President Charles W. Penrose.

The living word of God-The Easter Anniversary-Christ's literal resurrection-Evidences of the fact-The universal resurrection-Christ's parentage-The Father, a Being of Tabernacle-The Holy Ghost a "Personage of Spirit"-The Holy Ghost a "Personage of Spirit"-The Spirit of God a boundless essence-Adam as Adam as the head of our race-We worship only the eternal Father.

I should have been well repaid for coming to this conference if I had only had the pleasure that I now enjoy, of looking upon this vast congregation composed chiefly of Latter-day Saints, members of the Church of Jesus Christ, which He has established in the last days and for the last time, but I appreciate the privilege afforded me of addressing my brethren and sisters, and earnestly desire that the good spirit which was present with us during our morning exercises will be with us this afternoon, and that I may be inspired by the same spirit which was present with us at the opening session.

This morning I felt that we were receiving the word of God. We have some books which we recognize as containing the word of God: The Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, and the Book of Mormon, and the D&C, and the Pearl of Great Price, which we recognize as the written standards of doctrine in the Church. These contain revelations given in the past; some of them in the very distant past. But it is a great consolation to me and must be to all Israel that we have the living word of God today, and that that which is spoken under the influence of the Holy Ghost is just as much the word of God, just as important and just as binding upon the people of God, as that which was given in former times. "Holy men of old spake and wrote as they were moved upon by the Holy Ghost," so Peter declared, and we can say that idly men in these latter times have spoken and do speak under the influence of the same Spirit, and it is no less the word of God when it is spoken by that divine influence than that which was spoken under it hundreds of years ago.

I do not think there was any prophet of God in any age of the world who brought forth more truth and more important truths, than were revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith. And since his day, as necessity has required, we have had the word of God through His living successors, and I am very grateful today for the privilege and blessing to live at a time when God speaks by the power of the Holy Ghost through His inspired servants, and when He bears witness to the souls of those who will receive His word the truth of that which is uttered. From my own feelings this morning I believe that the general sentiment throughout the vast congregation assembled in this tabernacle was, that we had the living word of God and it entered our souls and we felt that we wanted to do that which the Lord requires of us; that we were willing to receive the instructions imparted by the man who holds the keys today, just as much as Joseph the prophet held them in his time, and as they were held by Peter in his time, or by any of the prophets of God who lived from the beginning. I am grateful for this and for the testimony of Jesus which is in my heart, that I know that my Redeemer lives and that through Him and by Him, if I will observe His laws and keep His commandments and he led by His Spirit, I shall have the privilege of rejoicing with Him in immortal glory in the presence of the Father.

Today is celebrated throughout Christendom as the anniversary of the day on which Jesus who had been put to death on the cross, rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, as was related by President Lund this morning. I hope you all heard his brief discourse. If you didn't hear every word of it I hope you will read it when it is printed and published. I take pleasure in hearing testimony to the truth of that which He uttered, and which was spoken by the apostles whom Jesus Himself, in person, sent out into all the world after His appearance to them. I do not know whether this is actually the proper anniversary of that day, that Sunday morning, "the first day of the week," when Christ arose from the dead and made his personal appearance to Mary in the Garden, and afterwards to others of His followers, to demonstrate to them the fact that He was living though He had been dead. It is not so much the time, the day, as the fact which is important.

Is it a fact that Jesus of Nazareth, who was taken by wicked hands and nailed upon the cross, and crucified, and was slain and was buried, really rose from the dead? To us Latter-day Saints the matter seems so clear and plain that we wonder that anybody should dispute this, particularly among any of the so-called Christian sects. It is a marvel to us that men professing to be Christian preachers will try to make their followers believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ was not a literal fact, but that His Spirit merely rose from the body and the body went to dust like the bodies of all people as is generally supposed. Yet we read in some of their creeds that Jesus "suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, buried, and on the THIRD day after, He rose from the dead." But if the notions that are now being taught to the people concerning Him are true, then He was raised on the day that He was crucified, not on the third day; that His spirit left His body after it had hung for some hours upon the cross, for there He said: "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." So we read in the New Testament, "And He bowed His head and gave up the ghost." So that the Spirit of Jesus, the Christ, ascended from the body while His body hung upon the cross, and they took down the defunct body and buried it in the tomb prepared by Joseph of Arimathea. It was on the third day after that that He rose from the dead, according to the account which we have in the New Testament and which is generally received in word by the various sects of Christendom.

