Present Revelation a Basic Principle

We are all greatly pleased in having the privilege of attending this general conference of the Church to which we belong, and I have rejoiced in my soul, during the services that have been held, that I have been spared by the Lord once more to meet with the Latter-day Saints in general conference and receive the instructions that are imparted, and partake of the good spirit which prevails. I feel that the Lord has been with us in our assemblies from the very beginning to the present time, and the instructions that were given to us by our President in his opening remarks gave great joy and satisfaction to all who were present on the occasion. I congratulate those of the Saints who had the privilege of being here at that time, and I sympathize and condole with those who were not able to be present and hear the instructions that were imparted. We shall all have the privilege, no doubt, of seeing them in print, but there is a very great difference in reading what has been said and hearing it, because the words that were spoken on that occasion were accompanied by the spirit and power of the office and calling of the man who stands at the head of the Church, and through whom the Lord will impart to His people that which He has to give them by way of revelation and commandment as well as counsel. I thank the Lord for the organization of the Church in the latter days, that He revealed Himself accompanied by the presence of His Son Jesus Christ our ¶

Redeemer to open up the last dispensation, and that Joseph Smith, in his youth, while uncontaminated with the notions and opinions of the world, received the message that was to be imparted to the people later on in all the world, and I am very thankful that I live on the earth at a time when I can take part in the great work, that "marvelous work and a wonder" foreseen by ancient prophets, which has been ushered in and which is now in progress. ¶

In the revelations that the Lord has given to the Church from time to time since the beginning, we have the fundamental doctrines of the gospel of Jesus Christ made manifest. Every principle which forms the creed or set of principles held by this Church has come to us, not by the wisdom or the folly of men — but has been revealed direct from on high. This basic principle of the Church of Jesus Christ must always be kept in view and will remain while the Church remains ; that is, the doctrine of present revelation. While the world has had to depend for centuries upon the communications from on high in the past, many of which have not been preserved and kept among men, and in addition to that have only had for their guide the opinions of men, the different notions and ideas prevailing among men, for their guide, this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is in communion, in communication, with the powers on high, and the Lord has established His Church upon a firm foundation so that the people may not be led astray by error, by false doctrine, by the notions and opinions of men, whether they be good men or bad men ; but has so organized the Church that ¶

we can all look to the head of the Church for the word of the Lord by way of commandment, and so that in every department of the Church the people may receive instruction in conformity to that which the Lord reveals. From the organization of the little children up through the various societies and associations that have been formed, and in all the quorums and organizations of the holy priesthood, the word of the Lord may be received and form the guide for the people, the young and the old — of all ages and degrees — so that this Church is unique in this particular, that the communication opened up by the appearance of the Father and the Son to the boy Joseph Smith is continued. ¶

God is made manifest sometimes by His own voice through the appointed channels ; sometimes through the ministration of angels authorized to speak for Him ; sometimes by the voice of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, through whom revelations contained in the Doctrine and Covenants have come to us, and always by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, the witness for the Father and the Son, and it is the privilege of every member of the Church to receive and be inspired by that divine influence. The Holy Ghost, the Comforter that Christ spoke about, that "personage of spirit" is with the Church, and the influence that proceeds from him and from the Father and from the Son, which is one spirit, it is the privilege of every member of the Church to enjoy. It is the light of the Lord ; it is that which gives life and light to all things ; it has a diversity of operations but is the same Spirit, and it permeates the whole Church as, in some of its operations it pervades the cosmos, the whole universe, for it "proceedeth from the presence of God the Father throughout the immensity of space." ¶

But in those operations which pertain especially to the Church of Christ it is manifest to those who have faith in God and in Jesus Christ, and who have repented of sin, and have become members of the Church through being baptized in water by one having authority for the remission of sins, and upon whom the hands of authorized servants of God have been laid, that they may have the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is the abiding witness, the continual light, that which reveals the things of God and makes them plain to the human mind, that which bears witness of the truth and which, when God speaks through His appointed oracles, when the head of the Church receives any revelation or commandment for the Church, bears witness in the souls of the Saints concerning it. Thus they may see and ununited together, "baptized by one not be in the darkness, and may be united together." baptized by one spirit into one body." No matter what they may have been before ; no matter what associations or churches or societies they may have previously belonged to, no matter how much they may have wandered in. the darkness in devious ways — now having come into the strait and narrow way that leadeth unto eternal life, they are baptized by the one Spirit into one body and see eye to eye when they are enlightened by that Spirit. But it does not force itself upon the human mind ; it must be sought for ; the soul of man must be opened to receive its incoming and to yield to its impressions. And when that one Spirit rests down upon the body of the Church they do indeed see eye to eye and when those who are appointed speak by the power and gift of their calling in the Holy Ghost there is an echo to the words that are spoken in the hearts and souls of the people. ¶

