The Restoration and the Gathering

"1. Listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, your Lord, your God, and your Redeemer, whose word is quick and powerful. ¶

"2. For, behold, I say unto you, that it mattereth not what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, when ye partake of the sacrament, if it so be that ye do it with an eye single to my glory; remembering unto the Father my body which was laid down for you, and my blood which was shed for the remission of your sins: ¶

"3. Wherefore, a commandment I give unto you, that you shall not purchase wine, neither strong drink or your enemies: ¶

"4. Wherefore, ye shall partake of ¶

none, except it is made new among you; yea, in this my Father's kingdom which shall be built up on the earth. ¶

"5. Behold, this is wisdom in me: wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth, and with Moroni, whom I have sent unto you to reveal the Book of Mormon, containing the fullness of my everlasting gospel, to whom I have committed the keys of the record of the stick of Ephraim; ¶

"6. And also with Elias, to whom I have committed the keys of bringing to pass the restoration of all things, spoken by the mouth of all the holy Prophets since the world began, concerning the last days: ¶

"7. And also John the son of Zacharias, which Zacharias he (Elias) visited and gave promise that he should have a son, and his name should be John, and he should be filled with the spirit of Elias; ¶

"8. Which John I have sent unto you, my servants, Joseph Smith, Jr., and Oliver Cowdery, to ordain you unto this first priesthood which you have received, that you might be called and ordained even as Aaron: ¶

"9. And also Elijah, unto whom I have committed the keys of the power of turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to the fathers, that the whole earth may not be smitten with a curse: ¶

"10. And also with Joseph and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, your fathers, by whom the promises remain; ¶

"11. And also with Michael, or Adam, the father of all, the prince of all, the ancient of days. ¶

"12. And also with Peter, and James, and John, whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be Apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry, and of the same things which I revealed unto them: ¶

"13. Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the Gospel for the last time; and for the fullness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth: ¶

"14. And also with all those whom my Father hath given me out or the world: ¶

"15. Wherefore, lift up your hearts and rejoice, and gird up your loins, and take upon you my whole armor, that ye may be able to withstand the evil clay, having done all ye may be able to stand. ¶

"16. Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, which I have sent mine angels to commit unto you. ¶

"17. Taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked; ¶

"18. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of my spirit, which I will pour out upon you, and my word which I reveal unto you, and he agreed as touching all things whatsoever ye ask of me, and be faithful until I come, and ye shall be caught up, that where I am ye shall be also. Amen." ¶

Thus said the Lord many years ago. This everlasting Gospel that was restored to the earth through the agency of Moroni, John the Baptist, and Peter, James and John, has brought about this wonderful gathering that we see at this conference. We can congratulate each other that we have this glorious privilege today. The Lord Jesus Christ said: "No man can come unto me, except my Father draw him." How is it that we have accepted the principles of everlasting life? Forty-seven years' experience I have had with this people, and I know most assuredly that the Priesthood of the Son of God has been restored to the earth, and that this work that we are engaged in is the work of the Lord, which Isaiah spoke about when he said that the Lord would commence a marvelous work and a wonder, in which the wisdom of the wise should perish and the understanding of the prudent should be brought to nought. Our Father in Heaven is doing his own work. That I want to say to my beloved brethren and sisters who have gathered together here for the purpose of worshiping the Lord at this conference. God has manifested his love unto us. How did these brethren who have spoken obtain the testimony which they have borne at the conference in the power and spirit of God? It is because God has loved them and given unto them his spirit. How is it that these Presidents of Stakes and their counselors. High Councilors and the Bishops and their counselors have this glorious privilege of assembling together at this conference to hear the word of the Lord and to represent their respective fields of labor? It is by the grace of God. By His grace we are saved and have the privilege of a standing in the Church. It is our Father in Heaven who has drawn us into His fold, adopted us into His royal family and given unto us the Holy Priesthood, with the blessings and keys of endless life. He has also given unto us the understanding heart. He has filled us ¶

with His divine love, and has granted unto us the glorious gifts of faith, hope and charity. We gladly gather together to wait upon the Lord, to hear His word and to understand His counsel. ¶

