October 1914
Eighty-Fifth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (1914). Report of Discourses. Salt Lake City: The Deseret News.
EIGHTY-FIFTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
General conditions of Church affairs reported
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE
A PRAYER FOR PEACE
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND
Shocking and sorrowful conditions in countries at war
OVERFLOW MEETING
ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS
Encouragement to subject ourselves to Gospel laws
ELDER WALTER P. MONSON
(President of Eastern States Mission.)
AFTERNOON SESSION
PREST. FRANCIS M. LYMAN
Prayer and Missionary Work
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE
The spirit world
SECOND OVERFLOW MEETING
ELDER JOSEPH B. KEELER
(President of Utah Stake.)
ELDER ROBERT D. YOUNG
(President of Sevier Stake.)
ELDER SAMUEL E. WOOLLEY
(President of Hawaiian Mission.)
ELDER DON B. COLTON
(President of Uintah Stake.)
ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON
(President of California Mission.)
OUTDOOR MEETING
ELDER BENJAMIN GODDARD
(Sup’t Bureau of Information.)
ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD
(President of Northwestern States Mission.)
ELDER HEBER Q. HALE
(President of Boise Stake of Zion.)
ELDER GERMAN E. ELLSWORTH
(President of Northern States Mission.)
SECOND DAY
ELDER HEBER J. GRANT
Gifts of the Gospel possessed by Latter-day Saints
ELDER RUDGER CLAWSON
Attainment of excellence possible only as result of earnest effort
ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS
Peace and happiness result of keeping God’s laws
ELDER ORSON F. WHITNEY
Our dependence upon God
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE
Benefit to Sundays Schools of the presence of the Priesthood
AFTERNOON SESSION
ELDER DAVID O. M’KAY
God’s laws should govern all life’s affairs, trivial or great
ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS
The purpose of prophecy, and necessity for prophets
ELDER JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
Implicit faith in Christ characteristic of Latter-day Saints
THIRD DAY
ELDER JAMES E. TALMAGE
The hand of God in all things
PREST. SEYMOUR B. YOUNG
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
CLOSING SESSION
ELDER J. GOLDEN KIMBALL
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
ELDER RULON S. WELLS
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
ELDER JOSEPH W. M’MURRIN
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
ELDER CHARLES H. HART
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
AUTHORITIES SUSTAINED
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
Truth and Justice the foundation of Peace
EIGHTY-FIFTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
General conditions of Church affairs reported
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE
A PRAYER FOR PEACE
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND
Shocking and sorrowful conditions in countries at war
OVERFLOW MEETING
ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS
Encouragement to subject ourselves to Gospel laws
ELDER WALTER P. MONSON
(President of Eastern States Mission.)
AFTERNOON SESSION
PREST. FRANCIS M. LYMAN
Prayer and Missionary Work
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE
The spirit world
SECOND OVERFLOW MEETING
ELDER JOSEPH B. KEELER
(President of Utah Stake.)
ELDER ROBERT D. YOUNG
(President of Sevier Stake.)
ELDER SAMUEL E. WOOLLEY
(President of Hawaiian Mission.)
ELDER DON B. COLTON
(President of Uintah Stake.)
ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON
(President of California Mission.)
OUTDOOR MEETING
ELDER BENJAMIN GODDARD
(Sup’t Bureau of Information.)
ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD
(President of Northwestern States Mission.)
ELDER HEBER Q. HALE
(President of Boise Stake of Zion.)
ELDER GERMAN E. ELLSWORTH
(President of Northern States Mission.)
SECOND DAY
ELDER HEBER J. GRANT
Gifts of the Gospel possessed by Latter-day Saints
ELDER RUDGER CLAWSON
Attainment of excellence possible only as result of earnest effort
ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS
Peace and happiness result of keeping God’s laws
ELDER ORSON F. WHITNEY
Our dependence upon God
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE
Benefit to Sundays Schools of the presence of the Priesthood
AFTERNOON SESSION
ELDER DAVID O. M’KAY
God’s laws should govern all life’s affairs, trivial or great
ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS
The purpose of prophecy, and necessity for prophets
ELDER JOSEPH FIELDING SMITH
Implicit faith in Christ characteristic of Latter-day Saints
THIRD DAY
ELDER JAMES E. TALMAGE
The hand of God in all things
PREST. SEYMOUR B. YOUNG
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
CLOSING SESSION
ELDER J. GOLDEN KIMBALL
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
ELDER RULON S. WELLS
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
ELDER JOSEPH W. M’MURRIN
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
ELDER CHARLES H. HART
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
AUTHORITIES SUSTAINED
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH
Truth and Justice the foundation of Peace
EIGHTY-FIFTH SEMI-ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS
FIRST DAY.
The Eighty-fifth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10 a. m., Sunday, October 4, 1914, 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, 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, Brigham H. Roberts, J. Golden Kimball, Rulon S. Wells, Joseph W. McMurrin, Charles H. Hart, and Levi Edgar Young; Presiding Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith; of the Presiding Bishopric, Charles
W. Nibley, Orrin P. Miller, and David A. Smith; Assistant Historian Andrew Jenson. 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 announced that, in consequence of the over-crowded condition in the Tabernacle, another meeting will now convene in the adjoining Assembly Hall, under direction of Elder George F. Richards.
The conference services were commenced by the choir and congregation singing the hymn:
Come, come, ye Saints No toil nor labor fear,
But with joy wend your way; Though hard to you
This journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day.
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Joseph W. McMurrin.
The choir sang the anthem, “The Palms.”
FIRST DAY.
The Eighty-fifth Semi-Annual Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10 a. m., Sunday, October 4, 1914, 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, 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, Brigham H. Roberts, J. Golden Kimball, Rulon S. Wells, Joseph W. McMurrin, Charles H. Hart, and Levi Edgar Young; Presiding Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith; of the Presiding Bishopric, Charles
W. Nibley, Orrin P. Miller, and David A. Smith; Assistant Historian Andrew Jenson. 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 announced that, in consequence of the over-crowded condition in the Tabernacle, another meeting will now convene in the adjoining Assembly Hall, under direction of Elder George F. Richards.
The conference services were commenced by the choir and congregation singing the hymn:
Come, come, ye Saints No toil nor labor fear,
But with joy wend your way; Though hard to you
This journey may appear, Grace shall be as your day.
The opening prayer was offered by Elder Joseph W. McMurrin.
The choir sang the anthem, “The Palms.”
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
OPENING ADDRESS.
Precautions taken for safety of missionaries in Europe—General conditions of Church affairs reported— Missionary service needed at home— Active employment of all the Priesthood advised—Reminder of duty to pray, and give thanks always— Christendom would not war if true Christianity prevailed—God not responsible for war—Peace should be in hearts of Saints that they may disseminate it to the world.
I suppose it is somewhat expected of me to make a few remarks at the opening of this, the first session of the Eighty-fifth semi-annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and, while I feel entirely inadequate to the task, I will try with the help of the Lord to say a few words as they may be given to me by the good Spirit. I feel truly grateful that my life has been spared to meet with you this morning under so favorable circumstances as those under which we have met. I am also grateful that my counselors have also been spared to be present with us, and also that the number of the Apostles has_ been unbroken since our last conference. And I am very grateful indeed to behold so many of the Latter-day Saints as are assembled here this morning, apparently in the enjoyment of the many blessings and privileges of life which have been vouchsafed to the people of God and the Church up to the present. I sincerely hope during the sessions of this conference we may be fed with the bread of life, that the Spirit of the Lord may rest upon His servants who may address the conference from time to time, and that the same Spirit may rest abundantly upon all who assemble from day to day to listen to that which may be said.
It may be proper for me to say a few words relative to our foreign missions. I need not spend much time upon that subject as about everything that we have learned of the conditions in Europe, with refence to our elders and the work of the ministry there, has been published from time to time in the Deseret News and in other papers. But I think it will be safe for me to say that every precaution has been taken that could be taken for the protection of our elders in those foreign missions where war exists. In Germany, France, Austria, and portions of other countries so dreadfully involved in war, our elders have all been invited to withdraw, to come away from those parts of the country, and so far as we know our German missionaries have largely and almost entirely withdrawn from that country, and also from France. Some of them are located temporarily in Holland and in Scandinavia, and a few of them, quite a number indeed, have come across the Atlantic and have been distributed to the various missions in the United States, while those who had practically completed their missions in Europe have been honorably released to return home. Reports that we receive from England, notwithstanding the conditions of war that exist there, are that our elders are in safety at present, and that the field is opening before them with somewhat better prospects than heretofore. A great many people are beginning to feel the necessity of praying for deliverance and safety, and as the spirit of prayer rests upon their minds, they begin to feel after their spiritual as well as their temporal welfare. Reports which we have received from Holland are very encouraging, indeed, and while the Presidency of that mission and of the Scandinavian missions have been instructed to be very careful about the welfare of the Elders, and if necessity arises to see that they are promptly released to escape any difficulty that might come upon them, the reports from these missions are very encouraging. They do not apprehend, for the present, any difficulty; and those who are laboring there seem to be contented and are doing good work. Nevertheless, they are all under instructions that when the necessity arises, our Elders who are laboring there now, apparently successfully, will be promptly released and guarded against any danger or evil, so far as it is possible. The poor Saints who are practically left without guidance of the Elders are feeling sadly the want of their presence and regret very much that they have been under the necessity of withdrawing from among them. The best experienced men that could be obtained have been advised to take charge as far as possible of the local interests of the missions abroad, and possibly a few of our Elders will remain among them until the end of the war, provided they can do so without jeopardy to their lives. Now, I don’t know that I need to say anything further in regard to these matters. Others who follow me, and who have more clearly in their minds other instances, can express themselves as they feel led. I believe that the best that could possibly be done has been done, and the wisest course that could have been pursued has been pursued with reference to our missions upon the European continent respecting their release and their deliverance from trouble. I feel to thank God for all His' mercies and loving kindness to His people.
I have before me a few memoranda to which I will briefly refer. I am reminded that the winter season is coming and that it is advisable that all the Bishops should exercise fatherly and kind consideration to the needs of the worthy poor in their midst whether Latter-day Saints or not. The purpose of the Relief Societies is to assist the Bishops in relieving the necessities of the worthy poor; it is part of their first duty. We should endeavor to take care, as far as possible, of the refugees who have been driven from their homes in Mexico, many of whom have established themselves in various parts of the country, and in various stakes of Zion. Some few have returned to their homes in Mexico, not without more or less risk of further trouble, and at present Bishop Bentley is in charge of the colonies, or of the people who have returned to Mexico. How long they will be suffered to remain there in peace we cannot tell, but we sincerely hope and pray for peace throughout all the land, and in this hope we desire that the people will exercise all the faith they can in behalf of our associates our fellow members of the Church, in their endeavor to recover their homes and property from which they have been driven and very largely despoiled.
In connection with the Presiding Bishop and one of his counselors I had the privilege of visiting, in August last, our settlements in Canada, and of holding conferences there in the two stakes. The walls of the temple, which is being erected at Cardston, are in process of building. We have decided to build them of granite, and have already expended a little over fifty thousand dollars toward the erection of that building. Had it not been for the great drought that has prevailed in that country for the last two or three years, and especially during this season, the temple, without doubt, would have been farther in progress than it is today.
I am happy to announce, also, to the conference that we have completed a magnificent new wing to the Latter-day Saints hospital. It has seventy-three private bedrooms, splendid suites of operating rooms on the sixth floor, and an open-air ward, on the roof, with a capacity of about thirty beds. It has ample kitchens and storage plants, and sub-basements, etc. It is one of the most beautiful hospital buildings in the United States, and the Latter-day Saints should remember that we have a hospital of our own.
We are also erecting what is called the General Church Office Building. It is progressing slowly but satisfactorily. It will provide offices for the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, the Presiding Patriarch, the Historian’s office the Genealogical Society, and other Church organizations. I might add possibly without inconsistency that the progress of this building might have been a little more rapid if we had seen clearly our way to supply the means necessary to force it along a little faster. But we can only provide means for the improvements that are being made, not only for this building, the very costly addition to the hospital, and that required for the building of the temple in Canada, but means also required for schools and the assistance of the various wards and stakes of Zion to build numerous meetinghouses, amusement halls, and other places that are necessary for the use of the people throughout the Church. We have been pretty closely run for means and can only supply the money for these improvements and necessities as we obtain it from the Church. As the people pay their tithings, we are able to direct the application of it toward the improvements necessary to be made, as well as toward the meeting of all the current and reasonable expenses of the Church, the accounts of which are correctly kept to the very cent in the Presiding Bishop’s Office, and also in the office of the Trustee-in-Trust.
Efforts to secure employment for immigrants, and for missionaries upon their return from their missions, have been put forth to the best of our ability; and it is requested of the bishops everywhere throughout the Church to look after those who come to them from foreign countries, who immigrate to Zion, that they may be assisted as far as possible, and put in position to acquire a livelihood, to build homes for themselves, and to feel at home amongst us. They come here strangers, meeting new conditions and depending much upon the fellowship of their brethren for their success in obtaining new homes.
It is also a good thing for the bishops in all the wards to look after their returned missionaries. It is a pity that after so many of our boys who go abroad and fill good missions return home, they should be apparently dropped or ignored by the presiding authorities of the Church, and be permitted to drift away again into carelessness and indifference, and eventually, perhaps, to wander entirely away from their Church duties. They should be kept in the harness, they should be made active in the work of the ministry, in some way that they may the better keep the spirit of the Gospel in their minds and in their hearts and be useful at home as well as abroad.
There is no question as to the fact that missionary service is required and is as necessary in Zion, or here at home, as it is abroad. Many people seem to be careless with reference to the proper training of their children. We see too many boys that are falling into very careless, if not into pernicious, ways and habits. Every missionary boy who returns from his mission full of faith and good desire should take it upon himself to become a savior as far as possible of his young and less experienced associates at home. When a returned missionary sees a boy falling into bad ways and is becoming accustomed to bad habits, he should feel that it is his duty to take hold of him, in connection with the presiding authorities of the stake or of the ward in which he lives, and exercise all the power and influence he can for the salvation of that erring young man who has not the experience that our Elders abroad have had, and thus become a means of saving many and of establishing them more firmly in the truth.
Efforts have been made by the Presiding Bishopric and others to locate the Saints, who gather from other lands, where they can get a livelihood. All are employed as far as the records show. Many bishops have taken fatherly interest in the Saints who have immigrated to Zion. Homes have been provided, employment secured as far as possible, and through the united efforts of the Saints, supplies and furniture have been .obtained and given them to help them to get started again in life. This should be the policy of all the organizations of the Church. Since the last April conference the Shelley stake of Zion has been organized from a part of the Blackfoot stake. Nine new wards, and seven new branches, have been organized. Thirty-four bishops have been ordained to replace those who have been released. The presidencies of the Jordan, Juab, Union and North Sanpete stakes have been reorganized. Three bishops have passed away since our last conference. There are now sixty-six stakes of Zion, and seven hundred and thirty-five bishops’ wards. There have been entered on the records of the Church, by baptism, in the stakes and missions, six thousand one hundred and ninety-eight souls during the six months of the year. The presiding bishopric have issued quarterly bulletins which have kept presidencies of stakes in closer touch with the general conditions in all the stakes of Zion, than in the past. Ward teaching is being rapidly developed in many of the stakes of Zion. Some stakes are still indifferent to this important movement. There is a splendid opportunity in this work to use every ordained priest and teacher and man holding the priesthood, and it would seem rather strange that there should be any of the presidencies of the stakes, or any of the presiding officers in the Church, who would be indifferent to the subject of keeping in contact and in harmony with the progress of all the other stakes. It is good to be in possession of the knowledge of things as they are and as they are going along.
We have inaugurated a movement to encourage the monthly payment of tithing. The stake and ward officers are complying with this request as far as they can. Really, the only practical method and proper way to pay our tithes u when we receive that which we earn into our hands. It is quite proper to remember what we owe to the Lord before we spend our means otherwise.
There are two companies each day passing through this Temple to perform the ordinances of the House of the Lord for the living and for the dead, and our genealogical work is bearing fruit as we see in the attendance upon the temples for the performance of these ordinances, and we hope that this good work will go on. The work of the bishopric is both temporal and spiritual. The average bishop gives all his time and efforts for the betterment of the people over whom he presides. The bishop should not try to do all the work that is necessary to be done in his ward. His counselors are there to help him, and a due portion of the responsibility of the bishop of the ward should be placed upon his counselors. Neither is it wise that the bishopric of the ward should feel they are compelled to do all that is necessary to be done in their wards. They should exercise their right to call upon the priesthood to visit the people as teachers and preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that they may give to all as far as possible an opportunity to exercise their talents and to do good in their wards. It is sometimes advisable to give to each counselor special duties, and assign each of the counselors his proportion of the responsibilities which belong to the bishopric, each one doing some special work for which he is adapted, so that all may be active.
Now, these are a few things I think worthy of note, and there are very many more. But I desire to call attention to one thing; it is this: I fear the Latter-day Saints, in the midst of the prosperity with which they are blessed, sometimes fail to observe that great commandment given of the Master, always to remember the Lord, to pray in the morning, and in the evening, and always remember to thank Him for the blessings that they receive day by day. I fear that there is more neglect than there should be among the Latter-day Saints in regard to following out this rule of the Church. It is the commandment of the Lord that we shall remember God morning and evening, and, as the Book, of Mormon tells us, “at all times.” We should carry with us the spirit of prayer throughout every duty that we have to perform in life. Why should we? One of the simple reasons that appeals to my mind with great force is that man is so utterly dependent upon God! How helpless we are without Him; how little can we do without His merciful providence in our behalf! I have often been led to make the remark, that not one of us, not a human being in all the world can make even a single spear of grass grow without the help of God. We have to use His earth, we must avail ourselves of the benefit of His soil, His air and His sunshine, and the moisture that God provides and gives to the earth, to enable us to produce even a single blade of grass; and the same applies to everything that ministers to our existence in the world. You can’t raise an ear of corn or wheat without God’s help. You cannot produce a single thing essential to the existence of man or beast without the help of God. Then, why should we not feel dependent upon the Lord? Why should we not call upon His name? Why should we not remember Him in our prayers? Why should we not love Him with all our heart and mind and strength, since He has given us life, since He has formed us in His own likeness and image, since He has placed us here that We may become like unto His only begotten Son and to inherit the glory, exaltation and reward provided for God’s own children.
My brethren and sisters, let us remember and call upon God and implore His blessings and His favor upon us. Let us do it nevertheless in wisdom and in righteousness, and when we pray we should call upon Him in a consistent and reasonable way. We should not ask the Lord for that which is unnecessary or which would not be beneficial to us. We should ask for that which we need, and we should ask in faith, “nothing wavering, “for he that wavereth,” as the Apostle said, “is like the wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.” But when we ask of God for blessings let us ask in the faith of the Gospel, in that faith that He has promised to give to them who believe in Him and obey His commandments.
We want peace in the world. We want love and good-will to exist throughout the earth, and among all the peoples of the world; but there never can come to the world that spirit of peace and love that should exist until mankind will receive God’s truth and God’s message unto them and acknowledge His power and authority which is divine, and never found in the wisdom only of men.
The condition of the world today presents a spectacle that is deplorable, so far as it relates to the religious convictions, faith and power of the inhabitants of the earth. Here we have nations arrayed against nations, and yet in every one of these nations are so-called Christian peoples professing to worship the same God, professing to possess belief in the same divine Redeemer, many of them professing to be teachers of God’s word, and ministers of life and salvation to the children of men, and yet these nations are divided one against the other, and each is praying to his God for wrath upon and victory over his enemies and for his own preservation. Would it be possible—could it be possible, for this conditions to exist if the people of the world possessed really the true knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? And if they really possessed the Spirit of the living God—could this condition exist? No; it could not exist, but war would cease, and contention and strife would be at an end. And not only the spirit of war would not exist, but the spirit of contention and strife that now exists among the nations of the earth, which is the primal element of war, would cease to be. We know that the spirit of strife and contention exists to an alarming extent among all the people of the world. Why does it exist? Because they are not one with God, nor with Christ. They have not entered into the true fold, and the result is they do not possess the spirit of the true Shepherd sufficiently to govern and control their acts in the ways of peace and righteousness. Thus they contend and strive one against another, and at last nation rises up against nation in fulfilment of the predictions of the prophets of God that war should be poured out upon all nations. I don’t want you to think I believe that God has designed or willed that war should come among the people of the world, that the nations of the world should be divided against each other in war, and engaged in the destruction of each other! God did not design or cause this. It is deplorable to the heavens that such a condition should exist among men, but the conditions do exist, and men precipitate war and destruction upon themselves because of their wickedness, and that because they will not abide in God’s truth, walk in His love, and seek to establish and maintain peace instead of strife and contention in the world.
Now, we wish this morning to remember the admonition of the President of the United States, to offer prayer for peace to come upon the distracted nations of the world, for peace to abide upon those who are at peace, and to abound more abundantly. I pray God that this spirit may especially enter into the hearts of this people, that they may strive for peace among themselves, that peace may dwell in their own hearts and homes, that peace may exist between neighbors, that peace, goodwill, love and union may characterize the associations of members of the Church with their fellow members, and that there may be no contention among them, nor strife, nor bitterness, nor back-sliding, nor back-biting, nor complaint of any description, but that peace on earth and good will to men may pervade the hearts and minds of all the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and that from them this spirit of peace and love for God and for our fellow man may go out into the world, as far as we have power to send it forth through the elders of the Church and otherwise, that men may hear the good tidings and receive them in their hearts, obey the truth, and join the ranks of the peaceful, of the peace-loving, of the peace-makers, of the God-fearing, arid of the God-loving people that all Latter-day Saints should be, in every part of the world.
God bless you, my brethren and sisters, I humbly pray; and now we will call upon President Charles W. Penrose to offer to the Lord a prayer in behalf of this assembly and in behalf of all the people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints that God will move upon the hearts of the people of the world to accept the spirit of peace in their souls, that peace may come to the distracted world, apd that life and union may prevail instead of bloodshed, death and destruction. When Brother Penrose shall pray, he will pray unto the Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose image and likeness we are made, or were born into the world, and in whose likeness and image we are, for we are God’s children and therefore must resemble His Son in person, and also spiritually, so far as we will obey the principles of the gospel of eternal truth. For we were fore-ordained and predestined to become conformed to His likeness through the wise and proper use of our free agency. So that we may enjoy the blessings of the kingdom of God where He dwells, and inherit His glory and the salvation, the reward, and dominion that has been promised unto the faithful of His children, which may God grant is my prayer. Amen.
OPENING ADDRESS.
Precautions taken for safety of missionaries in Europe—General conditions of Church affairs reported— Missionary service needed at home— Active employment of all the Priesthood advised—Reminder of duty to pray, and give thanks always— Christendom would not war if true Christianity prevailed—God not responsible for war—Peace should be in hearts of Saints that they may disseminate it to the world.
I suppose it is somewhat expected of me to make a few remarks at the opening of this, the first session of the Eighty-fifth semi-annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and, while I feel entirely inadequate to the task, I will try with the help of the Lord to say a few words as they may be given to me by the good Spirit. I feel truly grateful that my life has been spared to meet with you this morning under so favorable circumstances as those under which we have met. I am also grateful that my counselors have also been spared to be present with us, and also that the number of the Apostles has_ been unbroken since our last conference. And I am very grateful indeed to behold so many of the Latter-day Saints as are assembled here this morning, apparently in the enjoyment of the many blessings and privileges of life which have been vouchsafed to the people of God and the Church up to the present. I sincerely hope during the sessions of this conference we may be fed with the bread of life, that the Spirit of the Lord may rest upon His servants who may address the conference from time to time, and that the same Spirit may rest abundantly upon all who assemble from day to day to listen to that which may be said.
It may be proper for me to say a few words relative to our foreign missions. I need not spend much time upon that subject as about everything that we have learned of the conditions in Europe, with refence to our elders and the work of the ministry there, has been published from time to time in the Deseret News and in other papers. But I think it will be safe for me to say that every precaution has been taken that could be taken for the protection of our elders in those foreign missions where war exists. In Germany, France, Austria, and portions of other countries so dreadfully involved in war, our elders have all been invited to withdraw, to come away from those parts of the country, and so far as we know our German missionaries have largely and almost entirely withdrawn from that country, and also from France. Some of them are located temporarily in Holland and in Scandinavia, and a few of them, quite a number indeed, have come across the Atlantic and have been distributed to the various missions in the United States, while those who had practically completed their missions in Europe have been honorably released to return home. Reports that we receive from England, notwithstanding the conditions of war that exist there, are that our elders are in safety at present, and that the field is opening before them with somewhat better prospects than heretofore. A great many people are beginning to feel the necessity of praying for deliverance and safety, and as the spirit of prayer rests upon their minds, they begin to feel after their spiritual as well as their temporal welfare. Reports which we have received from Holland are very encouraging, indeed, and while the Presidency of that mission and of the Scandinavian missions have been instructed to be very careful about the welfare of the Elders, and if necessity arises to see that they are promptly released to escape any difficulty that might come upon them, the reports from these missions are very encouraging. They do not apprehend, for the present, any difficulty; and those who are laboring there seem to be contented and are doing good work. Nevertheless, they are all under instructions that when the necessity arises, our Elders who are laboring there now, apparently successfully, will be promptly released and guarded against any danger or evil, so far as it is possible. The poor Saints who are practically left without guidance of the Elders are feeling sadly the want of their presence and regret very much that they have been under the necessity of withdrawing from among them. The best experienced men that could be obtained have been advised to take charge as far as possible of the local interests of the missions abroad, and possibly a few of our Elders will remain among them until the end of the war, provided they can do so without jeopardy to their lives. Now, I don’t know that I need to say anything further in regard to these matters. Others who follow me, and who have more clearly in their minds other instances, can express themselves as they feel led. I believe that the best that could possibly be done has been done, and the wisest course that could have been pursued has been pursued with reference to our missions upon the European continent respecting their release and their deliverance from trouble. I feel to thank God for all His' mercies and loving kindness to His people.
I have before me a few memoranda to which I will briefly refer. I am reminded that the winter season is coming and that it is advisable that all the Bishops should exercise fatherly and kind consideration to the needs of the worthy poor in their midst whether Latter-day Saints or not. The purpose of the Relief Societies is to assist the Bishops in relieving the necessities of the worthy poor; it is part of their first duty. We should endeavor to take care, as far as possible, of the refugees who have been driven from their homes in Mexico, many of whom have established themselves in various parts of the country, and in various stakes of Zion. Some few have returned to their homes in Mexico, not without more or less risk of further trouble, and at present Bishop Bentley is in charge of the colonies, or of the people who have returned to Mexico. How long they will be suffered to remain there in peace we cannot tell, but we sincerely hope and pray for peace throughout all the land, and in this hope we desire that the people will exercise all the faith they can in behalf of our associates our fellow members of the Church, in their endeavor to recover their homes and property from which they have been driven and very largely despoiled.
In connection with the Presiding Bishop and one of his counselors I had the privilege of visiting, in August last, our settlements in Canada, and of holding conferences there in the two stakes. The walls of the temple, which is being erected at Cardston, are in process of building. We have decided to build them of granite, and have already expended a little over fifty thousand dollars toward the erection of that building. Had it not been for the great drought that has prevailed in that country for the last two or three years, and especially during this season, the temple, without doubt, would have been farther in progress than it is today.
I am happy to announce, also, to the conference that we have completed a magnificent new wing to the Latter-day Saints hospital. It has seventy-three private bedrooms, splendid suites of operating rooms on the sixth floor, and an open-air ward, on the roof, with a capacity of about thirty beds. It has ample kitchens and storage plants, and sub-basements, etc. It is one of the most beautiful hospital buildings in the United States, and the Latter-day Saints should remember that we have a hospital of our own.
We are also erecting what is called the General Church Office Building. It is progressing slowly but satisfactorily. It will provide offices for the First Presidency, the Council of the Twelve, the Presiding Patriarch, the Historian’s office the Genealogical Society, and other Church organizations. I might add possibly without inconsistency that the progress of this building might have been a little more rapid if we had seen clearly our way to supply the means necessary to force it along a little faster. But we can only provide means for the improvements that are being made, not only for this building, the very costly addition to the hospital, and that required for the building of the temple in Canada, but means also required for schools and the assistance of the various wards and stakes of Zion to build numerous meetinghouses, amusement halls, and other places that are necessary for the use of the people throughout the Church. We have been pretty closely run for means and can only supply the money for these improvements and necessities as we obtain it from the Church. As the people pay their tithings, we are able to direct the application of it toward the improvements necessary to be made, as well as toward the meeting of all the current and reasonable expenses of the Church, the accounts of which are correctly kept to the very cent in the Presiding Bishop’s Office, and also in the office of the Trustee-in-Trust.
Efforts to secure employment for immigrants, and for missionaries upon their return from their missions, have been put forth to the best of our ability; and it is requested of the bishops everywhere throughout the Church to look after those who come to them from foreign countries, who immigrate to Zion, that they may be assisted as far as possible, and put in position to acquire a livelihood, to build homes for themselves, and to feel at home amongst us. They come here strangers, meeting new conditions and depending much upon the fellowship of their brethren for their success in obtaining new homes.
It is also a good thing for the bishops in all the wards to look after their returned missionaries. It is a pity that after so many of our boys who go abroad and fill good missions return home, they should be apparently dropped or ignored by the presiding authorities of the Church, and be permitted to drift away again into carelessness and indifference, and eventually, perhaps, to wander entirely away from their Church duties. They should be kept in the harness, they should be made active in the work of the ministry, in some way that they may the better keep the spirit of the Gospel in their minds and in their hearts and be useful at home as well as abroad.
There is no question as to the fact that missionary service is required and is as necessary in Zion, or here at home, as it is abroad. Many people seem to be careless with reference to the proper training of their children. We see too many boys that are falling into very careless, if not into pernicious, ways and habits. Every missionary boy who returns from his mission full of faith and good desire should take it upon himself to become a savior as far as possible of his young and less experienced associates at home. When a returned missionary sees a boy falling into bad ways and is becoming accustomed to bad habits, he should feel that it is his duty to take hold of him, in connection with the presiding authorities of the stake or of the ward in which he lives, and exercise all the power and influence he can for the salvation of that erring young man who has not the experience that our Elders abroad have had, and thus become a means of saving many and of establishing them more firmly in the truth.
Efforts have been made by the Presiding Bishopric and others to locate the Saints, who gather from other lands, where they can get a livelihood. All are employed as far as the records show. Many bishops have taken fatherly interest in the Saints who have immigrated to Zion. Homes have been provided, employment secured as far as possible, and through the united efforts of the Saints, supplies and furniture have been .obtained and given them to help them to get started again in life. This should be the policy of all the organizations of the Church. Since the last April conference the Shelley stake of Zion has been organized from a part of the Blackfoot stake. Nine new wards, and seven new branches, have been organized. Thirty-four bishops have been ordained to replace those who have been released. The presidencies of the Jordan, Juab, Union and North Sanpete stakes have been reorganized. Three bishops have passed away since our last conference. There are now sixty-six stakes of Zion, and seven hundred and thirty-five bishops’ wards. There have been entered on the records of the Church, by baptism, in the stakes and missions, six thousand one hundred and ninety-eight souls during the six months of the year. The presiding bishopric have issued quarterly bulletins which have kept presidencies of stakes in closer touch with the general conditions in all the stakes of Zion, than in the past. Ward teaching is being rapidly developed in many of the stakes of Zion. Some stakes are still indifferent to this important movement. There is a splendid opportunity in this work to use every ordained priest and teacher and man holding the priesthood, and it would seem rather strange that there should be any of the presidencies of the stakes, or any of the presiding officers in the Church, who would be indifferent to the subject of keeping in contact and in harmony with the progress of all the other stakes. It is good to be in possession of the knowledge of things as they are and as they are going along.
We have inaugurated a movement to encourage the monthly payment of tithing. The stake and ward officers are complying with this request as far as they can. Really, the only practical method and proper way to pay our tithes u when we receive that which we earn into our hands. It is quite proper to remember what we owe to the Lord before we spend our means otherwise.
There are two companies each day passing through this Temple to perform the ordinances of the House of the Lord for the living and for the dead, and our genealogical work is bearing fruit as we see in the attendance upon the temples for the performance of these ordinances, and we hope that this good work will go on. The work of the bishopric is both temporal and spiritual. The average bishop gives all his time and efforts for the betterment of the people over whom he presides. The bishop should not try to do all the work that is necessary to be done in his ward. His counselors are there to help him, and a due portion of the responsibility of the bishop of the ward should be placed upon his counselors. Neither is it wise that the bishopric of the ward should feel they are compelled to do all that is necessary to be done in their wards. They should exercise their right to call upon the priesthood to visit the people as teachers and preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that they may give to all as far as possible an opportunity to exercise their talents and to do good in their wards. It is sometimes advisable to give to each counselor special duties, and assign each of the counselors his proportion of the responsibilities which belong to the bishopric, each one doing some special work for which he is adapted, so that all may be active.
Now, these are a few things I think worthy of note, and there are very many more. But I desire to call attention to one thing; it is this: I fear the Latter-day Saints, in the midst of the prosperity with which they are blessed, sometimes fail to observe that great commandment given of the Master, always to remember the Lord, to pray in the morning, and in the evening, and always remember to thank Him for the blessings that they receive day by day. I fear that there is more neglect than there should be among the Latter-day Saints in regard to following out this rule of the Church. It is the commandment of the Lord that we shall remember God morning and evening, and, as the Book, of Mormon tells us, “at all times.” We should carry with us the spirit of prayer throughout every duty that we have to perform in life. Why should we? One of the simple reasons that appeals to my mind with great force is that man is so utterly dependent upon God! How helpless we are without Him; how little can we do without His merciful providence in our behalf! I have often been led to make the remark, that not one of us, not a human being in all the world can make even a single spear of grass grow without the help of God. We have to use His earth, we must avail ourselves of the benefit of His soil, His air and His sunshine, and the moisture that God provides and gives to the earth, to enable us to produce even a single blade of grass; and the same applies to everything that ministers to our existence in the world. You can’t raise an ear of corn or wheat without God’s help. You cannot produce a single thing essential to the existence of man or beast without the help of God. Then, why should we not feel dependent upon the Lord? Why should we not call upon His name? Why should we not remember Him in our prayers? Why should we not love Him with all our heart and mind and strength, since He has given us life, since He has formed us in His own likeness and image, since He has placed us here that We may become like unto His only begotten Son and to inherit the glory, exaltation and reward provided for God’s own children.
My brethren and sisters, let us remember and call upon God and implore His blessings and His favor upon us. Let us do it nevertheless in wisdom and in righteousness, and when we pray we should call upon Him in a consistent and reasonable way. We should not ask the Lord for that which is unnecessary or which would not be beneficial to us. We should ask for that which we need, and we should ask in faith, “nothing wavering, “for he that wavereth,” as the Apostle said, “is like the wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.” But when we ask of God for blessings let us ask in the faith of the Gospel, in that faith that He has promised to give to them who believe in Him and obey His commandments.
We want peace in the world. We want love and good-will to exist throughout the earth, and among all the peoples of the world; but there never can come to the world that spirit of peace and love that should exist until mankind will receive God’s truth and God’s message unto them and acknowledge His power and authority which is divine, and never found in the wisdom only of men.
The condition of the world today presents a spectacle that is deplorable, so far as it relates to the religious convictions, faith and power of the inhabitants of the earth. Here we have nations arrayed against nations, and yet in every one of these nations are so-called Christian peoples professing to worship the same God, professing to possess belief in the same divine Redeemer, many of them professing to be teachers of God’s word, and ministers of life and salvation to the children of men, and yet these nations are divided one against the other, and each is praying to his God for wrath upon and victory over his enemies and for his own preservation. Would it be possible—could it be possible, for this conditions to exist if the people of the world possessed really the true knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? And if they really possessed the Spirit of the living God—could this condition exist? No; it could not exist, but war would cease, and contention and strife would be at an end. And not only the spirit of war would not exist, but the spirit of contention and strife that now exists among the nations of the earth, which is the primal element of war, would cease to be. We know that the spirit of strife and contention exists to an alarming extent among all the people of the world. Why does it exist? Because they are not one with God, nor with Christ. They have not entered into the true fold, and the result is they do not possess the spirit of the true Shepherd sufficiently to govern and control their acts in the ways of peace and righteousness. Thus they contend and strive one against another, and at last nation rises up against nation in fulfilment of the predictions of the prophets of God that war should be poured out upon all nations. I don’t want you to think I believe that God has designed or willed that war should come among the people of the world, that the nations of the world should be divided against each other in war, and engaged in the destruction of each other! God did not design or cause this. It is deplorable to the heavens that such a condition should exist among men, but the conditions do exist, and men precipitate war and destruction upon themselves because of their wickedness, and that because they will not abide in God’s truth, walk in His love, and seek to establish and maintain peace instead of strife and contention in the world.
Now, we wish this morning to remember the admonition of the President of the United States, to offer prayer for peace to come upon the distracted nations of the world, for peace to abide upon those who are at peace, and to abound more abundantly. I pray God that this spirit may especially enter into the hearts of this people, that they may strive for peace among themselves, that peace may dwell in their own hearts and homes, that peace may exist between neighbors, that peace, goodwill, love and union may characterize the associations of members of the Church with their fellow members, and that there may be no contention among them, nor strife, nor bitterness, nor back-sliding, nor back-biting, nor complaint of any description, but that peace on earth and good will to men may pervade the hearts and minds of all the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and that from them this spirit of peace and love for God and for our fellow man may go out into the world, as far as we have power to send it forth through the elders of the Church and otherwise, that men may hear the good tidings and receive them in their hearts, obey the truth, and join the ranks of the peaceful, of the peace-loving, of the peace-makers, of the God-fearing, arid of the God-loving people that all Latter-day Saints should be, in every part of the world.
God bless you, my brethren and sisters, I humbly pray; and now we will call upon President Charles W. Penrose to offer to the Lord a prayer in behalf of this assembly and in behalf of all the people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints that God will move upon the hearts of the people of the world to accept the spirit of peace in their souls, that peace may come to the distracted world, apd that life and union may prevail instead of bloodshed, death and destruction. When Brother Penrose shall pray, he will pray unto the Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whose image and likeness we are made, or were born into the world, and in whose likeness and image we are, for we are God’s children and therefore must resemble His Son in person, and also spiritually, so far as we will obey the principles of the gospel of eternal truth. For we were fore-ordained and predestined to become conformed to His likeness through the wise and proper use of our free agency. So that we may enjoy the blessings of the kingdom of God where He dwells, and inherit His glory and the salvation, the reward, and dominion that has been promised unto the faithful of His children, which may God grant is my prayer. Amen.
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE.
A PRAYER FOR PEACE.
O God, our Eternal Father, Father of the spirits of all men, we come unto Thee in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, and worship Thee and render thanks unto Thee for all things that we have received, both spiritual and temporal, for our sustenance, for our guidance, for our enlightenment, for our understanding and knowledge, that we may be prepared to come into Thy presence, eventually and be crowned with eternal lives. Wilt Thou accept of our thanksgiving this morning for all Thy favors and look in mercy upon us and unite our hearts together under the influence of Thy Divine Spirit, that we may be one in very deed and that our supplications may come up unto Thee acceptable. Forgive us of all our sins, our follies, our imperfections, our unworthiness, our lack of obedience unto Thy commandments and Thy counsels, and wherein we have in any way offended Thee, we crave Thy pardon and forgiveness. We ask Thee, our Eternal Father, to look in mercy upon the nations of the earth. They are Thy children, even though they may have gone astray, and have been’ stirred up in bitterness and in anger unto war one with another, wilt Thou, O Lord, look down upon them in Thy loving tenderness and kindness and Thy mercy upon them and prepare the way whereby war may cease and peace may be established.
Thou hast inspired Thy prophets in days of old and in these latter days to predict that the day would come when men would cease their strife and would study war no more when they would turn their weapons of destruction into agencies of peace for the cultivation of the earth and for the development of its resources, and we pray; our Father, that that time may be hastened. Wilt Thou look down in mercy upon the rulers of the nations, upon all who have part in the conduct of human affairs in the various governments in the world, and cause Thy divine spirit to shine upon their understandings and to touch their hearts, that they may feel the absolute need of establishing peace on the earth, drawing the people of the world together in fraternity instead of going forth upon the field of battle to destroy each other’s lives.
O Lord, look in mercy upon the wives and the children and other relatives of those who are now personally engaged in the strife that is causing bloodshed and horror throughout the continent of Europe. Have mercy upon them, O Lord, and turn aside the outpouring of the spirit of war, and grant that the angel of peace may hover over the nations and that the influences flowing from his presence may come down upon them; that the wives and the children may be relieved of their sufferings, and that their loved ones may be restored to them— those that remain of them who are striving against each other, and may they who seek to establish unrighteousness and untruth and oppression and tyranny not succeed. We ask Thee, O Lord, to look in mercy upon those nations. No matter what may have been the cause which has brought about the tumult and the conflict now prevailing, wilt Thou grant, we pray Thee, that it may be overruled for good, so that the time shall come when, though thrones may totter and empires fall, liberty and freedom shall come to the oppressed nations of Europe, and indeed throughout the world. We pray that liberty may come out of this oppression, that freedom may come out of this strife; and wilt Thou grant that in Thy divine providence all things may conspire together for good, so that righteousness may be established, that the fruit of righteousness, which is peace, may be enjoyed.
Wilt Thou grant, Heavenly Father, that the Spirit of the Lord may rest down mightily upon Thy people, even Thy Saints, those who arc assembled here in conference and those whom they represent in the various stakes of Zion and the missions abroad, and grant that they may obey the instructions that have been imparted and dwell together in peace. May there be no spirit of enmity or of strife among Thy Saints. Do Thou grant that they may be able to understand each other, that they may be able to accord to each other that liberty which they desire for themselves, so that though they may differ in opinions and in views, they may accede and concede to others that liberty which every man should enjoy under the Constitution of the United States which Thou didst raise up good and wise men to establish, and grant O Lord, that there may be no real spirit of strife among them, that Thy Saints, as neighbors, may dwell together in amity and in brotherly love and in unity, and may this peace prevail throughout the land of Zion, that Zion may be indeed the pure in heart, those that serve God and keep I lis commandments.
Now, O Lord, we unite with all who are praying unto Thee this day to ask Thee that in Thy mercy, in Thy providence, this terrible slaughter may soon be brought to an end; that the spirit of strife may depart; that the spirit of peace may brood over the nations, so that all these terrors that have come may speedily pass away and that Thy righteous purposes may be accompli slic'd, that good may come to the world, and the way be prepared for the coming of the King of Peace, even Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our elder Brother in the spirit, whom we love and adore this day, and in whose holy name we come unto Thee.
Wilt Thou hear our prayers, O God, the Ruler of nations, the Mighty One on high! Wilt Thou lookdown in mercy upon the world, and wilt Thou cause the spirit of peace to come forth to accomplish that which we desire in our hearts. We know, O Lord, that Thy purposes shall be accomplished; we do not wish to step in the way or to attempt to hinder them in any degree, but we come unto Thee and express the desires of our souls, Thy children, O Lord, plead with Thee that peace may come and that the time may soon arrive when Thy will shall be done on earth as it is done in heaven. We dedicate ourselves and all that we have and all that we are unto Thy service, and desire to be ambassadors of peace, to carry with us the spirit of peace, to have it in our hearts, to have it in our homes, to have it prevail throughout our land and go forth from Zion to tin uttermost parts of the earth ; and to this end we dedicate ourselves and all we have and are unto Thee, and ask these favors at Thine hands, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
“Hear us, oh Father," a baritone solo, was sung by Elder Charles Kent.
A PRAYER FOR PEACE.
O God, our Eternal Father, Father of the spirits of all men, we come unto Thee in the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, and worship Thee and render thanks unto Thee for all things that we have received, both spiritual and temporal, for our sustenance, for our guidance, for our enlightenment, for our understanding and knowledge, that we may be prepared to come into Thy presence, eventually and be crowned with eternal lives. Wilt Thou accept of our thanksgiving this morning for all Thy favors and look in mercy upon us and unite our hearts together under the influence of Thy Divine Spirit, that we may be one in very deed and that our supplications may come up unto Thee acceptable. Forgive us of all our sins, our follies, our imperfections, our unworthiness, our lack of obedience unto Thy commandments and Thy counsels, and wherein we have in any way offended Thee, we crave Thy pardon and forgiveness. We ask Thee, our Eternal Father, to look in mercy upon the nations of the earth. They are Thy children, even though they may have gone astray, and have been’ stirred up in bitterness and in anger unto war one with another, wilt Thou, O Lord, look down upon them in Thy loving tenderness and kindness and Thy mercy upon them and prepare the way whereby war may cease and peace may be established.
Thou hast inspired Thy prophets in days of old and in these latter days to predict that the day would come when men would cease their strife and would study war no more when they would turn their weapons of destruction into agencies of peace for the cultivation of the earth and for the development of its resources, and we pray; our Father, that that time may be hastened. Wilt Thou look down in mercy upon the rulers of the nations, upon all who have part in the conduct of human affairs in the various governments in the world, and cause Thy divine spirit to shine upon their understandings and to touch their hearts, that they may feel the absolute need of establishing peace on the earth, drawing the people of the world together in fraternity instead of going forth upon the field of battle to destroy each other’s lives.
O Lord, look in mercy upon the wives and the children and other relatives of those who are now personally engaged in the strife that is causing bloodshed and horror throughout the continent of Europe. Have mercy upon them, O Lord, and turn aside the outpouring of the spirit of war, and grant that the angel of peace may hover over the nations and that the influences flowing from his presence may come down upon them; that the wives and the children may be relieved of their sufferings, and that their loved ones may be restored to them— those that remain of them who are striving against each other, and may they who seek to establish unrighteousness and untruth and oppression and tyranny not succeed. We ask Thee, O Lord, to look in mercy upon those nations. No matter what may have been the cause which has brought about the tumult and the conflict now prevailing, wilt Thou grant, we pray Thee, that it may be overruled for good, so that the time shall come when, though thrones may totter and empires fall, liberty and freedom shall come to the oppressed nations of Europe, and indeed throughout the world. We pray that liberty may come out of this oppression, that freedom may come out of this strife; and wilt Thou grant that in Thy divine providence all things may conspire together for good, so that righteousness may be established, that the fruit of righteousness, which is peace, may be enjoyed.
Wilt Thou grant, Heavenly Father, that the Spirit of the Lord may rest down mightily upon Thy people, even Thy Saints, those who arc assembled here in conference and those whom they represent in the various stakes of Zion and the missions abroad, and grant that they may obey the instructions that have been imparted and dwell together in peace. May there be no spirit of enmity or of strife among Thy Saints. Do Thou grant that they may be able to understand each other, that they may be able to accord to each other that liberty which they desire for themselves, so that though they may differ in opinions and in views, they may accede and concede to others that liberty which every man should enjoy under the Constitution of the United States which Thou didst raise up good and wise men to establish, and grant O Lord, that there may be no real spirit of strife among them, that Thy Saints, as neighbors, may dwell together in amity and in brotherly love and in unity, and may this peace prevail throughout the land of Zion, that Zion may be indeed the pure in heart, those that serve God and keep I lis commandments.
Now, O Lord, we unite with all who are praying unto Thee this day to ask Thee that in Thy mercy, in Thy providence, this terrible slaughter may soon be brought to an end; that the spirit of strife may depart; that the spirit of peace may brood over the nations, so that all these terrors that have come may speedily pass away and that Thy righteous purposes may be accompli slic'd, that good may come to the world, and the way be prepared for the coming of the King of Peace, even Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our elder Brother in the spirit, whom we love and adore this day, and in whose holy name we come unto Thee.
Wilt Thou hear our prayers, O God, the Ruler of nations, the Mighty One on high! Wilt Thou lookdown in mercy upon the world, and wilt Thou cause the spirit of peace to come forth to accomplish that which we desire in our hearts. We know, O Lord, that Thy purposes shall be accomplished; we do not wish to step in the way or to attempt to hinder them in any degree, but we come unto Thee and express the desires of our souls, Thy children, O Lord, plead with Thee that peace may come and that the time may soon arrive when Thy will shall be done on earth as it is done in heaven. We dedicate ourselves and all that we have and all that we are unto Thy service, and desire to be ambassadors of peace, to carry with us the spirit of peace, to have it in our hearts, to have it in our homes, to have it prevail throughout our land and go forth from Zion to tin uttermost parts of the earth ; and to this end we dedicate ourselves and all we have and are unto Thee, and ask these favors at Thine hands, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
“Hear us, oh Father," a baritone solo, was sung by Elder Charles Kent.
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND.
President Wilson commended for ap pointing day of prayer for peace Jesus exemplified necessity for prayer, and showed its most acceptable form, Glorious principles incorporated in the Lord's prayer, Men exercise agency most wisely who choose to be governed by God’s laws,—Shocking and sorrowful conditions in countries at war.
I will read a few words from the book of Doctrine and Covenants:
"And now verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children, for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you;
“And inasmuch as you have humbled yourselves before me, the blessings of I he kingdom are yours.
"Gird up your loins and be watchful and be sober, looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man, for he cometh in an hour you think not.
"Pray always that ye enter not into temptation, that you may abide the day of his coining, whether in life or in death. Even so. Amen,”
I have been very much pleased this morning with all that has taken place in this meeting; I have followed with interest the remarks of our President, and I hope that we will all remember the instructions that he has given us. We all took part with President Penrose in that beautiful prayer, in which we petitioned our Heavenly Father to be merciful to His children who are now in the war-ridden zones of the world. I admire the head of this nation for his belief in the efficacy of prayer, and his having appointed this day for the whole nation to tome before the Lord and petition Him for peace in Europe and in countries where there is war. I believe in prayer. I know I am addressing a people this morning who arc a prayerful people, who have oftentimes felt convinced that their prayers have been heard and answered, and who are firm in the conviction that God answers prayers today as well as formerly.
We have many instances on record in the Holy Scriptures, both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, that God hears prayers. From Adam, the first who offered prayer, and down through history, we have seen that the Lord has lent car to petitions which have been made to Him. Before Adam gathered his righteous posterity around him, in Adam-Ondi-Ahman, he had taught them about the true God and the efficacy of prayer, so that they knew to whom to pray; and after the Flood we find holy men approaching our Father in prayer, and that he was merciful to them. Abraham Gideon, David, Solomon, the prophets ,all bear testimony to the value of prayer. Our Savior, during His life upon the earth, inculcated prayer, and He would often withdraw Himself from His disciples, go up into the mountain and commune with God. He felt the necessity of obtaining aid and assistance from His Father in heaven, to perforin that great mission which had been given Him here upon the earth. He taught His disciples to pray. He did not want them to make many repetitions, He did not want them to pray to be considered of men, but He wanted them to come as children to their Father, and ask for the things they stood in need of. That beautiful prayer, “Our Father, which art in heaven," that has been for generations a model to worshipers, contains so much for serious thought, and it shows the plain and simple manner in which Jesus wanted us to come before the Lord, not using high-sounding words, but to approach Him as a child would its father, and ask for the very things we stand in need of. I don't believe that He meant for us always to use that formula of prayer, but He gave it to us ,as an example, that when we pray we should pray in a similar manner, On one occasion when He was with His disciples, He told them that whatsoever they should ask in His name should he granted, What a splendid promise! And I believe this promise is given not only to the disciples that surrounded Him at the time, but to all who believe in the Son of God. I believe also that when we approach our Father, He knows before we ask what we want, and He also knows whether that which we ask of Him is for our best good or not, yet He has commanded us to pray and open our hearts to Him. When Jesus was suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, he asked the Lord, if it were possible, to take that bitter cup away from Him. Can you wonder at it when you remember that He was in such agony that the sweat fell like drops of blood upon the ground? But He added, "Not my will, but thy will be done,” giving us a pattern to follow in our prayers, that although we ardently desire certain things; and believe that they would be for our best good still we should be submissive to the Father’s will, and say, with Christ, not our will, but His will be done.
In the prayer that He taught His disciples Jesus emphasized the great principle that God is our Father, and that we should address Him as such in our prayers. We believe that God is the Father of our spirits, and hence that we are in reality His children. When Jesus so addressed the Father, it was not a figurative title given Him, but it means that God is indeed our Father as He was His Father; Jesus was His only begotten Son in the flesh. Paul says that God is the Father of our spirits, and knowing this, we can approach Him in confidence, knowing that He will hear and grant unto us such blessings as will be for our good. In that prayer we are told to say, “Hallowed be Thy name,” and in doing so we should resolve to keep His name hallowed, holy. I hope that the Latter-day Saints will remember this and that such a thing as taking the name of the Lord in vain will never be heard from their lips. The words spoken by them should be free from all things verging on profanity, and they should ever feel the greatest reverence for the name of the Father.
Next we ask, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done upon earth as it is done in heaven.” We should seek His kingdom first of all, for its possession is far better than riches. When we imagine conditions existing in heaven, we feel convinced that there is no such thing as disobedience found among the happy throngs that dwell there, and this is not because they are forced to do His will, but because they know it is right and most productive of happiness. Those who are privileged to enter into the presence of the Father, and dwell in His kingdom, will be such that have gone through a probation, and have been tried and found true, that have seen the consequences of sin and disobedience and who have chosen and firmly resolved to serve the Lord and keep His commandments. They are those that have proved themselves able to keep such a resolution, so that when they go into those blissful regions they feel that what the Father wants is for their own good, and hence it is their choice and delight that His will be done there. We should use our influence that His will may be done here on earth as it is done in heaven. We should use our free agency to serve the Lord and always choose to do His will; it will bring us the greatest happiness. There is no true happiness that can come to a person who violates the commandments of God, because those commandments were given for the blessing of the human race. Every commandment given by the Lord has a tendency to do good to them who will obey it, and those who will not obey His commandments will reap the consequences. His commandments to His children are not arbitrary like those of a tyrant, but they are measured for the benefit and blessing of all who live upon earth. So we can heartily pray also that His will may be done here upon the earth as it is done in heaven.
We are taught in that prayer to ask for our daily bread, showing that it is not only for spiritual things we dare ask our Father, but also for the temporal things that we need as well, and in daily bread, of course, is included all our interests. We need not fear to come before Him and ask for success in our business, as well as to ask for spiritual blessings. We are taught in the prayer to ask the Lord to forgive us our debts as we are willing to forgive our debtors. How much there is included in this! How this would tend toward peace if we were willing to forgive one another, if we could eradicate from our hearts every tendency to hatred and bitterness. We have no right to hate our brother. We are asked even to love our enemies—a hard thing to do, no doubt, but Jesus showed us the example. When hanging upon the cross and suffering exquisite torture, the most painful that the Romans could invent, He could still say, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Shall we not follow His example? Let us have peace, with one another. Let us not go to law with our brethren. Let us not take revenge for wrongs done to us, but try to be reconciled with those who have anything against us; and, if we have anything against our brother, let us remember the instruction in this beautiful prayer, that as we hope to be forgiven by our heavenly Father, to whom we owe so much, we must forgive one another.
We are also taught here to ask “Lead us not into temptation,” or, as it is given in the French Bible, “Abandon us not,” or “leave us not in temptation.” If we know that we are weak, brethren and sisters, in anything, let us avoid to go where there is temptation of the kind that may be hard to resist, and we be tempted to do that which is not right. Remember that it is to him who overcomes that the choicest promises are made. When we pray the Lord not to allow us to be led into temptation, let us make the firm resolution not to indulge in sinful thoughts, and shun evil associations and all places where we are in danger of temptation, and then the Lord will help us to overcome every evil tendency.
The prayer closes with these beautiful words of adoration and praise, “For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.” Let us look upon this prayer as teaching us true worship. We come together to worship the Lord both in prayer,- in preaching, in praising the Lord, and in singing inspired hymns. We do adore Him who is our Creator and our Father. We know He is all-good, all-wise and all-powerful, and worthy of all praise, and we rejoice in the promise given us that He will hear and answer our prayers.
I see the time is going. I feel very much concerned and sad when I look upon the condition of the warring nations. Although we have looked forward to a time when war shall be poured out upon all nations, still when it comes we feel to ask that that day might be postponed and peace come unto afflicted humanity. When we think of Europe two months ago—of the busy factories in Belgium and Germany and France, and the busy husbandmen in Russia, and other countries that are now afflicted with war, and then today see millions of men engaged in the fiercest and bloodiest of battles related in history, we are shocked at the terrible carnage, and the misery of the widows and the orphans that are made daily. Our hearts go out to them in the deepest sympathy, and we feel to take part in a prayer like that which was offered by Brother Penrose, that the Lord will be merciful unto them.
May the day hasten when peace shall reign upon the earth, when Christ shall come and reign, and the thousand years of peace be introduced, and the announcement of the angels shall indeed be fulfilled. "Peace on earth and good will to men,” I ask that we may be prepared for this, and that the Lord may bless the Latter-day Saints, and bless the leaders of this nation, that they may avoid all foreign entanglements, and that peace may continue to reign in this land, I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Smith stated that another overflow meeting will be held in the Assembly Hall, at 2 p. m., at which Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr., will preside. He also announced that arrangements have been made, by the Presiding Bishopric, to furnish accommodations to Conference visitors who are not otherwise provided for.
The choir sang the anthem, "Oh come, let us sing, let us sing unto the Lord.”
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Samuel O. Bennion.
Conference adjourned until 2 p. m.
President Wilson commended for ap pointing day of prayer for peace Jesus exemplified necessity for prayer, and showed its most acceptable form, Glorious principles incorporated in the Lord's prayer, Men exercise agency most wisely who choose to be governed by God’s laws,—Shocking and sorrowful conditions in countries at war.
I will read a few words from the book of Doctrine and Covenants:
"And now verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children, for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you;
“And inasmuch as you have humbled yourselves before me, the blessings of I he kingdom are yours.
"Gird up your loins and be watchful and be sober, looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man, for he cometh in an hour you think not.
"Pray always that ye enter not into temptation, that you may abide the day of his coining, whether in life or in death. Even so. Amen,”
I have been very much pleased this morning with all that has taken place in this meeting; I have followed with interest the remarks of our President, and I hope that we will all remember the instructions that he has given us. We all took part with President Penrose in that beautiful prayer, in which we petitioned our Heavenly Father to be merciful to His children who are now in the war-ridden zones of the world. I admire the head of this nation for his belief in the efficacy of prayer, and his having appointed this day for the whole nation to tome before the Lord and petition Him for peace in Europe and in countries where there is war. I believe in prayer. I know I am addressing a people this morning who arc a prayerful people, who have oftentimes felt convinced that their prayers have been heard and answered, and who are firm in the conviction that God answers prayers today as well as formerly.
We have many instances on record in the Holy Scriptures, both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, that God hears prayers. From Adam, the first who offered prayer, and down through history, we have seen that the Lord has lent car to petitions which have been made to Him. Before Adam gathered his righteous posterity around him, in Adam-Ondi-Ahman, he had taught them about the true God and the efficacy of prayer, so that they knew to whom to pray; and after the Flood we find holy men approaching our Father in prayer, and that he was merciful to them. Abraham Gideon, David, Solomon, the prophets ,all bear testimony to the value of prayer. Our Savior, during His life upon the earth, inculcated prayer, and He would often withdraw Himself from His disciples, go up into the mountain and commune with God. He felt the necessity of obtaining aid and assistance from His Father in heaven, to perforin that great mission which had been given Him here upon the earth. He taught His disciples to pray. He did not want them to make many repetitions, He did not want them to pray to be considered of men, but He wanted them to come as children to their Father, and ask for the things they stood in need of. That beautiful prayer, “Our Father, which art in heaven," that has been for generations a model to worshipers, contains so much for serious thought, and it shows the plain and simple manner in which Jesus wanted us to come before the Lord, not using high-sounding words, but to approach Him as a child would its father, and ask for the very things we stand in need of. I don't believe that He meant for us always to use that formula of prayer, but He gave it to us ,as an example, that when we pray we should pray in a similar manner, On one occasion when He was with His disciples, He told them that whatsoever they should ask in His name should he granted, What a splendid promise! And I believe this promise is given not only to the disciples that surrounded Him at the time, but to all who believe in the Son of God. I believe also that when we approach our Father, He knows before we ask what we want, and He also knows whether that which we ask of Him is for our best good or not, yet He has commanded us to pray and open our hearts to Him. When Jesus was suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, he asked the Lord, if it were possible, to take that bitter cup away from Him. Can you wonder at it when you remember that He was in such agony that the sweat fell like drops of blood upon the ground? But He added, "Not my will, but thy will be done,” giving us a pattern to follow in our prayers, that although we ardently desire certain things; and believe that they would be for our best good still we should be submissive to the Father’s will, and say, with Christ, not our will, but His will be done.
In the prayer that He taught His disciples Jesus emphasized the great principle that God is our Father, and that we should address Him as such in our prayers. We believe that God is the Father of our spirits, and hence that we are in reality His children. When Jesus so addressed the Father, it was not a figurative title given Him, but it means that God is indeed our Father as He was His Father; Jesus was His only begotten Son in the flesh. Paul says that God is the Father of our spirits, and knowing this, we can approach Him in confidence, knowing that He will hear and grant unto us such blessings as will be for our good. In that prayer we are told to say, “Hallowed be Thy name,” and in doing so we should resolve to keep His name hallowed, holy. I hope that the Latter-day Saints will remember this and that such a thing as taking the name of the Lord in vain will never be heard from their lips. The words spoken by them should be free from all things verging on profanity, and they should ever feel the greatest reverence for the name of the Father.
Next we ask, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done upon earth as it is done in heaven.” We should seek His kingdom first of all, for its possession is far better than riches. When we imagine conditions existing in heaven, we feel convinced that there is no such thing as disobedience found among the happy throngs that dwell there, and this is not because they are forced to do His will, but because they know it is right and most productive of happiness. Those who are privileged to enter into the presence of the Father, and dwell in His kingdom, will be such that have gone through a probation, and have been tried and found true, that have seen the consequences of sin and disobedience and who have chosen and firmly resolved to serve the Lord and keep His commandments. They are those that have proved themselves able to keep such a resolution, so that when they go into those blissful regions they feel that what the Father wants is for their own good, and hence it is their choice and delight that His will be done there. We should use our influence that His will may be done here on earth as it is done in heaven. We should use our free agency to serve the Lord and always choose to do His will; it will bring us the greatest happiness. There is no true happiness that can come to a person who violates the commandments of God, because those commandments were given for the blessing of the human race. Every commandment given by the Lord has a tendency to do good to them who will obey it, and those who will not obey His commandments will reap the consequences. His commandments to His children are not arbitrary like those of a tyrant, but they are measured for the benefit and blessing of all who live upon earth. So we can heartily pray also that His will may be done here upon the earth as it is done in heaven.
We are taught in that prayer to ask for our daily bread, showing that it is not only for spiritual things we dare ask our Father, but also for the temporal things that we need as well, and in daily bread, of course, is included all our interests. We need not fear to come before Him and ask for success in our business, as well as to ask for spiritual blessings. We are taught in the prayer to ask the Lord to forgive us our debts as we are willing to forgive our debtors. How much there is included in this! How this would tend toward peace if we were willing to forgive one another, if we could eradicate from our hearts every tendency to hatred and bitterness. We have no right to hate our brother. We are asked even to love our enemies—a hard thing to do, no doubt, but Jesus showed us the example. When hanging upon the cross and suffering exquisite torture, the most painful that the Romans could invent, He could still say, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Shall we not follow His example? Let us have peace, with one another. Let us not go to law with our brethren. Let us not take revenge for wrongs done to us, but try to be reconciled with those who have anything against us; and, if we have anything against our brother, let us remember the instruction in this beautiful prayer, that as we hope to be forgiven by our heavenly Father, to whom we owe so much, we must forgive one another.
We are also taught here to ask “Lead us not into temptation,” or, as it is given in the French Bible, “Abandon us not,” or “leave us not in temptation.” If we know that we are weak, brethren and sisters, in anything, let us avoid to go where there is temptation of the kind that may be hard to resist, and we be tempted to do that which is not right. Remember that it is to him who overcomes that the choicest promises are made. When we pray the Lord not to allow us to be led into temptation, let us make the firm resolution not to indulge in sinful thoughts, and shun evil associations and all places where we are in danger of temptation, and then the Lord will help us to overcome every evil tendency.
The prayer closes with these beautiful words of adoration and praise, “For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.” Let us look upon this prayer as teaching us true worship. We come together to worship the Lord both in prayer,- in preaching, in praising the Lord, and in singing inspired hymns. We do adore Him who is our Creator and our Father. We know He is all-good, all-wise and all-powerful, and worthy of all praise, and we rejoice in the promise given us that He will hear and answer our prayers.
I see the time is going. I feel very much concerned and sad when I look upon the condition of the warring nations. Although we have looked forward to a time when war shall be poured out upon all nations, still when it comes we feel to ask that that day might be postponed and peace come unto afflicted humanity. When we think of Europe two months ago—of the busy factories in Belgium and Germany and France, and the busy husbandmen in Russia, and other countries that are now afflicted with war, and then today see millions of men engaged in the fiercest and bloodiest of battles related in history, we are shocked at the terrible carnage, and the misery of the widows and the orphans that are made daily. Our hearts go out to them in the deepest sympathy, and we feel to take part in a prayer like that which was offered by Brother Penrose, that the Lord will be merciful unto them.
May the day hasten when peace shall reign upon the earth, when Christ shall come and reign, and the thousand years of peace be introduced, and the announcement of the angels shall indeed be fulfilled. "Peace on earth and good will to men,” I ask that we may be prepared for this, and that the Lord may bless the Latter-day Saints, and bless the leaders of this nation, that they may avoid all foreign entanglements, and that peace may continue to reign in this land, I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
President Smith stated that another overflow meeting will be held in the Assembly Hall, at 2 p. m., at which Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr., will preside. He also announced that arrangements have been made, by the Presiding Bishopric, to furnish accommodations to Conference visitors who are not otherwise provided for.
The choir sang the anthem, "Oh come, let us sing, let us sing unto the Lord.”
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Samuel O. Bennion.
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. The services were presided over by Elder George F. Richards, and the Emerson Ward choir furnished the music.
The Choir sang the hymn:
Lo! the mighty God appearing,
From on high Jehovah speaks!
Eastern lands the summons hearing,
O’er the wet His thunder breaks.
Prayer was offered by Elder Charles A. Callis.
The Choir sang the anthem, “Trust ye in Jehovah.”
An overflow session of the Conference was held in the Assembly Hall, adjoining the Tabernacle, at 10 a. m. The services were presided over by Elder George F. Richards, and the Emerson Ward choir furnished the music.
The Choir sang the hymn:
Lo! the mighty God appearing,
From on high Jehovah speaks!
Eastern lands the summons hearing,
O’er the wet His thunder breaks.
Prayer was offered by Elder Charles A. Callis.
The Choir sang the anthem, “Trust ye in Jehovah.”
ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS.
Unity of the Saints in prayer for peace—Inspiring effect of knowledge that we are God's children—The mission of Jesus, our Elder Brother—Encouragement to subject ourselves to Gospel laws—Faith increased by studying Scriptures—Advantages of obedience to every principle of truth.
My beloved brethren and sisters, inasmuch as I have received the appointment, by the President of the Church ,to preside at this overflow meeting, I desire to extend to you a cordial welcome to the conference, and express, in behalf of the Presidency, their and our appreciation of the presence of so many of you in this, the opening session, of our semi-annual conference. I realize that it is somewhat of a disappointment to our brethren and sisters not to be able to find places in the large Tabernacle this morning, but I am sure that if we can compose our minds and feel, above all else, a desire to acceptably worship the Lord in our meeting here this morning, that His spirit will be poured out upon us, and we will have occasion to rejoice before Him, in the knowledge of the Gospel which He has given unto us, and the testimony which we have received of its truth. J appreciate, with you, the beautiful singing of the Emerson Ward Choir this morning, and feel thankful for their services.
I endorse, with all my heart, the sentiments of the opening prayer offered by President Charles A. Callis, president of the Southern States mission. I believe in the scripture which says that the prayer of a righteous man availeth much, and I believe that where many righteous men and women are met together to worship the Lord, and have brought their minds to a singleness and community of faith and interest, and lift their voices in prayer, that the Lord will hear the prayer. This is my faith, my trust and confidence, and I trust that that which is our will concerning the troubled nations of the earth today, that peace may obtain, that bloodshed may discontinue, and that those who have occasion to sorrow and mourn because of the wars which are in the earth today may be comforted of the Lord; I trust that this will be the mind and will of the Lord, and that He can, consistently with His will and purposes, answer our prayers this day. I remember that there will be thousands of earnest prayers, this day, offered to the Lord in behalf of the troubled nations and the people who are in mourning and sorrow.
I rejoice with you; my brethren and sisters, this morning, in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I never had a stronger testimony of the truth than I have today. There is scarcely room for doubt in my mind—I think there is no doubt— in regard to the truth of all of the principles of the Gospel as they are taught today by the Latter-day Saints. It is the Gospel which was instituted, as the scriptures tell us very clearly, from the foundations of the world, a plan for the existence of man and of the earth, of their fall, their redemption and their glorification, a Gospel which is to be taught unto the world of mankind as the justice and mercy of God demands, to the living and the dead, a law by which all shall be judged, a savior of life unto life or of death unto death to those who receive it, who are faithful in the keeping of the commandments or to those who reject and fight against it.
I rejoice in the testimony which I bear this morning that God, the eternal Father, lives, an immortal and glorified being, whose power has no limitations. He is the Creator of the heavens and earth and the seas, and of all things that are therein, as the scriptures affirm, and they are His; the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof. He is the very eternal Father of the spirits of men, for we all had a spiritual birth, a spiritual existence and experience and we were born of God. Think of it, brethren and sisters, sons and daughters of God inheriting from Him through our spiritual birth the very attributes and qualities of Deity, which in our Father in heaven are perfect and make Him what He is. We are placed here upon the earth for the purpose, in part, of improving, magnifying and perfecting those qualities and attributes; so that, while we are now but gods in embryo, having been born of God, in His likeness, in His image, and having received from Him the attributes of .Deity, through perfecting those attributes in time and in eternity we will be like Him in very deed, and be glorified with him in His kingdom.
I rejoice in the testimony that I have, and cheerfully bear to you today, that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, the Messiah which was predicted should come in the meridian of time to redeem mankind from the effects of the transgression of our first parents, or the fall of man, and also to redeem us from the effects of our individual sins, on condition of our acceptance of His atonement and His laws, and the ordinances of the everlasting Gospel. Jesus lives. He has passed through the experiences of a life here upon the earth. He was true and faithful in the beginning, in contradistinction to that other great spirit who fell away, who was rejected of the Lord, who was driven forth from heaven, and with him many of the sons and daughters of God. Jesus stood for the principle, “Thy will be done,” and “The glory be thine forever;” the righteous exercise of agency as our Father would have us all to be, wise and righteous in the exercise of our agency. When He came upon the earth He was still true to the covenant which He made with the Father, and uppermost in His mind and in all His life’s work was that thought, “Father, Thy will be done and the glory be Thine forever.” He was the great prototype and exemplar of mankind, our exemplar, brethren and sisters and friends, He leads the way, and every path defines, as we sing in one of our hymns that we, His followers, His brothers and sisters, are required to walk in in order that we may, when we have passed through this life, go to the glory beyond; and, as He took up His body, we may take up our bodies again and go on, as He has gone, to eternal exaltation; and as He sits at the right hand of God, the eternal Father, in His celestial kingdom, an heir to all that our heavenly Father possesses ; that we, by following in His steps, may become joint heirs with Him in all things. This is my testimony to you in regard to Jesus Christ, our Savior, His life and ministry, in brief.
I rejoice in the knowledge which has come to me through the study of the scriptures, a knowledge and assurance of the immortality of the soul, life beyond the grave. Oh, what a joy! What a joy to those who have this hope, and are making preparation according to the best light they have to meet the conditions beyond this life. I am thankful for the knowledge which the Gospel gives me, that the conditions of life beyond the grave depend upon the lives we live while we are here in mortality. I thank the Lord for the influence of this knowledge, the influence of the Gospel restraining me from doing those things which would exempt me from the enjoyment of those blessings which are in store for the faithful. I am thankful, also, for the stimulating and encouraging influence of the Gospel upon my life, encouraging me to make the. sacrifices that are necessary to be made to do the things which may be required of me in order that I may not fall short of those blessings.
However, I cannot boast. I acknowledge before the Lord and my brethren and sisters, my weakness and my imperfections, and my dependence upon the Lord for strength and power day by day to live the law which He has revealed. But I have assurance of the necessity for living by that law, that salvation and eternal life can be obtained through obedience unto the laws and commandments of God.
I think that the lack of faith on the part of many people in the Church, and out of the Church, is due to the fact that they have not given due attention to these things. I understand that faith comes by hearing, for so the scriptures teach. Or, in other words, as I would interpret it, faith comes by investigation. We have the scriptures, ancient and modern, which are the revelations of the Lord unto His servants the prophets in different Gospel dispensations. They have been preserved and have been delivered unto us for our guidance, with a commandment from the Lord that we search the scriptures, “for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.” They do testify of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, of the great plan of life and salvation, the life beyond the grave; and a study of these things causes the mind to reflect upon them, the reason to be brought to bear upon them, and the conclusion reached by the honest-hearted person is usually that those things are true, that they are just, that they are good for man. And still some have need for teachers, which was so with the eunuch., as you remember. He was reading the scriptures, but he did not understand them. It took a Phillip, inspired of the Lord, learned in the scriptures, to explain them to his understanding. But when he saw the truth, and being honest in his heart, he was willing to obey it.
I invite the Latter-day Saints to read the scriptures more than they do, for while the Latter-day Saints have a measure of faith, which is a gift of God, until we shall reach the perfect life, the high standard which was set for us by our Savior, we still have need of faith; and if investigation is going to give us faith, we need to investigate, we need to study we need to pray, and it is just as true that if we would receive the witness of the Spirit of God, we must obey and act, we must receive those things which are offered unto us. We must, when we receive faith to believe in these principles that they are true, we must have the* fortitude, the • courage to accept those truths, and putting our trust in the Lord, acknowledge Him, and make our lives conform therewith. Happiness in the life of the Latter- day Saint consists in the consciousness of having lived closely to the law of the Lord. He who has embraced the Gospel, who has had a witness of its truth, and then only half lived the law is constantly under self-condemnation. It robs him of the joy, of the peace, yes, and of the hope of eternal life, that it is intended true Latter-day Saints should enjoy.
