Remarks

I have enjoyed the remarks that were made this morning by President Woodruff and the other brethren who have spoken to us, as well as the remarks that have been made this afternoon by Brothers Grant and Teasdale. There is certainly no lack so far as the teaching of the Saints in a knowledge of the principles of the Gospel is concerned. From the days that the heavens were opened in this dispensation until the present time there has been on continuous stream of light and knowledge through the various channels that our Father in heaven has selected, coming to the Latter-day Saints. There is no condition of our lives, whether we regard it in the light of our temporal or spiritual well-being, that in His mercy He has not sought to impress upon our minds the sacredness of the obligations which rest upon us in this day and time. It is true that we have not always been as ready to obey the promptings of the Spirit and fulfil the obligations which rest upon us as we might have done; but my observation has convinced me that the great mass of Latter-day Saints are desirous of having the companionship of the Spirit, of following its lead and of enjoying the results that flow from obedience to the wishes of our Father expressed in the revelations that were given in the early days of the Church and that have come to us in these latter times. We, like our children—for we are but children of a larger growth—become forgetful of the responsibilities that rest upon us; but when we are confronted with the truths contained in the Gospel, and they are expounded in our hearing, I have yet to find among the branches of the Church men and women so far unmindful of the character of the obligations into which they entered, when the witness of the spirit of truth was given to them, and the ordinances of the Lord’s house were administered unto them, that they do not call up in remembrance those teachings, and their hearts are gladdened and they are awakened to the character of the responsibilities that rest upon them. ¶

There are, however, evils in our midst, and warnings are necessary to be given to us from time to time. Some of our spirits are cold and do not receive the impress as they should do upon some occasions; while on other occasions the warnings that may be sounded in our ears find at once a place in our hearts, and we renew our covenants with our Father in prayer, signifying our determination to be more faithful, more fruitful in good works, more earnest in a desire to be proper in our own lives and to encourage those with whom we mingle in exhibiting more fidelity and more faith, and in general striving to advance the cause of our heavenly Father. ¶

Among the evils, in my judgment, which need correction among the Latter-day Saints is one that arises frequently in wards and neighborhoods from not complying with the conditions prescribed in the Gospel in regard to our course of conduct. The Bishop of a ward with his Counselors may possibly call in question some member of the ward. This member may have been perchance, a sabbath-breaker, or he may have failed in the payment of his tithes and offerings to the Church. It may be that he has forgotten himself in the midst of anger and been guilty of using profane language. This individual who is called in question, instead of desiring to conform to the requirements that may be placed upon him, commences an agitation in the neighborhood where he resides, directing the efforts of this agitation against his presiding officers, and our brethren and sisters, instead of assuming the position that they should, commence to sympathize with the individual. We have discovered, in mingling among the Saints, and in seeking to adjust among them troubles that are continually arising, that it frequently happens that wards, or branches, or districts become divided in the sentiment in regard to the character of the treatment that the Bishop and his associates, or the Presidency of the Stake and the High Council, may have prescribed in the case of some individual, and, as a result of this continued agitation and gossip an effort is made to overturn the Church government in the ward or stake and belittle the officers, who should be respected and esteemed in the positions that they occupy. Recognizing the fact that in the Church of Christ it was the design of Providence to guard sacredly the rights and liberties of every man, woman and child, He placed upon us the responsibility of seeking, so far as lay in our power, first to adjust our own troubles. If we have wronged one of our neighbors, or if, perchance, we may imagine that our neighbor has wronged us, the obligation rests upon us to seek to adjust those matters and preserve our individuality intact. If we fail in the accomplishment of that reconciliation, then we may call in any of our brethren who act as teachers, who will exercise a spirit to modify our feeling and to bring us into that condition where we would desire to act justly and fairly to our brother or our sister. Failing in the accomplishment of this, under the rule that exists in the Church, we go before the judges of the Church in the form of an organized Bishopric. They pass their judgment upon us, after having sought, by persuasion, to modify the conditions. They make that judgment from the best light and knowledge they can obtain. If we are not satisfied with the decisions made by our brethren, then an appeal lies to the Presidency of the Stake and the High Council; and as elders of the Church we should learn that it is a violation of the obligations resting upon us to create dissension and to try to belittle the men whom the Lord has chosen to be our counselors and advisers. Instead of working up an agitation against them we should seek to guard their reputation and their honor, as well as the principles that the Almighty has established. When judgment has been given we should conform to the requirements of that judgment as near as it is possible for us to do. But there is an increasing tendency, in my judgment, in a wrong direction, in that the Bishops, High Councils and Presidents of Stakes are being assailed from time to time by men and women in the Church of Christ, who should know better their duties and responsibilities, and who should fulfil their obligations in the form our Father has prescribed, instead of working up agitations and exciting their wives and children, and causing neighborhood troubles which result in confusion, disorganization and the hurting of men as innocent of a desire to do wrong to their fellows as men can possibly be. I trust, in the spread of the good work, in the understanding of the principles of life and salvation that our Father has given to us and in the love that we bear to our kind, exercising judiciously and prudently our rights with each other, that none of us will make the effort to destroy and overturn the influence of our brethren. I believe that men in this Church should be handled for their fellowship who become agitators in the wards and branches where they live, looking to the disunion and destruction of the organization that our Father has created. Having the way pointed out before them by which their grievances can be adjusted and failing to receive satisfaction from the organizations of the Stakes of Zion, there lies a door open to the presiding quorum of the whole Church. I trust, therefore, that the spirit which has grown up in some neighborhoods to agitate, to create confusion and dissension and to cause strife shall be met and rebuked wherever it presents itself, until the Latter-day Saints, comprehending the justice of the system which our Father has established (which seeks to guard sacredly the liberties of every member of the Church), shall keep themselves within the purview of the discharge of their duties, and that the day will soon pass by when any of us, having misunderstandings with our brethren, shall seek to exercise what influence and power we may have to their hurt or injury. ¶

