Loyal to the Word

 

Elder John W. Taylor

Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles

 

Conference Report

October 1903

 

References to Christian Science and hypnotism—Clergymen seeking to rectify defects in their religions—The revealed Gospel of Christ the only pathway to salvation.

 

My dear brethren and sisters, I humbly pray that the Spirit of the Lord which is the spirit of truth and righteousness, may prompt me in all that I shall say this morning, and I trust you will pray unto our Father for me, that He will enable me to talk in such a way as shall be pleasing in His sight. I am a firm believer in inspiration. I believe the statement in the Scriptures that the word of God "came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

On my way to this meeting I met a neighbor of mine, and he said, "Brother Taylor, have you noticed any blight in your pear orchard?" I told him I had not noticed it particularly, and asked him what it was. "Why," said he, "if you will notice carefully, there will be a few limbs toward the top of the tree where the wood begins to wither a little bit, and the leaves then wither and dry up." I asked him what the effect of this blight was upon the tree, for he seemed to be well posted on the subject. He replied that it had the effect, if the evil is not corrected in its incipiency, to kill out not only the tree affected, but the entire orchard. What is the remedy? said I. He answered promptly, "The remedy is to cut off the blighted part about one foot below where it is dead, and be careful to gather all the leaves and branches, take them out of the orchard, and burn them up." I have since been thinking about the trees in my orchard, and I remember that several of them have some dead limbs, and are evidently blighted a little. It would be well for us all to look after our orchards carefully.

Now, my brethren and sisters, I have imagined I can see a blight, not only upon our orchards, but in some of the families of the Latter-day Saints, and that is much more serious than having our orchards blighted. Christ said:

"Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." If the families in Salt Lake City were an orchard, and each one represented a tree, I can imagine there are a few dead branches that may be likened unto the blighted trees referred to in my conversation this morning. The Apostle John, in writing to the Saints in his day, used this expression:

"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

"If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God-speed:

"For he that biddeth him God-speed is partaker of his evil deeds."—II John, 9-11.

This is one of the best guides we have received from inspired men of olden times. "Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son." We are also told:

"And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent."—John, 17:3.

"No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."—Matthew, 11:27.

"No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."—I Corinthians, 12:3.

We learn, then, that if we abide in the doctrines of Christ we have both the Father and the Son, and being in fellowship with them and with the Holy Ghost, which constitute the Godhead, we are heirs of glory, immortality and eternal life.

Various doctrines are being promulgated among the Latter-day Saints at the present time that I would like to refer to briefly. One of these is Christian Science, which has spread to some extent in this city, and to my mind it is like the blight upon the orchard. If it is not "cut off about one foot below the dead branches," it may kill the tree and affect the whole orchard. Let us reason together a few moments upon this. In olden times, certain gifts and blessings were promised the Saints. One was the gift of prophecy, another the gift of healing, another the gift of tongues, another the interpretation of tongues, another the gift of wisdom, another the gift of knowledge, etc. Now, I say to you there is not one of these gifts that is a principle of salvation in and of itself. Though they were promised by the Savior, and exercised by His Apostles, and always exist in the true Church of Christ, there is not one of them that, of itself, will save and exalt the children of men in the kingdom of God; for they are not principles of salvation when segregated from the doctrines of Christ.

