The Lord promised Joseph Smith at this early age that if he would obey his commandments and hearken to the voice of the Holy Spirit he would make him an instrument of bringing about this great work, that the Church may be brought out of the wilderness of darkness and Error and my name glorified among men.

The mind of the Prophet was opened by the Spirit of re- velation, so that he could see and comprehend a great deal but he required the Spirit of the living God, the inspiration of the Almighty to rest upon him continually to qualify him for the great duties that were constantly increasing upon him, and the same Spirit is required by any man in this kingdom, whether he be old or young, rich or poor to enable him to bring about the work of God, or to do anything that is of much con- sequence as the upbuilding of this kingdom.

What must have been the feelings of the Prophet when, the moment he began to unbosom his thoughts, and to tell what the Lord had done for him, the Christian world began to mock and deride him. The devil opposed him, wicked men opposed him, and there was a spirit among the people to kick against the work of God, and there were whole communities that were opposed to the doctrine of administration of Angels, and con- sequently, his path was rugged and thorny.— Sometimes he would come across individuals who would listen to his message, and would receive his testimony. This made his soul rejoice to see that there were some persons who would receive the words of eternal life.

True, in the commencement this Church was small, and I frequently reflect upon what has come to pass in the world since God spake to Joseph the Seer; I also look at what has taken place with this people, and I can clearly see the fulfilment of the word of God spoken by the Angel to Joseph before the Church was organized; the Angel fore told the very scenery that I behold to-day, and from that time to the present this people have been fulfilling what the Angel told the Prophet would come to pass after he gave to him the plates containing the record of the Book of Mormon.

We called a meeting and when br. Parley got up and said he was weary with traveling and did not want to say much, but he would talk a few moments, and when he got through it was about twelve o'clock at night; in fact he had preached about half the night:—my feelings were such, when he got through, that if all the gold in the world had been presented to me I could not have been hired to stay at home.

I have felt to rejoice exceedingly in what I saw of br. Joseph, for in his public and private career he carried with him the Spirit of the Almighty, and he manifested a greatness of soul which I had never seen in any other man.

The Lord said by revelation in an early day, 'The har- vest is ripe, and any man that desires in his heart to preach the Gospel and will thrust in his sickle, he is called of God.' The Elders that are called in this church, you can notice in them the spirit and disposition to preach the Gospel and redeem the people from sin, tradition and error.

whoever have re- ceived this testimony, been baptized for the re- mission of sins, received the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost—have had their minds enlightened, and they have looked forward with an eye of faith to see the fulfilment of what God has promised.

The Lord has chosen men like Joseph and Hy- rum, the Smith family, and the Twelve Apostles, and they have been humble men in this church and kingdom, and almost all the officers have been called from the laboring class, from the plow, from the hammer and the anvil, and from nearly every occupation, and their words have pierced the honest in heart, for they have had all the power, blessings and knowledge which the Lord has given unto them, and they have given the honor and glory to God.

The Elders have gone forth teaching and bap- tizing the people; they have laid their hands upon the sick and healed them, cast out devils, and had power to do all those things which the Lord has promised unto believers.

We have been called upon to warn all who came in our way, including kings, rulers, the rich, and learned, as well as the poor and humble.

We have had the holy Priesthood conferred upon us, and the power of God has surrounded us, so that we have been preserved thus far from the hands of our enemies in the midst of the many circumstances in which we have been placed. Those things should increase our faith before the Lord and give us confidence in his promises, and it should inspire our hearts to diligence in the fulfilment of every duty required of us.

The Lord says, in the revelations contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants that this gospel shall be preached in all the world, and he commands his servants to call upon all nations to repent and obey the voice of God, to receive the gospel and the words of eternal life.

The Lord has frequently given us revelations upon these things, and he has spoken concerning our government and Constitution, and he has said 'ye are justified in maintaining the Constitution and laws of the land, for they make you free and the gospel maketh you free, and you shall seek to sustain good and wise men for rulers, and what- soever is more or less than this cometh of evil.'

We have fulfilled the law of God, and we have always been willing to receive and respect all good and wise men in carrying out the laws and Constitution of our country.

The more I look at the words which the Lord has spoken concerning our enemies, and especially those of this nation, the more I become satisfied that they will not escape the judgments of the Al- mighty any more than the Nephites of old did, or any of the other nations who have rejected the message sent unto them by the God of Heaven.— This nation are ripe in iniquity, and the destroy- ing angels are at their doors; and I am as sure that the scourges will follow as I am that the servants of God have borne a true and faithful testimony unto them. I know what the con- sequence will be of the world rejecting the truth, for I have the testimony of Jesus and the Spirit of God within me, and therefore I say let us look well to our ways, remember our covenants, our duties and our prayers and I do hope and pray that the Elders in Great Salt Lake City, will not in the midst of their recreations neglect their prayers on their duties before the Lord, nor per- mit any thing to stand between them and the building up the kingdom of God.

Let us read the revelations of God and give heed to the teachings of the living Oracles and have faith in their promises, that we may thereby have the Spirit of God to enlighten us and to guide us through this probation.

The Presidency of this Church are good men, they are filled with the Spirit of the Lord con- tinually, with the spirit of teaching, of counsel, which if we follow will lead us on to eternal life, therefore we are blest, and saved when we obey their teaching.

We have the greatest reason to be thankful of any people upon the earth, and we should realize that as we have been preserved heretofore, so we shall be hereafter, and though the United States, and though all Europe and hell may make war upon us yet if we listen to the counsel that has been given, the blow will be warded off, and what- ever we may be called to pass through will be for our salvation, exaltation and glory.