THE DESERET WEEKLY.
Truth and Liberty.
No. 18. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, APRIL 21, 1894. VOL. XLVIII.
THE LAW OF ADOPTION.
Discourses delivered at the General Conference of the Church, in the
Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday morning, April 8, 1894, by
PRESIDENTS WILFORD WOODRUFF and GEORGE Q. CANNON
-[REPORTED BY ARTHUR WINTER.]-
PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF.
I feel thankful for the privilege of
meeting with so many of the Latter-day
Saints this morning. In order to pre-
sent my position before the Saints I
wish to say that I have been a member
of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
day Saints over sixty years, a member
of the Quorum of the Apostles fifty-five
years, and the President of the Church
for a short time. During all these years,
and in all my travels, I have never seen
a moment when I have had the power
to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ or
to administer in any of the ordinances
of the House of the Lord, acceptably to
God or to myself, only by the assistance
of the Holy Ghost; and I do not know
of any other man that could ever do
this. Even the Son of God, in referring
to His work, said: "I do nothing of my-
self; but as my Father hath taught me,
I speak these things." [John 8:28] So it has been
with all the prophets and patriarchs in
every age of the world; they have had
to be assisted by the power of God. I
occupy that position today before this
assembly. Therefore, as the Lord com-
manded us not to speak only as we are
moved upon by the Holy Ghost, I
desire that, and in order to obtain it I
want the prayers and faith of the Latter-
day Saints.
I have some things resting upon me
that I wish to present before the Latter-
day Saints, and in order to do this I will
call upon President George Q. Cannon
to read from the Book of Doctrine and
Covenants concerning the subject which
I wish to speak upon.
-[President Cannon read from sec. 128,
as follows:
It may seem to some to be a very bold doc-
trine that we talk of—a power which records or
binds on earth, and binds in heaven. Never-
theless in all ages of the world, whenever the
Lord has given a dispensation of the Priesthood
to any man by actual revelation, or any set of
men, this power has always been given. Hence,
whatsoever those men did in authority, in the
name of the Lord, and did it truly and faith-
fully, and kept a proper and faithful record of
the same, it became a law on earth and in
heaven, and could not be annulled, according
to the decrees of the great Jehovah. This is a
faithful saying! Who can hear it? [Doctrine and Covenants 128:9]
And again, for the precedent, Matthew xvi.
18, 19, "And I also say unto them, that thou
art Peter: and upon this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it; and I will give unto thee the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou
shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven;
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall
be loosed in heaven." [Doctrine and Covenants 128:10]
Now the great and grand secret of the whole
matter, and the summum bonum of the whole
subject that is lying before us, consists in ob-
taining the powers of the Holy Priesthood.
For him to whom these keys are given, there is
is no difficult in obtaining a knowledge of
facts in relation to the salvation of the children
of men, both as well for the dead as for the
living. [Doctrine and Covenants 128:11]
Herein is glory and honor, and immortality
and eternal life. The ordinance of baptism by
water, to be immersed therein in order to an-
swer to the likeness of the dead, that one prin-
ciple might accord with the other. To be
immersed in the water and come forth out of
the water is in the likeness of the resurrection
of the dead in coming forth out of their graves;
hence this ordinance was instituted to form a
relationship with the ordinance of baptism for
the dead being in likeness of the dead. [Doctrine and Covenants 128:12]
Consequently the baptismal font is insti-
tuted as a simile of the grave, and was com-
manded to be in a place underneath where the
living are wont to assemble, to show forth the
living and the dead; and that all things may
have their likeness, and that they may accord
one with another; that which is earthly con-
forming to that which is heavenly, as Paul hath
declared, I Corinthians XV. 46, 47, and 48. [Doctrine and Covenants 128:13]
"Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual,
but that which is natural, and afterwards that
which is spiritual. The first man is of the
earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord,
from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they
also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly,
such are they also that are heavenly." And as
are the records on the earth in relation to your
dead, which are truly made out, so also are the
records in heaven. This therefore, is the seal-
ing and binding power and in one sense of the
word, the keys of the kingdom which consist in
the key of knowledge. [Doctrine and Covenants 128:14]
And now, my dearly beloved brethren and
sisters, let me assure you that these are prin-
ciples in relation to the dead, and the living,
that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining
to our salvation. For their salvation is neces-
sary, and essential to our salvation, as Paul
