FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY—POWER OF THE GOSPEL—
CONSISTENCY OF ITS PRINCIPLES.
Discourse by Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF, delivered in the Bowery, Great
Salt Lake City, July .
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.
Brother Taylor gave us a very
interesting discourse this morning
upon the first principles of the Gospel,
contrasting them with the religion
of the Christian world, showing the
authority by which they administered
in different ages the ordinances of
religion according to the traditions
of their fathers. He remarked that
the Elders of this Church went forth
as the Apostles did in the days of
the Savior, promising to the people,
on conditions of obedience, the gift of
the Holy Ghost; and he remarked
that no other people would do that,
because they do not possess the
authority to do it.
I do not know that I can spend
the few moments that I may speak
here, better than to read a little on
the authority that we have for pur-
suing this course. This portion that
I am going to read, is the word of
the Lord to the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well
as to the whole world:
"Hearken, O ye people of my
church, saith the voice of Him who
dwells on high, and whose eyes are
upon all men; yea, verily I say,
hearken ye people from afar, and ye
that are upon the islands of the
sea, listen together; for verily the
voice of the Lord is unto all men,
and there is none to escape, and there
is no eye that shall not see, neither
ear that shall not hear, neither heart
that shall not be penetrated: and the
rebellious shall be pierced with much
sorrow, for their iniquities shall be
spoken upon the housetops, and their
secret acts shall be revealed; and the
voice of warning shall be unto all
people, by the mouths of my dis-
ciples, whom I have chosen in these
last days, and they shall go forth and
none shall stay them, for I the Lord
have commanded them. [Doctrine and Covenants 1:1-5]
"Behold, this is mine authority,
and the authority of my servants, and
my preface unto the book of my
commandments, which I have given
them to publish unto you, O inhabi-
tants of the earth: wherefore, fear
and tremble, O ye people, for what I
the Lord have decreed in them shall
be fulfilled. And verily, I say unto
you, that they who go forth, bearing
these tidings unto the inhabitants of
the earth, to them is power given to
seal both on earth and in heaven, the
unbelieving and rebellious; yea, verily,
to seal them up unto the day when the
wrath of God shall be poured out
upon the wicked without measure;
unto the day when the Lord shall
come to recompense unto every man
according to his work, and measure
to every man according to the mea-
sure which he has measured to his
fellow-man. [Doctrine and Covenants 1:6-10]
"Wherefore the voice of the Lord
is unto the end of the earth, that all
that will hear may hear: prepare ye,
prepare ye for that which is to come,
for the Lord is nigh; and the anger
of the Lord is kindled, and his sword
is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall
upon the inhabitants of the earth;
and the arm of the Lord shall be
revealed. And the day cometh that
they who will not hear the voice of
the Lord, neither the voice of his
servants, neither give heed to the
words of the Prophets and Apostles,
shall be cut off from among the people;
for they have strayed from mine ordi-
nances, and they have broken mine
everlasting covenant; they seek not
the Lord, to establish his righteous-
ness, but every man walketh in his
own way, and after the image of his
own god, whose image is in the
likeness of the world, and whose sub-
stance is that of an idol, which waxeth
old and shall perish in Babylon,
even Babylon the great, which shall
fall. [Doctrine and Covenants 1:11-16]
"Wherefore I, the Lord, knowing
the calamity which should come upon
the inhabitants of the earth, called
upon my servant Joseph Smith, jun.,
and spake unto him from heaven,
and gave him commandments; and
also gave commandments to others,
that they should proclaim these things
unto the world; and all this that it
might be fulfilled, which was written
by the Prophets; the weak things of
the world shall come forth and break
down the mighty and strong ones;
that man should not counsel his
fellow-man, neither trust in the arm
of flesh, but that every man might
speak in the name of God the Lord,
even the Savior of the world; that
faith also might increase in the earth;
that mine everlasting covenant might
be established; that the fulness of my
Gospel might be proclaimed by the
weak and the simple unto the ends
of the world, and before kings and
rulers. [Doctrine and Covenants 1:17-23]
