October 1913
Eighty-Fourth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (1913). Report of Discourses. Salt Lake City: The Deseret News.
EIGHTY-FOURTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
The Gospel unchanged from beginning of creation
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND
Missionary Work
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
AFTERNOON SESSION
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE
Pre-existence and Foreordination
ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS
TESTIMONIES IN BRONZE AND STONE
ELDER JOSEPH W. M’MURRIN
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
SECOND DAY
PRESIDENT FRANCIS M. LYMAN
Labor of the Priesthood
ELDER CHARLES H. HART
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
ELDER LEVI EDGAR YOUNG
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
OVERFLOW MEETING
ELDER REY L. PRATT
(President of Mexican Mission.)
ELDER ARTHUR W. HORSLEY
(Of Carbon Stake.)
ELDER RUDGER CLAWSON
Tithing a Divine law to all mankind
SECOND OVERFLOW MEETING
ELDER SERGE F. BALLIF
(President of Cache Stake.)
ELDER ORVIL L. THOMPSON
(President of Millard Stake.)
ELDER JOHN W. HART
(President of Rigby Stake.)
ELDER MARK AUSTIN
(President of Fremont Stake.)
ELDER GEORGE H. BRIMHALL
(President of Brigham Young University.)
ELDER JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
Unity of the Saints
OUTDOOR MEETING
ELDER NEPHI L. MORRIS
(President of Salt Lake Stake.)
ELDER CHARLES A. ORME
(President of Tooele Stake.)
ELDER BENJAMIN GODDARD
(President of Bureau of Information.)
ELDER HUGH J. CANNON
(President of Liberty Stake.)
ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS
Free agency of man a Divine law
AFTERNOON SESSION
ELDER HEBER J. GRANT
Ben E. Rich and Worthiness of Saints
ELDER REED SMOOT
Tribute to industry of prominent Churchmen and Joaquin Miller
ELDER ORSON F. WHITNEY
What God did for man, and what He requires in return
THIRD DAY
ELDER GEORGE ALBERT SMITH
Faith obtained by doing God's will
ELDER DAVID O. M’KAY
Treasures of Truth in Doctrine and Covenants
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS
Prophecies fulfilled concerning re-establishment of Church
PATRIARCH HYRUM G. SMITH
ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON
(President of California Mission.)
CLOSING SESSION
ELDER JAMES E. TALMAGE
The Fall of Man
ELDER REY L. PRATT
(President of Mexican Mission.)
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
ELDER SAMUEL O. BENNION
(President of Central States Mission.)
ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD
(President Northwestern States Mission.)
ELDER CHARLES A. CALLIS
(President of Southern States Mission.)
ELDER JOHN I. HERRICK
(President of Western States Mission.)
ELDER GERMAN E. ELLSWORTH
(President of Northern States Mission.)
ELDER WALTER P. MONSON
(President of Eastern States Mission.)
BISHOP CHARLES W. NIBLEY
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE
AUTHORITIES SUSTAINED
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
Closing Remarks
EIGHTY-FOURTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
The Gospel unchanged from beginning of creation
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND
Missionary Work
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
AFTERNOON SESSION
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE
Pre-existence and Foreordination
ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS
TESTIMONIES IN BRONZE AND STONE
ELDER JOSEPH W. M’MURRIN
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
SECOND DAY
PRESIDENT FRANCIS M. LYMAN
Labor of the Priesthood
ELDER CHARLES H. HART
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
ELDER LEVI EDGAR YOUNG
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
OVERFLOW MEETING
ELDER REY L. PRATT
(President of Mexican Mission.)
ELDER ARTHUR W. HORSLEY
(Of Carbon Stake.)
ELDER RUDGER CLAWSON
Tithing a Divine law to all mankind
SECOND OVERFLOW MEETING
ELDER SERGE F. BALLIF
(President of Cache Stake.)
ELDER ORVIL L. THOMPSON
(President of Millard Stake.)
ELDER JOHN W. HART
(President of Rigby Stake.)
ELDER MARK AUSTIN
(President of Fremont Stake.)
ELDER GEORGE H. BRIMHALL
(President of Brigham Young University.)
ELDER JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
Unity of the Saints
OUTDOOR MEETING
ELDER NEPHI L. MORRIS
(President of Salt Lake Stake.)
ELDER CHARLES A. ORME
(President of Tooele Stake.)
ELDER BENJAMIN GODDARD
(President of Bureau of Information.)
ELDER HUGH J. CANNON
(President of Liberty Stake.)
ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS
Free agency of man a Divine law
AFTERNOON SESSION
ELDER HEBER J. GRANT
Ben E. Rich and Worthiness of Saints
ELDER REED SMOOT
Tribute to industry of prominent Churchmen and Joaquin Miller
ELDER ORSON F. WHITNEY
What God did for man, and what He requires in return
THIRD DAY
ELDER GEORGE ALBERT SMITH
Faith obtained by doing God's will
ELDER DAVID O. M’KAY
Treasures of Truth in Doctrine and Covenants
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS
Prophecies fulfilled concerning re-establishment of Church
PATRIARCH HYRUM G. SMITH
ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON
(President of California Mission.)
CLOSING SESSION
ELDER JAMES E. TALMAGE
The Fall of Man
ELDER REY L. PRATT
(President of Mexican Mission.)
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
ELDER SAMUEL O. BENNION
(President of Central States Mission.)
ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD
(President Northwestern States Mission.)
ELDER CHARLES A. CALLIS
(President of Southern States Mission.)
ELDER JOHN I. HERRICK
(President of Western States Mission.)
ELDER GERMAN E. ELLSWORTH
(President of Northern States Mission.)
ELDER WALTER P. MONSON
(President of Eastern States Mission.)
BISHOP CHARLES W. NIBLEY
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE
AUTHORITIES SUSTAINED
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
Closing Remarks
EIGHTY-FOURTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
FIRST DAY.
The Eighty-fourth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10 a. m., Saturday, October 4, 1913, President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
AUTHORITIES PRESENT.
There were present of the First Presidency, Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, and Charles W. Penrose; of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, Francis M. Lyman, Heber J. Grant, Rudger Clawson, Reed Smoot,' George Albert Smith, George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, David O. McKay, Anthony W. Ivins, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and James E. Talmage; of the First Council of Seventy, Seymour B. Young, Joseph W. McMurrin, Charles H. Hart, and Levi Edgar Young, (Brigham H. Roberts was in attendance at later sessions); Presiding Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith; of the Presiding Bishopric, Charles W. Nibley, Orrin P. Miller, and David A. Smith. There were also a large number of Presidents of Stakes with their Counselors, Presidents of Missions, Bishops of Wards, Patriarchs, and numerous other prominent men and Women representing various quorums and organizations of the Church.
President Joseph F. Smith called the assembly to order, and the conference services were commenced by the congregation singing the hymn:
Our God, we raise to Thee
Thanks for Thy blessings free
We here enjoy;
In this far western land,
A true and chosen band,
Led hither by Thy hand,
We sing for joy.
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Joseph Eckersley.
The congregation sang the hymn:
O ye mountains high, where the clear blue sky
Arches over the vales of the free,
Where the pure breezes blow and the clear streamlets flow,
How I've longed to your bosom to flee.
FIRST DAY.
The Eighty-fourth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10 a. m., Saturday, October 4, 1913, President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
AUTHORITIES PRESENT.
There were present of the First Presidency, Joseph F. Smith, Anthon H. Lund, and Charles W. Penrose; of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, Francis M. Lyman, Heber J. Grant, Rudger Clawson, Reed Smoot,' George Albert Smith, George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, David O. McKay, Anthony W. Ivins, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and James E. Talmage; of the First Council of Seventy, Seymour B. Young, Joseph W. McMurrin, Charles H. Hart, and Levi Edgar Young, (Brigham H. Roberts was in attendance at later sessions); Presiding Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith; of the Presiding Bishopric, Charles W. Nibley, Orrin P. Miller, and David A. Smith. There were also a large number of Presidents of Stakes with their Counselors, Presidents of Missions, Bishops of Wards, Patriarchs, and numerous other prominent men and Women representing various quorums and organizations of the Church.
President Joseph F. Smith called the assembly to order, and the conference services were commenced by the congregation singing the hymn:
Our God, we raise to Thee
Thanks for Thy blessings free
We here enjoy;
In this far western land,
A true and chosen band,
Led hither by Thy hand,
We sing for joy.
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Joseph Eckersley.
The congregation sang the hymn:
O ye mountains high, where the clear blue sky
Arches over the vales of the free,
Where the pure breezes blow and the clear streamlets flow,
How I've longed to your bosom to flee.
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
OPENING ADDRESS.
The Gospel unchanged from beginning of creation—Much time wasted on trivial things—Users of tobacco and intoxicants scathingly reprimanded— God's words, "not good for man," should suffice —Vigorous protest against infamous fashions in dress — Glorious magnitude of Christ's mission— Truths revealed in greater fulness to this generation.
I sincerely hope that the true Spirit of our Lord may dwell bounteously with us during this session of our eighty-fourth semi-annual conference. I feel very grateful for the privilege I enjoy of being present with you this morning, in possession of a reasonable degree of health and vigor of body and mind. For every blessing bestowed upon me, for every privilege I enjoy, I feel deeply indebted to the Great Giver of every good and perfect gift. I hope that while I stand before you, the Spirit of the Lord may prompt me to give expression to such thoughts as shall be suited to the occasion. I feel this morning as I have felt almost all my life, but I feel it stronger this morning, perhaps, than ever before, that there is nothing under the heavens of so much importance to me or to the children of men as the great plan of life and salvation, which was devised in the heavens in the beginning, and which has been handed down from period to period through the inspiration of holy men called of God until the day of the coming of the Son of man, for this Gospel and this plan of salvation was revealed to our first parents. The angel of God carried to them the plan of redemption, and of salvation from death and sin that has been revealed from time to time by divine authority to the children of men, and it has undergone no change. There was nothing in it, in the beginning, that was superfluous or unnecessary; nothing in it that could be dispensed with; it was a complete plan devised in the beginning by the wisdom of the Father and the holy ones for the redemption of the human race and for their salvation and exaltation in the presence of God. It was taught more fully, and exemplified more perfectly in the being, life and mission, instruction and doctrine, given by the Son of God, than ever before, unless there may be an exception in the days of Enoch; but through all the generations of time, the same Gospel, the same plan of life and salvation, the same ordinances, burial with Christ, remembrance of the great sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the world and for man's redemption, has been handed down from time to time from the time of the creation. This is not simply my opinion, I am but uttering the truths contained in the revelations of God to inspired men in the various ages in which he has spoken to the world. And in this dispensation, of the latter days, this same Gospel, this same plan of life and salvation has been renewed, or revealed anew, unto men, and fully restored with all its gifts, powers and graces, rights and privileges, necessary for the preparation of mankind to live as God requires them to live in this world, and to prepare themselves for an inheritance of glory, exaltation, dominion and power in the world to come.
My earnest desire is, and has been from my youth up, and it is growing stronger and stronger as the years accumulate to me, to bear my testimony, and to declare to men, as far as it lies in my power, that God has given to us the truth, His truth, for His word is truth; Jesus Himself so declared it. He said: "My word is truth," and wherever we can find the word of God, or reach out and comprehend His law which is His word, for His word is His law, and His law is the word of God to all men,—wherever we can find it, and can comprehend and embrace" it, we comprehend and embrace the truth. The trouble seems to lie with mankind as to their ability to grasp the truth, and as to the earnestness of their souls to desire the truth and to seek after it with all their hearts, that they may put the seeking of it before the seeking after those things which perish. Think of it, how many hours, how many days and months we spend, as the children of God, in the pursuit of the temporalities of life, in devoting our thoughts to those things which pertain to the present temporal life or existence, not the spiritual existence, or that portion or particular part of the temporal existence which pertains to, and is a part of, the spiritual existence of man. Men and women talk, they use their tongues and their lips very much in conversation and in the expressions of their views and thoughts which pertain only to worldly things, to trivial matters, of no value, to the groveling things, so to speak, of the world, and devote very few moments to useful and uplifting thought and very few words comparatively, are spoken by them which pertain to the eternal, everlasting growth, development and happiness of mankind. We think of the world, of the present, we think more about the farm, the bank, the merchandizing, about our flocks and our herds, more in regard to the temporalities of life, than we think about the principles of eternal truth that make for the salvation, happiness and well-being, temporally and spiritually, of our souls.
My feeling, my earnest desire for good, is stronger than ever. It grows with age. I see more clearly today than ever before, the end of my mission in the world, that my time is growing shorter. I reflect upon the past, and often wonder how much of the valuable time the Lord has allotted to me in this "life, have I wasted in folly and useless things; and , how much of it have I employed in that which was essential to my salvation, to my growth and development in the knowledge of God and in the understanding of His truth? I assure you that while it is true that, for the most part of my life, I have been engaged in chis ministry, in the work of the Lord, to the best of my understanding, and the ability that the Lord has given me, when I look back upon my life I can see much wasted time, many unimproved moments, numerous things that I have engaged in that were comparatively, at least, unnecessary and hurtful rather than beneficial, and yet nothing that was seriously wrong.
There are many things today indulged in by mankind, and by too many of those who have professed belief in the divine mission of The Christ and of His servant Joseph Smith, that are not only contrary to the word of the Lord, and in opposition to the Spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but are both in opposition to the Spirit of the Lord and in opposition to the life and health and purity of the souls of men. Some of these evils seem to be growing amongst us. Go where I will or where I do—and I am going from week to week and from month, to month, here and there, in the discharge of my duty— I see evidences of great disrespect.to. the requirements of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I not only see it among the adult citizens of the kingdom, and members of the Church, but I see the bad effects of the example that these adult members of the Church are having upon the youth of Zion.
It is neither my wish nor purpose to advertise the weaknesses and imperfections of those who should be Latter-day Saints, and whose lives should be absolutely above reproach; it is not my wish nor desire to magnify the weaknesses and the imperfections of men; but I see things, day after day, which I think should be corrected, as far as it is possible for them to be corrected. Let me, without doing it in the spirit of accusation, without charging evil upon the people, speak of some of the things I see, to some extent. I thank the Lord that the evil is no more extensive than it is; I am very grateful that it is confined within the limits to which it is confined.
There is a revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church, a simple statement of the will of the Lord; it is called the Word of Wisdom. We haven't preached about it very much of late, it has been left to itself, so far as I have heard. We have been preaching faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins; we have been preaching the necessity of looking up the genealogy of the people called Latter-day Saints, looking after their ancestors, gathering the names of their progenitors and of their kindred, and the associates and friends of their kindred, in order that they might administer in the ordinances of the house of God in their behalf, according to the scriptures of "divine truth, that they may have the privilege of living according to God in the spirit and be judged according to men in the flesh. We have been preaching honor, uprightness, virtue and devotion to right, but we have not specifically named this simple law of God given to us for the purity of our own lives, that we might be free from the contaminations that the partaking of those things "which are not good for man" will entail upon us. I see those in our midst, I don't know that they are Latter-day Saints, I don't know that they are the children of Latter-day Saints, but I see in our midst those who indulges in the foolish, injurious, uncleanly practice, of smoking tobacco, smoking cigarettes, or cigars, or the old pipe, so strong and unsavory, that, they become noxious to the nostrils of men not addicted to the use of it. I see it apparently increasing amongst us. I see a young man with a cigar in his mouth—a habit that has become so common that: today you can't go into a hotel dining room, and sit down to partake of a meal, even in a first-class hotel, or in any hotel, dining room or restaurant among the people of our times, without being nauseated while eating your meal with the vile perfume of tobacco. Many men have adopted the habit of using these things at their meals until it has become common. The fact seems to be that the man who does not do it is the exception. Now this does not apply to Latter-day Saints at all, and to those called "Mormons," only to a very limited extent, for I hold that Latter-day Saints have more regard for themselves and have more respect for the wishes of others, and especially more respect for womankind than to go into a dining room and there befoul the air to be breathed by the gentler sex by the nauseous use of tobacco, and by the fetid breath of those who are in the habit of using it. I would rather smell iodoform than the breath of a man that smokes tobacco, and I think iodoform is one of the worst things that I ever did smell.
President George Q. Cannon often said to me and to others that lie would rather be shut up with a skunk than be shut up in a smoking car with smokers. What right has a man to befoul with his nauseous breath the air that I breathe? What right have I to make noxious the air that you breathe? I have no right to do it, and you have a right to protest against my doing it, and to show those who are in the habit of doing these things your contempt for their practices, if you have any respect for them. You should show at least your contempt for that which they do foolishly, for their practice is wrong, pernicious and they are unmindful of the rights of others. I have thought seriously that a boy or man who has become addicted to the use of tobacco in any form, to the extent that he is unable to resist his appetite for it, or who has practiced it until he is unable to resist or overcome it, is a man who is so mentally weakened, so morally degraded that he is not competent to perform, and would not be worthy to be entrusted with, any responsible duty. Why? because a man who has become so weak-minded and irresolute that he cannot overcome the temptation to do wrong or resist the power of an acquired, vicious appetite for poison, how can he be trusted? It is a weakness, a degradation that sinks far below the ordinary weaknesses of mankind, and therefore, the person who is so enslaved to vitiated appetites for poisonous, hurtful things that he cannot overcome them, being a slave to a pernicious habit, a degrading practice—that he cannot rise above it, how dare you trust him? How can you entrust to one whose mind has become so weakened, so vitiated and so degraded, that he is not his own master, but an irresolute slave to unholy passion, any trust that requires honor, strength of manhood, determination, and will-power to resist evil and temptation to do wrong? You can't do it. You can't trust a man who has not the power of will to say "no" to temptation, to do evil or to that which entices to evil; he is only worthy of condemnation, and you cannot safely trust him, and you ought not to trust him.
The same can truly be said of the man who is in the habit of using intoxicating liquors; the same principle and argument apply perhaps more thoroughly to one who is given to drunkenness than to one who is only given to the use of tobacco, and yet, in perhaps ninety-nine cases out of the hundred, the man who is in the habit of using tobacco will also be found using intoxicating drinks, thus adding to his weakness, his instability, proof upon proof of his unworthiness to be entrusted with anything of importance. Oh, my brethren and sisters, will you, if possible prevent to it, permit your sons to indulge in these infamous practices which the Lord says are not good for them? Which He says are injurious to them. Tobacco was not intended for such use; it as intended for bruises and sick cattle, but not for the stomach, not for the appetite of man, and we ought not to use it.
Then you may go from these practices to lesser evils, perhaps, and yet not always very much less because some people have become so addicted to the use of coffee that they do not have the pow*r to resist its temptation. If it were set before them they could not say. "No thank you, I don't want it." But if they were asked, "Will you take coffee, or will you have tea?" they will say: "Well, yes, please." Why? Because they are in the habit of it, and they can't say "No." I have noticed this in the society of so-called "good Latter-day Saints."
Not long ago, in the line of duty, we visited more than one good family, and when we sat down to their generous tables they said: "Now, what will you have to drink?"
"Why, I take water to drink."
"Well, won't you have anything else to drink?"
"No, I thank you, water is my beverage, I drink water."
"Well, but the water is not very good, there has been rain and it is riley, will you have a little something else to drink?"
"No, water will do."
"Well, we haven't got so far along that we can do on water, we still have to have our coffee."
And so they drank their coffee, while we took water and enjoyed it; and while the water did not altogether agree with my taste. I believe I stood it as well as some who drank their coffee.
I hope my good brethren are here to hear me, for I would like them to know just how I feel and think about it. I would like to say it broadly enough so that everybody can hear it: the Lord says these things are not good, the law of God says they are not necessary, that they are harmful. The law of nature tells you they are not good because they are poisonous—mild poison perhaps, but poisonous. T remember very distinctly, on one occasion, a good brother who took too much morphine as medicine. The doctor was sent for, he said, "have you some coffee?" "Yes." "Go and make some coffee, as strong as you can." And they began to administer strong coffee to the man under the influence of morphine. What for? Why they say that "like cures like" and it took another kind of poison to counteract the poison that was in his system.
I deplore the evidence that I see, wherever I see it, of disrespect or indifference to the things that the Lord has said are not good for man. I would that all Latter-day Saints especially, and that all mankind in general, would be willing to learn what God has said is good for man, and then, having learned it, would be obedient to the word of the Lord and keep His laws wish we could. It is my duty to teach this principle, to advocate this doctrine, to implore the brethren and sisters to obey the law of God, and thereby receive His blessing, and the fulfilment of the promise that He has made to the children of men, namely:
"That all Saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel, and marrow in their bones, and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint; and I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them." (Doc. and Cov. 89:18-21.)
Another thing, how could an elder in the Church of Jesus Christ go where there are afflicted ones to anoint them with holy oil, to lay hands upon them and pray for them that "the prayer of faith might save the sick and the Lord raise them up," when he knows that he is contaminated with the use of things that God has said are not good for him? When he knows that he is not in harmony with the will of the Lord, nor with His law? It is the fervent prayer of a righteous man that availeth and is effectual, not the prayer of the impure and unrighteous; he could not do it, as Christ did it, for He was without sin, and in harmony with God's purposes always. When He spoke it was as one pure as God Himself. Why should He not have power to give hearing to the deaf and sight to the blind? Why should He not have power to cleanse the leper and to raise the dead? since there was no sin in Him and He was in perfect harmony and unison with God. with the laws of life and health and godliness? Why should He not have power? But you say, "He was the Son of God." So are you the sons of God, and the daughters of God. Why should we not emulate the example and life of Him who was sinless, and in perfect accord with His Father? He declared throughout His mission: "I came, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me." Why should we not feel that way? We did not come here to do our own will, but. as He did, to do the will of Him that sent us here, that we might learn of His ways and walk in His paths and be indeed His children. We have been buried with Him in the waters of baptism and we have been born of the Spirit of God. Therefore, we should be able to see the truth, to discern between right and wrong, between good and evil, and between light and darkness: it is our privilege to know and love that which is good as against that which is evil, by the gifts of the Spirit bestowed upon us. Then why should we not keep the commandments of the Lord. If we do not, is it not because we think only once in a while of God and of godliness, and all the rest of the time we think of the world and of worthiness? We give our hopes, our time, our talent, our thoughts, our words, our actions, to the temporalities of life, and, once in a while, we think of God. We come before Him in that pitiful form of unworthiness to crave His blessings and His favors. Do you wonder that we are often denied that which we ask for, and fail to receive that which we desire? It is because we do not ask aright. When we approach God in this way, we are not in a condition to ask aright, nor are we in a condition to receive that which we ask for, for God is not likely to bestow upon his children gifts and blessings of which they are not worthy.
I do not want to be burdensome to this vast congregation by talking too long but I have another thought that weighs upon my mind, and this is not in relation to the men, but it is with respect to the women, and more particularly with regard to the manner in which they dress. Never, perhaps, at least within the period of my life—and I have lived in the world nearly seventy-five years — never, I say, within the period of my life and experience have I seen such obscene, uncleanly, impure, and suggestive fashions of women's dress as I see today. Some of them are abominable. I lift my voice against these audacious practices and these infamous fashions, and I pray that you who have daughters in Zion will save them, if yon can, from following these obscene fashions, that if followed, will destroy the last vestige of true womanly modesty, and reduce them to the level of the courtesans on the streets of Paris, from whence these debasing fashions come. They are the lowest and most degraded specimens of womankind, who have yielded their bodies to crime and their souls to death, if not to perdition, and are devoid of modesty and the sense of shame. We cannot afford to let our women follow such as these or to adopt the cursed fashions they set.
I need not dwell on this matter, but will say that while crossing the street the other day, I saw a woman dressed to the height of this ridiculous fashion, and she was trotting along with little, short steps, she couldn't go any other way, hurrying across the street to catch the car. She got hold of the rail of the car and tried to lift herself up, but her foot would not go up to the step. By this time there was a crowd of men looking on. All of a sudden she stooped clown, caught the bottom of her dress and raised it high enough to climb up. What an exhibition that was to the public eye! Would you like your daughters to expose themselves in such a. manner? To do so they must of necessity part with their sense of womanly modesty, if not with all other womanly virtues. God have mercy on our girls, and help them to dress decently!
I suppose I shall incur the censure and displeasure of many in saying these things, but I do not care what the world has to say, what men say, nor what women say, in relation to these things. In my sight the present day fashions are abominable, suggestive of evil, calculated to arouse base passion and lust, and to engender lasciviousness, in the hearts of those who follow the fashions, and of those who tolerate them. Why? Because women are imitating the very customs of a class of women who have resorted to that means to aid them to sell their souls. It is infamous, and I hope the daughters of Zion will not descend to these pernicious ways, customs and fashions, for they are demoralizing and damnable in their effect.
Now, the Lord bless you. I could say a good deal more, perhaps, if it were prudent or wise. I do not know but what I have said too much already, but I believe what I say. I am converted to the Gospel of Christ; I believe in Jesus with all my soul. I cannot doubt the evidences of more than sixty years of my experience in the Church in preaching the Gospel. Everything has contributed to the confirmation of my faith in the divine mission of the prophet Joseph Smith, and in the glorious plan of life and salvation taught by the Son of God, both for the living and for the dead. I cannot disbelieve such things' as these, they appeal to my judgment; they take my poor, helpless soul, my helpless mortal being, destined to pass through the grave, out of this mortal life, and above and beyond it, and there is no other hope or assurance on earth, that I have ever found, for a future reward or happiness or the enjoyment of the fulness of the hopes and aspirations of my soul, except those which are held out to me in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who came into the world with power to lay down His life and take it up again, the only- Being sent from God to earth who possessed the power to lay down His life and take it up again. To no other soul under heaven has this power been given, and He demonstrated the resurrection from death to life by His own example, and has freely offered the same deliverance to all the. sons and daughters of God that ever lived on earth or that will ever live from henceforth.
Christ has opened up to the world, through faith and obedience, this hope of everlasting life and exaltation in His glorious kingdom. Who else has taught such doctrines as this? Who else has exemplified this power and has done the deed? or given this object lesson before the world? Not one! Shall we deny it? Then look at the testimony of His disciples; they say they heard with their ears, they witnessed what they have declared to the world, and their testimony stands unimpeached to this day, and, in addition to this, we have the testimony of Joseph the Prophet. I say in addition to the testimony of Jesus Himself that He came from the Father, that He was his Father's Son, begotten of His Father, born of His mother Mary, thus partaking of the elements of eternal life and power over death, inheriting this power from His Father; and possessing the power to lay down His life through the mortality inherited from His mother. He says, "No man taketh it from me, I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up again." Joseph the Prophet comes to us in this dispensation and declares that the heavens were opened to him and to his associates, and he saw and heard, and he declares as the. last witness, who has seen and heard and knows, that Jesus is the Christ and the Redeemer of the world, even He who was born of Mary, crucified and rose again from the dead, and visited the inhabitants of this continent, as well as the inhabitants of the old continent as we call it, who also bear witness of Him.
I believe in these things, I believe in Joseph Smith the Prophet, I believe in the doctrine contained in the Book of Mormon, as T do that contained in the New Testament. I believe in the revelations that have come to the Prophet Joseph Smith; and I say to my brethren that the book of Doctrine and Covenants contains some of the most glorious principles ever revealed to the world, some that have been revealed in greater fulness than they were ever revealed before to the world; and this, in fulfilment of the promises of the ancient prophets that in the latter times, the Lord would reveal things to the world that had been kept hid from the foundation thereof; and the Lord has revealed them through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
This great work for the redemption of our dead, the uniting together of the living and the dead, the sealing power that takes the living children and unites them in the bond of the new and everlasting covenant with their fathers and mothers who have gone before them; the great principle that binds on earth and it is bound in heaven, that takes the woman, chosen by the man, and seals her to the husband of her choice with an everlasting, unbreakable covenant, or a covenant that can only be broken by sin or by the transgression of the laws of God; a covenant that can never be broken by death, by time, or distance, because God has confirmed it, it is sealed by His power for time and for all eternity; the work of baptism and other saving ordinances for the dead; the endowments, and all the ordinances that have been revealed to be performed in the sacred edifices called temples, which we are under commandment from God always to build unto His holy name,—(Doc. and Cov. p. 434, verse 39) these things have been revealed to us in this dispensation in greater fulness and in greater plainness than ever before in the history of the world so far as we know.
Thank God, for the truth! May we abide in it. May the Lord help us to be humble, prayerful and honest with our own souls, as well as honest with our Father and God, and make us capable of resisting evil and of rejecting wickedness, capable of discerning the darkness and of turning away from it, that we may walk in the light as God is in the light, that we may have fellowship with Him, and that the blood of His son Jesus Christ may cleanse us from all sin, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
OPENING ADDRESS.
The Gospel unchanged from beginning of creation—Much time wasted on trivial things—Users of tobacco and intoxicants scathingly reprimanded— God's words, "not good for man," should suffice —Vigorous protest against infamous fashions in dress — Glorious magnitude of Christ's mission— Truths revealed in greater fulness to this generation.
I sincerely hope that the true Spirit of our Lord may dwell bounteously with us during this session of our eighty-fourth semi-annual conference. I feel very grateful for the privilege I enjoy of being present with you this morning, in possession of a reasonable degree of health and vigor of body and mind. For every blessing bestowed upon me, for every privilege I enjoy, I feel deeply indebted to the Great Giver of every good and perfect gift. I hope that while I stand before you, the Spirit of the Lord may prompt me to give expression to such thoughts as shall be suited to the occasion. I feel this morning as I have felt almost all my life, but I feel it stronger this morning, perhaps, than ever before, that there is nothing under the heavens of so much importance to me or to the children of men as the great plan of life and salvation, which was devised in the heavens in the beginning, and which has been handed down from period to period through the inspiration of holy men called of God until the day of the coming of the Son of man, for this Gospel and this plan of salvation was revealed to our first parents. The angel of God carried to them the plan of redemption, and of salvation from death and sin that has been revealed from time to time by divine authority to the children of men, and it has undergone no change. There was nothing in it, in the beginning, that was superfluous or unnecessary; nothing in it that could be dispensed with; it was a complete plan devised in the beginning by the wisdom of the Father and the holy ones for the redemption of the human race and for their salvation and exaltation in the presence of God. It was taught more fully, and exemplified more perfectly in the being, life and mission, instruction and doctrine, given by the Son of God, than ever before, unless there may be an exception in the days of Enoch; but through all the generations of time, the same Gospel, the same plan of life and salvation, the same ordinances, burial with Christ, remembrance of the great sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the world and for man's redemption, has been handed down from time to time from the time of the creation. This is not simply my opinion, I am but uttering the truths contained in the revelations of God to inspired men in the various ages in which he has spoken to the world. And in this dispensation, of the latter days, this same Gospel, this same plan of life and salvation has been renewed, or revealed anew, unto men, and fully restored with all its gifts, powers and graces, rights and privileges, necessary for the preparation of mankind to live as God requires them to live in this world, and to prepare themselves for an inheritance of glory, exaltation, dominion and power in the world to come.
My earnest desire is, and has been from my youth up, and it is growing stronger and stronger as the years accumulate to me, to bear my testimony, and to declare to men, as far as it lies in my power, that God has given to us the truth, His truth, for His word is truth; Jesus Himself so declared it. He said: "My word is truth," and wherever we can find the word of God, or reach out and comprehend His law which is His word, for His word is His law, and His law is the word of God to all men,—wherever we can find it, and can comprehend and embrace" it, we comprehend and embrace the truth. The trouble seems to lie with mankind as to their ability to grasp the truth, and as to the earnestness of their souls to desire the truth and to seek after it with all their hearts, that they may put the seeking of it before the seeking after those things which perish. Think of it, how many hours, how many days and months we spend, as the children of God, in the pursuit of the temporalities of life, in devoting our thoughts to those things which pertain to the present temporal life or existence, not the spiritual existence, or that portion or particular part of the temporal existence which pertains to, and is a part of, the spiritual existence of man. Men and women talk, they use their tongues and their lips very much in conversation and in the expressions of their views and thoughts which pertain only to worldly things, to trivial matters, of no value, to the groveling things, so to speak, of the world, and devote very few moments to useful and uplifting thought and very few words comparatively, are spoken by them which pertain to the eternal, everlasting growth, development and happiness of mankind. We think of the world, of the present, we think more about the farm, the bank, the merchandizing, about our flocks and our herds, more in regard to the temporalities of life, than we think about the principles of eternal truth that make for the salvation, happiness and well-being, temporally and spiritually, of our souls.
My feeling, my earnest desire for good, is stronger than ever. It grows with age. I see more clearly today than ever before, the end of my mission in the world, that my time is growing shorter. I reflect upon the past, and often wonder how much of the valuable time the Lord has allotted to me in this "life, have I wasted in folly and useless things; and , how much of it have I employed in that which was essential to my salvation, to my growth and development in the knowledge of God and in the understanding of His truth? I assure you that while it is true that, for the most part of my life, I have been engaged in chis ministry, in the work of the Lord, to the best of my understanding, and the ability that the Lord has given me, when I look back upon my life I can see much wasted time, many unimproved moments, numerous things that I have engaged in that were comparatively, at least, unnecessary and hurtful rather than beneficial, and yet nothing that was seriously wrong.
There are many things today indulged in by mankind, and by too many of those who have professed belief in the divine mission of The Christ and of His servant Joseph Smith, that are not only contrary to the word of the Lord, and in opposition to the Spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but are both in opposition to the Spirit of the Lord and in opposition to the life and health and purity of the souls of men. Some of these evils seem to be growing amongst us. Go where I will or where I do—and I am going from week to week and from month, to month, here and there, in the discharge of my duty— I see evidences of great disrespect.to. the requirements of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I not only see it among the adult citizens of the kingdom, and members of the Church, but I see the bad effects of the example that these adult members of the Church are having upon the youth of Zion.
It is neither my wish nor purpose to advertise the weaknesses and imperfections of those who should be Latter-day Saints, and whose lives should be absolutely above reproach; it is not my wish nor desire to magnify the weaknesses and the imperfections of men; but I see things, day after day, which I think should be corrected, as far as it is possible for them to be corrected. Let me, without doing it in the spirit of accusation, without charging evil upon the people, speak of some of the things I see, to some extent. I thank the Lord that the evil is no more extensive than it is; I am very grateful that it is confined within the limits to which it is confined.
There is a revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants of the Church, a simple statement of the will of the Lord; it is called the Word of Wisdom. We haven't preached about it very much of late, it has been left to itself, so far as I have heard. We have been preaching faith, repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins; we have been preaching the necessity of looking up the genealogy of the people called Latter-day Saints, looking after their ancestors, gathering the names of their progenitors and of their kindred, and the associates and friends of their kindred, in order that they might administer in the ordinances of the house of God in their behalf, according to the scriptures of "divine truth, that they may have the privilege of living according to God in the spirit and be judged according to men in the flesh. We have been preaching honor, uprightness, virtue and devotion to right, but we have not specifically named this simple law of God given to us for the purity of our own lives, that we might be free from the contaminations that the partaking of those things "which are not good for man" will entail upon us. I see those in our midst, I don't know that they are Latter-day Saints, I don't know that they are the children of Latter-day Saints, but I see in our midst those who indulges in the foolish, injurious, uncleanly practice, of smoking tobacco, smoking cigarettes, or cigars, or the old pipe, so strong and unsavory, that, they become noxious to the nostrils of men not addicted to the use of it. I see it apparently increasing amongst us. I see a young man with a cigar in his mouth—a habit that has become so common that: today you can't go into a hotel dining room, and sit down to partake of a meal, even in a first-class hotel, or in any hotel, dining room or restaurant among the people of our times, without being nauseated while eating your meal with the vile perfume of tobacco. Many men have adopted the habit of using these things at their meals until it has become common. The fact seems to be that the man who does not do it is the exception. Now this does not apply to Latter-day Saints at all, and to those called "Mormons," only to a very limited extent, for I hold that Latter-day Saints have more regard for themselves and have more respect for the wishes of others, and especially more respect for womankind than to go into a dining room and there befoul the air to be breathed by the gentler sex by the nauseous use of tobacco, and by the fetid breath of those who are in the habit of using it. I would rather smell iodoform than the breath of a man that smokes tobacco, and I think iodoform is one of the worst things that I ever did smell.
President George Q. Cannon often said to me and to others that lie would rather be shut up with a skunk than be shut up in a smoking car with smokers. What right has a man to befoul with his nauseous breath the air that I breathe? What right have I to make noxious the air that you breathe? I have no right to do it, and you have a right to protest against my doing it, and to show those who are in the habit of doing these things your contempt for their practices, if you have any respect for them. You should show at least your contempt for that which they do foolishly, for their practice is wrong, pernicious and they are unmindful of the rights of others. I have thought seriously that a boy or man who has become addicted to the use of tobacco in any form, to the extent that he is unable to resist his appetite for it, or who has practiced it until he is unable to resist or overcome it, is a man who is so mentally weakened, so morally degraded that he is not competent to perform, and would not be worthy to be entrusted with, any responsible duty. Why? because a man who has become so weak-minded and irresolute that he cannot overcome the temptation to do wrong or resist the power of an acquired, vicious appetite for poison, how can he be trusted? It is a weakness, a degradation that sinks far below the ordinary weaknesses of mankind, and therefore, the person who is so enslaved to vitiated appetites for poisonous, hurtful things that he cannot overcome them, being a slave to a pernicious habit, a degrading practice—that he cannot rise above it, how dare you trust him? How can you entrust to one whose mind has become so weakened, so vitiated and so degraded, that he is not his own master, but an irresolute slave to unholy passion, any trust that requires honor, strength of manhood, determination, and will-power to resist evil and temptation to do wrong? You can't do it. You can't trust a man who has not the power of will to say "no" to temptation, to do evil or to that which entices to evil; he is only worthy of condemnation, and you cannot safely trust him, and you ought not to trust him.
The same can truly be said of the man who is in the habit of using intoxicating liquors; the same principle and argument apply perhaps more thoroughly to one who is given to drunkenness than to one who is only given to the use of tobacco, and yet, in perhaps ninety-nine cases out of the hundred, the man who is in the habit of using tobacco will also be found using intoxicating drinks, thus adding to his weakness, his instability, proof upon proof of his unworthiness to be entrusted with anything of importance. Oh, my brethren and sisters, will you, if possible prevent to it, permit your sons to indulge in these infamous practices which the Lord says are not good for them? Which He says are injurious to them. Tobacco was not intended for such use; it as intended for bruises and sick cattle, but not for the stomach, not for the appetite of man, and we ought not to use it.
Then you may go from these practices to lesser evils, perhaps, and yet not always very much less because some people have become so addicted to the use of coffee that they do not have the pow*r to resist its temptation. If it were set before them they could not say. "No thank you, I don't want it." But if they were asked, "Will you take coffee, or will you have tea?" they will say: "Well, yes, please." Why? Because they are in the habit of it, and they can't say "No." I have noticed this in the society of so-called "good Latter-day Saints."
Not long ago, in the line of duty, we visited more than one good family, and when we sat down to their generous tables they said: "Now, what will you have to drink?"
"Why, I take water to drink."
"Well, won't you have anything else to drink?"
"No, I thank you, water is my beverage, I drink water."
"Well, but the water is not very good, there has been rain and it is riley, will you have a little something else to drink?"
"No, water will do."
"Well, we haven't got so far along that we can do on water, we still have to have our coffee."
And so they drank their coffee, while we took water and enjoyed it; and while the water did not altogether agree with my taste. I believe I stood it as well as some who drank their coffee.
I hope my good brethren are here to hear me, for I would like them to know just how I feel and think about it. I would like to say it broadly enough so that everybody can hear it: the Lord says these things are not good, the law of God says they are not necessary, that they are harmful. The law of nature tells you they are not good because they are poisonous—mild poison perhaps, but poisonous. T remember very distinctly, on one occasion, a good brother who took too much morphine as medicine. The doctor was sent for, he said, "have you some coffee?" "Yes." "Go and make some coffee, as strong as you can." And they began to administer strong coffee to the man under the influence of morphine. What for? Why they say that "like cures like" and it took another kind of poison to counteract the poison that was in his system.
I deplore the evidence that I see, wherever I see it, of disrespect or indifference to the things that the Lord has said are not good for man. I would that all Latter-day Saints especially, and that all mankind in general, would be willing to learn what God has said is good for man, and then, having learned it, would be obedient to the word of the Lord and keep His laws wish we could. It is my duty to teach this principle, to advocate this doctrine, to implore the brethren and sisters to obey the law of God, and thereby receive His blessing, and the fulfilment of the promise that He has made to the children of men, namely:
"That all Saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel, and marrow in their bones, and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures; and shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint; and I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them." (Doc. and Cov. 89:18-21.)
Another thing, how could an elder in the Church of Jesus Christ go where there are afflicted ones to anoint them with holy oil, to lay hands upon them and pray for them that "the prayer of faith might save the sick and the Lord raise them up," when he knows that he is contaminated with the use of things that God has said are not good for him? When he knows that he is not in harmony with the will of the Lord, nor with His law? It is the fervent prayer of a righteous man that availeth and is effectual, not the prayer of the impure and unrighteous; he could not do it, as Christ did it, for He was without sin, and in harmony with God's purposes always. When He spoke it was as one pure as God Himself. Why should He not have power to give hearing to the deaf and sight to the blind? Why should He not have power to cleanse the leper and to raise the dead? since there was no sin in Him and He was in perfect harmony and unison with God. with the laws of life and health and godliness? Why should He not have power? But you say, "He was the Son of God." So are you the sons of God, and the daughters of God. Why should we not emulate the example and life of Him who was sinless, and in perfect accord with His Father? He declared throughout His mission: "I came, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me." Why should we not feel that way? We did not come here to do our own will, but. as He did, to do the will of Him that sent us here, that we might learn of His ways and walk in His paths and be indeed His children. We have been buried with Him in the waters of baptism and we have been born of the Spirit of God. Therefore, we should be able to see the truth, to discern between right and wrong, between good and evil, and between light and darkness: it is our privilege to know and love that which is good as against that which is evil, by the gifts of the Spirit bestowed upon us. Then why should we not keep the commandments of the Lord. If we do not, is it not because we think only once in a while of God and of godliness, and all the rest of the time we think of the world and of worthiness? We give our hopes, our time, our talent, our thoughts, our words, our actions, to the temporalities of life, and, once in a while, we think of God. We come before Him in that pitiful form of unworthiness to crave His blessings and His favors. Do you wonder that we are often denied that which we ask for, and fail to receive that which we desire? It is because we do not ask aright. When we approach God in this way, we are not in a condition to ask aright, nor are we in a condition to receive that which we ask for, for God is not likely to bestow upon his children gifts and blessings of which they are not worthy.
I do not want to be burdensome to this vast congregation by talking too long but I have another thought that weighs upon my mind, and this is not in relation to the men, but it is with respect to the women, and more particularly with regard to the manner in which they dress. Never, perhaps, at least within the period of my life—and I have lived in the world nearly seventy-five years — never, I say, within the period of my life and experience have I seen such obscene, uncleanly, impure, and suggestive fashions of women's dress as I see today. Some of them are abominable. I lift my voice against these audacious practices and these infamous fashions, and I pray that you who have daughters in Zion will save them, if yon can, from following these obscene fashions, that if followed, will destroy the last vestige of true womanly modesty, and reduce them to the level of the courtesans on the streets of Paris, from whence these debasing fashions come. They are the lowest and most degraded specimens of womankind, who have yielded their bodies to crime and their souls to death, if not to perdition, and are devoid of modesty and the sense of shame. We cannot afford to let our women follow such as these or to adopt the cursed fashions they set.
I need not dwell on this matter, but will say that while crossing the street the other day, I saw a woman dressed to the height of this ridiculous fashion, and she was trotting along with little, short steps, she couldn't go any other way, hurrying across the street to catch the car. She got hold of the rail of the car and tried to lift herself up, but her foot would not go up to the step. By this time there was a crowd of men looking on. All of a sudden she stooped clown, caught the bottom of her dress and raised it high enough to climb up. What an exhibition that was to the public eye! Would you like your daughters to expose themselves in such a. manner? To do so they must of necessity part with their sense of womanly modesty, if not with all other womanly virtues. God have mercy on our girls, and help them to dress decently!
I suppose I shall incur the censure and displeasure of many in saying these things, but I do not care what the world has to say, what men say, nor what women say, in relation to these things. In my sight the present day fashions are abominable, suggestive of evil, calculated to arouse base passion and lust, and to engender lasciviousness, in the hearts of those who follow the fashions, and of those who tolerate them. Why? Because women are imitating the very customs of a class of women who have resorted to that means to aid them to sell their souls. It is infamous, and I hope the daughters of Zion will not descend to these pernicious ways, customs and fashions, for they are demoralizing and damnable in their effect.
Now, the Lord bless you. I could say a good deal more, perhaps, if it were prudent or wise. I do not know but what I have said too much already, but I believe what I say. I am converted to the Gospel of Christ; I believe in Jesus with all my soul. I cannot doubt the evidences of more than sixty years of my experience in the Church in preaching the Gospel. Everything has contributed to the confirmation of my faith in the divine mission of the prophet Joseph Smith, and in the glorious plan of life and salvation taught by the Son of God, both for the living and for the dead. I cannot disbelieve such things' as these, they appeal to my judgment; they take my poor, helpless soul, my helpless mortal being, destined to pass through the grave, out of this mortal life, and above and beyond it, and there is no other hope or assurance on earth, that I have ever found, for a future reward or happiness or the enjoyment of the fulness of the hopes and aspirations of my soul, except those which are held out to me in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who came into the world with power to lay down His life and take it up again, the only- Being sent from God to earth who possessed the power to lay down His life and take it up again. To no other soul under heaven has this power been given, and He demonstrated the resurrection from death to life by His own example, and has freely offered the same deliverance to all the. sons and daughters of God that ever lived on earth or that will ever live from henceforth.
Christ has opened up to the world, through faith and obedience, this hope of everlasting life and exaltation in His glorious kingdom. Who else has taught such doctrines as this? Who else has exemplified this power and has done the deed? or given this object lesson before the world? Not one! Shall we deny it? Then look at the testimony of His disciples; they say they heard with their ears, they witnessed what they have declared to the world, and their testimony stands unimpeached to this day, and, in addition to this, we have the testimony of Joseph the Prophet. I say in addition to the testimony of Jesus Himself that He came from the Father, that He was his Father's Son, begotten of His Father, born of His mother Mary, thus partaking of the elements of eternal life and power over death, inheriting this power from His Father; and possessing the power to lay down His life through the mortality inherited from His mother. He says, "No man taketh it from me, I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it up again." Joseph the Prophet comes to us in this dispensation and declares that the heavens were opened to him and to his associates, and he saw and heard, and he declares as the. last witness, who has seen and heard and knows, that Jesus is the Christ and the Redeemer of the world, even He who was born of Mary, crucified and rose again from the dead, and visited the inhabitants of this continent, as well as the inhabitants of the old continent as we call it, who also bear witness of Him.
I believe in these things, I believe in Joseph Smith the Prophet, I believe in the doctrine contained in the Book of Mormon, as T do that contained in the New Testament. I believe in the revelations that have come to the Prophet Joseph Smith; and I say to my brethren that the book of Doctrine and Covenants contains some of the most glorious principles ever revealed to the world, some that have been revealed in greater fulness than they were ever revealed before to the world; and this, in fulfilment of the promises of the ancient prophets that in the latter times, the Lord would reveal things to the world that had been kept hid from the foundation thereof; and the Lord has revealed them through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
This great work for the redemption of our dead, the uniting together of the living and the dead, the sealing power that takes the living children and unites them in the bond of the new and everlasting covenant with their fathers and mothers who have gone before them; the great principle that binds on earth and it is bound in heaven, that takes the woman, chosen by the man, and seals her to the husband of her choice with an everlasting, unbreakable covenant, or a covenant that can only be broken by sin or by the transgression of the laws of God; a covenant that can never be broken by death, by time, or distance, because God has confirmed it, it is sealed by His power for time and for all eternity; the work of baptism and other saving ordinances for the dead; the endowments, and all the ordinances that have been revealed to be performed in the sacred edifices called temples, which we are under commandment from God always to build unto His holy name,—(Doc. and Cov. p. 434, verse 39) these things have been revealed to us in this dispensation in greater fulness and in greater plainness than ever before in the history of the world so far as we know.
Thank God, for the truth! May we abide in it. May the Lord help us to be humble, prayerful and honest with our own souls, as well as honest with our Father and God, and make us capable of resisting evil and of rejecting wickedness, capable of discerning the darkness and of turning away from it, that we may walk in the light as God is in the light, that we may have fellowship with Him, and that the blood of His son Jesus Christ may cleanse us from all sin, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND.
Blessing attending Conference gatherings— Need for the restored Gospel to be preached to professing Christians— Our missionaries travel, and preach, as approved of the Lord — Successful missionary labors among "pagan" nations, and elsewhere Temporal and spiritual advancement of Saints at home.
I hope that while I speak a few minutes I may be heard by this large congregation. I am indeed pleased to see the good attendance this rainy morning. It shows that the Latter-day Saints desire to come and hear the word of the Lord. We have heard it this morning from our president, and my advice to all is to try to remember the precious advice he has given unto us.
It is a blessing for the Saints to come together in these general conferences. We have the opportunity of renewing old acquaintances and of being renewed and strengthened in the testimony of Jesus. The Lord, in commanding us to meet regularly in these general conferences and in our quarterly conferences, had the object in view of uniting us and making us one people; so that whether we live north or south, east or west, we may come together and partake of the same spirit. Israel of old were also commanded to go to a place chosen by the Lord, where His sanctuary should be built; and when Jerusalem became the temple city they went there annually to offer their sacrifices, and there they met people of every tribe of Israel. At home they lived in their own territories, each tribe by itself; but on the annual occasions when they went to Jerusalem, they mixed and mingled with one another; they became acquainted with one another's views, and thus kept the national feeling strong in their hearts. When Jeroboam rebelled against Rehoboam. the unwise son of Solomon, he saw the force of this custom among the people, and he forbade them to go to Jerusalem, for he knew if they went there to worship at the sanctuary of the Lord and heard the truth spoken, and worshiped Him in the true manner that He had ordained, that their hearts would lie turned from him who had rebelled against legitimate authority and was trying to lead the people astray. To keep the people from going to Jerusalem he built altars in Bethel and Dan. and raised golden calves there. He succeeded in making Israel sin, although there were mighty prophets raised up among that part of Israel, who tried to lead the people back to the worship of Jehovah; but the people gradually sank in wickedness and idolatry, and were carried away captive many years before the same fate befell their brethren of Judea. Now, I look upon this custom of ours, of coming together here in our conferences, as a potent means for the uniting of the people, making them as one, and strengthening their faith by partaking of the same spirit, hearing the same doctrines preached, and being encouraged to follow the advice given, and to make themselves Latter-day Saints indeed.
We have a great work to perform; the Lord has started this work, has revealed Himself in our day, and given us the Gospel in its purity, and we owe it to our fellow men to make known that which has been given unto us. To the credit of the Latter-day Saints I will say that our missionaries go out, year after year, willingly and with the full determination to perform this duty of informing men concerning what God has done.
We have been reproached by ministers of other religions because our elders labor mostly among those who have faith in the Bible and in Christ. They say, "Why don't you labor among the Pagans?" We are not yet a very numerous people; we have not the means to pay our missionaries as other missionary societies have to pay theirs, even if it were the better way; but we have found that the better way for our elders to labor out in the world is to go depending upon the Lord and not upon the dollar. When they do so, the power of the Lord is with them, and they have influence for good over men. Our elders have been sent mostly to the nations that believe in God and that Christ is the Redeemer, to show them the wav that the Lord has ordained for the salvation of souls. We claim that the Christian world had gone astray, that they did not keep the principles of the Gospel in their original purity, that nearly all the men who held the apostolic authority formerly became martyrs and that gradually the power of the priesthood was taken away from men; and now we bear this testimony that God has again restored the priesthood unto the earth. We believe that the books of the Bible were written by inspiration from on high. We have conversed with those who say they believe in the Bible, and have shown them that the doctrines as taught by us are consistent with the doctrines contained in the Bible. When we have preached unto men, how often they have said: "Well, this is taken from your Bible, but that is not contained in ours." We have asked them to show us their Bible, and then we have proved to them that their Bible is the same that we believe in.
I feel thankful that the Gospel as given unto us is consistent, all through, with the holy scriptures. I feel thankful that the Lord has kept His hand over His written word, that it has come down unto us even to this day, in the good shape that it has, and this notwithstanding its having passed through so many versions.
Our elders, however, go not to the Christian nations alone, but you will find them also among the Pagans. Still we have not had as many to go there yet, as we will have, for this Gospel is unto all people. Men will be sent to all nations to preach the Gospel, and we believe that wherever Israel are found they will listen and accept the word of the Lord and be gathered out. For I verily believe that the words of the prophet Joel will yet come to pass, that in Zion and Jerusalem shall be means of escape. He saw the future; he prophesied of it. I believe that the Jews, the Israelites, will be gathered back to their home in the Holy Land. There is at present a movement of this kind. When you compare the statistics of the population of Jerusalem now with that of a few years ago, you can see that the Jews, longing for their home land, are rapidly increasing their numbers in that city, and the spirit of gathering is working upon them. There is another gathering, unto this land, which was also prophesied by ancient prophets that it would take place, and this movement is now in progress. The Book of Mormon is clear upon it, when it tells us that people from all nations shall be gathered to this land. We have people from every part of the world and from a great many nations; and they have come here, melting together into one body, becoming members of the same church, and aspiring to become members of the kingdom of God when that shall be established in its fullness upon the earth. The world sends missionaries out among the Pagans. I think they do good in bringing the light as contained in the Bible unto some of those people; but how few there are that receive it. I remember when I and some other elders were in Syria, and we would meet these missionaries in their carriages, riding along the road, having nice places and servants, and when the people heard that we traveled as of old, without pay, at our own expense, they wondered and said: "Well, you can't be missionaries;" for they had another idea of what missionaries were—men who had means to hire things done and so on.
We are working to-day in Japan. We have a branch in Hindoostan — that is we have Saints there; and we have also Saints in Syria, among the Mohammedans. This work will spread rapidly.
Our missionaries who are laboring in Europe, particularly in England and Scandinavia, have found considerable opposition, but this opposition has not hindered the progress of the work, for more people are baptized. In some cities they will not rent us halls in which to hold our meetings, hence we have built chapels and meeting houses of our own, and though they have threatened that we should not be able to have them in peace, so far we have had them, and can invite the people to come and worship with us, or hear our elders speak. In one city in Norway they will not rent us a hall; we have a good many Saints there, and many investigators; our brethren have found a good hall, and we have told them to buy it, so that the people can have a place in which to worship.
Our elders go out at their own expense. They labor for the love they have for their fellow men, and this love is rewarded by their gathering souls into Christ.
On the South Sea islands, among the Maoris and Samoans, we are trying to establish schools for the people, in which they can be taught not only the common branches of education but also the doctrines of the Gospel. Among the Maoris there has been established a high school, and the people feel to thank the Lord that such an institution has been established among them; and thus we will be able to keep hold of the young men and young women who, wanting to get a higher education, would otherwise have to go and get it among the outsiders. They are taught there not only the branches that we generally think belong to education, but also practical things such as manual labor, husbandry, agriculture, and all of those things that will benefit them and help them to be men among men. We feel thankful for the success this school already has had among the people there, and I know it will be a growing institution and one that will be productive of much good among that people; for they seem to be a people earnest in their desire to serve the Lord.
Looking upon the different missions", we feel satisfied with the work that has been done during the past year. Our elders are working zealously for the spread of the truth, and we commend them for their good labors. We are pleased with the labors of the presidents of the different missions. They are men of God, men who are able to inspire our young men who before leaving home have had very little opportunity of mingling with men. These experienced men who are presidents of missions know how to counsel them, how to help them, that they may get the right hold of the work and be able to explain the principles of the Gospel unto those with whom they come in contact.
At home, in Zion here, we see growth and progress. Our people have been very diligent in building houses of worship. They are not satisfied with the old house or building that has served many years; they want to show the Lord that His house should be one to inspire admiration also, from an architectural side. Not that the word of God can not be delivered in the old log house just as well as in the fine edifices that have been erected of late, but when the people are able to build better, I think they show more reverence for their Heavenly Father by building better houses of worship to be dedicated to his name; and I must commend the Saints for their diligence in this direction. The church has helped as much as possible. The Trustee-in-Trust is willing to use the means at his command to help the Saints in this work; but there are so many other calls upon the Trustee-in-trust, for the expenses in the missions, and the expenses of the Church, the poor, and the maintenance of the Church schools, that he is not able to grant all the help the people would like to have in this matter. I believe, however, that you who are helping yourselves and then calling on the Lord to help you, feel more satisfied than if you were to have all the money you needed for these purposes and do nothing yourselves. It is the workers that will succeed; it is the laborer that will be rewarded. Our faith must show itself in works; otherwise, it is a dead faith.
Now, brethren and sisters, let us take hold; let us do what we can for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God; let us listen to the counsel given us this morning and obey the commandments of the Lord; and even if you say about the Word of Wisdom, that it was not given as a commandment but as a word of counsel, do not feel that that gives you any more liberty to go contrary to the advice given. It is a revelation from the Lord, and He in His goodness has given it unto us for our good, knowing as He does, what is best, both bodily and spiritually. Shall we then follow His counsel, and continue to do that, or take those things into our systems that He has said are injurious? I hope that we will be strong in our determination to keep the Word of Wisdom and to do it not only to please our Heavenly Father, but because we know that what He says to us is for our own good. We will not lose any pleasure by it. There may be a little self-denial to those who have gotten into the habit of using things that are forbidden, but even self-denial gives joy and pleasure.
May the Lord bless His Saints; may Zion grow; may truth spread; may the time hasten when the laws of God shall be known and obeyed I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Blessing attending Conference gatherings— Need for the restored Gospel to be preached to professing Christians— Our missionaries travel, and preach, as approved of the Lord — Successful missionary labors among "pagan" nations, and elsewhere Temporal and spiritual advancement of Saints at home.
I hope that while I speak a few minutes I may be heard by this large congregation. I am indeed pleased to see the good attendance this rainy morning. It shows that the Latter-day Saints desire to come and hear the word of the Lord. We have heard it this morning from our president, and my advice to all is to try to remember the precious advice he has given unto us.
It is a blessing for the Saints to come together in these general conferences. We have the opportunity of renewing old acquaintances and of being renewed and strengthened in the testimony of Jesus. The Lord, in commanding us to meet regularly in these general conferences and in our quarterly conferences, had the object in view of uniting us and making us one people; so that whether we live north or south, east or west, we may come together and partake of the same spirit. Israel of old were also commanded to go to a place chosen by the Lord, where His sanctuary should be built; and when Jerusalem became the temple city they went there annually to offer their sacrifices, and there they met people of every tribe of Israel. At home they lived in their own territories, each tribe by itself; but on the annual occasions when they went to Jerusalem, they mixed and mingled with one another; they became acquainted with one another's views, and thus kept the national feeling strong in their hearts. When Jeroboam rebelled against Rehoboam. the unwise son of Solomon, he saw the force of this custom among the people, and he forbade them to go to Jerusalem, for he knew if they went there to worship at the sanctuary of the Lord and heard the truth spoken, and worshiped Him in the true manner that He had ordained, that their hearts would lie turned from him who had rebelled against legitimate authority and was trying to lead the people astray. To keep the people from going to Jerusalem he built altars in Bethel and Dan. and raised golden calves there. He succeeded in making Israel sin, although there were mighty prophets raised up among that part of Israel, who tried to lead the people back to the worship of Jehovah; but the people gradually sank in wickedness and idolatry, and were carried away captive many years before the same fate befell their brethren of Judea. Now, I look upon this custom of ours, of coming together here in our conferences, as a potent means for the uniting of the people, making them as one, and strengthening their faith by partaking of the same spirit, hearing the same doctrines preached, and being encouraged to follow the advice given, and to make themselves Latter-day Saints indeed.
We have a great work to perform; the Lord has started this work, has revealed Himself in our day, and given us the Gospel in its purity, and we owe it to our fellow men to make known that which has been given unto us. To the credit of the Latter-day Saints I will say that our missionaries go out, year after year, willingly and with the full determination to perform this duty of informing men concerning what God has done.
We have been reproached by ministers of other religions because our elders labor mostly among those who have faith in the Bible and in Christ. They say, "Why don't you labor among the Pagans?" We are not yet a very numerous people; we have not the means to pay our missionaries as other missionary societies have to pay theirs, even if it were the better way; but we have found that the better way for our elders to labor out in the world is to go depending upon the Lord and not upon the dollar. When they do so, the power of the Lord is with them, and they have influence for good over men. Our elders have been sent mostly to the nations that believe in God and that Christ is the Redeemer, to show them the wav that the Lord has ordained for the salvation of souls. We claim that the Christian world had gone astray, that they did not keep the principles of the Gospel in their original purity, that nearly all the men who held the apostolic authority formerly became martyrs and that gradually the power of the priesthood was taken away from men; and now we bear this testimony that God has again restored the priesthood unto the earth. We believe that the books of the Bible were written by inspiration from on high. We have conversed with those who say they believe in the Bible, and have shown them that the doctrines as taught by us are consistent with the doctrines contained in the Bible. When we have preached unto men, how often they have said: "Well, this is taken from your Bible, but that is not contained in ours." We have asked them to show us their Bible, and then we have proved to them that their Bible is the same that we believe in.
I feel thankful that the Gospel as given unto us is consistent, all through, with the holy scriptures. I feel thankful that the Lord has kept His hand over His written word, that it has come down unto us even to this day, in the good shape that it has, and this notwithstanding its having passed through so many versions.
Our elders, however, go not to the Christian nations alone, but you will find them also among the Pagans. Still we have not had as many to go there yet, as we will have, for this Gospel is unto all people. Men will be sent to all nations to preach the Gospel, and we believe that wherever Israel are found they will listen and accept the word of the Lord and be gathered out. For I verily believe that the words of the prophet Joel will yet come to pass, that in Zion and Jerusalem shall be means of escape. He saw the future; he prophesied of it. I believe that the Jews, the Israelites, will be gathered back to their home in the Holy Land. There is at present a movement of this kind. When you compare the statistics of the population of Jerusalem now with that of a few years ago, you can see that the Jews, longing for their home land, are rapidly increasing their numbers in that city, and the spirit of gathering is working upon them. There is another gathering, unto this land, which was also prophesied by ancient prophets that it would take place, and this movement is now in progress. The Book of Mormon is clear upon it, when it tells us that people from all nations shall be gathered to this land. We have people from every part of the world and from a great many nations; and they have come here, melting together into one body, becoming members of the same church, and aspiring to become members of the kingdom of God when that shall be established in its fullness upon the earth. The world sends missionaries out among the Pagans. I think they do good in bringing the light as contained in the Bible unto some of those people; but how few there are that receive it. I remember when I and some other elders were in Syria, and we would meet these missionaries in their carriages, riding along the road, having nice places and servants, and when the people heard that we traveled as of old, without pay, at our own expense, they wondered and said: "Well, you can't be missionaries;" for they had another idea of what missionaries were—men who had means to hire things done and so on.
We are working to-day in Japan. We have a branch in Hindoostan — that is we have Saints there; and we have also Saints in Syria, among the Mohammedans. This work will spread rapidly.
Our missionaries who are laboring in Europe, particularly in England and Scandinavia, have found considerable opposition, but this opposition has not hindered the progress of the work, for more people are baptized. In some cities they will not rent us halls in which to hold our meetings, hence we have built chapels and meeting houses of our own, and though they have threatened that we should not be able to have them in peace, so far we have had them, and can invite the people to come and worship with us, or hear our elders speak. In one city in Norway they will not rent us a hall; we have a good many Saints there, and many investigators; our brethren have found a good hall, and we have told them to buy it, so that the people can have a place in which to worship.
Our elders go out at their own expense. They labor for the love they have for their fellow men, and this love is rewarded by their gathering souls into Christ.
On the South Sea islands, among the Maoris and Samoans, we are trying to establish schools for the people, in which they can be taught not only the common branches of education but also the doctrines of the Gospel. Among the Maoris there has been established a high school, and the people feel to thank the Lord that such an institution has been established among them; and thus we will be able to keep hold of the young men and young women who, wanting to get a higher education, would otherwise have to go and get it among the outsiders. They are taught there not only the branches that we generally think belong to education, but also practical things such as manual labor, husbandry, agriculture, and all of those things that will benefit them and help them to be men among men. We feel thankful for the success this school already has had among the people there, and I know it will be a growing institution and one that will be productive of much good among that people; for they seem to be a people earnest in their desire to serve the Lord.
Looking upon the different missions", we feel satisfied with the work that has been done during the past year. Our elders are working zealously for the spread of the truth, and we commend them for their good labors. We are pleased with the labors of the presidents of the different missions. They are men of God, men who are able to inspire our young men who before leaving home have had very little opportunity of mingling with men. These experienced men who are presidents of missions know how to counsel them, how to help them, that they may get the right hold of the work and be able to explain the principles of the Gospel unto those with whom they come in contact.
At home, in Zion here, we see growth and progress. Our people have been very diligent in building houses of worship. They are not satisfied with the old house or building that has served many years; they want to show the Lord that His house should be one to inspire admiration also, from an architectural side. Not that the word of God can not be delivered in the old log house just as well as in the fine edifices that have been erected of late, but when the people are able to build better, I think they show more reverence for their Heavenly Father by building better houses of worship to be dedicated to his name; and I must commend the Saints for their diligence in this direction. The church has helped as much as possible. The Trustee-in-Trust is willing to use the means at his command to help the Saints in this work; but there are so many other calls upon the Trustee-in-trust, for the expenses in the missions, and the expenses of the Church, the poor, and the maintenance of the Church schools, that he is not able to grant all the help the people would like to have in this matter. I believe, however, that you who are helping yourselves and then calling on the Lord to help you, feel more satisfied than if you were to have all the money you needed for these purposes and do nothing yourselves. It is the workers that will succeed; it is the laborer that will be rewarded. Our faith must show itself in works; otherwise, it is a dead faith.
Now, brethren and sisters, let us take hold; let us do what we can for the upbuilding of the kingdom of God; let us listen to the counsel given us this morning and obey the commandments of the Lord; and even if you say about the Word of Wisdom, that it was not given as a commandment but as a word of counsel, do not feel that that gives you any more liberty to go contrary to the advice given. It is a revelation from the Lord, and He in His goodness has given it unto us for our good, knowing as He does, what is best, both bodily and spiritually. Shall we then follow His counsel, and continue to do that, or take those things into our systems that He has said are injurious? I hope that we will be strong in our determination to keep the Word of Wisdom and to do it not only to please our Heavenly Father, but because we know that what He says to us is for our own good. We will not lose any pleasure by it. There may be a little self-denial to those who have gotten into the habit of using things that are forbidden, but even self-denial gives joy and pleasure.
May the Lord bless His Saints; may Zion grow; may truth spread; may the time hasten when the laws of God shall be known and obeyed I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
If I may be indulged just a moment. The reason undoubtedly why the Word of Wisdom was given — as not by "commandment or restraint" was that at that time, at least, if it had been given as a commandment it would have brought every man, addicted to the use of these noxious things, under condemnation; so the Lord was merciful and gave them a chance to overcome, before He brought them under the law. Later on, it was announced from this stand, by President Brigham Young, that the Word of Wisdom was a revelation and a command of the Lord. I desired to mention that fact, because I do not want you to feel that we are under no restraint. We do not want to come under condemnation.
The congregation sang the hymn:
Redeemer of Israel, our only delight,
On whom for a blessing we call,
Our shadow by day, and our pillar by night,
Our King, our Deliv'rer, our all!
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Walter P. Monson.
Conference adjourned until 2 p.m.
If I may be indulged just a moment. The reason undoubtedly why the Word of Wisdom was given — as not by "commandment or restraint" was that at that time, at least, if it had been given as a commandment it would have brought every man, addicted to the use of these noxious things, under condemnation; so the Lord was merciful and gave them a chance to overcome, before He brought them under the law. Later on, it was announced from this stand, by President Brigham Young, that the Word of Wisdom was a revelation and a command of the Lord. I desired to mention that fact, because I do not want you to feel that we are under no restraint. We do not want to come under condemnation.
The congregation sang the hymn:
Redeemer of Israel, our only delight,
On whom for a blessing we call,
Our shadow by day, and our pillar by night,
Our King, our Deliv'rer, our all!
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Walter P. Monson.
Conference adjourned until 2 p.m.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
Conference was resumed at 2 p. m., President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
The congregation sang the hymn:
Guide us, O Thou great Jehovah,
Lead us to the promised land,
We are weak, but Thou art able--
Hold us with Thy powerful hand.
Prayer was offered by Elder Andrew Kimball.
The congregation sang the hymn:
The Spirit of God like a fire is burning!
The latter-day glory begins to come forth;
The visions and blessings of old are returning,
And angels are coming to visit the earth.
Conference was resumed at 2 p. m., President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
The congregation sang the hymn:
Guide us, O Thou great Jehovah,
Lead us to the promised land,
We are weak, but Thou art able--
Hold us with Thy powerful hand.
Prayer was offered by Elder Andrew Kimball.
The congregation sang the hymn:
The Spirit of God like a fire is burning!
The latter-day glory begins to come forth;
The visions and blessings of old are returning,
And angels are coming to visit the earth.
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE.
The great privilege of earthly life in the last dispensation—God's predestination— Necessity of harmony with Deity—Christ's spirit pre-existent — Knowledge and power—Work of His true disciples—Obedience to eternal principles the way to eternal glory —Effects of disobedience—The ultimate redemption of mankind in different states of salvation—Rules of the United Order applicable today —Exhortations to lives of purity, honesty, fidelity and union—Ultimate triumph of light and truth.
I consider it a great privilege to be permitted to be present on this grand occasion, to see so many Latter- day Saints gathered in this tabernacle, in spite of the unfavorable weather that is not encouraging to people traveling or coming together in conference. To me it shows great interest on the part of the people, to assemble in such numbers as we have seen them here today, particularly this morning, to listen to the voice of the Spirit, through the servants of God; and I feel sure that all who came here this morning were well repaid. I was, for one; I enjoyed the spirit of the meeting and the instructions that were imparted, and I hope that all of us who were present, as was invoked in the benediction when we dismissed, will carry with us, wherever we go, the influence that was felt this morning, and endeavor to carry out the instructions imparted, and to encourage others to do so: particularly people who were not able to be here.
It is a very great privilege to dwell on the earth in this last dispensation. I believe with all my heart that this has been arranged by our heavenly Father. I believe in the doctrine of predestination—not that doctrine as it is taught in some of the so-called "Christian" sects, but I believe in the doctrine taught in the old scriptures as well as in the new, that before the foundations of the earth were laid, plans were prepared in regard to the peopling of the earth and the accomplishment of the Divine purpose in sending the sons and daughters of God to dwell on the earth in the flesh. I believe in the doctrine taught by the Apostle Paul, on Mars Hill, "that God hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell upon the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation." So that we did not come here by chance but by design. But the Lord foresaw what would occur on the earth; He understood when our parents, "our first parents," as we call them, were placed in the Garden of Eden what they would do. But He was not personally instrumental in their disobedience, any more than He is in the obedience rendered to his divine commandments. He gave the command and left our parents to act upon their own agency, to do as they desired, or as they willed. All was foreseen by our Heavenly Father, and knowing that death would be introduced in the world among its inhabitants, through the transgression of the first pair, He saw that there should be a means provided for redemption, and so Jesus—that is His earthly name, Jesus, our elder brother, called in the scriptures "the beginning of the creation of God," "the first-born of every creature," was chosen to be the Redeemer, to come on the earth at the time appointed and in the place appointed; and He came and performed the work allotted to Him. He did that of his own free will and choice. Sometimes, feeling the weakness of human nature inherited from his mother, he was inclined to shrink from the terrible task imposed upon Him; but He came with one principle firmly established in his soul, which was the necessity of implicit obedience to the Divine Father; so He said: "I came not to do my own will but the will of Him that sent me." He performed the work allotted to Him, as the Father foresaw He would, but it was left to Him, to His own individuality, to His own choice to do or not to do that which He was commanded to perform.
Now, I merely speak of that as a sample of what we believe, as the Apostle Paul taught, that this selection has been in the mind of Deity, was in the mind of the Father before the world was; and so at different periods in the history of the world, persons selected by the Almighty were sent upon the earth to tabernacle in flesh and perform missions that were necessary for them to undertake. I believe that in reference to the prophets who were raised up and to other mighty men in other positions in life—in civil office, in military affairs, in literary and poetic life. I believe that the poets and philosophers, and sages, as well as the military heroes, wise statesmen and grand leaders of the different centuries, were sent upon the earth at the right time, that they might be able to perform the works that were needful to be done, to carry out in the end the Divine purposes of our Heavenly Father. I believe that He has left the children of men to perform the missions allotted to them or to carry out their own inclinations and wishes and desires, to be obedient or disobedient, as they wish, and that in the end the result will be that the Father will overrule all that is done or left undone, that all things that occur in the history of the children of God will be overruled by our Eternal Father to accomplish the great end and design and purpose which He had in view in sending us here. That, in a few words, is the salvation, the immortality and eternal life of man—man in the capacity of a spirit and a body united; man capable of enjoying all things which the universe brings forth; man able to obey the commandments of God, or to disobey them, so that we all might learn the virtue of obedience and the folly as well as the wickedness of disobedience, to learn the great lesson that obedience to eternal principles, eternal laws, brings happiness, power, advancement, development, preparation for higher and higher and higher stages of being, and that disobedience brings about the contrary. That is the great end in view. So I believe that in these latter days our Heavenly Father, in bringing about "the dispensation of the fullness of times," sent such spirits to the earth as would be capable of leading out and carrying on the great and mighty work, the greatest of all dispensations on this globe.
I say, then, that we are privileged to be living on the earth in these latter days. I feel that way in my soul, and I am thankful to my Heavenly Father that I have had the opportunity of coming upon the earth at a time when the fullness of the everlasting gospel has been restored, and authority to preach it and to administer its ordinances and to prepare the way for the coming of the King of kings has been brought about, and that I have had the opportunity of coming here in this good time. I am thankful to God that in my youthful days I was able to see the beauty, to some extent at least, of the gospel thus revealed, that my eyes were opened to see it, while all to whom I was related were blind in their minds in regard to it. I believe that in the providence of God I have come on earth in the last days and that there was a work for me to do, arid I am glad I have been trying to do it to the best of my ability, ever since I received the gospel, and that today I am privileged to stand in fellowship with my brethren and sisters in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and still be able to do something towards furthering the purposes of our Heavenly Father in this great dispensation. So I am glad to be here today. I am glad to mingle with brethren and sisters who also have received the light, who have not rejected the truth, but who received it eagerly, with honest hearts, and most of whom have endeavored to do their very best to build up the kingdom of God on the earth and to accomplish the purposes of our Heavenly Father, to be in union and harmony with Jesus Christ, our elder Brother, who, as He declared Himself to the Prophet Joseph, or through him to us, was "in the beginning with the Father and was the first-born." We are his brethren and sisters in the spirit, in our first estate, being born of our Eternal Father who begat us. We are the begotten of the Lord, in the spirit; but Jesus, the Christ, was the first begotten in the spirit and the only begotten of the Father in the flesh.
I say it is a blessed privilege — to be in union and harmony with that great and mighty Being. If we only had the history of our Savior before the world was, before He received the command of the Father to go down and take of the elements and organize them, if we knew how long He had existed in his organized spiritual state, and the works' that He had seen, that the Father had produced, we might be able to understand why He was actively engaged in the beginning of the earth, and why He was appointed to do the work that He had to do, and why that "through Him and by Him and of Him the worlds were made" and that the revelations of the Father to us on this globe have all come by and through Him. But that history is shut out from our minds, whether we knew anything about it before we came here or not. I presume we knew a good deal, if we did not know it all; but when we came here, like Him, in our humiliation, our judgment and knowledge of the past was taken away, or rather obscured by means of the flesh into which we entered. But He was a great and mighty Being; He was the firstborn, and when He was on the earth in the flesh, He said: "The Son doeth nothing but what the Father doeth, and He doeth nothing but what He seeth the Father do; for whatsoever the Father doeth, that the Son doeth, for the Father loveth the Son and showeth unto Him all things that He himself doeth; and He will show Him greater things than these, that ye may marvel." From that we learn from His own lips that before He came here He not only was the first-born, but the Father bestowed upon Him great knowledge and understanding, opened His eyes to see, and showed Him so that He comprehended the purposes and works of the Father, and patterned after them as far as He had the opportunity. And He has promised that the time shall come when the works that He did shall be done by His disciples, those that believe in Him: "He that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father." So, if we are in harmony with Him, my brethren and sisters, and are willing to receive the word of the Father, through His beloved Son, who understands and comprehends and knows and has been intimate with the Father in all His great works and comprehends them, if we will be in harmony with Him we will find ample opporunity by and by to learn what He has learned, for it will be imparted unto us. The same spirit, by which He was able to understand and do the works that He accomplished, is given to us, by measure, so to speak, and by and by, if we are prepared for it, we shall receive it in fullness and be clothed upon with the glory of God, with the light of the Lord, that proceeds from His presence, and all the endowments and powers and gifts that come by its full possession. That divine spirit of revelation will be ours to enjoy forever, and there will be no end to the increase of our intelligence and wisdom and knowledge and dominion and power and might, or to the increase of our posterity in worlds without end. Now, these things have become facts in my mind, and I presume they are the same in the minds of the majority of the brethren and sisters gathered here on this occasion, particularly the older members of the Church, who have had experience in it and have been in the ministry and have carried the Gospel to other parts of the world and have brought souls unto Christ. We should endeavor, as far as we have the power and opportunity, to impart these things to others, to teach them to our children, that they may grow up in the ways of the Lord, that they may live so that their eyes will be open to the true light, so that there will be no obstruction between them and the Eternal Father of us all; for though we are the fathers of their flesh, the real Father of their spirits, their organized, intelligent being, is our Father as well—our Father and our God and theirs also.
Now, as the children of the Lord we meet here in conference, and it is a great privilege to be allowed to be here with a good degree of health and strength, with a desire in our souls to do right. I believe that is the spirit that fills the bosoms of this congregation, our brethren who have come from a distance, the Saints that have gathered in from the various stakes of Zion to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. As Brother Lund told us, this morning, it was a great blessing and privilege to come up here as ancient Israel did to Jerusalem, once or twice a year at any rate, and receive instructions through the appointed channels. I was pleased to see the attention that was paid to the remarks made by our president this morning; the congregation was interested. What we heard from him was plain and clear and satisfactory, and it was practical; and our religion is in all respects practical. Every truth that has been revealed, although it may be called psychological by some people, and may be viewed as beyond the sphere of mortal life, yet it is all practical: there is something connected with it to do. When we learn a truth, whether it relates to the heavens or the earth, it becomes our duty to make it a part of ourselves and to carry it out in our practical lives, to bring it down to our present conditions and circumstances. To learn the mind and the will of God and then to do it, that is the duty of every Latter-day Saint; and we are here on the earth in this great dispensation, not merely to receive the truth and rejoice in its light, and in the splendid feelings and communion that we have with the powers on high if we obey the commandments of the Lord, but to help to build up God's government on this earth.
