Mormon History, Apr 7, 1844

-- Apr 7, 1844
[Joseph Smith Sermon] 10.000 people special conference. [Willard Richards Diary] (1)

[Joseph Smith Sermon] The President having arrived--the Choir sung an hymn Elder Amasa Lyman prayed.

The Prophet while I address you on the subject which was contempd in the fore pt. of the Con. --as the Wind blows very hard it will be hardly possible for me to make you all hear it is of the greatest importance & the mo solemn of any that cod. occupy our attentn. & that is the subj of the dead on the dece of our bror. Follit who was crushed to death in a well--& inasmuch as there are a great many in this congre who live in this city & who have lost friend I shall speak in genl. & offer you my ideas so far as I have ability & so far as I shall be inspd. by the H S. to dwell on his subjt. I want your prayer faith the inspn. of Alm God to say things that are true & shall carry the testimony to your hearts & pray that he may streng my lungs--stay the winds--& let the pray of the Saints to heaven appear--for the prayers of the righteous avail much & I verily believe that your prayers shall be heard before I enter in this investign. fully of the subjt. that is lying before us I w
ish to makea few preliminaries in order that you may understand when I come to it I do not calculate to please your ears with oratory with much leang. but I calculate to edify you with simple truths from Heaven. I wish to go back to the begin: of creation--it is necessary to know the mind decree & ordinatn. of the great Eloi beging at the creatn. & it is necy. for us to have un understandg. of God in the beging. if we start right it is very easy for us to go right all the time but if we start wrong it is hard to get right There are very few who understand rightly the char of God--They do not comprehend any thing that is past or that which is to come & com: but little more than the brute beast if a man learns know nothing more than to eat, drink, sleep, & does not comprehend any of the desn. of God the Beast com the same thing eats drin sleeps-- [k]noes nothing more & how are we to do it by no or. way than the inspn of A. God.

