[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 15th + /||| Sunday The Camp of Israel met as usual at 10 oclok & was addressed by President Young in an interesting manner upon an interesting subject much to our edifycation. The following are some of the remarks made by President Young:
I am going to day to speak upon the subject of the Patriarchal Priesthood & by request of Br Crow say sumthing upon the death of his Child that was drowned the other day. I hope to speak so as to be understood. There is a reality in eternal things as much as in the things of time which we daily see with our eyes. When A man has A dream or vision of eternal things it is an evidence of its truth as much as though He saw it with his own eyes in one sens of the word. The Lord has hid from man the things that He knew before He came in the flesh that He might walk by faith & prove himself while here. The Lord converses with men on the earth in the form of A servent & by visions & dreams &c but He never appears [to] man in the flesh in the fulness of his glory, for He is as a consuming fire & a mortal body would perish in an instant.
The Priesthood is again restored on the earth to bring back [-]. We do not recieve all at once but we recieve grace for grace. When Brother Joseph received the Preisthood He did not recieve all at once, but He was A prophet Seer & Revelator before He recieved the fulness of the Priesthood & keys of the kingdom.
He first recieved the Arcnick Priesthood & Keys from under the hands of John the Baptist. He then had not power to lay on hands to confirm the Church but afterwards He recieved the Patriarchal or Melchisedick Priesthood from under the Hands of Peter James & John who were of the Twelve Apostles & were the Presidency when the other Apostles were Absent. From those Apostles Joseph Smith recieved every key power, Blessing, & Privilege of the Highest Authority of the Melchezedick Priesthood ever committed to man on the earth which they held.
Some have had fears that we had not power to get revelations since the death of Joseph. But I want this subject from this time forth to be forever set at rest And I want this Church to understand from this day henceforth & forever that an apostle is the Highest office & Authority that there is in the Church & kingdom of God on the earth. From whom did Joseph recieve his authority? From just such men as sit around me here (pointing to the Twelve Apostles that sat with him). Peter James & John were Apostles & there was no noise about their being seers & Revelators though those gifts were among them. Joseph Smith gave unto me & my brethren the Twelve all the Priesthood keys Power & Authority which he had And those are powers which belong to the Apostleship.
In Josephs day we had to ordain Patriarchs. Could we ordain men to Authority greater than we held ourselves? No. But it is necessary to have Patri[archs] to Bless the People that they may have Blessings by the spirit of proph[ecy] & Revelation sealed upon their heads & their posterity & know what awaits their posterity. Father Smith was the Seignor Patriarch in the Church & first Patriarch in our day & Afterwards Hiyram was seignor Patriarch for his father sealed it upon his head. But was there Power & Authority different from all Patriarchs in the church? No. They were all alike in their authority in Blessing.
Elijah spoken of in the Bible that He should Come in the last days to turn the hearts of the fathers to the Children & the children to their fathers. The fulfillment of this scripture is manifest in esstablishing the kingdom of God & Priesthood on the earth in the last days & those who hold the keys of the priesthood & sealing power have the spirit & power of Elijah & it is necessary in order to redeem our dead & save our Children. There is much more importance attached to this than Parents are aware of.
In the loss of this Child of Brother Crows that was drowned I felt that I Could weep in sorrow if I gave way to my feelings for I realize it is A loss to the parents to loose little children. It is true all Children are saved. There names are written in the Lamb's book of [life?] which was the case with every spirit that takes A tabernacle on this earth. Their names were written there before the world was made, & will there ever remain untill they sin against the Holy Ghost. It will then be blotted out no more to be recorded forever.
But notwithstanding this Can brother Crow get that Child again or any other person their Children except their is sumthing done for them on the earth by their Parents? No they would not. They would go to God who gave them but the parents on the earth would not have them. The Parents framed the Body to be sure But the Lord gave the spirit. What is the Body good for without the spirit?
What then can be done. I will tell you. A man that has embraced the gospel must [be?] some one who has the Priesthood & keys & power of Elijah & must attend to ordinances for that Child, even must be baptized [for it?] as well as to have it sealed to him & through [---] claim his Child in the morning of the resurrection & the Lord will give it up to him. I had my Children sealed to me in the temple except one that died & that I shall leave in the hands of the Lord, untill I have another opportunity.
As soon as we get up some doby Houses for our families we shall go to work to build another Temple & as soon as A place is prepared we shall Commence the Endowments long before the Temple is built & we shall take time & each step the Saints take let them take time enough about it to understand it. Evry thing at Nauvoo went with a rush. We had to build the Temple with the trowel in one hand the sword in the other & mobs were upon us all the while and many crying out O the temple cant be built.
I told them it should be built, this Church should not fall & the Lord Said if we did not build it we should be rejected as a Church with our dead. Why did He say it? Because the Saints were becoming slothful & covetous & would spend their means upon fine Houses for themselves before they would put it into A House for the Lord. But we went at it & finished it & turned it over into the hands of the Lord in spite of earth & Hell & the Brethren was so faithful at it that we laboured day [and] night to give them their endowments.
The Children want to be sealed to their Parents & Parents to their Children that they may have blessings in eternity that they will stand in need of. God promised to Abraham that his seed should be as numerous as the stars of Heaven & the sands of the seashore & to his seed there should be no end. This of course would continue through all Eternity. The same blessing is upon our heads if we are faithful for our eyes have not seen, our ears herd neither entered into our hearts the great things that God has in store for us.
And when I look upon the great work the Elders of Israel have to perform & look around upon them & see them vain & foolish, it makes me sorrowful they forget their Calling. O ye Elders of Israel think for a moment what manner of persons ought ye to be. Men who hold the priesthood & keys of salvation & have power to go to the Nations of the Earth & say Here Gentleman & Ladies I have salvation for you & power to exhalt you to Celestial Glory, or if you reject it to seal you unto damnation. It is no trifling affair to have power put into your hand to deal with the Eternal destinies of the sons & daughters of Adam that form the Nations of the earth.
While in the Temple at Nauvoo we voted to cut off the gentiles who had rejected the gospel & killed the prophets & it was recorded on earth & [if?] is recorded in heaven that Nation will go down quickly.
Many other interesting & important items were presented by President Young much to our edifyca-tion. Meeting was dismissed & met again at 2 oclok & was Addressed in a vary edifying manner by O Pratt & treated upon the same principles spoken off by Br Young. Among his remarks He said that as all the ordinances of the gospel Administered by the world since the Aposticy of the Church was illegal, in like manner was the marriage Cerimony illegal and all the world who had been be
gotton through the illegal marriage were Bastards not sons & Hence they had to enter into the law of adoption & be adopted into the Priesthood in order to become sons & legal heirs of salvation.
Erastus Snow followed & spoke much to our edifycation After which meeting was dismissed.
President Young met with the company who were to start back in the morning with the ox teams. There were over 60 in number & gave good instruction to them. Many of the Battalion deposited there guns with President Young for safe keeping.
[Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]
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