Show REMARKS ft made at the general conference of church in the tabernacle salt lake city sunday october ath 1896 by ARS ARST WILFORD WOODRUFF y R REPORTED BY ARTHUR WINTER if bever I 1 ever felt thankful in my life for I 1 do this thor laing that I 1 am aeve ive that I 1 stand in the flesh and have 1 aein the privilege of assembling in conference I 1 am thankful that I 1 have we the privilege lege of meeting in this capacity patriarchs apostles elders nd latter day saints for the sixty three years of f the sixty six since the organization of the t hurch I 1 have been blessed to meet when at ac home with wilh the general ral conferences of the church I 1 haave f listened to the testimony ot of pros plats and apostles and elderson Elder israel ding that bat good and great man the kroph et joseph smith whom god raised d up and appointed from before the to pun 0 dation ot of the world to stand in the lesh in the latter days and organize the burch of christ of latter day ailts to prepare the way for the com coin log aag of the son ot of man to warn the cuple world as far as doors should be opened and to prepare tor for the great events to transpire in the generation in which we live the testimony of the aich prophet pophet joseph has been a strong one concerning the great aud and last dispensation ol of god to man on the die earth upwards of eighteen hundred years have rolled away since the death of the savior ot of the world and his apostles and the god of heaven knows what it cost the jewish nation to shed the blood af their savior and their Shi shiloh lob and the blood of the apostles the blood of the lords anointed which was shed by that nation in that day cost more than the human family can comprehend well vell might the savior say while passing g through that ignominious death upon the cross father forgive them for they know not what they do truly they knew not what they did but the 41 effect of it has been manifest with the house of israel now for eighteen hundred years and the end is not yet so I 1 will say with regard to the gentiles the god of heaven knows what it will cost them for shedding the blood of the prophet of god and his brother and the he apostles and brethren who laid down their lives for the word of 0 god said and testimony of jesus christ it costs 8 6 bething to shed righteous blood and the gentiles have not got eighteen bundred Jun dred years before them in A bich to pay the debt the words of the lord have got to be fulfilled upon them in the jay day and generation in which these holy men have been slain I 1 refer to these things because I 1 know not how long I 1 may have the privilege ot of bearing my testimony of the gospel of christ on the earth the revelations that are in the bible the predictions of the patriarchs and prophets who saw by vision and revelation the last dispensation pensa pen sallon tion and fullness of times plainly plaine tell us what is to come to pass the chapter of isaiah is having its ful willment fill ment as are the sayin sayings gs of the patriarchs and prophets as laid down in the records of divine truth and they will be rapid in their fulfillment I 1 have often said in my teachings if the world want to know what is coming to pass let them read the revelations of st john read of the judgments of god that are going to overtake the world in the last dispensation read the papers and see what is taking place in our own nation and in the nations of the earth and what does it all mean it means the commencement of the fulfillment ot of what the prophets of god have predicted in the doctrine and covenants there are many revelations given through the mouth ol of the prophet ot of god these revelations will all have their fulfillment as the lord lives and no power can hinder it in one of the revelations the lord told joseph smith behold verily I 1 say unto you the angels are crying unto the lord day and night who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the fields but the lord saith unto them pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender for verily your faith is weak lest you destroy the wheat also therefore let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest is fully ripe then ye shall first gather out the wheat from among the tares and after the gathering of the wheat behold and lot lol the tares are bound in bundles and the field rem aineth to be burned I 1 want to bear testimony to this congregation gre gation and to the heavens and the earth that the day is come when those angels are privileged to go forth and commence their work they are labor in ing in the united states of america djey they are laboring labori laboring nj among the nations of the earth an and they will continue these things are at our doors and neither you nor I 1 can hinder them we need not marvel or wonder at anything that is transpiring in the earth the world do not comprehend the revelations of god they did not in the days oi of the jews yet all that the prophets had spoken concerning them came to pass so in our day these things will come to pass I 1 heard the prophet joseph bear his testimony to these events that would transpire in the earth I 1 have had the privilege during my life to see the beginning of the fulfillment ot of the words of the prophet