OCR Text |
Show I SERMON DELIVERED DY - . APOSTLE 0. F. WHITNEY B I' ! At Afternoon Meeting of Recent Conference of Tin I Cache Stake, m , Apottle Orson F. Whitney. If' Jinny yenrs ngo, I believe It wns H' my first visit to Cache Valley, I en- H ,' tered this tnbernaclo on tho occasion H of n Btako conference. President John BH' Taylor wns then at tho hend of tho ." church, and George Q. Cannon nnd B Joseph F. Smith wero his counsel-B counsel-B . J ors. I had como ns a traveling agent B i for tho Dcseret News of which Brother B l'enroso was then tho chief editor. B j And desiring to sco him upon n mnt-B mnt-B i ter of business mndo my wny toward B J tho stand upon which ho wns seated. B i Bishop Preston wns then presiding B over tho Cncho stnko, nnd ho being nc-B nc-B qunlnted with mo nnd recognizing me B ii nR I enmo up to tho stnnd to whisper B Drothcr Penrose, snld, "como up on B tho stnnd. Brother Whitney," I snld B : "oo, I Just want to spenk to Brother (Penrose n moment." I did not feel that my proper plnco wns on tho B stnnd nmong thoso prominent nnd Bj, grent men. And Brother Preston, eye- B '"B lno remnrked, "very well, but the B- next tlmo I como lntd tho 18th wnrd," B that la whero I wns bishop at the B time, "nnd you ask mo to step upon B tho stnnd, I will como." President Jo- B seph F. Smith overhearing this ro- B mark snld, "Orson ,do as Brother B Preston desires you to do." I said, "all H right" nnd took a Bent on the stand. B I have never forgotten that lcsslon B that I havo learned liy experience nnd B observntlon that it Is always tho cor- B I ' rect thing to do, to do ns you nro do- B I sired by tho proper authority. And In B spcnklng of aphorisms, I sometimes B' hnvo this occur to me. Ono of my fn-m fn-m ' vorlto ophorisms Is this, "That wher- B cvcr God needs a man, that Is his K ' proper place," whethor It bo sotting m upon tho stnnd or down In tho con- m gregallon, whether It bo to hold a B high office or n lesser office. Tho true t and proper volley to pursue, and tho B only proper one, Is to, accept tho call, to respond to tho Invitation and 1 m never forget that lesson given to me K by President William B. Preston. BB Supposu ns n wnrd bishop I hnd BB asked a man out of tho congregation to H pray and ho had declined; supposo I Bj had asked ono of tho brethren to BB spenk to us nnd ho had declined, how BB would 1 hnvo felt? Why, I would have BB felt, at least, as If that man wns putt- BB lng up his Judgment ngnlnst mine, nnd BB 1 wns tho presiding officer; I hnd the rigut to mo inspiration or tno noiy B spirit ns how to direct that meeting. K I had tho right to know who should prny, who should speak a docldlng Bl power In tho selection of both; but bo-I bo-I hold tho man on whom I called deem- BB cd It his prerogative to object, to do- B - cllno .either from diffidence, bashful- K; nuss or something clso. It matters B, not; it is necessarily an affront should ' rightful authority call nnd no icsponso B Is made, or an objection is raised, tin- BB less thcro is some very good reason BB for the objection, ns sometimes hap- BB pens. A man might bo sick. Then It BB' would bo perfectly proper for him to BB excuso himself In a respectful mnn- Bfl nor, hut nothing from a fnlso sense BB of modesty or from u fcullilg of tin- BB willingness to servo ,or from any feel- BB lug of rebellion or discord, would bo BB sufficient reason to put up his Judg- BJ '' incut against that of tho Spirit or BB God, whenever men do that they make BB n mistake. BB When 1' was called upon a mission BB as n young man I felt that It would BBJ bo n disgrace not to accept that call. I hadn't any too much faith nt the BBJ time; 1 had been more or less ludlf- BB ferent In tho things of Clod us per- BBJ tnlnlng to religious discipline, and per- Imps somo of my brethren thought I BH would not nccept that call. Why, I BBJ never dreamed of refusing it; 1 never BBL hesitated ono moment when tho call BBJ came to me to go to tho eastern states M , to preach tho gospel. I felt that I BH wns upon my honor as n member of J tho church to do ns 1 wns told, to BBJ accept tho cnll that had como nnd that 1 had no right to put up my Judgment, BB my will, ngnlnst that of the Almighty, BBJ or Ills servants, which is precisely H one and tho samo thing. BBJ This church Is goyornod, not by M what God gnvo to tho Nophitos; not BH by what Ho gnvo to tho Jews; not BBJ by what IIo gave to tho Latter-day , Snlnts yostordny; but by what ' IIo B gives to us continually, In tho wny of B- revelation through n Ilviug and In-H In-H , spired prlosthood. ThlB church thus B' keeps abreast of tho tlmos in which H? wo live, and whatever comes to us BH through tho proper authority is tho H might nnd will of God to us, and K-' , whon wo put up our Judgment will BJ Bv against that authority for any but a BBVBBk god reason, such as I havo hinted at. BBflL BHL wo make n mistake. Tho young, man who refuses a .mission mnkes n nils-tako; nils-tako; tho man who refuses n call to bo n bishop makes a mistake; tho young woman who refuses n call to work in tho young Indies association makes a mlstnke; tho young man who refuses his services when thoy aro needed In tho young men's cause makes n mistake, or In tho high council coun-cil or In tho stnko presidency, which Is tho snmo principle, permeating tho wholo structuro of the Church of Clod. A mnn'B proper place nnd n woman's proper plnco is whero God needs them, nnd consequently I wns not surprised when theso brethren who hnvo been chosen to presldo over this stnko of Zlon announced tholr readiness to nccept tho cnll nnd to tho best of tholr ability do their duty to God nnd His peoplo In this work. It Is nothing moro nor less than their simple nnd plain duty; they do not expect to mako money out of It. 1 hnvo no doubt that these men will make a flnnnclnl sacrlflco by accepting accept-ing this call; I havo no doubt that tho brethren who aro retiring mndo a financial fi-nancial sacrlflco when they nccoptcd their call flvo years ago, and havo given flvo precious years of Bervlce, and ablo service, too. I know that. I havo wntched the progress of this Stake of Zlon, nnd I know the spirit thnt has been with theso men, and I bellevo thoy havo dono to tho best of their nblllty and havo given God their hearts and tholr service. They hnvo made a financial sacrlflco by their faithful discharge of their work; but tho Lord will make it up to them, If IIo hnd not already dono so In ono wny or in nnother. Thoy aro blggor men today than they wero flvo yenrs ngo, and theso brethren who" will succeed suc-ceed them will he bigger men n year from now than they are today. This Is tho way to progression nnd growth In the Church nnd Kingdom of God. To young men nnd young women, to old men nnd women, If God needs you tiny-whero, tiny-whero, never rcfuso tho cnll, Jt you nro nl nil able to respond. Leave to tho Lord thy fortune; leave to tho Lord tho mater of providing for you; "He thnt clotheso tho llllles of tho field with glory grcnter than thnt of Solomon; IIo who hears tho young ravens whon they cry; Ho who knows and marks tho fall of tho sparrow nnd counts nnd numbers tho hnlrs upon our heads," Ho knows how to caro for you nnd for mo, nnd Ho will do o if 11 calls us Into His service That is my testimony based upon experience experi-ence nnd observntlon in tho Church of God Thoy toll n story of Louis tho Fourth tho King of France, "Louis tho Grand Monarch," 'thoy call him. IIo wns going go-ing mu for n drlvo ono dny with a number .t h h courtiers nnd nnblenien surrniindli g him, and as Hio chairs enmo up, for thoy used them instead of wheel carriages In thoso days; men woro tottd around in Sednn chairs As this conveyance approached, tho King timed to ono of his French nonteiuon and askf. blm to precede him into tho (nrr'uge. nnd tho Frenchman thought the honor too grent for him, and thinking thnt tho King had mado a mlstnko In asking him to go ahead Into tho cnnlago, ho mado a vory po-llto po-llto bow md declined tho honor mil n Bhndow puteed over tho King's fnee. The cinrtier hnd forgotten that "a King's invitation Is n command;" ho hnd forjsottcn that by decllnl.; tluit honor ho h.ul set up his Judgment against that of his monarch, who want ted to bestow nn honor upon him. Tho king mined to an English embassador nnd nsked him to get Into tho carriage, car-riage, and tho Englishmen mndo a very pollto bow, Just ns low ns tho Fronclimnn's nnd lenped In. Tho king pointed nt him nnd said, "tluxro Is n trim gentlemnn." It points tho mornl. 