REMARKS
By Elder W. WOODRUFF, delivered
in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City,
.
REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.
I wish you all a happy new year, and I
hope that we may live to see a good many,
and that we may keep the commandments
of God, obey His laws and have His appro-
bation and blessing upon us as a people.
We have assembled here on this,—the first
day of the week, and the first day of the
year 1871; and this leads my mind to re-
flect upon the age and generation in which
we live, and the great events of the latter
days,—events which involve the interests
and destiny of all the inhabitants of the
earth,—both Zion and Babylon, Jew and
Gentile, Jerusalem, America and the
whole world. All nations are interested
in the events which are approaching us, and
which await this generation; for whether
the world believe it or not, they are of vast
interest to them all. There have been cer-
tain times looked forward to in the world's
history, in which it was believed that some-
thing remarkable would occur, and there
have been several of these periods during
the last fifty years. I do not know that
anything was predicted at an early day
with regard to 1830; but I recollect, when a
boy at school, of reading a certain verse
about a great eclipse of the sun
"In eighteen hundred and thirty one,
Will be a great eclipse upon the sun."
I heard about this fifteen years before it took
place, it having been foretold by the as-
tronomers, by the principles and laws of
the science of astronomy. On that day I
was passing through a forest of pinewood,
at Farmington, Connecticut, going to see
my father, whom I had not seen for some
time. It was nearly as dark as night, and
when I got through, into the open fields,
there was what is termed a poor house, the
only house erected within several miles in
that region of country. A poor man had
died there and they were drawing his body
on an ox sled and were going to bury him.
I noticed this as I passed along, and thought
of what I had read; but nothing of any par-
ticular interest occured that year except
the eclipse of the sun. But in 1830 some-
thing occured of great interest to all the
inhabitants of the earth: that was the es-
tablishment of the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints.
Many persons have looked forward to
the year 1860 with great interest; and this
has been the case with many of the Latter-
day Saints. What took place in that year?
The dissolution of the American Union,
for in that year the South took a stand
agains[t] the North, and the North against the
South, in fullfillment of a certain revela-
tion given by Joseph Smith, thirty years
before it took place. Joseph Smith pre-
dicted that there would be a great rebel-
lion in the United States,—the South and
the North warring against each other, and
that this rebellion would commence in
South Carolina, and would end in the death
and misery of many souls; and that in
process of time,—after many days, the
slaves would rise against their masters, and
that one nation would call for aid upon
another, for war would be poured upon
the whole earth. I wrote this revelation
twenty-five years before the rebellion took
place; others also wrote it, and it was pub-
lished to the world before there was any
prospect of the fearful events it pre-
dicted coming to pass.
Joseph Smith once said in a speech at
Nauvoo, to a company, that whosoever
lived to see the two sixes come together in
[18]66 would see the American continent del-
uged in blood. This was many years be-
fore there was any prospect of a rebellion.
The history of [18]60 and of [18]66 is before the
world, and I do not wish to spend time in
referring to it.
We have got by [18]30, [18]60, [18]66 and [18]70, and
we are now living at a period when every
year is big with events of interest to the
inhabitants of the earth: and they will con-
tinue from this time until the coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Many men have
set times for the coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ, among whom, living in our own
day, we may mention Mr. Miller. He set
times and days for the appearing of the
Messiah, and has said that He would sure-
ly come on such a day. Now if Mr. Mil-
ler had been acquainted with the prophecies
contained in the Bible, and with the spirit
by which the scriptures were written, he
would have known very clearly that
Christ would not come until certain events
had taken place. He would have been
aware that the Messiah would not make
His appearance until an angel of God had
delivered the everlasting gospel from the
heavens to be preached to the nations of the
earth; until the honest and meek of the
earth are gathered out from every sect,
party and denomination under the whole
heavens; until the Zion of God had gone up
into the mountains of Israel and there es-
tablished Zion, and lifted up a standard to
the people. Mr. Miller and all who have
believed like him, had they understood the
scriptures and possessed the spirit of truth,
would have known that Christ would not
come until the Jews had returned to their
own land and had rebuilt the city of Jerusa-
lem and the temple there; they would have
known that all these and many other pro-
phecies must have been fulfilled as a pre-
paratory work for the coming of the Mes-
siah.
