DISCOURSE
BY
APOSTLE WILFORD WOODRUFF
DELIVERED
In the Tabernacle, Sunday, May
14th, 1882.
REPORTED BY GEO. F. GIBBS.
I feel disposed to read a chapter in
the Bible; the chapter that I shall
read contains, perhaps, a stronger
chain of truth concerning life and
death, the fall and redemption of
man, the redemption and resurrec-
tion of the dead, than any other I
know of in the Bible.
The speaker then read the 15th
chapter, of 1st Corinthians, and said:
Before proceeding to make any
remarks upon this chapter, I wish
to say that there is no person who
knows, before entering this building,
who is going to address the assem-
bly, and, therefore, we have no pre-
pared sermons to deliver, it may be
a miller, or it may be a mason, it
may be a carpenter, or it may be a
farmer, a lawyer, a merchant or
otherwise; this practice is peculiar to
the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat-
ter-day Saints, and the tendency is
to make the speaker, whoever he
may be, depend upon the spirit of
inspiration to guide his thoughts
and dictate his remarks. And, as a
general thing if God, through this
means, gives us nothing to say, we
can say nothing to instruct the peo-
ple.
I have often expressed my views
with regard to the position we oc-
cupy before heaven and earth, be-
fore God, angels and men, and the
views of Jesus and His Apostles and
Elders as they have come down to
us give a key to what I wish to say
upon this subject. If there is an
Emperor, a King, a President, a
ruler of any nation or people, whe-
ther a monarchy, kingdom or repub-
lic, that takes away from any of
his subjects or fellow-citizens the
right to worship God according to
the dictates of their own conscien-
ces, he deprives them of a right
which the God of heaven has guar-
anteed unto them. These are the
sentiments of the Latter-day Saints.
We believe in giving to all
men freedom, freedom in spirit and
action; we believe in religionists of
every creed and faith enjoying the
liberty to worship God according to
the dictates of their own consciences,
which right is guaranteed unto
them by God Himself; and the
man or set of men that would de-
prive their fellows of this God-given
right assumes a responsibility that
they must answer for before the
bar of God. If I had the power and
control of the whole world I would
never think of depriving any man,
woman or child of this natural; this
inherent right, whether their reli-
gious views were true or false. Can
you find from history that God at
any time forced any man to heaven
or Hell? No, you can not. And we
as Latter-day Saints claim this right
and privilege for ourselves to wor-
ship God, to believe in God, and to
believe in the records of divine
truth—the Bible, the Book of Mor-
mon, the Doctrine and Covenants
and the revelations of God.
A public speaker, a teacher of the
people is held responsible before God
and his fellowmen for the doctrine
he teaches; if he teaches any other
gospel than that laid down in the
Bible and taught by the ancient
Prophets and Apostles he is under
condemnation, no matter who he
may be. Paul realized this fact so
keenly that he, in speaking about it
on one occasion, said: "Though we
or an angel from heaven, preach
any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you,
let him be accursed;" [Galatians 1:8] and he re-
peats this sentiment two or three
times over.
I wish to say a few words on one of
the verses I have read, the 22nd:
"For as in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive."
The world, more or less, has found a
great deal of fault with Mother Eve
and with Father Adam because of
the fall of man; what I have to say
with regard to it, I express as my
own opinnion. Adam and Eve
came to this world to perform ex-
actly the part that they acted in the
garden of Eden; and I will say, they
were ordained of God to do what
they did, and it was therefore ex-
pected that they would eat of the
forbidden fruit in order that man
might know both good and evil by
passing through this school of expe-
rience which this life affords us.
That is all I want to say about
Father Adam and Mother Eve.
