Divine Revelation Comes Only Through the Head of the Church

I feel that I am greatly privileged in having the opportunity of assembling with the Saints this morning in General Conference, and have been blessed from the beginning of our services through all the sessions that have been held. We have had a glorious time; that is, I have, and everybody to whom I have spoken concerning our meetings, expressed the same feeling. The Spirit of the Lord has been with us, and our brethren who have addressed the congregations have been inspired by that one Spirit which the Lord has given to his people who have obeyed the laws of the Gospel. Our brethren who have addressed us have been, chiefly, so they have informed us, men belonging to the third and fourth generation of those who have received the gospel in the latter days. This has impressed me very much. You doubtless have heard the prediction of some of our scientific men in the nation that the test of "Mormonism" would come with the third or fourth generation of its followers. They seem to have the idea that as time rolls on, the Latter-day Saints, or "Mormons" as they call us, will begin to depart from the Faith of their forefathers, and be led away into different paths, just as the world has been, and as one noted man hoped we would become, "like the rest of us." But our brethren who have spoken to us during the conference, occupying prominent and responsible places in the Church, have shown to us that they are true Latter-day Saints. The spirit that they bear with them, and that accompanies their fervent testimonies, shows us that they are fully and entirely in the work of the Lord in the latter days; and this has gladdened my heart. I am proud also of the generations that are coming, and I believe that they will improve as the years go on, because there is always room for improvement with individuals and with the generations that come, when the fathers obey the commandments of God and teach the Truth to their children. Now, I don't happen to be in this grand and noble class of men — I say that advisedly, about their character, for I remember reading in the Bible, in the Psalms, a prediction like this: "It shall be said of this and that man that he was born in Zion, and the Highest himself shall establish her;" so that it is really a privilege and a blessing to be born in Zion, of goodly parents, of men and women who have been obedient to the gospel, and who had the Spirit of the Lord upon them, even before the birth of these good men who have spoken to us. ¶

The science of eugenics is taking a great hold upon some minds in the United States, and is being followed, I hope not too far, among the people called Latter-day Saints. It is a good thing to learn how a righteous and stalwart generation can be brought forth, strong spiritually as well as physically; strong mentally, endowed with all the powers that should belong to the sons and daughters of God in humanity. And I hail with pleasure the efforts that are being put forth in this direction; for prenatal influences are very powerful, and when the time comes that people understand the laws that pertain to the production of the human species, and are at least as particular in regard to these matters as in regard to the raising of fine stock of different kinds, I believe a new and better generation will be brought forth, so that the predictions of the prophets may be fulfilled, and that children will not be cut down by disease in their infancy or childhood, but, to use the words of the prophet, that "a man shall live to the age of a tree;" (if it means a grand old oak tree, that is a pretty good length of time); and that the time will come when the children that will be born and grow up to that great age, shall not have to be buried in the ground, but shall be quickened by the power of God and changed so as to pass from mortality to immortality, as some very few of the earth's inhabitants have been translated by special dispensation of Divine Providence. ¶

I said I did not happen to belong to the class of those that have been born in Zion, or who were born of parents who received the gospel. I am the only one of the family to which I belong who has come out of the world into the Church of Christ. I have done my best to try and bring my relatives to a full understanding of the gospel, but have not been successful. I recognize the hand of Providence in this, as far as I am individually concerned. Perhaps if I had had the way smoothed before me to receive the gospel I might not have developed some talents that the Lord has brought forth in me. I might not have had force and power developed in me to resist evil, and to lay hold of the good, but, by the very struggles that I have had to make alone from my boyhood upward, I feel that God has blessed me and strengthened me, so that when times of testing came in various conditions and capacities, I was able to exercise my individuality and to choose the good and refuse the evil, and when many of my companions in the Priesthood in early days turned away and were led into by and forbidden paths, God strengthened my feet, planted them upon the Rock of Truth and gave me power to resist every inducement to turn away from the right. ¶

Now, I do not speak of that in any way of boasting; the Lord forbid, for I feel that everything I have and everything that I am I owe to the Church and Kingdom that He has established on the earth; to the truths that He has revealed; to the power and authority that He has sent from heaven to guide people on the earth; to the Divine Spirit which I know has rested upon me from On High, and quickened all my powers and enabled me to continue to labor for the cause of truth and righteousness, and the building up of the Kingdom of our God; and this morning I rejoice in these blessings, and acknowledge the hand of the Lord in the midst of this great congregation. ¶