says concerning the fathers "that they without
us cannot be made perfect," [Hebrews 11:40] neither can we
without our dead be made perfect. [Doctrine and Covenants 128:15]
And now, in relation to the baptism for the
dead, I will give you another quotation of Paul,
I Corinthians XV, 29, "Else what shall they do
which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise
not at all; why are they then baptized for the
dead?" [Doctrine and Covenants 128:16]
And again, in connection with this quotation,
I will give you a quotation from one of the
prophets, who had his eye fixed on the restora-
tion of the Priesthood, the glories to be revealed
in the last days, and in an especial manner this;
most glorious of all subjects belonging to the
everlasting gospel, viz., the baptism for the
dead; for Malachi says, last chapter, verses 5th
and 6th, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the
prophet, before the coming of the great and
dreadful day of the Lord; 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." [Doctrine and Covenants 128:17]
I might have rendered a plainer translation
to this, but it is sufficiently plain to suit my
purpose as it stands. It is sufficient to know,
in this case, that the earth will be smitten with
a curse, unless there is a welding link of some
kind or other, between the fathers and the
children, upon some subject or other, and be-
hold what is that subject? It is the baptism for
the dead. For we without them cannot be
made perfect; neither can they without us be
made perfect. [Doctrine and Covenants 128:15] Neither can they nor we, be
made perfect, without those who have died in
the gospel also; for it is necessary in the usher-
ing in of the dispensation of the fulness of times;
which dispensation is now beginning to usher
in, that a whole and complete and perfect
union, and welding together of dispensations,
and keys, and power, and glories should take
place, and be revealed from the days of Adam
even to the present time; and not only this, but
those things which never have been revealed
from the foundation of the world, but have
been kept hid from the wise and prudent, shall
be revealed unto babes and sucklings in this
the dispensation of the fulness of times. [Doctrine and Covenants 128:18]
Now, what do we hear in the gospel which
we have received? "A voice of gladness! A
voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of
truth out of the earth; glad tiding for the dead;
a voice of gladness for the living and the dead;
glad tidings of great joy; how beautiful upon
the mountains are the feet of those that bring
glad tidings of good things; and that say unto
Zion, behold! thy God reigneth. As the dews
of Carmel, so shall the knowledge of God
descent upon them." [Doctrine and Covenants 128:19]
And again, what do we hear? Glad tidings
from Cumorah! Moroni, an angel from heaven,
declaring the fulfillment of the prophets—the
book to be revealed. A voice of the Lord in
the wilderness of Fayette, Seneca county, de-
claring the three witnesses to bear record of the
book. The voice of Michael on the banks of
the Susquehanna, detecting the devil when he
appeared as an angel of light. The voice of
Peter, James and John in the wilderness be-
tween Harmony, Susquehanna county, and
Colesville, Broome county, on the Susquehanna
river, declaring themselves as possessing the [Doctrine and Covenants 128:20]
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
blood of any of the human family; and
when the books are opened in the day
of judgment these things will be proven
to heaven and earth. Perhaps I had not
ought to enter into these things, but it
came to me. Men are in danger some-
times in being adopted to others, until
they know who they are and what they
will be. Now, what are the feelings of
Israel? They have felt that they wanted
to be adopted to somebody. President
Young was not satisfied in his mind with
regard to the extent of this matter;
President Taylor was not. When I went
before the Lord to know who I should
be adopted to (we were then being
adopted to prophets and apostles,) the
Spirit of God said to me, "Have you not
a father, who begot you?" "Yes, I have."
"Then why not honor him? Why not
be adopted to him?" "Yes," says I,
"that is right." I was adopted to my
father, and should have had my father
sealed to his father, and so on back; and
the duty that I want every man who
presides over a Temple to see performed
from this day henceforth and forever,
unless the Lord Almighty commands
otherwise, is, let every man be adopted
to his father. When a man receives the
endowments, adopt him to his father;
not to Wilford Woodruff, nor to any
other man outside the lineage of his
fathers. That is the will of God to this
people. I want all men who preside
over these temples in these mountains
of Israel to bear this in mind. What
business have I to take away the rights
of the lineage of any man? What right
has any man to do this? No; I say let
every man be adopted to his father; and
then you will do exactly what God said
when he declared He would send Elijah
the prophet in the last days. [Malachi 4:5] Elijah the
prophet appeared unto Joseph Smith
and told him that the day had come
when this principle must be carried out. [Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16]
Joseph Smith did not live long enough
to enter any further upon these things.