The time is to come, so we read, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Lord, the Christ, to the glory of God the Father. What a splendid prospect to have in view! What a grand goal to reach, to aid in bringing about the redemption of the human family. Before that time can come, those that are wicked and corrupt and evil-minded, and who will not be obedient will have to reap the consequences of their own acts. I might repeat the words of the Apostle Paul: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap;" and (although forgiveness may some time come to the disobedient, first of all they will have to pay the penalty of their disobedience, that they may be brought fully to understand the necessity of implicit obedience to the right and the truth; for everything that God reveals is right and true and beneficial. But the time is to come, away in the distant future, when the inhabitants of the earth, all who have dwelt upon it, with the exception of a few who are unredeemable, will be brought to bow the knee willingly; not by compulsion, not by coercion, not by constraint, but willingly bow the knee to King Immanuel and' worship God, the true God, the Father, in Christ's holy name, and be willing, perfectly willing, to render obedience to his commandments. Of course, the condition in which they will dwell will be consequent upon their doings when they were in the flesh. They cannot all be in the same class; that is impossible. There is a difference in the degrees of intelligence. Every one of them has his own identity. Every son or daughter of God has a special identity, and that will always be had. We will not all be of the same height or breadth, nor be exactly of the same outward appearance or of features, but every one will be himself, and we will be cultivated and advanced and developed on our own lines. If sinners are only fit, after punishment, to enter into the Telestial world, there will be no end to the progress along telestial lines; but those who thus come forth will be "bodies telestial and not bodies celestial," and there will be progress on every line and kind of being, for that is the order of the universe. Light and truth will come to us as fast as we are willing to receive it and obey it and put it into practice. That is what we should understand now; and when we come to conference we should come here prepared in our souls to receive good counsel, and then, when we go away, carry it out every day, right where we live, and to do that which is right, to avoid that which is wrong, to listen to the instructions of the man who stands at the head of the Church and his brethren in council who are called upon and authorized to give us advice.
Now, the Apostle Paul, whom I have quoted from two or three times this afternoon, had something to say to the Saints in his day in regard to the progress they ought to have made; he said: "Now, when for the time ye ought to be teachers it is needful that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and to give you milk when you ought to be old enough to have meat," or words to that effect. What did he mean "for the time?" Why, for the time that they had been Saints, members of the Church. For the experience that they had had they ought by that time to have been in such advancement that they could be teachers, but they had to be taught again which were the first principles of the oracles of God; and the apostle went on to describe which are the foundation principles of the Gospel: "Repentance from dead works, faith towards God, and the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment;" and then he said they were to go on to perfection; "and this will we do," said he, "if God permit."
A few days ago, in the Historian's Office I came across some doctrines and principles, rules of order that were laid down by the President of the Church for the obedience of the people at the time when we, all of us old members, entered into what was called the United Order, by baptism. -Certain rules were given to us, and we agreed that we would abide by them. I thought it would be a very good thing to call the attention of the brethren and sisters to some of these rules, which I will do as briefly as I can, so as not to take up too much time; so that we may come back to some of these simple things that you and I covenanted to do, and see how they fit in with the instructions that were given to us this morning by President Smith:
"First: We will not take the name of Deity in vain, nor speak lightly of His character or of sacred things."
Now, brethren and sisters, whether you were baptized at that time or not, that is a rule that you should observe; that is one of the commandments of the Lord to us, to Latter-day Israel. And, by the way, we need not be tied up always to that which was told aforetime; we are living in a day of revelation. As was explained by the brethren this morning, the book of Doctrine and Covenants contains revelations direct to us in our time, given from the Lord, just as much scripture as anything a thousand or ' ten thousand years old, and one of these scriptures teaches us that we should not take the name of Deity in vain, nor speak lightly of His character or of sacred things. Sometimes we are in the habit of being jocular about things that are sacred. That is not right; we should hold them sacred and hold the name of Deity sacred. It always gives me a jar when I hear the name of Deity taken lightly or in a profane way. Sometimes in some of our theatres, expletives are used in which profanity is made manifest. I dislike it very much, and Latter-day Saints ought never to descend to this custom that is had among certain classes of "Gentiles," as we sometimes call them, or as they call themselves.
"Rule two: We will pray with our families morning and evening, and also attend to secret prayers."
Are you carrying that out, brethren, you that made that promise and covenant? and you that did not, have been taught that this is part of your duty. The teachers are sent around, or priests rather, acting as teachers, to urge this upon the Saints. The priests are required "to visit the house of each member and exhort them to pray, vocally and in secret, and attend to all family duties." Now, remember that this is incumbent upon you, if you want to carry out the commandments of the Lord revealed through the Savior of men.
"Rule three: We will observe and keep the Word of Wisdom, according to the spirit and meaning thereof."
President Smith explained this morning what President Young had to say upon the spirit and meaning of the Word of Wisdom. Don't let us forget that, but carry out in our lives that which we have agreed to do.
"Rule four: We will treat our families with due kindness and affection, and set before them an example worthy of imitation. In our families and intercourse with all persons, we will refrain from being contentious or quarrelsome, and we will cease to speak evil of each other, and will cultivate a spirit of charity towards all. We consider it our duty to keep from acting selfishly or from covetous motives, and will seek the interest of each other and the salvation of all mankind."
That is good doctrine, is it not? no matter where it came from; and we should live according to this, abstain from contention and disputations. Sometimes we have a little of that in our midst, and upon subjects that are not worth contending for, little points of doctrine that do not affect our present and will not affect our future, brought up for discussion sometimes in our theological classes, and in our quorum meetings, and they are not worth spending time on, and sometimes brethren write about these things up direct to the president of the Church, when all such questions that are sent up ought to be solved right where they are, in a local capacity, by the help of the bishop, or the president of the stake or some of the good brethren who are acquainted with these points, and they should not be sent up to bother and trouble the president when they are of no particular value or use or practicality. And when you do write, if you have to write, brethren and sisters—for we get letters from the sisters—don't take a poor, miserable lead pencil and rub it over the paper with characters that one cannot decipher without a magnifying" glass; be kind enough to write with ink, if you write at all, and write so plainly that anybody might read it. Now, brethren and:sisters, let us observe this in our homes, in our families. Our religion is practical. In the home, where we dwell, that is the place where we should be religious. Be kind and affectionate one toward another, bear with each other's infirmities and weaknesses, and overlook the little flaws that you may see in each other's character, and observe the good things. We are all fallible, all liable to be mistaken, all liable to act out the "Old Adam," as it is sometimes called, in us; but we have to learn to be Saints of the Most High, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, that we may be one with Him, and by and by may dwell with Him in glory.
"Rule five: We will observe personal cleanliness and preserve ourselves in all chastity, by refraining from adultery, whoredom and lust. We will also discountenance and refrain from all vulgar and obscene language or conduct."
Brethren, have you kept that covenant? Don't you sometimes indulge in conversation, in language that does not comport with your position as Latter-day Saints, to say nothing of holding the priesthood of the living God? Don't forget this injunction, to abstain from vulgar language, anything that is obscene and improper. If you indulge in these things it will bring with it a spirit that belongs to that kind of conversation, but if you want to preserve the spirit of purity and chastity and virtue and holiness before the Lord, abstain from that kind of conversation.
"Rule six: We will observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, in accordance with the revelation."
I am sorry to say that this is not fully carried out in Israel. I don't want to find fault, but I know that sometimes we are derelict in this matter. Observe the Sabbath day, according to the revelation. What do the revelations say on it? Read the fifty-ninth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. The Lord says we are to go to the house of prayer on His holy day. that is, the first day of the week, that is the Lord's day. On that day we are to go to His holy house, and we are to offer up our sacraments and pay our devotions to the Most High; "and on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart, that thy fasting may be perfect, or in other words that thy joy may be full." Don't let us forget the Sabbath day to keep it holy, and to teach that to our children, for so we are commanded of the Lord besides what I have read here in these rules.
"Rule seven: That which is committed to our care we will not appropriate to our own use."
If that had been carried out by some of our friends they would have saved themselves a vast amount of trouble and disgrace. When anything is committed to our care, we have no right to appropriate it to our own use, no right to borrow it, no right to invest it for our own benefit. If public officials, all of them, would follow that out, some of them would save themselves from the penitentiary; all who misappropriate the property of another will eventually get into disgrace, and they might save themselves from that disgrace if they would observe that rule, which is proper for all people whether in public or in private life. Young men, in this congregation, if ever you come into positions where you are entrusted with funds belonging to the public, or to any corporation, or person other than yourself, remember that you have no right to appropriate it to your own use; it belongs to the use for which it was designed in the beginning.
"Rule eight: That which we borrow we will return according to promise, and that which we find we will not appropriate to our own use, but seek to return it to its proper owner."
Don't forget that. If you find money in the street or in the car, that does not belong to you, you have no right to appropriate it to your own personal use; and if you borrow money and agree to pay it on a certain day, pay it, or if you cannot, be sure to communicate with the lender that he may understand that you are not going to ignore him and your promise. Many do make such promises, sometimes put their hands to notes and pay little attention towards repaying that which they have borrowed, but if this rule were carried out which we agreed to follow, we would save ourselves and other people a great deal of annoyance and sometimes great financial loss. When you borrow, return that which was lent to you.
"Rule eleven: In our apparel and deportment, we will not pattern after nor encourage foolish and extravagant fashions, and will cease to import or buy from abroad any article which can reasonably be dispensed with, or which can be produced by combination of home labor."
We are trying to carry this out, to a small degree, but not to the extent that we ought to do. Patronize home manufactures, promote home manufactures, do all you can to produce right in the midst of Israel that which Israel needs, and you will be the better off for it financially, and you will feel the better for it spiritually.
''Rule twelve: We will be simple in our dress and manner of living, using proper economy and prudence in the management of all entrusted to our care."
There are some few other rules here that I will not take the time to read, because they are mixed up with some things we had to do in that Order I have referred to; but all I have read to you, it seems to me, are appropriate to be brought to the attention of the Latter-day Saints now. I would to the Lord that all our girls and women who indulge in these modern immodest fashions had heard the instructions from our president this morning. The trouble is that those kind of persons do not come to meeting as much as others, but we can carry these counsels with us and impart them to others, and mothers in Israel can use their influence with their eirls to dress modestly and properly, and, as far as possible, from such material and labor as can be had at home. We do not need to send to Paris, to the demimonde, to get a fashion. Indeed, the mothers in Israel, the sisters of the Relief Society, and the Mutual Improvement Associations should endeavor to have such fashions in dress as will be modest and proper and be for the purpose for which dress is made—not to display the form divine but in some respects to conceal it, and to have dress suited to the individual, not to be all running in one style, as if you had to pattern after the fashions of the world. Years ago these instructions were given by President Brigham Young and other leaders in Israel, and it would be a good thing if our Saints today could be brought to see the impropriety of the kind of dress that fashion calls for out here in the west. Respectable ladies in the East and in Europe do not pattern after them, because they know whence they proceed; they come from that order of women that the President alluded to this morning, and it is a shame and a disgrace to our beautiful, modest, nice girls to be attired or half-atttired in such fashion. Brethren and sisters, let us do in kindness all that we were advised to do this morning and get our girls and our sisters to dress themselves modestly and properly.
Now, you may say that all these are little things. Yes, they are; but the world is made up of little things, and comfort and joy and salvation are made up of little things, things that are necessary, things that are expedient. Let us remember fhis, that we people in the latter days, sent down upon the earth to build up the kingdom of God in the dispensation of the fullness of times, should take today what the Lord reveals, take today the counsel that is given, take the policies and projects and plans that are revealed today, whether they are in accordance with olden things or not. But we shall find, when we compare the spirit and teachings and real principles that are given to us in the latter day, that they are in accord with that which was revealed of old. Principles never change, through all the eternities, but policies do, and should, according to circumstances.
I have occupied more time than I intended to and, perhaps, too much for this afternoon meeting. Excuse me if I have. God bless you, brethren and sisters. May His peace be with you. I thank God with all my soul that I am with you in the building up of this great latter- day kingdom. There is nothing like it anywhere. There never was anything to be compared with it, for its magnitude, for the intelligence and light and truth revealed, for the purposes of God made known, and these are only the beginnings of good things. Light and truth will be made manifest, and principles of eternal life will come down from the skies to us, through the appointed channels, and Israel will grow and multiply and increase in numbers, in influence and in power, and by 'and by fulfill the ancient predictions and be the head and not the foot. I thank the Lord for the inventions and developments among us, for the disposition to grow and increase in all that is good, for the musical talent that we have, for the abilities manifest in various directions which I will not take time to enumerate; all these things come from our kind, wise, Heavenly Father; and unto him be all the glory, for ever and ever, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sister Amelia Margetts sang the hymn, "Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah," as translated into the Spanish language by Sister Samantha B. Foley.
The great privilege of earthly life in the last dispensation—God's predestination— Necessity of harmony with Deity—Christ's spirit pre-existent — Knowledge and power—Work of His true disciples—Obedience to eternal principles the way to eternal glory —Effects of disobedience—The ultimate redemption of mankind in different states of salvation—Rules of the United Order applicable today —Exhortations to lives of purity, honesty, fidelity and union—Ultimate triumph of light and truth.
I consider it a great privilege to be permitted to be present on this grand occasion, to see so many Latter- day Saints gathered in this tabernacle, in spite of the unfavorable weather that is not encouraging to people traveling or coming together in conference. To me it shows great interest on the part of the people, to assemble in such numbers as we have seen them here today, particularly this morning, to listen to the voice of the Spirit, through the servants of God; and I feel sure that all who came here this morning were well repaid. I was, for one; I enjoyed the spirit of the meeting and the instructions that were imparted, and I hope that all of us who were present, as was invoked in the benediction when we dismissed, will carry with us, wherever we go, the influence that was felt this morning, and endeavor to carry out the instructions imparted, and to encourage others to do so: particularly people who were not able to be here.
It is a very great privilege to dwell on the earth in this last dispensation. I believe with all my heart that this has been arranged by our heavenly Father. I believe in the doctrine of predestination—not that doctrine as it is taught in some of the so-called "Christian" sects, but I believe in the doctrine taught in the old scriptures as well as in the new, that before the foundations of the earth were laid, plans were prepared in regard to the peopling of the earth and the accomplishment of the Divine purpose in sending the sons and daughters of God to dwell on the earth in the flesh. I believe in the doctrine taught by the Apostle Paul, on Mars Hill, "that God hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell upon the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation." So that we did not come here by chance but by design. But the Lord foresaw what would occur on the earth; He understood when our parents, "our first parents," as we call them, were placed in the Garden of Eden what they would do. But He was not personally instrumental in their disobedience, any more than He is in the obedience rendered to his divine commandments. He gave the command and left our parents to act upon their own agency, to do as they desired, or as they willed. All was foreseen by our Heavenly Father, and knowing that death would be introduced in the world among its inhabitants, through the transgression of the first pair, He saw that there should be a means provided for redemption, and so Jesus—that is His earthly name, Jesus, our elder brother, called in the scriptures "the beginning of the creation of God," "the first-born of every creature," was chosen to be the Redeemer, to come on the earth at the time appointed and in the place appointed; and He came and performed the work allotted to Him. He did that of his own free will and choice. Sometimes, feeling the weakness of human nature inherited from his mother, he was inclined to shrink from the terrible task imposed upon Him; but He came with one principle firmly established in his soul, which was the necessity of implicit obedience to the Divine Father; so He said: "I came not to do my own will but the will of Him that sent me." He performed the work allotted to Him, as the Father foresaw He would, but it was left to Him, to His own individuality, to His own choice to do or not to do that which He was commanded to perform.
Now, I merely speak of that as a sample of what we believe, as the Apostle Paul taught, that this selection has been in the mind of Deity, was in the mind of the Father before the world was; and so at different periods in the history of the world, persons selected by the Almighty were sent upon the earth to tabernacle in flesh and perform missions that were necessary for them to undertake. I believe that in reference to the prophets who were raised up and to other mighty men in other positions in life—in civil office, in military affairs, in literary and poetic life. I believe that the poets and philosophers, and sages, as well as the military heroes, wise statesmen and grand leaders of the different centuries, were sent upon the earth at the right time, that they might be able to perform the works that were needful to be done, to carry out in the end the Divine purposes of our Heavenly Father. I believe that He has left the children of men to perform the missions allotted to them or to carry out their own inclinations and wishes and desires, to be obedient or disobedient, as they wish, and that in the end the result will be that the Father will overrule all that is done or left undone, that all things that occur in the history of the children of God will be overruled by our Eternal Father to accomplish the great end and design and purpose which He had in view in sending us here. That, in a few words, is the salvation, the immortality and eternal life of man—man in the capacity of a spirit and a body united; man capable of enjoying all things which the universe brings forth; man able to obey the commandments of God, or to disobey them, so that we all might learn the virtue of obedience and the folly as well as the wickedness of disobedience, to learn the great lesson that obedience to eternal principles, eternal laws, brings happiness, power, advancement, development, preparation for higher and higher and higher stages of being, and that disobedience brings about the contrary. That is the great end in view. So I believe that in these latter days our Heavenly Father, in bringing about "the dispensation of the fullness of times," sent such spirits to the earth as would be capable of leading out and carrying on the great and mighty work, the greatest of all dispensations on this globe.
I say, then, that we are privileged to be living on the earth in these latter days. I feel that way in my soul, and I am thankful to my Heavenly Father that I have had the opportunity of coming upon the earth at a time when the fullness of the everlasting gospel has been restored, and authority to preach it and to administer its ordinances and to prepare the way for the coming of the King of kings has been brought about, and that I have had the opportunity of coming here in this good time. I am thankful to God that in my youthful days I was able to see the beauty, to some extent at least, of the gospel thus revealed, that my eyes were opened to see it, while all to whom I was related were blind in their minds in regard to it. I believe that in the providence of God I have come on earth in the last days and that there was a work for me to do, arid I am glad I have been trying to do it to the best of my ability, ever since I received the gospel, and that today I am privileged to stand in fellowship with my brethren and sisters in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and still be able to do something towards furthering the purposes of our Heavenly Father in this great dispensation. So I am glad to be here today. I am glad to mingle with brethren and sisters who also have received the light, who have not rejected the truth, but who received it eagerly, with honest hearts, and most of whom have endeavored to do their very best to build up the kingdom of God on the earth and to accomplish the purposes of our Heavenly Father, to be in union and harmony with Jesus Christ, our elder Brother, who, as He declared Himself to the Prophet Joseph, or through him to us, was "in the beginning with the Father and was the first-born." We are his brethren and sisters in the spirit, in our first estate, being born of our Eternal Father who begat us. We are the begotten of the Lord, in the spirit; but Jesus, the Christ, was the first begotten in the spirit and the only begotten of the Father in the flesh.
I say it is a blessed privilege — to be in union and harmony with that great and mighty Being. If we only had the history of our Savior before the world was, before He received the command of the Father to go down and take of the elements and organize them, if we knew how long He had existed in his organized spiritual state, and the works' that He had seen, that the Father had produced, we might be able to understand why He was actively engaged in the beginning of the earth, and why He was appointed to do the work that He had to do, and why that "through Him and by Him and of Him the worlds were made" and that the revelations of the Father to us on this globe have all come by and through Him. But that history is shut out from our minds, whether we knew anything about it before we came here or not. I presume we knew a good deal, if we did not know it all; but when we came here, like Him, in our humiliation, our judgment and knowledge of the past was taken away, or rather obscured by means of the flesh into which we entered. But He was a great and mighty Being; He was the firstborn, and when He was on the earth in the flesh, He said: "The Son doeth nothing but what the Father doeth, and He doeth nothing but what He seeth the Father do; for whatsoever the Father doeth, that the Son doeth, for the Father loveth the Son and showeth unto Him all things that He himself doeth; and He will show Him greater things than these, that ye may marvel." From that we learn from His own lips that before He came here He not only was the first-born, but the Father bestowed upon Him great knowledge and understanding, opened His eyes to see, and showed Him so that He comprehended the purposes and works of the Father, and patterned after them as far as He had the opportunity. And He has promised that the time shall come when the works that He did shall be done by His disciples, those that believe in Him: "He that believeth in me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater works than these shall he do, because I go to the Father." So, if we are in harmony with Him, my brethren and sisters, and are willing to receive the word of the Father, through His beloved Son, who understands and comprehends and knows and has been intimate with the Father in all His great works and comprehends them, if we will be in harmony with Him we will find ample opporunity by and by to learn what He has learned, for it will be imparted unto us. The same spirit, by which He was able to understand and do the works that He accomplished, is given to us, by measure, so to speak, and by and by, if we are prepared for it, we shall receive it in fullness and be clothed upon with the glory of God, with the light of the Lord, that proceeds from His presence, and all the endowments and powers and gifts that come by its full possession. That divine spirit of revelation will be ours to enjoy forever, and there will be no end to the increase of our intelligence and wisdom and knowledge and dominion and power and might, or to the increase of our posterity in worlds without end. Now, these things have become facts in my mind, and I presume they are the same in the minds of the majority of the brethren and sisters gathered here on this occasion, particularly the older members of the Church, who have had experience in it and have been in the ministry and have carried the Gospel to other parts of the world and have brought souls unto Christ. We should endeavor, as far as we have the power and opportunity, to impart these things to others, to teach them to our children, that they may grow up in the ways of the Lord, that they may live so that their eyes will be open to the true light, so that there will be no obstruction between them and the Eternal Father of us all; for though we are the fathers of their flesh, the real Father of their spirits, their organized, intelligent being, is our Father as well—our Father and our God and theirs also.
Now, as the children of the Lord we meet here in conference, and it is a great privilege to be allowed to be here with a good degree of health and strength, with a desire in our souls to do right. I believe that is the spirit that fills the bosoms of this congregation, our brethren who have come from a distance, the Saints that have gathered in from the various stakes of Zion to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. As Brother Lund told us, this morning, it was a great blessing and privilege to come up here as ancient Israel did to Jerusalem, once or twice a year at any rate, and receive instructions through the appointed channels. I was pleased to see the attention that was paid to the remarks made by our president this morning; the congregation was interested. What we heard from him was plain and clear and satisfactory, and it was practical; and our religion is in all respects practical. Every truth that has been revealed, although it may be called psychological by some people, and may be viewed as beyond the sphere of mortal life, yet it is all practical: there is something connected with it to do. When we learn a truth, whether it relates to the heavens or the earth, it becomes our duty to make it a part of ourselves and to carry it out in our practical lives, to bring it down to our present conditions and circumstances. To learn the mind and the will of God and then to do it, that is the duty of every Latter-day Saint; and we are here on the earth in this great dispensation, not merely to receive the truth and rejoice in its light, and in the splendid feelings and communion that we have with the powers on high if we obey the commandments of the Lord, but to help to build up God's government on this earth.
The time is to come, so we read, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Lord, the Christ, to the glory of God the Father. What a splendid prospect to have in view! What a grand goal to reach, to aid in bringing about the redemption of the human family. Before that time can come, those that are wicked and corrupt and evil-minded, and who will not be obedient will have to reap the consequences of their own acts. I might repeat the words of the Apostle Paul: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap;" and (although forgiveness may some time come to the disobedient, first of all they will have to pay the penalty of their disobedience, that they may be brought fully to understand the necessity of implicit obedience to the right and the truth; for everything that God reveals is right and true and beneficial. But the time is to come, away in the distant future, when the inhabitants of the earth, all who have dwelt upon it, with the exception of a few who are unredeemable, will be brought to bow the knee willingly; not by compulsion, not by coercion, not by constraint, but willingly bow the knee to King Immanuel and' worship God, the true God, the Father, in Christ's holy name, and be willing, perfectly willing, to render obedience to his commandments. Of course, the condition in which they will dwell will be consequent upon their doings when they were in the flesh. They cannot all be in the same class; that is impossible. There is a difference in the degrees of intelligence. Every one of them has his own identity. Every son or daughter of God has a special identity, and that will always be had. We will not all be of the same height or breadth, nor be exactly of the same outward appearance or of features, but every one will be himself, and we will be cultivated and advanced and developed on our own lines. If sinners are only fit, after punishment, to enter into the Telestial world, there will be no end to the progress along telestial lines; but those who thus come forth will be "bodies telestial and not bodies celestial," and there will be progress on every line and kind of being, for that is the order of the universe. Light and truth will come to us as fast as we are willing to receive it and obey it and put it into practice. That is what we should understand now; and when we come to conference we should come here prepared in our souls to receive good counsel, and then, when we go away, carry it out every day, right where we live, and to do that which is right, to avoid that which is wrong, to listen to the instructions of the man who stands at the head of the Church and his brethren in council who are called upon and authorized to give us advice.
Now, the Apostle Paul, whom I have quoted from two or three times this afternoon, had something to say to the Saints in his day in regard to the progress they ought to have made; he said: "Now, when for the time ye ought to be teachers it is needful that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and to give you milk when you ought to be old enough to have meat," or words to that effect. What did he mean "for the time?" Why, for the time that they had been Saints, members of the Church. For the experience that they had had they ought by that time to have been in such advancement that they could be teachers, but they had to be taught again which were the first principles of the oracles of God; and the apostle went on to describe which are the foundation principles of the Gospel: "Repentance from dead works, faith towards God, and the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment;" and then he said they were to go on to perfection; "and this will we do," said he, "if God permit."
A few days ago, in the Historian's Office I came across some doctrines and principles, rules of order that were laid down by the President of the Church for the obedience of the people at the time when we, all of us old members, entered into what was called the United Order, by baptism. -Certain rules were given to us, and we agreed that we would abide by them. I thought it would be a very good thing to call the attention of the brethren and sisters to some of these rules, which I will do as briefly as I can, so as not to take up too much time; so that we may come back to some of these simple things that you and I covenanted to do, and see how they fit in with the instructions that were given to us this morning by President Smith:
"First: We will not take the name of Deity in vain, nor speak lightly of His character or of sacred things."
Now, brethren and sisters, whether you were baptized at that time or not, that is a rule that you should observe; that is one of the commandments of the Lord to us, to Latter-day Israel. And, by the way, we need not be tied up always to that which was told aforetime; we are living in a day of revelation. As was explained by the brethren this morning, the book of Doctrine and Covenants contains revelations direct to us in our time, given from the Lord, just as much scripture as anything a thousand or ' ten thousand years old, and one of these scriptures teaches us that we should not take the name of Deity in vain, nor speak lightly of His character or of sacred things. Sometimes we are in the habit of being jocular about things that are sacred. That is not right; we should hold them sacred and hold the name of Deity sacred. It always gives me a jar when I hear the name of Deity taken lightly or in a profane way. Sometimes in some of our theatres, expletives are used in which profanity is made manifest. I dislike it very much, and Latter-day Saints ought never to descend to this custom that is had among certain classes of "Gentiles," as we sometimes call them, or as they call themselves.
"Rule two: We will pray with our families morning and evening, and also attend to secret prayers."
Are you carrying that out, brethren, you that made that promise and covenant? and you that did not, have been taught that this is part of your duty. The teachers are sent around, or priests rather, acting as teachers, to urge this upon the Saints. The priests are required "to visit the house of each member and exhort them to pray, vocally and in secret, and attend to all family duties." Now, remember that this is incumbent upon you, if you want to carry out the commandments of the Lord revealed through the Savior of men.
"Rule three: We will observe and keep the Word of Wisdom, according to the spirit and meaning thereof."
President Smith explained this morning what President Young had to say upon the spirit and meaning of the Word of Wisdom. Don't let us forget that, but carry out in our lives that which we have agreed to do.
"Rule four: We will treat our families with due kindness and affection, and set before them an example worthy of imitation. In our families and intercourse with all persons, we will refrain from being contentious or quarrelsome, and we will cease to speak evil of each other, and will cultivate a spirit of charity towards all. We consider it our duty to keep from acting selfishly or from covetous motives, and will seek the interest of each other and the salvation of all mankind."
That is good doctrine, is it not? no matter where it came from; and we should live according to this, abstain from contention and disputations. Sometimes we have a little of that in our midst, and upon subjects that are not worth contending for, little points of doctrine that do not affect our present and will not affect our future, brought up for discussion sometimes in our theological classes, and in our quorum meetings, and they are not worth spending time on, and sometimes brethren write about these things up direct to the president of the Church, when all such questions that are sent up ought to be solved right where they are, in a local capacity, by the help of the bishop, or the president of the stake or some of the good brethren who are acquainted with these points, and they should not be sent up to bother and trouble the president when they are of no particular value or use or practicality. And when you do write, if you have to write, brethren and sisters—for we get letters from the sisters—don't take a poor, miserable lead pencil and rub it over the paper with characters that one cannot decipher without a magnifying" glass; be kind enough to write with ink, if you write at all, and write so plainly that anybody might read it. Now, brethren and:sisters, let us observe this in our homes, in our families. Our religion is practical. In the home, where we dwell, that is the place where we should be religious. Be kind and affectionate one toward another, bear with each other's infirmities and weaknesses, and overlook the little flaws that you may see in each other's character, and observe the good things. We are all fallible, all liable to be mistaken, all liable to act out the "Old Adam," as it is sometimes called, in us; but we have to learn to be Saints of the Most High, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, that we may be one with Him, and by and by may dwell with Him in glory.
"Rule five: We will observe personal cleanliness and preserve ourselves in all chastity, by refraining from adultery, whoredom and lust. We will also discountenance and refrain from all vulgar and obscene language or conduct."
Brethren, have you kept that covenant? Don't you sometimes indulge in conversation, in language that does not comport with your position as Latter-day Saints, to say nothing of holding the priesthood of the living God? Don't forget this injunction, to abstain from vulgar language, anything that is obscene and improper. If you indulge in these things it will bring with it a spirit that belongs to that kind of conversation, but if you want to preserve the spirit of purity and chastity and virtue and holiness before the Lord, abstain from that kind of conversation.
"Rule six: We will observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, in accordance with the revelation."
I am sorry to say that this is not fully carried out in Israel. I don't want to find fault, but I know that sometimes we are derelict in this matter. Observe the Sabbath day, according to the revelation. What do the revelations say on it? Read the fifty-ninth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. The Lord says we are to go to the house of prayer on His holy day. that is, the first day of the week, that is the Lord's day. On that day we are to go to His holy house, and we are to offer up our sacraments and pay our devotions to the Most High; "and on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart, that thy fasting may be perfect, or in other words that thy joy may be full." Don't let us forget the Sabbath day to keep it holy, and to teach that to our children, for so we are commanded of the Lord besides what I have read here in these rules.
"Rule seven: That which is committed to our care we will not appropriate to our own use."
If that had been carried out by some of our friends they would have saved themselves a vast amount of trouble and disgrace. When anything is committed to our care, we have no right to appropriate it to our own use, no right to borrow it, no right to invest it for our own benefit. If public officials, all of them, would follow that out, some of them would save themselves from the penitentiary; all who misappropriate the property of another will eventually get into disgrace, and they might save themselves from that disgrace if they would observe that rule, which is proper for all people whether in public or in private life. Young men, in this congregation, if ever you come into positions where you are entrusted with funds belonging to the public, or to any corporation, or person other than yourself, remember that you have no right to appropriate it to your own use; it belongs to the use for which it was designed in the beginning.
"Rule eight: That which we borrow we will return according to promise, and that which we find we will not appropriate to our own use, but seek to return it to its proper owner."
Don't forget that. If you find money in the street or in the car, that does not belong to you, you have no right to appropriate it to your own personal use; and if you borrow money and agree to pay it on a certain day, pay it, or if you cannot, be sure to communicate with the lender that he may understand that you are not going to ignore him and your promise. Many do make such promises, sometimes put their hands to notes and pay little attention towards repaying that which they have borrowed, but if this rule were carried out which we agreed to follow, we would save ourselves and other people a great deal of annoyance and sometimes great financial loss. When you borrow, return that which was lent to you.
"Rule eleven: In our apparel and deportment, we will not pattern after nor encourage foolish and extravagant fashions, and will cease to import or buy from abroad any article which can reasonably be dispensed with, or which can be produced by combination of home labor."
We are trying to carry this out, to a small degree, but not to the extent that we ought to do. Patronize home manufactures, promote home manufactures, do all you can to produce right in the midst of Israel that which Israel needs, and you will be the better off for it financially, and you will feel the better for it spiritually.
''Rule twelve: We will be simple in our dress and manner of living, using proper economy and prudence in the management of all entrusted to our care."
There are some few other rules here that I will not take the time to read, because they are mixed up with some things we had to do in that Order I have referred to; but all I have read to you, it seems to me, are appropriate to be brought to the attention of the Latter-day Saints now. I would to the Lord that all our girls and women who indulge in these modern immodest fashions had heard the instructions from our president this morning. The trouble is that those kind of persons do not come to meeting as much as others, but we can carry these counsels with us and impart them to others, and mothers in Israel can use their influence with their eirls to dress modestly and properly, and, as far as possible, from such material and labor as can be had at home. We do not need to send to Paris, to the demimonde, to get a fashion. Indeed, the mothers in Israel, the sisters of the Relief Society, and the Mutual Improvement Associations should endeavor to have such fashions in dress as will be modest and proper and be for the purpose for which dress is made—not to display the form divine but in some respects to conceal it, and to have dress suited to the individual, not to be all running in one style, as if you had to pattern after the fashions of the world. Years ago these instructions were given by President Brigham Young and other leaders in Israel, and it would be a good thing if our Saints today could be brought to see the impropriety of the kind of dress that fashion calls for out here in the west. Respectable ladies in the East and in Europe do not pattern after them, because they know whence they proceed; they come from that order of women that the President alluded to this morning, and it is a shame and a disgrace to our beautiful, modest, nice girls to be attired or half-atttired in such fashion. Brethren and sisters, let us do in kindness all that we were advised to do this morning and get our girls and our sisters to dress themselves modestly and properly.
Now, you may say that all these are little things. Yes, they are; but the world is made up of little things, and comfort and joy and salvation are made up of little things, things that are necessary, things that are expedient. Let us remember fhis, that we people in the latter days, sent down upon the earth to build up the kingdom of God in the dispensation of the fullness of times, should take today what the Lord reveals, take today the counsel that is given, take the policies and projects and plans that are revealed today, whether they are in accordance with olden things or not. But we shall find, when we compare the spirit and teachings and real principles that are given to us in the latter day, that they are in accord with that which was revealed of old. Principles never change, through all the eternities, but policies do, and should, according to circumstances.
I have occupied more time than I intended to and, perhaps, too much for this afternoon meeting. Excuse me if I have. God bless you, brethren and sisters. May His peace be with you. I thank God with all my soul that I am with you in the building up of this great latter- day kingdom. There is nothing like it anywhere. There never was anything to be compared with it, for its magnitude, for the intelligence and light and truth revealed, for the purposes of God made known, and these are only the beginnings of good things. Light and truth will be made manifest, and principles of eternal life will come down from the skies to us, through the appointed channels, and Israel will grow and multiply and increase in numbers, in influence and in power, and by 'and by fulfill the ancient predictions and be the head and not the foot. I thank the Lord for the inventions and developments among us, for the disposition to grow and increase in all that is good, for the musical talent that we have, for the abilities manifest in various directions which I will not take time to enumerate; all these things come from our kind, wise, Heavenly Father; and unto him be all the glory, for ever and ever, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sister Amelia Margetts sang the hymn, "Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah," as translated into the Spanish language by Sister Samantha B. Foley.
ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
TESTIMONIES IN BRONZE AND STONE.
I was unavoidably detained from the first session of the conference and, therefore, missed what was undoubtedly the valuable instructions given on that occasion. I rejoice, however, with my brethren, that I have the opportunity of being present this afternoon and partaking with you of the spirit that has evidently come into this conference; and I am delighted, for one, to have my mind refreshed upon the duties and obligations that I owe, in common with you, to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I rejoice in the great truths that President Penrose has presented to us this afternoon.
I rejoice to be reminded that the truth remains, and that we find it, notwithstanding the lapse of years, the same as in former times. It certainly is refreshing to have this thought in our minds, namely, that the truth is always the same; but that as the years go by, the volume of it enlarges, and the witnesses to it increase, and more and more the attractions about it multiply as the years go by. In this connection I would like to call your attention to the growth of interest that we find in coming up to the headquarters of the Church and visiting this Temple Block, where we are increasing the number of testimonies in stone as well as in word; multiplying in bronze as well as by verbal utterance, the memorials of God's dealings with His people.
I would like to read to you, as introductory to inviting your attention to these things, a passage from the old scriptures relating to a certain great incident in the history of ancient Israel. When Joshua was leading Israel from the east side of Jordan to the west side, the Lord apparently desired to magnify His name, both in Israel and among the peoples of that country; and, therefore, with power and an outstretched arm He began the establishment of His people in the promised land. In crossing Jordan, at the flood tide —which occurs at the harvest time —he caused that when the priests took the Ark of the covenant, — which was the sign of God's visible presence in Israel,—when they carried it to the waters of Jordan, the waters were divided, and the priests stood in the bed of the river, the waters being held back by the power of God, while the hosts of Israel passed over dry shod. Joshua was commanded to direct twelve men in Israel, one from each tribe, to go to the place where the priests stood and carry from thence stones, which should be erected as a memorial altar xmto the Lord, of the manifestation of His power on that occasion in behalf of His people. I now read what the scriptures say about that incident:
"Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man;
"And Joshua said unto them; Pass over before the Ark of the Lord your God, into the midst of Jordan, and take you up, every man of you, a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of tribes of the children of Israel;
"That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
"Then ye shall answer them, that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the Ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever;
* * * * *
"And those twelve stones which they took out of Jordan did Joshua pitch in Gilgal;
"And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
"Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel come over this Jordan on dry land;
"For the Lord God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over;
"That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever." (Joshua 4:4-7, 20-24.)
The Lord was anxious, apparently, that there should be a testimony in stone, an enduring monument of the manifestation of His power in behalf of Israel. I think I catch a glimpse of the same spirit in the experiences of modern Israel. For many years, now, with a great joy, I have looked upon this magnificent Temple upon this block, as a collective testimony in stone, to God's presence and power and salvation, among the Latter-day Saints that is mightier, perhaps, than the verbal testimony of any man, because it may be seen by so many, unmoved through many generations, and has been established by the collective mites of a community. Thev have builded a monument of testimony in stone that God has given commandments to this generation. I was struck not long since, when writing the history of the times in which the foundations of this Temple were laid. I know not how it will appeal to you, but it thrilled me and gave me great joy when I contemplated the circumstances of the Latter-day Saints under which they laid that marvelous foundation, sixteen feet in depth and sixteen feet broad, of solid granite wall. At the time that immense foundation was laid—upwards of ninety-nine feet from north to south, through the towers; over a hundred and eighty-six feet east and west, through the towers—the Saints knew that its walls—nine feet of solid granite in width, in the lower story, and tapering to six feet in the upper story—would reach a height of one hundred and seven feet; with the east tower, two hundred and ten feet high; and the west tower some six feet less in height. They knew that such, in the rough, were to be its dimensions. At the time, less than five thousand Latterday Saints were in this city; and less than twenty thousand Latterday Saints in the territory of Utah yet they had the magnificent faith to lay the foundations of such a mighty testimony in stone as this has become. Its foundations were laid in the midst of the poverty of the people, and forty toilsome years were consumed in bringing it to the capstone and to completion! Yet there it stands, a magnificent testimony of the Latter-day Saints to the world; an altar erected that stands for the chastity of the individual, the purity of the home, the close linking of man in brotherhood with man, and in fatherhood with God; standing for the salvation both. of the living and of the dead, a modern witness for God in stone, greater — far greater — than that erected under the direction of Joshua. I may not dwell upon all that it suggests; I can only name these few things, because I want to call your attention to some other monuments.
Out here on this Temple- square, we have the bronze statue of Joseph Smith, the prophet of the great and new dispensation of the Gospel; and the statue also of his faithful brother, Hyrum Smith, standing upon granite pedestals, properly inscribed, declaring" their mission and their achievements in the world, so far as those achievements can be briefly stated, saying,. doubtless, in the inscriptions what the Prophet Joseph would like to say if he could meet face to face the tens and hundreds of thousands of people who read the burning words of truth which God gave him to speak to this generation. These utterances are recorded upon the bronze tablets, and the Prophet is thus voicing forth his message to the world, and though dead, yet speaketh, in this memorial of bronze and stone, that loving hands have erected upon this square.
It gave me delight more than I can express to you here, the other day, to take two of my daughters, one of whom I expect soon to go to the east—into the world—and to view with them this beautiful Sea Gull Monument just completed and very recently fittingly dedicated to the purposes for which it was erected. I pointed out to them how it told the story of God's deliverance of the Latter-day Saints in this valley in the year 1848. I rejoice with my whole heart, not only in the beauty of that great offering as a memorial to God for His goodness to our fathers, not only in its perfections as a work of art, but I look beyond all that to the thing that it represents — our recognition of God's great goodness in delivering His people from threatened destruction— a collective testimony of the people—to the goodness of God to our fathers. It will stand, I believe, through many generations, one of the most beautiful, or to memorialize one of the most beautiful incidents in the many wonderful experiences of the Latter-day Saints. For indeed, Israel was so situated in the summer of 1848. that if God had not wrought out a deliverance for them, then there was nothing but starvation for the people and reproach to the God of Israel who had brought them to this land. For this reason, the Lord felt Himself bound to work out the deliverance which that combination of bronze and stone stands to memorialize.
The story is told eloquently, better than words will ever tell it, in the bronze tablets around the base of the monument. [The speaker in the revision of his remarks has amplified somewhat the description of the tablets for the sake of completeness.] The graceful Doric column of the monument, surmounting the base, is fifteen feet high, and is topped by a granite sphere, on which two Gulls are seen in the act of lighting upon it—a most graceful thing in itself, and Mr. Young, the sculptor, has caught the action of it true to life.
On three sides of the high base in relief sculpture the Sea Gull story is told: The tablature on the east tells of the arrival and early movements of the Pioneers. In the left foreground of the rugged Wasatch mountains there is the man a-field with ox team plowing the stubborn soil, aided by the boy driver, followed by the sower. In the right foreground is the wagon home, women preparing the humble meal, while an Indian sits in idle but graceful pose looking upon all this strange activity that is to redeem his land from savagery and give it to civilization.
The second tablature—on the south—tells the story of the threatened devastation from the crickets' invasion. A point of mountain and a glimpse of the placid, distant lake is seen. The pioneer farmer's fight with the invading pest is ended—he has exhausted all his ingenuity in the fight, and his strength. He is beaten —you can see that in the hopeless sinking of his figure to earth, his bowed head and listless down-hanging hands from which the spade has fallen. Despair claims him—-and laughs. With the woman of this tablature it is different. She is holding a child by the hand—through it she feels throbbing the call of the future—the life of a generation of men and women yet to be. Strange that to woman—man's complement —is given such superior strength in hours of severest trial. Where man's strength and courage and fighting ends, woman's hope and faith and trust seem to spring into newness of life. From her nature she seems able to do this inconsistent yet true thing —to hope against hope, and ask till she receives. I do not know in what school of psychology the sculptor studied his art. but he has certainly been true to the great psychological difference between man and woman. But to return to this woman of the second tablature —she. too. is toil worn, and there is something truly pathetic in her body weariness, but her head is raised. Raised to what until now has seemed the pitiless skies; but now they are filled with the oncomingflocks of Sea Gulls. Does she watch their coming with merely idle curiosity or vague wonderment? Or does her soul in the strange Gull-cry hear God's answer to her call for help? God's answer to her they were, these Gulls, in any event, as the Gulls soon proved by devouring the destroyer.
The third tablature commemorates the Pioneers' first harvest — worthily, too. In the background rises Ensign Peak. In the middle background the log house home stands finished; in the foreground harvesting the golden grain is in progress, both men and women take joyous part. To the right a mother half kneeling holds to her full breast a babe, who "on the heart and from the heart" receives his nourishment, and about her knees two other children play in happy, childish oblivion of toil or care. O, happy scene, of life and joy, "where Plenty leaps to laughing life with her redundant horn."
On the fourth tablature is the title of the monument. Fortunately it is simple, and not explanatory—the work' of the sculptor tells the story —tells it well and eloquently. Too much narration would have marred it—this is the inscription:
SEA GULL MONUMENT
ERECTED IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF
THE MERCY OF GOD TO THE MORMON PIONEERS.
Yes, let us own it. The salvation wrought out in that year of grace, 1848, for the "Mormon" Pioneers, was Thy work, Helper of the helpless, and Supplementer of man's endeavor; giving him of Thy bounteous strength when his strength fails. How shall we honor Thee for Thy tender mercies to menward, but by acknowledgment of them, by holding them in memory, and speaking of them to our children, and to our children's children, to the remotest generation?
Though from afar the Sea Gulls came and destroyed the destroyer, it was Thy voice, O Lord, that called them—they did but do Thy bidding —the deliverance was of Thee and by Thee. And though in these grouped symbols of the monument the beautiful agency of Thy merciful act is chiefly present, still beyond and above these to our consciousness the Eternal Cause of such events stands smiling.
Long may these testimonies of stone and bronze, which our feeble hands have erected, stand on this sacred block as God's witnesses unto the inhabitants of the earth, that He has given a new dispensation of His truth to man, and confirmed it by a manifestation of His mercy and power in the deliverance of His people, I pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
TESTIMONIES IN BRONZE AND STONE.
I was unavoidably detained from the first session of the conference and, therefore, missed what was undoubtedly the valuable instructions given on that occasion. I rejoice, however, with my brethren, that I have the opportunity of being present this afternoon and partaking with you of the spirit that has evidently come into this conference; and I am delighted, for one, to have my mind refreshed upon the duties and obligations that I owe, in common with you, to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I rejoice in the great truths that President Penrose has presented to us this afternoon.
I rejoice to be reminded that the truth remains, and that we find it, notwithstanding the lapse of years, the same as in former times. It certainly is refreshing to have this thought in our minds, namely, that the truth is always the same; but that as the years go by, the volume of it enlarges, and the witnesses to it increase, and more and more the attractions about it multiply as the years go by. In this connection I would like to call your attention to the growth of interest that we find in coming up to the headquarters of the Church and visiting this Temple Block, where we are increasing the number of testimonies in stone as well as in word; multiplying in bronze as well as by verbal utterance, the memorials of God's dealings with His people.
I would like to read to you, as introductory to inviting your attention to these things, a passage from the old scriptures relating to a certain great incident in the history of ancient Israel. When Joshua was leading Israel from the east side of Jordan to the west side, the Lord apparently desired to magnify His name, both in Israel and among the peoples of that country; and, therefore, with power and an outstretched arm He began the establishment of His people in the promised land. In crossing Jordan, at the flood tide —which occurs at the harvest time —he caused that when the priests took the Ark of the covenant, — which was the sign of God's visible presence in Israel,—when they carried it to the waters of Jordan, the waters were divided, and the priests stood in the bed of the river, the waters being held back by the power of God, while the hosts of Israel passed over dry shod. Joshua was commanded to direct twelve men in Israel, one from each tribe, to go to the place where the priests stood and carry from thence stones, which should be erected as a memorial altar xmto the Lord, of the manifestation of His power on that occasion in behalf of His people. I now read what the scriptures say about that incident:
"Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man;
"And Joshua said unto them; Pass over before the Ark of the Lord your God, into the midst of Jordan, and take you up, every man of you, a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of tribes of the children of Israel;
"That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
"Then ye shall answer them, that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the Ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever;
* * * * *
"And those twelve stones which they took out of Jordan did Joshua pitch in Gilgal;
"And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
"Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel come over this Jordan on dry land;
"For the Lord God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over;
"That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever." (Joshua 4:4-7, 20-24.)
The Lord was anxious, apparently, that there should be a testimony in stone, an enduring monument of the manifestation of His power in behalf of Israel. I think I catch a glimpse of the same spirit in the experiences of modern Israel. For many years, now, with a great joy, I have looked upon this magnificent Temple upon this block, as a collective testimony in stone, to God's presence and power and salvation, among the Latter-day Saints that is mightier, perhaps, than the verbal testimony of any man, because it may be seen by so many, unmoved through many generations, and has been established by the collective mites of a community. Thev have builded a monument of testimony in stone that God has given commandments to this generation. I was struck not long since, when writing the history of the times in which the foundations of this Temple were laid. I know not how it will appeal to you, but it thrilled me and gave me great joy when I contemplated the circumstances of the Latter-day Saints under which they laid that marvelous foundation, sixteen feet in depth and sixteen feet broad, of solid granite wall. At the time that immense foundation was laid—upwards of ninety-nine feet from north to south, through the towers; over a hundred and eighty-six feet east and west, through the towers—the Saints knew that its walls—nine feet of solid granite in width, in the lower story, and tapering to six feet in the upper story—would reach a height of one hundred and seven feet; with the east tower, two hundred and ten feet high; and the west tower some six feet less in height. They knew that such, in the rough, were to be its dimensions. At the time, less than five thousand Latterday Saints were in this city; and less than twenty thousand Latterday Saints in the territory of Utah yet they had the magnificent faith to lay the foundations of such a mighty testimony in stone as this has become. Its foundations were laid in the midst of the poverty of the people, and forty toilsome years were consumed in bringing it to the capstone and to completion! Yet there it stands, a magnificent testimony of the Latter-day Saints to the world; an altar erected that stands for the chastity of the individual, the purity of the home, the close linking of man in brotherhood with man, and in fatherhood with God; standing for the salvation both. of the living and of the dead, a modern witness for God in stone, greater — far greater — than that erected under the direction of Joshua. I may not dwell upon all that it suggests; I can only name these few things, because I want to call your attention to some other monuments.
Out here on this Temple- square, we have the bronze statue of Joseph Smith, the prophet of the great and new dispensation of the Gospel; and the statue also of his faithful brother, Hyrum Smith, standing upon granite pedestals, properly inscribed, declaring" their mission and their achievements in the world, so far as those achievements can be briefly stated, saying,. doubtless, in the inscriptions what the Prophet Joseph would like to say if he could meet face to face the tens and hundreds of thousands of people who read the burning words of truth which God gave him to speak to this generation. These utterances are recorded upon the bronze tablets, and the Prophet is thus voicing forth his message to the world, and though dead, yet speaketh, in this memorial of bronze and stone, that loving hands have erected upon this square.
It gave me delight more than I can express to you here, the other day, to take two of my daughters, one of whom I expect soon to go to the east—into the world—and to view with them this beautiful Sea Gull Monument just completed and very recently fittingly dedicated to the purposes for which it was erected. I pointed out to them how it told the story of God's deliverance of the Latter-day Saints in this valley in the year 1848. I rejoice with my whole heart, not only in the beauty of that great offering as a memorial to God for His goodness to our fathers, not only in its perfections as a work of art, but I look beyond all that to the thing that it represents — our recognition of God's great goodness in delivering His people from threatened destruction— a collective testimony of the people—to the goodness of God to our fathers. It will stand, I believe, through many generations, one of the most beautiful, or to memorialize one of the most beautiful incidents in the many wonderful experiences of the Latter-day Saints. For indeed, Israel was so situated in the summer of 1848. that if God had not wrought out a deliverance for them, then there was nothing but starvation for the people and reproach to the God of Israel who had brought them to this land. For this reason, the Lord felt Himself bound to work out the deliverance which that combination of bronze and stone stands to memorialize.
The story is told eloquently, better than words will ever tell it, in the bronze tablets around the base of the monument. [The speaker in the revision of his remarks has amplified somewhat the description of the tablets for the sake of completeness.] The graceful Doric column of the monument, surmounting the base, is fifteen feet high, and is topped by a granite sphere, on which two Gulls are seen in the act of lighting upon it—a most graceful thing in itself, and Mr. Young, the sculptor, has caught the action of it true to life.
On three sides of the high base in relief sculpture the Sea Gull story is told: The tablature on the east tells of the arrival and early movements of the Pioneers. In the left foreground of the rugged Wasatch mountains there is the man a-field with ox team plowing the stubborn soil, aided by the boy driver, followed by the sower. In the right foreground is the wagon home, women preparing the humble meal, while an Indian sits in idle but graceful pose looking upon all this strange activity that is to redeem his land from savagery and give it to civilization.
The second tablature—on the south—tells the story of the threatened devastation from the crickets' invasion. A point of mountain and a glimpse of the placid, distant lake is seen. The pioneer farmer's fight with the invading pest is ended—he has exhausted all his ingenuity in the fight, and his strength. He is beaten —you can see that in the hopeless sinking of his figure to earth, his bowed head and listless down-hanging hands from which the spade has fallen. Despair claims him—-and laughs. With the woman of this tablature it is different. She is holding a child by the hand—through it she feels throbbing the call of the future—the life of a generation of men and women yet to be. Strange that to woman—man's complement —is given such superior strength in hours of severest trial. Where man's strength and courage and fighting ends, woman's hope and faith and trust seem to spring into newness of life. From her nature she seems able to do this inconsistent yet true thing —to hope against hope, and ask till she receives. I do not know in what school of psychology the sculptor studied his art. but he has certainly been true to the great psychological difference between man and woman. But to return to this woman of the second tablature —she. too. is toil worn, and there is something truly pathetic in her body weariness, but her head is raised. Raised to what until now has seemed the pitiless skies; but now they are filled with the oncomingflocks of Sea Gulls. Does she watch their coming with merely idle curiosity or vague wonderment? Or does her soul in the strange Gull-cry hear God's answer to her call for help? God's answer to her they were, these Gulls, in any event, as the Gulls soon proved by devouring the destroyer.
The third tablature commemorates the Pioneers' first harvest — worthily, too. In the background rises Ensign Peak. In the middle background the log house home stands finished; in the foreground harvesting the golden grain is in progress, both men and women take joyous part. To the right a mother half kneeling holds to her full breast a babe, who "on the heart and from the heart" receives his nourishment, and about her knees two other children play in happy, childish oblivion of toil or care. O, happy scene, of life and joy, "where Plenty leaps to laughing life with her redundant horn."
On the fourth tablature is the title of the monument. Fortunately it is simple, and not explanatory—the work' of the sculptor tells the story —tells it well and eloquently. Too much narration would have marred it—this is the inscription:
SEA GULL MONUMENT
ERECTED IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF
THE MERCY OF GOD TO THE MORMON PIONEERS.
Yes, let us own it. The salvation wrought out in that year of grace, 1848, for the "Mormon" Pioneers, was Thy work, Helper of the helpless, and Supplementer of man's endeavor; giving him of Thy bounteous strength when his strength fails. How shall we honor Thee for Thy tender mercies to menward, but by acknowledgment of them, by holding them in memory, and speaking of them to our children, and to our children's children, to the remotest generation?
Though from afar the Sea Gulls came and destroyed the destroyer, it was Thy voice, O Lord, that called them—they did but do Thy bidding —the deliverance was of Thee and by Thee. And though in these grouped symbols of the monument the beautiful agency of Thy merciful act is chiefly present, still beyond and above these to our consciousness the Eternal Cause of such events stands smiling.
Long may these testimonies of stone and bronze, which our feeble hands have erected, stand on this sacred block as God's witnesses unto the inhabitants of the earth, that He has given a new dispensation of His truth to man, and confirmed it by a manifestation of His mercy and power in the deliverance of His people, I pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER JOSEPH W. M’MURRIN.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
It is a very delightful thing, my brethren and sisters, to sit and listen to the inspired words that have fallen from the lips of the servants of the Lord, in the remarks that have thus far been made during our conference. It is altogether a different matter to stand up in the presence of this great multitude of people to give instruction that will be for the advantage of those who have gathered together for the worship of our Father in heaven. I feel, my brethren and sisters, necessity for the companionship and direction of the Holy Spirit, that the few words that I utter may be of some value to some of those who are gathered in this holy house this afternoon.
I am very thankful that in the providence of the Almighty my lot has been cast with the people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, grateful am I for "Mormon" parentage and for being reared under the influence of the Gospel of the Redeemer of men, as it has been revealed in this latter dispensation, through the great prophet, Joseph Smith. I rejoice in my soul, my brethren and sisters, that the power that was able to take my father and mother from a far off land and turn their faces and feet Zion-ward, is still at work among the children of men revealing to them, and to the sons and daughters of those who planted the work of our God in days gone by the wonderful truth of the things of which we have been hearing. Thank God those children are not to be left without evidence and testimony of the truth of the story that has been related to them so earnestly by faithful fathers and mothers many of whom have now fallen asleep. I have often marveled, at the testimonies of men, as they have borne record in my hearing to the truth of the work of God, and to the knowledge that had been given them concerning the purposes of our Father in heaven. In the days of my boyhood, I have wondered how it was possible that such knowledge could be given to the sons of men. But I humbly and thankfully say, this afternoon, that I am today possessed with a joy passing all understanding because of the fact that in the providences and kindness of our Father in heaven, the truth that was made manifest to my own parents afar off, and that brought them to this region of country, has also been revealed to me in the very same manner in which it was shown to my parents, and that is by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank God we can look into the future with confidence and hope, believing that the same God who has inspired the fathers of the past, and who has given saving knowledge to the fathers and mothers of the present generation, will also be mindful of those who are to come in the future, and that the divine revelation that we have heard of from our brethren, will continue to flow from our Father in heaven to the sons and daughters of all future generations. It is the will of the Father that they shall also be made to know that there is a God in heaven, and that He has established the work in which we are now laboring. He has decreed that His work shall gather strength and power, and that it shall attract the attention of many men. God has said it shall gather from every nation under heaven those who are to be saved and they shall be pricked, by the power of God and be led to the gathering place of the people of the Lord.
Some of the things that we have heard, my brethren and sisters, may be classed among the deep things of the kingdom, they may seem to be very great and very wonderful, and yet there are other precious things that are easily understood and seem to be very simple. Let us be very thankful for the things that are simple. We should all praise God and be thankful for the testimony that has been borne in our hearing that the winning of salvation in the presence of the great creator is but a simple thing. That it is by the doing of little things that do not call for any very marvelous talent, that men and women will eventually work out their salvation and be approved by our Father in heaven. That gives me hope, it gives me courage to know that God will not make any requirement of me that I am not able to meet, if I will but hearken to the counsels that are imparted from time to time, and endeavor to do as best I may the things that are allotted to me to do. I feel that every man and every woman who has named the name of the Redeemer, should take comfort in the thought that God makes no requirement of men, neither of communities, that they are not able to meet. God always provides a way for the carrying out of His commandments and for the accomplishment of all His purposes.
I hope that as a people we will be mindful of the blessings of the Lord that rest upon us so bountifully. Wherever we go, in traveling about among the people, in the north, and in the south, in the east, and in the west, we see that the hand of God has been over the people; that they are being blest and prospered; that the people are reaping bounteous harvests; so bountiful that they scarcely are able to take care of the things that have been given them by our Father in heaven and that are now being garnered from the harvest field. We ought not to be forgetful of the demands of the Lord in our prosperity. We have had reference made in regard to the principle of tithing, to honoring the requirement of our Father in relation to this great law. I think we ought to be glad to honor God and to give to Him, whatever may be necessary in the observance of His law, that we may have continued claim upon His blessings. We should set such examples before our offspring that they will always remember in the future of their lives, even after we ourselves may be called away from this sphere of action, that father and mother observed the commandments of the Lord, that they were honest with Father in heaven. Such example will surely bear fruit in the lives of the children, and perchance in a time to come, prick their hearts and bring them to repentance, if they should ever be indifferent, or if they ever incline to waywardness concerning the commandments of the Lord. Do you ever think of the feelings fathers and mothers must have, who do not observe the Word of Wisdom, who are not honest with the Lord in the payment of their tithing, when they discover that their children are growing up around them, and are going to places of worship, and to various organizations that have been established by the commandment and will of God for the education of the rising generation, where they are properly taught the things of God. When they learn the necessity -of yielding obedience to the Word of Wisdom, and of putting away the things that are injurious to their wonderful physical organizations, they at the same time discover that they have lived in the homes of their parents, contrary to the counsel of the Lord. There must be strange feelings take possession of boys and girls under such conditions. Humiliation also must come to parents when they know the children have discovered that father and mother have not been true to the faith. I think every father and mother should be anxious to so live that when their sons and daughters go out from the home, when they come in contact with officers, and with elders of the Church who are preaching the Gospel of the Redeemer of the world, they will always have something bearing testimony within them: "That is what I have been taught by my father and by my mother; that example has always been set before me in my home. There is nothing strange or new in relation to these things. I have been acquainted with them all my life." I understand, my brethren and sisters, that we are not only to win salvation ourselves, by an observance of the little things, we are also by such example, to win men who are in darkness to the light as it is now manifest. The Word of Wisdom, the law of tithing, the honoring of the Sabbath clay, being honest with our fellow men, being good citizens, being industrious, and sober, and upright, these little things, as they may be termed, can be complied with by all men, and their observance make up a perfect character, that sort of character that is required by our Father in heaven, that men may be saved in His presence when they have finished with the battle of life.
I thank God for the thrill that comes into my being as I listen to the testimonies of the servants of the Lord, and that I have no feeling of opposition to the counsels and doctrines that have been given us by those who have a right to teach, but that I have the feeling in my heart that what we have been taught, is true. The counsels as imparted are for my benefit and for my advantage, and to assist me in winning the battle in which I am engaged. I am thankful for a knowledge of the truth of the work of God and for the splendid history that has been made by the people of the Lord. The more one studies the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the more he discovers in it, that makes him feel this surely is not the work of men, but it must be the work of God.
I plead with men to seek to magnify the authority of the holy priesthood, in the preaching of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, preaching it at home as it is preached abroad. I regret, my brethren and sisters, that there is occasion to cry out to men who have been honored with divine authority, and who have been magnified in the eyes of men, in the preaching of the word of the Lord, to return to the path of duty, and live the principles here at home in the wards and stakes of Zion, that they have taught men abroad in the world to receive. We need to remember that the eyes not only of those who are not of us, but the eyes of those who may have been convinced by our own teaching and testimony abroad in the various missions of the world, rest upon us here in Zion, and that we are responsible for the discourse we are delivering day by day, by our conduct and in choosing the path in which we walk, our example is observed by the people. I would like to invite and plead with missionaries that they shall not only bear testimony when they come home to their people, of the hand of God that has been over them, and His blessing that has attended them, but that they will manifest, year in and vear out, that their hearts are filled with gratitude because of those blessings, and because God has revealed unto them the truth of His Gospel, and has honored them with the power and authority of His priesthood.
There is room for every man to work in Zion. There is a cry in every ward, and with every presiding officer, for help that the youth may be cared for, that the organizations of the Church may be looked after, that the principles of the Gospel may be brought constantly to the attention of the people. ]We who have received the authority of the priesthood and who have been so marvelously and abundantly blest by our Heavenly Father, should see to it that we are exercising the authority that has been conferred upon us, for the glorifying of the name of our Father in heaven and the salvation of the souls of men.
I rejoice that I have standing in the Church. I bear record and testimony to the truth of the Gospel. I know it is the power of God. I know it has been revealed from the heavens. I know the Father and the Son have appeared upon this earth, in our own time, and that They taught Joseph Smith the way of salvation; that They also sent holy angels conferring upon Him the authority of the holy priesthood, and gave him commandment for the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have learned this by the manifestations of the Spirit of the Lord to me as an individual, and I feel grateful for this testimony. I pray that it may remain with me, and that a similar testimony may remain also with you, my brethren and sisters. May our lives be fruitful in evidence that God has revealed to us the truth, and may our light and right living lead other men to an investigation of the message that has been committed to men in our own dispensation. God grant that the hearts of many may be touched, that they also may have their feet planted in the straight and narrow way that leads back into the presence of our Father and to the eternal salvation of the human family. God help us all to endure to the end, I humbly pray, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The congregation sang the hymn:
We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet
To guide us in these latter days;
We thank Thee for sending the gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Heber S. Allen.
Conference adjourned until 10 a. m., Sunday, October 5th, 1913.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
It is a very delightful thing, my brethren and sisters, to sit and listen to the inspired words that have fallen from the lips of the servants of the Lord, in the remarks that have thus far been made during our conference. It is altogether a different matter to stand up in the presence of this great multitude of people to give instruction that will be for the advantage of those who have gathered together for the worship of our Father in heaven. I feel, my brethren and sisters, necessity for the companionship and direction of the Holy Spirit, that the few words that I utter may be of some value to some of those who are gathered in this holy house this afternoon.
I am very thankful that in the providence of the Almighty my lot has been cast with the people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, grateful am I for "Mormon" parentage and for being reared under the influence of the Gospel of the Redeemer of men, as it has been revealed in this latter dispensation, through the great prophet, Joseph Smith. I rejoice in my soul, my brethren and sisters, that the power that was able to take my father and mother from a far off land and turn their faces and feet Zion-ward, is still at work among the children of men revealing to them, and to the sons and daughters of those who planted the work of our God in days gone by the wonderful truth of the things of which we have been hearing. Thank God those children are not to be left without evidence and testimony of the truth of the story that has been related to them so earnestly by faithful fathers and mothers many of whom have now fallen asleep. I have often marveled, at the testimonies of men, as they have borne record in my hearing to the truth of the work of God, and to the knowledge that had been given them concerning the purposes of our Father in heaven. In the days of my boyhood, I have wondered how it was possible that such knowledge could be given to the sons of men. But I humbly and thankfully say, this afternoon, that I am today possessed with a joy passing all understanding because of the fact that in the providences and kindness of our Father in heaven, the truth that was made manifest to my own parents afar off, and that brought them to this region of country, has also been revealed to me in the very same manner in which it was shown to my parents, and that is by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank God we can look into the future with confidence and hope, believing that the same God who has inspired the fathers of the past, and who has given saving knowledge to the fathers and mothers of the present generation, will also be mindful of those who are to come in the future, and that the divine revelation that we have heard of from our brethren, will continue to flow from our Father in heaven to the sons and daughters of all future generations. It is the will of the Father that they shall also be made to know that there is a God in heaven, and that He has established the work in which we are now laboring. He has decreed that His work shall gather strength and power, and that it shall attract the attention of many men. God has said it shall gather from every nation under heaven those who are to be saved and they shall be pricked, by the power of God and be led to the gathering place of the people of the Lord.
Some of the things that we have heard, my brethren and sisters, may be classed among the deep things of the kingdom, they may seem to be very great and very wonderful, and yet there are other precious things that are easily understood and seem to be very simple. Let us be very thankful for the things that are simple. We should all praise God and be thankful for the testimony that has been borne in our hearing that the winning of salvation in the presence of the great creator is but a simple thing. That it is by the doing of little things that do not call for any very marvelous talent, that men and women will eventually work out their salvation and be approved by our Father in heaven. That gives me hope, it gives me courage to know that God will not make any requirement of me that I am not able to meet, if I will but hearken to the counsels that are imparted from time to time, and endeavor to do as best I may the things that are allotted to me to do. I feel that every man and every woman who has named the name of the Redeemer, should take comfort in the thought that God makes no requirement of men, neither of communities, that they are not able to meet. God always provides a way for the carrying out of His commandments and for the accomplishment of all His purposes.
I hope that as a people we will be mindful of the blessings of the Lord that rest upon us so bountifully. Wherever we go, in traveling about among the people, in the north, and in the south, in the east, and in the west, we see that the hand of God has been over the people; that they are being blest and prospered; that the people are reaping bounteous harvests; so bountiful that they scarcely are able to take care of the things that have been given them by our Father in heaven and that are now being garnered from the harvest field. We ought not to be forgetful of the demands of the Lord in our prosperity. We have had reference made in regard to the principle of tithing, to honoring the requirement of our Father in relation to this great law. I think we ought to be glad to honor God and to give to Him, whatever may be necessary in the observance of His law, that we may have continued claim upon His blessings. We should set such examples before our offspring that they will always remember in the future of their lives, even after we ourselves may be called away from this sphere of action, that father and mother observed the commandments of the Lord, that they were honest with Father in heaven. Such example will surely bear fruit in the lives of the children, and perchance in a time to come, prick their hearts and bring them to repentance, if they should ever be indifferent, or if they ever incline to waywardness concerning the commandments of the Lord. Do you ever think of the feelings fathers and mothers must have, who do not observe the Word of Wisdom, who are not honest with the Lord in the payment of their tithing, when they discover that their children are growing up around them, and are going to places of worship, and to various organizations that have been established by the commandment and will of God for the education of the rising generation, where they are properly taught the things of God. When they learn the necessity -of yielding obedience to the Word of Wisdom, and of putting away the things that are injurious to their wonderful physical organizations, they at the same time discover that they have lived in the homes of their parents, contrary to the counsel of the Lord. There must be strange feelings take possession of boys and girls under such conditions. Humiliation also must come to parents when they know the children have discovered that father and mother have not been true to the faith. I think every father and mother should be anxious to so live that when their sons and daughters go out from the home, when they come in contact with officers, and with elders of the Church who are preaching the Gospel of the Redeemer of the world, they will always have something bearing testimony within them: "That is what I have been taught by my father and by my mother; that example has always been set before me in my home. There is nothing strange or new in relation to these things. I have been acquainted with them all my life." I understand, my brethren and sisters, that we are not only to win salvation ourselves, by an observance of the little things, we are also by such example, to win men who are in darkness to the light as it is now manifest. The Word of Wisdom, the law of tithing, the honoring of the Sabbath clay, being honest with our fellow men, being good citizens, being industrious, and sober, and upright, these little things, as they may be termed, can be complied with by all men, and their observance make up a perfect character, that sort of character that is required by our Father in heaven, that men may be saved in His presence when they have finished with the battle of life.
I thank God for the thrill that comes into my being as I listen to the testimonies of the servants of the Lord, and that I have no feeling of opposition to the counsels and doctrines that have been given us by those who have a right to teach, but that I have the feeling in my heart that what we have been taught, is true. The counsels as imparted are for my benefit and for my advantage, and to assist me in winning the battle in which I am engaged. I am thankful for a knowledge of the truth of the work of God and for the splendid history that has been made by the people of the Lord. The more one studies the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the more he discovers in it, that makes him feel this surely is not the work of men, but it must be the work of God.
I plead with men to seek to magnify the authority of the holy priesthood, in the preaching of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, preaching it at home as it is preached abroad. I regret, my brethren and sisters, that there is occasion to cry out to men who have been honored with divine authority, and who have been magnified in the eyes of men, in the preaching of the word of the Lord, to return to the path of duty, and live the principles here at home in the wards and stakes of Zion, that they have taught men abroad in the world to receive. We need to remember that the eyes not only of those who are not of us, but the eyes of those who may have been convinced by our own teaching and testimony abroad in the various missions of the world, rest upon us here in Zion, and that we are responsible for the discourse we are delivering day by day, by our conduct and in choosing the path in which we walk, our example is observed by the people. I would like to invite and plead with missionaries that they shall not only bear testimony when they come home to their people, of the hand of God that has been over them, and His blessing that has attended them, but that they will manifest, year in and vear out, that their hearts are filled with gratitude because of those blessings, and because God has revealed unto them the truth of His Gospel, and has honored them with the power and authority of His priesthood.
There is room for every man to work in Zion. There is a cry in every ward, and with every presiding officer, for help that the youth may be cared for, that the organizations of the Church may be looked after, that the principles of the Gospel may be brought constantly to the attention of the people. ]We who have received the authority of the priesthood and who have been so marvelously and abundantly blest by our Heavenly Father, should see to it that we are exercising the authority that has been conferred upon us, for the glorifying of the name of our Father in heaven and the salvation of the souls of men.
I rejoice that I have standing in the Church. I bear record and testimony to the truth of the Gospel. I know it is the power of God. I know it has been revealed from the heavens. I know the Father and the Son have appeared upon this earth, in our own time, and that They taught Joseph Smith the way of salvation; that They also sent holy angels conferring upon Him the authority of the holy priesthood, and gave him commandment for the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have learned this by the manifestations of the Spirit of the Lord to me as an individual, and I feel grateful for this testimony. I pray that it may remain with me, and that a similar testimony may remain also with you, my brethren and sisters. May our lives be fruitful in evidence that God has revealed to us the truth, and may our light and right living lead other men to an investigation of the message that has been committed to men in our own dispensation. God grant that the hearts of many may be touched, that they also may have their feet planted in the straight and narrow way that leads back into the presence of our Father and to the eternal salvation of the human family. God help us all to endure to the end, I humbly pray, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The congregation sang the hymn:
We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet
To guide us in these latter days;
We thank Thee for sending the gospel
To lighten our minds with its rays.
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Heber S. Allen.
Conference adjourned until 10 a. m., Sunday, October 5th, 1913.
SECOND DAY.
In the Tabernacle, Sunday, October 5th, 10 a. m.
Conference was called to order by President Joseph F. Smith.
President Smith announced that, for the benefit of the great number of people unable to obtain admission to the Tabernacle, overflow meetings will be held in the adjoining Assembly Hall this morning, and afternoon, and in front of the Bureau of Information at 2 p. m.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn:
Awake, ye Saints of God, awake!
Call on the Lord in mighty prayer,
That He will Zion's bondage break,
And bring to naught the fowler's snare.
Prayer was offered by Elder James Duckworth.
The choir sang the hymn:
Though deep'ning trials throng your way,
Press on, press on, ye Saints of God!
Ere long the resurrection day
Will shed it's life and light abroad.
In the Tabernacle, Sunday, October 5th, 10 a. m.
Conference was called to order by President Joseph F. Smith.
President Smith announced that, for the benefit of the great number of people unable to obtain admission to the Tabernacle, overflow meetings will be held in the adjoining Assembly Hall this morning, and afternoon, and in front of the Bureau of Information at 2 p. m.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn:
Awake, ye Saints of God, awake!
Call on the Lord in mighty prayer,
That He will Zion's bondage break,
And bring to naught the fowler's snare.
Prayer was offered by Elder James Duckworth.
The choir sang the hymn:
Though deep'ning trials throng your way,
Press on, press on, ye Saints of God!
Ere long the resurrection day
Will shed it's life and light abroad.
PRESIDENT FRANCIS M. LYMAN.
Extended comments on Paul's sayings about Bishops—Admonitions applicable to all the Priesthood—A field of labor for every man ordained—Responsibility of every man and woman to minister to others—Marriage for time and eternity should be the rule.
I trust my brethren and sisters, that the same good spirit enjoyed by the President in speaking to us yesterday may be with us on this occasion. I do not remember ever enjoying a more profitable spiritual feast than was given to us in the first day of this conference. If I had been privileged to talk to you during the last year as I have been talking to a few of the stakes of Zion, I would not undertake to speak as I desire to just now; because I have been speaking upon this subject during the last year in some stakes, but I feel that my chosen text may be profitably presented to you, as I believe it has been where I have labored latterly. I believe that I shall not live long enough to talk to you upon this subject in your homes, stakes or wards, and hence I desire to take this opportunity, although our time is so brief and I shall have to treat the subject briefly. I am pleased, however, with this privilege to be heard by this vast congregation, and I trust that you shall all hear what I say and consider it critically and carefully.
Ministers of the day, I believe, quite generally refer to the scriptures that have been handed down to us from the Apostle Paul, and I desire to take a text of his this morning and paraphrase it and give it a little extension—in fact, considerable extension, so that it may meet the necessities of all Latter-day Saints. Paul seems to have given it application to one important class of officials, that is to the Bishops, but I believe if he were here, and should discover that I had made an extended application of his injunctions to bishops, he would be satisfied with the application that I give to his words. I will read the text and refer to parts of it as I read. In his first letter to Timothy the third chapter, the first verse of that chapter, there is a text that is very familiar to the bishops, for we rarely ever ordain bishops but what we read this text to them, but I believe it has not been usual for us to give the application to others so seriously and directly. Paul says, "This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." I desire to say that if any man desires any office in this Church he desireth a good work, and yet I believe that no man in this Church should seek after either the office of a bishop or any other office, but yet should be ready and prepared to receive any official responsibility which the Lord has to bestow upon him. "A bishop," then Paul says, "must be blameless." I say that any official member of this Church, as well as a bishop, should be blameless. "A bishop should be the husband of one wife;" he should be a married man. I say that any man who holds office in this Church should be a married man, as soon as it is proper and right for him to marry. A bishop should be "vigilant," and so should every other official in this Church. A bishop should be "sober," Paul says; I say every other official in this Church should be sober. "A bishop should be of good behavior," is Paul's declaration; mine is, that every other official in this Church, bearing divine authority should be of good behavior. A bishop should be "given to hospitality," and so should every other man. Paul says a bishop should be "apt to teach." I hold that every man in this Church, bearing divine authority, should be apt to teach. I do not know that he has made, in these declarations of his, anything superior, or of greater importance for the salvation of men, than the fact that every official should be apt to teach; for it is a very great accomplishment, an accomplishment that many, very many men have not yet attained to. A bishop should "not be given to wine," nor should any other man.
I do not believe that Paul intended in his injunctions to the bishops that every other man should be allowed to do otherwise; I don't think he intended that; he would not intend it if he were here today, and would approve of the suggestions that I make to you. "Not a striker;" I hold that every other man as well as the bishops should be a man of peace. "Not greedy of filthy lucre;" nor should any other man be greedy of filthy lucre; but if any man is entitled to, and should enjoy, and possess the lucre of this world, I think that bishops should be well supplied, that they may be hospitable and minister to the necessities of the poor. "But patient." Bishops should be patient, Paul says; I hold that every other man in this Church should be just as patient as a bishop. "Not a brawler nor covetous;" neither should other men be tolerated in these conditions. A bishop should be "One that ruleth well his own house;',' so should every other man who stands at the head of a family. "Having his children in subjection with all gravity;" so with all the rest of the brethren. "For if a man"—now Paul comes to the common ground that I have taken, that not only the bishop—"know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" "Not a novice;" he should be a man of experience and understanding, of skill and judgment; so with every other man. Moreover, and in addition to these injunctions already referred to "He must have a good report of them which are without." I hold it is just as important, and necessary, that every other man who has office or position, or responsibility in this Church, should have a good report of those that are without as well as the bishop of a ward.
Now that is the measure of the text that I have selected this morning. I discover that in our days of worship, various occasions of worship and serving the Lord, and partaking of the sacrament, and of the proper time for us to remember our prayers before the Lord, an important percentage of the Latter-day Saints have not yet reached that success that should attend upon all members of this Church. The Lord anticipated, no doubt, in the revelations given to us in latter times that men would be faulty in regard to remembering Him. He is jealous, for our good and our salvation, that we should remember Him, and honor Him, and keep His commandments, and He has laid down the rule that has been, I fear, seriously overlooked by our brethren who preside in our wards, the fact that "if any man observeth not his prayers before the Lord in the season thereof, let him be had in remembrance before the judge of my people." I say, also, extending this scripture a little to harmonize with the extension I gave to that from Paul, that not only the man who neglects his prayers, in the season thereof, should be had in remembrance before the judge of the people, but those who are not attentive to partaking of the sacrament on the Sabbath day, those who do not come to the house of the Lord on the Sabbath day, those who do not suitably rest as they should upon that day, and keep that day sacred and holy, should be had in remembrance before the judge of the people. That, I believe, is the word and will of the Lord.
Now, I am delighted because this congregation is so large, so many thousands here today, for you will return to your homes, to your own wards and stakes, and to your families, and we like you to take to them what you have heard here, and what you shall yet hear before this conference closes, for it is very important that the word and will of the Lord should be known, should be appreciated and observed by the Latter-day Saints. For that we live; for that we labor; for that we have been brought together from the world; for that we have been instructed, and for that we have been inspired by the Spirit of the Lord, that we may labor for the salvation of man. So that every man who bears the priesthood has a mission and ministry, and it was not designed, it has never been designed of the Lord that men should receive responsible positions in His Church, and then disregard them, give no thought or attention to them; but they are required to listen to the counsels and commandments of the Lord and to observe them most perfectly.
Now I desire to give the application of these requirements, so definite to the bishops of wards, also to all my brethren who bear the priesthood, from the deacon who has a ministry, who is a teacher in his life and labors, and required to be by revelation, and the teacher in the lesser priesthood, and the priest; these young men, as a rule, that are brought into the school so early, it is intended that they should have primary training and teaching, so that when they are ordained to the Melchizedek priesthood they will be prepared for the foreign ministry, or the extensive ministry of the holy Melchizedek priesthood. They are expected to receive home training under the direction of their bishops; and as we are very careful, you will notice in the theory of the Church, the practice of the Church, that whenever a president is wanted it is because there is a labor for him. When counselors are wanted in presidencies and in bishoprics, and in high councils, there is always a ministry for every man who is ordained and blest. When a man is called to go out into the field, into the world, to preach the Gospel there, to preside or otherwise, he goes because there is a ministry for him to perform. We never ordain a bishop, we never ordain a patriarch, we never ordain a man to any office in this priesthood, or give him a responsible position of presidency or superintendency but what there is a field of labor for him. No man is endowed with divine authority until there is something for him to do. Now we desire to draw attention of the bishops, and of presidents of stakes and quorums, and superintendents of associations and organizations among the brethren, that whenever this ministry comes to them it is expected that they will commence their labor that day. It has been so with us who 'have more responsible positions. When the Lord has called us—and He has no more definitely, and positively, and properly called the president who presides over us in this Church, than He has called the deacon; deacons are called of God, and the teachers and priests, as well as the presiding brethren; and every elder, every seventy, every high-priest, and the brethren who preside over them, are responsible to employ, to instruct and lead those brethren in the ways of righteousness and truth.