Now is it a fact, is there evidence and proof that the man Jesus, who was crucified on the cross, actually rose from the dead and that in His body He appeared to His disciples? We believe that with all our hearts. We have had additional testimony and evidence to that which we read about in the New Testament, but I will read to you a few verses from the testimony of Paul on the subject, which I think are important in the way of evidence of the actual fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is in that remarkable discourse contained in the fifteenth chapter of the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. That is, that which is called the First Epistle, for I find in the fifth chapter of that epistle he speaks of the former epistle that he wrote, on a certain very important subject, so that what is called "The First Epistle to the Corinthians" is merely the first that we have. I will commence at the first verse. I recommend the reading of this whole chapter to everybody interested in this very important subject. A great many verses from it are read usually at funerals, particularly by the Episcopal Church, and by some of the other churches. There are so many beautiful utterances in this chapter that they ought to be familiar to all people who profess to be Christians. Paul commences this chapter in this way:

"Moreover, brethren. I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

"By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures; and that he was seen of Cafes" [that is another name for Peter], "then of the twelve;

"After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

"After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

"And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

"For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God."

Then we have the written testimony of the men who are called the evangelists, the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Luke was a very fine writer. It is supposed that he wrote the Acts of the apostles. I believe that is generally conceded. But we have in each of these writings called the Gospel of Matthew, and the Gospel of Mark, and of Luke and of John, distinct evidence given by persons who saw the Savior after His resurrection, and particularly that which is given by Luke, which I recommend you to read. Read the last chapter of "the Gospel according to Saint Luke" for in that we are told very definitely, that Jesus appeared to His apostles when they were gathered in an upper room for fear of the Jews, and "they were terrified and affrighted and supposed they had seen a spirit." But Jesus said unto them: "Why are ye troubled and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I, Myself, handle Me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and hones as ye see Me have." And while they believed not yet for joy, and wondered. He said to them. Have ye here any meat? and they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them."

Again, we have the testimony in our own day of the Prophet Joseph, when a boy, in that first glorious manifestation of God to man in the 19th century. Joseph prayed to God in regard to the various religions existing in the world; he prayed that he might have knowledge and light concerning which was the true religion; and we have that beautiful, simple, striking and touching account which you have all read, no doubt, when the Father and the Son both appeared to him and the Father, pointing to the Son, said: "This is my beloved son, hear him." It was Jesus the Christ raised from the dead that appeared to the prophet and that spake to him and taught him in regard to the fallacy of the teachings of men and their departure from the faith, and promised that the truth should be restored in its fullness. I need not dwell further on that particular case.

But, again, we read in the 76th section of the D&C that on a certain day mentioned there, Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, being engaged in the work of revision or translation of the scriptures, came to a passage in the writings of John, and it was given to them in a way a little different to what it is in the New Testament. Jesus, who declared Himself, when among His disciples, when in mortality, as "the resurrection and the life." saying that He had life in Himself, as the Father had life in Himself, and that He had power to lay down His life and to take it up again. He added:

It was given to the Prophet Joseph and Sidney Rigdon in this wise: "They that have done good, in the resurrection of the just; and they that have done evil, in the resurrection of the unjust,"-quite similar in meaning only a little different in the wording. But they marveled at this, and they prayed, and they declare that the eyes of their understanding were opened, and they saw the Lord seated upon His throne and Jesus the Christ on His right hand; they saw Him in the heavenly vision and conversed with Him and they said:

"Now, after the many testimonies that have been given of Him this is our testimony last of all that we give of Him, that He lives, for we saw Him on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the only begotten Son of God; that by Him, and through Him and of Him the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." There is a great truth in that, which you might think about when you have a little leisure time, and see how wide and extensive a field it opens to view, and bow it carries you into the dealings of God and His relationship to the beings who inhabit the various worlds that He has created; and therein we have a definite revelation that the worlds are inhabited, which has been a matter in great dispute for many years and is so still.

