the commencement to the present
day.
Why should the Elders and people
now think it strange that those mes-
sengers who have gone forth, shoulder-
ing their knapsacks and travelling
thousands of miles to preach the
Gospel, should be the especial objects
of his favor? The Almighty has
proven them all the day long, and he
has been with them, and in fact there
has never been any portion of the
Priesthood officiating in sacred ordi-
nances but God has been with them.
In this revelation the Lord calls upon
his servants, and says, "I, the Lord,
am willing to make this known to
the children of men, that I have called
my servant , that the world
may be left without excuse."
Joseph Smith knew just as well as
the Lord knew that he was called of
God, and that he was called to per-
form a work for the redemption of
man. Has he ever disappointed any-
body when he has made a promise
to them? Has he ever disappointed
a Prophet or lawgiver in any age of
the world? No, never. But he has
declared that the heavens and the
earth shall pass away, but his word
shall never pass away, but that it
shall all be fulfilled. It is just so in
our day. All the words which the
Lord has spoken through his servants
will be fulfilled to the very letter,
whether those words are in reference
to the salvation of the righteous or
the condemnation of the wicked.
Christ had his mind upon this point
when he said, "Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall
not pass away."—Matthew xxiv, 35.
Again, it is written, "For I will
hasten my word to perform it;" [Jeremiah 1:12] and
when the Lord spake through
upon this subject he said. "So shall
my word be that goeth forth out of
my mouth: it shall not return unto
me void, but it shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper in
the thing whereto I sent it." [Isaiah 55:11] The
Elders go forth to preach the Gospel
to the nations of the earth, knowing
that the Lord will back up their word
by the power and demonstration of
the Holy Ghost.
There is but one Gospel, neither
will there be any other for the salva-
tion of this, nor of any other world
that we know of; but this we do
know that this Gospel preached in
any age of the world will produce the
same effect. We also know that any
man who receives this Priesthood,
and is faithful thereunto, will receive
the same blessings and power in any
and every age of the world. On this
account and for this reason, —
the valleys of Deseret are being filled
with the children of men. The
Almighty has sent his servants to
preach the Gospel; they have not gone
upon their own authority: had they
done so, they might have called upon
the inhabitants of the earth till dooms-
day, and they would not have been suc-
cessful, but this land would still have
been a desert, occupied only by
Indians and wild beasts. But the
hand of God was with us, and hence
we had no fear of telling the people
our message, and now there are tens
of thousands who know the truth as
well as we do, for they have embraced
the Gospel and received this testimony
for themselves. There never was a
man that embraced this Gospel, but
has received this testimony of the
truth, if he has done so in sincerity
and in truth. The Lord has always
been ready to redeem his promise,
and in giving that testimony which
was necessary for the establishing of
them in the most holy faith.
The Lord has sustained us as a
people in all places and under all cir-
cumstances. We have gone forth as
sheep among wolves; among a people
full of tradition and superstition, and
we have had all these things to cope
with in our administrations among
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
the commencement to the present
day.
Why should the Elders and people
now think it strange that those messengers who have gone forth, shouldering their knapsacks and travelling
thousands of miles to preach the
Gospel, should be the especial objects
of his favor? The Almighty has
proven them all the day long, and he
has been with them, and in fact there
has never been any portion of the
Priesthood officiating in sacred ordinances but God has been with them.
In this revelation the Lord calls upon
his servants, and says, "I, the Lord,
am willing to make this known to
the children of men, that I have called
my servant , that the world
may be left without excuse."
Joseph Smith knew just as well as
the Lord knew that he was called of
God, and that he was called to perform a work for the redemption of
man. Has he ever disappointed anybody when he has made a promise
to them? Has he ever disappointed
a Prophet or lawgiver in any age of
the world? No, never. But he has
declared that the heavens and the
earth shall pass away, but his word
shall never pass away, but that it
shall all be fulfilled. It is just so in
our day. All the words which the
Lord has spoken through his servants
will be fulfilled to the very letter,
whether those words are in reference
to the salvation of the righteous or
the condemnation of the wicked.
Christ had his mind upon this point
when he said, "Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall
not pass away."— xxiv, 35.
Again, it is written, "For I will
hasten my word to perform it;" and
when the Lord spake through
upon this subject he said. "So shall
my word be that goeth forth out of
my mouth: it shall not return unto
me void, but it shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper in
the thing whereto I sent it." The
Elders go forth to preach the Gospel
to the nations of the earth, knowing
that the Lord will back up their word
by the power and demonstration of
the Holy Ghost.
There is but one Gospel, neither
will there be any other for the salvation of this, nor of any other world
that we know of; but this we do
know that this Gospel preached in
any age of the world will produce the
same effect. We also know that any
man who receives this Priesthood,
and is faithful thereunto, will receive
the same blessings and power in any
and every age of the world. On this
account and for this reason, —
the valleys of Deseret are being filled
with the children of men. The
Almighty has sent his servants to
preach the Gospel; they have not gone
upon their own authority: had they
done so, they might have called upon
the inhabitants of the earth till doomsday, and they would not have been successful, but this land would still have
been a desert, occupied only by
Indians and wild beasts. But the
hand of God was with us, and hence
we had no fear of telling the people
our message, and now there are tens
of thousands who know the truth as
well as we do, for they have embraced
the Gospel and received this testimony
for themselves. There never was a
man that embraced this Gospel, but
has received this testimony of the
truth, if he has done so in sincerity
and in truth. The Lord has always
been ready to redeem his promise,
and in giving that testimony which
was necessary for the establishing of
them in the most holy faith.
The Lord has sustained us as a
people in all places and under all circumstances. We have gone forth as
sheep among wolves; among a people
full of tradition and superstition, and
we have had all these things to cope
with in our administrations among