Now what I have said in regard to my brethren I desire now to give application to our sisters also, and all members of this Church;.; for when a man is converted, if he be not called to bear divine authority of the priesthood, if he comes into this fold and is converted, it is his duty to convert his brother; and that is just as true with the sisters as with the brethren. This ministry can not be perfectly and properly accomplished until the brethren and sisters devote themselves to the conversion of their neighbors— the husband to convert the wife; the wife to convert the husband, the brother to help his brother, and the sister to help her sister, until every man and woman is employed and occupied, and is accomplishing something in the ministry, every day.
If a bishop should be the husband of one wife and every other man should be a married man, I hold that every woman should be the wife of one husband, that not a woman in this Church should be without marriage in due time, just as men should pray in the season thereof, just as men should partake of the sacrament in the season thereof. Men and women should be married, suitably married, properly and eternally married, and so remain. So that we desire to draw the attention of our sisters, as well as our brethren to the fact that they are expected, it is designed by the Lord, that they should be the educators and trainers as well as the mothers of men. I was going to say, women are the better, finer and more desirable part of man, but men should be pure and clean in their lives, for their virtue is just as important as that of women, and they are just as desirable and should lead the weaker sex. They should be the leaders, but in some instances wives are stronger in the faith, stronger in spirituality and in the gifts "and graces of the Lord than men, and much is required of them.
I desire to direct the attention of presiding brethren—they are before me here; I don't know when I will have an opportunity of seeing so many of them gathered together at one time. It is an important responsibility resting upon these presiding men that they should look after the brethren and sisters who are at large, and who are not frequently gathered together, that do not gather, as they should do, to partake of the sacrament, and who are not attentive as they should be in regard to their prayers and obligations, family prayers and secret prayers and the like. I desire to impress upon every bishop, that it is his duty, that it is his business to know every man in his ward, every family, and have them under his direction, through the teachers that assist him. All men are teachers who bear the priesthood, even the office of a deacon is that of a teacher, that is his responsibility and labor as the Lord has laid it down; when occasion requires deacons should assist the teachers. I interpret, that the occasion always requires that the deacon should help the teacher, that the teacher should help the priest, that the priest should help the elder, and occasion always requires that the elder should help the seventy, and the seventy the high priest, and so forth, from the junior to the senior we should help each other. Then I say that our sisters in their calling, and those who preside particularly, should see to it that they have in hand the work that belongs to them, that belongs to the Relief Society, to the Young Ladies' Association and the Primary Association, and those who have care of religion class labor. These women should have in hand the organizations that are in their care and under their supervision, until there shall be an awakening among the Latter-day Saints to the outer edges, to those that are scattered and far away, and that are sickly also. They are to be visited, those that are sick physically; those that are sick spiritually need the physician and should have attention. Our young people should be taken care of, they should be thoroughly instructed; every boy should be instructed at the suitable age in his life; every daughter should be suitably instructed by her mother, and thoroughly trained. Our young people who are contemplating marriage should be united for time and for eternity, as the rule. There are exceptions, and the exceptions are those who are not quite worthy, or are not prepared and not ready for marriage for eternity, who haven't made themselves worthy. I suppose there will always be the unworthy amongst us; but those that are worthy and prepared should be so suitably instructed that they would never think of marriage except for eternity, which embraces time, but not be satisfied with time marriages alone.
O what splendid instructions we had yesterday from the President, and from the brethren who followed him during the day—a most glorious time. Now, as I give this application of these matters to our presiding brethren and to our presiding sisters, I desire to exhort them that they shall not be satisfied and content until they have all in their charge, in training, and in care and consideration, as carefully as have the brethren who immediately preside over us. Where we are laboring we always furnish employment; the presidency furnish employment to the Twelve; the Twelve and presidency are furnishing employment to those who preside over the stakes of Zion. We want the presidents of stakes to hold their bishops responsible, we want them to hold the presidents of the priesthood, the presidents of Seventies and of Elders responsible to know that the brethren in their care are properly trained and prepared, so when they are needed in the ministry, either to travel and preach the Gospel or to labor and minister at home, that they are in proper condition, I believe that we have not enjoined, quite so strongly as we should, this responsibility which rests upon those who preside.
I have only a small company of men over which I preside, the Twelve, but we are in good fellowship and we give attention to each other we counsel together, frequently, and we know each other and know our lives. The life of every man should be known who bears divine authority in this Church. If there are some who have not received the priesthood, all such should have careful attention from brethren who labor among them, who do bear the priesthood, until every soul shall be thoroughly instructed. Bishops will be held responsible, just as I feel that I am held responsible, and my brethren are held responsible to give attention to the affairs of the Church and kingdom throughout the earth. Where there are missionaries needed, they go out from under our hands with our blessing, and with instruction, and we train them as well as we have opportunity to do. Our Council is not large; we have one of our number in Europe, and one in congress, and there is always one or two sick and afflicted. We have our troubles the same as other men; so that there is just about a majority of the Twelve that are at liberty to take care of the kingdom, under the direction of the presidency. We are solicitous and anxious, and when we come to your stakes you know that we labor with you, we consider your conditions and circumstances and inquire after you. We have not been indifferent, you know we respond to your necessities and requirements, and if there is anything to be set in order and regulated we are always on hand to do it. We want you to do the same among the people where you are; we want you to take care of your quorums and train them, and instruct them, and prepare them so that whenever they are wanted in the ministry, young men or others, that they are ready for this important labor. The welfare of this Church rests upon your shoulders as well as ours; you must labor with us in detail, and give attention; and the honor, the credit and glory will be just as great for you as for us. Your souls are just as precious as ours, and the souls of our brethren just as precious as ever souls have been in this world, and we want to take care of them and look after them.
Very much depends upon our sisters; we want their care, their help and their attention. We need their sympathy, their love and affection: and we want them to assist and help us here, and we want to help them. We will not be satisfied until Israel is trained, and they all come together to worship the Lord, until there is not room for them in our houses of worship, and meetings upon the earth outside will also be necessary. In the days of the Savior, among the Nephites, He commanded that they should be seated upon the earth in order to partake of the sacrament; and when they were called together in great companies, too large for one apostle to stand up and speak to them, they were divided. We have to divide the people here today; and the time may come—how delighted I would be to see the time—when the Latter-day Saints will gather here in such numbers that not only this house and assembly hall will fail to accommodate them, but that the grounds all about here would be necessary for the apostles and others to administer among them. The sacrament of the Lord might be given to them, the emblems of the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us, and by whom we are. The very earth upon which we live, which we occupy here is His. In honor of Him, and in remembrance of His sufferings, and His body and blood, and the redemption that has been wrought out for us, we need to partake of the sacrament.
I pray the Lord to bless us, my brethren and sisters. I thank the Lord that we are alive. I want to live for a long time, and I want you to live, but I think every man should do his duty so that he is always prepared to die—-let death come whenever it pleases. Whenever the time comes and our work is finished, thank God that we are prepared and have done our duty faithfully and well. I make this exhortation and counsel and instruction to Israel gathered here today. Take these things to your homes and administer to the people there that can not come, that never do come. The people that are here today are the people that are always here, every time. This same body of the priesthood, and the presiding brethren right here before me, are the ones that were here six months ago; they will be here next April, also, and so on; and the body of the house is filled with the very same people, as a rule, with a little variation. But the great majority of the people are at home, and must be at home; they can not come here; so we go to them and administer among them as best we can, as opportunity offers. We find that the time is short, our time for speaking and exhortation and counsel is quite short, and, of course, a few brethren like the presidency or the Twelve here can only administer publicly. We can not administer in the homes of the people; the people are too numerous; and you must labor and perform the work in detail; for they can be reached by the bishops and their assistants—this splendid organization that has placed almost every man in the Church in a responsible position, so that every man bearing the priesthood has a ministry that should be magnified and honored every day of our lives. It is a reproach to a man to lie down at night if he can not look back over the clay and think of some good thing- accomplished, some young man instructed, some neighbor trained, helped and encouraged, and strengthened in his faith. Every man should do that, and when it is done the Saints of this Church will be instructed; they will be exhorted; they will be restrained and they will be encouraged, and every blessing that they require will be administered unto them. God bless you, my brethren and my sisters throughout Israel. That Israel may triumph and prosper gloriously in the earth, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
"The Pioneer," a soprano solo, was sung by Sister Edna Anderson; words and music by Prof. Evan Stevens.
Extended comments on Paul's sayings about Bishops—Admonitions applicable to all the Priesthood—A field of labor for every man ordained—Responsibility of every man and woman to minister to others—Marriage for time and eternity should be the rule.
I trust my brethren and sisters, that the same good spirit enjoyed by the President in speaking to us yesterday may be with us on this occasion. I do not remember ever enjoying a more profitable spiritual feast than was given to us in the first day of this conference. If I had been privileged to talk to you during the last year as I have been talking to a few of the stakes of Zion, I would not undertake to speak as I desire to just now; because I have been speaking upon this subject during the last year in some stakes, but I feel that my chosen text may be profitably presented to you, as I believe it has been where I have labored latterly. I believe that I shall not live long enough to talk to you upon this subject in your homes, stakes or wards, and hence I desire to take this opportunity, although our time is so brief and I shall have to treat the subject briefly. I am pleased, however, with this privilege to be heard by this vast congregation, and I trust that you shall all hear what I say and consider it critically and carefully.
Ministers of the day, I believe, quite generally refer to the scriptures that have been handed down to us from the Apostle Paul, and I desire to take a text of his this morning and paraphrase it and give it a little extension—in fact, considerable extension, so that it may meet the necessities of all Latter-day Saints. Paul seems to have given it application to one important class of officials, that is to the Bishops, but I believe if he were here, and should discover that I had made an extended application of his injunctions to bishops, he would be satisfied with the application that I give to his words. I will read the text and refer to parts of it as I read. In his first letter to Timothy the third chapter, the first verse of that chapter, there is a text that is very familiar to the bishops, for we rarely ever ordain bishops but what we read this text to them, but I believe it has not been usual for us to give the application to others so seriously and directly. Paul says, "This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." I desire to say that if any man desires any office in this Church he desireth a good work, and yet I believe that no man in this Church should seek after either the office of a bishop or any other office, but yet should be ready and prepared to receive any official responsibility which the Lord has to bestow upon him. "A bishop," then Paul says, "must be blameless." I say that any official member of this Church, as well as a bishop, should be blameless. "A bishop should be the husband of one wife;" he should be a married man. I say that any man who holds office in this Church should be a married man, as soon as it is proper and right for him to marry. A bishop should be "vigilant," and so should every other official in this Church. A bishop should be "sober," Paul says; I say every other official in this Church should be sober. "A bishop should be of good behavior," is Paul's declaration; mine is, that every other official in this Church, bearing divine authority should be of good behavior. A bishop should be "given to hospitality," and so should every other man. Paul says a bishop should be "apt to teach." I hold that every man in this Church, bearing divine authority, should be apt to teach. I do not know that he has made, in these declarations of his, anything superior, or of greater importance for the salvation of men, than the fact that every official should be apt to teach; for it is a very great accomplishment, an accomplishment that many, very many men have not yet attained to. A bishop should "not be given to wine," nor should any other man.
I do not believe that Paul intended in his injunctions to the bishops that every other man should be allowed to do otherwise; I don't think he intended that; he would not intend it if he were here today, and would approve of the suggestions that I make to you. "Not a striker;" I hold that every other man as well as the bishops should be a man of peace. "Not greedy of filthy lucre;" nor should any other man be greedy of filthy lucre; but if any man is entitled to, and should enjoy, and possess the lucre of this world, I think that bishops should be well supplied, that they may be hospitable and minister to the necessities of the poor. "But patient." Bishops should be patient, Paul says; I hold that every other man in this Church should be just as patient as a bishop. "Not a brawler nor covetous;" neither should other men be tolerated in these conditions. A bishop should be "One that ruleth well his own house;',' so should every other man who stands at the head of a family. "Having his children in subjection with all gravity;" so with all the rest of the brethren. "For if a man"—now Paul comes to the common ground that I have taken, that not only the bishop—"know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" "Not a novice;" he should be a man of experience and understanding, of skill and judgment; so with every other man. Moreover, and in addition to these injunctions already referred to "He must have a good report of them which are without." I hold it is just as important, and necessary, that every other man who has office or position, or responsibility in this Church, should have a good report of those that are without as well as the bishop of a ward.
Now that is the measure of the text that I have selected this morning. I discover that in our days of worship, various occasions of worship and serving the Lord, and partaking of the sacrament, and of the proper time for us to remember our prayers before the Lord, an important percentage of the Latter-day Saints have not yet reached that success that should attend upon all members of this Church. The Lord anticipated, no doubt, in the revelations given to us in latter times that men would be faulty in regard to remembering Him. He is jealous, for our good and our salvation, that we should remember Him, and honor Him, and keep His commandments, and He has laid down the rule that has been, I fear, seriously overlooked by our brethren who preside in our wards, the fact that "if any man observeth not his prayers before the Lord in the season thereof, let him be had in remembrance before the judge of my people." I say, also, extending this scripture a little to harmonize with the extension I gave to that from Paul, that not only the man who neglects his prayers, in the season thereof, should be had in remembrance before the judge of the people, but those who are not attentive to partaking of the sacrament on the Sabbath day, those who do not come to the house of the Lord on the Sabbath day, those who do not suitably rest as they should upon that day, and keep that day sacred and holy, should be had in remembrance before the judge of the people. That, I believe, is the word and will of the Lord.
Now, I am delighted because this congregation is so large, so many thousands here today, for you will return to your homes, to your own wards and stakes, and to your families, and we like you to take to them what you have heard here, and what you shall yet hear before this conference closes, for it is very important that the word and will of the Lord should be known, should be appreciated and observed by the Latter-day Saints. For that we live; for that we labor; for that we have been brought together from the world; for that we have been instructed, and for that we have been inspired by the Spirit of the Lord, that we may labor for the salvation of man. So that every man who bears the priesthood has a mission and ministry, and it was not designed, it has never been designed of the Lord that men should receive responsible positions in His Church, and then disregard them, give no thought or attention to them; but they are required to listen to the counsels and commandments of the Lord and to observe them most perfectly.
Now I desire to give the application of these requirements, so definite to the bishops of wards, also to all my brethren who bear the priesthood, from the deacon who has a ministry, who is a teacher in his life and labors, and required to be by revelation, and the teacher in the lesser priesthood, and the priest; these young men, as a rule, that are brought into the school so early, it is intended that they should have primary training and teaching, so that when they are ordained to the Melchizedek priesthood they will be prepared for the foreign ministry, or the extensive ministry of the holy Melchizedek priesthood. They are expected to receive home training under the direction of their bishops; and as we are very careful, you will notice in the theory of the Church, the practice of the Church, that whenever a president is wanted it is because there is a labor for him. When counselors are wanted in presidencies and in bishoprics, and in high councils, there is always a ministry for every man who is ordained and blest. When a man is called to go out into the field, into the world, to preach the Gospel there, to preside or otherwise, he goes because there is a ministry for him to perform. We never ordain a bishop, we never ordain a patriarch, we never ordain a man to any office in this priesthood, or give him a responsible position of presidency or superintendency but what there is a field of labor for him. No man is endowed with divine authority until there is something for him to do. Now we desire to draw attention of the bishops, and of presidents of stakes and quorums, and superintendents of associations and organizations among the brethren, that whenever this ministry comes to them it is expected that they will commence their labor that day. It has been so with us who 'have more responsible positions. When the Lord has called us—and He has no more definitely, and positively, and properly called the president who presides over us in this Church, than He has called the deacon; deacons are called of God, and the teachers and priests, as well as the presiding brethren; and every elder, every seventy, every high-priest, and the brethren who preside over them, are responsible to employ, to instruct and lead those brethren in the ways of righteousness and truth.
Now what I have said in regard to my brethren I desire now to give application to our sisters also, and all members of this Church;.; for when a man is converted, if he be not called to bear divine authority of the priesthood, if he comes into this fold and is converted, it is his duty to convert his brother; and that is just as true with the sisters as with the brethren. This ministry can not be perfectly and properly accomplished until the brethren and sisters devote themselves to the conversion of their neighbors— the husband to convert the wife; the wife to convert the husband, the brother to help his brother, and the sister to help her sister, until every man and woman is employed and occupied, and is accomplishing something in the ministry, every day.
If a bishop should be the husband of one wife and every other man should be a married man, I hold that every woman should be the wife of one husband, that not a woman in this Church should be without marriage in due time, just as men should pray in the season thereof, just as men should partake of the sacrament in the season thereof. Men and women should be married, suitably married, properly and eternally married, and so remain. So that we desire to draw the attention of our sisters, as well as our brethren to the fact that they are expected, it is designed by the Lord, that they should be the educators and trainers as well as the mothers of men. I was going to say, women are the better, finer and more desirable part of man, but men should be pure and clean in their lives, for their virtue is just as important as that of women, and they are just as desirable and should lead the weaker sex. They should be the leaders, but in some instances wives are stronger in the faith, stronger in spirituality and in the gifts "and graces of the Lord than men, and much is required of them.
I desire to direct the attention of presiding brethren—they are before me here; I don't know when I will have an opportunity of seeing so many of them gathered together at one time. It is an important responsibility resting upon these presiding men that they should look after the brethren and sisters who are at large, and who are not frequently gathered together, that do not gather, as they should do, to partake of the sacrament, and who are not attentive as they should be in regard to their prayers and obligations, family prayers and secret prayers and the like. I desire to impress upon every bishop, that it is his duty, that it is his business to know every man in his ward, every family, and have them under his direction, through the teachers that assist him. All men are teachers who bear the priesthood, even the office of a deacon is that of a teacher, that is his responsibility and labor as the Lord has laid it down; when occasion requires deacons should assist the teachers. I interpret, that the occasion always requires that the deacon should help the teacher, that the teacher should help the priest, that the priest should help the elder, and occasion always requires that the elder should help the seventy, and the seventy the high priest, and so forth, from the junior to the senior we should help each other. Then I say that our sisters in their calling, and those who preside particularly, should see to it that they have in hand the work that belongs to them, that belongs to the Relief Society, to the Young Ladies' Association and the Primary Association, and those who have care of religion class labor. These women should have in hand the organizations that are in their care and under their supervision, until there shall be an awakening among the Latter-day Saints to the outer edges, to those that are scattered and far away, and that are sickly also. They are to be visited, those that are sick physically; those that are sick spiritually need the physician and should have attention. Our young people should be taken care of, they should be thoroughly instructed; every boy should be instructed at the suitable age in his life; every daughter should be suitably instructed by her mother, and thoroughly trained. Our young people who are contemplating marriage should be united for time and for eternity, as the rule. There are exceptions, and the exceptions are those who are not quite worthy, or are not prepared and not ready for marriage for eternity, who haven't made themselves worthy. I suppose there will always be the unworthy amongst us; but those that are worthy and prepared should be so suitably instructed that they would never think of marriage except for eternity, which embraces time, but not be satisfied with time marriages alone.
O what splendid instructions we had yesterday from the President, and from the brethren who followed him during the day—a most glorious time. Now, as I give this application of these matters to our presiding brethren and to our presiding sisters, I desire to exhort them that they shall not be satisfied and content until they have all in their charge, in training, and in care and consideration, as carefully as have the brethren who immediately preside over us. Where we are laboring we always furnish employment; the presidency furnish employment to the Twelve; the Twelve and presidency are furnishing employment to those who preside over the stakes of Zion. We want the presidents of stakes to hold their bishops responsible, we want them to hold the presidents of the priesthood, the presidents of Seventies and of Elders responsible to know that the brethren in their care are properly trained and prepared, so when they are needed in the ministry, either to travel and preach the Gospel or to labor and minister at home, that they are in proper condition, I believe that we have not enjoined, quite so strongly as we should, this responsibility which rests upon those who preside.
I have only a small company of men over which I preside, the Twelve, but we are in good fellowship and we give attention to each other we counsel together, frequently, and we know each other and know our lives. The life of every man should be known who bears divine authority in this Church. If there are some who have not received the priesthood, all such should have careful attention from brethren who labor among them, who do bear the priesthood, until every soul shall be thoroughly instructed. Bishops will be held responsible, just as I feel that I am held responsible, and my brethren are held responsible to give attention to the affairs of the Church and kingdom throughout the earth. Where there are missionaries needed, they go out from under our hands with our blessing, and with instruction, and we train them as well as we have opportunity to do. Our Council is not large; we have one of our number in Europe, and one in congress, and there is always one or two sick and afflicted. We have our troubles the same as other men; so that there is just about a majority of the Twelve that are at liberty to take care of the kingdom, under the direction of the presidency. We are solicitous and anxious, and when we come to your stakes you know that we labor with you, we consider your conditions and circumstances and inquire after you. We have not been indifferent, you know we respond to your necessities and requirements, and if there is anything to be set in order and regulated we are always on hand to do it. We want you to do the same among the people where you are; we want you to take care of your quorums and train them, and instruct them, and prepare them so that whenever they are wanted in the ministry, young men or others, that they are ready for this important labor. The welfare of this Church rests upon your shoulders as well as ours; you must labor with us in detail, and give attention; and the honor, the credit and glory will be just as great for you as for us. Your souls are just as precious as ours, and the souls of our brethren just as precious as ever souls have been in this world, and we want to take care of them and look after them.
Very much depends upon our sisters; we want their care, their help and their attention. We need their sympathy, their love and affection: and we want them to assist and help us here, and we want to help them. We will not be satisfied until Israel is trained, and they all come together to worship the Lord, until there is not room for them in our houses of worship, and meetings upon the earth outside will also be necessary. In the days of the Savior, among the Nephites, He commanded that they should be seated upon the earth in order to partake of the sacrament; and when they were called together in great companies, too large for one apostle to stand up and speak to them, they were divided. We have to divide the people here today; and the time may come—how delighted I would be to see the time—when the Latter-day Saints will gather here in such numbers that not only this house and assembly hall will fail to accommodate them, but that the grounds all about here would be necessary for the apostles and others to administer among them. The sacrament of the Lord might be given to them, the emblems of the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us, and by whom we are. The very earth upon which we live, which we occupy here is His. In honor of Him, and in remembrance of His sufferings, and His body and blood, and the redemption that has been wrought out for us, we need to partake of the sacrament.
I pray the Lord to bless us, my brethren and sisters. I thank the Lord that we are alive. I want to live for a long time, and I want you to live, but I think every man should do his duty so that he is always prepared to die—-let death come whenever it pleases. Whenever the time comes and our work is finished, thank God that we are prepared and have done our duty faithfully and well. I make this exhortation and counsel and instruction to Israel gathered here today. Take these things to your homes and administer to the people there that can not come, that never do come. The people that are here today are the people that are always here, every time. This same body of the priesthood, and the presiding brethren right here before me, are the ones that were here six months ago; they will be here next April, also, and so on; and the body of the house is filled with the very same people, as a rule, with a little variation. But the great majority of the people are at home, and must be at home; they can not come here; so we go to them and administer among them as best we can, as opportunity offers. We find that the time is short, our time for speaking and exhortation and counsel is quite short, and, of course, a few brethren like the presidency or the Twelve here can only administer publicly. We can not administer in the homes of the people; the people are too numerous; and you must labor and perform the work in detail; for they can be reached by the bishops and their assistants—this splendid organization that has placed almost every man in the Church in a responsible position, so that every man bearing the priesthood has a ministry that should be magnified and honored every day of our lives. It is a reproach to a man to lie down at night if he can not look back over the clay and think of some good thing- accomplished, some young man instructed, some neighbor trained, helped and encouraged, and strengthened in his faith. Every man should do that, and when it is done the Saints of this Church will be instructed; they will be exhorted; they will be restrained and they will be encouraged, and every blessing that they require will be administered unto them. God bless you, my brethren and my sisters throughout Israel. That Israel may triumph and prosper gloriously in the earth, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
"The Pioneer," a soprano solo, was sung by Sister Edna Anderson; words and music by Prof. Evan Stevens.
ELDER CHARLES H. HART.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
After listening with you to the splendid talks of the brethren yesterday and today, giving comprehensive reviews of Gospel principles, I feel very much in need of the sustaining power of the Lord to properly direct your thoughts during the time that I may stand before you. As suggested by President Lyman, we have before us many of the same faces, brethren and sisters who meet here at these half yearly. conferences. We miss some of them, however.
For my part, I have not yet become accustomed to the absence from this upper stand of President Winder, President John Henry Smith, and Patriarch John Smith; and I miss, from these missionary seats, President Ben E. Rich, that valiant preacher of the Gospel who, I believe, would have passed through the hardships of an Apostle Paul if necessary to perform his duty as a preacher of righteousness. I miss also from the seats of the presidents of stakes, President George Osmond, who served many years as a bishop, a faithful bishop, having the qualifications that the Apostle Paul would have a bishop to possess, who labored many years as an efficient counselor to President Budge of the Bear Lake stake, and who afterwards served as the President of the Star Valley stake. I make this reference because none of the general authorities of the Church were privileged to attend the funeral of this faithful worker in the Church, and testify of their appreciation of the noble work that he performed, such service as hundreds of these brethren whom I face this morning are now performing in the Church.
We meet beneath the shelter of this dome twice a year, under varying circumstances; in April we meet about the seed-time, men hopeful as to what the result will be of their planting, hopeful, at the same time anxious. At this season of the year we might almost celebrate the harvest- home. I contrasted, the other day, at those splendid exercises in dedication of the seagull monument, the meager life-saving harvest of 1848, with the rich harvests of 1913, and thought of how the capacious elevators, and the large and well filled grain bins have taken the place of the partly filled meal sack of those early pioneer days. Well may we sing, as did our sister so beautifully a moment ago. of the labor of the great pioneer. As he looked out over this valley, with the vision of inspiration, it required no report of an agricultural college to determine whether or not this land would produce crops to sustain the people; he was prepared to realize that a new system of agriculture among the Anglo-Saxon race, namely, that by irrigation, could be successfully inaugurated here, and later he had a further vision of the possibilities of this land. McDonald, the agronomist of the Transvaal for the British nation, in his book on dry farming, properly gives President Brigham Young credit for foreseeing the day when our bench land, above the irrigation ditches, should be almost as valuable as our irrigated land. Little did the brethren—unless they had the same prophetic foresight as their leaders—realize the fortunes that were being divided to them when an acre of ground in this city, and a ten-acre or twenty-acre lot outlying a short distance, were parceled out to them. They little dreamed that, within the life-time of many of those who then lived, that these possessions would be worth a small fortune. Our ideas of the richness and value of these mountain valleys increase year by year. High as our standard may be one year, we realize that the fertility of mountain and meadow, of the plain and of the bench land, is even more valuable than we supposed they were and contain greater possibilities for wealth producing.
We are indeed a blest people, living under the protection of this great republic, the inauguration of which has been properly said to be the greatest single achievement of the eighteenth century. When we contrast our happy lot with that of our unfortunate brethren in Mexico, torn and bleeding Mexico, we can understand the great blessing it is to live under the protection of a great government which secures us "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" day and night, whether we realize that this protecting power is thus about us or not. We are fortunate also in having abiding places in these splendid commonwealths in the Rocky Mountains, which also give us a large measure of security, and protection which conduces to prosperity and happiness.
We are greatly privileged, also, in living at a time when divine truth has been restored, and when divine authority has been again committed to man. We are trying to accomplish a work among the people, with this splendid organization that has been given unto us by inspiration in this age. We are trying to accomplish an important mission among mankind. It is true our labors are not understood. Some of the world realize something of the potency, for either good or evil, of this great and perfect organization, and they speak of it as the "oncoming giant," and they think that it should be crushed, because they know not that its fruits are good; but occasionally there are those who realize the important mission that this Church is performing. The late poet of the Sierras, Joaquin Miller, realized this when he gave through the mothers of "Mormonism," that splendid tribute to "Mormonism." With your indulgence I will read a part of his words. His lines were suggested by the welcome that the mothers here gave to the President of the United States upon his visit to Salt Lake City, in appearing at his public reception with their babes in their arms:
A ROUNDELAY OF SALT LAKE.
Beneath our forty stars is she
The purest woman, sweetest, best,
Who loves her spouse most ardently
And rocks the cradle, oftenest;
Whose home is filled, whose heart is fed
With halo of a baby's head.
How pitiful that we must pay
And pension man for killing man,
While woman brings forth as she may,
Unpaid, unpensioned, as she can;
Gives life while man takes life away.
Gives life, gives love because she must,
How sad that we must pension, pay
Our tallest, bravest and our best
For killing brave men, east or west,
Until our race is in the dust,
As Greece is in the dust today;
A tomb of glory gone away.
I say the mothers of strong men,
Strong men and merry men and tall,
Must build, must man the Spartan wall
And keep it stoutly manned as when
Greece won the world, nor wrecked at all.
I say that she must man the wall.
The wall of breasts, unshielded, bare,
The wall to do, the wall to dare,
The wall of man, or we must fall.
I say that she, strong-limbed and fair
Deserves the pay, the pension, care.
Of all brave, heartfelt welcomes found
Where flowers strew the fragrant ground
And rainbow banners fret the air
By city, hamlet, anywhere,
In Midland, Southland, Northland, West,
I reckon Utah's first and best.
Not guns to greet the nation's chief,
Not trumpets blaring to the sun,
Not scars of glory and of grief,
Not thrice told tales of battles fought,
Not seas of flowers at his feet,
Not bold to glitter and to greet,
But Utah brought her babes, and brought
Not one babe fretted or afraid.
Not one that cried or wailed, not one.
Oh, what to this the booming gun?
Oh, what to this the loud parade?
Proud troop to troop poured manifold
In battle banners rampt with gold?
Just babies, babies, healthful, fair
From where the Wasatch lion leaps,
From sunless snows, from desert deeps.
Just babies, babies, everywhere;
Just babes in arms, at mother's breasts,
And robust boys with girls at play,
With pounding fists, too full to rest;
As chubby, fat, as fair as they.
Behold yon seas of alkali
Of sand, of salt, of dried up seas,
Then sheltered by these watered trees
And humbly dare to question why
These countless babes, these mothers, aye,
The maid in love, the lad at play,
All seem so gladsome, bright and gay?
Who tented here, who brake the sod.
Subdued the Artemisia's strength
With patient Ruth at ready call?
Who faced the red man at arm's length
And she beside him first to fall,
And while he prayed the living God
Who gat such babes as never man
Had looked upon since time began?
And why? Because the loving sire
Loved life and hated low desire;
He loved his babes, he loved his kind
By desert waste of mountain wind;
He watched his happy babes at play
The while he gloried, glad as they.
This John the Baptist, naked, lean,
Lorn, crying in the wilderness,
This half fanatic, Luther, Huss,
Whom we once mocked in his distress,
Stands better than the best of us;
Stands nearer Jesus, God, because
He loves his babes, obeys His laws --
Because his hands, his feet are clean;
Because he loves his hearth, his home,
And patient heaps the honey comb.
Behold yon million desert miles
With scarce a plow, with scant a tree,
Save where this desert garden smiles
And robust babes leap merrily;
Behold our boundless seas, as chare
Of sails as yonder peaks are bare!
Then give us babes, babes of our own,
My meddling, congressmen and men
Of cloth, with great brains in the chin;
Glad babes like these to plow the seas.
Strong babes like these to plow or spin,
And let this Bedouin alone
Yea, give us babes at home, where now
Ye hide and house on every street
Such things as 'twere a shame to meet --
Glad babes to build and guide the prow.
Possess the isles, protect and bear.
The star-built banner here or there!
Till then, hands off, my Pharisee,
And tend your own affairs, as they,
Of Utah tend their own today,
Lest from the mouths of babes ye be
Condemned and damned eternally!
This condition could not have been brought about if our mothers had thought more of aping the fashions imported from decadent France than they thought of home-building and of child-bearing.
It was a very timely rebuke that was given by our President yesterday and I thought is it possible that any complaint will be made, as was suggested, at his stand upon this important subject? Yet J remember that all those who stand for important reforms in the world have to bear the criticism of the world. If a high official has the courage to omit the wine-cup from his banquet, setting a great precedent in favor of temperance, there will not be wanting the thoughtless ones who will criticize him for this act of courage and of reform. So men may expect, when they set their faces like flint against the evils of the world, to have some criticism directed towards them. We are not ashamed of this work that we are seeking to perform, such work as indicated in the splendid review of the organization, and of the work and labors expected of the brethren, just given us by President Lyman. We are seeking to develop men and women who will be an honor, not only to the Church, but to the nation; strong men and women, strong in their integrity, strong in their love of truth and of righteousness and of virtue.
Mark Twain, the humorist and philosopher, realized the dangers that Were warned against yesterday when he said: "When one thinks of the tremendous forces of the upper and the nether world which play for the mastery of the soul of a woman during the few years in which she passes from plastic girlhood to the ripe maturity of womanhood, we may well stand in awe before the momentous drama! What capacities she has of purity, tenderness, goodness; what capacities of vileness, bitterness, and evil. Nature must needs be lavish with the mother and creator of men and center in her all the possibilities of life. And a few critical years can decide whether her life is to be full of sweetness and light, whether she is to be the vestal of a holy temple, or whether she will be the fallen priestess of a desecrated shrine." We would have all our young girls to garnish their thoughts and their lives with virtue, casting a glorious halo and light about them, just as the electric lamps from the beehive upon the Hotel Utah cast a soft, brilliant glory upon the Temple of our God. We would have our young people know that sin is the barbed wire that cuts and scars, and sometimes leaves the poison of its rust within the wound, to destroy the body and to contaminate the soul, and we would safeguard them from all these dangers and evils that threaten them.
May the Lord bless us in this work of conserving the youth of Zion, and of training them up so that they shall be men and women of whom the Church and our nation may be justly proud, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
After listening with you to the splendid talks of the brethren yesterday and today, giving comprehensive reviews of Gospel principles, I feel very much in need of the sustaining power of the Lord to properly direct your thoughts during the time that I may stand before you. As suggested by President Lyman, we have before us many of the same faces, brethren and sisters who meet here at these half yearly. conferences. We miss some of them, however.
For my part, I have not yet become accustomed to the absence from this upper stand of President Winder, President John Henry Smith, and Patriarch John Smith; and I miss, from these missionary seats, President Ben E. Rich, that valiant preacher of the Gospel who, I believe, would have passed through the hardships of an Apostle Paul if necessary to perform his duty as a preacher of righteousness. I miss also from the seats of the presidents of stakes, President George Osmond, who served many years as a bishop, a faithful bishop, having the qualifications that the Apostle Paul would have a bishop to possess, who labored many years as an efficient counselor to President Budge of the Bear Lake stake, and who afterwards served as the President of the Star Valley stake. I make this reference because none of the general authorities of the Church were privileged to attend the funeral of this faithful worker in the Church, and testify of their appreciation of the noble work that he performed, such service as hundreds of these brethren whom I face this morning are now performing in the Church.
We meet beneath the shelter of this dome twice a year, under varying circumstances; in April we meet about the seed-time, men hopeful as to what the result will be of their planting, hopeful, at the same time anxious. At this season of the year we might almost celebrate the harvest- home. I contrasted, the other day, at those splendid exercises in dedication of the seagull monument, the meager life-saving harvest of 1848, with the rich harvests of 1913, and thought of how the capacious elevators, and the large and well filled grain bins have taken the place of the partly filled meal sack of those early pioneer days. Well may we sing, as did our sister so beautifully a moment ago. of the labor of the great pioneer. As he looked out over this valley, with the vision of inspiration, it required no report of an agricultural college to determine whether or not this land would produce crops to sustain the people; he was prepared to realize that a new system of agriculture among the Anglo-Saxon race, namely, that by irrigation, could be successfully inaugurated here, and later he had a further vision of the possibilities of this land. McDonald, the agronomist of the Transvaal for the British nation, in his book on dry farming, properly gives President Brigham Young credit for foreseeing the day when our bench land, above the irrigation ditches, should be almost as valuable as our irrigated land. Little did the brethren—unless they had the same prophetic foresight as their leaders—realize the fortunes that were being divided to them when an acre of ground in this city, and a ten-acre or twenty-acre lot outlying a short distance, were parceled out to them. They little dreamed that, within the life-time of many of those who then lived, that these possessions would be worth a small fortune. Our ideas of the richness and value of these mountain valleys increase year by year. High as our standard may be one year, we realize that the fertility of mountain and meadow, of the plain and of the bench land, is even more valuable than we supposed they were and contain greater possibilities for wealth producing.
We are indeed a blest people, living under the protection of this great republic, the inauguration of which has been properly said to be the greatest single achievement of the eighteenth century. When we contrast our happy lot with that of our unfortunate brethren in Mexico, torn and bleeding Mexico, we can understand the great blessing it is to live under the protection of a great government which secures us "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" day and night, whether we realize that this protecting power is thus about us or not. We are fortunate also in having abiding places in these splendid commonwealths in the Rocky Mountains, which also give us a large measure of security, and protection which conduces to prosperity and happiness.
We are greatly privileged, also, in living at a time when divine truth has been restored, and when divine authority has been again committed to man. We are trying to accomplish a work among the people, with this splendid organization that has been given unto us by inspiration in this age. We are trying to accomplish an important mission among mankind. It is true our labors are not understood. Some of the world realize something of the potency, for either good or evil, of this great and perfect organization, and they speak of it as the "oncoming giant," and they think that it should be crushed, because they know not that its fruits are good; but occasionally there are those who realize the important mission that this Church is performing. The late poet of the Sierras, Joaquin Miller, realized this when he gave through the mothers of "Mormonism," that splendid tribute to "Mormonism." With your indulgence I will read a part of his words. His lines were suggested by the welcome that the mothers here gave to the President of the United States upon his visit to Salt Lake City, in appearing at his public reception with their babes in their arms:
A ROUNDELAY OF SALT LAKE.
Beneath our forty stars is she
The purest woman, sweetest, best,
Who loves her spouse most ardently
And rocks the cradle, oftenest;
Whose home is filled, whose heart is fed
With halo of a baby's head.
How pitiful that we must pay
And pension man for killing man,
While woman brings forth as she may,
Unpaid, unpensioned, as she can;
Gives life while man takes life away.
Gives life, gives love because she must,
How sad that we must pension, pay
Our tallest, bravest and our best
For killing brave men, east or west,
Until our race is in the dust,
As Greece is in the dust today;
A tomb of glory gone away.
I say the mothers of strong men,
Strong men and merry men and tall,
Must build, must man the Spartan wall
And keep it stoutly manned as when
Greece won the world, nor wrecked at all.
I say that she must man the wall.
The wall of breasts, unshielded, bare,
The wall to do, the wall to dare,
The wall of man, or we must fall.
I say that she, strong-limbed and fair
Deserves the pay, the pension, care.
Of all brave, heartfelt welcomes found
Where flowers strew the fragrant ground
And rainbow banners fret the air
By city, hamlet, anywhere,
In Midland, Southland, Northland, West,
I reckon Utah's first and best.
Not guns to greet the nation's chief,
Not trumpets blaring to the sun,
Not scars of glory and of grief,
Not thrice told tales of battles fought,
Not seas of flowers at his feet,
Not bold to glitter and to greet,
But Utah brought her babes, and brought
Not one babe fretted or afraid.
Not one that cried or wailed, not one.
Oh, what to this the booming gun?
Oh, what to this the loud parade?
Proud troop to troop poured manifold
In battle banners rampt with gold?
Just babies, babies, healthful, fair
From where the Wasatch lion leaps,
From sunless snows, from desert deeps.
Just babies, babies, everywhere;
Just babes in arms, at mother's breasts,
And robust boys with girls at play,
With pounding fists, too full to rest;
As chubby, fat, as fair as they.
Behold yon seas of alkali
Of sand, of salt, of dried up seas,
Then sheltered by these watered trees
And humbly dare to question why
These countless babes, these mothers, aye,
The maid in love, the lad at play,
All seem so gladsome, bright and gay?
Who tented here, who brake the sod.
Subdued the Artemisia's strength
With patient Ruth at ready call?
Who faced the red man at arm's length
And she beside him first to fall,
And while he prayed the living God
Who gat such babes as never man
Had looked upon since time began?
And why? Because the loving sire
Loved life and hated low desire;
He loved his babes, he loved his kind
By desert waste of mountain wind;
He watched his happy babes at play
The while he gloried, glad as they.
This John the Baptist, naked, lean,
Lorn, crying in the wilderness,
This half fanatic, Luther, Huss,
Whom we once mocked in his distress,
Stands better than the best of us;
Stands nearer Jesus, God, because
He loves his babes, obeys His laws --
Because his hands, his feet are clean;
Because he loves his hearth, his home,
And patient heaps the honey comb.
Behold yon million desert miles
With scarce a plow, with scant a tree,
Save where this desert garden smiles
And robust babes leap merrily;
Behold our boundless seas, as chare
Of sails as yonder peaks are bare!
Then give us babes, babes of our own,
My meddling, congressmen and men
Of cloth, with great brains in the chin;
Glad babes like these to plow the seas.
Strong babes like these to plow or spin,
And let this Bedouin alone
Yea, give us babes at home, where now
Ye hide and house on every street
Such things as 'twere a shame to meet --
Glad babes to build and guide the prow.
Possess the isles, protect and bear.
The star-built banner here or there!
Till then, hands off, my Pharisee,
And tend your own affairs, as they,
Of Utah tend their own today,
Lest from the mouths of babes ye be
Condemned and damned eternally!
This condition could not have been brought about if our mothers had thought more of aping the fashions imported from decadent France than they thought of home-building and of child-bearing.
It was a very timely rebuke that was given by our President yesterday and I thought is it possible that any complaint will be made, as was suggested, at his stand upon this important subject? Yet J remember that all those who stand for important reforms in the world have to bear the criticism of the world. If a high official has the courage to omit the wine-cup from his banquet, setting a great precedent in favor of temperance, there will not be wanting the thoughtless ones who will criticize him for this act of courage and of reform. So men may expect, when they set their faces like flint against the evils of the world, to have some criticism directed towards them. We are not ashamed of this work that we are seeking to perform, such work as indicated in the splendid review of the organization, and of the work and labors expected of the brethren, just given us by President Lyman. We are seeking to develop men and women who will be an honor, not only to the Church, but to the nation; strong men and women, strong in their integrity, strong in their love of truth and of righteousness and of virtue.
Mark Twain, the humorist and philosopher, realized the dangers that Were warned against yesterday when he said: "When one thinks of the tremendous forces of the upper and the nether world which play for the mastery of the soul of a woman during the few years in which she passes from plastic girlhood to the ripe maturity of womanhood, we may well stand in awe before the momentous drama! What capacities she has of purity, tenderness, goodness; what capacities of vileness, bitterness, and evil. Nature must needs be lavish with the mother and creator of men and center in her all the possibilities of life. And a few critical years can decide whether her life is to be full of sweetness and light, whether she is to be the vestal of a holy temple, or whether she will be the fallen priestess of a desecrated shrine." We would have all our young girls to garnish their thoughts and their lives with virtue, casting a glorious halo and light about them, just as the electric lamps from the beehive upon the Hotel Utah cast a soft, brilliant glory upon the Temple of our God. We would have our young people know that sin is the barbed wire that cuts and scars, and sometimes leaves the poison of its rust within the wound, to destroy the body and to contaminate the soul, and we would safeguard them from all these dangers and evils that threaten them.
May the Lord bless us in this work of conserving the youth of Zion, and of training them up so that they shall be men and women of whom the Church and our nation may be justly proud, I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER LEVI EDGAR YOUNG.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
I sincerely hope that our hearts will remain in tune with the Lord and His work during the sessions of this conference, for we have certainly enjoyed the Spirit of God up to this moment. In standing before you I want your faith and prayers that something may be said on this occasion and at this moment that will help each and every one of us. I am proud of the majesty of this people.
I am proud of their achievements. I am proud of the great expression that has been made during the last hundred years, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the hearts of men and women. Not long ago in taking a small crowd of strangers through this building and around these grounds, a man turned to me and said: "You seem to have a pride in the work of your people, and what they are doing today," and my answer was that if I haven't a pride then it is because my soul cannot rise to the majesty of their work. This people have done a great work, but we are just beginning and the glory of it all is, that in this beginning we are in the imperfect stage, but going on to perfection with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to direct us. One of the most glorious essays that I have read is a little book put out by a professor at Harvard College entitled, "The Glory of the Imperfect," wherein he goes to show that through our ignorance of the laws of nature and the divine spark of man, because of the sin of the human race, we are living in imperfect days when it comes to life and action. We do not understand the great laws that govern this earth and the universe. The glory of it all is for each person to work in life, to take hold of life, and though he sees the imperfections of the children of the Great Creator, he stands as one loving life, and nature and working at the imperfect to make it perfect, whereby he shall realize his divinity and become likened unto a God. This is, in substance Mormonism or the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There have been writers of late who have wondered why the "Mormon" people were not lead to the Pacific Coast, either to California or to Oregon. There are many reasons why those countries would have been better places to build and yet there is a glory in knowing that after all the arid lands of the world have produced the greatest civilizations both anciently and in modern times. A recent economic critic in the Atlantic Monthly declares that the people who plant settlements and maintain small towns where all the people take part in civic and religious lives are placing the highest and best and broadest foundation for the development of modern civilization and culture.
The settlements, that were developed in this arid west in the early days are a lesson to the world in civic life, and here was planted the old Teutonic township form of government, the finest type of democracy on the face of the globe; and according to Charles Gross of Harvard University, the one place outside of New England where there has been developed a civic life that is the equal of any other place in the world's history. I want to say here that in Utah was developed a democracy even greater than the democracy in New England, because in our town meetings, in our civic centers, not only were the men permitted to take part and to vote on the great questions of life, but the women were given that privilege as well, which is an announcement to the world that we absolutely believe in equality and the right of the woman to take her part in the great civic life of humanity. Our history, my brethren and sisters, is not a chronological history; it is a history of great expressions of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has expressed itself in great economic civic, intellectual, social and ethical institutions and these are what we should study and learn and love and abide by, just as the Book of Mormon itself becomes a book of majesty and repute, because of its description and maintenance of the great Semitic institutions of ancient times. Over a hundred years ago when Benjamin Franklin was at the court of England he was asked by one of the parliamentarians why the American people were giving to the world the great expression that all men are created equal and are endowed with rights and privileges that are sacred, the rights and privileges to live and to live before the law, both of God and of man. He answered it in a very eloquent manner when he said that "the reason why we announce that, as a people is because it is the new light that has come to a new land." In the 28th chapter of the Book of Alma we have there possibly one of the greatest statements in all literature and history why the race has become unequal, why there is an inequality among men. The Prophet Alma says it is because men have sinned and iniquity has come because of the different degrees of sins. Equality will come when we abide by the laws of righteousness and truth. The Book of Mormon becomes then a great work for us to study for its institutional history. In the Book of Mosiah, again, we find some of the most splendid examples in the history of the old Semitic townships, and Hebrew townships, which were pure democracies. We find in the book of Alma examples of economic thrift which a modern man at the university of Berlin has declared to be fundamentally the broadest conception of economic activity known to the world's history. We have then much, we have done much, we have accomplished much and we have served a notice upon the world that we stand above all for Christ and Him crucified; and if I were asked today what I should like to see more than anything else it would be to have Christ in our homes more and more and to know the Messiah, to understand Him, why He gave His blood for the redemption of the world. I wish that in every home in Zion the name of the Savior would be used sacredly every day, and that if you and I were asked who it is that we hold up as greater than anyone else our reply would be Jesus the Christ, whom we love, whom we worship and whom we obey. The world needs Christ more than ever. If ever in the past it has needed Him, very well and good; but certainly Christ and Him crucified is needed today more than ever.
And I want to say here in passing another point, a reference to the early history of this state. Some have said that we are growing in knowledge and in power; I grant that. It is true. In many ways we are growing in knowledge and in power, but when it comes to culture, when it comes to morality, when it comes to faith, sublime faith in God, the highest form of culture, we are far behind our fathers and mothers. There was a stamp of culture in the early days of this state that was magnificent, where women were really stylish in the true sense of the term, artistic, because they dressed in accordance with the cleanliness of their honest souls, where they never knew debt, where they worked and had faith, and their dress became in a sense an expression of that work and faith. There was a culture in the dance and in the theatre, and Mr. M. B. Leavitt, the historian of the American Theatre, and the oldest manager today in America, says in his late book that of all people in the world who have held the theatre, the drama on a high plane and kept up the highest standard of dramatic appreciation, it is the "Mormon" people living in the Rocky Mountains. He obtained this idea from a study of the early ideals of this people toward literature and the drama, history and art. We have much to learn, but we have done a great work. It is for us to know it and keep it in mind, and I want to say that for one I appreciate the culture that has been in this state among our fathers and our mothers, the cleanliness and the purity of the lives of the Pioneers of this state; for they were a great people, and you women, you sisters, played your part gloriously in the development of this work.
Mr. Claxton, the United States commissioner of education spoke here last July, and in his magnificent address, he told the assemblage of teachers in this Tabernacle, that the poet Goethe in "Faust" gives us the ideal of education when he said every man should become a worker for the light and every child should be taught that his soul is divine before his God, and it is for him to work out his salvation before his maker; and he quoted from "Faust" those words where he says "there are two forces contending for the control of my soul—light and darkness." Then Faust says, "I shall, through the will that God gave me, overcome wrong, seek the light and find the giver of life." Mr. Claxton said that when we teach our children that this is the fundamental of religion and education, then shall we have partly solved our problems.
I wish to say in conclusion that this is the idea of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; that is gloriously our dream, our ideal, that every human being is a child of the living God, and when he is touched with the knowledge of his divinity he shall go on to perfection, salvation by obedience to the laws of God, and an understanding of the laws of nature. May the Lord help us to see these great truths, to understand them, to put them into life. There is a majesty to our history, there is a majesty to this people, and a pride. We have the right to lift up our eyes and be proud—not proud in pride, but proud in humility, proud that God has given us a knowledge of the Gospel, proud that we are becoming ministers for the Most High in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, living with our heads up, with our eyes toward God, always with the knowledge that we are the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, to administer in His holy ordinances for the salvation of the human race. May the Lord help us to see these things and sense them keenly and put them into practice, and to have a pride in our people, in our history, and above all a pride in and a love for God, I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "Palm Branches."
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Wiremu Takana (Duncan), a native of New Zealand.
Conference adjourned until 2 p.m.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
I sincerely hope that our hearts will remain in tune with the Lord and His work during the sessions of this conference, for we have certainly enjoyed the Spirit of God up to this moment. In standing before you I want your faith and prayers that something may be said on this occasion and at this moment that will help each and every one of us. I am proud of the majesty of this people.
I am proud of their achievements. I am proud of the great expression that has been made during the last hundred years, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the hearts of men and women. Not long ago in taking a small crowd of strangers through this building and around these grounds, a man turned to me and said: "You seem to have a pride in the work of your people, and what they are doing today," and my answer was that if I haven't a pride then it is because my soul cannot rise to the majesty of their work. This people have done a great work, but we are just beginning and the glory of it all is, that in this beginning we are in the imperfect stage, but going on to perfection with the Gospel of Jesus Christ to direct us. One of the most glorious essays that I have read is a little book put out by a professor at Harvard College entitled, "The Glory of the Imperfect," wherein he goes to show that through our ignorance of the laws of nature and the divine spark of man, because of the sin of the human race, we are living in imperfect days when it comes to life and action. We do not understand the great laws that govern this earth and the universe. The glory of it all is for each person to work in life, to take hold of life, and though he sees the imperfections of the children of the Great Creator, he stands as one loving life, and nature and working at the imperfect to make it perfect, whereby he shall realize his divinity and become likened unto a God. This is, in substance Mormonism or the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There have been writers of late who have wondered why the "Mormon" people were not lead to the Pacific Coast, either to California or to Oregon. There are many reasons why those countries would have been better places to build and yet there is a glory in knowing that after all the arid lands of the world have produced the greatest civilizations both anciently and in modern times. A recent economic critic in the Atlantic Monthly declares that the people who plant settlements and maintain small towns where all the people take part in civic and religious lives are placing the highest and best and broadest foundation for the development of modern civilization and culture.
The settlements, that were developed in this arid west in the early days are a lesson to the world in civic life, and here was planted the old Teutonic township form of government, the finest type of democracy on the face of the globe; and according to Charles Gross of Harvard University, the one place outside of New England where there has been developed a civic life that is the equal of any other place in the world's history. I want to say here that in Utah was developed a democracy even greater than the democracy in New England, because in our town meetings, in our civic centers, not only were the men permitted to take part and to vote on the great questions of life, but the women were given that privilege as well, which is an announcement to the world that we absolutely believe in equality and the right of the woman to take her part in the great civic life of humanity. Our history, my brethren and sisters, is not a chronological history; it is a history of great expressions of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has expressed itself in great economic civic, intellectual, social and ethical institutions and these are what we should study and learn and love and abide by, just as the Book of Mormon itself becomes a book of majesty and repute, because of its description and maintenance of the great Semitic institutions of ancient times. Over a hundred years ago when Benjamin Franklin was at the court of England he was asked by one of the parliamentarians why the American people were giving to the world the great expression that all men are created equal and are endowed with rights and privileges that are sacred, the rights and privileges to live and to live before the law, both of God and of man. He answered it in a very eloquent manner when he said that "the reason why we announce that, as a people is because it is the new light that has come to a new land." In the 28th chapter of the Book of Alma we have there possibly one of the greatest statements in all literature and history why the race has become unequal, why there is an inequality among men. The Prophet Alma says it is because men have sinned and iniquity has come because of the different degrees of sins. Equality will come when we abide by the laws of righteousness and truth. The Book of Mormon becomes then a great work for us to study for its institutional history. In the Book of Mosiah, again, we find some of the most splendid examples in the history of the old Semitic townships, and Hebrew townships, which were pure democracies. We find in the book of Alma examples of economic thrift which a modern man at the university of Berlin has declared to be fundamentally the broadest conception of economic activity known to the world's history. We have then much, we have done much, we have accomplished much and we have served a notice upon the world that we stand above all for Christ and Him crucified; and if I were asked today what I should like to see more than anything else it would be to have Christ in our homes more and more and to know the Messiah, to understand Him, why He gave His blood for the redemption of the world. I wish that in every home in Zion the name of the Savior would be used sacredly every day, and that if you and I were asked who it is that we hold up as greater than anyone else our reply would be Jesus the Christ, whom we love, whom we worship and whom we obey. The world needs Christ more than ever. If ever in the past it has needed Him, very well and good; but certainly Christ and Him crucified is needed today more than ever.
And I want to say here in passing another point, a reference to the early history of this state. Some have said that we are growing in knowledge and in power; I grant that. It is true. In many ways we are growing in knowledge and in power, but when it comes to culture, when it comes to morality, when it comes to faith, sublime faith in God, the highest form of culture, we are far behind our fathers and mothers. There was a stamp of culture in the early days of this state that was magnificent, where women were really stylish in the true sense of the term, artistic, because they dressed in accordance with the cleanliness of their honest souls, where they never knew debt, where they worked and had faith, and their dress became in a sense an expression of that work and faith. There was a culture in the dance and in the theatre, and Mr. M. B. Leavitt, the historian of the American Theatre, and the oldest manager today in America, says in his late book that of all people in the world who have held the theatre, the drama on a high plane and kept up the highest standard of dramatic appreciation, it is the "Mormon" people living in the Rocky Mountains. He obtained this idea from a study of the early ideals of this people toward literature and the drama, history and art. We have much to learn, but we have done a great work. It is for us to know it and keep it in mind, and I want to say that for one I appreciate the culture that has been in this state among our fathers and our mothers, the cleanliness and the purity of the lives of the Pioneers of this state; for they were a great people, and you women, you sisters, played your part gloriously in the development of this work.
Mr. Claxton, the United States commissioner of education spoke here last July, and in his magnificent address, he told the assemblage of teachers in this Tabernacle, that the poet Goethe in "Faust" gives us the ideal of education when he said every man should become a worker for the light and every child should be taught that his soul is divine before his God, and it is for him to work out his salvation before his maker; and he quoted from "Faust" those words where he says "there are two forces contending for the control of my soul—light and darkness." Then Faust says, "I shall, through the will that God gave me, overcome wrong, seek the light and find the giver of life." Mr. Claxton said that when we teach our children that this is the fundamental of religion and education, then shall we have partly solved our problems.
I wish to say in conclusion that this is the idea of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; that is gloriously our dream, our ideal, that every human being is a child of the living God, and when he is touched with the knowledge of his divinity he shall go on to perfection, salvation by obedience to the laws of God, and an understanding of the laws of nature. May the Lord help us to see these great truths, to understand them, to put them into life. There is a majesty to our history, there is a majesty to this people, and a pride. We have the right to lift up our eyes and be proud—not proud in pride, but proud in humility, proud that God has given us a knowledge of the Gospel, proud that we are becoming ministers for the Most High in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, living with our heads up, with our eyes toward God, always with the knowledge that we are the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, to administer in His holy ordinances for the salvation of the human race. May the Lord help us to see these things and sense them keenly and put them into practice, and to have a pride in our people, in our history, and above all a pride in and a love for God, I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "Palm Branches."
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Wiremu Takana (Duncan), a native of New Zealand.
Conference adjourned until 2 p.m.
OVERFLOW MEETING.
An overflow session of the Conference was held in the Assembly Hall, adjoining the Tabernacle, at 10 a. m., Sunday, October 5th, 1913. The services were presided over by Elder Rudger Clawson.
The Forest Dale ward choir furnished the musical service.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
Redeemer of Israel, our only delight,
On whom for a blessing we call,
Our shadow by day, and our pillar by night,
Our King, our Deliv'rer, our all!
Prayer was offered by Elder Edward H. Anderson.
The choir sang the anthem, "Praise ye the Father."
An overflow session of the Conference was held in the Assembly Hall, adjoining the Tabernacle, at 10 a. m., Sunday, October 5th, 1913. The services were presided over by Elder Rudger Clawson.
The Forest Dale ward choir furnished the musical service.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
Redeemer of Israel, our only delight,
On whom for a blessing we call,
Our shadow by day, and our pillar by night,
Our King, our Deliv'rer, our all!
Prayer was offered by Elder Edward H. Anderson.
The choir sang the anthem, "Praise ye the Father."
ELDER REY L. PRATT.
(President of Mexican Mission.)
I desire very greatly, my brethren and sisters, to have the Spirit of the Lord direct me in the few remarks that I shall make this morning, and I crave an interest in your faith and prayers in my behalf, that the Lord will assist me to say only those things that He desires I should say.
I have had some experience in the missionary field, and I have learned the great lesson that a man must have the Spirit of the Lord to teach the people the things of the Lord, just as much as a man "must have the Spirit of God to understand the things of God." I remember reading, in the Book of Mormon, the words that Nephi recorded in regard to that occasion when his father told him to return to Jerusalem and to bring with him the brass plates upon which were engraven the genealogy of his father Lehi, and of that branch of the family back to the first generation; and his father said that his elder brothers rebelled and murmured, and did not wish to go back. But Nephi said that he would do as he was commanded, for, said he, "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." And I, in that same faith, am standing before you this morning. Provided I am humble, I believe that the Lord will give me words to express my feelings in a manner that you can understand, and perhaps beneficially, because the Lord does not make mistakes, and when He calls upon His servants to perform any duty, and they do it in humility, He opens the way before them that they may accomplish that which He desires.
As Brother Clawson has told you, I have labored in the Mexican mission, and I have the spirit of that mission running through my veins to such an extent that it is almost impossible for me to talk to the people here, except I speak in regard to the Mexican mission. I trust that you will bear with me if I call your attention to something that is being done in that mission, among the seed of Lehi, those that we declare are Lamanites. We have been engaged in missionary work there for ten or twelve years, and the work is increasing and spreading in a marvelous manner, in spite of the adverse conditions that exist in that country. We have on our record books something over 1600 names, of that number the great majority are true and faithful members of the Church. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is doing for them just what it is doing for any other people who have accepted the Gospel of Christ, in the true spirit of it. Our work at the present time is such that, although the condition of the country is such that it would seem almost impossible to do missionary work there, we have never had a more successful year than the present. We have baptized already, this year, sixty-five souls, and they will compare favorably with any Saints that embrace the Gospel in any land. As I said before, the Gospel is doing for them just what it is doing for any other people that accept the Gospel, and live its principles.
I wish to call your attention to conditions that exist at the present time in Mexico, and to the prophecies the Lord has made with reference to that people, and to show you, if possible, wherein those prophecies are being fulfilled now. I call your attention to that part of the record which has not yet been fulfilled, and which is of definite importance to all who believe in the Book of Mormon. The Lamanites are not only the Indians who live in the United States of America, and in Canada, but the Lamanite people extend from Alaska to Patagonia. They are the descendants of father Lehi, and his rebellious sons that turned away from the truth, and incurred the curse of God and became what they are, the native races that exist, as I said, from Patagonia on the south to Alaska on the north- They are all Lamanites, and the Lord prophesied in regard to them, and told them what would be the consequences of their sins, that this curse would come upon them. Nephi depicts it very truthfully when he says he saw them divided up into many tribes and nations, and that they would war among one another. And he also saw that the Gentile nations would be brought in among them and would be given power over them, even to the extent of reducing them to a remnant, and he said that they would become a hiss and a by-word, and they would be trampled upon by the Gentile nations that came among them. That has verily been the case. Time is not sufficient, this morning, to go into a detailed description of all that has befallen the Lamanite races of America; it is sufficient to say that the Gentiles did go into Mexico, particularly, and did there crush the Lamanites, and have brought them down even to a remnant, fulfilling the prophecies the Lord made in regard to that people. From the time of the Spanish conquerors, who were Gentiles of the Latin race, who conquered Mexico, Central America, and Peru, and the rest of the native races that existed at that time, in South America, there are only one-tenth in existence in those countries at the present time. If you could read the history of the conquest of Mexico, of Guatemala, of Peru, and see the way that those people were reduced at the hands of the Gentiles, if you could read the history of the reign of the Gentile nations over them for more than four hundred years, and see where they have been exterminated, comparatively speaking, you would say it was marvelous indeed, because one out of ten is a very small remnant. And they are the "drawers of water and hewers of wood" for the Gentiles who have come in among them.
But, fortunately for them, they were part of the Lord's covenant people, and He said that, though He would permit that they should be reduced to a remnant, He would not permit their utter destruction. He said to Nephi: "I will not permit that thy seed and the seed of thy brethren, shall be totally destroyed and wiped off from the earth by the Gentiles who should come among them." The Lord promised these people redemption. He said that He would reveal the fullness of the gospel unto the Gentiles, and would establish His Church in the land; and from the Gentiles would come unto this people the book which would be the history of the hand-dealings of the Lord with their ancestors, back to the time of Father Lehi. As before stated, the Lord said that He would not permit the remnant of that people to be destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth. Inasmuch as one part of the prophecy has been fulfilled, it is perfectly logical, and it is my firm conviction, 'that the rest of that prophecy will be fulfilled, and for the reason I am stating. Although I have labored in Mexico for seven years, and three years of that time a bloody war has been in progress, and I have seen horrible things, I am content in the belief that that people are to be redeemed. I have seen the redemption of a great many of them through the teaching of the gospel.
A great many people have nothing but horror for the Lamanites that live to the south of us. A great many say that nothing under the sun can redeem the Lamanites of Mexico, because they are a people too low to be lifted out of their present condition. But, their present condition has been brought about because of forces and circumstances that have existed, primarily, because of the rebellious spirit of their fathers, of what the Lord has permitted to come upon them because of that rebellion. But I want to tell you that they are not too low to be redeemed- I have seen men that have been low, men that have been everything that was bad, have the Gospel spark kindled in their hearts and reform their evil ways, and I know them today to be clean of heart and pure of soul. The Gospel has done that for them, and it can do the same thing for any who will accept it. I wish I could convince the young men here, that it is not a bad thing to come into their lives to be asked nay, permitted to go to the Lamanite people, but to regard it as a privilege. It is a glorious privilege. Every young man I have known who has gone to that mission has come back better in his soul for having come in contact with the Lamanite people.
I want to life my voice in defense of that people, and in defense of the prophecies that God has made about them. I may not continue my labors forever among them, but I am willing to do so, and I wish to keep alive my interest in those people, for I believe in their redemption equally with other people. I believe, as Peter said, God is no respecter of persons, but that persons of whatever nation they may be that will accept Christ are accepted of our Father in heaven. That is part of the Gospel, and it is part of the power of God unto salvation, that is to bring to pass the universal brotherhood of man. We are not people that would exclude any others from the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we have the true spirit of the Gospel in our hearts, we will be willing to go, if necessary, to the ends of the earth to bring about the salvation of the sons and daughters of our Father in heaven from the degraded condition into which they have fallen; it is only possible to bring them to enjoy life eternal through the Gospel which we enjoy.
We are the most blest people in the world. I have never seen a more blest people. I have traveled some throughout the United States, and other parts of America, and I have seen wealthy people, and people of various conditions; but it is my belief that there is no people under the sun that are as much blest as are the Latter-day Saints. There is no people that enjoy the same privileges, consequently there is no people that ought to be more tolerant than the Latter-day. Saints. We should have in our hearts the love that prompted Christ to give His life for all the world, that was manifested by our Father in heaven, in that He gave His only begotten Son that all who believe in Him. and accept His teachings, might be saved. It is impossible for us to gain the perfection that Christ commanded His disciples to attain to, when He said, "Be ye perfect even as my Father in heaven is perfect." except we have the same degree of love that Christ had when He gave His life for the world.
The work of preaching the Gospel among the Lamanites is dear to me. It is progressing, and T am willing to continue my labors. I believe that the Lord has required it at my hands, and He never requires of His servants anything except that He opens the way before them that they may accomplish that thing. I was in the capital of Mexico from the 9th to the 18th of February of this year, when we did not eat or sleep except to the tune of cannon or of muskets; but the elders of the Lord were there together, and we were protected. There were hundreds fell, and I saw many of them burning in the streets of Mexico; but I am willing to go back and face the same or worse conditions, if the Lord requires it at my hands, for the Lord could open the way for me to do good.
I pray that the Lord will bless us, and help us to appreciate the blessings that we enjoy, and help us to have a loving and tolerant spirit and feeling for all mankind, which I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Sister Ida Morris rendered a vocal solo, entitled "O Divine Redeemer."
(President of Mexican Mission.)
I desire very greatly, my brethren and sisters, to have the Spirit of the Lord direct me in the few remarks that I shall make this morning, and I crave an interest in your faith and prayers in my behalf, that the Lord will assist me to say only those things that He desires I should say.
I have had some experience in the missionary field, and I have learned the great lesson that a man must have the Spirit of the Lord to teach the people the things of the Lord, just as much as a man "must have the Spirit of God to understand the things of God." I remember reading, in the Book of Mormon, the words that Nephi recorded in regard to that occasion when his father told him to return to Jerusalem and to bring with him the brass plates upon which were engraven the genealogy of his father Lehi, and of that branch of the family back to the first generation; and his father said that his elder brothers rebelled and murmured, and did not wish to go back. But Nephi said that he would do as he was commanded, for, said he, "I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." And I, in that same faith, am standing before you this morning. Provided I am humble, I believe that the Lord will give me words to express my feelings in a manner that you can understand, and perhaps beneficially, because the Lord does not make mistakes, and when He calls upon His servants to perform any duty, and they do it in humility, He opens the way before them that they may accomplish that which He desires.
As Brother Clawson has told you, I have labored in the Mexican mission, and I have the spirit of that mission running through my veins to such an extent that it is almost impossible for me to talk to the people here, except I speak in regard to the Mexican mission. I trust that you will bear with me if I call your attention to something that is being done in that mission, among the seed of Lehi, those that we declare are Lamanites. We have been engaged in missionary work there for ten or twelve years, and the work is increasing and spreading in a marvelous manner, in spite of the adverse conditions that exist in that country. We have on our record books something over 1600 names, of that number the great majority are true and faithful members of the Church. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is doing for them just what it is doing for any other people who have accepted the Gospel of Christ, in the true spirit of it. Our work at the present time is such that, although the condition of the country is such that it would seem almost impossible to do missionary work there, we have never had a more successful year than the present. We have baptized already, this year, sixty-five souls, and they will compare favorably with any Saints that embrace the Gospel in any land. As I said before, the Gospel is doing for them just what it is doing for any other people that accept the Gospel, and live its principles.
I wish to call your attention to conditions that exist at the present time in Mexico, and to the prophecies the Lord has made with reference to that people, and to show you, if possible, wherein those prophecies are being fulfilled now. I call your attention to that part of the record which has not yet been fulfilled, and which is of definite importance to all who believe in the Book of Mormon. The Lamanites are not only the Indians who live in the United States of America, and in Canada, but the Lamanite people extend from Alaska to Patagonia. They are the descendants of father Lehi, and his rebellious sons that turned away from the truth, and incurred the curse of God and became what they are, the native races that exist, as I said, from Patagonia on the south to Alaska on the north- They are all Lamanites, and the Lord prophesied in regard to them, and told them what would be the consequences of their sins, that this curse would come upon them. Nephi depicts it very truthfully when he says he saw them divided up into many tribes and nations, and that they would war among one another. And he also saw that the Gentile nations would be brought in among them and would be given power over them, even to the extent of reducing them to a remnant, and he said that they would become a hiss and a by-word, and they would be trampled upon by the Gentile nations that came among them. That has verily been the case. Time is not sufficient, this morning, to go into a detailed description of all that has befallen the Lamanite races of America; it is sufficient to say that the Gentiles did go into Mexico, particularly, and did there crush the Lamanites, and have brought them down even to a remnant, fulfilling the prophecies the Lord made in regard to that people. From the time of the Spanish conquerors, who were Gentiles of the Latin race, who conquered Mexico, Central America, and Peru, and the rest of the native races that existed at that time, in South America, there are only one-tenth in existence in those countries at the present time. If you could read the history of the conquest of Mexico, of Guatemala, of Peru, and see the way that those people were reduced at the hands of the Gentiles, if you could read the history of the reign of the Gentile nations over them for more than four hundred years, and see where they have been exterminated, comparatively speaking, you would say it was marvelous indeed, because one out of ten is a very small remnant. And they are the "drawers of water and hewers of wood" for the Gentiles who have come in among them.
But, fortunately for them, they were part of the Lord's covenant people, and He said that, though He would permit that they should be reduced to a remnant, He would not permit their utter destruction. He said to Nephi: "I will not permit that thy seed and the seed of thy brethren, shall be totally destroyed and wiped off from the earth by the Gentiles who should come among them." The Lord promised these people redemption. He said that He would reveal the fullness of the gospel unto the Gentiles, and would establish His Church in the land; and from the Gentiles would come unto this people the book which would be the history of the hand-dealings of the Lord with their ancestors, back to the time of Father Lehi. As before stated, the Lord said that He would not permit the remnant of that people to be destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth. Inasmuch as one part of the prophecy has been fulfilled, it is perfectly logical, and it is my firm conviction, 'that the rest of that prophecy will be fulfilled, and for the reason I am stating. Although I have labored in Mexico for seven years, and three years of that time a bloody war has been in progress, and I have seen horrible things, I am content in the belief that that people are to be redeemed. I have seen the redemption of a great many of them through the teaching of the gospel.
A great many people have nothing but horror for the Lamanites that live to the south of us. A great many say that nothing under the sun can redeem the Lamanites of Mexico, because they are a people too low to be lifted out of their present condition. But, their present condition has been brought about because of forces and circumstances that have existed, primarily, because of the rebellious spirit of their fathers, of what the Lord has permitted to come upon them because of that rebellion. But I want to tell you that they are not too low to be redeemed- I have seen men that have been low, men that have been everything that was bad, have the Gospel spark kindled in their hearts and reform their evil ways, and I know them today to be clean of heart and pure of soul. The Gospel has done that for them, and it can do the same thing for any who will accept it. I wish I could convince the young men here, that it is not a bad thing to come into their lives to be asked nay, permitted to go to the Lamanite people, but to regard it as a privilege. It is a glorious privilege. Every young man I have known who has gone to that mission has come back better in his soul for having come in contact with the Lamanite people.
I want to life my voice in defense of that people, and in defense of the prophecies that God has made about them. I may not continue my labors forever among them, but I am willing to do so, and I wish to keep alive my interest in those people, for I believe in their redemption equally with other people. I believe, as Peter said, God is no respecter of persons, but that persons of whatever nation they may be that will accept Christ are accepted of our Father in heaven. That is part of the Gospel, and it is part of the power of God unto salvation, that is to bring to pass the universal brotherhood of man. We are not people that would exclude any others from the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we have the true spirit of the Gospel in our hearts, we will be willing to go, if necessary, to the ends of the earth to bring about the salvation of the sons and daughters of our Father in heaven from the degraded condition into which they have fallen; it is only possible to bring them to enjoy life eternal through the Gospel which we enjoy.
We are the most blest people in the world. I have never seen a more blest people. I have traveled some throughout the United States, and other parts of America, and I have seen wealthy people, and people of various conditions; but it is my belief that there is no people under the sun that are as much blest as are the Latter-day Saints. There is no people that enjoy the same privileges, consequently there is no people that ought to be more tolerant than the Latter-day. Saints. We should have in our hearts the love that prompted Christ to give His life for all the world, that was manifested by our Father in heaven, in that He gave His only begotten Son that all who believe in Him. and accept His teachings, might be saved. It is impossible for us to gain the perfection that Christ commanded His disciples to attain to, when He said, "Be ye perfect even as my Father in heaven is perfect." except we have the same degree of love that Christ had when He gave His life for the world.
The work of preaching the Gospel among the Lamanites is dear to me. It is progressing, and T am willing to continue my labors. I believe that the Lord has required it at my hands, and He never requires of His servants anything except that He opens the way before them that they may accomplish that thing. I was in the capital of Mexico from the 9th to the 18th of February of this year, when we did not eat or sleep except to the tune of cannon or of muskets; but the elders of the Lord were there together, and we were protected. There were hundreds fell, and I saw many of them burning in the streets of Mexico; but I am willing to go back and face the same or worse conditions, if the Lord requires it at my hands, for the Lord could open the way for me to do good.
I pray that the Lord will bless us, and help us to appreciate the blessings that we enjoy, and help us to have a loving and tolerant spirit and feeling for all mankind, which I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Sister Ida Morris rendered a vocal solo, entitled "O Divine Redeemer."
ELDER ARTHUR W. HORSLEY.
(Of Carbon Stake.)
My heart is full of joy, and thanksgiving to my Heavenly Father for the privilege I have in attending this conference. I trust, my brethren and sisters, that during the few minutes I stand before you I will be aided by the Spirit of the Lord, and that I will have your faith and prayers that what I say may be in accordance with the mind and will of God.
In looking over this congregation, I see many generations represented, men and women who have kept the faith, and now have the opportunity of meeting loved ones and enjoying many blessings, in some instances receiving the fulfillment of promises given unto them in the old world by the servants of the Lord, that inasmuch as they would accept the Gospel and gather to Zion they should be blessed, and that they would increase in knowledge and spiritual strength.
I am thankful this morning, and every day of my life, that I have been permitted to come here and dwell among Saints of God. I am thankful that my grand-parents accepted the gospel, and that my father and mother brought me to the land of Zion; that makes me to belong to the third generation in the Church. I am also thankful that the fourth generation of my family line is doing something for the work of the Lord, that they are willing to go out and proclaim glad tidings of great joy to the inhabitants of the earth, and warn mankind of the judgments that will befall the wicked if they will not repent. This gives me joy and satisfaction, it brings peace to my soul. We have been told this morning, by Elder Pratt, that the Gospel brings peace and joy to the hearts of men and women; it makes bad men good, and good men better if they do that which the Lord requires at their hands from time to time. If we will do this we will be blessed, and enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, and we will not fall by the wayside.
I am thankful that we are living in an age when we have prophets of the Lord in our midst, living oracles of God. We should be a better people. Those who have been reared in these valleys of the mountains, born of godly parents, ought to be better men and women than the people of the world, for the reason that they have greater opportunities and greater blessings. They have not been trained in the traditions of the world, as our forefathers were. Our parents were taught in their childhood, many oi them, to worship a God without body, parts or passions, and they grew up with this idea until the servants of the Lord proclaimed in their hearing, that God had again spoken from the heavens and revealed the Gospel to the earth, and that Joseph Smith was the one chosen to bring about His purposes. Although but a boy, Joseph humbled himself, and was in such a condition that he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and was permitted, in vision, to see the Father and the Son. There were some ideas that our fathers and mothers, in the world, had to get rid of, many traditions. Those that are born here have had the glorious opportunity of learning the truth, from their infancy. Young men and women bear testimony that this is the work of the Lord, that Jesus is the Christ, and they cannot tell you when they first received that testimony They were born with the testimony in their hearts. Their fathers and mothers enjoyed the testimony of Jesus, they complied with the ordinances of the Gospel, paid their tithes and offerings to the Lord, and the boys and girls grow up with those principles implanted in their hearts, and they pay their tithes and offerings and follow in the faith of their fathers. I tell you, fathers and mothers, there is nothing that can bring more joy and peace to the Latter-day Saints than to have their boys and girls receive a testimony of the Gospel, and obey its principles.
I was very much pleased with the spirit of the morning session of our conference, yesterday; the key-note was given, and it appears to me that reform will result. It is right that something should be said to the Latter-day Saints, and to the world, that the wayward might repent and turn unto the Lord, and worship Him more fully in the future than they have in the past. We have been taught the Gospel principles from our youth up, they have been' preached continuously to the inhabitants of Zion. We find ourselves somewhat in the same condition the members of the Church were in the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith, when the Lord saw fit to give a revelation concerning the young people, and said that inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, and teach them not the principles of the Gospel, condemnation would fall upon their heads. The Lord was displeased at that time, because many of the children were growing up in unbelief, their eyes were set upon the things of the world more than the things of God, and that warning was given. The same admonition applies unto the Latter-day Saints today as it did at that time. I have never lost anything, spiritually or temporally, by listening to the servants of the Lord and following their instructions. I do not believe that there is a man or a woman within the sound of my voice that can truthfully say they have ever lost anything in this world's goods by laboring for the kingdom of God and the establishment of righteousness in the earth.
I bear testimony that I know God lives, that He hears and answers the prayers of the Saints, those that draw near unto Him. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that we have prophets, seers and revelators in our midst today, through whom we may receive instructions from God for the guidance of this people. I have also found out that it pays to stay with the body of the Church; that has been my experience, and I desire to remain with the Church always. I am thankful that I continue to have a name and standing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
May the Lord bless us, my brethren and sisters, that we ma)' be entitled to His Spirit day by day, that we may not turn to the right nor to the left, but keep the Spirit within us that will lead us unto eternal life. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "The Lord of Heaven."
(Of Carbon Stake.)
My heart is full of joy, and thanksgiving to my Heavenly Father for the privilege I have in attending this conference. I trust, my brethren and sisters, that during the few minutes I stand before you I will be aided by the Spirit of the Lord, and that I will have your faith and prayers that what I say may be in accordance with the mind and will of God.
In looking over this congregation, I see many generations represented, men and women who have kept the faith, and now have the opportunity of meeting loved ones and enjoying many blessings, in some instances receiving the fulfillment of promises given unto them in the old world by the servants of the Lord, that inasmuch as they would accept the Gospel and gather to Zion they should be blessed, and that they would increase in knowledge and spiritual strength.
I am thankful this morning, and every day of my life, that I have been permitted to come here and dwell among Saints of God. I am thankful that my grand-parents accepted the gospel, and that my father and mother brought me to the land of Zion; that makes me to belong to the third generation in the Church. I am also thankful that the fourth generation of my family line is doing something for the work of the Lord, that they are willing to go out and proclaim glad tidings of great joy to the inhabitants of the earth, and warn mankind of the judgments that will befall the wicked if they will not repent. This gives me joy and satisfaction, it brings peace to my soul. We have been told this morning, by Elder Pratt, that the Gospel brings peace and joy to the hearts of men and women; it makes bad men good, and good men better if they do that which the Lord requires at their hands from time to time. If we will do this we will be blessed, and enjoy the Spirit of the Lord, and we will not fall by the wayside.