Adam fell that man might be, and
men are that they might have joy [2 Nephi 2:25];
and some have found fault with
that. It has been said that God
commanded Adam to multiply and
replenish the earth; and it has been
said that Adam was not under the
necessity of falling in order to
multiply and replenish the earth,
but you will understand that the
woman was deceived and not the
man; and according to the justice of
God she would have been cast out
into the lowly and dreary world
alone and thus the first great com-
mand could not have been complied
with unless Adam had partaken of
the forbidden fruit. We acknow-
ledge that through Adam all have
died, that death through the fall
must pass upon the whole human
family, also upon the beasts of the
field, the fishes of the sea and the
fowls of the air and all the works of
God as far as this earth is concerned.
It is a law that is unchangeable and
irrevokable. It is true a few have
been translated, and there will be
living upon the earth thousands and
millions of people when the Messiah
comes in power and great glory to
reward every man accord-
ing to the deeds done in
the body, who will be changed
in the twinkling of an eye, from
mortality to immortality. [3 Nephi 28:8] Never-
theless they must pass through the
ordeal of death involved in the
change that will come upon them.
The Savior himself tasted of death;
He died to redeem the world; His
body was laid in the tomb, but it
did not see corruption; and after
three days it arose from the grave
and put on immortality. He was
the first fruit of the reuurrection.
There was no prophet, no saint or
sinner, from the days of Father
Adam to the days of Jesus that ever
rose from the dead through the keys
and power of the resurrection. Al-
though we read of some who were
restored to life, but this was not
what is termed the resurrection.
With regard to redemption, Paul
said: All the children of Adam are
redeemed from the fall by the aton-
ing blood of Jesus, and all infants
are redeemed as well as other peo-
ple. [Romans 5:12-21] There is no infant or child
that has died before arriving at the
years of accountability, but what is
redeemed, and is therefore entirely
beyond the torments of hell, to use
a sectarian term. And any doctrine,
such as the sprinkling of
infants or any religious rite for lit-
tle children is of no effect whatever
neither in this world nor in the
world to come. It is a man-made
doctrine, and therefore not ordained
of God; and I will defy any man to
find in any of the records of divine
truth any ordinance instituted for
the salvation of little innocent chil-
dren; it would be unnecessary on
the face of it, and the only thing
that can be found is where Jesus
took the little ones in his arms and
blessed them, which is and would
be perfectly right to do according to
the order of God. But the sprinkl-
ing of infants or the doctrine that
infants go to hell under any circum-
stances is a doctrine ordained of
man and not of God, and is there-
for of no avail and entirely wrong
and displeasing in the sight of God.
So much about the infants. I will
say again they are redeemed by the
blood of Jesus Christ, and when
they die, whether of Christian, Pa-
gan or Jewish parentage, their
spirits are taken home to God who
gave them, and never go to suffer
torments of any kind.
Another subject I wish to say a
few words upon: "In Christ all are
made alive." [1 Corinthians 15:22] Since the day that
sin entered into the world men have
been held accountable for their own
acts, and it has been known upon
this earth from the day, at least,
that Cain slew his brother Abel. [Genesis 4:1-16]
And sin has presented itself in dif-
ferent grades; there are murder, blas-
phemy, lying, stealing, whoredom,
and abominations of many different
forms, which have followed man
from generation to generation. For
there was a power that dwelt upon
the earth in the form of thousands
and millions of fallen spirits, one-
third of the hosts of heaven, which
had been cast out of heaven with
the devil in the great rebellion, who
remain in that condition and who
do not possess tabernacles, and
they make war upon the Saints of
God wherever or whenever they are
found upon the earth, and upon all
men; they seek to destroy the whole
human family, and have done so
from the beginning until the present
day, and they have not ceased their
labors nor do they intend to while
Satan remains unbound. All the
children of men who arrive at the
years of accountability are guilty of
sin, all being inclined to do evil as
the sparks are to fly upwards. "What
shall we do to be saved" was the cry
of the people who heard the preach-
ing of Peter on the day of Pentecost,
and the same may be said to be ap-
plicable to all men in every genera-
tion. [Acts 2:37-38] The answer would be, obey
the law of the Gospel. This is the
safe means given for the salvation of
the human family. The law of God,
the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which
Gospel contains the laws of God; it
contains the ordinances, it contains
the commandments, and any man
that breaks them is guilty before
God. And I will here say, as I wish
to be understood by all men, that
our faith is, there never has been
but one Gospel upon the earth
though to-day there are six hundred
three score and six different religi-
ous faiths, all more or less diverse
one from another; but there is but
the one true and everlasting Gospel,
and never will be any more, and it
is the same Gospel that was taught
to Adam, to Noah, to Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob and the Patriarchs, and
which Jesus and the Apostles preach-
ed; it never did vary in the least
in one single instance, nor never
will. And I say, if we teach any
other Gospel than that which was
taught by Jesus and His Apostles,
we teach a false Gospel, and shall
be under condemnation before God,
angels and men.
