Elder W. Woodruff.—The Lord gives
unto us revelation and truth as fast as
we can make good use of them. It is a
great blessing for us to know that we
have the gospel, and not to be in doubt
or in ignorance of our true position,
which was the case before we embraced
this work. We have apostles and
prophets, a foundation upon which to
rest our faith. The position we occupy,
to-day, is vastly superior to that of the
world. We read in the Book of Mor-
mon that no nation or people will be
permitted to dwell upon this land when
the cup of their iniquity is full; when
that is the case they cannot escape being
overthrown. He quoted an instance
from the Book of Mormon, where the
Nephite nation were destroyed because
of their sins. The spirit of God is being
withheld from the nations of the earth,
because of their iniquity. This is a
good people. The Lord is striving with
them. The Spirit of the Lord rests
upon them, and they desire continually
to do right and to live in the command-
ments of the Lord. As the wicked be-
come more wicked, we should increase
in righteousness. This is the kingdom
of God and will prevail. The ancient
prophets spoke of this kingdom and
this day in which we live, when the
earth should be sanctified, and the way
prepared for the coming of the Son of
Man in the clouds of heaven. God has
given us wise men to lead us, and the
Lord reveals His secrets unto His ser-
vants the prophets. We are the sons of
Israel and the daughters of Zion, and
God is our friend; and we know that
we are right. We should seek to be-
come sanctified before the Lord, and not
to do any thing unless we are sure it is
right. It is important that we teach
our children righteous principles, for
we fathers are wearing out, and they
will have to step forth and continue the
work that we are engaged in. If
parents instil righteous principles in
the minds of their children, those chil-
dren will be affected by them through-
out all their lives. The children God
has given to this people are a great
blessing to them, and should be care-
fully reared and educated, for the Lord
is raising among us a kingdom of
priests. Children have got faith in
what their parents teach them, and
parents should not conduct themselves
contrary to what they teach their chil-
dren, that the precepts they teach may
be sustained by example. Let us pray
to our Father in heaven, for He holds
the elements in His own hands, and
can use them to hedge up the way of
the wicked. Prayer is a mighty
weapon, and we should be armed with
it, as well as with other preparations,
and thus be ready for what ever may
occur. Let us be faithful before the
Lord and prize and profit by these
visits of our President.