April 1890
Richards, Franklin D. "Remarks." The Deseret Weekly, April 26, 1890: pg. 592-594.
The Deseret Weekly. "General Conference." April 12, 1890: pg. 525-536.
Woodruff, Wilford. "Discourse." The Deseret Weekly, April 19, 1890: pg. 559-563.
GENERAL CONFERENCE
President Wilford Woodruff
Elder John Morgan
Elder Jacob Gates
Elder B. H. Roberts
Elder Joseph E. Taylor
Afternoon Session
Counselor John W. Young
Apostle Abraham H. Cannon
Apostle Anton H. Lund
Apostle Mariner W. Merrill
President Wilford Woodruff
Second Day. Saturday, April 5th, 10 a.m.
Apostle John W. Taylor
Apostle Heber J. Grant
Apostle John Henry Smith
Apostle Francis M. Lyman
Apostle Moses Thatcher
Afternoon Session
President Lorenzo Snow
President George Q. Cannon
President Woodruff
Reports of the Auxiliaries
The Authorities
Third Day. Sunday, April 6th, 10 a. m.
President Wilford Woodruff
Discourse
Apostle Franklin D. Richards
Remarks
Afternoon Session
President George Q. Cannon
President Wilford Woodruff
Overflow Meeting
Elder C. W. Penrose
Apostle M. W. Merrill
Elder J. M. Tanner
Bishop O. F. Whitney
The Deseret Weekly. "General Conference." April 12, 1890: pg. 525-536.
Woodruff, Wilford. "Discourse." The Deseret Weekly, April 19, 1890: pg. 559-563.
GENERAL CONFERENCE
President Wilford Woodruff
Elder John Morgan
Elder Jacob Gates
Elder B. H. Roberts
Elder Joseph E. Taylor
Afternoon Session
Counselor John W. Young
Apostle Abraham H. Cannon
Apostle Anton H. Lund
Apostle Mariner W. Merrill
President Wilford Woodruff
Second Day. Saturday, April 5th, 10 a.m.
Apostle John W. Taylor
Apostle Heber J. Grant
Apostle John Henry Smith
Apostle Francis M. Lyman
Apostle Moses Thatcher
Afternoon Session
President Lorenzo Snow
President George Q. Cannon
President Woodruff
Reports of the Auxiliaries
The Authorities
Third Day. Sunday, April 6th, 10 a. m.
President Wilford Woodruff
Discourse
Apostle Franklin D. Richards
Remarks
Afternoon Session
President George Q. Cannon
President Wilford Woodruff
Overflow Meeting
Elder C. W. Penrose
Apostle M. W. Merrill
Elder J. M. Tanner
Bishop O. F. Whitney
GENERAL CONFERENCE
The Sixtieth General Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened at 10 a.m., Friday, April 4th, 1890, in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, President Wilford Woodruff presiding.
There were on the stand: Of the First Presidency, Wilford Woodruff and George Q. Cannon; of the Council of the Twelve Apostles: Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Moses Thatcher, Francis M. Lyman, John Henry Smith, Heber J. Grant, John W. Taylor, Mariner W. Merrill, Anton H. Lund and Abraham H. Cannon; of Counselors to the Twelve: John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells; Patriarch, John Smith; of the Presiding Council of the Seventies, Henry Herriman, Jacob Gates, Seymour B. Young, John Morgan and B. H. Roberts; of the Presiding Bishopric: William B. Preston, R. T. Burton and John R. Winder.
There were also present a large number of Presidents of Stakes and other prominent brethren from various parts of Utah and surrounding States and Territories.
The choir sang:
I saw a mighty angel fly,
To earth he bent his way;
A message bearing from on high,
To cheer the sons of day.
The opening prayer was offered by Apostle Franklin D. Richards.
Singing:
Come listen to a Prophet’s voice,
And hear the word of God;
And in the way of truth rejoice,
And sing for joy aloud.
The Sixtieth General Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened at 10 a.m., Friday, April 4th, 1890, in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, President Wilford Woodruff presiding.
There were on the stand: Of the First Presidency, Wilford Woodruff and George Q. Cannon; of the Council of the Twelve Apostles: Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Moses Thatcher, Francis M. Lyman, John Henry Smith, Heber J. Grant, John W. Taylor, Mariner W. Merrill, Anton H. Lund and Abraham H. Cannon; of Counselors to the Twelve: John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells; Patriarch, John Smith; of the Presiding Council of the Seventies, Henry Herriman, Jacob Gates, Seymour B. Young, John Morgan and B. H. Roberts; of the Presiding Bishopric: William B. Preston, R. T. Burton and John R. Winder.
There were also present a large number of Presidents of Stakes and other prominent brethren from various parts of Utah and surrounding States and Territories.
The choir sang:
I saw a mighty angel fly,
To earth he bent his way;
A message bearing from on high,
To cheer the sons of day.
The opening prayer was offered by Apostle Franklin D. Richards.
Singing:
Come listen to a Prophet’s voice,
And hear the word of God;
And in the way of truth rejoice,
And sing for joy aloud.
President Wilford Woodruff
said: Sixty years ago next Sabbath this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in Fayette, Seneca County, New York. It was organized by the Prophet of God, Joseph Smith. It was organized by the commandments of God, by the revelations of Jesus Christ. Its history is before the world, the heavens and the earth; and I feel myself that our hearts should be filled this morning with gratitude and thanksgiving that we have the privilege again of meeting in an Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I hope and trust that the hearts of the Saints will be lifted up in prayer to God that during the time we shall spend together in this capacity the spirit and power of God may rest upon the Apostles and Elders who will address us, and upon the Saints themselves who may hear.
I feel very thankful myself that I still have the privilege of meeting in general Conference with the Saints of God. I realize that we are weak instruments in the hand of God who are called to perform this work. The Lord has chosen the weak things of the world from the foundation of the earth, to perform His work in every age and generation of men. I pray that the Apostles and Elders of Israel may be clothed upon with the spirit and power of God while they address the Latter-day Saints. We want to bear in mind that our strength, our hope and our power is in the hands of God and not in men. The Lord Himself has stretched forth His hand to establish this Church, His Kingdom, His Work, His Zion, the gathering together of His people in fulfilment of the revelations of God which have been given to the inhabitants of the earth since the foundation of the world, since the day the old Patriarch, Father Adam, was brought forth and placed in the garden of Eden. From that day until now His work has been performed by the inspiration of the Almighty, and not by the power of man. The very things in our history that we have been called to pass through, the scenes which have been enacted have shown and they show today to all heaven and earth, in the warfare, in the opposition, in the labor that are manifested among the sons of men—from the creation of the world till today—that this is the work of the Lord. The various persecutions, the efforts which have been manifested against the organization of this Church and kingdom for its overthrow and destruction should show—and have shown to heaven and earth—that there is a power on earth outside the power of man.
We have no power in ourselves. We never have had in the guidance and direction of this kingdom only through the interposition of Almighty God. Joseph Smith himself was administered with in a way and manner that I have found no record of. I have never read anywhere, that I know of, of the same power manifested in any dispensation to the children of men which was manifested to the Prophet in the organization of this Church when the Father and the Son both appeared to the Prophet Joseph in answer to his prayer, and when the Father said, “This is My Beloved Son; behold Him; hear ye Him.” This was an important revelation which has never been manifested in the same manner in any dispensation of the world, that God has given concerning His work. So in its organization, the Prophet was administered to by the angels of heaven. They were his teachers, they were his instructors, and all that he did, all that he performed from the commencement, from that day to the day of his martyrdom, was by the revelation of Jesus Christ. We ought to understand this, and as a people have faith in God, in His revelations, in His promises. We should look forth for the fulfillment of these promises unto us in the day and generation in which we life. They will be fulfilled. The Lord is at work. He has set His hand to accomplish the great dispensation of which all the patriarchs and Prophets have spoken since the world began. Therefore let not your hearts be troubled; believe in the Father, believe in Jesus Christ, believe in the Gospel which has been preached unto us, and keep and fulfil the commandments of God; then all will be right. The Lord will not fail the Latter-day Saints; He will not fail in His work, in the gathering of His people; He will not fail the seed of Judah. They will be gathered home to Jerusalem, their holy place. They will receive their city and Temple, and be prepared for the coming of their King.
Zion will arise and prosper. If the Latter-day Saints will but do their duty, there is nothing in the way of our accomplishing all that has been promised unto us. I have no fears myself with regard to the outcome and final triumph of the Kingdom of God, of the Zion of God, of the Church of God, of the Saints of God. The Lord has already gathered many thousands to these valleys of the mountains, in fulfillment of His promises.
Now, brethren and sisters, let us be thoughtful while in the flesh, and seek to magnify our calling. Let our hearts be set on the building up of the Kingdom of God, and none shall fail. With regard to those who may address us during this Conference. I hope that they may all have our prayers, that they may be inspired by the Spirit of the Father, and preach only those things which are true and faithful.
May God bless us and pour out His Spirit upon us that we may have a good time at this Conference. May we enjoy that Spirit, may our hearts be united together, and may we rejoice in those principles which have been revealed for the comfort, salvation and eternal life of the children of men.
said: Sixty years ago next Sabbath this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized in Fayette, Seneca County, New York. It was organized by the Prophet of God, Joseph Smith. It was organized by the commandments of God, by the revelations of Jesus Christ. Its history is before the world, the heavens and the earth; and I feel myself that our hearts should be filled this morning with gratitude and thanksgiving that we have the privilege again of meeting in an Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I hope and trust that the hearts of the Saints will be lifted up in prayer to God that during the time we shall spend together in this capacity the spirit and power of God may rest upon the Apostles and Elders who will address us, and upon the Saints themselves who may hear.
I feel very thankful myself that I still have the privilege of meeting in general Conference with the Saints of God. I realize that we are weak instruments in the hand of God who are called to perform this work. The Lord has chosen the weak things of the world from the foundation of the earth, to perform His work in every age and generation of men. I pray that the Apostles and Elders of Israel may be clothed upon with the spirit and power of God while they address the Latter-day Saints. We want to bear in mind that our strength, our hope and our power is in the hands of God and not in men. The Lord Himself has stretched forth His hand to establish this Church, His Kingdom, His Work, His Zion, the gathering together of His people in fulfilment of the revelations of God which have been given to the inhabitants of the earth since the foundation of the world, since the day the old Patriarch, Father Adam, was brought forth and placed in the garden of Eden. From that day until now His work has been performed by the inspiration of the Almighty, and not by the power of man. The very things in our history that we have been called to pass through, the scenes which have been enacted have shown and they show today to all heaven and earth, in the warfare, in the opposition, in the labor that are manifested among the sons of men—from the creation of the world till today—that this is the work of the Lord. The various persecutions, the efforts which have been manifested against the organization of this Church and kingdom for its overthrow and destruction should show—and have shown to heaven and earth—that there is a power on earth outside the power of man.
We have no power in ourselves. We never have had in the guidance and direction of this kingdom only through the interposition of Almighty God. Joseph Smith himself was administered with in a way and manner that I have found no record of. I have never read anywhere, that I know of, of the same power manifested in any dispensation to the children of men which was manifested to the Prophet in the organization of this Church when the Father and the Son both appeared to the Prophet Joseph in answer to his prayer, and when the Father said, “This is My Beloved Son; behold Him; hear ye Him.” This was an important revelation which has never been manifested in the same manner in any dispensation of the world, that God has given concerning His work. So in its organization, the Prophet was administered to by the angels of heaven. They were his teachers, they were his instructors, and all that he did, all that he performed from the commencement, from that day to the day of his martyrdom, was by the revelation of Jesus Christ. We ought to understand this, and as a people have faith in God, in His revelations, in His promises. We should look forth for the fulfillment of these promises unto us in the day and generation in which we life. They will be fulfilled. The Lord is at work. He has set His hand to accomplish the great dispensation of which all the patriarchs and Prophets have spoken since the world began. Therefore let not your hearts be troubled; believe in the Father, believe in Jesus Christ, believe in the Gospel which has been preached unto us, and keep and fulfil the commandments of God; then all will be right. The Lord will not fail the Latter-day Saints; He will not fail in His work, in the gathering of His people; He will not fail the seed of Judah. They will be gathered home to Jerusalem, their holy place. They will receive their city and Temple, and be prepared for the coming of their King.
Zion will arise and prosper. If the Latter-day Saints will but do their duty, there is nothing in the way of our accomplishing all that has been promised unto us. I have no fears myself with regard to the outcome and final triumph of the Kingdom of God, of the Zion of God, of the Church of God, of the Saints of God. The Lord has already gathered many thousands to these valleys of the mountains, in fulfillment of His promises.
Now, brethren and sisters, let us be thoughtful while in the flesh, and seek to magnify our calling. Let our hearts be set on the building up of the Kingdom of God, and none shall fail. With regard to those who may address us during this Conference. I hope that they may all have our prayers, that they may be inspired by the Spirit of the Father, and preach only those things which are true and faithful.
May God bless us and pour out His Spirit upon us that we may have a good time at this Conference. May we enjoy that Spirit, may our hearts be united together, and may we rejoice in those principles which have been revealed for the comfort, salvation and eternal life of the children of men.
Elder John Morgan
was the next speaker. His remarks were substantially as follows: I am gratified at the privilege of meeting with the Saints in General Conference, of hearing the voice of President Woodruff, and for the fulness of the Gospel, revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is a cause for gratitude that, notwithstanding the opposition arrayed against the truth, its cause still prospers. That which in the natural eye would seem to break down this work established by the Almighty, has the opposite effect. There never was a time in our history when the Saints affected wider attention than now. This is not from personal causes, but on account of the principles which the Saints have been taught. Because of those principles they are regarded as a peculiar people. According to the Scriptures, when the Saints are regarded with aversion they should rejoice. I have traveled throughout this country a good deal of late, and met with many people and heard numerous ideas expressed regarding what is called “Mormonism.” One journalist said, with regard to that system, that its merits did not enter into the question; the nation had had enough of it. They would not tolerate it. This said he, is a settled fact. This seems to be a peculiar sentiment. It is also common to assert that the religion accepted by the Saints would finally go to the wall. Of course I could not agree with this view, being convinced that the truth will assert its true position in the hearts of the children of men and will ultimately prevail. The people of God have been enabled to triumph over opposition in the past, so will they be able to do in the future.
I testify that God is pleased with His people, also with those who preside over the Church, and is guiding it with His all-powerful hand, by the spirit of revelation through His servants.
was the next speaker. His remarks were substantially as follows: I am gratified at the privilege of meeting with the Saints in General Conference, of hearing the voice of President Woodruff, and for the fulness of the Gospel, revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith. It is a cause for gratitude that, notwithstanding the opposition arrayed against the truth, its cause still prospers. That which in the natural eye would seem to break down this work established by the Almighty, has the opposite effect. There never was a time in our history when the Saints affected wider attention than now. This is not from personal causes, but on account of the principles which the Saints have been taught. Because of those principles they are regarded as a peculiar people. According to the Scriptures, when the Saints are regarded with aversion they should rejoice. I have traveled throughout this country a good deal of late, and met with many people and heard numerous ideas expressed regarding what is called “Mormonism.” One journalist said, with regard to that system, that its merits did not enter into the question; the nation had had enough of it. They would not tolerate it. This said he, is a settled fact. This seems to be a peculiar sentiment. It is also common to assert that the religion accepted by the Saints would finally go to the wall. Of course I could not agree with this view, being convinced that the truth will assert its true position in the hearts of the children of men and will ultimately prevail. The people of God have been enabled to triumph over opposition in the past, so will they be able to do in the future.
I testify that God is pleased with His people, also with those who preside over the Church, and is guiding it with His all-powerful hand, by the spirit of revelation through His servants.
Elder Jacob Gates
said in substance: I am always willing to bear testimony to the truth, with considerable of which I have been made conversant, through the Gospel, for the last half century. I have never seen anything that tended to weaken my faith regarding the fulfilment of the predictions of the Prophets relating to events of this dispensation.
A peculiarity of this dispensation is that we have been commanded to be clean and come out from the world, with which we cannot fuse. We have to take a sure and direct course, and take what the world has to give us. We are now experiencing what was promised the Saints fifty years ago. I heard Hyrum Smith predict the situation when he was on trial before Judge King. He said that at that time it was a State persecution. In time it would become national. I look for the time when Jehovah shall remove every barrier that stands in the way of the Saints’ enjoying every right and privilege the Lord designs they should possess. I say to the Latter-day Saints, move on to victory. There is no need to be discouraged. The destruction of “Mormonism” has been predicted from its organization, but every effort in that direction has failed, and history will in that respect be repeated.
said in substance: I am always willing to bear testimony to the truth, with considerable of which I have been made conversant, through the Gospel, for the last half century. I have never seen anything that tended to weaken my faith regarding the fulfilment of the predictions of the Prophets relating to events of this dispensation.
A peculiarity of this dispensation is that we have been commanded to be clean and come out from the world, with which we cannot fuse. We have to take a sure and direct course, and take what the world has to give us. We are now experiencing what was promised the Saints fifty years ago. I heard Hyrum Smith predict the situation when he was on trial before Judge King. He said that at that time it was a State persecution. In time it would become national. I look for the time when Jehovah shall remove every barrier that stands in the way of the Saints’ enjoying every right and privilege the Lord designs they should possess. I say to the Latter-day Saints, move on to victory. There is no need to be discouraged. The destruction of “Mormonism” has been predicted from its organization, but every effort in that direction has failed, and history will in that respect be repeated.
Elder B. H. Roberts
said in substance: I feel grateful for the privileges we now possess and the favorable auspices under which we are enabled to engage in the exercises of this Conference. There is enough to inspire gratitude in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints if they but pause to consider what they enjoy. Besides spiritual blessings we have those of a temporal character, which alone are exceedingly precious. The winter has been severe and some losses have occurred in consequence yet there is abundance of food and clothing for all. Copious snows have been stored up in the mountains, presaging a plenteous coming harvest. There are not the want, misery and perplexity here that are in other communities. The Saints have been preserved from many evils that exist in other communities and have measurably kept themselves free from the entanglements resulting from the credit system. This freedom from the cause that makes the many become the servants of the few is a result of listening to the counsel of the servants of God.
We have other blessings to be grateful for. It is not long since the stand at gatherings of this kind was almost vacant, causing a spirit of loneliness to prevail. Now nearly all of the presiding brethren are in their accustomed places. For this I thank God.
The experience of the last few years, like that of the past sixty years, gives us confidence that this work will not be destroyed by the cunning of its assailants. Mob force cannot destroy it, as that process failed when the numbers of the Church were but few. Of late we have seen the combined wisdom of wise men applied for its destruction, yet the Church remains unmoved, not a quorum displaced, and not an indentation on the armor which encases the good ship Zion. I have often thought how gloomy was the prospect before the Former-day Saints, to whom the spirit of prophesy manifested that there would be a falling away. In our day we have been given the assurance that the Kingdom shall not be destroyed not given to another people. The Lord will chasten us, if needful, and repeat the experience until the desired effect is produced, but the Kingdom is indestructible. It cannot be removed from the face of the earth. If there is danger to the work of God, it does not proceed from outside enemies. It arises from individuals who compose it. While it shall remain intact, many who are identified with it may fall. Having escaped from those who formerly threatened our destruction and come to these valleys, a flood comes upon us, that our disintegration may be encompassed. This flood is one of wickedness, from which, until late years, we have been measurably free. In the past, extremes of wealth and poverty have been rare. This condition is changing and the situation is becoming similar to that which exists in other communities. There is danger of this change, to say the least. Wealth and luxury are pouring into the laps of the Saints. These are more dangerous, because more insinuating, than the opposition and poverty. All should be on their guard against the allurements of wealth. The temptations of the young to break the Sabbath and indulge in other practices that are in conflict with the Gospel of the Son of God are increasing. They lead to spiritual death. It is well for the Saints to contemplate the reason for their gathering to these valleys. It was not that they might surround themselves with wealth and luxury, but to be free from the evils of the world and to be taught in the ways of the Lord.
said in substance: I feel grateful for the privileges we now possess and the favorable auspices under which we are enabled to engage in the exercises of this Conference. There is enough to inspire gratitude in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints if they but pause to consider what they enjoy. Besides spiritual blessings we have those of a temporal character, which alone are exceedingly precious. The winter has been severe and some losses have occurred in consequence yet there is abundance of food and clothing for all. Copious snows have been stored up in the mountains, presaging a plenteous coming harvest. There are not the want, misery and perplexity here that are in other communities. The Saints have been preserved from many evils that exist in other communities and have measurably kept themselves free from the entanglements resulting from the credit system. This freedom from the cause that makes the many become the servants of the few is a result of listening to the counsel of the servants of God.
We have other blessings to be grateful for. It is not long since the stand at gatherings of this kind was almost vacant, causing a spirit of loneliness to prevail. Now nearly all of the presiding brethren are in their accustomed places. For this I thank God.
The experience of the last few years, like that of the past sixty years, gives us confidence that this work will not be destroyed by the cunning of its assailants. Mob force cannot destroy it, as that process failed when the numbers of the Church were but few. Of late we have seen the combined wisdom of wise men applied for its destruction, yet the Church remains unmoved, not a quorum displaced, and not an indentation on the armor which encases the good ship Zion. I have often thought how gloomy was the prospect before the Former-day Saints, to whom the spirit of prophesy manifested that there would be a falling away. In our day we have been given the assurance that the Kingdom shall not be destroyed not given to another people. The Lord will chasten us, if needful, and repeat the experience until the desired effect is produced, but the Kingdom is indestructible. It cannot be removed from the face of the earth. If there is danger to the work of God, it does not proceed from outside enemies. It arises from individuals who compose it. While it shall remain intact, many who are identified with it may fall. Having escaped from those who formerly threatened our destruction and come to these valleys, a flood comes upon us, that our disintegration may be encompassed. This flood is one of wickedness, from which, until late years, we have been measurably free. In the past, extremes of wealth and poverty have been rare. This condition is changing and the situation is becoming similar to that which exists in other communities. There is danger of this change, to say the least. Wealth and luxury are pouring into the laps of the Saints. These are more dangerous, because more insinuating, than the opposition and poverty. All should be on their guard against the allurements of wealth. The temptations of the young to break the Sabbath and indulge in other practices that are in conflict with the Gospel of the Son of God are increasing. They lead to spiritual death. It is well for the Saints to contemplate the reason for their gathering to these valleys. It was not that they might surround themselves with wealth and luxury, but to be free from the evils of the world and to be taught in the ways of the Lord.
Elder Joseph E. Taylor
I have a testimony concerning the work which God has planted upon the earth. I have faith in it. It is credited to President Brigham Young that he said, when the people first entered this valley he hoped they should be left in peace for at least ten years to enable them to gather strength. The Prophet Joseph Smith not only himself received the fulness of the keys of the Priesthood, but he conveyed them to others, that the work of redemption for the living and the dead might be conducted uninterruptedly. That labor cannot be stopped, as it is progressive and continuous. While inclined to chafe under the effects of opposition, we should remember that we are gaining experience which we could not obtain by any other process. We should never forget that no matter how bitterly we are assailed, it is not justifiable for the Saints to cherish enmity toward those who persecute them. Elder Taylor continued to show the necessity for the servants of God who preside to possess the unbounded confidence of the people. The labors and devotion of those men were of a nature to entitle them to this support. They were imbued with, and directed the affairs of the Church by the spirit and power of God.
The choir sang the anthem: O be joyful.
Adjourned till 2 p. m.
Benediction by Counselor Daniel H. Wells.
I have a testimony concerning the work which God has planted upon the earth. I have faith in it. It is credited to President Brigham Young that he said, when the people first entered this valley he hoped they should be left in peace for at least ten years to enable them to gather strength. The Prophet Joseph Smith not only himself received the fulness of the keys of the Priesthood, but he conveyed them to others, that the work of redemption for the living and the dead might be conducted uninterruptedly. That labor cannot be stopped, as it is progressive and continuous. While inclined to chafe under the effects of opposition, we should remember that we are gaining experience which we could not obtain by any other process. We should never forget that no matter how bitterly we are assailed, it is not justifiable for the Saints to cherish enmity toward those who persecute them. Elder Taylor continued to show the necessity for the servants of God who preside to possess the unbounded confidence of the people. The labors and devotion of those men were of a nature to entitle them to this support. They were imbued with, and directed the affairs of the Church by the spirit and power of God.
The choir sang the anthem: O be joyful.
Adjourned till 2 p. m.
Benediction by Counselor Daniel H. Wells.
Afternoon Session.
Re-assembled at 2 p.m.
The choir sang:
O Jesus! The Giver
Of all we enjoy,
Our lives to Thy honor
We wish to employ.
Prayer by President A. O. Smoot, of Utah Stake.
Singing:
Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed;
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.
Re-assembled at 2 p.m.
The choir sang:
O Jesus! The Giver
Of all we enjoy,
Our lives to Thy honor
We wish to employ.
Prayer by President A. O. Smoot, of Utah Stake.
Singing:
Prayer is the soul’s sincere desire,
Uttered or unexpressed;
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.
Counselor John W. Young
It has always been a question with me whether a person called unawares or by previous arrangement to address a public congregation feels the more at ease. However that may be, it is always a duty to respond when the call comes.
Many of those present have come from distant places to engage in a common worship and listen to instructions from God’s servants. We are a peculiar people, especially on the ground that we are sincere. By this statement I do not wish to cast a reflection upon any other classes of religionists. There are among other communities many who use their religion as a mere convenience, but they have no depth nor sincerity of belief. There are some, of course, who are honest in their professions but they are in the minority.
Brother Morgan stated this morning that persons had stated to him that the world had had enough of “Mormonism.” It would be more proper to state that the world contend that they had had enough religion of any kind. The people abroad know but little of the principles of “Mormonism.” So far as they have had information regarding it, they have repudiated it.
This should not slacken our efforts as propagandists. We have been so constantly and necessarily engaged in temporal affairs that our spirituality has been curtailed. This condition causes some of us to imagine that the work of proselyting has been almost completed. On the contrary there are many strangers who come among us who do not understand anything about the real doctrines of the Gospel. Means should be devised and used for this labor of spreading the truth. We are no longer isolated, and the increase of wealth seems to cause us to lose sight of the missionary work, so necessary to spread a knowledge of the Gospel. There should be a more liberal use of means to supply the Elders with printed matter to be scattered abroad, instead of the missionaries, in many instances, being under the necessity of purchasing their own pamphlets. The same liberal disposition should be exhibited in the matter of sustaining the families of those who are engaged in the work of the ministry.
There are temporal consideration that should engage our attention. We have not sought to regulate conditions that would insure work to all who desire to labor. If there was an organization commensurate for the attainment of that end, there appears no reason why all workmen, skilled and unskilled, should not be employed at proper prices. We have not had many products which could be exported, and in that regard we have largely depended upon the opening and development of mines. Any labor organization that might exist here should be independent of associations of that nature at a distance. Those who are in Pennsylvania are not in a position to know what steps would be best for workmen in Utah. The circumstances surrounding the people here are different to those existing elsewhere. To allow, the skill and ability acquired by the people in the countries from whence they came to go to waste, not being exercised, is against the principles of genuine economy. We are gathered in a conference capacity to receive instruction on temporal as well as spiritual considerations.
