Through the Spirit We Are Fed the Bread of Life

I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting this morning. I hope I shali enjoy the meeting this afternoon, and particularly, that while I speak to you I may be led by the Spirit which was here this, morning and prompted the remarks that were made, and which the Lord has blessed me with many times, at home and abroad, when it has become my duty to stand up before a congregation. ¶

I am suffering from some disabilites which are very unpleasant to me personally. They are of physical character but I am not sick abed. I am thankful indeed that I am able to be present this afternoon and look upon this vast congregation. I wish I could see you clearly, as I used to do in times that are, past, but my eyes are about worn out, I think, and I do not have any faith that I shall recover the keen eyesight which I enjoyed for so many years; but I am thankful to God this afternoon to be present. ¶

Through the Spirit We Are Fed the Bread of Life

I was grateful this morning, with all my soul, in listening to the remarks that were made by our brethern who spoke by the Spirit and from their hearts. I think we are able to tell when a man talks from the heart or merely from the brain. Some men who are accustomed to public speaking can roll out a very fine discourse or oration or lecture that comes from human thought, and it is subject to human errors, very often, and we can detect them ; but when a man speaks under the influenec of the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, the light that comes from God to the soul of man, there is something about what he says that goes to our hearts, not only to our ears but it goes down into our inward being, and we are fed with the bread of life and we are nourished thereby and we carry away with us, when we ¶

go home, or wherever we' go, the influence of it. It clings to us. It not only rings in our ears when we hear good sentences, but the spirit of it goes down into our inward being and we are refreshed and revived and fitted for the duties that devolve upon us as servants of the most high God. ¶

The Church the Most Wonderful Organization

One of the speakers said that this was one of the most wonderful organizations on the earth, all of which is true, but a word more might be added, — that it is the most wonderful. It is so, because it is different from anything else organized on earth in the shape of religion. There are many differences between our views, doctrines, and principles, and our way of doing things, and the various religions in the Christian and the heathen world, but there is this great difference ; everything in this Church is as directed by divine revelation. One of the brethren alluded to the manifestation of God, the Father and the Son, to the Prophet Joseph in his boyhood, something which he relates himself and we can read in the book called the Pearl of Great Price, which contains a great many things that we all ought to give heed to and understand. There are revelations in that little book that came direct from the Father through Jesus Christ his Son, to Moses, long before he gave the law on mount Sinai, which were revealed to him, in vision ; and the same visions that he gave to Moses were given to the Prophet Joseph, I think about June, 1830. They are of great moment and they contain great and glorious principles and promises. ¶

What God REVEALES, Ordains and Commands Is His Religion

One thing clearly revealed in that which God gave to Moses before he gave him the Mosaic law, as we call it, was the point that what God calls men to and ordains them, to and reveals unto them is his word and that it shall abide, and that it is different from that which comes from man only. He does not accept just what man may choose to offer him, either by way of sacrifice or by any other way. That which he ordains, that which he reveals, that which he commands is God's religion that comes to us, and that we should observe and obey. It is all right for all the inhabitants of earth, according to their own notions, to breathe out their desires to the Lord and to offer to him what they think is good for them to offer, but the Lord instituted sacrifices in the early times, and when our> parents were driven out of the Garden of Eden, Adam was told to build an altar and offer a sacrifice to the Lord, which was to be from the firstlings of his flock. Adam was a tiller of the soil, as well as keeper of flocks, but that which the Lord commanded him he did without question. When he was asked by the angel of God, so we read in that vision to Moses, why he did that, he said he did not know but he did know that God had commanded it. That was enough for him. Then the angel explained to him that this sacrifice that God commanded him to offer was in the similitude of the great sacrifice to ¶

be offered by the Only Begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. That was the name given to him by the Father, we are told. So Adam did that understandingly; so did his son Abel; so did Seth, and so did others of his posterity, away down to the time of Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Noah, Jacob and Moses. This was offered in the way that God ordained, and therefore it was acceptable in his sight. ¶

