6 February 1875


Scandinavian Relief Society; Salt Lake City, Utah Territory

[. . .]

Sister Elisa [Eliza R.] Snow desired sister Garner to speak in tongues and told the sisters to call upon the Lord in prayer for her. Sister Garner then said in tongues: Sisters, the Spirit of the Lord is present here, that the Lord’s angels were present to write down what was spoken, yes even our most secret thoughts, that there was a book in heaven, the book of life, where everything was recorded. She bore witness of the divine truth of this work and said the Lord will lead his people forward.

Sister Zina Yo[u]ng said, my sisters, I am happy to hear the truth of the gospel spoken by you, even though I don’t understand you. I feel you have the same testimony. I know that what this sister spoke in tongues is true, it is the same testimony as Josef [Joseph Smith] pronounced in the Kirtland Temple. She felt the truthfulness of this great work more and more. Joseph had said that this gospel would be pronounced to all nations, had it not happened it would not have come across the great ocean, had the same Spirit not been poured out upon the people there just as it had [the brethren?] here, and yet there were 1000s of miles between them. Could we think that eternal life could bring us a greater blessing. Was it not a great revelation for us different nations gathered together and all did strive for one goal. My sisters, may the Lord bless you, be humble [p. 10] before Him and let us give Him the glory in all things, amen.

Sister Jensen apologized to the assembly that they had to sit in a wet room, as she cleaned the floor this afternoon. She had done it with the best intention, and she hoped that no one would get ill. She knew that the Spirit of the Lord required a clean room, and that the angels could not be present in unclean places. She talked about the gift of tongues, how often which she had wanted it; but at the same time she knew that we had to live for it, for without doing so we would never receive this blessing. We have to pray for each other and do our best.

Sister Fagerberg said that she could say as sister Jensen when she talked about cleanliness that the Spirit of the Lord could not dwell in an unclean places, that we had to be clean in our hearts and clean in our outward appearances. In times of sickness, we could not ask the servants of the Lord to lay their hands upon us, if we were not diligent in keeping clean. Let us live and strive after that. The Lord wants a clean people.

Sister Elisa Snow said I am very happy to gather with you, my sisters. Much has been said about cleanliness. I never understood, how an unclean person could become a Latter-Day-Saint, or how a Latter-Day Saint can remain unclean. I once heard in the Kirtland Temple at a fast meeting a young woman speak in tongues, and the content was that we should be clean in our hearts, clean in our clothes and clean in our houses, for the Lord wanted a clean and comely people. One day we will become a great people, for we have a great Father. We have great things to perform if we will remain faithful. I see faces here before me, who will perform ordinances and become co-workers in the Lord’s temple.

Let us be humble before the Lord! Exercise your faith, my sisters, and you will receive the Spirit to speak in tongues as well as the English and others will interpret them.

And may the Lord bless you and grant upon you His Spirit. [. . .] [p. 11]

Source Note

Salt Lake Stake, Scandinavian Relief Society Minute Book (1875–1879), pp. 8–11, CHL (LR 604 41). Original in Danish; translated to English in 2020.

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6 February 1875, Scandinavian Relief Society; Salt Lake City, Utah Territory, The Discourses of Eliza R. Snow, accessed March 19, 2024 https://www.churchhistorianspress.org/eliza-r-snow/1870s/1875/02/1875-02-06-b