The gathering together of this people for a common interest is one of the miracles of the age. It is such a phenomenon as does not exist anywhere else. Although coming from the different parts of the earth, we have no nationality, being fraternized by a great common object. We are, because of the principles we have espoused, not only a homogeneous people, but a loyal people. We believe in the institutions of the American government and uphold the principles upon which they were founded. Our loyalty goes deeper and spreads wider than that of any other people. We understand that this country was discovered and settled for the attainment of a divine purpose. We believe that the framers of the Constitution were inspired when they formulated it, causing them to produce an instrument which, if lived up to, would preserve the liberties of all citizens equally.
I pray that the Spirit of God may be poured out upon us, that we may understand the instructions imparted. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
It has always been a question with me whether a person called unawares or by previous arrangement to address a public congregation feels the more at ease. However that may be, it is always a duty to respond when the call comes.
Many of those present have come from distant places to engage in a common worship and listen to instructions from God’s servants. We are a peculiar people, especially on the ground that we are sincere. By this statement I do not wish to cast a reflection upon any other classes of religionists. There are among other communities many who use their religion as a mere convenience, but they have no depth nor sincerity of belief. There are some, of course, who are honest in their professions but they are in the minority.
Brother Morgan stated this morning that persons had stated to him that the world had had enough of “Mormonism.” It would be more proper to state that the world contend that they had had enough religion of any kind. The people abroad know but little of the principles of “Mormonism.” So far as they have had information regarding it, they have repudiated it.
This should not slacken our efforts as propagandists. We have been so constantly and necessarily engaged in temporal affairs that our spirituality has been curtailed. This condition causes some of us to imagine that the work of proselyting has been almost completed. On the contrary there are many strangers who come among us who do not understand anything about the real doctrines of the Gospel. Means should be devised and used for this labor of spreading the truth. We are no longer isolated, and the increase of wealth seems to cause us to lose sight of the missionary work, so necessary to spread a knowledge of the Gospel. There should be a more liberal use of means to supply the Elders with printed matter to be scattered abroad, instead of the missionaries, in many instances, being under the necessity of purchasing their own pamphlets. The same liberal disposition should be exhibited in the matter of sustaining the families of those who are engaged in the work of the ministry.
There are temporal consideration that should engage our attention. We have not sought to regulate conditions that would insure work to all who desire to labor. If there was an organization commensurate for the attainment of that end, there appears no reason why all workmen, skilled and unskilled, should not be employed at proper prices. We have not had many products which could be exported, and in that regard we have largely depended upon the opening and development of mines. Any labor organization that might exist here should be independent of associations of that nature at a distance. Those who are in Pennsylvania are not in a position to know what steps would be best for workmen in Utah. The circumstances surrounding the people here are different to those existing elsewhere. To allow, the skill and ability acquired by the people in the countries from whence they came to go to waste, not being exercised, is against the principles of genuine economy. We are gathered in a conference capacity to receive instruction on temporal as well as spiritual considerations.
The gathering together of this people for a common interest is one of the miracles of the age. It is such a phenomenon as does not exist anywhere else. Although coming from the different parts of the earth, we have no nationality, being fraternized by a great common object. We are, because of the principles we have espoused, not only a homogeneous people, but a loyal people. We believe in the institutions of the American government and uphold the principles upon which they were founded. Our loyalty goes deeper and spreads wider than that of any other people. We understand that this country was discovered and settled for the attainment of a divine purpose. We believe that the framers of the Constitution were inspired when they formulated it, causing them to produce an instrument which, if lived up to, would preserve the liberties of all citizens equally.
I pray that the Spirit of God may be poured out upon us, that we may understand the instructions imparted. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
Apostle Abraham H. Cannon
addressed the Conference. Following is the substance of his remarks: I have felt very much to rejoice in the testimonies which have been borne to the Gospel by our brethren. My heart is full of gratitude to God in that I have been permitted to live in this day and to hear and accept the Gospel. I trust that I may be among those who will be able to stand with this work in its final triumph. If there is one lesson more than another which the Lord has sought to impress upon His people and upon the world, it is that He alone will have the glory for the triumph of Zion, that He in the carrying out of His purposes is not under the necessity of asking the counsel of men, but is fully able to perform all that is predicted concerning Zion and the work of the latter days. There is no greater truth than that which was announced by President Woodruff this morning, that our strength, our power, our hope is in God and not in men. If we, as individuals, succeed in obtaining celestial glory, it will be through the mercy which He shows unto us, His weak and erring children.
The Prophet Joseph Smith was untaught in religious matters and in the things of the world; he was unskilled in the arts of man; but he had within him an honest heart, a clear conscience, and possessed that great attribute which is necessary to the success of any man who engages in God’s work—willing obedience to that which was commanded of him. When he sought to know the will of God concerning his future action and course in life, the Lord had mercy upon him and revealed to him His mind and will with respect to the people of the earth, and through him established this Gospel in which we, as Latter-day Saints rejoice. He chose one of the weak instruments of the earth to bring to naught the wisdom of men and to confound the mighty in their plans and judgments. He empowered Joseph Smith to commence a work which is to extend throughout the countless ages of eternity, and which is to bring salvation or condemnation to every human being. The Lord sustained the Prophet Joseph through all the trials of his life, and raised up friends to assist him in this work.
Let us cultivate the Spirit of God and not set up our own wisdom against that of the Almighty or the counsels of His servants. Apostasies may occur in the Church as they have before, men in high places may fall; but the fact remains that the Church of Christ will stand, and this great work will go on despite all the obstacles and difficulties which may beset it. Let us be true and faithful to our covenants and the blessing of God will assuredly rest upon us and our labors in His cause.
addressed the Conference. Following is the substance of his remarks: I have felt very much to rejoice in the testimonies which have been borne to the Gospel by our brethren. My heart is full of gratitude to God in that I have been permitted to live in this day and to hear and accept the Gospel. I trust that I may be among those who will be able to stand with this work in its final triumph. If there is one lesson more than another which the Lord has sought to impress upon His people and upon the world, it is that He alone will have the glory for the triumph of Zion, that He in the carrying out of His purposes is not under the necessity of asking the counsel of men, but is fully able to perform all that is predicted concerning Zion and the work of the latter days. There is no greater truth than that which was announced by President Woodruff this morning, that our strength, our power, our hope is in God and not in men. If we, as individuals, succeed in obtaining celestial glory, it will be through the mercy which He shows unto us, His weak and erring children.
The Prophet Joseph Smith was untaught in religious matters and in the things of the world; he was unskilled in the arts of man; but he had within him an honest heart, a clear conscience, and possessed that great attribute which is necessary to the success of any man who engages in God’s work—willing obedience to that which was commanded of him. When he sought to know the will of God concerning his future action and course in life, the Lord had mercy upon him and revealed to him His mind and will with respect to the people of the earth, and through him established this Gospel in which we, as Latter-day Saints rejoice. He chose one of the weak instruments of the earth to bring to naught the wisdom of men and to confound the mighty in their plans and judgments. He empowered Joseph Smith to commence a work which is to extend throughout the countless ages of eternity, and which is to bring salvation or condemnation to every human being. The Lord sustained the Prophet Joseph through all the trials of his life, and raised up friends to assist him in this work.
Let us cultivate the Spirit of God and not set up our own wisdom against that of the Almighty or the counsels of His servants. Apostasies may occur in the Church as they have before, men in high places may fall; but the fact remains that the Church of Christ will stand, and this great work will go on despite all the obstacles and difficulties which may beset it. Let us be true and faithful to our covenants and the blessing of God will assuredly rest upon us and our labors in His cause.
Apostle Anton H. Lund
said in substance: I have enjoyed listening to the testimonies borne and teachings given by the brethren. The prediction to the effect that this work should be a marvel and a wonder has been fulfilled. This can be comprehended when the nature of this work, then in its inception, sixty years ago, is compared to its present status. Those who were connected with the Church when it was organized, looked forward to this day and were glad. The prophecies of Joseph have been partly fulfilled, and the remainder will also be verified. He was told that his name should be known for good and evil throughout the earth, and that the Book of Mormon, the record of the ancient inhabitants of this continent, should be revealed and published abroad, and be a means of manifesting the Gospel in greater plainness. There has been no necessity to change any of the principles inculcated in the plan of salvation, because, being true, they are eternal. Joseph was shown, by the power of God, that those who embraced the Gospel should gather from the nations of the earth, and he predicted that the Church should remove to the Rocky Mountains. These things have all been fulfilled, and it is a marvelous work.
It is true that men have apostatized, that men high in authority have fallen, but that is no proof that this work is not of God. Some of tho.se men who followed the Prophet Joseph Smith and were called to assist him did nut remain faithful; but one thing is evident to all those who study the matter, that those witnesses to the Book of Mormon, those who published their names to the world, all adhered to their testimony; they never recanted or took it back. They did not dare to deny; and although cut off from the Church, we find that they would still give their testimony to the world that they had seen the plates from which this work was translated. Some persons may ask, "How is it possible that men who had seen angels and had such a testimony could fall away from the Church, as these men did?” Men may see angels and have revelations, and as long as they obey the whisperings of the Holy Spirit they will not apostatize; but when they begin to feel that they have strength enough in themselves, and fail to acknowledge God as their Helper, then they cannot stand.
My testimony is that God has established His work upon the earth and will carry it to a successful issue: that this is the kingdom as was predicted, and that we will see the Lord fulfill His promises to His Saints. We have nothing to fear; and as President Woodruff told us this morning, we need not be troubled. God is at the helm and will steer the good ship Zion into a safe harbor.
said in substance: I have enjoyed listening to the testimonies borne and teachings given by the brethren. The prediction to the effect that this work should be a marvel and a wonder has been fulfilled. This can be comprehended when the nature of this work, then in its inception, sixty years ago, is compared to its present status. Those who were connected with the Church when it was organized, looked forward to this day and were glad. The prophecies of Joseph have been partly fulfilled, and the remainder will also be verified. He was told that his name should be known for good and evil throughout the earth, and that the Book of Mormon, the record of the ancient inhabitants of this continent, should be revealed and published abroad, and be a means of manifesting the Gospel in greater plainness. There has been no necessity to change any of the principles inculcated in the plan of salvation, because, being true, they are eternal. Joseph was shown, by the power of God, that those who embraced the Gospel should gather from the nations of the earth, and he predicted that the Church should remove to the Rocky Mountains. These things have all been fulfilled, and it is a marvelous work.
It is true that men have apostatized, that men high in authority have fallen, but that is no proof that this work is not of God. Some of tho.se men who followed the Prophet Joseph Smith and were called to assist him did nut remain faithful; but one thing is evident to all those who study the matter, that those witnesses to the Book of Mormon, those who published their names to the world, all adhered to their testimony; they never recanted or took it back. They did not dare to deny; and although cut off from the Church, we find that they would still give their testimony to the world that they had seen the plates from which this work was translated. Some persons may ask, "How is it possible that men who had seen angels and had such a testimony could fall away from the Church, as these men did?” Men may see angels and have revelations, and as long as they obey the whisperings of the Holy Spirit they will not apostatize; but when they begin to feel that they have strength enough in themselves, and fail to acknowledge God as their Helper, then they cannot stand.
My testimony is that God has established His work upon the earth and will carry it to a successful issue: that this is the kingdom as was predicted, and that we will see the Lord fulfill His promises to His Saints. We have nothing to fear; and as President Woodruff told us this morning, we need not be troubled. God is at the helm and will steer the good ship Zion into a safe harbor.
Apostle Mariner W. Merrill
spoke in substance as follows:
I have had many reflections today in looking back over our history. I was not personally connected with the history of the church before coming to this country, but I have been somewhat familiar with that of our people since 1853, that being the year I came to America. I have attended many conferences in this city in the old tabernacle here in the old Bowery and more recently in this building. I have been led to ask myself the question where are our brethren whom we saw upon the stand in years gone by? Where is President Young, Jedediah M. Grant, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, Orson Pratt, and other Apostles? Many of those present have perhaps heard these men bear faithful testimonies to this work. They have been identified with it from the beginning. But they have gone on the other side of the veil where they are actively engaged in promulgating the Gospel of the Son of God.
It has been said by some people in recent years—by those who know not our people, our methods and designs—that those men whom I have just named were not loyal to the government of our country, that they encouraged bloodshed, anarchy and opposition to the law. I, for one, having had personal acquaintance with our deceased brethren know that these statements are untrue. They were not only loyal to the government, but faithful and true to their church and people. They sought the welfare and salvation of the Saints and of the whole world during the settlement of the north by the Saints, where we were surrounded by the Indians, people hostile to us, when some of our brethren were actually slain, President Young's advice to the Saints was this: “Do not shed their blood; it is not our mission, it is not our calling to shed the blood of our fellows. Feed them rather than to fight them.” This has been the policy of our leaders all the time both in the north and in the south, and among all the people scattered throughout this land—to save, not to destroy, the lives of men.
We are called upon to build Temples; but we learn in the sacred book that David was not permitted to build a Temple because he was a man of war and bloodshed. The Lord does not require his people to shed the blood of their fellow men but he requires them to have a crown of light set on a hill, to be God-fearing, honest, straightforward and upright in all the affairs of life—an example to all the world.
We are assembled here today from various states and territories to hear the word of the Lord through his servants. If we want a good conference and to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord we must come into this building humbly and peacefully seeking to know the Lord and to hear his voice through his servants. The Lord has been merciful to us ever since we first came to this place, when it was an unfruitful desert. He has blessed this land of Zion to us, and will preserve it until he sees fit that we should go somewhere else. We must not, however, set our hearts upon the things of the world to the neglect of those duties required of us as the servants of God.
I exhort you all to seek the Lord earnestly, that you may know Him for yourselves. I know that God lives; that this work is true, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, that Brigham Young and John Taylor were Prophets of God, great and good men and filled with the power of God, as also are those who live after them. God revealed this work to me when I was but a child and I bear record of it today. Do not depend upon parents or those around you, but know the Lord for yourselves, so that you may be able to give the reason for the hope that is within you of eternal life.
spoke in substance as follows:
I have had many reflections today in looking back over our history. I was not personally connected with the history of the church before coming to this country, but I have been somewhat familiar with that of our people since 1853, that being the year I came to America. I have attended many conferences in this city in the old tabernacle here in the old Bowery and more recently in this building. I have been led to ask myself the question where are our brethren whom we saw upon the stand in years gone by? Where is President Young, Jedediah M. Grant, Heber C. Kimball, George A. Smith, Orson Pratt, and other Apostles? Many of those present have perhaps heard these men bear faithful testimonies to this work. They have been identified with it from the beginning. But they have gone on the other side of the veil where they are actively engaged in promulgating the Gospel of the Son of God.
It has been said by some people in recent years—by those who know not our people, our methods and designs—that those men whom I have just named were not loyal to the government of our country, that they encouraged bloodshed, anarchy and opposition to the law. I, for one, having had personal acquaintance with our deceased brethren know that these statements are untrue. They were not only loyal to the government, but faithful and true to their church and people. They sought the welfare and salvation of the Saints and of the whole world during the settlement of the north by the Saints, where we were surrounded by the Indians, people hostile to us, when some of our brethren were actually slain, President Young's advice to the Saints was this: “Do not shed their blood; it is not our mission, it is not our calling to shed the blood of our fellows. Feed them rather than to fight them.” This has been the policy of our leaders all the time both in the north and in the south, and among all the people scattered throughout this land—to save, not to destroy, the lives of men.
We are called upon to build Temples; but we learn in the sacred book that David was not permitted to build a Temple because he was a man of war and bloodshed. The Lord does not require his people to shed the blood of their fellow men but he requires them to have a crown of light set on a hill, to be God-fearing, honest, straightforward and upright in all the affairs of life—an example to all the world.
We are assembled here today from various states and territories to hear the word of the Lord through his servants. If we want a good conference and to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord we must come into this building humbly and peacefully seeking to know the Lord and to hear his voice through his servants. The Lord has been merciful to us ever since we first came to this place, when it was an unfruitful desert. He has blessed this land of Zion to us, and will preserve it until he sees fit that we should go somewhere else. We must not, however, set our hearts upon the things of the world to the neglect of those duties required of us as the servants of God.
I exhort you all to seek the Lord earnestly, that you may know Him for yourselves. I know that God lives; that this work is true, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, that Brigham Young and John Taylor were Prophets of God, great and good men and filled with the power of God, as also are those who live after them. God revealed this work to me when I was but a child and I bear record of it today. Do not depend upon parents or those around you, but know the Lord for yourselves, so that you may be able to give the reason for the hope that is within you of eternal life.
President Wilford Woodruff
said: Before the close of the meeting I have a request I want to make of these Apostles, these High Priests, Seventies and Elders, and the Lesser Priesthood and all the Latter-day Saints who have any communion with God or with the Holy Ghost. Brother Merrill has been talking of revelation. If there was ever a time since God made the world that the inhabitants of the earth needed revelation, it is today. Now, the Lord has given us the stick of Judah—the law of God to the Jews—which reaches down to our day and generation, and which shows us their history and has told us what would come to pass with them and what will come to pass in the future. So has the Lord given us the stick of Ephraim—the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim—giving the history of the inhabitants of this continent and what shall take place in the last days. I hold in my hands a code of revelation (the Book of Doctrine and Covenants) given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet. There are some of the most sublime revelations in that book God ever gave to any generation, or to any prophet or people under heaven. This book of revelations, like other records, will go down to the end of time and into eternity. These revelations give you the whole history of the celestial kingdom, of the terrestrial kingdom and of the telestial Kingdom of our God. But we want revelation every day. Well, you say, the President of the Church should give revelation. Yes, it is true, the President holds the keys of giving revelation to the Latter-day Saints. But is he alone to give revelation? No, verily, no! There is not an Apostle in this Church, there is not an Elder in this Church that stands up in this congregation to teach this people, but should be full of revelation. There is where your revelation should come—from those who teach you day by day.
How many revelations did Brigham Young give that were written to the people? Very few. How many has John Taylor given that were written to the people? Very few. How many has Wilford Woodruff given? Very few. We have had some, though not revealed to the people, perhaps, or published.
But we want revelation every day. And I want these Apostles and these Saints to go before the Lord in your secret places and ask Him to pour out revelations upon this people, that we may give you the word of the Lord while we are with you, and that these Apostles, when they speak, may speak by the power of God, by the Holy Ghost. Then that will be the word of the Lord, it will be scripture, it will be the power of God unto salvation unto every one that believes. God bless you. Amen.
Gently lead us, Lord,
O gently lead us,
was sung by Sister Maud E. Pratt and the choir.
Adjourned till tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Benediction by Patriarch John Smith.
said: Before the close of the meeting I have a request I want to make of these Apostles, these High Priests, Seventies and Elders, and the Lesser Priesthood and all the Latter-day Saints who have any communion with God or with the Holy Ghost. Brother Merrill has been talking of revelation. If there was ever a time since God made the world that the inhabitants of the earth needed revelation, it is today. Now, the Lord has given us the stick of Judah—the law of God to the Jews—which reaches down to our day and generation, and which shows us their history and has told us what would come to pass with them and what will come to pass in the future. So has the Lord given us the stick of Ephraim—the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim—giving the history of the inhabitants of this continent and what shall take place in the last days. I hold in my hands a code of revelation (the Book of Doctrine and Covenants) given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet. There are some of the most sublime revelations in that book God ever gave to any generation, or to any prophet or people under heaven. This book of revelations, like other records, will go down to the end of time and into eternity. These revelations give you the whole history of the celestial kingdom, of the terrestrial kingdom and of the telestial Kingdom of our God. But we want revelation every day. Well, you say, the President of the Church should give revelation. Yes, it is true, the President holds the keys of giving revelation to the Latter-day Saints. But is he alone to give revelation? No, verily, no! There is not an Apostle in this Church, there is not an Elder in this Church that stands up in this congregation to teach this people, but should be full of revelation. There is where your revelation should come—from those who teach you day by day.
How many revelations did Brigham Young give that were written to the people? Very few. How many has John Taylor given that were written to the people? Very few. How many has Wilford Woodruff given? Very few. We have had some, though not revealed to the people, perhaps, or published.
But we want revelation every day. And I want these Apostles and these Saints to go before the Lord in your secret places and ask Him to pour out revelations upon this people, that we may give you the word of the Lord while we are with you, and that these Apostles, when they speak, may speak by the power of God, by the Holy Ghost. Then that will be the word of the Lord, it will be scripture, it will be the power of God unto salvation unto every one that believes. God bless you. Amen.
Gently lead us, Lord,
O gently lead us,
was sung by Sister Maud E. Pratt and the choir.
Adjourned till tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Benediction by Patriarch John Smith.
Second Day. Saturday, April 5th, 10 a.m.
Singing by the choir:
Softly beams the sacred dawning
Of the great Millennial morn,
And to Saints gives welcome warning
That the day is hastening on.
Prayer by Elder David H. Cannon.
The choir sang:
How are Thy servants blessed, O Lord!
How sure is their defense!
Eternal wisdom is their guide,
Their help Omnipotence.
Singing by the choir:
Softly beams the sacred dawning
Of the great Millennial morn,
And to Saints gives welcome warning
That the day is hastening on.
Prayer by Elder David H. Cannon.
The choir sang:
How are Thy servants blessed, O Lord!
How sure is their defense!
Eternal wisdom is their guide,
Their help Omnipotence.
Apostle John W. Taylor
addressed the conference, the following being the substance of what he said: I desire the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that all may be edified by what is uttered. I have been thinking about the remarks made yesterday by President Woodruff in relation to the operations of the Spirit of God. It is a spirit of revelation, imparting that knowledge necessary to the individual according to the sphere in which he moves. I am reminded of an incident that occurred yesterday. I telephoned for an individual with whom I wished to communicate. The answer was that he was “engaged.” This response was repeated several times. Finally I concluded to abandon the telephone and pay my friend a personal visit. Is it not so that we are sometimes so much engaged in the pursuit of mammon that the Spirit leaves us? A sister who died appeared in a vision to a young Lamanite in Nephi, as she had something to tell. She stated that her own children were so engrossed in business that she could not communicate with them. The more I am engaged in temporal things the darker is my mind, but when employed in spiritual matters I am correspondingly brighter. One peculiarity about the speaking of the Elders is that they generally bear testimony that this Church was organized by Divine authority. I have the same witness, and testify to it. I pray that I may have strength to endure to the end. I expect to witness much opposition against this people, but I expect to see the Kingdom of God pass safely through it all. I testify to strangers that if they will accept of Christ as the Redeemer, repent of their sins, be baptized for the remission of the same that they will receive the Holy Ghost. The speaker, in conclusion, made some remarks about people disposing of their property by a process of proxy. He expressed himself to the effect that those who imagined they could hide themselves under the cloak of some one else would find the garment was not large enough for two.
addressed the conference, the following being the substance of what he said: I desire the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that all may be edified by what is uttered. I have been thinking about the remarks made yesterday by President Woodruff in relation to the operations of the Spirit of God. It is a spirit of revelation, imparting that knowledge necessary to the individual according to the sphere in which he moves. I am reminded of an incident that occurred yesterday. I telephoned for an individual with whom I wished to communicate. The answer was that he was “engaged.” This response was repeated several times. Finally I concluded to abandon the telephone and pay my friend a personal visit. Is it not so that we are sometimes so much engaged in the pursuit of mammon that the Spirit leaves us? A sister who died appeared in a vision to a young Lamanite in Nephi, as she had something to tell. She stated that her own children were so engrossed in business that she could not communicate with them. The more I am engaged in temporal things the darker is my mind, but when employed in spiritual matters I am correspondingly brighter. One peculiarity about the speaking of the Elders is that they generally bear testimony that this Church was organized by Divine authority. I have the same witness, and testify to it. I pray that I may have strength to endure to the end. I expect to witness much opposition against this people, but I expect to see the Kingdom of God pass safely through it all. I testify to strangers that if they will accept of Christ as the Redeemer, repent of their sins, be baptized for the remission of the same that they will receive the Holy Ghost. The speaker, in conclusion, made some remarks about people disposing of their property by a process of proxy. He expressed himself to the effect that those who imagined they could hide themselves under the cloak of some one else would find the garment was not large enough for two.
Apostle Heber J. Grant
was the next speaker: I am pleased to have the opportunity of once more meeting with the Latter-day Saints in general Conference. I rejoice in the testimony of the Gospel, and it is a constant and earnest prayer of mine that I may at all times have the inspiration, light and spirit of our Heavenly Father dwelling within me to the extent that I may never depart from the principles of truth or plan of life and salvation which we have espoused.
We, as Latter-day Saints, have very great cause to be thankful for the many manifestations of the goodness and mercy of our God. Let us strive with all the ability that we possess to obtain sufficient intelligence, light and knowledge from our Heavenly Father to enable us to keep in the path of duty. Many of us feel that we are firm in the knowledge of the Gospel, and that there is very little fear of the trials of life turning us from the truth. At the same time, we should thoroughly understand that in no single day or hour of our lives would we be able to stand alone and maintain the testimony of the Gospel without the light and inspiration of the Spirit of God. It is not the visitation of angel, association with the Prophet Joseph Smith, or any of the open manifestations of the Spirit of God which cause men to be faithful; it is their own diligence and faithfulness in keeping the commandments of God.
There is but one straight path before us, that of duty. If we conscientiously fulfil the obligations and duties resting upon us there is little danger of our stumbling. I pray God to bless you and inspire you all with His Holy Spirit. I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know for myself that we are engaged in the work of God. I pray that this testimony may ever remain with me and each and all who possess it, and that those who have it not may strive their utmost to gain it.
was the next speaker: I am pleased to have the opportunity of once more meeting with the Latter-day Saints in general Conference. I rejoice in the testimony of the Gospel, and it is a constant and earnest prayer of mine that I may at all times have the inspiration, light and spirit of our Heavenly Father dwelling within me to the extent that I may never depart from the principles of truth or plan of life and salvation which we have espoused.
We, as Latter-day Saints, have very great cause to be thankful for the many manifestations of the goodness and mercy of our God. Let us strive with all the ability that we possess to obtain sufficient intelligence, light and knowledge from our Heavenly Father to enable us to keep in the path of duty. Many of us feel that we are firm in the knowledge of the Gospel, and that there is very little fear of the trials of life turning us from the truth. At the same time, we should thoroughly understand that in no single day or hour of our lives would we be able to stand alone and maintain the testimony of the Gospel without the light and inspiration of the Spirit of God. It is not the visitation of angel, association with the Prophet Joseph Smith, or any of the open manifestations of the Spirit of God which cause men to be faithful; it is their own diligence and faithfulness in keeping the commandments of God.
There is but one straight path before us, that of duty. If we conscientiously fulfil the obligations and duties resting upon us there is little danger of our stumbling. I pray God to bless you and inspire you all with His Holy Spirit. I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know for myself that we are engaged in the work of God. I pray that this testimony may ever remain with me and each and all who possess it, and that those who have it not may strive their utmost to gain it.
Apostle John Henry Smith
addressed the congregation; I regard these Conferences as being a source of comfort and strength to the Saints. The people come from every part of the land occupied by members of the Church, and hear the instructions imparted. They are thus enabled to carry the influence and effect of the instructions to the people whom they represent. The Church is growing so large, that it is becoming impracticable for the leading authorities to mingle a great deal with the people. The labors of the apostles are largely confined to visiting the Stakes and attending their Conferences. The multifarious duties of the First Presidency greatly engross their attention, and prevent them going about to any extent among the Saints.
