| Show i sunday services C religious services were held in it t ahe tabernacle salt lake city 1 1 4 sunday nov 3 1889 commena 1 ing at 2 pm president angus M lancon la cana nuon presiding I 1 the choir and congregation sang tah g redeemer of israel our only delight y on whom ter for a blessing we call IY prayer by elder ellas elias morris the choir sang jesus once of humble birth ei now in glory comes to earth 4 V the priesthood of the fifteenth ward officiated in the y tion of the sacrament ev X APOSTLE ABRAHAM H CANNON W called to address the con grega tiou he said it is very gratifying to the members of the church to seel fuel within their hearts the truth of r the dospel to know that at the head of this church stands the great JEU eternal mial father and that he sustains every one who seeks to con forca to the gospel were it not for this testimony the saints would have long since failed in this undertaking they could not have bave with od the tempha temptations bious by which they have been and are su surrounded brou tided and borne the persecutions which have come upon them but by its aid wis this work is indeed marvelous it came upon men in a way so different from crova their anticipations f it was no light thing for joseph smith to proclaim a ew gospel to announce that he had been permit fiad wa to see the tather father and the son and bear their voices and that an angel bad brought to him the gos PW pel that he had received through the divine power a record of the k ancient but lie he knew the result if he failed too to do d his duty and in humility he performed f amed the great work entrusted bhim e him from the beginning the fe work has prospered there have f been apostasies apost asies aud and dark days some of those very close to the prophet t fought to overthrow the truth but the work ork has steadily increased to ate present besent proportions and we have A the wo assurance urance from heaven that V there is no power that can cheek check it f jofen may fall those who have been footed on as leaders may turn E st against it but its course is still on ward the work is so constituted I 1 that it puri purifies ties itself that unholy aon except they repent will lose 1 the light and be cast aside 1 there was a time when the eld elders rs had to contend for every principle of the gospel baptism ir for instance was one of the doc tawes discarded by many sects and hi those who believed in it were not aware of the true form some taught W at sprinkling others pouring I 1 afta any still others lm immersion easiod but none y of the various sects of christendom kaew the object efficacy anti anil power of this holy ordinance when per formed by one authorized of god the laying on of hands for the be awal of the holy ghost was un X 41 Luo own and revelation from frim god J W as is entirely outside of the belief of n U when joseph smith came it been proclaimed that revelation jit had ceased that the heavens were closed that the miracles which were to follow the believer in the doctrines of christ were done away and that god did not condescend to work among men by the gifts of healing of prophecy of tongues etc the world believed these things were unnecessary and it was not orthodox for joseph smith to proclaim proclaim to the contrary it was a told bold doctrine that he taught in the face of the condition that existed in the world that the same powers and blessings that were witnessed when jesus was among men always existed in the church joseph smith knew that god would sustain him in his proclamation and he boldly declared that those who received his testimony would know of tile the doctrines he taught whether they were true though he had seen the lord had received the visitations of angels was a seer a revelator and a translator yet he had bad not the authority to act in the name of the lord till he was ordained to that power professed christian ministers have dave claimed this authority because of the commission given to the apostles and because they felt a desire to preach righteousness martin luther was led to oppose the gran granting t of indulgences and was denounced as a heretic he felt it has his duty to point out some of the false doctrines of the roman catholic church others followed him because of an inward desire to teach the people a better way in this they were ble blessed d tor they did the best they coulland coul dand will receive their reward lor for the great work they performed they were instruments in the hands of got goi in aiding to break the chains of super station with which the people were bound but they hail had not the authority of the priesthood joseph smith did not assume to act by that authority till he received it from john the baptist who gave to him the priesthood then from peter james and john the first presidency of the church after tue tile crucifixion or of the savior josph joseph smith received the keys of the apostleship with all its gifts and powers with this was the power of the holy priesthood and the gospel restored to mankind joseph then went forth and men flocked to him and received the sealing testimony of the holy spirit so long as they were faithful no power was sufficient to io dim the lighton light of that spirit but when they sinned no matter how great the things they had received they could not avoid the result of their si sin u and those of them who turned from works of righteousness felland felt aad lost the faith oliver cowdery was one of these yet his testimony concerning the book of mormon did riot not fall fail and when in after years he was ridiculed he arose and declared to tile the unbelieving multitude that his testimony was true with the other witnesses though they turned from the church it was the same they were true to their testimony the doctrines th it joseph smith taught and which were denounced alace aLf ce s as heresies her esies have later been adopted and taught by men not sa many years after joseph received 7 revelation the spiritualists arose and received revelation from the 1 powers of darkness then there was the gift of healing of which a counterfeit soon appeared As to a the redemption of the dead the J whole world was in darkness till jr jo seph smith proclaimed the truth re garding barding this matter the world J taught that those who died without believing iu in jesus were lost forever 1 the plan of god with regard to tile the 2 dead was unknown to men but when joseph smith came there was revealed a plan broad as the f earth including every creature z from adam down to the latest being to live on the earth the plan of redemption for the dead was made plain it was revealed that those i who had bad not heard the gospel bouw wouw aou e enjoy that privilege that jesus had 4 gone gon e all