those of us who have the Spirit of God
know that it is true.

I feel to thank God for the progress
of the work. The Elders of Israel are
abroad among the nations carrying the
Gospel to the children of men, and the
Lord is blessing them and opening the
way before them. It is true, our doc
trine is not popular. In fact, the Latter-
day Saints as a body have been under a
ban, in a great measure, from the or-
ganization of the Church until of late.
The doctrine of Jesus is an unpopular
doctrine. But there is only one Gospel;
never was but one Gospel ordained of
God to man for the salvation of the
human family. That Gospel was taught
by the Savior and by His Apostles. It
was taught Joseph Smith by Moroni, and
the Priesthood was given unto him by
John the Baptist, and Peter, James and
John. [Joseph Smith—History 1:59, 72] The first principle of that Gos-
pel is faith. Well, the people of the
world may say, we all believe in Jesus
Christ. Yes, but there is something to
do besides believing in Christ. We
must repent of our sins, be baptized
for the remission of them, and receive
the Holy Ghost. This is the doctrine
taught by Christ and His Apostles.
The same Gospel was taught to Adam
and by him to his chil[d]ren. These doc-
trines have been revealed to us by the
administration of angels. The gifts
the graces, and powers that belonged
to that Gospel are with this people, and
have been from the organization of the
Church.

My brethren and sisters, we must be
faithful, because the responsibility is
great and mighty that rests upon us as
bearers of the Holy Priesthood. You
will see many strange things take place
in the earth. We are at the end, so to
speak, of the six thousand years. We
are bordering on the millennium, when
the Son of Man shall come in the
clouds of heaven. Therefore, we can-
not lay down our Priesthood and the
work which the God of heaven has put
into our hands. The eyes of God
and the heavenly host are upon us.
The eyes of the Prophet Joseph and all
those sanctified spirits who have laid
down their lives for the work of God
and testimony of Jesus are upon us
Therefore, I feel this morning to bear
my testimony to these things. The
Lord has blessed me, so far as life is
concerned, a long time. I have been
connected with this Church while almost
two or three quorums of Apostles have
passed away. Let us lay these things
to heart. Let us look at our position
before the Lord. Let us be true and
faithful in the work of the ministry and
in doing the things God requires at our
hands. God has blessed us. He has
led us unto these mountains of Israel.
The prophet of God was inspired to
bring the people to this great American
desert. There were no marks of the
white man here, no marks of agricul-
ture, and nothing to encourage any
man to stop here; but President Brig
ham Young pitched his tent here, and
laid the foundation of this city, with
these broad streets and sidewalks, in
the midst of sand and sagebrush. The
Lord's Spirit was with him, and he saw
what was to do here. We are in the
midst of the mountains of Israel, pro-
phesied of as the gathering place of the
people of God in the last days, where
they might stand in holy places while
the judgments of God worked in the
earth. Let us try to do our duty, and
labor for the Holy Spirit. The devil
and the fallen spirits have labored from
the creation of the world to thwart the
purposes of God. He did it in the
days of Christ. He tempted even Him
forty days and forty nights. His Apos-
tles did not escape, either. We shall
not escape any more than they did
The arch-enemy is laboring for the
overthrow of this Church and kingdom.
He knows something about it. There-
fore, you and I ought to pursue a course
wherein we can be justified before the
Lord. There are many events before us
and at our door, and they follow each
other in quick succession. No power
on earth or under the earth can stay the
fulfillment of these things. You can
hardly see them with your eyes hear
them with your ears, and feel them in
your spirits. And when these strange
things take place, no man should mar-
vel and wonder at them, because they
are in the great programme. They
have been decreed by Almighty God,
and these things are only the begi[n]ning
of sorrows.

