Lake City]], . REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS. I am called upon this afternoon to make some remarks upon the life and death of Brother Ezra Taft Benson, who has been suddenly taken out of our midst,—from time into eternity. I have long since considered it unneces- sary to make any excuses for performing my duty upon any occasion in public; but if there is any position where a man might have doubts about satisfying his own mind or the minds of his friends, perhaps it is on an occasion like this. It is well known, at least to the Latter-day Saints, that the elders of Israel rise to speak without any written sermon or preparation of any kind. Many of us have been engaged, the greater portion of our lives, in preaching the gospel to the world, and on every occasion we depend for assistance and preparation upon the spirit of God. This is my position this af- ternoon. I rise before you with no prepared sermon, and with no particular principles that I have settled in my mind to address you upon; depending, as on all occasions, upon the spirit of God and the faith and prayers of my friends. This dispen- sation of Providence causes me many reflections; and I presume it is the case with every Latter-day Saint pres- ent. In the first place I will ask the question what position did Bro. Benson occupy while in the flesh, and how many have ever held the same position on the face of the earth. The words contained in the 7th verse of the 52nd chapter of the pro- phecies of Isaiah are brought to my mind. While contemplating the great work of building up the Zion of God in the last days he says: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" What position can any man occupy on the face of the earth that is more noble, God- like, high and glorious than to be a messen- ger of salvation unto the human family? What more responsible position can a man occupy than to be an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ? I do not know of any in this or any other generation. The thought also arises in my mind how many individuals have ever held this position on the earth? I find in the history recorded in the Bible, from the days of Adam down through the different dispensations and generations, that prophets have existed on the earth. Adam, himself, was a prophet and he or- dained his sons to the Melchizedek priest- hood; the gospel of Christ was taught to him after the Fall and he attended to the or- dinances of the house of God. He was a high priest and, as a high priest, held the keys of the Kingdom of God. There were many sons who were high priests, having been ordained to this office by their father Adam. Three years before his death he called together Seth, Enos, Jared, Cainan, Mahaleel, Methusaleh and many others of his descendants in the Valley of Adam-Ondi- Ahman, and there rose up and blessed them with his great and last patriarchal blessing. This has been given to us by revelation; and these men were prophets and high priests. [Doctrine and Covenants 107:53-56] Tracing down the sacred history through the different ages and dispensations we learn that many prophets existed among the children of men. Moses was a law- giver in Israel and held the office of a prophet, seer and revelator. When I say that many prophets have existed, it proba- bly needs some qualification. The number of persons thus honored of God has not been many when compared with the whole of the people who have lived; but in every gospel age and dispensation God has had His prophets and servants upon the earth to make known His will to its inhabitants. In the days of Moses elders were chosen, as His counselors; and seventy elders were ordained to bear record of the things of God and to assist Moses in the work to be performed in his day; but we do not read of apostles being chosen under Moses's dis- pensation. [Numbers 11:16-17] Jesus tabernacled in the flesh to establish the Kingdom of His Father up- on the earth, and when he was thirty years of age he went forth administering in the ordinances of the house of God, and he chose twelve Apostles to assist him, and he gave to them the keys of the Kingdom of God. [Matthew 10:1-4] And the highest office that any man has ever held on the face of the earth in this or any other generation is that of an apos- tle. We read that God set in His church first, apostles, then prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, gifts, graces and helps; and the office of an apostle entitles him to hold the keys of the Kingdom of God; and what he binds on earth is bound in heaven, and what he looses on earth is loosed in heaven. The history of the Twelve whom Jesus chose is to be found in the New Testa- ment; within the lids of that book their travels, the course they pursued and the doctrines they taught are published to the world. Nearly the whole of them sealed their testimony with their blood. Some were crucified as their master was; some were beheaded; and all except John suffered martyrdom in some way for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. This was the fate of the first quor- um of Apostles we have any history of. After the death and resurrection of the Savior, when he ministered to His disci- ples the last time on earth, He informed them that He had other sheep not of this fold whom He was going to visit and min- ister unto. [John 10:16] The Book of Mormon is a record of the descendants of the House of Israel who dwelt on this continent an- ciently. It gives us the history of the Jar- edites who came from the Tower of Babel; of Lehi and his family, who came from Je- rusalem and also of the Lamanites and Ne- phites, the descendants of Nephi and Lem- uel, sons of Lehi. In that record we find that Christ, after His death and resurrec- tion, visited that branch of the house of Is- rael which dwelt on this continent. [3 Nephi 11:1-17] On the occasion of that visit we are informed that Jesus chose Twelve Apostles and gave to them the same power, keys, gifts and gra- ces that He had given to His apostles on the eastern continent; and they went forth, and magnified their callings. [3 Nephi 12:1] All of this quorum of the Twelve Apostles had the promise of departing and being with Christ when they were seventy-two years old, except three of them. To these three Jesus gave a promise similar to that which He gave to John the Revelator,—namely that they should tarry in