Truth and the Practice of Truth

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More than ever in my life, I feel this afternoon that I need the help of the Lord in endeavoring to address a congregation of his people in conference assembled. ¶

I hope I shall be able to make you hear my words, and that whatever I say may be under the spirit of inspiration from above. I have been suffering for sometime from what we popularly call "a cold," although I believe I contracted it in the heat. I do sometimes, on railroads, feeling oppressed with the heat of the car in which I am traveling, catch what is called a cold; but I trust that with the help of the Lord, and your attention and faith, I may be able to overcome the effects of this disorder and to speak so that you can hear and understand. ¶

Truth and the Practice of Truth'

I believe every word of the hymn which we have just sung. Truth is a great thing, and next to it, perhaps quite on a level with it, is the practice of truth. Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament, offered a prayer to his Father, concerning his disciples, his apostles particularly, and he said : "Lord, sanctify them by the truth ; thy word is truth." We can always depend upon the word of the Lord, for his word is truth, and "truth abideth and hath no end." ¶

Truth, speaking of it in the abstract, has no beginning. Truth is eternal, without beginning of days or end of life. The power and ability to receive truth is a great thing — that is a gift which I believe is ¶

largely bestowed upon the Latter-day Saints. I believe there is something in our racial connection which has to do with this. It is evident to me that in the last days the Lord has wrought mightily upon the descendants of the house of Israel. We have in the Church, the office of patriarch, and those who hold it are supposed to be specially inspired of the Lord to bless the people upon whom they lay their hands, and to reveal to them what tribe they belong to ; and the blessings that have come to the Latter-day Saints have chiefly been that they are of the house of Israel, and the majority of them, at any rate, of the tribe of Ephraim, and the Lord has said that they would be first in his work in the latter-days. ¶

A Special Mission for the House of Israel

I believe there is a special mission intended for the house of Israel in the latter days, gathered in from the various nations, and principally it will be of the tribe of Ephraim, and that through them the blessing and power of God will go to the world, and particularly to the descendants of Abraham, the father of nations and the head of his race. ¶

I had a conversation with a gentleman a short time ago, who is connected perhaps rather remotely, with this Church, and he told me that he had a blessing from a patriarch many years ago, when he was a boy, and he never liked it, for the reason that he was told therein he was a descendant of Abraham, and he did not like the idea of descending from a Jew. When I informed him that Abraham was not a Jew, he seemed to be very much surprised. He said : 'What, Abraham not a Jew!" "No," I said, "He was not a Jew. He was dead long before any Jews were born." The name of Jew comes from the tribe of Judah. Abraham, the father of our race, and, as we believe, our father on earth, so far as family is concerned, was "the friend of God," and God blessed him and his posterity, because, he said, they would do his will and obey him, and they should "keep the way of the Lord." ¶

Now, I think that we who are of that race, are naturally so disposed; that there is something with us that tends to our willingness to accept the truth when it comes from God. I do not mean to say that this is confined to us, but that particularly those who are of the house of Ephraim are ready to receive the word and act according to it as the Lord shall direct. ¶

Our Standing With Regard to Civil Law

I bear testimony to you that all we heard this morning from, our president, for our guidance and direction and enlightenment, is true and is very good. The sections from the Doctrine and Covenants, and other things that he presented here, are the divine word of truth. I have been familiar with them for many years. The section which pertains to our intercourse and position in regard to civil affairs — the affairs of governments in general, have been familiar to me, because from the time that I was a boy, when I embraced the gospel, ¶

I have believed in them and rejoiced in them — the plain, simple, but powerful declaration of our standing with regard to civil matters and affairs of Government. We are therein exhorted to be obedient to the laws. One of the revelations of God which supports that, states that if we obey the laws of God, we have no need to break the laws of the land. That has been qualified somewhat by a further revelation that all constitutional laws we should observe to uphold, for they are from God. We believe that he inspired the writers of the Constitution of the United States, that they were led by his Spirit when they composed that splendid pronouncement of government and law. Of course we have had views different from some of our friends in regard to what shall be considered constitutional and what should be considered unconstitutional, and those are questions that have been raised almost from the beginning of our establishment as a nation. But there is a provision in the constitution of this country, which gives to the supreme court of the United States authority and power to determine what is constitutional. We had some ideas concerning what we considered unconstitutional, which had crept into certain laws. We can entertain just what view we may think right in regard to them now, but we have to obey that which the supreme court of the United States decides is constitutional law, so we are told in the revelations of God. This we have been endeavoring to do and to conform as far as possible to those laws which have been declared to be the constitutional laws of the land. ¶

