[Doctrine and Covenants 122:7-9] hell shall gape, open the mouth
wide after thee, know thou, my Son,
that all these things shall give thee
experience, and shall be for thy
good. The Son of man hath de-
scended below them all; art thou
greater than He? Therefore, hold
on thy way, and the Priesthood
shall remain with thee, for their
bounds are set, they cannot pass.
Thy days are known, and thy years
shall not be numbered less; there-
fore, fear not what man can do, for
God shall be with you for ever and
ever." The Lord showed him in
this revelation that these afflictions
were necessary. We have been
called to pass through trials many
times, and I do not think we should
complain, because if we had no trials
we should hardly feel at home in
the other world in the company of
the Prophets and Apostles who were
sawn asunder, crucified, etc., for the
word of God and testimony of Jesus
Christ.

How should we feel towards our
enemies? President Taylor of late
has called upon us, to exercise
towards them the same spirit that
was manifested by our Savior upon
the cross: "Father forgive them
they know not what they do." [Luke 23:34] We
should endeavor to exercise that
spirit. Our persecutors, those who
would seek to destroy us, do not
know what they do. They do not
comprehend us at all. Why, bless
your souls, if the veil was lifted from
off the eyes of the President of the
United States, from off the eyes of
the members of the Congress of the
United States, and from off the eyes
of our enemies, if this veil were
lifted they would bow before the
Lord and plead for these "Mor-
mons;" they would do this if their
eyes were open to see the future
consequences of taking a stand
against this Church and kingdom.
But there is a veil over their eyes,
because of their works of evil; and
the day will come when all peoples
will mourn who take a stand against
the kingdom of God, the Zion of
God, the Church of God, and the
Lord's anointed; unless they repent
they will, when they pass into the
other world, go into outer darkness,
where there is weeping and wailing
and gnashing of teeth. It is impos-
sible, however, for the Saints of God
to inherit a celestial kingdom with-
out their being tried as to whether
they will abide in the covenants of
the Lord or not.

Well, I feel we are a blessed peo-
ple. We have prospered. The
Lord is fighting our battles. The
Lord holds the destiny of this nation
and all other nations in His hands.
Our enemies can go no further than
He permits them.

We live in a day and time when
the Lord has decreed to set up his
kingdom for the last time upon the
earth. That is the reason we have
the privilege of building these
Temples and these meeting-houses
in the mountains of Israel. The
Lord has set his hand to establish
his kingdom according to his for-
mer promises, and it is going to
prevail upon the earth. He has
told us to fear not our enemies;
that though earth and hell combine
against us, they shall not prevail,
if we are built upon the rock of
Christ.

We have come to this earth upon a
mission; and we have been gathered
to the valleys of these mountains
that we may be taught and in-
structed in the things of God; that
we may magnify our calling before
the Lord; that we may become saviors
upon Mount Zion; that we may
have power to go forth and warn the
nations of the earth. I look upon
the mission of the Latter-day Saints

328 JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.

hell shall gape, open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my Son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of man hath descended below them all; art thou greater than He? Therefore, hold on thy way, and the Priesthood shall remain with thee, for their bounds are set, they cannot pass. Thy days are known, and thy years shall not be numbered less; therefore, fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you for ever and ever." The Lord showed him in this revelation that these afflictions were necessary. We have been called to pass through trials many times, and I do not think we should complain, because if we had no trials we should hardly feel at home in the other world in the company of the Prophets and Apostles who were sawn asunder, crucified, etc., for the word of God and testimony of Jesus Christ.

How should we feel towards our enemies? President Taylor of late has called upon us, to exercise towards them the same spirit that was manifested by our Savior upon the cross: "Father forgive them they know not what they do." We should endeavor to exercise that spirit. Our persecutors, those who would seek to destroy us, do not know what they do. They do not comprehend us at all. Why, bless your souls, if the veil was lifted from off the eyes of the President of the United States, from off the eyes of the members of the Congress of the United States, and from off the eyes of our enemies, if this veil were lifted they would bow before the Lord and plead for these "Mormons; "they would do this if their eyes were open to see the future consequences of taking a stand against this Church and kingdom. But there is a veil over their eyes, because of their works of evil; and the day will come when all peoples will mourn who take a stand against the kingdom of God, the Zion of God, the Church of God, and the Lord's anointed; unless they repent they will, when they pass into the other world, go into outer darkness, where there is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. It is impossible, however, for the Saints of God to inherit a celestial kingdom without their being tried as to whether they will abide in the covenants of the Lord or not.

Well, I feel we are a blessed people. We have prospered. The Lord is fighting our battles. The Lord holds the destiny of this nation and all other nations in His hands. Our enemies can go no further than He permits them.

We live in a day and time when the Lord has decreed to set up his kingdom for the last time upon the earth. That is the reason we have the privilege of building these Temples and these meeting-houses in the mountains of Israel. The Lord has set his hand to establish his kingdom according to his former promises, and it is going to prevail upon the earth. He has told us to fear not our enemies; that though earth and hell combine against us, they shall not prevail, if we are built upon the rock of Christ.

We have come to this earth upon a mission; and we have been gathered to the valleys of these mountains that we may be taught and instructed in the things of God; that we may magnify our calling before the Lord; that we may become saviors upon Mount Zion; that we may have power to go forth and warn the nations of the earth. I look upon the mission of the Latter-day Saints