DISCOURSE
By Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF. Tabernacle,
Sunday Morning. .
REPORTED BY J. V. LONG.
Brethren and sisters, I have been called
upon and requested to occupy a portion of the
time this morning, and I can truly say that I
always take pleasure, when I have an oppor-
tunity, to bear my testimony of the work of
the Lord in which we are engaged. I hope
that what little time I may speak that I may
be blessed with the Spirit of the Lord, that I
may speak of such things as will be edifying
to you, for there is certainly not much advan-
tage in talking to the people for the sake of
occupying the time, unless it will be beneficial
to us.
I know that it is our duty, in this church
and kingdom, to live in such a manner that we
may feel interested in the things of the king-
dom of our God. I reflect a great deal upon
the blessings which we are enjoying here in
the valleys of the mountains, and I often
think that I do not fully prize the blessings
the Lord has imparted unto me. When I bring
these things to bear upon my mind, I realize,
to a great extent, the necessity of prizing the
gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon me,
and the same duty devolves upon all the saints
of God. If we can be made to rightly value
the gifts which the Almighty bestows upon us,
we shall certainly not do any thing that is
wrong; we shall not walk where we ought not
to walk, but we shall be devoted to the build-
ing up of the kingdom of our God. If our
eyes were opened to see things as they are,
we should live and act as men of God. When
my mind is quickened by the Holy Spirit to
comprehend the things of God, I feel very
thankful for the light and intelligence be-
stowed upon me by the Almighty. I feel
satisfied that our president and leader would
not be inspired to reprove and correct us as a
people, as he is often moved upon to do, if we
were living to our privileges; we should not be
exhorted to turn from the course that we are
in to some other, if we were all doing just
right. But I can say truly, brethren and sis-
ters, that we are a blessed people, yes, we are
blessed above all other people upon the earth.
We have the kingdom of God here with us;
we live in a dispensation and generation in
which the kingdom has been built up, and it
will be permanently established never more
to be thrown down. In this dispensation
the Lord has anointed men to preach
the gospel to every creature. In every other
dispensation the powers of darkness have in a
great measure overcome the kingdom of God,
or in other words have had dominion, so much
so that the kingdom could not live but a little
while; it could not grow and spread itself
upon the earth, and finally that power which
was acting through the agency of the children
of men, even the holy priesthood, was taken
home to God, and it has remained there from
generation to generation, and the world have
been without these blessi[n]gs for many hun-
dreds of years. This has been the difficulty
ever since the creation of the world. Even
when Christ came and established the gospel
upon the earth, it was here but a little season
before the devil, the arch-enemy of the king-
dom of God, overcame those who held the
priesthood, so that the priesthood and author-
ity of the kingdom was taken from the earth,
and the church went into the wilderness,
leaving the people without any inspired men
to say this is the way; walk ye in it. From
that time until the introduction of the fulness
of the gospel by the Prophet Joseph in our
own day and age of the world, there has
been no Peter or Philip, nor any other man, to
teach the people the way of life and salvation,
but they have had to live by the best laws of
morality which they knew; hence the di[v]ision
and contention that has existed in the sectar-
ian world.
But we have had the privilege of living in
the dispensation in which the Lord has pro-
mised that he would establish his kingdom,
and perfect it ready for the appearance of the
Great Bridegroom.
This is the privilege which we enjoy as Latter
day Saints. When the time had come, ac-
cording to the decree of the Almighty, an
angel visited the earth and committed the
priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cow-
dery, and gave them instructions and a pro-
mise that they should be inspired to lay it
before the people. We have embraced this
gospel, and the Spirit of God enlightens our
minds so that we comprehend, by the inspira-
tion of the Almighty, those principles that are
necessary for our present and eternal salva-
tion; and by receiving the principles of life in
our minds, we were led to come to the valleys
of the mountains. We can all now compre-
hend that this is the church and kingdom of
our God, that he has established, to remain for
ever; therefore, instead of being given up to
those evil principles and practices that reign
in the hearts of the children of men, we are
walking in the path of life, and those truths
are now uppermost in our minds. We are
constantly striving to spread abroad this
truth, that the hearts of the children of men
may be inspired to take hold and help this
kingdom to take root and spread abroad until
it shall entirely overcome that power which
has always, in past ages, overcome the kingdom
of God. It is a blessing to us, to the whole
house of Israel, and to the Gentile nations; it
is a blessing that the world never before have
enjoyed. It is true that other dispensations
have had their prophets and apostles, but they
never enjoyed the privilege that we do of
having the kingdom of God continue upon the
earth until it triumphs over all other king-
doms upon the face of the earth, and stands for
ever. Former apostles and prophets had the
unpleasant reflection that the church which
they had built up would fall away, or be overcome
by the power of the devil and wicked men,
and that when they passed off the earth and
went behind the vail, they would have to take
the priesthood with them, because there would
be none living worthy to receive it from under
their hands. They will be crowned with the
Savior according to the promises, but in their
lifetime they never had the opportunity of
planting on the earth a kingdom that should
remain until Jesus should reign as King of
kings and Lord of lords. Lucifer has gained
possession of the earth by overcoming the
children of men; but it does not belong to
him, although he has had possession of it for
a great many generations. I rejoice that the
day is dawning when the principles of right-
eousness and truth will bear rule and bring
forth fruit, until the kingdom and the
dominion shall be given to the saints of the
Most High, and the kingdoms of this world
become the kingdom of our God and his Christ.
The very idea of our becoming co-workers
with Jesus Christ ought to inspire every one
of us with a determination to aid all we can
in this dissemination of those great and glori-
ous principles that are calculated to exalt the
human family from their low and degraded
positions to the favor of God, angels and
men. This is the way I feel in relation to
the church and kingdom of which we are
members.
These blessings are above the blessings of
the riches and comforts of life that we are all
seeking after; they are far more valuable and
more lasting than any other blessing in this
life. Man may have earthly wealth and
honor, but his life is not his own; he has not
the power to prolong his life one day; and
when he dies, his honor, his wealth, and all
that he possesses in this life, passes away.
He receives nothing in this world of riches or
honor that he can carry with him, and except
he stores his mind with knowledge and obeys
the fulness of the gospel, he cannot have the
blessings of a clear conscience and the com-
forts of the Holy Ghost. The rich man, the
rulers of the land, the kings and potentates of
the earth, no matter what they possess, when
they die they can take nothing with them;
they came into the world naked, and they go
into the spirit world as poor as the poor man
who lives and dies in rags. Then all their
acts of greatness and affluence sink into ob-
livion, but still the Lord may hold the kings,
rulers and potentates of the earth responsible
for their official acts.
When an apostle, or president, bishop, or any
man holding the priesthood officiates, he ad-
ministers by the authority of the Lord Jesus
Christ, then that priesthood has effect, and all
the blessings that a servant of God bestows
upon the children of men, will take effect both
in this life and in that which is to come. If I
have a blessing given to me by the holy priest-
hood, or if I receive a blessing from a pa-
triarch, those gifts and blessings will reach
into the other world; and if I am true to my
covenants through this life, I can claim every
blessing that has been conferred upon me, be-
cause that authority by which they were con-
ferred is ordained of God, and it is that by
which the sons of the Most High administer
unto the children of men the ordinances of
life and salvation, and those official acts will
have their effect upon those persons beyond
the grave as well as in this life. These are
the true riches; they are riches that will last
to all eternity, and we have power through
these blessings, conferred by the gospel, to
receive our bodies again, and to preserve our
identity in eternity. Yes, we can claim this
by virtue of the holy priesthood, but it is not
so in the world. There is not a priest in the
world that has administered one of the ordi-
nances of the gospel since the priesthood was
taken away, because, properly speaking, there
can be no ordinance of the gospel administer-
ed without the authority of the priesthood;
hence I say that from the time the priesthood
was taken from the earth until Joseph received
it again from the angel of the Lord, there was
no gospel ordinances legally administered. I
admit, however, that all men will be rewarded
according to the deeds done in the body, and
they will be judged according to the light
which was given to them. This will be the
condition of all who are not called and ordain-
ed of God, notwithstanding they may have
administered what they believe to be the ordi-
nances of the gospel; yet their administra-
tions will have no effect beyond the vail.
When we bring this subject home and con-
sider the difference between the blessings of
the gospel as revealed in its fulness and puri-
ty and being shut out from the light of heav-
en, from the revelations of the Almighty,
from the administration of Angels and from
the voice of God, we ought to prize our priv-
ileges and blessings as Saints far more than
we have done heretofore. Mankind in all
ages search for happiness, they desire social
and domestic peace, and when they think of
the vast future, they desire to participate in
the blessings which are spoken of as pertaining
to that state of existence, but they know not
how to obtain them, except a servant of God
comes along and points out the way of life.
We have the way open before us, and the gift
of eternal life, which is the greatest gift of God,
is promised unto us on condition that we will
continue in well-doing, but we can attain to
that through no other means than strict obe-
dience to the commandments of God.
I refer to these things, brethren and sisters,
because I think we do not sufficiently prize
the great responsibility that we are under to
God and to this generation. It is indeed a
great responsibility which the Lord lays upon
a man when he calls him to the ministry and
sends him to declare to the people that he is
commissioned to preach the gospel, and ad-
minister the ordinances by which they can be
saved, secure a part in the first resurrection
and inherit thrones and dominions in the pres-
ence of God and the Lamb. We have re-
ceived this gospel, and many of the Elders
have gone forth, having been called of God as
was Aaron, and they have offered the truth
to the nations of the earth, a few have re-
ceived the message, but the vast majority
have rejected it, and they are condemned. [Hebrews 5:4]
The Lord told Oliver Cowdery that if he la-
bored in the vineyard and brought in but one
soul, his reward should be great. Then con-
sider how great our reward will be when you
see hundreds and thousands gathering into
these valleys every year, people who have
been brought to a knowledge of the truth by
the labors of the Elders that are now before
me. Our brethren have preached the words
of life to millions of people, and many thou-
sands have given heed to their warning voice,
still they are but few compared with the vast
multitudes who have been commanded to re-
pent of all their sins, be baptized for the re-
mission of them, and have hands laid upon
them for the gift of the Holy Ghost. We are
truly blest in the agency which God has given
us to receive or reject whatever is presented
to us, but we should remember that we
shall be held responsible for the use we
make of the teachings of the servants of God.
It does not make any difference how the
Lord makes known his will, whether by the
whisperings of the Holy Spirit, the adminis-
tration of angels, or by his own voice; it is
all the same; and he has told us emphatically
that his words shall not pass away, but all
shall be fulfilled which has been spoken of by
the Prophets since the world began. [Joseph Smith—Matthew 1:35]
We have but a little time to labor and to
exert ourselves in this kingdom. Thirty years
have already passed away since the organiza-
tion of this Church, and we see a numerous
generation rising up before us that have been
born in this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints; it is almost a generation, accord-
ing to the usual reckoning of mankind since
John the Baptist came and conferred the
Aaronic Priesthood upon Joseph Smith and
Oliver Cowdery; and the kingdom has kept
growing from that time to the present, perhaps
not as fast as it might have done, if all the El-
ders had been as faithful as our President
has been; but still it is progressing rapidly,
and it is where the Prophet had his eye upon
when he said: "O Zion, that bringest good
tidings, get thee up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift
up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not
afraid; say unto the cities of Judah behold
your God!" [Joseph Smith-History 1:72] [Isaiah 40:9] How much the Elders have
talked of this and of the little stone cut out
of the mountain without hands, that was to
roll forth until it filled the whole earth. [Daniel 2:44-45##] We
are now fulfilling those predictions; we are
planted here in the mountains in fulfilment of
the promises of the Almighty.
In the early days of this Church, the Lord
told those who were first called to the minis-
try that they were laying the foundation of a
great work, but they knew it not—they did
not then understand the nature of the work to
which they were called; still they felt by the
inspiration of the Almighty, and their minds
were opened to see that they were called to
take part in a great work, called to a high
and holy calling, but still there was a vail
over their eyes so that they could not com-
prehend it in its magnitude and greatness as
we now do. If the Prophet Joseph had arisen
up in 1831, 2, 3, or even 1834, when we went
up to Jackson county, in the State of Mis-
souri—had he then told the people that this
church would be built up and that this peo-
ple would become a great kingdom, and that
the United States would, in less than one gen-
eration, be in the lamentable position that we
now find them, it would have required a
stretch of our faith to have believed him;
our minds were not then open to that extent
that we could fully comprehend the future.
But we can now see that the words of ancient
and modern Prophets are being fulfilled: this
kingdom is rising in these valleys of the
mountains, and it will eventually spread itself
abroad through the length and breadth of
North and South America. We may now
look forward into the great future that lies
before us, and it will require just as much of
a stretch of faith now as it did in the begin-
ning; to look at the kingdom of God upon the
earth, as it is to be built up in this dispensa-
tion, so that the word of the Lord may go
forth from Zion, the servants of God be
clothed with the power of the priesthood to
give counsel and to preside over the nations
of the earth, when the kingdoms of this world
shall become the kingdom of our God and of
his Christ. It is our duty to live in that way
that we can have power to unlock and com-
prehend the mysteries of the kingdom of God,
and we have got this to do in order that we
may see that the Lord is at work among the
nations for his own glory and for the perma-
nent establishment of his own kingdom.
We ought to be enabled to understand that
there is not a single law that has ever been
issued from the great Eloheim but what will
be fulfilled to the letter, and that not one of
those Prophets who have spoken concerning
the kingdom of God in the latter days, and
the overthrow of wickedness and establish-
ment of righteousness, will fail in their pre-
dictions in reference to the dispensation of
the fulness of times. When we look back for
thirty years, we can see the vast change that
has taken place.
