The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-06-15
The Meeting There on Sunday
Afternoon Last
BRIEF GOSPEL DISCOURSE.
The Time IL Occupied by Elder John
Nicholson, " no Delivers an
Interesting Address.

Come ana spread thy CQetft III L1gs
When the scattered sheep OF Israel
Shall no longer go sstray;
When hosannas.
With united voice they'll cry.
Prayer by Elder Arthur J. Stayner.
Singing by the choir of
Ye children of cur God
Ye Saints OF latter days,
Surround the table of the Lord,
And join 70 sing His praise.
ELDER JOHN NICHOLSON feltsomewhai
reluctant and timid in arising to ad-
dress the congregation upon the princi-
pie of life and salvation, as understood
by the Latter-day Saints. The respon-
sibility was a great one. he considered
but. with the aid and assistance of Ihe
Almighty. much good might result
from what he might say. The Saints
assembled to contemplate tie goodness
of God toward them; to partake OF the
emblems of the atonement. The OBJ
ject. he suggested, should be understood
by those who partake of the bread and
water, remembering that ii is in and
through the name OF Jesus. combined
with ones own obedience and faithful
ness, which earned for them salvation.
Notwithstanding the untoward cir UNI
stances and opposing elements beset-
| ting the Saints on all hands, the Saints
were accounted by him as among the
best on the earth. The Latter-day
Saints have q faith that they are en-
gagged in a work not established by
human hands. but was originated and
maintained by divine power. The selec-
ton of Joseph Smith. to establish the
fulness of the gospel. in its original
purity and power, as taught by the
Savior himself, and by those who were
commissioned by Him and who acted
in His name, was believed by the Latter
dav Saints. There were several who
di notunderstand that the Latter-day
Saints believed in Jesus. When Christ
was on the earth he taught mankind
their origin-that they came from God.
He came, he said, not TO do his own
Will, but that of His Father who sent
Him. He instructed them to have
faith in tie Lord Jesus. Without faith
1t was impossible to serve God. He
taught, also, repentance, not that re-
pentance that needs to be repented OF,
but that which is godl;ke in Its charac-
ter and leads to a remission of sins, TO
an entire reformation of the individual.
After this experience, the subject is
prepared for baptism-baptism by inn
mersion. That was the original mode,
as practiced in the church first estab-
lished by Jesus. As the sacrament was
emblematic of the broken body and shed
blood of the Savior, so was baptism
typical of His death. An individual
who has taken this course is baptized.
Inc gift Of the Holy Ghost, by the lay
-, n Aa.Ao soffor1 ~ rrhsol Ra
gains the understanding that the gospel
is true, and obtains a testimony. II
was the Comforter, showing believers
things past, present and to come.
Chri3t's teachings were not of himself,
but of His Father. His church was
organized regularly, with apostles,
prophets, teachers, etc. One peculiar
ity of the Latter-day Saints, which had
been remarked, was their unanimity
of mind and sentiment. This distin-
guished them from all other commu-
mites on the earth. Nearly every ma
ton was represented in the ranks of the
Latter-day Saints. How was this Z
Because the elders had obeyed the in
junction: go out into all the world
and preach the gospel" etc
The cause of the humanity which was
so strange, is counted by the world to be
the despotic sway held over them by
their leaders. This Elder Nicholson de-
MED. The Saints enjoyed the Spirit OF
God 10 the extent that they knew the
gospel was true and were content to u :
dergo persecution, and ofttimes death,
for its sake. Having received this spirit,
influence or power, they gather, having
been taught so to do. Those who under
stand the condition of affairs here, and
are truthful, cannot but speak well OF
the people of Utah. They had been
villihed, lied about, despised and cast
out. and the misrepresentation and
foul charges we're to degree believed
but II they were investigated and scru-
tinted by the honest in heart, the YER
dict would be that there never lived a
more maligned and abused community
than that which peoples these wales
and known as the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. The
unanimity which charac .erizes them
enters into all T. cir dealings and
acts. Men labored to create popular pre-
JUDGE against loyal and virtuous and
upright people. and whatever wrongs
we're inflicted upon those people. in the
face OF that prejudice, could be done
with comparative impunity. The ques-
ton of Utah and her people is becom-
ing pOuucal one, statesmen are fol-
losing in the stream OF popular pre-
JUDGE, not having the courage to have
wills and minds of their own. Laws
were being enacted in contravention OF
the great palladium of liberty-the Con-
sitution- Elder Nicholson said il was the
duty Of every LatteI.1ay Saint. t. sus-
tain the Constitution and all things that
were in accord with Il. There is moth
ing in conflict with that instrument
that Is worthy Of being sustained. The
aim OF the peoples enemies was to
break up the community. 1t was an
nounced by them that celestial mar
mage was what was ostensibly aimed at
BY the lawmakers; they wanted il done
away with. Special legislation was
sought for and enacted. The new Ed
munds law aimed ST the destruction
OF the marriage rites, and also to de-
prive them of the freedom and property
rights. 1t provides that in ali cases OF
polygamy, the first wife shall be COM
petent witness, but she shall not be COM
PEELED to testify against her husband.
especially when he is in jeopardy. This
was equal 10 compelling a man o testify
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