Having been called upon this afternoon to address this congregation, I rise before you trusting that the Holy Spirit, which makes plain to the human mind the things of God, may rest upon me and upon you; that I may be inspired by that Spirit to say something which will be of profit to those who hear, and that those who listen to what I may say may be able to understand in the same light and under the same influence as that by which the words are spoken.
The elders of this Church, in ministering as public speakers, stand before the people in the name of the Lord. They do not address congregations for the purpose of ventilating the opinions and ideas which they may entertain, but they occupy the position of ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ, to speak that which is given to them by the influence of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, the servants of God are instructed to "treasure up in their hearts continually the words of life," with the promise that if they do this and are diligent in seeking for the mind and will of God, in the very hour that they are needed words shall be placed in their mouths, or ideas be brought up in their minds, which shall be for the benefit of all who hear. It is in this Spirit that I endeavor to address the congregation this afternoon, and I hope I shall have not only your attention, but the benefit of your faith and prayers, that the Spirit of God may rest upon me and the congregation also.
We are living upon the earth at a time when there are a great many creeds—a great many different doctrines, each professing to be the true faith—the Christian religion. There is a spirit of doubt and division in the world. Men are ever learning but not able to come to a knowledge of the truth. They indulge in a great many speculations. Some good people study the Scriptures and endeavor to find out what is divine truth, but their ideas are various; they do not come to the unity of the faith; and the great reason why this is so is because they do not seek to the fountain of light and truth with the expectation of receiving any reply. In olden times God used to speak to the people. He had ser-vants upon the earth who spoke as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost; angels ministered to the sons of men, and truth was revealed in great plainness from the Father. But in these times people have to put up with the ideas and notions that men hold in relation to these truths which were anciently revealed. There is now no voice from heaven, no prophet among the people; there are no inspired apostles; angels have ceased to minister, and to use the words of one of the great divines of the day, "The awful voice of prophecy is silenced forever."
Of course in making use of these remarks I am speaking in relation to what is called the Christian world. The Latter-day Saints believe that God is the same yesterday, to-day and forever, and that if he is sought after to-day in the same way that he was sought after yesterday, he will answer in the same manner. We believe that it is just as possible for angels to come to earth in these times as in any former age of the world; we believe that the power of the Holy Ghost is the same today as it was thousands of years ago; that divine truth can be made manifest direct from God to the people now as it was in the days of Jesus, or in the days of the prophets who preceded him on the earth.
The religion we Latter-day Saints have received—which we hold to, which we live for, and which a great many of us are willing to die for, if necessary—has come to us by revelation from God in the day and age in which we live. In taking up the writings of the old prophets, in reading the letters written by the ancient apostles, we find that the religion which God has revealed to us, is the same religion which God revealed to them. What is contained in the Bible corroborates that which we have received, and the spirit which accompanies the preaching of the word to us, is similar in its effects to that spirit which accompanied the preaching of the ancient prophets and apostles of the Lord. We find this out by reading that portion of their records which has been left. So that the religion of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not a mere theory of men. The doctrines which we have received have come to us direct from the Lord in our own time. We are not left to speculation, we are not left to our own theories, but we have defined principles given to us of God for our guidance, for our comfort and for our edification.