THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST—ESSENTIAL TO ABIDE ITS LAWS.
I am requested to occupy a little
time this afternoon in speaking to
the people. It is a great satisfaction to
me, and I presume it is to all Latter-
day Saints who enjoy their religion,
to contemplate and realize that God
is our friend, and that we have the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Religion is
very popular in the world, and has
been for many generations; and the
religions of the world are as various
as the temporal governments of the
world. But for a person or commu-
nity to know and understand for
themselves the true gospel, the gos-
pel of Jesus Christ, must be a source
of great consolation.
I have taken a great deal of satis-
faction in the gospel of Christ; in
fact it has been my life. I have tra-
veled and preached this gospel for
the last thirty-five years, more or less,
either to the world or to the Saints
of God. And in my contemplations
and meditations, when I have had
sufficient of the spirit of God upon
me, I have realized the gifts and
graces and blessings pertaining to
the salvation of men in the gospel of
Christ.
The governments of the world are
varied. We have despotic, monarch-
ical and republican governments, and
in order to become a citizen of any
one of them we have to obey the laws
of that government. A great deal
has been said about the form of go-
vernment, and the constitution under
which we live. They have been the
praise of all Americans, and perhaps
of people living in other portions of
the earth. We consider that we have
been blessed as a nation in possessing
the freedom and privileges guaran-
teed by the Constitution of the Uni-
ted States. They have been a rich
legacy from our fathers. We consi-
der our form of government superior
to any other on the earth. It gua-
rantees to us "life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness." And while
the inhabitants of many other go-
vernments have been tyranically
bound up, and their minds controlled
in certain channels, and they have
been deprived of the right of liberty
of speech and of many other rights
valued by freemen, ours has guaran-
teed unto us all the liberty that can be
enjoyed by man. Still, I have many
times thought that we, as American
Citizens, have not prized the gifts
and blessings guaranteed to us by
the Constiution of our country. For
the last few years, especially, the
Constitution at times, has been look-
ed upon as a matter of the smallest
consequence. In some respects, how-
ever, it has been a blessing to us as
a people, and it is to the whole na-
tion, as far as it is carried out. But
in order to fully receive its blessings
we have to honor its precepts.
Now it is just so with the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Those who believe
it and obey it in sincerity enjoy far
greater blessings than are enjoyed by
others. But we have to abide by the
laws of the gospel in order to enjoy
its blessings and privileges.
JOURNAL OF DISCOURSES.
REMARKS by Elder W. Woodruff, delivered in the New Tabernacle, Salt Lake
City, July 19,th, .
THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST—ESSENTIAL TO ABIDE ITS LAWS.
I am requested to occupy a little
time this afternoon in speaking to
the people. It is a great satisfaction to
me, and I presume it is to all Latterday Saints who enjoy their religion,
to contemplate and realize that God
is our friend, and that we have the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. Religion is
very popular in the world, and has
been for many generations; and the
religions of the world are as various
as the temporal governments of the
world. But for a person or community to know and understand for
themselves the true gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ, must be a source
of great consolation.
I have taken a great deal of satisfaction in the gospel of Christ; in
fat it has been my life. I have traveled and preached this gospel for
the last thirty-five years, more or less,
either to the world or to the Saints
of God. And in my contemplations
and meditations, when I have had
sufficient of the spirit of God upon
me, I have realized the gifts and
graces and blessings pertaining to
the salvation of men in the gospel of
Christ.
The governments of the world are
varied. We have despotic, monarchical and republican governments, and
in order to become a citizen of any
one of them we have to obey the laws
of that government. A great deal
has been said about the form of government, and the constitution under
which we live. They have been the
praise of all Americans, and perhaps
of people living in other portions of
the earth. We consider that we have
been blessed as a nation in possessing
the freedom and privileges guaranteed by the Constiution of the United States. They have been a rich
legacy from our fathers. We consider our form of government superior
to any other on the earth. It guarantees to us "life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness." And while
the inhabitants of many other governments have been tyranically
bound up, and their minds controlled
in certain channels, and they have
been deprived of the right of liberty
of speech and of many other rights
valued by freemen, ours has guaranteed unto us all the liberty that can be
enjoyed by man. Still, I have many
times thought that we, as American
Citizens, have not prized the gifts
and blessings guaranteed to us by
the Constiution of our country. For
the last few years, especially, the
Constitution at times, has been looked upon as a matter of the smallest
consequence. In some respects, however, it has been a blessing to us as
a people, and it is to the whole nation, as far as it is carried out. But
in order to fully receive its blessings
we have to honor its precepts.
Now it is just so with the gospel
of Jesus Christ. Those who believe
it and obey it in sincerity enjoy far
greater blessings than are enjoyed by
others. But we have to abide by the
laws of the gospel in order to enjoy
its blessings and privileges.
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