As has been said, there need be no fears regarding the fate and destiny of the work. With regard to individuals it is different. Men are liable to step aside from the path of duty. The mission of the work of God, how¬ ever, cannot be prevented in its accomplishment. We are called to be laborers in it. We are on the good ship Zion. It will reach a safe harbor, but before its arrival in the haven, many may be washed overboard. We have been inclined to lose sight of the necessity of complying with the laws in reference to tithes and offerings. So with regard to many other duties which are classed as lesser requirements, but which are all essential. Many seem to be willing and anxious to receive their blessings in the House of the Lord, who fail to take a course that justly entitles them to those great privileges. There should be a reformation in many respects. There are men in high stations who use things that the Lord has said are not good for man, and should be refrained from — such as strong drink and tobacco. Some neglect their prayers, and in other ways wound the Spirit of God, causing that holy influence to leave them. I anticipate that when the brethren, as a whole, shall be ready to discard the use of tobacco alone, our Father will more abundantly bless us. The question with us is whether we will, by our works, cause our names to be written in the Lamb's book of life. There are many allurements to lead us from the course that will make our calling and election sure. I pray that we may completely fill the measure of the mission entrusted to us.
addressed the congregation; I regard these Conferences as being a source of comfort and strength to the Saints. The people come from every part of the land occupied by members of the Church, and hear the instructions imparted. They are thus enabled to carry the influence and effect of the instructions to the people whom they represent. The Church is growing so large, that it is becoming impracticable for the leading authorities to mingle a great deal with the people. The labors of the apostles are largely confined to visiting the Stakes and attending their Conferences. The multifarious duties of the First Presidency greatly engross their attention, and prevent them going about to any extent among the Saints.
As has been said, there need be no fears regarding the fate and destiny of the work. With regard to individuals it is different. Men are liable to step aside from the path of duty. The mission of the work of God, how¬ ever, cannot be prevented in its accomplishment. We are called to be laborers in it. We are on the good ship Zion. It will reach a safe harbor, but before its arrival in the haven, many may be washed overboard. We have been inclined to lose sight of the necessity of complying with the laws in reference to tithes and offerings. So with regard to many other duties which are classed as lesser requirements, but which are all essential. Many seem to be willing and anxious to receive their blessings in the House of the Lord, who fail to take a course that justly entitles them to those great privileges. There should be a reformation in many respects. There are men in high stations who use things that the Lord has said are not good for man, and should be refrained from — such as strong drink and tobacco. Some neglect their prayers, and in other ways wound the Spirit of God, causing that holy influence to leave them. I anticipate that when the brethren, as a whole, shall be ready to discard the use of tobacco alone, our Father will more abundantly bless us. The question with us is whether we will, by our works, cause our names to be written in the Lamb's book of life. There are many allurements to lead us from the course that will make our calling and election sure. I pray that we may completely fill the measure of the mission entrusted to us.
Apostle Francis M. Lyman
followed. He said in substance: I feel it is one of the greatest privileges to meet with the Latter-day Saints in General Conference, to listen to the words of exhortation and the testimony given to us by the servants of the Lord.
In the history of this people it has been thought at different times that if the successful leaders of the Church, commencing with the Prophet Joseph Smith, should pass away there would be an end to “Mormonism” Our former leaders did pass away, but other men were selected to fill their places, to be the standard bearers for the time, and the work of the Lord has progressed and increased. It has been thought, also, that if the Church could be separated from the State there would be an end to the former. But the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not depend upon the power of any man or any certain number of men; nor does it depend upon political power for its strength; for if every vestige of political power were to be taken from the people of this territory or in any other part of the United States, it would not affect this Church in the least, because its organization is an independent of the State as any other Church. Though there may have been a feeling lurking in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints that if their political power were removed from them the Church would be broken to pieces and destroyed, such would not be the case. Although as a people we have been deprived of this power to quite an extent in Idaho, in Ogden, in Summit, and elsewhere, it will be found that the present is one of the largest, if not the largest, Conference ever held here, and that the Saints will continue to increase in the numbers and faith.
The work of the Lord in the establishment of His Church stands firmer today than ever it has stood before. Its chances are better and the faith of the people is stronger. The brethren who bear the Priesthood, from the first to the last, are better established today in the Gospel; all the experiences, changes and vicissitudes through which they have passed having tended to purify and stimulate them in the Gospel faith. Though sometimes there may be lethargy and carelessness on the part of the Saints, yet when we travel among them from place to place we find that, with all their weaknesses and failings, there is love for the truth abiding in them; and if the occasion should arise, they would be ready to sacrifice anything in the world in order to sustain the Church and the principles of eternal truth. It is a rare thing to find among the Latter-day Saints one person who will stand out against the truth, who is obstinate and will not yield when shown to be in the wrong.
Apostle Lyman, in conclusion, earnestly exhorted the Saints to be temperate, and to relinquish the use of tobacco and intoxicants, in obedience to the Word of Wisdom. He pointed out the value of example in these respects, and urged the necessity of a strict observance of the Sabbath day.
followed. He said in substance: I feel it is one of the greatest privileges to meet with the Latter-day Saints in General Conference, to listen to the words of exhortation and the testimony given to us by the servants of the Lord.
In the history of this people it has been thought at different times that if the successful leaders of the Church, commencing with the Prophet Joseph Smith, should pass away there would be an end to “Mormonism” Our former leaders did pass away, but other men were selected to fill their places, to be the standard bearers for the time, and the work of the Lord has progressed and increased. It has been thought, also, that if the Church could be separated from the State there would be an end to the former. But the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not depend upon the power of any man or any certain number of men; nor does it depend upon political power for its strength; for if every vestige of political power were to be taken from the people of this territory or in any other part of the United States, it would not affect this Church in the least, because its organization is an independent of the State as any other Church. Though there may have been a feeling lurking in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints that if their political power were removed from them the Church would be broken to pieces and destroyed, such would not be the case. Although as a people we have been deprived of this power to quite an extent in Idaho, in Ogden, in Summit, and elsewhere, it will be found that the present is one of the largest, if not the largest, Conference ever held here, and that the Saints will continue to increase in the numbers and faith.
The work of the Lord in the establishment of His Church stands firmer today than ever it has stood before. Its chances are better and the faith of the people is stronger. The brethren who bear the Priesthood, from the first to the last, are better established today in the Gospel; all the experiences, changes and vicissitudes through which they have passed having tended to purify and stimulate them in the Gospel faith. Though sometimes there may be lethargy and carelessness on the part of the Saints, yet when we travel among them from place to place we find that, with all their weaknesses and failings, there is love for the truth abiding in them; and if the occasion should arise, they would be ready to sacrifice anything in the world in order to sustain the Church and the principles of eternal truth. It is a rare thing to find among the Latter-day Saints one person who will stand out against the truth, who is obstinate and will not yield when shown to be in the wrong.
Apostle Lyman, in conclusion, earnestly exhorted the Saints to be temperate, and to relinquish the use of tobacco and intoxicants, in obedience to the Word of Wisdom. He pointed out the value of example in these respects, and urged the necessity of a strict observance of the Sabbath day.
Apostle Moses Thatcher
spoke briefly, in substance as follows : I desire to express my gratitude for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, What has been said is in harmony with my views. I bear testimony to the truth. May the Spirit of God continue to be imparted to us. These Conference gatherings are refreshing to the spirit and a delight to the soul. The people have not come together in vain. They will not go away empty. Many thoughts have passed through my mind. Some are of a conflicting nature. I have wondered what would be a proper course for our leaders under the present circumstances surrounding us. If we will follow our file leaders as they follow Christ, our path will grow brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. We must not expect the people to listen to us unless we listen to those who lead us. I am reminded that after his tribulation, Joseph, who was sold into Egypt obtained wealth and power, While Abraham was comparatively poor and a humble servant of God and obeyed Him in all things, the Lord afterwards made him wealthy. There is no harm in wealth, but there is in the love of it. When the heart is hardened and conscience seared, the danger is great. I have thought, of course, of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and John Taylor. They did not devote all their time to temporalities, but part of it to spiritualties and a part to temporal things. It is only when we depart from equity and justice that the Holy Spirit leaves us. The danger is not in the possession of wealth, but in oppressing our fellow-beings. Z. C. M. I. was not organized by President Young to enable him to accumulate wealth, but for the substantial benefit of the people. So with other enterprises in which he engaged. When I have thought of the financial enterprises in which our leading brethren are engaged and the heavy burdens thus placed upon them, I have concluded that we who have been called to be ministers of salvation should not so extensively engage in financial matters. The leading authorities are employed from fifteen to eighteen hours a day, and in giving counsel in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred instances it is on temporal matters rather than those that are spiritual, I did not come to these mountains to accumulate wealth, and, for one, I would rejoice to be relieved, from this time on, from temporalities and engage, in future exclusively in preaching the Gospel of salvation. The spirit of speculation is abroad among us and the people make the excuse for their course that their leaders are engaged in the same direction. I am willing to be guided in these matters by those who preside, and trust that I shall endure.
The choir sang: Come, Spirit, Come.
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Benediction by Elder G. Reynolds.
spoke briefly, in substance as follows : I desire to express my gratitude for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, What has been said is in harmony with my views. I bear testimony to the truth. May the Spirit of God continue to be imparted to us. These Conference gatherings are refreshing to the spirit and a delight to the soul. The people have not come together in vain. They will not go away empty. Many thoughts have passed through my mind. Some are of a conflicting nature. I have wondered what would be a proper course for our leaders under the present circumstances surrounding us. If we will follow our file leaders as they follow Christ, our path will grow brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. We must not expect the people to listen to us unless we listen to those who lead us. I am reminded that after his tribulation, Joseph, who was sold into Egypt obtained wealth and power, While Abraham was comparatively poor and a humble servant of God and obeyed Him in all things, the Lord afterwards made him wealthy. There is no harm in wealth, but there is in the love of it. When the heart is hardened and conscience seared, the danger is great. I have thought, of course, of the Prophet Joseph Smith, Brigham Young and John Taylor. They did not devote all their time to temporalities, but part of it to spiritualties and a part to temporal things. It is only when we depart from equity and justice that the Holy Spirit leaves us. The danger is not in the possession of wealth, but in oppressing our fellow-beings. Z. C. M. I. was not organized by President Young to enable him to accumulate wealth, but for the substantial benefit of the people. So with other enterprises in which he engaged. When I have thought of the financial enterprises in which our leading brethren are engaged and the heavy burdens thus placed upon them, I have concluded that we who have been called to be ministers of salvation should not so extensively engage in financial matters. The leading authorities are employed from fifteen to eighteen hours a day, and in giving counsel in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred instances it is on temporal matters rather than those that are spiritual, I did not come to these mountains to accumulate wealth, and, for one, I would rejoice to be relieved, from this time on, from temporalities and engage, in future exclusively in preaching the Gospel of salvation. The spirit of speculation is abroad among us and the people make the excuse for their course that their leaders are engaged in the same direction. I am willing to be guided in these matters by those who preside, and trust that I shall endure.
The choir sang: Come, Spirit, Come.
Adjourned till 2 p.m.
Benediction by Elder G. Reynolds.
Afternoon Session.
Re-assembled at 2 p. m.
Great God, attend while Zion sings
The joy that from Thy presence springs;
To spend one day with Thee on earth
Exceeds a thousand days of mirth,
was sung by the choir.
Prayer was offered by Elder Rudger Clawson.
Singing by the choir:
Joy to the world! The Lord will come
And earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Saints and angels sing.
Re-assembled at 2 p. m.
Great God, attend while Zion sings
The joy that from Thy presence springs;
To spend one day with Thee on earth
Exceeds a thousand days of mirth,
was sung by the choir.
Prayer was offered by Elder Rudger Clawson.
Singing by the choir:
Joy to the world! The Lord will come
And earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room
And Saints and angels sing.
President Lorenzo Snow
said, in substance: We have been greatly blessed during this conference. The Spirit of the Lord has been poured out upon the speakers and hearers. I feel my inability to say anything particularly instructive unless by the dictations of the Holy Spirit. I feel also that you cannot anticipate any teachings that will do you good unless you have the same Spirit, which it is your privilege to possess. So far as the past is concerned, since our assembling together, the Lord has been as favorable to us as on any similar occasion. It is wonderful to contemplate the progress of the church since its organization, sixty years ago tomorrow. Have the Saints made progress as rapidly as that exhibited by those similarly called of God in past ages, during the same length of time? It is interesting to contemplate and estimate the abilities we have received from the Lord to continue prosperous notwithstanding the opposing forces that have been brought to bear upon us. No external power can prevent us from attaining to the high destiny marked out for us on the condition of faithfulness. We did not lay out the path to salvation for ourselves. It was delineated by God before the earth was organized. The Lord has seen fit to make known the path. It depends upon ourselves as to whether we continue to travel on that road which leads to celestial glory.
We need not trouble about the future. Some people express the opinion that the Saints shall go into captivity, by the process of disfranchisement. I do not know whether this will be the case or not. If the Lord had manifested that this would be so, I would not say anything about it, as it would not be wisdom. If we had been made acquainted with the trials through which we have already passed we would have been discouraged. As it is our experience has increased our faith. So in regard to our future. It is wisely obscured from our view. I know what my trials have been; I know not what they will be. On every emergency the Lord has given me needed succor. For this I feel thankful. I have never seen the day when I was discouraged, as I could always see glorious blessings ahead. When we speak of future troubles of this Church, we may be sure it will never be placed in a condition when the members cannot receive the highest blessings of the Almighty, according to the demands of circumstances.
Six hundred years before Christ the Jews became wicked. Their kings, princes and people were given to idolatry. This offended God being contrary to his mind and law. They even went so far as to burn their children as offerings. The Lord told them that their city should be destroyed and they be led into captivity to remain in that condition 70 years. But God did not desert them. He said he would not make an end of them but they should be punished and an end would be made of those who afflicted them. In their captivity they progressed. They built houses and cultivated the soil. Indeed there never was a time when the Israelites had greater prophets than during their captivity. Not, for instance, the works of the Prophet Daniel and those of the three Hebrew children, whose marvelous deliverance has been handed down to us. As it has been so it shall be. In every situation the Latter-day Saints can approach God and receive blessings until they reach a fulness of glory. One singular feature about the captivity was that King Nebuchadnezzar was converted. He was convinced that there was no God but the God of Israel. After Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had been delivered the King sent forth an edict to the effect that the God of these men should be respected. Those who refused to obey this commandment should be punished by having their houses destroyed.
History frequently repeats itself. The Latter-day Saints are accused of many things of which they are innocent. They will yet be understood and their labors appreciated throughout this land. Should the rulers take it into their heads that the Saints have been badly used by being deprived of their liberties without reason or just cause, and should they take a different course than that now pursued, it would be a remarkable thing. What God has done He will do again. He has promised to soften the hearts of the people from time to time, as may answer the consummation of His great purposes. The Lord will not make an end of the people He has called and chosen, but will make an end of the nations of the wicked.
The testimonies that have been borne that the kingdom of God shall not pass from the hands of the Saints or be given to another people are true. They are borne of the Spirit of God. This work is built on a sure foundation, being founded on the rock of ages. How can such testimonies be overcome, seeing that they are fact? Can they be confuted? Can any people say that it has been revealed to them from the eternal worlds that these testimonies are not true? They cannot. They do not profess to be in possession of such information. No matter who are lost by the way and make shipwreck of their faith, the Church will go on.
God bless the Latter-day Saints, that His Spirit may be poured out upon us, that we may obtain crowns of glory and dwell in the presence of God.
said, in substance: We have been greatly blessed during this conference. The Spirit of the Lord has been poured out upon the speakers and hearers. I feel my inability to say anything particularly instructive unless by the dictations of the Holy Spirit. I feel also that you cannot anticipate any teachings that will do you good unless you have the same Spirit, which it is your privilege to possess. So far as the past is concerned, since our assembling together, the Lord has been as favorable to us as on any similar occasion. It is wonderful to contemplate the progress of the church since its organization, sixty years ago tomorrow. Have the Saints made progress as rapidly as that exhibited by those similarly called of God in past ages, during the same length of time? It is interesting to contemplate and estimate the abilities we have received from the Lord to continue prosperous notwithstanding the opposing forces that have been brought to bear upon us. No external power can prevent us from attaining to the high destiny marked out for us on the condition of faithfulness. We did not lay out the path to salvation for ourselves. It was delineated by God before the earth was organized. The Lord has seen fit to make known the path. It depends upon ourselves as to whether we continue to travel on that road which leads to celestial glory.
We need not trouble about the future. Some people express the opinion that the Saints shall go into captivity, by the process of disfranchisement. I do not know whether this will be the case or not. If the Lord had manifested that this would be so, I would not say anything about it, as it would not be wisdom. If we had been made acquainted with the trials through which we have already passed we would have been discouraged. As it is our experience has increased our faith. So in regard to our future. It is wisely obscured from our view. I know what my trials have been; I know not what they will be. On every emergency the Lord has given me needed succor. For this I feel thankful. I have never seen the day when I was discouraged, as I could always see glorious blessings ahead. When we speak of future troubles of this Church, we may be sure it will never be placed in a condition when the members cannot receive the highest blessings of the Almighty, according to the demands of circumstances.
Six hundred years before Christ the Jews became wicked. Their kings, princes and people were given to idolatry. This offended God being contrary to his mind and law. They even went so far as to burn their children as offerings. The Lord told them that their city should be destroyed and they be led into captivity to remain in that condition 70 years. But God did not desert them. He said he would not make an end of them but they should be punished and an end would be made of those who afflicted them. In their captivity they progressed. They built houses and cultivated the soil. Indeed there never was a time when the Israelites had greater prophets than during their captivity. Not, for instance, the works of the Prophet Daniel and those of the three Hebrew children, whose marvelous deliverance has been handed down to us. As it has been so it shall be. In every situation the Latter-day Saints can approach God and receive blessings until they reach a fulness of glory. One singular feature about the captivity was that King Nebuchadnezzar was converted. He was convinced that there was no God but the God of Israel. After Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had been delivered the King sent forth an edict to the effect that the God of these men should be respected. Those who refused to obey this commandment should be punished by having their houses destroyed.
History frequently repeats itself. The Latter-day Saints are accused of many things of which they are innocent. They will yet be understood and their labors appreciated throughout this land. Should the rulers take it into their heads that the Saints have been badly used by being deprived of their liberties without reason or just cause, and should they take a different course than that now pursued, it would be a remarkable thing. What God has done He will do again. He has promised to soften the hearts of the people from time to time, as may answer the consummation of His great purposes. The Lord will not make an end of the people He has called and chosen, but will make an end of the nations of the wicked.
The testimonies that have been borne that the kingdom of God shall not pass from the hands of the Saints or be given to another people are true. They are borne of the Spirit of God. This work is built on a sure foundation, being founded on the rock of ages. How can such testimonies be overcome, seeing that they are fact? Can they be confuted? Can any people say that it has been revealed to them from the eternal worlds that these testimonies are not true? They cannot. They do not profess to be in possession of such information. No matter who are lost by the way and make shipwreck of their faith, the Church will go on.
God bless the Latter-day Saints, that His Spirit may be poured out upon us, that we may obtain crowns of glory and dwell in the presence of God.
President George Q. Cannon
addressed the conference. Following is a synopsis of his discourse:
The remarks which have been made during this conference by the various speakers have been accompanied, as I have no doubt all present feel by the testimony of the Spirit of God. The Lord is with His people and He gives unto them, when they are living aright, the testimony of His Holy Spirit, by means of which they can know the voice of the true Shepherd, and are able to distinguish the servants of God by their teachings and by the spirit that accompanies their words. We have been told that it is not the privilege of a few to have this testimony alone, but of all who enter into covenant with God, to receive for themselves a knowledge concerning the principles which are taught them.
In our conferences as well as at all our meetings there should be the plainest talk to the people, inspired by the Spirit of God. Not only should a spirit of counsel and instruction rest upon those who address us, but, if needs be, the spirit of warning and reproof. We have had reproofs administered to us at this conference concerning our methods of life and our habits; and shall the Latter-day Saints take offense at the plainness of these exhortations? No. Whenever the Saints are in the position that they cannot submit to reproof and warning, they are indeed in need of chastisement at the hands of God Himself. Blessed are those who have men in their midst who dare to tell them the truth, however unpleasant that truth may be. There never has been a day within my knowledge when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been without men who had the courage to do this. Brother Joseph Smith was terrible in his rebukes to the people; so was President Brigham Young and other servants of God; and it is necessary that this should be the case. It is not man’s wisdom that has governed or directed the affairs of this Church, but the wisdom of Almighty God manifested through his chosen servants.
Some remarks were made here yesterday in the nature of a warning concerning the increase of wealth in our midst, and the speaker quoted poetry in order to illustrate his views. I myself also thought of two lines which were somewhat applicable:
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates and men decay.
The speaker referred to the dangers attending the increase of wealth and luxury among us; and it is well in this solemn conference for us to take this important subject into careful consideration. We cannot shut our eyes to the fact that a stream of wealth is flowing into the midst of the Latter-day Saints. There are probably widows in this congregation who have hitherto been accustomed to go out gaining their livelihood who are now worth thousands of dollars; and working men, in like manner, find the property of which they are possessed valued at thousands of dollars. What a wonderful change is this! Now the question presents itself to us at this particular time: “What shall we do with this superabundance of wealth which has so quickly come into our possession?” In the Book of Doctrine and Covenants there are more revelations given in the early history of this Church upon this point than upon any other that now suggests itself to my mind. I think a careful examination of the early revelations given to the Prophet Joseph will reveal this fact—that the Lord operated upon his mind, giving him instructions for the members of His Church respecting temporal matters more than anything else.
The Church has been organized only a few months when the Prophet’s mind was exercised on this subject. Scarcely had the Saints left New York and gone to Ohio than the Lord inspired him and gave him revelations concerning the Church’s temporal affairs. We have heard that wealth is a good thing under certain circumstances—that there is no impropriety in a people being rich, because in ancient days the men of God were rich, and yet were His faithful servants. This is true, but I would like to draw the earnest attention of my brethren to the consideration of this subject. Wealth will never be dangerous to the Latter-day Saints if equally distributed. But if it shall create class distinctions among us—if it shall lift one class above the other, and give one portion of our community advantages which are not enjoyed by the rest, then instead of its being a blessing to us there will be great danger of its becoming a snare.
This Gospel was revealed to bless the poor, to save the honest in heart among all nations. One of our brethren spoke yesterday about certain classes of society not having been reached by us, and being heretofore unacquainted with our principles. If, however, they have not known about us, it is because they have closed their eyes and shut their ears. We have pleaded in vain with the rich, while the poor, the humble, the meek and the lowly have been gathered together. I made it a practice during my missions not to pass the house of a rich or prominent man, without going in and telling him the message of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The revelations of which I have spoken, contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, have for their object among other things the elevation of the poor. A law given to this Church concerning surplus property was that it should be consecrated to the Lord,--that it should be placed in the hands of the proper authorities to be distributed among those in need belonging to the Church. That law was called the United Order, but the Saints failed to comprehend it; they failed to carry it out practically. Some of them broke their covenants and God pronounced judgment upon them. The result was that the United Order was broken up and the property assigned to those who were members, as a stewardship. After awhile the servants of God asked a question concerning tithing. The reply came that the people should first give a tenth of their property and one-tenth of their increase from that time forward. That was the last law written, upon this subject.
I often hear the remark while traveling among the Latter-day Saints, “I wish we could have a United Order among us; it would be so delightful if we could live in that Order.” In many instances this has been prompted by the best of feeling; but those who ask it do not comprehend the sacrifices which it would entail. We cannot enter into such an order suddenly. There must be a preparation for it.
What shall be the course for us to pursue in the present circumstances? Is there faith enough among us to put our surplus means into a treasury fund? We have many great and important duties to perform connected with the work of God. There is a constant cry for means in every direction today. If the Church held under its control a million of dollars this sum could be easily expended in works which would be of the greatest benefit. For instance we have established Church schools in almost every county in this Territory, and attempts are being made to educate all our children at Church schools, academies, or seminaries. There is also some talk of establishing a Stake of Zion in Palestine. Means are required for that also. Besides this, manufactories are needed in our midst to give employment to this people, to sustain the men, women and children who belong to this Church. I feel that this is an opportune time to consider all these things. I should fear, indeed, the accumulation of wealth among us if it were to be kept in the hands of a few.
We have been threatened as a people with disfranchisement in Utah Territory, and some even say that this is likely to occur. Already there are bills introduced into Congress proposing to take the right of franchise from the Latter-day Saints, regardless of their practices. But I have contemplated this with a good deal of complacency. It has had no terror for me, although I think it would be a terrible outrage; one of the worst things that could be done by a government like ours, because it would stand unparalleled at least in modern times. I have, however, never liked the distinction of one class of our people having the franchise while another has been deprived of it. I have thought that it would lead to serious results sooner or later unless carefully guarded against, and this Gospel will never accomplish its mission until the inequalities have disappeared from among us.
addressed the conference. Following is a synopsis of his discourse:
The remarks which have been made during this conference by the various speakers have been accompanied, as I have no doubt all present feel by the testimony of the Spirit of God. The Lord is with His people and He gives unto them, when they are living aright, the testimony of His Holy Spirit, by means of which they can know the voice of the true Shepherd, and are able to distinguish the servants of God by their teachings and by the spirit that accompanies their words. We have been told that it is not the privilege of a few to have this testimony alone, but of all who enter into covenant with God, to receive for themselves a knowledge concerning the principles which are taught them.
In our conferences as well as at all our meetings there should be the plainest talk to the people, inspired by the Spirit of God. Not only should a spirit of counsel and instruction rest upon those who address us, but, if needs be, the spirit of warning and reproof. We have had reproofs administered to us at this conference concerning our methods of life and our habits; and shall the Latter-day Saints take offense at the plainness of these exhortations? No. Whenever the Saints are in the position that they cannot submit to reproof and warning, they are indeed in need of chastisement at the hands of God Himself. Blessed are those who have men in their midst who dare to tell them the truth, however unpleasant that truth may be. There never has been a day within my knowledge when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been without men who had the courage to do this. Brother Joseph Smith was terrible in his rebukes to the people; so was President Brigham Young and other servants of God; and it is necessary that this should be the case. It is not man’s wisdom that has governed or directed the affairs of this Church, but the wisdom of Almighty God manifested through his chosen servants.
Some remarks were made here yesterday in the nature of a warning concerning the increase of wealth in our midst, and the speaker quoted poetry in order to illustrate his views. I myself also thought of two lines which were somewhat applicable:
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates and men decay.
The speaker referred to the dangers attending the increase of wealth and luxury among us; and it is well in this solemn conference for us to take this important subject into careful consideration. We cannot shut our eyes to the fact that a stream of wealth is flowing into the midst of the Latter-day Saints. There are probably widows in this congregation who have hitherto been accustomed to go out gaining their livelihood who are now worth thousands of dollars; and working men, in like manner, find the property of which they are possessed valued at thousands of dollars. What a wonderful change is this! Now the question presents itself to us at this particular time: “What shall we do with this superabundance of wealth which has so quickly come into our possession?” In the Book of Doctrine and Covenants there are more revelations given in the early history of this Church upon this point than upon any other that now suggests itself to my mind. I think a careful examination of the early revelations given to the Prophet Joseph will reveal this fact—that the Lord operated upon his mind, giving him instructions for the members of His Church respecting temporal matters more than anything else.
