1

DISCOURSE
BY
Elder WILFORD WOODRUFF,
DELIVERED

At the Semi-Annual Conference, in
the New Tabernacle, Salt
Lake City, Oct. 8, 1873.

REPORTED BY DAVID W. EVANS.

I AM called upon to occupy a little
time this morning, and I realize
that I and my brethren are all de-
pendent upon the Spirit of God to
guide, dictate and direct us in all
our public teachings, as well as in
all other acts we are called upon to
perform in the kingdom of God.
The apostle says there is no pro-
phecy of the Scripture which is of
any private interpretation, but
holy men of old spoke as they were
moved upon by the Holy Ghost. [##2 Peter 1:20-21##]
The Lord has told us in some of
the revelations which he has given
in our day that all of his messen-
gers or servants, his elders who are
sent forth to teach, should speak as
they are moved upon by the Holy
Ghost; and when they follow this
counsel what they say, the Lord
says, is Scripture, it is the mind
and will of the Lord, it is the word
of the Lord and it is the power of
God unto salvation. [##Doctrine and Covenants 68:3-4##] "And this is
an ensample unto you, even all my
servants who go forth to declare
the words of life unto the inhabi-
tants of the earth." [##Doctrine and Covenants 68:2##]

Again, the Lord has said that it
matters not whether it be by my
own voice out of the heavens,
whether it be by the administer-
ing of angels, or whether it be by
the voice of my servants, it is all
the same, and their words shall be
fulfilled though the heavens and
the earth pass away. [##Doctrine and Covenants 1:38##] This is the
position which the prophets, apos-
tles and patriarchs have occupied
upon the earth in every age and
dispensation. They have had to
be governed by the Spirit of God;
and when men are sent with a mes-
sage, and they speak as they are
moved upon by the Holy Ghost [##Doctrine and Covenants 68:3##],
their words are the words of the
Lord and they will be fulfilled.

We have had a good deal of teach-
ing during this Conference from
the servants of God, teachings
given by the inspiration of the
Holy Ghost. We occupy a very
peculiar position on the earth, a
position differing in many respects
from any other dispensation to
men. Paul says—"Though we or
an angel from heaven preach unto
you any other gospel than that
which we have preached, let him
be accursed." [##Galatians 1:8##] All the teachings of
the patriarchs and prophets have
shown us but one gospel. There is
but one gospel, there never was but
one and there never will be. The
gospel revealed for the salvation of
man is the same in every age of the
world. Adam, our first great pro-
genitor and father, after the fall,
received this gospel, and he received
the holy priesthood in all its power,
and its keys and ordinances. He
sealed these blessings upon his sons
—Seth, Enos, Jared, Cainan, Ma-
haleel, Enoch and Methusaleh. All
these men received this high and
holy priesthood. They all professed
to give revelation. They all had
inspiration and left their record on
the earth; and not one of them but
what saw and prophecied about the
great Zion of God in the latter-days.
And when we say this of them
we say it of every apostle and pro-
phet who ever lived upon the earth.
Their revelations and prophecies all
point to our day and that great
kingdom of God which was spoken
of by Daniel, that great Zion of
God spoken of by Isaiah and Jere-
miah; and that great gathering of
the house of Israel spoken of by
Ezekiel and Malachi and many of
the ancient patriarchs and pro-
phets.

When the Lord has attempted to
perform a work on the earth there
has been one peculiarity with him,
and that is, the instruments which
he has made use of have occupied
a peculiar position in the world.
He has generally chosen the weak
things of the world to confound
the wise, and things that were
nought to bring to pass things
which were. [##1 Corinthians 1:27##] When he wanted a
man to deliver Israel he called Mo-
ses, who was in an ark of bulrushes
among the crocodiles and aligators
of the river Nile, put there by his
mother, a Hebrew woman, because
Moses was her first born, and all
the firstborn of the Hebrews had to
be slain. The daughter of Pharaoh,
through the providence of God,
preserved Moses, and by her he was
given to his mother to raise. When
called to deliver Israel Moses told
the Lord that he was a man slow
of speech. [##Exodus 4:10##] He did not feel qualified
to perform so great a work, yet the
Lord chose him, and he performed
the work the Lord assigned him.