Take Christian Science, as it is called, and it rests largely upon what they term "being happy," and the healing of their bodies when afflicted. I testify to you, as a servant of the Lord, that you may lay hands on the dead and raise them to life again, as Christ did the widow's son, or you may heal the afflicted by the power of God, and the fact that they are healed or brought to life again will not save them in the kingdom of God; for they may afterwards go into transgression, and wander from the straight and narrow path which leadeth to the lives eternal. Therefore, I say it is not a principle of salvation apart from the Gospel. Another thing: Is the fact that we may be temporarily happy going to save us in the kingdom of God? Have we not got to abide in the doctrines of Christ, or we have not the Father and the Son? What are the doctrines of Christ? Look at His example; He was the Redeemer of the world. He said, "I am the life and the light of the world," and he invited all to follow Him. What did He do? He went unto John and requested baptism of him. At first, John forbade Him, saying, "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?" But the Redeemer of the world was not satisfied with that expression of John's humility, for He knew that if He did not yield obedience to that principle of righteousness—one of His own doctrines—He could not fulfill the law of all righteousness and be the Redeemer of the world, to which He was ordained before He came into this world. Therefore, He said unto John: "Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." Then John suffered Him, and He went down into the water and was baptized. He came up out of the water, and the Holy Ghost descended upon Him in the form of a dove; "and lo a voice from heaven, saying. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." I would say to all the Christian Scientists in the world, to all men—the kings and queens upon their thrones, and those who are in the humbler walks of life—to all nations, kindreds, tongues and people: Except you are born of the water and of the Spirit, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Except you abide in this doctrine which Christ taught and practised, you can never enter into His kingdom, worlds without end. You must abide in the doctrines of Christ. You may say, "I am happy in this religion." Bless your soul, is not the Mongollian happy when he is lying upon his couch smoking the deadly fumes of opium? In the hallucination of his mind, does he not imagine that he is having pleasure and joy? I tell you there is no true happiness except that which comes from a faithful performance of duty, under the gift and power of the Holy Ghost. The Lord hath said:

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."—I Corinthians, 2:9.

But they say, "we are so happy;" and one woman will go to another, and together they, will go from house to house teaching these doctrines. What is the result? The result is, the blight begins to show upon another tree. Men and women who have been faithful in the Church of Christ begin to neglect their duty, forget their prayers, speak against the Holy Priesthood, and wander into by and forbidden paths which leadeth to destruction. Show me a man or woman who has adopted this single principle of faith, and has neglected the weightier things of the kingdom; show me any member of the Church who has joined any of these Christian Science associations, and I will show you a man or woman who has been finding fault with the authorities of the Church, neglecting to pay tithing, and not praying unto God for light and wisdom. I ask how the Lord could ever have built up His Church in ancient days by somebody simply saying they felt happy? People with such ideas may be enjoying the happy hallucinations of dreamland, but they are sleeping the sleep of death. The Prophet Moroni spoke of the good gifts that God had placed in the Church of Christ, and then said, "Touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing." What is the evil gift and the unclean thing? It is any gift, or inspiration or inclination that will lead men from the straight and narrow path, and from serving the true and living God—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Could Solomon have satisfied the Lord, when He commanded him to build a temple, by saying, "Lord, I am happy all day long; I am not sick, I am not in distress, and I do not need to build a temple? Certainly not. The Lord would undoubtedly have said to him that He wanted him to build a temple unto God, no matter whether he was happy or sad, and He would have reproved him sharply. He does not expect us merely to satisfy our own desires. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Suppose Noah, when he was called upon to build an ark to save a few of the sons and daughters of God, that the human race might be perpetuated, had said, "I am happy, I am never afflicted, and I enjoy myself;" would that have saved anybody from the flood? The Lord our God wants the children of men to do something. He wanted Noah to build an ark, and Noah built it. You cannot build ark and temples, you cannot gather Israel and establish the kingdom of God, on one principle of the Gospel alone. You cannot make a watch or clock go with only one of its wheels. You cannot make the human body active by separating the head or the feet from it. The body as created is perfect, in beautiful symmetry, and it cannot be complete if we take one part of it and reject the rest; it takes the whole to make the perfect man. It is so with the kingdom of God.

Another thing that we have in our midst is what is called hypnotism. There is a sprinkling of Latter-day Saints tainted a little with this. You can see the blight and the wither of 41 hypnotism "on the tops of the trees." Men are being carried away with it, and are beginning to exercise unrighteous dominion over the children of men, because they have stronger wills than others. They try to charm others, and make them do as they please. Don't you know that, in the days of Moses and the prophets, charmers were put to death? The Lord so despised the idea of one man exercising unrighteous dominion and influence over another that he gave a law, commanding that charmers should be put to death. And He has opened His mouth in this day and said:

"The rights of the Priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.

"That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control, or dominion, or compulsion, upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the Priesthood or the authority of that man."

This hypnotic power is not of God. It is an evil gift. A short time ago I was in the Malad stake of Zion, where a man had been studying this art of hypnotism, and he proposed to the Bishop of the ward that he take lessons so that he could hypnotize the people to make them do as he pleased.

