INSPIRATION AND TEACHINGS OF THE SPIRIT.
Remarks by Elder Wilford Woodruff, made in the Tabernacle, Great Salt Lake City;
Sunday Morning, 22, 1857.
When any of the Presidency of
this Church, or of the Quorum of the
Twelve, or any of the Elders rise in
this stand to speak, this people look
unto them, and expect they will enjoy
the Holy Spirit sufficiently to say
something that will edify them. The
people almost unanimously look for
this. I will say, on the other hand,
that the Presidency, the Twelve, and
the Elders who preach in this house
expect that the people will have the
Spirit of the Lord, that they may
come to understanding; and this is
just as much required that they may
comprehend what is said unto them,
as it is required of the breth-
ren who speak, to teach doctrine,
principle, truth, and the revelations
of Jesus Christ. When the minds of
the people are quickened and enlight-
ened by the power of God and the
gift of the Holy Ghost, that they can
appreciate and prize the principles of
eternal truth and the revelations
which God has given through his
servant Joseph, or the things which
he has revealed during the past
winter through the mouth of his
servants unto the inhabitants of this
city, or those which he has revealed
unto the inhabitants of the earth,
then they are prepared to be benefitted
by those blessings which are poured
out upon them. Any of you that have
experienced this blessing—and I pre-
sume that all have at times—have been
astonished at certain periods of their
lives that there has been such a
difference in their minds. I know
this is the case with myself, and I
presume it is with others. There have
been times that the vision of my mind
has been opened to comprehend the
word of God and the teachings of his
servants. The vision of my mind has
been opened and quickened by the
power of God and the gift of the Holy
Ghost, so that when I have sat here
and heard the Presidency and the
servants of God teach the principle of
righteousness and the word of God
unto us, I have felt the force, the
power, and the importance of these
eternal truths which they have pre-
sented unto our minds, while at other
times the same truths may have been
taught, but they have passed off
without making the same impression
upon my mind.
We have, as brother Franklin says,
spent an interesting time the past win-
ter. Much truth has been spoken:
men have been inspired by the gift
and power of the Holy Ghost to teach
us the things of God; and this I
consider to be a matter of great
importance to the people. I consider
it important that we labour to obtain
that Spirit, to have it increased upon
us, and carry it with us, that when we
hear teaching our minds may be
prepared to receive it. Why is it that
this Gospel of the kingdom has been
preached to the world for twenty-five
years, and that there are but so small
a number of the children of men who
have received those truths, been
governed by them, and suffered them
to govern one single act of their
lives? It is because their minds
have been darkened and have not
valued the Gospel, or considered the
consequences of rejecting it. It is
true we have a large congregation
here to-day, and that there are a
few thousands in these valleys and
throughout this Territory. Yet com-
pare them with the masses of mankind,
and how few they are. I am not
capable of making a calculation to
say whether there is one to five or ten
thousand who have embraced the
Gospel. One of the old Prophets said
that there would be one of a city and
two of a family. This has been fulfilled
in many instances. When the Elders
proclaimed the Gospel unto you, those
of you who are here received that
word, meditated upon it, so much so
that you have been willing to forsake
all that you possessed and come to
Zion. The seed has produced good
fruit; it has caused you to come to
Zion; but there are millions of the
masses who heard the Gospel, but they
have hardened their hearts and dark-
ness has taken hold of their minds,
and hence they have rejected the
Spirit of God which has striven with
them: they, in acting upon their
agency, have given way to seducing
spirits and rejected the Gospel of
Christ, and consequently the Spirit of
God has been withdrawn from them;
and because of this the Lord has been
taking his Spirit from the nations of
the earth. We see the fruits of it. It
needs no argument to prove a truth
so visible.
I will now say that inasmuch as
many of us have received the Gospel
and gathered with the Saints of God,
it is important that we labour to-day—
that we live under the influence of
that Spirit, that it may continue to
increase and to govern us in our acts
among the children of men. Now,
when a man has the Holy Spirit and
hears the plain, simple truths of
salvation, they appear more valuable
than all else besides, and he is ready
to sacrifice everything of a temporal
nature to secure himself salvation; but
when people's minds become darkened,
they lose the Holy Spirit and the
value of that Gospel, and they do not
realize the privilege and the honour of
being associated with the Saints of
God in these valleys of the mountains,
neither do they maintain their alle-
giance to their Heavenly Father, and
honour his name upon the earth,
or prize their association with those
that bear the holy Priesthood, and
therefore they go into darkness. Why
has the word reformation ever been
named in Zion? It has been because
we did not labour to keep within us
that holy principle of life, that our
minds might be quickened day by day,
and receive and prize those truths
delivered unto us. Now we marvel
and wonder when we are enlightened
by the Spirit of God and the reve-
lations which he has given unto us;
and when we are aroused to a sense
of the importance of these things, we
then see the effect and the bearing
they will have upon us,—not only the
fitting of our minds to go into the
world of spirits, but to prepare us to
meet with our Father in heaven.