So when the Lord wanted a
king for Israel and the lot fell upon
the family of Jesse. The prophet
went and called for the sons of Jess[e]
to pick out this king. All the boys
were brought before him except
David. He was the smallest of the
flock, and was out taking care of
the sheep. Jesse never thought of
him at all. He brought his other
sons, who had been trained in all
the arts, sciences and learning of
the day, and when they came in
Samuel could not see the one he
wanted. He asked Jesse if he had
not any more sons. Yes, he had a
boy taking care of the sheep. "Let's
see him," said the prophet; and
when he came he was anointed
king. [##1 Samuel 16##]

Jesus himself was born in a stable
and cradled in a manger and travel-
ed in poverty all the way through
his life. When he chose his disciples
he did not take the great, learned,
rich and noble of that generation,
but he chose fishermen, the most
illiterate men and, in one sense of
the word, we may say, almost the
lowest calling among men in that
day. They were the ones the Lord
made use of to go forth to preach
his gospel and to build up his king-
dom on the earth.

How is it in our day, in this great
and last dispensation? The Lord
required an instrument who would
take hold and work with him. He
required some one to lay the found-
ation of this great church and king-
dom who would be willing to step
forth and be led in the channel that
was according to the mind and will
of God, a man who could not be
swayed by the traditions and relig-
ions of the day. Whom did the
Lord call? The patriarchs and pro-
phets not only pointed out the Zion
of God and the manner in which
his church and kingdom should be
established and built up, but they
even called the name of the man
who should be called to establish
this work, and I do not know but
the name of his father. His name
was to be Joseph and he was to be a
lineal descendant of ancient Joseph,
who was sold into Egypt, separated
from his brethren. [##2 Nephi 3:15##] The record or
stick of Joseph in the hand of
Ephraim, which Ezekiel speaks of,
which was to be put with the record
of the Jews in the last days, was to
be an instrument in the hands of
God of performing this great work
or laying the foundation of this
church, and the gathering of the
twelve tribes of the house of Israel.
In that record the man's name was
pointed out as well as the work he
was to do. Joseph Smith knew
nothing of all this until after he
was administered to by the angel of
God; he had no knowledge of this
when he brought forth that record
to the world, and until he translated
it, by the Urim and Thummim,
into the English language. He
had no knowledge whatever of this;
but here was that great band, as
strong as iron, that surrounded him
by the revelations of God, for the
last six thousand years, by every
man who spoke of the work of God
in the last days. These prophecies,
revelations, and decrees of the Al-
mighty, as it were, surrounded that
man, and he had to be taught, not
by man nor by the will of man, but
he required the angels of God to
come forth and teach him; it re-
quired the revelations of God to
teach him, and he was taught for
years by visions and revelations,
and by holy angels sent from God
out of heaven to teach and instruct
him and prepare him to lay the
foundation of this church.

As I before remarked, these pro-
phecies surrounded him, forming,
in one sense of the word, a band
and a power he could not get out of.
Why? Besause no prophecy of
Scripture is of any private interpre-
tation, but holy men of old spoke as
they were moved upon by the in-
spiration of the Holy Ghost, and
when any of those prophets and
patriarchs for the last six thousand
years spoke, when wrapped in pro-
phetic vision, of the Zion of God
being established in the last dispen-
sation, those decrees had to be ful-
filled to the very letter.