"Behold, I am God and have [Doctrine and Covenants 1:24]
spoken it: these commandments are
of me, and were given unto my
servants in their weakness, after the
manner of their language, that they
might come to understanding, and
inasmuch as they erred it might be
made known: and inasmuch as they
sought wisdom they might be in-
structed; and inasmuch as they
sinned they might be chastened, that
they might repent: and inasmuch as
they were humble they might be made
strong, and blessed from on high, and
receive knowledge from time to time:
and after having received the record
of the Nephites, yea, even my servant
Joseph Smith, jun., might have power
to translate through the mercy of
God, by the power of God, the Book
of Mormon; and also those to whom
these commandments were given,
might have power to lay the founda-
tion of this church, and to bring it
forth out of obscurity and out of
darkness, the only true and living
church upon the face of the whole
earth, with which I, the Lord, am
well pleased, speaking unto the
church collectively and not individu-
ally, for I, the Lord, cannot look upon
sin with the least degree of allowance;
nevertheless, he that repents and does
the commandments of the Lord shall
be forgiven; and he that repents not,
from him shall be taken even the
light which he has received, for my
Spirit shall not always strive with
man, saith the Lord of Hosts. [Doctrine and Covenants 1:24-33]
"And again, verily I say unto you,
O inhabitants of the earth, I the
Lord am willing to make these things
known unto all flesh, for I am no
respecter of persons, and will that all
men shall know that the day speedily
cometh; the hour is not yet, but is
nigh at hand, when peace shall be
taken from the earth, and the devil
shall have power over his own domi-
nion, and also the Lord shall have
power over his Saints, and shall reign
in their midst, and shall come down
in judgment upon Idumea, or the
world. [Doctrine and Covenants 1:34-36]
"Search these commandments, for
they are true and faithful, and the
prophecies and promises which are in
them shall all be fulfilled. [Doctrine and Covenants 1:37]
"What I, the Lord, have spoken, I
have spoken, and I excuse not myself:
and though the heavens and the earth
pass away, my word shall not pass
away, but all shall be fulfilled,
whether by mine own voice or by the
voice of my servants, it is the same;
for behold and lo, the Lord is God,
and the Spirit bearth record, and
the record is true, and the truth
abideth forever and ever. Amen."—
-[See Doctrine and Covenants 1:34-39]- [Doctrine and Covenants 1:38-39]
What do you think of that revela-
tion, brethren? Does this look like
a Yankee scheme, or something made
up to cheat somebody? No, this is
the word of the Lord; it is a sermon
of itself. The Lord has sustained
that revelation from that day to the
present, and that is the reason why
brother Taylor and the Elders of this
Church go forth declaring the words
of life, and they know that they have
not taken this honor upon them-
selves, but that they were called of
God as was Aaron. [Hebrews 5:4] I do not care how
illiterate an Elder in this Church is,
if he has been faithful to his calling;
it is a matter I care but little about
if a man can neither read nor write, if
he has been called and ordained to the
Priesthood in this Church and king-
dom by Joseph Smith, or any of those
ordained by him to that Priesthood
which was given unto the Prophet by
Peter, James and John, who by com-
mandment came and ordained him to
the Melchisedec Priesthood. [Doctrine and Covenants 128:20##] John the
Baptist held the Aaronic Priesthood,
and the authority commenced there,
and by those men that held the keys
of the kingdom of God in former dis-
pensations. It is that authority that
has inspired this; it is this that has
inspired the Elders of Israel from
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 Joseph, 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 Isaiah
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, Utah—
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
the people, but the Lord was with us
wherever we went, backing up our
words by the testimony and power of
the Holy Ghost, and the people to
whom we administered received the
same testimony as had been given
unto us.
We are beginning to realize that
the things which the Lord has pro-
mised unto us thirty years ago are
now being fulfilled to the very letter.
Is there much peace in the world of
mankind? No, there is not: peace
is fast being taken from the children
of men. We are at peace in Utah,
but let me tell you that the Lord has
foretold by the revelations of Jesus
Christ all these things that are now
fulfilling before our eyes.