What is the Gospel as taught by
Jesus himself? The very first prin-
ciple was faith in the Messiah; this
was the first principle ever taught
to man. When Adam, after being
driven from the garden of Eden,
went to Adam-ondi-Ahman to offer
sacrifice, the angel of the Lord asked
him why he did so. Adam replied
that he did not know, but the Lord
had commanded him to do it. He
was then told that the blood of bulls
and goats, of rams and lambs
should be spilt upon the altar as a
type of the great and last sacrifice
which should be offered up for the
sins of the world. [Moses 4:6-8] The first princi-
ple, then, ever taught to Father
Adam was faith in the Messiah, who
was to come in the meridian of time
to lay down His life for the redemp-
tion of man. The second principle
was repentance. And what is re-
pentance? The forsaking of sin.
The man who repents, if he be a
swearer, swears no more; or a thief,
steals no more; he turns away from
all former sins and commits them
no more. It is not repentance to
say, I repent to-day, and then steal
to-morrow; that is the repentance of
the world, which is displeasing in
the sight of God. Repentance is the
second principle.
I have heard many men say, no
ordinances are necessary, that belief
only in the Lord Jesus Christ is ne-
cessary to be saved. I have not
learned that myself from any reve-
lation of God to man, either ancient
or modern. But on the contrary,
faith in Christ, repentance, and
baptism for the remission of sins were
taught by patriarchs and prophets
and by Jesus Christ and His Apos-
tles. Baptism for the remission of
sins is an ordinance of the Gospel.
Says one, baptism is not essential to
salvation. Jesus not only taught it
but rendered obedience himself to
that requirement, not that He was
baptized for the remission of sins,
but, as He said, "to fulfill all righte-
ousness," thus in this, as in all other
respects giving the example for all
who follow. [Matthew 3:13-17] When these principles
of the Gospel are complied with a
man is then a fit subject to receive
the Holy Ghost; and this holy gift
is bestowed to-day as it was ancient-
ly, by the laying on of hands by
men possessing the authority to ad-
minister in the ordinances of the
Gospel. These are the first princi-
ples of the Gospel which we Latter-
day Saints believe in and teach to
our fellow-men.
Joseph Smith received the minis-
tration of Angels, and he by revela-
tion organized the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he
was taught by those who ministered
unto him what to teach to the peo-
ple, which was the everlasting Gos-
pel.
Again, men received the Holy Ghost
through the imposition of hands,
after being baptized for the remis-
sion of sins. The Holy Ghost was
imparted in that way, according to
the promise of those who preached
the Gospel. Joseph Smith when he
organized this Church in 1830 organ-
ized it by revelation; and while we
had hundreds of churches and sys-
tems and religions, not a single de-
nomination upon the earth at that
time preached the Gospel as taught
by the ancient prophets and Apost-
les, or had a church organized on
the earth with prophets and
Apostles, or with signs following the
believers as in ancient days. [Doctrine and Covenants 21:1-3] Can
you tell of one? I never heard of
one until I heard the Elders of this
Church preach the Gospel and set
forth the order of God. When God
commanded Joseph Smith to go
forth and organize the Church,
what authority had he to do so?
