The Gifts of God of Great Worth

My brethren and sisters, I pray that the spirit of our Father who is in heaven may rest upon me while I address you this morning—I have listened with much interest to the remarks that have been made by the various speakers during this conference, and I feel that I can heartily bear testimony to all that has been said—No doubt the remarks of Elder Grant will be appreciated by the Latter-day Saints, and they have had the effect to draw my mind to another phase of the Church and Kingdom of God ¶

I observe among the Latter-day Saints a very great improvement during the last twelve months in the payment of their tithing, in their attendance at meetings, and in the performance of other duties—I have been a little in the world, and I find a great many good people among them—I notice that people pay their donations according to the covenants that they have made in their denomination, and they build vast churches, costing millions of dollars—I find organizations and charitable institutions that support thousands of people, and I find communities where they pour out their wealth in millions for the benefit of unfortunate and suffering humanity—I find thousands and millions of people who are thoroughly devoted to the faith they have espoused—I speak of this in order that I may draw to the attention of the young and rising generation a feature connected with this work that is spiritual—I want the young and all who are before me to understand that the remarks of Elder Grant have not been intended to detract from the spiritual rights and privileges which the Latter-day Saints should enjoy—I am going to take the liberty to read to you a little from the holy Scriptures—I will read you the testimony of Moroni the Prophet—But before doing so, I want to tell you this: There is only one difference - between the Latter-day Saints and the denominations of the world, as far as I have been able to observe, and that difference lies in the fact that this people believe in continual revelation from God the Eternal Father, in the gifts and blessings of the Holy Spirit, and in various other blessings which the Lord has promised ' to the faithful in this generation—And let me tell you, whenever the absence of these gifts and blessings and the administration of holy angels occurs among this people this is not the people of God—I speak this in order that the young may understand it—The children of men had not heard or seen God the Eternal Father or his Son Jesus Christ for eighteen hundred years, and this congregation before me today would never have come here had not God the Eternal Father and the holy angels visited the Prophet Joseph Smith—I want to bear testimony to one thing: Where one man who has had the privilege of the gift of the administration of angels, where one man who has enjoyed the gift of prophecy, or the gift of healing, or the gift of miracles, or any of these divine gifts, which God promised the believer in the last days — where one such man has left this Church, there have been fifty leave it who have not had these gifts—That is my testimony unto you, my brethren and sisters—When one of the sons or daughters of God is born of the water and spirit, he or she is chosen of God the Eternal Father, and while Satan, as Elder Grant has said, will make a ten-fold exertion to overcome such, nevertheless God has given them a testimony and it is burning in their hearts; and you will find, if you reckon as between those who have received a gift of God and those who have not, that there will be fifty of the latter class to one of the former who will wander away from that straight and narrow path which Jesus Christ commanded the children of men to walk in—There are different phases to every question, and I feel strongly impressed to read the testimony of the Prophet Moroni: ¶

"Behold I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam, even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts ¶

"And when ye shall receive these things, T would exhort you that you would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost; ¶

"And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things ¶

"And whatsoever thing is good, is just and true, wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledged that He is ¶

"And ye may know that He is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you, that ye deny not the power of God; for He worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever ¶

"And again, I exhort you, my brethren, that ye deny not the gifts of God, for they are many; and they come from the same God—And there are different ways that these gifts are administered; but it is the same God that worketh all in all; and they are given by the manifestations of the Spirit of God unto men, to profit them ¶

"For behold, to one is given by the Spirit of God, that he may teach the word of wisdom " ¶

What a great and glorious gift the gift of wisdom is—How nicely these subjects have been arranged, the Lord placing the gift of wisdom above all the other gifts ¶

"And to another, that he may teach the word of knowledge by the same spirit " ¶

That knowledge which has been referred to by Elder Grant, that we may know that God lives, not by the testimony of men, but by the power of the Holy Ghost, revealed unto us from God the Eternal Father, as referred to also by President Snow yesterday ¶

"And to another, exceeding great faith; and to another, the gift of healing by the same Spirit ¶

"And again, to another, that he may work mighty miracles; ¶

"And again, to another, that he may prophesy concerning all things; ¶

"And again, to another, the beholding of angels and ministering spirits; ¶

"And again, to another, all kinds of tongues; ¶

"And again, to another, the interpretation of languages and of divers kinds of tongues ¶