These things are before us; we are here
in these valleys of the mountains, as the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, established by the hand of God,—
by revelation from heaven. This church
has been established by raising up pro-
phets, unto whom have been given the
keys of the kingdom of God,—the keys of
the holy priesthood and Apostleship of the
Son of God, with power to organize the
church and kingdom of God on the earth,
with all its gifts, graces, ordinances and
orders, as proclaimed by all the apostles
and prophets who have lived since
the world began. It is because of this that
we are here to-day. In fulfillment of proph-
ecy and revelation we have established a
kingdom, as it were, a state, a nation, a
people here in the deserts of North Amer-
ica. We have planted six hundred miles of
cities, towns, villages, gardens, orchards,
tabernacles, and temples by the command
of God, for the hand of God is in all these
things, and they are in fulfillment of revel-
ations given in the Bible, Book of Mormon
and Doctrine and Covenants, in our day
and in ancient days. This is the work of
the Lord, and all the scriptures, from the
beginning of Genesis to the end of Revela-
tion point to this day as one of great inter-
est to all the human family; although as
one said of old, "As it was in the days of
Noah [Matthew 24:37] and of Lot [Luke 17:30] so shall it be in the days
of the coming of the Son of Man." In those
days they were marrying and giving in
marriage, and when Noah went into the
Ark, and when Lot fled out of Sodom, the
inhabitants of the earth through their un-
belief were ignorant of the destruction
awaiting them.
At the present day darkness covers the
earth and gross darkness the minds of the
people; nevertheless they are living in an
age of the world more fraught with interest
to the human family than any preceding
age or generation since the creation. There
is no hundred years, no thousand years,
no two thousand years since God made this
world and placed Adam in the Garden of
Eden when there was as much prophecy,
revelation, vision and word of the Lord
and promises of God to be fulfilled as there
is in the generation in which you and I
live. This is the great dispensation of all
dispensations. This is the time to which
all the prophets of God have pointed, and
in which they have declared the great latter
day work of God should be established.
And I will here say that, many times,
while a boy, when reading the testimony
of John, given on the isle of Patmos,
whither he had been banished for the testi-
mony of Jesus Christ, and for the word of
God; while reading the account he gives of
the pouring out of plagues and judgments
on the inhabitants of the earth, I have mar-
velled that the Lord should do such a work.
But I do not wonder at it to-day: the
scenes have changed. When I was a boy,
fifty years ago, the kingdom of God had not
been established among men; the angels of
God had not visited the earth; the Lord
Almighty had not clothed His servants
with the priesthood and commanded them
to go and warn the nations of the earth of
the judgments which awaited them.
There was not the wickedness then that
there is to-day. The wickedness com-
mitted to-day in the Christian world in
twenty-four hours is greater than would
have been committed in a hundred years
at the ratio of fifty years ago. And the
spirit of wickedness is increasing, so that I
no longer wonder that God Almighty will
turn rivers into blood; I do not wonder that
He will open the seals and pour out the
plagues and sink great Babylon, as the
angel saw, like a millstone cast into the
sea, to rise no more for ever. I can see
that it requires just such plagues and judg-
ments to cleanse the earth, that it may
cease to groan under the wickedness and
abomination in which the Christian world
welters to-day. I can see the necessity for
the Lord stretching forth His hand, estab-
lishing His kingdom, warning the nations,
and gathering out the honest and meek of
the earth from among all nations, kindreds,
tongues and people, sects and parties under
the whole heaven, and preparing them to
stand as the bride, the Lamb's wife, as the
Church of Jesus Christ, as the kingdom of
God, adorned with goodly apparel, adorned
with the light of Zion, with the principles
of eternal life, with the gospel of Jesus
Christ, preserving within themselves the
virtues and attributes which have made
God what He is, established Him on His
throne, and given Him the power which
He now possesses. I can say this,—the
Lord will never come to visit an earth like
this; He will never come to visit a gener-
ation of the inhabitants of the earth until
they are prepared for His coming and are
willing to receive Him.
