Show REMARKS by apostle F M H lyman at manu mand on sunday morning may alay 19 1889 REPORTED BY A WINTER I 1 have been deeply interested in the remarks of president woodruff I 1 know that they are true and the latte rd saints know that they are true the church has grown to large proportions the people have become numerous and it is a very great labor that devolves upon the presiding authorities of the church and upon the presiding authorities in the stakes and wards and branches and in the various quorums qu occasionally men rise up with ideas of their own or some that they have adopted ad 0 ted that are not of the lord that are not sound and that spring from speculation and from the reasoning of man and it becomes very important that the presiding authorities ties in the church should see to it that men who stand up in the midst of the people as home missionaries sion aries men who are high coun cifors men who have charge of mutual improvement associations an i sabbath schools and sisters who have charge of the various societies should be men and women sound in doctrine and principle when persons become un sound in this direction the latter day saints know it they may be very bright and seem a little more advanced than their neighbors and sometimes presiding brethren are foolish enough to have them in positions as teachers of the young and as teachers in the wards among the families of the saints but it is not wise to have them in such positions men who act in these capacities ought to be sound in doctrine sound in their lives and sound in their examples such men are plentiful in every ward and they should do whatever teaching is needed to be done better to have but bt one half of the teaching we do have and have that sound and reliable than to have wrong ideas spread among the latter day saints sainto when unsound doctrines are tau taught ht among m 0 tb the e S saints al a ts those who ei V 1 the he na spirit p i ri t 0 of f the lord and who are prompt at their places of worship and are thoroughly established in the truth will know that they are not correct but there is danger of the minds of the children being pol poisoned though in many instances you will find that even the children of the latter day saints will detect erroneous doctrines when they arg advanced this is as it should be they ought to be so imbued with the spirit of the lord that they will detect error the moment they hear it whenever a false doctrine is presented to the latter day saints I 1 will tell you one way by which you may know its falsity it produces in the heart of every saint a question there is uncertainty there is something that disturbs th the 3 9 spirit irit of every latter day saint tf if they read an erroneous doctrine in the public prints if they hear it in a discourse if it is spoken to them in private it does not seem to settle in their hearts as though it were a part of the plan of salvation but it produces questioning uncertainty doubt and misgiving now I 1 do not think there are any misgivings in the hearts of the latter day saints this morning in in regard to what president woodruff has said to us concerning the doctrine which he has taken occasion to puncture that is that the spirit of any man now in this probation had been on the earth in a former age in another body that doctrine ought to have laid still a score of years ago but when a false doctrine is put t forth some unwary person talu takes es hold of it and then some aspiring individual later on in life adopts it as his view it may be that it savors a little of the mysterious and some people delight in ge getting in hold of something of that kind that at they may talk of it in eriv private if not in public and arouse the curiosity ri of others thus it 8 spreads eads each one says to himself 1 11 l wonder if this is not something that will turn out to be sound doctrine it may be put forth a little early but after awhile I 1 think it will be found to be sound doctrine this is how they delude themselves there is so much truth that is plain and simple and easy to be understood by the children and by the saints however weak and feeble they may be that it is a foolish thing for men to indulge in speculative theories brethren and slaters sisters life is too short abort for this there is enough of truth to occupy the attention and add intelligence of the brightest and the most competent among the latter day saints we should become thoroughly acquainted with the doctrines of daily life of honesty of integrity of virtue labor with au all earnestness and faithfulness to build up the kingdom of god and vie with each other in seeking to accomplish the purposes of the lordi lord not waste our time in speculation in unsound and questionable doctrine or in any foolish and unprofitable contention or argument let us entertain correct doctrine doctrine that will recommend itself to the hearts of the latter day saints and which we have proved to be right and acceptable to the lord the latter day saints need to have their faith increased and strengthened not weakened or destroyed let us labor therefore to increase the faith of the latter day saints and to establish in their hearts faith in the gospel that faith which was once delivered to the saints that faith which will enable us to a approach y the lord