When Joseph Smith received
these revelations he was an illiter-
ate boy, like David among the
sheep. The Lord, in this day, did
not choose one from among the
great, mighty, rich or noble, but he
choose one prepared from before the
foundation of the world, to come
forth in the last days, through the
loins of ancient Joseph who, in the
hands of God, was the savior of the
house of Israel and of the Egypt-
ians in his day. This man was
raised up in his proper time, and
came forth into the world, and the
Lord began to feel after him and to
prepare him; but he, himself, did
not know even when he laid the
foundation of this work. The Lord
told him—"you will lay the found-
ation of a great work, but you know
it not." [##Doctrine and Covenants 64:33##] Joseph himself could not
comprehend, unless he was wrap-
ped in the visions of eternity, the
importance of the work the founda-
tion of which he had laid. When
his mind was opened he could un-
derstand, in many respects, the de-
signs of God; and these revelations
were around him and they guided
his footsteps. They could not fail
of fulfillment, they had to be ac-
complished in the earth. The ser-
vant of God came forth and he re-
ceived the Book of Mormon—the
record or stick of Joseph in the
hands of Ephraim. He brought
forth that record according to the
dictation of Moroni, Nephi and
Lehi, the angels of God who admin-
istered to him, and he translated it
into the English language before
he laid the foundation of this
church. Joseph Smith did not call
upon any man to ordain or to bap-
tize him, but he waited until the
Lord sent forth his servants to ad-
minister unto him. He was com-
manded of the Lord to go forth and
be baptized, but not until he had
received the priesthood. Where did
he get it, and in fact what is the
priesthood? It is the authority of
God in heaven to the sons of men to
administer in any of the ordinances
of his house. There never was a
man and never will be a man, in
this or any other age of the world,
who has power and authority to ad-
minister in one of the ordinances of
the house of God, unless he is call-
ed of God as was Aaron, unless he
has the holy priesthood and is ad-
ministered to by those holding that
authority.

There was no man on the face of
the earth, nor had not been for the
last seventeen centuries, who had
power and authority from God to go
forth and administer in one of the
ordinances of the house of God.
What did he do then? Why, the
Lord sent unto him John the Bap-
tist, who, when upon the earth, held
the Aaronic priesthood, who was
beheaded for the word of God and
the testimony of Jesus Christ. He
laid his hands upon the head of
Joseph Smith and ordained him to
the Aaronic priesthood, and he never
attempted to act in any authority of
the gospel until he received this
priesthood. Joseph was then qual-
ified to baptize for the remission of
sins, but he had not the authority
to lay on hands for the reception of
the Holy Ghost, and he never at-
tempted to administer in this ordi-
nance until Peter, James and John,
two of whom—Peter and James—
were also martyred for the testimo-
ny of Jesus and the word of God.
These three men were the last who
held the keys of the apostleship in
its fulness and power previous to
this dispensation. They laid their
hands upon the head of Joseph
Smith, and sealed upon him every
power, principle, ordinance and key
belonging to the Apostleship, and
until he received this ordination he
was not qualified and had no right
to administer in the ordinances of
the house of God, but he did this
after he received the priesthood, and
on the 6th day of april, 1830, he or-
ganized this church with six mem-
bers, which was the foundation of
what we see to-day in this taberna-
cle, and for six hundred miles
through this American desert. This
has all come from that small seed—
the foundation of the great king-
dom of our God upon the earth.

