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- CONFERENCE
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«, Held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, April 3rd, 4th and 6th, & ej] 1904, with a full Report of the Discourses. i?
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ALSO AN ACCOUNT OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE «j DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.
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Christ
GENERAL CONFERENCE
OF
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS.
FIRST DAY.
The Seventy-fourth Annual Confer- ence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convened in the Tab- ernacle, Salt Lake City, at 10 a.m. on Sunday, April 3rd, 1904, President Joseph F. Smith presiding.
THE PROCEEDING-S.
There were present of the general authorities: Of the First Presidency, Joseph F. Smith, John R. Winder and Anthon H. Lund. Of the Council of the Twelve Apostles; Francis M. Lyman, Abraham O. Wooaruff, Rudger Clawson, Hyrum M. Smith and George A. Smith. Presiding Patriarch, John Smith. First Seven Presidents of Seventies: Seymour B. Young, Brigham H. Roberts, George Reynolds, J. Golden Kimball, Rulon S. Wells, and Joseph W. McMurrin. Of the Pre- siding Bishopric: William B. Preston, Robert T. Burton and Orrin P. Miller. There were likewise many presidents of stakes, their counselors, presidents of missions and other leading men of the Priesthood.
The choir and congregation sang the hymn which begins:
"Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor la- bor fear, But with joy wend your way." The opening prayer was offered by Elder Joseph E. Taylor.
Singing by the choir, the anthem: "From afar, gracious Lord, Thou hast gathered Thy flock."
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
OPENING ADDEESS.
Guiding care and mercy of the Almighty — His re- quiremen s or the Latter-day Saints — Con- dition of the unbelieving — Nature of the Holy Priesthood — The government of God means freedom — The Saints look forward to and long for its tstablishmeiit.
Feeling very greatly dependent upon the mercies of the Lord for the guid- ing influence of His Holy Spirit, I am delighted this morning to welcome this vast congregation of Latter-day Saints to the opening meeting of this seventy- fourth annual conference of the Church.
We begin our conference on this beau- tiful morning, I firmly believe, under the divine approval, blessing and fa- vor of Almighty God, who has guided the destiny of His people from the or- ganization of the Church until the pres- ent, and whose overruling power has preserved us from the hands of our ene- mies and guided us in our footsteps and in our journeyings into the tops of these mountains. Here, by His blessing, we have had a measure of peace for lo these many years. We have been permitted to grow and in- crease in numbers, and, as I believe, in faith, intelligence and in a better and broader understanding of the principles of life and salvation which have been restored to the earth in the latter day, through the administration of divine messengers to man and through the di- vine calling, appointment and inspira-
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
tion of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his co-laborers in this work, whom the Lord prepared in the beginning and fitted, by the power and influence of His Spirit upon them, for the ministry which they were called to fill and per- form in /the Church.
It has not been by the wisdom of man that this people have been directed in their course until the present; it has been by the wisdom of Him who is above man and whose knowledge is greater than that of man, and whose power is above the power of man; for it is unto God, our Father, we are indebted for the mercies we have enjoyed and for the present prosperous condition of the people of God throughout this inter- mountain region and throughout the world. The hand of the Lord may not be visible to all. There may be many who can not discern the workings of God's will in the progress and develop- ment of this great latter-day work, but there are those who see in every hour and in every moment of the ex- istence of the Church, from its be- ginning until now, the overruling, al- mighty hand of Him who sent His Only Begotten Son to the world to become a sacrifice for the sin of the world, that as He was lifted up so He, by reason of His righteousness and power and the sacrifice which He has made, might lift up unto God all the children of men who would hearken to His voice, receive His message and obey His law.
My heart swells with gratitude to God. my Heavenly Father, for His lov- ing kindness and mercy to His people and to the people of our nation and, indeed, to the people of the whole world. I can see the hand-dealing of the Lord not only with us, a little handful of people in the midst of these mountains, but also with the great na- tion of which we are a part— I was go- ing to say an insignificant part, but I will not qualify this remark in that way. I think also that I can discern the hand of the Lord in His dealings with other nations of the earth, and I fully believe that He, and not the wis- dom of men, is shaping the ends or
destinies of the nations of the earth for the accomplishment of His purposes in the latter days. Not only are we the people of God1 but all the inhabitants of the world are His children, and all men in every land and in every clime who will humble themselves before the Lord and acknowledge Him are enti- tled to a measure of His blessing, favor, mercy and protection. The Lord will look after them and will overrule circumstances for their good, as He has overruled, in a greater measure, cir- cumstances for the good of His people who have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice, who have obeyed the voice of the Spirit unto them, and have yield- ed submission to the laws of the Gospel and become members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by faith, repentance of sin, and the ordin- ances of the Gospel that have been in- stituted by which mankind may be in- itiated into the family of God and be- come His sons and His daughters, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
I desire to express to you, my brethren and sisters who are here today, my firm and fixed conviction that God, the Eter- nal Father, is constantly mindful of you. He is mindful of His people throughout all this land, and he will reward you according to your faithful- ness in observing the laws of right- eousness and of truth. No man need fear in his heart when he is conscious of having lived up to the principles of truth and righteousness as God has re- quired it at his hands, according to his best knowledge and understanding. I do not suppose that you think or that anyone will think that we esteem our- selves as perfect, or as different and apart from other people of the world. We are, indeed, I am sorry to say, al- together too much like the rest of the world in many respects. We are people with like passions, like weaknesses, like imperfections — no, doubt, results of hu- man nature — as the rest of mankind. But the difference lies here: We have made a covenant in our hearts with God. the Eternal Father, that we will forsake sin; that we will eschew the
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
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very appearance of evil, as far as we possibly can; that we will overcome to the utmost our weakness and prone- ik-ss to evil and wrong-doing', that we will seek light from all sources of light and intelligence; that we will seek knowledge that comes from above, and hold our ears open to listen to the words of truth, to the voice oi under- standing, and to the voice of inspiration that comes from the Lord, or that may come from man, inspiring men to do better, to improve, to advance in the scale of righteousness and of intelli- gence in the world; and that we will keep ourselves, as far as it is possible for us to do so, clean and pure and unspotted from the sins of the world. That is the difference. We have cov- enanted with God that we will do this, and we expect that God will require us to keep this covenant that we have made with Him, and that we will strive with all our might to live consistent lives before the Lord and keep His laws.
It is hard, very hard indeed, to make the blind see or the deaf hear; and it is a truth laid down in the doctrines of the Gospel as taught to the ancient Nephites upon this continent, that there are none so blind as those who will not see, .and there are none so deaf as those who will not hear. There are those who will not see and who will not hear, and it is vain to attempt to open their eyes, for they will to keep them shut. It is vain that we attempt to open their ears to hear, for they have closed their ears against • the everlasting truth and they will not hear it. What are we to do under such circumstances as these? Are we to grieve about it? Shall we slacken our effort in the least because these condi- tions exist in the world? Shall we turn back from the plow to which we have put our hand because there are those in the world that will not see the truth and will not hear the voice of the Spirit of God calling them to repent- ance and to obey the commandments of the Lord? Verily no! He would be a weak and vacilating and an un- profitable servant who would turn
away from righteousness because there are those who will not repent of their sins and turn unto righteousness.
Our duty is to keep steadily on— on and upward in the direction that the Lord Almighty has marked out for us to pursue. Keep the faith; honor the name of God in your hearts; revere and love the name of Him whose blood was shed for the remission of sins for the world; honor and hold in the high- est esteem him whom God raised up in his childhood to lay the foundations of this great latter-day work; honor that power and that authority which we call the Holy Priesthood, which is after the order of the Son of God, and which has been conferred upon man by God Himself. Honor that Priesthood. What is that Priesthood? It is nothing more and nothing less than divine au- thority committed unto man from God. That is the principle that we should honor. We hold the keys of that au- thority and Priesthood ourselves; it has been conferred upon the great masses of the Latter-day Saints. It has, indeed, I may say, been bestowed upon many that were not worthy to receive it and who have not magnified it and who have brought disgrace upon themselves and upon the Priesthood which was conferred upon them. The Priesthood of the Son of God cannot be exercised in any degree of unright- eousness; neither will its power, its vir- tue and authority abide with him who is corrupt, who is treacherous in his soul toward God and toward his fellow- men. It will not abide in force and power with him who does not honor it in his life by complying with the re- quirements of heaven.
Some people think it is a dreadful sin for a people like the Latter-day Saints to claim that they believe with all their souls that the world would be better if only the laws of God could be enforced in the world. Some people think that if God's authority, if God's law, if God's righteousness were to be enforced among the children of men that it would deprive men of their liberties, it would bring them into bond-
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
age, and that it would debase and de- grade them. We do not look at this in this way. We believe that God's will is to exalt men; that the liberty that comes through obedience to the Gos- pel of Jesus Christ is the greatest measure of liberty that can come to man. There is no liberty that men en- joy or pretend to enjoy in the world that is not founded in the will and in the law of God and that does not have truth for its underlying principle and foundation. It is error that makes bondsmen. It is untruth that degrades mankind. It is error and the lack of knowledge of God's laws and God's will that leaves men in the world on a par with the brute 'creation; for they have no higher instincts, no higher principle, no higher incentive, no higher aspira- tion than the brute world if they have not some inspiration that comes from a higher source than man himself.
I believe in God's law. I believe that it is His right to rule in the world. I believe that no man has or should have any valid objection in his mind to the government of God, and the rule of Jesus Christ, in the earth. Let us sup- pose, for a moment, that Christ were here and that He was bearing rule in the world. Who would come under His condemnation? Who would be subject to His chastening word? Who would be in disharmony or unfellowship with God? Would the righteous man? Would the virtuous man? the pure and virtu- ous woman? the pure and the honest in heart? the upright? the straightfor- ward? those who do the will of heaven? Would they be in rebellion to Christ's rule if He were to come here to rule? No. They would welcome the rule and reign of Jesus Christ in the earth. They would welcome His law and acknowl- edge His sovereignty, they would has- ten to rally to His standard and to up- hold the purpose and the perfection of His laws and of His righteousness. Who would then be recreant to the rule of Christ? The whoremonger, the adulterer, the liar, the sorcerer, he who bears false witness against his neigh- bor, he who seeks to take advantage of his brother and who would
overcome and destroy him for his own worldly gain or profit: the murderer, the despiser of that which is good, the unbeliever in the eternities that lie before us, the atheist, perhaps, although I think that he would not be so far from Christ as some that profess to be teachers of His doctrines and advocates of His laws. It would be the rebellious, the wicked, those who would oppress their neighbors and enslave them if they could. Such as these would be the people who would not welcome the reign of Jesus Christ. Are there any who profess to be Latter- day Saints in this class, and would fear to have Christ reign and rule?
Now, we do not claim that God rules in the sense that the world charge us with believing. We do not claim nor profess that Jesus reigns in the earth as the world charge us with believing. We say that we would welcome His reign. We say and we feel in our hearts that we would love to have Him come and reign and rule among men. We say and we believe in our hearts that so far as we overcome our weak- nesses, our imperfections and our re- bellious nature which is against the will of the Father, so far as we are able to subdue the carnal mind and the wick- edness and the weaknesses of human nature with which we are beset, so far as we are able to rise above the grovel- ing condition of fallen man and attain a higher plane, of virtue, honor, purity and righteousness, that so far, and no farther, does Christ, the Son of God, reign in our hearts. And we would to God that we were in such a condition that He would reign supreme over our souls, and over all that we possess. Who shall gainsay this? Who shall say that it is wicked to obey Christ? that it is wrong to follow in His footsteps and obey his laws? We will not say that, and we will not, if we can help it, per- mit ourselves to be crowded into the corner, by which we will have to con- fess that we would rather that hell should reign on earth than that heaven should reign. We would rather that God would reign, that heaven would
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND.
5
smile, that righteousness should pre- vail, that truth should cover the earth as the waters cover the mighty deep. "We would rather that every man and every woman on earth were a child of God and an heir indeed and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. "We prefer that. "We are working for that; we pray for it; we preach the Gospel for this purpose, and we hope, by the blessing of the Al- mighty upon our efforts and labors in the world, that before this work shall have completed its mission and the ob- ject of its existence in the world, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, to the honor and glory of God and to the redemption of the world. "We are going to keep right on in that line as long as God will give us our liberty and per- mit us to live in the flesh; and when we shall have finished our mission here and go behind the veil, with the Priest- hood that has been conferred upon us here and its keys, authority and power, we will continue to administer for the redemption of those that have died without a knowledge of the truth, in the world of spirits, until every son and daughter of God that has lived upon the earth shall have had the privilege of hearing the sound of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and of embrac- ing it, that their prison doors may be opened, and that liberty may be pro- claimed unto them, the liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, wherewith we are made free.
God bless you. May He pour out His Spirit upon His people and help them to be wise and prudent in their words and in their actions. "We say to you keep the laws of God, and you should honor and keep the constitutional laws of men. That is what we say.
"We say to you, pay your debts and get out of debt. Pay your obligations and free yourselves from the bondage of obligation, if you can, and as soon as you can. "We say to you, protect your own faith by Godly lives. "We say to you do unto others as you would have them do unto you — in righteous- ness. "We say to you, keep the faith delivered to the Saints in the latter-
day. "We say to you, honor God in your lives; honor and love Christ, the Son of God, in your hearts; uphold in honor and maintain respect for the name of Joseph Smith the Prophet of God who was instrumental in laying the founda- tion of this great latter-day work. Do not turn away at every wind of doc- trine or be swayed by the cunning and craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Know the truth for yourselves. Walk in the light as Christ is in the light, and you will have fellowship with Him, and then the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse you from all sin. God bless you to this end is my humble prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir then sang the anthem "The Mountain of the Lord's House."
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND.
Preparation for the advent of Christ- His death and resurrection— Salvation for the dead.
I greet this congregation in the name of the Lord, and I ask that I may have a share of your faith and prayers while I shall stand before you. I have en- joyed the remarks of our President this morning, and I believe his words have found an echo in every heart. He has portrayed unto us our mission and our duties here upon the earth — that which we are striving for, namely, to serve the Lord, to carry out His purposes, and to be instruments in His hands to bring about the reign of peace, the reign of Christ, here upon the earth. This work in which we are engaged, we have been told, and we have an assurance thereof, is the work which is to prepare men for the second coming of Christ. We believe that the time is near at hand when the prophecies concerning His coming will be fulfilled. "We know that before His coming there must be a people prepared to receive Him. "We have tried to prepare ourselves, and those amongst whom we labor, for this great event, and we cannot do this in any other way than the one which our President has pointed out to us-
I am reminded that this is Easter. We celebrate today the glorious event, of the resurrection of our Savior. About
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
1S70 years ago this great event, which confirms our hope of eternal life, took place. Our Redeemer was laid in a nev grave, and remained there until the third day after His crucifixion. He arose and took upon Himself His body — the same body which had suffered upon the cross, and which had been buried; and in that body he was seen again amongst His followers. What a great event is the resurrection of Christ! He con- quered death; He demonstrated unto us that death should not 'forever reign; that though He, Himself and all the seed of Adam should be subject to death, yet death should not continue to have power over them. He overcame death. He broke its chains, He took up His body again, and fulfilled the great mission for which He came here upon the earth. What a glorious hope is given unto us through this event! I suppose the date of this anniversary is nearly correct. It was about this time *of the year when the resurrection took place. With Christmas it is different. We have nothing to go by to show us that the birth of Christ took place in December, but we have sug- gestions made that it was early in the year, and that it must have been at a time when it was warm enough for tha herders to be out in the fields taking care of their flocks. This event, however, which is celebrated today throughout the Christian world we know, accord- ing to the gospels, took place at the time of the Jewish passover. In order to have it recur annually on a Sunday, the Christian chronologers have made it fall on the Sunday after the first full moon that comes next after the 21st of (March. It gives us pleasure, therefore, to know that we are near the right time when celebrating this event.
Many doubt the statements of the evangelists and say that the resurrec- tion <?^uld not take place. Unbelievers? have used aiguments against belief in the resurrection of Christ. With us, how- ever, there is no doubt concerning it.
We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly, and in that book we find the testimonies of several writers to the fact that Jesus
was resurrected, and that He was seen after He had risen, by the Apostles, by acquaintances, and at one time by at* many as five hundred at once. This was the testimony borne by His disci- ples when they went out into the world after the ascension of Christ, and they were willing to suffer all things for that testimony. They did not bear this testimony with any view of obtaining worldly honors in compensation for their labor; on the contrary, they knew- that the bearing of this testimony con- cerning Christ would lead to their fol- lowing Him even unto death; but this did not deter them, they did not hold back or feel afraid of what the world would do, but persisted in bearing tes- timony that Christ was risen and that they had seen Him.
Not only did Cbrist rise from tn*. dead at that time, but others were seen who had risen from their graves- righteous men and women who died be-, fore Christ, and who had the privilege of rising with him. I do not believt* that the resurrection then was a gen- eral one; I believe it extended to those only who, while upon earth, had proved themselves willing to do all for the kingdom of God, and to whom neither property, honor, nor life itself had been too dear to keep them from carrying out the purposes of God.
The Latter-day Saints believe in a lit- eral resurrection. We do not enter- tain the idea, as many in the world do. that the resurrection will be a spiritual one only. The promise of the Lord is that we shall receive our bodies again. We look upon death mere- ly as a temporary separation of the spirit and the body. The body of Jesus was laid in the grave, and a guard placed before it, but His spirit did not slumber there. It was only the body that was dead. The spirit was still alive, and in the spirit He visited the good and righteous in Para- dise, and also visited the prison where the spirits of men had been awaiting His coming for many generations, they having been placed there for rejecting the Gospel when it was preached unto them. We are told in the Scripture
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND.
that He visited the spirits in prison and preached unto them. No doubt they received with gladness His message, and were liberated from the prison. Thus he fulfilled the prophecies which had declared that His mission was to open prison doors. After this, his spirit returned unto His body. The body was quickened and immortalized. It underwent a process of which we have no conception. But it was the same body. He visited His Apostles after His resurrection. He appeared in their midst without their seeing- how He came. The grosser elements of the body were no doubt eliminated. If there had been anything corruptible in the body that was laid in the tomb, it was not incorporated in the resurrected body. Before His crucifixion His body was subject to death, and He was kill- ed by His enemies; but when He took His body again all that belonged to mortality had been eliminated. His body was an immortal one. Yet when He showed Himself to His disciples He proved unto them that He was the same Jesus; there were the wounds in hands and feet, and even in His side — a convincing proof unto His disciples of His identity, and that His body had been resurrected.
We look forward to a time when this great blessing shall come to us also. We do not look upon death as the end of our individual existence. On the contrary, knowing Him to be our pro- totype, we have the assurance that death is only temporary, and that there will come a time after death when we shall again receive these same bodies which we possess here upon the earth, and that the union of spirit and body shall never be dissolved. The bodies we shall receive will be immortal, and the spirit and body reunited will con- stitute a living soul.
While upon this subject I will read a few passages from the eighty-eighth section of the book of Doctrine and Covenants:
"And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour, and im- mediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is un- folded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled;
'And the Saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened, and be caught up to meet him.
"And they who have slept in their graves shall come forth; for their graves shall be opened, and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the midst of the pillar of heaven:
"They are Christ's the first fruits: they who shall descend with Him first, and they who are on the earth and in their graves, who are first caught up to meet Him: and all this by the voice of the sounding of the trump of the angel of God.
'And after this another angel shall sound, which is the second trump; and then cometh the redemption of those who are Christ's at His coming; who have received their part in that prison which is prepared for them, that they might receive the Gospel, and be judged according to men in the flesh.
"And again, another trump shall sound, which is the third trump; and then cometh the spirits of men who are to be judged, and are found under con- demnation:
"And these are the rest of the dead, and they live not again until the thous- and years are ended, neither again, un- til the end of the earth.
"And another trump shall sound, which is the fourth trump, saying, There are found among those who are to remain until that great and last day, even the end, who shall remain filthy still."
Here we have, through a revelation given in 1832, a prophecy concerning the manner of the resurrection. It was giv- en by revelation unto the Prophet Jo- seph Smith, and it gives us a good idea concerning that great event which will take place hereafter. When Christ shall come the Saints that are upon the earth will be quickened, and caught up unto Him. They will not have to be laid in the grave and undergo death in the or- dinary way, but all the change pertain- ing unto death will come unto them, even if it be as the apostle said, "in the twinkling of an eye." The Lord's pow- er will be made manifest — for He holds the keys of the resurrection, He knows all concerning our physical organiza- tion, and He is able to accomplish this great wonder of the resurrection. So when the time comes the faithful of the Saints will be quickened and caught up to meet Him and the many thousands that are coming with Him.
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
"They who have slept in their graves shall come forth; for their graves shall be opened, and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the midst of the pillar of heaven." Now.these are the first fruits of that resurrection, and tbey shall descend with Christ. They also who are on the earth shall be caught up tovmeet Him. And all this by the voice of the trump of the angel of God.
This, brethren and sisters, is some- thing worth working for. We de- sire to live so that when this event shall come, whether we be on the earth or in the grave, that this sound may be heard by us — that we may come forth and join that hap- py throng. The revelation goes on to describe those who shall hear the trump, but who are of a different class to that to which I have referred. There will be some that did not hear the gos- pel upon the earth, but who received their portion in the prison. We have generally thought that the doctrine of salvation for the dead was not taught until 1843, when the Prophet Joseph received revelations concerning work for the dead; but from the very begin- ning the Lord revealed unto him that there wasva possibility of salvation be- ing obtained by those who had passed away without a knowledge of the Gos- pel. And so we are told here of the next class that shall be resurrected:
"And after this another angel shall sound, which is the second trump; and then cometh the redemption of those who are Christ's at his coming; who have received their part in that prison which is prepared for them, that they might receive the Gospel, and be judged according to men in the flesh.
"And again, another trump shall sound, which is the third trump; and then cometh the spirits of men who are to be judged, and are found under condemnation.
"And these are the rest of the dead, and they live not again until the thou- sand years are ended, neither again, until the end of the earth.
And another trump shall sound, which is the fourth trump, saying, There are found among those who are to remain until that great and last day, even the end, who Shall remain filthy still."
Perhaps the sons of perdition are the last class. All will be resurrected. Jesus died for us all. He became the Redeemer, He bought us for a price, and His death brought the privilege of resurrection unto every soul, whether he be a sinner or not. All will receive a share in the resurrection — not in the first resurrection, but they will be res- urrected, and will be brought before the bar of our Heavenly Father.
Brethren and sisters, let us so live that there will be no danger of our be- ing in the latter classes, but that we may be among the first fruits of Christ. Sunday after Sunday we promise that we will take upon us His name. Let us not only take upon us His name, but show in very deed that we are His. N Let us follow the good counsel given us this morning, live our holy religion, carry out the commandments of God, and not fear what man may say con- cerning us. We know what we have received; we know that this work is for the salvation and betterment of men, then let us carry out its prin- ciples. This is ray advice to you. God bless you all. Amen.
PRESIDENT JOHN R. WINDER. Missionary work at home and abrad.
I have no doubt, my brethren and sisters, but that you, with myself, have greatly rejoiced in what we have heard from Presidents Smith and Lund. With those brethren, I join in extending to you a hearty greeting to this confer- ence. When I think that many of you have traveled hundreds, and some of you thousands, of miles to visit this Conference, I feel in my heart to hope you will be amply repaid for your jour- ney. I trust we will keep in mind the good instructions we have already re- ceived, and that we will be more dili- gent and determined to serve the Lord with all our might, mind and strength. Our motto, as I understand it, is "Peace on Earth, and Good Will to Men." Some of you, my brethren, who are present today, are laboring in the nations of thg earth, endeavoring to enlighten the
ELDER FRANCIS M. LYMAN.
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minds of those who are in darkness and bring them to a knowledge of the truth. I have no doubt the feeling in your heart all the time is, "Peace on earth, good will to men." While we claim the right to serve the Lord with full purpose of heart, in our own way. we have no wish to deprive others from doing the same. We hope and expect to always have the privilege of serving the Lord as we feel is best, and while we value this privilege ourselves, we extend the same right to everybody on the face of the earth. I rejoice this, morning, my brethren and sisters, in the progress of the work, and the good reports we receive from the utmost "bounds where our brethren are laboring. There is a gratifying growth and in- crease everywhere, so far as we can learn. It is remarkable the inquiries that are now being made in relation to the Gospel; and while I rejoice in what the missionaries are doing abroad, " I sometimes think what a difference in experience there is right here on this Temple block. Here we have estab- lished a bureau of information, and a number of brethren and sisters are called to act as missionaries on this block. Instead of their having to wan- der up and down the earth seeking for the privilege to distribute tracts or im- part information in relation to the Gos- pel, hundreds and thousands come to them to obtain information; and tens of thousands of books and pamphlets in relation to the Gospel have been dis- tributed by the brethren and sisters who are laboring here. What a change has come over us! I believe that some of you, while traveling abroad, will find the fruits of the labor on this block. Many visitors, if they do not obey the Gospel as a result of the work of the missionaries here, at least become more friendly to the Latter-day Saints than they were before they visited us.
It is a glorious work, brethren and sisters, that we are engaged in; may we never tire of it, but always be wil- ling and faithful in the discharge of every duty that is required of us. I feel thankful that the Lord has preserved : my life, and permitted me to meet with
you here on the seventy-fourth anni- versary of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If anybody on earth has cause to be thankful I think I have. The Lords has permitted me to live to see almost my eighty-third year, and I am deeply thankful to Him for His goodness. While life shall last I propose to work more energetically and faithfully than I have done hitherto, if the Lord will help me to do it. God bless you all, my brethren and sisters, is my prayer in the name of Jesus, Amen.
The choir sang the anthem:
"In Our Redeemer's Name."
Benediction by Eider Lewis W. Shurt- liff.
AFTERNOON SESSION. The choir sang the anthem:
"Lift up the Voice in Singing." Prayer by Elder James H. Hart. Singing by the choir: "The Overthrow of Gog and Magog."
PRESIDENT FRANCIS M. LYMAN.
Causes of the unity of the Saints— Necessity for continuous faithfulness to God— An admonition to the people.
It is about three years since I stood before so large a congregation. Dur- ing that time I have been abroad, and have always felt that we were greatly favored when we could meet from one hundred to six hundred peo- ple. I greatly desire your sym- pathy, your faith and prayers, and the blessing of the Spirit of the Lord. If the Lord speaks through me, I am sure I shall be edified in speaking and you will be in listening. I greatly en- joyed the measure of the Spirit given to our brethren this morning, and the word of the Lord that we listened to through them. I feel disposed to read to you a few words uttered by the Savior on the occasion of His first visit to the people of Nephi. They are to be found in the eleventh chapter of III Nephi, in the Book of Mormon:
"And the Lord commanded him (Ne- phi) that he should arise. And he arose and stood before them.
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
"And the Lord said unto him, I give unto you power that ye shall bap- tize this people when I am again as- cended into heaven.
"And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them, On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no dis- putations among you.
"Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye bap- tize them; behold, ye shall go> down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them.
"And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying,
"Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
"And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water.
"And after this manner shall ye baptize in my name, for behold, verily I say unto you, that the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost are one; and I am in the Father, and the Father in me, and the Father and I are one.
"Ana according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no ■ disputations among you, as there hath hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there hath hitherto been;
"For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stir- reth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
"Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be dene away.
"Behoid; verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doc- trine.
"And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me, and I bear record that the Father com- mandeth all men, everywhere, to re- pent and believe in me;
"And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
"And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, that
this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso be- lieveth in me believeth in the Father also, and unto him will the Father bear record of me; for He will visit him with fire, and with the Holy Ghost.
"And thus will the Father bear rec- ord of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one."
It is a great mystery to the people of the world how the Latter-day Saints hold so unitedly together as a peo- ple, why there is such a fraternal, bind- ing feeling existing between them. Quite generally they look upon it as the result of compulsory power, exer- cised by the leaders of the Church. How incorrect this idea is! What holds this people together so solidly, and what makes them willing to labor for the sal- vation of the children of men, at the sacrifice of their own worldly affairs and interest, is answered in the text I have just read to you. These words were uttered on the occasion of the visit of the Savior to the Nephites. The Sa- vior's ministry in the flesh commenced when the Father announced: "This is my beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased." That was the introduction of the Son, by the Father, to the people in Judea. That also was the Introduction by the Father to the Nephites, in the land Bountiful, after the Savior had been crucified, resurrected, and had as- cended to the Father. With this, as in Judea, He introduced the Gospel among the Nephites. We find also that, in our own day, the Father has deigned to speak again, and introduce His Son, Jesus, to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Savior, as in Judea, and in the land Bountiful, so in our own beloved coun- try, started the work of the Lord, and taught His doctrines to the Proph- et Joseph, to Oliver Cowdery, and to others, giving them authority to preach the Gospel, to baptize repentant sinnerg and to install them as members of His Church. Having done this, the Father bearing record of the Son and the Son bearing record of the Father, He an- nounced the sacred truths of the Gospel, and declared it is eternal life to know
ELDER FRANCIS M. LYMAN.
