Remarks

It is with a feeling of great dependence and weakness that I arise before the congregation this morning to speak. I took a severe cold a couple of weeks ago and have not recovered from it yet; therefore, unless I am blessed of the Lord I shall possibly not be able to make myself heard, or to occupy much time. ¶

I have felt blessed in listening to the instructions which have been given by the brethren who have spoken during this Conference, and I can bear my testimony to the counsels which they have given and the instructions which have proceeded from them by the inspiration of the Almighty. I hope that the same good Spirit which has attended our meetings so far will continue throughout today, that all who hear may rejoice in the manifestations of the mercy, kindness and love of our Heavenly Father toward His children. We have been greatly blessed of our Father in our spiritual labors as well as in our temporal affairs. We have heard a little during Conference about the hard times that are being felt throughout the land; but if all the truth were told, I believe it would be found that the people of Utah have felt the effects of the hard times about as little as, if not less than any other portion of our country, or of the world. ¶

Not long ago one of the brethren, who lived out in the country, came to the President’s office and said to President Woodruff, in substance: “I have made up my mind to go back to the old country and visit my relatives. It is a long time since I was there, and I have come to the conclusion that I will go back once more and look at them and see what I can do before I get too old.” The President remarked, “Well, if you can afford to do this in these hard times, I don’t see that there can be any objection to it.” “Why,” he said, “President Woodruff, I live out in the country and I don’t know anything about hard times.” He then went on to say that the people out in the country did not feel the hard times like those in the city. They lived from the products of their farms; they had their little flocks and herds; they reaped what they had sown, and gathered what they had strewn, and they were about as comfortable now as they had ever been. It did not appear to him, he said, so long as the Lord blessed the soil and the flocks and the herds, that hard times would come very near to them. These were about the sentiments expressed by this good brother. He said he had plenty of means to go and visit his relatives. Then, said President Woodruff, go and be blessed. He has been, and I think he has returned. This expresses, I believe, pretty nearly the condition of a great many of the Latter-day Saints throughout Utah and elsewhere. We heard yesterday some statistics, given by Brother Abraham H. Cannon, concerning the people in the country who had been prudent and taken care of that which the Lord had given to them. He said that eighty-six per cent of the people living in the country were possessing their homes and their farms unencumbered, while only a portion of the remaining fourteen per cent had their places so much encumbered that they were in danger. This speaks very well for the condition of the Latter-day Saints outside of the more populous centers. I would that we could say the same, in every particular, with regard to the Latter-day Saints who live nearer the business centers of the Territory. Yet I do not think that the statistics show the precise condition of the Latter-day Saints in this regard. In Salt Lake City and county, or in Weber and other counties, where it is shown that a larger percentage of the people are living in mortgaged homes and in rented houses, we must bear in mind that within the last few years a large number of strangers have come amongst us to live, and I think likely a large percentage of this class of people are living in rented houses, and a large percentage also of those who have speculated in lands have been under the necessity of mortgaging them in order to pay their obligations. I think if the real facts were known it would be found that there is no class of people, in the business centers, that are so well provided for, or so free from debt, as are the Latter-day Saints. If this is not so, it is very plain to me that they have not very carefully observed the good and wise counsels which have been given to them from time to time by their Presidents and Bishops; for the counsel to our people from the beginning has been to live within their means, to be economical, and as far as possible self-sustaining. If we have not followed this counsel and are suffering from the consequences of disobedience to it, I trust that we will now profit by the lesson, and in the future seek more faithfully to carry out this wise counsel than we have done in the past. ¶

We heard from Brother Merrill his opinion with regard to going into debt. He believes it to be an unwise thing for individuals to run in debt, having to pay large sums of interest, which must come out of their labor, or the product of their soil, or from their flocks or herds, or from their business; for the money which they receive is not that which in itself produces the interest which they have to pay, but it is from the proceeds of their business or toil that they must get the means with which to pay interest on the borrowed money; unless, perchance, they can borrow money at a low rate of interest and then loan it to a less fortunate brother for a higher percentage. Then he has to earn it somewhere. It has to be produced form some source. Money itself will not produce its increase; it will always remain the same. It does not sprout and grow; it does not produce seed or fruit; but remains the same. If they cannot convert it into some other property that will be productive, it is a dangerous thing for them to borrow and obligate themselves to pay interest. In my younger days I followed the example of President Woodruff. I have heard him say that in former years he had never borrowed a dollar—he had studiously avoided singing notes, and had never run in debt; but of late years he has had to sign a great many pieces of paper. He commenced a few years ago, when the Government of the United States seized our property, and it became necessary for us to pay over money in lieu of real estate and other property which had been disposed of, the proceeds of which had been used in the regular business of the Church. Either we had to borrow money to pay for that or the courts would commence proceedings to disturb the titles of property that had been sold and passed into the hands of so-called “innocent parties.” We had to raise several hundred thousand dollars at that time, and then it was that President Woodruff began to sign notes. And from that day to this we have had to keep borrowing more or less, in order that we might meet our obligations, pay interest, help to complete the Temple, and do what other things were needful. The Presidency of the Church have had to do this. Of course, the Church has been behind them, because it is the Church that gives to them the influence they have. We do not ignore this; we cannot ignore it. The influence they may have among the people is due to your faith in them and to the position they occupy in the Church. Therefore, they receive what of credit, influence and honor they may have from God and from this people. ¶

