My Brethren and Sisters, Charles Dickens Wrote

My brethren and sisters, Charles Dickens wrote, "If you would understand the feelings of your fellow man, try to put yourself in his place." I realize the responsibility resting upon the brethren who arise to speak to this vast congregation, and I can say today, of a truth, that I have been greatly edified and instructed by the remarks of my brethren during the sessions of this great conference. Nothing of greater interest has transpired during our meetings than the salient points expressed by each speaker on the subjects by them handled. The address on the life of the Pioneer, Orson Pratt, reminded the people of the labors of that great man, especially those who have been somewhat conversant with his life and history and his devout and unceasing toil for his fellow man. We were reminded of his charming personality, and of his devoted friendship to all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance and friendship. This afternoon we have been interested very much in the subject of the temples of our God, and the work that has been done in these great edifices for the benefit of the living as well as the dead. In the dedication of the Kirtland Temple the Prophet Joseph gave utterance to this beautiful prayer, a portion of which I will read, found in the 109th section of the Book of Covenants : ¶

Thanks be to Thy name, O Lord God of Israel, who keepeth covenant and showeth mercy unto Thy servants who walk uprightly before Thee, with all their hearts; ¶

Thou who hast commanded Thy servants to build a house to Thy name in this place [Kirtland]. ¶

And now Thou beholdest, O Lord, that Thy servants have done according to Thy commandment. * * * ¶

For Thou knowest that we < have done this work through great tribulation; and out of our poverty we have given of our substance, to build a house to Thy name, that the Son of Man might have a place to manifest Himself to His people. ¶

The following afternoon, Sidney Rigdon was called upon to speak, and given a portion of the time of the dedicatorial services. In his utterance of a great sermon — for I believe that he was under the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord, for that was in the day of his fellowship with the Church and with the Prophet Joseph — he said: ¶

In times that have passed and up to the present day the Christian churches of all the civilized world have builded places of worship, houses where they have met together, and churches to accommodate the people in their religious services, and one church has been dedicated to the name of Paul. Another church has been dedicated to the name of Peter, and another to the name of James and John, and so through the catalogue of names of holy men, of prophets and apostles that have spoken under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord, and so have hallowed their names and the memory thereof to future generations, and their names have been used, and the buildings of the churches have been dedicated to these prophets and apostles, and their names inscribed upon the lintel of the doorway. It has fallen to the lot of a people who have received revelation through their prophet today, and who have been organized by the power of the Lord into quorums of the Priesthood, the despised people called Latter-day Saints they are the first to build a house of worship, and place upon it the name of ¶

Jesus Christ and devote it and dedicate it to Him, and by the power and testimony that has rested upon the congregations of this people in these assemblages we know that it has been accepted by Him. ¶

The Lord chose a boy, if you please, as we were told yesterday. Joseph Smith was only a boy when the Lord called him, when appeared unto him the Father and the Son. They sent before them their messenger, the Holy Ghost, to rest upon the boy to drive away from him the evil influences that were struggling to overcome him, and prepare him by the endowment of this holy power to receive the visitation of the Father and the Son. This was not the first record that we have of a like visit ushered in by a like presence. You remember what Luke says in regard to the birth of the Savior of the world, in the most ideal language that was ever used. No one of the evangelists comes near to him in the expression of the truth of that event as it occurred. The Angel Gabriel came to Mary and he said to her, "Hail, thou that art highly favored above women!" And she knew not what to make of the salutation and then the angel continued and said, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest" — who is the highest? God the Eternal Father — "the power of the Highest shall o'ershadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." ¶

