Testimony of the Living Christ

I believe that the remarks that have been made to us by Brother Ivins have been understood and appreciated and believed in by this congregation of Latter-day Saints in general conference assembled. He has enunciated the doctrine in great plainness that most of us have heard almost all our lives. It has been taught from this stand not only at conference times but in many discourses that have been delivered by the servants of the Lord. It was the doctrine of the Prophet Joseph Smith made plain through him by revelation from God. As quoted or read by President Grant last Sunday morning, it was proclaimed by the prophet and the president of the Church, Brigham Young. He was a great leader. He was a man of very strong mind and will and expression, and he always taught this doctrine in plainness-- that while there was but one man at a time on the earth to receive revelation from God for the Church, for the whole Church, the spirit of revelation rested down on the members of the Church as well ¶

as upon men holding the Priesthood of God. So with those who succeeded him in the presidency. I do not believe there has been one of them who has not taught that doctrine. ¶

THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS' VIEW OF REVELATION. ¶

There has been associated with that revelation read by the president on Sunday as to the right of the man who stands at the head to receive revelation for the Church, the doctrine and theory and practice that three men holding the presidency of the Church preside over it in all its departments, and that when anything was to be introduced of a new character or kind for the government of the Church, it would come from that presidency and would be submitted to the quorums of the priesthood and to the Saints generally. This was followed by President Wilford Woodruff when what is called the "Manifesto" came from him to the Church. It was presented to the Church and voted on by the Church in conference assembled as doctrine for the Church. A resolution was passed to that effect, offered by President Lorenzo Snow. We should understand this. Brother Ivins has made it very clear that the revelations spoken of by the president on Sunday morning for the government of the Church were for this Church, not for other churches or societies; and at the same time that which was said, that which we have believed in, that which we have practiced, is not confined entirely in all respects to the one man; that the spirit of revelation is for all of the Church, every member thereof, but for the government and guidance of the Church as an organized body, that authority is vested in the one man that stands at the head. And it seems to me that a little common reason would show the value of it. The Lord said we were not to receive as revelations for our government that which came from anybody but the man whom he had chosen to be at the head, and if he transgressed he should not have power except to appoint another, nominate or name another, in his stead to be at the head of the Church. Now we can see very quickly, if we will use our common sense, that if every man of prominence in the Church could introduce a revelation we would be, as Brother Ivins said, at once in confusion. There is none in the Church who has the right to introduce as divine revelation something that is new and different from that which has been revealed before, but the man who is appointed to do that, so that we might all come to the unity of the faith, and when that is received by the Church, and adopted as part of our creed, it belongs to the Church, just as much as anything that has preceded it. ¶

AS TO MISINFORMATION. ¶

Some time ago we were afflicted by false reports, sent out from this city by telegraph generally speaking, to the world, pretending to give sentiments expressed by the leader of the Church. Lately there has been some reformation in that respect. I am glad to know that the telegraphic wires are not now as they were at that time under ¶

the domination of men animated by the spirit of falsehood. When I was editor of The Deseret News, my time was largely taken up by making or giving refutations of statements of that kind sent over the wires from Salt Lake City by the Associated Press. I became acquainted some time after with the president of that association, Mr. Stone, a fine, splendid, able and fair-minded man, and had the pleasure personally to talk with him on this subject; and since the time when he became fully acquainted with the manner in which dispatches were sent from this city, he saw to it as far as possible, that these false reports were not circulated. Now, I am glad to say there is a change of spirit in that respect; but, at the same time, sometimes things are published and very often talked about without being published, which are filled with misinformation. ¶

I have heard considerable about this now, concerning the remarks made by President Grant last Sunday morning. It is represented that he stated that there was no man living but him who had any right to receive a revelation from God. He did not say that. You who were here know very well that he did not make any remark of that kind. What he tried to make clear and did to my mind, and I believe he did to all the congregation, was that fundamental doctrine concerning the revelations of God to this Church as an organized religious body; that only the man who stood at the head could be authorized Revelator, the end of controversy; if there were any controversy arising, he could seek by revelation from God to be able to correct error as well as to proclaim truth. ¶

