Introductory Sermon by Elder George Hoke, of Ohio,
Sunday, May 14.
Text.—And it came to pass, that while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.—Luke 24:15.
To the true child of God no conceptions of bliss are worthy of being compared with those that flow from an ideal companionship and association with our Lord Jesus Christ.
"To dwell with him; to feel his love,
Is heavenly bliss enjoyed above:
And the sweet expectation now
Is the same bliss begun below."
The text selected is suited to the occasion that has brought many of us together. We have met to commune in our thoughts with each other, and to reason together. Since the first hour of my arrival here I could but notice the delight, and even joy, on the part of many at meeting former acquaintances and renewing the ties of love, both social and Christian, that have bound us together in one common Brotherhood for years in the past, and which are still to bind us and our children's children together in the future on earth and the eternity in glory.
The subject for to-day naturally divides itself into three propositions:
I. They communed and reasoned together.
II. Jesus himself drew near.
III. Jesus himself went with them.