THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS'
MILLENNIAL STAR.
FEAR NOT, LITTLE FLOCK; FOR IT IS YOUR FATHER'S GOOD PLEASURE TO
GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM."—Luke xii, 32.
No. 22, Vol. LI. Monday, June 3, 1889. Price One Penny.
DISCOURSE
DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF AT THE GENERAL CONFER-
ENCE, SALT LAKE CITY, ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, .
(Reported by Arthur Winter.)
WHILE the Sacrament is being passed
to this congregation, I will try to
make a few remarks; but whether or
not I shall be heard by this assembly
I cannot say.
If after the scene we have passed
through during the last hour any man
can answer his mind and satisfy him-
self before an assembly of this kind
to occupy the position that I do, un-
less he is assisted by the God of Is-
rael, he is made of different material
to what I am. That which we have
had before us this afternoon is a testi-
mony to heaven and earth that what
has been presented here could not
have been witnessed in the midst of
any other people on the face of the
earth, unless that people were the
children of God. Here we have had
ten thousand men and women lift up
their hands in a vote to sustain not
only the Presidency of the Church
and the Twelve Apostles, but other
men in their various positions, and
without a dissenting vote. Where on
the earth can a scene of this kind be
seen except among the Latter-day
Saints?
I feel it my privilege, right and
duty to now make a few remarks
with regard to myself and the deal-
ings of God with me. But before
doing that I will say that the Lord
has never set His hand, in any age of
the world, to perform a work among
the sons of Adam, but He has pre-
pared an element for that work. You
will see this in the whole history of
His dealings with the human family.
It is so in the generation in which we
live. The God of heaven, having set
His hand to carry out His great pur-
poses and decrees, which have been
revealed in the records of Divine
truth, has been under the necessity
of preparing a people to take hold of
and to perform the work which He
has decreed should come to pass. Ten
thousand of that people are before
me to-day, with tens of thousands
throughout the land.
With regard to myself, I will say
that in my early youth, while read-
ing the Bible—the record of Judah,
and the New Testament—I read of
Jesus Christ, of His Apostles, their
works, and the dealings of God with
them, and of the doctrines which
they received and taught to those
around them. There was something
glorious in those principles which the
Savior of the world and His disciples
taught in their day. I had a great
desire in my boyhood and youth that
I might live to behold a people who
were inspired of the Almighty, and
who had power and authority to go
forth and teach those principles which
I read of within the lids of the Bible.
At that time I could not hear them
taught. They were not taught by
any person within my knowledge.
But, as I have said, I had a longing
desire that I might live to behold a
people on the earth who would teach
these principles to me. I spent many
a midnight hour in my mill, and
among the rocks, in the forests and in
the fields, in pouring out my soul to
God and praying that I might live to
behold a people on the earth who
would teach these principles. In
answer to my prayers, the God of
heaven promised me that I should
live to find such a people. He pro-
mised me that I should have a name
and a place within the House of God
and among His people—a name that
should not be cut off. I am strongly
impressed to-day, in reflecting upon
our history and the history of myself,
and the position which I occupy, with
the promises of God to me in those
early days. They have been fulfilled,
and this day has crowned the pinna-
cle of the responsibility which is
placed upon my head. I marvel
when I contemplate these things,
which are in fulfillment of the pro-
mises of God unto me. And when I
say this of myself, I speak of hun-
dreds of the Elders of Israel who
have been moved upon in the same
manner that I have been. Those
with whom I stood connected in the
early period of the Church—the Pro-
phet Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith,
and those men that laid the founda-
tion of this Church and kingdom,
together with other prophets and
patriarchs—have passed away. They
are on the other side of the veil. I
still have the privilege of remaining,
and I this day have been called to
this responsibility in the midst of
my brethren—a responsibility that no
man can fill unless he is inspired of
God.
But I will say this to my brethren
and sisters, in the name of Israel's
God: The Almighty will never per-
mit me, nor any other President who
holds the keys of the kingdom of
God, to lead you astray. If I do not
walk in the paths of righteousness
and do what is right in the position
that I occupy, He will remove me out
of my place, or any other man who
attempts to lead the people astray.
