The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-09-16

begun by the choir singing the hymn
commencing:
Praise to God, immortal praise, etc.
Prayer by Bishop E. F. Sheets.
The choir further sang the hymn
starting:
Ye children Of our God,
Ye Saints OF Latter days, etc.
ELDERJ. W. TAYLOR addressed the
congregation. He desired the faith and
PRAYERS of those assembled, so that
what he should say might prove bene-
fetal to ALL He had just returned from
trip to Snake River valley, which was
being fast settled, and could report that
section in prosperous condition, the
crops large and the people thriving.
Apostle Lorenzo Snow and party from
! Brigham City had been visiting and in
7 structing the Saints in that region, and
had done great amount of good. The
population of that section, which en-
braced number OF neat, new settle
ments, was from l 500 to 1000. While
! absenl he had noticed the hostility of
| the press to the Mormons, which had
caused him to reflect, and he asked
what had the people of Utah done to
! deserve so much and continued OppoSi-
ton? While travelling through the Ter
ritory he had noticed the marks
of prosperity and good behavior
of the people; had not heard the name
of Deity profaned once in his absence,
and because of this he wondered why
/ they were continually being harrassed
Returning to Brigham City he dis
! covered there were no saloons, no bill
/ lard halls, no houses ofill-repute there ;
/ but, on the contrary, schools for the
education OF children, pleasant homes
and every sign ofpeace and prosperity
Why, then, this outside dislike of the
Saints? 1t was because OF their re-
hgion. But he claimed that the religion
OF the Latter-day Saints was the same as
that taught by Jesus and his apostles,
/ and why should they be prosecuted for
practicing its principles? The Latter
/ day Saints believed in faith, repentance
and baptism by immersion, and the
| speaker quoted freely to support his as
sertion that these principles were fun
damental in the church in Christ's
time Yet the world hated the Saints
for their belief. When young, he re-
membered, he once read one of 1Esop's
! fables concerning a wolf and lamb.
I The lamb was accused of eating the
grass and drinking the water belonging
to the wolf; both accusations were de-
MED, yet the latter devoured the inno-
cent sheep. He mentioned this to il
lustrate that the Saints were so accused
and threatened by the wourld. The APP
plication WAS made that BY eating the
grass and drinking the water the Saints
+ were robbing the outsiders Of honest
i people, breaking up homes, etc, when
| making converts to the gospel. 1t was
said, in holy writ, ''by their fruits shall
/. We know them" He invited inYestiga-
1 ton and an examination intosthe cen
dition and prospects of the people Of
the Territory, assuring his hearers that
| their fruits would show them to be an
exemplary people. The children OF the
Territory were being educated, and
/ there were but three States of the Union
which had greater school attendance, in
proportion 10 the inhabitants, than
Utah. Could the world see wrong in
this? Again, every man in the settle
ments owned The land he. lived on and
the right 10 the water to irrigate it. Is
this generally the case in other States
and Territories? No; in several of the
western divisions of the country the
water WAS monopolized by companies
and manipulated to their profit. The
possession OF pure water by the people
of Utah, without having to pay roy
atty for it, was one OF the blessings they
enjoyed Another popularity Of this
community was, they were redeeming
the waste places of this country. And
these were some of the fruits by which
they might be known. The speaker had
Wondered that, in this asylum of liberty
the United States-tbere could hap
pen such atrocities as had taken place
recently in Lewis County, Tennessee,
and that men there demanded that the
Mormon elders should leave the State
or be murdered, because of their reli-
gious belief. He denounced it as j
shame. He quoted saying OF the
Savior, think not that / am come to
destroy the law or the prophets; | am
not come to destroy but TO fulfil. For
verify, say unto you, one jot or one
title shall in no wise pass from the law
till all be fulfilled" as evidence that the
law, OF necessity, must be fulfilled, and
that the Saints were working for its full
fllment. He also cited the words OF
jeremiah, to the effect that the time
would come when he who would not
take up his sword against his neigh.
Dor must needs flee to Zion foI
safety, saying that that prediction re-
ferred to the last dispensation. The Saints
were taught to pray for their enemies
The world were not so taught. The
idea OF a minister of the gospel leading
men on to murder others in the same
calling The Saints understood the
passages in Luke, in whichit is recorded
that James and John, when the SamaTi-
tans would not receive Jesus, asked
him, "Wilt thou that we command fire
TO come down from heaven and con-
sumo them, even as Elias did? But he
turned and rebuked them, and said: Ye
known not-what manner OF spirit We are
OF. For the son Of man is not come to
] destroy mems lives, but TO save them. "
t They were endeavofing 10 save mems
lives and in return were being perse-
cuted and martyred. They believed in
being forgiving, even as Jesus was
! when on the cross he cried, Father,
J forgive them, for they know not what
they do" Persecution did not hurt
tie kingdom OF God. He remarked
| that he had. wandered little, and took
up the subject of the first principles of
! the gospel again, calling attention to the
practice of the Saints OF laying on
E; hands for the reception OF the Holy
Ghost. Their authority was twofOld-
III was derived from the Bible and
through direct revelation from heaven.
Bat in addressing those not of his faith,
Elder Taylor said he would quote scrip
:; turc in support of the doctrine. and did