The Church has been organized only a few months when the Prophet’s mind was exercised on this subject. Scarcely had the Saints left New York and gone to Ohio than the Lord inspired him and gave him revelations concerning the Church’s temporal affairs. We have heard that wealth is a good thing under certain circumstances—that there is no impropriety in a people being rich, because in ancient days the men of God were rich, and yet were His faithful servants. This is true, but I would like to draw the earnest attention of my brethren to the consideration of this subject. Wealth will never be dangerous to the Latter-day Saints if equally distributed. But if it shall create class distinctions among us—if it shall lift one class above the other, and give one portion of our community advantages which are not enjoyed by the rest, then instead of its being a blessing to us there will be great danger of its becoming a snare.
This Gospel was revealed to bless the poor, to save the honest in heart among all nations. One of our brethren spoke yesterday about certain classes of society not having been reached by us, and being heretofore unacquainted with our principles. If, however, they have not known about us, it is because they have closed their eyes and shut their ears. We have pleaded in vain with the rich, while the poor, the humble, the meek and the lowly have been gathered together. I made it a practice during my missions not to pass the house of a rich or prominent man, without going in and telling him the message of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The revelations of which I have spoken, contained in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, have for their object among other things the elevation of the poor. A law given to this Church concerning surplus property was that it should be consecrated to the Lord,--that it should be placed in the hands of the proper authorities to be distributed among those in need belonging to the Church. That law was called the United Order, but the Saints failed to comprehend it; they failed to carry it out practically. Some of them broke their covenants and God pronounced judgment upon them. The result was that the United Order was broken up and the property assigned to those who were members, as a stewardship. After awhile the servants of God asked a question concerning tithing. The reply came that the people should first give a tenth of their property and one-tenth of their increase from that time forward. That was the last law written, upon this subject.
I often hear the remark while traveling among the Latter-day Saints, “I wish we could have a United Order among us; it would be so delightful if we could live in that Order.” In many instances this has been prompted by the best of feeling; but those who ask it do not comprehend the sacrifices which it would entail. We cannot enter into such an order suddenly. There must be a preparation for it.
What shall be the course for us to pursue in the present circumstances? Is there faith enough among us to put our surplus means into a treasury fund? We have many great and important duties to perform connected with the work of God. There is a constant cry for means in every direction today. If the Church held under its control a million of dollars this sum could be easily expended in works which would be of the greatest benefit. For instance we have established Church schools in almost every county in this Territory, and attempts are being made to educate all our children at Church schools, academies, or seminaries. There is also some talk of establishing a Stake of Zion in Palestine. Means are required for that also. Besides this, manufactories are needed in our midst to give employment to this people, to sustain the men, women and children who belong to this Church. I feel that this is an opportune time to consider all these things. I should fear, indeed, the accumulation of wealth among us if it were to be kept in the hands of a few.
We have been threatened as a people with disfranchisement in Utah Territory, and some even say that this is likely to occur. Already there are bills introduced into Congress proposing to take the right of franchise from the Latter-day Saints, regardless of their practices. But I have contemplated this with a good deal of complacency. It has had no terror for me, although I think it would be a terrible outrage; one of the worst things that could be done by a government like ours, because it would stand unparalleled at least in modern times. I have, however, never liked the distinction of one class of our people having the franchise while another has been deprived of it. I have thought that it would lead to serious results sooner or later unless carefully guarded against, and this Gospel will never accomplish its mission until the inequalities have disappeared from among us.
President Woodruff
stated that it had been customary for some time past to read reports and present the authorities of the Church to the general assembly on the last day of Conference. There would be a departure from that rule this time so as to reserve tomorrow exclusively for preaching, and the presentations would be made this afternoon.
stated that it had been customary for some time past to read reports and present the authorities of the Church to the general assembly on the last day of Conference. There would be a departure from that rule this time so as to reserve tomorrow exclusively for preaching, and the presentations would be made this afternoon.
President George Q. Cannon
stated that as some of the Presidents of Stakes had failed to forward their reports, although they had been requested to send them, only an incomplete, general report could be made up, and the reading of it would be dispensed with.
The Relief Society
report was in every respect complete, as it embodied statements from every Stake in the Church. It exhibited the following totals, which were read by Brother Cannon: It showed 334 branches, with a membership of 16,825. There had been disbursed for charitable purposes, $10,382.90; for buildings, etc., $2,667.18. There is now on hand, cash, $11,997.55; property of various kinds, $18,901.02; real estate, $56,248.15; wheat, 43,081 bushels; cash for wheat, $1,474.67.
The report was signed by Zina D. H. Young, President; Jane S. Richards, First Counselor; Bathsheba W. Smith, Second Counselor; Sarah M. Kimball, Secretary; Romania B. Pratt, Assistant Secretary and M. Isabella Horne, Treasurer.
The following summary, showing the number, general condition, etc., of
Church Schools,
was read:
Totals of Institutions of Learning:
Colleges 3
Academies 21
Seminaries 5
29
Of these there are in
Utah 23
Idaho 4
Arizona 2
29
Students.
Male 2,218
Female 1,689
3,937
Teachers.
Principals 29
Regular Teachers 33
Lady Teachers 13
Music Teachers 5
Specialist 1
86
Total engaged in this school work 4,823
(Normal students, 136.)
Branches of education taught:
Theology,
Rhetoric,
Grammar,
Elocution,
Reading,
Orthography,
Arithmetic,
Algebra,
Physics,
Chemistry,
Physiology,
Hygiene,
Natural History,
Biology,
Civil Government,
Vocal Music,
Instrumental Music,
Drawing,
Geometry,
Trigonometry,
Calculus,
Book-keeping,
Astronomy,
Geology,
Physical Geography,
Geography,
General History,
U. S. History,
Latin,
French,
German,
Spanish,
Penmanship,
Calesthenics,
Phonography.
To normals—Theory and practice of Teaching.
stated that as some of the Presidents of Stakes had failed to forward their reports, although they had been requested to send them, only an incomplete, general report could be made up, and the reading of it would be dispensed with.
The Relief Society
report was in every respect complete, as it embodied statements from every Stake in the Church. It exhibited the following totals, which were read by Brother Cannon: It showed 334 branches, with a membership of 16,825. There had been disbursed for charitable purposes, $10,382.90; for buildings, etc., $2,667.18. There is now on hand, cash, $11,997.55; property of various kinds, $18,901.02; real estate, $56,248.15; wheat, 43,081 bushels; cash for wheat, $1,474.67.
The report was signed by Zina D. H. Young, President; Jane S. Richards, First Counselor; Bathsheba W. Smith, Second Counselor; Sarah M. Kimball, Secretary; Romania B. Pratt, Assistant Secretary and M. Isabella Horne, Treasurer.
The following summary, showing the number, general condition, etc., of
Church Schools,
was read:
Totals of Institutions of Learning:
Colleges 3
Academies 21
Seminaries 5
29
Of these there are in
Utah 23
Idaho 4
Arizona 2
29
Students.
Male 2,218
Female 1,689
3,937
Teachers.
Principals 29
Regular Teachers 33
Lady Teachers 13
Music Teachers 5
Specialist 1
86
Total engaged in this school work 4,823
(Normal students, 136.)
Branches of education taught:
Theology,
Rhetoric,
Grammar,
Elocution,
Reading,
Orthography,
Arithmetic,
Algebra,
Physics,
Chemistry,
Physiology,
Hygiene,
Natural History,
Biology,
Civil Government,
Vocal Music,
Instrumental Music,
Drawing,
Geometry,
Trigonometry,
Calculus,
Book-keeping,
Astronomy,
Geology,
Physical Geography,
Geography,
General History,
U. S. History,
Latin,
French,
German,
Spanish,
Penmanship,
Calesthenics,
Phonography.
To normals—Theory and practice of Teaching.
The Authorities were then presented for the votes of the assembly as follows:
Wilford Woodruff, as Prophet, Seer and Revelator and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.
George Q. Cannon as First Counselor in the First Presidency.
Joseph F. smith as Second Counselor in the First Presidency.
Lorenzo Snow as President of the Twelve Apostles.
As members of the Council of the Twelve Apostles—Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Moses Thatcher, Francis M. Lyman, John H. Smith, George Teasdale, Heber J. Grant, John W. Taylor, Mariner W. Merrill, Anton H. Lund and Abraham H. Cannon.
Counselors to the Twelve Apostles—John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells.
The Counselors in the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles with their Counselors as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
Patriarch to the Church: John Smith.
First Seven Presidents of the Seventies: Henry Herriman, Jacob Gates, Seymour B. Young, C. D. Fjeldsted, John Morgan and B. H. Roberts.
At this point President Cannon stated that there was a vacancy in the Presiding Council of the Seventies. George Reynolds was nominated and elected to fill it.
Wm. B. Preston as Presiding Bishop, with Robert T. Burton as his First and John R. Winder as his Second Counselor.
Franklin D. Richards as Church Historian and General Church Recorder.
John Jaques as Assistant Church Historian and General Church Recorder.
Joseph Don Carlos Young, as General Church architect.
John Nicholson as Clerk of the Conference.
Arthur Winter as Church reporter.
As the Church Board of Education: Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, George Q. Cannon, Karl G. Maeser, Willard Young, George W. Thatcher, Amos Howe, Anton H. Lund, James Sharp.
The vote to sustain the brethren named in their several offices and callings was unanimous throughout.
The choir sang:
An angel from on high,
The long, long silence broke.
Adjourned till Sunday, April 6th.
Benediction by Elder John Nicholson.
Wilford Woodruff, as Prophet, Seer and Revelator and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in all the world.
George Q. Cannon as First Counselor in the First Presidency.
Joseph F. smith as Second Counselor in the First Presidency.
Lorenzo Snow as President of the Twelve Apostles.
As members of the Council of the Twelve Apostles—Lorenzo Snow, Franklin D. Richards, Brigham Young, Moses Thatcher, Francis M. Lyman, John H. Smith, George Teasdale, Heber J. Grant, John W. Taylor, Mariner W. Merrill, Anton H. Lund and Abraham H. Cannon.
Counselors to the Twelve Apostles—John W. Young and Daniel H. Wells.
The Counselors in the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles with their Counselors as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
Patriarch to the Church: John Smith.
First Seven Presidents of the Seventies: Henry Herriman, Jacob Gates, Seymour B. Young, C. D. Fjeldsted, John Morgan and B. H. Roberts.
At this point President Cannon stated that there was a vacancy in the Presiding Council of the Seventies. George Reynolds was nominated and elected to fill it.
Wm. B. Preston as Presiding Bishop, with Robert T. Burton as his First and John R. Winder as his Second Counselor.
Franklin D. Richards as Church Historian and General Church Recorder.
John Jaques as Assistant Church Historian and General Church Recorder.
Joseph Don Carlos Young, as General Church architect.
John Nicholson as Clerk of the Conference.
Arthur Winter as Church reporter.
As the Church Board of Education: Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, George Q. Cannon, Karl G. Maeser, Willard Young, George W. Thatcher, Amos Howe, Anton H. Lund, James Sharp.
The vote to sustain the brethren named in their several offices and callings was unanimous throughout.
The choir sang:
An angel from on high,
The long, long silence broke.
Adjourned till Sunday, April 6th.
Benediction by Elder John Nicholson.
Third Day. Sunday, April 6th, 10 a. m.
Singing by the choir:
Come we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord
And worship at His throne.
Prayer by Elder Charles W. Penrose.
The choir sang:
Inspirer of the ancient seers,
Who wrote from thee the sacred page,
The same through all succeeding years,
To us in our degen’rate age.
Singing by the choir:
Come we that love the Lord,
And let our joys be known;
Join in a song with sweet accord
And worship at His throne.
Prayer by Elder Charles W. Penrose.
The choir sang:
Inspirer of the ancient seers,
Who wrote from thee the sacred page,
The same through all succeeding years,
To us in our degen’rate age.
President Wilford Woodruff
was the first speaker. Following is a brief synopsis of his discourse: I feel that every heart in this congregation should be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father for the blessings which we enjoy this morning, that so many of us have the privilege of meeting in this Tabernacle in peace and quietude to worship Him. Neither the President of this Church, nor his Counselors, nor the Twelve Apostles, nor any man who dwells in the flesh has any power of himself to instruct or edify the Saints; he can only do so by the power and blessing of the Almighty. We are all dependent upon the Lord. The Prophet Joseph was a humble man; he was chosen as one of the weak instruments in the hands of the Lord, raised up in this last dispensation to lay the foundation of this great Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. He was taught by the administration of angels. He knew full well that his strength lay in God and not in himself; and that is our condition at the present time. Whenever the President of this Church or any of those in authority feel in their hearts that the Lord cannot do without them in the carrying on of His work they stand on slippery ground. What did Joseph Smith say when Oliver Cowdery told him that he was the second apostle in this Church and kingdom and that if he left the Church it would fall? His reply was, “Oliver, you try it.” Oliver Cowdery did try it, and he fell, but the kingdom did not. The Lord is not dependent upon any one man or any set of men for the carrying on of His work.
We have been called in this day a generation to go forth and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to the Gentiles first and then to the house of Israel. This has been my lot. It has been the lot of the Apostles, and of thousands of our Elders. We have been called to warn the inhabitants of the earth of the judgments which are to come, to teach them the law for the salvation of the human family. Strong testimonies have been borne by the various speakers during this conference concerning the revelations of Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of the earth. Moses gave unto us the revelations of Israel. We have the Bible, the stick of Judah, the law of God through Moses through the ancient prophets and patriarchs, which has been handed down to us. While thousands of years have passed and gone, the Bible and other revelations of God have been preserved unto this generation. The Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants contain some of the most glorious and sublime revelations that have ever given to man. They show what lies before us, what awaits our nation and the nations of the earth. These things are clearly pointed out and will be fulfilled, whether men believe them or not. The question of revelations sometimes arises in our day. President Young led us for a good many years; he led us to these valleys; he was a man of God and filled with revelation. He laid the foundation for the building up of this Territory, and in all that he did the Lord was with him. The same may be said of President Taylor. If men do not have the Holy Ghost they have no business to teach others.
I would say to the President of the United States, to his Cabinet, to all the inhabitants of this land—sixty or seventy millions of people—to all the nations of the earth, to kings, emperors, and princes, “Do not worry about these Latter-day Saints. If they are not the people of God, if this work has not been established by the Almighty, they will fall of themselves; they will be swept away as with a besom of destruction from off the face of the earth by His judgments.” Have the nations forgotten that there is a God in Israel, who created the heavens and the earth, who governs and controls all these things? Jehovah holds this work in His hands; He rules the destinies of all men; but here has been the great difficulty with all the world in every age that the people have failed to acknowledge the hand of the Lord in all things. The work of the Lord has been an uphill business throughout the entire history of the world. No person who believes in the Bible, in the revelations of God, can deny that the Lord has proclaimed that in the latter days He would set His hand to build up a Church and gather together His people. The hour of His judgments has come, and we are called upon to warn the nations, to preach the Gospel unto them. Whether we are popular or unpopular, if we had not obeyed that command we would have been condemned; the Lord would have cut us off and raised up a people who would do the work. No king, emperor, prince or president, has any power over the souls of men, and their subjects should have the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of their own consciences. Our rules are not the creators of those subjects over whom they preside. Our Creator, has placed us here, and we are responsible to Him alone for our religion, for our faith and work. God will bless no ruler who will not guarantee his subjects their rights and privileges in their relationship and communion with Him.
We are here on a mission and can we afford to reject the Gospel of Christ or turn away from His commandments because it does not suit the world? I cannot. There is a power above all men and governments, and when men shed the blood of the righteous because they follow the word of the Lord they will have to pay for it by and bye. The blood of Joseph and Hyrum Smith was shed; but the bill is not paid yet.
Let not your hearts be troubled. If we do our duty, if we unite together and keep the commandments of the Lord, all will be well in Zion. The world is looking for the destruction of this Church and kingdom, striving for our overthrow, but in vain. There has never been but one Gospel on earth, and there never will be. A great responsibility rests upon us; let us not be afraid with regard to our work. Serve and trust in God, for you cannot put your trust in man. I thank Him for the privilege of bearing my testimony to this great work. If we were not God’s people there would not be the combination which exists now for our destruction. Watch the signs of the times, watch for what is approaching—thunder, lightnings, earthquakes, storms, cyclones, pestilence and famine. When the judgments of the Almighty are gathered together in the heavens, when the testimony of the Elders of Israel is closed, God’s awful messengers will visit the earth. Therefore prepare yourselves for these things which await us, for they are assuredly coming, and no power can stay the hand of the Almighty.
was the first speaker. Following is a brief synopsis of his discourse: I feel that every heart in this congregation should be filled with gratitude and thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father for the blessings which we enjoy this morning, that so many of us have the privilege of meeting in this Tabernacle in peace and quietude to worship Him. Neither the President of this Church, nor his Counselors, nor the Twelve Apostles, nor any man who dwells in the flesh has any power of himself to instruct or edify the Saints; he can only do so by the power and blessing of the Almighty. We are all dependent upon the Lord. The Prophet Joseph was a humble man; he was chosen as one of the weak instruments in the hands of the Lord, raised up in this last dispensation to lay the foundation of this great Church and kingdom of God upon the earth. He was taught by the administration of angels. He knew full well that his strength lay in God and not in himself; and that is our condition at the present time. Whenever the President of this Church or any of those in authority feel in their hearts that the Lord cannot do without them in the carrying on of His work they stand on slippery ground. What did Joseph Smith say when Oliver Cowdery told him that he was the second apostle in this Church and kingdom and that if he left the Church it would fall? His reply was, “Oliver, you try it.” Oliver Cowdery did try it, and he fell, but the kingdom did not. The Lord is not dependent upon any one man or any set of men for the carrying on of His work.
We have been called in this day a generation to go forth and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to the Gentiles first and then to the house of Israel. This has been my lot. It has been the lot of the Apostles, and of thousands of our Elders. We have been called to warn the inhabitants of the earth of the judgments which are to come, to teach them the law for the salvation of the human family. Strong testimonies have been borne by the various speakers during this conference concerning the revelations of Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of the earth. Moses gave unto us the revelations of Israel. We have the Bible, the stick of Judah, the law of God through Moses through the ancient prophets and patriarchs, which has been handed down to us. While thousands of years have passed and gone, the Bible and other revelations of God have been preserved unto this generation. The Book of Mormon and the Book of Doctrine and Covenants contain some of the most glorious and sublime revelations that have ever given to man. They show what lies before us, what awaits our nation and the nations of the earth. These things are clearly pointed out and will be fulfilled, whether men believe them or not. The question of revelations sometimes arises in our day. President Young led us for a good many years; he led us to these valleys; he was a man of God and filled with revelation. He laid the foundation for the building up of this Territory, and in all that he did the Lord was with him. The same may be said of President Taylor. If men do not have the Holy Ghost they have no business to teach others.
I would say to the President of the United States, to his Cabinet, to all the inhabitants of this land—sixty or seventy millions of people—to all the nations of the earth, to kings, emperors, and princes, “Do not worry about these Latter-day Saints. If they are not the people of God, if this work has not been established by the Almighty, they will fall of themselves; they will be swept away as with a besom of destruction from off the face of the earth by His judgments.” Have the nations forgotten that there is a God in Israel, who created the heavens and the earth, who governs and controls all these things? Jehovah holds this work in His hands; He rules the destinies of all men; but here has been the great difficulty with all the world in every age that the people have failed to acknowledge the hand of the Lord in all things. The work of the Lord has been an uphill business throughout the entire history of the world. No person who believes in the Bible, in the revelations of God, can deny that the Lord has proclaimed that in the latter days He would set His hand to build up a Church and gather together His people. The hour of His judgments has come, and we are called upon to warn the nations, to preach the Gospel unto them. Whether we are popular or unpopular, if we had not obeyed that command we would have been condemned; the Lord would have cut us off and raised up a people who would do the work. No king, emperor, prince or president, has any power over the souls of men, and their subjects should have the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of their own consciences. Our rules are not the creators of those subjects over whom they preside. Our Creator, has placed us here, and we are responsible to Him alone for our religion, for our faith and work. God will bless no ruler who will not guarantee his subjects their rights and privileges in their relationship and communion with Him.
We are here on a mission and can we afford to reject the Gospel of Christ or turn away from His commandments because it does not suit the world? I cannot. There is a power above all men and governments, and when men shed the blood of the righteous because they follow the word of the Lord they will have to pay for it by and bye. The blood of Joseph and Hyrum Smith was shed; but the bill is not paid yet.
Let not your hearts be troubled. If we do our duty, if we unite together and keep the commandments of the Lord, all will be well in Zion. The world is looking for the destruction of this Church and kingdom, striving for our overthrow, but in vain. There has never been but one Gospel on earth, and there never will be. A great responsibility rests upon us; let us not be afraid with regard to our work. Serve and trust in God, for you cannot put your trust in man. I thank Him for the privilege of bearing my testimony to this great work. If we were not God’s people there would not be the combination which exists now for our destruction. Watch the signs of the times, watch for what is approaching—thunder, lightnings, earthquakes, storms, cyclones, pestilence and famine. When the judgments of the Almighty are gathered together in the heavens, when the testimony of the Elders of Israel is closed, God’s awful messengers will visit the earth. Therefore prepare yourselves for these things which await us, for they are assuredly coming, and no power can stay the hand of the Almighty.
Discourse
by President Wilford Woodruff
I feel that every heart in this congregation should be filled with gratitude to God for the blessings we enjoy this morning, that so many of us have the privilege of meeting in this Tabernacle in peace and quietude to worship God.
I want to say to this large assembly that the President of the Church, or his Counselors, or the Twelve Apostles, or any other man who dwells in the flesh, has no power in and of himself to instruct or edify the Latter-day Saints; he can only do so by the power and blessings of Almighty God. In this respect I am weak as the least member of this Church and Kingdom. We are all dependent upon the Lord; and I feel this morning that I stand in need, not only of the faith and prayers of the Latter-day Saints, but of the blessings of God and the Holy Spirit to assist me to declare unto the Latter-day Saints the word of the Lord.
I will say another thing. The Saints of God in every age of the world—prophets, apostles, and revelators—have been in such a position that they have had no chance to be lifted up in the pride of their hearts, or to boast of their power and strength to do the work of God among the children of men. Every man who was acquainted with Joseph Smith and those who followed him, knows full well that this was their condition while they dwelt among us. Joseph Smith was a humble man. He was one of the weak instruments in the hands of God. He was raised up in this last dispensation and fulness of times to lay the foundation of this great Church on the earth. He was taught by the administration of angels from heaven. He knew full well that his strength lay in God and not in himself. That is our condition at the present time. We have no chance to be lifted up in the pride of our hearts with regard to the position we occupy. If the President of the Church or either of his Counselors or of the Apostles, or any other man, feels in his heart that God cannot do without him, and that he is especially important in order to carry on the work of the Lord, he stands upon slippery ground. I heard Joseph Smith say that Oliver Cowdery, who was the second Apostle in this Church, said to him, “If I leave this Church it will fall.” Said he, “Oliver, you try it.” Oliver tried it. He fell; but the Kingdom of God did not. I have been acquainted with other apostles in my day and time who felt that the Lord could not do without them; but the Lord got along with His work without them. I say to all men—Jew and Gentile, great and small, rich and poor—that the Lord Almighty has power within Himself, and is not dependent upon any man, to carry on His work; but when He does call men to do His work they have to trust in Him.
I marvel today, in my own mind, why I stand before you as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have been associated with some forty Apostles in my day and time. Twenty-four of them—two quorums—are today in the spirit world. There is a quorum of young men, many of them the sons of Apostles who have passed away, with us today. Well, when I look at this and see that I am still in the midst of Israel, and realize that I have been called to this position, I marvel at it. But it is the business of the Lord and not of man. It is not a position that I have sought. On the other hand, the eternal truth of this responsibility stares me in the face. I know that I am responsible, for the position that I hold today, to the God of heaven, who has chosen me, as are those apostles before me and these tens of thousands of Elders of Israel who now dwell in the flesh on the earth. I attended a Priesthood meeting here last evening with quite a number of those bearing the Priesthood. I look upon the responsibility of these people as being very great. We have been called upon in this day to receive the Priesthood and to go forth and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this generation—to the Gentiles first and then to the House of Israel. This has been my lot. It has been the lot of these Apostles, and many, yea thousands, of the leaders of the Latter-day Saints. We have been called upon to preach the Gospel of Christ to this generation and to warn them of the judgments which are to come.
There has been a great deal said at this conference. We have had strong testimonies borne by the Elders of Israel who have addressed us. I remarked at the commencement of this conference (there were comparatively few people here then) concerning our position and revelation. I remarked that Moses gave revelations to Israel. We have the Bible—the stick of Judah—containing the law of God through Moses and through the ancient prophets and patriarchs. It has been handed down to us through the thousands of years that are past and gone. While libraries, like the library of Alexandria (which was destroyed by an Arab chief and took days and days to burn, it being one of the largest ever gathered together in the world) have perished, the Bible has been preserved unto us, and we have it to read. It gives unto us the law of God given to the ancients. But there has been no change in that law, so far as the gospel is concerned, from that day until this. The Bible—the Old and the New Testament—gives unto us the law whereby we may be exalted and go back again into the presence of God and dwell with Him for ever and ever. It gives unto us the course we should pursue in order to receive a part in the first resurrection, that we may come forth clothed with glory, immortality and eternal life. It also gives us the history, not only of what is passed with the Jews, but of what is to come to pass. Then we have the Book of Mormon—the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim—that was written upon this continent by apostles and prophets. It contains, among other things, the teachings of Jesus Christ when he appeared, after his resurrection, in his immortal and glorious body, and taught the gospel here. Those revelations contain a great many principles. They show unto us the final winding-up scene, the situation of great Babylon and the judgments that were to come to pass in the last days before the coming of the Son of Man. We have also the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, which you have in your houses and which you can read. This code of revelation was given through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, by the Urim and Thummim and otherwise. That book contains some of the most glorious and most sublime revelations God ever gave to man. It shows unto us what lies before us, what awaits this nation and the nations of the earth, and what is at the door of the inhabitants of the earth. These things are clear, they are pointed, they are strong, and they are the revelations of God, and they will be fulfilled, whether men believe it or not.
Now, with regard to present revelation. President Young led us a great many years. He led us to these valleys. He was a man of God, filled with revelation His teachings were attended by the inspirations of the Almighty God. He laid the foundation of the building of this whole Territory. He governed and controlled this Tabernacle we are in, the Temple we are building, and other Temples that we have built in this Territory; and in all his counsels the word of the Lord was with him. He had but few revelations that were written and published to the world. But we had the word of the Lord through him day by day. The same with President Taylor. We have already got, as I said before, this code of revelation, which we can read every day, and which is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, to guide us in the way of life from day to day and from year to year while we dwell in the flesh. When the Apostles and Elders of Israel are called to teach you, when they are called to go abroad and to teach the inhabitants of the earth, they are commanded of the Lord to speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and when a man speaks as he is moved upon by the Holy Ghost, it is the word of the Lord, it is the mind of the Lord, it is the will of the Lord, it is Scripture, it is the power of God unto salvation unto every one that believes. If we do not have the Holy Ghost we have no business to teach. But when the Elders of Israel do teach you by the Holy Ghost, you have the revelations of God to you. We have these revelations lying before us for our guidance day by day, as well as the living oracles.