I admonish the Saints, if they would be happy, and if they would have an assurance that it would be well with them beyond the grave, that we be more faithful in the keeping of the commandments of the Lord. Who is there that can say in truth that ‘Mormonism,” so-called, is not true, is not good for man? I will make the declaration to you, my brethren and sisters and friends, that that which is good for man is true, and the Gospel is good. Are we not taught, in fact it is an article of our faith, the thirteenth article: “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous and in doing good to all men. We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and we hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report, or praiseworthy we seek after these things.” The Gospel teaches us that as children of our Father in heaven, we have the same attributes which He possesses, such as justice, judgment, mercy, truth, love and other qualities, and the requirement is that we labor with ourselves constantly to perfect these attributes. Would not that be good for any man, for all men? I believe firmly that that is what Jesus meant when He said, as recorded in the fifth chapter of Matthew: “Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Now, is not that good for us? Is it not good for every man to be just in judgment, to be virtuous, to be pure? Yes, and we are to add to our faith, as Peter said: “virtue, to virtue knowledge, temperance patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity.” Are not these things good? They are included in the Gospel. But I fancy I hear some individual say, “Well, that is all right. We believe in these things outside of the Church. They are good for man; we will admit that; but these ordinances and the necessity for faith in God we do not understand.” Now, there is a class who do not believe that there is a God, a Creator of all things, and who do not believe that there is a life beyond the grave. It is an unfortunate condition. If there is a God and a life beyond the grave there will come a time when that fact will be known. Now, if it shall prove that there is a God, and a life beyond the grave, and that faith in Him is necessary to salvation, as the scriptures teach, how much better off will those be who have had that faith than those who have rejected it. And if it were possible that we were mistaken, we would still be as well off as the atheist and better off than we would have been without this faith, for it is helpful to make us better men and women than we otherwise would have been.
But faith is not all that is necessary, and yet there are some who hold that faith is all that is necessary. But the Latter-day Saints believe the scriptures which teach that there are certain ordinances which must be complied with in order to obtain salvation. Now, then, if it shall prove that these things are true, as they are scriptural, how disappointed then will be those who. not having believed in these things, have not yielded obedience to them, and therefore have not made the necessary preparation for the life beyond the grave? While those of us who have believed, and believing the scriptures, have yielded obedience, find ourselves in the favor of God, in the way of salvation. You see that that which we have accepted is on the positive side of these religious questions, and not the negative ; and if they prove true, we are on the safe side, but if it were possible that they should be otherwise, we would still be as well off as those who reject these things.
So we may take each of the principles of the Gospel. You may take also that very important principle eternity of the marriage covenant. We believe in the scriptures which teach that “neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord,” and in that scripture which teaches that power and authority was given to men upon the earth—Jesus conferred it Himself upon Peter and his associates, power to bind on earth and it should be bound or sealed in heaven, to loose on earth, and it should be loosed in heaven. In this day He has revealed anew the Gospel, and this power and authority, and a knowledge of the ordinance of marriage, with instructions to build temples that we may enter therein and solemnize marriages in the way that He has ordained, and as will be effective beyond this life. The Latter-day Saints have accepted these principles, amply sustained by the New Testament and modern revelation also. If it shall prove that we are correct, Latter-day Saints, then those who have rejected this principle will be at a serious loss and will suffer a great disappointment. How much better, then, to accept the safe way, to be on the safe side? That is where the Latter-day Saints stand. There can be no disappointment on their part, if they are true to that which they have accepted.
We may say the same in regard to our dead. We believe, for the scriptures teach it, that the gospel must be preached to the dead, and is being preached to the dead. “For this cause is the Gospel preached to the dead [says the Apostle Peter], that they might be judged according to men in the flesh and live according to God in the spirit.” Not only that but the work which is necessary for the living, the identical ordinances which we have accepted as Latter-day Saints are necessary for our dead, and we are called to be saviors upon Mount Zion for them, that through the atonement of our Savior and the work that we do for them, a vicarious work, by their acceptance of it when the time comes that they shall be prepared to accept of it, that work becomes effective for them and for their salvation. How much better off we will be, having accomplished this great work for our dead, if it proves true, as it is scriptural, and necessary for the salvation of our dead, and for our own salvation and glory, for we are told in the scripture—Paul expressly states—that we cannot be perfect without our dead. How much better off are those who receive than those who reject these principles? Are we not on the safe side? Are not these things good, brethren and sisters? They have inspired us to be more helpful, to look to the happiness of others, to serve our God by serving our fellow men, the living and the dead. That is what the Gospel teaches, the Gospel which the Latter-day Saints have received.
You have occasion to rejoice. There is nothing offered in the world that can be a substitute, that will be satisfying to you; and because this is true, the Latter-day Saints are not being converted to other religious doctrines. Conversion of the Saints to other creeds is almost unknown, although we have preachers among us. Our elders who go into the world and preach the Gospel among the people, mingle with learned men who are representatives of other denominations, and yet they are not convinced or converted, either of the error of that which they have received or of the truth and superiority of that which the religions of the world have to offer. We are making converts here by thousands right here among us, in our cities and wards, and in the mission fields abroad; because these ordinances, as well as the truths that we have been speaking of, appeal to them as being reasonable, good for man, and they want to be on the safe side.
I bear you my testimony, my brethren and sisters, that I know the Gospel is true, and know that it is indeed the power of God unto happiness and joy in this life, and salvation and exaltation in the world to come. I admonish you with great earnestness, my brethren and sisters, that you try, for .your own sakes and for the sake of your children, and your children’s children, and those who come within our gates, to be diligent and faithful in living up to the perfect law of God, which has been given for cur guidance here and our eternal salvation.
May the Lord bless all Israel to this end, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, “Heavenly Father.”
Unity of the Saints in prayer for peace—Inspiring effect of knowledge that we are God's children—The mission of Jesus, our Elder Brother—Encouragement to subject ourselves to Gospel laws—Faith increased by studying Scriptures—Advantages of obedience to every principle of truth.
My beloved brethren and sisters, inasmuch as I have received the appointment, by the President of the Church ,to preside at this overflow meeting, I desire to extend to you a cordial welcome to the conference, and express, in behalf of the Presidency, their and our appreciation of the presence of so many of you in this, the opening session, of our semi-annual conference. I realize that it is somewhat of a disappointment to our brethren and sisters not to be able to find places in the large Tabernacle this morning, but I am sure that if we can compose our minds and feel, above all else, a desire to acceptably worship the Lord in our meeting here this morning, that His spirit will be poured out upon us, and we will have occasion to rejoice before Him, in the knowledge of the Gospel which He has given unto us, and the testimony which we have received of its truth. J appreciate, with you, the beautiful singing of the Emerson Ward Choir this morning, and feel thankful for their services.
I endorse, with all my heart, the sentiments of the opening prayer offered by President Charles A. Callis, president of the Southern States mission. I believe in the scripture which says that the prayer of a righteous man availeth much, and I believe that where many righteous men and women are met together to worship the Lord, and have brought their minds to a singleness and community of faith and interest, and lift their voices in prayer, that the Lord will hear the prayer. This is my faith, my trust and confidence, and I trust that that which is our will concerning the troubled nations of the earth today, that peace may obtain, that bloodshed may discontinue, and that those who have occasion to sorrow and mourn because of the wars which are in the earth today may be comforted of the Lord; I trust that this will be the mind and will of the Lord, and that He can, consistently with His will and purposes, answer our prayers this day. I remember that there will be thousands of earnest prayers, this day, offered to the Lord in behalf of the troubled nations and the people who are in mourning and sorrow.
I rejoice with you; my brethren and sisters, this morning, in the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I never had a stronger testimony of the truth than I have today. There is scarcely room for doubt in my mind—I think there is no doubt— in regard to the truth of all of the principles of the Gospel as they are taught today by the Latter-day Saints. It is the Gospel which was instituted, as the scriptures tell us very clearly, from the foundations of the world, a plan for the existence of man and of the earth, of their fall, their redemption and their glorification, a Gospel which is to be taught unto the world of mankind as the justice and mercy of God demands, to the living and the dead, a law by which all shall be judged, a savior of life unto life or of death unto death to those who receive it, who are faithful in the keeping of the commandments or to those who reject and fight against it.
I rejoice in the testimony which I bear this morning that God, the eternal Father, lives, an immortal and glorified being, whose power has no limitations. He is the Creator of the heavens and earth and the seas, and of all things that are therein, as the scriptures affirm, and they are His; the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof. He is the very eternal Father of the spirits of men, for we all had a spiritual birth, a spiritual existence and experience and we were born of God. Think of it, brethren and sisters, sons and daughters of God inheriting from Him through our spiritual birth the very attributes and qualities of Deity, which in our Father in heaven are perfect and make Him what He is. We are placed here upon the earth for the purpose, in part, of improving, magnifying and perfecting those qualities and attributes; so that, while we are now but gods in embryo, having been born of God, in His likeness, in His image, and having received from Him the attributes of .Deity, through perfecting those attributes in time and in eternity we will be like Him in very deed, and be glorified with him in His kingdom.
I rejoice in the testimony that I have, and cheerfully bear to you today, that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, the Messiah which was predicted should come in the meridian of time to redeem mankind from the effects of the transgression of our first parents, or the fall of man, and also to redeem us from the effects of our individual sins, on condition of our acceptance of His atonement and His laws, and the ordinances of the everlasting Gospel. Jesus lives. He has passed through the experiences of a life here upon the earth. He was true and faithful in the beginning, in contradistinction to that other great spirit who fell away, who was rejected of the Lord, who was driven forth from heaven, and with him many of the sons and daughters of God. Jesus stood for the principle, “Thy will be done,” and “The glory be thine forever;” the righteous exercise of agency as our Father would have us all to be, wise and righteous in the exercise of our agency. When He came upon the earth He was still true to the covenant which He made with the Father, and uppermost in His mind and in all His life’s work was that thought, “Father, Thy will be done and the glory be Thine forever.” He was the great prototype and exemplar of mankind, our exemplar, brethren and sisters and friends, He leads the way, and every path defines, as we sing in one of our hymns that we, His followers, His brothers and sisters, are required to walk in in order that we may, when we have passed through this life, go to the glory beyond; and, as He took up His body, we may take up our bodies again and go on, as He has gone, to eternal exaltation; and as He sits at the right hand of God, the eternal Father, in His celestial kingdom, an heir to all that our heavenly Father possesses ; that we, by following in His steps, may become joint heirs with Him in all things. This is my testimony to you in regard to Jesus Christ, our Savior, His life and ministry, in brief.
I rejoice in the knowledge which has come to me through the study of the scriptures, a knowledge and assurance of the immortality of the soul, life beyond the grave. Oh, what a joy! What a joy to those who have this hope, and are making preparation according to the best light they have to meet the conditions beyond this life. I am thankful for the knowledge which the Gospel gives me, that the conditions of life beyond the grave depend upon the lives we live while we are here in mortality. I thank the Lord for the influence of this knowledge, the influence of the Gospel restraining me from doing those things which would exempt me from the enjoyment of those blessings which are in store for the faithful. I am thankful, also, for the stimulating and encouraging influence of the Gospel upon my life, encouraging me to make the. sacrifices that are necessary to be made to do the things which may be required of me in order that I may not fall short of those blessings.
However, I cannot boast. I acknowledge before the Lord and my brethren and sisters, my weakness and my imperfections, and my dependence upon the Lord for strength and power day by day to live the law which He has revealed. But I have assurance of the necessity for living by that law, that salvation and eternal life can be obtained through obedience unto the laws and commandments of God.
I think that the lack of faith on the part of many people in the Church, and out of the Church, is due to the fact that they have not given due attention to these things. I understand that faith comes by hearing, for so the scriptures teach. Or, in other words, as I would interpret it, faith comes by investigation. We have the scriptures, ancient and modern, which are the revelations of the Lord unto His servants the prophets in different Gospel dispensations. They have been preserved and have been delivered unto us for our guidance, with a commandment from the Lord that we search the scriptures, “for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me.” They do testify of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, of the great plan of life and salvation, the life beyond the grave; and a study of these things causes the mind to reflect upon them, the reason to be brought to bear upon them, and the conclusion reached by the honest-hearted person is usually that those things are true, that they are just, that they are good for man. And still some have need for teachers, which was so with the eunuch., as you remember. He was reading the scriptures, but he did not understand them. It took a Phillip, inspired of the Lord, learned in the scriptures, to explain them to his understanding. But when he saw the truth, and being honest in his heart, he was willing to obey it.
I invite the Latter-day Saints to read the scriptures more than they do, for while the Latter-day Saints have a measure of faith, which is a gift of God, until we shall reach the perfect life, the high standard which was set for us by our Savior, we still have need of faith; and if investigation is going to give us faith, we need to investigate, we need to study we need to pray, and it is just as true that if we would receive the witness of the Spirit of God, we must obey and act, we must receive those things which are offered unto us. We must, when we receive faith to believe in these principles that they are true, we must have the* fortitude, the • courage to accept those truths, and putting our trust in the Lord, acknowledge Him, and make our lives conform therewith. Happiness in the life of the Latter- day Saint consists in the consciousness of having lived closely to the law of the Lord. He who has embraced the Gospel, who has had a witness of its truth, and then only half lived the law is constantly under self-condemnation. It robs him of the joy, of the peace, yes, and of the hope of eternal life, that it is intended true Latter-day Saints should enjoy.
I admonish the Saints, if they would be happy, and if they would have an assurance that it would be well with them beyond the grave, that we be more faithful in the keeping of the commandments of the Lord. Who is there that can say in truth that ‘Mormonism,” so-called, is not true, is not good for man? I will make the declaration to you, my brethren and sisters and friends, that that which is good for man is true, and the Gospel is good. Are we not taught, in fact it is an article of our faith, the thirteenth article: “We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous and in doing good to all men. We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and we hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report, or praiseworthy we seek after these things.” The Gospel teaches us that as children of our Father in heaven, we have the same attributes which He possesses, such as justice, judgment, mercy, truth, love and other qualities, and the requirement is that we labor with ourselves constantly to perfect these attributes. Would not that be good for any man, for all men? I believe firmly that that is what Jesus meant when He said, as recorded in the fifth chapter of Matthew: “Be ye perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Now, is not that good for us? Is it not good for every man to be just in judgment, to be virtuous, to be pure? Yes, and we are to add to our faith, as Peter said: “virtue, to virtue knowledge, temperance patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity.” Are not these things good? They are included in the Gospel. But I fancy I hear some individual say, “Well, that is all right. We believe in these things outside of the Church. They are good for man; we will admit that; but these ordinances and the necessity for faith in God we do not understand.” Now, there is a class who do not believe that there is a God, a Creator of all things, and who do not believe that there is a life beyond the grave. It is an unfortunate condition. If there is a God and a life beyond the grave there will come a time when that fact will be known. Now, if it shall prove that there is a God, and a life beyond the grave, and that faith in Him is necessary to salvation, as the scriptures teach, how much better off will those be who have had that faith than those who have rejected it. And if it were possible that we were mistaken, we would still be as well off as the atheist and better off than we would have been without this faith, for it is helpful to make us better men and women than we otherwise would have been.
But faith is not all that is necessary, and yet there are some who hold that faith is all that is necessary. But the Latter-day Saints believe the scriptures which teach that there are certain ordinances which must be complied with in order to obtain salvation. Now, then, if it shall prove that these things are true, as they are scriptural, how disappointed then will be those who. not having believed in these things, have not yielded obedience to them, and therefore have not made the necessary preparation for the life beyond the grave? While those of us who have believed, and believing the scriptures, have yielded obedience, find ourselves in the favor of God, in the way of salvation. You see that that which we have accepted is on the positive side of these religious questions, and not the negative ; and if they prove true, we are on the safe side, but if it were possible that they should be otherwise, we would still be as well off as those who reject these things.
So we may take each of the principles of the Gospel. You may take also that very important principle eternity of the marriage covenant. We believe in the scriptures which teach that “neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord,” and in that scripture which teaches that power and authority was given to men upon the earth—Jesus conferred it Himself upon Peter and his associates, power to bind on earth and it should be bound or sealed in heaven, to loose on earth, and it should be loosed in heaven. In this day He has revealed anew the Gospel, and this power and authority, and a knowledge of the ordinance of marriage, with instructions to build temples that we may enter therein and solemnize marriages in the way that He has ordained, and as will be effective beyond this life. The Latter-day Saints have accepted these principles, amply sustained by the New Testament and modern revelation also. If it shall prove that we are correct, Latter-day Saints, then those who have rejected this principle will be at a serious loss and will suffer a great disappointment. How much better, then, to accept the safe way, to be on the safe side? That is where the Latter-day Saints stand. There can be no disappointment on their part, if they are true to that which they have accepted.
We may say the same in regard to our dead. We believe, for the scriptures teach it, that the gospel must be preached to the dead, and is being preached to the dead. “For this cause is the Gospel preached to the dead [says the Apostle Peter], that they might be judged according to men in the flesh and live according to God in the spirit.” Not only that but the work which is necessary for the living, the identical ordinances which we have accepted as Latter-day Saints are necessary for our dead, and we are called to be saviors upon Mount Zion for them, that through the atonement of our Savior and the work that we do for them, a vicarious work, by their acceptance of it when the time comes that they shall be prepared to accept of it, that work becomes effective for them and for their salvation. How much better off we will be, having accomplished this great work for our dead, if it proves true, as it is scriptural, and necessary for the salvation of our dead, and for our own salvation and glory, for we are told in the scripture—Paul expressly states—that we cannot be perfect without our dead. How much better off are those who receive than those who reject these principles? Are we not on the safe side? Are not these things good, brethren and sisters? They have inspired us to be more helpful, to look to the happiness of others, to serve our God by serving our fellow men, the living and the dead. That is what the Gospel teaches, the Gospel which the Latter-day Saints have received.
You have occasion to rejoice. There is nothing offered in the world that can be a substitute, that will be satisfying to you; and because this is true, the Latter-day Saints are not being converted to other religious doctrines. Conversion of the Saints to other creeds is almost unknown, although we have preachers among us. Our elders who go into the world and preach the Gospel among the people, mingle with learned men who are representatives of other denominations, and yet they are not convinced or converted, either of the error of that which they have received or of the truth and superiority of that which the religions of the world have to offer. We are making converts here by thousands right here among us, in our cities and wards, and in the mission fields abroad; because these ordinances, as well as the truths that we have been speaking of, appeal to them as being reasonable, good for man, and they want to be on the safe side.
I bear you my testimony, my brethren and sisters, that I know the Gospel is true, and know that it is indeed the power of God unto happiness and joy in this life, and salvation and exaltation in the world to come. I admonish you with great earnestness, my brethren and sisters, that you try, for .your own sakes and for the sake of your children, and your children’s children, and those who come within our gates, to be diligent and faithful in living up to the perfect law of God, which has been given for cur guidance here and our eternal salvation.
May the Lord bless all Israel to this end, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, “Heavenly Father.”
ELDER WALTER P. MONSON.
(President of Eastern States Mission.)
I rejoice, my brethren and sisters, in the opportunity afforded me of meeting with the Latter-day Saints in our annual and semi-annual conferences. I recognize in the lives of the Latter-day Saints, who are looked upon as being a peculiar and choice people of the Lord, that there is not the ordinariness that is usually found in professing Christians in the world. I rejoice in knowing that my parents had the courage and fortitude of character to leave the old country and come unto this goodly land as Pioneers, where they could raise their family in the air of freedom and religious liberty. I rejoice in being made partaker of the numerous blessings of the New and Everlasting Covenant, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as partly enumerated by Elder Richards this morning.
I have a firm and abiding testimony in the truth of the message which we bear to the world. My heart is made glad on this occasion by having the opportunity of bearing my humble testimony before my brethren and sisters, that I know God lives, and that Jesus is the Christ. I thank the Lord that this Church was not born out of the division and dissension which has been prevalent in the man-made religions, but that it has been born of God, and is sanctioned by Him.
When I spoke here, six months ago, I referred to the passage of scripture found in the second chapter of I Peter, wherein it says that “Ye are a peculiar people, a chosen generation, and a royal priesthood,” and said that I rejoiced in the truth of that passage of scripture as applying to the Latter-day Saints. When I returned to New York, I found published, in the Christian Statesman, a most scurrilous article with respect to the Latter-day Saints, making ridicule of this statement quoted from the writings of St. Peter, who stood close to the Master in his life’s mission. If the Latter-day Saints are not that peculiar people, where will you find them? Where is that peculiar people, that chosen generation, that royal Priesthood?
It seems hardly necessary for the President of the United States to suggest to Latter-day Saints that this day be devoted to prayers for peace, because it has ever been the burden of our message to the world, a message of harmony, peace and salvation. We teach that brother should cease to contend with brother; and hold out our arms in love to all mankind. Amidst persecution and tribulation, we have asked the people of the world to bow at the shrine of Jesus Christ, who loved the world’s inhabitants with that wondrous magnanimity which impelled Him to give His life that we might live. Nineteen long, war-scarred centuries have passed since the humble shepherds upon the plains of Judea, watching their flocks by night, heard the most glorious of anthems sang by an angelic choir. This was called to my mind listening to the last anthem so beautifully rendered by the Emerson Ward choir. The angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good will toward men and for nineteen centuries Christians have been singing this song. But, when we look over the Christian world, today, we see practically two-thirds of those who are professed followers of Christ, engaging in deadly conflict with each other, in quest of power, authority and dominion. And so it seems a travesty upon Christianity, to profess peace and engage in war. We find some of those people, who pray for peace have, stood in pulpits, in sacerdotal robes, and stated that " ‘Mormonism’ is a menace to this nation and the Christian world, unless we can conquer its adherents by means of legislative enactment, we will feel called upon to unsheath our swords and exterminate them.” Yet they pray for peace! I wonder how long, O Lord, it will be before all of the Christian world will realize that the teachings of the gospel of peace are meant not only to be a beautiful sentiment but also to be put in effect?
We are a peculiar people, differentiated from other religious denominations in the world, and I thank God most sincerely for the difference. God has raised up this people for a most important and glorious work. It is our special duty to carry the message of life and peace to the world. Where there is strife between father and son, we are to manifest the spirit and power of the Priesthood of Elijah, the Prophet, in that “the hearts of the fathers should be turned unto the children, and the hearts of the children unto the fathers.” It is our good pleasure to take the message of divine peace unto those who are not in the enjoyment of that blessing.
There is a power with the Latter-day Saints that the world does not perceive. It is that spirit which Jesus, when among His disciples upon the earth, said was necessary to come. He declared “it is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you.”
I remember that, when I was a child, attending the Primary organization in my home town, the good sisters taught us children the beautiful song:
“I think when I read that sweet story of old.
When Jesus was here among men,
How He called little children, as lambs, to His fold.
I should like to have been with Him then;
I wish that His hand had been placed on my head,
And His arm had been thrown about me,
That I might receive His kind look when He said,
‘Let the little ones come unto Me.’ ”
O how I used to rejoice in the sentiment of that song. But, by long experience in the service of the Lord, and by the whisperings of that still sweet spirit unto my soul, I am not sure that I would have been more happy had I lived in the days of the Savior than I am today. The Savior said that it was expedient He should go away. Wherein lies the expediency? Is there any example that would confirm that statement in the hearts of the children of men? Let us see. St. Peter, who was so closely associated with the Master in his ministry, was so very impetuous in his nature that he even rebuked the Savior, when the Savior showed him that He would die at the hands of wicked men. Peter said “Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee," and indicated his determination to defend the Master. The Savior rebuked him, and said: "Get thee behind Me, Satan, for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men.” Peter, boasting of his implicit faith, in his impetuosity would have gone still further, but the Savior warned him. Said he: “Verily I say unto thee, that this night before the cock shall crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice.” When the Savior was taken b(y wicked men and beaten with staves, a scarlet robe put upon Him in mockery of His authority, and a crown of plaited thorns was put upon His head, when he was spat upon, and all manner of indignities heaped upon him, Peter still loving the Savior, followed Him to the inner court where the Jews were heaping these indignities upon Him. As Peter skulked in the shadow of the wall, a little maid pointed her finger, and said: “Here is one that was with Him.” Peter said, “You are mistaken; I knew Him not.” At the third accusation he even cursed and swore, and said he knew not the Master. Then the cock crew, and Peter went out and wept bitterly.
I am not sure that I would have been any stronger than St. Peter in that trying moment, unless there were some power given, such as came upon the great congregation that assembled on the day of Pentecost, when the spirit came like cloven tongues of fire and rested upon the disciples who had gathered together. After Peter had preached that most memorable discourse, proving to the Jews that they had crucified the Lord of glory, they rose with one accord and said, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter, in the authority of his calling, stepped forward and in the dignity of his leadership in the Church, said: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for this promise is unto you and your children, and those that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” O, what a glorious promise is given unto us, even though we are far removed in time and distance from this event which happened on that day of Pentecost! Do you .find any other time in the life of St. Peter when he ever denied the Master? Then, was it not expedient for the disciples that He should go away, that the “spirit which the world cannot receive,” might come upon the faithful 'followers of the meek and lowly Nazarene, which would give them sustaining power by which they could face men and devils, and declare that Jesus was the Christ, the Savior of the world? Therefore, I say that we have received an anointing that maketh us that no man need teach us what we should say, for that anointing will inspire us to teach in the same hour what we ought to say. I feel much pity and sorrow for an individual who, in life, has parted company with the influence that is conferred upon men by that Spirit by which we draw nigh unto God and learn of Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is the revealing power of God that calmly speaks unto the human heart, and awakens noble sentiments by which man may correct any evil tendencies of his life.
I remember, when I was going to England on a mission, about five years ago, I was very much interested in the sound of the wireless instrument on board the good ship Dominion. It had a peculiar crackling sound; I cannot just describe it. I introduced myself to the operator, and asked him if - he would mind my being in the room while he was receiving a message. He replied, “Not at all, come in my friend.” After he had received a message, he took a chamois skin and wiped off a little dust, showing that he regarded the instrument as very precious. I said, “You seem to pay a great deal of care and attention to this instrument.” . He said, “Indeed, it is absolutely necessary; if a bit of dust or lint should get on this instrument it might be thrown out of tune. Should we strike a reef, we would be unable to send out our message of distress to some ship for help, that might be near, yet out of sight; or we might be upon the water, and not be in a position to receive a message, by reason of being out of atonement with other wireless instruments on the Atlantic.” I went away thinking what a glorious lesson I have learned. There is a wireless instrument within us; a principle by which we receive messages from our heavenly Father for our guidance, for our comfort and safety. I wonder if we keep our wireless instruments clean and polished. And there I made a firm resolve, and repeated it aloud, “I would rather lose my life than have my spiritual wireless become soiled and injured.” I trust that a similar resolve is incorporated in the prayer of all Latter-day Saints, that they may always keep themselves in harmony with that Spirit which leads in the true path, and which says, “This is the way, walk ye in it;” that the wireless instruments of our souls may be kept so clean and pure, and in such perfect attunement with the refined influences of the Spirit of God, that we may be said to be in accord with it, and derive the invaluable and life-giving influences that flow from it for our guidance, our comfort and our everlasting good.
There comes to my mind a passage of scripture, found in the 68th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, and I often turn to this passage and read it to the elders who labor under my direction in the Eastern States, and I think it is a splendid thing for the Priesthood at home also to read it occasionally, because in it there is comforting power that makes you feel that you are among the chosen people of the Lord:
“My servant Orson Hyde was called by his ordinance to proclaim the everlasting Gospel by the Spirit of the living God, from people to people, and from land to land, in the congregations of the wicked, in their synagogues, reasoning with and explaining all scripture unto them. And behold and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who are ordained unto this Priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them, to go forth; and this it an ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the. Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation: behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants; wherefore be of good cheer, and do not fear, for behold, I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of Me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come. This is the word of the Lord' unto you my servant, Orson Hyde, and also unto My servant Luke Johnson, and unto My servant Lyman Johnson unto My servant William E. McLellan, and unto all the faithful Elders of My Church.”
Then, we have reason to trust the power that God has promised unto us; if we will depend upon Him for the truth, or for the utterance of truth, He will not desert us, but will teach us in the same hour what we shall say. I fear that sometimes we arc following the example of the world, that we are preparing our sermons ahead of time, instead of turning a prayerful heart and mind unto our heavenly Father, asking Him to indite the words that we might utter, that the humble prayer of some individual who may hear might be answered, as though our words were flowing from the lips of the Lord Himself. Is there not a point of differentiation with the world in this?
There comes to my mind a circumstance that happened; within the last six months, in the Eastern States mission, where some of your sons, or husbands, perhaps, may be laboring. The scripture just read says, “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I, the Lord, am with you.” Two humble Elders were traveling in the country during the month of July, and there were people trying to circumvent our influence and the progress of the Church there, saying all manner of evil against us falsely. These two Elders, one night, about ten o’clock, were seeking some kind hearted Christian who would shelter them for the night. There was a lady engaged on the lecture platform, going from city to city, in that section, warning the people against the preaching of the “Mormon” Elders. These two young men from Utah, unwittingly, called at the house where this lady was staying, and asked for entertainment. The man of the house met them, and, turning to those within the house, he said: “Here are two ‘Mormon’ Elders now; speak of the devil and he is close by.” His wife said, “Call them in, I would like to look at a ‘Mormon.’ ” and he called them in. The woman lecturer said to them, “I am out on an errand against you. I am surprised that you should befoul our Christian atmosphere by your presence, and now I wanted to have a look at you.” After she had looked at them for a moment, she went out of the room, suspiciously satisfied. They were then told they could not remain, but were called in only as objects of scorn. One of the Elders said: “My good friend, we are very tired, we have traveled all day without dinner or supper, we feel that we can’t go any further. Do you have any objections to our sleeping in your barn tonight?” He said: “I suppose there is no objection to your going out to sleep in the barn where the cattle are, and I will give you two quilts.” They went out into the barn, into a hay mow, and
spread the quilts. Before retiring to rest, the two Elders lifted up their voices in .song, singing “Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear,” including the second verse: “Why should we mourn, or think our lot is hard? ’Tis not so, all is well,” etc. Then they knelt down and prayed that the blessing of the Lord might be upon the owner of the place, that he might always hold his property in peace for administering unto the wants of God’s servants. When they had finished praying, they heard some one outside the barn: the man and his wife, and the woman who had come to lecture against them, had stolen out to see what manner of mischief the “Mormon” Elders might do, and they heard the sermon of their lives, with the result that the woman who was once so bitterly opposed to us is now investigating the Gospel. I want to tell you that fidelity to truth does not lie within man’s power alone, it is the upholding and sustaining power of God that brings a realization of divine blessings.
Another instance,: There were two Elders laboring in a city in Pennsylvania; the parents of one of them are not members of the Church, he being the only one of the family who has accepted the Gospel. The two faithful young elders were beginning to hold a meeting upon the street, and a sectarian minister, standing off to one side, saw them. He had made his threat that they would hold no meetings on the streets of that city, as long as he breathed the breath of life. One of the elders, a mere boy of 19 or 20, stepped out and commenced preaching, and the minister, who was acting in the double capacity of spiritual adviser and spy, called on a policeman to come and arrest the young man. Responding, the policeman took the young elder by the arm with a vise-like grip. The young man silently prayed, “O God give me courage that I may not cry out for pain.” He was taken off toward the police station. When they had walked through the streets about a block and a half, the young man, in boyish innocence, looked up and said: “I suppose this city is thoroughly Christianized.” The policeman was deeply affected and said: “My young fellow, I am sorry that I have to do this; I am not responsible for this indignity that is brought to you.” “No,” said the young man, “you are not responsible, but that minister who stood on the sidewalk did not tell you to pinch my arm till it is black and blue.” And he added, as it became certain that he was going to jail, “Is there anyone else in there?” "O yes, there are several.” The youthful “Mormon” missionary then said it would be the crowning effort of his mission to have the privilege of preaching the Gospel to spirits in prison. While the policeman was taking this elder to jail, his companion, notwithstanding his being alone, went out and began preaching, and another policeman took him to jail. The two elders were put in a cell together. After they had been there about two hours, during which time a consultation had been held on the outside by the officers, an automobile was brought, and they were taken to the outskirts of the town, where they were told that they must never come back again. The young man said, “My right to liberty is written on the face of the Constitution of the United States, which has always protected the innocent and held evil doers in subjection. I have been sent by the authority of the Lord to deliver His word to the people of this town, and I will suit myself whether I come back again or not.” The elders then turned and walked back to the city. Now there is a glorious prospect in that city of organizing and building up a most splendid branch of the Church.
I tell you, when the powers of darkness come, while our elders are in the line of their duty they stand up as giants in spiritual strength and endurance. I praise the Lord that the third and fourth generations of the pioneers of this people are valiant, and worthy the names which they bear.
May God bless us with His Holy Spirit, that the strengthening and consoling power thereof may be distilled upon our hearts, that we may love each other, that we may extend help and sympathy to those who have made mistakes in life, and helpful forgiveness to all mankind. I praise the Lord that He has planted in our hearts the desire for that peace about which the angelic choir sang. May God bless us with His Holy Spirit always, that we may realize the true position which we hold in the world, and ever, with the strength and fortitude that comes from the power of the Almighty, be willing to proclaim to the world that God really has spoken from the heavens, and that we are truly His ambassadors; which may God grant unto us all, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, “Oh, Light Eternal.”
Benediction was pronounced, by Elder Willard L. Jones.
(President of Eastern States Mission.)
I rejoice, my brethren and sisters, in the opportunity afforded me of meeting with the Latter-day Saints in our annual and semi-annual conferences. I recognize in the lives of the Latter-day Saints, who are looked upon as being a peculiar and choice people of the Lord, that there is not the ordinariness that is usually found in professing Christians in the world. I rejoice in knowing that my parents had the courage and fortitude of character to leave the old country and come unto this goodly land as Pioneers, where they could raise their family in the air of freedom and religious liberty. I rejoice in being made partaker of the numerous blessings of the New and Everlasting Covenant, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as partly enumerated by Elder Richards this morning.
I have a firm and abiding testimony in the truth of the message which we bear to the world. My heart is made glad on this occasion by having the opportunity of bearing my humble testimony before my brethren and sisters, that I know God lives, and that Jesus is the Christ. I thank the Lord that this Church was not born out of the division and dissension which has been prevalent in the man-made religions, but that it has been born of God, and is sanctioned by Him.
When I spoke here, six months ago, I referred to the passage of scripture found in the second chapter of I Peter, wherein it says that “Ye are a peculiar people, a chosen generation, and a royal priesthood,” and said that I rejoiced in the truth of that passage of scripture as applying to the Latter-day Saints. When I returned to New York, I found published, in the Christian Statesman, a most scurrilous article with respect to the Latter-day Saints, making ridicule of this statement quoted from the writings of St. Peter, who stood close to the Master in his life’s mission. If the Latter-day Saints are not that peculiar people, where will you find them? Where is that peculiar people, that chosen generation, that royal Priesthood?
It seems hardly necessary for the President of the United States to suggest to Latter-day Saints that this day be devoted to prayers for peace, because it has ever been the burden of our message to the world, a message of harmony, peace and salvation. We teach that brother should cease to contend with brother; and hold out our arms in love to all mankind. Amidst persecution and tribulation, we have asked the people of the world to bow at the shrine of Jesus Christ, who loved the world’s inhabitants with that wondrous magnanimity which impelled Him to give His life that we might live. Nineteen long, war-scarred centuries have passed since the humble shepherds upon the plains of Judea, watching their flocks by night, heard the most glorious of anthems sang by an angelic choir. This was called to my mind listening to the last anthem so beautifully rendered by the Emerson Ward choir. The angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good will toward men and for nineteen centuries Christians have been singing this song. But, when we look over the Christian world, today, we see practically two-thirds of those who are professed followers of Christ, engaging in deadly conflict with each other, in quest of power, authority and dominion. And so it seems a travesty upon Christianity, to profess peace and engage in war. We find some of those people, who pray for peace have, stood in pulpits, in sacerdotal robes, and stated that " ‘Mormonism’ is a menace to this nation and the Christian world, unless we can conquer its adherents by means of legislative enactment, we will feel called upon to unsheath our swords and exterminate them.” Yet they pray for peace! I wonder how long, O Lord, it will be before all of the Christian world will realize that the teachings of the gospel of peace are meant not only to be a beautiful sentiment but also to be put in effect?
We are a peculiar people, differentiated from other religious denominations in the world, and I thank God most sincerely for the difference. God has raised up this people for a most important and glorious work. It is our special duty to carry the message of life and peace to the world. Where there is strife between father and son, we are to manifest the spirit and power of the Priesthood of Elijah, the Prophet, in that “the hearts of the fathers should be turned unto the children, and the hearts of the children unto the fathers.” It is our good pleasure to take the message of divine peace unto those who are not in the enjoyment of that blessing.
There is a power with the Latter-day Saints that the world does not perceive. It is that spirit which Jesus, when among His disciples upon the earth, said was necessary to come. He declared “it is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you.”
I remember that, when I was a child, attending the Primary organization in my home town, the good sisters taught us children the beautiful song:
“I think when I read that sweet story of old.
When Jesus was here among men,
How He called little children, as lambs, to His fold.
I should like to have been with Him then;
I wish that His hand had been placed on my head,
And His arm had been thrown about me,
That I might receive His kind look when He said,
‘Let the little ones come unto Me.’ ”
O how I used to rejoice in the sentiment of that song. But, by long experience in the service of the Lord, and by the whisperings of that still sweet spirit unto my soul, I am not sure that I would have been more happy had I lived in the days of the Savior than I am today. The Savior said that it was expedient He should go away. Wherein lies the expediency? Is there any example that would confirm that statement in the hearts of the children of men? Let us see. St. Peter, who was so closely associated with the Master in his ministry, was so very impetuous in his nature that he even rebuked the Savior, when the Savior showed him that He would die at the hands of wicked men. Peter said “Be it far from Thee, Lord; this shall not be unto Thee," and indicated his determination to defend the Master. The Savior rebuked him, and said: "Get thee behind Me, Satan, for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men.” Peter, boasting of his implicit faith, in his impetuosity would have gone still further, but the Savior warned him. Said he: “Verily I say unto thee, that this night before the cock shall crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice.” When the Savior was taken b(y wicked men and beaten with staves, a scarlet robe put upon Him in mockery of His authority, and a crown of plaited thorns was put upon His head, when he was spat upon, and all manner of indignities heaped upon him, Peter still loving the Savior, followed Him to the inner court where the Jews were heaping these indignities upon Him. As Peter skulked in the shadow of the wall, a little maid pointed her finger, and said: “Here is one that was with Him.” Peter said, “You are mistaken; I knew Him not.” At the third accusation he even cursed and swore, and said he knew not the Master. Then the cock crew, and Peter went out and wept bitterly.
I am not sure that I would have been any stronger than St. Peter in that trying moment, unless there were some power given, such as came upon the great congregation that assembled on the day of Pentecost, when the spirit came like cloven tongues of fire and rested upon the disciples who had gathered together. After Peter had preached that most memorable discourse, proving to the Jews that they had crucified the Lord of glory, they rose with one accord and said, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter, in the authority of his calling, stepped forward and in the dignity of his leadership in the Church, said: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of your sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, for this promise is unto you and your children, and those that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” O, what a glorious promise is given unto us, even though we are far removed in time and distance from this event which happened on that day of Pentecost! Do you .find any other time in the life of St. Peter when he ever denied the Master? Then, was it not expedient for the disciples that He should go away, that the “spirit which the world cannot receive,” might come upon the faithful 'followers of the meek and lowly Nazarene, which would give them sustaining power by which they could face men and devils, and declare that Jesus was the Christ, the Savior of the world? Therefore, I say that we have received an anointing that maketh us that no man need teach us what we should say, for that anointing will inspire us to teach in the same hour what we ought to say. I feel much pity and sorrow for an individual who, in life, has parted company with the influence that is conferred upon men by that Spirit by which we draw nigh unto God and learn of Him and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is the revealing power of God that calmly speaks unto the human heart, and awakens noble sentiments by which man may correct any evil tendencies of his life.
I remember, when I was going to England on a mission, about five years ago, I was very much interested in the sound of the wireless instrument on board the good ship Dominion. It had a peculiar crackling sound; I cannot just describe it. I introduced myself to the operator, and asked him if - he would mind my being in the room while he was receiving a message. He replied, “Not at all, come in my friend.” After he had received a message, he took a chamois skin and wiped off a little dust, showing that he regarded the instrument as very precious. I said, “You seem to pay a great deal of care and attention to this instrument.” . He said, “Indeed, it is absolutely necessary; if a bit of dust or lint should get on this instrument it might be thrown out of tune. Should we strike a reef, we would be unable to send out our message of distress to some ship for help, that might be near, yet out of sight; or we might be upon the water, and not be in a position to receive a message, by reason of being out of atonement with other wireless instruments on the Atlantic.” I went away thinking what a glorious lesson I have learned. There is a wireless instrument within us; a principle by which we receive messages from our heavenly Father for our guidance, for our comfort and safety. I wonder if we keep our wireless instruments clean and polished. And there I made a firm resolve, and repeated it aloud, “I would rather lose my life than have my spiritual wireless become soiled and injured.” I trust that a similar resolve is incorporated in the prayer of all Latter-day Saints, that they may always keep themselves in harmony with that Spirit which leads in the true path, and which says, “This is the way, walk ye in it;” that the wireless instruments of our souls may be kept so clean and pure, and in such perfect attunement with the refined influences of the Spirit of God, that we may be said to be in accord with it, and derive the invaluable and life-giving influences that flow from it for our guidance, our comfort and our everlasting good.
There comes to my mind a passage of scripture, found in the 68th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, and I often turn to this passage and read it to the elders who labor under my direction in the Eastern States, and I think it is a splendid thing for the Priesthood at home also to read it occasionally, because in it there is comforting power that makes you feel that you are among the chosen people of the Lord:
“My servant Orson Hyde was called by his ordinance to proclaim the everlasting Gospel by the Spirit of the living God, from people to people, and from land to land, in the congregations of the wicked, in their synagogues, reasoning with and explaining all scripture unto them. And behold and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who are ordained unto this Priesthood, whose mission is appointed unto them, to go forth; and this it an ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the. Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation: behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants; wherefore be of good cheer, and do not fear, for behold, I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of Me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come. This is the word of the Lord' unto you my servant, Orson Hyde, and also unto My servant Luke Johnson, and unto My servant Lyman Johnson unto My servant William E. McLellan, and unto all the faithful Elders of My Church.”
Then, we have reason to trust the power that God has promised unto us; if we will depend upon Him for the truth, or for the utterance of truth, He will not desert us, but will teach us in the same hour what we shall say. I fear that sometimes we arc following the example of the world, that we are preparing our sermons ahead of time, instead of turning a prayerful heart and mind unto our heavenly Father, asking Him to indite the words that we might utter, that the humble prayer of some individual who may hear might be answered, as though our words were flowing from the lips of the Lord Himself. Is there not a point of differentiation with the world in this?
There comes to my mind a circumstance that happened; within the last six months, in the Eastern States mission, where some of your sons, or husbands, perhaps, may be laboring. The scripture just read says, “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I, the Lord, am with you.” Two humble Elders were traveling in the country during the month of July, and there were people trying to circumvent our influence and the progress of the Church there, saying all manner of evil against us falsely. These two Elders, one night, about ten o’clock, were seeking some kind hearted Christian who would shelter them for the night. There was a lady engaged on the lecture platform, going from city to city, in that section, warning the people against the preaching of the “Mormon” Elders. These two young men from Utah, unwittingly, called at the house where this lady was staying, and asked for entertainment. The man of the house met them, and, turning to those within the house, he said: “Here are two ‘Mormon’ Elders now; speak of the devil and he is close by.” His wife said, “Call them in, I would like to look at a ‘Mormon.’ ” and he called them in. The woman lecturer said to them, “I am out on an errand against you. I am surprised that you should befoul our Christian atmosphere by your presence, and now I wanted to have a look at you.” After she had looked at them for a moment, she went out of the room, suspiciously satisfied. They were then told they could not remain, but were called in only as objects of scorn. One of the Elders said: “My good friend, we are very tired, we have traveled all day without dinner or supper, we feel that we can’t go any further. Do you have any objections to our sleeping in your barn tonight?” He said: “I suppose there is no objection to your going out to sleep in the barn where the cattle are, and I will give you two quilts.” They went out into the barn, into a hay mow, and
spread the quilts. Before retiring to rest, the two Elders lifted up their voices in .song, singing “Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear,” including the second verse: “Why should we mourn, or think our lot is hard? ’Tis not so, all is well,” etc. Then they knelt down and prayed that the blessing of the Lord might be upon the owner of the place, that he might always hold his property in peace for administering unto the wants of God’s servants. When they had finished praying, they heard some one outside the barn: the man and his wife, and the woman who had come to lecture against them, had stolen out to see what manner of mischief the “Mormon” Elders might do, and they heard the sermon of their lives, with the result that the woman who was once so bitterly opposed to us is now investigating the Gospel. I want to tell you that fidelity to truth does not lie within man’s power alone, it is the upholding and sustaining power of God that brings a realization of divine blessings.
Another instance,: There were two Elders laboring in a city in Pennsylvania; the parents of one of them are not members of the Church, he being the only one of the family who has accepted the Gospel. The two faithful young elders were beginning to hold a meeting upon the street, and a sectarian minister, standing off to one side, saw them. He had made his threat that they would hold no meetings on the streets of that city, as long as he breathed the breath of life. One of the elders, a mere boy of 19 or 20, stepped out and commenced preaching, and the minister, who was acting in the double capacity of spiritual adviser and spy, called on a policeman to come and arrest the young man. Responding, the policeman took the young elder by the arm with a vise-like grip. The young man silently prayed, “O God give me courage that I may not cry out for pain.” He was taken off toward the police station. When they had walked through the streets about a block and a half, the young man, in boyish innocence, looked up and said: “I suppose this city is thoroughly Christianized.” The policeman was deeply affected and said: “My young fellow, I am sorry that I have to do this; I am not responsible for this indignity that is brought to you.” “No,” said the young man, “you are not responsible, but that minister who stood on the sidewalk did not tell you to pinch my arm till it is black and blue.” And he added, as it became certain that he was going to jail, “Is there anyone else in there?” "O yes, there are several.” The youthful “Mormon” missionary then said it would be the crowning effort of his mission to have the privilege of preaching the Gospel to spirits in prison. While the policeman was taking this elder to jail, his companion, notwithstanding his being alone, went out and began preaching, and another policeman took him to jail. The two elders were put in a cell together. After they had been there about two hours, during which time a consultation had been held on the outside by the officers, an automobile was brought, and they were taken to the outskirts of the town, where they were told that they must never come back again. The young man said, “My right to liberty is written on the face of the Constitution of the United States, which has always protected the innocent and held evil doers in subjection. I have been sent by the authority of the Lord to deliver His word to the people of this town, and I will suit myself whether I come back again or not.” The elders then turned and walked back to the city. Now there is a glorious prospect in that city of organizing and building up a most splendid branch of the Church.
I tell you, when the powers of darkness come, while our elders are in the line of their duty they stand up as giants in spiritual strength and endurance. I praise the Lord that the third and fourth generations of the pioneers of this people are valiant, and worthy the names which they bear.
May God bless us with His Holy Spirit, that the strengthening and consoling power thereof may be distilled upon our hearts, that we may love each other, that we may extend help and sympathy to those who have made mistakes in life, and helpful forgiveness to all mankind. I praise the Lord that He has planted in our hearts the desire for that peace about which the angelic choir sang. May God bless us with His Holy Spirit always, that we may realize the true position which we hold in the world, and ever, with the strength and fortitude that comes from the power of the Almighty, be willing to proclaim to the world that God really has spoken from the heavens, and that we are truly His ambassadors; which may God grant unto us all, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, “Oh, Light Eternal.”
Benediction was pronounced, by Elder Willard L. Jones.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
In the Tabernacle.
Conference was resumed at 2 p. m.
President Joseph F. Smith called the meeting to order, and stated that, in addition to the overflow meeting in the Assembly Hall this afternoon, an open air meeting will be held in front of the Bureau of Information, to be conducted by Elder Benjamin Goddard.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn:
Ye simple souls who stray
Far from the path of peace,
That lonely, unfrequented way
To life and happiness.
Prayer was offered by Elder Solomon Hale.
The anthem, “Grant us Peace,” was sung by the choir, Mrs. Sarah L. Wood and James Moncar rendering the duet.
In the Tabernacle.
Conference was resumed at 2 p. m.
President Joseph F. Smith called the meeting to order, and stated that, in addition to the overflow meeting in the Assembly Hall this afternoon, an open air meeting will be held in front of the Bureau of Information, to be conducted by Elder Benjamin Goddard.
The Tabernacle choir sang the hymn:
Ye simple souls who stray
Far from the path of peace,
That lonely, unfrequented way
To life and happiness.
Prayer was offered by Elder Solomon Hale.
The anthem, “Grant us Peace,” was sung by the choir, Mrs. Sarah L. Wood and James Moncar rendering the duet.
PREST. FRANCIS M. LYMAN.
Latter-day Saints generally a prayerful people—Constant prayer and thanksgiving due to Him by whom we exist—Seventies should always be engaged in their special calling— Priesthood and people should constantly minister for each other’s welfare — Abundant opportunities for missionary work at home—To please God, compliance with Gospel ordinances essential.
I presume you were all here this morning, and that you realize how good the Lord was to us in inspiring the brethren who spoke to us, and I trust the same good spirit will be with those who speak to the great multitude of people this afternoon in this and the other gatherings on this square. If you will do your best to hear, I will do my best to make you hear.
It seems to me as though the Lord was smiling upon His people, the Latter-day Saints, and upon all people who are in the land of Zion, on this side of the world, where we are fairly favored with peace; yet we want a little more of it, so that we will have peace altogether.
On this special day of prayer, it is not very trying on the Latter-day Saints to be asked to appear before the Lord in prayer, because we are a prayerful people. All Latter-day Saints pray. They pray in the morning, they pray in the evening; they pray secretly and they pray in their families. We pray in our meetings of worship in opening and in closing the services; and on special occasions, such as today, we pray for special blessings, to be in harmony with the people of our nation, and also in harmony with the direction and counsel of our file leaders. But, we pray always for peace, and for every other blessing that we require. When I listened to the brethren this morning preaching upon prayer, and to the prayer by President Penrose, I was reminded of a few words of the Savior that He delivered to the Nephites, after His resurrection, when He came to visit that people in the western part of the world. I want to read to you just a few words from Him in regard to the subject of prayer, in third Nephi, the 18th chapter, commencing at the fourteenth verse. After he had thoroughly taught His disciples and the multitude in regard to the sacrament he said:
“Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye are led away captive by him.
“And as I have prayed among you, even so shall ye pray in my church, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you.
“And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto his disciples, he turned again unto the multitude and said unto them,
“Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you; that he may sift you as wheat;
“Therefore ye must' always pray unto the Father in my name;
“And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.
“Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.”
These are doctrines that are entertained by the Latter-day Saints. We are trained therein, and as I say, all Latter-day Saints who are in proper state, as all should be, remember the Lord every morning and every evening, and secretly. Jesus not only set the example of prayer with the multitude and in the congregations of the people, but He prayed secretly, He retired from His brethren, from the people in Jerusalem, and also on this continent He retired from His disciples, leaving them to pray with the multitude, and more than once did He retire and present Himself before the Lord, rejoicing exceedingly in the faith and splendid labor performed by His disciples. He was not content that the disciples should be found attending to this important duty, but it was required of the multitude, and it is required of this multitude today. If I were to express my opinion, which I feel disposed to do, I would claim that there is not another congregation in the world today of ten thousand people so generally devoted to family worship, and appearing before the Lord, as this body of men and women, Latter-day Saints, and some of our neighbors who are with us here today. In this great congregation there are many who are not Latter- day Saints, and who have learned the fact that prayer is the rule of our lives; it is required of us, and we observe that requirement fairly well. When the President this morning suggested that he was fearful that we are a little careless, I could quite agree with him that that may be the case, but with all that, and with all our weaknesses, I believe that there is not another people in the world that so uniformly and generally bow the knee before the Lord in family prayer, and that appear before the Lord in. secret prayer on all occasions. The Lord requires that we shall pray always, and that we should watch always, that we should always be on the watch and always ready to pray.
I suggest to this great body of people, if they have not heard it many times before, I want to suggest it today, that when we meet together in this great Tabernacle, or in any other gathering place of the Latter-day Saints, and our brethren of the Priesthood are required to minister to us, it is the duty of every Latter-day Saint, in his heart and in her heart, to ask the Lord to bless His' servant who is speaking to us. That is a prayer that should be offered by this great body, of people, by every individual soul ; it should be the training of our lives. I believe that President Wilson will not find a people in the United States that will give greater care, thought and faith to his proclamation than have the Latter- day Saints on this occasion; and wc will be prepared to pray whenever he wants us to pray, if he will only keep peace in the country so that we don’t have to engage in fighting. Prayer is very much better than warfare. I wanted to say that much in regard to the subject of prayer. If Latter-day Saints have a necessity for reformation upon that subject, we should address ourselves to entering into the spirit of prayer, and maintain and enjoy it constantly. We should remember the Lord always, and especially in the season thereof. All Latter-day Saints, thoroughly trained, understand that the season of prayer in the home is in the morning and in the evening, and that secretly we should remember the Lord on all occasions, and our hearts should go out to Him. I do not know that I ever felt more distinctly than I did this morning, when the President spoke upon that subject, the fact of the importance of the Lord to us, for in Him we live and without Him we die. In Him we move, and without Him we will never move. In Him we have our being, without Him we would not be; we would not have been, nor yet would we be in the future. Whatever we have and enjoy comes from the Lord; we ought to recognize that fact, and I presume no people in the world do so as thoroughly as do the Latter-day Saints.
My mind has been occupied just lately upon the subject of our ministry, my brethren and sisters, and I want to say a few words in regard to that subject. I see to the right here the Presidents of Seventies. I find that in the Church there are very many thousands of seventies; they have become very abundant and they are being multiplied. Discovering that the nations in trouble and in war has made it necessary for us to call many of -our elders home, and release those whose, missions were completed, and give those who were just starting out new fields in other nations, I would ask that the brethren who have the direction of their labors, of their ordinations and training and so forth, should give careful attention to the body of seventies in this Church. We are preaching the Gospel as best we can in the world with the elders, quite generally, when in preference to the elders, and the Lesser Priesthood and high priests, the seventies should be found in the field, every seventy. When I was called and ordained a seventy, I was instructed that I had become a minute man. I have been a minute man for over fifty years, ready and willing at any moment. I believe that I have never hesitated when I was wanted in the field, for I have been a seventy from that time, and expect to be as long as I keep the faith. We need the seventies, Bishops and presidents, the general presidency, the presiding presidency of the seventies, and presidency of quorums of seventies, we want the seventies; we need them in our business of preaching the Gospel. I hold that no man should be ordained a seventy unless he is prepared to work, that is work in the ministry abroad. It isn’t necessary that men should be ordained seventies to work at home, for the elders have ample authority to work at home. In the home mission fields, so far as that is concerned, the seventies are perfectly competent, but they are expected to labor in the foreign ministry, as those upon whom the Twelve depend, and call upon, in preference to all others. I want to interpret that scripture for the benefit of the seventies in this Church. Bishops and presidents of stakes, and all who are entrusted with recommending elders for the field, should regard it as their duty to recommend the seventies in preference to any other elders in the Church, for foreign ministry. Every seventy should be in condition to go, that is be ready to go; and his condition should be such that he is able to go. If he is not able to go into the field, he may take a place with the elders and high priests, and he can labor at home, because there is ministry needed at home that will, perhaps, never be quite fully and completely occupied. The field is not filled here, no more than we can fill it abroad. There is work enough in Zion, among the Latter-day Saints, to occupy the labors of the ten thousand or more seventies that are now at home. The elders and high priests can take care of that labor, as well as to go abroad when necessary. But, we advise that our brethren of the seventies, who have had experience and training, and possibly have been in the missionary field at least once, and also had training and experience at home, that they be put into the field. We want at least one of them by the side of every two elders or inexperienced men; we would rather have more. We would like them to have the opportunity, and it should be the pride of every seventy in this Church to fulfill one mission, and after he has fulfilled that one mission he should be willing to fill another mission to preach the Gospel. These are opportunities that are very precious to the elders in Israel. The Priesthood is given to them and to us to magnify. When the presiding brethren in the Church, in the stakes and quorums, and in every department are called upon, and are set apart and instructed, it is because they are needed, and should be employed. We are willing, the Twelve are willing, to put our hands upon those brethren and bless them and send them forth, if you will send them to us. We don’t think it necessary to multiply seventies simply to fill up quorums of seventies and keep them here at home, not at all. We want them prepared and ready to preach the Gospel. We want that to be the pride of their lives, to work while they are in the prime of life, and can stand the hardships that attend upon missionary service; and those who are unable to go abroad and do that, can take place with the high priests, and work in the home ministry, there is plenty of labor here.
I want to draw your attention also, my brethren of the Priesthood, that it is not alone the foreign ministry, it is not alone the utilizing of the labors of the seventies, nor yet of the high priests and elders abroad, but the great and most important work of all is to engage the efforts and labors of the Priesthood at home. Every man who bears the Priesthood is a minister, a teacher and preacher, and should teach and preach and magnify his priesthood and calling, which is pleasing unto the Lord. Every member of the Church, not only those who bear the Priesthood but all others, should be suitably considered, suitably labored with, young men and young women, and older ones also, properly trained, instructed and brought into the service of the Lord until they become nearly faultless as mortal men and women can be, working diligently and faithfully every day, accomplishing some good ministerial work. Our sisters have missionary fields at home to fill as well as some that go abroad, but generally their fields of labor are domestic; they belong at home, but there is a ministry for them also, an opportunity for them to teach the truth. They can advocate it, and they can live it and fulfill the purposes of the Lord at home. Cottage meetings and other gatherings should be arranged, so that those who become careless, or that are situated so that it is difficult for them to overcome their conditions, either from physical weakness or otherwise, may be found and known, that the Bishop of the ward can vouch to his stake presidency that every man, woman and child in his ward is being suitably considered and cared for, spiritually fed and instructed. That should be done, and there are plenty of the lesser and higher priesthood that haven’t anything of a ministry on their hands to prevent them performing this labor. Thus all the Latter-day Saints may be inspired, and prompted, and reminded of their duties, and stirred up to become alive, like live coals; and become prayerful, and partake of the sacrament whenever they can do so. Latter-day Saints can’t be quite perfect without partaking of the sacrament; neither can they become perfect without attending to their prayers on suitable occasions, and in due season. Then there is the services that fathers owe to their children, husbands to wives, parents to children, wives to husbands; those services and helps that strengthen each other’s faith can be performed in the homes, even if they can’t reach the houses of worship. But it is pleasing to the Lord that we should gather together on the Sabbath day in the houses of worship, all members of the Church. That is what we should do. There is inspiration in a congregation, in a multitude of people listening to the word and will of the Lord. The Lord is willing to inspire His servants in their own families and homes, men who are so strong in the faith that they can attend to all requirements that are necessary in their families, to bless their children, administer to the sick and impart other blessings. They are authorized to do such service, they belong to every household and family in the Church, and those who live for those blessings are entitled to receive them. I wanted to say that much.
I am delighted with the opportunity to speak to such an enormous congregation as we have here today, the brethren representing all the stakes and many of the missions in the United States. I would be de^ lighted if we could have the presidents of other missions with us on such occasions. If they only could reach us as handily as those in the United States it is probable they would be here, to meet with us. Those who can meet with the Twelve twice a year and we look them over, and inquire after them, and after their conditions, and concerning their fields of labor and the missionaries entrusted to them; and require of them that they shall look carefully to the conditions of the young men that we send to them, that they shall be trained, that they should watch and pray always. We discover that it is very fitting that presidents of missions should watch and pray always, that they should watch the interests entrusted to them; that presidents of stakes should be watchful, and bishops of wards, and presidents of high priests quorums, and of seventies quorums, and elders quorums, and the bishops at the head of the lesser priesthood, that all these men should be wideawake, and know the individuals that they have to deal with.
The brethren of the Twelve are not a very large body, and the First Council of Seventies added to us makes just a few brethren to look over the missionary work of this Church, the ministry of the Church at home and abroad. You will find, I say, and these presidents of stakes, I think, can bear witness, that we look them over, we inquire after them, and after high councils, and after the bishops and counselors, and prominent men in the quorums, so far as we have opportunity to find them, we look them over, inquire after them, and know their status. It is the duty of the brethren in the stakes and wards, and in the quorums, to know the nature of their assistants in the priesthood, and when they bring them into positions of responsibility, give them employment, much or little, whatever they do, they should know what their conditions are, and if they are fully worthy and qualified for the responsibility that is given them. Especially when we recommend brethren to go into the world, to go abroad into the nations of the earth, they should be prayerful, faithful and humble, they should be altogether worthy, moral, upright and true; this is very necessary.
I suppose while men are in the flesh they are liable to get into some trouble, some difficulties. We are sometimes high strung, and sin with our lips and tongues; we talk hastily and say things inconsiderately. We ought to have ourselves in good training so that whatever we do is well and properly done. All men who are Latter-day Saints, who have repented, and been baptized for the remission of their sins, and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands, every such man is inspired by the Lord with the understanding that it is quite possible for him to do what is right. And there isn’t any excuse for men to do wrong, no justification; we can’t plead any excuse. I care not what my neighbor does, what my brother does and others do, and how much they may be wrong, I have no excuse or justification for doing wrong, for the law is we should do good for evil. That is the standard of Latter-day Saints, that we do good for evil, that we pray for our enemies if we have any, and pray for our friends, and bless them, and appreciate them because we have none to spare, we need them all, and are grateful for them. We want the arrangement of stakes, and wards, and quorums and associations such that these organizations will accomplish the purposes for which they were designed, for the salvation of the people, for their own salvation, and to labor for the salvation of others. That is the ministry that belongs to the Latter-day Saints, and we are laboring in our ministry at home.
I want to say for brethren and sisters who can’t go abroad, whatever their conditions and reasons are that they can’t go into ministry abroad, that their missions and ministry at home is just as acceptable, just as profitable and pleasing in the sight of God as a missionary service abroad, just exactly. I have had a little experience abroad as well as at home, and I have learned the lesson that it is just as important and valuable for a man to labor at home as it is abroad, and it is just as easy: and the Spirit of the Lord is as generous to come to the aid of an elder at home as it would if he were in a mission field abroad. To cure conditions suggested by the President here, I think it was this morning, the brethren should be taken hold of and employed when they return from their missions. Every man who performs a mission and does it in the proper spirit, and is gone two or three years, when he comes home he should have good training, and have stamina enough in him to attend to his duties and to furnish employment for himself, and find something that needs to be done. In the mission field, they find something to do, they are not followed by the president, they arc there at liberty among the people in the world, and they find people to labor with, they find something to say and something to do, and they have that kind of field and ministry right here at home in every stake, in every ward, in every quorum, in every family. The Lord has generously bestowed His divine authority upon man, so that every' man in the Church, almost, bears the priesthood, and the Lord serves notice on you, my brethren, from the high priest to the deacon, that there is a ministry for you to perform. You should engage yourself therein, just as the patriarchs, presidents of stakes, bishops of wards, and the Twelve, the Presidency . of the Church, they are never at a loss to find something to do. The only question is whether they can find time to do what is required of them and do all things that are expected of them. There is a ministry and mission for the Latter-day Saints everywhere. I have thought that if the world should cast us out, and we would have to stay at home, suppose we could only have peace in Zion, that is on our own continent, why there is opportunity here for all Latter-day Saints to labor. If there should be war in our nation, or anything occur that we would not be permitted to mingle among the people in different parts of this continent, North and South America, and we were confined to our own population of the few states that we are interested in here, there is need for ministry here. There are people who haven’t received the truth, haven’t listened, they have not opened their hearts to receive the message that has been sent to them by the Lord, the message of the restoration of the Gospel and the doctrines of the Gospel, the principle of faith, without which no man can please God.
Men who denounce faith in God can’t please Him at all, because they don’t believe there is a God. We must believe there is a God, and have faith in Him, and in His power, and in the doctrine of repentance. Without repentance it is not possible for men to please God, and without baptism we can’t please God; without receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands it is not possible for us to please the Lord; that is to please Him entirely. The Lord is pleased with every good thing that we do, and that any of His children do, righteous, proper things. Good things that are done are pleasing in the sight of the Lord so far as they go, the truth told and righteousness accomplished; but to fulfill the purposes of the Lord, and please and satisfy Him, and for our salvation, compliance with the ordinances of the Gospel is important and necessary, indispensable. I want to testify to you, as your brother, that without these doctrines men cannot be saved, and it takes all of them, it isn’t enough for a man to be perfect in any one form. That is good as far as it goes, but he must be good in all points; he must be faithful and true in all things; he must be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, and our Father in heaven is just perfect enough to do just exactly what is right. He does just exactly what is right with us. Jesus did the same, Fie walked in the footsteps of Flis Father, and we are expected, when Fie sets the example for us as He says Fie did, for He invites us; we should follow in His footsteps, and do as He has done to earn the same right to be heirs of God and joint heirs with Flim in all that the Father possesses, that is the promise that is given to us. Those promises, and the Spirit of the Lord that accompanies His service, establishes these strong men in the faith. You take these men, sixty-six men that stand at the head as presidents of stakes, and twice as many counselors and, then take these seven hundred and thirty-five bishops, and twice as many counselors with them, they constitute a strong body of men, and they are laboring diligently as they are directed, and they listen, they take counsel, and they commune with the Lord, and they are substantial and solid in their calling. They know the doctrines and principles of the Gospel, and they are serving God and keeping Flis commandments. They are shepherds of the flocks, and saviors among the people, and they are performing works such as I have suggested should be performed, and all Latter-day Saints are thoroughly trained and taken care of, none overlooked. I want to draw your attention to the fact that it is the sick that need the physicians, but often it is the well that receive the chief attention from the physicians. That is the trouble, because those that are well we find easily, they are right in our way all the time, but those that are sick need to be hunted up by the physicians, and receive treatment at their hands.
May God bless us with peace on earth and good will among men, that the prayers offered this day throughout our nation may have the weight that is necessary, and influence the great Christian nations who now have their swords drawn against each other, trying to destroy each other’s lives by the tens of thousands, that they may be brought to think, and cease their war and bloodshed. What a shame and humiliation it is; you and I might just as well turn in and fight each other; there is no sense nor reason to it. If a nation gets to balking, there ought to be influence and power enough in other nations of the earth to box their ears, make them sit down and behave themselves. That’s the way the brethren do with me. I tell you they keep me pretty straight, I have got to walk just as straight as can be. I hold that every nation in this world should be held in such control that they would have to behave themselves. The majority should rule, and rule for the right. When the Lord has His way I tell you that peace will reign on earth, and there will be good will among men.
God bless all Israel, and God bless our friends that need the blessings and favor and help of the Lord to settle their difficulties, that peace may come presently, and that it will not be necessary to destroy the lives of so many precious and valuable men, leaving two or three or four other Christians broken hearted for every man that dies in the war,
May the Lord come to their rescue. I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Horace S. Ensign sang a baritone solo, entitled, “Let us Have Peace.”
Latter-day Saints generally a prayerful people—Constant prayer and thanksgiving due to Him by whom we exist—Seventies should always be engaged in their special calling— Priesthood and people should constantly minister for each other’s welfare — Abundant opportunities for missionary work at home—To please God, compliance with Gospel ordinances essential.
I presume you were all here this morning, and that you realize how good the Lord was to us in inspiring the brethren who spoke to us, and I trust the same good spirit will be with those who speak to the great multitude of people this afternoon in this and the other gatherings on this square. If you will do your best to hear, I will do my best to make you hear.
It seems to me as though the Lord was smiling upon His people, the Latter-day Saints, and upon all people who are in the land of Zion, on this side of the world, where we are fairly favored with peace; yet we want a little more of it, so that we will have peace altogether.
On this special day of prayer, it is not very trying on the Latter-day Saints to be asked to appear before the Lord in prayer, because we are a prayerful people. All Latter-day Saints pray. They pray in the morning, they pray in the evening; they pray secretly and they pray in their families. We pray in our meetings of worship in opening and in closing the services; and on special occasions, such as today, we pray for special blessings, to be in harmony with the people of our nation, and also in harmony with the direction and counsel of our file leaders. But, we pray always for peace, and for every other blessing that we require. When I listened to the brethren this morning preaching upon prayer, and to the prayer by President Penrose, I was reminded of a few words of the Savior that He delivered to the Nephites, after His resurrection, when He came to visit that people in the western part of the world. I want to read to you just a few words from Him in regard to the subject of prayer, in third Nephi, the 18th chapter, commencing at the fourteenth verse. After he had thoroughly taught His disciples and the multitude in regard to the sacrament he said:
“Therefore blessed are ye if ye shall keep my commandments, which the Father hath commanded me that I should give unto you.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye are led away captive by him.
“And as I have prayed among you, even so shall ye pray in my church, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you.
“And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words unto his disciples, he turned again unto the multitude and said unto them,
“Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you; that he may sift you as wheat;
“Therefore ye must' always pray unto the Father in my name;
“And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.
“Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed.”
These are doctrines that are entertained by the Latter-day Saints. We are trained therein, and as I say, all Latter-day Saints who are in proper state, as all should be, remember the Lord every morning and every evening, and secretly. Jesus not only set the example of prayer with the multitude and in the congregations of the people, but He prayed secretly, He retired from His brethren, from the people in Jerusalem, and also on this continent He retired from His disciples, leaving them to pray with the multitude, and more than once did He retire and present Himself before the Lord, rejoicing exceedingly in the faith and splendid labor performed by His disciples. He was not content that the disciples should be found attending to this important duty, but it was required of the multitude, and it is required of this multitude today. If I were to express my opinion, which I feel disposed to do, I would claim that there is not another congregation in the world today of ten thousand people so generally devoted to family worship, and appearing before the Lord, as this body of men and women, Latter-day Saints, and some of our neighbors who are with us here today. In this great congregation there are many who are not Latter- day Saints, and who have learned the fact that prayer is the rule of our lives; it is required of us, and we observe that requirement fairly well. When the President this morning suggested that he was fearful that we are a little careless, I could quite agree with him that that may be the case, but with all that, and with all our weaknesses, I believe that there is not another people in the world that so uniformly and generally bow the knee before the Lord in family prayer, and that appear before the Lord in. secret prayer on all occasions. The Lord requires that we shall pray always, and that we should watch always, that we should always be on the watch and always ready to pray.
I suggest to this great body of people, if they have not heard it many times before, I want to suggest it today, that when we meet together in this great Tabernacle, or in any other gathering place of the Latter-day Saints, and our brethren of the Priesthood are required to minister to us, it is the duty of every Latter-day Saint, in his heart and in her heart, to ask the Lord to bless His' servant who is speaking to us. That is a prayer that should be offered by this great body, of people, by every individual soul ; it should be the training of our lives. I believe that President Wilson will not find a people in the United States that will give greater care, thought and faith to his proclamation than have the Latter- day Saints on this occasion; and wc will be prepared to pray whenever he wants us to pray, if he will only keep peace in the country so that we don’t have to engage in fighting. Prayer is very much better than warfare. I wanted to say that much in regard to the subject of prayer. If Latter-day Saints have a necessity for reformation upon that subject, we should address ourselves to entering into the spirit of prayer, and maintain and enjoy it constantly. We should remember the Lord always, and especially in the season thereof. All Latter-day Saints, thoroughly trained, understand that the season of prayer in the home is in the morning and in the evening, and that secretly we should remember the Lord on all occasions, and our hearts should go out to Him. I do not know that I ever felt more distinctly than I did this morning, when the President spoke upon that subject, the fact of the importance of the Lord to us, for in Him we live and without Him we die. In Him we move, and without Him we will never move. In Him we have our being, without Him we would not be; we would not have been, nor yet would we be in the future. Whatever we have and enjoy comes from the Lord; we ought to recognize that fact, and I presume no people in the world do so as thoroughly as do the Latter-day Saints.
My mind has been occupied just lately upon the subject of our ministry, my brethren and sisters, and I want to say a few words in regard to that subject. I see to the right here the Presidents of Seventies. I find that in the Church there are very many thousands of seventies; they have become very abundant and they are being multiplied. Discovering that the nations in trouble and in war has made it necessary for us to call many of -our elders home, and release those whose, missions were completed, and give those who were just starting out new fields in other nations, I would ask that the brethren who have the direction of their labors, of their ordinations and training and so forth, should give careful attention to the body of seventies in this Church. We are preaching the Gospel as best we can in the world with the elders, quite generally, when in preference to the elders, and the Lesser Priesthood and high priests, the seventies should be found in the field, every seventy. When I was called and ordained a seventy, I was instructed that I had become a minute man. I have been a minute man for over fifty years, ready and willing at any moment. I believe that I have never hesitated when I was wanted in the field, for I have been a seventy from that time, and expect to be as long as I keep the faith. We need the seventies, Bishops and presidents, the general presidency, the presiding presidency of the seventies, and presidency of quorums of seventies, we want the seventies; we need them in our business of preaching the Gospel. I hold that no man should be ordained a seventy unless he is prepared to work, that is work in the ministry abroad. It isn’t necessary that men should be ordained seventies to work at home, for the elders have ample authority to work at home. In the home mission fields, so far as that is concerned, the seventies are perfectly competent, but they are expected to labor in the foreign ministry, as those upon whom the Twelve depend, and call upon, in preference to all others. I want to interpret that scripture for the benefit of the seventies in this Church. Bishops and presidents of stakes, and all who are entrusted with recommending elders for the field, should regard it as their duty to recommend the seventies in preference to any other elders in the Church, for foreign ministry. Every seventy should be in condition to go, that is be ready to go; and his condition should be such that he is able to go. If he is not able to go into the field, he may take a place with the elders and high priests, and he can labor at home, because there is ministry needed at home that will, perhaps, never be quite fully and completely occupied. The field is not filled here, no more than we can fill it abroad. There is work enough in Zion, among the Latter-day Saints, to occupy the labors of the ten thousand or more seventies that are now at home. The elders and high priests can take care of that labor, as well as to go abroad when necessary. But, we advise that our brethren of the seventies, who have had experience and training, and possibly have been in the missionary field at least once, and also had training and experience at home, that they be put into the field. We want at least one of them by the side of every two elders or inexperienced men; we would rather have more. We would like them to have the opportunity, and it should be the pride of every seventy in this Church to fulfill one mission, and after he has fulfilled that one mission he should be willing to fill another mission to preach the Gospel. These are opportunities that are very precious to the elders in Israel. The Priesthood is given to them and to us to magnify. When the presiding brethren in the Church, in the stakes and quorums, and in every department are called upon, and are set apart and instructed, it is because they are needed, and should be employed. We are willing, the Twelve are willing, to put our hands upon those brethren and bless them and send them forth, if you will send them to us. We don’t think it necessary to multiply seventies simply to fill up quorums of seventies and keep them here at home, not at all. We want them prepared and ready to preach the Gospel. We want that to be the pride of their lives, to work while they are in the prime of life, and can stand the hardships that attend upon missionary service; and those who are unable to go abroad and do that, can take place with the high priests, and work in the home ministry, there is plenty of labor here.
