Dependence upon the Spirit in Preaching

In standing up in your presence this afternoon, my brethren and sisters, I hope I may be led by the Spirit of the Lord to say something that will be beneficial to some of those gathered in this sacred building. My heart was comforted in the opening hymn. Ofttimes, abroad in the world, while laboring as a missionary, I have found a great deal of satisfaction in taking part with the Saints in the singing of this hymn. I do not intend to read much of it, I will however read a verse or two to this congregation. It may not be Scripture altogether, and yet, in my opinion, the poet has set forth the truth. There are many passages of Scripture that can be brought forth to support and sustain the views that are presented by the writer of this poem : ¶

"In every condition, in sickness, in health, In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth, At home or abroad, on the land or the sea, As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be. ¶

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes ; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake !" ¶

My brethren and sisters, many a soul has been made to rejoice, when far away from home, in taking part with the Saints in singing these precious words. Many of us have learned, by our own experiences, that the Lord is perfectly able, under every circumstance, and in every condition, whether it be at home or abroad, to give that help, succor, and strength that is necessary for the accomplishment of His purposes. He qualifies His servants for the performance of the labors that are assigned to them in the preaching of the Gospel and the accomplishment of all other work necessary for the building up of the kingdom of God. The words of the hymn indicate that our Father in heaven is a being of love, which is in perfect accord with the teachings of the Scriptures. The Scriptures proclaim that God is love; that He sent His Only Begotten Son into the world because of His exceeding great love for mankind that all men who would believe in His precious name might obtain salvation. Christ Jesus was not sent into the world to condemn the world, the Scripture says; but was sent into the world that men through Him might obtain everlasting life. ¶

I ofttimes think, that as a people, we ought to be able to discover, more fully and completely than any other people that God is indeed and of a truth, a being of love for there are doctrines that have been revealed to the Latter-day Saints that are not understood or believed in by the world generally, that show in a remarkable manner the mercy and justice of the Lord, that bear strong testimony to the love of God and that contain within themselves the evidence of divine inspiration. ¶

In conversing with a gentleman a few days ago, he made the remark that the doctrines of Mormonism, the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel, those that are spoken of generally as the first principles of the Gospel, appealed to him because they are so much in accord with the doctrines that were taught by the Redeemer and His Apostles. He made this statement: If you could only leave out Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon, it would be a very easy matter for me to believe in Mormonism. But I cannot comprehend, he added, why there should be any new revelation, or any new volume of Scripture. I asked him the question if he did not believe that our Father in heaven was a being of love, and of course he answered that he did so believe. Then I inquired of him if it did not seem as though it would be necessary for a God of love to have in remembrance all His people? How could he reconcile belief in the love of God with the theory that prevails in the world, that half the people of the world had been forgotten by our Father in ages that are gone by, that He had revealed Himself only upon one hemisphere, and had overlooked the millions of men who dwelt upon the other hemisphere. I quoted to him the Scripture wherein the Savior, having, apparently the thought in mind that He was to accomplish the work of which He was speaking to His disciples, after His crucifixion,— referring to the necessity there was for the laying down of His life, — said unto them : "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold ; them also I must visit, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." Where are the other sheep, or where were they, when they were spoken of by the Redeemer of the world? Mormonism makes answer, and so far as I know there is no other religious denomination in the world that makes such a reasonable explanation of the declaration of Jesus Christ, that He must visit other sheep that were not of that fold. His disciples were acquainted only with that fold in their own country. His apostles carried the Gospel to the nations round about, with whom they were familiar, but there was, without question, some other people with whom those to whom he was talking were not familiar, a people in some other part of the world, they also were to hear the voice of the Redeemer, and have the opportunity of receiving the same glad tidings of good things, the same glorious Gospel that was the power of God unto salvation. ¶

Instead of men hesitating about receiving the doctrines of the Gospel as they have been revealed in the age in which we are living, and as contained in the Book of Mormon it seems to me that men should readily discover in the Book of Mormon additional evidence of the truth of the statement in the old Scriptures, that God is a being of love, and that He has had in memory in past ages, as well as at the present time, all His creatures. All men, as the Scriptures teach, have been created of the same flesh, no difference whatever, and God, their Creator, is no respecter of persons, but He is the same yesterday, today and forever. The very fact that God revealed Himself through His Only Begotten Son to the ancient inhabitants of this continent, taught them the Gospel, conferred upon them the authority of the holy Priesthood, and filled them with the same joy and happiness that were given to their brethren afar off, is very strong evidence of the love of God and, in my mind, a wonderful testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon, and of the inspiration of the Prophet Joseph Smith in translating the sacred record. ¶

So it is in relation to the great doctrines believed in by the Latter-day Saints, that the Gospel is eternal, that the mercy of God endureth forever, and that men are not eternally lost who have not heard the Gospel in mortality. How could God, the Father, be regarded as a God of love if the many millions of men who have inhabited this earth and who have passed away without ever having heard the sound of the Gospel, are to be eternally lost? That does not savor of love. That does not stamp the Creator of the world as being possessed of the attribute of love to any very marked degree. But ! when we apply the doctrine that has been revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith to all the peoples of the earth, whether they live now or in the past, or may live in the future, that there can be no condemnation, no real death, no such thing as damnation, without the rejection of the voice of the Lord, we commence to know something of the love of God. We learn that every soul must hear, and that those who have lived and had not the opportunity, in the flesh, to hear the glad message of the Gospel will be sought after in the spirit world until they are found, and every soul will thus be left standing upon the same kind of foundation, exercising the judgment and agency that the Lord of heaven has given, either to receive or reject His message. That vindicates God as a being of love. To my mind, it tells a marvelous story of inspiration, and of the power of God that rested upon the young man Joseph, as he taught and revealed to the peoples of the earth the glorious message of truth. ¶

Another doctrine revealed by this same Prophet, Joseph Smith, that bears testimony of the love of God. is the salvation of the little children of the world. Men have believed that they were lost, unless certain ordinances had been administered to them. It has been quite generally believed that the little infant at the mother's breast could not be saved without baptism, notwithstanding the fact that the great majority of all the infants that have ever been born into the world have gone to the grave without baptism. It is hard to understand the perfection or love of God in anything of this character; but, when the teaching of sacred truth is applied, as it has been given by the power of inspiration, and by the commandment of God, the wonderful, marvelous and glorious doctrine is revealed that all children, who have not come to years of accountability, are saved in the celestial kingdom of God through the atonement of Jesus Christ. In the law of God manifested in a revelation of this glorious character, who can be so dense as not to discern that the Gospel that has been revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith, is, as we declare, the power of God unto salvation? ¶

These principles are making their way among men, and they will continue to extend, they cannot be staid. Such glorious principles bear the stamp of divinity, and the decree has gone forth from God, in His majesty, power and strength, that the world shall know the truth. When the world comes to know the truth, among other discoveries that will be made will be the fact that Mormonism is not a delusion, or a myth, but a revelation from our Father in heaven, the way He has appointed for the salvation of men. ¶

May God help us ever to remember and hold fast to the truth, that we may save our souls, and be instrumental in spreading this glad news among the people, far and wide, until all men shall be left without excuse. This is our mission and our responsibility. We are under obligation to manifest before mankind that into our souls has come the love of God, by being willing to do our part in the proclamation of the Gospel and the building up of His work. God help us to do it humbly, faithfully and well, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶

A duet and chorus, "Sweet will of God," was sung by Sisters Hardy and Winder, and choir. ¶