I would say to the President of the United States, to the Congress of the United States, to the Cabinet, and to all the inhabitants of this land, as well as to all the nations of the earth—kings, emperors, princes and people—do not worry about these Latter-day Saints. I would say to all nations under heaven, if these people are not the people of God, if this work has not been established by God Almighty, they will fall of themselves, they will be swept from the face of the earth by the judgments of God, when Great Babylon falls. But if they are of God, what can you do about it? What can the nations of the earth do about it? Have the nations forgotten that there is a God in Israel? Have they forgotten that there is a God who created the heavens and the earth, and that He governs and controls all these things? If He has set His hand to perform this work, there is no power on the face of the earth, or in hell, that can destroy it, because Jehovah holds it in His own hands. He holds our destiny and the destiny of all the world in His hands. But the great difficulty with this nation and with all nations is, as it has been in every age, they do not acknowledge the hand of God in any of these things. You see it in the history of the whole world and in the dealings of God with men and cities and nations, from the creation of the world. I have referred to these things before in my remarks. Whenever a nation is ripened in iniquity, the Lord raises up prophets and inspired men and they are sent forth to warn that nations, and when they have warned the people and given unto them the word of the Lord, that word will not fall unfulfilled. We have before us a great many instances of the dealings of God with men. We have a fair example in Babylon the Great. King Nebuchadnezzar, surrounded with the city walls a hundred feet high and wide enough for several chariots to ride abreast upon the top thereof, with brazen gates and with a power to defy all but God himself, what did he say: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” The prophet might have told Nebuchadnezzar that the God of heaven had proclaimed a man before he was born that would come and take that great city and destroy its ruler. Cyrus was named by the Lord before he was born, through the mouth of the prophet; and when the time came, as King Belshazzar and his princes were feasting and drinking wine out of the cups that had been brought from the temple at Jerusalem, he took possession of the city and carried off the treasures. The army of Cyrus turned the river out of its course and walked in under the walls of the city. Belshazzar was taken prisoner and slain, and the city went into the hands of people they were not looking for. What did Cyrus do when he took the city of Babylon? He took the riches—cattle, horses and property—there was in that city and offered them as a sacrifice to the great God. This is the course that a heathen king took; and we understand, from history, that Cyrus pursued this course all his life. Whenever he took a city he went and offered sacrifice to the great God, the God of heaven. You may trace this through the whole history of the world until the present hour and you will find that that God who sits enthroned on high has governed and controlled all these things. He will do the same today. That same God has set His hand to fulfill the volume of revelations contained in these records of divine truth, which portray the winding-up scene of the work and Kingdom of God in the last dispensation and fulness of times. Our Heavenly Father called His servant Joseph Smith. He laid the foundation of this Church and Kingdom, and he organized the Church with prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers, gifts and graces, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all come to the perfect stature of a man in Christ Jesus, in fulfilment of the revelations of God. Our numbers are few, it is true; but the people of God always were few in every age of the world. Noah after preaching 120 years, while building the ark, only succeeded in saving eight souls out of all the inhabitants of the earth. The rest were destroyed by the flood, and they were shut up in prison and there visited by Jesus Christ, the Son of the living god. While his body lay in the tomb three days His spirit went to preach to those spirits that were in prison, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh. The work of the Lord always has been an uphill business so far as laboring among the children of men is concerned. But there is no person who believes in the Bible can deny that the Lord has proclaimed that in the latter days He would set His hand to build up His Church and Kingdom, He would gather together His people, and He would send an angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto every nation, kindred, tongue and people under the whole heavens, crying with a loud voice: “Fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” This was the proclamation of the angel of God who delivered the Gospel of Christ to Joseph Smith. “The hour of His judgment is come.” So say we. We have been called upon to warn the nations. We have been called to go forth without purse or scrip. We have had to travel abroad, swim rivers, wade swamps, travel on foot, and visit the nations of the earth in various ways, to preach the Gospel unto them. We have been obliged to do this, for we have been called to do it, whether we were popular or unpopular. If we had not done this, we would have been condemned; the Lord would have cut us off and raised up a people that would perform His work. These thousands of Elders, gathered out from the nations of the earth, upon whose shoulders rests this Priesthood, are the instruments in the hands of the Almighty God, and are called to go forth to warn this generation; and their testimony will rise up in judgment against this generation and condemn them, and I declare it in the name of Jesus Christ, as an Apostle of the Lamb of God in this day and age of the world. I say there is not a nation under heaven, there is not a king, a prince or a president, or any other man who has power over the sons of men, but should give unto their subjects the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of their own consciences. These subjects are the creatures of God, they are the children of God. They are placed here on the earth and are responsible to God Himself for their religion, for their faith and for their worship. They are not responsible to the emperors, or kings, or presidents, or governors who rule over them. Every man is responsible for the course he pursues before the Lord. And God will bless no king, no emperor and no president who will not give unto his subjects the rights and privileges in their relationship to God which the Father Himself has given unto them. Whenever these subjects are deprived of their rights, those who preside over them are held responsible.
We are here upon a mission. This is not our home. This is not the place where we expect to dwell forever. We are going into the spirit world. I have been associated with the Church for 57 years. I was intimate with the Prophet Joseph Smith and those that laid the foundation of this Church, who were martyred for the word of God and testimony of Jesus. They today are in the spirit world, mingling with the Gods, where they can plead for their brethren. So too shall we go in our day and time. In view of this can I afford to reject the gospel, or to turn away from that which the Lord has required at my hands, because it does not suit the world? I cannot. I have got to meet my acts before the throne of God, and so have this nation and all the inhabitants of the earth. They will understand then that there is a power above them, and that is the God of heaven. All men have got to appear at the judgment seat of Christ. And when men shed the blood of the righteous because they follow the words of the Lord, they have to pay for it. No man can shed the blood of the righteous without it costing him something. It was so in the days of Jesus Christ. No man was more unpopular on the face of the earth than Jesus Christ was from the day He was born until He ascended into heaven. All Jerusalem was against Him. The Jews were against Him. The Gentiles were against Him, in a great measure. They cried out against Him and accused Him of everything that was wrong, and labored very hard to find some accusation against Him whereby they might put Him to death. It is true that the Gentile judge who heard the testimony against Jesus told the Jews: “I find no fault in this man,” and he washed his hands, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see you to it.” All right, said they, “his blood be on us, and on our children.” How little did those Jews know what it would cost them to shed the blood of Jesus Christ. Well might the Son of God, while on the cross, cry out, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Strange language for a man that was expiring on the cross! Why did He say this? He knew what would be the result to the Jewish nation for the next two thousand years. Whenever the nations of the earth have taken a stand against the Gospel of Christ or the people of God, they have had to pay the bill. It has cost something to shed the blood of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, and the price is not fully paid yet.
While the world look upon us as a strange people, while they have no faith in us or in our teachings, and while they have no faith in the Bible which they profess to believe in, still their unbelief will not make the truths of God without effect. The inhabitants of the earth know not what awaits them. The Lord is going to cut short His work in righteousness. If He did not no flesh would be saved. As I have said before, we have been called upon to warn this generation. How was it when we first went to New York, to Philadelphia, to Boston, and to the various states of the Union? We went there and found hundreds of people who were ready to receive the Gospel of Christ. We organized churches throughout the United States, north and south, more especially in the northern and middle states. At that time there was not the feeling that there is today. There were a great many who were willing to open their eyes to see, their ears to hear, and their hearts to understand. The Lord told Joseph Smith that He had set His hand to prune His vineyard once more for the last time, and He commanded him and others to go forth to warn this generation to gather out the honest and meek of the earth, and to prepare for the day of His judgment. And in one place in this book of Doctrine and Covenants, in explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares, the Lord says: “Behold, verily, I say, that the field was the world, and the Apostles were the sower of the seed; and after they have fallen asleep, the great persecutor of the church, the apostate, the whore, even Babylon, that maketh all nations to drink of her cup, in whose hearts the enemy, even Satan, sitteth to reign, behold he soweth the tares, wherefore the tares choke the wheat and drive the church into the wilderness. But behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is beginning to bring forth the word; and the blade is springing up and is yet tender. Behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are crying unto the Lord day and night, who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the fields; but the Lord said unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak) lest you destroy the wheat also.”
Do the inhabitants of the earth realize the judgments that hang over their heads? They do not, no more than the people did in the days of Noah, in the days of Lot, and in the days of the Jews when they put to death the Messiah.
You have embraced the Gospel. How came you to be gathered here in these valleys of the mountains, in this once barren desert? Where did you come from? You came from England, from Norway, from Sweden, from the various nations of the earth and from the isles of the sea. How was it that you came here? You reply: An Elder of Israel called. I heard him preach. He told me if I would repent of my sins, I should receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. I believed him. I went forth and was baptized. I had hands laid upon me for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and I did receive the Holy Ghost. There was no deception about this. I was moved upon to gather with the Saints of God to the mountains of Israel, that I might stand with them and be taught in the things of the Kingdom of God, that I might stand in holy places while the judgments of God were poured forth in the earth.
That is why you are here. We might have preached to you till we had been as old as Methusaleh, and if the Almighty had not backed up the testimony of these Elders of Israel, Utah today would be as barren a desert as we found it as far as the Latter-day Saints are concerned.
This is the work of Gok, and we are called upon to labor, no matter what may appear around us, or what persecutions we may be called upon to pass through. This is the great last Kingdom of our God that Daniel saw. It is the Zion of God that Isaiah saw. It is the Church of Jesus Christ that the Revelator John saw. The angel of God has come and delivered his message, in fulfilment of the commandments of God, and the cry has been, Prepare ye for the coming of the Son of man; behold the day of God’s judgment is come. This is the proclamation to the whole world today—Jew and Gentile. And this is why we are here. We have been led here by the inspiration and power of God, and we have come here to fulfill the volume of the book of the revelations of God to the inhabitants of the earth. Therefore, I say, let not your hearts be troubled. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. These Latter-day Saints are where they should be—where the Lord has called them; and if we do our duty, if we unite together and keep the commandments of God, all will be well in Zion. The Lord has said: “Verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will contend with Zion, and plead with her strong ones, and chasten her until she overcomes and is clean before me; for she shall not be removed out of her place. I, the Lord, have spoken it.” We have got to do right and keep the commandments of God. If we don’t, we shall be chastened, there is no doubt about that. But while the world are looking for the destruction of this Church, they will look in vain. They do not realize that the judgments of God are being proclaimed by sword and by fire, and that the Lord is pleading with all flesh. The sword is bathed in heaven; it will fall upon Idumea and the world, and who is able to stand the judgments of the Almighty? Those who are striving for our overthrow, if they have not faith today in this and in God, they will have faith whenever they come to judgment; for the whole of them have got to go to judgment, and they will be judged according to their deeds done in the body.
Brethren and sisters, let us look at these things as they are. We are under great responsibility. In every dispensation God has called men and placed them as watchmen on the walls of Zion. He told Ezekiel: “I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I saw unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn away from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.” We have been called upon to warn this generation. We have tried to do it in our weak way. I have for the last fifty-seven years of my life. So have these brethren here. We have traveled thousands of miles without purse or scrip. We have lifted up our voices and preached the Gospel of Christ to this dispensation.
We are also called, brethren and sisters, to perform some work in our day and time that no other dispensation of men have been called to do. We have been called to rear temples and to go into those temples and redeem our dead. It takes as much to save a dead man as it does a living one. If the dead have not heard the Gospel, the Lord is not going to send them to hell because they have not received it. The Lord is the Father of all. He is merciful to all, and He will save all, except the sons of perdition. Every man will have a glory. Our “Liberal” friends here will have a glory. A man will have a celestial glory if he abides the law of the celestial kingdom; he will have a terrestrial glory if he abides the law of the terrestrial kingdom; he will have a telestial glory if he abides the law of the telestial kingdom. That is the law of God unto us.
Brethren and sister, I have desired to know the truth from the day I was a child. I read the Bible in my boyhood. I attended Sabbath school under old Dr. Porter and Dr. Haws. I read in this New Testament about Jesus Christ. I read of what kind of a Gospel He preached and what kind of a man He was. I read about the Apostles and of the power they had; how they laid hands upon the sick and they recovered; they could cast out devils, and, in some instances, raised the dead. In my boyhood I longed that I might live on the earth till I could find a servant of God, an inspired man, who would teach me these principles that I read of in the New Testament. The Lord promised me, in fulfilment of my prayers, that I should live to see that day. I have lived to see it. The Lord has called a people from the nations of the earth, from every sect, party and denomination, to receive the fulness of the everlasting Gospel. There is but one Gospel. There never was but one Gospel; there never will be but one. Millions of people have been born in the flesh, have lived and have gone to the grave, who never saw the face of a prophet in their lives; never saw a man that was called of God and had power to administer in one of the ordinances of the House of God. Will God condemn them because they did not receive the Gospel? Not at all. They are in the spirit world—our fathers. We are called upon, as saviors on Mount Zion, while the kingdom is the Lord’s, in the latter days, to go forth and redeem our dead. We hold in our hands the keys and power of their redemption, by attending to the ordinances of God for them. It is a work that the Lord has blessed us with. I thank God for this privilege. It is one of the blessings that the Latter-day Saints enjoy. When I go into the spirit world I expect to meet my fathers, my mothers, my relatives. I have been in the Temple of the Lord. I have received endowments for over three thousand of them on my father’s and my mother’s side, all that I could get access to. I do not want to go into the spirit world to meet these people and have them say to me, “You had power to enter into these Temples to get redemption for me, but you have not done it.”
Lay these things to heart. Be not afraid with regard to the work; only serve God and trust in Him. You cannot serve man, nor make flesh your arm, for your salvation. If we are saved, if we are delivered, if we have redemption, it will be by the power of the God of Israel. He sent His Son into the world to lay down His life for the redemption of the children of men.
I feel to thank God that I have this privilege of hearing my testimony to the work. I know it is true. I know Joseph Smith was one of the greatest prophets that God ever raised up in the earth, save Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith holds the keys of this great and last dispensation and fulness of times; he will hold those keys to the endless ages of eternity. He sealed his testimony with his blood. And if we have to do the same, what of it? Thousands and thousands of the children of men lay down their lives in going to war for the sake of worldly honor. Is it any more for a man to lay down his life for the gospel’s sake than it is for him to lay it down for some other cause? I say no. It makes no difference what we are called to pass through, if we are united and do our duty all will be well. I want salvation when I get through. I want to go where my Heavenly Father and the Savior are, if I can. I want to go where the Apostles and Prophets are who have borne the heat and burden of the day in their generations—Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and all the Prophets and Patriarchs whose testimonies we have in the Bible, as well as those who dwelt in this land.
I bear my testimony that this is the Kingdom of God. As to persecution, all men who live godly in Christ Jesus suffer persecution. Why this combination by priest and people against Joseph Smith, an illiterate boy, as soon as he was administered to by the angels of God? Why did he wade in deep waters up to the day of his death? Why did he pass through forty or fifty vexatious lawsuits? Because he was a servant of God and warned the inhabitants of the earth of the judgments that were to come. So it has been with all who have followed him. If this people were not the people of God, you would not see a combination of the inhabitants of the earth for our destruction. Are these Latter-day Saints all the sinners there are in the world? If they are, I tell you the inhabitants of the earth are in a good condition. But it is not so. We sin enough, it is true; perhaps too much; we are guilty of a good many things, probably, that we ought to repent of; I have no doubt there should be a reformation among us in some things; we do not pray as much as we ought to; but we are not so bad as the world call us by any means. The Presidency, the Apostles and these Elders of Israel, our hearts should be united together. We should labor with each other, and for each other, and for the benefit of the children of God. We have tried to do that, in a measure, I believe; but we are weak. If, however, we will do our duty, all will be well.
I pray God to bless these Latter-day Saints. I know He will bless us if we walk uprightly before Him. We will conquer, we will overcome, Zion will arise and flourish, it will stand as appointed of the Lord, the saints of God will be gathered, they will stand in holy places while the judgments of God are manifest in the earth. I say to the Latter-day Saints and to the world, watch the signs of the times, watch the changes that are going to take place. I tell you that thunders, that lightnings, that earthquakes, that storms, that cyclones, that pestilence and that famine are gathered together in the heaven of heavens, and the angels of God are ready to go forth when the testimony of the elders of Israel is closed. Messengers will visit the earth that they cannot mob, that they cannot destroy, because they are the angels of God. These are eternal truths, written like pages of living fire upon these records of Almighty God, and they will have their fulfillment. Prepare yourselves for the things that await us. They are sure to come. No power can stay the hand of the Almighty. God bless us and give us inspiration, light and truth, that we may be prepared for that which is to come, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
by President Wilford Woodruff
I feel that every heart in this congregation should be filled with gratitude to God for the blessings we enjoy this morning, that so many of us have the privilege of meeting in this Tabernacle in peace and quietude to worship God.
I want to say to this large assembly that the President of the Church, or his Counselors, or the Twelve Apostles, or any other man who dwells in the flesh, has no power in and of himself to instruct or edify the Latter-day Saints; he can only do so by the power and blessings of Almighty God. In this respect I am weak as the least member of this Church and Kingdom. We are all dependent upon the Lord; and I feel this morning that I stand in need, not only of the faith and prayers of the Latter-day Saints, but of the blessings of God and the Holy Spirit to assist me to declare unto the Latter-day Saints the word of the Lord.
I will say another thing. The Saints of God in every age of the world—prophets, apostles, and revelators—have been in such a position that they have had no chance to be lifted up in the pride of their hearts, or to boast of their power and strength to do the work of God among the children of men. Every man who was acquainted with Joseph Smith and those who followed him, knows full well that this was their condition while they dwelt among us. Joseph Smith was a humble man. He was one of the weak instruments in the hands of God. He was raised up in this last dispensation and fulness of times to lay the foundation of this great Church on the earth. He was taught by the administration of angels from heaven. He knew full well that his strength lay in God and not in himself. That is our condition at the present time. We have no chance to be lifted up in the pride of our hearts with regard to the position we occupy. If the President of the Church or either of his Counselors or of the Apostles, or any other man, feels in his heart that God cannot do without him, and that he is especially important in order to carry on the work of the Lord, he stands upon slippery ground. I heard Joseph Smith say that Oliver Cowdery, who was the second Apostle in this Church, said to him, “If I leave this Church it will fall.” Said he, “Oliver, you try it.” Oliver tried it. He fell; but the Kingdom of God did not. I have been acquainted with other apostles in my day and time who felt that the Lord could not do without them; but the Lord got along with His work without them. I say to all men—Jew and Gentile, great and small, rich and poor—that the Lord Almighty has power within Himself, and is not dependent upon any man, to carry on His work; but when He does call men to do His work they have to trust in Him.
I marvel today, in my own mind, why I stand before you as the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have been associated with some forty Apostles in my day and time. Twenty-four of them—two quorums—are today in the spirit world. There is a quorum of young men, many of them the sons of Apostles who have passed away, with us today. Well, when I look at this and see that I am still in the midst of Israel, and realize that I have been called to this position, I marvel at it. But it is the business of the Lord and not of man. It is not a position that I have sought. On the other hand, the eternal truth of this responsibility stares me in the face. I know that I am responsible, for the position that I hold today, to the God of heaven, who has chosen me, as are those apostles before me and these tens of thousands of Elders of Israel who now dwell in the flesh on the earth. I attended a Priesthood meeting here last evening with quite a number of those bearing the Priesthood. I look upon the responsibility of these people as being very great. We have been called upon in this day to receive the Priesthood and to go forth and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this generation—to the Gentiles first and then to the House of Israel. This has been my lot. It has been the lot of these Apostles, and many, yea thousands, of the leaders of the Latter-day Saints. We have been called upon to preach the Gospel of Christ to this generation and to warn them of the judgments which are to come.
There has been a great deal said at this conference. We have had strong testimonies borne by the Elders of Israel who have addressed us. I remarked at the commencement of this conference (there were comparatively few people here then) concerning our position and revelation. I remarked that Moses gave revelations to Israel. We have the Bible—the stick of Judah—containing the law of God through Moses and through the ancient prophets and patriarchs. It has been handed down to us through the thousands of years that are past and gone. While libraries, like the library of Alexandria (which was destroyed by an Arab chief and took days and days to burn, it being one of the largest ever gathered together in the world) have perished, the Bible has been preserved unto us, and we have it to read. It gives unto us the law of God given to the ancients. But there has been no change in that law, so far as the gospel is concerned, from that day until this. The Bible—the Old and the New Testament—gives unto us the law whereby we may be exalted and go back again into the presence of God and dwell with Him for ever and ever. It gives unto us the course we should pursue in order to receive a part in the first resurrection, that we may come forth clothed with glory, immortality and eternal life. It also gives us the history, not only of what is passed with the Jews, but of what is to come to pass. Then we have the Book of Mormon—the stick of Joseph in the hands of Ephraim—that was written upon this continent by apostles and prophets. It contains, among other things, the teachings of Jesus Christ when he appeared, after his resurrection, in his immortal and glorious body, and taught the gospel here. Those revelations contain a great many principles. They show unto us the final winding-up scene, the situation of great Babylon and the judgments that were to come to pass in the last days before the coming of the Son of Man. We have also the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, which you have in your houses and which you can read. This code of revelation was given through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, by the Urim and Thummim and otherwise. That book contains some of the most glorious and most sublime revelations God ever gave to man. It shows unto us what lies before us, what awaits this nation and the nations of the earth, and what is at the door of the inhabitants of the earth. These things are clear, they are pointed, they are strong, and they are the revelations of God, and they will be fulfilled, whether men believe it or not.
Now, with regard to present revelation. President Young led us a great many years. He led us to these valleys. He was a man of God, filled with revelation His teachings were attended by the inspirations of the Almighty God. He laid the foundation of the building of this whole Territory. He governed and controlled this Tabernacle we are in, the Temple we are building, and other Temples that we have built in this Territory; and in all his counsels the word of the Lord was with him. He had but few revelations that were written and published to the world. But we had the word of the Lord through him day by day. The same with President Taylor. We have already got, as I said before, this code of revelation, which we can read every day, and which is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, to guide us in the way of life from day to day and from year to year while we dwell in the flesh. When the Apostles and Elders of Israel are called to teach you, when they are called to go abroad and to teach the inhabitants of the earth, they are commanded of the Lord to speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and when a man speaks as he is moved upon by the Holy Ghost, it is the word of the Lord, it is the mind of the Lord, it is the will of the Lord, it is Scripture, it is the power of God unto salvation unto every one that believes. If we do not have the Holy Ghost we have no business to teach. But when the Elders of Israel do teach you by the Holy Ghost, you have the revelations of God to you. We have these revelations lying before us for our guidance day by day, as well as the living oracles.
I would say to the President of the United States, to the Congress of the United States, to the Cabinet, and to all the inhabitants of this land, as well as to all the nations of the earth—kings, emperors, princes and people—do not worry about these Latter-day Saints. I would say to all nations under heaven, if these people are not the people of God, if this work has not been established by God Almighty, they will fall of themselves, they will be swept from the face of the earth by the judgments of God, when Great Babylon falls. But if they are of God, what can you do about it? What can the nations of the earth do about it? Have the nations forgotten that there is a God in Israel? Have they forgotten that there is a God who created the heavens and the earth, and that He governs and controls all these things? If He has set His hand to perform this work, there is no power on the face of the earth, or in hell, that can destroy it, because Jehovah holds it in His own hands. He holds our destiny and the destiny of all the world in His hands. But the great difficulty with this nation and with all nations is, as it has been in every age, they do not acknowledge the hand of God in any of these things. You see it in the history of the whole world and in the dealings of God with men and cities and nations, from the creation of the world. I have referred to these things before in my remarks. Whenever a nation is ripened in iniquity, the Lord raises up prophets and inspired men and they are sent forth to warn that nations, and when they have warned the people and given unto them the word of the Lord, that word will not fall unfulfilled. We have before us a great many instances of the dealings of God with men. We have a fair example in Babylon the Great. King Nebuchadnezzar, surrounded with the city walls a hundred feet high and wide enough for several chariots to ride abreast upon the top thereof, with brazen gates and with a power to defy all but God himself, what did he say: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” The prophet might have told Nebuchadnezzar that the God of heaven had proclaimed a man before he was born that would come and take that great city and destroy its ruler. Cyrus was named by the Lord before he was born, through the mouth of the prophet; and when the time came, as King Belshazzar and his princes were feasting and drinking wine out of the cups that had been brought from the temple at Jerusalem, he took possession of the city and carried off the treasures. The army of Cyrus turned the river out of its course and walked in under the walls of the city. Belshazzar was taken prisoner and slain, and the city went into the hands of people they were not looking for. What did Cyrus do when he took the city of Babylon? He took the riches—cattle, horses and property—there was in that city and offered them as a sacrifice to the great God. This is the course that a heathen king took; and we understand, from history, that Cyrus pursued this course all his life. Whenever he took a city he went and offered sacrifice to the great God, the God of heaven. You may trace this through the whole history of the world until the present hour and you will find that that God who sits enthroned on high has governed and controlled all these things. He will do the same today. That same God has set His hand to fulfill the volume of revelations contained in these records of divine truth, which portray the winding-up scene of the work and Kingdom of God in the last dispensation and fulness of times. Our Heavenly Father called His servant Joseph Smith. He laid the foundation of this Church and Kingdom, and he organized the Church with prophets, apostles, pastors, teachers, gifts and graces, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, and for the edifying of the body of Christ, until we all come to the perfect stature of a man in Christ Jesus, in fulfilment of the revelations of God. Our numbers are few, it is true; but the people of God always were few in every age of the world. Noah after preaching 120 years, while building the ark, only succeeded in saving eight souls out of all the inhabitants of the earth. The rest were destroyed by the flood, and they were shut up in prison and there visited by Jesus Christ, the Son of the living god. While his body lay in the tomb three days His spirit went to preach to those spirits that were in prison, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh. The work of the Lord always has been an uphill business so far as laboring among the children of men is concerned. But there is no person who believes in the Bible can deny that the Lord has proclaimed that in the latter days He would set His hand to build up His Church and Kingdom, He would gather together His people, and He would send an angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto every nation, kindred, tongue and people under the whole heavens, crying with a loud voice: “Fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” This was the proclamation of the angel of God who delivered the Gospel of Christ to Joseph Smith. “The hour of His judgment is come.” So say we. We have been called upon to warn the nations. We have been called to go forth without purse or scrip. We have had to travel abroad, swim rivers, wade swamps, travel on foot, and visit the nations of the earth in various ways, to preach the Gospel unto them. We have been obliged to do this, for we have been called to do it, whether we were popular or unpopular. If we had not done this, we would have been condemned; the Lord would have cut us off and raised up a people that would perform His work. These thousands of Elders, gathered out from the nations of the earth, upon whose shoulders rests this Priesthood, are the instruments in the hands of the Almighty God, and are called to go forth to warn this generation; and their testimony will rise up in judgment against this generation and condemn them, and I declare it in the name of Jesus Christ, as an Apostle of the Lamb of God in this day and age of the world. I say there is not a nation under heaven, there is not a king, a prince or a president, or any other man who has power over the sons of men, but should give unto their subjects the privilege of worshiping God according to the dictates of their own consciences. These subjects are the creatures of God, they are the children of God. They are placed here on the earth and are responsible to God Himself for their religion, for their faith and for their worship. They are not responsible to the emperors, or kings, or presidents, or governors who rule over them. Every man is responsible for the course he pursues before the Lord. And God will bless no king, no emperor and no president who will not give unto his subjects the rights and privileges in their relationship to God which the Father Himself has given unto them. Whenever these subjects are deprived of their rights, those who preside over them are held responsible.
