reflection, I became convinced that he
had been ordained to die—to shed his
blood as a testimony to this dispensa-
tion. But that does not take away the
judgment from those who put him to
death. "It must needs be that offenses
come; but woe to that man by whom
the offense cometh." [Matthew 18:7] As I have
said, Joseph Smith was an illit-
erate man; but afterwards his
teachers and instructors were
angels—Apostles who had dwelt in the
flesh in the days of Jesus. He was in
a condition where he received testi-
monies and teachings from men that
the world did not receive; and he had
power to organize the Church in a
manner that all the Christian world
combined could not do. Why? Be-
cause a man, no matter how wealthy
or how learned, cannot give a thing
that he does not possess. They had
not power to organize this Church, be-
cause they did not possess the Priest-
hood. But Joseph Smith held that
Priesthood and had power to organize
the Church?

From that day until the present this
Church has continued to grow, in the
midst of persecution, in the midst of
drivings and afflictions, in the midst
of death and destruction. Millions of
fallen spirits, with millions of the
human family, have been arrayed
against this Church, but they have not
had power to destroy it. Why? Be-
cause God Almighty has ordained it
to stand. The Lord has ordained
Zion to be built up. He has proclaimed
this through the mouths of inspired
men, who spake as they were moved
upon by the Holy Ghost; and today
you who are here in this Tabernacle in
Logan are testimonies of this before
heaven and earth. This is the reason
why the Presidency can visit you to-
day. It is the reason why Brother
Thatcher and Brother Merrill can
dwell in your midst, and why the
other Apostles can visit you, without
being destroyed. Were it not in the
dispensation of the Almighty to carry
out this principle, you would not have
an Apostle to visit you; they would be
put to death, the same as those in other
dispensations have been. But the Lord
has granted this privilege to you Lat-
ter-day Saints. I feel to thank God
that we live in such a day, when we
have power to build up Zion and fulfil
the words of the Prophets. The inhabit-
ants of the earth have to be warned.
This is the reason why we are here;
why Brigham Young, John Taylor,
and the Twelve Apostles that have
filled their missions have been able to
lie down in their beds, surrounded by
their wives and children, and give up
the ghost, leaving their bodies in the
hands of their friends to carry to the
tomb. These Apostles and Elders,
thousands and thousands of them who
are in the flesh in this day, would just
as readily lay down their lives as did
Peter and the Apostles in the days of
Christ, if called upon to do so, for the
word of God and the testimony of
Jesus Christ. But God has ordained
otherwise.

The Lord has chosen the weak things
of the world to lead this people. Joseph
Smith was but a young man when he
died—not forty years of age. He lived
nearly fourteen years after the organi-
zation of this Church. President
Brigham Young followed him. Who
was Brigham Young? He was a
painter and glazier. He was a humble
man. But the Lord called him to lead
this people. You know Brigham
Young. You know what he has done,
and the spirit that was with him. The
Lord was with him, and he continued
to lead this people by the power of
God and by the revelations of Jesus
Christ. He laid the foundation of a
great work in these mountains of
Israel. Many strangers who have
recently visited us have marvelled and
wondered at Salt Lake City being laid
out in the manner it was. I have told
them that I helped Brigham Young
lay out this city in the midst of sage-
brush, in 1847. There was not a
white man's house then within a
thousand miles of us. What was
John Taylor? He was a wood turner,
and he led the Church for quite a
time. Wilford Woodruff was a miller
and a farmer; that was about the high-
est ambition he ever arrived at, as far
as this world was concerned. That is
about the way the Lord has chosen
these men. Why did he not choose
these learned and great men? As I
have often said, He could not handle
them. God has always chosen the
weak things of the earth. He showed
Abraham, in his day, the spirits that
dwelt in His presence, "and among all
these were many of the noble and
great ones;" and God said unto
Abraham, "These I will make my
rulers; . . . and he said unto me,
Abraham, thou art one of them, thou
wast chosen before thou wast born." [Abraham 3:22-23]
Abraham stood at the head of Israel in
the beginning. He is our great pro-
genitor. God raised up the Savior
through the loins of Abraham.

The Latter-day Saints should not
get the idea that the Lord has forsaken
His people, or that He does not reveal
His mind and will; because such an
idea is not true. The Lord is with us,
and has been with us from the begin-
ning. This Church has never been
led a day except by revelation. And
He will never leave it. It matters not
who lives or who dies, or who is called
to lead this Church, they have got to
lead it by the inspiration of Almighty
God. If they do not do it that way,
they cannot do it at all. [Official Declaration 1] The Lord
will not fail in these last days, and He
will fulfil all that He has promised
through His Prophets and Apostles,
until Zion arises in its glory, and the
Bride, the Lamb's wife, is prepared
for the coming of the great Bride-
groom.

