Discourse 1890-08-03
DISCOURSE
Delivered by President Wilford Wood-
ruff, at Logan (Cache Stake Con-
ference), Sunday Morning, Aug.
3rd, 1890.
I have a few thoughts and reflec-
tions which I would like to present
to the Latter-day Saints who com-
pose this conference; but in order to
do it, I need the help and assistance
of the Spirit of God, as does every
man who attempts to teach the
people.
The subject that I have upon my
mind is, union among the Latter-
day Saints. The Savior said to His
Apostles anciently, and to the
Apostles in our day: "I say unto
you, be one; and if ye are not one
ye are not mine." [Doctrine and Covenants 38:27] "I and my
Father are one." [John 10:30] There is a prin-
ciple connected with this that I
think is very important to us as
a people and as a Church here on
the earth. With all the divisions,
and all the discontent, and the
quarrelings and opposition among
the powers on earth, or that have
been revealed from heaven, I have
never heard that it has ever
been revealed to the children of men
that there was any division between
God the Father, God the Son and
God the Holy Ghost. They are one.
They always have been one. They
always will be one, from eternity
unto eternity. Our Heavenly Father
stands at the head, being the Author
of the salvation of the children of
men, and having created and
peopled the world and given laws to
the inhabitants of the earth. This
principle is shown unto us by the
revelation of the laws which belong
to the different kingdoms. There is
a celestial kingdom, a terrestrial
kingdom, and a telestial kingdom.
There is a glory of the sun, a glory
of the moon, and a glory of the stars;
and as one star differs from another
star in glory, so also is the resurrec-
tion of the dead. [1 Corinthians 15:41-42] In the celestial
Kingdom of God there is oneness,
there is union.
In reading the history of the
dealings of God with men, from the
Bible, the Book of Mormon, and the
Doctrine and Covenants, we can
see that, from the days of Father
Adam, the Lord has raised up a
class of men, in every dispensation,
upon whom He has bestowed His
Priesthood, and unto whom He has
given power and authority to do His
work upon the face of the earth
among the children of men. And
these men have been in possession
of principles of union with God,
with the Son of God and with the
Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost was
given to Father Adam; he was filled
with it when, in his last days, he
blessed those of his sons who were
High Priests and the residue of his
posterity. [Doctrine and Covenants 107:53] Father Adam, Enoch,
Moses, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob, and all those old patriarchs
and prophets were obliged to have
communion with God. They were
under the necessity of seeking unto
the Lord, for unless they had this
communion they were not
qualified to do their duty.
They were dependent upon
the Lord for revelation, for light,
and for instruction to have power to
carry out the commandments of
God. This union that the Lord re-
quired of the ancient patriarchs and
prophets, and which Jesus required
of His Apostles, was required of
Joseph Smith and his brethren. It
has been required of all Saints of
God from the foundation of the
world till today. Men who have
held any portion of the Holy Priest-
hood, and have had its gifts, graces,
and blessings bestowed upon them,
have been under the necessity of
having communion with God. In
the whole history of the world I
have never read of any man whom
God has called to stand as the head of
His work, who has not sought the
Lord while in that position; and the
Lord has been with him. It is my
faith that the Lord will never per-
mit any man upon whose shoulders
He places the authority and power
to lead Israel, to go astray, or to
lead the children of God from the
path of duty. The Lord would re-
move such a man from his place.
In every age of the world the
Saints of God have been obliged to
be united. Babylon may divide;
the inhabitants of the earth may
have all the division they wish for;
but they will receive the results of
that disunion, and have done all
the way through. City after city,
nation after nation has been de-
stroyed by the judgments of the Al-
mighty whenever it has become
ripened in iniquity, as in the
case of Sodom and Gomorrah, of
Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre and Si-
don, and a great many other ancient
cities and countries. But the Saints
of God cannot prosper unless they
are united. This has been demon-
strated in the history of the world.
Moses, in his day, was obliged to
have communion and fellowship
with God. The Lord gave unto
him commandments, upon tables
of stone, for the guidance of the
children of Israel. When Moses
came down from the mountain and
saw the rebellion, the dissension
and the abominations of the Is-
raelites—that, notwithstanding all
the miracles they had witnessed,
revelations they had been given,
they had made a golden calf to
worship, because he had come
back to them in time—he was so
angry at their wickedness that he
cast the tables of stone to the
ground and broke them. [Exodus 32] Of
course you all know about
this. But Moses had to have
union with God. So in the
whole history of the people of God
in all ages. They have had to be
united. They have had to work to-
gether. They have had to receive
the law of God together. Jesus
