The Need of Inspiration

It is a source of pleasure to me to once more meet with the Latter-day Saints in General Conference, and I hope that what shall be spoken here this afternoon may be for our mutual benefit—It has ever been my desire in addressing the Latter-day Saints, that my mind might be lighted up with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—I realize that, in teaching the people, unless the speaker is inspired of our Father in Heaven it is impossible to say anything that will be of benefit or worth to the Saints—I have nothing particular upon my mind that I desire to talk upon in addressing you this afternoon—I have enjoyed the remarks of the brethren who have spoken thus far during this Conference, and I hope that during its continuance we will be blessed with the light and inspiration of the Spirit from on high—I rejoice in the many testimonies of the truthfulness of the Gospel that I have received—I rejoice in the evidence that comes to me from time to time, in my labors, of the goodness of God to me and also to you — to one and all—I find, in mingling with the Latter-day Saints, that all who are striving to keep the commandments of the Lord are abundantly blessed, and they realize that our Heavenly Father is with them, and rejoice in their hearts because of His goodness toward them ¶

When we stop to contemplate the great hardships that our fathers and mothers have had to pass through in establishing the work of God in the earth, it should cause us to be thankful because of our comparatively pleasant surroundings—I sometimes feel that we know but little of their sorrows, and of what they have had to endure—When we realize how easy it is for us to live we cannot begin to imagine what hardships they have had to pass through—I am truly grateful that I have not been called to endure such trials—I never had a desire, myself, to have experiences of this kind—We sometimes meet people who say they would like to have witnessed the trials of the early Saints and taken a part in them, but I have no wish to nominate myself for a martyr—I tell you what I do desire; it is to be tested and tried only so far as is necessary to qualify me for the duties which have been imposed upon me, and to gain an exaltation in the presence of my Heavenly Father ¶

I regret exceedingly that from my earliest recollections I have had to listen to the servants of the Lord pleading, with very little success, with the people to live their religion—My own counsel and advice to the Latter-day Saints have been to do their duties towards God and to keep the commandments that He has given them—Notwithstanding the brethren have labored hard to teach the Saints their duties, and have frequently repeated the commandments of the Lord unto this people, many of them have not yet learned the necessity of performing their duties—I believe if I were to call for those people here today who have been taught and believe all the revelations contained in the book of Doctrine and Covenants to be the inspired words of God, and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, nearly all who are in this congregation would raise their hands and say they knew these things to be true—But if I were to call for all those who had been absolutely honest with God in keeping His commandments, I am afraid a majority of the congregation would not raise their hands—If I were to ask for those who observed the Word of Wisdom, and who did not spend a portion of their means for tobacco and liquor, and who paid an honest tithing to the Lord, one-half of those here today would, I am afraid, fail to lift their hands—A great majority would answer that they had received their endowments in the temple of God, that they had entered into covenants with the Lord—They know the covenants that they have made with our Heavenly Father, and how many are there who carry out these covenants that they have entered into? I have heard a great many people, in my time, pray unto the Lord for blessings—And they would dedicate their time and strength and all that they possessed for the onward advancement of the Kingdom of God, but when they are called upon to help the Church in a financial way they are very careful to keep their means hid from the Lord—they keep it for their own advancement—We are not ready and willing to keep the commandments of God, but we are ready and willing to carry out our own wishes—We do not ask what it is desired that we should do, but generally suit ourselves as to what we would like to do—Is this right? No, it is not—I feel that there is plenty of room for improvement, and we should improve ¶

We heard this morning about some of the trials and tribulations our fathers had to pass through, and President Cannon said he expected to see the day when our financial troubles would vanish, as our other troubles have disappeared—I have faith that all those who have been honest with God in the past will soon be delivered from the bondage of debt—I expect that a great many of the Latter-day Saints, before the day of that deliverance, will be made to remember the covenants which they have made with the Lord—They have not been honest with the Lord—As one of the inspired men of old said, the people had robbed the Lord in their tithes and offerings— I say when the Latter-day Saints will pay an honest tithing unto the Lord there will be no need of talking about debts and of being in the bondage of debt—But the trouble is we do not do it—Scores of men compromise with the Lord on the basis of 10 cents on the dollar, and they rob Him of the other 90 cents—They discount their debts to the Lord 25 per cent—Why, a man would be ashamed of himself to go into Z. C. M. I. and ask it to knock off 25 per cent from his bill, but with God they discount their bills 10 cents, 25 cents and 50 cents on the dollar, and then call themselves honest—I wish the Lord would inspire us with a determination to be honest, and that the brethren could inspire this feeling among the Latter-day Saints, so that we would all try to be upright with the Lord—A man will say, "I owe my neighbor and must pay him before I can settle my tithing." Well, I know I owe lots of my neighbors, and they try to collect from me—But I owe God an honest tithing; He has given me a testimony of Jesus and a hope of eternal life, and I intend to pay Him first and my neighbors afterwards—It is our duty to settle with the Lord first, and I intend to do it, with the help of my Heavenly Father—And I want to say to you, if you will be honest with the Lord, paying your tithing and keeping His commandments, He will not only bless you with the light and inspiration of His Holy Spirit, but you will be blessed in dollars and cents, you will be enabled to pay your debts, and the Lord will pour out temporal blessings upon you in great abundance ¶

May the Lord bless and guide us by the inspiration of His Spirit always, is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ—Amen ¶