keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of
the fulness of times. "[Doctrine and Covenants 128:20]

And again, the voice of God in the chamber
of old father Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca
county, and at sundry times, and in divers
places through the travels and tribulations
of this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. And the voice of Michael, the arch-
angel; the voice of Gabriel, and of Raphael, and
of divers angels, from Michael or Adam, down
to the present time, all declaring their dispen-
sation, their rights, their keys, their honors,
their majesty and glory, and the power of their
Priesthood; giving line upon line, precept upon
precept; here a little, and there a little—giving
us consolation by holding forth that which is to
come, confirming our hope. [Doctrine and Covenants 110:15]

Resuming, President Woodruff said:
Thus you have before you the subject
which is resting upon us, and which we
wish to present to the Latter-day Saints.
Let me say that age has very little to do
with revelation. In the early age of
the world, old father Adam, three years
previous to his death—he being nearly
one thousand years of age—called to-
gether his posterity in the valley of
Adam-ondi-Ahman, and he stood upon
his feet for hours, clothed with the
power of God and the revelations of
heaven, and blessed his posterity, some
seven of whom, each representing a gen
eration, were High Priests. Among
them were Enoch and Methusaleh, both
great men of their day and generation. [Doctrine and Covenants 107:53]
He prophesied upon them what should
transpire with their posterity unto the
end of time. His old age did not have
any effect whatever upon the revela-
tions of God to him. Joseph Smith,
when fourteen years of age, while
calling upon God in the wilderness, had
the heavens opened unto him. Both
the Father and the Son presented them-
selves unto him in the clouds of heaven,
and the Father said, "This is my beloved
Son; hear him." [Joseph Smith-History 1:17] The age of man is very
short indeed in this day to what it was
in ancient days. Men anciently lived to
a very great age. When four or five
hundred years old they took wives,
begat children, and raised up posterity.
Today our age is limited to something
like three score years and ten.

I wish to say to the Latter-day Saints
that we live in a very important gen-
eration. We are blessed with power
and authority, holding the Holy Priest-
hood by the commandment of God, to
stand upon the earth and redeem both
the living and the dead. If we did not
do it, we should be damned and cut off
from the earth, and the God of Israel
would raise up a people who would do
it. The Lord would not permit me to
occupy this position one day of my life,
unless I was susceptible to the Holy
Spirit and to the revelations of God. It
is too late in the day for this Church to
stand without revelation. Not only the
President of the Church should possess
this gift and give it unto the people, but
his counselors and the Apostles and all
men that bear the Holy Priesthood, if
they magnify their calling, should pos-
sess that gift for themselves and to
assist them in their duties, although they
may not be called to give revelations to
lead and direct the Church. The spirit
of revelation belongs to the Priesthood.

But to come to the subject before us.
Perhaps it may be said by the inquiring
or the objecting mind, What have you
to say about redeeming the dead, or
about baptism for the dead, or the work
of the Temples of our God, that is not
already revealed? I will say this: When
the Prophet Joseph had this revelation
from heaven, what did he do? There
are witnesses here of what he did. He
never stopped till he got the fulness of
the word of God to him concerning the
baptism for the dead. But before doing
so he went into the Mississippi river,
and so did I, as well as others, and we
each baptized a hundred for the dead,
without a man to record a single act
that we performed. Why did we do it?
Because of the feeling of joy that we
had, to think that we in the flesh could
stand and redeem our dead. We did
not wait to know what the result of this
would be, or what the whole of it
should be. Finally the Lord told the
Prophet: "When any of you are bap-
tized for your dead, let there be a
recorder, and let him be eye witness of
your baptisms; let him hear with his
ears, that he may testify of a truth,
saith the Lord; that in all your record-
ings it may be recorded in heaven;
whatsoever you bind on earth may be
bound in heaven; whatsoever you loose
on earth, may be loosed in heaven." [Doctrine and Covenants 127:6-7]
That was the beginning of this work.