I copied a revelation more than
twenty-five years ago, in which it is
stated that war should be in the south
and in the north, and that nation
after nation would become embroiled
in the tumult and excitement, until
war should be poured out upon the
whole earth, and that this war would
commence at the rebellion of South
Carolina, and that times should be
such that every man who did not flee
to Zion would have to take up the
sword against his neighbor or against
his brother. These things are begin-
ning to be made manifest, but the end
is not yet; but it will come, and that
too much sooner than the world of
mankind anticipate, and all those
things spoken by the mouths of his
Prophets will be fulfilled.
We are gathering together here for
certain purposes understood and in
the mind of the Lord, one of which is
that we may be sanctified and pre-
pared for the great work of the future.
We have carried this work to the
various nations of the earth, and the
people to whom we have preached
have thought of us saying that there
was no other Gospel than that which
we had to proclaim, as was clearly and
demonstratively set forth to-day. The
Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect in
all its parts. The words of the
Psalmist David will apply to our
religion, where he says:—"The law
of the Lord is perfect, converting the
soul: the testimony of the Lord is
sure, making wise the simple. The
statutes of the Lord are right, rejoic-
ing the heart: the commandment of
the Lord is pure, enlightening the
eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring for ever: the judgments of
the Lord are true and righteous
altogether. More to be desired are
they than gold, yea, than much fine
gold: sweeter also than honey and
the honeycomb." [Psalm 19:7-10]
According to the vision of John
the Revelator, there are to be "six
hundred, threescore and six" [Revelation 13:18] false
sects of religion: how many of these
already exist is a matter of dispute
among theologists, but I suppose that
the number is nearly complete. Let
me now ask if you think things look
or indicate that these contending
creeds are all of God. It is certainly
not like the order carried out in the
days of Christ and his Apostles. It
is much more like the confusion of
the Pharisees, Essenes, Herodians,
Sadducees and Stoics, for they had
different creeds, principles and notions
by which they were governed, and it
is just so now with the sectarian
world. It is composed of every sect
and party that profess religion upon
the face of the earth. But the honest
in heart will be gathered out of all
these creeds and systems and be
brought home to Zion.
There have been thousands of men
and women who have listened to the
preaching of the Elders of this
Church, who have not embraced it
for fear of their good name; and
there have been many clergymen who
have listened attentively to the Elders
of Israel, and they have spent days
and nights in meditating upon the
things of God, and studying what to
do, realizing within themselves that
if they received this testimony they
would be dishonored in the eyes of
the world. They fear becoming a
hiss and a by-word among the children
of men in this generation. Hence the
majority of them have rejected it.
Many celebrated men have investi-
gated this subject, and far more of
them have had fears that it was true
than that it was false. I visited folks
in Long Island in 1837; I talked
with one minister named Newton, in
fact I stayed with him some twelve
days and preached the Gospel to him.
He attended meetings, and finally
became so that he could neither eat,
drink, nor sleep, he was so troubled
about the Gospel; but instead of em-
bracing it, sent after a minister who
lived on the south side of the island,
for the purpose of having me put
down or silenced. I persevered and
soon baptized most of the members of
Mr. Newton's church. Mr. Douglass,
a Methodist minister of the south side
of the island came, stayed a short
time and then returned. I followed
him home and succeeded in baptizing
most of his church; and instead of
these men getting any honor by
opposing me they were both brought
into disgrace. They lost their religion,
their church and members, and were
really disgraced. When I was there
last, one of them was in the Peni-
tentiary for one of the worst crimes
that a man can be guilty of, except
murder, and the other was travelling
the streets peddling small articles for
his bread. The chastening hand of
the Lord will always follow those
that oppose the truth of Heaven as
revealed through the Prophet of God.
This is in accordance with the experi-
ence of all our Elders. The Holy
Ghost has been with them to back up
their words, and I can say for all that,
we have not done a thing but it has
been backed up by the power of the
Almighty, so far as we have labored
for the upbuilding of the kingdom of
God.
In regard to holding office in the
Priesthood, I can truly say that I
never asked any man for any office in
this Church, and I believe I never
asked the Lord but once, and my
asking the Lord came about in this
way. I went up to Missouri in Zion's
camp; I saw the Prophet every day,
and I knew he was a Prophet of God.