What did Joseph Smith do after
having received this priesthood and
its ordinances? I will tell you what
he did. He did that which seven-
teen centuries and fifty generations,
that have passed and gone, of all
the clergy and religions of Chris-
tendom, and the whole world com-
bined were not able to do—he, al-
though an illiterate youth, present-
ed to the world the gospel of Jesus
Christ in its fulness, plainness and
simplicity, as taught by its Author
and his apostles; he presented the
church of Jesus Christ and the
kingdom of God perfect in their or-
ganization, as Paul represents them
—with head and feet, arms and
hands, every member of the body
perfect before heaven and earth.
How could he, an illiterate boy, do
that which the whole of the learn-
ing of the Christian world for sev
enteen centuries failed to do? Be-
cause he was moved upon by the
power of God, he was instructed by
those men who, when in the flesh,
had preached the same gospel them-
selves, and in doing this he fulfilled
that which Father Adam, Enoch,
Moses, Elias, Isaiah, Jeremiah and
Jesus and his apostles all prophecied
about. Well might Paul say—"I
am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, for it is the power of God
unto salvation unto every one that
believes." [##Romans 1:16##] So may the Latter-day
Saints say—"We are not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ." I am not
ashamed to say that Joseph Smith
was a prophet of God; I am not
ashamed to bear record that he was
called of God, and laid the founda-
tion of this church and kingdom on
the earth, for this is true, and any
man or woman who is inspired by
the Holy Ghost can see and under-
stand these things.

My brethren and sisters and
friends, here is laid the foundation
of the fulfillment of that mighty
flood of prophecy delivered since
the days of Father Adam down
to the last prophet who breathed the
breath of life. There has been more
prophecy fulfilled in the last forty-
three years upon the face of the
earth than in two thousand years
before. These mighty prophecies,
as I said before, like a band of iron,
governed and controlled Joseph
Smith in his labors while he lived
on the earth. He lived until he
received every key, ordinance and
law ever given to any may on the
earth, from Father Adam down,
touching this dispensation. He re-
ceived powers and keys from under
the hands of Moses for gathering
the house of Israel in the last days;
he received under the hands of Elias
the keys of sealing the hearts of the
fathers to the children and the hearts
of the children to the fathers [##Doctrine and Covenants 27:9##]; he
received under the hands of Peter,
James and John the apostleship,
and everything belonging thereto;
he received under the hands of
Moroni all the keys and powers re-
quired of the stick of Joseph in the
hands of Ephraim; he received
under the hand of John the Bap-
tist the Aaronic priesthood, with
all its keys and powers, and every
other key and power belonging to
this dispensation, and I am not
ashamed to say that he was a pro-
phet of God, and he laid the founda-
tion of the greatest work and dis-
pensation that has ever been estab-
lished on the earth.

Joseph Smith lived until he gave
his testament to the world, and
when he had sealed all these keys,
powers and blessings upon the head
of Brigham Young and his breth-
ren; when he had planted these
keys on the earth so that they
should be removed no more forever;
when he had done this, and brought
forth that record, that book of rev-
alation, the proclamation of which
involved the destiny of this whole
generation—Jew, Gentile, Zion and
Babylon, all the nations of the
earth, he sealed that testimony with
his blood in Carthage jail, where
his life and that of his brother Hy-
rum were taken by the hands of
wicked and ungodly men. Why
was his life taken? Why were not
John Taylor and Willard Richards,
the only two of the Twelve at that
time in Nauvoo and with him also
sacrificed? Why did Willard
Richards, the largest man in the
prison, stand in the midst of that
shower of balls and escape without
a hole in his robe or garment, or
clothing? Because these things
were all governed and controlled by
the revelations of God and the word
of the Lord. The Lord took whom
he would take and he preserved
whom he would preserve, and he
has done this all the way through.
Why has Brigham Young been
preserved, when he has stood as
much chance to lay down his life in
defence of this cause, and run as
many dangers in one position and
another as anybody else? Because
the Lord has had a hand and a
meaning in this, and he has pre-
served him for a certain purpose,
and other men have been preserved
by the same power. The whole of
it has been the work of God on the
earth. The revelations of God have
surrounded Brigham Young. The
revelations of God in ancient days
affect him and the apostles, and the
elders of Israel as much as they
have affected any people in any
generation.

