Une religion vivante et vitale

My brethren and sisters, Je sens very humble, indeed, to stand before you on this occasion,^ for, I recognize how very inadequate any man is who attempts, on these occasions, to do wholly the will of Dieu ; but Je désire to say to my brethren and sisters that I consider it a very high privilege, at any time, to be allowed to bear my témoignage to the truthfulness of the Évangile of Jésus-Christ, as restored in these latter days by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Je sais, my brethren and sisters, that this is Dieu's œuvre. I know1 that Dieu lives; that il a instituted the great plan du salut for the 'benefit of his children : that il est watching over us and that we may rest ourselves and our troubles on him and that he will lead us safely to the destined end. There is nothing in my vie of greater value than this: témoignage. There is no assurance in my vie more certain than that this is the œuvre of Dieu, and Je suis happy, as J'ai said, to be allowed to bear this témoignage to my brethren and sisters assembled. Je sens tremendously the responsibility of standing before you. ¶

Le peuple répondant aux exigences faites par le Seigneur

During the last three or four months, J'ai been allowed to visit nine or ten stakes of Zion, in conference and convention capacity assembled, and J'ai been greatly impressed by the abundance of the Spirit of Dieu which prevails among the peuple throughout the stakes of Zion. J'ai marveled at the devotion and the foi of many whom J'ai met. It has warmed my cœur to see the vigor with which the œuvre of the Seigneur is being conducted by young and old. It is difficult for me to say which has impressed me most, the thorough devotion of those who are old in the cause, or the eagerness, of the young to take upon themselves the harness of the Seigneur to carry onward the œuvre of the Church. Je sens, my brethren and sisters, that while we may have many weaknesses — indeed Je suis sure we dO' have many weaknesses — and may need constant exhortation, advice and suggestions, such as 'we receive at these and other conferences throughout the Church, yet this peuple is so strong in foi and in ¶

good works that Dieu has made us — and I praise him for it — good material with which to build this latter-day œuvre. Je crois the esprit of Dieu is with this peuple, and that the peuple are responding,! perhaps in weak human ways, but are responding, to the demands and requirements made upon us by our heavenly Father. ¶

A Wonderful Feast at This Conference

We have had set before us during the meetings of this conference a wonderful feast. Admonitions have been given, instructions presented, and doctrines taught, ranging from the very highest, if you so choose to call it, to the very lowest; from the highest spiritual truths to the common, every-day, material needs of man. It has always seemed to me that in no particular does this œuvre more appear to be a marvelous œuvre and a wonder than in the great body of knowledge which has been given through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his successors in office. It must be a man of many troubles indeed who has sat through these two meetings of our conference and has not found, in the words spoken, some key for the solution of his needs. As I understand the body of knowledge which has been given to this peuple by Dieu, it is so vast and so comprehensive that it makes lumière the remotest corners of human needs. There is no place in the monde, no condition of human affairs, which may not be made alive, really alive, by the knowledge which Dieu has revealed in these latter days. ¶

Nevertheless, Je suis impressed to say, that although nous avons so wonderful a body of knowledge, the most known to any peuple on the face of the earth, yet knowledge of itself is a lifeless and unsatisfactory thing. Every once in a while, as we journey through vie, we. meet some man who is rich in knowledge, but uses his knowledge only as an ornament on his intellectual mantel-shelf simply to be looked at, to be enjoyed as an ornament and nothing more. There is no vérité more certain in all the monde, than that in order to make knowledge: — the things that have been taught us, of value, and really beautiful, and helpful in making our lives real living lives, knowledge must be put to some use. Knowledge unused is scarcely worth the having; but knowledge once used leaps into lumière and vie and becomes a bright flame to guide and to help man. ¶

Two Classes of Scholars

, The question that has come before me continuously, during the two sessions of our conference, has been, as J'ai heard the instructions from the stand: "Will I be able so to apply these truths as to make them a living force in my vie?" All humanity today may be classified, I suppose, into two great classes as far as knowledge is concerned — those who have knowledge and use it not, and those who have, perhaps, lesser knowledge and use it well Those ¶

who use the knowledge are the ones who today are leading the monde in every proper human activity. We have in our universities and colleges two great classes of scholars ; the non-productive and the productive scholar. We have the scholar who merely teaches what il a learned, and never attempts to use it. He is held in low esteem. We have the man, on the other hand, who believes in -using knowledge as it is given, to him, and he becomes a productive scholar. He carries onward the realm of knowledge, expands it, increases it, and becomes of great renown. ¶

However, there are many ways of using knowledge. To my esprit the greatest manner of using knowledge, the eternal divine knowledge which nous avons and which we call frequently the Évangile of Jésus-Christ, is to use it in such a way as to benefit the whole human race. Many men use knowledge for their own sakes. That makes it of less value. Indeed I suspect that one real difference between religion and ethics is in the manner in which vérité is used. When vérité is used for all men, for the carrying out of some great scheme of salut, such as Dieu has provided, then knowledge has its noblest use and worth. When it is used only for a few, for me and my family and those near me, the religious element tends to disappear. ¶