Joseph Smith, instead of living to be
nearly a thousand years of age as
Adam did, lived to be about thirty-eight
years of age. He brought forth the
record of the stick of Joseph in the hands
of Ephraim—the history of the ancient
inhabitants of this continent. [Ezekiel 37:16-20] By the
power of God he translated that, and it
has been published in many languages.
Besides this, he organized the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints upon
the foundation of apostles and proph-
ets, Christ Jesus being the chief corner
stone. Men were ordained to the Priest-
hood and sent forth, from the various
occupations of life, to carry this Gospel
to the world. God informed Joseph
Smith that he was called to prune the
vineyard once more for the last time
before the coming of the Son of Man.
Since that, thousands of Elders of
Israel have been sent into the world
to preach the Gospel. Joseph Smith
did all this during the fifteen years he
held the Priesthood. Let any man read
the revelations in the Book of Doctrine
and Covenants, which were given
through him during the little time he
spent here in the flesh. It is one of the
greatest records that any man ever gave
to the human family. Not only this, but
he organized the endowments and did a
great, deal of other work. Who could
expect him, during the short time he
lived in the flesh, to do more than he
did? I received my endowments from
under his hands. He brought forth all
these ordinances that have been given
unto the Latter-day Saints. In fact, it
is a marvel and a wonder that he per-
formed as much as he did.

I want to say, as the President of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, that we should now go on and
progress. We have not got through
revelation. We have not got through
the work of God. But at this period
we want to go on and fulfill this com-
mandment of God given through
Malachi—that the Lord should send
Elijah the prophet, "and he shall turn
the heart of the fathers to the children,
and the heart of the children to their
fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse." [Malachi 4:5-6] Ye sons of men, I say
unto you, in the name of Israel's God,
those very principles that God has re-
vealed are what have stayed the judg-
ments of the Almighty on the earth.
Were it not for these principles, you and
I would not be here today. We have
had prophets and apostles. Presi-

dent Young, who followed President
Joseph Smith, led us here. He organ-
ized these Temples and carried out the
purposes of his calling and office. He
laid the foundation of this great Temple
on this block, as well as others in the
mountains of Israel. What for? That
we might carry out these principles of
redemption for the dead. He accom-
plished all that God required at his
hands. But he did not receive all the
revelations that belong to this work;
neither did President Taylor, nor has
Wilford Woodruff. There will be no
end to this work until it is perfected.

I want to lay before you what there is
for us to do at the present time; and in
doing this I desire particularly the at-
tention of President Lorenzo Snow, of
the Salt Lake Temple; President M. W.
Merrill, of the Logan Temple; President
J. D. T. McAllister, of the Manti Temple,
and President D. H. Cannon, of the St.
George Temple, and those associated
with them. You have acted up to all
the light and knowledge that you have
had; but you have now something more
to do than what you have done. We
have not fully carried out those princi-
ples in fulfillment of the revelations of
God to us, in sealing the hearts of the
fathers to the children and the children
to the fathers. I have not felt satisfied,
neither did President Taylor, neither has
any man since the Prophet Joseph who
has attended to the ordinance of adop-
tion in the temples of our God. We
have felt that there was more to be re-
vealed upon this subject than we had
received. Revelations were given to us
in the St. George Temple, which Presi-
dent Young presented to the Church of
God. Changes were made there, and
we still have more changes to make, in
order to satisfy our Heavenly Father,
satisfy our dead and ourselves. I will
tell you what some of them are. I have
prayed over this matter, and my breth-
ren have. We have felt as President
Taylor said, that we have got to have
more revelation concerning sealing
under the law of adoption. Well, what
are these changes? One of them is the
principle of adoption. In the com-
mencement of adopting men and
women in the Temple at Nauvoo, a
great many persons were adopted to
different men who were not of the
lineage of their fathers, and there was a
spirit manifested by some in that work
there that was not of God. Men would
go out and electioneer and labor with
all their power to get men adopted to
them. One instance I will name here:
A man went around Nauvoo asking
every man he could, saying, "You come
and be adopted to me, and I shall stand
at the head of the Kingdom, and you
will be there with me." Now, what is
the truth about this? Those who were
adopted to that man, if they go with
him, will have to go where he is. He
was a participator in that horrible scene
—the Mountain Meadow massacre. Men
have tried to lay that to President
Young. I was with President Young
when the massacre was first reported to
him. President Young was perfectly
horrified at the recital of it, and wept
over it. He asked: "Was there any
white man had anything to do with
that?" The reply was, No; and by the
representations then made to him he
was misinformed concerning the whole
transaction. I will say here, and call
heaven and earth to witness, that Presi-
dent Young, during his whole life, never
was the author of the shedding of the

