The Saints Successful Colonizers

I am happy in the opportunity of meeting with you again in general conference. I have had great pleasure in listening to the remarks that have been made by the brethren who have spoken to us thus far in the conference; and if I can have your faith and prayers and the Spirit that has actuated their utterances, I desire to speak upon several topics, in brief, that are in my judgment of material interest to the Latter-day Saints. ¶

We have not obtained our present position in the world altogether upon the ground of the spiritual Instruction embraced in the Gospel. The practical application of the faith we have espoused has probably brought us a very fair share of the respect and esteem in which we are held by many thinking people of the world who have seen the results that have come from the degree of unity we have exhibited in the practical concerns of life. Our reputation in connection with the deveopment of the land that we have occupied has gone out to the world; and wherever men may be found who are desirous of establishing colonies and seeking to develop the sections of country which they occupy, they are anxious to secure men who are conversant with the methods that have been adopted in the development of those sections of country that the Latter-day Saints occupy today. We have been the pioneers in the establishment of the village system. We have been pioneers in the distributing of water in the forms largely utilized at the present time in this western country. While the Indians and theCatholic fathers who preceded us in various sections of this western land had achieved some success in utilizing the water by irrigation, it remained for the Utah pioneers, and they that followed them in the planting of the standard in this part of the world, to establish and apply properly and successfully the water, that has made the land productive and brought such wonderful results. This has brought to us the notice of the world. "While many practical men turn away from most of the doctrinal views we present, the results which have been manifest in the union of action exhibited in the development of the resources of our section of the country have caused them to stop and examine, and they have been led to look for the causes which have produced these results. I presume, if an examination were made today among men who have been in some measure conversant with the efforts made and the results that have come therefrom, it would be found that many men have been led to an examination and final acceptance of our faith from its practical results as developed in the comforts and blessings attendant upon the great mass of the people. The changing of men from the workshop and the smithy in foreign lands or in different parts of our own land, to the conditions that arise from the possession of the soil, the owning of a house and of the implements of husbandry, and utilizing the industry and talents possessed by them, has brought to the people a degree of independence that is not so fully marked among any other people with whom I have been conversant. ¶

I am extremely anxious in this connection that there shall be no slackening in this material development — in the extension of our farms, our gardens, and our orchards, and in the ability to utilize the products of those farms, gardens and orchards in the interest of ourselves, by being able to place them upon the markets of the world in such form as will bring to us the best prices and maintain our reputation for judgment, prudence and industry. I am fearful that a tendency in the direction of slackening in that pride that should characterize every man and woman who has become conversant with the spirit of the Gospel is showing itself, in some instances, in degrees of laxity. The orchards are not receiving that attention, the gardens that care, and the farms that manifest industry that characterized our earlier efforts, when but limited areas of ground were being utilized and the cultivation was intense in order that it might produce the best possible results and meet the necessities of those who occupied the same. In order that we may continue in our growth and development, and be enabled to have means necessary for the adornment and beautifying of our homes and the enlargement of the spheres in which we are acting, I trust that there shall be no slackening in connection with these matters. Our farmers in the various sections of the country should employ their talents in the direction of forming an organization suitable to themselves, looking to the proper arrangement of the character of the products that shall be planted, and strive in every way to improve these products and put them upon the market in such a condition that wherever ,they are there will be a demand for them that those who go to the markets will ask for Utah peaches, Utah apples, Utah vegetables, and buy them in preference to all others, because they are put up in the proper form and are the best on the market. It seems to me that in this matter a people organized as we are, with our ability to reach every home, could so act in unison with each other upon these questions that thousands of dollars that now annually go to waste within our border, because the fruit and the vegetables are not properly cared for, might be utilized in bringing to the homes of the people the necessary comforts and adornment and providing that practical and proper education which shall make us not alone the required help of our neighbors and friends who want men possessing the talent to develop their farms, establish their villages and increase the interests of the people, but which shall also make us better in these respects in the future than in the past. ¶

I ask you, my brothers and my sisters, to look wisely and prudently into these propositions. There must be an extension of opportunities presented to the young men and maidens of our State in the direction of the establishment of homes. We are extending our borders in some degree. A few are planting themselves in Mexico a few in Canada, a few northward in Idaho, some in Montana, in New Mexico, in Arizona and in Colorado, and are working out these problems looking to the material uplifting and independence of the people of God. While this is being done, we desire that each step in the direction of our development shall exhibit the fact that we have a purpose and object in view — not alone the spiritual teaching of the people, but their physical, mental and moral development and their financial worth. And if we can establish within them a determination to do and to be something in the line of their moral and financial development, they will begin to drink in of the spirit of that work that led the founders of this organization to move westward in the hope of bringing out the powers, developing the resources and preparing and qualifying the men who are to become conversant with this work for the great mission of the regeneration of the world. It leads us to the conquering of the elements around us, that we may conquer the world; not upon the basis of the exercise of military dominion, but upon the basis of a developed faith and an understanding of the material nature of the work of God. The Lord has planted within our bodies a spirit that is in touch with His Spirit, and He purposes to bring out every power of mind and body, and to implant in the soul the highest possible understanding of the requirements and obligations that can attach to a mortal. ¶

