The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1880-12-28
SUNDAY SERVICES.

k on Sunday afternoon were opened b
l. the choir singing the hymn bsgir
q ming:
- Mortals. awake! with angels join,
;, And chant the solemn lay;
y Love, joy and gratitude combine,
u To hail tn suspicious day.
p Prayer by PRESIDENT 81. s. EidretGe
), The choir sang:
At FIRST, the babe Of Bethlehem,
OF meek and humble mieu;
But next, the Lord from heaven,
: In glory shall be seen.
: The frat speaker was Elder JeEst
D West. He mad recently returned
t from . mission to England, where be
3 had labored about ak months, when
he was obliged to return on account
OF sickness. While away he had en-
, loved himself in trying TO do good.
! He found comparatively few people
ready to receive the gospel. 1t was
, difficult to get congregations together.
The usual way was 10 get q travelling
congregation" TIA. Is, preaching to
the people as they pass along the
stree to. Elder West believed that iB
the places he visited he le.t better
feeling smong the people thon be
found. He was thankful TO be In biz
mountain home. SOciety was more
cougenisl, and more freedom Was ex-
periencei here than could be found
t'ssHhere. Many Of the b. ethien
ash sisters who we're 10 tie world
wou ( Ike TO some Lare where they
could enjoy the blessings here to be
| bestowed. The speaker, Wben he
raw the condit')a OF the people IN
England, felt thankful that his
family was in Utah. Elder West bore
his tssamruy to bis personal knowl. |
edge of the truth of the gospel as re-
veRled to Josepn Smith.
ELDER JOSEPH F. smith, of the |
frat presidency. followed, preaching
discourse illustrative of the har-
monious organization Of the church.
He esteemed it pleasure to meet with
the saints, and listen to the relation
of their experiences in the work OF
God : =: home and abroad. Those ex
periences differed a~coi dlpg to indi
vldual conceptions OF things. All
we're not endowed with characteristics
which enable them 10 combat the OBJ
stacles which they encounter while
preaching the gospel abroad. The
l2bors of different persons result in
different degrees of success. Every
man could not bn q good missionary
Il required something more than {
being a good man to be a good mis-
siona7y. Occasionally there was an
elder who was able to force his way
with the truth, make fIIends and
converts, and build up churches,
while another man, equally good,
would not achieve so high degree OF
success. Preaching the gospel in
Europe is not to-day what it was l
thirty or forty years ago. The Lerd l
had a generation prepared to receive
the work frem the hands of those who
first went abroad to proclaim it. The
great majority rejected the word. and
reiused TO accept the testimony of the |
alders. 1t was this majority that lis :
.ened to the cA.umnIes circulated J
the Mormons. They be-
ieved the rumors against the saints,
,atner than the testimony of the
elders. The children of those have
grown up to consider the saints as g
the name of Christian. r
The name OF Mormonism, for forty or
fifty years, where it has been known, 0
las been illuminated. The elders 9
nave to meet the prejudices that have Z
EroWn with the present generation. o
This ia why the elders find it so diff. c
,ult to preach the gospel to-day. II
They have fret to overcome the pre- Q
udicea before thev can get people to e
isten to the truth. Is mad been said v
hat the voice Of the people was the q
'oice of God. II this we're true, the b
Mormons would have been con. e
lemned years ago, for the people had y
Proclaimed them bad. Why this o
Judgment bad been pronounced was D
the people OF the world we're o
gnorant of the truth, and loved o
darkness better than light. They had q
Eyes and would not see, ears and g
would not hear. Their MINDS were q
larkened by the ministers, and their a
learts were closed against the gospel. a
They were led By prejudice and ig- o
lorance, and rejected the gospel. u
The prize ,ts feared the gospel tor It
exposed the errors OF the systems
which they preached, henoe they g
aised their voices against it, and g
hereby condemned the work and q
people OF God. The elders therefore tC
much opposition in F
preaching the gospel, sometimes be-
ng obliged to reach the people
hrough guile. In the matter of the
gospel, the voice of the people was !
lot the voice OF God. Under some I
the voice OF the people
vas the voice of God. Ifa people bad
epented of their sins, and been bsp-
lied, and who live up to the cove
ANTS made with the Lord, their voice
you'd tie the voice OF God. They Il
you'd be governed by God law. He .,
would acknowledge their voice. for it :
would be consistent with his OVID. U
1t the last October conference, the
prominent iestuTe, when the priest II
Iood was arrayt5 according to their d
espectiye councils, vas the harmony q
which manifested itself. The presl- .
ents, apostles, elders, etc., in their q
rider, all gave forth their voices in l
Inison and harmony, IN sustaining =
he propositions that we're presented u
rom tbs head. There the voice o. q
ne people was the voice of God. u
The propositions came from the II
1t a6. as It was proper to do.
lot from the hand. the foot or other
,srt of tbs body The church was 2 Z,
jerfect organization, and the direc- 81
ion should cume from the head
Cuers should be, however, perfect
leImony between the head AID the
BODY, with ali Its parts, when the Il
peoples will. the will Of the head and a
he will of God would be the same,
md the voice of the people the voice
Of God. But when the world pro- +
claimed sgainst the church as wicked I
and bad, the voice of the people was !
not the voice of God. The speaker
knew this by a revelation that had
been given through Joseph Smith,
when The afails and order Of the or
2Anization of the church were set
Torth by the Lord. Referring incl c