My brethren and sisters, that is the doctrine the devil proposed in heaven, when the Lord our God was preparing to people this earth. He proposed to take away the agency of men, and to exercise unrighteous dominion over them. But the Lord rejected his plan, and chose His Son Jesus Christ to come into the world with the plan of life and salvation that we now teach.

The doctrines of Christ are plain and simple, and they do not sanction the use of unrighteous dominion upon the souls of the children of men. Therefore, I say unto you, hypnotism is not of God.

Women go from house to house, and say they were healed, or their children were healed, by Christian Science; or they had been hypnotized and got such great relief from it, and "it would astonish you how happy I've been ever since." I say to you, my friends, we should not seek in this life to become happy by exercising evil gifts among the children of men. You can read of the magicians in ancient times casting down their rods, and, through the exercise of the evil gift, their rods became serpents, as did the rods of Moses and Aaron. But, when it came to slaying the firstborn, the Lord said in effect, Thus far shalt thou go, and no further. The first born of the children of Israel were saved, while the first-born of the children of Pharaoh and the other Egyptians were destroyed. I speak of this to show you that the wisdom of the Lord is greater than the cunning of the devil, and the power of the Priesthood is pre-eminent over every other power on the earth.

There are Latter-day Saints who apparently place their whole faith upon one of the gifts of the Gospel. Some may place their faith upon the gift of healing, others upon the gift of prophecy, others upon the gift of tongues or the interpretation of tongues. I say again that these gifts, in and of themselves, are not principles of salvation. They are given for the temporary comfort of the Saints. But the Holy Priesthood is without beginning of days or end of years; it will remain with the Saints throughout the eternal ages to Come.

The Apostle Paul says:

"Whether there be prophecies, they shall fall; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.

"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

"But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away."—(1 Corinthians 13 10.)

That is perfectly natural; for when that which is perfect is come, we shall see as we are seen, and know as we are known. There will be no need for men to prophesy what shall take place, for we shall all see and understand it. In that day it will not be necessary for one to say to another, Know ye the Lord; for all shall know Him. Perfect knowledge will be enjoyed by all. We shall see eye to eye, and be of one heart and mind in the kingdom of God. It will not be necessary for any to speak in an unknown tongue; for the original Adamic language will be restored, and all shall speak in the one tongue. Hence how consistent it is to say, "When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." These gifts are now given to us as a lamp to lighten our pathway, to encourage us when our spirits are drooping, to heal our bodies when we are afflicted, and to give us knowledge of things to come, that we may be buoyed up and go on to perfection.

My brethren and sisters, this doctrine of Christian Science is not of God. Hypnotism is displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and those who practise it may be likened unto the charmers, soothsayers, sorcerers, and idolaters of ancient times. They were so repugnant in the sight of the Lord that He gave special laws to Israel in relation to them. Now, shall we, who have come out of darkness into light, turn away as the sow to wallow in the mire, or like the dog to his vomit? Shall we go back to the beggarly elements of the world? I say unto you, as said the old prophet, Let those who bear the vessels of the Lord be clean. Jesus said. "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

I testify unto you, my friends, that the Lord our God has raised up Joseph Smith the Prophet in this our day. He has delivered unto the world the Book of Mormon, which is a history of the ancient inhabitants of this continent. It is the word of God to the people of the earth. It is the writings of prophets who have lived upon this land, Just as the Bible is the writings of prophets in the land of Palestine, and a history of the dealings of God with ancient Israel. The heavens have been opened in our day. The Father and the Son appeared unto Joseph Smith, and the Gospel has been restored. This Gospel is being preached according to the commandment of the Savior. "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." How can we keep the commands of God? By listening to His voice and doing His will. There are those in the world who are blighted with the idea that if they only believe on the Lord Jesus Christ they can be saved. This is a convenient and very popular doctrine. But Jesus said:

"Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."—Matthew 7 22, 23.

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."—Matthew 7 21.