and obtain from him an answer to our prayers that we may have our sick healed and their lives preserved and lengthened out that faith which will give us more power with the lord that we may be increased in our basket and in our store and that we may be preserved from the hands of our enemies and not be broken to pieces but that as the zion and church of god we may be so thoroughly and perm permanently bently established in the truth that we shall not be moved it is very ratifying gratifying to us to know that mon zion shall not be moved out of her place nor be destroyed that the people of zion shall not be broken and scattered the testimony that I 1 desire to bear to the latter day saints this morning is that every son and daughter of gd who faith from the lord sufficient to produce repentance reformation and ba baptism and who receives the hory holy ghost has power from god to be saved and exalted in the celestial kingdom we all have power given to us by the father to endure unto the end if we will cultivate faith and those gifts and blessings which we receive in connection with the gospel the lord has not so arranged m edtha that only tonly a certain number of lis his children may be be saved say ed but as I 1 say to you every man who will 0 open en his heart beart to receive faith from rod god can obtain mat knowledge that light that intelligence and that power which will enable him to secure salvation in his kingdom the putting forth of speculative ideas and schemes tends to destruction and the men who invent them and those who receive and entertain them will be destroyed destro yeii by them just as a serpent held in the bosom to give it warmth will poison the one who nourishes it but you had better cherish a serpent in your bosom than false doctrine the one can only kill the bod body the other will destroy the soul row how blessed it is that we have among us the living oracles of god president woodruff woodruff druff stands up here and condemns a doctrine which has been entertained and advocated by some how blessed it is that we ean can have the word of god in regard to these things and not only is it competent for president woodruff to announce to the church and to the worl corli I 1 the doctrines that are true and condemn those that are false but it is competent for the twelve apostles it is competent for the presidents of stakes and the bishops of wards in their stakes and wards they ought not to be deceived the high priests and elders and the saints ought not to be deceived the spirit of the lord is given to every man to profit withal and to enable him to discern truth from rom error and to enable every man possessing it to know truth when he hears hears it if it were not so and we were not endowed with the spirit of the lord we would be liable to be led astray one man would receive a doctrine as true another would receive it as false but now we are enabled by the spirit of god to know the truth and to be united and to see alike and comprehend alike the principles of life and salvation whenever I 1 find a brother who can entertain error as truth and can be deceived by it I 1 always feel as though theres th there ereis is some reason for or it consider it in regard to w yourselves will the lord allow his priesthood and his people to be deceived if they hearken unto him As I 1 said every person who has received the testimony of jesus christ has power from god to walk in rectitude to sef station tation and exalta tion in his kingdom if that be go 80 then when men fall and take some sidetrack side track when they entertain wrong ideas idea s and incorrect doctrine is there not some reason for it have they not neglected some duty have they not gated the spirit of the lord Is jbv toot some good wason reason why they deceived ana led astray certainly there is it should not be necessary for every member of the church to have at his elbow a bishop or it a teacher or some other person to correct him and keep him in th the e straight and narrow path eve every ry latter da day saint is entitled to the spirit of ad god which is better than ally y human buman teacher this spirit should be with us on all occasions at home or abroad wherever we go 90 in whatever labor we are en whether it be for our own benefit or in behalf of the kingdom of god this spirit will be with us if we are true and f if we angle among the corrupt and the wicked on a mission of salvation we eare are entitled to have this spirit with th us so BO that we may not be cor apted so long as a latter day aint nt lives so that he does not grieve that spirit he is entitled to it at all dinies aties and under all circumstances aud when he possesses it he will ot entertain error he will not be temperate he will not become div warlike and belligerent but he will be peaceable laboring for the salvation of those whom he may abet ineat and who need salvation he will be safe from false doctrine safe from the insinuations of the adversary and from every influence that would injure him we need this spirit at our homes fathers need it mothers need it children need it it is needed both by the priest and the people no more important exhortation could be given than that which president woodruff gave this morning he exhorted us to be united in order that we may be the lords and be approved