Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/186

170 servants go forth to bear testimony of thy name, that their prejudices may give way before the truth, and thy people find favor in their eyes. So control the affairs of the nations of the earth, that the way may be prepared for the ushering in of a reign of righteousness and truth. We desire to see liberty spread throughout the earth, to see oppression cease, the yoke of the tyrant broken, and every despotic form of government overthrown by which thy children are degraded and crushed, and prevented from enjoying their share of the blessings of the earth, which thou hast created for their habitation.

"O God, the Eternal Father, thou knowest all things. Thou seest the course thy people have been led to take in political matters.  They have, in many instances, joined the two great national parties.  Campaigns have been entered upon, elections have been held, and much party feeling has been engendered.  Many things have been said and done which have wounded the feelings of the humble and the meek, and which have been a cause of offense.  We beseech thee, in thine infinite mercy and goodness, to forgive thy people wherein they have sinned in this direction.  Show them, O Father, their faults and their errors, that they may see the same in the light of thy Holy Spirit, and repent truly and sincerely, and cultivate that spirit of affection and love which thou art desirous that all the children of men should entertain one for another, and which thy Saints, above all others, should cherish. Enable thy people hereafter to avoid bitterness and strife, and to refrain from words and acts in political discussions that shall create feeling and grieve thy Holy Spirit.

"Heavenly Father, when thy people shall not have the opportunity of entering this holy house to offer their supplications unto thee, and they are oppressed and in trouble, surrounded by difficulties or assailed by temptation, and shall turn their faces towards this thy holy house and ask thee for deliverance, for help, for thy power to be extended in their behalf, we beseech thee to look down from thy holy habitation in mercy and tender compassion upon them, and listen to their cries. Or when the children of thy people, in years to come, shall be separated, through any cause, from this place, and their hearts shall turn in remembrance of thy promises to this holy Temple, and they shall cry unto thee from the depths of their affliction and sorrow to extend relief and deliverance to them, we humbly entreat thee to turn thine ear in mercy to them; hearken to their cries, and grant unto them the blessings for which they ask.

"Almighty Father, increase within us the powers of that faith delivered to and possessed by thy Saints. Strengthen us by the memories of the glorious deliverances of the past, by the remembrance of the sacred covenants that thou hast made with us, so that, when evil overshadows us, when trouble encompasses us, when we pass through the valley of humiliation, we may not