The Saints the Saviors of Men

I will read a portion of the 84th Section of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants: ¶

"17. Which Priesthood continueth in the Church of God in all generations, and is without beginning of days' or end of years. ¶

"18. And the Lord confirmed a Priesthood also upon Aaron and his 6eed, throughout all their generations — which Priesthood also continueth and abideth forever with the Priesthood, which is after the holiest order of God. ¶

"19. And this greater Priesthood administereth the Gospel and holdeth the key of the mysteries of the kingdom even the key of the knowledge of God; ¶

"20. Therefore, in the ordinances thereof, the power of godliness is manifest; ¶

"21. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the Priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh; ¶

"22. For without this no man can see the face of God, even the Father, and live ¶

"23. Now this Moses plainly taught ¶

to the children of Israel in the wilderness, and sought diligently to sanctify his people that they might behold the face of God; ¶

"24. But they hardened their hearts and could not endure his presence, therefore the Lord in His wrath (for His anger was kindled against them) swore that they should not enter into His rest while in the wilderness, which rest is the fullness of His glory. ¶

"25. Therefore he took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood also; ¶

"26. And the lesser Priesthood continued, which Priesthood holdeth the key of the ministering of angels and the preparatory Gospel; ¶

"27. Which Gospel is the Gospel of repentance and of baptism, and the remission of sins, and the law of carnal commandments, which the Lord in His wrath caused to continue with the house of Aaron among the children of Israel until John, whom God raised up, being filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother's womb; ¶

"28. For he was baptized while he was yet in his childhood, and was ordained by the angel of God at the time he was eight days old unto this power, to overthrow the kingdom of the Jews, and to make straight the way of the Lord before the face of His people, to prepare them for the coming of the. Lord, in whose hand is given all power. ¶

"29. And again, the offices of Elder and Bishop are necessary appendages belonging unto the High Priesthood. ¶

"30. And again, the offices of Teacher and Deacon are necessary appendages belonging to the lesser Priesthood, which Priesthood was confirmed upon Aaron and his sons. ¶

"31. Therefore, as I said concerning the sons of Moses — for the sons of Moses, and also the sons of Aaron shall offer an acceptable offering and sacrifice in the house of the Lord, which house shall be built unto the Lord in this generation, upon the consecrated spot as I have appointed; ¶

"32. And the sons of Moses and of Aaron shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, upon Mount Zion in the Lord's house, whose sons are ye; end ¶

also many whom I have called and sent forth to build up my Church. ¶

"33. For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two Priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies; ¶

"34. They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, end the Church and kingdom, and the elect of God; ¶

"35. And also all they who receive this Priesthood receiveth me, saith the Lord; ¶

"36. For he that receiveth my servants receiveth me; ¶

"37. And he that receiveth me receiveth my Father; ¶

"38. And he that receiveth my Father, receiveth my Father's kingdom; therefore all that my Father hath shall be given unto him; ¶

"39. And this is according to the oath and covenant which belongeth to the Priesthood. ¶

"40. Therefore, all those who receive the Priesthood, receive this oath and covenant of my Father, which he cannot break, neither can it be moved; ¶

"41. But whoso breaketh this covenant, after he hath received it and altogether turneth therefrom, shall not have forgiveness of sins in this world nor in the world to come. ¶

"42. And all those who come not unto this Priesthood which ye have received, which I now confirm upon you who are present this day, by mine own voice out of the Heavens, and even I have given the Heavenly hosts and mine angels charge concerning you. ¶

"43. And I now give unto you a commandment to beware concerning yourselves, to give diligent heed to the words of eternal life: ¶

"44. For you shall live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God. ¶

"45. For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ;" ¶

In standing up to address you I do so relying entirely upon the blessing of God, which I hope to obtain by the assistance of your faith and prayers. To my mind, it is one of the most responsible positions a human being can occupy, to address a congregation upon the things pertaining to God and eternity. I feel the weight of this responsibility, and I would not attempt to speak to you, did I not know that it is our privilege to have the assistance of the Spirit of God. During this conference we have heard most excellent discourses, accompanied by the power of God. ¶

The Spirit has been abundantly poured out. It seems to me that no man or woman could listen to the words of the Apostles who have spoken without being convinced that God was with them. This is my feeling, and I can bear testimony to the truth of that which has been said. It will be a savor of life unto life or of death unto death to all those who have listened. ¶