This is the true doctrine of Christ. The world today are adopting some of the principles revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith. A short time ago a great conclave of ministers met at Los Angeles for the purpose of remodeling their creed. Did you ever hear of the prophets of God in any age meeting to remodel the revelations of God, the Eternal Father, or His Son Jesus Christ? He is the same yesterday, today and forever. The word of God never changes. The Lord our God revealed unto His Prophet in this day the principle of infant salvation. What about infants? Why, it has been preached by sectarians for generations, that little infants who died without being baptized would be damned. Is there any man under the sound of my voice who can deny that this doctrine has been taught? You cannot deny it, because it is in the sectarian writings. Yet Joseph Smith proclaimed the doctrine that little children come into the world pure and innocent, and they are not responsible for sin until they arrive at the years of accountability. I am very glad to see these ministers beginning to receive a little light. I believe there are no men so reluctant to get light into their heads as ministers. That is why they have received so little during the last sixty years. But, they are gradually beginning to observe the light; and I am glad they have, in a measure, adopted in their creed the revelation of God to Joseph Smith concerning infants. Another thing: Joseph Smith, under the command of God, taught the principle of tithing, and now some of our Christian friends are beginning to recommend the payment of tithing in their churches. I tell you the time will come when every principle that was revealed to Joseph Smith, the Prophet, in this last dispensation, will be adopted, one by one, until every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the living God. I have just had handed to me written evidence of what I have said regarding tithing. It is a card published by one of the churches, and reads as follows: GOD'S FINANCIAL PLAN

Believing that all Christians should systematically and sacredly set aside a certain proportion of their income for the cause of Christ; and furthermore, that it is the plain teaching of God's Word, and His Financial Plan, that one-tenth of our income belongs to Him;

Therefore, we hereby covenant with God and one another, that we will set aside one-tenth of our income, hold it as a sacred trust and give it for the cause of Christ;

That we, who make this covenant, by attaching our names hereto shall be known as members of the Tithing Band of the Epworth League, First Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles. Date.............. Name..............

If I had been printing it, I would have had it like this:

"We hereby pledge ourselves, and sign our names, as members of Joseph Smith the Prophet Tithing League." Another thing: if I was going to do away with that wicked and corrupt doctrine of infant damnation, I would not get together a lot of ministers and learned men to make a fuss about it, as if they had made some wonderful discovery; but I would get up like a straightforward, honest man, and say, Joseph Smith the Prophet taught this years ago, I know it is true; therefore, let us adopt it. I say once more, my brethren and sisters, every principle which has been revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet will have to be acknowledged by every man, woman and child who desire to enter into the kingdom of our God, or they will never get there. This is my testimony unto you; for the Lord has spoken. This is not the work of man. It is not the work of these men who sit upon this stand. It is the work of the great Jehovah. And that day is at hand which was spoken of by the ancient prophets, and emphasized by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who said:

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

"For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."—Matthew 5 17, 18.

There are some portions of the law, and some prophecies, that have not yet been fulfilled, while others are being fulfilled; and the day is at hand when these words of the Savior will be fully verified. Jeremiah the Prophet, after speaking of the scattering of Israel, and the curse of David for the sin which he committed in the matter of the wife of Uriah the Hittite, writes these words of the Lord:

"And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

"And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David, a righteous branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

"In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness.

"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

"But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them: and they shall dwell in their own lands."—Jeremiah 23 3-8.

"Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks."—Jeremiah 16 16.

"I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

"And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding."—Jeremiah 3 14, 15.

My friends, this is the destiny God has in store for His people.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

"And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."—Isaiah 2 2, 3.

This is the word of God, and the gathering is now taking place. Jesus would have gathered the people in His day, but they would not receive Him: He said:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"—Matthew 23 37.

The day, my friends, has arrived when Israel is being gathered from the four corners of the earth, and when Zion is arising and will shine, and will become the light and brightness of the whole earth. This is the work spoken of by the Prophet Daniel. He saw that "a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands," which "became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." The proclamation of this work will go from nation to nation, until every soul that lives upon the earth will have the privilege of hearing the sound thereof, and every honest man and woman will have the privilege of embracing it and becoming heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. The blood of our Lord and Savior was split, that He might redeem mankind, and it is only through His name we can be saved.

