On Monday, the 21st, the Elders assembled in the capacity of a riesthood meeting, at which they were again greatly blessed with a rich out-pouring of the Holy Spirit; after reporting their labors, President Lund gave them some very valuable instructions relative to the most profitable course to pursue in the promulgation of the Truth. In the evening, the Elders and Saints with a number of invited friends, met in a social capacity, when a few hours were most pleasantly spent. W. S. BARNES, Clerk of Conference.

A SACRED ORDINANCE NOT STRICTLY OBSERVED.

ONE of the most sacred ordinances which should be observed by all members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ instituted this holy rite the last time He met with His disciples just previous to His death. It is a matter of the highest importance for all followers of the Redeemer to contemplate-they should if possible partake every Sabbath of the sacred emblems. Through neglecting this ordinance many are weak and sickly, and become cold in the faith. What a sad thought when we realize the condition of our loved brother and sister, who, through neglecting their golden opportunities, and forgetting the covenants made with their Maker have grieved the Holy Spirit and are in danger of a spiritual death. The Book of Doctrine and Covenants speaks very plainly upon this important subject. Section lix, paragraphs 9-12, reads as follows:

And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon My holy day;

For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;

Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times;

But remember that on this, the Lord's day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.

Mark these words, "confessing thy sins unto thy brethren (and before the Lord." What a humble, meek spirit ought to be manifested at these meetings. If we have offended our brother or sister, our neighbor or friend, we should, before assembling to our places of worship and partaking of these sacred emblems, ask forgiveness of those we have in any way wronged, and make amends. We must freely forgive any who have offended us, else our Heavenly Father will not forgive us our trespasses, and we should be unworthy to partake of the Sacrament.

In visiting the different branches of the Church one cannot help noticing the indifference manifested by members who absent themselves from these sacramental meetings.

The objects of meeting together when this important ordinance is being participated in are in remembrance of the death and sufferings of Jesus

Christ, to bear testimony of the goodness and mercy of God towards us, and to edify and strenghten each other in our faith. In these sacramental meetings, through the influence of the Holy Spirit, we receive renewed strength to assist us in our daily walk during the coming week.

Now let us make a few comments upon the sacramental prayers. The blessing upon the bread reads as follows::

O God, the eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

The first part of the prayer is that our eternal Father will bless and sanctify the bread to the souls of all those who partake of it. In order that these words may be verified, the influence of the Spirit of the Lord will dwell in abundance at these meetings, provided those who are present have come with clean hands and pure hearts. "That they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son." According to this, we should remember the sufferings of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, while a prisoner in the hands of his enemies, and particularly the excruciating pains He bore on the cross. "And witness unto thee, O God, the eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son." No matter how greatly we may be reviled, how much the finger of scorn be pointed at us, or what persecution we may suffer for His name's sake, we should be willing to stand up for our Redeemer in bold defence of His glorious Gospel. He bled and died for us, and we should be ready, even at the sacrifice of our lives to battle for the Gospel cause to the end of our mission upon earth. "And always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them." To remember those we have an affection for, in the true sense, is to love them and be willing to do what is pleasing in their sight. To remember our Lord Jesus Christ is to observe all the instructions and commands He has given us. The first two of His commandments are: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and Him only shalt thou serve." "And thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." These two commandments should be kept indelibly impressed upon our memories, and observed as nearly as the imperfections in our nature will allow.

The blessing upon the water is as follows:

O God, the eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this water to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.

When we participate in this part of the ordinance-the water-we should drink in remembrance of the blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed for us upon the cross, to atone for Adam's transgressions and for our actual sins; for by rendering obedience to His laws and ordinances we obtain a remission

of all our transgressions. It is a glorious promise, a grand assurance to the soul to know that the debt we have incurred, the sins we have committed, are, through His blood, cleansed and atoned for, if we will keep His commandments and prove faithful to the end.

As the disciples of Jesus in this last dispensation we should show unto our Heavenly Father that we are indeed Saints of the Most High. We should regularly attend to all our duties, and not forget the sacrament meetings. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works." We should be exemplary in all our associations through life. "Draw nigh unto God and He will draw nigh unto you." When we fail to attend to our duties we are not drawing nigh unto God. Him, He will love us.

If we love

How many there are who can testify to-day, when they have been living their religion, that at their sacrament meetings they have enjoyed in rich abundance the outpouring of the Spirit! They have witnessed the manifestations of the Holy Ghost-speaking in tongues, interpretation thereof, prophesying, healing the sick, and other manifestations. These experiences are to be had to-day in different branches of the Church, where the Saints are walking in the path of their religious duties.

This subject of the Sacrament has often been spoken and written upon. It will bear repetition, for the meetings referred to have been neglected by many of the Saints. We need often to be reminded of such important duties-obedience is essential to our salvation.

There are many Saints in the British Mission, who, through different circumstances, fail to attend Sabbath meetings. Some on account of the distance are absent from places of worship for several months. Efforts should be strenuously made by those who are so situated occasionally to attend, for it is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." No matter how long we have been members of the Church, no matter what experience or knowledge we have gained, in order to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord at all times, we must be present at our meetings if it is possible for us to do so. We should exercise our faith and works to that end, and the Lord in many instances will open up our way.

