to act in the name of the Lord; and
without it no man ever did or ever
can officiate in the ordinances of the
House of God. And I cannot be-
lieve that there is an honest-hearted
man anywhere who possesses any
portion of the spirit of the Lord, and
who has any faith in the revelations
of God, who can believe that men,
whether of high or humble birth,
learned or unlearned, would be di-
vinely called to minister in the things
of God, unless they were endowed
from on high with the same power
that the ancient Apostles possessed.
Well, the Prophet
lived fourteen years after he had
organized the ; and during
that time the work spread over the
United States, and to some of the
foreign nations and islands of the
sea. And when he had done this, he
had a mission the other side of the
vail, as well as this. Here again we
widely differ from other religious
denominations. As I before intimated,
the world of mankind do not compre-
hend "Mormonism;" the people are
as ignorant of the Gospel to-day as
was when he inquired of
the Savior what he should do to be
saved. And I will here say that the
answer which Jesus made him in that
early day is strictly applicable to all
who are now seeking the same infor-
mation. "Verily, verily, I say unto
thee, except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God." [John 3:3]
And no man from Father to
the present time ever understood the
principles of the Gospel, unless he
received the testimony of Jesus
through obedience thereto.
We are living in the dispensation
which saw in prophetic vision,
when the kingdom of God was to
be established upon the earth, whose
dominion is to have no end, and
when the greatness of the kingdom
is to be given to the Saints of the
Most High, to possess it forever and
ever. Who are the Saints of God,
I may ask? Every honest soul who
on hearing the Gospel preached, re-
ceives it and obeys it, and uses his
energies to consummate its establish-
ment upon the earth.
The Prophet Joseph was moved
upon by divine inspiration in the
establishment of this Church. And
before his death he called the Twelve
Apostles together, whom he had
called to the ministry by revelation,
intimating that he was going to
leave them, that he would shortly
be called home to rest. And he
talked with them and instructed
them for weeks and months in the
ordinances and laws of the Gospel;
and he sealed upon their heads all
the Priesthood, keys and powers
that had been conferred upon him
by the angels of God. And then,
in addressing them he said, "Breth-
ren, no matter what becomes of me,
or what my fate may be, you have
got to round up your shoulders and
bear of[f] this kingdom; the God of
heaven requires it at your hands. I
have desired," said he, "to see the
completed, but I shall not
be spared to see it, but you will."
Although he spoke so plainly to us,
intimating that his end drew near,
we could no more get it into our
hearts that he was going to be mar-
tyred, any more than the Apostles
could comprehend the meaning of
the Savior when he told them he
was going away, and that if he did
not leave them, the Comforter could
not come. When the Messiah was
crucified his followers felt sorrowful
and disappointed, because they ex-
pected him to release them and
their nation from the Romish yoke.
And so helpless did they feel them-
selves when denied his society, that
even , the first among the
Apostles, proposed that they return