and accepted of him when I 1 hear of division of contention and of difficulty among the saints I 1 feel troubled that the people should be divided e either in jkr a stake or a ward or a ily whenever I 1 hear of difficulty between husband and wife between brethren and sisters I 1 always know that there is wrong existing somewhere but when I 1 hear good reports 0 rth 1 stakes united wards united fa families m alies united brethren and sisters fellow one another loving one another and attentive to the table of the lord to partake of the sacrament the gifts and blessings ot or the goepel being enjoyed the sick being healed and every interest of the people being properly cared for by the servants ot of the loid then I 1 feel to rejoice whenever I 1 visit a ward and find that there are troubles and difficulties existing there I 1 always feel more or less troubled because I 1 know that these divisions sometimes grow too to be chronic and become quite serious men become convinced of their own losses and the injury they may have sustained they feel offended and the spirit of god leaves them and when the spirit of the lord is out of a man I 1 always fear for that man where for any reason there is contention or any local trouble I 1 feel hurt in my spirits spirit but where the people are united it is joyful and pleasing for us to come together we feel free in speaking we feel well in listening hence I 1 feel the importance artance of the injunction which president president ident woodruff gave this morning that we should be united the presidency of the church should be one the A postles apostles and their r counselors should abne be one the presidents of stakes and bishops should be one and the saints should be one in all their labors and if weare we are clothed with the spirit of charity we will not be divided for we will forgive those who trespass against us it is the want of charity the want of forgiveness gi veness which causes disunion when we are injured we do not always forgive we have not charity sometimes for those who transgress we are often not so kind and forgiving giving to them as we ought to to be we are liable to be hard and exacting we seek to bring everybody to the line and in doing this we are not apt to see the wrong we ourselves do we sometimes find brethren pitted against each other each one thinks he is on the right side and is only requiring what is his just due when possibly they both may be wrong and frequently they ate are where they contend one against the other for if a man is right he does not need to contend he does not need to be harsh in his hia requirements he is willing to submit the matter and say brethren if I 1 am wrong I 1 want to know it but when you find a man who is contentious tent ious and anxious to triumph over his opponent and is not willing in his spirit to be the loser he is the one that makes trouble we should cultivate the spirit of the lord and humble ourselves in prayer before god instead of feeling lit in our hearts when we go to the house of the lord that our brethren are harsh and cruel towards us let us seek for a spirit of forgiveness that we may be able to say father jf if we are harsh if our brethren are harsh soften our hearts that we may eat eat of the bread and drink of the cup in memory of thy body and blood with pure feelings being willing to yield rather than be too exacting it will never do for latter day saints to be harsh in their ways it will not do for us to be harsh with our wives and children but to be tender and kind and loving love begets love charity begets charity kindness begets kindness and when our brethren see that we are willing to suffer wrong rather than do wrong that we are willing to yield something for the sake of peace they will appreciate our motives and respect us for them better to yield among ourselves than to divide and tear asunder we cannot afford to do that because the spirit of the lord would be grieved and evil influences fluen ces would come in and darken our minds so that we would be liable flable to get a spirit not only of contention but of destruction I 1 have sometimes witnessed such a spirit among those professing to be latter day saints this should not be we should all feel generous and mellow in our feelings I 1 feel that there is a good spirit irit here today in this conference st t rejoice that presidents woodruff and cannon are here and that we are permitted to hear their voices I 1 am thankful that we have a degree of liberty granted unto us I 1 expect the lib liberties artles of the latter day saints to increase instead of growing less I 1 expect the liberties of individuals to increase I 1 expect prosperity to attend zion and all I 1 expect her to remain firm in the land and not be overturned or dost destroyed st and wherever we have lost anything wherever troubles have come upon us wherever divisions have existed among the latter day saints possibly valuable lessons or of instructions may be drawn from these calamities I 1 pray brethren and sisters that god may preserve reserve us in the truth and that he e wl will not allow us to break ourselves in pieces but that we shall be kept stable and firm in the gospel of christana Chri stand know more of the lord and his doctrine so eo that we may be firmer each day of our lives and better |