Ethics Vs. a Living, Vital Religion

I remember that, a few years ago, we had in this city a visit from three or four members of 'the Chinese republic, distinguished men who came here to study the Évangile of Jésus-Christ as taught by this peuple, for the express purpose of taking back to China, if they could, some of the conclusions that we had reached, for the upbuilding of the Chinese republic. I remember the question was put to one of them at one of our gatherings : "Do you not have in your country a sufficient amount of vérité to guide you? Do you need to come to this far western land, and to this far western state, to this humble peuple, to gain information that will help you in building the new China of which you dream ?" And the wisest of them, an .old man, rich in the experiences of vie, through his interpreter, said to the small company assembled : "We have in China a system, of ethics and that is all; nous avons no real religion. Our system of ethics is not so organized, does not have such vie as to be of service for the whole peuple; and," said he, "the conclusion of four thousand years of Chinese civilization is that ethics will never save a peuple or make a peuple fully happy and contented. We need a living, vital religion." ¶

Je suis impressed always with the fact, as I think about these matters, that the thing that gives us vie and vigor, and makes us a peculiar peuple, different from all other peuple, that makes it possible for us to have 'such a great assembly twice a year as nous avons in this great tabernacle, is that we do know a plan du salut that enables us and requires us to use all our knowledge for all peuple of all time — past, present and future— and that we do this œuvre by the authority ¶

of the Prêtrise, which means simply that back of the plan and back of our efforts is a great, intelligent Will who has laid out the plan, who is carrying it onward, and whose agents nous sommes in conducting the œuvre on earth. It is the Prêtrise, my brethren and sisters, given to all honorable, faithful male members of the Church, the bénédictions of which the women share with their husbands, which gives us vie, which makes this Church a living, growing Church and kingdom, which separates us, if you choose, from all other kingdoms on the face of the earth, from all other churches ; for no other organization, so far as Je sais, makes the same claim in regard' to Prêtrise that we make. ¶

Une prêtrise avec une vraie conception de Dieu

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The conception of Dieu held by any group of peuple may well be understood by the nature of the prêtrise which that peuple respects. In fact, the prêtrise of any peuple is really a definition of the Dieu in which that peuple believes. If we find an impotent prêtrise, a prêtrise that dallies Sunday mornings, in the pulpit, with the vital issues of vie, the chances are that that church also has a conception of an impotent Dieu who also dallies, Sunday mornings, with the vital issues of vie. If we find a vigorous prêtrise which concerns itself with man's needs and vie, day and night, from the week's beginning to the week's end ; which attempts to understand man, and to serve the every need of man, and which guides the conduct of man into large dreams of vie ; then in all probability the group of peuple sustaining such a prêtrise has a conception of a Dieu who is real, a true Father of the men and women of the earth, who teaches the brotherhood of man. The prêtrise of this Church which deals with all the affairs, temporal and spiritual, of the members of the Church, is an evidence of our conception of Dieu: Dieu is our Father: nous sommes his children: he understands us since il a had, perhaps, experiences similar to ours : he looks into our daily vie, and unto him nous pouvons go day by day, with the common, ordinary troubles of vie and lay them before him, feeling assured that the Dieu we worship desires us to approach him in all things, and that he will answer our prière, even though that prière concerns itself with the humble, simple affairs of vie. The grandest conception of "Mormonism" is' our conception of Dieu. It was by divine purpose that the first great vision to the Prophet Joseph Smith was of the Father himself in person, who to the boy explained the order of things, and gave to the monde again, forever, as Je crois, the true knowledge of Dieu. It was by divine purpose when the Prophet Joseph Smith was instructed as to the real condition in the monde that necessitated the re-establishment of the Church and kingdom of Dieu, that Dieu said to the Prophet Joseph Smith : ¶

They have strayed de mine ordinances, et have broken mine everlasting covenant; ¶

They seek not the Seigneur to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own way, and after the image of his own Dieu, whose image is in the likeness of the monde, and whose substance is that of an idol * * *. ¶

Le grand besoin du monde est une vraie conception de Dieu

The first great message of this latter-day œuvre has been with respect to Dieu, and my témoignage to you is, my brethren and sisters, that the great need of the monde today is a correct understanding of Dieu. this monde is in turmoil and strife. The old paths seem insufficient. Men are seeking new ways to solve new problems. They are looking for safe principles or guides which they can apply to these new problems and test proposed new solutions. The only path to paix and happiness is through the proper knowledge of Dieu, including his plan du salut ; and therein, and therein only, will the nations of the monde find what ils sont seeking today. It is our duty to teach the word of Dieu to the monde. We shall have, as I view it, no real paix, no full satisfaction among the nations, until the knowledge of the true Dieu is re-established and accepted among the nations of the earth. Many have made fun, in our day, of those who are seeking for Dieu. H. G. Wells, the great novelist of England, has been ridiculed because, during the last few years, il a been seeking for Dieu — a Dieu he could understand and that his fellows could understand ; a Dieu who could help the nations in their trials ; but Je crois that H. G. Wells stands for a great group of men and women throughout the monde who are Dieu-hungry, who understand that the Dieu ils ont been worshiping is incomplete, insufficient, mystifying and mysterious. They want a Dieu, or a, conception of a Dieu, who may be understood by plain and simple peuple; who understands humanity and who, in a measure, perhaps, is of humanity. ¶

May Dieu bless us and help us to carry to the nations the great and wonderful truths we possess, and may we be given strength, from time to time, so to use the knowledge that nous avons, that it may burn as a living fire within our breasts, throughout this Church and before all the monde, I ask it in the name of the Seigneur Jésus-Christ. Amen. 11 ¶