MEN WHO PRETEND TO BE CALLED OF GOD TO RECEIVE REVELATION. ¶

Now, I just mention the fact, not that perhaps it is of very much importance, but it is associated, too, with some things that have been done in some quarters of the Church. Men have started up pretending to be called of God to receive revelation from God to the Church. I knew one man of that kind some years ago, who came to the president of the Church and demanded the keys, for he was "the man mighty and strong sent to set in order all things in Zion." Well, he did not make much of an impression, but he came two or three times, and at last he was ordered out of the office and he stumped off on one leg -- because he had only one good leg, the other was a wooden one -- and he went off as the "mighty and strong" one, and we heard nothing more about it. That is not a fair sample, perhaps, of the men who have arrogated this position to themselves. Lately there have been some members of the Church who have claimed to have revelation from God to organize a United Order, without calling it that at first, but latterly they did, and so they threw in their possessions and placed them in the hands of one individual, and he received what he called revelations from God, and the people joined in with him and were induced to pray that they might find out whether it was true, and they have been led off by a false spirit. Some of them have repented, and others who did not ¶

repent but continued in their bad works of darkness, have been excommunicated from the Church. Now here is simply a warning voice from the man that stands at the head, of the Church that people shall not be led astray either by ideas of that kind which I have just mentioned, or in regard to other matters that affect their condition in time and eternity. ¶

MEN WHO HAVE ARROGATED TO THEMSELVES THE RIGHT TO MARRY. ¶

Some men have arrogated to themselves the right to marry when it has been shown very clearly during this conference they have no such right. The right to marry for time is vested in certain officers of this Church, and the right to marry for time and eternity can only be solemnized and celebrated under the direction of the Church authorities, and there is but one man at a time, the revelation itself says, that holds the keys of this authority. And how in the world men of brains, men of standing in this Church, can be led off to the right or to the left into works of wrong and darkness by persons having no such authority, and who cannot have it, under the revelation itself on this subject -- how they can do that has been very perplexing to me. But when I read in the revelations of God, as the Apostle James puts it, that "God is not tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man, but every man is tempted when he is led away by his own lust," that explains the thing clearly to my mind. ¶

Now I have made these few remarks in regard to this subject because I am fully desirous, with all my soul, that our people should understand, and that the world, if they want it, may understand, and that our friends who are not of our faith may not misunderstand our position, and if they choose to misinterpret and to twist and turn about the words that are uttered from this stand and proclaim them to the world as the words of our leader, why they must take the consequences. ¶

THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS BELIEVE IN ANCIENT AND MODERN REVELATION. ¶

It has been a doctrine, as Brother Ivins has said, from the beginning, that we believe in revelation, and the trouble with our pretended friends, who are misinterpreting this matter, is they do not believe in modern revelation at all, and our conflict has been with them from the beginning. They have made the conflict. Joseph Smith received a revelation from God, and the great heads of the Christian churches and the ministers of the various conflicting denominations have declared that the doctrine of revelation in these times is false, that God does not now reveal anything for the children of men, that all the revelation that we have now that is of any account is to be found between the lids of the Bible, and they quote the last chapter of Revelation, a few words there, that if "any man shall add to these things God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book." ¶

They leave out the other part, generally, strangely, "if any man shall take away from the words of the prophecies of this book, God shall take away his part out of the book of life and out of the holy city and from the things that are written in the book." And they do not dwell much upon the saying in it that "all liars and they that love and make a lie shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." ¶

THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE REVELATION IS COMMON TO ALL. ¶