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, in the development of this work that our Father has set us to do, no greater part can be given to men than providing for the needs of their fellows, opening doorways to their growth, putting them in a condition of independence upon a farm, and bringing out the power to cultivate and manage for themselves, that they in turn may employ their talents in the interest of others who perchance may not be so fully developed and equipped for the duties and responsibilities of life. Let us show to the world that, having laid the foundation of the system of development in this region of the country, where irrigation is a necessity, we can utilize it to the uttermost for our own wellbeing and for the wellbeing of our fellow men. In the extension of our settlements, in their growth and expansion, let us exhibit that care, that wisdom, that intelligence and that industry that shall entitle us to such expressions as I have heard on railroad trains from gentlemen who have said, "I see that we are approaching a 'Mormon' settlement. There is an evidence of joint action and union. The canals are larger; while the farms are small they are widely utilized." I trust that inasmuch as we are compelled in the older sections of our country to have small farms, there will be a union of action in the planting of vegetables and grains, fruits and flowers, so that whatever we may have to put upon the market there will be in it the evidence of talent, of wisdom and of industry manifested, which will bring to us the best possible results. ¶

I have another subject in my mind upon which I wish to speak. At the present time it is claimed that we have in the world in the neighborhood of 1800 missionaries. I myself believe there are ten millions of people who are believers in this work upon which we have entered. All of them, it may be true, have not come within the fold; but I believe there are ten millions of people who believe in the doctrines and mission of Joseph Smith, and in that priesthood and authority given of God in this dispensation. While many of them stand aloof, in their hearts they are praying for its development and advancement and in a quiet way lending their influence for the furtherance of the purposes of God. Believing that this condition exists to quite a degree in all parts of the world where the Elders have made their way, and in some sections possibly where they have not made their way, I desire to bring before this congregation a thought in connection with the utilization of the printed word. We see ourselves at the present time engaged in producing many newspapers and magazines, whose sympathies are with the work, though they may be engaged in some specific line. As I note the establishment of newspapers and magazines in our midst, I wonder from time to time how far as Saints we are using this agency in the interest of the development of God's work. How many now under the sound of my voice, after they have looked through their paper or their magazine, wrap it up and mail it to father, or mother, to brother or sister to old-time friend and acquaintance, in Scandinavia, in Germany, in Austria, France, in England, in Scotland, in Wales, or in the States of this Union? How many, after having seen an item that would impress their kindred or their friends in regard to the conditions existing here, have taken the trouble to further the interest of the work of God by sending the paper containing this item where it will do good? I ask you, my brothers and sisters, to examine the matter in this light of wisdom. Ix>ok into your own homes; study the character of the magazines that are upon your own tables, which your own children are a little loth to read perchance, and which you do not devote very much time to; note their contents, and send them in these different directions, as agencies, tending to bring before the minds of the people of the world the conditions that surround you, and that you live in a civilized community. There are many people that question there being in this western country a people who have the arts of civilization. They regard us in a measure as savages, and are therefore inclined to close their minds against us and say harsh things relative to us. ¶

Occasionally there are those not of our society who write articles in our defense, and who are anxious to spread among the people with whom they have been acquainted some understanding of the character of the people among whom they at present reside. One man who has done something in this respect is Mr. Charles Ellis. He has written pamphlets in the interest of our people, exhibiting their characteristics, and seeking to bring before the minds of people outside of our own circle the fact that while Mormonism has been an agency in the dissemination of the Christian doctrines as Christ Himself presented them to the world, it has also been an agency for the industrial advancement and uplifting of the men and women who have accepted of its principles and who have gathered within its charmed circle. "Where in the wide universe can there be found a body of ministers — as the world would be pleased to style us — that have laid the foundation of the material wellbeing of a people as has been done by Brigham Young and the founders of this work upon this the backbone of the American continent? ¶

My brothers and my sisters, I plead with you to utilize the printed word as it comes from the pens of our brethren, and the printed word of strangers who may come in our midst and become impressed at least with our honesty and our devotion to God, whether they can accept the views we may entertain in regard to God and His Son Jesus Christ or not, so that a knowledge of the truth as it is may be disseminated abroad in this way as well as by the preaching of the word. ¶

I feel to bear my witness, in connection with my brethren, to truths of that Gospel which we have embraced. God the Father came. He introduced His. Son, in this dispensation. There is no mistake in regard to this matter. Hia voice was heard, His person was seen. The keys of the priesthood of eternity were turned. Man was instructed to go forth and preach and teach, to point the way of temporal life as well as the way of spiritual life, and make the sons and daughters of God acquainted with the means and methods by which they could indeed be saved here as well as hereafter. Therefore, let us fulfil our mission, scatter the printed word, point the way and help the millions outside whose hearts have been touched in some degree by this work, and who are watching and waiting in anticipation of its development, though lacking the moral force to put on the armor of eternal truth and proclaim it in force and power unto the world. Let us awaken these from their lethargy, arouse them from their sleepiness, and plant within their hearts the truth that God's work has come, and that all should accept and love it because it teaches them the way of spiritual as well as temporal life. ¶

May God bless and prosper the good work; may its truth be written upon our hearts and souls; may we never fail to do our part in connection with its advancement, is my prayer in thename of Jesus. Amen. ¶