the flesh until He came. [3 Nephi 28:4-12] History informs us that the wicked tried to kill John in various ways, placing him, on one occasion, in a cauldron of boil- ing oil, but his life was preserved; and that finally in the reign of Domitian Cæser he was banished to the Isle of Patmos to work in the lead mines. [Revelation 1:9] While there he was blessed with visions, revelations, know- ledge, light and truth, a portion of which we have recorded in what are called the Reve- lations of St. John. In the reign of Nerva John was recalled, and afterwards wrote his epistles. The first quorum of Apostles were all put to death, except John, and we are informed that he still remains on the earth, though his body has doubtless un- dergone some change. Three of the Ne- phites, chosen here by the Lord Jesus as His Apostles, had the same promise—that they should not taste death until Christ came, and they still remain on the earth in the flesh. [3 Nephi 28:4-12] Thus we have an account in the B[ible] and Book of Mormon of but two quorums of Twelve Apostles being chosen previous to this dispensation; but in these last days the Lord called upon Joseph Smith, gave him power and authority to organize His church and kingdom again upon the earth and gave him the Holy Priesthood and the keys of the kingdom of God. Jo- seph was ordained to the apostleship under the hands of men holding the keys of the kingdom of God in the days of Jesus,— namely, Peter, James and John. [Doctrine and Covenants 27:12] I shall not occupy time with entering into the details of these things. I have re- ferred to them to show the importance of the office held by Brother Benson. He was a member of one of the three quorums of Apostles that have ever been chosen on the face of the earth since Jesus Christ tab- ernacled in the flesh, that we have any knowledge of. The first chosen when Je- sus commenced his public labors in the flesh; the second after his resurrection, here on this continent, and the third, since the revelation of the gospel in our own day. Here we find only thirty-six men, chosen at various times and dispensations, in six thousand years, to hold this order of priest- hoo[d], unless they were chosen in the days of Enoch and at times in which the Bible does not inform us. This number has been increased, however, by others who have been chosen to fill vacancies in these quo- rums, as in the case of Judas, and others; but it is safe to say that the entire number who have held this office from the days of Adam until to-day has been very limited. As to the number of inhabitants who have dwelt on the earth during that period it is a pretty difficult matter to form any correct idea in relation to it; I do not think that any statistician could tell this to any de- gree of correctness. It is a kind of a given point in these days to say that the popula- tion of the earth is about a thousand mil- lions, and that this number pass away every generation. It is also estimated that about three generations pass away in a century; this gives three thousand millions in a cen- tury, thirty thousand millions in a thousand years, and one hundred and eighty thou- sand millions in six thousand years,— about the period that is supposed to have elapsed since the creation of man upon the earth. Whether these statistics are any- thing like correct it is not of much impor- tance to discuss; but it is an important re- flection, that Brother Benson, who has been associated with us so many years, is one of the chosen few, of all the immense num- bers who have dwelt on the face of the earth, who have been called to hold the office of apostles. Well might the prophet say, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet," &c. I will say that in my boyhood while at- tending Sabbath School in my native State, Connecticut, there seemed something glo- rious, to me, about the apostles of Jesus Christ who were called to preach the gos- pel of the Son of God to the inhabitants of the earth; and I have many times felt that I would willingly walk a thousand miles to see a prophet, an apostle or any man called of God who could teach me the way to be saved; a man who held in his hands the power of the priesthood, who could com- mand the elements and they would obey him, and who could declare the words of life in their truth and purity to the inhab- itants of the earth. I always looked upon the lives and missions of these men, though despised by the world generally, as the most important of any men who ever dwelt in the flesh. Jesus himself was called master of the house of Beelzebub, and trav- elled through a constant scene of poverty, ridicule, persecution and affliction; yet there was something great, good, grand and glorious in the life of the Savior of the world. This was the fate of Him and His apostles; and though they descended below all things they held in their hands the des- tiny and salvation, not only of that genera- tion but of all the human race; and woe be to that house, nation, kindred, tongue or people who rejected their words and testi- mony, for they will rise in judgment against them. From the days of my childhood until I heard the fulness of the gospel, as taught by the Latter-day Saints, I had a great desire to live to see a prophet or apostle. I have lived to see this day. I have lived to see the church and kingdom of God on the earth, with all its gifts, graces, power, glory and dominion, revealed and organ- ized by the ministrations of angels from God in heaven and by the revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have lived to see apostles and the full organization of the priesthood again officiating in and adminis- tering the ordinances of salvation to the children of men. Brother Ezra T. Benson, whose death has occurred so unexpectedly, was one of the few called in this day to bear testimony to the nations of the earth of the restoration of this gospel and he has traveled many thousands miles to do so. He has been true and faithful unto death, and he will receive a crown of life. He has gone from our midst to the spirit world to mingle with the Gods, or at least with his brethren who have gone before him; whether he will mingle with the Gods until after the resur- rection perhaps it is not for me to say. He has gone home to receive his reward. What a cloud of reflection it brings to the mind! It speaks in loud language to every apostle,