circumstances, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has witnessed their bread cast upon waters; or more properly their obedience to the commandments of the Lord to appear in the tangible form of a temple, entirely enclosed, windows in, with temporary floors, pulpits, and seats to accommodate so many persons preparatory to a general conference."

And on page 1018.

"The font and the other parts of the temple will be in readiness in a few days to commence the administration of holy ordinances of endowment, for which the faithful have long diligently labored and fervently prayed, desiring above all things to see the beauty of the Lord and inquire in His temple.'

Now this was given in October, 1845, and we learn that the fontthat is the permanent font which replaced the former and temporary onealso the other parts of the temple would be in readiness in a few days to commence the administration of holy ordinances. I wish now to refer to another reference from the writings of the president of the "Reorganization." I have already read where he declares that the front and the first floor above the basement and one stairway, also the basement, were completed. He reaffirms that in the following, which is taken from an editorial in the Saints' Herald of February 17, 1904:

"Work continued to be done on the temple until the fall of 1845, possibly until the summer of 1846"-you see he is not quite sure about it— "but the building was never finished; and whatever ordinances were performed in it took place in rooms not wholly finished." Now note this particularly: "The north stairway, the second or upper auditorium, and the attic were entirely incompleted."

We will now examine the Times and Seasons of January 20, 1846, and see what his testimony is worth. Here on page 1096 occurs the following:

"January, thus far has been mild, which, in the midst of our preparations for an exodus next spring, has given an excellent time to finish the temple. Nothing has appeared so much like a finish of that holy edifice as the present." Now I want to call your attention to this which immediately follows: "The attic story was finished in December," that is in December, 1845. You will remember that the president of the Reorganization declares that the attic was "entirely incompleted." But to continue the quotation—“and if the Lord continues to favor us, the first story above the basement will be completed ready for meetings, in the month of February. The font, standing upon 12 stone oxen, is about ready, and the floor of the story, is laid, so that all speculation about the temple of God at Nauvoo, must cease."

Now you will notice that temporary floors were laid in October, 1845, so these floors must have been the permanent ones, and while the temporary finishing in October was for the purpose of fitting the building for the ordinances, this finishing was permanent.

Here is an interesting feature about his testimony. The parts of the temple which the president of the Reorganized Church says were completed-finished, the Times and Seasons here states would not be finished for a few days, or till February, but the part of the building which he says was "entirely incompleted," is here declared to have been finished in the past December, 1845. I shall not dispute with him the fact that the parts

which he says were finished were completed, for they were; but what does his evidence amount to when confronted with the statement of the Times and Seasons? Simply nothing more than to prove that he knew nothing about it at all. Now which shall we believe? The Times and Seasons published at the time, or the president of the Reorganization, who made his statement some 40 years later? Remember if he admits that the temple was finished his whole structure crumbles to the ground-it's bound to crumble anyway sooner of later for it is built upon the sand.

Elder John Taylor, in an address to the saints in England, published in the Millennial Star of November, 1846 (Vol. 8:97) has this to say:

"Time alone can unfold this to many, but to us it has been manifested long ago, years before the temple was completed,, and long before the martyrdom of our prophet and patriarch."

Here he declares that the temple was completed. Now our friends quote from the remarks of President Brigham Young delivered at the dedication of the St. George temple to the effect that up to that time the saints had never had the privilege of completing and enjoying a temple. I can call your attention to the fact that President Brigham Young left Nauvoo before the temple was finished. He left in February, 1846, and a great portion of the Latter-day Saints were expelled from that city before they had the privilege of receiving the ordinances of the house of God, therefore President Young was correct when he said we had not up to that time had the privilege of completing and enjoying one. But I will now call your attention to a statement of President Young's made in October, 1853 News, 13: 96). Said he:

"We have already built two temples, one at Kirtland, Ohio, and one at Nauvoo, Illinois. *** God commanded us to build the Nauvoo temple, and we built it, and performed our duty pretty well. There are Elders present here today who labored on that house with not a shoe to their foot, or pantaloons that would cover their limbs, or a shirt to cover their arms.