This is how it is in the presence of the Father ; this is what we will find when we enter into a state of perfection. God speaks and the whole heavens respond. If anything discordant arises, means are at hand to remove it from the midst of the assembled hosts on high, so that harmony and union and concord and understanding and knowledge are enjoyed by the great body of the Saints and sons and daughters of God. This is how it is, measurably, here on earth when we are all rightly disposed, when we put away from ourselves our personal desires, ambitions, appetites, failings and weaknesses, and humble ourselves before the Lord and are willing to receive His word; when we imbibe and are governed by that Spirit which Jesus Christ, our Savior, had when He dwelt in the flesh and by which He was governed in all His life; that is, to make the will of the Father our will. "I come," He said, "not to do my own will but the will of Him that sent me," and He manifested this spirit and disposition during the whole of His earthly career, and even to the last moment when He gave up the ghost on the cross and finished the work that He had to do in the flesh, He still had that Spirit within Him, "Father, let not my will but Thy will be done." When we have that spirit, then, we are ready to receive the impressions that come from on high, and ¶

the eyes of our understanding are opened and our ears are unstopped, and we receive the word that comes through the proper channel and our hearts rejoice and our spirits are glad and we are ready and willing to do that which the Lord requires at our hands. ¶

I say that this is one of the fundamental principles, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord in a revelation which we will find in the 88th section of the Doctrine and Covenants ( which, by the way, contains a great number of most glorious truths and admonitions and instructions), the Lord says that we are to "abide in the liberty by which we have been made free" in the Gospel ; and it is necessary from time to time that our minds are called back to the fundamentals of our Church. Not but what everything that the Lord has revealed is true, and truth abideth forever, but there are basic principles underlying our faith that we should have our minds called attention to from time to time, and these are expounded to us in our conferences, in our sacramental meetings, in our organizations of the Holy Priesthood, through men who are appointed to teach and preach and expound and declare the mind and will of the Lord. And it is necessary that we understand these things so that we may not be led astray and go off into by and forbidden paths. The great trouble in the early times, just after the Savior had departed and the apostles were put to death, was the straying off into side issues, into by and forbidden paths, by the members of the Church. When the lights that God had placed in the midst of the darkness of that generation were put out by the ¶

hands of wicked men, darkness came again and covered the earth and gross darkness came upon the people and they were led hither and thither because they commenced to depart from the simple principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and were led astray by the vagaries and opinions of men. ¶

Now we have to be cautioned about this course, we Latter-day Saints, lest we also depart from the faith and give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines that are not in accordance with the mind and will of God. If we become established in the truth, if our feet are planted upon the rock, if we receive the impressions of that divine Spirit which is "the anointing that comes from above and teacheth all things" and is to be an abiding witness within us, there will be very little danger of our going astray. But when we imbibe opinions and notions that are introduced by speculative philosophy falsely called science, and our minds are turned to those things that are taught in many of the schools and colleges of the world under the name of science, we are apt to go astray and get away from the fundamentals to which I am making brief allusion this morning. So, my brethren and sisters, we should become fully established in those things that are fundamental to our faith. And ' these are essential. Indeed I do not know anything that is really true and that is divine that is not essential. It is true, a division is made in the Christian world between what are called "essentials" and "non-essentials." But the trouble is that there is no real unity among men in the Christian world as to what is essential and what is non-essential. Every principle that ¶

the Lord has revealed to us in the latter days is to be counted among the essentials, and as I have said, I do not know anything that the Lord has revealed, that God has made manifest to us, which is non-essential. ¶

Now, there should be liberty, of course, in all these things ; liberty in regard to essentials as well as liberty in regard to what are called non-essentials. To what extent? To this extent : ¶

"Know this, that every soul is free To choose his life and what he'll be, For this eternal truth is given. That God will force no man to heaven. ¶