These are some of the evidences and testimonies concerning the Savior-that He rose from the dead, that He was resurrected, and that the resurrection was the raising of the body that was crucified on the cross, quickened by the power of God, by the vital spirit which quickeneth all things that are quickened. The Apostle Paul goes on to reason that if Christ was not risen, then we will not rise from the dead; but that if He has been raised from the dead then we also shall be raised; and he goes on to show how universal that resurrection shall be-some to come forth in the resurrection of the just, and some in the resurrection of the unjust, and that there are to be different grades of glory among those that are resurrected. If you want to learn a little more about that, in greater plainness, read the 88th section of the D&C and you will find there something that may be called philosophical as well as theological. Those that obey celestial laws will so improve and purify and sanctify their bodies that those bodies will be fit to come forth in "the first resurrection" to celestial glory, and that they will then be "bodies celestial;" while those who would not receive the laws of God which are celestial, that is, receiving every word that comes from the month of God, but will obey a terrestrial law, will be quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory and receive of the same in a fullness; and, as we learn also in The Vision, they will not be bodies celestial but "bodies terrestrial," a different class, but raised from the dead and quickened by the power of that vital spirit which quickeneth all things. And they who do not receive the terrestrial laws but only the telestial, will come forth in the resurrection, raised with a telestial body and be quickened by the telestial glory. In the revelation that I referred to, in the 88th section, we learn that they will improve, as all things will have to, for progress is the law of the universe, and all beings, all intelligences will have an opportunity of progressing along certain lines. Those who are of a celestial body shall come forth and have a body like unto the glorious body of the Son of God, and will dwell in His presence and be with Him in glory in the presence of the Father, while those who only obey the terrestrial or the telestial laws, after they are redeemed will come forth in the way that is described, "but where God and Christ dwell"-so it is said of the telestial-"they never can come worlds without end." That may answer some queries that are made in some of our theological classes. Now this all depends upon the resurrection of Jesus the Christ. I say Jesus the Christ because that is what He was. Some few of our brethren get a notion in their heads that the Christ is not a person but a Power; but Jesus is called the Christ, over and over again both in former and in latter day revelation; also He was the Logos, the Word of God, Not merely a word spoken but He is called the Word because the word of God came through Him and was embodied in Him. In the 93rd section of the D&C you will read His own words about it, that He was the Word just as John declared; that He came forth from God, that He was in the beginning with God and was the first-born.

Here is another point in the history of that great and extraordinary Being. I say extraordinary, for He is different in many respects, from all the sons of men: In the first place He is called the first-born in the spirit world: He is called the first-born here in the Epistle to the Hebrews and in Colossians, and in the opening chapter of John's discourse or "Gospel" He is called the only begotten son of God, "for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that through Him man might not perish but have everlasting life." Now here are two statements about Him, that He was the first-born; He makes that statement to us in the revelation concerning Himself; "I also was in the beginning with the Father, and am the first-born." Some people have a notion that the first-born was that being who afterward was called Satan, Lucifer, who rebelled. That is a mistake; Christ Himself puts that at rest by stating distinctly: "I also was in the beginning with the Father and am the first-born. Man also was in the beginning with God. That which is spirit," that portion of man that is spirit "was in the beginning with God ;" but Jesus, as He was called on earth, was the first-born and He dwelt in the presence of the Father. What was He-the Father? No; He could not he His own father nor His own son, and Jesus was the Son of THE FATHER, the Son of the Highest, and He was the first-born, and we were born afterwards in the spirit; so that Christ was the first-born in the spirit. How was He brought forth-as an individual, conscious, thinking, intelligent spirit with agency? Why, He was begotten of the Father, and therefore the attributes of the Father came to Him by generation, and so to as measurably, every one of us; but on the earth He was "the only begotten Son of God," born of the Virgin Mary. Let me read a verse from the description given to us by Luke on this matter. It is well enough to read all that was said concerning Jesus the Christ, because He was the greatest of all beings who ever dwelt upon the face of the earth. In the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. Luke we are told of a prophecy made through the father of John the Baptist concerning Him and we also read there that He should be called "the Son of the Highest," and that John should be a prophet to go before Him and prepare the way. Now here in this chapter we have an account of the appearance of an angel to Mary who was one of the ministering spirits and ladies in the temple. The angel appeared to her and hailed her in this way:

"And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God.