I want to make a few remarks on
another subject. Whenever the Lord
has a people on the earth, no matter in
what age of the world, they will dove-
tail right square into any other dispen-
sation. You may see that throughout
the whole history of the world. When
Christ was born and entered into the
ministry, and when He chose His Apos-
tles, they acknowledged every revelation
that had ever been given from fa[t]her
Adam down to their day. They had
the same Gospel, the same gifts, the
same fruits. Now, if these Latter day
Saints are the saints of God, their
works will be the same as were Christ's
and the Apostles. I hold in my hand
the Doctrine and Covenants, containing
revelations given through the Prophet
Joseph Smith while he dwelt in the
flesh. Read those revelations, and
from beginning to end they unite with
all dispensations God has had on the
earth. And that is not all. When God
has a people on the earth the fruits of
the Gospel will be manifest. In my
boyhood I went to Sabbath school, un-
der old Dr. Porter. I read the New
Testament; I read about the gifts and
graces that Christ and His Apostles
had; and I asked Dr. Porter why it was
that they did not contend for this faith,
and why they did not have these gifts
and graces. "Oh," said he, "those
things were given in the dark ages of
the world, to convince the world that
Jesus was the Christ. We live today in
the glorious Gospel light of Christ, and
we do not need them." Then, said I, for
God's sake give me the dark ages of
the world! That has been my spirit
from that day to this. Here are
thousands of men and women in this
house, if they had the opportunity,
could rise up and bear testimony that
the fruits of the Gospel which the
Apostles enjoyed are with these peo-
ple. These Elders who have traveled
thousands of miles can bear testimony
that wherever this Gospel has been
preached and wherever the Elders of
Israel have administered, the gifts and
graces have followed them. I bear tes-
timony to this. My brethren can bear
testimony to it. The sick have been
healed, devils have been cast out, the
lame have leaped, the deaf have heard,
and all the gifts and graces that ever
were manifest have been enjoyed among
these Elders of Israel. Several years
ago I met a man and woman here in
the street. The woman said, "Do you
know me?" I said I do not. "Do you
know this man that is with me?" "No,
I do not." "Why," said she, "you laid
hands on this boy in Herefordshire
fifty years ago. He was dumb—
never spoke a word till you laid hands
upon him and blessed him; and he has
spoken ever since." We have no business
to claim to be Saints of the living God
without we have the Gospel of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and if we have that,
these gifts will be with us. You know
this as well as I do. Joseph Smith had
the whole spirit and power of this rest-
ing upon him while he lived. He taught
these principles to us, and they have
been realized, and will be until this
scene is wound up. This work shows
for itself. That Gospel was taught
Joseph Smith by an angel, as John the
Revelator says:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of
heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach
unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every
nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.

Saying with a loud voice, fear God, and give
glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is
come. [Revelation 14:6-7]

Yes, the hour of God's judgment is
come, and we should be prepared.
Who besides the Latter day Saints,
since the days of Christ and His
Apostles, have ever taught the principle
of the redemption of the dead? Here
we have four temples reared in this
State by the Latter-day Saints, and tens
of thousands of the dead have been re-
deemed by the administration of the
Gospel of Christ to their posterity or
friends. This is one of the evidences of
the fulfillment of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. The prophet says, "Saviors
shall come up on mount Zion * * and
the kingdom shall be the Lord's." [Obadiah 1:21] If
we were not the saints of God, we
could not do this. Whatever other
dispensations may have done in this
direction, we have no record of it.
Jesus himself preached this doctrine.
While his body lay in the tomb he went
and preached to those who were in the
spirit world, that they might be judged
according to men in the flesh. [1 Peter 4:6] This
work is with the Latter-day Saints, and
will remain with us.