11
God and Jesus Christ whom He hath sent; and that it is necessary to receive the Holy Ghost, who is given to all who repent of their sins and are baptized for the remission of them. This is the course that has been taken in the intro- duction' of the Gospel, as recorded in the Jewish and Nephite scriptures, and in the scriptures of the present day. The form of baptism, the words to be used, the declaration of faith and repentance necessary, are the same in all the scriptures. All the doctrines laid down by the Savior for the salvation of the children of men are indispensable; no man in this or any generation can ever enter into and inherit the kingdom of God, except he believes and obeys these doctrines. They who receive and con- form to these principles, receive the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, through their faith, repentance, obedience, integrity, and devotion to1 the work of God while they live in the flesh. The Holy Ghost inspires every faithful heart. It is His power that brings you here today; it is His in- spiration that prompted you to leave your homes, to travel hundreds of miles to the headquarters of the Church, for the purpose of worshiping the Lord and listening to the counsels of His ser- vants. The Lord has spoken to us to- day by the inspiration of His Spirit. Ho has been present with us by His Spirit Every Latter-day Saint has been moved upon by that same Spirit, and record has been borne in our hearts that we have listened to the word and the will of the Lord. That is the power, the secret power, that binds our hearts to- gether and makes them respond as one, no matter where we may be. "We may be thousands of miles apart, yet we are in unison, because bound together and inspired by the one Spirit. It is the same Spirit which binds the Father and the Son and makes them one. As the Father and the Son are one, so are we one. This is accomplished through our faith, repenting of our sins, cleansing our hearts, and living lives of purity before Him. We may make a good start, but if we fail to continue in our
good works and in our devotion to the Lord, that Spirit will diminish within us, and as His influence grows less within us, we are inclined to divide one against the other and receive the spirit of the world. Then it is that every man is for himself, following the imag- inations of his own heart instead of be- ing guided by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. I would like us to under- stand and realize this. Every Latter- day Saint is an important factor in this great Latter-day work. In a sense, the Lord counts upon you, my brother, my sister, mv neigh- bor, my friend. He depends upon you, He needs you in His work, He needs your service, your faith, your attention; He needs you to stay at home and He needs you to go abroad; He needs you to hold official positions, and He needs you to labor without official positions; He needs your services every day, un- der the inspiration of the Holy . Ghost. Not that His work depends upon you, but only for your salvation, He needs our righteous services that we may be saved; He needs my services that I may be saved and redeemed; He needs my devotion and faithfulness every day of my life. My life will not be too long, neither will yours, and the nearer we come to the end, the shorter will appear to us the time the Lord has allowed us to live on the earth. We may regret hereafter that we have not made bet- ter use of the years that have been al- lowed us, for at most they are not many. A hundred years is not a very lengthy period, and few of us, if any, will live to that age. As we get into the sixties, seventies, and eighties, the time begins to seem remarkably short to us. We may then wish we had work- ed harder, had been more faithful, and devoted more hours and minutes to the service of the Lord. We realize the fact — which is as true as that we are here today — that every man is reward- ed according to the extent and quality of his life's work; just as men are re- warded by earthly employers accord- ing to the diligence, devotion, faithful- ness, wisdom and judgment they ex- ercise in the labors they perform. The
12
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
Lord requires of us the choicest efforts we can make — intellectual, physical, moral and spiritual, all that we can ac- complish. He desires that we shall be amply rewarded, and the supply of re- ward and blessing for the children of men is not limited. There is an abun- dance for every man, woman and child that ever was or ever will be upon the earth. After they have received all they earn through their faithfulness, there will be a boundless store of bless- ings left. As eternity continues and can never grow less,so the blessings and fa- vor of the Lord are not wasted or di- minished by the appropriation of them; hence we need not fear they will become exhausted. Space, matter, truth and righteousness are illimitable and the blessings and favor of the Lord are also limitless. We are confined to the lit- tle world we live upon today — a few thousand miles around it — and that is the limit we can traverse in worldly affairs; but it is not the limit of the universe. The numberless worlds like this, and the inexhaustible materials of which they are made, are incompre- hensible to our minds. Men are limit- less also in number. The few hundred millions who dwell upon this earth to- day are but as "a drop in the bucket" compared with the posterity of our Fa- ther who dwells in heaven. One reason we are here is that we may have pos- terity, that we may multiply and re- plenish the earth, and increase in num- bers. 'We are here that we may in- crease also in righteousness, and in all things that are essential to salvation. We are here to lay the foundation for these purposes, and we have not time to waste, we cannot spare one moment; every hour needs to be utilized, and most precious they will appear to ua when we come near to the end. When a man who has neglected his duties feels that there are only a few years, or a few weeks, more time allotted to him, how he does want to live; how he wishes he had gone to the temple; how he wishes he had performed a mission abroad, or more missions; how he wish- es he had been devoted all his life to the work of the Lord. Perhaps he has
a taste of the joy of having done a lit- tle; has worked a few years — forty or fifty — but wishes he had done more. He hag spent, possibly, too much of his time endeavoring to gather means. He may not have gathered much, because men are not numerous ' who gather a great deal of means; as a rule, we have but little. We may not have been sufficiently devoted to the things of God, to the in- terests of Zion, to spreading the doc- trines of the Lord, and to using an in- fluence with our neighbors and friends at home and abroad, to bring them to repentance and salvation.
Let me exhort you, my brethren and sisters, who are here today in many thousands, oh! be determined from this time to serve the Lord more diligently the rest of your lives. I want to do it myself. Let us all serve the Lord bet- ter; let us be more faithful and de- voted, let us be more consistent and wise, let us do our duty faithfully and well as Latter-day Saints, as citizens of the cities, counties and states of our nation. Let us see how much we can do that may assist men to be blessed and redeemed, that they may be warned and brought up out of their1 fallen state in- to a condition of righteousness, with the favor and blessing of God upon their heads. Let us live so that we may en- joy the knowledge,inspiration, and light that was so beautifully portrayed to the Nephites, as I have read to you. The same doctrines and principles have been laid just as plainly before us, in the restoration of the Gospel to this people, as they were to the Nephites and to ancient Israel. There has been the same carefulness and consideration from our heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, and the same manifestation of powers, gifts and graces unto- this people as was extended to Israel in Judea, and unto the Nephites. The Lord has been mer- ciful and kind unto us in this dispensa- tion, and has set His hand for the last time; in other words, has planted His work for the last time upon this earth, and it will remain unto the end. This work will yet be tolerated by the peoples
ELDER FRANCIS M. LYMAN.
13
of the world. We will remain among them; we will he friendly and seek to do good to them; we will labor for their salvation, as we have ever done, and still better as we learn how to work more wisely.
It is delightful to meet with such a body of Latter-day Saints. The Spirit which comes upon every man who re- pents and is baptized for the Remission of his sins, is with this people. We en- joy it every day, possibly not as much as we ought to, but we do possess it nevertheless. We have, it in our meet- ings, in our wards, in our organizations, and in the councils of the Priesthood. We are thus inspired of the Lord, and made one. We enjoy that Sprit until it becomes almost com- mon with us. We do not always real- ize what a large measure of the Spirit of the Lord is in our homes with our families, enabling us to live for years together without contention. Under its influence a man may live a long life- time without quarreling with his neighbors. Although the Lord has pro- vided Church courts to adjust difflcul-- ties, and officials to correct iniquity in members of the Church, every Latter- day Saint should see to it that he en- joys a measure of inspiration sufficient to take care of himself, to direct and control his own life, to bring out all the good that is in him, and prevent him doing anything that is wrong, or that would make trouble with his neighbor; always living by the rule of right and peace that brings happiness to humanity. Everyone of us should endeavor to act that way. I should walk among the children of men so that no exceptions need be taken to my course of life. I ought to be so modest, reserved, and circumspect in every movement of my life, and in my min- istry, that no man or woman will feel offended at me, otherwise I have need to repent and reform. You, my breth- ren and sisters, should walk in like manner. Let us all so order our lives that we may be able to approach our heavenly Father. When there is sick- ness in our families, or when we are
called to administer to the sick among our neighbors, we should always be prepared with influence and power from the Lord to bestow blessings, impart counsel, or exhort the people, and pos- sibly reprove sometimes, helping all in the path that leads to eternal life. By observance of the laws of the Lord we are led in the straight and narrow way, and the Holy Spirit alone can keep us there. We have power to so live that the Spirit of the Lord may dwell with us. We cannot be Latter-day Saints without the Spirit of the Lord; and should not try to live without it. Do not try to speak without the Spirit of the Lord; do not try to build up the kingdom of God without the direction of His Spirit. If we endeavor to do these things by our own wisdom we will be sure to go astray and make mistakes. It is the office and calling of the Spirit of the Lord to dwell with you always; to be in your homes with your families; in your neighborhoods, and in your business af- fairs, on the Sabbath day and through- out the week, and every day in the year, if you do right.
The Spirit of the Lord should dwell richly in our hearts, for the redeemed are the temples of that Spirit. We are sent here that the Spirit of God may domicile in our hearts. That was a part of the design in our coming. Without it, joy cannot be obtained, and the ob- ject of our being will not be realized. By the inspiration of that Spirit, when President Smith and his brethren stand up here and speak to us, we know that the Lord is with them; we feel it in our bones, and in every fiber of our being, that God is with the President and speaks through him. Our hearts are touched, and the Spirit of God bears record in our souls that he is a man of God. He has done the will of the Lord, and we recognize the spirit and power by which he speaks. That is your priv- ilege, my brethren and sisters, as well as it is mine. You have recog- nized unquestionably that the Spirit of God has inspired the words spoken. Thus the Lord has spoken, the word of
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
the Lord, the mind of the Lord, and the purposes of the Lord have been an- nounced through his servants to whom we have listened.
The Lord is with this people. He has not forsaken them because the Prophet Joseph was slain. He has not forsaken this work because the Proph- et's successors have passed away. He will not forsake this work, though those who preside now may die; and those who lead Israel today will no doubt pass away in due time when their work is accomplished. But this work will go on and endure; it will increase, as it has done; it will spread over the borders into the states and territories that surronud us, and our neighbors will love us and bless us, and will seek after us. They will appreciate the peo- ple who belong to this Church; for they are a good people, as a rule. They love righteousness, they are hon- est, upright and virtuous; they are ready and willing to do what God re- quires; they are His servants and handmaidens, and are not easily shaken in their faith, thank the Lord! Never mind what occurs; never mind what my weaknesses are, nor what any- body's weaknesses are; do> not trouble about any mistakes that may be made. Remember that the Lord makes no mistakes. Men make mistakes, but God never does. He knows what is right and proper. He knows what should be done, and how and when it should be done; and He leads His Church and people gently along, and will' lead them unto salvation.
This is my testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, after I have been away from you three years. Oh! how I have rejoiced when I have heard and read of the prosperity of Zion, and felt the spirit of Zion. With all the changes that have been made, I have been able to recognize that the Lord is here. It makes no difference what changes may come, the Lord never changes. He is here, and you are His sons and daughters. He has inspired you, and He would inspire you many times' more if you would put your- selves in condition to receive more of His Spirit.
I pray the Lord to bless you. It is hard for me to talk so loud and to such a large congregation, and I shall have to cease; I pray the Lord to bless Icrael and the leaders of Israel. I pray the Lord to stay with us by His Spirit and never forsake us; for in Him we have strength and power, wisdom and judgment, and He will control and guide us. He will bless these men who are called to stand at the head of stakes; He will bless our sisters who stand at the head of associations; He will pour out His Spirit on them,; He will remember the mothers who take care of the households, and who train their children in the way of life and salvation; and He will bless all. the families of the Saints. God will be with us and sustain us. I thank Him for the measure of His Spirit that we enjoy today in this splendid T£l)".r- nacle. God bless Israel forever, in the name of Jesus Christ. .A mm.
The choir then sang, "Who Are These Arrayed in White," the duet part being rendered by Mrs. Bessie Browning and William Phillips.
ELDER BRIGHAM H. ROBERTS.
Christ a revelation of God to man— Pre-existence and immortality of man.
Very much to my surprise I have been called upon to address this splendid con- gregation. In my own heart I could wish that the task had been assigned to another; for I do not believe that any man can stand before a congregation of this kind without feeling his own unworthiness and his own limitations, which make him sense the truth that he is not sufficient for the task. So I feel on this occasion that if I can bring my own heart and soul into attune with the Infinite, and can receive the help that comes from the possession of the Spirit of the Lord, then, my breth- ren and sisters, something of profit, something uplifting in its nature, some- thing that tends to strengthen faith and to increase knowledge, may be brought forth.
As the brethren who have preceded me this day, so I will exalt the Lord
ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.
15
in your presence. When I think of man, of his weaknesses and limitations. I truly feel the need of turning- to our Father and bringing Him forth, to- gether with the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, as the center of our faith and the circumference of our hope. This morning the President an"! Brother Lund brought forth a beauti- ful theme suggested by this day, com- monly accepted as the anniversary of the Resurrection of the Lord. While it is common to deal with a great variety of subjects in these general conferences — and indeed the necessities of the peo- ple require the consideration of a variety of subjects — I think it is well and in harmony with the whole atmosphere of our work, and of this day, to devote thought to the Lord Jesus Christ; to speak of Him and honor Him in our hearts, and be put in remembrance of Him and the great atonement He has wrought out for the children of men. Believing this subject to be worthy of our consideration, it has occurred to me that I could not do better than to read to you some items from His history, as told in that beautiful simple manner in which it is contained in the Scrip- tures. I read to you from' the Gospel of Matthew:
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it be- gan to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the supulchre (in which the Lord had lain).
"And behold, there was a great earth- quake: for the angel of the Lord des- cended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
"His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
"And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men."
These keepers, you will perhaps re- member, were appointed to watch the se- pulchre at the suggestion of the Jewish Priests, lest the disciples of Jesus should come by night and steal away the body of the Lord, and then report that he had risen from the dead ; for they remembered that it had been part of .one of his discourses that though he should be crucified he would arise from the dead on the third day. Recalling
this, the Sanhedrin inspired the ap- pointment of certain men to watch the sepulchre, lest his body should be stol- en.
"And the angel answered and said unto the women, Pear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
"He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
"And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead and, be- hold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
"And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
"And as they went to tell his disci- ples behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped him.
"Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethern that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
"Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all things that were done.
"And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
"Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept."
It must have been indeed a large re- ward that these hypocrites and liars gave to the soldiers, for a Roman sol- dier to go to sleep at his post on duty was a capital offense. But mark this:
"And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and se- cure you.
"So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews un- til this day.
"Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
"And when they saw him, they wor- shiped him: but some doubted.
"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth."
"Go ye therefore, and teach all na- tions, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even un- to, the end of the world. Amen."
I think that is a beautiful chapter
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
worthy of all acceptation. Every ef- fort for effect, all the tricks and cun- ning- of so-called skillful writing-, are absent, and the truth is stated in that form which best becomes her— in sim- plicity and modesty. I read this chap- ter that we may enter into its spirit, and have it recall to our minds the great truths relating to this part of the life of our Savior and Redeemer.
I rejoiced this afternoon in the read- ing by President Lyman from the words of the Third Nephi, wherein the advent of the Savior into this western world is proclaimed, and where so ex- plicitly and plainly the great truths and ordinances of salvation are set forth. And as he read I recalled the fact that audiences in this city have been listening recently to criticisms of the book in the Book of Mormon known as "Third Nephi," and the question has been discussed whether or not it is entitled to be considered a "fifth gos- pel." You know we have the history of Messiah's birth, life and ministry in four books in the Jewish scriptures, and this III Nephi gives an account of his ministry on this hemisphere; and as I say, the question has been discussed as to whether it is to be considered a "fifth gospel." By the way, partly in objection, it has been stated that it contains no new truth; that it is unlike the gospels in the Jewish Scriptures in this, that wrhile Mark adds something to what Matthew has said, and Luke adds something to what Mark has said, and the gospel according to St. John is generally con- sidered the supplementary gospel by way of pre-eminence, because it adds so much that the others have omitted; but it is claimed that the Third Book of Nephi or the "fifth gospel," adds nothing to Christian knowledge con- cerning salvation. They are very much mistaken. The passage which Elder Lyman read here this afternoon would put to silence several very great controversies throughout Christendom if men would but accept that "fifth gospel." This remark, however, is merely by the way.
I come back to the anniversary that
we celebrate on this day — the resurrec- tion of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am glad that there are so many millions this day rejoic- ing in this one great truth of the Christian religion — the fact of the resurrection of the dead; the hope of immortality, which it teaches to man- kind. The various sects of Christendom may be in error in relation to many things, and in error concerning some matters pertaining to this fact of the resurrection; but I rejoice that through all the apostasy from the true religion of Jesus Christ this one part of the Gospel remains in%the minds and hearts of so many people, and is with them a hope and an inspiration to higher and to better living. When the Church as an organization ceased to exist; when, as we may say, that glorious sun set behind the horizon of man's vision, it did leave, at least, some lights in the sky that reflected some portions of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The dispensation of the gospel, which we call the dispensation of the meridian of time, because that dispensation was given about midway between the com- mencement of the work of the Lord in this world by the creation of Adam, and the final winding up scene which shall complete the salvation of men and the redemption of the world — I say that that dispensation of the Gospel, oc- curring midway between these two great events, was glorious in many re- spects. It was glorious in this for one thing— it brought forth a full and com- plete revelation of God through the per- son and character of the Lord Jesus Christ. For, in addition to the work of redemption that He wrought out for mankind, Jesus Christ stood forth as the revealed Deity, aSt God manifested in the flesh, the revelation of God to man; so that henceforth all the mists that befog philosophy, all the errors of science falsely so called, all the mys- tery that Paganism had interwover with this theme, might stand remove from the vision of man, and hencefort God should be known not only as to th fact of His being, but also as to tht kind of being He is. It was the design
ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.
17
of the Lord that man henceforth should see divinity — God revealed through the person and character of Jesus Christ. And that truth remains in the earth; it is a standard by which we may meas- ure the teachings of any who shall come proclaiming Deity. Does he meas- ure up, and is He identical with Jesus of Nazareth, the revelation of God to man? If not, then we know that teach- er who so fails is in error; for as Jesus Christ is in His resurrected immortal body of flesh and bone — as Jesus Christ is in His mental, moral and spiritual nature, so God is.
Now, that truth came forth in its fullness in the dispensation ot the meri- dian of time, and also this splendid truth which is having such an influence in the hearts of men — the resurrection of the dead. The great truth that man must live, and live eternally; that he is and will be, in his resurrected person- age, an indestructible being. Running parallel with that great truth is this other truth, that he must school him- self to live in harmony with truth as God reveals it. The sooner he learns that lesson the sooner will 'he be in the way of perpetual and eternal happiness. He must conform to law, for it is uni- versal and infinite. It is everywhere op- erating. Man cannot escape it. Ob- servance of the law will bring him hap- piness and peace, and he will find him- self in harmony with all the infinities through obedience to( law.
These are some of the splendid truths of our common Christian heritage, and I am very happy that there are so many millions who participate with us, in part at least, in a knowledge of these great things.
During the remarks of our President this morning I was reflecting upon the subject of the resurrection of the Sa- vior, and of the many congregations that would assemble to do Him honor this day, and I thought, what is it that we have to offer the world that they <to not now possess? For, in their mis- conception of this latter-day work, men ave narrowed it down until they miss *he really fundamental truths upon which the Church of Christ m these last days is based, and fail to grasp
the genius of this great work, just as it has been explained to us by Elder Ly- man, that they misconceive the bond that unites us, the force that impels us to united action and makes us, by way of pre-eminence the united people. And this thought came to my mind in connection with the resurrection, name- ly, that we have such a fullness of the truth, that we believe not only in the immortality of man after his resurrec- tion, but we believe in the absolute im- mortality of the intelligence that is within him. That is to say, we be- lieve in an immortality that has no be- ginning, just as we believe in an im- mortality that has no end. Any thing short of this is not immortality. John begins his Gospel with a very beauti- ful preface, which I will read to you. I think, by the way, that he wrote it because when he composed his gospel pagan ideas had begun to creep into the Church. The philosophy of Plato, which was the rage in that day. had taken possession of the minds of the people. Plato, by the way, ry\d seized upon some great truths, and among oth- ers he had grasped, at least in part, the meaning of man's immortality, the pre-existence and the indestructibility of man's spirit. So I think, with this in mind, and in order to state the truth exactly to the followers of Jesus, John started this beautiful preface of his Gospel by saying:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Wor ' was God.
"The same was in the beginning with God.
"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.
"In Him was life; and the life was the light of men."
Later on he said:
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begot- ten of the Father) full of grace and truth."
This last verse identifies Jesus Christ with "the Word." "The Word" that was with God, that was God, arid that was. made flesh, was the Lord Jesus Christ. This statement of John's in the
18
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
preface of his gospel, has reference of course to the pre-existent spirit of Jesus and to the estate in which He lived, moved, and had a tangible being with the Father; and so like the Father's spirit that we may say He was of the same substance with the Father. In the Christian world, belief in the eter- nity of the Lord Jesus Christ is a doc- trine quite generally accepted. But "Mormonism" has a word to speak in this connection for all the children of men. For while the pre-existence of the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ is a great truth, there is a still greater truth to proclaim, and that greater truth is part of the message that "Mor- monism" has to deliver to the world.
In a revelation given in 1833 to the Prophet Joseph Smith the Lord Jesus says:
"And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the first-born;"
Now mark you:
"Ye" [meaning the Elders whom He addressed] — "ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is spirit, even the spirit of truth," . . .
"Man was al?o in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.
"All truth is independent in that pphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also, otherwise there is no existence.
"Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man, because that which was from the be- ginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light.
"And every man whose spirit receiv- eth not the light is under condemna- tion.
"For man is spirit. "
Man is not so much lime, phosphate, and other gross materials, but man is spirit; and was, like Jesus, in the be- ginning with the Father. Intelligences are begotten spirits, and they partake of the nature of him who begets them. Paul pays: "We have had Fathers of cur flesh which corrected us and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and lfve?" There is this difference, I think, between a
created thing and a begotten person- age: A created thing may not partake of the nature of him who creates it; as for instance, the vessel, constructed and put forth into the sea under the cunning hands of the shipwright, does not partake of the nature of its crea- tor; but if the shipwright shall beget a son, he imparts to him of his own nature, and the offspring in a general way is like him who begets it. So when we speak of God creating man we ought to make this distinction. God begets intelligences, spirits, and these s'pirits, male and female, partake of the nature of God. Intelligence itself is uncreated, self-existent; and these spirits begotten in the world where God dwells are afterwards begotten men and women here in the flesh, to follow still further in the footsteps of their Father.
This is the great truth which I re- ferred to a moment since that Mor- monism has to offer to the world. It is a principle that was unknown tO' men in our generation until it was revealed through God's chosen servant in these last days, the Prophet Joseph Smith. We carry this message in our right hand to the world. We not only tell men of the immortality that shall be after the resurrection, but we tell them of the immortality that existed before their earth-life began. The mists that shroud the origin of man and that per- plex the philosophers are pushed away, and behold! we look into a beginning- less past, as we look forward into an endless future. Beginnings can only be of a local nature, and this beginning spoken of here when Jesus was "in the beginning with the Father," and when your spirits and mine were "in the be- ginning with the Father," has refer- ence only to things pertaining to this mortal life of ours, and this earth upon which we live, and does not refer to duration apart from these local events about which we talk; and concerning which, in order to be understood, we have to speak of in terms that are sometimes in themselves paradoxical. As Brother Lyman taught us this after- noon, duration itself is beginningless and endless, just as matter is exhaust-
ELDER B. H. ROBERTS.
less, and cannot be created and can- not be annihilated. It can only be changed in form to meet the purposes of God as He designs the development and growth of His universe.
We take then this truth to the world, the truth of the eternal existence of man's intelligence. And what will be the moral effect of the announcement of such a doctrine? A spiritual awak- ening. We had not known, neither had our fathers known, until it pleased God to reveal it, whence man's origin; but now we begin to recognize man's im- portance in the world. We begin to realize that his intelligence, the spirit, exists upon tne self same principle upon which God exists. We speak of God as a self-existent being", and the doctrine is true. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that man also was a self-existent being, of the same nature as his Father. I say the moral effect of that truth in the world will yet beget a spiritual up- lifting the like of which has not been known in the ages that are past.
I was pleased to hear the hopeful notes in the words of our Brother Ly- man,whom we are as glad to see among us as he is to see us, and it is with warm hearts and welcome hands that we hail his return. After being faithful, sturdy, and true as he has been while abroad, he now returns to us, and we bid him a hearty welcome in this general conference. Let me be your mouthpiece in saying to him, Welcome, Brother Lyman! I say I am pleased to see the hopeful note in his words concerning the acceptance of this people and their doctrines by the world. Many tens of thousands will yet receive these truths, perhaps not di- rectly from your hands nor from mine; but already, as leaven in measures of meal are these principles working, and light is bursting upon the intelligence of the children of men, and they will yet lay hold of these great fundamental truths of ours; either directly or indi- rectly, and so shall this work push its way among the nations of the earth, until our Father's children (for all the inhabitants of the earth are His chil- dren as well as we are) shall lay hold
19
of these truths, and ultimately be brought to an acceptance of a fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I love Mormonism. I love it because it is true — because it is the fullness of truth. And then I rejoice in its big- ness, in its grandeur. I love its spirit of liberality, as manifested here in the words of the brethren at this confer- ence. I love it because its roots run down deep into the great things of God, and it is as a tree well planted, that the winds which beat upon it shall only help by driving its roots deeper into the soil, spreading further to right and left, establishing itself as a tree of God's planting, under whose friendly branches there is room for all who will come unto it; and whose very leaves are sufficient for the healing of the na- tions.
Mormonism has a word of hope for scattered Israel; it has a word of hope for the poor, wandering Lamanite, the fallen son of noble sires, the degenerate remnant of a once magificent people. The Gentiles, in their pride, look upon him and despise him. They see his foot- steps hastening towards what they re- gard as utter extinction. But we arrest their sneers by proclaiming the word of God that there is hope even for this ap- parently helpless race, and Laman shall yet be remembered by the Lord; He is under covenant to do it. The fathers of old prayed in behalf of their poster- ity, and God heard and promised, and the children shall yet be blessed.
We have a word of hope also for Ju- dah, the outcast, the one people against whom every man's hand has been rais- ed, and who have been persecuted in ages past and now by those who pre- tend to be followers of Jesus Christ, who Himself was of this same Jewish race. Does it not seem strange that those who have taken upon them the name of Christ should be the most bit- ter persecutors of His race! But we have a word of hope for Judah. We are authorized of God to say to our Jewish brethren, that Jerusalem shall be redeemed; that your people shall yet plant their feet in the land of promise; that God will guard your state, and
20
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
at the last, in a splendid display of power and glory, will redeem you frOm the nations that now oppress you.
"We have a word of warning- to the Gentile races upon this promised land of the western world. Honor the God of this land, says our Book of Mormon. If ye honor Him not, but steel your hearts against Him, however great our love may be for you, the warning word of God is, that if you honor not the God of this land, who is Jesus Christ, you may read your fate in the calamities that have overtaken the for- mer nations, who in pride and world- ly glory once occupied this land from north to south as you do. But we will not be doubtful of you, but hopeful, that you will honor the God of the land — Jesus Christ. We will proclaim peace, and the peaceable things of God's kingdom. We invite and exhort all men to accept these principles of di- vine truth, so burdened with knowledge and with hope-giving life, and so pre- cious in ministering unto man's honor and glory. The Lord bless you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Singing by the choir - "The Lord God Omnipotent reigneth."
Benediction by Elder Charles W. Penrose.
OVERFLOW MEETING.
An overflow meeting was held in the Assembly Hall. Sunday, April 3, at 2 p.m. Elder Hyrum M. Smith of the quorum of the Twelve, presided. The Temple choir and congregation joined in singing, "Now let us rejoice in the day of salvation." Prayer was offered by Elder Joseph Christenson. The choir then sang, "Hosanna to the King."
ELDER NEPHI L. PRATT.
(President of Northwestern States Mision.)
I arise to speak to this congregation in fear and trembling. I hope, while we are together this afternoon, that we will be blessed with the Holy Spirit in great abundance, that we may be com- forted, and have our faith strengthened, and be instructed as the Lord would
have us, that when we leave this meet- ing, at its conclusion, we may feel we have been fed with the bread of life.
I do not know of a time when, in the beginning of a conference, I have felt happier or more satisfied in my soul than this morning, in listening to the inspired discourses of the brethren. My heart was made to rejoice exceed- ingly. I felt that to be with the Lord, to feel His power resting upon us, even for one or two hours, as it did in the meeting in the tabernacle this morning, was better than a life-time spent in gratifying ambition, or having the pleasures that the world can give.
I could not help thinking of the situa- tion of the wicked, those in the world who are without the light and know- ledge of the truth. I thought also of the authority and power that rests upon the servants of God, by which this peo- ple are led and instructed from time to time. My heart glorifies God that we are so blessed, in the midst of a world of people filled with unbelief, and I wondered why we have been selected out of all the world, and that there are so few of us, fortunate ones chosen to perform the particular work of the Lord in the earth. When President Lund was speaking this morning, he di- rected our minds to tne glorious future in which we hope to obtain life ever- lasting. I thought, as I looked over the congregation and saw the white-headed men that are among us, how youth is slipping away from me, and from thou- sands who, a few yeas ago, had brown or black hair, bright eyes and straight bodies. I looked upon these people to- day and thought of how mankind, in our present state, in a world of sorrow, sin and death, is subjected to the or- deal of gradually losing brightness of eye, straightness of form, elasticity of step, the dignified carriage of youth or middle age, and becomes old and de- crepit; and I thought, where is there an individual among men, in any na- tion or country, who would not give the crown of a king, if it were his to give, to possess the eternal life and power that was described in this morning's discourse, by our brother who spoke up-
ELDER NEPHI L. PRATT.
21
on the resurrection of the dead, to have the vigor and power to eternally live and be all that a man is in this world when he is at his best. That would surely be a boon to be sougrit for. If there were a fountain anywhere in this world from which men could drink and have restored to them the faculties of youth, or of middle age, and nave eter- nal life, kings would give up their thrones for such a boon; the rich would cast their riches down as nothing, and give all in exchange for life everlasting, even on a world like this. Millions of people would drag themselves across a continent, on their hands and knees, to drink at such a fountain. All mankind would seek it with diligence; it would be the one aim of their lives, as they increased in years, to get to where they might drink at the fountain of eternal life. "Mormonism" tells us about the fountain of eternal life. "Mormonism," if lived here, will improve the powers we have on this earth, and will give us a life that is many fold better, a life of eternal companionship with those with whom we have joyfully associated in this world. Think of Joseph Smith the Prophet being resurrected from the grave, and President Young, and Heber C. Kimball, and other mighty men we have become acquainted with. "Where could we find greater or better associations than with these Saints? Where could we obtain better companionship in this life than that which God has given us in our association with the Saints? God has given to us vitality and power in our organized capacity, that is the wonder and admiration of the world; our destiny will be envied by intelligent people.
In the Northwestern States mission, our meetinghouses are being filled, where, a short time ago, all the adver- tising we could do would not bring together "a baker's dozen." In o lr street meetings we almost block up the traffic sometimes in some of the larg- er cities. The work of God is growing, out there where we are. Thousands of people hear the Gospel now who pre-
viously did not pay any attention to it. There seems to be a spirit resting upon the people that causes anxiety in some, and in others curiosity, to hear us. They hear the Gospel preached and feel the spirit of inspiration, and many, like sheep when they lick salt, want to come again, and the work is growing. The newspaper men, formerly, would not print or publish anything about us that we furnished them, but would go to our enemies, like those who went to the enemies of Jesus Christ in ancient times, and obtain garbled stories about us; now they come to us for informa- tion. They seem now to prefer to get information direct from us about "Mormonism" and the Gospel; and, strange as it may appear, they publish the truth about us, and publish inter- views as they are given, not distorting and changing the facts as they used to do. It is no sign we are apostatizing, because they speak well of us; we know we are not because we enjoy the Spirit, and aie being fought hard by the min- isters. Whenever we have a good de- gree of success we always have a river of slander coming, like a stream of filth, from the mouths of sectarian min- isters and preachers. Well, we don't care; it does not hurt us.
