Testimony and Missionary Experiences

I sincerely trust, my brethren and sisters, that I shall have an interest in your faith and prayers. I have been suffering with a severe cold, and have not recovered sufficient to speak clearly. I hope and pray that the Lord will strengthen my voice, and that the time allotted to me shall not be considered wasted, but that our gathering here this afternoon will be a spiritual feast, and that we shall continue to enjoy the splendid spirit that has prevailed. I rejoice in the Gospel of the Redeemer of the world. I have been permitted to take a part in the ministry of the Son of God, and have been able to bear testimony to thousands of the children of men who have not learned to love the Lord as have the Latter-day Saints, neither have become acquainted with the fulness of the Gospel that the Lord has revealed. ¶

The "Mormon" people have been maligned ; men's minds have been turned against them, as the result of missionary work done by emissaries of the adversary, who have taught the people of the world things that are not true, and have been active in discouraging anything that would lead people to think favorably of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as taught by the Latter-day Saints. I had occasion to listen to the recital of a story, a few days ago, by a lady who had been teaching school, in this country, who had gone into one of the States of the Union and was giving an address, the subject being, "Mormonism, and Life among the Mormons." She led her audience to believe that the "Mormons" in Utah have no educational system at all, that they are an ignorant class of people, that they are not making any effort to enlighten the minds of the children in that land called Utah; and many other things that would create enmity in the minds of people. A gentleman, from Utah, who had listened to the discourse, asked her concerning the school systems in Utah, the rank of this State of ours as among other states; pinning her down to prove what she had said. She was surrounded by about twenty ministers, and they were all anxious that she should defend her statement, but she could not do it. Afterwards, she sought that gentleman and asked him not to make a report of it, for she wanted to go back to Utah, where she had some very dear friends. This is only one instance out of many, in which audiences are misinformed. ¶

I tell you there are very many good men and good women in the world. They don't live perfect lives, it is true, but they are honorable, so far as men of the world are concerned. It is a trick of the* adversary to keep men and women from investigating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If they could have the veil drawn from their eyes, and could see this country of ours, the great commonwealth that has been established here, as one of the results of the appearance of the Father and the Son to the Prophet Joseph Smith, they would be led to more carefully investigate the history of the "Mormons." We rejoice that we are not afraid of the truth, we are not afraid to have our true history investigated and read by all the men and women of the earth. We desire them to understand what we are doing, that it takes money, that it takes self-sacrifice all the time to keep this latter-day work before the people. It is cheerfully done, without any hope of remuneration in this life. Men lay down their lives for the testimony of Jesus, for the witness of the truth that they bear, inviting men to read and investigate. We do not baptize people without giving them a chance to investigate the Gospel that we preach. We declare that the Gospel is for the living and for the dead, and that they must receive the Gospel of the Redeemer before they can enter into the presence of our God ; that the Lord does not save any man in ignorance, but that man must be enlightened ; that they will not be consigned to an everlasting torment, until they have had the privilege of receiving or rejecting the Gospel of the Redeemer of the world. ¶

A lady came to Independence, Missouri, to visit us, and she told me that she had belonged to a certain church all her life, was baptized into it when a child. She had believed it was the Church of God, and had enjoyed herself many times in the meetings of that congregation, etc. She said that two Elders, some two or three years ago, had visited her home and they had left a few tracts and books for her to read, and had borne their testimony that the doctrines stated therein were of the Lord, and included His Gospel and she read them. She had buried her father and husband, and often wondered if she would meet them again. In one of the tracts it was declared that the Gospel had been preached by the Christ to those that are dead. She became interested, and began to study, and, in the course of two years, she was converted to the Gospel. She came to me and said: "I have found a cousin of mine, that I never knew until a short time ago, who has a book containing names of eight thousand of my dead kindred, on my father's sde. Originally they landed in Jamestown with the early settlers of this country. I feel that I cannot rest until I have commenced the work of redemption for them, until, the Temple work has been begun in their behalf, until I have been an instrument for their redemption." This Gospel plan gave her new life, told her she had something great to live for ; and she was so happy she felt like weeping, because of this glorious result of the visit of these two Elders. ¶

Most men will accept the truth when they understand it. Take any man in general and preach something to him absolutely contrary to his views and he will resent it, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, and emphatically declare that he doesn't believe it. But when he is calmly reasoned with, and shown wherein his views can be bettered, he will read and listen, and eventually, the leaven of the Gospel enters his soul. How many men and women gathered from the different parts of the earth are witness of this. Ofttimes the^ mother of a family receives the Gospel first, and she never ceases to labor with her loved ones until she gets them into the Church. Occasionally it is the daughter, sometimes it is the son, or father, and they also labor with their loved ones, relatives and neighbors, to get them to become members of the Church. We are witnesses of this, hundreds who are here on these grounds today. Honest hearted men accept the truth when it is presented to them, when prejudice has been allayed. We must make friends and acquantances first, and then they understand our true motives, and the spirit of prejudice that has been planted by Lucifer will be allayed, and he shall not have power always to deceive the children of men. ¶

My brethren and sisters, we need make no apology for anything the Lord has revealed. In very deed He appeared to Joseph Smith, revealed Himself, spoke to him as one man speaks to another, said to him, "These denominations have a form of godliness, but they have not the power thereof." Why should He not appear to men today as much as at any time in the history of this world ? He appeared to Moses. All people, who are Christians, and many who are not, naturally believe that. He loves His children today as much as He did then. The world's inhabitants have increased, and the works of God are growing greater, and so His love must be greater than in any period of the world's history. As the men and women come and go through this Temple Block, from one season to another, and are shown through these buildings, and go back to their homes, and are met by the Elders of Israel and the Sisters of Zion who bear their testimony to them, prejudice shall be allayed, and men and women will acknowledge the truth, and seek after their dead, and the work for the glory of God shall be consummated and fulfilled. The Lord bless us. Amen. ¶