Cod Has Spoken in the Time in Which We Live

Now in these times in which we live, God has spoken again from heaven. For a long time there had been no direct intercourse between the Father and the Son and the inhabitants of the earth, by way of commandment and revelation. They were left, to a large extent, after they departed from the Gospel that his Son revealed, to their own devices ; and so confusion came into the world and "darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the people." In the midst of this, many of them thought they had great light, but tha't which they had came from their own reflections, to a large degree, and communication was not kept up between Deity and humanity. Now, when the Lord revealed himself, as he most certainly did, as testified to this morning by the brethren, — and I add my testimony that the Father and the Son did manifest themselves to the boy Toseph in the grove near his father's house, where he went to offer for the first time a vocal prayer to God — and when he called upon the Father and asked him which of all the different religious sects he should join, the Father turning and pointing to his Son, said ; "Joseph, th's is my beloved Son. Hear him." That was the word of God the Father to Joseph the boy. That is the word of God to the whole earth today. It has come to us and we should remember it. It is what his Son Jesus Christ reveals, as the representative of the Father, that we are to receive. And so, all the revelations that have come to us, as referred to this morning by President Grant, contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, which is a collection of revelations from the Lord, came through Jesus Christ, "Hearken to the voice of Jesus Christ, the great I Am, whose arm of mercy hath atoned for your sins," is the opening phrase in many of those revelations. ¶

Celestial or Eternal Marriage

The Lord has disclosed to us in section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants, a revelation concerning his ways and concerning things of time and things of eternity. Among them is the law of celestial or eternal marriage. That is only one of the principles revealed there. Here is what the Lord says in verses 8 to 11 of that section in the Doctrine and Covenants : ¶

"Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion. ¶

"Will I accept of an offering, saith the Lord, that is not made in my name ? ¶

"Or will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed? ¶

"And will I appoint unto you, saith the Lord, except it be by law, even as I and my Father ordained unto you, before the world was?' ¶

Just think that over. That is an eternal principle. God reveals what he wants done and his people are to abide by it and carry it out in their lives. ¶

The revelation goes on to say : ¶

"I am the Lord thy God, and I give unto you this commandment — That no man shall come unto the Father but by me or by my word, which is my law, saith the Lord. ¶

"And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, bythrones, or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God. ¶

"For whatsoever things remain are by me ; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed." ¶

Based upon this principle, the Lord continues : ¶

"Therefore, if a man marry a wife in the world, and he marry her not by me, nor by my word, and he covenant with her so long as he is in the world, and she with him, their covenant and marriage arc not of force when they are dead, and when they are out of the world. Therefore, they are not bound by any law when they are out of the world." ¶

Further than this the Lord goes on to say : ¶

"And again, verily I say unto you. if a man marry a wife and make a covenant with her for time and all eternity, if that covenant is not by me or by my word, which is my law, and is not sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, through him whom T have anointed and appointed unto this power, then it is not valid, neither of force when they are out of the world, because they are not joined by me,neither by my word." ¶

So, therefore, the Lord institutes his order of eternal marriage and he warns his people that unless they abide by that law their union cannot be continued, they cannot increase in the world to come, and their marriage does not last any longer than the time that they live in the flesh. After death comes that is the end of it. ¶

Show the Children What the Lord Ordains and Why

Now why should the Lord accept of all those different religions that men have made? Why should the Lord accept of offerings that men offer which he has not commanded, and neglected to do that which he has commanded? There is no reason in my irr'nd why he should. Therefore, says the Lord, if men do this and they do not abide by his law, it does not continue. So, here is something we should understand and teach to our children. Mothers and fathers in Israel, make it plain to your children, not in an offensive way, as some have done, but show them what the Lord ordains and why he ordains it, so that they may, if they will, enter into the new and everlasting covenant of marriage as God has ordained, do that which will continue in and after the resurrection from the dead and abide eternally ; ¶

wherein they will find everlasting increase and power and dominion worlds without end. ¶

Learn What the Lord Has Commanded and Obey It

In the sectarian world there are a number of religious organizations. All of them, perhaps most of them at any rate, have some good in them. That which is good and true is all right ; but there is not one of them according to that revelation, that has been set up and ordained by direct commandment of the Lord. This Church is sui generis. It is of itself. There is no other organization on the face of the earth that has been organized under direct revelation and commandment of the Most High, and organized personally under the direction of Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh. Hear him, O ye nations ! Hear him, O ye Latter-day Saints ! Find out what the Lord has commanded and obey it and there shall be peace in your souls and you shall have contentment, not only the remission of your past sins, but you shall have the abiding witness in your souls that gave so much comfort to our brethren who spoke this morning, and we can all have it, as one of them testified. ¶