President Smith, in his opening address to the conference, gave us a very clear expose of the order of the Church, in the Priesthood particularly, and I am sure that every soul that heard the sound of his voice rejoiced in what was laid before us so plainly and so forcibly, and so strictly in accordance with the revelations that have been received and printed. President Lund also alluded to one of the fundamental doctrines of the Church, revealed when it was organized, which was that the Lord appointed Joseph Smith, at that time the head of the Church, to be a prophet, a seer and a revelator, and admonished the Church to follow his counsel, to be obedient to the things he gave to them as he received them from the Lord. Now, notwithstanding this revelation that was given on the very day of the organization of the Church, and the people were commanded to look to the head for guidance, for revelations, for commandments to govern and guide the Church, it was not very long, so we learn from the history of the Church, before false spirits came among the people, and they were led, some to the right and some to the left, but out of "the strait and narrow way." Jesus declared that "Strait is the way and narrow is the path which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." So it has been during the whole history of the world; and it is also a matter of history that always there were some who departed from the narrow way, the straight path into the presence of the Lord, and were led away by delusive influences and spirits. Now the Lord made it very clear, and pronounced it very emphatically right from the beginning, that there should be but one man, and he the head of the Church, who should receive revelations and commandments for the Church, and the Church has been warned, time and again, not to be turned aside from this plain and simple way that the Lord marked out. ¶

I will read a passage or two from the Doctrine and Covenants on this point, because I consider it of very great importance, and always have so viewed it from the beginning of my membership in the Church. Those of you who are familiar with the history of the Church in its beginning will remember that Oliver Cowdery, who received the Aaronic Priesthood under the hands of John the Baptist, in company with the Prophet Joseph, and also with him the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood from Peter, James and John, became rather rebellious in his spirit. He actually commanded the Prophet Joseph to change one of the revelations that he had received; but the Lord gave words to Oliver which should be a guide to all who belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I read from Doctrine and Covenants, section 28, verses 1-4: ¶

"Behold, I say unto thee, Oliver, that it shall be given unto thee, that thou shalt be heard by the Church in all things whatsoever thou shalt teach them by the Comforter, concerning the revelations and commandments which I have given. ¶

"But, behold, verily, verily, I say unto thee, no one shall be appointed to receive commandments and revelations in this Church, excepting my servant Joseph Smith, Junior, for he receiveth them even as Moses." ¶

"And thou shall be obedient unto the things which I shall give unto him, even as Aaron, to declare faithfully the commandments and the revelations, with power and authority unto the Church." ¶

I will not read the whole section, but there are two or three verses further that I would like to read to you this morning, commencing at the 11th verse in this section. ¶

"And again, thou shalt take thy brother, Hiram Page, between him and thee alone, and tell him that those things which he has written from that stone, are not of Me, and that Satan deceiveth him. ¶

"For behold, these things have not been appointed unto him, neither shall anything be appointed unto any of this Church contrary to the Church covenants." ¶

From time to time there have been persons who have arisen and claimed to be especially called of God to give something new, as they considered, to the Church, and they have assumed power and authority which did not belong to them, because the Lord had said in the beginning that this authority should be given to but one man at a time, and he the head of the Church. Yet some people were foolish enough to be led away by deceivers into by and forbidden paths. Now, they did not always manifest anything that was corrupt or wicked or evil, but were deceived themselves, just as Christ predicted it would be before His second advent, that there would be false teachers among the people, "deceiving and being deceived." Influences that were not of God operated on their minds, and they were led away, in their own pride sometimes, and vain conceit, and they assumed authority which was not given to them, because of the manifestations that they had received and which they supposed to be Divine. They were deceived themselves and they deceived others. So the Lord appointed this rule in the Church and I think that any one who will look into it will see that it was a very wise provision — that in this Church, people who believe in visions and dreams, and tongues and interpretations of tongues, and prophecy and all the gifts and blessings that pertain to membership in the Church of Christ ought not to be permitted to present their notions and ideas (arising perhaps from some manifestation that they had received) as divinely given for the guidance and direction of the Saints, but that such authoritative communications should come only through the head of the Church. ¶

From time to time through the whole history of the Church every now and then somebody has started up with a dream or a vision or a revelation of some kind, and endeavored to lead other people away from the straight path, and yet the Lord has told the Church in the very beginning that He would not give revelations and commandments for the Church to any one but the man placed at the head. While individuals in this Church may seek to the Lord, as I know by personal experience, and receive His Spirit in power, and direction from the Lord in the performance of duty, and be led and guided by the spirit of God, for "they who are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God," yet, while this blessing is promised to individuals in the Church for their own special good, they are not intended for the Church or for other people besides themselves. Notwithstanding this, these diversions have occurred from time to time from the very beginning of the Church, and one of these was the kind spoken of here in regard to Hiram Page. ¶

