Closing Remarks

The spirit that is enjoyed in this conference is a very sweet and heavenly feeling; it produces pure happiness and contentment, and our hearts are filled with joy. These are the evidences of God’s favor; that He accepts of us and approves of our course. there has been a great deal of curiosity indulged in by different members of the Church as to the spirit of revelation and how it manifests itself. It is true that in the Church the Lord has given, among other gifts, the gift of the ministering of angels, also the gift of visions and dreams, and some people imagine that the Church is led of God by the ministering of angels. Now, angels do minister unto men in our day, and we can testify to this. We can testify that Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer, has visited the earth and has ministered unto men. Some can testify of this from their personal experience. But the Church is led by the gift of revelation through the Holy Ghost. And how is it known to be from God, that which comes, sometimes with power, sometimes with the still small voice of the Spirit? It is known by its fruits. Questions arise upon various matters; differences of views exist and are expressed; for the men whom God has chosen to lead the people are men of independent thought and of positive characters, and they do not consent without being convinced; but there is a way by which the truth and the right can always be known. Darkness is not one of the manifestations of revelations from God; it is light—light which removes darkness and doubt from the human mind—that is the evidence that a thing is right or that is revelation from God. If you read what the Prophet Joseph had revealed to him concerning Oliver Cowdery connected with the work of translation, you will get a key to the spirit of revelation that God has placed in His Church. Just as Brother B. H. Roberts quoted this morning, the Lord told the Church that they should receive the words of His servant Joseph “as if from mine own mouth.” It is in this manner that the Church of Christ is guided; it is this that constitutes its strength; it is this that has given it its success. Men wonder at its success, but if they could see how the Lord operates and how He brings things about to accomplish certain ends, they would understand it. Why, if it were not so we would be worried to death. We never could stand up under the pressure if we had to care for this work, or if we had to indulge in fears concerning it; it would kill the strongest man that ever lived. But it is not necessary to worry, or to take trouble; it is only necessary to do our part and leave the result with God. He will take care of His work. He has not gone to sleep; He has not gone on a journey; He has not forgotten this work that He has established. Not in the darkest hour, not in the deepest dilemma does He forget us. We can go to bed and sleep without worrying over the work of God. And I do not believe that that keeps the servants of God awake. Financial troubles may have worried some; but so far as the work itself is concerned, that does not disturb the servants of God. They know that He is taking care of it; and when the burden appears heavy and oppressive the only course then is to ask God to make it light and to lift the burden, and He never fails to do it in his own time and way. There is no reason in the world why we should not live if not forever in the flesh, at least, till we are all satisfied with life. I was going to say if I live till then I will be very old; for I am very fond of life. There are so many opportunities to labor, I would like to live and work; and I suppose we all have that feeling. ¶

We have had a good time at this conference, and I want to say a few words that are in my heart. I want you, my brethren and sisters, to bear with the First Presidency. Think us honest men. Thus us true men. Think us men that are not schemers, and designers, and full of tricks. Do not think of us as bad men—men that are ever ready to take advantage. What right have you to entertain such a thought about any of us? What right has any man or woman in this congregation, or in the church, to have such an estimate about Wilford Woodruff or George Q. Cannon or Joseph F. Smith? Have we ever done anything in our lives to furnish the least foundation for such a view of our characters? I declare to you in the presence of the Lord Almighty and all the holy hosts, that we have never done anything in our lives to justify any suspicion of this character. Go through our entire lives, in secret and in public, and in our transactions with the children of men, you cannot put your finger on where we have done intentional wrong. I do not say this to boast, but because of what has occurred in the past months. At the same time, in another light, we feel that we are unworthy of that responsibility and that honor which god has, in His wisdom, seen fit to place upon us. Now, I want to say to all of you who are here—and I wish all Israel could hear my words—go away from this conference carrying with you a feeling of confidence and love in and for the First Presidency of this Church, as well as the Twelve Apostles, and if you will do so God will bless you. If you do not do it, I will not say what the consequences will be. I do not want to predict evil; but I say that God will bless you if you love the men whom He loves, and whom He has chosen out of all Israel for these stations. They have not chosen themselves; they have not sought the offices themselves. The Lord knows this; and many of you ought to know it. It is bad enough to have the world to fight. I have been willing through my life to battle and to stand up and take all that men would heap upon me that did not belong to the Church; but I have been wounded to the very soul when my brethren and my sisters have said things that were false concerning me, and concerning my brethren—for their reputation is as dear to me as my own is. There is where it wounds; there is where it cuts; there is where it hurts. Why, I have felt as though I could fight the whole world, if I only did what God wanted me to do. I have suffered from mental fear as very few men in the world have; but I have not suffered from the other fear. I thank God for that; and I thank Him that the men who stand at your head are men whose knees have never trembled, whose hands have never shook, whose hearts have never failed them in the hour of peril and danger. The Lord has stood by them and has made them valiant in the truth. Now, whether you know it or not, I know it, and I bear testimony to it this afternoon. We have not paltered with the word of God; we have not temporized with the enemy of the Church of Christ; but when peril has come we have been ready to meet it and to face it, and to stand all the consequences, with the Lord to help us. Now, we should esteem these men. We are unworthy of the blessings of God if we do not do it. I have had some experience before I was a member of the First Presidency, in traveling with President Young, and listening to complaints from married people. It is surprising how lenient a man will be with his wife when he loves her, but if he does not love her, he is apt to be suspicious of her, and perhaps unkind and hard towards her. So, on the other hand, when a woman becomes alienated from her husband, and her affections are drawn from him, how wonderfully suspicious she grows and how she distorts and misconstrues her husband’s words and acts, because of jealousy. Her mind becomes so filled with jealousy that she illustrates the truth of the words of Shakespeare. ¶