I want to draw your attention also, my brethren of the Priesthood, that it is not alone the foreign ministry, it is not alone the utilizing of the labors of the seventies, nor yet of the high priests and elders abroad, but the great and most important work of all is to engage the efforts and labors of the Priesthood at home. Every man who bears the Priesthood is a minister, a teacher and preacher, and should teach and preach and magnify his priesthood and calling, which is pleasing unto the Lord. Every member of the Church, not only those who bear the Priesthood but all others, should be suitably considered, suitably labored with, young men and young women, and older ones also, properly trained, instructed and brought into the service of the Lord until they become nearly faultless as mortal men and women can be, working diligently and faithfully every day, accomplishing some good ministerial work. Our sisters have missionary fields at home to fill as well as some that go abroad, but generally their fields of labor are domestic; they belong at home, but there is a ministry for them also, an opportunity for them to teach the truth. They can advocate it, and they can live it and fulfill the purposes of the Lord at home. Cottage meetings and other gatherings should be arranged, so that those who become careless, or that are situated so that it is difficult for them to overcome their conditions, either from physical weakness or otherwise, may be found and known, that the Bishop of the ward can vouch to his stake presidency that every man, woman and child in his ward is being suitably considered and cared for, spiritually fed and instructed. That should be done, and there are plenty of the lesser and higher priesthood that haven’t anything of a ministry on their hands to prevent them performing this labor. Thus all the Latter-day Saints may be inspired, and prompted, and reminded of their duties, and stirred up to become alive, like live coals; and become prayerful, and partake of the sacrament whenever they can do so. Latter-day Saints can’t be quite perfect without partaking of the sacrament; neither can they become perfect without attending to their prayers on suitable occasions, and in due season. Then there is the services that fathers owe to their children, husbands to wives, parents to children, wives to husbands; those services and helps that strengthen each other’s faith can be performed in the homes, even if they can’t reach the houses of worship. But it is pleasing to the Lord that we should gather together on the Sabbath day in the houses of worship, all members of the Church. That is what we should do. There is inspiration in a congregation, in a multitude of people listening to the word and will of the Lord. The Lord is willing to inspire His servants in their own families and homes, men who are so strong in the faith that they can attend to all requirements that are necessary in their families, to bless their children, administer to the sick and impart other blessings. They are authorized to do such service, they belong to every household and family in the Church, and those who live for those blessings are entitled to receive them. I wanted to say that much.
I am delighted with the opportunity to speak to such an enormous congregation as we have here today, the brethren representing all the stakes and many of the missions in the United States. I would be de^ lighted if we could have the presidents of other missions with us on such occasions. If they only could reach us as handily as those in the United States it is probable they would be here, to meet with us. Those who can meet with the Twelve twice a year and we look them over, and inquire after them, and after their conditions, and concerning their fields of labor and the missionaries entrusted to them; and require of them that they shall look carefully to the conditions of the young men that we send to them, that they shall be trained, that they should watch and pray always. We discover that it is very fitting that presidents of missions should watch and pray always, that they should watch the interests entrusted to them; that presidents of stakes should be watchful, and bishops of wards, and presidents of high priests quorums, and of seventies quorums, and elders quorums, and the bishops at the head of the lesser priesthood, that all these men should be wideawake, and know the individuals that they have to deal with.
The brethren of the Twelve are not a very large body, and the First Council of Seventies added to us makes just a few brethren to look over the missionary work of this Church, the ministry of the Church at home and abroad. You will find, I say, and these presidents of stakes, I think, can bear witness, that we look them over, we inquire after them, and after high councils, and after the bishops and counselors, and prominent men in the quorums, so far as we have opportunity to find them, we look them over, inquire after them, and know their status. It is the duty of the brethren in the stakes and wards, and in the quorums, to know the nature of their assistants in the priesthood, and when they bring them into positions of responsibility, give them employment, much or little, whatever they do, they should know what their conditions are, and if they are fully worthy and qualified for the responsibility that is given them. Especially when we recommend brethren to go into the world, to go abroad into the nations of the earth, they should be prayerful, faithful and humble, they should be altogether worthy, moral, upright and true; this is very necessary.
I suppose while men are in the flesh they are liable to get into some trouble, some difficulties. We are sometimes high strung, and sin with our lips and tongues; we talk hastily and say things inconsiderately. We ought to have ourselves in good training so that whatever we do is well and properly done. All men who are Latter-day Saints, who have repented, and been baptized for the remission of their sins, and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands, every such man is inspired by the Lord with the understanding that it is quite possible for him to do what is right. And there isn’t any excuse for men to do wrong, no justification; we can’t plead any excuse. I care not what my neighbor does, what my brother does and others do, and how much they may be wrong, I have no excuse or justification for doing wrong, for the law is we should do good for evil. That is the standard of Latter-day Saints, that we do good for evil, that we pray for our enemies if we have any, and pray for our friends, and bless them, and appreciate them because we have none to spare, we need them all, and are grateful for them. We want the arrangement of stakes, and wards, and quorums and associations such that these organizations will accomplish the purposes for which they were designed, for the salvation of the people, for their own salvation, and to labor for the salvation of others. That is the ministry that belongs to the Latter-day Saints, and we are laboring in our ministry at home.
I want to say for brethren and sisters who can’t go abroad, whatever their conditions and reasons are that they can’t go into ministry abroad, that their missions and ministry at home is just as acceptable, just as profitable and pleasing in the sight of God as a missionary service abroad, just exactly. I have had a little experience abroad as well as at home, and I have learned the lesson that it is just as important and valuable for a man to labor at home as it is abroad, and it is just as easy: and the Spirit of the Lord is as generous to come to the aid of an elder at home as it would if he were in a mission field abroad. To cure conditions suggested by the President here, I think it was this morning, the brethren should be taken hold of and employed when they return from their missions. Every man who performs a mission and does it in the proper spirit, and is gone two or three years, when he comes home he should have good training, and have stamina enough in him to attend to his duties and to furnish employment for himself, and find something that needs to be done. In the mission field, they find something to do, they are not followed by the president, they arc there at liberty among the people in the world, and they find people to labor with, they find something to say and something to do, and they have that kind of field and ministry right here at home in every stake, in every ward, in every quorum, in every family. The Lord has generously bestowed His divine authority upon man, so that every' man in the Church, almost, bears the priesthood, and the Lord serves notice on you, my brethren, from the high priest to the deacon, that there is a ministry for you to perform. You should engage yourself therein, just as the patriarchs, presidents of stakes, bishops of wards, and the Twelve, the Presidency . of the Church, they are never at a loss to find something to do. The only question is whether they can find time to do what is required of them and do all things that are expected of them. There is a ministry and mission for the Latter-day Saints everywhere. I have thought that if the world should cast us out, and we would have to stay at home, suppose we could only have peace in Zion, that is on our own continent, why there is opportunity here for all Latter-day Saints to labor. If there should be war in our nation, or anything occur that we would not be permitted to mingle among the people in different parts of this continent, North and South America, and we were confined to our own population of the few states that we are interested in here, there is need for ministry here. There are people who haven’t received the truth, haven’t listened, they have not opened their hearts to receive the message that has been sent to them by the Lord, the message of the restoration of the Gospel and the doctrines of the Gospel, the principle of faith, without which no man can please God.
Men who denounce faith in God can’t please Him at all, because they don’t believe there is a God. We must believe there is a God, and have faith in Him, and in His power, and in the doctrine of repentance. Without repentance it is not possible for men to please God, and without baptism we can’t please God; without receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands it is not possible for us to please the Lord; that is to please Him entirely. The Lord is pleased with every good thing that we do, and that any of His children do, righteous, proper things. Good things that are done are pleasing in the sight of the Lord so far as they go, the truth told and righteousness accomplished; but to fulfill the purposes of the Lord, and please and satisfy Him, and for our salvation, compliance with the ordinances of the Gospel is important and necessary, indispensable. I want to testify to you, as your brother, that without these doctrines men cannot be saved, and it takes all of them, it isn’t enough for a man to be perfect in any one form. That is good as far as it goes, but he must be good in all points; he must be faithful and true in all things; he must be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, and our Father in heaven is just perfect enough to do just exactly what is right. He does just exactly what is right with us. Jesus did the same, Fie walked in the footsteps of Flis Father, and we are expected, when Fie sets the example for us as He says Fie did, for He invites us; we should follow in His footsteps, and do as He has done to earn the same right to be heirs of God and joint heirs with Flim in all that the Father possesses, that is the promise that is given to us. Those promises, and the Spirit of the Lord that accompanies His service, establishes these strong men in the faith. You take these men, sixty-six men that stand at the head as presidents of stakes, and twice as many counselors and, then take these seven hundred and thirty-five bishops, and twice as many counselors with them, they constitute a strong body of men, and they are laboring diligently as they are directed, and they listen, they take counsel, and they commune with the Lord, and they are substantial and solid in their calling. They know the doctrines and principles of the Gospel, and they are serving God and keeping Flis commandments. They are shepherds of the flocks, and saviors among the people, and they are performing works such as I have suggested should be performed, and all Latter-day Saints are thoroughly trained and taken care of, none overlooked. I want to draw your attention to the fact that it is the sick that need the physicians, but often it is the well that receive the chief attention from the physicians. That is the trouble, because those that are well we find easily, they are right in our way all the time, but those that are sick need to be hunted up by the physicians, and receive treatment at their hands.
May God bless us with peace on earth and good will among men, that the prayers offered this day throughout our nation may have the weight that is necessary, and influence the great Christian nations who now have their swords drawn against each other, trying to destroy each other’s lives by the tens of thousands, that they may be brought to think, and cease their war and bloodshed. What a shame and humiliation it is; you and I might just as well turn in and fight each other; there is no sense nor reason to it. If a nation gets to balking, there ought to be influence and power enough in other nations of the earth to box their ears, make them sit down and behave themselves. That’s the way the brethren do with me. I tell you they keep me pretty straight, I have got to walk just as straight as can be. I hold that every nation in this world should be held in such control that they would have to behave themselves. The majority should rule, and rule for the right. When the Lord has His way I tell you that peace will reign on earth, and there will be good will among men.
God bless all Israel, and God bless our friends that need the blessings and favor and help of the Lord to settle their difficulties, that peace may come presently, and that it will not be necessary to destroy the lives of so many precious and valuable men, leaving two or three or four other Christians broken hearted for every man that dies in the war,
May the Lord come to their rescue. I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder Horace S. Ensign sang a baritone solo, entitled, “Let us Have Peace.”
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE.
Faithful veterans of the Church—The work before them in the spirit world—Great hosts of the departed who did not learn of the Gospel while in the flesh—Reality of both spirit and element or matter—Eternity of all elements—Universal resurrection—Eternal reunion of body and spirit—The destiny of mankind—What the second death is— Fate of the sons of perdition— Agency of man the gift of God— Judgment predicated on freedom of choice and action—The social work of redemption—How to gain celestial glory.
I have taken great pleasure today not only in listening to the remarks that have been made by our brethren who have addressed us but in looking upon this great congregation. I don’t believe that such an assembly can be duplicated or has been duplicated anywhere throughout the land. One thing I am sure of, and that is that there cannot be found anywhere within the confines of the United States an assembly of people so united in mind and spirit, so devotional as this congregation now assembled from various parts of the land of Zion.
It is a joy to my soul to look upon this assembly, to be in the society of men and women of the character of those who have gathered here, to look upon such a number of the veterans of the Church, veterans in the great latter-day work which the Lord has begun on the face of the earth, men of faith, men of honesty, men of honorable character and mind; men of virtue who have resisted the temptations and allurements of the world; tried men, men who have been placed in positions wherein their courage and their fidelity have been tested, and they have been worthy and have stood the trial and the struggle and, so far, have been able to overcome. Now they are getting prepared to enter into their rest so far as their bodies are concerned, to close their earthly career, and to enter upon a wider and higher sphere in the spirit, still to be engaged in the great latter-day work, the work of the dispensation of the fulness of times, only part of which can be accomplished on the earth in the flesh, a great deal of which has to be performed in a different sphere, in the spirit world, for the work of the Lord pertains to those who have departed as well as those who are remaining here on the earth in the body. They are His sons and daughters just the same when they have parted with their earthly forms, and have gone into the world behind the veil and all have to be prepared for the great events which lie before them, and all have to learn the mind and will of the great Father of all. This idea, which I merely repeat—nothing original about it nowadays, because the Lord has trained our minds in this direction for many years—this idea may be strange to some people, who take the notion that has been planted in their minds by false teachers for centuries, that this life, this stage of our existence, is the only one wherein man can receive the principles and doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, and that when death comes, that ends their opportunity. The Lord has revealed to us this is not true, that we are His sons and daughters whether in the body or out of the body; that He is our Father, the Father of our spiritual part, which is the most important part, not saying anything against the importance of the temporal part, for the body has to endure, its elements persist, and the time is to come when all persons who have lived in the body will have their earthly tenements revived.
The Lord has shown to us that the elements are eternal and that it requires the eternal union of spirit and element to obtain a fulness of joy. For the spirit part of man and the earthly, or temporal part just now, shall be united together perpetually, eternally, the body and the spirit being made one again, only joined together after the power of an endless life, that without that union a fulness of joy cannot be obtained. That is very easy to understand in a degree, if we will reflect upon our nature and upon the position that we now occupy. The spirit having come from above and the body from beneath, the spirit being born from God who is the Father literally, the Father of the spirit, and the body formed from the earthly elements, through earthly parentage, without this body many things that will give joy, pleasure, power, increase, perpetuity, cannot be enjoyed. This is ra- t'onal. The spirit reaches out to that which is spiritual; the body reaches down to that which is called temporal, that is, physical—the grosser materials of earth and air and all the surroundings that pertain thereunto. These are realities as much as those that are spiritual.
There is a notion that has obtained somewhat in the world, in philosophy and in some things that are called religious, that earthly things, those things we can see and handle and taste and experience in the common way of nature, will all pass away and be no more. That is a result of the notion that “in the beginning” the earth was made out of nothing and that man’s body was made out of nothing, because the term “create” has been used in relation to this part of God’s great work. “Creation,” properly speaking, is organization: so we have learned through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that the elements, the fundamental principles of that which we call temporal, are eternal, without beginning and therefore without end, that the earth and the things upon it were not fashioned out of nothing but out of something. “Out of nothing, nothing comes” is an old adage of years and ages ago (ex nihil nihil fit), and we have learned that it is true, that though the earthly elements may be formed and unformed, so to speak, can be organized or disintegrated, yet that they, in their original nature and character are something, that they are just as eternal and just as real as that which is spiritual, and the spiritual is just as real and enduring and tangible to spirits as earthly substances are to those that are earthly. We have learned this by revelation. It has not been a philosophical theory invented by anybody nor conceived by anybody, but it is the word of God given to mankind in the nineteenth century through that great Prophet and Seer and Revelator, Joseph Smith, who yielded up his life to the hands of wicked men and, like the prophets of old. sealed his testimony with his blood. Now, that which is temporal at present will be made eternal, that is, in its form. That was the resurrection taught by Jesus of Nazareth, taught to His apostles that they might teach it when they went forth to all the world. That was the very foundation of their testimony concerning the Christ; that He died oh the cross by way of atonement for the sins of the world; that the just died for the unjust that He might bring them to God, but that He was raised again from the dead. And they bore witness to this great fact wherever they went. It was one of the grand truths that they had to present to the world, and they proclaimed it everywhere. It was for the cause of the resurrection of the dead that they stood and that they lived and prayed and died.
A great many of our modern “Christian” theorists and philosophers who are ministers of what they call the Gospel, deny this now. They think those men were only talking of something they imagined. But they bore testimony to the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ ; and He, before He died, proclaimed Himself “the resurrection and the life,” and declared that all that were in the graves should eventually hear His voice and should come forth— they that had done good in the resurrection of the just, and they that had done evil in the resurrection of the unjust, or as it is put in the Gospel of St. John, so called. “They that have done good in the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil in the resurrection of damnation.” This was the doctrine that Christ taught; this was the doctrine that He exemplified in Ilis career and character; and He appeared in the body that hung on the cross to His disciples, to the men and the women who surrounded the cross when He died. He afterwards appeared and showed them the marks of the wounds in His hands and in His side which were inflicted in His crucifixion, and proclaimed the great truth that He was all there. Said He, “Behold, this is 1, myself; handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me have. And while they yet believed not, for joy. and wondered, He said to them, “Have ye here any meat, and they gave him a piece of broiled fish and of an honey-comb, and He took it and did eat before them.”
You will read that in the last chapter of what is called the Gospel according to Saint Luke. This, the body of man, then, is a part of him and an essential part to his joy and glory and development and continuance, that he may go on through all the eternities gaining knowledge and wisdom and understanding and experience. For development will be found by and by to be an eternal principle, because we shall be eternal beings; and we are now, in one sense of the word. Now, these bodies of ours have come from the earthly elements and, apparently, at any rate, will go back to those earthly elements when we die. How far that is true I don’t know. There are some things that we see and other things that we cannot see, our vision only penetrates to a certain degree and we can’t behold the essences of things. We may take one element and dissolve it and it appears to go out of existence, but it is there in such a shape and form that we can’t see it.
Here is a very simple illustration: We take water, which is composed of two gases joined together in certain definite proportions, and by the application of heat we can dissolve the water into vapor, or it may be dissolved by the heat of the sun and it goes out of our sight, but does it go out of existence? The vaporized particles are still there. We can’t see them with our natural eyes, they go off into the air, and up into the firmament above us and, by and by, through condensation, they come back again in the form of water and rain down upon the earth, or in the form of snow upon the mountains, the same elements restored. The oxygen and hydrogen can be separated and made invisible to mortal sight and can be brought together again as water. That is a very simple thing, and all chemistry will go to bear witness of the truth of this principle that the elements are eternal. The body that we see may be dissolved as to its form, but the elements of it, the essential parts of it, remain and are perpetual.
Now there are, according to God’s revelation, in existence these two principles, spirit and element, or matter, as the term is commonly used; spirit and matter, and matter in its elementary and essential existence is eternal just the same as spirit is. The elements of spirit and the elements of matter are both eternal and, according to that which God has revealed, it takes the eternal union of the two to bring a “fulness of joy,” also to get a fulness of experience and power and dominion. Without the body we could not take hold of and control the lower elements, and without the spiritual part we could not reach up to the higher, the spiritual, to commune with Deity, to be in harmony with God. to be part of Him, to be really and truly His beloved sons and daughters, walking in the way that He marks out, mingling with the gods on high, associating with them in their councils and in their grand and mighty works under the great Elohim, the God of gods, the Father of our spirits, the Mighty and Eternal One to whom today we address our praises and our prayers. We wish that the rest of the world who are engaged in prayer could, in their thoughts and minds, reach out to this great Eternal Being as their Father, in whose image and likeness they are because they are His sons and his daughters. Every seed begetteth of its kind, and we are the seed of God, He is our Father, and we are His children, and this was the grand truth referred to by the Lord Jesus Christ as stated and quoted and spoken upon this morning by President Lund.
Now, it takes the eternal union of the spirit part and the physical and material part of man to be joined together in one so that he may be able to advance on all lines in the future. If we leave our bodies in the grave and they are restored to us no more, our existence will have to be entirely along the spiritual line
—spirit without being joined to the body. But when the body is raised again, quickened by spirit and not by blood, raised up by the power of God, like the body of Jesus Christ was, and the body and the spirit are rejoined, and we have an eternal future before us. then we can draw from the highest heights and from the lowest depths of all parts of God’s great universe everything that will contribute to joy, to pleasure, to progress and development, to knowledge, to wisdom, to power, and to dominion above all, if we have that glorious gift of celestial glory, the power of endless increase, worlds without end. And this is what we Latter-day Saints are after, what we are trying to get, this fulness of glory and joy and power and dominion; in other words, to be made exactly like the Father. We read in the writings of the early apostles a great deal concerning this. The apostle John, for instance, in writing to the saints in his day, said:
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him As He is; and every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” (I John 3:2, 3).
There is the great lesson, my brethren and sisters, and friends. If we want to come into the complete and perfect society of God, in His personality, to be where He is, to enjoy His company, His divine presence, His instructions, the joy that comes from looking upon His countenance, and feeling the influence that proceeds from Him who is our life, if we want that we have to be like Him. In this respect, to be pure, even as He is pure; to keep His commandments; to 'Walk in His ways; to do that which He desires us to do. And this is the lesson that Jesus of Nazareth taught, in His example, in His life: “I came not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” That was His motto ; that should be ours. He left that to us “as an example, that we should follow in His steps that we should be Christians. And if we really are Christians we will follow Christ; we will do that which He commanded, that which He came here to teach; and as He gave His life for us, that we will value the atonement that He wrought out for us and show our appreciation for it by keeping His commandments. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” “Everyone that loveth Me doeth My word.” ‘‘He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings.” That was what He declared, and so if we want to be real Christians we should find out what Christ taught, find out what He showed in His personality and character, that as He is we may be: that we may meet Him face to face, that we may be one with Him in time and in eternity.
We read in the writings of John, that He said on one occasion to His disciples: “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 unto My Father.” (John 14:12). What is the meaning of that? It is that he will not only do the works that Christ did while He dwelt in the flesh, those works that Christ performed when He dwelt in mortality, but that as He was going to the Father, they also would go to the Father; that when He went away from this earth, whatever He did then they would follow and do similar work, and as He was going to the Father, they also would go to the Father and be with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost and always be under their direction. They would be eternally progressing, obtaining light and wisdom and knowledge and power and eternal joy. When Christ died, so we Latter-day Saints have learned He went and preached to the spirits which were in prison. What spirits? Why, we are told they were the spirits that were disobedient in the. days of Noah while the ark was preparing. Christ went and preached to them, “preached deliverance to those captives,” “the opening of the prison' to them that were bound that He preached the Gospel to the dead, “that they might be judged like men in the flesh but live according to God in the spirit.” When His disciples departed from the earth they followed in His footsteps and went and preached to the spirits that were in the spirit world that needed enlightenment and teaching. And so in the latter days, the Gospel having been restored in its fullness, and all the powers and authorities and gifts and blessings pertaining thereto having been restored with it, the authority of the Holy Apostleship and all the offices and ordinances of the Holy Priesthood, so when the servants of God depart in the latter days, they will follow in the footsteps of the Redeemer in times of old, and of Apostles in the earlier days and proclaim liberty to the captives.
O, what a mighty host there must be in the spirit world who did not understand the Gospel of Christ! Think of the millions of heathen who never heard of Christ! Think of the millions of the house of Judah, who have never believed in Christ, who have been trained up from their childhood to believe that Jesus of Nazareth was an impostor and that their forefathers put Him to death properly, or aided in that great tragedy! Think of the millions of those people called “Christians” who have for ages been wandering in darkness and many of them sunk in corruptions and abominations ! Think of those whose blood has been shed in the wars between “Christian” nations, nation rising against nation, and people against people, and each nation praying to God for strength and power and understanding to go forth and destroy the lives of other “Christians!” Where are they? Where are all these multitudes that have gone from the earth? Has the spirit of man perished with the body? Has the knowledge and understanding and wisdom and experience gained by dwelling in the flesh departed? Do wisdom and knowledge and understanding and experience and all the ties that have been formed between mortals go down into the grave and perish when the body is shuffled off, when the earthly tenement is taken away 'from the living spirit? No. Our reason tells us to the contrary, and revelation denies it and proclaims that man is immortal, that when he dies his body goes to the dust, but that some time in the great eternity that lies before us that body shall be resuscitated, that the essential, elements forming it and giving it peculiar identity shall be brought to- g-ether again, by a natural process to God but something mysterious to us, and that like the body of the Redeemer, it shall be joined together with the spirit and the man shall stand up on his feet and be in a position to give account for the deeds done in the body.
For man in spirit form, in his spirit nature, is an independent entity. It is an organized being, a son of God or a daughter of God. as the case may be, and in the spirit birth he obtained not only an eternal organization, but power and intelligence by which he can determine and understand light from darkness, truth from error, and choose between that which is right and that which is wrong. In the Pearl of Great Price we read that God gave him that power. The Lord revealed to Moses in the beginning, when He made manifest to him how this earth came into being and how the various orders of earthly creations were formed in their time and season, each of the animal creation and of the vegetable, bearing seed within themselves to be reproduced of the same kind always, that before this took place there was a council in the heavens and the Lord says that He gave to His only begotten Son the right to come here and perform the work of redemption, a power that was coveted by the Evil One:
‘‘But, behold, My Beloved Son, which was My beloved and chosen from the beginning, said unto Me-- Father, Thy will be done, and the glory be Thine forever.”
“Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against Me and sought to de story the agency of man which I, the Lord God had given him, and also, that I should give unto him Mine own power; by the power of Mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down.” (Book of Moses, Chap. 4)
Here we read that that power of choice, the gift, the ability to understand right from wrong, to understand light from darkness, was given to the spirit of man by the Lord and He gave to him that agency, power in himself to choose the good and refuse the evil, to choose the light or the darkness as he willed. So because of that, man can be brought to judgment for the deeds that he performs, for he is not forced to do evil, neither is he forced to do right. The power of volition is in the spirit man and he brings it with him when he is born into, the earthly sphere, and. so we can do good or do evil as we elect, and therefore we will be brought to judgment and every man will be judged according to the deeds done while in the body; according to his works, so will his future be determined.
Now, to explain briefly, I will say that the Lord has revealed that there are various degrees of the conditions of mankind in the future, but all are to be raised from the dead— everyone without exception, the good and the evil, the old and the young, the rich and the poor, all races and colors and conditions of men. They die because of the transgression of one; they live again because of the righteousness of One who redeemed them; and when they are brought up again from the dead they shall all come forth in their own order; but there is the resurrection of those who are Christ’s. Christ was the first fruit of them that slept; afterwards, the Apostle Paul says, “those who are Christ’s at His coming. Who are they? They are they who keep His commandments. They are they who are baptized unto Him in water and in the Spirit. They are they who follow Him. They are they that drink of the influence that comes from His presence; who fight the good fight, who overcome, who are His in very deed. He will number up His jewels in that great day and they will be His at His coming. He will call and they will answer: and they will come forth in the first resurrection to inherit glory and immortality and eternal lives, which means endless increase.
Then there is another class who will not come up until another gathering in the resurrection. The glory of the first is called the glory of the sun. Just to make it clear to our minds, it is called the glory of the sun because the sun appears to us as the greatest luminary in the heavens, although it is not so in reality, but it is to us. The next is the glory of the moon—honorable men of the earth who are blinded by the craftiness of men, people who would not receive the Gospel in the flesh but afterwards receive it, they come forth in that portion of the resurrection. And then there is an innumerable company who were corrupt and wicked, who rejected the truth and they were thrust down to hell; the rebellious and the abominable, those who rejected light and truth, those who walked in the ways of darkness. They go down unto death, but the time will come when, through the atonement of Christ, and the preaching of the truth and their willing! obedience to it in the spirit life, they i will bow the knee to God and to' King Immanuel, and will be brought forth to come up in the resurrection which is called telestial, the glory of the stars; and as one star differs from another star in glory, so also is this resurrection from the dead. But they will all be brought forth.
There is one class which will be different from all the rest. They shall be brought forth, the Lord says, but they will go back into their own place. They would not receive that which they might have had; they would not obey that which they might have obeyed. They received the light and the truth and then would not use it in the way that God had appointed. They would not go on unto perfection by keeping every word that proceeded from the mouth of God, but prostituted the power God had given them, to rise to the highest heights but sunk down to the lowest depths; denying the truth revealed to them; shedding innocent blood; consenting to the death of Christ; thus sinning against the Holy Ghost and becoming so corrupt and abominable that they cannot be redeemed. But they shall be brought forth from the grave and become subject to the devil and his angels in eternity. What is their end we do not know; nobody knows, the Lord says. Some people are inquiring about the end of these sons of perdition. The Lord says no man knows it, that the end thereof and the height and the extent and the depth thereof no man knoweth and if the Lord does reveal it to some He shuts up the vision. What, then, is “the second death?” Why, the Lord tells us what that is in His revelation in the twenty-ninth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. It is eternal banishment from His presence. He is the source of light and truth and power and glory and happiness and joy and dominion and increase forever, of which they will all be deprived. Being shut right out from the light, these shall go away into outer darkness where no ray of light comes, spiritual or physical— no ray of light from sun or moon or twinkling star or even a comet; to be in outer darkness, and no wonder there is “weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth,” to use the scripture expression.
Now, brethren and sisters, and friends, we are here on the earth for a purpose. It is that we may learn the things that pertain to this lower world, that we may obtain a body through which we can become acquainted with these earthly elements and the laws that govern the earth on which we live and other planets of a similar character; that we may face truth and error and choose the good and refuse the evil, or take the evil and refuse the good; that we may be tested and proved to see what we shall be fit for in the future in the great future that lies before us all, and to form our family associations according to the mind and will of God, according to His law. And if we do so according to that law, it will be made perpetual—the wife sealed to the husband by the law that God has revealed will come forth in the resurrection, and they will be husband and wife forever, and the children of that union, if fit to come into that family circle, will be there, sharing with the parents in the joys and the glories of the celestial world. If not, then they will have to take that which justice shall deal out to them. After justice has had its course, mercy will reach out its hand and rescue them from darkness and despair and from banishment, but they must go into the condition for which they have fitted themselves. There isn’t time to enter into the details of that; but here is a point that I wish to touch upon before sitting down, that is this:
We are left to ourselves to a large extent. We can appeal to our Father and obtain His Spirit and by the power of that Spirit entering into our personalities we can conquer the lusts of the flesh, the powers of darkness, the evils of the world; we can refrain from doing harm to our neighbor; we can cultivate the spirit of peace, which is the Spirit of God. We can avoid the troubles and strifes and wars that exist in the world, by being in communion and harmony with our great Creator, by obeying the Gospel and being baptized into Christ. If we put on Christ and follow in His footsteps and are imbued with His Spirit we shall be the children of peace, the children of humility, the children of obedience, seeking to God our heavenly Father to guide us in the right path. If we turn on the other road we may mingle with the world and become imbued with its spirit and go down to darkness and death.
Some may say: Well, why can't God stop all this? Why does He permit these evils to be here upon the earth? They are a part of the present conditions of this world in which we live and the things that pertain to it. It was intended to be a world of trial and testing and proving. God could stop the wars that exist on the continent of Europe, but He permits them. Why? Because He will not interfere with the agency of man, that He gave him in the beginning before He gave it to our parents ip the Garden of Eden and which we have inherited—power in ourselves, so that we may exercise this great gift of liberty, in freedom. He will not restrain us; He will not prevent us. Satan can't force us, but we walk in the ways of Satan when we yield to him, and we walk in the ways of God when we yield to Him, and we shall find when we get to understand all of God’s purposes concerning this earth, and other worlds that He has created, that these ’ intelligences which are born of Him are placed in these opposing conditions that they may manifest what they are fit for in the great future, and a place will be found for everyone and everyone will find his place in the vast Eternity to which we are all hastening.
And now here, today, we have this power within ourselves; and if we will exercise it for right, right will come to us. If we seek after the good, good will come to us. If we reach up to the Eternal Father for His light and guidance and power it will come to us. If we yield to the power of that Evil One and walk in the ways of the wicked and yield ourselves to sin and are imbued with the spirit of the Adversary, then we will go down to darkness and to death,. It is our duty and our privilege, and it should be our pleasure and joy, to do the will of the Father, to keep His commandments, to walk in His ways. And these good men whom I alluded to in the beginning of my remarks who have fought the good fight so long, let them take care that in their latter days they do not wander into darkness and go down to death and lose the gift and power and glory that shall come to the Saints of God, but endure faithful to the end.
Let us continue, my brethren and sisters, in this grand and glorious work to which God has called us. I know that He has called us today; that He raised up Joseph Smith in the Nineteenth century to introduce and usher in this grand and mighty latter-day work in which we have labored so long. Now, let us continue while we have strength and power and ability and endure to the end of our earthly career, and then when we pass away we will have a wider sphere, greater works to perform than we had while we dwelt in the flesh. We shall be rid for the time being of that which drew us down to the earth by the law of gravitation. We will mount up to the spirit world, and we will carry the Gospel to countless millions of the once inhabitants of the earth, and in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ we will walk always until the resurrection day shall dawn, and in the glorious morning thereof we shall come forth, clothed with power and glory and immortality and eternal lives, and with our loved ones gathered around us we will go right into the family of our Eternal Father, and while endless ages roll along we will glorify God and keep His laws and walk in His ways and obtain power and dominion forever. May God bless us and enable us to be faithful in all things and do our duty in every respect.
Let us hearken to the counsel that we have had today from our President and our brethren, and perform our duties faithfully and untiringly and we shall, have joy therein while we live, power and glory when we depart, and in the eternal future we shall become one with God and Christ and the Holy Ones forever. Amen.
President Joseph F. Smith expressed his appreciation of the excellent doctrinal discourse just delivered by President Penrose, and said: “He has explained in the greatest clearness and simplicity the great principle of eternal life, which is the power of God unto salvation. “I believe every word of it, and I want to know how many of you believe as I do.”
On the call for a show of hands the entire vast assembly responded in the affirmative.
The choir sang the anthem, “The nations bow to Satan’s thrall;” the soprano solo part was sung by Sister Elizabeth T. Edward.
Benediction was pronounced by Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith.
Conference adjourned until 10 a. m., Monday, Oct. 5th.
Faithful veterans of the Church—The work before them in the spirit world—Great hosts of the departed who did not learn of the Gospel while in the flesh—Reality of both spirit and element or matter—Eternity of all elements—Universal resurrection—Eternal reunion of body and spirit—The destiny of mankind—What the second death is— Fate of the sons of perdition— Agency of man the gift of God— Judgment predicated on freedom of choice and action—The social work of redemption—How to gain celestial glory.
I have taken great pleasure today not only in listening to the remarks that have been made by our brethren who have addressed us but in looking upon this great congregation. I don’t believe that such an assembly can be duplicated or has been duplicated anywhere throughout the land. One thing I am sure of, and that is that there cannot be found anywhere within the confines of the United States an assembly of people so united in mind and spirit, so devotional as this congregation now assembled from various parts of the land of Zion.
It is a joy to my soul to look upon this assembly, to be in the society of men and women of the character of those who have gathered here, to look upon such a number of the veterans of the Church, veterans in the great latter-day work which the Lord has begun on the face of the earth, men of faith, men of honesty, men of honorable character and mind; men of virtue who have resisted the temptations and allurements of the world; tried men, men who have been placed in positions wherein their courage and their fidelity have been tested, and they have been worthy and have stood the trial and the struggle and, so far, have been able to overcome. Now they are getting prepared to enter into their rest so far as their bodies are concerned, to close their earthly career, and to enter upon a wider and higher sphere in the spirit, still to be engaged in the great latter-day work, the work of the dispensation of the fulness of times, only part of which can be accomplished on the earth in the flesh, a great deal of which has to be performed in a different sphere, in the spirit world, for the work of the Lord pertains to those who have departed as well as those who are remaining here on the earth in the body. They are His sons and daughters just the same when they have parted with their earthly forms, and have gone into the world behind the veil and all have to be prepared for the great events which lie before them, and all have to learn the mind and will of the great Father of all. This idea, which I merely repeat—nothing original about it nowadays, because the Lord has trained our minds in this direction for many years—this idea may be strange to some people, who take the notion that has been planted in their minds by false teachers for centuries, that this life, this stage of our existence, is the only one wherein man can receive the principles and doctrine of salvation through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, and that when death comes, that ends their opportunity. The Lord has revealed to us this is not true, that we are His sons and daughters whether in the body or out of the body; that He is our Father, the Father of our spiritual part, which is the most important part, not saying anything against the importance of the temporal part, for the body has to endure, its elements persist, and the time is to come when all persons who have lived in the body will have their earthly tenements revived.
The Lord has shown to us that the elements are eternal and that it requires the eternal union of spirit and element to obtain a fulness of joy. For the spirit part of man and the earthly, or temporal part just now, shall be united together perpetually, eternally, the body and the spirit being made one again, only joined together after the power of an endless life, that without that union a fulness of joy cannot be obtained. That is very easy to understand in a degree, if we will reflect upon our nature and upon the position that we now occupy. The spirit having come from above and the body from beneath, the spirit being born from God who is the Father literally, the Father of the spirit, and the body formed from the earthly elements, through earthly parentage, without this body many things that will give joy, pleasure, power, increase, perpetuity, cannot be enjoyed. This is ra- t'onal. The spirit reaches out to that which is spiritual; the body reaches down to that which is called temporal, that is, physical—the grosser materials of earth and air and all the surroundings that pertain thereunto. These are realities as much as those that are spiritual.
There is a notion that has obtained somewhat in the world, in philosophy and in some things that are called religious, that earthly things, those things we can see and handle and taste and experience in the common way of nature, will all pass away and be no more. That is a result of the notion that “in the beginning” the earth was made out of nothing and that man’s body was made out of nothing, because the term “create” has been used in relation to this part of God’s great work. “Creation,” properly speaking, is organization: so we have learned through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that the elements, the fundamental principles of that which we call temporal, are eternal, without beginning and therefore without end, that the earth and the things upon it were not fashioned out of nothing but out of something. “Out of nothing, nothing comes” is an old adage of years and ages ago (ex nihil nihil fit), and we have learned that it is true, that though the earthly elements may be formed and unformed, so to speak, can be organized or disintegrated, yet that they, in their original nature and character are something, that they are just as eternal and just as real as that which is spiritual, and the spiritual is just as real and enduring and tangible to spirits as earthly substances are to those that are earthly. We have learned this by revelation. It has not been a philosophical theory invented by anybody nor conceived by anybody, but it is the word of God given to mankind in the nineteenth century through that great Prophet and Seer and Revelator, Joseph Smith, who yielded up his life to the hands of wicked men and, like the prophets of old. sealed his testimony with his blood. Now, that which is temporal at present will be made eternal, that is, in its form. That was the resurrection taught by Jesus of Nazareth, taught to His apostles that they might teach it when they went forth to all the world. That was the very foundation of their testimony concerning the Christ; that He died oh the cross by way of atonement for the sins of the world; that the just died for the unjust that He might bring them to God, but that He was raised again from the dead. And they bore witness to this great fact wherever they went. It was one of the grand truths that they had to present to the world, and they proclaimed it everywhere. It was for the cause of the resurrection of the dead that they stood and that they lived and prayed and died.
A great many of our modern “Christian” theorists and philosophers who are ministers of what they call the Gospel, deny this now. They think those men were only talking of something they imagined. But they bore testimony to the fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ ; and He, before He died, proclaimed Himself “the resurrection and the life,” and declared that all that were in the graves should eventually hear His voice and should come forth— they that had done good in the resurrection of the just, and they that had done evil in the resurrection of the unjust, or as it is put in the Gospel of St. John, so called. “They that have done good in the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil in the resurrection of damnation.” This was the doctrine that Christ taught; this was the doctrine that He exemplified in Ilis career and character; and He appeared in the body that hung on the cross to His disciples, to the men and the women who surrounded the cross when He died. He afterwards appeared and showed them the marks of the wounds in His hands and in His side which were inflicted in His crucifixion, and proclaimed the great truth that He was all there. Said He, “Behold, this is 1, myself; handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as you see me have. And while they yet believed not, for joy. and wondered, He said to them, “Have ye here any meat, and they gave him a piece of broiled fish and of an honey-comb, and He took it and did eat before them.”
You will read that in the last chapter of what is called the Gospel according to Saint Luke. This, the body of man, then, is a part of him and an essential part to his joy and glory and development and continuance, that he may go on through all the eternities gaining knowledge and wisdom and understanding and experience. For development will be found by and by to be an eternal principle, because we shall be eternal beings; and we are now, in one sense of the word. Now, these bodies of ours have come from the earthly elements and, apparently, at any rate, will go back to those earthly elements when we die. How far that is true I don’t know. There are some things that we see and other things that we cannot see, our vision only penetrates to a certain degree and we can’t behold the essences of things. We may take one element and dissolve it and it appears to go out of existence, but it is there in such a shape and form that we can’t see it.
Here is a very simple illustration: We take water, which is composed of two gases joined together in certain definite proportions, and by the application of heat we can dissolve the water into vapor, or it may be dissolved by the heat of the sun and it goes out of our sight, but does it go out of existence? The vaporized particles are still there. We can’t see them with our natural eyes, they go off into the air, and up into the firmament above us and, by and by, through condensation, they come back again in the form of water and rain down upon the earth, or in the form of snow upon the mountains, the same elements restored. The oxygen and hydrogen can be separated and made invisible to mortal sight and can be brought together again as water. That is a very simple thing, and all chemistry will go to bear witness of the truth of this principle that the elements are eternal. The body that we see may be dissolved as to its form, but the elements of it, the essential parts of it, remain and are perpetual.
Now there are, according to God’s revelation, in existence these two principles, spirit and element, or matter, as the term is commonly used; spirit and matter, and matter in its elementary and essential existence is eternal just the same as spirit is. The elements of spirit and the elements of matter are both eternal and, according to that which God has revealed, it takes the eternal union of the two to bring a “fulness of joy,” also to get a fulness of experience and power and dominion. Without the body we could not take hold of and control the lower elements, and without the spiritual part we could not reach up to the higher, the spiritual, to commune with Deity, to be in harmony with God. to be part of Him, to be really and truly His beloved sons and daughters, walking in the way that He marks out, mingling with the gods on high, associating with them in their councils and in their grand and mighty works under the great Elohim, the God of gods, the Father of our spirits, the Mighty and Eternal One to whom today we address our praises and our prayers. We wish that the rest of the world who are engaged in prayer could, in their thoughts and minds, reach out to this great Eternal Being as their Father, in whose image and likeness they are because they are His sons and his daughters. Every seed begetteth of its kind, and we are the seed of God, He is our Father, and we are His children, and this was the grand truth referred to by the Lord Jesus Christ as stated and quoted and spoken upon this morning by President Lund.
Now, it takes the eternal union of the spirit part and the physical and material part of man to be joined together in one so that he may be able to advance on all lines in the future. If we leave our bodies in the grave and they are restored to us no more, our existence will have to be entirely along the spiritual line
—spirit without being joined to the body. But when the body is raised again, quickened by spirit and not by blood, raised up by the power of God, like the body of Jesus Christ was, and the body and the spirit are rejoined, and we have an eternal future before us. then we can draw from the highest heights and from the lowest depths of all parts of God’s great universe everything that will contribute to joy, to pleasure, to progress and development, to knowledge, to wisdom, to power, and to dominion above all, if we have that glorious gift of celestial glory, the power of endless increase, worlds without end. And this is what we Latter-day Saints are after, what we are trying to get, this fulness of glory and joy and power and dominion; in other words, to be made exactly like the Father. We read in the writings of the early apostles a great deal concerning this. The apostle John, for instance, in writing to the saints in his day, said:
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him As He is; and every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” (I John 3:2, 3).
There is the great lesson, my brethren and sisters, and friends. If we want to come into the complete and perfect society of God, in His personality, to be where He is, to enjoy His company, His divine presence, His instructions, the joy that comes from looking upon His countenance, and feeling the influence that proceeds from Him who is our life, if we want that we have to be like Him. In this respect, to be pure, even as He is pure; to keep His commandments; to 'Walk in His ways; to do that which He desires us to do. And this is the lesson that Jesus of Nazareth taught, in His example, in His life: “I came not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” That was His motto ; that should be ours. He left that to us “as an example, that we should follow in His steps that we should be Christians. And if we really are Christians we will follow Christ; we will do that which He commanded, that which He came here to teach; and as He gave His life for us, that we will value the atonement that He wrought out for us and show our appreciation for it by keeping His commandments. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” “Everyone that loveth Me doeth My word.” ‘‘He that loveth Me not keepeth not My sayings.” That was what He declared, and so if we want to be real Christians we should find out what Christ taught, find out what He showed in His personality and character, that as He is we may be: that we may meet Him face to face, that we may be one with Him in time and in eternity.
We read in the writings of John, that He said on one occasion to His disciples: “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 unto My Father.” (John 14:12). What is the meaning of that? It is that he will not only do the works that Christ did while He dwelt in the flesh, those works that Christ performed when He dwelt in mortality, but that as He was going to the Father, they also would go to the Father; that when He went away from this earth, whatever He did then they would follow and do similar work, and as He was going to the Father, they also would go to the Father and be with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost and always be under their direction. They would be eternally progressing, obtaining light and wisdom and knowledge and power and eternal joy. When Christ died, so we Latter-day Saints have learned He went and preached to the spirits which were in prison. What spirits? Why, we are told they were the spirits that were disobedient in the. days of Noah while the ark was preparing. Christ went and preached to them, “preached deliverance to those captives,” “the opening of the prison' to them that were bound that He preached the Gospel to the dead, “that they might be judged like men in the flesh but live according to God in the spirit.” When His disciples departed from the earth they followed in His footsteps and went and preached to the spirits that were in the spirit world that needed enlightenment and teaching. And so in the latter days, the Gospel having been restored in its fullness, and all the powers and authorities and gifts and blessings pertaining thereto having been restored with it, the authority of the Holy Apostleship and all the offices and ordinances of the Holy Priesthood, so when the servants of God depart in the latter days, they will follow in the footsteps of the Redeemer in times of old, and of Apostles in the earlier days and proclaim liberty to the captives.
O, what a mighty host there must be in the spirit world who did not understand the Gospel of Christ! Think of the millions of heathen who never heard of Christ! Think of the millions of the house of Judah, who have never believed in Christ, who have been trained up from their childhood to believe that Jesus of Nazareth was an impostor and that their forefathers put Him to death properly, or aided in that great tragedy! Think of the millions of those people called “Christians” who have for ages been wandering in darkness and many of them sunk in corruptions and abominations ! Think of those whose blood has been shed in the wars between “Christian” nations, nation rising against nation, and people against people, and each nation praying to God for strength and power and understanding to go forth and destroy the lives of other “Christians!” Where are they? Where are all these multitudes that have gone from the earth? Has the spirit of man perished with the body? Has the knowledge and understanding and wisdom and experience gained by dwelling in the flesh departed? Do wisdom and knowledge and understanding and experience and all the ties that have been formed between mortals go down into the grave and perish when the body is shuffled off, when the earthly tenement is taken away 'from the living spirit? No. Our reason tells us to the contrary, and revelation denies it and proclaims that man is immortal, that when he dies his body goes to the dust, but that some time in the great eternity that lies before us that body shall be resuscitated, that the essential, elements forming it and giving it peculiar identity shall be brought to- g-ether again, by a natural process to God but something mysterious to us, and that like the body of the Redeemer, it shall be joined together with the spirit and the man shall stand up on his feet and be in a position to give account for the deeds done in the body.
For man in spirit form, in his spirit nature, is an independent entity. It is an organized being, a son of God or a daughter of God. as the case may be, and in the spirit birth he obtained not only an eternal organization, but power and intelligence by which he can determine and understand light from darkness, truth from error, and choose between that which is right and that which is wrong. In the Pearl of Great Price we read that God gave him that power. The Lord revealed to Moses in the beginning, when He made manifest to him how this earth came into being and how the various orders of earthly creations were formed in their time and season, each of the animal creation and of the vegetable, bearing seed within themselves to be reproduced of the same kind always, that before this took place there was a council in the heavens and the Lord says that He gave to His only begotten Son the right to come here and perform the work of redemption, a power that was coveted by the Evil One:
‘‘But, behold, My Beloved Son, which was My beloved and chosen from the beginning, said unto Me-- Father, Thy will be done, and the glory be Thine forever.”
“Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against Me and sought to de story the agency of man which I, the Lord God had given him, and also, that I should give unto him Mine own power; by the power of Mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down.” (Book of Moses, Chap. 4)
Here we read that that power of choice, the gift, the ability to understand right from wrong, to understand light from darkness, was given to the spirit of man by the Lord and He gave to him that agency, power in himself to choose the good and refuse the evil, to choose the light or the darkness as he willed. So because of that, man can be brought to judgment for the deeds that he performs, for he is not forced to do evil, neither is he forced to do right. The power of volition is in the spirit man and he brings it with him when he is born into, the earthly sphere, and. so we can do good or do evil as we elect, and therefore we will be brought to judgment and every man will be judged according to the deeds done while in the body; according to his works, so will his future be determined.
Now, to explain briefly, I will say that the Lord has revealed that there are various degrees of the conditions of mankind in the future, but all are to be raised from the dead— everyone without exception, the good and the evil, the old and the young, the rich and the poor, all races and colors and conditions of men. They die because of the transgression of one; they live again because of the righteousness of One who redeemed them; and when they are brought up again from the dead they shall all come forth in their own order; but there is the resurrection of those who are Christ’s. Christ was the first fruit of them that slept; afterwards, the Apostle Paul says, “those who are Christ’s at His coming. Who are they? They are they who keep His commandments. They are they who are baptized unto Him in water and in the Spirit. They are they who follow Him. They are they that drink of the influence that comes from His presence; who fight the good fight, who overcome, who are His in very deed. He will number up His jewels in that great day and they will be His at His coming. He will call and they will answer: and they will come forth in the first resurrection to inherit glory and immortality and eternal lives, which means endless increase.
Then there is another class who will not come up until another gathering in the resurrection. The glory of the first is called the glory of the sun. Just to make it clear to our minds, it is called the glory of the sun because the sun appears to us as the greatest luminary in the heavens, although it is not so in reality, but it is to us. The next is the glory of the moon—honorable men of the earth who are blinded by the craftiness of men, people who would not receive the Gospel in the flesh but afterwards receive it, they come forth in that portion of the resurrection. And then there is an innumerable company who were corrupt and wicked, who rejected the truth and they were thrust down to hell; the rebellious and the abominable, those who rejected light and truth, those who walked in the ways of darkness. They go down unto death, but the time will come when, through the atonement of Christ, and the preaching of the truth and their willing! obedience to it in the spirit life, they i will bow the knee to God and to' King Immanuel, and will be brought forth to come up in the resurrection which is called telestial, the glory of the stars; and as one star differs from another star in glory, so also is this resurrection from the dead. But they will all be brought forth.
There is one class which will be different from all the rest. They shall be brought forth, the Lord says, but they will go back into their own place. They would not receive that which they might have had; they would not obey that which they might have obeyed. They received the light and the truth and then would not use it in the way that God had appointed. They would not go on unto perfection by keeping every word that proceeded from the mouth of God, but prostituted the power God had given them, to rise to the highest heights but sunk down to the lowest depths; denying the truth revealed to them; shedding innocent blood; consenting to the death of Christ; thus sinning against the Holy Ghost and becoming so corrupt and abominable that they cannot be redeemed. But they shall be brought forth from the grave and become subject to the devil and his angels in eternity. What is their end we do not know; nobody knows, the Lord says. Some people are inquiring about the end of these sons of perdition. The Lord says no man knows it, that the end thereof and the height and the extent and the depth thereof no man knoweth and if the Lord does reveal it to some He shuts up the vision. What, then, is “the second death?” Why, the Lord tells us what that is in His revelation in the twenty-ninth section of the Doctrine and Covenants. It is eternal banishment from His presence. He is the source of light and truth and power and glory and happiness and joy and dominion and increase forever, of which they will all be deprived. Being shut right out from the light, these shall go away into outer darkness where no ray of light comes, spiritual or physical— no ray of light from sun or moon or twinkling star or even a comet; to be in outer darkness, and no wonder there is “weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth,” to use the scripture expression.
Now, brethren and sisters, and friends, we are here on the earth for a purpose. It is that we may learn the things that pertain to this lower world, that we may obtain a body through which we can become acquainted with these earthly elements and the laws that govern the earth on which we live and other planets of a similar character; that we may face truth and error and choose the good and refuse the evil, or take the evil and refuse the good; that we may be tested and proved to see what we shall be fit for in the future in the great future that lies before us all, and to form our family associations according to the mind and will of God, according to His law. And if we do so according to that law, it will be made perpetual—the wife sealed to the husband by the law that God has revealed will come forth in the resurrection, and they will be husband and wife forever, and the children of that union, if fit to come into that family circle, will be there, sharing with the parents in the joys and the glories of the celestial world. If not, then they will have to take that which justice shall deal out to them. After justice has had its course, mercy will reach out its hand and rescue them from darkness and despair and from banishment, but they must go into the condition for which they have fitted themselves. There isn’t time to enter into the details of that; but here is a point that I wish to touch upon before sitting down, that is this:
We are left to ourselves to a large extent. We can appeal to our Father and obtain His Spirit and by the power of that Spirit entering into our personalities we can conquer the lusts of the flesh, the powers of darkness, the evils of the world; we can refrain from doing harm to our neighbor; we can cultivate the spirit of peace, which is the Spirit of God. We can avoid the troubles and strifes and wars that exist in the world, by being in communion and harmony with our great Creator, by obeying the Gospel and being baptized into Christ. If we put on Christ and follow in His footsteps and are imbued with His Spirit we shall be the children of peace, the children of humility, the children of obedience, seeking to God our heavenly Father to guide us in the right path. If we turn on the other road we may mingle with the world and become imbued with its spirit and go down to darkness and death.
Some may say: Well, why can't God stop all this? Why does He permit these evils to be here upon the earth? They are a part of the present conditions of this world in which we live and the things that pertain to it. It was intended to be a world of trial and testing and proving. God could stop the wars that exist on the continent of Europe, but He permits them. Why? Because He will not interfere with the agency of man, that He gave him in the beginning before He gave it to our parents ip the Garden of Eden and which we have inherited—power in ourselves, so that we may exercise this great gift of liberty, in freedom. He will not restrain us; He will not prevent us. Satan can't force us, but we walk in the ways of Satan when we yield to him, and we walk in the ways of God when we yield to Him, and we shall find when we get to understand all of God’s purposes concerning this earth, and other worlds that He has created, that these ’ intelligences which are born of Him are placed in these opposing conditions that they may manifest what they are fit for in the great future, and a place will be found for everyone and everyone will find his place in the vast Eternity to which we are all hastening.
And now here, today, we have this power within ourselves; and if we will exercise it for right, right will come to us. If we seek after the good, good will come to us. If we reach up to the Eternal Father for His light and guidance and power it will come to us. If we yield to the power of that Evil One and walk in the ways of the wicked and yield ourselves to sin and are imbued with the spirit of the Adversary, then we will go down to darkness and to death,. It is our duty and our privilege, and it should be our pleasure and joy, to do the will of the Father, to keep His commandments, to walk in His ways. And these good men whom I alluded to in the beginning of my remarks who have fought the good fight so long, let them take care that in their latter days they do not wander into darkness and go down to death and lose the gift and power and glory that shall come to the Saints of God, but endure faithful to the end.
Let us continue, my brethren and sisters, in this grand and glorious work to which God has called us. I know that He has called us today; that He raised up Joseph Smith in the Nineteenth century to introduce and usher in this grand and mighty latter-day work in which we have labored so long. Now, let us continue while we have strength and power and ability and endure to the end of our earthly career, and then when we pass away we will have a wider sphere, greater works to perform than we had while we dwelt in the flesh. We shall be rid for the time being of that which drew us down to the earth by the law of gravitation. We will mount up to the spirit world, and we will carry the Gospel to countless millions of the once inhabitants of the earth, and in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ we will walk always until the resurrection day shall dawn, and in the glorious morning thereof we shall come forth, clothed with power and glory and immortality and eternal lives, and with our loved ones gathered around us we will go right into the family of our Eternal Father, and while endless ages roll along we will glorify God and keep His laws and walk in His ways and obtain power and dominion forever. May God bless us and enable us to be faithful in all things and do our duty in every respect.
Let us hearken to the counsel that we have had today from our President and our brethren, and perform our duties faithfully and untiringly and we shall, have joy therein while we live, power and glory when we depart, and in the eternal future we shall become one with God and Christ and the Holy Ones forever. Amen.
President Joseph F. Smith expressed his appreciation of the excellent doctrinal discourse just delivered by President Penrose, and said: “He has explained in the greatest clearness and simplicity the great principle of eternal life, which is the power of God unto salvation. “I believe every word of it, and I want to know how many of you believe as I do.”
On the call for a show of hands the entire vast assembly responded in the affirmative.
The choir sang the anthem, “The nations bow to Satan’s thrall;” the soprano solo part was sung by Sister Elizabeth T. Edward.
Benediction was pronounced by Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith.
Conference adjourned until 10 a. m., Monday, Oct. 5th.
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 Waterloo Ward choir, conducted by Arthur McFarlane, furnished the musical service, accompanied by a string quartette; Tracy Y. Cannon organist.
The 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 Patriarch Nathan Hawkes.
The choir sang the anthem, “Hark! hark my Soul!”
Another meeting of the Conference was held in the Assembly Hall, at 2 p. m., at which Elder Joseph F. Smith, Jr., presided.
The Waterloo Ward choir, conducted by Arthur McFarlane, furnished the musical service, accompanied by a string quartette; Tracy Y. Cannon organist.
The 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 Patriarch Nathan Hawkes.
The choir sang the anthem, “Hark! hark my Soul!”
ELDER JOSEPH B. KEELER.
(President of Utah Stake.)
I feel grateful, my brethren and sisters, for the opportunity of associating with the Latter-day Saints in this conference. I feel to appreciate the blessings which we all enjoy in listening to the servants of the Lord. I think that we do appreciate President Joseph F. Smith, and that we appreciate President Lund, and President Penrose. I think we all appreciate the Twelve, the general authorities of the Church, the organization to which we belong, and that Priesthood which many of us are favored to hold. I believe our appreciation goes out to our heavenly Father to the extent of our ability to appreciate; and I believe, as we work further in this Church, that we shall have greater capacity to understand and appreciate the Gospel of our Savior, and we shall have, in time, a fullness of joy.
We belong to a wonderful organization. We do not know of a greater organization ever existing upon the face of the earth than now exists. We know that the Gospel has been upon the earth in times past. But inasmuch as this is the fullness of times, when all things shall be brought together in one, we are constrained to believe that this organization, for the salvation of the human family, is the greatest that, ever existed upon the face of the earth. I know that we do appreciate the blessings of our heavenly Father in His appearing with His Son Jesus Christ to the boy Joseph, and giving authority to him to proceed with His work upon the earth. He said to Joseph: “This is My beloved Son, hear Him.” And then the other told Joseph many wonderful things, and made known the mission that he, Joseph, was to perform upon the earth. My brethren and sisters, this organization, this Church of Jesus Christ, has the personal supervision of the Redeemer. It was begun by Him, and was fostered by Him. The Prophet Joseph Smith received instruction from the Savior from time to time, as was necessary for the- establishment of this Church. Furthermore, when ever it was necessary, angels came and instructed the Prophet Joseph, and those who were associated with him. Angels came and gave power and authority, as they were directed from on high, to the Prophet Joseph, that he might go forth and organize the Church of Jesus Christ.
When we think of it, it is wonderful to our minds. We say that the constitution of the United States on which our government is founded is a great and a glorious instrument, and so it is. But, in the consideration, and in the bringing together of those principles which compose that instrument, it took the best wisdom of many men and many minds. In fact, it was not the work wholly of those who were its framers, for they had the benefit of the experience and learning of others who were behind them, and we say this is a mighty instrument. It was by the will of the Father that it was given to the children of men, and especially to those who composed this nation. But here we have a young man, not learned in these things, not learned in the schemes of government, we behold him setting forth the principles of a government which not only gives liberty to men, liberty to develop as men among their fellow men, but it also holds out to all mankind salvation now and hereafter. Now we see that this could be done only by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the instruction of heavenly beings: therefore we are fortunate indeed that we belong to such an organization.
Christ did not organize this Church through His servants, and then go off and leave it, He is here today. His guiding hand is over all those delegated by His authority and inspired by Him, and He it is who is guiding this Church, as He also guides the nations. I say we are particularly blessed by having a membership in this Church. 1. for one, feel to appreciate these great blessings. Furthermore, we have the principles and ordinances of the Gospel; sometimes we say the first principles, those things that arc fundamental. Well now, men talked about faith and repentance and baptism and the Holy Ghost, a long time before Joseph Smith’s day; but were these principles of power and authority to the human family, the principles of salvation? Were these the principles that would lead men back into the presence of the Father? They were; provided they had been coupled with authority and the power of the Holy Ghost. But, there were no men for ages, upon the face of the earth who had the authority to say to a man, If you will have faith in God, if you will believe that He is, if you will repent of your sins and will go down into the waters of baptism, you shall receive a remission of your sins and ultimately be saved in the kingdom of God. Men might say that, but how many had the authority to say it, and could assist in making it good? But now we have this authority among us, it having been delegated of God, and this boy Joseph Smith was called of God, authorized of our heavenly Father, to build up this Church and this kingdom.
These first principles of the Gospel, some of which were mentioned in our hearing this morning by President Smith and President Lund, have now become alive to us. They become a source of power unto us. They are all necessary, just as necessary as the waters that spring from the earth, or the rain from the clouds or the dews of heaven are necessary for the nourishment of the plants, so are these principles necessary for the nourishment and development of man's soul And indeed they have connected with them a power. They take hold of the soul of man, and cause it to grow and to develop. Faith, this mighty principle of power that we talk of, is a living fountain of power within man, and man is so organized by his Maker that he may develop this power within him, so that in time he may say, as God said in times past to the world. Be ye in existence, be ye framed, come into being. He can develop himself to the extent that he can have this power, as it is given unto him through God, the Eternal Father.
We should take hold of these principles and strive to apply them in our lives. How can we increase our faith in God? How can we gain power by this principle? Why, simply by the exercise of the power of faith in our hearts. We must have a great desire in our hearts for these things. We must put forth our hands whenever occasion arises in order to develop this power within us. Exercise faith? Yes. Do the sick need to be healed? Yes. There has never been a promise annulled. If the sick exercise faith, and those who are called in of the Priesthood exercise faith, the sick shall be healed'; if they are not appointed unto death they shall rise; if they die, they die unto the Lord, if they live they live unto the Lord. What a mighty opportunity there is for the blessing and also for the Cultivation of this power within man, to exercise it whenever occasion requires. The sick will be healed; the sick are healed by this power. So it is in every direction in our lives Repentance also may become a live thing. When men exercise repentance, they cease to do those things which they know arc against the law of God, or against the law of their being, against the laws of humanity. When they begin to exercise this principle of repentance, by turning away from those things which are wrong, then they become strong in repentance, they are more powerful, they have more power to overcome the next temptation that may confront them. But if a man never practices repentance, if he never repents of his sins, of course he will have hard work, because the power to overcome is very limited within him; but to the extent that he knows he has gone astray and has done that which he knows is not pleasing in the sight of God, and then turns away from sin, he becomes powerful in that he can quickly make amends for those things which he may happen to do which are wrong. Every child of God that enters into the kingdom must come in by the door of baptism. And why? Because God has instituted it. We may philosophize today, and say many things for and against this ordinance; but there is no denying the fact, no man will ever get into the kingdom of God without this ordinance being complied with. It
is a principle of power, it is a principle of salvation, and there is no other way by which man can enter in at the door of the kingdom of God, except through the door of baptism. And so it is with the Holy Ghost. As I said before, men knew of this Holy Spirit. They have read about it, but they have only to a limited extent received of its power. None of them have had that particular and peculiar promise and endowment of the Holy Ghost, except it be through the laying on of hands by those having authority. Then, when they have received this Spirit, it becomes a spirit of power to them. Thenceforward men may know, women may know that which is good for them, and that which God requires at their hands.
Now if we will go back on our lives and look over our experiences, right up to the present time, we will see, just as surely as we can see anything, that the power of the Holy Ghost has been with us, as made known to this people. Why are we here, why are we attending this conference? If we look for it, we will see that it is through the office work of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God that has brought us here, and to this point in our lives. And although the Hand has been invisible, almost, and while it has been so gentle, still it has led our minds, and when we made a choice in anything it has been the right choice, especially, if it has been dictated by this Spirit, and so it has brought us up to this point.
Now, I feel grateful, my brethren and sisters, that the Lord has been so merciful to us. I am glad to know that our spirits have been hid with Christ to come forth in this day and age of the world. Inasmuch as we are in this position, inasmuch as we have received these great blessings, we ought to show forth our appreciation of these things, we ought to assist in building up this Church and kingdom. I tell you, my brethren and sisters, this latter-day work is the greatest thing in our lives. There is not a thing on earth today that stands anywhere near its greatness, and magnitude and power as does this Church in this world. It is wonderful, it is powerful and it should not be accounted by us as dross, for the power of God is with it and it will succeed. By the way, this organization is the only thing that will succeed on the earth. All the organizations of the world will go into oblivion; they will pass away, but this organization will not pass away, if will go on forever; and we who are connected with it. and will keep connected with it, will go on forever.
Men and women look sometimes for the sure things in life. They want to be connected with the sure things, those things about which there is not a possibility of mistake or chance. I don’t know of anything in this world that is more enduring than this Church, and the principles of the Gospel in our lives, and it will take us through to the end. This being the fact, how foolish it is for us to attach ourselves to anything else! There is always room for all our activities and powers right here in the Church assisting to build it up, and it seems wise that we should not associate with our fellowmen in other organizations which are inconsistent with it When it comes to attaching ourselves to organizations for safety, to that which will endure, there is nothing to compare with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and we will find it out, too, that in a temporal way it is the safest institution we can be connected with, temporally as well as spiritually. And so we ought not to fritter away time and talents in organizations that are ephemeral, that are only for a time, only for the moment. We ought not to pay very much attention to such, but should pay our attention to and bestow our talents and our powers on that which pertains to the kingdom, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then if we do this, we shall be saved, we shall be happy. Are any of us feeling badly now because we belong to the Church of Jesus Christ? I wonder if any of those good brethren and sisters who came from England, from France and from Germany, and from any of those countries where there' is strife and turmoil, I wonder if any of them are 'feeling badly now that they listened to the Elders, and listened to the cry: “Come out of her, O ye my people?” I think not. As time goes on we shall find out that it is a splendid thing to be where the Priesthood is, and to be where the organization of Jesus Christ is, because it is a place of safety, it is a place of refuge in the time of storms and calamities which are sure to come upon the earth. It is my judgment that what we are seeing now is only as a drop in the bucket to what we shall yet see in the world, for God has given us forewarnings of trouble" and sorrow to come. We pray for peace and peace will come eventually. We pray for a time when there shall be a brotherhood, and all shall acknowledge the fatherhood of God. That is not yet, but it is developing. It is developing among all people, particularly Christian people, and it is proper to talk for peace, to pray for peace, because it is necessary when great events are to come upon the human family, which have been predicted are to come upon the earth, that the shadow of those things should be cast before. So it is necessary for us to talk of peace, that when the time comes, our hearts will be in a frame to accept peace. But there is a storm coming before there will be a clear sky. And all we can say is, let us be encouraged to go on, and let us make this work the main thing of our lives, and if we want a greater testimony than we have, that this is the work of God, let us go to and perform the things that devolve upon us. Let us be honest, let us be truthful, let us be humble, let us stand ready to sustain this organization.
Let us not think that because this is an organization of spiritual character that it is not to be sustained also in a temporal way, by temporal things. The Lord has given us temporal duties to practice that we may become strong in that direction. We assist His Church and His kingdom by contributing to it in its temporalities. Why? So that we may know and feel and understand that this is really a Church that has power and salvation in it. Let us contribute in every way we can for its upbuilding and its perpetuation in the earth.
That we may prove true and faithful to the trust we have received; that we may show forth our appreciation of these things in our lives; that we may eventually receive the benefit of a salvation in our Father’s kingdom, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(President of Utah Stake.)
I feel grateful, my brethren and sisters, for the opportunity of associating with the Latter-day Saints in this conference. I feel to appreciate the blessings which we all enjoy in listening to the servants of the Lord. I think that we do appreciate President Joseph F. Smith, and that we appreciate President Lund, and President Penrose. I think we all appreciate the Twelve, the general authorities of the Church, the organization to which we belong, and that Priesthood which many of us are favored to hold. I believe our appreciation goes out to our heavenly Father to the extent of our ability to appreciate; and I believe, as we work further in this Church, that we shall have greater capacity to understand and appreciate the Gospel of our Savior, and we shall have, in time, a fullness of joy.
We belong to a wonderful organization. We do not know of a greater organization ever existing upon the face of the earth than now exists. We know that the Gospel has been upon the earth in times past. But inasmuch as this is the fullness of times, when all things shall be brought together in one, we are constrained to believe that this organization, for the salvation of the human family, is the greatest that, ever existed upon the face of the earth. I know that we do appreciate the blessings of our heavenly Father in His appearing with His Son Jesus Christ to the boy Joseph, and giving authority to him to proceed with His work upon the earth. He said to Joseph: “This is My beloved Son, hear Him.” And then the other told Joseph many wonderful things, and made known the mission that he, Joseph, was to perform upon the earth. My brethren and sisters, this organization, this Church of Jesus Christ, has the personal supervision of the Redeemer. It was begun by Him, and was fostered by Him. The Prophet Joseph Smith received instruction from the Savior from time to time, as was necessary for the- establishment of this Church. Furthermore, when ever it was necessary, angels came and instructed the Prophet Joseph, and those who were associated with him. Angels came and gave power and authority, as they were directed from on high, to the Prophet Joseph, that he might go forth and organize the Church of Jesus Christ.
When we think of it, it is wonderful to our minds. We say that the constitution of the United States on which our government is founded is a great and a glorious instrument, and so it is. But, in the consideration, and in the bringing together of those principles which compose that instrument, it took the best wisdom of many men and many minds. In fact, it was not the work wholly of those who were its framers, for they had the benefit of the experience and learning of others who were behind them, and we say this is a mighty instrument. It was by the will of the Father that it was given to the children of men, and especially to those who composed this nation. But here we have a young man, not learned in these things, not learned in the schemes of government, we behold him setting forth the principles of a government which not only gives liberty to men, liberty to develop as men among their fellow men, but it also holds out to all mankind salvation now and hereafter. Now we see that this could be done only by the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the instruction of heavenly beings: therefore we are fortunate indeed that we belong to such an organization.
Christ did not organize this Church through His servants, and then go off and leave it, He is here today. His guiding hand is over all those delegated by His authority and inspired by Him, and He it is who is guiding this Church, as He also guides the nations. I say we are particularly blessed by having a membership in this Church. 1. for one, feel to appreciate these great blessings. Furthermore, we have the principles and ordinances of the Gospel; sometimes we say the first principles, those things that arc fundamental. Well now, men talked about faith and repentance and baptism and the Holy Ghost, a long time before Joseph Smith’s day; but were these principles of power and authority to the human family, the principles of salvation? Were these the principles that would lead men back into the presence of the Father? They were; provided they had been coupled with authority and the power of the Holy Ghost. But, there were no men for ages, upon the face of the earth who had the authority to say to a man, If you will have faith in God, if you will believe that He is, if you will repent of your sins and will go down into the waters of baptism, you shall receive a remission of your sins and ultimately be saved in the kingdom of God. Men might say that, but how many had the authority to say it, and could assist in making it good? But now we have this authority among us, it having been delegated of God, and this boy Joseph Smith was called of God, authorized of our heavenly Father, to build up this Church and this kingdom.
These first principles of the Gospel, some of which were mentioned in our hearing this morning by President Smith and President Lund, have now become alive to us. They become a source of power unto us. They are all necessary, just as necessary as the waters that spring from the earth, or the rain from the clouds or the dews of heaven are necessary for the nourishment of the plants, so are these principles necessary for the nourishment and development of man's soul And indeed they have connected with them a power. They take hold of the soul of man, and cause it to grow and to develop. Faith, this mighty principle of power that we talk of, is a living fountain of power within man, and man is so organized by his Maker that he may develop this power within him, so that in time he may say, as God said in times past to the world. Be ye in existence, be ye framed, come into being. He can develop himself to the extent that he can have this power, as it is given unto him through God, the Eternal Father.
We should take hold of these principles and strive to apply them in our lives. How can we increase our faith in God? How can we gain power by this principle? Why, simply by the exercise of the power of faith in our hearts. We must have a great desire in our hearts for these things. We must put forth our hands whenever occasion arises in order to develop this power within us. Exercise faith? Yes. Do the sick need to be healed? Yes. There has never been a promise annulled. If the sick exercise faith, and those who are called in of the Priesthood exercise faith, the sick shall be healed'; if they are not appointed unto death they shall rise; if they die, they die unto the Lord, if they live they live unto the Lord. What a mighty opportunity there is for the blessing and also for the Cultivation of this power within man, to exercise it whenever occasion requires. The sick will be healed; the sick are healed by this power. So it is in every direction in our lives Repentance also may become a live thing. When men exercise repentance, they cease to do those things which they know arc against the law of God, or against the law of their being, against the laws of humanity. When they begin to exercise this principle of repentance, by turning away from those things which are wrong, then they become strong in repentance, they are more powerful, they have more power to overcome the next temptation that may confront them. But if a man never practices repentance, if he never repents of his sins, of course he will have hard work, because the power to overcome is very limited within him; but to the extent that he knows he has gone astray and has done that which he knows is not pleasing in the sight of God, and then turns away from sin, he becomes powerful in that he can quickly make amends for those things which he may happen to do which are wrong. Every child of God that enters into the kingdom must come in by the door of baptism. And why? Because God has instituted it. We may philosophize today, and say many things for and against this ordinance; but there is no denying the fact, no man will ever get into the kingdom of God without this ordinance being complied with. It
is a principle of power, it is a principle of salvation, and there is no other way by which man can enter in at the door of the kingdom of God, except through the door of baptism. And so it is with the Holy Ghost. As I said before, men knew of this Holy Spirit. They have read about it, but they have only to a limited extent received of its power. None of them have had that particular and peculiar promise and endowment of the Holy Ghost, except it be through the laying on of hands by those having authority. Then, when they have received this Spirit, it becomes a spirit of power to them. Thenceforward men may know, women may know that which is good for them, and that which God requires at their hands.