I do not know, my brethren and sisters, but that this is enough for me to say upon this subject. It is a subject, however, that should be considered, and considered wisely and well in every branch of the Church of Christ. We should frown down, under every circumstance and in every place, this tendency which has been awakened in neighborhoods to an alarming extent, in some places dividing wards into two and creating a condition of things that no man who holds the priesthood of the Son of God should encourage. During the past year the nations of the world, including our own nation, have passed through an experience fraught, I trust, with eventual good to the human family. We have at least learned this—that no matter how wisely or prudently men may build, it takes but a few moments to unsettle the conditions that surround them and change in a great measure the whole bent of their lives. This Gospel has been preached now sixty-four years among the children of men. We have been sent into the world to say unto them, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Our Father in heaven has revealed to us that the creations of man shall fall in pieces when the touch of Deity rests down upon them; and that nothing shall be able to withstand the fierceness of His wrath, only that which is builded upon the rock of eternal truth. We have seen the world it its great financial concerns shaken to its very center; and distress, suspicion and fear engendered in the breasts of the strong ones, who had regarded themselves as possessing the influence and power to wield and control the destinies almost of the human race. We have anticipated, in the grown and development of the system that our Father has revealed, and which we preach to the world as the Gospel of Christ, that there would come a time, after the witness had been borne to all lands and climes, when the world would be in confusion, when suspicion, doubt and fear would find place in the hearts of men and they would look abroad to see where they could go or how they could act to avert the calamities that were pressing upon them which foreboded the destruction of the systems they had established and an overturning of that which man had built. The day may not have yet arrived when this will occur in its fulness; but the experience of the past year has borne its witness in stronger language and with more force and power than the voices of the elders of the Church have been able to do among the children of men, that when the time shall arrive to accomplish His designs in the regeneration and the humbling of His children, it lies within His power to accomplish that purpose and bring them to His feet, their pride broken, and they willing to acknowledge His hand and bow to His wish. In the time that has gone by it was the view entertained by the Latter-day Saints—in fact, it was part and parcel of their faith,--that it was their duty to make every effort within their power to put themselves in a condition of independence, that when these storms should come and the winds should break with fierceness upon our brethren and sisters who refused the faith we had espoused, and they should long to know whence to flee, there would be a people so established and so fixed in the principles of right and of proper government to whom they could go and in whose companionship and association they could be freed from their unsettled surroundings. I trust that the Gospel which we have embraced has written itself so thoroughly upon our minds and has become so established in our hearts that we can see and sense fully the gravity of the responsibility that attaches to us, and, so far as lies in our power seek by every means we have to enhance every temporal interest of the people, providing for their wants and necessities, and giving to them the employment by and through which they can obtain that which will sustain them and the households that our Father has placed under their watchcare. To my mind, we are unworthy of the confidence and esteem of our Father in heaven if we fail in seeking to the best of our ability to advance every temporal interest and to establish everything wherein it is possible to bring independence to ourselves as well as to those not of our faith who may reside within our borders and be interested in the upbuilding and development of that which is around us. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I look over this congregation and I wonder how many hats worn by the men have been made within the confines of our own Territory. I look around and see the heads of my sisters bedecked with hats and bonnets and the question arises in my mind, how many of them are the workmanship of their own hands, or go to create employment for our brethren and sisters? I might go on and name a hundred things that are necessary for the comfort and well-being of man, which it is possible for us to provide for ourselves; and before we can reach that condition of independence that the Lord expects us to reach, we will not only be making our hats and bonnets, but everything that is necessary to the clothing and adornment of men and women and the beautifying of Zion will be brought into being by the industrious and earnest hands of those reared within this commonwealth. ¶

That we may learn the truth; that we may appreciate the principles which have been taught unto us, bearing upon the observance of those requirements which rest upon us in seeking to preserve peace and harmony, and in making the proper provision for those who lack the ability to care for themselves; that the sons and daughters of our heavenly Father may be a united family, blessing each other and all with whom they come in contract, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