The position which I occupy, and
that occupied by my brethren the
Apostles, should not have a tendency,
if we have the Spirit of God, to make
us lifted up or exalted in our spirits
before the Lord. I know, as the God
of Israel lives, that I have no power,
nor have I had, in this Church, to
perform any work pertaining to this
kingdom, until it has been given unto
me by the God of heaven. I know
Joseph Smith had not, nor Brigham
Young, nor John Taylor, nor any
Apostle or Elder in this Church and
kingdom. And the moment that I
attempt to become lifted up in the
pride of my heart, because of any
position that I hold, that moment I
become a very unwise man. So with
anyone else. The higher our posi-
tion the more our responsibility. Du-
ring the little time I may spend here
in the flesh, I stand in need of the
prayers of the Latter-day Saints—of
those who have faith in God. So do
my brethren that surround me. So
do all the authorities of the Church.
We all stand in need of the Holy
Ghost and the power of God. With-
out this we are not qualified to fill
the positions which we are called to
occupy.
I know that this is the work of
God. So do all you who have ever
had the testimony of the Holy Ghost
with you. The God of heaven has
set His hand to establish His king-
dom, in fulfillment of the revelations
of heaven which He has inspired men
to declare and put on record from
generation to generation. His hand
has been manifest from the beginning
of the work until the present day.
It will be until this scene is wound
up. I have a great desire that, as a
people, we may be united in heart;
that we may have faith in the reve-
lations of God, and look to those
things which have been promised unto
us. We should be humble before
the Lord. Trace the history of Jesus
Christ, the Savior of the world, from
the manger to the cross, onward
through sufferings, mingled with
blood, to the throne of grace, and
there is an ensample for the Elders
of Israel, an ensample for all those
who follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
In meekness and lowliness of heart
He labored faithfully, while He dwelt
in the flesh, to carry out the will of
His Father. God has laid upon our
shoulders and has sealed upon our
heads the holy and eternal priest-
hood, which is from eternity unto
eternity. Without that priesthood
we have no power to administer in
the ordinances of the Gospel of Christ,
either for the living or the dead.
But with that priesthood we have
power to perform the work that is
assigned unto us. By that priesthood
we have preached the Gospel, we have
administered in the ordinances of the
House of the Lord, and we have ga-
thered together the sons and daughters
of Zion into these valleys of the
mountains.
I feel as though I want to bear my
testimony to the truth of this good
old book, the Bible, for a few minutes
—the book that all the Christian
world profess to believe in. There is
an effort made to-day by the infidel
and unbelieving world to ridicule the
Bible, as not being the word of the
Lord. I will refer to a few things
that have been manifested in fulfill-
ment of the record. To commence
with, I will touch upon the first deal-
ings of God with man. The first son
that was begotten by Father Adam,
whose name was Cain, proved to be a
murderer. He slew his brother Abel,
who held the priesthood, and the
Lord pronounced a curse upon him.
He showed Cain the position he was
in, and told him what the result of
his crime would be; and Cain said
unto the Lord:
"My punishment is greater than I
can bear.
"Behold, Thou hast driven me out
this day from the face of the earth;
and from thy face shall I be hid;
and I shall be a fugitive and a vaga-
bond in the earth; and it shall come
to pass that every one that findeth me
shall slay me."
But the Lord said unto him:
"Therefore, whosoever slayeth
Cain, vengeance shall be taken on
him sevenfold. And the Lord set a
mark upon Cain, lest any finding him
should kill him." [Genesis 4:13-15]
What was that mark? It was a
mark of blackness. That mark rested
upon Cain, and descended upon his
posterity from that time until the
present. To day there are millions
of the descendants of Cain, through
the lineage of Ham, in the world,
and that mark of darkness still rests
upon them. Though nearly six thou-
sand years have passed and gone, this
mark is visible to the whole human
family. Yet the fool and the infidel
say there is no God, and they ridicule
the Bible.
The Lamanites, on this continent,
suffered a similar experience. They
went to war against the Nephites;
they thirsted for blood, and they
painted themselves red, and the Lord
put a curse of redness upon them.
Hundreds of years have passed since
then, but wherever you meet the La-
manites to-day, you see that mark
upon them.
-[TO BE CONTINUED.]-
THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS'
MILLENNIAL STAR.
"FEAR NOT, LITTLE FLOCK; FOR IT IS YOUR FATHER'S GOOD PLEASURE TO
GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM."—Luke xii, 32.
No. 23, Vol. LI. Monday, June 10, 1889. Price One Penny.
DISCOURSE
DELIVERED BY PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF AT THE GENERAL CONFER-
ENCE, SALT LAKE CITY, ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, APRIL 7, 1887.
(Reported by Arthur Winter.)