Now if we will go back on our lives and look over our experiences, right up to the present time, we will see, just as surely as we can see anything, that the power of the Holy Ghost has been with us, as made known to this people. Why are we here, why are we attending this conference? If we look for it, we will see that it is through the office work of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God that has brought us here, and to this point in our lives. And although the Hand has been invisible, almost, and while it has been so gentle, still it has led our minds, and when we made a choice in anything it has been the right choice, especially, if it has been dictated by this Spirit, and so it has brought us up to this point.
Now, I feel grateful, my brethren and sisters, that the Lord has been so merciful to us. I am glad to know that our spirits have been hid with Christ to come forth in this day and age of the world. Inasmuch as we are in this position, inasmuch as we have received these great blessings, we ought to show forth our appreciation of these things, we ought to assist in building up this Church and kingdom. I tell you, my brethren and sisters, this latter-day work is the greatest thing in our lives. There is not a thing on earth today that stands anywhere near its greatness, and magnitude and power as does this Church in this world. It is wonderful, it is powerful and it should not be accounted by us as dross, for the power of God is with it and it will succeed. By the way, this organization is the only thing that will succeed on the earth. All the organizations of the world will go into oblivion; they will pass away, but this organization will not pass away, if will go on forever; and we who are connected with it. and will keep connected with it, will go on forever.
Men and women look sometimes for the sure things in life. They want to be connected with the sure things, those things about which there is not a possibility of mistake or chance. I don’t know of anything in this world that is more enduring than this Church, and the principles of the Gospel in our lives, and it will take us through to the end. This being the fact, how foolish it is for us to attach ourselves to anything else! There is always room for all our activities and powers right here in the Church assisting to build it up, and it seems wise that we should not associate with our fellowmen in other organizations which are inconsistent with it When it comes to attaching ourselves to organizations for safety, to that which will endure, there is nothing to compare with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and we will find it out, too, that in a temporal way it is the safest institution we can be connected with, temporally as well as spiritually. And so we ought not to fritter away time and talents in organizations that are ephemeral, that are only for a time, only for the moment. We ought not to pay very much attention to such, but should pay our attention to and bestow our talents and our powers on that which pertains to the kingdom, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Then if we do this, we shall be saved, we shall be happy. Are any of us feeling badly now because we belong to the Church of Jesus Christ? I wonder if any of those good brethren and sisters who came from England, from France and from Germany, and from any of those countries where there' is strife and turmoil, I wonder if any of them are 'feeling badly now that they listened to the Elders, and listened to the cry: “Come out of her, O ye my people?” I think not. As time goes on we shall find out that it is a splendid thing to be where the Priesthood is, and to be where the organization of Jesus Christ is, because it is a place of safety, it is a place of refuge in the time of storms and calamities which are sure to come upon the earth. It is my judgment that what we are seeing now is only as a drop in the bucket to what we shall yet see in the world, for God has given us forewarnings of trouble" and sorrow to come. We pray for peace and peace will come eventually. We pray for a time when there shall be a brotherhood, and all shall acknowledge the fatherhood of God. That is not yet, but it is developing. It is developing among all people, particularly Christian people, and it is proper to talk for peace, to pray for peace, because it is necessary when great events are to come upon the human family, which have been predicted are to come upon the earth, that the shadow of those things should be cast before. So it is necessary for us to talk of peace, that when the time comes, our hearts will be in a frame to accept peace. But there is a storm coming before there will be a clear sky. And all we can say is, let us be encouraged to go on, and let us make this work the main thing of our lives, and if we want a greater testimony than we have, that this is the work of God, let us go to and perform the things that devolve upon us. Let us be honest, let us be truthful, let us be humble, let us stand ready to sustain this organization.
Let us not think that because this is an organization of spiritual character that it is not to be sustained also in a temporal way, by temporal things. The Lord has given us temporal duties to practice that we may become strong in that direction. We assist His Church and His kingdom by contributing to it in its temporalities. Why? So that we may know and feel and understand that this is really a Church that has power and salvation in it. Let us contribute in every way we can for its upbuilding and its perpetuation in the earth.
That we may prove true and faithful to the trust we have received; that we may show forth our appreciation of these things in our lives; that we may eventually receive the benefit of a salvation in our Father’s kingdom, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER ROBERT D. YOUNG.
(President of Sevier Stake.)
My beloved brethren and sisters, I can truly say that I never was more thankful to my Heavenly Father for the standing that I have at the present time in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I feel that my fellowship with you is worth more to me than anything else that I can think of. I have enjoyed very much the remarks of President Keeler, and his timely instructions.
In our meeting in the Tabernacle this morning, every soul seemed to breathe a hearty response to all that was said by our beloved Prophet and President, and the prayer that was uttered by President Penrose, and commented upon by President Lund, showing to us the great efficacy of prayer. I was called back for a moment to remembrance of my labors in the mission field, in Australia. The people had suffered in that country from a great drought, until it seemed as though it was threatening them with starvation. They called together all the ministers of that country, particularly in Queensland, to a meeting in Brisbane, inviting all other ministers except the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The question was asked of some of them why they did not extend an invitation to the elders of the “Mormon” Church, and they said that they were praying for rain, and they were in hopes that they would secure it, and for fear that the Lord would be displeased they left the “Mormons” out. But they did not get rain, to amount to anything, for nearly a year after that, until the ground became parched, dusty and barren, hardly a spear of grass to be seen. I felt so glad, so thankful, that the President of our great country was more thoughtful of all the churches, and had faith in the efficacy of prayer, and required this day to be set apart as a day of prayer for peace. I think it is a very appropriate day; and I presume that the Latter-day Saints as a whole would agree with me in this matter.
As I said, I feel grateful that I am identified with this Church, that I have a standing in this Church. I have never seen in all my travels or in all my associations with men, a place where I need be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; but rather I have gained favor when I have, as Latter-day Saints should, borne testimony to the divinity of the mission of Joseph Smith. It reminds me of some words of the poet that were quoted by one of our elders:
“However the battle is ended,
Though proudly the victories come,
With fluttering flags and prancing steeds
And the echoing roll of drum,
Still truth proclaims the motto,
In letters of living light,
No question is ever settled
Until it is settled right.”
I feel, my brethren and sisters, to commend such men as those who have contributed great sums, and their moral support, for the establishment of peace, and the gathering of peace conventions. But I feel— and I have felt it more today than perhaps ever before—that the Latter-day Saints should be thankful that they have settled the question right for themselves. Until the people of the whole world solves this problem, by accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the question of peace will never be settled right. The Gospel and mission of Jesus Christ was peace on earth, good will to men. It was to banish from the hearts of men self-aggrandizement, and selfishness, the desire to covet that which belongs to our neighbors, and make us possess the spirit of long-suffering, gentleness, kindness, faith and patience, that we might be able, not only to shun the evils of war, but to shun, as Paul tells us, the very appearance of evil.
I wish to read a little from the Doctrine and Covenants, beginning on page 250:
"And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not' to understand the doctrines of repentance, faith in Christ, the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands when eight years old. the sin be upon the heads of the parents; for this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized; and their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands, and they shall also teach their children to pray—[which we heard quoted in the splendid discourses, and which were so beautifully illustrated in the prayers that we had this morning, in the supplication of our Heavenly Father for peace]—and walk uprightly before the Lord. And the inhabitants of Zion shall, also, observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy. And the inhabitants of Zion, also, shall remember their labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness; for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord. Now, I the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them. * * * * These things ought not to be, and must be done away from among them: wherefore, let my servant, Oliver Cowdery carry these sayings unto the land of Zion.”
Recently I clipped an item from a newspaper. It was a comment of the Daily Mail, after the speech of Lord Roberts, appealing to the patriotism of the men of their country. In this comment they stated that the people were playing, as it were, on the deck of a ship with the compass and sails, believing they were self-governed, while down in the hull of the ship was a powder magazine of whose existence they knew not. It commented on the secret diplomacy of their country, stating that it should have no part nor portion in any government: that the people should know and understand the things that are being carried on by their nation. I was very much struck by this: that secret diplomacy should not and must not have any part, and that if Europe would be free from menace in the future they must follow the example of the United States. In reading this, my brethren and sisters, I have thought a great deal of the prophecy, wherein we are told that the law should go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Remembering that this whole land, our great country, is the land of Zion, here, in my opinion, was a suggestion in the right and proper direction.
I wonder how many of us are preparing our homes, setting our homes in order, so that we will be able to have our children practice the principle of prayer, and observance of the Sabbath day, that they may grow up and be as a light upon a hill, or be as the leaven that is to leaven the whole lump. I believe that in some of the homes of the Latter-day Saints there is need for reformation, and more diligence should be manifest in teaching children the efficacy of prayer, how to pray and what to pray for properly, that they may grow up with the faith in the divinity of this great work, that they should have as Latter-day Saints.
I trust and pray, my brethren and sisters, that the Lord will bless us, that we may be able to more fully appreciate the wonderful blessings that are showered out upon us in this goodly land where we reside, where the Lord has brought us, and that we may be able to remember Him in the requirements that He has made of us, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, “Beautiful Zion for me.”
(President of Sevier Stake.)
My beloved brethren and sisters, I can truly say that I never was more thankful to my Heavenly Father for the standing that I have at the present time in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I feel that my fellowship with you is worth more to me than anything else that I can think of. I have enjoyed very much the remarks of President Keeler, and his timely instructions.
In our meeting in the Tabernacle this morning, every soul seemed to breathe a hearty response to all that was said by our beloved Prophet and President, and the prayer that was uttered by President Penrose, and commented upon by President Lund, showing to us the great efficacy of prayer. I was called back for a moment to remembrance of my labors in the mission field, in Australia. The people had suffered in that country from a great drought, until it seemed as though it was threatening them with starvation. They called together all the ministers of that country, particularly in Queensland, to a meeting in Brisbane, inviting all other ministers except the elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The question was asked of some of them why they did not extend an invitation to the elders of the “Mormon” Church, and they said that they were praying for rain, and they were in hopes that they would secure it, and for fear that the Lord would be displeased they left the “Mormons” out. But they did not get rain, to amount to anything, for nearly a year after that, until the ground became parched, dusty and barren, hardly a spear of grass to be seen. I felt so glad, so thankful, that the President of our great country was more thoughtful of all the churches, and had faith in the efficacy of prayer, and required this day to be set apart as a day of prayer for peace. I think it is a very appropriate day; and I presume that the Latter-day Saints as a whole would agree with me in this matter.
As I said, I feel grateful that I am identified with this Church, that I have a standing in this Church. I have never seen in all my travels or in all my associations with men, a place where I need be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; but rather I have gained favor when I have, as Latter-day Saints should, borne testimony to the divinity of the mission of Joseph Smith. It reminds me of some words of the poet that were quoted by one of our elders:
“However the battle is ended,
Though proudly the victories come,
With fluttering flags and prancing steeds
And the echoing roll of drum,
Still truth proclaims the motto,
In letters of living light,
No question is ever settled
Until it is settled right.”
I feel, my brethren and sisters, to commend such men as those who have contributed great sums, and their moral support, for the establishment of peace, and the gathering of peace conventions. But I feel— and I have felt it more today than perhaps ever before—that the Latter-day Saints should be thankful that they have settled the question right for themselves. Until the people of the whole world solves this problem, by accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the question of peace will never be settled right. The Gospel and mission of Jesus Christ was peace on earth, good will to men. It was to banish from the hearts of men self-aggrandizement, and selfishness, the desire to covet that which belongs to our neighbors, and make us possess the spirit of long-suffering, gentleness, kindness, faith and patience, that we might be able, not only to shun the evils of war, but to shun, as Paul tells us, the very appearance of evil.
I wish to read a little from the Doctrine and Covenants, beginning on page 250:
"And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not' to understand the doctrines of repentance, faith in Christ, the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands when eight years old. the sin be upon the heads of the parents; for this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized; and their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands, and they shall also teach their children to pray—[which we heard quoted in the splendid discourses, and which were so beautifully illustrated in the prayers that we had this morning, in the supplication of our Heavenly Father for peace]—and walk uprightly before the Lord. And the inhabitants of Zion shall, also, observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy. And the inhabitants of Zion, also, shall remember their labors, inasmuch as they are appointed to labor, in all faithfulness; for the idler shall be had in remembrance before the Lord. Now, I the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them. * * * * These things ought not to be, and must be done away from among them: wherefore, let my servant, Oliver Cowdery carry these sayings unto the land of Zion.”
Recently I clipped an item from a newspaper. It was a comment of the Daily Mail, after the speech of Lord Roberts, appealing to the patriotism of the men of their country. In this comment they stated that the people were playing, as it were, on the deck of a ship with the compass and sails, believing they were self-governed, while down in the hull of the ship was a powder magazine of whose existence they knew not. It commented on the secret diplomacy of their country, stating that it should have no part nor portion in any government: that the people should know and understand the things that are being carried on by their nation. I was very much struck by this: that secret diplomacy should not and must not have any part, and that if Europe would be free from menace in the future they must follow the example of the United States. In reading this, my brethren and sisters, I have thought a great deal of the prophecy, wherein we are told that the law should go out from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Remembering that this whole land, our great country, is the land of Zion, here, in my opinion, was a suggestion in the right and proper direction.
I wonder how many of us are preparing our homes, setting our homes in order, so that we will be able to have our children practice the principle of prayer, and observance of the Sabbath day, that they may grow up and be as a light upon a hill, or be as the leaven that is to leaven the whole lump. I believe that in some of the homes of the Latter-day Saints there is need for reformation, and more diligence should be manifest in teaching children the efficacy of prayer, how to pray and what to pray for properly, that they may grow up with the faith in the divinity of this great work, that they should have as Latter-day Saints.
I trust and pray, my brethren and sisters, that the Lord will bless us, that we may be able to more fully appreciate the wonderful blessings that are showered out upon us in this goodly land where we reside, where the Lord has brought us, and that we may be able to remember Him in the requirements that He has made of us, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem, “Beautiful Zion for me.”
ELDER SAMUEL E. WOOLLEY.
(President of Hawaiian Mission.)
My brethren and sisters, it is indeed refreshing to me to meet with you in this conference, as I have been away for a number of years from the body of the Church, laboring in what was once a foreign land, but which today forms a part of Zion. It is indeed pleasing to meet so many who have taken upon themselves sacred covenants and obligations to serve the Lord with all our might, mind and strength, and rely upon His promises which will not fail. The Lord has said, through His prophet, in this day and dispensation in which we live, that “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do as I say; but when ye do not as I say, there is no promise.” I feel that we, as Latter-day Saints, should take this to heart. We should remember these precious promises that have been made to each of us. Every soul in this room, and in the other vast congregations in conference assembled, have, if they are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, received such a promise, and that promise is sure if we do our part. Therefore, I rejoice, as the brethren who have spoken have expressed themselves, more today than ever before in my life that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, that I have been called, by the servants of the Lord, to preach the words of life and salvation to a nation of people who have been hidden up by the power of God, the Eternal Father. Great promises have been made to that people, the Hawaiians, who have been despised because not properly known by but very few. They are a good people; they are of Israel, and a remnant of them will be saved in the kingdom of God, because the promises have been made. There are thousands who live in that far-off land who are true Latter-day Saints, true to their covenants, faithful in payment of tithes and offerings; and they are a prayerful people, and teach their children to pray.
When the missionaries found that people in the year, 1820, (missionaries of the Protestant denominations), they 'found them believing in God, a truly prayerful people, for they pray in a child-like manner, they open their souls unto the Lord as little children do. I have often envied them in their devotion, in prayer, for it has seemed to me that they could get nearer to the Lord than I could. I bring greeting from that people to the members of the Church in conference assembled. They send their “Aloha nui ia onkou a pan.” Many of them would love to gather to Zion, and I feel that many of them will. I hope that before the war is poured out upon all nations, many of them will be gathered to this land of safety, this land of peace, where the Lord has promised peace.
My heart goes out to those that have joined the Church in foreign lands, in Europe. They must 'feel sorry, yea, very sad to think that they have not gathered to Zion. Perhaps there are many of them who could not, that is not for us to say, but no doubt they will feel in their hearts to wish they were in Zion, a land of peace.
I feel that we should heed the admonitions that have been given us as a people by the President of the Church, that man whom we all love, that we should pray, that we should go into our closets, our secret places, and there offer up our devotion to God as He has directed. We should teach our children to pray, and to do what the authorities in the Church ask them, to honor and sustain those over them in authority. We who preside over missions realize the need for this, because we receive elders from different parts of this country, from families who have been brought up under different conditions, and we find that some of them need to be taught to pray. On one occasion an elder told me, when I asked him to pray in our family devotion at headquarters, that that was the first time in his life he had knelt down to pray with a family. He had faith enough in the Church and kingdom of God to leave his home to go and preach the gospel of peace to the world, but it would have been better for him had he been taught to pray at home.
I believe, my brethren and sisters, that young men and young women who are called to the mission fields should not try to direct the Priesthood as to where they are to go, but let the Priesthood say. That has been my faith always. We ought to learn the little song the chorus of which runs something like this:
“I will go where you want me to go,
I will say what you want me to say,
And will do what you want me to do.”
And sing it until its principle becomes part of us. If our young men and our young women learned this, and really realized it in their hearts and in their souls, they would say to the brethren who called them to go to the nations of the earth, wheresoever it might be, “I will go where you want me to go; I will do what you want me to do, and I will say what you want me to say, by the help of Him who rules on high. We ought to do this, because we would then go feeling in our hearts that we were just where the Lord wants us to be. I have never known in my life an instance of the Lord making any mistakes, or of the brethren who were called to preside making mistakes when guided by the influence of the Holy Ghost. It is the right and privilege of all to be guided by that influence, because it has been conferred upon us for that especial purpose. I feel that we Latter-day Saints ought to be faithful, and appreciative of the goodness and blessings of our Father.
I thought, while President Smith was saying this morning that none of us could make a blade of grass grow without the power of God, how true it is that “Paul may plant and Apollos may water, but God giveth the increase.” Let- us have complete faith in God who gives the increase, and that He is at the helm, guiding all things.
This work will go on, brethren and sisters, I have no doubt of it; the only doubt I have is in my ability to prove faithful under all conditions. I want to be faithful; I want to be true; I want to be loyal to the Priesthood; I want to be loyal to the work of God in every particular, and I want to do my duty faithfully and well.
Now I believe that we have, as I have said, a good people down in Hawaii, there are not very many of us—a little over 8,000 souls that belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are other thousands who have belonged to the Church and have passed to the other side, who will need to have ordinance work done 'for them in- the temples. I am trying to encourage those who are faithful to see to it that they gather their genealogies. It is going to be a difficult task, because those people do not take the name of the parent as we do; a man might be called John, and that would be the only name he would be known by, and his father’s name Samuel, only; furnishing no clue in names as to parenthood, except so far as their recollection goes. It appears to me that, after a while, the Lord will have to reveal many things pertaining to that good people, because of the promises that He has made through His prophets.
You will remember reading, in the Book of Mormon, of the promise made to Joseph, the son of Lehi, that a remnant of his seed should be preserved, and they would receive the Gospel. And then we read of one Hagaoth, a Nephite ship builder, who builded a large ship and took emigrants of the Nephites to the north, then he came back and builded other ships, and some of those were lost and driven away, and whether they sank in the mighty deep or were drifted to other lands, the writer says he knows not. But we believe, through tracing their genealogies, traditions and legends, that they are of that people who were lost, the Nephites that were migrating to the north, and that they drifted off to Hawaii-. The natural currents of the ocean teach us that.
I have a glass bottle in my office, at the mission headquarters, that was picked up on the shore of Laie, upon the island of Oahu. That bottle was thrown overboard from a vessel, north of San Francisco, and it contained documents giving the date, the latitude and longitude, the name of the vessel and the name of the captain of the ship from which it was thrown. How long this bottle had lain upon the sands of the sea shore we do not know, but we know that it was found, and we know that not so very long a time elapsed between the throwing of this bottle into the sea, containing the information that I have named sealed within it, until it was picked up on the shore at Laie a place familiar to all the elders and sisters who have labored in the islands of Hawaii.
Laie used to be a city of refuge in the days of the old kings, and it is now a city of refuge for the Saints living in that land, a gathering place. The servants of the Lord, the committee chosen to select a gathering place for the Saints of that mission, one of whom was our beloved President Joseph F. Smith, had the land shown in vision to them, and they reported the same to President Young, who authorized the purchase of the land, and since then it has been owned by the Church. It is a beautiful place. We are trying to build it up, and make it a city of refuge indeed for that people, where they can be cared for. I feel that the time has come when we need to have them gather together more than heretofore. They are being oppressed, and their lands are being bought by other people, and many of them are left homeless, so to speak. ’ We need to teach them to cultivate the soil more than they have done before. The spirit to plant and to cultivate has come over them; and there will be a market for everything they can raise, because of the large number of United States troops located upon that island; and also that they may have something in time of famine to feed the needy. We are trying to teach them to- save foodstuffs, that’ they may be prepared for a time when they will need it, as we have been taught, not only to provide for our spiritual welfare but for our temporal wants also.
Now I pray the Lord to bless this people, to bless all Israel, to bless al our missions in the earth, and all the elders and sisters who go out to preach peace and good will to gather Israel and to bring them home to Zion, where they may escape the judgments that are to be poured out upon those who will not repent.
May the Lord bless the people here in Zion, and help us to appreciate these beautiful valleys, and mountains of ours, and what the Lord has done and will do for us, if we are faithful; and that He will finally save us all in His kingdom, with the redeemed and sanctified. I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
(President of Hawaiian Mission.)
My brethren and sisters, it is indeed refreshing to me to meet with you in this conference, as I have been away for a number of years from the body of the Church, laboring in what was once a foreign land, but which today forms a part of Zion. It is indeed pleasing to meet so many who have taken upon themselves sacred covenants and obligations to serve the Lord with all our might, mind and strength, and rely upon His promises which will not fail. The Lord has said, through His prophet, in this day and dispensation in which we live, that “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do as I say; but when ye do not as I say, there is no promise.” I feel that we, as Latter-day Saints, should take this to heart. We should remember these precious promises that have been made to each of us. Every soul in this room, and in the other vast congregations in conference assembled, have, if they are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, received such a promise, and that promise is sure if we do our part. Therefore, I rejoice, as the brethren who have spoken have expressed themselves, more today than ever before in my life that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, that I have been called, by the servants of the Lord, to preach the words of life and salvation to a nation of people who have been hidden up by the power of God, the Eternal Father. Great promises have been made to that people, the Hawaiians, who have been despised because not properly known by but very few. They are a good people; they are of Israel, and a remnant of them will be saved in the kingdom of God, because the promises have been made. There are thousands who live in that far-off land who are true Latter-day Saints, true to their covenants, faithful in payment of tithes and offerings; and they are a prayerful people, and teach their children to pray.
When the missionaries found that people in the year, 1820, (missionaries of the Protestant denominations), they 'found them believing in God, a truly prayerful people, for they pray in a child-like manner, they open their souls unto the Lord as little children do. I have often envied them in their devotion, in prayer, for it has seemed to me that they could get nearer to the Lord than I could. I bring greeting from that people to the members of the Church in conference assembled. They send their “Aloha nui ia onkou a pan.” Many of them would love to gather to Zion, and I feel that many of them will. I hope that before the war is poured out upon all nations, many of them will be gathered to this land of safety, this land of peace, where the Lord has promised peace.
My heart goes out to those that have joined the Church in foreign lands, in Europe. They must 'feel sorry, yea, very sad to think that they have not gathered to Zion. Perhaps there are many of them who could not, that is not for us to say, but no doubt they will feel in their hearts to wish they were in Zion, a land of peace.
I feel that we should heed the admonitions that have been given us as a people by the President of the Church, that man whom we all love, that we should pray, that we should go into our closets, our secret places, and there offer up our devotion to God as He has directed. We should teach our children to pray, and to do what the authorities in the Church ask them, to honor and sustain those over them in authority. We who preside over missions realize the need for this, because we receive elders from different parts of this country, from families who have been brought up under different conditions, and we find that some of them need to be taught to pray. On one occasion an elder told me, when I asked him to pray in our family devotion at headquarters, that that was the first time in his life he had knelt down to pray with a family. He had faith enough in the Church and kingdom of God to leave his home to go and preach the gospel of peace to the world, but it would have been better for him had he been taught to pray at home.
I believe, my brethren and sisters, that young men and young women who are called to the mission fields should not try to direct the Priesthood as to where they are to go, but let the Priesthood say. That has been my faith always. We ought to learn the little song the chorus of which runs something like this:
“I will go where you want me to go,
I will say what you want me to say,
And will do what you want me to do.”
And sing it until its principle becomes part of us. If our young men and our young women learned this, and really realized it in their hearts and in their souls, they would say to the brethren who called them to go to the nations of the earth, wheresoever it might be, “I will go where you want me to go; I will do what you want me to do, and I will say what you want me to say, by the help of Him who rules on high. We ought to do this, because we would then go feeling in our hearts that we were just where the Lord wants us to be. I have never known in my life an instance of the Lord making any mistakes, or of the brethren who were called to preside making mistakes when guided by the influence of the Holy Ghost. It is the right and privilege of all to be guided by that influence, because it has been conferred upon us for that especial purpose. I feel that we Latter-day Saints ought to be faithful, and appreciative of the goodness and blessings of our Father.
I thought, while President Smith was saying this morning that none of us could make a blade of grass grow without the power of God, how true it is that “Paul may plant and Apollos may water, but God giveth the increase.” Let- us have complete faith in God who gives the increase, and that He is at the helm, guiding all things.
This work will go on, brethren and sisters, I have no doubt of it; the only doubt I have is in my ability to prove faithful under all conditions. I want to be faithful; I want to be true; I want to be loyal to the Priesthood; I want to be loyal to the work of God in every particular, and I want to do my duty faithfully and well.
Now I believe that we have, as I have said, a good people down in Hawaii, there are not very many of us—a little over 8,000 souls that belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are other thousands who have belonged to the Church and have passed to the other side, who will need to have ordinance work done 'for them in- the temples. I am trying to encourage those who are faithful to see to it that they gather their genealogies. It is going to be a difficult task, because those people do not take the name of the parent as we do; a man might be called John, and that would be the only name he would be known by, and his father’s name Samuel, only; furnishing no clue in names as to parenthood, except so far as their recollection goes. It appears to me that, after a while, the Lord will have to reveal many things pertaining to that good people, because of the promises that He has made through His prophets.
You will remember reading, in the Book of Mormon, of the promise made to Joseph, the son of Lehi, that a remnant of his seed should be preserved, and they would receive the Gospel. And then we read of one Hagaoth, a Nephite ship builder, who builded a large ship and took emigrants of the Nephites to the north, then he came back and builded other ships, and some of those were lost and driven away, and whether they sank in the mighty deep or were drifted to other lands, the writer says he knows not. But we believe, through tracing their genealogies, traditions and legends, that they are of that people who were lost, the Nephites that were migrating to the north, and that they drifted off to Hawaii-. The natural currents of the ocean teach us that.
I have a glass bottle in my office, at the mission headquarters, that was picked up on the shore of Laie, upon the island of Oahu. That bottle was thrown overboard from a vessel, north of San Francisco, and it contained documents giving the date, the latitude and longitude, the name of the vessel and the name of the captain of the ship from which it was thrown. How long this bottle had lain upon the sands of the sea shore we do not know, but we know that it was found, and we know that not so very long a time elapsed between the throwing of this bottle into the sea, containing the information that I have named sealed within it, until it was picked up on the shore at Laie a place familiar to all the elders and sisters who have labored in the islands of Hawaii.
Laie used to be a city of refuge in the days of the old kings, and it is now a city of refuge for the Saints living in that land, a gathering place. The servants of the Lord, the committee chosen to select a gathering place for the Saints of that mission, one of whom was our beloved President Joseph F. Smith, had the land shown in vision to them, and they reported the same to President Young, who authorized the purchase of the land, and since then it has been owned by the Church. It is a beautiful place. We are trying to build it up, and make it a city of refuge indeed for that people, where they can be cared for. I feel that the time has come when we need to have them gather together more than heretofore. They are being oppressed, and their lands are being bought by other people, and many of them are left homeless, so to speak. ’ We need to teach them to cultivate the soil more than they have done before. The spirit to plant and to cultivate has come over them; and there will be a market for everything they can raise, because of the large number of United States troops located upon that island; and also that they may have something in time of famine to feed the needy. We are trying to teach them to- save foodstuffs, that’ they may be prepared for a time when they will need it, as we have been taught, not only to provide for our spiritual welfare but for our temporal wants also.
Now I pray the Lord to bless this people, to bless all Israel, to bless al our missions in the earth, and all the elders and sisters who go out to preach peace and good will to gather Israel and to bring them home to Zion, where they may escape the judgments that are to be poured out upon those who will not repent.
May the Lord bless the people here in Zion, and help us to appreciate these beautiful valleys, and mountains of ours, and what the Lord has done and will do for us, if we are faithful; and that He will finally save us all in His kingdom, with the redeemed and sanctified. I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER DON B. COLTON.
(President of Uintah Stake.)
I think it is Winston Churchill, in his rather remarkable book “Inside of the Cup” that says: “The test of any doctrine is whether or not it can be translated into life, whether it will make those better who believe and obey it.” This quotation and thought has come to me this day in listening to the remarks of my brethren. In the same book the same author puts it into the mouth of one of his characters to say, in speaking to a minister of the gospel: “O if you only knew the yearning that exists in this great city for a religion that will satisfy the soulI” These two quotations have come to me, I say, during the day. and I am so grateful that, so far as my soul is concerned, the religion of Jesus Christ, as I understand it, satisfies. And more than that, I am willing that this test, as to whether or not this doctrine may be translated into life, may be made in the case of the members of the Church. To me one of the greatest evidences that the doctrines of the Church are translated into life, yea indeed become life itself, is the fact that out of every land and clime have been gathered people with various thoughts of life, with various habits of life.
From the southern parts of Europe, the Slavs have been gathered; from the Central, the Teutons; from the north, the Saxons and the Britons and various peoples from the islands of the sea, and they have become one homogeneous whole, welded together by a power that is a marvel to many people who make a study of the Church. “Translated into life.” These doctrines are life to the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have brought our people from foreign lands, many from scenes of poverty. The elders have gone forth preaching this word among the poor, the poor have been gathered here to this goodly land. These people who have received the Gospel have made good homes, they have reared good families. They have sent their sons back to the land of their forefathers as missionaries; and what wonderful changes one generation has wrought in the lives of the people.
Young men are called from various walks of life, from the farm, from the store, from the schoolroom, and from the various professions, that go out humbly, yet willing to receive the impressions and willing to work, and they have become valiant and courageous and able defenders of God’s work. The)' become men who are not afraid to meet the learned of the earth and talk to them upon the principles of the Gospel. Have these doctrines been translated into life? Look again. See a man as’ he is in his native place, often in wickedness, turn and in the face of the world embrace this Gospel with sincere soul, turn around and become a good, honest, God-fearing man. I have known of the influences of the Gospel to take hold of young men while riding upon the range, and have melted them to tears. They would get off their horses and ask God’s forgiveness. The light of the Gospel has come into their souls, and they have been .better, aye, a thousand times better, for the Spirit and power of God that has come to them when they have put their souls in a condition to receive the Gospel and its benefit and light. It has impressed itself upon our boys to go to school, because they have learned that the glory of God is intelligence, and that a man cannot be saved in ignorance. Therefore, all over the land, and all over the Church, young men and young women are filled with a desire to learn, to know, to become better, to feel what there is in life itself. They have learned to feel life, to know what life is. by seeing and feeling the brighter life translated into their lives; it has become part of their very lives, through the Gospel.
Does it satisfy the soul? Ask these men who have gathered from those lands and made homes among the happy people who are true to the Church. Ask them if they are satisfied, and they will answer. Yes, I am thankful to God that out in the world I heard this word; I heard and embraced it. Satisfied? They never knew happiness until this message came to them. Ask the boy who wants to study. Ask him who wants to get into the mysteries of life, are you satisfied? To him this life is not what Ingersoll said it was “A narrow vale between two cold and barren peaks of eternity.” No, it is not so with a man who comes in and studies this Gospel. It is an explanation to him of life before he came here, of life here and of life hereafter. No depth, no height, no width to which he may not go in the study of the problems of life. There are things revealed, light revealed sufficient to satisfy the most learned student, who with prayerful heart goes in and asks God to unlock to him the mysteries of the life hereafter, as well as life before coming here.
Ask the man or the woman who is called to part with a loved one, with a child, for instance. I have seen it; you have seen it, my brethren. You have been called, and you have gone to administer to the sick. We have seen the sick, in dozens of instances. praise God that His power is manifest in the Church. At times, it is true, God has called home our loved ones, and still are we satisfied. You and I have witnessed it. I have myself gone into the homes where death has come, and I have seen broken-hearted—may I say that—at least sorrowful fathers and mothers, weeping over the bier of their children, but they have looked up through their tears and said: “I thank God. for I know my child still lives, and though God has taken him or her from me. they still live, and the Lord liveth and the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, and blessed be the name of the Lord.” Where else can you find such satisfaction? Where else can you find such true happiness? Where else can you go to find the soul-satisfaction that you can find in the Gospel of Jesus Christ? And if this author’s test is a true one, if this work is to be judged and measured by its power to be translated into the lives of its people, or if it is to be measured by its power to satisfy the soul, we say that the requirements are met.
Now, in conclusion, one thought—the satisfaction that comes to me and to you, in this work to impart strength. The strength of the Gospel lies in this truth, that I have the right to know for myself whether this work is true or not. I have a right to have my soul satisfied along this line. So have you. And the strength of this work, I repeat, lies in the fact that all men may know God and know of this doctrine; that out in the Stakes of Zion, all over the world where the Gospel is preached, men and women rise up and declare, in words of soberness, that they know that this work is true, that God has revealed it to them. We sustain the authorities of the Church, not because we know them personally, but because God has called them to positions which they occupy, and we know it. We know this work is true, and therefore we sustain and uphold them.
God bless us all, that the testimony of the 'truth may be with us and make our hearts rejoice. I feel sure in my knowledge of the glorious truths God has revealed, and may we all feel that into our lives are translated the glorious truths of the Gospel, that we shall show the effect of that translation by our conduct, in just and true and pure lives, and if we shall do it, the results will follow, and our souls will be satisfied. God bless us to this end, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang the hymn:
As the dew, from heaven distilling,
Gently on the grass descends,
And revives it, thus fulfilling What
Thy providence intends.
(President of Uintah Stake.)
I think it is Winston Churchill, in his rather remarkable book “Inside of the Cup” that says: “The test of any doctrine is whether or not it can be translated into life, whether it will make those better who believe and obey it.” This quotation and thought has come to me this day in listening to the remarks of my brethren. In the same book the same author puts it into the mouth of one of his characters to say, in speaking to a minister of the gospel: “O if you only knew the yearning that exists in this great city for a religion that will satisfy the soulI” These two quotations have come to me, I say, during the day. and I am so grateful that, so far as my soul is concerned, the religion of Jesus Christ, as I understand it, satisfies. And more than that, I am willing that this test, as to whether or not this doctrine may be translated into life, may be made in the case of the members of the Church. To me one of the greatest evidences that the doctrines of the Church are translated into life, yea indeed become life itself, is the fact that out of every land and clime have been gathered people with various thoughts of life, with various habits of life.
From the southern parts of Europe, the Slavs have been gathered; from the Central, the Teutons; from the north, the Saxons and the Britons and various peoples from the islands of the sea, and they have become one homogeneous whole, welded together by a power that is a marvel to many people who make a study of the Church. “Translated into life.” These doctrines are life to the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They have brought our people from foreign lands, many from scenes of poverty. The elders have gone forth preaching this word among the poor, the poor have been gathered here to this goodly land. These people who have received the Gospel have made good homes, they have reared good families. They have sent their sons back to the land of their forefathers as missionaries; and what wonderful changes one generation has wrought in the lives of the people.
Young men are called from various walks of life, from the farm, from the store, from the schoolroom, and from the various professions, that go out humbly, yet willing to receive the impressions and willing to work, and they have become valiant and courageous and able defenders of God’s work. The)' become men who are not afraid to meet the learned of the earth and talk to them upon the principles of the Gospel. Have these doctrines been translated into life? Look again. See a man as’ he is in his native place, often in wickedness, turn and in the face of the world embrace this Gospel with sincere soul, turn around and become a good, honest, God-fearing man. I have known of the influences of the Gospel to take hold of young men while riding upon the range, and have melted them to tears. They would get off their horses and ask God’s forgiveness. The light of the Gospel has come into their souls, and they have been .better, aye, a thousand times better, for the Spirit and power of God that has come to them when they have put their souls in a condition to receive the Gospel and its benefit and light. It has impressed itself upon our boys to go to school, because they have learned that the glory of God is intelligence, and that a man cannot be saved in ignorance. Therefore, all over the land, and all over the Church, young men and young women are filled with a desire to learn, to know, to become better, to feel what there is in life itself. They have learned to feel life, to know what life is. by seeing and feeling the brighter life translated into their lives; it has become part of their very lives, through the Gospel.
Does it satisfy the soul? Ask these men who have gathered from those lands and made homes among the happy people who are true to the Church. Ask them if they are satisfied, and they will answer. Yes, I am thankful to God that out in the world I heard this word; I heard and embraced it. Satisfied? They never knew happiness until this message came to them. Ask the boy who wants to study. Ask him who wants to get into the mysteries of life, are you satisfied? To him this life is not what Ingersoll said it was “A narrow vale between two cold and barren peaks of eternity.” No, it is not so with a man who comes in and studies this Gospel. It is an explanation to him of life before he came here, of life here and of life hereafter. No depth, no height, no width to which he may not go in the study of the problems of life. There are things revealed, light revealed sufficient to satisfy the most learned student, who with prayerful heart goes in and asks God to unlock to him the mysteries of the life hereafter, as well as life before coming here.
Ask the man or the woman who is called to part with a loved one, with a child, for instance. I have seen it; you have seen it, my brethren. You have been called, and you have gone to administer to the sick. We have seen the sick, in dozens of instances. praise God that His power is manifest in the Church. At times, it is true, God has called home our loved ones, and still are we satisfied. You and I have witnessed it. I have myself gone into the homes where death has come, and I have seen broken-hearted—may I say that—at least sorrowful fathers and mothers, weeping over the bier of their children, but they have looked up through their tears and said: “I thank God. for I know my child still lives, and though God has taken him or her from me. they still live, and the Lord liveth and the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, and blessed be the name of the Lord.” Where else can you find such satisfaction? Where else can you find such true happiness? Where else can you go to find the soul-satisfaction that you can find in the Gospel of Jesus Christ? And if this author’s test is a true one, if this work is to be judged and measured by its power to be translated into the lives of its people, or if it is to be measured by its power to satisfy the soul, we say that the requirements are met.
Now, in conclusion, one thought—the satisfaction that comes to me and to you, in this work to impart strength. The strength of the Gospel lies in this truth, that I have the right to know for myself whether this work is true or not. I have a right to have my soul satisfied along this line. So have you. And the strength of this work, I repeat, lies in the fact that all men may know God and know of this doctrine; that out in the Stakes of Zion, all over the world where the Gospel is preached, men and women rise up and declare, in words of soberness, that they know that this work is true, that God has revealed it to them. We sustain the authorities of the Church, not because we know them personally, but because God has called them to positions which they occupy, and we know it. We know this work is true, and therefore we sustain and uphold them.
God bless us all, that the testimony of the 'truth may be with us and make our hearts rejoice. I feel sure in my knowledge of the glorious truths God has revealed, and may we all feel that into our lives are translated the glorious truths of the Gospel, that we shall show the effect of that translation by our conduct, in just and true and pure lives, and if we shall do it, the results will follow, and our souls will be satisfied. God bless us to this end, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang the hymn:
As the dew, from heaven distilling,
Gently on the grass descends,
And revives it, thus fulfilling What
Thy providence intends.
ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON.
(President of California Mission.)
I bring you greetings, my brethren and sisters and 'friends, from the California mission, and am happy to tell you that everything is propitious there for the work of the Lord, your fathers and husbands, your sons and brothers are doing good service in the Master's cause.
With the brethren who have preceded me, I appreciate, as I know every Latter-day Saint does, the fact that they are members of the Church of Christ, and citizens of Zion. Our songs and most of the talk this day has been in praise of the fact, or stating the fact, that this is the land of Zion, the land of peace. You who are familiar with holy writ know that this land has been hidden away from the ken of man, a choice and a chosen land for Joseph and his seed, who was separated from his brethren: and that the Gentiles who should come to this land, and acknowledge Christ as king and Lord, should be great in the eyes of the Omnipotent One, and that He would care for them and provide for them. He would fight their battles. All who would come up against Zion, white or black, bond or free, should perish, and those who would seek to set up a kingdom here should have their schemes brought to naught, and should signally fail; even those who should strive from afar to set up kings upon this land should likewise perish. This land, if the testimony of the greatest of our scientists be true, was hoary with age when Egypt was in her swaddling bands: first of the continents to thrust its bead above the waters, and first to pierce the sky with its mountains, was this glad land of America.
Just now, almost within the confines of the City of the Angels, in California, is the greatest archaeological find known to modern times. Bones are being disinterred there that, in the mind of the scientist and paleontologist, have determined the fact that here on this western hemisphere life began, both that of the beast of the field, the fowl of the air and of human kind. Elephants of huge and ponderous size, camels, horses, tigers, lions (greater than any known to modern times, and estimated to be 250,000 years old), the greatest bear known to history, the greatest wolf, the, greatest bird of prey, have all been disinterred in the oil pits of Lake La Brea, on the western confines or city limits of Los Angeles. The skeleton of a woman head downward, also supposed to be at least ten thousand years old, was found there. Whether she was thrown headlong into the pit of tar by angry spouse or a disgruntled lover, or whether she fell in while plaiting her hair before the lake as a mirror, is not known. But these things have gone to determine in the minds of men that America was the home of the human race, and the home where God first set His creatures free. From this land, Maya tradition tells us, as told by Le Piongeon, in his “Queen Moo” civilization was taken to Egypt. This was possibly by Egyptus—as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price, and the riddle is thus solved where Egypt and Egyptians obtained their civilization, and the wondrous knowledge of astronomy, of surveying, of agriculture, of medicine, etc., it came from America. the land from whence Noah sailed when he with his family embarked in the ark, when the waters of the great deep were broken up and the lands both of the old and the new world, so called, were inundated. This hidden land of Joseph, seen only in transient vision, perchance, sometimes, as by Isaiah, when he looked across the sands of Sahara, beyond the gates of the Mediterranean Sea, and cried out: ‘‘Woe! to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;” and beheld that there should be gathered the elect of God’s people in the last days, that there should His house be set up, and here should men learn of His ways and walk in His paths, as has been stated today, that “the law should go forth of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” If we needed evidence of the fulfillment of that part of this prophecy, we only need look at what is done today by the great nations striving for supremacy yet appealing to America for recognition, each one pleading to America to acknowledge the integrity and honor of their purpose in war, and to defend them through public opinion. We find again a testimony in the Monroe doctrine, which determined the policy of the states of America, that there should be no intervention come from abroad, that this land in its autonomy and integrity should be preserved by the government of the United States, founded under God and His inspiration for the establishment of liberty and conserving the rights of men, “nobly defended by the blood of our fathers,” and prayed for in the revelation prayer given to the Prophet Joseph Smith for the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, that “it should stand forever.”
A vindication of the promise that I quoted from the Book of Mormon relative to kings is found in the history, most melancholy, indeed, of Maximilian, one time a prince of Austria, who sought to set himself up as Emperor of Mexico. You know his sad fate (executed at the hands of the native forces of Mexico) perchance better than you do the fate of his loving and charming wife, Carlotta, who after all her vicissitudes of fortune which vainly seeking to bolster up the kingdom of her husband by European powers, is still an inmate of an insane asylum. Louis Napoleon, who refused to withdraw his troops, when England and Spain did upon the protest of the United States. At that time this country was unable to use its forces against those armies for the reason that we were engaged in a 'fratricidal war, foretold by the Prophet Joseph Smith many years before it came about, and from which time war should be poured out upon all nations. ’Twas then our country received its baptism of fire. At that time those two nations withdrew their forces. France persisted against our protest. What became of Louis III who sought to establish a king here? He became an exile to England, where he died, and his only son, Prince Bonaparte enlisted in a British regiment was ambushed and killed by the Zulus in South Africa.
Again in the house of Portugal. John VI, went to Rio Janeiro with his court and set up his son as emperor of Brazil, from which country he governed Portugal. In the early part of the 19th century, he returned to Portugal in a mad effort to overcome conditions there and establish his house firmly in that land but died broken-hearted. Dom Pedro, of Brazil, found his reign a tempestuous one, and abdicated in favor of his own son, who afterwards himself was glad to flee the land, when a republic was instituted. Portugal has seen, or we have seen, the fulfillment of God’s promises relative to the fate of the house of John— the assassination of Don Carlos and his brother and the exile of his brother, Manuelo, who now is a refugee in England, without a country and without a home that he can claim as his own. The same condition obtained when Antone Creile would have set up a kingdom in Chile, and made his daughter the “richest woman of Europe.” Put to death, in an uprising of the denizens of that state, he perished, and his daughter, broken-hearted, withdrew herself from the courts that she had graced with her smiles and her riches, and retired to Copenhagen, and three years ago, died in penury and was buried in the Potter’s field. God has kept His promise relative to this land of Zion. And as I recognize that the Lord has kept the other promises He has made, we may read the signs of the times and know that the Lord will fight the battles of this land just so long as the people of this loved country of ours shall acknowledge Christ as Lord and He shall be their king.
It was the note of John Hay, Secretary of State, that determined the outcome of the Russo-Japanese war before it was 'fought. He declared for the integrity of China and her autonomy, the withdrawal of the Russian forces and that the ports of that empire should be open to the commerce of the world. It staggered the diplomats of the world for a brief instant, the Kaiser of Germany and the King of England, objected, but it was not long, three days at the farthest, I think, until they themselves repeated the Hay note, and declared it for their policy, which is again, an example of the “law going forth from Zion” and having a radical and vital force in the affairs of the nations of the earth.
We have exercised a protectorate over some of the islands of the Pacific, as well as bringing Hawaii into Zion, as mentioned by Brother Woolley. We have exercised a protectorate over some of the West India islands, and the beneficent influence of this country, guaranteed by the constitution framed by our fathers, under the inspiration of God, must be recognized by the great nations of the earth. Verily, saith the Lord, as it written in the scriptures that shall be published by the people in this land of Joseph, the law they have of God shall find place in the hearts of men, they shall acknowledge the Christ as their king, they shall bow their knee and pay homage to Him, and His words shall go forth in power among the nations of men until all shall know the Lord, and “there shall be no need for one man to ask another, Knowest thou the Lord? but every man shall know Him from the greatest unto the least.” Then men, having become sickened with war and bloodshed, and famine, and rapine and plunder, shall turn themselves away from it, and learn the arts of peace, of industry, and walk in the ways of righteousness, and the millennium shall have dawned, and Christ shall have begun His reign for ever with His Saints. God hasten the day, I ask it, in Christ’s name. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem. “Gospel Restoration.”
Benediction was pronounced by Elder William N. Williams.
(President of California Mission.)
I bring you greetings, my brethren and sisters and 'friends, from the California mission, and am happy to tell you that everything is propitious there for the work of the Lord, your fathers and husbands, your sons and brothers are doing good service in the Master's cause.
With the brethren who have preceded me, I appreciate, as I know every Latter-day Saint does, the fact that they are members of the Church of Christ, and citizens of Zion. Our songs and most of the talk this day has been in praise of the fact, or stating the fact, that this is the land of Zion, the land of peace. You who are familiar with holy writ know that this land has been hidden away from the ken of man, a choice and a chosen land for Joseph and his seed, who was separated from his brethren: and that the Gentiles who should come to this land, and acknowledge Christ as king and Lord, should be great in the eyes of the Omnipotent One, and that He would care for them and provide for them. He would fight their battles. All who would come up against Zion, white or black, bond or free, should perish, and those who would seek to set up a kingdom here should have their schemes brought to naught, and should signally fail; even those who should strive from afar to set up kings upon this land should likewise perish. This land, if the testimony of the greatest of our scientists be true, was hoary with age when Egypt was in her swaddling bands: first of the continents to thrust its bead above the waters, and first to pierce the sky with its mountains, was this glad land of America.
Just now, almost within the confines of the City of the Angels, in California, is the greatest archaeological find known to modern times. Bones are being disinterred there that, in the mind of the scientist and paleontologist, have determined the fact that here on this western hemisphere life began, both that of the beast of the field, the fowl of the air and of human kind. Elephants of huge and ponderous size, camels, horses, tigers, lions (greater than any known to modern times, and estimated to be 250,000 years old), the greatest bear known to history, the greatest wolf, the, greatest bird of prey, have all been disinterred in the oil pits of Lake La Brea, on the western confines or city limits of Los Angeles. The skeleton of a woman head downward, also supposed to be at least ten thousand years old, was found there. Whether she was thrown headlong into the pit of tar by angry spouse or a disgruntled lover, or whether she fell in while plaiting her hair before the lake as a mirror, is not known. But these things have gone to determine in the minds of men that America was the home of the human race, and the home where God first set His creatures free. From this land, Maya tradition tells us, as told by Le Piongeon, in his “Queen Moo” civilization was taken to Egypt. This was possibly by Egyptus—as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price, and the riddle is thus solved where Egypt and Egyptians obtained their civilization, and the wondrous knowledge of astronomy, of surveying, of agriculture, of medicine, etc., it came from America. the land from whence Noah sailed when he with his family embarked in the ark, when the waters of the great deep were broken up and the lands both of the old and the new world, so called, were inundated. This hidden land of Joseph, seen only in transient vision, perchance, sometimes, as by Isaiah, when he looked across the sands of Sahara, beyond the gates of the Mediterranean Sea, and cried out: ‘‘Woe! to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia;” and beheld that there should be gathered the elect of God’s people in the last days, that there should His house be set up, and here should men learn of His ways and walk in His paths, as has been stated today, that “the law should go forth of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” If we needed evidence of the fulfillment of that part of this prophecy, we only need look at what is done today by the great nations striving for supremacy yet appealing to America for recognition, each one pleading to America to acknowledge the integrity and honor of their purpose in war, and to defend them through public opinion. We find again a testimony in the Monroe doctrine, which determined the policy of the states of America, that there should be no intervention come from abroad, that this land in its autonomy and integrity should be preserved by the government of the United States, founded under God and His inspiration for the establishment of liberty and conserving the rights of men, “nobly defended by the blood of our fathers,” and prayed for in the revelation prayer given to the Prophet Joseph Smith for the dedication of the Kirtland Temple, that “it should stand forever.”
A vindication of the promise that I quoted from the Book of Mormon relative to kings is found in the history, most melancholy, indeed, of Maximilian, one time a prince of Austria, who sought to set himself up as Emperor of Mexico. You know his sad fate (executed at the hands of the native forces of Mexico) perchance better than you do the fate of his loving and charming wife, Carlotta, who after all her vicissitudes of fortune which vainly seeking to bolster up the kingdom of her husband by European powers, is still an inmate of an insane asylum. Louis Napoleon, who refused to withdraw his troops, when England and Spain did upon the protest of the United States. At that time this country was unable to use its forces against those armies for the reason that we were engaged in a 'fratricidal war, foretold by the Prophet Joseph Smith many years before it came about, and from which time war should be poured out upon all nations. ’Twas then our country received its baptism of fire. At that time those two nations withdrew their forces. France persisted against our protest. What became of Louis III who sought to establish a king here? He became an exile to England, where he died, and his only son, Prince Bonaparte enlisted in a British regiment was ambushed and killed by the Zulus in South Africa.
Again in the house of Portugal. John VI, went to Rio Janeiro with his court and set up his son as emperor of Brazil, from which country he governed Portugal. In the early part of the 19th century, he returned to Portugal in a mad effort to overcome conditions there and establish his house firmly in that land but died broken-hearted. Dom Pedro, of Brazil, found his reign a tempestuous one, and abdicated in favor of his own son, who afterwards himself was glad to flee the land, when a republic was instituted. Portugal has seen, or we have seen, the fulfillment of God’s promises relative to the fate of the house of John— the assassination of Don Carlos and his brother and the exile of his brother, Manuelo, who now is a refugee in England, without a country and without a home that he can claim as his own. The same condition obtained when Antone Creile would have set up a kingdom in Chile, and made his daughter the “richest woman of Europe.” Put to death, in an uprising of the denizens of that state, he perished, and his daughter, broken-hearted, withdrew herself from the courts that she had graced with her smiles and her riches, and retired to Copenhagen, and three years ago, died in penury and was buried in the Potter’s field. God has kept His promise relative to this land of Zion. And as I recognize that the Lord has kept the other promises He has made, we may read the signs of the times and know that the Lord will fight the battles of this land just so long as the people of this loved country of ours shall acknowledge Christ as Lord and He shall be their king.
It was the note of John Hay, Secretary of State, that determined the outcome of the Russo-Japanese war before it was 'fought. He declared for the integrity of China and her autonomy, the withdrawal of the Russian forces and that the ports of that empire should be open to the commerce of the world. It staggered the diplomats of the world for a brief instant, the Kaiser of Germany and the King of England, objected, but it was not long, three days at the farthest, I think, until they themselves repeated the Hay note, and declared it for their policy, which is again, an example of the “law going forth from Zion” and having a radical and vital force in the affairs of the nations of the earth.
We have exercised a protectorate over some of the islands of the Pacific, as well as bringing Hawaii into Zion, as mentioned by Brother Woolley. We have exercised a protectorate over some of the West India islands, and the beneficent influence of this country, guaranteed by the constitution framed by our fathers, under the inspiration of God, must be recognized by the great nations of the earth. Verily, saith the Lord, as it written in the scriptures that shall be published by the people in this land of Joseph, the law they have of God shall find place in the hearts of men, they shall acknowledge the Christ as their king, they shall bow their knee and pay homage to Him, and His words shall go forth in power among the nations of men until all shall know the Lord, and “there shall be no need for one man to ask another, Knowest thou the Lord? but every man shall know Him from the greatest unto the least.” Then men, having become sickened with war and bloodshed, and famine, and rapine and plunder, shall turn themselves away from it, and learn the arts of peace, of industry, and walk in the ways of righteousness, and the millennium shall have dawned, and Christ shall have begun His reign for ever with His Saints. God hasten the day, I ask it, in Christ’s name. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem. “Gospel Restoration.”
Benediction was pronounced by Elder William N. Williams.
OUTDOOR MEETING.
A meeting was held in front of the Bureau of Information, at 2 p. m. Elder Benjamin Goddard presided, and the 20th Ward choir, conducted by David J. Watts, furnished the music.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
Hail to the brightness of Zion’s glad morning,
Joy to the lands that in darkness have lain!
Hushed be the accents of sorrow and mourning,
Zion in triumph begins her glad reign.
Prayer was offered by Patriarch William Jex.
The choir sang the hymn:
Behold, the mountain of the Lord
In latter days shall rise,
On mountain tops, above the hills,
And draw the wond’ring eyes.
A meeting was held in front of the Bureau of Information, at 2 p. m. Elder Benjamin Goddard presided, and the 20th Ward choir, conducted by David J. Watts, furnished the music.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn:
Hail to the brightness of Zion’s glad morning,
Joy to the lands that in darkness have lain!
Hushed be the accents of sorrow and mourning,
Zion in triumph begins her glad reign.
Prayer was offered by Patriarch William Jex.
The choir sang the hymn:
Behold, the mountain of the Lord
In latter days shall rise,
On mountain tops, above the hills,
And draw the wond’ring eyes.
ELDER BENJAMIN GODDARD.
(Sup’t Bureau of Information.)
Brethren and Sisters: We are very glad to welcome you all to this meeting. We realize that you may feel tired before the close, but the brethren who will address you are interesting speakers, and I bespeak for them your faith and prayers. There may be a little confusion while people are passing by, but I am quite sure that most of you will be satisfied to stay to the end of the service, at least we hope so.
I will refer very briefly to one or two items that may interest you. First, I direct your attention to the sterling character of the “Mormon" people, in contrast with prevailing views in some parts of the civilized world. I introduced to you, for the opening prayer, Elder William Jex, a patriarch of the Church, from Nebo Stake. I desire to say that he is in very deed, a patriarch. We compliment him upon this sacred calling. We commend all Israel for their desire to raise families of children that shall be an honor unto God’s cause.
Brother Jex and his good wife, now in their declining years, have been exceedingly blessed. Here is their family photo (showing it) and I venture to say that there are few communities outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints that can produce an equal record. This aged patriarch and his wife have a posterity of over two hundred souls, and all are good faithful members of the Church, and a credit to any community; and mark you, this is a monogamous family.
It is well to be familiar with such a record, at a time, especially, when there appears a desire on the part of some women to limit the size of their families. We commend all such people as Patriarch Jex and his wife for God has elected that spirits shall come from the eternal world and, when they come through such a lineage, they are fortunate indeed.
I desire also to read to you the last hymn sung by the choir, as we observe that many of you do not have hymn books. Probably some of you did not hear the words distinctly and they are too good to pass by lightly, especially in view of-the conditions now prevailing abroad, and that have been referred to so often during this conference. The sentiments will appeal strongly to all Latter-day Saints, for the verses breathe the spirit of prophecy, and contain a sermon well worth consideration.
The words of the hymn, which the choir sang so sweetly, are as follows:
“Behold the Mountain of the Lord
In latter-days shall rise,
On mountain tops, above the hills,
And draw the wond’ring eyes.
To this the joyful nations round,
All tribes and tongues, shall flow:
“Up to the hill of God,” they’ll say
And to His house, we’ll go.”
The rays that shine from Zion’s hill
Shall lighten every land;
The King who reigns in Salem’s towers
Shall all the world command.
Among the nations He shall judge,
His judgments truth shall guide,
His sceptre shall protect the just;
And quell the sinner’s pride.
No strife shall rage, nor hostile feuds
Disturb those peaceful years;
To plowshares men shall beat their swords,
To pruning-hooks their spears.
No longer host; encountering host,
Shall crowds of slain deplore;
They’ll hang the trumpet in the hall
And study war no more.
Come, then, O house of Jacob, come,
To worship at His shrine,
And, walking in the light of God,
With holy beauties shine.
I think you will join in the prayers that have been offered this day, that God will hasten the time when these prophecies shall be truly fulfilled, and I commend these thoughts to you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(Sup’t Bureau of Information.)
Brethren and Sisters: We are very glad to welcome you all to this meeting. We realize that you may feel tired before the close, but the brethren who will address you are interesting speakers, and I bespeak for them your faith and prayers. There may be a little confusion while people are passing by, but I am quite sure that most of you will be satisfied to stay to the end of the service, at least we hope so.
I will refer very briefly to one or two items that may interest you. First, I direct your attention to the sterling character of the “Mormon" people, in contrast with prevailing views in some parts of the civilized world. I introduced to you, for the opening prayer, Elder William Jex, a patriarch of the Church, from Nebo Stake. I desire to say that he is in very deed, a patriarch. We compliment him upon this sacred calling. We commend all Israel for their desire to raise families of children that shall be an honor unto God’s cause.
Brother Jex and his good wife, now in their declining years, have been exceedingly blessed. Here is their family photo (showing it) and I venture to say that there are few communities outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints that can produce an equal record. This aged patriarch and his wife have a posterity of over two hundred souls, and all are good faithful members of the Church, and a credit to any community; and mark you, this is a monogamous family.
It is well to be familiar with such a record, at a time, especially, when there appears a desire on the part of some women to limit the size of their families. We commend all such people as Patriarch Jex and his wife for God has elected that spirits shall come from the eternal world and, when they come through such a lineage, they are fortunate indeed.
I desire also to read to you the last hymn sung by the choir, as we observe that many of you do not have hymn books. Probably some of you did not hear the words distinctly and they are too good to pass by lightly, especially in view of-the conditions now prevailing abroad, and that have been referred to so often during this conference. The sentiments will appeal strongly to all Latter-day Saints, for the verses breathe the spirit of prophecy, and contain a sermon well worth consideration.
The words of the hymn, which the choir sang so sweetly, are as follows:
“Behold the Mountain of the Lord
In latter-days shall rise,
On mountain tops, above the hills,
And draw the wond’ring eyes.
To this the joyful nations round,
All tribes and tongues, shall flow:
“Up to the hill of God,” they’ll say
And to His house, we’ll go.”
The rays that shine from Zion’s hill
Shall lighten every land;
The King who reigns in Salem’s towers
Shall all the world command.
Among the nations He shall judge,
His judgments truth shall guide,
His sceptre shall protect the just;
And quell the sinner’s pride.
No strife shall rage, nor hostile feuds
Disturb those peaceful years;
To plowshares men shall beat their swords,
To pruning-hooks their spears.
No longer host; encountering host,
Shall crowds of slain deplore;
They’ll hang the trumpet in the hall
And study war no more.
Come, then, O house of Jacob, come,
To worship at His shrine,
And, walking in the light of God,
With holy beauties shine.
I think you will join in the prayers that have been offered this day, that God will hasten the time when these prophecies shall be truly fulfilled, and I commend these thoughts to you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER MELVIN J. BALLARD.
(President of Northwestern States Mission.)
To me this is a momentous day in the history, not only of modern Israel, but the world. Never since the year 1820, when the Prophet Joseph received in answer to his inquiry, which of all the churches was right, has the divine statement of the Lord Jesus, that all denominations had departed from the truth, that they had the form of godliness, but not the power thereof, and that he should not affiliate with any of them, witnessed a day more fruitful in evidence of the truthfulness of that statement than today. A summary of the changing of the creeds of the various religious denominations from the year 1820 would convince any reasonable- minded person that the Lord told the truth, and that out of the several denominations has there been a revolution of religious thought and doctrine, faith and belief, until the man or woman who was orthodox in the year 1820 if he or she entertained the same views today, would be considered guilty of heresy. Such have been the wonderful changes. But these changes perhaps have been so slow, that even to our minds we have not fully appreciated what it all means. And to the world the changes may have been so slow that the world has not observed any change at all. But this day, this year, is fruitful with new evidence of the truthfulness of that statement. And as I listened to the remarks of our President, this morning, in reference to the great disturbances that interest us all, and the balance of the world, I found in this very thing a literal, an absolute and a complete fulfilment of the words of the Master when He said: “They have the form of godliness, but not the power thereof.”
When we realize that from a thousand altars in Austria there are going up this day prayers to the same God whom the French worship, the Russians, the English, and all Christian men are paying their devotion to; that up from these Catholic altars of Austria (and Austria stands as one of the strong nations of the world representing the great Roman Catholic Church), that from these altars are rising prayers to God for strength that the Austrian soldiers may repel their brothers of the Greek Catholic Church, who sweep down upon them in mighty force from Russia, the strong quarters of that other great faction of the Christian religion, the Greek Catholic Church. And then over in Germany, the headquarters of Protestantism, at least where Protestantism was born, where it has been protected and thrived, the same prayers are being offered for power to destroy the Christian brethren of another nation. Likewise in France, where there are a mixture of Protestants and Catholics, prayers are ascending for the success of the armies of the allies. And in England, the headquarters of another faction of Protestantism, the mighty Episcopal, or English Church, there are ascending similar prayers; so that well nigh all factions, or at least the great majority, of Christianity is represented in these mighty nations who are in this terrific struggle. And I have thought of what I have read during the last few weeks, questions that have been ringing through all the leading magazines, periodicals, and from the pulpits of the great religious denominations, “Has Christianity then, broken down, and has it failed? After two thousand years, is this the fruit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?" I discover that there are many men and women losing their faith. They are beginning to question if there is a God; if there is a God of the Christian religion, where is He? If there is a God, why has He deserted us? Why does He not speak? Why does He remain silent and witness the slaughter and destruction of countless thousands of innocent men daily?
It is a good time for us to begin to observe if we have allowed ourselves to grow careless and indifferent. Have we read the signs of the times to observe what God means, that He is speaking, is exercising control among the destinies of the nations? What does all this mean? There is no reason why the Latter-day Saints should be in the dark, in view of the light, in view of the truth that has come into the world. All this spells something to the Latter-day Saints, the fulfilment of ancient and modern prophecy, and the fulfilment of the truth of the utterance made by the Lord Jesus when He said that all the religions of the world, although claiming to be His, had but the form of godliness, but lacked the power thereof. What has become of the vital power of Christianity that would convert pagan men, teach them to love God, to love their brethren, to learn to control their own feelings and desires, master their tempers and their passions so that they might when smitten on the one cheek turn the other, if sued for their coat, give their cloak also? What has become of the religion that would produce these fruits? Anciently it was possible to discover among the Christian men and women who accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ, fruits of this character, men who could willingly, cheerfully face death itself without murmuring, without resenting, leaving vengeance in the hands of God. I proclaim to you my brethren and sisters, that in thunder tones, there is ringing forth over the world the evidence that Christianity is not the vital Gospel, nor has it the power and force that Jesus Christ endowed it with in the beginning. I do not speak of this to rejoice over the weakness or the failures of my brothers of other Christian denominations, who are struggling against great odds, trying to make the religion of itself effective. I sorrow for them; I do not rejoice at their failures. I grieve, because among them are thousands of honest workers who are handicapped because they do not have the truth; and from this day forward their struggle will be a struggle against great odds, because there will be thrown in the face of all appeals for men to be Christians, the present failure of Christianity to mellow the hearts of men, to soften them towards their fellows.
Perhaps there is no war that has been waged in the world, of any consequence that had so little excuse for its existence as this war; and yet it comes after these hundreds of years of preaching of the Gospel of Peace. There is a form of godliness over Belgium, Germany, France, Russia and other nations. There are evidences of a form of godliness in the thousands of church towers that rise to the skies, but I regret to say that the evidence of the Christianity of the men and women of these nations is lacking, as shown by their eagerness to fly at each other’s throats with all the venom and greediness for blood and destruction ever exhibited by pagan nations. And so, my brethren and sisters, you men who have been in the world preaching the restoration of the Everlasting Gospel, if you have lifted up your voice long and loud proclaiming this truth, if you have sought and endeavored in your lives to live so that your lives would proclaim the restoration of the whole power, the whole truth with all of its vital force, if you have done this in the past, there is every evidence and more reason why you should do it more earnestly, more devotedly today than ever you have done before.
A few years ago a Christian minister in the State of Montana, a section of our mission, had his eyes opened, and strange to say, this is a day when so many men, having eyes see not; ears, they hear not, and hearts, they do not understand, and are blunted to the truth; but here and there men catch glimpses of the real situation and are fearless enough to proclaim it. And when I read these striking words from this Christian minister it impressed me, and today his declaration sounds nearer the truth, and rings more strikingly, than it did a few years ago. He asks:
“Is the church anything but a mere social organization? Is the Christianity of today the true doctrine of the Christ of the Bible? Has the so-called Christianity of today anything in it that ought to attract more than any other creed that is supposed to help humanity? The Christian community of the present is loud in its claims of vast conquest and remarkable victories. We are invited to see its acquired wealth, its tremendous expansion and to hear the clang of its enormous and intricate machinery. But with all of this, 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. 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. Then the more than human element was visible in our creed. Holy men had heavenly visions. Sickness was cured by spiritual power. The dead were raised. Holy men spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Prison doors were opened and Ananias and Sapphira fell lifeless at the Apostles’ feet for playing with this power. Is the spiritual element that so characterized those days an ancient relic of something worn out like a garment? The commission to the early Christian teachers was that they must be imbued with power from on high and then go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and that power was always manifested when they performed the deed.
The Christian religion of the present is merely a social code and has nothing in it whereby if could claim a divine origin. It is truly pitiable to behold the church religion of today trying to save this sinful world. We have lost our magnet. The Christ who said He would draw all men to Him if He was lifted up, is disobeyed and ignored in the multiplicity of our present church life. Since we have presented many substitutes in the world for genuine spiritual power, they are of no more value in the saving of the sinner than an artificial heart would be in pumping blood through the arteries. We are like men trying to run an engine without steam.
The church of today is the church of man, not the church of God. I predict its crashing to pieces like a ship on the rocks before a heavy sea, in the nearby years, unless there is a mighty turning to God in our ranks.
I think these extracts from this minister of the Methodist Church is one of the evidences from the outside, that the Lord Jesus told the truth to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and I say that this year is bringing forth the best evidence that has ever been produced to prove it. When I want to judge the world, as I now say they ought to be judged, by their fruits, to demonstrate whether or not they have indeed the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, I feel that “Mormonism,” so-called, or the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, as proclaimed by the Latter-day Saints, ought to stand the same test. In applying that test, I will ask you, is it possible that there has been produced a community of people, gathered from all nations of the earth, a race of men and women, who, in their lives are demonstrating that they are producing the fruits of the Gospel of peace and of good-will towards their fellow men, and that they are not chargeable with the things that we charge against the Christian denominations? Looking back in a short and brief glance over the history of the past, there come distinctly to our minds the severe trials through which the Latter-day Saints have passed, giving them the opportunity to demonstrate whether or nor they could resist the natural inclinations of the. flesh to fight and retaliate, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Go back to the days of Illinois, back to the days of Missouri, when they were expelled from Jackson County, when they were expelled ultimately from the State of Missouri, or at the period when the prophet was taken and unjustly imprisoned and foully murdered in Carthage jail in the State of Illinois. Notwithstanding the Latter-day Saints were in great numbers in Nauvoo, and Carthage had but two thousand souls, was there a spirit of murder in their, hearts or of retaliation?
I remember on a visit to the city of Carthage of meeting a man, now an old gentleman, who was a witness of the martyrdom of the prophet. He said that, returning from hauling away from the City of Carthage the records of the county, for fear the “Mormons” would come down to Carthage and destroy them, he met men, women and children fleeing in every direction, fearing the wrath of the “Mormons.” That when he arrived in Carthage he said, there were about six families remaining in the city; all had fled. (“The wicked flee when no man pursueth.”) It was feared the "Mormons” would come. It was known that just provocation had been raised, and if they did take vengeance in their own hands and come down to mete out justice, it would have been only the ordinary course of events. And then the next night he was permitted to go with his father and others towards Nauvoo with the bodies of the Prophet Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and he said: “We met the ‘.Mormons,’ but they were not carrying arms. We met them, twenty thousand of them, lining the street leading out from Nauvoo to Carthage, with their heads uncovered, weeping for the loss of their dead, and murmuring all along the way the words: ‘Vengeance is God’s he will repay’.”
I assert that all through our existence we have said “Vengeance is the Lord’s, He will repay.” And there has been born and bred in our spirit, as young men and young women, the disposition to train our impulsive souls. When we go into the mission field and have the door slammed in our faces, are insulted and abused, we have been taught by the spirit of the Gospel to go by ourselves and say: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” We have been led to love them, though they hate us.
I have never seen among the ministry, or among men of the world, evidence of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to love your enemies, as exhibited in the lives of the Latter-day Saints. Our fathers and mothers have set a splendid example to the young men and young women of this Church; and inasmuch as the struggle is not ended, and the battle is yet on, I appeal to you, that the day is coming when you shall be given a grand opportunity of exhibiting and displaying before the world the fortitude and the power there is in the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not from your public sermons, not from the publication of your word and message, but from your lives shall arise evidences to convince men of the truth. And when they look over the world and see the wreck and ruin that has been wrought in the very centers of modern Christianity they will search for something more powerful in effecting the salvation and peace of men. When their eyes shall light upon this community, established as a city upon a hill, whose light will shine forth and direct the attention of the world, they shall say: “What is this?” “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the House of the God of Jacob, that we may learn of His ways and walk in His paths.” Such shall be the declaration of the honest in heart in the years that are yet to come, and I appeal to you, my brethren and sisters, to live from this day forward more nearly that standard that has been laid down and established, live up to what the Gospel teaches.
The best of us have never obtained from the Gospel what the Gospel would give, and I say that there will be an opportunity such as has never been given before, to demonstrate in a practical way what the Gospel is. There are numerous evidences that ought to inspire and influence every boy and girl, and every man and woman that here" is the truth. No matter what discouragements we meet—and sometimes we get discouraged, and sometimes we are offended, and sometimes we go away like some Saints of old did from Jesus. He looked upon them tenderly, as they departed, and said to the Apostles: “Will ye go also?’’ He had taught them doctrine that was hard to observe ; it required personal sacrifice and self-denial. If so tempted, I hope we shall say as Peter did: “Whither shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life?” And I want to ask every young man and young woman, and every member of the Church, if the day of trial comes, and you may be offended grieved and feel that somebody has not treated you just right—I want you to ask “Whither shall you go?” Ask yourself: “Is there a haven of rest for you outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?” And should we not be willing to be true though trials may come. Ella Wheeler Wilcox said: “It was easy to be pleasant when the world went like a song, but the man worth while is the man who smiles when everything goes dead wrong.” I paraphrase her words. It is easy enough for you to be a member of the Church when all we ask and covet and desire comes to us, when if we ask for prosperity it comes; when our sick lie at the point of death and we pray for them and appeal to God, and they are healed. We are then quite willing to be members of the Church. It is easy for us, when our brothers are all very agreeable, and there is no disturbance, and we have our own sweet will and way, it is easy, then, for us to be members of the Church. But the man worth while, and the man who will survive, is the man who will take the disappointments of life, the man or woman who will stand in the presence of appalling disasters. Death comes, and not life, when you seek life; when you desire prosperity, we are tried with poverty, with affliction and with temptations of the world. It is then the test comes, and strength must be exhibited, it is then that it takes true courage, love and fidelity to believe the truth and live it. And so, notwithstanding we have difficulties and obstacles, here is the truth. We must learn early to know that it is the truth, that we can trust God. come what may, that we may stand unappalled, no matter what the little personal difficulties and obstacles and fault-finding or complaint we may have. We must have such trust and abiding faith that if we are not made the Bishop of the ward or counselor of the bishopric, or President of the stake, that we will still be true, just as true and faithful as a lay member of the Church. My glory, my heaven, shall come through my individual work, and I must be willing to trust him, no matter whether I have my own sweet way or not.
