The Book of Mormon and Modern Light

I pray that the words which I may speak may be guided by the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord, that they may follow appropriately that which has already been spoken, and be of benefit to the Latter-day Saints who have gathered here. I have rejoiced greatly in the conference, and I have been very glad in my heart to be permitted to meet with you in these great memorial meetings, which have been held, by commandment of the Lord, annually and semi-annually since the Church was established in the year 1830. I feel in my heart to praise the Lord for the advancement and progress that has been made by His people; that His hand has been and is over His Saints; that He is leading them, and that they are not being led by men. We are often inclined to speak of the brethren whom the Lord has placed at the head of His Church, as the leaders of the Church; but they themselves rejoice that they have not the full responsibility of leading this people, but that the Lord himself is leading us, and that He is inspiring those whom He has chosen to stand at our head on the earth. ¶

I have been impressed by the many testimonies that have been borne by the brethren who have spoken, and the great stress that has been laid upon the fact that the Gospel has been restored in this day; that Joseph Smith was raised up of God and was indeed an inspired prophet, and that he was the instrument in the hands of the Lord to establish the Church which has convened this great conference. The hand of man has not been in it, only so far as that hand has been guided by the inspiration of God Almighty. ¶

We have also listened to some comparisons made between the true Church and the other churches of the world, and some very sharp contrasts have been defined. We have been given to understand that some of the principles of the Gospel of Christ revealed in this dispensation are finding their way into the systems of men. What do we see in this? So far as I am concerned, I do not see that those who are incorporating the principles of Christ in their systems are doing it with the view of getting nearer to the Church of God, because they already believe that they have the Church of Christ. They have believed it for many years. I see in this the fulfillment of the prophecies of God made in times gone by, and repeated to the Prophet Joseph Smith by the angel Moroni and other angelic ministers who came to him during his boyhood. I see in it the beginning of the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Prophet Joel, through whom the Lord said: ¶

"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; ¶

"And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit." ¶

I do not believe that these principles are being incorporated into the systems of the world because the man-appointed leaders of the systems have particularly desired it. I am of the opinion that they have had to yield to the public sentiment that is growing in the breasts of mankind, demanding that these truths be adopted. And this is the Spirit of God working among the children of men; and it will continue to work among them. This prophecy will be fulfilled, and mankind shall desire to know the truth. Many of them will seek it, and they will go to their leaders and enquire of them concerning the restoration of the Gospel and the principles of the Gospel of Christ as now promulgated in the world by the Elders of this Church. If satisfaction cannot be given them, then the sentiment will become so strong and so universal that the leaders of the systems of men will have to yield to the demands of the people as they shall be influenced by this unseen power, which is nothing more nor less than the Spirit of God being poured out in measure upon the children of men. ¶

It is no source of rejoicing to the Latter-day Saints that so many millions are ignorant of the truth. It is no great reason for boasting on our part, that changes are being made in the systems of men, and that revealed principles are being adopted by them. While it may show forth their vulnerable parts, and give an opening against which the atheist may direct his shafts of sarcasm, yet the Latter-day Saints will not raise their voices in derision concerning them. Rather will we rejoice that mankind will receive principles of truth, incorporate them in their systems, and live them in their lives. The Gospel has been restored in our day for the benefit of the world, and we deplore the fact that the world to such a great extent are without a knowledge of it. And I am not inclined to believe that they are in this condition of ignorance because they prefer it. The Book of Mormon does not lead one to that conclusion. Read the great vision that was given to the Prophet Nephi, after it had been shown to his father Lehi. Lehi had related the vision to his sons, and Nephi had been filled with a desire to see it himself. The Lord granted him his desire, according to his faith; and a vision of the world, from the beginning to the end of it, was shown unto Nephi, and he was permitted to write much of it. This was six hundred years before the time of Christ. In the vision, Nephi beheld the Virgin Mary, and he saw an infant in her arms, who was the Redeemer of the world. He saw the ministry of the Savior; saw Him heal the sick, perform mighty miracles, and declare righteousness and redemption to the world; saw Him lifted upon the cross by evil men, and suffer ignominy and death. He saw the labors and ministry of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb of God, and afterwards saw the people rise up against them, persecute them, put them to death, and almost exterminate the Saints of God. Nephi saw all this, and wrote of it. Furthermore, he tells us, in the 13th chapter of I Nephi: ¶

"And it came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles the foundation of a great church. ¶

"And the angel said unto me, Behold the foundation of a church, which is most abominable above all other churches, which slayeth the Saints of God, yea, and tortureth them, and bindeth them down, and yoketh them with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into captivity. ¶

"And after they (the Jewish scriptures) go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the foundation of a great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the Gospel of the Lamb, many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. ¶

"And all this have they done, that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men. ¶

"Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and precious things taken away from the book, which is the book of the Lamb of God. ¶

And after these plain and precious things were taken away, it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of captivity; thou seest because of the many plain and precious things which have been taken out of the book, which were plain unto the understanding of the children of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God; because of these things which are taken away out of the Gospel of the Lamb, an exceeding great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan hath great power over them." ¶

From this you may gather some idea as to why the world is in ignorance of the Gospel. ¶