About this time I had a great anxiety
to preach the Gospel; this desire
increased upon me, and I finally
resolved to ask the Lord to open my
way, so I went down into a hickory
grove and prayed, during which I
asked him to give me the privilege to
preach the Gospel. I prayed fervently
to the Almighty to give me the privi-
lege of preaching the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, and when I got through praying
I started for the place from whence I
came, and I had not walked more
than about forty rods before I met a
High Priest, and the first thing he
said to me was, "It is the will of the
Lord that you go and preach the
Gospel." I told him I was ready
and willing to do anything the Lord
required of me; I was therefore
ordained a Priest and sent to labor
in Arkansas.
I will now name a circumstance
which I have never named in public
before. I went into Arkansas, travel-
led a hundred miles out of my way
to see a man that had embraced the
Gospel some time before I went there.
He was full of wrath and indignation
when I went in; he railed against
Joseph Smith, Bishop Partridge and
Father Morley. The Lord showed
me the night before that I had
enemies in that town. I talked over
my feelings with the brother who
accompanied me, and he wanted to
leave the town, but I said no, I would
not go away, for I wanted to see what
the Lord wanted of me. All the
people were mad with rage, and we
could not get anybody to preach to;
in fact they were all full of rage till
they were mad with it. For some
time I could not see my way clearly,
but we finally called upon an old man
named Hubbard, and engaged to go
and clear timber. During the short
time that we were employed at that
the Lord sent me three times to visit
that old apostate, and each time when
I went there I could only bear testi-
mony to him of the truth of the
Gospel. When I went the third time
he followed me out of the house as
full of wrath as the Devil, and he had
not followed me more than about
eight rods when he fell dead at my
feet. This is a short story and a very
singular one.
At that time I had not power to
lay on hands for the gift of the Holy
Ghost, only holding the Aaronic
Priesthood, but the Lord sustained
me and his work just as well as if I
had been an Apostle. We baptized
father Hubbard and his wife, after
which we went on our way rejoicing.
The Lord has fed and sustained his
servants, and manifested his power
according to circumstances, and so he
will continue to do through life to all
that are faithful and true to their
covenants.
When the United States sent an
army to this land for our destruction,
the Lord had his eye upon us for
good and he delivered us from all our
enemies. The wicked have designed
our destruction from the first organi-
zation of this Church and kingdom,
but our leaders have been inspired by
the gift and power of God. Who
frustrated that army in their design?
The Lord our God; and now the
judgments that have come upon the
nation in consequence of their treat-
ment to this people, are a sore vexa-
tion to them, but it is the hand-dealing
of the Almighty and we cannot help
it. Every Elder in this Church who
lives his religion knows that this
which is now transpiring is according
to the mind and forshadowings of the
Holy Spirit, and those out of the
Church may know if they will. If
persons will believe the Bible, the
Book of Doctrines and Covenants,
and the Book of Mormon, they can
therein learn the fate of the world,
for it is there pointed out in great
plainness. Who can stay this war
that is devastating the whole nation
both North and South? No human
hand; it is out of the power of
man, excepting by the repentance
of the whole nation, for they have
shed the blood of the Prophets, driven
this Church and people from their
midst, yes, the very people that hold
the keys of salvation for the world
they have banished from their midst,
they have turned those keys that will
seal their condemnation, and for this
the Lord our God has taken peace
out of their midst. Will there ever
be any more peace among them?
No, not until the earth is drenched
with the blood of the inhabitants
thereof. When the spirit of the
Gospel leaves any people it leaves
them in a worse condition than it
found them, the spirit of ferocity,
darkness and war will take hold
of that people, and the time will
come when every man that does not
take his sword against his neighbor
will have to go to Zion for safety.
These things sound strange in the
ears of our neighbors of the nation
with which we are connected, but let
me tell you they are strictly true.
Remember Christ's words in regard to
the temple, viz., "There shall not
be left here one stone upon another
that shall not be thrown down."—
Matthew xxiv., 2. The Lord Jesus
Christ is as truthful now as he was
then, and no power can stay his hand.
Have we any fears of the conse-
quences of what will transpire? No,
we have not, for we know that God is
at the helm.
