THE SIGNS OF THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN—THE SAINTS' DUTIES.
My address this afternoon will be
intended for those who profess to be
Latter-day Saints—those who have
entered into co[v]enant with the Lord
our God. I am surrounded with
those who know by experience that
we are dependent upon the influence
and inspiration of the Holy Ghost to
enable us to teach the things of the
kingdom of God. My faith is that
no man, in this or any other genera-
tion, is able to teach and edify the
inhabitants of the earth without the
inspiration of the Spirit of God. As
a people we have been placed in
positions the last forty years which
have taught, in all our administra-
tions and labors, the necessity of
acknowledging the hand of God in
all things. We feel this necessity
to-day. I know that I am not quali-
fied to teach either the Latter-day
Saints or the world without the
Spirit of God. I desire this this
afternoon, and also your faith and
prayers, that my mind may be led in
a channel which may be beneficial to
you. In my public teaching I never
permit my mind to follow in any
channel except that which the Spirit
dictates to me, and this is the posi-
tion we all occupy when we meet
with the Saints, or when we go forth
to preach the Gospel. As Jesus told
his Apostles, Take no thought what
ye shall say, it is told us, Take no
thought what we shall say; [Luke 12:11-12] but we
treasure up in our minds words of
wisdom by the blessing of God and
studying the best books. [Doctrine and Covenants 88:118]
We are told in the 24th chapter
of Matthew that Jesus, on a certain
occasion, taught his disciples many
things concerning his Gospel, the
Temple, the Jews, his second com-
ing and the end of the world; and
they asked him—Master, what shall
be the sign of these things? [Matthew 24:3] The
Savior answered them, but in a very
brief manner. As my mind runs a
little in that channel, I feel disposed
to read a portion of the word of the
Lord unto us, which explains this
matter more fully than the Savior
explained it to his disciples. That
portion of the word of the Lord
which I shall read, is a revelation
given to the Latter-day Saints,
March 7, 1831, forty-two years ago
next March. It commences on the 133rd page of the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants.
-[The speaker read the revelation,
and then resumed his remarks as
follows]-:
I want to ask who are looking for
the fulfillment of these events, and
who upon the earth are preparing
themselves for the fulfillment of the
word of the Lord through the mouths
of Prophets, Patriarchs and Apostles
for the last six thousand years?
THE SIGNS OF THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN, ETC. 275
DISCOURSE BY ELDER WILFORD WOODRUFF,
DELIVERED IN THE 13TH WARD ASSEMBLY ROOMS, SALT LAKE CITY,
.
THE SIGNS OF THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN -- THE SAINTS' DUTIES.
My address this afternoon will be
intended for those who profess to be
Latter-day Saints -- those who have
entered into covenant with the Lord
our God. I am surrounded with
those who know by experience that
we are dependent upon the influence
and inspiration of the Holy Ghost to
enable us to teach the things of the
kingdom of God. My faith is that
no man, in this or any other generation, is able to teach and edify the
inhabitants of the earth without the
inspiration of the Spirit of God. As
a people we have been placed in
positions the last forty years which
have taught, in all our administrations and labors, the necessity of
acknowledging the hand of God in
all things. We feel this necessity
to-day. I know that I am not qualified to teach either the Latter-day
Saints or the world without the
Spirit of God. I desire this this
afternoon, and also your faith and
prayers, that my mind may be led in
a channel which may be beneficial to
you. In my public teaching I never
permit my mind to follow in any
channel except that which the Spirit
dictates to me, and this is the position we all occupy when we meet
with the Saints, or when we go forth
to preach the Gospel. As Jesus told
his Apostles, Take no thought what
ye shall say, it is told us, Take no
thought what we shall say ; but we
treasure up in our minds words of
wisdom by the blessing of God and
studying the best books.
We are told in the 24th chapter
of Matthew that Jesus, on a certain
occasion, taught his disciples many
things concerning his Gospel, the
Temple, the Jews, his second coming and the end of the world ; and
they asked him -- Master, what shall
be the sign of these things? The
Savior answered them, but in a very
brief manner. As my mind runs a
little in that channel, I feel disposed
to read a portion of the word of the
Lord unto us, which explains this
matter more fully than the Savior
explained it to his disciples. That
portion of the word of the Lord
which I shall read, is a revelation
given to the Latter-day Saints,
March 7, 1831, forty-two years ago
next March. It commences on the
133rd page of the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants.
[The speaker read the revelation,
and then resumed his remarks as
follows] :
I want to ask who are looking for
the fulfillment of these events, and
who upon the earth are preparing
themselves for the fulfillment of the
word of the Lord through the months
of Prophets, Patriarchs and Apostles
for the last six thousand years?