"And all these gifts come by the Spirit of Christ; and they come unto every man severally, according as he will ¶

"And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that every good gift cometh of Christ ¶

"And I would exhort you, my beloved brethren, that ye remember that He is the same yesterday, today and forever, and that all these gifts of which I have spoken, which are spiritual, never will be done away, even as long as the world shall stand, only according to the unbelief of the children of men ¶

"Wherefore, there must be faith; and if there must be faith, there must also be hope; and if there must be hope, there must also be charity; ¶

"And except ye have charity, ye can in no wise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God—if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope; ¶

"And if ye have no hope, ye must needs be in despair; and despair cometh because of iniquity ¶

"And Christ truly said upon our fathers, if ye have faith, ye can do all things which is expedient unto me ¶

"And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth, that if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be because of unbelief ¶

"And wo be unto the children of men, if this be the case; for there shall be none that doeth good among you, no not one—For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God ¶

"And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they die in their sins, and they cannot be saved in the Kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ, and I lie not ¶

"And I exhort you to remember these things; for the time speedily cometh that ye shall know that I lie not, for ye shall see me at the bar of God, and the Lord God will say unto you, Did I not declare my words unto you, which were written by this man, like as one crying from the dead? yea, even as one speaking out of the dust?" ¶

I have taken the liberty of reading this testimony of Moroni the Prophet—Joseph Smith the Prophet bore the same testimony, as recorded in the book of Doctrine and Covenants—Paul the Apostle bore the same testimony to the Corinthians and Ephesians in his day—I want to say, however, that while these gifts and blessings are the right and privilege of the Latter-day Saints, we should not depend upon them for our salvation in the kingdom of God—The gift of prophecy will not save any man—It is not a saving principle; it is a gift—It is to comfort our hearts—It is to give us the testimony of the mind and will of God concerning things which are to come—As Elder Grant has said, I may prophesy from now till the coming of the Son of Man, and if I fail to keep the commandments, I will not be saved in the kingdom of God—Neither do I believe that it is possible for a man to be saved in the kingdom of God without being born of the water and of the spirit—But this people can no more live spiritually without these gifts and blessings and inspirations from our Father than you can live a month without eating—You will die a spiritual death, and there will be nothing left of you in the kingdom of God but a dead form—As the Prophet has said, the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth light ¶

Now the time will come when we will not need any of these gifts, but we do need them today very badly—I tell you that among the Latter-day Saints there is a famine for the spiritual gifts of God—That is my testimony unto you—These gifts and blessings are enjoyed among this people, but we do not enjoy them to that fullness that we will when we come up to the standard of keeping the commandments that Elder Grant has referred to—We will have to do these things little by little—We will receive line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, until we can enjoy the fullness of the measure of the stature of Christ—I testify to you, in corroboration of what Elder Grant has said, that just in proportion to the performance of your duties in the Church and Kingdom of God, you will enjoy the gifts and blessings of the Holy Spirit, if you desire them—These gifts and blessings will not come unto the children of men as an ordinary every-day affair—Any man that receives a gift from God will have to get it by earnestly seeking after the Father—As Paul the Apostle says, "He that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him " Paul also, in speaking of these gifts, says that "when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away " Bless your soul, when Jesus Christ comes to reign in righteousness on the earth, we will not have to speak in other languages—Why? Because the original language will be given unto this people, and we will all speak in one tongue—We will not have to say to others, "Know ye the Lord; for all will know Him from the least unto the greatest " The gifts of God and the knowledge of Jesus Christ will be upon every man, woman and child—We will not need this gift of knowledge, so that we can testify that Jesus is the Christ, for He will be with us—The brightness and joy of His presence will be in our midst—We will not need the gift of the administration of angels, because the holy angels will be in our presence, and will be ministering servants unto the righteous that live either on this or some other world, as today they visit this earth from the throne of God the Eternal Father—You will not, my brethren and sisters, in that day, need the gift of the interpretation of tongues, because everybody will understand the same language—It will not be necessary to have the gift of healing, because we will not need to be healed, for we will be sound and perfect—Thus I might go on and enumerate each of the gifts—They will all be done away with when that which is perfect is come—For these blessings are only in part—They are given to us now, — what for? Jesus said to His disciples that when He was gone He would send them the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, to comfort their hearts—Brethren and sisters, in our weak and feeble condition, with the vicissitudes of life upon us, when we come together in our fast meetings, does it not comfort our hearts to see a man or a woman enjoying a gift of God and getting up and exercising it? It fills our souls with joy, it renews our spirits, and we go forth with greater courage, power and determination to carry out all these commandments that Brother Grant has referred to ¶

