| Show sunday services religious Belig ious services were held i in n the tabernacle salt lake city 13 sunday nov 17 1889 commencing at 2 pm counselor chas W penrose presiding the choir and congregation sang come listen to a prophets Pop heta voice and hear the word of god prayer by elder S A woolley the choir sang dome come follow follow me the savior said then lei us in ms Ls tread the priesthood of the seventeenth ward officiated in the administration of the sacrament ELDER JAMES E TALMAGE addressed the congregation I 1 fully believe he said that an elder in the churvi chur h of jesus christ of latter day saints is entitled to the spirit of god at all times when in the discharge of his duty and whenever it devolves upon us to perform any duty connected with our calling we have a right to expect at the hands of our heavenly father his divine assistance the history of the past demonstrates on that he is fully able to inspire even the weakest and most inexperienced among us when it pleases him and that he will enable vessels to carry mighty portions of his spirit and distribute them at times unto such as listen unto their words we recognize faith as the first principle of our religion and we are taught that without it it is impossible that we can serve god acceptably honestly and sincerely in order that we may exercise faith in god it is absolutely necessary that we should in some seme degree become acquainted with him bearn earn his attributes and know what kind of a being he is for surely we can put no confidence in a stranger whose works we know not with whose disposition and nature we are unfamiliar god has revealed himself on many occasions and ana in many different ways to his sons and daughters on earth we do not remember the conditions under which we existed before we came here this doubtless to is wise if we but knew what transpired concerning us in our primeval state of innocence when we dwelt in the presence of our god 1 I fear that many of us would be so eager to terminate this earthly existence as to forget the wishes and desires of our father and even the plans he has laid for us while here the more we can learn with respect to our heavenly father the more we can knowin know in regard to his attributes his nature and disposition the better we will be able to serve him the greater will be our faith and confidence in him my attention was drawn a few months ago to a lecture delivered a long time previous by a noted philosopher os 08 john stuart mill he was discussing 1186 in his usual vigorous and emphatic way the characteristics of mandof many of the religious dogmas dogma and sand cathings cach ings of the day and declared his hia independence of any being who was not capaci bated to judge injustice and equity as to the bad or good deeds of his sons and daughters by actual experience peri ence he said that the god whom many christians worshiped was a being possessed of no definite shape or parts who had no desires or passions within his nature a being who seemed to act under many circumstances and conditions arbitrarily a being who not alone I 1 permitted but at times actually caused suffering and pain distress and trouble in the world a being in short who according to his idea did not act according to the highest principles of brotherly love and humanity as understood by men and said he be such a being as t that hat may have absolute power he may have the right to condemn me to punishment and if so I 1 will bear my fate as I 1 can going further furher t in his radical way he declared that such a being could never compel him to worship I 1 p him because he could put no confidence in him new I 1 think myself that unless I 1 can put trust and confidence and exercise faith in him whom I 1 am permitted to call the father of my spirit the author of my being I 1 cannot believe his words but the history of the past and the authentic accounts account we have of his dealings with and daughters cannot fail to satisfy us in this respect I 1 fi find nd that he is a being of power and when he sees fit according the principles of eternal j ustice to permit one nation to destroy abnot another er one people to shed athe blood of another war to be waged pe pestilence pestilent c e or famine to stalk through the land he does not allow any improper desire for mercy or any fatherly un love toward his children to sus suspend d his chastening cha hand he has cen been always willing to alrow mercy unto the penitent and kindness unto those of his children who will come before him nothing doubting surely a god who can suspend his judgment and restrain the angels of his wrath who are standing about his throne eager to go forth and bring destruction upon the wicked is one in whom we may freely and properly place all confidence and trust there is no excuse for our being ignorant of the qualities and attributes of our maker but no man can study those attributes faithfully sincerely and profitably unless he does so prayerfully and has the spirit of god resting upon him at the time I 1 do not believe that any man has ever yet succeeded in making his way into the celestial kingdom because of his logic learning and knowledge As the heavens are above the earth so are the ways of god above those of man