The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-09-07

III ia! Ing 10 DelleVe and preach the
gospel OF Christ; for saying that
God had restored his gospel through
Joseph Smith, the ignorant boy.
but God was 10 respecter of per-
sons. He chose instruments best
adapted to the performance of his
work, and Joseph being that instru-
ment, he was selected. The Lord
chose those who would obey him.
Perhaps if he had taken a wise and
learned man instead of Joseph, the
former would have tried to per-
form the work in his own way,
dlsregarding the way Of the
Lord. Smith, like Arabian,
was the kind of man that
God could work with, because he
was humble and willing to obey. He
proved his sincerity by laying down
his life for the principles he pro-
claimed. No man could do more.
Every great man raised up by God
for the performance of work had
been spoken evil of, hated, reviled
and prosecuted. They had always
been the targets for the shafts of
the enViOuS who did not understand
their purposes. The saints had
been taught that all who lived
righteously would be prosecuted.
They expected annoyance and
trouble, but were prepared to stand
by their religion, believing that it
was the true gospel of Christ, and
that those who believed and Obeyed
it would be saved.
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
next delivered brief discourse. He
said that among other things the
Savior taught the doctrine that we
were to return good for evil, and it
would not do for those who were
followers of Jesus Christ to do
otherwise. 1t was the experience
Of the saints that those who pro
feSsed to be followers of Christ were
foremost in prosecuting those who
believed differently from them. The
persecution that the saints had been
subjected to had been originated
and melted by those who profess to
be religious teachers, ministers of
the gospel. The leaders Of the Mis-
souri, mObs were ministers the man
who led the mob at Carthage was a
Baptist minister; it had ever been
that those from whom the saints
should have expected encourage
ment and assistance had melted to
mObocracy and persecution against
them. Christ taught his dis
cipleS to do good to all the
world, bringing knowledge of the
truth to the honest in heart,
and to be doors of good generally.
In our day similar precepts had
been commanded by Christ. The
Lord, through Joseph Smith, had
told the Saints to forgive all men,
to try and make peace, and bring
about reconciliation between enc
mics. The saints were commanded
to forgive those who injured them,
even the fourth time. There was
not true and faithful saint who
held enmity against those who cal
umniated him in the press or pull
pit, or who sought to injure him.
The saints felt no sorrow for them
selves because of their prosecutions
but rather for their prosecutors.
They had cause to be thankful that
the Lord was their friend, who
turneI the shafts of the wicked
from themselves, and CAUSED EVIL
designs TO result in the the ad-
yancement of this people, while
injuring those who sought their
destruction. There were thousands
in the congregation who could t9s-
tify to the truth of this. Efforts
were frequently made by stateS anu
the federal government to stop the
progress of MOrmOnism In the land.
Georgia had recently enacted law
to prevent the propagation of tn
gospel in that state. This was what
might be eXpecte4 from state in
which only a few months ago, an
elder had been shot down in cold
blood for preaching the gospel of
Christ. II would not hurt the saints
to withdraw the elders from Georgia
to take the gospel from that state
but would it not affect others more
than it would the Latter-day Saints
in leading to acts against other
sectS? If Georgia could afford to
pass laws in cOntraventiOn of the
laws Of the United Sta eS, the saints
could not afford to do so. They
could not afford to enact a law
against any other denomination,
but they were bound To pass laws
that would protect all people, what
ever their belief. The saints could
afford to leave G, orgia to the effect
of her own acts, as it was in the
hands of the Lord, as the saints
were. Also, when the Congress o
the United States undertook 10 pass
laws against the freedom Of reli
gion, God would take them in his
own hands and make them Subser-
Went to his interests. Other states
and territories might do the same
but the saints would not do so
They would not feel justified il
doing so, for it would be contrary
to their principles and beliefs. They
were bound to sustain the Constitu-
ton in all its provisions, and they
would not only do it, but would
pray for those legislatures that
passed laws to interfere. with
religious liberty. If Georgia had
passed law against polygamy, it
might be excused, for they may be-