His soul was wound up with this work
before he was martyred for the word of
God and testimony of Jesus Christ. He
told us that there must be a welding
link of all dispensations and of the work
of God from one generation to another.
This was upon his mind more than most
any other subject that was given to him.
In my prayers the Lord revealed to me,
that it was my duty to say to all Israel
to carry this principle out, and in fulfill-
ment of that revelation I lay it before
this people. I say to all men who are
laboring in these temples, carry out this
principle, and then we will make one
step in advance of what we have had
before. Myself and counselors con-
versed upon this and were agreed upon
it, afterwards we laid it before all
the Apostles who were here (two were
absent—Brothers Thatcher and Lund, the
latter being in England,) and the Lord
revealed to every one of these men—
and they would bear testimony to it if
they were to speak—that that was the
word of the Lord to them. I never met
with anything in my life in this Church
that there was more unity upon than
there was upon that principle. They
all feel right about it, and that it is our
duty. That is one principle that should
be carried out from this time henceforth.
"But," says one, "suppose we come
along to a man who perhaps is a mur-
derer." Well, if he is a murderer, drop
him out and connect with the next man
beyond him. But the Spirit of God will
be with us in this matter. We want the
Latter day Saints from this time to trace
their genealogies as far as they can, and
to be sealed to their fathers and mothers.
Have children sealed to their parents,
and run this chain through as far as you
can get it. When you get to the end,
let the last man be adopted to Joseph
Smith, who stands at the head of the
dispensation. This is the will of the
Lord to this people, and I think when
you come to reflect upon it you will find
it to be true.
Another principle connected with this
subject I want to talk about. A man
has married a woman, and they have a
family of children. The man lays down
in death without ever hearing the Gos-
pel. His wife afterwards hears the
Gospel and embraces it. She comes to
the temple and she wants to be sealed
to her husband, who was a good man.
The feeling has been to deny this and
to say, "No, he was not in the Church,
and you cannot be sealed to your hus-
band." Many of a woman's heart has
ached because of this, and as a servant
of God I have broken that chain a good
while ago. I have laid before every woman
this principle and let her have her choice.
Why deprive a woman of being sealed
to her husband because he never heard
the Gospel? What do any of us know
with regard to him? Will he not hear
the Gospel and embrace it in the spirit
world? Look at Joseph Smith. Not
one of Joseph Smith's fathers or
brothers or sisters were in the convenant
when he received the keys of the king-
dom of God and translated the Book of
Mormon. They afterwards received it.
Every brother and sister that he had,
and his father and his father's brothers,
except Uncle Jesse Smith, embraced
the Gospel. Now, suppose that any of
these had died before they had the op-
portunity of entering into the covenant
with the Lord through the Gospel, as
his brother Alvin did; they would have
been in the same position as Alvin,
concerning whom the Lord, when Joseph
saw him in the celestial kingdom, said:
All who have died without a knowledge of
this Gospel, who would have received it if they
had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the
celestial kingdom of God; also all that shall
die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who
would have received it with all their hearts,
shall be heirs of that kingdom, for I, the Lord,
will judge all men according to their works, ac-
cording to the desire of their hearts. [Doctrine and Covenants 137:7-9]
So it will be with your fathers. There
will be very few, if any, who will not
accept the Gospel, Jesus, while His
body lay in the tomb,went and preached
to the spirits in prison, who were des-
troyed in the days of Noah. After
so long an imprisonment, in torment,
they doubtless gladly embraced the
Gospel, and if so they will be saved in
the kingdom of God. The fathers of this
people will embrace the Gospel. It is
my duty to honor my father who begot
me in the flesh. It is your duty to do
the same. When you do this, the Spirit
of God will be with you. And we shall
continue this work, the Lord adding
light to that which we have already re-
ceived. I have had friends adopted to
me. We all have, more or less. But I
have had peculiar feelings about it, espe-
cially lately. There are men in this con-
gregation who wish to be adopted to
me. I say to them today, if they can
hear me, Go and be adopted to your
fathers, and save your fathers, and
stand at the head of your father's house,
as saviors upon Mount Zion, and God
will bless you in this. This is what I
want to say, and what I want carried
out in our temples.
The Almighty is with this people.