"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus." [The meaning of the word Jesus being Savior.]

"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of His father, David:

"And He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end.

"And the angel said unto her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."

Do you need any plainer explanation of this matter? This is considered to be one of the great mysteries, in the religious world. If you understood it just exactly as it is, it would not be so great a mystery. Believe what is written there by Luke, for that is the truth. Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of Mary and He was the Son of God, conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, as all things are, but not begotten. Some of our good friends who desire to dispute with us, say that the "Mormons" don't believe in true doctrine, for they do not believe that Jesus was begotten by the Holy Ghost. Well, the scripture does not say that He was; it does not say anywhere that He was "begotten of the Holy Ghost." The Holy Ghost rested upon Mary, but the power of the Most High overshadowed her, and that which was born of her was the Son of God. He was the only begotten Son of God-not of the Holy Ghost-as well as the Son of Mary. He was the first-born in the spirit, and as a Son of God the only begotten in the flesh. Therefore, as I said, He is an exceptional Being.

If you want to read more about Him in this respect, take the first and second chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and the first chapter of Colossians, that I haven't time to read here this afternoon, for I don't want to take up too much time: but it is very interesting to read there how that He was the greatest, that He was the first, and so that He might "bring many sons unto glory," He was made in all points like they are, only He was without sin. He had a body fashioned like theirs: it was born of the virgin; it was a material body. He suffered all the pains and pangs of men and women and children; He suffered that He might bear their sins and that He finally might die, laying down His life voluntarily-because He had life in Himself, and was raised up by the glory of the Father, so that He had His body restored to Him, and in that He became in all respects exactly like the Father.

You take the 130th section of the D&C and you will read there that God the Father is a being of tabernacle, that He is a spirit but that He has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; and the Son also; but the Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit, not of tabernacle. I want to touch just a little on that point and clear up some ideas that our brethren have in regard to it, which lead them sometimes into disputes; they do not seem to understand that the Holy Ghost, the personage spoken of there, is "a personage of Spirit," and, yet, that the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost-for the words are used interchangeably, if not synonymously-can be "poured out" and can be given to a number of people at the same time at different places and can permeate all things. Now, when Jesus was talking with His disciples before His death and resurrection-as you read in the 14th and 16th chapters of the Gospel according to St. John; (I will not turn to it; you turn to it and read it). It is good to read the Bible sometimes, brethren, even if it is "an old book;" if it is old it is not antiquated in that sense. It is true today as it was when it was written. We can understand it if we get the same spirit in us by which it was written. There Jesus says to them: "It is expedient that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come; but if I go away I will send Him unto you from the Father. When the spirit of truth is come, He shall guide you into all truth," and so on. Here is an individual. a personage, evidently, that He was speaking about, "a personage of spirit" as told in the revelation that I quoted frown; but the Spirit of the Lord, sometimes called the Holy Spirit, sometimes called the Holy Ghost-because the words are used, as I have said, interchangeably-is an essence that permeates all things.

Take the section that I have quoted to you, the 88th section of the D&C, and you will read that there is a spirit which is called "the light of Christ." That is not Christ Himself in person, but it is the light of Christ; "as also He is in the sun and is the light of the sun and the power by which it was made; and in the moon also, and the light of the moon; and in the stars, and the light of the stars; and in the earth also on which ye stand; and the light which now enlighteneth your eyes is through Him that enlighteneth your understanding, and is the same spirit which enlighteneth the mind and the soul and spirit of man; the light which is in all things, which is through all things, which is round about all things and which is the law by which all things are governed." In other revelations of God to us, particularly in the 29th section of the D&C, you will read there that God says, "I created all things by the power of my Spirit, firstly, spiritual, and afterwards temporal." All things that have life in the world, in the great universe of God, throughout boundless space, all things that have life are quickened by that spirit, and that is under the direction of the Father and the Son and the personage called the Holy Ghost, and it proceeds from the presence of God throughout the immensity of space. So we are told by the Lord Himself. There are three that bear record in heaven. John declares in the first epistle that he wrote after he wrote his "gospel," as it is called, "There are three that bear record in heaven-the Father and the Word and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one; and there are three that bear witness on the earth, the spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree in one" (I John); and as these three are different and separate and distinct, so are the other three-the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost-three individuals, not one person, not one substance, but different individuals. They three are the great, matchless, powerful, mighty rulers and governors of the universe, and all things are under their direction, and they three are one, just as Christ prayed that His disciples might all be one.