In the 50th section of the Doctrine and Covenants the same subject is referred to in this way, beginning at the first paragraph: ¶

"Hearken, O, ye elders of my Church, and give ear to the voice of the living God, and attend to the words of wisdom which shall be given unto you, according as ye have asked and are agreed as touching the Church, and the spirits which have gone abroad in the earth. ¶

"Behold, verily I say unto you, that there are many spirits which are false spirits, which have gone forth in the earth, deceiving the world; ¶

"And also Satan hath sought to deceive you, that he might overthrow you." ¶

The same might be said at the present time; there are various false influences abroad, and they seek to enter into the Church of Christ, and to lead people astray, and sometimes individuals will be so imbued with the importance of that which they have received — as they believe by revelation from God — that they begin to assume authority over others, and endeavor to lead them away, to follow them into the ways of darkness, into superstition, into folly and into neglect to observe the commandment that God gave in the beginning of the Church. ¶

I will read another verse or two from the Doctrine and Covenants section 43, beginning at the first paragraph: ¶

"O, hearken, ye elders of my Church, and give an ear to the words which I shall speak unto you; ¶

"For, behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye have received a commandment for a law unto my Church, through him whom I have appointed unto you, to receive from my hand. ¶

"And this ye shall know assuredly, that there is none other appointed unto you to receive commandments and revelations until he be taken, if he abide in Me. ¶

"But verily, verily, I say unto you, that none else shall be appointed unto this gift except it be through him, for if it be taken from him, he shall not have power except to appoint another in his stead. ¶

"And this shall be a law unto you, that ye receive not the teachings of any that shall come before you as revelations or commandments; ¶

"And this I shall give unto you that you may know they are not of Me." ¶

It seems to me that this ought to be sufficient for Latter-day Saints, and particularly for the elders of the Church, to whom this revelation was especially addressed. Elders of this Church, men holding the authority of the priesthood that God has revealed, ought certainly to understand this one simple principle and law of the Church for the guidance of the people, and to preserve them from being deceived. From time to time, as I have said, persons have arisen claiming to have received revelations from the Lord for the guidance of the people, and members have followed them. In every instance, without exception, trouble, sorrow, anguish and destruction have come from following these false spirits. I do not say that in every case the individuals who led the people astray were willful deceivers; they were deceived themselves, and they had power to deceive others, for these false spirits that come in unawares, when they can get hold of people, will pour out, so to speak, an influence upon them which blinds their eyes, benumbs their understanding, and leaves them so that they do not receive the true Light, that which comes from above, the Light which comes from Christ, from God the Eternal Father, and from the Holy Ghost, which is one spirit, the spirit of light, the spirit of life and the spirit of power by which God organizes and regulates all things that he brings about for his Divine purposes. That spirit is one spirit, and these false influences that come to deceive dazzle the eyes of weak people, and they are led away. In the old country, in England particularly, sometimes in marshy places, on a dark evening there will arise a light, bobbing about from place to place called the "will-of-the-wisp," and in some places a "jack-o'-lantern," and when in the dark travelers have missed their way, they will follow this jack-o'-lantern or will-o'-the-wisp, fancying it is some house where they can find refuge, or learn the path they should follow, and it generally leads them into a bog, and they sink down up to their necks. That illustrates, I think to some degree, how it has been spiritually with a number of the people who have thus been led astray. ¶

Now the light that God gives is clear and plain to the understanding, and above all we should remember that when the Lord has anything to reveal to this Church by way of commandment or doctrine or principle, in addition to that which has been given, which may appear perhaps to be new — perhaps only the old things revived — whenever God has anything to make known to this Church, it will come through the channel that He has appointed, and there is but one, and that is the head of the Church. This will save people from a great deal of trouble, if they will give heed to it, and I have believed in that doctrine from the beginning. I have had people come to me on several occasions, from time to time as the years have rolled on, and tell me some wonderful things that the Lord has revealed, and I have always taken my refuge in the passages that I have read to you. From the first the Lord appointed one man at a time on the earth, and that man is the head of the Church, to receive revelations for the Church, to receive commandments for the Church, not shutting out people from obtaining light for themselves individually; not interfering in the least degree with that agency which God has given to us; not depriving us of the privilege of going to the Lord ourselves and seeking for truth and light, to expand our souls, to enlarge our understandings, to strengthen us for the work we have to perform, to qualify for the duties that lie before us, to develop our souls that we may grow up unto Him who is our living Head, even Christ Jesus, our Lord — not at all, but that we may not be led astray, that we may be able to keep in the strait and narrow path that leadeth unto eternal life. ¶

