Perplexity and distress already appear. These are but the beginning of sorrows. Knowing what is coming upon the earth, a day of calamity, we call upon all men and women to receive the message of the Gospel, restored to the earth in this generation, through the instrumentality of a prophet. We call upon all to repent, be baptized by one holding authority by immersion in water for the remission of sins, and receive the Holy Ghost, by the laying on of hands. We testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, that this is the will of God, manifested in these days, by revelation and commandment. Liverpool, England, April 6th, 1880. {221} THE GOSPEL OPENS COMMUNICATION WITH JEHOVAH. Paragraphs from a sermon delivered by President John Taylor, June 12, 1853. We contemplate with joy that the heavens have been opened, that truth has been revealed; and the power of God developed; that angels have manifested themselves, that the glory of the eternal world has been made known, and that we have been made participators in that light, glory, and intelligence which God has been pleased to reveal for the blessings, salvation and exaltation of the human family in this time and throughout all eternity. We believe that God has set His hand in these last days to accomplish His purposes, to gather His elect from the four winds, even to fulfill the words which He has spoken by all the holy prophets, to redeem the earth from the power of the curse, to save the human family from the ruins of the fall, and to place mankind in that position which God designed them to occupy before this world came into existence, or the morning stars sang together for joy. I know, that as other men, we have our trials, afflictions, sorrows and privations; we meet with difficulties; we have to contend with the world, with the powers of darkness, with the corruptions of men, and a variety of evils; yet, at the same time through these things we have to be made perfect. It is necessary that we should have a knowledge of ourselves, of our true position and standing before God, and comprehend our strength, our weakness, our ignorance and intelligence, our wisdom and our folly, that we may know how to appreciate true principles, and comprehend, and put a proper value upon all things as they present themselves before our minds. It is necessary that we should know our own weaknesses, and the weaknesses of our fellow-men; our own strength, as well as the strength of others; and comprehend {222} our true position before God, angels and men; that we may be inclined to treat all with due respect, and not to over-value our own wisdom or strength, nor deprecate it, nor that of others, but put our trust in the living God, and follow after Him, and realize that we are His children, and that He is our Father, and that our dependence is upon Him, and that every blessing we receive flows from His beneficent hand.