Before coming to this meeting we have been on our knees, pleading with the Almighty that He would pour His spirit and blessing upon His servants who should speak, that they might faithfully deliver His word unto the people. We have had the word of God given unto us, and I bear testimony that this word is true, that we should repent of our robbing the Lord in tithes and offerings and that we should turn unto Him with full purpose of heart, consecrating unto Him one-tenth of everything that the Lord shall give unto us, by which we would be enabled to sanctify the land, so that His statutes might be kept thereon. This is the word of the Lord to us, and it will naturally bring division. There will be those who will hear the word of God and do it, and there will be those who will reject the word of God and count it as a light thing, making any frivolous excuse for despising the ordinances of the house of God. The Lord told His people through Malachi that when they robbed Him in tithes and offerings they were laboring under a curse, and the Lord has told us that if we do not honor this law it shall not be a land of Zion unto us, and our enemies shall prevail against us, but if we love Him and keep His commandments we shall prevail against our enemies. ¶

I do not know that we should have any enemies. I am not aware that we do any harm. We are striving all the time to set a righteous example, teaching the people correct principles. We take our lives in our hands and go forth to the nations of the earth with this glad message of great joy to the people, that God hath spoken and that He has restored to the earth His holy Gospel. We promise them that if they will obey the Gospel and live the principles of righteousness they shall have a living testimony and shall know, as we know, that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet sent of God, that the dispensation of the fulness of times is being ushered in, and that the people ¶

are being prepared for everlasting life or for death, for a glorious resurrection or a resurrection of everlasting shame. There are two resurrections, the resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the unjust. How could we expect a part in the resurrection of the just, unless we were just to our God and to each other? ¶

Vain theories will never do us any good. Foolish dogmas never saved anybody or anything. "We can only be sanctified by the truth as it is in Christ Jesus. The Lord hath said "Look unto me all ye ends of the earth, for beside me there is no Savior." Why do not the inhabitants of the earth look unto him? "Why do they not have faith in Him? Because it is not their tradition. "Without faith it is impossible to please God." I was not educated to believe that it was essential that I should enjoy the spirit of revelation myself; that I had the privilege of communion with God my Eternal Father and obtaining light and intelligence from Him; and that if I would sanctify myself before the Lord and keep His commandments I should receive line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. I ask you, my beloved brethren and sisters, if we do not grow gradually in the knowledge of God? We do not receive it in a day; we must have experience, and therefore I think our persecutions are all right. Jesus Christ said: "It must needs be that offenses come, but wo unto them by whom they come." We have to be educated in this line. If we were not oppressed, misrepresented, lied about and slandered, we never would have sympathy for others in the same condition. My sympathies go out to the patriot and to the lover of liberty who believes in sustaining the constitution that was given of Almighty God. I do not sympathize with the hypocrite. Jesus Christ said: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees," (hypocrisy) and we ¶

might say, beware of the leaven of the Gentiles. Let us be what we seem to be. If we are patriots, let us stand by correct principles, and let this be a land of religious liberty to all mankind. Let it be the land of the free and the home of the brave, truly and literally, and let those that are weak be protected. That was the determination when the Constitution was written. The more I study and understand the Constitution of the United States, the more I revere it. I am something like Bishop Edward Hunter, who said, "Too good, too good, for a bad people." It is a glorious document, and one that we are under obligation to sustain. Every American citizen promises to sustain the Constitution of the United States. Every officer in the country makes that oath and covenant. That is done for the protection of the weak and to prevent religious persecution. It was so in the beginning, and wo unto those who trample upon that Constitution. ¶

God bless us in our individual responsibilities. We shall all have to stand before the bar of God and give an account of the deeds done in the body. All men, whether they be princes on their thrones, or beggars in the street, have got to meet the covenants that they have made. The choir here sings sometimes, "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." That is it. ¶

Let us be kind to ourselves; let us fear God and keep his commandments, and when He requires anything at our hands by His grace, let us perform it. Unto this end may God sustain us, for Christ's sake. Amen. ¶