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While listening to the instructions given, especially this morning, with regard to the false influences that are in the world, it brought to my mind a revelation that was given in 1831. You will find it in the 46th section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants; I will commence reading at the 7th verse:
"But Ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto you, even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving, that we may not be seduced by evil spirits, or doctrines of devils, or the commandments of men for some are of men, and others of devils.
"Wherefore, beware lest ye be deceived; and that ye may not be deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given."
When the Lord commenced this "marvelous work and a wonder," He gave some instruction to all who became members of His Church. You will find in the fourth section of the Book of D&C, commencing at the 2nd verse, these words:
'Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve Him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
"Therefore if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work."
What work? Why, this "marvelous work and a wonder" that the Lord said He was going to usher in among the children of men. This revelation was given in 1829, and the Lord said, "Now, behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men." The revelation continues:
"And faith hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.
"Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance patience brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.
"Ask and ye shall receive knock and it shall be opened unto you."
I regard these as precious instructions that have come unto the members of the Church off Christ, in order that by their observance they may make their calling and election sure. I fear we do not sufficiently value the blessing that has been bestowed upon us in having the privilege of living upon the earth in the dispensation of the fulness of times; nor fully realize the need of being in harmony with these choice principles that the Lord has revealed; nor appreciate as we should the precious promises made to those who love Him and keep Hs commandments. In connection with this, I want to refer to the benefits resulting to us individually from keeping the commandments of God. I will now read from the 93rd section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
"Verily, thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh their sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am."
I consider this is a most precious promise. Of course, in the service of God we have something to do. We who have been warned, and have a living testimony, the Lord requires us to be faithful in bearing that testimony, so that the nations may be left without excuse. We need not say much more than state the results of our experience. We who were raised in the world, were subject to priestcraft, and false doctrine, and evil influences, but the Lord, in His loving kindness and tender mercy, and in the wonderful dispensations of His providence, brought us into His Church. He drew us into the fold.
Very few of us would have had the moral courage to accept the unpopular doctrine of Christ, under the circumstances in which we were placed, had we not been sustained by the power of God; for we are human, and it is natural to shrink from being on the unpopular side. We like to enjoy the good feeling and affection of our relatives and friends; but when we accepted the unpopular doctrine of Jesus Christ, they looked upon us as being deluded, deceived, and subject to priestcraft and false doctrine. Well, if we had been deceived, would it not have been better for them to have tried to lead us from the error of our ways, instead of condemning us so severely? But, we were convinced we had embraced the everlasting Gospel, which the Lord had restored to the earth. We enquired of the Lord, and He heard and answered our prayers.
We believe the revelations Joseph Smith received from the Almighty, and know they did not emanate from ignorance and superstition. I have read some of them to you; surely they can not impress anybody that they are false doctrines. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Whenever He has had a people upon the earth He has communicated with them. That is the object of the Gospel. How could we seek the Lord if we did not believe that He lives, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him? How could we ask of him if we did not believe He is our loving Father, our Creator; that we are in His likeness, and are His children, eternal as He Himself is? The thought of having the privilege to communicate with our Creator should be an inspiration to any man or woman who desires to be kind to himself or to herself.
There is no misrepresentation about this; simple facts are what we deal with. When we declare to the inhabitants of the earth that the Lord has spoken again from the heavens, has revealed Himself, and has restored to the earth His Church, as He promised, with apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, we simply speak the truth. In this restoration the Lord gave to all the opportunity of obtaining redemption from death and hell, and of being associated with the "marvelous work and a wonder" spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah. The Lord said through that Prophet:
"Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me, is taught by the precept of men:
"Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."--Isaiah, 29: 13, 14.
The Apostle Paul said "the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God," showing that it is necessary for us to be taught of God by His Spirit. Jesus promised that whoso would do the will of the Father should know of the doctrine. He also said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." The Latter-day Saints have received, and are continually receiving testimonies. During the past 50 years I have heard many individuals testify that they knew Joseph Smith was a true Prophet sent of God, they knew Jesus was the Christ, and they knew that God the Eternal Father lived, by the evidences they have had in their individual experiences.
Now, God is no respecter of persons. We are all His children, and the Gospel is being preached in all the world for a witness, that all who desire eternal life may have the privilege of receiving it. Those who are in darkness, in idolatry, and under false impressions, may have the privilege of beholding the light that shines forth. They may obtain this living testimony by seeking to the Lord for it. Ask of God the Eternal Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, for light and truth, and a knowledge as to whether this wonderful work is of God. He has promised to draw nigh unto those who will draw nigh unto Him. God has chosen the weak things of the earth "and things which are naught, to bring to naught things which are."