'A king's Invitation is a commnnd," nnd God Is our King, nnd whntover Ho manifests that Ho desires to bestow, wo canot Improvo upon It by rejecting re-jecting It. Joseph Smith, tho Prophet snld, thnt when God gives n gift or orfors n gift, or knowledgo to n mnn nnd U rofusoa to rccoivo it, ho will bo damned. That i3 pretty strong language lan-guage What docs condemnation man? Whon wo do a wrung thing our conscience Is condemning us; wo ure damned, to n degreo, from tho time o do wrong. To sin against light, nnd o do something that wo ought not to do, nnd wo nro condomucd. Tho light thnt is within us condemns us, nnd wo are damned to a cortnlu extent If wo do not repent. And when God has commanded him to do n thing and ho refuses to do it, ho will como undur condemnation. It cannot bo otherwise. Hlgnt hero we slrlko tho theme nl-eady nl-eady presented. ' V. hat is it that God requires nt our hands. Obedlenco to what Ho tells us to do. Not what He said yesterday avon to the Later-day Saints. God does not tie his hands when He gives ono commandment or makes ono requirement. require-ment. Ho does revoke, as has been shown. Ho revoked a commandment given to Abrnham, when Ho told him to go nnd slap his son Isaac. Abraham manifested his willingness to carry out the command of God, and It peems thnt wns nil thnt tho Lord required. Ho was testing tho faith ofthls mnn, upon whom Ho desired to bestotf n, gioit blessing. Ho would make him tho fnther of many nations, nnd In his seed all tho nations of tho earth wero to bo blessed; but tho man must do monstrato his faith, his integrity, his willingness to do nnythlng that the Lord his God required nt his hands; Tor this wns tho purposo for which thi? enrth was mndo. "Wo will do down," snld tho Creator, "In tho beginning, nnd wo will toko of this material and we will mnko nn onrth, whereon these may dwell, and wq will plnnt them hrrowlth nnd sco whether thoy will do nil things thnt the Lord their God shall requlro at their hands." Abraham Abra-ham was iequlrcd to do nnythlng that thg Lord required of him. Ho was will-lug will-lug to do It, nnd after manifesting his willingness tho Lord snld the samo God, mind you, that gavo tho former commandment, "go and offer thy son ns n burn offering unto Me," Ho sect Ills angel to say to Abraham, "lay not thy hand upon tho lad." Abraham wau under solemn obligation to obey tho later commandment. Ho revoked or cnncflind tho other. God can cancel hlf rwn words. Ho can confound and revoko Ho who hns this nuthorlty. And Abrnham would hnvo been n transgressor hnd ho refused to enrry out either of these commnnitnionts so far ns ho wns permitted to do so, Hnd ho said, "1 will not slay my son; I will nut offer him as an offering," ho wc .'il havo been n transgressor, but after being commanded not to slay his sou. to lay not his hands upon up-on tho lad, had ho persisted he would also hnvo been a transgressor, In that case. And that Is the 'great lesson for you nnd for mo to remember. It we wish to sit down with Abrnhnni, Isaac nnd Jacob In the Kingdom of God. Wo can only do this by oboylng tho samo law that thoy oboyed. And what Is It? To live by every word that proceeds pro-ceeds from tho mouth of God, whether It contravenes nnd contradicts what ho said to somo other people, or not, whether It agrees with what Ho said yesterday to us, or not , we must keop our ear closo to tho ground, so to spenk, to catch tho latest word from God to do what Ho says to day. Do not point mo to what IIo said fifty years ngo, If IIo bus snld something slnco whereby It is cancelled. I revere all that is written in the books; I bellevo tho Blblo to bo tho word of God; I believe, likewise, the Book of Mormon' to bo" tho word of God; I bellovo the Doctrlno of Covenants Cove-nants to bo tho word of God, as well ns tho Pearl of Great Price. Theso aro tho four doctrinal standards of tho church; but I also bellevo in a living priesthood, and tho word nnd will of tho Lord thnt comes through tho head today to this church Is moroo mo thnn all theso bonks combined. You could not pile up enough books containing con-taining tho printed word of God to cause me to turn my allegiance awny from tho living priesthood, so long ns 1 hnvo tho right spirit. And when you want mo to do anything, tell mo what tho Lord says today, and not what Ho said to the Jews or tho Nophltes or to tho Latter-day Saints fifty yenrs ngo. Tell mo what tho Lord requires of mo now and here, nnd I will endeavor en-deavor to do It, and If it takes mo down or takes mo up, my proper placo is whero my Father wants mo; where Ua needs my services; whoro I enn do tho most good to my people nnd my cause, and I endeavor to mako this tho goal of my life. This is tho secret of nil tho hucccbs thnt I hnvo over attained at-tained to, or over expect to ataln. 