I made some remarks last Sunday at
Brigham City upon this same princi-
ple—revelation. Read the life of
Brigham Young and you can hardly
find a revelation that he had wherein
he said, "Thus saith the Lord;" but
the Holy Ghost was with him; He
taught by inspiration and by revela-
tion; but with one exception he did not
give those revelations in the form that
Joseph did; for they were not written
and given as revelations and command-
ments to the Church in the words and
name of the Savior. Joseph said
"Thus saith the Lord" almost every
day of his life in laying the foundation
of this work. But those who followed
him have not deemed it always ne-
cessary to say "Thus saith the Lord;"
yet they have led the people by the
power of the Holy Ghost; and if you
want to know what that is read the first
six verses of the 88th section of the Book
of Doctrine and Covenants, where the
Lord told Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson,
Lyman Johnson and William E. Mc-
Lellin to go out and preach the Gospel
to the people as they were moved upon
by the Holy Ghost:

"And whatsoever they shall speak
when moved upon by the Holy Ghost
shall be Scripture, shall be the will of the
Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord,
shall be the word of the Lord, shall be
the voice of the Lord, and the power of
God unto salvation." [Doctrine and Covenants 68:4]

It is by that power that we have led
Israel. By that power President
Young presided over and led the
Church. By the same power President
John Taylor presided over and led the
Church. And that is the way I have
acted, according to the best of my abil-
ity, in that capacity. I do not want
the Latter-day Saints to understand
that the Lord is not with us, and that
He is not giving revelation to us; for
He is giving us revelation, and will
give us revelation until the scene is
wound up.

I have had some revelations of late,
and very important ones to me, and I
will tell you what the Lord has said to
me. Let me bring your minds to what
is termed the manifesto. [Official Declaration 1] The Lord has
told me by revelation that there are
many members of the Church through-
out Zion who are sorely tried in their
hearts because of that manifesto, and
also because of the testimony of the
Presidency of this Church and the
Apostles before the Master in Chance-
ry. Since I received that revelation I
have heard of many who are tried in
these things, though I had not heard
of any before that, particularly. Now,
the Lord has commanded me to do one
thing, and I fulfilled that command-
ment at the conference at Brigham
City last Sunday, and I will do the
same here today. The Lord has told
me to ask the Latter-day Saints a
question, and He also told me that if
they would listen to what I said to
them and answer the question put to
them, by the spirit and power of God,
they would all answer alike, and they
would all believe alike with regard to
this matter. The question is this:
Which is the wisest course for the
Latter-day Saints to pursue—to con-
tinue to attempt to practice plural
marriage, with the laws of the nation
against it and the opposition of sixty
millions of people, and at the cost of
the confiscation and loss of all the
Temples, and the stopping of all the
ordinances therein, both for the living
and the dead, and the imprisonment of
the First Presidency and Twelve and
the heads of families in the Church,
and the confiscation of personal prop-
erty of the people (all of which of
themselves would stop the practice),
or after doing and suffering what we
have through our adherence to this
principle to cease the practice and
submit to the law, and through doing
so leave the Prophets, Apostles and
fathers at home, so that they can in-
struct the people and attend to the
duties of the Church, and also leave
the Temples in the hands of the Saints,
so that they can attend to the ordi-
nances of the Gospel, both for the liv-
ing and the dead?

The Lord showed me by vision and
revelation exactly what would take
place if we did not stop this practice.
If we had not stopped it, you would [Official Declaration 1]

THE DESERET WEEKLY

reflection, I became convinced that he had been ordained to die--to shed his blood as a testimony to this dispensation. But that does not take away the judgment from those who put him to death. "It must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh." As I have said, Joseph Smith was an illiterate man; but afterwards his teachers and instructors were angels--Apostles who had dwelt in the flesh in the days of Jesus. He was in a condition where he received testimonies and teachings from men that the world did not receive; and he had power to organize the Church in a manner that all the Christian world combined could not do. Why? Because a man, no matter how wealthy or how learned, cannot give a thing that he does not possess. They had not power to organize this Church, because they did not possess the Priesthood. But Joseph Smith held that Priesthood and had power to organize the Church?

From that day until the present this Church has continued to grow, in the midst of persecution, in the midst of drivings and afflictions, in the midst of death and destruction. Millions of fallen spirits, with millions of the human family, have been arrayed against this Church, but they have not had power to destroy it. Why? Because God Almighty has ordained it to stand. The Lord has ordained Zion to be built up. He has proclaimed this through the mouths of inspired men, who spake as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and today you who are here in this Tabernacle in Logan are testimonies of this before heaven and earth. This is the reason why the Presidency can visit you today. It is the reason why Brother Thatcher and Brother Merrill can dwell in your midst, and why the other Apostles can visit you, without being destroyed. Were it not in the dispensation of the Almighty to carry out this principle, you would not have an Apostle to visit you; they would be put to death, the same as those in other dispensations have been. But the Lord has granted this privilege to you Latter-day Saints. I feel to thank God that we live in such a day, when we have power to build up Zion and fulfil the words of the Prophets. The inhabitants of the earth have to be warned. This is the reason why we are here; why Brigham Young, John Taylor, and the Twelve Apostles that have filled their missions have been able to lie down in their beds, surrounded by their wives and children, and give up the ghost, leaving their bodies in the hands of their friends to carry to the tomb. These Apostles and Elders, thousands and thousands of them who are in the flesh in this day, would just as readily lay down their lives as did Peter and the Apostles in the days of Christ, if called upon to do so, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. But God has ordained otherwise.