Brethren and sisters, we feel like go- ing on in the work of God; my whole heart is in it. If we left it where co i Id we go? We will stay with it, God being our helper, and be faithful to it, and do good to our fellow-men, no matter what they do to us. We will carry the Gospel to the various nations of the earth, and build up Zion at home. If we do this, and live righteous lives, the Lord will never forsake us. The day will come when the angel of God will sound his trump, when our bodies will be released from decrepitude, when old age will be thrown aside like a garment, and eternal life, eternal felicity, and eternal association with the Lord and with our loved ones will be o irs. That we mav have the blessings of God to be and abide with us forever is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
22
GENERAL, CONFERENCE.
ELDER ASAHEL H. WOODRUFF, (President of Northern States mission.)
My brethren and sisters^ I sincerely trust that I may enjoy your prayers of faith to assist me during the few mo- ments that I shall address you upon this occasion.
I appreciate, to the fullest extent, this privilege accorded us of coming up to Zion occasionally, and looking into the faces of the servants of God and listen- ing to their voices, because they speak unto us the words of eternal life.
Like the brother who preceded me, my soul was made to rejoice in listen- ing to the words uttered by the in- spired servants of God in our meeting this morning, in the Tabernacle. I felt to saj- in my heart, "We thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet, to guide us in these latter days," to point out that road which will lead us to the perfec- tion that our Father in heaven has ad- monished us, through His Son, to strive for. I realize, and have a testimony to bear, that by following the teachings given to us, by the mouthpiece of God on the earth, we will be able to reach that condition. It is not possible for us, by following man's wisdom, to attain that condition. Man does not know the perfection of God; all the things neces- sary for us to do to reach that condi- tion have not yet been revealed to us. Jesus Christ so informed His Disciples, when He labored among them. The people of the world have made a mistake in supposing that all God ever intends to do or say, for the advancement and welfare of His chil- dren, has been said and is recorded in the Bible. But Jesus did not leave this impression, as we will find by study- ing the Gospel and the sayings of the Savior. It was not possible for His disciples to absorb and comprehend all things He desired to teach them, and so he said to them upon one occa- sion: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of him-
self; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."
We are a blessed people in that we have realized the promise made to the children of men, that those who do the will of the Father shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is a guide to our feet and a light to our path. We are a blesed people in that we have at our head today those who are clothed upon with the Spirit of the Lord, and who speak not as the scribes but as those having authority. I thank God, my brethren and sisters, that I live in a day and time when we have a prophet to guide us.
Unfortunately, the people of the world persist in misunderstanding the Lat- ter-day Saints; they persist in misun- derstanding "Mormonism" and what it intends to do for the world of mankind. In their blindness, they have attempted in times past, and are attempting at the present time, to bring all the pow- ers of the adversary to overthrow and frustrate the work of God, which He has established upon the earth in these the last days. I presume that, among the enemies of this work, there are those who fancy there is trembling of knees and failing of spirit on the part of those who have espoused this cause. They vainly imagine that the experi- ences we have been passing through, and the persecution which has and is still being hurled against us, will result in the overthrow of this work. If we were not assured in our hearts that we are engaged in the work of God, a work which has as its object the blessing of mankind, not an individual work; that we are not pursuing our own selfish desires, that our position in the world is not our own choosing, independent of a higher power — if we did not know for a surety that we are a people chosen from the world for a special purpose, that God has chosen us, as He did people in days that are past, to be special instruments in carrying out His purposes upon earth, there might be some reason for the feeling to which I referred. There is no doubt in the minds of the Latter-day Saints
ELDER ASAHEL
as to the final outcome of this work. They have received testimony upon tes- timony to the effect that God is at the helm; they know that the efforts of those who understand us not will be in vain, as in times past. It is the consciousness of the rectitude of our intentions that buoys us up under all these things, and in the face of all the trials and persecutions that, as a people, we are now and have been in times gone by called upon to pass through.
As Latter-day Saints, we take a pe- culiar view of life. We look upon our present existence as a season of trial, a probation, in which we are gaining experience', and learning those lessons that will enable us to advance and in- crease in knowledge and power in th<: presence of God, and that will entitle us to be numbered among His jewels, when He shall come to gather them unto Himself. "We 'regard our condi- tion here as similar to being away from home. We have left our Father and Mother in heaven, become self-exiled from the associations of our primeval existence, and have come down here on earth in obedience to the will of God, for a wise purpose He has in view. We do not look upon life as a pleasure ground, as a holiday, we look upon it as a school, in which we are engaged learning lessons that will fit and quail- fy us for the presence of our Father in heaven, when we go hence. We do not believe we have any time to fritter away and waste, or to spend in the pursuit of pleasure, or following de- lusive fantasms and things that lead from the grand purpose of existence on the earth; we believe that our time and talents and all that we have and are, ought to be dedicated to the ser- vice of the Lord, and that we should try, to the best of our ability, to carry out His purposes concerning us, here on earth. It matters not what people say of us, if we have a conscience void of offense towards God and man. If we know we are persecut- ed for righteousness sake, it matters not, we can rejoice that we are thus privileged. I do not believe it proves
H. WOODRUFF. 23
that a people are wicked or corrupt be- cause they are made to suffer. I believe the people of the world will yet find out there is such a thing as suffering for righteousness sake. I believe the Sa- vior spoke the truth when He said: "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceed- ing glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." It matters not that our accusers, those who find fault with our religious belief and principles, are the fashionable, the educated and cultured of the world; Jesus Christ was accused by such. He was brought to judgment by law, and His accusers were the high and grand among men, Scribes and Pharisees, who offered long prayers in public places, to be heard of men, who were careful in the observance of outward forms and ceremonies, "righteous" men! men who were in such condition that they could not cast the first stone at the woman taken in adultery.but who were grieved in spirit because Jesus went about "ut- tering blasphemy" by saying he was the Son of God. Those were the influences, the kind of witnesses, and testimony that were brought to' bear against Je- sus of Nazareth, which brought about His conviction, and death of ignominy upon the cross. The lawyers of today tell us that His death was a judicial murder; so we see, my brethren and sisters, it is possible for the law to be wrong. It is sometimes possible for a few people to be in the right and the rest of mankind in the wrong. It is pos- sible for people to have to submit to an erroneous human law.
The Saints of God are required to prove themselves, by retaining the tes- timony of Jesus Christ in the face of persecutions and affliction. We have been charged with being an immoral people. We frequently meet this in our labors in the missionary field; but if intelligent individuals will consider the history of this people they will And a refutation of the charge in the lives of the Latter-day Saints. Surely those
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
were not immoral people who put their wives and children into covered wagons crossed fifteen hundred miles of unex- plored country, exposed to dangers and hardships incident to the settling of a new and wild country, and to savage beasts and savage human beings! It is not the practice of immoral people to pursue the arduous avocations and ex- hibit the self-sacrificing characteristics •orur people have. We know it is not the sin and wickedness of the world that our maligners are fighting. It is the Church and kingdom of God that is being assailed, and that, too, in a land of liberty, in the land of Washington, the land of Jefferson, the land of patri- ots, who fought, bled and died that they might hand down to us, their descend- ants in many instances, the priceless boon of religious liberty. We resent in our feelings this condition; the in- consistency of the position of many peo- ple of the world. We claim the right to enjoy religious liberty, and adhere to the declaration of the patriots that this land should, as intended, be a land where all might worship God according to the dictates of their conscience, as long as they do not infringe upon the rights or liberties of their fellowmen. I am at the defiance of the world to prove that the Latter-day Saints have ever infringed upon the rights of oth- ers. They have been persecuted and trodden upon for their religion's sake, but they are willing that other people shall enjoy their convictions in this re- gard. We will try to treat all man- kind as brothers and sisters. We will treat them as fellow-citizens until they prove themselves unworthy. But we do not propose to shake hands with the devil, so to speak, to show how liberal and generous we are. We have nothing to do with him nor his ways, for he fell and was cast out, with other rebel- lious spirits, and he became the devil. He and his host of unembodied spirits, if they could have had their way, would have compelled men to follow their course, and do as they directed, but that was not according to the plan of our Father in heaven. He designed that we should all enjoy religious lib-
erty, and be free moral agents unto ourselves; and it is because we insist upon this principle, and this rule, that we have, in a measure, become obnox- ious in the jsight of our fellow-men. The devil is not dead, by any means, nor his hosts, but he is "continually going up and down in the earth seeking whom he may devour," as the Scriptures say, putting it into the hearts of one class to persecute another class of people, and trying to draw men from virtue to vice and to bring them down to death. It is necessary for us to be true to our covenants, and to teach the world what "Mormonism" really is, that it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, restored to the earth in the day and time in which we live.
We have every reason, my brethren and sisters, to feel encouraged in the work in which we are engaged. The word of our Father in heaven has been declared that this Church, which is the embryo of the kingdom that* will come and govern during the millennium, shall not be overthrown or given to an- other people. We do not need to look forward with such uncertainty as the early Saints, who were taught by the Apostles that an apostasy would take place. It is different in our time, for we have the assurance, through the prophets of God, that this work shall not be overthrown, whether we, as in- dividuals, fall or not, the work of God will continue. Now, I pray that the blessings of the Lord will continue with us during the meetings of our conference and that we may go away much refreshed and strength- ened. May God add His blessing; I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON,
(President of California mission.) For the few moments I shall stand before you, my brethren and sisters, I sincerely desire your prayers of faith, for one of the hardest things in my ex- perience has been to speak to the Saints of God. I am not afraid of the people of the world, because we have a message to bear to them. We can tell them of the revealed Gospel, that God has set
ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON.
25
His hand to reclaim His chosen people from the four corners of the earth, that His kingdom has been set up in these the last days, never more to be thrown down or given to another people. We can tell them of the gifts, of the offi- cers and of the ordinances of the Church. We can tell them that God has again revealed Himself to men in the flesh, and that He has sent His an- gels with messages of great joy for the salvation of the souls of men. This is new and strange to them, but to the Saints of God, who have grown famil- iar with these teachings, it seems that it is like "carrying coal to Newcastle" for me to speak to you upon these things. I know that the Gospel is true. I feel in every fibre of my being that Jesus is the Christ. I know that Jo- seph Smith was His prophet, and was the agent in the hands of God in es- tablishing His work in the last days, never more to be thrown down or giv- en to another people, although we may fall individually, as my brother has said.
I rejoice in mingling with my broth- ers and sisters. There is nothing dear- er to the heart of the missionary, it seems to me, than to come to Zion and commune with the Saints, and hear the testimonies and receive the instructions of those who are called to preside, those men who are the living oracles of God upon the earth. My heart was lifted up in praise, and my courage was strengthened in the testimonies borne this morning by the First Presidency of this Church, in the message of peace and good will unto all men, which should characterize the efforts of every Latter-day Saint, and particularly the missionary. Like Isaiah of old I felt to say:
"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that pub- lisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
"Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice- with the voice together shall thev sing; for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
We live in that day and age, my brothers and sisters. The Lord has
gathered His children from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south, even every one that is called by His name, and has brought them and established them, as foreseen of old, in the tops of the mountains, where the house of God has been erected, that the fulfillment of the promise made of old, that the hearts of the children should be turned to the fathers and the hearts of the fathers to the children, might be realized; that this Gospel should come in its fulness, and that a full fruition of all the promises of the ancient prophets might be realized in this generation and link the dead past with the present, reach out into the future and make the children of God one in the knowledge of the Gcspel, enjoying its fruits and realizing its promises.
These men who have been called to preside are the oracles that keep us in the straight and narrow way. If it were not for them it wo dd not be long before we would be in the same condi- tion as the people of the world: we would forget the plan of salvation; we wo'dd change the ordinances and trans- gress the law; we would be left in darkness; we would be leaders of the blind. When men tell us that the Scriptures are complete and contain all that is necessary for salvation, I would ask: Why, then, do men in this d;iy — men who profess to be scribes and scholars, who have been tutored in the seminaries of the land to be teachers of the word of God to the people— why do they differ as to the rendit'on of those Scriptures? Why will some tell us that belief alone in the Lord Jesus Christ is su;ticient to save us, and others just as well educated, just as well housed as to their places of worship, just as pop ilar among the people and with a following iMst as large, wiK say it is necessary that men should be baptized? Then, again those who agree upon the neces- sity of baptism differ as to how it should be performed, whether it should be by sprinkling, by pouring or by im- mersion, and others will say: We we'- come you into our faith and will ad-
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GENERAL, CONFERENCE.
minister this ordinance in any form you desire it. If the canon of Scriptures is full, and it is not necessary to have oth- er teachings along this line, to make things plain nor to have living oracles, why this disparity in the teachings of the scribes and scholars, and those who, like the Jewish scholars of old, have been instructed in colleges of learning, and yet differ as to these things? Who will tell us definitely from the Scrip - tures, and settle the controversy, as to who can perform marriages and how i! should be done? For whatever the Lord God doeth, we are told, is forever. Who among the Christian ministers will dare to perform a marriage for time and all eternity? and yet God gave, by the hands of His prophets, wives un- to His servants, and it was forever. Tell us who should partake of the sac- rament, whether it should be the Priest alone, the close communicant, or all the people. Tell us upon what day we should worship; should it be upon the Sabbath of the Jew (Saturday), or Sun- day, the day of the Lord, as observed by the Christian churches? Tell us, if the canon of scripture is full, who has the authority to minister in the rites of baptism, of which we have been speak- ing, whether it should be the Deacon, or the Priest, or the Elder. It is not nec- essary, regarding these ordinances and rituals of the Gospel, that God should reveal the way, and make it clear to His people how these things should be done? These men in the world, who would teach us, have the Bible, and many of them have studied it closely, and are converted largely to its teach- ings, and yet there is all this diversity of opinion regarding these things.
Recently I was at the Stanford Uni- versity, and upon the bulletin board there I read a proposition like this, which was to be debated upon: "Re- solved that a new religion, for all men and for all time, should be established for the human race." Down in the city of Los Angeles I observed a new struc- ture going up, bearing the name of "The Church of the New Christian Re-
ligion." I thought to myself that the people of the earth, those outside of our own Church, feel the necessity of living oracles, else why debate this question? else why establish a church called the new Christian religion? If the principles that were set forth by Christ and His Apostles were main- tained in their purity, and complete- ness, there would be no need to estab- lish such a church, nor to debate such a question; for the . Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation. It does not deal with the past alone, nor with the uncertain fu- ture, but with the living issues of to- day. Within it is that agency that will uplift and save humanity in every land and clime, if they will but heed its teachings. There is nothing that the heart of man can conceive of, that is desirable and good, that is not included in the Gospel. There has been no sys- tem of ethics evolved that parallels the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, as contained in the fulness of the Gospel. Despite the scattered truths that were revealed by Christ, and the great men of the earth since His days, those who have spent years in writing ethical truths have never been able to eclipse the old pagan fathers of Greece, who knew not the Lord Jesus Christ, nor His teachings, and they have never evolved a better scheme for the evolu- tion of mankind, to bring them to a plane of perfection. It takes the Gos- pel of the Lord Jesus Christ to do this thing; but the people of God are in the minority, as they have ever been since the earth was or- ganized, apparently, for no sooner did Adam and Eve commence to beget sons and daughters than there were those who strove against the righteous and the righteousness of the law. Although Goa had in- structed Adam not only in His word and in the plan of life and salvation, as we can see from the scriptures, but also in the art of agriculture, how to prune and dress the vine, how to clothe their own bodies, and how to live, yet, notwithstanding this, Adam's sons re-
ELDER JOSEPH E. ROBINSON.
27
belled against the truth, and one of them put to death righteous Abel. Even in the time of Noah, despite the fact that there were many great men, such as Jared, Laraech, Cainan, Methuselah and Enoch, who heard the testimony of father Adam— and one of them, Enoch, had walked with God for 320 years- yet the majority of the people in that day turned a deaf ear to the word of God. Noah labored with them upwards of 120 years to convert them to the testimony of their fathers. Many of them, doubtless, had a knowledge of the Lord, and knew that He had appeared and talked with men, and yet how few received his testimony. Well, after this time, we find that even Abraham had to flee from his father's household, and from the idols his father worshiped, and go into a strangs land and among a strange people to receive the Priesthood of the fathers— which, by right, be- longed to him— that he, too, might wor- ship the Lord God, according to the dictates of his conscience, free and un- trammeled from the superstitions and unjust laws of his father's house- hold. It was not the majority even, that believed after the miracu- lous manifestations of the Lord in Egypt. Although He brought His peo- ple from that land and overturned, one by one, the gods of the Egyptians, what a short time it was after Moses was removed from them that they forgot God, and returned to the worship of the Egyptian god, Ammon, symbolized by the calf made by Aaron and his broth- er, and, as a result, the wrath of God prevented all, save two, from going in to the promised land. Take the history of the prophets later: They were sub- jected to insults and injuries, and many of them were put to death by the peo- ple who said we have no need of prophets, we have Moses for our pro- phet and have no need of thee. This his- tory was repeated in the days of the Savior who called the people to account because they embellished the sepulchers of the prophets, but stoned to death the living prophets. It was the Savior who said to the people of His own country who were offended at him: "A prophet
is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house." He was put to death, and His Apostles, save one, were all put to death because of the testimony they bore,, and that, too, largely by those who were looked upon as the wise of the earth, students and scholars of the law. In this day and generation, while history has repeated itself, by us being in the minority and our prophet and his brother and many of the Saints being put to death for the testimony of Jesus, the promise is made unto us that in this day the Gospel will continue, as you heard by the mouth of the Prophet of God this morning, un- til every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ, when there shall be none to hurt or make afraid in all God's holy moun- tain. I say, may God hasten the day, and may He help us so to live, my brethren and sisters, that people abroad may sense the fact that our desires are to uplift humanity, that "Mormonism" has revealed unto us that plan, that system, that scheme that will save mankind, being the truth which makes men free.
I remember one of my experiences upon a railroad train, in speaking to a well traveled lady, a scholar, too, upon some of the ethics of the day. She had been reading from Browning's "Rabbi Ben Ezra," or "The Story of Life," on the opportunities of men. She dwelt largely upon its beauties and the pos- sibilities which it held out to men to become Godlike. Without telling her who I was, I elaborated upon and ex- plained to her the belief of the Latter- day Saints regarding the opportunities and talents that God has endowed us with, telling her that inherent within us are the attributes of Deity, and that we only lack the time and opportunity to develop these things to become like the Father. As I dwelt upon this sub- ject at some length, she became great- ly enthused, and, having learned my name, she said: "O, Mr. Robinson, I think a man who entertains such phil- osophy as you do must be able to reach out into the infinite, and clasp hands with the Creator, and be lifted away
28
GENERAL, CONFERENCE.
from the things of this mundane sphere; that there is nothing mean or low that a man who has such grand ideals could stoop to do." She talked in this way and looked at me rather curiously, and at last I asked her if she would not like to know what school of philosophy I belonged to. She said she would, and I told her that I was an Elder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, common- ly called "Mormons." She exclaimed, "O, horror! horror! I would not have sat there if I had known that." After a while, when she had to get off the train, having considerable baggage, I proffered my assistance, and she ac- cepted it, but I told her that before I would help her off I would like to ask her a question or two. "Why is it that when I told you of the philosophy of the evolution of man along the lines of right, and all that is good and legiti- mate, that you praised it as the grand- est philosophy you ever heard of, and said it was soul-satisfying and elevat- ing, and that it lifted men above the mundane things of this sphere, and then when I told you that this was the phil- osophy of the 'Mormon' people you turned away from me in disgust and derision." "Well," she said, "Mr. Rob- inson, it is such a horrid name; why can't you call yourselves something else?" I rejoice in the name we bear, my brethren and sisters, that of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. Have you ever thought of the fact that, out of the hundreds of churches and isms in the world, ours is the only one that bears the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that even nineteen hundred years after the Sa- vior's time upon the earth? Of all the churches I have heard of, and we have a great many in California, the one that came the nearest to that name was an independent church on Broadway, in Los Angeles, called "the independent Church of Christ" — not the Church of Jesus Christ.
I rejoice in the Gospel and in the op- portunities that it holds out to us, and in the assurance it gives me that we shall live, as spoken of by Brother
Pratt this afternoon, and be clothed upon with eternal youth and everlasting life, associate with our loved ones, and answer the full end of our creation; that all of the grand ideals, all of the hopes and ambitions that are God-like in this life shall be met with a full complement, and be realized to the full- est extent in the life to come, and we shall rule and reign forever with Jesus Christ, our Lord.
God bless you, my brethren and sis- ters, and help us to realize these things, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir then sang, "Count Tour Many* Blessings."
ELDER J. GOLDEN KIMBALL.
I am ready to confess that I am keyed up to a pretty high tension, and the only thing I am afraid of is that I will say just what I think, which would be unwise, no doubt.
I feel a good deal, or at least I ima- gine I do, like a man does when held up by a burglar and he is looking into the muzzle of a six-shooter. I would quietly and willingly hold my hands up, but during the time would think very profoundly of what I would do if given my liberty. We are in a similar posi- tion today, but all the men in the Unit- ed States cannot prevent a man from thinking. There are not Apostles enough in the Church to prevent us from thinking, and they are not dis- posed to do so; but some people fancy because we have the Presidency and Apostles of the Church they will do the thinking for us. There are men and women so mentahy lazy that they hard- ly think for themselves. To think calls for effort, which makes some men tired and wearies their souls. Now, brethren and sisters, we are surrounded with, such conditions that it requires not only thought, but the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Latter-day Saints, you must think for vourselves. No man or woman can remain in this Church on borrowed light. I am a strong be- liever in the following statement made by my father in the House of the Lord in 1856
ELDER J. GOLDEN KIMBALL.
29
"We think we are secure in the chambers of the everlasting hills, but the time will come when we will be so mixed up that it will be difficult to tell the face of a Saint from the face of an enemy to the people of God. Then, brethren, look out for the great sieve, for there will be a great sifting time, and many will fall; for I say unto you there is a test, a test, a TEST com- ing, and who will be able to stand?"
I think we are able to decide thpse matters for ourselves, through the grace and favor of the Lord. We ought to know where we stand. There are a multitude of thoughts springing up into the minds of the people regarding our present condition, and as for my- self, I believe if we, as Latter-day Saints, those of us who have a testimo- ny, will testify that Jesus is the Christ and Joseph Smith is a Prophet of God, it will bring us all the trouble we can stand. At least, that has been my experience. Our special mission and calling is to see to it that all peoples and nations hear the glad tidings of great joy. Personally, I have no feel- ings against the Gentiles and those who are not of our faith, and I can say it honestly, thanking the Lord that T am broad minded enough to carry the olive branch in my hand and preach the Gospel of peace to the nations of the earth; but when it comes to apos- tates and our own people lifting up their voices against us, I tell you there is not influence enough to restrain me from rebuking them. I am not will- ing to fold my hands and stand silently by and hear apostates abuse our lead- ers and people. Why? Because they know better. They have been taught, nurtured and warmed at our hearths, and they know they falsify the truth. I will say to the Latter-day Saints, I have no use for a traitor, unless he will speedily repent of that great sin. I do not believe the Lord will give to a traitor salvation, unless he repents. The people of these United States have no use for a traitor. The Masons have no earthly use for them, neither have the Methodists, Baptists, or any other Christian people, and I join them in the cry against traitors and those that love and make lies.
I will now read to you a few words from the sayings of the Prophet of the Lord, at a meeting held in Nauvoo, Illinois, July 2nd, 1839, with the Twelve Apostles and some of the Seventies who were about to go on their missions to EuroDe.
"O ye Twelve!" said Joseph, "and all Saints! Profit by this important key— that in all your trials, troubles, temptations, afflictions, bonds, im- prisonments, and death, see to it, that you do not betray heaven; that you do not betray Jesus Christ; that you do not betray the brethren; that you do not betray the revelations of God, whether in the Bible, Book of Mormon, or Doctrine & Covenants, or any other that ever was or ever will be given and revealed unto man in this world, or that which is to come. Yea, in all your kicking and floundering, see to it that ye do not this thing, lest in- nocent blood be found on your skirts, and you go down to hell. All other sins are not to be compared to sinning against the Holy Ghost, and proving a traitor to thy brethren."
I pray God to bless you, my broth- ers and sisters. I wish there was more time for us to speak to the people. I say to you, as a servant of the Lord and as a watchman upon the towers, it is high time that we were looking up. I tell you, if there is anything on earth that we need in the Church, in this day in which we live, it is not money or temporal power, it is a spirit- ual uplifting, and it must take place in Zion, or else there will be a falling away.
Now, brothers and sisters, in your comments and conversations and in expressing your views, see to it that you do not express yourselves thought- lessly before the rising generation; don't pass your opinion too quickly.and by doing so cause the young people to fall away from the Church, for they have not received the testimonies that you have. You have a great mission to perform at home. See to it that you do not "lift up the heel against the Lord's annointed," crying out that they have transgressed, for the Lord
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
says, "those who cry transgression, do it because they are the servants of sin, and are the children of disobedience themselves."
May the Lord bless, direct and pros - per this people, I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER DAVID H. CANNON, (President of St. George Temple).
I have rejoiced in listening to the tes- timonies of the brethren who have pre- ceded me this afternoon, and in the words of counsel and admonition we re- received from the Prophet of the Lord and His counselors, in the meeting of the conference held this morning. I desire that, during the few moments I shall occupy, my utterances may be under the guidance of the Spirit of God, because this is His work with which wa have become identified.
I was very pleased with the remarks of President Kimball, in regard to being true to the Gospel, and to the obliga- tions we have assumed in connection with this great latter-day work. I re- member meeting a man wno had been diligent during his early experience in the Church, who had been valiant in testimony regarding the principles of the Gospel that God had revealed for the redemption of His people. This man left the Church, after having been faithful to the Gospel for many years. I asked him how it was that he had lost the testimony. He said he could not say, that he was just as sincere af- ter he denied the faith as he was at the time he was preaching the Gospel. I met him again, a few years afterwards, when he was reunited with the Curch, and I asked him how he accounted for these changes. He told me that the cause of his apostasy was made known by the revelations of the Lord to him, and that it was because he had grieved the Spirit of tne Lord by talking against his brethren, men who were appointed to preside over him. He told me that President Young had inaugurated co- operation in temporal affairs, and that! it came in contact with his own pre- conceived ideas; that he murmured against President Young, and also against others of the servants of God,
and the Spirit of God became grieved and by degrees withdrew from him, and he was left to himself. As he fell into darkness he neglected his duties, neglected to say his prayers and to live according to the requirements of the Gospel, until his mind became blank, the light that had shone within him be- fore ceased, and he was an apostate. Subsequently the Lord touched his un- derstanding, and caused him to realize his position; he then began to see if ha could not regain the light by humbling himself before the Lord and manifest- ing exceeding humility. By degrees, the Spirit returned to him, and the light in its glory, and the beauties of the Gospel, dawned upon his mind, and he again became faithful and diligent, and continued so until the time of hi9 death. Now, the light of the sun, when it illuminates the world, does not come suddenly, for we, with our natural eyes, would not be able to endure it. If you will arise early in the morning you will, probably, see the morning star preceding the daylight, then a glimmer of sunrise in the east, and, as time ad- vances, the earth becomes bathed in an effulgence of light, and, by its coraJ ing gradually, we are able to endure it> Just so with the Gospel. The princi-' pies God has revealed for the redemp- tion of His people do not manifest themselves to the people suddenly, but the man who conforms to the first prin- ciples, having faith in the Lord Jesus, repenting of his sins, going down into the water and being baptized for the remission of his sins, receives the Holy Ghost, which will lead him into al> truth. As he obeys the laws of the Gospel, and conforms to its sacred re-* quirements, his understanding of the Gospel broadens; but when he ceases to do right the light of truth begins to wane within him. As long as he proves faithful and diligent in the observance of the laws of God has revealed, that light continues to grow within him, and the Gospel satisfies his heart's desir* in the shape of religion; but when he becomes derelict in his duties, and begins to neglect his prayers, and speak evil of the
ELDER JOSEPH W. McMURRIN.
31
servants of God, criticising those who bear the Holy Priesthood who preside over him, then the light begins to wane again, and the Spirit of God withdraws until he is left entirely to himself.
This work, my brethren and sisters, is the work of God. He has revealed it to bring mankind back into His pres-> ence. By strict obedience to its require- ments we will have joy in our life and labors; when we neglect to conform t* its teachings, the reverse will be the re- sult. Mav God enable us to compre- hend properly the principles He has revealed, and to live by every word that proceedeth from His mouth, is my de- sire, through Jesus Christ, our Re- deemer. Amen.
ELDER JOSEPH W. McMURRIN.
I have very greatly rejoiced my brethern and sisters, in listening to the good words that have been spoken to us by our brethern this afternoon; I also rejoiced in listening to the tes- timonies and counsel that were impart- ed to us by the Presidency of the Church in the opening session of our conference. I have no doubt but what there was a feeling of joy and satis- faction in the hearts of all the Saints who were assembled together, in listen- ing to the words that were spoken by President Smith and by his associates in the Presidency. We ought to be able, through the training we have received in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to know the voice of the good shepherd and to follow him, and not be carried away by strange voices or by strange doctrines, by the ideas that are presented to us, from time to time, by those who are not of us. I think we must all have felt that we were listening to the voice of the good shepherd, that the inspira- tion of the Almighty actuated the brethren who stand at the head of the Church in the counsels that they im- parted to us in our morning's ses- sion of the conference. We have with- in our own souls the understanding and knowledge that we are engaged in the work of our Father, a work that has been revealed from the heavens for the salvation of the human race, a work that has been spoken of by the mouths of all the holy prophets since
the beginning of time, a work that was engaged in by the Redeemer of men when He dwelt for a little season in the flesh.
Every man who bears a testimony, understandingly and truthfully, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, knows that the knowledge he is in possession of has come to him by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, that it has been given by the revelations of the Father, and that he is not dependent upon man for a continuation of that knowledge. We depend, my brethren and sisters, upon the continuation of a knowledge of the Gospel, that we are in possession of, through keeping the commandments of God. Through keeping these com- mandments we can also depend upon the fulfilment of the promises made pertaining to the future. If we are to have a realization of the glorious things spoken of today it will be through at- tending to the duties and responsibili- ties that rest upon us as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints. We must live in the pres- ent and attend to our duties as they are made known to us, if we are to have the approval of our Father in Heaven, and if we desire to make our calling and election sure. God has pointed out the way whereby we can make our calling and election sure.