Now then, that is the principle upon which that commandment is founded, by which our people are told to enter into the sacred order of celestial, that is, eternal marriage. If a man marry a wife in the new and everlasting covenant and it is sealed upon their heads that that marriage shall endure, and they live according to it, they shall come forth in the first resurrection, and they will continue in it forever and ever and there is no end to their increase and their glory and their dominion and their power. It leads to infinitude, which we cannot fully comprehend now but which we will when we receive that Spirit in its fulness and receive our resurrected bodies, quickened after the power of endless life; we enter into an infinitude of knowledge which will come to us as the ages and ages go on and there is no end to it. ¶

The Lord Has Set Up His Church and Kingdom

Now, I know this is true. I know it just as I know that I live, that the Lord, in these last days, has commenced the work referred to by all the holy prophets since the world began, to set up his Church and kingdom. This is "the kingdom of God." This is the kingdom of heaven into which no one can enter except in the way that the Lord has provided. Christ says : "I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me," and "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." And he has declared that we cannot enter into the kigndom except by the door, not only for the remission of sins but to enter into that Church and kingdom of God. That is what he taught to Nicodemus. He told Nicodemus, first, he "could not see the kingdom unless he was born again ;" and the Apostles taught, in their ¶

letters to the churches of their time, that they had to be "born of the word of God" that comes through Christ, which opens the eyes, which enables people to see the truth. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," says Paul. But, how can they hear without a preacher, and how can he preach except he be sent? (Rom. 13 :17.) That is the idea. God sends men to speak his word by the power of the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit resting down upon the hearers who are willing to recive it, kindles faith in their souls by the testimony that is born and they see the light right here. And then very often, in our public gatherings, in the streets and in our meeting places, and by seeing that which is right, faith is kindled in their hearts, which is the beginning of the gospel of Christ, the beginning of true religion. Faith in the true God is the beginning of true religion, and that leads to repentance. This is what Oliver Cowdery could not understand when he had that dispute with the Prophet Joseph, in the rise of the Church. The revelation says that all who have "received the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins shall be received by baptism into the Church." (Doc. and Cov. sec. 20:37.) Oliver could not understand that, and he had the hardihood or assumption to call upon the Prophet Joseph, in the name of God, to erase that from the revelation, but of course the Prophet did not erase it. He had received it from the Lord and it is the eternal truth. What the people of the world need is something to lead them up to repentance, and then to be baptized for the remission of sins, and this is the operation, the first operation of the Spirit of Christ in the soul of man. Seeing the kingdom and entering into it are different operations. When he hears the word and believes it, faith is kindled in his heart and it leads to repentance, and repentance to baptism, wherein . is the remission of sins, and he comes in by the door into the Church or Kingdom of Christ, and is then confirmed by the laying on of the hands that he may receive the gift of the Holy Ghost ; that is the Holy Ghost as a gift, an abiding witness, a continual testimony, .something that stays in the soul, not given like a flash of light for a time and taken away again, not like the temporary light that lights every man that comes into the world, although it is from the same source; but the abiding witness as a gift from God, as Peter taught on the day of Pentecost, when the Jews began to see that they had been in the dark and that their nation had rejected the Messiah. They cried: "Men and brethren, what shall we do ?" Then said Peter : "Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call ;" all that receive the word, if they believe and repent and are baptized they shall receive the Holy Ghost. They are first born of the word, next born of the water and of the Spirit. ( Read I Peter 1:23; Jas. 1:18.) ¶

Only One God's Religion

Now, my brethren, in the different sections in the world they have their religions and a great many of our people are being led off here and there, particularly out in the world, to attend their services. There is no harm about that, but they should come to the understanding that there is but one God's religion and that is what God reveals. There is only one gospel and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ, about which President Grant read this morning from that glorious vision that Joseph Smith, the prophet, received, with Sidney Rigdon. He saw it. Sidneysaw it, and it is one of the biggest testimonies that although he had to lie cut off this Church for his transgressions, yet he never denied his testimony ; and so with the three witnesses to the Book of Mormon. They say what they testified of, and their testimony remains and abides and what they said is true. Now then, we want to teach our children that they may understand that there may be good things in the religions of the world and in the educations of the world ; that which is good is all right, that which is really scientific is all right, but a great deal of what is called scientific is nothing but philosophical, and some of it is vain philosophy. The Lord is our God and he created or organized the world on which we stand, as he organized many other worlds, as shown to Moses, and he gives his word to the people to obey, and that which he reveals should be obeyed. ¶