“Trifles, light as air, are to the jealous confirmations strong as proofs of holy writ.” ¶

Yes, trifles that would not be noticed ordinarily, to a jealous person, and especially where there is no love, or where love is not strong enough to overcome jealousy, become as strong as proofs of holy writ. I have seen this illustrated many times. ¶

Now, if you love us, you will not be jealous of us, you will not suspect our acts, you will not attribute false motives to us, you will not distort our words and put a wrong construction on them; but you will have confidence in us. We ought to be trusted. The Lord has trusted us, and can not you trust us? Can not you have confidence enough in us to believe that we will give right counsel in all affairs? If you do not, then our declaration today is of no use. It would be useless if you are going to rise up and say, “Oh! don’t you see how they favor that man?” “Don’t you see how they discriminate against that other man?” “Don’t you see they will allow that man to do this, and they will retrain that other man? That man is a republican and this man is a democrat—or that man is a democrat and this man is a republican.” Thus they would attribute false motives to us, and color our conduct, and look at us with suspicious eyes, watching for some evidence of unfairness on our part. Let me warn you today, in the presence of the Lord and in the name of our Lord and Master, against that, and be careful; for Satan will strive to instill these ideas and thoughts into your minds to weaken the influence of the Priesthood of the Son of God. It is most unfair to us, it is most unjust, because we can see what others cannot see always; we can see reasons for a certain course of conduct that others cannot see. You men that have large families understand this. One child may think, Father is not fair; he lets my brother or sister do such a thing or have such a thing, and why cannot I do the same or have the same? Now, the father knows the reasons for doing as he does. We may as well impugn the providence of our Heavenly Father on the same principle, if we carry it far enough. The Lord blesses some men in various ways, and others do not receive these blessings, although apparently they are just as worthy. And infidels impugn the justice of the Eternal Father because of this,--as they see it,--discrimination in His treatment of His children, and they scout the idea of there being a God, because, measured by their puny, fallible standard, He does not come up to the mark that they think He ought to reach. ¶

As I say to you again, have confidence in us, believe that we are honest, and say, “No, I cannot understand that; it is not altogether clear to me; but I know that there is nothing wrong. If I understood it, I know it would be all right.” That is the way we should talk. Do you think that I would doubt a man whom I knew? No. I always believe good about him. If I cannot understand some of his actions, I think, well, if I knew the reasons I would understand it and it would be reconcilable with my ideas of the justice of his character. That is the way I feel towards all my friends. I am loth to believe that they are acting from improper motives or with improper feelings. For this reason I never want to hear a one-sided statement, nothing ex parte, because it is impossible to come to a correct conclusion to come to a correct conclusion without hearing both sides. ¶

I trust that the Lord will impress these thoughts on all our hearts, that we may feel and realize the truth of these things. ¶