Those who are not of us seem to think, sometimes, that it is a dreadful doctrine to teach that we should honor the Priesthood, as spoken of by some of the brethren today, that we should be careful not to lift up our voices in criticism of the authority of God, and that there is danger in pursuing a course of this character. It seems to me, my brethren and sisters, that we ought easily to understand that, if God Almighty has spoken from the heavens, and has clothed men with His authority, and commanded them to magnify that authority in the midst of the peoples of the earth, He will ex- pect the peoples of the earth to recog- nize and honor that authority, and especially require this of His Saints, who have a knowledge of the truth. That is a part of the responsibility that has come to us through the Gos- pel. While we do not believe we should
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
worship men, or that there is any- thing in the Gospel that requires any man or woman to give undue or improp- er reverence1 to any man, we do be- lieve the Gospel requires that every soul shall recognize the authority God has established, and that they shall follow that authority. That has al- ways been the case in every age of the world. Whenever God has had His authority upon the earth he has de- manded this of the people; and He has abundantly blessed those who have hearkened to His counsel, and who have been true to His representatives.
My brethren and sisters, let us take warning from the words that have been spoken. We should remember that the mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is and al- ways has been. "Peace on earth and good will to man," as stated by one of the First Presidency this morning. It is the mission of this great people- not the few men who are abroad in the world preaching the Gospel, nor just the few men who compose the Council of the Twelve, nor any other organization of the Priesthood alone — it is the mission of the entire people that their lives, their conversations and example shall declare to all the world we love peace. We have received the message of truth, and it is our mis- sion to bear record to the divine will of our Father in heaven and preach the Gospel, that men may be saved. Our Father revealed in the very begin- ning of this work, as men became anxious to know the will of God con- cerning themselves, that the most im- portant thing men could do was to cry repentance to the people, to teach the doctrines of the Gospel, and that if they labored through their entire lives and saved but one soul, great should be their reward and their joy in the kingdom of our Father. We need to save souls at home; we need to be do- ing things, to be laboring diligently, that our skirts may be clear, and that we may be justified. It is written in the revelations that we are not to wait to be commanded in all things. Some- times we appear to think that the Bishop, or some other authority, should
designate labor for us, and that we are not to do anything unless we are in- structed or appointed to do it. God has said: It is given to man, by his own agency, to seek to bring to pass much righeousness, of his own voli- tion and of his own will, without com- mandment from any source; and he that waiteth to be commanded in all things is a slothful and an unwise steward.
Now, we need to be doing the things that have been suggested to us today, and the things that will be suggested in the counsels that may be imparted to us in other meetings. By doing so we shall be firmly established in the everlasting Gospel, and no experiences can ever come to us then that will wrest us from the foundation upon which we stand, if we stand upon the foundation of obedience to the things of God we will always see the light and rejoice therein. There will be no fear in our hearts; for the Spirit of the Lord will be with us, and the Spirit of the Lord casteth out all fear. God bless you, my brethren and sisters, and may power be given unto us to be true and faithful to our covenants, and to each other, and to our Father in heaven, is my prayer, through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang, "Love Everlasting," after which the benediction was pro- nounced by Elder Angus M. Cannon.
OPEN AIR MEETING
An open air meeting was held on the Temple block Sunday afternoon, April 3, at 2 o'clock. Elder Geo. A. Smith, presiding. Singing, "High on the Mountain Top." Prayer was offered by Elder Rulon S. Wells. Singing, "Guide us O Thou Great Jehovah."
President Wm. T. Jack of the Cassia stake, was the first speaker. He re- ferred to the restoration of the Gospel through the boy Prophet, Joseph Smith, and showed the necessity for authority to baptize and administer in the laws and ordinances thereof, such authority as was held by the Apostles and Saints of old and which was taken from the earth when they passed away. It was necessary to be restored to prepare the hearts of the people for the coming of
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
33
the Master. The speaker admonished the Saints to continue to live lives of purity that they might in very deed be the people of God and a light unto the nations.
Elder Benj. Goddard spoke upon the subject of baptism for the dead. He showed how unjust it would be to con- demn and cast into perdition the mil- lions who had not had an opportunity of hearing or believing the sacred Gos- pel of Jesus Christ. Said that beyond the grave the Gospel is being preached now, even as Christ himself went to the spirits in prison for this purpose. Bap- tism, he said, is an indispensable prin- ciple. How strange it would be for Christ to preach the necessity of bap- tism without providing a way in which His instructions and commands might be obeyed. Since baptism is an earthly ordinance it must be performed on earth, and as Christ ha,s done a vicar- ious work for us, so may we work vi- cariously for others and thus become saviors on Mt. Zion. The speaker quoted scripture to prove his remarks, dwelling emphatically on the saying "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead? If the dead rise not at all why then are ye baptized for the dead?"
Elder Arnold H. Schulthess spoke of the wonderful and rapid growth of the Church, and how the Spirit of God and the spirit of sacrifice took hold of the people's hearts in foreign lands and led them to the land of Zion to establish an ensign of righteousness on the moun- tain tops. He closed by bearing a strong testimony to the truthfulness of the Gospel.
President James G. Duffin of the Southwestern States mission read from the Doctrine and Covenants a revelation concerning the Gospel, as revealed to Joseph Smith, being preached to all the world. He showed the great mis- sionary work being done by the Saints and the sacrifice the "Mormon" people are making to proclaim to the world the blessed principles of life and lib- erty for which the Master was cruci- fied, and for which Saints in former and latter days have been willing to live and die. Over 52 nations of the
earth have already been visited by the Elders, and the work will continue* un- til all nations shall hear it, and until righteousness shall cover the earth as the waters cover the deep.
Elder Rulon S. Wells continued the theme of the rapid growth of the Church, citing instances where God's power has been manifest in the Church's development. He referred to the natural and strange desire among the Saints abroad to come to Zion when they receive the Spirit, notwithstanding the opposition that might be "c-ought to prevent them. He showed that the Spirit of God bears testimony to them that they are the people of God, as it did to the Apostle Paul, Peter and the other Apostles and Saints. He said the gates of hell had not prevailed against the Gospel when the Master was nailed upon the cross, but that was the great- est victory the Church had ever known. The work of redemption defied the gates of hell and lifted men to their Re- deemer.
President Ben E. Rich of the Southern States mission read the hymn, "Oh My Father," and commented upon the same. He proved by Scripture that our spirits had a pre-existence. Christ was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world, to be wounded for our trans- gressions and bruised for our iniquities, that by His stripes we may be healed. Jeremiah was chosen and ordained a Prophet of God. Job was one of the sons of Gcd who shouted when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy. We were sent here as to a school to prepare us for the higher grade we may enter in the land of eternal progression.
There is a secret something that whis- pers to us we are but strangers here, that dust we are and to dust we shall return; but "the spirit shall go back to God who gave it." There is a force' in the words of the faithful Elders abroad which strikes conviction to the hearts of many.
Elder George A. Smith closed by bearing a faithful testimony. Singing, "Oh ye mountains high" by the con- gregation and benediction by Elder B. Clegg.
SECOND DAY.
Monday, April 4, 10 a. m. The choir and congregation sang the hymn which begins:
"Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah, Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer."
Opening prayer by Bishop William B. Preston.
Singing by the choir:
"Ye simple souls who stray Far from the path of peace,
That lonely, unfrequented way To life and happiness."
ELDER A. O. WOODRUFF.
The fHithrul are valiant in the testimony of Jesus — The doubtfui are fearful In times of danger — Power to resist temptation— Tre kingdom of God can be seen on y by the obedient.
My dear brothers and sisters, I hope that through the blessings of the Lord I may be able to make you hear, and be guided by the Spirit of our Heaven- ly Father in my utterances. I desire to say only those things that the Lord would have me to say. I feel very thankful to the Lord for a testimony of the divinity of this work, for a knowledge that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world, and that Joseph Smith was divinely commissioned of our Heavenly Father to establish this work, which has at- tracted the attention and the interest, either for or against it, of so many people. If it were not 'that God is at the helm, and directing this work, it had as well been abandoned many years ago; but the great assurance which has possessed this people in •every hour of trouble, has been that God would deliver them and lead them out of every difficulty, stronger in faith and in numbers than before. That has been the history of our people. Had it not been for this testimony, that the Lord Himself is the author of this work, the conditions which have arisen in the past would have caused the people's
hope to sink within them, and the outlook would have been very forbid- ding.
From time to time we may expect trouble and difficulty, because the Lord has decreed that He would have a tried people; that he would purify the gold in the fire, but that none of the gold should be lost. The dross would be consumed, and the gold should still remain. Such has been the past ex- perience of this latter-day work, which has grown so marvelously under the persecution and the trouble which has beset it, ever since it was started by the Lord through the Prophet Joseph Smith. The Latter-day Saints, as a rule, are not easily shaken by condi- tions, however trying they may be. The experience of the past has shown us that the few men who have fallen by the wayside, because they were f?lled with fear when trouble arose, have signally failed in their efforts to lead others from the Church. The ma- jority of the people of God to~day are not easily moved nor frightened; their hearts do not sink within them when clouds appear upon our horizon. I believe it is pleasing in the sight of the Lord when His people have suffi- cient faith not to be easily moved, so that when any difficulties arise, or whenever they are beset by the enemies of righteousness, thev do not feel that the whole work is going to pieces, and that the Church can no longer make the remarkable progress it has made up to the present time. Our past history should be a strength unto us, and a hope for the future. It should stimulate our faith in God. Indeed, in the minds of those who have a testimony of the truth, there is no doubt whatever in re- gard to the outcome of this work. They know it will triumph over all its adver- saries, no matter how powerful they may be. Whatever agencies are organ- ized to oppose the work, they know
ELDER A. O. WOODRUFF.
35
that God is all-powerful, and that He rules the destinies of men and nations, and He will bring His work to victory in the end. So the Latter-day Saints who are doing- their duty are not easily moved. On the other hand, whenever anything has arisen in the shape of opposition, and whenever the clouds have been dark and threaten- ing, those who were weaK, because they were not doing their duty and keeping the commandments Of the Lord, have always been the ones who thought the work was going to pieces, and that "the bottom was falling out of Mormonism." Whenever members of the Church have such feelings within them it is an evi- dence of their own weakness, and of the fact that they are not keeping the com- mandments of God, because of which they have not the assurance regarding the final victory of this work that a faithful man possesses. We expect there will be opposition, but at the same time we confidently expect that God, in the future as in the past, will deliver us if we will only do our duty. We never intend to so shape our faith and belief that it will please the adversary, or the world. The present chaotic con- dition of Christendom, with its jarring, differing sects, presents a practical il- lustration of what the Gospel would be if it were cut and pruned to suit the wishes of the enemy of all righteous- ness. This Gospel tree which was planted in the meridian of time by Jesus Himself and which was nurtured by Him and His followers, was shorn of many of its limbs and branches to suit the wishes of the ungodly, until its symmetry was lost. The Priesthood was taken to God, while those who were devout in maintaining the pure principles which God had revealed were put to death in various ways, because they would not recant, and deny the testi- mony which God the Eternal Father had given to them. These faithful souls contended that man must fear God rather than man, that he must meet his obligations to God, and in so doing he could not help but be a good citizen of the state. Those who keep the commandments of God are certain
to become a benefit to any community in which they live. Most people shiver at the thought of trouble, especially if it come to them individually. They may feel all right if it comes to some one else, but when it strikes home those who are inclined to be weak and doubtful in regard to this work be- come very fearful. For their part they do not want any persecution. All they desire is a smooth road, a pathway strewn with roses, where there are no obstacles to meet. But we claim that this work is divine, and if we expect to receive the reward of obedience thereto we may expect to labor hard for it. If we gain the great reward, we shall not be able to shun the fight, but will have to be valiant for the testimony of Jesus, upholding right- eousness, doing our duty to God and to our fellow men in every respect. When I see men, as I do sometimes, who are filled with fear every time there is prospect of trouble, I always think of the Apostles in the meridian of time. I think of how they, rather than deny the testimony of Jesus Christ, were willing to submit to the most ignomin- ious death for the testimony which God had given them.
The pride of the Latter-day Saints in regard to this work is that it is true, revealed from God to man, and that, unlike the various man-made or- ganizations there has been no necessi- ty to call a convention for the revision of its creed, to suit the will and wishe« of -mankind. This fact has been one of the main features which has stim- ulated the Saints through all the trou- bles and trials which have come to them, and one of the things they have cherished most. As Latter-day Saints we have great reason to rejoice in the goodness of the Lord. He has never forsaken us; and while I do not think that we ought to tempt Providence, or do unwise things that would bring trouble upon us, I have no fear in re- gard to the outcome of this work, if every man in the Church does his duty to God and to his fellow man. The fear is, if we have any in regard t« our
30
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
selves individually, can we keep the faith? Can we trust in God in times of trouble and adversity as well as in times of peace? For my part, I rejoice that the Lord is still at the helm. I ofttimes think of the experience of the Savior, after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, and was then tempted of the devil. He was shown the king- doms of this world, and was promised dominion over all of them if He would but fall down and worship Satan. What was the answer of Jesus? "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Then He was taken upon a pinnacle of the tem- ple and told by Satan to cast himself down; "for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." The Savior answered him, "It is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Now, I feel that, as Latter-day Saints, we have no right to, figuratively, cast ourselves from the pinnacle of the temple. God expects us to use the wisdom He has given us and not to tempt Him. Then if trouble comes upon us, according to the will of God, we will be strong to meet it. It is not always those who ap- pear anxious to get into a fight who are the bravest when the battle is on. More frequently those who are the most re- luctant to enter the combat are the ones who show the best qualities under fire. As a people we have never had any de- sire for trouble. We only desire to serve God and keep His commandments, and then to leave the result with Him. By doing this we will be justified in the eyes of God as well as in the eyes of all good men. We never expect the wicked or the ungodly to be pleased with the plan of life and salvation which the Lord has revealed, but we do hope that the honest in heart will be able to see the kingdom of God as it has been established.
A friend of mine, a few days ago, in speaking of that pas- sage which is so familiar to us all
relating the conversation of Christ with Nicodemus, brought to my mind a new phase of that part of it where the Savior says, "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." In other words, we cannot expect a man to see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. I had never thought of it particularly in this light before, but there appears to be some force in it. Notwithstanding the kingdom of God was established by the Redeemer Himself, His enemies could not see it because they had not been "born' again." It was right among them, yet they were not able to per- ceive it. The same may be said in re- gard to the work which the Lord has established in this day. Notwithstand- ing the Church and kingdom of God is among the people, they see it not, they comprehend it not, because they have not been "born again." According to the words of the Savior, they cannot see the kingdom of God unless they are born again; consequently they do not recognize the fact that the Church of Christ is upon the earth, and the king- dom of God is here in embryo, because they will not receive the light which has come into the world, for they love the darkness of the world better than the light of the Lord. We believe, how- ever, that every trouble and adversity which the Latter-day Saints are called to pass through will tend to call the at- tention of the honest in heart to the work of God, and will be the means of bringing salvation to hundreds and thousands. The very agencies which our enemies use to defeat this work will be overruled by God for the benefit of it. It must be very discouraging to the enemies of truth when they take a retrospective view of the history of the Latter-day Saints and see how the Lord in His kindness has turned, for the blessing and increase of the Latter-day Saints and the work of God, all their efforts against it. Everything they have done to defeat it has only tended to strengthen it. This is in accordance with the saying of the Lord, that man could do nothing against His work, but for it.
ELDER SEYMOUR B. YOUNG.
37
I love the work in which we are en- gaged. I have faith in it and in its final outcome. I believe in God the Eternal Father, and I know that we are able to approach Him. In His lov- ing kindness He is mindful of us. We have access to Him, and He answers our prayers. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, and that this is His work, and that it will come out triumphant. I thank God that I have faith in the leaders of this people. I have faith and confidence in Joseph F. Smith, the man who stands at the head of this Church; I know him . to be inspired of God. The Lord is with him, and with the help of God I want to follow his leadership, observe his counsels, and do the will of the Father as it shall be expressed through him. God grant that the spirit ,—of peace which the Gospel brings may pervade the homes of all the Latter-day Saints, that we may not be filled with fear at any time, except in regard to our own condition, and lest we may not be keep- ing the commandments of God. The only reason that we have for fear is that we are not living near enough to the Lord; but if we are doing His will we need not fear, for though all earth and hell should assail His work, yet will it prosper, because it has the stamp of divinity upon it. It is the work of God, not of man. This is my humble testimony, my brethren and sisters, and I rejoice in bearing it, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER SEYMOUR B. YOUNG.
My beloved brethren and sisters, I desire very much that you will assist me by your faith and prayers, that in what I shall say I may be led and guid- ed by the Spirit of the Lord. When I look upon this congregation of friends and brethren, my heart rejoices, and I am led to a renewal of my faith, and to greater confidence in the principles of the Gospel and the outcome of the work of the Lord. As the days and the years advance, the evidences of faith in the religion of Jesus Christ are manifested by your coming together in these gen- eral Conferences. When the first Con-
ference of the Church was held in the State of New York on the ninth day of June, 1830, I think there were only twenty-six members in the Church at that time. When the second Confer- ence was held in September of that same year.there were thirty-five or thir- ty-six. Comparing that Conference with the one we are holding at the present time, there is certainly evidence that the Lord is in this work, not only in the increase of numbers, but in the liv- ing faith that is in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints today, prompting them to faithful labor and to united effort in pushing forward the work of the Lord.
Reference was made yesterday to the life of our Savior, and to the generally accepted idea that yesterday was the anniversary of the day on which He rose from the tomb. However, whether Easter Sunday is the proper day or not, we have no objection to it. The great underlying fact is that He rose from the dead, after having suffered crucifix- ion for the sins of the world, and that He was the Son of God. After He arose He ministered unto His disciples; but we are told there was one doubting Thomas, who would not believe though his fellow disciples assured him they had seen the risen Redeemer. After- ward, when the Apostles were all to- gether in a room, with the doors shut, Jesus stood in their midst, and said, "Peace be unto you." Turning to Thom- as, He said unto him, "Reach hither thy finger and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust into my side: and be not faithless, but be- lieving."
We know today that in the ministry of our Lord and Savior there were but few who followed Him, as compared with the great mass of the people. His doctrine did not please the multitude. Very few received His word and believed that He was the Savior of the world, the promised Messiah, the expected King of the Jews. We note, too, that the persecution which came upon Him, His scourgings, His buffetings, and His final crucifix- ion, were not administered by the
38
GENERAL, CONFERENCE.
heathen, nor by those who had no pro- mise in regard to the coming of the Messiah. It was His own race, the house of Judah, from which He sprang, that inflicted upon Him these cruel tor- tures, and finally put Him to death upon the cross. So it seems to have been all along the line of true Chris- tian endeavor and work. Wherever there has been the Spirit of truth, wherever there has been an effort to lead humanity into a better way, and to mark out a righteous newness of life, there has been intense opposition exhibited against it by the many. The truth has had but few followers, but it has had many opposers.
When the Prophet Joseph Smith was inspired by the Lord Almighty to es- tablish this work in the earth, he gave to it the best efforts of his life. Every thought, every reflection of his soul, and the love of his whole heart, were enlisted in this great work. How great it was he possibly did not realize when the Lord first communicated to him; and even after the Church was or- ganized and began to assume a condi- tion of some importance in the world, even then, no doubt, he was not fully aware of the greatness of the structure he was instrumental in founding; but as revelation was given to him, precept upon precept, and line upon line, he became more and more filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and with enthusiasm in regard to the work; and as his en- thusiasm grew, and as he became more and more endowed with power from on high, the efforts of those who op- posed him were renewed and redoubled. We find that history repeated itself. The opposition did not come from the heathen, it did not come from non- believers in Christ, nor from unbe- lievers in ancient prophets and apos- tles. It came from men who said they believed in the mission of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and in the mission of His apostles, and that they believed He suffered death for the sins of the world, and rose again on the third day, thus becoming the first fruits them that slept, He having the key of the resurrection, with power to
unlock the tomb. So, as I say, we find history repeating itself. Opposition to this work has not come from those who did not believe in Christ, but it has come almost invariably from those who . have professed to be followers of Christ, just as the opposition to the Savior came from those who professed to be- lieve in His Father. Singular as it may appear, it is an everlasting truth that there is always opposition to the principles of life and salvation, and it seems as if the more men profess to be enlightened, and the greater their professions of faith, the greater is their opposition to those who introduce liv- ing, saving truths. The fiercest op- position to the Savior came from those who professed to be the most devout in their observance of the law of Mo- ses, and who adhered most strictly to the forms and rituals of the law. And so opposition to the Gospel of Jesus Christ to this day has come from those who appeared the most devout.
DesDite all this, we are moving along in the even tenor of our way, and mak- ing some progress. Testimonies are in- creasing in the midst of the Saints, and as our young people grow up to man- hood and womanhood they are receiving the testimony of the Gospel, and ar-i willing to go forth and devote their lives in proclaiming this Gospel. Our mis- sionaries now have gone forth to the principal nations of Christendom, and are lifting up their voices fearlessly in proclamation of the truth. Yet we are not very popular that I know of in any land. Nevertheless, the Gospel is ex- tending, Zion is growing, the Saints of God are spreading abroad, and todaj' our testimonies are brighter than ever before. We have deep down in our hearts a stronger conviction of the truth. We know that God lives, and that Jesus Christ is our Savior, who died for the sins of the world, that we might live. When Easter Sunday comes, or when any other Sunday comes, it is the Lord's day and we reverence His high and holy name. We come together and worship Him. Thus to us every Sunday, in a sense, is
ELDER J. G.
Easter Sunday, for we worship the Lord on that day, and not only on Sunday, but every day in the week. We do not put off the feeling of worship on the Monday, nor on any other day. If we feel as we should, we regard every day as the Lord's day, and we feel that we ought to serve Him and keep His command- ments continuously.and not have a Sun- day religion like a Sunday coat, to be laid aside as soon as the Sabath day is passed. The religion of the Latter- day Saints is practical to a wonderful degree. Hence, we see that during the last four weeks, through the advice and counsel of the leaders of the Church, we have had four new Stakes of Zion organized. Every organization thus perfected will add strength to the work, and will give greater power to the brethern who preside and to the people over whom they preside. Moreover, it will add to the glory of God, because the Saints will live nearer to Him and keep His commandments better; for where the Saints are thoroughly ad- monished, and are in close touch with their leaders, the spirit of union, and the power to do good and to work righteousness, is greatly increased. So we rejoice whenever a new stake or a new ward is organized. And all this is in keeping with the progress of the work. We realize, my brethern and sisters, that we are not held in very high esteem by our friends of the dif- ferent Christian faiths of the world; but this does not matter. We have our work to perform, and if we act well our part the Lord will see that His work will spread abroad in the earth, and that all the honest shall have the chance to hear the gospel. I rejoice today that we have leaders in our midst who know and understand the mind and will of the Lord, and who are will- ing to devote all their energies and their lives for the good of Israel. Un- der the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord they prepare for these great Con- ferences, and they give us the word of the Lord, that we may be encouraged from time to time by meeting together and hearing their voices in no uncer-
McQUARRIE. 39
tain sound proclaim the mind and will of the Lord. They point the way in which we should walk, and they ad- monish us to follow them as they fol- low Christ. We have confidence in our leaders today, and the Lord has given us inspiration to be able to say that we know this is His work, and in this we are determined to devote our lives and the best talent He has given us, That we may be faithful and true in keeping the commandments of the Lord is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER J. G. McQUARRIE, (President of Eastern States Mission.)
My brothers, sisters and friends, I wish I could express the blissful con- sciousness I feel thrilling and pulsating through my soul in being surrounded by thousands of my brothers and sis- ters. One can hardly realize this feel- ing unless he has been out separated from the love that one feels in Zion— cast upon the ocean, as it were, like a cork amidst the waves, a stranger in the community in which he sojourns, and after a few years to return to be surrounded by thousands of people whose faces are lit up Dy the same spirit, and to clasp the hands and feel the throb of that pulse which beats in harmony with his own. I am grateful unto God for the blessings of the Gos- pel and for this spirit which makes us kindred with those in heaven, and causes us to feel we are renlly and truly brothers and sisters.
I preside, act as a kind of bishop, over that portion of territory lying north of Virginia and east of Ohio. It includes about one-third of the population of the United States. There are a great many people there who have not yet learned I am their "bishop," and I ex- pect it will be a long while before they find it out. When I was first asked to preside over that district I felt the re- sponsibility, in that vast throng of God's children, to see that they were warned of the fact that the Gospel has been restored and that it is now being preached to the world as a witness. When I stood upon Brooklyn bridge.
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
one of the great thoroughfares of the city of New York, and watched the throngs of people passing (three hun- dred thousand every day), and when I realized that this was only one of many thoroughfares in that great city, and that city was only one of many in the district; and when I thought of the thousands of cultured, eloquent minis- ters in the district, it seemed impossible for a few western boys, many of whom, like myself, come from the sands, rocks, and the cactus fields of the south, to make ourselves heard, or known in that great mass of humanity. When we first hired halls no one entered them, and when we tried to get into their homes and experienced their exclusiveness, I again thought how impossible the task would be. Had I not known that this work was from above, I would have given up in discouragement. One had to possess a sublime faith in God, knowing that it was His work, and that he could make possible what He had called him to accomplish. With this faith we turned our faces to the task, carrying on the good work that had been started by those who preceded us. I feel today I can say we have at least accomplished one part of our task. I believe that every soul in the district has heard that the kingdom of God has been established, that God has spoken again from the heavens, that His ser- vants are traveling as they did ancient- ly, and that this Gospel is being preached as a witness unto the people. God has done His part. Among other things He has used the powerful agency of the press. The press with its ten thousand tongues has sent this Gospel into the homes of the rich and proud as well as the poor and humble. And this, not because of our ability, but as a result of our faithfulness. Scarcely a week passes but there is something in the papers concerning the work in which we are engaged. Portraits of the Elders, views of their homes, the places where we hold our meetings, and our articles of faith, are published so often that we cannot help but acknowledge that God is assisting us to accomplish His purpose. This strengthens our
faith, even as Nephi's faith was strengthened when he returned after accomplishing his mission, obtaining the plates of brass "that a nation should not dwindle in unbelief." I men- tion this to strengthen the faith of some who may feel unable to accomplish the task that God has assigned to them. While many things are said in op- position to us it is only bearing out the prophecy that the name of Joseph Smith should be known for good and for evil in all the nations of the earth. If you wanted to make your name known for good and evil in all the nations of the earth, how could you do it? Think of how few men have made their names known in all the earth, either for good or evil. The name of Jesus Christ has been eighteen hundred years reaching the limits, and yet today, nearly every one who has heard the name of Jesus Christ has also heard the name of Joseph Smith; and while they say many things that are evil concerning him there is generally something said that is good.
During the last year we have had greater success in our district than ever before. We have succeeded in estab- lishing ourselves quite firmly. We hold Sunday schools and regular meetings in good halls and in good districts; and we have congregations in Boston Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Albany, and Alleghany! Reporters come to our meetings and in- terview the elders, and when they come in contact with them, and meet a pleasant congregation of representative People, they get a good impression of us, and this preaches the Gospel more effectually than we proclaim it. I remember when the greatest storm of abuse we ever ex- perienced broke over us, when there was a very bitter feeling, re- porters came to meet the elders' and they remarked that we looked like college graduates, that we had that clear look in our countenances which indicated virtuous living. We cannot help but show in our faces the Spirit of God if we keep His commandments. When we assume to be representatives
ELDER J. G. McQUARRIE.
41
of the Church and kingdom of God. when we go out of private life and assume public life, something more is expected of us. When our boys and girls are called from the various avo- cations of life, and go into public life as missionaries of the gospel, they themselves seem to realize this fact. Tbey know they are expected to repre- sent the character of Latter-day-Saints. They know that their mothers, fathers, and friends are praying for their suc- cess. They know they are expected to reflect credit upon the Church. They feel that, in a way, they are representa- tives of Jesus Christ, and that they should reflect His character in their lives and His principles in their teach- ings. I believe the Latter-day-Saints can be justly proud of their boys and girls, so far as their conduct in the mis- sion field is concerned. When I hav-.; seen boys come into the mission fiela unsophisticated, perhaps uneducated, some who have never spoken in public places, some who never were called upon to defend their belief, but who possessed that living faith deep down in their hearts which, when the call for duty came, prompted them to respond to it, when I have seen this class of boys become in a very short time able defenders of the faith, and competent to meet any man in the world in support of the principles of the gospel, it has been to me a strong testimony of the truth- fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I have noticed, too, that members of the Church who are indifferent, and who visit us occasionally look with pride upon these Elders. If they should see an Elder with a cigar in his mouth, or entering a saloon, they would be indignant and say he should be re- called, they would assert he was not worthy to represent them, even though they did the same things themselves. Those who are neglectful in keeping the commandments themselves are often most severe in their censure of an Elder who makes a mistake. We have a right, my brethren and sisters, to expect this of our representatives. On the other hand, what has an Elder
the right to expect ,from you who live in Zion? We are pointing people to Zion, we are telling them that it is established in the tops of the mountains that God's house and God's people are here, and when those people come they expect to find Zion. We have a right to ask of every Latter-day Saint that he or she shall reflect the glory of the Gospel light, just as much as you have a right to expect it of your representatives in the world. Christ has a right to expect it from that "peculiar people," that "royal generation," that "holy priest- hood," which Peter spoke of. When we name His name we should keep His commandments. When saints gather up to Zion and they see those who, perhaps, were once Elders among them going into saloons, or other men who bear the holy priesthood breaking the commandments of God, what is the effect? You shatter their faith. I know that the blood moves quicker about our hearts when we sing of these snow-capped mountains, these fertile valleys, and of the crystal streams flowing down from the mountains and running off into a shimmering sea. It is a beautiful picture, my brothers and sisters; but snow-capped mountains, beautiful valleys, crystal streams, and shimmering seas, do not make Zion. Zion is where the pure in heart dwell, and if we are going to live worthy of the light we have received we must be pure in heart. If we live up to the light and knowledge we have received and reflect it in our lives in these mountains, I know that the Gospel can and will revolutionize the world.