I am thankful that we are living in an age when we have prophets of the Lord in our midst, living oracles of God. We should be a better people. Those who have been reared in these valleys of the mountains, born of godly parents, ought to be better men and women than the people of the world, for the reason that they have greater opportunities and greater blessings. They have not been trained in the traditions of the world, as our forefathers were. Our parents were taught in their childhood, many oi them, to worship a God without body, parts or passions, and they grew up with this idea until the servants of the Lord proclaimed in their hearing, that God had again spoken from the heavens and revealed the Gospel to the earth, and that Joseph Smith was the one chosen to bring about His purposes. Although but a boy, Joseph humbled himself, and was in such a condition that he was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and was permitted, in vision, to see the Father and the Son. There were some ideas that our fathers and mothers, in the world, had to get rid of, many traditions. Those that are born here have had the glorious opportunity of learning the truth, from their infancy. Young men and women bear testimony that this is the work of the Lord, that Jesus is the Christ, and they cannot tell you when they first received that testimony They were born with the testimony in their hearts. Their fathers and mothers enjoyed the testimony of Jesus, they complied with the ordinances of the Gospel, paid their tithes and offerings to the Lord, and the boys and girls grow up with those principles implanted in their hearts, and they pay their tithes and offerings and follow in the faith of their fathers. I tell you, fathers and mothers, there is nothing that can bring more joy and peace to the Latter-day Saints than to have their boys and girls receive a testimony of the Gospel, and obey its principles.
I was very much pleased with the spirit of the morning session of our conference, yesterday; the key-note was given, and it appears to me that reform will result. It is right that something should be said to the Latter-day Saints, and to the world, that the wayward might repent and turn unto the Lord, and worship Him more fully in the future than they have in the past. We have been taught the Gospel principles from our youth up, they have been' preached continuously to the inhabitants of Zion. We find ourselves somewhat in the same condition the members of the Church were in the days of the Prophet Joseph Smith, when the Lord saw fit to give a revelation concerning the young people, and said that inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, and teach them not the principles of the Gospel, condemnation would fall upon their heads. The Lord was displeased at that time, because many of the children were growing up in unbelief, their eyes were set upon the things of the world more than the things of God, and that warning was given. The same admonition applies unto the Latter-day Saints today as it did at that time. I have never lost anything, spiritually or temporally, by listening to the servants of the Lord and following their instructions. I do not believe that there is a man or a woman within the sound of my voice that can truthfully say they have ever lost anything in this world's goods by laboring for the kingdom of God and the establishment of righteousness in the earth.
I bear testimony that I know God lives, that He hears and answers the prayers of the Saints, those that draw near unto Him. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that we have prophets, seers and revelators in our midst today, through whom we may receive instructions from God for the guidance of this people. I have also found out that it pays to stay with the body of the Church; that has been my experience, and I desire to remain with the Church always. I am thankful that I continue to have a name and standing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
May the Lord bless us, my brethren and sisters, that we ma)' be entitled to His Spirit day by day, that we may not turn to the right nor to the left, but keep the Spirit within us that will lead us unto eternal life. I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "The Lord of Heaven."
ELDER RUDGER CLAWSON.
The Lord everywhere present by His Spirit—Great importance of Book of Doctrine and Covenants — Tithing a Divine law to all mankind— Tithing expended for Spiritual welfare of Church members— A test of faith, and a preserver from destruction.
Brethren and sisters, is the Lord in yonder tabernacle at this moment? Yes, the Lord is there. Is the Lord in this building today and now? Yes, the Lord is here. Is He in the stakes of Zion? Yes, God is in the stakes of Zion, and you cannot climb so high into the heavens but that you will find the Lord is there, and you cannot descend so deep into the earth but what you will find the Lord is there. He is everywhere upon the face of the earth, and above the earth, and in the earth, and under the earth, and more particularly is He with His people, by the power and influence of His divine Spirit. They have a special claim upon Him, that comes by reason of the Gospel and the sacred ordinances and covenants that they have entered into, and therefore I again affirm, very strongly, that the Lord is here, and that we are entitled to, and are receiving His blessing.
I am holding in my hand, one of the most wonderful books of this or any other age. It is the Doctrine and Covenants. Now I do not say it is better than the Bible. I do not say it is better than the Book of Mormon or the Pearl of Great Price; but I do say it is one of the most wonderful books ever published, remarkable in many respects above and beyond all other books. As stated by President Smith in the conference yesterday, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants contains things that will not be found in any other book. This book embodies the revelations which were given by the Lord to Joseph Smith, the prophet, and there is one thing about this book that we can appreciate and that we can rely upon, and that is that it contains the truth, that what it contains is the truth, and that there is no error, no false doctrine in this record. It is the pure word of God by revelations to His prophet. It is a book that is to be appreciated, but it is a book which has not been read, I presume, by very many of the Latter-day Saints—not read and studied as it should be.
If you will bear with me a moment, I am going to read a few words from one of the revelations in this book. It is a very remarkable revelation, but then it is not different to any of the others. This revelation was given to Joseph the Seer in the presence of six elders, in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, September, 1830. You know the prophet used to receive revelations, did upon many occasions, I presume, when he was by himself. But in this instance, there were six elders present, and that would be quite a testimony to. the truth of the revelation, at least that there were six witnesses who knew and understood that the revelation was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I do not propose to read it all. There is too much substance and body to the whole revelation. It would not do to read it all. These words are to be studied; they are to be reflected upon, and there is certainly sufficient in the text or in the words that I shall read to you to supply the text for a very powerful sermon if I was able to preach it. I am not. I will read a few words in advance, which will lead up to what I wanted to say. The Lord said:
"But remember that all my judgments are not given unto man: and as the words have gone forth out of my mouth, even so shall they be fulfilled, that the first shall be last and that the last shall be first in all things whatsoever I have created by the word of my power, which is the power of my spirit."
Now there is a great text for a sermon in these words, brethren and sisters, and a very great sermon it would be if it was preached under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord.
"For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal; firstly spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, firstly temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work. Speaking_ unto you that you may naturally understand, but unto myself my works have no end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you that ye may understand, because ye have asked it of me and are agreed."
Of course we get the impression from these words that God's work is everlasting, and with Him it is one eternal round. He uses the words "firstly" and lastly," in order that we by our finite minds may be able to understand; but to Him there is no beginning of his works; there is no end to them. It is a beautiful thought, isn't it? It gives you the idea at once of eternal life, something that continues and never ends. It is a tremendous thought, and quite beyond our comprehension. There is no man in this room, there is no woman in this assembly, that can comprehend, can begin to grasp the idea of eternal life. We can feel it. We just feel it in our very bones. We feel that we are destined to live forever. We feel that, but we cannot explain it. But that is not what I am aiming at.
"Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created. Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandments, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal not sensual."
Now mark these words; they are very remarkable, very. It seems strange that the Lord should make use of this language, and that He should make the definite statement to His Church that not at any time had He ever given a temporal commandment. And I think you will agree with me, my brethren and sisters, when we come to sit down and reflect upon the subject and go into it, that so far as we know these words are verily true.
I would like to give you an example or two to emphasize the statement which I have read in your hearing. It may seem almost contradictory, but it is not. I will take for an illustration the law of tithing. You know that the law of tithing is the great revenue law of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; that it is by and through this law that means are accumulated for the benefit and blessing of the Church. It is a very wonderful law. and I am wondering right now, as I speak, whether there is any one in this congregation who will say, "Yes, O yes, we have heard of that law before; we have heard about tithing, and it is a dry subject." Is it a dry subject, brethren and sisters? Is it uninteresting? I tell you we will decide it is one of the grandest, most beautiful, and most practical laws that God ever gave to man, if we will reflect upon it and consider what it is. accomplishing. There was a time in the Church, not many years in the past, when this law was considerably neglected. As a result, the Church became weakened. There was a time, we all remember it, when the Church was brought face to face, as it were. with bankruptcy. It almost came to that. The financial credit of the Church was very low. It was in those days of money stringency, when the country was passing through a sort of a financial panic that the Church's credit, as I said, was low. The assets of the Church were very little in excess of the liabilities; and whenever the assets of the Church or any institution, sink below the liabilities, then it is bankrupt. It must be so. But when the members of the Church were wakened up to the importance of this great law, prosperity returned again; and to the extent, that the Latter-day Saints will observe this law and keep it, the Church will be blessed, and the people will be prospered, not only temporally but spiritually.
There are a great many people in the world who find fault with the Latter-day Saints, because of the law of tithing. They entertain all sorts of notions about it, and when they say that this law is intended to enrich the few at the expense of the many, they at once cast a reflection upon the Lord, God. Did you ever realize that. Any man in the Church, or out of the Church, who takes that stand, and says that the intention and purpose of the law, is to enrich the few at the expense of the many, casts a stigma upon the law of heaven; because, let me tell you, the law of tithing did not originate with any man. Joseph Smith the Prophet was not responsible for it, nor any of his successors. The present leader of the Church, is not in the least responsible for it. It is a commandment of God which came by revelation, and is binding upon the Church and every member thereof. I was going to add "strange to say," but I will not do so, because it is not strange. —This law is just as binding upon the prophet of God, our president, as upon the least and last member in the Church; and it is just as binding upon the Twelve Apostles as anybody else, also upon the Seven Presidents of Seventies and the Presiding Bishopric. Yes, there are the Presiding Bishopric, who are appointed to look after and account for the tithing, and yet they must pay tithing themselves. They must be honest with the Lord, just as much so as those who pay tithing into their hands. They must of necessity put their hands into their pockets and pay tithing, in common with us all. And this requirement simply exemplifies the justice of God. The Lord is no respecter of persons. What He requires of one of the least of His servants He requires of the greatest. A beautiful lesson is it not? Men are respecters of persons very often, in their families, in their lives and in many ways. God is not a respecter of persons. He is absolutely just in these matters, and He will not receive unnecessary excuses. He makes no allowance for neglect of duty, or for sin. Those who sin must repent and do better.
Men in the world who find fault with this great law of revenue which has been given to the Church of Christ, run up against a stone wall, as it were, because they run up against the Bible. The Bible is full of it There is no law, no commandment ever given to the children of men that is emphasized, more strongly in the Bible than tithing. Why, there is Abraham, a tithepayer;— Abraham, the friend of God and the Father of the Faithful, of whom the Lord said that in him, in his seed, and in his priesthood, all the families of the earth should be blessed. How great a man was he that the Lord designated him as His friend. It is a great thing to be the friend of God. Abraham was such, and yet the Lord required and demanded of him that he should pay tithes, and he did so. Specific instances are given. He paid tithes to the great High Priest Melchizedek, who was king of Salem, the prince of peace. Now Melchizedek must have been an important character if Abraham was required to go to him and pay tithes and offerings. And again, there was Jacob, whose name was afterwards changed to Israel. When we say that we are the children of Israel it simply means that we are the children of Jacob, nothing more. He was a great patriarch, and the promises of the Father were sealed upon his head. But, mark you, brethren and sisters and take notice of what Jacob did. One of the first things he did, and one of the great things he did, was to make a solemn vow unto the Lord that if God would bless him and multiply him and bring him back to his father's house, and establish him in the land, he would pay a tenth of all to the Lord. And no doubt he kept this sacred vow, because Jacob was remarkably blessed, so that everything he touched was blessed, and everything that the Lord gave him was multiplied, over and over again, wherever he went- If he went to work for a man, the man was blessed, and the man's family was blessed, and everything round about him was blessed. Jacob was multiplied to such an extent that he had to move out; he could not remain in any one place- His father in law was blessed, and Jacob was blessed, and his flocks and herds increased so rapidly that Jacob had to move away. And so it was in those days, that when the people paid their tithes and offerings, they were prospered. This law was taught to the children of Israel. Upon one occasion the Lord complained against the children of Israel, and asked them how it was that they had robbed Him. That was an awful charge to bring against a people, brought by the Lord against His own chosen people. The children of Israel were robbing Him. but they were perfectly astonished, and said; "Wherein have we robbed thee?" And the Lord answered; "In your tithes and your offerings." Possibly some one might be disposed to say, "Well, I don't owe the Lord anything, because I have worked for that which I possess. I have wrung it out of the soil by the sweat of my brow and by the strength of my body, with this brawny arm and horny hand. I have arisen in the morning at four o'clock, have worked all day into the night, and I have simply wrung my wealth from the soil, and it belongs to me, and I do not owe the Lord anything." Thou fool! hast thou forgotten what the Apostle Paul said: "I planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase; so that he that planted is nothing, neither is he that watered, but God who giveth the increase." That is the philosophy of it. What man is there who by planting a grain of corn into the earth can multiply that kernel of corn, and make twenty or thirty more grains of corn to grow? What man is there who, by planting a potato in the earth, can make it grow and multiply itself, so that where he put in one potato twenty to forty potatoes came out of the ground? What man can do that? Here comes a man, who says, "I can do it." How will you do it? "Why, I will put it in the earth and water it, and that is just what it will do." Well, can you do it? All you did was to plant it in the earth and water it; you did not cause it to grow. God caused it to grow, and He multiplied it. And He will multiply you in that way. The Loi u has made you rich, and now when He comes to you and says, "Give Me what belongs to Me; I have bestowed upon you all these good things, return to Me a portion, one-tenth; give it back to me" Then the man says: "I want it, I will not give it back nor any part of it." Do you think that man will prosper? One may say, yes, he is prospering, and getting lots of grain and potatoes; he is building barns, and so on, and he is widening out, and he is multiplying in his stock, and property and all. Do you say he is blessed? Go into his home, and you will find out what kind of a spirit is there. See if there is a spirit of love, a spirit of knowledge, a spirit of faith? That is what you should look for and see if the man is blessed or not? Why, these very riches that he has obtained may be a curse to him, may canker his soul and destroy it.
Now somebody will say: "Brother Clawson, is it not a fact that the law of tithing is absolutely and purely and simply a temporal law?" I would answer and say that the law of tithing, it is true, has to do with temporal things; but in a far deeper sense, the law of tithing is spiritual, and that is the thing I want to come to, to show that it is spiritual. Everything that we do connected with this law of tithing points to spiritual things. What is tithing for? It is for the building up of Zion. It is to build temples to God. You take material substances, the material things of the earth; and out them into the form of a temple. Tt takes money to build a temple. Money comes from the earth, it belongs to the earth. But what does that temple represent; what does it amount to in and of itself? It is simply a building of wood and stone. That is all it is, nothing more. It is not the temple; it is what the temple represents to us that gives it importance and value. It is what we get in the temple, and we there obtain great and glorious spiritual blessings. That is the important thing. We get our washings and our anointings, and our sealings and do work for the living and the dead. That is spiritual, very spiritual. Beautiful! We have built a number of temples. We are building one in Canada now. I would not be surprised if you will yet see temples all over the land of Zion, all over America. Take the tabernacle here. That is a material thing, isn't it? Very material. It is built of wood and stone. It is nothing but a house; that is all. It is what the tabernacle represents to us; it is what is being done in the tabernacle. It is what is being done right now in the tabernacle that gives importance and value to it. In and of itself it amounts to but little; many people come and look at it, and say it is a wonderful building. I do not care about that. Its size and appearance is the least part of it. There is a wonderful organ in the tabernacle. This is a small consideration. It is what is said there; it is the valuable instructions that are given, counsels of the priesthood, admonitions, warnings, reproof, all intended to build up and strengthen the soul- That is spiritual, and it grows out of the law of tithing, because that great tabernacle was built from the tithes and the offerings of the people. And so we might go on. There is a vast amount of the funds that comes from the tithing that is used for our Church schools. This is a great movement in Zion. We do not know, we do not appreciate what the Church schools are doing. But I will tell you who will appreciate it. The father that has his sons going to the Church schools, the parents that have daughters going there; and when they see that these children are imbibing Gospel principles, that faith is springing up in their hearts, that they are getting testimonies and being prepared to carry 6n the work of their fathers, they then begin to know what the Church schools mean to Zion. And let me tell you, brethren and sisters, in a wide sense, and in a very deep and important sense that is spiritual. I do not care anything about the great school buildings any more than to appreciate them, and to know that we have them. But they are only stone and wood and so on, with a little ornamentation. It is what is taking place in them, it is what is coining to your children and my children, what is being done for them. You know what it means, brethren and sisters, if you send your children to gentile schools. Now I do not speak of them in a spirit of disrespect. I mean to send children to schools where they never hear, and where it is even against the law for them to hear, instruction concerning the Gospel, or concerning the Lord. They may get some moral teachings, but they do not get any religious teaching, no theological instruction. You know what that means. I tell you it is very disastrous to your children, very, and would be to mine- The great educators of the earth, the President of the Chicago University and others are crying out today, right now today, for some religious instruction in the schools of our country. That is what is lacking in our schools, they say; we ought to have some religious training, some religious instruction. They are not getting it in those schools, but we are bringing it into our Church schools, and we are trying to bring it as near to the district schools as we can without getting into them, by the religion classes. Every now and then some bigot will rise up and make an awful cry, and condemn the religion class movement, yet it is recognized, by those who are in positions to know, that if we do not get some religious training in our universities and colleges, it means disaster to the nation. That is spiritual. The means that are expended in bringing our missionaries home from the missions, and in maintaining missionary expenses, and so on—that is spiritual too. The great amounts that are expended in building meeting houses, and in building up the stakes of Zion, come out of the tithes, and these things constitute a marvelously spiritual work in the Church. But that is not all.
Let me tell you something else connected with this law of tithing. I have just about time to tell it too, and that is all. This is what the Lord said. You can judge for yourselves whether it is spiritual or temporal. You will find it in the sixth paragraph in the law of tithing:
"I say unto you if my people observe not this law to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you it shall not be a land of Zion unto you."
Now, do you know what that means, brethren and sisters? That simply means that if this is not the land of Zion unto you, then this land is cursed, because either the land must be sanctified or it must be under curse, and the only way that we can sanctify it and really make it the land of Zion is to pay our tithes, and thus sanctify and make it holy. Is that spiritual, or temporal? If the land is under a curse, then we cannot build up Zion, and all our labors and all our doings will come to naught. So we must remove the curse from the land, and we can do it by the observance of this law. Will anybody tell me that the law of tithing can be ignored, can: be treated with indifference; I tell you, my brethren and sisters, it is a most serious question- It is the test of every man's faith, and it is the test of every woman's faith who earns means and should be a tithe payer. That is, the test, if a man is an honest tithe payer, he will be pretty honest in everything else. I declare to you, if a man pays tithing, he will pray, he will go to his quorum meetings, he will go to his sacrament meetings, and he will do a great many other things. I do not know that you could apply a greater or a stronger test.
I am going to make just one other allusion, just one" brief reference to the law of tithing. It is important in a way, I think. Now listen to these words that occur in another revelation, which was given September 11, 1831:
"Behold, now it is called today (until the coming of the Son of Man), and verily it is a day of sacrifice and a day of the tithing of my people, for he that is tithed shall not be burned at His coming." Very remarkable words! "For after today cometh the burning. This is speaking after the manner of the Lord;for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble ,and I will burn them up. for I am the Lord of hosts, and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon."
What does that mean? Does it mean that if a man will not pay his tithing, that the Lord is going to send a ball of fire down from heaven and burn him up? No; the Lord does not do that way. The Lord works on natural principles. This is what it means, if I read correctly: a man who ignores the express command of the Lord, by failing to pay his tithing, it means that the Spirit of the Lord will withdraw from him; it means that the power of the priesthood will withdraw from that man, if he continues in the spirit of neglect to do his duty. He will drift away into darkness, gradually but surely, until finally (mark you) he will lift up his eyes among the wicked. That is where he will finally land; and then when the destruction comes and when the burning comes, he will be among the wicked, and will be destroyed; while those who observe the law will be found among the righteous, and they will be preserved. There is a God in heaven, and He has promised to shield and protect them. I tell you there is a day of burning, a day of destruction coming upon the wicked. And where will we be? Will we be with the wicked, or with the righteous? I hope among the righteous, and not among the wicked; which is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "God is Love," the solo parts were rendered by Sister Nellie Parr and Brother O. S. Squires.
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Ferdinand F. Hintze.
The Lord everywhere present by His Spirit—Great importance of Book of Doctrine and Covenants — Tithing a Divine law to all mankind— Tithing expended for Spiritual welfare of Church members— A test of faith, and a preserver from destruction.
Brethren and sisters, is the Lord in yonder tabernacle at this moment? Yes, the Lord is there. Is the Lord in this building today and now? Yes, the Lord is here. Is He in the stakes of Zion? Yes, God is in the stakes of Zion, and you cannot climb so high into the heavens but that you will find the Lord is there, and you cannot descend so deep into the earth but what you will find the Lord is there. He is everywhere upon the face of the earth, and above the earth, and in the earth, and under the earth, and more particularly is He with His people, by the power and influence of His divine Spirit. They have a special claim upon Him, that comes by reason of the Gospel and the sacred ordinances and covenants that they have entered into, and therefore I again affirm, very strongly, that the Lord is here, and that we are entitled to, and are receiving His blessing.
I am holding in my hand, one of the most wonderful books of this or any other age. It is the Doctrine and Covenants. Now I do not say it is better than the Bible. I do not say it is better than the Book of Mormon or the Pearl of Great Price; but I do say it is one of the most wonderful books ever published, remarkable in many respects above and beyond all other books. As stated by President Smith in the conference yesterday, the Book of Doctrine and Covenants contains things that will not be found in any other book. This book embodies the revelations which were given by the Lord to Joseph Smith, the prophet, and there is one thing about this book that we can appreciate and that we can rely upon, and that is that it contains the truth, that what it contains is the truth, and that there is no error, no false doctrine in this record. It is the pure word of God by revelations to His prophet. It is a book that is to be appreciated, but it is a book which has not been read, I presume, by very many of the Latter-day Saints—not read and studied as it should be.
If you will bear with me a moment, I am going to read a few words from one of the revelations in this book. It is a very remarkable revelation, but then it is not different to any of the others. This revelation was given to Joseph the Seer in the presence of six elders, in Fayette, Seneca County, New York, September, 1830. You know the prophet used to receive revelations, did upon many occasions, I presume, when he was by himself. But in this instance, there were six elders present, and that would be quite a testimony to. the truth of the revelation, at least that there were six witnesses who knew and understood that the revelation was given to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I do not propose to read it all. There is too much substance and body to the whole revelation. It would not do to read it all. These words are to be studied; they are to be reflected upon, and there is certainly sufficient in the text or in the words that I shall read to you to supply the text for a very powerful sermon if I was able to preach it. I am not. I will read a few words in advance, which will lead up to what I wanted to say. The Lord said:
"But remember that all my judgments are not given unto man: and as the words have gone forth out of my mouth, even so shall they be fulfilled, that the first shall be last and that the last shall be first in all things whatsoever I have created by the word of my power, which is the power of my spirit."
Now there is a great text for a sermon in these words, brethren and sisters, and a very great sermon it would be if it was preached under the influence of the Spirit of the Lord.
"For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal; firstly spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, firstly temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work. Speaking_ unto you that you may naturally understand, but unto myself my works have no end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you that ye may understand, because ye have asked it of me and are agreed."
Of course we get the impression from these words that God's work is everlasting, and with Him it is one eternal round. He uses the words "firstly" and lastly," in order that we by our finite minds may be able to understand; but to Him there is no beginning of his works; there is no end to them. It is a beautiful thought, isn't it? It gives you the idea at once of eternal life, something that continues and never ends. It is a tremendous thought, and quite beyond our comprehension. There is no man in this room, there is no woman in this assembly, that can comprehend, can begin to grasp the idea of eternal life. We can feel it. We just feel it in our very bones. We feel that we are destined to live forever. We feel that, but we cannot explain it. But that is not what I am aiming at.
"Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created. Behold, I gave unto him that he should be an agent unto himself; and I gave unto him commandments, but no temporal commandment gave I unto him, for my commandments are spiritual; they are not natural nor temporal, neither carnal not sensual."
Now mark these words; they are very remarkable, very. It seems strange that the Lord should make use of this language, and that He should make the definite statement to His Church that not at any time had He ever given a temporal commandment. And I think you will agree with me, my brethren and sisters, when we come to sit down and reflect upon the subject and go into it, that so far as we know these words are verily true.
I would like to give you an example or two to emphasize the statement which I have read in your hearing. It may seem almost contradictory, but it is not. I will take for an illustration the law of tithing. You know that the law of tithing is the great revenue law of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; that it is by and through this law that means are accumulated for the benefit and blessing of the Church. It is a very wonderful law. and I am wondering right now, as I speak, whether there is any one in this congregation who will say, "Yes, O yes, we have heard of that law before; we have heard about tithing, and it is a dry subject." Is it a dry subject, brethren and sisters? Is it uninteresting? I tell you we will decide it is one of the grandest, most beautiful, and most practical laws that God ever gave to man, if we will reflect upon it and consider what it is. accomplishing. There was a time in the Church, not many years in the past, when this law was considerably neglected. As a result, the Church became weakened. There was a time, we all remember it, when the Church was brought face to face, as it were. with bankruptcy. It almost came to that. The financial credit of the Church was very low. It was in those days of money stringency, when the country was passing through a sort of a financial panic that the Church's credit, as I said, was low. The assets of the Church were very little in excess of the liabilities; and whenever the assets of the Church or any institution, sink below the liabilities, then it is bankrupt. It must be so. But when the members of the Church were wakened up to the importance of this great law, prosperity returned again; and to the extent, that the Latter-day Saints will observe this law and keep it, the Church will be blessed, and the people will be prospered, not only temporally but spiritually.
There are a great many people in the world who find fault with the Latter-day Saints, because of the law of tithing. They entertain all sorts of notions about it, and when they say that this law is intended to enrich the few at the expense of the many, they at once cast a reflection upon the Lord, God. Did you ever realize that. Any man in the Church, or out of the Church, who takes that stand, and says that the intention and purpose of the law, is to enrich the few at the expense of the many, casts a stigma upon the law of heaven; because, let me tell you, the law of tithing did not originate with any man. Joseph Smith the Prophet was not responsible for it, nor any of his successors. The present leader of the Church, is not in the least responsible for it. It is a commandment of God which came by revelation, and is binding upon the Church and every member thereof. I was going to add "strange to say," but I will not do so, because it is not strange. —This law is just as binding upon the prophet of God, our president, as upon the least and last member in the Church; and it is just as binding upon the Twelve Apostles as anybody else, also upon the Seven Presidents of Seventies and the Presiding Bishopric. Yes, there are the Presiding Bishopric, who are appointed to look after and account for the tithing, and yet they must pay tithing themselves. They must be honest with the Lord, just as much so as those who pay tithing into their hands. They must of necessity put their hands into their pockets and pay tithing, in common with us all. And this requirement simply exemplifies the justice of God. The Lord is no respecter of persons. What He requires of one of the least of His servants He requires of the greatest. A beautiful lesson is it not? Men are respecters of persons very often, in their families, in their lives and in many ways. God is not a respecter of persons. He is absolutely just in these matters, and He will not receive unnecessary excuses. He makes no allowance for neglect of duty, or for sin. Those who sin must repent and do better.
Men in the world who find fault with this great law of revenue which has been given to the Church of Christ, run up against a stone wall, as it were, because they run up against the Bible. The Bible is full of it There is no law, no commandment ever given to the children of men that is emphasized, more strongly in the Bible than tithing. Why, there is Abraham, a tithepayer;— Abraham, the friend of God and the Father of the Faithful, of whom the Lord said that in him, in his seed, and in his priesthood, all the families of the earth should be blessed. How great a man was he that the Lord designated him as His friend. It is a great thing to be the friend of God. Abraham was such, and yet the Lord required and demanded of him that he should pay tithes, and he did so. Specific instances are given. He paid tithes to the great High Priest Melchizedek, who was king of Salem, the prince of peace. Now Melchizedek must have been an important character if Abraham was required to go to him and pay tithes and offerings. And again, there was Jacob, whose name was afterwards changed to Israel. When we say that we are the children of Israel it simply means that we are the children of Jacob, nothing more. He was a great patriarch, and the promises of the Father were sealed upon his head. But, mark you, brethren and sisters and take notice of what Jacob did. One of the first things he did, and one of the great things he did, was to make a solemn vow unto the Lord that if God would bless him and multiply him and bring him back to his father's house, and establish him in the land, he would pay a tenth of all to the Lord. And no doubt he kept this sacred vow, because Jacob was remarkably blessed, so that everything he touched was blessed, and everything that the Lord gave him was multiplied, over and over again, wherever he went- If he went to work for a man, the man was blessed, and the man's family was blessed, and everything round about him was blessed. Jacob was multiplied to such an extent that he had to move out; he could not remain in any one place- His father in law was blessed, and Jacob was blessed, and his flocks and herds increased so rapidly that Jacob had to move away. And so it was in those days, that when the people paid their tithes and offerings, they were prospered. This law was taught to the children of Israel. Upon one occasion the Lord complained against the children of Israel, and asked them how it was that they had robbed Him. That was an awful charge to bring against a people, brought by the Lord against His own chosen people. The children of Israel were robbing Him. but they were perfectly astonished, and said; "Wherein have we robbed thee?" And the Lord answered; "In your tithes and your offerings." Possibly some one might be disposed to say, "Well, I don't owe the Lord anything, because I have worked for that which I possess. I have wrung it out of the soil by the sweat of my brow and by the strength of my body, with this brawny arm and horny hand. I have arisen in the morning at four o'clock, have worked all day into the night, and I have simply wrung my wealth from the soil, and it belongs to me, and I do not owe the Lord anything." Thou fool! hast thou forgotten what the Apostle Paul said: "I planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase; so that he that planted is nothing, neither is he that watered, but God who giveth the increase." That is the philosophy of it. What man is there who by planting a grain of corn into the earth can multiply that kernel of corn, and make twenty or thirty more grains of corn to grow? What man is there who, by planting a potato in the earth, can make it grow and multiply itself, so that where he put in one potato twenty to forty potatoes came out of the ground? What man can do that? Here comes a man, who says, "I can do it." How will you do it? "Why, I will put it in the earth and water it, and that is just what it will do." Well, can you do it? All you did was to plant it in the earth and water it; you did not cause it to grow. God caused it to grow, and He multiplied it. And He will multiply you in that way. The Loi u has made you rich, and now when He comes to you and says, "Give Me what belongs to Me; I have bestowed upon you all these good things, return to Me a portion, one-tenth; give it back to me" Then the man says: "I want it, I will not give it back nor any part of it." Do you think that man will prosper? One may say, yes, he is prospering, and getting lots of grain and potatoes; he is building barns, and so on, and he is widening out, and he is multiplying in his stock, and property and all. Do you say he is blessed? Go into his home, and you will find out what kind of a spirit is there. See if there is a spirit of love, a spirit of knowledge, a spirit of faith? That is what you should look for and see if the man is blessed or not? Why, these very riches that he has obtained may be a curse to him, may canker his soul and destroy it.
Now somebody will say: "Brother Clawson, is it not a fact that the law of tithing is absolutely and purely and simply a temporal law?" I would answer and say that the law of tithing, it is true, has to do with temporal things; but in a far deeper sense, the law of tithing is spiritual, and that is the thing I want to come to, to show that it is spiritual. Everything that we do connected with this law of tithing points to spiritual things. What is tithing for? It is for the building up of Zion. It is to build temples to God. You take material substances, the material things of the earth; and out them into the form of a temple. Tt takes money to build a temple. Money comes from the earth, it belongs to the earth. But what does that temple represent; what does it amount to in and of itself? It is simply a building of wood and stone. That is all it is, nothing more. It is not the temple; it is what the temple represents to us that gives it importance and value. It is what we get in the temple, and we there obtain great and glorious spiritual blessings. That is the important thing. We get our washings and our anointings, and our sealings and do work for the living and the dead. That is spiritual, very spiritual. Beautiful! We have built a number of temples. We are building one in Canada now. I would not be surprised if you will yet see temples all over the land of Zion, all over America. Take the tabernacle here. That is a material thing, isn't it? Very material. It is built of wood and stone. It is nothing but a house; that is all. It is what the tabernacle represents to us; it is what is being done in the tabernacle. It is what is being done right now in the tabernacle that gives importance and value to it. In and of itself it amounts to but little; many people come and look at it, and say it is a wonderful building. I do not care about that. Its size and appearance is the least part of it. There is a wonderful organ in the tabernacle. This is a small consideration. It is what is said there; it is the valuable instructions that are given, counsels of the priesthood, admonitions, warnings, reproof, all intended to build up and strengthen the soul- That is spiritual, and it grows out of the law of tithing, because that great tabernacle was built from the tithes and the offerings of the people. And so we might go on. There is a vast amount of the funds that comes from the tithing that is used for our Church schools. This is a great movement in Zion. We do not know, we do not appreciate what the Church schools are doing. But I will tell you who will appreciate it. The father that has his sons going to the Church schools, the parents that have daughters going there; and when they see that these children are imbibing Gospel principles, that faith is springing up in their hearts, that they are getting testimonies and being prepared to carry 6n the work of their fathers, they then begin to know what the Church schools mean to Zion. And let me tell you, brethren and sisters, in a wide sense, and in a very deep and important sense that is spiritual. I do not care anything about the great school buildings any more than to appreciate them, and to know that we have them. But they are only stone and wood and so on, with a little ornamentation. It is what is taking place in them, it is what is coining to your children and my children, what is being done for them. You know what it means, brethren and sisters, if you send your children to gentile schools. Now I do not speak of them in a spirit of disrespect. I mean to send children to schools where they never hear, and where it is even against the law for them to hear, instruction concerning the Gospel, or concerning the Lord. They may get some moral teachings, but they do not get any religious teaching, no theological instruction. You know what that means. I tell you it is very disastrous to your children, very, and would be to mine- The great educators of the earth, the President of the Chicago University and others are crying out today, right now today, for some religious instruction in the schools of our country. That is what is lacking in our schools, they say; we ought to have some religious training, some religious instruction. They are not getting it in those schools, but we are bringing it into our Church schools, and we are trying to bring it as near to the district schools as we can without getting into them, by the religion classes. Every now and then some bigot will rise up and make an awful cry, and condemn the religion class movement, yet it is recognized, by those who are in positions to know, that if we do not get some religious training in our universities and colleges, it means disaster to the nation. That is spiritual. The means that are expended in bringing our missionaries home from the missions, and in maintaining missionary expenses, and so on—that is spiritual too. The great amounts that are expended in building meeting houses, and in building up the stakes of Zion, come out of the tithes, and these things constitute a marvelously spiritual work in the Church. But that is not all.
Let me tell you something else connected with this law of tithing. I have just about time to tell it too, and that is all. This is what the Lord said. You can judge for yourselves whether it is spiritual or temporal. You will find it in the sixth paragraph in the law of tithing:
"I say unto you if my people observe not this law to keep it holy, and by this law sanctify the land of Zion unto me, that my statutes and my judgments may be kept thereon, that it may be most holy, behold, verily I say unto you it shall not be a land of Zion unto you."
Now, do you know what that means, brethren and sisters? That simply means that if this is not the land of Zion unto you, then this land is cursed, because either the land must be sanctified or it must be under curse, and the only way that we can sanctify it and really make it the land of Zion is to pay our tithes, and thus sanctify and make it holy. Is that spiritual, or temporal? If the land is under a curse, then we cannot build up Zion, and all our labors and all our doings will come to naught. So we must remove the curse from the land, and we can do it by the observance of this law. Will anybody tell me that the law of tithing can be ignored, can: be treated with indifference; I tell you, my brethren and sisters, it is a most serious question- It is the test of every man's faith, and it is the test of every woman's faith who earns means and should be a tithe payer. That is, the test, if a man is an honest tithe payer, he will be pretty honest in everything else. I declare to you, if a man pays tithing, he will pray, he will go to his quorum meetings, he will go to his sacrament meetings, and he will do a great many other things. I do not know that you could apply a greater or a stronger test.
I am going to make just one other allusion, just one" brief reference to the law of tithing. It is important in a way, I think. Now listen to these words that occur in another revelation, which was given September 11, 1831:
"Behold, now it is called today (until the coming of the Son of Man), and verily it is a day of sacrifice and a day of the tithing of my people, for he that is tithed shall not be burned at His coming." Very remarkable words! "For after today cometh the burning. This is speaking after the manner of the Lord;for verily I say, tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble ,and I will burn them up. for I am the Lord of hosts, and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon."
What does that mean? Does it mean that if a man will not pay his tithing, that the Lord is going to send a ball of fire down from heaven and burn him up? No; the Lord does not do that way. The Lord works on natural principles. This is what it means, if I read correctly: a man who ignores the express command of the Lord, by failing to pay his tithing, it means that the Spirit of the Lord will withdraw from him; it means that the power of the priesthood will withdraw from that man, if he continues in the spirit of neglect to do his duty. He will drift away into darkness, gradually but surely, until finally (mark you) he will lift up his eyes among the wicked. That is where he will finally land; and then when the destruction comes and when the burning comes, he will be among the wicked, and will be destroyed; while those who observe the law will be found among the righteous, and they will be preserved. There is a God in heaven, and He has promised to shield and protect them. I tell you there is a day of burning, a day of destruction coming upon the wicked. And where will we be? Will we be with the wicked, or with the righteous? I hope among the righteous, and not among the wicked; which is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "God is Love," the solo parts were rendered by Sister Nellie Parr and Brother O. S. Squires.
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Ferdinand F. Hintze.
SECOND OVERFLOW MEETING.
Another meeting of the Conference was held in the Assembly Hall, at 2 p. m., at which Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr., presided.
The Forest Dale ward choir again furnished the musical exercises.
The choir sang the hymn:
Hark! ten thousand thousand voices
Sing the song of jubilee!
Earth, through all her tribes, rejoices --
Broke her long captivity.
Prayer was offered by Elder Joseph S. Wells.
The choir sang the anthem, "Let the mountains shout for joy."
Another meeting of the Conference was held in the Assembly Hall, at 2 p. m., at which Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr., presided.
The Forest Dale ward choir again furnished the musical exercises.
The choir sang the hymn:
Hark! ten thousand thousand voices
Sing the song of jubilee!
Earth, through all her tribes, rejoices --
Broke her long captivity.
Prayer was offered by Elder Joseph S. Wells.
The choir sang the anthem, "Let the mountains shout for joy."
ELDER SERGE F. BALLIF.
(President of Cache Stake.)
My beloved brothers and sisters, I can assure you that I am pleased to be in this conference. I recognize the hand of the Lord in calling together His people that they might be instructed in the words of life. I believe, from the bottom of my heart, when we assemble on occasions of this kind, that if we have a prayerful desire in our hearts to receive the word of God, then those who may be called upon will address us under the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord, and we will be indeed fed upon the bread of life.
On leaving my home to come to this conference, I had a desire that the Lord would inspire His servants to speak on a subject that very much concerns the stake where I am living. I felt that I would like. that we should receive some instructions upon the Word of Wisdom, a principle, commandment, and revelation of God that is not being observed to the fullest extent by the Latter-day Saints today. My heart was full of that desire when I entered the Tabernacle yesterday morning, and I testify to you, my brethren and sisters, that my prayer was answered. The Lord directed the words of His servants in accordance with my desires. I believe the same desire was in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, and we all felt the inspiration of Almighty God. It was indeed a revelation and inspiration to us, to hear the prophet of the Lord make the statements that he did in our hearing in that meeting yesterday morning. My heart was filled with joy, and I hope that every Latter-day Saint will feel that those words were for them individually, as I felt that they were for our mutual benefit, renewing an important revelation from God. I believe that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that the Lord, through him, made known to His people, when he gave that revelation, the things that were necessary for their well-being here upon the earth. I want to demonstrate by my life that I believe Joseph Smith was a prophet, by rendering obedience # to that command, by keeping it in my own home, by teaching it to my children, by living in accordance with the principles of the word of wisdom.
Another thing that I strongly desired to hear discussed, was the question of reform in dress of our young people. This matter also has been preying upon my mind in regard to the people in Cache stake, and when the Prophet of the Lord made mention of that in our conference, I felt again that my prayers had been answered. I think that the prayers of every Latter-day Saint, of every father and mother were similarly answered. I believe that the Spirit of the Lord made manifest unto all of us that the Lord made known through His prophet the things that are needful to be corrected in our midst.
I appreciate the teachings that we receive from time to time in these conferences. I trust that every Latter-day Saint fully understands the importance of coming to these conferences with the spirit of prayer, with a desire to be instructed, and with a determination to carry out in our lives the instructions that are given to us by the servants of the Lord on occasions of this kind. In contemplating about the short history of our people, I thought of the time when the great Tabernacle on this block was used first for a conference, in October, 1867, forty-six years ago. When I look at that building today, I know that the Lord inspired the men who designed and erected that great edifice. I have traveled in many parts of the world, including most of Europe, and I never have seen a building that will compare with that one, and I am confirmed in the belief that the inspiration of the Lord directed its construction.
I was also thinking further of things that to me are of importance. On the 8th of October, in a conference that was held in the Tabernacle, the first conference, if my memory serves me right, our present Prophet, Seer and Revelator was called to the apostleship. I feel to thank the Lord for his faithful life, for enabling him to magnify his great calling as an Apostle. He has certainly been an inspiration to this people. His words that we hear from time to time in these conferences should be taken by the Latter- day Saints as being inspired by the Spirit of God. I often think of remarks that are made sometimes by our young people and by strangers; they say, "Where are the great men today, men like Brigham Young, John Taylor, and other leaders?" I answer, we have great men in our midst today. They are equal to the occasion; they are the men God has called and chosen to direct the affairs of His Church today, and I say they are indeed prophets, seers and revelators unto this people.
I was much pleased the other day when a young man, whom I had never seen before, came into my office, and be said "I want to be baptized. I have been here for some time; I have traveled among your people and have become converted' through my observation, through listening to the teachings of your people, that you have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I desire to be baptized. An ideal and object of my life now is that I may go into that Temple on the hill when the proper time comes." This was an inspiration to me; my heart was filled with joy, and I thought of the words of the Lord, that we will be known by our works. I was pleased to feel that the young man must have been associating with people in that stake of Zion who were living according to the principles of the Gospel in their daily lives. He had a laudable desire to go into the house of the Lord, and there receive a wife according to God's law, for time and for all eternity. There was an object lesson to all of our young people, to my daughters, to my sons. My greatest desire and prayer is that my boys and girls may be worthy to go into God's holy house, and there enter into sacred obligations and covenants with the Lord, and take unto themselves wives and husbands that will be theirs throughout the endless ages of eternity. I believe in teaching our young men and young women the sanctity of these holy temples. I believe that they should be taught from their infancy to reverence those edifices, because of the ' sacred ordinances performed therein.
My brethren and sisters, I do not feel to occupy the time further. I pray that the blessings of the Lord may be with His people, that we may live in accordance with this grand Gospel that will redeem mankind through obedience to its principles. I am converted to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know, beyond question in my soul, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I want to live to demonstrate in every act of my life that I know that he was a prophet. I revere and respect his name. I love the Gospel as it has been made known, and I trust that all Latter-day Saints may have a desire.in their hearts to be true to the covenants that they have made with the Lord. May we live lives worthy of example, that our light may shine, so that the people of the world will see our good works, and glorify our Heavenly Father. God bless you, my brethren and sisters, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(President of Cache Stake.)
My beloved brothers and sisters, I can assure you that I am pleased to be in this conference. I recognize the hand of the Lord in calling together His people that they might be instructed in the words of life. I believe, from the bottom of my heart, when we assemble on occasions of this kind, that if we have a prayerful desire in our hearts to receive the word of God, then those who may be called upon will address us under the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord, and we will be indeed fed upon the bread of life.
On leaving my home to come to this conference, I had a desire that the Lord would inspire His servants to speak on a subject that very much concerns the stake where I am living. I felt that I would like. that we should receive some instructions upon the Word of Wisdom, a principle, commandment, and revelation of God that is not being observed to the fullest extent by the Latter-day Saints today. My heart was full of that desire when I entered the Tabernacle yesterday morning, and I testify to you, my brethren and sisters, that my prayer was answered. The Lord directed the words of His servants in accordance with my desires. I believe the same desire was in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, and we all felt the inspiration of Almighty God. It was indeed a revelation and inspiration to us, to hear the prophet of the Lord make the statements that he did in our hearing in that meeting yesterday morning. My heart was filled with joy, and I hope that every Latter-day Saint will feel that those words were for them individually, as I felt that they were for our mutual benefit, renewing an important revelation from God. I believe that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that the Lord, through him, made known to His people, when he gave that revelation, the things that were necessary for their well-being here upon the earth. I want to demonstrate by my life that I believe Joseph Smith was a prophet, by rendering obedience # to that command, by keeping it in my own home, by teaching it to my children, by living in accordance with the principles of the word of wisdom.
Another thing that I strongly desired to hear discussed, was the question of reform in dress of our young people. This matter also has been preying upon my mind in regard to the people in Cache stake, and when the Prophet of the Lord made mention of that in our conference, I felt again that my prayers had been answered. I think that the prayers of every Latter-day Saint, of every father and mother were similarly answered. I believe that the Spirit of the Lord made manifest unto all of us that the Lord made known through His prophet the things that are needful to be corrected in our midst.
I appreciate the teachings that we receive from time to time in these conferences. I trust that every Latter-day Saint fully understands the importance of coming to these conferences with the spirit of prayer, with a desire to be instructed, and with a determination to carry out in our lives the instructions that are given to us by the servants of the Lord on occasions of this kind. In contemplating about the short history of our people, I thought of the time when the great Tabernacle on this block was used first for a conference, in October, 1867, forty-six years ago. When I look at that building today, I know that the Lord inspired the men who designed and erected that great edifice. I have traveled in many parts of the world, including most of Europe, and I never have seen a building that will compare with that one, and I am confirmed in the belief that the inspiration of the Lord directed its construction.
I was also thinking further of things that to me are of importance. On the 8th of October, in a conference that was held in the Tabernacle, the first conference, if my memory serves me right, our present Prophet, Seer and Revelator was called to the apostleship. I feel to thank the Lord for his faithful life, for enabling him to magnify his great calling as an Apostle. He has certainly been an inspiration to this people. His words that we hear from time to time in these conferences should be taken by the Latter- day Saints as being inspired by the Spirit of God. I often think of remarks that are made sometimes by our young people and by strangers; they say, "Where are the great men today, men like Brigham Young, John Taylor, and other leaders?" I answer, we have great men in our midst today. They are equal to the occasion; they are the men God has called and chosen to direct the affairs of His Church today, and I say they are indeed prophets, seers and revelators unto this people.
I was much pleased the other day when a young man, whom I had never seen before, came into my office, and be said "I want to be baptized. I have been here for some time; I have traveled among your people and have become converted' through my observation, through listening to the teachings of your people, that you have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I desire to be baptized. An ideal and object of my life now is that I may go into that Temple on the hill when the proper time comes." This was an inspiration to me; my heart was filled with joy, and I thought of the words of the Lord, that we will be known by our works. I was pleased to feel that the young man must have been associating with people in that stake of Zion who were living according to the principles of the Gospel in their daily lives. He had a laudable desire to go into the house of the Lord, and there receive a wife according to God's law, for time and for all eternity. There was an object lesson to all of our young people, to my daughters, to my sons. My greatest desire and prayer is that my boys and girls may be worthy to go into God's holy house, and there enter into sacred obligations and covenants with the Lord, and take unto themselves wives and husbands that will be theirs throughout the endless ages of eternity. I believe in teaching our young men and young women the sanctity of these holy temples. I believe that they should be taught from their infancy to reverence those edifices, because of the ' sacred ordinances performed therein.
My brethren and sisters, I do not feel to occupy the time further. I pray that the blessings of the Lord may be with His people, that we may live in accordance with this grand Gospel that will redeem mankind through obedience to its principles. I am converted to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know, beyond question in my soul, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I want to live to demonstrate in every act of my life that I know that he was a prophet. I revere and respect his name. I love the Gospel as it has been made known, and I trust that all Latter-day Saints may have a desire.in their hearts to be true to the covenants that they have made with the Lord. May we live lives worthy of example, that our light may shine, so that the people of the world will see our good works, and glorify our Heavenly Father. God bless you, my brethren and sisters, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER ORVIL L. THOMPSON.
(President of Millard Stake.)
My brethren and sisters. I sense very keenly the responsibility that is upon an elder occupying this position, and I desire earnestly that the short time I stand before you that the Spirit of the Lord which has characterized the meetings of this conference shall also prompt in what I may be led to say.
I have rejoiced in the spirit of the conference, and all that has been said and done has received my heartiest approval. The words of admonition and of rebuke, if they may be so termed, have appeared to me to come with the real spirit and inspiration of the Lord, and have applied to people over whom I preside in the Millard stake of Zion, and I believe they apply largely throughout the Church. The words of our leaders have been inspired of the Lord, they have been spoken by true shepherds of Israel, watchmen upon the towers of Zion, and it becomes the duty of those who have heard, and those who shall hear or read the proceedings of this conference, to reduce to practice in their lives the wise suggestions that have been made. I bear record, as President Ballif has done, that my prayers have been answered, and things that have worried me, and to which I have given thought and attention, have been spoken in this conference and our duties made plain. I am disposed, as far as I may be given ability, to introduce and to spread this spirit and these teachings among the people where I labor, for I love the people over whom I preside. I am anxious for their welfare, temporal and spiritual. I desire earnestly their salvation and good works, and in connection with them I desire the salvation of the human family, the whole household of faith in particular. I feel that the remarks that have been made, the suggestions that have been given for our temporal and spiritual benefit are timely and proper. They appeal to us, and deserve our earnest attention, and advocacy among all of our people when we shall return to our homes.
Our brethren have been impressed, even as was the Apostle Paul in some of his epistles to the ancient saints, with the necessity of calling the people to repentance. Since listening to the remarks of the President, in the opening session of the conference, I have compared his appeal to the people, and his instructions, to some remarks made in an epistle written to the Corinthian Saints by the Apostle Paul. I shall read a few verses in the tenth chapter of the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians:
"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry."
These were the exhortations of the Apostle to the Corinthian Saints, and were given as an admonition to them. I rejoice in the fact that we have men with us today, servants of the Lord, His prophets, who see the necessities of the people, and give its words of admonition that we may escape the calamities that have come upon other generations and other people, when they have fallen into sin and failed to keep the commandments of God. Therefore I rejoice in the admonitions we have received in this conference, and I bear record of their truth, because the Spirit of the Lord has indicated to me that they are true.
I was impressed with the remarks of President Smith, wherein he said that many of the blessings to which the Saints are entitled do not come to them; many are deprived of these blessings for the reason that they are not in harmony with all of the principles of the gospel, and they are not living their lives as they should do. We should teach the Gospel by our examples as well as by our precepts. I believe that all who hold the priesthood, and who are acting in it and under its authority, realize the truth of the statements of the President. I testify, as did President Ballif, in regard to the inspiration that characterizes the life and the "labors of the true Latter- day Saint, that the cause is not failing, that inspiration has not ceased, but it is still powerful, and the blessings and the privileges of the Gospel are enjoyed by those who are living the lives of Latter-day Saints. The Spirit bears record today, as it did in ancient days, when the people of the Lord have been keeping His commandments, in regard to the truth of the work. Blessings and inspiration attends the ministrations of the servants of the Lord, and the hearts of the people are made to rejoice when they are keeping His commandments and are entitled to the blessings.
Last week I was called into the home of a good faithful family, where their petitions ascend to the Lord in the season thereof, as recommended by President Lyman this morning, where the Word of Wisdom is kept by the father and mother and children. I was called to administer to one who had met with a serious accident, and who was lying at the point of death; and while administering to the young lady who was thus sorely afflicted, I received inspiration of the Lord to promise her restoration to perfect health and strength; and, after the ministration was over, to comfort the heart of the anxious mother, I assured her that the Lord had revealed to me that her daughter should be restored to perfect condition. I bear testimony to this as evidence that the Spirit of inspiration and revelation is enjoyed by members of the Church who keep the commandments of the Lord. When we come into homes of the character I have described, we feel the influence, and have the power to call down upon the inmates of that home the blessings of the Almighty.
These blessings may be enjoyed more fully by the Saints if they will walk uprightly and keep the commandments of the Lord. I rejoice in this fact, and that our leaders receive inspiration of the Almighty from time to time as is necessary, and give wise counsel unto the people. I feel like taking home with me and give to the people for whose welfare I am more anxious than for any others, because they are most closely associated with me, this message, that if they desire to receive the blessings of the Almighty in their families, in the restoration of the sick, the prevention of disease, and the enjoyment of the Spirit of the Lord, they must live according to the laws upon which these blessings are predicated and promised.
As remarked by one of the speakers this morning, I am proud of the monuments that have been erected commemorating the great achievements of the Pioneers in the settlement of these valleys, proud of the homes that they made, and were able to make possible for succeeding generations. I am proud of my connection with the Church, that I am permitted to work in the service of the Lord, that He has given me the inspiration of His Spirit to the extent that I have been able to see the folly of evil and eschew it to a degree, that I have a disposition to seek and to enjoy His favor and blessings. I call to mind this moment the way in which we may do this, as set forth beautifully in another epistle of the Apostle Paul, written to the Ephesians, wherein he exhorts that people to be fully prepared against every evil that may be brought against them:
"Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."
This is the measure of safety that is offered in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the armor with which we should be encased, and being thus equipped we may go forth fearlessly and boldly, without fear, shunning sin, death and destruction.
My brethren and sisters, I bear testimony of the truthfulness of this work, that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and that within it are all that my nature and disposition and character require, for in it I find a solace for every requirement of my soul. To it I look for the alleviation of every suffering, and in it I find the most perfect satisfaction of the higher aspirations of life.
May the Lord help us to live so that eventually we may merit and attain to eternal lives in His kingdom, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
A quartette was rendered by male members of the choir.
(President of Millard Stake.)
My brethren and sisters. I sense very keenly the responsibility that is upon an elder occupying this position, and I desire earnestly that the short time I stand before you that the Spirit of the Lord which has characterized the meetings of this conference shall also prompt in what I may be led to say.
I have rejoiced in the spirit of the conference, and all that has been said and done has received my heartiest approval. The words of admonition and of rebuke, if they may be so termed, have appeared to me to come with the real spirit and inspiration of the Lord, and have applied to people over whom I preside in the Millard stake of Zion, and I believe they apply largely throughout the Church. The words of our leaders have been inspired of the Lord, they have been spoken by true shepherds of Israel, watchmen upon the towers of Zion, and it becomes the duty of those who have heard, and those who shall hear or read the proceedings of this conference, to reduce to practice in their lives the wise suggestions that have been made. I bear record, as President Ballif has done, that my prayers have been answered, and things that have worried me, and to which I have given thought and attention, have been spoken in this conference and our duties made plain. I am disposed, as far as I may be given ability, to introduce and to spread this spirit and these teachings among the people where I labor, for I love the people over whom I preside. I am anxious for their welfare, temporal and spiritual. I desire earnestly their salvation and good works, and in connection with them I desire the salvation of the human family, the whole household of faith in particular. I feel that the remarks that have been made, the suggestions that have been given for our temporal and spiritual benefit are timely and proper. They appeal to us, and deserve our earnest attention, and advocacy among all of our people when we shall return to our homes.
Our brethren have been impressed, even as was the Apostle Paul in some of his epistles to the ancient saints, with the necessity of calling the people to repentance. Since listening to the remarks of the President, in the opening session of the conference, I have compared his appeal to the people, and his instructions, to some remarks made in an epistle written to the Corinthian Saints by the Apostle Paul. I shall read a few verses in the tenth chapter of the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians:
"Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry."
These were the exhortations of the Apostle to the Corinthian Saints, and were given as an admonition to them. I rejoice in the fact that we have men with us today, servants of the Lord, His prophets, who see the necessities of the people, and give its words of admonition that we may escape the calamities that have come upon other generations and other people, when they have fallen into sin and failed to keep the commandments of God. Therefore I rejoice in the admonitions we have received in this conference, and I bear record of their truth, because the Spirit of the Lord has indicated to me that they are true.
I was impressed with the remarks of President Smith, wherein he said that many of the blessings to which the Saints are entitled do not come to them; many are deprived of these blessings for the reason that they are not in harmony with all of the principles of the gospel, and they are not living their lives as they should do. We should teach the Gospel by our examples as well as by our precepts. I believe that all who hold the priesthood, and who are acting in it and under its authority, realize the truth of the statements of the President. I testify, as did President Ballif, in regard to the inspiration that characterizes the life and the "labors of the true Latter- day Saint, that the cause is not failing, that inspiration has not ceased, but it is still powerful, and the blessings and the privileges of the Gospel are enjoyed by those who are living the lives of Latter-day Saints. The Spirit bears record today, as it did in ancient days, when the people of the Lord have been keeping His commandments, in regard to the truth of the work. Blessings and inspiration attends the ministrations of the servants of the Lord, and the hearts of the people are made to rejoice when they are keeping His commandments and are entitled to the blessings.
Last week I was called into the home of a good faithful family, where their petitions ascend to the Lord in the season thereof, as recommended by President Lyman this morning, where the Word of Wisdom is kept by the father and mother and children. I was called to administer to one who had met with a serious accident, and who was lying at the point of death; and while administering to the young lady who was thus sorely afflicted, I received inspiration of the Lord to promise her restoration to perfect health and strength; and, after the ministration was over, to comfort the heart of the anxious mother, I assured her that the Lord had revealed to me that her daughter should be restored to perfect condition. I bear testimony to this as evidence that the Spirit of inspiration and revelation is enjoyed by members of the Church who keep the commandments of the Lord. When we come into homes of the character I have described, we feel the influence, and have the power to call down upon the inmates of that home the blessings of the Almighty.
These blessings may be enjoyed more fully by the Saints if they will walk uprightly and keep the commandments of the Lord. I rejoice in this fact, and that our leaders receive inspiration of the Almighty from time to time as is necessary, and give wise counsel unto the people. I feel like taking home with me and give to the people for whose welfare I am more anxious than for any others, because they are most closely associated with me, this message, that if they desire to receive the blessings of the Almighty in their families, in the restoration of the sick, the prevention of disease, and the enjoyment of the Spirit of the Lord, they must live according to the laws upon which these blessings are predicated and promised.
As remarked by one of the speakers this morning, I am proud of the monuments that have been erected commemorating the great achievements of the Pioneers in the settlement of these valleys, proud of the homes that they made, and were able to make possible for succeeding generations. I am proud of my connection with the Church, that I am permitted to work in the service of the Lord, that He has given me the inspiration of His Spirit to the extent that I have been able to see the folly of evil and eschew it to a degree, that I have a disposition to seek and to enjoy His favor and blessings. I call to mind this moment the way in which we may do this, as set forth beautifully in another epistle of the Apostle Paul, written to the Ephesians, wherein he exhorts that people to be fully prepared against every evil that may be brought against them:
"Finally, brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil; for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."
This is the measure of safety that is offered in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the armor with which we should be encased, and being thus equipped we may go forth fearlessly and boldly, without fear, shunning sin, death and destruction.
My brethren and sisters, I bear testimony of the truthfulness of this work, that the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and that within it are all that my nature and disposition and character require, for in it I find a solace for every requirement of my soul. To it I look for the alleviation of every suffering, and in it I find the most perfect satisfaction of the higher aspirations of life.
May the Lord help us to live so that eventually we may merit and attain to eternal lives in His kingdom, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
A quartette was rendered by male members of the choir.
ELDER JOHN W. HART.
(President of Rigby Stake.)
My brethren and sisters, I can assure you that I approach this duty this afternoon with fear and trembling; not that I am fearful of receiving any bodily harm from any who are here assembled, but I in my weakness feel that I am not competent to fill as I should this position that I have been called unto. I can assure you that, while I occupy this position, I rely upon your faith and prayers, and the aid of the Spirit of the Lord, that I may be led to say something that will be beneficial to us all.
We have assembled from different parts of the land to attend this conference; yea, we have gathered from the north, from the south, from the east and from the west, and have come up here to the headquarters of the Church that we might receive and be edified by the Lord through His servants. I for one feel that I have already been well repaid for the journey that I have made, and the time I have spent, by the instructions received, and the good time that I have enjoyed thus far and I am satisfied that we will continue to enjoy the blessings of the Lord throughout the balance of this conference.
As has been stated by Apostle Joseph F. Smith, Jun., I hail from the land of the north, and I am pleased to state to you, my brethren and sisters, that the people in that section of the country are growing spiritually, and that they are a prosperous, happy, and contented people. The Lord is blessing us both temporally and spiritually, and we are growing wonderfully. The membership of the Church of Christ in the State of Idaho numbers about 60,000 souls. I believe, if I am not mistaken, there are now thirteen stakes of Zion in Idaho, and we are still growing and increasing rapidly, and this we are thankful for.
I think it is fitting that we should assemble in great numbers upon occasions of this kind, that we may exchange views, that we might understand thoroughly and more fully the conditions that prevail throughout this Church in various parts of the land. I am greatly interested in the progress of this work; I have labored in it a little all the days of my life. I thank the Lord that He has given me a testimony, that He has given me of His spirit to such an extent that my feet thus far have been kept safe in the Gospel path. I know that this Gospel is true, and I am satisfied that if we will live its principles we will gain for ourselves an exaltation in the kingdom of our Father. We find upon investigation that this great organization of ours has within it everything that is needful for the welfare, happiness, and advancement of mankind here upon the earth, and above all it has that saving power that will enable us to attain eternal life, if we are faithful unto the end.
I remember a few years ago a gentleman came into the stake over which I preside, and he was representing a fraternal organization, and he came to me and wanted to know the reason why Latter-day Saints were opposed to "fraternalism," as he represented it. I told him that we were not opposed to fraternalism; that as Latter-day Saints we believe in it, we regard it as a glorious principle, and practice it in its entirety; but, "so far as your organization is concerned," I said, "we feel that we have all the blessings, all the privileges within the organization of our Church that you have to offer, and more too; and, as a consequence, we advise our people against identifying themselves with your organization. This was astounding to him; he could not understand how it was possible. I told him that we had within our Church organization, from the Primary Association to the Relief Society, that which promoted the welfare of all the people, both old and young, giving the young sufficient opportunities for social enjoyment, and that they could receive all the wholesome entertainment and blessings that they could receive in any organization that was created by men here upon the earth within their own church. I told him that our people believe in principles of true fraternalism. When I informed him concerning the Relief Society, and what they are doing, he was most astonished to learn that such conditions and organizations exist in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I went on further and told him that I considered our system the most perfect in the world today; that as Latter-day Saints we paid dues, even as members of his order paid their dues, that we paid tithing according to what we possessed; the rich in accordance with their plenty, the poor in accordance to their ability; that the blessings and the privileges of membership were enjoyed equally by all, rich and poor. I said there is no organization on the face of the earth today that has within it such a just principle as we have got in our Church, and that considering these things in connection with a great many other things we enjoy, it makes my heart rejoice to know that I am a Latter-day Saint. It gives me pleasure to defend this Church,, and I have always taken pleasure in doing so. I have always made friends by taking this course, and so will every Latter-day Saint.
I can say with the Apostle Paul, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that will receive and obey the principles of the same." There is no reason why we should be ashamed. It should be a pleasure and satisfaction to stand up against unscrupulous men who endeavor to tear us down. The Lord will sustain us in doing this; and I testify to you that it will help us in our business affairs if we will take a manly and consistent stand for this great work in which we are engaged; I know that the Lord will bless us. My testimony to you is that the Lord lives, that He has revealed His mind and will unto His prophets in this dispensation, and is doing it today. I have faith and confidence in those who preside over this church, and I know that the Lord will give them His Spirit, that they will be able to guide and direct the affairs of this Church in a way that will be acceptable in His sight. I pray that this may always be our condition, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
(President of Rigby Stake.)
My brethren and sisters, I can assure you that I approach this duty this afternoon with fear and trembling; not that I am fearful of receiving any bodily harm from any who are here assembled, but I in my weakness feel that I am not competent to fill as I should this position that I have been called unto. I can assure you that, while I occupy this position, I rely upon your faith and prayers, and the aid of the Spirit of the Lord, that I may be led to say something that will be beneficial to us all.
We have assembled from different parts of the land to attend this conference; yea, we have gathered from the north, from the south, from the east and from the west, and have come up here to the headquarters of the Church that we might receive and be edified by the Lord through His servants. I for one feel that I have already been well repaid for the journey that I have made, and the time I have spent, by the instructions received, and the good time that I have enjoyed thus far and I am satisfied that we will continue to enjoy the blessings of the Lord throughout the balance of this conference.
As has been stated by Apostle Joseph F. Smith, Jun., I hail from the land of the north, and I am pleased to state to you, my brethren and sisters, that the people in that section of the country are growing spiritually, and that they are a prosperous, happy, and contented people. The Lord is blessing us both temporally and spiritually, and we are growing wonderfully. The membership of the Church of Christ in the State of Idaho numbers about 60,000 souls. I believe, if I am not mistaken, there are now thirteen stakes of Zion in Idaho, and we are still growing and increasing rapidly, and this we are thankful for.
I think it is fitting that we should assemble in great numbers upon occasions of this kind, that we may exchange views, that we might understand thoroughly and more fully the conditions that prevail throughout this Church in various parts of the land. I am greatly interested in the progress of this work; I have labored in it a little all the days of my life. I thank the Lord that He has given me a testimony, that He has given me of His spirit to such an extent that my feet thus far have been kept safe in the Gospel path. I know that this Gospel is true, and I am satisfied that if we will live its principles we will gain for ourselves an exaltation in the kingdom of our Father. We find upon investigation that this great organization of ours has within it everything that is needful for the welfare, happiness, and advancement of mankind here upon the earth, and above all it has that saving power that will enable us to attain eternal life, if we are faithful unto the end.
I remember a few years ago a gentleman came into the stake over which I preside, and he was representing a fraternal organization, and he came to me and wanted to know the reason why Latter-day Saints were opposed to "fraternalism," as he represented it. I told him that we were not opposed to fraternalism; that as Latter-day Saints we believe in it, we regard it as a glorious principle, and practice it in its entirety; but, "so far as your organization is concerned," I said, "we feel that we have all the blessings, all the privileges within the organization of our Church that you have to offer, and more too; and, as a consequence, we advise our people against identifying themselves with your organization. This was astounding to him; he could not understand how it was possible. I told him that we had within our Church organization, from the Primary Association to the Relief Society, that which promoted the welfare of all the people, both old and young, giving the young sufficient opportunities for social enjoyment, and that they could receive all the wholesome entertainment and blessings that they could receive in any organization that was created by men here upon the earth within their own church. I told him that our people believe in principles of true fraternalism. When I informed him concerning the Relief Society, and what they are doing, he was most astonished to learn that such conditions and organizations exist in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I went on further and told him that I considered our system the most perfect in the world today; that as Latter-day Saints we paid dues, even as members of his order paid their dues, that we paid tithing according to what we possessed; the rich in accordance with their plenty, the poor in accordance to their ability; that the blessings and the privileges of membership were enjoyed equally by all, rich and poor. I said there is no organization on the face of the earth today that has within it such a just principle as we have got in our Church, and that considering these things in connection with a great many other things we enjoy, it makes my heart rejoice to know that I am a Latter-day Saint. It gives me pleasure to defend this Church,, and I have always taken pleasure in doing so. I have always made friends by taking this course, and so will every Latter-day Saint.
I can say with the Apostle Paul, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that will receive and obey the principles of the same." There is no reason why we should be ashamed. It should be a pleasure and satisfaction to stand up against unscrupulous men who endeavor to tear us down. The Lord will sustain us in doing this; and I testify to you that it will help us in our business affairs if we will take a manly and consistent stand for this great work in which we are engaged; I know that the Lord will bless us. My testimony to you is that the Lord lives, that He has revealed His mind and will unto His prophets in this dispensation, and is doing it today. I have faith and confidence in those who preside over this church, and I know that the Lord will give them His Spirit, that they will be able to guide and direct the affairs of this Church in a way that will be acceptable in His sight. I pray that this may always be our condition, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER MARK AUSTIN.
(President of Fremont Stake.)
I have no desire, my brethren and sisters, to detract from your minds the theme of this conference that was made known to the Latter-day Saints in the opening address of our beloved President, the Lord's prophet unto Israel, and His mouth-piece unto all the children of men who dwell upon the face of the earth. This is my understanding — as it has been throughout all time, when the Lord has had a prophet upon the earth, He has revealed His mind and will concerning His people. His children everywhere, whether they belonged to the church or not.
I think the subject of President Smith's remarks is one of the most important things, for the salvation of men while they live, that has been given to us. "How can we hope to have the Spirit of the Almighty abide in unholy tabernacles?" Assuredly it will not, therefore we see the necessity of being admonished, having the subject brought strongly to our attention. When I came into the Tabernacle I heard a brother, who evidently is somewhat weak, remark: "I am afraid those statements are too strong." Strong! Can truth be stated too strong? Can we have called to our attention too strongly the truth upon questions connected with which our very lives hang in the balance? The drinker, the smoker, and other weak men and women object to strong denunciation of their weaknesses. All mankind need to observe the Word of Wisdom, and if the world would adopt this fragment of the Gospel that has been given through the prophet Joseph, what a relief would follow, how much sorrow would be taken from homes, from mothers, from fathers, and children, because of those who foolishly indulge in harmful things.
Just recently a gentleman who was carrying a great deal of responsibility in a business way, has many things within his charge, said to me: "I read sometime ago the Word of Wisdom, and I have adopted it into my life, and it has made me strong." The splendid body that had been given to him by sturdy Scotch parents he had found was weakening by indulging in things forbidden by the Word of Wisdom. Said he, "When I had observed this Word of Wisdom for two years, I found I was stronger than ever before in my life, my brain is clearer, and I am able to accomplish much work." If men outside of this Church have obeyed this law, how much more should we as Latter-day Saints observe it! I have noticed that most of the Latter- day Saints who have observed this law are able to stand against the tempter in other ways, and are not liable to fall and be led away. Those who ignore the Word Wisdom feel that it is only a small thing. It may appear small to them but it is really great, and is calculated to overcome the power of evil that tries to destroy the race.
Now, the people of the world are beginning to discover these things, many of them, and how strange it is that some Latter-day Saints have not yet obeyed the principles of that important revelation! Parents should be examples to their children in regard to these matters. The Prophet of God, as true Prophets always have, exhibited great boldness, and spoke plainly to the people. That is what we need, we do not want to be sustained in things that lead down to sorrow and destruction.
I pray that the Lord will bless us and help us to understand our mission in the earth, that we may be able to be bold in the defense of truth and righteousness. President Hart has set us a good example in this respect. You remember reading in the newspapers that when he was sitting in the Senate at Boise, a gentleman had the audacity to attack his religion. He rose in his seat, and rebuked him, and notified the Senate that never would he stand for it. The result was that all the members of that senate respect him, and all our people love him for it. May God bless you. Amen.
(President of Fremont Stake.)
I have no desire, my brethren and sisters, to detract from your minds the theme of this conference that was made known to the Latter-day Saints in the opening address of our beloved President, the Lord's prophet unto Israel, and His mouth-piece unto all the children of men who dwell upon the face of the earth. This is my understanding — as it has been throughout all time, when the Lord has had a prophet upon the earth, He has revealed His mind and will concerning His people. His children everywhere, whether they belonged to the church or not.
I think the subject of President Smith's remarks is one of the most important things, for the salvation of men while they live, that has been given to us. "How can we hope to have the Spirit of the Almighty abide in unholy tabernacles?" Assuredly it will not, therefore we see the necessity of being admonished, having the subject brought strongly to our attention. When I came into the Tabernacle I heard a brother, who evidently is somewhat weak, remark: "I am afraid those statements are too strong." Strong! Can truth be stated too strong? Can we have called to our attention too strongly the truth upon questions connected with which our very lives hang in the balance? The drinker, the smoker, and other weak men and women object to strong denunciation of their weaknesses. All mankind need to observe the Word of Wisdom, and if the world would adopt this fragment of the Gospel that has been given through the prophet Joseph, what a relief would follow, how much sorrow would be taken from homes, from mothers, from fathers, and children, because of those who foolishly indulge in harmful things.
Just recently a gentleman who was carrying a great deal of responsibility in a business way, has many things within his charge, said to me: "I read sometime ago the Word of Wisdom, and I have adopted it into my life, and it has made me strong." The splendid body that had been given to him by sturdy Scotch parents he had found was weakening by indulging in things forbidden by the Word of Wisdom. Said he, "When I had observed this Word of Wisdom for two years, I found I was stronger than ever before in my life, my brain is clearer, and I am able to accomplish much work." If men outside of this Church have obeyed this law, how much more should we as Latter-day Saints observe it! I have noticed that most of the Latter- day Saints who have observed this law are able to stand against the tempter in other ways, and are not liable to fall and be led away. Those who ignore the Word Wisdom feel that it is only a small thing. It may appear small to them but it is really great, and is calculated to overcome the power of evil that tries to destroy the race.
Now, the people of the world are beginning to discover these things, many of them, and how strange it is that some Latter-day Saints have not yet obeyed the principles of that important revelation! Parents should be examples to their children in regard to these matters. The Prophet of God, as true Prophets always have, exhibited great boldness, and spoke plainly to the people. That is what we need, we do not want to be sustained in things that lead down to sorrow and destruction.
I pray that the Lord will bless us and help us to understand our mission in the earth, that we may be able to be bold in the defense of truth and righteousness. President Hart has set us a good example in this respect. You remember reading in the newspapers that when he was sitting in the Senate at Boise, a gentleman had the audacity to attack his religion. He rose in his seat, and rebuked him, and notified the Senate that never would he stand for it. The result was that all the members of that senate respect him, and all our people love him for it. May God bless you. Amen.
ELDER GEORGE H. BRIMHALL.
(President of Brigham Young University.)
I am full of gratitude for the blessings that have come to me from my fathers and my mothers, both in heaven and on earth. I feel as I nearly always feel in the presence of an assembly of my brethren and sisters, that I need their faith and prayers; and if I get these I shall not have any occasion to ask for your attention. You have not come here to hear me. You have come here to hear the word of the Lord, and if I have been called by authority to be the instrument, feeble and unworthy as I am, why, the Lord will' be. praised for anything that I may say,, and it will depend upon Him and you.
During the remarks made at the opening of this conference, by President Smith, I was led to reflect, and I felt very keenly that he was actuated by the spirit of boldness and courage that came from his calling,, reinforced by our Father. He did not ask what would increase his good favor among this people. He evidently had but one thought, and that thought was akin to that which inspired the Prophet Brigham when the question came up as to who was to lead the Church, and he remarked "I do not care who leads this Church, even though it were Ann Lee, but one thing I must know, and that is what God says about it." And President Smith has but one consideration, "What is the will of the Lord concerning this people," and He has given it to us—the wilt of the Lord. There is a passage of scripture in one of the revelations, wherein the Lord says:
"Inasmuch as My people build an house unto Me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come unto it that it he not defiled. My glory shall rest upon it."
Some evil person might have come into that house, some apostate, some enemy might have sneaked in. Our great Temple here has been invaded by evil persons getting in there and taking pictures, thieves as they were; but it was not suffered. You did not consent to it; I did not consent to it; the authorities did not consent to it. Hence.it could not be said that we suffered or permitted these things. President Smith can not sanction anything in Zion that will pollute her.
We sang here today, "Let the mountains shout for joy;" and when that hymn was being sung I recalled a circumstance of last year when sixty-five eminent scientists were our guests. We were very desirous that they should know the truth concerning the character of our people, and we attempted to tell them the truth, when one of them said, "Don't talk, the mountains shout for you. See the canals at their base. The ground echoes the thoughts and character of your people. See the orchards, see the harvests, the fields; look at your buildings; they cry out what you are. ft all speaks for you, and it gives the lie to all that has been said about you as a bad people." I thought in my soul, verily the prophecy is being fulfilled which said that the mountains should melt away, f believe in the literal melting away of the mountains of ice at the coming of the Ten Tribes from the North; but I believe also it may have a figurative meaning—the mountains of prejudice melting away before this people, f believe what the young missionary said when the minister said to him, "Why, you have Moses and the Prophets: why not listen to them?" He turned and said to him, "I would have you understand that Wilford Woodruff, in his place, is as great a prophet as Moses ever dared to be.'' I too believe that about President Woodruff. f believed that when. I heard him say, during the time we were dedicating the Temple here, "From this date this people will begin to prevail among the nations of the earth." We, through the action of our fathers and our mothers had prevailed against the desert. We had prevailed against persecution. We had prevailed against the insidious inroads of vice, and we had produced a community of which God could say, through His Prophet, when that glorious house was finished, "They shall now prevail against the prejudices of the world." Have we done it? Think where we then stood politically. Think where we stood financially. Think where we stood educationally, at the time that prophecy was made; and then think where we stand now. Why, we through our proselyting are now confronted with ministers congregating and crying out, "We are powerless. Some laws must be enacted against these 'Mormon' elders." Is that prevailing? The "Mormons" have been branded — the Latter-day Saints—as an ignorant people. What is the condition today? Ask the college presidents of this and other nations about those of our number who are or have been away studying. Who would have said, who would have dared to say ten years ago, that one of the greatest universities in the United States would send to the Brigham Young University for one of its "Mormon" boy professors to come back to Chicago and occupy a professor's chair? And when our boys go out, they observe something that makes us think. One returned a few weeks ago. He said, "We are on the map educationally." It was said of him: "You are from the Brigham Young University?" "Yes." Of another it was said, "You are from the B. Y. College," and so on.
Brothers and sisters, we are prevailing. Why are we prevailing in Zion? We are prevailing because we have refused to suffer Zion to be defiled. Zion cannot be defiled, because the Prophet of God will never consent, and there never has been, and there never will be, an official assent to the inroad of any iniquity among this people. As long as there is always an official phalanx standing up and refusing official sanction to the admittance of any evil in this Church, then Zion, the organization that God has established, cannot be defiled. "Individuals may be defiled," as Brother Maeser used to say. "The Lord has said that this kingdom shall never fail; but he has never said that I shall never fail." There is Zion, the pure in heart. There is Zion, this continent. There is Zion, the organization of the Church of God. Zion is glorious. Zion is the bride of Christ. Zion is that which we should defend. She is a ship of eternal state, and I am so glad, so happy to be a part of that great thing called Zion.
Our President yesterday took the proper stand in refusing to let Zion be defiled. Now what is my mission? To go to my place, back to the Brigham Young University, and say to our force of teachers, we shall still refuse anything admittance into this school that will defile Zion. What is my duty next? To go to my own home, and do the same thing. To the bishops and the presidents of stakes I have nothing to say. They know they are the most responsible men in the Church under the general authorities. I know what is to be done. I know that if nothing had been done in this conference, but to listen to the word of the Lord yesterday, Israel would be well repaid. God bless you. Amen.
(President of Brigham Young University.)
I am full of gratitude for the blessings that have come to me from my fathers and my mothers, both in heaven and on earth. I feel as I nearly always feel in the presence of an assembly of my brethren and sisters, that I need their faith and prayers; and if I get these I shall not have any occasion to ask for your attention. You have not come here to hear me. You have come here to hear the word of the Lord, and if I have been called by authority to be the instrument, feeble and unworthy as I am, why, the Lord will' be. praised for anything that I may say,, and it will depend upon Him and you.
During the remarks made at the opening of this conference, by President Smith, I was led to reflect, and I felt very keenly that he was actuated by the spirit of boldness and courage that came from his calling,, reinforced by our Father. He did not ask what would increase his good favor among this people. He evidently had but one thought, and that thought was akin to that which inspired the Prophet Brigham when the question came up as to who was to lead the Church, and he remarked "I do not care who leads this Church, even though it were Ann Lee, but one thing I must know, and that is what God says about it." And President Smith has but one consideration, "What is the will of the Lord concerning this people," and He has given it to us—the wilt of the Lord. There is a passage of scripture in one of the revelations, wherein the Lord says:
"Inasmuch as My people build an house unto Me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come unto it that it he not defiled. My glory shall rest upon it."