So we know that the Lord can prepare the least of His servants or handmaidens for the labors and for the ministry that He places upon them. We have another very glorious example of the Lord calling a small boy, much younger than the Prophet Joseph when he received the visitation of the Father and the Son. I allude now to the Prophet Samuel. Samuel was given to his mother Hannah. She was the wife of Elkanah, a High Priest, and she was childless, and her sorrow knew no bounds. She sought the Lord in her home in her private chamber, and she also went to the temple and prayed upon the steps of the temple, without the door of the temple, and one day as she was praying for relief from her reproach in Isarel, because she was barren, Eli in a heartless manner said to her— Eli, by the way, was the High Priest of the temple— he said to her, "How long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee." And she said to him, "I have drunk neither wine nor strongdrink, but have poured out my soul before the Lord." When Eli heard this his heart softened and he said to Hannah, "Go in peace; and the God ^ of Israel grant thee thy petition." We are told that she vowed in her heart and covenanted before the Lord that day that if He gave her a son she would devote him to the work in the temple of the Lord all his days. Sure enough, the Lord answered her prayer and gave her a son, and when he was of very tender years she brought him to the temple, and he made his abode there with the High Priest Eli, and slept near him in the temple. And one night a voice said "Samuel !" And the boy arose quickly and went over to Eli, and said to him, "Here am I ; for thou calledst me." "I called not," said Eli. Samuel returned to his couch again, and the voice came again to him, "Samuel!" And he arose again and went to Eli, but Eli said "I called not, my son." But after the third time, said Eli to him, ¶

"It shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth." So when the voice came again calling Samuel the boy answered accordingly, and the Lord gave him a commission, a command to call Eli to account for the wickedness of his sons. There are very many examples, very many records, but these are salient points that I think of now that will bear us out in the testimony that we give of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Although he was called to the ministry when a mere boy, how well he filled that ministry and mission given to him by the Son of God. . How eagerly he gave the strength of his young manhood, as he matured in years and grew in knowledge, and as the Lord revealed unto Him, line upon line, and precept upon precept, of how and when, and the proper way to minister in the Gospel ordinances ; and at the completion of the temple he gave this wonderful prayer, a portion of which I have read. About six clays after, the following .revelation was given to Joseph the Seer and to Oliver Cowdery : ¶

The veil was taken from our minds, and the eyes of our understanding were opened. ¶

We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit before us, and under His feet was a paved work of pure gold in color like amber. ¶

His eyes were as a flame of fire, the hair of His head was white like the pure snow, His countenance shone above the brightness of the sun, and His voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: ¶

I am the first and the last, I am He who liveth, I am He who was slain, I am your advocate with the Father. ¶

Behold, your sins are forgiven you, you are clean before me, therefore lift up your heads and rejoice. ¶

Let the hearts of your brethren rejoice, and let the hearts of all my people rejoice, who have, with their might, built this house to my name. ¶

And the fame of this house shall spread to foreign lands, and this is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people. Even so. Amen. ¶

After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us, and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the Ten Tribes from the land of the north. ¶

After this, Elias appeared, and committed the dispensation of the Gospel of Abraham, saying, that in us, and our seed, all generations after us should be blessed. ¶

After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah the Prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said: ¶

Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come. ¶

To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. ¶

You have heard from Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr., this afternoon in regard to the principle of baptism for the dead. This was the covenant that was established by the visit of Elijah, in fulfillment of the promise made to the Prophet Joseph when the Angel Moroni first visited him, and informed him concerning the plates, the record from which the Book of Mormon was translated. This work has been going on since that day, sometimes interrupted by force of circumstances, in the times that the people were gathering from their homes in the east to this land in the great western desert. As soon as the labors could be again perfected and a temple could be built, the labor and the ¶

work has gone faithfully forward, and many hundreds of thousands of our dead kindred have received, or will receive the benefit of the ordinances performed for them in these holy houses which the Lord has permitted us and assisted us to build. Every one of them, all four temples in this country, have been dedicated to the name of the Lord God of Israel, and He has accepted of that dedication and allowed His name to be placed upon them, every one of those holy edifices. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I must not take more of your time. May the Lord bless you and increase upon you the desire to keep every commandment that He has given unto you, that you may have joy and rejoicing all the days of your lives, and be fitted and prepared to associate with those for whom we have labored here in the flesh, for the redemption of our kindred, as we shall meet them again if we are faithful and true. ¶

May this be our happy portion in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