We feel encouraged in our mission- ary work, my brethren and sisters. Tour sons in the mission field are doing a glorious work, and they are meeting successfully all the opposition that is brought to bear against them. They do not flinch from the storms that arise; they do not fear when threats are made. I hope that everyone who is here, w.ill appreciate the power of the priesthood, knowing that this is God's work, and that none will feel to waver or falter. God bless you, my brothers
42
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
and sisters, and bless Zion, that she may grow and prosper, I ask it in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER RUDGER CLAWSON.
Un'ty in prayer — Need of prayer under all c.rcum- stanci-s — Th • Lord's willingness to answer it — Operations of good ai d evil.
Brethren and sisters, I wish that each of you could stand here and look into the sea of faces that are before me, and then you would have something of the feeling which I have in standing before so large a congregation of Latter-day Saints. I esteem it as a very great privilege; at the same time I feel the responsibility of occupying tne position of a teacher in the Church of Christ. I feel the need of your faith and pray- ers in my behalf, and of the Spirit of the Lord to enlighten my mind and to inspire my remarks, so that I shall be able to say something that will edify the Saints. I have been very much im- pressed with the spirit of the confer- ence, with the large gatherings in this building yesterday, as well as at the meeting in the Assembly Hall, the meeting at the Bureau of Information, and in addition the large number of people who were walking to and fro on this block. Zion is growing. It is going to be a very difficult matter to accommodate the Latter-day Saints in these conference gatherings. Neverthe- less, we shall have to do the best we can. We rejoice in the spirit of the work.
One thing that has impressed me very much during the conference is the char- acter of our worship before the Lord. In the assemblies of the Latter-day Saints a very important feature is the calling upon the name of the Lord in prayer. The? words that are offered up in the invocation from this pulpit mean a great deal to the people. We must not suppose that when an Elder of Is- rael is called upon to pray, the words which he utters belong to him, or that the prayer is altogether his prayer. I do not so consider it. The prayer which is offered up ascends to heaven in be- half of the entire congregation. This is indicated by the response which fol-
lows the prayer, when the people lift up their voices and say amen. That response makes the prayer general in its character and applicable to the whole Church. It is your prayer; it is the prayer of the Latter-day Saints. And when prayer is offered up in this manner I am simple enough to believe that it penetrates into the very heavens, and is heard by God our Father, and such prayers will surely be answered upon our heads.
It is astonishing the amount of scrip- ture and revelation that has been given upon the subject of prayer, touching its importance, its far-reaching character, and its necessity to the children of men, especially to the children of God. I am reminded of a passage which occurs in a revelation given to Martin Harris in March, 1830. The Lord said unto him:
"And again, I command thee that thou shalt pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea, before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in pri- vate."
"Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing; yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth and corruptibleness to the extent there- of."
How impressive are those few simple words in regard to prayer! How far- reaching! They enter into a man's life and comprehend his whole existence, at least from the years of his accountabil- ity until he passes into the grave. He must pray under all circumstances. Prayer is not reserved for the Sabbath day or for any particular occasion. It is not only to be used at the general conferences of the Church, but the spirit of prayer must be in our hearts unceasingly. We must pray in our families; we must pray in secret; we must pray in our hearts. The spirit, of prayer must be with us when we retire at night and when we arise in the morning. It must be upon us when we leave our homes for our daily employ- ment; in the office; in the shop; in the field; in the mountains or in the valleys, or wherever we are. We are told in the words which I have quoted that if that spirit is upon
ELDER RUDGBR CLAWSON.
us the Lord will bless us, and the bless- ings which will come in answer to prayer will be of more importance to us than treasures of earth. "We know something of the treasures of earth; we realize the value and the desirability of earthly things. We know how they are sought after, and what great sacri- fices are made for them. But how much better it is to enjoy the full measure of the Spirit of God which is promised.
Then we learn in another revelation, that was . given to the Prophet Joseph Smith in 1832, something concerning the character of our heavenly Father. In that revelation He says to His Church through the Prophet:
"Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you: seek me diligently and and ye shall find me; ask and ye shall receive; knock and it shall be opened unto you;
" Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you;
"And if ye ask anything that is not expeuient lor you, it shall turn unto your condemnation."
Mark, brethren and sisters, how clear-cut are these words. There is no doubt, no dubiety. It does not say if and peradventure you call upon the Lord, He may be gone on a long jour- ney and you cannot reach Him; or He is very busy; His attention is now attracted to the nations of the earth; probably He is busily engaged with the great war between Russia and Japan and He cannot give you any attention, therefore you might as well cease pray- ing. No, this revelation does not give forth any such ideas. Our heavenly Father is always near and ready to listen to His children. "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you." It is not like we sometimes find it upon the earth with great men. Take the President of the United States, for instance. He is a great man, with very serious and grave responsibilities rest- ing upon him. His whole attention is devoted to the government and welfare of the people. The obligations resting upon him are perhaps almost more than he can carry. Consequently, when people call on him, many times he can- not receive them. He may be very
43
busily engaged upon his annual mes- sage, or upon some other matter, and those who go to see him may have to wait hours before they get access to him, or it is possible that they may have to trust their business to some representative of the President. How different with our Father in heaven, who has the responsibility of the world resting upon Him. His hand is upon the nations. He is directing in all the affairs of this world. He controls in all the kingdoms of the earth. He knows what is going on. He knows the status of this great war, and He knows just how it will all result. In other words, He will have it come out to further his purposes. He knows all about affairs in England, in France, in Germany, and those ten great king- doms spoken of by Daniel, the Prophet. I have no doubt He knows all that is going on in our own nation, and the great responsibility resting upon the people of the United States, the people of Canada, and the people of all the countries of America. And yet— think of it! He says to you and to me: He says to this poor man and to this poor woman: He says to this rich mar; and t° this rich woman: "Draw near unto Me and I will draw near unto you." Yes that poor widow down there, to whom nobody is paying any atten- tion, and who has very little influence, — to her the Lord says: "Draw near unto Me and I will draw near unto you." "My ear will be open to hear your prayer and to answer it." Did not the Savior notice the widow who cast her mite into the con- tribution box? She was poor; and all she had she threw into the box, and she , was left penni- less, and one might naturally say with- out a friend in the world. But she did have a friend, and that friend happened to be the Lord, than whom there is none greater. He stood there and said of that poor widow that of her poverty she had cast into the box more than all the others who had given of their wealth. Is not this a comfort and a con- solation? And this is what prayer brings — prayer that is offered in the
44
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
congregations of Israel, In the homes of the Latter-day Saints, and from the heart. Such prayer is effectual, and it reaches into the heavens. It has an influence there.
To show the importance of prayer I remind you, my brethern and sisters, that in this world there are two great powers, and these two powers are at warfare. There is the power of good and the power of evil. They do not harmonize, they do not mix. Like oil and water, they will not mix. On the one hand, there is the power of good striving with every man and woman; on the other hand, there is the power of evil striving with every man and woman. Their prospects, their record, and all their future will depend upon which of these two greatpowers controls them. You can see this exemplified in what occured with Peter. The Lord said to him:
"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath de- sired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:
"But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art con- verted, strengthen thy brethern."
What a wonderful saying was this! We would get the impression thai; the Savior had a perfect assurance that His prayer had been heard of the Father. Although Simon Peter was one of the chiefest of the Apostles; like other men he had his weaknesses and his imper- fections, and I suppose the Lord knew wherein he was the weakest. He under- stood that Satan desired especially to sift Peter as wheat, and to destroy him if possible. Herein comes the power and virtue of prayer. The Lord Him- self prayed for him. He did not criti- cize or scold him, for He saw that he had weaknesses — as we all have, and I doubt not but Satan would like to have all of us that he might sift us; as wheat. I firmly believe that if it were not for the faith and prayers of this people, which are ascending continually to heaven, Satan certainly would have power over us, and perhaps in many instances we would be overcome and destroyed. The Lord prayed for Peter, and His prayer was heard, and so He
charged Peter that when he was con- verted he should strengthen the breth- ren. We must bear in mind this great conflict that is going on between good and evil. ' Everything that is good, every power and principle that leads to good, is from God; and every influence that enticeth man to do evil is from Satan, the father of lies. Thus we may judge between the good and the evil.
Before I sit down I want to call your attention to the power of prayer as it has been exemplified in the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, which is truly one of the most wonderful books ever published. The world might appre- ciate this book if they were not blinded by the subtle craftiness of man, and by the power of evil which lieth in wait to deceive. This book came forth by the power of God through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and I tell you that its coming forth was greatly influenced by prayer. It is so declared in one of the revelations of God given to the Prophet, found in section 10 of the Book of Doc- trine and Covenants. I will read it, be- cause it is so impressive, and shows clearly the efficacy of the prayers' which were offered by the Nephites in regard to the coming forth of this book:
"And, behold all the remainder of this work does contain all those parts of my gospel which my holy prophets, yea, and also my disciples, desired in their prayers should come forth unto this people.
"And I said unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers;
"Yea, and this was their faith that my gospel, which I gave unto them, that they might preach in their days, might come unto their brethren the Lamanites, and also all that had be- come Lamanites, because of their dis- sentions.
"Now, this is not all— their faith in • heir prayers was, that this gospel should be made known also, if it were possible that other nations should pos- sess this land;
"And thus they did leave a blessing upon this land in their prayers, that whosoever should believe in this gospel in this land, might have eternal life;
"Yea, that it might be free unto all of whatsoever nation, kindred, tongue, or people they may be."
From this it will be seen that the
ELDER WM.
coming forth of the Book of Mormon was influenced by and in fact was in answer to the prayers of the Nephites, offered up 14.00 years before and recorded in the celestial kingdom. In conclusion, I say to you, my brethren and sisters, that your prayers and my prayers, if they are offered up in faith with single- ness to the glory of God, will be re- corded in the celestial kingdom, and the precious offerings and supplications that go up from these conferences will be recorded and will be answered upon the heads of this people, as God lives, if we will do our duty. May God bless you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem: "Come let us sing unto the Lord." Benediction was pronounced by Elder Collings Hakes.
AFTERNOON SESSION.
The choir sang the hymn which be- gins:
"Though deep'ning trials throng your
way,
Press on, press on, ye Saints of God; Ere long the resurrection day Will spread its life and truth abroad."
Prayer by Elder James E. Steele. Singing by the choir:
"Awake, ye Saints of God, awake!
Call on the Lord in mighty prayer, That he will Zion's bondage break,
And bring to naught the fowler's snare."
ELDER WILLIAM McLACHLAN, (President of Pioneer Stake.)
My brethren and sisters: In standing before you this afternoon I desire, above all other blessings, that the Spirit of the Lord may direct the words I shall utter. Forty-one years ago I be- came identified with the Church of Je- sus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A few weeks later I received a testimony of the truth of this work. In tne year 1862, in answer to prayer, with a very earnest desire to gather to this land, the Lord spoke to me by the power of His Spirit, and gave unto me a promise that I should have the privilege of gathering according to my desire the
McLACHLAN. 45
following year. With that word came the most positive and definite assur- ance that was ever given to man. I could not doubt the word that the Lord gave to me on that occasion, and it was fulfilled to the very letter, although I had much trouble and difficulty in accomplishing my wish. From that time to the present I have been a resi- dent of Salt Lake City— that is, from October, 1863. I feel it is a great honor to be called to labor in any capacity in the work of the Lord. I realize very much my weakness and my inability to fill the call that has been made upon me, and the honor that has been be- stowed upon me by the Priest- hood of the Son of God. But I have been a worker, more or less, all my life, and my desire is to serve the Lord first, and then, if I am able, to serve the people with all the strength that God shall give me. I wish to devote my time, and the ability that God shall give me, under the inspiration of His Spirit, in laboring for the building up of this work and the spread of right- eousness and truth in the earth." The pugilists of the present day talk about heavy, light and feather-weights; I feel that I am a feather-weight. But the Lord is just as willing to hear and answer the petitions of the humble and incapable as those who are competent, and blessed with great talents and ability. I feel it is the privilage of every man and woman who has entered into covenant with God to be just as good as the best. There is nothing to prevent all from being good. The man who has the greatest ability is not always the best man; but the man who is humble, who is willing to acknowledge the hand of God, and who will seek His aid in accomplishing the work that has been assigned him, will be blessed and pros- pered in that labor. It is with this confidence in God my eternal Father that I have accepted this honor that has been conferred upon me, and by and through His help I shall try and do my duty.
May the blessing and peace of Heav- en be upon the people of God. May the blessing of the Lord be upon their
46
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
lands, upon their houses, and upon everything that pertains unto them, that we may become a united and a free people — free from sin and from stain of every kind, and live in har- mony and peace tog-ether before God. This is my prayer and desire in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
ELDER NEtPHI L. MORRIS. (President of Salt Lake Stake.)
T most sincerely desire I may be g-uided and influenced by the Holy Spirit in the few remarks I shall make to you upon this occasion. Like Presi- dent McLaughlin, I feel very weak in this position to which I have just been called. I have endeavored during my life to discharge the duties which ware imposed upon me as a member of the Church of Christ, and I have learned that by humility and devotion to duty one may achieve somewhat of success. Without these qualities there is little hope of success. If my remarks are to be measured by my experience as a President of a Stake, they will be cer- tainly very brief, for I was only set apart to this new appointment a little over a week ago. My duties thus far have consisted in signing a half dozen recommends or so, and the attending of banquets, so that my experience 5s very limited. I feel, however, to ac- cept, with meekness and with gratitude to God, the appointment which has been given me, and rely upon Him in the discharge of the duties pertaining to that calling. I am proud to be as- sociated with the Church of Christ, and to have the fellowship of such men as surround me upon this occasion. I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ; I am not ashamed of the mem- bers of the Church of Christ, and can look the world in the face and bear my testimony to the truthfulness of the work in which we are engaged. I know that we are a people called of God for a chosen purpose, to help uplift and save mankind. I know the world mis- understands us, and it is for our heavenly Father and ourselves to make our mission clear to the world. I know that we are maligned and misrepre- sented; but I have no fear of the lies
of the world. They cannot hurt us. We are looked upon as being a fanat- ical lot of people — a people who have no high estimation of virtue, of honor, and of those qualities which go to make truly great disciples. But this is because the world do not understand the Latter-day Saints. It is lor us then, to make them understand us; and if they will but look upon us with- out prejudice they could not fail to ap- preciate the principles which animate our lives — the love of virtue and hon- or, and devotion to God.
My most earnest prayer is that the Spirit of God may continue with His people, and that their lives may be characterized by unity, by devotion and sacrifice to him, and that he may qualify us by His Holy Spirit in the performance of all our duties, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER RICHARD W. YOUNG. (President of Ensign Stake.)
My dear brethren and sisters and friends: Of the fifty-odd Presidents of Stakes in this Church I am the very lat- est in point of ordination. I feel that I have not yet cut my teeth, and that I have not even learned how to talk. I have, however, in my mind some things which I think it would be fitting to mention, if the Spirit shall prompt me, and I pray that I may have it during the few minutes that I shall occupy your time. Like Brother Morris, and like practically all under the sound of my voice, I am proud to be numbered among the Latter-day Saints. I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, and the man does not live who is able to say that on any occasion whatever I have not been willing and, if the occa- sion were proper, anxious to declare my belief in the principles of what is called "Mormonism." I esteem it an honor to be associated with this people, despised and misunderstood though they are. I know their work, their faith, the sacri- fices they have made, their honesty, their virtue, their aspirations and their hopes, and, as I say, I feel it an honor to have a standing in this Church and to be associated with this people. It is no new thing for the people of God to
ELDER ELIAS
be despised, to be despitefully used, and to be evilly and falsely spoken of. That has been the common lot of the people of God in all ages. If we are thought to be unpatriotic, we have but to turn back to the first few centuries after the time of Christ to behold a people who were persecuted by reason of their al- leged lack of patriotism, and by reason •of the accusation that they indulged in treasonable practices. It is reasonable I take it, that the churches of the world should have little sympathy with this church. We have come forward with a message that this is the Church of God, and that by other professing Christian churches the ordinances have been broken, and they have strayed from the true path. Naturally this arouses within them a feeling of indig- nation, and for my part I have some- thing of sympathy for tnose not of our faith in their opposition to this Church, but nothing of sympathy with their de- sires to trample upon right and justice and constitutional principles in their treatment of us. I believe with all my heart that this is the Church of God. I desire to be a humble and obedient member of that Church. I desire to fill the position to which I have been ap- pointed— unworthily I believe — under the influence and power of the Spirit of •God. It is my desire to be useful among this people, according to the capacity which the Almighty has given me, and to that end I pray for the faith of the Latter-day Saints, particularly within my own Stake. I pray God that He may bless this people, that they may appreciate their responsibilities and their duties. Our professions are high, and our conduct should be equally high. It is not sufficient that we should be contented with knowing that we have the truth; we should not stop short of living according to the principles of truth that we have received. We may look among the Christian churches of today and we will find many noble ex- amples of Christian fortitude and sac- rifice, which we might very well emu- late as Latter-day Saints. Again I pray that God will bless this people, that they may arise to the fulness of their
S. KIMBALL. 47
privileges and their duties, and I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER ELIAS S. KIMBALL. (President of Blackfoot Stake.)
My brethren and sisters: I am pleas- ed with the opportunity of reporting the Blackfoot Stake of Zion. I desire to enjoy the Spirit of the Lord in the few remarks I shall offer. I am in- terested in the work to which I have been called. I look forth with hope and aspiration to be able, as a serv- ant of God, to do something, to make a good account of my stewardship, and not to be a disappointment to God and to His servants whom He has placed at the head of this Church. I will take advantage of this opportunity to bear testimony concerning the brethren who stand at the head of this Church. I have perfect confidence in the integrity and honor ' of the lead- ers of our Church. I lift up my voice in protest against every declaration of disrespect concerning them, and, so far as my influence and power goes, to stay such declarations. 1 protest against them. I have been brought in contact with President Jcseph F. Smith and his counselors, and a number of the Twelve Apostles, and I am proud of the honor of their acquaintance, and can testify to their virtues and integrity. I tell you, re- gardless of statements which are made inside and outside of the Church, those men are interested in the welfare of all people, and are laboring incessantly for their welfare and upbuilding. This is my humble testimony to you, my brethren and sisters, and that is the reason I have for saying at this time I believe in them, and extend to them my faith and prayers, and I will give them my support with the help of God. I believe in this Church also. I know it is the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter-day Saints, and I am willing to make any reasonable sacrifice, and I pray that I may be willling to make the sacrifice of my life, if called upon, for the building up> of the Church and kingdom of God in these latter days. If I understand the position cor-
4S
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
rectly, this is a covenant that every man and woman in the Church has en- tered into. Therefore it behooves us to be upon our guard and cease evil speaking. I believe the people of Blackfoot Stake will compare fa- vorably with the Saints in any other part of G-od's vineyard, but I hav3 heard some things that have not been pleasing to me respect- ing the subject I have just mentioned. It is a principle that has been known by our people ever since the organiza- tion of this) Church, that those who lift up their voices against the Lord's an- ointed will not be blessed. It is some- thing that our people should become better acquainted with. In reading the other day about the Japanese, I learned that they are recognized asi the most loyal people of any nation. They love their Emperor, they love their coun- try, and that is their religion. I do not think the Japanese should be one whit ahead of the Latter-day Saints in loyalty. We should reverei and hon- or those whom God has placed at our head. We should give them our faith and prayers. We should not only love them, but we should love our God, our Church and our country. That is my religion, and I pray that I may have it burned into my heart and brain so that I may never forget it as long as I live.
I feel well in the gospel. I know that it has made me what I am, if I am anything. I know it will make me what I hope to become, through a faithful, honest, virtuous life. It is worth to me more than all the riches of the world, and with the Lord's help I hope to be willing to sacrifice all for it.
It is about two months since I was called to preside over the Blackf^t Stake of Zion. It came hard upon me because I was required to break up my home and go to a new country. You who have not passed through that experience will hardly understand my feelings, but you who have been called to fill missions to the nations of the earth, and to make sacrifices in that line, will appreciate some of my feel-
ings. I went into that country and looked over the situation, and, to t^ll the truth, I was a sick man for about ten days and until after I met with the people. Subsequently I felt to glorify God that I had been called from where I lived to a new country, where I might grow up with the people, and help them to develop one of the best, sections in God's vineyard.
Now I will tell you a little about the country. I invite all our brethern and sisters who are without homes, and who expect in the future to seek homes in a new country, to come to the Black- foot Stake. On the west side of the river from Blackfoot, there are over one hundred thousand acres of as good land as lies out of doors. From Ba- salt, on the north, down tne river to Thomas, in the southwest part of the- stake is a distance of twenty-five miles. It has an average width of from six to seven miles, and every foot of that land is arable and can be covered with wa- ter. Running through this section of the country are eight canals, which, when completed will hold a hundred and forty-two inches of water — more water than you have in Salt Lake val- ley. On the east side of the river there is a great extent of territory, which is covered with large canals taken from the Snake river. The country is only partly inhabited. There are many men in that section owning from six huadred and forty to three thousand acres each. They all love the almighty dollar enough to be willing to sell some of their lands. I regret to state, however, there is an excitement at the present time in our community. Eastern capi- talists have thought it advisable and profitable to build a sugar factory near Blackfoot City, and the people have been thrown into an excitement on this account, as they were in Salt Lake City when the "boom" was on, and they are asking two or three times the price for their land that they were willing to take a month ago. I hope and anti- cipate that this spirit will disappear, and that the people will become more reasonable in their prices. In looking
ELDER ELIAS S. KIMBALL.
49
over that country I estimate it is capa- ble of sustaining from forty to fifty thousand people, if it be cut up into smaller farms. I have never seen bet- ter soil; it is as good as you will find in any part of the Snake River valley, and in my opinion that is the greatest valley in the Rocky mountains. You who are unacquainted with the size of Snake river, and the Snake River val- ley, have a very slight conception of what there is to the north of you. I believe that every one claiming the name of Later-day Saint could go into the Snake River valley and become comfortably situated upon farms, it is so large. The Blackfoot district is an excellent farming and fruit district. While I do not wish to discourage our brethren who live up the valley (for they are living in one of God's finest countries), I believe I have many reasons to offer why the Blackfoot section of the Snake River valley is better to live in than it is farther up. It is claimed by the citizens who have lived in that section of the country for a long time that the open seasons there are between two and four weeks longer than they are further up the valley. The altitude of Blackfoot is about the same as Salt Lake City— four thousand five hundred feet— but it is considerably colder than Salt Lake City on account of the winds which prevail there. I have faith, how- ever, in God's willingness and power to help His people if they will keep His commandments, and though these cold winds are disagreeable I think He will do as much for the people of Snake River valley in causing the winds to abate, and the climate to become more pleasant, as He did for the people of Bear Lake valley. My brother Golden and I used to live in Bear Lake valley; we ranched there for fourteen years, and we became inured to the windstorms which occurred con- tinuously through the winter in that country. President Budge, of the Bear Lake stake, informs me that now it is a rare thing to have a severe wind storm, and the climate has become moderated and more desirable for the
people. I have faith that this will occur in the Snake River country. People who live here have been educated to believe it is an undesirable country, with a cold, rigorous climate; I hope the time will come when you will get a correct idea regarding that sec- tion, and that some of you will come there and settle. There are thousands of young people in these older settled communities who would be greatly blessed if they would pick up their knapsacks and come out into the Snake River valley. I realize it is not the desire of our brethern that these older settlements shall become depopulated; but there are hundreds of young men who, if they stay in these older com- munities, will have small opportunity of ever becoming anything particular or gathering around them this world's goods. They have natural ability and intelligence, and they should go into a new country, grow up with it, and be- come prominent in the community.
I pray the Eternal Father that He will bless the Saints of God, and in- spire us all to be faithful, true to our covenants, pure, and to abstain from everything that is reckless or un- wise. I pray that we may become more loyal to God and to His servants. I feel highly honored, my brethren and sisters, in being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and in associating with you as such. I feel highly honored in being called to preside over the Blackfoot Stake of Zion, and with the Lord's help, and the help of my brethren and sis- ters who live there, we will accom- plish something in the development of that country. I have two counselors who are strenuous young men, who have faith in the future, who believe in God, and who have love and confidence in His servants; and we are united. We have a desire to build up that coun- try, that our people will have some- thing to be proud of. May God bless us to this end, is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Olea Shipp and Leo Foster sang a duet, 'As Pants the Hart."
50
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
ELDER HYRUM M. SMITH.
Encouraging reference to rhe young people— Testi- mony of the Go-p-l-The believer and obedient will be saved— The wick d cinnot place the cause of their sins upon others
Relying upon the Spirit of the Lord, and also depending upon your assist- ance, I trust that whatsoever may be said by me this afternoon will be in harmony with the truth, as the truth has been spoken at each session of this Conference. I rejoice in the words that have been uttered, and in the tes- timonies that have been borne, by the servants of the Lord. These testimonies do much toward bringing joy to my soul; for, like the brethren who have spoken, I, too, have a testimony of the divinity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and, like Brothers Morris and Young, I can say that I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. These brethren are young men; I also am a young man, and in repeating that declaration, made by the Apostle Paul in an epistle to the Roman Saints, I but echo the senti- ments of tens of thousands of young men who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am proud to feel that I am a repre- sentative young man among the Lat- ter-day Saints. If there is the slightest Idea in the minds of any of the Latter- day Saints that the young men are not following in the footsteps of their pa- rents, and are not gaining a testimony for themselves, those who entertain such an idea are not acquainted very extensively with the young men of Zion. Because one young man is wild, and perhaps sinful and rebellious, or because two or three may be in this condition, is no valid reason why any Latter-day Saint should imagine that all of the young men of the Church are rebellious and sinful. A young man may have as great a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as may an old man. In evidence of this we need but point to the thousands of young men and women 0f the Church who bear testimony that they know the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and that it is
the power of God unto salvation. The Lord Jesus knew this when He was 'twelve years of age. He knew that His mission was to do that which His Father had sent Him into the world to fulfill. Long before that, Samuel, an- other child, knew it. Long after, Jo- seph Smith, another child knew it. And in the intermediate stages of these times there have been thousands of young men who knew that God lived, and that Jesus is the Christ. We, as young people, are entitled to this knowl- edge, for the Lord will not withhold any blessing, any knowledge, any intel- ligence from a man simply be- cause he is young. Ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? I have won- dered why Paul ever made such a re- mark. He was a man who had been converted by a miraculous light from heaven, and the voice of Christ speak- ing to him demanding why he persecut- ed the Lord, and from that time on he was a preacher of righteousness, a min- ister of the Gospel, a missionary to the rsations of the earth, declaring Christ and Him crucified. Why, then, should Paul say, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ?" I suppose it was because the members of the Church of Christ in those days were despised, hated, persecuted, and put to death for. the bearing of such a testimony; and no doubt there were those who were weak in the faith, and who had no relish for persecution or for death. These Saints to whom Paul wrote, living as they did at Rome, among the Romans, were subject to all these afflictions, and in order to en- courage them, and to point out that the Gospel was above all, and was better than life itself— in fact, that the Gospel was life itself, and that there- fore they need not fear nor be ashamed of it— he, their shepherd, their mission- ary, he who had done much .to con- vert them, desired them to know that he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, because he knew that it was the power of God unto salvation to eve- ry one that believed it; "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." In our day there are many men — more than
ELDER HYR
there were in that day — who have this same testimony, and the same un- daunted courage to say to the Saints that they are not ashamed of the Gos- pel of Christ. Furthermore, they have the courage to stand among the nations and declare the same truth to them.
Why should we be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are we ashamed of the Redeemer of the world, who suffered as we will never be able or expected to suffer, for the truth? Ashamed of the truth? ashamed of up- rightness? ashamed of honesty? of in- tegrity? of obedience to God and to righteous laws? ashamed of all that is good and true? Why indeed should a man be ashamed of these things? And no man with the courage of his convic- tions and with this knowledge in his heart will ever deny this truth to es- cape the persecution, the hatred, the contempt, and the revilings of the world. No; we follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the great Shepherd, who has declared, "For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels." He has said further, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I con- fess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father, which is in heaven." Who among the Latter-day Saints, entitled to all privileges of the knowledge of the Gospel of Christ for himself, will deny Jesus Christ, and by so doing place himself in a position to be denied of the Savior before God the eternal Father? Not the young men of the Latter-day Saints, let me assure you; and let me assure the world, too, that it will not be the young men of this Church who will deny Jesus Christ, and with even greater assurance can I say that it will not be the old men. It will not be any Latter-day Saint who has the knowledge of the truth and in whose bosom burns the testimony thereof revealed from Almighty God, in spite of every effort put forth by the
M M. SMITH. 51
adversary and his emissaries to per- suade or to enforce us to do so. I am proud myself to feel that I have been permitted to be born in the light of truth, and to walk in the path marked out by Christ and well followed by the servants of God. As my brethren have said, I am only too proud to be per- mitted to be numbered with the Latter- day Saints.
The Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation unto all those who believe it; but it is not the power of salvation to any man who does not be- lieve it. Notwithstanding Jesus Christ is the Son of God; notwithstanding he was appointed and ordained before the foundations of the world were laid to perform the work which He accom- plished; notwithstanding He came in the meridian of time by the appointment of the Father; notwithstanding He preached the Gospel, the plan of life and salvation, by which all men may be saved; notwithstanding the miracles He performed; notwithstanding that ultimately His kingdom will triumph, and all enemies be put under His feet, and He will reign as Lord of lords and King of kings; notwithstanding He was crucified for the sins of the world and His blood was shed for the redemption of mankind; notwithstanding all this, no man on the earth will ever be saved by the Gospel unless he believes it. A man will never be saved in unbelief. The Gospel is not the power of God un- to salvation to the unbeliever, but it is destined to save all who believe and obey it. You Latter-day Saints who be- lieve, if you continue in the way of righteousness, shall be redeemed by the blood of Christ and saved and exalted with Him on the right hand of the Fa- ther, just as sure as He lives. The pur- pose of the Gospel is to save us from our sins and our weaknesses, through repentance. How often do the Saints pray, "O Father, forgive our sins; over- look our weaknesses, our shortcomings, and our imperfections. " The Lord has given the Gospel for that very purpose. It is the mission of the Gospel to save us from these sins.