Some evil person might have come into that house, some apostate, some enemy might have sneaked in. Our great Temple here has been invaded by evil persons getting in there and taking pictures, thieves as they were; but it was not suffered. You did not consent to it; I did not consent to it; the authorities did not consent to it. Hence.it could not be said that we suffered or permitted these things. President Smith can not sanction anything in Zion that will pollute her.
We sang here today, "Let the mountains shout for joy;" and when that hymn was being sung I recalled a circumstance of last year when sixty-five eminent scientists were our guests. We were very desirous that they should know the truth concerning the character of our people, and we attempted to tell them the truth, when one of them said, "Don't talk, the mountains shout for you. See the canals at their base. The ground echoes the thoughts and character of your people. See the orchards, see the harvests, the fields; look at your buildings; they cry out what you are. ft all speaks for you, and it gives the lie to all that has been said about you as a bad people." I thought in my soul, verily the prophecy is being fulfilled which said that the mountains should melt away, f believe in the literal melting away of the mountains of ice at the coming of the Ten Tribes from the North; but I believe also it may have a figurative meaning—the mountains of prejudice melting away before this people, f believe what the young missionary said when the minister said to him, "Why, you have Moses and the Prophets: why not listen to them?" He turned and said to him, "I would have you understand that Wilford Woodruff, in his place, is as great a prophet as Moses ever dared to be.'' I too believe that about President Woodruff. f believed that when. I heard him say, during the time we were dedicating the Temple here, "From this date this people will begin to prevail among the nations of the earth." We, through the action of our fathers and our mothers had prevailed against the desert. We had prevailed against persecution. We had prevailed against the insidious inroads of vice, and we had produced a community of which God could say, through His Prophet, when that glorious house was finished, "They shall now prevail against the prejudices of the world." Have we done it? Think where we then stood politically. Think where we stood financially. Think where we stood educationally, at the time that prophecy was made; and then think where we stand now. Why, we through our proselyting are now confronted with ministers congregating and crying out, "We are powerless. Some laws must be enacted against these 'Mormon' elders." Is that prevailing? The "Mormons" have been branded — the Latter-day Saints—as an ignorant people. What is the condition today? Ask the college presidents of this and other nations about those of our number who are or have been away studying. Who would have said, who would have dared to say ten years ago, that one of the greatest universities in the United States would send to the Brigham Young University for one of its "Mormon" boy professors to come back to Chicago and occupy a professor's chair? And when our boys go out, they observe something that makes us think. One returned a few weeks ago. He said, "We are on the map educationally." It was said of him: "You are from the Brigham Young University?" "Yes." Of another it was said, "You are from the B. Y. College," and so on.
Brothers and sisters, we are prevailing. Why are we prevailing in Zion? We are prevailing because we have refused to suffer Zion to be defiled. Zion cannot be defiled, because the Prophet of God will never consent, and there never has been, and there never will be, an official assent to the inroad of any iniquity among this people. As long as there is always an official phalanx standing up and refusing official sanction to the admittance of any evil in this Church, then Zion, the organization that God has established, cannot be defiled. "Individuals may be defiled," as Brother Maeser used to say. "The Lord has said that this kingdom shall never fail; but he has never said that I shall never fail." There is Zion, the pure in heart. There is Zion, this continent. There is Zion, the organization of the Church of God. Zion is glorious. Zion is the bride of Christ. Zion is that which we should defend. She is a ship of eternal state, and I am so glad, so happy to be a part of that great thing called Zion.
Our President yesterday took the proper stand in refusing to let Zion be defiled. Now what is my mission? To go to my place, back to the Brigham Young University, and say to our force of teachers, we shall still refuse anything admittance into this school that will defile Zion. What is my duty next? To go to my own home, and do the same thing. To the bishops and the presidents of stakes I have nothing to say. They know they are the most responsible men in the Church under the general authorities. I know what is to be done. I know that if nothing had been done in this conference, but to listen to the word of the Lord yesterday, Israel would be well repaid. God bless you. Amen.
ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH, JR.
Lives of faithful Church members consistent with Gospel—Professed Christian ministers inconsistently repudiate Christ's mission—Inspiration manifest in our leaders — Saints should be united, and labor for welfare of others.
I certainly would have been pleased if our brethren had felt disposed to occupy the remaining time. I have rejoiced in their testimonies, in what they have had to say by way of admonition and encouragement to the Latter-day Saints. I feel that we have had a most excellent time so far during this conference. The admonition, the advice, the instruction imparted, have been for our good individually and collectively, and I feel that it should sink deep into our souls. We should feel to rejoice in such teachings as we receive in this dispensation; teachings that are uplifting and will make us better not only as members of the Church but better as citizens in the community. There is nothing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is not uplifting. There never was and never will be advice given to the Latter-day Saints from their leaders that will not be for their good, for our leaders have but one desire, and that is the salvation of the people, both temporally and spiritually.
We ought to rejoice in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is the truth revealed again. We are not walking in darkness. We are not led by blind leaders who have taken to themselves authority and prerogatives which do not belong to them; but we are led by and directed through the spirit of inspiration, and it behooves each one of us as members of the Church to heed the warning voice and follow the instruction that is given at our conferences. We are, notwithstanding our weaknesses, the best people in the world. I do not say that boastingly, for I believe that this truth is evident to all who are willing to observe for themselves. We are morally clean, in every way equal, and in many ways superior to any other people. The reason is that we have received the truth, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not to us a dead letter, something perhaps to be followed on the Sabbath day and forgotten on the six other days of the week: but our religion is an every-day religion. We are expected to live in accordance with the principles of truth every day of our lives; for these principles are just as true in the middle of the week as they are on the Sabbath day. I believe, further, that the Latter-day- Saints are the only people who are consistent in their belief, and practice. We accept Jesus as the Redeemer of the world without qualification, and that is not done generally in the world, among those who profess to believe in Him and call themselves Christians. Even among many ministers who affix to their names the title of reverend, He is not accepted as the Redeemer of mankind. They are not consistent, because they do not teach and they do not practice the principles that have been set forth by the Savior, and which are recorded in the scriptures. Men stand up before the people in the congregations of the so-called Christian communities, and declare that they do not accept Christ as the Redeemer of the world. They teach the people that they do not believe in the resurrection from the dead. They do not.even accept the eternal resurrection of the Christ. They do not believe that He came into the world to take upon Him the sins of the world and redeem us from our sins. They scoff at the idea that He had power to offer Himself a sacrifice for the sins of others. They deny the miracles that the Savior performed, and say they do not believe in them. They call themselves progressive, and declare that they have received greater light, greater understanding, greater development through their researches, through their study and their own wisdom, by which they have come to the conclusion that these things recorded in the scriptures are fables, and were written in a day when the people were inclined to believe and accept as miracles things which did not and could not occur.
I am just simple enough in my belief to accept that which is recorded in the scriptures. I believe it with all my heart. I know that Jesus is the Christ, that He did come into the world to redeem the world from sin, and that men through acceptance of the principles of the Gospel—those principles which were taught at the opening of our conference—will receive a reward and an exaltation in the kingdom of our God. I know that salvation does not come through any other name than that of Jesus Christ, and that any man who will not obey the principles of truth as Christ set them forth in His Gospel will not receive the remission of sins, and cannot enter into the kingdom which is prepared. for the righteous.
I desire to read a little from one of the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
''Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my Church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. But, it is they who do not fear me, neither keep my commandments, but build up churches unto themselves to get gain, yea, and all those that do wickedly and build up the kingdom of the devil; yea, verily, verily I say unto < you, that it is they that I will disturb, and cause to tremble and shake to the center. Behold, I am Jesus Christ', the Son of God. I came unto my own, and my own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. I am He who said, other sheep have I which are not of this fold, unto my disciples, and many there were of the house of Jacob. And I will show unto this people that I had other sheep, and that they were a branch of the house of Jacob. And I will bring to light their marvelous works, which they did in my name. Yea, and 1 will also bring to light my Gospel which was ministered unto them, and, behold, they shall not deny that which you have received, but they shall build it up, and shall bring to light the true points of my doctrine, yea, and the only doctrine which is in me. And this I do that I may establish my Gospel, that there may not be so much contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them. Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great mystery. For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts. Yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life freely. Behold, this is my doctrine: whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church. And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against him."
Now, there are those who declare more or less than this. They will not repent of their sins. They will not accept Jesus as the Redeemer of the world. They will not believe that He spoke the truth when.He declared unto the people that He was the Son of God, and that He. came to fulfill the mission that was given to Him of His Father, to redeem the world from sin. They reject these things. They will not believe them; hence they remain in the bondage of sin, and cannot be redeemed, because they will not receive the principles by which salvation comes. There are many of this class that go around through the country, stirring up the hearts of the people against the truth, declaring that these things are not so, and that it is unnecessary for men to observe these principles, and ordinances that are declared in the scriptures to be essential to salvation. They are destroying the faith of the people wherever it is possible. But we should be strong in the faith; each one of us should be filled with a determination to serve the Lord and to keep His commandments, for we have received the light which shineth in darkness that comes from the Lord. We are not walking in darkness, but in the light of truth as it has been revealed. There is no occasion for the members of the Church to go astray, to disregard the principles of the Gospel, for they are so plain and have been set forth in such clearness, that none need stumble or be in doubt concerning them. It is necessary that we should keep them in mind constantly, living worthily before the Lord, that we may receive His blessings.
Now, at this conference we have heard a great deal concerning the duties of the members of the Church, the responsibilities resting upon those who have been called to hold the priesthood and who hold positions of trust and of presidency ' among the people, whether it be in the stakes, the wards, the quorums of the priesthood or other organizations. We have been instructed concerning our duties, how there is work enough for all of us to do. There need be no idlers among us. We have heard all of these things, and we should remember them and put them into practice, so far as our duties are concerned as members of the Church. The blessings of the Gospel will not come unto us if we disregard our duties and break the commandments of the Lord, we will not be blessed if we refuse to listen to the priesthood and will not follow the instructions that are given to us from time to time. We have officers in the Church necessarily to take the lead and to instruct the people, and they are inspired men. The bishops, the presidents of stakes, the- various officers who are called and appointed to take charge of the many departments in the great work of the Lord are men of inspiration, and they have the right to the Spirit of the Lord, and they receive inspiration for their guidance and for the guidance of the people over whom they preside. We should listen to them, and obey their instructions. When we pray we should ask the Lord to pour out His Spirit upon the leaders in the Church, whether they minister as bishops of the wards, presidents of stakes, or in the presidency of the Church. We should not pray merely with our lips: but in every act, in our conversation, in all that we undertake to do, we should try to carry out the expressions of our prayers, and be in harmony with the thoughts that we declare to the Lord in our daily supplications.
The Lord will bless Zion. He will pour out His Spirit upon the people. He will prosper them if they will remember Him, if they will keep His commandments, if they will observe the covenants that they have made Him and not violate them; if they will hold themselves aloof from the world, and not be partakers of the sins of the world. I do not mean to say that we ought not to associate at any time with those not of our faith, for there are many good people who have not embraced the Gospel. We are not required to avoid them, for our mission in the world is with them, to convert them to the truth if we can. Rut we need not be partakers of the sins of the world; we need not follow the- foolish fashions of the world. We need not corrupt ourselves because many in the world are corrupt. We have received better things. We are walking in the knowledge and the understanding of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and are entitled to that inspiration which will warn us of danger and guide us in the path of duty, and give us power to resist and overcome evil. We have the right to call upon the Lord in prayer and in faith for help, for guidance, for the assistance of His Holy Spirit, and we will receive it. And I pray that we may be true to our covenants, true to each other; that we will cast out of our hearts all that is evil, that we will not speak evil one of another, or be given to backbiting or contention or strife, for the spirit of wickedness destroys faith and tends to divide and separate instead of uniting and strengthening the people. We must stand united as one—our purposes are the same, our aims are the same. We are laboring in the direction of eternal life and progression. There is no variance among the teachers in Israel concerning the principles of the Gospel. We are united concerning these things. There is no division among the authorities, and there need be no division among the people; but unity, peace, brotherly love, kindness and fellowship one to another. These are the blessings that we are entitled to, if we will live in accordance with the Gospel, and the Lord will pour out other and greater blessings, even all that we are able to contain. I pray that we will keep the commandments of the Lord, be diligent in the discharge of our duties, and each one labor, not merely for his personal salvation but in the interests of the entire community and the salvation of the children of men. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "Send out Thy light;" Sister Nellie Parr rendered the solo.
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Stephen L. Chipman.
Lives of faithful Church members consistent with Gospel—Professed Christian ministers inconsistently repudiate Christ's mission—Inspiration manifest in our leaders — Saints should be united, and labor for welfare of others.
I certainly would have been pleased if our brethren had felt disposed to occupy the remaining time. I have rejoiced in their testimonies, in what they have had to say by way of admonition and encouragement to the Latter-day Saints. I feel that we have had a most excellent time so far during this conference. The admonition, the advice, the instruction imparted, have been for our good individually and collectively, and I feel that it should sink deep into our souls. We should feel to rejoice in such teachings as we receive in this dispensation; teachings that are uplifting and will make us better not only as members of the Church but better as citizens in the community. There is nothing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is not uplifting. There never was and never will be advice given to the Latter-day Saints from their leaders that will not be for their good, for our leaders have but one desire, and that is the salvation of the people, both temporally and spiritually.
We ought to rejoice in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is the truth revealed again. We are not walking in darkness. We are not led by blind leaders who have taken to themselves authority and prerogatives which do not belong to them; but we are led by and directed through the spirit of inspiration, and it behooves each one of us as members of the Church to heed the warning voice and follow the instruction that is given at our conferences. We are, notwithstanding our weaknesses, the best people in the world. I do not say that boastingly, for I believe that this truth is evident to all who are willing to observe for themselves. We are morally clean, in every way equal, and in many ways superior to any other people. The reason is that we have received the truth, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not to us a dead letter, something perhaps to be followed on the Sabbath day and forgotten on the six other days of the week: but our religion is an every-day religion. We are expected to live in accordance with the principles of truth every day of our lives; for these principles are just as true in the middle of the week as they are on the Sabbath day. I believe, further, that the Latter-day- Saints are the only people who are consistent in their belief, and practice. We accept Jesus as the Redeemer of the world without qualification, and that is not done generally in the world, among those who profess to believe in Him and call themselves Christians. Even among many ministers who affix to their names the title of reverend, He is not accepted as the Redeemer of mankind. They are not consistent, because they do not teach and they do not practice the principles that have been set forth by the Savior, and which are recorded in the scriptures. Men stand up before the people in the congregations of the so-called Christian communities, and declare that they do not accept Christ as the Redeemer of the world. They teach the people that they do not believe in the resurrection from the dead. They do not.even accept the eternal resurrection of the Christ. They do not believe that He came into the world to take upon Him the sins of the world and redeem us from our sins. They scoff at the idea that He had power to offer Himself a sacrifice for the sins of others. They deny the miracles that the Savior performed, and say they do not believe in them. They call themselves progressive, and declare that they have received greater light, greater understanding, greater development through their researches, through their study and their own wisdom, by which they have come to the conclusion that these things recorded in the scriptures are fables, and were written in a day when the people were inclined to believe and accept as miracles things which did not and could not occur.
I am just simple enough in my belief to accept that which is recorded in the scriptures. I believe it with all my heart. I know that Jesus is the Christ, that He did come into the world to redeem the world from sin, and that men through acceptance of the principles of the Gospel—those principles which were taught at the opening of our conference—will receive a reward and an exaltation in the kingdom of our God. I know that salvation does not come through any other name than that of Jesus Christ, and that any man who will not obey the principles of truth as Christ set them forth in His Gospel will not receive the remission of sins, and cannot enter into the kingdom which is prepared. for the righteous.
I desire to read a little from one of the revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith:
''Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my Church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. But, it is they who do not fear me, neither keep my commandments, but build up churches unto themselves to get gain, yea, and all those that do wickedly and build up the kingdom of the devil; yea, verily, verily I say unto < you, that it is they that I will disturb, and cause to tremble and shake to the center. Behold, I am Jesus Christ', the Son of God. I came unto my own, and my own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not. I am He who said, other sheep have I which are not of this fold, unto my disciples, and many there were of the house of Jacob. And I will show unto this people that I had other sheep, and that they were a branch of the house of Jacob. And I will bring to light their marvelous works, which they did in my name. Yea, and 1 will also bring to light my Gospel which was ministered unto them, and, behold, they shall not deny that which you have received, but they shall build it up, and shall bring to light the true points of my doctrine, yea, and the only doctrine which is in me. And this I do that I may establish my Gospel, that there may not be so much contention; yea, Satan doth stir up the hearts of the people to contention concerning the points of my doctrine; and in these things they do err, for they do wrest the scriptures and do not understand them. Therefore, I will unfold unto them this great mystery. For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts. Yea, if they will come, they may, and partake of the waters of life freely. Behold, this is my doctrine: whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church. And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against him."
Now, there are those who declare more or less than this. They will not repent of their sins. They will not accept Jesus as the Redeemer of the world. They will not believe that He spoke the truth when.He declared unto the people that He was the Son of God, and that He. came to fulfill the mission that was given to Him of His Father, to redeem the world from sin. They reject these things. They will not believe them; hence they remain in the bondage of sin, and cannot be redeemed, because they will not receive the principles by which salvation comes. There are many of this class that go around through the country, stirring up the hearts of the people against the truth, declaring that these things are not so, and that it is unnecessary for men to observe these principles, and ordinances that are declared in the scriptures to be essential to salvation. They are destroying the faith of the people wherever it is possible. But we should be strong in the faith; each one of us should be filled with a determination to serve the Lord and to keep His commandments, for we have received the light which shineth in darkness that comes from the Lord. We are not walking in darkness, but in the light of truth as it has been revealed. There is no occasion for the members of the Church to go astray, to disregard the principles of the Gospel, for they are so plain and have been set forth in such clearness, that none need stumble or be in doubt concerning them. It is necessary that we should keep them in mind constantly, living worthily before the Lord, that we may receive His blessings.
Now, at this conference we have heard a great deal concerning the duties of the members of the Church, the responsibilities resting upon those who have been called to hold the priesthood and who hold positions of trust and of presidency ' among the people, whether it be in the stakes, the wards, the quorums of the priesthood or other organizations. We have been instructed concerning our duties, how there is work enough for all of us to do. There need be no idlers among us. We have heard all of these things, and we should remember them and put them into practice, so far as our duties are concerned as members of the Church. The blessings of the Gospel will not come unto us if we disregard our duties and break the commandments of the Lord, we will not be blessed if we refuse to listen to the priesthood and will not follow the instructions that are given to us from time to time. We have officers in the Church necessarily to take the lead and to instruct the people, and they are inspired men. The bishops, the presidents of stakes, the- various officers who are called and appointed to take charge of the many departments in the great work of the Lord are men of inspiration, and they have the right to the Spirit of the Lord, and they receive inspiration for their guidance and for the guidance of the people over whom they preside. We should listen to them, and obey their instructions. When we pray we should ask the Lord to pour out His Spirit upon the leaders in the Church, whether they minister as bishops of the wards, presidents of stakes, or in the presidency of the Church. We should not pray merely with our lips: but in every act, in our conversation, in all that we undertake to do, we should try to carry out the expressions of our prayers, and be in harmony with the thoughts that we declare to the Lord in our daily supplications.
The Lord will bless Zion. He will pour out His Spirit upon the people. He will prosper them if they will remember Him, if they will keep His commandments, if they will observe the covenants that they have made Him and not violate them; if they will hold themselves aloof from the world, and not be partakers of the sins of the world. I do not mean to say that we ought not to associate at any time with those not of our faith, for there are many good people who have not embraced the Gospel. We are not required to avoid them, for our mission in the world is with them, to convert them to the truth if we can. Rut we need not be partakers of the sins of the world; we need not follow the- foolish fashions of the world. We need not corrupt ourselves because many in the world are corrupt. We have received better things. We are walking in the knowledge and the understanding of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and are entitled to that inspiration which will warn us of danger and guide us in the path of duty, and give us power to resist and overcome evil. We have the right to call upon the Lord in prayer and in faith for help, for guidance, for the assistance of His Holy Spirit, and we will receive it. And I pray that we may be true to our covenants, true to each other; that we will cast out of our hearts all that is evil, that we will not speak evil one of another, or be given to backbiting or contention or strife, for the spirit of wickedness destroys faith and tends to divide and separate instead of uniting and strengthening the people. We must stand united as one—our purposes are the same, our aims are the same. We are laboring in the direction of eternal life and progression. There is no variance among the teachers in Israel concerning the principles of the Gospel. We are united concerning these things. There is no division among the authorities, and there need be no division among the people; but unity, peace, brotherly love, kindness and fellowship one to another. These are the blessings that we are entitled to, if we will live in accordance with the Gospel, and the Lord will pour out other and greater blessings, even all that we are able to contain. I pray that we will keep the commandments of the Lord, be diligent in the discharge of our duties, and each one labor, not merely for his personal salvation but in the interests of the entire community and the salvation of the children of men. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "Send out Thy light;" Sister Nellie Parr rendered the solo.
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Stephen L. Chipman.
OUTDOOR MEETING.
A meeting was held in front of the Bureau of Information, at 2 p. m. Elder George F. Richards presided, and the Liberty stake male chorus sang the musical selections.
The hymn, "Nearer to Thee," was rendered by the male singers.
Prayer was offered by Elder Israel Call.
"The wondrous cross" was sung by the male choir.
A meeting was held in front of the Bureau of Information, at 2 p. m. Elder George F. Richards presided, and the Liberty stake male chorus sang the musical selections.
The hymn, "Nearer to Thee," was rendered by the male singers.
Prayer was offered by Elder Israel Call.
"The wondrous cross" was sung by the male choir.
ELDER NEPHI L. MORRIS.
(President of Salt Lake Stake.)
The fact that we are forced to hold an open-air meeting is a source of gratification to me, and must be to you all when you consider that the spacious Tabernacle and Assembly Hall are not commodious enough to hold the hosts of Israel who have assembled to hear the word of the Lord. It is indeed a glorious and marvelous change since the day when our enemies predicted that the death of Joseph Smith would bring about the end of "Mormonism." Through the machinations of evil and designing men he became a martyr like many prophets before him, but it did not place the period to "Mormonism." Our enemies then foretold the end of our Church with the death of Brigham Young, but it does not appear today as though the death of either of our first great leaders had brought the end of "Mormonism," or in any way hindered its growth. For indeed, "Mormonism" has not only increased steadily in membership, but has become a more and more important factor in the betterment of mankind. I am thankful to be one who, by the kind providence of God has espoused that cause.
I am reminded of a prediction made by the Prophet Joseph Smith, when he stood by the side of a little jail, which had at one time held him and some of his brethren as prisoners. He prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer many persecutions, and that they would be driven west; many of them should die because of the hardships and vicissitudes through which they should pass, and that they should build many cities and towns and become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains. That was in the year 1842. Scarcely seventy-five years have elapsed, and we see a remarkable fulfillment of the prophecy. Do not these Rocky Mountain states, with their million of prosperous people, afford a complete fulfillment of that prophecy?
I do not know that we have any real enemies today. I have heard of a million women, (the W. C. T. U.), who wanted to do us some harm on different occasions, but I think their animosities have arisen out of their ignorance, because their minds have been prejudiced against the Latter-day Saints. I believe the world has grown more and more to an appreciation of the Latter-day Saints through the fruits of their social, industrial and religious efforts. I believe no man of modern civilization, not blinded by bigotry, would undertake to break down, or even limit the efficacy of "Mormonism" for human service. "Mormonism" has brought into existence in this great western country one or two generations of men that compare most favorably with the manhood of the country at large. "Mormonism," by its practical views and activities, has given to our nation this splendid country, teeming with its wealth and treasure, and its infinite possibilities. "Mormonism" has given to society, to the state, and the nation, thousands of splendid, patriotic, intelligent and forceful men and women that have been a distinct asset to the great national life. None but the bigot, the narrow- minded would undertake to restrain or crush an institution which can contribute so generously to the public welfare.
What has been the dominating power, the element of strength in holding together this people? The Prophet Joseph Smith was once asked the question, how it was that he governed his people so well. His reply was, "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves." This has been fundamental with the Latter-day Saints. It has been stated by those who would detract from us, that " 'Mormonism' thrives best where ignorance abounds." There could be nothing farther from the truth than this statement, and I speak as one on the inside, one born and reared in "Mormonism" and more or less active in its various institutions. I have grown through years of service, small though it may be, to regard "Mormonism" as a gigantic institution of education. If you will take time and pains to study the organizations of the "Mormon" people, I think you will agree with me in this idea, viz., that all the teaching and institutional work of the "Mormon" Church is educative in the broadest and highest sense. The great mission of the Church is to carry the message of truth to man, and teach him to live in conformity to that truth for his present and eternal welfare.
Aside from that great office of the Church, which it performs most splendidly, the organizations within the Church, which have been designated "helps in government," contribute as auxiliary institutions to the great undertaking. The first auxiliary organization of the Church was established in the days of the Prophet and is known as the Woman's Relief Society. For over half a century it has ministered to the relief and comfort of the poor, the sick and the unfortunate. There is no more beautiful work in all the world than that done in the name of "sweet charity."
The Relief Society sisters contribute systematically to the blessing of mankind wherever the Church is organized, without regard to race, creed or color. They hold regular meetings, with courses of study, choosing such subjects as will help them to become better wives and mothers, daughters and sisters, and more useful members of the community. Anything which makes for the refinement and preservation of the woman, the mother, the wife, is certainly a source of strength and power and virtue. Surely this is a work no one will undertake to destroy. It is a work which represents effort, expenditure of means and time and the betterment of all who participate in the work, as well as the benefit and blessings of those who are administered to. And behind it all is the element of education, the men and women thus engaged become more proficient in the service of their kind.
Then we have the Sunday School, of which we may be justly proud, for I believe it surpasses all similar organizations in the world in point of efficiency and membership. One hundred fifty thousand children and men and women are enrolled in this splendid organization. They meet every Sunday morning, divide into their various grades and departments with trained teachers in charge of each class, who instruct them in those. subjects which are best adapted for the physical, moral and spiritual welfare.
It is primarily a system of education. "Where ignorance abounds, 'Mormonism' thrives?" It is exactly the reverse. The main strength of "Mormonism" lies in the intelligence of its members, and every institution in the Church aims at their education. Do you not know this to be true? Take the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, with from thirty to forty thousand members. They meet weekly to discuss such subjects as will make them better citizens, better members of their Church, and better members of society. Are these the means which would be employed by an institution that wished to keep its members in ignorance? Then there is the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association, numbering sixty-five thousand, where the ladies assemble at least once a week to study domestic arts, science, literature, history, and everything that will tend to make of them a higher and more refined type of womanhood. Then you have the Primary Association, where once a week, or oftener, young ladies of scholastic training meet in the meetinghouse or in the schoolhouse, where it is permitted, and there teach the little children the first principles of service to mankind, and reverence for God. And then comes the last of our institutions, known as the Religion Class Work.
The moral education of the youth is one of the most serious problems which is presented to the educators of our nation. The Bible has been tabooed for many years. I am not advocating religious training in public schools, but I do believe that there is not sufficient moral and religious training among the youth of our land today. The Latter-day Saints believe that children should be taught reverence for God and have developed in their hearts faith in Him, and a comprehension of their obligation even as children to God. Therefore the "Mormon" people have established this Religion Class Work to promote faith and moral growth in connection with the education of the youth. Now then, under these circumstances, it occurs to me that this is one great gigantic institution of which we may all be proud.
May the Lord preserve and prosper this people to serve mankind and to promote His cause on the earth, is my prayer, in His name. Amen.
(President of Salt Lake Stake.)
The fact that we are forced to hold an open-air meeting is a source of gratification to me, and must be to you all when you consider that the spacious Tabernacle and Assembly Hall are not commodious enough to hold the hosts of Israel who have assembled to hear the word of the Lord. It is indeed a glorious and marvelous change since the day when our enemies predicted that the death of Joseph Smith would bring about the end of "Mormonism." Through the machinations of evil and designing men he became a martyr like many prophets before him, but it did not place the period to "Mormonism." Our enemies then foretold the end of our Church with the death of Brigham Young, but it does not appear today as though the death of either of our first great leaders had brought the end of "Mormonism," or in any way hindered its growth. For indeed, "Mormonism" has not only increased steadily in membership, but has become a more and more important factor in the betterment of mankind. I am thankful to be one who, by the kind providence of God has espoused that cause.
I am reminded of a prediction made by the Prophet Joseph Smith, when he stood by the side of a little jail, which had at one time held him and some of his brethren as prisoners. He prophesied that the Saints would continue to suffer many persecutions, and that they would be driven west; many of them should die because of the hardships and vicissitudes through which they should pass, and that they should build many cities and towns and become a mighty people in the midst of the Rocky Mountains. That was in the year 1842. Scarcely seventy-five years have elapsed, and we see a remarkable fulfillment of the prophecy. Do not these Rocky Mountain states, with their million of prosperous people, afford a complete fulfillment of that prophecy?
I do not know that we have any real enemies today. I have heard of a million women, (the W. C. T. U.), who wanted to do us some harm on different occasions, but I think their animosities have arisen out of their ignorance, because their minds have been prejudiced against the Latter-day Saints. I believe the world has grown more and more to an appreciation of the Latter-day Saints through the fruits of their social, industrial and religious efforts. I believe no man of modern civilization, not blinded by bigotry, would undertake to break down, or even limit the efficacy of "Mormonism" for human service. "Mormonism" has brought into existence in this great western country one or two generations of men that compare most favorably with the manhood of the country at large. "Mormonism," by its practical views and activities, has given to our nation this splendid country, teeming with its wealth and treasure, and its infinite possibilities. "Mormonism" has given to society, to the state, and the nation, thousands of splendid, patriotic, intelligent and forceful men and women that have been a distinct asset to the great national life. None but the bigot, the narrow- minded would undertake to restrain or crush an institution which can contribute so generously to the public welfare.
What has been the dominating power, the element of strength in holding together this people? The Prophet Joseph Smith was once asked the question, how it was that he governed his people so well. His reply was, "I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves." This has been fundamental with the Latter-day Saints. It has been stated by those who would detract from us, that " 'Mormonism' thrives best where ignorance abounds." There could be nothing farther from the truth than this statement, and I speak as one on the inside, one born and reared in "Mormonism" and more or less active in its various institutions. I have grown through years of service, small though it may be, to regard "Mormonism" as a gigantic institution of education. If you will take time and pains to study the organizations of the "Mormon" people, I think you will agree with me in this idea, viz., that all the teaching and institutional work of the "Mormon" Church is educative in the broadest and highest sense. The great mission of the Church is to carry the message of truth to man, and teach him to live in conformity to that truth for his present and eternal welfare.
Aside from that great office of the Church, which it performs most splendidly, the organizations within the Church, which have been designated "helps in government," contribute as auxiliary institutions to the great undertaking. The first auxiliary organization of the Church was established in the days of the Prophet and is known as the Woman's Relief Society. For over half a century it has ministered to the relief and comfort of the poor, the sick and the unfortunate. There is no more beautiful work in all the world than that done in the name of "sweet charity."
The Relief Society sisters contribute systematically to the blessing of mankind wherever the Church is organized, without regard to race, creed or color. They hold regular meetings, with courses of study, choosing such subjects as will help them to become better wives and mothers, daughters and sisters, and more useful members of the community. Anything which makes for the refinement and preservation of the woman, the mother, the wife, is certainly a source of strength and power and virtue. Surely this is a work no one will undertake to destroy. It is a work which represents effort, expenditure of means and time and the betterment of all who participate in the work, as well as the benefit and blessings of those who are administered to. And behind it all is the element of education, the men and women thus engaged become more proficient in the service of their kind.
Then we have the Sunday School, of which we may be justly proud, for I believe it surpasses all similar organizations in the world in point of efficiency and membership. One hundred fifty thousand children and men and women are enrolled in this splendid organization. They meet every Sunday morning, divide into their various grades and departments with trained teachers in charge of each class, who instruct them in those. subjects which are best adapted for the physical, moral and spiritual welfare.
It is primarily a system of education. "Where ignorance abounds, 'Mormonism' thrives?" It is exactly the reverse. The main strength of "Mormonism" lies in the intelligence of its members, and every institution in the Church aims at their education. Do you not know this to be true? Take the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, with from thirty to forty thousand members. They meet weekly to discuss such subjects as will make them better citizens, better members of their Church, and better members of society. Are these the means which would be employed by an institution that wished to keep its members in ignorance? Then there is the Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association, numbering sixty-five thousand, where the ladies assemble at least once a week to study domestic arts, science, literature, history, and everything that will tend to make of them a higher and more refined type of womanhood. Then you have the Primary Association, where once a week, or oftener, young ladies of scholastic training meet in the meetinghouse or in the schoolhouse, where it is permitted, and there teach the little children the first principles of service to mankind, and reverence for God. And then comes the last of our institutions, known as the Religion Class Work.
The moral education of the youth is one of the most serious problems which is presented to the educators of our nation. The Bible has been tabooed for many years. I am not advocating religious training in public schools, but I do believe that there is not sufficient moral and religious training among the youth of our land today. The Latter-day Saints believe that children should be taught reverence for God and have developed in their hearts faith in Him, and a comprehension of their obligation even as children to God. Therefore the "Mormon" people have established this Religion Class Work to promote faith and moral growth in connection with the education of the youth. Now then, under these circumstances, it occurs to me that this is one great gigantic institution of which we may all be proud.
May the Lord preserve and prosper this people to serve mankind and to promote His cause on the earth, is my prayer, in His name. Amen.
ELDER CHARLES A. ORME.
(President of Tooele Stake.)
My brothers, sisters and friends, I have listened, with interest and rejoicing, to the discourse delivered by President Nephi L. Morris. I feel to congratulate our people on their achievements, on their success, and what they have accomplished and are accomplishing along an educational line, for the uplifting of the children of men, for the advancement of the human race, for acquiring the high intellectual condition that our Father in Heaven desires His children should reach while they are here upon the earth, that we may become educated and qualified for the future existence it is destined that the children of our Father should attain unto. All throughout this conference, the splendid meetings and discourses that we have had on this Temple Block, the declarations of the faith that this people have in Israel's God, and the demonstration thereof in the works that they have produced, show their desire to serve Him and to keep His commandments. Think of what appeared to the children of men an insignificant organization in the beginning, with only six members, poorly equipped or qualified to promulgate the truth, and destined to build up a marvelous missionary system in the future. Add to this system that which has been spoken of by President Morris, it seems to me would be worthy of our consideration for a little while.
In the beginning, with only six men to start out and face an opposing world, nearly, all whom the elders came in contact with were opposed to that which they set forth. Even from the time when Joseph Smith the Prophet first declared the visitation of the Father and the Son, until the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the sending forth of the first elders to preach unto the people the words that had been given unto that youthful prophet, I say, to look at it from that beginning it would seem impossible to accomplish what we have at the present time. Consider also that they had not sufficient means to publish to the world the record that had been committed into their hands by a holy angel, to present unto the world as a testimony and a witness that God had not confined His ministrations, or His prophets, to one hemisphere, but that it had been extended further. Since that time we have succeeded in sending out thousands of elders to the various nations of the earth, at a great expense, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, for the promulgation of this Gospel. Many of our elders have been well equipped from an educational standpoint, and supplied with proper literature, so that they could visit the homes of the rich and the learned in civilized nations, as well as the poor, and present unto them those glorious truths that had been revealed unto the Prophet Joseph, giving unto the world a new witness for God and for Jesus Christ.
There had been errors creep into the churches that had been organized by men, errors relating to the existence of God, His being and attributes. Men had no faith in the declaration made by Joseph Smith, that he had seen a vision, and that God had manifested Himself unto him, and that He was indeed a personage like unto man, and that the Son was in His image and likeness, as the scriptures had told. But the minds of men had been darkened on this subject, and it seemed impossible for them to believe his statement. He declared in very deed that he had seen God, and His Son Jesus Christ. The young man, fearlessly desiring to discharge the duty that the Lord had placed upon him, declared that God was not, as had been proclaimed, without body, parts or passions, but that He possesses a body, with limbs, head and all' parts and organs as a man has them. He testified that he knew this, for he had seen with his eyes, that he had heard Their voices, and that he had conversed with Jesus Christ who was crucified on Calvary, according to the testimony of the apostles whom He had chosen from among men.
That Christ had arisen from the grave, and ascended bodily into heaven, is a fact which seems to have been lost sight of by the children of men. This young man declared that it was a fact. He was a witness of it for he had seen Jesus and the Father. He had heard Their voices, and this testimony had been given unto him, and it was his privilege and his duty, as a new witness for God, to stand forth and declare unto the world, in this dispensation, those things that had been known in former dispensations, the saving powers and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was that testimony, borne by humble elders, sent forth without worldly means, but rich in spirit and with a testimony that God lived, and that His work had been established upon the earth. That was what brought our parents and grandparents, and many of us, into this goodly land, where we are surrounded with favorable conditions, with institutions for advancement and learning, that we have heard about this afternoon.
I bear my testimony to the truthfulness of this work, that the world calls "Mormonism;" it is the biggest proposition before the children of men today, both from a worldly standpoint and from a spiritual or religious standpoint. I make that statement partly on the grounds of the educational system that is in our midst, making us acquainted with the things of the world, with the science and arts of the day, the high accomplishments and achievements along these lines. As for spiritual advancement, the greatest thing before the world, we believe in that also, and with all our hearts, for it deals not only with men in this life, for their betterment, both temporally and spiritually, but it reaches beyond the vail. We are informed that before this earth on which we live was framed, the spirits of men did in reality exist, that they were organized by the great Head, and He saw among them great and mighty spirits, choice men and women, as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price, chapter 3. Our Father in Heaven, recognizing the intellectual greatness of many of those beings that had been organized in that spiritual stage of existence, remarked to those in the Council with Him, something like this: "See, here is space, let us go down and create an earth on which these spirits may dwell." From that we learn and understand that this earth was created and made habitable for mankind, He said, "They who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate, shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; they who keep their second estate, shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever."
My brothers and sisters, here is something for us to consider: intelligences in the beginning, before the organization of this earth, and this earth being brought into existence for their benefit, that they might become educated and qualified to become as their Father, God. The Savior of the world said that the children of men should become perfect as their Heavenly Father is perfect, and that they could reach that position by keeping the laws of God in these two estates. Latter-day Saints and all Israel should awaken to a realization of the condition that we are in here. We have obeyed the principles of faith and repentance, and yielded obedience to the doctrine of baptism in water by immersion for the remission of sins, and have had hands laid upon our heads for confirmation in the Church of Christ, and for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. We should comprehend our true condition and exercise ourselves in the performance of duty and responsibility before our Father, for, in yielding obedience unto these doctrines, we made a covenant to serve Him forever, to keep His commandments, and observe all His laws. If we fail to do this, we shall fall short of the glory that has been promised to all the children of our Father who are obedient unto His commandments.
I believe that it is easy for men to fall from grace, even after they have received the principles of the doctrine of Christ and become converted. I believe that they can become lukewarm, as did one of the Churches in olden times. The Apostle John, the Revelator, seeing their condition, declared that they were neither cold nor hot, and only worthy to be spued opt of his mouth. I believe, that even Latter-day Saints can become in that condition. We ought to be faithful in the payment of our tithes, in observing the word of wisdom, attending to our prayers and our sacrament meetings, and take advantage of the institution? of learning that have been organizes for our benefit and education, and accept the revelations of our Father, that He has given unto the children of men. I pray God to strengthen our testimony and create within us a desire to serve Him unto the end, which I ask through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The male chorus rendered a selection entitled "Just Beyond."
(President of Tooele Stake.)
My brothers, sisters and friends, I have listened, with interest and rejoicing, to the discourse delivered by President Nephi L. Morris. I feel to congratulate our people on their achievements, on their success, and what they have accomplished and are accomplishing along an educational line, for the uplifting of the children of men, for the advancement of the human race, for acquiring the high intellectual condition that our Father in Heaven desires His children should reach while they are here upon the earth, that we may become educated and qualified for the future existence it is destined that the children of our Father should attain unto. All throughout this conference, the splendid meetings and discourses that we have had on this Temple Block, the declarations of the faith that this people have in Israel's God, and the demonstration thereof in the works that they have produced, show their desire to serve Him and to keep His commandments. Think of what appeared to the children of men an insignificant organization in the beginning, with only six members, poorly equipped or qualified to promulgate the truth, and destined to build up a marvelous missionary system in the future. Add to this system that which has been spoken of by President Morris, it seems to me would be worthy of our consideration for a little while.
In the beginning, with only six men to start out and face an opposing world, nearly, all whom the elders came in contact with were opposed to that which they set forth. Even from the time when Joseph Smith the Prophet first declared the visitation of the Father and the Son, until the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the sending forth of the first elders to preach unto the people the words that had been given unto that youthful prophet, I say, to look at it from that beginning it would seem impossible to accomplish what we have at the present time. Consider also that they had not sufficient means to publish to the world the record that had been committed into their hands by a holy angel, to present unto the world as a testimony and a witness that God had not confined His ministrations, or His prophets, to one hemisphere, but that it had been extended further. Since that time we have succeeded in sending out thousands of elders to the various nations of the earth, at a great expense, amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, for the promulgation of this Gospel. Many of our elders have been well equipped from an educational standpoint, and supplied with proper literature, so that they could visit the homes of the rich and the learned in civilized nations, as well as the poor, and present unto them those glorious truths that had been revealed unto the Prophet Joseph, giving unto the world a new witness for God and for Jesus Christ.
There had been errors creep into the churches that had been organized by men, errors relating to the existence of God, His being and attributes. Men had no faith in the declaration made by Joseph Smith, that he had seen a vision, and that God had manifested Himself unto him, and that He was indeed a personage like unto man, and that the Son was in His image and likeness, as the scriptures had told. But the minds of men had been darkened on this subject, and it seemed impossible for them to believe his statement. He declared in very deed that he had seen God, and His Son Jesus Christ. The young man, fearlessly desiring to discharge the duty that the Lord had placed upon him, declared that God was not, as had been proclaimed, without body, parts or passions, but that He possesses a body, with limbs, head and all' parts and organs as a man has them. He testified that he knew this, for he had seen with his eyes, that he had heard Their voices, and that he had conversed with Jesus Christ who was crucified on Calvary, according to the testimony of the apostles whom He had chosen from among men.
That Christ had arisen from the grave, and ascended bodily into heaven, is a fact which seems to have been lost sight of by the children of men. This young man declared that it was a fact. He was a witness of it for he had seen Jesus and the Father. He had heard Their voices, and this testimony had been given unto him, and it was his privilege and his duty, as a new witness for God, to stand forth and declare unto the world, in this dispensation, those things that had been known in former dispensations, the saving powers and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was that testimony, borne by humble elders, sent forth without worldly means, but rich in spirit and with a testimony that God lived, and that His work had been established upon the earth. That was what brought our parents and grandparents, and many of us, into this goodly land, where we are surrounded with favorable conditions, with institutions for advancement and learning, that we have heard about this afternoon.
I bear my testimony to the truthfulness of this work, that the world calls "Mormonism;" it is the biggest proposition before the children of men today, both from a worldly standpoint and from a spiritual or religious standpoint. I make that statement partly on the grounds of the educational system that is in our midst, making us acquainted with the things of the world, with the science and arts of the day, the high accomplishments and achievements along these lines. As for spiritual advancement, the greatest thing before the world, we believe in that also, and with all our hearts, for it deals not only with men in this life, for their betterment, both temporally and spiritually, but it reaches beyond the vail. We are informed that before this earth on which we live was framed, the spirits of men did in reality exist, that they were organized by the great Head, and He saw among them great and mighty spirits, choice men and women, as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price, chapter 3. Our Father in Heaven, recognizing the intellectual greatness of many of those beings that had been organized in that spiritual stage of existence, remarked to those in the Council with Him, something like this: "See, here is space, let us go down and create an earth on which these spirits may dwell." From that we learn and understand that this earth was created and made habitable for mankind, He said, "They who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate, shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; they who keep their second estate, shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever."
My brothers and sisters, here is something for us to consider: intelligences in the beginning, before the organization of this earth, and this earth being brought into existence for their benefit, that they might become educated and qualified to become as their Father, God. The Savior of the world said that the children of men should become perfect as their Heavenly Father is perfect, and that they could reach that position by keeping the laws of God in these two estates. Latter-day Saints and all Israel should awaken to a realization of the condition that we are in here. We have obeyed the principles of faith and repentance, and yielded obedience to the doctrine of baptism in water by immersion for the remission of sins, and have had hands laid upon our heads for confirmation in the Church of Christ, and for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. We should comprehend our true condition and exercise ourselves in the performance of duty and responsibility before our Father, for, in yielding obedience unto these doctrines, we made a covenant to serve Him forever, to keep His commandments, and observe all His laws. If we fail to do this, we shall fall short of the glory that has been promised to all the children of our Father who are obedient unto His commandments.
I believe that it is easy for men to fall from grace, even after they have received the principles of the doctrine of Christ and become converted. I believe that they can become lukewarm, as did one of the Churches in olden times. The Apostle John, the Revelator, seeing their condition, declared that they were neither cold nor hot, and only worthy to be spued opt of his mouth. I believe, that even Latter-day Saints can become in that condition. We ought to be faithful in the payment of our tithes, in observing the word of wisdom, attending to our prayers and our sacrament meetings, and take advantage of the institution? of learning that have been organizes for our benefit and education, and accept the revelations of our Father, that He has given unto the children of men. I pray God to strengthen our testimony and create within us a desire to serve Him unto the end, which I ask through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The male chorus rendered a selection entitled "Just Beyond."
ELDER BENJAMIN GODDARD.
(President of Bureau of Information.)
Brethren, sisters and friends, I have great pleasure in greeting you this afternoon, and trust that I shall enjoy the same spirit that has characterized the remarks of my brethren. If there be any strangers among you, from that which has already been said, they must be impressed with the comprehensiveness of what is called "Mormonism." Our last speaker dwelt briefly upon our belief in the preexistence of spirits showing that our existence did not commence upon this earth, but that we were fore-ordained to come and dwell here for a season, to perform the mission which God had given unto us.
President Morris, in his remarks dwelt upon the organization of the Church, and the auxiliary branches thereof, and endeavored to make clear to you the special work of our Relief Societies, our Young Ladies and Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, our Primary Associations, our Sunday Schools and Religion Classes, and the wide field of activity occupied by these auxiliary organizations of the Church, for the special benefit of the various members thereof. But the Church does not exist by virtue of these organizations. God has given unto us something more than auxiliary work. One of the brethren referred to the fact that the Prophet Joseph Smith received revelations from the Almighty. We declare that God the Father, and God the Son, appeared unto him in vision, and made clear unto him his great mission upon earth. In that connection he was assured that other messengers should come, who would confer upon him greater powers and give other instructions.
Upon this block, I have the honor of meeting from day to day many of the strangers who come among us. At least two hundred and fifty thousand visitors come to Utah each year many coming to this "City of the Saints" that they may learn something of our faith. I am impressed with the fact that one of the revelations, often referred to by our elders, has been fulfilled in greater detail than we sometimes declare, not only by the gathering of the Saints who have fulfilled to 'the very letter these words, but by the coming of the strangers: "For it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's House shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it, and many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us of His ways and we will walk in His paths." Although many may not so view it, yet they do come to learn something of the ways of the Almighty with regard to the work of this people in the Rocky Mountains. And we have pleasure in telling them the story that has been recited in your hearing, with regard to the commencement of this great work, and that subsequently another heavenly personage came unto the prophet Joseph Smith.
We declare in all soberness that the revelation is true, that John the Baptist, who holds the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, placed his hands upon the head of Joseph the Prophet and ordained him to that priesthood, giving him all the keys and authority pertaining thereto. And we go still further, to the astonishment of some who have never heard "Mormon" doctrines before. We declare that even then the Church was not fully organized, it was not organized as fully as God intended. They who were chosen by the Savior when He was engaged in His ministry upon the earth, they of whom He said: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you," even Peter, James and John, the resurrected apostles of the Lord, Jesus Christ came unto that youthful prophet, placed their hands upon his head and gave unto him the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Now what does it mean? It means that the Church in the Latter days has been organized as perfectly as in former days, with prophets, pastors, teachers, deacons, evangelists, etc.' "for the perfecting of the Saints." And hence we say unto you, the Melchizedek Priesthood has been bestowed upon the children of men, and there are men within the sound of my voice who hold that priesthood, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, who possess all the authority possessed by the ministry in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is also the Aaronic Priesthood, which we term sometimes the Lesser Priesthood, with its Priests, Teachers, and Deacons ministering for the salvation of men.
Do you realize how much these truths have been impressed upon the hearts of our children? Let me tell you one little circumstance that occurred upon this block. Sometime ago, while glancing through the window, I perceived a little group of strangers on the steps of the Assembly Hall, the building opposite to us. I wondered who was conversing with these strangers. It was of interest to me to find out, it being part of my work to observe that the teachings here are given by men and women who are authorized to do the work. I therefore joined the company. A stake conference was being held in the Assembly Hall, President Nephi L. Morris presiding over the meeting, but the group of strangers stood on the outside. Mingling with them I perceived that they were being entertained by a boy, a little fellow, who was standing on the steps so that they could see and hear him. The strangers were asking questions: "Well, my boy, are you a 'Mormon'?"
"Oh, yes sir."
"Well, are you a minister?"
"No, sir."
"What are you?"
"I am a deacon, sir."
"What is a deacon?"
"A deacon's office is the first in the Aaronic Priesthood, and I have to work as a deacon, and that is why I am at the door."
"And what is the Aaronic Priesthood?" was the question. The boy, not more than twelve or thirteen years of age, answered promptly:
"Sir, the Aaronic Priesthood is the authority given by John the Baptist when he laid his hands upon the head of Joseph Smith, and it has come down and I have been ordained a deacon, and X I hold the Aaronic Priesthood."
Oh! bless the soul of that boy. I don't know today who he was but I felt like hugging him, because of the testimony he was thus bearing; for in the simplicity of his heart and by his youthful appearance he impressed those strangers so that, at least, they recognized the earnestness, frankness and sincerity of the Latter-day Saints.
Our children understand these things. They are taught unto them and, hence, without hesitancy they declare that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized, fully and completely, for the salvation of man in the latter days. When we talk to the people in this manner they acknowledge that it is a wonderful work, and as they gaze at the beautiful building, our Temple,—that monument in stone so eloquently spoken of yesterday by Elder B. H. Roberts, they invariably ask "what is the building for?" We declare that it stands as a testimony of another principle pertaining to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. For we not only believe, as President Orme has said "that from the eternities we were prepared for this probation and that through this probation we are to minister to the children of men, giving the warning message pertaining to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ," but we are to extend that mission beyond the vail. We never expect to be through with our work. We worked before we came here, we minister while we are living, and we shall minister after we are dead.
I remember a few friends standing near the gates here, some years ago, when the President of the Ministerial Association was entertaining them. Unobserved I joined them and listened a little while to the conversation and then pleasantly asked, "My reverend friend, can I assist you a little?" He turned, astonished to see me, and remarked to his friends, "This man will tell you the other side of the story." "No," I answered, "I may not; there is only one side, the true side, and, in your ministerial garb, you surely would not give any other." As he turned away he said, "You may tell them what you believe in. Now be careful, (speaking to his companions), or he will get you." "Now," I remarked, (calling him by name), "don't make your friends nervous, we shall get you by and by." "Oh! no, you never will," he retorted and turned away angrily. "Now, my dear friend," I said, "be good natured. Don't forget our teachings. We not only preach here, but we shall preach to the spirits in prison, and follow men throughout all eternity, or until they repent of their sins and accept the Gospel of Christ; that is our faith." The Master declared, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." Some years ago, Rev. Mr. Guthrie, a Scotch divine said, when quoting a familiar passage of scripture referring to the Redeemer, "He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world." "The whole world. Some say that this is a dangerous doctrine, but it is God's doctrine." Just so far he was preaching "Mormonism," for (pointing to the Temple), that sacred Temple stands for the redemption of the dead, for the ministry to "the spirits in prison," for the continuation of this work beyond the grave.
Let us so live, according to the will of God, that we may be worthy to minister to the living and for the dead, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(President of Bureau of Information.)
Brethren, sisters and friends, I have great pleasure in greeting you this afternoon, and trust that I shall enjoy the same spirit that has characterized the remarks of my brethren. If there be any strangers among you, from that which has already been said, they must be impressed with the comprehensiveness of what is called "Mormonism." Our last speaker dwelt briefly upon our belief in the preexistence of spirits showing that our existence did not commence upon this earth, but that we were fore-ordained to come and dwell here for a season, to perform the mission which God had given unto us.
President Morris, in his remarks dwelt upon the organization of the Church, and the auxiliary branches thereof, and endeavored to make clear to you the special work of our Relief Societies, our Young Ladies and Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations, our Primary Associations, our Sunday Schools and Religion Classes, and the wide field of activity occupied by these auxiliary organizations of the Church, for the special benefit of the various members thereof. But the Church does not exist by virtue of these organizations. God has given unto us something more than auxiliary work. One of the brethren referred to the fact that the Prophet Joseph Smith received revelations from the Almighty. We declare that God the Father, and God the Son, appeared unto him in vision, and made clear unto him his great mission upon earth. In that connection he was assured that other messengers should come, who would confer upon him greater powers and give other instructions.
Upon this block, I have the honor of meeting from day to day many of the strangers who come among us. At least two hundred and fifty thousand visitors come to Utah each year many coming to this "City of the Saints" that they may learn something of our faith. I am impressed with the fact that one of the revelations, often referred to by our elders, has been fulfilled in greater detail than we sometimes declare, not only by the gathering of the Saints who have fulfilled to 'the very letter these words, but by the coming of the strangers: "For it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's House shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it, and many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will teach us of His ways and we will walk in His paths." Although many may not so view it, yet they do come to learn something of the ways of the Almighty with regard to the work of this people in the Rocky Mountains. And we have pleasure in telling them the story that has been recited in your hearing, with regard to the commencement of this great work, and that subsequently another heavenly personage came unto the prophet Joseph Smith.
We declare in all soberness that the revelation is true, that John the Baptist, who holds the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, placed his hands upon the head of Joseph the Prophet and ordained him to that priesthood, giving him all the keys and authority pertaining thereto. And we go still further, to the astonishment of some who have never heard "Mormon" doctrines before. We declare that even then the Church was not fully organized, it was not organized as fully as God intended. They who were chosen by the Savior when He was engaged in His ministry upon the earth, they of whom He said: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you," even Peter, James and John, the resurrected apostles of the Lord, Jesus Christ came unto that youthful prophet, placed their hands upon his head and gave unto him the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood. Now what does it mean? It means that the Church in the Latter days has been organized as perfectly as in former days, with prophets, pastors, teachers, deacons, evangelists, etc.' "for the perfecting of the Saints." And hence we say unto you, the Melchizedek Priesthood has been bestowed upon the children of men, and there are men within the sound of my voice who hold that priesthood, High Priests, Seventies, Elders, who possess all the authority possessed by the ministry in the days of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is also the Aaronic Priesthood, which we term sometimes the Lesser Priesthood, with its Priests, Teachers, and Deacons ministering for the salvation of men.
Do you realize how much these truths have been impressed upon the hearts of our children? Let me tell you one little circumstance that occurred upon this block. Sometime ago, while glancing through the window, I perceived a little group of strangers on the steps of the Assembly Hall, the building opposite to us. I wondered who was conversing with these strangers. It was of interest to me to find out, it being part of my work to observe that the teachings here are given by men and women who are authorized to do the work. I therefore joined the company. A stake conference was being held in the Assembly Hall, President Nephi L. Morris presiding over the meeting, but the group of strangers stood on the outside. Mingling with them I perceived that they were being entertained by a boy, a little fellow, who was standing on the steps so that they could see and hear him. The strangers were asking questions: "Well, my boy, are you a 'Mormon'?"
"Oh, yes sir."
"Well, are you a minister?"
"No, sir."
"What are you?"
"I am a deacon, sir."
"What is a deacon?"
"A deacon's office is the first in the Aaronic Priesthood, and I have to work as a deacon, and that is why I am at the door."
"And what is the Aaronic Priesthood?" was the question. The boy, not more than twelve or thirteen years of age, answered promptly:
"Sir, the Aaronic Priesthood is the authority given by John the Baptist when he laid his hands upon the head of Joseph Smith, and it has come down and I have been ordained a deacon, and X I hold the Aaronic Priesthood."
Oh! bless the soul of that boy. I don't know today who he was but I felt like hugging him, because of the testimony he was thus bearing; for in the simplicity of his heart and by his youthful appearance he impressed those strangers so that, at least, they recognized the earnestness, frankness and sincerity of the Latter-day Saints.
Our children understand these things. They are taught unto them and, hence, without hesitancy they declare that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized, fully and completely, for the salvation of man in the latter days. When we talk to the people in this manner they acknowledge that it is a wonderful work, and as they gaze at the beautiful building, our Temple,—that monument in stone so eloquently spoken of yesterday by Elder B. H. Roberts, they invariably ask "what is the building for?" We declare that it stands as a testimony of another principle pertaining to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. For we not only believe, as President Orme has said "that from the eternities we were prepared for this probation and that through this probation we are to minister to the children of men, giving the warning message pertaining to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ," but we are to extend that mission beyond the vail. We never expect to be through with our work. We worked before we came here, we minister while we are living, and we shall minister after we are dead.
I remember a few friends standing near the gates here, some years ago, when the President of the Ministerial Association was entertaining them. Unobserved I joined them and listened a little while to the conversation and then pleasantly asked, "My reverend friend, can I assist you a little?" He turned, astonished to see me, and remarked to his friends, "This man will tell you the other side of the story." "No," I answered, "I may not; there is only one side, the true side, and, in your ministerial garb, you surely would not give any other." As he turned away he said, "You may tell them what you believe in. Now be careful, (speaking to his companions), or he will get you." "Now," I remarked, (calling him by name), "don't make your friends nervous, we shall get you by and by." "Oh! no, you never will," he retorted and turned away angrily. "Now, my dear friend," I said, "be good natured. Don't forget our teachings. We not only preach here, but we shall preach to the spirits in prison, and follow men throughout all eternity, or until they repent of their sins and accept the Gospel of Christ; that is our faith." The Master declared, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." Some years ago, Rev. Mr. Guthrie, a Scotch divine said, when quoting a familiar passage of scripture referring to the Redeemer, "He is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but for the sins of the whole world." "The whole world. Some say that this is a dangerous doctrine, but it is God's doctrine." Just so far he was preaching "Mormonism," for (pointing to the Temple), that sacred Temple stands for the redemption of the dead, for the ministry to "the spirits in prison," for the continuation of this work beyond the grave.
Let us so live, according to the will of God, that we may be worthy to minister to the living and for the dead, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER HUGH J. CANNON.
(President of Liberty Stake.)
My brethren and sisters, it seems to me that I was born with a testimony of "Mormonism." "Mormonism" has always appealed to me. In the early days of my life, this faith was naturally due to the teachings which I received from my parents. Later on, when I was called to go out into the world, of necessity I had to be able to give a reason for the hope that was within me. But never in my life have I doubted the divinity of this work. As has already been stated, the Church provides for every spiritual and temporal need of its members.
Here in Utah we have a school system which is the equal of any system in the United States. That is in addition to all these auxiliary organizations which have been mentioned, and the priesthood quorum work which we are doing. We have a system which appeals to the educated men of the world, and they investigate the Church and its teachings with great interest because of the time and attention which have been given to this subject.
Brother Orme spoke about our belief in pre-existence. Brother Goddard spoke of that very briefly and also alluded to our belief in the hereafter. I desire to refer briefly to our present temporal condition. One of the greatest horticulturalist experts in the United States made the statement the other day in my hearing that "the horticultural exhibit at the Utah State Fair could not be equalled by any state in the United States." I heard the other day, at the dedication of this Seagull Monument, from one of the pioneers, that Jim Bridger had said when our people came here that there was frost every month of the year in this valley. In spite of that statement, and as we believe through the blessing of the Almighty upon this land, we are able to produce an exhibit, according to the testimony of this man, which cannot be equalled in the United States. There are certain sections outside of Utah, as you know, which pride themselves upon their peaches; certain sections which boast of their apples, etc. We can produce as good apples as the best sections which specialize on apples. We can produce as fine peaches, as fine prunes, as fine pears, as fine grapes, as can be produced in the sections which specialize on these particular fruits. Why is it? I give the Almighty the credit for it. He inspired his servant to say, "This is the place." And He has blessed this land and has made it fruitful because His children that were driven from the civilized communities were forced to come here and came with faith in Him, and wholly dependent upon Him. He has blessed the land for their sake.
Think what this people has done for years and years in its missionary movement alone. I figured, very roughly in my mind, while sitting here, that we are spending perhaps more than one million dollars a year to preach the Gospel in the world. That money is going out of this community, and I think that one million dollars would not nearly cover it, and especially if we put a reasonable price upon the time of the men who go abroad. It would take very nearly a million dollars, as I figured it, in cash to support our missionaries, and then there is their time which would be converted into means if they remained at home. Where can you find a community in all the world that could stand year after year a drain of this kind? And still, what is the temporal condition of this people? I have not all the statistics in mind; I did not expect to speak this afternoon, and have not had any opportunity to get figures since I was asked to address you, but I believe that there is no community in all the world where the people are in as comfortable circumstances as they are in Utah. There is no community in the world where there is as large a percentage of the people who own their homes, and whose homes are free from mortgages, in spite of the fact that we are sending out one million dollars annually for which we get no apparent returns. Judged from the standpoint of the world, not one cent of that vast sum spent in preaching the Gospel to the world ever returns to us in the shape of money. But the Lord has made up to this people for that which they do in this respect as well as in all ethers, and I find in it a testimony of the Gospel, just as I find a testimony of the Gospel in all these other things which have been alluded to this afternoon. We have every reason to be proud of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I thank the Lord from the bottom of my heart that I was born in the Church, and that the Lord was kind enough to me to give me a testimony of this work.
May our light so shine that the world will see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
(President of Liberty Stake.)
My brethren and sisters, it seems to me that I was born with a testimony of "Mormonism." "Mormonism" has always appealed to me. In the early days of my life, this faith was naturally due to the teachings which I received from my parents. Later on, when I was called to go out into the world, of necessity I had to be able to give a reason for the hope that was within me. But never in my life have I doubted the divinity of this work. As has already been stated, the Church provides for every spiritual and temporal need of its members.
Here in Utah we have a school system which is the equal of any system in the United States. That is in addition to all these auxiliary organizations which have been mentioned, and the priesthood quorum work which we are doing. We have a system which appeals to the educated men of the world, and they investigate the Church and its teachings with great interest because of the time and attention which have been given to this subject.
Brother Orme spoke about our belief in pre-existence. Brother Goddard spoke of that very briefly and also alluded to our belief in the hereafter. I desire to refer briefly to our present temporal condition. One of the greatest horticulturalist experts in the United States made the statement the other day in my hearing that "the horticultural exhibit at the Utah State Fair could not be equalled by any state in the United States." I heard the other day, at the dedication of this Seagull Monument, from one of the pioneers, that Jim Bridger had said when our people came here that there was frost every month of the year in this valley. In spite of that statement, and as we believe through the blessing of the Almighty upon this land, we are able to produce an exhibit, according to the testimony of this man, which cannot be equalled in the United States. There are certain sections outside of Utah, as you know, which pride themselves upon their peaches; certain sections which boast of their apples, etc. We can produce as good apples as the best sections which specialize on apples. We can produce as fine peaches, as fine prunes, as fine pears, as fine grapes, as can be produced in the sections which specialize on these particular fruits. Why is it? I give the Almighty the credit for it. He inspired his servant to say, "This is the place." And He has blessed this land and has made it fruitful because His children that were driven from the civilized communities were forced to come here and came with faith in Him, and wholly dependent upon Him. He has blessed the land for their sake.
Think what this people has done for years and years in its missionary movement alone. I figured, very roughly in my mind, while sitting here, that we are spending perhaps more than one million dollars a year to preach the Gospel in the world. That money is going out of this community, and I think that one million dollars would not nearly cover it, and especially if we put a reasonable price upon the time of the men who go abroad. It would take very nearly a million dollars, as I figured it, in cash to support our missionaries, and then there is their time which would be converted into means if they remained at home. Where can you find a community in all the world that could stand year after year a drain of this kind? And still, what is the temporal condition of this people? I have not all the statistics in mind; I did not expect to speak this afternoon, and have not had any opportunity to get figures since I was asked to address you, but I believe that there is no community in all the world where the people are in as comfortable circumstances as they are in Utah. There is no community in the world where there is as large a percentage of the people who own their homes, and whose homes are free from mortgages, in spite of the fact that we are sending out one million dollars annually for which we get no apparent returns. Judged from the standpoint of the world, not one cent of that vast sum spent in preaching the Gospel to the world ever returns to us in the shape of money. But the Lord has made up to this people for that which they do in this respect as well as in all ethers, and I find in it a testimony of the Gospel, just as I find a testimony of the Gospel in all these other things which have been alluded to this afternoon. We have every reason to be proud of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I thank the Lord from the bottom of my heart that I was born in the Church, and that the Lord was kind enough to me to give me a testimony of this work.
May our light so shine that the world will see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS.
Free agency of man a Divine law—The latter-day Gospel, the old Gospel restored— The Priesthood also restored —"Mormonism" the greatest organization on earth.
While there have been a great many people moving to and fro upon these grounds I have been pleased to note that there are hundreds of people immediately in front of us who have scarcely moved out of their tracks during the time of this service. This is an evidence to me of the interest they have in this great work which we represent, and of which we have been speaking, and in the things which they have heard. We have a message to those who have not united themselves with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a message of peace, of good will and of salvation, if they will but receive it. We would not if we could, force our views upon them and oblige them to join with us in this work. One of Satan's objects from the beginning was to destroy the free agency of man. But the Son, who gave himself willingly as a ransom for the sins of the world, secured to us our free agency. This principle is represented most beautifully in one of our hymns which reads:
"Know this that every soul is free,
To choose his life and what he'll be;
For this eternal truth is given,
That God will force no man to heaven;
He'll call, persuade, direct aright,
And bless with wisdom, love and light
In nameless ways be good and kind,
But never force the human mind."
As a witness for the Lord I testify to you, my friends, that the things which have been spoken in your presence this afternoon are the things of God, the truth of God, whether you receive them or reject them. This is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation, and a savor of life unto life or death unto death, according as it is received and obeyed, or as it is rejected and fought against. It is the Gospel which Enoch taught to his people and was made a savor of life unto them, because they received it with glad hearts, and it wrought perfection in their lives, so that they obtained translation and salvation. It was a savor of death unto death unto the people in Noah's time, because they rejected it and gratified without restraint their carnal desires to their destruction and condemnation. This is the same Gospel that originated in the heavens before the world was. It is the same that was taught to our first parents, Adam and Eve. It is the same Gospel that was taught by our Savior and His Apostles of the Primitive Church. It is the Gospel which John the Revelator saw in vision, and declared as recorded in the 14th chapter, of Revelations:
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell upon the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heavens, and earth, and the sea and the fountains of waters."
This Gospel has been restored to earth in this dispensation of the fullness of times, when all things which have been spoken of by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began are to be restored in preparation for the great day of the coming of our Lord, when He is to take possession of His kingdom, and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It has come in the way that was predicted, having been delivered to the Prophet Joseph Smith by an angel; and by the gift and power of God he translated the records of the Book of Mormon, which contains the Everlasting Gospel as it was taught to the ancient inhabitants of this continent by Christ our Savior, after He left His disciples at Jerusalem. He told them in going that He had other sheep which were not of that fold, that He had to visit. And He visited the Nephite nations; He organized His Church, and told them that He had come in fulfillment of what He had told His disciples at Jerusalem.
We have this Gospel, and there is just one Gospel recognized of God, that which He instituted in the heavens from the foundation of the world; as Paul declared to the Galatians: "Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed;" just the one Gospel which has in it the power of God unto salvation. In connection with this message of the Gospel, the Lord delivered to the Prophet Joseph Smith the keys of the Priesthood of Aaron, and also the keys of the Priesthood of the Son of God, with power and authority to build up His church and kingdom, here upon the earth, and authority to administer the saving ordinances of the Gospel unto all who are prepared by faith and repentance to receive it. This Gospel, in connection with the Church and Kingdom of God which has been established upon the earth in this dispensation, through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, constitutes what is know as "Mormonism"; and it is the biggest thing in this world, the most important thing with which mankind have to do.
Reference has been made to the perfection of the organization of the Church; study of the organization with its quorums of priesthood its auxiliaries and helps in government, and the character of the work each is doing, convinces one of the superiority of the organization and divinity of its origin. A few years ago at a Ministerial Convention being held in California a declaration was made by a member of that Association, that "The thing called 'Mormonism' is the greatest organization upon the earth, save possibly the German Army." And during the past summer, in a convention of Ministers in Portland, Oregon, one of those Ministers declared without any reservation, that "it is the greatest organization upon the earth." I bear testimony to the truth of his statement.
It remains for us, my brethren and sisters, and friends, while here in mortality to receive the Gospel which is offered unto us gratuitously, and make use of our time and talents is establishing ourselves in faith and devotion to the cause of God, that we may have His favor and His blessing in life, and that we may obtain, as a reward of our integrity and faithfulness, eternal life in the world to come. God help us to these great blessings, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
"Thy way not mine, O Lord," was sung by the male choir.
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Charles S. Martin.
Free agency of man a Divine law—The latter-day Gospel, the old Gospel restored— The Priesthood also restored —"Mormonism" the greatest organization on earth.
While there have been a great many people moving to and fro upon these grounds I have been pleased to note that there are hundreds of people immediately in front of us who have scarcely moved out of their tracks during the time of this service. This is an evidence to me of the interest they have in this great work which we represent, and of which we have been speaking, and in the things which they have heard. We have a message to those who have not united themselves with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a message of peace, of good will and of salvation, if they will but receive it. We would not if we could, force our views upon them and oblige them to join with us in this work. One of Satan's objects from the beginning was to destroy the free agency of man. But the Son, who gave himself willingly as a ransom for the sins of the world, secured to us our free agency. This principle is represented most beautifully in one of our hymns which reads:
"Know this that every soul is free,
To choose his life and what he'll be;
For this eternal truth is given,
That God will force no man to heaven;
He'll call, persuade, direct aright,
And bless with wisdom, love and light
In nameless ways be good and kind,
But never force the human mind."
As a witness for the Lord I testify to you, my friends, that the things which have been spoken in your presence this afternoon are the things of God, the truth of God, whether you receive them or reject them. This is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation, and a savor of life unto life or death unto death, according as it is received and obeyed, or as it is rejected and fought against. It is the Gospel which Enoch taught to his people and was made a savor of life unto them, because they received it with glad hearts, and it wrought perfection in their lives, so that they obtained translation and salvation. It was a savor of death unto death unto the people in Noah's time, because they rejected it and gratified without restraint their carnal desires to their destruction and condemnation. This is the same Gospel that originated in the heavens before the world was. It is the same that was taught to our first parents, Adam and Eve. It is the same Gospel that was taught by our Savior and His Apostles of the Primitive Church. It is the Gospel which John the Revelator saw in vision, and declared as recorded in the 14th chapter, of Revelations:
"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell upon the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come; and worship Him that made heavens, and earth, and the sea and the fountains of waters."
This Gospel has been restored to earth in this dispensation of the fullness of times, when all things which have been spoken of by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began are to be restored in preparation for the great day of the coming of our Lord, when He is to take possession of His kingdom, and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It has come in the way that was predicted, having been delivered to the Prophet Joseph Smith by an angel; and by the gift and power of God he translated the records of the Book of Mormon, which contains the Everlasting Gospel as it was taught to the ancient inhabitants of this continent by Christ our Savior, after He left His disciples at Jerusalem. He told them in going that He had other sheep which were not of that fold, that He had to visit. And He visited the Nephite nations; He organized His Church, and told them that He had come in fulfillment of what He had told His disciples at Jerusalem.
We have this Gospel, and there is just one Gospel recognized of God, that which He instituted in the heavens from the foundation of the world; as Paul declared to the Galatians: "Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed;" just the one Gospel which has in it the power of God unto salvation. In connection with this message of the Gospel, the Lord delivered to the Prophet Joseph Smith the keys of the Priesthood of Aaron, and also the keys of the Priesthood of the Son of God, with power and authority to build up His church and kingdom, here upon the earth, and authority to administer the saving ordinances of the Gospel unto all who are prepared by faith and repentance to receive it. This Gospel, in connection with the Church and Kingdom of God which has been established upon the earth in this dispensation, through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith, constitutes what is know as "Mormonism"; and it is the biggest thing in this world, the most important thing with which mankind have to do.
Reference has been made to the perfection of the organization of the Church; study of the organization with its quorums of priesthood its auxiliaries and helps in government, and the character of the work each is doing, convinces one of the superiority of the organization and divinity of its origin. A few years ago at a Ministerial Convention being held in California a declaration was made by a member of that Association, that "The thing called 'Mormonism' is the greatest organization upon the earth, save possibly the German Army." And during the past summer, in a convention of Ministers in Portland, Oregon, one of those Ministers declared without any reservation, that "it is the greatest organization upon the earth." I bear testimony to the truth of his statement.
It remains for us, my brethren and sisters, and friends, while here in mortality to receive the Gospel which is offered unto us gratuitously, and make use of our time and talents is establishing ourselves in faith and devotion to the cause of God, that we may have His favor and His blessing in life, and that we may obtain, as a reward of our integrity and faithfulness, eternal life in the world to come. God help us to these great blessings, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
"Thy way not mine, O Lord," was sung by the male choir.
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Charles S. Martin.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
In the Tabernacle.
Conference was resumed at 2 p. m.
President Joseph F. Smith called the meeting to order.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn:
Come, dearest Lord, descend and dwell,
By faith and love, in every breast;
Then shall we know, and taste, and feel
The joys that cannot be expressed.
Prayer was offered by Elder Franklin S. Bramwell.
The choir sang the hymn:
Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
Unuttered or expressed;
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.
In the Tabernacle.
Conference was resumed at 2 p. m.
President Joseph F. Smith called the meeting to order.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn:
Come, dearest Lord, descend and dwell,
By faith and love, in every breast;
Then shall we know, and taste, and feel
The joys that cannot be expressed.
Prayer was offered by Elder Franklin S. Bramwell.
The choir sang the hymn:
Prayer is the soul's sincere desire,
Unuttered or expressed;
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast.
ELDER HEBER J. GRANT.
Appreciation of words and music of hymns—Membership in Genealogical Society recommended—Ben E. Rich's successful life—Saints should be guided by authoritative counsel— Gratifying recognition of worthiness of Latter-day Saints—Striking illustrations of benefit of sustaining home manufactures—Spiritual power manifest in the Church today.
"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire
Unuttered or expressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast."
That is the first verse of the hymn we have just listened to. The last verse is as follows:
"Oh Thou by whom we come to God,
The life, the truth, the way!
The path of prayer, Thyself hast trod,
Lord teach us how to pray."
I pray earnestly and in humility that that same splendid spirit which has been manifested in all that has been said to us thus far in our conference may also be given to me. I ask earnestly an interest in the faith and prayers of this vast congregation, to the end that I may be able to say something which may be encouraging, and in its nature calculated to benefit those who listen. I was not only particularly impressed with the beautiful sentiment in Montgomery's poem that we have just listened to but I was also impressed with the very splendid music. I had the same feeling this morning. while listening to the splendid poem by Sister Eliza R. Snow.
"Though deepening trials throng your way
Press on, press on, ye Saints of God!
Ere long the resurrection day
Will spread its life and light abroad."
I was impressed also with the beautiful music of this hymn. Both of the melodies that we have listened to having been composed by our fellow townsman Brother George Careless. I feel very grateful to the Lord, not only for the inspiration that has come to the men and women who have written so many splendid things that we hear from time to time, but I am also grateful for the ability possessed by Brother Careless, Brother Stephens and man}' others who furnish the splendid music for our hymns.
President Anthon H. Lund, President Charles W. Penrose, three members of the council of twelve, and others, form a board of directors of the Genealogical Society of Utah. We feel a deep interest in the work of this society. Classes have been organized where the people are receiving instruction in the work that is necessary to be done in -our temples. Recently a genealogical day was appointed for all the wards in the Church, where the subject should have been taken up, and we found, in many of the wards, that not one word was said upon this subject, thus showing a lack of interest and a great carelessness on the part of those whose duty it was to arrange suitable services for the occasion. We heard here yesterday thrilling words with regard to the beautiful Gull monument, in stone and in bronze, that has recently been unveiled. We heard regarding the wonderful testimony in stone of our Temple, but without the labors being performed within the Temple, it is like the body without the spirit. We have in very deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation. We find recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants that this is the Gospel, the glad tidings which the voice out of the heavens declared unto us, that He came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the sins of the world, and to save all the workmanship of the hands of God. One of the great works in this Gospel of salvation, devolving upon us as Saints, is to labor in the temples of God for the salvation of our dead. We feel that the Latter-day Saints, from one end of the Church to the other, should enroll themselves as members in the Genealogical Society, and that they should labor in the Temple as often as opportunity will present.
I desire to read just a few words that I penned for the Improvement Era, fifteen years ago, and I read them in connection with the death of our beloved brother Ben E. Rich. Ben E. Rich, to mv mind, lived a successful life. He died a millionaire in the wealth which is true wealth and which counts with God:
"Not he who merely succeeds in making a fortune, and in so doing; blunts the natural affections of the heart, and chases therefrom the love of his fellows, can be said to be truly successful, but he who so lives that those who know him best shall love him most, and that God who knows not only his deeds but also the inmost sentiments of his heart shall love him; of such an one only, notwithstanding he may die in poverty, can it be said, indeed and of a truth, he should be crowned with the wreath of success."
God loved Ben E. Rich. The prophet of God, and all of his associates in the Presidency, and the council of the twelve, and all of the general authorities loved Ben E. Rich. Those who came in intimate contact with him in the Southern States and in the Eastern States, men not of our faith, loved this man; he gained their love, and those who knew him best loved him most, and God who knew the inmost promptings of his heart loved him. Therefore I say this man lived a successful life. I felt T would like to pay these few words of tribute to the memory of one who spent fully one-half of his mature years in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We find it recorded that if we labor all the days of our lives and bring save it be one soul unto a knowledge of the Gospel, how great shall be our joy with that soul in the kingdom of our Father, and if we bring many souls how much greater shall be our joy. Both by tongue and with his pen, this man has brought many, many souls to a knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus. Christ. God bless his memory. God bless his. family and help his children to walk in his footsteps, and to place the love of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ first in their lives, is my earnest prayer in their behalf.
I endorse with all my heart everything that I have heard during this conference. Pope says:
"Vice is a monster of such frightful mien
As to be hated, needs but to be seen;
But seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace."
Some among us are embracing, to the full extent, the vice of immoral dress, and I lift my voice in absolute and perfect harmony with every word uttered here by President Smith. We sing and have clone so during this conference, "We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet to guide us in these latter days;" there are a great many who ought to put a postscript to that and say, "Provided he guides us to suit our own fancies and our own whims." The prophets of God, from Joseph Smith to the present day, have guided us and they have guided us aright, when we have listened to that guidance; and the mistakes which have been made have been because of our failure to listen to the Prophet whose right it is to guide the people of God. I will give you one practical incident. Brigham Young stood in front of the home of the late Apostle, at that time bishop, Marriner W. Merrill, in Richmond, and he pointed over to the sandy country where Lewiston now stands and he said to Bishop Merrill: "Call some man to go over there and be a bishop, and organize a ward there, and have the people locate there. That will be the most valuable part of this valley, agriculturally, the greatest grain producing part of the country." Brother Merrill told me this, standing upon the spot where Brigham Young stood and he said, "I called Brother Lewis to go over there, and he was subsequently ordained as a bishop, and set apart to preside at Lewiston. After he had been there one season and ploughed up the ground, a wind storm came and took all his fine soil and piled it up in a heap by the fence. He came back and said, 'Bishop Merrill, I would not give my little twenty-acre farm here at Richmond for the whole country over there and I want to come back.' " Brother Merrill said, "Well you will not come back with my consent. If you come back you will have to run away from the call that has been placed upon you. I will not release you; the Prophet of God has said that is to be the granary of Cache Valley and you go back there;" and Brother Lewis went back disheartened and discouraged. Brother Lewis, who afterwards became the president of the Benson stake of Zion, no doubt thanked Brother Merrill that he did not let him run away, seeing that during the last few years of his life, he harvested over ten thousand bushels of wheat a year. I know that the path of safety for the Latter-day Saints is to not only sing "We thank Thee O God for a Prophet, to guide us in these latter days," but to be ready and willing and anxious to be guided.