The Lord has chosen the weak things of the world to lead this people. Joseph Smith was but a young man when he died--not forty years of age. He lived nearly fourteen years after the organization of this Church. President Brigham Young followed him. Who was Brigham Young? He was a painter and glazier. He was a humble man. But the Lord called him to lead this people. You know Brigham Young. You know what he has done, and the spirit that was with him. The Lord was with him, and he continued to lead this people by the power of God and by the revelations of Jesus Christ. He laid the foundation a great work in these mountains of Israel. Many strangers who have recently visited us have marvelled and wondered at Salt Lake City being laid out in the manner it was. I have told them that I helped Brigham Young lay out this city in the midst of sagebrush, in 1847. There was not a white man's house then within a thousand miles of us. What was John Taylor? He was a wood turner, and he led the Church for quite a time. Wilford Woodruff was a miller and a farmer; that was about the highest ambition he ever arrived at, as far as this world was concerned. That is about the way the Lord has chosen these men. Why did he not choose these learned and great men? As I have often said, He could not handle them. God has always chosen the weak things of the earth. He showed Abraham, in his day, the spirits that dwelt in His presence, "and among all these were many of the noble and great ones;" and God said unto Abraham, "These I will make my rulers; * * * and he said unto me, Abraham, thou art one of them, thou wast chosen before thou wast born." Abraham stood at the head of Israel in the beginning. He is our great progenitor. God raised up the Savior through the loins of Abraham.

The Latter-day Saints should not get the idea that the Lord has forsaken His people, or that He does not reveal His mind and will; because such an idea is not true. The Lord is with us, and has been with us from the beginning. This Church has never been led a day except by revelation. And He will never leave it. It matters not who lives or who dies, or who is called to lead this Church, they have got to lead it by the inspiration of Almighty God. If they do not do it that way, they cannot do it at all. The Lord will not fail in these last days, and He will fulfil all that He has promised through His Prophets and Apostles, until Zion arises in its glory, and the Bride, the Lamb's wife, is prepared for the coming of the great Bridegroom.

I made some remarks last Sunday at Brigham City upon this same principle--revelation. Read the life of Brigham Young and you can hardly find a revelation that he had wherein he said, "Thus saith the Lord;" but the Holy Ghost was with him; He taught by inspiration and by revelation; but with one exception he did not give those revelations in the form that Joseph did; for they were not written and given as revelations and commandments to the Church in the words and name of the Savior. Joseph said "Thus saith the Lord" almost every day of his life in laying the foundation of this work. But those who followed him have not deemed it always necessary to say "Thus saith the Lord;" yet they have led the people by the power of the Holy Ghost; and if you want to know what that is read the first six verses of the 88th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, where the Lord told Orson Hyde, Luke Johnson, Lyman Johnson and William E. McLellin to go out and preach the Gospel to the people as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost:

"And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be Scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation."

It is by that power that we have led Israel. By that power President Young presided over and led the Church. By the same power President John Taylor presided over and led the Church. And that is the way I have acted, according to the best of my ability, in that capacity. I do not want the Latter-day Saints to understand that the Lord is not with us, and that He is not giving revelation to us; for He is giving us revelation, and will give us revelation until the scene is wound up.

I have had some revelations of late, and very important ones to me, and I will tell you what the Lord has said to me. Let me bring your minds to what is termed the manifesto. The Lord has told me by revelation that there are many members of the Church throughout Zion who are sorely tried in their hearts because of that manifesto, and also because of the testimony of the Presidency of this Church and the Apostles before the Master in Chancery. Since I have received that revelation I have heard of many who are tried in these things, though I had not heard of any before that, particularly. Now, the Lord has commanded me to do one thing, and I fulfilled that commandment at the conference at Brigham City last Sunday, and I will do the same here today. The Lord has told me to ask the Latter-day Saints a question, and He also told me that if they would listen to what I said to them and answer the question put to them, by the spirit and power of God, they would all answer alike, and they would all believe alike with regard to this matter. The question is this: Which is the wisest course for the Latter-day Saints to pursue--to continue to attempt to practice plural marriage, with the laws of the nation against it and the opposition of sixty millions of people, and at the cost of the confiscation and loss of all the Temples, and the stopping of all the ordinances therein, both for the living and the dead, and the imprisonment of the First Presidency and Twelve and the heads of families in the Church, and the confiscation of personal property of the people (all of which of themselves would stop the practice), or after doing and suffering what we have through our adherence to this principle to cease the practice and submit to the law, and through doing so leave the Prophets, Apostles and fathers at home, so that they can instruct the people and attend to the duties of the Church, and also leave the Temples in the hands of the Saints, so that they can attend to the ordinances of the Gospel, both for the living and the dead?

The Lord showed me by vision and revelation exactly what would take place if we did not stop this practice. If we had not stopped it, you would