ministers to the Church "for the
perfecting of the Saints, for the work
of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ till we all come in
the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, into a
perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of fullness of Christ." [Ephesians 4:12-13]
The Lord required to
organize the Church of Christ after
this order. He did so, and this
Church has remained intact in its
organization from that day to the
present; and it will continue to
remain until the of the Son
of Man. And I would say here
that there is no change of the Gos-
pel of Christ in this, neither has
there been in any other age of the
world. There never has been any
change from eternity to eternity,
neither has there been any change
of the ordinances, or of the Holy
Priesthood; they are the same "yes-
terday, today and forever." [Hebrews 13:8]
I will also make a remark with
regard to our views of the Priest-
hood. Jesus Christ is our High
Priest. He held the Priesthood af-
ter the order of , which
is without beginning of days or end
of years, being from eternity to
eternity. We have been informed
that , , , ,
, , , , , and , were all
High Priests. [Doctrine and Covenants 107:53] In all the dispensa-
tions whenever God has had a peo-
ple upon the earth, no man has ever
been called to administer in any of
the ordinances of the Gospel except
by and through the eternal and
everlasting Priesthood. We cannot
learn from the Bible—"the ," [Ezekiel 37:15-20] the record of the Jews—
that God ever called a man to offici-
ate in the offering of sacrifices,
or to administer in any of the
ordinances of the Gospel, ex-
cept by and through the Priest-
hood. And our belief is that no
man has a right to minister in this
age in the ordinances of the House
of God, except he be duly called and
ordained. The Holy Priesthood is
the channel through which God
communicates and deals with
man upon the earth; and the
heavenly messengers that have
visited the earth to communicate
with man are men who held and
honored the Priesthood while in the
flesh; and everything that God has
caused to be done for the salvation
of man, from the coming of man
upon the earth to the redemption of
the world, has been and will be by
virtue of the everlasting Priesthood.
Our Elders who are called to bear
this Priesthood are being sent abroad
to preach the Gospel without purse
or script, and they are blessed in
their labors. [Doctrine and Covenants 24:18-19] Truly has it been
said the Lord has called the weak
things of the world to confound
the wisdom of the wise, and to
bring to pass the purposes of God. [1 Corinthians 1:27]
And they like the servants of the
Lord of former days have promised
to all those who obey the Gospel
that they should receive the Holy
Ghost. I have often said, and I
say again, we might have preached
to the whole world until we had be-
come as old as Methuselah if the
testimony of our Elders had not
been backed up by the gift of the
Holy Ghost, would be today
as barren as we found it in 1847;
that is, as far as our being here is
concerned. It is the Spirit of God,
the testimony of Jesus, that has
been imparted to the Saints in fulfil-
ment of the promise of the Elders
who preached the Gospel to them in
their native lands, that has impelled
this people to gather to these valleys
of the mountains. And if I were
to call upon all those of this con-
gregation who have received this
testimony to rise to their feet, the
Latter-day Saints of this congrega-
tion would respond in a body. If
the people had not received this
testimony they never would have
left their homes and friends to
come here. You knew it was not
the work of man, but the work of
God, and you labored diligently to
effect your deliverance from Baby-
lon because you were moved upon
by the Spirit of God, and you never
rested until you emigrated.
We are called of God to establish
His Zion upon the land of Joseph.
You have the Bible, which the
Christian world profess to believe
in, as well as the Book of Mormon,
which you believe in. These rec-
ords and revelations of God testify
of your day. pointed out
your history, your travels in coming
to these western valleys, your labors
here; and if we had not gathered
here, much of the Bible prophesies
would have failed in their fulfil-
ment. Many say these revelations
are to be spiritually construed, that
they are not intended to be under-
stood in a literal sense. We view
these things differently. We take it
what the Lord through His
servants has said concerning
this matter means what He
has said and said what he means.
It is true we have passed through a
good deal of persecution; but in
this we are no exception to the rest
of God's servants and people of other
ages. The records that have come
to us testify of these things. Oppo-
sition to God and His Christ, oppo-
sition to light and truth has existed
since the beginning to the present
day. This is the warfare that com-
menced in heaven, that has existed
through all time, and that will con-
tinue until the winding up scene,
until He reigns whose right it is to
reign, [Doctrine and Covenants 58:22] when He shall come in clouds
of glory to reward every man ac-
cording to the deeds done in the
body.