I was thrilled through and through with the magnificent reference made to the Gull monument by Brother Roberts, and I was also thrilled with that magnificent poem which Brother Hart read. I thank God for my mother, and so does every true Latter-day Saint who has had a mother who has lived the life of- a Latter-day Saint, and has been true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am thankful that healthy, vigorous, strong, sweet babies are the best crop of Utah, and I hope and pray earnestly that it will ever be so. I hope that the fashion which is a thousand times worse than are the fashions in dress, namely, that of drying up the fountains of life, will never become popular among the Latter-day Saints. That poem read by Brother Hart was a magnificent tribute to the mothers of the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice that honest men, as illustrated here, in the quotations made by Brother Levi Edgar Young, have to say good things, when they tell the truth, about the Latter-day Saints. I had a letter from a very dear friend of mine many years ago, written from London, and he was at the time general manager for the entire United Kingdom of a great corporation with hundreds of millions of dollars of money; he wrote me as follows:
"My Dear Heber: Your nice long letter of the tenth came duly to hand. Of course you know, aside from the long and intimate personal friendship that we have had together, how much I have always been impressed with the genuineness and the sincerity of the men and women who hold your faith. Many times and oft I have said in conversation that the only people I ever knew who lived up to their professions were the 'Mormons' of Utah; and this is true. This it is that inspires respect even where there is a total absence of a belief in the doctrines. Your people carry their beliefs into daily life and act as if they think there is something in them. I cannot see how, as a sensible person, I could do otherwise, for if there is anything"—and my friend drew a big —black line under the word "anything" "in a belief which involves an eternity of future existence, there is everything;" and my friend drew another large black line under "everything." "If there is anything in a belief which involves an eternity of future existence there is everything."
Not only have you and I a faith which involves an eternity of future existence, but we have a knowledge of the divinity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which we have espoused, and it does involve an eternity of future existence, and we will have that existence in pleasure, in happiness, in joy, in association with all the good and the noble who have lived the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or we will be expelled from that company, according as we shall keep the commandments of God. How I do pray that God will inspire His people with a determination to live their religion, so that this faith, involving an eternity of future existence, shall also bring to them an eternity of exaltation and joy in the presence of our God and of our Savior.
I received a letter from William George Jordan, the author of a number of books which we have published in serial form in the Improvement Era, "Individuality of Self Control," "Little Problems of Married Life," and others. He is also the author of, "The Power of Truth," the English edition of which is "Great Truths." I sent him a number of tracts, a Book of Mormon and some pamphlets, and in acknowledging their receipt he thanked me for them and expressed the hope that some day he might visit Utah and learn by personal contact regarding our , people. "From what I know of your people," he said, "your religion more than that of other creeds yields dividends of finer individual lives; no faith is of any value unless it does yield dividends of better lives." I feel that compliments or praise of this kind, coming from those who are not of us, are precious, and should be appreciated by every Latter- day Saint. I rejoice that men not of us discover that for honesty, for sobriety, for uprightness of life, for virtue, that no other people can make a better record than do the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice exceedingly in the magnificent record which has been made by our boys who have gone to Harvard, and to the other universities from one end of the country to the other. For quality and quantity, and for upright lives, the record which our toys have made is one that every Latter-day Saint should be proud of. I rejoice in this record for, because of it, we are becoming better known; people are beginning to recognize what Mr. Jordan has said, namely, that this Gospel of Jesus Christ commonly called by the world "Mormonism" is in very deed yielding > dividends of better individual lives.
I was very much pleased indeed with the reference made here yesterday by Brother Penrose, with regard to supporting and upholding and sustaining our local manufacturing institutions. From the time that I was a boy sixteen years of ago, I never bought but one suit of clothes in Salt Lake City that the cloth did not come from the Provo Woolen Mills. I bought that suit to go to a ball in the Salt Lake Theatre. I had the honor of being a member of the Utah Legislature at the time that the members of the Legislature from Wyoming visited us, and we gave them a ball in the theatre. As my Provo suit happened to be of a light color, I did not want to be the only "white sheep," so to speak, and so I bought a black suit to harmonize with the others; but the next day I gave it away to a poor relative, so that when I stood up to preach I would not be wearing an imported suit of clothes and, provided I wanted to talk home manufacture, that the chips would not fly back in my own face. I never bought but that one suit until the factory closed down. I wear goods that are made in our own knitting factories, I stand up in Z. C. M. I. shoes; they are good enough for me.
Speaking of home-made shoes reminds me of a little story. A number of years ago, in the Assembly Hall, Bishop George L. Farrell announced that one reason why he bought home-made goods was because he loved Bishop Farrell; he said, "If I buy home-made goods my money stays at home and it floats around and I get a chance to secure a little of it occasionally." You know they say, opportunity has a large lock of hair on its forehead and that it is bald behind, and that if you don't grasp the lock as it comes by, the hand will slip off; and Brother Farrell believed in grasping opportunity. He said: "I have been coming down here to conferences from Cache Valley once or twice a year, for something over twenty years, and, every time I have gone to the depot, when I could possibly get a gold piece I put a mark on it; knowing that the railroad was owned by eastern capitalists. I wanted to see if I would ever get any of that money back, but I never did. When I would buy home-made goods I would put a mark on that money, and time and time again, I got my home-made marked money back again. To give you a practical illustration, this identical trip, at the depot at Smithfield, I saw a man who had made some shoes for my children and I handed him five dollars in payment. He saw another man at the depot to whom he owed five dollars and he gave him the five; and he saw another and he gave him the five; and he saw another and he gave him the five, and when the fourth man got it he came up to me and said, 'Bishop Farrell, I owe you six dollars; here is five on account,' and I put my home-made shoes back in my pocket." (Laughter.) I am not vouching for the exact language but I am vouching for the facts, because I heard the talk. So five dollars' worth of home-made shoes paid twenty-five dollars' worth of debts as quick as I have been able to tell it to you, or as it took Brother Farrell to tell it.
When I heard the Bishop's talk I was interested in a factory and I was trying to get a Salt Lake merchant to buy our goods and he said they were not as good as the imported. I told him he did not know good goods when he saw them; that they were better than the imported; but he did not believe it. "Well," I said, "look here. There is no doubt if you can make something you would buy the home-made goods." "Oh yes." You know of all our father's sons we love ourselves the best; and this merchant was no exception. I said, “I will take orders on your store instead of cash, and as you make probably twenty-five or thirty per cent profit, you can afford to buy our goods." Then he was loyal enough to do it. I gave to those working in the factory ten per cent of their pay in orders and the balance in cash, and I asked them to tell me what they did with the orders and when they told me where the orders went I followed them all up. Those orders were out of our factory an average of six days, and they averaged paying seven hundred per cent. In other words, every five dollar order went through seven hands in six days. They did one hundred per cent of work a day and worked enough in six days to rest on Sunday. Now I once had the bumps on my head felt by Professor Fowler, and he said the biggest bump on my head was a practical bump, and I believe that that practical bump is fully satisfied with these two illustrations, that it is good business to buy home-made goods and thereby keep our money at home.
A Montana divine in January, 1910, said:
"I maintain that the Christianity of the present is face to face with a lamentable loss. The Christianity of today has acquired much, but in its getting it has lost its own soul; it has lost the Holy Ghost. No true man will dare to refute this argument; for go where you may in Christendom today you will find that our religion is void of the supernatural element which the Bible' claims it must have in order to exist."
I differ with this divine in one particular: Go where you may in all the world except among the Latter- day Saints. I maintain that in every land, in every clime, where ever the Gospel of Jesus Christ has gone, from Scandinavia on the north to South Africa on the south, to New Zealand, Australia and the islands of the Pacific, from Canada on the north to South America on the south, go where you will, wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ, revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith has been proclaimed, and people have embraced it, the supernatural element, the power of God, and the Holy Ghost have always been manifested. "There are periods in the Christian era we look back upon with wonder and admiration. In those days men were convicted of sin and a judgment to come.'' All over the world, wherever this Gospel goes, men are convicted of sin and a judgment to come, and they repent of their sins and they go down into the waters of baptism, and they do receive a remission of their sins and they do receive the Holy Ghost, that this man says Christendom is devoid of. "Then the more than human element was visible in our creed." As stated before, the more than human element is visible in the creed of the Latter-day Saints wherever the Gospel is proclaimed. "Holy men had heavenly.visions." Holy men and holy women have had heavenly visions, by the hundreds and by the thousands, yea by the tens of thousands since this Gospel was restored to the earth in our day. "Sickness was cured by spiritual power." I stand here today and in all humility before God acknowledge that I am a living monument of the healing power of Almighty God; and we heard the strong, able voice of Joseph W. McMurrin here yesterday, and he, too, is a living monument of the healing power of God. We have them by the hundreds in the Church of Christ. "Holy men spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." Holy men and holy women have spoken with other tongues. I seldom hear a hymn written by Sister Eliza R. Snow sung in any of our meetings, or sing one myself, that I do not thank God for the gift of tongues to that noble woman. She gave to me a blessing when I was a child, predicting incidents in my life, promising me that I should grow to manhood and become one of the leaders in the Church of Christ, Sister Zina D. Young giving the interpretation. I thank God that we have the gift of tongues. My wife, whose body lies in the tomb, gave to me a wonderful blessing by the gift of tongues, every word of which has been fulfilled. I know that God lives, I know that Jesus is the Christ, I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, I know that the gospel tree is alive, that it is growing, that the fruits of the gospel growing upon the tree are good. I have reached out my hand, I have plucked the fruits of the Gospel, I have eaten of them and they are sweet, yea, above all that is sweet.
May God help me and you and every soul who has a testimony of the Truth to live the Gospel of Christ so that our good deeds may encourage other men to seek for a testimony of the Truth, is my prayer and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Appreciation of words and music of hymns—Membership in Genealogical Society recommended—Ben E. Rich's successful life—Saints should be guided by authoritative counsel— Gratifying recognition of worthiness of Latter-day Saints—Striking illustrations of benefit of sustaining home manufactures—Spiritual power manifest in the Church today.
"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire
Unuttered or expressed,
The motion of a hidden fire
That trembles in the breast."
That is the first verse of the hymn we have just listened to. The last verse is as follows:
"Oh Thou by whom we come to God,
The life, the truth, the way!
The path of prayer, Thyself hast trod,
Lord teach us how to pray."
I pray earnestly and in humility that that same splendid spirit which has been manifested in all that has been said to us thus far in our conference may also be given to me. I ask earnestly an interest in the faith and prayers of this vast congregation, to the end that I may be able to say something which may be encouraging, and in its nature calculated to benefit those who listen. I was not only particularly impressed with the beautiful sentiment in Montgomery's poem that we have just listened to but I was also impressed with the very splendid music. I had the same feeling this morning. while listening to the splendid poem by Sister Eliza R. Snow.
"Though deepening trials throng your way
Press on, press on, ye Saints of God!
Ere long the resurrection day
Will spread its life and light abroad."
I was impressed also with the beautiful music of this hymn. Both of the melodies that we have listened to having been composed by our fellow townsman Brother George Careless. I feel very grateful to the Lord, not only for the inspiration that has come to the men and women who have written so many splendid things that we hear from time to time, but I am also grateful for the ability possessed by Brother Careless, Brother Stephens and man}' others who furnish the splendid music for our hymns.
President Anthon H. Lund, President Charles W. Penrose, three members of the council of twelve, and others, form a board of directors of the Genealogical Society of Utah. We feel a deep interest in the work of this society. Classes have been organized where the people are receiving instruction in the work that is necessary to be done in -our temples. Recently a genealogical day was appointed for all the wards in the Church, where the subject should have been taken up, and we found, in many of the wards, that not one word was said upon this subject, thus showing a lack of interest and a great carelessness on the part of those whose duty it was to arrange suitable services for the occasion. We heard here yesterday thrilling words with regard to the beautiful Gull monument, in stone and in bronze, that has recently been unveiled. We heard regarding the wonderful testimony in stone of our Temple, but without the labors being performed within the Temple, it is like the body without the spirit. We have in very deed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation. We find recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants that this is the Gospel, the glad tidings which the voice out of the heavens declared unto us, that He came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the sins of the world, and to save all the workmanship of the hands of God. One of the great works in this Gospel of salvation, devolving upon us as Saints, is to labor in the temples of God for the salvation of our dead. We feel that the Latter-day Saints, from one end of the Church to the other, should enroll themselves as members in the Genealogical Society, and that they should labor in the Temple as often as opportunity will present.
I desire to read just a few words that I penned for the Improvement Era, fifteen years ago, and I read them in connection with the death of our beloved brother Ben E. Rich. Ben E. Rich, to mv mind, lived a successful life. He died a millionaire in the wealth which is true wealth and which counts with God:
"Not he who merely succeeds in making a fortune, and in so doing; blunts the natural affections of the heart, and chases therefrom the love of his fellows, can be said to be truly successful, but he who so lives that those who know him best shall love him most, and that God who knows not only his deeds but also the inmost sentiments of his heart shall love him; of such an one only, notwithstanding he may die in poverty, can it be said, indeed and of a truth, he should be crowned with the wreath of success."
God loved Ben E. Rich. The prophet of God, and all of his associates in the Presidency, and the council of the twelve, and all of the general authorities loved Ben E. Rich. Those who came in intimate contact with him in the Southern States and in the Eastern States, men not of our faith, loved this man; he gained their love, and those who knew him best loved him most, and God who knew the inmost promptings of his heart loved him. Therefore I say this man lived a successful life. I felt T would like to pay these few words of tribute to the memory of one who spent fully one-half of his mature years in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We find it recorded that if we labor all the days of our lives and bring save it be one soul unto a knowledge of the Gospel, how great shall be our joy with that soul in the kingdom of our Father, and if we bring many souls how much greater shall be our joy. Both by tongue and with his pen, this man has brought many, many souls to a knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus. Christ. God bless his memory. God bless his. family and help his children to walk in his footsteps, and to place the love of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ first in their lives, is my earnest prayer in their behalf.
I endorse with all my heart everything that I have heard during this conference. Pope says:
"Vice is a monster of such frightful mien
As to be hated, needs but to be seen;
But seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace."
Some among us are embracing, to the full extent, the vice of immoral dress, and I lift my voice in absolute and perfect harmony with every word uttered here by President Smith. We sing and have clone so during this conference, "We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet to guide us in these latter days;" there are a great many who ought to put a postscript to that and say, "Provided he guides us to suit our own fancies and our own whims." The prophets of God, from Joseph Smith to the present day, have guided us and they have guided us aright, when we have listened to that guidance; and the mistakes which have been made have been because of our failure to listen to the Prophet whose right it is to guide the people of God. I will give you one practical incident. Brigham Young stood in front of the home of the late Apostle, at that time bishop, Marriner W. Merrill, in Richmond, and he pointed over to the sandy country where Lewiston now stands and he said to Bishop Merrill: "Call some man to go over there and be a bishop, and organize a ward there, and have the people locate there. That will be the most valuable part of this valley, agriculturally, the greatest grain producing part of the country." Brother Merrill told me this, standing upon the spot where Brigham Young stood and he said, "I called Brother Lewis to go over there, and he was subsequently ordained as a bishop, and set apart to preside at Lewiston. After he had been there one season and ploughed up the ground, a wind storm came and took all his fine soil and piled it up in a heap by the fence. He came back and said, 'Bishop Merrill, I would not give my little twenty-acre farm here at Richmond for the whole country over there and I want to come back.' " Brother Merrill said, "Well you will not come back with my consent. If you come back you will have to run away from the call that has been placed upon you. I will not release you; the Prophet of God has said that is to be the granary of Cache Valley and you go back there;" and Brother Lewis went back disheartened and discouraged. Brother Lewis, who afterwards became the president of the Benson stake of Zion, no doubt thanked Brother Merrill that he did not let him run away, seeing that during the last few years of his life, he harvested over ten thousand bushels of wheat a year. I know that the path of safety for the Latter-day Saints is to not only sing "We thank Thee O God for a Prophet, to guide us in these latter days," but to be ready and willing and anxious to be guided.
I was thrilled through and through with the magnificent reference made to the Gull monument by Brother Roberts, and I was also thrilled with that magnificent poem which Brother Hart read. I thank God for my mother, and so does every true Latter-day Saint who has had a mother who has lived the life of- a Latter-day Saint, and has been true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am thankful that healthy, vigorous, strong, sweet babies are the best crop of Utah, and I hope and pray earnestly that it will ever be so. I hope that the fashion which is a thousand times worse than are the fashions in dress, namely, that of drying up the fountains of life, will never become popular among the Latter-day Saints. That poem read by Brother Hart was a magnificent tribute to the mothers of the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice that honest men, as illustrated here, in the quotations made by Brother Levi Edgar Young, have to say good things, when they tell the truth, about the Latter-day Saints. I had a letter from a very dear friend of mine many years ago, written from London, and he was at the time general manager for the entire United Kingdom of a great corporation with hundreds of millions of dollars of money; he wrote me as follows:
"My Dear Heber: Your nice long letter of the tenth came duly to hand. Of course you know, aside from the long and intimate personal friendship that we have had together, how much I have always been impressed with the genuineness and the sincerity of the men and women who hold your faith. Many times and oft I have said in conversation that the only people I ever knew who lived up to their professions were the 'Mormons' of Utah; and this is true. This it is that inspires respect even where there is a total absence of a belief in the doctrines. Your people carry their beliefs into daily life and act as if they think there is something in them. I cannot see how, as a sensible person, I could do otherwise, for if there is anything"—and my friend drew a big —black line under the word "anything" "in a belief which involves an eternity of future existence, there is everything;" and my friend drew another large black line under "everything." "If there is anything in a belief which involves an eternity of future existence there is everything."
Not only have you and I a faith which involves an eternity of future existence, but we have a knowledge of the divinity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which we have espoused, and it does involve an eternity of future existence, and we will have that existence in pleasure, in happiness, in joy, in association with all the good and the noble who have lived the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or we will be expelled from that company, according as we shall keep the commandments of God. How I do pray that God will inspire His people with a determination to live their religion, so that this faith, involving an eternity of future existence, shall also bring to them an eternity of exaltation and joy in the presence of our God and of our Savior.
I received a letter from William George Jordan, the author of a number of books which we have published in serial form in the Improvement Era, "Individuality of Self Control," "Little Problems of Married Life," and others. He is also the author of, "The Power of Truth," the English edition of which is "Great Truths." I sent him a number of tracts, a Book of Mormon and some pamphlets, and in acknowledging their receipt he thanked me for them and expressed the hope that some day he might visit Utah and learn by personal contact regarding our , people. "From what I know of your people," he said, "your religion more than that of other creeds yields dividends of finer individual lives; no faith is of any value unless it does yield dividends of better lives." I feel that compliments or praise of this kind, coming from those who are not of us, are precious, and should be appreciated by every Latter- day Saint. I rejoice that men not of us discover that for honesty, for sobriety, for uprightness of life, for virtue, that no other people can make a better record than do the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice exceedingly in the magnificent record which has been made by our boys who have gone to Harvard, and to the other universities from one end of the country to the other. For quality and quantity, and for upright lives, the record which our toys have made is one that every Latter-day Saint should be proud of. I rejoice in this record for, because of it, we are becoming better known; people are beginning to recognize what Mr. Jordan has said, namely, that this Gospel of Jesus Christ commonly called by the world "Mormonism" is in very deed yielding > dividends of better individual lives.
I was very much pleased indeed with the reference made here yesterday by Brother Penrose, with regard to supporting and upholding and sustaining our local manufacturing institutions. From the time that I was a boy sixteen years of ago, I never bought but one suit of clothes in Salt Lake City that the cloth did not come from the Provo Woolen Mills. I bought that suit to go to a ball in the Salt Lake Theatre. I had the honor of being a member of the Utah Legislature at the time that the members of the Legislature from Wyoming visited us, and we gave them a ball in the theatre. As my Provo suit happened to be of a light color, I did not want to be the only "white sheep," so to speak, and so I bought a black suit to harmonize with the others; but the next day I gave it away to a poor relative, so that when I stood up to preach I would not be wearing an imported suit of clothes and, provided I wanted to talk home manufacture, that the chips would not fly back in my own face. I never bought but that one suit until the factory closed down. I wear goods that are made in our own knitting factories, I stand up in Z. C. M. I. shoes; they are good enough for me.
Speaking of home-made shoes reminds me of a little story. A number of years ago, in the Assembly Hall, Bishop George L. Farrell announced that one reason why he bought home-made goods was because he loved Bishop Farrell; he said, "If I buy home-made goods my money stays at home and it floats around and I get a chance to secure a little of it occasionally." You know they say, opportunity has a large lock of hair on its forehead and that it is bald behind, and that if you don't grasp the lock as it comes by, the hand will slip off; and Brother Farrell believed in grasping opportunity. He said: "I have been coming down here to conferences from Cache Valley once or twice a year, for something over twenty years, and, every time I have gone to the depot, when I could possibly get a gold piece I put a mark on it; knowing that the railroad was owned by eastern capitalists. I wanted to see if I would ever get any of that money back, but I never did. When I would buy home-made goods I would put a mark on that money, and time and time again, I got my home-made marked money back again. To give you a practical illustration, this identical trip, at the depot at Smithfield, I saw a man who had made some shoes for my children and I handed him five dollars in payment. He saw another man at the depot to whom he owed five dollars and he gave him the five; and he saw another and he gave him the five; and he saw another and he gave him the five, and when the fourth man got it he came up to me and said, 'Bishop Farrell, I owe you six dollars; here is five on account,' and I put my home-made shoes back in my pocket." (Laughter.) I am not vouching for the exact language but I am vouching for the facts, because I heard the talk. So five dollars' worth of home-made shoes paid twenty-five dollars' worth of debts as quick as I have been able to tell it to you, or as it took Brother Farrell to tell it.
When I heard the Bishop's talk I was interested in a factory and I was trying to get a Salt Lake merchant to buy our goods and he said they were not as good as the imported. I told him he did not know good goods when he saw them; that they were better than the imported; but he did not believe it. "Well," I said, "look here. There is no doubt if you can make something you would buy the home-made goods." "Oh yes." You know of all our father's sons we love ourselves the best; and this merchant was no exception. I said, “I will take orders on your store instead of cash, and as you make probably twenty-five or thirty per cent profit, you can afford to buy our goods." Then he was loyal enough to do it. I gave to those working in the factory ten per cent of their pay in orders and the balance in cash, and I asked them to tell me what they did with the orders and when they told me where the orders went I followed them all up. Those orders were out of our factory an average of six days, and they averaged paying seven hundred per cent. In other words, every five dollar order went through seven hands in six days. They did one hundred per cent of work a day and worked enough in six days to rest on Sunday. Now I once had the bumps on my head felt by Professor Fowler, and he said the biggest bump on my head was a practical bump, and I believe that that practical bump is fully satisfied with these two illustrations, that it is good business to buy home-made goods and thereby keep our money at home.
A Montana divine in January, 1910, said:
"I maintain that the Christianity of the present is face to face with a lamentable loss. The Christianity of today has acquired much, but in its getting it has lost its own soul; it has lost the Holy Ghost. No true man will dare to refute this argument; for go where you may in Christendom today you will find that our religion is void of the supernatural element which the Bible' claims it must have in order to exist."
I differ with this divine in one particular: Go where you may in all the world except among the Latter- day Saints. I maintain that in every land, in every clime, where ever the Gospel of Jesus Christ has gone, from Scandinavia on the north to South Africa on the south, to New Zealand, Australia and the islands of the Pacific, from Canada on the north to South America on the south, go where you will, wherever the Gospel of Jesus Christ, revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith has been proclaimed, and people have embraced it, the supernatural element, the power of God, and the Holy Ghost have always been manifested. "There are periods in the Christian era we look back upon with wonder and admiration. In those days men were convicted of sin and a judgment to come.'' All over the world, wherever this Gospel goes, men are convicted of sin and a judgment to come, and they repent of their sins and they go down into the waters of baptism, and they do receive a remission of their sins and they do receive the Holy Ghost, that this man says Christendom is devoid of. "Then the more than human element was visible in our creed." As stated before, the more than human element is visible in the creed of the Latter-day Saints wherever the Gospel is proclaimed. "Holy men had heavenly.visions." Holy men and holy women have had heavenly visions, by the hundreds and by the thousands, yea by the tens of thousands since this Gospel was restored to the earth in our day. "Sickness was cured by spiritual power." I stand here today and in all humility before God acknowledge that I am a living monument of the healing power of Almighty God; and we heard the strong, able voice of Joseph W. McMurrin here yesterday, and he, too, is a living monument of the healing power of God. We have them by the hundreds in the Church of Christ. "Holy men spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance." Holy men and holy women have spoken with other tongues. I seldom hear a hymn written by Sister Eliza R. Snow sung in any of our meetings, or sing one myself, that I do not thank God for the gift of tongues to that noble woman. She gave to me a blessing when I was a child, predicting incidents in my life, promising me that I should grow to manhood and become one of the leaders in the Church of Christ, Sister Zina D. Young giving the interpretation. I thank God that we have the gift of tongues. My wife, whose body lies in the tomb, gave to me a wonderful blessing by the gift of tongues, every word of which has been fulfilled. I know that God lives, I know that Jesus is the Christ, I know that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, I know that the gospel tree is alive, that it is growing, that the fruits of the gospel growing upon the tree are good. I have reached out my hand, I have plucked the fruits of the Gospel, I have eaten of them and they are sweet, yea, above all that is sweet.
May God help me and you and every soul who has a testimony of the Truth to live the Gospel of Christ so that our good deeds may encourage other men to seek for a testimony of the Truth, is my prayer and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER REED SMOOT.
The world recognizing worthiness of "Mormons"—Tribute to industry of prominent Churchmen—Waste decried —Misplaced sympathy for criminals — Joaquin Miller eulogized—America a God-blessed land.
This vast congregation is certainly a testimony to the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the work of God is growing. It is certainly an evidence to the world that the people of the Church are loyal to its principles, believe in its destiny, and have unbounded confidence in the promises of God, our Father. I, with you, rejoice in the privilege of meeting in these general conferences. I believe that we all have assembled here for the same purpose. We come to these conferences to receive instructions from the servants of God. We come here to renew our obligations to Him, and to receive a portion of His Spirit to direct us in our future life. I don't know that I have ever attended a conference that I enjoyed more than this. I can't remember a time when my soul was in so perfect accord with all that has been said, as at this conference. I desire to bear testimony to what has been said by the brethren who have already spoken, calling attention to the mission of the Church, the magnitude of the work, of what the Church is accomplishing in the world, of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph, and the establishment of this work, never to be thrown down or given to another people.
The present position of the Church has not been attained, without unselfish devotion to its purposes, without loyalty to the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, without labor, yes labor without ceasing. I am proud to say that the world recognizes the fact that the "Mormon" people, as a people, are industrious, honest, peace-loving, God-fearing, even if they think we are mistaken as to the form of religion, or our idea as to God.
I remember when I was a boy the Juvenile Instructor came regularly to my father's home, and upon the front page of the cover there was always printed, at that time, this quotation, "There is no excellence without labor." There never was a truer saying; and I doubt whether there ever was a people on earth that has demonstrated the truth of this statement more than have the lives of the Latter-day Saints.
Our president, yesterday, expressed the thought that he had wasted, in different ways, a part of the time allowed him. I want to say to the brethren and sisters that I don't believe that there is a man living who labors harder and more hours each day than President Joseph F. Smith. If he is guilty none of us will escape. Labor does not always mean manual labor, and I say to the people of this Church that if they will labor as many hours and as diligently as the general authorities of this Church, there will be a great improvement in all the stakes of Zion, and greater prosperity in all the homes of the Saints. I often hear men talk of being overworked. Others are overworked and say nothing of it. This is sometimes true of the men we least suspect. This comes forcibly to my mind every time I receive an issue of the "Americana," and read the history of this people written by Brother Roberts. I never read any one of the chapters unless I stop and think of the weeks, and months, of diligent investigation and work required in collecting all the facts and truths presented in such splendid form. The time and effort he has given in writing the history will never be known by anyone but himself. The history when complete will live as a monument to his industry and to his intelligence. I think Brother Whitney and other members of the general authorities of the Church, who are called upon to do special work, are at times overworked, and all of them are doing everything in their power to advance the work of the Lord upon this earth.
Waste of time, waste of food, waste of substance, of any kind, is displeasing in the sight of God. This has been preached in every stake of Zion. I remember, not many years ago, that I hardly ever attended a stake conference but what some of the brethren asked the people to improve their fences, their sidewalks, and their front yards, and I am pleased indeed to know that that counsel has been followed in many sections. At this conference I want to call attention to one yard that is just as important, and perhaps more so than the front yard, that is the back yard. I was in one of the little towns, in a county in the southern part of this state, not many days ago, and as usual I arose early, before the family was up. I surveyed the back yard. (I believe I can tell more of the reasons for the prosperity or non-success of a man by visiting his back yard than I can by meeting him upon the street, or judge from the appearance of his front yard.) The brother was complaining somewhat of hard times; thought that everything was costing too much money; living was high, and yet I saw in his garbage can that morning enough food that could have been used, if properly prepared, to feed his family the following day. A wicked waste, and such waste is an abomination in the sight of man and God. My brethren and sisters, let us learn a lesson against waste from the great industrial institutions of this country. Take the steel industry. It wasn't many years ago when all their byproducts were wasted, thrown away —actually an expense to the industry to remove them, but today they are used in a hundred different ways. We find made from them material for pavements; we find the blast furnace gas running the powerful engine for moving their great machinery; we find the byproducts made into aniline dyes; iron-ore waste pressed into brickets, and made into high class steel; in fact, everything is now used that a few years ago was thrown away and wasted. So with the packers of this country. There is nothing wasted by them. Every particle of a steer that is now slaughtered is utilized. The steer is converted into the necessaries of life,—from beef steak to buttons, and as one person aptly expressed it, there is not a particle of a beef wasted, with the exception of the air that the animal has breathed. I could go on, my brethren and sisters, and tell you of how every great industry of this country is utilizing every particle of material that they handle; but I haven't the time today to do so.
The president of the Church warned us yesterday—and it was indeed a timely warning, against breaking some of the admonitions and laws of the Church, and, in doing so, physically weakening the bodies that God has given us. I am in full accord with every word that he uttered. I believe in the word of Wisdom with all my heart. I believe it is the law intended by God to keep our bodies healthy and strong, to transmit to our children, coming into this world, clean bodies; and every child that is born has a right to expect of the father and the mother a clean, healthy body and mind.
There are other things, it seems to me, that are sapping the life, at least the spiritual life, of the people of the world, and our communities are affected, somewhat, with the same evil. I have reference to the maudlin, half insane sympathy for the murderer, the unnatural, and the wicked, the desire for sensationalism, the mad rush for pleasure, the desire to become one of the idle rich, or a determination to join the idle poor. What do I mean by maudlin, half-insane sympathy for the murderer, the unnatural, and the wicked? I simply have to refer you to a case which has filled the magazines and the press not only in this country but all over the world, and, as far as I can estimate, if the space had been charged for by the daily papers of this country as they charge the business men for the space for advertising, it would amount to a hundred million dollars, or more. I have reference to the Thaw case. Who was Harry Thaw? A man reared in the lap of luxury, a debauchee, a murderer escaping the gallows on the plea of insanity, a man reared in a home where all the luxuries of wealth were given him, but devoid of everything that makes man what God intended him to be. Wasn't it a spectacle to deplore to see the crowds following him from place to place, from jail to the auto, while he was in Canada; ovation after ovation was given him; women presented him with flowers on every possible occasion, and young girls not out of their teens, stood at the jail begging "Harry" to come to the bars that they might see him. Oh God, have mercy on such deluded people. I remember one case here in Utah when a murderer, sentenced to die, was sent flowers by some of the women of our state. Thank the Lord there were but a few so foolish. I take it that such action can only be indulged in by a person having a diseased mind. There is surely something wrong with them. I do know that there isn't a spark of the Spirit of God in them.
I was more than delighted with the reading of Joaquin Miller's poem today. I have read it many, many times. I hardly ever pass the old house he made his home while in Washington (it has been moved to Rock Creek Park lately, by the Government of the United States, from Sixteenth Street to a lovely part of the park) but what I go inside. You cannot always tell what a man is by the house he lives in or by his dress. I knew Joaquin Miller, having met him many times in Washington. I don't remember of seeing a man that was so careless in his dress, and yet God inspired him to present to the world, in poetry, some of the most beautiful thoughts and ideals that can appeal to the better part of man. As you enter the living room of the old log house, you see in the corner the old desk that he toiled at for so many years, the place where the inspiration of God came to him to record in poetry the history of our nation and people. I honor his name for his words of commendation and truth for the womanhood of the state I love so well. God bless his memory.
Before closing, my brethren and sisters, I want to leave with you today my testimony that God lives, my testimony that He will be with and assist any man or any woman who will rely upon and have faith in Him; also my testimony to the power of prayer; and of God's goodness to his people. I am not worried in the least that God will not carry out His part of the compact with His people, if we honor and obey Him and keep His commandments. May God bless this people, may He bless every honest soul in the world; may He bless the different governments in all the world, and particularly the men who make and administer the laws of the respective governments; for we all desire that liberty shall abound upon the earth. I believe that God held in the hollow of His hand this continent for the planting of truth and liberty, and I believe that liberty will continue to spread until it covers the whole earth as the waters cover the mighty deep. So may it be, O Father, and hasten the day is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "Mighty Jehovah, accept our praises." the bass solo was rendered by James A. Crawford.
The world recognizing worthiness of "Mormons"—Tribute to industry of prominent Churchmen—Waste decried —Misplaced sympathy for criminals — Joaquin Miller eulogized—America a God-blessed land.
This vast congregation is certainly a testimony to the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that the work of God is growing. It is certainly an evidence to the world that the people of the Church are loyal to its principles, believe in its destiny, and have unbounded confidence in the promises of God, our Father. I, with you, rejoice in the privilege of meeting in these general conferences. I believe that we all have assembled here for the same purpose. We come to these conferences to receive instructions from the servants of God. We come here to renew our obligations to Him, and to receive a portion of His Spirit to direct us in our future life. I don't know that I have ever attended a conference that I enjoyed more than this. I can't remember a time when my soul was in so perfect accord with all that has been said, as at this conference. I desire to bear testimony to what has been said by the brethren who have already spoken, calling attention to the mission of the Church, the magnitude of the work, of what the Church is accomplishing in the world, of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph, and the establishment of this work, never to be thrown down or given to another people.
The present position of the Church has not been attained, without unselfish devotion to its purposes, without loyalty to the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, without labor, yes labor without ceasing. I am proud to say that the world recognizes the fact that the "Mormon" people, as a people, are industrious, honest, peace-loving, God-fearing, even if they think we are mistaken as to the form of religion, or our idea as to God.
I remember when I was a boy the Juvenile Instructor came regularly to my father's home, and upon the front page of the cover there was always printed, at that time, this quotation, "There is no excellence without labor." There never was a truer saying; and I doubt whether there ever was a people on earth that has demonstrated the truth of this statement more than have the lives of the Latter-day Saints.
Our president, yesterday, expressed the thought that he had wasted, in different ways, a part of the time allowed him. I want to say to the brethren and sisters that I don't believe that there is a man living who labors harder and more hours each day than President Joseph F. Smith. If he is guilty none of us will escape. Labor does not always mean manual labor, and I say to the people of this Church that if they will labor as many hours and as diligently as the general authorities of this Church, there will be a great improvement in all the stakes of Zion, and greater prosperity in all the homes of the Saints. I often hear men talk of being overworked. Others are overworked and say nothing of it. This is sometimes true of the men we least suspect. This comes forcibly to my mind every time I receive an issue of the "Americana," and read the history of this people written by Brother Roberts. I never read any one of the chapters unless I stop and think of the weeks, and months, of diligent investigation and work required in collecting all the facts and truths presented in such splendid form. The time and effort he has given in writing the history will never be known by anyone but himself. The history when complete will live as a monument to his industry and to his intelligence. I think Brother Whitney and other members of the general authorities of the Church, who are called upon to do special work, are at times overworked, and all of them are doing everything in their power to advance the work of the Lord upon this earth.
Waste of time, waste of food, waste of substance, of any kind, is displeasing in the sight of God. This has been preached in every stake of Zion. I remember, not many years ago, that I hardly ever attended a stake conference but what some of the brethren asked the people to improve their fences, their sidewalks, and their front yards, and I am pleased indeed to know that that counsel has been followed in many sections. At this conference I want to call attention to one yard that is just as important, and perhaps more so than the front yard, that is the back yard. I was in one of the little towns, in a county in the southern part of this state, not many days ago, and as usual I arose early, before the family was up. I surveyed the back yard. (I believe I can tell more of the reasons for the prosperity or non-success of a man by visiting his back yard than I can by meeting him upon the street, or judge from the appearance of his front yard.) The brother was complaining somewhat of hard times; thought that everything was costing too much money; living was high, and yet I saw in his garbage can that morning enough food that could have been used, if properly prepared, to feed his family the following day. A wicked waste, and such waste is an abomination in the sight of man and God. My brethren and sisters, let us learn a lesson against waste from the great industrial institutions of this country. Take the steel industry. It wasn't many years ago when all their byproducts were wasted, thrown away —actually an expense to the industry to remove them, but today they are used in a hundred different ways. We find made from them material for pavements; we find the blast furnace gas running the powerful engine for moving their great machinery; we find the byproducts made into aniline dyes; iron-ore waste pressed into brickets, and made into high class steel; in fact, everything is now used that a few years ago was thrown away and wasted. So with the packers of this country. There is nothing wasted by them. Every particle of a steer that is now slaughtered is utilized. The steer is converted into the necessaries of life,—from beef steak to buttons, and as one person aptly expressed it, there is not a particle of a beef wasted, with the exception of the air that the animal has breathed. I could go on, my brethren and sisters, and tell you of how every great industry of this country is utilizing every particle of material that they handle; but I haven't the time today to do so.
The president of the Church warned us yesterday—and it was indeed a timely warning, against breaking some of the admonitions and laws of the Church, and, in doing so, physically weakening the bodies that God has given us. I am in full accord with every word that he uttered. I believe in the word of Wisdom with all my heart. I believe it is the law intended by God to keep our bodies healthy and strong, to transmit to our children, coming into this world, clean bodies; and every child that is born has a right to expect of the father and the mother a clean, healthy body and mind.
There are other things, it seems to me, that are sapping the life, at least the spiritual life, of the people of the world, and our communities are affected, somewhat, with the same evil. I have reference to the maudlin, half insane sympathy for the murderer, the unnatural, and the wicked, the desire for sensationalism, the mad rush for pleasure, the desire to become one of the idle rich, or a determination to join the idle poor. What do I mean by maudlin, half-insane sympathy for the murderer, the unnatural, and the wicked? I simply have to refer you to a case which has filled the magazines and the press not only in this country but all over the world, and, as far as I can estimate, if the space had been charged for by the daily papers of this country as they charge the business men for the space for advertising, it would amount to a hundred million dollars, or more. I have reference to the Thaw case. Who was Harry Thaw? A man reared in the lap of luxury, a debauchee, a murderer escaping the gallows on the plea of insanity, a man reared in a home where all the luxuries of wealth were given him, but devoid of everything that makes man what God intended him to be. Wasn't it a spectacle to deplore to see the crowds following him from place to place, from jail to the auto, while he was in Canada; ovation after ovation was given him; women presented him with flowers on every possible occasion, and young girls not out of their teens, stood at the jail begging "Harry" to come to the bars that they might see him. Oh God, have mercy on such deluded people. I remember one case here in Utah when a murderer, sentenced to die, was sent flowers by some of the women of our state. Thank the Lord there were but a few so foolish. I take it that such action can only be indulged in by a person having a diseased mind. There is surely something wrong with them. I do know that there isn't a spark of the Spirit of God in them.
I was more than delighted with the reading of Joaquin Miller's poem today. I have read it many, many times. I hardly ever pass the old house he made his home while in Washington (it has been moved to Rock Creek Park lately, by the Government of the United States, from Sixteenth Street to a lovely part of the park) but what I go inside. You cannot always tell what a man is by the house he lives in or by his dress. I knew Joaquin Miller, having met him many times in Washington. I don't remember of seeing a man that was so careless in his dress, and yet God inspired him to present to the world, in poetry, some of the most beautiful thoughts and ideals that can appeal to the better part of man. As you enter the living room of the old log house, you see in the corner the old desk that he toiled at for so many years, the place where the inspiration of God came to him to record in poetry the history of our nation and people. I honor his name for his words of commendation and truth for the womanhood of the state I love so well. God bless his memory.
Before closing, my brethren and sisters, I want to leave with you today my testimony that God lives, my testimony that He will be with and assist any man or any woman who will rely upon and have faith in Him; also my testimony to the power of prayer; and of God's goodness to his people. I am not worried in the least that God will not carry out His part of the compact with His people, if we honor and obey Him and keep His commandments. May God bless this people, may He bless every honest soul in the world; may He bless the different governments in all the world, and particularly the men who make and administer the laws of the respective governments; for we all desire that liberty shall abound upon the earth. I believe that God held in the hollow of His hand this continent for the planting of truth and liberty, and I believe that liberty will continue to spread until it covers the whole earth as the waters cover the mighty deep. So may it be, O Father, and hasten the day is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "Mighty Jehovah, accept our praises." the bass solo was rendered by James A. Crawford.
ELDER ORSON F. WHITNEY.
The thing of most worth—What God did for man, and what He requires in return—One Savior, with many assistants—A proper division of labor necessary.
I am thankful that my heart is in tune with the spirit of this conference, and with all that has been said by the servants of. God under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The keynote to the conference was sounded by President Smith when, on yesterday morning, he uttered these words: "I feel, this morning, as I have felt almost all my life, and I feel it stronger this morning, perhaps, than ever before, that there is nothing under the heavens of so much importance to me or to the children of men, as the great plan of life and salvation."
The moment these words fell from his lips, my mind flew to that incident in the life of our Savior where a young man came to Him and asked what good thing he should do to inherit eternal life. He was told to keep the commandments, and they were enumerated. He answered, "All this have I done from my youth up." The Savior then said, "One thing thou lackest —go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and come follow me." In other words, Help me to save the world.
I also recalled some revelations given through the prophet Joseph Smith, in which God revealed to certain men the secret thoughts of their hearts. One of these men was John Whitmer.one of the eight witnesses to the Book of Mormon. The Lord said to him, through Joseph the Seer, in the month of June, 1829: "I will tell you that which no man knoweth save me and thee alone; for many times you have desired of me to know that which would be of the most worth unto you. Behold, blessed are you for this thing, and for speaking my word which I have given you,, according to my commandments; and now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth to you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls to me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father." Peter Whitmer, Jr., another of the eight witnesses, was answered in like manner.
In a subsequent revelation, given for the benefit of Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, we find these important passages, already referred to in part by Brother Heber J. Grant:
"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
"For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer, suffered death in the flesh; wherefore He suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto Him;
"And He hath risen again from the dead, that He might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance;
"And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth.
"Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people;
"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father.
"And, now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me."
Can we wonder that the President of the Church should be moved upon to remind us of these things? The most profitable work that men or gods can engage in is the salvation of souls. Consequently there is nothing so important to me or to you or to any of the children of men, as that great plan of life and salvation, devised in the heavens and delivered to man upon the earth in a series of Gospel dispensations of which this is the last and the greatest.
What is this plan? What does it contemplate? What is its nature and its purpose? Paul the apostle wrote: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation." He might have gone further had it been timely, and shown that the Gospel of Christ is also the power of God unto exaltation. Exaltation is salvation added upon; it is an extension of that idea or condition, just as salvation is an extension of redemption. A soul may be redeemed, that is, raised from the grave, and yet condemned at the final judgment, for evil deeds done in the body; or a soul may be saved, and yet come short of the glory that constitutes exaltation. The threefold purpose of the gospel is to redeem and save and glorify the children of God.
The word "gospel" comes from "godspell," an Anglo-Saxon term meaning God-story, or the story of God. It derives its significance from that great central idea of the Christian faith—the coming of God as the Son of God to redeem and save mankind. Abinadi, the Nephite prophet, declared, hundreds of years before the birth of the Savior, that God Himself would come down among the children of men and redeem His people; "and because He dwelleth in flesh He shall be called the Son of God." He is the author of our salvation. He paid our debt; He took the world out of pawn, in which it had been placed by the transgression of our first parents, Adam and Eve.
And yet, through that transgression, and the consequent fall of man, God's purpose was accomplished, in the coming of a race of spirits to take upon themselves bodies, thus becoming souls, capable of endless increase and everlasting progression. "Adam fell that man might be, and man is that he might have joy." But there would be no joy, no progress — there would be no redemption, no salvation, no exaltation, had not Christ died, that man might live again. The action of our first parents brought death, eternal death, into the world—death of the body, death of the spirit, everlasting banishment from God's presence; and yet it had the great result of giving God's children the opportunities which this life affords for education and development.
But in order that the plan might be operative, the transgression turned to good effect, God's purpose carried out, and man saved and glorified, there had to be a ransom, a redemption; the scales of eternal justice had to be repoised, and right's equilibrium restored. The life of a God was the price of the world's freedom, and that price was paid by him who is called Jesus the Nazarene, but who was and is no other than Jehovah, the God of Israel, who came unto His own, was rejected by them, was crucified at their instigation, and gave His life to redeem the world.
Now, this is what the Savior did for us. Has He not earned the right to tell us what we shall do for Him? Did He not have the right to say to the young man, "Forsake all and follow me?" Did He not have the right to say to Joseph, and through him to John Whitmer, to Peter Whitmer. to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, "That which will be of most worth to you is to bring souls unto me?" If He could afford to descend from His glorious throne, make Himself an exile of eternity, walk in the dust of His own footstool, to bring these glad tidings of immortality and the resurrection, to open up for us and for all men the opportunities for endless progression, can we do less than to follow Him and do whatsoever He requires at our hands?
There is but one Savior; there is only "one name given under heaven whereby men can be saved;" but there may be innumerable assistants, innumerable subordinates, saviors in a lesser sense and degree. John the Revelator saw no less than one hundred and forty-four thousand of such saviors, standing on the Mount Zion, with the Father's name written in their foreheads; and it was said of them, "These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth."
The Gospel of Christ represents what God did for man, that man could not do for himself; and it also represents what He requires of man in return. There is nothing possible of achievement that God cannot do. but there ma)' be things that He has not time to do, and which may be done for Him. There are some things, however, that even God cannot do. I speak it with all reverence. For instance, He cannot make something out of nothing, though many pious Christians ascribe to Him that power—if such it can be called. There is another thing that God cannot do—He cannot be present in all places at the same time, in His own proper person. This is God's work, and it can only be done by the power of God; but we cannot expect Him to be everywhere present, nor in two places at the same time, except by His authority, His spirit and His influence. This fact renders necessary a priesthood to represent Him, and a Church such as this to carry on His work—a Church which from top to bottom is one great machine for the salvation of souls.
There is no one class among the Latter-day Saints upon whom this great work rests, to the exclusion of the others. Take to your hearts the wise counsel and instructions of President Francis M. Layman. How beautifully he met the occasion, and fitted his discourse to the needs of the time—just like a plaster to a wound. There is growing up among us, I fear, a sentiment that only certain men and women ought to be called upon to carry on the work of the Lord, the work of saving souls. Some think that the First Presidency and the other general authorities, with the heads of the stakes and wards and missions, are the men who ought to do God's work, while the rest go on making money, practicing politics, pursuing and accumulating material things. This is a heresy. The obligation of saving souls rests upon every man and woman in this Church—if not with equal weight, at least proportionately, according to their strength, their time, their opportunities, their abilities; and they cannot get out from under this responsibility on the plea that it belongs only to such and such persons. Did not the Lord say, through Joseph the Seer, at the beginning of this work, "Behold, it is a day of warning, and not of many words: Therefore, let every soul that is warned, warn its neighbor?”
I had a conversation, recently, with one of our brethren, while returning home from a journey, and during our talk he said, in substance: "When the apostles visit the stakes, instead of going merely to the meeting house, to the home of the stake president, or wherever they are entertained, why don't they go out on the street corners, or into the shops, where the boys congregate that never attend meetings, that are never seen in the congregations of the Saints? Why don't they go in the stores and sit on the counter with them, put their arms around them, and try to save them? What weight it would have if an apostle should devote a portion of his time to work of this nature. As it is, you don't see all that goes on in any stake of Zion. It washes its face, puts on its fine apparel, and assumes its best behavior, to receive the visitors at a conference; and the officers of the stake are naturally anxious to give a good report of local conditions. The result is that you do not get at all the facts. You are not fully informed of the conditions. Would it not be a good work for one or two of the Twelve to do—the extra work that I have suggested?"
Yes, I had to admit that it would be a good work, an excellent work. But can anyone tell me why it would not be just as' good a work for a high priest, or a seventy, or an elder, in case an apostle could not be there? Twelve men can't be everywhere. Why wait for the apostles to come, you that hold' the Melchizedek priesthood in the sixty-five stakes of Zion? Why don't you save your own 'sons and daughters?
When the Apostle James wrote, "If any are sick among you"—-he did not say, send for the heads of the Church. He said, "Send for the elders of the Church." Now, there is an army of elders, and the work of administering to the sick might be distributed far more widely, with better results than are now obtained. Men would exercise their priesthood who are not exercising it today, and a few would not be overloaded with work and broken down by doing more than their share. This magnificent Church organization was instituted for the salvation of souls; and if every man in all the councils and quorums of the priesthood, and every woman in the auxiliary organizations, were doing their share of the work, and some were not trying' to do more than their share, we would not hear so much about "nervous prostration," we would not hear of broken-down men, dying prematurely; but everything would work harmoniously and happily.
God never intended that His work should break men down. He intended that it should build them up. Let us all find out what God requires of us in this great plan of salvation, and then let each one do his or her part, and we will all be happier, we will all do better work, and God will be glorified through our administrations. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "The Lord will comfort Zion."
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Lemuel H. Redd.
Conference adjourned until 10 a. m., Monday, October 6th, 1913.
The thing of most worth—What God did for man, and what He requires in return—One Savior, with many assistants—A proper division of labor necessary.
I am thankful that my heart is in tune with the spirit of this conference, and with all that has been said by the servants of. God under the influence of the Holy Spirit. The keynote to the conference was sounded by President Smith when, on yesterday morning, he uttered these words: "I feel, this morning, as I have felt almost all my life, and I feel it stronger this morning, perhaps, than ever before, that there is nothing under the heavens of so much importance to me or to the children of men, as the great plan of life and salvation."
The moment these words fell from his lips, my mind flew to that incident in the life of our Savior where a young man came to Him and asked what good thing he should do to inherit eternal life. He was told to keep the commandments, and they were enumerated. He answered, "All this have I done from my youth up." The Savior then said, "One thing thou lackest —go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and come follow me." In other words, Help me to save the world.
I also recalled some revelations given through the prophet Joseph Smith, in which God revealed to certain men the secret thoughts of their hearts. One of these men was John Whitmer.one of the eight witnesses to the Book of Mormon. The Lord said to him, through Joseph the Seer, in the month of June, 1829: "I will tell you that which no man knoweth save me and thee alone; for many times you have desired of me to know that which would be of the most worth unto you. Behold, blessed are you for this thing, and for speaking my word which I have given you,, according to my commandments; and now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth to you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls to me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father." Peter Whitmer, Jr., another of the eight witnesses, was answered in like manner.
In a subsequent revelation, given for the benefit of Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, we find these important passages, already referred to in part by Brother Heber J. Grant:
"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
"For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer, suffered death in the flesh; wherefore He suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto Him;
"And He hath risen again from the dead, that He might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance;
"And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth.
"Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people;
"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father.
"And, now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me."
Can we wonder that the President of the Church should be moved upon to remind us of these things? The most profitable work that men or gods can engage in is the salvation of souls. Consequently there is nothing so important to me or to you or to any of the children of men, as that great plan of life and salvation, devised in the heavens and delivered to man upon the earth in a series of Gospel dispensations of which this is the last and the greatest.
What is this plan? What does it contemplate? What is its nature and its purpose? Paul the apostle wrote: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation." He might have gone further had it been timely, and shown that the Gospel of Christ is also the power of God unto exaltation. Exaltation is salvation added upon; it is an extension of that idea or condition, just as salvation is an extension of redemption. A soul may be redeemed, that is, raised from the grave, and yet condemned at the final judgment, for evil deeds done in the body; or a soul may be saved, and yet come short of the glory that constitutes exaltation. The threefold purpose of the gospel is to redeem and save and glorify the children of God.
The word "gospel" comes from "godspell," an Anglo-Saxon term meaning God-story, or the story of God. It derives its significance from that great central idea of the Christian faith—the coming of God as the Son of God to redeem and save mankind. Abinadi, the Nephite prophet, declared, hundreds of years before the birth of the Savior, that God Himself would come down among the children of men and redeem His people; "and because He dwelleth in flesh He shall be called the Son of God." He is the author of our salvation. He paid our debt; He took the world out of pawn, in which it had been placed by the transgression of our first parents, Adam and Eve.
And yet, through that transgression, and the consequent fall of man, God's purpose was accomplished, in the coming of a race of spirits to take upon themselves bodies, thus becoming souls, capable of endless increase and everlasting progression. "Adam fell that man might be, and man is that he might have joy." But there would be no joy, no progress — there would be no redemption, no salvation, no exaltation, had not Christ died, that man might live again. The action of our first parents brought death, eternal death, into the world—death of the body, death of the spirit, everlasting banishment from God's presence; and yet it had the great result of giving God's children the opportunities which this life affords for education and development.
But in order that the plan might be operative, the transgression turned to good effect, God's purpose carried out, and man saved and glorified, there had to be a ransom, a redemption; the scales of eternal justice had to be repoised, and right's equilibrium restored. The life of a God was the price of the world's freedom, and that price was paid by him who is called Jesus the Nazarene, but who was and is no other than Jehovah, the God of Israel, who came unto His own, was rejected by them, was crucified at their instigation, and gave His life to redeem the world.
Now, this is what the Savior did for us. Has He not earned the right to tell us what we shall do for Him? Did He not have the right to say to the young man, "Forsake all and follow me?" Did He not have the right to say to Joseph, and through him to John Whitmer, to Peter Whitmer. to Oliver Cowdery and David Whitmer, "That which will be of most worth to you is to bring souls unto me?" If He could afford to descend from His glorious throne, make Himself an exile of eternity, walk in the dust of His own footstool, to bring these glad tidings of immortality and the resurrection, to open up for us and for all men the opportunities for endless progression, can we do less than to follow Him and do whatsoever He requires at our hands?
There is but one Savior; there is only "one name given under heaven whereby men can be saved;" but there may be innumerable assistants, innumerable subordinates, saviors in a lesser sense and degree. John the Revelator saw no less than one hundred and forty-four thousand of such saviors, standing on the Mount Zion, with the Father's name written in their foreheads; and it was said of them, "These are they that follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth."
The Gospel of Christ represents what God did for man, that man could not do for himself; and it also represents what He requires of man in return. There is nothing possible of achievement that God cannot do. but there ma)' be things that He has not time to do, and which may be done for Him. There are some things, however, that even God cannot do. I speak it with all reverence. For instance, He cannot make something out of nothing, though many pious Christians ascribe to Him that power—if such it can be called. There is another thing that God cannot do—He cannot be present in all places at the same time, in His own proper person. This is God's work, and it can only be done by the power of God; but we cannot expect Him to be everywhere present, nor in two places at the same time, except by His authority, His spirit and His influence. This fact renders necessary a priesthood to represent Him, and a Church such as this to carry on His work—a Church which from top to bottom is one great machine for the salvation of souls.
There is no one class among the Latter-day Saints upon whom this great work rests, to the exclusion of the others. Take to your hearts the wise counsel and instructions of President Francis M. Layman. How beautifully he met the occasion, and fitted his discourse to the needs of the time—just like a plaster to a wound. There is growing up among us, I fear, a sentiment that only certain men and women ought to be called upon to carry on the work of the Lord, the work of saving souls. Some think that the First Presidency and the other general authorities, with the heads of the stakes and wards and missions, are the men who ought to do God's work, while the rest go on making money, practicing politics, pursuing and accumulating material things. This is a heresy. The obligation of saving souls rests upon every man and woman in this Church—if not with equal weight, at least proportionately, according to their strength, their time, their opportunities, their abilities; and they cannot get out from under this responsibility on the plea that it belongs only to such and such persons. Did not the Lord say, through Joseph the Seer, at the beginning of this work, "Behold, it is a day of warning, and not of many words: Therefore, let every soul that is warned, warn its neighbor?”
I had a conversation, recently, with one of our brethren, while returning home from a journey, and during our talk he said, in substance: "When the apostles visit the stakes, instead of going merely to the meeting house, to the home of the stake president, or wherever they are entertained, why don't they go out on the street corners, or into the shops, where the boys congregate that never attend meetings, that are never seen in the congregations of the Saints? Why don't they go in the stores and sit on the counter with them, put their arms around them, and try to save them? What weight it would have if an apostle should devote a portion of his time to work of this nature. As it is, you don't see all that goes on in any stake of Zion. It washes its face, puts on its fine apparel, and assumes its best behavior, to receive the visitors at a conference; and the officers of the stake are naturally anxious to give a good report of local conditions. The result is that you do not get at all the facts. You are not fully informed of the conditions. Would it not be a good work for one or two of the Twelve to do—the extra work that I have suggested?"
Yes, I had to admit that it would be a good work, an excellent work. But can anyone tell me why it would not be just as' good a work for a high priest, or a seventy, or an elder, in case an apostle could not be there? Twelve men can't be everywhere. Why wait for the apostles to come, you that hold' the Melchizedek priesthood in the sixty-five stakes of Zion? Why don't you save your own 'sons and daughters?
When the Apostle James wrote, "If any are sick among you"—-he did not say, send for the heads of the Church. He said, "Send for the elders of the Church." Now, there is an army of elders, and the work of administering to the sick might be distributed far more widely, with better results than are now obtained. Men would exercise their priesthood who are not exercising it today, and a few would not be overloaded with work and broken down by doing more than their share. This magnificent Church organization was instituted for the salvation of souls; and if every man in all the councils and quorums of the priesthood, and every woman in the auxiliary organizations, were doing their share of the work, and some were not trying' to do more than their share, we would not hear so much about "nervous prostration," we would not hear of broken-down men, dying prematurely; but everything would work harmoniously and happily.
God never intended that His work should break men down. He intended that it should build them up. Let us all find out what God requires of us in this great plan of salvation, and then let each one do his or her part, and we will all be happier, we will all do better work, and God will be glorified through our administrations. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, "The Lord will comfort Zion."
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Lemuel H. Redd.
Conference adjourned until 10 a. m., Monday, October 6th, 1913.
THIRD DAY.
Conference was resumed in the Tabernacle, at 10 a. m., Monday, October 6th; President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
Prayer was offered by Elder James Wotherspoon.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
O, say, what is Truth? 'Tis the fairest gem
That the riches of worlds can produce;
And priceless the value of truth will be, when
The proud monarch's costliest diadem
Is counted but dross and refuse.
Conference was resumed in the Tabernacle, at 10 a. m., Monday, October 6th; President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
How firm a foundation, ye Saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?
Prayer was offered by Elder James Wotherspoon.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
O, say, what is Truth? 'Tis the fairest gem
That the riches of worlds can produce;
And priceless the value of truth will be, when
The proud monarch's costliest diadem
Is counted but dross and refuse.
ELDER GEORGE ALBERT SMITH.
Marvelous power of Faith manifest in modern as well as ancient times — Faith obtained by doing God's will.
This morning we have met together in a continuation of the feast we have enjoyed during the last two days, and I hope that the prayer which has been offered may be realized, that our Heavenly Father will pour out His Spirit upon those who address us, that we may continue to be edified and our faith increased.
In reading the scriptures, which I trust this great congregation is accustomed to do, not occasionally but frequently, our faith is strengthened and our minds are directed towards the Throne of Grace. In the 11th chapter of Hebrews, we find recorded:
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gift's: and by it he being dead, yet speaketh."
"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." "But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark" and was able to save himself and family from a watery grave. Abraham, by reason of his faith, was able to go into the mountains with his son Isaac, of whom it was said, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called," and would have offered him as a sacrifice, assured that God would raise him from the dead and fulfil His promise. But the Lord provided another sacrifice, accepting his obedience and accounting it unto him for righteousness; and verily in his seed have all the nations of the earth been blessed. By faith Moses led the children of Israel from bondage, passing through the Red sea as by dry land, which, the pursuing hosts of the Egyptians essaying to do, were drowned. The multitude were fed with bread from heaven. When Moses smote the rock in Horeb, water gushed forth to slake their thirst; and, passing through the wilderness, they were led to the promised land. By faith the three Hebrew children, who were cast into the fiery furnace, had their lives spared; and the prophet Daniel was taken from the lion's den unharmed.
It was by faith that all the miracles were wrought by the Redeemer of the world, and by those who were associated with Him. From the beginning of time until now it has been the faithful man who has had power with God.
In this latter dispensation it was because of his implicit faith in God that the boy prophet went into the woods and knelt down and prayed, and received the first great heavenly manifestation that came to him, by which the personality of the Godhead was again made known to mankind. It was by faith that he was able to go to the hill Cumorah and receive from the hands of the angel those sacred records that he later translated by the gift and power of God.
It was by faith he led his people from Kirtland to the land of Missouri and back to Illinois, and though repeatedly plundered and driven from their homes, the faith that had been planted in their hearts remained with them, and they knew that God was mindful of them. It was by faith that the great city of Nauvoo was founded, under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith; and by faith the glorious truths contained in the Doctrine and Covenants were received by him. It was by faith that Brigham Young lead the people into this western land; and, when he arrived upon the summit of the mountain and looked over the valley, God gave to him a witness that this was the place where Israel should be planted. It was by faith that the irrigation system was perfected, by which it was made possible to develop this great intermountain country.
It was by faith that the people laid the corner stone of this great Temple, in their weakness and in their poverty, believing that God would prepare the way and provide the means whereby the structure might be completed. It was by faith that the mercy of our Heavenly Father was extended to the people, when, in their distress, they saw their crops being consumed by the crickets, with no means of preventing it, and, in the providence of God,- their prayers were answered, and they received a witness of it in the coming of the gulls to preserve their harvest and deliver them from starvation. It has been by faith that the elders of Israel have gone forth, leaving home and loved ones, and enduring the reproach of the world, to bear witness that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Lord. By faith your sick have been healed, your dead have been raised to life. Were the records available of the miracles wrought among this people during the past century, it would be a testimony of the power of God. through faith, unsurpassed in any age of the world.
It is this principle, my brethren and sisters, that points us heavenward, that gives us hope in the battle of life. When we become confused, and find ourselves confronted by obstacles we, seemingly, cannot overcome, having faith in the Redeemer of the world, we can go to Him and know that our prayers will be answered for our good. Only a few days ago, one of our sisters, visiting in the east, in a conversation , with an educated man, was told by him, "I cannot believe as you do but I wish that I could. It is beautiful." And so it is with many of our Father's children, who, observing the character of this work, watching the actions of the men and women who have embraced the.truth, they are filled with amazement at what has been accomplished, and the peace and happiness that follows the sincere believer, and wish that they too might have part in it; and they could if they had faith.
We know that faith is a gift of God; it is the fruitage of righteous living. It does not come to us by our command, but is the result of doing the will of our Heavenly Father. If we lack faith let us examine ourselves to see if we have been keeping His commandments, and repent without delay if we have not. It has been by faith that the men who have stood at the head of this work have been inspired, from time to time, to give the instructions that we have needed. It is by faith that we are edified on occasions like this, by those who minister in the name of the Lord, and the Comforter quickens their understanding, bringing things past to their remembrance and showing them things to come; thus evidencing the spirit of revelation.
May the Lord increase our faith, and may we live to be worthy of it. May we inspire faith in the hearts of our wives and children, by lives of righteousness and devotion at all times; and may every soul that comes in contact with us, whether they be of Israel or not, be able to recognize in us virtues worthy of children of God. May we prove ourselves deserving of our opportunities in this dispensation, -and when the time comes to be gathered home may we receive the welcome plaudit, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord," is my prayer for you and all our Father's children, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Marvelous power of Faith manifest in modern as well as ancient times — Faith obtained by doing God's will.
This morning we have met together in a continuation of the feast we have enjoyed during the last two days, and I hope that the prayer which has been offered may be realized, that our Heavenly Father will pour out His Spirit upon those who address us, that we may continue to be edified and our faith increased.
In reading the scriptures, which I trust this great congregation is accustomed to do, not occasionally but frequently, our faith is strengthened and our minds are directed towards the Throne of Grace. In the 11th chapter of Hebrews, we find recorded:
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gift's: and by it he being dead, yet speaketh."
"By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." "But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
"By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark" and was able to save himself and family from a watery grave. Abraham, by reason of his faith, was able to go into the mountains with his son Isaac, of whom it was said, "In Isaac shall thy seed be called," and would have offered him as a sacrifice, assured that God would raise him from the dead and fulfil His promise. But the Lord provided another sacrifice, accepting his obedience and accounting it unto him for righteousness; and verily in his seed have all the nations of the earth been blessed. By faith Moses led the children of Israel from bondage, passing through the Red sea as by dry land, which, the pursuing hosts of the Egyptians essaying to do, were drowned. The multitude were fed with bread from heaven. When Moses smote the rock in Horeb, water gushed forth to slake their thirst; and, passing through the wilderness, they were led to the promised land. By faith the three Hebrew children, who were cast into the fiery furnace, had their lives spared; and the prophet Daniel was taken from the lion's den unharmed.
It was by faith that all the miracles were wrought by the Redeemer of the world, and by those who were associated with Him. From the beginning of time until now it has been the faithful man who has had power with God.
In this latter dispensation it was because of his implicit faith in God that the boy prophet went into the woods and knelt down and prayed, and received the first great heavenly manifestation that came to him, by which the personality of the Godhead was again made known to mankind. It was by faith that he was able to go to the hill Cumorah and receive from the hands of the angel those sacred records that he later translated by the gift and power of God.
It was by faith he led his people from Kirtland to the land of Missouri and back to Illinois, and though repeatedly plundered and driven from their homes, the faith that had been planted in their hearts remained with them, and they knew that God was mindful of them. It was by faith that the great city of Nauvoo was founded, under the direction of the Prophet Joseph Smith; and by faith the glorious truths contained in the Doctrine and Covenants were received by him. It was by faith that Brigham Young lead the people into this western land; and, when he arrived upon the summit of the mountain and looked over the valley, God gave to him a witness that this was the place where Israel should be planted. It was by faith that the irrigation system was perfected, by which it was made possible to develop this great intermountain country.
It was by faith that the people laid the corner stone of this great Temple, in their weakness and in their poverty, believing that God would prepare the way and provide the means whereby the structure might be completed. It was by faith that the mercy of our Heavenly Father was extended to the people, when, in their distress, they saw their crops being consumed by the crickets, with no means of preventing it, and, in the providence of God,- their prayers were answered, and they received a witness of it in the coming of the gulls to preserve their harvest and deliver them from starvation. It has been by faith that the elders of Israel have gone forth, leaving home and loved ones, and enduring the reproach of the world, to bear witness that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ, and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Lord. By faith your sick have been healed, your dead have been raised to life. Were the records available of the miracles wrought among this people during the past century, it would be a testimony of the power of God. through faith, unsurpassed in any age of the world.
It is this principle, my brethren and sisters, that points us heavenward, that gives us hope in the battle of life. When we become confused, and find ourselves confronted by obstacles we, seemingly, cannot overcome, having faith in the Redeemer of the world, we can go to Him and know that our prayers will be answered for our good. Only a few days ago, one of our sisters, visiting in the east, in a conversation , with an educated man, was told by him, "I cannot believe as you do but I wish that I could. It is beautiful." And so it is with many of our Father's children, who, observing the character of this work, watching the actions of the men and women who have embraced the.truth, they are filled with amazement at what has been accomplished, and the peace and happiness that follows the sincere believer, and wish that they too might have part in it; and they could if they had faith.
We know that faith is a gift of God; it is the fruitage of righteous living. It does not come to us by our command, but is the result of doing the will of our Heavenly Father. If we lack faith let us examine ourselves to see if we have been keeping His commandments, and repent without delay if we have not. It has been by faith that the men who have stood at the head of this work have been inspired, from time to time, to give the instructions that we have needed. It is by faith that we are edified on occasions like this, by those who minister in the name of the Lord, and the Comforter quickens their understanding, bringing things past to their remembrance and showing them things to come; thus evidencing the spirit of revelation.
May the Lord increase our faith, and may we live to be worthy of it. May we inspire faith in the hearts of our wives and children, by lives of righteousness and devotion at all times; and may every soul that comes in contact with us, whether they be of Israel or not, be able to recognize in us virtues worthy of children of God. May we prove ourselves deserving of our opportunities in this dispensation, -and when the time comes to be gathered home may we receive the welcome plaudit, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord," is my prayer for you and all our Father's children, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER DAVID O. M’KAY.
Appreciation of Gospel truths increased by study—Treasures of Truth in Doctrine and Covenants—Latter-day Israel should not "halt between two opinions," but choose to obey God—Spiritual and physical power obtained by obeying God's laws—"What is the use of hearing and not doing?"
This conference has indeed been an inspiration to Israel. I pray that the same spirit that has guided the brethren who have addressed the different congregations may direct my thoughts and remarks during the next few minutes. My heart has been filled with thanksgiving as I have listened to the admonitions from the Presidency of the Church, the council of the twelve, and others who have addressed us.
It seems to me that more specific instructions and admonitions have been given to the Saints this conference than ever before at any particular conference. My heart is in hearty atune with the suggestion of President Smith, that the Latter-day Saints think more about the Gospel and spiritual things, that they give more attention to these matters, devote more time to the real things in life, and less time to those things that will perish. It is also in hearty accord with the admonition to resist the various temptations in our midst. Those two suggestions alone, if Latter- day Saints would adopt them in their lives, would be sufficient to make this people a light upon a hill, a light that could not be hid. We refer to such teachings sometimes as little things, but indeed they are the greatest in this life. If we were to pay more attention to such advice and devote more study to the modern revelations as contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, we would grow in appreciation of the magnitude of the great work that has been established in this dispensation. It is often said that the Church is the greatest thing in the world—it is—but the more we give attention to it, and realize how well adapted it is to our individual life, to our home life, to our social life; when we study it from the standpoint of our environment from the standpoint of scientific discoveries, our hearts are made to rejoice for God's goodness unto us in giving us the privilege of knowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Nearly every passage in the Doctrine and Covenants is replete with admonitions, full of inspiration and wonderful revelations to men. Sometimes those revelations are couched in but few words, but by careful study one sees how closely related they are to all truth, Take far example the wonderful revelation, simply expressed, in regard to government by the priesthood: "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by the priesthood only by persuasion, long suffering, gentleness, meekness and with love unfeigned." Just think of that use of the word "unfeigned," Love pretended has no influence. Love unfeigned always has the power to reach the heart. To continue: "Reproving at times by sharpness, and afterwards showing forth greater love towards him whom thou hast reproved lest he esteem thee to be his enemy." Why it is a wonderful admonition and lesson in regard to the government, not only in quorums of priesthood in the Church offices but in our home life and in all phases of association in society. Consider, again, the suggestion in regard to the worth of souls, "Remember the worth of souls is great." Also the revelation in regard to the true riches, "Seek after the riches I shall give, wisdom" and so on, "and the riches of the world will be added also." Such things are the real things in the world. And so we might continue, revelation after revelation as given in the Doctrine and Covenants, if studied and paid attention to by the Latter-day Saints, will establish faith in their hearts and make them rejoice at this great and wonderful organization placed among men for their salvation.
Not the least among these by any means is that revelation on the word of 4 wisdom. Now there are just one or two little paragraphs in it that refer to the use of strong drink: "If any man among you use strong drink, behold it is not good." Just a simple statement; it is unqualified, but there it stands. "Wine and strong drink are not. good." That revelation was given over eighty years ago—the Word of God, not only to the people who are members of His Church but to the inhabitants of the world wherever that book has been published; wherever it has been distributed by the elders of the Church the word of God has been sounded to the world. People have thus been told by revelation that it is not good to indulge in these intoxicating beverages; but they have wavered, and some Latter- day Saints have wavered. They have been very much as ancient Israel with the gods of Baal. You remember when Elijah came amongst them denouncing their worship of idols. He had been hidden for several months, and during the three and a half years faming had kept away from the king. The famine became so sore that the people gathered near Mount Carmel, a projecting peak near the Mediterranean Sea. Elijah, determining to reveal himself told one of his friends to inform the king that he, Elijah, was there. The man hesitated to go. Elijah said, "This clay I will show myself to him," and he did; and when the king saw him he said, "Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" and the prophet answered. "I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, thou has followed Baalim." Then Elijah suggested, "Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal, four hundred and fifty and let us determine here today whether the god of Baal is the true god or whether the God of Israel is the true god." The people assembled in that picturesque place and Elijah addressed them: "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered not a word." It is suggestive. There the people were halting: many of them knew in a way that Israel's God was omnipotent, that He it was who could save them, and yet the other gods offered pleasure, offered indulgence I and the people halted; some trying to serve and yield obedience to both. "How long halt ye between two opinions?" said the prophet; "If the Lord be God follow Him, if Baal be god, follow him;" but don't try to mix in trying to serve one today and then falling back in obedience to the teachings of the other tomorrow. Well, you know the test that was decided upon; you know the result, and the death that came to the priests of Baal.
While listening to the word of God as given in this conference by our President, who admonished Israel to refrain from indulgence in tobacco, and to refrain from indulgence in strong drink, I thought that instruction has been given to us now for eighty years, and still we falter in obedience. How long, Israel, halt ye between two opinions? The Lord has said that strong drink is not good. Eighty years ago that was declared. Only a few weeks ago, in this country, at a meeting of brewers, a man rose and said: "We don't want the people to drink more beer, but we want more people to drink beer." Which teaching will you heed? Which will the nation accept? Whose voice will the people heed? One declared in the voice of Omnipotence that beer, alcoholic beverages, are not good; the other declared it is good, and he wants to develop the appetite of the people so more people will drink. "How long; halt ye between two opinions?" What does it mean to obey God's word? to refrain from indulgence in narcotics, and alcoholic beverages? It means stronger manhood; it means brighter intellects; it means stronger and more perfect physical organism; it means better and truer husbands, more devoted and affectionate fathers; it means parenthood that will transmit to children clean habits, and power in the will to resist temptations of appetite and greater temptations of passion that may come to them; it means happy Homes, contented wives, well dressed and better educated children; it means a safe and sound citizenship which goes for the building of a safe and sound nation; it means salvation for the individual in the kingdom of God. A little thing? On the other hand, what does indulgence mean? Weakened manhood, a weakened will, a physical organism that will transmit weakness to unborn generations; it means the cutting off of life by slow suicide; it means the derangement of mental faculties; it means the breaking up of homes, it means broken hearted wives, destitute children, a weakened society and an undermined Republic—that is what it means. Recent investigations by scientists confirm these statement.
The American Society for the study of alcoholic beverages and narcotics, recently made a report also to this effect. You will find it in the Senate Document no. 48 issued May 17th, 1909. Their conclusions are these: that alcohol is not safe as a common beverage in any of its present commercial forms, or for ordinary prescriptions; that it is a thief of all the vitality of the tissues; that its promises of strength are mocking lies; its semblance of power is simply nerve center disturbances that end in ultimate weakness and destruction. That the whiskey problem is a greater problem today in this country than the great white plague. The intemperance in the United States today costs this country over one billion, eight hundred and eighty-three million dollars; that today in this Republic there are over three million drinkers who have been taught that alcohol is a mild stimulant and a pleasant tonic, and the worst of it is that nearly all these will say they can quit it, each says, "I can leave it alone." The demon is lying to them always, promising them something which it cannot give.
I believe, Latter-day Saints, that it is time for this people to stand tip in earnest in the strength of true manhood and declare against these evils. Let us think about them now; go from this conference determined, so far as we are concerned, that we will live in accordance with the admonitions given. This means that in our individual life we will refrain from the use of these things —whiskey, tobacco, tea and coffee. As you know the Latter-day Saints are not alone in declaring against the use of these beverages. Men have proved by scientific research that the word of God as given to the prophet Joseph Smith eighty years ago is the word of life and salvation to man. Then as individuals let us refrain. It grieved me yesterday, as I passed into a restaurant, to see some of our people indulging in some of those beverages, after having listened to the teachings of this conference. What is the use of hearing and not doing? Think! Be strong enough to introduce the principles into active life; and after doing that, as individuals, see that it is cleared up in our homes, use your influence with your children; and remember example in the home will go further in helping our children than our teaching. Parents, you cannot afford for the sake of your children, to use these things. You may want to, but I tell you, you have no right to transmit such an appetite and a weakened will to those unborn children whom God may give you, you have no right to do it. Children are entitled to a kingly birth, whether they must live in a mud hovel or in a palace; it makes no difference— a kingly birth, inherited strength, physical strength, moral strength, and a tendency towards spiritual uplift.
Then after freeing our homes from forbidden things, let us clean up our towns, eliminate saloons from every city and county. I congratulate the Latter-day Saints that in nearly ever)' town where members of the Church are in the majority, the saloons are closed. I trust that the time is not far distant when they will be eliminated from every town in our state, and from every city and state in our country. I believe with all my heart the sentiments of David Starr Jordan, as expressed in that excellent little work, "The Strength of Being Clean," part of which is as follows:
"So far as the drink of the drunkards is concerned, prohibition may not prohibit; but to clean up a town, to free it from corrosion, save men and boys, and girls too, from vice; and who shall say that moral sanitation is not as much the duty of the community as physical sanitation? The city of the future will not permit the existence of slums and dives and tippling houses; it will prohibit their existence for the same reason that it now prohibits pig-pens and dung heaps and cesspools, for where all these things are—slums and cesspools, saloons and pig-pens—there the people grow weak and die."
"Why halt ye, Israel, between two opinions? If God be God, follow Him; if Bacchus, then follow him."
God help us all to know the truth and to have strength to live it, is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Appreciation of Gospel truths increased by study—Treasures of Truth in Doctrine and Covenants—Latter-day Israel should not "halt between two opinions," but choose to obey God—Spiritual and physical power obtained by obeying God's laws—"What is the use of hearing and not doing?"
This conference has indeed been an inspiration to Israel. I pray that the same spirit that has guided the brethren who have addressed the different congregations may direct my thoughts and remarks during the next few minutes. My heart has been filled with thanksgiving as I have listened to the admonitions from the Presidency of the Church, the council of the twelve, and others who have addressed us.
