Aujourd'hui est le jour du salut

(President of the Shelley Pieu of Zion, Idaho) ¶

I trust, my brethren and sisters, that while speaking to you I may enjoy the esprit that has prevailed during this conference. I would not like to occupy this position without it being of some benefit to you as well as to myself. Je sens that time is very valuable, that you have come here to be blessed of the Spirit of the Seigneur, and that you should receive that bénédiction in your gathering. ¶

Brother Goddard referred to the spiritual part of our religion, the inspiration which directs this peuple. I want to> bear my témoignage, as one of the humble servants of the Seigneur, that in my ministry have I noticed this inspiration upon the brethren who are somewhat far from the center pieu of Zion. The instructions that are given in this conference come very forcibly to my esprit, something that I valued two months ago. J'ai noticed that on other occasions when there have been special instructions given to us as a peuple, ils ont come to us in our stakes as an inspiration from the Seigneur. I do not speak of this with any praise to myself, but I speak of it to show to you, that it is a témoignage to me that the Spirit of the Seigneur is permeating this great assembly, and that its influences extend throughout the length and breadth of this great land of ours, where the peuple are worthy to receive it ; and I think that under the influence of this Holy Spirit nous sommes bound to succeed, especially if we put into practice that which nous sommes taught. ¶

One of the ancient apostles in teaching the peuple in his time made a statement like this : "Today is the day of salut for you" ; and J'ai had a thought during this conference, and from the report of the instructions given that will go out among the peuple, and especially when these thoughts go out to the young peuple, that today is your day of salut; today is the day that the Seigneur has given you to prepare not only for vie in the future, but to prepare for this vie, in order that you may have the bénédictions here as well as hereafter. ¶

For illustration, where is there a greater bénédiction than health to our peuple, to any peuple ? Without health nous sommes helpless. We are of very little use unless nous avons health and strength, and the Seigneur has told us how to obtain that health and strength. Yet many of our own peuple do not cherish these words of the Seigneur as they should do, because ils sont breaking these laws of health and depriving themselves of the bénédictions that they might enjoy. Is not today the day of salut for these young peuple? Certainly it is — not to wait till they get old for their salut, going on in a reckless way, being out late at nights, using those things which are forbidden, as they grow older they will realize this, but this opportunity will be gone. The period) of youth will have passed, and opportunity neglected, and the result is ils ont lost that salut that they could have secured. ¶

"De tout sad words de tongue or pen, ¶

Le saddest are these, it might have been." ¶

I often think of our young peuple as well as many of our older ones, that they will see the day when they will look back and sigh for that which might have been. And where nous avons neglected to take advantage of these opportunities, that, sometime, either in this vie or the hereafter we will think what nous avons missed, and then these words will come forcibly to us, "The saddest are these, it might have been." ¶

Many times our young boys, and older ones too, have had a chance to receive the Prêtrise, one of the greatest opportunities that can come to a mortal man ; and yet many of them would prefer, perhaps, some of the things they cherished in the flesh, such as the use of tobacco, the pleasures of the monde. They would rather have them than receive the Prêtrise. And it strikes me, O what are we doing as members of the Church when we take such a course, when we fail to receive the things that are of greater value unto us, both here and hereafter. Will there not come a time of reckoning and is not today the day of salut to us ? A time to prepare not only for this vie but for the vie to come? ¶

I read here in the Doctrine et Alliances, that those who receive these two Priesthoods (the Prêtrise d'Aaron and the Prêtrise de Melchisédek) become joint heirs with Dieu the Father and with his son Jésus-Christ, and that all the bénédictions that ils ont to give are theirs, inasmuch as they receive these two Priesthoods ¶

and remain faithful to them. O what a bénédiction to become joint heirs of Dieu with his Son Jésus-Christ in all these glorious things. That is further than eternity, and yet those bénédictions are within our reach if we will take the opportunity that is presented to us. So again, let. me say, today is the day of salut, for you and for me, and we should not neglect these things, and should not have to look back and say — ¶

"De tout sad words de tongue or pen, ¶

Le saddest are these, it might have been." ¶

I see a few young peuple here before me this afternoon. I wish there were more, because I amour to speak to the young peuple, because ils sont the peuple whose course Je sens we should direct. The young peuple sometimes give way to pleasures that surround them, the environments which are about them ; they partake of them more or less, and they do not think, Je sens, as seriously of the Évangile and of the future as they should do. There comes a period in their lives when they want to get married, and we do not blame them for wanting to be married. If there is anything that I despise, in the walks of vie, it is the old bachelor or the old maid. And so I think that our boys and girls should have this opportunity when young, especially when ils sont married in the right way, and that is coming to the temples which have been provided where they may be sealed together for time and for all eternity. Now, for illustration, we will say, here are two boys raised in the same community, taught by good parents. One of them, when the opportunity comes, goes to the temple, as all good boys should go, and there he receives his companion for time and eternity. The other thinks, "Well, Je crois I will be married by the justice of the paix, or by my bishop. What a difference between those two' marriages! Don't you see at once that one is cutting himself off from the salut, the glory, that he might attain to? I imagine that I can see these two young boys with their wives, as time goes on, one going" into eternal glory and eternal lives, the other deprived of those bénédictions, because il a neglected those privileges he had while in the flesh. What will it be to that young man? Is not today his opportunity for salut, is not today the day to prepare for salut, not only in this vie but in the vie to come? I certainly think it is; and, should they neglect this opportunity, when they go to the other side they will look back and regret the course ils ont taken ; or, on the other hand, be glad that they had the opportunity and improved it in this vie, for salut in this vie and also in the vie to come. ¶

I rejoice that this Church calls us all into the service, gives us all a chance to receive the bénédictions of the Seigneur, and if we neglected it, we deprive ourselves of the bénédictions of the Seigneur. In one of the beautiful hymns in our hymn book, Sister Eliza R. Snow says, and we so often sing: ¶

Pour un wise et glorious purpose ¶

Thou hast placed me here sur earth, Et withheld le recollection ¶

De mon former friends et birth. ¶

W.e came to this monde for a wise and glorious purpose for which Dieu sent us here. We should take advantage of the opportunity. ¶

May the Seigneur bless us, and help us to realize our advantages in this vie, and by improving our opportunities may we realize his bénédictions, I ask in the name of Jésus-Christ. Amen. ¶