Discourse

In looking over this vast congregation and seeing this collection of intelligent human beings, one is filled with a sense of unworthiness and a want of capability to say anything that will be of interest to so many souls, unless, indeed, God is with him. It seems to me that when a man stands before a congregation like this, he must feel an almost overpowering sense of his nothingness; and it is with this feeling that I arise this afternoon. I pray you and I pray God that I may be able to say the things that ought to be said and that are adapted to the circumstances and conditions of the people. Many of you have come hundreds of miles to attend this conference. It is not a light thing for men to stand up to attempt to satisfy the expectations and the desires of people who have shown such earnestness and such zeal as to travel so far as many have done to be present here today. ¶

God has been with His servants in speaking to you today. I was particularly impressed in listening to President Woodruff, able to speak as he did for some fifty-two minutes, at his advanced time of life; and I felt that God certainly had shown to us His ability to sustain His servants, His willingness to do so, and His power to give His people the bread of life through those whom He chooses. The practical character of the remarks also of President Smith, I thought exceedingly well-times, because we need instruction in our practical, everyday duties, as much in their place as we do to have spiritual instruction. He touched upon points that I think of great importance to us—points that should be dwelt upon in our conferences, and that should be remembered and carried away with us to our homes, because after all it is the practical living of our religion that witnesses to the Lord and to the heavens and the earth and its inhabitants that we are indeed that which we profess to be, and it is these practical lessons that we receive and that we in turn give to others that make an impression upon the human family. ¶

I have through my life endeavored to look forward to the fulfillment of the promises of God concerning us in the influence that we as a people would have upon mankind; but notwithstanding this has been a subject very familiar to me in my thoughts, I have been, I might say, almost surprised of late at the manner in which the promises of God are being fulfilled concerning us. It is coming about in ways so real and so clearly in fulfillment of that which has been told to us that though familiar with the prophecies concerning it, I have felt greatly surprised at times. It is plain to me—plainer to me than ever before in my life—that God is using this people to accomplish a great work in the earth, and He is giving His people an influence among men and in this nation that is having its effect, and that will bring forth great fruits in the not distant future. I can see as never before how important it is that we as a people shall carry out, faithfully, humbly and obediently, the counsels and instructions that we receive from the servants of God. We are like a city set upon a hill, and the eyes of the nation and the peoples of the earth are directed toward us, and that which we say and do is having a great weight—more weight than we have supposed. ¶

Therefore, in coming together as we do at these general conference, it is of the utmost importance that the teachings we receive should be from the Lord and be adapted to the circumstances and conditions which surround us and that which we have to do. We have received very much valuable instruction since we have been together, and if we can only retain the spirit of it in our hearts and carry it away with us, and not forget it, it will be of invaluable benefit to us. God has chosen us out from the nations to accomplish a great work, and He is adding to the influence of the Latter-day Saints. It is remarkable how we are commended; how the policy that has governed in the founding of Utah and the building up of the settlements of Utah, the caring for the poor, etc. is being received now with great favor, and how universal is the commendation of the policy that has been pursued in this territory. There was a time when one of the chief charges against us was that the Priesthood, as it was termed, had too much influence was wielded in a manner that was distasteful to public sentiment. Now an extraordinary change has taken place in this respect. The manner in which this city was founded, the manner in which our settlements have been arranged, the manner in which our land has been divided, the manner in which we have apportioned the streams of water for the irrigation of the land, the manner in which the poor have been cared for, the manner in which they are now instructed and have been instructed—all this receives unstinted commendation and praise from many persons, and they say that Utah sets an example. Population is increasing; homes for the millions that are congested in the great cities are needed; men see that the cities are overcrowded, and that vice and crime and everything of a horrible nature is increasing in the midst of these congested populations, and they turn around and ask, what is the remedy? What shall we do with the people? The public lands are all being absorbed in those regions. You have read no doubt of the opening of Oklahoma and the manner in which thousands and thousands of people crowded in there; how they camped on the road while waiting for the signal to go in and take possession of the lands that were ready for occupancy. This gives an idea of the disposition there is to obtain land; and reflecting men look around and ask, what shall we do with this increasing population? Where shall we find room for them? Now, there is a vast area of land that has heretofore been considered worthless. It has been looked upon as unfit for human habitation. It is what is called the arid regions, of which Utah may be said to be the center. It was thought that this was good enough for Mormons, and some who have found fault with us religiously, and who have said that we were misled, have described our land as a cursed land, a land of salt, a land of dryness, a land of barrenness, a land that should be shunned by men instead of sought for as a home. They would use this as an argument to show that the authority of the Priesthood was not here, or we would not have been led to such a place. This until quite recently has been the very general opinion; but we have had visitors come here by the thousands, and they have discovered that Utah is an exceedingly fertile region, and they have seen the results of the labor and the application of the Latter-day Saints, and their admiration has been excited by the sight. Hence a change has gradually taken place in public opinion upon these points. And now the time has come when there must be something done to relieve the crowded population of the large cities; attention is turned to what is called the arid regions, and steps are being taken to provide ways and means for the settling of these regions, and thinking men look around to see the best plan that can be adopted for the settling of the people upon these lands. This brings before them the condition of Utah Territory. They see what has been done here by the Mormon people, to begin with, and by others who have come in, and they say, “This is the example. Here is a practical illustration of the manner in which people who have very little means can make their living from the soil in the arid regions.” Everything that President Young did in the beginning, and everything that has been done since, is now looked upon with the greatest favor. I have listened to the most eloquent addresses, giving to President Young the greatest praise for that which he accomplished in Utah Territory. ¶