We started the sugar works here a few years ago. Why? Because when we came to reflect about it we saw that we had reached a point in our history where there was not a single enterprise of a public character that was calculated to give employment to our people. The railroads had gone into the hands of outsiders, as we term them, and instead of their pursuing a wise policy, they abandoned the course that had been pursued by their predecessors, and dis-discharged the Mormon people from their service, brought strangers from the east and west, and gave them employment. I will relate here a remark that I heard Superintendent John Sharp make about one year after the change in the policy of the railroads. He said to me and to others that within a year there had been more railroad wrecks and more destruction of railroad property on the Utah Central than there had been before from the time the last rail was laid in this city on that line from Ogden. Why? Because of the recklessness on the part of those who had been employed; while those who had been faithful to the interests of the road had been discharged. If you will take the pains to look up the question in the newspapers of that period, you will see that this statement of Superintendent Sharp will be verified by the accounts of wrecks and destruction of property in them. The government of the city has also been turned over. Every man that was suspected of having the least color of Mormonism about him was discharged from the service of the city, and strangers were imported and given work. There was not a thing being done of a public character calculated to give employment to the Latter-day Saints in any direction; and we began to feel that there was a responsibility resting upon us which required something to be done, in a small way at least, in the direction of giving employment to our people. So we started the sugar works, although few people had confidence in the success of the undertaking. Some of our best men lacked confidence in it. Men of means were very chary about it, and did not feel to take any very active part in attempting to start it. There appeared to be a feeling of mistrust on the part of the people generally. It seemed as though all the people lacked confidence in the enterprise, fearing it would be a failure, and if they put their money in it, it would be lost. On the back of all this, “hard times” came on; scarcity of money began, and it became a very difficult matter indeed to continue the enterprise to success. Therefore, some of the leading brethren felt obligated to raise means in some way to carry it on and save that which had already been expended upon it. The result was, we had to borrow very large sums of money, for which, until the present, we have had to pay interest. What for? For any benefit to us? No. Who for? For the Territory and for the inhabitants of these valleys; for every dollar that is saved here helps to build up the country and benefit the people. Now there is a prospect of this enterprise becoming a success. They are manufacturing over fifty thousand pounds of sugar daily out of beets that are produced in these valleys by the Latter-day Saints, giving not only employment to farmers, but to the children or widows and to many of the poor among the people. The farmer today who successfully raises the sugar beet is getting from $60 to $90 an acre from his farm that heretofore only yielded from $10 to $25 an acre. This is a benefit to the people and to the country. Yet we have had to bear this burden, and we will have to do it, I presume, unless the people will rally to our help for a year or two, until these works are able to carry themselves, pay the principal and interest, and by and by to appreciate as a blessing, as well as a necessity. When this proves to be a success and a blessing to the Latter-day Saints, the people of Cache Valley probably may begin to consider the propriety of doing something of the kind, and perhaps also those of Weber and this county, until we can supply all the sugar that the people of the Territory can consume, and perchance have a little surplus to ship abroad. ¶

We were told yesterday by one of the speakers that just so long as we consume more than we produce, as individuals or as a people, just so long we would continue to grow poorer, until by and by we would come to the bottom. This is true. We must produce as well as consume. It follows upon natural principle, and it is as plain as anything can be, if you do not earn as much as you consume, there will be a time—and it will depend upon just how much more you consume than you produce as to how long that time will be put off—when you will possess nothing in the world, will be in debt to your neighbors, and dependent upon charity. But the moment you begin to produce a little more than you consume, that moment you are able to lay up something and begin to get rich. This country has been named Deseret—the honey bee; and we all well understand the character of this little insect. It usually gathers more than it consumes, and lays aside a little. So should it be with the bees of the hive of Deseret. If we only earn fifty cents a day, we should try our utmost to live upon forty-five, and lay five cents away for “the rainy day.” That is true economy, and was the counsel of President Brigham Young from my early recollection till the day he passed away. It has also been the counsel of his successory, and of all the leading members of this Church. Save something, and when you have a surplus, use that portion of it that is needful for building up the Kingdom of God, for the spread of the truth, for the gathering of the poor, for the building of temples, and for the accomplishment of the purposes of the Almighty. In this way the promises that the Almighty has made to us will be fulfilled; for it is His promise to make us the “richest of all people,” provided we will seek first those riches which it is the will of the Father to give unto us, and only in this way is it possible for this promise to be fulfilled. While we spend more than we gain we never can become the “richest of all people,” neither in spiritual nor in temporal things, but we will be the “tail, not the head;” we will be the poor of the earth, not the rich; we will be the borrower and not the lender, and they who control wealth will be our masters and we their servants. Now, let every man, woman and child among the people try to be producers in some way. ¶