keys of the kingdom, and of the dispensation of the fulness of times.

And again, the voice of God in the chamber of old father Whitmer, in Fayette, Seneca county, and at sundry times, and in divers places through the travels and tribulations of this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And the voice of Michael, the archangel; the voice of Gabriel, and of Raphael, and of divers angels, from Michael or Adam, down to the present time, all declaring their dispensation, their rights, their keys, their honors, their majesty and glory, and the power of their Priesthood; giving line upon line, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little—giving us consolation by holding forth that which is to come, confirming our hope.

Resuming, President Woodruff said: Thus you have before you the subject which is resting upon us, and which we wish to present to the Latter-day Saints. Let me say that age has very little to do with revelation. In the early age of the world, old father Adam, three years previous to his death—he being nearly one thousand years of age—called together his posterity in the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman, and he stood upon his feet for hours, clothed with the power of God and the revelations of heaven, and blessed his posterity, some seven of whom,each representing a gen eration, were High Priests. Among them were Enoch and Methusaleh, both great men of their day and generation. He prophesied upon them what should transpire with their posterity unto the end of time. His old age did not have any effect whatever upon the revelations of God to him. Joseph Smith, when fourteen years of age, while calling upon God in the wilderness, had the heavens opened unto him. Both the Father and the Son presented themselves unto him in the clouds of heaven, and the Father said, "This is my beloved Son; hear him." The age of man is very short indeed in this day to what it was in ancient days. Men anciently lived to a very great age. When four or five hundred years old they took wives, begat children, and raised up posterity. Today our age is limited to something like three score years and ten.

I wish to say to the Latter-day Saints that we live in a very important generation. We are blessed with power and authority, holding the Holy Priesthood by the commandment of God, to stand upon the earth and redeem both the living and the dead. If we did not do it, we should be damned and cut off from the earth, and the God of Israel would raise up a people who would do it. The Lord would not permit me to occupy this position one day of my life, unless I was susceptible to the Holy Spirit and to the revelations of God. It is too late in the day for this Church to stand without revelation. Not only the President of the Church should possess this gift and give it unto the people, but his counselors and the Apostles and all men that bear the Holy Priesthood, if they magnify their calling, should possess that gift for themselves and to assist them in their duties, although they may not be called to give revelations to lead and direct the Church. The spirit of revelation belongs to the Priesthood.

But to come to the subject before us. Perhaps it may be said by the inquiring or the objecting mind, What have you to say about redeeming the dead, or about baptism for the dead, or the work of the Temples of our God, that is not already revealed? I will say this: When the Prophet joseph had this revelation from heaven, what did he do? There are witnesses here of what he did. He never stopped till he got the fulness of the word of God to him concerning the baptism for the dead. But before doing so he went into the Mississippi river, and so did I, as well as others, and we each baptized a hundred for the dead, without a man to record a single act that we performed. Why did we do it? Because of the feeling of joy that we had, to think that we in the flesh could stand and redeem our dead. We did not wait to know what the result of this would be, or what the whole of it should be. Finally the Lord told the Prophet: "When any of you are baptized for your dead, let there be a recorder, and let him be eye witness of your baptisms; let him hear with his ears, that he may testify of a truth, saith the Lord; that in all your recordings it may be recorded in heaven; whatsoever you bind on earth may be bound in heaven; whatsoever you loose on earth, may be loosed in heaven." That was the beginning of this work.