My brethren and sisters, this is the condition today. The world is turning their attention to us. they are looking to see what we are doing, and they give us credit for being a far richer people than we are. A most extraordinary thing happened—that is, I thought it extraordinary—at this late Irrigation Congress. A committee on resolutions was appointed, and all the resolutions introduced in the Congress were referred to this committee. They embodied such of these resolutions as they approved of in an address, and when the address was brought in and reported, I thought it was the most important part of the proceedings, because upon the character of this address would be likely to depend the legislation of the United States Congress, and I prepared myself by going on to the floor (having before that a seat on the platform) to discuss this address. In the address there was a comparison between the landless people of Massachusetts and the ninety per cent of the people of Utah who owned their own homes, which was unfavorable to Massachusetts and exceedingly favorable to Utah. I had a conversation with a delegate from New Mexico and suggested to him that that did not please us, and he called attention to it. I afterwards got the floor myself, and I addressed the Congress on the subject; and do you know that it was with difficulty that we could get that changed, they were so determined to give Utah the praise which they said Utah deserved and to give Massachusetts the discredit which they said Massachusetts deserved. They said it was only telling the truth, and why not let it stand? And it was only by using influence of this kind, saying to them that we from Utah preferred to have that stricken out, because we did not want to excite any feeling in Massachusetts against Utah, that we succeeded in getting the line stricken out about Massachusetts. To me this was a wonderful thing. I said to myself, who would have thought a few years ago that it would be necessary for delegates from Utah to plead against getting too good a character as contrasted with other portions of the Union, especially with the state of Massachusetts? ¶

I mention this to show you how public opinion has changed. At that Congress whenever allusion was made to Utah it was in the most respectful manner. I call attention to this because we are being forced into public notice. The eyes of the world are being drawn to us, and in the providence of our God this will continue to be the case more and more. There is not an irrigation association that would not like to have men from Utah come and visit it and tell the people how to settle the land, how to irrigate the land, how to live on a small piece of land and keep our of debt, and how to live in union and harmony, and how to build farm settlements close together where the people can meet together for religious, social and educational purposes, and not be scattered over a large surface of ground, distant from each other. These measures that God has inspired His servants to take in this country, and which we know the Lord inspired President Young to take as the leader of the people, and which some probably have thought were just the contrivance of man, are today approved of men. The world, of course, think it is man’s wisdom and shrewdness that has accomplished this; but we know that President Young was inspired of God. After the lapse of time the vindication of these measures and the counsel given by the servants of the Lord is coming. We have had to wait some time for it, but it is coming at last—a vindication that is most gratifying to all of us who have lived to behold it and to hear it expressed. ¶

