss ehst are being taught by hired alters in the world As brother A feeler ler has haa been telling us the gos goo which jesus jesua taught was a gospel asa Sis Sei do I 1 and ewt a gospel of words SE waa indeed a gospel of action it aired unbounded faith and obedi fassi to the commands of god it nut required this but it required a and mind his heart whole AMA kcf s ricole il boing being the savior taught that B abio sought to ito save his life should it while he who was willing to lay awn his life for the truths sake td find it jesus bold his disciples they were not to feax fear those who ikin the body but bult rather to fear who had bad power to east cast both bath the and the spirit into hell re the people that he was not on ea earth toi to do his own will hi he w here expressly to bo dohis dahis fathers father B UA he likened those who heard hi his rd and did it not unto a att who built Ms his house upon the ithe that when the storms came boand Wl rids blew and beat upon the ibbe it fell for it was founded upon sand but he that heard the word did it he be likened unto a man who we ids house upon the rook rock and the w and the winds could not move m its foundations un I 1 for it was built UK the rock this is one of the pran distinguishing features between rot trine of jesus or of the latter jants and the doctrines advocat men m en who preach for hire and dl di wm for anoney I 1 myself heard one of im eminent preachers of the latter s gln an evangelist declare in words to a congregation of n people that it was waa not hi woh would save the world it wot obedience obed lende to bo this command to that commandment comma it was r acceptance of ane ordinance or noe that would save the tor for these he cl claimed almed were only 1 l birks which were intended to wk 0 coina clence he sald said there y 1 on one thing ned ful damply re ft tae exertion of the mind and ati ewt tefft we should believe on sm ras chat and we it t waa as nat essential ess to be baptized it was not essential to lay on hands for the gift gif t of the holy ghost it was not essential to go through any form of confirmation these were only forms and were not essential the only thing essential was belief in the lord jesus christ now the latter day saints would remind the world that it is written tn in the holy scriptures thou bel bell levesi ervest that there Is one god thou doest well the devils also believe and tremble yet shall we say that satan has accomplished all that is essential for salvation for he believes we have scriptural proof of it he took the son of god and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them and said all these things will I 1 give thee it if thou wilt tall fall down and worship me why did he be do that because he believed that tha t jesus jesua was the christ the son of the living god but he was not saved by this belief and he will not be exalted in the presence of the lord for while he believes yet in his heart he is rebellions against god and his truth while he believes in his hils heart and trembles he rejects the truth and the things that are essential to salvation salvati 0 n therefore he remains and will continue to fe rei main beelzebub perdition the father of lies and all those who follow in his hib footsteps by believing and yet rejecting the requirements of heaven will become his sr the sons of perdition these are some things which dis mormonism niam from the reli religions gionis of the world the gospel of christ from the gospels of men the teachings of the elders of israel from the teachings tea chingo of hirelings we say to you that you must not only believe but you must obey and do the things that he commands you must not only do that taut but you must give your heart you houi affection and your whole soul with a willing mind to god you must give up your will to the will of the father and you must do all things that he requires at your hands if you will be 99 saved ved and exalted in his presence this is the difference between the gospel of life which is the power of god unto salva 1 tion and the gospels of men which are alej as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal it is the truth that will save it Is obedience to the truth that will bring us near unto god and into the enjoyment of his spirit there to is no other way pointed out no other plan laid down by which men can get back into the presence of god and alid obtain exaltation with him only through this gospel of eternal truth which has been restored to the earth in this dispensation through the prophet joseph smith 1 by the ministering of angels and through the condescension of god himself and Ms son jesus christ to visit the earth it is not only necessary unto life and sai salvation that we have received ani and obeyed tho the gospel but now that we have become recipients of the gif to and blessings the thereof thereat it becomes our duty inasmuch as an we have been warned to warn our neighbor neigh bom this thie Is not mot merely permissive it is an obligation binding upon us if we have the truth we should be instrumental in the hand of god so far as we have opportunity or at conveying that truth to others that inasmuch as any have been redeemed from the power of death and from the grasp of satan through gih obedience to the truth they shall become saviors upon mount zion and they should extend the benefit of the knowledge that thai god has bestowed upon them to those who still sit in darkness that they may also be saved he that has received a talent and will not put it thus to csuy ry cwi awili not use it for the benefit of mankind is like him to whom the one talent was entrusted who wrapped it in a napkin and buried it in the earth that it might be preserved until the master returned when he dug it up and said lord I 1 knew that thou art an bard man reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering where thou hast not str awed and I 1 was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth lo 10 there thou hast that is thine then will it be said unto him thou wicked and slothful servant thou that I 1 reap where I 1 sowed bowed not and gather where I 1 have not str awed thou ough test teat therefore to have put my money to the exchangers and then at my coming I 1 should have received mine own with usury he that hka has the truth and buries it in his heart and is not active in trying to bring others to a knowledge of the truth la Is an unprofitable servant he is not mag ag unifying his calling nor doing his duty and he should be willing to da this without mcney and without price and without expectation of any earthlyn ward he should be willing to it because he loves the souls of men aad and because he prizes the glorious glor glori idus dUg gift which he has received and h he la Is anxious that all his fellow creature nay may also possess the pearl beyo beyond tild price which he has received him himself we teach that mn men must not only bt be 4 4 lieve in the lord jesus christ but that 1 1 they should believe in his atho father as well and in the holy ghost believing in these they should repent OX of sins this requires action upon th tw of the of sins a part children men mein Ms are not repented