My brethren and sisters, the work is growing. We have still a great work to perform, and we should not waste our time on hypnotism, or Christian Science, or evolution, and such things. We have believers in evolution in our midst, and there is a little "blight upon the top of the trees" in this regard. As a servant of God I tell you mankind can not be redeemed, worlds without end; can not evolve, or crystalize, or get into the condition entitling them to become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and to partake of the fulness of His glory; can not go on to perfection, and sit down in the councils of heaven with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and those bright intelligences who created this world and others, only through the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. All the evolution in the world will not save a single soul; neither will all the Christian Science, neither will spiritualism, nor hypnotism, nor any other ism that is not of God. The Gospel of Christ is so plain that a wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein. Do you think the Lord was mistaken when He said light had come into the world, and that the children of sin might be known by their rejection of the light? Some of them acknowledge the principle of infant salvation, and some will receive the principle of tithing; but what is the effect of it? Just like the Savior said—they put a new patch on an old garment, and it only makes it the more unsightly. When they begin to accept the principle of tithing, the question arises, Where is your Prophet, the mouthpiece of the Lord, to guide and direct the people in the use of tithing? Some of them, I suppose, will have to go to the Pope or someone else to get instructions. Let me say to you, these are matters which should be considered seriously. If you allow any man or woman to come into your house and teach false doctrine, you are responsible. I do not want anyone to come into my house and teach doctrines that are not of God. Just as soon as I hear of them coming I lift up my voice against them. The idea of people assuming to teach the Latter-day Saints principles of salvation is to me the very height of absurdity. We are commanded to live by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. Then if I want the word of God concerning His kingdom, to whom shall I go? To His mouthpiece. I will go to president Joseph F. Smith and say, What is the word of the Lord concerning this matter? That is my duty, for he is the mouthpiece of the Lord, and it is his right to direct me, to bless me when I keep the commandments of God, and to admonish and correct me when I do not.

My brethren and sisters, let us walk in the light of the everlasting Gospel, and not be cherishing a dead faith. Let us not be haggling and talking about other religions, but be active members in the Church of Christ, doing our duty in all things, and setting examples before the children of men that shall be worthy of their imitation. If we are called to go and build up a Stake of Zion, let us do it. If we are called to build a temple, let us be on hand to fulfill the requirement. If we are called upon to build a sugar factory, let us willingly respond. If we are called upon to build a city, town or village, let us do that. That is the Spirit of the Gospel, as I understand it. Joseph Smith the Prophet said: Show me a man or woman who has the spirit of the Gospel within them, and I will show you a man or woman whose greatest desire is to build up the kingdom of God upon the earth. Jesus admonished His disciples not to seek after houses and lands, gold and silver, but to "seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Do we want anything more than that?

There are some people among the Latter-day Saints who have a little blight upon them in another way. When Lehi, in his vision, saw those who partook of the fruit of the tree of life, he beheld that the great multitude pointed the finger of scorn at them, insomuch that some turned their faces away and felt ashamed. I say, never let the blush of shame come upon your countenance on account of having kept the commandments of God. He will sustain you, and give you strength according to your day.

I feel well in my labors in the Church of Christ. I am thankful I am considered worthy to be numbered amongst you; and I hope to be humble and diligent in the performance of my duty as an Apostle of the Lord, Jesus Christ. I trust there will be no duty required of me that I will not be able to respond to. We all should feel alike in regard to these things. The Lord is no respecter of persons. He thinks just as much of you as He does of me. Which of you having children can justly say, I love this one, and hate the other? Neither is it so with our Father in heaven. He loves all His sons and daughters, and is willing to open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon our heads that we shall not have room to receive. But no blessing will come unto the children of men, except by obedience to law. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost." "'Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God." etc. Let us not attempt take any part of the Church of Christ away, nor add anything thereto. Let us accept it in all its beautiful symmetry; and then work in harmony with the authorities whom God has placed in His Church. Who are they? There need be no question about that, the Apostle said: "God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers," etc. What for? "For the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ laid His hands upon Peter and said unto him:

"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

The other day I heard of a young man—an exemplary young man as far as I can understand—who was about to marry a wife, and he was so busy with his labors (he is a school teacher, I think) that he had not time to go to the temple—which was only half a days journey—to be sealed with an eternal union and bond that never should be broken; but he intended to pass by the temple, go to the court house, get out a license, and there be married for time. Do you not know that people married for time are among those spoken of by Isaiah the Prophet when he said, "They have broken the everlasting covenant"—the everlasting covenant of marriage; for in ancient times they were married for time and eternity. God bless you. Amen.

 

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