Preaching the gospel without purse and scrip by the elders of the church has been a very successful method of making known the truth among men. There is something in it which goes right home to the hearts of the honest. It is a method, too, which has, in the main, built up the church so far. There are classes, however, as in the dispensation opened by the personal ministry of Messiah, that would never be reached by such a method. These are the rich and great, the proud and high, the judges, legislators, presidents and kings of the earth. How long, for example, would it be under the method of preaching the gospel without purse and scrip before the humble elders of the church working in that way would get a hearing before the president and his cabinet, not once but repeatedly? Or how long would it be under the aforesaid method of preaching before the House of Representatives, or the more aristocratic Senate of the United States would devote day after day to the consideration of Mormonism? How long would the elders be preaching without purse and scrip, though zealous as angels, before they could arrest the attention of the Supreme Court of the United States sufficiently to have the judges sit in solemn session, clad in all the vestments of their high office to listen to an explanation of "Mormonism?" I risk the assertion that such things could never have been attained by the elders preaching without purse or scrip. Yet such a remarkable hearing as hinted at above has been given to "Mormonism" in all these great divisions of the general government of the United States. And by becoming for many years a national question, it has been kept prominently before the world; and not only the masses have been aroused by the proclamation of its principles, but the attention of statesmen and rulers has been attracted to it, and to them, in a manner, the gospel has been preached. What though it hath been preached by some through envy and strife, to paraphrase the words of Paul? What then? Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached and therein do the saints rejoice, yea, and they will rejoice; for they know that this shall turn to their salvation.[A] God hath not left himself without witnesses among the great ones of the earth; but ever and anon as they have heard about the truth and of the truth, in cabinet council, Senate chamber, legislative hall, the courts of kings and the palaces of princes—the spirit of God hath testified to their hearts that the gospel they heard preached, whether preached of strife or of good-will, was the truth of heaven, and for that testimony statesmen, judges, governors and kings shall give an account in the day of judgment to the God who gave it to them.
[Footnote A: The passage paraphrased will be found in Paul to the
Philippians i, 15-20.]
But what of all this? Why, where the lambs are the vultures are gathered together. The very violence towards the church of Christ on the part of hate-inspired men, moved upon by the spirit of him who in heaven rebelled against the truth of God and the priesthood, bears witness that the keys of the priesthood are still with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and hence Lucifer, through wicked men and in diverse ways, seeks its destruction. "Marvel not if the world hate you, it hated me before it hated you, if you were of the world the world would love its own!" And in the evidences of the hatred of the wicked for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be read the negative proof of their acceptance with God as his church.
My task is ended. I have taken two great prophecies of Brigham Young, prophet, seer, and President of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his day, and traced out their fulfillment. The first prophecy—
All that want to draw away a party from the church after them, let them do it if they can, but they will not prosper—was proven to be true by a brief consideration of the rise and fall of the principal factions called into existence under the leadership of ambitious, wicked men. We have seen go to pieces upon the rock of President Young's inspired prediction Sidney Rigdon's church, William Smith's, James J. Strang's, and the organization, such as it was, founded by George Miller and Lyman Wight—none of them prospered. We have considered the claims of the Reorganized or Josephite church, built from the ruins of these other churches just enumerated. Its pretentions have been viewed from every standpoint, and are found lacking in every element of consistency and truth. Misconceptions of the work and laws of God constituted its foundation; and the folly, sophistry, ignorance and vain ambition of—to be charitable—mistaken men, comprise its superstructure!
We have taken the second part of President Brigham Young's inspired prophecy—If any man thinks he has influence among this people to lead away a party, let him try it, and he will find out that there is power with the Apostles which will carry them off victorious through all the world, and build up and defend the church and kingdom of God—and have found the truth of it demonstrated in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The favor, blessing, power and glory of God have indeed attended the labors of the Apostles who led the Saints from Nauvoo, and the Presidencies of the church which succeeded them; of a truth there has been with those Apostles and their successors a power which has carried them off victorious through all the world, and built up and defended the church and kingdom of God.
APPENDIX.
TESTIMONY OF PREST. WILFORD WOODRUFF.
Remarks following a lecture delivered by Elder B. H. Roberts, in the Assembly Hall, Salt Lake City, February 23rd, 1892, under the auspices of the Y. M. M. I. Associations of the Salt Lake Stake, on "Priesthood and the Right of Succession."
I realize it is somewhat late, but I want to beg the indulgence of this assembly a few moments. I felt that as I was a member of these Mutual Improvement Associations I wanted to attend this meeting and hear this lecture. I did not wish to interfere with the time of Brother Roberts. He has given us an excellent discourse, and has told us the truth. There are a few things pertaining to this subject about which I wish to bear my testimony to the young men of Israel.