So it will be, I tell you, in everything connected with this people. Men are looking at our method of preaching the Gospel, and thinking about it. By looking at the reports I see that we have today between 800 and 900 missionaries in the world. Think of it! A small community like the Latter-day Saints having between 800 and 900 young men traveling among the various nations of the earth and through the United States, learning things and becoming familiar with the ways of the world, gaining an experience that no other people upon the face of the earth are gaining. Think of the effect of this number coming home every two years and going among the people; and then again, 800 more going, or perhaps 1000 going to fill their places, and they coming back in their turn after traveling two years and gaining experience. You reflect and consider in your own minds the effect that this must have on our people. Why, there is no people on the earth that are having such a schooling in this respect. These young men go out, and they go out without purse or scrip, and they trust in the Lord, and they have faith developed such as cannot be developed in any other way. They become familiar with human nature. They are brought in contact with nearly all kinds of people, and they gain an experience that is better than any experience that can be gained in any other manner. Why, in olden times, it was common in Great Britain for men of wealth to send their sons to take what is called the grand tour. They would travel through Europe in company with tutors, and it was considered essential to the education of what they called a gentleman that he should make the grand tour. Now, every one of our young men take the grand tour; but they take it in a way to learn far more than they would if they had money or if they were under the guardianship of somebody, as they are brought in contact themselves with the people, and they come back developed and with an experience that is beyond price. Think of the effect that this will have on the community! There is scarcely a ward in our whole Territory, and it may be said outside of our Territory, that does not send some missionaries yearly. They go and they come back, and the effect that they have upon the people, upon public opinion, in influencing and in helping matters, is wonderfully great. Insensibly perhaps to the people with whom they associate, they have an influence. They are broadened in their minds, they are enlarged in their experience and they become men of understanding, because their faculties have been aroused and developed. ¶

When men are told of this, they are surprised at it. Why, they say, the effect will be wonderful on your community. And it is so. Let me say to you that God having established this work and having conducted it by revelation thus far, it will in spite of everything obtain influence in the earth, and people will be drawn to it in admiration of it. They may fight it for awhile, and try to crush it and to crush the people; but the principles of truth which we have espoused, and that which God has taught us and is teaching us, they are bound to rise and to have influence, and they are bound to have their effect upon consistent people. You can see it now if you choose, but you will see it still more, that the influence of this people will spread, and we will be preaching the Gospel of salvation without baptizing the people. They will look upon us and they will imitate us and follow our example; and the world will be better because we are in it, and this nation will be benefitted by our example. Where I go, I tell them that we have a great mission to perform as a people, and we expect to fill it. I cite this instance: when they talk about the corrupt use of money and the bad effects of money, I say Utah Territory has been organized now for forty-five years; we have had a legislature for forty-five years, and I have never yet heard a breath of suspicion concerning bribery in Utah. I have never known a legislator in Utah vote for anything that was not right because he was influenced by money, Senator Stanford, the president of the Central Pacific railway, in his testimony as I have heard him before Congress, said that they never had the least occasion to send men to Utah to watch the legislation of Utah; their road was perfectly safe in our hands. He did not tell what they had to do in an adjoining state. I appealed to the manager of the Union Pacific on one occasion and asked him what his experience was. He said it was similar; that they had never had occasion to watch the legislature. The only thing they could find fault with, he said, was that sometimes they had suits for damages, some people thinking they were damaged more than he thought they were. I have endeavored, when I have been talking with leading men, to say that we have got a mission. We are going to change things. The introduction of moneyed influences in our politics is a thing that, if God give me strength and power, I shall oppose with every faculty of mind and body. I have almost sworn—I never do swear—but I have almost sworn that while God gives me strength, I will fight that to the very last, that there shall be no corrupt influence brought into our country if it can be prevented. I want to make, as one, a stand against it, no matter where it comes from, or by whom it is practiced. We have maintained a character thus far for honest and for being above bribery; and this people, I know, when they are appealed to, they will with all their might oppose the introduction of any such influence. ¶

