“At 10 o clock A.M. a large concourse of the Saints assembled on the Meeting Ground, and were addressed by President Joseph Smith, who spoke at considerable length. He commenced his observations by remarking that the kindness of our heavenly Father, called for our heartfelt gratitude. He <​*​> then observed that Satan was generally blamed for the evils which we did, but if he was the cause of all our wickedness, men could not be condemned. The devil cannot compel mankind to <​do​> evil, all was voluntary. Those who resist the Spirit of God, are liable to be led into temptation, and then the association of heaven is withdrawn from those who refuse to be made partakers of such great glory — God would not exert any compulsory means, and the Devil could not; and such ideas as were entertained by many, were absurd. The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but Christ subjected the same in hope— we are all subject to vanity while we travel through the crooked paths, and difficulties which surround us. Where is the man that is free from vanity? None ever were perfect but Jesus, and why was he perfect? because he was the Son of God, and had the fulness of the Spirit, and greater power than any Man. But, notwith[HC 4:358]standing our vanity, we look forward with hope, (because “we are subjected in hope,”) to the time of our deliverance. He then made some observations on the first principles of the gospel, observing that many of the Saints who had come from different states and nations had only a very superficial knowledge of these principles, not having heard them fully investigated. He then briefly stated the principles of faith, repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, which were believed by some of the religious societies of the day, but the doctrine of laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, was discarded by them. The speaker then referred to the 6th. chap. of Hebrews 1 and 2 verses, “not [p. 1202]