In the time of Moses the Lord gave
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
commandments to Israel, in which He told them they were to worship the Lord God, and none else. They were not to make unto themselves any other gods, nor bow down to the likenesses of anything- in the heavens or in the earth; hut Him only were they to worship; for, said He, "I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my com- mandments." The Jews believed in the law of heredity to a great extent, prob- ably to a greater extent than they were justified; and by and by they took this commandment and crystalized it into a proverb which declared, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the chil- dren's teeth are set on edge." Then when rebuked for their sins and their abominations, they would turn and say, in effect, "Well, we are not to blame. It's not our fault. It is the sins of the fathers being visited upon the heads of the children, and surely God will not condemn us for the sins which we have inherited from our fath- ers, for our teeth have been set on edge by our fathers eating sour grapes." The Lord was very much displeased with this excuse of theirs, and He declared to Ezekiel, the prophet, "As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occa- sion any more to use this proverb in Israel." He then went on to tell the people through the prophet that He would require of every man and every woman in Israel an accounting for his or her own conduct and course in life, and every one should be judg- ed according to the deeds done in the body. These Israelites seemed to forget that part of the commandment which said, that He would show mercy unto thousands of them that loved Him and kept His commandments.
Even in our day there is a disposition on the part of some to say, "Well, my father was addicted to strong drink;" "my father was given to profanity;" "in my father's family was found con- sumption, epilepsy, and other terrible
diseases which are handed down from father to son," and offer that as an ex- cuse for their own bad habits. We also hear it said frequently concerning the son of a man, 'Well, you can't expect anything else; look at his father." Or, speaking of a daughter, "what can you expect from her when you know her mother?" And so it goes; we condone some of the sins and the weaknesses of the flesh on the ground that they are inherited. He who feels that his par- ents are responsible for his inherent weaknesses and evil propensities, and thereby justifies himself, accuses his father of iniquity, and classes himself among the generations of those who hate the Lord. I should not like to be in this condition. Such a one ought to believe in and apply the saving prin- ciples of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which will save him from his sins and redeem him from error, and by means of this Gospel raise himself above all the sins and evil practices of his progenitors. This is what the Gospel will do. There is no law of her- edity that is greater than the redeem- ing power and regenerating influences of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And it is intended to save the body as well as the spirit. If properly lived, there is no sin, no inherited evil — I care not what it is — that the power of God can- not relieve and eliminate from the soul of man. It can redeem us from the er- rors and evils of mortality, and raise us without sin unto salvation into the presence of Almighty God. Therefore, no Latter-day Saint is justified in con- tinuing in weaknesses and in imperfec- tions. All of us have them, nevertheless. The Lord knew that when He gave the Gospel. The Gospel was given for the purpose of relieving us of them. Sin came into the world through the fall of man, and sin shall be banished from the world by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If we would be raised up and redeemed from the fall, let us apply the redeem- ing and saving principles of the Gospel to our own lives, for so long as we con- tinue in sin and are plagued with the weaknesses and evils of the flesh, just so far are we from that stage where
ELDER A.
we can properly apply the Gospel or that part of it which will particularly fit our condition and save us from our evil tendencies.
Ashamed of such a power and such a plan? Ashamed of those who preach it? Ashamed of those who practice these principles, and who thereby have risen to a stage beyond and above their fel- lowmen who, perhaps, may regard them with contempt? I say the Latter-day Saints are not the people who will be ashamed of this power of God unto sal- vation. We will continue to believe and to practice the Gospel; we will continue to be obedient and to serve God; we will continue to love our neighbor as ourselves, to return good for evil; to give a blessing for a cursing; we will continue in the straight and nar- row path which leadeth unto eternal life, in spite of all that the adversary of the souls of men can do. Brothers and sisters, your sons and your daugh- ters will do this. As young people we rejoice that it is our privilege to fol- low those who are older, who are wis- er and more intelligent, and who can set a good example. Thank God that we have such men to follow. I ask you young men and you young women of the Church, where in all the world among the leaders of men, in the state or in the Church, can you find more no- ble examples of righteous, just, God- fearing, self-sacrificing lives, than you find in the lives of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his successors? Every young man ought to be proud and thankful to Almighty God that he is permitted to follow such men. That is my feeling, brethren and sisters, at the present time, and I pray that it will be forever. I know it will be so with the Latter-day Saints forever if they con- tinue in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God unto salva- tion unto all who believe. God bless you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER A. W. IVINS. (President of Juarez Stake.)
I esteem it a great privilege and . blessing, my brethren and sisters, to have the opportunity of meeting with
W. IVINS. 53
you in Conference upon this seventy- fourth anniversary of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ of Lat- ter-day Saints. Looking backward, and contemplating the history of the Lat- ter-day Saints from the organization of the Church until today, I rejoice with you that the "marvelous work and won- der," which was inaugurated with the restoration of the Gospel in tne dispen- sation in which we live, has been so re- markably developed, under God's provi- dence and blessing. The fact of our being here, the great extension of this work, the representatives who are here from more that fifty organized stakes of Zion, are all witnesses to us that the Lord has fulfilled thus far every prom- ise made to His people. Contemplating these things, I know of no example where the blessings of God to His peo- ple, His provident hand, His mercy and kindness, have been more directly man- ifest than in His hand-dealings with your brethren and sisters who are es- tablished in the Republic of Mexico. We are not in a desirable country, as men understand country to be desirable. Mexico is a land of barren, treeless wastes, a land of dry rivers, of rugged, impenetrable mountains — a desert land, if there is one occupied by the Saints upon this continent. Notwithstanding that, the few Latter-day Saints who are there (they now number thirty-seven hundred souls) have accomplished a most remarkable work. We have had no pecuniary assistance at all from the government in which we live. They have never constructed a rod of road or built a bridge. Notwithstanding this fact, however, hundreds of miles of wagon road have been constructed and many bridges have been built; eight prosperous colonies have been estab- lished, orchards are loaded with fruit; gardens are filled with flowers; comfort- able and in many instances, almost luxurious homes have been built — and all this done by a people in their pover- ty, who went there without resources, depending solely upon the as- sitance of God and their own efforts. And they hardly knew why they went there. They knew
54
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
they were going into the land of the La- manites; they knew they were going- to a government whose president, whose ministry, whose army, and whose navy (so far as they have one) were made up of people who were direct descend- ants of Father Lehi; and they believed that in the providence of God He had a mission for them to perform there. Time has passed, conditions have de- veloped, and today we see the wisdom of the Almighty in placing a few of His people away off in that southern coun- try, where the Gospel can be introduced to this remnant of the house of Israel. The people have established as good a school system as exists in the Church. Free schools are maintained in every one of the colonies, and we have never received a dollar of help from the gov- ernment. It has all been done by the free-will offerings of the Latter-day Saints. We have as good a stake acad- emy, so far as our courses extend, as any in the Church, which is maintained largely by the voluntary contributions of the people. Since I was installed by President Lyman as President of the Juarez Stake of Zion, eight years ago, the population of the Stake has increas- ed seventy-five per cent. During the same period the tithes of the people have increased three hundred and twen- ty-five per cent. Our relations with the Mexican government are exceeding- ly satisfactory. We keep entirely out of politics; we mind our own business, and are left in peace— thank heaven for that! We cannot offer homes to our brethren and sisters, notwithstanding the fact that we would be very much pleased indeed to have additions to the colonies, because of the very limited resources we have. That is to say, we cannot offer inducements of a financial character; but I do believe that the mor- al atmosphere of our colonies compen- sates us to a very great degree for the lack of this world's goods which we so much feel. During the eight years I have been in Mexico I have never heard the name of Deity profaned by a Lat- ter-day Saint, I have never seen a member of the Church with a cigarette in his mouth, and I have never seen a
member of the Church under the in- fluence of liquor. There may have been isolated cases, but they have never come under my observation. I do not say this boastingly, for there are many re- forms that we can yet make to advan- tage, and whatever we have been able to accomplish, God alone has the credit for it, since we have depended entirely upon Him.
As I came to Conference this morn- ing two men sat on the seat immedi- ately behind me in the street car. One of them was an old man and a member of the Church of Christ. The other was was a younger man, whose accent clearly indicated his foreign birth, and whose features showed him to be a native of northern Europe. He was a man, I detected in a moment, of more than ordinary intelligence. Speaking to the old gentleman, he said: 'What do you people come up here to Con- ference for twice a year?" The reply was: "We come up to be taught the word of the Lord." "The word of the Lord! You profess to be the Church of Christ; do you make any converts around here?" "Well, I don't know that we do." "Of course you don't, because your doctrine is a delusion. You profess to be the Church of Christ, when in reality this is a man-made Church of yours, and Christ has noth- ing to do with it. Thank God I found this difference." "Why! you cannot be very well acquainted with the history and doctrines of our Church." "Oh yes, I am, I know all about it; I have been here for twelve years." I thought to myself, if this is man-made religion which we teach, where under heaven would you find a religion from God, our eternal Father? And my mind re- verted back to prominent incidents as- sociated with the establishment of this work. At that time how little the world knew of God; how little they knew the manner in which religion, or anything else in fact, might come from Him! How vague was the conception of the Prophet Joseph himself concern- ing the great plan of redemption when he prayed to God the eternal Father to give him light, and
ELDER A. W| IVINS.
then came that remarkable vision. God Himself revealed His own person- ality and the personality of His Son, the Reedeemer of the world! And with the closing of that vision there stood upon the earth another witness for God competent to declare that He was in the form of man. What a revelation to those people who had been worshiping they knew not what and calling- it God! True, Joseph Smith stood alone in this testimony; but that testimony, corrob- orated by the written word of God in the Bible, still stands unimpeached be- fore the world, and it is stronger, bet- ter evidence of the personality of our Father in heaven, and that Christ, His Son, lives and speaks to the inhabitants of the earth, than a negative assertion by all the world who simply doubt be- cause they have not seen. Then came Moroni with the record contained in the Book of Mormon, lifting the veil from off this great continent of ours, and giv- ing to us the key by which the myster- ies of these great ruins in Mexico, Cen- tral America and Northern South America (many of which I have seen myself) may be unlocked, and by which the hand-dealings of God with the mighty peoples who have occupied the American continent are known. And more than that, it gave us the Gospel of Christ in its simplicity and purity, as He Himself taught it to the Nephite nation. Then came John the Baptist restoring the Aaronic Priesthood; then Peter, James and John, restoring the Melchisedek Priesthood. How consist- ent, how orderly it all is — the time, the place, the messengers, the message! Do you believe for a moment that Jo- seph Smith had wisdom to devise such a plan and introduce it under such cir- cumstances? This man in the street car said that Joseph Smith and Brig- ham Young have a terrible debt to pay for leading these thousands of people into delusion and entangling them in the meshes of this net they have thrown around them. Through the res- toration of the Melchisedek Priesthood by the Apostles, the Holy Ghost came to the world, which testifies to you and to me that the record which Joseph
55
the Prophet bore concerning the ap- pearance of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, is true. The confer- ring of the Aaronic Priesthood by John the Baptist restored the Gospel of re- pentance; and, thank heaven, he told us that Priesthood should never be tak- en from the earth again — an assurance that has not been given to any other people that have ever lived. Have not we seen that promise vindi- cated up to the present time? The Church is fifty thousand times stronger than it was seventy-four years ago, as to membership. Is it fifty thous- and times stronger m faith? Yes, I say it is; for we understand the gospel better. By application we have learn- ed it better. Excommunications from the Church are far less in proportion to numbers. There are not so many falling away. Consequently, I say the faith of the people has increased pro- portionately with, membership. And this work will continue to grow strong- er and stronger and greater and great- er until it does what God has said it would do — regenerates this earth; teaches men a better life; makes them more moral, more honest, more virtu- ous, more God-fearing, more patriotic, and more capable of administering gov- ernment, whether it be civil or ec- clesiastical, in justice among men and in righteousness before God. That is what the gospel is going to do.
Why is the world. afraid of it? What is there in it to fear? Is it treason to say that we believe in God? That we believe this nation of ours (for which we thank Him!) exists under His di- vine protection and care, and that He has established it and maintained it? God inspired Washington and the pa- triot fathers of this country and helped them fight their battles in the revolu- tion. He sent Lafayette, Rochambeau and De Kalb to assist them. He strengthened the hands of the Federal army in the war of the rebellion, be- cause the integrity of the union was to be maintained. He has preserved and lifted the people of this land above all nations, that they may be a light unto the world, an arbiter of nations,
56
GENERAL CONFERENCE.
and an example of justice and righte- ousness to all. And He will maintain them in that just as long- as they fear and believe in Him. Is it treason to say that men owe allegiance to God, and that governments owe allegiance to God? Does it show lack of patriot- ism to say to this great nation of ours, that this is a land choice above all other lands, and that the inevitable de- cree has gone forth from God, and it hangs over this nation today just as it has over every nation that ever occupied the American continent, that the people, or nation, which occupy this land, must serve God and ac- knowledge Him? "We say that, and we want the world to understand it,
as we do every doctrine of this gospel. There is nothing covered about it. We welcome investigation. Every prin- ciple, every doctrine, the organization of the Church, the union of the people, God help us to keep them all intact. I testify to' you that this is the work of God; that it is inspired of God today through its leaders as much as it ever was. God help us to keep our cov- enants with Him, and to wait patiently and see His salvation. I ask it through Jesus Christ. Amen.
The choir sang the anthem: "Glori- ous is Thy Name, O Lord," and after benediction by Patriarch John Smith, the conference adjourned until Wed- nesday, April 6, at 10 o'clock.
THIRD DAY.
Wednesday, April 6, 10 a. m. The choir sang the hymn:
"Sweetly may the blessed Spirit On each faithful bosom shine; May we every grace inherit; Lord, we seek a boon divine.''
Prayer was offered by Elder Angus M. Cannon. The choir and congregation sang,
"Now let us rejoice in the day of salva- tion."
ELDER CHRISTIAN N. LUND, (President of North Sanpete Stake). My Brethren and Sisters: I must say that this call came to me this morning very unexpectedly, and I very much de- sire that the few moments I shall oc- cupy I may enjoy the Spirit of the Lord and be assisted by your faith and prayers. It is the first time in my life that I have stood before so large a con- gregation. I have been very much grati- fied during this conference to listen to the many excellent remarks that have been made by our brethren who have addressed us. I have been edified and built up in my faith, and I have felt to thank the Lord with all my heart that I have been permitted to be num- bered with this people. I heard some of the brethren say that they felt hon-
ored. Any man may well feel honored to be identified with this marvelous work that the Lord has instituted in the earth in these days. When I entered this building this morning l was think- ing that this is the seventy-fourth an- niversary of the organization of the Church of Jesus Christ upon the earth in the latter days. Seventy-four years ago today the Lord inspired His great prophet, who was then but a youth, to organize His church upon the earth for the last time. He had previously been given the promise, when the angel con- ferred upon him the Aaronic priesthood, that that priesthood should not be taken from the earth until the sons of Levi should offer an offering unto the Lord in righteousness. That promise has been given to no other dispensation and to no other people, but it was given to this dispensation, indicating that the work which God established through the Prophet should remain; that it was not to be given to another people, and it was not to be taken away again, as had been the case in farmer dispensations. That promise has no doubt comforted the hearts of the Latter-day Saints in hours of af- fliction, when the clouds of darkness
ELDER CHRISTIAN M. LUND.
57
have obscured the heavens. It is a source of comfort to us today, as it has been ever since the work was intro- duced. When we look back over this period of time we can praise the name of the Lord and say that so far He hath verified that promises This Church has grown from that day to the present, in numbers, in strength, in power, in righteousness, and in all that tends to make us mighty in the earth.
When the Savior was asked in His day to tell what should be the signs of His coming and of the end of the world, He told a number of things that should transpire before that time. One of these signs was that the Gospel of the kingdom should be preached to all the world for a witness, and then should the end come. This seems to me the great mission of the Church in this dispensation, to send the Gospel to all nations for a witness before the end shall come. When our Elders go into the various nations of the earth they do not expect to convert all the people, but they go to warn all people, to preach the Gospel for a witness to all nations where they have the privi- lege of going, that all men may be without an excuse before the Lord in the day of judgment.
I feel honored to have the privilege of being a member of this Church. I feel grateful to my Heavenly Father that He called me from the land that gave me birth; that He sent his ser- vant, our great Apostle of the North, as we used to call him— Brother Erastus Snow — who came to our country to turn the keys of the Gospel to the thousands and tens of thousands of the blood of Israel in those lands. I feel grateful that in my boyhood this message of the Gospel came to me, and that God touched my heart, enlightened my mind and inspired my soul to understand the truth. I felt at once that it was from the Lord, and I have felt so from that time to the present. I have tried to give to this work my best thoughts, my best efforts; and I trust that this shall be my aim in the future.
A little over three years ago the Sanpete Stake of Zion was divided in two, and I was called upon to preside over the North Sanpete Stake, which comprises the north portion of Sanpete county. I want to say here, by way of report of that stake, that we have in that stake a good people; a people who are desirous of serving the Lord and who are trying to keep His com- mandments and to roll forward this great work. They are endeavoring to pay their tithes and their offerings unto the Lord, and to live so that they may enjoy His Holy Spirit. We have eleven wards in our stake, some very small and some large. They are presided over by some of our best men. Since coming to conference we have been notified of the death of one of our most worthy men — Bishop James A. Allred — who has presided over Spring City ward for the last 23 years. A better man, a better presiding offi- cer, I do not think we have or have had in our stake. He was 84 or 85 years of age, but until within a few months he seemed to be strong, energetic and capable of taking charge of everything pertaining to his ward, and he had its affairs in his hands just as though he were a young man. We regret very much to lose his services, but we feel that he has performed a most glorious mission. He has been an example that will be a strength to that ward and to that stake for years to come. So I may say about our Bishops generally. They are men of God. Our High Council, and our brethren who have charge of the various organizations,, are likewise men of God, and are trying to perform their duty to the very best of their abil- ity.
Now, my brethren and sisters, I real- ize that the time of this conference is very precious, and it would not be proper for me, nor do I feel inclined, to occupy more of it, but I am glad to bear this testimony to you this morn- ing. I know as well as I know my own existence that this is the work of God. The Lord has revealed this to me through His holy Spirit. I know that
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that he held the keys of this dis- pensation, and that God revealed Him- self to him, in connection with His Son, Jesus Christ. I know that the men who have succeeded him in the presidency of this Church have been men of God and prophets of the Lord. I bear the same testimony concerning President Joseph F. Smith, who now stands at the head of this great work upon the earth. I sustain him as a prophet of the Lord. I sustain his coun- selors, and the Apostles also, as men of God. I pray for them continually, and ask God to bless and strengthen them to carry the grave responsibilities and burdens which are laid upon their shoulders to the honor and glory of God and the blessing and benefit of His people. May God bless us all, I ask it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER MOSES W. TAYLOR, (President of Summit Stake).
My brethren and sisters, I desire an interest in your faith and prayers, that what I say may be inspired from on high. I am very much pleased with the remarks that were made by Presi- dent C. N. Lund. I was very glad to hear him say, "I pray for the authori- ties of the Church, and I sustain them." There is something wonderful in the thought that we pray, and then that we practice what we pray. I would like to see every Latter-day Saint practice what they pray. "When one of my coun- selors was selected and the authorities asked him what he thought about it, he said, "I can live my religion, but I fear I cannot preach it." The Apos- tles said to him, "You are the man we want. We want somebody that can live their religion and not preach so much." And I think it would be a good thing to go a little further and say, "We can practice what we pray." I have heard of some Latter-day Saints praying to the Lord to sustain the prophet, seer, and revelator who stands at the head of the Church, and then go out on the street corners finding fault with some recent instructions or counsels given by the President. I
would like that class of people, if I had anything to do with tnem, to say, "I will practice what I pray."
As far as the Summit Stake of Zion is concerned, we live on the tops of the mountains, and when anyDOdy asks us how we are getting along we always say we are still on top. I can testify that we have some excellent Saints in Summit County. We have some good Bishops, some good High Councilors, some good Superintendents of Sunday Schools, of Religion Classes, of Pri- mary Associations, and of Mutual Im- provement Associations. They are very active and energetic. Our home mis- sionaries are also active, and it does not matter how muddy the roads are, or how far they have to travel, they almost invariably fulfil their appoint- ments. l«on»etimes one may excuse himself on account of having a sore foot, or something of that kind, but as a rule when any of them have a sore foot they wrap a rag around it and go anyhow. That's the kind of people we have in Summit Stake of Zion. I sometimes think that we have a few out there whose labor consists principally in standing around, after they have pi'ayed to sustain the au- thorities of the Church, and "knocking" those same authorities. But there are very few of this kind; I generally say we have just about six. "We have not the richest piece of land on the face of the earthy. and we sometimes have frost on the Fourth of July; but when our potatoes are frozen, it seems like the Lord blesses them and they begin to come up again, so that before the close of the year we have some good pota- toes. Occasionally they may be small, but they are the kind that falls down like flour when they are cooked, and are good to eat. Everything out there is good. Our lettuce is crisp and good, and all else that we have we think is good. We have coal mines, gold mines, silver mines, and everything of that kind. "While we sometimes think we are the poorest people on the face of the earth, yet we know that out of Summit county comes most of the riches of the state. Nearly all the rich
ELDER THOMAS E. BASSETT.
59
men of Utah have made their fortunes in Summit county, but they always move away when they get rich. Broth- er Clawson remarks, "then you must have the poor with you always." That is a true saying-; but our poor, as a rule, are the independent poor. I have been in- some of the wards where, af- ter the Bishops have collected the fast offerings, they have asked me if they couldn't use them for the benefit of the ward; "because," they said, "we are all poor in this ward." That is about the way some of them talk; yet when I ask how many mortgages they have in their town, the reply is, "Oh, we have no mortgages, but we are all poor." Well, when a man is in a con- dition where he doesn't owe anything', we consider him well off; and we try to teach the people to show the best side. My father. President John Tay- lor, believed in that idea. I remember a number of years ago Baron Roths- child, supposed to be the richest man in the world, came to Utah. He had known my father in France when he was on a mission, and father desired to entertain him while he was here. He had an old carriage, and he had two black horses, and about a dozen boys, so he made a combination. He got the boys out, and we washed the harness, we blacked it with black oil, rubbed and greased the old carriage to make it look nice, and then on the morning of Rothschild's arrival father came out with a great big black cloak that he used to put on in Prance. There were the horses, there was the carriage, all polished up and looking fine, and Rothschild didn't know but father was a millionaire. I say that the Latter-day Saints ought to put the best side out. I remember once go- ing up on the street after I had returned from my mission. My mother, in com- mon with the rest of the family, hav- ing passed through a great deal of trial and hard times, had got into the habit of saving — in fact, she hardly knew how to do anything else. I had re- ceived an official appointment in Salt Lake Citv and the first thing I did was to buy me a new suit of clothes.
With these clothes on, I was on the street, and father's carriage drove along and he had my mother in with him. He invited me into the carriage, and the 'first thing my mother said upon seeing my new suit was, "You extra- vagant boy. You'll go to ruin, sure. You're always buying something like that." I can remember my father's remark. He said, "Pshaw, pshaw, let the boy dress in accordance with his position." .And so I thought. It's a good idea to put the best side out.
I was very glad to see in the paper the other day big headlines which read, "Clean out your back yards." On one occasion, in the Summit Stake of Zion, one of the Apostles was going around with us, and we went to a house to select a Bishop. When we put up our team, we had to climb over so much manure to get to the barn that the Apostle said, and I said, too, "That man will never do for a Bishop." So brethren, clean out your back yards. Make everything clean and respectable, so that the Lord and His angels would be glad to come and dwell with you. Even a common man like the president of a stake does not want to dwell with you if your houses are unclean. Keep the best side out, and if you do, the Lord will bless you and increase you in many ways. May the Lord bless us all, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER THOMAS E. BASSETT. (President of Fremont Stake.)
I feel honored, my brethren and sis- ters, to be permitted to bear my testi- mony in connection with my brethren. I rejoice that I am counted worthy to be numbered among the Latter-day Saints. I desire to thank my Heaven- ly Father for His protecting care and kindness toward me in casting my lot among this people, so that my stubborn nature has been more or less brought into subjection to His will through my associations with His people. My experience leads me to believe that mankind naturally are prone to do evil, and that it requires constant as- sociation with good people and proper influences to keep us in touch with the
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
Spirit of God. I bear my testimony to you this morning' that in all the asso- ciations I have had with the Latter- day Saints— which has been from my early boyhood — I have never yet been taught anything but what would make me a better man than I otherwise would be. There is nothing in Mormonism that will make of us undesirable citi- zens of any nation. I have been taught from my earliest boyhood as you no doubt all have, to obey and honor the laws of the land; in fact, it is said in one of the revelations of the Almighty that if we will keep the laws of God we will have no need to break the laws of the land. I desire to testify to all under the sound of my voice that the Latter-day Saints are a patriotic peo- ple, an industrious people, a people who have made the desert wastes blossom as the rose. They have proved to be a desirable community wheresoever their lots have been cast. It is really as- tounding to see the benefits that the country has derived from the location of the Latter-day Saints in the section where I am called to labor. Twenty- one years ago, when we went in to that country, I remember that from Pocatel- lo northward for hundreds of miles scarcely anything could be found but sagebrush, sandy wastes, cactus, and desert plains. There was very little that was pleasing to the eye. But through the establishment of the Lat- ter-day Saints in that locality, you can find in that country today a con- tinuous stretch of productive fields and gardens from Pocatello almost into the Yellowstone National park. At that time there were perhaps not more than two hundred Latter- day Saints located in that country. To- day we have in the neighborhood of twenty thousand, and the workmanship of their hands can be seen on every side. Towns and villages have sprung up, and the history made by our peo- ple in that locality is such that the State of Idaho is proud to acknowledge us as citizens. When our brethren have been honored with positions in the representative halls of that State they have been treated with the great-
est courtesy, and have been looked up- on as men of honor, clean and honest in all their conduct. "We have done a noble work in that part of the country. I am proud to say we have erected a very fine school building, acknowledged by the Governor and other representa- tive men of the State as perhaps the finest school building in the State. It has been built by the Latter-day Saints, and that in small contributions. This stands today as a monument to the cred- it of our people, and it should stand forever as an evidence that we are an education-loving people. The claim made by some who are not of us that "Mormonism" thrives best where ig- norance prevails to the greatest extent, is untrue. Our people have shown by their efforts that they love education, and they believe in the motto, "Intelli- gence is the glory of God." We are using every endeavor to bring up the young and rising generation in a way that will be pleasing to our heavenly Father, and that will make them good citizens of whatever land they live in.
I indorse most heartily the testimo- nies that have been given by our breth- ren during this Conference. In the Fre- mont Stake of Zion we uphold the au- thorities of the Church, not only with our faith and prayers, but with our ac- tions. I have in my home the pictures of the Presidency of the Church and the Twelve Apostles, and I point out each one of them to my children as be- ing a man of God. I am sure that not only from Utah and the States on the South, but from the State of Idaho also, will come a host of people who will up- hold the Presidency of this Church, who esteem Joseph Smith as a prophet, and those who have succeeded him as his lawful and legal successors. I rejoice, my brethren and sisters, to be associat- ed with you. I bear my testimony to the truthfulness of the latter-day work. If we will be good Latter-day Saints, we will be good American citizens, be- cause the Gospel requires nothing of us but what will make of us better men, and better citizens of any nation where our lots may be cast. May God bless you and inspire us all to remain firm
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and true to the covenants we have made with Him, and above all things to be united together in the bonds of love and union, having the Spirit of God dwelling in our hearts, that we may in very deed be the children of God. I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
ELDER JESSE N. SMITH. (President of Snowflake Stake.)
I feel greatly honored, brethren and sisters, to come before you for a few moments. The Saints in our part of the world are few in number, but they are very good and faithful people. We have, I think I may say, lived down to a great extent the prejudice tnat exist- ed among our outside brethren and sis- ters. The people of Arizona generally are a good people. They are not relig- ious, however, as the world regards re- ligion; still they are large hearted, lib- eral, and willing that others shall en- joy the rights of conscience. Our wards are fully organized. We have six small wards in our stake. In that part of the country there are not many facilities in any one place for the settlement and sustenance of the people. We have made some advancement educationally. We have good schools. Our academy is in a good situation and doing good work. We rejoice in the prosperity of the cause. Although far away from you, we endeavor to keep pace with the progress of events. We have a lively interest in all that pertains to the up- building of the kingdom of God. I sup- pose I may say that we are not very well off for this world's goods, and when our brethren are so fortunate as to get a little ahead in that direction, they generally move to more favored localities. This is all right, so far as I know. We bid them God speed when they go to other places, and hope for their prosperity. I esteem it a great happiness that I have received faith in this work. I have never sup- posed that I was naturally much in- clined to be religious, but it was my good fortune to have God-fearing par- ents who started me in this line. I think it was owing to my parentage, my kindred, and my surroundings that
I became religious. I have the very highest regard for religion, and for religious people. I have made this sub- ject the study of my life, and the more I have investigated the Gospel as it has been restored to us, the more satisfying it has been to me. Very early in child- hood I heard the voice of that great man, Joseph Smith, and although I was young his words penetrated my heart. I believed them, I have believed them ever since, I shall always believe them. I can express my thankfulness for these happy and blessed surroundings which have caused these earnest reflections. I have not only investigated the faith that was delivered to me by my par- ents, but I have investigated all faiths, so far as I have had opportunity. I respect all religious people, but I do not respect hypocritical people. I respect every sincere person who has faith in God. I could never persecute any one for the matter of conscience. I regard the unbeliever as the most unfortu- nate of men. In my reflections, it has seemed to me that even idolatry is more to be preferred than infidelity. I believe that the natural man is prone to seek his Creator; I believe that is a natur- al and a proper impulse, and those who disregard these higher promptings, are the unnatural and the abnormal. This is the result of my reflections. I be- lieve in the interposition of Divine Providence in the affairs of men. I be- lieve that He guides the destinies of peoples and of individuals, I therefor^ am encouraged to seek Him in prayer.. I- offer Him my acknowledgements. 1 do so, not only as a matter of duty, but as a matter of the highest privilege- I have endeavored in all my life to be exemplary. It is a consolation that I have that no human being, I trust, is worse for my example. Brethren and sisters I rejoice very much in this great cause. I know that it is of God. I feel it will go on to success, to pros- perity, and to triumph, and that the nations of the earth will yet bless the name of Joseph Smith, and also hold in high estimation the Saints of latter days. May the Lord add His blessings to all our labors, and may we be faith- ful in all things. Amen.
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
Sister Olea Shipp then sang, "The Bright Beyond."
ELDER GEORGE A. SMITH.
Men In all dispensations have rejected revelations from God — Responsibility o£ c '''ducting the work of the Father rests upon the Saints as a whole — Sublime position taken by the Prophet Joseph.