There is another subject that I would like to allude to, if time will permit. It is this: You have heard of our entering into enterprises and striving to do something to furnish employment for the people and to cause the people of this State to assume that position which we think they are entitled to. We have endeavored to seek the mind and will of God concerning this; and we have endeavored to be careful about every step, that there should be no misstep, no wrong conclusion, no wrong action. If ever men sought this, I believe I am justified in saying that we have. Now, we are entering into these enterprises for wise purposes. First, in speaking for the Latter-day Saints, it does not seem right that the people should gather to Zion, then scatter throughout the land. This is a gathering dispensation. We have felt that God has entrusted you to us as a flock is entrusted to a shepherd. The eyes of the Latter-day Saints naturally turn for counsel and help to the authorities of their Church, in the hours of distress and affliction. It is therefore a cause of unfeigned sorrow to us to see men and women—either Latter-day Saints or others—idle in our land, being without employment, and dependent upon the Church or upon individual charity for that which is necessary to sustain life. According to the report read at this conference there are too many dependent upon the Church for assistance. We should less this number by every means in our power, and place within every person’s reach—not only the Latter-day Saints, but every citizen of Utah—the opportunity of earning his or her own bread. I can scarcely conceive of anything in human affairs that is so painful to men and women who have been energetic and industrious to be reduced to penury and to a condition of dependence; and we should be merciful to those who are in this condition. Some people become helpless, and they have to be sustained. When help is extended to such, it should be done in the most delicate manner, not to wound the susceptibilities of the poor. I believe there are men and women that would almost rather starve than to go about and make their wants known. They feel what we would call proud. Well, it is a proper pride to feel independent; and it is contrary to all our practices in the past to do anything that would have the effect to reduce people to pauperism. Residents of this stake should earn their own living, by some honorable means of employment. ¶

These reasons have had great weight with us, and we have talked and counseled about them a great deal, as well as prayed about them. Now, the Lord in his goodness seems to be opening the way for us to obtain employment. We have, as you know, a large enterprise in Ogden. Some of the brethren who went up there, I understand, have come dissatisfied and come away because the conditions did not altogether suit them. We are doing everything in our power to make employment for our own people. We do not want people from afar to come in and take the bread that ought to be earned by the residents of this State. But some have said they are not suited with the conditions. This is unfortunate. The contractor is desirous of employing residents of the State. He says he likes our citizens; he has had them work for him before, and they have given him entire satisfactions, as they are peaceful and quiet and do their work. A number of men were sent up there the other day, and I met one of them on the street. He said to me, “Well, a good many of us have come back.” I asked him the reason. Said he, “we did not like the man”—a sort of subcontractor I think he was. I asked him whether he required of the men anything that was improper. “No, but we did not like him.” Therefore, he and others had quit work. I think that is a very unreasonable thing. If work is there, it seems to me that we should embrace the opportunity to work. We do not want any working man oppressed; we do not want any tyranny exercised over them; but this contractor can get the men without drawing them from our settlements. There are many coming here who will gladly take employment. They may not stay long; they may give dissatisfaction in some respects; but they can be obtained. ¶

I wanted to say this much to this conference before we adjourned. Our brethren ought to look at this in the light that we design they shall view it in—look at it a little from our standpoint. We want employment furnished to the people. We want business revived. We want to control that which we should control. We want to obtain the influence that belongs to a people having a credit that is unexampled for integrity and honesty and good management. We want to reap the benefits of this character and this credit, which President Young commenced, and which has been carefully built up during forty-eight years. We want the citizens of Utah—the entire community, to have the benefit of this credit, and not see strangers come from afar and do that which we ought to do. And if you will take hold and have the union that has been shown in our proceedings at this conference, and, be determined to be united, it will give us power and influence in the earth, and, men will respect and honor us. ¶

Allusions were made by Brother John Henry smith to the circulations of our periodicals. It occurred to me while he was speaking that the day has at last come, I believe, when we should use the press as we never have used it. It is a might engine for good, if used properly. Our enemies have used it in the most effective manner against us, and Satan has been determined apparently to exclude every line of truth from circulation in the world. I believe that instead of this mighty engine being used for our destruction, we should use it for the salvation of our fellowmen, by disseminating the truth and circulating it in every corner of the habitable globe. I trust that that day has come; and we must enlarge our hearts and become liberal in these things, and use the paper and the ink for the purpose which our Great Creator undoubtedly designed them for—to do good to human kind. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I pray God, in the name of Jesus, to bless you all, to bless you in all your relations in life, and to fill you with the Holy Ghost continually. No better blessing could I ask in your behalf, or in my own, than this. Amen. ¶

The choir and congregation sang: The Spirit of God like a fire is burning. ¶