Now, in relation to this reform and our mission of which I have been speaking, we will build railroads cheaper than anybody else, and we will build them honestly. We will go into all concerns, all enterprises, and we will do them honestly, and the men that handle the funds will be honest men and be able to account for every dollar. We have built a little railroad from here to the Lake. Not a dollar has been spent that cannot be accounted for. The sugar factory has been built, and it has been built honestly. There has been no corruption, no speculation in the funds; everything has been done in a way that every honest man can look at it and be satisfied. We desire that this shall be the character of all our operations. Above all things we must be an honest people. You may talk about religion and speak about the Gospel, and say we have got the truth and the plan of salvation, and we have got he authority of the Priesthood; but if we are not honest, it does not amount to anything; for neither God nor honorable men love dishonesty. We must, therefore, be an honest people. Men must be honest in the handling of public funds. It is a shame and a disgrace to any man who is in office of any kind to not handle the funds with the greatest strictness and honesty. He is unfit for office, and he is unfit, until he repents, of being a member in the Church of Christ. The members of the Church of Christ ought to be honest. We should in the handling of funds, and everything entrusted to them. ¶

We are also setting an example in regard to virtue. Yet I fear there is secret sin practiced among us. There is this, however, for our protection; God is cleansing this people and purging those who practice sin from their midst. Those who commit sin gradually leave the Church. They get into the dark and they become cold and indifferent, and finally leave the Church. If it were not for God’s power in this respect, we would soon become corrupt, doubtless, as other people. But God in His wonderful providence has so arranged matters that impurity cannot live in this Church for any length of time. There is a cleansing process going on. God is cleansing His Church and He is purging out the wicked and the ungodly, and He is leaving the residue. No man can be confident of standing in this Church unless he is pure in heart; for the Holy Ghost will not dwell in unholy tabernacles. Men may deceive their fellowmen; women may deceive their sisters; but they cannot deceive God. They cannot commit sin and retain the Spirit of God. It will leave them sooner or later. It will decrease within them, and finally leave them, unless they repent of their sin. And this, my brethren and sisters, is our safety and the safety of this Church, that God is cleansing it and removing from the midst of the people the corrupt. Those who practice secret sin may hide it from their fellows, as some do, and think it is not known; but God will make it known. His Spirit will leaven them, unless they repent with all their hearts and turn from their sins. God will have an honest people. He will have a pure people; He will have a virtuous people. He will cleanse us, and keep cleansing us until we shall be pure, and there will be a people found that are not hypocrites. The hypocrite will be cleansed from the midst of the Saints. In this way we will be built up and the Church will increase. There are people in this Church who are becoming more perfect every day, and Satan is having less power over them every day. As they listen to the word of God and seek to comply with the requirements of the Gospel, they grow stronger, and Satan has less and less power over the people. He will have more power over the sinners, and he will exercise that power, and he will lead them away. But the righteous who are determined to serve God will become stronger and stronger. And do you know, my brethren and sisters, it is the great desire of my heart for myself and family and for the whole Church, that we may become so perfect in keeping the commandments of God that Satan will be comparatively bound, so far as we are concerned. I have felt led to say to the Saints in speaking of late, that there are some sins that God has pronounced against that Satan does not have power over hundreds, and I hope thousands, of Latter-day Saints to lead them astray in these directions. I will instance adultery. I believe there are thousands—at least, I hope there are, and I believe there are, in this congregation of Latter-day Saints, that would rather die, rather meet any kind of fate that could be inflicted on their mortal bodies, than commit adultery. Do you not believe it? (Many responded, Yes.) I do believe it with all my heart. Then so far as this is concerned, Satan has ceased to have power over all the men and women who are in this condition. I believe there are hundreds and thousands in this congregation, and especially in the Church, who would rather die than commit whoredom—have illicit association with the other sex. I believe there are women by hundreds and by thousands who would rather die than commit those sins. Now, do you believe there is in any community as large a number of people to be found int his condition as can be found among the Latter-day Saints? I do not believe there is. I have no idea that there is. Therefore, so far as those two crimes are concerned, Satan has less power over us here than he has in some other places. ¶