It seems to me that more specific instructions and admonitions have been given to the Saints this conference than ever before at any particular conference. My heart is in hearty atune with the suggestion of President Smith, that the Latter-day Saints think more about the Gospel and spiritual things, that they give more attention to these matters, devote more time to the real things in life, and less time to those things that will perish. It is also in hearty accord with the admonition to resist the various temptations in our midst. Those two suggestions alone, if Latter- day Saints would adopt them in their lives, would be sufficient to make this people a light upon a hill, a light that could not be hid. We refer to such teachings sometimes as little things, but indeed they are the greatest in this life. If we were to pay more attention to such advice and devote more study to the modern revelations as contained in the Doctrine and Covenants, we would grow in appreciation of the magnitude of the great work that has been established in this dispensation. It is often said that the Church is the greatest thing in the world—it is—but the more we give attention to it, and realize how well adapted it is to our individual life, to our home life, to our social life; when we study it from the standpoint of our environment from the standpoint of scientific discoveries, our hearts are made to rejoice for God's goodness unto us in giving us the privilege of knowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Nearly every passage in the Doctrine and Covenants is replete with admonitions, full of inspiration and wonderful revelations to men. Sometimes those revelations are couched in but few words, but by careful study one sees how closely related they are to all truth, Take far example the wonderful revelation, simply expressed, in regard to government by the priesthood: "No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by the priesthood only by persuasion, long suffering, gentleness, meekness and with love unfeigned." Just think of that use of the word "unfeigned," Love pretended has no influence. Love unfeigned always has the power to reach the heart. To continue: "Reproving at times by sharpness, and afterwards showing forth greater love towards him whom thou hast reproved lest he esteem thee to be his enemy." Why it is a wonderful admonition and lesson in regard to the government, not only in quorums of priesthood in the Church offices but in our home life and in all phases of association in society. Consider, again, the suggestion in regard to the worth of souls, "Remember the worth of souls is great." Also the revelation in regard to the true riches, "Seek after the riches I shall give, wisdom" and so on, "and the riches of the world will be added also." Such things are the real things in the world. And so we might continue, revelation after revelation as given in the Doctrine and Covenants, if studied and paid attention to by the Latter-day Saints, will establish faith in their hearts and make them rejoice at this great and wonderful organization placed among men for their salvation.
Not the least among these by any means is that revelation on the word of 4 wisdom. Now there are just one or two little paragraphs in it that refer to the use of strong drink: "If any man among you use strong drink, behold it is not good." Just a simple statement; it is unqualified, but there it stands. "Wine and strong drink are not. good." That revelation was given over eighty years ago—the Word of God, not only to the people who are members of His Church but to the inhabitants of the world wherever that book has been published; wherever it has been distributed by the elders of the Church the word of God has been sounded to the world. People have thus been told by revelation that it is not good to indulge in these intoxicating beverages; but they have wavered, and some Latter- day Saints have wavered. They have been very much as ancient Israel with the gods of Baal. You remember when Elijah came amongst them denouncing their worship of idols. He had been hidden for several months, and during the three and a half years faming had kept away from the king. The famine became so sore that the people gathered near Mount Carmel, a projecting peak near the Mediterranean Sea. Elijah, determining to reveal himself told one of his friends to inform the king that he, Elijah, was there. The man hesitated to go. Elijah said, "This clay I will show myself to him," and he did; and when the king saw him he said, "Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" and the prophet answered. "I have not troubled Israel, but thou and thy father's house in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, thou has followed Baalim." Then Elijah suggested, "Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto Mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal, four hundred and fifty and let us determine here today whether the god of Baal is the true god or whether the God of Israel is the true god." The people assembled in that picturesque place and Elijah addressed them: "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered not a word." It is suggestive. There the people were halting: many of them knew in a way that Israel's God was omnipotent, that He it was who could save them, and yet the other gods offered pleasure, offered indulgence I and the people halted; some trying to serve and yield obedience to both. "How long halt ye between two opinions?" said the prophet; "If the Lord be God follow Him, if Baal be god, follow him;" but don't try to mix in trying to serve one today and then falling back in obedience to the teachings of the other tomorrow. Well, you know the test that was decided upon; you know the result, and the death that came to the priests of Baal.
While listening to the word of God as given in this conference by our President, who admonished Israel to refrain from indulgence in tobacco, and to refrain from indulgence in strong drink, I thought that instruction has been given to us now for eighty years, and still we falter in obedience. How long, Israel, halt ye between two opinions? The Lord has said that strong drink is not good. Eighty years ago that was declared. Only a few weeks ago, in this country, at a meeting of brewers, a man rose and said: "We don't want the people to drink more beer, but we want more people to drink beer." Which teaching will you heed? Which will the nation accept? Whose voice will the people heed? One declared in the voice of Omnipotence that beer, alcoholic beverages, are not good; the other declared it is good, and he wants to develop the appetite of the people so more people will drink. "How long; halt ye between two opinions?" What does it mean to obey God's word? to refrain from indulgence in narcotics, and alcoholic beverages? It means stronger manhood; it means brighter intellects; it means stronger and more perfect physical organism; it means better and truer husbands, more devoted and affectionate fathers; it means parenthood that will transmit to children clean habits, and power in the will to resist temptations of appetite and greater temptations of passion that may come to them; it means happy Homes, contented wives, well dressed and better educated children; it means a safe and sound citizenship which goes for the building of a safe and sound nation; it means salvation for the individual in the kingdom of God. A little thing? On the other hand, what does indulgence mean? Weakened manhood, a weakened will, a physical organism that will transmit weakness to unborn generations; it means the cutting off of life by slow suicide; it means the derangement of mental faculties; it means the breaking up of homes, it means broken hearted wives, destitute children, a weakened society and an undermined Republic—that is what it means. Recent investigations by scientists confirm these statement.
The American Society for the study of alcoholic beverages and narcotics, recently made a report also to this effect. You will find it in the Senate Document no. 48 issued May 17th, 1909. Their conclusions are these: that alcohol is not safe as a common beverage in any of its present commercial forms, or for ordinary prescriptions; that it is a thief of all the vitality of the tissues; that its promises of strength are mocking lies; its semblance of power is simply nerve center disturbances that end in ultimate weakness and destruction. That the whiskey problem is a greater problem today in this country than the great white plague. The intemperance in the United States today costs this country over one billion, eight hundred and eighty-three million dollars; that today in this Republic there are over three million drinkers who have been taught that alcohol is a mild stimulant and a pleasant tonic, and the worst of it is that nearly all these will say they can quit it, each says, "I can leave it alone." The demon is lying to them always, promising them something which it cannot give.
I believe, Latter-day Saints, that it is time for this people to stand tip in earnest in the strength of true manhood and declare against these evils. Let us think about them now; go from this conference determined, so far as we are concerned, that we will live in accordance with the admonitions given. This means that in our individual life we will refrain from the use of these things —whiskey, tobacco, tea and coffee. As you know the Latter-day Saints are not alone in declaring against the use of these beverages. Men have proved by scientific research that the word of God as given to the prophet Joseph Smith eighty years ago is the word of life and salvation to man. Then as individuals let us refrain. It grieved me yesterday, as I passed into a restaurant, to see some of our people indulging in some of those beverages, after having listened to the teachings of this conference. What is the use of hearing and not doing? Think! Be strong enough to introduce the principles into active life; and after doing that, as individuals, see that it is cleared up in our homes, use your influence with your children; and remember example in the home will go further in helping our children than our teaching. Parents, you cannot afford for the sake of your children, to use these things. You may want to, but I tell you, you have no right to transmit such an appetite and a weakened will to those unborn children whom God may give you, you have no right to do it. Children are entitled to a kingly birth, whether they must live in a mud hovel or in a palace; it makes no difference— a kingly birth, inherited strength, physical strength, moral strength, and a tendency towards spiritual uplift.
Then after freeing our homes from forbidden things, let us clean up our towns, eliminate saloons from every city and county. I congratulate the Latter-day Saints that in nearly ever)' town where members of the Church are in the majority, the saloons are closed. I trust that the time is not far distant when they will be eliminated from every town in our state, and from every city and state in our country. I believe with all my heart the sentiments of David Starr Jordan, as expressed in that excellent little work, "The Strength of Being Clean," part of which is as follows:
"So far as the drink of the drunkards is concerned, prohibition may not prohibit; but to clean up a town, to free it from corrosion, save men and boys, and girls too, from vice; and who shall say that moral sanitation is not as much the duty of the community as physical sanitation? The city of the future will not permit the existence of slums and dives and tippling houses; it will prohibit their existence for the same reason that it now prohibits pig-pens and dung heaps and cesspools, for where all these things are—slums and cesspools, saloons and pig-pens—there the people grow weak and die."
"Why halt ye, Israel, between two opinions? If God be God, follow Him; if Bacchus, then follow him."
God help us all to know the truth and to have strength to live it, is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
I think the natural inquiry that would arise in the minds of all present this morning after listening to the remarks which we have heard would be, can we as intelligent men and women, professing to be honest before God, resist the force, the justice and the righteousness of the appeals that are being made to us? Can we do it? I say we cannot and be Latter-day Saints.
Sister Amelia Margetts sang a soprano solo, "The plains of peace."
I think the natural inquiry that would arise in the minds of all present this morning after listening to the remarks which we have heard would be, can we as intelligent men and women, professing to be honest before God, resist the force, the justice and the righteousness of the appeals that are being made to us? Can we do it? I say we cannot and be Latter-day Saints.
Sister Amelia Margetts sang a soprano solo, "The plains of peace."
ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS.
Past 83 years of Church's history proves its divine origin—Prophecies fulfilled concerning re-establishment of Church—Multitude of details confirming fact that this is God's work —No other people fulfilling prophecies, nor possessing completeness of Christ's Gospel.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
I have been thinking of these words of the Savior, my brethren and sisters, since the beginning of this conference, and applying them to the establishment and development of the Church. More than eighty-three years have elapsed since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established. At its organization, on the 6th of April, 1830, there were but six persons present who were recognized as members of the Church, and who participated in the business which was transacted. Now, after the lapse of these years, hundreds of thousands of people profess membership in the Church. Many thousands of those people are here in-this city, and are participating in the exercises of this conference. At the time of its establishment, men who were not familiar with the forces which were at work in its development, and which had brought it into existence, unbelievers, might with a degree of consistency have thought, or said, that it was just another movement in which a new religious denomination was being established by a man who had discovered errors in existing religious organizations, or that it was the work of a simple enthusiast who believed that the Lord had called him to establish a new church, or that it was the deliberate plan of an imposter who sought to take advantage of the wave of religious reform which was sweeping over the country, to the accomplishment of his own selfish purposes. In either event it might have been thought, as was often said, that if left alone it. like many such movements which had preceded it. would come to naught. It is not unusual that, in their inception, the success of many great movements which have resulted in inestimable benefit to mankind has been doubted. It is not at all unusual that movements which have been inaugurated with every prospect of success have proven to be failures. So it is only after experience has given evidence by which we may reach conclusions that we may intelligently determine results.
Men who have addressed us at this conference have borne strong testimony to the divinity of this work and to its ultimate triumph. That testimony, if unsupported by evidence, our faith, even devotion to that which we may believe, if we are professed Christians, must be supported by the word of the Lord. I am a believer in these words of the Savior which I have read, as I am in all of His words; and if He spoke the truth then we and the religious world must be in harmony with the law and the prophets, for if they are to be fulfilled not one jot or tittle is to pass. Then if we profess faith in Christ and claim, as we do, that He is the author of the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we ought to be able to show that in its development as well as in its establishment, it is in harmony with the law and with the prophets, for by this measure sometime all religious denominations will have to be judged.
Then I have thought as I have looked into the faces of these magnificent congregations of Latter-day Saints, which have assembled here, that if the words of the prophets are true, Christ Himself, being the greatest of them all, we know, we have this assurance, that at sometime subsequent to the period in which He ministered in the flesh. His gospel must come back to earth and be established again among men. He taught this to His disciples from the beginning, that He must leave them, that He must suffer for the sins of the world, but just as He testified of His glorious resurrection from the dead, so He told them that the time would come when His gospel would again be preached upon earth for the redemption of his covenant people. Regarded in a general sense, that would be a little indefinite, and so they asked Him what should be the sign of His coming and of the end of the world. He warned them that they be not deceived, that many should come in His name and deceive many, that false prophets would arise and false Christs would arise, and that if possible their sophistry would be such that it would deceive the very elect; but, this He gave them as a guide, wherever the body is there will the eagles be gathered together, or in other words, wherever My gospel is preached, wherever the Church of Christ shall exist, there will the fruits of the Gospel be manifest among the people. That restoration was to be in the latter days. It was to be in a time when kingdoms would be divided, one against the other; it was to be in a time when there would be religious confusion, when one would cry lo here and another lo there, a time when there would be war in the land and contention and earthquakes, and when the sea would heave itself beyond its bounds, and the people of the world be in confusion.
Now that is not all that was associated with this idea of the restoration of the Gospel. He told us just how it should come, not handed down continuously from the time of the apostles to be preached to the inhabitants of the earth, but to come through the ministry of an angel, which John saw in that glorious vision that was given him of the Savior, while upon the isle of Patmos, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwelt upon the earth, calling men to repentance with a loud voice, warning them that the judgments of the Almighty were at hand. And that was not all, it was to be at a period of restitution, the restitution of all things spoken by the mouths of the holy prophets, these prophets to which I have referred, the priesthood, the ordinances of the Church, the hearts of the fathers were to be turned to the children, and vigorous work for the dead established, inaugurated in the day of the establishment of God's Church. It was to be a dispensation of gathering, not only restoration so far as the doctrines of the Gospel were concerned, but a time when scattered Israel should be gathered, for the prophets had said to them that though they be scattered to the uttermost parts of heaven, yet the Father said "will I gather you from thence and bring you back to the lands of your inheritance, and will fulfil the promises that I have made to your fathers." So we may expect not only a restoration of the Gospel but a restitution of the ordinances of the Church and a gathering together of the Lord's people.
And more than that, He made clear the condition under which that gathering should take place, that He would send out His messengers unto the world, and they should hunt them out from among the nations, they should bring one of a city and two of a family, and they would come out to some place that they called Zion with songs of everlasting praise. We are not left in doubt either so far as that place is concerned. It was to be in the mountains. Do you not remember that Isaiah said in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord should be established, and that it should be established too in the tops of the mountains, and that all nations should flow unto it, that many people should come and say "Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord's house, to the house of the God of Jacob, that we may be taught His ways and learn to walk in His paths." It was not a fruitful land but a desert land, if the prophets are to be fulfilled; for this same man told us that the wilderness should be made glad because of them at the time of this gathering together, and it shall rejoice abundantly and blossom as the rose; that in the desert streams of water should break forth and pools in the desert places.
Now, my brethren and sisters, I cannot take time to continue quotations of this character which indicate to me and which I love to study and to contemplate, and which have been, outlined by prophets of God which have lived before us, and refer to the dispensation in which we live. Read the scripture, study it, and you will find that I have only mentioned a few of that great multitude of details which must be brought harmoniously together wherever the work of the Lord is to be accomplished. Then I have looked back over these eighty-three years and asked myself the question, does the history and development of the Church fit in to these prophesies? Are they being fulfilled? Have they been? The testimony of the spirit comes to me that in every detail from the organization of the Church until this year of grace, 1913, gradually but surely the Church of Christ has justified the declaration which we make to the world that it was divinely established and that it is established for the redemption of His covenant people. The Gospel came just as the Lord said that it should come. Joseph Smith did not assume, as other men had assumed, to establish a new church, another sectarian Christian denomination until God had authorized him to do it. He understood full well that he could not give that which he himself did not possess. Notwithstanding the fact that in that glorious vision the Father and Son had manifested to him, notwithstanding the fact that he had there been told that there was a great work for him to perform, notwithstanding the fact that Moroni had visited him and talked with him and instructed him, and entrusted to him the plates from which this Book of Mormon was translated, which he did, for those things are true and certain as any truth of heaven, but yet he made no effort, he took no steps looking to the establishment of a church, but as he read there he found, as he undoubtedly had observed before, that baptism was essential to the salvation of man. Christ had said that a man could not enter into the kingdom of heaven except he were baptized, born of water and of the Spirit, and as he translated from those plates he found that doctrine reiterated there, and in the humility of his soul, just as he had done before, he went to the Lord. I have never thought that he anticipated that which was to occur. He believed that his prayer would be heard and answered, but he himself and Oliver Cowdery who was with him, declared that the human mind cannot conceive the joy that entered into their souls when John the Baptist, descending in a cloud of light, came from heaven, laying his hands upon their heads, ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood and conferred upon them the keys of that priesthood which holds the right of the preaching of the Gospel of repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.
Then this gospel dispensation was opened; then they had authority to confer upon others that which the Lord through His servant had conferred upon them, to preach the Gospel, to administer in the ordinances of the Church which belong to that lesser order of the priesthood. Then came the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood; then came the keys of the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers, and which authorizes the work which is being done in these temples of the Lord. Then came authority to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, and to gather up the outcasts of Israel, bring them here to the tops of these mountains that they might be taught the word of the Lord and learn to walk in His paths, this desert land which has been made to blossom, this desert land where pools of water now stand, streams have broken forth, where the voices of music and children are heard upon the streets, in a country which was' once a barren waste, this land which is full of gold and silver, just as the prophets said that the land of gathering should be.
So, my brethren and sisters, I thank God that from the very beginning we have been in harmony with the law and with the prophets, that they are being fulfilled. I testify to you of it. I know that Joseph Smith was no imposter. I know that he assumed to do nothing except that which he was authorized to do of the Lord. I know that the men who have succeeded him have followed in his footsteps, every one of them, and that today in the Church its strength is greater and its influence for good is greater than it has ever been before in its history, and' that nothing under heaven except transgression by the people themselves can stay the progress and development of this work of the Lord, because the law and the prophets are to be fulfilled as Christ declared, and if they are to be fulfilled you may look in all the world in vain to find a people who are fulfilling them away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My brethren and sisters, become familiar with the prophets, become familiar with the scripture, understand, so far as it is possible, and it is possible to understand because God will help us if we desire, the importance of this great work in which we are engaged, and that there are yet many of those sacred and precious promises and prophecies in future. This is Christ's Church, it is entrusted to us, we are His shepherds, we are developing it, establishing it, gathering in His covenant and scattered people, to the end that He may come to the Church, which He will do, because that is another one of the prophecies, that He will come in the clouds of heaven to us to vindicate our work and bear witness to the world of the everlasting truths of the doctrines which we preach and the work which we have accomplished.
The Lord help us to keep the faith, that we may be prepared for His glorious kingdom and coming, when it shall be established in fullness, in power and dominion upon the earth, I pray, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Past 83 years of Church's history proves its divine origin—Prophecies fulfilled concerning re-establishment of Church—Multitude of details confirming fact that this is God's work —No other people fulfilling prophecies, nor possessing completeness of Christ's Gospel.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
I have been thinking of these words of the Savior, my brethren and sisters, since the beginning of this conference, and applying them to the establishment and development of the Church. More than eighty-three years have elapsed since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was established. At its organization, on the 6th of April, 1830, there were but six persons present who were recognized as members of the Church, and who participated in the business which was transacted. Now, after the lapse of these years, hundreds of thousands of people profess membership in the Church. Many thousands of those people are here in-this city, and are participating in the exercises of this conference. At the time of its establishment, men who were not familiar with the forces which were at work in its development, and which had brought it into existence, unbelievers, might with a degree of consistency have thought, or said, that it was just another movement in which a new religious denomination was being established by a man who had discovered errors in existing religious organizations, or that it was the work of a simple enthusiast who believed that the Lord had called him to establish a new church, or that it was the deliberate plan of an imposter who sought to take advantage of the wave of religious reform which was sweeping over the country, to the accomplishment of his own selfish purposes. In either event it might have been thought, as was often said, that if left alone it. like many such movements which had preceded it. would come to naught. It is not unusual that, in their inception, the success of many great movements which have resulted in inestimable benefit to mankind has been doubted. It is not at all unusual that movements which have been inaugurated with every prospect of success have proven to be failures. So it is only after experience has given evidence by which we may reach conclusions that we may intelligently determine results.
Men who have addressed us at this conference have borne strong testimony to the divinity of this work and to its ultimate triumph. That testimony, if unsupported by evidence, our faith, even devotion to that which we may believe, if we are professed Christians, must be supported by the word of the Lord. I am a believer in these words of the Savior which I have read, as I am in all of His words; and if He spoke the truth then we and the religious world must be in harmony with the law and the prophets, for if they are to be fulfilled not one jot or tittle is to pass. Then if we profess faith in Christ and claim, as we do, that He is the author of the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we ought to be able to show that in its development as well as in its establishment, it is in harmony with the law and with the prophets, for by this measure sometime all religious denominations will have to be judged.
Then I have thought as I have looked into the faces of these magnificent congregations of Latter-day Saints, which have assembled here, that if the words of the prophets are true, Christ Himself, being the greatest of them all, we know, we have this assurance, that at sometime subsequent to the period in which He ministered in the flesh. His gospel must come back to earth and be established again among men. He taught this to His disciples from the beginning, that He must leave them, that He must suffer for the sins of the world, but just as He testified of His glorious resurrection from the dead, so He told them that the time would come when His gospel would again be preached upon earth for the redemption of his covenant people. Regarded in a general sense, that would be a little indefinite, and so they asked Him what should be the sign of His coming and of the end of the world. He warned them that they be not deceived, that many should come in His name and deceive many, that false prophets would arise and false Christs would arise, and that if possible their sophistry would be such that it would deceive the very elect; but, this He gave them as a guide, wherever the body is there will the eagles be gathered together, or in other words, wherever My gospel is preached, wherever the Church of Christ shall exist, there will the fruits of the Gospel be manifest among the people. That restoration was to be in the latter days. It was to be in a time when kingdoms would be divided, one against the other; it was to be in a time when there would be religious confusion, when one would cry lo here and another lo there, a time when there would be war in the land and contention and earthquakes, and when the sea would heave itself beyond its bounds, and the people of the world be in confusion.
Now that is not all that was associated with this idea of the restoration of the Gospel. He told us just how it should come, not handed down continuously from the time of the apostles to be preached to the inhabitants of the earth, but to come through the ministry of an angel, which John saw in that glorious vision that was given him of the Savior, while upon the isle of Patmos, having the everlasting Gospel to preach to them that dwelt upon the earth, calling men to repentance with a loud voice, warning them that the judgments of the Almighty were at hand. And that was not all, it was to be at a period of restitution, the restitution of all things spoken by the mouths of the holy prophets, these prophets to which I have referred, the priesthood, the ordinances of the Church, the hearts of the fathers were to be turned to the children, and vigorous work for the dead established, inaugurated in the day of the establishment of God's Church. It was to be a dispensation of gathering, not only restoration so far as the doctrines of the Gospel were concerned, but a time when scattered Israel should be gathered, for the prophets had said to them that though they be scattered to the uttermost parts of heaven, yet the Father said "will I gather you from thence and bring you back to the lands of your inheritance, and will fulfil the promises that I have made to your fathers." So we may expect not only a restoration of the Gospel but a restitution of the ordinances of the Church and a gathering together of the Lord's people.
And more than that, He made clear the condition under which that gathering should take place, that He would send out His messengers unto the world, and they should hunt them out from among the nations, they should bring one of a city and two of a family, and they would come out to some place that they called Zion with songs of everlasting praise. We are not left in doubt either so far as that place is concerned. It was to be in the mountains. Do you not remember that Isaiah said in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord should be established, and that it should be established too in the tops of the mountains, and that all nations should flow unto it, that many people should come and say "Let us go up to the mountain of the Lord's house, to the house of the God of Jacob, that we may be taught His ways and learn to walk in His paths." It was not a fruitful land but a desert land, if the prophets are to be fulfilled; for this same man told us that the wilderness should be made glad because of them at the time of this gathering together, and it shall rejoice abundantly and blossom as the rose; that in the desert streams of water should break forth and pools in the desert places.
Now, my brethren and sisters, I cannot take time to continue quotations of this character which indicate to me and which I love to study and to contemplate, and which have been, outlined by prophets of God which have lived before us, and refer to the dispensation in which we live. Read the scripture, study it, and you will find that I have only mentioned a few of that great multitude of details which must be brought harmoniously together wherever the work of the Lord is to be accomplished. Then I have looked back over these eighty-three years and asked myself the question, does the history and development of the Church fit in to these prophesies? Are they being fulfilled? Have they been? The testimony of the spirit comes to me that in every detail from the organization of the Church until this year of grace, 1913, gradually but surely the Church of Christ has justified the declaration which we make to the world that it was divinely established and that it is established for the redemption of His covenant people. The Gospel came just as the Lord said that it should come. Joseph Smith did not assume, as other men had assumed, to establish a new church, another sectarian Christian denomination until God had authorized him to do it. He understood full well that he could not give that which he himself did not possess. Notwithstanding the fact that in that glorious vision the Father and Son had manifested to him, notwithstanding the fact that he had there been told that there was a great work for him to perform, notwithstanding the fact that Moroni had visited him and talked with him and instructed him, and entrusted to him the plates from which this Book of Mormon was translated, which he did, for those things are true and certain as any truth of heaven, but yet he made no effort, he took no steps looking to the establishment of a church, but as he read there he found, as he undoubtedly had observed before, that baptism was essential to the salvation of man. Christ had said that a man could not enter into the kingdom of heaven except he were baptized, born of water and of the Spirit, and as he translated from those plates he found that doctrine reiterated there, and in the humility of his soul, just as he had done before, he went to the Lord. I have never thought that he anticipated that which was to occur. He believed that his prayer would be heard and answered, but he himself and Oliver Cowdery who was with him, declared that the human mind cannot conceive the joy that entered into their souls when John the Baptist, descending in a cloud of light, came from heaven, laying his hands upon their heads, ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood and conferred upon them the keys of that priesthood which holds the right of the preaching of the Gospel of repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.
Then this gospel dispensation was opened; then they had authority to confer upon others that which the Lord through His servant had conferred upon them, to preach the Gospel, to administer in the ordinances of the Church which belong to that lesser order of the priesthood. Then came the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood; then came the keys of the turning of the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers, and which authorizes the work which is being done in these temples of the Lord. Then came authority to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, and to gather up the outcasts of Israel, bring them here to the tops of these mountains that they might be taught the word of the Lord and learn to walk in His paths, this desert land which has been made to blossom, this desert land where pools of water now stand, streams have broken forth, where the voices of music and children are heard upon the streets, in a country which was' once a barren waste, this land which is full of gold and silver, just as the prophets said that the land of gathering should be.
So, my brethren and sisters, I thank God that from the very beginning we have been in harmony with the law and with the prophets, that they are being fulfilled. I testify to you of it. I know that Joseph Smith was no imposter. I know that he assumed to do nothing except that which he was authorized to do of the Lord. I know that the men who have succeeded him have followed in his footsteps, every one of them, and that today in the Church its strength is greater and its influence for good is greater than it has ever been before in its history, and' that nothing under heaven except transgression by the people themselves can stay the progress and development of this work of the Lord, because the law and the prophets are to be fulfilled as Christ declared, and if they are to be fulfilled you may look in all the world in vain to find a people who are fulfilling them away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My brethren and sisters, become familiar with the prophets, become familiar with the scripture, understand, so far as it is possible, and it is possible to understand because God will help us if we desire, the importance of this great work in which we are engaged, and that there are yet many of those sacred and precious promises and prophecies in future. This is Christ's Church, it is entrusted to us, we are His shepherds, we are developing it, establishing it, gathering in His covenant and scattered people, to the end that He may come to the Church, which He will do, because that is another one of the prophecies, that He will come in the clouds of heaven to us to vindicate our work and bear witness to the world of the everlasting truths of the doctrines which we preach and the work which we have accomplished.
The Lord help us to keep the faith, that we may be prepared for His glorious kingdom and coming, when it shall be established in fullness, in power and dominion upon the earth, I pray, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
PATRIARCH HYRUM G. SMITH.
I am very grateful, my brethren and sisters, for the privilege of being present at this conference, to hear the word of the Lord, and the testimonies of His servants. I can bear testimony to the truthfulness of all that has been said. I rejoice in the testimony of the Gospel. I know that this is the work of the Lord, and that He has entrusted it unto us. It is our duty to deliver it unto the world. It has been given unto us freely, and freely we give it unto them; and as the different individuals all over the world accept the Gospel,—without regard to race, nationality, or creed—and live according to its teachings, they join with us in the love which is common to all faithful Latter-day Saints.
During this conference we had the pleasure of listening to a prayer by one of our brothers of another race, offered in our language, and I rejoiced in his prayer. I rejoice with all my brethren and sisters who accept and faithfully live the Gospel, no matter where they come from. The Gospel is sweet to me, and to all who join in that common love for the truth, when it has been made plain unto them, and they have been blessed with courage and strength to obey its teachings. We rejoice together in the knowledge of the plan of redemption, for we are given the privilege to walk according to the teachings of our Savior, and by obeying them we shall return unto Him and share in that eternal love of our Father which is in heaven. This is my testimony and I rejoice in it.
I thank the Lord for the many privileges that have come to me in associating with the general authorities of the Church, those whom the Lord has called to direct His work in the earth today. I rejoice in the teachings of the Gospel, and in the testimonies that have been borne in this conference, and in the instructions we have received; they are the word of the Lord to us. The many thousands gathered together in the different sessions of this conference have listened to these words, and they are words that should be remembered by all. It is our duty now, as Latter-day Saints, as children of our Father in heaven, to carry these teachings home and make use of them. We are weak — for we are earthly; we need reminding; we are frail creatures, to a certain extent, and are subject to weaknesses both of mind and body. We are very dependent creatures and need constant reminding of our duties. That is one of the purposes of this great gathering, and of other gatherings at our homes in the wards and stakes of Zion.
I pray that our Father in heaven will give us strength, even if we are weak and mortal, to carry to our homes the great teachings which we have been reminded of, and then live according to our duties as Latter-day Saints.
You know, brethren and sisters, that we are not of the world. We have come out of the world, therefore we are different from the world; these worldly things that we are prone to adopt in our lives, we have been warned to leave alone; and where they have taken possession of us, and we look upon them as weaknesses, from a spiritual and progressive standpoint, they should be overcome. We should go forth in the strength which our Father has given us, that spiritual strength by which we live, and we will grow By receiving and putting into practice the teachings of this conference, and those we receive from the Lord, through His servants, from time to time. Let us rise above our weaknesses by commencing today to live better lives. It is a simple thing to commence, but it takes faith to endure to the end. There may be weaknesses in our lives which have grown upon us and become habits, so that it will be somewhat difficult for some of us to leave them off at once, or of our own strength, we must have the help of the Lord; and it can be secured through humility in prayer and in obedience to the laws of His Gospel.
I thank the Lord for the teachings of the Gospel, and do pray that His Spirit will give us strength to commence now to reform and live as Latter-day Saints, and not as if we were living in Babylon. We can overcome our tendencies toward disease, sin, and decay, by heeding the remindings and teachings given by President Smith in the first session of this conference.
Now, with the power that has been given to me to bless, I desire to bless this congregation and all Israel, that we may see and study the conditions by which we are surrounded, and in the strength that has been given us have power to overcome them, become better, and conform more nearly to the teachings of our Master; that we may prepare this earth for His coming. This is my prayer, in the name of Jesus' Christ. Amen.
I am very grateful, my brethren and sisters, for the privilege of being present at this conference, to hear the word of the Lord, and the testimonies of His servants. I can bear testimony to the truthfulness of all that has been said. I rejoice in the testimony of the Gospel. I know that this is the work of the Lord, and that He has entrusted it unto us. It is our duty to deliver it unto the world. It has been given unto us freely, and freely we give it unto them; and as the different individuals all over the world accept the Gospel,—without regard to race, nationality, or creed—and live according to its teachings, they join with us in the love which is common to all faithful Latter-day Saints.
During this conference we had the pleasure of listening to a prayer by one of our brothers of another race, offered in our language, and I rejoiced in his prayer. I rejoice with all my brethren and sisters who accept and faithfully live the Gospel, no matter where they come from. The Gospel is sweet to me, and to all who join in that common love for the truth, when it has been made plain unto them, and they have been blessed with courage and strength to obey its teachings. We rejoice together in the knowledge of the plan of redemption, for we are given the privilege to walk according to the teachings of our Savior, and by obeying them we shall return unto Him and share in that eternal love of our Father which is in heaven. This is my testimony and I rejoice in it.
I thank the Lord for the many privileges that have come to me in associating with the general authorities of the Church, those whom the Lord has called to direct His work in the earth today. I rejoice in the teachings of the Gospel, and in the testimonies that have been borne in this conference, and in the instructions we have received; they are the word of the Lord to us. The many thousands gathered together in the different sessions of this conference have listened to these words, and they are words that should be remembered by all. It is our duty now, as Latter-day Saints, as children of our Father in heaven, to carry these teachings home and make use of them. We are weak — for we are earthly; we need reminding; we are frail creatures, to a certain extent, and are subject to weaknesses both of mind and body. We are very dependent creatures and need constant reminding of our duties. That is one of the purposes of this great gathering, and of other gatherings at our homes in the wards and stakes of Zion.
I pray that our Father in heaven will give us strength, even if we are weak and mortal, to carry to our homes the great teachings which we have been reminded of, and then live according to our duties as Latter-day Saints.
You know, brethren and sisters, that we are not of the world. We have come out of the world, therefore we are different from the world; these worldly things that we are prone to adopt in our lives, we have been warned to leave alone; and where they have taken possession of us, and we look upon them as weaknesses, from a spiritual and progressive standpoint, they should be overcome. We should go forth in the strength which our Father has given us, that spiritual strength by which we live, and we will grow By receiving and putting into practice the teachings of this conference, and those we receive from the Lord, through His servants, from time to time. Let us rise above our weaknesses by commencing today to live better lives. It is a simple thing to commence, but it takes faith to endure to the end. There may be weaknesses in our lives which have grown upon us and become habits, so that it will be somewhat difficult for some of us to leave them off at once, or of our own strength, we must have the help of the Lord; and it can be secured through humility in prayer and in obedience to the laws of His Gospel.
I thank the Lord for the teachings of the Gospel, and do pray that His Spirit will give us strength to commence now to reform and live as Latter-day Saints, and not as if we were living in Babylon. We can overcome our tendencies toward disease, sin, and decay, by heeding the remindings and teachings given by President Smith in the first session of this conference.
Now, with the power that has been given to me to bless, I desire to bless this congregation and all Israel, that we may see and study the conditions by which we are surrounded, and in the strength that has been given us have power to overcome them, become better, and conform more nearly to the teachings of our Master; that we may prepare this earth for His coming. This is my prayer, in the name of Jesus' Christ. Amen.
ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON.
(President of California Mission.)
With you, my brethren and sisters, I rejoice in the testimony of the brethren who have addressed us and in the fact that we are pointed back to first principles. It is a matter that I had thought upon because of some recent experiences. I had recalled the testimony of Paul to the ancient Galatians, wherein he said he marveled because they had been called so soon to another gospel which, however, was not a gospel, for there is but one, which is the power of God unto salvation; and as He told Timothy, men have lulled themselves to sleep, having itching ears, and they have had teachers after their own lusts, who have pleased their fancies and have drawn them away from the truths of the everlasting Gospel. In the world, men are declaring today that there is no such thing as sin, only as a person may conceive it in his own mind; that all things are as they should be, and that evil is only to those who think evil. One of our greatest churches, one of late growth too, is largely responsible, I take it, for this mental attitude of the people abroad. I was astounded, while coming to this city, to find among five gentlemen, who are well read and widely traveled, these very thoughts that I am expressing to you now, and that the pleasures of life were more desirable than the things which we look upon as of eternal worth, and that they were more punctilious in the observance of the so-called pleasures than they were in the obligations to uphold and defend the right and preserve the morals of the public, and to help maintain civic probity. So I take it as most timely, to the Latter-day Saints, that we should be admonished anew of the things for which our fathers came out of the old world and for which they planted us securely in the tops of the mountains, for which they denied their own appetites and made it possible for us to enjoy here, through their experiences, the blessings and the blessedness of the everlasting covenant.
I rejoice today in noting the strength that has returned to Elder George Albert Smith, and I want to add just one testimony to the testimony of faith as expounded by him namely; that it is through faith that his life has been spared and that you heard him speak in such good voice and form today. I think I know as well as any man, the trials which he has undergone, how humble and patient he has been through it all, striving only to magnify his office and calling, and asking if he could not do so, that God would take him away from this earth that another might fill his place. The prayers of the Saints have prevailed, thank the Lord for that, and for his presence today.
I miss, as I never believed I could, the presence of my fellow servant the late Elder Ben E. Rich; I miss the earnest and warm grasp of his hand, his kindly expressions, bis spontaneous wit and humor and cheerfulness that would disarm an enemy, and his magnanimous generosity that would make a friend of that same enemy. I have looked upon him as the ideal Seventy, almost, of this people; I have regarded him as an ideal missionary, and in the rich heritage of his testimony, in word and deed and pen. I feel that incumbent upon me with my co-laborers is the obligation that we shall sustain and uphold the standard of truth and of righteousness and the restored Gospel of the Christ as Ben E. Rich ever did in the world.
I want to admonish you, my brethren and sisters, that we cannot neglect our duties and hope to escape punishment. As Paul said, how can we unto whom this great salvation has come hope to escape, if we neglect so great salvation; and there is such a thing as believing in vain. For, in addressing the Corinthian saints, telling them of the Gospel in which they then stood and by which they will be saved, he said, "unless ye have believed in vain." It has made me sad to hear,—I was going to say the admonitions, and I may say the spirit of some of those admonitions, that prove to me that among us at home, those from whom we expect so much, whom we hold up to the world as the very ensamples of light and truth, of honor and sobriety, proves that we have neglected at home, and that we forget and are unmindful of the teachings of our brethren and of the obligations that are laid upon us and that we ourselves have assumed. You expect much of us, my brethren and sisters, who are in the missionary. field; you expect that we shall walk the line of strict propriety, that no untoward thing shall be done by us who are missionaries, that shall bring disrepute upon you at home and upon the cause of the Master, but that we shall give our whole heart-power, and all the virtues that we are possessed of to maintain the excellency of your good repute. Can we not expect as much of you? Have we not the right, when we turn our eyes Zionward, as we speak of these mountains and valleys, to think that here are the very elect of the earth, the salt of the earth, and that here there can and shall be no iniquity flourish? that there the standard of probity in all things shall be made unsullied?
I want to tell you one little experience on the coast last year, that I had when speaking of the evils in the world. I was confronted with the fact that in Idaho and Utah alone, of all these United States, was book-making' for the races indulged in the open race courses obtaining. I am glad to know that that has been curtailed since the time I am speaking of. I want to tell you that not only the eyes of some of the philosophers of the world, the thoughtful men,—and students who are looking into the future for the conservation of the integrity of the American people and the people of the world, not only the eyes of these men are upon us but from the lowly walks of life we receive daily testimony that we are being watched ' in all of our ways and all of our doings. A young elder bore testimony to me, three weeks ago, that frequently in San Francisco, recently, he had been asked by individuals: "Do you people intend to build here? Are you doing anything towards establishing yourselves in this city? We want to know." And his curiosity was aroused, and so to one man who seemed very earnest in the matter, he said: "Why do you ask this question?" He replied: "Because I want to tell you, young man, we are watching you, and if your people go out of here, some of us will be close behind you." Thus indicating the fact that he felt in the actions of the "Mormon" people could be found an example that could be safely followed even in material things.
Through the graciousness of the Trustee-in-trust, and some of our good friends who have assisted us, and the Saints in the mission field, we have been able to erect a most beautiful chapel in Los Angeles, with a home for the presiding authority of the mission, also mission home and office for our office force and elders. Commercially speaking, since this has been done, our stock has advanced a hundred per cent and more. People who before were indifferent towards us, when they see what we have done, have been led to interest themselves and to seek our society, to ask advice and counsel at our hands, and they want to know what we think of various conditions other than that which we call religious. This offers an opportunity for telling something of the Gospel; and it is good to know that the man who thinks, sees the hand of the Lord in our success in reclaiming the waste places of Zion and in building up in the greater centers of the land an evidence of the fact that God is with this people; that there is something virile and potent in the Gospel for by it and with the excellency of our institutions we realize many blessings—the longevity of the lives of our people, as recorded by the statistics given, the peace that obtains in our homes, the binding power of the everlasting covenant, the keeping of the word of wisdom,—all an outgrowth and product of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. Men used to look upon our success rather from a commercial standpoint, as communism and cooperation, but today they are beginning to see there is more than that in it; and it is significant to me, when men will say that they read in it the essence of religion, and that if it be the result of "Mormonism," so-called, that they see the need of "Mormonism" in their own homes, in their own communities, and in their own churches. I bear witness unto you that God lives; that Jesus is the Christ; that Joseph Smith was a prophet; that we have, as we sang, founded our faith on a sure foundation, not only of prophets, apostles, evangelists, and pastors, and deacons as we have them, to dispense the living word to us daily, but in that same testimony that came to Peter when he bore witness to the Christ that He was the Son of God, and the Master said: "Man hath not revealed this unto thee but my Father which is in heavens, and upon this rock shall I build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." In this statement I read more than the fact that a knowledge was revealed to Peter, a philosophy, or an understanding that Jesus was the Christ, but the testimony itself, burned into his soul, that Jesus was the Son of God, that he knew that God lived; and this, we are told by the Master, is life eternal, and surely the gates of hell shall not prevail against the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
May the Lord keep us in His love for ever more, guide us to His praise, and wean us away from the vanities of the flesh and the world, I ask, in Jesus' name. Amen.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn, "Love at home."
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Joseph S. Geddes.
Conference adjourned until 2 p.m.
(President of California Mission.)
With you, my brethren and sisters, I rejoice in the testimony of the brethren who have addressed us and in the fact that we are pointed back to first principles. It is a matter that I had thought upon because of some recent experiences. I had recalled the testimony of Paul to the ancient Galatians, wherein he said he marveled because they had been called so soon to another gospel which, however, was not a gospel, for there is but one, which is the power of God unto salvation; and as He told Timothy, men have lulled themselves to sleep, having itching ears, and they have had teachers after their own lusts, who have pleased their fancies and have drawn them away from the truths of the everlasting Gospel. In the world, men are declaring today that there is no such thing as sin, only as a person may conceive it in his own mind; that all things are as they should be, and that evil is only to those who think evil. One of our greatest churches, one of late growth too, is largely responsible, I take it, for this mental attitude of the people abroad. I was astounded, while coming to this city, to find among five gentlemen, who are well read and widely traveled, these very thoughts that I am expressing to you now, and that the pleasures of life were more desirable than the things which we look upon as of eternal worth, and that they were more punctilious in the observance of the so-called pleasures than they were in the obligations to uphold and defend the right and preserve the morals of the public, and to help maintain civic probity. So I take it as most timely, to the Latter-day Saints, that we should be admonished anew of the things for which our fathers came out of the old world and for which they planted us securely in the tops of the mountains, for which they denied their own appetites and made it possible for us to enjoy here, through their experiences, the blessings and the blessedness of the everlasting covenant.
I rejoice today in noting the strength that has returned to Elder George Albert Smith, and I want to add just one testimony to the testimony of faith as expounded by him namely; that it is through faith that his life has been spared and that you heard him speak in such good voice and form today. I think I know as well as any man, the trials which he has undergone, how humble and patient he has been through it all, striving only to magnify his office and calling, and asking if he could not do so, that God would take him away from this earth that another might fill his place. The prayers of the Saints have prevailed, thank the Lord for that, and for his presence today.
I miss, as I never believed I could, the presence of my fellow servant the late Elder Ben E. Rich; I miss the earnest and warm grasp of his hand, his kindly expressions, bis spontaneous wit and humor and cheerfulness that would disarm an enemy, and his magnanimous generosity that would make a friend of that same enemy. I have looked upon him as the ideal Seventy, almost, of this people; I have regarded him as an ideal missionary, and in the rich heritage of his testimony, in word and deed and pen. I feel that incumbent upon me with my co-laborers is the obligation that we shall sustain and uphold the standard of truth and of righteousness and the restored Gospel of the Christ as Ben E. Rich ever did in the world.
I want to admonish you, my brethren and sisters, that we cannot neglect our duties and hope to escape punishment. As Paul said, how can we unto whom this great salvation has come hope to escape, if we neglect so great salvation; and there is such a thing as believing in vain. For, in addressing the Corinthian saints, telling them of the Gospel in which they then stood and by which they will be saved, he said, "unless ye have believed in vain." It has made me sad to hear,—I was going to say the admonitions, and I may say the spirit of some of those admonitions, that prove to me that among us at home, those from whom we expect so much, whom we hold up to the world as the very ensamples of light and truth, of honor and sobriety, proves that we have neglected at home, and that we forget and are unmindful of the teachings of our brethren and of the obligations that are laid upon us and that we ourselves have assumed. You expect much of us, my brethren and sisters, who are in the missionary. field; you expect that we shall walk the line of strict propriety, that no untoward thing shall be done by us who are missionaries, that shall bring disrepute upon you at home and upon the cause of the Master, but that we shall give our whole heart-power, and all the virtues that we are possessed of to maintain the excellency of your good repute. Can we not expect as much of you? Have we not the right, when we turn our eyes Zionward, as we speak of these mountains and valleys, to think that here are the very elect of the earth, the salt of the earth, and that here there can and shall be no iniquity flourish? that there the standard of probity in all things shall be made unsullied?
I want to tell you one little experience on the coast last year, that I had when speaking of the evils in the world. I was confronted with the fact that in Idaho and Utah alone, of all these United States, was book-making' for the races indulged in the open race courses obtaining. I am glad to know that that has been curtailed since the time I am speaking of. I want to tell you that not only the eyes of some of the philosophers of the world, the thoughtful men,—and students who are looking into the future for the conservation of the integrity of the American people and the people of the world, not only the eyes of these men are upon us but from the lowly walks of life we receive daily testimony that we are being watched ' in all of our ways and all of our doings. A young elder bore testimony to me, three weeks ago, that frequently in San Francisco, recently, he had been asked by individuals: "Do you people intend to build here? Are you doing anything towards establishing yourselves in this city? We want to know." And his curiosity was aroused, and so to one man who seemed very earnest in the matter, he said: "Why do you ask this question?" He replied: "Because I want to tell you, young man, we are watching you, and if your people go out of here, some of us will be close behind you." Thus indicating the fact that he felt in the actions of the "Mormon" people could be found an example that could be safely followed even in material things.
Through the graciousness of the Trustee-in-trust, and some of our good friends who have assisted us, and the Saints in the mission field, we have been able to erect a most beautiful chapel in Los Angeles, with a home for the presiding authority of the mission, also mission home and office for our office force and elders. Commercially speaking, since this has been done, our stock has advanced a hundred per cent and more. People who before were indifferent towards us, when they see what we have done, have been led to interest themselves and to seek our society, to ask advice and counsel at our hands, and they want to know what we think of various conditions other than that which we call religious. This offers an opportunity for telling something of the Gospel; and it is good to know that the man who thinks, sees the hand of the Lord in our success in reclaiming the waste places of Zion and in building up in the greater centers of the land an evidence of the fact that God is with this people; that there is something virile and potent in the Gospel for by it and with the excellency of our institutions we realize many blessings—the longevity of the lives of our people, as recorded by the statistics given, the peace that obtains in our homes, the binding power of the everlasting covenant, the keeping of the word of wisdom,—all an outgrowth and product of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus. Men used to look upon our success rather from a commercial standpoint, as communism and cooperation, but today they are beginning to see there is more than that in it; and it is significant to me, when men will say that they read in it the essence of religion, and that if it be the result of "Mormonism," so-called, that they see the need of "Mormonism" in their own homes, in their own communities, and in their own churches. I bear witness unto you that God lives; that Jesus is the Christ; that Joseph Smith was a prophet; that we have, as we sang, founded our faith on a sure foundation, not only of prophets, apostles, evangelists, and pastors, and deacons as we have them, to dispense the living word to us daily, but in that same testimony that came to Peter when he bore witness to the Christ that He was the Son of God, and the Master said: "Man hath not revealed this unto thee but my Father which is in heavens, and upon this rock shall I build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." In this statement I read more than the fact that a knowledge was revealed to Peter, a philosophy, or an understanding that Jesus was the Christ, but the testimony itself, burned into his soul, that Jesus was the Son of God, that he knew that God lived; and this, we are told by the Master, is life eternal, and surely the gates of hell shall not prevail against the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ.
May the Lord keep us in His love for ever more, guide us to His praise, and wean us away from the vanities of the flesh and the world, I ask, in Jesus' name. Amen.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn, "Love at home."
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Joseph S. Geddes.
Conference adjourned until 2 p.m.
CLOSING SESSION.
In the Tabernacle, at 2 p. m.
President Joseph F. Smith called the meeting to order.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
For the strength of the hills we bless Thee,
Our God, our fathers' God;
Thou hast made Thy children mighty,
By the touch of the mountain sod.
Prayer was offered by Elder James W. Lesueur.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
In the Tabernacle, at 2 p. m.
President Joseph F. Smith called the meeting to order.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
For the strength of the hills we bless Thee,
Our God, our fathers' God;
Thou hast made Thy children mighty,
By the touch of the mountain sod.
Prayer was offered by Elder James W. Lesueur.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
ELDER JAMES E. TALMAGE.
Our bodies gifts from God—Spirit and. body combined constitute the soul of man—The fall of man consisted in a violation of what we now call the Word of Wisdom—The Fall not a breach of law of chastity—Adam and Eve were and are beings of exalted station—Knowledge of good and evil, how gained—Pre-existence and life beyond the grave—Modern theologians preaching what was once exclusively "Mormon" doctrines.
I am very grateful for the opportunity of adding my testimony to the many strong testimonies to which we have listened during this conference. As I listened to the opening address, I heard echoing through the alcoves of my mind, what I have since heard in song and quotation: "We thank Thee, O God for a Prophet;" and many times during the course of subsequent addresses I have said in my heart, "I thank Thee, O God, for prophets in Israel, who are not afraid to speak out and tell the people the needs of the hour, and preach unto them the doctrines of the day, and call attention to the things of present moment and importance." I was heartily in accord with the instruction given in that first address as indeed I have been with all the instructions given, but I have in mind particularly that relating to the neglect which we ofttimes manifest in regard to spiritual things. We have been warned against giving too much attention to things of this world, to the neglect of the things that are of greater worth. On the other hand, we have heard much concerning practical duties, practical affairs, temporal religion if you please; and we have been, by implication, warned against' devoting ourselves exclusively to that other worldliness which is quite as dangerous as extreme worldliness.
We have been told, as many of us know, and knew before, that this life is a necessary part in the course of progression designed by our Father. We have been taught, again, to look upon these bodies of ours as gifts from God. We Latter-day Saints do not regard the body as something to be condemned, something to be abhorred, and something to be subdued in the sense in which that expression is oft-times heard in the world. We regard as the sign of our royal birthright, that we have bodies upon the earth. We recognize the fact that those who kept not their first estate, in the primeval existence, were denied that inestimable blessing, the taking of mortal bodies. We believe that these bodies are to be well cared for, that they are to be looked upon as something belonging to the Lord, and that each may be made, in very truth, the temple of the Holy Ghost, the place into which the Spirit of God shall enter and where He shall delight to dwell, if He shall find there cleanliness and order and purity and uprightness of thought and conduct.
It is peculiar to the theology of the Latter-day Saints that we regard the body as an essential part of the soul. Read your dictionaries, the lexicons, and encyclopedias, and you will find that nowhere, outside of the Church of Jesus Christ, is the solemn and eternal truth taught that the soul of man is the body and the spirit combined. It is quite the rule to regard the soul as that incorporeal part of men, that immortal part which existed before the body was framed and which shall continue to exist after that body has gone to decay; nevertheless, that is not the soul; that is only a part of the soul; that is the spirit-man, the form in which every individual of us, and every individual human being, existed before called to take tabernacle in the flesh. It has been declared in the solemn word of revelation, that the spirit and the body constitute the soul of man; and, therefore, we should look upon this body as something that shall endure in the resurrected state, beyond the grave, something to be kept pure and holy. Be not afraid of soiling its hands; be not afraid of scars that may come to it if won in earnest effort, or in honest fight, but beware of scars that disfigure, that have come to you in places where you ought not have gone, that have befallen you in unworthy undertakings; beware of the wounds' of battles in which you have been fighting on the wrong side.
I read that when our first parents were placed in the place provided for them, that at their creation, at the creation of the first man, his body was prepared; then God, the God of life, breathed into him the breath of life, and then and not before did man become a living soul. It was the advancement from the spirit state to the soul state that marked the great gift of God unto man, namely, life here upon the earth, an existence that shall prepare us for the life that lies beyond the grave. The resurrection of the body, the resurrection from the dead, is the redemption of the soul; and as Christ was the first to break the bonds of death and to take up His body, the body that had been slain, from which the spirit had temporarily departed, as by. Him and through Him came the resurrection, by Him and through Him came the redemption of the soul, and hence He won for Himself the title that belongs to none other, on earth or in heaven, the Redeemer of mankind.
We have heard much in regard to the duties we owe to these bodies in keeping from them the things that are hurtful, the things that are degrading, the things that poison the tissues, the things that break down the very organism that God has created. Time has not permitted those who have spoken before me to dwell at length, any more than it permits me to dwell at length on that important revelation of God unto man, of God unto Israel in these the last days, by which man may be wise—the Word of Wisdom. This, like other revelations that have come in the present dispensation, is not wholly hew. It is as old as the human race. The principle of the Word of Wisdom was revealed unto Adam. All the essentials of the Word of Wisdom were made known unto him in his immortal state, before he had taken into his body those things that made of it a thing of earth. He was warned against that very practice. He was not told to treat his body as something to be tortured. He was not told to look upon it as the fakirs of India have come to look upon it, or profess to look upon it, as a thing to be utterly contemned, but he was told that he must not take into that body certain things which were there at hand. He was warned that, if he did, his body would lose the power which it then held of living for ever, and that he would become subject to death. It was pointed out to him, as it has been pointed out to you, that there are many good fruits to be plucked, to be eaten, to be enjoyed. We believe in enjoying good food. We think that these good things are given us of God. We believe in getting all the enjoyment out of eating that we can; and, therefore, we should avoid gluttony, and we should avoid extremes in all our habits of eating; and as was told unto Adam, so is it told unto us, "Touch not these things; for in the day that thou doest it thy life shall be shortened and thou shalt die."
Here, let me say, that therein consisted the fall—the eating of things unfit, the taking into the body of the things that made of that body a thing of earth; and I take this occasion to raise my voice against the false interpretation of scripture, which hi some instances has been adopted by certain people, and is current in their minds, and is referred to in a hushed and half-secret way, that the fall of man consisted in some offense against the laws of chastity and of virtue. Such a doctrine is an abomination. What right have we to turn the scriptures from their proper sense and meaning? What right have we to declare that God meant not what He said? The fall was a natural process, resulting through the incorporation into the bodies of our first parents of the things that came from food unfit, through the violation of the command of God regarding what they should eat. Don't go around whispering that the fall consisted in the mother of the race losing her chastity and her virtue. It is not true; the human race is not born of fornication. These bodies that are given unto us are given in the way that God has provided. Let it not be said that the patriarch of the race, who stood with the gods before he came here upon the earth, and his equally royal consort, were guilty of any such foul offense. The adoption of that belief has led many to excuse departures from the path of chastity and the path of virtue, by saying that it is the sin of the race, it is as old as Adam. It was not introduced by Adam. It was not committed by Eve. It was the introduction of the devil and came in order that he might sow the seeds of early death in the bodies of men and women, that the race should degenerate as it has degenerated whenever the laws of virtue and of chastity have been transgressed.
Our first parents were pure and noble, and when we pass behind the veil we shall perhaps learn something of their high estate, more than we know now. But be it known that they were pure; they were noble. It is true that they disobeyed the law of God, in eating things they were told not to eat; but who amongst you can rise up and condemn? I listened not long ago to a lesson conducted as a model lesson, in a Sunday School class; it had to deal with the fall of man. The one who was appointed to pass criticism thereon, expressed his hearty approval of the lesson as it had been rendered, and particularly complimented the teacher on having been able to conduct a lesson "on such a delicate subject as that, with a mixed class of young boys and voting girls, and not offend!" What is there delicate about the fall of man? The sexual element does not enter into the subject. The fall consisted in disobedience of the commands as to what things were fit for the body, and we have been falling in the same way ever since; and you have been warned about it by authoritative voices here in the several sessions of this conference. If you would live to the full measure of your days, as God intended you to, then live according to the command of God in all these things. Ye may eat of the fruits of all these good trees; you may partake to the full, within the limits of- wisdom and propriety, but of that tree of the knowledge of terrible evil you ought not to partake. Oh, if you do, you will get experience that you otherwise would not get; you will know more about evil, and by contrast can perhaps estimate, in a different way, the good; but, nevertheless, you will find that you have purchased that knowledge at very great price. We are to be judged by what we know, as much and as well as by what we do not know. For, do you remember, after they, our first parents, had undertaken to set up their own judgment above the judgment of the God who made them and who prepared the place for their abode, and who gave them commandment, they had knowledge that they did not possess before, and when next they were called by the voice of God, they hid themselves; for they had awakened to the fact that there was something vile about them, something unseemly, something unclean, and they hid themselves: and mark you the words with which their guilt was brought home. When Adam declared that he had heard the voice of God calling him, and he had hidden himself because he had become aware of the fact that he was naked, the question was: "Who told thee that thou wast naked?" Where did Adam and Eve get that knowledge? Not by keeping the commandments of God, but by violation thereof. So I sometimes say when I find young men and young women showing by unguarded words or actions, that they know things they ought not to know, who told you that? Where have you been? What have you been doing? The time has not come for you to learn those things yet; and you never would have learned them at this stage of your advancement, and in this way, if you had not transgressed the laws of God.
What has been said concerning our duties to our bodies in this life and the strict attention we should give to spiritual things, tells us of the life that is to come and of the relation between this life and that. We hear much nowadays as to the speculative ideas of men concerning the condition beyond the grave; but the admission that there is an individual existence beyond the grave, is a declaration that there must have been an individual, intelligent creation before we came here in the flesh. Life beyond the grave postulates a pre-existent state to which reference was made yesterday. While the world admits the pre-existence of Christ and points to Him as one who before mortal birth shared with His Father in the honors of the godhead and in the powers of the Creator, they deny to the souls that are now upon the earth, and those that had lived as mortals, a pre-existent condition. I want to read to you one scripture bearing upon that subject and I read to you from the Book of Abraham, a scripture with which some of our people are better acquainted today than they were a year ago, because of the futile attempts that have been made to discredit it. By the failures that have resulted in these attempts, the strength of the faith of our people has been increased. The great patriarch says: "Now, the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was, and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and He stood in the midst of them and He said, 'These I will make my rulers;' for He stood among those that were spirits, and He saw that they were good, and He said unto me, Abraham, 'Thou are one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.' " Read the rest of that scripture for yourselves.
I am happy to see that the saving principles proclaimed by the prophets of this dispensation are spreading through the world, in spite of all attempts to the contrary. If the morning papers have correctly reported a lecture delivered in this city last night, there is in our midst a scholar from London who has proclaimed not only that the scriptures prove that there is and must of necessity be an intelligent individual existence beyond the grave, but that in that state there will be opportunity for repentance and for progression. Now, that is a "Mormon" doctrine which never had been broached in the modern religious world until the voice of the Prophet Joseph Smith was heard. Sectarian ministers now tell us that no longer are the scriptures to be twisted; that by the figure which says, "Where the tree falleth there shall it be," we are not longer to understand that a man who dies can never progress. Learned divines and theologians are lifting their voices today in declaration of the fact that God has provided a means by which His sons and daughters may progress and advance through the eternities that are to come. I read further that it was declared: That there is to be a resurrection of the just as distinct from the resurrection of the unjust. Another doctrine which in the way now presented was at one time peculiar to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But, because there is hope of repentance beyond the veil, procrastinate not the day of your repentance; for, as the Prophet Alma has pointed out, you may find that the gift of repentance will be withheld from you there for a long, long time on account of your unworthiness. For repentance is a gift from God, and when man forfeits it he loses the power to repent; he can't turn away from his sins with a contrite heart and with a desire to forsake them, once and for ever. O, Latter-day Saints, ye men and women of Israel, listen unto the voices of those who speak to you under the inspiration of the power of God, and heed them; for by hearing we are condemned, if we follow not in the path that is pointed out to us as the path of our duty.
You have heard but little in the way of new doctrine in this conference, perchance,—all the more reason you should be diligent in not forgetting again, as we have forgotten from time to time the things that are most needed. We make the excuse—that is one of our weaknesses, to make excuses—we make the excuse that our memories are at fault. Our memories are all right; altogether too good to suit some of us. We would like to forget things that we cannot. Memory is the library of the mind, in which we find stored away the valuable as well as the worthless things that have come to us. Recollection is the librarian, and he is very often sluggish and sleepy, often neglectful of his duty; he doesn't know where to put his hand on the book or the document we need, just when we need it. We have had our recollections aroused in this conference, and I pray that we may ever remember the things that are most needed, the things of greatest worth; and that you and I and all of us may progress with the work of God, for it shall progress no matter what man shall do or how he may attempt to hinder its advancement. May the blessings of Israel's God be with Israel, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Our bodies gifts from God—Spirit and. body combined constitute the soul of man—The fall of man consisted in a violation of what we now call the Word of Wisdom—The Fall not a breach of law of chastity—Adam and Eve were and are beings of exalted station—Knowledge of good and evil, how gained—Pre-existence and life beyond the grave—Modern theologians preaching what was once exclusively "Mormon" doctrines.
I am very grateful for the opportunity of adding my testimony to the many strong testimonies to which we have listened during this conference. As I listened to the opening address, I heard echoing through the alcoves of my mind, what I have since heard in song and quotation: "We thank Thee, O God for a Prophet;" and many times during the course of subsequent addresses I have said in my heart, "I thank Thee, O God, for prophets in Israel, who are not afraid to speak out and tell the people the needs of the hour, and preach unto them the doctrines of the day, and call attention to the things of present moment and importance." I was heartily in accord with the instruction given in that first address as indeed I have been with all the instructions given, but I have in mind particularly that relating to the neglect which we ofttimes manifest in regard to spiritual things. We have been warned against giving too much attention to things of this world, to the neglect of the things that are of greater worth. On the other hand, we have heard much concerning practical duties, practical affairs, temporal religion if you please; and we have been, by implication, warned against' devoting ourselves exclusively to that other worldliness which is quite as dangerous as extreme worldliness.
We have been told, as many of us know, and knew before, that this life is a necessary part in the course of progression designed by our Father. We have been taught, again, to look upon these bodies of ours as gifts from God. We Latter-day Saints do not regard the body as something to be condemned, something to be abhorred, and something to be subdued in the sense in which that expression is oft-times heard in the world. We regard as the sign of our royal birthright, that we have bodies upon the earth. We recognize the fact that those who kept not their first estate, in the primeval existence, were denied that inestimable blessing, the taking of mortal bodies. We believe that these bodies are to be well cared for, that they are to be looked upon as something belonging to the Lord, and that each may be made, in very truth, the temple of the Holy Ghost, the place into which the Spirit of God shall enter and where He shall delight to dwell, if He shall find there cleanliness and order and purity and uprightness of thought and conduct.
It is peculiar to the theology of the Latter-day Saints that we regard the body as an essential part of the soul. Read your dictionaries, the lexicons, and encyclopedias, and you will find that nowhere, outside of the Church of Jesus Christ, is the solemn and eternal truth taught that the soul of man is the body and the spirit combined. It is quite the rule to regard the soul as that incorporeal part of men, that immortal part which existed before the body was framed and which shall continue to exist after that body has gone to decay; nevertheless, that is not the soul; that is only a part of the soul; that is the spirit-man, the form in which every individual of us, and every individual human being, existed before called to take tabernacle in the flesh. It has been declared in the solemn word of revelation, that the spirit and the body constitute the soul of man; and, therefore, we should look upon this body as something that shall endure in the resurrected state, beyond the grave, something to be kept pure and holy. Be not afraid of soiling its hands; be not afraid of scars that may come to it if won in earnest effort, or in honest fight, but beware of scars that disfigure, that have come to you in places where you ought not have gone, that have befallen you in unworthy undertakings; beware of the wounds' of battles in which you have been fighting on the wrong side.
I read that when our first parents were placed in the place provided for them, that at their creation, at the creation of the first man, his body was prepared; then God, the God of life, breathed into him the breath of life, and then and not before did man become a living soul. It was the advancement from the spirit state to the soul state that marked the great gift of God unto man, namely, life here upon the earth, an existence that shall prepare us for the life that lies beyond the grave. The resurrection of the body, the resurrection from the dead, is the redemption of the soul; and as Christ was the first to break the bonds of death and to take up His body, the body that had been slain, from which the spirit had temporarily departed, as by. Him and through Him came the resurrection, by Him and through Him came the redemption of the soul, and hence He won for Himself the title that belongs to none other, on earth or in heaven, the Redeemer of mankind.
We have heard much in regard to the duties we owe to these bodies in keeping from them the things that are hurtful, the things that are degrading, the things that poison the tissues, the things that break down the very organism that God has created. Time has not permitted those who have spoken before me to dwell at length, any more than it permits me to dwell at length on that important revelation of God unto man, of God unto Israel in these the last days, by which man may be wise—the Word of Wisdom. This, like other revelations that have come in the present dispensation, is not wholly hew. It is as old as the human race. The principle of the Word of Wisdom was revealed unto Adam. All the essentials of the Word of Wisdom were made known unto him in his immortal state, before he had taken into his body those things that made of it a thing of earth. He was warned against that very practice. He was not told to treat his body as something to be tortured. He was not told to look upon it as the fakirs of India have come to look upon it, or profess to look upon it, as a thing to be utterly contemned, but he was told that he must not take into that body certain things which were there at hand. He was warned that, if he did, his body would lose the power which it then held of living for ever, and that he would become subject to death. It was pointed out to him, as it has been pointed out to you, that there are many good fruits to be plucked, to be eaten, to be enjoyed. We believe in enjoying good food. We think that these good things are given us of God. We believe in getting all the enjoyment out of eating that we can; and, therefore, we should avoid gluttony, and we should avoid extremes in all our habits of eating; and as was told unto Adam, so is it told unto us, "Touch not these things; for in the day that thou doest it thy life shall be shortened and thou shalt die."
Here, let me say, that therein consisted the fall—the eating of things unfit, the taking into the body of the things that made of that body a thing of earth; and I take this occasion to raise my voice against the false interpretation of scripture, which hi some instances has been adopted by certain people, and is current in their minds, and is referred to in a hushed and half-secret way, that the fall of man consisted in some offense against the laws of chastity and of virtue. Such a doctrine is an abomination. What right have we to turn the scriptures from their proper sense and meaning? What right have we to declare that God meant not what He said? The fall was a natural process, resulting through the incorporation into the bodies of our first parents of the things that came from food unfit, through the violation of the command of God regarding what they should eat. Don't go around whispering that the fall consisted in the mother of the race losing her chastity and her virtue. It is not true; the human race is not born of fornication. These bodies that are given unto us are given in the way that God has provided. Let it not be said that the patriarch of the race, who stood with the gods before he came here upon the earth, and his equally royal consort, were guilty of any such foul offense. The adoption of that belief has led many to excuse departures from the path of chastity and the path of virtue, by saying that it is the sin of the race, it is as old as Adam. It was not introduced by Adam. It was not committed by Eve. It was the introduction of the devil and came in order that he might sow the seeds of early death in the bodies of men and women, that the race should degenerate as it has degenerated whenever the laws of virtue and of chastity have been transgressed.
Our first parents were pure and noble, and when we pass behind the veil we shall perhaps learn something of their high estate, more than we know now. But be it known that they were pure; they were noble. It is true that they disobeyed the law of God, in eating things they were told not to eat; but who amongst you can rise up and condemn? I listened not long ago to a lesson conducted as a model lesson, in a Sunday School class; it had to deal with the fall of man. The one who was appointed to pass criticism thereon, expressed his hearty approval of the lesson as it had been rendered, and particularly complimented the teacher on having been able to conduct a lesson "on such a delicate subject as that, with a mixed class of young boys and voting girls, and not offend!" What is there delicate about the fall of man? The sexual element does not enter into the subject. The fall consisted in disobedience of the commands as to what things were fit for the body, and we have been falling in the same way ever since; and you have been warned about it by authoritative voices here in the several sessions of this conference. If you would live to the full measure of your days, as God intended you to, then live according to the command of God in all these things. Ye may eat of the fruits of all these good trees; you may partake to the full, within the limits of- wisdom and propriety, but of that tree of the knowledge of terrible evil you ought not to partake. Oh, if you do, you will get experience that you otherwise would not get; you will know more about evil, and by contrast can perhaps estimate, in a different way, the good; but, nevertheless, you will find that you have purchased that knowledge at very great price. We are to be judged by what we know, as much and as well as by what we do not know. For, do you remember, after they, our first parents, had undertaken to set up their own judgment above the judgment of the God who made them and who prepared the place for their abode, and who gave them commandment, they had knowledge that they did not possess before, and when next they were called by the voice of God, they hid themselves; for they had awakened to the fact that there was something vile about them, something unseemly, something unclean, and they hid themselves: and mark you the words with which their guilt was brought home. When Adam declared that he had heard the voice of God calling him, and he had hidden himself because he had become aware of the fact that he was naked, the question was: "Who told thee that thou wast naked?" Where did Adam and Eve get that knowledge? Not by keeping the commandments of God, but by violation thereof. So I sometimes say when I find young men and young women showing by unguarded words or actions, that they know things they ought not to know, who told you that? Where have you been? What have you been doing? The time has not come for you to learn those things yet; and you never would have learned them at this stage of your advancement, and in this way, if you had not transgressed the laws of God.
What has been said concerning our duties to our bodies in this life and the strict attention we should give to spiritual things, tells us of the life that is to come and of the relation between this life and that. We hear much nowadays as to the speculative ideas of men concerning the condition beyond the grave; but the admission that there is an individual existence beyond the grave, is a declaration that there must have been an individual, intelligent creation before we came here in the flesh. Life beyond the grave postulates a pre-existent state to which reference was made yesterday. While the world admits the pre-existence of Christ and points to Him as one who before mortal birth shared with His Father in the honors of the godhead and in the powers of the Creator, they deny to the souls that are now upon the earth, and those that had lived as mortals, a pre-existent condition. I want to read to you one scripture bearing upon that subject and I read to you from the Book of Abraham, a scripture with which some of our people are better acquainted today than they were a year ago, because of the futile attempts that have been made to discredit it. By the failures that have resulted in these attempts, the strength of the faith of our people has been increased. The great patriarch says: "Now, the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was, and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good, and He stood in the midst of them and He said, 'These I will make my rulers;' for He stood among those that were spirits, and He saw that they were good, and He said unto me, Abraham, 'Thou are one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.' " Read the rest of that scripture for yourselves.
I am happy to see that the saving principles proclaimed by the prophets of this dispensation are spreading through the world, in spite of all attempts to the contrary. If the morning papers have correctly reported a lecture delivered in this city last night, there is in our midst a scholar from London who has proclaimed not only that the scriptures prove that there is and must of necessity be an intelligent individual existence beyond the grave, but that in that state there will be opportunity for repentance and for progression. Now, that is a "Mormon" doctrine which never had been broached in the modern religious world until the voice of the Prophet Joseph Smith was heard. Sectarian ministers now tell us that no longer are the scriptures to be twisted; that by the figure which says, "Where the tree falleth there shall it be," we are not longer to understand that a man who dies can never progress. Learned divines and theologians are lifting their voices today in declaration of the fact that God has provided a means by which His sons and daughters may progress and advance through the eternities that are to come. I read further that it was declared: That there is to be a resurrection of the just as distinct from the resurrection of the unjust. Another doctrine which in the way now presented was at one time peculiar to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But, because there is hope of repentance beyond the veil, procrastinate not the day of your repentance; for, as the Prophet Alma has pointed out, you may find that the gift of repentance will be withheld from you there for a long, long time on account of your unworthiness. For repentance is a gift from God, and when man forfeits it he loses the power to repent; he can't turn away from his sins with a contrite heart and with a desire to forsake them, once and for ever. O, Latter-day Saints, ye men and women of Israel, listen unto the voices of those who speak to you under the inspiration of the power of God, and heed them; for by hearing we are condemned, if we follow not in the path that is pointed out to us as the path of our duty.
You have heard but little in the way of new doctrine in this conference, perchance,—all the more reason you should be diligent in not forgetting again, as we have forgotten from time to time the things that are most needed. We make the excuse—that is one of our weaknesses, to make excuses—we make the excuse that our memories are at fault. Our memories are all right; altogether too good to suit some of us. We would like to forget things that we cannot. Memory is the library of the mind, in which we find stored away the valuable as well as the worthless things that have come to us. Recollection is the librarian, and he is very often sluggish and sleepy, often neglectful of his duty; he doesn't know where to put his hand on the book or the document we need, just when we need it. We have had our recollections aroused in this conference, and I pray that we may ever remember the things that are most needed, the things of greatest worth; and that you and I and all of us may progress with the work of God, for it shall progress no matter what man shall do or how he may attempt to hinder its advancement. May the blessings of Israel's God be with Israel, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER REY L. PRATT.
(President of Mexican Mission.)
I trust, my brethren and sisters, that I may have the Spirit of the Lord to assist me to bear my testimony to this vast congregation. I have been truly edified and built up in that which I have heard. I have been edified and built up in my faith and strengthened by hearing the testimonies of my brethren who have spoken during the conference. and my heart has been touched; it has been hard for me to keep back the tears, at times, as I have felt the sweet influence of the Spirit of the Lord that has prevailed throughout the conference. As Brother Talmage has just said, the very thought and the fact that we have not heard any new doctrine, but the fact that our attention has been called back to these simple principles and truths that our fathers and grandfathers stood for, and died for, has touched a tender chord in my life. I know that the work we are engaged in is true. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that the work that was brought forth by his instrumentality is the power of God unto salvation.
I have been engaged in the missionary work, and I have carried this testimony to hundreds and thousands of people that have never heard it before, even a people that is dark and benighted, a people that we call the Lamanites; and I wish to bear my testimony that the Gospel is doing a great work among the Lamanites, and many of them are interested in the redemption that is to be brought to them through the Gospel we are preaching. We are having success in the Mexican mission, in spite of the fact that there is war and trouble in that land. There has never been a time in the history of the Mexican mission, so far as I have been able to know, and at least during the seven years I have labored there, that the people have been more susceptible to the teachings of the Gospel than they have during this time of strife and bloodshed there. We have been able to baptize fifty-six souls this year, and they are just as honest and faithful as any other Latter-day Saints who live in accordance with the teachings of the Gospel. I have full faith in the promises of the Lord unto that people; and I desire, my brethren and sisters, to lift my voice in defense of all the principles of the Gospel. I am thankful for the privilege I have had of going out into the world, and I desire to continue to do my duty and to labor wherever the Lord calls me to labor, as long as I am able. It is a mistaken idea that a great many of us have, my brethren and sisters, and I have come in contact with it at times at home, that there are places of preference in the Lord's work. I learned a little piece of poetry, when I first went into the mission field, that has been a great help to me, I never have even discovered who was its author, but it reads like this:
''Just where you stand in the conflict, that is your place;
Just where you think that you are useless, hide not your face;
God placed you there for a purpose, whate'er it be;
Think He has chosen you for it; work loyally."
If the Lord has chosen me to go to the Lamanites, that is my place. If He chooses me next year to go to Siberia, I want to go there with the same faith and determination to carry the Gospel message to those that do not know it in that place. I trust that this is the faith all of us have, and I believe it is, my brethren and sisters, and I pray that the blessings of the Lord may continue to be with us forever, which I do in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(President of Mexican Mission.)
I trust, my brethren and sisters, that I may have the Spirit of the Lord to assist me to bear my testimony to this vast congregation. I have been truly edified and built up in that which I have heard. I have been edified and built up in my faith and strengthened by hearing the testimonies of my brethren who have spoken during the conference. and my heart has been touched; it has been hard for me to keep back the tears, at times, as I have felt the sweet influence of the Spirit of the Lord that has prevailed throughout the conference. As Brother Talmage has just said, the very thought and the fact that we have not heard any new doctrine, but the fact that our attention has been called back to these simple principles and truths that our fathers and grandfathers stood for, and died for, has touched a tender chord in my life. I know that the work we are engaged in is true. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that the work that was brought forth by his instrumentality is the power of God unto salvation.
I have been engaged in the missionary work, and I have carried this testimony to hundreds and thousands of people that have never heard it before, even a people that is dark and benighted, a people that we call the Lamanites; and I wish to bear my testimony that the Gospel is doing a great work among the Lamanites, and many of them are interested in the redemption that is to be brought to them through the Gospel we are preaching. We are having success in the Mexican mission, in spite of the fact that there is war and trouble in that land. There has never been a time in the history of the Mexican mission, so far as I have been able to know, and at least during the seven years I have labored there, that the people have been more susceptible to the teachings of the Gospel than they have during this time of strife and bloodshed there. We have been able to baptize fifty-six souls this year, and they are just as honest and faithful as any other Latter-day Saints who live in accordance with the teachings of the Gospel. I have full faith in the promises of the Lord unto that people; and I desire, my brethren and sisters, to lift my voice in defense of all the principles of the Gospel. I am thankful for the privilege I have had of going out into the world, and I desire to continue to do my duty and to labor wherever the Lord calls me to labor, as long as I am able. It is a mistaken idea that a great many of us have, my brethren and sisters, and I have come in contact with it at times at home, that there are places of preference in the Lord's work. I learned a little piece of poetry, when I first went into the mission field, that has been a great help to me, I never have even discovered who was its author, but it reads like this:
''Just where you stand in the conflict, that is your place;
Just where you think that you are useless, hide not your face;
God placed you there for a purpose, whate'er it be;
Think He has chosen you for it; work loyally."
If the Lord has chosen me to go to the Lamanites, that is my place. If He chooses me next year to go to Siberia, I want to go there with the same faith and determination to carry the Gospel message to those that do not know it in that place. I trust that this is the faith all of us have, and I believe it is, my brethren and sisters, and I pray that the blessings of the Lord may continue to be with us forever, which I do in the name of Jesus. Amen.
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
I know that a great many would be pleased to know that Brother Pratt is a grandson of the late Brother Parley P. Pratt, one of the Twelve.
I know that a great many would be pleased to know that Brother Pratt is a grandson of the late Brother Parley P. Pratt, one of the Twelve.
ELDER SAMUEL O. BENNION.
(President of Central States Mission.)
I rejoice very much, my brethren and sisters, in having had the privilege of attending this conference, and listening to the many instructions that we have received; and I earnestly hope that, for one, I shall be able to profit by them. I have learned in the short, experience I have had in the mission field, to a small extent at least, what it means to have the Spirit of the Lord with a man to keep him in the path of duty; and I have had it impressed more firmly in my mind, during this conference, that the only safe way lies in the path of duty, and that there is not and cannot be any real reason for men, from today at any rate, who have been in this conference, going wrong knowingly.
The Lord has revealed the duty of the Latter-day Saints, through His servants the prophets; as Amos said, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing save He reveal it through His servants the prophets." The Lord, as recorded in section one of the Doctrine and Covenants, has given us to understand that whether He speaks Himself or whether by His servants, it is the same. We have a prophet at the head to guide and instruct, the one whom the Lord speaks through for the good of His people, for the better direction of His Church in the earth; and the Lord has revealed unto us again what it means to be observers of the word of wisdom, how a man can obtain strength and power and salvation through an observance of it, and what it means not to observe it.
I thank the Lord, my brethren and sisters, for good and wise men who stand at the head of this Church. As a member of the Church, I am very thankful for the many long years of life of our presiding brethren; for the years of experience of President Smith, and of President Lyman, men who have written history, together with their associates here, which the world must acknowledge to be great and glorious. I pray for their success; I pray for the lives of these men, the leaders of this Church. I, for one, wish them to know that I love them, and I believe that I can voice the opinion of every man and woman in this congregation when I say that we love the leaders of this Church, the general authorities from President Smith down. It has taken a long time to make them great men of God, they are not made in a day, it takes a lifetime; and I hope, for one, that I shall be able to profit by what I hear.
That Israel may be strengthened, that the Church may grow stronger, that men and women may be more valiant in the performance of their duties, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(President of Central States Mission.)
I rejoice very much, my brethren and sisters, in having had the privilege of attending this conference, and listening to the many instructions that we have received; and I earnestly hope that, for one, I shall be able to profit by them. I have learned in the short, experience I have had in the mission field, to a small extent at least, what it means to have the Spirit of the Lord with a man to keep him in the path of duty; and I have had it impressed more firmly in my mind, during this conference, that the only safe way lies in the path of duty, and that there is not and cannot be any real reason for men, from today at any rate, who have been in this conference, going wrong knowingly.