The Lord has told us in regard to matters in general, and the doctrine and principle, and particularly in regard to the laws concerning marriage — the union of the sexes — that what he has not appointed, that which he has not ordained, that which he has not commanded, "shall have an end when men are dead, and they shall not continue in nor after the resurrection," saith the Lord, our God. He will only receive those offerings, he says, which he has appointed; and that is a very good guide. ¶

Order in the House of the Lord

There is another thing: "My house is a house of order, saith the Lord ;" and as we have seen exhibited in the organization of this Church, which he, himself has established in the latter days, it is really a house of order, for everything in it is in order, according to that which we understand to be his divine will, in regard to the laws, commandments, doctrines and discipline, and all matters concerning his Church and our work therein. ¶

One of these things, which is very important for us to understand, and which has been taught from the very beginning of the organization of the Church, on the 6th day of April in the year 1830, is that the head of the Church — a prophet, a seer, and a revelator — shall be appointed by him to receive the oracles, to give the commandments, the revelations and doctrines in the Church. This I consider and always have considered, to be a very wise provision. We ¶

are all permitted, under the laws of the United States, under the constitution of the United States, and under the revelations of God, to believe in that which seems right and true to us. Sometimes we do not know how to determine what is true and what is false, but we can all come to a knowledge of the truth if we are humble and tractable and willing to place ourselves in the order that God has established. ¶

Concerning Dreams, Visions and Revelations

We hear a good deal in these times about manifestations to individuals. These are proper in their place, for those who receive them. The gifts of the gospel, which we read about in the New Testament, are all restored in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The gift of tongues, interpretation of tongues, the gift of prophecy, the gift of healing, the gift of discerning of spirits, etc., etc., that we read about in the epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, are all in this Church. I have been blessed with seeing and participating in most, if not all, of these gifts that we read about, and they belong to the Latter-day Saints just as much as they belonged to the former day Saints; and according to the prophet Joel, that after certain wonders have been accomplished — the great things of the latter days, the Lord says: "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh and your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions ; also upon my servants and handmaidens will I pour out my Spirit." That is a great blessing yet to come to the inhabitants of the earth, for the result will be as another prophet has declared, that "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God as the waters cover the great deep." ¶

Now, all these things will be brought about in due order, according to the mind and will of God, for his Church is established on that basis. The man who stands at the head of the Church is the one to receive revelations and commandments to the Church, and we are commanded of the Lord to receive "none other." I will not take time to read from the book of Doctrine and Covenants in regard to that, but I recommend my brethren who have not done so, and some of those who have, to get it in their minds anew ; that they read the 43rd section of that book where that principle is plainly set forth under commandment to this Church, so that while it may be true that the Lord will pour out his Spirit upon individuals for their good, for their benefit, for their comfort, for their consolation, for their enlightenment ; while the Lord will do this by dream and by vision and by tongues and by the gift of prophecy, etc., that these things he gives to his people are for them individually but not for the Church as an organization. When he has anything to give to the Church by way of revelation or commandment, for the enlightenment of the Church, for the government of the Church, to guide and direct them in the right path, in the only way — for there is but one — it will come through him whom he has appointed — the head of the Church — who presides over ¶

the Church and has the right arid privilege to receive from the Lord inspiration and power like that given unto Moses of old. This is a guide for you and for me and for all of us in the Church. ¶

There are many divine dreams we can read about in the Old Testament, some in the New Testament, that are evidently given from the Lord, and they are a great blessing so far as they are intended to go but no" further, and we must be very careful to distinguish what the Lord reveals to individuals, or what they think is revelation from the Lord, and what the Lord positively declares he gives to us only in the order that he has appointed. "For, my house is a house of order, saith the Lord, and not a house of confusion." This Church was organized by the gift and power of God. The Book of Mormon was revealed by the gift and power of God to' one individual, and he was called and appointed for that work and he performed it, and there is abundant evidence to prove that it was a divine appointment, and that the translation which was made by him by the gift and power of God is verily true, and is translated so as to be pleasing to and accepted by the Lord. That is a good guide for us, as the Old Testament and the New Testament are guides as far as they give us any counsel and advice by way of commandment from on high. And the blessing that the Lord bestows sometimes upon people, of giving them communications by dream at night, or vision by day, are for themselves. I can testify that the Lord has done that for me, but I have not made known that which was given to me for my own comfort and my advice and my benefit. I have had dreams which I have to acknowledge were divine, because they were fulfilled to the very letter — clearly given and clearly made manifest, and clearly brought into actual being— but they were for me and for my guidance and direction, and sometimes they were of such a nature that they appeared to me to be almost trivial, to think that the Lord would reveal to me certain things that were of very small moment. They only affected me and those with whom I was associated in the ministry, they came to pass in very deed, but I have not had them put on record nor had them published or spread abroad. I did not think that would be right. ¶