-[CONCLUDED FROM PAGE 339.]-
Read the history of ancient nations
and the dealings of God with them,
as contained in the Bible and other
historical works. When those ancient
kingdoms and peoples became wicked
and corrupt, when they turned away
from all that was virtuous and holy,
the Lord raised up prophets to warn
them; and these prophets, though
perhaps unpopular in the eyes of
those with whom they dwelt, warned
these nations and cities of the judg-
ments that would overtake them.
What followed the warnings of these
prophets? Read of the fall of the
mighty cities of Thebes, Nineveh,
Memphis, Tyre and Sidon, Babylon
the Great, and Jerusalem itself. All
these great and mighty cities and na-
tions were warned by the servants of
God of the judgments that would
overtake them. Did the inhabitants
of those cities believe the words of
the prophets? They did not. But did
those words come to pass? They did;
and those cities were laid waste and
their inhabitants destroyed. Thus
the words of the prophets and inspired
men were fulfilled to the very letter,
not one jot or tittle failing unfulfilled.
And yet the infidel says there is no
God. These same prophets and pa-
triarchs also saw, by vision and reve-
lation, our day; they pointed out the
generation in which we live, and they
all declared that, in the latter days,
the God of heaven would set His
hand to gather together His people
and establish His kingdom. The
Revelator St. John also declared what
should come to pass in the latter days.
In the 14th chapter of Revelations he
says:
"And I looked, and lo, a Lamb
stood on the Mount Zion, and with
Him an hundred forty and four
thousand, having His Father's name
written in their foreheads."
These one hundred and forty-four
thousand were sealed out of all the
twelve tribes of Israel, because they
were righteous in the latter days.
Following this, John says:
"And I saw another angel fly in the
midst of heaven, having the everlast-
ing Gospel to preach unto them that
dwell on the earth, and to every na-
tion, and kindred, and tongue, and
people,
"Saying with a loud voice, Fear
God, and give glory to Him; for the
hour of His judgment is come." [Revelation 14:6-7]
Again, John says:
"Again there followed another an-
gel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen,
that great city, because she made all
nations drink of the wine of the wrath
of her fornication." [Revelation 14:8]
Following this, he speaks of the
reaping down of the earth and of the
judgments of God which were to
come upon the inhabitants thereof.
In fulfillment of the declaration of
St. John, the angel of God has flown
through the midst of heaven. He has
delivered the Gospel of Jesus Christ
to the inhabitants of the earth, and
revealed unto them the word of the
Lord. The Holy Priesthood has also
been restord. This Gospel was to be
preached "to every nation, and kind-
red, and tongue, and people." It has
now been preached almost sixty years
—from the organization of the Church
until to-day; and in fulfillment of the
revelations of these inspired Prophets
and Apostles, a multitude of people
are to-day gathered together in these
valleys of the mountains. In fulfill-
ment of those revelations I stand to-
day in this Tabernacle, which the
Prophet saw was to be built upon the
tops of the mountains, as a covering
from the heat and the storm. In this
Tabernacle to-day, also, are ten thou-
sand Latter-day Saints, which is a
witness to Jew and Gentile of the ful-
fillment of the promises of God. Yet
the infidel says, "Behold, there is no
God." The man who says there is no
God is a fool. We are here in fulfill-
ment of prophecy and revelation. We
have received the Gospel of Christ.
The kingdom of God has been organ-
ized. It is rolling on; and it will
continue to roll on until this scene is
wound up.
Now, I want to give a little exhor-
tation to my brethren. Brother Geo.