We are living in a very important time. The Lord is evidently working with His servants and people. He is manifesting His Spirit in a remarkable manner. I think it has been felt by every faithful Latter-day Saint throughout the Church. Not only has it extended throughout Zion, but it has been felt by the Elders and Saints, so far as we have heard, in distant places. In 1856 the Spirit of God was poured out in great power upon the servants of God in Zion. I was on a mission at the time, as doubtless were very many Elders, some of whom may be present today; and we had the same Spirit where I was laboring. The Lord stirred us up in the same way that our brethren at home were being stirred up. The Spirit of reformation went throughout the entire Church. The people were stirred from the depth of their hearts by the power of God. The effects of that reformation were most excellent. A great many adopted good resolutions which, I am led to believe, they clung to all their lives, and are still clinging to them if they are alive. They have served God with greater diligence than they ever did before. I do not doubt that will be the effect of these meetings. I expect to see a thorough reformation of the people, and renewed determination to keep the commandments of God more strictly than ever before. ¶

In connection with this I will read another portion of the Book of Doctrine and Covenants that occurs to my mind. It is a revelation that was given in 1834, soon after the occurrences which President Snow read about yesterday. They took place in Jackson county, November, 1833, and this revelation was given to the Prophet the succeeding February. The Lord says: ¶

"1. "Verily I say unto you, my friends, ¶

behold I will give unto you a revelation and commandment, that you may know how to act in the discharge of your duties concerning the salvation and redemption of your brethren, who have been scattered on the land of Zion; ¶

"2. Being driven and smitten by the hands of mine enemies, on whom I will pour out my wrath without measure in mine own time; ¶

"3. For I have suffered them thus far, that they might fill up the measure of their iniquities, that their cup might be full; ¶

"4. And that those who call themselves after my name might be chastened for a little season with a sore and grievous chastisement, because they did not hearken altogether unto the precepts and commandments which I gave unto them." ¶

This has been dwelt upon with great fullness by nearly all the brethren who have spoken at this conference. They have called attention to the fact that the Saints were scourged in those early days because of their disobedience. The Lord here explains and describes to the Church very plainly the reasons why they were so grievously and severely chastened: ¶

"And that those who call themselves after my name might be chastened for a little season with a sore and grievous chastisement, because they did not hearken altogether unto the precepts and commandments which I gave unto them." ¶

The Lord continues: ¶

"5. But verily I say unto you, that I have decreed a decree which my people shall realize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour, unto the counsel which I, the Lord their God, shall give unto them. ¶

"6. Behold they 6hall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour, ¶

"7. And by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdoms of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the Saints, to possess it for ever and ever. ¶

"8. But inasmuch as they keep not my commandments, and hearken not to observe all my words; the kingdoms of the world shall prevail against them, ¶

"9. For they were set to be a light unto the world, and to be the saviors of men; ¶

"10. And inasmuch as they are not the saviors of men, they are as salt that has lost its savor, and is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men." ¶

There cannot be a doubt in any faithful man's mind concerning the truth of this promise — the promise of victory and deliverance on the one hand, the promise of punishment, disaster and trouble on the other. The Latter-day Saints have in their experience proved fully the truth of these words. They have seen them fulfilled to the very letter. When they have been faithful in keeping the commandments of God they have prospered and they have had deliverance. "When they have been unfaithful they met with trouble and serious difficulty. It is necessary that the wicked should have the opportunity to exercise their agency in relation to the work of God; for they have an agency as well as we. It is their privilege to assist in building up the work of God, or they can exercise their agency in fighting the work of God. They have the privilege to do everything in their power to destroy it, and they will be permitted to do this until the cup of their iniquity is full. The Lord deals justly with His children, no matter who they are. Not only Latter-day Saints, but all mankind are the children of our Heavenly Father, and all have their agency. When we quote these sayings of the Lord concerning this work, they are not peculiar to us; the promises are not intended for us alone; they are intended for all who will believe and obey His Gospel. Many people imagine that when we talk about the triumph of the Church of God we mean to confine that triumph to those who belong to our Church. Not so; this is for the whole world. It is for all America, as well as for Utah. God has made most glorious promises to this nation. According to the revelations in the Book of Mormon concerning our own nation, the Lord has destined to make it the head of all the nations of the earth, to adopt it as His nation and as His government, if the people would receive the Gospel; and He would make them the means of saving the remnants of His covenant people, and doing other mighty works. This is all foreshadowed in the prophecies contained in the Book of Mormon. ¶