My brethren and sisters, I esteem it a privilege and an honor to be called upon to occupy this position, and while I do so, I trust I may be inspired of our Heavenly Father, that the words I utter may be words of instruction and edification to all of us. I have enjoyed the spirit of this conference, and have been edified by the remarks of the brethren who have been called upon to address us. It is an ftispiratic to one who loves this latter-day work to look into the faces of a large con- gregation such as this. It inspires him with additional love of the work that our. Father in heaven has given to the earth in the day and age in which we live. When we realize that this is but a representation of the people who are members of the Church, that we come htre semi-annually to receive instruc- tion, and that the words of life and sal- vation which flow from the servants of God here ,arei disseminated through- out the world, and are also communi- cated to the children of the Latter- day Saints by the newspapers and those who come to conference, we can comprehend to some extent the far- reaching influence of these gatherings.
We are considered by the world a peculiar people. By the unbeliever, the members of the Church of Christ in all ages of the world have been considered a peculiar people. When the Lord has spoken through His serv- ants, there have been at different peri- ods of time people in the earth who have said, "I do not believe in reve- lation." This age is no exception to the rule. The thousands, aye, the mil- liens, of our Father's children who live in the earth are but repeating the history of the past when they deny that God has revealed again His will to the children of men, and say that they have no need of any further reve-
lation. To demonstrate this we may refer to the experiences of the people in the days of Noah. Noah was a prophet of the living God, inspired with a de- sire to save the souls of the children of men. He had no disposition to destroy those who lived around him, but, re- ceiving a commandment from our Father in heaven, he warned the people to repent of their evil ways, and de- clared that unless they did repent, destruction would follow and our Heavenly Father would visit them with His displeasure. What was the result? They said to Noah, "What right have you to instruct us? Who are you that you come and speak to us in the name of the Lord? You are only a man like other men." And-they rejected his testimony, not because it was untrue, but because they would not believe it, not possessing the spirit which he possessed. Then the Lord told him to build an ark, and to gather therein those who believed his message, and then He would visit His displeasure upon the inhabitants of the earth. It was not because Noah had said these things that the deluge came; it was because Almighty God had spoken through him to the people. When our Father in heaven speaks to the world, no matter how feeble or weak the serv- ant may be who carries the message, that word will be vindicated, even if it involves the destruction of many souls. You no doubt remember the experience of Jonah when he was called to warn the people of Nineveh. Our Father in heaven commanded him to go and call them to repentance. He tried to avoid this responsibility, and it resulted in his being thrown into the ocean. But the same power that had called him to this mission preserved his life, and rebuked him. for avoiding what was his plain duty. Then he went and warned the people of Nineveh, and they repent- ed in sackcloth and ashes. You will remember the Lord promised that if they did not repent they would be pun- ished; but they did repent, and He removed from them the curse that otherwise would have been visited up- on them for the violation — of what?
EL.DE R GEORGE A. SMITH.
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Not because they failed to listen to Jonah as a man, but because they fail- ed to. heed Jonah, the prophet of God. And when they did listen to the voice of the Lord through that inspired man, they received a blessing- instead of a cursing.
When our Savior in humility came upon earth, the people said, "Who are you, that you should claim to be th^ Son of God? We know your father; he is Joseph, the carpenter. We know your mother; she is Mary. We have Moses and Abraham for our prophets, and we have no need of a man like you to come and speak to us in the name of the Lord." He went among them and ministered to the sick, healed the afflicted, unstopped the ears of the deaf, restored the blind to sight, cleansed the leper by His magic touch, raised the dead to life. Then they said He performed these wondrous works by the power of Beelzebub. Yet He was indeed the Son of God. He la- bored among them in love and kind- ness; but they cast His name out as evil. They even cast reproach upon the city from which He came, and said, "Can any good thing come out of Na- zareth?" But He was the Son of God, and He did have the right to speak in the name of the Father. The truths He brought to the earth came from the Father; and though they nailed Him to the cross, though they placed upon His head the plaited crown of thorns, and put the mock scepter in His hands, though they spilled His blood with the cruel spear, yet the word that He delivered to them was the word of the Lord, and He was indeed the Son of God.
The same, feeling that was en- tertained, to some extent, against the Savior has continued in the earth People who do not under- stand the things of God because they have not the Spirit of God, reviled and cast them out as evil, when in fact the evil is in themselves. But the promis- es made by the Savior to His Apostles when He said, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gosoel unto every creature. He that believeth and is bap-
tized shall be saved," have been veri- fied upon the children of men, when they have complied with that require- ment under the ministration of au- thorized servants of God. In the wis- dom of our Father, He revealed in the olden times that the Gospel would be taken away. He revealed in the time of Daniel, by means of a dream, that in the days of certain kings He would set up His kingdom, and that it would not be taken away or given to another people. He revealed to John, upon the Isle of Patmos, that an angel would fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel t<5 preach to men that dwell upon the earth. Other prophets also prophesied concerning the day in which we live. In fulfillment of these predictions, our Heavenly Father, in the century that is just passed, chose and commissioned Joseph Smith, as He had done other prophets, to go forth among the people and speak in the name of the Lord. Through this humble instrument, the Gospel was restored to the earth again and he preached the same doctrines that our Savior taught while He was upon the earth. Under the Lord s di- rection, he organized the Church of Christ, with apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc., as the Church should be organized, to con- tinue thus until all should come to a unity of the faith. He ministered unto the people, he healed the sick; he loved the souls of the children of men. But as had been the case with prophets whom the Lord had raised up before it seemed necessary in this case that the testimony of His servant should be. sealed with his life's blood. No more pathetic page will be found in the his- tory of the world than that upon which is inscribed the last sayings of our be- loved Prophet Joseph Smith. He knew that his time was near at hand; he realized that his life's mission had been fulfilled. He had given the keys for the gifts and blessings of God unto the people, and" the Father had con- tinued to bless him; finally he realized that his labor was about done. You remember when he was first raised up
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
how the people of this country said, "We have no need of you. You are Joseph, the son of Joseph, and we know where you come from. You are not a strong- and mighty man, and you do not come from an influential family. We have no need of new revelation. We have the Bible, and that is all that is necessary for the salvation of the children of men." Joseph Smith per- formed his mission; and when the time came that he was face to face with death, he said, "I am going- like a lamb to the slaughter, but I am calm as a summer morning. I have a conscience void of offence toward God and toward all men. If they take my life, I shall die an innocent man, and my blood shall cry from the ground for venege- ance, and it shall yet be said of me, 'He was murdered in cold blood.' " He was not afraid to stand be- fore the pleasing bar of our Father in heaven and answer for the deeds done in the body. He was not afraid to meet the charge that had been made against him, that he was decieving the people and dealing unjustly with them. He was not afraid of the result of his life's mission, and of the final triumph of the work which he knew was of divine origin, and for which he gave his life. Yet the people of the world, as before, judge this work by the spirit of man. They do not have the Spirit of God, which would enable them to under- stand that it came from our Father in heaven.
Now, my brethern and sisters, the commission that came to Joseph Smith, the boy prophet, has been given to you. "Go, preach the Gospel in the nations of the earth." The same authority that he had has been conferred upon your sons, and they will be required by our Father in heaven to minister in the ordinances of the Gospel. The respon- sibility that came to Joseph Smith has not been lost by his departure, it has fallen upon other shoulders. Our Fa- ther in heaven has raised up from time to time those who have had the authority to speak in His name, to ad- minister in the ordinances of the Gos- pel, and to bless the children of men.
They have shared that honor with you and with your children. The responsi- bility for the conduct of this work does not devolve alone upon President Jos- eph F. Smith, nor upon his counselors, nor upon the quorum of the Apostles; but it devolves also upon every man and woman who has been baptized by the servants of God and become a mem- ber of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Every man who has received the Priesthood must set hia house in order, and so conduct his life that men, seeing his good works, may glorify our Father which is in heaven. We cannot shift the responsibility if we would; our Father has placed it up- on our shoulders, and we must round them up and help to carry it off tri- umphant. When I look at large con- gregations of the Saints, such as we beheld last Sunday, this building filled to overflowing, the Assembly Hall and adjoining grounds also filled with mul- titudes of people, many of them sons and daughters of the sturdy pioneers who in early days came into this west- ern country, or went into foreign na- tions of the earth and preached the Gospel, I cannot help but rejoice. Grate- ful should we be, my brethren and sis- ters, that our hearts have been attuned to the Gospel's harmony. Grateful should we be that our Father in hea- ven has given us a testimony of the di- vinity of this work; and it should be our life's labor to so conduct ourselves that we will not bring reproach upon it. Those who are beginning to pass the meridian of life, those gray-haired men and women who sit before me to- day, who have borne the burden in the heat of the day, who came into this country when it was a howling wilder- ness, have received from our Heavenly Father a testimony that burns in their hearts, and they know, as they know that they live, that the Gospel is true. And this same blessing has been given to their children when those children have sought it. Our Father in heaven has promised all His children that they will know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or of man, if they will have
faith anrl nnmnlv witVi tVi^ nrrHtion^oo
ELDER GEORGE A. SMITH.
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Now, to those who are younger in this congregation let me say: Not very many years hence your fathers and mothers will go back to receive the re- ward of their faithful labors.' I plead with you, boys and girls of Israel, to honor the names that you bear; love and revere the parents God has given you, and so conduct your lives that day by day you will give them joy in their declining years. If you will do this the same firm testimony that has been given to them will be bestowed upon you, and your sons and daughters in due time will be found numbered with the Saints of God, valiant for the cause of truth, and the dissemination of the Gospel in the nations of the earth. We need not fear the wrath of the adversary. "We need not fear when men speak ill of us, when they cast out our names as evil, when they revile us and speak of us falsely; but we need to fear when the power of the adver- sary is arrayed against us if we have done that which is wrong. Our Father in heaven expects us to live up to the requirements of the Gospel; to fear Him and keep His commandments.
Now, as to our friends who are not of our faith, we should follow the ad- monition: pray for those who persecute you, and despitefully use you. Remem- ber that you have a testimony of this work, which they have not. Some day, when we all present ourselves, as we ex- pect to do, before the bar of God to answer for the deeds done in the body, then will our brothers and sisters of the world, who now think we are delud- ed and mistaken, find that our lives have been spent for the salvation of their souls, that our ministry has had in it only love and kindness for our fel- low men, and that we would have given unto them a blessing had they been willing to receive it. Let us love the Gospel of Jesus Christ; let us comply with the requirements our Father has made of us; and then when we meet those who do not understand us, there will emanate from us a spirit that will testify to them we are sincere in the work in which we are engaged. Tour
boys and girls are scattered among the nations of the earth preaching this gos- pel; there is no confusion with them; they understand it as you understand it. It is the same Gospel wherever it is taught, and it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I bear you my testimony today that it is the power of God unto salva- tion, unto every one that will believe and obey. May we so conduct our lives that our Father in heaven will preserve us from the attacks of those who mis- understand us; and that our brothers and sisters of the world may be con- strained to acknowledge we are a good people, because we do good to our fel- low men. May we so conduct our lives that the children our Father shall bless us with may, by reason of the righteous teachings and the good example we give unto them,, rise up and call us blessed. When the time shall come that we shall all be called to present ourselves before our Father in heaven to give an account for our actions here, may it be said of us that the world was better for our having lived in it, that we never harmed one of our Father's creatures, that we sustained the hands of His servants, that we understood the spirit of revelation, and that we listened to it as it came from God to His servants. My prayer is that our lives may reflect the purity of the Gospel, that our homes may be the abode of the Spirit of our Father in heaven, that our every action may be scanned in vain for any evil, and that when men shall look over our lives, they may be led to say we are consistent followers of the meek and lowly Nazarene. In the end, when our labors are complete.may we receive from our Father, who reigns supreme in the heavens, that welcome plaudit, 'Well done, good and faithful servant, you have been faithful in a few things, and I will make you ruler over many. Enter into the joy of your Lord," is my prayer for Israel, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. The choir sang:
"Guide us, O Thou great Jehovah, Saints unto the promised land."
Benediction by J. Golden Kimball.
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GENERAL, CONFERENCE.
CLOSING SESSION.
"Wednesday, April 6, 2 p. m.
The choir and congregation sang:
'We thank thee, O God, for a Prophet,, To guide us in these latter days."
The invocation was offered by Elder Andrew Jenson.
The choir then sang:
"Though in the outward Church below The wheat and tares together grow."
ELDER JOSEPH W. McMURRIN.
In standing before you, my brethren and sisters, this afternoon, to bear my testimony to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as it has been revealed in the age of the world in which we are living, I sincerely pray that I may be supported by the inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord, that the #few words I speak upon this occasion may be words of truth, directed by the Spirit of Truth, for the benefit, advantage, and encouragement of this vast congre- gation. My heart has been filled with exceeding great joy in listening to the testimonies that have been borne by the various speakers who have ad- dressed the people from day to day in our Conference meetings. My soul has been filled with thankfulness, not only during this Conference, but in travel- ing from place to place among the peo- ple, in attending stake conferences, in meeting with the quorums of Seventy, in observing, as we have no doubt ob- served in this Conference, that there are many young men occupying responsible positions in the midst of the people of the Lord. I have noted that many of the brethren who have stood here to make reports concerning the stakes of Zion, and to speak about other matters, are the sons of men who have been vali- ant for the truth in days gone by. In the organization of the new Stakes of Zion, recently effected in this city, many of the brethren who have been called to positions of responsibility in these stakes are the sons of men who in their time have been faithful to the Lord.
I believe we all find happiness in wit- nessing conditions of this character, and in having the truth burned into our souls that our Father in heaven is
blessing the children of the pioneers, and of other men and women who re- ceived the Gospel a long time ago, and. gathered from the nations of the earth, and that He is establishing them in the faith. I rejoice in the testimonies of the brethren in relation to this mat- ter. Some of the speakers have ex- pressed very great confidence that the youth of the Latter-day Saints would be found in the future true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to the faith of their fathers, and that they were not, and could not, be- weaned away from the truth. I believe this with all my heart. I believe it is the decree of the Almighty that this condition shall con- tinue to prevail in the midst of His peo- ple, and that there will always be found in the Church the seed of the founders, and of others who have been valiant for the testimony of Jesus — children who will properly represent their parents before the people and before the Lord; and that it is not the intention for thi^ work to be taken from them and given to another people. I have felt impressed myself with the promise of God in re- lation to the continuation of His work with the people who were called in the beginning. In that promise, as it ap- peals to me, there is an understanding that there would be raised up, from the loins of those to whom the promise was made in the beginning, sons and daughters who would be true and faith- ful. It is true that power is not given to man to reveal a knowledge of the plan of salvation to his own offspring. The President of the Church, the Apos- tles, let them be ever so faithful, do not possess the power to reveal unto their children the truth of the everlast- ing Gospel. I suppose if this power1 were vested in them there would be danger of the time coming when the children might be recreant to the faith of their fathers. But when the truth of the Gospel is revealed to any soul, it does not come from man, it comes through the operation of the Holy Ghost from our Father in heaven. It comes with almierhty power; it dispels all doubt; it establishes the one who re- ceives the evidence in an understanding of the truth of the things of God. In
ELDER JOSEPH W. McMURRIN.
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this way the testimony of the Gospel has come to the Latter-day Saints. In the beginning, when the Prophet Jo- seph Smith bore the wonderful record that he did to the people concerning the visitation of holy beings, it was by the power of the Holy Ghost and not by the wisdom or logic of the Prophet that the truth of his testimony was impressed upon the minds of the men who accept- ed it, and who remained true all the days of their lives. "We cannot believe that it was by a mere chance that the Prophet Joseph Smith in the early rise of the Church was brought in contact with such men as Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Lorenzo Snow, Heber C. Kimball, Daniel H. Wells, Parley P. Pratt, Orson Pratt, and other great men who were raised up by the power of God to assist in the establishment of His purposes. We be- lieve, as a people, that our Father un- derstands the end from the beginning. "We believe that He is in very deed our Father in heaven; that we existed with Him in a spiritual condition before we were born naturally upon the earth, and that He knew us, and all His other children, before we came to this earth. "We believe He was acquainted with the spirits of the great men who as- sisted in laying the foundations of His grand latter-day work, and that by His decree and appointment they were born into the world at the time when their services were needed in the estab- lishment of His purposes. They were brought by the same overruling provi- dence into contact with the noble man who had been raised from the ranks of the people to bear divine authority, and to represent the Lord God of heaven in the midst of the nations, and they gladly received the testimony which was delivered to them concerning the faith. "While we believe this of the Prophet Joseph Smith and of his as- sociates, we believe that the same power is in operation today. We be- lieve that the spirits of men are being born into the world by divine appoint- ment, and not by accident. Because of this belief, I feel in my heart that, through the faithfulness of the fathers and mothers in the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, there will continue to come to them choice spirits, who will accept the truth with all their hearts, and who will bear the respon- sibilities of this work in which we are engaged in all time to come. I do not believe that the names of the valiant and faithful men of this Church of either high or low degree are to become extinct from among the people of God. I believe with all my soul that they will be perpetuated forever, just as we see the sons of men whom we have known in past history stand upon this platform, filled with the Spirit of the living God, bearing testimony to the truth of the everlasting Gospel, so in a time to come will their sons and daughters, from generation to genera- tion stand up in the midst of the con- gregations of Israel and bear record of the truth as it has been revealed. God has not brought us through the trying experiences of the past; He has not tested our fathers and our mothers in the manner in which they have been tested, with a view of rewarding them with offspring that will not be true to Him. There may be wayward boys and girls; there may be some who cannot be controlled; but I believe there will be but few who will be lost. "We dis- cover among the people who have gath- ered from the nations of the world that there is within them a love for the land that gave them birth. From whatever land they have come, though they have been led to forsake all and gather up to Zion, because of the Gospel, never- theless there is a love in their hearts for their native country, which does not die out. In like manner I believe, from the experiences that have come to me, that there is a love for Zion and for the things of the kingdom of God planted in the hearts of those who are born in the Church that is very much stronger than this love of coun- try, and that it is almost impossible for men to divest themselves of it. In many places young men and young women are found who have strayed away from the truth to some extent; •who have gone from their father's home and from the organized wards of the Church; but wherever they are
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they have a warm feeling toward the work of God. It is a rare thing to find a young man or a young woman who has been born in the Church so cold in their feelings that they turn entirely away from the people of the Lord. It is a rare thing to find any so hardened that they will not open their doors to receive the representa- tives of the Lord. Because of this feel- ing, and because of the valiant young men who are constantly rising up in the midst of Israel, I believe that we will always have representatives of the founders of the Church of Christ to bear the authority of the Holy Priest- hood, and to bear it in honor. The glorious example that has been set by good and godly parents is destined to bear good fruit forever. I believe that there is something in being born in Zion. It has been stated by at least one of the prophets that the time was to come when it should be said of in- dividuals born in Zion, that "this man was born in Zion." I think we have occasion as parents to be comforted and encouraged, and that we have reason to have confidence in our chil- dren. I believe that, by the blessing of the Lord and our own example and training, our children will be so estab- lished in the faith that they will follow in our footsteps just as we are follow- ing in the footsteps of our parents.
Let us take to heart the counsels that have been imparted unto us. Let us set gfoodly examples before our offspring. Let us live the religion we have espoused, and let our light shine among men. Let them see that we feel the responsibility which rests upon ua in the revelation of the Gospel; that we propose, not only to send missionaries abroad to preach the Gospel, but that we propose to live our religion at home just as well as our representatives do abroad; and men and women who come into our bor- ders, as has often been the case al- ready, will be so impressed with our so- briety, our industry, our good example and the godly lives we lead that they will be constrained to bear record that there is a splendid people in the midst
of these mountains — a people who fear God and keep His commandments. In a time to come we will be better under- stood. The clouds that have hung over us, caused by misrepresentation, will be banished away. There is no power that can prevent this; for God Himself has decreed He will lift His people up; that they shall be like unto a. light set upon a hill, which cannot be hid; and we will be known as we are. "When we are known as we are, then the reputa- tion that has gone abroad concerning us through misrepresentation will pass away forever, and we will be recognized as the people of the Lord, as a people who love their fellowmen, and who have had the message of truth commit- ted to them, even the power of the everlasting Gospel which can save to the uttermost all men in every land and clime.
I bear record to the truth of the Gos- pel. I bear record to the integrity, the honor, the uprightness and the nobility of the men who preside over us. I bear testimony to the glorious fact that with us there is divine authority. Let the world say what it may, truth is truth, and the truth in relation to this matter is that God has spoken, and has given to man His authority, and in the exercise of that power we will cry, "peace on earth, good will to men," and we will preach the doctrines of the Gospel, administer its holy ordinances to those who believe, and save the chil- dren of men in the way appointed of the Father. May God help us to be true and faithful, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
ELDER RULON S. WELLS.
My brethren and sisters, I rejoice in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in the splendid testimonies that have been borne of its divine truth during this conference. I am sure that the Latter- day Saints must feel greatly strength- ened in their testimonies by naving at- tended the meetings of this conference, for truly there has been an outpouring of the Spirit of God upon His people. As I look before me upon this vast con- gregation, gathered here upon this
ELDER RULON S. WELLS.
69
Wednesday afternoon, it is almost mar- velous to see so many faces, and all in- tent upon receiving the word of God as it shall be spoken* unto them. I have prayed earnestly in my neart that the people might be fed the bread of life, that their testimonies might be strengthened, and that they might come to an absolute knowledge of the truthfulness of this work in which we are engaged. I do not think it possi- ble for us to pay too much attention to the importance of having an individ- ual testimony of the Gospel. Every Lat- ter-day Saint has the utmost need to know for himself that this is the work of the Lord, and to know that God has spoken again in this day and conferred upon men His divine authority. We read in the scriptures, and have been told from time to time, that the Lord will have a tried people. The only thing that will enable the people to withstand the trials that may come upon them will be the knowledge which they have that this is the work of God. When that knowledge has taken root in their hearts, the storms of adversity and great calamities may come, but they will stand firm and im- movable because their, faith will be founded upon the rock of reve- lation. We have just been told that no father or mother can reveal to their children the truthfulness of the Gos- pel. That is true; but there is a Father, whom we all adore, that can and will reveal it to us, if we will seek after it and do what is necessary to obtain it. God is .uove. He loves the souls of the children of men, and we are His child- ren and have inherited from Him His divine attributes. There should be born in us a love for our heavenly Father. The great commandment, which in- cludes all others, is this: "Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy might, and with all thy soul." And there is another like unto it: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." If the love of God has taken root in our hearts, and if we are de- monstrating in our lives that love, it will bear fruit and will cause us to come to a knowledge of God, whom to
know is life eternal. There are many people professing to believe in Christ, the Redeemer of the world, who, never- theless, do not believe in this vital prin- ciple of His Gospel — the principle by which Peter knew that Jesus was the Christ. They have rejected that prin- ciple, and have said in their hearts and with their lips that God does not re- veal Himself from heaven. They do not believe in the principle of revela- tion; and yet it is the principle which gives life and force, and without it the Church of Christ cannot exist upon the earth. Not only does this principle pertain to the leaders of the people, but it extends to all the sons and daughters of God who will seek to obtain a knowl- edge of His divine will. We can all have the right to communication with our Father, and the Scriptures are full of promise! that if we will ask we shall receive, if we will knock the door shall be opened unto us, and if we will seek we shall find. This can only be done through the operation of that vital principle of revelation. "For no man knoweth the things of God, but by the Spirit of God, which is in him;" and the Spirit of God is the spirit of reve- lation, which issues forth from the presence of the Father and the Son and enters into the being of all those who diligently seek them. If we come to the knowledge of the truth it must be through the principle of revelation. We must know that God will listen to our prayers; and then when we have trials we can approach Him and ask of Him wisdom, with the full assurance that He will not upbraid or censure us, but will hearken to our prayers and answer them upon our heads. I know that this principle is true, and it de- volves upon us to gain the favor of God. Men and women in the world are seeking more the favor of their fel- low creatures, and if they can obtain that to the extent that they can be exalted in the eyes of the people, that seems to be more their ambition than the gaining of the favor of God. They are more ambitious to be well spoken of by their fellow men than they are to be beloved of God their eternal Father.
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Hence the importance of learning to keep that great commandment of lov- ing the Lord, with all our hearts. What do we understand by loving the Lord with all our hearts? Is it the function of the heart to love? This may perhaps be only a figure. The heart is an or- gan of the body, the special office of which is to pump the blood in the body, causing it to circulate and to im- part life and vitality to every part thereof. The hands and feet are gov- erned by muscles, and they, with other members of the body, yield implicit obedience to the will of man. We go here and there, from one place to an- other, at the dictation of the mind, the intelligent part of man, and there is perfect harmony in the operations of the body in obedience to the will of man. But not so with the heart. Al- though governed by muscles as the hands and feet are, yet it is not sub- ject to the will of man. We labor with our hands, and we may employ the muscles of the body in various activi- ties, and as the night comes on and we lay our bodies down to rest, the mus- cles relax and the body lies dormant. No so with the heart. It beats on, and on, throughout the night as the day; and when that heart ceases to beat, then life is gone. The mind does not control the heart. It does not say to the heart, 'beat thou on," or 'cease thou now to beat." The heart is gov- erned by a higher intelligence, and when the voice comes from Him, "Cease thou to beat," that son or daughter is called to God. So that when the Lord says, "Son, give me thine heart," He asks for that which belongs to Him; and when He requires us to love Him with all our hearts it means simply this: that we should love Him with all our life. The life-giving power of man should be devoted to the service of God. Whatever may be our occupation, everything must come secondary to our allegiance and devotion to God, who gave us life and being upon earth, and by whom that life is maintained. It seems to me, my brethren and sisters, that if we would keep that great com- mandment and love the Lord with all our hearts, then would our feet be
planted in the paths of safety and then, let come what may, we are founded upon the rock and we will be able to stand. ,
I have a testimony that this is the work of the Lord that we are engaged in, and that the men who stand at the head, and whom we will have the pleas- ure and privilege this afternoon of sus- taining by the raising of our hands, are men of God, called of Him to lead this people. The prayers of the Latter- day Saints should be united in asking our Father in heaven to endow them with the revelations of His will, that they. may receive the mind and will of God concerning His people, and that we may be ready and willing at all times to receive their counsels and to be guided in our lives by the will of the Father. This is my prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Sister Lottie Owen, with excellent effect, then sang, "Entreat Me Not to Leave Thee."
ELDER C. W. PENROSE.
My brethren and sisters, I esteem it a, privilege and a blessing to have the opportunity of bearing my testimony in association with by brethren who have spoken, for truly I can say I know this is the work of God. I know it in every part of my being. I feel it in my physical nature; I see it in my intel- lectual nature; I realize it in my spirit- ual nature; for I have been baptized by the spirit of this work, not only in water, but by the Holy. Ghost and by the fire of the Lord, and God has borne witness to my soul that He is the au- thor of this latter-day work. The sentiment expressed by the song which our sister has just sung for us is the sentiment of my heart. All my inter- ests are identified with the Latter-day Saints. This people shall be my people; their God shall be my God; where they go I want to go, whether it be in this world or the world to come. With these my brethren whom I love, and whose labors I recognize, and whose virtues I venerate. I want to be as- sociated in time and in eternity. My heart has rejoiced with a fulness of joy during this conference. From the
ELDER CHARLES W. PENROSE.
71
first discourse delivered by President Smith, on Sunday morning:, right to the present time, I have felt the pres- ence of the Spirit of the Lord. I know that President Smith's words were in- spired by that Spirit, and our breth- ren who have addressed us have felt its influence, and it has been imparted from them to the congregation.
I have not words to express the joy and gratitude which spring up in my besom in contemplating the goodness of G-od to me from my boyhood to the present time. When I first embrac- ed the Gospel I received a testimony of its truth. I received it from the Spirit that comes from on high. It entered into my soul, and bore witness to me in every part of my existence that God is the author of this work. As time has rolled on, and I have passed through many different circumstances in many different lands, and I think of how God has preserved me, direct- ed me, and enlightened me, and bless- ed my testimony to others, I praise Him this afternoon in the midst of the congregation. I feel in my heart, bless and praise the Lord, O my soul! He is my God. I revere and adore Him as my Father and my King, and I want to be obedient to him and to serve Him in all things.
It does not matter where or how my labors may be directed, I desire them to be in the interest of this great work which our Father has commenced. This work cannot be overcome by the pow- ers of evil, nor by the powers of the world; neither will you or I as indi- viduals be so overcome if we will hearken to the testimonies which have been delivered to us, the instructions which are imparted, and be willing to be guided by that authority which has come down from God out of heaven in the last days for the guidance and salvation of the children of men. No feeling of rebellion should ever rise in our hearts; no word of reproach or improper criticism should escape our lips in regard to those men whom God has called and ordained, and whom we sustain by our uplifted hands when we assemble in conference. It would be a good thing if the thoughts of our
minds and the words of our mouths were always directed for the interest and the furtherance of this great work that our Father has) begun. We ought not to speak a word anywhere which would militate against it, or against the men whom God has ap- pointed.
I think sometimes of the words of the Apostle James in regard to the power of the tongue. What good can be accomplished by using the powers of speech in the proper direction! What wrong can be accomplished when these powers are prostituted to speak evil. "Thou shalt not speak evil of the Lord's anointed." I hope you recognize that saying. We are under promise that we will not do it. We should speak that which is good, not that which is evil. And we should hesitate when we find an opportunity, or when some circumstance arises which might induce us to say something that would be improper in regard to our brethren. James says: "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity," it "setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell." We hear a great deal of talk among the Methodists about hell fire. If you want to know what hell fire is, just hear some angry wo- man when she is rattling that little red rag — the tongue. I mean the man as well; for I do not confine it to the sisters. I believe I have heard worse things from the mouths of men than from the lips of women. I do not con- fine it to the one sex. Perhaps it is "six of one and half a dozen of the other."
We should be careful what we say. If we cannot say anything good, let us hold our tongues, and do as the mother sometimes roughly tells the children: "Shut your mouth." It is a good thing to be able to shut your mouth, and to keep it shut, when you ought not to talk; and it's a good thing to be able to ODen your mouth at the proper time ani at the proper season and bring forth words of eternal life for the blessing, enlightenment, com- fort, and consolation of the sons of men. When Christ spoke He spoke words of life. "My words that I speak
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unto you, they are spirit and they are life," He said. And they were. He brought forth words of eternal life for the guidance and blessing of man- kind. "When He did rebuke, His words were sharp — sharper than a two-edged sword; but He didn't rebuke unless there was a proper occasion. He had authority and power to use words of rebuke as well as of comfort and of en- lightenment. Let us take care that when we speak we speak to good pur- pose, for light and for truth, and to comfort and bless humanity, not to speak evil of our brethren or of our sisters. This is very common advice, but I fear we "take advice" very often and do not put it to use.