He'll call, persuade, direct aright, Lead him with wisdom, love and light, ¶

In nameless ways be good and kind, But never force the human mind." ¶

That freedom is given to all people. And yet, at the same time, while people are at liberty to choose the right or to refuse it, they must receive and bear the consequences of their own individual acts. The truth is presented to the world. "Go ye into all nations and preach the gospel to every creature ; he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned." That is the Savior's edict, and it comes on natural principles. If a man hears the truth and will not receive it, if he rejects it, he must take the consequences, but he has the liberty to receive or reject. A man is not compelled to be baptized. He may choose to be baptized or to remain unbaptized, but if he remains unbaptized having faith and repentance he cannot receive the remission of his sins and he cannot enter into the fold and family of Christ either on earth or in the heavens, ¶

for "except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." That is one of the fundamental things taught by our Savior when in the flesh, and He has renewed it in the latter days in the revelations given through the Prophet Joseph Smith. ¶

Now we should be very careful when we hear the word of the Lord, to receive it and to obey it, and we should be very careful when men utter their own opinions and ideas, whether in regard to the principles of the Gospel or to anything that pertains to the welfare of the human family, about accepting it. And we should have our eyes open to the light and be willing to receive good counsel and good advice, and to hearken to the voice of the Lord through the appointed channel and seek to the Lord our God for light that we may know whether we are traveling in the straight path that leadeth to happiness and eternal life or are being led off into by and forbidden paths. In the Christian world the idea of "essentials and non-essentials" refers to religion. That saying which was quoted here so beautifully by Brother Roberts, emanating from a distinguished divine of the latter times : "Unity in essentials, liberty in non-essentials and charity in all things" is very attractive at first sight and first hearing. But the question arises, as I have intimated, as to what are essentials and what are non-essentials. The saying as uttered by that modern divine related entirely to religious matters ; that in essentials we should be united, that in non-essentials, that is, pertaining to religious ideas, not particularly to civil government — it was not uttered in that connection— but in non-essentials we ¶

should have liberty. Yes, certainly liberty in both, I say ; liberty in essentials— that is, the liberty to receive or reject when a principle or doctrine or idea is presented to us ; we have the liberty to receive it and we have the liberty to reject it, but we take the consequences of our own act because we are responsible beings, intelligent beings, and there is a day appointed in which all people shall be judged for the deeds done in the body. And this will be because they are responsible for their own acts and they can receive or reject, whether it be in essentials or in non-essentials. ¶

But in regard to what is called "civil government." Are there no essentials in that which is grouped under the head of civil government? Yes, I think so; I think that there are fundamentals in regard to civil government and particularly in the kind of government under which we live. We live in a government "of the people and by the people and for the people." Yes, that is a splendid idea; it is true ; but it has to be understood in the spirit of it. We have a government of the people because the people of the United States, through their representatives, made a Constitution which is the fundamental, supreme law of the land, and there are definite principles contained in that sacred instrument. And we have the right to talk about it in our general conference, or in our other religious gatherings, because we have received the word of the Lord concerning it. In the 101st section of the Doctrine and Covenants we can read what the Lord has said concerning that instrument. He says that we are to befriend it and to ¶

stand by it because it was written and framed by wise men whom He raised up for that very purpose ; that is what the Lord says, in verse 80. God gave to the framers of the Constitution of our country the wisdom which they exhibited in adopting and agreeing to certain fundamental principles which stand at the base of that beautiful and glorious instrument. It is called the "palladium of our rights," for it secures rights not only to an individual but to the whole people. And the Lord says, in verse 77, that this is what it was framed for —that all people might be preserved and protected in their rights and their privileges ; not merely an individual or a faction, but the whole people. ¶

Now, the framers of that instrument had before them the history of the progress of civil government for ages. They knew something about the failings of the past ; they knew something about the various kinds of governments that had been set up in the centuries that had passed away; they had learned the difference between that which is called popular government — the unguided will of the people, the masses, and a representative government carried on by persons chosen by the people. And, my dear brethren and sisters, if you will study the Constitution of our country as we all ought to do, for we form a part of the government, we are part of the people, and we are endowed as a State in the Union — I say "we," I mean, of course, all the people of Utah — endowed by the power of the Constitution with all the rights and privileges that pertain to citizens of our country, we should become familiar with that instrument. I am glad to know ¶

