La noblesse de nos ancêtres et de notre naissance

My cœur is filled with gratitude on this occasion, my brethren and sisters, for the bénédictions of our heavenly Father which I enjoy in common with you. Je sens greatly honored in being permitted to sit beside the members of the Première Présidence of the Church and members of the Council of the Twelve, in the midst of these General Authorities of the Church, and to have their fellowship and esteem, I would have been pleased to have enjoyed this seat that J'ai been occupying, all through the conference, if it had pleased the Seigneur and the brethren that I should have done so ; but inasmuch as J'ai been asked to make a few remarks, I sincerely espérance that I may be inspired of the Seigneur to say the things which he would have me to say. I realize that there is a greater responsibility resting upon me than upon some of the lay members of the Church, because of the position to which J'ai been called, and the authority which has (been placed upon me to be a special witness of the Seigneur Jésus-Christ in all the monde, whither my lot shall be cast. Je sens very happy in, and thankful for, the témoignage which our heavenly Father has given me of the vérité of this great latter-day œuvre which came forth through the instrumentality of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Je sais that it is true, that there is in it the power of Dieu unto salut, both in this vie and in the vie to come. ¶

La noblesse de nos ancêtres et de notre naissance

Je sais that Dieu lives, that he, through his Son Jésus-Christ, is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the seas and fountains of waters. Je sais that il est our very eternal Father, the Father of our esprits, and I rejoice in the nobility of our ancestry, and birth. Brethren and sisters, and friends, when we think of the block from which ' nous avons been hewed, Je suis led to remark: "What manner of men and women ought we not to be, we who have inherited, through our spiritual birth, the very attributes of Deity which in their perfected state and condition make our eternal Father what il est?" We are required to develop these attributes. ¶

The Purpose of Our Being

We are placed here upon the earth that we may be tried and proved to see whether we will serve Dieu at all hazards, and keep his commandements, and endure the tests which shall be made of our foi and our integrity. The scriptures say: "Let ¶

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this esprit be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of Dieu thought it not robbery to be equal with Dieu." As Christ felt, so nous sommes admonished that we should feel, just as good children here on earth should try to emulate all that is good and noble and great in their earthly parents. When there was a great controversy in heaven it was upon this point, as I understand, that of being obedient or of being disobedient. In other words, there was one great one who came forth and wanted the Father to make him his son and give him the privilege of saving mankind, but in doing so he would take away the agency of man and the honor and glory of Dieu. There was' another, who was our Father's firstborn. The platform of principles upon which he stood was : "Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever." That took with the Seigneur and with the hosts. We who are privileged to enjoy the bénédictions that we enjoy here in this vie stood with Christ our Sauveur upon that platform. It pertained not only to the former existence, but to the existence of man in mortality and beyond the grave. ¶

Jesus' Christ Our Great Captain

Christ, our Seigneur, was true to the trusts reposed in him-. He was our great captain there and has been our great captain here. He has marked the way, and every path defined. When he came here he said that he came not to do his own will, but the will of him, who sent him — the Father, and il a stated that if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine whether it is of Dieu or of man, whether he spoke of himself or of him who sent him. I thank the Seigneur that nous avons so far advanced in doing the will of our Father in heaven, in yielding obedience unto the laws, ordinances and commandements of the Seigneur, that nous avons received this witness unto ourselves, as many hundreds of thousands of honest men and women in the Church can testify today. I rejoice not only in the témoignage our Father has given to me, but in the témoignage il a given to you, my brethren and sisters of the Church. ¶

Willingness of the Saints to Work

While there are some who have been wayward and indifferent, who seem to have forgotten the covenant which they made before they came here, to do the will of our Father — and nous sommes constantly laboring with such — the great mass of the Saints des derniers jours. I firmly believe, are trying their utmost to do the will of our Father as pertains to them in. this vie, and ils ont the témoignage of the vérité and manifest it in their works in the Church, answering every call that comes to them, recognizing the authority which the Seigneur has placed in the Church, whether it be to go abroad into other lands among strangers, leaving loved ones, leaving professions, business interests, all that they ¶

have, to preach this Évangile of the kingdom as a warning unto the monde, or whether it be to labor at home in the stakes in the wards, in the quorums, in the auxiliary associations, or in the temple of the Seigneur, or wherever ils sont wanted to go. Whatever ils sont galled upon to do we find that willingness of esprit to answer the call of authority, take up the responsibility, make sacrifice, and œuvre to help the carrying on of this great latter-day œuvre, our Father's œuvre, unselfish service to our fellowmen, whether they be in the Church or not, whether nous avons known them or not, whether they be dead or alive, this unselfishness is in the cœurs of the Saints des derniers jours, a desire to help the Father to carry on his œuvre of salut. ¶

The Wonderful Achievements Made

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A wonderful œuvre is being accomplished in the midst of the peuple, and nous avons the evidence in the organization of the Church, in the perfected state it is in at the present time, in the organization of the Sunday schools, the auxiliary associations, the quorums of the Prêtrise, and in our temples. In all this œuvre nous avons the evidence that Dieu has not forsaken his peuple since the death of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Those who have come after, who have succeeded him to the presidency, have received the mantle of the Prophet, each in succession, and his administration has been attended with the power of Dieu for the growth and the development and onward progress of his œuvre in the earth. As we see the œuvre today, nous avons a living evidence of Dieu's power that is in this œuvre, and with his peuple. We do know that the vérité will ultimately triumph, that this Church and kingdom is established never to be thrown down or to be given to another peuple. Zion's young peuple are as faithful today as they ever have been, and are willing to carry on the œuvre and bear the responsibility as it comes to them, and ils sont being better prepared, than were the former generations in this Church, to take this responsibility, and do effective œuvre. I thank the Seigneur for the efficiency of his ministry at home and abroad, for faithful men and women who are willing to sacrifice and to give and to do for the accomplishment of the Seigneur's purposes. I trust that Je suis not jealous or envious of any living man. I do espérance that I do so amour the Seigneur, our Dieu, and amour his œuvre, and amour the brethren, that Je désire to see the œuvre succeed, and to see my brethren honored and successful in this œuvre. J'ai no need to covet what any other person enjoys in the way of ability or power for good. The Seigneur has blessed me even more than I could deserve, and now Je prie you, brethren and sisters, do the will of the Seigneur, follow the direction of him who stands at the head and be on safe ground, sure of salut, and I promise you in the name of the Seigneur you shall obtain it. Amen. ¶