We are not a people gifted in the wisdom of the world; in fact, it is said that the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. But we know what we are doing; we know that we have the truth. We know that we can have communion with the Almighty; we know that He hears and answers prayer. In every well-regulated family, prayer is offered at least twice a day--morning and evening. In the morning, when we are entering upon the duties of the day, if we have wisdom, and understand the value of the fellowship of the Spirit of God, we naturally ask for what we need, and, of course, we go down on our knees to do so.
If we believe we are the children of God, that He hears and answers prayer: and that He can protect us from all evil, naturally we will pray to Him, because we want His blessing for ourselves, and for our wives and children. We should also pray for those upon whom rests the responsibility of guiding and directing the affairs of the Church of Christ on the earth. Then, if we acknowledge the hand of God in all things, we will naturally ask a blessing on our food, believing that the Lord is able to make it nourishing and strengthening to us, and impart to us the principle of life. He has given unto us the Word of Wisdom for our temporal salvation--not by commandment or constraint, but teaching us how to live that we may enjoy health, and have nerve power to live out our full time, and not be guilty of partaking of anything that will bring distress and pain upon us. That shows how kind and loving a Father we have, He even teaches His children what to eat and drink, and what to avoid.
Because of the way many of us have been educated, it was difficult to think tpossible for us to hold communion with the Great Creator of the heavens, the earth and the fountains of water. But we now know that this is possible. We must remember, however, that we cannot do anything without His Spirit. We must have the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, and we can obtain it by righteous conduct, and by asking with an honest heart. The Lord knows our hearts; He knows our secret lives; He understands everything concerning us. He hath said to the sinner, "When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive." This is a precious promise to the erring children of the Father. Our message to the sinner is that if he will repent, cease to do evil and learn to do well, he shall receive a remission of his sins, through obedience to the Gospel and dedicating the rest of his life to the service of God.
What a bright and glorious outlook, to be redeemed from sin and to have the privilege of walking in the light, receiving salvation, and obtaining a glorious resurrection: The Creator hath given us these glad tidings of great joy to carry to the people. Our testimonies are true. We know we shall have to meet the people to whom we have borne testimony, and then they will know most assuredly that we taught them the truth. All the faithful advocates of the Church of Christ have a living testimony concerning this work. The Lord desires to establish His righteousness upon the earth, and to make us better individually. We have an individuality, and I suppose each of us is pretty well satisfied with it: I don't know that any of us ever wanted to be anybody else. The object of the Gospel is to improve that individuality.
I say to this congregation there is but one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, we all have to submit to the same conditions. The Lord Jesus Christ said, when John objected to baptizing Him, "Suffer it to be so now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." Well, we must fulfill "all righteousness." We must have faith in the living and true God, and in the atonement of Jesus Christ, and worship God in His name. These conditions are common to all the world, and must be complied with by those who desire to be redeemed. It is also essential that we repent, and offer unto; the Lord a broken heart and a contrite spirit. It is necessary that we be baptized by immersion, for the remission of sins, that we be born of the water, and thus be fitted and prepared for sanctification by the blood of Christ. Then, we must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is the only way by which mankind can be redeemed, and obtain a glorious resurrection. Then we will be in harmony with the eternal principles of the Gospel.
The family altar should be in every man's house; he is the patriarch of the family, and everything should be done under his direction. He should offer prayer; his wife and children also should offer prayer in turn around the family altar. You cannot be a Saint without the fellowship of the Spirit of God; and you should train your children that they also may know the benefit of having its fellowship. We have embarked in the service of God, and He desires us to obey Him and keep His commandments. He hath said, "Ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally, and upbraideth not."
Now, you know whether you do this or not, and whether you train your children to do it. You know if the voice of prayer, thanksgiving and praise is heard in your habitations. I say that is the way to train up our children. They have their individuality, and we cannot give unto them the testimony we possess; they have to receive the light in the same way we received it. They have to receive revelation from the source from which we obtained it. The only way we can help them in this matter is to manifest unto them that we believe in God, and in the worship of God; and tell them what they should ask for. If we train our children properly, they won't go far astray. It is the duty of the wife when the husband is away, to continue prayers and the worship of God in the household, and to see that the children are properly trained, and are taught the law of tithing, and the other essential principles of the Gospel.
The law of tithing is a divine law. The Lord does not require more of one than of another. One-tenth is required of all, no matter what our circumstances may be. A man is no friend to himself if he rejects the laws of God. He is unkind to himself when he ignores principles that lead to everlasting life. I would not for the world be without the living testimony that God has given to me; the voice of thanksgiving and praise is heard from me, because I am grateful for that testimony. When I think of what I might have been, if I had been left in the beggarly elements of the world; and when I think that God, in His loving kindness, brought me out of the world, and gave me the moral courage to endure contumely, and to be evil spoken of, I feel to praise and glorify His holy name.
I pray God that the spirit of this conference may be and abide with us. I pray that we may remain converted, and that we may serve the Lord with full purpose of heart, doing His will and keeping His commandments, that His name may be glorified, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
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