"We performed the work, and performed it within the time which the Lord gave us to do it in. Apostates said that we never could perform that work, but through the blessing of God it was completed and accepted of Him. Apostates never build temples unto God, but the Saints are called to do this work."

The Nauvoo temple was publicly dedicated May 1, 1846, by Elder Orson Hyde, and the following day about 3,000 saints met in the building in a public service. It is most likely that the greater number of these saints were also at the dedication. It is not reasonable to suppose that this building was dedicated until it was finished, for each part had been dedicated as it was finished, and the dedication on the 1st of May, 1846, was of the entire structure.

REVELATION ON TEMPLE BUILDING.

I have now shown that the temple was completed, that the saints were diligent in their labors, and they were also hindered by their enemies. I now reaffirm what has previously been said-that it made no difference, so far as the Church and its authority is concerned, even if the temple had

not been completed, or finished in the technical sense of that word. Some of the embellishments, the ornamentations and fixtures may not have been placed in the building according to the original intention, and in that technical sense the building may not have been "finished completely." But if so, what difference would it make? The Lord, thank heaven, is not as technical and peevish as men are, or woe be unto all of us. The revelation does not say that the Church would be rejected with its dead if every identical board and plank or fixture was not in the building according to the original design. The thing the revelation does require is that a place be prepared, or built, where the Lord could reveal the priesthood and its ordinances which had been taken away or that had not been restored. And, too, if the temporary floors had not been replaced by the permanent floors, the Lord could and would have revealed Himself to the saints and would have accepted of their offering. Now let's see just what the revelation does say about this matter. Beginning at verse 25:

“25. And again, verily I say unto you, let all my Saints come from afar;

26. And send ye swift messengers, yea, chosen messengers, and say unto them; come, ye, with all your gold, and your silver, and your precious stones, and with all your antiquities; and with all who have knowledge of antiquities; that will come, may come, and bring the box tree, and the fir tree, and the pine tree, together with all the precious trees of the earth;

27. And with iron, with copper, and with brass, and with zinc, and with all your precious things of the earth, and build a house to my name, for the Most High to dwell therein;

28. For there is not a place found on earth that He may come and restore again that which was lost unto you, or which He hath taken away, even the fulness of the Priesthood;

29. For a baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they, my Saints, may be baptized for those who are dead;

30. For this ordinance belongeth to my house, and cannot be acceptable to me, only in the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not able to build a house unto me.

31. But I command you, all ye my Saints, to build a house unto me; and I grant unto you a sufficient time to build a house unto me, and during this time your baptisms shall be acceptable unto me: and if you do not these things at the end of the appointment, ye shall be rejected as a church, with your dead, saith the Lord your God.

33. For verily I say unto you, that after you have had sufficient time to build a house to me, wherein the ordinance of baptizing for the dead belongeth, and for which the same was instituted from before the foundation of the world, your baptisms for your dead cannot be acceptable unto me. 34. Foor therein (that is in temples) are the keys of the holy Priesthood ordained that you may receive honor and glory.

35. And after this time, your baptisms for the dead, by those who are scattered abroad, are not acceptable unto me, saith the Lord.

36. For it is ordained that in Zion, and in her stakes, and in Jerusalem, those places which I have appointed for refuge, shall be the places for your baptisms for your dead.

37. And again, verily I say unto you, How shall your washings be acceptable unto me, except ye perform them in a house which you have built to my name?

38. For, for this cause I commanded Moses that he should build a tabernacle, that they should bear it with them in the wilderness, and to build a house in the land of promise that those ordinances might be revealed which had been hid from before the world was;

39. Therefore, verily I say unto you, that your anointings and your washings, and your solemn assemblies, and your memorials for your sacrifices, by the sons of Levi, and for your oracles in your most holy places,' wherein you receive conversations, and your statutes and judgments, for the glory, honor, and endowment of all her municipals, are ordained by the ordinance of my holy name, which my people are always commanded to build unto my holy name."