The Lord's Plan for the Government of His Church

In the discipline of his Church, he has created a splendid establishment, or organization. We understand it and we should get to understand it fully. I recommend, my brethren, and measurably my sisters, to become fully acquainted with Section 107 of the Doctrine and Covenants, in which the organization of this Church is embodied and set forth in great plainness. There is the Lord's plan for the government of his Church. Now, when his servants whom he has called and set apart and ordahied to certain offices and work in the Church, bring forth something for the obedience and edification and order of the Church of Christ by the power of the Holy Ghost in them, by the authority that he has revealed, — the Holy Priesthood referred to this morning1 — it is of the Lord. He says so. He has ordained and set up his Church in that form, and that which he has given to us will abide. It will never be taken from the earth. Some of the people want to know what we will do if the First Presidency is dissolved by death and the Twelve Apostles are all gone. What then? That is an if you need not bother yourselves about. There will always be somebody on the earth in this Church that can set in order the things of the kingdom ; but if they do it, it will be done by the commandment of God, by revelation from the Most High, the Eternal Father, through Jesus Christ his Son, who is at the head of the Church. This is his Church, — the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, — and we ¶

should be ready and willing to obey every commandment that he reveals ; and the order established therein is of God and it will continue and abide and spread forth and prevail. Hear it, O Israel ! Be obedient to the Lord your God, as revealed from, the heavens through Jesus Christ, and it will be done to the Church in the order and manner that he has prescribed and set up, for his house is a house of order and not a house of confusion. When people have the presumption to go off on the side, on the right or left, or in any direction they please, and officiate in the Lord's name in things that do not belong to them, it is void and of non-effect ; and so with the ordinances and administrations of men not authorized of God and not clothed upon with the authority of the Holy Priesthood that comes through Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to the Ghurch. ¶

Personal Testimony

I do not want to enlarge on this any further, because I would he taking up too much time. I have occupied a little more than my time this afternoon. But, brethren and sisters, I feel well in mind, in spirit, in all my being. The Lord has been with me through my ministrations in many lands, for many years. I have preached this gospel in many of the states of the Union, throughout the British Isles, through the continent of Europe, in the Scandinavian countries,and on some of the isles of the sea ; and I am ready to do anything I am told to do that the Lord may require at my hands, I am pleased and proud lo be associated with the present President and leader of the Church. Like one of the brethren who spoke this morning, I have been personally acquainted with them all from the days of Brigham Young right down to the present time, and I can testify that they are men of God and that they occupied those places they held by the word and will and commandment of God and in the authority of that Holy Priesthood which has been restored to earth. ¶

I know this Church and organization is different from anything else in the world. It is of God and not of man. That which is of man, so far as it is of man, is from men who are ordained and appointed to represent the Lord, to act in his holy name, under the direction of his authority and priesthood, and I testify to you that it shall continue to abide though many of us will pass away. ¶

I rejoice today in the truth. I rejoice in the testimony of Jesus. I rejoice in the knowledge that Christ did give me my freedom, I am free. How? Free from the sins that were remitted at the waters of baptism, free from the vanities and vain conceptions of men, free from folly in doctrine and principle, free from the influence that men would exercise to bind my soul. I am free to carry out the will and commandments of the Lord, which I hope to be during the remainder of my existence on the earth. I have devoted my life and time and what ability I have had, for many years to the service of the Church. I rejoice in that. The Church doesn't owe me anything. I owe everything that there is to me to the Church, and I love it and I love the truth. I ¶

love my brethren and I love the good work in which I am engaged, and I love you, my brethren and sisters in the gospel of peace, and I desire your welfare and that of your posterity, for in that will be a great deal of your joy in the worlds to come, — in your children and children's children. ¶

The Speaker's Benediction Upon the People

God bless you, as he blessed Ephraim, and in your seed many of the nations of the earth will be blessed. Through them God will work out his mighty plans, many of which are not yet disclosed ; and the kingdom of God will roll on and the truth will be triumphant and darkness will be banished and the reign of evil will cease. Satan will be bound and his hosts with him, and the wicked will not continue to flourish. The righteous will prevail and the kingdom and government of God which he has set up will cover the earth until the very earth itself, having filled the law of its being, will be resurrected and clothed upon with the glory of God, and Christ will be its king. ¶

God bless you, brethren and sisters. May his peace abide with you and be in your homes, surround your homes with everything that is good, bright, lovely and comfortable. Teach your children in kindness to come up in the way that God Almighty has established and that is going to prevail. It is going to be the kingdom. The kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God and his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever. May we all be found worthy to reign with him in glory, through Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