Nephi saw that when the seed of his father had dwindled in unbelief and most of them had been destroyed because of their wickedness, people came to this land out of captivity, where they might be secure in the worship of God. The blessings of the Lord, he says, were with them, and in due time, when the mother nation came to make war upon them and were arrayed in battle against them, God was with them. They had left the nations of the Gentiles and had come to this land of promise, where they might worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, and the Lord preserved them from their enemies. He saw these people going forth among the seed of his brethren (who are now as we know, the Lamanites), taking with them the Bible, the book which had proceeded from the mouth of the Jews, and from which had been taken, by the great and abominable church, many great and glorious principles of the Gospel of Christ, and he beheld that many people did stumble because of the most plain and precious parts of the Gospel which had been taken from the book. But he goes on to say that the Lord would give unto the people who dwelt upon this continent the Gospel in its purity. ¶

"For behold, saith the Lamb, I will manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of thy brethren; behold, these things shall be hid up, to come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of the Lamb; ¶

"And in them shall be written my gospel, saith the Lamb." ¶

Brethren and sisters, we see the fulfillment of this great prophecy in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. That is the book which Nephi saw come forth unto the Gentiles, containing those plain and precious principles which had been taken from the other book, by reason of which mankind were in doubt and without a knowledge of the pure Gospel. Therefore, I say I do not believe the people are in this condition of unbelief, indifference and contention because they prefer to be in that condition, but because for centuries they have been led by men who had not themselves a knowledge of the truth. Their eyes have been blinded to the truth, while they have been led to believe that what they received was the truth. By reading this glorious revelation that has come forth in our day, in the Book of Mormon, we shall find these great principles of truth revealed anew. Furthermore, the Lord pronounced a woe upon those who will stand up and declare, "We have a Bible, and we want no more Bible." He has denounced such; for who is the Lord that He cannot give more to His children? He has made other promises in addition to this. He has declared that there are many other records still to come forth, containing His word to men who have lived upon this earth, and they will come forth in due time to corroborate the words of the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and to establish the fact that all the children of the world are the sons and daughters of God; that He is mindful of them all, and that to all of them will He reveal His word. He spoke thus to the Nephites: ¶

"For behold, I shall speak unto the Jews, and they shall write it; and I shall speak unto the Nephites, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto the other tribes of the house of Israel, which I have led away, and they shall write it; and I shall also speak unto all nations of the earth, and they shall write it." ¶

These records shall come forth, my brethren and sisters, and it ill becomes any man to stand up and attempt to limit God in the exercise of His divine right to speak when and to whom He pleases. We have an evidence of the truth of this in connection with the Book of Mormon itself. A portion of the plates from which the Book of Mormon was translated was sealed, and has not yet been translated, but under the promise of God shall be made known to the people. When these things shall come forth, they will furnish additional and incontrovertible proof that the Book of Mormon is indeed from God. And why should it not be? Have you read the book? Does it not contain revelations and visions similar to the Bible? Does it not contain the same glorious Gospel, and the same mighty exhortations to men to serve God and to turn from their evil ways? Yes. And furthermore, it is a book that has never been contaminated or tampered with by man; and none of the words written in that book have ever been changed by any man or church. They are the pure words of God, as they were given through the inspiration of the Spirit to the prophets who wrote them anciently. Thank and praise God, that in His mercy He has revealed these things to the earth in these days, in fulfillment of prophecy, and that the truth is spreading abroad, and this spirit is being poured out upon the world. Because of the teaching of these additional precious principles of the truth, which have been lost for centuries, the world is enquiring after the truth, and the denominations are being compelled, little by little, to yield to this demand and sentiment of the people through the workings of the Spirit. That is the way I view it. May the Spirit of God continue to be poured out upon the people, that they may desire the truth, aim to do right, strive to know God, and never rest satisfied until they receive the pure Gospel of Christ and enjoy its privileges and blessings, even to the extent that it shall come to them in power, in majesty, and with much assurance, leaving no room whatever for doubt. In this way has the Gospel come to you. So is it being carried to the nations of the world. So is it being accepted by thousands. And so shall this great and mighty power which has been revealed in our day—the Holy Ghost—come to man, and the authority of Almighty God be spread abroad, until all mankind shall be redeemed from their sins, when it shall be a pleasure for men to adopt the truth in their religions. ¶

You Latter-day Saints ought to praise God; but in your thankfulness for the greater blessings which you enjoy, you ought not to denounce others because they have not so much good as you have. No; our whole souls should be filled with pity because of their condition, and we should sympathize with them because of their ignorance and blindness because they are being led by blind guides. We should go forth among them with the sole desire in our hearts to manifest unto them that which God has revealed unto us, and carry to them that which has made us free and happy, and which has made us in very deed the Church and people of God. That should be the feeling of the Latter-day Saints. I feel so at this present time, my brothers and sisters. Sometimes I feel otherwise, because the spirit of humanity and the weakness of the flesh overcome me and cause me to do and say things which are not in accord with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May the Lord forgive it, and help me to become so strong that I may overcome it, so that I may see in all men the children of God, and that I may understand that it is the desire of our Father in heaven that all shall be saved in His kingdom. May I feel a great pleasure and joy in doing my part, and a greater pleasure and joy in seeing all the Latter-day Saints doing their part towards carrying this grand Gospel to all the nations of the earth, that they may hear and, if it please God, yield obedience to the truth. May the Lord bless the Latter-day Saints. May He bless the people of the world. May His Spirit be poured out in more abundance than it has heretofore been. May the people of the world seek after truth to a greater extent than they have already done. May they desire to serve God. May the spirit of good, and not of evil, of love, and not of hatred, of philanthropy, and not of envy, be poured out upon the people, to the consummation of all the righteous purposes of the Lord, and may we live long to see the accomplishment of much of it, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