We have labored upon this prin-
ciple for 50 years. You cast your
eyes and you see a tabernacle in
the desert; you see a city; and you
may travel for a thousand miles and
you will find this Territory filled
with cities, towns and villages. By
what power have these things been
accomplished? I came here on the
24th of July, 1847, with a little
handful of men as pioneers. What
did we find? A barren desert, as
barren as the desert Sahara. No
mark of the white man here. No
outward sign that a white man
could live here. How has this desert
been made to blossom as the rose?
Why this body of people from
almost every nation? I will tell
you. We carried the Gospel to
Europe, the Islands of the sea, and
the different nations of the earth;
we offered them the Gospel, and a
class of men and women—two of a
family, and sometimes a dozen of a
city—received our testimony, and
when we laid hands upon them
they received the Holy Ghost.
That Holy Ghost has remained with
them: it has instructed them and
inspired their hearts, and to-day
you see Utah as it is. If the Lord
Almighty had not backed up the
testimony of the Elders of Israel as
He has done, Utah to-day would have
been as when we found it 36 years
ago.

This is the condition of the Lat-
ter-day Saints. Joseph Smith
received these keys, this Priesthood,
this power, this Gospel by the ad-
ministration of angels from God,
and this testimony is true. He also
received a record called the Book of
Mormon, which is a record of the
ancient inhabitants of this continent.
That record is true; as also the
Book of Doctrine and Covenants, a
code of revelations given through
the Prophet Joseph Smith.
These revelations are true and
faithful, and they are being fulfilled
as fast as time will admit. I bear
my testimony of these things to the
world, for I know they are true.

I traveled thousands of miles with
Joseph Smith. I knew his spirit.
Many of the revelations given
through him have been fulfilled.
I myself wrote the revelation that
was given through him con-
cerning the war that would take
place in this country between the
north and south. [Doctrine and Covenants 87] That revelation
was published to the world for
twenty years before the war. It broke
out just as predicted, and I refer to
it because it is one of the revelations
that is fulfilled. To-day we are still
preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Lord Almighty has set His
hand to establish His Church and
kingdom on the earth, to build
up Zion in the mountains of
Israel.

Now with regard to the Priesthood.
We have been found fault with
sometimes because we profess to
have the Priesthood. Let me say
to this congregation that our
Heavenly Father performs all His
works—the creation of worlds, the
redemption of worlds—by the power
of the Eternal Priesthood. And
no man on the earth, from the days
of Father Adam to the present
time, has ever had power to admin-
ister in any of the ordinances of life
and salvation only by the power of
the Holy Priesthood. You will find
this to be the case in the whole
history of the Prophets of God.
When Aaron was given the Priest-
hood he was called by revelation.
"No man taketh this honor unto
himself but he that is called of God
as was Aaron." [Hebrews 5:4] Jesus Christ him-
self had to be called of God. He
was a High Priest. He left the
Priesthood on the earth with his

We have labored upon this principle for 50 years. You cast your eyes and you see a tabernacle in the desert; you see a city; and you may travel for a thousand miles and you will find this Territory filled with cities, towns and villages. By what power have these things been accomplished? I came here on the 24th of July, 1847, with a little handful of men as pioneers. What did we find? A barren desert, as barren as the desert Sahara. No mark of the white man here. No outward sign that a white man could live here. How has this desert been made to blossom as the rose? Why this body of people from almost every nation? I will tell you. We carried the Gospel to Europe, the Islands of the sea, and the different nations of the earth; we offered them the Gospel, and a class of men and women—two of a family, and sometimes a dozen of a city—received our testimony, and when we laid hands upon them they received the Holy Ghost. That Holy Ghost has remained with them: it has instructed them and inspired their hearts, and to-day you see Utah as it is. If the Lord Almighty had not backed up the testimony of the Elders of Israel as He has done, Utah to-day would have been as when we found it 36 years ago.

This is the condition of the Latter-day Saints. Joseph Smith received these keys, this Priesthood, this power, this Gospel by the administration of angels from God, and this testimony is true. He also received a record called the Book of Mormon, which is a record of the ancient inhabitants of this continent. That record is true; as also the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, a code of revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith. These revelations are true and faithful, and they are being fulfilled as fast as time will admit. I bear my testimony of these things to the world, for I know they are true.

I traveled thousands of miles with Joseph Smith. I knew his spirit. Many of the revelations given through him have been fulfilled. I myself wrote the revelation that was given through him concerning the war that would take place in this country between the north and south. That revelation was published to the world for twenty years before the war. It broke out just as predicted, and I refer to it because it is one of the revelations that is fulfilled. To-day we are still preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord Almighty has set His hand to establish His Church and kingdom on the earth, to build up Zion in the mountains of Israel.

Now with regard to the Priesthood. We have been found fault with sometimes because we profess to have the Priesthood. Let me say to this congregation that our Heavenly Father performs all His works—the creation of worlds, the redemption of worlds—by the power of the Eternal Priesthood. And no man on the earth, from the days of Father Adam to the present time, has ever had power to administer in any of the ordinances of life and salvation only by the power of the Holy Priesthood. You will find this to be the case in the whole history of the Prophets of God. When Aaron was given the Priesthood he was called by revelation. "No man taketh this honor unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron." Jesus Christ himself had to be called of God. He was a High Priest. He left the Priesthood on the earth with his