Now, my brethren and sisters, speaking about the various gifts of God, Joseph Smith the Prophet said that the greatest gift of God is the gift of salvation—Yes, and the way to be saved is to keep the commandments of God—I exhort you, my brethren and sisters, to seek for the best gifts, but not to put your dependence upon them—You may raise a man from the dead by the power of God, and that will not save the man you raise up and it will not save you—You may prophesy concerning all things till the winding up scene, and if you do not keep the commandments of God the words of Jesus will be reiterated unto you "not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven " For the Savior declared: ¶

"Many will say to me in that day Lord Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? ¶

"And then will I confess unto them, I never knew you: Depart from me, ye that work iniquity " ¶

I make this quotation in order that you may see the force and application of Elder Grant's remarks, for I desire to bear testimony to them—At the same time, my brethren and sisters, I desire that every son and daughter of God who is under the sound of my voice, should understand that the difference between the Latter-day Saints and the rest of the children of men is that God the Eternal Father does not bestow upon them the power of His Holy Spirit and a knowledge of Jesus Christ as He has upon this people—We are the only people living on the race of this earth, out of fourteen hundred millions of people, upon whom the gift of knowledge has been poured out, to know that God lives, that Jesus Christ is His Son, and that we have inspired men in our midst ¶

In the conclusion of my remarks, I desire to say unto the young men and young women, and to the strangers that may be in our midst, that all men, as Brother Grant has said, may know that God lives, if they will keep His commandments—This is a great and glorious privilege—Peter the Apostle says: ¶

"Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; ¶

"And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; ¶

"And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity; ¶

"For if those things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ " ¶

I promise you that if you will keep the commandments of God, repent of your sins, go into the waters of baptism and make covenant with the Father that you will obey him, you shall be born of water and of the spirit, and that spirit of revelation, so beautifully referred to here by our Prophet, Seer and Revelator yesterday, will come upon you, and you will know that God lives, that you are the creation of his hands, and that you shall have eternal life, if you will continue to keep his commandments ¶

I feel to bless you all in the name of Jesus Christ, with every blessing that is for your good, and I pray that our hearts may be inclined to keep his commandments, that we may be saved and exalted in his kingdom—My brethren and sisters, there is nothing that is temporal in the sight of God—It is all spiritual in his sight—May God bless you, may we acknowledge his hand in all things, that we may be crowned heirs of glory, immortality and eternal life—My testimony unto you is that Joseph Smith was an inspired Prophet of the living God—I testify unto you that we have a prophet in our midst today, who receives the revelations of Jesus Christ for this people—I testify unto you that God the Eternal Father never will have a people upon the earth, excepting he has a Prophet, Seer and Revelator to reveal his mind and will unto them—For the Savior has said, "Thou shalt not live by bread , alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God " My testimony is that God lives, that he has prophets here upon the earth, that he has bestowed the gifts and blessings upon this people, and all men are called upon to keep His commandments, or they cannot be saved and exalted in His kingdom—I rejoice to be in your presence—I rejoice in every blessing that I enjoy—I feel to acknowledge the hand of the Lord in the prosperity of this people—He has turned aside the shafts of the enemy, and every weapon that is formed against Zion does not prosper—Zion is going to rise and shine, and it will become the glory of the whole earth—The Gentiles will come from the ends of the earth, and kings to the brightness of her rising, and they will say, as the Prophet Jeremiah declared: "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit " May we live to be faithful and be in readiness for the coming: of Jesus Christ, which is near our doors—For behold, he will come in the clouds of heaven, with ten thousand of His Saints, and to those who are righteous will he arise as with healing in His wings; but "all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch " My testimony is that when you take all the proud and all they that do wickedly from among the children of men, there will not be many left—God bless you—Amen ¶