When this kingdom commenced it
was like a mustard seed, very small,
but the Lord has sustained it and he
will continue to control it to the end
of time. Although peace is being
taken from the earth yet this kingdom
will thrive and prosper until every
kingdom and government shall be
broken to pieces, and every power
shall be subject to the God of heaven.
Here are Elders who are faithful
and true who have preached the
Gospel from Maine to Texas, and
from the Atlantic to California, and
the warning voice has been lifted in
Europe and in the Islands of the Sea,
and thousands have embraced it and
been made to rejoice in the truth.
We know that this work is of God,
and that it will roll forth and prosper
though all the world oppose. War
is only one of the troubles that the
United States are going to receive;
and I can further testify, that there is
no nation that will escape the judg-
ments of the Almighty. There is no
ear but what has to be penetrated
with the sound of the Gospel of
Christ; and by-and-by the Elders of
Israel will be taken from those
nations where they are now preaching,
and there will be another set of Mis-
sionaries sent amongst the people;
there will be the voice of lightning,
the noise of war, and of all those judg-
ments which have been enumerated
and prophesied of since the begin-
ning of time, and they will go forth
among the nations until the land is
cleansed from the abominations that
now reign upon the face of the earth.
When this Gospel was first pro-
claimed to the world, darkness covered
the earth; and wherever this doctrine
is preached by those having authority
and it is rejected, that people become
more dark than they were before,
and go blindly along like the ox
to the slaughter, and they will sooner
or later be overtaken by the judg-
ments of the Almighty.
This is the nature of our testimony,
brethren and sisters, we know that
this work is true; we also know that
Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God,
and the Bible could not have been
fulfilled unless the Lord had raised
up Prophets to declare the everlasting
Gospel unto the children of men; he
never could have brought his judg-
ments upon the nations until he had
raised up those Prophets who were
ordained to come and warn the world.
The Lord is now doing this work of
warning, first by his servants and
then by his judgments. In speaking
of the kingdom of God I will here
remark, that it is always alike, or in
other words it is always governed
by the same laws, by Apostles and
Prophets, and you cannot have a
Church of Christ without these officers;
there never was such a church since
the beginning of the world. If any
person will show me a people that
were acknowledged of God, who did
not have Prophets to lead them, I
will confess that to be something
which I have not found.
Paul says, speaking of the Church
of Christ, "And he gave some
Apostles, and some Prophets, and
some Evangelists, and some Pastors
and Teachers." [Ephesians 4:11] Then, in another part
of the writings of the same Apostle,
he shows that with such an organiza-
tion one part cannot say to the other
"I have no need of thee," [1 Corinthians 12:21] but that all
are necessary in the Church of Christ.
It is just so with the gifts and graces
of the Gospel. A great many of you
have seen men without some of their
limbs, and just as quick as I come to
a man who has lost an arm I see it.
I remember once seeing a man in
London without any legs, dragging
along as best he could, and of course
it was very inconvenient for him to
travel; but I will tell you one thing
which I never did see, I never saw
any man going around without any
head. A man can live without arms
or without legs, but he cannot
without a head, and it is precisely so
with the Church of Christ; one is
just as impossible as the other. No
other order has been manifested in
this our day. We have a Prophet
to lead and govern this people; we
also have pastors and teachers, the
Holy Ghost and the revelations of
Jesus Christ right from heaven unto
us, and we are realizing every day
the fulfilment of these things that are
promised to the faithful.
Brethren and sisters, we ought to
be truly thankful to our Father and
God, for he has been merciful to us,
he has bestowed upon us his Spirit so
that our ears have been opened to
hear and our hearts to understand
and to rejoice in the good things of
the kingdom of God. And how
lamentable it is that so few in the
present generation have embraced
the fulness of the Gospel, perhaps not
one in ten thousand have received the
truth. The Jews have suffered long
and grievously for their rebellion, and
they will continue to suffer for some
time yet, but woe unto the Gentiles
when they reject the light that is
offered, for when that stone, which is
spoken of in Scripture, falls upon
them they cannot escape the crushing
power thereof, it will grind them to
powder.
Let us be faithful, serve our God
and trust in him, and then, through
the influence of his Spirit we shall
know the signs of the times, and be
prepared and made meet for our
Master's use.
I ask that this may be our portion,
in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.