Discourse

read the 11th verse of the 3rd, and 10th verse of the 4th chapter of Exodus. Asked an interest in the faith and prayers of the Saints. When first called to do that which the Lord required of him, Moses felt his weakness and dependence upon the Lord, and therefore asked, “Who am I that I should be called to do this mighty work?” He felt that it was a labor that he was not equal to, and he besought the Lord to call some other person. One of his pleas was that he was not eloquent, but slow of speech. So it was with the Elders in this day when called to go as missionaries to the various nations. They felt their inability. In looking at what has been accomplished in the valleys of the mountains as well as by the Elders abroad, one must acknowledge that God had assisted his humble followers in their efforts. The Elders as a rule were lacking in scholastic education, but the Lord had made up unto them by the outpouring of His Spirit what they were deficient in that respect. Jeremiah felt likewise humble and inadequate when he was called of the Lord; but he was told that the Lord had known him before he was formed in mortality and had ordained him to be a prophet unto the nations. So it was with Enoch. He became great, but when he was called to be a prophet he felt like a child. The Lord’s plans and doings were very different from those of man. Paul said the Lord had called the weak and foolish things of the world in his day to confound the wise and the mighty. Then, as in the days of Moses and other prophets, the glory and honor of what was accomplished had to be accorded to the Lord, for the instruments chosen could not claim the credit themselves. Looking at the condition of this world’s goods, it was also apparent that the credit for the marvelous change which had come over them since the Gospel found them in poverty scattered throughout the world, was due to the Lord only. ¶

The hopes of the Saints had been extended immeasurably by the light of the Gospel. They know that when they depart this life, if faithful here to what the Lord has revealed to them, their salvation was secure. The Lord was entitled to the credit of this, for this blessing had not come from man. When Elders asked in arising to speak, an interest in the faith and prayers of their hearers, it was not as a matter of form, but from a sense of their weakness and dependence. ¶

The speaker expressed his pleasure with what had been said and done during the Conference thus far. Was assured that the Saints were advancing and becoming more fully established in the principles of life and glory. While there was still much room for improvement it was apparent that advancement had been made. Exhorted the Saints to try and be more faithful, to do unto others as they would have others do unto them. The Saints were the friends of the Lord. They must learn to extend their charity to all mankind. As Brother Caine had said, God demanded of the Saints that they labor in the interest of all mankind. The examples of Joseph of old and the Prophet Daniel illustrated how the Lord blessed those who were true to principle and would do right under all circumstances. They labored for the good of the nation in which they lived. As their influence was finally increased with the people among whom they dwelt as well as with God by their fidelity and disinterestedness, so would that of the Saints. In case of Jonah going to Nineveh and proclaiming the destruction decreed by the Almighty and the result of the repentance of the people, also conveyed a valuable lesson to the Saints. He hoped it might be so with this generation, to whom warning voices of the Saints had extended. He invoked the blessing of the Lord upon the Assembly. ¶