DESERET NEWS
WEEKLY.
TRUTH AND LIBERTY.
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY
THE DESERET NEWS COMPANY.
CHARLES W. PENROSE, EDITOR.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 1883.
FIFTY-THIRD ANNUAL
CONFERENCE.
PRESIDENT WILFORD WOODRUFF
Said we need the spirit of the
Lord in every capacity we are called
to act in, whether in preaching or
administering in the ordinances of
the Gospel. Governments which
are a benefit to mankind, acknowl-
edged and protected the rights of
their citizens. Men are recognized
in their lauded possessions. Why
should not the rights of God who is
the Creator of all be acknowledged?
There have been some of His
children who have been willing to
acknowledge the rule of God, but
such cases have been comparatively
few. Many wars were fought prior
to the supremacy of Rome, for the
political power, but since that time
rivers of blood have been shed in
the name of religion. The Lord has
raised up many men to accomplish
His purposes, though they them-
selves might not have been aware
of this. Even the warriors of the
ages have been raised up by Him.
When a people became wicked and
corrupt, the Lord chastised them.
This has been particularly illustrat-
ed in the people whom the Lord
has chosen as His own, kingdoms
having been raised up to chastise
His people for their transgressions.
Then the Lord smote those who had
afflicted His people in their turn.
There never have been as many im-
portant revelations given at any pre-
vious time as in our day; all the
keys and blessings of every dispen-
sation have been restored through
the Prophet Joseph, who was a lit-
eral descendant of that Joseph who
was sold into Egypt. Many of the
Saints now living were personally
acquainted with Joseph Smith, and
can testify to the truth of his
testimony and the validity of his
calling. The setting up of this king-
dom and its ultimate triumph were
shown in a dream to Nebuchadnez-
zar, and the interpretation was
given to Daniel. We are living in
the time referred to, and there
never was a kingdom of as great im-
portance as the one we are now lab-
oring to establish. Joseph Smith
labored in the ministry fourteen
years, and received during that time
all the keys, ordinances and Priest-
hood that have ever been upon the
earth, and then, after passing faith-
fully through a life of trial and per-
secution for the Gospel's sake, he
sealed his testimony with his blood,
but he left the Church, the King-
dom, the Zion of God, and the au-
thority to continue the work he be-
gan. The principles of good and
evil are placed before us that we
may choose which we prefer. But
we should realize that God and His
power are greater than Satan and
the power of evil. God will estab-
lish His kingdom and will accom-
plish all that has been predicted by
the holy prophets. God did not
create this earth and people it for
the Devil to posses and rule over.
He will build up His own kingdom
and redeem Israel, the Jews, and
His Saints. It requires a great deal
of faith and labor on the part of
those whom the Lord has raised up
and gathered here to accomplish
this, but God has raised up and
will raise up men and people
to accomplish His work. Men were
known and called to positions of
prominence. The Saints are of Eph-
raim and are called to build up the
latter-day Zion. Though there
seemed to be a scarcity of those who
were on the Lord's side, yet when
the Gospel was sent forth it attract-
ed the honest from all nations. From
the beginning this work has con-
tinued to grow and it becomes more
and more difficult for the wicked to
prevail as time passes. Brother
Joseph F. Smith has remarked, the
only time Satan had any chance to
overturn this work was on the day
it was organized. This kingdom had
been set up never more to be thrown
down, but will continue to progress
until Zion shall be built up and be
come the glory and beauty of the
whole earth. The Saints have been
tried and proven even unto death,
and if they are not willing to do this
they will not be worthy to associate
with those who made these sacri-
fices anciently. Jesus laid down
His life for the truth, His Apostles
with one exception died violent
deaths. Many of this people have
lost their lives in this cause.
He is satisfied with their integrity
in this regard. Nor do I believe
that this people will be required to
shed the blood of the wicked, but
the Lord will fight our battles and
cause the wicked to slay the wicked,
that the hands of this people may
not be stained with the blood of
their fellowmen, but the [S]aints
will go forth and labor in the Tem-
ples. Ever since the principle of
patriarchal marriage has been
published to the world this people
have continued to prevail, and if we
will keep the commandments of
God He will take care of us. All of
the laws and ordinances of the Gos-
pel are eternal in their nature and
all the righteous acts of the Holy
Priesthood are recognized in heaven.
We should be careful how we use our
positions. We should not complain
of a man called to preside over us.
While God sustains him I am wil-
ling to do so. I can assure the
Saints of one thing—that the Lord
will not allow any man who pre-
sides over this Church to lead this
people astray. I know that God is
with President Taylor and his Coun-
selors, and is leading them right. I
would sustain a man in any position
no matter what his youth or age just
as long as the Lord sustains him.
There is more union among the
leading authorities now than there
was in our early history and this
principle is spreading abroad. We
should sustain those over us in every
position, and all be careful to sus-
tain each other. The powers of the
Priesthood can only be exercised in
righteousness and cannot be used to
pull down or oppress our brethren.
This has been illustrated among
this people in times that are past.
We must beware of jealousy and
prejudice. We should be careful to
observe the laws and command-
ments of God. Let us labor in the
temples for the redemption of the
living and dead, let us avoid bicker-
ings and fault finding. Let us keep
God's commandments, pay our tith-
ing and perform all our duties. Let
us remember our prayers, for they as-
cend into the ears of the Lord, and
he will be with this people and they
will accomplish all that has been
prophesied concerning them. Those
who were the pioneers in this cause
are passing away, but others are be-
ing raised up to fill their places. I
feel to warn all people to
beware of they way they deal with
this people; for those who rise up
against them shall not prevail, but
will [be] broken and scattered, while
Zion will roll forth and fill the
whole earth. It therefore behooves
us to observe all the laws and or-
dinances of the Gospel, and the
Lord will not forget His promises.
We will build these temples and
complete them and attend to the
work to be done therein, fill up
these vallies of the mountains and
attend to the duties required of us.
We are making a record and will
have to meet it, when we go to the
other side of the veil. May God
help us to be faithful and true to
the end.