I want to go back to the begin & so get you into a more lofty sphere than what the human being generally understands I want to ask this cong: every man wom: & child to ansr. the questn. in their own heart what kind of a being is God I agn. rept. the questn. what kind of a being is God does any man or woman know have any of you seen, him heard him, communed with him, here is the questn. that will peradventure from this time henceforth occupy your attentn.--The Apos: says this is Eternal life to know God & J.C. who he has sent --that is eternal. life if any man enquire what kind of a being is God if he will search deligently his own heart that unless he knows God he has no eternal life--my first object is to find out the character of the true God & if I shod. be the man to com: the God & I com: them to your heart let every man & woman henceforth shut their mouths & never say anything agst. the man of God & If I do not do it I have no right to revn. inspn. if all are [indeciphe
rable word] to the God they will all be as bad off as I am. they will all say I ought to be d d. there is not a man or wom who wod not breath out an anathema on my head & some wod feel authd. to take away my life--if any man is authd. to take away my life who say I am a false teacher so I shod. have the same right to all false teacher & where wod. be the end of the blood & there is no law in the heart of God that wod. allow any one to interfere with the rights of man every man has the right to be a false as well as a true prophet--If I shew verily that I have the truth of God & shew that ninety nine of 100 are false prop. it wod. deluge the whole world with blood. I want you all o know God to be familiar with him & if I can bring you to him all persecut. agst. me will cease & let you know that I am his servt. for I speak as one havg. authy. and not as a scrib [e] open your ears & eyes all ye Ends of the Earth & hear & I am going to prove. it to you with the Bible & I amgoing
to tell you the desns. of God to the human race & why he interferes with the affairs of man God himself who sits enthroned in yonder Heavens is a man like unto one of yourselves who holds this world in its orbit & upholds all things by his power if you were to see him today you wod. see him a man for Adam was a man like in fashion & image like unto him Adam wakd talked & convd. with him as one man talks & com: with anor. in order to speak for the consoln. of those who mourn for the loss of their friend it is necy. to understand the char. & being of God for I am going to tell you what sort of a being of God. for he was God from the begin of all Eternity & if I do not refute it--truth is the touchstone they are the simple and first princ: of truth to know for a certainty the char. of God that we may conv [erse] with him same as a man & God himself the father of us all dwelt on a Earth same as Js. himself did & I will shew it from the Bible--I wish I had the trump of an Arch A
n. Icod. tell the story in such a manner that pers: shod cease for ever--J. Sd. as the Far. hath power in himself even so hath the Son power to do what the Far. did that ansr. is obvious in a manner to lay down his body & take it up--J--did as my Far. laid down his body & take it up agn. if you don't believe it you don't believe the Bile the Scrip says & I defy all hell all learng. wisdom & records of hell togr to refute it here then is Etl. life to know the only wise and true God you have got to learn how to be a God yourself & be a K. & [DEL: God :DEL] Priest to God same as all have done by going from a small capy to anr. from grace to grace until the resn. [DEL: of :DEL] & sit in everlasting power as they who have gone before & God in the L D. while certn. indivals are proclaimg. his name is not trifling with us--how consoling to the mourner when they are cald. to part with a wife, mother, father dr. relative to know that all Earthly taber shall be dissolved that they sha
ll be heirs ofGod & jt. hrs of J. C. to inherit the same power exaltn. until you ascd. the throne of Etl. power same as those who are gone bef. what J. did I do the things I saw my Far. do before worlds came rolld. into existence I saw my Far. work out his K with fear & trembling & I must do the same when I shall give my K to the Far. so that he obtns K rollg. upon K. so that J treads in his tracks as he had gone before. It is plain beyond comprehensn. & you thus learn the first prin of the Gospel when you climb a ladder you must begin at the bottom run [g] until you learn the last prin of the gospel for it is a great thing to learn Saln. beyond the grave & it is not all to be com in this world. I sup I am not alld. to go into investign. but what is contd. in the Bible & I think there is so many wise men who wod. put me to death for treason I shall turn commentator today. I shall go to the first Hebrew word in the Bible the 1st sen: In the beginning--Berosheat --In by thro.
& every thing else.Roshed the head when the Inspd. man wrote it he did not put the 1st pt. to it. a man a Jew witht. any authy. thot. it too bad to begin to talk about the head of any man. "The Head one of the Gods brought forth the Gods" is the true meang. of the word--if You do not believe it you do not believe the learned man of God--no man can tell you more than I do thus the H God brot. forth the Gods in the Head council--I want to bring it to English. Oh ye lawyers ye doctors I want to let you know that the H G. knows something as well as you do--the Head God called togr. the Gods & set in Grand Council &c when I say a lawyer I mean a lawyer of the Scrip. I have done so hither to let the lawyers flutter & let everybody laugh at them. some learned Dr. mit. take a notn. to say thus & so--& are not to be altd. & I am going to shew you an error I have an old book in the Latin Greek Hebrew & German & I have been readg. the Germ: I find it to be the most correct that I have
found & it corresponds thenearest to the revns. that I have given the last 16 yrs years it tells about Jachabod means Jacob--in the English James--& you may talk about James thro all Eternity in the 21 v. of 4th Mat: where it gives the test. that it is to Jacob & how can we escape the dn. of hell witht. God reveal to us. Latin says that Jackobus means Jacob--Hebrew says means Jacob--Greek says Jacob German says Jacob thank God I have got this book & I thank him more for the gift of the H G. I have all the 4 Test. come here ye learned men & read if you can. I shod. not have brot. up this word [DEL: unt :DEL] only to shew that I am right when we beg to learn in this way we beg to learn the only true God & when we be [g]in to know how to come to him--he begins to unfold the heavens to us & tell us all abt. it bef our prayers get to his ears at the bo now I ask all the learned men who hear me wher. the learned men who are preachg. Saln. say that God created the Heavens & the Ear
th out of nothing & the reason is thatthey are unlearned & I know more than all the world put togr. & If the H.G. in me com: more than all the world I will associate with it--What does Boro mean it means to organize same as you wod. organize a Ship.--God himself had materials to org. the world out of chaos which is Element & in which dwells all the glory --that nothing can destroy they never can have an ending they coexist eternally--I have anor. to dwell on & it is impossible for me to say much but to touch upon them--for time will not permit me to say all--so I must come to the resn. of the dead--the soul the in [ne]r Spirit--all man says God created in the beging. the very idea lessens man in my idea--I don't bel. the doct: hear it all ye Ends of the World for God has told me so I am going to tell of things more noble--we say that God himself is a selfexisting God, who told you so, how did it get it into your head who told you that man did not exist in like manner-- how d
oes it read in the Heb. that God made man & put into itAdams Spirit & so became a living Spirit --the mind of man--the mind of man is as immortal as God himself--hence while I talk to these mourners--they are only separated from their bodies for a short period--their Spirits co
existed with God & now converse one another same as we do--does not this give your satisfactn. I want to reason more on the Spirit of Man for I am dwelling on the body of man on the subjt. of the dead-- [DEL: the SP of man :DEL] I take my ring from my finger and liken it unto the mind of man, the im [mor]t. Sp. bec. it has no beging. Suppose you cut it into but as the D [evil] lives there wod. be an end all the fools & wise men from the beging. of creation who say that man had begin--they must have an end & then the doc of annihilitn. wod. be true--but if I am right I mit. with boldness proclaim from the housetop that God never had power to create the Sp of Man at all-- [DEL: it is ne :DEL] God himself cod. not create himself--intelligence is self existent it is a sp. from age to end & there is no creatn abt. it