I have thought the love displayed on the part of our Father in heaven towards His people, towards the world, and especially towards the Latter-day Saints, was sufficient to hold us, no matter what may come. And as I look back upon the experience of this Church, its trials and difficulties have been many, and yet out from these many difficulties our Father has brought goodness and blessings to the Latter-day Saints. I have thought of our own great Civil War, and of the drivings and mobbings and pillaging of the Latter-day Saints; I have no doubt with what great sorrow and great difficulty our fathers and mothers left their homes, forsook those goodly lands and made that wonderful pilgrimage to this land, believing that it was the trial of their lives. And it was a severe trial, but they had to wait only a short time to see, shining behind those dark clouds, the smiling face of their heavenly Father, for He led them to the only place in all this goodly land where there was peace; and the very place where they wanted to stay became the battle field between the North and South; and had the Church remained it would have suffered in the midst of the conflict. Through the mercy of the Lord we were taken away from the war zone of the United States, and brought to this land of peace. Not that we shirked our responsibilities, for the first message that went over the wires to President Lincoln by President Young, who was then the governor of this territory was, “Utah has not seceded, but is firm for the Constitution and the Union,” and offered the services of our men. The services were accepted, hundreds of them enlisted, and then, through the kind providence of our. Father, we were not placed at the battlefront, but were given the privilege of doing military duty in the western part of the country; and the regular soldiers from here were withdrawn to do service at the front of the battle. I now look back upon the wonderful gathering of modern Israel, one of a city and two of a family, have been gathered to this land. “Come out of her, O ye, my people, that ye be not partakers of her plagues,” has a clear meaning to us now. We ought to be thankful to be here, brethren from Great Britain, from Austria, and all those nations that are now full of trouble and strife. We might have been in the European armies, fighting, had it not been for the Gospel that reached our fathers and mothers, and brought them to this land. Once again the wonderful manifestation of the goodness and the mercy of the Lord is indicated in the peaceful settlement of the Latter-day Saints in glorious America, the land of peace, the land of Zion.
I proclaim to you that there is if we shall observe and study, enough evidence to satisfy us all, notwithstanding our enemies have been numerous, our drivings and mobbings have been many; and though today we stand misrepresented and misunderstood, that the favor of the Almighty is over this people. If God ever had His hand over a people in the history of this world, then that people are the Latter-day Saints.
I have thought, as I have had the opportunity of traveling over the sections where our people were once established, and have seen the blight that has fallen upon them ,and seldom have I discovered one of them that is as large as it was when the Saints left it. Some are without railroads and sadly neglected; that the man was blind who could not see that the disfavor of the Lord rested upon those who abused and drove the Latter-day Saints from their homes in Missouri and Illinois. And his favor is with them in the mountain fastnesses, the desert wastes smile and blossom as a rose ; the late and early frosts were stayed, the springs were opened, the ground became productive; and the blessings of God has been wherever the Latter-day Saints have established themselves, until it seems to me that the man or woman is blind indeed who cannot see this evidence of God’s goodness and mercy to us. I have felt that the Lord wanted us to understand that He loves us; He was teaching us this when He gave to' Abraham the test of his life, to offer his son, Isaac, whom he loved with all his heart, the child of his promise, to give him as a sacrifice, he was speaking to us of His love through the test of Father Abraham. He was trying to make us feel how much He loved us, that He would give His Only Begotten Son for us. There have been numerous evidences given to the world from the very beginning, that our heavenly Father loved His children, in the blessing of the people of the world with health, life and strength, that has been given to each one of us; and if there is anything bigger and greater than His giving of His precious Son, as an evidence of His love towards men in the world, then I do not know what the Father could do to manifest His love.
Take the case of Abraham: he was to be the example and the pattern or illustration of the love and ' affection that the Father had for his children. “Take your only begotten son and offer him as a sacrifice.” I have thought of the poor old man gathering up the fagots, starting up the mountain with his child of promise. Three days they walked until they reached the place where the sacrifice was to take place, and then his only child and son of promise said to his father: “We have forgotten something, father. Where is the sacrifice ?” Oh, how it must have torn the father, made his heart to bleed to hear from the innocent lips of his child, whom he loved better than life itself, the reminder that he should take the life of his child! He could not speak, his heart must have swelled almost to bursting. And still he went on day after day, until he reached the spot. The altar was erected, the fagots placed upon it, the child bound, the steel bared, the arm raised that should strike the blow. “It is enough,” said the angel who stayed the hand. Here is the sacrifice. It was to make you feel what our Father felt, when He who loved His Son better than it is possible for mortals to love their own flesh and blood, gave His Son to the world, for the world’s redemption, for the world’s peace, and the world’s salvation. Do you not think that while the Father, who had the power to save His Son from the abuse, from the crown of thorns, from the whippings and mistreatment ; do you not think it was a trial for Him, who had the power to save His Son, to stand by and witness the appeal of the Son, in agony until great drops of blood came from His body. “If it is possible, save me, O Father!” Think of your own child. If your child was in distress, is there a man among us entrusted with the power to save, and would not use it? God knows that we are so human that if He should give us power to save our own, we would save them every time. And yet he had the power to save and did not save. What mother would not fly through fire and water at hearing the appeal of her child in distress. How it must have tried the father to hear the cry and lamentation of the Son: “If it is possible, Father, let it pass by!” I say the Father was grief-stricken when He heard the taunting of those who stood by? “He saved others, why don’t He save Himself?” After the hours of grief and agony, there came a moment when Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” If Jesus truly said that, it was not that the Father had forsaken, but that the hour had arrived, which often arrives in our own human experience, an hour when the mother, for example, who cannot any longer stand to bear the sight of her dying child, after the farewell is given, is taken out of the room, not to witness the last dying struggles of her loved one. And so, the Father, taxed to the utmost, had withdrawn, and somewhere was weeping for His beloved Son. Even He could not stand the sight any longer. But as I have thought of it, in my heart I have thanked God, that when in that critical moment, He might have saved His Son, he saw us, perishing in the grave, lost to Him, and lost to that salvation which is to come, he saw that on the one hand, and the appeals and the suffering of His Son on the other; and, thank God, He decided in our favor, and allowed the suffering and death of His Son. And in that, I maintain that He has manifested His love for us, that ought to make us trust him, though clouds may. gather and darkness come, though like Job of old, “He may slay me, yet shall I trust Him,” because I know that He loves me, and I know that He is not anxious to see my tears of sorrow and-distress. I know that He designs to purge me and purify me, and that behind this apparent darkness and cloud, there is a smiling face.
So I say to you, my brethren and sisters, if doubt and discouragement shall ever come to your heart with reference to the truth of this work established, look back upon these evidences of the wonderful providence and mercy and love of our Father, and read anew, the truth that God loves us, that this is His work, that His Son Jesus lives, and is the Savior of the world, and that the Elders of this Church are the servants of the Father in heaven. We are human beings with human weaknesses, and yet I confess to you that I have had the opportunity to meet leading men of other communities, and I say in all earnestness, and I do not want to be a hero-worshiper, either, but I assert to you without fear of contradiction, I have never met, in all the world, men whose hearts are as clean and as pure and as undefiled as the leaders of this Church. I testify to you that they are the servants of God, that the light is in the ship, and God is at the helm. May He give us the strength to stay by the ship until she weathers the storms and comes into that haven of rest after the great battle that God has assigned to her is ended, and human emancipation, redemption and salvation—and, ultimately, the reign of peace is obtained. That out of this trouble and this strife shall merge peace. The world may have to get it through the gates of war, but there shall come an era of peace, when wickedness shall cease, when the powers that have oppressed men shall be done away with, and liberties and rights shall be given to every nation that we enjoy in this favored land. There is no blunder. Though death and destruction may yet be numerous and abundant on all hands, I can see, shining through the black clouds of the present, an era of peace, a day of rest and salvation. I can see a people leading to that way, pointing the way for the countless thousands who shall remain: the mission to do this is delegated to the Latter-day Saints. God bless them that they may fulfill their divine mission and destiny, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(President of Northwestern States Mission.)
To me this is a momentous day in the history, not only of modern Israel, but the world. Never since the year 1820, when the Prophet Joseph received in answer to his inquiry, which of all the churches was right, has the divine statement of the Lord Jesus, that all denominations had departed from the truth, that they had the form of godliness, but not the power thereof, and that he should not affiliate with any of them, witnessed a day more fruitful in evidence of the truthfulness of that statement than today. A summary of the changing of the creeds of the various religious denominations from the year 1820 would convince any reasonable- minded person that the Lord told the truth, and that out of the several denominations has there been a revolution of religious thought and doctrine, faith and belief, until the man or woman who was orthodox in the year 1820 if he or she entertained the same views today, would be considered guilty of heresy. Such have been the wonderful changes. But these changes perhaps have been so slow, that even to our minds we have not fully appreciated what it all means. And to the world the changes may have been so slow that the world has not observed any change at all. But this day, this year, is fruitful with new evidence of the truthfulness of that statement. And as I listened to the remarks of our President, this morning, in reference to the great disturbances that interest us all, and the balance of the world, I found in this very thing a literal, an absolute and a complete fulfilment of the words of the Master when He said: “They have the form of godliness, but not the power thereof.”
When we realize that from a thousand altars in Austria there are going up this day prayers to the same God whom the French worship, the Russians, the English, and all Christian men are paying their devotion to; that up from these Catholic altars of Austria (and Austria stands as one of the strong nations of the world representing the great Roman Catholic Church), that from these altars are rising prayers to God for strength that the Austrian soldiers may repel their brothers of the Greek Catholic Church, who sweep down upon them in mighty force from Russia, the strong quarters of that other great faction of the Christian religion, the Greek Catholic Church. And then over in Germany, the headquarters of Protestantism, at least where Protestantism was born, where it has been protected and thrived, the same prayers are being offered for power to destroy the Christian brethren of another nation. Likewise in France, where there are a mixture of Protestants and Catholics, prayers are ascending for the success of the armies of the allies. And in England, the headquarters of another faction of Protestantism, the mighty Episcopal, or English Church, there are ascending similar prayers; so that well nigh all factions, or at least the great majority, of Christianity is represented in these mighty nations who are in this terrific struggle. And I have thought of what I have read during the last few weeks, questions that have been ringing through all the leading magazines, periodicals, and from the pulpits of the great religious denominations, “Has Christianity then, broken down, and has it failed? After two thousand years, is this the fruit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?" I discover that there are many men and women losing their faith. They are beginning to question if there is a God; if there is a God of the Christian religion, where is He? If there is a God, why has He deserted us? Why does He not speak? Why does He remain silent and witness the slaughter and destruction of countless thousands of innocent men daily?
It is a good time for us to begin to observe if we have allowed ourselves to grow careless and indifferent. Have we read the signs of the times to observe what God means, that He is speaking, is exercising control among the destinies of the nations? What does all this mean? There is no reason why the Latter-day Saints should be in the dark, in view of the light, in view of the truth that has come into the world. All this spells something to the Latter-day Saints, the fulfilment of ancient and modern prophecy, and the fulfilment of the truth of the utterance made by the Lord Jesus when He said that all the religions of the world, although claiming to be His, had but the form of godliness, but lacked the power thereof. What has become of the vital power of Christianity that would convert pagan men, teach them to love God, to love their brethren, to learn to control their own feelings and desires, master their tempers and their passions so that they might when smitten on the one cheek turn the other, if sued for their coat, give their cloak also? What has become of the religion that would produce these fruits? Anciently it was possible to discover among the Christian men and women who accepted the Gospel of Jesus Christ, fruits of this character, men who could willingly, cheerfully face death itself without murmuring, without resenting, leaving vengeance in the hands of God. I proclaim to you my brethren and sisters, that in thunder tones, there is ringing forth over the world the evidence that Christianity is not the vital Gospel, nor has it the power and force that Jesus Christ endowed it with in the beginning. I do not speak of this to rejoice over the weakness or the failures of my brothers of other Christian denominations, who are struggling against great odds, trying to make the religion of itself effective. I sorrow for them; I do not rejoice at their failures. I grieve, because among them are thousands of honest workers who are handicapped because they do not have the truth; and from this day forward their struggle will be a struggle against great odds, because there will be thrown in the face of all appeals for men to be Christians, the present failure of Christianity to mellow the hearts of men, to soften them towards their fellows.
Perhaps there is no war that has been waged in the world, of any consequence that had so little excuse for its existence as this war; and yet it comes after these hundreds of years of preaching of the Gospel of Peace. There is a form of godliness over Belgium, Germany, France, Russia and other nations. There are evidences of a form of godliness in the thousands of church towers that rise to the skies, but I regret to say that the evidence of the Christianity of the men and women of these nations is lacking, as shown by their eagerness to fly at each other’s throats with all the venom and greediness for blood and destruction ever exhibited by pagan nations. And so, my brethren and sisters, you men who have been in the world preaching the restoration of the Everlasting Gospel, if you have lifted up your voice long and loud proclaiming this truth, if you have sought and endeavored in your lives to live so that your lives would proclaim the restoration of the whole power, the whole truth with all of its vital force, if you have done this in the past, there is every evidence and more reason why you should do it more earnestly, more devotedly today than ever you have done before.
A few years ago a Christian minister in the State of Montana, a section of our mission, had his eyes opened, and strange to say, this is a day when so many men, having eyes see not; ears, they hear not, and hearts, they do not understand, and are blunted to the truth; but here and there men catch glimpses of the real situation and are fearless enough to proclaim it. And when I read these striking words from this Christian minister it impressed me, and today his declaration sounds nearer the truth, and rings more strikingly, than it did a few years ago. He asks:
“Is the church anything but a mere social organization? Is the Christianity of today the true doctrine of the Christ of the Bible? Has the so-called Christianity of today anything in it that ought to attract more than any other creed that is supposed to help humanity? The Christian community of the present is loud in its claims of vast conquest and remarkable victories. We are invited to see its acquired wealth, its tremendous expansion and to hear the clang of its enormous and intricate machinery. But with all of this, 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. 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. Then the more than human element was visible in our creed. Holy men had heavenly visions. Sickness was cured by spiritual power. The dead were raised. Holy men spoke with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Prison doors were opened and Ananias and Sapphira fell lifeless at the Apostles’ feet for playing with this power. Is the spiritual element that so characterized those days an ancient relic of something worn out like a garment? The commission to the early Christian teachers was that they must be imbued with power from on high and then go and baptize all nations in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and that power was always manifested when they performed the deed.
The Christian religion of the present is merely a social code and has nothing in it whereby if could claim a divine origin. It is truly pitiable to behold the church religion of today trying to save this sinful world. We have lost our magnet. The Christ who said He would draw all men to Him if He was lifted up, is disobeyed and ignored in the multiplicity of our present church life. Since we have presented many substitutes in the world for genuine spiritual power, they are of no more value in the saving of the sinner than an artificial heart would be in pumping blood through the arteries. We are like men trying to run an engine without steam.
The church of today is the church of man, not the church of God. I predict its crashing to pieces like a ship on the rocks before a heavy sea, in the nearby years, unless there is a mighty turning to God in our ranks.
I think these extracts from this minister of the Methodist Church is one of the evidences from the outside, that the Lord Jesus told the truth to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and I say that this year is bringing forth the best evidence that has ever been produced to prove it. When I want to judge the world, as I now say they ought to be judged, by their fruits, to demonstrate whether or not they have indeed the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, I feel that “Mormonism,” so-called, or the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, as proclaimed by the Latter-day Saints, ought to stand the same test. In applying that test, I will ask you, is it possible that there has been produced a community of people, gathered from all nations of the earth, a race of men and women, who, in their lives are demonstrating that they are producing the fruits of the Gospel of peace and of good-will towards their fellow men, and that they are not chargeable with the things that we charge against the Christian denominations? Looking back in a short and brief glance over the history of the past, there come distinctly to our minds the severe trials through which the Latter-day Saints have passed, giving them the opportunity to demonstrate whether or nor they could resist the natural inclinations of the. flesh to fight and retaliate, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Go back to the days of Illinois, back to the days of Missouri, when they were expelled from Jackson County, when they were expelled ultimately from the State of Missouri, or at the period when the prophet was taken and unjustly imprisoned and foully murdered in Carthage jail in the State of Illinois. Notwithstanding the Latter-day Saints were in great numbers in Nauvoo, and Carthage had but two thousand souls, was there a spirit of murder in their, hearts or of retaliation?
I remember on a visit to the city of Carthage of meeting a man, now an old gentleman, who was a witness of the martyrdom of the prophet. He said that, returning from hauling away from the City of Carthage the records of the county, for fear the “Mormons” would come down to Carthage and destroy them, he met men, women and children fleeing in every direction, fearing the wrath of the “Mormons.” That when he arrived in Carthage he said, there were about six families remaining in the city; all had fled. (“The wicked flee when no man pursueth.”) It was feared the "Mormons” would come. It was known that just provocation had been raised, and if they did take vengeance in their own hands and come down to mete out justice, it would have been only the ordinary course of events. And then the next night he was permitted to go with his father and others towards Nauvoo with the bodies of the Prophet Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and he said: “We met the ‘.Mormons,’ but they were not carrying arms. We met them, twenty thousand of them, lining the street leading out from Nauvoo to Carthage, with their heads uncovered, weeping for the loss of their dead, and murmuring all along the way the words: ‘Vengeance is God’s he will repay’.”
I assert that all through our existence we have said “Vengeance is the Lord’s, He will repay.” And there has been born and bred in our spirit, as young men and young women, the disposition to train our impulsive souls. When we go into the mission field and have the door slammed in our faces, are insulted and abused, we have been taught by the spirit of the Gospel to go by ourselves and say: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” We have been led to love them, though they hate us.
I have never seen among the ministry, or among men of the world, evidence of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ to love your enemies, as exhibited in the lives of the Latter-day Saints. Our fathers and mothers have set a splendid example to the young men and young women of this Church; and inasmuch as the struggle is not ended, and the battle is yet on, I appeal to you, that the day is coming when you shall be given a grand opportunity of exhibiting and displaying before the world the fortitude and the power there is in the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not from your public sermons, not from the publication of your word and message, but from your lives shall arise evidences to convince men of the truth. And when they look over the world and see the wreck and ruin that has been wrought in the very centers of modern Christianity they will search for something more powerful in effecting the salvation and peace of men. When their eyes shall light upon this community, established as a city upon a hill, whose light will shine forth and direct the attention of the world, they shall say: “What is this?” “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the House of the God of Jacob, that we may learn of His ways and walk in His paths.” Such shall be the declaration of the honest in heart in the years that are yet to come, and I appeal to you, my brethren and sisters, to live from this day forward more nearly that standard that has been laid down and established, live up to what the Gospel teaches.
The best of us have never obtained from the Gospel what the Gospel would give, and I say that there will be an opportunity such as has never been given before, to demonstrate in a practical way what the Gospel is. There are numerous evidences that ought to inspire and influence every boy and girl, and every man and woman that here" is the truth. No matter what discouragements we meet—and sometimes we get discouraged, and sometimes we are offended, and sometimes we go away like some Saints of old did from Jesus. He looked upon them tenderly, as they departed, and said to the Apostles: “Will ye go also?’’ He had taught them doctrine that was hard to observe ; it required personal sacrifice and self-denial. If so tempted, I hope we shall say as Peter did: “Whither shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life?” And I want to ask every young man and young woman, and every member of the Church, if the day of trial comes, and you may be offended grieved and feel that somebody has not treated you just right—I want you to ask “Whither shall you go?” Ask yourself: “Is there a haven of rest for you outside of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?” And should we not be willing to be true though trials may come. Ella Wheeler Wilcox said: “It was easy to be pleasant when the world went like a song, but the man worth while is the man who smiles when everything goes dead wrong.” I paraphrase her words. It is easy enough for you to be a member of the Church when all we ask and covet and desire comes to us, when if we ask for prosperity it comes; when our sick lie at the point of death and we pray for them and appeal to God, and they are healed. We are then quite willing to be members of the Church. It is easy for us, when our brothers are all very agreeable, and there is no disturbance, and we have our own sweet will and way, it is easy, then, for us to be members of the Church. But the man worth while, and the man who will survive, is the man who will take the disappointments of life, the man or woman who will stand in the presence of appalling disasters. Death comes, and not life, when you seek life; when you desire prosperity, we are tried with poverty, with affliction and with temptations of the world. It is then the test comes, and strength must be exhibited, it is then that it takes true courage, love and fidelity to believe the truth and live it. And so, notwithstanding we have difficulties and obstacles, here is the truth. We must learn early to know that it is the truth, that we can trust God. come what may, that we may stand unappalled, no matter what the little personal difficulties and obstacles and fault-finding or complaint we may have. We must have such trust and abiding faith that if we are not made the Bishop of the ward or counselor of the bishopric, or President of the stake, that we will still be true, just as true and faithful as a lay member of the Church. My glory, my heaven, shall come through my individual work, and I must be willing to trust him, no matter whether I have my own sweet way or not.
I have thought the love displayed on the part of our Father in heaven towards His people, towards the world, and especially towards the Latter-day Saints, was sufficient to hold us, no matter what may come. And as I look back upon the experience of this Church, its trials and difficulties have been many, and yet out from these many difficulties our Father has brought goodness and blessings to the Latter-day Saints. I have thought of our own great Civil War, and of the drivings and mobbings and pillaging of the Latter-day Saints; I have no doubt with what great sorrow and great difficulty our fathers and mothers left their homes, forsook those goodly lands and made that wonderful pilgrimage to this land, believing that it was the trial of their lives. And it was a severe trial, but they had to wait only a short time to see, shining behind those dark clouds, the smiling face of their heavenly Father, for He led them to the only place in all this goodly land where there was peace; and the very place where they wanted to stay became the battle field between the North and South; and had the Church remained it would have suffered in the midst of the conflict. Through the mercy of the Lord we were taken away from the war zone of the United States, and brought to this land of peace. Not that we shirked our responsibilities, for the first message that went over the wires to President Lincoln by President Young, who was then the governor of this territory was, “Utah has not seceded, but is firm for the Constitution and the Union,” and offered the services of our men. The services were accepted, hundreds of them enlisted, and then, through the kind providence of our. Father, we were not placed at the battlefront, but were given the privilege of doing military duty in the western part of the country; and the regular soldiers from here were withdrawn to do service at the front of the battle. I now look back upon the wonderful gathering of modern Israel, one of a city and two of a family, have been gathered to this land. “Come out of her, O ye, my people, that ye be not partakers of her plagues,” has a clear meaning to us now. We ought to be thankful to be here, brethren from Great Britain, from Austria, and all those nations that are now full of trouble and strife. We might have been in the European armies, fighting, had it not been for the Gospel that reached our fathers and mothers, and brought them to this land. Once again the wonderful manifestation of the goodness and the mercy of the Lord is indicated in the peaceful settlement of the Latter-day Saints in glorious America, the land of peace, the land of Zion.
I proclaim to you that there is if we shall observe and study, enough evidence to satisfy us all, notwithstanding our enemies have been numerous, our drivings and mobbings have been many; and though today we stand misrepresented and misunderstood, that the favor of the Almighty is over this people. If God ever had His hand over a people in the history of this world, then that people are the Latter-day Saints.
I have thought, as I have had the opportunity of traveling over the sections where our people were once established, and have seen the blight that has fallen upon them ,and seldom have I discovered one of them that is as large as it was when the Saints left it. Some are without railroads and sadly neglected; that the man was blind who could not see that the disfavor of the Lord rested upon those who abused and drove the Latter-day Saints from their homes in Missouri and Illinois. And his favor is with them in the mountain fastnesses, the desert wastes smile and blossom as a rose ; the late and early frosts were stayed, the springs were opened, the ground became productive; and the blessings of God has been wherever the Latter-day Saints have established themselves, until it seems to me that the man or woman is blind indeed who cannot see this evidence of God’s goodness and mercy to us. I have felt that the Lord wanted us to understand that He loves us; He was teaching us this when He gave to' Abraham the test of his life, to offer his son, Isaac, whom he loved with all his heart, the child of his promise, to give him as a sacrifice, he was speaking to us of His love through the test of Father Abraham. He was trying to make us feel how much He loved us, that He would give His Only Begotten Son for us. There have been numerous evidences given to the world from the very beginning, that our heavenly Father loved His children, in the blessing of the people of the world with health, life and strength, that has been given to each one of us; and if there is anything bigger and greater than His giving of His precious Son, as an evidence of His love towards men in the world, then I do not know what the Father could do to manifest His love.
Take the case of Abraham: he was to be the example and the pattern or illustration of the love and ' affection that the Father had for his children. “Take your only begotten son and offer him as a sacrifice.” I have thought of the poor old man gathering up the fagots, starting up the mountain with his child of promise. Three days they walked until they reached the place where the sacrifice was to take place, and then his only child and son of promise said to his father: “We have forgotten something, father. Where is the sacrifice ?” Oh, how it must have torn the father, made his heart to bleed to hear from the innocent lips of his child, whom he loved better than life itself, the reminder that he should take the life of his child! He could not speak, his heart must have swelled almost to bursting. And still he went on day after day, until he reached the spot. The altar was erected, the fagots placed upon it, the child bound, the steel bared, the arm raised that should strike the blow. “It is enough,” said the angel who stayed the hand. Here is the sacrifice. It was to make you feel what our Father felt, when He who loved His Son better than it is possible for mortals to love their own flesh and blood, gave His Son to the world, for the world’s redemption, for the world’s peace, and the world’s salvation. Do you not think that while the Father, who had the power to save His Son from the abuse, from the crown of thorns, from the whippings and mistreatment ; do you not think it was a trial for Him, who had the power to save His Son, to stand by and witness the appeal of the Son, in agony until great drops of blood came from His body. “If it is possible, save me, O Father!” Think of your own child. If your child was in distress, is there a man among us entrusted with the power to save, and would not use it? God knows that we are so human that if He should give us power to save our own, we would save them every time. And yet he had the power to save and did not save. What mother would not fly through fire and water at hearing the appeal of her child in distress. How it must have tried the father to hear the cry and lamentation of the Son: “If it is possible, Father, let it pass by!” I say the Father was grief-stricken when He heard the taunting of those who stood by? “He saved others, why don’t He save Himself?” After the hours of grief and agony, there came a moment when Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” If Jesus truly said that, it was not that the Father had forsaken, but that the hour had arrived, which often arrives in our own human experience, an hour when the mother, for example, who cannot any longer stand to bear the sight of her dying child, after the farewell is given, is taken out of the room, not to witness the last dying struggles of her loved one. And so, the Father, taxed to the utmost, had withdrawn, and somewhere was weeping for His beloved Son. Even He could not stand the sight any longer. But as I have thought of it, in my heart I have thanked God, that when in that critical moment, He might have saved His Son, he saw us, perishing in the grave, lost to Him, and lost to that salvation which is to come, he saw that on the one hand, and the appeals and the suffering of His Son on the other; and, thank God, He decided in our favor, and allowed the suffering and death of His Son. And in that, I maintain that He has manifested His love for us, that ought to make us trust him, though clouds may. gather and darkness come, though like Job of old, “He may slay me, yet shall I trust Him,” because I know that He loves me, and I know that He is not anxious to see my tears of sorrow and-distress. I know that He designs to purge me and purify me, and that behind this apparent darkness and cloud, there is a smiling face.
So I say to you, my brethren and sisters, if doubt and discouragement shall ever come to your heart with reference to the truth of this work established, look back upon these evidences of the wonderful providence and mercy and love of our Father, and read anew, the truth that God loves us, that this is His work, that His Son Jesus lives, and is the Savior of the world, and that the Elders of this Church are the servants of the Father in heaven. We are human beings with human weaknesses, and yet I confess to you that I have had the opportunity to meet leading men of other communities, and I say in all earnestness, and I do not want to be a hero-worshiper, either, but I assert to you without fear of contradiction, I have never met, in all the world, men whose hearts are as clean and as pure and as undefiled as the leaders of this Church. I testify to you that they are the servants of God, that the light is in the ship, and God is at the helm. May He give us the strength to stay by the ship until she weathers the storms and comes into that haven of rest after the great battle that God has assigned to her is ended, and human emancipation, redemption and salvation—and, ultimately, the reign of peace is obtained. That out of this trouble and this strife shall merge peace. The world may have to get it through the gates of war, but there shall come an era of peace, when wickedness shall cease, when the powers that have oppressed men shall be done away with, and liberties and rights shall be given to every nation that we enjoy in this favored land. There is no blunder. Though death and destruction may yet be numerous and abundant on all hands, I can see, shining through the black clouds of the present, an era of peace, a day of rest and salvation. I can see a people leading to that way, pointing the way for the countless thousands who shall remain: the mission to do this is delegated to the Latter-day Saints. God bless them that they may fulfill their divine mission and destiny, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER HEBER Q. HALE.
(President of Boise Stake of Zion.)
When I got on the train yesterday evening, leaving Boise, I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman from New York, a distinguished man, who stated to me that he had spent the last five months in this part of the country, investigating the history of the people who developed this country, and what he found is a great revelation to him, in the results and labors of the men who live here. he stated that he belonged to a distinguished church of the world; and, in the diocese of New York, he stated, they have over five million dollars in the vaults and treasuries of that church. Notwithstanding all their enormous wealth, said he, there is poverty on every hand, there is sin in every community. We see the laws of God violated every day, and yet we have all this means, we have many churches sending their spires up to heaven. Since I have been among you, I have observed the great wealth you have, and I have also observed the energetic, progressive people. You seem to be working with one heart and mind for one purpose, and the revelation of my life is to see what has been accomplished here. Within the lifetime of a man these valleys have been made to blossom as a rose, the ground has been reclaimed from its aridity, the soil has been moistened and made fertile, and has given forth of its life, and brought forth crops to gladden the heart and feed hungry souls. Said he: “Tell me if you can, what is the vital force behind all this? How has it all been brought about? How is your people held together? How is it there is less iniquity and less sin? How is it there is a less percentage of immorality among young men and young women? How is it that your jails are less populated by your people than by the outsiders?” I told him the only solution to that question is in the fact that we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that Gospel we apply to our lives.
Every one who has come here today will contribute his share to the general enjoyment; we will go away satisfied. He who is an hungered, when he sits down to the table of the Lord, he will go away full. This is a Gospel of work, this is a Church of workers, and every man in it has some position to fill, has some responsibility upon his shoulders, and knows his place. He does not depend upon a crutch that indicates he has not ability to stand alone. In the various organizations of this Church, from the heads of the Church down to the least member, you find opportunity for every man to exercise ability, develop his character, his virtues and talents, for attainment of salvation and the exaltation of his soul, in the name of the Master, who is the Savior of all mankind. I have made a little study of this question, and I am of the opinion, firm and convinced, that no man can develop any virtue unless he has exercised that virtue. If you have love in your heart, and desire to attract love to you, you must exercise love toward your fellowmen. You must give expression to good things, in .order that good things may come back to you.
The lives of the Latter-day Saints are attracting the attention of the entire world, from the simple fact that they live their religion, that they give expression to the virtues inculcated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every man who cultivates a field knows that it is through the exercise of his mind, and the muscles and power of his body, that he is able to wring from the soil the harvest. He knows that it is only as he contributes his labors that he shall be rewarded. He knows that he must contribute time and ability, he must sow the seed in the ground in order to reap a harvest that will gladden his heart and fill his granary, and provide the means to tide him over the time when the ground ceases to yield, and the chills of winter surround him. So it is that every man, if he be a merchant, a school teacher, a lawyer, a doctor or skilled in any profession, he knows that in order to receive a reward for his labors, he must exercise his talents. The student in the college knows, and utilizes it, he will be duly rewarded for his efforts. So it is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ; as we give of our time, as we give of our talents, as we exercise our virtues, among our fellow men for their good, all these unselfish activities will bring us a satisfactory reward.
That is why the Latter-day Saints are becoming famous; they are looked up to by the world today because they live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have in their hearts love for their fellow men. They give of their time, they give of their talents, they give of their love to others, and all those things come back unto them to gladden their hearts and make them happy. As already stated, this is a Church of workers. We believe in the principle of “Six days shalt thou labor, and the seventh shall be unto thee a day of rest.’’ We believe that the day of rest is not earned until it is preceded by six days of labor. We believe in the principle that iniquity spells decay. It is only the man that is actively alive that can survive; it is only the man that will properly exercise himself who will ever succeed. A German scientist discovered this principle in his experiments, that the longer an electric current passes through a volume of oxide magnesium, the greater becomes the conductivity of that thing. The same law holds good in the mind of man; the longer a certain train of thought is concentrated in the brain, the greater becomes the brain to the conductivity of that thought. The more we exercise our muscles, the greater is the power they develop. The more we exercise our virtues, the easier it becomes for us to exercise them, the greater they increase and become of value to ourselves and others. So it has proven in the exercise of the qualities among the Latter-day Saints. We have developed young man and young women of virtuous character, the superiors of whom are not to be found anywhere else in the world today, and it is because of these- things which I have mentioned. Mark Twain said: “Man is the only animal that blushes.” He could have gone on to say: Man is the only animal that has need to blush, because he is the only animal that ever drinks intoxicants; he is the only animal that smokes tobacco: he is the only animal that beats his wife, he is the only animal that tells a lie; he is the only animal that is immoral in his nature: and he has need to blush indeed.
Some of the purposes of the mission of the Latter-day Saints in the world are to reduce crime, to instruct men and women in the Gospel of Christ, that they may resist evil. The way to do this is to build the foundation of true manhood, make the man complete, and ‘so morally courageous that he will always say, “No!” when tempted to do wrong. When he says “yes,” it will be a response to do right. He is in control of the tabernacle of God which his spirit inhabits, and has been given it to manifest his agency. A man can only claim that he is a man when he is master of himself; when he regulates what goes into that body: when he can hold his tongue, and say only things that should be said; when he can exercise feeling and kindness in return for scorn: who can say a word of love in return for bitterness; when he can do good for evil; when' he can respond to the wants and necessities of his fellow men.
These are the kind of young men and young women this Church is producing, and I am thankful and proud that I have the honor of belonging to it. and of contributing my mite to the building of this broad, expansive, ennobling Church, known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da}' Saints. To me it is the grandest thing in all the world: there is nothing like unto it. I find facilities for expressing all the good there is in me; I find opportunity for developing all the goodness that I should develop. I find opportunities for my social need, for literary need, 'for spiritual need. When I come to a meeting of this kind, I come hungry so that I can sit at the table of God and be filled. I want to have Church work to do, so that I can create an appetite for spiritual things, just as the laborer works in the field and has created an appetite for his daily bread; he eats with a relish, because he has worked and has done well.
May God bless us and help us. and inspire us to do good, and inspire us to manifest by exercise the good there is in us, to upbuilding and betterment of ourselves, and to the glory of God who is our Creator : I ask, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(President of Boise Stake of Zion.)
When I got on the train yesterday evening, leaving Boise, I had the pleasure of meeting a gentleman from New York, a distinguished man, who stated to me that he had spent the last five months in this part of the country, investigating the history of the people who developed this country, and what he found is a great revelation to him, in the results and labors of the men who live here. he stated that he belonged to a distinguished church of the world; and, in the diocese of New York, he stated, they have over five million dollars in the vaults and treasuries of that church. Notwithstanding all their enormous wealth, said he, there is poverty on every hand, there is sin in every community. We see the laws of God violated every day, and yet we have all this means, we have many churches sending their spires up to heaven. Since I have been among you, I have observed the great wealth you have, and I have also observed the energetic, progressive people. You seem to be working with one heart and mind for one purpose, and the revelation of my life is to see what has been accomplished here. Within the lifetime of a man these valleys have been made to blossom as a rose, the ground has been reclaimed from its aridity, the soil has been moistened and made fertile, and has given forth of its life, and brought forth crops to gladden the heart and feed hungry souls. Said he: “Tell me if you can, what is the vital force behind all this? How has it all been brought about? How is your people held together? How is it there is less iniquity and less sin? How is it there is a less percentage of immorality among young men and young women? How is it that your jails are less populated by your people than by the outsiders?” I told him the only solution to that question is in the fact that we have the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and that Gospel we apply to our lives.
Every one who has come here today will contribute his share to the general enjoyment; we will go away satisfied. He who is an hungered, when he sits down to the table of the Lord, he will go away full. This is a Gospel of work, this is a Church of workers, and every man in it has some position to fill, has some responsibility upon his shoulders, and knows his place. He does not depend upon a crutch that indicates he has not ability to stand alone. In the various organizations of this Church, from the heads of the Church down to the least member, you find opportunity for every man to exercise ability, develop his character, his virtues and talents, for attainment of salvation and the exaltation of his soul, in the name of the Master, who is the Savior of all mankind. I have made a little study of this question, and I am of the opinion, firm and convinced, that no man can develop any virtue unless he has exercised that virtue. If you have love in your heart, and desire to attract love to you, you must exercise love toward your fellowmen. You must give expression to good things, in .order that good things may come back to you.
The lives of the Latter-day Saints are attracting the attention of the entire world, from the simple fact that they live their religion, that they give expression to the virtues inculcated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every man who cultivates a field knows that it is through the exercise of his mind, and the muscles and power of his body, that he is able to wring from the soil the harvest. He knows that it is only as he contributes his labors that he shall be rewarded. He knows that he must contribute time and ability, he must sow the seed in the ground in order to reap a harvest that will gladden his heart and fill his granary, and provide the means to tide him over the time when the ground ceases to yield, and the chills of winter surround him. So it is that every man, if he be a merchant, a school teacher, a lawyer, a doctor or skilled in any profession, he knows that in order to receive a reward for his labors, he must exercise his talents. The student in the college knows, and utilizes it, he will be duly rewarded for his efforts. So it is in the Gospel of Jesus Christ; as we give of our time, as we give of our talents, as we exercise our virtues, among our fellow men for their good, all these unselfish activities will bring us a satisfactory reward.
That is why the Latter-day Saints are becoming famous; they are looked up to by the world today because they live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They have in their hearts love for their fellow men. They give of their time, they give of their talents, they give of their love to others, and all those things come back unto them to gladden their hearts and make them happy. As already stated, this is a Church of workers. We believe in the principle of “Six days shalt thou labor, and the seventh shall be unto thee a day of rest.’’ We believe that the day of rest is not earned until it is preceded by six days of labor. We believe in the principle that iniquity spells decay. It is only the man that is actively alive that can survive; it is only the man that will properly exercise himself who will ever succeed. A German scientist discovered this principle in his experiments, that the longer an electric current passes through a volume of oxide magnesium, the greater becomes the conductivity of that thing. The same law holds good in the mind of man; the longer a certain train of thought is concentrated in the brain, the greater becomes the brain to the conductivity of that thought. The more we exercise our muscles, the greater is the power they develop. The more we exercise our virtues, the easier it becomes for us to exercise them, the greater they increase and become of value to ourselves and others. So it has proven in the exercise of the qualities among the Latter-day Saints. We have developed young man and young women of virtuous character, the superiors of whom are not to be found anywhere else in the world today, and it is because of these- things which I have mentioned. Mark Twain said: “Man is the only animal that blushes.” He could have gone on to say: Man is the only animal that has need to blush, because he is the only animal that ever drinks intoxicants; he is the only animal that smokes tobacco: he is the only animal that beats his wife, he is the only animal that tells a lie; he is the only animal that is immoral in his nature: and he has need to blush indeed.
Some of the purposes of the mission of the Latter-day Saints in the world are to reduce crime, to instruct men and women in the Gospel of Christ, that they may resist evil. The way to do this is to build the foundation of true manhood, make the man complete, and ‘so morally courageous that he will always say, “No!” when tempted to do wrong. When he says “yes,” it will be a response to do right. He is in control of the tabernacle of God which his spirit inhabits, and has been given it to manifest his agency. A man can only claim that he is a man when he is master of himself; when he regulates what goes into that body: when he can hold his tongue, and say only things that should be said; when he can exercise feeling and kindness in return for scorn: who can say a word of love in return for bitterness; when he can do good for evil; when' he can respond to the wants and necessities of his fellow men.
These are the kind of young men and young women this Church is producing, and I am thankful and proud that I have the honor of belonging to it. and of contributing my mite to the building of this broad, expansive, ennobling Church, known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da}' Saints. To me it is the grandest thing in all the world: there is nothing like unto it. I find facilities for expressing all the good there is in me; I find opportunity for developing all the goodness that I should develop. I find opportunities for my social need, for literary need, 'for spiritual need. When I come to a meeting of this kind, I come hungry so that I can sit at the table of God and be filled. I want to have Church work to do, so that I can create an appetite for spiritual things, just as the laborer works in the field and has created an appetite for his daily bread; he eats with a relish, because he has worked and has done well.
May God bless us and help us. and inspire us to do good, and inspire us to manifest by exercise the good there is in us, to upbuilding and betterment of ourselves, and to the glory of God who is our Creator : I ask, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER GERMAN E. ELLSWORTH
(President of Northern States Mission.)
My brethren and sisters, I am thankful for the privilege of associating with you this afternoon upon this Temple block. I am thankful for the association of men and women whose hearts are drawn towards God and to the restored truth, that will save and redeem His children. I am thankful for my parentage, and for the privilege of coming to earth in this day and time, the best time that has ever been in the history of the world, when so many wonderful things have been revealed for the blessing and comfort of mankind. I am thankful for citizenship in this glorious country, that has been made up from the best blood of all nations. I am thankful that my parents were among those who came in response to the voice of the good shepherd, “one of a city and two of a family,” to this goodly land, a land of peace, the land of Joseph.
You who have had your patriarchal blessings have been told that you are of the lineage of Joseph, through Ephraim or Manassah, and that you have been gathered to this goodly land, under the guiding influence of the divine will, to escape the judgments of God which are to overtake- the wicked in the last days. You have also been told that, because of your former faithfulness, present willingness to obey the voice of truth, that light and faith has been given you which would lead you to keep the commandments of the Lord and be prepared not only to withstand those things which God has said would be visited upon those who did not believe in Him, but prepare you to return to your heavenly home and there dwell with the righteous.
I rejoice with the righteous that early in my life, a testimony of the Lord Jesus came to me, and with that testimony knowledge, that I was a son of God, destined to go back and dwell with Him if I lived right in this life. My heart swells within me, to see the hundreds of young men with whom I have labored come to this knowledge, and to see them realize who they are and what their mission is in the earth. I can tell you that it is a glorious thing for a young man to understand early in life, that he has been placed upon the earth to perform a great mission, and to realize what his blessings will be for keeping the commandments of the Lord. Salvation is the blessing promised as a reward for a well spent life, but I hold that if there was an eternal reward the blessings that come to the man here in this life for being honest, truthful, and virtuous is more than worth the effort. Every one of you will agree with me that honesty brings its own reward, that truthfulness brings its reward, that a virtuous and honorable life among your fellowmen will bring peace of mind, that makes of earth a heaven. But in addition to the earthly rewards, we are firm in the knowledge that heavenly and eternal blessings are added for keeping the commandments of God and living righteously on this earth. We are promised that we shall go back and-dwell with all other men and women who have lived honest and upright lives. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him; but God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
From the history of the world we learn what a glorious thing it is to understand who you are, and why you are here upon the earth. The Lord, from the beginning of this world’s history, has opened the eyes of young men, in various ages, and revealed to them their mission, and they have become great leaders among the children of our Father. You remember the Prophets David, Samuel. Daniel, Joseph Smith, and many others who have been selected by our Father as leaders. They were selected and notified early in their youth, or young manhood. Even the Savior of men, at twelve years of age, understood that He must be “about His Father’s business,” and that understanding at that early time in His life helped Him for the great mission that rested upon His shoulders. So close was He to the Father that, after the temptation, angels were sent who ministered to Him and strengthened Him. Latter-day Saints have learned, early in their lives, who they are, and why they are in the earth, and everyone of you understand well the question the Lord put to Job, when He said: "‘Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” Likewise the statement to Jeremiah wherein the Lord sanctified and ordained him a prophet before he was born.
Through the Spirit of the Lord our eyes have been opened as to who we are, and as to our missions in the earth, and, knowing that, we ought to be the best people in the world. We ought to be a light to all people, and so filled with love that we would be like a healing balm to the nations. Our love and devotion to the work of the Lord, and our willingness to go to the ends of the earth, have proven we do love the Lord, and love our fellowmen; through us all nations of the earth have been enabled to hear His voice, and many have gathered to Zion for safety.
I rejoice in the testimony of Brother Ballard concerning the Latter-day Saints, that in all their mobbings and whippings and drivings, that they did not retaliate in kind but trusted in the Lord to fight their battles for them. My mind goes back to the time when the army was coming to Utah, coming with the same spirit that inspired the organized mobs of Missouri and Illinois. We did not meet them in Echo canyon with intention of shedding their blood, but to detain them till proper representation could be sent to the government. The fundamental thing pertaining to our mission in Echo canyon was to shed no blood, to do everything we could to keep the United States soldiers in the mountains all winter. We did not want the blood of our fellowmen upon us. I believe we have proven, at least in a small degree, that we can turn the other cheek when smitten. on the one, and we hope to be strong enough, as a people and nation, at this hour to extend the olive branch of peace.
My mind also goes back to Joseph who was taken by his brethren and put into the pit, but afterward drawn out and sold into Egypt. How he withstood temptations and bore in patience his imprisonment brought upon him for turning aside the wiles of a wicked woman. Joseph, the son of Jacob, was one man that proved himself worthy of his birth and parentage, and worthy to be the savior of his father’s house, both temporal and spiritual. Notwithstanding their mistreatment of him, and their great injustice, when they came to Joseph he opened his arms and received his brethren with a love beyond the power of words to describe, and in the goodness of his heart forgave them, showing especial interest in Simeon who was the arch enemy against him in selling him into Egypt. My blood tingled with the spirit manifested in the thought of Joseph meeting his brethren, and his desire to gather to his bosom his brother Benjamin, whose mother had died since Joseph had been in Egypt. I recall the wonderful picture of Joseph forgiving his brethren, and how they came and bowed down before him, in fulfillment of his boyhood dream.
We are the sons of Joseph, through Ephraim or Manasseh. We are living in the land of Joseph, a land of peace and promise to all who will keep the commandments of the Lord, and not oppress their brothers. It seems that the eyes of the nations of the world are turned toward this land, and commissioners from all the war-stricken countries are being sent to represent favorably their nation before this government, as if the Lord had set us to be peacemakers among the nations. Even more shall it be in spiritual things. The honest in heart of the world shall come bending to the land of Joseph, that they may learn the ways of the Lord, and walk in His paths, for “out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
I pray that God will help us to prove ourselves worthy, that we might be ready to open our arms to the world and save them as Joseph saved his brethren.
God bless the Latter-day Saints. I love them. I love their missionary sons, and I am happy in laboring with them, in seeing their growth and development, seeing their eyes opened, their hearts touched, and their tongues loosened to bear witness to the world concerning God and Christ, and their mission upon the earth. May God grant us peace, and all other blessings, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang the hymn :
Lo! the mighty God appearing,
From on high Jehovah speaks!
Eastern lands the summons hearing,
O’er the west His thunder breaks.
Elder W. E. Evans pronounced the benediction.
At the afternoon services in the Tabernacle the audience numbered over ten thousand, in the Assembly Hall about twenty-five hundred, and fully two thousand at the open air meeting.
(President of Northern States Mission.)
My brethren and sisters, I am thankful for the privilege of associating with you this afternoon upon this Temple block. I am thankful for the association of men and women whose hearts are drawn towards God and to the restored truth, that will save and redeem His children. I am thankful for my parentage, and for the privilege of coming to earth in this day and time, the best time that has ever been in the history of the world, when so many wonderful things have been revealed for the blessing and comfort of mankind. I am thankful for citizenship in this glorious country, that has been made up from the best blood of all nations. I am thankful that my parents were among those who came in response to the voice of the good shepherd, “one of a city and two of a family,” to this goodly land, a land of peace, the land of Joseph.
You who have had your patriarchal blessings have been told that you are of the lineage of Joseph, through Ephraim or Manassah, and that you have been gathered to this goodly land, under the guiding influence of the divine will, to escape the judgments of God which are to overtake- the wicked in the last days. You have also been told that, because of your former faithfulness, present willingness to obey the voice of truth, that light and faith has been given you which would lead you to keep the commandments of the Lord and be prepared not only to withstand those things which God has said would be visited upon those who did not believe in Him, but prepare you to return to your heavenly home and there dwell with the righteous.
I rejoice with the righteous that early in my life, a testimony of the Lord Jesus came to me, and with that testimony knowledge, that I was a son of God, destined to go back and dwell with Him if I lived right in this life. My heart swells within me, to see the hundreds of young men with whom I have labored come to this knowledge, and to see them realize who they are and what their mission is in the earth. I can tell you that it is a glorious thing for a young man to understand early in life, that he has been placed upon the earth to perform a great mission, and to realize what his blessings will be for keeping the commandments of the Lord. Salvation is the blessing promised as a reward for a well spent life, but I hold that if there was an eternal reward the blessings that come to the man here in this life for being honest, truthful, and virtuous is more than worth the effort. Every one of you will agree with me that honesty brings its own reward, that truthfulness brings its reward, that a virtuous and honorable life among your fellowmen will bring peace of mind, that makes of earth a heaven. But in addition to the earthly rewards, we are firm in the knowledge that heavenly and eternal blessings are added for keeping the commandments of God and living righteously on this earth. We are promised that we shall go back and-dwell with all other men and women who have lived honest and upright lives. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him; but God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.”
From the history of the world we learn what a glorious thing it is to understand who you are, and why you are here upon the earth. The Lord, from the beginning of this world’s history, has opened the eyes of young men, in various ages, and revealed to them their mission, and they have become great leaders among the children of our Father. You remember the Prophets David, Samuel. Daniel, Joseph Smith, and many others who have been selected by our Father as leaders. They were selected and notified early in their youth, or young manhood. Even the Savior of men, at twelve years of age, understood that He must be “about His Father’s business,” and that understanding at that early time in His life helped Him for the great mission that rested upon His shoulders. So close was He to the Father that, after the temptation, angels were sent who ministered to Him and strengthened Him. Latter-day Saints have learned, early in their lives, who they are, and why they are in the earth, and everyone of you understand well the question the Lord put to Job, when He said: "‘Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” Likewise the statement to Jeremiah wherein the Lord sanctified and ordained him a prophet before he was born.
Through the Spirit of the Lord our eyes have been opened as to who we are, and as to our missions in the earth, and, knowing that, we ought to be the best people in the world. We ought to be a light to all people, and so filled with love that we would be like a healing balm to the nations. Our love and devotion to the work of the Lord, and our willingness to go to the ends of the earth, have proven we do love the Lord, and love our fellowmen; through us all nations of the earth have been enabled to hear His voice, and many have gathered to Zion for safety.
I rejoice in the testimony of Brother Ballard concerning the Latter-day Saints, that in all their mobbings and whippings and drivings, that they did not retaliate in kind but trusted in the Lord to fight their battles for them. My mind goes back to the time when the army was coming to Utah, coming with the same spirit that inspired the organized mobs of Missouri and Illinois. We did not meet them in Echo canyon with intention of shedding their blood, but to detain them till proper representation could be sent to the government. The fundamental thing pertaining to our mission in Echo canyon was to shed no blood, to do everything we could to keep the United States soldiers in the mountains all winter. We did not want the blood of our fellowmen upon us. I believe we have proven, at least in a small degree, that we can turn the other cheek when smitten. on the one, and we hope to be strong enough, as a people and nation, at this hour to extend the olive branch of peace.
My mind also goes back to Joseph who was taken by his brethren and put into the pit, but afterward drawn out and sold into Egypt. How he withstood temptations and bore in patience his imprisonment brought upon him for turning aside the wiles of a wicked woman. Joseph, the son of Jacob, was one man that proved himself worthy of his birth and parentage, and worthy to be the savior of his father’s house, both temporal and spiritual. Notwithstanding their mistreatment of him, and their great injustice, when they came to Joseph he opened his arms and received his brethren with a love beyond the power of words to describe, and in the goodness of his heart forgave them, showing especial interest in Simeon who was the arch enemy against him in selling him into Egypt. My blood tingled with the spirit manifested in the thought of Joseph meeting his brethren, and his desire to gather to his bosom his brother Benjamin, whose mother had died since Joseph had been in Egypt. I recall the wonderful picture of Joseph forgiving his brethren, and how they came and bowed down before him, in fulfillment of his boyhood dream.
We are the sons of Joseph, through Ephraim or Manasseh. We are living in the land of Joseph, a land of peace and promise to all who will keep the commandments of the Lord, and not oppress their brothers. It seems that the eyes of the nations of the world are turned toward this land, and commissioners from all the war-stricken countries are being sent to represent favorably their nation before this government, as if the Lord had set us to be peacemakers among the nations. Even more shall it be in spiritual things. The honest in heart of the world shall come bending to the land of Joseph, that they may learn the ways of the Lord, and walk in His paths, for “out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
I pray that God will help us to prove ourselves worthy, that we might be ready to open our arms to the world and save them as Joseph saved his brethren.
God bless the Latter-day Saints. I love them. I love their missionary sons, and I am happy in laboring with them, in seeing their growth and development, seeing their eyes opened, their hearts touched, and their tongues loosened to bear witness to the world concerning God and Christ, and their mission upon the earth. May God grant us peace, and all other blessings, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang the hymn :
Lo! the mighty God appearing,
From on high Jehovah speaks!
Eastern lands the summons hearing,
O’er the west His thunder breaks.
Elder W. E. Evans pronounced the benediction.
At the afternoon services in the Tabernacle the audience numbered over ten thousand, in the Assembly Hall about twenty-five hundred, and fully two thousand at the open air meeting.
SECOND DAY.
In the Tabernacle, Monday October 5th, 10 a. m.
Conference was called to order by President Joseph F. Smith.
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!
Elder Erastus S. Christensen offered the invocation.
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.
In the Tabernacle, Monday October 5th, 10 a. m.
Conference was called to order by President Joseph F. Smith.
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!
Elder Erastus S. Christensen offered the invocation.
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.
ELDER HEBER J. GRANT.
Gifts of the Gospel possessed by Latter-day Saints—Blessings secured by duties fulfilled—Works an expression of Faith—Knowledge concerning God must be followed by obedience to Him.
It is a pleasure to me, as it always is. to meet with the Latter-day Saints in our conferences and to listen to the inspired words that we always hear upon these occasions. I have never in my life from the days of early childhood until now attended a conference,—and I have no recollection of ever, missing one when I have been in the city, unless confined to my bed with sickness,— but that I have been fed the bread of life. And I experienced that same pleasure in our meetings yesterday. I endorse with all my heart all of the very splendid things that we have heard here in our conference meetings, and at our Sunday School Union meeting last evening. I desire most earnestly that the few moments which I may occupy that the same good Spirit which has been enjoyed by those who have preceded me may fall to my portion. The only desire of my heart is to say something that may be encouraging and uplifting to the Latter- day Saints. I realize the beauties of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I rejoice exceedingly in a knowledge of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. I rejoice in knowing that all the gifts and graces and every power, privilege and blessing which has ever been enjoyed by the Saints of God in any dispensation of the Gospel upon, the earth are enjoyed today by the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice in knowing that the things which should be enjoyed, the blessings, the healing power of Almighty God, the inspiration of His Spirit whereby men and women have manifestations from Him, the inspiration of the Spirit of God, whereby people speak with new tongues, and have the interpretation thereof, and each and every grace and gift, are enjoyed today by the Latter-day Saints. My heart swells with gratitude when I listen to an inspirational sermon about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of our relationship to our Heavenly Father, as we heard here yesterday from President Charles W. Penrose. I rejoice in the vigor of his body and his mind; although he is past eighty- two years of age, I have never heard him speak with greater power or inspiration, and as I listened I knew that all the Latter-day Saints in the audience as well, rejoiced.
I asked myself while enjoying the inspiration of the Spirit of God to him, and endorsing all he said of the blessings that are to come to us and our-relationship to our Father and our Savior, whether the Latter-day Saints were living in such a way and in such a manner that they would be entitled to the blessings of God which belong to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, when the battle of life is ended. I asked myself, how many who are rejoicing here today under the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord are in very deed Latter-day Saints? how many are full and honest tithe payers? how many are observing in very deed the Word of Wisdom? how many are attending to their secret and their family prayers? I thought of this when President Lyman was talking upon prayer. We have in very deed the truth, but unless we, as Latter-day Saints, live the truth, all these glorious principles are of no value to us. This morning, in our Mutual meeting, one of the General Board referred to some splendid plans that had been drawn by an architect, costing thousands of dollars, but finally it was decided by the man ordering the plans not to make use of them. We have the plan of life and salvation; we have in very deed the truth, but are we making use of the plan? Are we Latter-day Saints? If not. then we are not entitled to the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“By their fruits, ye shall know them.” The Lord has said, as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, that when we do that which is commanded that then He is bound, but if we do not keep the commandments of the Lord, we have no promise; and so far as I have the ability, I would like to impress upon the hearts of the Latter- day Saints to be doers of the word and not hearers of it only. If there is anyone of the former apostles above another whose teachings have found a hearty response in my heart, it is the Apostle James and his teachings wherein he emphasizes that faith without works is dead, that it is like the body without the spirit, and we all know that when the spirit leaves the body the body must be buried, or soon becomes obnoxious. We do not want a dead faith, we want a living faith, we want a faith that will give us the- power and the ability to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in very deed. When we go to meeting, we should go with a prayer in our hearts that the Lord will inspire those who speak, by His spirit, and after they have spoken to us by the inspiration of His Spirit, we should go away with a determination, with a desire, with a prayer, that we shall in very deed learn the lesson that we have heard, that we shall put it into practice in our lives.
I remarked last Sunday, at a conference, that when young it always appeared ridiculous to me to call the last day of school, the day when young men and young ladies receive their diplomas, when they graduate, after completing their lessons, to call it commencement day; but as I have grown in years and experience. I have discovered that in very deed commencement day with the boy and the girl who have graduated from school is the day when they commence the battle of life. This life is a school, and commencement day to us will be when the battle of this life is o’er, and we commence anew to travel on forever. Then if' we can pass an examination, we are welcomed back into the presence of our Heavenly Father, because we have been true and faithful.
I never read this testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon with reference to the Savior: “Now, after the many testimonies which have been given of Him, this is the testimony last of all, which we give of Him, that He lives; for we saw Him, even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that He is the Only Begotten of the Father, that by Him and through Him, and of Him the worlds were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God,” but I rejoice in this testimony, in this knowledge, which these men had of actually seeing God, with the Savior sitting at His right hand, and actually hearing the voice bear witness that He is in very deed the Savior of the world. I rejoice every time I read their testimony. I rejoice also when I read of the blessings x>f the Gospel as referred to here yesterday by Brother Penrose when speaking of those who had accepted the Gospel, who had gone down into the waters of baptism and who would be worthy by living according to the teachings of the Gospel, to enter into the celestial kingdom. I rejoice in this knowledge, but how I do mourn when I find that there are scores who know all these things, who testify that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and living God, and yet their lives do not square with this knowledge. Knowledge is absolutely of no value, except to condemn us before God, unless we live up to that knowledge.
That God may help each and every one of us as we grow in years, as we increase in understanding, as we advance in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to grow in humility, in good deeds, in the love of our fellows, and in a determination to serve Him with all our hearts, is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Gifts of the Gospel possessed by Latter-day Saints—Blessings secured by duties fulfilled—Works an expression of Faith—Knowledge concerning God must be followed by obedience to Him.
It is a pleasure to me, as it always is. to meet with the Latter-day Saints in our conferences and to listen to the inspired words that we always hear upon these occasions. I have never in my life from the days of early childhood until now attended a conference,—and I have no recollection of ever, missing one when I have been in the city, unless confined to my bed with sickness,— but that I have been fed the bread of life. And I experienced that same pleasure in our meetings yesterday. I endorse with all my heart all of the very splendid things that we have heard here in our conference meetings, and at our Sunday School Union meeting last evening. I desire most earnestly that the few moments which I may occupy that the same good Spirit which has been enjoyed by those who have preceded me may fall to my portion. The only desire of my heart is to say something that may be encouraging and uplifting to the Latter- day Saints. I realize the beauties of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I rejoice exceedingly in a knowledge of the divinity of the work in which we are engaged. I rejoice in knowing that all the gifts and graces and every power, privilege and blessing which has ever been enjoyed by the Saints of God in any dispensation of the Gospel upon, the earth are enjoyed today by the Latter-day Saints. I rejoice in knowing that the things which should be enjoyed, the blessings, the healing power of Almighty God, the inspiration of His Spirit whereby men and women have manifestations from Him, the inspiration of the Spirit of God, whereby people speak with new tongues, and have the interpretation thereof, and each and every grace and gift, are enjoyed today by the Latter-day Saints. My heart swells with gratitude when I listen to an inspirational sermon about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of our relationship to our Heavenly Father, as we heard here yesterday from President Charles W. Penrose. I rejoice in the vigor of his body and his mind; although he is past eighty- two years of age, I have never heard him speak with greater power or inspiration, and as I listened I knew that all the Latter-day Saints in the audience as well, rejoiced.
I asked myself while enjoying the inspiration of the Spirit of God to him, and endorsing all he said of the blessings that are to come to us and our-relationship to our Father and our Savior, whether the Latter-day Saints were living in such a way and in such a manner that they would be entitled to the blessings of God which belong to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, when the battle of life is ended. I asked myself, how many who are rejoicing here today under the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord are in very deed Latter-day Saints? how many are full and honest tithe payers? how many are observing in very deed the Word of Wisdom? how many are attending to their secret and their family prayers? I thought of this when President Lyman was talking upon prayer. We have in very deed the truth, but unless we, as Latter-day Saints, live the truth, all these glorious principles are of no value to us. This morning, in our Mutual meeting, one of the General Board referred to some splendid plans that had been drawn by an architect, costing thousands of dollars, but finally it was decided by the man ordering the plans not to make use of them. We have the plan of life and salvation; we have in very deed the truth, but are we making use of the plan? Are we Latter-day Saints? If not. then we are not entitled to the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“By their fruits, ye shall know them.” The Lord has said, as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, that when we do that which is commanded that then He is bound, but if we do not keep the commandments of the Lord, we have no promise; and so far as I have the ability, I would like to impress upon the hearts of the Latter- day Saints to be doers of the word and not hearers of it only. If there is anyone of the former apostles above another whose teachings have found a hearty response in my heart, it is the Apostle James and his teachings wherein he emphasizes that faith without works is dead, that it is like the body without the spirit, and we all know that when the spirit leaves the body the body must be buried, or soon becomes obnoxious. We do not want a dead faith, we want a living faith, we want a faith that will give us the- power and the ability to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ in very deed. When we go to meeting, we should go with a prayer in our hearts that the Lord will inspire those who speak, by His spirit, and after they have spoken to us by the inspiration of His Spirit, we should go away with a determination, with a desire, with a prayer, that we shall in very deed learn the lesson that we have heard, that we shall put it into practice in our lives.
I remarked last Sunday, at a conference, that when young it always appeared ridiculous to me to call the last day of school, the day when young men and young ladies receive their diplomas, when they graduate, after completing their lessons, to call it commencement day; but as I have grown in years and experience. I have discovered that in very deed commencement day with the boy and the girl who have graduated from school is the day when they commence the battle of life. This life is a school, and commencement day to us will be when the battle of this life is o’er, and we commence anew to travel on forever. Then if' we can pass an examination, we are welcomed back into the presence of our Heavenly Father, because we have been true and faithful.
I never read this testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon with reference to the Savior: “Now, after the many testimonies which have been given of Him, this is the testimony last of all, which we give of Him, that He lives; for we saw Him, even on the right hand of God, and we heard the voice bearing record that He is the Only Begotten of the Father, that by Him and through Him, and of Him the worlds were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God,” but I rejoice in this testimony, in this knowledge, which these men had of actually seeing God, with the Savior sitting at His right hand, and actually hearing the voice bear witness that He is in very deed the Savior of the world. I rejoice every time I read their testimony. I rejoice also when I read of the blessings x>f the Gospel as referred to here yesterday by Brother Penrose when speaking of those who had accepted the Gospel, who had gone down into the waters of baptism and who would be worthy by living according to the teachings of the Gospel, to enter into the celestial kingdom. I rejoice in this knowledge, but how I do mourn when I find that there are scores who know all these things, who testify that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a prophet of the true and living God, and yet their lives do not square with this knowledge. Knowledge is absolutely of no value, except to condemn us before God, unless we live up to that knowledge.
That God may help each and every one of us as we grow in years, as we increase in understanding, as we advance in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to grow in humility, in good deeds, in the love of our fellows, and in a determination to serve Him with all our hearts, is my prayer, and I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER RUDGER CLAWSON.
Attainment of excellence possible only as result of earnest effort—God’s great blessings worthy our willing self-sacrifice.
This is a very remarkable conference. The hosts of Israel have come up to wait upon the Lord. By actual count, the congregation assembled in this building yesterday afternoon numbered ten thousand and fifty-five souls, and at the same time there was a gathering in the assembly hall and an open-air meeting upon the grounds. The counsel, the testimony, the instructions delivered to us have been varied and choice, and I am sure will be sanctified to the good of the Latter-day Saints.
I take it, brethren and sisters, that anything in life worth having and keeping can only be obtained by effort, and the greater the value of the object desired, the greater the effort required in its attainment. For example, here is a young man who desires an education, full and complete. His father cannot give it to him, his mother cannot give it to him, the instructors in the school cannot give it to him; but the way is open, it depends on his own individual efforts. Now, the question is, will he pay the price? It means days and weeks and months of concentration, of devotion and attention to his studies, but if he will give the proper efforts to his ambition he will succeed. And again, our friend there is seeking a profession, perhaps it is that of the law or medicine, or dentistry in which he desires to excel. Will he pay the price? It means the avoidance of riotous living, it means the renunciation of light and unnecessary amusements, it means very close, careful and strict attention to his business. It may be necessary for him occasionally to burn the midnight oil, but as in the other instance, the way, the opportunity, is open to him. Will he pay the price? Will he reach up to that point where he may receive recognition, where he may obtain a diploma that will be the foundation upon which he can build for the future?
Here is a young man who is ambitious to be an efficient, thorough and successful missionary. Will he pay the price? He cannot become so by wishing. The desire, itself, will not make him such. It means sacrifice, it means that he must lay down his secular affairs, it means that he must part with his parents and with his sweetheart, if he has one, (and he ought to have one), it means that he must leave all that is near and dear to him and go forth into the world. It means- that he must be prepared to suffer every conceivable inconvenience, that he must meet the scorn and ridicule of the world, that if need be, he must endure persecution. He will be reminded of what the Savior said, “Blessed are ye when all men shall hate you and persecute you and separate you from their company, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day and leap for joy: for great shall be your reward in heaven.” He must be prepared for these things. I remember one instance. I cite it as an example. A young missionary went forth in the spirit of faith and humility, with a determination to succeed in his work. He was not a preacher in the common acceptance of the term. If he stood before a congregation he halted and stumbled in his speech. He had difficulty in finding words to ' express himself, but he was a determined . and incessant worker. He was going from morning until night, in distributing tracts, in making friends, in visiting and re-visiting investigators, in going from family to family, until his companion could hardly keep up with him. But this young missionary was unwearying in his labors. He succeeded, he was a success in this important activity, and before he withdrew from the mission field, he was able, under the providences of the Lord, to bring some thirty or forty people into the Church. He was willing to pay the price.
We have here, upon this block, the temple of God, a most wonderful edifice. Now, within this building priceless blessings are dispensed. They are within the reach of the poorest of the poor and they may be denied to the richest of the rich. When a man or a woman desires the blessings of the House of God, the question arises, is he or is she willing to pay the price, and, mark you, it is not a monetary consideration. Strangers have offered considerable sums of money from time to time to get admission into the temple. They wanted to see the interior, they wanted to examine it closely, but the door was closed against them. A thousand, five thousand, ten thousand dollars would not bring this privilege to them, but yet the temple is of easy access to the Latter-day Saints, if they will but pay the price. What is the price? It is a consistent, faithful life, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, one who observes the commandments of God, one who is humble, faithful and diligent. He can pass through and obtain for himself and perhaps for others, those who are dead and passed away, the blessings of the Holy Temple, and he can secure to himself the benefits of the new and everlasting covenant.
Last of all, I take it, that we are all ambitious to secure a celestial glory in the presence of the Father. There is no Latter-day Saint in the congregation today, who would be satisfied with less. He wants the very highest and best that the Lord has to give. Will he pay the price? And what is the price? It means, if need be, the sacrifice of all earthly things, even to our lives, should that be required, whether in the mission field, or at home, or under any other circumstances. If our lives are demanded for the testimony of Jesus, then we must be ready and prepared to give them. The price of this inestimable blessing is also beautifully defined in the seventy-sixth section of the book of Covenants:
“And again, we . bear record, for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the Gospel of Christ, concerning them who come forth in the resurrection of the just;
“They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on His name and were baptized after the manner of His burial, being buried in the water in His name, and this according to the commandment which he has given,
“That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sin's, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power,
“And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.
“They are they who are the church of the first born.
“They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things--
“They are they who are Priests and Kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory,.
“And are Priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son.”
Now, we see from this that it is only possible to attain to so great a degree of glory in the presence of God by keeping His commandments, yielding obedience to the ordinances of the Gospel and walking in the light continually and being just and true. This is the price we have to pay for it, but if we are willing to make the sacrifice, if it can be called a sacrifice, our highest ambition, our fondest hopes, our most earnest desires will be realized to the very fullest extent. We learn from this, that is to say, we learn from the manner in which the Lord deals with His children, that we cannot obtain something for nothing. If we secure the blessings then we must give the service; these matters will be determined upon merit. We are told in the Scriptures that when the dead come forth, they will be judged according to the deeds done in the body; and again, as bearing upon this subject, the Prophet Joseph Smith laid down this great principle ; he said: “There is a law irrevocably decreed in the heavens upon which all blessings are predicated, and when we receive a blessing from God it is by obedience to the law upon, which it is predicated.”
May the Lord bless us and help us to appreciate His goodness, and may He put upon us the spirit not only to worship Him in prayer and song and praise, but also, to labor with our might while the day lasts for the salvation of souls. I ask it in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A baritone solo, “The Holy City,” was sung by Elder Franklin Madsen, in the Swedish language.
Attainment of excellence possible only as result of earnest effort—God’s great blessings worthy our willing self-sacrifice.
This is a very remarkable conference. The hosts of Israel have come up to wait upon the Lord. By actual count, the congregation assembled in this building yesterday afternoon numbered ten thousand and fifty-five souls, and at the same time there was a gathering in the assembly hall and an open-air meeting upon the grounds. The counsel, the testimony, the instructions delivered to us have been varied and choice, and I am sure will be sanctified to the good of the Latter-day Saints.
I take it, brethren and sisters, that anything in life worth having and keeping can only be obtained by effort, and the greater the value of the object desired, the greater the effort required in its attainment. For example, here is a young man who desires an education, full and complete. His father cannot give it to him, his mother cannot give it to him, the instructors in the school cannot give it to him; but the way is open, it depends on his own individual efforts. Now, the question is, will he pay the price? It means days and weeks and months of concentration, of devotion and attention to his studies, but if he will give the proper efforts to his ambition he will succeed. And again, our friend there is seeking a profession, perhaps it is that of the law or medicine, or dentistry in which he desires to excel. Will he pay the price? It means the avoidance of riotous living, it means the renunciation of light and unnecessary amusements, it means very close, careful and strict attention to his business. It may be necessary for him occasionally to burn the midnight oil, but as in the other instance, the way, the opportunity, is open to him. Will he pay the price? Will he reach up to that point where he may receive recognition, where he may obtain a diploma that will be the foundation upon which he can build for the future?
Here is a young man who is ambitious to be an efficient, thorough and successful missionary. Will he pay the price? He cannot become so by wishing. The desire, itself, will not make him such. It means sacrifice, it means that he must lay down his secular affairs, it means that he must part with his parents and with his sweetheart, if he has one, (and he ought to have one), it means that he must leave all that is near and dear to him and go forth into the world. It means- that he must be prepared to suffer every conceivable inconvenience, that he must meet the scorn and ridicule of the world, that if need be, he must endure persecution. He will be reminded of what the Savior said, “Blessed are ye when all men shall hate you and persecute you and separate you from their company, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice ye in that day and leap for joy: for great shall be your reward in heaven.” He must be prepared for these things. I remember one instance. I cite it as an example. A young missionary went forth in the spirit of faith and humility, with a determination to succeed in his work. He was not a preacher in the common acceptance of the term. If he stood before a congregation he halted and stumbled in his speech. He had difficulty in finding words to ' express himself, but he was a determined . and incessant worker. He was going from morning until night, in distributing tracts, in making friends, in visiting and re-visiting investigators, in going from family to family, until his companion could hardly keep up with him. But this young missionary was unwearying in his labors. He succeeded, he was a success in this important activity, and before he withdrew from the mission field, he was able, under the providences of the Lord, to bring some thirty or forty people into the Church. He was willing to pay the price.
We have here, upon this block, the temple of God, a most wonderful edifice. Now, within this building priceless blessings are dispensed. They are within the reach of the poorest of the poor and they may be denied to the richest of the rich. When a man or a woman desires the blessings of the House of God, the question arises, is he or is she willing to pay the price, and, mark you, it is not a monetary consideration. Strangers have offered considerable sums of money from time to time to get admission into the temple. They wanted to see the interior, they wanted to examine it closely, but the door was closed against them. A thousand, five thousand, ten thousand dollars would not bring this privilege to them, but yet the temple is of easy access to the Latter-day Saints, if they will but pay the price. What is the price? It is a consistent, faithful life, as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, one who observes the commandments of God, one who is humble, faithful and diligent. He can pass through and obtain for himself and perhaps for others, those who are dead and passed away, the blessings of the Holy Temple, and he can secure to himself the benefits of the new and everlasting covenant.
Last of all, I take it, that we are all ambitious to secure a celestial glory in the presence of the Father. There is no Latter-day Saint in the congregation today, who would be satisfied with less. He wants the very highest and best that the Lord has to give. Will he pay the price? And what is the price? It means, if need be, the sacrifice of all earthly things, even to our lives, should that be required, whether in the mission field, or at home, or under any other circumstances. If our lives are demanded for the testimony of Jesus, then we must be ready and prepared to give them. The price of this inestimable blessing is also beautifully defined in the seventy-sixth section of the book of Covenants:
“And again, we . bear record, for we saw and heard, and this is the testimony of the Gospel of Christ, concerning them who come forth in the resurrection of the just;
“They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on His name and were baptized after the manner of His burial, being buried in the water in His name, and this according to the commandment which he has given,
“That by keeping the commandments they might be washed and cleansed from all their sin's, and receive the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the hands of him who is ordained and sealed unto this power,
“And who overcome by faith, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, which the Father sheds forth upon all those who are just and true.