I might go on and speak about stealing, and dishonesty, and many other sins. I believe that the Latter-day Saints as a people are a more honest people, that they respect their obligations more than other people. We show this in our business associations and dealing. We have the credit for it everywhere. Men who have found fault with our religion frequently acknowledge that we are an honest people and our credit is “gilt edged.” But there are some things that we are still guilty of. I believe, however, that the young and rising generation will outgrow them. It is a strong temptation for a man, when he has got a piece of property and he has a chance to trade it or sell it, to let the buyer think it is better than it is. Now, if we were strictly honest, we would tell exactly the character of that which we have to sell. We would not allow a man to deceive himself; we would tell him the facts. But I know that we are all under the influence of the old traditions. The old traditions were that a man should have his own eyesight, and that the seller should not furnish him with anything to aid his perception or to enable him to perceive something that he would not otherwise see. It is a hard thing for men who have grown up under that system of things to refrain from it. You see everywhere where things are for sale the endeavor to make them appear better in the eyes of the purchaser than they are. We have got to change in this respect. Whenever a man yields to do a dishonest thing he yields to Satan, and Satan has influence and power over him to that extent. We have got to learn to overcome these things, and to have Satan bound. ¶

I do want with all my heart—I pray for it incessantly—that God will lessen the amount of apostasy among us. How will He do it? It can only be done by a horror of sin growing up in the hearts of our children, so that the consequences of indulging in sin will appear so terrible in every respect that a man will say, “I would rather die than do that.” “I cannot do that, for if I do, I yield to Satan and I endanger my salvation.” I would like to see that feeling in my own breast and in the breasts of my family, and especially in the breasts of the rising generation in this Church. We all shun death; when we see it in our pathway, we avoid it. In like manner I would like to see, and I know I will see, the day when men, seeing spiritual destruction in their pathway, will turn aside from it quicker than they would from death itself, because they know the consequences would be more serious in every respect than the mere death of the body. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I feel this is a most important subject for us. Who is there among you that does not want to live and have your name live in the Church of Christ? Who is there that wants to be blotted out? Who is there that has labored, as many have, through life to keep the commandments of god, that now wants to fail, and their children pass out of the Church and fall into oblivion? When I hear of boys and girls marrying out of the Church, especially when they belong to good families, my heart is filled with inexpressible sorrow. I ask myself, what will be the fate of their offspring? Will their names be obliterated from among the Saints of God? One o the blessings that God gave to His ancient servants was that He would build them “a sure house,” and one of the great blessings that Jeremiah was commissioned to give to the descendants of Rechab because of their faithfulness in keeping the command of their father that they should not drink strong drink, etc., was the promise from God that “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever;” and when the genealogy of that family is found you will find the descendants of that man with the people of God, whether it be among us or among the ten tribes. And so, with every man unto whom promises were made. The great promise that was made to Abraham was that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed. It is the greatest promise apparently that the Father could give to him. Now, who is there among us that does not want his name preserved in the Church of Christ? Who does not want his children to live from generation to generation, through the calamities and the overwhelming destructions that are coming upon the inhabitants of the earth? I cannot think of anything that would fill me with deeper sorrow, next to the loss of my own salvation, than the thought that my name would be blotted out, that my descendants would be blotted out, and I would not have a man of my descent throughout the Millennium to stand before the Lord bearing the Priesthood. God forbid that such a fate should happen to any of us, especially those who have been faithful in the Church of Christ! Therefore, apostasy ought to be dreaded, and the dread of it ought to be instilled into every heart, and into the heart of every child, so that it will grow up loving the truth, loving the Church, hating iniquity, clinging to that which is virtuous and pure and that which will preserve the Spirit of God. We all should seek to shun everything that will bring darkness upon us. We have been told during this Conference how necessary it is that we should follow the guidance of God’s servants. Why, everything depends upon this. I would rather get down on my knees, in the most abject manner, before my fellow servants, and beg them to forgive me and to tell me what do than to have them feel that I was doing anything in opposition to their wishes or contrary to their counsel. I have always had this feeling; I trust I always shall have. And yet among my acquaintances I am not credited with having a lack of independence. We all no doubt feel as though death is nothing compared with grieving the Spirit of God and doing those things that will cause a loss of the fellowship of the Saints of God and communion with the Holy Ghost. These are dreadful things to do, and I would like to impress upon you the importance of this. Some men and women treat lightly their standing in the Church. They think they can grieve their brethren and sisters and it will not harm themselves. But it dangerous ground. We should refrain from it. ¶

