Seek Earnestly the Best Gifts

My brethren and sisters: I desire your faith and prayers for the few moments that I shall occupy. I have very much rejoiced in the teachings of this conference, including this meeting; and the beautiful songs of praise which have been rendered, must of necessity impress the hearts of Latter-day Saints with the spirit of spiritual refinement, and tend to lead us to exercise our thoughts and influence our acts, when we shall leave this conference, in a strong devotion to the cause which we are so honored as to be identified with. ¶

I desire to ask my brethren and sisters, and in order to be consistent, I will covenant with you, (as we shall get the reports of this conference) to read carefully all the instructions which have been given by President Snow, his counselors, the Twelve Apostles, and the presiding council of the Seventies, whose representatives are with us in this meeting, and that we shall digest at our leisure the counsel which has been imparted. The instructions are important, and their propriety should be a testimony to us that they have been dictated by the inspiration of the Lord. We have been instructed at this conference with teachings that should lead us to respect and venerate the Father and the Son, and to cherish with profound respect the name of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and also his successors down to the present administration of the affairs of the Church. We have been counselled to utilize the means, the material substance with which the Lord has so generously blessed us in these mountain valleys, more liberally in the advancement of the work of God upon the earth. In connection with this we ought to encourage the work for the salvation of the dead. Our contributions to the temples ought to be more liberal; and the Saints who are home, and especially those who have been blessed with means and have considerable leisure, ought to go to the Temples in their respective districts and work for the redemption of the dead. If you have not names in the line of your own family genealogy, there is an abundance of genealogical records which have been prepared by the inspiration of the Lord upon the hearts of men, not Latter-day Saints. Since the Prophet Elijah visited the Kirtland Temple and turned the keys of salvation for the dead, that spirit has brooded not only in the hearts of the Latter-day Saints, but it has operated largely in the hearts of men who do not understand the spirit which actuated them to write genealogical histories. We ought to work for the redemption of the dead. ¶

We have been cited by President Snow and others of the brethren to the necessity of paying our tithing, and we have been reminded that this law has been established to some extent as a source of education, to bring us to the observance of the higher law — the law of consecration. Zion can only be redeemed upon that law. Now, if we would come to that higher law, we must act upon the law of tithing, and we must pay our tithes honestly and fully in order to secure the blessings which are attached to that sacred requirement which God has established as a law in His Church. We have been reminded at this conference by numbers of the brethren that we should utilize the temporal blessings which have come to us in making the Latter-day Saints more of a self-sustaining people. I do not understand the design of God to be that His Saints shall be dependant upon any nation. I do understand that the decree has gone forth that Babylon shall fall — Babylon, the mother of harlots and the abomination of all the earth. Suppose her institutions should fail, and we should be cut off from that communication with the outside world that we now possess, what is our condition so far as material interests are concerned? We do not manufacture clothing enough to clothe our people; we do not manufacture boots and shoes enough for footwear; we do not manufacture the head-gear that adorns and shades the heads of the men and women of this Church. We do not utilize the elements with which the Lord has so abundantly blessed this land and work them into utensils that are essential for the benefit of the people as we should do. The time is coming when God will require us to do it, when He will require that the apparel and other articles of usefulness shall be of the workmanship of our hands, and it is the duty of the Latter-day Saints to use the manufactured materials that can be produced in this land by our own efforts. I do not think that we should be a covenant breaking people. I remember a few years ago, when Brother John W. Taylor and myself lived in the Fourteenth ward, on a certain occasion his father, Elder Orson Pratt, and Elder George Q. Cannon came to a meeting in that ward and they read to us what was designated as the fourteen rules of the united order, and there were a great many truths enunciated in that document. We made solemn covenants that we would observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, and that we would not justify our young people in going to pleasure resorts upon that day; that we would not justify them in profanity, nor in the use of any unbecoming language. We made covenants that we would not take the name of the Deity in vain nor speak lightly of His character nor of sacred things. We made solemn covenants that we would sustain one another in our material interests, and that we would utilize the means which God had placed in our hands to manufacture the articles that were necessary for our use in the establishing of the work of God in this land. A great many other covenants were made, and we lifted up our hands in solemnity before God, just as we have done this afternoon to sustain the Prophet of God and his associates, who have been called to be the living oracles of God unto this Church. I will read a passage or two of scripture to show the responsibility we are under, and then I will close. I wish to say to the Elders of Israel that when they are called upon to bear testimony, or preach the Gospel at home or abroad, they are forbidden to do so, except through the prayer of faith, they receive the spirit of God and preach by the power of that spirit. In speaking of those who are called upon to preach the Gospel, it says they "shall reason and expound the scriptures unto them. ¶

"And, behold, and lo, this is an ensample unto all those who were ordained unto this Priesthood whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth; ¶

"And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost, and whatsoever they should speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost, shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation." Doc. and Gov. Sec. 68. 2-4. ¶

Young brethren and sisters, what you have heard President Snow say in regard to doing the will of the Lord, no matter what the world might say was the will of the Lord, the voice of the Lord, and will be the power of God unto salvation unto all who have the integrity of heart and the courage to obey it. And whatsoever counsel is given by the Bishops, by the Presidents of Stakes, by the presiding authorities in every department is the word and will of the Lord when they are actuated by the light and intelligence of the Holy Spirit. "Behold, you are they who are ordained of me, and ordained priests and teachers." This calling, speaking of the Twelve, "is to declare my Gospel by the power of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, and according to the callings and gifts of God, unto men." This is the way they are to do it — by the spirit and revelation of Almighty God. "Wherefore, lift up your voice and spare not." We are not to spare or neglect. It is the duty of the servants of God in every capacity to declare the truth and not mince it. "Wherefore, lift up your voice and spare not, for the Lord, God, hath spoken. Therefore, prophecy, and it shall be given by the power of the Holy Ghost." ¶

"And again the Elders, Priests and ¶

Teachers of this Church shall teach the principles of my Gospel, which are in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the Gospel; ¶

"And they shall observe the covenants and Church articles to do them and these shall be their teachings, as they shall be directed by the spirit; ¶

"And the spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith, and if ye receive not the spirit, ye shall not teach." ¶

I might read many more verses, but this will suffice. Let us seek for the companionship of the Holy Spirit, that it may be our guide in all of our ministrations and in all our ambitions, and in applying to our conduct the excellent counsel and instructions which have been given unto us during this conference; and inasmuch as we do this the spirit of Almighty God will be with us and the spirit and peace of the Almighty will dwell in our homes. ¶

Have your family prayers every night and every morning, and let every man, woman and child attend to his or her secret prayers, that we may come near unto the Lord. Pay your tithing and the God of heaven will bless you. May peace be with you my brethren and sisters, and be taken to your homes and rest upon your children and your flocks and your herds and upon the soil which God has given us in this choice land, in the name of Jesus. Amen. ¶