Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-06-04

"ies who 10 called to be q teacher,
,euporarily, to the Latter-day
". and feel the need Of depend
mon God this afternoon for what
NIL say. ! pray for His Holy Spirit.
49,, II may inspire the words which
.,.n be spoken; that nothing may be
IA tbnt ought not to be said, and
~, nothing may be left unsald that
.b,pld be spoken.
1,lsa great mission that rests upon
man TO be made teachers in the midst
hair fellow men. L am now think
~. N three great teachers whom God
s, forth TO teach His truths to man
,i,d-truths that perhaps have be-
,r,e 60 familiar to us that they seem
~, an oft-told tale. but which wers
-.,nre and startling to the geners-
dan TO which they We're first delivered.
4base three teachers regard as prob
sby the greatest that ever came forth
fcom Cod. They are Moses. Jesus
christ and Joseph Smith. An invests
g,tlop Of the truths they taught will
fully warrant the declaration that
make concerning them.
There is no question among Christ
rns az to the pre-eminence Of tho
Great Teacher-the greatest of oll--even
Jesus Christ, our Lord. II Is con-
coded by all who believe in Him that
lie snake az never man spake And
many there be who accord 10 the
Prophet Moses greatness and eminence
as a teacher. 1t is recognized thar
the Ten Commandments which God
rave through him are the basis OF
modern Jurisprudence. But when 1t
comes to Joseph Smith, the Prophet
Of the last dlspensation, smile OF in
credulity, perhaps OF scorn, wreathes
many face at the bare suggestion that
ne was a teacher. and a great teacher,
come from God.
But let us Judge the tree by its fruits.
Men do not gather grapes of thorns,
or ags Of thistles. Jesus Christ laid
this down as principle by which all
men might be tested; BY their fruits
We shall know them" not by idle ru-
mors, not by the ISLANDERS of their enc
niles but by what the men themselves
teach. by the truths, or errors, they
bring forth, by the works they make
manifest: for, said He. "a good tree
Unnot bring forth evil fruit, neither
can corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit wherefore by thelf
fruits shall know them" We who are
De disciples CT Joseph Smith. or
rather, the disciples of the Son Of God
through the teachings Of Joseph Smith.
NJ perfectly willing that his III ana
thracter, his teachings and his works
Elgld be submitted to this divine test.
leip Joseph Smith by the doctrines
b inundated, by the nobility OF hs
9iracter, by the sincerity of his life,
~ the earnestness and honesty OF his
kart. made manifest in his willing
tess to die for the sake Of his convic-
TONS Do not Judge him by idle tales
and rumors. Look at the man him
self: take his teachings and his works:
md Judge him and them by the light
that llghteth every soul that God has
sent into the world.
First. however, Let US speak OF Moses.
In what consisted the greatness OF his
teachings2 a glance at the condition
Of the world In his time is sufficient to
show this. He II w2s who brought.
10 man the knowledge Of the true
ard living God. Men had been
worshipping various delties In the ma
tons round about. Away off In India
they worshiped the god Brahma, and
saw In nll the forces OF nature and all
the passions Of men, good and evil, 20
many separate and distinct nantes
tatlons OF the one god, Brahma, God
WIS in everything, and these manifes-
tatlons Of natural power were manifes-
tatlons OF oelty--a doctrine that mod
trn philosophy would call the ''imman-
ency Of God" who
Warns In the sun. refreshes In the
breeze,
CLOVIS In the stars and blossoms in the
trees:
lives through all life, extends through
all extent,
Spreads undivided, operates unspent"
But was this a God that men could
get very near to? Could they appre-
eiate such divinity and worship him
in satisfactory manner? Could the
yearnlng soul OF man, longing 10 draw
near TO its maker, feel that such a
divinity as this was its Father in hea-
yen2 Down IN Egypt they We're wor-
me goat, the crocodile. the beetle
These TO the Egyptians We're gods. or
thrlnes which the gods inha blted
VINO had come down to the earth to
watch mankind. Such was the rever.
snet paid by these ancient people to
Nese delties that when one OF the
animals died IT was regarded as a ma
uonal calamity and the goat or the OK
was buried with costly and magnificent
Hremonios 1t is supposed that one
me secrets of the hatred OF the
egyptians for the Israelites was be-
,..uSe The latter We're shepherds and at
umga slew the fHtlngs OF their nooks.
~ fhoenlcia round about the land OF
,hhaan, towards which Moses was
spuut TO lead the Children of Israel,
,rno hAd Just emerged from Egyptian
ppuu9aRe-they worshipped the sun as
IouI' ana the moon as Ashtoreth: they
a W'ishlpped the stars, the seasons
,'u tnr forces Of nature. Everything
u, nlght was god-for polytheism pre-
,ttu there--nnd they worshipped
, u,nsse dlylpitles with all manner Of
BUSINESS, You remember. the
-Olshlp or baal and Ashtoreth was tho
49, "a. seductive influence that prevailed
a. Hnngs egalnst the Children OF Israel
~. ~ ,eu them away from the worship
, such were the ideas prevailing In
sr1 s ,htee centers OF religious thought
q, phlosophy when Moses the man
200 came forth He proclaimed
u. these practices. this idolntry.
,tt ,,d in effect: You must not wor-
49,, lHe sun or the moon, or any OBJ
- = IN heture These are the creations
r gol' they are not the Creator. You
np,t Worship God in heaven tho in
us Jehovah, the Eternal Father.
VIC Maker of heaven and OF earth
created man IN His likeness In Iis
,nHFe male and female Iift YOUR
~, 'ushi7 above the visIble things OF
~, Walk not by sight. but walk bv
I'm and believe In Cod and trust in
r.n although YOU do not see Him "
uH WoF the subsistence Of the teach
81, OF Moses regarding the personality
nnu' He taught them that the be-
IVY theN We're to vorship bod c,.oat.1