None at all until he was ordained
under the hands of those who had
held the keys of the priesthood upon
the earth. [Doctrine and Covenants 27:8-13] And I will say to this assem-
bly, in the days of Jesus Christ
He taught these principles to
the Jews; He brought the
Gospel to the Jews and established
His kingdom among them, and it
came with all its gifts, graces and
powers: the sick were healed; devils
were cast out; the gifts were mani-
fested among them. But the Jews
rejected Him, and they finally put
Him to death,—He and His Apos-
tles. He came to His own Father's
house but He was not received; and
then, according to command, this
Gospel went to the Gentiles—we are
all Gentiles in a national capacity,
we are not Jews, the Jews are
another class of men; they put the
Savior to death, and have suffered
for 1800 years in consequence,—they
have been trodden under the feet of
the Gentiles even until the present
day. Those that took part in that
deed and those who sanctioned it
said, Let His blood be upon us and
our children after us. The Gentile
Judge was willing to release Him
because he could find no fault in
Him; but the feeling and senti-
ment of the Jews was, "Crucify
him! Crucify him l [!]" [Luke 23:21-33] What in-
fidel is there, no matter who he is,
who does not believe in God, let
him read the revelations of heaven
and see the fulfillment of prophecy
from the beginning of Genesis to
our day, and he will see them ful-
filled to the very letter. There is
nothing that has been predicted by
Jesus or the Apostles but what has
already been fulfilled to the very
letter as far as time will admit, and
what has not will be. When, I say,
the Gospel was preached to the
Gentiles it went to them in all its
power, its beauty and glory, Priest-
hood and ordinances as it was of-
fered to the Jews. And Paul, in
writing to the Romans told them
not to be highminded, but to fear;
for if God spared not the natural
branches, who were the Jews, be-
cause of their unbelief, how could
he be more merciful to the unna-
tural branches, who were the Gen-
tiles? [Romans 11:20-21] Has there been the true
Church of Christ upon the earth
since the Apostles were slain? Can
you find a Church upon the earth
organized as it was in that day? No
not one. The Gentiles followed the
example of the Jews in their unbelief
and in putting to death those who
bore the holy priesthood; and in-
stead of the Church of Christ has
sprung up every kind of Church
during the last 1,800 years. But in
these the last days, God has again
restored the everlasting Gospel; and
any man who believes the Bible
must believe the fulfillment of reve-
lation, and he cannot believe in the
fulfillment of prophecy without be-
lieving that God would send again
to the earth angels to deliver that
Gospel. And why send an angel
for this purpose? Because the Gos-
pel was taken from the earth in
consequence of the unbelief of the
Gentiles and the powerful opposi-
tion that was brought against the
comparative few who represented it.
And in fulfillment of the revelation
of St. John, John the Baptist came
to Joseph Smith and conferred upon
him, after a period of preparation
on his part, the Aaronic Priesthood
which authorized him to preach and
to baptize for the remission of sins,
and to administer the sacrament, but
not to lay on hands for the recep-
tion of the Holy Ghost. In due
time, however, Peter, James and
John appeared to him also and con-
ferred upon him the Melchesi-
dek order of Priesthood and
Apostleship, which gave him the
power to organize the kingdom of
God upon the earth. [Doctrine and Covenants 27:8-13] These are
truths whether the world believe
them or not. It makes no difference;
it is the work of Almighty God, and
he is the originator of it. How is
it with the Elders of Israel? God
has called men from the plow, the
hammer and anvil, from the car-
penter's bench, etc., unlearned and
weak mortals, and they have been
sent out to the world to bear record
of this new and everlasting gospel
restored in our day. And what have
they said to the methodists, the
Baptists, and all other religionists
and classes of men. God Almighty
has given unto me a dispensation of
the Gospel and I offer it to you; he
that believes on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and that I am his servant
having His Gospel message to de-
clare to all those to whom I am sen[t,]
and repents and is baptized for th[e]
remission of his sins, shall receiv[e]
the Holy Ghost. This has bee[n]
the purport of the message [we]
have borne to men and nations [for]
the last fifty years. And now [if]
God has nothing to do with thi[s,]
how is it that we have been able [to]
gather together thousands and te[ns]
of thousands from about all natio[ns]
under heaven by the simple p[ro-]
clamation of the Gospel-mess[age?]