that the Mutual Improvement Association has endeavored to introduce among the members of that body a manual relating to the government of our country and its institutions, so that our brethren may become acquainted with it. Now, you will find by studying that sacred instrument that it provides for what is generally called a representative form of government. The government is divided into three branches : the legislative, the executive and the judicial ; the judiciary, and the President, and the Congress which is formed into two branches, one to make a balance or check upon the other. These institutions set up and established in the Constitution of our country were the product of the knowledge and the wisdom of the men who sat in council who had had the opportunity of reading about the experiences of the past, away back to the time of ancient Rome and Greece, and they saw the failures that had occurred when the populace directly had power to regulate the affairs of the community. They saw what was needed to put a check upon the passions of the multitude ; they saw what was necessary to secure the rights and privileges of all the people under the Constitution which they were framing, and God gave them the wisdom to select out of the experiences of the past the things that abide, that would remain, that were imperishable in their nature because they were founded in truth, founded in the real spirit of liberty, founded in the essential spirit of freedom to secure to all people their rights and privileges so that none might intrude upon the other. ¶

Individual liberty would not do in the full extent of the term, for ¶

if every man was at liberty, as some have contended, to say what he chooses and in the way he chooses, how soon there would be chaos ! You go along the street here in Salt Lake City and tell every man what you think of him and say it in the way that you choose, what would be the consequence? Why, you would find yourself in the gutter if he is stronger than you physically. Suppose people everywhere had the freedom to say just what they liked and in the way they liked and contended individually for that which they thought would be for the best interests of the community, we would soon have no community, we would have chaos, and by and by there would be anarchy. You will find by reading closely the history of the past, that this extreme popular liberty has generally gone back again into tyranny and monarchism. But the representative form of government provided in the Constitution of the United States, if preserved among the people of this country, will maintain and continue that freedom, that liberty and that power to the nation which the Lord designed this nation should have, if the people would follow in His ways and keep His commandments. For it is the history of this country that when the majority of the people went into wickedness and corruption and turned away from the principles bequeathed to them by their fathers and rushed into self-government to the full extent, they perished, they were involved in war and destruction came upon them. And now the Lord has declared that if we continue in the truths which He has revealed, He will maintain this nation and make it great in the eyes ¶

of all the world, and for over a hundred years this has been going on under the form of government established by the fathers, under that instrument called the Constitution of our country which the Lord inspired wise men to adopt. ¶

We have been told repeatedly — I have heard it ever since I came into the Church almost — that the time would come when that Constitution would be in danger, and it would be the privilege and the duty of the men of God in the Church of Christ to stand up for the Constitution and .help to maintain it and preserve it from being trampled under foot. I call the attention of my brethren and sisters this morning to this declaration, and even if it had not been uttered in that form I believe with all my heart, because of the revelation that I have referred to, that the Lord designs that this people, of all people in this great land, shall be the defenders of the Constitution of the United States and stand by that fundamental principle which runs through the whole instrument, by which the people are rpresented by men of their own choice to make the laws, to execute them and to pass upon them — not to be passed upon by the multitude, but by the tribunal that the Lord helped to bring about by giving wisdom to our forefathers that they might establish the government on those foundations. I draw your attention to this because I believe, as President Smith declared in the opening speech in this conference, that "we are living in perilous times ;" that the time has come when our attention should be drawn to these things that we may know our duty and that we may perform it manfully. The Lord ¶

told the prophet Ezekiel that He made him a watchman on the towers of Israel, and He laid the responsibility upon him for telling the people what was right and calling them back from doing what was wrong, and He said if the watchman did his duty his skirts should be clear; but if he did not do his duty and trouble' and sorrow and destruction came, the responsibility should be on his head, but if the watchman warned the people and they would not take the warning, then the consequences they would have to suffer and the responsibility would be theirs, and I thank God that we have a watchman on the towers of Zion inspired of the Lord, filled with the Spirit of his predecessors in office, clothed upon with the right and the power and the authority to speak to us in the name of the Lord. ¶

Let us heed the warning voice ! do not be led astray into by and forbidden paths, but observe that splendid principle enunciated by the English divine whom I have briefly alluded to this morning, that we should have "charity in all things" — charity that covers a multitude of faults ; charity that "believeth all things, that hopeth all things ;" (that is, all things that are true and good) ; that is not puffed up, that does not seek its own, but seeks the welfare of others. And let me say here, in passing, that that is not true charity which is exhibited sometimes by some of us when we can do nothing but find fault; when we try to portray the weaknesses of our fellow men ; when we stand up in public and berate them and call them evil names; when we do not go to them as brothers and talk to them about ¶

what we think is wrong in their ideas and notions, bur stand up before the populace and call them vile names — no charity to my mind in that — but we should be charitable and exercise discretion and judgment in all that we do and be kind and forbearing and faithful. But it is the duty of those who stand to regulate, to preside, to direct, to be stern for the truth and to stand by it, and sometimes, as the Prophet Joseph said in one of the revelations given to him, that the power of the priesthood should be exercised in kindness, with love unfeigned, by persuasion, by teaching, by enlightenment, and yet sometimes to "rebuke with sharpness" where it was necessary, so that those who failed or were drawn aside might repent and return unto the Lord. ¶