This is the foundation of Mormonism;
this is the foundation of the Church and
kingdom of God, which was laid in 1830.
The church was established on the 6th of
April in that year. Its history and the
history of this people are before the world.
We ourselves have learned it by shoe-
leather. Many of the Elders of Israel have
travelled a hundred thousand miles to
preach the gospel during the last forty
years without purse or scrip; we have la-
bored day and night, and traveled as no
other generation of men since the world
was made have travelled. Our garments
are clear of the blood of this generation, at
least many of us, and I hope many more
will be. We have been true and faithful in
our testimony to the inhabitants of the
earth; and as the world generally has re-
jected our testimony the Lord has with-
drawn His spirit from the people in a
great measure; and the religion they once
enjoyed is as nothing to many of them.
Infidelity prevails throughout the world;
very few, either priests or people, believe
in a literal fulfilment of the Bible. They
have a theory, but as to believing in a real
fulfilment of prophecy, or that the Lord
meant what He said and said what He
meant, that is out of the question,—very
few believe it.
I want to ask a question: Will the un-
belief of this generation make the truth of
God without effect in our day any more
than it has in any other age of the world? I
tell you nay, and think not, as Paul says,
that I am your enemy because I tell you
the truth [Galatians 4:16]. These things are true before
God; this is the Zion of God, and these are
the people of God; and we, as Latter-day
Saints, should live our religion better than
we do; and as we are now entering on an-
other year I hope we shall try to live our
religion through this year, and do our duty
and keep the commandments of God and
walk uprightly before Him, that we may
become united as the heart of one man.
There are great events, as I have already
said, before us. The fact is, the Lord has
laid down a great many premises concern-
ing the latter days, and they are going to
be fulfilled; for though the heavens and the
earth pass away not one jot or tittle of the
word of the Lord will fall unfilled; and
when our nation and the nations of the
earth have filled their cup and are ripened
in iniquity the Lord will cut them off.
The greater the battle the sooner it will end;
the greater the warfare the greater the
victory, if the Saints do their duty. These
things are before my mind, in the vision of
it, and the Lord will not fail in anything
He has promised concerning the work of
the latter days. Whatever opposition this
church and kingdom may have, it is the
work of God. The Lord has planted and
sustained it. Jesus compares the Kingdom
of Heaven to a mustard seed, the least of all
seeds, but by and by when it grows it be-
comes a large tree, so the fowls of the air
can lodge in its branches. So it has been
with the Kingdom of God; but we are told
that the little one will become a thousand,
and the small one a strong nation, and
the Lord will hasten it in His own time.
The Lord says "I will break every weapon
formed against Zion; and every nation,
kindred, tongue and people that will not
serve Zion shall be utterly wasted away."
When I see the world making warfare
against the Zion and people of God because
they have borne record and testimony of
His work on the earth I can tell pretty
well what the end will be, I can see it. We
are living in a time when the work of God
is going to increase in interest every day
until it is wound up. No man knows the
day or the hour when Christ will come,
yet the generation has been pointed out by
Jesus himself. He told His disciples when
they passed by the temple as they walked
out of Jerusalem that that generation
should not pass away before not one stone
of that magnificent temple should be left
standing upon another and the Jews should
be scattered among the nations; and his-
tory tells how remarkably that prediction
was fulfilled. Moses and the prophets also
prophecied of this as well as Jesus.
The Savior, when speaking to His disci-
ples of His second coming and the estab-
lishment of His Kingdom on the earth,
said the Jews should be scattered and trod-
den under foot until the times of the Gen-
tiles were fulfilled. But, said He,
when you see light breaking forth among
the Gentiles, referring to the preaching of
His gospel amongst them; when you see
salvation offered to the Gentiles, and the
Jews,—the seed of Israel, passed by,—the
last first and the first last; when you see
this you may know that the time of my
second coming is at hand as surely as you
know that summer is nigh when the fig
tree puts forth its leaves; and when these
things commence that generation shall not
pass away until all are fulfilled.