and we can only understand his nature and attributes from those revelations and manifestations which he has given us As latter day saints we believe that we have been created in his image that he Is ia a perfect and glorified being in whom there are centered all characteristics acte that are good a being who possesses power and yet long suffering and mercy an incident took place in eng land afew a few years ago we all remember the great controversy which occurred between the infidel member mr bradlaugh and other members of that house mr bradlaugh refused to take the oath because he be had no confidence in a god who seemed to act according to principles that were arbitrary and who was controlled control hd ltd by caprice a being without body heart or feeling knowing Know inc not ehlt kind of a B bt U ing he was bradlaugh refused to acknowledge his allegiance to him the house of commons declined to let bradlaugh take his seat considering that such a man was not fit to associate with them in the course of one of his lectures bouse previous to his election to the house of commons bradlaugh became defiant and very reckless in his language taking his watch from his pocket he called upon that being whom men mein worship to manifest himself saying that he would give him just five minutes to demonstrate his power I that if he actually existed and possessed the 4 power which was claimed he should take vengeance upon him for his blasphemy but the lord did not show his vengeance upon that occasion I 1 have asked myself since then I 1 who is mr bradlaugh that he should call out to jehovah upon illis his throne and command him to do anything within a specified time 4 vengeance is mine saith the lord and he will repay but he b has as always done so at the time that suits him best on occasions he has taken summary vengeance upon th those ose who have off offended e nd ed him towards others he has exercised long suffering and forbearance for years and years giving the sinner every opportunity for repentance and penitence I 1 believe that bradlaugh will yet have to admit that that being whose name he blasphemed is a being of power and the father of all flesh and that jesus christ is his son for the decree has gone forth the the day will come when every knee must bow and men acknowledge that jesus is the christ in these days some of us latter day saints are very apt to arrive at the conclusion that certain events are to happen within a specified period I 1 have listened to many declarations in this regard but have aa never heard one of those upon whom we look as inspired men and prophets who lead and direct us make any such assertions all things are in the hands ot of the lord let us pray that he will bring to pass all the prophecies uttered through the mouth of his holy prophets that his people will be protected that purity will grow in our hearts that our cur testimony shall be made stronger and that in his own due time he will come unto his own and find them prepared to receive hins him may we be awake to the signs of the times and keep down within our hearts any desire to take vengeance into our own hands bands I 1 pray that we may be humble sincere and willing to suffer both little and great things for the work of god above all keeping our eyes upon the destiny which we have started out to achieve which CT god has said he has laid for his faithful ones here on earth looking forward to the day when the prophecies will be fulfilled PRESIDENT GEORGE Q CANNON in the course of his remarks said pt elder talmage has borne testimony to the character of our creator and has given us many illustrations of his power 0 and goodness unto his children children he has alluded also to remarks which have been made by freethinkers concerning the deity and their views of his character and attributes while listening to him the thought occurred to me that there is only one way by which men can know for themselves that god lives and that is by personal experience while we view the universe in its grandeur and glory we must feel within ourselves that there is some being greater than man although we understand the changing of the seasons and see the operations of godlike god like power every day of our lives yet these evidences of themselves while they may impress us that there is a supreme being who controls all things do not alone furnish direct evidence to satisfy the souls of men it requires something more than this it requires a testimony of god himself in the hearts of his children to prove to them that he lives and that he is indeed the being whom those who were familiar in the olden times as well as those in our own day assert he is when men get this knowledge they understand a good deal concerning gods providence they may not be able to comprehend no man is that everything connected with the affairs of mankind is directed by the divine hand for man is finite whereas god is infinite while however we understand but imperfectly the provi dences of god our heavenly catherin Fa therin his dealings with the children of men yet if we are in such close communion with him as to realize that he lives that he is the being whom he is represented to be then we can be reconciled to whatever transpires among the children of