Greatness of the Lord Jesus —

I greatly rejoiced in the spirit of this morning's meeting, and was particularly pleased with the presence of President Smith, as of course we all were. I have listened with much interest to the testimony and exhortation of President Grant, and I humbly desire an interest in your faith and prayers that I may be led to say something this afternoon that will be instructive to those who are assembled. ¶

My brethren and sisters, we learn from the scriptures and also know from our own experience, something of the character of that Holy Being whom we have come together to worship this afternoon. I doubt if we can fully comprehend the greatness of his attributes. It is said of him in Exodus that, "He passed by before Moses and proclaimed the Lord God, the Lord God merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth." And in the 103d Psalm we find two references to the Almighty that are very striking. One is that "the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy," and the other "the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children, to such as keep ¶

his covenants, and to those that remember his commandments to do them." ¶

How broad and far reaching is the love and mercy of the Lord. But remember that his mercy is invariably predicated upon repentance, repentance of sin ; and the history of his people, I think, will substantiate this statement. You will remember that in the wilderness Moses was constantly calling upon the people to repent of their sins that they might be forgiven by sacrifice. It was the burden of his mission apparently to bring the people into harmony with the Lord and with his work by repentance ; and so it was in the meridian of time. The people who dwelt in Palestine had a great temple, the temple of the Lord, and they had the law of Moses, but it seems that they strayed away from the law because we read that in those days came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, "Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And still later we learn that after John was put into prison, the Savior came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, saying, "The time is fulfilled, the Kindom of God is at hand ; therefore repent and believe the gospel." And it appeared that Jerusalem and all of Judea came out to hear the preaching of John, and were baptized of him in the Jordan river. But the Pharisees and the Sadducees rejected him and he pronounced a woe against them demanding that they should bring forth fruits meet for repentance. This they did not do, they were rebellious, they loved darkness rather than light, and their deeds were evil. They went so far as to crucify their Lord. As a re- ¶

suit Jerusalem was trodden down of the gentiles and the people of God were scattered among the nations where they have been to this day, and they have been hated and persecuted because of the stand which they took at that time. ¶

But we can see a day of deliverance coming for Israel. Jerusalem has fallen into the hands of the Christian nations, and doubtless this will eventually open up the way for the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, and the building up of the waste places of Palestine. You will remember that the Savior stood upon Mount Olivet and wept over Jerusalem, and said, "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not," thus giving evidence, as I have said, of the spirit of unrepentance and of rebellion. And let me remind you, brethren and sisters, that the coming forth of the work of God in our day, of the true Church and kingdom of God as referred to by President Penrose so powerfully this morning, was predicated upon the principle of repentance. In an early day, in fact it was April, 1829, the Lord said to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, "Say nothing but repentance unto this generation, keep my commandments and assist to bring forth my work according to my commandments and you shall be blessed." Somewhat later than this, in the year 1831, the Lord again referred to this important subject as he has done all through the Book of Covenants. He spoke of the great necessity of his people, and the people of the world, repenting of their sins and turning from evil unto him. Let me read to you a few words of that impressive ¶

revelation. Oh, how powerful is the word of the Lord when it comes direct from him by revelation to his servants. The language is simple enough, a child could understand it, but the spirit and power of it is indeed impressive. Listen to these words : ¶

Lift up your voices and spare not. Call upon the nations to repent, both old and young, both bond and free, saying, prepare yourselves for the great day of the Lord; ¶

For if I, who am a man, do lift up my voice and call upon you to repent, and ye hate me, what will ye say when the day cometh when the thunders shall utter their voices from the ends of the earth, speaking to the ears of all that live, saying, Repent, and prepare for the great day of the Lord. ¶

Yea, and again, when the lightnings shall streak forth from the east unto the west, and shall utter forth their voices unto all that live, and make the ears of all tingle that hear, saying these words. Repent ye, for the great day of the Lord is coming. ¶

And again, the Lord shall utter his voice out of heaven, saying, Hearken, O ye nations of the earth, and hear the words of that God who made you. ¶