How long would it be before Jo[seph]
Smith or any other man who w[ould]
go forth bearing the message [like]
we do, and making the promises [that]
we make, would be found out t[o be]
an imposter unless the promises [we]
made were genuine and looked [upon]
in such a way as to give entire [satis-]
faction to those who hearken[ed]
his word? The whole secret o[f our]
success as far as making conve[rts]
concerned is, that we preach [the]
same Gospel in all its simplicity [and]
plainness that Jesus preached,
that the Holy Ghost rests [upon]
those who receive it, filling [their]
hearts with joy and gladnes[s un-]
speakable, and making them [as one;]
and they then know of the do[ctrine]
for themselves whether it be [of God]
or man. And this Gospel of [Christ]
which we offer is what has le[d this]
Church from its first [organ-]
ization until to-day. And, as I [have]
often said, had it not been fo[r the]
Gospel revealed to us, we [might]
have labored until we were as [old as]
Methusaleh, and Utah [to-day]
would have been as barren as [it was]
in 1847 when we first came to [these]
valleys. At that time we fo[und a]
barren desert, yes, as barren [as the]
desert of Sahara, with no ma[rk of]
the Anglo Saxon race. But [travel]
through Utah to-day and we [find]
houses and cities, gardens [and]
orchards, meeting-houses and [taber-]
nacles and school-houses and [dwell-]
ings, with the blessing of G[od at-]
tending the labors of the p[eople;]
and a community of people [from]
almost every nation taken from [the]
various sects and parties, and [they]
are here through the inspira[tion of]
Almighty-God, and I know it. [We have]
not had power of ourselv[es to]
influence any man or woman [with]
regard to these things. They [have]
been influenced by the testimo[ny of]
Jesus Christ and by the Gosp[el of]
the Son of God. These are [prin-]
ciples by which all men are s[aved.]
All men are saved by and thr[ough]
the blood of Jesus Christ, th[rough]
obedience to the Gospel.
I realize our condition and [the po-]
sition occupied by this generat[ion. I]
know we are looked upon as [a bad]
people, and we are considered [a very]
ignorant people. There never [were]
more epithets heaped upon [Jesus]
Christ and the Apostles than [upon]
the Latter-day Saints. W[hy is]
this? Are we so much wors[e than]
the world? No, we are not. [What]
then is the matter? The Lo[rd Al-]
mighty has set His hand to [gather]
His people, and to build up H[is Zion]
and to establish his Church in [these]
the last days; and the world [do not]
like the doctrine we teach, as [it lays]
the axe at the root of the tre[e, and]
consequently we have been [perse-]
cuted from the time tha[t this]
Church was organized until t[o-day;]
and the persecution will co[ntinue]
more or less until He reigns [whose]
right it is to reign, [Doctrine and Covenants 58:22] until the [Lord]
Jesus Christ comes in the clo[uds of]
heaven to reward every m[an ac-]
cording to the deeds done [in the]
body.
Now I want to say to the L[atter-]
day Saints, we are called to a [great]
work, and we have been ca[lled of]
God, and we, as Elders, hav[e gone]
forth whithersoever we were [sent,]
taking our lives in our hands, [trav-]
eling hundreds and thousan[ds of]
miles without purse or sc[rip. I]
have waded swamps and swu[m riv-]
ers, and have asked my brea[d from]
door to door; and have d[evoted]
nearly 50 years to this work[. And]
why? Was there gold eno[ugh in]
California to have hired me to [do it?]