Joseph Smith, prompted by this Spirit — the man whom God has spoken to; a ¶

Prophet of God — condescended to proffer himself as a candidate for the Presidency of the United States. Many people thought this was ambition on his part; that he wanted to rule; that he aspired to power, and that he would use It for the carrying out of his own plans and forwarding the interests of his own people. Joseph Smith had no such idea. He was prompted, as a Prophet of God and as a patriot, to step forward and offer himself as a candidate, that the nation might receive the fulfillment of the promises which the Lord had made concerning it. He gave his views on the power and policy of the United States; and any man who will read those views today will see how much salvation there is embodied in the principles he set forth. A bloody war might have been averted; millions of treasure might have been saved; thousands upon thousands of lives might also have been saved, if they had only received him as a deliverer, God having inspired him to take that course. In relation to this we have the same feelings today. Men accuse us of being unpatriotic, of not being friendly, and of having designs inimical to the peace and prosperity of the land. I say to you today, in the presence of God, that no more patriotic people live upon the continent of America than the Latter-day Saints. We want to see the Constitution of this country preserved, that every man shall enjoy the rights guaranteed by that grand instrument of liberty which God inspired the framers to make. But we differ from many people in regard to our views concerning the manner in which the government should be administered. And we think, as free men, descended from a free ancestry, we have a right to differ from them, and to express our feelings upon this point with the utmost freedom; that we are not traitors when we do so, but are the friends of the government and of the rights of human beings in the government. You know, my brethren and sisters, that this is our attitude on this question. We would like to see this government so stable that it will never be thrown down. It can only be made so by adhering to the principles which animated the founders of the govern- ¶

ment, and which they hoped to perpetuate through the constitution and the laws that were enacted. ¶

We are told in this revelation that the wicked, when the cup of their iniquity is full, will receive their judgment. But the Latter-day Saints are called upon to obey the commandments of God. He has revealed himself with power to them. He bears testimony to them all the time concerning His great work that He is seeking to establish in the earth. He wants to make us the saviors of men. He calls us the salt of the earth. We are the salt of the earth. We are not conceited in saying this, because the acts of the faithful Latter-day Saints are such as to bring salvation to those who are connected with them. I wish to illustrate this so that you can see it for yourselves. Look around you and see the men and the women who have proved themselves unworthy of the principles of the Gospel, and have departed from them. Are they not like salt that has lost its savor? We have had hundreds of them; they have got indifferent; they have lost their savor, and are good for nothing. The Saints are compared to salt that has its saving poperties. Wherever we go we should be saviors of men. We should seek for the salvation of the human family to the fullest extent in our power. God has called us to this. He has given unto us the Holy Priesthood, and He has pled with us now for these many years. Think of it! this revelation from which I have read last was given in 1834, nearly sixty-six years ago. The promise was then made unto the Saints that if they would keep the commandments of God they should prevail from that very hour. Is it not true that this would have been fulfilled to the very letter if we had kept His commandments? But we have not done so. We have been a disobedient people, notwithstanding all that God has done for us. We have not honored His laws; and I sometimes think we are like our ancestors, the children of Israel (for God has said that we are of the seed of Abraham) who were led out of Egypt by mighty power. The Lord wrought wonders in their behalf. He inspired Moses to lead the people along so that ¶

they could see the face of God, that they could have the Melchisedek Priesthood continued among them, and become a nation of kings and priests; but they were hard in their hearts and rejected the word of God. The result was that for forty years they wandered in the wilderness, and all that generation were buried in the wilderness, except two men. Two men only out of the vast host that left Egypt under the leadership of Moses, ever reached the promised land, and they were Caleb and Joshua. The Lord had a new generation. The fathers had rejected Him, and He took the Melchisedek Priesthood from their midst, with Moses, and He gave unto them the lesser Priesthood, which was confirmed upon Aaron and his seed. They administered the law of carnal commandments. And this because they did not have faith enough to receive all that Moses was willing to teach them! ¶

Shall we be in the same condition? Shall we, through hardness of heart and disobedience to God and His servants, bring upon ourselves the same penalty? I do not believe we will. I am sure we will not reject the Melchisedek Priesthood, its power and its ordinances. But I do fear that we will defer the redemption of Zion indefinitely through our unwillingness to do the things that God requires at our hands. I have not an earthly doubt that this revelation given in 1834 would have been fulfilled to the very letter, had our people obeyed the Lord as He desired; neither do I believe now that the redemption of Zion will be long deferred if the people will obey the Lord and keep His commandments. But the difficulty is, our hearts are hard and almost impenetrable, in many instances. Here President Snow has been preaching for four months now in relation to the payment of tithing; he has been laboring with all his might, to the astonishment of all those who know his age; and yet he cannot rest — he has to here preach it again, because he feels that the people need to be stirred up. I tell you that all that is not for nothing. I tell you that the man of God is not aroused and inspired for nothing. There is a meaning to it. And I feel that great condemnation—such condemnation probably as has never rested upon us before, will rest upon this people unless they obey with all their hearts the words of the Lord that He has given to us through His servant. ¶