In later years the Lord had to tell a little more about this on the same line, and I will refer you to section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants, one of the latest of the revelations through the prophet Joseph Smith. I will commence at the eighth verse: ¶

"Behold! Mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion. ¶

"Will I accept an offering, saith the Lord God, that is not made in My name! ¶

"Or, will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed! ¶

"And will I appoint unto you, saith the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and my Father ordained before the world was! ¶

"I am the Lord, Thy God, and I give unto you this commandment, that no man shall come unto the Father but by me, or by My word, which is my law, saith the Lord; ¶

"And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me, or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the Resurrection, saith the Lord, your God; ¶

"For, whatsoever things remain, are by me; and whatsoever things are not by Me shall be taken and destroyed." ¶

Now my brethren and sisters, I direct your attention to this particular point in addition to those things that were presented by President Smith and President Lund, all in the same line and in harmony therewith, so that we may all have something to go by, that we may be able to hold onto it like the iron rod that we read of in the Book of Mormon, no matter who may come, to us pretending to have the word of the Lord, pretending to have received revelations or visions or dreams to guide us in anything, whether it be temporal or spiritual. You may know assuredly, the Lord says, that it is not of Him, because it does not come through the channel that He has appointed. This preserves order in the Church. "My house is a house of order," saith the Lord, "and not a house of confusion." We see this in all the glorious works of our Heavenly Father; in the physical universe, in things pertaining to salvation, in the Church of Christ, law and order are established in the midst of the people, and if we will observe the law and keep within the order that God has established, we shall not be led astray, nor come into the sorrows and troubles and pains that have fallen upon some of our brethren and sisters who have been led astray. Yet, every now and then somebody starts up and claims to be the man "mighty and strong," who is to set the house of the Lord in order, and perform a number of works spoken of in the revelations of God, which we understand have really been fulfilled; and that he is appointed, and you are to follow him, for he proclaims revelations by way of commandment to the Church. ¶

Now, the simple way is to say it cannot be true because the Lord says He will not do that kind of thing, and if any man is really appointed of the Lord, He says, "he shall come in at the gate and be ordained as the Lord has provided." So that in this Church there is no need for any of us to be led off in wrong directions. Sometimes men have come to the president of the Church and claimed to be the person to be raised up "like unto Moses," and demanded the keys of the Church. There was one man came, poor fellow, a decrepit kind of being who hung around for several days. He could not get any "keys" and finally he came and begged for enough money to take him back to the place he came from in the East, and he hobbled out on his wooden leg, — the man "mighty and strong." Now I don't say that to ridicule the man, poor fellow, but it illustrates what I am trying to tell you this morning. The Lord has established His Church on the earth, as He has told us, "in the last days" and "for the last time." ¶

There will be no reorganization of the Church, because the Church will not become disorganized. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, organized on the 6th day of April, in the year 1830, the anniversary of which we are celebrating today, has continued without hindrance, or rather without obstruction, has persisted and prevailed, right down, unbroken, to the time in which we live, and today we have the Church organized after the pattern that God revealed; not in a moment, nor in a day, it was a growth like all the works of God which started with "that which is small," as the Book of Mormon says, and "proceedeth forth to that which is great," but, as the Church grew and developed, so did it come to its completeness, and it has continued. Section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants gives the full order of the priesthood of God up to that date. Read it, Elders of Israel; read it, High Priests and Seventies, and priests and teachers and deacons and members, and become acquainted with the order of the Church, showing, as President Smith told us in the first session of this Conference, that the Church is presided over by "three presiding high priests chosen by the body, upheld and sustained by the faith and fellowship of the Church," and they stand at the head, and after them come the Twelve, holding equal authority when the First Presidency is removed by death or any other cause. The next quorum is that of the twelve apostles, and they form the presiding power in the Church when the first presidency has been dissolved by any means. When the Prophet Joseph died, the Church was not disorganized; the First Presidency became extinct so to speak, but the Twelve Apostles came up in its place, as provided in the revelation, and took charge of the Church, and in due time three presiding high priests were chosen by and from the body, and became the Presidency of the Church, and the quorum of the twelve was filled up. And so it will be from time to time as changes come. If the First Presidency is dissolved from any cause, the Twelve will take their place, and when the First Presidency is reorganized the quorum of the Twelve will be filled up and the work will go on. The Lord has provided this for the perpetuity of the Church, that it may continue, that it may stand and abide and not be like the organizations that have been set up in times past. ¶

