his people, and will have mercy upon
his afflicted. [Isaiah 49:13]

"But Zion said, The Lord hath for-
saken me, and my Lord hath forgotten
me. [Isaiah 49:14]

"Can a woman forget her sucking
child, that she should not have com-
passion on the son of her womb? yea,
they may forget, yet will I not forget
thee. [Isaiah 49:15]

"Behold, I have graven thee upon the
palms of my hands; thy walls are con-
tinually before me." [Isaiah 49:16]

Those things that have been predict-
ed from the beginning concerning the
winding up scene and the second com-
ing of the Son of Man will come to
pass. Therefore, let us prepare for
them.

I bear my testimony of these things;
for I do not know how long I shall have
this privilege on the earth. In my
boyhood I attended the Sabbath
school under old Dr. Porter, one of the
pillars of the Presbyterian church in
New England. I read the New Testa-
ment there; I read of Christ and of
the Apostles; I read of the miracles
and the gifts. I asked Dr. Porter why
they did not have those things in their
midst. "Why do you not have that
faith once delivered to the Saints?
Why do you not have Prophets and
Apostles now?" The doctor smiled and
said, "My boy, those things are done
away." I knew they were done away;
but why were they done away? He
said, "They were given in the dark
ages of the world, to convince the in-
habitants of the earth that Jesus was
the Christ. We live today in the blaze
of the glorious Gospel light of Christ,
and do not need these things." Then,
said I to him and to others, "Give me
the dark ages of the world instead of
this glorious Gospel blaze, if in those
dark ages there was power to unlock
the heavens and give you converse with
God and angels, and give you gifts and
graces and power." Yes, in my boy-
hood I would have gone a thousand
miles to have seen a Prophet. I had a
desire to see one. I hoped to live to
see one. I have lived to mingle with
Prophets and Apostles for a long peri-
od. From 1833 to this day I have never
seen anything but truth in connection
with this work.

Let us try to do our duty and mag-
nify our calling before high heaven;
for it will pay us. When I die I want
the privilege of being raised from the
dead, and of mingling with God, with
Christ, and with Apostles and Proph-
ets, and the privilege of having my
family, my father and mother, my
brothers and sisters, with me in the
celestial kingdom of God, organized in
a family capacity, that we may dwell
together there. Salvation is worth some-
thing, no matter whether it is popular
or unpopular, despised or not despised;
and if we ever get it, we will get it
by keeping the commandments of God
and carrying out these principles that
God has revealed to us. I have traveled
with the Prophets and Apostles, and
seen the persecutions, and been through
some of the trials and tribulations. We
have been led here, and we will try
to build up Zion here. This Tabernacle
and these temples the old Prophet
Isaiah and other Prophets saw. We
are here in fulfillment of prophecy, and
we are doing all the good we can. Why
should man quarrel with his neighbor
about religion? Every man has a right
to his religion, whether it will save him
or not. I never quarreled with any
man about religion; never con-
sidered it proper to do so. I
never felt like debating with
any man upon the subject of religion
for the sake of gaining power over
him in debate. I do not believe in it.
I teach what good I can, and when I
get through with this world I hope I
will be satisfied with it. We have
gathered here from all nations. I bap-
tized many in England that have gath-
ered here, though most of them have
passed away, where I shall go myself
before long.

I pray God to bless you and to guide
and direct us all, as Apostles, as
Prophets, as Elders, as Saints, as
fathers and mothers, and as children.
Only reflect a moment on the blessing
that God has given you in having the
privilege of going into these temples
and working for our dead friends. We
have four temples, one standing on this
block. Brigham Young directed in the
building of them, and he has gone home
to glory, immortality and eternal life.
I pray God that we may have power
to do our duty, magnify our calling,
walk uprightly before the Lord, and
acknowledge the hand of God in all the
blessings bestowed upon us. This is
my prayer and desire in the name of
Jesus Christ. Amen.

his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.

"But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.

"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.

"Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

Those things that have been predicted from the beginning concerning the winding up scene and the second coming of the Son of Man will come to pass. Therefore, let us prepare for them.

I bear my testimony of these things; for I do not know how long I shall have this privilege on the earth. In my boyhood I attended the Sabbath school under old Dr. Porter, one of the pillars of the Presbyterian church in New England. I read the New Testament there; I read of Christ and of the Apostles; I read of the miracles and the gifts. I asked Dr. Porter why they did not have those things in their midst. "Why do you not have that faith once delivered to the Saints? Why do you not have Prophets and Apostles now?" The doctor smiled and said, "My boy, those things are done away." I knew they were done away; but why were they done away? He said, "They were given in the dark ages of the world, to convince the inhabitants of the earth that Jesus was the Christ. We live today in the blaze of the glorious Gospel light of Christ, and do not need these things." Then, said I to him and to others, "Give me the dark ages of the world instead of this glorious Gospel blaze, if in those dark ages there was power to unlock the heavens and give you converse with God and angels, and give you gifts and graces and power." Yes, in my boyhood I would have gone a thousand miles to have seen a Prophet. I had a desire to see one. I hoped to live to see one. I have lived to mingle with Prophets and Apostles for a long period. From 1833 to this day I have never seen anything but truth in connection with this work.

Let us try to do our duty and magnify our calling before high heaven; for it will pay us. When I die I want the privilege of being raised from the dead, and of mingling with God, with Christ, and with Apostles and Prophets, and the privilege of having my family, my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, with me in the celestial kingdom of God, organized in a family capacity, that we may dwell together there. Salvation is worth something, no matter whether it is popular or unpopular, despised or not despised; and if we ever get it, we will get it by keeping the commandments of God and carrying out these principles that God has revealed to us. I have traveled with the Prophets and Apostles, and seen the persecutions, and been through some of the trials and tribulations. We have been led here, and we will try to build up Zion here. This Tabernacle and these temples the old Prophet Isaiah and other Prophets saw. We are here in fulfillment of prophecy, and we are doing all the good we can. Why should man quarrel with his neighbor about religion? Every man has a right to his religion, whether it will save him or not. I never quarreled with any man about religion; never considered it proper to do so. I never felt like debating with any man upon the subject of religion for the sake of gaining power over him in debate. I do not believe in it. I teach what good I can, and when I get through with this world I hope I will be satisfied with it. We have gathered here from all nations. I baptized many in England that have gathered here, though most of them have passed away, where I shall go myself before long.

I pray God to bless you and to guide and direct us all, as Apostles, as Prophets, as Elders, as Saints, as fathers and mothers, and as children. Only reflect a moment on the blessing that God has given you in having the privilege of going into these temples and working for our dead friends. We have four temples, one standing on this block. Brigham Young directed in the building of them, and he has gone home to glory, immortality and eternal life. I pray God that we may have power to do our duty, magnify our calling, walk uprightly before the Lord, and acknowledge the hand of God in all the blessings bestowed upon us. This is my prayer and desire in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.