I am going to tell something about my own family. You will pardon me perhaps for bringing family affairs before this vast congregation, but it may illustrate the condition of some of the rest of you, and it may be a lesson to some us—a lesson perhaps that does not need to be taught to many; but I am fearful that there are far too many of us that need to be taught it. I said to some of my folks some time ago, when money seemed to be plentiful int he country and goods were cheap, and it was so easy to run to Z. C. M. I. to buy everything that was needed, that there was scarcely anything that we ate or wore that we did not have to buy. How is this? I asked. “I can remember,” I said, “when you used to knit my stockings and stockings for the children and yourselves; but now every stocking has to be bought and the money paid for it. And these stockings are not made in Utah. Our people are not employed in the manufacture of them. We are building up somebody else away over in the east, and we are wearing their shoddy, giving them employment, and letting our own people go without. I do not like this. I will get some yarn from some of our factories here, if you will go to knitting again.” Well they have gone to knitting stockings, and I hope the little ones will be taught to knit their own. When I was a little boy, in Nauvoo, my mother used to have some difficulty in keeping track of me. I used to like to go off and play with the boys. So my mother conceived the idea that it would be a very nice thing to set me to knitting; and she set me a pattern of a suspender and showed me how to do it, and I knitted myself a pair of suspenders. I then learned how to knit, and being a little handy at it perhaps, although I always drew the thread pretty tight (the suspenders did not stretch much after I knit them), she started me on stockings. So I learned how to knit stockings. The Bishop the other day was complaining about our boys playing from morning till night. They climb trees, play marbles, tear their clothes and wear out the knees of their pants, destroying everything and saving nothing. They ought to be taught how to work, to be economical, and to save something, that when they get old they will not depart from the right way. It is bad policy to let children run around all the time with nothing to do but play, from morning till night. Let the boys be taught habits of industry, and teach the girls how to make their own dresses and keep house, and thus learn to do what is needful for themselves, without having to hire somebody to do it for them. I believe in this policy. It is true economy. It is necessary to do this in order that our children may not grow up in idleness and in unbelief of the Gospel, for an idle brain, it is said, is the devil’s workshop; and if there is any better workshop for his satanic majesty than the idle brain of a little boy, I would like to know what it is. Neither boys nor girls ought to be left idle, but should be taught to do something useful as well as ornamental. What if their parents are wealthy and can well afford to feed and clothe them without labor? If you have millions of wealth, so much that you do not know what to do with it, you could not do a more foolish thing than to rear your sons and daughters in idleness; for as sure as you do this, they will grow up to squander the wealth you leave them, and curse you, perhaps, because you did not leave them more. Teach them how to work, and to be industrious, though you may be rolling in wealth, and they will grow up to respect you, and your name will go down from generation to generation, through your posterity, in honorable remembrance. The secret by which Joseph the Prophet governed the Saints, as he once said, was that he taught them correct principles and they governed themselves. It is only the sick that need a physician; it is only the criminal that needs the penalties of the law. Honest and honorable men need no officers of the law, no policemen, no justices of the peace, no courts, no lawyers. They live above crime, beyond the reach of the law. The law is not made for them, except to protect them from the criminally disposed. If every man was taught to do right, and did right, there would be no use for courts and for laws such as we have today. It is only because people will not do right that these things are needful, and that we have expensive forms of government and expensive officers to administer and execute the law. Latter-day Saints ought not to be so. They ought to know how to do right, and then do it; and they ought not to have to be prompted or urged to do it, either by the chastisement of God or by the counsels of His servants. Well, says one, if we all do right, then what? Will we all prosper? Yes, we will all prosper. In temporal things? Yes, in temporal things, and in spiritual things. But we may not be without our trials even then. For it is said in the scriptures “Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” There are several examples of this in the scriptures. One of them was the eleventh son of Jacob—Joseph. He was a rather remarkable little boy, and his father loved him, and was a little partial towards him, perhaps because he was the firstborn of his beloved Rachel, and Rachel was dead. Jacob erred perhaps a little in the partiality that he showed to Joseph on this account. He may have made a mistake there like some other parents do when they make a favorite of one of their sons. This is a mistake, no matter who the mother of the boy is. Whenever a father begins to discriminate in favor of one son as against another, it begets jealousy in the hearts of the brothers, and possibly hatred toward their fathers. It is a dangerous thing to do. Because Jacob erred somewhat in this matter, the Lord gave to Israel a law on the subject. (Deuter. 21: 15-17.) The Lord endeavored to correct the evil that grew out of what Jacob did in his favoritism, by giving a law on this subject to govern the people thereafter. But Joseph was not only favored of Jacob; he seemed to be favored of the Lord also. He might have been a little better than the rest. We cannot help being a bit favorable towards those that are better than others. Of course, merit should be rewarded everywhere, but we should be just. The Lord favored him, for He had a work for him to do. Like some others that have been reserved to come forth in other dispensations to do a special work, Joseph, no doubt, was reserved to come in his generation to accomplish the mission that he had to perform. But though he was chosen for this work and especially favored of the Lord, he might have felt for a long time as though the Lord had turned His back upon him and did not love him. For the Lord suffered his brethren to persecute him. They became jealous of him and sought to destroy him; but one of his brothers repented of the cruel thought of killing him and persuaded the others to sell him to strangers, that they might not be guilty of his blood. So they sold him, and he was carried to Egypt, and there the Lord fulfilled His purposes concerning him. At first Joseph had great hardships to go through. He was wrongfully and wickedly accused by Potiphar’s wife, because of which he was thrust into prison. If he had been like some of us, he would have said, “If the Lord is going to treat me this way, there is not much reward for virtue.” That is the way some of us feel when we are pinched a little with poverty, or sickness, or other misfortune. We begin to murmur against the Lord, and feel that He has forsaken us and is not as good to us as we merit. And we withdraw our affection from the Lord. Joseph might have done this, because he had many occasions of trial. He might have felt in his heart that the Lord was not just, not merciful, and not mindful of His servants; for he seemed to have had some reason for feeling that way. But the Lord saw the end from the beginning. Joseph did not; but he had faith in God, and put his trust in Him; and by and by the Lord brought out what He intended, and made Joseph the savior of his father’s house as well as of all Egypt. ¶