the first principles of man are self exist with God--that God himself finds himself in the midst of Sp & bec he saw proper to institute laws for those who were in less intelligence that they mit. have one glory upon another in all that knowledge power & glory & so took in hand to save the world of Sp: you say honey is Sweet & so do I. I can also taste the Sp of Eternal life I know it is good & when I tell you of these things that were given me by Insp of the H S. you are bound to rece it as sweet & I rej more & more. Mans rel. to God & I will open your eyes in rel to your dead all things which God of his inf reason has seen fit to reveal to us in our mortal state in regard to our mortal bodies are revd. to us as if we had no bodies & those revns. which will save our dead will save our bodies. & God reveals them to us in the view of no eternal dissn. of the body--hence the awful responsibility that rests upon us for our dead--for all the Spirits must either obey the gospelor
be d--d solemn thot. dreadful thot. is there nothing to be done for those who have gone before us without obeyg the decrees of God Wod. to God that I had 40 days & nights--to tell you all to let you know I am not a faln prop--what kind of characters are those who can be saved altho their bodies are decaying in the grave--the greatest responsibility that God has laid upon us to seek after our dead--the apostle says they without us cant be Perfect --now I am speaking of them I say to you Paul, you cant be perfect witht. us.--those that are gone before & those who come after must be made perfect--& God has made it obligatory to man--God said he shall send Elijah &c I have a declarn to make as to the provn. which God made from before the foundn. of the world. what has J. sd. All sins & all blas. every trans. that man may be guilty of there is a Saln. for him or in the world to come --every Sp in the Et. world can be ferreted out & saved unless he has comd. that Sin which cant be
remd tohim--that God has wrot. out saln. for all men unless they have comd. a certn. sin. a friend who has got a friend in the world can save him unless he has comd. the unpard sin & so you can see how far you can be Savior there is no thing that a man can commit the unpardonable sin after the dissn of the body & there is a way possible for escape. not Part [icul]arly st [ate]d those that are witht. wisdom until they get exalted to wisdom [DEL: so long as man will not give acct. of his sins :DEL] a sinner has his own mind & is in his own comdemner [DEL: for the G :DEL] will the torment of the mind of man is as exquisite as a lake burng. with fire & brimstone --I know the Scriptures I understand them--no man can commit the unpardonable sin after the dissn. of the body but they must do it in this World--hence the Saln. of J. C was wrought out for all men to triumph over the devil--for he stood up for a Savior--J. contd. that there wod. be certn. souls that wod. be condemned &
the d [evi]l sd. hecod. save them all --as the grand council gave in for J. C. so the d I fell & all who put up their heads for him. All sin shall be forgiven except the sin agt. the H. G. he has got to say that the Sun does not shine while he sees it he has got to deny J. C. when the heavens are open to him. & from that time they begin to be enemies like many of the apostates of the Church of J. C. of L.D.S.--when a man begins to be an enemy he hunts him--for he has the same Sp. that they had who crucd. the Lord of life--the same Sp. that Sin agt. the H. G. I advise all to be careful what you do--stay--do not give way--you may find that some one has laid a snare for you be cautious--await--when you find a Sp. wants bloodshed murder same is not of God but is of the devil out of the abundance of the heart man speaks--the man that tells you words of life is the man that can save you--I warn you agt all evil characters who sin agt. H. G. for there is no redempn. for them in th
is world nor in the world to come Ican enter into the mysteries--I can enter largely into the eternal worlds--for J. sd. [DEL: where my :DEL] In my Fars. mansion there are many mansions &c There is one glory of the moon sun & star &c we have the reason to have the greatest hope & consoln. for our dead-- for we have aided them in the 1st princ for we have seen them walk in the midst & sink asleep in the arms of J. & hence is the glory of the Sun--you mourners have occn. to rejoice for your husband has gone to wait until the redn. & your expn. & hope are far above what man can conceive--for why God has revd. to us--& I am authd. to say by the authy. of the H. G. that you have no occasn. to fear for he is gone to the home of the just--don't mourn don't weep--I know it by the test of the H. G. that is within me--rejoice O Israel--your friends shall triumph gloriously--while their murderers shall welter for years.--I say for the benefit of strangers I have a Far. Bror. Friends wh
o are gone to a world of Sp--they are absent for a momt.--they are in the Sp. then shall we hail our Mor. Fars. Friends & all no fear of mobs--&c but all one Eternity of felicity--Mothers you shall have your Children for they shall have it--for their debt is paid there is no damn. awaits them for they are in the Spirits--as the Child dies so shall it rise from the ded & be living in the burng. of God. --it shall be the child as it was bef it died out of your arms Children dwell & exercise power in the same form as they laid them down