We live in a peculiar dispensation—
I will say the great and of God to man. And what is
the state of our nation and that of
the Christian world? Unbelief with
regard to the fulfilment of what
the prophets have said should take
place in the last days. I have felt that
the Lord has become very unpopular
in this generation, and that His
revelations have become very un-
popular. Common schools turn the
Bible out of doors. Of course there
is a general profession of faith and
belief in God, but a decided unbe-
lief exists, and a general indiffer-
ence with regard to the fulfilment
of the predictions contained in the
Bible. A great many too believe
when a man dies that is the end of
him, that there is no hereafter. Can
any sensible man believe that the
God of heaven has created two or
three hundred thousand million
spirits, and given them tabernacles,
merely to come and live upon the
earth and then to pass away into
oblivion or to be annihilated? It
seems to me that no reflecting man
can entertain such belief. It is con-
trary to common sense and to seri-
ous reflection. Generation after
generation has lived and died,
has passed into the spirit world,
and we have to a limited extent an
account of the doings of God with
them. The Prophets, Apostles and
Patriarchs have left their inspired
writings on record for our use and
benefit, and we shall be held ac-
countable in the exercise of our
agency for the manner in which
we treat the Word of God that has
come unto us.
I testify that the God of heaven
has set His hand to establish His
Kingdom, and to build up His
Church and establish His Zion
upon the foundation of Prophets and
Apostles, Jesus Christ being the
. We live in a
dispensation different from any
other. The dispensation that ush-
ered in the Christian era was one of
sacrifice. The Savior came and
tabernacled in the flesh, and entered
upon the duties of the Priesthood at
30 years of age. After laboring
three and a half years He was cruci-
fied and put to death in fulfilment
of certain predictions concerning
Him. He laid down His life as a
sacrifice for sin, to redeem the world.
When men are called upon to repent
of their sins, the call has reference
to their own individual sins, not to
Adam's transgressions. What is
called the original sin was atoned
for through the death of Christ irre-
spective of any action on the
part of man; also man's indi-
vidual sin was atoned for by
the same sacrifice, but on condition
of his obedience to the Gospel plan
of salvation when proclaimed in
his hearing. This gospel we are
called to preach to the children of
men, calling on them to repent and
be baptized for the remission of their
sins, and promising them through
their obedience and faithfulness the
gift of the Holy Ghost, which shall
lead and guide them in the ways of
all truth and deliver them from
darkness and doubt. And the re-
sults of the preaching of the serv-
ants of God are seen today in what
is being done by this people; and it
is our duty to continue this
work, to warn mankind and
to gather the Israel of our
God. We will be held under con-
demnation if we do not do our duty;
if we do not warn the nations.
Whenever a nation or city has
ripened in iniquity, the Lord has
raised up Prophets to warn them of
the destruction that awaited them
unless they repented. The Lord
raised up Noah and commanded
him to preach repentance to the peo-
ple of his day, and instructed him
to build an ark for the salvation
of those who should believe on Him.
Enoch and his people were peculiar
from the rest of the world of his
day, and the wicked sought his life;
but the power of God was upon him
ministers to the Church "for the
perfecting of the Saints, for the work
of the ministry, for the edifying of the
body of Christ till we all come in
the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, into a
perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of fullness of Christ."
The Lord required to
organize the Church of Christ after
this order. He did so, and this
Church has remained intact in its
organization from that day to the
present; and it will continue to
remain until the coming of the Son
of Man. And I would say here
that there is no change of the Gospel of Christ in this, neither has
there been in any other age of the
world. There never has been any
change from eternity to eternity,
neither has there been any change
of the ordinances, or of the Holy
Priesthood; they are the same "yesterday, today and forever."
I will also make a remark with
regard to our views of the Priesthood. Jesus Christ is our High
Priest. He held the Priesthood after the order of , which
is without beginning of days or end
of years, being from eternity to eternity. We have been informed
that , , , ,
, , , , Lamech, and , were all
High Priests. In all the dispensations whenever God has had a people upon the earth, no man has ever
been called to administer in any of
the ordinances of the Gospel except
by and through the eternal and
everlasting Priesthood. We cannot
learn from the Bible—"the stick of
Judah," the record of the Jews—
that God ever called a man to officiate in the offering of sacrifices,
or to administer in any of the
ordinances of the Gospel, except by and through the Priesthood. And our belief is that no
man has a right to minister in this
age in the ordinances of the House
of God, except he be duly called and
ordained. The Holy Priesthood is
the channel through which God
communicates and deals with
man upon the earth; and the
heavenly messengers that have
visited the earth to communicate
with man are men who held and
honored the Priesthood while in the
flesh; and everything that God has
caused to be done for the salvation
of man, from the coming of man
upon the earth to the redemption of
the world, has been and will be by
virtue of the everlasting Priesthood.
Our Elders who are called to bear
this Priesthood are being sent abroad
to preach the Gospel without purse
or script, and they are blessed in
their labors. Truly has it been
said the Lord has called the weak
things of the world to confound
the wisdom of the wise, and to
bring to pass the purposes of God.