“They are they who are the church of the first born.
“They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things--
“They are they who are Priests and Kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory,.
“And are Priests of the Most High, after the order of Melchizedek, which was after the order of Enoch, which was after the order of the Only Begotten Son.”
Now, we see from this that it is only possible to attain to so great a degree of glory in the presence of God by keeping His commandments, yielding obedience to the ordinances of the Gospel and walking in the light continually and being just and true. This is the price we have to pay for it, but if we are willing to make the sacrifice, if it can be called a sacrifice, our highest ambition, our fondest hopes, our most earnest desires will be realized to the very fullest extent. We learn from this, that is to say, we learn from the manner in which the Lord deals with His children, that we cannot obtain something for nothing. If we secure the blessings then we must give the service; these matters will be determined upon merit. We are told in the Scriptures that when the dead come forth, they will be judged according to the deeds done in the body; and again, as bearing upon this subject, the Prophet Joseph Smith laid down this great principle ; he said: “There is a law irrevocably decreed in the heavens upon which all blessings are predicated, and when we receive a blessing from God it is by obedience to the law upon, which it is predicated.”
May the Lord bless us and help us to appreciate His goodness, and may He put upon us the spirit not only to worship Him in prayer and song and praise, but also, to labor with our might while the day lasts for the salvation of souls. I ask it in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A baritone solo, “The Holy City,” was sung by Elder Franklin Madsen, in the Swedish language.
ELDER GEORGE F. RICHARDS.
Peace and happiness result of keeping God’s laws—Church leaders made sorrowful when members sin.
In referring to my own feelings this morning, my brethren and sisters, I can say that I have been very happy in my associations with you and others in attending the various sessions of this conference, and in worshiping the Lord in this capacity. Without boasting, I confess my love for the Lord, for His work and for His people, and I hope my love extends to all men, for this is something I desire to cultivate. I desire and constantly pray for an increase of knowledge of the Lord and of the Gospel, for an increased appreciation and love for the same. I know that one having a knowledge of the truth of this work experiences great happiness and satisfaction, when faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord, and in the discharge of religious duties, and that he experiences pain and self reproach when violating the commandments of the Lord and in committing sin. My conscience condemns me-when I do that which is wrong, and thus rob myself of that peace, happiness and hope I might have by answering strictly the requirements of conscience.
I have had much satisfaction in seeing the faithfulness of men and women of the Church who have been called to labor as presiding officers in various positions, general and local. Their devotion has been a splendid example and inspiration to me; and because I have the work of the Lord at heart and desire its triumph, I am not jealous of those who have greater ability, and who are able to accomplish more than I for the cause, but rather take pride in their accomplishments and feel a common interest with them in the success of the work.
It is a cause for pride that we have in the Church men and women who would stand in the front ranks of intelligent men and women of the world. Who are willing to give, and are giving to this work the best efforts of their lives. I rejoice that the Lord rewards all such with the bestowal of the Holy Spirit and a testimony of the Truth. The comfort that comes to all men and women who are devoting themselves in righteousness to the services of the Lord, and for the good of their fellowmen is inestimable. They receive that peace, joy and hope that cannot be purchased with the wealth of the world.
I have had occasion at times to sorrow for the sins of others, but I thank the Lord I have been able to forget, for I do not think I could be happy if I had to retain always the feelings I sometimes have when I go among the people, and it is revealed to me by presiding authorities that certain evils exist among our people. Revelations are sometimes made that fill my heart with sorrow because of the wrongdoings of some members of the Church, and also because the Church is affected thereby. When we disgrace ourselves we, to an extent, disgrace the Church, and both must suffer. I know that men and women who have committed sin reap the fruits of their sowing. I am just as sure that the penalty will be paid in sorrow for all wrong doing, as I am sure that good deeds will be justly rewarded. I am sure the sins of this people are a great sorrow to the President of this Church, because of his responsibility as President and his love for the people. We could not do better by way of sustaining him and lightening his-load of anxiety than by being faithful, consistent Latter-day Saints. Those who love the people, sorrow for their sins and rejoice in their righteousness.
We read in the Book of Mormon (Mosiah 3:7), a prediction of the coming of the Lord in the meridian of time, and how he would suffer for the sins of the people: “For behold blood cometh from every pore so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and abominations of his people.” It was in the Garden of Gethsemane that this prophecy was fulfilled. Our Father in heaven and His Son, the Savior, sorrow for the sins we commit and rejoice in our righteousness. To obey the Lord is a pleasing way of serving Him.
I want to ask the Latter-day Saints to support and sustain the President of this Church and his counselors, and the General Authorities, also those who preside over stakes and wards of Zion by avoiding sin, and being faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord, also by laboring faithfully and diligently when called upon for the good of the Church, and by so doing find peace and salvation, and glorify our Father in heaven.
May the Lord add his blessings, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Peace and happiness result of keeping God’s laws—Church leaders made sorrowful when members sin.
In referring to my own feelings this morning, my brethren and sisters, I can say that I have been very happy in my associations with you and others in attending the various sessions of this conference, and in worshiping the Lord in this capacity. Without boasting, I confess my love for the Lord, for His work and for His people, and I hope my love extends to all men, for this is something I desire to cultivate. I desire and constantly pray for an increase of knowledge of the Lord and of the Gospel, for an increased appreciation and love for the same. I know that one having a knowledge of the truth of this work experiences great happiness and satisfaction, when faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord, and in the discharge of religious duties, and that he experiences pain and self reproach when violating the commandments of the Lord and in committing sin. My conscience condemns me-when I do that which is wrong, and thus rob myself of that peace, happiness and hope I might have by answering strictly the requirements of conscience.
I have had much satisfaction in seeing the faithfulness of men and women of the Church who have been called to labor as presiding officers in various positions, general and local. Their devotion has been a splendid example and inspiration to me; and because I have the work of the Lord at heart and desire its triumph, I am not jealous of those who have greater ability, and who are able to accomplish more than I for the cause, but rather take pride in their accomplishments and feel a common interest with them in the success of the work.
It is a cause for pride that we have in the Church men and women who would stand in the front ranks of intelligent men and women of the world. Who are willing to give, and are giving to this work the best efforts of their lives. I rejoice that the Lord rewards all such with the bestowal of the Holy Spirit and a testimony of the Truth. The comfort that comes to all men and women who are devoting themselves in righteousness to the services of the Lord, and for the good of their fellowmen is inestimable. They receive that peace, joy and hope that cannot be purchased with the wealth of the world.
I have had occasion at times to sorrow for the sins of others, but I thank the Lord I have been able to forget, for I do not think I could be happy if I had to retain always the feelings I sometimes have when I go among the people, and it is revealed to me by presiding authorities that certain evils exist among our people. Revelations are sometimes made that fill my heart with sorrow because of the wrongdoings of some members of the Church, and also because the Church is affected thereby. When we disgrace ourselves we, to an extent, disgrace the Church, and both must suffer. I know that men and women who have committed sin reap the fruits of their sowing. I am just as sure that the penalty will be paid in sorrow for all wrong doing, as I am sure that good deeds will be justly rewarded. I am sure the sins of this people are a great sorrow to the President of this Church, because of his responsibility as President and his love for the people. We could not do better by way of sustaining him and lightening his-load of anxiety than by being faithful, consistent Latter-day Saints. Those who love the people, sorrow for their sins and rejoice in their righteousness.
We read in the Book of Mormon (Mosiah 3:7), a prediction of the coming of the Lord in the meridian of time, and how he would suffer for the sins of the people: “For behold blood cometh from every pore so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and abominations of his people.” It was in the Garden of Gethsemane that this prophecy was fulfilled. Our Father in heaven and His Son, the Savior, sorrow for the sins we commit and rejoice in our righteousness. To obey the Lord is a pleasing way of serving Him.
I want to ask the Latter-day Saints to support and sustain the President of this Church and his counselors, and the General Authorities, also those who preside over stakes and wards of Zion by avoiding sin, and being faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord, also by laboring faithfully and diligently when called upon for the good of the Church, and by so doing find peace and salvation, and glorify our Father in heaven.
May the Lord add his blessings, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER ORSON F. WHITNEY.
Our dependence upon God—How we know the Truth—The Holy Spirit— What is revealed is not incomprehensible.
If I sense one thing more fully than another, among the many good things uttered during this conference, it is that reminder from our President that we are entirely dependent upon God—a truth emphasized by Brother Lyman in his remarks, following those of President Smith. Brethren and sisters, I feel my dependence upon God, that I may know what to say to His people that shall be for their good, and I therefore ask for your prayers, and for the inspiration of that Spirit which knoweth all things, yea, the deep things of God, that searches all hearts and reads them as an open book, that comprehends our needs on such occasions as this, and is alone able to supply them.
How do I know that this is the Lord’s work? I know it because He has shown it to me. How can I retain this knowledge without Him? How can I accomplish successfully my mortal pilgrimage and lay hold upon eternal life, except the Lord be with me? How can you or I do anything without Him? There is a spirit, an intelligence, that proceeds from His presence and fills the immensity of space; it is the light of the sun and the moon and the stars; the light that illumines our understandings; the light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world; but it exists in degrees of force and power and quantity, and they who live nearest to God have most of it. They are entitled to most, having made covenant with Him at the waters of baptism, having manifested their faith by their works, having repented of their sins, which have been washed away in the manner that God has appointed. These are entitled to the special gift of God’s Spirit, and by that Spirit they know that this is God’s work, and they can know it in no other way. The most intelligent man in the world, whatever his gifts and powers, is like a child in the presence of this great problem, before which, as was predicted ages ago, the wisdom of the wise perishes and the understandings of the prudent is hid.
A friend of mine outside the Church said to me in New York City a few weeks ago: “I believe ‘Mormonism’ to be true, I regard it as a sound philosophy, but I do not know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. If not a prophet,” my friend added, “he was certainly the most marvelous thinker of modern times, but I have no testimony that he was specially sent from God.” I asked him how he could expect to have such a testimony unless he obeyed the Gospel, unless he took the course which the Lord has pointed out whereby men may lay hold upon divine knowledge. He is an honest man, a man of intelligence and culture, with no less than eight languages at his tongue’s end, and is apparently versed in all the learning of our time; but he does not know what you and I know—we who have so little of his learning, and yet possess something inestimably greater, a testimony of the truth. If he ever arrives at the knowledge which you and I possess it will be when he has obeyed the same principles that you and I have obeyed. We believe in God, and in the true God at that, not in a phantom, a man-made deity. We have faith in the true God, and have repented of our sins by turning away from them. We have been baptized by Divine authority, and have had our sins washed away, thus becoming fit receptacles for the Holy Ghost, and the Lord has confirmed our faith by the knowledge that comes through the gift of the Holy Ghost. And this way is open to all; the king upon his throne or the peasant in his cot may have it if he so desires; but there is only one way for the king or for' the peasant. When it comes to candidacy for salvation, for citizenship in the kingdom of heaven, all men are equal— they get salvation and glory upon precisely the same terms.
During the past summer it was my happy privilege to visit some of the early scenes of our Church history. Among these was the site of the old log and frame farmhouse in the township of Manchester, New York, where the Prophet Joseph was living with his parents, as a boy between fourteen and fifteen years of age, when God appeared to him in person, and opened the dispensation of the fulness of times. I stood within the very grove where it is believed the Father and the Son appeared to and conversed with him as one man converses with another. I am sure I cannot tell you how profoundly impressed I was while standing upon the spot where these marvelous events took place. I sensed the difference between reading of things or hearing of them, and ’being where I could feel them as I never felt them before. Not that any particular place gives a testimony of the truth, but it seemed to me that my testimony was renewed, or deepened and expanded, by what I saw, and I felt the truth more vividly. I know, for God has revealed it to me, that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of the Most High. I know that he saw God face to face and spake with Him, and that he saw Him in the form of man. I am not dependent upon man, but upon God, for this knowledge, and as to whether I retain it or lose it; for the testimony of the Holy Spirit, by which alone we can know and comprehend God, will stay with us or depart from us, according to the life we lead.
As I stood there, drinking in the inspiration of those sacred scenes, I recalled another trip that I had taken earlier in the season, in company with President Anthon H. Lund. Down in Sanpete Valley I had come across a little booklet which was being distributed by certain pious, well-meaning people who had come to Utah to convert the Latter-day Saints from the supposed error of their ways. This little book was entitled, “The Truth about God.” I took the pains to read it from lid to lid—not because my faith needed confirmation, particularly, from such a source, but because I wanted to see how far the leaven had worked, the leaven of the truth about God, received by the Prophet Joseph and preached by him and other elders of the Church. And what did I find in that book? Briefly this: That God is a spirit, everywhere present; that Fie is utterly incomprehensible; and that He made all things out of nothing; special emphasis being laid upon that passage of Scripture which reads, “No man hath seen God at any time.” They were using this as a cudgel against the faith of those who believe that Joseph Smith did see God. I thought it rather queer that people who proclaim in effect that they know nothing about God, who declare that no man has ever seen Him, and that He cannot be comprehended, should be found here in our midst trying to tell us “The Truth about God.” It looks a little ridiculous, and the folly of it is emphasized, in our minds, by the fact that these people who admit that they know nothing about God, have come to teach the followers of a prophet who saw God, who conversed with Him, and who taught the truth concerning Him—though not all.
We do not believe (as Brother Penrose beautifully showed yesterday) that God ever made anything out of nothing. We dismiss that as an unphilosophical absurdity—for no power, human or divine, ever did or ever will make something out of nothing. I shall only glance, too, at the proposition that God is incomprehensible. The unrevealed infinite fulness of God is of course incomprehensible to the finite mind. The finite cannot grasp the infinite. That being the case, God in his fulness is incomprehensible to us at the present time. He cannot reveal His fulness, because it cannot be comprehended. The finite can no more comprehend the infinite, than the river can swallow up the ocean. But we do not claim that the infinite fulness of God has been revealed to man; we only claim that a part of it has been revealed. But the part revealed is certainly not incomprehensible—else why did God reveal it? If incomprehensible, how could He have revealed it? It is an absurdity to say that God has revealed Himself even in part, and then declare that He is utterly incomprehensible. It is charging Him with folly and a waste of time.
As for God being a spirit, we do believe that—as President Smith forcibly reminded us on a former occasion. God is a spirit, and man is a spirit; but man has a body, and so has God. Man is the child of God, fashioned in His image and endowed with divine attributes. Men and women are the sons and daughters of heavenly Parents, who said in the beginning, “Let us make man in our own image—male and female.” That is not incomprehensible, and the Lord never intended it to be; but man has tried to make it so. We believe also in the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit, the third member of the Godhead; and there is a spirit or influence that proceeds from the divine presence and pervades the immensity of space. But that is not our Father in heaven, that is not our Savior, not the Father and the Son with whom Joseph Smith conversed and from whom he received instructions. God revealed Himself to the Prophet in the visions of heaven by the power of His Spirit, and Joseph saw Him, not with the natural eye— for no man, with the natural eye, hath seen God at any time—but with his spiritual vision, reinforced by the power of God’s Spirit, without which no man can see or comprehend Him.
We are dependent upon the Lord for this testimony, and I feel the need of it every day, every hour— the need of guidance by that Spirit which manifests the things of God, which brings things past to remembrance, shows things to come, explains the otherwise mysterious present, and puts within the hand of man the key to celestial glory, the power to lay hold upon eternal life, God’s greatest gift. Amen.
Our dependence upon God—How we know the Truth—The Holy Spirit— What is revealed is not incomprehensible.
If I sense one thing more fully than another, among the many good things uttered during this conference, it is that reminder from our President that we are entirely dependent upon God—a truth emphasized by Brother Lyman in his remarks, following those of President Smith. Brethren and sisters, I feel my dependence upon God, that I may know what to say to His people that shall be for their good, and I therefore ask for your prayers, and for the inspiration of that Spirit which knoweth all things, yea, the deep things of God, that searches all hearts and reads them as an open book, that comprehends our needs on such occasions as this, and is alone able to supply them.
How do I know that this is the Lord’s work? I know it because He has shown it to me. How can I retain this knowledge without Him? How can I accomplish successfully my mortal pilgrimage and lay hold upon eternal life, except the Lord be with me? How can you or I do anything without Him? There is a spirit, an intelligence, that proceeds from His presence and fills the immensity of space; it is the light of the sun and the moon and the stars; the light that illumines our understandings; the light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world; but it exists in degrees of force and power and quantity, and they who live nearest to God have most of it. They are entitled to most, having made covenant with Him at the waters of baptism, having manifested their faith by their works, having repented of their sins, which have been washed away in the manner that God has appointed. These are entitled to the special gift of God’s Spirit, and by that Spirit they know that this is God’s work, and they can know it in no other way. The most intelligent man in the world, whatever his gifts and powers, is like a child in the presence of this great problem, before which, as was predicted ages ago, the wisdom of the wise perishes and the understandings of the prudent is hid.
A friend of mine outside the Church said to me in New York City a few weeks ago: “I believe ‘Mormonism’ to be true, I regard it as a sound philosophy, but I do not know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. If not a prophet,” my friend added, “he was certainly the most marvelous thinker of modern times, but I have no testimony that he was specially sent from God.” I asked him how he could expect to have such a testimony unless he obeyed the Gospel, unless he took the course which the Lord has pointed out whereby men may lay hold upon divine knowledge. He is an honest man, a man of intelligence and culture, with no less than eight languages at his tongue’s end, and is apparently versed in all the learning of our time; but he does not know what you and I know—we who have so little of his learning, and yet possess something inestimably greater, a testimony of the truth. If he ever arrives at the knowledge which you and I possess it will be when he has obeyed the same principles that you and I have obeyed. We believe in God, and in the true God at that, not in a phantom, a man-made deity. We have faith in the true God, and have repented of our sins by turning away from them. We have been baptized by Divine authority, and have had our sins washed away, thus becoming fit receptacles for the Holy Ghost, and the Lord has confirmed our faith by the knowledge that comes through the gift of the Holy Ghost. And this way is open to all; the king upon his throne or the peasant in his cot may have it if he so desires; but there is only one way for the king or for' the peasant. When it comes to candidacy for salvation, for citizenship in the kingdom of heaven, all men are equal— they get salvation and glory upon precisely the same terms.
During the past summer it was my happy privilege to visit some of the early scenes of our Church history. Among these was the site of the old log and frame farmhouse in the township of Manchester, New York, where the Prophet Joseph was living with his parents, as a boy between fourteen and fifteen years of age, when God appeared to him in person, and opened the dispensation of the fulness of times. I stood within the very grove where it is believed the Father and the Son appeared to and conversed with him as one man converses with another. I am sure I cannot tell you how profoundly impressed I was while standing upon the spot where these marvelous events took place. I sensed the difference between reading of things or hearing of them, and ’being where I could feel them as I never felt them before. Not that any particular place gives a testimony of the truth, but it seemed to me that my testimony was renewed, or deepened and expanded, by what I saw, and I felt the truth more vividly. I know, for God has revealed it to me, that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of the Most High. I know that he saw God face to face and spake with Him, and that he saw Him in the form of man. I am not dependent upon man, but upon God, for this knowledge, and as to whether I retain it or lose it; for the testimony of the Holy Spirit, by which alone we can know and comprehend God, will stay with us or depart from us, according to the life we lead.
As I stood there, drinking in the inspiration of those sacred scenes, I recalled another trip that I had taken earlier in the season, in company with President Anthon H. Lund. Down in Sanpete Valley I had come across a little booklet which was being distributed by certain pious, well-meaning people who had come to Utah to convert the Latter-day Saints from the supposed error of their ways. This little book was entitled, “The Truth about God.” I took the pains to read it from lid to lid—not because my faith needed confirmation, particularly, from such a source, but because I wanted to see how far the leaven had worked, the leaven of the truth about God, received by the Prophet Joseph and preached by him and other elders of the Church. And what did I find in that book? Briefly this: That God is a spirit, everywhere present; that Fie is utterly incomprehensible; and that He made all things out of nothing; special emphasis being laid upon that passage of Scripture which reads, “No man hath seen God at any time.” They were using this as a cudgel against the faith of those who believe that Joseph Smith did see God. I thought it rather queer that people who proclaim in effect that they know nothing about God, who declare that no man has ever seen Him, and that He cannot be comprehended, should be found here in our midst trying to tell us “The Truth about God.” It looks a little ridiculous, and the folly of it is emphasized, in our minds, by the fact that these people who admit that they know nothing about God, have come to teach the followers of a prophet who saw God, who conversed with Him, and who taught the truth concerning Him—though not all.
We do not believe (as Brother Penrose beautifully showed yesterday) that God ever made anything out of nothing. We dismiss that as an unphilosophical absurdity—for no power, human or divine, ever did or ever will make something out of nothing. I shall only glance, too, at the proposition that God is incomprehensible. The unrevealed infinite fulness of God is of course incomprehensible to the finite mind. The finite cannot grasp the infinite. That being the case, God in his fulness is incomprehensible to us at the present time. He cannot reveal His fulness, because it cannot be comprehended. The finite can no more comprehend the infinite, than the river can swallow up the ocean. But we do not claim that the infinite fulness of God has been revealed to man; we only claim that a part of it has been revealed. But the part revealed is certainly not incomprehensible—else why did God reveal it? If incomprehensible, how could He have revealed it? It is an absurdity to say that God has revealed Himself even in part, and then declare that He is utterly incomprehensible. It is charging Him with folly and a waste of time.
As for God being a spirit, we do believe that—as President Smith forcibly reminded us on a former occasion. God is a spirit, and man is a spirit; but man has a body, and so has God. Man is the child of God, fashioned in His image and endowed with divine attributes. Men and women are the sons and daughters of heavenly Parents, who said in the beginning, “Let us make man in our own image—male and female.” That is not incomprehensible, and the Lord never intended it to be; but man has tried to make it so. We believe also in the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is a personage of spirit, the third member of the Godhead; and there is a spirit or influence that proceeds from the divine presence and pervades the immensity of space. But that is not our Father in heaven, that is not our Savior, not the Father and the Son with whom Joseph Smith conversed and from whom he received instructions. God revealed Himself to the Prophet in the visions of heaven by the power of His Spirit, and Joseph saw Him, not with the natural eye— for no man, with the natural eye, hath seen God at any time—but with his spiritual vision, reinforced by the power of God’s Spirit, without which no man can see or comprehend Him.
We are dependent upon the Lord for this testimony, and I feel the need of it every day, every hour— the need of guidance by that Spirit which manifests the things of God, which brings things past to remembrance, shows things to come, explains the otherwise mysterious present, and puts within the hand of man the key to celestial glory, the power to lay hold upon eternal life, God’s greatest gift. Amen.
PREST. CHARLES W. PENROSE.
Benefit to Sundays Schools of the presence of the Priesthood—Excessive number of meetings—Priesthood classes may be held at such times as most convenient—No need to have organizations outside of the Church—All our energies needed within the Church of Christ.
Before we adjourn for the afternoon session, I have a very few words to say to our brethren, the presidents of stakes, the bishops and their counselors, and the brethren acting in the priesthood, particularly, and the subject will to some extent bear upon the whole congregation.
I made a few remarks at the close of the splendid session of the Sunday School conference last evening in regard to the labors of the priesthood in the Sunday Schools. We used to have, generally, in the different wards of the stakes of Zion, priesthood meetings on Monday evenings. In many of the wards that has been changed, to holding priesthood classes on Sunday mornings, and I learn that in consequence of that in some places, the Sunday Schools are denuded, so to speak, of the influence and power and authority and presence of men holding the priesthood, men of experience. We have so many meetings to attend, particularly on Sunday, that instead of being a day of rest it becomes to some a day of toil.
Now, it is not obligatory upon all the wards and stakes of Zion to make this change. If they find it better to have the priesthood meetings held on Monday evenings they are at liberty so to do, so far as the Presidency of the Church are concerned. What we want is to have the greatest good come to the greatest number; and it is advisable that, so far as possible, the men who hold the Holy Priesthood, particularly men in authority, will by their presence and their influence and their teachings, aid in the glorious work of teaching our young people—children and the teachers of the children, the things of God. So, it is advisable as far as possible, to have the brethren of the priesthood, if they hold their meeting on Sunday morning as classes in the priesthood, to remain and attend the Sunday Schools. But if they can’t do both, they can make their arrangements, if they so desire, to have their priesthood meetings as before on Monday evenings. This is not obligatory upon all the brethren because of the change that has taken place in some of the wards. In some wards it works well; in others it does not work so well. Do that which is best, brethren, and all will be right.
Now, in regard to having so many meetings, we are told by a great number of our brethren that about every night in the week they have some duty to perform, either as teachers or attending priesthood meetings or class meetings or some other meetings connected with the wards of the Church in which they reside. I would say then if that is the case, confine your time and your talents and your labor and work to the institutions of the Church. There is no need to go outside into other organizations established for other than Church purposes. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints contains within its organization all that is needed for the labors of our brethren in the priesthood, and for our sisters in their auxiliary societies, for the benefit of the Saints, for their uplifting, for their enlightenment, for their progress, for the consolidation of their energies in any direction. So, brethren, the advice of the Presidency is to you, do not be entangled with orders, or societies, or outside and extra organizations that are being attempted or set up, but bring your energies together inside the Church, its quorums, its organizations of every kind, and you will have plenty to do. May God bless you and help you to do it. 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 Rey L. Pratt.
Conference adjourned unto 2 p. m.
Benefit to Sundays Schools of the presence of the Priesthood—Excessive number of meetings—Priesthood classes may be held at such times as most convenient—No need to have organizations outside of the Church—All our energies needed within the Church of Christ.
Before we adjourn for the afternoon session, I have a very few words to say to our brethren, the presidents of stakes, the bishops and their counselors, and the brethren acting in the priesthood, particularly, and the subject will to some extent bear upon the whole congregation.
I made a few remarks at the close of the splendid session of the Sunday School conference last evening in regard to the labors of the priesthood in the Sunday Schools. We used to have, generally, in the different wards of the stakes of Zion, priesthood meetings on Monday evenings. In many of the wards that has been changed, to holding priesthood classes on Sunday mornings, and I learn that in consequence of that in some places, the Sunday Schools are denuded, so to speak, of the influence and power and authority and presence of men holding the priesthood, men of experience. We have so many meetings to attend, particularly on Sunday, that instead of being a day of rest it becomes to some a day of toil.
Now, it is not obligatory upon all the wards and stakes of Zion to make this change. If they find it better to have the priesthood meetings held on Monday evenings they are at liberty so to do, so far as the Presidency of the Church are concerned. What we want is to have the greatest good come to the greatest number; and it is advisable that, so far as possible, the men who hold the Holy Priesthood, particularly men in authority, will by their presence and their influence and their teachings, aid in the glorious work of teaching our young people—children and the teachers of the children, the things of God. So, it is advisable as far as possible, to have the brethren of the priesthood, if they hold their meeting on Sunday morning as classes in the priesthood, to remain and attend the Sunday Schools. But if they can’t do both, they can make their arrangements, if they so desire, to have their priesthood meetings as before on Monday evenings. This is not obligatory upon all the brethren because of the change that has taken place in some of the wards. In some wards it works well; in others it does not work so well. Do that which is best, brethren, and all will be right.
Now, in regard to having so many meetings, we are told by a great number of our brethren that about every night in the week they have some duty to perform, either as teachers or attending priesthood meetings or class meetings or some other meetings connected with the wards of the Church in which they reside. I would say then if that is the case, confine your time and your talents and your labor and work to the institutions of the Church. There is no need to go outside into other organizations established for other than Church purposes. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints contains within its organization all that is needed for the labors of our brethren in the priesthood, and for our sisters in their auxiliary societies, for the benefit of the Saints, for their uplifting, for their enlightenment, for their progress, for the consolidation of their energies in any direction. So, brethren, the advice of the Presidency is to you, do not be entangled with orders, or societies, or outside and extra organizations that are being attempted or set up, but bring your energies together inside the Church, its quorums, its organizations of every kind, and you will have plenty to do. May God bless you and help you to do it. 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 Rey L. Pratt.
Conference adjourned unto 2 p. m.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
Conference was resumed at 2 p. m., President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
The 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?
The invocation was offered by Elder William H. Smart.
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.
Conference was resumed at 2 p. m., President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
The 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?
The invocation was offered by Elder William H. Smart.
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.
ELDER DAVID O. M’KAY.
God’s laws should govern all life’s affairs, trivial or great—War’s horrors, like other evils, result from ignoring Divine laws—Duty of proclaiming those laws rests upon the Priesthood—To be consistent, those who proclaim law must live it.
I sincerely trust that I may be able to express what I have in my heart to say. To me, it seems important and practical; but I rather fear that when I attempt to say it, it will seem to the Saints trivial and unimportant, so I pray that the inspiration of this conference, the blessings of the Lord that have attended the brethren who have occupied this position before, may direct me this afternoon.
The Gospel principles are glorious, they are divine, and I believe that there is not a soul in this house who does not believe that they are glorious and divine. Most of us know the source of these principles and these ordinances. We know that God is revealing and has revealed His will to men; but the great important thing to me is, To what extent do we introduce these glorious principles into our lives. In other words, how do we apply our religion? We just sang the opening 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 hath fled?”
When we think of the revelations He has given to the human family since the beginning of time, down to this last and greatest of dispensations in which He has revealed, through the greatest of prophets, revelations that are glorious and practical, when we contemplate, I say, all that God has given us, it does seem that we can say with the poet, “What more can He say than to you He hath said ?” But on the other hand, when we contemplate how little we apply these principles in our individual lives, in our civic lives, in our national lives, we begin to realize how much more God has done for us than we are doing for Him. We should apply these principles, too, in what seem to be trivial things. There is no one great thing that we can do to obtain eternal life, and it seems to me that the great lesson to be learned in the world today is to apply in the little acts and duties of life the glorious principles of the Gospel. Let us not think that because some of the things named this afternoon, may seem small and trivial, that they are unimportant. Life, after all, is made up of little things. Our life, our being, physically, is made up here of little heart beats. Let that little heart stop beating, and life in this world ceases. The great sun is a mighty force in the universe, but we receive the blessings of his rays because they come to us as little beams, which, taken in the aggregate, fill the whole world with sunlight. The dark night is made pleasant by the glimmer of what seem to be little stars; and so the true Christian life is made up of little Christ-like acts performed this hour, this minute, in the home, in the quorum, in the organization, in the town, wherever our life and acts may be cast.
I want to call your attention to part of the farewell address that an aged man gave to his people many hundreds of years ago, for it seems to me that the power of that address as it influenced the people of his time is applicable to the world today. Many hundreds of years ago an old prophet, tried and proved by a life of service to God, gathered his people around him, related their history, and pointed out the hand of God over them, how He had preserved them, led them through trials, temptations, delivered them from their enemies and blessed them time after time, notwithstanding their frequent departures from His will. Then He appealed to them to say whether or not they were going to serve Him, or whether after all the Lord had done for them they were going to fall back and worship false gods. They were so impressed that they cried out in their hearts, “The Lord, our God will we serve and His voice will we obey,” and then Joshua, the aged prophet, gathered them around him and, under an old oak tree that stood close by the sanctuary, erected a pile of rocks which was to stand as a reminder of the covenant which they had that day made, and so long as they should see that, they were to remember the covenant which they had made; they were going to serve God and His voice obey.
Brethren, these conferences appeal to me as opportunities for us to renew our covenants. This conference, particularly, is a time of refreshing, a time of renewal of spirit, and an opportunity for all Israel to say after all they hear, after all they know to be true, “We will serve the Lord and His voice we will obey.”
I said that the great need of the world today is applied religion. When I think or read of the horrors of the most wicked of wars, now going on in Europe, when I picture young men who have been forced to carry the gun and slay their fellowmen, running across a field, burrowing into the earth as animals, to protect themselves from their fellowmen, when I read of these men lying heaped in trenches, and in fancy hear their groans as they turn their ghastly faces to heaven, when I think of the devastated towns and see fleeing from those towns husbandless women, dragging fatherless children, when I think of the thousands of human beings who are going to die of starvation and disease,—because we are told that for every soldier that dies in battle five others at least will die of exposure, disease and starvation—I say when I think of all these horrors that come in the wake of war, I try to find out the cause of it all. Each nation is calling its people to “Come to the defense of the nation, because the war is forced upon us.” Germany says, “We are forced to fight;” Austria says, “We are forced to fight;” so France and England. As a matter of fact, thus far it seems clear that only the little nation of Belgium is forced to fight. They seem to have such right on their side that they are fighting for their life, for their country, their God. But the real causes are not evident; however you will discover that one cause of the disastrous war lies deeply rooted in the fact that those highly so-called Christian nations have never applied the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The leaders and rulers who brought this war upon the people failed to apply the little, simple principles that Christ taught centuries ago. Why, if they had applied only one of His teachings the whole war might have been averted. For example, “If you bring your gift to the altar and there rememberest that thou hast aught against thy brother, leave there thy gift upon the altar and go first to thy brother; first reconcile thyself to him, then come and offer thy sacrifice.” If the first two nations that clashed, 'because of having misunderstood each other, had applied that little simple doctrine and live it, may be the whole thing would have been averted for a time. But that is only one. The roots of the causes of this war lie deeply bedded in vanity, one monarch feeling above another, so far above him, in fact, that he would not arbitrate, would not go to his brother and have an understanding of the misunderstandings that had risen. Vanity, selfishness, unjust commercialism, unrighteousness, and other things contrary to the Spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. O, if they could only apply the Gospel in their nationalism I But they have considered it only as a thing apart from daily life—as something to be treated as a mere social function. They haven’t felt that it is a vital force, the vital force in humanity.
It may be that this dreadful carnage which is going on—the toppling of thrones, the destruction of monarchies, may be but a step to prepare the way for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the giving to the millions of honest souls in those countries the opportunity of accepting it. I, for one, believe it with all my soul. Upon whom, then, rests the responsibility of carrying this message to them, after the way is prepared? Upon whom but those unto whom has been given the power and authority to represent God in this world? That is you, my brother; that is you, my sister. How glorious the Gospel seems to us; but oh, how mighty the responsibility upon the Elders of the Church! The first step toward carrying this responsibility is to apply our religion in our lives.
Did you notice the last part of President Smith’s impressive prayer last night in the Sunday School Union? Read it after this meeting and see how his heart went out and prayed that we might have the spirit of peace in our hearts. That is the true beginning of peace. When we talk to the world about the need of applying religion, our first duty is to apply it in our lives.
Let us see what this means. In one of our meetings recently, President Lyman said, in substance, “I believe, that there was never a time when it was more necessary to teach to the people the necessity of abstaining from the use of tobacco, intoxicants and stimulating beverages.” In other words, though for many years we have heard the word of wisdom taught, yet it is still just as necessary to teach it to the Saints. The word of wisdom is a simple little thing, isn’t it, but if we could say to the world that here in the west there are one hundred thousand people not one of whom indulges in intoxicants, not one of whom has violated the law of chastity, what would it mean? To accomplish this among Latter-day Saints isn’t impractical. Let us particularize: Here are these men in the leading counsels of the Church’ who subscribe to those things. There are sixty-six presidencies and sixty-six stake clerks of whom the same can be truthfully said. There are sixty- six times eighteen who ought to do it; and if they cannot, they are not true to the responsibility which they have accepted. If those men can do it, cannot the seven hundred and twenty-five times three men who occupy the bishoprics in this Church, do it? They must do it. They have said they would do it. If these men can comply with these requirements because of the offices they hold and the responsibilities that are before them as leaders in Israel, cannot the men who occupy positions in the quorums do it? Why, Bishops, you ask them to when you put them in, and each man can do it if he will only desire to. If he will only say in his heart, “I love to do it because it is true, because it is my duty.” Do you realize what it means to have the Priesthood—all the men who hold responsibility, live temperate, chaste and righteous lives? Sixty-six stake presidencies and clerks aggregate two hundred and sixty-four men; High Counselors, eleven hundred eighty-eight; seven hundred and twenty-five Bishoprics, including the ward clerk, twenty-nine hundred; Deacons, just the officers and class instructors, about twenty-nine hundred; Teachers and Priests, approximately, fourteen hundred and fifty; three hundred and fifty quorums of Elders, each one presided over by three men who carry the responsibility of pure living just as much as the Bishopric of the ward, one thousand and fifty; there will be seven hundred class instructors with those Elders, every one of whom is an unfit teacher unless he teaches by his life; one hundred and ninety quorums of Seventy, thirteen hundred and thirty men; sixty-six quorums of High Priests, one hundred and ninety-eight, with seven hundred and twenty-five class instructors; making a grand total of over twelve thousand men, every one of whom has the strength and I hope he has the love to live up to those principles and to apply them in his daily life. Or, to approach the question another way. Since the year, 1900, over ten thousand young men in this Church have gone out to the nations to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those young men have stood on the streets of some of these nations now in war; they have stood on the street corners in our own cities here in America, and have declared the eternal principles of the Gospel revealed through the Prophet, Joseph Smith. Those ten thousand young men during that time were clean and pure and sweet in their lives, or else they were hypocrites. Now, they have come back and are mingling here in our social life, in our political life; some of them are on the road acting as drummers. Are they applying these Gospel principles? There are ten thousand young men on whom the responsibility rests to apply these influences in their lives. And we may add others. There are the teachers in the auxiliary associations. Do you want a girl to teach your children in Sunday School who does not live a life of purity, a consistent life in her home and in society? Why, the responsibility is upon the girls just as much as it as upon the men. And when you class just the teachers, eliminating the general boards, eliminating the Ward teachers, eliminating the membership of quorums,—which ought not to be done,—we have an army of fifty thousand teachers, men and women, every one of whom can apply this principle in daily life and every one of whom should do it. Think of it! Suppose that during 1915 and the remaining part of this year each one of those fifty thousand teachers touches the life of five boys and girls, only five, and influence those boys and girls to practice absolutely a life of temperate living and of chastity and of devotion to the principles of life—for that is what the Gospel is, principles of life, salvation here, happiness here, as well as hereafter—we should then have a community of two hundred and fifty thousand people applying the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I think such a condition not impracticable, to obtain; for most of them are living it now, and the Gospel truths are dearer to them than life.
Let us go from this conference' feeling in our hearts-as Israel of old felt, we will serve the Lord and His voice we will obey. God help us to do it, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sister Mildred Bradford sang a soprano solo, “Fear not ye, oh Israel.”
God’s laws should govern all life’s affairs, trivial or great—War’s horrors, like other evils, result from ignoring Divine laws—Duty of proclaiming those laws rests upon the Priesthood—To be consistent, those who proclaim law must live it.
I sincerely trust that I may be able to express what I have in my heart to say. To me, it seems important and practical; but I rather fear that when I attempt to say it, it will seem to the Saints trivial and unimportant, so I pray that the inspiration of this conference, the blessings of the Lord that have attended the brethren who have occupied this position before, may direct me this afternoon.
The Gospel principles are glorious, they are divine, and I believe that there is not a soul in this house who does not believe that they are glorious and divine. Most of us know the source of these principles and these ordinances. We know that God is revealing and has revealed His will to men; but the great important thing to me is, To what extent do we introduce these glorious principles into our lives. In other words, how do we apply our religion? We just sang the opening 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 hath fled?”
When we think of the revelations He has given to the human family since the beginning of time, down to this last and greatest of dispensations in which He has revealed, through the greatest of prophets, revelations that are glorious and practical, when we contemplate, I say, all that God has given us, it does seem that we can say with the poet, “What more can He say than to you He hath said ?” But on the other hand, when we contemplate how little we apply these principles in our individual lives, in our civic lives, in our national lives, we begin to realize how much more God has done for us than we are doing for Him. We should apply these principles, too, in what seem to be trivial things. There is no one great thing that we can do to obtain eternal life, and it seems to me that the great lesson to be learned in the world today is to apply in the little acts and duties of life the glorious principles of the Gospel. Let us not think that because some of the things named this afternoon, may seem small and trivial, that they are unimportant. Life, after all, is made up of little things. Our life, our being, physically, is made up here of little heart beats. Let that little heart stop beating, and life in this world ceases. The great sun is a mighty force in the universe, but we receive the blessings of his rays because they come to us as little beams, which, taken in the aggregate, fill the whole world with sunlight. The dark night is made pleasant by the glimmer of what seem to be little stars; and so the true Christian life is made up of little Christ-like acts performed this hour, this minute, in the home, in the quorum, in the organization, in the town, wherever our life and acts may be cast.
I want to call your attention to part of the farewell address that an aged man gave to his people many hundreds of years ago, for it seems to me that the power of that address as it influenced the people of his time is applicable to the world today. Many hundreds of years ago an old prophet, tried and proved by a life of service to God, gathered his people around him, related their history, and pointed out the hand of God over them, how He had preserved them, led them through trials, temptations, delivered them from their enemies and blessed them time after time, notwithstanding their frequent departures from His will. Then He appealed to them to say whether or not they were going to serve Him, or whether after all the Lord had done for them they were going to fall back and worship false gods. They were so impressed that they cried out in their hearts, “The Lord, our God will we serve and His voice will we obey,” and then Joshua, the aged prophet, gathered them around him and, under an old oak tree that stood close by the sanctuary, erected a pile of rocks which was to stand as a reminder of the covenant which they had that day made, and so long as they should see that, they were to remember the covenant which they had made; they were going to serve God and His voice obey.
Brethren, these conferences appeal to me as opportunities for us to renew our covenants. This conference, particularly, is a time of refreshing, a time of renewal of spirit, and an opportunity for all Israel to say after all they hear, after all they know to be true, “We will serve the Lord and His voice we will obey.”
I said that the great need of the world today is applied religion. When I think or read of the horrors of the most wicked of wars, now going on in Europe, when I picture young men who have been forced to carry the gun and slay their fellowmen, running across a field, burrowing into the earth as animals, to protect themselves from their fellowmen, when I read of these men lying heaped in trenches, and in fancy hear their groans as they turn their ghastly faces to heaven, when I think of the devastated towns and see fleeing from those towns husbandless women, dragging fatherless children, when I think of the thousands of human beings who are going to die of starvation and disease,—because we are told that for every soldier that dies in battle five others at least will die of exposure, disease and starvation—I say when I think of all these horrors that come in the wake of war, I try to find out the cause of it all. Each nation is calling its people to “Come to the defense of the nation, because the war is forced upon us.” Germany says, “We are forced to fight;” Austria says, “We are forced to fight;” so France and England. As a matter of fact, thus far it seems clear that only the little nation of Belgium is forced to fight. They seem to have such right on their side that they are fighting for their life, for their country, their God. But the real causes are not evident; however you will discover that one cause of the disastrous war lies deeply rooted in the fact that those highly so-called Christian nations have never applied the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The leaders and rulers who brought this war upon the people failed to apply the little, simple principles that Christ taught centuries ago. Why, if they had applied only one of His teachings the whole war might have been averted. For example, “If you bring your gift to the altar and there rememberest that thou hast aught against thy brother, leave there thy gift upon the altar and go first to thy brother; first reconcile thyself to him, then come and offer thy sacrifice.” If the first two nations that clashed, 'because of having misunderstood each other, had applied that little simple doctrine and live it, may be the whole thing would have been averted for a time. But that is only one. The roots of the causes of this war lie deeply bedded in vanity, one monarch feeling above another, so far above him, in fact, that he would not arbitrate, would not go to his brother and have an understanding of the misunderstandings that had risen. Vanity, selfishness, unjust commercialism, unrighteousness, and other things contrary to the Spirit of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. O, if they could only apply the Gospel in their nationalism I But they have considered it only as a thing apart from daily life—as something to be treated as a mere social function. They haven’t felt that it is a vital force, the vital force in humanity.
It may be that this dreadful carnage which is going on—the toppling of thrones, the destruction of monarchies, may be but a step to prepare the way for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and the giving to the millions of honest souls in those countries the opportunity of accepting it. I, for one, believe it with all my soul. Upon whom, then, rests the responsibility of carrying this message to them, after the way is prepared? Upon whom but those unto whom has been given the power and authority to represent God in this world? That is you, my brother; that is you, my sister. How glorious the Gospel seems to us; but oh, how mighty the responsibility upon the Elders of the Church! The first step toward carrying this responsibility is to apply our religion in our lives.
Did you notice the last part of President Smith’s impressive prayer last night in the Sunday School Union? Read it after this meeting and see how his heart went out and prayed that we might have the spirit of peace in our hearts. That is the true beginning of peace. When we talk to the world about the need of applying religion, our first duty is to apply it in our lives.
Let us see what this means. In one of our meetings recently, President Lyman said, in substance, “I believe, that there was never a time when it was more necessary to teach to the people the necessity of abstaining from the use of tobacco, intoxicants and stimulating beverages.” In other words, though for many years we have heard the word of wisdom taught, yet it is still just as necessary to teach it to the Saints. The word of wisdom is a simple little thing, isn’t it, but if we could say to the world that here in the west there are one hundred thousand people not one of whom indulges in intoxicants, not one of whom has violated the law of chastity, what would it mean? To accomplish this among Latter-day Saints isn’t impractical. Let us particularize: Here are these men in the leading counsels of the Church’ who subscribe to those things. There are sixty-six presidencies and sixty-six stake clerks of whom the same can be truthfully said. There are sixty- six times eighteen who ought to do it; and if they cannot, they are not true to the responsibility which they have accepted. If those men can do it, cannot the seven hundred and twenty-five times three men who occupy the bishoprics in this Church, do it? They must do it. They have said they would do it. If these men can comply with these requirements because of the offices they hold and the responsibilities that are before them as leaders in Israel, cannot the men who occupy positions in the quorums do it? Why, Bishops, you ask them to when you put them in, and each man can do it if he will only desire to. If he will only say in his heart, “I love to do it because it is true, because it is my duty.” Do you realize what it means to have the Priesthood—all the men who hold responsibility, live temperate, chaste and righteous lives? Sixty-six stake presidencies and clerks aggregate two hundred and sixty-four men; High Counselors, eleven hundred eighty-eight; seven hundred and twenty-five Bishoprics, including the ward clerk, twenty-nine hundred; Deacons, just the officers and class instructors, about twenty-nine hundred; Teachers and Priests, approximately, fourteen hundred and fifty; three hundred and fifty quorums of Elders, each one presided over by three men who carry the responsibility of pure living just as much as the Bishopric of the ward, one thousand and fifty; there will be seven hundred class instructors with those Elders, every one of whom is an unfit teacher unless he teaches by his life; one hundred and ninety quorums of Seventy, thirteen hundred and thirty men; sixty-six quorums of High Priests, one hundred and ninety-eight, with seven hundred and twenty-five class instructors; making a grand total of over twelve thousand men, every one of whom has the strength and I hope he has the love to live up to those principles and to apply them in his daily life. Or, to approach the question another way. Since the year, 1900, over ten thousand young men in this Church have gone out to the nations to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those young men have stood on the streets of some of these nations now in war; they have stood on the street corners in our own cities here in America, and have declared the eternal principles of the Gospel revealed through the Prophet, Joseph Smith. Those ten thousand young men during that time were clean and pure and sweet in their lives, or else they were hypocrites. Now, they have come back and are mingling here in our social life, in our political life; some of them are on the road acting as drummers. Are they applying these Gospel principles? There are ten thousand young men on whom the responsibility rests to apply these influences in their lives. And we may add others. There are the teachers in the auxiliary associations. Do you want a girl to teach your children in Sunday School who does not live a life of purity, a consistent life in her home and in society? Why, the responsibility is upon the girls just as much as it as upon the men. And when you class just the teachers, eliminating the general boards, eliminating the Ward teachers, eliminating the membership of quorums,—which ought not to be done,—we have an army of fifty thousand teachers, men and women, every one of whom can apply this principle in daily life and every one of whom should do it. Think of it! Suppose that during 1915 and the remaining part of this year each one of those fifty thousand teachers touches the life of five boys and girls, only five, and influence those boys and girls to practice absolutely a life of temperate living and of chastity and of devotion to the principles of life—for that is what the Gospel is, principles of life, salvation here, happiness here, as well as hereafter—we should then have a community of two hundred and fifty thousand people applying the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I think such a condition not impracticable, to obtain; for most of them are living it now, and the Gospel truths are dearer to them than life.
Let us go from this conference' feeling in our hearts-as Israel of old felt, we will serve the Lord and His voice we will obey. God help us to do it, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sister Mildred Bradford sang a soprano solo, “Fear not ye, oh Israel.”
ELDER ANTHONY W. IVINS.
The purpose of prophecy, and necessity for prophets—Few have believed the prophets—Scriptures and prophets rejected now as formerly— Evidences of true prophecy ignored—Need for all nations to heed latter-day prophets—Repentance may avert predicted calamities.
Had it been suggested yesterday, my brethren and sisters, that I address you this afternoon I should have thought it impossible, for I have been suffering because of bodily conditions to an extent that it would have been very painful for me to have attempted to do so, but I feel very grateful to the Lord, and give Him credit, that I am so far relieved from pain that with His assistance and your faith I am able to occupy a few moments of the time. I believe in the Lord. I believe in the vital forces which characterize His Gospel, and apply to all those who put their faith in Him; and so I depend upon Him as I have all my life. Whatever I do I think of the Lord, and my utter dependence upon Him for strength to accomplish it. So I feel very grateful this afternoon, my brethren and sisters, and wish to make this acknowledgment here in your presence, that my life has been prolonged and preserved until today; that your lives have been preserved; that we are permitted through His mercy and goodness to come up here again as we are wont to do, to worship the Lord, to bear witness of His goodness to us, to review the condition of the Church, to compare our progress, our development, our work, with the words of His servants, the prophets, that we may know whether or not we are in harmony with that which the Lord expects us to accomplish.
I feel very grateful, my brethren and sisters, for my membership in the Church, for the testimony which has come to me, and which has been so convincing that I do not remember a moment in my life, either mv mature life or my childhood, when I have ever doubted, when my faith in the Lord has ever wavered. I believe in Him and recognize Him as the Creator of the earth upon which I dwell, the organizer of the universe with which we are surrounded, the Father of my spirit and the spirits of all men, and that He did send in the meridian of time His only begotten Son that we might see God in the flesh as He was manifested in our Lord, Jesus Christ, with the doctrines of the everlasting Gospel which have been taught aforetime, through obedience to which men and women might be brought back into His presence. I believe in these things, my brethren and sisters, with all my heart.
I thank the Lord for the written word which we have that is contained in the scripture; that He has sent prophets into every dispensation of the world. From the time that this earth was created and mankind began to inhabit it the Lord has been very near to His children. He has always guided them or sought to guide them in the right way. He has revealed Himself to them through His servants. Prophecy does not come to us simply that we may know that which is to transpire. The Lord sends inspired men to outline to us the future in order that, having that knowledge we may be brought to repentance; that we may avoid, by repentance, the inevitable judgments which come to men because of their wickedness; that we may become partakers of the blessings which are vouchsafed to all those who repent and serve the Lord. This is the purpose of prophecy, this is the spirit of prophecy, and the prophets have always been with God’s children from the beginning of time, and they are with them today to warn and admonish them and to point out to them the way in which they should walk. A prophet is not only one who foretells events that are to come, but one who, inspired of the Lord, instructs people in that which they ought to do in the day of their own probation, that they may be brought back into the presence of the Lord.
It never has been very popular to be a prophet. I am reminded of that; from the very beginning the inclination of man seems to have been to disbelieve in the Lord, to drift away from Him and to treat lightly the admonitions which have come to them through His servants. When Noah preached repentance to the antediluvians, warning them of their wickedness, there were only a few who believed. O, he was a visionary man; the earth would not be submerged with water; they would not be destroyed; and they laughed him to scorn; but there were just a few who had sufficient faith to believe in him and be saved. Only a few people believed in the Redeemer, notwithstanding the fact that they professed faith in the scripture and that His coming had been clearly outlined, the time, the place, the manner, there were just a few wise men, who understood the signs of the times, who came and did homage to the Babe of Bethlehem. The world at large rejected Him. The Jews rejected His doctrines, they were not warned by those signs which were manifest clearly before their very eyes, and they rejected the Lord. They knew not of His coming, and rejected His doctrines and ridiculed Him and scorned Him and finally crucified Him.
Now, my brethren and sisters, I might go on and recount many suck instances. There have been times when people have listened to the words of the prophet and through obedience and repentance have been saved. When Jonah went down to Ninevah and warned those people that because of their wickedness the judgment of the Almighty hung over them and that they would be destroyed except they should repent, they were pricked in their hearts and did repent. They fasted before the Lord; they clothed themselves in sackcloth and threw ashes upon their heads and cried mightily to the Lord for forgiveness; and He heard them just as He always hears those who turn to Him. It was not that the deluge had been irrevocably decreed; it was not that the Lord desired the destruction of multitudes of men who were on the earth; not at all. He desired their redemption, that they should repent, and had they repented of their sins and turned to Him, there would have been rejoicing in the heavens. That generation of men would have been redeemed; but they refused to listen, acting upon the agency which the Lord had given them. That is what I want to call your attention to, my brethren and sisters, that prophecy is given to us that we may profit by it, and by having fore-knowledge of those things which are to come, we may so square our lives that we will be prepared for them. So it is not very strange that this latter dispensation, in which the restoration of the Gospel had been just as clearly outlined as had been the dispensation of Christ, our Savior, should be revealed by the Lord, through His servants, the prophets. He revealed it to John, the divine, upon the Isle of Patmos: He revealed it to Isaiah and others of His prophets, the time, the place and the manner of the restoration, and we know as we know that we live, that through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith, just a boy, but a boy chosen of the Lord and loved of Him, that this latter Gospel dispensation has been ushered in, as the Lord said it would be.
The world does not believe this. They will never believe it except they shall turn from their wickedness and do the will of the Lord. But that does not change the truth at all. We bear witness of it to the world. I bear witness of it here this afternoon, that Joseph Smith was and is today the prophet of this dispensation, the chosen instrument of the Lord, through whom by the agency of that angel that was to fly through heaven, seen of John, the Revelator, the Gospel has been restored to earth, that its inhabitants may be warned and brought to repentance if they are to avoid the judgments of the Almighty which hangs over them. Not because He has declared that they shall be destroyed, not at all. He does not love war; and there would be rejoicing if the nations would repent; but without repentance, without humility, unless they shall acknowledge Him and acknowledge the restoration of the Gospel in this dispensation, through these agencies to which I referred, there can come no salvation for them.
Nearly thirty years before it occurred, Joseph Smith predicted the great civil war which should occur in our own country. Well, the unbeliever says, “Any far-seeing man might have known that the Southern states would be divided against the Northern states and there would be war.” But the prophet states more than that. He told us just where the war would begin. He told us just what the result would be, and has the sequel not proven that that war began just as this revelation said it would begin, in South Carolina? We might have some reason to doubt or to question the inspiration of this prophet of the Lord, if during that war the Southern states had not called upon Great Britain for assistance. There might be some reason to doubt if in a single detail there had been a mistake, but it chanced that the Southern states did call upon Great Britain, and we were very nearly at war with that nation because of her participation in behalf of the Confederacy in that struggle.
So, my brethren and sisters, you may read the word of the Lord as it is contained in these books and there you will find outlined for your benefit, that you may be governed by it, the destiny of all the nations of the earth. Now, we are not so much interested in the deluge, we are not so much interested in things that occurred in the meridian of time, although they are of very great interest to us, as we are in the word of the Lord as it applies to the present. We are here in peace today; thank the Lord for it. We pray for peace! we desire it. I want to say to you that all the prayers that we offer for peace, however great our desires may be, will not stay the judgments of the Almighty which hang over this nation as they hang over the nations of the old world, except repentance shall come to it, and faith in God, our Father.
There is no land in the world, no people upon earth to whom greater promises have been made than this nation of which we form a part. There is no part of the earth’s surface of which the Lord has said more plainly and with greater emphasis than He has of this that it is a land choice above all other lands. There is no other place where He has said with greater emphasis that it is His eternal and irrevocable decree that whatever nation or people shall inhabit this promised land shall serve Him, the true and the living God, or they shall be removed from it. There is no nation to which He has made greater promises than the nation of which we form a part, and which exists here today. Neither is there any other nation that He was warned more plainly than He has this nation.
Now, my brethren and sisters, let us look the situation squarely in the face. We see the ravages of war in the old world. They have been referred to here. I want to admonish my brothers and sisters and I want to admonish this nation to read the word of the Lord, to believe in this book, the Book of Mormon, which is the scripture of this American continent, and which contains the irrevocable decrees of the Almighty as they apply to this land, that they may, by coming into possession of this knowledge, avoid the pitfalls which are before them.
It is not my purpose, not my intention to make lengthy remarks. We are living in the dispensation of the fulness of times. My brethren and sisters, I would like to read here just a few words, the words of the Savior, and which apply very directly to us and to this nation:
“Ye say that ye know that the end of the world cometh, ye say also that ye know that the heavens and the earth shall pass away;
“And in this ye say truly, for so it is; but these things which I have told you shall not pass away until all shall be fulfilled.
“And this I have told you concerning Jerusalem; and when that day shall come, shall a remnant be scattered among all nations;
“But they shall be gathered again, but they shall remain until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
Now, my brethren and sisters, follow me a little further.
“And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth His coming until the end of the earth. “And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound;
“And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fullness of My Gospel;
“But they receive it not, for they perceive not the light and they turn their hearts from Me because of the precepts of men;
“And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
That light has broken forth with the restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith, the prophet. That prophecy was fulfilled but they perceive not the light, recognize it no more than did the Jews perceive the light when Christ ministered among them, or the antediluvians believe the words of Noah, or the Nephites the words of Samuel, the prophet, or the Jaredites the words of Ether, but they went on in their wickedness and transgression until by their own acts they brought down upon themselves the judgment and indignation of an offended God.
I say unto you, my brethren and sisters, the time has come in this nation when the Lord will have its people to serve Him—to turn from their profanity, to turn from their blasphemy which we hear wherever we go, and honor the name of God, our Father, and serve Him and keep His commandments; a time when their whoredoms must cease, when they must cease to corrupt the fountains of life and yield obedience to that first command in honorable marriage, increase and multiply and replenish the earth, as God designed that His children should do from the beginning; a time when they must cease from their drunkenness and abolish from among them those things which corrupt men and debase them and make them easy victims to the wiles of the adversary; a time when the rich must cease to persecute and bear down upon the poor, a time when the poor must in humility recognize and acknowledge the Lord and, without envy, treat properly those who have been blessed more greatly than they with the necessities of life; a time when the legislators who frame the law, must, in righteousness before the Lord, seek the enactment of righteous laws; and a time when the judges who execute the law must be incorruptible and not to be purchased with money, or because of the love of the world’s honor, corrupt the trust that is reposed in them. In other words, a time when all men, those who profess faith, those who profess it not, must turn unto God, and except they return I bear witness that God’s judgment is hanging over them and that it will fall upon them. All men upon this earth must come to recognize the Lord and acknowledge His Son, Jesus Christ, if they would be saved from the judgments which are to come.
God bless you, brethren and sisters, keep us in the faith, increase our testimony, give us strength that we may bear this witness before the world, that when the Lord’s judgments come, our garments may be clean of the blood of this generation, because of having fulfilled this great mission of ours, to be witnesses of the Lord, testifying of the importance and truth of His written word, and the word uttered by His servants ; for just as prophetic words have been uttered in the past, so does that prophetic spirit exist in the Church today through His servants who preside over us. I bear witness of this and pray that the Spirit of the Lord may help us to bear witness of it in all the world, that the people may be brought to repentance and God’s judgments averted, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The purpose of prophecy, and necessity for prophets—Few have believed the prophets—Scriptures and prophets rejected now as formerly— Evidences of true prophecy ignored—Need for all nations to heed latter-day prophets—Repentance may avert predicted calamities.
Had it been suggested yesterday, my brethren and sisters, that I address you this afternoon I should have thought it impossible, for I have been suffering because of bodily conditions to an extent that it would have been very painful for me to have attempted to do so, but I feel very grateful to the Lord, and give Him credit, that I am so far relieved from pain that with His assistance and your faith I am able to occupy a few moments of the time. I believe in the Lord. I believe in the vital forces which characterize His Gospel, and apply to all those who put their faith in Him; and so I depend upon Him as I have all my life. Whatever I do I think of the Lord, and my utter dependence upon Him for strength to accomplish it. So I feel very grateful this afternoon, my brethren and sisters, and wish to make this acknowledgment here in your presence, that my life has been prolonged and preserved until today; that your lives have been preserved; that we are permitted through His mercy and goodness to come up here again as we are wont to do, to worship the Lord, to bear witness of His goodness to us, to review the condition of the Church, to compare our progress, our development, our work, with the words of His servants, the prophets, that we may know whether or not we are in harmony with that which the Lord expects us to accomplish.
I feel very grateful, my brethren and sisters, for my membership in the Church, for the testimony which has come to me, and which has been so convincing that I do not remember a moment in my life, either mv mature life or my childhood, when I have ever doubted, when my faith in the Lord has ever wavered. I believe in Him and recognize Him as the Creator of the earth upon which I dwell, the organizer of the universe with which we are surrounded, the Father of my spirit and the spirits of all men, and that He did send in the meridian of time His only begotten Son that we might see God in the flesh as He was manifested in our Lord, Jesus Christ, with the doctrines of the everlasting Gospel which have been taught aforetime, through obedience to which men and women might be brought back into His presence. I believe in these things, my brethren and sisters, with all my heart.
I thank the Lord for the written word which we have that is contained in the scripture; that He has sent prophets into every dispensation of the world. From the time that this earth was created and mankind began to inhabit it the Lord has been very near to His children. He has always guided them or sought to guide them in the right way. He has revealed Himself to them through His servants. Prophecy does not come to us simply that we may know that which is to transpire. The Lord sends inspired men to outline to us the future in order that, having that knowledge we may be brought to repentance; that we may avoid, by repentance, the inevitable judgments which come to men because of their wickedness; that we may become partakers of the blessings which are vouchsafed to all those who repent and serve the Lord. This is the purpose of prophecy, this is the spirit of prophecy, and the prophets have always been with God’s children from the beginning of time, and they are with them today to warn and admonish them and to point out to them the way in which they should walk. A prophet is not only one who foretells events that are to come, but one who, inspired of the Lord, instructs people in that which they ought to do in the day of their own probation, that they may be brought back into the presence of the Lord.
It never has been very popular to be a prophet. I am reminded of that; from the very beginning the inclination of man seems to have been to disbelieve in the Lord, to drift away from Him and to treat lightly the admonitions which have come to them through His servants. When Noah preached repentance to the antediluvians, warning them of their wickedness, there were only a few who believed. O, he was a visionary man; the earth would not be submerged with water; they would not be destroyed; and they laughed him to scorn; but there were just a few who had sufficient faith to believe in him and be saved. Only a few people believed in the Redeemer, notwithstanding the fact that they professed faith in the scripture and that His coming had been clearly outlined, the time, the place, the manner, there were just a few wise men, who understood the signs of the times, who came and did homage to the Babe of Bethlehem. The world at large rejected Him. The Jews rejected His doctrines, they were not warned by those signs which were manifest clearly before their very eyes, and they rejected the Lord. They knew not of His coming, and rejected His doctrines and ridiculed Him and scorned Him and finally crucified Him.
Now, my brethren and sisters, I might go on and recount many suck instances. There have been times when people have listened to the words of the prophet and through obedience and repentance have been saved. When Jonah went down to Ninevah and warned those people that because of their wickedness the judgment of the Almighty hung over them and that they would be destroyed except they should repent, they were pricked in their hearts and did repent. They fasted before the Lord; they clothed themselves in sackcloth and threw ashes upon their heads and cried mightily to the Lord for forgiveness; and He heard them just as He always hears those who turn to Him. It was not that the deluge had been irrevocably decreed; it was not that the Lord desired the destruction of multitudes of men who were on the earth; not at all. He desired their redemption, that they should repent, and had they repented of their sins and turned to Him, there would have been rejoicing in the heavens. That generation of men would have been redeemed; but they refused to listen, acting upon the agency which the Lord had given them. That is what I want to call your attention to, my brethren and sisters, that prophecy is given to us that we may profit by it, and by having fore-knowledge of those things which are to come, we may so square our lives that we will be prepared for them. So it is not very strange that this latter dispensation, in which the restoration of the Gospel had been just as clearly outlined as had been the dispensation of Christ, our Savior, should be revealed by the Lord, through His servants, the prophets. He revealed it to John, the divine, upon the Isle of Patmos: He revealed it to Isaiah and others of His prophets, the time, the place and the manner of the restoration, and we know as we know that we live, that through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith, just a boy, but a boy chosen of the Lord and loved of Him, that this latter Gospel dispensation has been ushered in, as the Lord said it would be.
The world does not believe this. They will never believe it except they shall turn from their wickedness and do the will of the Lord. But that does not change the truth at all. We bear witness of it to the world. I bear witness of it here this afternoon, that Joseph Smith was and is today the prophet of this dispensation, the chosen instrument of the Lord, through whom by the agency of that angel that was to fly through heaven, seen of John, the Revelator, the Gospel has been restored to earth, that its inhabitants may be warned and brought to repentance if they are to avoid the judgments of the Almighty which hangs over them. Not because He has declared that they shall be destroyed, not at all. He does not love war; and there would be rejoicing if the nations would repent; but without repentance, without humility, unless they shall acknowledge Him and acknowledge the restoration of the Gospel in this dispensation, through these agencies to which I referred, there can come no salvation for them.
Nearly thirty years before it occurred, Joseph Smith predicted the great civil war which should occur in our own country. Well, the unbeliever says, “Any far-seeing man might have known that the Southern states would be divided against the Northern states and there would be war.” But the prophet states more than that. He told us just where the war would begin. He told us just what the result would be, and has the sequel not proven that that war began just as this revelation said it would begin, in South Carolina? We might have some reason to doubt or to question the inspiration of this prophet of the Lord, if during that war the Southern states had not called upon Great Britain for assistance. There might be some reason to doubt if in a single detail there had been a mistake, but it chanced that the Southern states did call upon Great Britain, and we were very nearly at war with that nation because of her participation in behalf of the Confederacy in that struggle.
So, my brethren and sisters, you may read the word of the Lord as it is contained in these books and there you will find outlined for your benefit, that you may be governed by it, the destiny of all the nations of the earth. Now, we are not so much interested in the deluge, we are not so much interested in things that occurred in the meridian of time, although they are of very great interest to us, as we are in the word of the Lord as it applies to the present. We are here in peace today; thank the Lord for it. We pray for peace! we desire it. I want to say to you that all the prayers that we offer for peace, however great our desires may be, will not stay the judgments of the Almighty which hang over this nation as they hang over the nations of the old world, except repentance shall come to it, and faith in God, our Father.
There is no land in the world, no people upon earth to whom greater promises have been made than this nation of which we form a part. There is no part of the earth’s surface of which the Lord has said more plainly and with greater emphasis than He has of this that it is a land choice above all other lands. There is no other place where He has said with greater emphasis that it is His eternal and irrevocable decree that whatever nation or people shall inhabit this promised land shall serve Him, the true and the living God, or they shall be removed from it. There is no nation to which He has made greater promises than the nation of which we form a part, and which exists here today. Neither is there any other nation that He was warned more plainly than He has this nation.
Now, my brethren and sisters, let us look the situation squarely in the face. We see the ravages of war in the old world. They have been referred to here. I want to admonish my brothers and sisters and I want to admonish this nation to read the word of the Lord, to believe in this book, the Book of Mormon, which is the scripture of this American continent, and which contains the irrevocable decrees of the Almighty as they apply to this land, that they may, by coming into possession of this knowledge, avoid the pitfalls which are before them.
It is not my purpose, not my intention to make lengthy remarks. We are living in the dispensation of the fulness of times. My brethren and sisters, I would like to read here just a few words, the words of the Savior, and which apply very directly to us and to this nation:
“Ye say that ye know that the end of the world cometh, ye say also that ye know that the heavens and the earth shall pass away;
“And in this ye say truly, for so it is; but these things which I have told you shall not pass away until all shall be fulfilled.
“And this I have told you concerning Jerusalem; and when that day shall come, shall a remnant be scattered among all nations;
“But they shall be gathered again, but they shall remain until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
Now, my brethren and sisters, follow me a little further.
“And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth His coming until the end of the earth. “And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound;
“And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fullness of My Gospel;
“But they receive it not, for they perceive not the light and they turn their hearts from Me because of the precepts of men;
“And in that generation shall the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
That light has broken forth with the restoration of the Gospel through Joseph Smith, the prophet. That prophecy was fulfilled but they perceive not the light, recognize it no more than did the Jews perceive the light when Christ ministered among them, or the antediluvians believe the words of Noah, or the Nephites the words of Samuel, the prophet, or the Jaredites the words of Ether, but they went on in their wickedness and transgression until by their own acts they brought down upon themselves the judgment and indignation of an offended God.
I say unto you, my brethren and sisters, the time has come in this nation when the Lord will have its people to serve Him—to turn from their profanity, to turn from their blasphemy which we hear wherever we go, and honor the name of God, our Father, and serve Him and keep His commandments; a time when their whoredoms must cease, when they must cease to corrupt the fountains of life and yield obedience to that first command in honorable marriage, increase and multiply and replenish the earth, as God designed that His children should do from the beginning; a time when they must cease from their drunkenness and abolish from among them those things which corrupt men and debase them and make them easy victims to the wiles of the adversary; a time when the rich must cease to persecute and bear down upon the poor, a time when the poor must in humility recognize and acknowledge the Lord and, without envy, treat properly those who have been blessed more greatly than they with the necessities of life; a time when the legislators who frame the law, must, in righteousness before the Lord, seek the enactment of righteous laws; and a time when the judges who execute the law must be incorruptible and not to be purchased with money, or because of the love of the world’s honor, corrupt the trust that is reposed in them. In other words, a time when all men, those who profess faith, those who profess it not, must turn unto God, and except they return I bear witness that God’s judgment is hanging over them and that it will fall upon them. All men upon this earth must come to recognize the Lord and acknowledge His Son, Jesus Christ, if they would be saved from the judgments which are to come.
God bless you, brethren and sisters, keep us in the faith, increase our testimony, give us strength that we may bear this witness before the world, that when the Lord’s judgments come, our garments may be clean of the blood of this generation, because of having fulfilled this great mission of ours, to be witnesses of the Lord, testifying of the importance and truth of His written word, and the word uttered by His servants ; for just as prophetic words have been uttered in the past, so does that prophetic spirit exist in the Church today through His servants who preside over us. I bear witness of this and pray that the Spirit of the Lord may help us to bear witness of it in all the world, that the people may be brought to repentance and God’s judgments averted, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER JOSEPH F. SMITH, JR.
“Christian” ministers denying divinity of Christ’s earthly birth—Implicit faith in Christ characteristic of Latter-day Saints—Scriptures abound with testimony of Christ’s divinity, and resurrection—Personal revelation of Christ to man in this age.
I desire to bear testimony to the words of counsel and instruction which we have received during this conference, and commend them to the Latter-day Saints, and pray that they put them into practice, that we may stand united in the keeping of the commandments of the Lord and the covenants we have made with Him.
Like my brethren who have spoken, I too realize and know that the time must come when every knee must bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. I was impressed by the remarks this morning by Elder Orson F. Whitney, m which he called to our attention the fact that/the Spirit of the Lord has been given unto us, even the Holy Spirit of promise, and therefore we may know the truth and walk in the light and understanding of the Gospel. While he was speaking, my mind dwelt upon a statement that was made some few months since by a certain minister who has a high standing in the Christian world, not only in this land, but also throughout Europe, for his learning and his ability as a public speaker. This man has been trained and educated in the colleges of the land, according to the customs and the theories prevalent at the present time in so- called Christian institutions, to interpret the*scriptures, and is now a Doctor of Divinity. Yet this gentleman who has received this training and standing among his fellows, made the startling declaration in one of his discourses several months ago that he did not adhere to and would not support the doctrine of the miraculous conception and birth of Christ. “My conclusion upon the question,” he announced, “is that the faith of Mark and John, and James and Paul, is good enough for me, it is good enough for any Christian. These men say nothing about Jesus having come into the world in a miraculous manner, and I prefer to stand with them. What do we mean by saying He was divine? It is a question of quantity and not of quality. There is divinity in us; but so much more in Him that I prefer to call Him divine. Perhaps it would be better to speak of the divineness of man and the divinity of Christ.” In other discourses in keeping with this, this gentleman denied the resurrection from the dead. He denied that Jesus came forth from the tomb. He denied, as he has in this statement I have read, that Jesus was the only begotten Son of God. He set forth the idea that He was the son of Joseph and Mary, and that there is no resurrection from the dead. Because of his doctrine which was boldly declared, there was some opposition raised among his fellow ministers, for he stood as the President of the Federation of Ministers in the city where he preached in one of the fashionable churches. Action was brought against him by those who did not accept these views, to have him relieved of his position as President of the Ministerial Federation. The case was heard and the man reiterated his expressions, declaring that while he was preaching in the city of New York and in London, where he represented another denomination whose doctrines, in part at least, were different from those of the organization he now represented, he had been far more emphatic and had spoken more clearly in favor of these doctrines for which he had now been called in question. The matter of his resignation was put to vote and seventy-four of the ministers voted in his favor while but nineteen voted that he should be requested to resign.
I think this is a startling situation, in a community professing to believe in the mission of Jesus Christ and professing to be Christian in doctrine. Could a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called to be a minister to the people—a Bishop of a ward, a President of a Stake, or one occupying a position in any other capacity—go forth among the people declaring that he did not believe- that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and denying His great and glorious mission in the world, and hold his position? No! Because it is in opposition to the very foundation of Christianity. It is contrary to the Gospel and teachings of the Redeemer of the world. It contradicts His entire life, and ministry and is destructive of faith in His name. Any officer in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints who should put forth such a declaration would very soon be relieved of his responsibility.