We are here upon a mission. This is not our home. This is not the place where we expect to dwell forever. We are going into the spirit world. I have been associated with the Church for 57 years. I was intimate with the Prophet Joseph Smith and those that laid the foundation of this Church, who were martyred for the word of God and testimony of Jesus. They today are in the spirit world, mingling with the Gods, where they can plead for their brethren. So too shall we go in our day and time. In view of this can I afford to reject the gospel, or to turn away from that which the Lord has required at my hands, because it does not suit the world? I cannot. I have got to meet my acts before the throne of God, and so have this nation and all the inhabitants of the earth. They will understand then that there is a power above them, and that is the God of heaven. All men have got to appear at the judgment seat of Christ. And when men shed the blood of the righteous because they follow the words of the Lord, they have to pay for it. No man can shed the blood of the righteous without it costing him something. It was so in the days of Jesus Christ. No man was more unpopular on the face of the earth than Jesus Christ was from the day He was born until He ascended into heaven. All Jerusalem was against Him. The Jews were against Him. The Gentiles were against Him, in a great measure. They cried out against Him and accused Him of everything that was wrong, and labored very hard to find some accusation against Him whereby they might put Him to death. It is true that the Gentile judge who heard the testimony against Jesus told the Jews: “I find no fault in this man,” and he washed his hands, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see you to it.” All right, said they, “his blood be on us, and on our children.” How little did those Jews know what it would cost them to shed the blood of Jesus Christ. Well might the Son of God, while on the cross, cry out, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Strange language for a man that was expiring on the cross! Why did He say this? He knew what would be the result to the Jewish nation for the next two thousand years. Whenever the nations of the earth have taken a stand against the Gospel of Christ or the people of God, they have had to pay the bill. It has cost something to shed the blood of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith, and the price is not fully paid yet.
While the world look upon us as a strange people, while they have no faith in us or in our teachings, and while they have no faith in the Bible which they profess to believe in, still their unbelief will not make the truths of God without effect. The inhabitants of the earth know not what awaits them. The Lord is going to cut short His work in righteousness. If He did not no flesh would be saved. As I have said before, we have been called upon to warn this generation. How was it when we first went to New York, to Philadelphia, to Boston, and to the various states of the Union? We went there and found hundreds of people who were ready to receive the Gospel of Christ. We organized churches throughout the United States, north and south, more especially in the northern and middle states. At that time there was not the feeling that there is today. There were a great many who were willing to open their eyes to see, their ears to hear, and their hearts to understand. The Lord told Joseph Smith that He had set His hand to prune His vineyard once more for the last time, and He commanded him and others to go forth to warn this generation to gather out the honest and meek of the earth, and to prepare for the day of His judgment. And in one place in this book of Doctrine and Covenants, in explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares, the Lord says: “Behold, verily, I say, that the field was the world, and the Apostles were the sower of the seed; and after they have fallen asleep, the great persecutor of the church, the apostate, the whore, even Babylon, that maketh all nations to drink of her cup, in whose hearts the enemy, even Satan, sitteth to reign, behold he soweth the tares, wherefore the tares choke the wheat and drive the church into the wilderness. But behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is beginning to bring forth the word; and the blade is springing up and is yet tender. Behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are crying unto the Lord day and night, who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the fields; but the Lord said unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak) lest you destroy the wheat also.”
Do the inhabitants of the earth realize the judgments that hang over their heads? They do not, no more than the people did in the days of Noah, in the days of Lot, and in the days of the Jews when they put to death the Messiah.
You have embraced the Gospel. How came you to be gathered here in these valleys of the mountains, in this once barren desert? Where did you come from? You came from England, from Norway, from Sweden, from the various nations of the earth and from the isles of the sea. How was it that you came here? You reply: An Elder of Israel called. I heard him preach. He told me if I would repent of my sins, I should receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. I believed him. I went forth and was baptized. I had hands laid upon me for the reception of the Holy Ghost, and I did receive the Holy Ghost. There was no deception about this. I was moved upon to gather with the Saints of God to the mountains of Israel, that I might stand with them and be taught in the things of the Kingdom of God, that I might stand in holy places while the judgments of God were poured forth in the earth.
That is why you are here. We might have preached to you till we had been as old as Methusaleh, and if the Almighty had not backed up the testimony of these Elders of Israel, Utah today would be as barren a desert as we found it as far as the Latter-day Saints are concerned.
This is the work of Gok, and we are called upon to labor, no matter what may appear around us, or what persecutions we may be called upon to pass through. This is the great last Kingdom of our God that Daniel saw. It is the Zion of God that Isaiah saw. It is the Church of Jesus Christ that the Revelator John saw. The angel of God has come and delivered his message, in fulfilment of the commandments of God, and the cry has been, Prepare ye for the coming of the Son of man; behold the day of God’s judgment is come. This is the proclamation to the whole world today—Jew and Gentile. And this is why we are here. We have been led here by the inspiration and power of God, and we have come here to fulfill the volume of the book of the revelations of God to the inhabitants of the earth. Therefore, I say, let not your hearts be troubled. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. These Latter-day Saints are where they should be—where the Lord has called them; and if we do our duty, if we unite together and keep the commandments of God, all will be well in Zion. The Lord has said: “Verily I say unto you, that I, the Lord, will contend with Zion, and plead with her strong ones, and chasten her until she overcomes and is clean before me; for she shall not be removed out of her place. I, the Lord, have spoken it.” We have got to do right and keep the commandments of God. If we don’t, we shall be chastened, there is no doubt about that. But while the world are looking for the destruction of this Church, they will look in vain. They do not realize that the judgments of God are being proclaimed by sword and by fire, and that the Lord is pleading with all flesh. The sword is bathed in heaven; it will fall upon Idumea and the world, and who is able to stand the judgments of the Almighty? Those who are striving for our overthrow, if they have not faith today in this and in God, they will have faith whenever they come to judgment; for the whole of them have got to go to judgment, and they will be judged according to their deeds done in the body.
Brethren and sisters, let us look at these things as they are. We are under great responsibility. In every dispensation God has called men and placed them as watchmen on the walls of Zion. He told Ezekiel: “I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I saw unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn away from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.” We have been called upon to warn this generation. We have tried to do it in our weak way. I have for the last fifty-seven years of my life. So have these brethren here. We have traveled thousands of miles without purse or scrip. We have lifted up our voices and preached the Gospel of Christ to this dispensation.
We are also called, brethren and sisters, to perform some work in our day and time that no other dispensation of men have been called to do. We have been called to rear temples and to go into those temples and redeem our dead. It takes as much to save a dead man as it does a living one. If the dead have not heard the Gospel, the Lord is not going to send them to hell because they have not received it. The Lord is the Father of all. He is merciful to all, and He will save all, except the sons of perdition. Every man will have a glory. Our “Liberal” friends here will have a glory. A man will have a celestial glory if he abides the law of the celestial kingdom; he will have a terrestrial glory if he abides the law of the terrestrial kingdom; he will have a telestial glory if he abides the law of the telestial kingdom. That is the law of God unto us.
Brethren and sister, I have desired to know the truth from the day I was a child. I read the Bible in my boyhood. I attended Sabbath school under old Dr. Porter and Dr. Haws. I read in this New Testament about Jesus Christ. I read of what kind of a Gospel He preached and what kind of a man He was. I read about the Apostles and of the power they had; how they laid hands upon the sick and they recovered; they could cast out devils, and, in some instances, raised the dead. In my boyhood I longed that I might live on the earth till I could find a servant of God, an inspired man, who would teach me these principles that I read of in the New Testament. The Lord promised me, in fulfilment of my prayers, that I should live to see that day. I have lived to see it. The Lord has called a people from the nations of the earth, from every sect, party and denomination, to receive the fulness of the everlasting Gospel. There is but one Gospel. There never was but one Gospel; there never will be but one. Millions of people have been born in the flesh, have lived and have gone to the grave, who never saw the face of a prophet in their lives; never saw a man that was called of God and had power to administer in one of the ordinances of the House of God. Will God condemn them because they did not receive the Gospel? Not at all. They are in the spirit world—our fathers. We are called upon, as saviors on Mount Zion, while the kingdom is the Lord’s, in the latter days, to go forth and redeem our dead. We hold in our hands the keys and power of their redemption, by attending to the ordinances of God for them. It is a work that the Lord has blessed us with. I thank God for this privilege. It is one of the blessings that the Latter-day Saints enjoy. When I go into the spirit world I expect to meet my fathers, my mothers, my relatives. I have been in the Temple of the Lord. I have received endowments for over three thousand of them on my father’s and my mother’s side, all that I could get access to. I do not want to go into the spirit world to meet these people and have them say to me, “You had power to enter into these Temples to get redemption for me, but you have not done it.”
Lay these things to heart. Be not afraid with regard to the work; only serve God and trust in Him. You cannot serve man, nor make flesh your arm, for your salvation. If we are saved, if we are delivered, if we have redemption, it will be by the power of the God of Israel. He sent His Son into the world to lay down His life for the redemption of the children of men.
I feel to thank God that I have this privilege of hearing my testimony to the work. I know it is true. I know Joseph Smith was one of the greatest prophets that God ever raised up in the earth, save Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith holds the keys of this great and last dispensation and fulness of times; he will hold those keys to the endless ages of eternity. He sealed his testimony with his blood. And if we have to do the same, what of it? Thousands and thousands of the children of men lay down their lives in going to war for the sake of worldly honor. Is it any more for a man to lay down his life for the gospel’s sake than it is for him to lay it down for some other cause? I say no. It makes no difference what we are called to pass through, if we are united and do our duty all will be well. I want salvation when I get through. I want to go where my Heavenly Father and the Savior are, if I can. I want to go where the Apostles and Prophets are who have borne the heat and burden of the day in their generations—Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and all the Prophets and Patriarchs whose testimonies we have in the Bible, as well as those who dwelt in this land.
I bear my testimony that this is the Kingdom of God. As to persecution, all men who live godly in Christ Jesus suffer persecution. Why this combination by priest and people against Joseph Smith, an illiterate boy, as soon as he was administered to by the angels of God? Why did he wade in deep waters up to the day of his death? Why did he pass through forty or fifty vexatious lawsuits? Because he was a servant of God and warned the inhabitants of the earth of the judgments that were to come. So it has been with all who have followed him. If this people were not the people of God, you would not see a combination of the inhabitants of the earth for our destruction. Are these Latter-day Saints all the sinners there are in the world? If they are, I tell you the inhabitants of the earth are in a good condition. But it is not so. We sin enough, it is true; perhaps too much; we are guilty of a good many things, probably, that we ought to repent of; I have no doubt there should be a reformation among us in some things; we do not pray as much as we ought to; but we are not so bad as the world call us by any means. The Presidency, the Apostles and these Elders of Israel, our hearts should be united together. We should labor with each other, and for each other, and for the benefit of the children of God. We have tried to do that, in a measure, I believe; but we are weak. If, however, we will do our duty, all will be well.
I pray God to bless these Latter-day Saints. I know He will bless us if we walk uprightly before Him. We will conquer, we will overcome, Zion will arise and flourish, it will stand as appointed of the Lord, the saints of God will be gathered, they will stand in holy places while the judgments of God are manifest in the earth. I say to the Latter-day Saints and to the world, watch the signs of the times, watch the changes that are going to take place. I tell you that thunders, that lightnings, that earthquakes, that storms, that cyclones, that pestilence and that famine are gathered together in the heaven of heavens, and the angels of God are ready to go forth when the testimony of the elders of Israel is closed. Messengers will visit the earth that they cannot mob, that they cannot destroy, because they are the angels of God. These are eternal truths, written like pages of living fire upon these records of Almighty God, and they will have their fulfillment. Prepare yourselves for the things that await us. They are sure to come. No power can stay the hand of the Almighty. God bless us and give us inspiration, light and truth, that we may be prepared for that which is to come, for Christ’s sake. Amen.
Apostle Franklin D. Richards
next addressed the conference. Following is the substance of his remarks: I esteem it a great blessing to be at this conference and to be permitted to be with you and to hear such precious testimony from our venerable President. What has been said are the eternal truths of heaven. They are the eternal truths by which the people of this generation will be judged. Brother Woodruff has lived and labored in this work fifty-seven years. I have lived in it fifty-two years. It is not the work of man but of God. It has confounded the wisdom of the worldly wise. God has taken the young and the inexperienced, and through them brought His decrees to pass.
There is a philosophy in the Gospel, and those who are ripened in experience understand the necessity of some things which exist. Those who have come into the work later are not practically familiar with the past and probably, in consequence, cannot so clearly see the future as can those who have been longer identified with the Church. Those who were scattered and peeled and were driven here have felt grateful for the season of rest we enjoyed for a time. When we came here, we were untied and happy. We had no drunkenness nor profanity. Since the avenues of communication have opened, however, all manner of allurement has come among us, and every Saint should be on his guard. If the Elders all had the spirit of revelation, there would be no difficulties among the people. The Church courts would have but little to do. The people being taught correct principle, would govern themselves. All should cultivate the spirit of prayer and humility. Prosperity is causing many to forget their prayers. If you cease to keep up communication with God, you will dry up and go away, unless you repent. It is important that we keep up a connection between us and the heavens. When we send a telegraph message and get no reply, we understand there has been a storm and the wires are out of order. When connection is unbroken we know all is well. We have had a precious season during this conference. Every soul must have been comforted and fed.
I wish to say I have been blest of the Lord to know of these things. I obtained a testimony of them on the so-called Grand Prairie, while crossing it in November, 1838. It was there that I learned that the Prophet, some Apostles and Elders, to the number of about thirty or forty had just been taken to prison. We were told we need never expect to see them alive again. The enemies of the Saints were determined to destroy their lives. I was made to feel as only a boy of seventeen years old would naturally feel under such circumstances, when about 2000 miles from my native home, in search of the Gospel, the servants, and the Kingdom of God. It was there, in that lonely place, where the blessing and glory of God shone around me, and it was manifested to me that we would have them among us again; that the Church would not be destroyed—that it could not be broken up. And it was shown to me just how it looked to Peter and his brethren when Christ was crucified.
When I saw these manifestations, I rejoiced exceedingly and I traveled over that dreary prairie with great delight, and afterwards associated with the people. This was the first testimony from God that I received. And during the last fifty years I have been traveling throughout the nations of the earth preaching the Gospel in this and European countries. I have been permitted to witness from time to time many blessings such as the gift of tongues, the interpretation thereof, the gift of healing, prophecy, revelation, the still small voice in divers ways and I know this to be the Kingdom of God. I know this is the work of the Lord just as truly as I know any earthly thing, and knowing this I feel that the short time I have to remain here is sacred, and with what little I have I am trying to help build up this Church and labor in defense of its interests, in any humble capacity in which I may be situated.
You will recollect that some few years ago one amongst the Apostles took the ground that our Savior was as any other ordinary man; that he lived, was tried and convicted, sentenced, and executed the same as any other person accused of crime would be. And when these things were brought to light, you will recollect that he was removed out of his place. This thing struck deep into my heart. This circumstance struck into me like molten lead and it went down into my soul. I thought what do I know about the Lord, our great Captain? What do I know about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our great Redeemer? And yet I am called to be an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to represent Him on the earth. It came to me with such force that I prayed and fasted. I searched the Scripture, prayed unto God, until He, in His pleasure showed it unto me. And I can say, I know that my Redeemer lives and that He will come and stand again upon the earth in the latter days. He came upon the earth in the meridian of time, but the inhabitants of the earth did not want to listen to His instructions. He came and went through His ministry, until the earth and the inhabitants thereof did not want to listen to or associate with Him. He triumphed over death, hell and the grave and ascended up on High, and there will remain until his enemies shall be made his footstool. You and I are called upon to prepare ourselves in body and in spirit, for his coming—for His glorious return, when He shall come and bring His ransomed throngs with Him.
No earthly potentate, be he emperor, king, noble, czar, Lord or judge, has ever held any title, nor has ever had any such prestige and demanded such wide-spread attention from the human family as has thus our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Captain of our salvation.
The revelations to which President Woodruff has referred us this morning contain testimonies which have come down to us through the ages. We know they are true. We know He passed through that fiery ordeal and wrought out the salvation and resurrection for all mankind, and we are now looking for the time when these things shall come to pass which are therein contained.
We are living in times when men’s minds are darkened. This nation and people have turned a deaf ear. Their hearts are hard and they seem to be heighten and have no desire to know the truth. They will not listen to us. They have turned their hearts away and they do not care to know anything about the kingdom of God.
We understand through the revelations that the great father of lies is the author of this condition of things. He was a liar from the beginning. He is the master of these lies and slanderous reports and ideas circulated against us, and he is keeping the people under that cloud of falsehood that they might not come to a knowledge of the truth. The blood of the prophets is upon them, and while this is the condition of things, and while we cannot be heard by the people of the world in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, let us go to our dead, get the records of our ancestry and work in the Temples for them and we will find that when we have gone as far as we can we will have the ministration of those we are working for. This has been the case with many already. Manifestations from the dead have been made to people working in the Temples.
Brother Richards concluded with an exhortation to the Saints to remain faithful to their covenants.
next addressed the conference. Following is the substance of his remarks: I esteem it a great blessing to be at this conference and to be permitted to be with you and to hear such precious testimony from our venerable President. What has been said are the eternal truths of heaven. They are the eternal truths by which the people of this generation will be judged. Brother Woodruff has lived and labored in this work fifty-seven years. I have lived in it fifty-two years. It is not the work of man but of God. It has confounded the wisdom of the worldly wise. God has taken the young and the inexperienced, and through them brought His decrees to pass.
There is a philosophy in the Gospel, and those who are ripened in experience understand the necessity of some things which exist. Those who have come into the work later are not practically familiar with the past and probably, in consequence, cannot so clearly see the future as can those who have been longer identified with the Church. Those who were scattered and peeled and were driven here have felt grateful for the season of rest we enjoyed for a time. When we came here, we were untied and happy. We had no drunkenness nor profanity. Since the avenues of communication have opened, however, all manner of allurement has come among us, and every Saint should be on his guard. If the Elders all had the spirit of revelation, there would be no difficulties among the people. The Church courts would have but little to do. The people being taught correct principle, would govern themselves. All should cultivate the spirit of prayer and humility. Prosperity is causing many to forget their prayers. If you cease to keep up communication with God, you will dry up and go away, unless you repent. It is important that we keep up a connection between us and the heavens. When we send a telegraph message and get no reply, we understand there has been a storm and the wires are out of order. When connection is unbroken we know all is well. We have had a precious season during this conference. Every soul must have been comforted and fed.
I wish to say I have been blest of the Lord to know of these things. I obtained a testimony of them on the so-called Grand Prairie, while crossing it in November, 1838. It was there that I learned that the Prophet, some Apostles and Elders, to the number of about thirty or forty had just been taken to prison. We were told we need never expect to see them alive again. The enemies of the Saints were determined to destroy their lives. I was made to feel as only a boy of seventeen years old would naturally feel under such circumstances, when about 2000 miles from my native home, in search of the Gospel, the servants, and the Kingdom of God. It was there, in that lonely place, where the blessing and glory of God shone around me, and it was manifested to me that we would have them among us again; that the Church would not be destroyed—that it could not be broken up. And it was shown to me just how it looked to Peter and his brethren when Christ was crucified.
When I saw these manifestations, I rejoiced exceedingly and I traveled over that dreary prairie with great delight, and afterwards associated with the people. This was the first testimony from God that I received. And during the last fifty years I have been traveling throughout the nations of the earth preaching the Gospel in this and European countries. I have been permitted to witness from time to time many blessings such as the gift of tongues, the interpretation thereof, the gift of healing, prophecy, revelation, the still small voice in divers ways and I know this to be the Kingdom of God. I know this is the work of the Lord just as truly as I know any earthly thing, and knowing this I feel that the short time I have to remain here is sacred, and with what little I have I am trying to help build up this Church and labor in defense of its interests, in any humble capacity in which I may be situated.
You will recollect that some few years ago one amongst the Apostles took the ground that our Savior was as any other ordinary man; that he lived, was tried and convicted, sentenced, and executed the same as any other person accused of crime would be. And when these things were brought to light, you will recollect that he was removed out of his place. This thing struck deep into my heart. This circumstance struck into me like molten lead and it went down into my soul. I thought what do I know about the Lord, our great Captain? What do I know about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our great Redeemer? And yet I am called to be an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ to represent Him on the earth. It came to me with such force that I prayed and fasted. I searched the Scripture, prayed unto God, until He, in His pleasure showed it unto me. And I can say, I know that my Redeemer lives and that He will come and stand again upon the earth in the latter days. He came upon the earth in the meridian of time, but the inhabitants of the earth did not want to listen to His instructions. He came and went through His ministry, until the earth and the inhabitants thereof did not want to listen to or associate with Him. He triumphed over death, hell and the grave and ascended up on High, and there will remain until his enemies shall be made his footstool. You and I are called upon to prepare ourselves in body and in spirit, for his coming—for His glorious return, when He shall come and bring His ransomed throngs with Him.
No earthly potentate, be he emperor, king, noble, czar, Lord or judge, has ever held any title, nor has ever had any such prestige and demanded such wide-spread attention from the human family as has thus our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the Captain of our salvation.
The revelations to which President Woodruff has referred us this morning contain testimonies which have come down to us through the ages. We know they are true. We know He passed through that fiery ordeal and wrought out the salvation and resurrection for all mankind, and we are now looking for the time when these things shall come to pass which are therein contained.
We are living in times when men’s minds are darkened. This nation and people have turned a deaf ear. Their hearts are hard and they seem to be heighten and have no desire to know the truth. They will not listen to us. They have turned their hearts away and they do not care to know anything about the kingdom of God.
We understand through the revelations that the great father of lies is the author of this condition of things. He was a liar from the beginning. He is the master of these lies and slanderous reports and ideas circulated against us, and he is keeping the people under that cloud of falsehood that they might not come to a knowledge of the truth. The blood of the prophets is upon them, and while this is the condition of things, and while we cannot be heard by the people of the world in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, let us go to our dead, get the records of our ancestry and work in the Temples for them and we will find that when we have gone as far as we can we will have the ministration of those we are working for. This has been the case with many already. Manifestations from the dead have been made to people working in the Temples.
Brother Richards concluded with an exhortation to the Saints to remain faithful to their covenants.
Remarks
by Elder Franklin D. Richards
Beloved hearers: I esteem it indeed an inestimable blessing to be permitted, with you, to listen to the precious testimony that we have just been listening to from our venerable President. I know that the things which he has declared unto us are the eternal truths of heaven that have been revealed to us in the day in which we live. They are no more true from my knowing they are true, or from you knowing they are true, than if we did not know it; or if the wicked do not know it, they are no less true. They are the truths by which the people of this generation will have to be judged. President Woodruff has lived in this Church and in the knowledge of this Church almost sixty years. I have lived in it about fifty-two years. And I wish to say that I also know that this is the work of the living God. It has not been devised by man, nor by any combination of men. But it has been sent forth by the condescension of our Heavenly Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the ministry of holy angels. The wisdom of men has been brought to naught wherein they have thought that they were of necessary importance in the work of God. He has taken those who were young in years, ignorant of the learning of the world, and has taught them in the knowledge of Himself and of His purposes. This is the highest degree of knowledge that is conferred upon men in the earth, and the human family are going to find it so.
The present is a time when those who are doubtful and who are less established entertain feelings of trepidation in their hearts, not knowing what has been, as some of the older ones do know; therefore they are not prepared to understand, without the revelations of Jesus Christ, was is to come. But there is a philosophy in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which aids people so that they come to understand the necessity of some things that have to exist. Our children, the rising generation who have been born in these valleys, and the many who have emigrated to this country from foreign nations during the period of our existence here, are ignorant of the persecutions that occurred to the people of God in the States. They have not had a knowledge, and a sense, an understanding, and a conscious comprehension of those things; and they also must be made, by the blessings and providences of God, to come with us to a knowledge of His dispensations, to an understanding of His appointments and of the great truths that have been revealed. True, many of our children have come up in the Sabbath schools and in the various associations, and have obtained a knowledge by the testimonies of the Holy Ghost for themselves. But there are many who have not; and it is pitiable to remember that some are associated with such parentage that they do not have the examples before them which are calculated to bring them to the knowledge of God in their earliest days.
We have had a period of almost unexampled prosperity. While our children and they of little experience have not had a full knowledge of these things, what have been the feelings of those who came from the States here, scattered and peeled, a little over forty years ago, when it was not known that man could subsist in these valleys? The feelings of those men and women are sentiments of the utmost gratitude to God that they were permitted to get away safely from their professed Christian friends and lawless mobbers and have a little rest in these mountains, where we could serve God according to the dictates of our consciences. The Lord graciously brought us out through great difficulties, a thousand miles from settlements, where we were hidden, as it were, from the people of the nation around us. And for quite a season (it is within the memory of some, and precious it is yet) the Lord blessed us to appoint the rulers from among our number, even the political rulers. We were blessed with the best of guidance and wisdom, by men who were inspired with the revelations of Jehovah to teach us. We were united, we were happy, and we knew nothing of drunkenness, and scarcely knew profanity; and blessed as we were in this excellent latitude of superlative health, it was a saying among the people for many years that we were not going to die here of disease. We did not, but died of old age. Presently the avenues of communication were opened up, and all manner of people came to dwell among us, and all manner of spirits and diseases dwell among us. It becomes now a necessity for every saint to have on the whole armor that he may be able to stand for himself before his God, and contend successfully against the power of darkness.
This is our condition today. These things are calculated to put us, in common parlance, upon our metal, to find out whether we are right with God, having fellowship and influence with Him. Oh! if all those who are before me today would have and keep the testimony of Jesus, the spirit of revelation that our President has been telling us of, what would be the consequences? Would there be any difficulties among this people? No indeed! Every family would be living in the light and spirit of that revelation. Each family would govern itself. The Presidency of the Church, the Presidencies of Stakes and the Bishops of Wards, as well as the High Councils, would have little to do in settling difficulties. Why? Because, as the Prophet Joseph said, the people being taught correct principles they would govern themselves. This is what the Lord is trying to bring His people up to, and fortunate for us if we so live as to acquire those abilities of self-government and self-control. I would admonish all that they cultivate diligently the spirit of prayer and supplication. With this vast tide of prosperity, with this influx of wealth and inflation of prices, many men are forgetting their prayers—old and young—and they are having so much business and so much hurry, they cannot stop to pray, neither at morning nor at night. I warn you, my brethren, if you cease your prayers and do not keep that connection between you and your God, you will dry up and be blown away. These influences will contaminate you. They will hunger your soul after the things of the world, and the cares of the world will choke the word, and the Spirit of the Lord will withdraw from you, unless you find speedy repentance and turn to find favor and presence of the Lord again. It is of the utmost importance that we should keep the connection complete between us and heavens. We know when there is a storm, and we put in a telegram to send abroad and we do not get an answer, that there is something the matter—the poles are down, the wire is down, for there has been some storm. But when the wires are in order, the message goes through and we get the answer. Just so it is about our prayers. If we live as we ought to do, the spirit of prayer and supplication is with us, and we are increasing in strength, in faith, and in fellowship with God, with the angels and the spirits of the just made perfect. And these things will be hastened on; according to our diligence and faithfulness, will the purposes of God be brought about unto us.
