Discourse

He rejoiced at the privilege of attending a General Conference, a pleasure he had not had for two years. Notwithstanding existing troubles there was abundant cause for thankfulness to the Almighty. It had appeared frequently as if the people were about to fall into the hands of their enemies, and that they should be in bondage, yet the Lord had delivered them. The Saints were growing stronger and brighter by the ordeals through which they were passing, and the set time to favor Zion and cause her to shine in splendor was at hand. No unprejudiced person could help acknowledging that the wonderful endurance exhibited by the Saints was due to something more then fanaticism. They had been upheld by the power of the Spirit of God. The speaker was pleased to witness a spirit of inquiry growing among the young people, who are preparing to take part in the great work of the latter days. They would yet become a power in the earth. Those who attended this conference ought to carry to their homes the spirit of this gathering and the instructions imparted. It was a source of satisfaction that so many of the brethren were at liberty, notwithstanding the schemes of the wicked. The deliverance promised to the Saints would come, but the contest involved in the future developments of the present state of affairs would cause all to be tested. All earthly considerations will have to be made secondary to the integrity that must be maintained toward the work of God. In this way persecution was rendered a cleansing process. Those who were not vessels of honor could not endure and would fall by the way, and thus was the community purged from hypocrites. ¶