During my experience, when succeeding President Grant as President over the European mission, I had some manifestations in regard to my duties and to guide me in what I had to do when I was what we vulgarly call "up a stump.'' I was "up against it," did not know what course to pursue but the Lord made manifest to me what to do and I did it, and it came out all right in the end. I believe in the doctrine of waiting upon the Lord, and I have a special belief in the doctrine of Paul, for I have found it to be true all my life, in which he says : "We know that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to his purposes." I know that doctrine is true. Events have occurred in my life at times when I could not tell which course to take, and in my duties in some respects; in the mission I have referred to, it was particularly so, and I will not take up the time of the congregation to explain any further, ¶

only that I know that word of the Apostle is true. We know that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to his purposes, and we can trust in the Lord and obey his word, and we can trust in that which he reveals to the man who is placed at the head to declare and to bring forth by way of commandment and revelation, and if we will take that little guide that God has given us in the section I have referred to — Section 43 — we will not be led astray. ¶

Now, dreams are very peculiar things. I have had some recently. They were very clear and plain. I have dreamed several times that I had passed out of the body and was in the other world, and I saw things and heard things that seemed to me to be just as plain and just as clear as if I were actually out of the body, but when I came to wake up and weigh what I had seen I found it was only a dream. Just what the cause of it was I cannot tell. There are various causes for dreaming. The wise man, as he was called, Solomon, said, "In the multitude of dreams and words, there be divers vanities," and I have dreamed a great deal that was nothing but vanity and followed by a vexation of spirit. ¶

A lady who was a great believer in dreams, came to me once, and wanted me to give the interpretation to one of them. She dreamed some very peculiar things, "And, Brother Penrose," she said, "just give me the interpretation." I did not want to offend her. I saw there was nothing in them of any particular moment so I said, "Sister, what did you have for supper last night?" You know in England, (it was in England) they often have very late suppers. "Well, Brother Penrose," she said, "I had some fried pork and onions." "Well," I said, "that is the interpretation." I do not want you to infer from this that when the Lord gives a dream to anybody, or persons dream something which is enlightening* to their souls and comforting to their hearts and seems to be clear and plain, I wish to attribute that to anything else but what they think it is ; but I do say and repeat, that nothing is to be received in this Church by way of direction and commandment, outside of the order which God has established in his Church, and which is most wise and beneficent and beneficial. Follow the counsel and advice and commandment revealed through the head of the Church to the Church and we will not go wrong. ¶

The Work Prospers Under the Present Administration

I enjoyed the meeting this morning very much. I enjoyed those readings to which we were treated by the president. I believe in them fully and entirely. I am sure they are true and good, and I know that the work which is now going forward in the earth is being prospered under our present administration. I bear witness, not only that Joseph Smith was and is indeed a prophet of the living God, but that he was raised up purposely in this dispensation to usher in the dispensation of the fulness of times, under the direction of Jesus ¶

Christ, the Lord, whom Joseph was told to heed and listen to; and that our leaders, down from the prophet Joseph, after his martyrdom, have been inspired of God and have been made fit for the work which was entrusted to them. It is so today. I have the privilege and blessing of being very close to our present president. I have been familiar with several who have passed away, had their confidence, I am proud and blessed in saying, and their good will. Sometimes they have received my ideas and my word of advice, sometimes they have not, but I know they have been men of God, and I do know that everyone of them has had his soul set upon doing what God wanted, and to benefit the people; that they did not seek their own aggrandizement nor their own personal benefit, but they sought the mind and will of God, and they were prayerful men ; they were kind-hearted men ; they were humble and willing to do that which the Lord required of them and which was made known to them. Sometimes things were manifested to some of them that they did not agree with in spirit until they received the manifestation, but when it was made clear to them what they ought to do, they have done it and the Lord has been with them and he will be with them, as he has been with his servant who now stands at the head of our Church, and I rejoice in having his confidence and good will and that I am able to pray for him as I do every day, that he may be filled with the spirit of his office and calling; and he has it, and so have his brethren who are associated with him as leaders in the Church. ¶