And they like the servants of the
Lord of former days have promised
to all those who obey the Gospel
that they should receive the Holy
Ghost. I have often said, and I
say again, we might have preached
to the whole world until we had become as old as Methuselah if the
testimony of our Elders had not
been backed up by the gift of the
Holy Ghost, would be today
as barren as we found it in 1847;
that is, as far as our being here is
concerned. It is the Spirit of God,
the testimony of Jesus, that has
been imparted to the Saints in fulfilment of the promise of the Elders
who preached the Gospel to them in
their native lands, that has impelled
this people to gather to these valleys
of the mountains. And if I were
to call upon all those of this congregation who have received this
testimony to rise to their feet, the
Latter-day Saints of this congregation would respond in a body. If
the people had not received this
testimony they never would have
left their homes and friends to
come here. You knew it was not
the work of man, but the work of
God, and you labored diligently to
effect your deliverance from Babylon because you were moved upon
by the Spirit of God, and you never
rested until you emigrated.
We are called of God to establish
His Zion upon the land of Joseph.
You have the Bible, which the
Christian world profess to believe
in, as well as the Book of Mormon,
which you believe in. These records and revelations of God testify
of your day. pointed out
your history, your travels in coming
to these western valleys, your labors
here; and if we had not gathered
here, much of the Bible prophesies
would have failed in their fulfilment. Many say these revelations
are to be spiritually construed, that
they are not intended to be understood in a literal sense. We view
these things differently. We take it
what the Lord through His
servants has said concerning
this matter means what He
has said and said what he means.
It is true we have passed through a
good deal of persecution; but in
this we are no exception to the rest
of God's servants and people of other
ages. The records that have come
to us testify of these things. Opposition to God and His Christ, opposition to light and truth has existed
since the beginning to the present
day. This is the warfare that commenced in heaven, that has existed
through all time, and that will continue until the winding up scene,
until He reigns whose right it is to
reign, when He shall come in clouds
of glory to reward every man according to the deeds done in the
body.
We live in a peculiar dispensation—
I will say the great and last dispensation of God to man. And what is
the state of our nation and that of
the Christian world? Unbelief with
regard to the fulfillment of what
the prophets have said should take
place in the last days. I have felt that
the Lord has become very unpopular
in this generation, and that His
revelations have become very unpopular. Common schools turn the
Bible out of doors. Of course there
is a general profession of faith and
belief in God, but a decided unbelief exists, and a general indifference with regard to the fulfillment
of the predictions contained in the
Bible. A great many too believe
when a man dies that is the end of
him, that there is no hereafter. Can
any sensible man believe that the
God of heaven has created two or
three hundred thousand million
spirits, and given them tabernacles,
merely to come and live upon the
earth and then to pass away into
oblivion or to be annihilated? It
seems to me that no reflecting man
can entertain such belief. It is contrary to common sense and to serious reflection. Generation after
generation has lived and died,
has passed into the spirit world,
and we have to a limited extent an
account of the doings of God with
them. The Prophets, Apostles and
Patriarchs have left their inspired
writings on record for our use and
benefit, and we shall be held accountable in the exercise of our
agency for the manner in which
we treat the Word of God that has
come unto us.
I testify that the God of heaven has
set His hand to establish His
Kingdom, and to build up His
Church and establish His Zion
upon the foundation of Prophets and
Apostles, Jesus Christ being the
chief corner stone. We live in a
dispensation different from any
other. The dispensation that ushered in the Christian era was one of
sacrifice. The Savior came and
tabernacled in the flesh, and entered
upon the duties of the Priesthood at
30 years of age. After laboring
three and a half years He was crucified and put to death in fulfillment
of certain predictions concerning
Him. He laid down His life as a
sacrifice for sin, to redeem the world.
When men are called upon to repent
of their sins, the call has reference
to their own individual sins, not to
Adam's transgressions. What is
called the original sin was atoned
for through the death of Christ irrespective of any action on the
part of man; also man's individual sin was atoned for by
the same sacrifice, but on condition
of his obedience to the Gospel plan
of salvation when proclaimed in
his hearing. This gospel we are
called to preach to the children of
men, calling on them to repent and
be baptized for the remission of their
sins, and promising them through
their obedience and faithfulness the
gift of the Holy Ghost, which shall
lead and guide them in the ways of
all truth and deliver them
from darkness and doubt. And the results of the preaching of the servants of God are seen today in what
is being done by this people; and it
is our duty to continue this
work, to warn mankind and
to gather the Israel of our
God. We will be held under condemnation if we do not do our duty;
if we do not warn the nations.
Whenever a nation or city has
ripened in iniquity, the Lord has
raised up Prophets to warn them of
the destruction that awaited them
unless they repented. The Lord
raised up Noah and commanded
him to preach repentance to the people of his day, and instructed him
to build an ark for the salvation
of those who should believe on Him.
Enoch and his people were peculiar
from the rest of the world of his
day, and the wicked sought his life;
but the power of God was upon him