1 havo beon willing, at least, to accept every call that camo and I never refused re-fused a mission; I hnvo never refused fill nfflnft nnd llnvn- wnfn-n.1 n mill .... ' atuiv IUIUOVU It Villi of thnt kind; nnd yet, I am not an office seeker. I naturally shun public llfo. 1 do not liko It. I would rnthor llvo in n cottngo than n mission. "I would rnthor -omnln by my frlonds thnn go to tho stock exchange. I lovo qulotudo; I lovo solltudo; I. lovo pri-vacy. pri-vacy. And nil the publlo llfo thnt has ovor como to mo hns como simply on tho prineiplo thnt 1 wns willing to enter ltbecnuso it wns God's will. 1 am a coward .naturally, to stand up in public, hut I havo had to do It. I hnvo been cnlled to it; I could not help myself, becauso my uonscienco Is enlisted. I feel Just tho samo today as I over felt. I feel Just as Brother Bollif feels. I am on tho altar. I do no oxpect to mako any monoy out of this ministry; but I want to have it to say when I return to my Father, "I did not refuse to do what your servants ser-vants asked of me," nnd God grnnt thnt I mny be nhle to sny, "I hnvo done tho things thnt You sont me forth to do." How well 1 remember on returning from thnt early mission to which 1 referred when thoy called upon me to bo a ward teacher, "will you act as a ward teacher?" "Yes." I had never dono It before. I did not know how It was to bo done, buj 1 was willing, 1 felt as I said to my bishop, in tho spirit that I brounght back With mo from my early mission, "anything I enn do to advanco this work, I want, to do it." "That is tho right spirit," ho said. Six weeks later thoy mado mo a bishop. I felt as If I should havo I sunk through tho floor when It was announced thnt I should presldo over1 tho 18th ward of Salt Lake City. 1 was not even married .1 had had no experience except ns a mlsslonaty; but I was willing to do It, President George Q. Cannon was present nnd he said to the people, much to my astonishment as-tonishment and Incredulity, "I will promise you that If you will rally around Bishop Whitney, hold up his hands, tho tlmo will como when you will think that you have tho best bishop In tho church." I thought ho was simply flattering me, trying to mako mo feel good ovor It Ho did not say that I would bo tho best bishop bish-op in tho church, mind you. Ho said, "tho people will think so." I havo since learned that It was nil right, and that ho spoko the truth, and that It is a correct and true principle. The peoplo of a ward have a right to he-bishop he-bishop I would not give much for a people who did not feel that way towards to-wards their bishop. I would not glvo much for a boy who thought any other boy's father was a better and bigger man than his father. I lwo to hear tho children talk about tholr parents as tho best man and the best woman in the world. That reeling of riitrlotlsm nnd loynlty Is nl! right, wnelher it bo In the family circle, or in tho ward ,or In tho stake. And tho time camo when the peoplo of my vanl thought that I was tho best bishop in tho church, tho best for them. But tho peoplo of every other wnrd had tho right o thing the same, and did no doubt. And I want to payTo the :--ooi lo of Cache slak-1. you sustain theso brcthro nns tho preside!! cy of this stake of Zlon, and if youwlll unlto In holding up the hands of President Pres-ident Balllf and his counsellors, It won't bo long before you will be thinking "wo havo tho best stake presidency In tho church." I do not think things will bo Just right with you until you do feel that way. It will bo a sure sign to mo that you havo got hto right spirit, and that they havo tho right spirit ,and that your hearts are wedded together and knoltod to getlier like tho henrts of David nnd Jonathan, in parting whon your lovo cau go out to your retiring presidency. Jiy people loved mo when I pirtcd from them. Thank tho Lord their hearts went out to mo. Thcro wns a feeling of sorrow and sadness when wo parted. I am glad that I enmd shed tears In parting from mo; nnd it will bo tho samo with thesd brethren. Rally aro'jno them, mnko them strong by your sustnlnlng fnlth and prayers and good works, and youu will be pulling pull-ing yourself up when you pull tliem up, nnd you will lovo them, nnd you will think you hnvo tho best Btako presidency In tho church. And mny God bless you to this end, In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen . |