10 am
meeting at the stand. Pres[idents] O. Hyde W. Woodruff, J. Young, H. Clark
The meeting was called to order by El. Hyde. the choir sung a hymn. Prayer was made to our Father in heaven after which
the choir sung "The Lord will comfort Zion." W. Woodruff arose & s[ai]d br. sis & friends I arise bef[ore] u with very peculiar [illegible]
& with a heart full of grati[tude] to my H Father—yes I rej[oice] that while the Temple of the Lord stands bef me pointd to heaven.
We live in one of the most important periods since chaos rolled out & if I must have chosen my time to dwell on the
Earth it is the time that we r now in, to live in our age of the world the most important we need no fiction for
reality has spoken in the loudest thunders & we of all want to see from da[y] to da the rise & progress of the Ch[urch]
[o]f the LDS. the many 1000s of S[ain]ts that r now dwell[in]g on the Earth—they have been seekg after this time even in the
days of old.
there r 1000s of S[ain]ts now bef me who have sought the same thing. the Gospel of J C. which he
preached & tried to open the eyes of the Jews that they might see the Gos of their forefathers, & he even gave up his
life in the [FIGURE] [cross]. I have perused the rev[elatio]ns of J. C they were prin[ciples] that r set forth in divine truth. I am like one of
old who s[ai]d Lord they have digged down the altars, &c [1 Kings 18:30] by & by Elijah found there were 1000 of similar S[ain]ts in existence
when I became the El[der] of the LDS. I have heard within the last 12 yrs wt I never expected to see or hear
I have seen & heard the great & grand principles of the Gospel. it is true ye L D S have had to pass thru a
narrow path, & you never co[ul]d rece an exalt if u never walked such a road. have the Bible the B of Mor
& u will find they have had to walk the same road. it was their dom[inion] & exalt. & glories & they overcame
by their works on the Earth—all will centre in a grand focus. let us bear oppression, bec[ause] our lives have
been harassed. others have been in the same way & the reward is at the end of the journey. there has been
a miracle wrought in these days if there never was one bef, in rearing a temple as it were with a sword
in one hand & a trowel in the o[the]r while I have been away in the same labor of love we have sent up our
prayers to our Fa[the]r in heaven in your behalf & we have end[eavore]d to bear off the word of the Lord & we have
not lab[ore]d in vain. the work of the L[or]d has never been more prosperous in England than at this time
we had represented in good standing bet[ween] 11 & 12000 & they r ab[ou]t emigrating to Cal. they have only our
S[ain]ts in England all in union we have pub[lishe]d 3000 D. & Cs & sold 1000 bef I left—I sent the proclamation on to
all the m[embers] of Parl[iament], circulated it in Wales, to the Jewish Rabbis. We have not been idle in the Land
I feel more & more conf[i]d every da[y] of my life & when the report reached us that they were burning out the
S[ain]ts & rather than to shed blood to go to the Rocky mountains it made a revival among them & they felt as a
general thing that it was fulfilling the B of Mor
I feel to say that I rej[oice] in the same faith & prin[ciples] that I
have done for the last few yrs. I dont profess to preach here bec[ause] u have had the Shepherds of Israel to lead u
& that in the B of Mor, D & C & every eternal principle that emanates from God & that we may have
a stronger connection with our God. I tell you, to have a connection with this pple rather than with the thrones
of the world. try to [illegible] [ink blot] still the trials that ar placed on us remember we ar not alone for we have the
child[ren] of Israel & our fathers. I feel that we have fulfilled the command of God in building in that Temple
u shall have your reward in the Eternal world. I desire u will still act in union & as your grievances
have been laid bef the lamb & have not recd redress now make them known to the great God his
ears r open to the prayers of the Sts & the time will come that we will be perfectly satisfied for the trials that
we have had. this is the 1st time that I have add[resse]d u since the Temple has been built & it may be the
last. I have desired for a long time that priest & pple Jew & Gentile ma[y] understand the principles. I will sa[y]
as Paul once did that he verily thot he was doing God service, & when his eyes were opened he felt for his
kindred & when I see that we have had a good constitution, & an shelter from the storm & when I see a dagger
thrust into the heart of the eagle. I have been ashamed when I have travelled among the crowned heads
of Europe & have been told of the pers[ecutio]n & asked where is your boasted protection, but who can stand
in the end. In America stands in her own light, if the mormons were the only people that wod suffer
it wod not be so much but look at Greece & Rome, & u see the works of ruin over which this land stands
I sa[y] they r here & my own country & my own Gov[ernmen]t will feel it, by & by it will fall on their own heads
when they have s[ai]d Aha Aha &c. Europe is making capital ^out^ of American mobocracy. I rejoice this
morning & have the priv[ilege] of standing this da[y] with my aged Fa[the]r in your midst. I rej[oice] . . . seeing so many
of the S[ain]ts who r trying to overcome the world, keep their integrity, let us still be faithful & seek God
let us leave vengeance in the hands of the Lord & I am willing to risk my destiny with this pple & where
this pple lives I will live &c & we r tied by the ties the strongest in nature. I am satisfied with the cause.
as am I [illegible]. I have been sufficiently acquainted with the course to remain & sustain every man in his place.
I have tried to fulfil my mission to the best advantage. I will sa[y] that while br Hyde stays here I feel
perfectly to coincide with my b[re]t[hre]n the 12 to give counsel. I want my friends to rece[ive] his counsel & let
it be an end of controversy while he remains with us. I am a passenger in your midst. these r the
feelings that I have this morning. the Ld has not forgotten his pple. Zion will yet arrive & clothe
herself in her beautiful garments. I feel that I have got a little glimpse of the work of the last days
the Ld has sworn that he will gather Israel & the foundation will yet be more glorious, & they will again
build Jerusalem. when the Gentiles reject the Gospel it will be time to take it to the Israelites by & by the
Lord will make a short work & any man ma[y] know that we r living in a very eventful age of the world
why have we been called to bear it? bec. there is no o[the]r pple in the world that could stand it. & who will
make the sac[rifice], there is none? nowhere? In the nearer the pple get to Jehovah, the more persecution
they will have, & the further from God it will be [illegible] fellow well met. br & sis hold on to the end & you
will soon see the sign of the world. if a green tree will burn, how much more a dead tree. there is nothing
ever done within 600 miles of a LDS. but he has done it. not even an Earthquake or a flood but
what is laid to the charge of a mormon. get into the wil[derness] for the world has been tired of u long
enough & [as] u will be society for the while Becau[se] of the Forest & the savage. I sa[y] u ought to go away
from the U. S. & leave your log cabins & the little shoulder for a Temple. go away & let those
men who r more industrious build better towns & let leave your miserable [illegible] behind for
the pple of the great cities of Warsaw & Carthage, & get awa as fast as u can fo as it is requested by
the trouble govr the old cit[y], the U. S & all others. I say to u go, & I pray that u may understand the
signs of the times, & go into the wil[derness] build up Zion in the tops of the mountains that all the world
may come to u & I feel that u will all be satisfied when u get to the end of the race & may we
washe our selves white in the blood of the Lamb