I have read quite extensively from this revelation, now let us examine and see just what is meant. At the time this revelation was given the saints were baptizing in the Mississippi river for their dead, this was a special privilege that the Lord granted them in their poverty and while they could prepare a place in the temple for that ordinance. He declares that while that place was being built He would accept of their baptisms in the river, but just as soon as a place could be prepared in the temple baptisms for the dead in the river should cease. Now you will notice that verse 31 reads: "But I command you, all ye my saints, to build a house unto me; and I grant unto you a sufficient time to build a house unto me." Now I wish you to note what follows: "And during this time your baptisms shall be acceptable unto me." I take it that this means that the Lord would accept of their baptisms in the river until they could prepare a place where the ordinance could be attended to properly, and that He would not discontinue river baptisms until they had had sufficient time to build such a place. I want to read what the president of the Reorganized Church has to say on this point. Said he:

"Baptisms for the dead was a permissive rite." Of course I do not agree with him that it was a permissive rite, but to continue the quotation: "Baptism for the dead was a permissive rite; or to write more plainly, the Church was permitted by the Lord to baptize for the dead under certain rules."

Here is the rule:

"By terms stated in the revelation this permissive rite could be performed and would be acceptable if performed in the river while the time given the Church in which the temple should be built was passing. After the completion of the temple, baptisms for the dead were to be performed in it." (Saints' Herald, February 17, 1904.)

We are certainly safe in saying that the Lord would not break His promise, therefore if we can discover a time when baptisms were discontinued in the river it will be a sign that the sufficient time had expired, so far as baptisms for the dead were concerned. I turn to the minutes of the October conference, 1841, and read from the remarks on baptism for the dead delivered by the prophet on the third day as follows:

"There shall be no more baptisms for the dead until the ordinance can be attended to in the font of the Lord's house; and the Church shall not hold another general conference, until they can meet in said house. For thus saith the Lord!" (Times and Seasons, Vol. II, p. 578.)

Remember this was in October, 1841-six months after the first stone of

the temple was laid. Was the temple finished? No. Was the Church then rejected with its dead? Verily no! For this was 1841, and I have already referred you to the editorial of the prophet's of May, 1842, wherein he says that never since the formation, or foundation, of the Church was laid, have the saints been so willing to comply with the requisitions of Jehovah, and manifested a more ardent desire to do the will of God, than in the building of that temple. Therefore they could not have been rejected. Yet the sufficient time was up. What must we then conclude? That the temple had progressed so far that baptisms could be performed in it for the dead in accordance with the revelation, and it did not depend altogether, you will see, on the complete finishing of the building; and as the rooms were finished one by one and dedicated, they, too, could be used for the ordinances of the temple until the whole temple was built.

Are we right in our conclusion that a font had been built? Yes, a temporary font had been built in the basement of the temple—a temporary one—but one that answered the requirements of the revelation. Moreover, in this temporary font, which was used by the command of the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith, baptisms for the dead were performed from November, 1841, until it was replaced by the permanent font, and then these baptisms continued in that until the saints were driven from Nauvoo.

BAPTISMS FOR THE DEAD OBLIGATORY.

We will now examine the thirty-second verse; it is:

"But behold, at the end of this appointment, your baptisms for your dead shall not be acceptable unto me;"

That means, of course, the baptisms in the river shall not be acceptable, after the font is built. But listen to this:

"And if you do not these things at the END OF THE APPOINTMENT, ye shall be rejected as a Church, with your dead, saith the Lord your God."

If you do not do what things? Does it mean if you do not build the temple at the END of the appointment? That could not be the meaning. It means, if you do not perform YOUR BAPTISMS FOR YOUR DEAD and the ordinances for the dead at the end-not the beginning, but the end— of the appointment, then will you be rejected with your dead. So you see it was not the failure to finish the attic, or to carve figures in the woodwork, or embellish the building by placing pictures on the walls, or painting them; it was not for this that the Church was to be rejected; but it was to be rejected with its dead IF it failed to perform the work in the temple for the dead when the opportunity was afforded. Now let us see if this view is not in harmony with other Scriptures. I turn to the second section of the Doctrine and Covenants. Here the angel says:

"Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord; "And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers;

"If it were no so, the WHOLE EARTH WOULD BE UTTERLY WASTED AT ITS COMING."