of god unto the inhabitants of the earth he lived but a short time but the saviors life was much shorter after entering the ministry he was put to death as were all his apostles excepting john and that blood has been paid for as far as time would admit we cannot draw a veil over the events that await this generation no man that is inspired by the S spirit and power of god can close his ears his eyes or his lips to these theme things I 1 do not know that I 1 shall live to see much more it is not likely that I 1 shall but I 1 have lived to see the commencement in the earth I 1 have lived to see the words of the pro phet of god being fulfilled concerning Zion concerning the mountains of israel and the gathering together of the lords people to prepare for the coming of the son of man we have been led to these mountains in fulfillment of revelation we have laid a foundation for the gathering of the house of israel and the saints of the living god I 1 hope that we as a people may comprehend these things I 1 have listened to the testimony not only of the prophet of god but also ot many ol of the apostles I 1 remember very well the last charge that joseph gave to the apostles we had as little idea that he was going from us as the apostles of the savior did that he was going to be taken from them joseph talked with us as plainly as did the savior to his apostles but we did not understand that he was about to depart from us any more than the apostles understood the savior now I 1 have heard of other parties rising up and pretending that the prophet joseph smith gave unto them a charge to lead and direct the church of jesus christ of latter day saints I 1 want to say that it is false there is not a word of truth in it when he delivered that charge tu to the apostles he was filled with the power of god his face was clear as amber and the room was filled with the spirit of god gd like holy fire in his address he told us that he had received at the hands of the almighty god all the keys and powers and priesthood and ordinances and gifts belonging to the dispensation in which we lived now says he 1 I have sealed all these blessings upon your beads upon you apostles of the lamb of god who have been chosen to bear off this church and kingdom on the earth and after making this solemn proclamation to us he said now you have got to round up your shoulders and bear on off this kingdom or you will i be damned I 1 never shall forget that all of those apostles today are in the spirit world excepting myself and they know that what he said is true and those of us who have the spirit ot of god know that it is true I 1 teel feel to thank god for the progress of the work the elders of israel are abroad among the nations carrying the gospel to the children of men and the lord is blessing them and opening the way before them it is true our doc trine is is not popular in fact the latter day saints as a body have been under a ban in a great measure from the organization ot of the church until of late the doctrine of jesus is an unpopular doctrine but there is only one gospel never was but one gospel ordained ot god to man for the salvation of the human family that gospel gospe was taught by the savior and by his apostles it was taught joseph smith by moroni and the priesthood was given unto him by john ohn the baptist and peter james and john john the first principle ot of that gospel is faith well the people of the world may say we all believe I 1 in jesus christ yes but there is so something to do besides believing in christ we must repent of our sins be baptized for the remission of them and receive the holy ghost this is the doctrine taught by christ and his apostles the same gospel was taught to adam and by him to his chil ren these doctrines have been revealed to us by the administration of angels the gifts the graces and powers that belonged to that gospel are with this people and have been the organization ot of the church my brethren and sisters we must be faithful because the responsibility is great and mighty that rests upon us as bearers of the holy priesthood you will see many strange things take place in the earth we are at the end so to speak of the six thousand years we are bordering on the millennium when the son of man shall come in the clouds of heaven therefore we cannot notley lay down our priesthood and the work which the god of heaven has put into our hands the eyes of god and the heavenly host are upon us the eyes of the prophet joseph and all those sanctified spirits who have laid down their lives for the work of god and testimony of jesus are upon us therefore I 1 leel this morning to bear my testimony to these things the lord has blessed me so far as life is concerned a long time I 1 have been connected with this church while almost two or three quorums oi of apostles have passed away let us lay these things to heart let us look at our piti position on before the lord let us be true and faithful in the work of the ministry and in doing doine the things god requires at our hands god has blessed us he has led us unto these mountains of israel the prophet of god was inspired to bring the people to this great american desert there were no marks of the white man here no marks of agriculture and nothing to