We have had, to my understanding, a most precious season during this Conference. It has seemed as if the gamut of the gospel has been traced towards us, in every keynote of it, from personal confession up to the highest principles of the gospel. It seems to me that every soul must have been fed; every afflicted, sorrowful one must have been comforted; every tried and tempted one must have felt the benefit of these instructions to refresh his soul and renew his strength before the Lord. I wish to testify that I have been greatly blessed of the Lord.
I obtained the first testimony of the Holy Spirit to the truth of this great work in the midst of what is called the grand prairie in Missouri. I was crossing it on foot one day in November, 1838. I had just heard that the Prophet, the Apostles and the Elders, to the number of thirty or forty, had been taken off to Richmond, Liberty and other places, to prison, and that we need never hope to have them with us any more; for the wicked had determined that they should not dwell with us, nor we with them. I felt as a boy seventeen years old would naturally feel under those circumstances—about two thousand miles from his native home, in search of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and the servants of God. Right there in that lonely place it was that the blessings and glory of God shone around me, and it was shown to me that we would have them again; it was the work of God, it could not be destroyed, it could not be broken up, it could not be impaired. It was shown to me how it looked to Peter and the brethren anciently when Jesus Christ was crucified, and the Apostle has written for us that his hopes were well night gone. When the Lord made this manifest to me, I rejoiced exceedingly, and traveled over that prairie with great lightness and testimony, and got up to associate with the people of God.
That was the first testimony I received from God concerning the work. And during the last fifty years that I have been traveling with you and throughout the nations in preaching the Gospel to this and European countries, I have been blessed with testimonies repeatedly, such as healings, tongues, interpretations, prophecies, revelations, and the still small voice and in divers other ways. I know this to be the Church and Kingdom of God, I know it to be the work of the Lord, just as truly as I know any earthly thing I have to do with; and, knowing this, I feel, and have all the time, to consecrate myself with what little I am and have, to help build up this Church and to advance its interests in any humble capacity in which I may be situated.
You will recollect that some few years ago one among the Apostles had the senseless inconsideration to feel and to say that our Savior was only as another man; that he was tried and convicted, sentenced and executed as any other culprit should be; and you will remember that he was moved out of his place. This thing struck deep into my heart. I was ordained, as you know, here in these valleys, in 1849, being then the youngest member in the Council of the Apostles. But this circumstance struck me all through like melted lead. It went down into my soul, and I thought, what do I know about our Great Captain, our Lord Jesus Christ, our Great Redeemer, and called to be an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. It came home to me with an earnestness that set me at work with prayer and with fasting, and with searching the scriptures, until God in His pleasure showed it to me; and I can say that I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will come and stand upon the earth in the latter day. He came and went through His ministry, until the earth and the inhabitants thereof did what they listed with Him, and when they had done the last thing they could do with Him, He triumphed over death and hell and went on high. He lives there and will remain there until His enemies shall be made his footstool. You and I are called upon to prepare ourselves in body and in spirit, in all that we are, with all that we have, with all that we can control, and prepare our surroundings, for His coming, His glorious return, when He shall bring His ransomed throngs with Him.
No earthly potentates, be he czar, emperor, king, lord or noble, or of any title, has had the prestige and the attention of the human family as has this our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The most ancient time we hear of—in the Garden of Eden—it was said of Him that He should come in the meridian of time, and sacrifices were given and required to perpetuate this knowledge, that He was to come as the great living sacrifice, and by the wisdom of the Eternal and man on the earth it was so perpetuated; and every great man that had any knowledge of God offered sacrifices and perpetuated that knowledge till Jesus came and dwelt in the flesh. These records that President Woodruff referred us to this morning contain testimonies that have come down through the ages of time unto us, and we know that He has come, that He has passed through this ordeal, that He has wrought out salvation and the resurrection for all mankind.
We live in a period of time when people’s hearts are hard. The nation seems to be beclouded. Terrible thought! our nation is filled with lies concerning us. They do not know us. We have not the power to make ourselves known to them. They are unwilling to know. They seem as if they are afraid we are right. We cannot get them even to that first birth, by which they might see the Kingdom of God, much less enter into it. Oh, what a terrible condition they are in! Parts of the United States will not listen to an Elder; other parts are now receiving the Gospel a little. But what has the lord to say about this matter? We understand, by the revelations, that the great father of lies is the author of this condition of things. He was a liar from the beginning, and he has imposed these lies and false ideas upon the human family, and he is keeping them under that cloud lest they should come unto a knowledge of the truth. What did the Apostles say anciently? That “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Oh, terrible fate, terrible judgment, terrible consequences; right here in the flesh, without waiting to get out of it, to find the torments of hell as promised by some! For God has decreed that he will sweep away this refuge of lies with the besom of His destruction as promised by his ancient prophets.
This is the condition of the world. And now while it is so that we cannot be heard by the preaching of the Gospel, we say, as our President has said, let us go to the dead. Let us get the records of our ancestry and go to work for them; and very soon we will find that they will be at work for us, as those who are laboring in the holy places do find. This is a work that has to do with the generations of the dead for ages that are past.
The testimony of John is true concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, who was in the beginning, in the creation, and without Him there was not anything made that was made. He had control as He was the character known as Jehovah. When He was in the burning bush he said to Moses, I am Jehovah; and He told His name along occasionally to the ancient prophets and worthies, by which we know that He was the Jehovah. When He came and entered into the flesh, then He was the Christ, and has been known by that name ever since. He is our great Redeemer. And we are commencing the great work of the last dispensation, in which the consummation is to be; when there will come people from all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and they will praise and glorify His holy name, who hath redeemed us out of every nation, and kindred and tongue and people, and hath made us kings and priests unto our God, and we shall reign on the earth. There is a glorious prospect of triumph ahead, and we have no need to fear, no need to be anxious about the outcome. The thing is to conduct ourselves properly every day under the circumstances and conditions in which we are placed, and abide by every law which God has given us, that we may be sanctified by them unto immortality and eternal life; and if we can attain this, we are safe, we are certain and are founded upon the rock of ages, and it matters little whether we live or die. We shall all go in our time and turn; it will only be a question according to the providence of God, when.
Well, brethren and sisters, I rejoice exceedingly in this work. There is no other thing like it on the earth. Why, the gold and the silver bear no comparison of joy and satisfaction to what does the understanding and knowledge of the truth of these principles and that these blessings that are offered us in the Gospel are certain to come to us, and that we get a foretaste and commencement of them here by testimony after testimony, line upon line, here a little and there a little.
Now, some people think it is a terrible way we are getting on and the way that it is begin lorded over God’s heritage. It is but a few days ago that there were men eating and drinking with us at the table of the Lord right here in this Tabernacle; let me ask you where are they now? Is there the wisdom in man, or in any syndicate of men that could be got up among us, that could have drawn the line between God’s people and they who are not His people as has been done right here in the streets of this city? Is it not a presumptuous thought to think that God would give unqualifiedly His blessings unto all, promiscuous as we were? And He has made those that have been selling their brethren for ten, twenty or thirty dollars apiece into the hands of their enemies, to turn and train with those that were like them. This is the commencement of the line which is being drawn between the people and those that are not the people. Is there skill of man that could have done this with as little injury of feeling, as little difficulty of any kind, as this single circumstance? The Bishops know who are their people now. They can go and labor with these people in their Wards and help settle the difficulties among their worthy brethren; they can help many among them who cannot get recommends to go to the Temple and administer for their dead—help reconcile their feelings, settle their affairs in a way that they can go well recommended sanctify themselves, serve the Lord more perfectly, and advance in the knowledge of the truth.
My brethren and sisters, I pray the Lord to bless all these opportunities to strengthen the weak, to encourage the sad and the heavy-hearted; for each ward has people in all conditions—in ease and comfort, sorrow and sadness, affliction and distress. But he who has the testimony of Jesus can stand the storms which shall come upon us and laugh defiance at all the powers of sin and Satan. They may make the heart sad and sorrowful and fill us with pain; but the testimony of Jesus, that makes wise the simple and fills the soul with light and knowledge and revelation, can above it all find smiling joy as they see the light shining out of that cloud behind which He hides a smiling face. May the Lord strengthen us; may we so live as to engage that strength. And let me tell you, while we have had words of consolation, of reproof and of exhortation gives to us, there is no word that the Lord has ever condescended to utter in our behalf, whether it be so simple as to say that you should retire to your beds early and rise early, that your bodies and minds may be invigorated, or what you should eat and drink, even up to the higher laws that pertain to the celestial kingdom, which is too trifling for us, or that we can afford to neglect. We must say as Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Let us understand this, and make it our daily business to raise that kind of bread, keep it on hand and live by it continually. Then the Lord will remember His promises. He will aid us in affliction, send us succor in distress, bear us safely through and count us as His own. May this be our happy lot, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Cannon announced that as the Tabernacle was not large enough to hold the people, an overflow meeting would be held in the Assembly Hall in the afternoon.
The choir sang: Arise! Shine! for thy light is come.
Adjourned till 2 p. m.
Benediction by Bishop Orson F. Whitney.
by Elder Franklin D. Richards
Beloved hearers: I esteem it indeed an inestimable blessing to be permitted, with you, to listen to the precious testimony that we have just been listening to from our venerable President. I know that the things which he has declared unto us are the eternal truths of heaven that have been revealed to us in the day in which we live. They are no more true from my knowing they are true, or from you knowing they are true, than if we did not know it; or if the wicked do not know it, they are no less true. They are the truths by which the people of this generation will have to be judged. President Woodruff has lived in this Church and in the knowledge of this Church almost sixty years. I have lived in it about fifty-two years. And I wish to say that I also know that this is the work of the living God. It has not been devised by man, nor by any combination of men. But it has been sent forth by the condescension of our Heavenly Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the ministry of holy angels. The wisdom of men has been brought to naught wherein they have thought that they were of necessary importance in the work of God. He has taken those who were young in years, ignorant of the learning of the world, and has taught them in the knowledge of Himself and of His purposes. This is the highest degree of knowledge that is conferred upon men in the earth, and the human family are going to find it so.
The present is a time when those who are doubtful and who are less established entertain feelings of trepidation in their hearts, not knowing what has been, as some of the older ones do know; therefore they are not prepared to understand, without the revelations of Jesus Christ, was is to come. But there is a philosophy in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ which aids people so that they come to understand the necessity of some things that have to exist. Our children, the rising generation who have been born in these valleys, and the many who have emigrated to this country from foreign nations during the period of our existence here, are ignorant of the persecutions that occurred to the people of God in the States. They have not had a knowledge, and a sense, an understanding, and a conscious comprehension of those things; and they also must be made, by the blessings and providences of God, to come with us to a knowledge of His dispensations, to an understanding of His appointments and of the great truths that have been revealed. True, many of our children have come up in the Sabbath schools and in the various associations, and have obtained a knowledge by the testimonies of the Holy Ghost for themselves. But there are many who have not; and it is pitiable to remember that some are associated with such parentage that they do not have the examples before them which are calculated to bring them to the knowledge of God in their earliest days.
We have had a period of almost unexampled prosperity. While our children and they of little experience have not had a full knowledge of these things, what have been the feelings of those who came from the States here, scattered and peeled, a little over forty years ago, when it was not known that man could subsist in these valleys? The feelings of those men and women are sentiments of the utmost gratitude to God that they were permitted to get away safely from their professed Christian friends and lawless mobbers and have a little rest in these mountains, where we could serve God according to the dictates of our consciences. The Lord graciously brought us out through great difficulties, a thousand miles from settlements, where we were hidden, as it were, from the people of the nation around us. And for quite a season (it is within the memory of some, and precious it is yet) the Lord blessed us to appoint the rulers from among our number, even the political rulers. We were blessed with the best of guidance and wisdom, by men who were inspired with the revelations of Jehovah to teach us. We were united, we were happy, and we knew nothing of drunkenness, and scarcely knew profanity; and blessed as we were in this excellent latitude of superlative health, it was a saying among the people for many years that we were not going to die here of disease. We did not, but died of old age. Presently the avenues of communication were opened up, and all manner of people came to dwell among us, and all manner of spirits and diseases dwell among us. It becomes now a necessity for every saint to have on the whole armor that he may be able to stand for himself before his God, and contend successfully against the power of darkness.
This is our condition today. These things are calculated to put us, in common parlance, upon our metal, to find out whether we are right with God, having fellowship and influence with Him. Oh! if all those who are before me today would have and keep the testimony of Jesus, the spirit of revelation that our President has been telling us of, what would be the consequences? Would there be any difficulties among this people? No indeed! Every family would be living in the light and spirit of that revelation. Each family would govern itself. The Presidency of the Church, the Presidencies of Stakes and the Bishops of Wards, as well as the High Councils, would have little to do in settling difficulties. Why? Because, as the Prophet Joseph said, the people being taught correct principles they would govern themselves. This is what the Lord is trying to bring His people up to, and fortunate for us if we so live as to acquire those abilities of self-government and self-control. I would admonish all that they cultivate diligently the spirit of prayer and supplication. With this vast tide of prosperity, with this influx of wealth and inflation of prices, many men are forgetting their prayers—old and young—and they are having so much business and so much hurry, they cannot stop to pray, neither at morning nor at night. I warn you, my brethren, if you cease your prayers and do not keep that connection between you and your God, you will dry up and be blown away. These influences will contaminate you. They will hunger your soul after the things of the world, and the cares of the world will choke the word, and the Spirit of the Lord will withdraw from you, unless you find speedy repentance and turn to find favor and presence of the Lord again. It is of the utmost importance that we should keep the connection complete between us and heavens. We know when there is a storm, and we put in a telegram to send abroad and we do not get an answer, that there is something the matter—the poles are down, the wire is down, for there has been some storm. But when the wires are in order, the message goes through and we get the answer. Just so it is about our prayers. If we live as we ought to do, the spirit of prayer and supplication is with us, and we are increasing in strength, in faith, and in fellowship with God, with the angels and the spirits of the just made perfect. And these things will be hastened on; according to our diligence and faithfulness, will the purposes of God be brought about unto us.
We have had, to my understanding, a most precious season during this Conference. It has seemed as if the gamut of the gospel has been traced towards us, in every keynote of it, from personal confession up to the highest principles of the gospel. It seems to me that every soul must have been fed; every afflicted, sorrowful one must have been comforted; every tried and tempted one must have felt the benefit of these instructions to refresh his soul and renew his strength before the Lord. I wish to testify that I have been greatly blessed of the Lord.
I obtained the first testimony of the Holy Spirit to the truth of this great work in the midst of what is called the grand prairie in Missouri. I was crossing it on foot one day in November, 1838. I had just heard that the Prophet, the Apostles and the Elders, to the number of thirty or forty, had been taken off to Richmond, Liberty and other places, to prison, and that we need never hope to have them with us any more; for the wicked had determined that they should not dwell with us, nor we with them. I felt as a boy seventeen years old would naturally feel under those circumstances—about two thousand miles from his native home, in search of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and the servants of God. Right there in that lonely place it was that the blessings and glory of God shone around me, and it was shown to me that we would have them again; it was the work of God, it could not be destroyed, it could not be broken up, it could not be impaired. It was shown to me how it looked to Peter and the brethren anciently when Jesus Christ was crucified, and the Apostle has written for us that his hopes were well night gone. When the Lord made this manifest to me, I rejoiced exceedingly, and traveled over that prairie with great lightness and testimony, and got up to associate with the people of God.
That was the first testimony I received from God concerning the work. And during the last fifty years that I have been traveling with you and throughout the nations in preaching the Gospel to this and European countries, I have been blessed with testimonies repeatedly, such as healings, tongues, interpretations, prophecies, revelations, and the still small voice and in divers other ways. I know this to be the Church and Kingdom of God, I know it to be the work of the Lord, just as truly as I know any earthly thing I have to do with; and, knowing this, I feel, and have all the time, to consecrate myself with what little I am and have, to help build up this Church and to advance its interests in any humble capacity in which I may be situated.
You will recollect that some few years ago one among the Apostles had the senseless inconsideration to feel and to say that our Savior was only as another man; that he was tried and convicted, sentenced and executed as any other culprit should be; and you will remember that he was moved out of his place. This thing struck deep into my heart. I was ordained, as you know, here in these valleys, in 1849, being then the youngest member in the Council of the Apostles. But this circumstance struck me all through like melted lead. It went down into my soul, and I thought, what do I know about our Great Captain, our Lord Jesus Christ, our Great Redeemer, and called to be an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. It came home to me with an earnestness that set me at work with prayer and with fasting, and with searching the scriptures, until God in His pleasure showed it to me; and I can say that I know that my Redeemer lives, and He will come and stand upon the earth in the latter day. He came and went through His ministry, until the earth and the inhabitants thereof did what they listed with Him, and when they had done the last thing they could do with Him, He triumphed over death and hell and went on high. He lives there and will remain there until His enemies shall be made his footstool. You and I are called upon to prepare ourselves in body and in spirit, in all that we are, with all that we have, with all that we can control, and prepare our surroundings, for His coming, His glorious return, when He shall bring His ransomed throngs with Him.
No earthly potentates, be he czar, emperor, king, lord or noble, or of any title, has had the prestige and the attention of the human family as has this our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The most ancient time we hear of—in the Garden of Eden—it was said of Him that He should come in the meridian of time, and sacrifices were given and required to perpetuate this knowledge, that He was to come as the great living sacrifice, and by the wisdom of the Eternal and man on the earth it was so perpetuated; and every great man that had any knowledge of God offered sacrifices and perpetuated that knowledge till Jesus came and dwelt in the flesh. These records that President Woodruff referred us to this morning contain testimonies that have come down through the ages of time unto us, and we know that He has come, that He has passed through this ordeal, that He has wrought out salvation and the resurrection for all mankind.
We live in a period of time when people’s hearts are hard. The nation seems to be beclouded. Terrible thought! our nation is filled with lies concerning us. They do not know us. We have not the power to make ourselves known to them. They are unwilling to know. They seem as if they are afraid we are right. We cannot get them even to that first birth, by which they might see the Kingdom of God, much less enter into it. Oh, what a terrible condition they are in! Parts of the United States will not listen to an Elder; other parts are now receiving the Gospel a little. But what has the lord to say about this matter? We understand, by the revelations, that the great father of lies is the author of this condition of things. He was a liar from the beginning, and he has imposed these lies and false ideas upon the human family, and he is keeping them under that cloud lest they should come unto a knowledge of the truth. What did the Apostles say anciently? That “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Oh, terrible fate, terrible judgment, terrible consequences; right here in the flesh, without waiting to get out of it, to find the torments of hell as promised by some! For God has decreed that he will sweep away this refuge of lies with the besom of His destruction as promised by his ancient prophets.
This is the condition of the world. And now while it is so that we cannot be heard by the preaching of the Gospel, we say, as our President has said, let us go to the dead. Let us get the records of our ancestry and go to work for them; and very soon we will find that they will be at work for us, as those who are laboring in the holy places do find. This is a work that has to do with the generations of the dead for ages that are past.
The testimony of John is true concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, who was in the beginning, in the creation, and without Him there was not anything made that was made. He had control as He was the character known as Jehovah. When He was in the burning bush he said to Moses, I am Jehovah; and He told His name along occasionally to the ancient prophets and worthies, by which we know that He was the Jehovah. When He came and entered into the flesh, then He was the Christ, and has been known by that name ever since. He is our great Redeemer. And we are commencing the great work of the last dispensation, in which the consummation is to be; when there will come people from all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and they will praise and glorify His holy name, who hath redeemed us out of every nation, and kindred and tongue and people, and hath made us kings and priests unto our God, and we shall reign on the earth. There is a glorious prospect of triumph ahead, and we have no need to fear, no need to be anxious about the outcome. The thing is to conduct ourselves properly every day under the circumstances and conditions in which we are placed, and abide by every law which God has given us, that we may be sanctified by them unto immortality and eternal life; and if we can attain this, we are safe, we are certain and are founded upon the rock of ages, and it matters little whether we live or die. We shall all go in our time and turn; it will only be a question according to the providence of God, when.
Well, brethren and sisters, I rejoice exceedingly in this work. There is no other thing like it on the earth. Why, the gold and the silver bear no comparison of joy and satisfaction to what does the understanding and knowledge of the truth of these principles and that these blessings that are offered us in the Gospel are certain to come to us, and that we get a foretaste and commencement of them here by testimony after testimony, line upon line, here a little and there a little.
Now, some people think it is a terrible way we are getting on and the way that it is begin lorded over God’s heritage. It is but a few days ago that there were men eating and drinking with us at the table of the Lord right here in this Tabernacle; let me ask you where are they now? Is there the wisdom in man, or in any syndicate of men that could be got up among us, that could have drawn the line between God’s people and they who are not His people as has been done right here in the streets of this city? Is it not a presumptuous thought to think that God would give unqualifiedly His blessings unto all, promiscuous as we were? And He has made those that have been selling their brethren for ten, twenty or thirty dollars apiece into the hands of their enemies, to turn and train with those that were like them. This is the commencement of the line which is being drawn between the people and those that are not the people. Is there skill of man that could have done this with as little injury of feeling, as little difficulty of any kind, as this single circumstance? The Bishops know who are their people now. They can go and labor with these people in their Wards and help settle the difficulties among their worthy brethren; they can help many among them who cannot get recommends to go to the Temple and administer for their dead—help reconcile their feelings, settle their affairs in a way that they can go well recommended sanctify themselves, serve the Lord more perfectly, and advance in the knowledge of the truth.
My brethren and sisters, I pray the Lord to bless all these opportunities to strengthen the weak, to encourage the sad and the heavy-hearted; for each ward has people in all conditions—in ease and comfort, sorrow and sadness, affliction and distress. But he who has the testimony of Jesus can stand the storms which shall come upon us and laugh defiance at all the powers of sin and Satan. They may make the heart sad and sorrowful and fill us with pain; but the testimony of Jesus, that makes wise the simple and fills the soul with light and knowledge and revelation, can above it all find smiling joy as they see the light shining out of that cloud behind which He hides a smiling face. May the Lord strengthen us; may we so live as to engage that strength. And let me tell you, while we have had words of consolation, of reproof and of exhortation gives to us, there is no word that the Lord has ever condescended to utter in our behalf, whether it be so simple as to say that you should retire to your beds early and rise early, that your bodies and minds may be invigorated, or what you should eat and drink, even up to the higher laws that pertain to the celestial kingdom, which is too trifling for us, or that we can afford to neglect. We must say as Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Let us understand this, and make it our daily business to raise that kind of bread, keep it on hand and live by it continually. Then the Lord will remember His promises. He will aid us in affliction, send us succor in distress, bear us safely through and count us as His own. May this be our happy lot, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Cannon announced that as the Tabernacle was not large enough to hold the people, an overflow meeting would be held in the Assembly Hall in the afternoon.
The choir sang: Arise! Shine! for thy light is come.
Adjourned till 2 p. m.
Benediction by Bishop Orson F. Whitney.
Afternoon Session.
Singing:
Let us pray, gladly pray,
In the house of Jehovah,
Till the righteous can say,
“Oh, our warfare is over.”
Prayer was offered by Apostle Abraham H. Cannon.
The choir sang:
Jesus, once of humble birth,
Now in glory comes to earth;
Once He suffered grief and pain,
Now He comes on earth to reign.
The Priesthood of the Fifteenth Ward officiated in the administration of the sacrament.
Singing:
Let us pray, gladly pray,
In the house of Jehovah,
Till the righteous can say,
“Oh, our warfare is over.”
Prayer was offered by Apostle Abraham H. Cannon.
The choir sang:
Jesus, once of humble birth,
Now in glory comes to earth;
Once He suffered grief and pain,
Now He comes on earth to reign.
The Priesthood of the Fifteenth Ward officiated in the administration of the sacrament.
President George Q. Cannon
addressed the conference. He read from the Book of Mormon a portion of the 27th chapter of Mosiah. He then referred to the organization of the Church with six members, sixty years ago today, and spoke of the manifestations of the power of God in behalf of the Saints in the various trying circumstances through which they had passed. These manifestations were a great testimony to the people that God had not forgotten his promises, and enabled His people to await the future with confidence and in serenity, for they knew their feet were planted on the rock of truth. In their religion God had embodied all truth. The speaker named some of the inconsistent ideas regarding future rewards and punishments which were believed in by the Christian world when the Church was organized, and called attention to the true order of the plan of salvation. He then spoke of the plainness, beauty and comprehensiveness of the Gospel which God had revealed through His Prophets, and closed with a powerful exhortation to the Saints to devote themselves to the service of the most High by living in harmony with his divine laws. The discourse was reported in full.
addressed the conference. He read from the Book of Mormon a portion of the 27th chapter of Mosiah. He then referred to the organization of the Church with six members, sixty years ago today, and spoke of the manifestations of the power of God in behalf of the Saints in the various trying circumstances through which they had passed. These manifestations were a great testimony to the people that God had not forgotten his promises, and enabled His people to await the future with confidence and in serenity, for they knew their feet were planted on the rock of truth. In their religion God had embodied all truth. The speaker named some of the inconsistent ideas regarding future rewards and punishments which were believed in by the Christian world when the Church was organized, and called attention to the true order of the plan of salvation. He then spoke of the plainness, beauty and comprehensiveness of the Gospel which God had revealed through His Prophets, and closed with a powerful exhortation to the Saints to devote themselves to the service of the most High by living in harmony with his divine laws. The discourse was reported in full.
President Wilford Woodruff
said: Before this conference closes there is a subject I wish to say a few words upon. Brother Cannon has today laid before us the truth with regard to the ordinances of the Holy Gospel, the revelations of Jesus Christ and the principles pertaining to the salvation of this people, which are revealed to us in the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and are given through the living oracles. Paul says there is but one Gospel, and “Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel than that which I have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Whenever there has been any baptism from the days of Father Adam, or Moses, when he crossed the Red Sea, down to the days of Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith, it has always been the same. There has never been any change in the Gospel ordinances, in baptism or repentance; no change in the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There has been no change in the manner of receiving them; no change in the reception of the Holy Ghost. It is so in every age and generation of the world. There is no change in the holy resurrection of the children of men from the grave. These principles have all been reserved to us. I wish to say that in my acquaintance in this Church, I have seen men, from time to time rise up and try to be servants of God. They try to explain things they know nothing about, to make themselves appear clever. There is a great deal of this kind of thing in this age. There was one of the leading Elders of the Church who went before the people and undertook to preach certain principles. Joseph heard of it and desired him to present the doctrine to him in writing. He wrote it, and when he completed it read it to the Prophet. He ask Joseph what he thought of it. “Why,” said Joseph, “it is a beautiful system, I have but one fault to find with it—“ “What is that, Brother Joseph,” Joseph said—“It is not true.” So I say, every little while someone, thinking he is smart, tries to teach something that is not in the Doctrine and Covenants and other Church works, and which is not true.
I, myself, sat for over two hours once in a meeting house, in St. Louis, listening to a prominent Elder of this Church, who had called the people together to preach to them the doctrine of the, what was called, “baby resurrection.” He preached to two or three thousand people, and there was not a word of truth in the doctrine. I thought he ought to know better. In the afternoon I was called upon to speak. After meeting there were a great many people gathered around me and asked what I thought of the man’s sermon. I replied, it is all nonsense. Well, that is just how I felt. It is no benefit in this world for men to preach such false doctrine. And now, every little while, I hear of some one of the elders, who wishes to be considered smart, trying to teach something they know nothing about.