We need to be born again, and have new hearts put in us. There is too much of the old leaven about us. We are not born again as we should be. Do you not believe that we ought to be born again? Do you not believe that we should become new creatures in Christ Jesus, under the influence of the Gospel? All will say, yes, who understand the Gospel. You must be born again. Tou must have new desires, new hearts, so to speak, in you. But what do we see? We see men following the ways of the world just as much as though they made no pretensions to being Latter-day Saints. Hundreds of people who are called Latter-day Saints you could not distinguish from the world. They have the same desires, the same feelings, the same aspirations, the same passions as the rest of the world. Is this how God wants us to be? No; He wants us to have new hearts, new desires. He wants us to be a changed people when we embrace His Gospel, and to be animated by entirely new motives, and have a faith that will lay hold of the promises of God. But the trouble is, the Prophets of God walk around among you, and you see them all the time. "Why, I saw Lorenzo Snow today, and he is just like any other man. I saw Joseph F. Smith, and if I had not known, I might have taken him for anyone else. I saw some of the Apostles, and they are like other men." And because they are like other men, therefore they must be rejected. It is not supposed that they have more power than others. That is a mistake that the world has always made. There was Moses, one of the mightiest Prophets that ever lived. Did the children of Israel see anything particularly mighty in Moses? No; he was one of them, and they saw nothing exceptional about him. Then there was Nephi, another mighty Prophet. Brother Grant read to us a description of him. Did Nephi's brethren see anything mighty in him? Why, no; there was nothing ¶

to distinguish him particularly; and yet he was a mighty Prophet whom God had raised up. So it was with the Son of God Himself, the mightiest being that ever trod the earth. He descended from the throne of His Father and came to earth; but men saw nothing in Him different to other men, and they crucified Him. Thus it has been in every age. There have only been a few who have ever discovered the power of God as manifested through His servants. It is so today. Who recognized Joseph Smith as one of the mightiest Prophets that ever lived? Why, the Saints themselves received with reluctance the truths he taught; and men slew him, and may possibly have thought they were doing God's service in doing so. So it has been with those who have followed him and have held the keys of authority. They have passed among their fellow men and received but little recognition. Men could see all their faults and failings, and could talk about them one to another; but they could not see the divinity in them. It is the same with the servants of God in our midst today. They are but mortal men, and we see their weaknesses and their defects of character. These become magnified in our eyes, and we talk freely about them. The result is, we receive their words with reluctance; we question the word of God that comes through them, and wonder if it is not alloyed with something of their own. ¶

What we all need is faith— faith in God, faith to believe that which He tells us. Here the brethren have been laboring for days to tell us what blessings will attend obedience to the law of tithing— how our storehouses will be filled, our fields be fertile, etc., in this way appealing to our selfishness. We seem to be able to reach the people better by appealing to their selfish instincts. If we can make them believe that they are going to get something in return for what they do, it seems to be more effective than any other way. It is true that these blessings will follow; but it shows, my brethren and sisters, how our hearts have to be reached. We do not have faith. If we had faith as we should have, it would not be necessary to use such ¶

arguments. We are like the children of Israel when they fled out of Egypt. They did not have faith. They were enveloped in the traditions of their fathers. They were an adolatrous people, and had lived among the Egyptians until they had imbibed many of their false notions. It took forty years wandering in the wilderness to get rid of the traditions they had imbibed, notwithstanding the mighty works which God did in their midst. We should endeavor to profit by the lessons of the past. Let us put away our hardness of heart. Let us be a distinct people. Let us try to realize that we should be born of God; that we should have new desires in our hearts; that we should put away everything that is offensive in the sight of God, and endeavor to live in strict conformity to the laws and commandments that He has given unto us. There is a class of people in our midst that probably will not be obedient. We shall have that to contend with as long as Satan is unbound; for he has power over the hearts of the children of men. But we should endeavor to lessen his power to the extent of our ability. ¶