No, verily; and what I have don[e and]
what my brethren have don[e, we]
have done because we were [com-]
manded of God. And this [is the]
position we occupy to-day. W[e have]
preached and labored at hom[e and]
abroad, and we intend to co[ntinue]
our labors, by the help of G[od, as]
long as we can have liberty to [do it,]
and until the Gentiles prove [them-]
selves unworthy of eternal life, [and]
until the judgments of God ov[ertake]
the world, which are at the [door.]
Does this generation know [what]
awaits them? Does our own n[ation?]
No, the world is ignorant of [what]
must, sooner or later, befall the[m.]
Here is the Christian world [pro-]
fessing to believe the Bible, ca[n you]
show me wherein any of the p[redic-]
tions of the prophets, whether [those]
those of Jonah to the city of Nineveh, or
those of Isaiah to Israel, or to Tyre
and Sidon and other ancient cities
and peoples, have fallen unfulfilled?
No, there is no man can point to a
single prophecy of the servants of
God that has failed in its fulfilment.
Does not the Christian world know
that the Bible is full of revelation
pointing to this day and age of the
world? Let them read the revela-
tions of St. John given him while
upon the Isle of Patmos and they
will know what judgments await this
generation before the coming of the
Son of Man. [Revelation 14] There is a work for
somebody to perform. But when
we undertake to declare in all seri-
ousness that God has anything to do
with the work in which we are en-
gaged they will laugh you in the
face, and the reason is, they have
departed from God and are entirely
unable to comprehend His ways or
His purposes; and instead of believ-
ing the plain and literal meaning of
the word of God they spiritualize it to
suit themselves. Daniel was prepar-
ed to enter the den of lions [Daniel 6]; the three
Hebrew children were not afraid of
the fate that awaited them [Daniel 3]; the
Apostles were valiant for the truth
and shrank not from death for its
sake, and why could those men and
others under similar circumstances
stand by their convictions without
flinching? Because, in the first
place, they had the truth and they
knew it for themselves; and in the
second place, the Holy Ghost, the
Comforter, sustained them as that
power alone can in all the trying
scenes through which the people of
God are called to pass. And this is
so to-day. What the Latter-day
Saints have done by way of preach-
ing the Gospel under all kinds of
difficulties, building up cities and
subduing waste lands, and establish-
ing themselves in the earth, they
have done by the revelations and
commandments of God to them.
I will say a few words concerning
a certain principle, and why I say it
is because we cannot help looking at
the signs of the times as they ap-
pear to-day. I was reading in the
NEWS last evening a speech reported
to have been made by Joseph Smith,
son of the Prophet Joseph Smith,
in which he accuses us of pursuing
an entirely different course from
that of his father; that his father
had nothing to do with the endow-
ments which form a part of our re-
ligious faith; and that his father had
nothing to do with the patriarchal
order of marriage; and he accuses
our bishops of polluting the women
of their several wards so that they
are not fit for wives. This last ac-
cusation is so palpably false and so
utterly mendacious as to be entirely
unworthy of our notice, and I be-
lieve I ought to apologise to this con-
gregation for referring to it at all.
But it shows how weak must be the
hope and faith of men who pretend
to be teachers among the people
when they descend to traduce the
character of innocent men by wil-
fully lying in the hope of bolstering
up and establishing their own pecu-
liar cause. And with regard to the
others, I wish to say, that Joseph
Smith utters falsehoods when he
says what he is reported to have
said about his father; for I bear re-
cord to this congregation, and I ask
our young people to bear it in mind
after I am gone, that Joseph Smith
first made known to me the very or-
dinances which we give to the Lat-
ter-day Saints in our endowments;
I received my endowments un-
der the direction of Joseph Smith.
Emma Smith, the widow of the
Prophet, is said to have maintained
to her dying moments that her hus-
band had nothing to do with the pa-
triarchal order of marriage, but that
it was Brigham Young that got
that up. I bear record be-
fore God, angels and men that Jo-
seph Smith received that revelation;
and I bear record that Emma Smith
gave her husband in marriage
several women while he was living,
some of whom are to-day living in
this city, and some may be present
in this congregation, and who, if
called upon, would confirm my
words. But lo and behold, we hear
of publication after publication now
a days declaring that Joseph Smith
had nothing to do with these things.