President Grant did not claim that he was the only man that could receive revelation from God. He has taught from the beginning, as all the leaders of this Church have, that to receive revelation is the gift of all men who seek for it. "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you, saith the Lord of hosts." That was the doctrine of the ancient seers and prophets. That is the doctrine of the latter-day prophets, and of the Latter-day Saints' Church. The right to receive revelation from God is common to every one. Christ taught: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" That Holy Spirit is the spirit of revelation, that which makes clear, that which reveals; whether it be something new or something old does not matter, if it is true. It is the spirit of truth, and that is the spirit of life and the spirit of light that he has given to everyone born into the world. Every sensible, every sane person, has a right to the guidance of that spirit if he will seek for it in the right way and be obedient to its whisperings and its teachings. The beneficial inventions received by leading minds come from that source. Now, it is not the right of every person to teach things that he may consider he has received by revelation, to others. I have had manifestations to me from the time when I, as a boy, went out into the world to preach the gospel without purse or scrip or means, for my personal benefit. I received them from the Lord; they were my guiding stars. I am thankful to know that I received this inspiration in my labors and duties, and there are many things I have never talked about to others, and I know just as well that they are true as that I am standing here, but it was not given me to teach them to the world or to anybody else. It was for me. Every inspiration that I have received from the Almighty has strengthened my faith in this work, this organization, this Church of Jesus Christ, for it is his Church, and I know that it is of God, and that it will prevail. ¶

ALL REVELATION FOR THE CHURCH COMES THROUGH THE HEAD OF THE ¶

CHURCH. ¶

There have been some persons who have been led away by an evil influence, which has caused some of them to lose their standing in the Church, and it was pertinent and timely for our president to allude to this doctrine as shown in the fortythird section of the Doctrine and ¶

Covenants, and what he said is true and it is the word of the Lord to the Church; it was then and it is now, and anything that the Lord has to reveal for the Church for its guidance and government in doctrine and principle and discipline will come through the head, and we will have the opportunity, if it is new, to pass judgment upon it. In the book of Doctrine and Covenants we have a number of revelations, all of which have been received by the body of the Church as the word of the Lord. I was present when that was done, when we were all organized in the Priesthood in our various quorums. The Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price were voted upon by the priesthood of the Lord and also by the congregation in conference during the time of President Taylor. If the Lord has anything further to reveal, it will come through the head, and then the body responding will make it the doctrine of the Church. That is the order of heaven. God reveals, God orders, God presides, and the heavenly hosts willingly and gladly receive his guidance, and his word becomes their word and they are like Jesus, they do his will, but they do it because it is the will of the Father and they know that the Father is true. And so when we get the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands and we walk in its light, we know for ourselves concerning the work, concerning all our duties as we are called upon to perform them. ¶

WOMEN AND THE PRIESTHOOD. ¶

One other remark I want to make, and that is this: There seems to be a revival of the idea among some of our sisters that they hold the Priesthood. President Clawson sat down on that in his remarks on Sunday. He said "No, the sisters do not hold the Priesthood." Well, is that right? Yes; but then there is a little qualification to it, perhaps, very slight. When a woman is sealed to a man holding the Priesthood, she becomes one with him. Sometimes the man is the one and sometimes he is not, but she receives blessings in association with him. The glory and power and dominion that he will exercise when he has the fulness of the Priesthood and becomes a "king and a priest unto God," she will share with him. Sisters have said to me sometimes, "But, I hold the Priesthood with my husband." "Well," I asked, "what office do you hold in the Priesthood?" Then they could not say much more. The sisters are not ordained to any office in the Priesthood and there is authority in the Church which they cannot exercise; it does not belong to them; they cannot do that properly any more than they can change themselves into a man. Now, sisters, do not take the idea that I wish to convey that you have no blessings or authority or power belonging to the Priesthood. When you are sealed to a man of God who holds it and who, by overcoming, inherits the fulness of the glory of God, you will share that with him if you are fit for it, and I guess you will be. ¶

AS TO WOMAN'S RIGHT TO ADMINISTER TO THE SICK. ¶

There is another thing connected with that. I have had sisters visit me and ask me if they did not have the right to administer to the sick. "Well," I have said, "yes, you have in one way; Jesus Christ said, 'These signs shall follow them that believe -- in my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.' " As I say, there are occasions when perhaps it would be wise for a woman to lay her hands upon a child, or upon one another sometimes, and there have been appointments made for our sisters, some good women, to anoint and bless others of their sex who expect to go through times of great personal trial, travail and "labor;" so that is all right, so far as it goes. But when women go around and declare that they have been set apart to administer to the sick and take the place that is given to the elders of the Church by revelation as declared through James of old, and through the Prophet Joseph in modern times, that is an assumption of authority and contrary to scripture, which is that when people are sick they shall call for the elders of the Church and they shall pray over and officially lay hands on them. ¶