In this connection a great deal depends upon the parents. My parents were exceedingly strict in exacting obedience from their children. The lessons I learned in my boyhood I have never forgotten. They have been of service to me in my labors among the people and with the servants of God. I do not wish to say anything of a boastful nature, but I never have had the least difficulty thus far in my life in obeying the servants of God. This habit of obedience was formed in me when I was a child, and I have thanked God many times that my parents were so determined that their children should be obedient to them. As a result of their training, it has been no trouble to me to come or to go, to do this or that, at the request of the servants of God. Yet those who know me regard me, no doubt, as a man who likes his own way. That is my nature. It is a pleasure to me to have my own way. I am positive in my nature. But it has also been a pleasure to me to obey the servants of God. I say to my folks that that is the way we ¶

should raise our children. They should be made to do that which is required of them. If the Latter-day Saints as a people would enforce obedience in the home, our children would grow up and become men and women who would obey God, who would listen to His word, and be as strict in observing it as they had been to obey the word of their parents. But instead of that you see the rudeness of some of our children. The manner in which they conduct themselves at times is disgraceful. I feel mortified occasionally at the behavior of our children. There will be a meeting here tonight of the Sunday school workers, and we shall be under the necessity of having policemen, if we can obtain them, to maintain order outside the building and to prevent the meeting being disturbed by the boisterous conduct of a class of boys and girls. This is one of the things we should attend to. ¶

I feel to say that all the evils we suffer from are due to our disobedience and hardness of heart. The persecutions that we have endured are traceable to this. Our future persecutions will be attributable to the same cause. Therefore how necessary it is that we should train our children to be obedient to authority. If we will do this, it will be an easy thing for them to obey when they are men and women. A girl thus trained makes a good wife. A boy thus trained makes a good husband. Send him on a mission, and the presiding authority there will see the difference between him and the one not trained in habits of obedience. I have noticed it in my experience in the world. We should think of the future of our children. We should not let them have their own way in everything. They should be taught that it is not right, but that they should submit to the judgment of those who are over them- And we should submit to the will of our Father in Heaven, whatever He requires at our hands. If it is to give our tithing, all right. If it is to consecrate, all right. We should have faith that the Lord has power to bless us according to our devotion and diligence in keeping His commandments. ¶

I trust that what has been said at ¶

this conference will not be lost sight of and forgotten by us. I want to see Zion redeemed. I pray for the redemption of Zion. I labor for it. It will be brought about by peaceful methods. Nobody need be afraid of the designs of the Latter-day Saints. We have no designs only to keep the commandments of God. We have no evil designs on anybody. We invite everybody to come and partake of liberty with us. We will defend men of every creed and of every denomination in their rights as quickly as we will our own people. ¶

Joseph Smith taught us a lesson before he died in this respect, and it should never be forgotten. It will never be by those familiar with the circumstances. He invited men not of us to take part in certain things, as an example of what would be in days to come. They did not belong to our Church; I do not know that they belonged to any church. Some people have found fault with me because on one occasion I made a little distinction between the Kingdom of God and the Church of God. Now, there is a distinction, and Joseph Smith illustrated it. He showed us that when the Lord's kingdom should be established, people of every creed and of no creed should have perfect liberty and protection under it. It will not be for the Latter-day Saints alone; it will be for the protection of the Church of God and every other church. God does not deprive men of their agency. He lets them worship according to their consciences. If they want to be Methodists, or Episcopalians, or Catholics, or Agnostics, or anything else, all right. They can follow Confuscius, or they can believe as the Hindoos do, or anything else, so long as they do not trespass upon the rights of their neighbors. They cannot do that. They have no right to force their belief on other people, or to war on other people because of their belief. God never did that. He will bless everyone of every creed who will serve Him to the best of his ability, and especially those who seek to preserve the rights of their fellowmen. For God loves His children, and He wants them to have their full agency. Of course, if they rebel against Him. ¶

and reject His laws and ordinances, they must meet the penalty. As a people, we ought to feel the utmost kindness and to grant the utmost liberty to everyone. We exhibited that feeling when we first came to this valley. In 1849, when the emigration came through here to California, I well remember how many preachers were invited to speak in our old Tabernacle on the corner of this block, because President Young said he wanted the people to hear these men and their views. For years this was done. Prominent ministers were invited to speak to us. I remember Methodist Bishops and others preaching to us in this Tabernacle. Why? Because we were willing to extend liberty to everybody. In return, we ask that they will not trespass upon us. We think we have a right to worship God in our own way, and we try to worship Him in that way which will be acceptable to Him. ¶

My brethren and sisters, I ask God to bless you — bless you in your families and in everything pertaining to you. Let us labor continually for the redemption of Zion and for the time when the promises which God has made to Zion will be fulfilled; that we may build the centre Stake of Zion, and rear the house of the Lord there. There are men standing in this generation that will see it accomplished; but we do not want it put off to the very last. Let us all strive to fit and qualify ourselves and our families, by obeying the commandments of God to the fullest extent, so that we and our families may be remembered among those who shall be counted worthy to take part in the glorious work of redeeming Zion and enjoying the blessings thereof, which I humbly ask in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. ¶