men there are hundreds of questions continually arising in our experience which we cannot answer we we cannot grasp the reason for the existence of certain things nor explain everything connected therewith but if we have the testimony in our hearts that god lives and presides over the destinies of his people then we can safely leave ourselves in his hands it is sufficient for me to know that god is a god of mercy and will deal with his children in great mercy and kindness though they may suffer distress be plunged in misery and exposed to manifold vicissitudes his watchful care is over them and he will bring about their salvat salvation ionin in his own time and way having quoted from the parable of dives and lazarus the speaker said he often thought that many were called to pass through afflictions poverty and sorrow in order that they may be better prepared for the great hereafter which god N isay is ay has in store for us god has revealed unto us great and glorious principles and if we act upon them as he directs they will result in our happiness we cannot depend upon other evidences than those which god gives concerning his gospel there are a great many pers persons ons who when the elders go forth in this the world to preach that gospel and declare that out our god is the same god of power in this generation that he was 1800 years ago ask to be shown some miracle or manifestation in proof thereof they say if your testimony is correct that gods power can be manifested today as in former ages we should like you to work some miracle to prove that the gospel you bring is that of the Church churchon of jesus christ I 1 suppose this particular argument has been used more frequently in the experience of the elders of this church than any other those who make such a request however forget that jesus himself performed no do miracle in order to convince the people of his divine mission for when appealed to for signs he said it was a wicked and adulterous generation that sought for a sign and none should be given them but signs did follow as the results of faith those who had faith in god received ike the fulfillment fulfilment of efie promise that they should follow them that believe the experience of the members of this church now for nearly sixty years has proved that signs do not help men toi maintain their faith I 1 suppose hundreds of men and women have been baptized as aa members of this church who have witnessed miracles who were baptized on the strength thereof they have seen the sick healed and other evidences of divine through the administration of the elders they have heard the gift or interpretation of tongues or seen the fulfilment fulfillment of some prophecy but where they have depended entirely upon this evidence for their faith experience has shown us that it has required a succession of signs to keep them in the church now to those who have received the testimony of the holy ghost the outpouring of the spirit which god has promised unto every faithful man and woman who will keep his commandments and do his willis a higher evidence eviden c e a source of greater strength and power than any miraculous manifestation fe which he or she might witness not excepting the ministration of angels or the raising of the dead the holy ghost must be our constant companion and without it we cannot be true servants of jesus christ take the case of oliver cowdery this man so mighty so favored of god so blessed in every respect as to receive great manifestations of divine favor faver fell away from this church his priesthood iest hood was taken away from gm him and he was left like other men who bad never known god did these manifestations keep him in the church did they prevent him from turning away and becoming an opponent to a certain extent of the men with w I 1 s s whom he had been so blessed no though he had these angelic manly man fe stations beheld the savior and heard his voice yet he fell away these were not sufficient in and of themselves to keep him in the church while humble men who had not received these great manifestations but who had received the 8 spirit irit of god the gift of th the e holy ghost ghost remained firm in the truth I 1 wish to impress upon all present that there is only one way by which we can as latter jay day saints hold to our fellowship with god and our membership in his church an and that is by retaining the holy spirit within our hearts by living such sucha lives of purity that the holy spirit will be our constant companion never leaving us to ourselves to be tempted and overthrown by the power of the adversary I 1 care not how many gifts a man may have hav how many visions he be may behoc behold how many miracles he may see per formed these will not of themselves keep him in the faith let them come as they will to every believer in their time and place but do WOL not seek for them as the basis upon which to build your faith if you are faithful to god kee keep 4 his commandments put away au your sins and live lives of truth troth and righteousness then these signs will follow you and you vou will see constant manifestations of gods favor and goodness in your behalf the choir sang the anthem sing unto the lord benediction by apostle heber J grant |