This minister, notwithstanding his learning and degrees received in colleges to qualify him as a minister of the Gospel, presumes to declare that he stands on the same ground as “Mark and John, and James and Paul,” none of whom, so he declares, has testified of the miraculous birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Little does he understand the scriptures! Little does he understand the teachings of these worthy disciples of the Master as they have declared them in their writings in the scriptures. He has no conception of the doctrines of true Christianity when he declares that Jesus is not the Son of God; that there is no resurrection of the dead, and that we are not redeemed from our sins through the blood of Christ, for this is the foundation of Christianity. Destroy these teachings and what is left? Any man who denies these great truths is in the gall of bitterness and gross darkness concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is no wonder, however, that blind teachers will hold to these ideas, for they are without the Spirit of God, and therefore, I suppose, we can afford to be charitable unto them and pity them. Why, the Savior Himself has very clearly taught, as it is recorded by these very witnesses of whom this gentleman speaks, that He is the Son of God. He taught His disciples to pray to the Father in His name, and that He and the Father are one. He said He came into the world to do the will of the Father and not to do His own will, and that as the only begotten Son of God He came to redeem us from our sins. This was His great mission. You will remember having read that on one occasion while He was on His way to Jerusalem it was reported to Him that Lazarus, a faithful follower in the city of Bethany, was dead. And as He approached the city which was near to Jerusalem, He was met by Martha, a sister of the man who was dead, and the following conversation took place:
“Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
“But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou will ask of God, God will give it Thee.
“Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
“Martha said unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were died, yet shall he live:
“And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believeth thou this?
“She said unto Him, Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”
This is the testimony of the scriptures, the testimony of John, the testimony of James, of Paul and Mark and all others who have testified, whose word is published in the scriptures. How a man can stand up and say that they have not testified of these things, seems to me a mystery.
We accept Jesus as the Redeemer of the world. We know, as it was testified to us this morning, that He revealed Himself in this dispensation. We are not dependent upon the testimonies of these ancient worthies, who. lived in His day and conversed with Him in His ministry, and to whom He appeared after His resurrection. We have witnesses who have lived in our own day, who have seen Him, who knew that He lives and have testified to us and to the world of this fact. We know their testimonies are true. Joseph Smith was not left alone to bear witness in this dispensation of the mission of Jesus Christ, for the Lord raised up other witnesses who, with the Prophet Joseph Smith, saw the Redeemer, received instruction from Him and beheld Him in the heavens sitting on the right hand side of the Father surrounded by the holy angels. They have given us their testimony which shall stand against the world to condemn all those who heed it not. But neither are we dependent as members of the Church upon the testimonies of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon or any others now dead, who in this dispensation received wonderful revelations and visions from the Lord by which they knew that Jesus lives and is the Redeemer of the world. We have an individual testimony given through the Spirit of the Lord to all who have lived in accordance with the Gospel. If we have been in harmony with the truth after having been baptized for the remission of our sins, and confirmed by the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord has revealed unto us individually that these things are true. We are not dependent upon the testimony of anyone else for this knowledge for we know through the Spirit that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world.
In conclusion, let me read to you one testimony that was given of the Savior many hundreds of years ago. I read from the second chapter of II Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, beginning with the latter part of the fourth verse:
“And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free.
“And men are instructed sufficiently, that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law, no flesh is justified; or, by the law, men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law, they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable for ever.
“Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for He is full of grace and truth.
“Behold He offered Himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.
“Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down His life, according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that He may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.
“Wherefore He is the first fruits unto God, inasmuch as He shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in Him shall be saved.”
This was uttered nearly six hundred years before the birth of Christ in the flesh. This is the testimony of every Latter-day Saint today unto the world, for we know that these things are true; that Jesus is the Redeemer of Ihe world and there is no other name given under the heavens by which men can be saved but that of Jesus Christ. The Lord bless you, my brethren and sisters in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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.
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Thomas Hull.
Conference adjourned until Tuesday, Oct. 6th, at 10 a. m.
“Christian” ministers denying divinity of Christ’s earthly birth—Implicit faith in Christ characteristic of Latter-day Saints—Scriptures abound with testimony of Christ’s divinity, and resurrection—Personal revelation of Christ to man in this age.
I desire to bear testimony to the words of counsel and instruction which we have received during this conference, and commend them to the Latter-day Saints, and pray that they put them into practice, that we may stand united in the keeping of the commandments of the Lord and the covenants we have made with Him.
Like my brethren who have spoken, I too realize and know that the time must come when every knee must bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. I was impressed by the remarks this morning by Elder Orson F. Whitney, m which he called to our attention the fact that/the Spirit of the Lord has been given unto us, even the Holy Spirit of promise, and therefore we may know the truth and walk in the light and understanding of the Gospel. While he was speaking, my mind dwelt upon a statement that was made some few months since by a certain minister who has a high standing in the Christian world, not only in this land, but also throughout Europe, for his learning and his ability as a public speaker. This man has been trained and educated in the colleges of the land, according to the customs and the theories prevalent at the present time in so- called Christian institutions, to interpret the*scriptures, and is now a Doctor of Divinity. Yet this gentleman who has received this training and standing among his fellows, made the startling declaration in one of his discourses several months ago that he did not adhere to and would not support the doctrine of the miraculous conception and birth of Christ. “My conclusion upon the question,” he announced, “is that the faith of Mark and John, and James and Paul, is good enough for me, it is good enough for any Christian. These men say nothing about Jesus having come into the world in a miraculous manner, and I prefer to stand with them. What do we mean by saying He was divine? It is a question of quantity and not of quality. There is divinity in us; but so much more in Him that I prefer to call Him divine. Perhaps it would be better to speak of the divineness of man and the divinity of Christ.” In other discourses in keeping with this, this gentleman denied the resurrection from the dead. He denied that Jesus came forth from the tomb. He denied, as he has in this statement I have read, that Jesus was the only begotten Son of God. He set forth the idea that He was the son of Joseph and Mary, and that there is no resurrection from the dead. Because of his doctrine which was boldly declared, there was some opposition raised among his fellow ministers, for he stood as the President of the Federation of Ministers in the city where he preached in one of the fashionable churches. Action was brought against him by those who did not accept these views, to have him relieved of his position as President of the Ministerial Federation. The case was heard and the man reiterated his expressions, declaring that while he was preaching in the city of New York and in London, where he represented another denomination whose doctrines, in part at least, were different from those of the organization he now represented, he had been far more emphatic and had spoken more clearly in favor of these doctrines for which he had now been called in question. The matter of his resignation was put to vote and seventy-four of the ministers voted in his favor while but nineteen voted that he should be requested to resign.
I think this is a startling situation, in a community professing to believe in the mission of Jesus Christ and professing to be Christian in doctrine. Could a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called to be a minister to the people—a Bishop of a ward, a President of a Stake, or one occupying a position in any other capacity—go forth among the people declaring that he did not believe- that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and denying His great and glorious mission in the world, and hold his position? No! Because it is in opposition to the very foundation of Christianity. It is contrary to the Gospel and teachings of the Redeemer of the world. It contradicts His entire life, and ministry and is destructive of faith in His name. Any officer in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints who should put forth such a declaration would very soon be relieved of his responsibility.
This minister, notwithstanding his learning and degrees received in colleges to qualify him as a minister of the Gospel, presumes to declare that he stands on the same ground as “Mark and John, and James and Paul,” none of whom, so he declares, has testified of the miraculous birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Little does he understand the scriptures! Little does he understand the teachings of these worthy disciples of the Master as they have declared them in their writings in the scriptures. He has no conception of the doctrines of true Christianity when he declares that Jesus is not the Son of God; that there is no resurrection of the dead, and that we are not redeemed from our sins through the blood of Christ, for this is the foundation of Christianity. Destroy these teachings and what is left? Any man who denies these great truths is in the gall of bitterness and gross darkness concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is no wonder, however, that blind teachers will hold to these ideas, for they are without the Spirit of God, and therefore, I suppose, we can afford to be charitable unto them and pity them. Why, the Savior Himself has very clearly taught, as it is recorded by these very witnesses of whom this gentleman speaks, that He is the Son of God. He taught His disciples to pray to the Father in His name, and that He and the Father are one. He said He came into the world to do the will of the Father and not to do His own will, and that as the only begotten Son of God He came to redeem us from our sins. This was His great mission. You will remember having read that on one occasion while He was on His way to Jerusalem it was reported to Him that Lazarus, a faithful follower in the city of Bethany, was dead. And as He approached the city which was near to Jerusalem, He was met by Martha, a sister of the man who was dead, and the following conversation took place:
“Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
“But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou will ask of God, God will give it Thee.
“Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
“Martha said unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were died, yet shall he live:
“And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believeth thou this?
“She said unto Him, Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”
This is the testimony of the scriptures, the testimony of John, the testimony of James, of Paul and Mark and all others who have testified, whose word is published in the scriptures. How a man can stand up and say that they have not testified of these things, seems to me a mystery.
We accept Jesus as the Redeemer of the world. We know, as it was testified to us this morning, that He revealed Himself in this dispensation. We are not dependent upon the testimonies of these ancient worthies, who. lived in His day and conversed with Him in His ministry, and to whom He appeared after His resurrection. We have witnesses who have lived in our own day, who have seen Him, who knew that He lives and have testified to us and to the world of this fact. We know their testimonies are true. Joseph Smith was not left alone to bear witness in this dispensation of the mission of Jesus Christ, for the Lord raised up other witnesses who, with the Prophet Joseph Smith, saw the Redeemer, received instruction from Him and beheld Him in the heavens sitting on the right hand side of the Father surrounded by the holy angels. They have given us their testimony which shall stand against the world to condemn all those who heed it not. But neither are we dependent as members of the Church upon the testimonies of Joseph Smith, Oliver Cowdery, Sidney Rigdon or any others now dead, who in this dispensation received wonderful revelations and visions from the Lord by which they knew that Jesus lives and is the Redeemer of the world. We have an individual testimony given through the Spirit of the Lord to all who have lived in accordance with the Gospel. If we have been in harmony with the truth after having been baptized for the remission of our sins, and confirmed by the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Lord has revealed unto us individually that these things are true. We are not dependent upon the testimony of anyone else for this knowledge for we know through the Spirit that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world.
In conclusion, let me read to you one testimony that was given of the Savior many hundreds of years ago. I read from the second chapter of II Nephi, in the Book of Mormon, beginning with the latter part of the fourth verse:
“And the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free.
“And men are instructed sufficiently, that they know good from evil. And the law is given unto men. And by the law, no flesh is justified; or, by the law, men are cut off. Yea, by the temporal law, they were cut off; and also, by the spiritual law they perish from that which is good, and become miserable for ever.
“Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for He is full of grace and truth.
“Behold He offered Himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.
“Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down His life, according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that He may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.
“Wherefore He is the first fruits unto God, inasmuch as He shall make intercession for all the children of men; and they that believe in Him shall be saved.”
This was uttered nearly six hundred years before the birth of Christ in the flesh. This is the testimony of every Latter-day Saint today unto the world, for we know that these things are true; that Jesus is the Redeemer of Ihe world and there is no other name given under the heavens by which men can be saved but that of Jesus Christ. The Lord bless you, my brethren and sisters in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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.
Benediction was pronounced by Elder Thomas Hull.
Conference adjourned until Tuesday, Oct. 6th, at 10 a. m.
THIRD DAY.
Conference was resumed in the Tabernacle, at 10 a. m., Tuesday, October 6th; President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
The congregation sang 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.
Elder Joseph R. Shepherd offered the invocation.
The 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.
Conference was resumed in the Tabernacle, at 10 a. m., Tuesday, October 6th; President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
The congregation sang 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.
Elder Joseph R. Shepherd offered the invocation.
The 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.
The hand of God in all things—God not responsible for sin—Not all things are according to His will— Prayer not of the lips—The foreknowledge of God not a determining cause—Are we on the Lord’s side?
In a revelation given to Joseph, the Prophet, in 1831, the Lord said: “In nothing doth man offend God or against none is His wrath kindled save those who confess not His hand in all things, and obey not His commandments. Behold this is according to the law and the prophets. * * * I, the Lord, have spoken it, and the Spirit beareth record. Amen.” (Doc. and Cov. 59:21.)
I take it that the confession therein declared to be essential to a Godfearing life is not a confession in words alone, but genuine acknowledgment of the hand of God as manifest in the lives and actions of men. There is a very general tendency today to relegate God to the background in human affairs, to consider that He has no voice in our doings and in this course the Lord hath declared Himself and thus makes plain to us that His anger is aroused against those unfilial children of His who forget Him; for the man who forgets the living God turns to idolatry, and having once known God and turned away from Him he is worse than the heathen who has never known other gods than those of wood and stone. I believe in my heart that many of us are prone to lead relatively Godless lives. I speak of the human family, not of this people distinctively. Many of us, children of God, forget our Father, forget what He has done for us, what He is doing for us; forget how truly we depend upon Him for all that we have and all that we are; and those who do so are great offenders in the eyes of the Lord. For He doth hate ingratitude and He doth hate pride that lifts man in his own estimation and causes him to look around upon the things that God hath given and say to himself, as said the Babylonian king, “All these things have I made; all this wealth have I gathered ; all these great buildings have I erected;” and be it remembered the Lord smote him in His anger and reduced him to the level of a beast in his capacities and faculties. The Lord’s hand is in our lives; if we will but feel for it, in the darkness, we can grasp it and be lifted thereby. Nevertheless, the Lord will permit those to deny Him who choose so to do. For to such end was the decree in the great council of the angels and the Gods when the proffered services of Lucifer, a son of the morning, were rejected, and the offer of the well beloved Son was accepted, that man should be free—free to choose the path that shall bring him back into the presence of His Father, clothed with glory, because of His victory over sin, with immortality through the redeeming sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, and with eternal life as the supreme gift of God, or he may choose the path that will lead him into the company, there to abide forever,-of the devil and his angels. Among our human weaknesses we must reckon the tendency, manifest in some degree, perhaps, in the lives of most of us, to place the blame for our misdeeds on somebody else. When our conscience pricks us and we begin to realize in a small measure our weaknesses, imperfections and shortcomings, we are very prone to excuse ourselves by citing what others are doing, what others have done; and it is only when the Spirit of God convicteth us of sin that we feel to take the blame upon ourselves and cry out in our hearts as did the penitent, Pentecostal multitude, “What shall we do to be saved?”
The Scripture I have quoted is to be interpreted in the light of reason, common sense, if you please. There are some who interpret it selfishly and in a wholly unwarranted manner. Some go so far as to say that the hand of God being in all things, God Himself is responsible for all that is, and for all that takes place. I have heard it taught by advocates of a frivolous theology that whatever is, is in accordance with the will of God, that all we see is as He would have it be. My whole soul revolts against any such conception as that. I cannot believe that it is God’s will that men shall be as they are in sin. I cannot believe that it is according to the will of God that vice walks our streets and stalks through the land; that dishonesty, and drunkenness, and the spirit of murder are rampant in the land. Do not hold God accountable for such things; do not acknowledge His hand in the sense of placing the blame upon Him, but acknowledge His hand in the free agency that is thus given to men and in His power to eventually bring good out of all this evil. The warring nations are severally voicing prayers to God, prayers for what? For the right? No, for triumph, for the success of their arms, whether they "be fighting on the side of right or on the side of wrong. Someone has suggested, with what I may call sacrilegious humor, that it would be better perchance if the nations would confess their idolatry and each one of them pray to his own god. It would be more convenient, said a grim humorist recently, for each nation to have the exclusive attention and services of some deity. Thus one of them might pray to Baal, and another to Ashtoreth, and another to Moloch, and yet another to Dagon, and so to all the gods that men have made for themselves. We are striving not only in a national capacity, but in the capacity of individuals, for triumph rather than for truth, for selfish success, rather than for the vindication of the right and for the furtherance of righteousness. Is it God who leads men to contend with one another? Is it God who leads nations to fight with one another? It is when the Spirit of God is withdrawn from men that they fight. It is when the Lord hath hidden His face from the nations that they go to war. Yet out of it all He can cause to rise the principles of truth. As the crystal forms in the brine, He can cause the principles of righteousness to crystallize out from the gory magma which is presented to us by this terrible conflict.
We, as a people, profess to be a prayerful people. I ask you severally, and you may answer to your own conscience individually, do you pray or do you content yourself with saying your prayers? There is a vital difference between the two processes. Many of us are taught to say prayers and have not learned how to pray. What inconsistency is there, what glaring inconsistency, in the man who kneels and says: “Our Father, which art in heaven,” and then proclaims that he is the offspring of the brute and not the child of God; that God is no personage but an influence, an essence, an immaterial nothing—there can’t be an immaterial something—and then address that conception of his as “Father.” Oh, what sacrilege in the man who is profane of heart and who drags the name of God in the mire of his foul, blasphemous oath, and then says, “Hallowed be Thy name!” What of us who pray, “Thy kingdom come,” and then, through the operation of political machinery and through our partisan plans and designs, seek to establish and to maintain power whose chief purpose is that of oppression and denial of the rights that were vindicated in the great battle of Michael and his hosts against Satan and his followers.
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” say some, and then they go out to thwart the will of God and to hinder His purposes and to put obstacles in the way of progress.
“Give us this day our daily bread,” is said as a prayer, but cannot be truly prayed by the man who is storing up for his own distant future by taking the bread out of the mouths of the present hungry. We are not taught to pray, Give me my daily bread only, but, Give us, all Thy children, the sustenance that we require.
“And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,” or “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them who trespass against us,” and rise from our knees, as some do, to go out to seize a brother by the neck and say, “Pay me that which thou owest; I demand it.” The unforgiving soul who thus prays convicts himself of hypocrisy and of sacrilege.
“Lead us not into temptation,” or as some render it, “Leave us not in temptation,” and then go as fast as we can into the very place where we know temptation is strongest: we want to be tempted.
“Deliver us from evil,” when we love the haunts of evil more than the abode of righteousness.
“For Thine is the kingdom,” when we deny our Lord any and all influence or participation in the affairs of these earthly kingdoms and principalities and powers which man has established, and ascribe to Him the glory when we are taking all the credit to ourselves, and seal the whole with a great Amen, which is but a blasphemy.
I am afraid you will think I am making a severe arraignment. I want to assure you, my brethren and sisters, I don’t apply these remarks to any one of you, not one— unless you think I do. I don’t mean any man who honestly, soberly, sincerely does not feel that these remarks are applicable to him.
The infinite foreknowledge of God has made known to Him and does make known to Him the end from the beginning; but there are some of us so short-sighted, so weak of mind, so unfitted or unwilling to analyze the proposition, that we have come to hold and to teach that the foreknowledge of God determines what shall take place. How absurd is such an inference, how utterly unwarranted is such a conclusion, that because God in His wisdom sees and knows ahead what will take place among nations and men, under given conditions, which conditions He can also foresee, that knowledge of His determines that such things should be. Let us make a concrete example: The college professor instructs his students, explains to them, demonstrates to them by blackboard and chart, and perhaps by apparatus upon the table, makes plain to them the operation of the laws that are under consideration and study; not only that, he will help individually the student who reaches after him, who comes to him in the proper spirit and asks for help; and that teacher foresees the outcome. After he has studied his students well, he says, “I know that that young man is going to fail; I know that disappointment will come to him; sorrow will come to his parents; I am positive that he is going to do himself discredit.”
The teacher foresees it and does all that he reasonably and consistently can to avert it. Do you dare affirm that that teacher’s foresight determines that student’s failure? On the other hand he sees one who is devoted, earnest, and able, and he says, “That young man will grow to be a master in his chosen profession ; he is leaving nothing undone that ought to be done; he is not studying pages, but subjects; I can foresee for him a great future.” Does that foresight determine the young man’s success? Or consider the case of an earnest, thoughtful and loving father in mortality who watches with great concern the erring ways, let us say, for the purpose of example, of a wayward son. He warns him, he prays with him. he ministers unto him, he sets him a good example and yet he can see, though the vision of the future is a cloud of sorrow upon his soul, that this young man is going to destruction ; aye, he can see the prison doors opening for him, and shudders at the thought of what is imminent in that young boy’s life. That father would give anything he possesses to avert what he sees coming. Can we be consistent in saying that because he has thus studied his son, learned his nature, and thus knows what is approaching, that his knowledge determines that that son shall sin? Were that so, it would be better that we teach parents not to study their children, not to know anything about them—let them go their way and take their course, because our knowledge will determine what they shall do and be. If I examine the barometer, the hygrometer and other instruments of precision that have been constructed for the purpose of revealing atmospheric conditions, and if by the application of the laws of meteorology I am able to say, “there will be a rain within a few hours; a great windstorm will break upon us soon; we shall have snow before morning;” can you say that I cause the rain, that I summon the wind, or that I am the giver of the snow? If this be true, ignorance is not only bliss, but much to be preferred, for practical reasons. God’s foreknowledge showed Him exactly what our first parents would do under given conditions, but He did not cause them to fall; He did not cause them to disobey; He gave them their freedom and their agency to do as they chose to do and take the consequences of their choice. Let us be men and be willing to take the blame for our evil acts, if we have chosen the evil.
In the same way many of us blame Satan for a great deal for which he is not responsible—poor devil. If Satan and his hosts were bound today and no longer able to work personally upon the earth, evil would go on for a long time, because he has very able representatives in the flesh. When I traveled in distant Russia, years ago, I learned of a peculiar- conception among the moujiks, or peasants, in that land. They say that there is a household sprite, an unseen little imp that dwells in every house and that is always trying to cause trouble; and if a girl, through carelessness, drops a dish and breaks it, the mother shakes her head and says, “That was the sprite.” If the man forgets himself and gets drunk, and in his drunkenness wreaks barbarity, they say, “Ah, poor fellow; he is under the influence of the sprite; he could not help it;” and so for every little detail of life they find an excuse and blame that little unseen imp for their own acts of evil or carelessness.
This is a practical religion of ours, my brethren, a very real religion. There is nothing of the fanciful and theoretical about it. Let us learn to analyze our own souls and see to it that we are striving to work righteousness. A remark that is credited to the great Lincoln, and one which, whether made by him or not, is wholly worthy of the man, is perhaps profitable for consideration here. When asked, during the great conflict in which brother was arrayed against brother, whether he felt in his heart that the Lord was on his side, he answered, “I don’t know, and as a matter of fact, that does not concern me; what I want to know is, am I on the Lord’s side ?” It is a great deal better for us. a far loftier conception, I take it, to consider that we are on God’s side than to worry ourselves as to whether He is on our side. In your dealings, my brother, in your barter and your trade, be on the Lord’s side; do as He would have you do under those conditions. As a people we profess to be on the Lord’s side. It is for us to make good that profession, to live up to it, to avail ourselves of the influences that are at work for our good, and the powers that are operating for the salvation of men. Remember that this help is extended by the Lord in all reason—not capriciously and not when it is undeserved and unappreciated; for thus He declared Himself, as you will find recorded in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
“For I, the Lord, cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. Nevertheless he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven; and he that repents not, from him shall be taken away even the light which he hath received; for my spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of hosts.” I pray that we may not forfeit the influences of that Spirit, but that we may be open to its influences, be guided by its power and eventually come back into the presence of the Father, and the Mother, who are waiting to welcome their children on their return from this earth school in which we are now pupils and students. God grant it in the name of the Master, Amen.
“The Penitent,” a soprano solo, was sung by Mrs. Ivy E. Crandall.
The hand of God in all things—God not responsible for sin—Not all things are according to His will— Prayer not of the lips—The foreknowledge of God not a determining cause—Are we on the Lord’s side?
In a revelation given to Joseph, the Prophet, in 1831, the Lord said: “In nothing doth man offend God or against none is His wrath kindled save those who confess not His hand in all things, and obey not His commandments. Behold this is according to the law and the prophets. * * * I, the Lord, have spoken it, and the Spirit beareth record. Amen.” (Doc. and Cov. 59:21.)
I take it that the confession therein declared to be essential to a Godfearing life is not a confession in words alone, but genuine acknowledgment of the hand of God as manifest in the lives and actions of men. There is a very general tendency today to relegate God to the background in human affairs, to consider that He has no voice in our doings and in this course the Lord hath declared Himself and thus makes plain to us that His anger is aroused against those unfilial children of His who forget Him; for the man who forgets the living God turns to idolatry, and having once known God and turned away from Him he is worse than the heathen who has never known other gods than those of wood and stone. I believe in my heart that many of us are prone to lead relatively Godless lives. I speak of the human family, not of this people distinctively. Many of us, children of God, forget our Father, forget what He has done for us, what He is doing for us; forget how truly we depend upon Him for all that we have and all that we are; and those who do so are great offenders in the eyes of the Lord. For He doth hate ingratitude and He doth hate pride that lifts man in his own estimation and causes him to look around upon the things that God hath given and say to himself, as said the Babylonian king, “All these things have I made; all this wealth have I gathered ; all these great buildings have I erected;” and be it remembered the Lord smote him in His anger and reduced him to the level of a beast in his capacities and faculties. The Lord’s hand is in our lives; if we will but feel for it, in the darkness, we can grasp it and be lifted thereby. Nevertheless, the Lord will permit those to deny Him who choose so to do. For to such end was the decree in the great council of the angels and the Gods when the proffered services of Lucifer, a son of the morning, were rejected, and the offer of the well beloved Son was accepted, that man should be free—free to choose the path that shall bring him back into the presence of His Father, clothed with glory, because of His victory over sin, with immortality through the redeeming sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, and with eternal life as the supreme gift of God, or he may choose the path that will lead him into the company, there to abide forever,-of the devil and his angels. Among our human weaknesses we must reckon the tendency, manifest in some degree, perhaps, in the lives of most of us, to place the blame for our misdeeds on somebody else. When our conscience pricks us and we begin to realize in a small measure our weaknesses, imperfections and shortcomings, we are very prone to excuse ourselves by citing what others are doing, what others have done; and it is only when the Spirit of God convicteth us of sin that we feel to take the blame upon ourselves and cry out in our hearts as did the penitent, Pentecostal multitude, “What shall we do to be saved?”
The Scripture I have quoted is to be interpreted in the light of reason, common sense, if you please. There are some who interpret it selfishly and in a wholly unwarranted manner. Some go so far as to say that the hand of God being in all things, God Himself is responsible for all that is, and for all that takes place. I have heard it taught by advocates of a frivolous theology that whatever is, is in accordance with the will of God, that all we see is as He would have it be. My whole soul revolts against any such conception as that. I cannot believe that it is God’s will that men shall be as they are in sin. I cannot believe that it is according to the will of God that vice walks our streets and stalks through the land; that dishonesty, and drunkenness, and the spirit of murder are rampant in the land. Do not hold God accountable for such things; do not acknowledge His hand in the sense of placing the blame upon Him, but acknowledge His hand in the free agency that is thus given to men and in His power to eventually bring good out of all this evil. The warring nations are severally voicing prayers to God, prayers for what? For the right? No, for triumph, for the success of their arms, whether they "be fighting on the side of right or on the side of wrong. Someone has suggested, with what I may call sacrilegious humor, that it would be better perchance if the nations would confess their idolatry and each one of them pray to his own god. It would be more convenient, said a grim humorist recently, for each nation to have the exclusive attention and services of some deity. Thus one of them might pray to Baal, and another to Ashtoreth, and another to Moloch, and yet another to Dagon, and so to all the gods that men have made for themselves. We are striving not only in a national capacity, but in the capacity of individuals, for triumph rather than for truth, for selfish success, rather than for the vindication of the right and for the furtherance of righteousness. Is it God who leads men to contend with one another? Is it God who leads nations to fight with one another? It is when the Spirit of God is withdrawn from men that they fight. It is when the Lord hath hidden His face from the nations that they go to war. Yet out of it all He can cause to rise the principles of truth. As the crystal forms in the brine, He can cause the principles of righteousness to crystallize out from the gory magma which is presented to us by this terrible conflict.
We, as a people, profess to be a prayerful people. I ask you severally, and you may answer to your own conscience individually, do you pray or do you content yourself with saying your prayers? There is a vital difference between the two processes. Many of us are taught to say prayers and have not learned how to pray. What inconsistency is there, what glaring inconsistency, in the man who kneels and says: “Our Father, which art in heaven,” and then proclaims that he is the offspring of the brute and not the child of God; that God is no personage but an influence, an essence, an immaterial nothing—there can’t be an immaterial something—and then address that conception of his as “Father.” Oh, what sacrilege in the man who is profane of heart and who drags the name of God in the mire of his foul, blasphemous oath, and then says, “Hallowed be Thy name!” What of us who pray, “Thy kingdom come,” and then, through the operation of political machinery and through our partisan plans and designs, seek to establish and to maintain power whose chief purpose is that of oppression and denial of the rights that were vindicated in the great battle of Michael and his hosts against Satan and his followers.
“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” say some, and then they go out to thwart the will of God and to hinder His purposes and to put obstacles in the way of progress.
“Give us this day our daily bread,” is said as a prayer, but cannot be truly prayed by the man who is storing up for his own distant future by taking the bread out of the mouths of the present hungry. We are not taught to pray, Give me my daily bread only, but, Give us, all Thy children, the sustenance that we require.
“And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,” or “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them who trespass against us,” and rise from our knees, as some do, to go out to seize a brother by the neck and say, “Pay me that which thou owest; I demand it.” The unforgiving soul who thus prays convicts himself of hypocrisy and of sacrilege.
“Lead us not into temptation,” or as some render it, “Leave us not in temptation,” and then go as fast as we can into the very place where we know temptation is strongest: we want to be tempted.
“Deliver us from evil,” when we love the haunts of evil more than the abode of righteousness.
“For Thine is the kingdom,” when we deny our Lord any and all influence or participation in the affairs of these earthly kingdoms and principalities and powers which man has established, and ascribe to Him the glory when we are taking all the credit to ourselves, and seal the whole with a great Amen, which is but a blasphemy.
I am afraid you will think I am making a severe arraignment. I want to assure you, my brethren and sisters, I don’t apply these remarks to any one of you, not one— unless you think I do. I don’t mean any man who honestly, soberly, sincerely does not feel that these remarks are applicable to him.
The infinite foreknowledge of God has made known to Him and does make known to Him the end from the beginning; but there are some of us so short-sighted, so weak of mind, so unfitted or unwilling to analyze the proposition, that we have come to hold and to teach that the foreknowledge of God determines what shall take place. How absurd is such an inference, how utterly unwarranted is such a conclusion, that because God in His wisdom sees and knows ahead what will take place among nations and men, under given conditions, which conditions He can also foresee, that knowledge of His determines that such things should be. Let us make a concrete example: The college professor instructs his students, explains to them, demonstrates to them by blackboard and chart, and perhaps by apparatus upon the table, makes plain to them the operation of the laws that are under consideration and study; not only that, he will help individually the student who reaches after him, who comes to him in the proper spirit and asks for help; and that teacher foresees the outcome. After he has studied his students well, he says, “I know that that young man is going to fail; I know that disappointment will come to him; sorrow will come to his parents; I am positive that he is going to do himself discredit.”
The teacher foresees it and does all that he reasonably and consistently can to avert it. Do you dare affirm that that teacher’s foresight determines that student’s failure? On the other hand he sees one who is devoted, earnest, and able, and he says, “That young man will grow to be a master in his chosen profession ; he is leaving nothing undone that ought to be done; he is not studying pages, but subjects; I can foresee for him a great future.” Does that foresight determine the young man’s success? Or consider the case of an earnest, thoughtful and loving father in mortality who watches with great concern the erring ways, let us say, for the purpose of example, of a wayward son. He warns him, he prays with him. he ministers unto him, he sets him a good example and yet he can see, though the vision of the future is a cloud of sorrow upon his soul, that this young man is going to destruction ; aye, he can see the prison doors opening for him, and shudders at the thought of what is imminent in that young boy’s life. That father would give anything he possesses to avert what he sees coming. Can we be consistent in saying that because he has thus studied his son, learned his nature, and thus knows what is approaching, that his knowledge determines that that son shall sin? Were that so, it would be better that we teach parents not to study their children, not to know anything about them—let them go their way and take their course, because our knowledge will determine what they shall do and be. If I examine the barometer, the hygrometer and other instruments of precision that have been constructed for the purpose of revealing atmospheric conditions, and if by the application of the laws of meteorology I am able to say, “there will be a rain within a few hours; a great windstorm will break upon us soon; we shall have snow before morning;” can you say that I cause the rain, that I summon the wind, or that I am the giver of the snow? If this be true, ignorance is not only bliss, but much to be preferred, for practical reasons. God’s foreknowledge showed Him exactly what our first parents would do under given conditions, but He did not cause them to fall; He did not cause them to disobey; He gave them their freedom and their agency to do as they chose to do and take the consequences of their choice. Let us be men and be willing to take the blame for our evil acts, if we have chosen the evil.
In the same way many of us blame Satan for a great deal for which he is not responsible—poor devil. If Satan and his hosts were bound today and no longer able to work personally upon the earth, evil would go on for a long time, because he has very able representatives in the flesh. When I traveled in distant Russia, years ago, I learned of a peculiar- conception among the moujiks, or peasants, in that land. They say that there is a household sprite, an unseen little imp that dwells in every house and that is always trying to cause trouble; and if a girl, through carelessness, drops a dish and breaks it, the mother shakes her head and says, “That was the sprite.” If the man forgets himself and gets drunk, and in his drunkenness wreaks barbarity, they say, “Ah, poor fellow; he is under the influence of the sprite; he could not help it;” and so for every little detail of life they find an excuse and blame that little unseen imp for their own acts of evil or carelessness.
This is a practical religion of ours, my brethren, a very real religion. There is nothing of the fanciful and theoretical about it. Let us learn to analyze our own souls and see to it that we are striving to work righteousness. A remark that is credited to the great Lincoln, and one which, whether made by him or not, is wholly worthy of the man, is perhaps profitable for consideration here. When asked, during the great conflict in which brother was arrayed against brother, whether he felt in his heart that the Lord was on his side, he answered, “I don’t know, and as a matter of fact, that does not concern me; what I want to know is, am I on the Lord’s side ?” It is a great deal better for us. a far loftier conception, I take it, to consider that we are on God’s side than to worry ourselves as to whether He is on our side. In your dealings, my brother, in your barter and your trade, be on the Lord’s side; do as He would have you do under those conditions. As a people we profess to be on the Lord’s side. It is for us to make good that profession, to live up to it, to avail ourselves of the influences that are at work for our good, and the powers that are operating for the salvation of men. Remember that this help is extended by the Lord in all reason—not capriciously and not when it is undeserved and unappreciated; for thus He declared Himself, as you will find recorded in the first section of the Doctrine and Covenants:
“For I, the Lord, cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. Nevertheless he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven; and he that repents not, from him shall be taken away even the light which he hath received; for my spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of hosts.” I pray that we may not forfeit the influences of that Spirit, but that we may be open to its influences, be guided by its power and eventually come back into the presence of the Father, and the Mother, who are waiting to welcome their children on their return from this earth school in which we are now pupils and students. God grant it in the name of the Master, Amen.
“The Penitent,” a soprano solo, was sung by Mrs. Ivy E. Crandall.
PREST. SEYMOUR B. YOUNG.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
I am very much honored, this morning, in the privilege of standing before you, my brethren and sisters, for a few minutes, to occupy your valuable time, and I desire that you will give me the benefit of your faith and prayers while I am thus engaged.
It is written in the scriptures that angels were heard singing “Glory to God on high, peace on earth, and good will to men.” It was about the hour of the birth of the Child of Promise, that was to be the Savior of the world, who was to introduce conditions that would lead to the salvation of the human family. The subject of the redemption of mankind was about to be introduced, the set time had come. We have an account of a prophecy uttered on this continent, by Samuel, the Lamanite, who stated to those with whom he associated, a small number of people who accepted the teachings of the Gospel truths of the Nephite prophets, that there would come a time when a sign would be given, and this sign should be a prophetic evidence of the coming of the Lord. This sign was, there would be no darkness between two days, there would be a day, and a night, and a day when there would be no darkness. The enemies of the members of the little church forbade the people who belonged thereto uttering this prophecy, or expressing their belief in its fulfilment, and finally threatened that if they again uttered their belief, in this sacred prediction that death should be the penalty and destruction would come upon the Church. The Nephite prophet, as recorded in III Nephi, sought a secret place and knelt in prayer to God to learn if He might look for the fulfillment of that prophecy, and the deliverance of his people. The Lord Himself spoke unto him in an audible voice and said, “Lift up your head and be of good cheer, for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world.” The history records that on that very night as the sun went down, there was no darkness, the light was bright and did not fade away, and the prediction was fulfilled, to the discomfiture of the enemies of the Church, and to the joy of those who believed in the fulfillment.
Far away, across the ocean, in the land of Palestine, in the town of Bethlehem, the child Jesus was born, and wise men, we are told, came to do homage unto Him. They had followed a star that had beckoned them, or inspired them we might have said, to follow; it certainly was an inspiration to them. When these wise men had come to Jerusalem, they visited King Herod, and asked him where the child was born that was to be king of the Jews. Herod was very much excited, no doubt, because of the question, but he could not answer it, and he appealed to the Jewish Sanhedrin and they answered him that the child should be born in the city of David or Bethlehem, as it was called, and the wise men continued their journey until they came to where the star stood over the place where the young child lay. Herod had said unto them, Return to me when you have found the new born child and bring me word that I too may come and worship him. But we find here an interposition of the Spirit of the Lord, for an angel who guarded the young child and its welfare, whispered unto the wise men, Go not back by the way of Herod: he seeks the young child’s life. So the wise men went their way back to their homes in another direction, and did not call at Herod’s palace. The record says, when Herod found that the wise men had mocked him, or deceived him, he was very much enraged, and he issued an edict that every child in Bethlehem and vicinity, from two years old and under, every male child, should be put to death. To escape this violence, or this threatened death, the angel of the . Lord warned Joseph and Mary to take the young child and flee into Egypt. The purposes of the Eternal Father were not to be thwarted, were not to be prevented of their fulfillment by any act of a wicked king. It had been decreed that the coming forth at the appointed time of this precious child should be for the redemption of the human family, for the salvation of our Father’s children.
We read that when Jesus began His ministry, the first act recorded of Him was His coming to John. John, his fore-runner, we are told had been baptizing in Jordan, and Jesus came to him and asked, or demanded baptism. John said, "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?” But Jesus said, “Suffer it to be so now.” And then he suffered Him; and when He came up out of the water John saw the Holy Ghost “descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him,” and a voice from on high was heard to exclaim, “This is Aly beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
In the day in which we live, we have a history of a boy, a farmer’s boy, one who was not versed in the religious doctrines of the Christian churches, one who had never been ordained a minister, according to the manner of their ordinations, one who had not been chosen by them, and if his name had been mentioned anywhere in their churches for advancement, or for ordination, he would probably not have been accepted. He was fourteen and a half years of age, without education, but there was a power and presence on high that was watching over this boy, and was ready to answer his prayers. When he retired into a secret place, within the confines of a shady grove, he bowed himself before the Lord and humbly inquired in fervent prayer, how he could obtain knowledge and wisdom from his heavenly Father. It appears that while he was earnest, and his desires true and faithful to learn and to understand, there was an evil power watching and following him, and that power seized upon him and choked his utterance, and had such effect upon him that he declares that he was unable to audibly utter his prayer, and continue his supplications, but he said, “I lifted my heart to God, I prayed earnestly in the silence of my soul, and very soon I saw a bright light shining upon the leaves of the trees above my head, arid it was so bright I thought at first that the leaves of the forest were on fire, and yet though the light was so vivid, it did not consume the trees nor the foliage.” Soon that light settled down upon the youthful supplicant and filled his soul, filled his being, every fiber thereof with its effulgence, and as soon as this occurred the evil power fled and left him free to the enjoyment of the Holy Spirit that was sent down from God, even the Holy Ghost.
President Smith informs me that my time is about up. I will close by saying that Joseph Smith, the occupant of that sacred grove, was ministered to by the power of God, and thus prepared by the ministration of the Holy Spirit to receive the presence of the Father and the Son and to be commissioned by Them to do a great work for the redemption of our Father’s children. The Prophet Joseph maintained his position as a chosen servant of God from that time through all the days of persecution and trials that he was called to pass, until the day of his martyrdom, sealing his testimony with his blood. I know that he was a prophet of God, and he fulfilled the measure of his creation, and the destiny that God had assigned unto him. Amen.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
I am very much honored, this morning, in the privilege of standing before you, my brethren and sisters, for a few minutes, to occupy your valuable time, and I desire that you will give me the benefit of your faith and prayers while I am thus engaged.
It is written in the scriptures that angels were heard singing “Glory to God on high, peace on earth, and good will to men.” It was about the hour of the birth of the Child of Promise, that was to be the Savior of the world, who was to introduce conditions that would lead to the salvation of the human family. The subject of the redemption of mankind was about to be introduced, the set time had come. We have an account of a prophecy uttered on this continent, by Samuel, the Lamanite, who stated to those with whom he associated, a small number of people who accepted the teachings of the Gospel truths of the Nephite prophets, that there would come a time when a sign would be given, and this sign should be a prophetic evidence of the coming of the Lord. This sign was, there would be no darkness between two days, there would be a day, and a night, and a day when there would be no darkness. The enemies of the members of the little church forbade the people who belonged thereto uttering this prophecy, or expressing their belief in its fulfilment, and finally threatened that if they again uttered their belief, in this sacred prediction that death should be the penalty and destruction would come upon the Church. The Nephite prophet, as recorded in III Nephi, sought a secret place and knelt in prayer to God to learn if He might look for the fulfillment of that prophecy, and the deliverance of his people. The Lord Himself spoke unto him in an audible voice and said, “Lift up your head and be of good cheer, for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world.” The history records that on that very night as the sun went down, there was no darkness, the light was bright and did not fade away, and the prediction was fulfilled, to the discomfiture of the enemies of the Church, and to the joy of those who believed in the fulfillment.
Far away, across the ocean, in the land of Palestine, in the town of Bethlehem, the child Jesus was born, and wise men, we are told, came to do homage unto Him. They had followed a star that had beckoned them, or inspired them we might have said, to follow; it certainly was an inspiration to them. When these wise men had come to Jerusalem, they visited King Herod, and asked him where the child was born that was to be king of the Jews. Herod was very much excited, no doubt, because of the question, but he could not answer it, and he appealed to the Jewish Sanhedrin and they answered him that the child should be born in the city of David or Bethlehem, as it was called, and the wise men continued their journey until they came to where the star stood over the place where the young child lay. Herod had said unto them, Return to me when you have found the new born child and bring me word that I too may come and worship him. But we find here an interposition of the Spirit of the Lord, for an angel who guarded the young child and its welfare, whispered unto the wise men, Go not back by the way of Herod: he seeks the young child’s life. So the wise men went their way back to their homes in another direction, and did not call at Herod’s palace. The record says, when Herod found that the wise men had mocked him, or deceived him, he was very much enraged, and he issued an edict that every child in Bethlehem and vicinity, from two years old and under, every male child, should be put to death. To escape this violence, or this threatened death, the angel of the . Lord warned Joseph and Mary to take the young child and flee into Egypt. The purposes of the Eternal Father were not to be thwarted, were not to be prevented of their fulfillment by any act of a wicked king. It had been decreed that the coming forth at the appointed time of this precious child should be for the redemption of the human family, for the salvation of our Father’s children.
We read that when Jesus began His ministry, the first act recorded of Him was His coming to John. John, his fore-runner, we are told had been baptizing in Jordan, and Jesus came to him and asked, or demanded baptism. John said, "I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?” But Jesus said, “Suffer it to be so now.” And then he suffered Him; and when He came up out of the water John saw the Holy Ghost “descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him,” and a voice from on high was heard to exclaim, “This is Aly beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
In the day in which we live, we have a history of a boy, a farmer’s boy, one who was not versed in the religious doctrines of the Christian churches, one who had never been ordained a minister, according to the manner of their ordinations, one who had not been chosen by them, and if his name had been mentioned anywhere in their churches for advancement, or for ordination, he would probably not have been accepted. He was fourteen and a half years of age, without education, but there was a power and presence on high that was watching over this boy, and was ready to answer his prayers. When he retired into a secret place, within the confines of a shady grove, he bowed himself before the Lord and humbly inquired in fervent prayer, how he could obtain knowledge and wisdom from his heavenly Father. It appears that while he was earnest, and his desires true and faithful to learn and to understand, there was an evil power watching and following him, and that power seized upon him and choked his utterance, and had such effect upon him that he declares that he was unable to audibly utter his prayer, and continue his supplications, but he said, “I lifted my heart to God, I prayed earnestly in the silence of my soul, and very soon I saw a bright light shining upon the leaves of the trees above my head, arid it was so bright I thought at first that the leaves of the forest were on fire, and yet though the light was so vivid, it did not consume the trees nor the foliage.” Soon that light settled down upon the youthful supplicant and filled his soul, filled his being, every fiber thereof with its effulgence, and as soon as this occurred the evil power fled and left him free to the enjoyment of the Holy Spirit that was sent down from God, even the Holy Ghost.
President Smith informs me that my time is about up. I will close by saying that Joseph Smith, the occupant of that sacred grove, was ministered to by the power of God, and thus prepared by the ministration of the Holy Spirit to receive the presence of the Father and the Son and to be commissioned by Them to do a great work for the redemption of our Father’s children. The Prophet Joseph maintained his position as a chosen servant of God from that time through all the days of persecution and trials that he was called to pass, until the day of his martyrdom, sealing his testimony with his blood. I know that he was a prophet of God, and he fulfilled the measure of his creation, and the destiny that God had assigned unto him. Amen.
ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
The word of the Lord to Moses: “But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man, but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.
“And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and thy servant will be content.
“And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.
“And as one earth shall pass away and the heavens thereof, even so shall another come; and there is.no end to my works, neither to my words.”
I read this passage of scripture because there is in it the representation of a great program of the creations of God, the integration of worlds and the disintegration of worlds, and it presents on a grander scale than any other scripture that I am acquainted with, the great governing and controlling power of God, both in the integration or creation of things, and also in the disintegration of things; but whether worlds are being formed from chaos and brought into orderly systems, or whether systems themselves be disintegrated, it affords me unspeakable pleasure and confidence in the stability and in the preservation of orderly creations, that God presides over all. I believe, too, from the manifestation of God’s wisdom that wherever disintegration is going on, where destruction apparently takes place, it will only be for the purpose of making room for more excellent things; and so this scripture ministers to me very comforting thoughts, and though I sometimes read in the works of men who give attention to the extent and greatness of the universe, and the laws that govern therein, so far as they can understand them, that they, too, as well as this inspired man, become acquainted with the fact that here and there in spots throughout God’s universe, disintegrating forces are going on and worlds are sometimes blotted out—yet the cosmos is preserved and order prevails instead of chaos.
That is rather a lofty conception of things that God gives us then of His masterfulness in the midst of His creations, and now I am a little sorry to draw your minds out of this great conception of things to make application of that principle in our earthly affairs, and yet I must do it if I would teach the lesson I have in mind.
Several times in this conference, when the fear came to me that I might be called upon to occupy this position for a few minutes, the thought came to me several times, if that happens I will not speak a word in relation to the great war now going on in Europe; so much has been said, and well said, that there is no need for me to say a word upon that subject, and anyhow I am a man of peace. I love peace and I pursue it. If you will pardon the personal note of it for just one moment, I may say to you that I really never had, in my boyhood days, a fight in my life but what it was forced on me. (Laughter.) Personally I was just in the same condition that the nations of Europe are now in, I was forced to fight; and generally, in fact so far as I can remember always, I entered every engagement that fell in my way with a good deal of anxiety, even fear, but there was this peculiarity about it—I don’t know that it is peculiar, however; perhaps it is a common inheritance to all men—but the first blow struck, I was always very comfortable after that. (Laughter.) But I believe in peace, and most heartily have I joined in the prayer for peace for those distracted nations now engaged in the dreadful arbitrament of their differences in war. This principle that is here described in regard to God’s control of disintegrating forces in the universe as well as integrating forces, leads me to feel, in spite of all the horror of this great modern war, that God will control it just as He controls the wrath of men, which He makes to praise Him, and the rest of man’s wrath He restrains. So my confidence is that the dreadful forces of war will not go beyond those limits that are necessary to bring to pass the purposes of the Almighty; and while I join in sorrow for those who will be brought to misery and poverty and death in this awful war, I nevertheless cannot help but believe that as God causes worlds and systems of worlds to pass away, that have doubtless reached the climax of their possibilities in their present form, and hence He destroys those forms so that there shall be better ones created, so now in this awful struggle I believe that it will finally end in the higher planes of civilization being reached, rather than that the present glories of our civilization shall pass away.
I say I join with you in the splendid services we have held in this conference in praying for peace, but deeper than that prayer- for peace, more earnestly than for that prayer of peace, do I pray that justice, national justice shall prevail; and I hope the present war will not halt until justice, as God sees justice, shall be established. If it were halted before that great achievement, the hecatombs of the slain up to now, the misery that will come in consequence of the war, will all be in vain; and so, though it may seem harsh and cruel, yet I sincerely trust that now the inevitable war has started, it shall go on to the end for the establishment of justice, and as God presides over the disintegrating forces in His universe, yet out of that destruction re-creates still better, so do I believe that the very forces of war are sometimes but instruments in His hand for the accomplishment of His purposes. I can conceive nothing of weakness in the attributes of Deity, and some of the things necessary sometimes to make progress are physical forces as well as moral and spiritual forces, and when used by him, of course, they are used in righteousness, and sometimes God is in the battle as well as in the still small voice and the wonderful invisible spirit that overspreads nations of people and changes, their mental and moral attitude towards the great things that are going on in the world; God moves upon the minds of the people to bring them to the accomplishment of things even as He will. In evidence that God is sometimes in war, I have in an old note here, a statement about an occurrence in Israel, to the effect that the tribe of Reuben and Gad and one-half of the tribe of Manasseh were at war with the Hagarites, and they were successful in their contest, “for there fell down many slain( of the enemy), because the war was of God.” On another occasion when Joshua was taking possession of the heritage which God had given to Israel, and Israel was sore beset by the enemy, suddenly there appeared a magnificent warrior clothed cap-a-pie in shining armor, and Joshua approached him, apparently with some temerity and said, “Are you on our side or on the side of the enemy ?“ “No,” replied this personage, “But as captain of the Lord’s hosts come I now.” And Joshua fell down before the personage and worshiped at his feet, without reproach. We read that there was war in heaven.
I think God was in that war, for Satan was overthrown and forced from heaven. I cannot help but think that when the patriot fathers who founded our nation drew the sword against the great empire of England, in the maintenance of their avowed rights, and for the establishment of free government in this world, God sustained their feeble arms and crowned them with glory, though to do it He brought to their assistance the old-time monarchies of Spain and France, one of the most wonderful lessons in history— the use by the Lord of these representatives of arbitrary power in the old world to establish free institutions in the new, a remarkable incident in the history of men.
So, my brethren and sisters, I feel very comfortable even in the midst of these war times, knowing that God stands in the background of things and that He will have His way.
Speaking now of our own nation, just for a moment, and the pride I feel in it. I think we have a right to be a bit optimistic in relation to our own nation, I believe it is fulfilling the high destiny that God has marked out for it in these modern times. He founded it by wise men whom He raised up to frame the Constitution, which outlines the true principles of civil government, a law that I feel has gone forth from Zion to permeate the whole world, to break up monarchial institutions, to break militarism, and to exhibit to the nations that there are other forces of government that should prevail rather than those policies of “blood and iron,” in which men have so prided themselves. I believe our country will fulfill that kind of a mission. God not only founded this great government by the wisdom which He gave to wise men, the men upon which He caused His inspiration to rest; not only did He found it, but He preserved it. He tells us here in one of these revelations where He declares that He founded this government by wise men whom He raised up for that purpose, that He sanctified the land by the shedding of blood, and made it holy to us, because we can see what our freedom cost in the best blood of the human race in our great Revolutionary War. And God not only founded our nation, but He preserved it in one of the most awful conflicts that had existed in the world up to that time, now, however, rendered well- nigh insignificant in comparison with the terrible war now raging in Europe. The war in Europe is on a scale in keeping with our modern life, and reveals to us the great progress that the world has been making, since it would have been impossible a hundred years ago, when Napoleon Bonaparte was fighting over practically the same area of country that is now strewn with drawn battle lines, in France and Belgium,—it would have been impossible then, and I say this, in a way, is a revelation of the greatness of our modern life; our very wars are more stupendous than those of former ages.
Well, I say the Lord has preserved this nation; and it is possible for this nation to hold to the sacred heritage that God has given it. Brother Ivins, in his remarks yesterday, and other brethren who have spoken here, have called attention to the conditions upon which our nation may preserve its heritage, and its power in the world, and especially in this new world. It is remarkable to me that all the messages of scripture—or nearly so, that pertain to this western hemisphere—we find those messages, those warnings, those conditions upon which the safety of our national life depends, are in this record, the Book of Mormon. I say it is remarkable to me, and yet it is not so upon second thought, because that is where you would naturally look for them; but perhaps the idea laboring in my mind is the importance of this American record revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the things that are found in it concerning our America. To those splendid passages read by Brother Ivins here yesterday, I want to add one more, because it constitutes a message which the Latter-day Saints must deliver to this nation, we must make it known; and consequently in this official conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, where what is said has something of an official character to it; where we speak, in a way, with collective voice, I am taking' the liberty of reading this scripture. They, are the words of Moroni, when he was translating the records of Ether and giving an account of the colony of the brother of Jared coming to this land of America, and the covenants of the Lord upon the land. The comments are by Moroni in this record of Ether, from which I now read:
“And the Lord would not suffer that they [the Jaredites] should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that' they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people;
“And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time, henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fullness of his wrath should come upon them.
“And now we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise, and whatsoever nation shall possess it, shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fullness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity;
“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore, he that doth possess it shall serve God, or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fullness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.
"And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God, that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you, as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.
“Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it, shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.”
This scripture does not leave the Gentile nations in doubt as to whom it is that must be worshiped as God. He is--
"The God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.” (Book of Ether," ch. ii.)
How valuable to the Gentile nations and to Israel, too, so far as he occupies the land, is this knowledge! What a great message is in this revealed American Scripture—the very conditions upon which the nations who occupy the land may hold an inheritance, is here written down and proclaimed in this great Nephite record. How precious it is unto the inhabitants of this land! How honored we ought to feel that we can, through the blessings of the Lord, make proclamation of these conditions and deliver the very word of the Lord unto the inhabitants of this land, and especially to our own nation, which exercises the dominating political power in the land—that we can give them the conditions upon which they may perpetuate their inheritance and their power. And I say, notwithstanding a terrible arraignment might be made of the wickedness and of the corruption that is in our own nation, yet I believe the people en masse are yet sound, and have enough of virtue to build upon, and which may be caused to grow in strength and in volume until the favor of the Lord may be perpetuated upon our nation.
I think it is a good omen, a splendid omen, that the executive of the nation in this hour of the world’s trial can call all the inhabitants of the land to come to the throne of God and pray for peace, thus recognizing God and His influence upon the. affairs of men. If we can only perpetuate that kind of spirit in the land, I believe that having had our chastisement as a nation for our national sins—including the shedding of the blood of our prophets—having had our chastisement in the terrible Civil War that swept the land, that filled it with mourning and sorrow for a generation—I hope that the correction will be enough, and that from now on we shall have power to preach the Gospel in such plainness and manifest power of the spirit of the Lord, that we shall keep the nation in the favor of the Lord, and go on from righteousness to righteousness, from peace to peace, until we shall develop more completely than we have yet developed those great underlying principles of civil government that God gave to our nation, and that finally will become the inheritance of the world—God’s law that shall go forth from Zion. I pray so, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
The congregation sang the hymn:
Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing;
Fill our hearts with joy and peace;
Let us each, Thy love possessing,
Triumph in redeeming grace.
Elder John L. Herrick pronounced the benediction.
Conference adjourned until 2 p. m.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
The word of the Lord to Moses: “But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man, but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.
“And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and thy servant will be content.
“And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.
“And as one earth shall pass away and the heavens thereof, even so shall another come; and there is.no end to my works, neither to my words.”
I read this passage of scripture because there is in it the representation of a great program of the creations of God, the integration of worlds and the disintegration of worlds, and it presents on a grander scale than any other scripture that I am acquainted with, the great governing and controlling power of God, both in the integration or creation of things, and also in the disintegration of things; but whether worlds are being formed from chaos and brought into orderly systems, or whether systems themselves be disintegrated, it affords me unspeakable pleasure and confidence in the stability and in the preservation of orderly creations, that God presides over all. I believe, too, from the manifestation of God’s wisdom that wherever disintegration is going on, where destruction apparently takes place, it will only be for the purpose of making room for more excellent things; and so this scripture ministers to me very comforting thoughts, and though I sometimes read in the works of men who give attention to the extent and greatness of the universe, and the laws that govern therein, so far as they can understand them, that they, too, as well as this inspired man, become acquainted with the fact that here and there in spots throughout God’s universe, disintegrating forces are going on and worlds are sometimes blotted out—yet the cosmos is preserved and order prevails instead of chaos.
That is rather a lofty conception of things that God gives us then of His masterfulness in the midst of His creations, and now I am a little sorry to draw your minds out of this great conception of things to make application of that principle in our earthly affairs, and yet I must do it if I would teach the lesson I have in mind.
Several times in this conference, when the fear came to me that I might be called upon to occupy this position for a few minutes, the thought came to me several times, if that happens I will not speak a word in relation to the great war now going on in Europe; so much has been said, and well said, that there is no need for me to say a word upon that subject, and anyhow I am a man of peace. I love peace and I pursue it. If you will pardon the personal note of it for just one moment, I may say to you that I really never had, in my boyhood days, a fight in my life but what it was forced on me. (Laughter.) Personally I was just in the same condition that the nations of Europe are now in, I was forced to fight; and generally, in fact so far as I can remember always, I entered every engagement that fell in my way with a good deal of anxiety, even fear, but there was this peculiarity about it—I don’t know that it is peculiar, however; perhaps it is a common inheritance to all men—but the first blow struck, I was always very comfortable after that. (Laughter.) But I believe in peace, and most heartily have I joined in the prayer for peace for those distracted nations now engaged in the dreadful arbitrament of their differences in war. This principle that is here described in regard to God’s control of disintegrating forces in the universe as well as integrating forces, leads me to feel, in spite of all the horror of this great modern war, that God will control it just as He controls the wrath of men, which He makes to praise Him, and the rest of man’s wrath He restrains. So my confidence is that the dreadful forces of war will not go beyond those limits that are necessary to bring to pass the purposes of the Almighty; and while I join in sorrow for those who will be brought to misery and poverty and death in this awful war, I nevertheless cannot help but believe that as God causes worlds and systems of worlds to pass away, that have doubtless reached the climax of their possibilities in their present form, and hence He destroys those forms so that there shall be better ones created, so now in this awful struggle I believe that it will finally end in the higher planes of civilization being reached, rather than that the present glories of our civilization shall pass away.
I say I join with you in the splendid services we have held in this conference in praying for peace, but deeper than that prayer- for peace, more earnestly than for that prayer of peace, do I pray that justice, national justice shall prevail; and I hope the present war will not halt until justice, as God sees justice, shall be established. If it were halted before that great achievement, the hecatombs of the slain up to now, the misery that will come in consequence of the war, will all be in vain; and so, though it may seem harsh and cruel, yet I sincerely trust that now the inevitable war has started, it shall go on to the end for the establishment of justice, and as God presides over the disintegrating forces in His universe, yet out of that destruction re-creates still better, so do I believe that the very forces of war are sometimes but instruments in His hand for the accomplishment of His purposes. I can conceive nothing of weakness in the attributes of Deity, and some of the things necessary sometimes to make progress are physical forces as well as moral and spiritual forces, and when used by him, of course, they are used in righteousness, and sometimes God is in the battle as well as in the still small voice and the wonderful invisible spirit that overspreads nations of people and changes, their mental and moral attitude towards the great things that are going on in the world; God moves upon the minds of the people to bring them to the accomplishment of things even as He will. In evidence that God is sometimes in war, I have in an old note here, a statement about an occurrence in Israel, to the effect that the tribe of Reuben and Gad and one-half of the tribe of Manasseh were at war with the Hagarites, and they were successful in their contest, “for there fell down many slain( of the enemy), because the war was of God.” On another occasion when Joshua was taking possession of the heritage which God had given to Israel, and Israel was sore beset by the enemy, suddenly there appeared a magnificent warrior clothed cap-a-pie in shining armor, and Joshua approached him, apparently with some temerity and said, “Are you on our side or on the side of the enemy ?“ “No,” replied this personage, “But as captain of the Lord’s hosts come I now.” And Joshua fell down before the personage and worshiped at his feet, without reproach. We read that there was war in heaven.
I think God was in that war, for Satan was overthrown and forced from heaven. I cannot help but think that when the patriot fathers who founded our nation drew the sword against the great empire of England, in the maintenance of their avowed rights, and for the establishment of free government in this world, God sustained their feeble arms and crowned them with glory, though to do it He brought to their assistance the old-time monarchies of Spain and France, one of the most wonderful lessons in history— the use by the Lord of these representatives of arbitrary power in the old world to establish free institutions in the new, a remarkable incident in the history of men.
So, my brethren and sisters, I feel very comfortable even in the midst of these war times, knowing that God stands in the background of things and that He will have His way.
Speaking now of our own nation, just for a moment, and the pride I feel in it. I think we have a right to be a bit optimistic in relation to our own nation, I believe it is fulfilling the high destiny that God has marked out for it in these modern times. He founded it by wise men whom He raised up to frame the Constitution, which outlines the true principles of civil government, a law that I feel has gone forth from Zion to permeate the whole world, to break up monarchial institutions, to break militarism, and to exhibit to the nations that there are other forces of government that should prevail rather than those policies of “blood and iron,” in which men have so prided themselves. I believe our country will fulfill that kind of a mission. God not only founded this great government by the wisdom which He gave to wise men, the men upon which He caused His inspiration to rest; not only did He found it, but He preserved it. He tells us here in one of these revelations where He declares that He founded this government by wise men whom He raised up for that purpose, that He sanctified the land by the shedding of blood, and made it holy to us, because we can see what our freedom cost in the best blood of the human race in our great Revolutionary War. And God not only founded our nation, but He preserved it in one of the most awful conflicts that had existed in the world up to that time, now, however, rendered well- nigh insignificant in comparison with the terrible war now raging in Europe. The war in Europe is on a scale in keeping with our modern life, and reveals to us the great progress that the world has been making, since it would have been impossible a hundred years ago, when Napoleon Bonaparte was fighting over practically the same area of country that is now strewn with drawn battle lines, in France and Belgium,—it would have been impossible then, and I say this, in a way, is a revelation of the greatness of our modern life; our very wars are more stupendous than those of former ages.
Well, I say the Lord has preserved this nation; and it is possible for this nation to hold to the sacred heritage that God has given it. Brother Ivins, in his remarks yesterday, and other brethren who have spoken here, have called attention to the conditions upon which our nation may preserve its heritage, and its power in the world, and especially in this new world. It is remarkable to me that all the messages of scripture—or nearly so, that pertain to this western hemisphere—we find those messages, those warnings, those conditions upon which the safety of our national life depends, are in this record, the Book of Mormon. I say it is remarkable to me, and yet it is not so upon second thought, because that is where you would naturally look for them; but perhaps the idea laboring in my mind is the importance of this American record revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the things that are found in it concerning our America. To those splendid passages read by Brother Ivins here yesterday, I want to add one more, because it constitutes a message which the Latter-day Saints must deliver to this nation, we must make it known; and consequently in this official conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, where what is said has something of an official character to it; where we speak, in a way, with collective voice, I am taking' the liberty of reading this scripture. They, are the words of Moroni, when he was translating the records of Ether and giving an account of the colony of the brother of Jared coming to this land of America, and the covenants of the Lord upon the land. The comments are by Moroni in this record of Ether, from which I now read:
“And the Lord would not suffer that they [the Jaredites] should stop beyond the sea in the wilderness, but he would that' they should come forth even unto the land of promise, which was choice above all other lands, which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people;
“And he had sworn in his wrath unto the brother of Jared, that whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time, henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fullness of his wrath should come upon them.
“And now we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise, and whatsoever nation shall possess it, shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fullness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity;
“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore, he that doth possess it shall serve God, or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fullness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off.
"And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God, that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you, as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.
“Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it, shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.”
This scripture does not leave the Gentile nations in doubt as to whom it is that must be worshiped as God. He is--
"The God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written.” (Book of Ether," ch. ii.)
How valuable to the Gentile nations and to Israel, too, so far as he occupies the land, is this knowledge! What a great message is in this revealed American Scripture—the very conditions upon which the nations who occupy the land may hold an inheritance, is here written down and proclaimed in this great Nephite record. How precious it is unto the inhabitants of this land! How honored we ought to feel that we can, through the blessings of the Lord, make proclamation of these conditions and deliver the very word of the Lord unto the inhabitants of this land, and especially to our own nation, which exercises the dominating political power in the land—that we can give them the conditions upon which they may perpetuate their inheritance and their power. And I say, notwithstanding a terrible arraignment might be made of the wickedness and of the corruption that is in our own nation, yet I believe the people en masse are yet sound, and have enough of virtue to build upon, and which may be caused to grow in strength and in volume until the favor of the Lord may be perpetuated upon our nation.
I think it is a good omen, a splendid omen, that the executive of the nation in this hour of the world’s trial can call all the inhabitants of the land to come to the throne of God and pray for peace, thus recognizing God and His influence upon the. affairs of men. If we can only perpetuate that kind of spirit in the land, I believe that having had our chastisement as a nation for our national sins—including the shedding of the blood of our prophets—having had our chastisement in the terrible Civil War that swept the land, that filled it with mourning and sorrow for a generation—I hope that the correction will be enough, and that from now on we shall have power to preach the Gospel in such plainness and manifest power of the spirit of the Lord, that we shall keep the nation in the favor of the Lord, and go on from righteousness to righteousness, from peace to peace, until we shall develop more completely than we have yet developed those great underlying principles of civil government that God gave to our nation, and that finally will become the inheritance of the world—God’s law that shall go forth from Zion. I pray so, in the name of Jesus, Amen.
The congregation sang the hymn:
Lord, dismiss us with Thy blessing;
Fill our hearts with joy and peace;
Let us each, Thy love possessing,
Triumph in redeeming grace.
Elder John L. Herrick pronounced the benediction.
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 congregation sang the hymn:
Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation;
No longer as strangers on earth need we roam,
Good tidings are sounding to us and each nation,
And shortly the hour of redemption will come.
The invocation was offered by Elder Samuel E. Woolley.
The 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.
In the Tabernacle, at 2 p. m.
President Joseph F. Smith called the meeting to order.
The congregation sang the hymn:
Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation;
No longer as strangers on earth need we roam,
Good tidings are sounding to us and each nation,
And shortly the hour of redemption will come.
The invocation was offered by Elder Samuel E. Woolley.
The 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 J. GOLDEN KIMBALL.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
The short time that I occupy I very much desire to have the Spirit of the Lord. I think possibly it would not be amiss if I occupied the time in talking about the Seventies. I claim to be good authority on that subject, and the information that I shall use comes from the Presiding Bishop’s office, and they will vouch for its accuracy.
My object and purpose in speaking of the Seventies is to enlighten the Church as to that great body of Priesthood, who have a special calling as witness of the Lord to the nations of the earth. They are preachers of righteousness and our great effort has been not only to keep up with the organization, but where it has been deemed wise, the quorums have been increased in order to get the benefit that comes out of the class work. For we find where quorums are scattered throughout a stake, one quorum in a stake or one quorum in five or six or eight wards, it is very difficult to hold class meetings. It is understood that in all such cases that they hold a general Seventies’ meeting, once each month. Last Sunday, at four p. m., we called a special conference of the Seventies, and we were very happy in finding four hundred and four Seventies in that gathering in the Bishop’s building. By a show of hands, I think we could safely say, that eighty-five per cent of that number were presidents of Seventies. We had a program which was well handled, taking up Quorum Administrative Questions. This body of Priesthood, to give you an idea of the greatness of the number, there are enough Seventies in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to fill this great building to overflowing.
The activities of Seventies as compiled from the stake and ward reports for the year, 1913, are as follows:
Total number of Seventies in the Church. 10,968
Total number enrolled in Quorums as reported for the year 1913 8,078
Total number enrolled in Seventies Class 9,190
Total number of Seventies not enrolled in Quorums 2,890
Total number of Seventies not performing any duties in Stakes or wards 2,145
Total number who did not attend a Quorum meeting during the year 1913 1,308
Seventies who are acting as Presidents of Seventies and Instructors of Quorums 1,782
Seventies who are performing Stake duties 704
Seventies who are performing Ward duties 6,933
Seventies who are acting as officers and instructors in Auxiliary organizations 3,778
We learn from this report that the total number of appointments filled by Seventies in the Church is 13,197. If we are correct in our analysis of the above report, the First Council is held responsible for 2,145 Seventies who are not performing any duties in the stakes or wards, and still we find that there are 2,890 Seventies not enrolled in any quorums of Seventy, and it is just possible that they are not members of any ward, but are wandering to and fro throughout the Church. They are, no doubt, good men in their way, but must be “billy-goats,” and not sheep, but they should belong to the sheep fold.
This report gives information as to the activities Gf Seventies at home and abroad, and gives proof that 95 8-10 per cent of this body of Priesthood are giving good home service, and performing missionary work, under the direction of the local authorities. The report does not give the condition of Seventies financially, nor does it attempt to speak of their struggles, failures and poverty, and that death sometimes finds its way into their homes. Neither does it give the information that many of these Seventies have sons who are on missions, and the fathers are defraying their expenses. It is not understood that the standard and spiritual measurement of the men is to be found in the report. This report does not attempt to tell of the visits of representatives of the First Council, but it merely shows the activities of Seventies at home. If it be true that 25 per cent of 8,078 Seventies who are enrolled in quorums are not performing any duties in stakes or wards, it leaves 75 per cent of the total number enrolled who are actively engaged in home and foreign service.
We desire, that you may know, that notwithstanding that 2,890 Seventies are wanderers that we are trying to overcome this difficulty. Quorums of Seventies are instructed to receive all Seventies who come in their quorum district, who are received by the Bishops in the wards, and to receive them without recommendation, without transfers, as their transfers can be secured afterwards. It must be understood by the Priesthood of God, in this Church, that there can be no such thing as resigning from a quorum of Priesthood in the Church. When you have made covenant with God and the Church and received the Priesthood you cannot resign. The only way to get out of a quorum of Priesthood is to commit sin, and get disfellowshiped from the Church. As long as you hold that Priesthood we have the right to receive you into the quorums and it is the duty of those who preside to labor with those who are careless and indifferent. Brethren and sisters, we want to show you, what t-his great body of Priesthood are doing in home service. In 1913, there was only three hundred forty-six Seventies on missions in the word preaching the Gospel, but we have been training and educating and directing this body of Priesthood to labor faithfully and devotedly under the direction of the local authorities.
Now, brethren, with a good deal of pride, I challenge you High Priests and you Elders, and the lesser Priesthood, to make a better showing. We grant you that our quorums are made up of young men and older men of great experience, men who have filled missions, many of them, and they are devoted to the Church. That has been the line of our work in the past few years.
The Lord has truly blessed us in the labor, with the assistance that we have received and the sustaining support that we have had from the brethren of the authorities, the Counsel of the Twelve, the presidents of stakes and the Bishop of wards. If we are correct: take the two thousand one hundred and forty-five Seventies who are not taking any part in Church duties, and the two thousand eight hundred ninety “billy-goats,” that are wandering throughout the Church, that belong to no quorums and are scattered all over the land, there is a great missionary work to be done by the presidents of Seventies; as there arc five thousand Seventies in the Church of Christ that need laboring with by preaching the Gospel to them, because of their carelessness and indifference.
In conclusion: I don’t know when I have been more delighted for a long time, than when I heard President Francis M. Lyman, the president of the Twelve Apostles, say to the presidents of stakes and the bishops of wards, “When you want missionaries, you are to go to the Seventies instead of any others. As you need them in the missionary* field to go with our boys.” We have ample proof, ample evidence that we need men of experience to go with our young men, until they get under training.
As to missionary work at home: I need not go but a short distance from here as I happen to have in mind an illustration. We can go to the Jordan stake, as I remember it, they have nine thousand members of the Church; in that one stake alone there are over nine thousand persons who are non-members ot the Church. A great missionary work can be done under the direction of the local authorities, the presidents of stakes, and the bishops of wards, in setting apart these Seventies. instructing them, enthusing them, awakening them until they love the souls of the children of men and are willing to give good service in preaching the Gospel.
Now, my brethren and sisters, I hope it goes without saying; that I have unfaltering, unwavering faith in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—it is the great thing in my life. If I fail in this one object—salvation—I have failed in everything. I sustain the authorities of the Church; I sustain President Joseph F. Smith and the Council of the Twelve. I have an abiding faith in Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. I believe all that has been revealed unto this people, whether I can live it or not; I believe it all; I swallow every bit of it, I don’t sugar-coat it, either. Brethren, I am willing to place all that I have and am upon the altar. It does not amount to very much, but you are welcome to every bit of it. The Lord bless you. Amen.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
The short time that I occupy I very much desire to have the Spirit of the Lord. I think possibly it would not be amiss if I occupied the time in talking about the Seventies. I claim to be good authority on that subject, and the information that I shall use comes from the Presiding Bishop’s office, and they will vouch for its accuracy.
My object and purpose in speaking of the Seventies is to enlighten the Church as to that great body of Priesthood, who have a special calling as witness of the Lord to the nations of the earth. They are preachers of righteousness and our great effort has been not only to keep up with the organization, but where it has been deemed wise, the quorums have been increased in order to get the benefit that comes out of the class work. For we find where quorums are scattered throughout a stake, one quorum in a stake or one quorum in five or six or eight wards, it is very difficult to hold class meetings. It is understood that in all such cases that they hold a general Seventies’ meeting, once each month. Last Sunday, at four p. m., we called a special conference of the Seventies, and we were very happy in finding four hundred and four Seventies in that gathering in the Bishop’s building. By a show of hands, I think we could safely say, that eighty-five per cent of that number were presidents of Seventies. We had a program which was well handled, taking up Quorum Administrative Questions. This body of Priesthood, to give you an idea of the greatness of the number, there are enough Seventies in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to fill this great building to overflowing.
The activities of Seventies as compiled from the stake and ward reports for the year, 1913, are as follows:
Total number of Seventies in the Church. 10,968
Total number enrolled in Quorums as reported for the year 1913 8,078
Total number enrolled in Seventies Class 9,190
Total number of Seventies not enrolled in Quorums 2,890
Total number of Seventies not performing any duties in Stakes or wards 2,145
Total number who did not attend a Quorum meeting during the year 1913 1,308
Seventies who are acting as Presidents of Seventies and Instructors of Quorums 1,782
Seventies who are performing Stake duties 704
Seventies who are performing Ward duties 6,933
Seventies who are acting as officers and instructors in Auxiliary organizations 3,778
We learn from this report that the total number of appointments filled by Seventies in the Church is 13,197. If we are correct in our analysis of the above report, the First Council is held responsible for 2,145 Seventies who are not performing any duties in the stakes or wards, and still we find that there are 2,890 Seventies not enrolled in any quorums of Seventy, and it is just possible that they are not members of any ward, but are wandering to and fro throughout the Church. They are, no doubt, good men in their way, but must be “billy-goats,” and not sheep, but they should belong to the sheep fold.
