Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-05-22
ELDER FRANKLIN D. RICHARDS.
[REpoRrED BY ARTHUR WINTER ]

manacled and fettered, but of his own
volition-and sealed his testimony, by
which he proclaimed to the world that
he was willing to give all there was of
him as testimony to the truth OF the
things which he taught; aud he has gone
yUnder, having given his life that he may
be the Prophet OF this last dispensatioD,
not only TO the living, but to those that
are dead--to our fathers and mothers,
grandfathers AMI grandnotners, uncles
and aunts, cousins and kinjre !, back as
lar as we can get any recor,s OF them
here in the Il sn. and then back as far as
they had an earthly exis enc. This is
what is meant by in the last days gath
erins together all things which are in
Christ, both which are in heaven and
which are upon the earth; that they who
have not had the Gospel preached to
them in the flesh, must have 1t preache !
to them in the spirit.
The great Prophet Joseph-a greater
than whom has not lived, except the
Lord Jesus, on the earth-has gone there
TO labor, with his brother Hyrum, and
he has with him a council oil Twelve
Apostles that have been ordained to the
apostleship here in the flesh, besides
the High Priests, the Seventies, the E.
ders, and the multitude Of the faithful
that have died within The past sixty
seven years, since the Church was or
ganized, the authority OF the Priesthood
restored, and the blessings of the king
dom multiplied upon Gods people.
They are gone there and are busy at
work ministering the Gospel to the spir-
its that have passed beyond mortality,
who. as well as we who live in the besn,
can in no wise enter into the kingdom OF
God and the blessings OF the holy resur-
rection without being baptiz ed-not bip-
tiz.d themselves, but. by proxy OF their
kindred or friends. This need not be
an astonishing feature in our Gospel,
since our Savior did for all of us That
which none OF us could do for ourselves,
by the shedding OF His blood for the
sins OF the whole world. The Lord has
blessed us through this knowledge aud
inspiration by the Prophet Joseph.
Think what work he did while here.
He. with his brethren, built a Temple
and dedicated it, aud received the per-
sonal approval OF the Lord within its
walls. and the promise that His name
should be there, and that the Gospel
should go from that house 20 the people
in foreign lands. That is the work that
is upon US. and it has come to US with a
responsibility. and power beyond that
of any former dIspensation OF the Cos
pei, to labor Tor the gathering together
OF all things which are in Christ, both
which are in heaven and which are on
the earth. This is also according to the
fulfillment Of the prophecy OF Moses.
Away back in his day, he had a glimpse
OF this. Read in the goth chapter of
Deuteronomy, wlere he read to Israel
the law, and got their vote that they
would keep it; he then went on to tell
them that il they would keep it, so and
SO would be their blessed future; and il
they transgressed the laws he told them
OF the terrible aiiliction that should come
upon them. He says:
And it shall come to pass. when all these
things are come upon thee, the blessing and the
curse, which | have set before thee, and thou
shalt call them TO mind among all the nations,
whittier the Lord thy God hath driven thee,
And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and
shalt obey his voice according to all that COM
mand thee this day, thou and thy children, with
all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
That then the Lord thy God will turn thy
captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and
will return and gather thee from all the nations.
whittier the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
II any OF thine be driven GU, unto the outmost
parts OF heaven, from thence will the Lord thy
God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch
thee.
That is the promise; that is what this
work of the last uays is adapted to, what
is being carried on, aud what it will &C.
complish. While the Church on the
earth outwardly numbers only about
three hundred thousand, there have
been already nearly one million OF bap-
tisms performed in the Temples for the
deliverance of those that are dead.
Thus the work is going on; and by and
by, when the Kingdom of God is estab-
lished in the earth, aud the Savior reigns
here upon the earth in person, and when
His great work is such that He will have
a multitude OF those that sleep in Jesus
to come with Him, as well as the right
eous on the earth that are prepared for
Him, then will cc,ne to pass that glori-
Gus saying, that ''if any oil thine be
driven out unto the outmost paris of
heaven, from thence will the Lord thy
God gather thee, and from thence viii he
fetch lhee." This is the purpose OF that
work of which the Apostle Paul also
spoke when he said that in the dspen-
saiion OF the fulness of times he might
gather together in one all things in
Christ, both which are in heaven, and
which are on earth"
Latiet-day Saints, this is the glorious
work in which YOU are engaged in these
latter days. Do not forget it. Keep
these great and glorious truths before
your minds; let your attention be alb
sorbed by these things, instead OF going
into contention and strife, envying and
ealousy, folly and nonsense, with dis
traction, discord and unbelief Remem-
Der that this is the work OF the Lord en-
trusted to you, and that YOU are called
to perform it.. The Priesthood that is
put upon you is not for to curse. nor to
create discord, contention or strife; il is
put upon you to bless the people, to
bless each other. 10 bless the human
family, to bless the dead, and to labor
for them. seeing that they without us
shall not be made perfect" that by and
by we and they may together enter into
the iulhlment Of the promises made TO
the fathers, even the blessings OF Abra-
ham, Isaac and Jacob. We want to live
so as to inherit and receive them in their
iuness; so that when the time comes
that Abraham, cur father. shall come
upon the earth to receive that inheritance
that has been promised him, they who
are the Children of Abraham will be
blessed with faithful Abraham.
We are only lust getting this vast Ia