The Elders have a world of truth to preach about. There is enough revealed to fill the whole earth as long as you live. Preach the truth as you understand it. Do not speculate on things you know nothing about, for it will benefit no one. If you listen to false doctrine you will be led away by false spirits. Remember and observe this, and you will be all right. Keep in the paths of truth, and all will be well with you.
I pray God to bless you, my brethren and sisters. We have had a good time during this conference. We have had many testimonies, and they are true. Let us lay them to heart, and be not discouraged. Rely upon the Lord and you will be all right. Salvation is here; the Kingdom of God is here, the Gospel is here; the Zion of our God is here; the work of our God is upon the earth. It is being built up and established. Let us do our duty, trusting in God, and we will be brought off triumphant. And when we get through we will be satisfied with our labors in the flesh, and the Lord’s dealing with us. I hope we will so conduct ourselves and carry out the principles of salvation, that we may gain eternal life, which may God grant, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem: The nations bow to Satan’s thrall.
Benediction by Elder Elias Morris.
said: Before this conference closes there is a subject I wish to say a few words upon. Brother Cannon has today laid before us the truth with regard to the ordinances of the Holy Gospel, the revelations of Jesus Christ and the principles pertaining to the salvation of this people, which are revealed to us in the Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and are given through the living oracles. Paul says there is but one Gospel, and “Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel than that which I have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Whenever there has been any baptism from the days of Father Adam, or Moses, when he crossed the Red Sea, down to the days of Jesus Christ, and Joseph Smith, it has always been the same. There has never been any change in the Gospel ordinances, in baptism or repentance; no change in the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There has been no change in the manner of receiving them; no change in the reception of the Holy Ghost. It is so in every age and generation of the world. There is no change in the holy resurrection of the children of men from the grave. These principles have all been reserved to us. I wish to say that in my acquaintance in this Church, I have seen men, from time to time rise up and try to be servants of God. They try to explain things they know nothing about, to make themselves appear clever. There is a great deal of this kind of thing in this age. There was one of the leading Elders of the Church who went before the people and undertook to preach certain principles. Joseph heard of it and desired him to present the doctrine to him in writing. He wrote it, and when he completed it read it to the Prophet. He ask Joseph what he thought of it. “Why,” said Joseph, “it is a beautiful system, I have but one fault to find with it—“ “What is that, Brother Joseph,” Joseph said—“It is not true.” So I say, every little while someone, thinking he is smart, tries to teach something that is not in the Doctrine and Covenants and other Church works, and which is not true.
I, myself, sat for over two hours once in a meeting house, in St. Louis, listening to a prominent Elder of this Church, who had called the people together to preach to them the doctrine of the, what was called, “baby resurrection.” He preached to two or three thousand people, and there was not a word of truth in the doctrine. I thought he ought to know better. In the afternoon I was called upon to speak. After meeting there were a great many people gathered around me and asked what I thought of the man’s sermon. I replied, it is all nonsense. Well, that is just how I felt. It is no benefit in this world for men to preach such false doctrine. And now, every little while, I hear of some one of the elders, who wishes to be considered smart, trying to teach something they know nothing about.
The Elders have a world of truth to preach about. There is enough revealed to fill the whole earth as long as you live. Preach the truth as you understand it. Do not speculate on things you know nothing about, for it will benefit no one. If you listen to false doctrine you will be led away by false spirits. Remember and observe this, and you will be all right. Keep in the paths of truth, and all will be well with you.
I pray God to bless you, my brethren and sisters. We have had a good time during this conference. We have had many testimonies, and they are true. Let us lay them to heart, and be not discouraged. Rely upon the Lord and you will be all right. Salvation is here; the Kingdom of God is here, the Gospel is here; the Zion of our God is here; the work of our God is upon the earth. It is being built up and established. Let us do our duty, trusting in God, and we will be brought off triumphant. And when we get through we will be satisfied with our labors in the flesh, and the Lord’s dealing with us. I hope we will so conduct ourselves and carry out the principles of salvation, that we may gain eternal life, which may God grant, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem: The nations bow to Satan’s thrall.
Benediction by Elder Elias Morris.
Overflow Meeting.
At 2 p.m. an overflow meeting of the conference opened in Assembly Hall, Apostle F. M. Lyman presiding. There were present on the stand, Apostles F. M. Lyman, J. H. Smith, M. W. Merrill and A. H. Lund; Elder C. W. Penrose of the Presidency of Salt Lake Stake, and a number of other prominent brethren.
The choir sang:
Mortals, awake! with angels join
And chant the solemn lay.
Prayer was offered by Bishop G. L. Farrell of Smithfield.
The choir sang:
Spirit of faith come down,
Reveal the things of God.
The Priesthood of the Sixteenth Ward officiated in administering the Sacrament.
At 2 p.m. an overflow meeting of the conference opened in Assembly Hall, Apostle F. M. Lyman presiding. There were present on the stand, Apostles F. M. Lyman, J. H. Smith, M. W. Merrill and A. H. Lund; Elder C. W. Penrose of the Presidency of Salt Lake Stake, and a number of other prominent brethren.
The choir sang:
Mortals, awake! with angels join
And chant the solemn lay.
Prayer was offered by Bishop G. L. Farrell of Smithfield.
The choir sang:
Spirit of faith come down,
Reveal the things of God.
The Priesthood of the Sixteenth Ward officiated in administering the Sacrament.
Elder C. W. Penrose.
addressed the congregation. It is a great satisfaction to me to see this large congregation, especially when I remember that the Tabernacle is full to its utmost capacity. There are also throngs of people outside who are unable to enter either building. This indicates that Zion is growing, and that the faith of the Saints is increasing.
It was said in the days of the Prophet Joseph that if he could be removed “Mormonism” would die out. He was removed, but the Saints, instead of being broken up, become more compactly united together. So in the days of Brigham Young; it was said that this Church was held together by his statesmanship but we know to the contrary.
It is now said that if all political power can be taken from the Latter-day Saints they will go down. It may be that we will be deprived of all our political rights, but even if the Lord should permit our enemies to go to this great length, the Church will continue to go onward and upward. It was thought that to take from the church its property would cripple it and curtail its growth, but though it has for a long time been deprived of the use of its property, it has continued to grow and increase. So it will even if the Saints should be persecuted as the early Christians were, and be forced to flee to the mountains and clothe themselves in sheep skins and goat skins.
To suppose that our Father in Heaven specially loves poverty, and has a dislike to wealth, is an error. The Lord has no objection to wealth if it be used properly, and it is His design to pour it out upon His people as fast as they fit themselves to receive and make a proper use of it. He has said that His people should inherit all things. This Church is not organized for spiritual purposes alone, but for temporal purposes also, speaking as men speak. Men is composed of spirit and element, which, being inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy. A religion which is spiritual alone would not be adapted to our condition; but we need a religion which embraces both the temporal and the spiritual. The time will come when we will have a real spiritual Zion, but it will be when the Saints are pure and sanctified.
It would not do for us to spend all our time in spiritual pursuits, such as singing, preaching, etc. We have temporal necessities which must be provided for. We are mortals and live not in an immortal condition but in a state which renders us subject to death. We are in a school to learn how to prepare ourselves for a future life in the presence of God.
We have been exhorted by President Woodruff to seek the spirit of revelation. What is that spirit? It is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth it understanding. The source of this inspiration is the Spirit of God, which is the light and life of all things and the power thereof by which they were made. This Spirit is in and through and round about all things, the light of God, the life of all things that have been endowed with life. But the Latter-day Saints in addition to this natural inspiration, are privileged to enjoy a higher endowment of this Spirit, the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is received through obedience to the laws of the Gospel. It is the same Spirit which was poured out upon Jesus. Men having the spirit of natural inspiration receive advanced ideas, and new truths are discovered by them, as in the case of inventors. The Spirit of God works in a similar way on the minds of men operating in a higher capacity. They receive the manifestations of the Holy Ghost and the things of heaven are shown unto them. But in order that this may be the case with a Latter-day Saint he must search for the truth and study it out diligently in his mind. We should remember these things, and not become too much engrossed in temporalities, and in the pursuit of wealth, to devote attention to spiritual matters.
addressed the congregation. It is a great satisfaction to me to see this large congregation, especially when I remember that the Tabernacle is full to its utmost capacity. There are also throngs of people outside who are unable to enter either building. This indicates that Zion is growing, and that the faith of the Saints is increasing.
It was said in the days of the Prophet Joseph that if he could be removed “Mormonism” would die out. He was removed, but the Saints, instead of being broken up, become more compactly united together. So in the days of Brigham Young; it was said that this Church was held together by his statesmanship but we know to the contrary.
It is now said that if all political power can be taken from the Latter-day Saints they will go down. It may be that we will be deprived of all our political rights, but even if the Lord should permit our enemies to go to this great length, the Church will continue to go onward and upward. It was thought that to take from the church its property would cripple it and curtail its growth, but though it has for a long time been deprived of the use of its property, it has continued to grow and increase. So it will even if the Saints should be persecuted as the early Christians were, and be forced to flee to the mountains and clothe themselves in sheep skins and goat skins.
To suppose that our Father in Heaven specially loves poverty, and has a dislike to wealth, is an error. The Lord has no objection to wealth if it be used properly, and it is His design to pour it out upon His people as fast as they fit themselves to receive and make a proper use of it. He has said that His people should inherit all things. This Church is not organized for spiritual purposes alone, but for temporal purposes also, speaking as men speak. Men is composed of spirit and element, which, being inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy. A religion which is spiritual alone would not be adapted to our condition; but we need a religion which embraces both the temporal and the spiritual. The time will come when we will have a real spiritual Zion, but it will be when the Saints are pure and sanctified.
It would not do for us to spend all our time in spiritual pursuits, such as singing, preaching, etc. We have temporal necessities which must be provided for. We are mortals and live not in an immortal condition but in a state which renders us subject to death. We are in a school to learn how to prepare ourselves for a future life in the presence of God.
We have been exhorted by President Woodruff to seek the spirit of revelation. What is that spirit? It is the light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth it understanding. The source of this inspiration is the Spirit of God, which is the light and life of all things and the power thereof by which they were made. This Spirit is in and through and round about all things, the light of God, the life of all things that have been endowed with life. But the Latter-day Saints in addition to this natural inspiration, are privileged to enjoy a higher endowment of this Spirit, the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is received through obedience to the laws of the Gospel. It is the same Spirit which was poured out upon Jesus. Men having the spirit of natural inspiration receive advanced ideas, and new truths are discovered by them, as in the case of inventors. The Spirit of God works in a similar way on the minds of men operating in a higher capacity. They receive the manifestations of the Holy Ghost and the things of heaven are shown unto them. But in order that this may be the case with a Latter-day Saint he must search for the truth and study it out diligently in his mind. We should remember these things, and not become too much engrossed in temporalities, and in the pursuit of wealth, to devote attention to spiritual matters.
Apostle M. W. Merrill.
I realize that no elder can edify the Saints without the aid of the Holy Ghost. Oratory and long sermons have converted very few to the Gospel. Men unlearned and unaccustomed to public speaking have converted the honest, because the Lord was with them.
If there was ever a time when the Saints needed to seek the Lord it is now, and I feel to exhort you, my brethren and sisters, to turn to the Lord. Search your own hearts and find out how you stand before the heavens. How simple the language used by John the Baptist, when he conferred upon Joseph and Oliver the priesthood of Aaron. Yet that authority so conferred embraced the keys of the ministering of angels and the Gospel of repentance. Most of the adult male members of the church have received this or the higher Priesthood. Any Elder of this Church who will labor in the calling of a Teacher and who does it faithfully will enjoy the blessing of God, and the Spirit of Revelation. He will not need to ask the same questions of every family he visits but it will be manifested to him what he shall ask and what counsel he shall give to each household.
The Saints need the labors of the Teachers. They need to be reminded by these officers of their duties. They need to be asked if they are attending to their prayers, taking proper care of their children, and attending to their other duties. We may reach into the hidden things and it will profit us nothing if we do not live according to what God has revealed. Some may think it enough if they keep the name of being a Saint. But a day of reckoning is coming when the account of each person will be examined, and when he will be judged according to his works.
In 1882 the Lord called upon the Church through President Taylor to set itself in order. The Saints were commanded to set their houses and their families in order. How many of us have done this? How many elders make a practice of gathering their families together and giving them proper instruction? Young people raised in the Church will be found scattered far and wide in different parts of the world. Why are they not among the Saints? Have we been faithful in looking after our youth? have we taught them diligently to keep the Sabbath day holy? We will be held responsible before the Lord to do this. We should teach our children to shun Sunday excursions. The season for these things is approaching and we should warn our children against them.
There is another subject which has not received the attention from the Saints’ that it should have had. It is the redemption of the dead. It is a great work which rests upon the Saints’ and they should not be neglectful respecting it. If the members of this Church had their ancestry and kindred back for only a few hundred years, they would not be able to do the Temple work for all. Our lives are too short. There is not time enough to do this work in this life, but we should do all we can of it.
The time will come when we shall have at our conferences, not only one overflow meeting but many of them, in different buildings. Perhaps we shall have some in the Temple.
I realize that no elder can edify the Saints without the aid of the Holy Ghost. Oratory and long sermons have converted very few to the Gospel. Men unlearned and unaccustomed to public speaking have converted the honest, because the Lord was with them.
If there was ever a time when the Saints needed to seek the Lord it is now, and I feel to exhort you, my brethren and sisters, to turn to the Lord. Search your own hearts and find out how you stand before the heavens. How simple the language used by John the Baptist, when he conferred upon Joseph and Oliver the priesthood of Aaron. Yet that authority so conferred embraced the keys of the ministering of angels and the Gospel of repentance. Most of the adult male members of the church have received this or the higher Priesthood. Any Elder of this Church who will labor in the calling of a Teacher and who does it faithfully will enjoy the blessing of God, and the Spirit of Revelation. He will not need to ask the same questions of every family he visits but it will be manifested to him what he shall ask and what counsel he shall give to each household.
The Saints need the labors of the Teachers. They need to be reminded by these officers of their duties. They need to be asked if they are attending to their prayers, taking proper care of their children, and attending to their other duties. We may reach into the hidden things and it will profit us nothing if we do not live according to what God has revealed. Some may think it enough if they keep the name of being a Saint. But a day of reckoning is coming when the account of each person will be examined, and when he will be judged according to his works.
In 1882 the Lord called upon the Church through President Taylor to set itself in order. The Saints were commanded to set their houses and their families in order. How many of us have done this? How many elders make a practice of gathering their families together and giving them proper instruction? Young people raised in the Church will be found scattered far and wide in different parts of the world. Why are they not among the Saints? Have we been faithful in looking after our youth? have we taught them diligently to keep the Sabbath day holy? We will be held responsible before the Lord to do this. We should teach our children to shun Sunday excursions. The season for these things is approaching and we should warn our children against them.
There is another subject which has not received the attention from the Saints’ that it should have had. It is the redemption of the dead. It is a great work which rests upon the Saints’ and they should not be neglectful respecting it. If the members of this Church had their ancestry and kindred back for only a few hundred years, they would not be able to do the Temple work for all. Our lives are too short. There is not time enough to do this work in this life, but we should do all we can of it.
The time will come when we shall have at our conferences, not only one overflow meeting but many of them, in different buildings. Perhaps we shall have some in the Temple.
Elder J. M. Tanner.
No doubt the benefit we derive from these conferences depends much upon the conferences depends much upon the attention we give them. If a man would make progress intellectually, he must devote attention to the effort; so if he would have his faith increased and his spiritual nature strengthened, he must give attention to the teachings he hears from the servants of the Lord. No doubt some of the Saints at this Conference will go away more benefited than others. Some will leave feeling the necessity of reforming their lives, but others will have their minds too much engrossed in temporal matters to attend to their spiritual welfare.
The Jews of all nations have a similarity with each other. They have similar purposes and alms, and have preserved their identity as a race. They have been aided to do this by the early training they received in assembling together at Jerusalem from distant regions and countries to receive religious instruction. No person who has attended this Conference in a proper spirit will fail to feel that he has been amply repaid for so doing. In the times of Solomon’s Temple, there were different gatherings held in different parts of the Temple grounds to receive instruction. We see in modern Israel a similar condition.
The speaker dwelt upon the celebration of Easter by the Roman and Greek churches, and in the Holy Land, describing the same in an interesting manner. He also described at length the ceremonies and exercises which take place at Easter, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, portraying the ignorance and fanaticism of the worshipers. He also described the babel of confusion which exists among the different Christian sects of Jerusalem, and their hatred of each other, showing how the infidel Turk was compelled to interfere to prevent Christians from slaying each other.
How different it is with us! With what a different feeling we greet each other! The scene we behold in this city today is vastly different from what we would see in Jerusalem on the celebration of Easter. I know that God does live in the midst of His people. I have seen many manifestations of His power among them. I pray that the Saints may take with them to their homes the spirit of this conference.
No doubt the benefit we derive from these conferences depends much upon the conferences depends much upon the attention we give them. If a man would make progress intellectually, he must devote attention to the effort; so if he would have his faith increased and his spiritual nature strengthened, he must give attention to the teachings he hears from the servants of the Lord. No doubt some of the Saints at this Conference will go away more benefited than others. Some will leave feeling the necessity of reforming their lives, but others will have their minds too much engrossed in temporal matters to attend to their spiritual welfare.
The Jews of all nations have a similarity with each other. They have similar purposes and alms, and have preserved their identity as a race. They have been aided to do this by the early training they received in assembling together at Jerusalem from distant regions and countries to receive religious instruction. No person who has attended this Conference in a proper spirit will fail to feel that he has been amply repaid for so doing. In the times of Solomon’s Temple, there were different gatherings held in different parts of the Temple grounds to receive instruction. We see in modern Israel a similar condition.
The speaker dwelt upon the celebration of Easter by the Roman and Greek churches, and in the Holy Land, describing the same in an interesting manner. He also described at length the ceremonies and exercises which take place at Easter, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, portraying the ignorance and fanaticism of the worshipers. He also described the babel of confusion which exists among the different Christian sects of Jerusalem, and their hatred of each other, showing how the infidel Turk was compelled to interfere to prevent Christians from slaying each other.
How different it is with us! With what a different feeling we greet each other! The scene we behold in this city today is vastly different from what we would see in Jerusalem on the celebration of Easter. I know that God does live in the midst of His people. I have seen many manifestations of His power among them. I pray that the Saints may take with them to their homes the spirit of this conference.
Bishop O. F. Whitney.
I rejoice in the testimonies which have been borne at this conference. My soul has been fed, and I have been strengthened, edified and built up by what I have heard. While sitting here I have been trying to recall how long a time has passed since I received a knowledge of the truth of this work. I think it is about thirteen years. When a small boy my mother frequently took me to meeting, but I did not like to go, to sit on a hard bench, and listen to preaching that I did not understand, though at times I felt the influence of the Spirit of the Lord. We have been told that our minds must not be too much engrossed with the things of the world if we would understand and appreciate the things of God. This is the reason, perhaps, why I did not appreciate the Gospel till I became a young man. Perhaps I had been too fond of social pleasures, theatres, balls, amusements, etc. At all events the veil was not lifted from my mind until I had been called and had gone forth on a mission.
I well remember attending the debate between Apostle Orson Pratt and Dr. Newman, on the question: “Does the bible Sanction Polygamy.” I was then a boy of 14 or 15. I thought Dr. Newman at times was getting the best of the argument because he was more eloquent, because he shouted louder and swung his arms more than Brother Pratt. But when alone and friendless in the missionary field, not knowing where I was next to find food and shelter, and when I had received a testimony of the truth of the Gospel, and was under the influence of the Spirit of God, I read the debate between Apostle Pratt and Dr. Newman, and was astonished at the impressions I had formed of it before. I learned then that eloquence is not argument nor noise and fury the truth and power of God.
On returning from my mission some of my young friends predicted that I would get over my religious feelings and be as I had been before, but I had prayed fervently to the Lord that I might never lay off the Gospel harness. It has ever since been my desire to labor for the advancement of the kingdom of God, and this I have done, though well aware of my shortcomings and imperfections.
I heard of a veteran Elder once say to a youthful convert, who was brimming over with zeal and enthusiasm in the good work: “Oh, you’ll get over all that. We all feel that way in the first place.” I have often pondered upon these words, and when I have heard aged men, who for 30, 40 or 50 years have been engaged in preaching the Gospel, bearing testimony to its truth in burning words, I have come to the conclusion that that man was mistaken, and that there is no reason why our testimony of the truth should grow dim, or our zeal abate, if we live and labor as we should. As long as a man will live for the testimony of the spirit he will have it. It would be a good things if we always had humility enough, when our spiritual strength wanes and our minds grow dark to confess that the fault lies with ourselves. Latter-day Saints who will lead chaste and pure, temperate, faithful lives, will never have occasion to say that the fruits of the Gospel are less sweet to them than formerly. But if we practice fraud and trickery, if we worship Mammon, if we are jealous of and conspire against each other, if we lust after forbidden things, we are very liable to say, “I once felt full of enthusiasm and zeal, but I’ve got over it now.” There is always a good reason why a tree fails to blossom and bear fruit. The testimony of the Gospel in the bosom of a man who lives as he should live will grow brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.
Persecution and tribulation can be borne patiently by the faithful, and if we successfully bear the burdens placed upon us, they will make us stronger. The blasts that sweep through the branches of the forest oak, or mountain pine, the snows that descend and well nigh bury them, the cataracts that tumble upon them from the hills, only give them greater vigor and longevity. So with our souls. If trials come and are borne, they benefit us. If our pride is clipped and humbled occasionally, it does us good. God is a careful gardener. He trims our upper branches sometimes, so that we will not grow all to top, and in order that our roots may strike deeper and our characters be made stronger. There never has been and never will be too much trouble in this world. God knows best how much we need. There never was a man or a people chosen to do a great work in the earth, that did not have to endure hardships. Who were the ancient Romans? Outlaws, fleeing from justice. But they grew strong under hardships, fighting for their very existence, until they became men of iron, powerful enough to conquer the world. So with the stalwart Greeks who overran luxurious and effeminate Persia. Our mission is not war, but peace. Our warfare is not against our fellow-men, but against evil principles and powers, and that warfare begins at home. We must first fight against ourselves, conquer our own lusts and passions, our own pride and self-will, and thus, as saved beings, be enabled to save others.
Never let us have it to say that we once had a testimony that “Mormonism” was true, but that we’ve outgrown it. We can not outgrow “Mormonism.” We may grow too small for it and drop out of it. A fire will burn as long as it is supplied with fuel. The Holy Ghost is the fire of God kindled in our hearts. The fuel that will keep it burning is good deeds, pure thoughts, noble words and kind and holy and benevolent desires.
The choir sang an anthem.
Benediction by Apostle J. H. Smith.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.
I rejoice in the testimonies which have been borne at this conference. My soul has been fed, and I have been strengthened, edified and built up by what I have heard. While sitting here I have been trying to recall how long a time has passed since I received a knowledge of the truth of this work. I think it is about thirteen years. When a small boy my mother frequently took me to meeting, but I did not like to go, to sit on a hard bench, and listen to preaching that I did not understand, though at times I felt the influence of the Spirit of the Lord. We have been told that our minds must not be too much engrossed with the things of the world if we would understand and appreciate the things of God. This is the reason, perhaps, why I did not appreciate the Gospel till I became a young man. Perhaps I had been too fond of social pleasures, theatres, balls, amusements, etc. At all events the veil was not lifted from my mind until I had been called and had gone forth on a mission.
I well remember attending the debate between Apostle Orson Pratt and Dr. Newman, on the question: “Does the bible Sanction Polygamy.” I was then a boy of 14 or 15. I thought Dr. Newman at times was getting the best of the argument because he was more eloquent, because he shouted louder and swung his arms more than Brother Pratt. But when alone and friendless in the missionary field, not knowing where I was next to find food and shelter, and when I had received a testimony of the truth of the Gospel, and was under the influence of the Spirit of God, I read the debate between Apostle Pratt and Dr. Newman, and was astonished at the impressions I had formed of it before. I learned then that eloquence is not argument nor noise and fury the truth and power of God.
On returning from my mission some of my young friends predicted that I would get over my religious feelings and be as I had been before, but I had prayed fervently to the Lord that I might never lay off the Gospel harness. It has ever since been my desire to labor for the advancement of the kingdom of God, and this I have done, though well aware of my shortcomings and imperfections.
I heard of a veteran Elder once say to a youthful convert, who was brimming over with zeal and enthusiasm in the good work: “Oh, you’ll get over all that. We all feel that way in the first place.” I have often pondered upon these words, and when I have heard aged men, who for 30, 40 or 50 years have been engaged in preaching the Gospel, bearing testimony to its truth in burning words, I have come to the conclusion that that man was mistaken, and that there is no reason why our testimony of the truth should grow dim, or our zeal abate, if we live and labor as we should. As long as a man will live for the testimony of the spirit he will have it. It would be a good things if we always had humility enough, when our spiritual strength wanes and our minds grow dark to confess that the fault lies with ourselves. Latter-day Saints who will lead chaste and pure, temperate, faithful lives, will never have occasion to say that the fruits of the Gospel are less sweet to them than formerly. But if we practice fraud and trickery, if we worship Mammon, if we are jealous of and conspire against each other, if we lust after forbidden things, we are very liable to say, “I once felt full of enthusiasm and zeal, but I’ve got over it now.” There is always a good reason why a tree fails to blossom and bear fruit. The testimony of the Gospel in the bosom of a man who lives as he should live will grow brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.
Persecution and tribulation can be borne patiently by the faithful, and if we successfully bear the burdens placed upon us, they will make us stronger. The blasts that sweep through the branches of the forest oak, or mountain pine, the snows that descend and well nigh bury them, the cataracts that tumble upon them from the hills, only give them greater vigor and longevity. So with our souls. If trials come and are borne, they benefit us. If our pride is clipped and humbled occasionally, it does us good. God is a careful gardener. He trims our upper branches sometimes, so that we will not grow all to top, and in order that our roots may strike deeper and our characters be made stronger. There never has been and never will be too much trouble in this world. God knows best how much we need. There never was a man or a people chosen to do a great work in the earth, that did not have to endure hardships. Who were the ancient Romans? Outlaws, fleeing from justice. But they grew strong under hardships, fighting for their very existence, until they became men of iron, powerful enough to conquer the world. So with the stalwart Greeks who overran luxurious and effeminate Persia. Our mission is not war, but peace. Our warfare is not against our fellow-men, but against evil principles and powers, and that warfare begins at home. We must first fight against ourselves, conquer our own lusts and passions, our own pride and self-will, and thus, as saved beings, be enabled to save others.
Never let us have it to say that we once had a testimony that “Mormonism” was true, but that we’ve outgrown it. We can not outgrow “Mormonism.” We may grow too small for it and drop out of it. A fire will burn as long as it is supplied with fuel. The Holy Ghost is the fire of God kindled in our hearts. The fuel that will keep it burning is good deeds, pure thoughts, noble words and kind and holy and benevolent desires.
The choir sang an anthem.
Benediction by Apostle J. H. Smith.
John Nicholson,
Clerk of Conference.