O, ye nations of the earth, how often would I have gathered you together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not? ¶

How oft have I called upon you by the mouth of my servants, and by the ministering of angels, and by mine own voice, and by the voice of thunderings, and by the voice of lightnings, and by the voice of tempests, and by the voice of earthquakes, and great hailstorms, and by the voice of famines and pestilences of every kind, and by the great sound of a trump. and by the voice of judgment. and by the voice of mercy all the day long, and by the voice of glory, and honor, and the riches of eternal life, and would have saved you with an everlasting salvation, but you would not? ¶

Behold the day has come, when the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full. ¶

Behold, verily I say unto you, that these are the words of the Lord your God; ¶

Wherefore labor ye, labor ye in my vineyard for the last time — for the last time call upon the inhabitant of the earth. ¶

For in my own due time will I come upon the earth in judgment, and my people shall be redeemed and shall reign with me on earth. ¶

For the great Millennium, of which I have spoken by the mouth of my servants, shall come. ¶

Brethren and sisters, these are the words of the Almighty, and they emphasize and confirm the words of the prophet Isaiah who has spoken upon this subject. O, how great is the mercy of the Lord. For eighty-eight years this people have lifted up their voices at home and abroad crying repentance to the nations of the earth, but comparatively few have accepted the gospel, and now the judgments of God are going forth and have been going forth all these years, for the simple reason that we are living in the last time. It is here. The Lord has so declared it. And notwithstanding present conditions, that the world today is in turmoil and the hearts of men are failing them for fear, not knowing what will be, still, as a people, we have received a promise from the Lord. He has declared it in modern revelation, that the Millennium, a thousand years of rest and peace, shall come. Didn't Isaiah refer to this matter hundreds of years ago when he said that God would judge the nations and would rebuke many people and they will turn their swords into plow-shares and their spears into pruning hooks, nation shall not lift up the sword against nation and they shall learn war no more? ¶

And so we may be very certain, that a time is coming when there shall be no more war. It is the voice ¶

of the prophet, it is the voice of God unto his people ; and I want to say to you, brethren and sisters, to me, to be personal, it is as clear as the noon day sun that the Central Powers cannot win this war because if they should win this war and fix the principle of militarism permanently upon the earth, the Millennium could not come. Militarism must be put down. It is the purpose of the Allies without question to crush out the spirit of cruelty and of vandalism that is abroad in the earth. ¶

I do not say, I am not prepared to say, that this is the last great war ; I wouldn't say that, but it does seem to me that this great world war, the greatest we have ever known or ever read of in history, by far the greatest, is leading up to the Millennium that will come. I entertain that view and that feeling, and it is in accordance with the word of the Lord which must eventually be fulfilled. The earth may pass away, the stars may drop from their orbits, but every jot and tittle of the word of God will be realized. He is a God of truth and cannot lie ; and let me repeat to you that surely this is a time for repentance and reformation as President Penrose suggested this morning so beautifully, a time to draw near to the Lord in faith and by prayer. This is a time to honor the priesthood, surely, to honor that great principle of divine authority which has been given to the Church. This is a time of all times to pay our tithes and our offerings to the Lord. To give to him his just dues since he has opened the windows of heaven and blessed us so abundantly as a people and as individuals. This is a time to keep the word of wisdom ourselves right now, today, and to teach our children to do the same. It is, I ¶

take it, the law of health to the Latter-day Saints given for their blessing, for their peace and for their prosperity. It also brings spiritual gifts, such as wisdom and knowledge. And above all things it is a time for solemn prayer to the Lord. We surely cannot reach him nor get near to him without the exercise of faith in prayer. ¶

In conclusion I am constrained to read the last verse of a hymn that was sung at the morning session: ¶

"Hark, from all lands, from the isles of the ocean, Praise to Jehovah ascending on high ; ¶

Fallen are engines of war and commotion, ¶

Shouts of salvation are rending the sky." ¶

May the Lord bless us and guide us by his Spirit, sustain us in every trying situation and eventually bring us off victorious, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