It is the prayer of faith that saves the sick; faith in God not in some particular man, although some men seem to have more of the gift of healing than others, that is true, but the authority in the Church is vested in the elders. True, a priest, of course, can, a teacher can, and so can a deacon, although neither a teacher nor a deacon can exercise the power in the lesser Priesthood which is for the remission of sins through baptism; he cannot do that, he has not the authority, but he may lay hands on the sick and pray God to heal them; so can a member. So can people out of the Church, and so they have done. Having faith in God, they have asked God in the name of Jesus Christ to heal the sick by the laying on of their hands, and some of them have got well, and a good many others have died, like it is with all of us. ¶

NO MEETINGS TO BE HELD WITHOUT CONSENT OF PRESIDING AUTHORITIES. ¶

These sisters, too, claim the right to go around and hold meetings of their own and speak in tongues and interpret the same and to prophesy. Now they may have the gift of tongues; that is just as much for the sisters as it is for the brethren, and seems to be a little more so. One good sister said to another, "Oh, you may have the gift of wisdom, I don't say you haven't, but I have got the gift of tongues." She thought she was ahead of her sister who had wisdom. Sisters, it is not your right to organize meetings either for the sisters or for the brethren in your respective wards without the regulation and permission of the presiding authorities of the ward. Some sisters not very far from this spot used to meet together, relate visions, speak in tongues and had a glorious time, and the president of the stake was ¶

appealed to as to the right to do that. He said, "Sisters, you must not hold any meetings of that kind unless you get permission from the bishop," and they have never asked permission of the bishop nor held such meetings since that time. What does that show? It shows that they were not acting under proper authority. The Lord has declared "my house is a house of order." ¶

DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND LOOK TO THE LORD FOR HIS WORD. ¶

Let us do that which is right; let us avoid that which we have no right to do. Do not let us presume to hold Church meetings in our own authority. That is under the direction of the ward authorities and they will say when meetings are to be held; the quorum meetings, of course, are under the direction of the quorum authorities. Let us be wise in our generation, and let us look to the Lord for his word, through the appointed channel. And when we sing, "We thank thee, O God', for a prophet," let us do so in faith. Many Saints sing that song, but they do not want to do or believe what he says. That is the way with some folks; not with you, of course; we know better or ought to know better. Let us follow in the ways the Lord has pointed out, and' let us not get very angry at what the wicked do. The wicked will not cease from troubling, liars will not cease from lying, unless God converts or compels them, and they will go on in their evil way; some of them, until they find they are with the wicked in that punishment which is figuratively called fire and brimstone. ¶

CONCLUDING TESTIMONY. ¶

God bless you, my brethren and sisters. I am thankful to the Lord today for his mercies to me; I am thankful for his goodness to me all my life long. God be praised for the revelations of the latter days, and for the revelations of ancient days that have been handed down to us; only a few have come to us, but we are living now in the full blaze of the gospel of the last dispensation. The Holy Ghost, the Comforter, is with this people; Jesus Christ the Son is at the head of the Church, and God the Father is above all, and we will find out when we learn the fulness that Providence is indeed over all, and that we are to acknowledge his hand in all things, in adversity as well as in riches. In all conditions in which we find ourselves, we will praise the Lord and give thanks to him and serve him with all our heart and might and mind and strength, and will try to love our neighbors as ourselves, as far as we can, and if we can say, "O Lord, they don't know what they do," we will say also, "Father, forgive them." I am afraid some of them do know what they are doing; that is, they are not telling the truth, but are purposely perverting it. They, too, are in the view and the hands of the Almighty. ¶

God's peace be with you all, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