Let us arouse ourselves, and do all that is required by our Lord and Master. There is a great work before us-we have no time to spend idly. Progress should be our watchword. A new year has dawned upon us. We may have done well in the old year, but we can still improve during the new. Let us be industrious, keep our armor on, and never shrink from our duty. R. AVESON.

An uprising of Royalists on the Sandwich Islands is reported to have taken place on January 6th. The insurgents desired to restore the dethroned Queen to her former position. The trouble was ended after several of those causing it had been killed and five hundred others taken prisoners.

M. Felix Faure was elected President of the French Republic on Jan. 17 to succeed M. Casimir-Perier, who resigned. The session of the National Assembly which elected him was a stormy one, the Radicals and Socialists becoming highly excited and shouting their opposition in expressions such as "Down with the robbers." There were three candidates on the first ballot, but one of them withdrew in favor of M. Faure, who received a majority of 69 on the second ballot. The new President is 54 years old.

THE LATTER-DAY SAINTS' MILLENNIAL STAR.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 1895.

ISAIAH'S

PROPHECY FULFILLED.

"THE earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."-Isa. xxiv: 5.

To a believer in prophecy the present condition of the world is a realization of what Isaiah saw in vision, which he left on record as above quoted, Many people can see this, but shut their eyes to the fact, preferring to spend their lives pleasantly, if possible, without special regard to the salvation of themselves or their fellows. They may or may not hold membership in a church, but they have their associates and their friends, whom they are anxious to retain as such, and they know that any attempt to correct an evil is attended with more or less unpleasantness; hence a majority of mankind is afraid, or unwilling, to undertake it.

Some there are who contend that the people of the world are not in the condition predicted by the prophet. A brief, unprejudiced examination will dispel that idea and reveal the fact that if there ever has been a time to which the prophecy referred to is applicable, that time is the present. The reports of crime as published in the various newspapers show that all the laws of the Decalogue are transgressed almost daily Murder, robbery, theft, violence, disregard for truth, and other crimes, have become so common that people read them and discuss them as ordinary events. These transgressions are not confined to any certain class of persons; rich and poor, high and low, educated and ignorant, professors and non-professors of religion, all contribute from their numbers to the army of wickedness and corruption. Satan no doubt laughs in fiendish glee at the spectacle of God's children traveling on the broad way to destruction along which so many have gone before.

In the beginning of the Church as established by the Savior there were certain laws given which must be complied with before a person could be admitted to membership. The Apostles and Elders, after a person had shown his worthiness to become a disciple of Jesus, baptized him and laid their hands upon him for the gift of the Holy Ghost. He was instructed to keep the commandments of God, and as a penalty for not doing so was excommunicated from the Church. Salvation was promised to those only who endured to the end. Instead of these things, as com. manded by the early Church authorities, we are told that these laws are

of no binding force; that the instructions of the Savior concerning baptism and the laying on of hands do not apply to our day; that belief alone will take people to Heaven. Have not men transgressed the law? It is stated that Jesus took little children into His arms and blessed them; but though there is not the remotest intimation that He did anything further, yet there are people who bring up this incident as a justification for the sprinkling of children, which they call baptism; so that not only has the ordinance of baptism been changed as regards the mode, but it is misapplied as to the persons to whom it is administered. There is no statement in all the New Testament which can be construed in a way that would sanction infant baptism.

The Sacrament instead of having the simplicity attending it which characterized its administration originally is transformed by some of the churches into a display affair. Others of the Christian world administer only one of the emblems mentioned by Christ as necessary to be partaken of by His true followers.

Administering to the sick is so very seldom performed by members of the orthodox churches, that we can scarcely say it has been "changed"; rather have they done away with it. But the three ordinances before mentioned-baptism, the blessing of children, and the Sacrament—are shown both by the Scriptures and by history subsequent to the time mentioned in them to have been changed in one or more particulars.

On numerous occasions in the Old Testament there is made mention of a sacred covenant as existing between God and His children. Noah, Abraham, Moses, and others were given to understand that Jehovah was to be their God, and that they and their descendants were to acknowledge Him as such, and to serve Him, and seek Him at all times.

Inasmuch as this covenant is an everlasting covenant it must apply to all time. But the people after the crucifixion became so wicked that they were unworthy of any communication from heaven. They forgot the covenants which their fathers had made, and thus forfeited the privilege of having God speak to them, until they should repent. This state of affairs has continued so long that the world now denies the necessity of receiving instructions by revelation from God. It does not acknowledge the Being who spoke to the prophets anciently as One who can now make known His will in the way that He did then. The custom of denying the existence of God is becoming common in the world. Religionists break the everlasting covenant by denying that God now directs His Church through the instrumentality of His servants; non-religionists do this by denying that any such covenant was ever made.

Those in possession of the Holy Ghost can plainly see wherein Isaiah's prophecy has been literally fulfilled, while men without the Spirit of God think there is nothing extraordinary in the present condition of mankind, and that prophecy has no connection with it.

Briefly summing up what has been said: The wickedness of the world bears testimony that the earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof: the disregard for the teachings of the Savior and His Apostles shows a