The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-08-03
TABERNACLE SERVICES.

Services at the Tabernacle on Sun
day, August 1st.
ELDER ORsoN PRATT commenced
by calling the attention Of the congre'
CATION to the passages OF Scripture
found In the 20tn and 2ist chapters OF
the Revelations OF St. John. It is
great undertaking. to stand before the
children OF men and try to declare
the words of eternal life. No man
! living can do this Rcceptsbly IN the
sight OF God, unless GOd Is with him,
and lends him the Inspiration OF his
spirit. | o!tentimes have felt to say
what am 1? and can perform the
work required Of me at bis hands un-
less he is with me-? l almost feel 10
shrink, but | knew that inssmuch
s. am humble and exercise faith 10
him, he will be with me. These
words in the revelations of st. John
occurred to my mind isg moments
before | arose. Il is practice OF the
elders of thi3 church not to think OF
what they will say belore they rise;
but sometimes the spirit OF God calls
certain passages to the mind, and
will guide the expression on those
passages. There Is time when this
earth and tho heavens viii pass away.
At this time @ great white throne
shall appear, and g certain person
shall set thereon. So great will be
the power and glory OF this person,
that the earth itself and the literal
heavens over our beads, will pass
away, and these things included in
them will all pass away. This Is be-
lieved not only by the Lstter-day
Saints, but by all Christian denomina-
tions, with very few exceptions. They
expect the earth will paes away, but
I believe most of them consider that
il will become anninilRted aod re-
duced to nothing. That used TO be
the idea when I was boy. We do
not believe that the earth vas made
out of nothing, for We do not find
such declaration contained In the
Scriptures. We read IN the lat chap
ter of Genesis that God made the
heavens and the earth, "snd the
earth was without form and void"
bat there was nothing to show that |
be made it out of nothing. Our view
is that the elements which compose |
the earth existed through all eter-
nifty. Some persons called atheists
entertain the came view, and have
thus got one truth, though they do |
not admit the existence of Gsd. These
elenents are under the control ef the
great Jehovah; be gives them laws
and principles, and have every reason
to believe these elements have been
under the domination of law 50 long |
as Gcd ;snd he has been ccex-
istsnt with these elements. There
may have been changes IN oEgsniZa-
tons from time 10 time all leading TO
bring about the ways of the Almighty.
Every thing around US seems to bs
under the control OF law. The earth
rolls around on it's orbit according to
law; the force which puts the earth
IN motion is according to certain
law, and the great central attraction |
is likewise agreeable to certain laws.
The earth had a beginning in it's
present organization, but IL orgauiz- :
~ tais world the Lord did not spesk
I into existence from nothing. 1t was
10 small work; it required the WoT , ,
Il q great Creator 10 adapt it to the
principles of lie. to form The
numerous compounds OF which our
arth Is composed-all formed chemi-
ally by the power OF Almighty GOD
- A., -,d.,c,ru fhasa oo-,,pc,,-Is 80 ! L
heir original elements We find be- :
ween fifty and sixty elementary pTin- .
iples. The laws which operate in 7
nese elements we're given by God, 2
nj are all for tie good Of life Oh the 4
arih. giving lie and happiness and -
y to man. Il not only requires .
reat powsr to arrange the elements :,
llo a world, but infinite wisdom to =
ganizs the living tabernscles of g
ian, and to cause these tabsrnacles =
, serve a wise purpose for the hsppi- u
ess OF man. The world Is not now ~
} it was when it began in its present ol
rgsniZation. Il was then very lair; "
lere were no children of mortality II
pom it. No animals, birds, Gsh, .;
lsects, nor anything In which there 20
as life existed in its mortal state. '"
be tabernaeles of all were immortal. -
he earth itself, having then no "
lrse upon it, was immortal, and VI
ould have remained as it Issued
1m the hands Of the great Creator OF
1t for the trsnsgression of our first
.rents. This brought everything D
lder the influence of toe curse; and
in and sorrow and mortality were
IN 10 the world and the seeds of
ortality we're soEn in Adams NOR t
body. A very great change then ~
me oyer this earth. Nearly 1000 &c &c
ars alter the earth was created, lu
Iother great change came, and the az
nth was baptized in water. The iIo
Is of man were washed away in M
ter and all the sins we're washed M Iot
I'M the earth, similitude OF the ne ne
p:ism Of man for the remission Of ~
Is. When baptized, you bury the u =.
person, aud come out OF the
uid grave a new being; so the
nh, ia a measure, was renewed, :
.fully, but as We are. We donol come the
of the water after baptism immoE- BIZ