We shall have all the revelations that
we will need, if we will do our duty and
obey the commandments of God. When
any of us get so that we cannot receive
these revelations, the Lord will take us
out of the way and put someone in our
places who can. I am here today, on
borrowed time, I may say. I would
have been in the spirit world today,
mingling with the spirits in the presence
of God, had it not been for the cry of
this people for my life when I lay at the
gates of death a year ago. I have been
preserved by the power of God. How
long I shall live I do not know. It does
not make any difference to me. But
while I do live I want to do my duty,
I want the Latter-day Saints to do their
duty. Here is the Holy Priesthood in
these mountains. Their responsibility
is great and mighty. The eyes of God
and all the holy prophets are watching
over us. This is the great dispensation
that has been spoken of ever since the
world began. We are gathered to-
gether in these mountains of Israel by
the power and commandment of God.
We are doing the work of God. This is
not our home, as far as mortality is con-
cerned. We shall soon pass away. But
while here let us fill our mission. I
want to say to Brother L. Snow,
Brother M. W. Merrill, Brother J. D. T.
McAllister and Brother D. H. Cannon,
and all associated with you, carry these
things before the Lord and see for
yourselves. If you are not satisfied
with this order of things, go and ask the
Lord about it, and the Holy Ghost will
reveal to you the truth of these princi-
ples.
This is all I ought to say at this
time perhaps upon this subject.
I am glad to meet with you. I have
had a great anxiety over this matter.
I have had a great desire that I might
live to deliver these principles to the
Latter-day Saints, for they are true.
They are one step forward in the work
of the ministry and in the work of the
endowments in these temples of our
God. When you get to the last man in
the lineage, as I said before, we will
adopt that man to the Prophet Joseph,
and then the Prophet Joseph will take
care of himself with regard to where he
goes. A man may say, "I am an
Apostle, or I am a High Priest, or I am
an Elder in Israel, and if I am adopted
to my father, will it take any honor from
me?" I would say not. If Joseph Smith
was sealed to his father, with whom many
of you were acquainted, what effect will
that have upon his exaltation and glory?
None at all. Joseph Smith will hold the
keys of this dispensation to the endless
ages of eternity. It is the greatest dis-
pensation God ever gave to man, and he
was ordained before the world was to
stand in the flesh and organize this
work. He was martyred for the word
of God and testimony of Jesus, and when
he comes in the clouds of heaven he will
wear a martyr's crown. Those of you
who stand here—I do not care whether
you are Apostles or what you are—by
honoring your fathers you will not take
any honor from your heads; you
will hold the keys of the salvation of
your father's house, as Joseph Smith
does. You will lose nothing by honor-
ing your fathers and redeeming your
dead. It is a glorious work. When I
returned from England in 1841 and
heard Joseph Smith give this revelation,
that we had power to redeem our dead,
one of the first things I thought was, "I
have a mother in the spirit world." My
father was in the flesh. I baptized and
ordained him and brought him up to
Zion, where he is buried. But I never
saw my mother to know her. She died
when I was an infant. I had power to
seal my mother to my father. Was not
that a satisfaction? It was to me. I
have gone to work with the assistance
of my friends and redeemed my father's
and my mother's house. When I went
to inquire of the Lord how I could re-
deem my dead, while I was in St.
George, not having any of my family
there, the Lord told me to call upon the
Saints in St. George and let them
officiate for me in that temple, and it
should be acceptable unto Him.
Brother McAllister and the brethren and
sisters there have assisted me in this
work, and I felt to bless them with
every feeling of my heart. This is a
revelation to us. We can help one
another in these matters, if we have not
relatives sufficient to carry this on, and
it will be acceptable unto the Lord.
Brethren and sisters, lay these things to
heart. Let us go on with our records,
fill them up righteously before the Lord,
and carry out this principle, and the
blessings of God will attend us, and
those who redeemed will bless us in
days to come. I pray God that as a
people our eyes may be opened to see,
our ears to hear, and our hearts
to understand the great and mighty
work that rests upon our shoulders, and
that the God of heaven requires at our
hands. Great and glorious are these
principles which God has revealed to us
concerning the redemption of our dead.
I tell you when the prophets and
apostles go to preach to those who are
shut up in prison, and who have not
received the Gospel, thousands of them
will there embrace the Gospel. They
know more in that world than they do
here. I pray God that as a people we
may have power to magnify our call-
ings in this great and mighty dispensa-
tion while we dwell in the flesh, that
when our work is done we may be
satisfied with this life and this work.
This is my prayer and the desire of my
heart, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.