This report gives information as to the activities Gf Seventies at home and abroad, and gives proof that 95 8-10 per cent of this body of Priesthood are giving good home service, and performing missionary work, under the direction of the local authorities. The report does not give the condition of Seventies financially, nor does it attempt to speak of their struggles, failures and poverty, and that death sometimes finds its way into their homes. Neither does it give the information that many of these Seventies have sons who are on missions, and the fathers are defraying their expenses. It is not understood that the standard and spiritual measurement of the men is to be found in the report. This report does not attempt to tell of the visits of representatives of the First Council, but it merely shows the activities of Seventies at home. If it be true that 25 per cent of 8,078 Seventies who are enrolled in quorums are not performing any duties in stakes or wards, it leaves 75 per cent of the total number enrolled who are actively engaged in home and foreign service.
We desire, that you may know, that notwithstanding that 2,890 Seventies are wanderers that we are trying to overcome this difficulty. Quorums of Seventies are instructed to receive all Seventies who come in their quorum district, who are received by the Bishops in the wards, and to receive them without recommendation, without transfers, as their transfers can be secured afterwards. It must be understood by the Priesthood of God, in this Church, that there can be no such thing as resigning from a quorum of Priesthood in the Church. When you have made covenant with God and the Church and received the Priesthood you cannot resign. The only way to get out of a quorum of Priesthood is to commit sin, and get disfellowshiped from the Church. As long as you hold that Priesthood we have the right to receive you into the quorums and it is the duty of those who preside to labor with those who are careless and indifferent. Brethren and sisters, we want to show you, what t-his great body of Priesthood are doing in home service. In 1913, there was only three hundred forty-six Seventies on missions in the word preaching the Gospel, but we have been training and educating and directing this body of Priesthood to labor faithfully and devotedly under the direction of the local authorities.
Now, brethren, with a good deal of pride, I challenge you High Priests and you Elders, and the lesser Priesthood, to make a better showing. We grant you that our quorums are made up of young men and older men of great experience, men who have filled missions, many of them, and they are devoted to the Church. That has been the line of our work in the past few years.
The Lord has truly blessed us in the labor, with the assistance that we have received and the sustaining support that we have had from the brethren of the authorities, the Counsel of the Twelve, the presidents of stakes and the Bishop of wards. If we are correct: take the two thousand one hundred and forty-five Seventies who are not taking any part in Church duties, and the two thousand eight hundred ninety “billy-goats,” that are wandering throughout the Church, that belong to no quorums and are scattered all over the land, there is a great missionary work to be done by the presidents of Seventies; as there arc five thousand Seventies in the Church of Christ that need laboring with by preaching the Gospel to them, because of their carelessness and indifference.
In conclusion: I don’t know when I have been more delighted for a long time, than when I heard President Francis M. Lyman, the president of the Twelve Apostles, say to the presidents of stakes and the bishops of wards, “When you want missionaries, you are to go to the Seventies instead of any others. As you need them in the missionary* field to go with our boys.” We have ample proof, ample evidence that we need men of experience to go with our young men, until they get under training.
As to missionary work at home: I need not go but a short distance from here as I happen to have in mind an illustration. We can go to the Jordan stake, as I remember it, they have nine thousand members of the Church; in that one stake alone there are over nine thousand persons who are non-members ot the Church. A great missionary work can be done under the direction of the local authorities, the presidents of stakes, and the bishops of wards, in setting apart these Seventies. instructing them, enthusing them, awakening them until they love the souls of the children of men and are willing to give good service in preaching the Gospel.
Now, my brethren and sisters, I hope it goes without saying; that I have unfaltering, unwavering faith in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—it is the great thing in my life. If I fail in this one object—salvation—I have failed in everything. I sustain the authorities of the Church; I sustain President Joseph F. Smith and the Council of the Twelve. I have an abiding faith in Joseph Smith as a prophet of God. I believe all that has been revealed unto this people, whether I can live it or not; I believe it all; I swallow every bit of it, I don’t sugar-coat it, either. Brethren, I am willing to place all that I have and am upon the altar. It does not amount to very much, but you are welcome to every bit of it. The Lord bless you. Amen.
ELDER RULON S. WELLS.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
I too, am a man of peace. I believe in peace and love to walk in the paths of peace. If there is anything that is contrary to my nature, it is to be in the midst of strife. I desire peace in my home, peace in my country, peace in my own soul. But notwithstanding my native love for peace I find myself continually involved in war, in what may be termed a universal war. Across the waters a great war is being waged in which many nations are engaged; in this struggle, to which I allude all nations are involved, indeed, every human being has a part.
It is the war again sin, against weakness and imperfection. It is God’s battle for the right against the powers of evil which are everywhere arrayed against Him. It is a sanguinary war. Many there be who fall upon this battlefield, and when they thus die they are dead indeed, and well may those who love them shed tears of sorrow. Some are only slightly wounded and others are wounded mortally. The Lord has provided His Red Cross Society
—the ministry of His Church, and supplied it with a healing balm— the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it should be applied to all alike for all have been wounded and need his healing balm. None have escaped the darts of the adversary but all may be healed by the application of this remedy—even the dead may be brought to life again.
Then let us fight on for the cause of truth; let us labor for the salvation of human souls, that all may be delivered from this enemy, the arch enemy of God, the adversary of the souls of the children of men. Let us march on under the capacity of our Redeemer; let us march under His banner, on to victory, for eventually victory will be perched upon His banner, and every foe shall be overcome. This is a battle to the bitter end; this is a battle that means the utter rout of the enemy.
My brethren and sisters, you and I are engaged in this struggle; we are fighting under the banner of Christ; we are endeavoring to bring comfort and relief to those that are wounded and to those that have fallen upon the battlefield. Let us, be untiring in our efforts, then, to save the souls of our fellow men, of our brethren and sisters throughout the world, until peace be restored and established in all the world. Let us draw night unto the Lord that we may have power and strength; for the sword of truth is the weapon with which we fight: it is a two- edged sword that cuts in both directions; let us learn how to wield it, and let none lay down his arms, but let us fight valiantly on until we have achieved a glorious victory. Amen.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
I too, am a man of peace. I believe in peace and love to walk in the paths of peace. If there is anything that is contrary to my nature, it is to be in the midst of strife. I desire peace in my home, peace in my country, peace in my own soul. But notwithstanding my native love for peace I find myself continually involved in war, in what may be termed a universal war. Across the waters a great war is being waged in which many nations are engaged; in this struggle, to which I allude all nations are involved, indeed, every human being has a part.
It is the war again sin, against weakness and imperfection. It is God’s battle for the right against the powers of evil which are everywhere arrayed against Him. It is a sanguinary war. Many there be who fall upon this battlefield, and when they thus die they are dead indeed, and well may those who love them shed tears of sorrow. Some are only slightly wounded and others are wounded mortally. The Lord has provided His Red Cross Society
—the ministry of His Church, and supplied it with a healing balm— the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it should be applied to all alike for all have been wounded and need his healing balm. None have escaped the darts of the adversary but all may be healed by the application of this remedy—even the dead may be brought to life again.
Then let us fight on for the cause of truth; let us labor for the salvation of human souls, that all may be delivered from this enemy, the arch enemy of God, the adversary of the souls of the children of men. Let us march on under the capacity of our Redeemer; let us march under His banner, on to victory, for eventually victory will be perched upon His banner, and every foe shall be overcome. This is a battle to the bitter end; this is a battle that means the utter rout of the enemy.
My brethren and sisters, you and I are engaged in this struggle; we are fighting under the banner of Christ; we are endeavoring to bring comfort and relief to those that are wounded and to those that have fallen upon the battlefield. Let us, be untiring in our efforts, then, to save the souls of our fellow men, of our brethren and sisters throughout the world, until peace be restored and established in all the world. Let us draw night unto the Lord that we may have power and strength; for the sword of truth is the weapon with which we fight: it is a two- edged sword that cuts in both directions; let us learn how to wield it, and let none lay down his arms, but let us fight valiantly on until we have achieved a glorious victory. Amen.
ELDER JOSEPH W. M’MURRIN.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
It is quite an experience, my brethren and sisters, to sit here in the stand hour after hour for three days, in more or less fear all the time because of the thought that the time is approaching to be called upon to occupy this very important position as spokesman. It is always a very great relief when the duty has been performed, and one is permitted again to take his seat. Some of the brethren have been extending to members of the First Council what I think I may call mock sympathy, it has been given good- naturedly, the brethren indicating by their words that we had awaiting us the performance of a duty which they had no need to worry about, as their part had been accomplished. While it is a considerable trial and anxiety to undertake to stand before a great congregation of this character, there is nevertheless connected with it a goodly degree of pleasure, also: the pleasure comes from an understanding that the work that is being advocated is the work of tl’.e Lord, and that the testimony that is to be delivered is to be in favor of the cause that our Father is seeking to establish among men. It is the teaching of the Lord, Jesus Christ, that those who hear His words and do them shall be likened unto men who have digged down deep and laid a foundation upon bedrock, with such foundation the winds may blow and the rains descend and beat upon the building, and it will not fall because it is founded in a substantial manner. I hope, my brethren and sisters, that there is a disposition on the part of all the people to receive and put into practice the counsels that have been given by the presiding authorities of the Church in the meetings of this Conference.
During recent months the brethren who have visited the various stakes of Zion have been engaged in looking after auxiliary work in addition to the regular work that demands attention at stake conference, time. For the past two months. the Mutual Improvement Associations and the Religion Class organizations have been featured at stake conferences. I feel impressed this afternoon to say a few words in regard to the latter organization. It seems to be the organization that has the most difficult pathway to travel at the present time. Other church organizations have had a longer existence. They have apparently in many instances found a more complete lodgment in the hearts of the people. It is still said in some localities that the support that should be given to the Religion class organization is not altogether given. I hope this is a mistake. The Religion class organization has a righteous claim upon all Church officers for support, as it has come into the Church by proper appointment. Twenty-four years ago this month a very strong letter was sent out by the First Presidency of the Church to the stake presidents and to the bishops of the various wards, calling- upon them to seek out in the wards brethren and sisters who gave evidence of ability in the teaching of the young, and who had love for the young people, to take up this important labor. They were to be called as upon a mission and instructed to give attention to this new organization. That letter indicated that the Presidency of the Church had a feeling that the very best of material was necessary for the accomplishment of the work they had in mind. The fact that careful selection for the work oft times was not made was in my mind when I quoted the scripture that, “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.” I am convinced, my brethren and sisters that if the counsel imparted by the presidency of the Church twenty-four years ago had been received by local presiding men in the spirit of the communication then sent out, and earnest efforts had been made to find men and women of proper spirit and capacity, and they had been taught the importance and necessity of establishing the work as suggested and recommended by this high authority, there would not; have been as many questionings in the minds of people in relation to this the infant organization in the Church of Christ.
Tn the letter on religion class work, 24 years ago the First Presidency declare that many of the people had, through the toil of making a living, lost sight of the purpose that had brought them to this land, and had given way in many instances to less noble aims; they then say:
“This benumbing influence on our spiritual life is widely felt in our homes, and more particularly affects our children, whose faith in the great latter-day work has not been developed and strengthened by the experience which our elders have had in lands beyond the borders of Zion. Nor does the training which our youth receive in the district schools increase their feelings of devotion to God and love for this cause, for, as is well known, all teachings of a religious character are rigorously excluded from the studies permitted in these institutions.
“To lessen this great evil, and counteract the tendencies that grow out of a Godless education, the Church Schools of the Saints have been established. But while these accomplish great good, the sphere of their usefulness does not cover the entire field. There are many places where the Church Schools cannot, at present, be established; and also many Saints in those places where such schools ex ist, who, for various reasons, cannot send their children thereto. For these causes we have deemed it prudent to suggest to the various local authorities other measures which, while not occupying the place of the Church Schools, will work on the same lines, and aid in the same work in which the Church educational institutions are engaged.
‘We suggest that in every ward where a Church School is not established, that some brother or sister, or brethren or sisters, well adapted to such a responsible position by their intelligence and devotion as well as their love for the young, be called, as on a mission, by the Bishop, after consultation with the president of the stake, to take charge of a school in which the first principles of the Gospel, Church history, and kindred subjects shall be taught.”
I have been pleased and interested just recently in discovering in various periodicals a strong spirit in harmony with these instructions of the Presiding Authorities. Thoughtful men in other religious denominations, have discovered that there is great need for the children of school age to receive a training similar to the instruction provided for the Religion Class organization. In the Literary Digest of June 13, we read the following:
“What looks like the beginning of the end of the Godlessness of the public schools was pointed out recently by the Reverend Doctor Wilbur F. Crafts. Their Godless character is what the Catholics criticize and the parochial schools exist to supply this lack. As superintendent of the International Reform Bureau, Doctor Crafts has been conferring, by correspondence and otherwise, with Catholics, Jews, and Protestants in all parts of the world. Doctor Crafts also forms one of a committee appointed by the educational boards of the great evangelical churches, representing nineteen million members, which has had conferences with committees appointed by the Federal Council of Churches and the Young Men’s Christian Association, and has kept in touch with the National Reform Association, the pioneer of the movement.
“Doctor Crafts recently told a New York Presbyterian preachers’ meeting of a resolution that may have a large place in history. It provided for the appointment in behalf of the Presbyterian church of a committee to cooperate with the committees of other Protestant denominations and with committees which Jews and Catholics will be requested to appoint for the purposes of adopting some plan for religious training in connection with the public schools.
“It is proposed that this shall be done either in the school buildings themselves or in the Neighboring churches, or in both, by which during a part of the school time, or at some other hour, pastors and teachers of the various denominations will teach religion to the children of their own faith as an essential part of their education, In recognition of the fact that thirty minutes of Bible teaching in the Sunday Schools is not sufficient, but . must be supplemented not only in the home and church service, but also in the public schools.”
A similar condition and work of like character has been taken up, I have discovered, in Australia, where the very opportunity that the representatives of various religious denominations here in America are seeking to obtain has in Australia already been granted.
A recent number of The Dominion, a paper published at Wellington, New Zealand, devotes several columns to a report of the proceedings of the Presbyterian General Assembly, most of the time being occupied by a discussion of the question whether the Bible should be read in the public schools. The general sentiment was in favor of the adoption of the “Australian system.” It was explained that:
“The system consists of (a) simple Scriptural lessons read during school hours by the children from a book provided by the Department of Public Instruction exclusively for this purpose. The work of the state school teacher is restricted to seeing that the child understands the lesson as intelligently as any other lesson. The teacher does not give either sectarian or dogmatic teaching.
“(b) The churches have the opportunity afforded them to sending their ministers of religion or other accredited teachers into the schools during school hours to teach the children the faith of their fathers in their respective denominations. In the larger centers, such as cities and towns, ministers of religion, or accredited substitutes, would have an opportunity of instructing their own children. In many cases, and especially in those of smaller churches, mutual arrangements are made between the churches by which the children are grouped together, and, with the consent of the individual parent, attend the class of a minister not of their own church. In the smaller schools in the country districts, these visits are paid less frequently than in towns. The executive of the league includes representatives of the Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches; also the Salvation Army.”
"In support of the action that this system be adopted in New Zealand, it was stated that its introduction in the schools would settle the controversy concerning denominational schools for Roman Catholics. Under this proposed system, it was said, the Roman Catholic clergy, equally with others, would be permitted to give a certain measure of religious instruction to children of their own faith. It would end once and for all what was a most difficult problem.”
It is my understanding that in our neighbor on the north, the Dominion of Canada, the law provides for the children of various faiths to receive religious instruction from ministers who have been appointed for the purpose by and with the approval of the parents of the children who are to be so taught.
Recently there was received in the Religion Class Board offices in this city a letter from Garry, Indiana, asking that literature in relation to the Religion Class work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might be forwarded to give assistance in the preparation of material for the children of the public schools in that section of the country. I will read a paragraph or two:
“My dear Sirs:
“I presume that you are acquainted with the movement in Garry for the establishment of week-day church' schools by the Protestant denominations, worked out on the basis of cooperation and co-relation with the public school system.
“The various denominations at large are beginning to focus their attention and strength in an effort to standardize the curriculum for the entire denomination. At the outset, we shall be led into federation along several lines, especially the literature from which we will build up our new courses of study to serve as a teacher’s working library, and as a reference- and reading list for the pupils. This new and inevitable type of school will call for a searching evolution of all religious literature. The plan which the librarian and I have in view will show the country a new use and demand for religious educational literature, and the result will certainly have direct bearing upon the publishing interest.
“I am a member of the Board of Sunday Schools of the Methodist Episcopal church, and have been appointed since April, and have been here since June 1. I realize that all kinds of demands and requests are made for the courtesy of your publications. Did I not know that our aim is to use religious literature as never before, but in such a way as the public schools use reference and text books, I would not feel justified as a representative of the Methodist church to ask that you put at our disposal literature which would help me in building up our courses of study, and serve as a standard text and references for reading and consultation.”
We must conclude from this communication that the religion class work of the Latter-day Saints is attracting attention far away from our mountain home.
My brethren and sisters, when we think of nineteen million souls being more or less interested in the need of religious training in the public schools, here in our own land, to say nothing of the same sentiment so strongly working upon the minds of men in other countries, we should discern the wisdom of our leaders as shown in their action of twenty- four years ago.
I simply refer to these matters to bring to the attention of presiding men the fact that the work that was introduced under the inspiration of the Spirit of God by the Presidency of the Church at the time mentioned, begins to work its way in the world. It has taken a long time for some men to make the discovery that there is necessity of training of this character, but the light is beginning to come, and it ought to be an evidence to those who are engaged in religion class work, that it is most important, and those upon whom responsibility rests in seeking the establishment of the work, should go forward with determination, for surely the Lord is in the work. I would like to bring to the attention of this congregation the fact that in this organization we have one of the First Presidency of the Church as general superintendent, President Anthon H. Lund; we have two. of the Council of the Apostles as his assistants, Rudger Clawson and Hyrum M. Smith. President Charles
W. Penrose and more than half of the entire quorum of the apostles are members of the Religion Class Board; there is no better authority in any board. We have voted for many, many years in the general conferences of the Church sustaining this organization, making covenant that we will support these brethren who have been called to preside and direct in the work.
The time for discussion as to the advisability of the establishment of the organization has passed away many years ago. It is one of the organizations of the Church. There is abundant room for it in every settlement where there are children of the Latter-day Saints. As this is the time of the year when the work is particularly taken up I have felt that it would not be inappropriate to call the attention of local presiding authorities to the necessity that exists in the organization for encouragement, and for assistance from these presiding men. I wish to say to those who are engaged in the work that there cannot be anything that is of greater importance, or that can be more honorable in the labors with which men and women have to do, than the planting of a knowledge of the truth in the hearts of the rising generation. The men who have occupied this position during the past three days, testify that they know this work as a whole has been revealed from on High, that Joseph Smith was raised up as an instrument in the hands of our Father to usher in the great dispensation of the fulness of times. I suppose we all believe the solemn testimonies that have been delivered, and if we believe, then we should receive with all our hearts the organizations that have been given of our Father in heaven for the education of the rising generation, that our children after us may be established in the faith of the everlasting Gospel, the Gospel of salvation, the Gospel of power, the Gospel of living faith that has come down from the heavens for the blessing of men. I encourage with all my soul those who are engaged in this good organization to lend their very best efforts to the accomplishment of the work allotted to them, that the truth of God may be planted in the hearts of the children who are in the public schools. Oh how great is the need of that truth, for there is much in the schools of today that is in opposition to the things of God, much that undermines faith in the existence of our Father in heaven. We need to bring to the children in every possible manner those principles that will establish them in the faith, and that will prepare them for the responsibilities of the future.
I gladly join my brethren in testimony concerning the work of God. Testimony has come to me as it has come to my brethren, not by birth, not by information obtained from books alone, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God has made me understand measurably the truth, of the great work He planted when the Father and the Son were revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, when holy angels laid their hands upon his head and bestowed upon him the authority of the Holy Priesthood, the power to minister in the name of the Redeemer. The preaching of that gospel found the hearts of my father and mother, they obeyed it while they were in a far-off distant land years before my birth, the truth then received was powerful enough to bring them to this Zion of our God. It filled their souls with peace, and joy, and contentment, as long as they lived upon the earth. I know now better than I used to know, how anxious that good father and mother were that their sons and daughters should receive the truth and know that the message that found lodgment in their hearts was the power of God unto salvation. When their children were brought to understand the truth, it was through searching for it, when they manifested that they were willing to practice the principles revealed, and keep the commandments of God, they discovered as their parents before them discovered, that our Father in heaven was near at hand, no respecter of persons. He revealed to those children by the power of the Holy Ghost the truth of the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the power of God. Truth has come down from the heavens. It is the decree of our Father in heaven that it shall remain, and be, the marvelous work and wonder as the Father said in the very beginning of this dispensation, through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph. Thank God that knowledge has come into my soul. I hope to keep it, I hope to see it come to the souls of my sons and daughters, and that from generation to generation there shall be found in the midst of Israel the sons and daughters of that good old father and mother who gave up all for the Gospel's sake. God grant it to all fathers and mothers, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
“My Friend Divine.” a soprano solo, was sung by Sister Nellie Druce Pugsley.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
It is quite an experience, my brethren and sisters, to sit here in the stand hour after hour for three days, in more or less fear all the time because of the thought that the time is approaching to be called upon to occupy this very important position as spokesman. It is always a very great relief when the duty has been performed, and one is permitted again to take his seat. Some of the brethren have been extending to members of the First Council what I think I may call mock sympathy, it has been given good- naturedly, the brethren indicating by their words that we had awaiting us the performance of a duty which they had no need to worry about, as their part had been accomplished. While it is a considerable trial and anxiety to undertake to stand before a great congregation of this character, there is nevertheless connected with it a goodly degree of pleasure, also: the pleasure comes from an understanding that the work that is being advocated is the work of tl’.e Lord, and that the testimony that is to be delivered is to be in favor of the cause that our Father is seeking to establish among men. It is the teaching of the Lord, Jesus Christ, that those who hear His words and do them shall be likened unto men who have digged down deep and laid a foundation upon bedrock, with such foundation the winds may blow and the rains descend and beat upon the building, and it will not fall because it is founded in a substantial manner. I hope, my brethren and sisters, that there is a disposition on the part of all the people to receive and put into practice the counsels that have been given by the presiding authorities of the Church in the meetings of this Conference.
During recent months the brethren who have visited the various stakes of Zion have been engaged in looking after auxiliary work in addition to the regular work that demands attention at stake conference, time. For the past two months. the Mutual Improvement Associations and the Religion Class organizations have been featured at stake conferences. I feel impressed this afternoon to say a few words in regard to the latter organization. It seems to be the organization that has the most difficult pathway to travel at the present time. Other church organizations have had a longer existence. They have apparently in many instances found a more complete lodgment in the hearts of the people. It is still said in some localities that the support that should be given to the Religion class organization is not altogether given. I hope this is a mistake. The Religion class organization has a righteous claim upon all Church officers for support, as it has come into the Church by proper appointment. Twenty-four years ago this month a very strong letter was sent out by the First Presidency of the Church to the stake presidents and to the bishops of the various wards, calling- upon them to seek out in the wards brethren and sisters who gave evidence of ability in the teaching of the young, and who had love for the young people, to take up this important labor. They were to be called as upon a mission and instructed to give attention to this new organization. That letter indicated that the Presidency of the Church had a feeling that the very best of material was necessary for the accomplishment of the work they had in mind. The fact that careful selection for the work oft times was not made was in my mind when I quoted the scripture that, “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.” I am convinced, my brethren and sisters that if the counsel imparted by the presidency of the Church twenty-four years ago had been received by local presiding men in the spirit of the communication then sent out, and earnest efforts had been made to find men and women of proper spirit and capacity, and they had been taught the importance and necessity of establishing the work as suggested and recommended by this high authority, there would not; have been as many questionings in the minds of people in relation to this the infant organization in the Church of Christ.
Tn the letter on religion class work, 24 years ago the First Presidency declare that many of the people had, through the toil of making a living, lost sight of the purpose that had brought them to this land, and had given way in many instances to less noble aims; they then say:
“This benumbing influence on our spiritual life is widely felt in our homes, and more particularly affects our children, whose faith in the great latter-day work has not been developed and strengthened by the experience which our elders have had in lands beyond the borders of Zion. Nor does the training which our youth receive in the district schools increase their feelings of devotion to God and love for this cause, for, as is well known, all teachings of a religious character are rigorously excluded from the studies permitted in these institutions.
“To lessen this great evil, and counteract the tendencies that grow out of a Godless education, the Church Schools of the Saints have been established. But while these accomplish great good, the sphere of their usefulness does not cover the entire field. There are many places where the Church Schools cannot, at present, be established; and also many Saints in those places where such schools ex ist, who, for various reasons, cannot send their children thereto. For these causes we have deemed it prudent to suggest to the various local authorities other measures which, while not occupying the place of the Church Schools, will work on the same lines, and aid in the same work in which the Church educational institutions are engaged.
‘We suggest that in every ward where a Church School is not established, that some brother or sister, or brethren or sisters, well adapted to such a responsible position by their intelligence and devotion as well as their love for the young, be called, as on a mission, by the Bishop, after consultation with the president of the stake, to take charge of a school in which the first principles of the Gospel, Church history, and kindred subjects shall be taught.”
I have been pleased and interested just recently in discovering in various periodicals a strong spirit in harmony with these instructions of the Presiding Authorities. Thoughtful men in other religious denominations, have discovered that there is great need for the children of school age to receive a training similar to the instruction provided for the Religion Class organization. In the Literary Digest of June 13, we read the following:
“What looks like the beginning of the end of the Godlessness of the public schools was pointed out recently by the Reverend Doctor Wilbur F. Crafts. Their Godless character is what the Catholics criticize and the parochial schools exist to supply this lack. As superintendent of the International Reform Bureau, Doctor Crafts has been conferring, by correspondence and otherwise, with Catholics, Jews, and Protestants in all parts of the world. Doctor Crafts also forms one of a committee appointed by the educational boards of the great evangelical churches, representing nineteen million members, which has had conferences with committees appointed by the Federal Council of Churches and the Young Men’s Christian Association, and has kept in touch with the National Reform Association, the pioneer of the movement.
“Doctor Crafts recently told a New York Presbyterian preachers’ meeting of a resolution that may have a large place in history. It provided for the appointment in behalf of the Presbyterian church of a committee to cooperate with the committees of other Protestant denominations and with committees which Jews and Catholics will be requested to appoint for the purposes of adopting some plan for religious training in connection with the public schools.
“It is proposed that this shall be done either in the school buildings themselves or in the Neighboring churches, or in both, by which during a part of the school time, or at some other hour, pastors and teachers of the various denominations will teach religion to the children of their own faith as an essential part of their education, In recognition of the fact that thirty minutes of Bible teaching in the Sunday Schools is not sufficient, but . must be supplemented not only in the home and church service, but also in the public schools.”
A similar condition and work of like character has been taken up, I have discovered, in Australia, where the very opportunity that the representatives of various religious denominations here in America are seeking to obtain has in Australia already been granted.
A recent number of The Dominion, a paper published at Wellington, New Zealand, devotes several columns to a report of the proceedings of the Presbyterian General Assembly, most of the time being occupied by a discussion of the question whether the Bible should be read in the public schools. The general sentiment was in favor of the adoption of the “Australian system.” It was explained that:
“The system consists of (a) simple Scriptural lessons read during school hours by the children from a book provided by the Department of Public Instruction exclusively for this purpose. The work of the state school teacher is restricted to seeing that the child understands the lesson as intelligently as any other lesson. The teacher does not give either sectarian or dogmatic teaching.
“(b) The churches have the opportunity afforded them to sending their ministers of religion or other accredited teachers into the schools during school hours to teach the children the faith of their fathers in their respective denominations. In the larger centers, such as cities and towns, ministers of religion, or accredited substitutes, would have an opportunity of instructing their own children. In many cases, and especially in those of smaller churches, mutual arrangements are made between the churches by which the children are grouped together, and, with the consent of the individual parent, attend the class of a minister not of their own church. In the smaller schools in the country districts, these visits are paid less frequently than in towns. The executive of the league includes representatives of the Anglican, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches; also the Salvation Army.”
"In support of the action that this system be adopted in New Zealand, it was stated that its introduction in the schools would settle the controversy concerning denominational schools for Roman Catholics. Under this proposed system, it was said, the Roman Catholic clergy, equally with others, would be permitted to give a certain measure of religious instruction to children of their own faith. It would end once and for all what was a most difficult problem.”
It is my understanding that in our neighbor on the north, the Dominion of Canada, the law provides for the children of various faiths to receive religious instruction from ministers who have been appointed for the purpose by and with the approval of the parents of the children who are to be so taught.
Recently there was received in the Religion Class Board offices in this city a letter from Garry, Indiana, asking that literature in relation to the Religion Class work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might be forwarded to give assistance in the preparation of material for the children of the public schools in that section of the country. I will read a paragraph or two:
“My dear Sirs:
“I presume that you are acquainted with the movement in Garry for the establishment of week-day church' schools by the Protestant denominations, worked out on the basis of cooperation and co-relation with the public school system.
“The various denominations at large are beginning to focus their attention and strength in an effort to standardize the curriculum for the entire denomination. At the outset, we shall be led into federation along several lines, especially the literature from which we will build up our new courses of study to serve as a teacher’s working library, and as a reference- and reading list for the pupils. This new and inevitable type of school will call for a searching evolution of all religious literature. The plan which the librarian and I have in view will show the country a new use and demand for religious educational literature, and the result will certainly have direct bearing upon the publishing interest.
“I am a member of the Board of Sunday Schools of the Methodist Episcopal church, and have been appointed since April, and have been here since June 1. I realize that all kinds of demands and requests are made for the courtesy of your publications. Did I not know that our aim is to use religious literature as never before, but in such a way as the public schools use reference and text books, I would not feel justified as a representative of the Methodist church to ask that you put at our disposal literature which would help me in building up our courses of study, and serve as a standard text and references for reading and consultation.”
We must conclude from this communication that the religion class work of the Latter-day Saints is attracting attention far away from our mountain home.
My brethren and sisters, when we think of nineteen million souls being more or less interested in the need of religious training in the public schools, here in our own land, to say nothing of the same sentiment so strongly working upon the minds of men in other countries, we should discern the wisdom of our leaders as shown in their action of twenty- four years ago.
I simply refer to these matters to bring to the attention of presiding men the fact that the work that was introduced under the inspiration of the Spirit of God by the Presidency of the Church at the time mentioned, begins to work its way in the world. It has taken a long time for some men to make the discovery that there is necessity of training of this character, but the light is beginning to come, and it ought to be an evidence to those who are engaged in religion class work, that it is most important, and those upon whom responsibility rests in seeking the establishment of the work, should go forward with determination, for surely the Lord is in the work. I would like to bring to the attention of this congregation the fact that in this organization we have one of the First Presidency of the Church as general superintendent, President Anthon H. Lund; we have two. of the Council of the Apostles as his assistants, Rudger Clawson and Hyrum M. Smith. President Charles
W. Penrose and more than half of the entire quorum of the apostles are members of the Religion Class Board; there is no better authority in any board. We have voted for many, many years in the general conferences of the Church sustaining this organization, making covenant that we will support these brethren who have been called to preside and direct in the work.
The time for discussion as to the advisability of the establishment of the organization has passed away many years ago. It is one of the organizations of the Church. There is abundant room for it in every settlement where there are children of the Latter-day Saints. As this is the time of the year when the work is particularly taken up I have felt that it would not be inappropriate to call the attention of local presiding authorities to the necessity that exists in the organization for encouragement, and for assistance from these presiding men. I wish to say to those who are engaged in the work that there cannot be anything that is of greater importance, or that can be more honorable in the labors with which men and women have to do, than the planting of a knowledge of the truth in the hearts of the rising generation. The men who have occupied this position during the past three days, testify that they know this work as a whole has been revealed from on High, that Joseph Smith was raised up as an instrument in the hands of our Father to usher in the great dispensation of the fulness of times. I suppose we all believe the solemn testimonies that have been delivered, and if we believe, then we should receive with all our hearts the organizations that have been given of our Father in heaven for the education of the rising generation, that our children after us may be established in the faith of the everlasting Gospel, the Gospel of salvation, the Gospel of power, the Gospel of living faith that has come down from the heavens for the blessing of men. I encourage with all my soul those who are engaged in this good organization to lend their very best efforts to the accomplishment of the work allotted to them, that the truth of God may be planted in the hearts of the children who are in the public schools. Oh how great is the need of that truth, for there is much in the schools of today that is in opposition to the things of God, much that undermines faith in the existence of our Father in heaven. We need to bring to the children in every possible manner those principles that will establish them in the faith, and that will prepare them for the responsibilities of the future.
I gladly join my brethren in testimony concerning the work of God. Testimony has come to me as it has come to my brethren, not by birth, not by information obtained from books alone, but by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God has made me understand measurably the truth, of the great work He planted when the Father and the Son were revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith, when holy angels laid their hands upon his head and bestowed upon him the authority of the Holy Priesthood, the power to minister in the name of the Redeemer. The preaching of that gospel found the hearts of my father and mother, they obeyed it while they were in a far-off distant land years before my birth, the truth then received was powerful enough to bring them to this Zion of our God. It filled their souls with peace, and joy, and contentment, as long as they lived upon the earth. I know now better than I used to know, how anxious that good father and mother were that their sons and daughters should receive the truth and know that the message that found lodgment in their hearts was the power of God unto salvation. When their children were brought to understand the truth, it was through searching for it, when they manifested that they were willing to practice the principles revealed, and keep the commandments of God, they discovered as their parents before them discovered, that our Father in heaven was near at hand, no respecter of persons. He revealed to those children by the power of the Holy Ghost the truth of the religion of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the power of God. Truth has come down from the heavens. It is the decree of our Father in heaven that it shall remain, and be, the marvelous work and wonder as the Father said in the very beginning of this dispensation, through the mouth of the Prophet Joseph. Thank God that knowledge has come into my soul. I hope to keep it, I hope to see it come to the souls of my sons and daughters, and that from generation to generation there shall be found in the midst of Israel the sons and daughters of that good old father and mother who gave up all for the Gospel's sake. God grant it to all fathers and mothers, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
“My Friend Divine.” a soprano solo, was sung by Sister Nellie Druce Pugsley.
ELDER CHARLES H. HART.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
During the early part of the excellent reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, he failed in some particular to stand to the covenants of the fathers, and he was prevailed against by the Assyrians, under King Shalmaneser. Later, this great young ruler realized his mistake, and as the Assyrians came against him again, under their then king, Sennecherib, Hezekiah sent word to them :
“I have offended; return to me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.”
The king was not only willing to arbitrate, but he was willing that his enemy should be the arbiter. Then, when he had placed himself right, hi became the recipient of divine aid against the enemy by the angel of the Lord, as recounted by the poet Byron.
The principle of arbitration is a plant of very slow growth; like the century plant, its period of flowering are far between. The historian Xenophon tells us that Cyrus was willing to arbitrate interstate questions. and submitted to an Indian king one such question with Assyria. Thucydides the Creek, declares that “it is wicked to proceed against him as a wrong doer who is ready to refer the question to an arbitrator.” That declaration, I might say inspired declaration, (for it was certainly a very great principle advanced in those early centuries B. C.), has been often quoted with approval, and yet it bears fruit slowly. Hugo Grotius-, the great writer on international law in the fore part of the seventeenth century, declares in favor of that great doctrine, and states that it should be especially observed by Christians and by Christian nations. Grotius may fairly be called the father of international law. As an evidence of appreciation of him, our government instructed its representative to place upon his grave a silver wreath, properly inscribed. This was done July 4, 1899. and appropriate words of appreciation were uttered by an eloquent representative of the government of the United States.
Greece, in her early history, had her amphictyonic council, seeking to mitigate the horrors of war, and by agreement to curtail them; and the representatives of the twelve tribes of Hellas comprising that subcouncil, were under oath to observe those rules. King Henry the IV of France made some effort at interstate arbitration. William Penn declared in favor of it, and our own government has successfully practiced it. The United States and Great Britain successfully arbitrated some of the serious questions growing out of the Civil War: and we brave what is called the Treaty of Washington, and the Award of Geneva, in 1871. In 1890 the government of the United States declared in favor of International arbitration; and Great Britain some three years afterward passed a resolution in approval of the doctrine advanced by the government of the United States upon this principle.
Some are inclined to make light of the great work of the Hague Peace Conference, called by the Czar of Russia. It came from a source then not expected, but he set forth clearly the reason and the necessity for such a call, and the opening there was very propitious. The Minister of State of the Netherlands called attention to some of their allegorical paintings in the building in which they met, particularly one, the figure of peace entering the room to close the door of the temple of Janus, and he trusted that this picture would be typical of the work of the convention. Although all the nations seemed to realize the terrible burden they were placing upon their people in the ever increasing military and naval armaments, and the ever increasing war budgets, yet they were unable to come to any agreement with reference to limitation of armaments, or a curtailment of their war budgets; but they did a splendid thing in establishing a permanent court of arbitration—not enforced arbitration, but a tribunal to which the nations might voluntarily go with confidence. All the signatory nations— and they were all who had representatives at the Czar’s court at the time this rescript was sent forth, all joined in establishing this court, and each was privileged to appoint in equal numbers, members of that court to serve for a definite period, and to appoint their successors. When the misunderstandings occurred between Great Britain and France and some other nations with Venezuela they did not think it was beneath their dignity nor that their honor would be in any wise affected by submitting to arbitration their differences with little Venezuela; and we had the beautiful spectacle of twelve of the great nations interested in that arbitration, selecting from the Hague court representatives of Austria and of Russia to form the tribunal which passed upon that case, which they did with a good deal of satisfaction.
Great military men have spoken strenuously against the horrors of war. Napoleon said it was the “business of barbarism,” and Napoleon should know, for he had led into Russia six hundred thousand men and brought only twenty thousand of them back. It is estimated that in the Napoleonic wars four million men lost their lives. Wellington said, “Take my word for it, if you had ever seen but one day of war, you would pray Almighty God that you might never see such a thing again.” Germany has a maxim that “a great war leaves a country with three armies—an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves.” In 1865, General Sherman said in reference to war:
“I confess without shame that I am sick and tired of war. Its glory is all moonshine. Even success, the most brilliant, is over dead and mangled bodies, the anguish and lamentations of distant families, appealing to me for missing sons, husbands and fathers. It is only those who have never heard a shot, nor the shrieks and groans of wounded friend or foe who cry aloud for more blood, more vengeance, more desolation.”
The best authorities on war seemed to think, until a few months ago, that we had reached a time when the great nations of the world would be in war no more. Doctor David Starr Jordan, a real authority on questions of peace and war, wrote in 1912, in his instructive work entitled. “War and Waste,” under a chapter headed, “The Great War of Europe
“What shall we say of the great war of Europe, ever threatening, ever impending and which never comes. We shall say that it will never come. Humanly speaking, it is impossible, not in the physical sense, of course, for with weak, restless and Godless men nothing evil is impossible, It may be, of course, that some half-crazed Arch-Duke or some harassed minister of state shall half knowing, give the signal for Europe’s conflagration. * * * The tinder is well dried and laid in such a way as to make the worst of this common catastrophe. All Europe cherishes is ready for the burning.”
After quoting statistics to show a European war, with Italy and Romania included, would cost about $50,000,000.00 per day, Dr. Jordan adds:
“The bankers will not find the money for such a fight, the industries of Europe will not and statesmen cannot. No matter whatever the bluster or apparent provocation it comes to the same thing at the end. There will be no general war until the masters direct the fighters to fight. The masters have much to gain, but vastly more to lose and their signal will not be given.”
But Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Lord, said that war would be poured out upon all nations, and that Great Britain should call upon other nations—and she is doing it now, calling, perchance upon even little Portugal.. In this instance the wisdom of men is placed in juxtaposition with the foresight of the Prophet. I think, with Brother Roberts, that while upon the surface it appears to be a discouraging circumstance that the great nations of Europe are now engaged in such a deadly conflict, that it is but the fore-runner of a better peace, that it is but the dark hour before the dawn.
In reading an article, by a woman, in the present number of the Century, I thought that the giving of suffrage to the women would help also in this question of securing arbitration, peaceful arbitration to take the place of the arbitrament of arms^ She points out that women know the history and the value of human flesh, that no woman would think lightly of the taking of human life. She writes:
“In viewing a battlefield a woman will say: ‘So many mother’s sons; so many young bodies brought into the world to lie there; so many months of weariness and pain while bones and muscles were shaped within; so many hours of anguish and struggle that birth might be; so many baby mouths drawing life at women’s breasts. All this that man might lie with glazed eye-balls and swollen faces and fixed, blue, unclosed mouths and great limbs tossed. This that an acre of ground might be manured with human flesh, that next year’s grass, or poppies, or karoo bushes may spring up greener and redder where they have lain, or that the sand of the plains may have a glint of white bones;’ and we cry: without an inexorable cause this must not be. No woman who is a woman says of a human being, ‘It is nothing.’ * * * She knows the history of human flesh. She knows its cost. * * * The thought would never come to that woman, ‘cast in men’s bodies. Settle the thing so.’ ”
That was a very strong document addressed by the suffragists in protest against this war, respecting mothers of those who will lose their sons in the deadly conflict.
The press dispatches gave us recently an account of a French mother who lost four sons in the present war but expressed regret that she had not other sons to lose in the same cause. I think there is another side to that picture. I think that Elizabeth Barrett Browning in that beautiful poem entitled “Mother and Poet,” gives us a glimpse of the other side, a glimpse of the struggle between the motherlove and the love for country. Her lines are suggested by the Italian warfare after news from Gaeta in 1861, and in part are as follows:
Dead! one of them shot by the sea in the east,
And one of them shot in the west by the sea.
Dead! both my boys! When you sit at the feast
And are wanting a great song for Italy free,
Let none look at me!
Yet I was a poetess only last year,
And good at my art, for a woman, men said.
But this woman, this, who is agonized here,
The east sea and west sea rhyme on in her head
Forever instead.
What art can a woman be good at? Oh vain!
What art is she good at, but hurting her breast
With the milk-teeth of babes, and a smile at the pain?
Ah, boys, how you hurt! you were strong as you pressed,
And I proud, by that test.
What art’s for a woman? To hold on her knees
Both darlings! to feel all their arms round her throat
Cling, strangle a little! To sew by degrees,
And 'broider the long clothes and neat little coat!
To dream and to dote.
To teach them * * * It strings there. I made them indeed
Speak plain the word “country.” I taught them, no doubt,
That a country’s a thing men should die for at need.
I prated of liberty, rights, and about
The tyrant turned out.
And when their eyes flashed * * * "O my beautiful eyes!”
I exulted! nay, let them go forth at the wheels
Of the guns, and denied not. But then the surprise,
When one sits quite alone! Then one weeps, then one kneels!
—God! how the house feels.
Then follow verses descriptive of letters received from her soldier sons, and the manner of receiving news of the death of first one and then the other of her boys. As the crowd cheered in the streets of Turin she fell at their feet. Substitute the name of one or the other of the nations now contending, and we can imagine to some extent the feelings of some of the mothers, numbered now by the million, whose sons have either been recently slain or wounded or are now on the firing line. The poet continues:
O Christ of the seven wounds, who look’dst through the dark
To the face of Thy mother! consider, I pray,
How we common mothers stand desolate, mark,
Whose sons, not being Christs, die with eyes turned away.
And no last word to say!
Both boys dead! but that’s out of nature. We all
Have been patriots, yet each house must always keep one.
’Twere imbecile, hewing out roads to a wall.
And, when Italy’s made, for what end is it done
If we have not a son?
Ah, ah, ah! when Gaeta’s taken, what then?
When the fair wicked queen sits no more at her sport
Of the fire-balls of death crashing souls out of men?
When your guns of Cavalli with final retort
Have cut the game short,--
When Venice and Rome keep their new jubilee,
When your flag takes all heaven for its white, green, and red,
When you have your country from mountain to sea,
When King Victor has Italy’s crown on his head,
(And I have my dead),
What then? Do not mock me. Ah, ring your bells low,
And burn your lights faintly. My country is there,
Above the star pricked by the last peak of snow:
My Italy’s there—with my brave civic pair,
To disfranchise despair.
Forgive me. Some women bear children in strength,
And bite back the cry of their pain in self-scorn.
But the birth-pangs of nations will wring us at length
Into wail such as this!—and we sit on forlorn
When the man-child is born.
Dead!—one of them shot by the sea in the west!
And one of them shot in the east by the sea!
Both! both my boys!—if in keeping the feast
You want a great song for your Italy free,
Let none look at me!
We had an able talk from Doctor Talmage at the Sunday School meeting on the “foundations of peace.” So we might consider the “foundations of war.” Militarism is one of the corner stones in the 'foundations of war. Israel Zangwill gives us these strong lines:
“To safeguard peace, we must prepare for war.
I know that maxim—it was forged in hell.”
Of course there must be an adequate police force for each nation, but it is inexcusable to let the debt for armaments and standing armies run into what has been called the “endless procession of ciphers.” or for a nation to enter upon the “procession toward the abyss.” It is folly to have a peace that is a “peace of force” which may be transmuted at any time into a peace of bankruptcy of exhaustion. But a peace resting upon that foundation which has been explained by the brethren during this conference will be what has been called “the old peace with velvet-sandalled feetand may that time come, the time foreseen by Isaiah and by Micah when the swords should be beaten into plow-shares and the spears into pruning hooks. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(Of the First Council of Seventy.)
During the early part of the excellent reign of Hezekiah, king of Judah, he failed in some particular to stand to the covenants of the fathers, and he was prevailed against by the Assyrians, under King Shalmaneser. Later, this great young ruler realized his mistake, and as the Assyrians came against him again, under their then king, Sennecherib, Hezekiah sent word to them :
“I have offended; return to me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.”
The king was not only willing to arbitrate, but he was willing that his enemy should be the arbiter. Then, when he had placed himself right, hi became the recipient of divine aid against the enemy by the angel of the Lord, as recounted by the poet Byron.
The principle of arbitration is a plant of very slow growth; like the century plant, its period of flowering are far between. The historian Xenophon tells us that Cyrus was willing to arbitrate interstate questions. and submitted to an Indian king one such question with Assyria. Thucydides the Creek, declares that “it is wicked to proceed against him as a wrong doer who is ready to refer the question to an arbitrator.” That declaration, I might say inspired declaration, (for it was certainly a very great principle advanced in those early centuries B. C.), has been often quoted with approval, and yet it bears fruit slowly. Hugo Grotius-, the great writer on international law in the fore part of the seventeenth century, declares in favor of that great doctrine, and states that it should be especially observed by Christians and by Christian nations. Grotius may fairly be called the father of international law. As an evidence of appreciation of him, our government instructed its representative to place upon his grave a silver wreath, properly inscribed. This was done July 4, 1899. and appropriate words of appreciation were uttered by an eloquent representative of the government of the United States.
Greece, in her early history, had her amphictyonic council, seeking to mitigate the horrors of war, and by agreement to curtail them; and the representatives of the twelve tribes of Hellas comprising that subcouncil, were under oath to observe those rules. King Henry the IV of France made some effort at interstate arbitration. William Penn declared in favor of it, and our own government has successfully practiced it. The United States and Great Britain successfully arbitrated some of the serious questions growing out of the Civil War: and we brave what is called the Treaty of Washington, and the Award of Geneva, in 1871. In 1890 the government of the United States declared in favor of International arbitration; and Great Britain some three years afterward passed a resolution in approval of the doctrine advanced by the government of the United States upon this principle.
Some are inclined to make light of the great work of the Hague Peace Conference, called by the Czar of Russia. It came from a source then not expected, but he set forth clearly the reason and the necessity for such a call, and the opening there was very propitious. The Minister of State of the Netherlands called attention to some of their allegorical paintings in the building in which they met, particularly one, the figure of peace entering the room to close the door of the temple of Janus, and he trusted that this picture would be typical of the work of the convention. Although all the nations seemed to realize the terrible burden they were placing upon their people in the ever increasing military and naval armaments, and the ever increasing war budgets, yet they were unable to come to any agreement with reference to limitation of armaments, or a curtailment of their war budgets; but they did a splendid thing in establishing a permanent court of arbitration—not enforced arbitration, but a tribunal to which the nations might voluntarily go with confidence. All the signatory nations— and they were all who had representatives at the Czar’s court at the time this rescript was sent forth, all joined in establishing this court, and each was privileged to appoint in equal numbers, members of that court to serve for a definite period, and to appoint their successors. When the misunderstandings occurred between Great Britain and France and some other nations with Venezuela they did not think it was beneath their dignity nor that their honor would be in any wise affected by submitting to arbitration their differences with little Venezuela; and we had the beautiful spectacle of twelve of the great nations interested in that arbitration, selecting from the Hague court representatives of Austria and of Russia to form the tribunal which passed upon that case, which they did with a good deal of satisfaction.
Great military men have spoken strenuously against the horrors of war. Napoleon said it was the “business of barbarism,” and Napoleon should know, for he had led into Russia six hundred thousand men and brought only twenty thousand of them back. It is estimated that in the Napoleonic wars four million men lost their lives. Wellington said, “Take my word for it, if you had ever seen but one day of war, you would pray Almighty God that you might never see such a thing again.” Germany has a maxim that “a great war leaves a country with three armies—an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves.” In 1865, General Sherman said in reference to war:
“I confess without shame that I am sick and tired of war. Its glory is all moonshine. Even success, the most brilliant, is over dead and mangled bodies, the anguish and lamentations of distant families, appealing to me for missing sons, husbands and fathers. It is only those who have never heard a shot, nor the shrieks and groans of wounded friend or foe who cry aloud for more blood, more vengeance, more desolation.”
The best authorities on war seemed to think, until a few months ago, that we had reached a time when the great nations of the world would be in war no more. Doctor David Starr Jordan, a real authority on questions of peace and war, wrote in 1912, in his instructive work entitled. “War and Waste,” under a chapter headed, “The Great War of Europe
“What shall we say of the great war of Europe, ever threatening, ever impending and which never comes. We shall say that it will never come. Humanly speaking, it is impossible, not in the physical sense, of course, for with weak, restless and Godless men nothing evil is impossible, It may be, of course, that some half-crazed Arch-Duke or some harassed minister of state shall half knowing, give the signal for Europe’s conflagration. * * * The tinder is well dried and laid in such a way as to make the worst of this common catastrophe. All Europe cherishes is ready for the burning.”
After quoting statistics to show a European war, with Italy and Romania included, would cost about $50,000,000.00 per day, Dr. Jordan adds:
“The bankers will not find the money for such a fight, the industries of Europe will not and statesmen cannot. No matter whatever the bluster or apparent provocation it comes to the same thing at the end. There will be no general war until the masters direct the fighters to fight. The masters have much to gain, but vastly more to lose and their signal will not be given.”
But Joseph Smith, the Prophet of the Lord, said that war would be poured out upon all nations, and that Great Britain should call upon other nations—and she is doing it now, calling, perchance upon even little Portugal.. In this instance the wisdom of men is placed in juxtaposition with the foresight of the Prophet. I think, with Brother Roberts, that while upon the surface it appears to be a discouraging circumstance that the great nations of Europe are now engaged in such a deadly conflict, that it is but the fore-runner of a better peace, that it is but the dark hour before the dawn.
In reading an article, by a woman, in the present number of the Century, I thought that the giving of suffrage to the women would help also in this question of securing arbitration, peaceful arbitration to take the place of the arbitrament of arms^ She points out that women know the history and the value of human flesh, that no woman would think lightly of the taking of human life. She writes:
“In viewing a battlefield a woman will say: ‘So many mother’s sons; so many young bodies brought into the world to lie there; so many months of weariness and pain while bones and muscles were shaped within; so many hours of anguish and struggle that birth might be; so many baby mouths drawing life at women’s breasts. All this that man might lie with glazed eye-balls and swollen faces and fixed, blue, unclosed mouths and great limbs tossed. This that an acre of ground might be manured with human flesh, that next year’s grass, or poppies, or karoo bushes may spring up greener and redder where they have lain, or that the sand of the plains may have a glint of white bones;’ and we cry: without an inexorable cause this must not be. No woman who is a woman says of a human being, ‘It is nothing.’ * * * She knows the history of human flesh. She knows its cost. * * * The thought would never come to that woman, ‘cast in men’s bodies. Settle the thing so.’ ”
That was a very strong document addressed by the suffragists in protest against this war, respecting mothers of those who will lose their sons in the deadly conflict.
The press dispatches gave us recently an account of a French mother who lost four sons in the present war but expressed regret that she had not other sons to lose in the same cause. I think there is another side to that picture. I think that Elizabeth Barrett Browning in that beautiful poem entitled “Mother and Poet,” gives us a glimpse of the other side, a glimpse of the struggle between the motherlove and the love for country. Her lines are suggested by the Italian warfare after news from Gaeta in 1861, and in part are as follows:
Dead! one of them shot by the sea in the east,
And one of them shot in the west by the sea.
Dead! both my boys! When you sit at the feast
And are wanting a great song for Italy free,
Let none look at me!
Yet I was a poetess only last year,
And good at my art, for a woman, men said.
But this woman, this, who is agonized here,
The east sea and west sea rhyme on in her head
Forever instead.
What art can a woman be good at? Oh vain!
What art is she good at, but hurting her breast
With the milk-teeth of babes, and a smile at the pain?
Ah, boys, how you hurt! you were strong as you pressed,
And I proud, by that test.
What art’s for a woman? To hold on her knees
Both darlings! to feel all their arms round her throat
Cling, strangle a little! To sew by degrees,
And 'broider the long clothes and neat little coat!
To dream and to dote.
To teach them * * * It strings there. I made them indeed
Speak plain the word “country.” I taught them, no doubt,
That a country’s a thing men should die for at need.
I prated of liberty, rights, and about
The tyrant turned out.
And when their eyes flashed * * * "O my beautiful eyes!”
I exulted! nay, let them go forth at the wheels
Of the guns, and denied not. But then the surprise,
When one sits quite alone! Then one weeps, then one kneels!
—God! how the house feels.
Then follow verses descriptive of letters received from her soldier sons, and the manner of receiving news of the death of first one and then the other of her boys. As the crowd cheered in the streets of Turin she fell at their feet. Substitute the name of one or the other of the nations now contending, and we can imagine to some extent the feelings of some of the mothers, numbered now by the million, whose sons have either been recently slain or wounded or are now on the firing line. The poet continues:
O Christ of the seven wounds, who look’dst through the dark
To the face of Thy mother! consider, I pray,
How we common mothers stand desolate, mark,
Whose sons, not being Christs, die with eyes turned away.
And no last word to say!
Both boys dead! but that’s out of nature. We all
Have been patriots, yet each house must always keep one.
’Twere imbecile, hewing out roads to a wall.
And, when Italy’s made, for what end is it done
If we have not a son?
Ah, ah, ah! when Gaeta’s taken, what then?
When the fair wicked queen sits no more at her sport
Of the fire-balls of death crashing souls out of men?
When your guns of Cavalli with final retort
Have cut the game short,--
When Venice and Rome keep their new jubilee,
When your flag takes all heaven for its white, green, and red,
When you have your country from mountain to sea,
When King Victor has Italy’s crown on his head,
(And I have my dead),
What then? Do not mock me. Ah, ring your bells low,
And burn your lights faintly. My country is there,
Above the star pricked by the last peak of snow:
My Italy’s there—with my brave civic pair,
To disfranchise despair.
Forgive me. Some women bear children in strength,
And bite back the cry of their pain in self-scorn.
But the birth-pangs of nations will wring us at length
Into wail such as this!—and we sit on forlorn
When the man-child is born.
Dead!—one of them shot by the sea in the west!
And one of them shot in the east by the sea!
Both! both my boys!—if in keeping the feast
You want a great song for your Italy free,
Let none look at me!
We had an able talk from Doctor Talmage at the Sunday School meeting on the “foundations of peace.” So we might consider the “foundations of war.” Militarism is one of the corner stones in the 'foundations of war. Israel Zangwill gives us these strong lines:
“To safeguard peace, we must prepare for war.
I know that maxim—it was forged in hell.”
Of course there must be an adequate police force for each nation, but it is inexcusable to let the debt for armaments and standing armies run into what has been called the “endless procession of ciphers.” or for a nation to enter upon the “procession toward the abyss.” It is folly to have a peace that is a “peace of force” which may be transmuted at any time into a peace of bankruptcy of exhaustion. But a peace resting upon that foundation which has been explained by the brethren during this conference will be what has been called “the old peace with velvet-sandalled feetand may that time come, the time foreseen by Isaiah and by Micah when the swords should be beaten into plow-shares and the spears into pruning hooks. I pray in the name of Jesus. 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. II. Roberts, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and August William 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, as Secretary and Treasurer of 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; Clarissa S. Williams, First Counselor; Julina L. Smith, Second Counselor; Amy Brown Lyman, Secretary; Susa Young Gates, Corresponding Secretary; Emma Empey, Treasurer; Lizzie Thomas Edward, musical director; Edna H. Coray, Organist. Members of the Board: Sarah Jenne Cannon, Romania B. Penrose, Emily S. Richards, Julia P. M. Farnsworth, Phebe Y. Beatie, Ida S. Dusenberry, Carrie S. Thomas, Alice M. Horne, Priscilla P. Jennings, Elizabeth S. Wilcox, Rebecca N. Nibley, Elizabeth C. McCune, Edna May Davis, Sarah M. McLelland, Elizabeth C. Crismon, Jeanette A. Hyde and Sarah Eddington.
General Board of Deseret Sunday School Union: Joseph F. Smith, Superintendent; David O. McKay, First Assistant Superintendent; Stephen L. Richards, Second Assistant Superintendent; George D. Pyper, Secretary; John F. Bennett, Treasurer. Members of the Board: Joseph F. Smith, David O. McKay, Stephen L. 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, James E. Talmage, George M. Cannon, Horace FI. Cummings, Josiah Burrows, William A. Morton, Horace S. Ensign, Henry Rolapp, Harold G. Reynolds, Charles B. Felt, George H. Wallace, Howard R. Driggs, Sylvester D. Bradford, Nathan T. Porter, Milton Bennion, Charles W. Penrose, Edwin G. Woolley, Jr., Hyrum G. Smith. Charles FI. Hart, Joseph Ballantyne, J. Leo Fairbanks, J. W. Walker, E. G. Gowans, and E. Conway Ashton. General Board Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association: Joseph F. Smith, Superintendent; Heber J. Grant, Assistant Superintendent; Brigham H. Roberts, Assistant Superintendent; Moroni Snow, Secretary.
Members of General Board: 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. Benjamin 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, Nicholas G. Morgan. Claude Richards, John F. Bowman, Levi Edgar Young, Roscoe W. Eardly, Richard W. Young, Preston D. Richards.
General Board Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association: Martha Horne Tingey, President; Ruth May Fox, First Counselor; Mae Taylor Nystrom Second Counselor ; Clarissa A. Beesley, Secretary; Joan M. Campbell, Recording Secretary; Alice K. Smith, Treasurer; Margaret Summerhays and Mabel Cooper, Music directors. 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. Sarah E. Richards, Lucy Mack Smith and Charlotte Stewart.
Members of the General Board of Primary Association: Louie B. Felt, President; May Anderson, First Counselor; Clara W. Beebe, Second Counselor; Frances K. Thomassen, 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 C. Eastmond, Edna Harker Thomas, Alice L. Howarth, Emma P. Romney, Zina Y. Card, Laura L. Foster, Edith E. Hunter, Erma Bitner Evans, Eleanor R. Jeremy, Mary Young, Ella S. Capener, Annie S. Milne, Vilate S. Chambers, Georgina F. Richards, Beatrice Can- non, Adelaide U. E. Hardy, Matilda W. Cahoon, Helen Davis, Florence Summerhays, Marion Belnapp Kerr.
General Board of Religion Classes: Anthon H. Lund, Superintendent; Rudger Clawson, First Assistant, Superintendent; Hyrum M. Smith, Second Assistant Supt.; 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. Can- non, 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, Willard Young and James E. Talmage.
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. II. Roberts, Joseph F. Smith, Jr., and August William 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, as Secretary and Treasurer of 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; Clarissa S. Williams, First Counselor; Julina L. Smith, Second Counselor; Amy Brown Lyman, Secretary; Susa Young Gates, Corresponding Secretary; Emma Empey, Treasurer; Lizzie Thomas Edward, musical director; Edna H. Coray, Organist. Members of the Board: Sarah Jenne Cannon, Romania B. Penrose, Emily S. Richards, Julia P. M. Farnsworth, Phebe Y. Beatie, Ida S. Dusenberry, Carrie S. Thomas, Alice M. Horne, Priscilla P. Jennings, Elizabeth S. Wilcox, Rebecca N. Nibley, Elizabeth C. McCune, Edna May Davis, Sarah M. McLelland, Elizabeth C. Crismon, Jeanette A. Hyde and Sarah Eddington.
General Board of Deseret Sunday School Union: Joseph F. Smith, Superintendent; David O. McKay, First Assistant Superintendent; Stephen L. Richards, Second Assistant Superintendent; George D. Pyper, Secretary; John F. Bennett, Treasurer. Members of the Board: Joseph F. Smith, David O. McKay, Stephen L. 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, James E. Talmage, George M. Cannon, Horace FI. Cummings, Josiah Burrows, William A. Morton, Horace S. Ensign, Henry Rolapp, Harold G. Reynolds, Charles B. Felt, George H. Wallace, Howard R. Driggs, Sylvester D. Bradford, Nathan T. Porter, Milton Bennion, Charles W. Penrose, Edwin G. Woolley, Jr., Hyrum G. Smith. Charles FI. Hart, Joseph Ballantyne, J. Leo Fairbanks, J. W. Walker, E. G. Gowans, and E. Conway Ashton. General Board Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association: Joseph F. Smith, Superintendent; Heber J. Grant, Assistant Superintendent; Brigham H. Roberts, Assistant Superintendent; Moroni Snow, Secretary.
Members of General Board: 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. Benjamin 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, Nicholas G. Morgan. Claude Richards, John F. Bowman, Levi Edgar Young, Roscoe W. Eardly, Richard W. Young, Preston D. Richards.
General Board Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association: Martha Horne Tingey, President; Ruth May Fox, First Counselor; Mae Taylor Nystrom Second Counselor ; Clarissa A. Beesley, Secretary; Joan M. Campbell, Recording Secretary; Alice K. Smith, Treasurer; Margaret Summerhays and Mabel Cooper, Music directors. 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. Sarah E. Richards, Lucy Mack Smith and Charlotte Stewart.
Members of the General Board of Primary Association: Louie B. Felt, President; May Anderson, First Counselor; Clara W. Beebe, Second Counselor; Frances K. Thomassen, 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 C. Eastmond, Edna Harker Thomas, Alice L. Howarth, Emma P. Romney, Zina Y. Card, Laura L. Foster, Edith E. Hunter, Erma Bitner Evans, Eleanor R. Jeremy, Mary Young, Ella S. Capener, Annie S. Milne, Vilate S. Chambers, Georgina F. Richards, Beatrice Can- non, Adelaide U. E. Hardy, Matilda W. Cahoon, Helen Davis, Florence Summerhays, Marion Belnapp Kerr.
General Board of Religion Classes: Anthon H. Lund, Superintendent; Rudger Clawson, First Assistant, Superintendent; Hyrum M. Smith, Second Assistant Supt.; 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. Can- non, 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, Willard Young and James E. Talmage.
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 ADDRESS.
Conquer sin in self, and assist others in war against evil—Truth and Justice the foundation of Peace—Blessings of Peace invoked upon the Saints—Sisters admonished to be exemplary in dress, etc.
I feel very grateful for the excellent peace and spirit which has pervaded all our meetings. It is true, we are all engaged in a warfare, and all of us should be valiant warriors in the cause in which we are engaged. Our first enemy we will find within ourselves. It is a good thing to overcome that enemy first, and bring ourselves into subjection to the will of the Father, and into strict obedience to the principles of life and salvation which He has given to the world for the salvation of men. When we shall have conquered ourselves, it will be well for us to wage our war without, against false teachings, false doctrines, false customs, habits and ways, against error, unbelief, the follies of the world that are so prevalent, and against infidelity, and false science under the name of science, and every other thing that strikes at the foundations of the principles set forth in the doctrine of Christ for the redemption of men and the salvation of their souls.
We should war against covetousness, against pride, vanity, haughtiness of spirit, against self-sufficiency, and imagined or supposed al- mighty power that some people think they possess. God is the greatest man of war of all, and His Son is next unto Him, and their warfare is for the salvation of the souls of men. It would not be necessary for them to use violence or force, nor to permit their children to use violence nor force in order to conquer if they would but humble themselves, and obey the truth. For, after all, nothing will conquer nothing will win but the truth; and so far as the wars that are going on in the world are concerned, we not only want to see peace established among the children of men, but also justice, but above all things, truth. that justice, peace and righteous- ness may be built upon this foundation and not depend upon the covetousness, pride, vanity, evil desire, and lust for power in men.
That is what we want; and I pray that the spirit of truth may be poured out upon all men, as well as the spirit of peace. In fact, we will never have peace until we have truth. We will never be able to establish peace on earth and good will until we have drunk at the fountains of righteousness and eternal truth, as God has revealed it to man. This is my testimony to you, and I desire to emphasize these simple thoughts, and say to all my brethren and sisters: Let us conquer ourselves, and then go to and conquer all the evil that we see around us, as far as we possibly can. And we will do it without using violence; we will do it without interfering with the agency of men or of women. We will do it by persuasion, by longsuffering, by patience, and by forgiveness and love unfeigned, by which we will win the hearts, the affections and the souls of the children of men to the truth, as God has revealed it to us. We will never have peace, nor justice, nor truth, until we look to the only true fountain for it, and receive from the fountain-head.
God bless you, my brethren and sisters; I thank you for your attendance, for it has been a strength to us, and it has given us consolation and comfort to see you here and to know that you are here because you love the truth, just as we love it; and many of you love it even more than some of us know how to love it. For I know of people in the world who are true Latter-day Saints from the very core; they do not have many things to contend against in themselves, cither. It is easy for them to be Latter-day Saints, and truly the children of God, because they love the truth and they live pure lives, many of them. I am satisfied of it. Many there be, however, who have a good deal to fight against within them- selves, and some of us are not any better than we ought to be. Such will doubtless gain a great reward if they conquer.
Now, in conclusion, let us go home, those of us who are relieved to go home, carrying with us the spirit o| the Gospel, rejoicing that we have the liberty that we enjoy, the liberty to worship God ac- cording to the dictates of our own conscience, and according to the promptings of the testimony and of the Spirit of God within us; and let us abide in the truth. My blessing I give to you. May peace dwell in your hearts. May it abide and abound in your homes. May you be blessed in your outgoings and incomings, when you lie down and rise up, in your basket and in your store, in your business and in all your lawful and worthy transactions of life, and in your ministrations for the salvation of mankind; the Lord bless you in it.
One word more. I wish to say to my sisters, and especially to those who are called to be teachers among their sex: Please set the example before your sisters that God would have them follow. When we teach people to observe the laws of God and to honor the gifts that are bestowed upon them in the covenants of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we don’t want you teachers to go out and set an example before your sisters that will destroy their faith in our teachings. I hope you will take that to heart, for it has a meaning to it. I am talking to the teachers among the sisters. We hear it reported, from time to time, that some of the teachers that are sent out among our sisters not only do not set the example that they ought to set, but they set the example that they should not set for our sisters, they teach them by example to break the word of wisdom, rather than to keep it. They teach them to mutilate their garments, rather than to keep them holy and undefiled, by setting the example before them, and we can tell you the names if you want to know. I am not scolding; I don’t want it to be under- stood that I am finding fault, I am only telling a solemn truth, and I am sorry that I have it to say, but I want it to be distinctly understood. We see some of our good sisters coming here to the Temple occasionally decorated in the latest at most ridiculous fashions that ever disgraced the human form divine. They do not seem to realize that they are coming to the house of God, and we have to forbid them entrance, or find fault with them, and they go away grieved and say some- 1 times, ‘We don’t want to go there any more.” Why? Because they come unprepared, like the man who was found at the feast without the wedding garment, who also had to be turned out (Matt. 22:1-14). We have to turn them out occasionally, because they will not hearken to the counsel that has been given to them. May the Lord have mercy upon us, and bless and help us to do our duty in all things, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The congregation sang, “The Doxology.”
Benediction was pronounced by Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith.
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 Tracy Y. Cannon.
The stenographic reports of the discourses were taken by Elders Franklin W. Otterstrom, and Frederick Barker, Gladys Barker, and Clarence Cramer.
Duncan M. McAllister,
Clerk of Conference.
CLOSING ADDRESS.
Conquer sin in self, and assist others in war against evil—Truth and Justice the foundation of Peace—Blessings of Peace invoked upon the Saints—Sisters admonished to be exemplary in dress, etc.
I feel very grateful for the excellent peace and spirit which has pervaded all our meetings. It is true, we are all engaged in a warfare, and all of us should be valiant warriors in the cause in which we are engaged. Our first enemy we will find within ourselves. It is a good thing to overcome that enemy first, and bring ourselves into subjection to the will of the Father, and into strict obedience to the principles of life and salvation which He has given to the world for the salvation of men. When we shall have conquered ourselves, it will be well for us to wage our war without, against false teachings, false doctrines, false customs, habits and ways, against error, unbelief, the follies of the world that are so prevalent, and against infidelity, and false science under the name of science, and every other thing that strikes at the foundations of the principles set forth in the doctrine of Christ for the redemption of men and the salvation of their souls.
We should war against covetousness, against pride, vanity, haughtiness of spirit, against self-sufficiency, and imagined or supposed al- mighty power that some people think they possess. God is the greatest man of war of all, and His Son is next unto Him, and their warfare is for the salvation of the souls of men. It would not be necessary for them to use violence or force, nor to permit their children to use violence nor force in order to conquer if they would but humble themselves, and obey the truth. For, after all, nothing will conquer nothing will win but the truth; and so far as the wars that are going on in the world are concerned, we not only want to see peace established among the children of men, but also justice, but above all things, truth. that justice, peace and righteous- ness may be built upon this foundation and not depend upon the covetousness, pride, vanity, evil desire, and lust for power in men.
That is what we want; and I pray that the spirit of truth may be poured out upon all men, as well as the spirit of peace. In fact, we will never have peace until we have truth. We will never be able to establish peace on earth and good will until we have drunk at the fountains of righteousness and eternal truth, as God has revealed it to man. This is my testimony to you, and I desire to emphasize these simple thoughts, and say to all my brethren and sisters: Let us conquer ourselves, and then go to and conquer all the evil that we see around us, as far as we possibly can. And we will do it without using violence; we will do it without interfering with the agency of men or of women. We will do it by persuasion, by longsuffering, by patience, and by forgiveness and love unfeigned, by which we will win the hearts, the affections and the souls of the children of men to the truth, as God has revealed it to us. We will never have peace, nor justice, nor truth, until we look to the only true fountain for it, and receive from the fountain-head.
God bless you, my brethren and sisters; I thank you for your attendance, for it has been a strength to us, and it has given us consolation and comfort to see you here and to know that you are here because you love the truth, just as we love it; and many of you love it even more than some of us know how to love it. For I know of people in the world who are true Latter-day Saints from the very core; they do not have many things to contend against in themselves, cither. It is easy for them to be Latter-day Saints, and truly the children of God, because they love the truth and they live pure lives, many of them. I am satisfied of it. Many there be, however, who have a good deal to fight against within them- selves, and some of us are not any better than we ought to be. Such will doubtless gain a great reward if they conquer.
Now, in conclusion, let us go home, those of us who are relieved to go home, carrying with us the spirit o| the Gospel, rejoicing that we have the liberty that we enjoy, the liberty to worship God ac- cording to the dictates of our own conscience, and according to the promptings of the testimony and of the Spirit of God within us; and let us abide in the truth. My blessing I give to you. May peace dwell in your hearts. May it abide and abound in your homes. May you be blessed in your outgoings and incomings, when you lie down and rise up, in your basket and in your store, in your business and in all your lawful and worthy transactions of life, and in your ministrations for the salvation of mankind; the Lord bless you in it.
One word more. I wish to say to my sisters, and especially to those who are called to be teachers among their sex: Please set the example before your sisters that God would have them follow. When we teach people to observe the laws of God and to honor the gifts that are bestowed upon them in the covenants of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we don’t want you teachers to go out and set an example before your sisters that will destroy their faith in our teachings. I hope you will take that to heart, for it has a meaning to it. I am talking to the teachers among the sisters. We hear it reported, from time to time, that some of the teachers that are sent out among our sisters not only do not set the example that they ought to set, but they set the example that they should not set for our sisters, they teach them by example to break the word of wisdom, rather than to keep it. They teach them to mutilate their garments, rather than to keep them holy and undefiled, by setting the example before them, and we can tell you the names if you want to know. I am not scolding; I don’t want it to be under- stood that I am finding fault, I am only telling a solemn truth, and I am sorry that I have it to say, but I want it to be distinctly understood. We see some of our good sisters coming here to the Temple occasionally decorated in the latest at most ridiculous fashions that ever disgraced the human form divine. They do not seem to realize that they are coming to the house of God, and we have to forbid them entrance, or find fault with them, and they go away grieved and say some- 1 times, ‘We don’t want to go there any more.” Why? Because they come unprepared, like the man who was found at the feast without the wedding garment, who also had to be turned out (Matt. 22:1-14). We have to turn them out occasionally, because they will not hearken to the counsel that has been given to them. May the Lord have mercy upon us, and bless and help us to do our duty in all things, I humbly pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The congregation sang, “The Doxology.”
Benediction was pronounced by Patriarch Hyrum G. Smith.
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 Tracy Y. Cannon.
The stenographic reports of the discourses were taken by Elders Franklin W. Otterstrom, and Frederick Barker, Gladys Barker, and Clarence Cramer.
Duncan M. McAllister,
Clerk of Conference.