We lost one of our Apostles a short
time since. He was about the youngest
man in the quorum of the Apostles.
He was called suddenly away from us.
There is a meaning to this. Many times
things take place with us that we do not
comprehend, unless it is given to us by
revelation. But there is a meaning in
the loss of that young Apostle. I had a
manifestation of that while in San Fran-
cisco recently. One evening, as I fell
asleep, I was very much troubled with
evil spirits, that tried to afflict me; and
while laboring to throw off these spirits
and their influence, there was another
spirit visited me that seemed to have
power over the evil spirits, and they de-
parted from me. Before he left me he
told me not to grieve because of the de-
parture of Abraham Hoagland Cannon;
for the Lord had called him to fill
another important mission in the spirit
world, as a pure and holy Apostle from
Zion in the Rocky Mountains—a labor
which would not only prove a great
benefit to his father's household, but to
the Church and kingdom of God upon the
earth. I feel to name this, because it is
true. I have become acquainted with
many things in our history that I have
marveled at. While in the St.

546 THE DESERET WEEKLY.

those of us who have the Spirit of God know that it is true.

I feel to thank God for the progress of the work. The Elders of Israel are abroad among the nations carrying the Gospel to the children of men, and the Lord is blessing them and opening the way before them. It is true, our doc trine is not popular. In fact, the Latterday Saints as a body have been under a ban, in a great measure, from the organization of the Church until of late. The doctrine of Jesus is an unpopular doctrine. But there is only one Gospel; never was but one Gospel ordained of God to man for the salvation of the human family. That Gospel was taught by the Savior and by His Apostles. It was taught Joseph Smith by Moroni, and the Priesthood was given unto him by John the Baptist, and Peter, James and John. The first principle of that Gospel is faith. Well, the people of the world may say, we all believe in Jesus Christ. Yes, but there is something to do besides believing in Christ. We must repent of our sins, be baptized for the remission of them, and receive the Holy Ghost. This is the doctrine taught by Christ and His Apostles. The same Gospel was taught to Adam and by him to his children. These doctrines have been revealed to us by the administration of angels. The gifts, the graces, and powers that belonged to that Gospel are with this people, and have been from the organization of the Church.

My brethren and sisters, we must be faithful, because the responsibility is great and mighty that rests upon us as bearers of the Holy Priesthood. You will see many strange things take place in the earth. We are at the end, so to speak, of the six thousand years. We are bordering on the millennium, when the Son of Man shall come in the clouds of heaven. Therefore, we cannot lay down our Priesthood and the work which the God of heaven has put into our hands. The eyes of God and the heavenly host are upon us. The eyes of the Prophet Joseph and all those sanctified spirits who have laid down their lives for the work of God and testimony of Jesus are upon us. Therefore, I feel this morning to bear my testimony to these things. The Lord has blessed me, so far as life is concerned, a long time. I have been connected with this Church while almost two or three quorums of Apostles have passed away. Let us lay these things to heart. Let us look at our position before the Lord. Let us be true and faithful in the work of the ministry and in doing the things God requires at our hands. God has blessed us. He has led us unto these mountains of Israel. The prophet of God was inspired to bring the people to this great American desert. There were no marks of the white man here, no marks of agriculture, and nothing to encourage any man to stop here; but President Brigham Young pitched his tent here, and laid the foundation of this city, with these broad streets and sidewalks, in the midst of sand and sagebrush. The Lord's Spirit was with him, and he saw what was to do here. We are in the midst of the mountains of Israel, prophesied of as the gathering place of the people of God in the last days, where they might stand in holy places while the judgments of God worked in the earth. Let us try to do our duty, and labor for the Holy Spirit. The devil and the fallen spirits have labored from the creation of the world to thwart the purposes of God. He did it in the days of Christ. He tempted even Him forty days and forty nights. His Apostles did not escape, either. We shall not escape any more than they did. The arch-enemy is laboring for the overthrow of this Church and kingdom. He knows something about it. Therefore, you and I ought to pursue a course wherein we can be justified before the Lord. There are many events before us and at our door, and they follow each other in quick succession. No power on earth or under the earth can stay the fulfillment of these things. You can hardly see them with your eyes, hear them with your ears, and feel them in your spirits. And when these strange things take place, no man should marvel and wonder at them, because they are in the great programme. They have been decreed by Almighty God, and these things are only the beginning of sorrows.

