The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-05

the en1c-Fment of their liberties.
God is a guide to the people wheI
they seek his assistance. He has deliv
cred the Saints from their dangers anC
gave them power in the hours of trib
ulation and struggle.
Referring to home societies and insti
tutions, President Cannon said thai
great improvement had been shown il
the NJ. /. A. and Sunday schools. This
he said, is a very important division OF
the Latter-day work. The proper train
ing of children is matter of vast es-
sentiality. The district schools, though
the system is good in a gen
eral way, seem to carry an
atmosphere, and the home So
cieties are useful in counteracting that
influence. 1t is when the mind is young
and plastic that lasting impressions are
made. Latter-day Saints should see
that these impressions upon the minds
of their children are in harmony with
the gospel and the teachings of the
Lords servants.
President Joseph T. Smith.
President Joseph F. Smith delivered
the next sermon. He said the report
outlined by President Cannon was very
gratifying. One thing which shows
great advancement is the fact that ell
derS perform missionary labors without
! purse Vi his was Dc-
gun in the south, and it is noticeable
| that where this is followed the success
of the elders is apparently greater. The
Latter-day Saints did not believe a few
years ago that it was possible to pro-
| claim the gospel after the fashion now
/ followed. Another benefit of this
method Of work is that it develops
faith and gives the elders an enduring
testimony. Rich men among the Lat
wrong when they send them large sums
of money. The elders who depend for
their support upon the money in their
pockets are the least useful in the
work
Words of criticism had been passed
upon officers of the church on account
of the rigid way in which the elders
were made to follow the principle of
travelling without purse or scrip in the
south. That condemnation is ill-ad-
vised It requires no faith to go into
the world with money, but to go I'M
provided cultivates faith and stability.
Whoever heard OF anyone who came
with the handcarts afterwards aposta-
tizing. 1t is almost an universal rule
that these people were rooted in the
faith. They placed their confidence and
faith IN God.
People who come here today by
railway and steamship as a rule be-
come dissatisfied and wish to return.
They came too early Their faith was
not developed by the journey. The
Lord said he would chastise his people,
and those Saints are not safe who have
not suffered for the faith
Il have prayed for trials" he con-
tinued, rather than for freedom from
them; and l have been tried. 1 have
been tried in my patience and love and
in my integrity. But I have never
been so tried in my faith as to ever
have the thought that Mormonism was
not of God or that the organization
was imperfect. My whole nature is
sa turated with belief in this work
Recently I received letter con-
demning me for being member of
the quorum of presidency He said that
there had not been a successor aD-
pointed to Joseph Smith and that the
presidency was an innovation. The
fact is that the Melchisedec priesthood
holds the KEYS of presidency. The
Doctrine and Covenants says there
should be three high priests, and that |
is the word of God and cannot be COM !
halted. An order has been established |
in the priesthood which is absolutely |
indestructible, and when the presi- |
dency. through death, is no longer at |
the head of the church, then the quo
rum of apostles is the presiding body. !
i
quorum could be higher than the |
APOSTLES and believed that an execu /
tive committee should have been APP
pointed instead of a quorum of presi- |
dency. That order would destroy the
harmony of the work and the organiza-
ton established of God. No quorum
can rise up and render a decision
which would be equal with decision
of the presidency. There is no. appeal
from a decision of the first presidency
of the church except it come from the
body. of the church. A man
who would do away with the preSi-
dency would do a wrong to the law of
God. would close UP the doors OF the
temple. would shut the gates Of the
heavens and rob the church of the
Lords mouthpiece. There shall be no
defect in this organization as long as
Sod gives us the power to keep 1t per-
feet If any man come out in oppo-
sition to the established organization
If God, put him down for deceiver
and a fraud"
AFTERNOON MEETING.
At the afternoon meeting, Apostle
Lorenzo Snow preached the first ser
non.
He read, in beginning. one of Joseph {
smiths revelations, in which the
.
laims to have seen God.
Apostle Snow said he was intimately
.cquainted with Joseph Smith, and I
vas prepared 10 testify to the honesty '
f the prophet. The statement of the
evelation was extraordinary, and few
,eople comparatively believed il.
The Saints, he continued, have had
many strange truths revealed to them,
nd it requires a wisdom almost super {
atural TO comprehend them. The 7
ecessary enlightenment can only
ONE through the spirit of God, which {
:, in other words, the spirit of revela- |
ion. According to the belief of the !
Saints revelation is the f
oundation upon which the church of v
hrist is built. Such revelation, indi- q
idually received, is necessary in order ]
} fortify the faith of the people, and =
rhen equipped with such a faith as y
ne spirit imparts it is possible for one a
} come to almost as positive knowl-
dye as if he saw with his own eyes or
card with his own ears.
A perfect faith is possible without
Usual demonstration. For instance, 7
ne may have a perfect faith amount =
lg to knowledge that there are GER d
iin foreign countries although he has t
ever seen them. In the same way. f
e may have a knowledge of Joseph Z
NTH without ever having seen him. ?
ut there are many rules to be fol- q
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