With regard to Babylon and the wicked
nations of the Gentiles, I will say that all
those things that have been spoken concern-
ing them will be fulfulled [fulfilled]. We profess to be
the children of God, the friends of God, and
if the Lord has not got some friends in
these the valleys of the mountains, I would
like to know where his friends are. I have
spoken upon these things, and in reference to
the position we occupy before the heavens
and before this generation, that we may be
stirred up in our minds and be awake to our
duties. If we can be made sensible of that
which is required of us by our leaders, we
shall go to work and do those things that we
know will be for our benefit and good, and for
the advancement of the cause of the kingdom
of God upon the earth. If we are faithful
through this warfare in which we are engaged
we shall be satisfied with the reward and
with the crown that will be bestowed upon us,
and also with the place that we shall occupy
when we pass from this stage of existence.
I will say then, brethren and sistess [sisters], with
regard to those things we have been exhorted
to attend to by President Young from day to
day and from time to time, let us attend to
them. He has a desire to see the people in such
a position that will secure to them the favor
and approbation of the Almighty. We ought
to strive to understand our high destiny, to
learn the mind and will of our Father in heav-
en, that the heavens may be opened unto us,
that we may be filled with light, with truth,
and be clothed with the power of God. It is
with this desire and design that our President
calls upon us to lay aside every thing that has
a tendency to prevent us enjoying the spirit
of the Lord, and us comprehending those
great and glorious principles that we are
seeking after. We all ought to make an ex-
ertion, when he makes a request upon us, and
strive to lay aside all those things that are
contrary to the principles of our holy religion,
and then we ought to take hold with him and
back him up, and sustain with him all the
authorities of the church, striving at all times to
do whatever the Lord requires at our hands.
If we do this, we shall be blest; and if we do
not, we shall meet with a loss. Let us strive
to be more attentive to our duties and to listen
to the words of the Lord, remembering that if
we have not got the spirit of the Lord with us
that we have not got the power of God with
us.
Let us lay aside all evil practices, all those
habits which will prevent our communing
with God. We have not yet got power to oc-
cupy a throne and to govern according to the
laws of heaven; of this we are all sensible,
then if these little things have a tendency to
hinder our enjoyments and debase us in the
eyes of the Lord, we ought to lay them aside
and manifest a determination to do the will of
our Father in heaven, and to accomplish that
work which is laid upon us to perform. When
we have any exhortation from those who lead
us, we should ever be ready to carry it out,
remembering that the Lord holds President
Young responsible for the way in which he
manages and directs this kingdom; and, if
we obey him, we shall be blest and prospered;
but if he gives us commandments and we do
not listen to them, the Lord will not hold him
responsible for our acts. I think upon these
things when I hear our leader giving us com-
mandments to do thus and so, and I feel that
I shall loose the spirit of the Lord, if I do not
comply. We have got to rise up as a people,
and have the power of God constantly with
us, or we shall not accomplish that which is
required at our hands, for it requires faith,
temperance, purity, holiness and the power of
God to be with this people, in order to fulfill
our mission and perform the work of God.
When our Prophets and leaders command us
to do a thing, let us obey, and then we shall
gain the victory.
I have often heard it remarked that when we
have had preaching against merchandizing,
that the next day the merchants have taken
three dollars to where they had previously
only taken one. I hope this will not be the
case with those who make a practice of drink-
ing whisky and have been counseled by Presi-
dent Young to let it alone.
Brethren and sisters, I do not feel that I
want to occupy much more of your time, but
before I conclude, I will say that when I do
anything that prevents me from enjoying the
spirit of the Lord, as soon as I ascertain that,
I immediately throw it aside, so that the spirit
of God may govern and control me in every act
of my life. We came here to build up the
kingdom of God, and we should feel the re-
sponsibility that is upon us. This is our
home; and who of us appreciates the bless-
ings bestowed upon us? We should appreci-
ate them a great deal more than we do, if we
were set down in New York or South Carolina
for a while, we should appreciate our peaca-
ble home; for here we are not troubled with
any of the difficulties which they experience
in the States. We can meet together and
worship God in peace. It is truly a great
blessing to be assembled in these chambers of
the mountains.
Let us try to prove ourselves worthy of our
high calling as Saints of God. I pray that
the Lord will give us power to lay aside every
thing that is wrong; to magnify our callings
and build up the Kingdom of God. I feel to
ask this blessing in the name of Jesus Christ:
Amen.