The Gathering of the Priesthood

A gathering of the Priesthood described and analyzed. — The spirit of the Priesthood delineated. ¶

My Brothers and Sisters : If there is anything in the world that will cause one to feel timid, it is in facing a congregation of this character and magnitude, wherein the hosts of Israel are assembled to worship before the Lord. I trust that you will give me your faith and prayers that I may be sustained by the Lord in the remarks which I shall make. ¶

We had a very remarkable gathering in this building last evening. It was a meeting of the Priesthood of the Church. There were present 1389 souls, possibly as great a gathering of this character as we have ever held in the Church. I think it was. A stranger sitting in our midst last evening would doubtless have said : Yes, this is a gathering of your Priesthood. It seems to me that it is a very heterogeneous body of men. The answer to that remark would be : No, it is not a heterogeneous body, but a homogeneous body. If the word had come from the presiding officer of the meeting, there would have been an immediate re-arrangement. The brethren would have divided and sub-divided into groups, until we should have had quite a variety of councils presiding authorities and quorums of the Holy Priesthood; varied as to number, but homogeneous in purpose, in sentiment, and in faith. And if the stranger had sought to discover the identity of these various councils and quorums of the Priesthood, he would have found : first, three great presiding High-Priests, the Presidency of the Church, whose jurisdiction in the Church is supreme, and from whose decision there is no appeal. The Lord has so ordained it. He would have discovered the quorum of the Twelve Apostles, whose authority and jurisdiction reach out into the fifty-six stakes of Zion, and into the world, a body of men who labor directly under the authority of the First Presidency. He would have discovered the council of the Seven Presidents of Seventies, whose jurisdiction and authority extend to an army of Seventies throughout the Church, numbering about ten thousand. He would have discovered the Presiding Patriarch, with a body of Patriarchs,' whose jurisdiction extends to spiritual blessings in the Church. He would have discovered the presidents of stakes, coming from localities in all directions and all parts of the Church, representing fifty-six great stakes of Zion, whose authority is very great and far-reaching in its character, and who preside in a general way, over the quorums of the High Priests and the Elders of the Church, and the Bishopric of the wards and,1 the lesser Priesthood. He would have discovered the bishops of the wards coming from something like 652 organized wards in the stakes of Zion. These men who are denominated as common judges in Israel, are appointed to act as fathers of the people and ministry not only in spiritual affairs, also in temporal matters, to give counsel, and direct, to look after the poor, and see that no iniquity abounds in the Church. He would have discovered numerous quorums or bodies of men 'such as High-Priests, Seventies, Elders, Priests, Teachers and Deacons. The stranger would also have discovered that if this vast body of men had been called into action, every man would know perfectly the scope of his authority and the character of his duty. They would move in a solid phalanx, there would be no confusion, no disorder, no stubbornness of spirit. This is what the stranger would have discovered. Such, my brethren and sisters, is the Priesthood of the Church of God. It is the result of seventy-eight years of training under the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord, which is the spirit of order ; it is the spirit of obedience, the spirit of united action, the spirit of harmony and oneness of purpose. ¶

The opening song that was given last night will be found on page 28 of the Hymn Book. The words of the first verse are as follows : ¶

"God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform, He plants his footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm." ¶

The thought occurred to me, expressed by Bishop Nibley in his remarks last evening, that nowhere in the wide world beyond our borders could such a body of men be brought together as were those assembled in this building last evening. During the meeting, the following song was sung: ¶

"Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah ; Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer, Blessed to open the last dispensation ; Kings shall extol him and nations revere. ¶

Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven ; Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain ; Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren ; Death cannot conquer the hero again. ¶

Praise to his mem'ry, he died as a martyr ; Honored and blest be his ever great name ; Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins, Stain Illinois, while the earth lauds his fame. ¶

Great is his glory, and endless his Priesthood ; Ever and ever the keys he will hold ; Faithful and true, he will enter his kingdom, Crowned in the midst of the Prophets of old. ¶

Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven ; Earth must atone for the blood of that man ; Wake up the world for the conflict of justice : ¶

Millions shall know "Brother Joseph" again." I want to say to you, brethren and sisters, that the spirit aroused by the singing of that hymn last evening in the priesthood meeting and in the meetings of the general assemblies of the Church is a spirit which is unconquerable. I do not say this in an offensive way. It is the spirit that stands for peace, for good order, for virtue, for temperance, for justice and for truth. I tell you, brethren and sisters, it is the spirit that burned in the heart of the prophet, when he declared to the world that he had seen the Father and the Son. And he made this declaration in the face of the opposition of the world, and against the sentiment and the faith of the world. When he would not recant, or take back the announcement or say that he had been deceived, he was hunted like a wild beast. He was driven from pillar to post. He was dragged before the courts time and time again, and on every occasion was discharged for lack of evidence, such evidence as the enemy wanted to convict him, until finally the great prophet of this dispensation, with his brother Hyrum Smith, were lured into the confines of the Carthage jail, and there suffered martyrdom. It is the spirit that fired the heart of Brigham Young when he led the Pioneers across the desert, and into these mountains, and established them here to become a great and mighty people in the Rocky Mountains, in fulfillment of the prediction of the martyred prophet. It is the spirit that burned in the heart of John Taylor, the champion of truth, a man of courage and of unyielding faith. It is the spirit that burned in the heart of Wilford Woodruff, the intrepid missionary of the Church, the man who carried the Gospel to the nations of the earth, with a spirit that could not be wearied, a spirit that could not be discouraged and which knew no failure ; a mighty man of Israel. It is the spirit that burned in Lorenzo Snow, who, like his predecessor, also carried the Gospel to the nations and kingdoms of the world, and in whose heart, when he came to the presidency of the Church, burned a great desire, a great longing, to see the Church freed from the bondage of debt. He inaugurated that great work. It is the spirit, brethren and sisters, that burns in our present leader, the Prophet of God, and a man of mighty faith, a man of integrity a man who loves his people and who is beloved of his people almost as no man who has preceded him' in that office. He has lived to carry on that glorious work of relieving the Church of its obligations, and he lives today, to see the consummation, and, in fact, to bring about the final consummation of that glorious undertaking. I say, my brethren and sisters, the Lord God of heaven bless our leader, and bless the Priesthood of the Church — May He bless the Saints, the people of God, that we may go on from one victory to another, without fear, without trepidation, putting our trust in the arm of Jehovah. I pray that His blessings may continue with us and that His Spirit may abide in our hearts, and rest down mightily upon us during the progress of this great conference of His people, which I ask, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶

Prof. Charles Kent's male chorus rendered a selection entitled "Nearer to Thee." ¶