The Gospel Is to All Nations

This morning's conference was a wonder. A great congregation gathered here. I thought to myself, in a kind of humorous vein — how clearly this proves the assertion of the world that "Mormonism" is going down, particularly that the third generation of "Mormons" will discontinue their faith ! And while I was thinking of that, Brother Ivins, who was sitting next to me, had the same idea, no doubt, because he made the same remark. Well, it is wonderful ! Is it not wonderful how we were gathered here this morning to demonstrate the untruth of what is said concerning the going down of "Mormonism." "Mormonism" is spreading and prevailing. "Mormonism," so-called, is fulfiling its mission in the world. It was established by the Father and the Son, and angels have come from them to the servants of God on the earth, and brought great truths for the benefit and salvation of the children of men, and we are called and appointed to carry this message to all the world. This is not only to individuals, but, as somewhat touched upon by Brother Roberts this morning, it is to "every nation and tongue and people;" it is as Jesus Christ told his apostles, to every creature — "Go ye into all the world," said he, "and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned; and these signs shall follow them that believe — " You can ¶

read what they are, in the New Testament. I believe in every word of that; and now, in these the last days, the Lord has repeated it to us. He says that we are his messengers. What he revealed to Orson Hyde and some other elders, as we read in the book of Doctrine and Covenants, Section 42, is to all of us, to all his servants who are sent to the world; they are to go forth and preach this to everybody. I have tried to do my part in the good work. Brother Grant has had a wide field of labor ever since the time when he was ordained one of the twelve apostles. He has labored in all the nations he has spoken about. ¶

Ready to Wear Out in the Service of God

I hold in my pocket here today, my Elder's certificate, I was called to go forth and preach the gospel without purse or scrip, to carry the message wherever I could, and I was ordained, according to my certificate, on the 6th day of January, 1851. I continued diligently in that work until I was released to come here, a little over ten years afterwards, and then I have been back there three times since then, and it is all right. I have nothing to complain about ; I rejoice in these things, and I am still endeavoring to do my part in the work. Many of you old Saints here will remember Brother George B. Wallace, who was one of the presidency of the Salt Lake stake of Zion many years ago. He was on a mission in England with Daniel Spencer, and they were counselors to the president of .the European Mission. He came to me, when I was called very unexpectedly when quite a young fellow, to the office in Jewin Street, London, and I was ordained an elder on that occasion, and told what my mission was, and he looked at me as if he would look me through, and said: "Brother Penrose, it is expected of the elders of Israel in these last days, that they will wear themselves out in the service of God, and it is better to wear out than to rust out." Now, that admonition given to me then has been with me all the time in my work in the Church. I am ready to wear myself out in the service of God, to try to carry out the admonition that we are to be willing to do all things, sacrifice all things, even to the laying down of our lives, if necessary, for this great work, and it is worth it, it is worth all that and a great deal more. It is worth all our being, is this work that we are engaged in. ¶

The Work in This Great Cause Should Be Done Cheerfully

The idea that men have to be stirred up by teachers or other officers to do their little duties in the Church, and particularly in the Priesthood, is a wonder to me — why a man should have to be urged to stand forward and minister in the things of God, to make himself well informed as to all that is to be done, and to do his part is a mystery. He ought to be glad in heart, cheerful in spirit, and disposed always to do his little bit, or great bit, if it is a great bit to him. Everything that we have is from the Lord. All items of information, every ¶

testimony of the Holy Spirit, which we have enjoyed so many times during all these years, are from God, not from men, it is to me, and I am thankful for every manifestation of light and intelligence and understanding in the things of God that has come to me, and I have had that disposition and have it today, to do anything and everything that lies in my power. ¶