"And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him, I have set thee to be at the head-a multitude of nations shall come of thee and thou art a prince over them forever."

But we are not to worship Adam: we worship the same being whom Adam worshiped. Adam worshiped the Father in the name of the Son, as you will see if you will take the Pearl of Great Price and read the writings of Moses about him and about Enoch. Now, my brethren and sisters, we adore Jesus of Nazareth; we adore Him as the Messiah; we adore Him as the Christ; we adore Him as the only begotten Son of God in the flesh, literally, actually. We can understand that, We adore Him as the first-born of all the creation of God-that pertains to this earth at any rate. But He is the revelation of the Father. Sometimes He is called both the Father and the Son. It does not mean that He is actually His own father or His own son. He represents the Father; "in Him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead, bodily ;" He looks just exactly like the Father, as the Prophet Joseph saw, in the vision. He is the express image of the Father. God is manifest in the flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, and we adore Him and venerate Him, and He is our Savior; but we worship and pray to and obey the great Eternal Father of the spirits of all men. He is our Father and is our God and is Christ's Father and Christ's God just as well.

Jesus Christ died for us. Death came into the world through the transgression of man. We have the revelation of God for that. We need not speculate on what there was before Adam was on the earth; it does not matter. Death came through the fall of Adam and it is called "the fall," in the revelations of God. Life came through Jesus Christ. "As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." Christ is risen! Hallelujah! Glory to God in the Highest! The Redeemer, the Savior of the world, was raised from the dead, and in Him there is life. In the beginning He was with God and He had life in Him, and that life is the light of man and the light of the world, and it is His light that shines from the sun, and from the moon, and from the stars, and is in all things and, under the word of God, the direction of the Holy One, without even touching a button the light will shine forth, and those who obey the laws given to obtain them, can receive the blessings and be enlightened by the power of that Holy Spirit as directed either by the Father or the Son, or by that personage that is called the Holy Ghost, who came in power on the Day of Pentecost, and came in power on the day when the Kirtland Temple was dedicated. His power and His presence were there made manifest in the same way as on the Day of Pentecost. And He is in this Church, and is under the direction of Christ. The Comforter is here; our hearts are comforted by the power of His presence in the midst of His people. The Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are the Deity; they are one, and we are under their direction and they have restored the gospel, as we heard this morning. Praise be unto them, for this grand gift. Let us rejoice that we live in a day when the Gospel in its fullness and purity is restored, and we are participants in its blessings!

Every one of us can receive some special gift from the Divine Spirit; for there are many gifts of the Spirit, but it is the same Spirit, only one Spirit permeating all things: and the Spirit that gives the gift of prophecy, or the gift of healing, or the gift of tongues, or the gift of interpretation, or the gift of visions, and so on, is one Spirit, but these are different manifestations of that Spirit. The highest manifestations are with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, for they have the very fullness thereof and can impart it. In its lower manifestations it is here in natural things, in light, in heat, in electricity, in the various manifestations of that divine power which permeates all things and by which God created and governs all things. We can receive blessings from on high and blessings from beneath. Thanks be to the Lord for the revelations of the Gospel! Thanks be to God for the gift of His only begotten Son who died that we might live! And if we will keep His commandments and walk in His light and do those things that He commands, He will bring us forth from the tomb and we will come forth with those that are His at His coming. He was the first-fruit; afterwards shall be those who are Christ's at His coming. He knows them and He will call them forth; and then, as Job said, "Thou shalt call and I will answer; for Thou shalt have a desire to the work of Thine hands." Glory be to God for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life! He will appear to us in "the sweet bye and bye," and we will appear with Him in glory, if we will walk in His ways and keep His commandments and be imbued with His holy, righteous, directing, enlightening spirit. May the Lord help us so to do, for Christ's sake. Amen.

A male quartet, consisting of James Moncar, Hyrum J. Christiansen. August Glissmeyer and Albert E. Braby sang the hymn, "O, give me back my Prophet Dear," to Prof. Evan Stephens' music.