Q. Cannon touched upon a very im-
portant principle this forenoon—a
principle which has often rested upon
my mind; that is, with regard to the
spirits that surround us. He said
that one-third of the hosts of heaven
were cast out because of their re-
bellion. I suppose we may say that
at least one hundred thousand mill-
ions were cast down from heaven to
earth. Where are they? Some are
in Salt Lake, some in New York, some
in Amsterdam, some in Constanti-
nople, some in Jerusalem; in fact,
they are in every city and hamlet
wherein the inhabitants of the earth
dwell, and especially where there are
any Latter-day Saints. And whether
there are one hundred or not to every
man, woman, and child, there are
enough of them, at least, to labor for
our overthrow. I say to my Coun-
selors, to the Apostles, to the Seven-
ties, the High Priests, the Bishops,
and all men who bear the Holy Priest-
hood, do you suppose these devils are
around us without trying to do some-
thing? Are they asleep? Have they
not a work to perform? I say to my
brethren who bear the Priesthood, we
have got a mighty warfare to wage
with these spirits. We cannot escape
it. What will they do to you? They
will try to make us do anything and
everything that is not right. These
devils would be very glad to make me
and my brethren think we are great
men, smarter than anyone else; to
divide us one against the other, and
to cause us to seek to confess our
brother's sins instead of our own. We
should, therefore, watch ourselves
well. I should do this; my Coun-
selors and the Apostles should; we
all should. And unless we are united
together, as has been said before, we
are not the Lord's. But to-day we
have certainly manifested a union
here that the world is not acquainted
with. We have, however, a mighty
responsibility resting upon us. The
eyes of all the heavenly hosts are
upon us. The eyes of Father Adam,
and the patriarchs and the prophets,
both ancient and modern, who have
gone to the other side of the veil, are
over us. And if our eyes are open to
comprehend the things of God, we
can comprehend our responsibilities;
we can comprehend the powers of the
Holy Priesthood and the relationship
which we sustain to God. We cer-
tainly should humble ourselves before
the Lord. We should labor with all
our might to build up the kingdom
of God in what little time we have
to spend here in the flesh. Our aim
is high. We aim at eternal life; we
aim at immortal glory; we aim at a
place in the celestial kingdom of our
God, with God and Christ and those
who have kept the celestial law. In
order to get there, we have got to
keep the same law that has exalted
those who have gone before us. This
is not our home. We were kept in
the spirit world until this generation,
and have been brought forth, through
the loins of Joseph and Ephraim, to
stand in the flesh and to bear off the
kingdom, to hold the Holy Priest-
hood, to do the works of righteous-
ness, to build temples, to redeem our
dead, and to attend to those ordi-
nances which the God of heaven has
declared we shall perform. This is
our work. We have a long eternity
before us. But all of us will have to
meet at the bar of God—the righteous
and the wicked, those who are living
and those who are dead.
This is the condition of the Latter-
day Saints. I hope that we may
escape the power of the enemy. As
was said here this forenoon, it matters
but very little what may take place
outside of Zion, or outside of the
kingdom of God. The God of Israel
holds the destiny of this nation; He
holds the destiny of this people, and
of all men on the face of the earth.
They are at His command and in His
power. He will hold this nation, as
He did Jerusalem, responsible for the
course they pursue with regard to the
Latter-day Saints. We also will be
held responsible for the course we
pursue. The Lord has led this Church
from its organization until the present
day. He will lead it until the coming
of the Son of Man. He is not going
to desert His people nor His cause.
But it is our duty to plead with the
Lord, remember our prayers, keep our
covenants, and walk perpetually be-
fore Him, that we may have His
favor and blessing resting upon us.
I wish to say, with regard to the
rising generation—the sons and
daughters of the Latter-day Saints—
that they should take the counsel of
their fathers; they should honor their
parents, and honor God, and re-
ceive such counsel as is given unto
them by wise men. I think many
times that our children do not com-
prehend the position they occupy.
They do not comprehend what lies
before them. Their fathers are pass-
ing away. Yet this kingdom has got
to remain on the earth until the
coming of the Son of Man. This work
has got to follow their fathers; it has
got to rest upon the sons and daughters
of Zion. I have a great desire that
the institutions which have been or-
ganized in Zion for their welfare may
be blessed; that our sons and daugh-
ters may attend the Primaries, the
Sabbath schools and Mutual Improve-
ment Associations, and unite together
in these societies, that they may re-
ceive the benefit of the same.
Brethren and sisters, God bless
you. Let us labor with one heart and
one mind, and make our wants known
unto the Lord. Let our prayers
ascend unto the ears of the Lord of
Sabbaoth, and they will be heard and
answered. I know that if we are
blessed, if we are preserved, and if
we are saved, it is and will be through
the mercy and blessing of God. I
know also that inasmuch as we will
obey His commandments we will re-
ceive His protection and blessing.
Zion will arise. Zion will be clothed
with the glory of God. Zion will be
redeemed. Zion will be prepared for
the coming of the Son of Man. The
Jews will be gathered home to Jeru-
salem. And the promises and pro-
phecies concerning both the Jews and
the Saints of God will all have their
fulfillment in the earth. My prayer
to God is that we may be true and
faithful to the end of our days, and
that we may magnify our calling as
Apostles, Elders, and Saints while we
dwell in the flesh. Amen.
God sometimes gives us friendship as the scaffolding of our lives, and when our
character is built up He removes them.