Joseph Smith himself organized
every endowment in our Church
and revealed the same to the Church
and he lived to receive every key of
the Aaronic and Melchisedec priest-
hoods from the hands of the men
who held them while in the flesh,
and who hold them in eternity. [Doctrine and Covenants 27:8-12]
I feel to say to the Latter-day
Saints everywhere, brethern and
sisters, do good and you will reap
good; what you sow you will also
reap. [Galatians 6:7] What our nation sows that it
will also reap, and what it measures
to others will be meted back to it
heaped up, pressed down and run-
ning over. I have peculiar feelings
in reflecting upon the condition of
our own nation. Here are the
Methodists and Presbyterians and
others all combining to use
their influence religiously and politi-
cally to put down "Mormonism"
which they say is an abomination
in the land, and a great stain upon
our nation's escutcheon. "O, my
God," I feel to say, "I would our
nation could see and understand
things as they really are." I want
to ask a question. When the sixth
angel sounds his trump revealing
the secret acts of men to an assem-
bled world, which will include us,
what will be the feelings of the
present generation and the rulers
and leading men and women of our
nation as well as those of other
nations, and the leaders of the
Christian world when that angel
declares unto all those who have
condemned and cried against the
Latter-day Saints, especially those
who have taken a leading part, say-
ing, "You, yourselves are defiled
with women, and your own acts,
which are recorded on high will rise
in judgment against you. I say to
this nation, and especially to those
who are actively engaged in bring-
ing about a crusade against us un-
der the cloak of religion, "Sin lies
at your own doors, and what you
measure unto us will, according to
the eternal law of retribution, be
meted back to you, and you cannot
escape it." [Revelation 9:13-19] We declare to all men
that the God of heaven commanded
Joseph Smith to introduce and prac-
tice the patriarchal order of marriage
including the plurality of wives.
And why? Because it was the law
given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
for certain purposes; that holy men
might have their wives and chil-
dren with them in the morning of
the first resurrection in their family
organization to inherit kingdoms,
thrones, principalities and powers in
the presence of God throughout the
endless ages of eternity. Ladies
and gentlemen, the Latter-day Saints
are not the people you think they
are; they are not guilty of the
crimes and wickedness they are ac-
cused of, but on the contrary, they
are as a people, free from the sins
and abominations of this generation.
We are represented as being a com-
munity of adulterers, and as being
murderers. We are no more guilty
of such crimes than were Abra-
ham Isaac and Jacob. What God
has revealed unto us, and that
which we know ourselves to be right
and true, we cherish and revere; and
the covenants that we have en-
tered into in consequence of the re-
velations of God to us, we hold sa-
cred. Our wives and children we
love and respect, and we could no
more deny them their claims upon
us as husbands and fathers, than we
could deny our God.
Another thing, there is no
man that has ever lived who can claim
a wife or child in the resurrection
unless he and she were married and
sealed by divine authority by a man
delegated of heaven to perform the
ordinance of marriage. All con-
tracts not ordained of God entered
into by men, end with this life, and
are therefore without binding effect
in the world to come. And herein
is the difference of the position of
the Latter-day Saints and of the
Christian world with respect to the
married state. The nature of our
marriage covenant is sacred and
binding both for time and eternity,
and I would just as soon think of
denying my God as to sever the re-
lationship existing between me and
my wives and children. Our plural
wives and our children are just as
dear to us as the one wife and the
children of the Gentiles are to them;
and what is more, we have married
our wives by command of God, and
by authority of His Holy Priest-
hood, which has been restored again
to earth; and if we prove faithful
and true to Him and to one another,
we shall claim our wives and chil-
dren in the world to come. Amen.