by the mere volition ot 01 the will men have to sacrifice thear cheit craven appetites their corrupt desires degree and their carnal lusts in order to ta forsake sin and men that will not re pent cannot be saved though they may believe as fervent lyas the devil believes for ile be toes does believe and not only 96 but he knows yet he will not do thal which god requires having repented what next we must follow lit 1 the footsteps of jesus christ we must w iid i id the work that he did what VON did re he do the very first thing he did when he carn carne e forth to all the mission rio his father had sent him in tha world was to htmat up joh came before to prepare the th his Is coming ne he went to jahn to bt be baptized john forbade him at first saying tyInt If that he li had need to be bd of him but jams said bald satter batter it 5 to be so now for thus it be cometh us ua to fulfill all righteousness he only did what he required others todo and therefore he was baptized of john he was buried in the water by one who had authority from god to baptize and as he came up out of the gatei the heavens were opened and the holy ghost in the form of a dove descended from the heavens upon him and a voice came out of the heavens saying this is my beloved son in whom 1 am well pleased then jesus went forth and called his disciples and he taught them what read his glorious sermon on the mount they were to do good for evil they were to sacrifice every craven appetite of their nature every fallen inclination of their hearts they were not to persecute others be cause they persecuted them they were to pray for those who should despitefully use them they were to seek to do good to all mankind obey the commandments mand ments of god and to do the things that jesus did and that he commanded this is the true gospel it is the power of god unto salvation will we receive it if not we will be rejected or it if we reject it in part then will we be guilty of breaking the whole law because we will not be qualified to enter into the glory of god or into the mansions I 1 that are prepared the just until we are willing to receive the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth and stand by it whether we have any earthly reward or not while listening to the brethren this after afternoon nop I 1 was led to reflect upon some or of our friends who have passed away when we look back and think of president young heber C kimball willard richards george A smith orson oraon pratt parley pratt president john taylor Ll rastus snow and the thousands of faithful valiant saints of god who passed through the eions to in ohio in missouri and in nois and were driven from their homes time and time and time again and finally out into the wilderness with no knowledge except the promises of tha th holy spirit in their hearts that hey would ever find bifid a resting place for their weary feet driven from their homes their kindred and their friends with the dimmest prospect in the world so far as human knowledge or prescience was concerned of at ever reaching a haven of rest but trudging across the plains with weary step yet with unshaken confidence in god and unwavering faith in his word when we look back and think of those scenes we cannot forget the faithful men and women who passed through them they did not faint by the way they did not ot backslide they did not turn iz from the truth the harder the trial the more difficult the journey the greater the obstacles the more firm and determined they were president dent young under the influence of the spirit of 0 god led this cople away from the densely settled portions of our country into this once bleak and desolate waste where the lord knew what he had in store tor for his people out but which none of us foresaw I 1 cannot believe that the whole truth such as we see it today ever dawned upon any of those who led us here up to the time ot of their coming I 1 believe they built better than they knew I 1 believe they were led by the power of pod step by by step and were taught precept upon precept line upon line in this way hk he proved their integrity and their devo tion ile he proved them unto death yes and even beyond death for death to many of them would have been sweet it would have been peaceful rest compared with the toll toil and they had to endure nevertie lem left die lord brought us here but he had bad to suffer the power at 0 our oner enemies nies to be brought into requisition in order to set get us here if the prophet joseph smith or president brigham young had called upon the people to leave their peaceful homes and their happy surroundings to come out into this desert I 1 do not believe he could have found one out of EL a hundred that would have been willing to sacrifice what they then enjoyed with faith that they would better their condition 0 ot that they were fulfilling the purpose of the almighty in doing so they were all human they were surrounded with many weaknesses and imperfections and were too shortsighted to foresee that which god foresaw now we are here and look at what has been accomplished shed indeed what god hath wrought we have not done it the lord has done it he has removed from the soil its barrenness and has ham given to it fertility and to us prosperity on every hand will we appreciate all this as a gift of god to us and will we use it right will we remember the lord in the albun dance of his gifts unto us for he has haa not only made it a duty tor for us to have faith and to repent and to be baptized and to keep ourselves pure and unspotted from the world but he has haa made another little requirement of us in order to test us um and to prove us withal to see whether we are willing to obey him rather th thin than an to follow the inclinations of our own minds he has required that one tenth of our increase annually shall be civet givet unto him as a tithing for the work of the ministry for the building of temples pa e s for the spreading of the gospel fo for r the gathering of the poor and for the f feeding of the widow and the orphan the aged and the decrepit WP are to give one tenth of that which we obtain annually into the storehouse of the lord that the lord may have meat mat in his storehouse wherewith to accomplish com his work on the earth will we do it will we obey the lord it if we do not we will suffer the consequences sooner or lateri later a the tord 7 ord is independent of us he has no favors to ask of us whatever he asks of us ua is designed for our favor and blessing and not for his he Is not seeking benefits at our hands but he is seeking obedience on our part to the laws and commandments which ile he has given us that we may be benefited it if he requires our tithes and our offerings it is that we may learn the principle of sacrifice that we may not become covetous or selfish or sordid or be wrape up in our earthly possessions but that we may be willing to impart freely of that which the lord gives to as for the accomplishment of his temporal work if we fail in proving our integrity in these matters we will fall fail in our stewardship and god will require it at our hands may the lord help us to do our duty in all things Is my prayer amen |