I want to make a few remarks on another subject. Whenever the Lord has a people on the earth, no matter in what age of the world, they will dovetail right square into any other dispensation. You may see that throughout the whole history of the world. When Christ was born and entered into the ministry, and when He chose His Apostles they acknowledged every revelation that had ever been given from father Adam down to their day. They had the same Gospel, the same gifts, the same fruits. Now, if these Latter-day Saints are the saints of God, their works will be the same as were Christ's and the Apostles. I hold in my hand the Doctrine and Covenants, containing revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith while he dwelt in the flesh. Read those revelations, and from beginning to end they unite with all dispensations God has had on the earth. And that is not all. When God has a people on the earth the fruits of the Gospel will be manifest. In my boyhood I went to Sabbath school, under old Dr. Porter. I read the New Testament; I read about the gifts and graces that Christ and His Apostles had; and I asked Dr. Porter why it was that they did not contend for this faith, and why they did not have these gifts and graces. "Oh," said he, "those things were given in the dark ages of the world, to convince the world that Jesus was the Christ. We live today in the glorious Gospel light of Christ, and we do not need them." Then, said I, for God's sake give me the dark ages of the world! That has been my spirit from that day to this. Here are thousands of men and women in this house, if they had the opportunity, could rise up and bear testimony that the fruits of the Gospel which the Apostles enjoyed are with these people. These Elders who have traveled thousands of miles can bear testimony that wherever this Gospel has been preached and wherever the Elders of Israel have administered, the gifts and graces have followed them. I bear testimony to this. My brethren can bear testimony to it. The sick have been healed, devils have been cast out, the lame have leaped, the deaf have heard, and all the gifts and graces that ever were manifest have been enjoyed among these Elders of Israel. Several years ago I met a man and woman here in the street. The woman said, "Do you know me?" I said I do not. "Do you know this man that is with me?" "No, I do not." "Why," said she, "you laid hands on this boy in Herefordshire fifty years ago. He was dumbnever spoke a word till you laid hands upon him and blessed him; and he has spoken ever since." We have no business to claim to be Saints of the living God without we have the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if we have that these gifts will be with us. You know this as well as I do. Joseph Smith had the whole spirit and power of this resting upon him while he lived. He taught these principles to us, and they have been realized, and will be until this scene is wound up. This work shows for itself. That Gospel was taught Joseph Smith by an angel, as John the Revelator says:

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.

Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.

Yes, the hour of God's judgment is come, and we should be prepared. Who besides the Latter-day Saints, since the days of Christ and His Apostles, have ever taught the principle of the redemption of the dead? Here we have four temples reared in this State by the Latter-day Saints, and tens of thousands of the dead have been redeemed by the administration of the Gospel of Christ to their posterity or friends. This is one of the evidences of the fulfillment of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The prophet says, "Saviors shall come upon mount Zion * * and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." If we were not the Saints of God, we could not do this. Whatever other dispensations may have done in this direction, we have no record of it. Jesus Himself preached this doctrine. While His body lay in the tomb He went and preached to those who were in the spirit world, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh. This work is with the Latter-day Saints, and will remain with us.

We lost one of our Apostles a short time since. He was about the youngest man in the quorum of the Apostles. He was called suddenly away from us. There is a meaning to this. Many times things take place with us that we do comprehend, unless it is given to us by revelation. But there is a meaning in the loss of that young Apostle. I had a manifestation of that while in San Francisco recently. One evening, as I fell asleep, I was very much troubled with evil spirits, that tried to afflict me; and while laboring to throw off these spirits and their influence, there was another spirit visited me that seemed to have power over the evil spirits, and they departed from me. Before he left me he told me not to grieve because of the departure of Abraham Hoagland Cannon; for the Lord had called him to fill another important mission in the spirit world, as a pure and holy Apostle from Zion in the Rocky Mountainsa labor which would not only prove a great benefit to his father's household, but to the Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. I feel to name this, because it is true. I have become acquainted with many things in our history that I have marveled at. While in the St.