The Lord has revealed the duty of the Latter-day Saints, through His servants the prophets; as Amos said, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing save He reveal it through His servants the prophets." The Lord, as recorded in section one of the Doctrine and Covenants, has given us to understand that whether He speaks Himself or whether by His servants, it is the same. We have a prophet at the head to guide and instruct, the one whom the Lord speaks through for the good of His people, for the better direction of His Church in the earth; and the Lord has revealed unto us again what it means to be observers of the word of wisdom, how a man can obtain strength and power and salvation through an observance of it, and what it means not to observe it.
I thank the Lord, my brethren and sisters, for good and wise men who stand at the head of this Church. As a member of the Church, I am very thankful for the many long years of life of our presiding brethren; for the years of experience of President Smith, and of President Lyman, men who have written history, together with their associates here, which the world must acknowledge to be great and glorious. I pray for their success; I pray for the lives of these men, the leaders of this Church. I, for one, wish them to know that I love them, and I believe that I can voice the opinion of every man and woman in this congregation when I say that we love the leaders of this Church, the general authorities from President Smith down. It has taken a long time to make them great men of God, they are not made in a day, it takes a lifetime; and I hope, for one, that I shall be able to profit by what I hear.
That Israel may be strengthened, that the Church may grow stronger, that men and women may be more valiant in the performance of their duties, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD.
(President Northwestern States Mission.)
Above all earthly things I esteem my standing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My heart rejoices in the joy and confidence which come through the security this feeling gives me, while the wars and strife are on in the world of religion, and new developments are taking place in the world of science, constantly disturbing other denominations,' we are unmoved. We stand solidly and squarely where we began, or where the Lord planted our feet, and there is no necessity for the revision of creed, for changing the doctrines that have been given to this Church from the beginning, notwithstanding, when these glorious truths were given, many of them were new and ran counter to the opinions and theories of men, both in religion and science. The glorious doctrine we have heard so much about at this conference, known as the Word of Wisdom, there were no scientists advocating such truths when it was given. The Prophet did not give argument and reason in this revelation but announced, as all prophets do, the word of the Lord, to stand for itself without argument, to be finally demonstrated as a truth. 1 say the fact that we do not have to change our opinion with respect to these matters is a joy to me. One of the greatest testimonies to me is the fact that while this Church, founded as it was in a day of doubt, darkness and of superstition, still it took solid ground; clear cut, positive statements were made with respect to religion, the morals of life, the doctrines of God and of His Christ, with respect even to some of the sciences, notwithstanding a positive stand and position was taken by the Prophet Joseph Smith, we have not had to renounce any of these things. They stand as strong and firm today as the truth, vindicated by our experiences and by the wisdom that the Lord has given to men of learning and of knowledge.
I have had the privilege, during the last summer, of attending some conventions, and conferences of some of the leading denominations, and what a difference as compared with the experiences we have had during the last day or two! Contention over the dogmas of religion occupied a very large part of the time. I thought with joy in my heart* of the great wisdom the Lord had displayed in organizing this Church, with its ministry called from the body of the people—not hirelings, nor men working for filthy lucre's sake. The elders of this Church, who bear the word oi God to the world, are called from the ranks, from the lowly walks of life, fired with the power of God and imbued with His Holy Priesthood, even as living fires among the people, warning them, stirring the hearts of men, and bringing hundreds and thousands to repentance. The world has laughed at the method of our preaching and the kind of preachers we had, but I listened recently to splendid arguments, in one of the great denominations of our own land, denouncing the hired ministry and pleading for a change in the calling of men to the ministry, patterned and fashioned after the method the Lord has established in this Church. They want lay-men, men whose hearts are in the work and who are not filled with selfishness and covetousness, to enter the ministry. Behold how well the Lord established His ministry and the method of preaching the Gospel. When the world laughed at and criticized the efforts of this Church to establish the financial method the Lord revealed, in the payment of our tithes and offerings, for the building and establishment of His Church, it created a good deal of amusement among religionists; but this summer almost one-half of the time of one of the great conferences was occupied in a. plea to establish the financial system this Church has received at the hand of God. They are now copying and imitating that which the Lord revealed to us many years ago. What a joy it is, I repeat, to be possessed of these truths and to stand as an organization that does not have to shift, while others are only now changing and moving toward the standards the Lord has fixed and established in this Church.
Brother Talmage referred to the changing opinion of men with reference to the continuity of life after death. I thought while he was speaking, and have thought since this question has been discussed recently in one of the largest scientific gatherings in the world, by able scientists, that "Mormonism" gives to the world the greatest and best evidences there are that life exists after death, and that men and women are the same individuals, possessed of the same knowledge, the same intelligences after death that they had here, and are even added unto. Certain evidences have been given to the world from so-called spiritualists, who pretend to reveal the fact that life exists after death. Much deception evidently has been practiced, for some of these supposed mediums have given to the world communications from great men who have once lived upon the earth, Daniel Webster is supposed to have spoken, George Washington, Shakespeare and others; but the feeble efforts that come from those supposed sources are such doggerel as to be far beneath, in character, the wisdom and knowledge displayed by these men while in life. One able paper said, if these are true communications from those individuals, then heaven must blight the intellect and dwarf the mind of man, and they become weaklings. Deception has been practiced whenever one represents that he is a certain character who once lived on the earth, when the information given is beneath and inferior to that which the same character displayed while he was here upon the earth, you may know that it is a deception.
This Church is founded upon the truth that men possess the same identity after this life. Behold the glorious revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, as contained in the book of Doctrine and Covenants. I assert that it reveals that Jesus is possessed of the same intelligence, the same knowledge, the same powers and understanding that He had while He dwelt on the earth. To make this claim is not to depreciate in one particular from the glory, knowledge and intelligence of the Lord Jesus, for the revelations contained in that book are the equal of anything that Jesus ever gave to man while upon the earth, and more comprehensive in some respects. This word of wisdom, the revelation of the Lord Jesus; is there anything in the scriptures or anywhere else in the world on that subject that is better, more to the point, than this? Think of the revelation known among us as the Vision. Where is there anything more splendid than that wonderful conception the Lord Jesus gave to the mind of the Prophet Joseph with reference to life here and hereafter, and man's place in it? Some of our ablest men have said, in commenting upon certain passages of the Doctrine and Covenants, that there is nothing in the English language superior to it. Tt is not doggerel; it is sense, the best of sense; and it displays, I assert again, the fact that the Lord Jesus, who gave these revelations is the same intelligent, all-wise Son of God that He was when He lived upon the earth, and that Joseph Smith told the truth when he said he received this knowledge from the Lord Jesus. It could not have come from any one with less knowledge and understanding than that source from which he claimed he received it.
The world has marveled and wondered at the gathering of Israel in latter days from the nations of the earth and planting their feet in this goodly land, and it has all been done so successfully while others have failed. Here in this desert waste, the marvelous thing has been accomplished. Where did we get the key by which this was done? The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that Moses appeared to him in the Kirtland Temple, the great leader of ancient Israel, who held also the keys of the gathering of modern Israel, and he delivered those keys and the knowledge, that comes with them, into the hands of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I can believe that Moses has presided over many of the movements of Israel in modern days as a great instrument in the hands of God, a presiding genius looking after the welfare of the gatherings of Israel, directing many of these movements; and does it detract from Moses to say that we give him credit for delivering the keys of the gathering of modern Israel to the Prophet Joseph? Nothing since the time Moses was upon the earth and since Israel was gathered in his day excels, or comes up to the wonderful work that has been accomplished in the gathering of modern Israel; so that I assert again that Moses lives and is possessed of the same intelligence, knowledge and power he had while he dwelt among men upon the earth, and even excelled his former work as manifested in this great gathering in modern days, and we have not seen the end of that work.
When the Prophet Joseph declared that Elijah delivered to him the keys of the salvation of the living and the dead he asserted a wonderful truth. Was Elijah possessed of the same knowledge and intelligence he had while he dwelt upon the earth? It has been asserted by some that the Prophet Joseph Smith obtained from masonry some or most all of the ceremonies had by us in our temples. Recently I have had an opportunity to investigate most thoroughly the history and connection of the membership of the Church with masonry, when certain lodges were organized in the city of Nauvoo and other places; and I satisfied myself, and without giving you the detailed evidence, I assert to you that the evidence given by masons themselves proves conclusively that Joseph Smith never knew the first thing of masonry until years after he had received the visit of Elijah, and had delivered to men the keys of the holy priesthood, and the ceremonies and ordinances had by us in these sacred temples, and had given the endowments to men long before he knew the first thing pertaining to the ordinances and the ceremonies of masonry. What is masonry? Why, a fragment of the old truth coming down perhaps from Solomon's temple of ancient days, and but a fragment, as Christianity is but a fragment of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. ' It was only to be had and enjoyed by those who hold the holy priesthood. The prophet Elijah revealed these truths; he possessed them anciently and he gave them in their perfectness, and simplicity and purity to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
I rejoice, my brethren and sisters, to know we are possessed of such splendid evidences of the truth of the statements of the Prophet, and to know that we have with us, as the brethren have expressed it, living inspiration that directs Israel. In my heart I say, Amen, to all of the counsels that have been given at this conference. I bear testimony to you that the brethren and sisters of this Church who will repent of their sins and accept the counsels of this conference, obey the word of wisdom, become moderate, become temperate in their dress and in their manner of life, they and their children shall win the plaudits of the world even in excess of that which their fathers and grandfathers have received. We may not build any more bridges; we may not subdue desert wastes but there is something for us to do, and we must round up our shoulders and do it, or the Lord Almighty will cast out those who do not do it. We have listened to these counsels a long, long time. Now, shall we respond? Shall we repent of these evils, master ourselves, and live in harmony , with the counsels of this conference? If we do, great shall be our reward, eternal our glory, and the world will look to us as a pattern, an ensample in these things that are greater in their achievement than anything in the past. Our fathers and mothers believed and received the word of wisdom, on the statement of the prophet that it was God's counsel. In addition to that we have scientific evidences, proving the correctness of this counsel, greater is our condemnation, for we have the word of the. Lord and the scientific evidences that His word is true. We can satisfy our reason, and judgment on these things as well as our faith, hence the greater condemnation for our disobedience.
God help us to put these things into practise, and not merely talk about it, but go home and do it. Fathers and mothers should set that example in their families; put aside the forbidden things. Let our example and precept be consistent before our children and joy shall be ours in this life and the life to come; which may the Lord grant; in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(President Northwestern States Mission.)
Above all earthly things I esteem my standing in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My heart rejoices in the joy and confidence which come through the security this feeling gives me, while the wars and strife are on in the world of religion, and new developments are taking place in the world of science, constantly disturbing other denominations,' we are unmoved. We stand solidly and squarely where we began, or where the Lord planted our feet, and there is no necessity for the revision of creed, for changing the doctrines that have been given to this Church from the beginning, notwithstanding, when these glorious truths were given, many of them were new and ran counter to the opinions and theories of men, both in religion and science. The glorious doctrine we have heard so much about at this conference, known as the Word of Wisdom, there were no scientists advocating such truths when it was given. The Prophet did not give argument and reason in this revelation but announced, as all prophets do, the word of the Lord, to stand for itself without argument, to be finally demonstrated as a truth. 1 say the fact that we do not have to change our opinion with respect to these matters is a joy to me. One of the greatest testimonies to me is the fact that while this Church, founded as it was in a day of doubt, darkness and of superstition, still it took solid ground; clear cut, positive statements were made with respect to religion, the morals of life, the doctrines of God and of His Christ, with respect even to some of the sciences, notwithstanding a positive stand and position was taken by the Prophet Joseph Smith, we have not had to renounce any of these things. They stand as strong and firm today as the truth, vindicated by our experiences and by the wisdom that the Lord has given to men of learning and of knowledge.
I have had the privilege, during the last summer, of attending some conventions, and conferences of some of the leading denominations, and what a difference as compared with the experiences we have had during the last day or two! Contention over the dogmas of religion occupied a very large part of the time. I thought with joy in my heart* of the great wisdom the Lord had displayed in organizing this Church, with its ministry called from the body of the people—not hirelings, nor men working for filthy lucre's sake. The elders of this Church, who bear the word oi God to the world, are called from the ranks, from the lowly walks of life, fired with the power of God and imbued with His Holy Priesthood, even as living fires among the people, warning them, stirring the hearts of men, and bringing hundreds and thousands to repentance. The world has laughed at the method of our preaching and the kind of preachers we had, but I listened recently to splendid arguments, in one of the great denominations of our own land, denouncing the hired ministry and pleading for a change in the calling of men to the ministry, patterned and fashioned after the method the Lord has established in this Church. They want lay-men, men whose hearts are in the work and who are not filled with selfishness and covetousness, to enter the ministry. Behold how well the Lord established His ministry and the method of preaching the Gospel. When the world laughed at and criticized the efforts of this Church to establish the financial method the Lord revealed, in the payment of our tithes and offerings, for the building and establishment of His Church, it created a good deal of amusement among religionists; but this summer almost one-half of the time of one of the great conferences was occupied in a. plea to establish the financial system this Church has received at the hand of God. They are now copying and imitating that which the Lord revealed to us many years ago. What a joy it is, I repeat, to be possessed of these truths and to stand as an organization that does not have to shift, while others are only now changing and moving toward the standards the Lord has fixed and established in this Church.
Brother Talmage referred to the changing opinion of men with reference to the continuity of life after death. I thought while he was speaking, and have thought since this question has been discussed recently in one of the largest scientific gatherings in the world, by able scientists, that "Mormonism" gives to the world the greatest and best evidences there are that life exists after death, and that men and women are the same individuals, possessed of the same knowledge, the same intelligences after death that they had here, and are even added unto. Certain evidences have been given to the world from so-called spiritualists, who pretend to reveal the fact that life exists after death. Much deception evidently has been practiced, for some of these supposed mediums have given to the world communications from great men who have once lived upon the earth, Daniel Webster is supposed to have spoken, George Washington, Shakespeare and others; but the feeble efforts that come from those supposed sources are such doggerel as to be far beneath, in character, the wisdom and knowledge displayed by these men while in life. One able paper said, if these are true communications from those individuals, then heaven must blight the intellect and dwarf the mind of man, and they become weaklings. Deception has been practiced whenever one represents that he is a certain character who once lived on the earth, when the information given is beneath and inferior to that which the same character displayed while he was here upon the earth, you may know that it is a deception.
This Church is founded upon the truth that men possess the same identity after this life. Behold the glorious revelations given to the Prophet Joseph Smith by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, as contained in the book of Doctrine and Covenants. I assert that it reveals that Jesus is possessed of the same intelligence, the same knowledge, the same powers and understanding that He had while He dwelt on the earth. To make this claim is not to depreciate in one particular from the glory, knowledge and intelligence of the Lord Jesus, for the revelations contained in that book are the equal of anything that Jesus ever gave to man while upon the earth, and more comprehensive in some respects. This word of wisdom, the revelation of the Lord Jesus; is there anything in the scriptures or anywhere else in the world on that subject that is better, more to the point, than this? Think of the revelation known among us as the Vision. Where is there anything more splendid than that wonderful conception the Lord Jesus gave to the mind of the Prophet Joseph with reference to life here and hereafter, and man's place in it? Some of our ablest men have said, in commenting upon certain passages of the Doctrine and Covenants, that there is nothing in the English language superior to it. Tt is not doggerel; it is sense, the best of sense; and it displays, I assert again, the fact that the Lord Jesus, who gave these revelations is the same intelligent, all-wise Son of God that He was when He lived upon the earth, and that Joseph Smith told the truth when he said he received this knowledge from the Lord Jesus. It could not have come from any one with less knowledge and understanding than that source from which he claimed he received it.
The world has marveled and wondered at the gathering of Israel in latter days from the nations of the earth and planting their feet in this goodly land, and it has all been done so successfully while others have failed. Here in this desert waste, the marvelous thing has been accomplished. Where did we get the key by which this was done? The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that Moses appeared to him in the Kirtland Temple, the great leader of ancient Israel, who held also the keys of the gathering of modern Israel, and he delivered those keys and the knowledge, that comes with them, into the hands of the Prophet Joseph Smith. I can believe that Moses has presided over many of the movements of Israel in modern days as a great instrument in the hands of God, a presiding genius looking after the welfare of the gatherings of Israel, directing many of these movements; and does it detract from Moses to say that we give him credit for delivering the keys of the gathering of modern Israel to the Prophet Joseph? Nothing since the time Moses was upon the earth and since Israel was gathered in his day excels, or comes up to the wonderful work that has been accomplished in the gathering of modern Israel; so that I assert again that Moses lives and is possessed of the same intelligence, knowledge and power he had while he dwelt among men upon the earth, and even excelled his former work as manifested in this great gathering in modern days, and we have not seen the end of that work.
When the Prophet Joseph declared that Elijah delivered to him the keys of the salvation of the living and the dead he asserted a wonderful truth. Was Elijah possessed of the same knowledge and intelligence he had while he dwelt upon the earth? It has been asserted by some that the Prophet Joseph Smith obtained from masonry some or most all of the ceremonies had by us in our temples. Recently I have had an opportunity to investigate most thoroughly the history and connection of the membership of the Church with masonry, when certain lodges were organized in the city of Nauvoo and other places; and I satisfied myself, and without giving you the detailed evidence, I assert to you that the evidence given by masons themselves proves conclusively that Joseph Smith never knew the first thing of masonry until years after he had received the visit of Elijah, and had delivered to men the keys of the holy priesthood, and the ceremonies and ordinances had by us in these sacred temples, and had given the endowments to men long before he knew the first thing pertaining to the ordinances and the ceremonies of masonry. What is masonry? Why, a fragment of the old truth coming down perhaps from Solomon's temple of ancient days, and but a fragment, as Christianity is but a fragment of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. ' It was only to be had and enjoyed by those who hold the holy priesthood. The prophet Elijah revealed these truths; he possessed them anciently and he gave them in their perfectness, and simplicity and purity to the Prophet Joseph Smith.
I rejoice, my brethren and sisters, to know we are possessed of such splendid evidences of the truth of the statements of the Prophet, and to know that we have with us, as the brethren have expressed it, living inspiration that directs Israel. In my heart I say, Amen, to all of the counsels that have been given at this conference. I bear testimony to you that the brethren and sisters of this Church who will repent of their sins and accept the counsels of this conference, obey the word of wisdom, become moderate, become temperate in their dress and in their manner of life, they and their children shall win the plaudits of the world even in excess of that which their fathers and grandfathers have received. We may not build any more bridges; we may not subdue desert wastes but there is something for us to do, and we must round up our shoulders and do it, or the Lord Almighty will cast out those who do not do it. We have listened to these counsels a long, long time. Now, shall we respond? Shall we repent of these evils, master ourselves, and live in harmony , with the counsels of this conference? If we do, great shall be our reward, eternal our glory, and the world will look to us as a pattern, an ensample in these things that are greater in their achievement than anything in the past. Our fathers and mothers believed and received the word of wisdom, on the statement of the prophet that it was God's counsel. In addition to that we have scientific evidences, proving the correctness of this counsel, greater is our condemnation, for we have the word of the. Lord and the scientific evidences that His word is true. We can satisfy our reason, and judgment on these things as well as our faith, hence the greater condemnation for our disobedience.
God help us to put these things into practise, and not merely talk about it, but go home and do it. Fathers and mothers should set that example in their families; put aside the forbidden things. Let our example and precept be consistent before our children and joy shall be ours in this life and the life to come; which may the Lord grant; in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER CHARLES A. CALLIS.
(President of Southern States Mission.)
Members of the Church in the Southern States Mission mourn over the death of President Ben E. Rich. Never was there a more dauntless soldier of the cross than he was. For a long, long time the mission field will be lonely without President Ben E. Rich.
As I listened to the splendid instructions during this conference, the words of the Apostle Paul came forcefully to my mind. In summing up his powerful and splendid defense of the Christian religion before King Agrippa, he said:" Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue to this day, witnessing to both small and great and saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did slay should come.''
My brethren and sisters, if we stand upon the revelations of Jesus Christ as contained in the standard works of the Church, we stand on solid ground; on other grounds are sinking sands. Joseph Smith preached and taught nothing but what the prophets of God predicted he would preach and teach. Martin Luther, in standing before that hostile council, said in defense of his position: "Here I stand, I can do no other; may God help me." Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son. Like Paul he was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, for he said that God knew that he had seen this vision, and if he denied it he would come under condemnation of the Lord; but praise be to God he did not deny the testimony, and he did preach the things which the prophets of God had foretold he would preach, and he did do the things which they foretold he would do. Our sectarian friends are great lovers of the prophecies, but they hate like the mischief the manner in which they are fulfilled. Look at this mighty stream of truth proceeding from this Church! When Columbus and his associates saw a mighty river issuing from the mainland, one of his men said, "That river drains an island." Columbus said: "It is a mistake. Such a majestic river comes from a continent." So this great stream of truth does not proceed from a man, nor from an isolated sect or church, but it proceeds from the only true and living Church of Jesus Christ on the face of the earth. And this river is going to grow and spread until, like a sea of glory, it spreads from pole to pole.
In Chattanooga, this summer, we have witnessed two reunions that have stirred my soul to its depths. Last May, the Confederate veterans met in their annual reunion, and I "saw those men to the number of twelve thousand marching down the street, under the shadow of Lookout Mountain, within a stone's throw of the bloody battle-field of Chickamauga. When I saw those old veterans, some with empty coat sleeves, being carried in wagons, the thought came to my soul, how can it be denied that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God? They were brave men, those confederate veterans, splendid characters, men who bravely fought for what they sincerely believed to be a principle; and as they marched down the line, being saluted by the cheers of thousands of admirers, I said again and again in my heart, Surely Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
Only a few clays ago, the veterans of the Union army met in an annual reunion in Chattanooga; and as I watched those brave, splendid men marching down the street, some with empty coat-sleeves, many bearing the scars of battle, I said again in my heart, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that his prophecies have been literally fulfilled. Not that the prophet desired that the bloodshed and carnage should come, but God foreknew it would come, and He warned this nation, through his prophet of the great Civil war. His prophet proposed a remedy, a solution of the great question that caused the war, and which would have avoided the awful bloodshed and misery; but the solution was rejected. President Brigham Young said that where a prophet's words are fulfilled they are more solid proof of his divine mission as a prophet than all the miracles he can work. Another great man, not of this Church, said that prophecies are permanent miracles. Go look at the National Cemetery in Chattanooga, and the cemeteries in other cities, that are so well taken care of by the federal government, and look at those veterans, wounded and maimed and battle-scarred, marching past—all these bear eloquent and powerful testimony to the fact that Joseph was indeed a prophet of God. Talk about miracles! Talk about the day of miracles being past, so long as this war is a memory, so long as those granite monuments pierce the clouds, so long as' those mighty monuments which people from the South and the North have erected to commemorate the valor of their sons, and brothers, and fathers! So long as these monuments stand, so long will there be a standing and permanent miracle to testify to the people that the days of prophets and apostles have not gone to return no more forever.
Look at the communities in this great state and in the surrounding states. Did not the prophet predict that the people should be driven from Illinois and become a great and mighty people in this western land? Has it not been fulfilled? Behold a miracle, not only on this Temple block but throughout Zion; and these miracles are increasing. O, brethren and sisters, confronted by these miracles, do you think we shall stand or "halt between two opinions: A thousand times no! But we will stand with our leaders, and with them we will fight the good fight. We will finish our course; we will keep the faith; we will, with God's help, win the crown of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began. Amen.
(President of Southern States Mission.)
Members of the Church in the Southern States Mission mourn over the death of President Ben E. Rich. Never was there a more dauntless soldier of the cross than he was. For a long, long time the mission field will be lonely without President Ben E. Rich.
As I listened to the splendid instructions during this conference, the words of the Apostle Paul came forcefully to my mind. In summing up his powerful and splendid defense of the Christian religion before King Agrippa, he said:" Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue to this day, witnessing to both small and great and saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did slay should come.''
My brethren and sisters, if we stand upon the revelations of Jesus Christ as contained in the standard works of the Church, we stand on solid ground; on other grounds are sinking sands. Joseph Smith preached and taught nothing but what the prophets of God predicted he would preach and teach. Martin Luther, in standing before that hostile council, said in defense of his position: "Here I stand, I can do no other; may God help me." Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son. Like Paul he was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision, for he said that God knew that he had seen this vision, and if he denied it he would come under condemnation of the Lord; but praise be to God he did not deny the testimony, and he did preach the things which the prophets of God had foretold he would preach, and he did do the things which they foretold he would do. Our sectarian friends are great lovers of the prophecies, but they hate like the mischief the manner in which they are fulfilled. Look at this mighty stream of truth proceeding from this Church! When Columbus and his associates saw a mighty river issuing from the mainland, one of his men said, "That river drains an island." Columbus said: "It is a mistake. Such a majestic river comes from a continent." So this great stream of truth does not proceed from a man, nor from an isolated sect or church, but it proceeds from the only true and living Church of Jesus Christ on the face of the earth. And this river is going to grow and spread until, like a sea of glory, it spreads from pole to pole.
In Chattanooga, this summer, we have witnessed two reunions that have stirred my soul to its depths. Last May, the Confederate veterans met in their annual reunion, and I "saw those men to the number of twelve thousand marching down the street, under the shadow of Lookout Mountain, within a stone's throw of the bloody battle-field of Chickamauga. When I saw those old veterans, some with empty coat sleeves, being carried in wagons, the thought came to my soul, how can it be denied that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God? They were brave men, those confederate veterans, splendid characters, men who bravely fought for what they sincerely believed to be a principle; and as they marched down the line, being saluted by the cheers of thousands of admirers, I said again and again in my heart, Surely Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.
Only a few clays ago, the veterans of the Union army met in an annual reunion in Chattanooga; and as I watched those brave, splendid men marching down the street, some with empty coat-sleeves, many bearing the scars of battle, I said again in my heart, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that his prophecies have been literally fulfilled. Not that the prophet desired that the bloodshed and carnage should come, but God foreknew it would come, and He warned this nation, through his prophet of the great Civil war. His prophet proposed a remedy, a solution of the great question that caused the war, and which would have avoided the awful bloodshed and misery; but the solution was rejected. President Brigham Young said that where a prophet's words are fulfilled they are more solid proof of his divine mission as a prophet than all the miracles he can work. Another great man, not of this Church, said that prophecies are permanent miracles. Go look at the National Cemetery in Chattanooga, and the cemeteries in other cities, that are so well taken care of by the federal government, and look at those veterans, wounded and maimed and battle-scarred, marching past—all these bear eloquent and powerful testimony to the fact that Joseph was indeed a prophet of God. Talk about miracles! Talk about the day of miracles being past, so long as this war is a memory, so long as those granite monuments pierce the clouds, so long as' those mighty monuments which people from the South and the North have erected to commemorate the valor of their sons, and brothers, and fathers! So long as these monuments stand, so long will there be a standing and permanent miracle to testify to the people that the days of prophets and apostles have not gone to return no more forever.
Look at the communities in this great state and in the surrounding states. Did not the prophet predict that the people should be driven from Illinois and become a great and mighty people in this western land? Has it not been fulfilled? Behold a miracle, not only on this Temple block but throughout Zion; and these miracles are increasing. O, brethren and sisters, confronted by these miracles, do you think we shall stand or "halt between two opinions: A thousand times no! But we will stand with our leaders, and with them we will fight the good fight. We will finish our course; we will keep the faith; we will, with God's help, win the crown of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began. Amen.
ELDER JOHN I. HERRICK.
(President of Western States Mission.)
My soul was made to rejoice upon the opening session of this conference, when our beloved prophet and president enunciated to this people a theme for our consideration which I believe to be a vital thing for, not only us in the valleys of the mountains, but for the people at large in the United States to consider. Solomon said: "Wine is a mocker; strong drink is raging; whosoever deceiveth himself thereby is not wise." At this late hour it would be presuming indeed for me to particularize regarding the Word of Wisdom, and the conditions that grow out of a failure to observe it, but will simply direct attention to a few figures that came under my observation, recently, in contemplating the subject. It seems apparent, from carefully compiled statistics, that the United States is vying with other countries of the world to see which can consume the most liquor, and when I say other countries I refer more especially to France, England and Germany. In the year 1911, there was consumed in the United States 17.79 gallons of intoxicants for each man, woman and child. In 1912 that startling quantity had been increased by nearly five gallons for each man, woman and child, at a cost, as we heard this forenoon, from Elder McKay, of nearly two billion dollars. Besides that, there was consumed just about two billion gallons of beer, enough, I presume, if it were turned into a channel, to float a battleship; and then, too, there was more than two hundred and fifty million dollars worth of coffee used. When we come to tobacco we have probably a more stupendous showing in figures, and maybe in evil results, than anything else, because of its almost general use throughout the country. During the calendar year 1911 there was used in the manufacture of tobacco, snuff, cigars, and cigarettes, sixteen and one-half billion pounds. I do not know what the average cost of the tobacco would be per pound, but I should say, since it was made into expensive cigarettes and cigars, that perhaps fifty cents a pound would be fair. So putting these figures together I take it that each man, woman and child in the United States consumed ten dollars worth of alcoholic liquors, coffee, tea, and tobacco each month of that year. Imagine, if you will, what absolutely unbelievable figures that would make if that money were saved. Ten dollars for a hundred million people would mean a billion dollars a month saved to this country, or twelve billions annually, if we desisted from using intoxicants and tobacco, tea and coffee. There would soon be no national debt, or scarcely any other debts, could that vast sum be used for more legitimate and necessary things.
Emerson, I believe, said that "a man ought to be strong enough to overcome anything that can come to him. He is the strong man who can say No, and he is the wise man who through all his life can keep his mind, his soul, and his body clean."
Speaking for one of the missions of this country, I cannot but refer to the occasion which brought five or six thousand people together in this building two weeks ago, yesterday, to pay tribute to the memory of our beloved friend and associate, President Ben E. Rich, a man whom I believe to have been one of the great missionaries of our Church. "And every one who hath forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or fathers, or mothers, or children, or lands, for my name's sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life." So said the Savior of the world, as recorded by Matthew; and I think if there is any man who is entitled to eternal life, and to an hundred fold of blessing, it will be such men as Ben E. Rich, who have given the best part of their lives to this work, and those who die martyrs, as he did, to the cause of Christ.
Let us, my brethren and sisters, heed the admonition of the prophet, seer and revelator to Israel. His warning voice made it known to us at the beginning of this conference that we should observe the Word of Wisdom; that we should heed the whisperings of the Spirit, that we should keep our bodies clean and our minds holy. May we be able to do so under the inspiration of heaven, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(President of Western States Mission.)
My soul was made to rejoice upon the opening session of this conference, when our beloved prophet and president enunciated to this people a theme for our consideration which I believe to be a vital thing for, not only us in the valleys of the mountains, but for the people at large in the United States to consider. Solomon said: "Wine is a mocker; strong drink is raging; whosoever deceiveth himself thereby is not wise." At this late hour it would be presuming indeed for me to particularize regarding the Word of Wisdom, and the conditions that grow out of a failure to observe it, but will simply direct attention to a few figures that came under my observation, recently, in contemplating the subject. It seems apparent, from carefully compiled statistics, that the United States is vying with other countries of the world to see which can consume the most liquor, and when I say other countries I refer more especially to France, England and Germany. In the year 1911, there was consumed in the United States 17.79 gallons of intoxicants for each man, woman and child. In 1912 that startling quantity had been increased by nearly five gallons for each man, woman and child, at a cost, as we heard this forenoon, from Elder McKay, of nearly two billion dollars. Besides that, there was consumed just about two billion gallons of beer, enough, I presume, if it were turned into a channel, to float a battleship; and then, too, there was more than two hundred and fifty million dollars worth of coffee used. When we come to tobacco we have probably a more stupendous showing in figures, and maybe in evil results, than anything else, because of its almost general use throughout the country. During the calendar year 1911 there was used in the manufacture of tobacco, snuff, cigars, and cigarettes, sixteen and one-half billion pounds. I do not know what the average cost of the tobacco would be per pound, but I should say, since it was made into expensive cigarettes and cigars, that perhaps fifty cents a pound would be fair. So putting these figures together I take it that each man, woman and child in the United States consumed ten dollars worth of alcoholic liquors, coffee, tea, and tobacco each month of that year. Imagine, if you will, what absolutely unbelievable figures that would make if that money were saved. Ten dollars for a hundred million people would mean a billion dollars a month saved to this country, or twelve billions annually, if we desisted from using intoxicants and tobacco, tea and coffee. There would soon be no national debt, or scarcely any other debts, could that vast sum be used for more legitimate and necessary things.
Emerson, I believe, said that "a man ought to be strong enough to overcome anything that can come to him. He is the strong man who can say No, and he is the wise man who through all his life can keep his mind, his soul, and his body clean."
Speaking for one of the missions of this country, I cannot but refer to the occasion which brought five or six thousand people together in this building two weeks ago, yesterday, to pay tribute to the memory of our beloved friend and associate, President Ben E. Rich, a man whom I believe to have been one of the great missionaries of our Church. "And every one who hath forsaken houses, or brothers, or sisters, or fathers, or mothers, or children, or lands, for my name's sake shall receive an hundred fold and shall inherit everlasting life." So said the Savior of the world, as recorded by Matthew; and I think if there is any man who is entitled to eternal life, and to an hundred fold of blessing, it will be such men as Ben E. Rich, who have given the best part of their lives to this work, and those who die martyrs, as he did, to the cause of Christ.
Let us, my brethren and sisters, heed the admonition of the prophet, seer and revelator to Israel. His warning voice made it known to us at the beginning of this conference that we should observe the Word of Wisdom; that we should heed the whisperings of the Spirit, that we should keep our bodies clean and our minds holy. May we be able to do so under the inspiration of heaven, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER GERMAN E. ELLSWORTH.
(President of Northern States Mission.)
I am pleased, my brethren and sisters, to have the privilege of bearing my testimony to the Latter- day Saints who have assembled in this conference. I bear witness to you that we have heard the word of the Lord to Israel. It is incumbent upon us, whether we have only heard, or whether we will go home and put it into practice; the one who is a hearer only bringeth condemnation upon himself. I rejoice my brethren and sisters, in the testimony of all our brethren who have addressed us this conference time, not only with what has been said, but with the spirit in which it has been said, for it has come from the Lord. I am happy, indeed, to have this opportunity of fulfilling a covenant once made with the Lord to bear witness of His name and of His Son, and of the Gospel that has been restored for the salvation of the children of men.
I am pleased to have the privilege of representing the Northern States mission. I have spent. a good deal of time with our missionaries after they have come home, and have told them that there is just as much joy and satisfaction and even a greater opportunity here to win souls for Christ if they will only keep the missionary spirit. If they will but keep the love that they had in their hearts for their fellowmen, while out in the field, and use it to bless their friends and neighbors at home, they would bring more souls to a knowledge of the truth, and feel more joy and peace than they did while in the mission field.
I rejoiced, my brethren and sisters, in hearing the word of the Lord concerning our deportment before our fellow men. I believe that if we would live as the missionaries live, after they have been in the field a short time, that we would indeed be a light to the world, a light set upon a hill. It has been said that the Lord, in the last days, would cut a stone from the mountains, which would roll forth and fill the whole earth. The world has recognized this stone and called it a giant that should be crushed. It would indeed be a giant example of righteousness if we fully kept the word of the Lord concerning the Word of Wisdom. If all would refrain from the use of tea, coffee, liquor and tobacco, in the spirit of the word of the Lord, the love of God would reign in our hearts, and we could go forth, under the calling of the holy priesthood, and bear witness of the truth in such power that the world would stop and listen.
I remember, on one occasion, being in the dining car upon a railroad train, on a hot, dusty day, from Canada to Minneapolis. I think every man and woman on the dining' car, with the exception of myself, had a bottle of beer, and, while I had never been addicted to it in my life, I confess that it looked very cooling, but I did not order it. (You don't know that, but I do, and therein lies the testimony I received.) Before I had finished my meal, the four people sitting opposite to me, were talking about their visit to the Temple block. They began to discuss what a superstitious people we are, and how there was something mysterious connected with the acoustic properties in this building. When I had finished my meal, I handed them my card, and said: "My friends, no matter how far you travel, you never know in whose presence you may be talking. I am a 'Mormon' elder, and what you have been saying about the superstition of my people is not true." After we retired from the dining car I had the privilege of talking to them about an hour, correcting their false impressions. The thing "that has come to my mind, time and time again, has been: Had I indulged in a bottle of beer, knowing the instructions and teachings that I have had from my youth, would I have had the courage to defend my religion? Would I have had the courage to tell them who I was, and what people I represented in the world? It has been a testimony to me, my brethren and sisters, that God is present in us, and we are the greatest witnesses of our sincerity by our conduct before our fellow-men and before God our Father.
Joseph Smith said that man might just as well put out his puny arm and try to stop the mighty Mississippi river in its onward course to the sea, as to try to stop this work. That is true, my brethren and sisters; but it would progress much faster if the third generation, who have been born without a desire for tea, coffee, tobacco or liquor, would not cultivate the taste for those deleterious articles. If we would rise in the strength and purity of our birthright we could more effectively aid this work, and it would roll on more rapidly, and the light thereof would become brighter than it has ever been before. The world will yet rise up and bless our names, and the names of our parents and grand-parents who, under the sound of the voice of the prophet of God, repented of their sins, lived a godly life, and gave us such a royal birth.
In the face of the light that we have received, the instructions that have been given to us, and of the pleadings and warnings of the servants of God for us to live righteously, what condemnation will come upon us should we cultivate an appetite for tea, coffee, liquor and tobacco. Some of our fathers and mothers, and particularly our grandfathers and grandmothers, had these habits when the Gospel found them; but hundreds of them forsook these things and lived a godly life, and by so doing have transmitted to us very little desire for the things the Lord said were not good for man. Light has come in to the world and condemnation will come upon those who reject the light. The word of wisdom is a revelation, and command to the third generation. If they heed it not and turn aside from the instructions and pleadings of the presiding officers of" this Church they will lose their place and station, and the honest young men and women of the world, who hear the voice of God, through His servants, will come in and take their places.
God bless Zion. God bless the rising generation, that we may build upon the foundations that have been so nobly laid by our parents, and that we may follow the instructions of.our God-inspired leaders, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
(President of Northern States Mission.)
I am pleased, my brethren and sisters, to have the privilege of bearing my testimony to the Latter- day Saints who have assembled in this conference. I bear witness to you that we have heard the word of the Lord to Israel. It is incumbent upon us, whether we have only heard, or whether we will go home and put it into practice; the one who is a hearer only bringeth condemnation upon himself. I rejoice my brethren and sisters, in the testimony of all our brethren who have addressed us this conference time, not only with what has been said, but with the spirit in which it has been said, for it has come from the Lord. I am happy, indeed, to have this opportunity of fulfilling a covenant once made with the Lord to bear witness of His name and of His Son, and of the Gospel that has been restored for the salvation of the children of men.
I am pleased to have the privilege of representing the Northern States mission. I have spent. a good deal of time with our missionaries after they have come home, and have told them that there is just as much joy and satisfaction and even a greater opportunity here to win souls for Christ if they will only keep the missionary spirit. If they will but keep the love that they had in their hearts for their fellowmen, while out in the field, and use it to bless their friends and neighbors at home, they would bring more souls to a knowledge of the truth, and feel more joy and peace than they did while in the mission field.
I rejoiced, my brethren and sisters, in hearing the word of the Lord concerning our deportment before our fellow men. I believe that if we would live as the missionaries live, after they have been in the field a short time, that we would indeed be a light to the world, a light set upon a hill. It has been said that the Lord, in the last days, would cut a stone from the mountains, which would roll forth and fill the whole earth. The world has recognized this stone and called it a giant that should be crushed. It would indeed be a giant example of righteousness if we fully kept the word of the Lord concerning the Word of Wisdom. If all would refrain from the use of tea, coffee, liquor and tobacco, in the spirit of the word of the Lord, the love of God would reign in our hearts, and we could go forth, under the calling of the holy priesthood, and bear witness of the truth in such power that the world would stop and listen.
I remember, on one occasion, being in the dining car upon a railroad train, on a hot, dusty day, from Canada to Minneapolis. I think every man and woman on the dining' car, with the exception of myself, had a bottle of beer, and, while I had never been addicted to it in my life, I confess that it looked very cooling, but I did not order it. (You don't know that, but I do, and therein lies the testimony I received.) Before I had finished my meal, the four people sitting opposite to me, were talking about their visit to the Temple block. They began to discuss what a superstitious people we are, and how there was something mysterious connected with the acoustic properties in this building. When I had finished my meal, I handed them my card, and said: "My friends, no matter how far you travel, you never know in whose presence you may be talking. I am a 'Mormon' elder, and what you have been saying about the superstition of my people is not true." After we retired from the dining car I had the privilege of talking to them about an hour, correcting their false impressions. The thing "that has come to my mind, time and time again, has been: Had I indulged in a bottle of beer, knowing the instructions and teachings that I have had from my youth, would I have had the courage to defend my religion? Would I have had the courage to tell them who I was, and what people I represented in the world? It has been a testimony to me, my brethren and sisters, that God is present in us, and we are the greatest witnesses of our sincerity by our conduct before our fellow-men and before God our Father.
Joseph Smith said that man might just as well put out his puny arm and try to stop the mighty Mississippi river in its onward course to the sea, as to try to stop this work. That is true, my brethren and sisters; but it would progress much faster if the third generation, who have been born without a desire for tea, coffee, tobacco or liquor, would not cultivate the taste for those deleterious articles. If we would rise in the strength and purity of our birthright we could more effectively aid this work, and it would roll on more rapidly, and the light thereof would become brighter than it has ever been before. The world will yet rise up and bless our names, and the names of our parents and grand-parents who, under the sound of the voice of the prophet of God, repented of their sins, lived a godly life, and gave us such a royal birth.
In the face of the light that we have received, the instructions that have been given to us, and of the pleadings and warnings of the servants of God for us to live righteously, what condemnation will come upon us should we cultivate an appetite for tea, coffee, liquor and tobacco. Some of our fathers and mothers, and particularly our grandfathers and grandmothers, had these habits when the Gospel found them; but hundreds of them forsook these things and lived a godly life, and by so doing have transmitted to us very little desire for the things the Lord said were not good for man. Light has come in to the world and condemnation will come upon those who reject the light. The word of wisdom is a revelation, and command to the third generation. If they heed it not and turn aside from the instructions and pleadings of the presiding officers of" this Church they will lose their place and station, and the honest young men and women of the world, who hear the voice of God, through His servants, will come in and take their places.
God bless Zion. God bless the rising generation, that we may build upon the foundations that have been so nobly laid by our parents, and that we may follow the instructions of.our God-inspired leaders, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER WALTER P. MONSON.
(President of Eastern States Mission.)
I can say, with my brethren who have preceded me, that I have rejoiced extremely in the spirit of this splendid conference, and the appropriateness of the singing, which has been soul-inspiring hymns, with music by our own composers, in nearly every instance. I feel that it is good to be here. I have received spiritual food in listening to the remarks and testimonies that have been borne in our hearing this afternoon, as well as in the other sessions of this conference.
The Latter-day Saints have not turned their eyes unto a setting sun of spiritual glory; they are calling upon the world to look upon the dawn of a new era, and spiritual light has again been shed forth upon the souls of men. They are calling upon all mankind to rejoice in' the advent of the dispensation of the fullness of times, when God will bring together all the dispensations that have ever been upon the earth, with all of their attendant blessings, all will be included in this last dispensation. We have heard, from the brethren, of the restoration of the keys of the gathering of Israel, keys delivered by Elijah, the prophet. All the keys and blessings that were enjoyed by the prophets and people of ancient days have come to us, and we are made partakers of those blessings.
The Latter-day Saints do not have to look back into the days of Adam and of Abraham to find examples of sacrifice. While we were listening to the remarks of Elder Roberts, the beautiful tribute paid by him, suggested by monuments, that commemorate the sacrifice and achievements of God's people, I thought we must not forget that in this great American desert, the wilds of the western land and mountains, God has raised up a people whose sturdiness is not equaled in the world; and they have excelled notwithstanding their impoverished condition. They have produced literally, from elements that were rough and unhewn, an empire that stands for the glory of God in these the latter days.
My brethren and sisters, I bear my testimony to you, before taking up my labors in the Eastern States Mission, that I know that God lives; that I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that the doctrines you have heard expounded in this conference are doctrines that receive the divine approval of Jesus Christ our Lord, and God our Heavenly Father. I also bear testimony to the divine mission of Joseph Smith, the prophet, who was instrumental in these the last days in restoring anew the Gospel light, which seems to stir the whole spiritual world from center to circumference. My heart is filled with gratitude and praise, and has been thrilled by the testimonies which have been borne. The Spirit of the Lord has caused me to see the glorious truths that have been portrayed. I uphold and sustain the prophet, seer, and revelator, who spoke to us in the opening session of this conference. He manifested the power of inspiration and the influence of the Spirit of the Lord; for the topics touched upon are the most timely that the Latter-day Saints could have presented before them. While I was in England, about three years ago, I had charge of what was known as Earl's Court Booth. I simply mention a little incident that occurred there to show how thinking people of the world are turning attention toward the Latter-day Saints, and occasionally show that they approve of their lives and actions in some respects. While I was handing out our literature and selling our books, at Earl's Court Booth, I met a learned man from the Oxford University, whom I was informed had set apart more church of England ministers than any other man who had held the same position in the history of the Oxford University. I had the opportunity of passing to him a six-penny booklet, that was written by Doctor James E. Talmage, "The Story of Mormonism." On the front was a triangular heading, with "The Story of Mormonism" inscribed within the triangle. He came back, in two or three weeks, and I recognized him when he came to the booth, and 1 asked him if he had read the little book that he bought when he was there before. He said, "Yes, I have; but why do you call this work 'Mormonism?' " I replied "we are called 'Mormons' for the same reason that John is sometimes called Jack. People gave us a nick-name, and the more we protest the more they love to call us that name; but we have no objections, inasmuch as 'Mormonism' stands for 'more good.' everything that is pure and holy in the lives,-of men:" He said: "You did not catch my idea. If you would remove that name, 'Mormonism,' the whole world would be more ready to accept those glorious truths." He asked me if I was acquainted with Doctor Talmage, the writer. I told him that I was not intimately acquainted, but that I knew him. He said: "When you go home I want you to bear to Doctor Talmage one suggestion with respect to his work." I told him that I would, and I have delivered it. He said; "Instead of having this triangular affair on the front cover, and standing within the triangle, 'The Story of Mormonism, by James E. Talmage,' there should be a star or a crescent, more the shape of a horse-shoe, placed on the front cover, in two lines, and between these two lines it should read, 'These are they that have come up through great tribulation.' " I thought that, of all the beautiful delicate compliments that ever have been paid to the Latter-day Saint people, this by Rev. J. Barker Smith of the Oxford University was one of the finest.
My brethren and sisters, I bear you my humble testimony that I know the work we are engaged in is the plan that has been established by our Heavenly Father for the redemption of human souls. May God bless us and help us to appreciate these blessings; that we may live not by bread alone, hut by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; which is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
A tenor solo, "O Lord rebuke me not in Thine anger," was sung by David E. Smith.
(President of Eastern States Mission.)
I can say, with my brethren who have preceded me, that I have rejoiced extremely in the spirit of this splendid conference, and the appropriateness of the singing, which has been soul-inspiring hymns, with music by our own composers, in nearly every instance. I feel that it is good to be here. I have received spiritual food in listening to the remarks and testimonies that have been borne in our hearing this afternoon, as well as in the other sessions of this conference.
The Latter-day Saints have not turned their eyes unto a setting sun of spiritual glory; they are calling upon the world to look upon the dawn of a new era, and spiritual light has again been shed forth upon the souls of men. They are calling upon all mankind to rejoice in' the advent of the dispensation of the fullness of times, when God will bring together all the dispensations that have ever been upon the earth, with all of their attendant blessings, all will be included in this last dispensation. We have heard, from the brethren, of the restoration of the keys of the gathering of Israel, keys delivered by Elijah, the prophet. All the keys and blessings that were enjoyed by the prophets and people of ancient days have come to us, and we are made partakers of those blessings.
The Latter-day Saints do not have to look back into the days of Adam and of Abraham to find examples of sacrifice. While we were listening to the remarks of Elder Roberts, the beautiful tribute paid by him, suggested by monuments, that commemorate the sacrifice and achievements of God's people, I thought we must not forget that in this great American desert, the wilds of the western land and mountains, God has raised up a people whose sturdiness is not equaled in the world; and they have excelled notwithstanding their impoverished condition. They have produced literally, from elements that were rough and unhewn, an empire that stands for the glory of God in these the latter days.
My brethren and sisters, I bear my testimony to you, before taking up my labors in the Eastern States Mission, that I know that God lives; that I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that the doctrines you have heard expounded in this conference are doctrines that receive the divine approval of Jesus Christ our Lord, and God our Heavenly Father. I also bear testimony to the divine mission of Joseph Smith, the prophet, who was instrumental in these the last days in restoring anew the Gospel light, which seems to stir the whole spiritual world from center to circumference. My heart is filled with gratitude and praise, and has been thrilled by the testimonies which have been borne. The Spirit of the Lord has caused me to see the glorious truths that have been portrayed. I uphold and sustain the prophet, seer, and revelator, who spoke to us in the opening session of this conference. He manifested the power of inspiration and the influence of the Spirit of the Lord; for the topics touched upon are the most timely that the Latter-day Saints could have presented before them. While I was in England, about three years ago, I had charge of what was known as Earl's Court Booth. I simply mention a little incident that occurred there to show how thinking people of the world are turning attention toward the Latter-day Saints, and occasionally show that they approve of their lives and actions in some respects. While I was handing out our literature and selling our books, at Earl's Court Booth, I met a learned man from the Oxford University, whom I was informed had set apart more church of England ministers than any other man who had held the same position in the history of the Oxford University. I had the opportunity of passing to him a six-penny booklet, that was written by Doctor James E. Talmage, "The Story of Mormonism." On the front was a triangular heading, with "The Story of Mormonism" inscribed within the triangle. He came back, in two or three weeks, and I recognized him when he came to the booth, and 1 asked him if he had read the little book that he bought when he was there before. He said, "Yes, I have; but why do you call this work 'Mormonism?' " I replied "we are called 'Mormons' for the same reason that John is sometimes called Jack. People gave us a nick-name, and the more we protest the more they love to call us that name; but we have no objections, inasmuch as 'Mormonism' stands for 'more good.' everything that is pure and holy in the lives,-of men:" He said: "You did not catch my idea. If you would remove that name, 'Mormonism,' the whole world would be more ready to accept those glorious truths." He asked me if I was acquainted with Doctor Talmage, the writer. I told him that I was not intimately acquainted, but that I knew him. He said: "When you go home I want you to bear to Doctor Talmage one suggestion with respect to his work." I told him that I would, and I have delivered it. He said; "Instead of having this triangular affair on the front cover, and standing within the triangle, 'The Story of Mormonism, by James E. Talmage,' there should be a star or a crescent, more the shape of a horse-shoe, placed on the front cover, in two lines, and between these two lines it should read, 'These are they that have come up through great tribulation.' " I thought that, of all the beautiful delicate compliments that ever have been paid to the Latter-day Saint people, this by Rev. J. Barker Smith of the Oxford University was one of the finest.
My brethren and sisters, I bear you my humble testimony that I know the work we are engaged in is the plan that has been established by our Heavenly Father for the redemption of human souls. May God bless us and help us to appreciate these blessings; that we may live not by bread alone, hut by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; which is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
A tenor solo, "O Lord rebuke me not in Thine anger," was sung by David E. Smith.
BISHOP CHARLES W. NIBLEY.
We have had a splendid conference from start to finish, and now we are about at the close. It is not my intention to make any extended remarks, for there is not time. There is one matter, however, that it is desired I should call to your attention.
You are all acquainted with the unfortunate condition of our people who have been expelled from Mexico, and who have had to leave their property and all they possess, and flee for their lives. Quite a number of them are still located near the borders of Mexico, at El Paso and other places, but there is a large number scattered in the settlements, wards and stakes of Utah, Idaho, Arizona and the outside stakes. Brethren and sisters, wherever you can help our afflicted brothers and sisters who are in need—and they are all in need of assistance—-to get work or secure employment, do all that you can in this direction, and where they are in actual need of sustenance, of food or clothing, it is our duty to help supply it. I know that in the abundance that you have, you will not withhold from these brethren and sisters, who are in this condition of want.
We all hope that the time will soon come when conditions will be more settled in that land, and all who wish to return to their possessions, or that which is left of them, can do so, but that time seems to be a considerable distance ahead, and no man can tell just when it will be. In the meantime, let us do our duty towards them.
Let me add another word, also. The Lord is showering His blessings upon the Latter-day Saints in rich abundance. The earth is wonderfully productive this season, in all of our settlements, and all the products of the field, farm and range are bringing fairly good prices. In the midst of all these blessings none of us should forget the obligations that we are under to sustain the Church of God with the means, or part of it, that He puts into our possession.
I believe that this is the best people in all the world—I know they are, and yet we are surely not any better than we should be, or than we could be. There is room for improvement in the direction of paying our tithes and offerings, and sustaining the Church. The mission work abroad is now taking a great deal of the means of the Church. The improvements that you heard about during this conference, take considerable. money. The operation of our temples, the building of meeting houses, and the general necessities of the Church, all require means. I believe that our attendance at this conference will remind us of this obligation to the Lord and His Church, that we will come forth with our tithes and offerings and help to build up the great work of God which is being established in the earth, and which is doing so much, and will do still more, if we only do all that we should to promote its interests. Amen.
We have had a splendid conference from start to finish, and now we are about at the close. It is not my intention to make any extended remarks, for there is not time. There is one matter, however, that it is desired I should call to your attention.
You are all acquainted with the unfortunate condition of our people who have been expelled from Mexico, and who have had to leave their property and all they possess, and flee for their lives. Quite a number of them are still located near the borders of Mexico, at El Paso and other places, but there is a large number scattered in the settlements, wards and stakes of Utah, Idaho, Arizona and the outside stakes. Brethren and sisters, wherever you can help our afflicted brothers and sisters who are in need—and they are all in need of assistance—-to get work or secure employment, do all that you can in this direction, and where they are in actual need of sustenance, of food or clothing, it is our duty to help supply it. I know that in the abundance that you have, you will not withhold from these brethren and sisters, who are in this condition of want.
We all hope that the time will soon come when conditions will be more settled in that land, and all who wish to return to their possessions, or that which is left of them, can do so, but that time seems to be a considerable distance ahead, and no man can tell just when it will be. In the meantime, let us do our duty towards them.
Let me add another word, also. The Lord is showering His blessings upon the Latter-day Saints in rich abundance. The earth is wonderfully productive this season, in all of our settlements, and all the products of the field, farm and range are bringing fairly good prices. In the midst of all these blessings none of us should forget the obligations that we are under to sustain the Church of God with the means, or part of it, that He puts into our possession.
I believe that this is the best people in all the world—I know they are, and yet we are surely not any better than we should be, or than we could be. There is room for improvement in the direction of paying our tithes and offerings, and sustaining the Church. The mission work abroad is now taking a great deal of the means of the Church. The improvements that you heard about during this conference, take considerable. money. The operation of our temples, the building of meeting houses, and the general necessities of the Church, all require means. I believe that our attendance at this conference will remind us of this obligation to the Lord and His Church, that we will come forth with our tithes and offerings and help to build up the great work of God which is being established in the earth, and which is doing so much, and will do still more, if we only do all that we should to promote its interests. Amen.
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE.
I am requested to present a matter before you, very briefly, which is in your interest and particularly in the interest of the newspaper which is recognized as the organ of the Church, the Deseret News. I am not now intimately associated with the paper, but I take interest in its welfare and progress, and wish to recommend to the Latter-day Saints that they subscribe and pay for the Deseret News; those who can receive it, should take the daily, and those who are in distant points, not connected with the railroads, take the semi-weekly. It is a good, reliable, able newspaper, as well as being the organ of the Church. There are many obstacles in its way. A newspaper is not generally supported financially by its subscription lists, but by its advertisements. There are classes of advertisements which cannot be admitted into the columns of the Deseret News, so that the paper is handicapped in that matter in a way that is not felt by other newspapers in this city. The News does not admit advertisements that relate to the sale of liquor and tobacco and other things talked about in this conference which are forbidden to the real Latter-day Saints. There are many other advertisements such as quack medicines, et cetera, which are not admitted into the columns of the Deseret News. And then there is the opposition of all supporters of the "underworld" and the lower elements in this city and other cities of the State, because the Deseret News stands all the time in support of the Word of Wisdom and of all the counsels and instructions of a moral and practical kind given by the leaders of the Church.
Now, I will not enlarge upon the matter, because the time is almost up for closing our last session of this conference, but I recommend to my brethren, the presidents of stakes and their counselors, and the bishops and their counselors, that they endeavor to do what they can to circulate that paper and to help in its support by every legitimate means; and they will find that wherever that paper finds its way in the various parts of Zion a good influence is used and the work of the Lord is accelerated. The Lord has blessed that paper from the beginning; may it continue to prosper and receive the support of His people. Amen.
I am requested to present a matter before you, very briefly, which is in your interest and particularly in the interest of the newspaper which is recognized as the organ of the Church, the Deseret News. I am not now intimately associated with the paper, but I take interest in its welfare and progress, and wish to recommend to the Latter-day Saints that they subscribe and pay for the Deseret News; those who can receive it, should take the daily, and those who are in distant points, not connected with the railroads, take the semi-weekly. It is a good, reliable, able newspaper, as well as being the organ of the Church. There are many obstacles in its way. A newspaper is not generally supported financially by its subscription lists, but by its advertisements. There are classes of advertisements which cannot be admitted into the columns of the Deseret News, so that the paper is handicapped in that matter in a way that is not felt by other newspapers in this city. The News does not admit advertisements that relate to the sale of liquor and tobacco and other things talked about in this conference which are forbidden to the real Latter-day Saints. There are many other advertisements such as quack medicines, et cetera, which are not admitted into the columns of the Deseret News. And then there is the opposition of all supporters of the "underworld" and the lower elements in this city and other cities of the State, because the Deseret News stands all the time in support of the Word of Wisdom and of all the counsels and instructions of a moral and practical kind given by the leaders of the Church.
Now, I will not enlarge upon the matter, because the time is almost up for closing our last session of this conference, but I recommend to my brethren, the presidents of stakes and their counselors, and the bishops and their counselors, that they endeavor to do what they can to circulate that paper and to help in its support by every legitimate means; and they will find that wherever that paper finds its way in the various parts of Zion a good influence is used and the work of the Lord is accelerated. The Lord has blessed that paper from the beginning; may it continue to prosper and receive the support of His people. Amen.
AUTHORITIES SUSTAINED.
Elder Heber J. Grant presented the names of the General Authorities of the Church, to be voted upon by the assembly, as follows:
Joseph F. Smith, as Prophet, Seer and Revelator and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Anthon H. Lund, as First Counselor in the First Presidency.
Charles W. Penrose, as Second Counselor in the First Presidency.
Francis M. Lyman as President of the Twelve Apostles.
As members of the Council of Twelve Apostles: Francis M. Lyman, Heber J. Grant, Rudger Clawson, Reed Smoot, Hyrum M. Smith, George Albert Smith, George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, David O. McKay, Anthony W. Ivins, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and James E. Talmage.
Hyrum G Smith, as Presiding Patriarch of the Church.
The Counselors in the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles and the Presiding Patriarch, as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
First Seven Presidents of Seventies: Seymour B. Young, Brigham H. Roberts, Jonathan G. Kimball, Rulon S. Wells, Joseph W. McMurrin, Charles H. Hart, and Levi Edgar Young.
Charles W. Nibley, as Presiding Bishop, with Orrin P. Miller and David A. Smith as his first and second Counselors.
Joseph F. Smith, as Trustee-in- Trust for the body of religious worshipers known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Anthon H. Lund, as Church Historian and General Church Recorder.
Andrew Jenson, Brigham H Roberts, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and August W. Lund, Assistant Historians.
As members of the General Church Board of Education: Joseph F. Smith, Willard Young, Anthon H. Lund, George H. Brimhall, Rudger Clawson, Charles W. Penrose, Horace H. Cummings, Orson F. Whitney, and Francis M. Lyman.
Arthur Winter, Secretary and Treasurer to the General Church Board of Education.
Horace H. Cummings, General Superintendent of Church Schools.
Board of Examiners for Church Schools: Horace H. Cummings, chairman; George H. Brimhall, Willard Young, and C N. Jensen.
Auditing committee: William W. Riter, Henry H. Rolapp, John C. Cutler, Heber Scowcroft and Joseph S. Wells.
Tabernacle choir: Evan Stephens, conductor; Horace S. Ensign, assistant conductor; John J. McClellan, organist; Edward P. Kimball and Tracy Y. Cannon, assistant organists; George C. Smith, secretary and treasurer; Noel S. Pratt, librarian; and all the members.
General Board of Relief Society: Emmeline B. Wells, president; Clarrisa S. Williams, first counselor; Julina L. Smith, second counselor; Amy Brown Lyman, general secretary; Susa Young Gates, corresponding secretary; Emma A. Empey, treasurer; Lizzie T. Edward, music director; Edna H. Coray, organist. Members of the board: Sarah Jenne Cannon, Romania B. Penrose, Susan Grant, Emily S. Richards, Julia P. M. Farnsworth, Phoebe Y. Beatie, Ida S. Dusenberry, Carrie S. Thomas, Alice M. Home, Priscilla P. Jennings, Elizabeth S. Wilcox, Rebecca N. Nibley, Elizabeth C. McCune, Edna May Davis, Sarah M. McLelland, Elizabeth C. Crismon and Jeanette A. Hyde.
General Board of Deseret Sunday School Union: Joseph F. Smith, general superintendent; David O. McKay, first assistant general superintendent; Stephen L. Richards, second assistant general superintendent; George D. Pyper, general secretary; John F. Bennett, general treasurer. Members of the board: Joseph F. Smith, David O. McKay, Stephen L. Richards, Levi W. Richards, Francis M. Lyman, Heber J. Grant, Hugh J. Cannon, Andrew Kimball, John F. Bennett, John M. Mills, William D. Owen, Seymour B. Young, George D. Pyper, Anthon H. Lund, George M. Cannon, James E. Talmage, Horace H. Cummings, Josiah Burrows, William A. Morton, Horace S. Ensign, Henry H- Rolapp, Harold G. Reynolds, Charles W. Penrose, Charles B. Felt, George H. Wallace, Howard R. Driggs, Sylvester D. Bradford, Nathan T. Porter, Milton Bennion, Edwin G. Woolley, Jr., Hyrum G. Smith, Charles H. Hart, Joseph Ballantyne and J. Leo Fairbanks.
General Board Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association: Joseph F. Smith, general superintendent; Heber J. Grant, assistant superintendent; Brigham H. Roberts, assistant superintendent; Moroni Snow, secretary- Aids: Francis. M. Lyman, J. Golden Kimball, Junius F. Wells, George H. Brimhall, Edward H. Anderson, Thomas Hull, Willard Done, LeRoi C. Snow, Rudger Clawson, Rulon S. Wells, Joseph W. McMurrin, Bryant S. Hinckley, Brigham F. Grant, Hyrum M. Smith, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., Lewis T. Cannon, Benj. Goddard, George Albert Smith, Thomas A. Clawson, Lyman R. Martineau, Charles H. Hart, John A. Widtsoe, James H. Anderson, Anthony W. Ivins, Oscar A. Kirkham, Anthon H. Lund, George F. Richards, Nephi Anderson, John H. Taylor, Charles W. Penrose, James E. Talmage, Hyrum G. Smith, Henry C. Lund, George J. Cannon, Frank W. Penrose, Nicholas G. Morgan, Claude Richards, John F- Bowman, Levi Edgar Young, Roscoe W. Eardley.
General Board Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association: Martha Home Tingey, president; Ruth May Fox, first counselor; Mae Taylor Nystrom, second counselor; Joan M. Campbell, secretary; Alice Kimball Smith, treasurer; Margaret Summerhays, music director. Aids: Maria Young Dougall, Adella W. Eardley, Sarah Eddington, Agnes S. Campbell, Ann M. Cannon, May Booth Talmage, Emma Goddard, Rose W. Bennett, Julia M. Brixen, Augusta W. Grant, Estelle Neff Caldwell, Emily Caldwell Adams, Mary E. Connelly, Elen Wallace, Lucy Woodruff Smith, Jane B. Anderson, Edith R. Lovesy, Letitia T. Teasdale, Laura Bennion Dimond, Rachel Grant Taylor, Clarissa A. Beesley, Sarah E. Richards and Lucy Mack Smith.
Members of the General Board of Primary Associations: Louie B. Felt, president; May Anderson, first counselor; Clara W. Beebe, second counselor; Frances K. Thomasson, secretary; Ida B. Smith, librarian; Isabella S. Ross, physical director; Ann Nebeker, assistant physical director; Emma Ramsey Morris, chorister; Ivy Allen, organist. Advisors to the board: George F. Richards and Anthony W. Ivins. Aids: Lillie T. Freeze, Josephine R. West, Aurelia S. Rogers, L. L Greene Richards, Camilla C. Cobb, Eliza S. Bennion, Margaret Hull Eastmond, Edna H. Thomas, Alice L. Howarth, Emma Romney, Rebecca N. Whitney, Zina Y. Card, Amy Lyman, Laura Foster, Edith Hunter, Erma Bitner Evans, Myrtle B. Shurtliff and Ella Jeremy.
General Board of Religion Classes: Anthon H. Lund, superintendent; Rudger Clawson, first assistant superintendent; Hyrum M. Smith, second assistant superintendent; Edwin S. Sheets, secretary. Members of the board: Horace H. Cummings, Rulon S. Wells, Joseph W. McMurrin, John Henry Evans, William A. Morton, Joseph J. Cannon, George Albert Smith, Charles W. Penrose, Orson F. Whitney, James E. King, George F. Richards, Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, George H. Brimhall, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., P. J. Jenson and Willard Young.
General Board of the Genealogical Society of Utah: Anthon H. Lund, president: Charles W. Penrose, vice president; Joseph F. Smith, Jr., secretary and treasurer; Joseph Christenson, librarian; Anthony W. Ivins, D. M. McAllister and Heber J. Grant.
Duncan M. McAllister as clerk of the Conference.
Each and all of those named were duly sustained in the positions designated, by unanimous vote of the Conference.
Elder Heber J. Grant presented the names of the General Authorities of the Church, to be voted upon by the assembly, as follows:
Joseph F. Smith, as Prophet, Seer and Revelator and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Anthon H. Lund, as First Counselor in the First Presidency.
Charles W. Penrose, as Second Counselor in the First Presidency.
Francis M. Lyman as President of the Twelve Apostles.
As members of the Council of Twelve Apostles: Francis M. Lyman, Heber J. Grant, Rudger Clawson, Reed Smoot, Hyrum M. Smith, George Albert Smith, George F. Richards, Orson F. Whitney, David O. McKay, Anthony W. Ivins, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and James E. Talmage.
Hyrum G Smith, as Presiding Patriarch of the Church.
The Counselors in the First Presidency, the Twelve Apostles and the Presiding Patriarch, as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
First Seven Presidents of Seventies: Seymour B. Young, Brigham H. Roberts, Jonathan G. Kimball, Rulon S. Wells, Joseph W. McMurrin, Charles H. Hart, and Levi Edgar Young.
Charles W. Nibley, as Presiding Bishop, with Orrin P. Miller and David A. Smith as his first and second Counselors.
Joseph F. Smith, as Trustee-in- Trust for the body of religious worshipers known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Anthon H. Lund, as Church Historian and General Church Recorder.
Andrew Jenson, Brigham H Roberts, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and August W. Lund, Assistant Historians.
As members of the General Church Board of Education: Joseph F. Smith, Willard Young, Anthon H. Lund, George H. Brimhall, Rudger Clawson, Charles W. Penrose, Horace H. Cummings, Orson F. Whitney, and Francis M. Lyman.
Arthur Winter, Secretary and Treasurer to the General Church Board of Education.
Horace H. Cummings, General Superintendent of Church Schools.
Board of Examiners for Church Schools: Horace H. Cummings, chairman; George H. Brimhall, Willard Young, and C N. Jensen.
Auditing committee: William W. Riter, Henry H. Rolapp, John C. Cutler, Heber Scowcroft and Joseph S. Wells.
Tabernacle choir: Evan Stephens, conductor; Horace S. Ensign, assistant conductor; John J. McClellan, organist; Edward P. Kimball and Tracy Y. Cannon, assistant organists; George C. Smith, secretary and treasurer; Noel S. Pratt, librarian; and all the members.
General Board of Relief Society: Emmeline B. Wells, president; Clarrisa S. Williams, first counselor; Julina L. Smith, second counselor; Amy Brown Lyman, general secretary; Susa Young Gates, corresponding secretary; Emma A. Empey, treasurer; Lizzie T. Edward, music director; Edna H. Coray, organist. Members of the board: Sarah Jenne Cannon, Romania B. Penrose, Susan Grant, Emily S. Richards, Julia P. M. Farnsworth, Phoebe Y. Beatie, Ida S. Dusenberry, Carrie S. Thomas, Alice M. Home, Priscilla P. Jennings, Elizabeth S. Wilcox, Rebecca N. Nibley, Elizabeth C. McCune, Edna May Davis, Sarah M. McLelland, Elizabeth C. Crismon and Jeanette A. Hyde.
General Board of Deseret Sunday School Union: Joseph F. Smith, general superintendent; David O. McKay, first assistant general superintendent; Stephen L. Richards, second assistant general superintendent; George D. Pyper, general secretary; John F. Bennett, general treasurer. Members of the board: Joseph F. Smith, David O. McKay, Stephen L. Richards, Levi W. Richards, Francis M. Lyman, Heber J. Grant, Hugh J. Cannon, Andrew Kimball, John F. Bennett, John M. Mills, William D. Owen, Seymour B. Young, George D. Pyper, Anthon H. Lund, George M. Cannon, James E. Talmage, Horace H. Cummings, Josiah Burrows, William A. Morton, Horace S. Ensign, Henry H- Rolapp, Harold G. Reynolds, Charles W. Penrose, Charles B. Felt, George H. Wallace, Howard R. Driggs, Sylvester D. Bradford, Nathan T. Porter, Milton Bennion, Edwin G. Woolley, Jr., Hyrum G. Smith, Charles H. Hart, Joseph Ballantyne and J. Leo Fairbanks.
General Board Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association: Joseph F. Smith, general superintendent; Heber J. Grant, assistant superintendent; Brigham H. Roberts, assistant superintendent; Moroni Snow, secretary- Aids: Francis. M. Lyman, J. Golden Kimball, Junius F. Wells, George H. Brimhall, Edward H. Anderson, Thomas Hull, Willard Done, LeRoi C. Snow, Rudger Clawson, Rulon S. Wells, Joseph W. McMurrin, Bryant S. Hinckley, Brigham F. Grant, Hyrum M. Smith, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., Lewis T. Cannon, Benj. Goddard, George Albert Smith, Thomas A. Clawson, Lyman R. Martineau, Charles H. Hart, John A. Widtsoe, James H. Anderson, Anthony W. Ivins, Oscar A. Kirkham, Anthon H. Lund, George F. Richards, Nephi Anderson, John H. Taylor, Charles W. Penrose, James E. Talmage, Hyrum G. Smith, Henry C. Lund, George J. Cannon, Frank W. Penrose, Nicholas G. Morgan, Claude Richards, John F- Bowman, Levi Edgar Young, Roscoe W. Eardley.
General Board Young Ladies' Mutual Improvement Association: Martha Home Tingey, president; Ruth May Fox, first counselor; Mae Taylor Nystrom, second counselor; Joan M. Campbell, secretary; Alice Kimball Smith, treasurer; Margaret Summerhays, music director. Aids: Maria Young Dougall, Adella W. Eardley, Sarah Eddington, Agnes S. Campbell, Ann M. Cannon, May Booth Talmage, Emma Goddard, Rose W. Bennett, Julia M. Brixen, Augusta W. Grant, Estelle Neff Caldwell, Emily Caldwell Adams, Mary E. Connelly, Elen Wallace, Lucy Woodruff Smith, Jane B. Anderson, Edith R. Lovesy, Letitia T. Teasdale, Laura Bennion Dimond, Rachel Grant Taylor, Clarissa A. Beesley, Sarah E. Richards and Lucy Mack Smith.
Members of the General Board of Primary Associations: Louie B. Felt, president; May Anderson, first counselor; Clara W. Beebe, second counselor; Frances K. Thomasson, secretary; Ida B. Smith, librarian; Isabella S. Ross, physical director; Ann Nebeker, assistant physical director; Emma Ramsey Morris, chorister; Ivy Allen, organist. Advisors to the board: George F. Richards and Anthony W. Ivins. Aids: Lillie T. Freeze, Josephine R. West, Aurelia S. Rogers, L. L Greene Richards, Camilla C. Cobb, Eliza S. Bennion, Margaret Hull Eastmond, Edna H. Thomas, Alice L. Howarth, Emma Romney, Rebecca N. Whitney, Zina Y. Card, Amy Lyman, Laura Foster, Edith Hunter, Erma Bitner Evans, Myrtle B. Shurtliff and Ella Jeremy.
General Board of Religion Classes: Anthon H. Lund, superintendent; Rudger Clawson, first assistant superintendent; Hyrum M. Smith, second assistant superintendent; Edwin S. Sheets, secretary. Members of the board: Horace H. Cummings, Rulon S. Wells, Joseph W. McMurrin, John Henry Evans, William A. Morton, Joseph J. Cannon, George Albert Smith, Charles W. Penrose, Orson F. Whitney, James E. King, George F. Richards, Heber J. Grant, Anthony W. Ivins, George H. Brimhall, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., P. J. Jenson and Willard Young.
General Board of the Genealogical Society of Utah: Anthon H. Lund, president: Charles W. Penrose, vice president; Joseph F. Smith, Jr., secretary and treasurer; Joseph Christenson, librarian; Anthony W. Ivins, D. M. McAllister and Heber J. Grant.
Duncan M. McAllister as clerk of the Conference.
Each and all of those named were duly sustained in the positions designated, by unanimous vote of the Conference.
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
CLOSING REMARKS.
Gratitude expressed to all who assisted in Conference proceedings—Blessing invoked upon all engaged in the ministry, and all seekers after truth.
Just a moment or two more of patience. I desire to express my gratitude to my brethren and sisters who are present for the attention they have given to this conference, and to the meetings of this day. I want to thank my brethren who have spoken from the beginning to the end, for the most excellent spirit they have manifested, and for the most excellent words they have spoken. I desire to thank our choir for their presence here on the Sabbath, and for the other members of the choir that have been able to attend during Saturday and today; and also to our beloved brother and fellow-worker, one worthy of honor and credit for his service to the Church, Brother Evan Stephens, for his music, for the poetry of his soul, and for those songs that have been written by him, which we often hear sung and which we sing ourselves with great satisfaction; and to our beloved brother, John J. McClellan. and his assistants at the great organ; and all others of our brothers and sisters who have taken part in the exercises of our conference.
I think we have had one of the best conferences that we have held within my own recollection, and I can go back in my recollection to the early days, the days of Nauvoo at least. And the Lord bless you, my brethren of the holy priesthood, the presidents of stakes and their counselors, and high councils, the bishops and their counselors, and all taking part in the labor of the ministry whether in the regular quorums and councils of the priesthood or in the auxiliary organizations, we feel to express our gratitude for your presence and your heartfelt interest in the work of the Lord. We beseech you to continue to be faithful and more faithful than ever before. Let us all try to be a little better than we have been in the past, and let us try to treasure up the most excellent instructions that have been given to us during our conference.
I know that the Lord is pleased with the proceedings of our conference, and that His blessing has been with us, and His spirit has been made powerfully manifest in all that has been said and clone. The Lord bless the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and all honest, earnest seekers after the truth, everywhere, throughout the world. May the Lord bless those who, though ignorant of the revelations that the Lord has given to the world in these latter days, are still seeking to serve Him according to the light they possess, and the knowledge that they have. May God's blessing rest upon them, that they or their children after them may come to the knowledge of the truth at last and be exalted in the kingdom of God through the ordinances of the Gospel and obedience to all the requirements thereof.
Sixty-six of our brethren have taken part vocally during our conference. I expect we will have quite as many take part during the next conference, who did not have the privilege of being heard at this conference. We have a list of you all and we expect to give all a chance as far as we can, and we would like you to come prepared.
Announcement was made that the daily organ recitals would be discontinued until further notice.
The choir and congregation sang, "The Doxology."
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Rudger Clawson.
Conference adjourned for six months.
Prof. Evan Stephens conducted the singing of the choir and congregation at the Conference meetings in the Tabernacle, and Prof. John J. McClellan played the accompaniments, interludes, etc., on the great organ, assisted by Edward P. Kimball and Tracy Y. Camion.
The stenographic reports of the discourses were taken by Elders Franklin W. Otterstrom, Frederick E. Barker, Gladys Barker, and Clarence Cramer.
Duncan M. McAllister,
Clerk of Conference.
CLOSING REMARKS.
Gratitude expressed to all who assisted in Conference proceedings—Blessing invoked upon all engaged in the ministry, and all seekers after truth.
Just a moment or two more of patience. I desire to express my gratitude to my brethren and sisters who are present for the attention they have given to this conference, and to the meetings of this day. I want to thank my brethren who have spoken from the beginning to the end, for the most excellent spirit they have manifested, and for the most excellent words they have spoken. I desire to thank our choir for their presence here on the Sabbath, and for the other members of the choir that have been able to attend during Saturday and today; and also to our beloved brother and fellow-worker, one worthy of honor and credit for his service to the Church, Brother Evan Stephens, for his music, for the poetry of his soul, and for those songs that have been written by him, which we often hear sung and which we sing ourselves with great satisfaction; and to our beloved brother, John J. McClellan. and his assistants at the great organ; and all others of our brothers and sisters who have taken part in the exercises of our conference.
I think we have had one of the best conferences that we have held within my own recollection, and I can go back in my recollection to the early days, the days of Nauvoo at least. And the Lord bless you, my brethren of the holy priesthood, the presidents of stakes and their counselors, and high councils, the bishops and their counselors, and all taking part in the labor of the ministry whether in the regular quorums and councils of the priesthood or in the auxiliary organizations, we feel to express our gratitude for your presence and your heartfelt interest in the work of the Lord. We beseech you to continue to be faithful and more faithful than ever before. Let us all try to be a little better than we have been in the past, and let us try to treasure up the most excellent instructions that have been given to us during our conference.
I know that the Lord is pleased with the proceedings of our conference, and that His blessing has been with us, and His spirit has been made powerfully manifest in all that has been said and clone. The Lord bless the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and all honest, earnest seekers after the truth, everywhere, throughout the world. May the Lord bless those who, though ignorant of the revelations that the Lord has given to the world in these latter days, are still seeking to serve Him according to the light they possess, and the knowledge that they have. May God's blessing rest upon them, that they or their children after them may come to the knowledge of the truth at last and be exalted in the kingdom of God through the ordinances of the Gospel and obedience to all the requirements thereof.
Sixty-six of our brethren have taken part vocally during our conference. I expect we will have quite as many take part during the next conference, who did not have the privilege of being heard at this conference. We have a list of you all and we expect to give all a chance as far as we can, and we would like you to come prepared.
Announcement was made that the daily organ recitals would be discontinued until further notice.
The choir and congregation sang, "The Doxology."
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Rudger Clawson.
Conference adjourned for six months.
Prof. Evan Stephens conducted the singing of the choir and congregation at the Conference meetings in the Tabernacle, and Prof. John J. McClellan played the accompaniments, interludes, etc., on the great organ, assisted by Edward P. Kimball and Tracy Y. Camion.
The stenographic reports of the discourses were taken by Elders Franklin W. Otterstrom, Frederick E. Barker, Gladys Barker, and Clarence Cramer.
Duncan M. McAllister,
Clerk of Conference.