Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-02-19


them so. and they would laugh ut
! you. They would tell you that that
| WIGS not the case but they cannot ex-
| plain why 1t is that this feeling has
| come over them with such power.
| Some OF them are spending all thcii
| time and all their means In this work.
| 1t is not a fad nor a fancy that viii
last for few years and then pass
| away; but II Is something that has
| come to remain. il is permanent and
| IL VIII spread indeed. IL Is SPREADING
| 1t has spread from this country to Eu-
rope. and In Great Britain we have
societies of similar nature, col
lecting and compiling the parish
registers from every county. In
Massachusetts. by act of the legls-
lature and by oequests OF some OF the
prominent citizens OF the state funds
have been raised Tor the compiling and
publishing of the parish or vital rec
ords of every town in the state. In
New Jersey the same thing has occur
red, and the people there are cont
pillng tho vital records OF that stale
They are now taking hold OF this in
other parts OF New England and it is
rapidly spreading. Why? That you
and l, VINO have received the truth
might obtain these records and go into
the house of the Lord and save our
dead.
IL is a singular tnlnR Cnat this
search alter the records OF the dead
was not undertaken before Elijah re-
stored the keys, looking at it from
natural standpoint. and yet 1t is not
singular; in fact. 1t would be singular
had the people turned their hearts unto
their fathers before those keys had
been restored. To my mind il is one
of the strongest testimonies in rea-
ton to this principle and the restora-
ton of these keys. that the hearts of
the people of this nation and of other
nations have. since that day. oeen
turned in that direction. II they were
not turning their hearts to their faith
ers. then VIC might have some grounds
on which TO question the authority Of
the revealing of these keys. but from
the fact that their hearts have so turn
ed toward their dead, and without be-
ing connected with the Church of Jesus
Christ OF Latter-day Saints, without
understanding the principles OF saliva
tlon for the dead, we may receive II as
an evidence that these keys were re-
stored. 1t is one of the testimonies, my
brethren and sisters, of the divinity
OF tho mission of the Prophet Joseph
Smith. 1t is n proof that Elijah did
come, and that he did reveal these
keys. There Is no other people upon
the face of the earth who accept this
doctrine, or who believe in the saliva
tion of the dead. as we believe St.
know of no other people that believe in
that doctrine at all. However. IL they
read carefully this chapter in Malachi.
they Will find that unless Elijah should
first come with the keys OF his priest
hood, that the earth was TO be smit-
ten with a terrible curse and with its
inhabitants was to be destroyed at the
coming OF the dreadful day OF the Lord.
The word of the prophets shall not fall,
hot HIaI, nj.
the ages past for the redemption of the
children OF men shall be fulfilled In this
dlSpcnsation of the fulness of times
This has been brought about through
the instrumentality OF the Prophet
Joseph Smith and the holy priesthood
which has been restored for the last
time. Elijah came; his keys were de-
livered and the Latter-day Saints arc
now fulfilling these ancient prophecies
and promises by which the inhabitants
OF the earth. both those who havo
lived, the present inhabitants. and those
who Will yet dwell on the earth. may
obtain salvation in some degree of
glory through repentance and remls-
sion OF sins.
These are correct principles. This is
O part OF the gospel of Jesus Christ.
and II is natural that men In the
world, as we'll as the saints, should
possess this spirit which has been pour
cd out upon all fesh and that they
should be seeking to compile the rec
ords of thoir dead I have here state
ment that WAS received from Mr..
Franklin P. Rice, of Massachusetts,
who is a pioneer in genealogical work.
He has been working at 1T for over so
years. and was among the first. He
says:
at hope sometime to give in detail
an account of the various undertake
ings in the line of record preservation
with which | have been connected
since l began, in the early seventies,
with the idea, crude and imperfect. of
subJecting to classification. for easy
reference, manuscript materials in
public repositories, many of which
were then hidden or unknown, and in
many places practically inaccessible
{. Thirty-flve years ago the inter
est In such matters was mainly anti
quarian, and the few examples In
print in this line had been inspired
from that standpoint. Genealogical re-
search was not then the powerful
factor 1t Is today. l formulated
a plan sometime before 1890 to re-
quire the towns in Massachusetts,
to print their records. but this met
with little favor. Its substantial fea-
lures are embodied in the act of
1902. Pursuing the work since
1898 under the operation of the Sys-
tematic History fund. / have been
able to secure copies and print the
vital records of more than thirty
towns in central Massachusetts"
He Is but one; there are many
others who are engaged in compiling
these vital records; the Essex Anti
quarian society, the New England
Historical Genealogical society. and
many others are compiling these vital
records of every town in Massachu-
sets. from its earliest settlement to
the year 1850 In Great Britain there
are n great number of societies and
individuals devoting their attention to
gisters of a great proportion of the
towns in almost every county of
England some of Scotland, and of Ire
land. have been published. The work
is going on; 1t ls growing; every year
1t increases; more of these records
are published: and more men ar1
brought into the work, and also more
women. This spirit Is spreading and
taking possession of the hearts of the
people whether they will or not
But, now, what Is the duty of the
Latter-day Saints in this regard? To
seek after their dead: for the Prophet
Joseph Smith has declared that 1t is
the burden of the Scripture that we
God without our dead; and since thai
work devolves upon us. it Is high time
that the members of the Church see
to IL that the records of their dead so
far as they can obtain them. are in
their hands: and there they should
not stop, but they should continue
until they have performed the work