encourage any man to stop here but president brig ham bam young pitched his tent here and laid the foundation of this city with these broad streets and sidewalks in the midst of sand and sagebrush the lords spirit was with him and he saw what was to do here we are in the midst of the mountains of israel prophesied of as the gathering place of the people of god in the last days where they might stand in holy places while the judgments of god worked in the earth let us try to do our duty and labor lor for the holy spirit the devil and the fallen spirits have labored from the creation of the world to thwart the purposes of god he did it in the days ot of christ he tempted even him forty days and forty nights his apostles did not escape either we shall not escape any more than they did the archenemy arch enemy is laboring for the overthrow of this church and kingdom he knows something about it therefore you and I 1 ought to pursue a course wherein we can be justified before the lord there are many events before us and at our door and they follow each other in quick succession no power on earth or under the earth can stay the fulfillment ot these things you can hardly see them with your eyes hear them with your ears and feel them in your spirits and when these strange things take place no man should marvel and wonder at them because they are in the great gramme pro they have been decreed by almighty god and these things are only the bagi ning of sorrows I 1 want to make a few remarks on another subject whenever the lord has a people on the earth no matter in what age ot of the world they will dovetail right square into any other dispensation you may see that throughout the whole history of the world when christ was born and entered into the ministry and when he chose his apostles tl esthey they acknowledged every revelation that had ever been given from la her adem adam down to their day they had the same gospel gopel the same gifts the same fruits now if these latter day saints are the saints of god their works will be the same as were christs and the apostles I 1 hold in my hand the doctrine and covenants containing revelations given through the prophet joseph smith while he dwelt in the flesh read those revelations and from beginning to end they unite with all dispensations god has had on the earth and that is not all when god has a people on the earth the fruits of the gospel will be manifest in my boyhood I 1 went to sampath sabbath school under old dr porter I 1 read the new testament I 1 read about the gifts and graces that christ and his apostles had and I 1 asked dr porter why it was that they did not contend for this faith and why they did not have these gifts and graces oh ob said he those things were given in the dark ages of the world to cor convince wince the world that jesus was the christ we live today in the glorious gospel light of christ and we do not need them then said ifor gods sake give me the dark ages of the world that has been my spirit from that day to this here are thousands of men and women in this house if they had the opportunity could rise up and bear testimony that the fruits of the gospel which the apostles enjoyed are with these people these elders who have traveled thousands of miles can bear testimony that wherever this gospel has been preached and wherever the elders of israel have administered the gifts and graces have followed them I 1 bear testimony to this my brethren can bear testimony to it the sick have been healed devils have been cast out the lame have le leaped aled the deaf have heard and all the gifts and graces that ever were manifest have been enjoyed among these elders of israel several years ago I 1 met a man and woman here in the street the woman said do you know knew me I 1 said I 1 do not ado do you know this man that is with me I 1 no I 1 do not why said she you laid hands on this boy in herefordshire Hereford shire fifty years ago he was dumb never spoke a word till you laid hands upon him ani blessed him and he has spoken ever since we have no business to claim to be saints of the living god without we have the gospel of the lord jesus christ and if we have that these gifts will be with us you know this as well as I 1 do joseph smith had the whole spirit and power of this resting upon him while he lived lie he taught these principles to us and they have been realized and will be until this scene is wound up this work shows for itself that gospel was taught joseph smith by an angel as john the revelator says and I 1 saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people saying with a loud voice fear god and give glory to him for the hour of his judgment is come yes the hour of gods judgment is come and we should be prepared who besides the latter day saints since the days of christ and his apostle have ever taught the principle of the redemption un of the dead here we have four temples reared in this state by the latter day saints and tens of thousands of the dead have been redeemed by the administration of the gospel of christ to their posterity or friends this is one of the evidences of the fulfillment of the dospel of fesui christ the prophet says saviors shall come up on mount zion and the kingdom shall be the lords if we were not the saints |