The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-05-18
AT THE TABERNACLE.
Divine Worship There on Sun
day Afternoon Last.
AGooD, PRACTICAL DISCOURSE.
Elder Arthur j. stayner Addresses the
Congregation on the Everyday Be
Iiefs of the Latter-day Saints


choir singing the hymn commencing:
Great God. attend while Zion sings
The Joy tina. from thy presence springs;
To speAd one day with thee on earth
Exceeds thousand days of mirth.
Prayer by. Bishop Kesler.
Singing of'the hymn:
How dark and gloomy was the night
When Satan did his powers array
Against the Prince OF life and lig b.,
And Judas did his Lord petrayi
ELDER ARTHUR ]. STAYEER said that
if, in the providence of God, he could be
blessed with the Spirit of God, and the
congregation were also so blessed, he
trusted they would be edited by what
he should say. 1t was cardinal prin-
ciple with the Latter-dsy Saints to seek
after God and learn to know Him more.
Men love darkness better than light.
because their deeds were evil. 1t was
difficult to reach their hearts by means
OF the Spirit of God. II the conRrega-
ton before him possessed that spirit il
would be easy for the speaker to reach
their hearts and understandings. There
was an impression abroad that the
Latter-day SAINTS were peculiar people.
They were very peculiar. The great
difference between them and the Chris
tian world was TO be attributed to the
direct revelations given them through
the servants of God having authority
to communicate with the heavens
Whenever IL became impressed upon
them that law had been promulgated.
they believed it was their duty to obey
Ns..rs 81 -. a ~.
law with a penalty attached, which,
being broken, resulted in Adams being
evicted from the Garden of Eden. God
had the right to give that law. The
laws also given TO the Israelites for
their government he also had a right
to give. He had the right to send
Jesus; 10 direct the disciples in their
movements and ministrations. Yet the
Christian world, with all its progressive
ness denies the necessity OF direct reve-
lauon in the present day. The ar.s and
sciences OF man were more relied upon
than. revelation from heaven. The
Saints, from their earliest days, were
taught belief in direct revelation; that
those in authority were inspired to
preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. This
knowledge rendered them humble and
obedient. They acknowledged the hand
of the Lord in the work in which they
were laboring. They realized it was not
their own goodness, but the mercy OF
God which had set them in a city
upon hill. There were many friends
OF the Saints in the outside world, who
could not see that the latter were God s
people. Tourists come TO Utah. take in
the sights and observe the work accom-
plished by the people here, and 60 away
impressed with the idea that they are an
industrious, frugal, Woodworking peo-
pie, who have captured and subdued
this western. wild waste, and that the
blessing of God has attended their
labors. God had commanded this in
dustry, through his servants. The
Saints took not the credit; that be
longed to the Almighty. The future
was laden with greater, grander and
more magnificent monuments of the
industry of the Mormon people. They
had their free agency, they had the
liberty TO abandon the church; leave il
and return to whence they came. But
there was one endearing principle
which held them. IL was not what any
leader or individual said. but their own
knowledge, conviction and understand
ing that God was at the helm. It wss
this convection tina. enabled those who
were suffering for practicing the prin-
ciple OF plural marriage. The world
gave them credit Tor practicing il out
of lust. 1t was praciiced because it was
Gods commandment. The Almighty
gave to US the Constitution of the
United States. anu rs he gave the
law of plural marriage He would
not stultify himself by ruling against
it. Elder stayner here read Section 10l.
of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants.
Hara nara run~Nz fpa
day Saints believed were direct from the
Almighty; they believed He had the
right and wisdom 10 give the Constitu-
ton, and Congress the right 10 make
laws under it. guaranteeing the privi-
lege of worshiping God according to
the dictates of conscience. The ques-
ton might be asked, il we had received
this law from so high a power, how
could we ''go back" on 1T He illus
trated by asking what would the
government think OF one OF its officials
who was assigned a duty and he re-
turned to headquarters without having
performed his duties2 So was il with
the Saints. They had been given q
mission, laws, ordinances, ETC., TO live
up TO, and they believed il binding upon
them that they should faithfully abide
BY them. regardless of consequences.
1nC tntAt AACN IdA AuAScAOn
from the Almighty. nerved them and
rendered their prosecutions and revil-
ings insignificant. They were able TO
say that the approach Of kindness re-
Gently made was ten thousand
times better and more likely 10
win the Saints than terrorism, per
secution, etc. They were endeavor-
ing TO do good. The principle
of religious liberty. for which they were
struggling, the world would yet thank
them for, and that, too, in the. near fu-
ture. There was n spirit growing
abroad which was awakening thought
that the arrows now being aimed at
Mormonism might at some future day
be aimed at other religious sects. The
Mormon missionaries we're all over the
world. trying to spread the gospel to
every nation. tongue and people. Their
mission was, also, TO uphold the Consti-
tuition of the United States in its purity,
and SO long as II guaranteed the wor-
ship of God according TO the dictates OF
conscience, so long would they con-
tend for unfolding il. What they were
striving for was the grand principle Of
religious liberty. 50 long a God Stood