When I contemplate what God has done in the building up of this latter- day work to the present time, I feel full of joy and gladness. And these things are prophetic to me of the fu- ture. I know, as I know that I am here, that this work will go forward. It does not matter what men may do or say in regard to us; God is our Father and He is at the head of this work. He revealed it in the beginning. He placed His Son Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, at the head of this work, to conduct it from that time forward; and He has been with it to the present day. He is with our brethren who have been call- ed to stand at the head of affairs. His spirit rests upon them; His light is in their souls, and their words are inspired of Him. And He will con- tinue to be and abide with this work until it is perfected, and He can pre- sent it to the Father as an accomplish- ed and perfect work. But there is a great deal to do before that time shall come. This Gospel of the kingdom is to be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations. We should be glad when our sons, our brothers, our fathers, or any of our friends, are call- ed upon to go out into the world and lift up their voice in the proclamation of this last divine message to man. "We should rejoice in their labors, and be willing to make what we call sacrifices for their sake and for the sake of man- kind. Every man who holds the Priest- hood should be willing and glad to
work anywhere in this kingdom for the salvation and redemption of the human family. This Gospel will be preached, no matter what laws may be enacted in the nations that are afar off. No matter what barriers may be raised for the time being, they will all be swept out of the way by the power of God, in His due time; and this Gospel will be preached, Israel will be gath- ered, temples will be reared and min- istrations will go on therein for the benefit of the living and the redemp- tion of the dead.*
As our brethren finish their earthly work, and their bodies are laid down to rest for a while, to be purged in the tomb, they will go forth in the spirit, as Christ did, and as the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum and the rest of the valiant servants have done, and publish the Gospel to the spirits that are behind the veil. A mighty work is going on there, and as our brethren depart hence and their places are taken up by their posterity, they will carry on this work in the spirit world, where there is a wider sphere for their operations than here in the flesh. And they will find that much of the seed that has been sown in mor- tality among the nations of the earth, which has not appeared to fructify, or to bring forth fruit (for many people have heard the word and have not obeyed it, but have gone down to the grave in their darkness) will come to life and light and power in the world behind the veil. Thousands upon tiiousands who have heard the Gospel, but have not obeyed it, will be ready to receive it when the servants of God present it to them in the spheres be- hind the veil. The work of God will be carried on there, and the work of the ordinances will be performed in this sphere, in the temples that are and will be erected. "We have only begun this great work, notwithstanding the many thousands of vicarious ordi- nances that have been performed. This work will go on. It is a mighty wo k, and you and I can be engaged in It. We should be glad to labor in any capacity and in any place where we can do something toward the building up of
PRESIDENT JC
the kingdom of God and the redemption of the human family. This work must go on until all nations and peoples an i tribes and tongues on the earth, behind the veil and wherever the sons and daughters of Adam are, have heard the sound of the Gospel and have had the opportunity of bowing in obedience to it. Until that is done this work cannot be consummated. It will go on, with Christ at the head, until every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This is a work in which we should rejoice with all our souls, and be will- ing to labor in it wherever we may be directed by that authority that has come down from God. I rejoice in the work of God with all my heart. I have done so ever since I embraced it. I am willing today, as I have ever been, to go here or there and to labor in any direction. The man who is not willing to labor as a deacon is not fit to be a president. A man who will not work in a humble capacity is not fit to be exalted. The Lord will bless our labors in time and in eternity, and we will see the fruits thereof and re- joice in them in the presence of our Father. I know that the spirit which has been with us in this conference is the light of the Lord. It is the spirit that proceeds from the presence of God to lighten the souls of men. It is the light of Christ, the light and the life of the world, the power of the Lord. It comes from His presence; it fills our souls with joy and peace; it strength- ens us to resist the evils of the flesh and to overcome Satan and his works, and it will be and abide with this Church and grow brighter and brighter until the perfect day.
I feel in my soul to bless and praise the Lord for His goodness to me. I bear testimony that this is His work, and I desire to labor in it in time and in eternity. I invoke upon you, my brethren and sisters, the blessing and peace of Cod. May the kingdom of God .go forth, as it will. Roll on, thou glorious kingdom of the latter-days! Spread wide thy light and thy power, and the kingdoms of this world shall
1EPH F. SMITH. 73
bend to it; the powers of darkness shall be rebuked, the clouds shall roll away, and the light and might of God shall increase in the earth until all things are subdued unto Him; and the earth itself shall be redeemed and shine in the glory of God, and Christ shall grace it with His presence and crown it with His glory. May God help us to be faithful and serve Him all our days and finally save us in His kingdom, for Christ's sake. Amen.
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
A profitable and enjnyRl le Conferenc — Privileges of the ppot>le — I he Gospel incl'des temp rnl as well as spiritual salvation— Offirial statement sustained.
I have been delighted throughout with the spirit of our Conference and with the instructions that have been given to us by those who have spoken. The Spirit of the Lord has been mani- fest through His servants who have addressed this Conference. I feel that we have had a precious time, and that the Lord has blessed us abundantly by the outpouring of His Spirit, by the beautiful weather we have had in the main, and by the glorious opportunity we have enjoyed of mingling together, of meeting many friends, of witnessing, by our presence here, our interest in the work of the Lord, and of taking part in the transaction of such business as may properly come before this Conference. It is well understood that we meet to- gether in general Conference twice a year for the purpose of presenting the names of those who have been chosen as presiding officers in the Church, and it is understood that those who occupy these positions are dependent upon the voice of the people for the continuance of the authority, the rights and privi- leges they exercise. The female mem- bers of this Church have tne same priv- ilege of voting to sustain their presid- ing officers as the male members of the Church, and the vote of a sister in good standing counts in every way equal with the vote of a brother. The presen- tation of the Church authorities is part of the duty that remains to be done be- fore this Conference is brought to a close. Other business will also be pre-
74
GENERAL, CONFERENCE.
sented to the Conference, which may be considered by some as of greater importance than the rest. We desire that the Latter-day Saints will exer- cise the liberty wherewith they have been made free by the Gospel of Jesus Christ; for they are entitled to know the right from the wrong-, to see the truth and draw the line between it and error; and it is their privilege to judge for themselves and to act upon their own free agency with regard to their choice as to sustaining or otherwise those who should exercise the presid- ing functions among them. We desire the Latter-day Saints at this Confer- ence to exercise their prerogative, which is, to vote as the Spirit of the Lord prompts them on the measures and the men that may be presented unto them.
It is not my purpose to prolong re- marks. We are living in peculiar times. The situation in which we are placed calls for peculiar wisdom and understanding, and for the full exercise of our rights as Latter-day Saints, who should enjoy the spirit or discernment and inspiration that belong to those who are born of the water and the Spir- it, and who, because of this birth, are in a position to see the kingdom of heaven.
At this point President Smith gave out notice of an important meeting of cattle and sheep men to be held in the city, and then spoke as follows:
We may be pardoned for giving out a notice of this kind upon this occa- sion, but it will not be amiss for me to say that the Latter-day Saints be- lieve not only in the gospel of spiritual salvation, but also in the gospel of temporal salvation. We have to look after the cattle and the sheep and the horses, the gardens and the farms, the irrigation canals and ditches, and other necessary things for the maintenance of ourselves and our families in the earth. In this respect this Church is different from many other denominations. We do not feel that it is possible for men to be really good and faithful Christian people unless they can also be good, faithful, honest and industrious people. Therefore, we preach the gospel of in- dustry, the gospel of economy, the gos-
pel of sobriety. We preach that the idler shall not eat the bread of the la- borer, and that the idler is not entitled to an inheritance in Zion. We preach that those who are industrious, those who work, those who through their in- tegrity and industry are good citizens of the kingdom of God, are better citi- zens of the country in which they live than those who are not so diligent in this regard.
Let me. say to the brethren and sis- ters before we part: When you go home do not only be faithful in your prayers, in secret and in public; do not only be faithful as good church-goers; but be faithful to your families, be faithful to your flocks and to your herds, be faithful in the management of your farms, and in the promotion and conduct of every enterprise in which you are engaged. I would to the- Lord that we had a thousand good engi- neers, mechanics, surveyors and other skilled workmen among us. We could find employment today for hundreds of our people where honesty and faithful devotion to labor are demanded, if we only had the men who were skilled in the work that is required; but we do not have them. When we are applied to for men as boiler makers, as engi- neers, as builders, as skilled workmen in other directions, and we send out inquiries for them, we cannot find them. The boys are learning something else instead of the arts of laoor. I have heard it said that science is what we know, and art is what we know how to do.
GENERAL AUTHORITIES.
President Smith presented the general authorities of the Church to be voted for 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.
John R. Winder, as first counselor in the First Presidency; Anthon H. Lund, as second counselor in the First Presi- dency.
Francis M. Lyman, as President of the Twelve Apostles.
As members of the Council of Twelve Apostles: Francis M. Lyman, John
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
75
Henry Smith, George Teasdale, Heber J. Grant, John W. Taylor, Marriner W. Merrill, Matthias F. Cowley, Abraham O. Woodruff, Rudger Clawson, Reed Smoot, Hyrum M. Smith and George A. Smith.
John Smith, as presiding Patriarch of the Church.
The counselors in the First Presi- dency and the Twelve Apostles and the presiding Patriarch as Prophets, Seers and Revelators.
First seven presidents of Seventies: Seymour B. Young, Christian D. Fjeld- sted, Brigham H. Roberts, George Reynolds, Jonathan G. Kimball, Rulon S. Wells and Joseph W. McMurrin.
William B. Preston, as presiding Bishop, with Robert T. Burton and Or- rin P. Miller 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, Orson F. Whitney, A. Milton Musser and Brigham H. Roberts, assistant historians.
As members of the general Church board of education: Joseph F. Smith, Willard Young, Anthon H. Lund, James Sharp, John Nicholson, George H. Brimhall, Rudger Clawson, Joseph M. Tanner and John R. Winder.
John Nicholson, as clerk of the Con- ference.
THE TABERNACLE CHOIR. President and director— Evan Ste-< phens.
First counselor, treasurer and librar- ian—George C. Smith.
Second counselor and secretary— Sid- ney R. Phillips.
Organist— John J. McClellan, and all the members of the choir.
The voting was completely in the af- firmative.
PRESIDENT SMITH.
Brethren and sisters. Of course you cannot help but have noticed that some of our brethren have been absent from us. I regret very much the absence of a number of the Apostles. We are
all sorry that circumstances have pre- vented them from meeting with us. El- der John Henry Smith has been suf- fering for some time from inflamma- tory rheumatism and is still confined to his room. Elder George Teasdale re- ceived permisison to retire from active duty over two months ago, and when he left us was in feeble health. Elder Marriner W. Merrill has been prostrat- ed for some time in his home at Cache valley. These brethren have our sym- pathy and our prayers for their re- covery. I regret also the absence from this conference of Elders John W. Tay- lor and Matthias F. Cowley.
Now I am going to present a matter to you that is unusual and I do it be- cause of a conviction which I feel that it is a proper thing for me to do. I have taken the liberty of having writ- ten down what I wish to present, in order that I may say to you the exact words which I would like to have con- veyed to your ears, that I may not be misunderstood or misquoted. I present this to the conference for your ac- tion:
OFFICIAL STATEMENT.
"Inasmuch as there are numerous re- ports in circulation that plural mar- riages have been entered into contrary to the official declaration of President Woodruff, of September 26, 1890, com- monly called the Manifesto, which was issued by President Woodruff and adopted by the Church at its ganeral conference, October 6, 1890, which for- bade any marriages violative of the law of the land; I, Joseph F. Smith, Presi- dent of the Church of Jesus Christ oi Latter-day Saints, hereby affirm and declare that no such marriages have been solemnized with the sanction, con- sent or knowledge of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and
"I hereby announce that all such marriages are prohibited, and if any officer or member of the Church shalV assume to solemnize or enter into any such marriage he will be deem°d in transgression against the Church and will be liable to be dealt with, according to the rules and regulations thereof, and excommunicated therefrom.
"JOSEPH F. SMITH, "President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
They charge us with being dishonest and untrue to our word. They charge the Church with having violated a
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GENERAL CONFERENCE.
"compact," and all this sort of non- sense. I -want to see today whether the Latter-day Saints representing the Church in this solemn assembly will not seal these charges as false by their vote.
President Francis M. Lyman pre- sented the following resolution and moved its adoption:
RESOLUTION OF ENDORSEMENT.
"Resolved that we, the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints, in General Conference as- sembled, hereby approve and endorse the statement and declaration of Presi- dent Joseph F. Smith, just made to this Conference concerning plural mar- riages, and will support the courts of the Church in the enforcement there- of."
The resolution was seconded by a number of Presidents of Stakes and prominent Elders. Elder B. H. Roberts, in seconding the resolution, spoke as follows:
"In seconding the resolution that has just been read — which I most heartily do — I desire to state at least one reason for doing it. As remarked by the president, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been accused of being covenant-breakers with this nation. Of course, there never was, and could not be, any compact between the Church and the general government of the United States. But there could be a compact between the State . of Utah and the United States, and there was such a compact made in the Con- stitution of our state, by and through the Constitutional Convention. And now I am pleased with the opportunity of the Church saying in its official ca- pacity that the Latter-day Saints not only now are, but have been, true to the compact between the State of Utah and the United States., and that they are true to the Constitution of the state, which, by express provision, for- . ever prohibited plural or polygamous marriages, and made that irrevocable, without the consent of the United States. The adoption bv the Church of this resolution should put to sil- ence those who have accused us of be- ing covenant-breakers."
The resolution was then adopted, by unanimous vote of the Conference.
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND.
This statement which has just been read in your hearing was made for the Church. Rumors have been afloat that plural marriages have taken place, and
some are said to have commenced to doubt the truth of the declaration made by our President at Washington. Now it has been laid before you, and the Church, by its vote in solemn as- sembly, has ratified this resolution, and the Saints know just where the Church stands on this question. If any come to you with such rumors, you know that the Church is true to that which it ac- cepted thirteen years and six months ago, and which it has again ratified here in this Conference. It is not a new manifesto. It simply shows where we stand as a Church. The Lord has in- stituted in this Church the principle of free agency. Everything must be done by common consent, and therefore we lay these things before the conferences, that the people may have an opportu- nity to vote thereupon. This is an im- portant matter, and should be known by the world that the Latter-day Saints have the right and privilege to vote up- on everything that shall be accepted as Church doctrine or in regard to church government.
I feel pleased with our conference, with the spirit thereof, and with the in- structions that have been given. Let us take what we have heard home with us; let us take the spirit of the con- ference with us, and try to carry out in our daily lives the good counsel which has been given us. May the Lord bless you, brethren and sisters, and bless His Church upon the earth, as well as all good people and all who love the truth, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
PRESIDENT JOHN R. WINDER.
Jo-' ph and H\rum Men Tim
President Lund has expressed my feelings exactly in regard to this resolu- tion. I am proud to have the opportu- nity of voting for it.
There is one more item of business that I want to lay before the Conference, in which I think we are all greatly inter- ested, and I have no doubt you will sus- tain the proposition when you hear it. It is almost sixty years now since the martyrdom of the Prophet and Patri- arch, Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and until this day no building or monu-
PRESIDENT JOHN R. WINDER.
77
ment has been erected to their mem- ory. This matter has been talked over many times, and several propositions have been made. At one time it was suggested that a building be erected on the old Deseret News corner, which should be called a memorial building. At least one other suggestion has been made, that a monument or a memorial building should be erected on the southeast corner of this block. No defi- nite place, as yet, has been fixed for it. But I have been impressed that the time has come when some steps should be taken with regard to this matter. I would like to see a building, or monu- ments, or statues, erected in honor of these martyrs that would be something for our children to look at in years to come. Opposite the southeast corner of this block we have erected a monu- ment to President Brigham Young, and I would like to see something erected to these martyrs that would be an ob- ject lesson to our children and our chil- dren's children throughout all genera- tions, and also to the thousands of peo- ple who visit us, that they too may have something of this kind to look at. Therefore, I am strongly in favor of do- ing something to perpetuate the mem- ory of the Prophet and Patriarch, and with this in view I have prepared a resolution, which I will read to you:
"Whereas nearly sixty years have passed since the martyrdom of the Pro- phet and Patriarch Joseph and Hyrum Smith, and no public building or monu-
ment has been erected to their memory;
"Therefore, Be it Resolved by this General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, That a suitable building or monument be erected to their memory; that the Trus- tee-in-Trust appoint a committee to prepare plans for the same, which shall be submitted to him, and when ap- proved he will authorize the committee to proceed with the work and will fur- nish the necessary means from such funds as may be available for that pur- pose, and that a book be opened at the Presiding Bishop's Office to receive vol- untary subscriptions from any who wish to donate."
After reading the resolution, Presi- dent Winder moved its adoption.
It was seconded by President Francis M. Lyman and a number of others, and was adopted by the conference without a dissenting vote.
President Smith named as the com- mittee President John R. Winder, chair- man; President Francis M. Lyman, Bishop Wm. B. Preston and Bishop George Romney, and they were unani- mously sustained by the conference.
The choir and congregation sang:
"Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah."
Benediction by Elder John Nicholson. The conference then adjourned for six months.
The stenographic work in taking an account of the proceedings was done by Arthur Winter.
JOHN NICHOLSON, Clerk of Conference.
DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION
Its Semi-Annual Conference, Held in the Tabernacle, Sunday Evening. October 3. 1904.
The general semi-annual conference of the Sunday Schools of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was held in the Tabernacle, Salt Lake City, Sunday, April 3, 1904, at 7 o'clock p. m.
General Superintendent Joseph F. Smith presided.
There were present of the general au- thorities: Presidents Joseph F. Smith and Anthon H. Lund; Elders Francis M. Lyman, Abraham O. Woodruff, Rudger Clawson, Hyrum M. Smith, George A. Smith of the Quorum of the Apostles; Patriarch John Smith; a ma- jority of the Deseret Sunday School Union Board. The Tabernacle was crowded with an enthusiastic audience of Sunday School workers and Saints.
The congregation, under the leader- ship of Prof. Evan Stephens, sang "If There's Sunshine in your Heart."
Prayer was offered by Elder Abraham O. Woodruff.
The song, "Peace, be Still" was then sung by the Granite Stake adult class, under the direction of Prof. Evan Stephens.
Secretary Geo. D. Pyper called the roll of stakes which showed a represen- tation from every stake of Zion and three missions.
The secretary presented the officers of the Deseret Sunday School Union, who were sustained as follows: Gen- eral superintendent, Joseph F. Smith; first assistant general superintendent, George Reynolds; second assistant gen- eral superintendent, Joseph M. Tanner. Members of the board: Elders Joseph F. Smith, George Reynolds, Joseph M. Tanner, Joseph W. Summerhays, Levi W. Richards, Francis M. Lyman, Heber J. Grant, George Teasdale, Hugh J.
Cannon, Andrew Kimball, John W. Taylor, L. John Nuttall, James W. Ure, John F. Bennett, John M. Mills, Wil- liam D. Owen, Seymour B. Young, George D. Pyper, Henry Peterson, An- thon H. Lund, John R. Winder, Jas. E. Talmage, George M. Cannon, Horace Cummings, Abraham O. Woodruff. Gen- eral secretary, George D. Pyper; treas- urer, George Reynolds; business man- ager and assistant general secretary, William A. Morton; editor Juvenile In- structor, Joseph F. Smith; assistant ed- itors, George Reynolds and Joseph M. Tanner; business manager, George D. Pyper.
Miss Margaret Summerhays, Noel Pratt and Wood Pratt of Granite Stake then sang the trio, "O Restless Sea."
Elder William D. Owen of the Deseret Sunday School Union board then read an editorial from the Juvenile Instruc- tor of Jan. 1, 1904, on the subject of ''Harmony between presiding authori- ties in the Priesthood and in anxiliary organizations."
The choir sang, "Rouse, O ye Mor- tals."
JOSEPH W. SUMMERHAYS. I am requested to make a few re- marks and a short report on the fea- tures of our Sunday School work for 1904, viz., district Sunday School conven- tions.
We have already held three of these district conventions, one in Salt Lake City, comprising Tooele, Salt Lake, Da- vis, Granite and Jordan stakes; one in Weber, comprising Weber, Summit, Morgan and Box Elder stakes; and an- other in Provo, taking in the Utah, Al- pine, Nebo, Wasatch and Juab stakes. And in all of these conventions we have had a most glorious time.
DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.
79
In behalf of the Sunday School Board, we can say that every one of them was a grand success.
The work in these conventions is al- together different to what is done in our Stake conferences. In the conventions, after the general opening exercises, we take up department work, dividing the convention into some eight depart- ments. We will take, for instance, the theological department. We get the department workers and teachers and all interested in the theological depart- ments of the various schools, together; and there we read and discuss papers on different topics. And we have found that great good has resulted from these conventions, one of the greatest advan- tages being that every one attending has gone away from them to their re- spective homes with a greater deter- mination to do their duty as Sunday School people.
Now it is proposed that we hold like conventions throughout all the Stakes. We intend to district the Stakes into suitable convention dis- tricts, and during this summer, and perhaps early fall, we will visit each one of the districts and hold a conven- tion. When I say "we," I mean the general board of the Sunday School Union.
That we may be better able to dis- trict the various stakes, we will hold a meeting in the Barratt hall .next Tues- day afternoon at 4:30 o'clock, where we hope to meet with the superintendents of each stake, together with their as- sistants; and if the stake superintend- ents and their assistants are not pres- ent at this conference, from any of the stakes, we would like some representa- tive. We understand that some of the stakes of Zion are represented here tonight by their secretaries and other persons, and we would like the meeting next Tuesday afternoon to have a rep- resentation from each stake, so that we can make the districting as complete as possible. We are sure, my brethren, that much good will result if you will attend and help us.
I think this fairly represents the sit- uation, and it is not necessary to en-
large upon it. May God bless us and help us to do His will, I ask, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Elder George Hamlin then recited, "New Century Sonnets."
The Juvenile choir of the Granite Stake sang,
"Let us all press on in the work of the Lord."
Prof. Evan Stephens, in explaining methods in teaching the little ones, comprising this choir, and also the youths that constituted the choir that rendered the previous exercises of the evening, stated that those present con- stituted but about one-half of the full classes from which they were taken. They had received lessons only since about the first of the year, one lesson per week, to which they had come through mud and slush, in various kinds of weather. He thought they were a fair representation of the class- es, and showed what might readily be done in other rural stakes of Zion, out- side of the cities, by those who were willing and able to work in this direc- tion. He stated that about one dozen earnest active workers, who had taken an excellent course in the Chorister's class in the Latter-day Saints' Univer- sity, were about to return to their vari- ous homes in the several stakes, and these should be given work in this line of most profitable service to our young people. He said, further:
"We are aiming, with the smaller peo- ple, to teach them songs that will ap- peal strongly to them from the stand- point of sentiment. The "Cause of Truth" is not taken hit or miss, but with an aim. Another song we sing is "Have Courage, My Boy, to say No." That also tells its own story. The other one, to be given this evening, is "Whis- pering Hope." Outside of the senti- ment, we try to teach them to sing parts, that is, to learn to harmonize at once in part singing, and in this all the class is taught to sing alto, and all the class is taught to sing treble. I want to say this, that children should not be kept singing one part alone. In order to develop our little ones as they ought
80
DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.
to be developed, they should sing alto and treble alternately, so that the voice •will have proper practice through the whole range from the top to the bottom, and for this reason we do not select certain ones for altos, for they are all altos and all trebles; and we hope that as soon as they have grown up, there will be no need of training them into the singing of parts for they have grown up to it. Some have complained about the little boys being allowed to sing too high. We have some here singing up to what we call high G. I claim there is no danger in having them sing high, provided they are taught to sing softly.
For the purpose of exhibiting his method, Prof. Stephens had all the choir sing alto the first verse, the sec- ond verse all sang treble, and the third verse, the north half sang treble and the south half all sang alto. In the piece, rendered later in the exercises, he had the reverse sides sing alto and treble.
PRESIDENT F. M. LYMAN.
The exercises of the children from Granite stake, in their singing, is quite a surprise to me, and a delight. I have no doubt the musical people connected with the Sunday Schools throughout Zion will profit by the example set us tonight, so that the talents of the young people may be utilized to the very best advantage. We are wonderfully blessed with talent in this line throughout the Church, and we have not only the tal- ent, but we have the love and appre- ciation also of the labors of such men as Professor Stephens, and we are very anxious — I am sure the General Board is very anxious — that all may be made that can be made of the musical talent with which the Lord has blessed His people; for singing, and good singing particularly, is heavenly.
There is hardly any soul so dull or in- different as to not appreciate choice singing. The world delights in it, as well as the Saints. It is an accom- plishment that will adorn the Latter- day Saints throughout the world, and I have no doubt but that we shall excel
in it as one of the important features of the Sunday School cause. I have felt that our Sunday School work is superior, possibly, to that accomplished by any other people. We are not a very numerous people, but the Sunday School work that has been organized and developed within the last 40 years produces what we see here tonight. Nothing like this is to be seen in the world so far as I know; such a body, of possibly eight to nine thousand peo- ple, gathered together here, interest- ed in the Sunday School cause, workers and pupils, a whole commuunity, their hearts beating warmly towards this cause. In it, by these associations and organizations, the spirit of the Gospel is cultivated. Music is refining; and it is introduced into the homes, until we find that in every home in Zion, wheth- er there be musical instruments or not, but the voices will be trained, and our children will be singers, the musical talent will be developed delightfully; and what is more pleasant than to hear children sing, singly and also collective- ly? What is there more cheerful in a home and in our social gatherings? I know of nothing that cheers the heart and elevates the sentiment of the soul of men or women equal to the musical sentiment and talent, if it is cultivated. How pleasant it is, where we have a mother who can sing, a father who can sing, brothers that can sing, sisters that can sing! I think we cannot de- vote too much attention and time to the cultivation of the musical talent with which the Lord has endowed us. I appreciate that the Sunday School is developing this art more extensively and generally throughout our communi- ties, until the Latter-day Saints will be recognized as the musical people of the world, the most 'remarkable com- munity for musical talent; and the world will be delighted, as they are now. They come to us, and we go to them with our music. The Taber- nacle choir, under the direction of Prof. Stephens, has made a sensation throughout the United States, and it is anticipated that they will do so be- yond the bounds of the United States.
I
DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL, UNION.
I hope they will. And I hope that the Lord will bless Prof. Stephens, and bless those who follow in his footsteps, and take up the labor that he has sug- gested now, and that has been taken up, for there are many among us, many others. Prof. Stephens is not the only one. He has possibly been the leading feature or factor in this line, but there are others whose hearts and souls arc just as musical as is Brother Stephens' heart and soul, and we want to avail ourselves of the talent that we have and accomplish everything that can bo done to produce joy in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints.
The Lord bless you, my brethren and sisters. I do not feel that I ought to occupy your time. But may the Lord bless you and may we sustain and en- courage our young children and those who have musical talents to develop those talents until we shall rejoice ex- ceedingly in it before the Lord. I am sure that the Lord is pleased with this effort and labor; I am sure that the Lord is pleased with the General Sun- day School board and with the labors of the people, I am sure that He re- joices therein, and the angels will be delighted with the music that will be made by the children of the Latter-day Saints.
May that spirit and inclination in- crease in our hearts, now and forever. I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Juvenile choir of the Granite Stake then sang,
"Have Courage, my boy, to say No."
PRESIDENT JOSEPH F. SMITH.
Observing this choir of children, it would not appear that Zion is growing less, and it would seem to me, too, that so long as we can preserve with us Bro- ther Stephens and a few others of his associates who are engaged in this glorious work of teaching music, both to the adults and to the children, a de- sire and love for the musical will also increase in the midst of our people. I feel that the parents of these little chil- dren owe much to the effort of Brother Stephens in his labor of love, in teach- ing them how to sing and developing
81
the talent for music which lies dormant within them and needs but the in- struction,the teaching.the guiding hand and voice of Brother Stepnens to devel- op the talent that they have.
It delights my heart to see our little children learning to sing, and to see thf. people, our neoole everywhere, improv- ing their talenis as gcod singers. Every- where we go among our people, we find sweet voices and talent for music. I believe that this is a manifestation to us of the purpose of the Lord in this direction toward our people, that they will excel in these things, as they should excel in every other good thing.
I do not arise to make any special remarks. I feel gratified at seeing this vast concourse of people here this eve- ning, interested in this Sunday School work, and I hope, my brethren and sis- ters, that you and all of us may con- tinue to keep awake our interest in the Sunday School cause. It is a very im- portant branch of our spiritual work, the training of our little ones, the training of our Sunday School children and all parents should take a deep in- terest in this work, and should not spare any pains in making ready and in giving encouragement to their children to attend the Sunday schools.
God bless you as teachers and as Latter-day Saints, as fathers and as mothers of these precious little chil- dren who have been given to us to succeed us, eventually, in the great labor of building up Zion in the lat- ter-day. Bring them up in the way that they should go that they will not depart from that way when th?y g ow old; and if you will only see to it care- fully that your children are ta' ght in the ways of righteousness, that they are brought up in the paths of vir- tue and peace and honor, God will magnify you before the nations of the world, and His work will be hastened in its time.
God bless you and all who are as- sociated in the work of the Sabbath schools, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen.
PRESIDENT ANTHON H. LUND. I am pleased to see this large con-
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DESERET SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION.
gregation, all interested in the good work of the Sunday school.
I believe that all have been pleased who have been here this evening to witness what we have seen Brother Stephens do with his choir. We sang, "If there's sunshine in the heart." "We want to put sunshine into the hearts of our children. Our Sunday School is a splendid place for this, and by teaching our children singing we will do one part toward it, but especially by the good teaching that is given. In the Sunday School we lay the founda- tion for our children to always be in a condition that they may have sun- shine in their hearts. We want to in- stil in their hearts and lives a love for
the beautiful, a love for music and everything that tends to elevate. This is the good work in which you, breth- ren and sisters, are engaged.
May the Lord prosper you in your work, give you much joy therein, and may you see the children of Zion grow up strong in faith and in the love of God, I ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
The children's choir of the Granite stake then sang, "Whispering Hope." Benediction by Elder John B. Maiben.
GEORGE D, PYPER,
General Secretary. F. E. BARKER.
Stenographer.
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