The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-06-09
INSPIRATION DROPS DEAD.

IL appears from the contention Of
tho church organ chat when an inspired
prophet, seer. and reveIator dies, his
inspiration dies with him, not only
MS TO the present and future, but also
ms 20 the past. Though he have been sus
| talned repeatedly IN the general con
! Terenccs as a prophet, seer, and revela-
| tor: though he declare from the Tab
! emacle rostrum the very words which
God puts into his mouth to speak; and
though these utterances be there and
then declared by himself and other au-
thorities there officiating to be inspired
of God, the very words and phrases
which the Lord has melted him to say,
these words are after all but empty
wind; and as soon as the prophet, seer.
and revelator dies who has spoken
them, they are stale, fiat, aud unprofit-
able, not to be held any longer as in
spiration. much less to bind the
saints. That is TO say, utterances do
clared today TO be the very outgiving
of the Lord, explaining definitely his
desires his meanings. and his purposes,
fall to the ground when the mouth
piece dies through which they have
been spoken. It is most remarkable
and peculiar proposition. The reason
ing mind finds il difficult to follow
elusiveness like this. To the thinking
man the word of the Lord must stand
no matter what man may die, IF the
Lord has used man. to make his will
known to mankind, ii iS quite impos-
sible to understand why the message Of
the Lord should fail merely because
that man may die. The proposition is
illogical, unreasonable and utterly de-
structive Of all authority or potency in
revelation, For, if the virtue. power
and binding force of the Lord S words
are dependent upon the life of the man
through whom they have been conveyed.
then is man S trust in the revelations
and the sayings of the Lord absolutely
vain.
And yet this contention. so dsstruc-
tive of the very idea and essence of rev
eIahon, is the central point of the
church organ s answer To The review
made by the Salt Lake Ministerial AS
scciation of the April conference decla-
ration. II is an answer that virtually
denies not only the inspiration of Nor.
mon speakers, but annuls the act of
the Mormon people in general confer
ence assembled where they have sus-
tanned these speakers rs prohpets, seers,
and revelators. Either II does aunnl
that act whereby these men are so sus-
tanned or else the whole matter of
this sustaining is proposed and agreed
to IN blind ignorance of what the pro-
Cess means
If the sustaining Of the high church
as prophets, scers, and reve-
lators does not mean that the church
accepts them as divine guides and re.
ceives their counsel, admonition, and of
fetal utterances as from the Lord,
whose word and counsel are sure and
eternal, then it is impossible to under
stand what it does mean. But if If
is so accepted, then how can it be
repudiated later on7 To so hold, is 10
say that revelation is not i'm fact from
the Lord, but can be accepted or not rs
any one chooses; it can be accepted
tor time and rejected later on; it can
be alternately accepted and rejected at
the convenience or for the purpose of
the individual from time TO time. Need.
less to say, such revelation means moth.
ing, and whenever a Mormon writer or
speaker thus plays fast and loose with
the very foundation of his faith, he
repudiates his own professions and
spurns the guidance of "the words of
God, pronouncing them spurious and
erecting himself as the standard of au-
thorlty in place ofthe Lord