We can take up the Bible, the Old and the New Testaments, and read there predictions of men that were in power and authority in the Church in olden times, that the time would come "when darkness would cover the earth, and gross darkness the people," and when many should "depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils," when they would "turn away their ears from the truth, and turn unto fables." Paul declared after he had preached the Gospel in many places in the vicinity of Jerusalem, that the day of the coming of the Redeemer, which they had been looking for to occur very soon, would not come except a great "falling away" would take place. But in the last days the Lord said he would establish his Church and Kingdom on the earth, and that it should stand forever. That it should not depart. That the Truth which would be revealed should not depart from his people, "nor from their seed, nor from their seed's seed, henceforth even forever." So we have the generations coming along, and stalwart, good, fine noble men and women proceed therefrom, who are firm in the faith, who have the Truth in their hearts, who can bear testimony by the power of God, and their words go to the hearts of the people. And this will continue, and this Church shall never perish from the earth, nor become disorganized, for the Lord established it in such a way that it should continue and abide, no matter who might depart from it. ¶

If you or I, or any of us, should leave the Church, the Church would still go on. Do not let us think, any of us, that the Church owes us anything. We owe a great deal to the Church, for light and truth and every principle and ordinance and authority and organization of the priesthood, and of the helps and gifts that are in the Church for our comfort, our blessing, our union, and the continuation of power in the Church. They have come to us from God through the appointed authorities of the Church, and they will abide, no matter what we may do. We are indebted to the Lord through his servants for these things that we enjoy, and we owe all we are, and all we have, to this Church in a spiritual sense, and a great many of us in a temporal sense. I rejoice in this; I rejoice in the knowledge that God has set up his Church and Kingdom on the earth in the last days for the last time, and has so organized it that it shall continue and abide and shall not be overcome. The Lord says, "It is my good pleasure, little flock, to give unto you the Kingdom;" and the Kingdom is ours if we will obey these precepts and these commandments and counsels, and walk in the way of life, and be guided by those who are appointed. Let those who are appointed to labor in this ministry labor with all diligence, and give this Church all their powers and strength. ¶

I have endeavored, — I don't say it boastingly at all, — I have endeavored from the very start in this Church, over sixty-two years ago (when I received the priesthood of God, and was ordained an Elder, to go out and preach the Gospel, without purse or scrip), I have endeavored to give this Church the full strength of my body and mind and spirit, which are the Lord's, and in that I have had joy and the testimony of Jesus, and God has blessed me and opened the eyes of my understanding, and given me to comprehend truths that have rejoiced my soul, and I feel I am baptized into them. All there is of me is the Lord's, and I want to devote it still to the building up of his Kingdom to my latest breath. And when I depart from this tabernacle and enter into the world beyond the veil, I hope and believe that I shall have still to labor for the great cause of human redemption, for this work has to go on until the redemption of man is completed, until "every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father." ¶

When we depart, brethren, Elders in Israel, and mingle with the spirits behind the veil, we will find an immense work there for us to do, and I am thankful in the knowledge that a great deal of the work has been prepared for us. We have been out in the world and preached the gospel to many thousands of people, and only a few comparatively have come into the Church and received its ordinances and its blessings and the testimony of Christ; but thousands upon thousands have heard it, and it has touched their souls. They have steeled their hearts against it; they have closed their eyes against the light; and they have gone away from this stage of being into the world beyond, and everything they have learned and have heard, and understood while in the flesh, will come back to them when they "shuffle off this mortal coil," and their immortal spirits will be able to remember that which has occurred while they dwelt in the flesh, and we will find thousands upon thousands of people in the spirit world who are prepared for the ministration of the servants of God when they come among them. And so the work will go on, and the Gospel will be preached to the living, and it will be preached to the dead, and the work of the Lord will be triumphant, and the time will come when Satan shall not reign any more at all, but Christ shall reign, and the assembled millions in the flesh and in the spirit will bow the knee to King Emmanuel and be willing to receive him, for he is the Life and the Light of this world, and he is the head to whom we must all grow up. ¶

Each man placed at the head of the Church on the earth is growing up to Him. Every one who is called to the ministry is growing up to Him, and we are building up the Church and Kingdom of our God unto Christ, our Redeemer, and He will be the King and Lord of all. Blessed and honored be His glorious name, who died for us, that we might live, and who will bring us into His presence, and into the presence of the Father, for no man can come unto the Father except by Him. So, while we dwell on the earth, brethren and sisters, let us devote ourselves to the building up of this Kingdom, unto Him, and when He comes we will receive our share of the reward. "Behold, I come" he declares. "My reward is with Me, but My work is before me." Now let us perform our work and do our part, no matter what it may be, great or small, and unite together in one spirit, and be led by the light and give heed to the counsels and guidance of the man that is set at the head, and all will be well with the Church of Christ, and all will be well with our individual standing. God bless us all and help us all to be faithful, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