“God moves in a mysterious way, ¶

His wonders to perform; ¶

He plants His footsteps on the sea, ¶

And rides upon the storm. ¶

Deep in unfathomable mines ¶

Of never-failing skill. ¶

He treasures up His bright designs, ¶

And works His sovereign will.” ¶

This is the way in which the Lord often deals with the children of men, and it is not for us to judge Him. We should not complain or murmur when we have afflictions and trials to pass through, or when He chastises us. We should think all the more that we are the loved of God, and that He is feeling after us for our good; to humble us perchance, and to keep us in the right way. ¶

Job was another example. Job was a righteous man, perfect in all his ways. There were none like him in all the earth. Satan observed this, and he appeared before the Lord, and the Lord said, “Whence comest thou?” Satan replied, “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” And the Lord said unto Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil.” Ah! says Satan, but “hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.” The Lord said, “Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand.” So a short time after this a messenger came unto Job, and said: ¶

“The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: ¶

And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. ¶

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. ¶

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. ¶

While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: ¶

And behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. ¶

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, ¶

And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” ¶

With all this, Job was not shaken in his integrity. He “sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” And Satan appeared again before the Lord and said unto him again: ¶

“Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. ¶

And Satan answered the Lord and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. ¶

But put forth thine hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. ¶

And the Lord said unto Satan, behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. ¶

So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his feet unto his crown. ¶

And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.” ¶

Then his friends came to comfort him, and they began to upbraid him because of something he had done, which had brought upon him the destruction that had befallen him. But Job knew that his heart was right, that he had not sinned, and that he had not denied God in his heart. Therefore, he bore the upbraiding of his friends with all patience; and when his wife came to him and upbraided him for his patience and for his humiliation, and called upon him to curse God and die, he said unto her, ¶

“Thou speaketh as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?” ¶

This shows the integrity of Job. Here is an example for you and for me. He did not curse the Sabeans for carrying off his cattle, nor the fires of heaven for consuming his flocks, nor the winds of heaven for destroying his habitation and children. He did not swear and blaspheme and deny the Lord because of this. But he said, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither.” And further he said, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” ¶

As I understand, here is exemplified the principle that should underlie all the faith, the hope, the charity, the love, the labor, the desire of all mankind—that they will serve God, no matter what may befall them. Though they suffer imprisonment, though they suffer persecution, though they suffer poverty, though God should try them to the very core, and put them to the utmost test to prove their integrity, they should say like Job, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” Thus magnify God, love Him with all thy heart, might, mind and strength; then love our neighbor as ourselves; that when trials come we may endure them and not complain, but wait until God shall develop His purposes. Then we will see that there is no love like that of God for His suffering children; there is no mercy so broad, no purpose so grand, and great and noble as the purpose of God concerning His children. If we will do this, we will learn this eventually and we will bless God with all our hearts; which may God grant, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