I regret in my soul that any of my brethren should go out before the people and lift up their voices apparently for the sole purpose of exposing the faults, and as they think sometimes, the iniquities, of men who are in office and in authority, their own brethren in the Church of Christ, instead of trying to explain to the individuals their faults. I do not believe that it is the right of men, and particularly if they themselves claim to have ecclesiastical authority and power in the ministry, to go out and berate others, and at the same time if the man who stands at the head utters his opinion, no matter how carefully and kindly, they want to rob him of that right. I contend and have contended all along through the years that have passed, by tongue and pen, that the rights of the authorities of this Church are at least equal to the rights of other citizens in these matters, and ¶

it is the right and privilege of the man who stands at the head to give forth his opinions arid his views. If at any time he tries to enforce his private opinions upon others by way of edicts against them, by ecclesiastical force, by physical force, by any pains or penalties, that will be another thing ; but that hasn't occurred in our history so far as I know, and I will support my brethren with whom I am associated in pointing out the truth as they see it, and exposing the wrong as they understand it, and in trying to convince and convert those who go astray to come into the right path, that good government may prevail; that is our privilege. ¶

The realm of civil government contains no doubt many things that are non-essential and in them we can be at difference, and so we can in regard to essentials, and I regard as essential to the welfare of this country the things contained in the Constitution of our land. Of course it may be amended, but amending the Constitution and ripping it up the back and tearing out its vitals are two very different things. We want to stand by the Constitution in its spirit and meaning and intent, and in the fundamental parts thereof. There have been amendments made, but if you will study them you will find that they are not in discord or at discord with the body of the document. The ten amendments first passed are enlargements of powers and rights in the direction of the people and they are all right, every one of them, and in harmony with the instrument itself. There may be difference of opinion in regard to some others that have been passed, but they have been adopted and they are part of the ¶

fundamental law now and we must stand by them ; it is our duty to do so, but in every respect they are carrying out the powers legitimately bestowed by the Constitution of our country. Now then let us be careful that we do not drift away from that Constitution and be led off into by and forbidden paths and bring chaos and finally anarchy and destruction upon this glorious nation. ¶

In the last chapter of the Old Testament we read about Elijah the prophet coming before the great and dreadful day of the Lord, and connected with that is the prediction or rather the commandment of God, "Remember ye the law that I gave unto you in Horeb, with the statutes and judgment." Turn back to the Old Testament in the book of Exodus, chapter 20, that was read in our first meeting, and you will find that which was given in Horeb, consisting of the ten commandments, and they are fundamentals that abide and remain through all changes of time. The ordinances and regulations established by the lesser law of Moses were given to Israel because they would not receive the fulness of the Gospel ; when these were fulfilled in Christ the higher law came up again and the people had to stand by that; and connected with it and part of it is that fundamental law, or those fundamental principles contained in the Ten Commandments. Let us remember them and at the same time let us stand fast as Paul said in that liberty in which Christ has made us free — free from the bondage of sin, free from the tyranny of vices, free from control by those appetities and passions which sway the multitude, and let us be chaste and ¶

pure and holy in our practice and in our spirit, and with charity in our hearts and that love toward God and mankind which is a part of true charity, let us carry on the work of God and preach to the nations of the earth that which we know to be essential to their salvation— salvation in time, salvation in eternity ! ¶

I thank the Lord for this glorious gospel and for the truths that He has revealed and for the knowledge that He has given me concerning them which has been with me from the beginning and remains until today. Glory and praise be unto His holy name for ever and ever, for the truth which He has revealed which shall abide forever and may God help us every one to be true to the covenants that we have made, and stand by the faith which He has revealed to us and aid in the preservation of the liberties of our glorious country, that we with the good and the true among men may rejoice in 'the blessings of civil and religious and political liberty. Amen. ¶