Now, we should live in that way and
manner that the Holy Spirit will dwell
with us, and so that we may be pre-
pared to receive those truths which
are daily delivered unto us by Presi-
dents Young, Kimball, Wells, or any
other man who rises up here to speak
unto us the words of life. We should
give attention to what is said. As
brother Kimball says, the man who
speaks to you from this stand is the
centre, and we should give him our
attention, prayers, and faith; and if we
do this we shall receive out of the
abundance of his heart those things
which will benefit us. It should be
our chief study to treasure up the
words of life, that we may grow in
grace, and advance in the knowledge
of God, and become perfected in
Christ Jesus, that we may receive a
fulness, and become heirs of God and
joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
The revelations of Jesus Christ
teach us that the Saviour was born in
the flesh; and the Father said that He
did not give him a fulness at first, but
continued from grace to grace until he
had received a fulness, and was called
the Son of God because he did not
receive a fulness at first. We in like
manner should seek with all our souls
to grow in grace, light, and truth, that
in due time we may receive a fulness.
The Lord has a great many principles
in store for us; and the greatest
principles which he has for us are the
most simple and plain. The first
principles of the Gospel which lead us
unto eternal life are the simplest, and
yet none are more glorious or im-
portant unto us. Men may labour to
make a great display of talent, learn-
ing, and knowledge, either in printing
or preaching. They may try to preach
the mysteries and to present some-
thing strange, great, and wonderful,
and they may labour for this with all
their might, in the spirit and strength
of man without the aid of the Holy
Spirit of God, and yet the people are
not edified, and their preaching will
not give much satisfaction. It is the
plainest and the most simple things
that edify us the most, if taught by
the Spirit of God; and there is nothing
more important or beneficial unto us.
If we have that Spirit dwelling with
us—if it abides with us continually,
enlightening our minds by day and by
night, we are in the safe path; and
when we have finished the work of
the day, we reflect upon it and are
satisfied with it, feeling that it is
approbated of the Lord. It is our
privilege to live in this way, that all
our time may be spent so that we
have a conscience void of offence
towards both God and man. When
we reflect on the day that is past and
see wherein we have done evil, we
should labour to improve and to
advance in the things of the kingdom
of God. I feel that in order for us to
prize the gifts of God, the blessings
of the Gospel, the privilege that we
have of building tabernacles, and of
living here in peace, and kneeling
down in our family circles in peace,
having in our society the Prophets of
God, men filled with wisdom, who are
capable of leading us to salvation,
and of leading us into the paths of
life, who do teach us the principles of
truth, which will lead us back to our
Father and our God,—I say, when we
consider these things we ought to
prize our privileges as Saints of the
Most High. Brethren, we must in-
variably have the Spirit of God with
us, that we may ever be kept in the
line of our duty.
I feel to exhort you in regard to
these things, that we may prize those
blessings which God has given unto
us, and pursue a course wherein we
may be justified of the Lord. Now,
if we attempt to do anything that is
not right, the Spirit of the Lord will
not approbate us, but we shall feel
condemned. The Lord has blessed
us during the past winter; He has
poured out upon us a great amount of
knowledge, wisdom, and treasures,
that we ought to prize. Now, as the
spring is coming upon us, and as we
turn our attention to the plough and
to cultivating the earth, if we forget
our prayers, the Devil will take double
the advantage of us. We have re-
newed our covenants by baptism, and
we have received great blessings from
the Lord, and much of the Holy
Spirit has been shed abroad among
this people. And, as brother Richards
has said—and I consider the counsel
right—we should not only reprove our-
selves when wrong, but we should
reprove sin wherever we see it,
whether in ourselves, in our streets,
or in our quorums. We should always
show our disapprobation of those that
are wrong—that are sinful and wicked.
I do not feel, this morning, like
occupying a great portion of your time,
but I do feel that the Lord is gracious
unto us, and that we should prize
above all things upon the earth the
words of eternal life that are given
unto us. As long as we are governed
by the Holy Spirit, our minds are
strengthened, and our faith is and
will be increased, and we shall la-
bour for the building up of the king-
dom of God. And I pray that our
hearts may be inspired to magnify
our calling and the holy Priesthood,
and honour God, keep his command-
ments, and live our religion, which
I ask in the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.