The Bap of Water witht. the B of Fire & the H G. attg. it are necy he must be born of W. & Sp in order to get into the K of God & in the German text bears me out same as the revns. which I have given for the 14 years--I have the test to put in their teeth that my test has been true all the time You will find it in the declar of John the Bap (reads from the German) John says I bap you with Water but when J comes who has the power he shall adm the bap of F & the H. G. Gt. God now where is all the Sect. world. & if this is true they are all d--d as clearly as any Anathama ever was--I know the text is true--I call upon all to say I--(shouts of I) Alex Campbell --how are you going to save them with water--for John sd. his bapm. was nothing witht. the bap of J. C. One God, Far., Jesus, hope of, our calling, one baptism --all three bap make one. I have the truth & I am at the defiance of the world to contradict.

I have preached Latin Hebrew Greek German & I have fulfilled all I am not so big a fool as many have taken me for--the Germans know that I read the German correct--Hear it all ye Ends of the Earth--all ye Sinners Repent Repent--turn to God for your reln. wont save you & ye will be d--d but I do not say how along--but those who Sin agt. the H. G. cannot be forgiven in this world or in the world to come but they shall die the 2nd. death --but as they concoct scenes of bloodshed in this world so they shall rise to that resurn. which is as the lake of fire & brimstone--some shall rise to the everlasting burning of God & some shall rise to the dn. of their own filthiness--same as the lake of fire & brimstone--I have intd. my remarks to all--to all rich & poor bond & free great & small I have no enmity agst any man. I love you all--I am their best friend & if persons miss their mark it is their own fault--if I reprove a man & he hate me he is a fool--for I love all men especially
these my brethren& sisters--I rejoice in hearing the test of my aged friend--You never knew my heart. No man knows my hist--I can not do it. I shall never undertake--if I had not experienced what I have I should not have known it myself--I never did harm any man since I have been born in the world--my voice is always for peace--I cannot lie down until my work is finished--I never think evil nor think any thing to the harm of my fellow man--& when I am called at the trump & weighed in the balance you will know me then --I add no more God bless you. Amen--The choir sung an hymn at 1/2 p 5. [Thomas Bullock Report] (1)


Footnotes:
1 - The Words of Joseph Smith by Joseph Smith by Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook


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