and d preached preace led to this dass class be tween his death and resurrection bip and that as the lord had opened j the way to life to men in tile the flesh so also did he be burst the prison doors k for those in the spirit world his j mission was not chufi confined ned to s ty nor was that of his servants but was to extend to the salvation of I all the children of god but there 1 were certain ordinances necessary for instance baptism this was the door by which they must enter and the spirit could not return to earth to receive it but as jesus died for y us so 80 is there a vicarious work that can be done for those who have T passed away baptism for the dead was revealed and it was shown how every soul could be reached and the whole human family become united in the world today this idea of salvation for the dead is re JS to a certain extent through joseph smith was revealed the eternal union of husband and wife where man and woman have been united on earth by one having authority tho rity and sealed by the holy spirit of promise they ap appear pear in the eternal world as husband and wife united for eternity death does not separate thena them for their covenant is sanctioned by the eternal n 1 F father ther the gospel is that leaven which the prophet joseph smith under the inspiration of god placed in the lump it is working among men and is supplanting that taught by ministers who try very much to ridicule mormonism as it Is called and deride it yet a great many of them have adopted the principles of this gospel and proclaim ro them to their congregations congregations as something not received by inspiration but that which they have obtained by their own study this leaven of the gospel will work among the gentiles until every honest soul under heaven is gathered within the fold of christ and will receive the ordinances and blessings in view of these great and glorious things which god lim has given unto us what manner of men and women should we be consider the blessings which we have received the great light which has bas streamed down from tile the eternal world which has quickened our understanding and filled our hearts with joy and peace in view of this and every other blessing which we have received from god what manner of people should we be our hearts should be such that the lord will be pleased with us and every impression that his spirit may make should be obeyed wes we should h be determined that whatever impression is there made will be carried out by us and that there will be no trial no tribulation no dark cloud through which we will not pass for the truth that we will be as the hebrew children were who were brought before the image and commanded to worship it but who refused to bend their knees thereto will we refuse to bend our knees to baal and instead thereof place our trust in the god of f hosts the faithful have often seen the power of atod od made manifest and have seen his arm extended to shield his people his hand has ever protected them and will ever do so there are no calamities that can come upon us like that of apostasy apo stacy and the loss of faith in god these are the greatest calamities that can overtake a human being the loss of faith in god or the turning away from the testimony of jesus and going into dark are things that we should guard against may god bless you and grant you the spirit of peace the spirit of faith the spirit Z of union the spirit or of gratitude and determination that you may serve him and him alone in all things APOSTLE JOHN HENRY HENBY SMITH said the spirit of the instructions given by brother cannon and the principles n iea p he had referred to had E brought ra u g ht joy to thousands of hearts and d h had ad gathered the saints to these valleys the testimonies borne by the servants of god are emily easily understood the elders do not cover by sophistries sophis tries their declarations of true principle they ma make ke direct assertions that are susceptible of positive proof joseph smith was all that his followers proclaimed him to be the doctrines he introduced among men are perfect in all their parts arts they were contained in the ra scriptures c rip tures but the spirit which accompanied companies companied compa nied 3 their teaching when the savior was among men has disappeared and the world understood them not when this spirit was bestowed on joseph smith and on those who accepted his message the light was again revealed and men understood the principles of salvation the bringing of these doctrines to the comprehension of men was the result of the introduction of that light the announcement was made that god bad again set his band to gather his people and the light necessary for the accomplishment of this purpose was sent to earth our father gave to mankind moral laws which had bad been lost sight of in the world to a creater greater extent than the ceremonial laws 9 ws and it was in this condition that joseph smith found the world through him was again revealed these moral laws which bring to man power in his spiritual nature the world had drifted frow from the moorings of truths truth Is f fy y when jesus came in the meridian of time and he pointed out that law of unselfishness which is necessary for the salvation of men in this age he has agal again u restored this the gospel the more we I 1 quire inquire 13 into its principles the broader and grander they develop before us we learn that we must be humble and unselfish in our lives in mormonism we have the perfection of the plan of salvation tt it clears man of his sins and starts him out in a path which if he continues therein will qualify him to dwell with the purest of the pure it is indeed the power of god unto salvation to all that obey it the yoke is easy and the burden liht light under the influence of the holy spirit difficulties are overcome doubts are expelled and joy fills the whole soul there is no reason why the saints should not be happy they have received the perfect plan of life whose requirements will bring us back to the presence of our father in this plan we are warned of every evil that p presents resents itself and the cry to us cot continually i is to avoid the meshes of wickedness we are warned forwarded for of the course which we should pursue but we are too frequently neglectful of that spiritual growth which will perfect us in all things we need have no concern for the work of god it is from the hand of the master himself and he will guide and protect it to ultimate triumph those who reject it will be herd held accountable those who receive and obey the doctrines will receive salvation thereby both in this life and in the life to come the choir sang the anthem beautiful are thy towers benediction by elder jesse west |