Testimony

I regret to say that my eyesight is failing very fast. There is no disease in my eyes, no pain in them, thank God; I have been freed from the pains that I endured for a while in my body; my physical organization, through the blessing and gift of God, through his inspiring power, in answer to prayers. I am thankful today for this, but I have worn out my eyesight, so to speak,, in working for this Church and people, and for myself therein. Everything I have been able to do for the Church has also been done for me; it has blessed me and comforted me and opened to me the things of eternity, in which I rejoice with all my heart and soul, and am glad to be able to bear testimony, once more in the midst of the congregation, that I know this is God's work ; I know he commenced it ; I know he is carrying it on now ; I know it will prevail ; I know it will conquer every evil ; truth will overcome error, under the inspiration of God, under the labors of his servants ; light will dissipate the darkness ; misrule will pass away, and the government of God will be established upon the earth, and Christ will be our king just as sure as we are gathered here in this tabernacle this afternoon. And we are the children of God. We are of the right family and race. God has called us, everyone, male and female, men, women and children who are born in the covenant; they are all especially sacred to the Lord and his work. Under the divine direction, through the^ order that he has established in his Church, we should be ready and 'willing to take our place and labor with all our might and do everything we can to promote this great work. ¶

Consecration and Liberty of the Saints

Now, in regard to the liberties of the Latter-day Saints, I can say this that in all my associations with the leaders of the Church, past and present, I have never been coerced or compelled, or commanded to do things that were contrary to my own feelings and good will ; what I have done, I have done voluntarily in the exercise of that God-given gift, the gift of agency, which God says he gave to man. Yes, we are indebted to God for that. When we were first born in the spirit world our agency was given to us — when we were begotten or organized or created, whatever you are pleased to call it — it all means the same thing — we were begotten unto the Lord, as the president read this morning from the great Vision. ¶

Well, we should be consecrated to him and ready to labor for him, for when we are laboring for him, we are laboring for ourselves, ¶

with all the truth we can gather to our souls, all the intelligence that can be communicatee^ to us, which we receive and put in action under divine direction. Though we may die and our bodies be buried in the ground we shall rise again and we shall receive these gifts, or have them with us, in the morning of the first resurrection, and we shall go on to that glory and power and dominion and extent which is incomprehensible, which is everlasting, which is without end. These things are for us, for you and for me, if we will put ourselves in the right way to receive the divine law and to act upon the divine communication, and put ourselves in the order which God has established, and be guided thereby. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I feel well this afternoon, in spirit, rather weak in body, but I am very glad — more than I can tell— that I have the privilege of saying a few words to you in this conference. I have attended a great many. I have always rejoiced in them. I rejoice today. What there is of me left on the earth is at the service of the Lord and his work, as it has been from the beginning. I rejoice in it ; I glory in it ; I thank God for all his gifts and blessings to me, and what little good I have been able to accomplish. It does me good to hear the missionaries come back and give the testimony that they do, that President Grant spoke about this morning, and to note the willingness of those who are now being called to go into the missionfield, and the desire they have had in their bosoms for years. They have grown up from childhood with a disposition and a desire to sacrifice themselves, so to speak, to go out to the world and preach the gospel without pay, without earthly reward. It is a great blessing and it is a great sign that God is working with the youth of Israel. They are of the right kind of people; he has chosen them and sent down their spirits to be born on the earth in these latter days, especially to engage in this great work, and to exercise their agency. ¶

Free Agency and Our Glorious Destiny

Everything that God reveals is upon the principle that we can receive it, or reject it if we want to. We ought not to want to reject anything that comes from the Lord, through his properly appointed channels. We should be glad to know the word and be glad to carry it out. Now, if we have this disposition, these gifts that are spoken about — spiritual gifts — they are all from one spirit, though that spirit has different operations and different phases, so to speak; different degrees, like light has — natural light — so that the light that comes from God, that divine light, is the Holy Spirit, it is the Spirit by which the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, as a personality, act. That is their spirit ; it is the spirit of creation. God created all things firstly spiritual, and afterwards temporal, but he did it all, so he says, by the power of his Spirit, and his Spirit pervades all things, not only on this earth, but throughout the vast immensity of space. God will guide and direct this work, as he commenced it, for certain purposes — and, I was going to say — bring it to an end, but there is no end to it ; ¶

there will be an end to our earthly work in the body; there will not be an end to our continuation in after life, if we come forth with a crown in the kingdom of the Father and inherit all things, all heights, all depths, all breadths, all eternity, all knowledge, all intelligence, all wisdom, all power, and our family increase will go on and there will be no end to it, and therefore, no end to our glory. ¶

Glory be to God, I feel in my heart today, for all his goodness to me, and for that which he has revealed and will reveal for the salvation and redemption of the human race, and give us power to use the agency with which he has endowed us, for good, for the benefit of mankind, the building up of the kingdom of God, and the preparation of the way for the coming of the King of kings and Lord of lords. ¶

May God's peace be with you and with us all, and may we be able to attain to the great salvation, even the crown in the kingdom of the Father, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