The Gospel Is True

It is because of a spirit of obedience to the request of the President of the Church that I stand here at this time. I feel my weakness and utter inability without the aid of the Lord to supplement the splendid discourses that have been delivered at this conference thus far. ' ¶

It has been impressed upon my mind, by the instructions we have received, that our heavenly Father should be our eternal refuge and our guide through life. God said unto Moses: "I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me." One of old worshiped the god of ambition, and when earthly joys had grown dim, and earthly hopes been crushed, he said, out of the depths of a broken heart, "Had I but served my God with half the zeal I served my king, he would not in mine old age have left me naked unto my enemies." Another one, who was wealthy, when he was dying, said: "All that I have kept I have lost, and all that I have given away I have." What a splendid example of the lesson and value of sacrifice! ¶

God is our refuge. To him Oliver Cowdery went when he was a school-teacher, boarding with the parents of Joseph Smith, the Prophet. After conversing about the plates, from which the Boole of Mormon was translated, Oliver appealed unto the Lord, and it was revealed unto him that of a verity, in truth Joseph did receive these plates from the angel Moroni. He went to help Joseph translate the sacred record, and in a revelation that God gave to the Prophet, he told Oliver that he had heard his prayers on that night; therefore Oliver knew that Joseph was a prophet, and that the work was true, because no one but himself and God knew that he had prayed for divine guidance in this matter. ¶

The Spirit of the Lord is given to those who are worthy of it, and by that Spirit, as the Book of Mormon says, we may know the truth of all things. The Latter-day Saints have an anointing of the Holy One, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and this gift and guide makes it necessary that they be taught of men in things pertaining to God. ¶

As we have been told, this afternoon, by President Penrose, "Truth is knowledge of things as they are and as they were, and' as they are to come." This truth embraces every principle of the gospel. Joseph sought unto the Father and the glorious results are manifest. Elijah, in the power of his Priesthood, gave to the prophet the keys of salvation for the dead. ¶

"An angel from on high, The long, long silence broke, Descending from the sky, These gracious words he spoke; Lo, in Cumorah's lonely hill A sacred record lies concealed. ¶

"It speaks of Joseph's seed, And makes the remnant known, Of nations long since dead, Who once had dwelt alone. The fulness of the gospel, too, Its pages will reveal to view." ¶

So the sacred Nephite record came forth, another witness to the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Moses came and restored the keys of the gathering unto the Prophet Joseph Smith, and behold the miraculous development of the gathering in all the earth, especially the gathering of the Jews, and the events that are making that great movement certain and near of accomplishment. ¶

Brethren and sisters, we have the knowledge, in this Church, that will enable every man and woman to secure salvation. We are told by the Apostle John: "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of anti-Christ." ¶

With some sects a belief in the divinity of Christ is not required. Spiritualism, particularly, aims to destroy belief in the doctrine of the essentiality of the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. But the gospel teaches the divinity of Christ. It testifies that he is the Redeemer, the Son of God. ¶

The Apostle Paul says: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." And so I testify unto you, that in the gospel, in the Church, is every blessing and ordinace to be found which will bring forth eternal happiness and joy in the kingdom of God. ¶

How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in his excellent word. What more can he say. than to you he hath said, You who unto Jesus for refuge have fled? ¶

I hear my testimony that Jesus lives; that he is the Christ, the Sou of God, the Redeemer of the world; that Joseph Smith is a prophel of Hod, and that the men who have stood at the head of this Church, and who now stand at the head of this, God's Church, as prophets, seers, and revelators, arc wise shepherds, faithful leaders, fathers to the people and to all mankind who will listen to their instructions. 1 hear this testimony humbly, in the fear of God, and in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