Joseph Smith, instead of living to be nearly a thousand years of age as Adam did, lived to be about thirty-eight years of age. He brought forth the record of the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim—the history of the ancient inhabitants of this continent. By the power of God he translated that, and it has been published in many languages. Besides this, he organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus being the chief corner stone. Men were ordained to the Priesthood and sent forth, from the various occupations of life, to carry this Gospel to the world. God informed Joseph Smith that he was called to prune the vineyard once more for the last time before the coming of the Son of Man. Since that, thousands of Elders of Israel have been sent into the world to preach the Gospel. Joseph Smith did all this during the fifteen years he held the Priesthood. Let any man read the revelations in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, which were given through him during the little time he spent here in the flesh. It is one of the greatest records that any man ever gave to the human family. Not only this, but he organized the endowments and did a great, deal of other work. Who could expect him, during the short time he lived in the flesh, to do more than he did? I received my endowments from under his hands. He brought forth all these ordinances that have been given unto the Latter-day Saints. In fact, it is a marvel and a wonder that he performed as much as he did.

I want to say, as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that we should now go on and progress. We have not got through revelation. We have not got through the work of God. But at this period we want to go on and fulfill this commandment of God given through Malachi—that the Lord should send Elijah the prophet, "and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Ye sons of men, I say unto you, in the name of Israel's God, those very principles that God has revealed are what have stayed the judgments of the Almighty on the earth. Were it not for these principles, you and I would not be here today. We have had prophets and apostles. Presi-

dent Young, who followed President Joseph Smith, led us here. He organized these Temples and carried out the purposes of his calling and office. He laid the foundation of this great Temple on this block, as well as others in the mountains of Israel. What for? That we might carry out these principles of redemption for the dead. He accomplished all that God required at his hands. But he did not receive all the revelations that belong to this work; neither did President Taylor, nor has Wilford Woodruff. There will be no end to this work until it is perfected.

I want to lay before you what there is for us to do at the present time; and in doing this I desire particularly the attention of President Lorenzo Snow, of the Salt Lake Temple; President M. W. Merrill, of the Logan Temple; President J. D. T. McAllister, of the Manti Temple, and President D. H. Cannon, of the St. George Temple, and those associated with them. You have acted up to all the light and knowledge that you have had; but you have now something more to do than what you have done. We have not fully carried out those principles in fulfillment of the revelations of God to us, in sealing the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers. I have not felt satisfied, neither did President Taylor, neither has any man since the Prophet Joseph who has attended to the ordinance of adoption in the temples of our God. We have felt that there was more to be revealed upon this subject than we had received. Revelations were given to us in the St. George Temple, which President Young presented to the Church of God. Changes were made there, and we still have more changes to make, in order to satisfy our Heavenly Father, satisfy our dead and ourselves. I will tell you what some of them are. I have prayed over this matter, and my brethren have. We have felt as President Taylor said, that we have got to have more revelation concerning sealing under the law of adoption. Well, what are these changes? One of them is the principle of adoption. In the commencement of adopting men and women in the Temple at Nauvoo, a great many persons were adopted to different men who were not of the lineage of their fathers, and there was a spirit manifested by some in that work there that was not of God. Men would go out and electioneer and labor with all their power to get men adopted to them. One instance I will name here: A man went around Nauvoo asking every man he could, saying, "You come and be adopted to me, and I shall stand at the head of the Kingdom, and you will be there with me." Now, what is the truth about this? Those who were adopted to that man, if they go with him, will have to go where he is. He was a participator in that horrible scene —the Mountain Meadow massacre. Men have tried to lay that to President Young. I was with President Young when the massacre was first reported to him. President Young was perfectly horrified at the recital of it, and wept over it. He asked: "Was there any white man had anything to do with that?" The reply was, No; and by the representations then made to him he was misinformed concerning the whole transaction. I will say here, and call heaven and earth to witness, that President Young, during his whole life, never was the author of the shedding of the