Show Hili ulay dec 1111 m i congregation wa wai i i alli d to order b by C J P tj on p ial I to him who made elder lott officered ered up prayer Glori glorious oms alig augot of zion bv D V the tile cho choir ar tile furst speaker was elden ELDER JOSEPH ll jall rv who proposed to speak on oil the tilt outward evidences of f the tile divine authenticity odthe of the book of adorm mormon ii elder parry had of late been much interested in the study of archipolo gy especially in the five volumes of f Ban crofts history of the dative native races of america he has found nui numerous nerous proofs of the truth of the book of Mormon much interesting ill evidence is is met with in alo vo volume lume which treats odthe of the history and ethnology odthe of the aborigines aali and ancient inhabitants of the central american country from the isthmus of darien to mexico one convincing coincidence is the distance between the east gea sea and the west sea at the narrowest point as given by the book of mormon and modern measure measurement ni clit a day davs t journey while the school books boks of the prophet josephs time gave an all atte utterly aly erron erroneous cou a figure 80 miles the speaker referred to the migrations gr grat a ions of bf the ancient people to th the e land bountiful ho he also sketched in an all interesting manner the tho recent archaeological discoveries of cities temples and pyramids in the very heart nathe forest wilder ne nesses ses palaces pala ces of vast magnitude of the best kind of masonry arc are met with there are altars co vered with strange sculpture work and a profusion ision of hieroglyphics blics which have yet baffled all le the skill of interpreters the speaker alto aho showed by reference to the grand old highways odthe of the incas that tl those I ose ancient races possessed great knowledge knowe e ge an and mee mechanical anica a ability ity and nd yet the learning odthe of the cen century t ury has not penetrated the veil of centuries winch which hides bides from them the knowledge of the people who performed those gigantic works winch which yet command our respect and deserve our admiration but we latter day saints possess in the book of mormon an in unerring guide to t the ic true understanding of all 11 th these ese explorations of the remains of ancient nations buried in the tombs of ages abes we know that it was the who hi bm 41 aaa ann m der darful ful structures before they were were driven northward by the laman ites incas I from all these evidences the speaker demonstrated the divine origin odthe of the book of mormon and showed how unreasonable it is for those naho admit those arch archaeological wolo ical explorations to r reject the B book 00 T OI 01 of f mormon Hu which gives the only satisfactory is iss and infallible key ke y to the former comparing the evidences for the divinity of the bible with those for the book of mormon the latter certainly is far flir in the advantage still the whole ChrLs christian tian world admits the proof s for the bible as irrefutable v and und yet in their blindness they reject the incontrovertible inward and outward testimonies for the truth of the record translated by joseph smith through the inspiration of the lord F from rom the fact that we are privileged with the possession of these grand truths we ire should try to be the best people on earth honest sober truthful chaste virtuous polite orderly the speaker earnestly admonished his brethren bretl iren and sisters to endeavor to live above the groveling habits babits of the world and set them an example of virtue elden ELDER L F had bad been greatly interested crested iut and he esteemed it an inestimable eriv privilege elege for us to possess the great and glorious truths with which we had been blessed he greatly enjoyed enjoyed the knowledge convoyed conveyed by the t 10 prophecies of ancient times which arc are being so marvelously fulfilled in the present age he lie also emphasized the power and conviction of the testimonies monies prefixed to the book of mormon another strong proof truth Is is the explicit mandler ma manner niler mhd unmistakable plainness in which the sacred ordinances of the gospel are described in the book of I mormon N c mornion as compared with the indistinct allusions in the bible which adil admit lit of so many contradictory constructions the speaker in up impressive language dilated on these beautiful principles n caples and showed how all these demonstrated the glorious truth of the gospel which is also evidenced by the fact that all the witnesses of the book of mormon stood by their testimony ony throughout their long lives until their death of which the speaker gave many very ingerl interesting ting instances this testimony goes to all the world but after tins this testimony comee conies the judgment of which we see such tei fulfillment in these days alie speaker closed with exhorting tile saints to acad pure and virtuous lives to be prepared for the great things to come with an anthem by the choir and benediction by bishop winslow farr the highly interesting and edifying meeting come to a close |