We are living in the dispensation and
generation to which Jesus referred;—the
time appointed by God for the last six thou-
sand years, through the mouths of all the
prophets and inspired men who have lived
and left their sayings on record, in which
His Zion should be built up and continue
upon the earth. These prophecies will
have their fulfillment before the world; and
all who will not repent will be engulphed
in the destructions which are in store for
the wicked. If men do not cease from
their murders, whoredoms, and all the
wickedness and abominations which fill
the black catalogue of the crimes of the
world, judgment will overtake them; and
whether we are believed or not, these say-
ings are true, and I bear my testimony as
a servant of God and as an Elder in Israel
to the truth of the events which are going
to follow very fast on each other.
The Lord is going to make a short work
in the earth; He is going to cut it short in
righteousness, or no flesh would be saved.
What Brother Rich has said to-day is true.
These principles will sustain us. Virtuous
and godly principles—the principles of the
gospel will, in the end, come off triumphant;
and they will sustain and preserve any
people who practice them, whether they
are popular or not in the estimation of the
world. All who embrace the principles of
the gospel of Christ will be saved by them.
He that abides a law will be preserved by it.
Any man who abides the law of the gospel
will be saved and receive exaltation
and glory by it. Let us remember these
things, for all that has been spoken con-
cerning this Zion of God in the mountains
will come to pass. It is the work of God,
and His eyes are over it; the heavens be-
hold it. Every prophet and apostle who
ever bore testimony to this work, is watch-
ing us with the deepest interest; they watch
our labors and faithfulness, and are anxious
about the course we pursue. Many of them
desired to live in our day, but had not the
privilege. We have been permitted to see
and live in this great and eventful age of the
world. The God of heaven has put into
our hands the gospel, the priesthood, the
keys of His kingdom, and the power to re-
deem the earth from the dominion of sin
and wickedness under which it has groaned
for centuries, and under which it groans to-
day. Let us lay these things to heart, and
try to live our religion; so that when we get
through we may look back on our lives,
and feel that we have done what was re-
quired of us, individually and collectively.
The Lord requires much at our hands,—
more than He has ever required of any
generation that has preceded us; for no
generation that has ever lived on the earth
was called upon to establish the kingdom
of God on the earth, knowing that it should
be thrown down no more for ever. Daniel
saw this; the Prophet Isaiah has spoken of it;
in fact three-fourths of all his predictions
relate to the establishment of the kingdom of
God in the latter days; to our persecutions,
to our travels to these valleys of the moun-
tains, to the lifting up of the standard to
the people on the mountains of Israel; to
the casting up of the great highway—this
national railroad, which the ransomed of
the Lord should walk over, and on which
the Gentiles should come to the light of
Zion, and kings to the brightness of her
rising.
These things are to come to pass in our
day, and the beginning has commenced,
and the end will come by the power of
God and in fulfillment of His promises;
and it is at our hands the work is required.
Therefore I feel to bear my testimony to-
day that this is the work of God, that
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and
that Brigham Young is a prophet of God,
and is inspired, led, dictated and directed
of the Lord, and has been very profitable
to the Latter-day Saints, and is doing all
he can for the salvation of the world. So
did Joseph Smith, while he lived. He
came in fulfillment of prophecy, accom-
plished what was required of him, laid
the foundation of the work, received the
keys of the priesthood and apostleship, and
every gift and grace in the organization of
the church necessary to carry it on. We
are called to build on the foundation he
laid, until Zion shall arise and put on her
beautiful garments and the people of God
become united as the heart of one man;
until the little stone, cut out of the moun-
tain without hands becomes a mountain
and fills the whole earth, and accomplishes
all God has spoken concerning it.
Brethren and sisters let us unite together
and be faithful, and live our religion every
day, and do our duty in 1871 as in any of
the years that are past and gone since we
have been acquainted with the Gospel of
Christ. If we do this we shall come off
triumphant. The God of heaven is our
friend, and blessed is that people whose
God is the Lord. Blessed is that people
who do not turn to any other God but the
living and true God.
May God bless you, bless this assembly,
bless us as a people, and the honest and
meek of the earth everywhere, and prepare
us for the great events which await this
generation, for Jesus' sake, Amen.