I will speak of another branch of
this subject. We have the king-
dom organized, the prophecies have
been fulfilled, the church has been
planted in the earth, and now there
are other portions of these revela-
tions which must be fulfilled. We
were settled in Jackson County,
Clay County, Caldwell County, in
Kirtland and finally in Nauvoo.
We were driven from one place to
another until we settled Nauvoo,
and at last we were driven from
Nauvoo into the wilderness and to
this land, led here by President
Brigham Young under the inspira-
tion of Almighty God. Some felt
their faith tried that we had to leave
our lovely Nauvoo and go into the
wilderness. Bless your souls, there
would have been a flood of revela-
tion unfulfilled if these things had
not been so. Isaiah speaks of the
foundation of this great Zion, and
writes the whole of her history and
travels up to the present day, and
from this time on until the winding
up scene. If we had not been driven
from Nauvoo we would never have
come up the Platte river, where,
Isaiah says, he saw the Saints going
by the river of water wherein went
no galley with oars; a great compa-
ny of women with child and her
that travailed with child would
never have come here to the moun-
tains of Israel if we had not been
driven from that land, and a whole
flood of prophecy would have re-
mained unfulfilled, with regard to
our making this desert blossom
as the rose, the waters coming forth
out of the barren desert, our building
the house of God on the tops of the
mountains, lifting up a standard
for these nations to flee to; all this
and much more would have remain-
ed unfulfilled had we not been guid-
ed and led by the strong arm of Je-
hovah, whose words must be ful-
filled though the heavens and the
earth pass away.

Having been brought to Zion an-
other subject presents itself to our
consideration—namely, the position
which President Young occupies in
regard to us to-day. He calls upon
us to build temples, cities, towns
and villages, and to do a great deal
of temporal work. Strangers and
the Christian world marvel at the
"Mormons" talking about temporal
things. Bless your souls, two thirds
of all the revelations given in this
world rest upon the accomplish-
ment of this temporal work. We
have it to do, we can't build up Zi-
on sitting on a hemlock slab sing-
ing ourselves away to everlasting
bliss; we have to cultivate the earth,
to take the rocks and elements out
of the mountains and rear temples
to the Most High God; and this
temporal work is demanded at our
hands by the God of heaven, as
much as he required Christ to die
to redeem the world, or as much as
the Savior required Peter, James
and John to go and preach the gos-
pel to the nations of the earth. This
is the great dispensation in which
the Zion of God must be built up,
and we as Latter-day Saints have it
to build. People think it strange be-
cause so much is said with regard to
this. I will tell you Latter-day
Saints, and the Christian world too,
our work will fall short, we will
come short of our duties, and we
never shall perform the work that
God Almighty has decreed we
shall perform unless we enter into
these temporal things. We are
obliged to build cities, towns and
villages, and we are obliged to gath-
er the people from every nation
under heaven to the Zion of God,
that they may be taught in the
ways of the Lord. We have only
just begun to prepare for the celes-
tial law when we are baptized into
the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat-
ter-day Saints.

There has been a good deal said
here with regard to baptism for the
dead. When Joseph Smith had
laid the foundation of this work he
was taken away. There are good
reasons why it was so. Jesus sealed
his testimony with his blood. Joseph
Smith did the same, and from the
day he died his testimony has been
in force upon the whole world. He
has gone into the spir[it] world and
organized this dispensation on that
side of the vail; he is gathering to-
gether the elders of Israel and the
Saints of God in the spirit world,
for they have a work to do there as
well as here. Joseph and Hyrum
Smith, Father Smith, David Patten
and the other elders who have been
called to the other side of the vail
have fifty times as many people to
preach to as we have on the earth.
There they have all the spirits who
have lived on the earth in seven-
teen centuries—fifty generations,
fifty thousand millions of persons
who lived and died here without
having seen a prophet or apostle,
and without having the word of the
Lord sent unto them. They are
shut up in prison, awaiting the mes-
sage of the elders of Israel. We
have only about a thousand mil-
lions of people on the earth, but in
the spirit world they have fifty thou-
sand millions; and there is not a sin-
gle revelation which gives us any
reason to believe that any man who