In my early boyhood I received the Spirit of God in bowing obedience to the commands of God. It has been the sweetest thing that I ever felt. It has been my fortune during my life to be in a great variety of situations and circumstances. I have preached the Gospel in extreme poverty. I have gone through a great many vicissitudes. I have also been in positions where I had all that man could desire, so far as the gratification of earthly things was concerned. But I wish to bear testimony this afternoon to you that there is nothing on the earth, nothing that man can taste or experience that is so sweet, so happifying, so full of delight, as the presence of the Spirit of God. It fills the soul with joy that is inexpressible. And I have had this in the midst of poverty and hard times. It has made my life an exceedingly happy one. I have thought that no man on the earth was so happy a man or lived so happy a life as I have. And it has been due to the fact that God has given to me His Holy Spirit. I would like to always have this. When I do not feel happy, I know there is something wrong, and I endeavor to find it out. I want to live every minute in close communion with the Spirit of God. Pardon me for alluding to my own experience, but the point that I wish to make is this: if our children can get that Spirit, and they are taught to cherish it, they will not be so easily led into sin. They will think, “I cannot part with this precious gift. I cannot grieve this Holy Spirit.” They should be taught to have it with them in the morning and at night, and when they awake in the night; to have it in all their thoughts, in all their words and in all their actions. And then what a happy people we will be! This earth will be a heaven to us, and all associated with it will be joyful, and we will be the happiest people, the most intelligent people, because the Spirit of God always brings intelligence. There will be none like us, and we will set an example to all people on this, like we do upon everything else. If we are strong in honesty, we will draw honest men to us; and the day is not far distant when the honesty of this people will be so well-known and their integrity so well-established that men will come here and bring their money here, because the Latter-day Saints will be an honest people whom they can trust. ¶

We have got to set the world an example in these directions, as well as in the carrying out of all enterprises; show them that they can be done without stealing, without speculation of any kind. We have got to show them that government can be carried on without resort to those base arts and miserable tricks and practices that prevail elsewhere and that are thought essential to success. This people must rise above these things. Those who resort to them will go down; for God will not bless them. This is His work. It is not man’s work. Everybody will find that God is at the helm. He will control and overrule the affairs of this Territory and this State, for His glory. For this is His Zion. He has founded it, and He will continue to care for it. He will control everything, for its good and for the happiness of His people and for the success of His glorious purposes. Therefore, men may plot, men may contrive, men may indulge in machinations; but God will sweet them aside, and He will bring to pass His purposes and His salvation. We shall stand as a beacon light to the nations; for there is no hope on the earth, unless it is with us. Upon every institution of man is written “decay.” If the elements of perpetuity are not found among this people, then there are none to be found upon the face of the earth. ¶

Before I sit down, I desire to bear testimony to tis being the truth. You have heard it borne testimony to by all the brethren. I testify that this is the truth of heaven, and that God is with this people. God is leading this Church. God is with His servant Wilford Woodruff. God is with His Apostles. God will sustain them and all the men who have the Priesthood and are endeavoring to magnify their office and calling. ¶

God grant that we may live worthy of these things. Let us keep the commandments of God; pay our tithing and our donations. The Lord that increased the widow’s cruse of oil and the barrel of meal can multiply His blessings upon us. God bless you all, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